A License to Kill??

Bryce is attending summer school this year and he goes four days a week.  The school is located 25 miles away and since the price of gas is too high for me to drive back and forth each day, I have been discovering things to do in this town.  Yesterday, I forgot to eat lunch before we left and after I dropped of Bryce I grabbed a coney dog from the local A/W.  I drove to the parking lot of Home Depot and sat and ate my coney before entering.  I switched the radio to the AM stations to check out what was going on on talk radio.  I first pulled up 700 out of Cincinnati and was listening to Bill Cunningham(my Dad looooves Bill C. and signed up for 700’s fan club or whatever it was called).  He, of course, was debating a highly sensitive topic that was generating lots of opinions.  The topic:  a 16 year old boy who was in a juvenile detention center waiting to hear if he was going to be tried as an adult for the death of two teenage girls that were passengers in his car.  That may seem to be a clear concept of what is going on, but wait, there is more.

It was the last day of school and this young man offered the girls a ride home from school.  As they were driving home, the route that he took was more for joy ride purposes and he began to race with another car.  The road in question is posted as a 35mph speed limit.  According to the sheriff, he was driving 70mph.  The young man lost control of his car and crashed, ejecting one of the girls from the car to her death.  The parents of the deceased have asked the prosecutor to NOT charge him as an adult because it will not help bring anyone back.  The story continues.

According to the LAWS of the land, this young man can be charged as an adult because he was in violation of more than one law that would allow him to be charged with involuntary manslaughter.  First, he was speeding.  Second, the passengers in his car consisted of more than one underage teenager(who knew?).  To note, this young man was tested for alcohol and drugs and came back CLEAN.  Incidentally, if he had tested positive for anything, it would not have changed or weighted the decision because evidentally it doesn’t factor in(again, who knew?).  If he is tried as an adult, he could be sent to the prison in Chillicothe or Orient and basically, time in those prisons for this age of boy will be detrimental.  I found out through callers, that this young man is from a good family, has no prior record, had his own lawncare business during the summer and was an excellent student.  The parents are considered upstanding citizens without any records of their own.  And to reitterate, the parents of the deceased do not want him tried as an adult.  They want him to stay at the juvenile detention center because he is a person who can be “rehabilitated” and he will live with this the rest of his life.

So, here are my own personal thoughts.  How many of you reading this did stupid, stupid things when you were teenagers.  I have many.  My short list of idiotic things I did with a car, either as a driver or a passenger include:  doing doughnuts in the parking lot of the swimming pool when there was inches of snow on the ground; going hill-jumping in prime daylight hours; hiding a friend in the trunk of the car to get into a X-rated drive-in movie because she was not of age and missing an exit on an interstate which led me into a “not so nice” section of Dayton.  The thing is pretty much everything I did was between the ages of 16 and 18.  Why?  Because we could and it seemed like a lot of fun and we never got caught.  I was a better than average student, I had a summer job at the local ice cream store, I had no priors and my parents were upstanding, church-going, paid their bills on time citizens.  I could have been in this young man’s position if things had gone awry one of those many times I did something stupid.  Of course, my family would not want me to go to a maximum security prison and I don’t think this young man should either.  The selling point for me is, if the parents of the deceased do not want the young man that caused the death to be tried as an adult, then the prosecutor should follow their wishes.  Joe Deters do not give me this wishy-washy crap that you have to follow the law, for gods-sake, we have priests and Presidents who have broken laws, I think you could side-step this one time.

What do I think needs to be done to, at least, help stop this from happening again?  Change the age of driving.  A person has to be 18 to vote, 21 to drink legally, 18 to join the military, but we give a drivers license to a 16 year old teenager and the keys to a “2,000 pound machine” and allow them to share the road with me and you.  Crazy.  Yeah, when I was 16 I would have been mad if they decided to change the age of driving to 18, but I would have been two years older, two years wiser and two years more mature.   If you have to be at least 18 years old to participate in other life experiences, then why not include receiving a drivers license.  What do you think?  

Yoo-Hoo Social Security, Where Are You?

Have you ever received the letter summing up your reported income and how much you have paid into Medicare and Social Security.  Normally, once a year after you have done your taxes this handy little info-guide to your retirement shows up asking you to take a look at the reported income and make sure it is accurate.  It then tells you what your family/spouse would receive upon your demise and whether you have made enough to request Medicare at the age of 65.  I always find these letters entertaining.  It amazes me to see that if I would croak tomorrow, I am actually worth more dead than alive.  I have worked, in my lifetime, a total of 19 years.  The income I have generated allows for a nice monthly payment to go to Chuck to help with the kids.  Since I am a stay at home mom right now, any money that he would receive is more than I am making now.  So really I am worth more dead than alive(monetarily).  But, here is where it becomes absurd.  

In this letter it also explains how Social Security is used and how it has been distributed.  The latest letter(we received this week)tells us that if WE do not do ANYTHING about the current state of Social Security, by the year 2040 it will be gone.  WHAT!  Where is all the money going?  According to their statistics, the money being paid out in Social Security has doubled in the last 20 years and they see this becoming the trend.  Ooooh – many questions filled my head.  So I will ask them and let all of you give me the answers.

1.  Why do WE have to DO something about it?  Where the hell are all of our elected officials in Washington?  Oh I forgot.  They are too busy campaigning and slamming the leader of the free world to worry about their constitutents.

2.  Where is Al Gore and his little black lockbox when we need him?  I kid.  Or am I?  That lockbox sounds like a good idea right now, but he is too busy telling me how to save the Earth.  Why do I need to go “green” now when I may not get any “green” when I am 65.

3.  Is my pending SS money going to illegal aliens?  I don’t know and some of you may think that is an ignorant question, but COME ON PEOPLE.  We have people sneeking in from Mexico to come to this country to “seek a better life” and to live “in the melting pot of the world”.  Fine.  But could you at least have the courtesy to learn English.  You snuck in, now give me a reason to WELCOME you by learning to speak our language.  At least years ago immigrants came on a boat passing the Statue of Liberty and upon reaching the shore got down on their hands and knees and kissed the land.  They were appreciative and I welcome them for that.  Do you think that when they crawl over a fence in the black of night they stop for a second and kiss the ground?  I digress.

4.  Where in the hell are the people in Washington?  Oops.  I already asked that question.  I forgot.  The Democrats are too busy trying to rally votes for an Immigration bill and the Republicans are too busy worrying if Fred Thompson is going to enter the Presidential race.

So ladies and gentlemen I guess we do have to solve this problem ourselves.  My solution would be to start stashing your money under your mattress like our grandmothers used to do – but don’t let Elisabeth Hasselbeck know because she would think you were breaking a marriage vow by hiding money from your husband.  In the words of my mother:”Whatever”.  

  

A New 9/11 Tragedy

Love her or hate her.  Admire her or despise her.  Always want to know what she says or could go through the rest of your life never hearing her name again.  Whatever your stance is on Rosie O’Donnell I beg you to listen to me this one time.  Rosie has written an entry in her blog about a segment for The View that was taped today to be shown on Friday’s show.  It is about the people who responded to the 9/11 tragedy at the Towers.  These people were EMT’S, Firefighters, Police and Security.  They are now experiencing health problems from this horrific day and apparently our government is not helping them very much.  Granted I have not researched this enough to give a full-fledged editorial opinion, but even if this is remotely true, we have a new tragedy on our hands.  These people were doing their jobs to help their fellow Americans.  They are heros and now they are suffering.  But, once again our media also has a twisted view of what they consider to be newsworthy.  Please check this item out on her blog.  You don’t have to read anything else on her website, just this article.  My heart goes out to these people and God Bless them for their acts of bravery on a very grim September day. 

www.rosie.com/blog/inthenews 

The title is First Responders

Immunizations=Autism – I Don’t Think So

I have been avoiding this topic like the plague, but it is time to delve right in with my humble opinion.  Autism does not have a cure – yet.  We do not know for SURE what causes autism  The major debate is between mercury based vaccinations and neurology. 

 Autism sparks different kinds of tics or repetitive movements and certain odd behaviors.  For instance, when we go to Wendy’s for lunch, Bryce has the chicken nugget kids meal with chocolate milk.  He takes a napkin and lays it out flat and puts his nuggets in a straight line at the top of the napkin.  Next, he takes his french fries and puts them in a neat order under the nuggets.  After that, he drinks all of his milk, then eats the nuggets and finishes off by eating all of the fries.  Interestingly enough, I learned that when I was very young, I would follow a similar pattern.  For example, if we were having fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans, I  would have to have them in separate sections on my plate and I would eat each food in it’s entirety before moving on to the next food on my plate and the plate had to be sitting in front of me in a specific way.  Coincidence or freak of nature?   

 Next, autism also is in connection with sensory related issues: not wanting to touch certain things because of the feel or texture, not wanting to get dirty or be held tight or in a cramped place.  Bryce hates to get dirty.  We were in an elevator once and the gentleman riding with us commented on how clean Bryce’s shoes were and that they must be brand new.  They were not.  He had had that pair of shoes for six moths.  On the contrary, Brady can take a pair of tennis shoes and have them ragged and worn within six weeks.  Bryce also has a problem feeling the texture of shaving cream, so he never wants Cool Whip on his ice cream , jello, etc.  He also had a problem with play-dough, but that is slowly fading away.  Even the feel of bubbles on his face would send him into a frenzy.  He never liked being held as a baby and does not like to be tucked in too tight at night.  So, I had a problem with getting dirty when I was young and still to this day I have to “suck it up” so as to set a good example for the kids.  I am claustrophobic.  I can’t stand touching a chalkboard and definitely go over the edge with the fingernails on the chalkboard sound.  Coincidence or not? 

I believe that in my childs case, vaccinations were not the cause.  Autism does involve the brain.  A persons brain function is a direct result of their actions.  An autistic person needs to learn how to re-wire their brain to be able to perform everyday tasks.  In the structure of the brain is where the trouble lies.  I don’t believe a vaccination can cause that.  I believe that they are born that way and that heredity plays a part in it. 

Dr. Temple Grandin says in her book(and I paraphrase)that their is a little bit of autism in all of us.  People who work with computers and hi-tech equipment probably have their own little quirks that are not large enough to register on the autism radar but they have them nonetheless.  If you would go back through their genealogy you would probably find someone who had these same quirks only on a more significant level.  I had such definitive behaviors when I was a child that it is absolutely possible that I passed them onto my children.  Am I considered autistic?  No, but who is to say that the combination of my behaviors and my husbands genetic make-up did not produce Bryce, an autistic individual.  The vaccination theory does not sit well with me because all three of my children had their immunizations in different parts of the state.  If we did a study of all the infants who were immunized where Bryce was, how many of them are autistic now?  Isn’t that what they are claiming?  That mercury in these vaccinations is causing the problem.  So, are the pharmaceutical companies who make the vaccines putting mercury in a select few so that there are autistic children  all over the country or are they putting it in the same batch that would be distributed to the same area and cause an epidemic in that particular part of the country?  It seems to me that the latter would be the easiest.  Of course, I am not a scientist, or a pharmacist or a doctor.  I am a mother who has an autistic child who believes that his shot of MMR or DTaP or polio did not cause him to be this way.  It seems that now a days everyone is ready for a witch hunt in this country.  Someone is covering for someone else because of the almighty dollar.  I thought that they had even stopped producing the mercury vaccinations?  So what does anybody have to gain?  Pharmaceutical companies are just an easy target because of the “enhanced truth” that the government is protecting them.  I think everyone that has an autistic child should just stop and breathe.  We may never find the 100% unequivocal truth of how autism is caused.  Instead let’s take that energy of blaming others and re-focus it into finding a CURE.

U.S. Dept. of Labor vs. Rosie

In her latest “ask Rosie” section of her blog, there was a very interesting question/comment submitted.  Apparently, this unknown person, who also stated they did not use their real name, let Rosie know that her blog has been blocked by the Dept of Labor.  This person said that he/she used to read her blog at lunchtime and yesterday when he/she went to pull it up, it is now “a restricted site on the internet”.  Are you kidding me?  This is the highest level of censorship.  A government agency forbidding employees from reading whatever they want on their own time.  I’m at a loss for words………………well, not really.

Rosie has made it very obvious that she believes this administration is corrupt.  She voices her opinion on The View quite often and the administration in one form or another is a Hot Topic almost every day.  I do not agree with all of her opinions on the show.  But, her blog is her business.  This website of hers is for her to be able to say and do whatever she wants.  Again, the news items and videos she posts do not reflect my opinion all of the time, but she has this venue to do what she wants.  I have this blog to write what I want.   Granted, I am not in the public eye and am not considered a celebrity.  But, isn’t it considered Free Speech to say what you want on YOUR website?  Is the US Dept of Labor scared of what Rosie is saying?  Are they afraid that people will begin to believe what she says?  Is there truth in any of the negative comments that she makes?  Is this considered another cover-up?  Or is there no truth at all in what the unknown Dept of Labor employee submitted to Rosie?  It would be pretty hard for a civilian to get the answer to that.  Part of me really wonders if this is just some jokester pulling a very bad prank.  I would think that if it were true and an official in the Dept of Labor caught wind that an employee squealed to Rosie, that that person could/would lose their job.  It can’t be that hard to track down who actually sent her the e-mail because when you submit a question you also submit your e-mail address.  So, what do you think?  Government censoring or some looney who just wanted to see their name in print?  I’m hoping it’s the looney.        

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Yesterday, it was revealed that John Edwards would indeed keep on track in his bidfor the Democratic Presidential  race.  What he also revealed was that his wife has been diagnosed with a type of bone cancer.  She had successfully beat breast cancer that had been found towards the end of the last election.  It has been reported that this type of cancer is treatable but almost always does not get the best results.  So, I’m thinking that here they are, having dealt with one cancer scare, lost a son in an unfortunate accident and now this.  Mr. Edwards is not someone that I will probably vote for but that doesn’t mean that he is not an OK guy.   In fact, he seems rather likable and has a good family.  I feel bad for them.  How many tragedies does one family have to endure.  It is said that God only gives you what He knows you can handle.  If this is true, then the Edwards family must have a very strong faith.  Whether you like him or not; will vote for him or not; he and his wife deserve our prayers for a healthy recovery.       

Completely Random Thoughts of the Week

This has been a very busy week and my brain is on overload.  Time to rid it of some useful and not so useful tidbits of information.

The View – I did not see it Thursday or Friday but I did hear about Thursdays show.  Ok, I like Rosie.  I think that if we lived close and actually knew each other we would be friends.  She does a lot of good and is sincere and caring but, OMG she can not let up on our President and all of his merry men.  Her political negativity is driving me crazy.  But, for some insane reason I can not turn away.  If she was not on the show, I probably would not watch – crazy I know!

American Idol – Simon Cowell has now said that if Sanjaya wins the whole thing he is quitting the show.  Geez Simon, that kid does not need another reason for people to vote for him!!  Think before you speak, man.  Even though I wanted Sanjaya to go Thursday, I was not surprised Brandon left.  Cardinal sin – he forgot his words and HE was a background singer for some pretty big artists.  He knew better so – Bye Brandon, hope you-know-who joins you next week!

“Find Me” – read this book this week.  It is a book written by Rosie O.  It is a very quick read and I was surprisingly astonished.  At the end, though, it opened up some flood gates and triggered some memories that I have had repressed for a long time.  This story made me laugh, cry, and scared me all at the same time.  I have issues and they need to be dealt with – soon.

Families – can’t live with them, can’t live without them.  Enough said.

Friends – the shiniest coins in the fountain.  You can see them in the clear sparkling water but sometimes it takes more than one try to actually grab ahold and keep them forever.

Bryce – he had an appointment with his developmental specialist today.  We are starting to form a game plan for his IEP for kindergarten.  Funny how you think that there has been progress made until a professional analyzes everything and can point out all the weaknesses.  There were some strengths but more weak areas than I thought there was.  So, time to re-focus and start anew.  This is a big journey for us and if I misinterpret something and lead us down the wrong path, it takes a lot of time to re-configure and get back on the right footing.  Lots of reading to do and lots of Internet time being spent to find just the right things for our agenda.  Hey, can anyone clone me for the next few years.  I’d really appreciate it!

Doctor visit – my visit with doctor did not go as expected.  There seems to be evidence that my bladder could be causing me problems.  I’m still having pain and the doc says that even with all of the ovarian cysts, they are not the cause.  He is sending me to an urologist.  Hard part now is finding one that is in my network!  My doc thinks he will do this procedure that will not be comfortable and will require sedation.  I hope he is wrong.  I want to feel better but I have to draw the line somewhere. 

NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament – Duke LOSES in the first round!  When was the last time that happened!  Oh well, I guess they have to lose sometime because my Buckeyes are going to do what the football team could not get accomplish – win the national title!  GO BUCKEYES!!

Spam – I love hearing from people who read these entries on my blog, but thank goodness for the spam filter.  I checked it this morning and somebody posted a nice comment and then told me to check out this link.  So, I click on it and it was a pornography site!!!  Needless to say, he got deleted FOREVER.  This is Welcome to the World of Moms NOT Welcome to the World of Hugh Hefner!! 

Ann Who?

Ann Coulter is an educated, conservative, blonde,  average looking woman who puts her money where her mouth is……………..and sometimes her foot, too.  Today, I have read two separate articles about this woman.  One was a light-hearted take from D.L. Stewart who wanted everyone to know that there is more to her and he wanted to “find her softer side”.  The following are some remarks she has made in the past:

Bill Clinton:  “We’re now at the point that it’s beyond whether or not this guy is a horny hick”(Equal Time, not dated)

Immigration:  “I’d build a wall.  In fact, I’d hire illegal immigrants to build the wall………it’s cheap labor.”(The O’Reilly Factor, 2006)

Women: “I think women should be armed but should not vote…..women have no capacity to understand how money is earned.”(Politically Incorrect, 2001)

New York Times: “My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is that he did not go to the New York Times building.”(New York Observer, 2002)

Herself: “I’m here, I’m not queer and I’m not going away.”(In Godless: The Church of Liberalism, 2006)

She has also been quoted on Fox News as saying that this probably makes her 17th time of having a career ending moment, but people still keep putting her on the air.  This was in reference to her gay slang word that she used to describe presidential candidate John Edwards.  

Is this woman nuts or is she really this frightening real.  I will admit, I chuckled at at least one of her prior quotes, but the rest I found to be very insulting and deeply damaging.   She just keeps spouting things out of her mouth like a bull in a china shop.  Hey lady, have you ever heard of “think before you speak”?!?  One of these days, news executives are going to finally say that they have had enough of Ann Homophobe Ageist Sexist Coulter.  The only place you will see her on your TV will be in reality TV’s ”The Surreal Life” or a celebrity version of “The Apprentice”.  Millions of people bought her book and she thinks that she represents the voice of the conservative Republican.  Well, Ann, darling, I am a woman; I am a Republican; I did not buy your book and you MOST definitely do not speak for me.  In fact, you are an embarrassment to women everywhere.  I leave you with this final thought – Ann herself said that 9/11 widows ”broads” were “enjoying their husbands’ deaths”.  Can we give her a one way ticket to anywhere but here?       

The View – Part III

Ok – I swear I will try not to make my whole blog about critiquing this show, but Dennis Miller was on today and I have to comment.  He was spot on about one thing.  “I support George Bush right now.  If in two years Hillary Clinton is president then I will support her”.  Why?  Because he SUPPORTS THIS COUNTRY!!!  We may not like what our elected officials do but, when we are at war we need to support them and be proud of the country we live in.  I was scared when I heard he was on the show today but, I am sooooo glad I watched him.  I was screaming Yes, Yes, Yes at the TV when he said that no matter who are leader is he will stand behind them because we are standing behind our country – and that my friends is the good ole’ US of A.  God Bless America and God Bless our President George W. Bush!!!   

The View? – Part II

I have had a night to sleep on this and after reading the comment I received, I think I will go a little deeper.  On Rosie’s blog you can ask a question and see if she answers it.  She has said that she receives over 400,000 e-mail questions each time it is available.  I actually believe this because she does have a huge following.  Yesterday, I asked a question.  Really it was more of a statement.  I told her that I cried while watching their heated discussion about the war/gag order/Elisabeth’s age and therefore”ignorance”.  I told her that their passion for what EACH of them believed in was wonderful and that this is what makes our country great – free speech – freedom….period.  She did reply to my Q with a “thanks”.  But, what I hope she understood was that  even though I felt they were passionate does NOT mean I agree with what they all said.  Rosie and Joy were rough on E.  Just because she is 30 does not mean she is “ignorant”.  Just because she is a Republican does not mean she is “ignorant”.  Joy calling our leader a “murderous liar” that is ignorant.  Our enemies love it when we fight amongst ourselves.  Saddam is probably doing a jig in his grave because of all the turmoil that we are creating.  It is your right to have an opinion – and if that opinion is that you are against the war and Bush in general – fine.  But, if you take that opinion and go on national television and call the leader of your free country  a murderer and liar then you are ignorant.  Quite frankly, I think we can expect that from some of the Democratic presidential hopefuls – they are trying to win votes.  But, a television host who has had no political or war training should probably choose other words.   So, all I have to say is :  Shame on you Joy Behar!