One for the Good Guys

"Tom Hiltachk, a California Republican political legal hack, apparently can't even throw a spit ball with a straight arm. He wanted to put a measure on the California ballot that would have taken twenty or more Electoral College votes away from the Democrats by changing the way we allocate those electors from winner take all to proportional by Congressional district.
So much for the sucker punch from the right hook of the Republican Party. After tens of thousands of people joined together in the netroots and grassroots to just say no, the initiative seems to have fallen apart. Courage Campaign worked with civilian leaders such as Brad Whitford and joined with the leading bloggers in California and across the country to make sure that if this got on the ballot, it would fail and that the conspirators would know that the more they cheated, the more they helped us to organize."



This is just a small snippet from The Huffington Post, you can go there to read the whole article.

The Republican party and it's extremist followers will stoop at nothing to steal the next election.
They have proven that in the 2000 and 2004 races.
If our Constitution is going to survive, we can't afford to lose the next election.

With the help of this new world of bloggers, people are waking up and paying attention.
We can all help to insure that the next election is fair, by keeping our eyes on the
prize, the 2008 Presidential election.

The wingnuts are not going to give up so easily next time,we have to remain observant
and stop them every time they come up with a new plan.

Where is Paul Revere when we need him??

The Rammer says goodbye

Another Republican Congressman announced he was retiring last week.
Jim Ramstad, who happens to be my Congressman.
Though he is a Republican,
I have voted for him over the years.
He is moderate, pro-choice, and has tried very hard to get through some significant legislation that would help the mentally ill get decent insurance coverage,
legislation he co-sponsored with my favorite Senator Paul Wellstone.

To learn more about Paul..google him.
If he were alive today he would be running for President and the liberals in
the Democratic party would not be split in their vote.

As a recovering Alcoholic Jim has learned to care about people.

My votes for him stopped when he went along with the other Republicans and voted to
impeach President Clinton.
Bill Clinton's dallying, doesn't even compare to the criminal offenses we see in the Bush administration
But he hasn't spoken up about them.
I wouldn't be surprised if GW Bush isn't the main reason for Jim's decision to leave
Washington. But I doubt if he will ever voice that.

The 3rd District in Minnesota has been under Republicans since 1959, but they have been moderates.
I don't think the Republican party in Minnesota has any moderates,
so the Democrats have a chance to pick up this seat.
Now, we have been known to do some stupid things too, we need to run a Moderate, a fiscally conservative pro choice Democrat.
They are out there, I know a couple that would bring me out of my semi- retirement from campaigning.

Meanwhile I wish the Rammer well in his new life and I know my friend Paul is looking down and smiling at him.
Because even though they held different political beliefs, they were the best of friends

The Chicks

What do you Think?

I guess everyone has a bad day once in a while.
I had one today.
It started out fine, I was up early and at the food shelf by 8:00 AM.
and it went down hill from there.
I wasn't there 15 minutes and they started bringing in food orders.
Three staff people all coming in at once and putting their slips on the spindle.
What does that mean?
It means number 3 on the spindle may have a 45 minute wait for their order.
But the staff person doesn't bother to tell them.
My first couple orders went fine, then they started bringing in orders for 10 or 12 member families and I got backed up.
I probably moaned a few times
( a moan I'm sure my kids would recognize)
Pretty soon this young lady carrying a baby came back to see what was taking so long
I explained why I was backed up and she was very sweet about it, when I filled her order I gave her some extra meat.
About 11:00 I had filled 12 orders had 4 on the spindle and my butt was dragging,
in the door came the volunteer coordinator, a new lady that took the place of one of my favorite people.

She said.
"When you tell the client's to bring back the cart after they unload
(we have had several stolen!)
"Can you say it with a smile, some of the clients think you are crabby." and it frightens them,
(another look I'm sure my kids would recognize)
By then my back was killing me because I had not sat down for 3 hours straight.
I said,
"I always say please bring the cart back in and then thank you when they do."
Can you say it with a smile.?
( this from a woman who is new, comes in at 10:00 AM and has never filled an order)

When I first started there, we had such a neat staff.
Most of them pitched in and helped when orders got backed up.
Not this new group, they hardly acknowledge your there.
It is just a job to them, not helping people in need.
Most of them act like they would rather be somewhere else.

I know it wasn't the fact that I wasn't all smiley face, it had more to do with the long wait they had.

They can't take it out on the staff who screens them, and gives me the slip for their orders, so guess who takes the brunt of it if they have a long wait.?

OK this is my dilemma. Do you think it is time for me to hang it up?

I am biting my tongue, and will go in next Monday, but something I use to enjoy is not any fun anymore

Presidential Address

I hope that everyone will watch the President tonight,
and I also hope you put what he says in perspective.

Take time to watch this Video

My Grandson

My son took this picture while he was in NY with one of his boys in August 2000.For more details, you can read his 'Moment in Time' post.

Oh Britney

Yes I watched or should I say fast forwarded
through the VMA awards last night.
I wanted to see how Britney would do, and she didn't.
Today she knocked Rosie off of all the tabloid shows.

OK her performance was awful but then so was most of the show.
Maybe it's my age, but I don't find Sarah Silverman funny.
Her type of comedy makes me want to shower.

I hope before it's to late some one wakes up and
gets this girl into some type of therapy.
She is obviously on the road to self destruction,
and I for one don't want to see another Anna Nicole.

Rock Bend 2007

Yesterday we traveled down to our hometown for Rock Bend Fest.
It has been a tradition for the last 10 years or so.
Rock Bend has 2 stages with continuous music,mostly folk, blues, country
Check out the website, click on the links and you will have a taste of it.

rockbend.org

This year my brothers kids decided to celebrate
his turning 80 at the end of the year.

They figured when it got close to his birthday
he may not come out of his house.
They put an ad in a couple local papers
with a picture inviting his friends and
former students to
"Come and eat cake."

When he arrived, I was the one he blamed and
I can't print what he lovingly called me.
His kids all agreed if he was mad it was all my idea,
if he wasn't it was there's.

He enjoyed every minute and was very tickled to see relatives that came from out of
town or state just to see him.
On his way back to Superior this AM, I'm sure he was thinking about everyone
that showed up and remembering those that couldn't.
If you are lucky enough to reach the age of 80, you are apt to be there without many of your old friends and some relatives.

This has been a bad summer for our family.
It has been 3 months since the tragic death of his only granddaughter.
(Check my May 30th blog for the whole story)

This was kind of a catharsis for all of us, so with that out of the way, next Dec when he has his actual birthday and the Holidays are over,
maybe we can all heal a little faster.
His kids and Hubba and I are planning on driving up to his home
and celebrating again with him.
My bro is 10 years older then me and one of the pictures the kids had, was of him holding me.

I love that picture

End of the Summer ?

I remember the many Labor day weekends
we use to spend at the Lake.
I use to love swimming and water skiing.
I don't know when it changed, but one day I remember sitting
in the back of the boat and thinking
"This isn't any fun anymore"

We also use to have a garage party every year in August.
Then one day I decided, maybe next year someone else could host,
that ended them.
This year,all of the young ones in the family are doing the Lake thing
or something else, so hubba and I spent a quiet day.

I will go out on the deck later when it cools down to read.

I am getting behind on my books and today
we went to the 20% off sale at the Half Price Book store

I came home with 2 more.

One I couldn't find at the Book sale is waiting for me at the Library.
It is an upcoming book club choice, not sure if it is my taste but I'll soon find out.

So if I don't post in the next couple days you will
know why.

Enjoy the rest of your summer cause Fall is peeking around the corner.

Big Brother or Big Idiot?

Watching Big Brother tonight brought me no surprises,
just gagged me a little more.

Like every other year, the naive put there trust in someone
they don't even know and end up on the losing end.

Jessica deserved to be nominated tonight for letting Big Dick and his anorexic
daughter stay in the game.
She had a chance to get them out twice and didn't.
Don't any of these people ever watch the past shows?
Then there is Erick, please, whoever came up with the Peoples Player idea
should not be around next season.
He should have been put up right next to Jess, and I think Zack may end up regretting it.

CBS should also be ashamed of themselves for allowing a Tattooed, disgusting
man to verbally and physically abuse the young woman on this show.
His constant references to some of the ladies as Bitches, makes my blood pressure rise.
So why am I still watching it?
I honestly don't know, I was a big Jessica fan..but the fact that she could be attracted to Erick, gives me pause.

I guess like a lot of people I am a gawker!

"Another Saturday Night"

I'm sure everyone is sick of me whining because TGIF closed near us,
when I say near, I mean within a mile of our house.
Not only did they have a good Happy Hour,
they had the neatest bunch of kids working there you could ever meet.
When we walked through the door we felt at home.
Some of them are transferring to the new store, but it will be about a month before they open.
Last night we drove to another TGIF about 10 miles away.
It was good, and one of the managers use to be at our home TGIF.
There were a couple of the regulars that were also there from our old place.
So we talked, and will probably go back at least till the new one opens in a month that will be a couple miles closer.
Problem with both of them is driving, so we have to limit our selves to 2 drinks.

Tonight Hubba wanted to go someplace again and we didn't want to drive far.

First we headed for the old faithfull VFW..knowing they wouldn't have the slightest idea on how to make a Cosmo, I agreed to go over there anyway.
I figured I could always find something to drink, vodka something.

We walked through the door and were not only hit with the gross smell of heavy cigarette smoke, but also heat.
I asked " What happened to the air conditioner?"
The old guy at the door said
"Broke"
From the smell of the place I figured so was the ventilation system.
Needless to say we did not stay.

(Minnesota has a current smoking ban that does not cover private clubs.
a new ban that will, starts Oct. 1st)

Next stop was a bar and grill under new management.

We had heard some things about it, but decided to check for ourselves.
The old place had a terrible reputation,
fights between different ethnic groups.
Drug deals,
police there all the time.
They had lost their bar license and chose to sell.
Another friend of ours said the new place was being strict about a dress code.
(meaning they didn't want certain ethnic groups in there)
They wanted to change their image, well they certainly did.
When we walked in the door we were blasted with loud country music coming
from a new fancy juke box.
Most of the people in the bar were wearing t-shirts and jeans
"Dress Code must mean Red Neck clothes"
Because thats what the place looked like
"Redneck Alley"
should have been the new name.
We ordered a drink and got 2 for the price of one.
"Oh goody" I thought, I really wanted to leave.
It was like a bad first date.
Slowly Hubba leaned over and said

" I don't think we'll come back here anytime soon."

We both laughed, when we left we decided to try the bar at the bowling alley
on our way home.
It has always been a busy place and no where to sit.
Young crowd mostly and a few drop ins from near by motels.

Not tonight we were with a crowd of maybe 10 other people.
(The bartender blamed it on Holiday weekend)

The quiet was nice, the popcorn was good and the bartender had worked at another place we use to go to.
I had a lemonade and discussed my reluctance to pay 5.00 to 7.00 for a cosmo.
When we got our bill to leave,he told me when we came back and he would discount my cosmos.

Well I certainly can't turn that offer down, now can I,
it may be a couple weeks before we can get back there, but we will.

It was fun to get out of our rut and explore a little.

End This Endless War

I need to quit watching news shows before I go to bed.
I sat and watched Anderson Cooper tonight following a Marine unit in Iraq.
So now after seeing our kids fighting a war that can't be won, knowing kids that are there.
Steven the son of my neighbor and friend,
just shipped out a couple weeks ago with his guard unit.
His dad talked to him today after he had come back from having some minor surgery on his foot. A spider bite that caused an infection.
Unbearable heat, and he gets a spider bite to add to it
Makes me &%#% sick to see what our "Moron President" and his administration has gotten us into.
No matter what any of the candidates say right now, there is no easy way out.

When we leave, there will be massacres.
If we stay it will be our kids, 100's every week and growing.

My guess is Bush will drag this out so he can blame another President for the disaster that will follow.
It's now or later, I say now.

Forever Young

I can't believe that it is 10 years since Diana left this planet.
It seems like yesterday when the news flashed across the TV screen.

Those handsome boys, mourning their Mom.

How sad it was to see them walking to the church
for the services.

How sad it has been over the years to watch them grow and know she couldn't.

Elton Johns beautiful tribute

"Candle in the Wind"

Goodbye England's rose;
may you ever grow in our hearts.
You were the grace that placed itself
where lives were torn apart.
You called out to our country,
and you whispered to those in pain.
Now you belong to heaven,
and the stars spell out your name.

And it seems to me you lived your life
like a candle in the wind:
never fading with the sunset
when the rain set in.
And your footsteps will always fall here,
along England's greenest hills;
your candle's burned out long before
your legend ever will.

Loveliness we've lost;
these empty days without your smile.
This torch we'll always carry
for our nation's golden child.
And even though we try,
the truth brings us to tears;
all our words cannot express
the joy you brought us through the years.

Goodbye England's rose,
from a country lost without your soul,
who'll miss the wings of your compassion
more than you'll ever know.



Diana, Princess of Wales 1961-1997

Things that I Hate

I hate it that our favorite TGIF is closing on Monday.

I hate that all of the staff and servers, and bartenders, that have become so close are being split up and sent to different restaurants.

I hate that some of our favorites weren't working tonight.

I hate that next Monday night will be the last time we see some of them, unless we run over there tomorrow night.


I hate that I when I went to do some laundry this morning, I found water on the floor from a drain backup

I hate it that I forgot to call David, our Drain cleaner guy, 6 months ago when we were due
to clean out the roots we get from the trees in our front yard.

I hate that it is another sign of brain cells dying.

I hate that I am the one that will have to remember to call him in 2 years so we don't have a major flood down there.

It wouldn't be the first time.

More then anything else,

I hate it that George Bush and friends have destroyed our reputation on this planet, and have at least 17 more months to cause more damage.

What ever happened to the Phil Donohue's and the Dan Rather's in this world who were willing to speak out??

Right now all we have is Rosie O'Donnell and Andy Rooney.....

And though I love them, I hate that....

Here he come's again !

Tomorrow "The Shrub" invades our space again.
He isn't flying in to see the flooding or to check on the recovery of the last body from the Mississippi
River after the bridge collapse.
No, he is flying in to help raise money for our Senator Normy Coleman.

Across the Lake at a public park, from the million dollar house where he will gracing everyone with his Texas charm, and with 1000.00 handshakes.
Protesters will be standing with signs, maybe whistles and duck calls.

I wonder if the true genius Karl Rove will be with him ?

Letter to the Editor in the St.Paul Pioneer Press. August 18, 2007

A True Genius

It was pure coincidence that I purchased Boy Genius on Sunday and the subject of the book, Karl Rove, resigned from the White House on Monday.
It didn't take many pages to realize that Rove is a brilliant and ruthless political operative. whose philosophy seems to be that the ends justify the means.
From the beginning, he employed the most devious and dishonest methods to achieve his political objectives.
His achievements are impressive.

He is responsible for twice helping elect an arrogant, incompetent buffoon to the most powerful office in the world.
He took a failed businessman, George W.Bush, and placed him in charge of the economy of the United States.
He took a man who dodged his military service in Vietnam and turned him into the commander in chief of the US military.
He took a man who failed his law school entrance exam and placed him in a position to nominate Supreme court Justices

Yes Rove's most historic triumph was creating the worst president in American history.
And that is why some call him the Boy Genius.

TOM HAMMOND
Woodbury

Somewhere Richard Nixon is smiling!

Shrub

George Bush is about to break Ronald Reagan's
record for vacation days.

Meanwhile more slaughters in Iraq
and several more mine workers injured,
with three more dead in the Utah Mine

What is happening in New Orleans?
Nothing!
Are they prepared for the next round of Hurricanes?
No!

His old MaMa must be proud!

"George can't halp it he was born with a silver foot in his mouth"
Ann Richards 1988 Democratic Convention

Oops I guess that was his daddy,
the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree does it?

Time Flys When Your Having Fun.

I went to my Dermatologist today for a post op check of the skin cancer he removed from my face.

My friend Marie went with me to Edina where his office is located.
He told me not to worry about the puffiness and said the scar on my cheek would fade.
If it doesn't they have a few tricks they can use.
Meanwhile he was very kind and told me I could do my follow up body checks with my GP who is a Female.


After my visit, Marie and I headed over to the Cheese Cake Factory for a salad.
Love that place, and we were good and skipped dessert.
You don't know how hard that was.
But I have a Big Birthday coming up next Monday 8/20 and I intend to drown my sorrows, starting on the weekend.

My daughter who just celebrated her birthday is having a BBQ at her house to celebrate all of our August birthdays.
My Hubba 8/5, daughter 8/8, oldest son 8/19 and twin G sons 8/17 are all Leo's.
Can you imagine Kings of the jungle all under one roof?
Well it certainly was interesting when the kids were growing up.
My youngest son is an Aries and kind of hid from every one
at times.
But believe me he held his own, and still does.

How old am I?
I gag when I think about it.

Jane Fonda and I were born in the same year
so when you think of me visualize her.
That seems to soften the blow for me.

Anyway I've been told 70 is the new 50.

Please don't pop my balloon..

Lazy day

Couldn't believe it when I stepped outside this
morning.
The humidity has dropped about 20%.
I am actually going to go out on my deck and read.
I don't know how long we will have this reprieve.
So I am going to enjoy it.
Meanwhile for some good reading
click on my links, especially

"My girl with kaleidoscope eyes"
*smiling*

Stormy Weather

It has been one of those weeks when I didn't have time to breath.

Add to that the god awful heat we are going through right now in Minnesota.
Earlier it was 90 degrees with 68% humidity, perfectly conducive to a major storm.

I love rain storms in the spring, but this time of year, it frightens me,
Every flash of lightening and crack of thunder reminds me of a storm we had a few years ago when we lost several trees and we were without power for 6 days.
I realized then that I would have made a terrible pioneer woman.
I wore the name "Bitchy" with pride.

We have storm warnings right now and hoping for the best.

Last night trying to sleep when thunder and lightening rocked our house, and rattled our windows.
I think it was well past 4:00 AM before I fell asleep.
This time we were lucky there are areas in Mpls without power.
The State Fair grounds has massive damage and the fair is scheduled in about 3 weeks.
I am feeling guilty for whining,
so I will do what the Nuns always told us, back in grade school.

"Offer it up"

I will tonight for all those kids in Iraq basking in temps of
120 degrees.

Happy Birthday Eve..

August is probably the worst time of the year for me.
8 years ago today my life changed
Why? Let me explain the best way I can.

Every body has friends, I am lucky to have many.
I am still close friends with those I had in childhood,
friends from High School, friends I worked with.
friends from Church and through volunteer activities.
We moved into our neighborhood, and became involved in our community, worked on campaigns, volunteered at our kids schools, we met many people we became close too.
Over the years we have lost many good friends, it has been hard on Hubba who has not only lost
all of his siblings, but most of his close childhood friends too.

But I digress.

When we moved into this community over 40 years ago.
I met someone who would become the best friend anyone would ever want.
You know what I mean?
Someone who you can tell anything too.
Someone who accepts you warts and all.
Someone who would come and sit at your bedside if you were ill, and she did.
Someone who would baby sit not only your kids but your dog as well.
Someone you could be with and not say a word, but leave feeling you had just had the
best time of your life.
Well for me that was Arlis,
It would be way to long to go into how we became friends.
Just know that we became close.
Arlis, who was widowed, was about to retire from her job as an LPN at a local nursing home.
She planned on putting in her notice on Monday Aug 3rd 1998.
I was so excited, because we had made plans to go to New York City for a trip to celebrate and then to Connecticut to visit her daughter and family.
On that Monday I was home supervising the carpet layers as they put in new carpeting in my family room.
The phone rang and it was Arlis, she had not gone to work that day because she had been up with chills and headache all night.
She was calling me to tell me she had a new granddaughter Eve, and she was so excited.
I congratulated her,and told her to rest.
Her son who was in med school and lived at home was out of town and would be back late Tuesday the 4th.

I did not talk to her again until late Tuesday night, she said she was tired,
so I told her I would stop over in the morning.
I did, around noon, and when I saw her I thought I would die.
I could see how ill she was.
I wanted her to go to the Doctor and she wanted to wait till her son came home.
I argued with her but she was determined to wait.
I went home and called my hubba and told him to come home from work, because we needed to get her to hosp.

Why didn't I just call 911?

By the time he got home, so had her son, and I went with him to the Hosp.
Before I left the hospital that evening I told her I loved her and not to worry.
We thought then it was pneumonia and she was in good hands.
It was the last time we would talk.
By the following Sunday she had died from a rare strep infection of the blood,
and no idea where it came from.

The following Wednesday was her funeral, her daughter, son in law and newborn little girl Eve flew in for the funeral.
Leaving their oldest daughter at her paternal Grandma's.

Little Eve turns 8 today, Arlis never met her.
I have received pictures and she is Arlis's clone, not only in looks but according to her daughter in personality and gentleness.

I am sad today, and I am sure that Arlis's family is too.

Arlis was my soul mate and I miss her..

Happy Birthday Eve, you had a very special Grandma!

Are Your Bridges Safe?

What a tragic night we had yesterday.

The collapse of the 35W bridge has caused many deaths and injuries, at this time 20 to 30 are missing , probably in the Mississippi river.
There is a recovery going on now.

I was watching the 6:00 news when it happened and immediately started checking to see if my family and friends were OK

This morning our President appeared on TV and began to spin.
He blamed the Democratic in congress for not bringing him a spending bill.

Give me a break!!

He forgot to mention that our Republican Governor Pawlenty vetoed a Transportation bill
that included a 5 cent gas tax increase that would have gone to road and bridge repair.
Our Governor who has made it clear "no new taxes" under his watch.
He is only willing to borrow and spend, so I expect to see him offering a bonding bill to the legislature
It should be pointed out that our Government has been ignoring the infrastructure in this country.
Money that should be used here is being used in Iraq.
The essay I posted "The Fungi Terrorist" by Charley, written tongue in cheek
has this quote in it.

"When we weren't looking, Al Qaeda took the money from our infrastructure, so that soon
our bridges will collapse under our heavy S.U.V.s and our roads will fill with potholes."

It give me chills to think what we have ahead of us.


Go to my links at the right and click on Centrisity
for more info on this tragedy, he is doing a great job of updating!

The Terroist Fungi

I thought this was good reading and Charley gave me permission to Post it.


I was in line for airport security a couple of weeks ago. I looked down at my feet and
realized that, like half of those with me, I had on sandals and no socks. The sandals
would soon be coming off, and my bare feet would be walking across the same floor as
thousands of other bare feet that day. I started wondering how many of my predecessors
had athlete's foot or other communicable problems.

Suddenly, I had an epiphany: what if it was all part of an Osama bin Laden plot! What if we
were simply being distracted by yesterday's danger of hijacked airlines, while submitting
to today's danger of millions of new cases of athlete's foot? Imagine the consequences.
An American nation weakened, hobbling around on itchy, burning feet while mad
fundamentalists took over the world. Like a magician's unsuspecting rubes, we had been
looking in the wrong place while the evil mastermind had concocted a new danger to
strike us unawares.

As the days have passed, I have come to understand what a diabolical plan Al Qaeda has
set into motion. I mean, here we are, fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, spending a couple
of trillion dollars to fight a war we cannot win, sending hundreds of thousands of soldiers
and Marines to guard impossibly vulnerable pipelines and close permanently porous
borders. The scale of economic and human waste is staggering, of course, but I have
come to understand that the war itself is not even the point. What we are dealing with
here is a subtle plan to destroy our civilization while we don't even notice. It is much like
the magician's slight of hand, directing our attention elsewhere while he produces the
rabbit from the hat or the coin from behind our ear.
While we have been distracted by the war, Osama and his cohorts have been up to no
good. Consider the following:

When we weren't looking, Al Qaeda shipped all of America's manufacturing jobs to other
countries, leaving our nation like helpless pigs waiting for other nations to fill the trough.

When we weren't looking, Al Qaeda took all the resources out of our schools, leaving an
entire generation of children unprepared to make intelligent decisions, prey to
superstition and fundamentalism.

When we weren't looking, Al Qaeda gradually deprived our citizens of healthcare, leaving
us sick and weakened, ripe for an attack.

When we weren't looking, Al Qaeda made us buy enormous quantities of fashionable
trinkets (manufactured in other countries), putting us into impossible debt (often to
countries like China, which are loaning us the money).

When we weren't looking, Al Qaeda took the money from our infrastructure, so that soon
our bridges will collapse under our heavy S.U.V.s and our roads will fill with potholes. Al
Qaeda has been particularly successful in depriving us of the investments needed to
develop clean and sustainable energy self-reliance, so that we daily become more
dependent on the petroleum of other countries.
When we weren't looking, Al Qaeda tricked us into giving up our liberties and into relying
on methods like torture, which have in turn taught the countries of the world to fear and
hate us.

When we weren't looking, Al Qaeda made our government corrupt and our citizens
mistrustful of that government.

When we weren't looking, Al Qaeda made us rely on mercenary armies, which have no
loyalty to our once-great nation.

In short, while we have been paying attention to the war, Al Qaeda has undermined every
single structure that once made our nation strong. We are now the biggest debtor country
of the world, living for the moment with no thought to the future, undereducated and
under-informed, susceptible to disease and panic, mistrusting ourselves and our elected
officials…a fruit ripe for the picking.
It is a sad state of affairs indeed, to finally understand that our civilization has been
dismantled behind our backs, even as we thought we were fighting terrorism. I think I
hear some cruel laughter from a cave in western Pakistan.

(This essay is cross-posted at http://www.mnblue.com/node/576
Charley Underwood

Good Old Days!

Last Saturday Hubba and I drove down to Sheldon Iowa to visit my favorite Auntie Lo,
my dads oldest sister.
Lo turned 95 in June,she is still as sharp as ever though her body isn't.
She was always there for our family, and she was the first one at the Hospital
when we knew dad was dying.
They were very close and in many ways she is still my connection to him.
It is so hard to let go, but I know that day is coming.
I could tell when our visit was ending, she kept dozing off.
Heading back we had made arrangements to spend the night in our hometown, so it was only a 2 1/2 hour drive.
We had also contacted some good friends and told them to meet us at the Legion club.

What an Interesting night it turned out to be

While we sat visiting in the Legion, I noticed some familiar, though old looking, people walking through to the back room.
It wasn't long before one of them yelled my name, and I found out it was a social gathering for my younger sisters class reunion.
She is 1 1/2 years younger then me, but sorry, those guys looked old!!

For the rest of the night I was getting the "Where is Cleo?"questions
I didn't know till the next day that she was out of town at her daughters.

I don't know how many of you go to your class reunions, but I speak from experience.
Go!! So it isn't such a shock when you see the fat bellied athletes or the quite large cheer leaders.

I was very surprised at a past all-school reunion when one of my male friends told me he had a crush on me all through High School.

I am still ticked at him for not saying something back then when I needed it.

But Hey better late then never!!

I hate Change!!

It is so frustrating when you get use to a product and then it is discontinued without letting consumers know.

I have gone through this many times with makeup, and even food products.

At least with a food product you have someone in the store that can answer your questions

Today my Stylist told me she could no longer find my hair color.
Roux # 63
What does it mean?
Much experimenting or go grey,and that will never happen.
I started greying in my late 20's and began coloring then.
Once I let it grow out only to see my mother staring back at me in the mirror.

I decided to call Revlon and check for myself.
I immediately got through only to be told I had to call Colomer, she gave me the
1 800 number and I called.

For the next 45 minutes I was told by several different canned voices

"Someone will be with you momentarily."

"Please stay on the line, your call is important to us."

Then back to their god awful elevator music.
The least they could do was give me a little Bach or Mendelssohn.
I finally gave up on it and tried thier website.
That was even more frustrating, it was impossible to figure out.
I shot off an e-mail to their webmaster asking for the combination to get into the site.
I haven't got a reply yet.

For some reason I am beginning to think that Revlon does not want anyone to
ask questions.

So if you have any Revlon Stock, I suggest you watch it very carefully
something may be brewing.

They are all our Kids

On a recent post Homecoming, I talked about an e-mail that my friends granddaughter sent to family from Iraq.
She was with one of the Minnesota guard units that recently came home..
She can now get back to her life with her husband and with her education.
Like her Great Grandmother and her Grandmother she is planning on a nursing career.
This is just a small inkling of what our young kids and the Iraqi's are going through thanks to Bush and Company
Thank God many of them have come home safe.
The Minnesota Guard Units have the "distinction" of serving the longest in Iraq.
I just pray none of them ever have to go back.
I want to thank her for allowing me to post this.



May 31, 2007

Dear and wonderful family and friends,

Hi! It’s the last day of May and also time for one of my last mass email updates. I hope you are all soaking in some beautiful rays where you are. I know I am! The temperatures have been between 115-125 degrees for the last week here. Steamy! We might be crazy, but my friends and I make it a point to walk to lunch every day, which is just over a mile each way. That way we know we are really experiencing the heat of Iraq. Strange, I know.

How are you all doing? I am getting extremely excited to see you all again. Word from higher is that we will be home in Minnesota by the third week in July. I can’t wait! I have plans to spend time with many of you and I hope to see you all again soon.

I had an excellent time working in the hospital at Balad. I worked in the ICU and stayed very busy. The hospital has three ICU units and I had the chance to work in all three. ICU 1 is strictly for U.S. soldiers and contractors. I found this ICU to be the most heart-wrenching place to work, for obvious reasons. One of the young soldiers who I helped had both of his legs amputated. He woke up over 30 times during my shift, each time realizing as if for the first time that he no longer had legs. His crying led to many tears on the part of many the ICU staff. This was such an emotional experience for all of us working there.

ICU 2 is where Iraqi pediatric patients recover. I really enjoyed working in this unit because many of the children made such great progress while I worked there. Their stories are very sad, and we had the opportunity to talk to their parents too. I can’t imagine what it must be like to one moment be playing in your backyard and to suddenly wake up in the hospital with a huge piece of shrapnel in your head. I am attaching a few pictures of the children and families I worked with while I was in Balad. I found the Iraqi parents and family members to be friendly and very concerned for their children.

ICU3 houses the adult Iraqi patients, whether they are Iraqi Army, civilians or even detainees. For the most part, we knew very little about these adult patients, mainly because there were very few visiting family members and our patients were so critically injured that communication often wasn’t possible. Although detainees were given the same standard of medical care, many of us had mixed emotions in having to help someone who had just tried to injure our soldiers.

Hmm, this is sounding like a very depressing email, isn’t it?! Yes, working in the hospital has been both very challenging and rewarding. My overwhelming feeling is that it’s sad to see all of the effects this war is having on both Americans and Iraqis. At the same time, the optimist in me tries to see the positive interactions I’ve had with Iraqis and the medical experience I am gaining while working here.

Enough said. I just hope that you are all there treasuring every moment you have to see your loved ones and to enjoy your lives. I can’t wait to be on that side of the ocean with you again.

Love you all,
XXXXXXX

Summer TV

I am beginning to think the biggest mistake
we ever made was getting Cable.
In days gone by, summer TV was so boring or repetitive.
I would read everything in sight.
Right now I have 3 books to read for my book club,
and what did I do this afternoon?
Sat in the family room,catching up on HBO series Big Love
and John from Cincinnati.
I enjoy Big Love, but for the life of me don't know why I am watching John.
It is the weirdest thing I have seen in years.
I sometimes think they make it up as they go along.
Right now I think the only reason I am staying with it,
is to find out who and what John is.
I should have turned it off after episode 2.
I did that with Lost after the first season and also 24.
If anyone reading this can give me a hint, at what my attraction to John is.
I would love to know.

Homecoming

Hope everyone has been having a good week, I know we have kept busy.
I was waiting for permission to post an e-mail one of my closest friends had received from her G daughter who just arrived home from Iraq after spending almost 2 years of her life there as a medic.
It was a moving letter and if I don't get her permission I won't print it in full.

Meanwhile the Red Bull's a National guard unit from Minnesota arrived home this past week.
They were the longest serving guard unit that had been in Iraq.
Among the groups coming home were many children of friends of ours.
There are a lot of stories to be told from that group.
For now they just want to reunite with their families.

So we will give them time to breathe the fresh air in Minnesota.

Relay for Life

When I was 14 years old while washing my face I discovered a small little bebe size lump in my jaw,I showed it to my friends but then totally ignored it.
It continued to grow and one day at the supper table my Dad kept staring at me (which alone could be frightening) and finally he said "come here", and rolled the lump around in my jaw, by then it was the size of a marble.
"How long has that been there"?
Thinking I had done something wrong..AGAIN..
I said "I don no, maybe a couple weeks".
The next thing I knew, I was in a car riding to the Doctors office in the middle of a snow storm.
Old Doc Olmanson laid me on the table and gave me shot of Novocain and then proceeded to make a small slit and flipped out the lump into his hand.
I remember him saying to my Dad, "I'll send it in for a biopsy, but I wouldn't worry about it It was encapsulated".
My parents told me later that it was a Sarcoma, (malignant tumor) but hey I was 14 that didn't mean a thing to me.
Though I seemed to get new respect from Sister Mary Ricarda when I told her about it at school.
I never thought about it again.
It was many years later that my brother( who is 10 years older then me) told me how worried he, and my parents were
at that time.
I then did some research on Sarcoma's and realized how lucky I was that my dad was so observant.

Tonight was the Relay for Life Cancer walk in my community.

I went over again, this time only as a visitor and not a member of a team.
I don't know if it is because it's Friday the 13th, but I was just a little uncomfortable tonight.
I ran into some friends and left my check.
Maybe next year I'll join a team again.
I still have problem thinking of myself as a survivor, when I have had so many friend that have had to go through chemo and radiation and several who have died from cancer.

If there is a Relay in your town, give a check to someone.
Every day new research comes up with new treatments or cures.
When my Dad died at the age of 56 from Hodgkin's disease, there was no cure and only experimental treatments.

Today Hodgkin's caught early is curable.

Who knows maybe next year it will be breast cancer or ovarian cancer that they find a cure for.

We can only hope

Big Brother

Big Brother is back, and I am watching it again.

But there is something creepy about this years cast of players.
It is Dick the tattooed father brought in to the house to surprise his
daughter who hasn't spoken to him in three years.
Does anyone blame her?
Yikes he makes my skin crawl, and I wonder what the producers were thinking bringing him into the house.

Then there is gay Joe who shouted from the house tops that his former partner, who is also a surprise guest, Dustin, gave him gonorrhea.

Tonight's show is the first eviction.

Personally I wish Big Dick and Wee Joe were the ones going out..

Why am I watching this instead of reading a good book?

I am beginning to wonder my self..

After the 4th

The 4th is over and I am relaxing a little bit.

I get a wee bit nervous during this particular holiday.
Too many G kids out there celebrating and it tends to make me nervous.
I was born a worrier.

We had a nice peaceful celebration.
We went down to our home town where they have the old fashioned 4th of July in the park.
It includes a street dance on the 3rd behind the Redman's Club
We spent a little time down there visiting with friends and kids of our friends.

We met some old friends for lunch earlier, one of them loves to talk politics and so of course the conversation turned toward the criminals in the White House.
They chose not to come down town later..we'll see them again soon.

Years ago when the kids were younger and my Mom was alive meeting in the park was a family tradition. Things changed when she died and the kids got older.
One niece and husband did show up for awhile, and a couple of my husbands nephews were there.
We stayed till after lunch and the St.Peter Drum Corp(the oldest drum corp in the USA) performed and then headed home.

My hubba use to be a member of the corp( until 2 babies came along and made it difficult) along with my brother and many friends.
His Dad marched with the original corp and a few years back our oldest son
took time off from the corp he was with Minnesota Brass, to march one year with
the Govies so there would be a 3rd generation.

It doesn't look like any of the G kids got the marching gene, so there won't be a 4th generation.
Next year is an All School reunion over the 4th and I am looking forward to that.

When we got home there was a message that my car was ready to be picked up.

We did that today.

I hope I get over my apprehension about driving it, soon.

Hubba has had the whole week off, he is not use to being away from the office.
It reinforces the fact that he most likely will only retire when he is forced too.

Scooter get's to skate !

Is anyone surprised that Bush computed Scooter Libby's prison sentence?

What do you think this means?

Personally, I think it means Scooter knew too much and
this was the only way to keep him quiet.
He could have put both Bush and Cheney behind bars, and only God knows who else.

I would love to know what is going on in Martha Stewart's mind right now.

She served her sentence without a whimper.

Can this sleazy administration get any worse?

Hold on to your hats every one, It's going to be a bumpy ride.

My new Hero !

Thanks to my stranger friend Misty, I have become a big fan of Hollywood Farm Girl.
Her recent post about Larry King bumping Michael Moore has stirred the kettle on a lot of blogs.
Maybe because his interview was such a bomb that Farm Girl is looking like a good replacement for King.
I wish Farm Girl had a comment section so I could tell her I posted her column because I thought it was brilliant,
and only because she said everything I was thinking.
I will not presume she has read my blog, but I want her to know that I have Farm Girl size balls too,
I just don't write as well as her.


I think Rosie has said it the best about Larry King..

"Stick a Fork in him!!

Farm Girl says it better then Me!

She really does:

TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 2007

Dear Larry,

There are not many people who are blessed to have a position such as the one in which you find yourself today. I knew your name from years ago. I knew that if someone was on Larry’s show, it was a big deal. That guest would be smart, contributive, and poignant. I would walk away from your interviews, Larry, feeling as if I’d just been let in on a secret dinner conversation. I used to find your questions imaginative, original, and somewhat interesting and clever. Your suspenders, with matching ties… really, that is such a cute idea. It spells class all the way.

Your show used to have movers and shakers on it. Your show was once significant to the American society, as your show was not only entertaining, but educational and provokative as well. What a legacy you had going, Larry! Unheard of! Unprecedented! CNN! YOU! THE FIRST! GOOO LARRY!

Is it true you bumped Michael Moore from your show to interview a celebrity famous for her porn and drunk driving? Really? Remember Michael Moore? He made Farenheit 911? Changed how we Americans viewed the war? Perhaps your manorexia has caused your brain to eat itself, and you don’t recall. Or, maybe, CNN is owned by some neo-cons, and the decision wasn’t really up to you, it was up to the people who own CNN? Either way, Larry, I am sure you are hitting yourself. I know, I can’t imagine if I had to be you and sit there across fom some poptart who’s labia has seen more sunshine than Cheney’s drunk chrome on a hunting afternoon. I can’t imagine what you will have to tell yourself as you prep for that interview in the makeup chair.Just remember, Larry, as history is written, there will be proof spilled everywhere, like ink. The truth will berry-stain: impossible to forget stain… And you know what? I am going to look back at this time, a time when real journalists could have saved us all some grief by reporting truth instead of soaps, and I will laugh and say “Remember how Larry King dumped Michael Moore for Paris Hilton?”

Or maybe I won’t. I’ll probably have forgotten about you, Larry, and your gossip show. You just became forgettable.

Have a good interview, Larry. I’m off to see SICKO, and try to see about changing this world, not my ratings.

Sincerely,
Hollywood Farmgirl

Question for tomorrow's poll!

Which country would you

like to ship Dick Cheney too??

Is someone trying to tell us some thing?

Spent the weekend at graduation receptions.

Saturday we went down to my nephews step daughters graduation reception.

The last one on Sunday was here in the western suburbs, very nice, we went early and headed home early.

We had a friend along and I was turned talking to her, when she yelled "look out."

I turned around in time to see my Hubba swerving out of the way of a car coming into the intersection.
Unfortunately not fast enough and the passenger door and front fender
of my brand new 2007 Mercury Milan got the brunt of it.

The other car lost his whole front end, my poor Hubba hasn't had so much as a parking ticket or accident in over 30 years.
So he was in semi shock I think.
I almost wished that I had been driving the car, then I could have jumped up and down and screamed to eliminate my stress.
The rest of the night I dealt with Mr. Pouty.
He was mad at him self, because he was looking for an exit sign and not the intersection.
The other driver was going pretty fast, but had the right of way.
The Officers were very kind and no tickets were issued, and most of all no one was injured.

Before I went to bed..I left a note reminding him of my nieces death and what our
family, especially her parents have been going though.

I said..
"No one was hurt..It's just a car..and you can always buy me a new one." :D

When he came home from work he had snapped out of his gloom.
He took the car to the body shop and got a rental for me.

If this had happened a month ago, maybe I wouldn't have been so calm about it.
Sure it made me ill to see my car like that.
But there was a young man and little boy in the other car, it could have been so much worse.
Another family could be grieving right now.

Maybe it is a wakeup call for all of us to be more observant on the road.
Next week is the 4th of July, think about this when you are driving,
I know I will.

Music Speaks to Truth

Proud to be Irish.!!

I have always been very proud of my Irish/English heritage.

On both my Mothers( Trowbridge) and Fathers ( Eaton) side we have been able to trace the English blood back to early years in those countries and maybe even to Francis Eaton who signed the Mayflower Compact in 1620.

My Irish side has been harder to trace, my maternal Grandmother was Irish.
Her Grandparents came from County Cork and that's about all we know.
We aren't even sure of her Grandfathers name.

Along with this "precious" blood line comes the curse on people of Irish/English descent, that shows up in skin cancers and other damage the sun does to fair skinned people who were stupid in their youth when they tried to get a tan, and did nothing but burn and peel.

I am paying for it the same way my mother did. I have been to the Doctor 3 times to remove Basil Cell skin cancers from my cheek.
Cells keep showing up in the outer areas during the biopsy.

My Doctor has now recommended a procedure that will be done by a Specialist where they will slowly take samples and examine while I wait until all of the affected area is removed.

I have a niece that has been through this and she told me it's better to have the Specialist do this because they can do it with out leaving much scarring.
In fact I couldn't even see hers.
But then her skin is much younger and more elastic

It just seems to me it would have been simpler for me and my Insurance company if I had been referred to a Specialist at the onset of the problem.
But hey, Insurance Companies don't work that way they try to get by the cheap route and then it ends up costing more money not to mention the time of the doctor and patient

I am just wondering what happens if it's all over my face?

Will the insurance company cough up money for a plastic surgeon if I need one?
When I asked the scheduler this she laughed, and I'm not sure if she thought I was being funny or if she laughed at the idea that my insurance would pay big bucks for a plastic surgeon.

Well only time will tell, and I couldn't even get an appointment for the procedure till August 8th.

If I do get the plastic surgeon, I'm leaning towards the Angelina Jolie look,
well without the big lips though.

TV News..Comedy Central and MSNBC ..Rock!

I just love The Daily Show and Colbert Report.

Last Night Stephen Colbert had Toby Keith on, and I loved how
Stephen tried to get Toby ( Big Head) to apologize to the Dixie Chicks.
He said he wouldn't apologize for his patriotism. Oh Please,
what a Phony **** !

I just love the way Stephen gets these (right) wingnuts on his show
and then makes them look ridiculous.

Nobody does news better then Jon Stewart or Keith Olberman and nobody puts things into perspective better then them.

I feel today that if you really want to know what is going on in this world,
then you have to watch these shows.

Your not going to get the truth from Fox News

Fathers Day

I thought a lot about my dad today.

He was bigger then life, a man's man.
Handsome in a John Wayne sort of way.
He would stop you in your tracks with a look.
Many young men I dated hated coming to my door to pick me up
when he was home.
He would just stare at them with his John Wayne eyes.
Needless to say I didn't have a lot of problems on my dates with them.

He was a hunter and fisherman, a licensed gunsmith and his last job before he became ill was as a Security Guard at the State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

He had worked many jobs in his youth and during the depression,
when there were no jobs,
he and his brother in law Red made bathtub hootch and sold it on the streets after dark.

I don't think there was anything he couldn't do.

My mom told me the story of how they met.

She was a senior in High School and working part time at her dads popcorn stand
This good looking young guy, kept coming over and buying popcorn from her.

She was smitten and a month before she graduated from High School
they eloped.

My Big Brother was born the following December.
They were young parents who struggled for many years before they continued their family, then they added me and my sister.


He was a good dad, strict, stern and sometimes scary.

It wasn't until I had children of my own that I realized what a pussycat he was.

He died way to young at the age of 56 from Hodgkin's disease, a disease they had no treatment for at that time.

I was expecting my 3rd child when he died so he never got to see my youngest son who resembles him so much.

Isn't it too bad that when we are young we don't spend the time talking to our parents about their lives?
They did not have it easy growing up, unlike the pampered children of today.

There is so much I would like to know about him and his early life, that I now have to hear second hand

I hope everyone took time today to remember their dad's in some way.

My kids did and their dad is smiling while he sleeps.

Stages of grief

Why is it that men think they have to hide their feelings in times of grief?

Why can't they just let it out.

Eventually it will hit like a wave and no matter where they are it will flow without control.

I saw that today......

Woman tend to share with close friends, and in time, each day gets better.

Lot's of time will have to pass before anyone wakes up and smiles again.

Grieving is difficult work, people have to take time and not be rushed into it.
We all need to cry and sometimes I think this world has ruined our sons by
making them think that crying isn't manly.

Time to wake up!

This column was posted on one of my discussion groups
After you read this, tell me if you think we are now safer.
I'm still waiting for all the flowers Cheney told us we would be welcomed with.

APPLETON PRESS
Brian Wojtalewicz

“Let’s Have At It”

Hit your “turning point” on the war yet?

The turning point for Staff Sergeant David Safstrom came in February of this year, on his third deployment in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division. They killed a man that they caught setting a roadside bomb, and they were stunned when the search of his body found an I.D. card showing him to be a sergeant in the Iraqi Army. He thought: “What are we doing here? Why are we still here? We’re helping guys that are trying to kill us. We help them in the day. They turn around at night and try to kill us.” Most of his fellow soldiers in Delta Company echoed his feelings when the New York Times reporter talked to them. Sergeant Safstrom explained that in his first two deployments, he and his fellow soldiers were gung-ho and had no or little reservations about being in Iraq.

Sergeant First Class David Moore, a self-described “conservative Texas Republican” and platoon sergeant in the same unit, told the reporter that he now strongly advocates getting out of Iraq. “In 2003, 2004, 100% of the soldiers wanted to be here, to fight this war.” Now, 95% of his platoon agrees that they should get out of Iraq.

Sergeant Safstrom explained why he believed the American presence was pointless. “If we stayed here for five, even 10 more years, the day we leave here these guys will go crazy. It would go straight into a civil war. That’s how it feels, like we’re putting a band-aid on this country until we leave here.”

Safstrom also recalled his thinking one week after the 9-11-01 attacks, when he walked into a recruiter’s office and joined the army: “You guys want to start a fight in my backyard, I got something for you.” The deception that was foisted upon these young people, and the country as a whole, is stunning. I remember reading about and seeing photos of graffiti put up by American troops in Iraq, with the message of “Remember 9-11.” These young people were willing to kill, and be killed, thinking that they were fighting the people who attacked us on that day. For several years now, anyone who has been paying even moderate attention to the situation knows that the people in Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11.

What have we done to the Iraqi people? A study by medical researchers that has never been successfully disputed has shown that over 655,000 Iraqis have died since the invasion. Approximately 2 million have fled the country. Recently, reporters have discovered among these refugees that way too many young Iraqi women and girls, especially those with no fathers as breadwinners in the family, have been forced into prostitution. Approximately one-third of Iraqi doctors have fled the country, and 2,000 of them have been murdered. Another 1.6 million Iraqis have been displaced within their own country. Our USA is spending $6 Billion a month on the Iraq War, but we have refused to allow any Iraqis as refugees into our country, except for 202 of them.

Our country is now spending $50 million a year on advertising for the army. My son, in his senior year of high school, was stunned to discover a large, brand new SUV, with big speakers and a big TV screen, backed up to the main doors of the commons of our high school one morning. The hip looking young man with shades on, who was greeting all of the students he could, turned out to be a military recruiter. Casey asked him who was paying for this big, showy rig and the equipment. The guy smiled and said it’s just part of their budget in the military. Our military is also now spending $1 Billion a year on enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses. Will this madness ever end? Will we ever get leadership to focus on serious anti-terrorism measures, instead of creating new terrorists in droves?

Don't get sick In the good old USA

This summer Michael Moore's new movie Sicko is being released.
I watched him on Oprah this past week, the new Michael shaved and bathed, almost looking like an accountant.

Many of the stories in this movie will touch someone, somewhere.

The Health System in this country is broken.
Especially the Mental Health system
It is a strictly for profit.
Our country is ranked 37th in health care, below Costa Rica
mind you, check it out for your self if you don't believe
this statistic.

At one point in the movie Michael takes a group a First Responders
to 9/11 on a trip to Guantanamo Bay Cuba, where we are holding questionable
terrorists.
The First responders have been denied medical care in good old New York.
Meanwhile Michael has discovered that in Guantanamo those being held
there have much better medical care and it is free.
Isn't it strange that our country only believes in Universal health care
for them, but not for the rest of us.

I urge everyone to see this movie and think about it before you
choose your next president.

You Have To Believe

For now I just want to share one of my favorite poems
by Douglas Malloch

You have to believe in happiness,
or happiness never comes.
I know that a bird chirps none the less,
when all he finds is crumbs.

You have to believe the buds will blow,
believe in the grass in days of snow.
That's the reason a bird can sing,
on his darkest day, he believes in spring.

You have to believe in happiness,
it isn't an outward thing.
The Spring never makes the song, i guess.
As much as the song the spring.

Aye, many a heart could find content,
if it saw the joy on the road it went.
The joy ahead when it had to grieve.
For the joy is there-but, you have to believe.

Sharing Aunt Sheila's Thoughts

Close your eyes and smell the new mowed grass,
those first lilacs just a few weeks prior.

Smile at others as you pass them on the street,
and hold your loved ones as close as you can.

You can never love anyone too much.

You cannot spoil your children by kissing them
every time the mood strikes and touching their
velvety soft cheek.

We are blessed each and every day
by the beauty of our surroundings,
the simplicity of our routines,
and the kindness of our friendships.

Make each and every moment count
as life is far too short to not be in it.

Seize the moment.

Don't get to comfortable.

Who would have thought that 2 hours after I wrote about Cindy Sheehan.
I would be facing a tragedy.
Last night I received a call from my niece that her 23 year old daughter was dead.
I went over to her home and stayed there into the evening until
her dad, my brother arrived.
As I write this I feel like someone has kicked me in the stomach.
I have always been a little uncomfortable when things seem to be going well.
It's like I'm waiting for the thunder bolt.
Yesterday I let my guard down
I am now seeing up close how someone you love deals with a child's death.
Sitting in their Living room listening to the Chaplain who arrived after the police were there was an experience I don't want to deal with anytime soon.
Don't get me wrong he was so kind and so caring, but talking about this beautiful girl being with God, we just wanted her back.

I wanted to scream...I wanted to get out of there.

Thank God my daughter was also there for support.

Maybe later I will post more about her, but right now
I feel drained.

Another voice silenced

PEACE OUT:

Cindy Sheehan used this Memorial Day to announce that giving up her role as the face of the nation’s anti-war movement. 21-months after her son Casey was killed in Iraq, Ms. Sheehan posted in a resignation letter on Daily Kos that she has had enough with being smeared and ridiculed, and that she is calling it quits. Can you blame her? Quoting Ms. Sheehan:“I am going to take whatever I have left and go home. I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost.”

The above was reported at the DailyKos.

No matter what your opinion of Cindy Sheehan was.
She was a gold star mother who lost her son
in an illegal/undeclared war.

Everyone has their own way of grieving,
and no one knows how they would handle
the same situation until it happens to them.

Cindy handled hers with anger
and many others handle there's by believing
this was a just fight their children died for.

I know some who have handled the grief of losing
a child by withdrawing from the world.

Cindy Sheehan deserved more respect from the President then she received.
All he would have had to do was meet with her.
Let her scream her anger at him and get it out of her system.
Bill Clinton would have done that.

Instead Bush let the media portray her as some kind of crazy.
Well yeh, she was crazy, with grief.

I hope now she can come to peace with her grief and heal
and I hope the media will finally leave her alone.

I'm Ticked

On my post Mixed Views,
someone without the courage to sign
their name asked me
why Conservatives can't have a view?

I want to answer them the best way I can.

Conservatives have been serving up their opinions
for years, going back to Clinton and making a major deal out
of his peccadillo's then screaming for impeachment.


It is time for those with common sense to finally speak up.
Bush and his administration are not only liars they are crooks
getting rich on other peoples blood.
(Who should be impeached now?)

They try to stop discussion by twisting words and calling people names.
It is time for all of us to finally speak up.
Rosie was our brave voice..

This war is a tragedy, it was the worst strategic mistake in American history.
If The administration wanted to find and prosecute Osama then they should have stayed in Afghanistan until he was found.
Is there anyone out there that doesn't believe that the war in Iraq
was all about Oil?

I heard today that Rosie is not coming back and it makes me sad.

I just hope she finds a place where she can continue to speak out.

I understand her decision, she has a family to think of and I am willing to bet
Kelly said

Enough is Enough!

Remember those that sacrificed for us.

As we go into Memorial day weekend,
I have had so many mixed feelings.

I was hoping the Senate and Congress would not cave into Bush
again.
But yesterday they did, in the final vote to ultimately extend this war.

What is it going to take for our elected officials to get a little back bone?
This war is not going to end as long as they continue to fund it.

I also wavered at one point wondering what would happen to our troops
if they didn't fund it.

Since then with a little research I found that the troops would have been taken care of.

Yesterday President Bush continued his scare tactics as he pointed at different journalists that didn't agree with him and told them

"If we don't win this war, they are going to kill your children."

Well Mr. President they are killing our children now, and if you don't end this war
they are going to kill thousands more of our children serving over there.
Including thousands of Iraqis

In the 5th year of this war we have spent over 1 Trillion dollars
So far the money spent on this war could have financed 1.8 million new teachers.
funded 20 million college scholarships, given 60 million people health care
We have lost over 3000 of our young people, 25,000 wounded, of those 1500+
are amputees and 5000 have head and brain injuries.

Our President is quick to find more money to pour into this war, but not enough to help those seriously wounded when they come home.

I will be watching the talk shows this weekend, I want to see the reasoning for this vote.

Meanwhile I want to thank those that had the courage to stand up to this President.
I just hope that the next time they have a vote there will be more of them.

Mixed "Views"

Well I certainly learned one good lesson today.
Don't watch a tape of the View before you are going to bed.
Todays show had me on the edge of my chair with my mouth hanging open.
I wasn't surprised by the explosion between Rosie and Elizabeth.
We are coming down to the last couple weeks of Rosie's stay and
I have watched her getting more and more stressed.
She has been trying so hard not to fight with Elizabeth because of her pregnancy.
But the last couple days, feelings have been hurt. and I could see in Rosie's face that it was only a matter of time.
I was surprised at the tone from Elizabeth. It was obvious to me that she has been holding back too.
Elizabeth feeding on Fox news is the most naive woman I have ever seen.
Rosie feels passionately about this country and the over 3000 young people killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
She also feels for the 100's of thousand innocent Iraqi's that have been killed.
Elizabeth feels passionately about keeping her friends at Fox News happy and today she may have put them before her friendship.
Someday she will mature and she will see who her real friend was.
I hope it is soon.
Today I just wanted to reach through the tube and hug Rosie and wipe the pain off her face.
If "The View" wins an Emmy this year it will be because of Rosie O'Donnell, and next fall if they don't find a powerful voice to replace her.
It will be the last year of "The View"

Musings

Today watching "The View" I could see the stress in Rosie's face.
Maybe she was tired, I hope that's all it was.
Maybe it was the fact that she had Kelly's family visiting
this past week.
That alone would be stressful.

I bet she can't wait till this seasons shows end.
It will be interesting to see what kind of ratings it will get next fall.

I made a little trip to the Periodontist today, which leads to another visit on Thursday for some minor surgery.
My Hygienist also thought a spot on my face needed a look see by my Doctor so scheduled that for Friday.

The joys of getting older.

It has been a bad week all around
and my mood today is blue.
I think I am just going to go curl up with a glass of wine and watch AI and Dancing with the Stars.

Did the gates open up?

Today when I heard that Jerry Falwell had died,
my first thought was,

"I wonder who met him at the gate?"
Over the years Jerry Falwell gave Christianity a bad name.
I was always taught compassion and empathy,
especially for those who could not help themselves.

Reverend Falwell spewed hateful venom most of the time,
his type of ministry gives other men of faith a bad name.

I have never been able to understand that type of religion.
Here in Minnesota we have one of those TV ministers.
Recently we found out that he has a couple of very expensive homes,
cars and boats.
He joked about it at one of his services and made this remark,
or something like it.
" They forgot to mention my Bikes"

Hey, his congregation loves him and loves giving him their money.
He turns around and openly supports Conservative politicians.

He got himself in a wee bit of trouble when he allowed
Michelle Bachman ( one kooky lady) to speak to his congregation while she was running for Congress.
She spoke about her fasting for days before she made the decision to run for office.
Then the Lord talked to her and told her to run.

The Reverend then announced to the worshipers, he was going to vote for her.
He doesn't even live in her district, something he found out later.
There were some challenges because of his tax free status,
but I don't think anything ever came from it.

I'm sure many people loved Reverend Falwell and grieve for him.

They all have my sympathy!!

Happy Mothers Day

If my mom was alive today she would have celebrated her 99th birthday on May 8th.
But because of an illness that drained her body and spirit, she left this world
November 2, 1994. way to early.

Mom was in complete age denial
It took her into her 80's before she would admit she was a senior citizen.
She was Irish first with a touch of English,
Someone you didn't mess with, all 5 ft' 2" of her.

She adored my husband and always told me that if we should ever divorce she got him.

Even at the age of 86 the church was filled with young and old.
As we left the church her good friend and neighbor Big Lou sang "Galloway Bay"
in his beautiful Tenor voice.

Below is just a portion of the eulogy a friend gave at her funeral

Today is the age of Angels.
All over the world there is becoming a magical
awakening to the fact, there really are angels

Those of you that knew Gladys were witness to that fact.
I think of her as the littlest angel,
the wittiest one, the busiest, the one who giggles the most,
the one who is the most fun to be around.
She was young at Heart.

(skipping personal things)

This Angel left us many gifts. She left her children and
grandchildren the gift of a great sense of humor, a warm acceptance
of all people no matter what color or creed.
She left all of us the gift of friendship.
This earth angel, the littlest angel has only passed on and she is waiting for us.
I believe she is saying.

" Live life to the fullest and you will find that the greatest gift
is our relationship with others."

American Idol

Yeh thats right I am an AI addict, but I agree with my stranger friend Misty that this year just doesn't have the Pzazz.
I don't know why, some really talented singers, but no one moves me like Fantazia or
Chris Daugherty did.
I think this year was spoiled by the Sanjaya phenomenon.
It was hard to pay much attention to the really talented vocals while he was there.
So we have final 4 tonight and one going home tomorrow.
My guess is it will be Lakisha, her nerves got the best of her.
Jordin and Melinda were right on tonight, they aren't going anywhere and though I thought Blake sucked big time, he has a strong fan base and being the only male left he won't leave tomorrow.
He may even hang in there for the final two, but he won't win.
Melinda may be the most polished, but Jordin is 17 and has the whole package,
I'm betting she will be the next AI.
I think she has her head on straight, so even though she is young I'm not worried
about her.
Unlike Brittany Spears, Jordin has real talent that will carry her into adulthood.

Now having said that, I probably have jinxed her.

Guess we'll soon find out and then I can get my Tuesday nights back.

Who are the Aliens??

If anyone has any doubts that the last 2 elections were stolen,
I suggest you go to the website below and read the latest from Greg Palast.

What is it going to take for people to wake up and smell the coffee?

This week Newsweek says that G. Bush has a 28% approval rating.
I just wonder what Planet those 28% are from?

I planned on blogging about something a little light when I went on line.
Then I got the e-mail about Greg Palast and my blood started to boil.


I am going to have to cool a little I guess.

http://gregpalast.com/

Tick Tock

I caught a little bit of the Republican debate.
What a scary group that is.
To impress their base they are willing to drop a bomb on anyone.
It seems they tried to out conservative each other to ridiculousness.
All of them having to go back to Ronald Reagan years to find their ideas.

I did not see one promising leader in the whole group.

I did not watch any of the democrats, mainly because I know their stands on most of the issues.

I do not have a favorite, but I have it narrowed down to 5 *Grin*

This is going to be a very long 18 months we have a head of us.

First Responders

One of the most tragic things that has happened since 9/11 is the number of First Responders
suffering from respiratory illness.
Today on the View we met a couple of them.
One suffering from respiratory fibrosis in both lungs.
He is unable to lay in his bed at night and sits in a chair straight up to sleep.
He needs a complete lung transplant.
There are 25,000 First responders suffering with lung ailments.
Soon the Federal program to help these brave men and woman will end.
They will be on their own, some of them not covered by insurance any more.
These are more of the tragedies from that awful day.
Rosie and the ladies talked about having a benefit for these victims of 9/11
I hope they follow through with it.

George "the King" does not hear those voices he is too involved in making sure all of his rich friends get their tax breaks.
Along with this, we have thousands of Veterans coming home with injuries and many from the first Iraq war still suffering from mysterious ailments and being ignored by this administration.

How many of these brave heroes will be standing in lines at food shelves in the near future?
I sent a letter to my Senators and Congressman, telling them to do something and if it means raising my taxes, so be it..

My Friend Rosie

I got hooked on Rosie O'Donnell when she first appeared on Star Search.
So when she started her own talk show I was in heaven.
I loved her talk show, kind of a cross between Mike Douglas and Phil Donohue.
I was sad when she chose to step down, but then I kept up with her through her blog .
She made my day when she accepted Barbara Walters offer to go on The View.
I wasn't much of a fan of that show, kinda sick of everyone pampering Star Jones.
Stars over the top wedding turned me off and I did not watch again until Rosie showed up.
Turning on Rosie in the Morning and the hot topics made my day.
I loved her honesty, her caring for others, many times I wanted to reach in and hug her when she seemed down.
I'm sure with her announcement that she has decided to leave, the "Dump Truck" will be in his glory.
Along with everyone on Fox news and some the other tabloid news stations.

Well I'm not and I am one angry woman.

I don't think ABC forced her out, unless they tried to muzzle her and Rosie is not going to be muzzled.
They knew when they hired her she was ouitspoken and had strong opinions.

When The View topples in the ratings they will realize what they are missing.

Trump, Hannity, Scarbouro can be gleeful but they can't silence Rosie.

Her blog will continue and I will check her every day so I can catch any shows she is on.

Rosie , Stranger friend, you will be missed.

What will tomorrow bring?

Today I went to the funeral of a dear friend.
After knee replacement surgery about 5 years ago she developed a strep B infection of the blood.
It took several months for her to recover, anyway at the time she thought she was recovering.
But as time went by she had one medical thing after another, until she reached a point where they finally amputated her leg.
She fought long and hard right up to the end.
We had been friends for over 30 years and had a lot of good memories of all the
political campaigns and conventions we went too.
She was an activist, big time. Always fighting for the underdog.
We were almost reaching the point where she was going to charge up her electric chair so we could march for Peace.
She was not a fan of our current administration and she made sure every one knew that.
She was so looking forward to the 2008 elections and had commented to me.
"How neat it was that the Democrats finally have a slate of candidates where anyone of them would be great."
We couldn't decide whether we wanted the first female or the first black President and then we would commiserate how nice it would be to have someone intelligent and easy on the eyes as John Edwards.
I am lucky to have had many friends and this is not the first one I have lost.
My best friend Arli, my soul mate died 8 years ago and Mare was the first one to call me and come over.
The strangest thing about all of this, both of them died as a result of a strep infection of the blood.
Arli within 7 days, it just took Mare longer.

One thing I will always remember about both of them was their unselfish caring of others,
anyone is lucky to have one friend like that..
I have been blessed with two.

Wednesday before Easter was the last time I saw Mare.
The twinkle wasn't in her eyes, and she seemed to be just going through the motions.
She mentioned to me and another friend that was there, that she wasn't feeling good.
She spent Easter with her family and a few days later she was in the hospital.
Last Saturday, her heart stopped, what else was going on in her body?
I don't know.
I do know, that she will be missed by me and everyone out there that needed a good advocate.

Rest in Peace Mare..

Gun's don't kill people??

Yesterday a parents worst nightmare took place.

At approximately 7:15 AM ET, a young 23 year old college student shot and killed
2 other students.
Two hours later he methodically killed 30 more, before taking his own life.

After hearing all of the stories about the young student who was the shooter, it has become obvious to me,that he was suffering from some kind of psychosis.
Even his roommate has said he acted strangely.
Teachers noticed this complexity and
one of them who worked with him one on one suggested he get counseling.
What is wrong with this picture?
Did they follow up, or contact family to discuss his strange behavior?
On a campus this large especially, they need someone who can recognize mental illness.
Or it will be happening again soon.
With the large number of military coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, who will be enrolling in college's all around this country, they better come up with some kind of plan to identify, psychosis, panic disorders, anxiety and other forms of mental Illness.
Why?
Because the gun lobby with all of their money will never allow any decent form of Gun Control to take place in this country.
No one wants to take away some ones right to hunt, but no one will ever convince me that any one other then a Police Officer needs an automatic weapon.
If this sick young person would have had to stop and reload his gun, just maybe some of those lives would have been saved.

Below is a link to a time line of recent Worldwide school shootings, read it and weep!

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777958.html

Hubba's update

Spent most of yesterday at the hospital, hubby had his inflamed gall bladder out.

Laparoscopy surgery is Out Patient, so did not get home until 8:30PM.

Todays Insurance companies determine our health care in this country.
There is no reason anyone should be sent home the same day they have been pumped full of anesthetics.
It is time for some strong reforms in health care.
If it is Universal or just State issued, something has to be done soon.
Instead of giving constant tax breaks to the wealthy we need to take care of those that can't take care of them selves.
A recent article in our local paper talked about hospitals having deep financial problems because of the numbers of uninsured coming into their ER rooms.
Minnesota has estimated almost 400,000 are uninsured here, many of them children
At one point the hospitals were charging those uninsured more for their treatments then they were the insured.
Sending bill collectors after them and draining every penny out of them they could.

Our former Attorney General Mike Hatch along with our current one Lori Swanson, put a stop to it.

We are the lucky ones with good coverage. But as I sat in that waiting room yesterday, I wondered what would have happened to us if we hadn't had decent coverage
How many people end up dying because they don't go in for preventative medicine.

Until we get a President that cares more for people instead of his rich friends I don't expect many changes.

The Golden Years

Have not had a good week.

Last week my hubba ended up in the hospital with severe pain in his abdomen.
It turned out to be a gall bladder attack, but in the process of diagnosing, the ER doctor found he had been on a wrong prescription for 6 weeks.
The pharmacy made a mistake,( guessing at bad hand writing is no excuse) not a small one, a dangerous one, he was taking a blood thinner instead of the medication prescribed..it was probably the cause of the attack, without going into
details, take my word for it.
He is now on the right medication plus a anti biotic for an infection caused because he was not getting the right medication.
Tonight he had a problem maybe caused by the anti biotic..so he is off of that till he talks to Doctor in the AM.

He is scheduled for gall bladder removal on Wed. ..maybe..!!
My kids think we should be suing, I don't have the stomach for it and anyway it would just make the lawyers rich.

Meanwhile the claims adjuster for the pharmacy called and will be sending out papers for him to fill out.
After tonight.. I wish I had a family member that was a lawyer...!

BUSHES WAR

This week has been a tough lesson for many of our elected Congress
and Senate members.
In my state newly elected Congressman Keith Ellison is getting a lot of heat
from the peace activists who take claim to his election.
They feel betrayed, only a vote for immediate withdrawal would have been accepted.
I think this is an illegal war and
I too would like to see all of these kids come home.
I have friends and family members in this conflict.
One thing I don't quite understand though, if we do not pass funding
what happens to the troops already there?
Do they and their families get paid?
If they decide to bring the troops
home now, what do we use for funding ?
How much will it cost and what happens to those that are the last ones
out.?
Will their lives be in danger as they leave?
I still have visions of those last planes leaving Viet Nam ...and it
sickens me.
None of this sounds very simple to me and to keep my sanity, I have to
trust that our Democratic leadership knows what they are doing.
I want to point out that if we could go back to the 2000 election and if
a single issue candidate like Ralph Nader had not been in the race,
Al Gore would not only be President, but we would be looking at an
entirely different world.

I know to some people that compromise is a dirty word, but many times
it is the only way to a solution.
I strongly support what our new leadership is trying to do and I hope
our kids come home, though it may not be tomorrow, maybe it will be soon
so no one else has to die..

_

Awakenings

Yesterday we went down to our hometown, a small college community about 90 miles south of the big city.
My friend was celebrating her birthday and her daughter DD and fiancee had flown up
for the weekend.
This was a very special birthday, because several months ago she discovered a suspicious skin tag and after several tests, it turned out to be a very rare form of melanoma.
She had successful surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Though it was stage 3,
no cancer cells were found in the surrounding lymph nodes, so she will be watched carefully
over the next few years.
It was fun seeing everyone and knowing that all is going well.
Now we look toward summer and DD's wedding and having a happy celebration.



With the news of the return of Elizabeth Edwards cancer, it is scary to think what the future might bring.
John and Elisabeth Edwards have had so many challenges to overcome and I know that positive thinking can do nothing but help.
So with my friend, and with Elisabeth Edwards, I too will keep those positive thoughts
and hope for the best.

When I woke this morning I had a new feeling, I don't know how to explain it,
Kind of like "a New Day Dawning" maybe better things ahead for everyone.
Does that sound silly???

Challenges

A recent visit to my Woman's Club by a PERA introduced us to a volunteer program at a nearby school.
It is highly diversified and many of the parents are not fluent in English.
They needed volunteers to help some of the children with reading and writing.
She gave such a compelling message, I decided to give it a shot.
It has been about a month now. I was assigned a 3rd grade boy I will call Patrick.
The first visit he was a little apprehensive but cooperated with me and we went through the folder that Ms.T had given me.
Patrick speaks with and accent and is from one of the African countries, my guess Liberia.
He is very bright, but right now as a 3rd grader he is only reading at a 1st grade level.
Recently when I have gone to the classroom to pick him up for our session it has been harder and harder.
He doesn't want to go with me but eventually he meets me in the media room and we go through his words and read a couple of the books, do some math and phonics pages and then I take him smiling back to his room with stars on his pages.
Yesterday was a bummer as I explain below.

Tuesday March 20,2007
My little Patrick had a complete meltdown today..He did not want to leave his classroom with me..I went down to the library to wait for him,when he finally came in a male teacher or maybe principle I'm not sure, came in with him and his teacher,
Ms. T....the poor little thing was distraught...I wanted to just hug him..but sat back and watched the teachers handle the situation.
Eventually he calmed down, after being told by the male teacher that if he didn't act respectfully he would be through for the day.
I was able to work with him for about 30 minutes..then took him back to class.

I have found out that he spent 8 years in a refuge camp with no structure and is having trouble giving up control. He can't be much more then 8 now...I feel just awful for this kid...
I have recognized that he has a talent in drawing so for the last 10 minutes I let him draw a picture..he drew a house with trees around it.
When I asked him where the house was he said "It yours"
I cried most of the way home, because all I could think of was, what will become of this kid ? Will the system break him,
or will he eventually become productive?
How many more kids are there out there like this?
Then I think about all of our kids and the opportunities they have that they don't use, and it makes me even sadder.
I wish I had an answer but I'll just have to see what next week brings.
Ms.T wants me to come back next Tuesday, I think she was afraid yesterday would do me in, but I don't give up that easily.
Tuesday they are having tests and he can't take them so she doesn't want him in the classroom distracting the other kids.
It should be an interesting day.....

Anne "The Vulture" Coulter

The Democrats best friend right now is Ann Coulter.
Her latest remarks about John Edwards have even turned conservatives against her.
A pie in the face isn't enough for this sickie.
It was funny yesterday and today listening to all of the conservatives running for cover as they distanced them selves from her.
Her latest comments were "Hey it was just a joke, I wouldn't insult gay people by comparing them to John Edwards. "
Oh that really helps your case Ann..keep it up..