Colorado Floods and Mean Obituaries

So, Colorado and flooding.  What a terrible mess!  Terrifying, and the destruction is breathtaking. I'm noticing, though, that much of the devastation is being visited upon the very counties threatening secession.  I'm wondering how long before Pat Robertson begins shouting to the heavens that this is GAWD'S judgment for sinful rebellion against our leader (Romans 13:2) -- oh, wait.  No, he only does that when the victims of whatever perfectly explainable natural phenomenon are gay, uppity women, minorities, or democrats.

Silly me.

Weld County is one of those nut-baggy secessionist counties--or, rather, Weld County is unlucky enough to have a County Commission packed with the sort who object to regulations of firearms and oil exploration.  No reason to paint the entire county with that broad brush, right?  I'm sure not everyone there is . . . well.  You know.

And Weld County is utterly devastated--140+ roads closed (possibly washed away), oil pipelines and fracking operations damaged/leaking/otherwise compromised (you remember the oil pipelines--the ones the secessionists don't want the dirty democrats regulating?), and untold waste flowing with the flood waters.  Farms and ranches underwater.  How long, do you think, will it take for "we don't need no steenkin' liberal government interfering" to turn to "Please, sir, I want some more?"   I'll bet the relief/aid dollars are already flowing into Weld County and its ding-batty, "Patriots R Us" neighbors. And you know what?

That's as it should be.  Despite their stupidity, their hyperbole, their tea-baggery self-aggrandizing, they are Americans and Coloradans, and helping them is exactly why we pay our taxes to fund the very programs they hate.  The very programs that will now save them.  I'm glad to have my taxes go to rebuild their roads, I'm glad to know that my money will help Americans rebuild and recover.  Not the NRA's money, not Ted Nugent's money, not Halliburton's money.  America's.

That's part of what being an American is all about.  And I hope the secessionists of AMERICA take away that lesson, so the next time a Hurricane Katrina or a Super-Storm Sandy hits, they'll think before mouthing off about how New Jersey and Louisiana should have better planned for disaster, how it shouldn't be their state's job to help rebuild the Jersey Shore.

How they don't want/need those liberal dollars.

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Speaking of wingnuts and taxes and infrastructure, those very Colorado wingnuts might have some 'splainin' to do.  Turns out, when you refuse to fund things like dam and road and bridge repairs, they--well, they fall down and wash away in floods.  Funny how that works, huh?  

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Had a rather wild blow-out on my Facebook wall a couple of days ago.  I posted the latest "we hated you, Mom" obituary, and had a gentleman tell me that, regardless of the truth of the matter, the children should have been quiet, that their speaking out was "cheap" and "ill mannered."  He went on the suggest that the these children were probably just upset because they didn't get the cell phone they wanted for Christmas.

Oh, gosh.  You know how I get about victim-blaming.  About telling people they should shut up about abuse they've suffered because, gosh, we don't want to hear it.

To my credit, I didn't totally explode.  But this guy (who started out his argument with the "I put on the uniform to protect freedom" crap that's pretty much always meant to somehow bolster a weak argument or shut down dissent) kept arguing that HE would never do that, HE would never stoop so low, that even if HE were being beaten daily by lunatics, he'd never "air dirty laundry."

But Mark, it's not about YOU.  Who gives two spits what YOU or *I* might do?  It's not up to us to decide how these tortured children deal with the death of their torturer.  And publicly condemning, castigating, and "shushing" people is hardly "defending freedom of speech."  I'm glad you "put on the uniform"--really, I am, thank you!  My dad did, too.  But it doesn't lend your words more weight or somehow make you an expert on just any ol' thing you choose to weigh in on.  You want to talk to me about your MILITARY experiences, by all means, I defer to your superior knowledge.  But your knowledge of psychology, child development, child abuse, and the Bill of Rights?

Sucks, babe.

Here's the obituary:

And here's the full story, which makes it clear this was about just a titch more than bitterness over a Christmas present.

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I want to finish with a thought.  It occurred the other day, and it was a joyous thing, really.  I almost cried when it came to me.

You know the old saying that how important a thing is can be measured by the number of words or terms we have in our vocabulary to describe it?  I have dozens and dozens of endearing terms I use to refer to my beautiful boy, from "Spy Boy" and "Pie Boy" to "Binge-Bopper" and "Snug-Bupper."  He has been "Seanie-Sean," "Sean-a-Lingo," "Ringo," "Bump Majingo," "Buboes" (yes, I know what that means), "My Heart," "Mungo," "Muppers," "Budget Baby," "Kiddlie," "Mustard," and a whole host of others.  Because it's true, I guess--the more you love something, the more you seek to paint it with words.

Yam-Face

Bye-bye, Sonata!

So, the tow company that was supposed to come on Monday (but we knew wouldn't be here) showed up this morning.  Picked up the car with a strange and magical tow truck contraption I've never seen before.  No hooking, no chains, just backed up with a "tow-T" and voila!  Like magic, the car was attached and off they went.  What is that, magnetic? 

Hubby's been hassling on the phone (and in person) all morning with insurance adjusters and liability folks, trying to figure out the car repair.  They're saying three grand.  They're SAYING we'll have to pay five hundred out of pocket for the deductible.  But the paperwork they gave states we owe the full amount, which really, really, really concerns me.  As we all know, what people SAY and what's WRITTEN DOWN can be two entirely different things, and what's in writing is what stands in an argument.  The last thing we need to do is hand that car over to a shop, have them fix it, and then have them refuse to hand it back without the full amount.  Which, of course, we do NOT have.

All of my hurricane path friends are accounted for.  That's good.  The pictures coming out of the lovely Jersey shore?  Terrible.  Wrenching.  Devastating.  My heart goes out to them. 

Out to put the Halloween decorations back up.  We had put up only a few to test the rat-children, and no damage was done (though I brought them back in for Sandy).  So now we're going to go full-bore and put up the lights and all.  Cross your fingers that the kids won't do a number on us.

Niece-in-law (hubby's nephew's wife) is going to be in DC tomorrow, so we'll have her over for dinner tomorrow night, then show her around the next day.  It'll be great to see her, she's a very nice young woman.  Wish her husband could be here, too--he's a marvelous guy.  I'm very fond of them both.

And that's that.  Nothing of great import to say.  Election almost here, hoping folks will remember that Mr. Romney wants to do away with FEMA.  It's good to know where you stand, should the worst happen. 

Bye-bye, car!