Apple Valley

I love Apple Valley. I like the weather. I like the desert. I like being two hours from everything. I love the view of the mountains from my back yard. What I don't particularly like is the right-wing fringe that lives here. (The Saratoga Animal Shelter tries to stay politically neutral, though Earl is lobbying pretty hard for legalizing marijuana.) Last September a group of somebody started protesting on the corners of Apple Valley and Bear Valley Roads on Mondays. It was my favorite part of Monday-driving to the college and seeing the protesters and their crazy signs. I am all for freedom of speech and I respect these guys for getting out and doing something about what they believe, but I really particularly respect intelligent protesters and these guys....Well one day a guy had a sign that said "We deserve a well knolegeable president." And apparently spell check for posters. There was a guy in a wheelchair who held a sign that said "Obamacare makes me sick." Did that put him in the wheelchair? Yesterday they had signs that said "Vote everyone out!" That's great. I believe in the democratic process, but our Congressman is Representative Jerry Lewis. (Yes, Jerrry Lewis.) And he's a republican. I've met Jerry Lewis and his dogs in his congressional office when I went to lobby for language education. He told me that languages just aren't that important and he couldn't support legislation for language education. He said that, even after 911. Our state representatives are also republican. I clearly understood from the signs that Obama has gots to go, but the people who directly represent us and only us are republican, so I'm confused who these people think they are influencing.

Then I saw a van with this sticker on it.
I know I'm stereotyping here, but I do teach French in a mostly Republican region and I get a lot of the 'fuck France' type statements mostly from the right wing fringe who believe that well, France is all a bunch of fuckers. Often these people are very religious. So I just assumed that the guy in the van is a conservative of the 'fuck France' wing. (This particular van did honk on it's way past the protesters.) Maybe it's not true. I don't know. But in any case, this is printed on the French flag. You might see American colors, but the order is French: Bleu, Blanc, Rouge. I like the irony. I'd love to have this guy tell me fuck France because then I could point out that he drives around with the French flag on his van. Details people. Details.

EDub does yoga. Or something.