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Friday, December 07, 2007

Why Some Men are Threatened by Hillary

As a conservative woman, I dislike some of Hillary Clinton's policies. I was also disappointed when she chose to "put up and shut up" when it came to her husband's peccadillos. I saw this as a sign of weakness, and I dislike weakness. She is also pro-abortion (I am not) and tends to favor more social programs than I do.

These are my reservations about Hillary Clinton, and I am always happy to discuss them with anyone.

However, there are many men who are self-styled 'conservatives' who are hardly conservative in their approach to Hillary. Such men speak about and refer to Hillary as they never would about her male counterparts. Instead of behaving as intelligent gentlemen, they are instantly reduced to white trash when Hillary's name is mentioned.

Why is this?

I've seen the t-shirts that say "Hillary, get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich." I haven't seen any that tell Barack Obama "Barack, go back to Africa" or ask Mitt Romney "Mitt: Where are your other wives?" And even if such t-shirts existed, those sayings wouldn't be attacking the candidates from a sexual perspective, as Hillary is being attacked.

On the internet, the name Hillary Clinton is often associated with such sexist put-downs as bitch, c***, whore, etc. However, you'd be hard-pressed to hear any of the male candidates called a prick, a dick, or even an asshole. Their beliefs are attacked, their sex is not.

I've heard Glenn Beck (who I otherwise respect for the most part) do an imitation of Hillary in a shrill fishwife voice. I've heard Rush snidely refer to her repeatedly as Mrs. Clinton, as if she has no claim to the throne based on her own merits.

Of course Rush makes other less oblique references to her, as well. Today, as I was radio-surfing, I heard him state that the only reason Hillary (and all women of her generation) went to college was to find a husband! And yet, I remember reading that Hillary was a brilliant scholar. I also remember that she graduated: Why graduate if your only goal is to catch a man? And what of the women who went to college after they married? Was their goal to find two husbands?

As the snot-nosed bully on the playground would say, "You're just a girl!"

What about Elizabeth Dole and Margaret Thatcher? What about Ann Coulter, darling of the right? Are they only girls, too?

This conservative male attitude is serving as a real eye-opener to many of us conservative females. If the worst that can be said of Hillary is a sexist put-down, obviously being female is a greater sin than being liberal. And this places many conservative males only slightly higher than the Muslim fundamentalists who believe in subjugating women through severe restrictions, female genital mutilation, and societal pressures.

How many women can remain quiet, knowing what their sons, husbands, and fathers are saying about Hillary? Do they not realize that such disdain is also levelled at them? For surely a man who believes that being a woman is a greater sin than liberalism will also see the women in his family as being a little less-than-human.

My mother is only a little older than Hillary. She and many other women of her generation didn't go to college to find a husband. They went to learn, better themselves, and come out as richer human beings. Having questing minds, these women worked their way into the workplace, sometimes doing the job better than their male predecessors. Many stayed at home, where the work was even harder.

These women enriched our lives due to the concepts they learned and the experiences they had in college and in the business world. It may shock some men to hear that many of these women became successful not simply because of the men they slept with, but due to their own merits instead. In fact, my mother just became a published author whose book can be found on Amazon and in bookstores.

Oh, but that's right: She's just a girl.

So why are some men so bent on attacking Hillary's sex? I had thought such barbarism went out in the 1970s. However, apparently such disdain runs deep in the psyche of less-intelligent males.

Do you remember the schoolyard bully that I mentioned earlier? Of course you do: Every school had at least one. Well, what do you remember of that bully? You probably remember he was pretty stupid and no one really liked him.

As we grow older, we realize bullies picked on others because they felt so terribly inadequate. In order to feel better about themselves, bullies need to view all others as lesser-beings.

Obviously the men attacking Hillary in this way feel threatened. And they're not threatened by her ideas, or they'd be attacking the ideas instead. No, they're merely threatened by her sex: "The Little Woman has arisen and she's uppity! Doesn't she know her place? Her place is beneath and behind us, or we will find ourselves last in line!"

The bully's solution is to attempt to denigrate Hillary in any way he can. And if Hillary can be treated this way, what will happen to the rest of us women who dare to state our sometimes unpopular views? Are we destined to be bullied, too?

As Margaret Thatcher once said "If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman."

Oh, but that's right: She was just a girl.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

The Lack of Shopping This Season

Today I'm not going to bemoan the commercialization of Christmas, or how we have to use the word 'holiday' in substitution of the various holy days we celebrate this time of year.

But, I do a lot of shopping at discount outlets for goodies to sell on Ebay and I have to say I've been shocked to see how few people are shopping at this time of year. And, those who are shopping are carrying far less parcels than they did last year.

And yet, as the government cheerfully tells us, employment is at an all-time low! What they neglect to mention is that people who used to have high-end high-paying jobs are now employed at McDonald's.

Yup! Unemployment's at an all-time low: So are our salaries.

So it's no wonder that when you walk through Macy's you can hear your footsteps echoing throughout the vast cavern of glittering holiday-themed outerwear and assorted tchochkes. However, try to elbow your way through a Dollar Tree to get a simple pack of tissue paper, and you'll find out where everyone is buying stocking stuffers this year.

Even our local outlet stores are offering additional discounts off their already low prices and many people are agreeing to forgo gifts this season. In fact, my parents, Sonosaur and I have an agreement to go out for a very elegant meal at a 5-star restaurant, instead. It makes sense for us, since we all have what we already want and need: What's the use in receiving one more sweater, one more necktie, one more Christmas ornament?

The shoppers look different, too. They have an almost haggard look about them, as if they are worn out from pinching pennies too fiercely. There are few smiling faces, no carefree swinging of bags, and a look of intense concentration as they carefully compare merchandise: "Should I spend the extra $20 for this sweater? Is it really worth the extra money?"

Perhaps as we near Christmas, we'll see a difference. But for now, there is a dearth of happy Holiday shoppers.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Why I Didn't Write Last Week: The Mobile Home

As most of you recall, I had a nightmare tenant who had been a former friend. When she was evicted (read more about that decision here), she left destruction behind. I've had to hire two people and the three of us have been working on fixing the entire wreck.

Here are some pictures of what she and her son did (I'll be posting the 'after' photos when we're finished). I made them to document her destruction for court, but the notes are specifically addressed to her. This is the Augean Stables, trust me.

The funny thing is that I had never wanted to be a landlord. This was supposed to be only temporary, and I was helping a friend out. As my grandmother always said, no good deed goes unpunished.

The mobile home park management says they’ve brought this repeatedly to her attention. From the way the glass lies, it is apparent that it was broken from within the home. Shards are laying about outside.






Here are a couple shots of the brand-new carpet which had been installed for her. Please note that these pictures are easily enlarged and do illustrate what she already knows to be true: This is a true mess that will need to be steam-cleaned. Potentially, the carpet may be ruined because we cannot be sure if that long black stain can be cleaned, as we don’t know what it consists of. Due to the state of the carport, I’m sure it’s possible that it’s motor oil.




Here an entire kitchen cabinet door has been ripped off and is nowhere to be found. I have been forced to go buy 4 doors to replace these doors, as it is impossible to find another door that will match the original three.




These holes are not due to termites, as my pest control experts could testify. They’re due to someone having applied tape to the ceiling in places. In other places, it’s just obviously been picked at. Because both Mom and son were on drugs, it was probably done while they were high and sketchy.


Now we come to the new closet which had been installed for her in the living room (she 'needed' more storage space). Apparently someone had gone inside the closet and exerted a great amount of force outwards, resulting in the entire wall being pulled away. Seams were ripped open, and cracks were evident. A hole was punched into the base of the closet.



Now we come to the satanic (and just strange) drawings which occupy one of the panels in the bedroom. Again, this was freshly painted before she moved in and we had a discussion about her son drawing on the walls. This discussion didn’t prevent him from sticking up rock bands, sexually explicit lyrics, and satanic pictures on another panel in there, however, as the next picture shows.

Incidentally, many of the brand new knobs were ripped off, and one was dented and mangled beyond use. I will now have to purchase new knobs and hardware to replace what has been lost.




Here’s a shot of some of the garbage which she left behind. This is only what was between the refrigerator and kitchen counter…


They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So what does this filthy refrigerator say? The lady who is cleaning the place gagged over this one.


As I told her... thanks for the used toilet paper wadded up on the toilet paper dispenser. That was a particularly nasty surprise.