The Unspoken Discrimination Within

I am so sick & tired of the unspoken discrimination within the military. Not that of the activity duty discrimination. No. Not the gay v. straight discrimination. No. Not even the discrimination amongst ranks. No.

I'm talking about the discrimination the military gives spouses. I'm so sick of hearing "no" just because I'm not a foreign national. Yes, I'm a born & breed American. Yes I'm educated. Yes I have common sense. Yes, I'm sane...most days. Yes, I speak English...sometimes fluently. However, why does that automatically make me competent in a way that my foreign national counterpart spouses aren't?

Sometimes I get so removed from the whole military lifestyle that I forget this part. That is until I "need" my service member at home & I am denied that request because I am not a foreign national spouse...oh so fragile & frail! They really play up the system too!

So what if I speak English...I am still in a foreign country too where English is not the main language.

So what if I am American, does that mean that times & situations are less stressful on me?

All I need is one bloody damm weekend in which my husband can help me, the pregnant sane, been emotional stable, military spouse who lives out on in town on the economy, to prepare for this birth of the child that he will be missing! ONE WEEKEND! And I know, I can tell, it is getting really close to this kid coming out...but who cares. I can do it alone! After all, I am afluently speaking American, right? No worries... I don't my service member at all!

Why is that not granted to me, but the lady who needs to go up to the embassy to get her passport re-done can get her husband out of every other important military schedule just to watch the kids because she doesn't want to use the CDC or a friend?

Or the lady who needs her hubby to hold her hand to fly home in an evacuation because she has only met his parents a dozen times with him, but I had to go it alone? It is still an evacuation ...and still my first one at that too!

Or the lady who needs her husband to get her a new ID, but I get handed a stupid piece of paper & sent on my way....to get my first one even I did it alone & at an Air Force Base!

Or the lady who is having a emotional break down at home threatening to leave or whatever, while all I get is left sitting in a pool of hysterical hormonal pregnancy tears while he has to go back to work because of some new emergency?

What am I missing here?

I am really confused. Everyone who romanticizes the military must only be on the foreign end of it. No wonder they have their own cliques, they have their own reality! And then everyone wonders why there is a divide & resentment between American wives & foreign nationals.

I don't care what their culture or customs are. What if I would like to have those same customs & culture? Oh I can't because I am American? Err.....

So sick of it! And people think that the military doesn't discriminate & that the government is fair! HA!

And It Keeps Getting Better! NOT!!!

Do I really need to say more? So who still wants government ran healthcare?

Universal Insurance Plans

Of course this sounds like a great idea & plan. You get to buy an insurance plan in one state, while using it in another, all while you live in another. That would be awesome right?

The question: "Why can't private insurance companies fight for my business like any other service?"

Has one person stopped to think about the reason why instead of just asking?

Because each state regulates health care already, by state statues. Hence the reason if you are qualified for practicing medicine in AR you can't just go to FL without taking another medical board & becoming qualified.

And it is not just medical. The same applies to lawyers & teachers! You can pass your boards in one state but not be qualified to practice in every state.

Insurance is what covers these practices services. So....how is it going to work?

Now we are proposing that we get insurance companies to raise their premiums so that we can use it in any state? How is that the reform we need?

Universal Healthcare & Universal Insurance is NOT the Reform we need!

It's NASCAR, Get Some Balls Back!

Anyone who has been following NASCAR or my recent posts on Facebook, know that everyone is hatin' on Kyle Bush. Why? That is what I want to know!

Yes, Kyle has some bad sportsmanship skills like blaming everyone & everything but himself for not winning a race. But seriously, you have to be a little crazy & unstable to be doing 200 MPH in a car with hardly any body on the frame, spinning around in circles, dodging bad drivers like Michael Waltrip! Well, you at least have to be cocky, arrogant, & have some balls anyway.

I don't see everyone hatin' on Waltrip who causes one really good wreck per race. Yes, every single time...in the Sprint Cup Series, Waltrip is right there...in a bloody wreck! Great personality, horrible driver! But no one is knockin' on him or calling for him to either speed up or get out of the way.

So Kyle wrecked a few people! So what? It isn't like you became a fan or joined NASCAR because of it's safety! I don't remember any of the great drivers being like every other driver. They were all a little nutty, pretty damn reckless, & completely insane on the track. That is why they were great & why you kept coming back for more.

Is that what this is really about? Everyone is hatin' on Kyle because he could be the next "great driver" in history if anyone would just back him?

All you sissies out there complain about Kyle Bush need to get your balls back! It is NASCAR, not carriage rides for the rich & lazy. You need to remember what NASCAR is about. It isn't just about you having loyalty to one driver no matter what, like Dale Earnheart, Jr, but about the wrecks & the crazy drama! It is about seeing a driver take on one of the most competitive sports & making a win out of it, ...no matter how he limps over that finish line. It is about some balls!

At first, for the same reasons you are hatin' on Kyle Bush, that is why you fell in love with Tony Stewart. However, they are two different drivers with two very different styles...and that is what it is all about! Kyle is just puttin' the Boogity back into Racin'! The rest of ya'll sissies need to find your balls before you come back to the tracks!

(You made me get my redneck out...shame on you!)

Living Under Constant Scrutiny

The other day, while I was in a deep coma with my "love seat therapy" session, the doorbell rings...again. Everyday for a week now at about 10 AM, that thing is being pushed by someone. So I was ignoring it & hushing the dog quietly. I had drool down one side of my face along with indentations from the pillows & hand, and was still in my P.J.'s.

"It" didn't go away, like others. NO!, instead it rang the thing again! So I figured it had to be important...right?

With the door barely cracked to keep the dog in & to hide my appearances, I see two Japanese men dressed alike, one with a bag brief case thing showing me his ID. (Have I ever mentioned Japanese poor dental hygiene?) Once they realized I was "english" & spoke no Japanese, they turned to leave in complete confusion. I am not really sure what they were confused about! We have a Dodge Nitro with pimped 20" rims in the drive...it screams American!

Anyway, I called my landlord liaison to see if he sent someone over for something. He said no, but said it sounded like Jehovah Witnesses. WHAT!? In Japan? You have them too? Great! Now I do need to learn some Japanese! LOL!

He also tells me that he hasn't "heard anything about" us in a few weeks now. WHA-what-what? "Heard anything about" us? People call him to tell him about us?

Apparently yes! A neighbor called to tell him that we don't pick up after our pet when we walk her. LOL! (Thankfully our landlord liaison knows better & never called to tell us this.) But I was upset! First, we hardly walk our dog, because we all all lazy, including the dog. Two, we have these pink little doggie poop bags we use ALL the time! You can't miss them! Hot Pink! And the poop on/in our concrete yard, well it can sit 24-48 hours before my big ol' pregnant belly can get bent over to pick it up! After all it is "our" yard. Fourthly, I have a water bill that clearly shows that I wash down our concrete yard way too often! Fifthly, she only poops once a day since we have been here anyway & in the same spots!

However, this is the pure essence of the Japanese. They have this great face-to-face with you. All smiles, "konnichiwa" & bows, but behind your back they are watching you with an eagle eye. They don't much trust Americans, and in the last 5 years, around these parts, Americans have left a really foul taste in their mouths...so it can be partially understandable. But to be going out of their way to make up some crap to complain about...OH the glory of living in J-town!

I remember the last time B was stationed here. The little old lady that lived behind us used to come into the house & just walk through it & then back out. Once I started cleaning up after 4 generations of dirty American boys, things were "miraculously" getting done...like the yard being tended to & all. She also kept an eagle eye on those in that house & was reporting back to the owner.

Now that I think about it...it is always the older folks....

Amazon Boycott!

Once I learned of Amazon's new APO/FPO shipping policies & also learned that it is strictly Amazon.com with the issue, I started to do some work-a-rounds. For Example:

I wanted a Microplane Cheese Grater (the best on the market!) but Amazon.com could not ship it to me for whatever category it fell into...gourmet cooking items? So I thought, let's see if this is Amazon or Microplane. I went to Microplane.com & ordered my grater & got it here in less than a week! THANKS MICROPLANE! Thus, it is definitely Amazon with the issue, not the companies of the actual products. I have done this with a few items.

However, one item that I cannot do this with is the one product that is strictly Amazon: the Amazon Kindle DX. I can get all the accessories shipped here or to the States no matter my billing address, but I cannot get the Kindle here or in the States because of my billing address? Yes! Here is Amazon's response:

" Hello,

In regards to your inquiry, it seems that the Kindle order has already been canceled, as we have tried billing your credit card three times. Canceled orders can't be reinstated. I looked at your credit card and found that the billing address is an FPO address, and that is preventing the order from completing. As you already know, the shipping and billing addresses need to be a U.S. based billing address, and FPO address can't be used.

As a suggestion, you could purchase an Amazon Gift Card and have your friend that you are shipping it to redeem it to their account, purchase the Kindle using their information. They will then be able to send the Kindle to you.

I hope this information helps.

Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question: "

Yes, I have some bloody questions!:

• First, are you saying you split my order up to move the Kindle to it's own "order"? Because every other email I have received showed the Kindle DX & the Belkin Sleeve on the same order...as one order...under the same order number in reference. So you purposely are not shipping the Kindle to or for a service-member?

• Are you now saying that I cannot use your site to ship any items because my "billing" address is a military address?

• Are you suggesting that because of my billing address that I will not be able to use your site to ship any gifts (i.e. Christmas & birthdays) to the States, which is where this order was going?

• Are you suggesting that you have been in error with shipping to anyone who does have a military address, since many still have received items from you recently here in this overseas military community?

• Or are you simply suggesting that I, me, personally, cannot get items from you, however, everyone else can?

Amazon, when a product that is solely manufactured by you, such as the Kindle, it should be exempt from any "policies" you have in place. Secondly, you are limiting your customer base by handling this product by such "policies".

Thirdly...I am boycotting you from now on! You will no longer have my business, and I will continue to spread the word about your bad customer service & foul attitude towards military service-members and their families.

Health Care Reform...that is actually Reform!

A friend sent me another link. Apparently I am slow at finding my own links...LOL! But this time it was definitely something of great interest. If you were not a Whole Foods fan before now, you might very well be now:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204251404574342170072865070.html

Finally spoken with common sense & actual plans that equal solutions instead of some mambo jambo crap that the White House has been trying to shove down our throats & then disguise as something yummy.

I am especially a found supporter of the medical care dollars that you can earn & that also carry over to the next year. Money you can use how you want! Awesome...so you aren't stuck with only mainstream medical options because your insurance won't cover the Chiropractor. Now you can get the money to go see some of the more alternative mainstream medical options. What an amazing idea & great plan! Go Whole Foods!