In the South we use the term illegitimate all the time. It's better than spawn-of-the-beast-with-two-backs, what were your parents thinking, you poor thing, bless your heart.

In this day and age my DH and I still STILL get guff for being a mixed race couple and daring to produce mixed race children. And we're not in the deep south either.

Jeff Schweitzer wrote in Huffington Post about the Civil War in April 2011 - he is a former White House Security Analyst. "Slavery was of course the central point, but as an example of state sovereignty versus federal authority. The war was fought over state's rights and the limits of federal power in a union of states. The perceived threat to state autonomy became an existential one through the specific dispute over slavery. The issue was not slavery per se, but who decided whether slavery was acceptable, local institutions or a distant central government power. That distinction is not one of semantics: this question of local or federal control to permit or prohibit slavery as the country expanded west became increasingly acute in new states, eventually leading to that fateful artillery volley at Fort Sumter." In this discussion on slavery, I find it interesting that revisionists have changed that into the war being just about slavery and villainized anyone who had anything to do with that institution. Villainizing white people who fought on the side of the south, abiding by the law of their time, seems just as bad as if today we villainized all black people who do whatever. Study real history, people. Don't follow blindly what political correctness has demanded you were taught.

In Texas, i found men to be respectful of women, kind to children and animals, and not any more racist than anyone else. The most racist people I ever traveled or lived among were in Massachussetts, New York, and New Jersey. Those people loved redneck and southerner jokes and looked down on southerners and "rednecks" whatever a redneck actually is. They wouldn't like someone using the word nigger but they could denigrate rednecks and I heard many derisive references to southerners naming people Bubba. Those things are as offensive as the N word to people from the south.

My mil, the southern belle and queen of passive aggressiveness, sent me a birthday gift. It was a Christmas ornament that was in an envelope that was addressed to her friend. She put an X through her friend's name and wrote mine beneath it. Thanks, mil. Love you too.

I'm am at a point in my life where I am so sick of being tight on money. All the time for as long as I remember I have been :/ the light at the end of the tunnel is 2.5 years away. Wish I would have made better choices in my younger years. Can't wait to say I paid my bills, bought food and have some left over for fun stuff like a trip down south or even just shopping for clothing. I feel alone in this situation in my early 30is.

Just read a story about the 10 Least Educated States in America. All but one (Indiana) were south of the Mason-Dixon line. Shocker.

My kids' PUBLIC elementary school is starting a religious after school club in January in conjunction with one of the local Baptist churches (deep South here). According to the church website, the club offers, free of charge, "recreation, fun Bible lessons and worship, and a scrumptious snack". This really bugs me. Separation of church and state?? It's not like there aren't enough Christian private schools around here. I think I will contact the principal over this.

Excuse me while I interrupt this broadcast with an announcement...... IT'S RAINING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA!!! WOOHOO, YIPPEE SKIPPY!!! Okay, that is all. Thanks for listening..... Now back to your regular scheduled program. :)

Looking back over my Facebook feed, pretty much everything I've posted that is personal and not about news items or opinions, could be considered bragging. Finally hit 27 laps for my roller derby minimum skills, lost X amount of weight, just bought my new skates today (complete with picture), trip to Prague (which is an extremely cheap location from my part of the world), planning for a big volunteer trip to a South American country next year. Truth is I make minimum wage and I'm studying and I work very, very hard, forgo small things and save very hard to be able to get those luxuries, and those posts are spread over months, it's not like I can click my fingers and buy whatever I want. The only reason I can afford them is that my partner owns his flat outright- no mortgage (and he slaved decades in a job he despised in order to do that) so I don't have rent and in that sense I'm lucky. If people don't want to know these things about me, they can unsubscribe or unfriend me. This is my life and I'm sharing it. I don't think I'm better than anybody and I cherish these luxuries when I can have them. Frankly I'd rather hear about the good in people's lives than listen to people constantly bitching and whining about every little thing. Negative nellies annoy me far more than braggers. I understand sometimes shit stuff happens and you want your friends to know, but I'm talking about the people who post multiple updates a day and they are pretty much all negative, vaguebooking or digs at other people.