AM~Erica in Search of Modern Suffragettes

So anyway...

We are on countdown to less than 2 weeks until the end of trash-talking campaign ads as election season is winding down to a close.

THANK GOODNESS!!

I'm not ready for the Christmas commercials to begin, but the few I've seen have actually been refreshing, and a welcome change, compared to the doom & gloom of attack ads for the looming of Super Tuesday.

However, this means Super Tuesday is right around the corner. And it is incredibly important we get out there to vote on November 8th!

No, the presidential candidates are not the best of choices, but don't let this particular race deter you from voting if you are registered to vote.

This is Super Tuesday we are talking about! There's more than one issue & office on the ballot that need our voices heard!

If you click HERE, you will see a sample ballot for just my county. My municipality will have additional voting on top of this, as well as other surrounding municipalities. Look at all of it! There is a whole lot more going on, voting-wise, than just president. There's other federal, state, and local candidates & issues to focus on, too. It's my thinking that this ballot is not alone.

How do we break all of this down? If you go to BALLOTPEDIA, there you will find an incredible breakdown of the candidates & issues! Research this stuff so you know what & who you are voting on.

With all of that said, I want to, once again, turn my attention to my fella female registered voters across this great land:

Early voting has begun in many places. Even if you are voting early, or by absentee ballot, remember THE REVOLUTION! Get out your yellow, get a yellow sash, find something as a yellow sash, and get your vote on!

Whether you vote early, or if you vote on Super Tuesday, remind ourselves about what the suffragettes before us were fighting for. We haven't been casting ballots for a hundred years yet. This is still shiny & new. Let's keep using our 19th amendment right to get in there & make our voices heard.

Remember, when you vote, early or on November 8th, and no matter who or what it is you're voting for, let's use our harmony of voting voices to remind ourselves, remind each other, and remind the nation that we do vote.

When you go vote, like I said, remember to wear your yellow sash, or wear yellow (the main color of the American suffragette movement), then get a selfie or two:

* in front of the polling place, OUTSIDE
* with your voting sticker
* in your yellow

Be sure to hashtag it, across social media, with #YellowSashRevolution. Let's get this visual movement going!

Here's 2 of my sashes I've made, recently, along with my last sticker & other adornments I'm considering wearing.

Remember, there are laws about where photos can be taken, and what of, on voting day. There are states that don't allow photos inside the polling place or at the voting booth, but the grander scale is no photos of the ballot & who you have voted for!

Also, you are not to wear candidate &/or issue campaign wear inside the polling place.

Please be a smart voter. Use your right, use your head, use your heart, use your conscience, use your voice, wear your yellow, and go vote!

I'm not a "copy & paste this" or a "share this post" kind of person, but let's band together, as women registered to vote, and make our presence known!

You in? Who's with me?

UPDATE: Support the movement by getting your #YellowSashRevolution Twibbon added to your photo HERE!

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Needs to See Some Respect - Show It

So anyway...

As you all know probably know by now, I'm not the most political person...but I've had to get on my soapbox in the last several months because of the immaturity of both sides of the aisle. Ugly & bratty was & still is hard to deal with. Especially when it's supposedly a bunch of "adults".

Those of you acting like you would be a martyr for your own party? Oh, puh-leez!

So that's why I have tried to start a movement of PURPLE POLITICS...the voice of compromise in our government. The urge of the lefty-democrat-blue drinkers & the righty-republican-red drinkers to come to the middle & pour your glasses of bitterness into the middle to create a sweet flavor of purple.

So I have been on a mission to find my perfect political shirt: a purple Koolaid Man tshirt! Oh Yeah!

There are others who have hopped onto the purple bandwagon. A place needed to be created where the moderates could actually feel like they/we could speak up. One of my bandwagon riders was on my mission to get me a koolaid shirt. She won & found it first...that's a whole other story that I may blog about soon...cuz it's entertaining. But here is my shirt, y'all:

Can you read my note? It says "Enjoy!"

See? I look like my pic above...OK, it's blurry, but I have on no makeup. No one needs to see that.

I do wish I could've had it before election day, but not this time. However, I will still wear it loud & proud. When you all see it, you will know what it stands for! Because it was not loud enough to get thru the campaign season...

That was quite the round of campaigning & elections, don't you think? It was a dizzying & gut-wrenching journey that I couldn't NOT wait see come to an end. There is a large number of people who did not like destination chosen by majority.

So now, I gotta pull out my soapbox again. I haven't gotten on it in quite some time. And apparently the time has come for me to jump on. So brace yourselves...here we go:

I have gotten on my SOAPBOX before about the level of nasty, one-sided politics. And I have seen the liars come out in full force. I'm not even talking about candidates, either. I'm talking about all the ridiculous supporters who keep on their blinders about what the post & what they say. You can't say you want peaceful posts & "discussion", put out your "prayer requests", and pretend you are looking for a better solution when you also put hateful, vile, and personal attacks on top of fake & mistruth information that is such a twisted truth. And you actually believe you are saying the right things?

I'm going to tell both sides something right now. If you haven't picked it up from my other posts about this, then pay attention now:

When you put that stuff out there, you look like the biggest jerk & no one with actual common sense is going to listen to it. If you want things to be better, then quit it with the smut & mud slinging from your own walls. Seriously.

There was a time (before social media) when there was this thing called "RESPECT" for our leaders. But now we can just say as hateful & childish things as ever. Even though that's part of our 1st amendment right, the vile levels from BOTH sides really should be come down upon. Personal attacks & trying to undercut in bratty ways should be a felony. Yep, I said it. (Thank you, 1st Amendment!) You think that thought is not OK? I've got more.

We just finished recognizing our veterans for their service & sacrifices to make sure our entire country was free. The United States of America...and the word "united" is in there. This part is VERY important. We are coming back to this...

As the election results have come out, and the voting wasn't quite as close as it was predicted to be, "sides" are now trying to hurl their koolaid at each other & anyone else. Remember that whole "ugly" thing? You're being a jerk thing? We aren't listening to you since you sound like your having a whiney brat tantrum thing? Yeah...

The dirt level of posts has risen instead of faded.

Seriously! Stop.

Even worse about the election results? There is going to be a primal civil war that may break out due to the lack of tolerance & respect. The majority spoke & now you are trying to blame & point fingers & discount whoever the majority clearly chose because you are clearly less than tolerant & are bad sports.

This civil war I speak of has to do with the states who want to not be part of the UNITED States any longer. I'm embarrassed to say I'm in one of those states. Talk about near-treasonous levels of thinking! (told you it would get worse) There are even veterans who are touting the fleeing. All they have fought for & they are setting such bad examples coming back.

Do you remember when George W. Bush was running for office & there were several celebrities who threw big hissy fits stating they would move out of the country if he won? So many of you offered up your support in helping them pack. You are the ones who gave them an openly hard time about leaving the greatest country & blah-blah-blah. So...you don't like the outcome now? So you've upped the ante? Shameful.

Those of you who stated you would move to Canada if the election didn't turn out like you'd hoped, they are successfully running programs & have a tolerance level in place...the ones you were hoping to run from. Think about that for a moment.

Oh...and not everyone in each state thinks exactly the same. You can't just up & take your state to go home cuz things didn't go as you thought. An entire state is not like a baseball, folks. Oh...and then what? Government would look very differently. You would have no representation. You just sit in your corners & pout. By the way...what if we now had to have border patrol between states because you now don't belong to The States? That would make you an immigrant. Congratulations! Oh, and please give up any Social Security your getting paid, any other aid, and any military &/or government benefits. Thank you.

Now...that doesn't take into account all the crazy thinking of the far left, either. If you voted just so you could secure handouts...then that's not right. A lot of people do need handouts once in a while. But...those that take advantage of the system need to be reeled in!! I do think there should be drug tests for welfare. I'm just gonna say it! And, if you are on welfare/food stamps, you don't have the money for alcohol, cigarettes, tattoos, drugs...I mean, c'mon! Oh...and if I need to show my ID to pay with my card at JC Penney or Goodwill, or many  other places, it won't kill you to have some sort of ID when you are asked. If you have something to hide...it will come out. And breaking the system to keep having kids so YOU can get free healthcare is not right either. Where's the money to feed you 7 kids when you can hardly keep a roof over your head & tummies filled, then shut down the baby factory & try to do something to get back on your feet. Plus...there are so many out there who want a family & have trouble having the kids. Why are you hoarding the population for yourself? Greed? You call that "trying to get by"? There's couples out there who cannot or have issues conceiving that have so much love to give. They need the children you can't take care of. After a certain period of time, the hand-out-only takers need to be cut off & actually contribute to society.

I would also like to point out that some of these couples who cannot conceive just cannot physically do it together. But they are loving people who are much more willing to take care of a child than most parents out there now. Why would we want to stop that? I would also like to bring up that there is no sanctity in marriage, overall, right now based on the current divorce rate. So why are we concerned about who gets married when you may be on your 3rd marriage right now? Something to think on.

We need to find some common sense, folks. Be UNITED! Stop worrying about these trivial things & work on what is good for the people. Guess what? That might mean it's not JUST in line with your personal thinking. Isn't that great about this country of the UNITED States? And if you claim "These Colors Don't Run, " then don't support running away from this great country. We can come together, people. It's possible. Open your hearts & minds about it.

Oh...and if you want to tout praying for the country, then do it. And if you prayed that God would direct our country & elections in the direction it needs to go, then complain we full of idiots, you might want to think about how you pray.

And if "the other side" is saying things that are disrespectful...it's just as immature to keep posting & saying things that are supposed to cut them back down, too.

Y'ALL BE ACTING CHILDISH! STOP IT!!

I will put my soapbox up for now. The ugly needs to stop. We need to support our country in the here-and-now. Respect, people. Show it. For all leaders. The ones that were voted in by majority from the citizens of this great & united country.

The power of purple, baby! It's OK to compromise for the greater good! OH YEAH!!

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Sees the Divide

So anyway...

There is an important holiday coming up tomorrow. Independence Day, of course! It is the birthday of our wonderful country! But what are we celebrating when there is such dysfunction going on?

The sad truth is, we are a family horribly divided. Many of you have read about my purple politics, but there is such a pull of apart of red & blue...it's disgusting.

Well, I will probably, once again, tick people off with my brand of politics. There's actual common sense in my view. It's almost like a superpower anymore. There can actually be compromise, and there's such a divide that refuse to see it that way. I'm going to point out a few things that need to make you think. It may be painful. It may make some of you pout in a corner. It might pull out some extra bullhorns & megaphones besides mine...but it needs to be heard...again.

People, do you realize you are grumbling about what the other side says...and you are arguing the same thing pretty much? The twisting of words to try to make your own point for "your side" is ridiculous.

A question I have is to whether or not you all actually read & listen to what is happening, or do you go about it with totally closed minds that the "other side" is just wrong no matter what?

I'm going to point out a couple of brief things about the healthcare thing. There is good stuff AND bad stuff. It's not ALL good...just like it's not ALL bad. Wake up to the good and the bad, OK? The good? Everyone is to be covered & not turned away. No pre-existing conditions can prevent you from getting insurance. YEA! That's awesome! The bad? We are going to be forced to get insurance. It will literally be illegal to not have any...and you will be forced to pay a TAX PENALTY if you don't have any. Oh...and no matter who wins the election later this year, this doesn't take effect until 2014...and no one can fight it since there is a TAX involved until it's put into place. So...there is also so much wrong with this whole thing from BOTH SIDES!! So...why can't we all work together to get the bad out & the good in...and work toward the same goal? Are we all that power-hungry? Oh...I guess so. I would like to point out that our vehicles (which are THINGS) are better insured than each of us. Just throwing that out there.

Something else I'm going to point out that is quite ugly is the amount of money being spent on just elections. I want to throw up thinking about it. We are all upset about the economy & the lack of jobs...yet we are being driven to donate money to people who are trying to OUTSPEND each other to trick you into voting for them. Where is this money going? Well, my hubby helped break this down a bit: approximately 2 BILLION dollars will be spent on the election campaign trail. That's gagalicious as it is...and it doesn't go into the thinking of the amount of our country's debt, and the fact that approximately 40,000 people could make an annual salary of $50,000 for that amount of money...that is going to tricking people into voting for them...trying to outspend each other...while the economy is a mess...to say pretty much the same stuff. Hmmmmm...

So, gullible koolaide drinkers, you can twist & mince all the words you want, but there are major ugly truths that go beyond what I have pointed out above that you all won't look that much more into.

You know what's even worse? That 2 billion dollars is to go to the undecided voters. There's so many of you who have already made up your mind of which side you will vote for, it has nothing to do with the person or their personal views necessarily, and the money won't even sway you. The undecided voters are either over gullible & will listen to only the twisted words of the one who spent more money, or they aren't even going to head to the polls because of how awful this is. Do you see how ugly this is?

(This pic has been posted several times on Facebook by good people who this is geared toward - 
then they keep posting their one-sided political stuff. Talk about missing the point!)

So, as we celebrate our country's birthday, that falls on July 4th...that is called INDEPENDENCE DAY, what are we really celebrating? The freedom to fight one another because of brain-washed opinions? That's beautiful. Not exactly what I call the home of the brave.

I know these are very ugly words. I try to keep it positive in the end...but what possibly is positive about all of this right now? Are we just going to barbeque & blow stuff up in pretty explosions to get along for 27 hours (the total of all the time zones in the country) & then go back to being disgusting to each other? That's cute to make face for a day...but what about the others? What about respect toward each other, the country, and whoever is in charge? No we don't have the best people in place...but we voted them in! Using our freedom to vote when we lack the actual knowledge needed to get the right people in? Right.

I have brought up having a Moderate Party (said slightly tongue-in-cheek) & the criticism I got for it was awful! You mean...how dare me want to find compromise & want to have this country come back together? How dare me want to bridge the divide? What is wrong with me? *face palm*

There may be some face-palming from some of you reading this, but I'm going to bring up a GLEE moment. Back when Sue Sylvester was running for congress, she did it in an ugly campaign. UGLY! But it was great for us because she's a fictional character, and her corruptive brain is beautiful for satire, not for real life. But there are campaigns run like she did it...in real life. There was another guy on the ballot that ran against her doing some of the same stuff. But...there was a candidate that ran after the cutoff for getting your name on a ballot, so he ran a campaign to be a write-in vote. He did a better campaign, ran as a write-in vote campaign...and WON! Yes...I know it was fictional, but what a great idea!  Why can't we find a moderate to step up & take the reigns as a different party.

The two-party system is broken & corrupt. It's ugly. We need someone better.

I fully respect, usually, who is in the highest office of our nation. The lack of respect for it is awful. Why don't you try to take it over & see how that works for you? Scary thought, huh?

So...as we hug at the birthday party tomorrow, remember it can last past blowing things up & sitting around a table inhaling grilled fare. Yes, our opinions can be different, but it's about finding compromise. Like any relationship to work...it can't be one way or the other; it's both/and. And it's not about pointing out all the faults, it's about lifting up what's great & working thru ALL the faults...from ALL sides.

Hug it out, find a way, dump your red & blue koolaid cups into the big vat in the middle & see the pretty purple. It's the best way. THAT's what makes the country great!

So...are you pouting yet? Well, take it to the party tomorrow...jump in a pool & cool off!

*CHEERS*

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica is Drinking Purple (Angry Politic Smackdown)

So anyway...

It is 2012. If you aren't aware as of yet...it's an election year. A BIGGIE election year.

Now then, if you know me, you know that I am NOT a politically-driven person. It's about to the point that I HATE politics. Seriously. And there are so many around me/us that are so politically-driven...it's actually annoying.

Now then, I know we need to keep up on what's going on. I do that, there's no choice. But I do it in a manner that I actually listen to what's going on & make my decision not based on the color of kool-aid to drink.

Just listening to & watching the candidates is horrible enough as it is, but then to listen to those around defending the ridiculousness of their "side" to no end is irritating. And it's even worse when those same people post about & send out & talk about personal attacks on anyone they don't agree with. And what is even worse about this is the fact that many of these personal attackers are supposed to be Christian people.

When you just sign up/register for one particular party, you are sucking down jugs of kool-aid...JUGS! And I do mean the Jonestown-level. Whether it's red or blue...you know who you are that are sucking down the poison.

Now then, I do believe that voting should be different. There is a "quiz" out there that you can take to figure out who your candidate should be that you would vote for. It is done blindly & in a fashion where you pick the issue stance closest to what you believe. After calculation at the end, it tells you who your candidate is. We should be voting on the issues...and I am positive that many who take it would be shocked who they would actually be voting for.

You know...that would be worth taking time to go vote. Not just going in & pushing a button or punching a chad...but actually taking a test. Once you hit 'submit', it tells you who you voted for. Period.

Now that most of you are probably mad at me, think about how the offices, parties & candidates would actually look. And, as for caucuses, WHAT A SHAM!! Early states get screwed, and other states get told they don't matter, so not many turn out...and you can only vote for whatever you are registered as. UGH!!! I understand having the caucuses, but it needs to be it's own Super Tuesday where everyone votes at the same time & see everything whittled down at once.

If you haven't figured out, I'm just moderate. I look at everything. I listen. I roll my eyes at all of you who rah-rah for your democrat or republican parties. I drink purple. Deal with it. The poison of true red & the poison of true blue is poisoning the patriotism of this whole country.

*deep breath in, deep breath out* I will step off of my soapbox for now. And know that if I see anymore ridiculous rah-rah posts of anything for any particular party or a hateful one against the 'other party'...I may very well call you out on it. There is no need to spew the hate & fling the poo at each other. You're not proving anything except that you are closed-minded & set in your ways.

And people wonder why I hate politics. Now then...get over yourselves, take a breath...and let's all hug & get along.

Stay tuned...if you dare...

God Bless, AM~Erica