My parents emigrated from Germany when I was five and we moved to D.C. My brother and I were the only white people in school.

Now, I had/have very thin, fine blond hair. I absolutely wanted pigtails. Every morning, my mom would braid my hair, and she'd braid the ribbon right into the top of the pigtail to keep it in. Fine -- if I sat around all day. But I was something of a tomboy and ran around after school. Invariablly, I'd lose one or both ribbons and get punished for it.

Imagine me standing in line at school behind a black girl with pigtails all over her head and NOTHING HOLDING THE PIGTAILS TOGETHER. I was enthralled! That's the kind of hair I wanted.

Yes, of course, we always want what we can't have. But I just want to say that, to this day, I find it a crying shame that black women don't appreciate their hair and work with what they've got. I cannot stand straightened black hair. I'm sorry, it looks absolutely phony, and very much second-best to "white" hair.

Black women, start loving your natural hair! Know that there are tons of styles for you that no white woman will ever be able to accomplish. Be proud of it. Don't think of it as "radical" or "ethnic," think of it as yours.

(1) "three GOP senators have cut a deal" -- Why does this make me queasy in my tummy? I mean, I know politics is all about quid pro quo, but this sounds almost as blatant as Blago. What are they getting? I really wish American politics weren't so much about "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" and more about "let's run this country as best as possible."

(2) I still don't see why 60 has to be magic number. I'd LOVE to see the Repugs holding a filibuster about this. The entire country would be interested, I think. The Dems should call their bluff -- I bet they'd cave.

"I'd like a pony. And an end to world hunger. And world peace. Oh, and not to have to worry about whether I'd locked my door. Why don't we get rid of money, too, while we're at it, and just take what we need, and give to others what they need?

Let's change everything we know about human nature and biology. This survival of the fittest stuff--I really wish nature weren't so much about it, and more about "live and let live.""

Wow. THAT's your response to my wish that politicians actually behaved like honest responsible adults? Like PATRIOTS? Like people who love their country, rather than just wearing flag pins and putting their hands on their hearts while listening to a song?

Wow. And I thought I was cynical. But you take the cake.

Your answer showed what a jerk you must be.

Reagan. Reagan. Reagan.

[i.e., Let's forget the last 8 years. Never happened.]

Reagan. Reagan. Reagan.

***********************

And yes, Matt Lauer is a wuss.

. . .when I need financial advice.

Snark. It's Sarcastic Wednesday, so I couldn't help myself.

John Boehner: "those of us who believe in a smaller, more accountable government"

Where has he been for the past eight years? Repugs were in total control for at least six of them. What happened to the smaller government? Accountable government?

No, seriously, I'd like to know. Elephantman, Poco, et al -- care to answer me?

"'an abomination according to Scripture,' Renfroe said, according to the Colorado Independent, to '[take] sins and [make] them to be legally OK'"

If you think same sex sex is an abomination, that's your right. I happen to believe that people who think like that are an abomination. But hey, we all have our opinions.

What I don't get is this: Being against health insurance for same sex partners. HOW CAN YOU BE AGAINST HEALTH INSURANCE??? How can you be against people getting healthcare? It boggles my mind. It's also totally unchristian.

"My female family members, female professional associates and female friends are ladies."

You don't say?

LOL

"We won't know until the investigation can move forward, which requires Rove's testimony."

Ha! I can picture it already: 'I don't remember' 'I don't recall' ad nauseam.

Does anybody believe Rove will have anything else to say? He'll

dodge every question.

When the Berlin Wall came down and the USSR when bust, I was really happy because that meant the right could no longer call anybody they didn't like a "Communist." E.g., "You're against dropping trash in the street? You Communist!" or "Your hair is long. You must be a Communist." (That one from the 60s/70s.)

Americans used the word Communist to equal anything they found offensive. The word that has now taken its place is Socialist.

Socialism is when people have a democratic government, pay taxes, and get services in return. The higher their taxes, the more services they get.

It's pretty simple, and it's inoffensive. Don't you think?

And to answer Cestmoi123:

'Why the tagline "socialist" has power. Because, like it or not, the most bloodthirsty, vicious regimes of the 20th century proudly called themselves socialist, be they a Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or a National Socialist German Workers' Party.'

The USSR was not using the term Socialist correctly. Nor were they using the term Communist correctly. Theirs was a dictatorship of many who owned everything and brutalized those who opposed them.)

The National Socialist Workers' Party used the term Socialist because that was a way to fool people. Nothing socialist about the Nazis, I'm afraid. (Believe me, I should know.) The German Democratic Republic was neither democratic nor a republic, but it sounded good.

So, to recap: In Europe and Western Asia, socialist = something good. In the U.S., at least among the great unwashed, socialist = something bad.

Sick leave? That's a socialist concept.

Social security? Ditto. (of course, you know that)