Not All Speech is Free

Hello my dear friends. More and more lately we hear talk of a growing assault on our First Amendment rights. The First Amendment guarantees, in part that 'Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech'. This "protection" has been challenged countless times with varying results. I'm not going to give you a constitutional law lecture here. I think you know what I'm talking about. But, bear with me for a moment. More times than not, when you hear someone shouting about their First Amendment rights, it's because they've said something outrageous and are being called on the carpet over it. Not all speech is protected, as you know. This is where the oft misquoted words of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. is generally inserted, about not falsely shouting fire in a crowded theater to cause panic. There is no, or limited, protection for inciting, provocative or offensive speech. Each of those categories are, of course, open to interpretation and context. I'm sure you've heard the quote "I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to death your right to say it". I sure that when Evelyn Beatrice Hall (yup, that's who actually said it) wrote that in 1906 she never imagined what some people would feel comfortable saying in public. In my humble opinion, incendiary speech cloaked in the First Amendment is eroding our society at a rapidly increasing rate. A case on point happened yesterday and today on a Syracuse radio station. The topic of conversation was the Syracuse Common Council's vote to amend the current Fair Practices Law banning discrimination to include "actual or perceived sex, or their gender identity or expression", effectively protecting transgendered citizens from discrimination. The host of the show disagreed with this decision and used his First Amendment protection to express his displeasure. Using terms like "HeShe", "Johnny who thinks he's a Janey", he went on a extended rant as to why discrimination is not only right but warranted. He went on to say that if the "HeShe" still "had his wang" he shouldn't be allowed in places like a female restroom. Let me be very clear on this. People have a right to their opinion. It's how they choose to express that opinion is what I object to. This radio host that I speak of has a long, and unchecked, history of using racist and homophobic slurs on the air. As a matter of fact, he was so proud of that particular rant, that he used it in an ad for his show that ran on-air all day today.   Using terms like "HeShe" or "Queer", calling transgendered people "Freaks" and "Perverts" not only shows a profound ignorance but also gives reinforcement to the haters of the world. It helps to bring hate into the mainstream. It's hurtful and destructive. Using it for "entertainment value" is morally repugnant. People who do this, like the people who support and protect them, lower the quality of life for us all. There is no place for it in a civilized society. Is it protected speech? Perhaps it is. This is where the law ends and character should begin. Whether you agree or disagree with the subject, we all need to stand up against the language.  Just because you can say something doesn't mean you should.
Po

Quit Your Freakin' Whining!

Hello people. You are really ticking me off! So, highly skilled Walmart workers from across the country are planning a protest on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. They're going to walk off the job because they don't think it's fair to have to work on Thanksgiving. Are you kidding me? Let me enlighten you. Radio, television, newspapers, military, police, fire, doctors, nurses, hospital and ER personnel, bus drivers, cab drivers, nursing home workers, athletes, parking lot attendants, restaurant workers, farmers, truckers, pilots, airline and airport personnel and countless others work on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and every holiday in between. Do you think they want to? NO. They have to work because their job requires it. Now, your job requires it to. I realize that highly skilled positions, like Walmart cashier, will be hard to fill if you walk out the door and, in this blossoming economy, there will be very few people available to take your job. What I don't understand is, what is your end game? What do you hope to accomplish? Yes, a walk out will cost your employer millions of dollars in lost sales and yes, it will cost you your job. Will it end the practice of doing business on holidays? Of course not. Will it improve your working conditions? No. It will simply add hundreds or thousands of unskilled workers to the unemployment rolls. So, get off your dumb, lazy, unskilled asses and go to work. This is the real world people, not an episode of Norma Rae. Speaking as someone who has watched my captor go to work on many a holiday, let me say, do your job and do it well. Don't follow the crowd from the check out line to the unemployment line. If you're still on the fence, ask one of those 18,000 Hostess workers how that whole strike thing worked out for them.
Sway

Watch What You Say or You'll Be Next

Hello my dear friends. I'm sure you've heard about the "Dump Trump" petition circulating the internet. At last count over 400,000 sheeple had signed it. I am not one of them. Why? Because, unlike the growing numbers of sheeple in the world, I actually understand what's going on. Let's examine. The petition, started by MoveOn.org, is a juvenile attempt at political retribution by a barely relevant left wing cadre. They are demanding that Macy's "Dump Trump" because he is, among other things, sexist, racist and crazy. They say this does not fit with the "magic of Macy's". Strangely, these "concerned consumers" have no problem with Russell Simmons, who routinely refers to women as "bitches" and "hos". Nothing sexist there. They have no problem with Sean Combs (Puffy, P.Diddy, etc.) who's been arrested for such upstanding Macy-like things as aggravated assault, weapons possession, possession of stolen property and bribery. Spokesperson Martha Stewart is also an ex-con. No, these concerned Macy's consumers want Donald Trump removed because is an outspokenly Anti Obama. This, of course, makes him a racist. Kanye West rode on the Macy's float after announcing on national TV that "George Bush hates black people". No racism there. Nope. Crazy? Okay, we'll give them that one. Donald Trump may be a little nuts but anyone who pays $50 dollars for a $15 dollar sweater at Macy's is a little nuts in my humble opinion. So let's view this petition for what it is, yet another assault on our freedom of speech. Do or say something that the vocal left doesn't agree with and they want you punished for it. Their first goal is always your income. They want you fired, banned, cancelled, whatever. When that doesn't work, they attack your reputation. Apparently Clint Eastwood isn't a legend. He's a doddering, old fool. You know the drill. So people, before you jump on board another internet "groundswell", take a minute to look for the motive. If you still agree, then by all means, join the fray. Just do your homework first. There are already far to many sheeple in this world.
Po

Dumber by the Day-And There's Proof!

Hello my dear friends. As I was surfing the net today I came across a headline that read "Are Humans Becoming Less Intelligent"? Gee, you think? Well, Gerald Crabtree, a researcher at Stanford University, did a study and says yes, humans have lost the evolutionary pressure to be smart. I, personally, think a study was unnecessary. Just look around. It's pretty obvious. I don't know about evolutionary pressure, but I do remember a time when McDonalds didn't have to warn people that "Coffee is Hot" and dumping in your lap will burn. I remember a day when plastic bags didn't come with bold warnings NOT to place the bag over your head. I guess we, as a people, were just a little smarter back then. According to Mr. Crabtree's study, when humans transformed from the hunter-gather mode, where failure to secure food and shelter would result in death, to the community mode, where failure to secure food and shelter, results in someone else doing it for you, we. as humans, lost our edge. Other researchers dispute this, saying we have become smarter in other ways. I'm on the fence. Let's start with watch we watch. Back in the 50's, women would go on TV's "Queen for a Day" and tell their sob stories to get a new refrigerator. Now people go on TV to eat bugs and marry strangers for money. Back in the day, people would tune in to see Carol Burnett or Mary Tyler Moore. Now it's Honey Boo Boo, Jersey Shore and the Kardashians. I believe there's a new show coming out where people sing karaoke while being covered in snakes and spiders and the like. Charming.  Are we deliberately killing brain cells. Yes, modern man invented the iPad, the cellphone and the microwave. But they had the work and discoveries of their predecessors to build on. Early man discovered and harnessed fire and electricity without a how to book or a college education. Smarter then or smarter now? I can't help but wonder if Ben Franklin felt, as I often do, that he was surrounded by idiots. I can't say. But I do think Mr. Crabtree's study brings up interesting questions. Are we losing our intellectual edge? Have we lost the pressure to be smart? Is it evolution or our own laziness that's leading the way? I don't have the answers, although I probably would have 30 years ago. I do know this. On the surface, people sure seems to be getting dumber by the day.
Po

It's All Fun & Games Till Someone Breaks a Paw

Hello my dear friends. My captor is nursing a broken hand. There are several theories on how it happened. Some say she punched a wall while watching the Bad News Bills, once again, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Some say she punched the first democrat she saw following the election. I have it on good authority that she actually tripped over a tree root and fell on her face, well, on her hand. hehehe. I'm really sorry I missed it. It happened in Niagara Falls while she was visiting her parents. Anywho, it's proven to be a rather difficult week for the captor as she is "bi-handual", not "ambidextrous". Ambidextrous people are GOOD with both hands. Bi-handual people (yes, I made that up) just USE both hands. It's not unlike the captor to simply trip and fall. She's kind of a clod. But, she usually doesn't break that easily. I, for one, am doing my part to remind her what a goober she is by stepping on her boo boo paw every chance I get It's been really fun to wake her up that way. I swear, she screams like a little girl! So, she's down a paw for 4-6 weeks. Luckily it was her left hand, not the dominant right hand. And, it could have been worse. If she hadn't gotten her hand down she would have landed square on her face! That would have been a real hoot! The real kicker for me is that the captor is such a city dweller. She hates all things nature and then she was taken out by a tree! Poetic Justice at it's finest.
Po

It's Finally Here!

Hello my dear friends. First, let me apologize for being so lax in my blogging. I know how important my insight is in your lives. Who else could so accurately point out all of the things that are wrong with you, thus, allowing you all to live better lives. But, enough about me. You already know how important I am to you! The reason I have been avoiding the blog, and social media all together, is because this election season has really driven me to the edge. You know that I try to avoid discussing politics but sometimes you just have to let the fur fly. So, my dear liberal friends, now is the time to leave. This election season has really lowered all of our quality of life. It's been disgusting, despicable and dishonest. It's been an embarrassment. So, with the big day on the horizon, I would like to take this opportunity to both enlighten and insult you. First, if I hear one more allegedly intelligent person say "we probably won't know who the President is on Wednesday night" I'm going to blow. The President is Barak Obama. He is the President today and he'll be the President until (at least) January 20th.Semantics? Maybe. But people (mostly reporters) who say it sound really stupid. I don't like stupid people. Now, if you let Bruce Springsteen, Cher, Katy Perry or God forbid Kathy Griffin, influence who you vote for, you should not be allowed to vote. When a politician who has been voted out of office runs for that office again and you vote for them, you should be slapped, really hard, right in the head. When you make a decision as important as President of the United States based on a single issue, like your genitalia and how you choose to use it, you do a disservice to yourself and everyone else. The world is alot bigger than you. Get over yourself. And, on that note, let me clear up a few things. I have seen thousands of commercials saying that if you vote for a republican, they will eliminate government funding for Planned Parenthood, thus depriving low income women of mammograms. Well, Planned Parenthood doesn't provide mammograms to anyone and they never have. If your one of those people who have been bombarding social media with pro Obama propaganda touting his amazing record on gay rights, you'll be amazed to realize that he's had FOUR YEARS to repeal DOMA, which by the way was made law by his savior Bill Clinton, and he's done nothing. Wake up and smell the coffee. You're being used. So, when you go to the voting booth tomorrow, and since you're still reading this I really hope you do vote, ask yourself if this Country is really headed in the right direction. If you truly believe it is, then your choice is clear. If, however, you believe as I do that we are headed down a dangerous path, then you know what to do. God Bless America!
Princess PoKitty

This World is Exhausting!

Hello my dear friends. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the people struggling to recover from the wrath of Superstorm Sandy. My heart also goes out to the rest of us still suffering through Superstorm Political Ad! Will it NEVER END! I'm telling you people I'm about to go whatever the Kitty equivalent of postal is. It's everywhere and it is relentless! I know you know what I'm saying. It doesn't matter what side you're on, it all sucks! Now, today, Thursday, November 1, 2012, I turned on the radio and what to my wondering ears did appear? F#$%*%$ CHRISTMAS MUSIC! Please, don't get me wrong, I Love Christmas but come on. Two full months of Christmas carols would drive even the heartiest of revelers off the deep end. Let's face it, and you can do the math, there are only about 20 legitimate Christmas songs, right? Each one is about 3 minutes long, you with me? That means by Christmas Day we will have heard each song approximately 1320 times! Okay, there are plenty of "fun Christmas ditties" to mix in. I'll give you that. Let's add another 20 songs. Now we will have heard each one of them 660 times in 8 weeks. Can anyone name a song they would like to hear 12 times a day for 55 days? Talk about crushing the Christmas Spirit. Now all we need are a few of the annual lawsuits to remove any mention of Christ and the Mas Holiday Season will be upon us! I just can't wait. Can you?
Po