Reasonably Good Girls Who Show Cleavage

I dedicate this post to my coworker Erica who sits in the cubicle in front of mine.

They say that one of the problems with the Republican party is its members' gentility which sounds like it should be a good thing. But I think it can also be described as the so-called "country club mentality" which sounds like there might be some bad things about that.

I see from the dictionary why gentility, which makes me think of a courteous person, can be viewed as a bad thing. In Merriam-Webster the worst definition of gentility states this, "superior social status or prestige evidenced by manners, possessions, or mode of life."

In my experiences being a guest at a country club, I am always treated with courtesy and respect by the staff. The surroundings are beautiful, the members are reasonably friendly, and the food is delicious. My favorite thing is what I call "country club coffee." I think it is really just plain old brewed coffee, so it must be that little pitcher of real cream that is always on the table.
But by definition and reality a country club is for members and guests only, so it is a place of exclusion.

So by doing the math, gentility plus country club mentality equals "bad." You know that I am not blogging hate about Republicans. I have told you that I am one of them, but I also am trying to express a new Republican mentality. If Republicans want to go forward in today's world, we cannot continue to be (excuse my French) inaccessible, exclusionary snobs. We also can't let the good part of our gentility prevent us from speaking out when we see things that are not right and that might offend. We Republicans need to let down our guard a little and accept that we are humans who make bad choices and go crazy just the same as any other human on this planet. We Republicans also need to stop being so uber-moral that we can't express who we really are.

That leads me back to the title of this blog. I recently attended a political fund-raiser for a Republican member of the House whom I admire and support. At the party, there were woman of all ages. I realized that I was the ONLY WOMAN there who was showing any cleavage. When I turned 4o, my New Year's resolution was to show more cleavage. I decided that cleavage, with the help of Victoria, was the only thing on a woman that never aged badly. I also decided that showing it did not mean I was a loose woman. Cleavage, or shall I genteelly call it décolletage, is a thing of beauty not just raw sexuality, so why should I hide it? If seeing it makes men goofy, that is their problem. When I see a man in a beautiful pin-striped suit and tie, I get goofy too.

So I shared my story with my coworker Erica who claimed she had no cleavage. I reiterated that Victoria's real secret is that with the right bra, ANY WOMAN can have cleavage. Erica came to see me a couple days later and told me that she took my recommendations and found what she needed so she could show her cleavage at an up coming party. I shook her hand. I will miss her when she leaves to take a new job next week.

In conclusion, I am a reasonably good woman. I am a Republican woman, and I show my beautiful cleavage. I encourage all women to do the same.

I Loved Him Too

Today Michael Jackson died at age 50. He is a rock and roll icon; no question. Although my mother and father wanted me to appreciate and listen to mostly only classical music, I remain today strictly a "rock and roller."

I "loved" Michael Jackson no matter the color of either of our skins. I was in college when Thriller was released as an album and as MTV videos. I sat in the school commons in the TV room and waited with that full room to see the Thriller video. I did not use my limited funds to buy the album when it came out, but I knew all the songs from the videos and the dance places; i.e., bars. Tomorrow I will go to Best Buy and purchase Thriller rather than download it from iTunes, if that is possible.

As I watched the news tonight and felt that I was not being represented as a legitimate fan of Michael Jackson, I remembered something else. I got my old box of 45's out and I searched until I found it. It is the 1972 45 of Michael Jackson's Rockin' Robin. I showed it to my husband and told him my story. That is the first 45 I ever owned. In 1972 from my AM radio and my girlfriends at school, I got it in my head that I had to have that 45. I spoke to my father about it, and I was not a "daddy's girl." Yet, every night when he did not come home with that 45, I complained bitterly. I think it took about a week, and he finally relented.

My Dad and I are working on our love issues. I challenge anyone, however, to tell me that I did not "love" Michael Jackson from day one.

Americans with Paychecks, Unite!

Now that it is pretty clear to all of us what "change" meant, some of you have buyer's remorse and some of us are wondering why you bought it in the first place. I understood "change" well in advance from the right wing editorials that I regularly read and from my general knowledge that Democrats typically raise taxes to generate more money to pay for big government. When I could not convince my Obama-voting friends about my fears of massive income redistribution; yes, I am calling "change" by its real name, I tried to appeal to them this way, "Why would you vote for change, in general people hate change." But alas.

I have made it clear in my blog that I want President Obama elected out of office in four years. I am also betting that more of you than you thought before also want him out. It all started with the massive stimulus plans. I will grant you that my favorite president, George W. Bush, initiated one of those before he left office. My unyielding devotion to George W. Bush rationalized that as pandering to the people. He had to become what he hated to try and help his party. Anyway I have talked to many supporters of President Obama's brilliant economic plans. My only response is, "Printing money and borrowing from China is brilliance? That is Econ 101, and hey, somebody has to pay that money back." And hey again, guess who that payer-backer is? Primarily it is Americans with paychecks.

Then President Obama's next move was to slip us a little extra into our paychecks back in April or so. Ladies and Gentlemen, we all know that extra was our own money. I promptly filled out the form to return it to the federal government and handed it to payroll. The woman who took my form said she did the same thing. I have been joking with friends after my personal property taxes on my car and some lingering medical bills from last year came due saying, "What was I thinking when I gave that money back?" Even so, I tell them that I gave it back so that I would still have it when President Obama comes to re-collect it in January 2010.

Americans with paychecks are a very diverse group. We are men and women. We are young and not so young. We are gay and straight. We are Democrats and Republicans. We are African-American and Caucasian and Hispanic and Asian and Christian and Jewish and Muslim. We are blue collar and we are white collar. We are supporting the needs of our families. We are willing to pay for governmental services that support us all, such as for schools and roads and necessary services. But bottom line: WE ALL WORK HARD for our paychecks, and there should be NO QUESTION that we get to keep as much of our paychecks as possible.

So this is my call for all Americans with paychecks to unite to elect our next president. Whom should he or she be? For one thing, it should now be clear whom it should not be.