The Nursing CLE Event, an Interview & More Random People From the Past Bugging Me

As mentioned before, I went to a nursing conference recently on endometriosis. This actually took place at Lenox Hill hospital in their auditorium. Despite not being a nurse myself, I had a few reasons for going:

1. Networking (but to be fair, that's a reason for me to most things in life)
2. Comparing a medical CLE event to the numerous legal CLE events I've gone to, that thankfully I don't have to attend live if I don't want to at this point
3. Helping out a friend via accomplishing #1

After doing this, I had an interview for a story on my whole childfree experience. That publicity from Slate.com just keeps paying off in various ways. I wonder if that's also how random people from the past are coming out of the woodwork to contact me.

So, I went to this event & have some impressions:

A) These doctors & speakers were much better than many lawyers I've seen speak. First off, none of you are going to compare to Dr. Seckin's presentation where he had illustrations of his topic. People marveled at the production values he had. Very few attorneys could pull that off.

I also noticed more eye contact & sincere attempts to engage the audience. Another thing I've not seen often enough in presenters at legal CLEs.

B) I ordered the right food. Yes, you got a choice of lunch & I picked well since I liked my main course. The spread was nice & they posted signs telling you what items were. I thank that catering company for that. It's the first time I've seen that; some of us didn't live in households with very cosmopolitan menus so unless it's familiar to those folk, we won't tend to eat or try new things. Ironic that I'm not a foodie but I'm a Yelp Elite, isn't it? I know some of those folks are.

C) I didn't see younger nurses & I don't know what the custom is for them and business cards. No one gave me theirs so I didn't give mine. In some cases, I just didn't get the vibe to do it or feel that I was dealing with the right population. I'm trying to find the non-traditional, disaffected types.

For those who aren't aware, I do get vibes from people sometimes. I'm not great at it but I have gotten them before. When I don't get a good vibe or an open vibe, I'm not going to bother. That's just how I operate. I got that vibe big time from their celebrity spokesperson (not a big time person in case you were wondering).

As I've said before most people I've met in entertainment, even higher profile people, tend to be very nice if they hear you're a lawyer. This person didn't so believe me, that's going to be duly noted.

My sister wants to do nursing and all I can say after this is she'd better be darn good at science if she wants to be a success at it. I'm not sure if she is or what her feelings are on it.

After that, I had my interview & that went better save for this old lady in the restaurant who was remarking on my speaking. I hear her keep saying "She talks a lot!" (well, duh I was being interviewed so of course I was) & making other cracks as I'm doing the interview. When I came in, there was a lot of people but when we got to later in the interview, there were very few people.

I get asked one question after hearing this woman carrying on & in answering (and hearing her mutter again loudly) I mutter "Bitch" under my breath. My interviewer asked about it but figuring she may not have heard this bitchy woman, I didn't bring it up & just kept going in the interview.

After that, I didn't notice the bitch making more comments about me. She moved on to some gentlemen sitting to our left. I'm not sure if she was insane, if the restaurant knew about her or what the deal was.

I don't think going to the conference was a total waste (though I hate getting up early if I'm not getting paid for it) but I didn't really get to network & just didn't have much of a vibe. I figure if I do that sort of networking, I'd have to do just do it online through LinkedIn or something. However, I did observe that the way endometriosis is treated by many doctors & society is one example of the total disregard women are given in society. I also feel like at least the medical community is more concerned about people's day to day experiences & offering programs with information people can use when they walk out the door. I wish more CLEs had that; it feels like many of them don't have things I can use in my day to day life since I don't work in some mega-law firm or have a traditional job (note I didn't say "all"; I found training for Monday Night Law to be useful in day to day life).

I'd also like to see more programs talking about larger societal issues and perhaps teaming up with professionals in other communities & discussing the links between different areas. With many CLE courses you see in my field, you'd think lawyers exist in a vacuum or on an island someplace.

A few days ago, I get a LinkedIn connection request from someone I know. I approve it and then get another connection request from someone I know (or at least, know of). It's the director of alumni relations at my undergrad.

That came as a shock to me for a number of reasons:

1. I've told that office more than once that I would never give a general contribution to the school & spelled out exactly why. Part of it is that if I wanted to fund racism, I'd just give my money to the KKK instead of a pack of hypocrites who claim to be tolerant and accepting of all but kept protecting a racist frat that got them into the press with their antics & was reviled by a great many students there.

2. I told people who I did speak to from those days not to give out my contact information to the alumni office since I had no interest in giving them money. Everyone I talked to agreed to this condition, which got even more important after working with my film company.

Now I don't think anyone violated my trust but if they did, they'd regret it (as anyone who knows me would agree).

3. My name is different & I don't post personal pics of myself on social media. Nor do I use that old name in searches since it's not part of my identity and hasn't been in quite some time. That name has no connection to my legal identity; I've even referred to it as my slave name & won't answer to it.

Had I not gotten married, I would have paid money to change it once I had a good alternative.

After getting this random LinkedIn connection request and hearing about an upcoming alumni event in NYC, I decided I'd just be honest about my feelings toward my undergrad. To hell with anyone found what I had to say offensive or insulting or if it hurt their precious little feelings! My thought was (and has been) that if you're going to contact me after years & years, you're getting the same treatment you'd get if you were some random stranger who'd sent me a Facebook friend request. You're getting the real me, not some sanitized or artificial or PC version. Real me isn't going to censor herself or worry about offending you; real me is going to tell the truth & get her feelings off her chest.

That long lost relative who contacted me ages ago didn't get that my business requires me to watch my back & not be fully trusting of virtual strangers. If you don't get that, I can't explain it to you so I left that situation as is.

I got a response after writing this director, who informed me that the racist frat was no longer on their campus & that everyone has some bad experience at their undergrad (sorry, you won't be swaying me to give that school money after I managed to win in spite of what a rational person would see as the attempt to sabotage me & ruin my shot to live up to my potential).

She's the one who told me about the black sorority coming to campus; thank God they aren't having to deal with that. I would feel horrible for them having to try to get members while a totally racist frat is running around & probably subjecting them to total crap treatment. I may not agree with the concept of a racially separated sorority but from what I recall of the environment at the time for black folks, being a student there was no picnic & I think it would be wrong for some stranger to have to go through that.

After verifying that information on the frat's official website (since I vet everyone & everything as a matter of course), I decided I'd attend that alumni event on Monday. A former professor of mine (who is a LinkedIn connections) is supposed to be there.

In my message to this director, I also said I have no issue with talking to individuals or offering advice to alumni or new grads. You have to judge individuals on their own merits. I never mind requests for advice or informational interviews & have certainly done this for attorneys who wanted to work in the entertainment field. If you don't mind the unvarnished truth, I'll certainly give it to you if asked.

We'll see if those career advice articles that say try networking with your undergrad alumni network is valid for me or not. I hadn't really used that network since I don't live anywhere near my undergrad campus and only have a handful of people I deal with from that time; most of them are sorority sisters. Boy, if I meet that bitchy lawyer who told me I'd never make it, she'll be in for a shock. I'm not so sure she's around since I've never encountered her in nearly 5 years in the legal field & being at bar associations in Manhattan. Maybe I should try looking her up on LinkedIn since different name, different life.

That experience made me vow never to treat someone else that way. In short, she was a dream killing jerkwad who made assumptions about me & my life not to mention severely underestimating my hatred, disconnect & total square peg status with the South. I still remember her name & I mentioned this to the alumni director as well (yep, I discussed EVERYTHING I encountered that was bad though acknowledged that there were some good people around as well). I also wonder when this racist frat was booted off and what happened; as of 2009, I know they were still there so my moral outrage has been quite appropriate for years.

I'm also shocked that they finally let people film at the school; I remember it being a huge thing to deny folks that opportunity. Maybe some higher ups got a clue? Guess I'll see. The jury's still out on my feelings about that place or where it's going. Again, no general contributions but individual groups that helped me could get things from me when I had the means to do it.

If you spit on my giving advice or information, then I'm not into handing you money. Just a fact. To me, advice & information are free but useful if you haven't got the knowledge & savvy. Ask anyone who doesn't have a mentor & had to make a lot of mistakes on their own. Had they had someone to consult, they might have been able to save themselves from heartache & hassle.

Any smart person who hopes to get anywhere knows they aren't the foremost expert on everything & that they'd better keep learning if they want to get anywhere, especially from those who come around later on. They also know they won't live forever & aren't the start or end of a profession. I've felt this way forever, especially when I started out & was looking for guidance on things.

You know, there is one very good thing about those unresolved issues coming up from your past: you get the opportunity to get closure, speak out & put things to rest. Regardless of how things happen if someone reaches out to you, you've been given the power to embrace today & free yourself from some past, sanitized version of yourself. You get to say things you might have been afraid to say or felt you couldn't say in the past. If you're an adult, you get to stand on your own two feet & handle things your way.

Since I dealt with all this, it does feel like catharsis & weight off my shoulders. Time & distance can resolve conflicts you couldn't deal with or were too young for at the time. Plus, if I'm going to have to be in the public sphere I might as well confront things head on & not be a chicken.

Doing an extra gig on Tuesday where someone I know is the casting director (so it's more of an undercover boss kind of thing) & dealing with Comic Con on Thursday & Friday so my week's going to be eventful. Posts will be dealing with those individual experiences & believe me, you'll hear about any pricks I encounter at Comic Con (especially any big name types since I won't want to deal with them in my business or expose their shit to my colleagues).

General Musings, Part 29

Wow, haven't done this in a while. Some links I have for mini-rants are super old so I guess that means it's time to do another general musings post.

Got FiOS put in earlier this week for my phone & Internet after we'd been promised access to the service around 5 years ago. On Monday, I was having an antisocial mood & feeling depressed but managed to go to my first Monday Night Law session regardless. I think it went okay.

This past weekend, I went to a nurses conference on endometriosis. That's one aliment that's totally misunderstood & if you knew how it's treated by doctors/society in general, it's just yet another symptom in the utter disrespect and disregard for women that goes on daily in this country. Now I don't say this as some super man hater (anyone who knows me knows I'm certainly not one) but as fact of life. That experience will be mentioned in a different post.

I should also mention that I did an interview on Saturday after that on my experiences as a childfree woman. To support the contention that not every woman dreams of being a Mommy, read this. It should only be a shocker if you've been hardcore brainwashed by your religious upbringing or you're a total sexist moron (and you can indeed be a sexist without ever having a penis). Surprise, some of us have other ambitions in life! Sorry to those who now have to go without parents because their caregivers' heads have exploded from that revelation. I won't be taking care of you.

Also read this Dear Prudence letter about a family member trying to insert herself into her sister's reproductive choices. I'm glad most of the commenters told this woman to butt out. More people should be telling others to butt out.

Reading about this months back also disturbed me. Are there ANY standards for pharmacists to keep their licenses? Or have these states just not bothered to enforce them & just let these God bothering assholes impose their religious mores on the citizens of their communities?

It disturbs me to hear about any pharmacist playing God when it comes to contraceptive matters since if I did that, you can bet I'd have my law licensed swiped in about 3 seconds. You try not giving effective assistance of counsel to some client & claiming a divine right to do so because of your religious beliefs, even if that client was assigned to you by the court. Guess what? It wouldn't fly in the legal profession. They don't give a damn what you think or what you believe; as a lawyer, you're duty bound to HELP clients you choose to represent or that are assigned to you regardless. If you don't get out of that representation, you don't get to put your little pinhead beliefs ahead of some client's legal matter.

So if I'm held to those standards as a lawyer, does anyone care to explain why doctors & pharmacists get to play God with MY body? Why they get to outright lie to people & impose their will onto grown people like they will suffer ANY personal impact if some woman does or does not breed or get pregnant?

No, I absolutely do not think any of these pharmacists are truly ignorant on that law. It's been the law of the land for years that 17 year olds in the US can get Plan B; this is not new information. As for "oh, it was a lower level worker who didn't know?" Well, attorneys are liable for the conduct of their staff and paralegals; that means WE'D be in trouble for them violating ethics rules in our names & at our offices.

Don't pharmacists have the same liability for things their staffers do? If not, I think that ought to change.

I also wonder how this has been going. Again bothers me on many levels & more dealing with God botherers trying to impose their will onto adults.

I like that term: God botherer. My husband read it in a comic. It's apparently the British version of fundie. We decided to incorporate it into our vernacular when he first mentioned it to me a while back.

I also read this story & did not get why in the Hell you'd keep your seat if you had to sit next to some little kid that wasn't yours. How do you know that kid isn't going to be a total whiny brat? And why in God's name would you want to break up some married couple? They'd just talk or text to each other the whole flight anyway. I'd end up yelling to my husband so you'd never get any peace. Since you apparently now have to pay for this bullshit, I've just been given even more incentive to never fly unless it's on a private plane driven by a competent pilot.

Now for some more bravos to people with some sense:

* Now I'm not a fan of Clarence Thomas by any means (and I'm sure not a fan of his wife) but I do appreciate the fact that A) he's not some ostentatious jerkwad if you meet him on a plane if the young man who was sitting next to him on a flight can be believed & B) he made this statement about people who aren't from Ivy League Law schools. I wish more employers felt that way & actually DID something about it. Talk is cheap; action speaks volumes. I'm just glad someone else said it.

* Savannah Dietrich, who outed her rapists on social media. That just rocks & had to take courage. As a lawyer (though I don't handle criminal law), it doesn't sound to me like the judge was offering her any justice here. If it's a lie, they could sue for defamation of character. If that wouldn't be something worthy of a defamation suit, I can't imagine what would be. I've seen people get threatened with one for accusing people of far less than rape. As I recall, the judge didn't punish her for doing this since victims of all people should have the right to tell their own stories & keep the scumbags from doing it to others. I do not have sympathy for guilty people, which you can learn about if you read the link.

* Whitney Kropp. You may have heard of this story recently but if you haven't, she got elected to her school's Homecoming court as a prank (think Carrie White being on the ballot for Prom Queen in Carrie).

Little did her tormentors know that the entire community would rally behind her with retailers offering free services going toward this event & strangers on Facebook sending their well wishes. Her ultimate triumph was going out & getting applause from members of the opposing team and even pricks at this school.

Speaking from a position of former ugly girl, I believe the pricks at this school only applauded b/c of the egg on their faces. You have to wonder how many people there were her real friends vs. fame whores just trying to get attention. For a good reference, look at what happened to Muriel in Muriel's Wedding when she was getting married to a famous aspiring Olympic athlete from rich parents who was being covered in the press. At that time, she goes by Mariel. Her former friends who'd tormented her for years & are really shitty to her through the whole movie (there's a whole scene where they break up the friendship & proceed to assassinate her entire being) suddenly buddy up to her & serve as her bridesmaids. If you see this film, you'll know they're only in for the glory & because they are fame whores. They never give a damn about Muriel, to say the least.

By the time I was doing Homecoming, I was actually at a point where I was being treated with respect and getting cheers when I went out on stage. A true point of triumph at my school was if people started screaming out your name when you were on stage or being announced for something vs. just politely clapping. I got name screaming when I went out for Homecoming & let me tell you, that felt good to someone who'd been treated like shit by most of her classmates for years.

Lastly, a little lesson to those bullying shits (wherever you are): the kid you bully today will eventually school your sorry ass. You'll be stuck in some menial, common, boring existence where you're unhappy while the people you tormented will be doing far greater & awesome things. The people who grow out of this get it & later atone for their bullshit; the ones who don't continue to be sad & pathetic. In short, don't be a bullying asshole unless you want to grow up to be Al Bundy.

I was going to write more on this but I think I'll just finish up with some discussion on race (yes, again). I came across this story recently & apparently it's a huge uproar whenever any white person wants something separate yet it's okay in 2012 for minority groups to go have something separate.

Now, I'm not going back over what I've mentioned about my high school & experiences with racially segregated student union groups. I never asked about or attempted to join any that weren't of my particular classification so I have no idea whether the particular groups I dealt with were racist (mostly b/c I'm not much of a joiner, contrary to what one might think). I'd place bets that the Black Student Union at my undergrad probably would have been racist to me had I asked, though (especially with that whole leaving a gift for my new roommate & my getting nothing from nobody, setting the tone for my freshman year & leaving a horrid first impression). I mean, we had a group trying to get a black sorority onto campus called "Women Visualizing Unity" and I'll guarantee none of those leaders could have named even 3 members of my chapter! That pissed me off since I felt they were judging me, my sisters & my chapter without bothering to get to know us as people. I also felt my chapter was being neglected & it would get worse if that black sorority got onto our campus.

I hear they apparently have one there now & since my chapter's established now (and has a house), I feel a little better about that. If they are being racist (as my chapter never was when I was around & had better not be now), then I'd take issue but if they're not, cool.

Personally, if the minority groups are going to be racist to people who might actually care about or be sympathetic to their cause (regardless of if they are of that race or not) there probably should be a white group. Racism isn't just a white thing, folks! Anyone can be a racist. If you oppose it, you can't say it's okay to do it to white people or use that tired "white privilege" argument. You're either racist or you aren't & you have to apply the same standards to everyone. Oh, and I don't think "white privilege" exists if you're too low on the income scale.

Plus, I'm a natural redhead so I'm more of a minority than anyone. Don't lump me in with the "white people" because they don't like me either. A student union for natural redheads would be interesting but probably wouldn't work on most US college campuses. You'd have maybe 5 people if you were lucky. I think that one (at least any I started) would have to start welcoming other minorities as well since traditionally, we redheads have never had issues with other minorities. They actually understand us better than the "white people." Most of my friends weren't big on segregating themselves into groups like that anyway.

I think my mother would have been proud of my law school roommate for having that attitude about the Asian student groups we had there. She believes (and I do agree) that you should not cloister yourself off into groups of people like yourself since the world isn't just composed of those people. You have to deal with people who are different from you sooner or later. She also opposes all girls schools for the same reason.

Oh, and it seems the Supreme Court will soon be dealing with a case on affirmative action. I shared my various stories on the subject but if you want to, feel free. I never directly experienced it; it was just more of saying "Hey, poor white people exist & since you don't recognized me as a redhead and lump me in with them you need to be dealing with MY situation instead of assuming that b/c Ted Turner's daughter can afford to go here, I can as well!"

I'm not going into details on affirmative action here since I've discussed it enough (I'm the one who'd rather just kill the racists or at least get them out of positions of authority instead of punishing members of other groups for things they had nothing to do with to raise some members of another group up). I also believe people should consider class background instead of race; even friends of mine who came from more & were minorities themselves thought I made a good point on this. You'd definitely see different mindsets in institutes of higher learning if you get more poor kids, trust me. They'll make that place have diversity of thought & actually bring so-called different life experiences to the table.

Tending to a sick husband now & had a crazy couple days. Not fun. Now he needs to get on the computer.

Job Hunting Pet Peeves I Don't Think I Covered, DVD Censorship & Liberal Christians a.k.a.

Man, I have a TON of rants in me to write. I'll have to do another installment of appalling Craig's List ads soon, there's the upcoming trip to Comic Con, starting another year at Monday Night Law and general trying to catch up on things.

There's also been the recent plague of illness in my house & my husband's choosing to spend the day in our living room cloaked in darkness (and it was a sunny day). I can't do that during the day, even if I'm a little sick unless I got no sleep the night before. He had a headache but I can't function like that so I had to sit elsewhere & fire up the laptop.

From time to time, I do occasionally look into paying positions I see posted online that I might be qualified to do & aren't from mega-corporations. Oftentimes, I inquire about the job. I do this for multiple reasons:

A) My career, background & skills aren't typical. My film company work was set up specifically for me & my career ambitions. I also tended to get more work in things as a result of good service in jobs I had. Plus, if you put everything I've ever done or even have done recently in one resume, that resume would be a tome. No one would read it.

B) As a business owner, I'm all about efficiency. Even if I weren't one, I'm still concerned about it as a lawyer and steward of time. If you have a very competitive atmosphere, don't appreciate people's hard work & offer zero advancement or reward opportunities for good work, why do I want to bother dealing with you? If you require weekend work, why do I want to bother? If you engage in needless dog & pony shows and never tell anyone the truth, why would I want to bother?

C) I'm not the typical attorney & the typical legal environment is not for me. I also notice that people who claim not to offer these typical environments & want someone who isn't a typical stereotype are outright liars. Like anyone with a brain, I believe actions speak much louder than words.

I judge people & their businesses based on my interactions with them. You can even read here about businesses I thought did job searching well along with those who royally fuck it up. In fact, I start judging you when I read your ad.

If I see misspellings, you announce irrelevant information about a protected category, put in duties that lawyers don't actually perform or duties the person you're seeking to do can't legally perform them (like law students committing unauthorized practice of law) or you're asking for some very shitty job terms (like full time internships or $40K a year for a lawyer with 5 years experience & a demand to see a law school transcript), I will bypass you & may even ball you out for being a moron, an exploiter or God knows what else that's tarnishing MY name & MY field since you're purporting to represent it.

So when you have questions about an ad, don't you hate it when you ask questions & the person either doesn't bother giving answers or insists that you submit your resume & cover letter without knowing ANYTHING?

That outright pisses me off since I do explain why I'm asking questions.

Personally, I welcome people to ask me questions if they might not quite fit for a job my company posts. If you want to be paid for a non-paying position, I don't want you interviewing me & my CEO to then drop that on us when we're about to give you an offer.

I also don't want to send my materials someplace where they will just go in the garbage b/c the hiring person or HR rep is a small minded asshole who won't bother considering anyone with a legal license to do that particular role, even if they say they are not seeking a career there & don't mind doing it.

Nor am I working for a company that doesn't belong to me & isn't in the entertainment industry as an attorney for $35K a year. That is exploitation and sorry, not interested in being a slave to anyone. I usually ask for a salary range so I can get an idea of what the prospective employer's expectations are & list what I have made in the past to set a foundation for what will or won't be acceptable to me. If you can't meet that, lower your standards or find someone with less experience.

One is going to suffer: take your pick.

Unlike some people, I can take care of myself & don't need to be anyone's slave or victim. I didn't put up with that at my high school retail job so I sure won't do it when I'm about to hit the 5 year mark in admission to 2 states as a lawyer.

I also don't want to deal with yet another person who's going to pull a disappearing act. If you're not serious & can't commit to things, don't waste my time.

The reason I'm asking questions is to avoid wasting OUR time. That includes YOUR time. If you are too dumb to get this concept, then you have no business being an HR person or in any management position in a business. If you can't even say "I'll ask & get back to you," if you don't know the answer then you have shown me that your employer is probably a badly managed business I want nothing to do with.

If you're a CEO or head of the company & you do this, you have insured that I will stay far away from your business & warn people I know not to work with you since you have no concept of efficiency or time management.

Another huge pet peeve (particularly on Craig's List): demands to get MY resume and materials with MY personal information when the ad poster gives you ZERO information about themselves, not even listing a company name.

First off, slick, I have an increasing public profile. I'm on IMDB & last I checked, my LinkedIn profile was the first result when you Googled my name. I'm not a "Jane Smith" or someone with a super common name. There are significant safety & professional reasons for me not to give out my personal information to total strangers who I know NOTHING about.

If you're reading this blog for the first time, you should know that people in the entertainment industry DO get harassed by the general public. Not just actors but people who are higher ups in production companies or work in casting offices & other areas where random people will want to be your buddy b/c of your job. We don't want you asking us to read your script, audition your sister for acting work, meet famous people, or anything else that tends to come up when you work in this industry & random people find out about it.

There's also the more sinister side with stalkers & haters trying to stop people's careers, particularly for actors & anyone working in front of the camera.

You get information about me at MY leisure, not because you Googled me before ever talking to me. You might even find things that are illegal for you to consider in the hiring process.

Second, how is it fair to expect people to give you blood samples when you can't even give your company name in your ad for someone to research? There are scammers out there & lawyers especially have to watch out for them. It's about gotten to the point where I'll need to start asking to see financial reports before I work with an employer due to some of the experiences I've had. Even the appearance of shadiness is bad for a lawyer to work in, regardless of the employer.

I deserve the right to vet you just as you should get to vet me to verify what I say. If you refuse to give an equal exchange of information, I'm not dealing with you. How do I know YOU are legit & not just another scammer?

Some people could totally use a lesson in "treat others as you'd want to be treated." Would these chuckleheads give out their personal life stories to ads with zero information? Would they hand over all their details for some job they might not even find suitable for them due to salary, company fit, hours, unrealistic expectations, etc.? If you own a business & you wouldn't do this, then maybe you should NOT be expecting strangers to do such things.

I also heard that the next season of Tiny Toon Adventures is finally coming out but they've decided to leave off an episode where the characters were drinking to be cool & that was apparently aired only once. Apparently, Warner Bros has ignored the fact that the kids who watched this show are now ADULTS who can make their OWN choices on things & will most likely be buying this set instead of little kids who never saw it, never heard of it and very likely didn't watch it.

I feel like we should boycott the set in protest or complain about it someplace. Considering they've had plans for eons to release the Censored 11 (which I've talked about before), the same principles should apply here. Allegedly, people complained about that episode but who are we talking about? Old people who watched it ages ago? Parents who are too damn lazy to skip the episode or, gee, PARENT for a change & say "no" to their kids?

If kids have been exposed to online porn, Prince's '80s catalog, racially offensive cartoons in the '40s and '50s and even a Spike Lee movie or two, then why in the hell is Warner Bros censoring this DVD set that will be bought by adults?!?! You know, the people who have the disposable income to PAY for it. As I recall, I'm sure this set will be at least $30 if not more. That's not exactly easy money for a child to get & again, do these children pay rent or own their own homes? Do they not have PARENTS who would say "No you can't buy that," if they have an issue with this episode being included?

I hate the "we must protect the childrens" argument (misspelled on purpose) just as much as I hate the tradition argument. It's NOT my job or that of any entertainment company, performer or creative to shelter your little babies from real life. That's YOUR job, parents!

You notice the real parents never go around demanding this of creative types. It's time they & everyone else stood up to these breeding bullies & told them to shove it up their collective asses while perhaps getting Social Services involved to take those children out of such an abusive situation. Yes, expecting everyone else to parent for you is emotional abuse against your kids (that is neglect, after all) as well as little Hitler behavior that will probably get you taken out sooner or later when you piss off the wrong person. I think "unfit" is a perfect adjective for that kind of parent.

Lastly, meet some Christians who aren't assholes. Apparently, they are called liberal Christians. They also exist in one of the last places most of you would expect to find them: Oklahoma! Everyone describes that region as a bastion of intolerance, homophobia and right-wing Christian fundies who want to create the Christian Taliban in this country.

Guess those people would be wrong. Rev. Lance Schmitz & Faithful America sound like some good folks to deal with. Bravo, Reverend for calling the owners of Hobby Lobby on their bullshit.

In case you are not aware, Hobby Lobby is a crafts store owned by the Green family. The Green family is a pack of fundie Christians & we all know what fundie Christians are like; in case you don't, they're much like radical Muslims in their adherence to the concept of "my way or the highway." There's no room for moderation or fairness to people who are different with fundies; that's why they are "fundies," after all. Otherwise, they'd be moderates or mainstream Christians.

Hobby Lobby is suing the government over the Affordable Health Care Act, which means employers have to cover contraceptives. Their beef is that "it should not be forced to provide workers with health insurance that covers the morning-after and week-after pills." They claim covering this violates their religious beliefs.

The Green family apparently wishes to tell its employees how to live their personal lives & force any females working there to carry babies they don't want. This Rev. Schmitz said that not only should these assholes not get to use religion to deny women access to birth control but that they need to stay out of women's reproductive decisions since the issue is about contraceptives, not abortion as the fundies claim they are.

Look, fundies & anti-choicers: you lose all credibility with me and any rational thinking person when you dare to ban access to contraceptives while also banning abortion & cutting welfare. You get one or the other. You are NOT going to stop people from having sex & if you think you get to tell ME what to do, then you will be in for a bloody, vicious and no holds barred fight. Just as YOU have the right to wait until you get married to have sex or use it only when you want to have babies, I also have the right to do what I want to in my own life & make my own decisions free from you assholes telling ME what to do.

Do you hear me or anyone else who is pro-choice telling YOU to get an abortion? Are any of us telling YOU to have sex or when to have it? Until you do, you DON'T get to use your religious beliefs to order me around! Beliefs, I might add, that I DO NOT share, support or give any credence to. If I'm not telling you as a grown up what to do, then you don't get to tell me what to do either.

Otherwise, you'd better be ready to go back to the days when women were property, couldn't enter into legally valid contracts (meaning no more student loan obligations from women) & men were liable for anything their women did i.e. wives & daughters. You DO know what they say about there being nothing worse than a scorned woman, don't you?

I think their lawyer is totally lying when he says his clients aren't trying to suppress women or respect the beliefs of people who are different. Classic CYA stuff since they know if they admit to being medieval cretins, people will slam them. If there was one of these stores in my area, I would totally boycott. Heck you could probably also find this family's information & tell them off on this as you want.

How is this different from Chick-Fil-A, you may ask? Well, in the Chick-Fil-A situation the owner wasn't trying to deny insurance coverage or rights to gay employees nor denying them jobs or telling them to harass gay patrons. If they were doing that, as I said before, it would be a different story.

So, see not all Christians are jerks or micromanaging assholes. I told you so! The parishioners of this pastor's church should be proud since he is exemplifying true Christianity & I'll bet would make sure anyone who came to his church, regardless of race, orientation or beliefs, feel welcome. If more Christians were like these folks, we'd have fewer problems in the world. I'm glad more are standing up to the intolerant fundies who make religion look awful.

Tradition for Tradition's Sake: How Stupid!

So you've read about how my husband has a faux union, right? If you haven't, well pretty much any employee who works for NYC except maybe the MTA has a faux union (as I learned recently). He told me that when this union next had a meeting, he'd be showing up.

No sooner than he gets notification of it (which is incredibly short notice in lawyer/film exec land) being next week that he decides not to go.

Here's where I think there's some conspiracy here: it's at 7:45 p.m. at an area of NYC that is in a transit dead zone. You have to take 2 buses from the nearest subway stop in Flushing to get to the location. I've spoken before in this blog about how I feel the location of this meeting is a deliberate attempt to avoid accountability to the membership for the shitty behavior this union engages in (that is, ZERO advocacy).

Are we aware that ALL the librarians are now forced to work until 7 p.m.? Oh, and it takes 1 hour & 12 minutes to get there from my neighborhood where there are 2 library branches.

My husband pointed out this time issue in the private union social media area where some hot shot claimed that 7:45 meant 8 p.m. I want him to point out to this pinhead that it doesn't do shit for the people working at these 2 libraries in my neighborhood. That tells me that they're trying to freeze out the majority of people in this system.

Maybe some of my husband's co-workers are weak willed, spineless & stupid (in fact, I know some of them fit one or more of these categories as one of them was stupid enough to think she could try & censor ME of all people; don't think you won't be getting yours, Little Bitch). But guess what? I'm NOT stupid! My husband isn't stupid either. Nor are a good chunk of his co-workers, some of whom aren't little bitches to the system.

I asked my husband why he's nice to these fuckers who are supposed to be his "representatives." He doesn't work for them! They are not his bosses! They work FOR him & all his co-workers. They need to stop rolling over & be effective advocates. I swear, if I encountered them as a business owner I would laugh my ass off. I told my husband that I will happily pay money to someone in this faux union to get in their faces & not back down.

One justification these people offered for keeping the no strike clause was "tradition," claiming some of the clauses have been in the contract since the '60s.

Well, you know slavery was legal for hundreds of years as well. Should we bring THAT back? How about exempting members of Congress from insider trading laws? The lack of stock market regulation before the stock market crash that caused the Great Depression? What about continuing to deny marriage rights to gay people or having no regulation on our foods? Maybe we should also bring back child labor since that was tradition for centuries before modern times!

Tradition is the shittiest argument for doing anything, if you ask me. Using "tradition" as your argument for doing something or not doing it just means "I'm too much of a lazy & fat fuck to do this differently. I'm also too small minded to bother giving your idea any speck of credence, even though you're probably right."

Just because something is a tradition doesn't mean it's right, fair, useful or efficient. Times change, people change, communities change. Some "traditions" should be extinguished permanently. We don't have afternoon tea anymore, do we? Women aren't property & we don't have segregated bathrooms anymore.

Don't tell me you do something because of tradition. Tell me you do it out of respect or because a policy is sound, efficient, etc. I'm sure if you were alive during segregation you'd have been an anti-integrationist since integration was violating tradition. We can't have that! Oh, God forbid your stupid tradition isn't allowed to be used as an excuse to engage in hate crimes.

Whaa, whaa! Look how sympathetic I am to you & your "tradition." Nope, I'm not a religious follower in case you really wondered. Growing up in a religious family & seeing hypocrisy all the time tends to disillusion you from religion. Working with a would-be lobbyist who is trying to get clergy members to help him who tells you he has to engage in legalized bribery to get them to do anything instead of them being willing to do anything b/c it's "right" or the "Christian" thing to do hardens that cynicism.

If anything, people like Romney or Ryan or Akin are doing more to create atheists & agnostics than any atheist or agnostic leader ever could. I'm sure they're also helping build the ranks of the Satanists, pagans and followers of other religions the Christians hate.

The next time Todd Akin says something stupid, I'm tempted to mail a tube of super glue to his offices & enclosing a note suggesting he use that on his lips since they look so dull on TV. This happened on a episode of Designing Women with Susanne gluing her lips shut to where she couldn't talk. How I wish it would happen to him and all the other nutjobs that have taken over the Republican party.

Speaking of other stupid traditions, it's very fucking stupid to only vote for the white guy because all the other presidents have been white guys. If you're voting for people based on this, why don't you at least vote for the best looking white guy? What attractive ones have been there other than JFK? I mean, a good contingent of the population doesn't vote with their brains or based on a candidate's intelligence (if they did, people like Akin would never be in public office) so why aren't they voting for the pretty boys?!

If I ever got thrust into politics in some way (since I have gotten thrust into many things in my time since I opened my mouth to object to something or point out the shortcomings so why should politics be any different), I would go toe to toe with any of my so called "prettiest" local representatives. I know I could win that contest hands down. I'd also want to win the "loudest, scariest bitch" contest. That would be one I'd wear with pride & let's face it, you're not going to beat a natural redhead at that one.

Oh, and another time "tradition" is used as an argument to do something? Fraternity & sorority hazing. Do we find that acceptable? How many news stories do you see & hear about how horrible it is? How many TV movies have portrayed the evils of Greek life with hazing as a starring role or outspoken co-star?

My chapter didn't do it. Let's face it: if they had I & most of the members would have left and I'd have ended up doing bad things to any tormentor; I tend to be vindictive & hold grudges that last a lifetime. I also go for the jugular so think of messing with me like you would messing with a tiger or other wild animal that kills humans.

So, in sum if you're in favor of doing something because it's "tradition" then you must also favor hazing, slavery, no rights for women, no food safety standards & child labor. After all, a tradition is a tradition is a tradition. If you don't examine your own for rational purpose when someone suggests change, then you are at best an idiot & at worst an animal who should be put down with some well placed bullets.

So What's Stopping You?

This is what I've asked myself lately. In particular, I've asked myself that when it comes to a paying day gig.

My husband got me into the show Bar Rescue. For those who haven't seen it, it's about this guy named Jon Taffer who comes in and attempts to save failing bars on the brink of closing. I like his no-nonsense, no bullshit attitude. It's much like mine. Some of the owners & people you see him deal with on this show are something else.

They went to one restaurant (the pirate one) whose staff reminded me of how some of my husband's acquaintances would run a restaurant if they had the money to get one. They're hard core gamers: live action, going to conventions, the whole nine yards. I see them having a similar disregard for business concerns & customers to their establishment. The pirate people were extremely hard core in the whole pirate thing & dismissive of customer wishes or concerns.

My husband actually took the extra step of reading Yelp reviews on the places featured on this show. Apparently, many of them went back to their old ways & the owners didn't learn shit. Many of the businesses are now listed as "closed."

This sort of thing pisses me off since if I had the means to have my own restaurant/hospitality business, I'd do a far better job than these assholes who apparently have more money or more pride than common sense. In the most recent episode (sorry if I'm spoiling things for anyone), the owner actually rehired a manager who admitted on camera to stealing from him!

What the fuck is wrong with you if you would rehire a thief? If I'd been that owner, I'd have called the cops on that guy immediately & had him blackballed from my industry. This after my husband got done breaking the thief's hand or making him miserable in some other way. If you did that in the entertainment business, I guarantee you'd get blackballed.

If you did that as a lawyer, you'd be disbarred & maybe even sent to jail for embezzlement.

I've also noticed lately job ads where companies were seeking writers and the like. I looked at the profile of one start-up owner & he's got a JD. If feels like a lot of businesses are started by lawyers. I saw a wingwoman company, a writing start-up, all sorts of things.

So if all these lawyers & JDs can start these non-legal businesses, I ask myself this post's title. I think pretty much any unemployed lawyer should ask themselves the same question.

I think with me, it's more trying to have my current business get funding. And you know what? If my business had funding, we'd do a far better job in our affairs than many of these dumbass owners. We sure wouldn't be harboring thieves or letting our employees be disrespectful to people coming in to help us (as an ex-bartender at this restaurant was to Jon Taffer without anyone telling her to shut up; I'm glad Jon Taffer pretty much did what I would have done in the same situation). Since that's my dream & my passion, it's not hard for me to stick with it. More people are even viewing it as a viable business. I even got a professional pass to this year's Comic Con in NYC (which I'll be doing a post on when I go since it will be my first time going) & am getting a custom shirt with my company's logo to wear for a day of it (my husband's idea; he's getting one as well).

My concern is finding a way to use my skills & talents to get a paying day gig that I get some autonomy in. It's more like needing to not only know what I want to do but how to execute it without spending money & where I can make money.

Just so you know, if you're a lawyer you have much more knowledge than you think you do. If you worked in customer service for a bunch of years, you know more than you think. If you had a nightmare job, you know how not to treat people.

I started at my company having no knowledge of what I was doing so I believe anyone who's gotten a law license can learn new things. We have technology & the Internet today; if you're smart & motivated, you can do lots of things. As a friend of mine would say "No excuses!" I say "No bullshit!" You have to live your own life & if you're going to be miserable, you will be the person who suffers most from that one. YOU have to live inside your own head; I don't.

Oh, and if some employer is too stupid to get that concept then they don't deserve your time, blood, sweat or talent. However, I do like this CEO's sentiment and back it up 100%. I have never objected to profiting off the stupidity of others. Hell, many industries wouldn't exist if someone wasn't profiting off consumers' stupidity. Who'd ever buy a luxury brand product? Who'd pay crazy prices for drinks in a bar? Who would buy artwork? As long as nothing illegal is going on, business owners shouldn't feel any qualms about taking money from stupid people. As a matter of fact, I'd like to see Edina Monsoon's (of Absolutely Fabulous) taxing suggestion come into play: "How about a stupidity tax?! Just tax the stupid people!" It would save me & many people I know a fortune.

Don't Eat Before Going on A Chocolate Tour, Educating New Lawyers & Other Musings

Oh, who the hell am I kidding. This entire blog is my musings! These are just going to cover more of what I've done recently.

First off, my book review for Hello Kitty Must Die was just published in the latest NYCLA newsletter (the New York County Lawyer). Go to page 14 to read it. That whole nearly missing my train did actually happen when I was reading this book. I was reading the book as my train had stopped & realized that we were at the stop I needed to get off at to catch my next train. It was one of those "Oh, shit" moments though I could have gotten to my stop if I'd missed that one. It just would have been more annoying to get to that freelance gig. I was actually early in the book when that happened.

Oh, and what you're thinking is happening in the first chapter is totally happening. That reference will either fly right over your head or make you laugh your ass off like I did after writing it. I like to think this particular selection for a book review is unique since it's not the sort of book that only lawyers would want to read. It also is anything but bland or boring.

Perhaps this is yet another example of why I should not teach since I'd be making things interesting by picking the books where sex, violence, all the "forbidden" but captivating stuff happens. I believe history & many things in general come alive if you can relate them to people's real life, day to day experience. I know I was never interested in classes or discussions that didn't have some of the zeitgeist of today in them. Translation: make things relate to ME & my life if you want me to care about your subject. Passion also never hurts.

Speaking of passion, I went to the law student's welcoming reception yesterday at City Bar in an official capacity. Apparently despite my doing nothing for the ending of my term in the Entertainment Committee this year, I'm still on the membership roster. My purpose in going was to be honest & show that City Bar is not a place where stuffiness has to rule. It may be the majority opinion but that's not to say you can't make bar associations fit you if you aren't the stereotype. If I've managed to get some acceptance with these bar associations & make them fit ME, what's to stop anyone else from doing the same thing?

After all, I got thrown into the mix by nomination; I didn't seek things out so I do have a legit argument for demanding acceptance for who I am.

It seems my approach was a good one since I had law students & grads talking to me and asking me insightful questions. I was honest since first off, I'm not a shill & if you want me to be one you'll have to pay me and I'll have to at least be neutral about your cause. If I'm violently opposed to your cause/purpose/mission, there's not enough money in the world for me to lie about it. You can at best buy my silence but that does not make a good shill. I also noticed people walking up to me as I spoke to one or two people; maybe I was that interesting?

Second, a friend of mine is forming a new bar association & I did see some disaffected folk. I made a specific mention to one person who approached me & totally struck me as just the sort of person we could appeal to.

Third, I told people things I'd have liked to know when I came in as a new lawyer. I really didn't have mentoring & still feel like the only mentoring I'm really going to get will be through my own methods via committee (since I've never met one person who's doing every single thing I'm doing & has the same status with folk).

Finally, I'm just not a liar. I would hate someone doing that to me so I believe in not lying to folk who didn't start trouble or cause problems with me. Those people deserve the benefit of the doubt & my honesty.

For my own committee, I touted networking since that's something I've found useful. When you're one of the youngest members someplace & you're asked about an attorney in an area different from yours while in a committee with many established attorneys (way more established than you) who are in those different areas, you can start seeking referrals. I've even referred people from this committee when asked about an area that I knew someone in the committee did. Because of them being in the committee & my mostly dealing with creative types, I figure the folk I recommend are at least receptive to creative people and won't be assholes to them.

Point blank, if I like you & remember you for a certain area that comes up in conversation you're likely to get a potential client from me. I've done this for Twitter followers as well so if you follow me on Twitter & are tolerant of my views (or at least my 1st Amendment right to speak), that puts you ahead in my book. Being an ass to me means you won't be getting a referral & I'll steer folk away from you if it comes up in conversation.

I figured the networking angle would be effective since the people being there obviously had some interest in it, everyone wants to network (at least if you've got a brain, you do) & newer attorneys definitely need to be doing it. If you're a business owner, you absolutely must do it or get a partner who is willing to do it or you're going to fail. Even the established ones have to adapt with the times, have backups for if people retire, die, etc. Contacts also come in handy for vetting (which you do a lot of in entertainment).

Plus, I like the fact that being on that committee is an informal means to meet people & earn their respect without having to be a Rhodes Scholar on an issue.

Today, I had that make-up day for the chocolate tour. Oh, my God! It was worth it. It was through Celebrity Planet & this thing is typically booked through forever & a day but last week's tour guide was kind enough to reschedule me for a close date.

A big part of this tour is samples & getting desserts from places you'd normally have to wait in long lines for (such as Magnolia Bakery, which is apparently well know from Sex & the City; I watched it with my former friend in NC in blocks & couldn't tell you what episode anything in NYC was featured since I had to forget things from there to do writing, not to mention the whole negative association with the former friend).

Normally, this tour is $50 per person but I got a discounted rate through Living Social (you've got to love those deal websites when the vendor takes the voucher & isn't a dick). Deal websites = a frugal person's best friend.

As part of the tour, you get chocolate samples & dessert samples. We were getting free cupcakes from Magnolia & figured they might be tiny, specifically smaller samples than what you'd normally get.

Oh, no. These were HUGE, FULL cupcakes. Chocolate with chocolate buttercream icing. They were good. No, not just good. Incredibly fucking good!! However, eating my cupcake did make me full. We also got free cookies at Milk & Cookies (again expected a small portion). Nope, we got still warm double chocolate chip cookies that were also incredibly fucking good. I had to eat mine gradually as we were going to the next stop.

After that, it became the pig tour for me. Also got the best cannoli in NYC (literally, this bakery's chef beat Bobby Flay in a cooking throw down). You can find this at Pasticceria Bruno in the Village.

On top of chocolate pieces from super fancy chocolate (and we're talking quality, meaning it's very filling), I'm still full as I write this at 10 at night. Only a little hunger is peeking through. Imagine if I'd gone last week after eating lunch before hand. I'd have died & the experience would have been wasted on me.

We also got a special bonus in our tour: while at a different site, we met a woman who's family owned the space downstairs. Since we were on the tour & had lots of samples of sea salt chocolate (which I also like & our tour guide said she could have some), she offered to give us a tour to the backyard gardens in the building. I took pictures & our tour guide said it was the first time he's ever gotten to see any. The steps are just very narrow & I had to watch my head to get down there. Getting that glimpse of old NYC was a great added highlight.

While on this tour, I also got a flyer for yet another sample sale right in Soho so after the tour ended I stopped by there. I saw one item I'm a maybe on since I actually could use it but I'm not wild about the price (less than $100) & don't know if it's something I ought to go for or not. I asked the sales person how long they were going to be there but she didn't know. I tried on some things to try & get my size in Calvin Klein so I'd know for ordering purposes (apparently, I'm also a 2 there).

This was actually my first food tour ever & my first walking tour. Some great hints for tours:

1. They aren't just for tourists. Most of my group lived in NYC, Jersey or the surrounding area. I wasn't aware of some of these places so now I have resources to get food or find recommendations for others. I collected business cards so I would remember addresses though I'm also going to write online reviews (since I had the food, I can technically do that).

2. You probably won't enjoy a chocolate tour unless you're a chocoholic or at least the type who can't have too much chocolate in life. I might not be able to eat tons of chocolate in a sitting but I don't think I'd ever get sick of it & never want to see it again. After all, I'm a former Godiva employee & didn't get sick of chocolate after working there. Nor did I get fat from it; I think my weight stayed the same.

3. Don't eat before you go!!! My stomach was growling but I had a few Wheat Thins before leaving the house. This was just the right amount of food & that was as I was rushing out to try to get to the train so I wouldn't miss the rescheduled tour.

4. Wear your comfortable shoes if it's a walking tour. We did a lot of walking & I am definitely feeling it still.

5. Finally, if it's sunny out & you're in the sun wear some sunblock (especially if you burn like I do). That probably saved me from killer sunburn today.

I definitely feel like I got my money's worth here. Go if you can.

Sample Sales & Thrift Store Shopping: A How-To Guide

Okay, I freely admit that this might be a post that bores the hell out of you straight men & lesbians. However, since it's my blog & I do write it for my enjoyment and amusement first and foremost here we go. Plus there will definitely be some ranting along w/this little "how to."

Today, I was going to do this chocolate tour that took me ages to book but I ended up being late & missing it. Since the meeting place for the tour was at the same area as a sample sale store I knew of, I decided I'd stop in to browse there. My husband also ordered me to take some money out & "have fun."

*No worries, I'm getting a make-up day for the tour.*

One fact about me: I'm not very good at having spontaneous "fun" all by myself. I don't like spending my own money (and I especially hate wasting my own money), I'm not going to cheat on my husband (eliminating one sort of "fun" you might think of) & if I don't know where things are, I don't like to just wander aimlessly since I'll eventually get bored, exhausted, have sore feet or who knows what else (sunburn? bug bites? busted eardrums or a headache from noisy children?).

I also tend to prefer shopping online since I can find my size (a rarity in NYC unless I go to specific stores where I know they carry it), some sites have free shipping as well as returns & oftentimes, I find things online that I can't find in any store remotely near me. Seriously.

A perfect example is a long skirt slip for this long white skirt I have that's ridiculously sheer. Searched online, found a website that had the length I needed & I was good to go. No lines to fitting rooms, no spending a ton of money on transit travel to get to other areas of the city & no waiting in sweaty subway stations.

But I happened to have time on my hands so I thought "Okay, you know about these sample sales. Why not go check them out?"

For those who aren't familiar with them, here's a vocabulary lesson: a sample sale is a store or building you can go to in order to get discounted clothing. It's typically designer stuff that retails for a shit ton of money (we're talking hundreds & thousands of dollars). These are typically items from the last fashion season or so.

Here are more definitions in case you need them:

A thrift store is a place that sells clothing someone else didn't want anymore. If you're smart, you only go to the ones where they wash all donations before they hit the sales floor. Some places don't do this & especially in NYC, you do NOT want to buy something that could have bedbugs, roach eggs, etc. It will cost you dearly if you end up with some infestation b/c of clothing you bought.

Oh, and a vintage store sometimes claims to be a thrift store but it's really an overpriced place where you can buy things from the past. Unless you have a trillion dollars, are lazy or a particular store is the only place ever that has some unique, one of a kind item you'd just die if you didn't get, don't waste your time here. I typically don't.

Now that we've got that out of the way, here's some more general info on shopping outside the major chain stores or outlets for the chains.

1. If you're tiny, you probably won't find anything in your size. Why can't there be a sample sale just for women who wear my size?!?!? It feels like every sample sale I go to is overflowing with clothes that are way too big on me. Every time I see something I like at one, it's usually way too big on me. It's worse when I see something I like & there's no tag telling me what size the garment is. If I can't see a size, I'm not going to waste my time. Got that? You shouldn't either, whether it's for your or someone else.

2. Why was everything I saw at the first sale I went to (which happens regularly) so sheer? Seriously, they had $30-50 tops there & you could see my hand when I put them inside the garment to test the sheerness. In some cases, you could see the color of my hand!!

I know I can find prostitute clothing for much cheaper than at a sample sale. If you're a woman that gives a damn about not showing her bra or the color of it for the entire world, that hand trick is a good way to determine if something is too sheer. Think of it this way: if you can see your hand contours & certainly if you see your hand's color, that's what your bra will look like under that shirt.

I'm not even speaking of things that looked like club wear. This was stuff that if it had less sheerness, you could wear to work. But God forbid we women get options that don't make us look like whores.

Is this training for the new Romney led world order? Are some fashion designers taking payoffs we aren't aware of? Maybe clothing makers should hire some super frumpy women to make sure things aren't too damn sheer; then they could have something constructive to do instead of annoying the rest of us by calling for censorship of movies, television shows & shoving their mores down our throats.

3. If you are not fashionable, do not waste your time at a sample sale. You probably should also avoid thrift stores that carry lots of different types of merchandise. For those with no fashion sense, this is where that gay friend who knows how to dress comes in handy. Things usually aren't in order, there's lots of bright colors & it's easy to get overwhelmed. I realized today that I leaf through clothes on the racks like my husband leafs through comics in a cheap box. I can go through quickly & assess what would or wouldn't work for me. If you're not that good, you really shouldn't attempt it without help from someone with a fashion sense. These places do not have an abundance of sales people & chances are, there isn't going to be a sales person who can give you personal attention in your clothing selection like you'll find in a more expensive, fancy store.

Granted places like Target don't have those people either but it's much harder to mess up there. You don't need great fashion sense for any retailers that mostly sell the basics. There are tons of stuff at sample sales that are (at least in my view) so not my style & way too flashy or just doesn't look like something you should be wearing in public.

Remember, things that look good on fashion runways are not necessarily things you should wear to visit family or flirt with the UPS guy (sounds cliche, I know but I have heard of women actually doing this; I'm not one of them, though). Listen to that fashionable friend, family member, whoever you bring if you haven't got a sense of style; ideally, that person is honest & won't let you buy a fashion disaster (and I have seen a few, trust me).

4. Try things on before you buy them. If the place doesn't have a fitting room or even a curtain that fully covers a platform, you shouldn't waste your time. I realize Joyce Leslie (at least one location I know of in NYC) has a wide open dressing area for women & if you had a gym teacher you didn't like changing in front of for fear she was checking everyone out, you may be the expert on changing clothes without having to show private parts but I personally have a real problem with a place that can't be bothered to have a changing area. No self-respecting woman would buy ANYTHING she couldn't try on first, especially if she had to then take a train ride back to the store to return that item if it didn't fit her.

When I ask for a fitting room & you say you don't have one, you've officially lost my business unless I'm getting a vest, sweater, coat or something I can try on that doesn't require me to perform a strip show for you & everyone else in the store.

5. Finding things at sample sales & thrift stores is an art. It takes a lot of time, patience, knowing what looks good on you & what doesn't, knowing what you need (since I have so many clothes, I try to buy things that are different from what I already own or that will look great with at least one thing I have already), etc. You don't do it when you're in a hurry & I wouldn't recommend buying gifts for people in this manner unless the person you're buying for pointed out a specific item & said "I want that" or you know the person well enough to assess his/her taste in clothing. This is not something just anyone can do.

The second & third sample sales were better but some of this stuff did come up (things I wanted not being in my size, sheerness or something new in a piece I liked spoiled my interest). I had great luck at one sample sale but I don't think it's around anymore. Sadly, I saw yet another piece there I would have gotten but felt like it was bringing the total too high. I also once saw a white skirt at a sample sale that I still kick myself for not getting since I have yet to see another one in the same style.

The last piece of guidance I can give on thrift store & sample sale shopping is that if you see something that you absolutely MUST have, get it since you might not see it again. I seriously still kick myself for not buying one of these really cute 80s style prom dresses I saw at my local Urban Outfitters in Atlanta before I moved. I didn't want to spend $50 on one (I was trying to save money since I had to quit my job to go to law school) but then I never saw them at any other one & didn't find an 80s style prom dress until years later at a thrift store in NYC. If you think there's any chance you'll be kicking yourself if you don't get something, that means you need to get it.

Pets Aren't Children or Dolls & God's Bitch Slap

After watching the new episode of My Cat From Hell (I've warned my cat not to get any ideas from it) on Saturday, I saw Jackson Galaxy get mad over something that is also a peeve of mine. I don't think I've covered it so for those of you who haven't seen that episode, I'm going to share it.

He was annoyed because he was dealing with a case of a woman dressing her dogs in clothing. These assholes even tried putting something on the cat later on to calm him down (though the real problem was the mother who refused to treat her dogs as dogs; she was treating them like babies).

What is with dressing dogs in clothing? I can understand a sweater if you're going outside in a blizzard or something but to make that a uniform? Uncool! When I was little, we tried putting our T-shirts on our cats & they hated it. I had only one cat that actually purred when she was in one. Know how many I had growing up? Well over 20 in the course of my childhood. At one time, we had 13 because of the birth of kittens.

Generally speaking, I'm not for dressing animals up but that's especially true if you're forcing them into clothing. Stop doing that, you asshat!!! They are NOT babies!

Maybe we should force YOU to wear something & see how YOU like it. Plus, if you want a baby so much maybe you should go have one or adopt. There are certainly enough unwanted kids in this country for you to pick from.

Though if you think only adoption agencies for humans are strict, you'd be wrong. Consider this piece about rescue shelters. After reading it, I concluded that I'd rather just get a cat from the local animal shelter or through acquaintances. My family generally got cats because we had quite a few that lived outdoors & people dropped them off at our house, figuring they'd get fed. We also had cats just show up at our house & start eating food alongside the outdoor cats.

My mom even named one Heath Barkley after a character on Bonanza because, according to her (I've not seen Bonanza myself so can't verify this one), the Heath character just showed up one day, was embraced by the family and got a share of the family's money.

I would have to bitch slap someone if they dared to tell me I wasn't qualified to care for a cat, considering I've probably had more experience in my life with cats than most people. Most cats also like me & bond with me pretty quickly; I have a temperamental kitty at home as proof. He hated or had indifference toward my husband's exes but loved me right away. He even slept on the bed with me when I stayed over the very first night he met me (I was sleeping in hubby's bed since we were dating at the time & he slept elsewhere). Cats know the difference b/t people's scents so I figured it was his way of telling my husband "You'd better be nice to HER. That's my human. Don't mess it up!" I also get along better with cats than humans since cats don't pretend to like you then trash you behind your back; with them, what you see is what you get.

Basically, I believe in treating cats as cats. Not to say you can't call them your furry children or put their names on the Christmas cards but don't dress them up in clothes, worry about them being exposed to germs (as I told my father when he insisted on giving our cats bottled water, "They eat dead mice in the woods.") or put diapers on them unless they've having age related issues leading to accidents (meaning you got the okay from a licensed vet & you're not doing some home remedy you found online). I don't force schooling on my cat, take him to psychologists or force him to socialize with other animals. I love him but we realize he is a cat. A very smart cat, but a cat.

Now, if you believe people can bitch slap others, I think God is also capable of it. For instance, I think the whole Issac situation is God's bitch slap to Republicans trying to take free will from women. Hey, if these idiots claim tornadoes & hurricanes are God's punishment for society's moral decay I can certainly say Issac is God bitch slapping these Republicans for using His name to promote their shitty, fascist, non-religious agendas that completely violate His word. No God I believe in would ever put his marching orders into the mouths of people like Paul Ryan, Todd Akin or Michelle Bachmann. I think they have some unpleasant surprises waiting for them in the after life along with their religious sponsors but that's a whole other story.

Apparently, that black hole I no longer associate with also (in my view at least) got a bitch slap from God by way of a miscarriage. Guess who the daddy was? Yep, same deadbeat guy. This man must have a magical penis or something since sane women would never sleep with a guy who's unemployed, has zero ambition & a baby mama who has so little regard for her child that she's letting the other woman watch it (and he apparently is sleeping with other women). Thank God I got out of NC and that old neighborhood! It seems that place has turned into some sexual candy store for young, mostly illegal Mexican men.

So if you're into classless white women who like being bossed around (not natural redheads, though), it seems you'd be very happy in my hometown if you're under 35, hail from Mexico and have zero ambition. Maybe you could even get a green card marriage & not have to worry about an anchor baby. Apparently, white women with no self-esteem believe you've literally got a magic penis. I don't get it myself but I feel like I at least dodged a bullet. I couldn't in good conscience pray for this black hole after hearing about that miscarriage. I can only hope that maybe God's bitch slap will get through & this person will straighten out her life, be a proper parent, right the wrongs she caused and accept some responsibility for her actions. That, however may be way too much to hope for or expect. I still assert that you can be a decent person without being religious; she just needs to take care of her responsibilities, decide what she wants to do in life & regain some self-respect, integrity, etc.

Yes, sometimes things that happen to you in life are God's way of bitch slapping you for being stupid. When words don't work, a bitch slap will sometimes get the job done.

The GOP is Harboring Rapists & Why Roseanne Bar Would be the Best President EVER

So, as a woman with a fully functioning reproductive system (who thankfully got a tubal before all this crap started) who was in an attempted rape situation, knows actual rape victims, spent time on family law cases where social services was involved & who knows other women who haven't been fixed but can still reproduce, the words of Todd Akin disgusted me on a personal level. The further defense of his words by a number of Republican leaders, including the Vice Presidential nominee & the GOP party platform's revised language piss me off on a fundamental level that you're not going to get unless you are a rational thinking person.

I find it sad that society has so many stupid, clueless or maybe just outright sadistic people in it; honestly, it's enough to trigger someone to go on a random shooting spree in some conservative hellhole section of the country. I wouldn't blame such a shooter one bit. Right now, I warn every single person who votes Romney/Ryan in this next election (especially women) not to come crying to me if THEY or ANY female relative they care about ends up raped & pregnant then is forced to carry that rapist's baby or get his permission (as one Alaska Republican proposes) to get an abortion. You will have elected those shitheads & allowed it to happen.

You'd also better not cry to me if there's no viable entertainment industry, 1st Amendment or any rights in general to do anything fun because the leaders YOU elected & endorsed took away all your rights and turned the United States of America (Land of the Free, Home of the Brave?) into a fiefdom governed by the Christian Taliban & big business.

Having grown up in a Baptist practicing home in the South, I'd like to ask who these old, white motherfuckers think they are to take away MY fucking free will?

GOD gave EVERYONE free will, did He not? So, GOP what are you telling us with your little scheme to control women? Do you think you are above God & get to subvert His will? Clearly, you do. But I've got news for you shits. Try taking control over my body away & you'd damn well better be re-writing laws so we go full on to being back to property. No being arrested for crimes, no civil offenses, no pursuing us on debt collections.

In fact, you'd better be cancelling the student loan obligations of every single female in this country since women are too stupid to be able to commit themselves to contracts. Women will now be allowed to get away with murder, literally. It all comes down to their fathers & husbands if we go the Republican way. We'd better also take away rights from minorities to & all people of color will not get to be on television or make any living at a high level job. You'll also have to cancel their student loan debt obligations since minorities are also too stupid to enter into contracts.

So, shithead men who want to espouse all this controlling women crap? You'd better hope the women in your lives actually like you b/c if they hate your guts & you'll be held liable for any wrongdoing they commit, the smart ones will kill, lie, cheat, anything to get your ass locked up in jail where you can be some big man named Bubba's prison bitch. She could also bankrupt your sorry ass so you won't have any money to get guns, hire hitmen, anything fancy like that. Oh, and you'd better never fall asleep in her presence since she'll just kill you & never be responsible. Remember, women are too stupid to be held accountable for ANYTHING!!!

I also find it incredible that Jesse Lee Peterson, a black man, had the gall to try & shut down women's rights, as you can read here if you have a Facebook account. If you want to contact this bigot and remind him that he should be the last person saying women are too stupid to be business owners & exist in his world, just go here.

That goes for any minority who suffered discrimination on any level in this country. You sure aren't going to get sympathy for your cause or anyone to help you when you go around bashing other groups. In marriage & all, who do you think is really in charge? As the old saying goes, it's women.

I certainly hope these women withhold sex from these bigots; if they're already doing that, they need to expose them to a sex explosion (if not from their privates, maybe they can outsource it to some poor unemployed law grad; you know, someone who can have an intellectual conversation who they might see again & who'd be much harder to belittle than the average hooker). Personally, I'm in favor of going even farther & castrating them since we sure don't need more sexist bigots ruining life in this country.

Those who've been super loyal Republicans need to wake up & realize we're not dealing with the Alex Keaton type Republican or a Ronald Regan. We're dealing with something much more sinister: totalitarian wannabes who don't want to live & let live but would rather shove their way of life down your throat. I'd say you're dealing with aspiring Hitlers or Stalins. These people have no business having any power; I wouldn't trust them with a child's lemonade stand or even a pile of garbage. I don't recall Bush (either one) telling raped women they MUST have their rapist's kid or get his permission to abort it.

I'm sure we all know about Akin's words so I won't repeat them but anyone using the term "legitimate rape" sounds like a rapist to me. Anyone defending such a thing is just a rapist who wouldn't dare admit it, if you ask me. That phrase & his remarks are rapist talk if I've ever heard it. It sounds an awful lot like an alcoholic telling you about "justified binge drinking." No such thing, retard! We don't need cutesy little qualifiers to excuse deplorable behavior & to use them is just absurd.

I can tell Todd Akin has NEVER been to a rape crisis center, spoken to any rape victims or children born from rape, spoken to anyone who grew up in the foster care system or ever visited a social service agency. Uninformed people have ZERO business making laws for everyone else. Why don't we just have cats making our laws? How about dogs?

Maybe I should start making laws about sports since I'm such a fucking expert on them. Except I'm really terrible at them, was never on a sports team & haven't spend much time with athletes. Perhaps I should also make laws governing the construction industry & manual labor since I know so much about those areas as well.

It's time for a requirement that you don't get to make laws on things without doing some damn research. You should be forced to go to rape crisis centers, visit small business owners from ALL areas of the country, whatever is needed for you to actually MAKE determinations to base a law on & assess how that law will help vs. harm anyone (and not talking just to your friends or doing PR moments; there must be honest communication involved).

If you don't agree to that, you have no business being allowed to live in modern society. You need to be locked up somewhere. Jail, a mental hospital, debtor's prison, a Hollywood exec's basement, I don't care. Just be locked up & unable to escape to cause more problems for me and anyone else with common sense.

If people in this country had any brains in their head, they'd vote 3rd party. Ron Paul, Jill Stein, Roseanne Barr, someone who isn't a total moron with their head so far up big business' collective ass that they can't see cars coming when they try crossing the street. Even ALF would be better.

We need to start branding politicians with the companies that own them. You know: "Property of:" then list the company names. The more you saw & the types you saw would determine whether you should bother voting for them. I'd also like to see fist fights in the Senate & House like they have in other government meetings in other countries. I've said it before but it would make things more interesting & some reality TV company could make money from it. It's practically Jerry Springer anyway; we may as well be honest about it.

So, why would Roseanne Barr be the best president ever:

1. She wasn't born to money. She came from lower income so she knows what that's like. Her entire TV show concept was based off that experience. That's better than the mainstream politicians you see who generally came from money or are part of some political dynasty. I feel she's more "of the people" than most folk in politics.

2. She conquered Hollywood. When she started out, she actually took command on her show. Most people in her shoes would be all docile & meek. She wasn't. People probably call me a bitch; I feel if people are calling a woman a "bitch" and saying she's "difficult," she's probably doing something right.

If she did this in Hollywood, do you honestly think she'd let some shithead career politician push her around? Or some high power lobbyist? I can't see that happening. I'd hope she'd tell the prick just where to go; we need more people willing to do that sort of thing. If she told Hollywood execs where to go early in her career, I could see her doing the same thing to some Washington insider.

3. She's unpredictable. Someone (a man supporting the Republicans, by the way) told me "she's bipolar" & she has all those personalities. Is that any worse than the hypocrites & morons inhabiting our government now? You honestly think Sarah Palin would be more effective as a leader or any of the other Tea Party scholars spouting out various inaccuracies about our Constitution, geography & plenty of other things your average middle schooler wouldn't screw up on? If we're that nervous on TV, maybe we shouldn't be on TV? Leads to another good point.

4. She's scandal proof. She's been on TV & suffered highs and lows in the press. How would you blackmail Roseanne? How would you ruin her reputation? She's always said controversial things & has never been predictable. I think you'd have to lie & even then, I'm sure people would find facts to defuse that lie. She'd have to screw herself up like violating #5.

5. She'd never allow women's rights to be mangled; they'd be sacred to her. She's not some brainwashed dope like many of these Republican & conservative Democratic women. I think she lives in real life & wouldn't be trying to foist religion onto everyone else. In fact, I don't recall her being religious & that's a wonderful thing if you ask me.

6. She would NEVER apologize or say she "misspoke." Based on things she's done, I'll bet Roseanne Barr would stand by what she said regardless of how controversial Middle America finds it. We also need more of that.

I hate this fake religiosity that always comes out in an election. If you're not a sincere believer & practitioner of a faith, shut the hell up. Or maybe we just need to kill voters in Middle America or the vote fixers. Not sure who the morons are who voted for these mental midgets we're dealing with now but they could use some heavy smacks upside the head for being too stupid to live. The cause, regardless, needs to be taken care of ASAP.

I'll take an atheist over a lying, hypocritical Christian any day of the week. A TRUE Christian would never be pulling this shit of applying their standards as law to be imposed on the entire country, many of whom don't follow their belief system (you know, violating God's gift of free will by taking it away from others). I don't know of any atheists, Wiccans, or people from the non-mainstream religions trying to impose their ways of life onto everyone else or telling Christians what to do in their homes, on their time. Yet Christians sure as hell do this.

Oh, and this is the same Republican party forcing women to breed & bring MORE unwanted kids in the world. Nice work, assholes.

These people are really too stupid to live, besides not living in real life with the rest of us. I'm glad the comics are getting great fodder but I don't want these morons being leaders in my country.

Speaking of more people who don't live in real life & how religion has done more to ruin things, consider this story. If you contacted me about something like this, I'd defend that student in a minute. I know a thing or two about asshole school administrators on a little Hitler power trip. I hope she & her family stood their ground & told the principal just where to go. I sure would have. Furthermore, if you're so damn worried about your little children hearing things or the "sanctity" of the ceremony I suggest you move to a religious commune since your children are too fragile to exist in modern society. Let's talk a little about "sanctity" as well: many high schools employ sexual predators, sexists, lying teachers, many adults who deserve contempt, not respect. Even my mother once said there were teachers at my school who didn't deserve respect.

I suppose I never lived by "respect your elders" because I saw many elders who didn't deserve it growing up. For instance, we had this white trash neighbor who let her 2 small children run wild (we're talking 2-3 year old range & seeing them in our yard quite a distance away from their house w/no adult in sight), stayed at home & later was cheating on her husband with a guy who looked different but had the same first name. My sister once told this woman to "Go suck an egg!" Then, we also had our father, male child molesters who molested 2 of our neighborhood playmates (one of them was one girl's stepfather; I learned about this much later) & plenty of adults who were just assholes to us for no reason. We had a coach in my high school who made sexually inappropriate remarks to women (including a friend of mine). Just some examples but you can see why I don't buy that whole "oh, it's so sacred" argument.

Perhaps adults in life (especially parents) should be better examples to kids if they want kids to be better. You know, maybe instead about bitching at length on adult content being played on television or blaming Marilyn Manson when their child goes on a shooting spree? None of this "do as I say, not as I do" shit; everyone sees through it & I sure did as a kid.

Finally, real life isn't Luke & Laura motherfuckers. This isn't General Hospital so stop trying to make the world that way. Get a brain, stop being spoon-fed by mainstream media, think for your damn self & ask yourself how you'd like it if your sister, mother, some female you give a shit about (if you aren't one yourself) was raped. What would you do to the rapist? Would you shake his hand & welcome him to the family? Hand him a cigar if he got the victim pregnant?

Supporting the Republican platform on this issue tells me you would do precisely this. It also makes me suspect you of having raped someone at some point in life. No woman should sleep with any of these men unless they A) want to have children against their will, B) have no self-esteem at all & hate themselves or C) are secretly robbing the men blind.

It's "Illegal," NOT "Undocumented"

I read this story recently & I'm absolutely pissed off. In fact, this makes me super livid. How come?

Well...

1. These illegals came here of their own free will. They weren't kidnapped & sold as slaves like the ancestors of many black people who are here today. They weren't even fleeing Hitler or Fidel Castro.

If a particular person was fleeing something like this, that's one thing. I recently signed a petition in support of this woman who was trying to get amnesty in the US because of her 7 rapists in her native country being free & not getting any punishment in the legal system there. If I remember, I think there was also an active & present threat to this woman's safety if she was returned to that country. This is what's known as a special circumstance.

Most of these people don't have that going for them.

You assholes caused your own persecution. You are not the black people of the 1960s fighting for civil rights. You're not even gay people fighting for civil rights or marriage equality.

2. Who do these fuckers think they are to cut the line & think they can legally be allowed to remain here? Tons of people have been doing things the right way: applied for citizenship, paid the fees, all that good stuff. Why should YOU get to sneak in & have exemptions made for you & your family? What about all the other families separated b/c those people weren't a bunch of punks wiping our legislative system & immigration laws with their asses?

These loudmouths should be arrested on sight & forced to account to all the people who legally became citizens & permanent residents. They are an embarrassment & an insult to immigrants of the past.

I can have some sympathy to kids who didn't choose to come here who are fluent English speakers, made good grades, didn't break the law, etc. In fact, my husband & I have no issue with letting illegals become citizens if they serve in our military. However, they should not be getting residency & tuition discounts ahead of citizens. I also despise the whole anchor baby system but that's another story.

3. Speaking of causing your own persecution & being an embarrassment, how many of these people speak fluent English? If you don't even know English & you're here illegally, don't waste my time demanding civil rights from me. How about working on earning respect from people?

How do you earn it? For one thing, learn fluent English & don't force your kids to translate. Second, adapt to American society & culture. Stop demanding others to cater to you. Watch your damn kids, don't take from aid programs, stop stealing jobs from citizens & deflating wages for everyone, etc. Why can't you set up your own businesses like many an Asian immigrant has done for centuries? Then you won't be stealing from rank & file workers with limited education (or even a lot of education) trying to get a living wage.

If you want to live in Mexico or some other land of squalor, stop wasting time here & trying to turn the US into Mexico. Our leaders are doing enough of that without any illegals getting involved in devaluing quality of life.

4. The cops aren't arresting these people on sight but have no problem arresting Occupy protestors & spraying them with pepper spray. They have zero qualms with using stop & frisk on black people & Latinos who are legal. No problems with other forms of racial profiling & harassment to black people (most of whom ARE US citizens). No issue with passing legislation like NDAA & arresting citizens even suspected of terrorism. No issue with being J.P. Morgan Chase rent-a-cops & acting like the rich's private security force. They also have no problem letting politicians go for things your average citizen would be sitting in a jail cell for like drunk driving & the like.

I've said for years "What about the illegals?" Do these dolts in government think that everyone from Mexico is a saint? That no terrorists exist there or that everyone there loves this country? That they have no corruption there? They must be stupid & I have a very good idea where the next terrorist strike will be coming from. That is, if the current rulers don't shape up & stop acting like the French government pre-French Revolution (newsflash: protests happened LONG before the Internet & modern technology existed + not everyone is stupid).

If the police wants "to protect & serve" then they need to be arresting these illegals who think so little of our laws that they shit on them publicly and flaunt their status.

What next? Are pedophiles & rapists going to start a bus tour & come out of the shadows with zero recourse? Will murders or members of organized crime families start addressing crowds about their crimes? Maybe drug dealers & pimps should start their own bus tour & demand civil rights as well. The prostitute bus tour would probably be most interesting. At least the women getting applause from being "out of the shadows" would show us that society is more pro-woman than we (and certainly I) thought.

All of these groups are lawbreakers under most of society. If we're not arresting the illegals, why shouldn't these other people get to do the same thing? No one's "protecting or serving" MY interest by allowing illegals to run free to commit identity theft, not carry automobile insurance & cause accidents, harass women (if not worse), be deadbeat parents, etc.

Nor is anyone "protecting or serving" MY interest by facilitating government corruption (I find it more than coincidence that my friend was harassed after he spoke out publicly against racism in the police investigation process & if you don't, you underestimate the level of government corruption that exists; I also refuse to believe that little old Walnut Cove is a bastion of tolerance when they apparently impose a curfew on adults if commenters to that story can be believed), practicing racism in police procedure & keeping (or worse, promoting) racists on the force.

There's also no protection or service of MY interests when women are being harassed & treated like second class citizens or when the police is playing J.P. Morgan Chase rent-a-cops because some people dare to express their constitutionally protected 1st Amendment rights.

I also don't view the police as saints or above reproach considering my father was subjected to harassment & exploitation by an asshole cop in my hometown. He was accused of being intoxicated b/c he "had red eyes." Well, shithead we buried my brother in law the day before. Everyone was crying. The man was probably grieving, you scumbag. My mother also told me he wasn't drinking & she may have covered up many things but she'd never covered up when he was drunk. She would be the first to tell me if he had been driving under the influence & would have turned him in herself if he had been doing it (she's said this publicly many times over the years & started doing so after he'd gotten his license taken away & gone to rehab when I was 14).

His car was impounded & there was damage to it in an area where there should not have been damage afterward (the bumper at the bottom of the car, which they claimed was there b/c they were trying to get in & the car was locked; do we look stupid?).

Ultimately, the evidence was in favor of my father so he had to be let go but I've not forgotten this little travesty & if I didn't have things going well for me, I would probably have to do something to right that situation. I wasn't there since I had a job in Atlanta at the time & I can't live in that town.

Shit like this does not endear citizens to the police. It does NOT inspire them to give tips or help them catch real criminals. In fact, it creates mistrust, hatred & backlash against law enforcement.

With me if you are doing actual, legitimate police work & trying to HELP me vs. live out some political agenda or be a corporate lapdog, I'll be more than happy to help you. Not furthering problems is a good thing & something I like to encourage in people. I've encountered respectful law enforcement members who weren't jerks & were actually helpful. Those people should get more recognition with the scum being tossed out. The scum ruins it for the good cops just as they ruin it for the good lawyers, doctors, filmmakers, cashiers, business owners, whatever.