Here I Go Again

It seems that every time I get all geared up to put more time into this blog, my neck and shoulder issues force me to choose between it and my other writing project. I haven't gone away, nor will I, but there is good reason for me to not post as much, and if you are interested in the whole story, read on.

Barbie Dolls and Princesses

Before I go on my rant, I feel I have to preface it by saying that, for the most part, I was not a normal little girl. Mom went into motherhood imagining that I would, like all little girls, love playing with dolls and dressing up. She instead ended up with a little girl that pitched a fit if she had to wear a dress, and knew more about baseball by the age of four than most little boys do by the time they are old enough to play it. I had a room full of dolls, given to me for birthdays and Christmas that I never played with. When I overheard my mother telling a friend that she had given up on buying dolls for me because I ignored them, I thought I would give playing with dolls a go because I felt a little sorry for her. What did I do? I stripped them naked, hung them by the neck from the curtain rods, and taped signs to their butts that read, "Help me." I thought it was great fun. My mom, at this point, was not overly surprised, but never again did she complain.

Double Standards

A Hero and an Asshole

"There is no rhyme or reason to an earthquake, and we should for once abandon our infantile delusion that we are the cause and maker of everything."

-Boris Johnson, Mayor of London

"There's a message being sent. And that is, 'Hey, you know that stuff we're doing? Not really working out real well. Maybe we should stop doing some of it.' I'm just saying."

- Glenn Beck, American Conservative talk show host, and professional asshole

Asshole Spotlight: Mike Huckabee

"Apparently, she's going to have the child, and I think that is the right decision, a good decision, and I respect that and appreciate it. I hope it is not an encouragement to other 16-year-olds who think that is the best course of action. But at the same time I'm not going to condemn her. It's a tragedy when a 16-year-old who is not really prepared for all the responsibilities of adult life is going to be now faced with all the responsibilities of honest-to-goodness adult life."

"People see a Natalie Portman who boasts, 'We're not married but we're having these children and they're doing just fine.' I think it gives a distorted image. It's unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out-of- wedlock children. Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care," he said. "And that's the story that we're not seeing."

-Mike Huckabee on Jamie Lynn Spears in 2007, and then on Natalie Portman in 2011

Hero Spotlight: Charlie Sheen

Bear with me on this one.


Charlie Sheen has recently ripped a page out of Lindsay Lohan's "How To Ruin A Career" handbook and fast tracked himself into tabloid drama of epic proportions. I don't need to get into the highly quotable rants of a drug addled, hooker obsessed crack head. Despite his claim that he is "winning", I don't think I need to say that he is far from it. However, in the midst of all this very public insanity, Charlie has made one strong point that has actually made sense.

Fox News

I'm sure that I have mentioned this before, but I read all the mainstream news sites as well as some that are not so mainstream in order to get a clear picture of what each is reporting. Media with a liberal bias is no better than media with a conservative bias, and I find both extremes reprehensible. So, in order to formulate an opinion that isn't tainted by the spin, I take everything in and draw my own conclusions. I say this because I am about to pick on Fox News, and I don't want to give anyone the impression that I roll my eyes at them any more or less than I would "It's not news, it's CNN..."

Things That Annoy Me

I have a hangover. When I have a hangover, I sometimes get a little cranky, so I am going to channel that crankiness into a list today.

Sheyla Hershey

"Once I reclaim my identity as the World's Biggest Boobs I can be a better role model for my daughter. I feel so ugly without my breasts. Without them, I don't know who I am." - Sheyla Hershey

A More Personal Post

When I began this blog, I did it with the intention of pointing the finger at those things that I find absurd, hoping to bring attention to the common sense that the world seems to lack. I never wanted to make this a personal journal, or put my mark on it in such a way that the person behind The Beagle is in any way the focus.

I'm going to break my own rule just this once, because I feel the need to throw some thoughts out there, and they are the type of thoughts that I can share with those people that know the person behind The Beagle, but also the type of thoughts that I am comfortable sharing with the stranger stumbling across this blog because of the anonymity.

Smoking Bans

The UK smoking ban went effect on July 1, 2007, and as a result, many pub owners have been forced to close down, sparking the beginning of the end of the traditional village local.

Brilliant Video For Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" Campaign

Scary Thought For the Day

40% of Americans still believe in Creationism.

Just think about that. Feel free to leave some thoughts on the matter in the comments.

Guest Blogger: Chainsaw on Anwar al-Awalaki

As teenagers, we called him Chainsaw, and in the spirit of online anonymity, my guest blogger will keep the childhood nickname that he has never been able to escape. Not only is he someone I admire greatly that I consider a brother, but he is one of the most insightful people I know. I think his words will give everyone something to think about.

Think Of the Children!!

I've never heard of the Harps grocery chain, as they are in Arkansas and other places I have never lived, but now that I have, I am pretty sure that I will never shop there given the opportunity. Apparently, because stable families that just happen to be headed up by parents of the same sex are offensive to a few backward minded, bigoted complainers, Harps decided that they would put a "family shield" over the US Weekly cover featuring Elton John and his partner with their new son. The Dlisted article, which handles the outrage with more humour than I can muster, is here.

More To Come...

I have not posted in a few days and there are two reasons:

1. My shoulder/neck injury has been acting up and I have been on pain killers that do not allow me to string thoughts together, never mind how much it hurts to type.
2. There is so much to be outraged about that even without the pain killers, I haven't been able to put it all together into a coherent post.

Watch this space.

Asshole Spotlight: Cindy Jacobs

When I read this it took me a while to pick my jaw up out of my lap. I had to read it about three more times in order to make sure that I wasn't reading something out of The Onion. Honestly, I'm still not sure that this isn't a joke, because holy crap, the crazy just got dialled up to "11".

Hero Spotlight: Dan Savage

There are people I admire for the work that they do, the music they make, the books they write, or the way that they project themselves. However, there are few people I would single out as personal heroes. Dan Savage is one such person.

On Feminism...

If you go to this link, you will find a vintage photo of a young woman in a bathing suit on a playground swing. The caption will read: "Women: The most beautiful thing in the universe". If you go into the comment section, you will find a great debate between a group of radical feminists, and well...everyone else.  I realize that not everyone has time to read the 119 comments, so I will try to establish both positions as briefly as I can before I go on my little rant about how radical feminism has it all wrong. And yes, even I jumped into the fray. Guess who I am.

The Neutering Of An American Classic

Full disclosure - though it was semi-required reading in my school, meaning we received lists of classics and had to choose a certain number to read over the course of a school year and write reports on them, I have never actually read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in its entirety. I know what it's about, I've read bits and pieces, but I've never really sat down and read the whole thing. I should. I have it on the book shelf behind me right now because even my British husband was required to read it in school it's that important a book.

Before I continue, I am also going to state that this blog is being written by a 37 year old woman who has a mixed race grandmother. I am not a racist. I do not approve of the word "nigger" and have no use for the word in day to day conversation or writing. However, as an adult, I am not going to sit here and call it "the n word" if I am going to write an essay about it. If you can't handle it in even this context, stop reading now.