Hell In A Handbasket

This is pretty much just a rant on my part. I won't apologise. I am not sorry. I vehemently disagree with my President on every global initiative he's poked his incompetent fingers into.  From Egypt and Libya to Syria and Ukraine. He is the President of this wonderful country in which I live, but he does NOT speak for ME! The man has been on the wrong side of every geopolitical crisis since the day he took office! Oh, I know he ran (and subsequently won the election) on his promise to get our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan. However, his withdrawal of our military, the only stabilizing force in the country of Iraq, resulted in a vacuum. In the subsequent aftermath, the withdrawal of American military forces did nothing more than to pave the way for someone far worse than Saddam Hussein. In this respect, former President George W. Bush was chillingly prophetic in his July 12, 2007 press conference when he said, "It would mean increasing the probability that American troops would have to return at some later date to confront an enemy that is even more dangerous." President Obama's inaction since January makes him culpable for the atrocities now being committed by ISIS. The mere fact that he referred to the al Qaeda spin-off as "JV" (aka Junior Varsity) shows his absolute ignorance and disengagement from the world and it's issues.

Yes, yes. I know, I know. We, as a nation are war-weary. I admit it. The very thought of sending America's sons, daughters, brothers, fathers to a country far away to fight in a war not our own is heartbreaking and gut-wrenching.  Yet, I support them for doing so. I know that the reason we have sacrificed blood, bone, sweat, tears, time, and treasure in foreign lands is so that the homeland remain the land of the free and the home of the brave. There is no greater sacrifice. I Stand with Mothers of young men who have sworn the Oath and signed the blank check "Up To and Including Their Lives" to keep America free and to prevent the devastation of war from coming to our homeland, I am not only proud, but humbled.

The more I see/hear the news the more I feel my head is about to explode or blood will soon shoot out of my eyes. I am convinced that the President and his minions are deliberately orchestrating the downfall of America. They are implementing Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" as well as the Cloward-Piven Strategy to fundamentally transform this great nation into a place that is getting harder to recognize. To put it simply, "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!"

Progressivism began under President Woodrow Wilson. His policies were detrimental to America and eventually led to the Great Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt's policies exacerbated and prolonged the Great Depression. If you research the Fabian Society, you will discover that many of the progressive policies stem from the ideal that the world, as we know it, has to be remade. 

Not only has President Obama and his Administration orchestrated the radical transformation of America, they have also been working diligently to transform the entire world order. Consider the recent events in the Middle East. From the Arab Spring to the civil wars in Syria and Ukraine, President Obama has been on the wrong side.  He supported the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, even going so far as to send our own military personnel to take part in the ousting of the Egyptian President Mubarak and Libyan dictator Qaddafi. Mubarak was exiled and Qaddafi was brutally sodomized and executed. When the insanity spread to Syria, he supported the rebels against Syrian President Assad. The President even drew a "red line in the sand" and, of course Syria crossed it, and Obama erased his line. Admittedly those three guys were tyrants but the world wasn't burning and the people there had some modicum of peace and freedom, or the illusion thereof. 

Following September 11, 2012 when our own Ambassador, Christopher Stevens, along with three Navy Seals at the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, were killed by Ansar al Sharia, the world situation has degraded exponentially. We now have ISIS invading both Syria and Iraq. ISIS calls itself "freedom" fighters, but they aren't fighting for freedom. They are fighting to eradicate and enslave other people groups, religions, and anyone who isn't Muslim from those lands. They wish to impose Sharia Law in those lands they are fighting in. With Sharia Law, ISIS is ordering fatwas for all women and young girls to undergo  Female Genital Mutilation, which at the time of this writing, 130 Million women and girls have been subjected to it in 29 countries, worldwide. If you would like more information on FGM, please see The Honor Diaries, a movie that has been banned from several college and university campuses when the Islamic group CAIR protested it's viewing.

#ISIS or the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant #ISIL has now beheaded two American journalists a week apart. The first was James Foley on August 19, 2014.  He was 40 years old. The second journalist was Steven Sotloff on September 2, 2014. He was 31 years old. Sotloff was Jewish and also an Israeli citizen. This was not made public until after his decapitation as he worked primarily in Muslim countries. Both were kidnapped while covering the Syrian Civil War. The US has carried out more than 120 air strikes against ISIS. On Wednesday, September 2, 2014, following the beheading of Steven Sotloff, President Obama admitted on national tv that he did not have a "strategy for dealing with ISIS." The next day on September 3, 2014 he came out and said that the objective was to "shrink" ISIS to a "manageable problem." He cannot make himself say the word "Islam" in reverence to the terrorists who are now targeting Americans. They are holding at least two other American and one British journalist. PM David Cameron said that the UK was gearing up to challenge ISIS on the same day that 82 year old Palmira Silva was beheaded in a garden district in London yesterday. Eyewitnesses claim that the man, a Muslim convert, was yelling about cats while waving a machete around. The woman went out to intervene and save the cat(s) and ended up being decapitated. This is the third woman to be decapitated in the past 6 months in London.

I've seen reports where ISIS has been burying women, children and teenagers alive. It is horrifying. I cannot fathom the barbarism and depravity of these groups. Every where they invade, blood, mayhem and violence follows them. We see them in Syria, and now Iraq. Hamas is flooding Israel with rockets, yet the world sides with Palestine and the terrorists who use women, children, schools and hospitals as shields. Russian troops amass on the border with Ukraine as the fighting there escalates since Russia's invasion of the Crimea. The fighting there is also horrific. The world burns and where did President Obama go? On a 16 day vacation. He made the presser for James Foley and within an hour he was teeing off on the golf green, and attending a fundraiser after Steven Sotloff was beheaded. Obama is now in the UK to discuss a "coalition" with Prime Minister David Cameron and NATO for dealing with ISIS.

I. Swear. It is enough to drive me clinically insane.

Laterz,
~Starr

The Purrfect Wee Beastie

Sophie Rose Hall

She graced my life from May 2003 - August 21, 2014

Age 16

1998 - 2014

My purrfect wee beastie crossed the rainbow bridge today.

I held her most of the day. Cuddled in my arms she never stopped purring. I brushed her fur and gave her "pink belly rubs" all day long.  She ate well: two Meow Mix cups, still drinking water, and she used the litterbox. She had peed on me twice yesterday. 

Her feline progressive histiocytosis had progressed so fast in this last month. She looked like a gremlin: had lost all of the fur on her face and all four of her paws. The lesions on her face and feet had begun to rupture and I could no longer keep them clean. She had nipped at me as I washed them and  put peroxide on them. Dr. Bo said that with her condition that she may have lesions internally and that if they ruptured she could bleed to death. The thought of seeing my cat bleed to death in front of my eyes was too horrific to contemplate.   Since her diagnosis in 2012, it became all about maintaining her quality of life. FPH is very rare. Only 75-80 cases worldwide. Dr. Bo said most cats were euthanized for cosmetic reasons. Sophie's treatment was mostly a success in that area. With the monthly Depo-Medrol injection and the synotic drops applied twice a day, it was only within the last month that she had lost her fur. 

Dr. Bo was awesome. He gave me time with her, before and afterwards, complete with a big hug. He and Kim, the assistant, were helpful with the information on cremation and pet urns. I've never had a pet cremated before. But I've never had a cat like Sophie before either. She was the best cat ever and had been with me through so many milestones and life events it seemed wrong to just bury her. 

Sophie was a rescue cat. I adopted her from the Humane Shelter in 2003. According to the shelter she was 5 years old. I think she had been abused. She never liked men, especially my ex-husband, and loud noises frightened her. Jacob is the only guy she ever tolerated and I think that was just because he loved her so and made her accept him. He was the first to discover that she like what he called her  "pink belly rubs." Jacob still scared her occasionally....like the Halloween he came in dressed as the Wolverine. Sophie jumped off the bed to hide under it.  

It's really hard to say goodbye to a friend who has been with you so very many years and seen you through so many tumultuous life events. Sophie was the one I could always cry with and never feel judged for the overwhelming emotion. She was the epitome of unconditional love. 

Sophie saw me through a nasty divorce,   a couple of boyfriends, children growing up, and the loss of my Mama. She endured every trip to the State All-Star tournaments, Youth America Grand Prix Dance Competition, and the road trip to Cape May, NJ for Josiah's USCG graduation. Not to mention the many trips to north Alabama with me as I cared for my Mom while she was undergoing cancer treatments. She was a well traveled kitty who thought nothing of being sneaked in to whatever hotel we were staying in and she never got car sick. I'm going to miss her. 

I already do. No jingly bell sound from her collar or her little cooing sound, a trill really, that she would make to acknowledge my presence. I lost it when I got home and saw her little bowls, her bed, her mousie, her brush with her fur still in it. I haven't put those away yet. Maybe tomorrow. 

I popped open a cold one with Rob who had lost his cat Perky earlier this week. We drank a beer and exchanged cat stories. He says he will probably get another cat. I most likely will too, but not until after I get Sophie home and finish mourning. 

Mama-isms: Things My Mama Said

I awakened this morning, remembering and thinking about my Mama and some of the words and phrases she used on a regular basis. She was a lot like Uncle Si of Duck Dynasty in that respect. Here's a short list of a few phrases that my Mama used that are my favorites:

1.  pasture giants (legs, as in use yours and don't be lazy)

2.  sanko across (as in leisurely walk or skulk)

3.  have a conniption (panic attack)

4.  smells like kyarn (not even sure how to spell this one, but she meant smells like carrion: something dead)

5.  ridikilus (ridiculous)

6. heifer (applied to any woman she didn't like)

7. floozy (loose woman, i.e. skank, ho)

8. corker (She's a corker, as in her cat, Lucy. Incorrigible or astonishing)
 
9. greedy-gut (applied to anyone who wouldn't share or hogged all the food)

10. grouch-box (someone in a bad mood or ill-tempered)

11. two wrongs don't make a right (revenge is never right)

12. I've already forgotten more than you know (because she lived in the 30s, 40s, 50s. She experienced things I'll never know and she's right.)

13. that scrapper! (anyone who tried to take advantage of her)

14. that scroungeball (same as above)

15. turd-head (my dad)

16. dumb-bunny (not the brightest crayon in the box, stupid)

17. tetched in the head (touched in the head, crazy)

18. pasquale (vagina....yeah, imagine my surprise when the pizza place opened!)

19. tallywhacher (penis....I lie not!)

20. always wear clean underwear (her talisman against accidents #nojoke)

21. don't make me come in there! (when my siblings and I were fighting/arguing)

22. shut your mouth and eat (still haven't figured out how this is accomplished!)

23. just wait until you have kids (proved prophetic....#justsaying)

24. I'm gonna pull you bald-headed (if she ever thought I or my sister were lying to her)

25. swear on the Bible (and she'd make us stand on the Bible and swear....#true!)

26. you can't fix stupid (an immutable truth!)

27. when I was a kid.... (followed by a very long, long, long story)

28. I'm going to jump on your bed when you grow up! (she never did, but she threatened)

29. olive oil is good for everything (from moisturizer to ear aches)

30. don't ask me "Why?"

Later dayz,

Starla

'Twas The Night After The Iron Bowl

‘Twas the night after the Iron Bowl
And all through the land,
Not a “Roll Tide” was uttered by a Crimson Tide fan.
They used to be boisterous, they used to be loud,
They used to be boastful, and cocky and proud.

But they lost all their swagger, they lost all their swing.
For one little second had changed everything.
The score it was even. The clock had run dry,
When Little Nick Saban then started to cry.

He demanded a second be put on the clock.
The worse that could happen? A miss or a block.
But fate it is fickle, and greed has a price,
And what happened next just wasn’t too nice.

The previous kicks, wide left and wide right.
So he put in a rookie, 'twas not very bright.
The kick was a boomer of 56 yards,
But the extra yard needed was not in the cards.

And back in the end zone a lone Tiger stood.
He caught that ol’ football, he caught it real good.
He started to run, he heard the cheers grow.
The Crimson Tide offense? Too fat and too slow.

One hundred and nine, he ran for a score.
If needed, he could have run one hundred more!
The crowd, it erupted while storming the field.
The Crimson Tide’s season was settled and sealed.

A cry of “War Eagle!” soon echoed the Plain.
Nick Saban’s expression was one of pure pain.
And up in Ohio they shouted "Go Bucks!"
For it gave hope to all, well, except for the Ducks.

In Tuscaloosa you could hear a pin drop,
And in Tallahassee, a tomahawk chop.
For the night after Auburn, the Tide has no clue,
That the new boss in town wears Orange and Blue!

(Author: Chuck Porretto | Photo: Ashley Brooke Barrett)

'Twas The Night Before The Iron Bowl

'Twas the night before the Iron Bowl
And down on the Plains

The Tigers were ready

To protect their domain.
  The shakers were laid out in orange and blue,

And tailgaters were cooking their own bbq.

 The RV's came from far and away,
The Family ALL IN to the fields of hay.
We were up all night as we anticipated
Tiger Walk, an Eagle soaring, and being validated.
The Malzahan Miracle will surely be in effect
  As the Tigers get ready to give Bama heck.
Will they run? Will they throw? 

Will they soar down the field?
Ever to conquer and never to yield?
Will Marshall throw bombs,
To the quick Sammie Coates?
Will Tre Mason go over the top
For a birthday gift for Bo?
Will Prosch make big holes,
Or Dee Ford cause a fumble?
Will a packed Jordan-Hare
Register an earthquake rumble?
Thiereze will play like a champion prize fighter!
"It's GREAT to be an AUBURN TIGER!"

The Crimson Tide will come, cocky and proud,

But the Boys In Blue refuse to be cowed!

Pat Dye field will be loud with great noise,

As tomorrow will separate the men from the boys.
No matter what the score is by the end of the game,
"I believe in Auburn," I'll always proclaim!
Win, Lose, or Draw, Auburn's my team.
And though we're the underdogs,
A girl can still dream.
My Tigers will leave it all on the field.
The Family's ALL IN, Never to Yield!

When it's all over, and we've beaten the best,

 We'll Thank God above because we're so blessed!

When the Iron Bowl is over, Dixie won't be the same!
We'll all ride the Gus Bus to the Championship Game!
#WarEagle!!!

What If?

I just heard an excerpt from Bob Costas' NFL halftime sermonette about the Washington Redskins and how offensive their name is. I'd like to propose a "What If?"

What do YOU think the media would be covering IF the Washington Redskins board came out and said that they wanted to change the name because they wanted to be associated with WINNERS? Victors? Hmmm. We all know that the indigenous Native American peoples were the losers to the Europeans who came over and settled in the New World. How well would THAT go over? Like a sack of rocks, right? The Politically Correct Police (PCP) and Mainstream Media (MSM) would STILL be on their bandwagon about how racist, how offensive, how terrible to target a people group and label them as losers.

Personally, I don't watch NFL. If it isn't SEC, it just isn't football. After they leave Auburn, I pretty much forget about them, though I've kind of kept up with Cam Newton, I've never (not once) watched a Carolina Panthers game. Truth.  I think it is reprehensible that the PCP in the MSM (and even our President) wants the Redskins to change their name. But let's not forget this is the same moronic mentality that fired an ESPN sportscaster for using the phrase "chink in the armor" when speaking of the weakest link of Jeremy Lin in the NBA. Unfathomable idiocy. Didn't think anything could top that until that OTHER ESPN sportscaster called the NFL team the "WASHINGTONS".  Let's just get it over with and change the name to the Washington Thin Skins. I'm good with that.  Call it what it is: a bunch of liberal, white, Europeans who are still hellbent on keeping the indigenous Native American peoples on the Reservation.

Fact is, the PEOPLE who are trying to CHANGE the name have NO CONNECTION to the Native American people. At all. Rather than seeing it as a TRIBUTE to the People, they want to eradicate it and that the Native American peoples have a GREAT heritage as well as an ANCIENT claim to this land we call home. Guess we'll have to change the name of OKLAHOMA next, since it is a CHOCTAW (remember it was the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Creek people from Alabama and other southeastern states, who were sent on the Trail of Tears to a RESERVATION in the WEST...Andrew Jackson was an EVIL, evil, man.) word that means RED PEOPLE. Oklahoma was established as one giant reservation for the Native American tribes from the Southeast. If you want to see what a HUNDRED AND FIFTY (or so) YEARS OF GOVERNMENT DEPENDENCY does to a people, visit a reservation. Speaking of, I suppose we shall have to rename the state of Oklahoma since the very name is Choctaw "okla" meaning "red" and "humma" meaning "people." AND let's not forget that the Red Mesa High School will have to change their name as well....even though it is a Native American school on a Native American Reservation. We can't play favorites, can we?

As someone who is of Irish-Cherokee lineage, and whose great-great-great-I-don't-know-how-many-times-removed-Grandfather was the first recorded white man (European) on Sand Mountain, who married a Cherokee woman, I have always appreciated that Irish-Cherokee genetic heritage. When I first went to Elementary school the mascot was The Lakeview Warriors; Middle school was The Westside Braves, Jr. High School, back to Lakeview Warriors, and I graduated from a High School whose mascot was a Bison, The Thundering Herd.  In MY OPINION you just can't get any more AMERICAN than THOSE mascots! How SAD and HOW TRAGIC it is for those of us who are descended from that part of our history, to have people who want to do away with it. Changing the name of a football team doesn't change the HISTORY, not right away. Eventually people will forget that the REDSKINS were so named, not because of the COLOR of their SKIN, but because of the COLOR OF THEIR WAR PAINT. There were two groups of Creek Indians in Central Alabama, one of which was called The Red Sticks, because of the COLOR OF THEIR WAR CLUBS. I just don't get this whole re-writing, erasing, of history. We, as descendents should want to know it: the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's the only way we have a real perception of where we've come from, how we got to where we are, and what kind of people we want to be in the future. The NFL team name was changed to the "Redskins" IN HONOR OF then-coach Lone Star Dietz, an American Sioux.

It is a good thing that America was named for the first name of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, rather than his LAST name. Poor Columbus. Today is Columbus Day and in Elmore County, kids have to go to school. Once Upon A Time, This was a National Holiday and kids had a day off from school. Not any more. I bet kids don't even study about Columbus today.  Still, Jed told me his teacher told him that Columbus slept with Queen Isabella and that was how he became the recipient of the funding for his voyage. Jed asked me if that was true. Uhhh....my reply? "Not that we know of. Considering that Columbus was somewhat of a religious fanatic, it is doubtful, but still. It's been 521 years and unless there is recorded documentation from personal writings, I'd say NO!" As to Queen Isabella, her vision of discovery was sometimes obscured by events and people around her. Primarily the Catholic church as well as the all absorbing war with the Moors (Muslims). It was her war! At times she was the directing mind at the front. She even camped with the troops and participated in all their excitements. When not in the field with the army, she was collecting reinforcements and provisions and sending them forward. It wasn't until the end of the great war that she even gave Columbus an audience. It was his promise of funds to recover the Holy Sepulcher (from the Turks, aka Muslims) that touched Queen Isabella, but it was his impassioned speech about the dark paganism hanging over the lands and "the conversion of the benighted heathen was with Isabella by far the most potent argument."

This is my public service announcement for today. You can thank me later, as I'll be posting telepathically for the remainder of the day.

Later days,

Starr

Boston Bombing: Act of Terror or Plea from God?

Did you sleep last night? I tried, but was kept awake pondering the "whys" of the events of yesterday. I've concluded that, as a nation, we're missing the point. We respond to these events as if they are merely a matter of defense and national security without consideration that there could possibly be anything of deeper significance behind it. The purpose of events like those that happened in Boston is to humble us and make us realize that:

1) thinking we are in control is just an illusion; there is only One who is in control and we must seek Him and turn to Him.

2) because we are not in control, we should humble ourselves before God, seek His face, and turn away from our wicked ways.

3) we should live every day as if it were our last, recognizing that life is a fragile, precious thing and we, it's most frail creatures; as such, we should give worship to the One who gives us life.

4) death is appointed to us all, and after that, the judgement, and we should pause to consider that there MAY actually be a place called Heaven, and if there is a Heaven, then there surely must be a Hell for the ones to commit evil acts. If the thought of our loved ones in heaven brings us comfort, what is my responsibility and how do I get there?

5) All roads lead to Jesus, eventually. He didn't make "a" way; He made Himself "THE" way, and whether you believe or not, one day, you will stand before Him. Just because you don't believe, doesn't make it so. You can sincerely believe whatever you wish, and still be sincerely wrong. And even if I'm wrong, that doesn't necessarily make you right.

Yet, strangely enough, considering the graphic carnage of yesterday, I have not heard one person in government, media, or otherwise say we should humble ourselves and seek God's face. Every commentator and talking head has used words and phrases such as "we'll be stronger", "we'll ensure it never happens again", "we'll come back and be better", "we won't let this bring us down", "we'll be more vigilant", "we'll provide more security","we'll bring those to justice", "runners in Boston Commons as if saying, We're going to make a statement that everything is normal", "Boston is open for business", etc. It's all about "we.....us.....we'll....." much the same as it was after 9/11 when everyone from Donald Trump to the NYC mayor, governor, President Bush saying "we'll rebuild this tower" taller, bigger, better than before. Just like in Isaiah 9:10 "The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn stone. The sycamores are cut down but we will replace them with cedars." after the Assyrians breached their wall and attacked them. Instead of humbling and turning to God, we are prideful, angry, resting in the illusion of "our" strength and "our" abilities to overcome and "move forward" from the tragedy that has knocked us to our knees....as if we are somehow immune to destruction. Where is God? God is there with those who lost loved ones and He is still there to heal the broken and comfort those who mourn. Just as He was with the nation of Israel in her time of calamitous terror, He will be with America. His hand is outstretched. (Isaiah 9:12, 9:17, 9:21, 10:4) It's our choice as to whether or not we reach out and grasp it. Events happen in the physical realm but often have spiritual connotations and consequences.

Food for thought. Just sharing the midnight smorgasbord and 4 a.m. buffet that my mind dined on that resulted in a bad case of mental indigestion that wouldn't let me sleep. — feeling tired.

Easy For You To Say

I lost my angel of a mother on November 12, 2012. Not a day has gone by that I have not cried for her; I miss her so much. Life as I knew it changed forever the day that beautiful woman left my life. I feel like I'm an orphan now because "home" was always where Mama was, no matter how far away I traveled. I am still dealing with the anger too. I hate being told "it was her time to go" or "she's in a better place" like that is supposed to make all of the pain and sorrow go away. Time heals all wounds, but it does nothing to remove the scars of grief, loss, and missing someone you've loved your whole life.