Continuning on with Parental involvement

It is absolutely necessary that you be a parent in raising your child.  It is absolutely necessary that you know where your kids are, who their friends are, what they are doing, how they interact at school.  Sitting down to dinner with the family and discussing the day is a must. The child comes first.  Not your boyfriend or girlfriend, not your drinking buddies, not your crises: the child.  Once you have that child, it is all about the child.  Homework. Talk to your child and really listen to them.  This builds confidence.  Klebold and Harris had their guns in Klebold's garage.  How did his parents not know this?  Because they did not care what they did.  If you have a teenager, you go through that garage daily.  You check their rooms and you check their computers and what websites they are visiting.  You monitor how much time they spend on video games.  You know who their friends are.  You know if they are having trouble with bullies.  You know their teachers.  You know the principal.  You live and breathe that child until they are grown.  It is your job.  You took it when you had the child.  Now do that job.  As for their privacy,  they're teenagers for God's sake.  Of course they will lie. Of course they will try smoking and probably drugs and alcohol.  It is your job to stay on top of this.  It is an exhausting, time consuming, life-stealing job, but you signed on for it.  I had a friend once who was a single mother of 3.  She worked long hours to provide for them.  They had chores they had to do every day.  If they failed to do these chores, she said nothing when she got home.  They had dinner and cleaned up the kitchen, did homework and went to bed.  Even though she had to get up at 5am to go to work, she woke the child who did not do the chores, made that child get out of bed at 1am and do those chores.  She sat with that child until those chores were done.  One son is a lawyer, one is a doctor, and the daughter is a teacher.  She didn't have to do this.  She could have just whined about how hard she had it, but she didn't.  She did her job. 

And yes, I am a mother.  I had visions of doctors and lawyers for my kids too.  Not! But I am very proud of them.  My oldest works with the mentally handicapped.  My middle child is in the military and has been for 15 years.  My baby is a project manager with a Fortune 500 company and married to an Army Sargent.  I did the best I could and I was always a presence in their lives while they were growing up.  Parents need to realize that raising children is a tough, demanding job.  And for our future, it has to be done right.

Shootings and Gun Control

Ok, what happened in Newtown was the most horrible thing that could happen.  Until recently, children have been off limits and so were elementary schools.  This nutcase picked an elementary for the simple reason that he would meet no resistance.  He knew that there would be no one there to stop him.  And there was not.  Several things strike me here obvious.  Age of shooter and the other shooters in other instances, ie Aurora, Colorado.  Notice that these shooters are in their early to mid-20's.  Immersion in violent video games, detached from reality.  This could be thousands of young adults around the country.  There does not necessarily have to be mental illness involved.  Apparently this young man should have been institutionalized years ago.  But this could have been any of our schools.  Every one is blasting Wayne LaPierre for the statement that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.  And as bad as this was, it could have been so much worse.  He didn't need a gun to do a lot of damage.  The Oklahoma City bomber used 1)a Ryder truck b) diesel oil and c)ammonium sulfate or common fertilizer.  His body count was 168 and a lot of those were children because he made sure that the truck was as near the day care facility in the federal building as he could get.  If a human being wants to kill, they will find a way.  The guns are just the symptom.  Or the chosen means.  His mother was wrong to have a mentally ill person in a house with guns.  She set the stage for this.  Granted she lost her life, but by her refusing to see that her son was capable of violence, she set up the community. 

Several things need to happen here and gun control is the least of them.  Parents have to step up to the plate and be parents.  You get involved with that child from the get go.  You teach that child that every action has consequences and that if he is the one doing the deed, he is the one that will suffer the consequences. 

Education

I am hearing what heros the teachers in Newtown are.  I agree.  But then I think all teachers are heros. And yet we just saw Wisconsin bashing teacher for being lazy, overpaid, worthless.  Can't have it both ways.  My take: Teaching should be the highest paid profession in the country.  We take our most valuable asset, our future, and give them to the lowest paid, most overworked, under appreciated professionals in the country.  We give  those professionals  a class of high intelligent, mediocre, non-english speaking, and special ed student all lumped into one classroom and expect them to keep the students with higher intelligence interested and fully educate them, to teach to the level of the mediocre, and find someway of teaching those who do not speak English and also teach the special ed students.  And they are to do all this without any cooperation from the parents, without disciplining the students, making sure no student's feelings are hurt,  They are supposed to do this on a mediocre salary, buy their own school supplies, take work home, put up with parents trashing them.  I never ceases to amaze me that we find people to do this job of teaching and like it.  This is one screwed up country.

Murder in Newtown

My heart goes out to all the parents who lost children.  I cannot imagine the stark horror and pain of losing a child and I hope I never experience that pain.  I am now hearing everyone screaming gun control.  Guns are a symptom, not the problem.  We can eliminate all the guns and if someone wants to kill, they will find a way.  Need we be reminded of Oklahoma City.  There were no guns involved.  And does anyone but me notice that these cowards always pick places where they will meet little or no resistance?  Ever see anyone try hitting a police station and trying mass killings?  Of course not.  It is all about control.  They control the lives of others and they control when they die or in the case of the shooter in Aurora, Colorado, he gave up.  I just read a report that there were at least 4 theaters showing this same movie and two closer to where he lived, but he picked this one because it had a sign out front "Gun free zone."  No resistance.  No one to stop him.  And I will again say how would you have stopped this shooter if he had used gasoline and home made bombs instead?  We have to be on the offensive instead of the defensive in protecting our children.  We have to anticipate.  I know that most all you will not agree with me, but just suppose that principal had been armed and trained in how to react in a situation like this?  It might have made all the difference in the world.  Yep.  I'm from Texas and I do advocate training and arming school personnel.  I saw one post asking how would one feel having a killer teaching your child?  If that teacher had killed to protect my child, I would be groveling at his or her feet. 

Business 10, workers 0

Well, Michigan is another right-to-work state.  They can now join Texas in low wages, no health insurance, and working three part-time jobs to just survive.  Right-to-work benefits only businesses and the rank and file employees are too stupid to see it.  I worked in a union shop all my working career.  We did not force anyone to join.  However, those deadbeats who chose not to join the union gleefully took the pay raises, paid holidays, paid sick leave, great health insurance and protection from being fired.  They took them and bragged about not paying union dues.  At the rate we are going, we will well and truly be a third world country within a decade.  I find it appalling that we are in this mess.  No one seems to remember the history of the unions and that a lot of people died for the workers right to organize.  Companies hired killers to knock off those who were organizing.  And all my life in the South, I have seen people accept whatever a business would pay them and refuse to join a union.  Down here, there is a hatred of unions.  This hatred is founded on what businesses and politicians have fed the people.  And like sheep to slaughter, they swollow it and say "Thank you.  You have my best interests in mind."  Not.  The stupidity of people never cease to amaze me.  I have worked as a union member and as a manager.  That contract is your play book.  Play by that contract and you have no problem with discipline, firing an employee if necessary.  The problem with the managers is that they did not want to play by the rules.  They wanted to make up their own rules and scream foul when they were called on it.  I have disciplined many employees and those disciplines stuck because I followed the contract.  But the working class would rather work for pennies.  They refuse to realize that if businesses could get away with it they would pay them nothing. 

Unions gave the workers a minimum wage, 40 hour work week, sick leave, vacation time, family leave, safe working conditions, overtime.  American workers better wake up and smell the stink.

Same old, same old

The Republicans can't seem to grasp the idea that the country wants compromise and they want the economy fixed.  The voters are tired of the  unknown.  They are tired of Congress pandering to the upper echelons of the economy and they are really tired of being taken advantage of by big business.  Hostess looted the employee pension fund, then declared bankruptcy.  The employees got the shaft and the big shots at the top got their bonuses in spite of the bankruptcy.  The Repugs can't seem to grasp that the country does not want government legislating their reproductive rights, does not want government telling us how we have to worship, and what religion we need.  We do not need anyone telling us how to live.  We need someone to give us a level playing field.  We need some regulations on big business.  We need  for the government to put the voters first.  The only time we are more than an afterthought is when they need our votes to stay in or get elected to office.  And they will do and say anything to get elected.  Notice how quickly they deserted Mitt Romney when he lost.  Like rats deserting a sinking ship.  One of the worst was Bobby Jindel from Louisiana.  Seems all Bobby knows how to do or cares to do is run for office.  He does not do anything after he gets the office except to use that office as a stepping stone to the next higher office.  He has aspirations of sitting in the White House.  I sure hope the voting public has better sense.

Impact of illegal immigration

Here in TExas we are seeing the impact of illegal immigration every day.  Tuesday, I was in the Post Office.  There was a tour group from the local elementary school.  They were all Mexican.  Not a one of those kindergartners spoke English.  Two of the aids or teachers were also Mexican.  There were no English speaking children in this group.  Who pays for this?  Me.  The homeowner.  The illegal parents pay nothing.  They do, in fact, usurp our free medical, food stamps. and any other freebies they can lie and get.  Don't believe me, just do your own research.  Visit a school in Texas.  Visit a welfare office and see who is in there signing up for freebies.  The 47% Mitt Romney was referring to is in reality his hired help.  And people like Romney want to keep the status quo because it gives them cheap labor.  I work with a older man who grew up dirt poor.  His ancestry traces back to the Alamo.  His family has been here for generations.  As a child, he worked as a migrant worker.  They were told they would take what the illegals were making or they wouldn't work.  So the illegals don't depress wages.  Yes. They do.  They also take a huge chunk of taxes out of the system because they work for cash so no taxes are paid.  Mexico is changing their name from the United States of Mexico to simply Mexico.  Guess we will pick up that moniker.  We are well and truly the United States of Mexico.

Congressional kindergarten

Our Congress is acting more and more like kindergartners.  Very spoiled ones at that.  The country has told them what we want.  We want them to fix the fiscal mess they have put us in.  We want them to raise taxes on the top 1%, who can afford it.  We want our Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs fixed.  We want our Congress to work together for the good of the country.  Instead, we have a congress divided and refusing to cooperate.  And most are still in the pockets of the lobbyists.  The first move should be passing a law to ban lobbying.  The second move should be to tell Grover Norquist to kiss off.  And the third move should be them working together to fix our broken country.  We are better than this.  And from what I have been reading of the Republicans, the attitude is that we are just too dumb to know what is good for us so they are going to tell us.  The last time I checked, I am of voting age and have been for over 40 years.  I have been supporting myself and paying my taxes since I was 16.  I have never griped about my income tax.  I have always seen it as my duty as a citizen.  I don't need some fundamentalist telling me what to do and what to believe.  I had that when I was growing up and my dad told me to tell them to kiss my butt.  Well, I am telling these fundamentalists idiots to kiss my butt. This country belongs to all citizens, not just the rich.  It belongs to the poor, single mother working two jobs to make ends meet as well as to those like Mitt Romney.  The difference that single mother does pay her taxes and manages to give to charity unlike the likes of the 1% who are too greedy to give a hand up. 

Every time I see someone like Romney or Norquist, I am reminded of a story my son told me when he was 13.  There was this greedy businessman who worked all the time and kept every nickel he could.  He was so worried about his money that he made a deal with God.  He made a deal with God to bring one thing with him to Heaven when he died.  He continued along life's path, working and making more money.  When he died and came to the Pearly Gates, he was dragging a huge suitcase.  St. Peter stopped him and told him no one brings anything with them to Heaven.  The businessman argued frantically. "No,no,no! I have a deal with God that I could bring one thing with me.  Check with him."  St. Peter thought about this for a moment.  Then he said, "Well, ok, but I have to see what you are bringing."  The business man was feeling quite smug when he wrestled the suitcase open.  When St. Peter saw the contents, he burst out laughing.  The businessman was indignant.  He could not understand why St. Peter found the contents so funny.  So he asked, "What is so funny about what I chose to bring?"  St. Peter stopped laughing long enough to say,"You could bring anything you wanted to Heaven with you and you chose to bring pavement!"  The suitcase was full of gold bricks.    The irony of these greedy rich people is that they can't take it with them and the families will only fight over the money.  Sad.

Good ole Texas Politics

Our legislature passed a bill this last session to protect women from themselves.  We are too stupid to protect ourselves or to know what we want.  Seems as if a woman wants an abortion, she must first suffer the indignity of having a vaginal sonogram.  The theory behind this is that the little woman does not understand that she is carrying a fetus and that that fetus, just like a calf, must be born.  It does not matter if the woman cannot afford to have the child.  It does not matter if the woman's life is on the line.  All that does matter is that the state government prove to this woman that she is carrying a living blob of cells.  Well, hell, a cancer is a living blob of cells.  Why not just make her die from the cancer rather than have it removed.  And once we teach the woman that she is indeed carrying a blob of cells, she will change her mind and have that blob.  Never mind that this may be a 12 year old victim of incest or rape, never mind that this child may have no chance of living.  None of that counts in the minds of these men. 

Ok, I can go along with that.  Yep.  Every time a woman wants or desperately needs an abortion, stick that ultrasound apparatus up her vagina.  But everytime we do this to a woman, then I want to see it stuck up a politicians ass.  Seems only fair to me.

The Republican Loss

Just read an article.  Seems the new Texas senator, Ted Cruz, was a speaker at a fundraiser. Mr. Cruz's explanation for the loss of the election was that we, the voters had dummed down and did not understand what the GOP was telling them  Really?  I think I understood very well.  This is what I got from their message:
1)47% of us are on public dole and too lazy to work.  That percentage would have included our troops. 
2) They would protect me from myself on the abortion issue. The intelligent men of the GOP would school me on refusing to have an abortion.
3)After they had schooled me on the evils of abortion, then they would do me the favor of closing Planned Parenthood so I could not get any medical care.  I could pay for it on my own.  After all, I had gotten myself pregnant.
4) They would not force insurance companies to cover the cost of contraceptives because, well, it was against their religious beliefs and everyone knows that only their religious beliefs count.
5)I do not need insurance because I have access to Medicaid.
6) They are going to kill Medicaid because only lazy sluts use Medicaid
7) I don't need a job that pays a living wage because I had obviously made bad choices and am not rich.
8) It is my duty to work and pay the taxes because so that the rich can keep their money because they are entitled to do so. 
9) If I am truly and legally raped, then I won't get pregnant.  And if I do get pregnant then it is a "gift from God and God meant it to happen."
10) Those who got rich off government grants and contracts were just smarter than the rest of us and it was just getting them a return on their taxes. 

I could go on and on and on.  The bottom line is that neither the GOP nor the tea baggers get it.  Women have come too far to let these idiots push us back into the 11th century.  We are intelligent, capable, hard working  and we carry our weight and we don't need some idiot thinking he can tell us what to do just because he carries around a pair of testicles. Ted Cruz is a perfect example of this and I am so sorry Texas has gotten so stupid as to elect the likes of him.  He sure as hell did not get my vote.

Politics and Religion

I have just read an article from Afghanistan.  A 15 years old girl was beheaded because her father refused to commit her to a marriage with a relative.  This relative and another man caught the girl coming back from carrying water and beheaded her.  And yes, I do find this unspeakable.  But what I find more outrageous is inserting Obama's religion, the fact that we are in this country, and liberals into their comments on this story.  One, Obama is not of the Muslim faith.  2) This was an unspeakable crime 3) What the hell does liberalism have to do with it?  What is really scary though is the number of people in this country who would like to have that kind of control over women.  That is what all the uproar over abortion and contraceptives is really all about.  It is about controlling women.  They have the attitude that all women are whores and that they have to be controlled.  To control them, men hold the prospect of pregnancy over their heads.  They do not want women to have access to contraceptives because it eliminates that control.  And if a woman is raped, she deserved it.  Oh, yeah, I grew up among those kinds of people.  In Texas, our good legislature has passed a law that a woman has to have a vaginal sonogram before she can have an abortion.  The device used to do this vaginal sonogram is horrible.  And by God those men in the legislature passed that law and patted themselves on the back for doing so.  If I were younger, I would get pregnant every month and demand an abortion just to shove it in their faces.  And in my opinion, every time a woman has to have that invasive process done a politician should have to have that invasive device shoved up his ass.  Seems only fair to me.  Remember the "legitimate rape" candidate in Missouri?  How about Mourdock? Remember a pregnancy from rape was something God intended to happen. Wonder how either of these men would handle it if their wives were raped, became pregnant and had the baby?  Think they would step up to the plate and be a father to that baby?  Hell no!  At this point, I am disgusted with religion.

Tax Pledge

I never dreamed that in my lifetime I would see our congressmen sigining a junior high pledge.  This is so juvenile.  We must be the laughing stock of the world.  And they have by allowing this, placed the well being of our country in the hands of a nut.  A civilian nut.  Grover Norquist is a nut job.  He also has no love for the country and would sell it out in a heart beat.  He is a classic example why lobbying should be illegal.  However, we won't see that because those in Congress love the money the lobbyist pay them too much.  Again, greed triumphs patriotism.  My father, a WW11 vet, must be spinning in his grave.  To think he fought and almost died for this.  We throw the poor and elderly under the bus.  Those who are trying to make it working two and three part time jobs because they can't find full time do not count.  They have no money to buy influence so they don't count.  And they are working two and three part time jobs usually at minimum wage because the greedy businesses can make more money by not hiring full time.  I have also heard one person with a rather large company say that they do not hire vets because they all suffer from PTSD.  Some country.  Yet who do these crooks and greedy idiots scream for when we are under attack.  Yep.  Our military.  For the first time in my life, I am ashamed of my country. No, make that the second time.  The first being the end of the Vietnam war and seeing our troops treated like human feces. 

Robber barons are definitely back

I just read an article in the Huffington Post titled "CEO Demands Cuts to Poor and Elderly While Reaping Billions in Government Contract and Tax Breaks."  It was an informative article and said what we all knew was happening to our country.  These CEO's are part of the CEO Fiscal Leadership Council.  That is sugar coating for "We're gonna rob you blind and we want you to appreciate us for being able to do so."  These CEO's are saying that the only way to fix our economy is to phase out Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.  At the same time they want to pass a "territorial tax system" that would exempt their companies from paying taxes on their foreign profits, netting these companies around $130 billion in tax savings.  And one company is quietly laying off workers--Boeing.  Boeing is one of the biggest welfare companies receiving government contracts. Others are Goldman Sachs, Honeywell, JP Morgan Chase are getting government funds directly and at least two are reaping even more taxpayer dollars through their connection to AIG.  Goldman Sachs' CEO alone took home $1.6 million in 2011.  All these companies got huge government contracts and huge tax breaks.  GE paid no taxes in 2011.  This is the welfare class in this country and they want to take away everything from the rest of us to fund their greed.  We are just supposed to work and pay taxes so that they can take those taxes.  I think that every government contract should have to be voted on by the taxpayer.  We should have the say on who gets what since Congress does not have the backbone nor the decency nor integrity to stand up and do what is right for our country.  It is our money that these corporate welfare thugs are taking with the blessings of our elected officials.  We should fire congress and hire our representatives from overseas with a business visa that we revoke when 1) we are not satisfied with their work and 2) at the end of 2 years.  I don't think we could be any worse off.  Of course we will; have to be hyper-vigilint to keep them from staying on our dollar.

Grover Norquist

It never ceases to amaze me that the Republican party let this idiot get such an iron control over the party and in controlling the party, controlling portions of the country.  He is nothing but a private citizen and should have nothing to do with policy making.  He is also a lobbist, has connections to Jack Abramoff, has questionable Islamic connections.  He founded the Islamic Free Market Institue along with Khaled Saffuri with money from Middle Eastern organizations that have ties to terrorist groups.  He is married to a Palestinian Muslum also with ties to terrorist groups.  Add to that, his co-founder of the Islamic Free Market Institute along with Norquist, has ties to Abdulrahman Alamoundi who was head of the American Muslim Council and was convicted and is serving 23 years in federal prison for actively funding terrorism.  I read an article by Pamela Geller on The Thinker, a political think tank, called Grover Norquist's Jihad published March 4, 2010.  Grover Norquist seems to be trying to bring down the country from the inside and is doing it with terrorist funds.  The Islamic Free Market Institute operates out of his Americans for Tax Reform headquarters.  Both are non profits, so they are not required to publish doner lists.  Hiding criminal activity was never what non profits were intended for and Congress should take action to control these non profits.  To my way of thinking, all non profits should be required to prove they are indeed non profit and to disclose their doners.   The get great tax breaks at the taxpayers expense therefore they should be answerable to the taxpayer.  And Grover Norquist should be thoroughly investigated for his ties to terrorism. 

Entertaining American Politics

Every Republican is throwing Mitt under the buss.  They can't run from him fast enough and some of those criticizing him the loudest were the ones sucking up trying to get a cabinet post.  Politicians truly have no shame.  I just want them to do their job and pass the laws that put our country back on top and do it in such a way that it is fair to all.  Perry is all for drug testing welfare recipients.  Here is some of the things I would like to see.

Medicaid:  set the bar at two kids.  No more benefits for more than 2.  Make every recipient pay something into the system and set a copay.  Even if it is just $2, at least they are paying something. There is no excuse for 4 and 5 generations on welfare.

Public housing:  Again make them pay something.  This should not just be handed to them.  Also make them responsible for the upkeep of the landscaping of the housing unit.  At some point, this has to be done.  The taxpayer cannot keep supporting this segment of society.  I have no problem helping people when the are trying to make it.  If a person is working and just not making it, then I see helping them out.  If a person is not working and making no effort to support themselves, then no, I cannot see offering anything.  This may sound cruel, but we need to extend a hand up for those who are truly trying to help themselves.  Those who refuse to help themselves, no helping hand.  We could do so much more for the working poor if only these programs were carefully managed.  And we need to do this.  It isn't fair to the taxpayer and it sure isn't fair to the person working two or three minimum wage jobs to just put a roof over his or her family's heads and food on the table.  Those are the people I want to help.  Those who expect to be taken care of and make no effort, I would give nothing to.  

Time to give thanks

I am ignoring the shallow politicians this week.  This is a week to reflect on who we as a nation are and to give thanks for who we are.  Happy Thanksgiving. 

Middle East

I have some pretty strong opinions on the mess in Israel and Gaza, but I am going to keep them to myself.  No sense in stirring the pot.  I am still marveling at the GOP meltdown.  They are making all kinds of excuses why they lost when the simple truth is that the majority in the country did not trust them and did not care for their "do as I say, not as I do" mantra.  Abortion is wrong and should be illegal at all times.  Says Santorum even though his wife had an abortion.  Lets abolish Social Security says Ryan even though the went to college on his father's social security benefits.  I got mine, screw you.  Oh and my all time favorites:  You can't get pregnant from legitimate rape.  So, I guess one rape is legitimate and one would be illegitimate? Who decides?  A man, of course.  And Mourdock, not even to save the mother's life.  Well, Ireland is dealing with just that scenario right now and it was an Indian national that died because of the 5th century ideas.  Here is an idea:  Keep your bible out of my government and I will stay out of your church.  I find it disgusting that the religious right wants to tell me how to live, but get really rabid when there is a hint of the government getting into their lives. 

Politics and bimbos

I am really a little tired of hearing about the General's affair.  I don't care. That is between him and his wife and from what I have read of Mrs. General, she can well take care of things.  I would like to know how and why Broadwell had classified information on her computer.  I would also like to know if our troops were compromised in any way by her.  I was listening to the news tonight and the consensus seemed to be that there was little sympathy for the ex-General within the military.  There wouldn't be.  He broke the very rules he had been supposed to enforce.  Kelley seems to be nothing more than a camp follower. I sincerely hope that is all Broadwell is too.  I would not want to be in the FBI director's shoes now would I want to be in the shoes of the attorney general.  I would imagine President Obama will be raking them over the coals and well he should.  How the head of the FBI thought he could take it on himself to conduct such an investigation and keep his boss out of the loop, is beyond me.  Did he really think the President would not have his rear in a sling?

The public affair of the General

First let me say that I don't care whom General Petraeus or any General for that matter has an affair with.  What I do care about is the National Security of our country.  It does seem that the General was out of his depth as director of the CIA.  From what I am getting from reading all this, as long as he was military and had advisers to tell him what to do, he was ok.  As CIA director, he was pretty much on his own and could not handle that.  It also looks like he dropped the ball at Bengazi.  He seems to have ignored requests for more security.  And he did not even have the decency to attend the funerals of the two CIA contractors that were killed trying to defend the consulate.  My picture of the man is that he just was not competent as head of the CIA.  As to his affair and his schmoozing with the likes of the name dropper, Kelley, I don't care.  It was stupid, but I don't care.  What I do care about is how and where Broadwell got the classified information she was in possession of.  He also seems to have fed the President bogus information on the attack.  Guess he was trying to cover his rear.  And Ms. Kelley would do well in a stupid reality show. 

Election

Well, our Presidential election is over and for the Republicans, the unthinkable has happened.  President Obama has been reelected.  Mr. Romney just cannot seem to grasp why he lost.  Oh, I think I can come up with several reasons.  The real reason that he lost is that that 47% just did not trust him.  We saw nothing that said he saw the country as all inclusive.  All we saw was that he felt entitled to be President and would be a president of and for the moneyed elite.  There was no indication that he cared for nor understood the working stiffs of this country.  To him, we were all on public dole.  The line in the debate about wanting to give the Navy more ships when they did not want them told volumes about where his priorities lay.  That would have been a government giveaway to the defense industry.  He just does not see that this whole industry is feeding at the government trough.  He does not see that his tax breaks are welfare.  And they are breaks that the rest of us are not privilege to.  Also, it seemed as if he felt he could buy the White House.  And now it seems those Republicans that were joined at the hip with him (ie Jindel) can't run fast enough to get far enough away from him.  At least Christi had enough decency to offer a defense of him. 

Election

I cannot get over how the Republicans have taken to just putting out and out lies out there.  Shows they are really desperate.  They even put out the lie that Chrysler was moving all Jeep production to China.  Chrysler called them out on that lie.  They have been called out on many lies.  And they just keep telling them.  We even have conservative Republicans in Texas endorsing  a Democrat for the Senate because they cannot stomach their candidate.  Not even Nixon could get elected in today's Republican party. 

Governor Christie

I was really impressed with Governor Christie of New Jersey.  He set aside politics and did his job for his people.  And he expressed gratitude to the President for the fast reaction on his part to help the areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy.  He showed class and grace.  He is a stand up guy.

Sandy and

As a Texan that has seen my share of hurricanes, I had to snicker when I saw that the east coast was terrified of a Catagory 1 hurricane. But I was absolutely amazed that there were no safeguards in place in any of those placed.  Common sense tells you that if you live on the water, at some point in time you will face severe flooding.  We may not be the best prepared in Texas, but we know that when a storm packing this much water is heading for us, we leave the coast and we have a plan in place.  We also know to keep supplies on hand.  Every May, I buy at least 10 gallons of water, at least a case of canned goods that need no cooking, plenty of batteries and have several flashlights on hand.  We also, in a storm, plug the bathtubs and fill them for water to use in flushing the toilets, simple washing.  That being said, I do feel for those impacted by the storm. I realize they are not prepared for this.  It will take them a long time to rebuild.  I would also remind them to show the same compassion when the Gulf Coast is hit. 

American politics

There was a time when I thought the Republican party was the right party to support.  Of course I was too young at the time to consider voting.  I was 10 and Kennedy was battling Nixon.  I did not like either one.  I had liked Eisenhower and I could not understand why Eisenhower had picked Nixon in the first place as his vice-president.  I argued politics with my dad at a very young age.  I could not wait to reach 21 and vote.  And now I am just disgusted with the Republican party.  The Republican party of today is full of bigots, fundamentalist no different from the Islamic fundamentalists we are fighting, and thieves.  Those in the Republican party today want to keep the government out of their bedrooms and businesses, but when it comes to the rest of us, they are all for telling us how to live our lives.  As to bigotry and racism, has anyone seen Sarah Palins's latest?  She refers to President Obama as "shuckin and jivin,"  Those are racist words.  They have always been racist and will always be racist.  She knows this, yet she used this phrase.  She may as well be wearing a sign saying, "I hate blacks and I am proud of it."  And we see more in the Republican party with the same racist attitude.  I find this disgusting.

Romney's family

I have yet to see anyone slamming Romney's father for running for President.  There is no way under our Constitution that he could have served even if he had been elected.  He was not born on American soil.  But, there again, double standard for the rich. 

Romney's double standard

So now we hear that Tagg Romney signed a contract with his surrogate giving him the right to 1) decide how many children he wanted and to abort the other fetuses 2)to abort the unborn child if the medical entity deemed it less than normal.  And Mitt paid for this contract.  As has always been the case, the rich feel that they have the right to live by a different set of rules.  There has always been abortion.  There will always be abortion.  What Roe v Wade was level the playing field.  The rich could not longer sit on their high horse and tell us to do as they said not as they did.  There have always been doctors that took care of that embarrassing problem of an unwanted pregnancy for the rich.  Or they went overseas.  They got their abortions because it would have a) been embarrassing for the family had they had the baby, b)a daughter had messed with the wrong man, c) she had gotten pregnant by someone not from her class in society.  Poor and middle class women did not have that same freedom until Roe v Wade.  The real reason that people want it repealed is because they want to punish women for "getting themselves pregnant." So Mitt and Ann Romney stand up in public and passionately back abortion ban, but hey it is ok when it is their son.  Two faced, arrogant, insensitive.  All these apply to the Romney's.

Note on Kountz cheerleaders

One more thing on the Kountz case.  That part of Texas is one of the most bigoted areas you will ever find.  I would be willing to put money on a bet that if this were Muslim students doing this and using verses from their holy book, they would be run out of town on a rail or find a cross burning in their front yards.  There is no tolerance in this part of Texas.

Contraception

And let me just add this:  At no time has any woman expected anyone to give her free contraception.  The only thing we have asked for is that it be included in our health insurance just like every other prescription drug.  That we pay our co-pay on this drug just like any other drug.  But nope we get every one up in arms and accusing us of demanding free contraceptives.  How dare we.  We can't get access to contraceptives.  We can't have an abortion.  We can't get help with the baby we did not want to have because it is our responsibility.  In other words, women are good for nothing but breeding.  We are chattel.  We are sub-human.  Well these sub-humans will now decide the election.  We are very important when the men of this country need our votes.  We don't need "protecting" from ourselves when our vote is necessary.  Then we are smart, competent, and can do anything.  That holds  until the election is over.  However, we are supposed to be willing to give our vote to a candidate who wants to keep us in the 11th century.  Go figure.

Kountz cheerleaders

A little history here.  The cheerleaders in Kountz, Texas have been making banners with bible verses on them for use at football games.  It went to court.  Today a Texas judge upheld their right to do this.  I am not seeing the difference in these religious nut jobs in this country and the religious nut jobs in the Middle East.  Our homegrown religious nut jobs want the church to control all aspects of our lives.  They want to control the government.  They really want to force us to do as they want.  In the Middle East, the church does control the government and the lives of the people.  So where is the difference?  Except that we have managed to hold them somewhat at bay in this country.  I wonder how long we can hold them at bay.  Mrs. Romney today stated that she is anti abortion.  She can't just state her belief and leave it at that.  She wants to force her beliefs on the rest of us.  This is just one example.  There are so many nuts in our government it is really scary.  As to abortion, I don't care whether you are for or against it.  It is none of anyone's damn business except the woman involved.  No one should have the right to tell you what to do with your body.  And no man should even presume to feel that he can lecture a woman on her reproductive rights.  That is really obscene.

Tagg Romney

I have just seen the report of the statement that Tagg Romney made about wanting to "take a swing" at President Obama for being mean to his daddy.  Well, guess what, Tagg?  This is big boy politics.  And it is rough and tumble.  One also has to wonder if this is what his parents taught him: that it is ok to show no respect for the President of the United States.  I see no patriotism in any of the Romney clan.  I don't believe there is any.  When asked on The View why Mitt did not serve in Vietnam, Mrs. Romney's reply was that he was serving his mission with the church.  She also said her sons had not served in the military because they were all (5 of them) serving their missions.  This was not service to their country.  This was service to their church. There is a big difference.  But I really think the Romney's do not feel that they owe the country anything.  I also think that Mitt Romney thinks he is entitled to the office of President.  I don't think he wants to serve to better the country.  I think he wants to serve to better the wallets of his cronies.  He was caught in another recording.  This time talking to businessmen and telling them to instruct their employees whom to vote for.  And that vote was to be for him.  The last time I checked, your vote is private and is your vote to do with as you please.  For a presidential candidate to advocate people being bullied into voting for him is, well, vulgar.  It sure speaks to the character of the man who wants to be Commander-in-Chief.  He has no connection with our military.  He felt it was beneath him and his sons to serve in the military.  He has never created jobs.  He has not a clue how the less fortunate live.  He was able to make his money because (a.  he started with a stacked deck and already had money (b his church connections made it easy for him.  If you don't believe this last part, observe a new Mormon business just starting up.  It is guaranteed customers.  The church does not allow the members' businesses to fail.  So he started with a stacked deck, cheated, bullied and stole his way to the top.  He touts donating to charity.  Oh yeah.  That charity is the Mormon church.  I have a friend who is Mormon and she faithfully donates 14% to the church.  But she would be damned if she helped a poor person because "it's their own fault they are poor."  And apparently this is the attitude that Mitt Romney hold also if his 47% remarks are any indication.  And I saw the school bully in that debate. 

I'm still on the school kick.

It is not just the poor kids that are left out of an education.  I worked the window at the post office in our town for years.  We have a college here.  We always taught many freshman how to write a check and how to balance that checkbook.  I have actually had them come to my window and ask if I would help them balance their checkbook.  These were not kids on scholarships either.  These kids came to college in expensive cars with credit cards and checking accounts.  Mama and Daddy brought them to school, got them an apartment, set them up with all the amenities of housekeeping.  They didn't know how to cook.  They didn't know about responsible drinking.  They didn't know how to study.  They were just dropped there and expected to know all this without anyone teaching them.  I found this so sad.  One girl whose father had set her up in such a manner just wrote check until they bounced.  Then she took her next month's allowance and opened a new checking account.  Wrote checks on it till they were bouncing.  He finally came and got her.  She had 9 checking accounts with around 30 bad checks.  But no one taught her how to handle money. 

How we teach

In our public schools, we lump all students together so the only thing a teacher  can do is babysit.  Smart kids are ignored because they are expected to learn on their own.  The mediocre kids get all the teaching because they need that one-on-one.  So the smart kids get bored.  We had a tracking system in Texas when my oldest son was in elementary.  His early education was excellent because he was in classes with others of his intelligence level.  The classes were not small either.  They were 30-40 kids per classroom, but the teacher could teach on the same level to all students.  By the time my two younger children started school, the track system had been ruled unconstitutional.  My two younger were grouped with kids with all ranges of IQ levels.  So , my daughter doodled through elementary.  My youngest son sat in class and daydreamed.  They never made up for those lost study habits.  With all the input at home, we could not counter the boredom they faced everyday in school.  This was not fair to either the children with the higher intelligence nor to the ones with average and lower intelligence.  The teacher taught to the average intelligent children.  The more intelligent were bored and the slower children were frustrated because they could not keep up.  It was a lose-lose situation and still is.  And it has gotten worse.  We can fix our education system, but the first thing we have to do is remove politics.  We have to allow the teachers to teach.  Had my children been some of those slower children, I would have been as furious about them being stuck in a class with high intelligent children as I was that my children being stuck in a classroom with a mix.  Reason:  Children should be taught on the level they can learn best.  I would not have wanted my children frustrated and feeling less than a person because they were not as smart as their classmates.  Yes, this could work and did.  Not fair you say.  Well let me tell you a story.  In my oldest son's class, there was a Down's syndrome child.  He was encouraged all through school by all the other kids.  On the night of the banquet when awards and scholarships were awarded, the seniors were bored and talking, half-hearted clapping when someone's name was called.  That is until this child with Down's Syndrome had his name called and was given a scholarship for completing high school.  Those seniors almost brought down the ceiling with the shouts and cheers.  It took 10 minutes before the superintendent could say another word.  They took him out with them after the banquet.  That child felt wonderful and was full of self-esteem. 

More politics

I read an article in the Pakistani Daily Times yesterday and I can't get it out of my mind.  The reporter was writing about the 14 year old school girl that was shot for demanding the right to go to school.  The right to go to school.  That seems so basic and yet we have that right and our kids do not appreciate that right and neither do their parents.  There is no discipline in the schools anymore.  Everything has to  be politically correct.  The elementary kids in my grandkids' school  are not allowed to touch.  No more little girls holding hands and whispering secrets.  No more little boys rough and tumble play.  We are barring our kids from the most basic human contact.  A teacher can no longer hug a child.  And every parent demands their child be given A's whether they earn them or not.  We don't want the kids disappointed.  We don't teach them to face disappointment.  What we are teaching them is that everything will be handed to them.  Not good.  And we are required to educate Mexico's kids now on the taxpayer dollar.  Other kids coming here do not have the luxury of being taught in their own language.  I have a friend who is Indian.  She came here at 8 years old.  She spoke no English.  She had to learn on her own.  It is time we got back to the business of education.  It is not the responsibility of the teacher to always make sure a student is not disappointed.  Disappointment is a fact of life.  As to bullying, simple.  Those doing the bullying will not be allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities for a full year.  That does not work, expell them.  They learn this from their parents.  Let the parents deal with them.  Until the parents teach their kids that it is a privilege to be able to attend school, we will not have a decent school system. 

Scary Times

I have been kinda busy and haven't spent as much time on here as I would have liked.  Plus my computer is 12 years old and runs slower than molasses in December.  I was reading the news this morning and as usual saw some stupidity from the American Family Association.  This is a Fundamentalist group who promotes themselves as Christians.  They are no more Christians than are the radicals in the Middle East promoting themselves as voices of Islam.  Anyway, this so-called group of devout Christians raised a stink about the Mix-it-Up day being promoted by schools to break up the little cliques in high school.  Y'all know the ones.  The so-called cute girls gather together and snicker about the other students.  Or they single one out and make her life hell.  And the guys zero in on other students and beat them up every day.  And the most of these young mean jerks come from the, you guessed it, the financially over secure   families.  They have tried to turn it into an acceptance of gay and lesbian students.  Fundies do not trust God to do his job.  They are intent on doing His job for him.  What will they say when they reach the Pearly Gates?  Well, God, I did good.  I showed those queer people and I showed those fools who would not vote strict Conservative.  How about how I put those blacks in their place?  I would not want to be within a country mile of these bigots and just plain mean people when they face their maker.  It is not their job to tell you 1)to believe in a higher being 2) whom to hate 3) insert their form of religion into our government.  Next we'll be hearing he is not Christian enough to be our President.  Oh, wait, we have already heard that.  I trust God to do his job.  It is not my job to hate anyone.  It is not my job to police the human race.  It is God's job and I think we had better leave it along and let him do his own job.  After all, he has the power to deliver a really good smackdown. 

Texas A&M's jump into the SEC.

Texas A&M is now officially a member of the SEC, whatever that means.  I can tell you what it means to the taxpayers in Bryan and College Station, Texas.  It means an attempt to blackmail  those taxpayers by John Sharp.  See, Kyle Stadium is not up to SEC standards.  This was know by the powers that be at TAMU before they made the bid to join SEC.  They did anyway.  Then they put out the rumor that all the home games would be held in Reliant Stadium in Houston because, drum roll, Kyle Field does not meet the SEC standards.  Well, for those of you who do not know the area, College Station's and Bryan's economy is restaurants, hotels, and motels.  They rake in big bucks during home games.  To say nothing of the liquor stores.  Bryan's economy is not as dependent on this income as is College Station.  Well, now John Sharp, Chancellor and Perry appointee to TAMU, wants the cities to put up $38million toward the $400 or so million that it will take to renovate Kyle Field.  The taxpayers were not asked about this beforehand.  There was no vote on whether TAMU would join SEC because this is a university deal.  It does not in any way involve the taxpayers in the two cities.  And TAMU is a state funded university so our taxes are already paying for it.  This is a blatant attempt at blackmail.  This is his way of doing business.  John Sharp along with Perry and his cohorts are only concerned about lining their pockets.  They don't give a tinkers damn about the state nor the people in it.

It's Raining!

To most of you, this probably seems banal.  To those of us in Texas who lived through 2011, that rain is a beautiful sound.  We had a fairly wet spring and most of the summer, but we were so far behind in rainfall that we are still in a world of hurt.  We are still seeing trees die as a result of 2011.  The kicker to this is that Perry cut the Forestry Service's budget by 75% in the middle of the worst summer we have ever seen.  All but two counties were on fire in Texas last year when he made those cuts.  We saw so much destruction because of those fires.  There is nothing more frightening than fire.  It is a great equalizer.  It does not matter if you are rich or poor, if you are in the path, you will burn.  We did.  And Perry and his merry band of thieves just kept on stealing from the Texas taxpayer and are still going strong. 

Ann Romeny's wardrobe

I don't usually even notice what a politician's wife is wearing.  I'm lucky to notice anything except the color of the outfit.  However, Ann Romney's attire on the Jay Leno show was, to put it mildly, bordering on the absurd.  I could not figure out what she was dressing for.  She looked like a cross between a biker wannabe and a woman trying desperately to hold onto her youth.  This outfit belonged on a 20 something, not a middle aged woman whose husband was hoping to sit in the most expensive public housing this country offers, ie the White House.  Only one thought can come close to covering this: What was she thinking?

Dirty Politics

Been reading the news this morning.  Voter registration fraud in Florida is all over the news.  And, of course, even though the RNC hired the company committing this fraud, they are denying it and are "so shocked" that this has happened.  Yeah.  Right.  What they are shocked about is being caught.  And they may have created damage that cannot be fixed before the election thereby stopping voters from casting their votes.  Way to go Greedy Old Men!  Fine way to show you "care" about all citizens.  In reality, they only care about their candidate and their agenda.  The rest of us can go to hell.  And I am not letting the Dems off the hook here.  We all need to be registered Independents and thereby forcing both parties to appeal to us, the voter.  When the lights go out at night, unless you are the rich, it is not about whether you are Republican or Democrat.  It is about can you continue to pay the bills and support your family.  A lot of us are really struggling.  And all those jobs created.  I don't know about the rest of the country, but in Texas they are low wage, think average $8/hr, no benefits, and no job security.  Try paying a mortgage and putting food on the table with that.  Heck, even paying rent on an apartment.  For the first time in my life, I am ashamed of my country.  I was raised to help those less fortunate than myself.  I grew up poor, but we lived on a farm and could grow our food.  There were those poorer than we were and Momma and Daddy believed in sharing. That feeling is gone.  Now it is all greed.  Shameful.

I'm Speechless

I cannot believe that the entire Congress gave themselves a 7 week vacation until after the election.  Reason:  They don't know what the country really wants from them.  Really?  Hello, we want you to do your job.  You know that thing you get paid big bucks for?    That thing your begged us for?  We want you to do what is best for the country as a whole.  We want you to work in harmony to keep our country running smoothly.  What we don't want from you is what you have given us so far.  We don't want special interests running our country.  We don't want religious fanatics imposing their beliefs on us.  We don't want our Congress to be the laughing stock of the world and they are.  How can you even have the nerve to make a statement like "We don't know what the country wants from us."  I don't know about the rest of y'all, but if I go to work on Monday and tell my boss that I don't know what she wants of me and I am taking a 7 week vacation until she makes up her mind, I will be told to not come back.  I really think we need the ability to fire our Congressmen and women if they don't do their job.  Or better yet, tie their pay and benefits to performance.  This Congress is the poster child for the "bloated welfare" system in our country.  Maybe this is the 47%, along with the rich, that Romney was talking about.  I go to work every day to make ends meet.  I don't have the luxury of giving myself a vacation.  Neither should they.  This Congress has gone past ridiculous and well into the pathetic. 

Disgraceful

I do not like Mitt Romney and have made no secret of it.  However, I did expect him to at least show patriotism in the face of an act of war against our country.  He did not.  Instead he took the opportunity to criticize our elected President over his handling of the Middle East crises.  He did not even offer condolences to the families of the dead.  He did not mention them at all just as he did not mention the troop in his acceptance speech.  I don't think Mitt and his wife even see themselves as Americans.  I think they see themselves as above American citizens.  I think they see themselves as Mormons and members of the elite.  Nothing more.  And in my opinion, Mitt Romney wants desperately to be president so that he can once and for all set the laws of our country up to benefit only those elite.  The rest of us are not even considered in his mind.  He does not see us at all.  And the troops are only cannon fodder for his use.  He scares the beJesus out of me. 

To the Greedy Old Pissants

1.)  Whether a woman has an abortion or not is none of your business.  You have no right to legislate her bodily functions.
2)  If women's reproductive rights are regulated, then men should have to have it put to a vote before they can ejaculate.  What's good for the goose is good for the gander. 
3)The party of Greedy Old Pissants want to force the children to be born and then abandon them.  It is the woman's responsibility to raise that child and she should have thought of the fact that she could not afford it before she "got herself pregnant."  Really?  I have never heard of a woman who is able to get herself pregnant and reproduce on her own. Would be wonderful if we could then we would have all the power.  Somewhere in there is a worthless man itching to call the shots.  Well if she "got herself pregnant", then every man in this country should be held accountable.  I propose that for every woman who is forced to have a child she doesn't want and cannot afford, every man in this country should have to pay.  We can call it an "anti-abortion tax" and levy it on every male who backs the anti abortion stance.  Seems fair to me. Bet we see an about face immediately. 
4) Lowering the taxes on the rich.  This is so stupid.  It is so stupid that it would be funny if it was not so dangerous.  The rich spend more money avoiding taxes than they do paying them.  I propose we have an across the board simple tax.  Let's say you pay 20% on every dollar you earn, be it dividends, interest, earned income, or whatever.  Because when you really get down to it, when you make money it is earned income and should be taxed as such.  So we do our taxes on a post card. 

Income----------------------------------------
20% tax---------------------------------------
You keep--------------------------------------

Very simple.  Fewer lawyers, fairer tax laws.  I already pay this and make a hellava lot less than those idiots screaming lower taxes for the rich. 
5) Illegal aliens.  Nuff said.  If you are not a citizen, then deportation.  Get in line and do it legally.  As to those who were brought here by their parents, take it up with your parents.  We, citizens, do not owe you anything.  Your country does.  My country does not. 
6) Business visas allowing companies to set up shop here and bring their own people with them.  Make those illegal.  They come, they work for lower wages and they do not leave. 

I could go on and on.  And I do to my elected officials.  You should too.  Email them at least once a week.  The only way we get anything done is to scream loudly. 

I'm voting for Obama

I read an article in Rolling Stones today that described the way in which Romney had made his money.  He basically stole it.  He made it by destroying companies.  I don't want a man like this in charge of my country.  He is insensitive, cruel, heartless.  He can no more identify with the poor and working class than I can identify with the filthy rich nor do I want to identify with them.  I am happy being middle class.  You meet a better quality of people in the middle and poorer classes than you do among the rich.  And I keep hearing that President Obama has done nothing in these last three years.  I think, being up against a Congress who's stated sole priority is to block everything he tries to do, that he had done remarkably well.  The bail out of the auto industry worked out so much better for the taxpayer than did Bush's bail out of the banks.  We lost money on that.  We did not lose on the bail out of the auto industry.  And had he had a congress that put the welfare of the country before party politics, he would have done so much more.  Just getting bin Laden was a great feat. And I am sick and tired of those who are saying "Obama did not get bin Laden.  The seals did."  Who gave the order to do so?  Who would have shouldered the blame if our seals had been killed?  It was a gutsy call and could have gone so wrong.  He could have been in the same boat as Jimmy Carter when he tried to rescue the hostages in Iran.  But he wasn't and it worked.  It took guts to make that call.  He is getting us out of Afghanistan.  We should have gotten out a long time ago.  There is nothing we can do there.  The biggest problem people have with President Obama is that he is black.  It really rubs them that a black family is sitting in the White House.  The party of the Greedy Old Pissants just can't stand that.  Suck it up. 

Understanding Fundamentalist Christians

Christians of Paul Ryan caliber do not really believe in the Deity.  They read the Bible and cherry pick what they want.  They do not trust God to do His work.  They are going to do it for him.  God does not like gays.  How do they know this?  Well, because they decided it for God.  God is against abortion and it is their duty to see to it that no woman ever has an abortion even if it is to save her life or she has been the victim of rape or incest.  And since God won't stop these women, they will.  How do you explain such arrogance?  What are they going to answer when asked why they felt it was their duty to do God's work for him?  I trust my God.  He can do his own work.  I don't have the job skills to do it for him nor would I ever be arrogant enough to think that I could do his work.  And let's not leave out the radical faction of Islam.  They are the same as the radical Christians, just calling themselves a different name.  And all hate women.  Scary isn't it?  That we could slide so far back after coming so far.  And these arrogant SOB's think they have a ticket into Heaven.  From what I remember from my Bible classes, Jesus only promised two people they would ascend to Heaven-the two criminals who died on the cross with Him.  I cannot stand organized religion.

Unbelievable Republicans

Mitt and Ann Romney want to inhabit the White House so bad, they are willing to say anything to get elected.  Doesn't matter if it is an out and out lie.  And nowhere in the Republican shiindig did I ever hear a mention of the troops serving in Afghanistan.  Not one mention.  And this man wants to be Commander-in-Chief.  He could not even be bothered to mention in passing what a great job they were doing and thank them.  Wonder why.  Maybe it could just be that he sees them as cannon fodder for the military industrial complex.  And he has made the comment that maybe war with Iran is what we need.  Really?  Coming from someone who did not see it as in his best interests to sever in the military.  Apparently neither did any of his sons.  In fact, none of Romney's family have ever served in the military.  So how can he understand these brave men and women who do this job voluntarily?  He can't.  Nor does he want to.  And his running mate!  Even Fox news was pointing out the lies Paul Ryan told.  He even blamed Obama for the closing of the auto parts plant in his home town! Obama was not even in office when it closed.  And these people call themselves good Christians.  If they are Christians, then I am the right hand of God and I know damn well I am not.  I found the whole thing disgusting.

Lies people believe

It never ceases to amaze me what people will believe.  Take Akin from Missouri.  His take on rape is from the 13th century.  Literally.  That exact same description appeared in and English law book in the 13th century.  And yet in this country where we are supposed to be well educated, this attitude is the norm.  It is really scary for women.  People like Akin, Romney, and Paul want to force a woman to have a baby that a)she can't afford b) is a product of rape or incest c)her life is in danger and she will die.  They don't care.  The see women as chattel and on par with their cattle.  Yep, that cow will have that calf, by damn.  I said so.  This makes me ashamed of our country.  Ashamed that women are thought so little of.  We lamblast the Taliban for the way they treat their women.  We are no better.  Add to this, Rick Santorum's wife had an abortion.  He called it a medically necessary proceedure.  She had an abortion.  It was to save her life.  However, Santorum is against any abortion for other women in any case even to save the woman's life.  I am still trying to wrap my mind around this.  I just cannot do it.  How can people be so stupid?  Ignorance can be corrected.  Stupidity cannot. 

My Country is for Sale

I just logged onto the Democratic website and discovered that if I, as an individual, contribute $200 to a political campaign, then I must list whom I work for.  In other words, this is intimidation.  If I want to donate over $200 to someone my employer does not support, then my employer will know to whom I donated money.  However, if I am a corporation or I form a PAC, then I don't have to disclose how much I give or  who is donating to my PAC.  So apparently foreign governments can contribute to American elections.  But average everyday citizens are being intimidated into not giving.  My country is not for sale.  It has been sold.  You have the money, you can buy whatever office you want.  Also, the intelligent in this country are outnumbered by the idiots.  There is no more allowing you to have your beliefs.  It is by God my right to tell you how to think and I will do so.  And our representatives and Senators are falling in lock step.  The corporations are enforcing this with money while seeming to stay out of the limelight, but they are the ones in charge.  The taxpayer is the pawn of big business.  And big business is using them to the max.  Rick Santorum avidly against abortion in any circumstances.  Yet, his wife had an abortion.  He called it a medical procedure.  She was pregnant.  The doctors induced labor.  Abortion.  But no other woman's life is worth saving.  Just his wife.  Texas has the most uninsured people in the country.  Planned Parenthood provided health care for poor women and children and sometimes men.  Well, we couldn't have that.  Planned Parenthood provides abortion services.  So RickyBob set out to shut them down.  The Repubs in Texas also want to do away with medicaid.  The poor is just expected to die.  Screw them.  However, illegals can go to our state schools on the taxpayer dime and we have no say in it.  RickyBob did this to cater to the Hispanic vote.  Average salary in Texas--less than $10/hr.  Yep.  company money at it's best, but even for Texas, this is a new low.

More politics

I haven't been on here in awhile.  To be frank, I am really disgusted with how our country is going.  The hard right has grasp control and have wrapped themselves around our country like a huge monster with long tentacles.  Their goal is to tell you what to think, when to think it, and if it does not agree with their way of thinking or doing, to punish you for it.  It is a scary time.  Texas just voted Ted Cruz, a darling of this set, as the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.  I so hope Texans wake up and vote for the Democratic contender.  But I am really afraid they won't.  This is shades of the 1950's and McCarthy's red hunt, only this time it seems like it is the new Inquisition instead.  And what surprised me was that they voted for Ted Cruz.  Texas is really loyal to their own and Cruz was born in Canada to a Cuban father and a Texas woman.  So Cruz cannot ascend to the Presidency.  They will be going after our Constitution next. 

Romney's crappy mouthpiece

As White House Chief of Staff, Sununu reportedly took personal trips, for skiing and other purposes, and classified them as official, for purposes such as conservation or promoting the Thousand Points of Light.^[14] The Washington Post wrote that Sununu's jets "took him to fat-cat Republican fund-raisers, ski lodges, golf resorts and even his dentist in Boston."^[14] Sununu had paid the government only $892 for his more than $615,000 worth of military jet travel.^[15] Sununu said that his use of the jets was necessary because he had to be near a telephone at all times for reasons of national security.^[16] Sununu became the subject of much late-night television humor over the incident.^[14] Sununu worsened the situation shortly afterwards when, after leaking rumors of financial difficulties in his family, he traveled to a rare stamp auction at Christie's auction house in New York City from Washington in a government limousine, spending $5,000 on rare stamps.^[17] Sununu then sent the car and driver back to Washington unoccupied while he returned on a corporate jet.^[17] In the course of one week, 45 newspapers ran editorials on Sununu, nearly all of them critical of his actions.^[18]
Sununu repaid over $47,000 to the government for the flights on the orders of White House counsel C. Boyden Gray, with the help of the Republican Party.^[19] However, the reimbursements were at commercial rates, which are about one-tenth the cost of the actual flights; one ski trip to Vail, Colorado alone had cost taxpayers $86,330.<sup>[20]

What I have just posed if from Wikipedia.  I remember when this went down.  And this is what Romney has defending his business record?  This is what Romney buddies up to?  FYI he was Bush 1's Chief of Staff.  Guess we know where he stands.  The taxpayer owes him.  Nuff said.</sup> 

Money in excess

I have no problem with people making money.  I have no problem with people keeping their after-tax money.  I do have a problem with the rich having a different play book from the rest of us.  Romney made, or reported, $1.4million in 2010.  He paid a paltry 15% on this money.  I made considerably less than that, and even less than $100,000 by a large chunk of change and I had to ante up 13%.  So I would like for Romney and his other rich friends to show me where the fairness is in this.  And why would we trust him when he hides his money in offshore accounts?  Sorry, the only reason to have accounts in the Cayman islands is to hide that money and profits.  See, different play book.  I have to declare every penny I make.  The IRS even wants to know what I made selling on eBay.  It wants to know what I made selling my crafts.  And I will be taxed on this piddling income.  I am waiting on a bathroom tax.  Maybe paying taxes on the number of times you go to the bathroom.  That is not too far fetched.  The Spanish taxed those in Louisiana on the number of staircases in the home.  That is why all the old Cajun homes in Louisiana have the staircase on the outside of the house.  I am paying roughly $44 every month in taxes and fees on my telephone bill.  I now have to pay a city tax because our elected officials piddled our money away and needed and this tax was not voted on by the citizens.  The mayor and city council passed this tax.  Real democracy at work in Texas. 

Where did Mitt get his seed money

Does anyone besides me wonder where Mitt Romney got his seed money to start Bain Capital with such a big bang?  My bet is the church.  It took a large chunk of private capital to start up that company and make that much money in the time he did it.  And he is listed as the sole stockholder. Does that mean that all these people just gave him the money?  Not likely.  And reading about the church's ways of taking care of their own, my guess would be that the church put up the money for a tidy return.  Another thing, why are churches allowed to act like corporations all the while screaming freedom of religion.  Me, I think that all churches should have to keep records and prove that they are not engaging in for profit capitalism and that they are not engaging in politics.  I'm all for freedom of religion.  But I am not for corporations disguising themselves as churches to avoid paying taxes.  Freedom of religion, to me, means being allowed to worship or not wherever and whenever you chose.  It does not mean that a so-called church can acquire obscene wealth just for being a church.  Time to audit and tax. 

National Politics

I'm pretty fed up with national politics too.  Romney keeps talking and says nothing.  I have yet to hear how he is going to fix the economy, how he is going to fix the healthcare mess, or how he is going to do anything.  Seems to me that his platform is "Trust me.  I know what is best for you and I will fix things for you, but I will not tell you what I am going to do and I will do it all in secrecy." Scary as hell.  And the Repugs are going to repeal the healthcare law and "write a better one."  Yeah and pigs can fly too.  And we will see peace in the Middle East in our lifetimes.  Let's see, Hillary Clinton started trying to fix this mess in what? 1992.  The Repugs have had, since then, 22 years and have made no effort to fix anything.  Nor will they.  I find every member of Congress disgusting.  The only difference in Congress and the inmates in Texas Department of Corrections is that the inmates just got caught. 

The more I learn

I am learning more and more about the sleezy side of politics and there is no better teacher than Texas.  Perry, because he is so concerned about the citizens of Texas, is declining to implement the new Healthcare.  Why?  Well, it is just wrong for the citizens of Texas and we need better.  Never mind the fact that the Repugs have had years to fix this mess.  Never mind that Texas ranks dead last  on insured people.  Never mind that Texas has more children uninsured than probably all the other states combined.  Nope.  God forbid we do the right thing by our citizens.  Why?  Because there are no kickbacks to Perry in this.  Perry also pushed through a bill in Texas allowing illegals brought to this country as minors to attend our state colleges on the taxpayer dime.  We can't afford to send our own children to college let alone educate them k-12, now we have to educate half of Mexico too.  It would be so refreshing to see a politician in it for the people.  It would be so nice to see a politician do the right thing just once.  But that damn well will not happen in Texas.

Why I hate Mitt Romeny's religion

I hate Mormonism  for many reasons.  But the main reason is that they see themselves as only accountable to the church.  Also, if you are not a Mormon, they only have use for you if they can use you.  America is centering on the wrong religion as a troublemaker.  America is centering on Islam when they face a real threat from Mormonism.  They fly under the radar and build enclaves in the community.  They are slowly taking over.  Don't believe me.  Take a look around at how many are in your community already.  I was astonished when I discovered the sheer number of Mormons in my community and in positions of influence.  And they are not looking out for the community nor the country except as it will benefit them.  Better look around. If I sound radical and you want to laugh, I suggest you take your look around first.  Then if you still feel like laughing, go ahead. 

More politics

Mitt Romney "allowed" his aids to purchase their hard drives when he left office as governor of Massachusetts.  He also destroyed all his internal correspondence.  This was so no one could see the inner workings of his governorship.  First, those hard drives belonged to the people of Massachusetts, not Mitt Romney.  If they were going to be sold, then they should have been sold at auction just like all other surplus government items.  Second, those internal papers also belonged to the citizens of Massachusetts.  Mitt Romney was in that office to serve the people of Massachusetts, not to serve himself.  He can't seem to get that concept.  He can't seem to get the concept that a politician elected to office is accountable to the citizens that elected him.  He has made no concrete stands on what he would do as president.  He keeps everything behind doors and refuses to release his tax records.  He intends to run the country as he did Bain Capital.  He is planning to run the country as if it is his own private equity fund.  He does not feel that he is accountable to the people he is asking to give him the check book.  Add that to his religion and you have a very dangerous person running for president. 

Churches

I am going to veer off course just a little bit.  I saw a video of a little girl singing a nasty song about gays in a church in one of the Carolinas.  I found this disgusting.  And I am really sick of hearing so called christians screaming about their right to practice religion.  I don't give a tinkers damn how much religion they practice.  I don't care what they do in those so called churches.  I do however resent the hell out of them trying to shove their beliefs down my throat.  I have a right to freedom FROM religion and I want that right.  If they want to be left alone, then stay out of politics.  Churches have no place in politics and they have no right trying to tell the rest of us how and what to believe.  If they meddle in politics, then lets take away their non profit status and make them pay taxes.  I am of the opinion they should be required to pay taxes just like the rest of us.  And if they are caught teaching hate, lose their status as a church. And as to churches being required to furnish insurance for contraceptives for their employees, simple, don't take federal money.  They get federal money for their schools.  If they don't take that federal money, then they don't have to adhere to federal laws governing said money.  But as usual, they want the money and to be able to do as they please.  Well, that is my tax money and I don't want it going to a church in any way, shape, or form.  I am really sick of religion.  Does that make me Godless?  Nope.  I have a great relationship with God.  He is my best friend.  But I don't need some damned church telling me how I should handle that relationship.  I'm doin just fine, thank you.

Out of the loop

I went to DC last week to visit and attend a wedding so I haven't been keeping up with the political scene.  However, I am catching up.  Someone had better muzzle Bill Clinton or he will lose the election for Obama all by himself.  If he is going to campaign for Obama, then he needs to keep his opinions to himself.  I really do think that Romney will be very bad for the country.  Coupled with the fact that he has no history with the military anywhere in his family.  Neither his 5 sons, himself, his father nor his grandfather served in any capacity.  I cannot comprehend what makes him feel that he is qualified to be commander in chief of our military.  Obama at least had a grandfather who was in the service in WW11.  He was with those that stormed Normandy.  Having grown up with a father who was UDT in the South Pacific, I do know that those vets from that era were a different breed.  And you were expected to 1)Love your country unconditionally 2)be ready to protect said country 3)show the utmost respect for the military.  So I would say that Obama at least had exposure to and knowledge of the military.  Romney was busy dodging the draft.  Come on, a mission in France? Really?

Romney and Trump

Mitt Romney has teamed up with Donald Trump.  Why?  The only thing I can come up with is that he is using Trump as his Sarah Palin.  He is using Trump to spit out lies and distortions about Obama, then sits back and says, "Well, I can't control what Trump says."  I think it will backfire on him.  It will definitely turn off a lot of those women voters that he was so interested in courting.  This woman would not vote for Mitt if they gilded his Mormon rear and gave him to be as my slave for life.  He had better be careful with Obama's religion.  If they keep on attacking him on the Reverend Wright, Obama may just come out swinging at Romney on this cult he belongs to and calls religion.  Trump is an airhead and clueless.  Romney is using  him and Trump is either too stupid or too arrogant to know what is happening.  I think it is a great deal of both. 

Pure politics

I think Texas has a case of the stupids.  This crazy state will not vote for anyone but a Republican.  They do not care about checks and balances.  The only thing they are interested in if having someone in office that believes the way they believe and will further their agenda.  Women cannot have control over their reproductive organs.  Men know best.  However, once that child is born, to hell with it.  Texas has the worst record in caring for poor children and women.  Texas has more children without insurance than any other state in the union.  And Texas hands out welfare with both hands to illegal aliens.  Texans talk out of both sides of their mouths.  On the one hand, they claim to value individual freedoms.  On the other hand, screw poor people. They should know better.  Disgusting.

Our fighting men and women

God bless our troops and their families.  The families give a lot also and sometimes they give everything. 

Mormons and the Constitution

I'm just reading an article about how the Mormon church does not impose their beliefs on anyone.  That they believe wholeheartedly in the Constitution.  That does not equate with them putting political clout into passing Prop. 8 in California.  That does not equate with them fighting politically to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment.  That does not equate with them politically and monetarily backing the right-to-life movement.  I cannot and will not vote for someone who sees me as less than human.  I cannot and will not vote for someone who does not think that, as a woman, I should have the same rights as men.  And I cannot and will not vote for someone who would deny rights to a person because of their sexual orientation.  They preach about the persecution of the church.  That church has a really dark history and some really off the wall beliefs and not only do I want nothing to do with this cult called a church, I want nothing to do with anyone coming out of this church.  Romney wants to steer the country, but was a coward during the Vietnam war.  Romney wants the power to send my children off to war, but was too much of a coward to go himself and too much of an eletist to send his sons.  Seems that his attitude mimics the rest of the affluent country.  Let the poor and middle class fight the wars.  We'll just sit back and tell them which ones to fight.  Just saying his name makes for a bitter taste in my mouth.

Light bulb moment.

I was reading about the co-founder of Facebook ditching his US citizenship to live in Singapore.  Why?  Less taxes.  Ok, he came here from Brazil.  We gave him citizenship.  He made his money in this country.  Then he ditches this country.  No loyalty for granting him citizenship.  See this is what really makes me mad about the super rich.  They act as though they live in a vacuum.  They make their money in this country.  Yet they feel no allegiance to their country.  Have you ever heard Romney make even one complimentary comment about the troops fighting in Afghanistan?  Have you ever heard him echo any sentiment about the loss of the lives of the troops and the sacrifices made by them and their families?  Have you ever even heard him say "Thank you"?  He doesn't feel that he owes them anything.  He feels that he was and is entitled to have made all his money.  He was owed this.  And he thinks he did it all on his own.  Hello? Where does he live?  Did he not make that money in the good ole USofA?  So my gripe with the ultra rich is that they give allegiance only to money. They use us to make their money, then kick us on the way out.   As to the co-founder of Facebook, where will he run when China decides to confiscate his billions?  Or he faces some trumped up charge?  Where will the expats be should a war break out in their new country?  Since they renounced their citizenship here, we won't help them.  You should feel something for the country that made it possible for you to have all that money.  And you should feel something for the men and women fighting for your right to make that money.  Instead, Romney and his ilk dodged the draft, made sure their sons and daughters did not join the military.  That service if for the lower classes.  Well, guess what, those lower classes have more integrity in their little fingers than people like Romney have in their whole body.  Disgusting.

Back to Romney

I still haven't heard him make one specific statement about what he stands for.  I guess we are supposed to vote for ambiguity.  I don't like ambiguity.  I want to know exactly where a politician stands on important issues.  And it really upsets me that a conscientious objector now wants to be commander-in-chief.  He refused to take his place in the military during the Vietnam war, but he feels qualified to send our sons and daughters off to war.  He feels qualified to command the military when he has 5 healthy sons who, like their father, have never served  in any branch of the military.  So what makes him qualified to tell me my son or daughter they would have to go to war if needed when his own family has never participated in the defense of our country? They have reaped all the benefits that this country has to offer, but have contributed nothing to it's upkeep.   I would rather Daffy Duck be my commander-in-chief. 

Moving closer

We are moving closer to equal rights for all citizens, but we still have a long way to go.  Obama today came out and endorsed same sex unions. Bout damn time.  They pay their taxes just like everyone else and they should have the same rights as everyone else.  Like it or not, they do exist and I do not for one minute believe that anyone would chose this lifestyle knowing the persecution they would face.  I truly do believe it is genetic.  And our Constitution does guarantee freedom for all citizens.  It also recognizes the fact that all men are created equal.  Time we lived by our Constitution and stopped trying to impose our beliefs on everyone else.  For instance, I do not like churches.  They are full of mean people.  The good Christians gossip, mean gossip, pass judgment on others, feel that they are the only ones with religious freedoms and you had damn well better agree with them.  Christians have destroyed countless lives.  Does that mean I am atheist?  No.  As I have stated before, I am very spiritual.  I believe in the hereafter.  I believe in God and Jesus.  I believe that all creatures have souls.  And I believe that what God meat about spreading the word was living the word and there are very few so called Christians living the word.  You lead by example, not running your mouth.  As one preacher I really respected put it, Too many calling themselves Christian are singing Standing on the Promises while they are only sitting on the premises.  I think this is true of the majority of all religious peoples.  Those trashing gays are trying to do God's job when they have been specifically instructed not to do so.  DO NOT JUDGE!

Politics as usual

I am trying to ignore the politics, but it is really difficult to do.  It is really scary about what element of our society has gotten hold of our government.  Those in the Republican party see the Constitution as applying only to them and not the country as a whole.  They are dead set on forcing their beliefs down our throats.  The only difference in them and the Islamic extremists is that they call themselves Christians.  Seems like I remember a passage from the Bible to the effect of "Judge not lest ye be judged."  A certain segment of our society has set themselves us as judge, jury, and executioner.  A word here.  You will face your make and how will your explain your actions?  My Christian teachings, when I still went to church, were that a good Christian has tolerance for all and that judgment is for God and God alone.  I was also taught to speak evil of no one.  Doesn't apply anymore.  Religion aside, we live in a free country and everyone is entitled to enjoy all those freedoms.  Ben Franklin said " I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."  A lot of those narrow minded and close minded people in our society would do well to practice this.  And if women would practice self preservation, we would all band together and tell all men "no sex until I get equal rights.  All equal rights."  But, as smart as women are, they can really be stupid sometimes. 

Ann Romney's wardrobe.

There was much ado about Ann Romney wearing a $1000 t-shirt.  I could care less what she pays for her clothes.  I could care less what Michelle Obama pays for her clothes.  I need to know that they understand where I am coming from.  I need to know that they understand what issues are important to me and why those issues are important to me.  They can wear gold for all I care.  I do care when they pay for that gold on the tax dollars I had to ante up because they pay so little taxes compared to my meager earnings.  I expect fairness in the tax code.  We have no fairness.  It is tax the crap out of the working class so the haves can have more money to spend.  And by the way, just how much money do you need anyway?  So, when the Romney's pay their fair share in taxes, I will enjoy the criticism of her wardrobe.  Check out what the Obama's paid in taxes as compared to the Romney's.  And the Obama's made less money than the Romney's.  So yeah Ann can enjoy those $1000 t-shirts all she wants.  But don't try to sell me on the idea that she pays her fair share and understands the issues that affect me. 

Presidential Campaign

Seems like all we will  see until after November is both candidates trashing each other.  I have yet to hear Romney put forth any type of plan.  He has even made the statement that he would do away with several agencies but would not publish which ones.  In other words, he would do this in secrecy.  That's the way he runs his business--behind the curtain.  We are not given a true accounting of his money and where he has it stashed or how he earned it.  We don't know who he is invested in and whether there would be conflict of interests.  We don't know to whom he would owe favors.  In other words, we know nothing about this candidate.  We don't have a clue where he stands on any of the issues.  He has held so many opposing views on the controversial issues that you can't even read between the lines.  He has been all over the map.  What I am getting is "vote for me because I am the best candidate.  I won't tell you what I stand for.  Just trust me."  He scares me.  I want a candidate who tells you where he/she stands.  We knew with Hillary.  We kinda know with Obama.  We have no idea with Romney.