Watch Out…Extremists are Attacking Women!

Sometimes I just can’t believe what is going on in this country. Observing political “discourse” is like hanging out at an elementary school playground…or a junior high school…and watching the superb socialization and interaction that goes on there.   I recently signed a petition to support not using some dangerous chemical on our food crops. Today, I checked my email and found an email from CREDO, the organization behind the petition, declaring that extremists are attacking women. Being a woman, of course, I was alarmed…

The subject of the email was “Rep. Stutzman voted to redefine rape.”  Alright, that is intriguing…just how can one redefine rape? I’m a pretty black-and-white person…rape is rape, there is no gray area…just like gluten-free, to me, means there’s no gluten in something, not just a trace…something the FDA apparently can’t decide on. Right is right, wrong is wrong…and yes, there are at times difficult and extenuating circumstances but for me, it all rests on a black and white foundation.

I was then informed that “251 extremists in the House of Representatives voted yesterday to approve an anti-choice bill that would significantly restrict women's access to abortion services and even "redefine rape." “ Anti-choice, of course, means anti-abortion…pro-choice does not tolerate a person choosing to not support abortion. I was also informed that my representative voted for it and was then encouraged to click on a link to tell him that I “consider his vote on H.R.3 to be an attack on women.”

Good grief…really? An elected official, voting according to what he believes to be right and good for the nation, is attacking women? Anyone with any sense of morality, any amount of maturity above the level of a teenager, and any common sense should be able to see that this group of people, while passionate about what they believe to be right and good, are stooping to juvenile levels and viciously attacking and name-calling because someone else has the audacity to have their own (differing)  opinion!

What about tolerance? What about diversity? I thought we were all supposed to be free to believe and live (and vote) how we want? This double-standard absolutely drives me out of my ever-lovin’ mind.  Pro-choice only means choosing to support abortion…what a misleading choice of wording.  Even more disturbing is that so many people are apparently incapable of rightly discerning the truth behind the pro-abortion movement’s “noble” cause of affording women everywhere the right to “choose.”

I have exercised my own right, as a woman, to choose to not support abortion. And don’t argue with me about poor women not having access to the health care they “need.”  The end does not justify the means. There is no situation in which I can believe that a bill that restricts abortions in some way is going to negatively impact women’s health. You want poor women to not be denied health “care”? How about we start with what gets them in trouble to begin with? But then we have to examine morality, and since morality can not, in actuality, have gray areas, it infringes on a person’s right to live their life how they please, consequences be damned.

I can not, in good conscience, remain on the email list of an organization that supports and encourages women to kill their own children. Fortunately, not only was there a link to be removed from the email list, there was also a box to comment on why I wanted to be removed. I doubt I’ll ever hear back from them regarding my comments…although if I do, I suspect it will be to condemn me for the CHOICE I made to not support the “pro-choice” movement.

Here is my comment:

I can agree with some of CREDO's positions (such as not using dangerous chemicals on our food), but can not support an organization that supports the killing of innocent human beings. CREDO obviously is infected with the same juvenile, hypocritical intolerance typical of many liberals...evidenced by the inflammatory and outrageous statement that "extremists" voting on an "anti-choice" bill to redefine rape is an "attack" on women. It apparent to me that "pro-choice", as defined by liberals, means people have the RIGHT to CHOOSE...ONLY as long as they choose to support abortion. If they exercise their RIGHT to CHOOSE to NOT support abortion, then they are demonized and called "extremists" who "attack" women. How so many people can be blind to this obvious double-standard, this INTOLERANCE to any beliefs or positions that are different than their own while demanding that everyone has the right to live and believe as they want to is beyond me. Honestly, watching the political discourse in this country is like observing children on the playground...cliques and temper-tantrums and name-calling...I can't believe this is the America I grew up loving and believing was the best country in the world. PROGRESSIVE? I don't think so...progress means moving forward, not regressing to elementary-level tactics.

And so, in light of this, I do not wish to receive any more emails from CREDO. Please, consider my opinion with an open mind, if that is at all possible for you, before labeling me one of those "extremist" right-wing nut-jobs who are out to "attack" women...I am a woman, and I am exercising my RIGHT to CHOOSE - and I choose to believe that human life begins at conception, that every embryo is unique in his or her own DNA and has the potential, if not destroyed, to become something wonderful. What if, in one of these abortions you so passionately fight for, the one human being who could have cured cancer was killed? Or the group of people, had they been allowed to live, who could have established world peace, now are tossed out like trash...and what if your own mother  had chosen to kill YOU...do you ever think about that? This is what I have chosen to believe, can you put to practice what you preach and let me believe it without resorting to calling me names...can you be tolerant of MY beliefs?

So, if you consider believing that a human being is a human being at the moment he or she is conceived, just like a dog is a dog, a chicken is a chicken, a cat is a cat (for that is, after all, what each will become if they are allowed to develop unmolested); or if the term “pro-choice” actually means one is allowed to choose a side in this issue without being viciously attacked and called names, then please, by all means, call me extreme. I love my children, whom I chose to carry and give birth to, in the most extreme sense of the word…and I’m quite proud to be extreme. But don’t you dare say that because I don’t support your twisted view of human life that I am “attacking” women.

[Pt 3] K12FreeHomeSchool and Mimi Rothschild: My Own Experience

In my eagerness to present a true account of my experience with K12FREEHOMESCHOOL and Mimi Rothschild, I did not count the cost in how I presented my story. I'm afraid that it's possible that the manner in which I structured my posts was not as helpful as I'd hoped. I in no way wanted to hinder or harm Mrs. Rothschild or her business. I did not consider that perhaps people would not read all three posts to get the "whole picture" and only focus on the less than flattering aspects of my experience. In an effort to present the whole story and not provide opportunity for others to link to only the bad parts of my experience, I have consolidated this three-part series into one. You can read it here...I've provided a summary of my experience and then the original, unaltered posts follow. 

[Pt 2] K12FreeHomeSchool and Mimi Rothschild: My Own Experience

In my eagerness to present a true account of my experience with K12FREEHOMESCHOOL and Mimi Rothschild, I did not count the cost in how I presented my story. I'm afraid that it's possible that the manner in which I structured my posts was not as helpful as I'd hoped. I in no way wanted to hinder or harm Mrs. Rothschild or her business. I did not consider that perhaps people would not read all three posts to get the "whole picture" and only focus on the less than flattering aspects of my experience. In an effort to present the whole story and not provide opportunity for others to link to only the bad parts of my experience, I have consolidated this three-part series into one. You can read it here...I've provided a summary of my experience and then the original, unaltered posts follow. 

A Strongly Worded Letter

I have threatened on many occasions to "write a strongly worded letter" to whomever is in charge of whatever I am upset/disappointed/irritated with, but I don't think I've actually ever followed through with that. It's an expression my husband and I use often, jokingly. That, however, changed today - when I redeemed some Speedy Rewards Points in an effort to be frugal while out and about and got way less than I bargained for. Here's the Strongly Worded Letter I just sent to air my grievances:

Hello,

I have been a Speedy Rewards member for many years now and have always been pretty happy with your system and the products you carry in your stores.

Today, however, I was EXTREMELY disappointed in the quality of the food items I redeemed a few thousand reward points on. Specifically, the Bacon Double Cheeseburger and the Cheeseburger, which I got for my son.

I can honestly say without any doubt or exaggeration they were the absolute worst burgers we have ever eaten. Completely disgusting, actually. And I highly doubt it had anything to do with "freshness". I would be very surprised to learn that there was ANYTHING resembling beef, or any type of meat, for that matter, in those burgers. The taste and texture were terrible! I had already left the store where I got them before I realized how awful they were and was in a hurry to get to my next destination, or I'd have gone back.

I am very disappointed that I used 2500 points on sandwiches that could only be called "food" in the wildest stretch of the imagination. This is the first time I have gotten any hot sandwiches at a Speedway store, and after this experience I don't think I will ever want to waste my points and take a risk like that again.

I would very much appreciate a refund of the 2500 points I used on those sandwiches today. And I'd like to encourage you to seriously consider a different supplier of hamburger patties for your hot sandwiches, preferably a supplier who actually uses ground beef instead of soy, which these very obviously were. And, in the interest of those who suffer from food allergies, clearly indicating on the label that there is a high amount of TVP in those "burgers" (or that they are 100% TVP, as I highly suspect is the case) would be very beneficial. I couldn't find the ingredients in the "nutritional information" on this website, and no longer have the wrapping to check and see if it is there. I do wish now I would have kept it.

I would also like you to know that I am a blogger, and will be posting my letter to you and your response, for which I eagerly await.  I am assuming that, in keeping with your President's statement of commitment to conducting its operations in accordance with both the law and the highest standards of business ethics and integrity, you will endeavor to ensure this long-standing member of your Rewards program is satisfied and my trust in your company's operations is not misplaced.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and have a very blessed holiday.

Sincerely,

Dawn Yoder

Of course, I probably should note that I am in no way attempting to disparage or libel Speedway Super America, but merely want to inform other consumers of the experience I had there as well as document their response to a very unsatisfied customer. This is the first time I have been so disappointed and dissatisfied while patronizing their establishments. I sincerely hope that they will grant my request of refunding the reward points I feel that I wasted today. Usually, we use those to get a lower price on gas for our van but today I thought I'd be frugal and not spend money eating out. Brilliant, I tell you...

And, as one who is trying to not eat "junk" as much as possible, I wrestled with the decision to get those "burgers" and decided once in a while won't kill us...probably. While we are still alive, I can honestly say I don't feel well at all tonight...not in a food-poisoning type of way, but more like I have just experienced an extreme chemical assault. If I had realized that "burger" on the label was merely a suggestion, not an actual representation of what was inside the wrapper, I never would have gotten them. I think I just discovered how we can win that war in Afghanistan...and where they've been hiding the WMD's...

I will follow up with whatever response I receive from Speedway Super America's Customer Service Team. Assuming, of course, my blog doesn't get shut down for mentioning "Afghanistan" and "WMD's"!

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UPDATE:

It is now Monday, December 20 and I have not yet received a reply to this message. I have sent another message, willing to give them the benefit of the doubt as anything can happen to an electronic message...including being accidentally deleted by one's spouse perhaps. I haven't asked my husband yet, but it is a plausible possibility. We'll see what comes of this...

Dear Speedway,

I sent a message on this site a week ago (Friday, December 10, 2010) and have not yet received a reply. I am hoping that something happened in the transmission of your reply, perhaps, or that my husband may have inadvertently deleted your email, because I surely do not want to believe that you are not going to address my grievance with the quality of your "burgers" and the the 2500 points I feel were wasted on them.

I realize that this time of year is a busy time for everyone, however, I believe that no reply from your company (if that indeed was the case) regarding a very unsatisfied customer is surely not in keeping with your claim to conduct your business according to "the highest standards of business ethics and integrity."

In case you have lost my previous message, I will copy it below for your convenience. And again, I eagerly await your reply and a resolution to this matter.

Sincerely,

Dawn Yoder
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Message originally sent on Friday, December 10, 2010:
(in the interest of space, you can read it above if you wish).

And the lovely message after I clicked submit was...

Thank You

Thank you for your interest in Speedway.
We will respond to all inquiries in a timely manner.

Perhaps we have a different opinion of what a "timely manner" means...

GREAT NEWS! Apparently, their response must have been deleted or missed somehow. I received another reply and not only did they refund the points I used, but also another 2500! That makes me very happy. Thank you, Speedway, for going above and beyond to restore this customer's confidence in you!