Unequal Rights?

"I'll pay you, if you promise not to reproduce."  Sounds like a funny one-liner.  I hear things like this all the time especially in reference to people who are deemed "less" than the average.  The unfortunate truth... most people aren't kidding.  But, they don't associate their ideas with that of say... Hitler.  He had the "bright" idea of eradicating an entire ethnic group. 

Which brings me to this: Project Prevention.  Oh yes folks.  I'm not kidding.  Barbara Harris, Executive Director of this organization believes babies born to these "types of people" will have zero success in life.  Although, she has adopted four "crack babies" and they are all perfectly normal, bright and productive members of society. 

So, do you know what the Eugenics Movement was?  It's the notion that hereditary improvement of the human race can be controlled selective breeding.  Hmmmm, doesn't that sound exactly like what she is doing? 

So, here are my thoughts: She's a whack job of epic proportions.  She's already paid 3000 folks to either be sterilized or to be on long-term birth control-- only 29 of those are men.  She targets alcoholics and drug addicts-- not thinking, maybe they should be helped with their illness instead of being stripped of their right to produce.

The bottom line: who is to say that drug addicts and alcoholics are the worst members of society?  If you want to use the argument that Barbara uses-- saving taxpayers millions-- then spread the sterilization love over to welfare recipients.  Seriously guys!!!  This is a line no one should walk.  Saying one person is more fit than another... well, no one is perfect.  And no one is really qualified to make such assessments. 

Now, I'm really annoyed.

Trash

 Why is it that most humans will let a relationship die, but won't get rid of the junk in their garage?

I think I may have an answer.  It takes too much effort to either (a) save the relationship or (b) sort through the junk.  Essentially, it's these things are the same.  We never want to admit when something is good OR bad for ourselves.  We walk through life with rose-colored blinders on and pretend to frolic through the daisies.

I, for one, am tired of these mindless idiots that don't mind hoarding 10 years worth of newspapers but have no problem letting a person walk right out of their life.  I'm beginning to blame it on social networking.  In the past I've been a huge advocate for technology and how it can bring former friends, who would have otherwise faded into oblivion, back into a person's life.  What I am discovering is that, unfortunately, people are giving up the live, flesh-and-blood people in their lives, for the "virtual" friendships of the past.  It's cool to connect with those from high school (for some of us, others wish they could wash the memory from existence).  But, there is a point where there is nothing left to talk about.  The whole relationship is in the past.  I'm not sure about you folks, but I've always been taught that living in the past is bad... because it prevents us from moving forward.  

So... my little piece of advise for you guys today: make sure to discard the proper things in life... old cereal boxes, soda cans (recycled of course), that t-shirt with 40 holes in it, toxic friends, animals with the plague.  You get my drift.

Don't worry, I'm not going soft on you guys... this crap really does annoy the Hell out of me.

Clutter Equals Chaos

I can be high-strung at times.  I'm sure this revelation is shocking to my dear readers.  Recently I realized that I become more stressed and unfriendly when I come home.  I've been pondering this annoying dilemma for months trying to put my finger on the pulse of my stressor.  It finally hit me like an ACME anvil, clobbering the dunce-like Wile E. Coyote ... it's the contents of my house.

Yes, boys and girls, my house is cluttered.  I have more books than the public library, more magazines than any sane person should ever have.... and just tons of "stuff" I've collected throughout my life and travels.  So, what's a puppet to do?

I tried tackling the project head on.  Yeah, that was brilliant and very unsuccessful.  I simply ended up rearranging my clutter.  So, I turned to the one source that modern man can't seem to live without--- the Internet.  

I found chipper, bleach-sniffing, OCD freaks.  Did you know there is a website called Unclutter.com?  You do now.  This chick is apparently June Cleaver reincarnated and has sold millions of books (worldwide-- they made sure to mention that because those folks who live in huts & yurts need to get their shit together!)  Her secrets to a happy life are locked away in these books she's hawkin'.  The titles read like the self-help section of Barnes & Noble: 

A to Z Storage Solutions (2008), The One-Minute Cleaner (2007), Unclutter Your Mind (2006), Cleaning Plain & Simple (2006), The One-Minute Organizer (2004), Organizing Plain & Simple (2002), 7 Simple Steps to Unclutter Your Life (2000) and Unclutter Your Home (1999)

As I seriously contemplated buying a book (to put into the pile of books I need/want to read).  Then it dawned on me... this is America!  What happened to freedom of information?  Why isn't the miracle I'm looking for free and posted on the web?  Guess what?  It is.  

I had forgotten that I had signed up to get "tips to organize" my life about 2-3 years ago on Yahoo! Groups.  I eventually turned the e-mails off because I didn't have time to read through them all let alone use the information being poured into my Inbox daily.  The group name is called "The FlyLady".  She may fall into the "chipper" category but OCD, bleach-sniffing or freak... she is not.  

Let me tell you why she is different.  First off, she reminds you that your mess wasn't made in a day and you dang sure won't be able to clean it up in a day.  (I like this so far)  Then she tells you to start by "shining your sink"-- sounds weird doesn't it?  She explains that walking into a kitchen that's sink is clean and shiny will make you feel better.  Me, being the ever cantankerous cranky pants I am, scoffed at this idea.  But, to make fun of something properly you have to attempt it and prove it's a crock of crap.  Well, Ole Franky-boy has been humbled.  It works.  The shiny sink brought a smirk to my gloomy face.  

So, I felt I was on a roll.  I started to follow the next step in the FlyLady's "getting started" section on her website.  Not only does this women encourage taking breaks often, she says you should only be spending 15-minutes per day picking up clutter.  This is the first time Mr. Grumpy-pants has not felt like hauling the entire contents of the house to the curb.

So, my house is slowly becoming a place the dog would like to live in.  Maybe when I've completed this project, I won't be so annoyed all the time.  Doubtful, but the world can dream.  Until then, I'll leave you with The FlyLady's 11 Commandments: 

1. Keep your sink clean and shiny.
   
   
2. Get dressed every morning, even if you don’t feel like it. Don’t forget your lace-up shoes.
   
   
3. Do your morning and before bedtime routine everyday.
   
   
4. Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked by the computer.
   
   
5. Pick up after yourself. If you get it out, put it away.
   
   
6. Don’t try to do two projects at once. ONE JOB AT A TIME.
   
   
7. Don’t pull out more than you can put back in one hour.
   
   
8. Do something for yourself everyday, maybe every morning and night.
   
   
9. Work as fast as you can to get the job done. This will give you more time to play later.
   
   
10. Smile even when you don’t feel like it. It is contagious. Make your mind up to be happy and you will be.
    
    
11. Don’t forget to laugh everyday. Pamper yourself, you deserve it. 

I have to give my 2-cents on #10.... as long as there are morons, I will smile... and laugh (#11).

Don't delay, neuter today!

I'm late posting this but... I have a reason and I'll explain it in a minute.  The topic of my rant today is:

Spay Day USA-No More Homeless Pets!
Tuesday, February 23rd 2010

Spay Day is an annual campaign of The Humane Society of the United States and 
Humane Society International to inspire people to save animals through spay/neuter.

Did you know that one female cat (and her offspring) can produce 420,000 offspring in just 7 years??  Yep, that's right folks-- 420,000!!!!  Dogs & their offspring can produce 67,000 puppies.  Holy moly, that's a lot of kibble!   Before you question my statistics, let's go into a little lesson about the kitty & puppy version of the "birds & the bees".  One cat/dog can have an average of 5 babies/litter... within 6 months, those "babies" are capable of reproducing.  Do you see where this is going??  Uh-huh,  yep, that's why there are all those vans parked at Wal-Mart on weekends, hawkin' puppies and kitties.  


So... what happens to all those puppies & kitties that don't make it to a loving home?  Well I'm here to tell ya:

-For every person born, 15 dogs (17-million/year) and 45 cats (30-million/year) are born.

-Of the above numbers-- 20-million will end up in shelters and 15-million will be euthanized.

-As many as 25% of dogs entering shelters each year are purebreds.

-Approximately 61% of all dogs are killed in animal shelters.

-Approximately 75% of all cats entering shelters are killed.

-It costs approximately $100 to capture, house, feed, and eventually kill each stray animal -- a cost which you, the taxpayer, eventually pay.

So, if you think it's unimportant to neuter your animals.... think again!  Have you ever seen a starving animal??   It isn't pretty.  Those lovey, cuddly balls of fur become feral and their inner instincts take over.  They hunt, prowl and become aggressive.  They get diseases that spread to domesticated animals and sometimes to people.  They become a nuisance to society by getting into trash or killing livestock (like chickens, etc.).  All this in turn can cost you more money than would have been spent if you'd just paid to have them neutered!

So... I'm sure you are wondering about my point for being late with this post.  Well, wait no further.  

I'm exactly 4 days late with this post.  There are 24 hours/day * 60 minutes/hour * 60 seconds/minute * 4 days= 345,600 seconds.  Statistically speaking, a baby is born every 5 seconds.  So that means there were 69,120 babies born since Tuesday.  If you take my previous information and apply it to this data.... there have been 1,036,800 dogs AND 3,110,400 cats born since Spay Day.  Roughly 58% of those animals will end up in shelters.  

I'm not okay with those numbers and you shouldn't be either!  So, get off your asses and neuter your animals.  Try skipping your morning latte a couple days a week and put those funds towards your community's animal shelter's spay & release program.  If they don't have one... maybe you should peel yourself away from Facebook and start one (this a great link from the ASPCA about forming your own shelter)!