The Imeem Suicide

For the past three years I have relyed on imeem to keep me entertained at work and home. There are very few songs they don't have for my listening pleasure and I have created some sweet playlists over the years.

Today, I sat down at my desk and proceeded to opened imeem.com, as I do most mornings. An unexpected and unwelcome page flashed before my eyes and caused me to say words I will not repeat. Low and behold, imeem has sold out to myspace and can no longer be accessed without a myspace account.

Due to my stubborn streak, I will not be listening to my carefully selected playlists today or any day for that matter. I am so ashamed of imeem and the sell out that I have decided to boycott them for eternity. imeem has betrayed countless music lovers around the world with their thoughtless behavior and will forever be on my "shitlist".

The end

Rep. Peter King Out of Line.

“Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican who called Jackson a "pervert, child molester, pedophile" in a video he posted on YouTube this week, vowed Tuesday to do "whatever I have to do" to oppose honoring Jackson.” (By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press Writer Suzanne Gamboa, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jul 8, 3:20 am ET)

As stated in Article 6 of the Constitution of the United States of America…

“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

Clearly, Representative Peter King violated his oath of office by denouncing the 5th Amendment of the United States of America when he publicly stated that Michael Jackson was guilty of crimes in which he was NOT found guilty of by a Judge and Jury.

The 5th Amendment of the US Constitution states:

“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it is apparent we have a problem when those chosen to represent us go against the very thing “we the people” have elected them to uphold.

Health Care - Rising Cost or Rising Ignorance?

I often wonder why people complain about the rising cost of health care and never once look at themselves as the possible cause of their grief. There are many factors and many different ways to make sickness an every day part of your life, but there are that many ways to prevent it as well.

For instance, let your children get dirty, let them touch public surfaces and teach them how to use soap and water instead of slathering them with antibacterial crap that will just weaken their immune system so that they will be a strain on the health care system and society for their entire life instead of just the end of it. Let them go a couple of days without a bath or shower so their body knows how to deal with dirt and grime. Don’t let doctors give them antibiotics for a sniffle or a cough; it just makes them more immune to it when it’s actually needed.

Take care of your body, feed it right and don’t get fat. There are so many obese people clogging up doctor’s offices and hospitals that people who are really sick can’t get proper care. These overweight people want to get a pill to feel better or have surgery instead of eating right and exercising; do they realize most of their health problems would disappear if they would just take care of themselves? See a shrink, figure out why you have to eat a dozen donuts instead of just one or eat the entire carton of ice cream instead of just a bowl of it. Take the stairs, not the elevator; oh you can’t make it up the stairs without running out of breath? That’s because you NEVER TAKE THE STAIRS!!!

Get recess and a real gym class back in the public school systems. People used to actually exercise in P.E., now they sit around and watch movies. Recess is 20 minutes long and there are so many rules that kids can’t even run around anymore. I blame idiot parents for their over protective, sue happy behavior; they have ruined daily activity for the rest of the kids. So what if your kid was running at school and tripped on his own shoelace, does that mean you sue the school for negligence? Who do you sue if your kid trips on his shoelaces at home, the landscaper, the kid he was chasing’s parents? Not only does this hurt the physical well being of kids, it hurts the mental state of them as well. You’ve got a lot of high energy kids in classrooms that are put on medication instead of out on the playground. Give them a freaking jump rope for crying out loud.

So lets just all take a look at ourselves and decide what we can do to make the health care system work. Be active, eat right and take care of yourself. Realize that pills cover problems, they don’t fix them. Sanitize cutting boards, not kids. And don’t blame the government for the rising cost of healthcare; it wouldn’t be this high if there wasn’t such a high demand for it.

Not So Funny "Jokes"

In the past two weeks I have received several emails with jokes that made my stomach turn. I wonder if people know that they are spreading hate when they decide to forward these emails or if they have been so desensitized that they don’t see the underlying messages in them. Just think of how much hate a person has to have in them to think up a joke about American women walking around naked to get Muslims to commit suicide. Are we so ignorant that we can complain about people hating us and not realize we are shoving hate down their throats every day with the click of a button? Have we all forgotten that in America there is Freedom of Religion? Have we all reverted back to burning women on the cross because they might be a witch? Do people feel so threatened by differences that they would rather someone die than be their neighbor?
Just because a group of people that are Muslim commit terrorist acts doesn’t mean that ALL Muslims are terrorists. There are Christians that commit terrorist acts in the name of God; does that mean all Christians are terrorists? How is it that we’ve allowed ourselves to become so hateful toward a group of people that most of us know very little about? Why do American’s feel it is their right to judge the rest of the world and decide how they should live? One would think that over the 400 years we’ve been a country, we would have learned a little something about tolerance, acceptance, equality and humility. But here I am, on August 22, 2008, feeling sick in my stomach because of a hateful email that was sent to me by someone I love that didn’t see the underlying message that was being shared. Think of the Muslim children in our public schools that hear these jokes, how exactly are they supposed to feel about us?
It’s just a joke you might tell yourself. But aren’t jokes supposed to be funny? Does saying hateful things in the form of a joke make it okay to say them? What is so funny about a joke created from hate? Hate hijacked and crashed 4 planes on September 11th killing 2,974 Americans. Hate killed Martin Luther King Jr. Hate killed 22 students at Virginia Tech. Hate killed five little Amish girls as they sat in their classroom.
So tell me again what is so funny about hate?

To Fry or Not to Fry

I read today that it was deemed cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a child rapist to death. That the punishment somehow doesn't fit the crime. I'm sorry, but when did we put sappy human rights activists in our supreme courts? I guess they're right in a way, a more suitable punishment would be torture, rape and then death by lethal injection, hanging or electric chair. Is there a crime worse than the rape of a child? They say the victim has to die in order to justify the death penalty for the rapist; what are these people thinking? We have got to stop letting lawyers run this country with their twisted interpretations of the constitution and lack of common sense. This country is becoming weak with it's everyone is special, humiliation is bad, no more kickball allowed, it's not your fault, sue whomever for whatever, you owe me, I'm not working at McDonald's, my kid is better than your kid, have to keep up with the Jones', buy a house I can't afford mentality. What's next, are the human rights nut jobs going to try and free all the prisoners because it's inhumane to keep them locked up like animal? I think the death penalty could be used a lot more in this country, I'm tired of keeping these useless, evil bottom dwellers alive with my tax dollars that would be better spent educating our children so they can fix the mess that has been made by idiotic policies and extremist groups that don't have their heads screwed on tight. Human rights my A$$, lets protect the victims instead of the perpetrators and criminals. It's insane that these extremists have anything to do with the decision making in this country. How did the Majority get taken over by the Minority?

Drinking From A Corn Cup

I recently noticed a sign at the local coffee shop I stop at every morning that reads "The cup you are drinking from is made entirely from corn". At first I thought that was a cool idea until I really started to think about what it meant to drink out of a veggie cup. There are starving people all over the world because we have decided to feed our food to vehicles instead of humans. So if I'm drinking out of a veggie cup, that means someone isn't eating the veggies that were used to produce it. While I understand the environment needs to be protected from PVC plastics and other harmful materials, does that come with a price of human life? Why can't using recycled materials be the answer? I know a lot of people don't recycle, but a majority of them would if they had the tools to do so. I recently visited a friend that lives in an upscale neighborhood with big homes and big lots and beautiful golf course and pool and clubhouse. But they didn't have a recycling program, go figure, half of them are now driving a hybrid, but are still throwing their Evian water bottles in the trash. What is so hard about recycling, it has been done for years and still, no one has come up with a solution to make it better and more accessible to people. So why, when we have an environmentally friendly way of making a disposable, biodegradable, compostable cups out of recycled goods would we instead make them out of our food? The human race will eventually kill itself off, and for what? A cup made of corn.
Aren't we smart.

Parental Advice, To Give or Not to Give

What does one do when a friend asks for parental advice and you know they will be offended? Do you tell them like you see it, or try and soften the blow and risk that they won't or can't "read between the lines" missing the entire point?
Well, the way I see it, if we are close enough friends that they feel they can ask for my advice, they already know my parenting style and therefore will be prepared for what I am going to say. That's not to say that every time I am asked for advice I will say something they don't want to hear, sometimes they are doing exactly what I would do.
However, with the old fashioned parenting skills that I so thankfully learned from my own mother and father, I find myself offending more often than agreeing. I guess I don't understand the mentality of parents today. Why wouldn't I want my child to feel humiliation, it's one of the best lessons a person big or small can learn from. Why would I want to be my child's friend, he has plenty of those at school. I am his parent and as such cannot be his friend. Of course we laugh and play and tell jokes and stories, we dance and sing in the kitchen together and watch movies, but he knows I am his mother, the boss, the decision maker, the teacher, the nurturer, the punisher, the provider...the Parent.
So when a friend asks me for advice I will always tell it like I see it. If they don't like what I have to say, they will stop asking, but for the most part, they just need support from a strong willed honest person to help them be the best parent they can be. After all, not everyone had great parents growing up and need a little guidance from a friend every now and then.
The best advice I have ever gotten and used is to have consistency and follow through. If you are going to set rules, stick to them, if you are going to make a threat, make sure it's one you are absolutely willing to follow through on. Don't threaten to cancel the trip to Disneyland that you've already paid for, we all know that is an empty threat. But if you say there will be no friends over for a month, then there will be no friends over for a month. Write it down so you don't forget and set consequences for begging or continuously asking in hopes that you will break down. Kids are smart, they learn fast. If you are consistent, they will learn and in turn be consistent with you. If they know you will follow through with your threats, you will see their behavior quickly change. If you are a new parent, starting early makes life much easier as your child grows. You don't have to be a tyrant to raise a well behaved child, you just have to BE the PARENT.