Paul & I stand with our LGBT friends against homophobia

I'm hearing a lot about people threatening to pull a gun if they come across a trans woman in the bathroom. First, that makes them look like a raging coward. Second, Paul and I have trans friends AND gay friends. One of my brothers is gay, in fact. And if you say anything about my brother OR any of my gay friends, you better check yourself.

Also, if I see anybody harassing a trans man or woman, I will step up and be an ally. I will NOT allow such behavior to pass without a challenge. How dare some of you be so callous and uneducated about this issue!

Why don't you put your energies into eradicating pedophile priests from the Catholic church? Or is it God's will? Bullshit. That's a cop-out. Always has been. What a sick excuse for disgusting and criminal behavior.

Paul and I value our LGBT friends. They are some of the best friends we have. We will be allies for them against haters and homophobes.

Some people sit their asses in church on Sundays, acting like they are pious and shit. They are anything but. They are posers, hypocrites, and cold-hearted people. They use religion as an excuse to be shitty people. Christian, my ass!

I'm a staunch anti-theist and I'm more Christlike in my behavior than they are! They're fronting, and deep down they know it. I'd like to see Jesus show up and whip out a rochambeau on their asses for their hypocrisy.

Writing for the right reasons, and the wrong ones

I'm going to be honest here: I'd rather work on my OWN crappy writing than someone else's crappy writing. Mainly because they never appreciate it. I have no illusions -- I know my writing isn't perfect and never will be.

However, some people who haven't written anything since high school and who don't give a whit about books or literature think they're going to pick up a pen and turn out the next bestseller. They can't be bothered to read, but they somehow believe that they are Next Big Thing.

The worst part? They'll tell you how great they are and how their work overshadows that of Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. Yeah...highly unlikely. And even if you *think* that, it's gauche to tell other people.

Unlike many others who believe they're above everyone else, I'm well aware that there's always room for improvement, no matter who you are. Although I've been a professional writer for 18 years and had hundreds of short pieces and articles published and several books published (through traditional publishers, mind you), I will NEVER get to the point where I think my crap doesn't stink. I will also never proclaim to know every single thing about writing. I don't. Nobody does! Not even famous authors. Writing is about the journey, NOT the destination. It's about learning and discovery.

A writer writes. However, there's a difference between a person who would write even if they were a millionaire (because they are DRIVEN to) and a person who doesn't give a shit about the craft and beauty of writing. Such a person only wants to try and earn a bunch of money from throwing their book up on Kindle or Smashwords for the sole purpose of cash. They couldn't care less about readers or anything else. These people know nothing about the publishing industry and are only writing in hopes of making a quick buck. It's obscene and distasteful, at least to me.

So yeah, I prefer to work on my own writing -- even when it's crappy and isn't the best thing in the world. The time is much better spent than dealing with thankless jerks who don't care anything about writing or literature. Hey, they know everything anyway, so let them have at it while the rest of us spend time working on our stuff. The rest of us have lots to learn, and we aren't afraid to admit it. Oh, and shove them a piece of humble pie before you shut the door in their faces. Goodness knows they need it.

How some women give the rest of us a bad name

Thoughts after reading comments on a FB page geared toward women (and why I'll unlike that page):

I'm a woman, and I gotta say that way too many women are catty, two-faced bitches that will stab you in the back at a moment's notice. They're too cowardly to stab you in the front -- it's always the back when you least expect it.

Not talking about you guys, of course. If you were like that, you'd be off this page as soon as I recognized that behavior. Who needs that kind of shit in life? Not me. I have enough to contend with.

The behavior exhibited by many women is the reason I prefer to hang around males and other women who are more like me. For many women, it's not about supporting other women or encouraging them. It's about superficiality, competition, and jealousy/envy. Quite the shame. It doesn't cost a damn thing to be HAPPY for someone else's success or good fortune. There's no shortage of those things, and I believe the more you're happy for other people, the better things you attract in your own life. It doesn't take away from you to congratulate others or be inspired by them.

You are YOU and there's nobody else like you. The only person you should compete with to improve is YOURSELF. Who gives a shit what the other person's hair looks like, where they got their nails done, how many shoes they have, what their cologne smells like? I sure as hell don't! I'm me and I'll dress as I like, fix my hair like I want, wear my nails as I see fit, and choose the cologne I want to wear. You do your thing, I'll do mine. I'm an individual and NOT any of you, and I'm happy about that.

I got a whole bunch of flack in high school because I had plenty of guy friends. Inevitably, other females thought I was screwing all of them, not realizing that I wasn't and that it is possible to be platonic friends/buddies with males. I've done it my entire life. I preferred to hike in the woods or Garden of the Gods with my male buddies than sit by a pool tanning any old day. Besides, I have fair skin, so it's a cycle of burn and peel with me, not tan ;-).

When I see such petty behavior on pages geared toward women, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It makes me not want to participate in that page. I don't expect those types of women to change, and that's sad and frustrating for the rest of us who are female.

It's not that hard, so what don't you *understand* about separation of church & state OR freedom of religion?

I'm curious. What don't some people get about separation of church and state OR freedom of religion? Because I think it's pretty clear. There is a REASON why there are NO bibles (or other religious bullshit) that should be allowed in schools. Quit being daft, okay? UNDERSTAND the Constitution and why the forefathers crafted the document that way.

A long time ago, my daughter went to Sproul Jr. High (as I did when I was younger). I HATED going there, by the way. Most people treated me like shit. Plus, Felicia Braxton and Rita Gonzales bullied and threatened to kick my ass EVERY damn day as I walked to catch the bus, and I still don't know why they picked on me. Probably because I was a new kid in school and looked different than all the other girls. Yes, I named them. Don't care because they bullied me and I did NOTHING to deserve it. I hope they grew up and matured (I'm assuming they did). I also got made fun of because of my weight, and that sucked. No wonder most of my friends were guys! Thanks, Phillip Salas, for being nice to me back then, by the way. I never forgot your kindness.

But I digress...one day I was waiting for my daughter to get out of school, and I saw where there was a person standing outside the school, HANDING OUT BIBLES. I was incensed! I called the office to lodge my complaint, and I was FLOORED when the office lady I spoke to didn't understand WHAT was wrong with that or why I was upset. Really? I tried to calm myself as I explained that NOT EVERYONE IS CHRISTIAN and it is not appropriate to indoctrinate children at a public school by having a person hand out bibles to kids as they got out of school. She didn't get it, and I was frustrated by her IGNORANCE.

So, no, NO bibles should be in public schools and religion has NO PLACE in public schools. If you cannot understand why, then you need to go back and educate yourself and STOP having tunnel vision. I get incredibly frustrated when people who seem intelligent in every other way totally miss the reasoning behind this sort of thing.

Freedom of religion. Separation of church and state. What in the fresh hell do you NOT understand?!