Republican Male-Oriented Thinking

Wow. Sometimes you just have to step back and say, "Wow."

So, it appears - and after reading the article linked below, I agree - that the whole basis for the Republican War on Women (and gay rights, health care and unions, etc) is that Men should be Men.  Yes, everything they are fighting against is something they somehow see as a threat to masculinity and the power-base of Men.

If the government steps in to protect and support women, then they won't need men (anti-health care, anti-contraception, anti-equal-pay, etc).  If women don't have babies to take care of, then they won't need men to support them and the child (anti-abortion, anti-contraception, anti-public assistance, etc).

Basically, the majority of the platform comes down to protecting the Male Ego - you know, all those parts not dedicated to making sure the rich get richer and the poor folks just stay in their place.

The Root of the Conservative War on Contraception showcases their 'anxiety' very well in the author's dialogue :

WALSH: And we’re going to equalize this thing right here, right now. And he did that, and these guys went crazy. They went crazy. I don’t entirely get what that was about …

STEELE: The problem is that you have effectively absolved the male of any responsibility in the relationship with this woman, whether it’s a sexual nature or beyond that. It’s not just about giving women access to contraception. It’s about the responsible behavior that goes with that access. It’s nice for Barack Obama to tell women, I got your back. Here, have a pill.

WALSH: That’s not what he’s saying.

STEELE: That’s what you just described … Men have a responsibility here … when you come together in that fashion, there’s a responsibility that kicks in that you just don’t want to be absolved because the woman has a pill … It’s this other piece that doesn’t get talked about in terms of the responsibility of fathers, or potential fathers, in this relationship.

I read Steele's response as "Whaaa! Whaaaa! Men Matter too! We Matter!! Whaaaa!!!"

Apparently, their theory says that we must keep women barefoot, pregnant and, in addition to raising kids, they also have the responsibility to "Civilize" their menfolk in order to keep the men from being violent, criminal barbarians*.

In the view of Murray, Santorum and, to some degree Steele, government dependency frees a woman from being dependent on a man – and that’s not good for men. It’s as though liberated from the burden of providing for a woman (even just providing contraception!), a man can’t be trusted to be responsible, for his children, or even himself.

Of course, by cutting education - an effort to "keep 'em stupid, keep 'em republican", IMHO - they are shooting themselves in the foot, so to speak :

we know that educating women is key to improving the living standards of their communities and their countries. When girls are educated, they postpone motherhood, and when they do have children, their kids are healthier, better educated and their families are more stable.

There is not even a consistency, much less any reasonable logic in their platform or agenda.

Save Mississippi, Save The United States - Don't Vote Republican!!

*though, many people are not Greek and don't speak Greek, so I am not sure where they are going with that one....lol.

Republicans pass law to Close Private Business

More reasons to Not Vote Republican - ever!!

For all their talk of "Free Enterprise" and the "Free Market" when the chips are down, Republicans are the most anti-freedom, anti-business people on the planet.

Take for example this story of a business that the Republicans in Mississippi don't like.  They have passed a new law heaping absurd regulations on the business.  The Lt. Governor and the Governor have both stated openly that they hope the new law, when signed, forces the business to close.

While Mississippi faces staggering unemployment and huge bills for Public Assistance, the Republicans are introducing over two dozen bills trying to close one private business instead of pass bills to spur job creation and prosperity for all.

The Republicans have introduced around 24 (Twenty Four) bills on just one religiously driven social topic.  Zero (0) bills on creating jobs or helping struggling citizens (that I am aware of).  They have actually introduced a few bills that hurt citizens of Mississippi and waste our tax money in various ways.  The sad thing is that many of the things Republicans try to do are solidly unconstitutional, yet they waste our money on it anyway.

As for the Voters of Mississippi, Phil Bryant has gone on record saying that he is "not really concerned what they think, because their thinking is wrong."

All of this time, money and energy spent on trying to close one single private business pretty much makes me think all of the Republicans have some severe mental health problems.

( Links - Kaiser Health, CNN )

The Republicans want the freedom to control other people.  They don't want government to tell them what to do, but they want government to tell everyone else how to behave, what decisions to make, what option to take and what kind of church to go to.  When people start making choices Republicans don't like, they turn to government to force them to comply with Republican choices.

Their disconnect with reality is startlingly apparent when they keep wanting to cut taxes, but still want the roads in good repair or law enforcement paid for.  They don't want an unbiased, constitution bound government providing services for no profit. They want to get government out of as many services as possible, because they want unregulated private businesses to profit from exploiting the citizens.

The Republicans also are rabidly against Democracy.  Just look at all of the voter suppression laws they endorse and pass.  In one state, they have actually gone so far as to pass laws allowing them to suspend democracy all together! They accuse Democrats of such things and deride them for even suggesting such - then they go and DO it.

"The GOP have lost their platform, and what they're scrambling around is oppressive." - Picturamadoj

"If you look back over the last century, the Republican and Democratic parties have basically switched positions.  Republicans used to be the liberals, ushering in radical progress and diversity while the Democrats were the ones hanging on to the past, trying to sure up the Old White Male power.
Now, its completely reversed.
Lincoln would be a Democrat today." - Me, based on discussions with Willice and others.

SFG Pics ( Hi, Mom! )

Square Foot Gardening in our Front Yard!

Well, I said I would post pics...but the weather didn't cooperate.... so...

From my front porch, I can zoom in on my first sprout to come up in Bed #2 - the Borage!

and some of the Radishes :

and the lettuce...  there is an onion sprout on the right and basil in the front/center....

Now, compare those, that have been planted for three weeks or so to the Dragon Tongue Beans - a full three or four days old:

That is a sight that makes a gardener happy! Big, healthy sprouts in (nearly) an instant!

And a shot of my decorative rock garden feature thingie (the dark stripe is where I had just watered the magnolia):

and the Terraced Garden (formerly roadside ditch area):

You can see one of the biggest of the brush/tree roots that I was pulling up down in the bottom right corner... and in the background of the following pic of our water feature:

The grass is a little high over there because it has been too wet to cut it with my riding mower... so... I sold the riding mower and have a push mower on the way so I can exhaust myself this weekend (hopefully).

Last night, during a let-up in the rain, I did plant Mammoth Melting Snow Peas, Lady Cream Peas, two squash and transplanted the Tigger Melon seedlings into the front yard rows.  I also transplanted the Silvery Fir Tree and Granny Cantrell German Red Tomatoes into Bed #2 and Bed #1.  Hopefully, the heat of today will help the kick up the growing process.

I am getting the itch to get some straw/hay bales to prepare for the potatoes and watermelons....
I need to get the conduit for the trellises soon too.

SFG Update

Updates to our Square Foot Gardening in our Front Yard!

So, two more beds made and filled - one with a 100% Mel's Mix (very expensive!!).  Still only have one bed seeded.  Seedlings started inside are ready to be transferred.... I hope. Plan on doing that tonight after work.

I have tilled up my roadside terraced garden area and got the ditches around it cleaned out and deepened.  I finished yanking all the shrubs/bushes from the area I want to make "Blueberry Hill."  Our pond now has some plants in and around it.

We finally got the containers for the potato plants set up and planted.  We are going to do the fill-in method on those.
1. get a tall container.
2. fill bottom with a couple inches of dirt.
3. put in potato slice with eye.
4. when potato plant(s) gets 8 inches tall, fill and cover up 7 inches of the plant.  You can use a loose soil, which I plan to do, or supposedly you can use straw or hay to cover it up.  The potatoes will grow in those 7 inches.
5. when the plant grows another 8 inches above that soil, fill in the next 7 inches.  At some point, you will run out of container and stop the fill in process.
6. when the plant turns yellow and starts to die, turn the container over and dump out the harvest.

Oh! If you want a real feel-good gardening experience, plant Dragon Tongue bush Beans.  The young plants come up BIG and strong!

I hope to remember to take some pictures this evening so I can share them tomorrow....  or later today.

Here is a pic of Bed #2 from 3/16/2012 :

One thing I've learned - using 3/4" dowels for the grid is a bad idea.  For one, they are exactly 4' long... so, nothing to secure to and no tolerance for shorter or longer bed frames.  Secondly, they warp. Bad.