So today I awoke with MONSTER pms. It wasn’t the kind where you would’ve sworn I was branded with a 666, but rather the sniffly emotional kind. I was on the brink of tears all day long for no good reason and didn’t want to be bothered by anybody for fear of a meltdown. Finally, at around 11am I said to my boss, “We’re absolutely dead, whaddiya say I catch the 11:35?”
If there is a stereotype that you would expect a porn star to fit, Dave Pounder doesn’t fit it. He lives in a studio apartment, drives a Honda Civic and called into our show on a cheap cell phone that he admitted doesn’t have the best coverage. Dave admits to being cheap and living well below his means, saving all his money. I just had to ask him if he wasn’t using his money to impress the ladies, if he was doing it by telling them he was in porn.
I love the Constitution of the United States of America . . . all of it. It is the document that sets forth those rights protected under the laws of this country. It established the framework of our government, and it stands today as a reminder of the value placed on the individual and individual rights and freedoms.
Because of the Constitution, I freaking love this country that is not only the land of my birth, but the only country to which I will ever swear my allegiance.
Having said that, I have to be honest with you. I am freaking sick to the point of wanting to throw my computer out in the backyard of people who think that it is somehow unpatriotic or treasonous to express disappointment or shame in this country.
It’s a right that we have as American citizens, and it is one that is protected by the United States Constitution. If I want to say that I think President Bush is a shitty, shitty President and should never have been elected, that is my right. If I want to say that the last eight years have been the most pathetic political years of my relatively young life, I have that right. If I want to protest the war, I have that right. If I want to bitch and moan about racism and the snail’s pace at which we have struggled to reach the equality that was supposedly recognized centuries ago, that is my right. If I want to burn a flag, I can. If I want to demand the impeachment of the President, I can. If I want to go on an “America Sucks Butt” world tour, I can freaking do that, too.
Where are you people freaking living? When did the United States become some utopia where everyone is supposed to be smiley, happy people completely in love with everything about this country simply by virtue of the fact that it is the United States? What kind of loyalty is that when we are encouraged to shut our yaps and pretend that everything is gloriously beautiful on the outside, saying nothing of the disappointments we have about events that happen around us. Is our unhappiness with the government like some kind of disease, like alcoholism? We know it exists . . . we just don’t talk about it?
And those who do . . . those stupid souls clueless enough to forget that we don’t mention the pink elephant are castigated for speaking out against the negatives in our society? Oh, no you di’int!
Michelle Obama once said that, for the first time in her life, she was proud of her country. Arrest that woman for treason right now, try her, and what, execute her? Or just strip her of her citizenry right now for exercising the freedoms protected by the United States Constitution?
What?
Clearly such people are un-American.
I am furious. I am furious because so much has been made of a statement that it makes me want to scream and slam my head into a wall, but I already feel like I am doing that as I type this, so let me tell you something . . . all of you who consider the Dixie Chicks to be traitors, or the dissatisfaction expressed by Michelle Obama to be unpatriotic, or those who believe that we must treat our government like our drunk Uncle Sal, never discussing him outside the circle of the family:
I have been ashamed of this country. I am ashamed that my country thinks it is doing such a bang up job taking care of itself that we are qualified to tell everyone else how to be just like us. I am ashamed that we have chosen to step in uninvited at times to compel people to adopt a system more acceptably similar to our own. I am ashamed that those people who were killed on 9/11 have not been avenged, as our government has chosen instead to focus on a country with no known connections to that day, at all. I am ashamed that we are supposed to be such a great superpower, yet we can’t find Osama bin Laden, and many don’t even seem to care.
I am ashamed that there are people who do believe, and who have said, that a black man is a serious contender for the Presidency for no other reason than the fact that he is black. Some of those same people will argue in the next breath that affirmative action and the anti-discrimination laws are unnecessary. But those who support Obama are clearly suffering from . . . what? Feelings of guilt? If we were really so prone to righting the wrongs of the past, maybe we wouldn’t have affirmative action and the anti-discrimination laws in the first place. Oh, but suddenly we have the guilties and are choosing our leader based on dark skin pigmentation. Please be serious. And if you are being serious, I am ashamed that there are American citizens who feel that way.
I am ashamed that there are people who believe that little Johnny’s inability to pray in a classroom before school apparently compromises the entire fabric of his religious beliefs. God forbid parents should pray with him before dropping him off, privately, instead of respecting children of other religious beliefs, or lack of same, who might feel coerced to participate to avoid exclusion. God knows we, as a country, hate excluding those of other beliefs.
I am ashamed that the biological workings of a woman’s body, and the events taking place in a couple’s bedroom are seemingly considered more important, politically, than our environment, our health care, our economy, our education system, our place in the arena of international affairs, and things that truly impact all of us, rather than only a few, comparatively speaking.
When I think of this country, there are things about which I am ashamed.
One thing about which I am not ashamed, is that I do believe that this country truly is the land of the free and the home of the brave. I just wish those “brave” enough to exert those freedoms weren’t treated like traitorous villains for actually believing the Constitution means what it says.
No, I don’t give two figs about what Michelle Obama said, or what she meant. She is the only one who knows what she really meant that day, just as I can’t possibility articulate the love for this country and the frustration with its government and people that have collided to form the basis of this rant. Because we are both Americans, though, we don’t have to beg or plead or explain our words until we are blue in the face.
If you can’t accept the expression of one’s dissatisfaction with this country or its government, perhaps it is you who needs to go back and re-read the Constitution, because I am positive that those who signed the United States Constitution would not only approve, they would remember George of England and know that they established the right kind of government for a fledgling country breaking off from a tyrant.
SERIOUSLY?
Love those late night Iphone pics. Have I mentioned I still love red? Thanks for the continued love and updates. I hope I show ya enough love back as a fan. It’s the lil things you do to keep all of us feeling like we are part of a tiny exclusive group that make you worth keeping up with and supporting from afar. Be good and be you and I will try to step my game up to get on your level. later. 
I have heard people say that they would never date someone who has a kid.
Having a child myself, that’s never bothered me. Sure, it is a bit messier. Half of their check is being sent across town and they have to coordinate visitation around the exes schedule.
Hey guys,
Thanks so much for the donations to the charity last month in honor of Michelle’s 30th Birthday. It was much appreciated! As always, donations to great causes such as this are always needed and welcomed year round. Here’s a little bit of info about this foundation. We hope you’ll continue to donate!
The Flying Elephants Foundation, founded by filmmaker and photographer Gregory Colbert, the creator of Ashes and Snow, strives to reveal and celebrate the wonder of nature in all its forms. The Foundation awards Flying Elephants Fellowships to individuals from a broad range of disciplines in the arts and sciences who have demonstrated singular creativity, passion, integrity and leadership and whose work inspires a reverence for the natural world.
Recipients of grants from the foundation include Zana Briski, Marc Ancrenaz, Edward Burtynsky, Ravi Corea, Jim Darling, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, David Hykes, Andy Lipkis, Sharon Matola, Alan Rabinowitz, Carl Safina, James Turrell, and Siew Te Wong. For more information on the Flying Elephants Foundation, please visit www.flyingelephants.org. For more information on Gregory Colbert and Ashes and Snow, please visit www.ashesandsnow.com
- Webmaster
I do want to say that I am not in favor of Zoo’s in general. I wish they would get an Orangutan outdoor enclosure, before they start bringing in new animals. Also I wish these animals could live in peace in nature. Keeping them in Jail and on display for humans is not cool. However, we can turn the negative into positive by trying to teach people about them, children see them, love them and can become animal activists. Also sometimes, it is sad, but they are safer in Zoo’s than in nature. The Gorillas have it pretty well, better than of a lot of the Zoo Animals. They have a decent area to roam around in. In the evening they can come and go as they please, to all three of their areas. The cats, bears and elephants could use bigger areas and the Orangutans and other primates should have outdoor access. But still the Keepers really love the animals and try to give them the best life they can. A lot of these animals are Zoo raised and could not survive in the wild, so they also do not know any better. Also like I said, a lot of them are hunted and killed, plus have their land taken away - so sometimes Zoos can help keep the species alive. So I do want to say all that so people do not think I am glorifying Zoo’s. I am just so happy to be able to work closely with my all time favorite animal. This is a springboard for me to go help the Animals in the wild, if I can.
NEPA Pridefest 2008 took place in Kirby Park in Wilkes Barre, PA on August 10th, 2008. It was an awesome event and will be repeated for years to come.