"We ARE the 99%...

This afternoon I texted with my daughters Alex and DD as we played "Fashion Police" on E's "Road to the (Golden Globes) Red Carpet." Usually it's just Alex and me, but we added 14 year old DD to get her young perspective. Tomorrow's blog will have all the photos and dialogue, as it usually takes me awhile to compile it all.

Sometimes I feel pathetic as we watch the movie stars in their high fashion designer dresses go to these fabulous award ceremonies and after-parties, as we sit in our normal homes in normal towns living normal lives. Sometimes I just feel like a common schmo, a cog in the wheel, in the assembly line of life. Sometimes it's hard to watch these people who are the privileged few that can afford tons of homes, and tons of cars, and tons of trips, and tons of clothes, and tons of, well, everything they want. Sometimes I want to be able to live the kind of lives they live. And sometimes I wish I had one-tenth of what they have. And sometimes I wish I could afford a vacation outside of my state.

Sometimes...

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder..."

Freaky Fridays

Hmmmm... this is Freaky.... It seems a coven of witches has banded together to cast a spell, hoping to shut down Tim Tebow's string of miracle wins for the Denver Broncos. Two witches from Massachusetts (where ELSE would they be from??) held a seance at noon today (Friday the 13th of course) at Haven Crow Corner in Salem, Massachusetts. Their goal is to make sure the New England Patriots beat Tebow and his Broncos (and of course, God.) These two witches go on to say that they would set up an altar with a puppet of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady which a local sorceress had hand sewed, and it would sit next to 'mojo' bags filled with herbs and stones for all Patriot players.

Seems this game means more than just a Playoff win for those on both sides...

"Fake it 'til you make it..."

Wow. Did you see this?? Thousands of North Koreans are facing labor camps for "not being upset enough about the death of (dictator) Kim Jong-il" including not crying or seeming genuine. Sentences of at least six months are also being given to those who didn't attend the organized mourning events or if they criticized the new leader, his son Kim Jong-un... If they even made a mobile phone call out, they are being disciplined.

And schools in the U.S. aren't teaching the perils of communism?!?

"I'm tired of being painted as an angry black woman." - Michelle Obama

Today the First Lady revealed to CBS' Gayle King, "I'm tired of being painted as an angry black woman." Yes, and I'm tired of everyone 'of color' blaming everything on their race. Can't she just accept that we think she's just 'an angry woman?' Why does it have to be angry BLACK woman? So she can call us racist. It's hard to accept our faults. It's hard to hear that some people don't like us. And it's easy to blame it on something else - something she can't change - her race. Well, wake up. It's 2012 and a few years ago this country voted a black man to the White House. And I'm not unhappy with him because he's black. I just don't agree with his views on how this country should be run. It has nothing to do with the color of his skin. And Michelle has her own personality traits, and people will either like her or not like her because of those.

NOT her skin color...

"Blood, sweat and tears..."

While all of the polls are coming in about New Hampshire... (which, by the way, WHY is New Hampshire determining the rest of the nation on candidates?? These people are not representative of our country! They chose John McCain and now Mitt Romney. New Hampshire-ians live on the border of Canada and are liberal by nature. And, truth be told, probably have a lot of Democrats trying to determine OUR candidate.) But I digress...

The news that interests me today is a story about hundreds of employees at a Chinese supplier plant for Microsoft, who are threatening suicide if their demands for lost wages are not met. The company Foxconn is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer and a crucial link in the supply chains of Apple, Dell, Nintendo and Song. The employees made a demand for a wage increase on January 2nd, and the company responded that employees could quit with one month's compensation awarded for each year with the plant or go back to working. Many employees quit but then Foxconn, true to communistic style, reneged and awarded former employees nothing. Around 300 workers returned to the plant in an uproar, and staged their protest on the plant's roof the next day threatening mass suicide. My heart goes out to these working class workers, who have very little freedom and are virtual slaves. (The photo at left shows the dormitories at Foxconn, as these workers live and breathe their jobs 24/7.)

We need to remember all of the electronics we buy which are primarily made in China, are produced with someone's blood, sweat and tears...

"You can fool some of the people some of the time..."

As you've probably heard by now, a new book is out this week, saying that in 2009 (over 2 years ago) the prez and family threw a big Halloween party at the White House with an Alice in Wonderland Mad-Hatter theme. Tim Burton (also famous for "Beetlejuice") decorated the party room, and Johnny Depp were both there (see photo above.) George Lucas even sent the Star Wars' Chewbacca...

The book goes on to say that they wanted to keep it quiet since Americans were (and STILL ARE) in a HUGE recession, and millions are unemployed, and millions have much less money, and millions are struggling. Hard. Then why have it if they felt guilty about it??

May I say.... this totally blows me away. On SO many levels... For one thing, the White House is the PEOPLE'S house, not the Obama's. They even said that the log books don't show the visitors for that party. Say what?!??? That's the house of the president - the sitting president - and it's public with tours and business being done. I'm completely disgusted that a party was given and we weren't allowed to know about it... until some woman slipped and decided to write a tell-all book.

The second really disgusting thing is that SO many people kept the secret. The prez's daughter's were there WITH FRIENDS and no one told. That's a big secret to keep for so long. I was thinking that most parent's can relate to the fact that we all secretly want to give our kids a really awesome party so it will impress their friends - so I'm thinking Michelle thought it would be the ultimate to have Hollywood put on this most decadent of parties to impress her daughter's new school friends? And nobody told... amazing.

And then there's the media. I'm guessing some of them knew. Probably the ones closest to the prez. They've kept secrets from us before. The media used to know who was gay and who wasn't before they all 'came out' but would never publish it. It was their little (big) secret. And I'm sure we don't hear the half of it regarding Hollywood types. They are part of the facade. It's all a bunch of enablers... And they weren't going to tell (at least not while the prez is in office) until this one did. Also amazing.

And the last thought I have about this is... how much this president and his wife USE this presidency for their own selfish desires - including lavish trips, and clothes and hairstylists and on and on and on... I've said for years that they must think of themselves as royalty instead of many other presidents like George W. who decided to be a servant of the people with his humility. He was the complete opposite, shunning many parties and golf, for instance, during time of war. His daughter's wedding was private at his ranch, and photos have never been released. This Halloween party in 2009 is SO representative of the kind of people we have living in our White House.

Scary, indeed...