Look, It's an Eskie Puppy!

Okay...
Eskie puppy videos make (almost) everything better. Even if they do grow up into bratsy little dogs that like to wake you up in the pre-dawn hours, knowing full well that you'll have trouble going back to sleep. ;o)

I ought to go to YouTube for early-morning, puppy-based entertainment, from now on. (And Facebook shall be shunned forever and ever, amen. In that direction lie fail-proof depression triggers.)

Ugh.

That's all.
Just UGH, about every single little thing.

(Well, somebody's in a bad mood this morning...)

...Sometimes you really need a private blog, so you can gripe about every tiny thing that's irking your very soul at a given moment, without everyone in your circle of family and friends learning about your deepest, darkest inner brat.  This is one of those times.  I blame my lack of sleep.  (Thanks again, Trixie, for the latest pre-4 A.M. wake-up call.  [One of a set.  Collect them all!]  *SIGH*  At this rate, I'm going to start going to sleep at 8:30, just so I can get a decent night's rest, once in a while.)

Lie to the Children About Your Favorite Color...

...It's the only way to fight racism!! 

"Dress witches in pink and avoid white paper to prevent racism in nurseries, expert says."

Other great ideas for the prevention of racism:

• Dress fairies in darker shades (rather than the traditional pastels).
• Provide paints and crayons in "the full range of flesh tones", reflecting the diversity of the human race. (Aren't there already lots of different flesh tones in a good box of crayons?)
• When asked about their favorite colors, members of staff should be prepared to lie to the children-- for their own good.  "In the interests of good race relations, answer 'black' or 'brown'."  

That'll make so much difference in those children's lives and racial relations, I'm sure.  Yeah, more likely the kids will give the staff member a weird look.  Besides, how many people would ever name "white" as a favorite color?  Aren't blue, red, purple, and green more common choices?  How could it be construed as negative toward any race to say you like blue the best? 

"This is an incredibly complex subject that can easily become simplified and inaccurately portrayed," she [Anne O'Connor, the "expert"] said.

"There is a tendency in education to say 'here are normal people and here are different people and we have to be kind to those different people', whether it's race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or faith.

"People who are feeling defensive can say 'well there's nothing wrong with white paper', but in reality there could be if you don't see yourself reflected in the things around you. “As an early years teacher, the minute you start thinking, 'well actually, if I give everyone green paper, what happens’, you have a teaching potential.

“People might criticise this as political correctness gone mad. But it is because of political correctness we have moved on enormously. If you think that we now take it for granted that our buildings and public highways are adapted so people in wheelchairs and with pushchairs can move around. Years ago if you were in a wheelchair, then tough luck. We have completely moved and we wouldn’t have done that without the equality movement.” 

 Well, that must be the problem, then.  It's simply too complex for my simple brain to comprehend.  Thank goodness there are sharp-witted heroes like Anne O'Connor out there, saving the world from white paper and storybook witches clad in ~whisper~ black.

How Prius Lost My Business ;o)

Please add me to the list of people who find this commercial horrible, creepy, and nightmarish:

Truly, it is awful.

I solemnly vow not to run right out and buy a Prius, in protest of this creepy ad.  (Because you know I was going to buy one, otherwise, right?)

Can't Make Sense of It...

I am unceasingly amazed by people who are simultaneously aghast at the idea of capital punishment, yet when faced with the infinitely more agonizing moral dilemma of abortion are (to use the modern vernacular) "totally down with that".

I won't deny that, though I support the death penalty in some cases, I also find myself questioning how that support fits in with my beliefs as a Christian.  My qualms stem chiefly from the concern that by executing a criminal-- even the most heinous-- we are potentially denying him/her the chance of redemption.  I must admit that in certain instances (especially brutal murders), I have trouble caring about that (no inclination whatsoever toward mercy), but I feel I ought to be troubled, because I believe that even those I personally cannot tolerate are still of value to God.  (Then again, by the time most of these criminals are actually executed, they've sat on death row long enough to give them ample opportunity to realize what they've done and to turn to God...)  To say it's a difficult, confusing issue is a vast understatement. 

So yes, I can understand where some people are coming from, when they object on moral grounds to the execution of criminals.  What I can't understand is how those same people don't bat an eye at the thought of the senseless execution of the innocent unborn.  Yet there it is.  So, a couple of convicted criminals were executed last night, and the story of at least one of them has been plastered all over the news for days.  How many abortions do you think occurred (in the US alone), yesterday?  I don't know, but I'm willing to guarantee it was more than two unquestionably innocent lives snuffed out before they had even been given the chance to draw breath-- and of course you haven't heard a peep about those.  Too many of the same people who were outraged-- offended-- teary-eyed over the former are completely unperturbed by the latter.  I don't think I'll ever make sense of that mindset.

Edited to add:
Yes, I realize that some of the outrage over one of these particular cases was based on worries that this individual might not have been guilty (though from what I've heard, it seems unlikely).  This fact doesn't change my confusion over how the same person can agonize over the death of a criminal but unthinkingly support abortion.

Edited again:
Here's an interesting, brief blog post about Christianity and the Death Penalty.