Showing posts with label Personal Responsibility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal Responsibility. Show all posts

Thursday, July 19, 2012

It’s All About The Context Folks! Going Rogue Palin Style.

By Dusty

Okay, Okay jeez I finally broke down to watch & listen to the clip of Tripp dropping the f-bomb with Willow and Bristol. I’ve read the comments posted here and other places, read Lead Foot and Bella’s reviews, Sleuth’s live blogging of the event and wanted to add my 2 cents for whatever it is worth.

First let’s take a trip down memory lane back to 2008 when Palin was first forced upon us by an elderly and completely self-centered and spoiled individual. We’ve all seen the pictures of Palin dressed ‘inappropriately’ for a given event. The only time she has dressed in an appropriate manner for a given event was when the RNC spent $250,000.00 on clothing for the entire Palin clan. Checking out Palin to see how she has dressed herself for a given event is quite entertaining and yes I admit it is also quite shallow of me. Palin to fashion is the same as gawking at a traffic accident. The only difference is via the miracle of the internet there is no danger to others, the only danger is to my monitor, my keyboard or my forehead.

Palin appears to believe that dressing inappropriately for any given event…who can forget her too big shoes, seriously the woman who claims to be a runner would surely know exactly her shoe size, appearing at a dress up event in Washington DC wearing food soiled clothing. The Jewish cross jewelry, the huge belt buckles, the McCain\Palin visor in Hawaii, the Castro hat at a book signing event, the gaudy flag pins, oh and the curly curl wig on Oprah, need I go on…is actually a good thing. Dressing ‘inappropriately’ is a badge of Rogueness and independence to Palin. But in the real world where most of us live, work and play the hostess, organizer, employer or friends would be insulted (rightly so) or more importantly hurt and disappointed that we didn’t respect that person enough to properly dress the event. Keep in mind everyone and I do mean every single person has made a mistake with their clothing choices and has spilled food on their clothes at one time or another. However, most people learn from their mistakes and do not repeat that same mistake over and over and over again.

Big Cross..check...
How does this applied to Tripp dropping the f-bomb on national TV you ask? Give me a few more minutes we need to set the context. Keep in mind this is the same woman who claimed her children and close friends and co-workers had no clue she was 7 months pregnant. Gotta love those tight abs! Now think back to other things that we know for a fact. Palin herself has said that she was never the ‘parent’ to her children, she was more just there to ‘guide’ the way and she allowed them to make their own mistakes as that is the only way to learn. Ah, bet you are now seeing where I am going.

Now think back to the endless media coverage who apparently thought we just need to hear about every single word Palin uttered or had ghost written on Facebook. Who will ever forget her use of the word “Cojones” on national TV, or”Pallin' around with terrorists”? When a national media star uses the phrase “The woman is an idiot” over and over again to describe Palin you would have thought that would have been the first clue for Palin to finally understand she had crossed the line that separated a socially acceptable faux paus and are now standing firmly on the side of willful ignorance.


So now we have Bristol and Willow, 2 women children and a real child Tripp who is approximately 3 years old who were and still are members of a household where it is perfectly acceptable to go ‘rogue’. They were raised in a household where the mother chose not to be the parent, where the father was absent most of the time and they were left to raise themselves. Sometimes I wonder if the reason Palin hates wolves so much is because even she realizes that her children would have been raised better if they had actually been raised by wolves. None of the Palins have learned any usable coping skills or have the level of maturity to even realize they are lacking the basic coping skills to deal with the hardships in life. Children learn coping skills from their parents, other siblings and family members, class mates and friends.


The Palins reaction to perceive slight or perceived negative is to respond with threats of violence, lashing out, shouting and swearing and throwing things and playing the ultimate victim. Seriously, who can forget Bristol’s -“Giving the middle finger to the haters”, or in the video Willow’s false claims “people hate my last name” and “the East Coast and West Coast is filled with Liberals” So knowing all of this the video isn’t all the bad. Tripp is upset and not getting what he wants. So what does he do - he lashes out. We’ve all done it; we’ve all seen it and we’ve all lived through it. Given the level of immaturity in the Palin household “Life is a Tripp” is truly a ‘Reality’ Show. What you have is a show about a 3 year old who is more mature than most of his immediate adult counterparts lashing out to get attention by dropping an f-bomb. His mother and Aunt are immature for their physical ages that have chosen to model their own mother’s willful ignorance of what is socially acceptable behavior. The only bright note in the whole scene is Bristol does realize she doesn’t have a clue how to discipline Tripp. But what she doesn’t understand yet is she will have to stop playing the victim before she will learn which coping skills work for her and Trip. Single woman and men have successfully raised many children. Being single is not a good excuse for poor parenting skills.

You don't like me?
Bristol, Willow and/or Sarah, if any of you are reading this: No one HATES you or your last name. We just don’t like you very much. It is as simple as that. We don’t like you. This isn’t Jr. High School we aren't required to like you. This is the real adult world where people make life changing decisions every day and quite frankly the Palin name isn’t a BFD to 99.99% of the world. We just aren’t that into you. Not everyone is going to like you and you can’t make everyone happy. However, what you can do is to stop playing the victim and blaming others for your own willful ignorance and take responsibility for your own actions.

You talking about me?
It is so easy now to understand why the Palins and her followers hate President Obama and his family so much. President Obama and Michele have always advocated personal responsibility and helping others. It is impossible to take full responsibility for your own actions while playing the ultimate victim. 

H/T Photo from The Obama Diary
Bonus Pic: What a little cutie!

H/T Photo from The Obama Diary

Sunday, April 15, 2012

It’s Time For Americans To Stop Being So Reactive and Start to be Proactive


Enough already with Mitt and his wife trying to portray them as your everyday, average American!  Enough with this War on Woman crap in relation to Ann Romney! Seriously folks, the media really needs to stop with all the drama and the Romney’s need to stop trying to portray themselves as something they never were and never will be. The bloggers also need to stop mocking the Romneys when they are actually telling the truth about themselves; they need to embrace it. Blog about how the Romney’s are different, but stop with the rhetoric and stick to the facts.


The reason people are looking for anyone but Mitt is because the man doesn’t know who he is or what he stands for. The man could not publicly tell the truth to save his life for two reasons: the media will attack him, and he is trying his damnest to be someone he’s not. When Mitt said he has friends who are NASCAR team owners, that was the truth! Why should he be ashamed of it? He is freaking rich after all. Would you really expect him to be friends with his gardener? No you would not! However, the media went directly on the attack, calling it a gaffe. It wasn’t a gaffe - it was another moment when Mitt told the truth in public.

He likes firing people who work for him. Again the media called it a gaffe. It wasn’t a gaffe - once again, it was the truth. Most people in positions of power do not like firing people, but his business was Bain Capital, which was responsible to buying distressed companies and turned them around or dismantling them.  Part of that process involved people losing their jobs so the companies could become profitable again. Why is anyone surprised he would say this? Ann has a couple Cadillacs. Really, again what is so shocking about that? Our favorite Tundra Twit bought a Cadillac Escalade very soon after coming off the 2008 campaign trail. Was anyone surprised? If yes, why were you surprised?

This is what some of newly rich or the mega rich people do. They buy expensive cars, expensive homes and live a lavish lifestyles. Does anyone remember the TV show “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” hosted by Robin Leach? Ann has dressage horses. Again so what! She is rich, always has been, always will be. More power to her. Enjoy your horses Ann, keep spending your money. I don’t envy your lifestyle one bit.

Here’s a thought for the Romneys: if you really want to be President and First Lady of the United States of America, how about just being yourselves. Pick a position and stick to it! How about doing some research or paying someone to actually do some real research on the issues facing Americans? Don’t rely on conservative think tanks, the Tea Party, the Koch Bros & Fox News to define your positions. Mitt & Ann, I don’t really care about your wealth or your religion. Your wealth and religious beliefs should not be the main talking point, however it is part of the whole picture. What I do care about is whether or not you have the basic qualifications to be President. I want to know which direction your moral compass is pointed. I want you to show me in what ways you think you’d do a better job than our current President. I want to know where you stand on basic ethics and what your positions are on the issues which affect all Americans not just the ultra-rich, and not just Republicans.  Because, you see, Mitt there is a reason why the picture below resonates with people: We all want to ride inside; not just you, Ann, your children and your friends and relations. Not just the GOP, the Koch Brothers, the Heritage Foundation, and the Tea Partyers; All Americans, including Democrats, we all should ride inside – because we’re all Americans. The President is everyone’s President, not just the privileged few! 


AND while I’m on my soapbox… (it's okay I made sure to ask KAO for permission first)

Is anyone else appalled at the media coverage regarding Travon Martin and George Zimmerman? Forgive me, but justice cannot and should not be decided in the media. We have a judicial system for a reason; is our Justice system broken? No. I don’t think it is. Does the Justice system fail? Yes, from time-to-time it does.  After all, it is humans who make the decisions. However, the coverage by MSNBC the past two week was over the top in my opinion; frankly, I finally turned it off.  Before anyone calls me out in the comment section, yes - I felt the same way about the Casey Anthony coverage too.  There is a difference between presenting the facts and sensationalizing the facts in a matter to promote ratings.

Which leads us to the latest Bristol vs. Levi media circus.

If for one minute anyone other than LeadFoot (just kidding) thought the media would actually show something negative against the Palins I have a bridge in AZ to sell you for a great price, brand spanking new and never used. Call Me! The media is constantly going to the Palins to get their rebuttal statements before airing anything that could be possibly or remotely cast them in a negative light. However, the media has no problem what so ever in providing the Palin free publicity. Case in point: Bristol’s “Trial Marriage” announcement, showcasing her and Gino kissing while she is holding Tripp. Did anyone see a statement from Levi published on his thoughts regarding this development? No? Me Neither!

Lastly, OMG: people need to just stop with the fake outrage!  Just Stop it – right now! Not everything said in the media is about You, Your Cause or Your Choices. Seriously. It isn’t. Lady Gaga tweeted this last week:


When I read this my first and only thought was “Yep - know that feeling.”  I’m not a Pop Singer, but yeah - I’ve eaten salad wishing it was something better. As a matter of fact as I am writing this I am also eating salad, and also wishing I was eating something besides a salad AGAIN today for lunch.  But, apparently I’m not normal, because according to all the negative media coverage of Gaga’s tweet I should have been outraged. I should have taken to my keyboard to pound-out my outrage immediately!  Oh, puhleeze! Stop and re-read the first sentence in this paragraph: when hasn’t anyone ever ate something wishing it was something else? Examples are found all over in the media: the woman munching a bread stick, wishing she could have dessert; the child that must eat his vege’s before having something he really wants. 

Ask yourself, before you fire-off a tweet or write a comment or even blog about it, whatever it may be: in what way did this tweet impact your life or your decision making skills right here, right now? Not at all did it? Next, in what way did this tweet, blog post or comment impact your life for the next 24 hours? Still didn’t, did it? Good! Finally, in what way did this tweet, comment or blog post impact your life at ANY point? Still nothing?? GOOD! That is how it should be.  We do not need to respond to every single thing that may pique us, or may not necessarily agree with. Because responding to anything happening anywhere is NOT always our business. Responding is not always in our or societies best interest. Sometimes, its best not to take the bait, but let it silently slide by…

In the end  there will be many days when you just need to say....


and let it all go. Have an adult beverage or two! Take a long walk, watch a movie or just hang with your real friends or your internet friends. It will get better it always does. 

It is time for Americans to stop be so reactive and start to be proactive. People need to take a deep breath in and hold it…. hold it… now, release it and go about your daily lives. Be proactive in your community. Be proactive on social networks but stop with the personal assaults on people who in no way have any impact on your daily lives and decision making. Point out the differences between what a politicians says and what that politician does. Same with companies and government, but stop with the hateful and hurtful rhetoric that has engulfed our country. Lady Gaga is an entertainer but she is not responsible for the choices each and every one of us chooses to make on a daily basis. Bristol and Levi are not news and not even entertaining to anyone but a select few. They are also not solely responsible for any choices anyone anywhere makes. We all have the right to make choices and decisions for ourselves. In the end it is our responsibility to make or not to make the right choices. The right choices being your right choices. My choices may not be your choices and your choices may not be right for me. However the key is we all make mistakes and we all do some things right. 

Whew. Remember it is called a SoapBox for a reason

To wrap up the first edition of Dusty’s Soapbox how about some absolutely adorable pictures I found over at The Obama Diary? Just gotta love that smile! 




Many Thanks to KAO for her wonderful graphic and editing! The opinions posted here is solely mine.