It’s Thursday, y’all!

And today, I’m feeling a tiny bit hopeful. Yesterday my cousin, a male in his mid 20s who is a proud Republican, re-posted a picture on facebook titled “Liberal Logic 101.”

On one side was Sandra Fluke, with the caption: “Single woman who has so much sex she went broke paying for birth control: NOT A SLUT.”

On the other side was Sarah Palin, with the caption: “Married to the same man for 24 years: SLUT.”

Now y’all know this issue has awakened my inner raging feminist, so I wasn’t going to stay silent. My first post was: “Did you read Sandra Fluke’s testimony? Because she didn’t talk about sex at all. Do your homework. Sincerely, – Your Cousin the Slut.” Then, because I couldn’t resist, I added a link with the comment, “Here’s a link to her super-sexy slutty testimony! It’s almost like watching a porno!”

We then had a little back and forth where he argued that Sandra Fluke wasn’t the point, the point was the double standard that allows liberals to call Sarah Palin names and no one complains and blah blah blah Fox talking points.

I pointed out that you can’t make such a point when the premise is based on an outright lie, and that using Sarah Palin as a red herring in this issue is weak. But I kept it civil and factual after my initial snark.

A few minutes later he sent me a direct message:

Erika, as you may know i’m very conservative and really dislike the liberal stand on many things but i do know what i posted was distasteful to many and I am removing it. I do appreciate you calling me out on it and keeping me honest.

Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather. How often does that happen? No screaming match, no insults flying back and forth, just discussion and eventually, a change of heart. I explained to him how every woman I know is PISSED. How Rush might as well have called me, and every sexually active woman out there, a prostitute and demanded to see sex tapes. I told him I’m raising a daughter in this world, and I find this whole “debate” our nation is embroiled in unbelievable and scary.

His response? “OK. Now your wall post makes sense.” He was talking about that image up above, which I snagged from our sherishu.

I think it is important to make this issue personal. To explain to people that when they slam Sandra Fluke, they might as well be slamming their mothers, sisters, friends and daughters. That going around calling any woman a slut is not OK. I don’t know if I made a difference long term, but I hope that just for today, I made him think a little.

What say you? Is there hope? These are scary times, ladies. It warms my heart knowing that y’all are raising some kick-ass, smart, egalitarian children who will someday save us from this madness!

What’s on your mind today? Chat away!

How are you doing today?

It’s Oscar Sunday! What are your Oscar picks?

Happy Friday!

I have had the worst couple of days lately. For starters, I’ve been feeling…thick. You know the feeling when you put on a pair of your favorite jeans and the waistband is a little more snug that usual? Yeah, I hate that feeling.

Then, a couple of days ago I was woken up by a loud noise at about 3:30am. The noise came from my upstairs neighbor and included screaming, crying, and banging on walls. It lasted for about 90 minutes. It was so raw and awful that all I could do was stand in the middle of my bedroom and…wait. I wanted to see if I could help, but thought better than to knock on my neighbors door at 3:30am. My heart was pounding and my emotions boiled over and all I did was cry. I knew. I just knew that someone died. The cries just sounded too familiar. Instantly, I was back to the day I lost my father.

The following morning, after calling in sick to work, I called my landlord and explained what happened. I pleaded with him to find out what was going on and if there was anything we could do for her. He said he would follow up. Last night, my landlord called me and said that my neighbor received a call from her brother informing her that their mother passed away. What I heard was her reaction. I knew it. I just knew it.

So, I’ve been an emotional mess for the past couple of days. It’s going to be three years in May since my father passed away, and I still feel so raw from that loss.

In better news, Karina received her second acceptance letter from Pace University in New York! They’re offering her a $12K scholarship! I’m so very proud of her, but at the same time I am deathly afraid of tuition hikes and trying to figure out how I’m going to pay for my daughters education. Especially when I get ZERO help from her father.

Ugh.

How have you been doing this week? Any big plans for the weekend? And finally, who do you predict will win Best Movie this Sunday and why?

What are you up to today?