November 2007 Archives
The 2008 primaries are just around the corner, so you know what that means -- mean and nasty political ads for the next eleven months. And guess what? This election, the candidates are all set to use the power of the web in their quest for the White House, which really means they're looking to use us, the bloggers.
Today is my son David's birthday. He's 24. Twenty-four??? That sounds completely unbelievable to me! How can 24 years have gone by already? It's just way too fast. Scary fast!
Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my boy -- the little boy who never had to be told anything twice (no, I'm not exaggerating); the little boy who never needed a bib because he always ate so neatly; the little boy who, on someone's birthday, would say HAPPY DIRBAY!!
So Dave, to you, my phenomenal son and the funniest man I know, I say HAPPY, HAPPY DIRBAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are you in your late 20s/early 30s? Are you looking for a significant other? Really? So is Mike!
Who's Mike, you ask? Well, Mike is a guy who recently moved home to Boulder, Colorado, from working/vacationing in the financial district of San Francisco, and he's looking for a significant other.
Think about it. When you go home for holidays and special occasions with the family, are you inevitably asked about the "someone special" in your life? Yeah, so was Mike. Over Thanksgiving he was asked if he was seeing anyone special, to which he quietly answered "No". Very soon after that, he decided he should do something about it.
Maybemike.com was born. Less than a week into the Internet adventure, Rothermel says the Web site is already bringing some hope into his single life."I am confident it'll work. I still don't have a date for this weekend, but I think this will work," he says as he lets out a chuckle.
Rothermel is 31 years old. He runs a dotcom consulting company out of Broomfield. He says he's had plenty of dates in his past, just nothing that's stuck so far. He likes photography, architecture and traveling. And he says he's looking for someone to spend the rest of his life with.
"I'm looking for someone who is smart, someone who is sassy because she knows she's worth it, and I'm looking for someone who wants me rather than needs me," he says.
It's just a simple web site with some simple information about Mike, and a few simple questions for any gal who might be interested. A very clever way to meet new people, eh! And as he said, if nothing else he'll have a great story for next year's Thanksgiving get-together. ;)
I hate to appear as if I'm beating a dead horse, but this just really gets under my skin. To what am I referring? The whole Mitt Romney saying Barack Obama shouldn't have admitted to smoking pot as a teenager thing. For the life of me, I can't see why that's a bad thing. Steve Pasierb, president of Partnership for a Drug-Free America, agrees:
Obama is right on the money. Pasierb says kids are not naive; they know people in high places have experimented with drugs."The key is to be honest and to put it the context of saying I did this and it was a dumb choice," Pasierb said. "Obama talked about how it wasn't the right thing to do. When he got serious about his life, he left it behind. If he were to lie, I think most kids would know."
Pasierb says the worst thing to do is feed kids a story they're not likely to believe. In other words, never tell them that you tried it, but didn't inhale.
"Most kids are going to see right through that and will ask themselves, 'How could you know if you didn't like it if you didn't inhale?'" Pasierb said. "Clearly not recognizing something when you did it is probably not the best course."
Pasierb says role models and parents should not be afraid to admit they did the deed.
"Really the truth works best. You owe your kids honesty," he said. "But you don't need to tell them every little detail. You don't have to give them blow by blow."
I couldn't agree more! Who would you respect more: someone who lies by ommission, or someone who tells the whole truth? As intelligent adults, and sometimes even more intelligent young people, we are all aware that no one is perfect. I want someone who will admit his faults and mistakes; someone who will own them and be willing to say yes, I did that, and it is something I deeply regret. I don't want someone who tries to brainwash me into thinking he was the perfect kid, teenager, young adult, and now man who wants to be president! Mitt Romeny, however, disagrees. He says Obama's remarks were too honest. Too honest?? What is that? Wow. I'll tell you what, if he thinks that was "too honest", then what is there about him he's hiding and will never disclose because it's "too honest"? Do we really want a president who thinks there is such a thing as being "too honest" when answering questions from the American people?
Hmmm. It sure makes me wonder. Especially now when I read that he is disputing a report that he categorically ruled out appointing a Muslim to a Cabinet position.
Mansoor Ijaz, an American born businessman of Islamic faith, writes in the Christian Science Monitor that at a recent campaign event Romney said assigning a Muslim to his Cabinet would not be "justified" based on their percentage of the population."Romney, whose Mormon faith has become the subject of heated debate in Republican caucuses, wants America to be blind to his religious beliefs and judge him on merit instead," Ijaz writes. "Yet he seems to accept excluding Muslims because of their religion, claiming they're too much of a minority for a post in high-level policymaking."
Campaigning in Massachusettes, Romeny denied making such a blanket statement. He said:
“His question was did I need to have a Muslim in my Cabinet to be able to confront radical jihad and would it be important to have a Muslim in my Cabinet,” said Romney, “and I said, 'No I don't think you need to have a Muslim in the Cabinet to take on radical jihad any more than during the second world war we needed to have a Japanese American to help us understand the threat that was coming from Japan.
Well, that sounds bad enough as is, but is it really the whole truth? Or did he leave part of it out or change it so as not to appear "too honest"? Maybe he whitewashed that a little bit so we wouldn't be offended by his wholly truthful answer. I guess we'll never really know with him ..... will we. (you know, if he doesn't think he needs a Muslim in his Cabinet because it is a minority religion in America, then perhaps he shouldn't be our preisdent, since Mormons are a minority religion, too)
Oh, and by the way, I have a little quiz for you which I find quite relevant at the moment:
Question: It is time to elect a new world leader, and your vote counts.
Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:
Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.
Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whisky every evening.
Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs.
Which of these candidates would be your choice? Decide before reading any further.
It continues to be nothing less than crazy around here, and I know I owe many people emails and practically every blogger friend of mine a comment or two, for which I apologize profusely. I really will get back to "normal" (whatever that is), I promise.
Thanksgiving turned out to be .... small. My oldest sister couldn't come at the last minute, so of course neither did her boyfriend, then my other sister called about 15 minutes before she was due to arrive to tell me she had just gotten sick to her stomach and felt like crap, so she couldn't come, either. My oldest son, his wife and my perfectly perfect grandson went to my DIL's family, so it turned out to just be me, Hubs, my other son, my daughter and my nephew. We had fun, though, and LOTS of yummy food. Yeah, I admit it, I'm a damn fine cook. :)
A couple days after Thanksgiving, my perfectly perfect grandson picked up yet another virus, causing a fever and terrible diarrhea, and my DIL wasn't feeling too swift, either. If you remember, my son and his family just got over a horrible bout of stomach flu, with my DIL ending up in the hospital overnight. It's been very, very rough for them. I spoke to my son last night and he said everyone seemed to be on the mend. *knock on wood*
Then I spoke to my other son a bit later, and he told me he had had TWO migraines yesterday! The first one started at about 1:00AM, with the second coming at around 3:00PM. He's had an upper respiratory thing going on the last week or so, so I'm thinking that played into it. I told him to get his butt to the doctor ASAP. He probably has a sinus infection and needs medicine! Two migraines in one 24 hour period is pretty bad. It worries me. I swear. If that boy doesn't make a doctor's appt., I'm going to do it myself and drag his 6'2" body down there by his ear! Men!
My oldest friend (as in we've been friends since we were literally 2 years old) called Sunday evening and told me her family was selling one of their ranches at auction on Monday, and invited me to be there since I was with her and her grandpa the day he bought it about 38 or 39 years ago. I'll never forget that day. There we were, two little girls, afraid to move a muscle for fear the auctioneer would think we were bidding on it. LOL As if! But what did we know? Anyway, I couldn't make it to the auction yesterday, but she called when it was all over and told me everything. It went very well, which I was happy about. It's so bittersweet as you watch your family elders get older and older and it becomes necessary to do things like that. I know exactly what it feels like. It's tough to let go of those things sometimes, but memories are forever, which is such a gift.
The ranch they sold is a gorgeous 9,000+ acres of prime pasture land. Their family would have a cattle drive every year, which she would tell me all about when it was all over. I thought it sounded like such an adventure! Such good memories for her and her entire family. I wish I could have been there for the sale. In a way, I sort of feel like I was. I was thinking about them all afternoon, and remembering the day we sat there with her grandpa when he bought it all those years ago. It made me smile. Even giggle.
Memories. They're such a treasure. What is one of your favorite memories?
Police have identified the little girl known as "Baby Grace", whose body washed ashore in a box last month near Galveston, Texas, and have arrested her mother and stepfather. Authorities believe she is actually 2 year old Riley Ann Sawyers who, according to her grandmother, Cheryl Sawyers, has been missing since June.
According to CNN.com:
The child's mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, 19, and a man identified as her boyfriend, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 24, were arrested Saturday on charges of injuring a child and tampering with physical evidence, the sheriff's department said.The couple lives in Spring, Texas, a Houston suburb about 75 miles north of Galveston.
Their bonds were set at $350,000 each.
The arrests followed searches conducted Saturday after a November 7 tip, the sheriff's department said.
What I want to know is why are they not charging those two monsters with murder??? At the very least it should be child abuse resulting in death! What's with the "injuring a child" crap? She was a lot more than just injured! Maybe they're waiting for all the other evidence, including DNA evidence, to be confirmed before adding more charges. I'm thinking perhaps they used those far-too-lenient charges as a way to place them in custody. I hope those two get what they deserve -- and it ain't just life in prison!
Baby Grace, Baby Grace Identified
Well, at least that's how it came across when, in response to Barack Obama's truthful answer to a questioner about ever having smoked pot, he said:
"I agree with the sentiment that nobody's perfect and most of us, if not all of us, in our youthful years have engaged in various indiscretions we wouldn't want to have paraded in the front of a newspaper. On the other hand if we're running for president, I think it's important for us not to go into details about the weaknesses and our own failings as young people for the concern that we open kids thinking that it's ok for them."
Are you kidding me? So, Mitt, I guess if you're ever asked a question such as the one asked of Obama, you're going to lie? You're going to say you never did anything unseemly as a kid? Riiiight. That's neither believable nor respectable.
At least Barack Obama isn't afraid of the truth:
Earlier this week in New Hampshire Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke candidly about his past experimentation with drugs and alcohol in high school, and on Saturday—after a question on medicinal marijuana—Obama was prodded a bit further and asked whether or not he had ever inhaled."I did," the senator from Illinois said to light applause. "It's not something I'm proud of. It was a mistake as a young man."
The question was a reference to a line made famous by former President Bill Clinton who, while admitting to trying marijuana, said he did not inhale.
"I never understood that line," Obama continued. "The point was to inhale. That was the point."
Mitt Romeny remarked that Obama's truthful confession set a bad example for our nation's young people. What planet does he live on!? If anything, the truth always lends credibility to ones perceived character. It's as if Romney thinks the rest of us -- including our young people -- don't have our own skeletons. No, most of us would not want to admit them in an open forum, but when one is running for public office, it comes with the territory. Hence the term PUBLIC office. If you're going to lie about things as inconsequential as smoking pot when you were a clueless teenager, then what else are you going to lie about? Hmmm?
You're not a teenager anymore, Mitt. Get a clue!
Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Politics, Smoking Pot
Thank God I live in America! Have you been reading about the poor woman in Saudi Arabia who was raped? It's just unbelievable to me. It simply seems unthinkable to me that in the 21st century a woman can still be punished and considered a criminal for meeting a man alone. Two hundred lashes??!! And six months in prison? Are you freaking kidding me? Can you imagine being required by law to be accompanied by your "guardian" wherever you go? My heart goes out to all those women. Yes, I know they know nothing else, and they have no frame of reference -- other than what they read, if they're allowed to read -- for how they are required to live their lives, but still .... I can't help but feel so sorry for them.
Maybe all the media this story is getting and the condemnation the Saudi government is receiving from around the world will help change the way they do things there. Do you think it will?
Saudi Arabia, Islamic Law, Women in Arabia
It's happened. The inevitable. The cold. The wet. The white. Yes, my friends, it has snowed. It is white everywhere, and colder than it should ever have a right to be. Bone-chilling cold. The kind of cold that makes you want to stay indoors all day long, wrapped up in your favorite blankie. Hot chocolate is required of course. ;)
I actually love the snow. I just don't love the fact that it has to be cold in order for it to appear. When it falls, though .... oh my, it is sooo beautiful. Every year when we get our first snow I am reminded of a poem I wrote back in 2002. Snow was much more than simply snow back then, and still is. I thought I'd share it with you today.
Quiet of SnowStepping outside,
I was immediately embraced by the
Unmistakable quiet of snow.
As if reading my needs,
It had come in the cover of darkness,
Comforting my saddened heart,
Silencing the echoes of its frightened chambers.
Turning my gaze upward I saw the mighty elm,
Silhouetted against a snow-lit sky,
Its strong arms reaching out,
Catching the graceful dancers as they
Completed their slow-motion fall from the sky,
Becoming one with the earth,
While not even the slightest breeze could be felt against my
Cold-flushed cheeks.
In the distance a lonely train whistle blew,
Heralding the arrival of landscape's pristine quilting,
White upon dark,
Clean upon soiled,
A true miracle of nature,
Bringing with it the message of hope,
Sparkling from each intricate flake,
Transforming as they kissed my face,
Melting into angel's tears filled with heaven's light,
Replacing heartfelt tears, my own,
Gratefully absorbed by spirit thirsting,
Peace and rest, at last, had come.Copyright © S. Leigh Marin
Who knew the beauty of a snowflake falling could be so healing?
Snow, Snowflakes, Poetry, Quiet of Snow
Those of you who have been reading Thoughtprints for a long time know very well how much I love my dogs. I've never made a secret out of how much I value the friendship of a dog. In my opinion, dogs can make better friends than a lot of people I know. They love unconditionally, are loyal to a fault, and are completely and wholly devoted to the humans who love them. The following is a story of such devotion.
Gary Lorenz was a 1967 graduate of the Air Force Academy here in Colorado, and was a skilled F-4 pilot. He had flown missions over Vietnam, and then returned to the Academy in later years to be a squadron commander. Over the following years he had been promoted to colonel and had served as the vice-commandant of cadets. Then the most cruel of diseases struck: Alzheimer's.
On September 24th, Gary went missing. No one had seen him wander away from his home, but they knew he wasn't alone. His two Golden Retrievers, Merry and Pippin, were with him. The search for Gary started only a few hours later in the hills north of Cotopaxi after he disappeared that day, but days and weeks of searching had turned up nothing.
Gary's daughter, Deanna, was sitting in her Dad's livingroom when, on October 20th, the neighbors knocked on the door. They were there to tell her a hunter had found her father's body. But that wasn't all they had found. "And the dogs" they said, "the dogs are alive".
Eventually, the news from the coroner arrived; the news about the time and date of Gary Lorenz's death. That's when they put it all together. The dogs were with Gary when he died. And they had stayed with him for another three weeks, guarding his body from who knows what. They had never left his side.
When the hunter came upon Gary's body back in October, it was Pippin who was the most protective. "Pippin was right by dad and wouldn't allow anyone close to him," said Deanna. These days Pippin appears to be the most changed by the entire experience. He used to be a little aloof, says Deanna, now he's more stoic, more disciplined.
Sandee Lorenz, Gary's widow, calls the two dogs her "angels".
"I truly believe that had the hunter not found them, the dogs would have stayed (with Gary) until they had taken their last breath," she said.
So that, my friends, is the devotion of a dog. So much more than just an animal. The next time you hear that a dog is "man's best friend", remember Gary and his service to this country, and his two best friends and their service to the human they loved most.
Dogs. Man's best friend, indeed.
Gary Lorenz, Dogs, Man's Best Friend, Golden Retrievers
The New York Times is reporting today that two teams of scientists have turned human skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells without having to make or destroy an embryo — a feat that could quell the ethical debate troubling the field.
According to the article:
All they had to do, the scientists said, was add four genes. The genes reprogrammed the chromosomes of the skin cells, making the cells into blank slates that should be able to turn into any of the 220 cell types of the human body, be it heart, brain, blood or bone. Until now, the only way to get such human universal cells was to pluck them from a human embryo several days after fertilization, destroying the embryo in the process.The reprogrammed skin cells may yet prove to have subtle differences from embryonic stem cells that come directly from human embryos, and the new method includes potentially risky steps, like introducing a cancer gene. But stem cell researchers say they are confident that it will not take long to perfect the method and that today’s drawbacks will prove to be temporary.
Researchers and ethicists not involved in the findings say the work should reshape the stem cell field. At some time in the near future, they said, today’s debate over whether it is morally acceptable to create and destroy human embryos to obtain stem cells should be moot.
This is amazing news! Can you believe the pro and con argument over stem cell research could possibly be over? Do you realize what this means?
The two independent teams, from Japan and Wisconsin, note that their method also creates stem cells that genetically match the donor without having to resort to the controversial step of cloning. If stem cells are used to make replacement cells and tissues for patients, it would be invaluable to have genetically matched cells because they would not be rejected by the immune system. Even more important, scientists say, is that genetically matched cells from patients will enable them to study complex diseases, like Alzheimer’s, in the lab.Until now, the only way to get embryonic stem cells that genetically matched an individual would be to create embryos that were clones of that person and extract their stem cells. Just last week, scientists in Oregon reported that they did this with monkeys, but the prospect of doing such experiments in humans has been ethically fraught.
But with the new method, human cloning for stem cell research, like the creation of human embryos to extract stem cells, may be unnecessary.
In my opinion, this is a miraculous breakthrough! With Thanksgiving just two days away, I can honestly say that I am truly and genuinely thankful for the scientific minds who endlessly study and do research in order to make our lives better and healthier! I believe that this breakthrough in stem cell research will ultimately lead to a cure for Alzheimer's and other devastating diseases. It's definitely a day to jump up and down and say hallelujah!
You should go read the entire article. It's fascinating!
New York Times, Stem Cell Research, New Stem Cell Method
I don't know how many of you have had to care for an elderly loved one, but I have. My sisters and I took care of our mother for about 3 years before she passed. It was difficult, but we wanted to do anything and everything we could for her. No one really knows how hard it is to do the simplest of things when ones ability to move around freely is significantly affected, until they're in the middle of it.
Bathing became torturous for her. That was one thing she truly loved: soaking in a nice hot tub at the end of the day. Eventually she was unable to do anything but sit on a chair in the tub and use the shower. Sadly, even that became all but impossible for her. She could no longer step up and over the high edge of the tub. I would have given anything back then to have known about Step In Tubs. Actually, I'm not even sure they existed back then. If they did and we had known about them, we would have bought her one in a heartbeat! A step in tub would have been a godsend for her -- and for us, too. You just don't realize what a simple thing like a bath means to you until you can no longer do it.
If you ever find yourself in the position of caring for an elderly loved one, or if someone close to you is simply getting older and finding it more difficult to do "the little things", please consider a step in tub for them. They, too, might find it a godsend!
I figured since this week is Thanksgiving and all of the Colorado ski areas push to be open by then, I'd honor the tradition with a skier on my blog. :) Besides, as much as I'd like to stop it, winter is'a comin'. Bah. In fact, the weatherman told me that by Tuesday afternoon we will be getting polar air pushing in from the north. Oh joy. lol
Oh man, it was such a terrible weekend for my family! I spoke to my younger son on Friday and found out he was getting sick; by Saturday he was really sick with an upset stomach, fever, major head congestion, headache and a super sore throat. Poor baby! Then I found out that my perfectly perfect grandson began throwing up Saturday morning, and continued to do so all day. In fact, it got to the point where my oldest son had to go to the hospital to retrieve suppositories for it. Finally by Saturday afternoon his vomiting started to slow down, but then he began running a fever. My poor little guy! Then Ryan called me yesterday around noon to tell me that now Cindy (his wife) had it! She, too, was very, very sick. They called the ER and they wanted her to come in to get some fluids since they were sure she was dehydrated. Well, turned out they ended up wanting to keep her in the hospital overnight. Yikes! Then Ryan called around 10:00PM, telling me he was home taking care of Brayden and the new puppy, but was starting to feel sick himself. Oh great!!! By midnight he was fighting back the heaves and calling his mother-in-law to come over to care for Brayden. I wish they lived closer so I could take care of him! I was worried that his MIL would catch it, too, but Ryan said she is going to stay upstairs with Brayden, and he was going to park himself downstairs and not be around her at all. I hope that works! I sure don't want her to get it and end up giving it to everyone else at her house! So here I am, 30 minutes away from my son, sitting up at almost 3:00AM, worrying. I know I can't call him, but I so want to know how he's doing. My poor babies! All of 'em! Damn.
I need to get some sleep, though, because I have major Thanksgiving shopping to do today. I'll be cooking the big bird and the all the fixins for my family. My sis will be bringing a few things, too. My daughter is so excited! She LOVES family holidays! We all do. :) What will you and your family be doing for Thanksgiving this year?
I guess I should go and try to sleep. *grumble* I wish brains came with an "off" switch, don't you? It would make falling asleep SO much easier! LOL
Have a happy Monday!
Thanksgiving, Stomach Flu, Family Dinners
Did any of you watch the Democratic debate the other night? I did. In fact, Hubs and my daughter watched with me. Yes, my 15 year old daughter watched the debate -- voluntarily. LOL Not too many kids her age realize the importance of politics and knowing the people who want to "work for us". When I asked her why she wanted to watch the debate, she told me it was because she'll be 18 in less than three years and able to vote, so she better have an understanding of what she'll be doing. Is she cool or what? :)
Anyway, getting back to the debate itself, it was very, very interesting. The people with whom I was most impressed were Barack Obama, Dennis Kucinich (very impressed with him, especially when he called for the impeachment of Bush!), Bill Richardson and Joe Biden. There's just something about John Edwards I don't like, even though I can't put my finger on it yet, and of course Hillary is as dishonest as the day is long. Her husband was "Slick Willie" and she is quickly becoming "Slick Wilma". Her performance (and I use that word literally) was ridiculous in the debate a week prior to Las Vegas, followed by the announcement of the college student who came forth with the information that she was spoon-fed a question for Hillary at one of her open forums. Soon afterward a man stepped forward and had the same story to tell. Aside from that being highly deceptive, doesn't it completely destroy the whole idea behind an open forum? And then to hear her staffers' explanation as to why that happened, well, it was absolutely mind-blowing! The aide who did it was dyslexic??? WTH?? She was supposed to prepare Hillary with the answers, but because she is dyslexic she gave the questions to audience members instead??? Do they think we're all idiots??!! They couldn't come up with a better cover than that?? Who do YOU think the idiots are?!
Someday a woman WILL be president of this country, but Hillary is NOT that woman! I implore all women NOT to vote for her simply because she is a woman. That would be such a horrible mistake! Her being a woman is no more a reason to cast your vote for her as is casting one for Barack Obama because he's African American, or for Bill Richardson because he's Latino. Ones ethnicity or gender is NOT what makes a good president! As much as I absolutely do NOT want another Republican in the office of President, I will have no choice but to vote Republican if Hillary is representing the Democratic ticket. Of course, if Ron Paul were the Republican on the ballot, I would race to the polls to vote for him! HE is the person for the job! Without a doubt!
PLEASE take a long, hard look at ALL the candidates before you cast your vote next year. We still have plenty of time in which to do so. There are a few candidates, whom I named earlier in this post, who would be very good for the job.
Now, in closing I want to talk about something I consider to be of the utmost importance. Out of ALL the candidates, both Democrat and Republican, there are only FOUR people who did not vote Yes in support of the invasion of Iraq in 2002. They are Barack Obama, Dennis Kicinich, Mike Gravel and Ron Paul. To the rest of them I would say this: Until you can show the American people you truly are as deeply appreciative as you say you are of the men and women who went to Iraq to do your bidding, and swiftly take a stand to completely overhaul the VA's 62-year-old disability ratings system, which is now causing countless American servicemen and women to have to FIGHT for benefits when they return home -- like Ty Ziegel -- because medical advances in the battlefield have outpaced the home front, then don't even try to convince me or anyone else in this country how much you support our troops! It is UNCONSCIONABLE what these brave men and women are having to come home to. No American soldier should EVER have to fight for their rightful benefits after serving our country and leaving parts of their bodies in Iraq! Nor should they not be readily compensated for the horrible mental and emotional anguish their time in Iraq has caused them. Please, read Ty's story linked above. You'll be shocked and angered. MAKE THE CANDIDATES WHO VOTED FOR THIS HORRENDOUS WAR ANSWER FOR IT -- AND CHANGE IT!
Las Vegas Democratic Debate, Democratic Candidates, VA Benefits, War
I have an amazing offer for all you High School/College students out there! Parents of said students, you listen up, too! How would you like a shot at a $10,000 scholarship? I know, huh! What's the catch, you ask? No catch. All you have to do is be creative. It's a Christmas cards scholarship contest at The Gallery Collection! Simply create a greeting card to enter. How easy is that? I think it's a very cool and fun way in which to win a scholarship to continue your education, don't you? Entrants can design any kind of card, whether it be birthday cards, all-occasion greeting cards or Christmas Cards, and it can be either personal or business Christmas cards.
You'll find all the rules here. Deadline for entries is 11:59:59 p.m. ET, January 15, 2008, so get your entry in, and good luck!
The Gallery Collection, gallerycollection.com
My grandmother was an amazing woman. She was strong and proud and smart, and extremely loving and generous. She was, without a doubt, the matriarch of our family. She taught me many, many lessons that live with me yet today.
The place where she taught me most of my lessons was in her big, heavy, red upholstered rocking chair, with me on her lap. She taught me simply by talking to me, or I'd lie down in her lap and she'd rock me while singing me hymns. She also let me play horsie on it by straddling the big stuffed arms and rocking wildly back and forth. :) It had been her mother's chair before her. It's the same big, heavy, red upholstered rocking chair which is sitting no more than three feet from me as I type this. Its color clashes with every other piece of furniture in my livingroom, but you know what? I couldn't care less. It is much, much more than just a chair. It represents the wisdom of the ages.
One of the lessons I vividly remember her teaching me while sitting in that chair was the lesson of Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 3. Back then, though, I didn't know it was Matthew 6:3; I simply knew it as something important my grandma was telling me. She said, "But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth". When I asked her what it meant, she told me it meant that when you do something good, or something generous and giving, don't brag about it. Let it be a secret; it's more meaningful that way. It wasn't until later that I found out what the following verse was. Matthew 6:4 reads "That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly".
I took that lesson and have held it close my entire life. I've held that humility is very important, and have tried to live my life that way always. And not just because I believe God sees me when I'm humble or that it's the right thing to do, but because it actually feels good. It's an amazing feeling to do something good for someone and tell absolutely no one.
All of this was brought back to me tonight in a big way when I read that someone only wishing to be known as "Anonymous Friend" gave $100 million to the Erie Community Foundation, and all of the charities would receive a share. Some of those charities include a homeless shelter whose previous largest donation was $25,000; they will be receiving $2 million. Another is the Achievement Center, which provides physical therapy and other services to children. The center, which serves 3,200 children a year, will also get $2 million. Those are only 2 of forty-six charities which will benefit from this anonymous friend's amazing generosity.
Mike Batchelor, president of the Erie Community Foundation, has been sworn to secrecy and will allow only that the donor worked with the organization for years to identify deserving recipients before the announcement over the summer. That, my friends, is the lesson my grandmother taught me, personified. It is exactly how we should all give, regardless of what it is we are giving. It should come from our hearts, with true sincerity and love, not so we can get recognition and/or advance our social standing. Can you imagine a world like that? I can. And it is truly beautiful.
Don't you love it when you find great web sites? That's why I love to go stumbling. Yesterday when I was doing so, I found a great site called Karma Dogs, which is a non-profit organization that "seeks to improve the lives of others through relationships with therapy dogs". They rescue dogs and rehabilitate them into rescue dogs. Is that cool or what?
The page I happened to Stumble Upon was the one on which they are selling coloring books. As soon as I saw them I knew I wanted some of those books for my perfectly perfect grandson and my little great-niece. My son and daughter-in-law just got a brand new Maltese puppy and I thought this coloring book could be very helpful in teaching Brayden how to properly treat him, and my little niece will be getting her own doggie soon.
A couple of hours after I placed my order, I received an email from the proprietor of Karma Dogs asking how I had found the site here in Colorado, because they had just gone live with the book sales a week ago and they're located in Baltimore, MD. I was their very first internet sale! Yay for me! ;) I told her someone else had apparently liked their site, too, because they had Stumbled it and that's how I found it. (By the way, feel free to stumble ANY of my posts! *wink*) So anyway, I am very excited to get the coloring books! They are very affordable, too! You should go take a look. Karma Dogs is a very worthwhile cause, to be sure. If you don't want a coloring book, perhaps you could make a donation! :)
Karma Dogs, karmadogs.org, Stumble Upon
Hey peeps, I wanna pass along something I consider very important, OK? Kate over at Electric Venom posted some extremely useful, timely and enormously important information over the last few days on how we can support our troops during this holiday season. I can't even imagine how it must feel to be so far away from all your loved ones at such a special time of year. Actually, I can't imagine what it would be like to be separated from them at any time of the year!
So please go read this and this, then decide in which way you would like to support our brave and beleaguered troops. She has listed some really great ways in which we can do so. I've chosen mine! After all, it's the least we can do. Right?
Supporting our Troops, Electric Venom
Have you seen those new flameless candles? They are so cool! The first ones I ever saw were in the restaurant at the hotel where my daughter and I stayed in August when we took her birthday trip. I'd never seen anything like them before, and thought they were awesome. I had no idea where to find any for myself, though. I actually asked the restaurant/bar manager where they got theirs, but he didn't know exactly. I was disappointed for sure.
Well guess what? I just found a fantastic web site where you can buy them! These candles are so much neater than the ones I saw at the restaurant, though. Have you ever heard of an LED flameless candle? Well that's what they are, and they look exactly like the real thing! The internal light source is a special lifetime LED Bulb which glows and flickers like a real fire-burning wick. They're even made of real wax! They have blackened wicks, and some even come with melted wax along the outside, like this one. And it's even scented! It smells of sweet spice. How perfect would that be for Christmas? And just think, no more worrying about little ones getting burned from their natural curiosity of the "pretty light", or pets knocking them over accidentally. I gotta tell ya', I think these candles are amazing! I am literally getting ready to place my order right now! I think I may even get extra ones as Christmas gifts. Wouldn't you like to get a beautiful flameless candle as a gift? I know I would! Oh, and speaking of Christmas, they even have special flameless candles for Christmas. They're sooo pretty.
OK, I'm going to go candle shopping now! :)
I got a call from my oldest son yesterday. He asked if Hubs had called me (Hubs and both sons work for the Railroad). When I told him no, he proceeded to tell me the story himself. What story is that, you ask? Only one of the scariest things a locomotive engineer can face, that's all.
He was coming out of Denver, heading home, when he and his conductor both saw a semi-truck up ahead at a crossing with his trailer hanging over the tracks. Ryan started blowing his horn -- incessantly. The trucker didn't budge. Getting closer and closer to the truck, and not knowing if the idiot driver was going to move or not, he plugged the train (set the emergency air brakes). The trucker must have FINALLY seen the train, because he pulled forward about two feet at the last minute, leaving the train barely enough room to pass by without hitting him. Ryan said he and his conductor both were getting ready to duck under the desk and take cover. So, scared shitless and totally furious, he got the truck's license number and called it in to dispatch, who would then call the proper authorities with the information. Then of course he has all the reporting and paperwork to do because of plugging the train (they always have to tell the RR why they had to do that). His conductor told him later that what Ryan hadn't seen was the four lanes of cars stopped at the crossing, which the semi's trailer would have slammed into if they had hit him. I think that's what shook up Ryan the most.
After waiting the few minutes it took for the air to build back up in his brakes, he continued ahead. About four crossings later, a car with stupid teenagers played chicken with him. ARE THEY CRAZY??? Are they really too dumb to know how dangerous that is??? Damn! Then later, at yet another crossing, a guy on a bicycle was heading toward the tracks, so Ryan began blowing the horn yet again, but the guy didn't even look up. He had a hood over his head and Ryan assumes he was listening to music or something and that's why he didn't hear the train, but when he finally saw the train, he was about 2 feet from hitting the engines when they went by! Geesh!
It was completely understandable when he said it was his worst trip ever. All of those things are the worst nightmare of both a locomotive engineer and a conductor. He and hubby are both engineers; my other son, Dave, is a conductor. I think about that stuff all the time when they leave for trips. I guess I'm not really scared they, themselves, will get hurt, because it would take something really huge to actually hurt the engineer and conductor, but can you imagine not being able to stop and hitting someone else, possibly ending their life? I don't think my kids or my husband could take that mentally and emotionally. And believe me, it happens much more often than you might think. There are idiots out there doing stupid things on railroad tracks all the time!
The moral of this story? Be careful at railroad crossings, people!!!
Train Wrecks, Railroad Crossings, Railroad Engineers, Railroad Conductors
I don't know if there ever has been such a thing as a truly honest administration in this country, but it sure used to be a helluva lot more honest than it is now, or has been in a very long time. The government is supposed to be there for us, the people, right? Ha. I haven't believed that in a very long time.
If I haven't said it before, let me say it now in no uncertain terms: I can't stand Bush or his administration! In my humble and only somewhat politically-educated opinion, he has done nothing good for this country. Nothing. I can hardly wait for the next year to go by so his presidency will finally end forever!
With that off my chest, let me continue on to what this post is really about -- Michael Mukasey. Late Thursday night the Senate approved the former judge's nomination for Attorney General with a 53-40 vote, despite weeks of controversy over his views on waterboarding. According to CNN:
The nomination had been considered at risk after a number of Democratic senators opposed Mukasey because of questions that arose from his views on the terror interrogation technique known as waterboarding and the president's power to order electronic surveillance.Mukasey, a former federal judge in New York, told senators he considers waterboarding "repugnant," but he could not categorically say whether the technique amounts to torture, which U.S. and international law bans.
Waterboarding is a technique that involves restraining a suspect and pouring water on him to produce the sensation of drowning.
That makes me sick. I can NOT believe that someone -- anyone -- could and would say that waterboarding is repugnant, but not go as far as ADMITTING it is absolutely torture! I think they said it best at freep.com:
It really shouldn't be tough for Michael Mukasey to admit that waterboarding is torture. When you pressure someone to cooperate with an interrogation by tying them to a board with their head lower than their feet, covering their face with a cloth and then pouring enough water into the cloth to make them think they're drowning, what else would you call it?But Mukasey, whose nomination to be the nation's next attorney general was approved Tuesday by a key Senate committee, has called it everything but, including "repugnant." But Mukasey says going any further would be rendering a legal opinion about a "hypothetical" technique, and he's uncomfortable doing that.
Hypothetical? Are you kidding me??? As if!! But here's the best -- and what I consider the most important -- part of the story (emphasis mine):
That's a disappointing nonstand, to be sure. But Mukasey's equivocations are not all his fault. Most of that responsibility lies at the feet of the Bush administration, which has taken the 9/11 attacks and the war on terror as an invitation to rewrite the nation's moral code.
Now THAT is the truth!
It goes on to say:
Mukasey's caginess is what you get after six years of waterboarding and talk of the "quaint" Geneva Conventions governing the humane treatment of captives, and efforts to debate the indefensible in the name of national security. This is what happens when those who are charged with upholding American values instead try to find ways around them.That doesn't let Mukasey completely off the hook. It would be wonderful if our attorney general could fess up that tactics embraced by Cambodia's atrocious Khmer Rouge are indeed torture. But the Bush administration's insistence that the law and human rights are fungible certainly explains his reluctance to speak so boldly.
Thanks to George W. Bush and his administration, we as a country and a military, have been forced to a level we have abhorred and denounced in others for decades and decades. It is pathetic, pitiful and criminal. It is shameful.
Oh, and in case there are some of you out there who don't know what waterboarding is, you can go here and watch a 25 minute uncut video of correspondent Kaj Larsen receiving the TORTURE tactic from hired professional interrogators, but I warn you, it is very, very difficult to watch. In fact, I only made it through 2 minutes before I had to shut it off. I was left feeling literally sick to my stomach. I can't believe there are people out there who actually are able to do that to another human being and don't consider it torture. It's incomprehensible to me. What's even MORE incomprehensible is how our very own President can condone such tactics and NOT call it torture! Oh sure, he says he hasn't "been briefed" about it and doesn't know exactly what it is. What horse shit! Giuliani says the same thing! According to Blah3, Giuliani said:
"If you take a simplistic position on it, you're probably irresponsible. I should not take a position on waterboarding until I know precisely what we're talking about. If we're talking about what the media says constitutes waterboarding, I have said that I think that's repulsive. But I've also said that I have not been briefed on precisely what we do. I would want to keep an open mind until I heard that."
How can they possibly plead ignorance??? For God's sake, Bush is the president and Giuliani wants to be! Isn't it their JOB to know?! Oh well, I guess it's nothing new. We've come to expect it, haven't we?
Yeah, I'm mad as hell about this, and believe me, I can hardly wait until Bush is out of office, and I pray a Democrat wins the election! Or better yet, Ron Paul!!!!
Bush, Waterboarding, Michael Mukasey, freep.com, CNN, Rudy Giuliani, Ron Paul
In my post immediately previous to this, I told you all about Megan Bomgaars, who has Down Syndrome and is a cheerleader at Evergreen High School. Well, the cheerleading team competed in the Jefferson County League Tournament Wednesday at Columbine High School, Megan included. :)
JEFFERSON COUNTY – The Evergreen High School cheerleaders asked that their teammate with Down Syndrome be allowed to compete at the tournament level rather than sit things out. She ended up getting the biggest cheer of the night.Megan Bomgaars is a freshman on the Evergreen cheer squad. Her coach, Tammy Dufford, says the Colorado High School Sports Association told her Bomgaars is the first cheerleader with Down Syndrome to compete in a local mainstream competition.
At the Jeffco Spirit Invitational at Columbine High School on Wednesday, Megan was front and center.
Midway through the Evergreen routine, when other cheerleaders lifted Megan to the top of their formation, the crowd exploded with loud applause.
"It was amazing," Dufford said afterward. "Just amazing."
"I love this place," she said.
Bomgaars is a smiling and enthusiastic face on the football sidelines, but sometimes struggles to keep pace with her teammates quick moves and rapid cheers.
Her mother offered to have Megan sit out the competitive portion of the season in case judges penalized the team for Megan's technical miscues.
The team wouldn't have it.
"We could get graded off if she's a little bit off on her dance," said cheerleader Stephanie Dufford. "But we'd rather have her on the squad and get a lesser score than not have her at all." Immediately following the team's performance, Dufford scrambled over to the judges table.
A huge smile broke out on her face.
"No technical deductions," she said. "Not one."
At the end of the night, the judges awarded first place to Columbine. Bear Creek was runner-up.
Anyone in the stands watching, anyone who heard that one particular cheer rise up, knew they had seen other winners as well.
(from 9News.com)
Oh man ..... this story gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes. It's just an amazing feel-good story, but even more so because it's true, and because those girls exemplify the very qualities we, as parents, always try to instill in our children, hoping they will hold them close and put them into practice in their daily lives. Their families must be so proud of them! I know I am, and I don't even know them!
WAY TO GO, EVERGREEN HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADERS!!!!!
Evergreen High School Cheerleaders
Stereotypes. How many do you buy into?
I'll be honest and say that I probably buy into way more than I should. I truly try not to, but you know how that goes. One of them is that I absolutely believed that all High School cheerleaders are snobs and biotches. Well guess what? They're not! And I'm very proud to say the cheerleaders who smashed that stereotype are right here in Colorado!
JEFFERSON COUNTY – The Evergreen High School cheerleading squad has always imagined itself as somewhat different. So when the new girl at school, who is disabled, tried out for the team, there really was no doubt what would happen.Coach Tammy Dufford has heard it so many times, the old line that high school cheerleaders are among the most judgmental people around.
"Generally, high school cheerleaders are known to be an elitist sort of group and kind of exclusive," said Dufford.
However, Dufford says she had no doubt her girls would accept a fellow cheerleader with different abilities. Someone like freshman Megan Bomgaars, who has Down Syndrome.
Bomgaars is new to Evergreen this year. One of the first things she did was march into Dufford's office and announce she intended to be a cheerleader. And she now is an Evergreen cheerleader.
"I just want to have friends at school," Bomgaars said.
And she has found those friends in her fellow cheerleaders at her new school.
"I love this place," she said.
Bomgaars is a smiling and enthusiastic face on the football sidelines, but sometimes struggles to keep pace with her teammates quick moves and rapid cheers.
This is the time of the season when teams, including Evergreen, go from cheering at games to competing at tournaments.
Megan's mother, Kris, expected that her daughter would travel with the cheerleading team, but not compete.
"She said, 'Tammy, I totally understand if you don't think Megan can be part of that. I don't want her to bring down the girls' scores," Dufford recalled.
Dufford checked with state cheerleading officials. She says they informed her there is no direct precedent of a cheerleader with Down Syndrome competing in mainstream tournaments. Dufford says she was told it would be up to judges on how to handle the situation.
The coach left the final decision up to her players. No discussion was necessary. They insisted that Bomgaars remain on the team for the competitive portion of the season.
"We always just assumed she'd be right there with us," said cheerleader Katy Evezich. "She's part of the team."
"We could get graded off if she's a little bit off on her dance," said cheerleader Stephanie Dufford. "But we'd rather have her on the squad and get a lesser score than not have her at all."
For a group that's supposed to be so concerned with judging, they sure don't seem to care.
The Evergreen High School cheerleaders, every one of them, will compete in the Jefferson County League Tournament Wednesday at Columbine High School.
(from 9News.com)
Is that cool or what! I'm so proud of those girls. Hopefully if this story gets around enough, more cheerleaders will follow suit and change that stereotype which plagues them all!
Cheerleaders, Snobs, Evergreen Cheerleaders, Stereotypes
Human beings are fascinating animals, aren't they? I mean, we can do such amazing things with our hearts, minds and bodies. We're so unique in that we have the capacity to be enormously giving, loving and compassionate, but also hurtful, deviant and evil. In fact, the depth of evil humans can reach is staggering and unimaginable.
I'm sure by now most of you have heard of Baby Grace, right? If not, then be prepared when you read the story. When I first heard about her yesterday, it literally took my breath away and I instantly began crying. How someone can do something so sick and demented to a child is beyond any normal person's comprehension. My heart is absolutely breaking for Baby Grace. The sketches they've done in hopes of identifying her depict a lovely, adorable little girl, completely innocent of the evil this world can hold -- until it came and ended her life. Whomever did this to her deserves to die. In fact, they deserve the same kind of death they dealt her. An eye for an eye, ya' know? Child killers don't deserve anything humane, least of all the manner in which they die.
Bob Smither, co-founder of the Laura Recovery Center For Missing Children, has launched a web site in hopes of generating more leads in identifying who this precious child is and who did this to her. I encourage all of you to visit, learn what you can do, and then post something -- anything -- about Baby Grace on your own blogs so that she can be identified and laid to rest with the name she was given, and the perpetrator of this horrific crime can be caught. You all know how powerful the blogging community is! Perhaps we can play a part in helping law enforcement find justice for Baby Grace.
I want to share with you a press release given by Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo of the Galveston County Sheriff's Office:
I don’t often make an appeal of emotion, choosing to stick with the facts of cases as we should. However, a case such as this draws out emotions in all that touch it – even us cynical old cops. I ask that you “buck the system” and include the emotions you, like me, are experiencing in looking at this case as a parent, a child, one who has children as part of your life, or just as a human being. The emotion in this case is strong – likely stronger than many I’ve seen in my 20+ years in this business, and we need your help to make this case break.You must admit this case tugs at your heartstrings, just like it does mine. I hide behind the façade of the stoic cop – and you behind your “just the facts” media approach. It’s going to take more than “just the facts” to make this one work, and I appeal to your (and your heartless editors!!!) sense of humanity to give this case a face – and a heart.
I think Chau (the alleged short timer) said it well – “This case makes me sick to my stomach.” Cynthia had a comment something to the effect this was a sad case. They’re both right.
I cannot help but emphasize we are dealing with a little girl, not just unidentified body. To us, she isn’t unidentified – we simply don’t know her name. She has an identity to the lives she touched – and there are likely more than just a few of those, including every one of us involved in this case and has come to know her, in our own way, during the past couple of days. There is someone out there that is missing her in both the literal and emotional sense, and it is absolutely critical that we hear from that someone. That’s where you come in, getting that message to that some.
Feel free to quote me on any of the comments above…I’d appreciate it, and I would hope our little girl would as well.
Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo
Galveston County Sheriff's Office
601 54th St., Suite 2100
Galveston, TX 77551
409-766-2369
fax: 409-765-3100
ray.tutt@co.galveston.tx.us
Don't you think bloggers are part of the media? I do! So come on, people, let's do our part in helping to "make this case break". Do it for Baby Grace.
I guess you could say there's this kind of ... weird .. thing ... that sort of runs in my family. I don't know how far back it might go, as I was too stupid as a teenager and young adult to question my grandmother about it. Believe me, I kick myself for that all the time! Anyway, my grandma could never wear a watch. Every time she did, it would stop. I remember thinking "Hmmm, that's very strange", but never really giving it any deeper thought than that at the time. I wish I had. Why? Well, because now my daughter -- get this -- causes street lights to go out. I kid you not! I've been with her when it's happened! When I made a humorous comment about the street light going out as we drove under it, she said "That happens to me all the time, Mom", and she was completely serious.
In questioning her further about it, I have learned that not only does she put random street lights out when she passes by -- whether on foot or in a car -- but there are two specific street lights in town which always go out. Well, one of them actually just flickers intensely while she is under it, then stops as soon as she passes, but the other one always goes out. Now, is that interesting or what! She's never worn a watch, so I don't know if she would stop them like Grandma did or not. I should get her one just to see, huh.
So what do you think causes that? Some kind of electrical exchange perhaps? Does she have a force field around her? LOL It would be cool to hear what some of you scientifically-minded people out there have to say about this. But regardless, I think it's cool. :)
Electric Exchange, Electric Personality, Electric Fields
Guess what's coming out on the 21st that I'm very excited about?! The Mist by Stephen King, that's what! I am a total nut for scary/freaky/thriller type movies, and we all know that Stephen King's picture is next to all those words in the dictionary!
You know The Mist, right? The eerie, terrifying, deadly mist which hides the "things" lurking there? SO totally scary! But then of course there are the people trapped inside the grocery store who begin getting as weird as the mist -- maybe even more so. They actually think they can appease the mist by sacrificing the little boy! And there's the earthquake, and the guy catching on fire, and the -- oh geez, just go watch the traile