Tracypaints Weblog

An open letter to Sarah Palin, Teabaggers and over the top conservatives

tracypaints — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:16:54 +0000

you know, I have just about had enough. It is time for people to just grow the fuck up. Guess what? Obama won! He’s President now. Deal with it. I had to deal with it when Bush won, and honestly I can’t believe ANYONE is proud of what he did to this country. When Bush got a bill passed to lower taxes on the rich, even though we were warned about the damage it would do to our economy, did you hear me use words like N****R and F****T? Did I throw bricks through republican representatives offices or advocate shooting them? No. Know why? BECAUSE I’M AN ADULT.

If you don’t like the system, then CHANGE IT. Run for office, volunteer to elect a candidate you believe in, vote for god’s sake, but stop acting like spoiled children taking a tantrum because you didn’t get what you wanted. I’m a citizen of this country, I pay my taxes, I fight for causes I believe in. Sometimes I lose. I don’t expect everyone to want what I want and I’m ok with that.

So let’s straighten a few things out:

a. 98% of the country didn’t want the Health Care Bill passed. Really? Maybe 98% of the people in your trailer park. Did you do polling? Or did you just accept it when Ann and Glenn and Rush told you this because, hell, we all know that ratings and book sales don’t drive THEM. Having done some preliminary research on the subject, I have yet to find any consistent numbers on this.

b. Shoving your ideologies down my throat–I think it’s really great you’re a christian and you want to live by “Christ’s example”. For the most part I don’t see much of that, but I’m sure there are some Christians who are actually christlike. Somewhere. Regardless, I don’t believe in war in a god’s name or for the spirit of democracy or patriotism or whatever. I believe that anyone who believes that it’s their inherent right to own a gun must know that the ultimate purpose of a gun is to kill, and that all humans should have the compassion to take want to help and take care of each other. So I don’t subscribe to a religion, how does any of that go against Christ’s example?

c.” Let’s get back to old values and the good old days.” Which good old days were these exactly? The early part of the 20th century when sanitation was poor, people and animals died in the streets, and oh let’s not forget that fun time called WWI? Or maybe the depression? No? WWII? The 50′s when women were basically zombies because they had no outlet for their intellect or their passions other than their children–who rebelled in the sixties anyway? The 70′s? (disco, need I say more?) When? Guys, we have now. This is our time our century our reality. It’s our chance to create something better, not revert and devolve.

d. You keep telling me I should be grateful to all the soldiers who went to war to fight for my constitutional rights. So why do YOU keep trying to take them away from me?

e. “Let’s take our country back” From who? Who exactly took the country? Why is it your country and not mine? I work hard, pay my taxes, obey the law. Why are your needs more important than mine, or anyone else’s for that matter?

Finally, if you are going to protest, can you please stop protesting as an American? Between your tantrums, your bad grammar and spelling and your complete inability to grasp either facts or reality, you’re making the rest of us look really really stupid to the rest of the world.

enough is enough

tracypaints — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:05:35 +0000

I want to know why ABC News is giving credibility to someone like Mimi Roth. If someone had come out with an organization called National Action Against Blacks, Christians, gays or any other group, people would be screaming. But this woman goes on national television with a group called National Action Against Obesity and that’s ok. That’s not prejudicial. That’s not harmful to anyone, because hey, fat people are jokes. They aren’t human. Hell, they shouldn’t even be allowed to sit at the same lunch counters or drink out of the same water fountains or sit in the front of the bus, should they. Because they are less than. Extreme? You think so? What if it was you?

What makes anyone think that their body size or weight has anything to do with who they are as a person? If Mimi Roth is any indication, then apparently all thin people are shallow, thoughtless and uncaring. When do we stop judging people by the outside? When does it stop becoming ok to beat someone up because someone else doesn’t like the way they look? Who gave Mimi Roth the right to decide who is acceptable and who isn’t?

Shame on you ABC. Shame.

Will anyone listen?

tracypaints — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:52:05 +0000

my friend Jobie, whom I lovingly call “Mr. Crankypants” made the point today that extremists on both sides of the political arena are destroying the country. Ok I may have oversimplified his point. But he DOES have a point.

Moderate voices are being completely drowned out by the sheer number of extremists on both sides who spend more time name calling and finger pointing than actually looking for solutions. And I can’t help but be angered by the less than subtle campaign by right wing extremists who are disguising their racism and, let’s face it, soreloserness (yes I know that’s not a word) in protests against health care reform and taxes.

Honestly, these people ought to be ashamed of themselves. While it is our right to protest for the things we believe are right, these people are embarrassing us and our country. And sadly, extremist members of our senate, a body of politicians at the highest level of government, are just as guilty of this charge as the people who stand outside the White House with posters depicting President Obama as a monkey. It is shameful, and it is time to stand up to it.

Jobie, you said that the moderate voice is being drowned out. What moderate voice? Please tell me what moderates are doing to combat this? Do I think responding in kind is the answer? No. And for those liberals who respond with name calling and such, stop it. You lower us to the level of those who are behaving shamefully. I do think that it is necessary to expose racism and bigotry for what it is however. And being moderate and sitting on the sidelines won’t do that. What is the phrase being used so often now? Your silence is your consent.

The extremists know what the moderates don’t want to acknowledge…that you can’t fight this craziness by keeping to the middle of the road. Should it be necessary to fight fire with fire? No. So what do we do? People like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck are self serving and publicity hungry and know how to whip people into a frenzy. They don’t do it for the virtue of any ideology they believe in, they do it for the ratings and the money and the fame. And they know how to work the crowd. They compare the President to Hitler, but use the same tactics Hitler did to convince Germans that the Jews were the source of their problems. They see people who are angry and scared …well why wouldn’t we be? The economy has fallen as fast as prices are rising, we are still embroiled in a war we can’t afford and are still in the throes of fear of terrorist attacks (kept alive by those who continually remind us about 9/11 instead of letting the country heal). By appealing to people’s basest level, many have been convinced that the source of all their problems is the uppity black muslim (which he’s not) in the White House. The “pundits” (for lack of a better word) tend to leave out the part about how all of this was started by the Republican president who stole the office not once, but twice. And yes, he stole it.

People buy it because they are scared. You say the words Communist and Socialist and you set off a visceral emotional response. Often from people who don’t even know what communism and socialism are. But they are still kept in fear by the thought of being taken over by an ideology that killed and oppressed millions. It should be pointed out that the ideology itself didn’t kill and oppress. Alone as an ideal both are designed to create a Utopian society, something I can’t believe would be a bad thing. Unfortunately, the people in charge tend to corrupt the ideal and turn it into something that inspires fear. Is that relevant? It is if you don’t understand that you aren’t in danger from an ideal that asks all humans to take care of each other and treat each other as equals. Which may be the problem in a nutshell. Human nature being what it is, are we willing to be that altruistic?

What is most shameful is the reality that this is all an extremist republican tactic to keep us and the government so busy fighting this nonsense that nothing gets accomplished. Our President is kept distracted by a campaign of disinformation, defamation and downright lies. No governing gets done and the country and it’s people are the ones who end up being hurt the most by it. To prove what? Who is the loser here? We are.

The point is this. We need moderate voices. We need reasonable people to stand up and point out that this is nonsense and we are making a mockery of the United States of America. That we are making fools of ourselves. The question is, will anyone listen?

for you, everything

tracypaints — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:06:30 +0000

I remember the day you were born. Your mother said you looked like a tootsie roll in your swaddling blanket. I was scared to death of you. But I remember your first night home, your mother even more frightened of you than I was. Your grandmother showed her how to hold you to her chest and hum to calm you down. It was one of the most endearing things I had ever seen. I remember how touched I was by it.

The first time I held you, I never wanted to let you go. I hadn’t birthed you, but in a way I felt you were mine. For the first few months I barely put you down. I took you everywhere and showed you to everyone. They all thought you were beautiful. So did I.

I was there the first time you laughed. You always woke up laughing. And ….singing I guess you could call it. I was there for your first step, your first tooth, your first word, your first sentence. I taught you how to splash in the tub. We danced, we played, we laughed. I was “dad” but not. I never wanted you to call me Aunt.

We grew up together, you and I. I found a part of myself in you.

Fifteen years of my life wasn’t asking a lot. Not really. I loved ever minute of it like I love you.

But now, I am not part of you. You have a family, and that is wonderful. But, everytime you shut me out, my heart breaks a little more.

I never gave birth to you, but I always felt like I was, at least for a little while, your mother.

the bush library

tracypaints — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:43:50 +0000

Bush Presidential Library

There’s a show on C-SPAN about presidential libraries. Here’re what the draft plans for the George W. Bush Library now call for:

The Alberto Gonzales Room – Where you can’t remember any of the exhibits.

The Hurricane Katrina Room – It’s still under construction.

The Texas Air National Guard Room – Where you don’t have to even show up.

The Walter Reed Hospital Room – Where they don’t let you in.

The Guantanamo Bay Room – Where they don’t let you out.

The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room – Nobody has been able to find it.

The War in Iraq Room – After you complete your first tour, they can force you to go back for your second and third and fourth and fifth tours.

The K-Street Project Gift Shop – Where you can buy an election, or, if no one cares, steal one.

The Men’s Room – Where you could meet a Republican Senator (or two).

To be fair, the President has done some good things, and so the museum will have an electron microscope to help you locate them.

When asked, President Bush said that he didn’t care so much about the individual exhibits as long as his museum was better than his father’s

a reply to Sophia’s comment

tracypaints — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:46:42 +0000

Well Sophia, that’s fine. However, what is hell? Are you sure it exists? And what is the criteria for judging who will be going or not? Are you saying I don’t get to go to “heaven” simply by virtue of being a good person? What about the Jehova’s Witnesses who believe they are the only ones who will get to the Promised Land, and then only 144,000 of them (more or less)?

Whatever you want to believe is fine for you. I personally don’t believe in heaven or hell. I have faced my mortality already, having “died” when I was 5. I understand what exists over there, and I firmly believe that all will find what they expect in the afterlife (for lack of a better word).

Anyway, I am referring to that special breed of Christian who simply refuse to accept that I have chosen my path and it is mine to follow. I am talking about those Christians who feel they have the right to dictate how every single person can behave. Who feel they have the right to legislate morality. And honestly, that isn’t limited to just Christians, but to any religious zealot.

I think it’s great you have a belief system and that it serves you. That’s wonderful. And if I ask you about it, feel free to tell me about it. But don’t assume that my spirituality is less than yours because it is different. I don’t judge. I don’t care if someone is gay. I don’t care if two men or two women want to marry. I do care that people are murdered daily in the name of some god or another.

When I was a little girl and I first heard about Jesus, I heard about a loving, kind, compassionate, tolerant, peaceful, altogether beautiful man. And I fell in love with him. And then I went to church and heard the priest read from Revelations “and woe to mothers nursing their children” and I thought, my Jesus wouldn’t do that would he?

Well, technically, no, he wouldn’t. Besides the fact that the Old Testament is a bastardization of the Torah and Jewish historical and religious parables, the god of that testament is a totally different god. And, by the way, Jesus never ever said he was “god”. His followers did.

Do your homework Sophia. ALL of the new testament was written by men who never knew “Jesus”. Even the name Jesus is inaccurate. It is the hellenization of a title.

The Christian religion was sanctioned at The Council of Nicea in Rome by the Emperor Constantine, a life long pagan. There they decided which books would and would not make up the new bible. It was a huge fist fight of different factions all trying to marry themselves into one religion. Constantine, the first pope, was hardly “St. Peter”. Most christian ritual, icons and factotems are based on a pagan counterpart. And, one cannot discount the contribution of venus and sun worship. And no, I didn’t get that from the da Vinci Code.

Finally, Sophia, I am neither a better nor a worse human than you or anyone. And I am certainly not a man.

leave my soul alone

tracypaints — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:07:08 +0000

Please stop trying to save me.

Honestly, I don’t get why Chrisitians feel they need to “bring more people to Jesus”. Ok, that’s not true, I really do get it. It’s the brownie points. I’m not sure what you can spend the brownie points on, but you get some for every soul you “save”. Right?

It irks me when people assume that spirituality is linked to the amount of time a person spends in church. Trust me, some of the least spiritual people I have ever met are avid church goers. Image counts.

Which isn’t to say that all Christians are mean, hateful, judgemental, unforgiving, intolerant……oh you get the idea. I know some wonderful Christians. I used to be one (a born again Christian…I’m not sure about the wonderful part). And yet, at my most hard core, church going best, I never ever tried to shove my beliefs down anyone’s throat. And don’t get me wrong. I think a religious creed can be a great start down a spiritual path. It certainly keeps some kids off the street.

But seriously. I am an intelligent woman. I have done my homework. I didn’t just wake up one day and decide I didn’t want to be a Christian anymore. And my jury is still out on the whole “god” thing. Personally, I think man wasn’t made in god’s image, I think god was made in man’s image. I like Plato’s view of god as a remote creative force that is not involved in our everyday lives. I truly believe that all our choices create our lives. We are responsible for our (often) shitty lives, not some distant diety on a throne somewhere in the clouds. The angel’s wings are cool though. But, I digress.

I have spent close to thirty years studying physics, metaphysics, all kinds of new age philosophies, religions of varying kinds, etc. I have read hundreds of books on the subjects. And the conclusion I have come to is that no one really knows anything. I like that. It means we get to keep creating our world every day. So don’t tell me I have to see the world one way, with one god and one religion. I am responsible for my life and my choices. And they are none of anyone’s business.

be gracious my friends

tracypaints — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:27:26 +0000

the bigots are out in full force today. Oh yes, sure, they couch their prejudice in republican party rhetoric, but their intent is clear none the less.

Some are not so tactful–

“DDavi91625

05:06 PMNov 05 2008

THAT SOCIALIST MUSLIM AND HIS “HOG WITH LIPSTICK” WIFE AND UGLY KIDS ARE THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF A FREE AMERICA. (“

a quote I pulled off a comments section on an article about McCain. Sad really that in the 21st century such hatred still exists.

It amazes me what people will believe. Republicans call Obama a socialist, a communist and a Muslim, and without any research whatsoever, the faithful believe. Of course, there really is nothing wrong with being any of those things. It’s people who fuck things up, not isms. Isms just are what they are. Hatred, greed, corruption, all those things are injected by humans.

I prefer John Lennon’s quote “I don’t believe in isms, I just believe in me”. Last night on the radio, after the news announcement that Obama had won, the dj played “Imagine”. I thought that was just so perfect.

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

tonight we take our country back

tracypaints — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:38:22 +0000

tonight we have, as a country, made history in many ways. I am, tonight, proud to be an American. I haven’t been able to say that in a long, long time.

The dog and pony show led by head hack George Bush and puppet master Dick Cheney is over. And yet, the damage is done. And I am left with many many questions.

There are many angry republicans out there tonight, saying Barack Obama is not their president. Reality check. He will be in the Oval Office on January 20th whether you like it or not. We spent 8 years enduring a presidency that has nearly destroyed this country, and my question to you is this:

How much more? How many more lies do you need, how much more damage has to be done before you realize that these people don’t have the country’s best interests at heart? Or is it just that your pride can’t let you admit that, being a republican, “my party, my country, right or wrong” is not necessarily what you want to believe? When do you wake up and realize that our credibility in the world is severely damaged, the republican conservatives have done MAJOR damage not only to our economy but the world’s, and many men have spent their lives in two USELESS wars? Why does this not make you angry? Why are you not angry that John McCain sold his soul in his quest to become president? Why did you not say, are you sure Sarah Palin was the right choice? Is she really qualified to lead this country if anything happens to the president? Do you REALLY think the answer to that question is yes?

Ah, but my questions fall on deaf ears. For, no one reads this blog. And in the end I am only preaching to the choir. Republicans and conservatives will continue to believe the lies their party has sold them. They will believe even something so absurd as Obama being a socialist, or even worse, a terrorist. But then again, they believe that 2000 years ago a man was nailed to a cross and became a god. Incongrueties, I suppose, can be rationalized away with the excuse of “faith”.

And so, Republican conservatives will continue to be angry. They will continue to hurl the “liberal” epithet like a curse. And you just know, there are so many of them using the n word. In private of course. Image is everything.

I guess you could accuse me of being just as hateful. In some ways you may be right. I’m angry that the last eight years was inflicted on me and this country by people too proud to admit they were wrong. I’m angry that no one has brought criminal charges against Bush and Cheney and their cohorts. Because yes, they are criminals. But they will just blame it all on the liberal democrats. And their faithful will believe.

But lest I be accused of being the other side of the hate coin, I do respect some republicans. Colin Powell garners a huge amount of my respect, not just for his response to his party attacking Obama for religious belief’s he did not even hold.

To quote: Powell also said he was troubled that some Republicans — he excluded McCain — continue to say or allow others to say that Obama is a Muslim, when he is a Christian. Such rhetoric is polarizing, he said.

“He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America,” Powell said. “Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?”

Well said Mr. Powell. I always admired him, and his ability to “call bullshit” and stand by what he believes.

I don’t know if Barack Obama will be a great president. I don’t know if, in the next four years he will accomplish all that needs to be done. And I fear he won’t survive it. There are many, many people out there who feel that expressing their hatred with violence is justified.

So. We wait and see. It can’t be any worse.

what’s so bad about being a liberal?

tracypaints — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:34:40 +0000

Funny thing I have noticed lately. It seems as though conservatives are under the impression that lobbing the word “liberal” around as an epithet is somehow insulting to us.

Silly conservatives. Don’t you know that I am proud of my bleeding heart? I understand that to you liberal means lazy commie. To me it means, compassionate, open minded, intelligent, and concerned about the good of the whole as opposed to only what is good for me.

To lump me into one group because I am a liberal would be the same as me saying that all conservative republicans are closed minded, selfish, intolerant, gun toting rednecks. Is that fair?