Why?

Because I encouraged my husband to buy this today:

Why?

Because he’s been wanting one since the day I met him and today is the day his dream comes true.

(And I was tired of hearing about it! *wink*)

Happy birthday, sweetie. I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more. Muah!

Hello fellow WriMos!

We’re nearly at the halfway mark, which means you should be close to 25,000 words. But don’t worry if you’re not, you still have the entire weekend. Just shoo your family away, fire up that laptop/computer/pad & pencil and WRITE. Don’t think about it too much, just dig in.

As you can see ——–>, I’m not there yet, but I WILL be. Here are some tips to help you reach your goal.

As for me, I have a super busy weekend planned. Today, I’m heading up to the motorcycle place to pick up Kevin’s dirt bike (dirty carburetor), and possibly trade it in for a street bike (if that actually happens, watch for another post).

Then? Grocery shopping. (Boo).

Then? WRITE! I will likely go to the MSU library, with Red Bull in hand, and furiously write one, two, possibly three? (HA! Right) stories.

Tomorrow, I have laundry, other household chores, family time and THEN more writing. That’s IF I can get away from my family. My guys (and by “my guys”, I mean my hunky husband) tend to get a wee bit cranky whenever I pour all of my attention into my writing and not them.

So, the word for this weekend?!

WRITE!

As you all know, I’m not a big animal person. I don’t dislike them, per se, I just don’t have a desire to own one any time soon.

With that said, I LOVE looking at pictures and watching videos of animals – animated animals are no exception.

I’m pretty sure children do this, too. It’s a good thing they’re cute.

You can find out more about the author of this animation,Simon Tofield, at his website.

Have a GREAT Saturday, everyone!

I’ve been sidetracked. The whole Fort Hood massacre, NOT TRAGEDY, though what happened to those 50+ people who got caught in the cross hairs of some Islamic terrorist IS certainly tragic, has distracted me from my NaNoWriMo project. It’s distracted me from getting any work done at all, quite frankly.

It’s all I can think about.

Why? It wasn’t the act itself that has plagued me, though again, that is horrific in and of itself, but rather, the fact that our media REFUSES to call it what it is.

A terrorist act.

And believe me when I say, I’m not one to jump on the media bandwagon, oh contrare, I think the media, in large part, are political suck-ups who get paid to sensationalize and distort the truth all for ratings or a quick buck, but when there is overwhelming evidence that Hasan planned this attack and fully intended to kill as many American soldiers (which somehow makes it worse, I think) as he could take out and yet no one is calling it what IS, I can’t just idly sit back and not say what we’re all thinking.

I refuse to be silenced. I refuse to play the “game” any longer. I refuse to sit back and be a “good” little “submissive” American anymore.

Enough is enough.

Our media is skirting around the issue. “He’s insane. Let’s not jump to conclusions. It’s not a crime to call al-Qaida is it?” (Seriously. Can you believe this idiot actually said that? Are you effing kidding me?!)

Let’s call it what it is: Being politically correct.

Ladies and gentlemen, political correctness is killing our country.

Quite literally, I’m sad to say.

It’s one thing to have diversity; it’s another thing to be polite; it’s honorable to be tolerant; it’s nice to be accommodating, but when we are willing to bend so far over backwards in order to not offend anyone that we’re kissing our own asses and ultimately offending everyone? It’s time to stop the nonsense.

Look. Part of the reason why America is so awesome is because we welcome all walks of life. Want to live in America and continue recognizing your cultural background? Fine. Be my guest. Knock yourself out.

But here’s thing: If you’re living in our wonderful country, there are a few rules you must abide by – like assimilating into our culture. Ultimately, people who live here SHOULD learn English. Why? Because that’s our primary language! People who have moved here SHOULD respect the fact that our country was founded and based on Christianity.

Does this mean people who live here or don’t believe in Christianity SHOULD convert? Of course not! It just means that it’s the majority religion so one should just prepare oneself to DEAL with the fact that Christianity is prevalent in our country.

There are going to be churches. There is going to be talk of God. There are going to be people in our government who believe in God and wish to uphold God’s laws. There are going to be holidays that honor our God. There will be people who live by our God’s Bible.

It’s WHO America is. It’s WHAT America is. It’s the BACKBONE of our entire country.

Why is this so hard to accept?

If one doesn’t agree with Christianity. Fine. That’s a person’s prerogative. If one wants to practice another sort of religion? Great. Do it.

But accept the fact that Christianity is the MAJORITY. And in this country, our great United States of America, majority rules. It’s a little something called democracy. Though we (and yes, I’m in with the whole Christian crowd because *GASP* I’m a Christian) work hard not to shove it down someone’s throat, it’s what the MAJORITY of American people believe in. We shouldn’t have to apologize for it. We shouldn’t have to be ashamed of it. We shouldn’t have to call it something other than it is. We shouldn’t have to dilute it.

And if we set a holiday aside, like Christmas, in order to worship/acknowledge/give thanks to our Christian God and his son, Jesus Christ, then we shouldn’t have to compromise and can call it something other than what it is CHRISTmas, just to avoid offending those that don’t believe in it.

To me, it seems pretty simple, if one doesn’t like the whole Christmas thing, then ignore it. Don’t acknowledge it. Don’t participate in it. Don’t get sucked into the commercialization. We won’t ask you to rename your holidays, or pretend they’re about something other than they really are if you will extend the same courtesy.

And honestly? If it bothers people that much, then MOVE. Make arrangements to move to a country that DOES support your views. If that’s not possible, then suck it up. You’re in America and that’s how America works.

Remember. We’re not asking you to give up your heritage. Your beliefs. Your sexual orientation. We’re just asking that you stop DEMANDING that we change our way of lives, our way of thinking and believing, the core values that built this country in order to protect your sensibilities and lifestyle; America has bent over backwards to accommodate YOU.

If you are willing to obey our laws and respect our way of life, then we welcome you with open arms. But it’s when people start demanding that we change our laws, or deny our culture/heritage/beliefs, that we should, that we NEED, to draw the line.

Enough is enough.

And not calling Hasan a terrorist, when in fact, all signs overwhelmingly point to the fact that he was, correction, IS, or to try and shift the blame from the individual who crossed that line and killed innocent American soldiers by trying to convince the public that he has some fictitious secondary post-traumatic syndrome is downright insulting – to the public, the families of the victims and to the victims themselves.

When we have reached a point in our society that we’re too afraid to speak up and nip an emerging problem in the bud because God FORBID we offend someone, or a group, it’s time we draw those lines in the sand and say, enough is enough. If it boils down to saving an American life or offending someone’s sensibilities, it’s time we do the right thing and protect our people.

Period.

When we have 10% of U.S. Mosques Preaching Jihad ON OUR OWN SOIL where the sole purpose is to gather and lament on the evils of America and how American people should die – ON OUR OWN SOIL, then enough is enough.

That is unacceptable, folks. Period. THAT’S taking diversity a bit too far, don’t you think? Preaching about the evils of America while IN AMERICA?!?

The fact that this is tolerated at all just boggles my mind.

I’m through pussy-footing around. It’s time we take a stand and speak up against all of this political correctness nonsense. Sure, we need to be mindful of the diversity and people’s situations and avoid “labels”, but when people start dying, it’s time we grow a backbone.

As I’ve said, I’ve been thinking about this a lot these past several days. I’ve been watching, and reading, news stories about the Fort Hood massacre and that got me curious.

Exactly HOW did all of this political correctness even get started? So, I did a little research (I told you I was distracted!):

Definition:
1. Of, relating to, or supporting broad social, political, and educational change, especially to redress historical injustices in matters such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation.
2. Being or perceived as being overconcerned with such change, often to the exclusion of other matters.

For the first time in our history, Americans have to be fearful of what they say, of what they write, and of what they think. They have to be afraid of using the wrong word, a word denounced as offensive or insensitive, or racist, sexist, or homophobic.

We call it “Political Correctness.” The name originated as something of a joke, literally in a comic strip, and we tend still to think of it as only half-serious. In fact, it’s deadly serious. It is the great disease of our century, the disease that has left tens of millions of people dead in Europe, in Russia, in China, indeed around the world. It is the disease of ideology. PC is not funny. PC is deadly serious.

If we look at it analytically, if we look at it historically, we quickly find out exactly what it is. Political Correctness is cultural Marxism. It is Marxism translated from economic into cultural terms. It is an effort that goes back not to the 1960s and the hippies and the peace movement, but back to World War I. If we compare the basic tenets of Political Correctness with classical Marxism the parallels are very obvious.

First of all, both are totalitarian ideologies.

Source: The Origins of Political Correctness

[Political Correctness] was developed at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, Germany, which was founded in 1923 and came to be known as the “Frankfurt School.” It was a group of thinkers who pulled together to find a solution to the biggest problem facing the implementers of communism in Russia.

The problem? Why wasn’t communism spreading?

Their answer? Because Western Civilization was in its way.

What was the problem with Western Civilization? Its belief in the individual, that an individual could develop valid ideas. At the root of communism was the theory that all valid ideas come from the effect of the social group of the masses. The individual is nothing.

And they believed that the only way for communism to advance was to help (or force, if necessary) Western Civilization to destroy itself. How to do that? Undermine its foundations by chipping away at the rights of those annoying individuals.

One way to do that? Change their speech and thought patterns by spreading the idea that vocalizing your beliefs is disrespectful to others and must be avoided to make up for past inequities and injustices.

And call it something that sounds positive: “Political Correctness.”

Source: Political Correctness: The Scourge of Our Times

It sort of takes the shine off of trying to be all-accommodating, doesn’t it.

I also found a video that I thought was an interesting summation of political correctness, too.

The bottom line? Enough is enough. It doesn’t really matter how it started, it’s time to stop the insanity.

It’s possible to OVER compromise and you know what? I think America has. It’s time to stop being politically correct and get back to our core values and BE PROUD of those core values.

If people don’t like it? If people aren’t willing to accept our rules, our language, our culture?

Then leave.

November 2009 (NaNoWriMo Short Stories)

The Ultimate Sacrifice
The Joys of Fatherhood
Piper’s Miracle
Eve’s Empathy
The Trouble with Troy
Holly’s Hope
Gabby’s Secret

NaNoWriMo Progress

Actually, the season is over. But I love this “action” shot of Jazz during one of their performances.