Morbid Curiosity

  So here it is, November 8, 2016.  Today is the day that we will probably look back on as the day that the end of the world began.  Regardless of who wins the U.S. Presidential election today, it's gonna be a disaster over the next 4 years both politically and economically.  The only upside to this, is as a friend of mine pointed out, is that Saturday Night Live is going to be AWESOME for the next 4 years.  Because the White House will be giving them great material to saterize....is that even a word??

  So I've ruffled a LOT of feathers this election year because I have flat out refused to exercise my right to vote.  There was no lesser of the 2 evils this election.  One is lying, criminal, who is fine with aborting babies up to 36 weeks of gestation. My oldest was born at 36 weeks....She was 7 lbs, 6.2 oz and 21 inches long.  NO problems at all.  The other is a loud mouthed buffoon who has been involved in more law suits that any normal person or corporation should be.  He's declared bankruptcy at least once.  So how exactly does he think HE is the best person to fix the budget?

  But besides the obvious character defects of both candidates, NEITHER of them gave any kind of clear, precise plan of what they want to do to turn things around for the better in the U.S.  All they did was sling mud back and forth.  Which, yes, that's normal during a political race.  But this year all that was said was about how bad the other candidate was.

  A LOT of people my age (Gen X'ers) decided not to vote this year, because, well.....look at the choices.  I didn't like McCain/Palin, but they were better than Trump.  Heck, Obama was a better candidate than Hillary.

  It looks like Hillary will be the next president, and incidentally the first female president.  This is not a great day for females.  Merkel has made a mess of Germany, and the U.K.'s new female leader, I forget her name, isn't doing so hot either.  I'm not saying women can't lead and do a great job, it just seems as if we haven't found the right woman to lead.    We haven't found the right man yet either.....well we did, we 'they' killed him.

  So as much as I hate this election year, and I kept the $3 it would've cost me to mail in my overseas ballot, I'm tuning in to the news to see the outcome of this spectacular train wreck.  I can't help it.  Neither can anyone else....It's like passing a horrific accident, where you know you're going to see a decapitated body, blood and gore, and you know you shouldn't look, but you do anyway, because, well.....Morbid Curiosity.

Back Alley or Dr. Office?

  Okay so yeah, I live overseas, but I still cast a ballot on elections.  What the knuckleheads in D.C. do still kind of affects me.  This year I have completely given up, I haven't' sent in my overseas voter registration or whatever you call it.  Because honestly this years candidates have left me feeling sick.  I was thinking of casting my ballot for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson but he's left me feeling as ill as Trump and Clinton, both of whom I believe are bat sh*t crazy!  Johnson is good because he's all about smaller government, no wars, flat tax, etc.  However he IS for mandatory vaccinations and he's pro-choice.  However I'm somewhere on the fence with the whole pro-choice pro-life thing.

  During a recent FB exchange, I feel I need to express my opinion on the abortion issue.

 First of all I detest abortion, I believe there are other alternatives to abortion.....HELLO!  Adoption!  There are literally millions of women unable to conceive who would LOVE top adopt a newborn.  If you haven't seen it and can get past all the F-bombs, watch the movie "Juno".

  BUT, I would rather have abortion be legal th Laan illegal, and here's why.  As much as I loathe the idea of abortion, I would rather be able to see a qualified doctor in a sterilized environment as opposed to a dingy, dirty room in some back alley clinic, dingy hotel room or apartment where the woman is likely to get an infection and die.  See "Dirty Dancing" or the foreign move "4Luni, 3 Saptamani, si 2 zile" / "4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days".

  My reasoning for this stance, simple:  a woman who gets an abortion in a legal, sterile clinic can later change her mind about her views on abortion, and maybe counsel women also seeking abortion.  A woman who doesn't have a legal avenue to obtain an abortion not only looses a baby, but possibly her life.

  Laws are strange things.  As it stands now, a woman can legally kill her unborn baby, but if a stranger or loved one kills a pregnant woman, the murderer is charged with 2 counts of murder, while the abortion seeking mother gets nothing.  That makes no sense to me.  Now I'm not saying that the law is wrong, but it's contradictory in a sense.  I get that a woman who has an abortion chose to end the life of the baby, and that the pregnant woman didn't want an abortion and actually WANTED the baby; hence the double murder charge if said pregnant woman is murdered.  From a legal standpoint this all makes sense.

  This is the thing conservatives need to remember; it's ALL about upholding the law, even if you don't agree with the law.  Sometimes, the law goes against everything you believe in, unless you take a step back and look at it from all angles.

  Again I am Pro-Life, but from a legal standpoint I am Pro-Choice.  The majority of conservatives identify as Christian.  As Christians we must remember we are NOT judge and jury, we are mere witnesses.  Only God can judge people.  God will judge women who have aborted babies.  I don't think it's right or fair to make a woman pay for a mistake with her life, not when she has a chance to seek redemption in the eyes of God and to help other women who are thinking about abortion.

  Sunday morning, take a moment and look at the woman or women sitting next to or around you.  You don't know who they are, not really.  They might have had an abortion back before they gave their lives to Christ but are too ashamed to admit it.  Are you going to give them dirty looks, and accuse them if they do admit it? Of course not, because they're like you now, right? They're Christians!

  So why not take the attitude you have towards the repentant woman next to you in the pew and apply it to the unrepentant woman who has had or is wanting to have an abortion.

And Jesus Wept

  There has been a LOT of crazy things going on in the world, more so than usual it seems, but yesterday it hit home for me....literally.  My hometown, Baton Rouge, LA. again within a one week span is again front and center of the national (U.S.) and international media.

  Seven police officers were shot in the line of duty, 3 have died and one is fighting for his life.  We don't know for sure if the gun men responsible for this act were with the Black Lives Matter movement or if they were acting alone.  We do know that one of the gun men, who was killed during the shoot out was NOT from Louisiana, and I pretty much bet that the other men involved were from out of state as well.

  See Louisianians, no matter the pigment of our skin don't generally do violent acts like this one.  We know our rights, and we know that shooting cops isn't going to solve anything.  Even after Alton Sterling was killed by 2 police and his family and friends were protesting and asking all the people protesting with them to protest peacefully, to NOT engage in violence.  See Violence only begets Violence.  Hate begets hate. Those are the words of Jesus Christ and of Martin Luther King, Jr.

  While I understand what the people with the #BLM are protesting, and why they are upset, I don't believe that calling for violence against police and non blacks is the answer.  I'm sure the response I'll get is that I'm speaking from a place of White Privilege.  I don't see it that way, as I have had to scrimp, save, fight and claw my way for everything in my life.  I wasn't born with the proverbial silver spoon in my mouth.  We lived pay check to pay check.  There were many jobs I applied for, was more than qualified for, but didn't get because I was not black.  I got 1 speeding ticket a month for 6 months in a row.  I was doing maybe 10 mph over the limit.  Each time I was pulled over it was a white male police officer.  The one ticket I did get out of was by a Black Texas State Trooper who pulled me over just outside of Beaumont on the I-10 West headed towards Houston.  I was driving home to Houston from a visit in Baton Rouge, to pay a ticket I'd gotten over the holidays, not for speeding but for changing lanes under a traffic light, and an expired inspection sticker.  Anyway, when I was pulled over by the trooper it happened to be my birthday.  Again, I was doing maybe 10 mph over.  The trooper told me to slow it down, and Happy Birthday!  The only reason I got out of that ticket was because it was my birthday.  Had it not been, I'd of had yet another ticket. So no, I don't believe in the whole white privilege concept.  I've never  received special treatment based on my skin color, and I'm as white as they come.  I'm of predominately Irish decent.  I have red hair, blue eyes, freckles, and fair skin.  When I say fair skin, I mean, I could be Snow White minus the 7 dwarfs.

  So okay, I side tracked.  My point is, I see tons of posts with Scriptures, and about Jesus, and All Lives Matter, etc.  But do we mean it?  I mean seriously?!?  If you see a black man dressed like Snoop Dog, does your body stiffen up, do you get scared?  Probably so.  But that guy might not be a gangster.  He may not be a drug dealer or carrying a gun.  Why not instead of yelling and protesting, why don't we try to engage each other.  If you see a mother in need of help getting her kids and groceries into the car, stop and help her. If you see and old person needing help crossing the road or the parking lot, help them.  Don't look at their skin color, look at the person.  Because underneath we are all made up of the same stuff.