The One Where I Get Cranky About Politics & Our Young People

As a woman of "a certain age", I have basically given up.
Given up on my generation actually doing anything to change the direction our country is heading.
Can you say Roman Empire?
Heck, can you say modern day Greece?!

We inherited a fiscal mess from the previous generation and overall I have just seen it get worse year after year, not better.
And don't even get me started on all the social policies.....!
Between living on credit, ignoring a political and economic system that desperately needed overhauling and making bad personal choices when we have/had money, so that combined with the fiscal situation, we don't have enough to last through the end of our lives, so as not to burden the next generation with massive debt, our society is handing the next generation an even worse society.  Their future looks quite dismal.

We are standing at a great crossroads in our Country and while the American people as a whole sink at an ever hastening pace into a great abyss, the leaders in our nation stand on public stages and promise the moon AND the stars for our votes, all the while pointing fingers at each other and spend their time and energy to see who can fling the most horseshit at the other.
If political were a pissing match(and I'm not saying it isn't!lol), the National Leaders of the USA would be the Masters of the Pissing Match Universe.

I told my eldest son, who is about to graduate college into this abysmal economy and will need to find a job that can support him soon, that I had great hope that his generation would be the one to "right this ship".  Instead of supporting National Leaders who seek to gain and/or hold Power over our Nation, by being Leaders who separate us as a people, which is basically what the Republican and Democrat Leaders do, I have a view of this Generation actually seeing these people for what they are and what they do to our citizenry in order to keep us enslaved to ways of doing things that ONLY benefit these Political Leaders.
Benefit these Political Leaders at the expense of our Society as a whole.

I have a glimmer of hope that "our kids" can actually see past all the bullshit our Leaders talk and work together for the actual good of our society.

And then my son dashed that hope.  He actually laughed at me for holding this hope!
He told me that, as he looked around at the peer group surrounding him on his college campus, that he sees a generation, HIS generation, that is just like my generation had been at their age.  These newly minted citizens, the kids coming of age in 2012-2013 into an Adult world have their heads up their own asses.....or more specifically, have their heads up in Jersey Shore and other MTV type "non-reality" shows, up in their electronics, up in their social life/dating life/scoring life, in their goal to see who can skip more class lectures and still pass the course because they can't seem to find the time to study/attend class because they are always out at the bars or hungover.

Back when I was young we had a slogan, "Question Authority".
It was a good saying and a commendable way to live your life.

But we need to get these kids to go beyond the questioning and demanding answers.
They need to actively participate in helping solve the problems and not sit back as a group, like MY generation did,  and let others craft the pathway to the future.

Questioning is just the first step.
To be part of the solution, they need to get actively involved.....not just protesting and whining because they didn't get some government bailout or entitlement, or they didn't understand that when they signed that student loan promissory note  that it was going to change the course of their Adult financial life.
That's not "involved".
That just complaining about what life is handing you.

They need to be part of the solution.  That begins by joining in the dialogue, joining organizations DOING something  and being taken seriously by the Adult world.
And put the damned smartphones down and stop texting long enough to use their brains to work together to solve this mess for the good of their generation and the generation that follows them.

If you have a young person in your life, you need to get them to watch this short film at the end of this post.
And talk to them about being active in their government and participating in their future!
And tell them, that if they aren't interested enough to be involved in how their world runs, that someone else(with their own agenda)will be more than happy to run their world and probably make their lives one sorry place to be stuck in.

Make sure they register to vote and then nag them about voting ONLY AFTER they have become aware of the issues and how everyone who runs for office will vote on the issues.
If your young person is clueless on how the issues they are concerned about line up with the political schools of thought out there, have them go take this quiz HERE.
Hey, it's an online quiz......young people seriously LOVE to take these.  I see it all the time on Facebook with them!
If nothing else it might get them thinking about something other than the stuff they usually think about that, in the grand scheme of things, doesn't really matter much.


And for goodness sakes, make sure they VOTE FOR CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR THE LEGISLATIVE POSITIONS!
If this generation wants ANYTHING to really change/get better in this country they need to understand that NOTHING will change really until they realize that voting ONLY every 4th year for a President is NOT acceptable!
The people you can elect in your government who will have the MOST impact on your day to day life are those in Congress--your Senators and House Representatives.
Not voting for your legislative representatives is a cop-out.

So please, if you have a young person in your life, talk to them about our government.  I know they have government or civics classes in high school, but do you really think they paid attention to those lectures?
Seriously, do you?! lol
Talk real issues at the dinner table with your kids.....not just what hot new band they want to see, or what celebrity was caught on camera being naughty or who wore what to which awards ceremony.

And it's never too early to get them involved in learning what's going on in the adult world around them....not who's on Dancing With The Stars but what real issues are facing our world and mostly certainly will impact them as Adults on down the line.




Sluggy

Don't Miss This Debate!...The Free & Equal One

No, I'm not talking about the Press Conference aka The Presidential Debate on Monday night.

I'm talking about the 3rd Party Candidates Debate taking place on October 23rd, Tuesday.
Go HERE to find out where and when.
It's being streamed live online so don't miss it if you want to hear what Candidates other than the Reps and Dems are proposing for our Country.

The Presidential candidates from the Libertarian party, the Green party, the Constitution party and the Justice party will all be on the stage exchanging views and ideas and actually giving some REAL answers to the crises that are facing our nation.

Be there or be square!

Sluggy

Thought For The Day

This Is Crazy....But Crazy Good!

Having a kid in Marching Band means I am a Marching Band Parent.  And in most American school systems this means that you are part of a Booster Group raising the funds to support your kid's "Sport".
Yes, Marching Band IS a sport, yet little if any school district funds are earmarked for this school activity.
The Football team, the Basketball team, the Wrestling team, the Track and Field team, the Field Hockey team, even the Cheerleading team gets a substantial share of the money allocated for school sports.
(And don't get me started about the 1 million dollars the school district spent on the football field when there are not enough classrooms to accommodate the number of students here to learn in classes.)

District Funds allocated for the Marching Band?
Not so much.
So this means the Parents Association spends a lot of time and effort raising money so the kids can afford the fees and to travel to competitions.
We also host a tournament at our school....not so much for the kids to compete but because it's a good opportunity to fund raise for our Marching Band.lol

We have considered and attempted many moneymaking schemes over the past 4 years I've had a kid in Marching Band.  The kids have tried to sell anything you can think of to raise funds.  We have had car washes, dinners, sold ads, etc.

We are hosting a Marching Band Tournament next month.  One of the fundraising schemes(along with selling food concessions, selling flowers and candy-o-grams to give to the participants)that is being done is a Basket Raffle in the high school and at the tournament that weekend.

I volunteered to put together a Basket for the raffle.
Of course, I am using some of my excess Toiletries to good use here!

I gleaned 2 large grocery bags of personal care items from my stash.  This is enough for 3 baskets!
Then I hit the Dollar Store for actual baskets/containers to present the items in and for clear cellophane wrap to make it all nice and yummy.  I've got ribbon and bows here already for the finishing touch.

So today, I divvied up the items and I have 2 woman's baskets and 1 man's basket.

Each basket has at least $40 in retail value of personal care items.  I'll actually "build/arrange" the stuff in the baskets and wrap them late next week.

The funny thing about all this.......I spent MORE on the Baskets and Cellophane Wrap than I spent on all the STUFF going into the Baskets!!!
Yes, I spent $5.30 in cash....but on the presentation stuff, not on the products.
The products were basically free.

Crazy, huh?

I hope the Raffle is a success and they realize some profits from this.

Sluggy

Traipsing About the Graveyard

Here's some thoughts from my latest forays into the local graveyards.  When I go to take photos of loved ones headstones who request them on Find A Grave, I look around at the other interesting monuments I see and take photos of them as well.  If no one has posted pictures of them on F.A.G., I post mine because you never know when their family will go looking online for them.  I also share the "interesting" ones with you all.
Aren't y'all glad to be lucky like that?! 8-)

I wanted to share this lovely memorial with you all.....

You gotta love a man who goes by the name of  "Toot", don't you?
Can you tell what he did for a living? lol

And isn't technology great?.....I realize you can't "see" the headstone up close, but to be able to take a photograph like that and etch it into a headstone with that much detail?  My photograph doesn't capture nearly enough the quality of this one.

Of course, I wonder how it will look in 80 or so years after the elements have had their way with this slab of polished granite.  It's so sad to see the state of some of these older headstones out here.....

This one is only 90 yrs. old and look how worn it is.  The quality of stones is so inconsistent.  Even within the same media the materials can wear badly on one stone and markedly worse on another.

How about these 2 headstones.  They are sitting next to each other in the cemetery where I went to take some volunteer pictures for Find A Grave.....

This is the one I went to photograph.

And this is the one right next door.
Notice the last name AND the husband's first names are identical.  Turns out the second guy is the son of the first guy.  Duh.

And I'm confused about something.  Obviously this 2nd couple liked to bowl and hunt.  But did Ann Marie have the shooting skills and Harvey have good aim at the balls?
This kind of stuff weighs on my mind people!

And this one here I have titled "She always gets the last word!"

Ernest and Violet Williams were married 60 years before Ernest went to his reward in 2001.
I am sure they had their share of "having words" with each other in those 60 years, as most married couples do.

Well Violet outlived Ernest by 5 years.
And since she was the last man standing(so to speak), SHE got the last word about what little symbols and icons to etch into the headstone that would be their memorial here on Earth into eternity.
The cross in the middle is pretty standard fare, but look at the pair of scissors and that ball of yarn......Violet's idea no doubt.  But what about Ernest's icons?  Unless Ernest made tin toys I don't see how a pair of scissors was representative of what he liked to do in life.

I am imagining the conversation in the living room back in the '90's.
As Ernest sat in his lazy-boy recliner with his copy of the newspaper, listening to some sports game on tv.

Violet: So what do you think Ernest?  I think I'm going to go for a ball of yarn or something crafty on my side of the headstone.....what do you think?   Ernest.....ERNEST?!

Ernest:  What?  What did you say?.....oh, the headstone again.  Why can't I enjoy my paper without you babbling on and on about this stupid marker!  What do I care?....I'll be dead!  I won't be looking at it so whatever.

Violet: Sometimes you are so pig headed I wonder why I ever married you!  You don't care about my feelings, do you?  Would it kill you to play along with me and help make a decision for a change?  After all Ernest, it IS your money.

Ernest:  And don't I KNOW IT!  Humph.....all that money for what?  A hunk of rock......

Violet:  Ernest!  You are just so mean.  You can get your own dinner tomorrow night!  sniffle, sniffle....wipes a tear or two away......you are just a monster.......quiet sobbing.......she hurries out of the room into the kitchen and takes a kleenex out of her apron pocket.....

Ernest: Violet!  Wait....come back!  There you go again......Violet turns and looks at him......I'm sorry, for real this time.  I'm just so tired tonight.  I didn't mean to get mad at you.  I've just had a bad week.  The fellas down at the VFW have been giving me fits over not going to Deer Camp last year.....and my blood pressure it up and that son of yours is driving me crazy with his calling here and asking me to invest in another of his lame brain schemes.  I knew we'd have problems with that kid from day one!
I've just been on edge and not myself honey.
I'm sorry....don't cry.......

Violet: Violet goes over to "her" chair and sits while dabbing at her eye.  Oh, I know you don't mean it.
I overreacted I guess.   You poor thing you.  Can I get you a beer or something?  I hate it when we fight.

Ernest puts down his paper and leans over and takes her hand and pats it.
Ernest: No, I'm ok.  I just want us to get along.  After all these years, we should be past stuff like this, right?  You just go ahead and put whatever you want on that headstone of ours.
Ernest raises his paper again to read.
Just make sure you don't put any of your girlie symbols and whatnot on MY side of the headstone!  Just put a buck or some antlers or a shotgun on my side of it....that'll be fine, mighty fine!

And for outliving her husband by 5 years, Violet gets the last words and her revenge on Ernest and 60 years of marriage by taking up all the real estate on that headstone with what SHE wanted on it.......

 

Sluggy