The GOP's Latest Distraction

There is nothing that pisses me off more then conservatives making a fake controversy out of nothing to distract from the fact that are hampering women's rights. They seem to be stuck on this "I'm rubber, your glue" thing lately. They take all of their faults and try to convince people that Democrats are the ones with those faults, not Republicans. They are doing it now with what everyone is calling a "War on Women". It is hard for anyone to believe that Republicans aren't waging a war on women when the legislation they are continuously putting forward and passing says otherwise. Then, in order to distract from that fact, they take one comment made by Hilary Rosen out of context and blow it up into a big deal when it shouldn't be. For those of you who don't know, Hilary Rosen is a CNN political pundit and a Democrat. While on CNN a few days back she made the following comment about Ann Romney, Mitt Romney's wife.

"What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country saying, 'Well, you know my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues and when I listen to my wife that's what I'm hearing.' Guess what? His wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school and why do we worry about their future."

I don't see how she was wrong and she should never had apologized for telling the truth. The truth is Ann Romney has never worked outside the home a day in her life, so no she does not know what women who work and raise kids are going through. Ann Romney was born into a privileged family, went to private school, and married a rich man. She's never in her life had to work a real job or worry about money. She's never had to worry about how to pay for things like food, bills, clothes, her kids' education and health care. Mrs. Romney has never lived paycheck to paycheck like most moms in America. She doesn't understand what it's like to be a poor or middle class mother who has to work and raise kids on a limited income therefore her advice to her husband on what issues women are concerned about is useless because she doesn't know what it's like to struggle and be the average mother in America. Yes, Ann Romney has had serious health problems in the past, but unlike other women, she is wealthy and has the money for top notch health care. She came back at Rosen's comments saying raising 5 boys was hard work. How hard could it have been when you have a supportive family and a full household staff to help you? Most women don't have nannies, maids, or even a supportive family to help, not to mention a husband with a equally supportive family. I really don't want to judge Ann Romney, because it's not her fault she was born into a privileged family and married a rich guy. I'm sure she loves Mitt. I just find it irritating when she comes from that type of lifestyle and she pretends to know what an average American mother deals with on a daily basis. No she doesn't have any clue what other women have to deal with. Stop trying to relate when you can't. Neither can your husband, because he was born into a privileged family as well. The reason the Obamas relate well with the general public and understand what it's like for most struggling Americans is because they have been there and were both born into poor families. They worked their asses off to get where they are today. They didn't have it all just handed to them and then screw over the little people like Mitt to get even wealthier.

As for everyone attacking Hilary Rosen, she was right and no she should not have apologized. Sorry that Mitt, Ann, and the rest of the conservatives couldn't handle the truth. The same people on the right who were outraged by this non-controversy are the same ignorant people who diss Michelle Obama on a daily basis. Hypocrites. They also attacked Rosen for being a lesbian and adopting her children. How is that OK? Conservatives are fighting a losing battle, because women in this country are not stupid or easily distracted by this type of nonsense. They no exactly who is hampering women's rights and it's showing in the polls and that's why the GOP is grasping at straws. They only have themselves to blame when Mitt Romney loses the race for President. They keep going further and further to the right and it's ruining their party. I personally can't wait for November. I don't always agree with President Obama, but he's done a good job and continues to make progress and handles controversies with dignity and respect, and for that he will have my vote again in November. I only hope that women in this country keep their eyes on the party that is really on their side and that's the Democrats. I wish Hilary Rosen and Ann Romney both the best.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#47036545

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#47047344


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/#47045719

Things Are Coming Together

Things are starting to come together. I've been working really hard on getting my products done and ready to sale. I'm doing OK, but think I need to get more done faster. It's hard to do with 4 kids, a busy husband, and no help. I have started a Twisted Witches Blog and a Twisted Witches Facebook page to get started and so friends and family can follow the progress being made. I'm hoping to be able to launch my website soon, but it may take a little while to get it finished. So, for now I'm hoping everyone stays patient with me while I continue to try and get the products done. I'm nervous, but looking forward to going to Marysville over Mother's Day weekend for our booth sale. I'm hoping we do well and whatever we don't sell there I'm going to post on the future website. I really hope that someday I will be able to have my own little family witchy store. That is my goal, but for now I'm doing what I can afford to do. You can follow us at the following links.

Twisted Witches Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/TwistedWitches

Twisted Witches Blog
http://twistedwitches.blogspot.com/

Twisted Witches Temporary E-Mail
twistedwitches@yahoo.com

What's New With Me

I haven't blogged in a few months and a lot has been going on. So here is the Top Ten things going on in my life lately. I will do full blog posts on a few of these when I get the time.

1. We have a new addition to our family. My niece had an adorable baby boy on March 20, 2012. I haven't seen him yet, but seeing him this weekend and getting some pics too.

2. Glenn and I got our tax return back and got caught up on bills.

3. I have taken some of our tax return and started making herbal and aromatherapy products to sell. I wish I had the money to have my own shop and to buy more supplies for more products.

4. I played Mega Millions and lost of course. It was a huge jackpot so I had to give it a shot.

5. Glenn lost his job. I'm not worried because I know he will find another one soon. Hopefully, we can get by until then.

6. Spring is here! Yeppers, Spring is here. It has been unusually hot lately with temps reaching into the mid & upper 80's.

7. My lily flowers are growing back and I'm trying to be patient until they bloom.

8. I'm an Ordained Minister now and have the certificate to prove it.

9. I'm getting back on my Pagan path after not practicing the Craft for a lot of years. I've been busy having and raising kids. But, I'm back and learning a lot. Right now I'm very into natural healing.

10. Life is getting better for me, but I'm still dealing with health problems due to my hormonal imbalance. It's been difficult to deal with the last 3 years. I have an appointment with my Gyno next week, so hoping he has a solution to the problem. I'm sick of dealing with this.

That's it for now. I will make longer posts about a few of these later on. Right now I'm just worn out and trying to spend a little time with my 3 year old while the other kiddos are in school. More news coming soon.

A Few New Things In My Life

For about the last week I have been sending friend request to a lot of people who are Pagan/Wiccan. Most of them have accepted and I have even received a few friend request. I'm really happy to be making so many new friends that are Pagan. I can't wait to get to know all of them. I may just learn some things too from people who have been practicing the Craft longer than I have. A few things I've noticed about Pagan/Wiccan peeps is that they tend to be more accepting, nice, artistic, spiritual, & creative than people of other more common faiths. They love life and their families. They accept everyone for who they are and are less likely to judge. Pagans are amazing, caring people like everyone else and are tired of being put down and misunderstood. The world is a lot more accepting than it used to be, but I think we still have a long way to go. In the meantime, I will continue to learn and than teach my kids about being Pagan.

Imbolc is coming up in a few days. I'm still making plans for what I'm going to do. I have a few crafts I'm going to get done and I need to get my altar ready. I plan on making a small feast for my family also.

Some  other new news is that I'm now an Ordained Pagan Minister. I applied online through Universal Life Church which helps people of all religions become ministers. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while and finally did. I can now do weddings, handfastings, wiccanings, house blessings, funerals & etc. It was really important for me to do this not only for myself, but for my family as well. That is a few new things that have been going on in my life. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do in the fall when Brendan starts school and I'm home all by myself. I'll report back on that when I figure it all out.

1 Year Anniversary Of The Gabby Giffords Shooting.

Gabby and Mark on their wedding day.

One year ago today, on January 8th, 2011 Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18 other people including some of her staff members were shot outside a Safeway in Tuscon, Arizona. Gabby was shot in the head, but survived along with 12 others. One of her interns, Daniel Hernandez Jr. is credited for saving Gabby's life by immediately giving her first aid. Six of the people who were shot died from their injuries. Here are their names:

1) Christina-Taylor Green, 9, of Tucson. Green was accompanied to the meeting by neighbor Susan Hileman. Because her date of birth was September 11, 2001, she had appeared in the book Faces of Hope: Babies Born on 9/11 (page 41). She was the granddaughter of former Major League Baseball player and manager Dallas Green.

2) Dorothy "Dot" Morris, 76, a retired secretary from Oro Valley; wife of George, who was wounded.

3) John Roll, 63, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for Arizona, named to the federal bench by President George H. W. Bush in 1991.

4) Phyllis Schneck, 79, homemaker from Tucson.

5) Dorwan Stoddard, 76, retired construction worker, died from a gunshot wound to the head; his wife Mavy was wounded.

6) Gabriel "Gabe" Zimmerman, 30, community outreach director for Giffords, and a member of Giffords' staff since 2006. Mr. Zimmerman was the first Congressional staffer killed in the line of duty.

In addition to the six dead, thirteen other people were wounded by gunshot in the attack, while a fourteenth person was injured, but not by gunshot. Gabrielle Giffords and two other members of her staff were among the surviving gunshot victims.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords being taken away from shooting scene by paramedics. The man holding her hand is Daniel Hernandez Jr., the intern credited with saving Gabby's life. He applied pressure to Gabby's wound and kept her from choking on her own blood until help arrived.

Memorial set up for Gabby in the days after the shooting.

Today Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark are back in Tuscon, Arizona and will attend a candlelight vigil at the University of Arizona on Sunday evening. Yesterday, Gabby and Mark visited the Safeway store were Gabby was shot, her first time being there since 1/8/2011. She visited with the medical staff at University of Arizona Medical Center who treated her and the others bullet wounds. Gabby and Mark also hiked outside of Tuscon yesterday on a desert trail named after Gabe Zimmerman, Gabby's staff aide who was killed.

The shooter Jared Loughner, 23, was found mentally unfit to stand trial. He is being treated in a federal prison hospital in Missouri. Hopefully, one day he will stand trial and pay for his heartless actions.

Gabby is a fighter and beat the odds. I hope that people will take the time today to honor Gabby and the other shooting victims. I know I will burning some candles later, one for each of the people who were shot and/or killed. My thoughts are with you Gabby and Mark.

In this photo provided by the office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Giffords and husband Mark Kelly pose at the Davidson Canyon Gabe Zimmerman Memorial trail head outside of Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012.

Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly have also wrote a book about the shooting and her road to recovery. The book is called "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope". Gabby is still recovering and had to re-learn how to walk, talk, read, and write. She has come along way, but still has a long way to go. The book focuses mainly the aftermath of the Tuscon shooting and the amazing survival of Gabby and her fight to recover and heal. The book is an amazing story of courage, strength, and love. I hope that more people will buy this book, because it is an incredible story.

 Cover of the book Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly wrote.

Note: These photos are not my own and all rights belong to the photographers who took them.

A Few New Family Pics

Not that long ago I got my photography equipment together and took some pics of my kids and my husband Glenn. It was hard to work with the kids because they were hyper that night, but we got some good pics of them. I took pics of all the kids together and pics of them and Glenn individually. I'm hoping to get some copies of these pics soon so that my family and Glenn's family can have copies. The following are the pics I took in color.

My Top Twenty Pet Peeves

Every person has little things that annoy them. I decided that I wanted to post my top twenty pet peeves to share with every one, because a lot of these things have annoyed me lately and I need to vent. Most of them have to deal with people and their stupidity. So, here is my list.

1. People that think they are better than you when they clearly are not.

2. Mis-information provided by Fox News to their clueless followers.

3. Breed Specific Legislation that bans so called dangerous dogs like Bully breeds.

4. Family members that stab you in the back over and over again and act surprised when you go off on them when you get tired of being screwed. (Like my non-sister Angel and non-brother Jimmy)

5. Rich people that constantly brag about how rich they are. (Talking to you Donald Trump)

6. People who commit crimes against women, children, and animals.

7. Discrimination of any kind. Doesn't matter if it's against some one's race, sex, weight, sexual orientation, religion, social status, or age. Discrimination is horrible.

8. People who claim to be Pro-life to save fetuses and than turn around and support execution and/or kill abortion clinic workers and doctors. Doesn't sound so Pro-life to me.

9. Hate groups like the Klu Klux Klan, Westboro Baptist Church, and Evangelical Christians.

10. Mixed food, or food on my plate that is touching other food. (Yep, I'm weird like that)

11. Pets and kids that don't listen like mine.

12. People who don't flush and/or don't wash their hands after using the restroom. I hate germs being spread around and wash my hands like 20 times a day.

13. Reality T.V. shows starring idiots like Jersey Shore or Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

14. Politicians who lie and pander to corporations.

15. All the horrible things that women have to go through. Menstruation, pain of childbirth, and menopause to top the list.

16. Men and the stupid, dangerous, and obnoxious things they do. Just irritating most of the time. (Pointing my finger at you Glenn)

17. People who think stay at home moms are just being lazy. Sorry, but when did it not become ok for me to stay home and raise my kids?

18. Being poor. Every time we take a step forward it feels like someone pushes us back several feet while we try not to fall.

19. People who dress their pets up in clothes. (No offense if you do that)

20. Bad music that gets way too much air time on the radio while amazing talented artists are pushed aside.