A change in my blog . . .

Well I haven't been posting anything exciting lately so I think I am going to start posting with pictures, because who doesn't like to look at photographs of people? I have some cute ones I want to share and my kids are always cute. Then I can also make my diatribe posts as well.

Oh and thanks to everyone who cared enough to do something about the toy law. It has been postponed! I think for a year. I am not to up on the specifics but it is excellent news for all the small businesses involved with children's products.

Toy Makers in Danger

This is worrying to me as I know people that make really nice toys and children's things. Work at home moms and dads and small businesses that make quality toys will not be able to afford the things required under this new legislation.

Incredibly Irritated

I am incredibly irritated by some attitudes people have about the election. I hate hearing people talk about leaving the country if who they vote for does not win. Or say that they have lost faith in their country or had their faith restored in their country based on the election results. Our country has an election process. If the person that wins a legal election takes office then that process has worked. As long as no one cheated, was intimidated by violence, or illegally influenced votes in other ways than faith should remain with the system. People that don't like the electoral college system should try to have that changed, but like it or not right now it is part of how a president is elected. I have not lost faith in my country because the person I voted for lost the national election. I know that our government will carry on, that my country is a great one and will continue to be great even if I don't always agree with all the decisions of its leaders (and really who ever agrees with all the decisions politicians make. come on.) I don't think people that disagree with me are stupid. I feel that everyone is entitled to their view. Our government is supposed to be influenced by what the majority of citizens want. Not what a vocal minority want. I will continue to make my voice heard by voting and discussing issues and hope that next time more people will agree with me. Why can't everyone have this attitude? It would make for a much friendlier environment around election time. And people are much more likely to listen and think about your opinion if you express it without making derisive comments about opinions that differ from yours. Or the people that hold those differing opinions. People on all sides of the issues need this advice. I hate how some people get at election time.

And now I need to stop avoiding my novel and get to work. This post doesn't make the most sense maybe but I just had to vent my frustrations without worrying about eloquence.

So many things, so little time

Well, Nanowrimo is fast approaching and I have so many other things I need to get done. For those of you who don't know, nanowrimo is national novel writing month. It starts November 1st and ends on the last day of the month. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in that time frame. I am going to try hard this year to actually finish. Last year I didn't actually write anything so I can't do worse. For those of you who enjoy writing, come and join in on the fun. It isn't too late to sign up.

Today I actually got a lot done. I sorted through my kids toys and got rid of some, I canned some apples, and I cleaned up the kitchen. Tomorrow I need to finish sewing my sons Mickey Mouse shorts for Halloween. Then I need to work on my outline for my novel, typing it, and try to fit in working on Christmas gifts all in the next few weeks. If I finish everything I have planned it will be a miracle.

Crazy People!

I heard something about Angelina Jolie's breast-feeding photo the other day and the scandal surrounding it. Of course this sparked my interest (I generally don't care too much about celebrities and their lives) and I had to search on the web to see the photo. Besides finding the photograph to be very tame and not understanding the problem surrounding it I found some crazy crazy fans of certain celebrities. When reading the comments posted by some people about this picture, I stumbled on some women (and perhaps men) that seem to feel that these people who they have never met are their personal best friends and family and need their defense. Honestly, how can someone get so angry about some wealthy person's family life? Why do they care if another woman thinks Jennifer Aniston is boring and so Brad Pitt left her? Or that another person thinks Jolie is an evil harlot who steals men? Why even make excuses for them or think about this to begin with? Am I just perpetuating the celebrity idolizing culture by posting about it here?

I just don't understand the depth of feeling some have over these things. Are their lives so boring and inconsequential that they need to post nasty comments like these about actors? There are so many other more important things in the world to get angry about, this should be last on the list.

Busy, busy

I figured I should post something since I haven't this week. I have been fairly busy. Today I canned tomatoes all day. I need to take the time tonight and write in my kids' journals because I haven't in a few weeks. So with my extra time tonight I will be doing that, But look for an exciting (ha) post soon, right after my MIL leaves.

And since today is September 11, lets remember the families of all the loved ones that died that day and the way our country came together after the tragedy and try to keep that feeling of connectedness we had then for each other.

History Lesson

I always find it interesting when elections roll around to learn how little some know about how our government actually works. And no, I am no expert but I know a few more of the basics than seems common. Many people seem not to know what the President can actually do as the executive leader of our country and what Congress's responsibilities really are. (More about this later). Elections also increase the talk about religion's role in government in this country. There seems to be many misconceptions that are perpetuated about the role of God and religion in the founding of our country so this post addresses some of these. I originally posted most of this info on a forum I like to go to but I wanted to put it here as well. I will preface my comments by saying I was a history major in college and American Heritage (which discussed the founding of this country) was a required course. And also I might not be completely correct, but this is what I remember from class.

The United States was founded on neither religion nor freedom of religion. Specific colonies were set up for this purpose but this country as a whole was not. We ( I am using this because it is the easiest pronoun to use, although I of course was not present in these events) declared our independence from Britain because of what we saw as unfair taxation, laws, and other measures being passed by the King and his government without adequate representation from the colonies of America (hence D.C.'s license plate taxation without representation because they somehow see their situation as similar but they should perhaps read the declaration of independence). Religion was perhaps on some peoples minds but was not directly mentioned as a reason for secession from Britain.

There honestly isn't many direct references to God in the Declaration itself (I just casually perused it and found one mention of Got and one of a Creator, which doesn't mean there aren't more I just wasn't reading super carefully). The Constitution itself (excluding the Bill of Rights) also from my skimming doesn't mention religion or God except to say that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States". It is the bill of Rights that brings up the freedom of religion. Some of the founders actually argued against a bill of rights saying it wasn't necessary with the system they were setting up but others refused to sign without one.

Separation of Church and State is not the same thing as Separation of God and State. Most if not all of the founders believed in God but many of them were agnostic or deists and did not follow any specific creed. That is why they were concerned with the separation of a specific Church and Government. Most of the countries in Europe had at least at that time a specific church that had much influence or control in government. We here saw the problems that had caused and did not want this when setting up our government. I can't remember if they had any prayers in meetings, but I know that many of the founders talked about praying individually about what to do when coming up with the Declaration and Constitution (and the War of course).

What is my point? Well I am not completely sure. I don't think the founders ever intended for no one to include their beliefs in their decisions about laws and policies. They obviously included their beliefs and asked God for help. But they also did not one anyone to be forced to worship a way in which they did not believe. The whole point was freedom from tyranny and one way to avoid tyranny was a prevent a state sponsored church. But this was not the only tyranny they wanted freedom from . .

And now I am just rambling so will stop except to include that In God We Trust was only placed on all our money within the last 100 years (if I remember correctly and I don't feel like looking it up so correct me if I am wrong), and that God was included in the pledge relatively recently as well. So maybe my point is we are using God's name more in these days but actually getting farther away from policies and actions that He would support? Just an idea.