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ROXANNE'S BLAH-BLAH BLOG:

(August 25th, 2010)

Every so often, I get an e-mail from a friend or family member that I don’t immediately delete as chain mail.  Most recently, I received and e-mail from a very good friend that spoke about the fact that women weren’t allowed to vote until 1920, and how women today take that right for granted.

History is something we need to remember.  Nothing we have to do is so important that we cannot take time to vote and to voice our opinions about the men and women who represent us at every level of government local, state or national.

This is the story of our Mothers and Grandmothers who lived only 90 years ago.

Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

These women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote.

(Lucy Burns)
They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.

By the end of the night, the protesting women were barely alive.  Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.

(Dora Lewis)
They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

It was called the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.

(Alice Paul)
When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because - why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?

(Mrs. Pauline Adams in the prison garb she wore while serving a sixty-day sentence.)

HBO has a movie out called 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I took some time and sat down to watch it after getting this e-mail, and I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.

(Miss Edith Ainge, of Jamestown, New York)
I’ve been voting since the age of 18, but I never really understood the battle that had to be fought for me to do so.  The actual act of voting was sort of a novelty when I first started.  Eventually the novelty wore off, and voting started to feel more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient.  I have kids, a job, and responsibilities.

(Berthe Arnold, CSU graduate)
I’m glad I watched the movie, even though it made me feel ashamed.  I mean, what would these women think of the way I use, or don’t use, my right to vote?

I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include ‘Iron Jawed Angels’ in their curriculum.  I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order.

(Conferring over ratification [of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution] at [National Woman's Party] headquarters, Jackson Place] [Washington, D.C.]. L-R Mrs. Lawrence Lewis, Mrs. Abby Scott Baker, Anita Pollitzer, Alice Paul, Florence Boeckel, Mabel Vernon (standing, right)

In the movie, it is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.

The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'

Please, if you are so inclined, share this information about the HBO movie “Iron Jawed Angels” with all the women you know.  We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.

(Helena Hill Weed, Norwalk, Conn. Serving 3 day sentence in D.C. prison for carrying banner, 'Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.')

History is being made.

(August 3rd, 2010)

Some people have no business talking to pregnant women.

As pregnant women we suddenly, somehow find ourselves public figures just because we have these big bellies sticking out.  Everyone's got an opinion on every aspect of YOUR nine months and they want to tell you about it.

They say:  “My GOSH, you are HUGE, are you sure it’s not TWINS?!?!”
My Polite response:  “I know!  You’d think there were three or four in there, huh?
What I WANT to say:  “My GOSH, you’re an a-hole!  I mean, I hadn’t noticed I couldn't see my feet anymore.  But thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious!”

They say:  “When are you due???”
My Polite response:  “August 31st, and we’re finally having a boy!”
What I WANT to say:  “Why?  Are you a little nervous that I might spew a kid out on your feet?”

They say:  “Can I touch your belly?”
My Polite response:  “Sure, why not?”
What I WANT to say:  “Can I touch yours?”  OR  “Can I punch you in the face?”

They say:  “You look miserable.”
My Polite response:  “It’s this darn Kansas heat!”
What I WANT to say:  “I’m 9 months pregnant and it’s 107 degrees outside.  Of course I’m miserable.  Jackass.”

They say:  “Please don’t have that thing here.”
My Polite response:  “I won’t, I promise.”
What I WANT to say:  “If I could have this thing here, I would, so you better get as far away from me as humanly possible.”

They say:  “You haven’t HAD that kid yet???”
My Polite response:  “Not yet!  Soon, though!”
What I WANT to say:  “Are you serious?  You can obviously SEE that I haven’t had this kid yet, and you want to RUB IT IN???  I can see you still haven’t fixed your issue with being STUPID, so I guess we’re in the same boat, huh?!?!”

They say:  “How are you feeeeeeeeling?”
My Polite response:  “Oh, I’m feeling pretty good.”
What I WANT to say:  “Well, I’m hot all the time, hafta pee every 5 minutes, my back hurts, haven’t taken a poop in three days, my boobs hurt, my ankles swell, I've got heartburn so bad it radiates down into my kneecaps, I’m tired all the time, I can’t paint my toenails or shave without being in an incredibly awkward position, and I have a weird pain where my pubic bone is, and the doctor says there’s nothing he can do about it.  There’s more, but I won’t bore you with the details.” 

They say:  “So, how much weight have you gained?”
My Polite response:  “Oh, around 25 pounds.”
What I WANT to say:  “What the hell kind of question is that?  Do I look like I want to talk about how FAT I AM while I’m in the last month of my pregnancy???  I’ve spent all this time GROWING A KID, and all you care about is how much weight I’ve gained?  Go jump of the nearest bridge, you idiot!”

They say:  “Think you’ll go early?”
My Polite response:  “Probably not, but you never know!”
What I WANT to say:  “God, I hope so.

They say:  “Is it hot enough for ya?”
My Polite response:  “Ha Ha Ha.  Yeah, it’s pretty miserable!”
What I WANT to say:  (In this case, I don’t really want to say anything… I just want to stomp really hard on their foot and walk away.)

It’s a slippery slope between my polite responses and me saying what I really want to say, so I apologize in advance if YOU happen to be one of those people that gets the “real” response.  I promise I don’t really mind having my belly rubbed, as long as you ask first.  Just don’t come at me and put your hands all over my belly and expect the POLITE response.  Also, I understand that the sheer size of my pregnant belly is enough to elicit an unusually rude comment from even the most tactful of people.  I will TRY to remain polite, but I can’t make any promises.  Blame the hormones or this awful Kansas heat, but sometimes when you mess with the bull, you get the horns.



A BLOG NAMED BILL:

(August 25, 2010)

Why is it that these big retail stores have a gazillion check-out counters and never seem to have more than a couple open at any given time?

Why is it that people try to sneak through the 15 items or less lane with a more than they should?

Why is it that it that it seems that they always put the slowest or the newiest checker at the express lane?

Why is it that when you’re “just looking” clerks are all over the place, two and three deep?

Why is it when you need assistance you can’t find a clerk in the building?



(August 3, 2010)

Bill's Observations From The Road: 

• Posted speed limits are only guidelines.
• Deer seldom cross in the designated deer crossing areas.
• Good food and good service do not necessarily go hand in hand.
• Motel toilet paper is usually 1 ply or less.
• Accessibility is a subjective term.
• Every town is a tourist trap to one degree or another.
• Rarely will you pass someone from Wyoming in Wyoming.
• Almost always someone from Wyoming will pass you in Wyoming. See # 1.
• Gas gauges can be misleading.
• The entire world is a “work zone”. Fines are double.

(July 8, 2010)

There’s a story on the news today about an advertising agency that represents Toyota that’s pulling their ads from ABC Nightly News due to what they call excessive negative coverage of the acceleration and brake problems with several Toyota models.

Personally, I find it absurd. Toyota  is running a TV ad that basically says, We’re not living up to your standards or ours and we’re working hard to correct it.

I find Toyota’s approach to this problem refreshing.  Got a problem? Get it out in the open.  Resolve the problem and move on.

Just my opinion.