Three subjects about which I have earned the right to have something to say, so I say it.
I was just re-reading my first entry, and I've realized that this serves as my resume. I've never been gainfully employed, and the 124 credit-hours of college I've had don't quite add up to an actual degree. I was slated to graduate with a degree in psychology and a minor in Theatre in May 1985, after ten years of trying, despite everything, and in early April, I got Mononucleosis! At age 26, this is a bitch. I spent four months flat on my back wishing I could die. I've had it twice more, since, despite being told that it could never happen a second time. My Vocational Rehabilitation tuition-books-fees grant had run out, but I got the 124 credits, and, for me, they add up to a "degree of experience". So, as far as I'm concerned, I did what I set out to do, which was to become an educated woman.
By the way, the great-aunt who rescued us from "Old Whatshisname" paid my dorm fees and living expenses until I got married. That woman was amazing, and she was my second mother.
Okay, world, the scene is set. I have stated, up until now, why one should believe what I have to say about the way we run this country. Any further biographical information will come later.
The first thing I have to say will be first because of it's brevity.
The president (of whom I'm a wild, raving, mega-fan) has said that he intends to end "don't ask, don't tell" soon, but more hearts have to be opened.
Wrong.
He is the Commander-In-Chief. That order should have been written before the inauguration, and signed in the limousine on the way to the parade. I just keep wanting to say to him, "Darlin', your THE BOSS. Don't try to make them agree, just order them to do it, NOW! Do we really give a damn if the bigots' feelings are hurt? DADT amounts to lobotomizing the military at a time when it needs all the brains it can get, and you know it. DADT is bad for the military, and thus it creates a security threat. That said, just do it!"
New subject: The Bush/Cheney Gang.
My disease, PJS, could lower my life span significantly. But, I have one cherished hope before this damn disease gets me. I want to see the handcuffed perp-walk of the B/C Gang, as they're handed over to the World Court for a War Crimes Tribunal. That would be bliss beyond describing, for me.
Bush and Cheney deserve exactly what Saddam Hussein got, for exactly the same reasons. How many people became collateral damage statistics because of the ego-lie-war? How many military suicides? How many profoundly disabled veterans? Perp-walk them! Humiliate them!
New subject: Education.
The gifted children in this country should be found, and their intellectual development encouraged, immediately. Making them dumb-down to "no-child-left-behind" standards is lobotomizing the USA. They should be seen as natural resources, and they should be given what they need to flourish.
The rest have many other wonderful gifts that the world badly needs, and they deserve the right to flourish, as well. If children are like flowers, then we should stop trying to get all of them to grow up to be daisies. The world needs ALL of the flowers! Give them back their elective classes, especially the ones in the small towns. Subsidize them, if need be, but make sure the opportunities are out there, for everyone.
I believe that the great majority of home schooling is bunk. It allows bigots to cloister their children and indoctrinate them in closed-mindedness, and aborts the development of their ability to reason clearly. The rest of home schoolers are honestly trying to help their gifted kids progress at the rate they were meant to do. It's a shame that they former aren't kept from ruining their kids' lives, and that the latter can't trust the public schools to do right by their kids.
Once we're well into the process of fixing the health care system, the next big thing should be fixing the education system.
And, by the way, the school lunch program needs a rehab, too, but subsidized and free school lunches/breakfasts are a miracle, and a true Godsend. When Mama died, I was eleven, and we were dead broke. The school lunch program was the only reason that my little brother didn't die of malnutrition. I was certainly no cook, even if I'd had the food to give him. there are girls like me all over this country, with no resources, no mamas and dads to depend on, trying to take care of younger siblings.
Okay. Three is enough, for now. It's time to get the figurative soapbox splinters out of my virtual feet, rest my fingers (I am a lousy typist), and get myself a cup of tea. Thanks for listening.