The Banging and the Clanging of the Bells, Bells, Bells....

A lingering head cold has given me three straight days of tinnitus.  I'd rather have the head cold, thanks.

House Update, Autumnal Equinox, 2012

I've got a nasty cold that started yesterday.  I hate being sick on a holiday.

As the den nears completion, we've gone back to work on the sheds.  The lower one now has the inner walls in place.  The upper one is getting the extra insulation it needs.

The den now has the stairs, the floor, all the shelves and most of the trim.  The antenna is up, and we hung the TV on the wall and hooked up the antenna last week.  We now have access to two states' worth of public television signals (Mississippi and Alabama) and some junk.  Reception is intermittent, but we're still working out the optimal combination of position and equipment.

The toddler would watch PBS Kids all the time if he could, and we've had to start finding out-of-reach places to leave the remote.  The preteens are more laid-back about it, although the 11yo never misses a chance to watch anything that's on.  We're still mostly watching our DVDs and downloads, although Nova was a spectacular hit.

Today we hooked up the Wii for the first time, with Mario Kart, Boom Blox Bash Party, Just Dance For Kids, and four Wiimotes.  Thank Goddess I didn't start them off on any more complicated control system.  The toddler threw a temper tantrum whenever anyone tried to put on a non-racing game, and the 13yo threw a tantrum because she insisted on understanding everything inside and out before she made a single move.  She complained that her siblings were pushing buttons at random.  I pointed out that was a legitimate form of experimentation. The resulting explosion was not pretty.

Both girls sworn up and down they're going to get up extra early in the morning to master the Wii before the toddler wakes up.  We shall see.

Oh noes! Am I a good/bad woman by Republican standards? :P

Conservatives tend to have unwritten rulebooks that supercede what they say out loud.  But unwritten rules can contradict each other.  Case in point -- me.

For various reasons I'm currently homeschooling my children as a stay-at-home mom.  Traditionally conservatives have loved women who stayed home with their kids instead of getting jobs.  Traditionally they also favored homeschooling.  They think such women will vote for them.  So even though I'm an elitist Green Party Pagan snob and one of Santorum's "smart people (who) will never be on our side", their first inclination is to see me as a good person.

But because I am a stay-at-home mom, I don't earn enough to pay federal income taxes.

Oh noes!  Suddenly I and every other SAHM (including Ann Romney) are bad people!  We don't pay taxes!  We rely on handouts!  We'll never vote Republican or be invited to join the country club!   Unless of course our husband owns the damn club....

And I'm bad because, since I'm not paying federal income taxes, I'm not taking personal responsibility for myself!  Because I'm doing frivolous things instead like -- taking personal responsibility for my children's education?

So good woman, bad woman, which am I by Republican standards based on my occupation?  I don't personally care, but it shows how seriously Romney is out of touch even with his own party, let alone the country as a whole.

And to the senior citizens I heard today who said, "He didn't really mean us," yes he did.  And the disabled, the veterans, the students, and the soldiers as well as the domestic partners.  He really did mean us all.

"I'm Dreaming of a White President" - Randy Newman

Randy Newman's latest satirical song contains more truth than most of us would like to admit.  Why else would poor people support a man who dismisses them as part of the 47% who aren't "real" Americans?