Military Waivers

According to CNN , the Army and Marines have both given out more waivers to people convicted of felonies in 2007 than either military branch gave in 2006. According to the article, "The Army defended its use of waivers as a response to a changing American society, arguing that only three in 10 Americans of military age "meet all our stringent medical, moral, aptitude or administrative requirements." Some of the waivers have been granted for offenses such as burglary, assault and drug possession, according to the article. Also according to the article, "Army never issues waivers for some types of offenses, including sexual violence, alcoholism and drug trafficking."

I remember being in a social studies class in junior high. We were discussing the draft. I remember asking my teacher why we didn't take guys from prison and send them out to the battlefield. After all, they weren't doing anything besides sitting in a jail cell, so why not put them to use. I remember my teacher saying to me that the men in prisons couldn't follow the rules and that's why they were in prison and we couldn't expect them to follow the rules if they were in the military.

Of course, that was more than 25 years ago when we thought as a society that men in prison couldn't be rehabilitated and were hopeless. Times have changed.

Now I'd like to mention that the Army issued 511 waivers and the Marines issued 350 (according to the article). With the thousands of soldiers recruited each year, that doesn't sound like a lot, does it? In the case of the Army, it is less than 1% of the 80,000 troops they wish to recruit each year.

Let me repeat that -- less than 1%.

So, you're thinking to yourself, then why bring it up? What's the big deal?

The big deal is that Rep. Henry Waxman of California (Democrat) is giving both the Army and the Marines one month to explain themselves.

And, while these two divisions of our armed forces are preparing a report regarding less than 1% of their troops, how much of our tax dollars will they be spending? Why would anyone want to waste even more tax dollars when our deficit is higher than it has ever been?

Now, here's what I would like you, my glorious reader to do.

If you live in California and in Rep Waxman's district (It is the 30th District), please contact his office by going to his website (link will open in a new window) or calling his office: (202) 225-3976 (Washington #) or (323) 651-1040 / (818) 878-7400 / (310) 652-3095 (California #s).


If you do not live in California, please do not contact Rep Waxman -- it does no good, really, they just toss your opinions away. All offices do that, not just his. They're designed to only help constituents.

So, what to do if you're not in his district?

Contact your representative.
Or, contact the committee yourself by clicking here (link will open in a new window). This is what I did and, if I receive a response, I'll post it here.

We really don't need to waste taxpayers money by looking for a needle in a haystack, do we?

God Bless

Slacker Radio

I started listening to Slacker while at work. The concept is easy -- you pick 15 (or more) of you favorite artists and Slacker keeps the music coming. No playlist to fiddle with or choices to make. Still, you can make your own playlists or listen to the pre-set ones. Since my tastes are pretty out there, I can hear Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line" right behind Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher".

The best part is that it is all free -- yes, free! Sure, you can sign up for Slacker Premium (which I have), but you don't have to do so. There are benefits to having a premium account, like saving favorite songs to play out of your library and unlimiting skipping.

Now, I'm hoping to get a Slacker Portable sometime this year, so support my sponsors -- order books/games from Amazon using my links and buy my t-shirts -- in order to help me earn the cash needed. Or, do it the free way by clicking the below button and trying out Slacker. It'll earn me an entry into a drawing for a free Slacker Portable and you get to listen to great music, so it's a win-win situation!

Also, I'm trying something new by posting to two of my blogs at once, so...
God Bless and Happy Reading!>< FONT>

Harry Potter Reference Book

I'm sure we've all heard by now that J.K. Rowlings is suing a fan who has written a lexicon of Harry Potter. She wants the publication of Steven Vander Ark's "Harry Potter Lexicon" to be stopped. Mr. Vander Ark has been running a Harry Potter Lexicon website of which Mrs. Rowlings approves. However; she feels that publishing a book is a "wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work."

Now, since I haven't read Mr. Vander Ark's book, nor have I visited his website, I have no way of knowing if he has indeed plagiarized the Harry Potter books. However; I do know that Mrs. Rowlings plans on completing a Harry Potter encyclopedia in a couple of years and if a lexicon is all ready out there, it could hurt the sales of her encyclopedia.

I'm glad I'm not sitting on that jury.

On one hand, Mrs. Rowlings has made a lot of money from Harry Potter and she has created an industry of Harry Potter related books, toys, etc. It's not going to hurt anyone to have someone make a couple of bucks. (As a Harry Potter fan, I do have to say that I wouldn't buy the lexicon, nor will I buy her encyclopedia either.) Since she's planning her own encyclopedia it does sound like she's only worried about her business future.

On the other hand, if all Mr. Vander Ark has done is rearrange her words, then that is stealing.

I'm really, really glad I don't have to sit on that jury.
God Bless

A Little Economic Sense

According to an article in US News & World Report, we're heading back into an era of Big Government. Our economic woes are such that the government will have to get more involved. If done right, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. But, we all know that it won't be done right.

Here's a few of my off the top of my head ideas.

1. The government needs to be proactively involved in producing a complete electric car. Tax breaks should be given to the car companies to offset some of their research costs. We know this car has existed -- one that can drive highway speeds and travel up to 300 miles on a single charge -- it just hasn't been cost effective. The second part of this is the government needs to give tax breaks to anyone who purchases said car. I can't afford a $30,000 car -- even if it will drop my gas to nearly nothing, but if the government subsidizes the manufacturing and the purchasing, I'm sure I could swing $20,000 for the car.

2. All this talk about Social Security being overdrawn in 2017 is beginning to piss me off. First, Social Security used to have a surplus until the government started borrowing against it. The time for that to completely stop is now. Also, let's put some of that borrowed money back and then let's see if we're still behind. Finally, we need a national retirement plan. The truth is that we need older workers to get out of the way for younger workers. If everyone works until they drop dead, what are young people going to do for jobs? That being said to keep this funded let's eliminate the cap on the tax. No matter how much you earn, pay both Social Security and Medicare taxes on it. So, no more cut off at $92,000.

3. We need to take a good long look at what the government subsidizes. (Yeah, I know I said electric cars, but hear me out.) Nearly everybody gets something from the government. For example, farm subsidies. Huge company farms are subsidized and that's not what the plan was for. This should be changed to only help the little farmer compete. There are other things we subsidize and we need to take a good long look at them to see if they're really needed.

God Bless

Death Sentence for Rape?

Under most circumstances I am against the death penalty. I don't think the state taking someone's life really does anyone any good. The costs for keeping a death row inmate are much higher than a non-death row inmate. If an innocent person is convicted and is put to death, you can't go back and fix that.

All of that said, I do support the state of Louisana in executing Patrick Kennedy for the rape of his 8 year old step-daughter.

Here's my reasons.

First, child molestors can never be rehabilitated. NEVER. They don't get out of prison and lead normal lives. They go on to rape and molest children again.

Second, in a sad way, a murder victim's pain is over right away. No one can ever hurt them again. But, children who are harmed by a sexual predator never forget. Also, studies show that children who have been sexually abused are more likely to be abused in the future. Killing their attacker might make the child feel safer, knowing that the boogey man can never hurt them again.

Finally, do we really want these people around? The average molestor has ten victims before he ever gets caught. That's ten children who never get justice.

Let's hope the US Supreme Court upholds Lousiana's decision to put this rapist to death and doesn't decide to put the brakes on a good idea.

God Bless

Want a More Stable Financial System -- higher more women!

I'm reading the headline on RoadRunner's news site and I come across this one:  "Male Sex Hormone May Affect Stock Trades."  I read the article and a study was just completed in England that measured the testosterone levels in men and determined that while high levels help over say a day of training, repeated days of high levels make men more risky and cause more "irrational risk-taking". 

So, basically what we're supposed to gather from this article is that men make lousy financial advisors and hiring more women would equate to "a much more stable financial system."

I can hear my late grandmother's answer to that:  "OH, COME ON!"

Isn't this the same kind of argument that was used against women when they wanted to enter into male dominant fields?  Women shouldn't fight in combat or be police officers because their monthly cycle makes them hormonal and therefore, they would make lousy soldiers and police officers.  Using the same type of hormone argument against men isn't very fair, now, is it?

Well, I better end this.  My financial advisor for my IRA is a guy and I need to change him to someone else.

God Bless




Quote from AP Article on RoadRunner:

"WASHINGTON(AP) The hormone that drives male aggression and sexual interest also seems able to boost short term success at finance. But what seems to start out well can turn bad, with elevated testosterone levels over several days possibly leading to irrational risk-taking, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge in England.

"If people want to get practical, it would be good for both banks and the financial system as a whole if we had more women and older men in the markets," said John M. Coates, lead author of a study appearing in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Such a change would produce a much more stable financial system, said Coates, a research fellow in the university's department of physiology, development and neuroscience."

You Don't Have Mail UPDATE...

So, still no email from Wal-Greens today after waiting for two days. Well, I decided to call Wal-Greens' tech support and find out what's going on.

Apparently, Road Runner blocks emails from Wal-Green's, so they can't get through to my email box. Isn't that wonderful?!? I can get ED emails in my inbox, but not the email I wanted!

Crazy!

God Bless

You Don't Have Mail

Remember those days when you'd rush home from work, log into AOL and hear "You've Got Mail"? This was way back when the Internet was still so vast and exciting. Do you remember the disappointment when the man's voice didn't come on? It was a horrible feeling to not even find one message in your AOL account. Remember?

Well, the times sure are a changing. I can't think of one person who is still using AOL for one thing. My Inbox is now filled more with spam than with emails from friends. 90% of the messages I receive falls into one of these categories:

Enlarge Your Penis or solve your ED problem. Messages mentioning my non-existent penis are quite common.

Save this fill in the blank.This could be anything from the spotted owl to a snake in the Amazon rainforest.

Pass this on to your friends. This one is usually a letter begging for prayers that usually turns out to be a hoax. (This excludes real prayer requests from people you know)

I've come into a lot of money, but I need your help in getting it. My personal favorite.

But, complaining about Spam is not really what I wanted to write about. Unwanted email messages aren't my problem today -- I'm waiting for an email and it hasn't showed yet! That's what's really bugging me.

This morning, I wanted to go on Wal-Green's site to have a couple of prints made. Well, I have an account, but I can't remember my password. It isn't one of my usual ones, so I click the button to have my password reset and sent to me, but has it showed?!?

No, it's been 5 hours and nothing. Now, I did have an email problem a while back where things were being forwarded and I didn't know it, but my son-in-law sent me an email this am and when he responded to my reply, I received that email. A couple of friends have sent emails with no problems, so what's Wal-Greens' problem?

What in the world could be taking so long? It's a password reset for pete's sake!

Yeah, I know what you're thinking, starving kids in foreign lands, people suffering all over the world and I'm complaining about a password reset.

Life's pretty good for me and I thank God everyday for that.

God Bless

Funny News...

It's been a rough week and the last thing I've been able to do is update my blog. But, we're now back home (why would ANYONE want to live in Park Falls, WI is totally beyond me) and I saw a news article I just want to pass on...

Toddlers Can No Longer Marry In Ark.

I cannot tell you what a relief that is! To know that you now have to be "17 as the minimum age to marry for boys and 16 for girls" in Arkansas is going to make my sleepless nights just go away! But, I'm sure there's two very disappointed seven year olds just cursing the Arkansas Legislature!

I, also, saw an article about a woman who bit a dog that was attacking her dog. As funny as that sounds, this woman was really fearing for her dog's life, so I'll bet it was scary.

It's truly a strange world we live in, isn't it?

God Bless

Sleepiness

I'm writing this from a hotel room in Park Falls, WI. Cheryl's mom is in the hospital and we're up here to visit and do what we can.

When I started thinking about writing this post this morning, it was 6 am. Cheryl and I had turned on the heater in the room and around 4:30 this morning, the heat became unbearable for her, so she woke me up to fix it. That's how we roll, I'm sleeping soundly and she wakes me up to take care of something and in return, I get a clean house. Seems like a fair exchange.

The bad thing about this is that once I've been woken up, I can't fall back asleep. Because, after being hot, Cheryl was thirsty, so it was off to the soda machine (which is downstairs in the lobby) to get her (and me) a soda. Then, we talk for a little while about this and that, her mom, our budget, etc. And, then she rolls right back over and she's back asleep in a matter of a minute or so. I really envy that, because once my mind starts working, I'm up and that's that.

So, I started reading through old email messages, picked up Teddy Roosevelt's autobiography (but I can't read in the dark, and Cheryl can't sleep with the light on, so that's quickly abandoned) and then I see an email message that I have a new comment from Cheryl's niece on my My Space page, so I go and look at it. Then, I think, hey, I haven't written a blog there in a really long time, so I'll write a blog about what it is like to be awake since 4:30am with really nothing to do. Except, I hit the blog link and nothing happnens. Yeah, the page says it's downloading, but nothing. As I write this the page is still trying to download. Why do I bother with My Space?!?

Oh, yeah, I really don't, except really early in the morning when I have nothing else to do.

God Bless

Work

I should start this blog entry by saying, I really love my job. I'm a Data Analyst for a company in Milwaukee. I make fairly decent (at least it was decent until gasoline went over $2.50 a gallon) money. I'm doing something I love to do. I write reports.

I write lots and lots of reports. Reports in Crystal and Excel. Reports that show the top 50 of this and the bottom 50 of that. Reports that connect two different databases on the same server. I write stored procedures and SQL queries and I (mostly) love every minute of it.

But, the parts of my job I hate are also the hardest ones to do. And, those are dealing with morons. Why can't people be team players? Why would one co-worker allow another co-worker to bust his butt finding information to do something and let that co-worker work on this for THREE days and then conveniently hand them the file that shows how to do it? It happened, I saw it.

Why would one co-worker who knows NOTHING about how to write reports or how the system works in regards to reports, keep butting her nose in to tell the Data Analyst (me) how to write the reports needed for a new customer? And, get loud and obnoxious about it?

Somedays, I can truly understand why everyone looks so grumpy going into work. It's not that they hate their jobs, they just hate working with the morons!

God Bless

PS. If you have a story to tell, feel free to post a comment. Also, I'm selling t-shirts with the saying: When I snap, you'll be the first to know. Click here to buy one!

US Supreme Court Ruling

The US Supreme Court just ruled that the state of Texas has the right to execute a Mexican citizen over President Bush's objections (see article here). Now, admittedly, I'm reading this article while on lunch, so I haven't finished reading the whole thing, but this blog is called Top Of My Head for a reason.

So, here is my Top Of My Head statement: The US Supreme Court, in trying to uphold State's rights, is completely wrong. They say an International Court ruling "is not domestic law." Big mistake there. President Bush is trying to do the right thing. Let's face it, Bush is not exactly the poster child for stays of executions. He's more of a hang 'em high kind of a guy, but we signed an agreement with Mexico decades ago.

Would we want Mexico to ignore the International Court's ruling if this was an American citizen on a Mexican Death Row?

I'm guessing not.

How would you feel if this was an Iraqi Death Row?

Thanks Supreme Court for putting all Internationally travelling Americans at risk.

God Bless

You may never read something like this from me again...

In Alton, IL; an entire family deserves the death penalty. More than that, I personally offer my services to the state to put the needles in their arms. (Read the story here)

I am totally against the death penalty, but when I read this news article on CNN about how Dorothy Dixon was tortured by Michelle Riley and kin, I think I've changed my mind -- wait, strike that, I KNOW I've changed my mind.

Now, I'm not sure about the minors being killed -- Riley's minor children have been charged -- but Riley should get the death penalty. And, since Illinois has a moratorium on the death penalty, I think Riley and company should be released into the general population. There is not one person in this nation who has not worked with, gone to school with, befriended or have a developmentally disabled person in their family.

Dorothy Dixon was "Banished to the basement, the 29-year-old mother with a childlike mind and another baby on the way had little more than a thin rug and a mattress to call her own on the chilly concrete floor." She "ate what she could forage from the refrigerator upstairs, where housemates used her for target practice with BBs, burned her with a glue gun and doused her with scalding liquid that peeled away her skin."

And, now, she's dead -- tortured by this Devil incarnate who'll probably claim her drug addicted past caught up with her. Well, I say we should the mercy she and hers showed poor Dorothy, which was none.

So, Governor Blagojevich, if your state does decide to execute Michelle Riley, I will personally put the needle in her arm or pull the switch. I'm in the book, just call me.

I know I normally end my blog with a God Bless, but my stomach is still turning from what I read and I just can't do it.

Obama and the Preacher

I've been mulling over this one for a couple of days now. Barack Obama attends a black church in Illinois which is run by a black preacher who has said some pretty extreme things about America. Senator Obama has denounced what Pastor Wright has said, but he hasn't changed churches, which has some people all up in arms.

Now, would any of us -- minus those of us who attend Trinity church -- even know this pastor's name if someone didn't want to make Obama look bad?

And, all those who have sat in church and listened to a priest, pastor, minister, deacon, etc. and have never disagreed with the one who was preaching, please raise your hands. No one, right?

I have sat and listened to one priest after another say something I whole heartedly disagreed with and I'm still a member of the same church. Why? You might ask. Well, because it's just one priest and it's just one sermon. Some of the priests were visiting pastors and they were gone in a week, some of the priests I heard because I attended a different Mass than my usual one at a different church. During the last Presidential election, I heard a priest strongly imply that a vote for Kerry meant the voter would be burning in Hell and he never said the name Kerry.

Anyway, what I have heard is that there is talk that Senator Obama should renounce his membership in this church and walk away from it. Obama, so far, has refused to do so.

I think Senator Obama is making the right decision. A church can be a second home to someone. Your church of choice is very personal, even if you're running for a public office. Too much is being made of our elected officials religious beliefs as it is and we should really mind our own business. Faith is faith and politics are politics and never the two should meet. I'm sure the good Senator -- if he was even at that particular service -- cringed when he heard Pastor Wright say "America's chickens have come home to roost." But, Trinity feels like home and we shouldn't expect him to leave home.

This past weekend my grandsons were visiting and they attended Easter Mass with us. I was reading the readings and when I was done and returned to the pew, Danny clapped and said, "Good job, Nana. Good job."

So, following Danny's lead, I say to Barack Obama, "Good job, Senator. Good job."

God Bless

Another column of some random thoughts -- including gas prices...

As the gas prices continue to rise, I heard a rumor that the federal government was considering a $1.00 per gallon tax. Now, the other thing I know about this is that I overheard someone saying it. Whether it is true or not, that I can't say. But, it got me to thinking about stuff...

#1. I don't think using corn as an additive to gasoline is such a grand idea. All it is going to do is drive up the price of corn. Which will drive up the price of pork and beef because a lot of farmers feed their livestock corn.

#2. Has any of our government officials thought that if we are having difficulties coming up with the money to pay for the gas to get to work that this will slow the tourist trade? Every single year for as long as I can remember, Cheryl and I take a vacation to Door County. We buy some wine, some cheese and other trinkets. We always shop for a Sarah's Angel and I try to find a new dragon for my collection. We stay in a hotel and we spend quite a lot of money. No one in Door County is going to be out of business because we can't make the trip this year -- we who live fairly simply can't find extra money in the budget to put aside for vacation. But, the good folks in Door County will certainly be in trouble if even 10% of their regular tourists can't make the trip.

#3. We keep hearing about how illegal immigration is bringing this country to its knees, but since I work with a lot of contractors -- 90% of whom are legal immigrants, I can't help but wonder if the Visas that bring the high tech foreigners to this country is helping us. While I don't believe that the illegal immigrant who works as a bus boy is taking a job an American wants, I'm pretty sure the high tech legal immigrant is. Maybe, he or she isn't taking a job right now, but as long as a company can higher an immigrant for less than an American, it will. Also, if we don't invest in the education of our young people, we're going to suffer on the global market. Now, I happen to prefer 95% of the foreign staff with whom I work over my American counterparts. Also, I want people who want to be here to come here -- I'm the descendant of immigrants, but I think it's time to reconsider just how many HB-1 (I think that's the correct number) Visas we give out every year. We need to ensure that Americans are being trained for the jobs that the foreigners are doing.

#4. Now, having said my piece with #3, here's my next thought... When someone comes into this country on a work Visa, they are pretty much stuck at that company until they get a Visa/green card on their own. If they switch companies, they have to start the whole process over, which I think pretty much stinks. What if you accept a job, get here and discover that the company isn't doing what it promised to do? We're basically trapping these people in positions and I think we should work on this to make sure they aren't trapped in bad jobs or with bad companies.

#5. Now, having said #4, my other thought is we really do need to secure our borders to make America a safer place, but I don't think a fence across the border in Mexico is the place to start.

#6. Healthcare -- totally different track -- I think we need to hold companies responsible for the healthcare they provide (sell) to their employees. We need to require companies to report how many of their employees have health insurance through them, how many have health insurance via their spouse and how many are covered by the state. Companies who have employees covered by state plans or no insurance at all, should be taxed an amount equal to the cost the state spends on that specific employee -- the more employees covered, the lower the costs. Also, let's not let them get away with that crappy catastophe insurance. These people might as well not have any insurance at all.

Those are just some thoughts off the Top of My Head. I might expand on them some other time or I might not. We'll see.

God Bless

We interrupt this broadcast...

Carol Burnett was on The View one day last week and because I like Carol Burnett, I recorded it.

Guess what else happened that day?  That stupid governor of NY resigned because he got caught in a hooker ring.  So, ABC thought, hey, the people in the Midwest give a damn about the governor of NY, let's interrupt our own show.

Guess what I could give a damn about?

A governor in NY who got caught with his pants down around his ankles. 

So, here's an open statement to all of the broadcast stations:

Unless my house is going to be hit with a nuclear bomb -- don't interrupt my regularly scheduled show.
Unless the President has been shot -- don't interrupt my regularly scheduled show.
Unless we've declared war on Canada or Mexico -- don't interrupt my regularly scheduled show.

In other words, unless it is going to affect me -- I don't want you interrupting my regularly scheduled show.  I don't care about California -- it can wait until the six o'clock news.  I don't care about any state -- really -- except my own and EVEN THAT could wait until the six o'clock news.

If I wanted round the clock news, I'd turn on CNN or MSNBC.  When I want to be entertained, I turn on the broadcast networks and I don't expect you to interrup my regularly scheduled shows.

I hope I'm not alone in this.

God Bless

No Link Between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda

According to a CNN article, the Pentagon -- that speedy moving entity -- has confirmed what we've known all along. There is no link between Saddam's reign in Iraq and al Qaeda. This comes just in time to celebrate five years since our invasion of Iraq.

However; this isn't to say that there wasn't terrorism in Iraq -- it was just aimed to keep Hussein in power, not to destroy America and our allies. Since we're the ones who put Hussein in power in the first place, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Now, here we are, five years into a war that will cost us many young, vibrant lives and upwards of $3 trillion dollars.

And, we're there because of...

I hope you know, because I really don't.

God Bless

(See Article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/13/alqaeda.saddam/index.html?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail)

Another Waste of Time

Sometimes, I just wonder why we elect Republicans to anything in this state. It seems that when the Republicans are in charge of anything -- nothing useful gets done.

Oh, but we can eliminate any chance of treating every citizen in this state as equal -- that they have time for.

And, now, we can declare that English is the official language of Wisconsin. (See article in Racine Journal Times:

http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2008/03/13/local_news/doc47d925f896b19756728797.txt)

Why?

Look, you guys in office, I want you to start doing your jobs. This would mean finding a way to balance our budget, keeping our citizens employed, educating our young people and making our roads driveable. This does not mean wasting time declaring an official language that does nothing but piss me off.

God Bless

Pst, Kid, Want to Buy some Candy?...

Aren't we taking this health and wellness stuff too far? It's only candy for Pete's sake. It's not like the kid was buying speed or meth. It was Skittles! (see story below)

Suspended for three days, ripped of his student vice president title and not allowed to attend an honors dinner?

Man, what would they have given him if he had been caught buying a Snickers -- explusion?!?

No wonder people don't want to follow the rules when the rules are this stupid!

God Bless

Actual story from www.rr.com:

NEW HAVEN, Conn.(AP) Contraband candy has led to big trouble for an eighth-grade honors student in Connecticut.

Michael Sheridan was stripped of his title as class vice president, barred from attending an honors student dinner and suspended for a day after buying a bag of Skittles from a classmate.

School spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo says the New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a districtwide school wellness policy.

Michael's suspension has been reduced from three days to one, but he has not been reinstated as class vice president.

He says he didn't realize his candy purchase was against the rules, but he did notice the student selling the Skittles on Feb. 26 was being secretive.

Gas Prices

This morning I filled up my gas tank and paid $3.19 a gallon.  Being the anal person that I am, I keep track of how much gas I buy and how much it cost per gallon and per tank, etc. in this little notebook.  My current notebook goes all the way back to Oct. 2002.  In Oct. 2002, I was paying between $1.55 and $1.59 per gallon for gas.  In less than 6 years, I'm now paying more than double for that same gallon of gas.

In 6 years, my salary hasn't doubled, which probably explains why I can't seem to make ends meet.  I don't live high on the hog.  I'm not spending tons of money on junk.  Even though I love video games and books, I limit my purchasing of both.  Whenever possible, I purchase my video games used (and I use my little percent off card to save even more money).  Books are more of a downfall to me, but I usually don't purchase a book unless I've taken it out of the library and read it.  I don't willy nilly invest in books, as it is more of a collection I have than books just to have them.

So, when I pumped my gas today and put $50.00 plus dollars in there, I just cried a little tear.  That was two used video games or one autographed book going to get me to work.

What a waste.

God Bless

Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern, free speech and Gays

Oklahoma Rep Sally Kern thought she was speaking to a room of 50 Republicans, but thinking you're speaking in a small, private setting will always come back to bite you in the butt and she's learning just that.

Rep. Kern said (and I quote) "The homosexual agenda is destroying this nation; it's just a fact."

Now, I haven't found a source that gave the exact words in the exact order (mainly because I can't view YouTube at work), but that last statement pretty much says it all.

Rep. Kern is a little more than confused now, because she sees this as little more than her exercising her freedom of speech.

Well, the lady is right -- she does have free speech and she should be allowed to exercise it whenever and wherever she wants. I have supported free speech with a no matter what they say, they have a right to say it stance.

But, come on, what was she thinking? She really believes that gays are destroying this nation?!? What planet is she from?

Right-wing Christians such as Rep Sally Kern and those who think like her are what is destroying the nation. They have spent so much time and energy combatting against gay rights that they've missed the big picture.

God doesn't bless America anymore than God blesses Iraq or Iran.

God doesn't care about nations. He doesn't even see the boundaries we've made for ourselves. He sees what is in our collective hearts. He doesn't make tornados only blow away the homes of sinners, nor do hurricanes only destroy the evil ones. He wants us all to be by His right side in the Kingdom of Heaven.

But, I digress because unlike Rep. Kern, I've read my Bible -- I just don't thumped it.

God Bless Rep. Kern and may He have mercy on her soul when she is called to judgement for Jesus said, "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."

I hope she's sin free.

PS. God Bless Oklahoma...They'll need it.

Bush and the Economy

Just last week, President Bush made a statement that the country wasn't in a recession. This week, he has said the the economy has slowed.

Boy, am I glad he told me that! If he hadn't, I might've thought that the country was doing just swell! I would be so confused and I hate to be confused.

I wonder how long it takes before he'll admit we're in a recession. I'm thinking June -- long after we've all received our rebate checks and we've either used them to pay off debt or set them aside because us consumers are all spent.

He also said, ""I know this is a difficult time for our economy, but we recognized the problem early and we provided the economy with a booster shot."

I was going to write some smartass commenht that ripped into his words, but sometimes you have to admit, he's funnier when he works alone.

God Bless

Congress and Baseball

Congress is asking the Justice Department to investigate Roger Clemens to see if he lied to a House committee.

Are they kidding? How much more of our tax dollars are going to be spent to determine that some of the men who play baseball use steriods or something like it to play the game? Did I care? No. Are they wasting my money? Yes.

It is a game, which isn't regulated by the goverment. These probes just keep our minds on the unimportant and away from the important matters -- like whether or not Britney will get to keep her kids.

Oh, I long for the days when baseball was played by guys named Babe, Congress didn't probe sports and we reported real news.

There were days like that, right? I mean, I didn't just make that up, did I?

God Bless

Happenings...

I've got the flu and let me tell you, the flu sucks. I'm constantly freezing and I ache all over. It's the pits!

Plus, I feel like ranting about something that makes no difference at all and that would be Las Vegas! Not the place, the tv show. On Feb. 15th, NBC aired the last episode of Las Vegas. They've decided to cancel the show, which would be no big deal except the episode they choose to use as the last episode was a to be continued. Which means that they decided to cancel the series without letting DeLinda have her baby or finishing up the weddings.

Yeah, I know, who cares? But, I care. Apparently, NBC meant for the episode to just be the season finale, but then they decided not to bring the show back for one more season.

How about bringing it back for one more tidy little episode and let everyone have a happy ending? Would that be too much to ask?

God Bless

As Promised...

Here is the first picture of my new niece and her mommy. We went to see them both this weekend and she is just the cutest little thing!
God Bless!

Expired Food...

A couple of weeks ago, I went to my local Sentry and made some purchases. Among the many items in my cart was a couple of lunch meals and three chicken breasts. When I got home, the chicken went into the fridge and the lunch meals went to work with me the next day.

Monday comes and I decide to eat lunch and I discovered that the two meals I purchased expired way back in January. That Thursday comes and the chicken is now rancid.

Now, according to my mom, you can't keep chicken in the fridge from Sunday to Thursday. According to my co-workers, you can. In either case, I didn't take it back to the store because it smelled so bad, it went into the trash and out the door.

The two lunches went back to Sentry and they gave me my money back -- with no apology. She even looked at me funny, like I was lying or something.

Yesterday, I went to Walgreens to pick up some soda and I purchased a package of red licorce and another package of black licorce. I wanted something to eat to help wean me off cigarettes, as I'm quitting -- AGAIN!

Well, Cheryl loves red licorce and she opens the package, takes a bite and gets a funny look on her face. You guessed it. The licorce had a sell date of last August! The black licorce was a little better with a sell date of last month. In either case, both are expired.

Don't food sellers have some sort of obligation to remove past dated food off their shelves? I realize that I should look at the date, but I feel the store has some obligation to ensure that I don't find an expired food item on their shelf.

If either of these incidents were just a one time thing, I wouldn't be writing this blog about them. But two incidents just a few weeks apart from two different stores just strikes me as a little odd.

Now, I have to make another trip to the store to get my money back.

So, just as a friendly warning to you all, CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATES!

God Bless

PS. For my readers in Wisconsin, don't forget to vote tomorrow in the primary. Every vote counts.

Welcome to the World, baby girl...

Little Ashlyn Velann came into this world at 9:22am this morning. A beautiful Valentine for my brother, Scott, and his wife, Robyn.

When I get a picture, I'll post it.

God Bless

And, the bad out of Iraq

Follow up on Berkeley...

Apparently, pro-war protesters are now protesting the anti-war protesters. You can get the whole story on CNN, but there was one quote that I wanted to address:

"Their treasonous action, especially at this time of war right now, is not acceptable," said Mary Pearson, a spokeswoman for the group Move America Forward.

According to dictionary.com," Treason is any attempt to overthrow the government or impair the well-being of a state to which one owes allegiance; the crime of giving aid or comfort to the enemies of one's government."

The people of Berkeley are not committing Treason and their actions are not treasonous (which means: "having the character of, or characteristic of, a traitor; "the faithless Benedict Arnold"").

Protesting is not an act of treason. It is my belief that it is as American as Apple Pie. Standing up for what you believe is part of being an American. Now, I support both sides' right to protest and speak out, but let's save the treason word for those who really mean our country harm.

God Bless

Love comes out of Iraq...

Amid all the horror stories we're all hearing and reading about Iraq, a sweet love story shines.

Carol is the divorced mother of five. Jim is a divorced father of two and serving in Iraq. Carol's daughter needs to write to a solider serving in Iraq and...

Well, I won't spoil it for you. You have to read the story on CNN -- http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/02/12/letters.bring.love.ap/index.html

If this doesn't make tears well up in your eyes, you probably don't have a heart.

God Bless

My Knee, My Poor, Poor Knee

So, last Tuesday I'm walking across the parking lot at work and I fall on the ice. (There was no salt and the lot was a sheet of ice) I smashed pretty darn hard on my right side, hurting my right knee. Thanks to some co-workers, I limped my way to my desk and didn't move for most of the day. (I did report it to HR)

Anyway, I went to the clinic my employer wanted me to go to and the doctor says it is just a bad sprain. No big deal, right? It's just a sprain. I take it easy for a few days and everything will be okay.

So, I spent the rest of the week limping around and being careful. Well, today my leg feels fine. I stop limping and I get one with my normal routine. Cheryl tells me that we're out of litter and asks if I mind going to the store to buy some. Sure, I tell her. And, off to the pet store I go.

Well, Mr. Mann will poop outside the litter box if we buy scented litter, so I look on the shelf for unscented and it's way in the back. No problem -- I'll just kneel down and grab a box. Well, that was a mistake. The very second I put weight on my knee, I felt a very sharp pain.

I know it's not that big of a deal if I can't kneel while my knee heals, but damn, I've got to remember that I can't. I came home tonight, went to plug in my laptop and did it again!

Man, that hurt!

And, I just wanted to complain about that.

God Bless

Berkley doesn’t want Marines recruiting there

So, I click on CNN.com and right there on the front page is: Berkeley to Marines: Get out of our city. Apparently, the majority of the citizens and their city council do not want the Marines to have a recruiting station in Berkeley. Also, according to the article, the GOP isn't too keen on the idea that Berkeley doesn't want the Marines recruiting there. They want to take back $2 million dollars in funds they provide to the city and they want to cut funding to the University of California – Berkeley campus.

Now, I'm not even sure where I stand on this issue. I don't support the war in Iraq, but I do support our troops. If I were to be asked by a member of my extended family if they should join the service, I'd probably tell them that they shouldn't. Too many of our servicemen and women are coming back with injuries (if they come back at all) and we're not giving them enough help and support whether it be physical therapy, medical attention or counseling (Have we learned nothing from Nam?). It is almost of if they are considered throwaways.

But, that's not really why I started this post. This is why I started this post (all of this next paragraph is completed quoted from the CNN online article).

Forrest Smith, who described himself as a veteran of U.S. Special Forces, said his son recently returned from a tour in Iraq and his daughter served in Afghanistan.

"My position on this is the Marines are the best thing we have," said Smith, decked out in Army fatigues.

He blasted the City Council for its action. "It's clearly an abuse of power."

Here's what bothers me. When I wrote my then State Senator (Republican Cathy Stepp) regarding the anti-gay amendment to the Wisconsin State Constitution, she basically wrote back and stated that it should be left up to the voters and majority rules. Well, how is that not the same thing in Berkeley? If the majority of Berkeley citizens do not want a Marine recruiting station there, how come "In Washington, a group of Republican lawmakers have introduced the Semper Fi Act of 2008"?

I mean, since Republicans believe in low government involvement, why do a bunch of lawmakers in Washington even care? According to the article, the Marines are not moving the recruitment office. According to the First Amendment, people have the right to protest. City Councils have the right to pass measures. So, why should any citizen in Berkeley be denied support because the government doesn't like what was said. It seems to be that the Federal Government is butting in where they don't belong.

I actually like what "Gunnery Sgt. Pauline Franklin, a spokeswoman for the Marine Corps Recruiting Command" said: "The Marine Corps is here to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, which does guarantee the freedom of speech. In terms of the situation in Berkeley, the City Council and the protesters are exercising their right to do so."

Sounds like she's the only one that gets it.

God Bless

PS. All quotes were taken from CNN's article at this link:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/07/berkeley.protests/index.html The only modification made to them was for formatting purposes.

I'll be brief...

Romney's out!

Thank God! Now, mayber, we can get down to working together instead of blaming each other for America's problems.

God Bless!

You won't believe this...

My email editor is giving me fits, so it is possible the link won't work, but here is a news article that you have to read to believe.

Miss. Law Would Ban Serving Obese Diners
Posted from: http://www.rr.com/flash/index.cfm?news=NEWS|4329661

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press Writer

JACKSON, Miss.(AP) A state lawmaker wants to ban restaurants from serving food to obese customers _ but please, don't be offended.

He says he never even expected his plan to become law.

"I was trying to shed a little light on the number one problem in Mississippi," said Republican Rep. John Read of Gautier, who acknowledges that at 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds, he'd probably have a tough time under his own bill.

More than 30 percent of adults in Mississippi are considered it obese, according to a 2007 study by the Trust for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention.

The state House Public Health Committee chairman, Democrat Steve Holland of Plantersville, said he is going to "shred" the bill.

"It is too oppressive for government to require a restaurant owner to police another human being from their own indiscretions," Holland said Monday.

The bill had no specifics about how obesity would be defined, or how restaurants were supposed to determine if a customer was obese.

Al Stamps, who owns a restaurant in Jackson, said it is "absurd" for the state to consider telling him which customers he can't serve. He and his wife, Kim, do a bustling lunch business at Cool Al's, which serves big burgers _ beef or veggie _ and specialty foods like "Sassy Momma Sweet Potato Fries."

"There is a better way to deal with health issues than to impose those kind of regulations," Al Stamps said. "I'm sorry _ you can't do it by treating adults like children and telling them what they can and cannot eat."

Now, I'm a big gal, but this just shows the stupidity of the Republicans. They've gone from the Party of Small Government to deciding who can and can't eat in restaurants. Where will it end?

I'll bet Lincoln is turning over in his grave!

God Bless

Bush and the 2009 Budget

Okay, I expected Bush not to really do anything that had a domestic ring to it. Meaning, I figured that education wouldn't be getting a raise (because educating our young people isn't a high priority) and cutting Medicare and Medicaid falls in line with his presidency so far. But, I'm really confused, why is the Energy Department getting $21 Billion dollars for a nuclear weapons program?

Yes, you read that right -- the Energy Department. Since when has the Energy Department been in charge of nuclear weapons? Shouldn't that be a military expenditure? Who would know better what we need for defense than our military? That's what they're trained to do.

Where are we going and why am I in this hand basket?

God Bless

Conseratives for Romney

According to Mitt Romney, he is going to win the Republican Nomination because "We really can't afford John McCain as the nominee of our party."

John McCain is the only candidate out there that might bring our country back together. Mitt Romney is only interested in keeping our nation apart. He said in a recent debate that he supports a protection of marriage amendment. That's just a fancy way of saying anti-gay amendment. He's been pandering to the religious right and that isn't the way to bring this nation back together.

We have serious issues that need to be solved. We are fighting two wars -- Afghanistan and Iraq. The dollar is slowly sinking. Foreclosures are at an all time high. We have 47 million Americans without any healthcare. Gas prices hover around $3.00 a gallon (here in Racine) and we're headed for a recession when we really haven't recovered from the last recession.

Those are the issues we need to be discussing. We need to strengthen our borders and join together to bring America back to the glory I know in my heart she so rightfully deserves.

John McCain can bring our country back together. Under McCain's leadership, we can solve our issues working together. A union divided cannot stand -- we learned that over 100 years ago when a man named Lincoln was our president. We can learn it again under a man named McCain.

A vote for Romney is a vote for four more years of the division we have had under Bush. A vote for McCain is a vote for unity.

God Bless

PS. Anyone Limbaugh and Coulter don't want in the president's seat must be okay.

Show Your Support...

Xerox is sending printed cards of thanks to our troops in Iraq.  No matter how you may feel about this war, supporting our troops should be our #1 priority.

Please take a moment to pick out a card and send it to a soldier serving our country so far away from home. 

http://www.letssaythanks.com

From the Lets say thanks website:

"The mission of Let's Say Thanks is to provide a way for individuals across the country to recognize U.S. troops stationed overseas. By submitting a message through this site you have the opportunity to send a free personalized postcard greeting to deployed servicemen and women.

The postcards, depicting patriotic scenes and hometown images, were selected from a pool of entries from children across the country.

All you have to do is click on your favorite design and either select the message that best expresses your sentiment or draft a personal note. The postcards are then printed on the Xerox iGen3^® Digital Production Press and mailed in care packages by military support organization Give2TheTroops^®.

Xerox is committed to helping people across the nation express their gratitude to our troops overseas. The launch of this program is aimed at reminding them how much Americans appreciate their service."

God Bless

Taxes -- Think you pay enough now, wait...

If the richest tycoons on Wall Street get their way, you'll face a significant tax hike this year so they can buy another tropical island. Sound fair?

Here's the deal: An obscure provision called the "alternative minimum tax" is going to end up raising taxes for tens of millions of middle-class households—maybe even yours—unless Congress acts quickly.

Democrats want to cancel this tax increase for the middle class—and pay for the shortfall by closing a massive new loophole that's allowing the richest investors on Wall Street to pay lower tax rates than you or I do.

I signed a petition urging Congress to close this tax loophole. Can you add your name to the petition at this link?

http://pol.moveon.org/loopholecalc/?r_by=11644-1574355-dpWFAd&rc=comment_paste

To see how much more you'll pay, try the calculator.  My personal taxes will go up nearly $2000.00!

 

God Bless

The pot calling the kettle black...

Hello, Kettle, it's me, Pot!

Is the President joking about democracy?  According to CNN.com, "President Bush on Monday urged Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf to sever his links with the military and reinstate civilian rule. Bush said he recognized the threat Musharraf faces from extremists but said the emergency measures 'undermine democracy.' "

President Bush is just being funny, right?  I mean, he's used terrorist threats as a reason to wiretap US citizens without a warrant.  He's suspended our rights (with help from Congress) via the Patriot Act, but he thinks someone else reacting to a threat undermines democracy?  I'm confused.

No matter how you take away a person's rights, you undermine democracy.  It doesn't matter if you're the President of Pakistan or the President of the United States -- democracy suffers.

It's just sadder when the country who is the most democratic does it.

God Bless

Nothing like taking your sweet time...

Back in 1950, Corporal Clem Boody was listed as missing in action.  In 1953, he was presumed dead.  In 1954, his family was notified that he had been awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.  Finally, his family has received the medal.

Why in the world does it take this long to award a medal to a serviceman's family?  Haven't they suffered enough?

It's just a shame how we treat our veterans and their families in this country.  We collectively ask a lot of our servicemen and women, but we sure don't give a lot back -- and when we do, we take our sweet time.

God Bless

 

Here's the copy of the article from CNN.com:

Richardson presents Purple Heart, touts negotiation skills

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – At a campaign stop in Des Moines Monday, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson presented a Purple Heart medal to the niece of Corporal Clem Boody, who was listed as Missing in Action while serving in North Korea in 1950.

Richardson said Boody's niece told him the family was notified back in 1954 that Boody had been posthumously awarded a Purple Heart but that the family had never received it.

"I'm very proud to say that the plea made by the family of Corporal Boody has been answered."

Richardson thanked a member of his staff who, he said, was vital in securing the award.

Boody was presumed dead in 1953, but it wasn't until 2007 that his remains were identified.

The Democratic presidential candidate said he'd been negotiating with the North Koreans "for many years" to collect the remains of nearly 8100 servicemen from the Korean War but that he didn't want to turn that part of the story into political exploitation.

"I also realized at the time that I was a candidate for president," Richardson said, "and that it was important that an event like this, the return of remains, should not be politicized."

 

McDonald's on Lathrop & 21st...

I'm sure I'm setting myself up for some sort of ridicule, but this really bugged me.  If you were in the new McDonald's on Lathrop & 21st in Racine last Friday night, you saw what happened.

I saw a sign that the McRibs were back.  Now, these happen to be my favorite McDonald sandwich and I wanted one for dinner.  Last Friday night, Cheryl and I walked over to the McDonald's and place our order. 

When we walk up, there's five employees standing around staring at the floor, like it's doing tricks or something.  It takes five minutes for one of them to notice that they have customers, even though we're the only ones standing there.

Then, we place our order as a here order.  You know, so no bagging our stuff.  We're going to eat in the resturant.  Well, it feels like it takes forever for three sandwiches, two fries and two apple pies.  They don't have to get our drinks, since we ordered sodas and served ourselves.  Cheryl goes and finds a booth, while I wait for our order.  Another lady walked up and it took another five minutes for someone to notice her.  I know because I was still standing there waiting for my order.  

When I get the order, the gal puts it in two bags.  I said to her that this wasn't a to go order and her answer:  "It doesn't matter."  Yes, it does matter.  I ordered an order that doesn't require bags and you've just wasted two.  It's obvious to me that this kid doesn't care if she does a good job or not.

When I get the order to the table, there's no sauce on the McRib.  Now, I know it's not going to look like the picture, but they could make an effort to come close.  Nope, not this McDonald's.

Well, it was a bad work week and since I'm all ready mad at this McDonald's for the last order screw up, I just lost it.  But, I didn't swear.  I get no apology, just three "new" sandwiches.

So, if you live in Racine, steer clear of that McDonald's.  It looks pretty, but the service is awful.

God Bless

   

Alex Talks

The boys were here last weekend to celebrate Halloween. We took them to the Milwaukee Public Museum, which is becoming a tradition. Anyway, while they were here, Alex was quite the talker, so I'm posting this video of him saying my dad's name.

Hope you enjoy!

God Bless

Happy B-Day!

Just want to send a big birthday wish to my favorite son-in-law, Dustin!

Happy Birthday, Dustin!

 

Another NewsMax Email

In my email this morning, amid the startling email that 52% of Americans support an attack on Iran (with what troops, what money, and how when we're fighting wars in Afganistan and Iraq?), I find a headline:

Iran War Danger Creates Huge Investment Opportunities

Well, isn't that just peachy?  Let's start a war and watch the rich get richer.  The "breaking news" email from Newsmax.com goes on to say the following (and I quote):

Here is what I expect if the U.S. continues on the path to war with Iran:

• Oil will go over $100 a barrel in the next few months, and over $120 by this coming spring. Gasoline will go over $5 a gallon nationwide.
• Gold will be $840-$860 an ounce by spring. (It is currently at about $765.) Silver will be over $16 an ounce.
• The dollar will continue to plunge against strong foreign currencies, like the Australian and Canadian dollar. Besides rising commodity prices, a big reason for the continuing dollar plunge is continuing U.S. monetary inflation, which is the only realistic way the administration has to pay for ever-increasing war spending.
• Interest rates will increase substantially and loans will be harder to get.
• Recession in the U.S. by next summer is highly likely.
• If a shooting war actually breaks out with Iran, look for oil to quickly go over $150 a barrel ($8 gasoline), and gold over $1,000 an ounce.

Fortunately, there is some good news, for investors who are aware of these likely developments:

The good news is that "a falling dollar and sharply rising oil, foreign currency and gold prices, mean big profits for investors who put money in these sectors."

Well, bully for them.  Let's start a war with Iraq so that investors can make huge profits.  There's a reason to go to war.

We have real problems that need to be addressed in this country and on our own soil.  We have a huge National Debt we should be addressing.  And, this thought just occurred to me:  in an ownership society, how do we justify a huge National Debt?  Where's the ownership there?

Before we bomb Iran and commit our overworked troops to yet another war, let's stop and think about this.  We have to be prepared for the long haul and if Iraq has taught us anything, Americans are not truly ready for the long haul.  We want to get in, get the job done and get out.  We're not prepared to support our troops in remaining on foreign soil for this long.  We all ready haven't provided them with the tools they need to get the job done.  How can we possibly commit them to yet another war?

God Bless our troops, if we bomb Iraq, they're going to need all the help He can provide.

Gullible Wisconsin Government Employees

A co-worker of mine forwarded me an email about a Budweiser delivery man who pulled product off the shelves of a store owned by Arabs who were seen celebrating the attacks on 9/11.  She asked me to check the story out to find out if it was true or not.

So, I went to Break the Chain and checked it out.  The story is pure fiction -- that means not true for those who get fiction and non-fiction confused.  Click here to read the story.  Anyway, since I read the forwarded email, I noticed the email accounts of everyone who received it, as well as the person who forwarded it along.

What I found most disturbing was the fact that one of the people who forwarded the story -- which means he didn't check the facts of the story -- has a wisconsin.gov email address. 

Is this what we pay our government staff to do -- forward emails that are false and full of hate?  Maybe, I'm naive, but I would think that government employees would have enough sense to NOT forward an email that is intended to be serious without checking the facts. 

If I had received a joke or a prayer request from the same person, I wouldn't be upset.  I know everyone needs a good laugh or prayers everyday, but this one was just totally offensive.  Worse than that, he sent it to a ton of other government employees.  I wonder just how many decided to forward this on without any thought.

Just a small piece of advice:  Before you forward that email, make sure it's actually true.  Also, remember that someone you don't know, will end up on the chain and might blog about you.

(BTW, I have chosen NOT to put the employee's name and email address in this post, but next time, I might not be so nice.)

God Bless

 

Dani Marie: New Restaurant in Racine

Last night, Cheryl and I decided to treat ourselves and go out to eat. We decided to try the new restaurant, Dani Marie, that just opened on Washington Avenue -- next to Images. Well, it was wonderful. The food was awesome and you have to try their fresh baked bread and bread sticks. The restaurant has finally -- after numerous incarnations as Olivia's -- been redesigned giving it a nice atmosphere. There were a couple of hangups, like the background music kept playing the same song for a little while and they didn't have enough menus, but those are things I'm willing to overlook at a brand new restaurant. The service was good. The food is freshly made, so this is not a place to go if you're looking for a fast meal. This is the kind of place where you sit back, relax and enjoy a good meal.

Healthcare, kids and the Republicans

Yesterday, the Republicans said no to healthcare for needy children.  Today, I read the poll results that 8 out of 10 Americans support this program.

Now, you can't get 8 out of 10 Americans to agree on what to eat for dinner, when 8 out of 10 of us agree on a healthcare program for children, shouldn't Congress agree with us?

Let me make a comparison...

Back when the anti-gay amendment was being thrown around the Wisconsin Legistlature, I was told by my state senator (who was Cathy Stepp) that we should leave it to the voters.  It was up to us Wisconsinites on whether or not this should become a Wisconsin State Amendment.  It's all about the voters.

Well, the voters want this, so why isn't Congress -- and by Congress I mean the REPUBLICANS -- overriding Bush's veto?

I guess because they really don't care about what 8 out of 10 Americans care about.

God Bless

The House has failed to override President Bush's veto of a bill expanding a children's health insurance program.

And hope dies for 4 million needy children.

Way to go, Congress.

God Bless those children  Hopefully, He'll do a better job than we have.

Where have all the Conservatives gone?

When I was a kid, being a conservative -- and, by extension, a Republican -- meant that you supported lower taxes, more fiscal responsiblity, less government interference in business and less government interference in individual lives. What happened to that? Now, it seems as if the conservative party has become strong armed by the so-called right-wing Christians, who want all of us to be Christians, not be gay and don't care how much money the government spends -- as long as it is corporate welfare and not on social needs. How did this happen? I saw a news report where James Dobson -- the head of Focus on Family -- is going to have his group shop for a new Presidential candidate if the Republican party doesn't back the anti-gay amendment that his group thinks this country needs. Hasn't this mess gone too far?  When will we stop worrying about someone else getting something we don't think they should have?  And, when willl the conservatives and Republicans get back to their roots? I miss them. God Bless.

Don't believe Ann's Lies...

The truth about Ann Coulter is finally coming out. She hates Jews -- and anyone else who is not a Christian.

I heard her remark: "Jews are going to be perfected. " After a break and she was confronted, she changed her earlier remark to "I don't think you should take it that way, but that is what Christians consider themselves: perfected Jews. "

Coulter is claiming that her statement was misquoted:

"Let's rewrite the NJDC statement to refer to what I actually said: 'How does someone who says it would be better if everyone were a Christian or practicing Jew continue to receive a megaphone and platform from the news networks? When will the media say 'enough is enough'? "

She didn't say that. I heard what she said with my own two ears. I was so stunned by it that I rewound it and played it again.

By the way, I am a Christian and I don't consider myself a perfected Jew.

God Bless us EVERYONE

Ellen and the Dog

I wasn't going to weigh in on this issue that Ellen is having because she gave her adopted dog to her hairdresser, because I understand both sides of the issue.  Ellen signed an agreement that she would notify the Mutts and Moms adoption group if she couldn't keep him.  I understand that agreement and I do agree with it.

What I don't agree with is the Mutts and Moms group deciding that the hairdressers home isn't fit for Iggy.  They have a rule that small dogs cannot be adopted into families that have children under 14.  While as a general rule that's a good idea for the protection of the dog, in this case, the children are 11 and 12 -- ages that know how to treat an animal.  The group should check out the situation in the home and then decide if Iggy can go back or not.  They shouldn't just say no without at least inspecting the home.

Further, I have an American Eskimo Dog -- he's considered small.  I, also, have two rambunctious two year old grandsons.  There's never been a problem between the three.  Have Danny and Alex been a little rough with Skywalker?  Sure, but Sky's the type of dog that takes it in stride.  The closest thing to an issue that we've had was the day Danny smacked Sky across the face and Sky reacted by knocking Danny to the floor and then walking away.  Danny learned not to hit Sky and Sky showed his amazing restraint by walking away from the situation.  I don't think Ellen's hairdresser would come close to having this kind of an issue with Iggy, since her girls are much older than 2.

Rather than have a broad rule banning kids under 14 from having small dogs, the group should weigh this on a case by case basis.

(BTW, in the case of Danny and Sky, the two are best of friends.  Danny grabs Sky by the tail and Sky leads him around the house in this follow the leader game the two of them enjoy.  Many kisses have been exhanged between the two.)

God Bless

Computer Update...

Well, Best Buy called yesterday with good news and bad news.  The good news is that my screen has been repaired, my laptop is fine and they cleaned out the fans -- all of which is covered under my warranty, which expires this month.  The bad news is that the blue screen of death which I received is NOT a hardware issue (if you had seen the error message, you would've thought it was a bad harddrive).  But, they can reinstall Windows for $129.00 or I can contact Gateway and purchase a restore CD and wait 6 to 8 weeks for it to get here.

I opted for the former and should have my laptop back on Saturday.  Why can I only keep a laptop running for 3 years?

Oh, well, a new laptop is not in the cards until next summer, so hopefully, this one will keep chugging along until then.

The good news for you, dear readers, is that I'll be able to update the site to look a little better AND I'll be able to write early morning posts!  Yea!

God Bless

Bad Link in Last Post...

Ah, computer problems -- gotta love them.

I discovered that the link is bad in the last post for St. Richard's Sweetest Day Pasta dinner.  Go to the Church's website and click on the Fund Raising link for more information.

Sorry about that.  I can post from work, but can't fix any bad posts!  Go figure!

God Bless

Blog Update...

In case you haven't noticed, I've been pretty quiet the last few days.  One of the reasons is that my home pc is down.  It's in the shop getting fixed.  (I seem to only be able to keep a laptop alive for three years.)  I should have it back some time next week. (I hope)

Another is that due to the laptop being down and being extremely busy at work, I haven't had any time to keep up with the news.  I've read some articles in US News and World Report, Newsweek and Vanity Fair, but I'll think of a blog post and lose it out of my mind by the time I am able to write it!

Sorry.

Although, I'd like to make mention of just a couple of things:

1. I really liked Princess Diana and mourned her death, like a lot of people.  However; can't we just let her rest in peace?  Does the new inquiry into her death have to be front page news?  Do I have to see the pictures of the car she was in?  I wonder just how this affects her sons, who were young boys when it happened and have to relive it now that they are grown men.
2. What's up with all this Britney coverage?  Aren't there more important things going on in the world?  Should she have her kids, should she not?  Frankly, I no longer care and I can't believe anyone else does either.
3. Angie and Brad -- can't these two be left in peace?  Did they break up?  Did they get back together?  Is Brad talking to Jennifer?  I DON'T CARE!  Why are they pictures staring out at me at every checkout?!?
4. How does a 20 year old in Wisconsin get to be a police officer?  I know Illinois has the age limit of 21, why doesn't Wisconsin?  And, why wouldn't a police officer have to go through a psychological exam?  Do we just give anyone a gun and a badge and say go to it?

That's all for now...

Wait, one last item...St. Richard's Catholic Church in Racine is holding a pasta dinner on Oct. 20th.  If you live in or near Racine, you should try to attend.  It'll be a nice evening.

God Bless

Republicans - Fair weather friends?

Senator Craig has decided to stay in office and serve out his term.  He pled guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct, so what's the big deal if he stays?

According to the Republicans, he's putting the Idaho Senator spot in a bad place ie, a place where it could be taken by a Democrat.

Really?

If the people from Idaho elected a Republican then, most likely, they'll elect a Republican again.  I don't foresee them changing their minds.  But, if the bigshots in the party don't stand behind Senator Craig, they might not see a Republican in that Senate seat.

Now, I'm not too keen on Senator Craig sticking around, but it is his choice, not mine.  But, while I understand on one level -- as I've written before -- as to why the Republicans won't Stand By Their Man, I think it's a pretty crappy idea.

Let Senator Craig do what he has to do.  A misdemeanor is no more serious than a speeding ticket for Pete's sake!  If this was a felony crime, then we should be calling for his ouster, but it's a misdemeanor!  Let him stay and stand up and say, "He's my friend and colleague and I support his decisions."

But, that'll never happen, Republicans aren't going to risk their own welfare to stand up for one of their own.

I'm sure the Democrats wouldn't do it either.  No one has any balls anymore, do they?

God Bless

Rush Insults Troops

I'm constantly reading stories about some liberal who is being called on the carpet for insulting our troops.  Yet, the biggest conservative in the country (Rush Limbaugh) can refer to our troops who do not support the War in Iraq as "phony soldiers" on September 26 and I don't see anything about on CNN.  (Admittedly, my pc at home is shot, so I might've missed something.)

We need to tell this blowhard to shut his non-serving, 4F mouth when it comes to the troops.

Everyday, our service men and women risk their lives so I can sit in my armchair and exercise my right to free speech.  They deserve our praise, support and our applause, not insults and scorn.

I'm a military brat and I take great pride in my retired Navy father (who fought in 'Nam) and my late, Army serving grandfather (who landed at Normandy).

I do believe in Rush having free speech, but sometimes free speech goes too far -- and just as you can't yell fire in a crowded movie theatre, you shouldn't be allowed to insult our troops.  The men and women who serve our country deserve our respect and should not be insulted because they exercise their right to free speech.

No matter which side of the issue you're on.

God Bless

 

Guess Bush doesn't really mean No Child Left Behind...

President Bush has vetoed a bipartisan bill that will allow another four million children to have health insurance.  It would be funded by a higher federal tax on cigarettes (which I think would kill it eventually, since smokers die at a high rate).  It would only cost -- if my math is correct -- $8750.00 per child, which is around the same cost as most insurance paid by employers.

Aren't our children worth $8750 a year?

Apparently, Bush doesn't think so.

Well, what can you expect a lot of low paying employers feel the same way.

God Bless

What's wrong with this picture?

Mr. Zielinkski used to run a junkyard on his property.  Then, Oak Creek became a city and refused to give him a business license -- even though he had run the salvage yard on the property years before Oak Creek was a city.  Then the city cleaned up the salvage yard essentially putting a small business man out of work.

The topper to this story is the city is trying to get a court order to make Mr. Zielinski to pay for the cleanup effort.

Is this America or a dictatorship?  Where is this man suppose to get $156,000?

(Read the story in here.)

Now, the city -- if they get his land -- can have a pretty hefty payoff.  The 4.5 acres are surrounded by expensive subdivisions. 

Where's the grandfather clause?  And, why are they picking on a man who served in the Army and has a third grade education?

Judge David Hansher is now charged with the task of deciding if he should reopen the case.  I think he should.  The law should protect everyone equally and not put a man out of business and take his very last dime.

God Bless

I want my Constitutional Rights BACK -- Please

I don't know about you, but I want the Constitution restored -- completely.  I don't want illegal wiretaps, I don't want the government being able to listen in on my phone calls at their whim.  I want our fourth amendment rights put back in place.  That's why I'm just forwarding on this email I received from the ACLU.

If you're for the government wiretapping without a warrant, I want you to stop and think about this:

If you'll let Bush listen in, would you have wanted Clinton listening in as well?  If the answer is no, then you can't allow our Fourth Amendment rights to be taken away by this legislation.  Our government should always have to seek a warrant for searches and wiretaps period.

God Bless and, please, read on:

Dear Friend,

Fix it. Defend the Constitution! That's the message we have to send to Speaker Pelosi, Senator Reid and every member of Congress over the next 20 days.

By all indications, the House and Senate will cast critical votes within three weeks — deciding whether or not to make the vast new spying powers that they granted the Bush Administration in August permanent.

We can't let that happen. That's why we're starting the FISA Flood of 2007 with today's leadership switchboard shutdown. All our members of Congress but especially leadership — who control the agenda and whose actions impact us all — need to know just how many Americans demand they act to restore the Constitution.  Here's three things you can do, right now:

1. Call House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at (202) 225-4965.

2. Call Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at (202) 224-3542.

3. Call your own representative. You can look up your representative's phone number here.

It's clear what freedom demands. And this is what we need every Member of Congress to hear:

• Congress should not act on FISA until the Bush administration hands over the documents about the NSA wiretapping program. 
   
• Any legislation to permanently amend FISA must restore judicial review and protect the privacy rights of innocent Americans.
   
• The government should receive only the information it is authorized to intercept by law, it should not be given direct and unfettered access to telecommunications infrastructure.
   
• And the legislation must not grant amnesty to telecom companies that broke the law by illegally releasing Americans' phone calls and records to the government.

Call right now as we launch the FISA Flood of 2007 — a monumental outpouring of grassroots energy. Demand that Congress stand strong by standing up for the Constitution, not caving in to the Bush Administration.

When Congress caved in to Bush fear-mongering by passing FISA legislation temporarily allowing the government to intercept the calls and emails of innocent Americans without a court order, there was a massive outcry from freedom-loving people across the country. Reeling from the backlash, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi promised to "fix" the legislation on their return this fall.

Now, as critical new votes approach, we've got to make it absolutely clear to Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and every member of Congress that fixing — not expanding — this ill-begotten law is exactly what we expect and demand.

Call right now: Join the the FISA Flood of 2007.

Earlier this week, the ACLU launched Don't Wait for '08 — a 100-day campaign urging Congress to act now to restore liberties lost during the relentless Bush assault on our civil liberties. Now, it seems apparent that the first 20 days of that campaign leading up to "make-or-break" FISA votes in mid-October could well be the most critical.

Given this Congress' track record, we can't leave anything to chance. In the days ahead, The FISA Flood of 2007 will unleash wave after wave of grassroots actions making it clear that we won't tolerate waffling, wavering or wimping out when our fundamental freedoms are on the line.

We've got to make ourselves heard. Let our members of Congress know: if they stand tall for freedom, we will stand with them through thick and thin. And make sure they understand that, if they sell out the Constitution, we will unleash a wave of public protests and outrage unlike anything they have ever seen.

Make three phone calls for the Constitution right now.

Next, record your participation in our FISA Flood of 2007 tally. And then, forward this message to as many people as possible.

The ACLU is reaching out not only to our 550,000 ACLU members, but to every online activist who cares about protecting our most cherished freedoms. We need you to act immediately.

Help launch the FISA Flood of 2007 right now. Be part of a dramatic and sustained outpouring of concern that won't yield until Congress has acted to protect the Constitution and reverse the civil liberties travesty that Congress perpetrated on the American people by granting President Bush vast new spying powers.

Thanks for standing with us.

Sincerely,

Caroline Fredrickson, Director
ACLU Washington Legislative Office

P.S.  Help build the first powerful wave of the FISA Flood of 2007. Make your three phone calls for the Constitution right now. Next, record your participation in our FISA Flood of 2007 tally. And then, forward this message to as many people as possible.

© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004