So, I’ve several posts in the works, but they’re all incredible downers.
The scumbag Republican Congressman who appears to have sexually harassed 16 year old male pages via email and IM. That’s just venting really, I’ve no new insights.
The evils of statistical agencies in covering violence against women/men. Some faintly new insights there (or at least ones I’ve not seen).
The utter insane perfidy of Newsweek in covering an “abusive” man and his poor ‘downtrodden’ wife (I’ve been reading court transcripts, and I can say after a half hour’s work that the journalist who wrote the story deserves to be fired). Possibly some good insights there, but ugh.
So I’ll probably write more about frequency of two-headed snakes… but… well…
Here’s something of what men really dislike about women. And women think they’re doing good by doing this…
Sorry no photocredit. Grabbed it from Drudge, apologies.
Here is, as Tom Wolfe would say, “a boy with boobs”.
What makes this lunatic creature think that she is doing nice things for the dog by carrying it? Dogs are like men. Let them run free. Turning them into poodles is a bloody destruction of civilization.
Quite seriously, although it’s an asinine photo, it illustrates a lot of what I think we are doing wrong as a society. Super-skinny-boys-with-hips Tom Wolfe style privilege princesses carting about (and cavorting with) their offerings of nominal motherhood (that won’t despoil the belly). And failing.
I thought I was going to avoid a downer. Guess not. Oh well, here’s the modest pick-me-up:
My very short dating life with one woman fell apart when she asked me what kind of pet I liked. I replied “A dog that eats cats.”. Turned out she had three cats as pets. I think I came out ahead there. And at least I was honest.
Hey! A dog that eats cats? You’ve got to admit that’s funny on so many levels, and she didn’t get it so…. pfft.
-wolfe (not howling at the moon, yet.)
???
I’ve seen this before and it looks like concussion.
@wolfe: It’s a downer day. My 15-year-old came home and reported that they had “lock-down” drill today. That means they announce it over the PA, the teacher locks you into your classroom and you head for a Safe Zone (away from outside doors and windows) and pray.
My older sister and I used to perform similar school safety procedures, several years apart. Head for an inside hallway, sit on the floor with your back to the wall, and duck and cover your head. The difference being that she was being prepared for a nuclear attack, I for a tornado.
On a brighter note, I have two dogs, neither of whom gets carried about, dressed up or kissed on the mouth. And on nights like this, sometimes we just need to be three bitches on the couch - one with three fingers of Sailor Jerry with Coke.
Abschicken.
~Z~
A dog that eats cats! Hilarious! I mean, how else can one answer such a question except in jest? What kind of pet do you like? Who asks someone that? I’m sure my answer would be, “I only like one kind of pet… the heavy kind. *pant pant pant*”
@Zog yeah, the horrible school shootings in recent weeks — especially that one in Amish country where girls were targeted were also things I was thinking about blogging about. On school shootings, I like the Archie Bunker solution.
On ‘duck and cover’ like most who came of age in the 80’s and 90’s, I thought it was absolute garbage. Turns out (as you probably know) it would indeed have saved many lives outside Ground Zero.
@Teri heh. Yeah, I mean I wasn’t literal… I don’t HATE cats, or want them eaten I just have no great love for them. I admit they’re nice when they sit in your lap and purr, and it’s a bonus that they can be toilet trained. But those two things are true of women too. And women are better than cats at many other things.
-wolfe
meow
“Most cats will blink when struck in the face with a hammer.”
~attributed to George Carlin
want a Fun topic? Assuming Dick doesnt beat ya to it…
Anna Nicole smith has been served with papers concerning the fathering of her new daughter ( in poor unmanly taste, just days after the death of her son )
2 men are claiming to be the father. The one in california ( and using califonia law to attack her ) is claiming paternity. But heres the kicker. He filed papers to have Smith tested for drug use, the new BABY tested for drug use, filed papers claiming She was an unfit mother, and filed for full custody. ANd to top it off, smith just won her appeal at the supreme court concerning herlate husband, and is suddenly worth several hundred million cash.
I dont know whether to feel sad at the whole scum sucking crapfest, or wholely entertained to see a woman dragged through the child custody courts on the wrong side of the isle for a change…
Heh. Excellent tip. Yeah I read about that (and the Larry King interview). Dunno if I’ll blog on it.
Like you, I’ve very mixed feelings. Ultimately, no one should be dragged through the courts in that way; moreover, a very small number of women are abused by those feminist laws.
It’s poetic justice, but that doesn’t make it right…
@Zog Ouch, mind you Carlin seems to have it…
-wolfe
@wolfe & john: Yes, the child custody/spousal support laws cut both ways, and I’m in that small number of women wolfe mentions. As I’ve only been in divorce court once and in one state, I’m curious as to how many states still espouse (pun intended) alimony per se. I know that many on MABTW make dark reference to women collecting tons of alimony, but I wonder if it’s truly spousal support vs child support. I would hope that men feel (as I do) that children who suffer emotionally in a divorce should not have to suffer economically as well.
And for the record, I am an animal lover of the first water. My sons’ menagerie stands at 6, which is an all-time low. I don’t hate cats - I just love Carlin.
~Z~
Unfortunately, when people are in divorce court, they are rarely really thinking of the children, emotionally or economically.
@Teri: the reason I’m interested in other regions is that in the state in which I married & divorced, in order to divorce, each of my children had to have a certificate of completion of a course designed to assist them in dealing with issues surrounding parental communication and strife. (Both kids hated it, but I lured them with a promise of root beer and french fries after). The divorcing spouses (with children) also are required to attend a co-parenting seminar facilitated by a family court judge, and this particular county’s program of mediation and arbitration has become a national model.
And, as you’ve probably gathered, I pay both spousal maintenance and child support. Now, I’m a firm believer that you can’t legislate ethics or common sense, and I’m certain many parents don’t always have their children’s best interests at heart, but this seems like a step in the right direction.
Now, if we could just eliminate the attorneys …
~Z~
@Zog I don’t consider myself an animal ‘lover’, though I’d say I consider myself kindly disposed to most animals. Certainly one should treat animals humanely, and treat pets with considerable kindness. I suppose the problem I have with the term ‘animal lover’ is the very considerable dislike I have for animal rights activists and extremists that dig up human bodies, commit acts of terrorism, and suggest it might be better to kill a human child than an animal.
As for Alimony, well, many states are ‘community property states’. Statistically, this means that since most men earn more than the women they marry — and most are older than the women they marry with statistically more savings and higher salaries — there is statistically a net automatic transfer of wealth to women upon divorce.
Next, I can certainly speak anecdotally of a friend. At the dissolution of his 5-year marriage, they were jointly worth $250,000.00. She’d entered the marriage heavily in debt; he’d been worth about $75,000.00. She earned something like 27k; he earned something like 80k.
In the years after their marriage ended, he worked very hard and prospered exceedingly. By a variety of maneuvers and delaying tactics, she managed to extract a settlement of $1m out of him… and their house. Staggering? Yes. Now, the good news is that he managed to escape alimony.
But there’s a case where she walked off with four times their TOTAL net worth on dissolution of a marriage which she entered heavily in debt. No question, she did very well financially, netting about a quarter of a million per year, tax free.
As for alimony not existing, well, it exists still. I’m not a lawyer, nor do I know enough about family law to comment with certainty, but certainly the several state codes I perused all mention alimony.
I do know that in Canada it’s considerably worse. Not only does the woman get the alimony tax free, the man can’t deduct it from his taxes. This has resulted in situations where, without court relief, men can end up earning less than zero after taxes and alimony are deducted.
The courts are starting to address this, but it can take months.
Also, in that benighted country, courts have held that a man’s obligation to support his [former] wife survives the extinction of the marriage. Even if she makes no attempt to improve her situation, he is responsible for her in perpetuity.
There was a particularly pernicious case in BC where an ex-wife fell ill years after the divorce, and the courts held the husband had to help her out financially. Awesome. Not.
I admit I know much more about Canadian law than US since my last girlfriend was Canadian, and we’d likely have been married there and lived there and subject to its laws. So I made a point of researching them.
As far as I can tell, though, alimony is alive and well if the husband has any serious salary. Now and then, capable and intelligent women get badly burned in this as well.
-wolfe
I believe spousal support was designed to help a woman (or man) who has spent some number of time nurturing a family home for the two of them, rather than pursuing a career. At the time of divorce, she has virtually nothing on her resume. She may have accomplished a great many things, but a prospective employer rarely values this. It’s true, had she been thinking of this possible future, she could have made choices that better prepared her for supporting herself. It has been known to happen that a woman has picked up all the slack while her husband was in grad school, getting a degree for a high paying job. Then when hubby starts working and becomes successful, he finds someone else. Someone who is interesting and of the world he now finds himself in. I think we would all root for the woman in this case. However, I don’t think this is the norm. I just think this is why the system designed this allowance. I have no idea why it isn’t designed in such a way as to take things on a case by case basis, with contributing details like the ones cited in wolfe’s friend’s case.
It’s too bad that divorces are made messier than they have to be. In my case, I let my spouse have everything. In fact, the para-legal that was working on the case made it clear to him that he was getting a sweet deal. The courts did decree that he should pay me spousal support (I let him choose the amount and length of time) but after a few doses of what I had to listen to when he gave me the check, I signed papers releasing him of that stipulation. I’m dirt poor, but very happy. The children have gradually “left” their father, too. He has all the money now, and none of the peace.
@Teri very valid points. I’ll try and edit this reply later to give you a better response. Most of what you say is quite right. You are 100% right about the danger of the grad school/hubby trading ‘up’ phenomenon. Disgusting.
Also, the divorce system is a bit of a goldmine for those who are willing to be selfish and unscrupulous — mostly women, but sometimes men. By all accounts, you are neither, and you certainly did not ‘do well’ out of it financially.
-wolfe
@wolfe
I was a volunteer and member of the World Wide Fund for Nature for many years(I’m sure you’re surprised). Surprisingly few of them were vegies(open to interpretation I guess). Many subscribed to similar views Dakota expressed at one point about controlling animal populations actually benefitting them.
Cats and dogs - Several years ago the lady from up the corner stopped to chat while walking her great dane. This dog was up to my waist. I’ve seen smaller horses. One of my two cats wandered out and the two animals eyed one another warily. Suddenly the was a huge YELP. Rascal had belted the dane fair across the nose. The look on the poor things face was priceless. Kathy - the owner - remarked that he hadn’t learned yet that cats have “sharp bits”.
Cats are so soft and sharp. Just like… women!
@Teri sorry, no better response. But yes, your comment is dead on. I was stunned Luka thought the analogy of cats = women, dogs = men was novel. (Over on Dakota’s blog in his inaugural posting).
Women are lovely and soft and dangerously sharp.
@Gwallan Heh yep, doesn’t surprise me. While I think I think Kyoto is a pile of fetid dingoes kidneys, I believe in clean air, clean water, and, where possible, sustainable development (whatever that means). Where not possible I think we should take a look at how long it’s going to be sustainable for and plan accordingly.
I’d like to preserve species where possible, but any takings by a government should result in full compensation to owners.
You’ll note my posting on mabtw forums in opposition to the idea that mosquitoes should be exterminated. I loathe them, but I’d be very hesitant to wipe out a portion of the ecosystem.
Ultimately, conservation is a very conservative philosophy — seriously. Look at TR. Look at who founded the EPA! (Granted, that’s an America-centric argument. So be it.)
-wolfe
Can one be random but on topic at the same time? Hate mosquitoes (they are considered the Minnesota state bird), not least because a friend’s baby nearly died of mosquito-borne disease. However, I believe in exterminating not by chemical means, but rather building bat-houses and encouraging the little blood-suckers’ natural predator to do the work for me.
And my maternal great-grandfather owned a ranch in the North Dakota badlands to which T.R. dispatched his rather bookish son Kermit in the summers to learn to ride and rope and toughen up with the denizens of the Rough Riders’ Hotel in Medora.
Apologies to non-US readers.
~Z~
@Z Very cool. (well not the baby falling ill!). And DDT (etc) has a place… but wiping out a species? Yeah, I prefer your bat method.
Huge fan of TR, thought of spelling out his name but then said pfft… people should know it, in context. Love the (first) Morris biography, though disliked his Reagan effort.
-wolfe
@teri
Cats are so soft and sharp. Just like… women!
Yep. I think it’s one of the reasons I like them. Maybe not the sharp bit though.
@wolfe
Heh yep, doesn’t surprise me. While I think I think Kyoto is a pile of fetid dingoes kidneys, I believe in clean air, clean water, and, where possible, sustainable development (whatever that means). Where not possible I think we should take a look at how long it’s going to be sustainable for and plan accordingly.
You may find GENI to be of interest. Unfortunately commercial interests may make the concept unachievable.
As for mozzies I have a creek fifteen metres from my back door. It’s mozzy season right now. You have my permission to kill as many of them as you wish.