I just got back from a two day field trip with Matthew at a camp called Arlington Echo... an overnight camp that teaches the kids about conservation, recycling, protecting the Chesapeake Bay, etc.
Almost from the moment we arrived, the kids went from station to station learning different things like soil conservation, water properties of the bay, the mysteries of the marsh, how to read a map and use a compass. They also did fun things like a nature's art project, team building activities and canoeing.
Personally, I learned two things----the fifth grader is a mysterious beast, and I am not smarter than a fifth grader.
I must admit, I did not do enough pre-trip research, as I thought that the camp went from Friday to Saturday. It was, in fact, a Tuesday and a Wednesday. Rearranging my work schedule was a bit of a problem because, as you may know, I have a college degree and a juris doctorate, so clearly, I am smart and have lots of smart things to do at work.
Anyway, that all worked out, and Matthew and I reported to school bright and early on Tuesday, packed with enough clothes for a week. As we sat in Matthew's very small, very warm classroom, one of the dads asked if I were driving or taking the bus. My response showed just how little I knew about the trip. "I didn't know we could drive, but had I known, I wouldn't want to drive all the way to Arlington, Virginia, anyway."
"Uh well," he stammered, "that information was all in the packet that was sent home along with the minute-by-minute schedule, and uh, well, the camp is in Millersville, Maryland, about fifteen minutes away."
With such a great education, you'd think that I would at least have known what state I was supposed to be in. Ignoring the fact that I had no idea where I was, or where I was going, I realized I had a completely new problem. Wow, someone should have told me about this minute-by-minute schedule that is, in all likelihood, still sitting in my son's backpack at our home.
No minute-by-minute schedule for the team leader... This is a potential disaster. Nervous, but not discouraged, I had two thoughts... Why don't they call this place Millersville Echo?... and... I hope they assigned a responsible parent to REALLY supervise my group.
We loaded the bus and headed off to Millersville. The fifteen minute ride took about thirty five minutes by bus, because we took the most ridiculous route. Had I known that I could have driven, I would have crushed the bus in a race. And so, for thirty of the thirty five minutes, we were entertained by twenty seven kids singing pop music.
Do you ever really listen to the words of those songs? When you hear ten year olds singing with such gusto, you cannot help but wonder if they understand the words. For example, IN MY HEAD, YOU FULFILL MY FANTASY... Really, because I am pretty sure that my son's fantasy is hitting a homerun in the seventh game of a World Series, and not hitting on some stranger in a club.
I did not understand all of what they were singing, but I looked up some of the actual lyrics to some of today's most popular songs... LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT YOUR MISSIN', PARADISE, WITH ME, YOU'RE WINNING GIRL, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ROLL THE DICE, SHAWTY, YOU'RE MY EENIE MEENIE MINIE MOE LOVER... or yet another... SHAWTY GOT A BOOTIE LIKE POW POW POW, SHAWTY GOT SOME BOOBIES LIKE WOW OH WOW. Are you kidding? Not at all!
Apparently, Shawty is a very popular girl because all the singers seem to know her. I must admit she does seem to have a nice figure, so her popularity is not surprising. One of these songs is sung by a fifteen year old, so at least the ten year olds are getting their views on love and relationships from a wise old sage. Unfortunately, I really do have underwear older than Justin Bieber.
Once we arrived at camp, it was clear that the minute-by-minute schedule was important. As it turned out, they were smart to pair me with not one, but two very responsible moms who had it all together----one actually took notes, so I didn't need no stinkin' schedule. I was also not the stinkin' leader, the moms were. Thank God... we had a chance of survival!
Our group consisted of three girls, all tall, athletic, and confident, and four boys, not tall and for the most part, not very athletic or confident. Matthew tended to have more in common with the girls than the boys. I must say, except for when he dressed up like a cheerleader last Halloween, I have never been so proud of my boy.
At lunch, I was paired with another dad and was assigned to table 11 with six boys. I was told by one of the moms before the first meal that after every meal they measured everybody's waste. I crinkled my nose at this information, and asked incredulously, "That's gross... how in the world do they do that?" She looked back at me with a similarly incredulous look on her face, and advised that they measured the food waste left on their plates, not that kind of waste. Oh, I was going to say... they take recycling to a whole new level!
Table 11 crushed, we had no food waste at any meal, and I cannot comment about the other kind of waste. The only questionable call came when one of the boys got sick at breakfast before finishing his milk. The boys were quick to point out to the judges that he would have finished had he not had to rush out to throw up. We got a favorable ruling, and our Cal Ripkin type streak continued--a great start to the day.
You would think that something funny would have happened in the cabins at night, but the kids were pretty tired, and settled down at about 9:45. At least, I, their fearless leader, was asleep by 9:45, so if something funny did happen, I was not awake for it. It really is just good chaperoning.
Unfortunately, we woke up on Wednesday to a driving rain. At breakfast, we were advised that the weather was supposed to have "pockets," and it looked like we could press on with the day's activities. This was great news because our first activity was canoeing.
The rain cleared out, and God provided us with perfect conditions, a high tide with beautiful blue sky, the sun shining through white fluffy clouds, and 70 degree weather. I was very happy to be paired with Matthew, and the two of us got to spend about an hour together out on the water.
Over the course of two days, all of the kids were well-behaved, and the sessions were fun and educational. We had a great time... but the time spent canoeing on the water with my ten year old was by far, my favorite event.
Because on this day... with my son... on this water... Arlington, Virginia never looked so good.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
An Act of Spiritual Communion...
For the complete story, click here.
Act of Spiritual Communion
"My Jesus, I believe that Thou art present
in the Blessed Sacrament.
I love Thee above all things and I desire Thee in my soul.
Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
As though thou wert already there,
I embrace Thee and unite myself wholly to Thee;
permit not that I should ever be separated from Thee."
Amen.
Charles Lollar for Congress in Maryland... Send Steny Hoyer home...
It's a clear choice, Maryland.
Steny Hoyer, the progressive. Or Charles Lollar, the Constitutional conservative.
If you want a progressive who is for big government, out of control spending, high taxes, socialized medicine, cap & trade legislation, bailouts, hundreds of billions in stimulus spending, union favoritism, voting for bills without reading them, assigning powers to Congress that are not in the Constitution, ruling against the will of the people, dismissing his constituents, and calling his dissenters un-American, then Steny Hoyer is your candidate.
If you want a Constitutional conservative, in favor of limited government, limited spending, low taxes, states' rights, accountability, small businesses, and individual liberty, then vote for Charles Lollar. Here's the link to Charles Lollar's website.
The choice is clear. Steny Hoyer needs to go home. Enough is enough.
Steny Hoyer, the progressive. Or Charles Lollar, the Constitutional conservative.
If you want a progressive who is for big government, out of control spending, high taxes, socialized medicine, cap & trade legislation, bailouts, hundreds of billions in stimulus spending, union favoritism, voting for bills without reading them, assigning powers to Congress that are not in the Constitution, ruling against the will of the people, dismissing his constituents, and calling his dissenters un-American, then Steny Hoyer is your candidate.
If you want a Constitutional conservative, in favor of limited government, limited spending, low taxes, states' rights, accountability, small businesses, and individual liberty, then vote for Charles Lollar. Here's the link to Charles Lollar's website.
The choice is clear. Steny Hoyer needs to go home. Enough is enough.
States' rights and the 10th Amendment...
For a quick overview, read A Citizen's Guide to the Tenth Amendment.
What I believe...
I believe in God. I believe that God is the source of my joy and my strength, and deserves my consideration and my praise. I owe my life back to God, and I must live like it.
I believe that in the fullness of time, God humbled Himself, and took the form of a Man here on earth, to reveal God's new covenant to the world. He suffered and died on the cross as a sacrifice to atone for our sins, and He conquered death through His Resurrection. I believe that following Jesus is the way to salvation, but that God is merciful, and He decides whom to save. My salvation is personal, and does not depend on everyone else's collective salvation, nor on my willingness to be part of a global collective that does not understand that common good refers to what is good for each and every individual, not simply for most of the group.
I believe in the strength of the family. I believe that to undermine the family undermines our society. I believe that after God, parents are the first authority. I believe that children are in all cases a gift from God. I believe that children should respect their parents, and parents should likewise respect their children, and look for the best in them. I believe that the home is the domestic church, and is the first and most important place of learning.
I believe in the rule of law. I believe that we are a country ruled by laws, not by men or special interests. I believe in the Declaration Principles and Natural Law... That we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights... among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (property). America is a representative republic, not a democracy, and certainly not an oligarchy.
I believe our Founders were divinely inspired. I believe the Constitution is perfect, just the way the Founders wrote it. I do not believe it is a living, breathing document, that must change and expand with time. I do not believe the Founders were purposely vague because they could not foresee how life would be today. In fact, as you can read in The Federalist Papers, the Framers were not vague at all. I believe they rightly intended to place strict limits on government, because they knew exactly how man's nature can be, and feared power and corruption in government.
I believe in American exceptionalism. I believe in freedom. Honor. Individual liberty. Personal responsibility. Merit. I believe in the goodness of the American we, the people.
I believe our elected leaders should represent us and serve us. They work for us... we do not work for them. I believe that if they run for office because they claim to have ideas and solutions that will improve America, and they fail, they ought to take responsibility, and not spend their entire tenure blaming their predecessors.
I believe in subsidiarity, whereby power rests with the most local able problem solver. I believe it is foolish, impractical, and arrogant for anyone to think he can centrally plan the lives of three hundred million Americans... or seven billion people worldwide, for that matter.
I believe it is immoral for the government to spend more than it possesses... passing on insurmountable debt to us... and to unsuspecting generations to come.
I believe it is immoral for the government to seize and redistribute wealth. I believe that we should share our talents and blessings, because we are called to, and because we choose to, not because the government forces us. I believe that we should be able to keep most of what we earn, no matter how much that is, and that we should decide how to use it. I believe that we should be able to pass our savings on to our children, without the government stepping in to confiscate it. Theft is not justice.
I believe in the free market and private enterprise, not Marxism, Communism, Socialism, or State Capitalism, where the government controls the market. No bailouts. No special favors.
I believe we should be good stewards of God's creation, including His unborn creation. God said, "Be fruitful and multiply." I do not believe that overpopulation is threatening our planet, any more than I think that God, in his infinite wisdom, would allow the very breath we exhale to be a poisonous gas. I do not believe man is causing the earth's climate to change. I believe the same people who claim to want to protect the planet look the other way at, and in many cases promote, the destruction of human life here. I believe that we serve God, not the earth. I do not believe we should forfeit our sovereignty to the United Nations as part of a global, transnational, new world order in the name of sustainability (social justice, environmental justice and economic justice).
I believe that life begins at conception and ends with natural death, and should be protected. I believe that God alone decides who lives and who does not. I believe that without the right to life, all other rights are worthless. I believe that abortion is the greatest evil of our day, and humans should not be destroyed for material comfort, or in the name of "mercy."
I believe that non-Americans who wish to live here should come through the front door, and abide by the immigration process established by law. I believe that all Americans should obey our immigration laws, as well. Non-Americans are not allowed to vote in American elections.
I believe the wall of separation between church and state is a twisted, manufactured excuse to eliminate God from all public discourse. The Constitution established Freedom of Religion, not freedom from religion. Our Founders were guarding against an establishment of a national religion, the reason they left their homeland to begin with. They were trying to ensure religious freedom of expression, not restrict it.
I believe progressives have been working to destroy America for more than a century. I believe they are in our government, our churches, and our schools. I believe that my children should be able to go to school and not be indoctrinated with environmental justice or revisionist history.
I believe the Tea Party movement has exposed the progressives, and has changed politics as usual in America... and I say, it's about time. I believe the Democratic party has been fundamentally transformed into the Democratic Socialists. The Republicans have been undergoing a transformation of their own, albeit slower, and would do well to pay attention, before they become irrelevant as well.
I am proudly part of the Tea Party movement. I believe in Constitutional originalism, the rule of law, limited government, low taxes, the free market, a guarantee of equal opportunity, not necessarily equal results, personal responsibility, personal charity, a deep reliance on God's Providence, peacefulness, a strong family, love of country, and the right to life and liberty.
Because of my beliefs, I have been labeled a danger, a racist, a homophobe, a hater, a bigot, unstable, crazy, not thinking clearly, clinging to my guns and my religion, stupid, a hillbilly, an extremist, and an enemy.
More and more, there is a clear choice for America. Please choose her leaders wisely.
And please pray for God's protection.
I believe that in the fullness of time, God humbled Himself, and took the form of a Man here on earth, to reveal God's new covenant to the world. He suffered and died on the cross as a sacrifice to atone for our sins, and He conquered death through His Resurrection. I believe that following Jesus is the way to salvation, but that God is merciful, and He decides whom to save. My salvation is personal, and does not depend on everyone else's collective salvation, nor on my willingness to be part of a global collective that does not understand that common good refers to what is good for each and every individual, not simply for most of the group.
I believe in the strength of the family. I believe that to undermine the family undermines our society. I believe that after God, parents are the first authority. I believe that children are in all cases a gift from God. I believe that children should respect their parents, and parents should likewise respect their children, and look for the best in them. I believe that the home is the domestic church, and is the first and most important place of learning.
I believe in the rule of law. I believe that we are a country ruled by laws, not by men or special interests. I believe in the Declaration Principles and Natural Law... That we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights... among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (property). America is a representative republic, not a democracy, and certainly not an oligarchy.
I believe our Founders were divinely inspired. I believe the Constitution is perfect, just the way the Founders wrote it. I do not believe it is a living, breathing document, that must change and expand with time. I do not believe the Founders were purposely vague because they could not foresee how life would be today. In fact, as you can read in The Federalist Papers, the Framers were not vague at all. I believe they rightly intended to place strict limits on government, because they knew exactly how man's nature can be, and feared power and corruption in government.
I believe in American exceptionalism. I believe in freedom. Honor. Individual liberty. Personal responsibility. Merit. I believe in the goodness of the American we, the people.
I believe our elected leaders should represent us and serve us. They work for us... we do not work for them. I believe that if they run for office because they claim to have ideas and solutions that will improve America, and they fail, they ought to take responsibility, and not spend their entire tenure blaming their predecessors.
I believe in subsidiarity, whereby power rests with the most local able problem solver. I believe it is foolish, impractical, and arrogant for anyone to think he can centrally plan the lives of three hundred million Americans... or seven billion people worldwide, for that matter.
I believe it is immoral for the government to spend more than it possesses... passing on insurmountable debt to us... and to unsuspecting generations to come.
I believe it is immoral for the government to seize and redistribute wealth. I believe that we should share our talents and blessings, because we are called to, and because we choose to, not because the government forces us. I believe that we should be able to keep most of what we earn, no matter how much that is, and that we should decide how to use it. I believe that we should be able to pass our savings on to our children, without the government stepping in to confiscate it. Theft is not justice.
I believe in the free market and private enterprise, not Marxism, Communism, Socialism, or State Capitalism, where the government controls the market. No bailouts. No special favors.
I believe we should be good stewards of God's creation, including His unborn creation. God said, "Be fruitful and multiply." I do not believe that overpopulation is threatening our planet, any more than I think that God, in his infinite wisdom, would allow the very breath we exhale to be a poisonous gas. I do not believe man is causing the earth's climate to change. I believe the same people who claim to want to protect the planet look the other way at, and in many cases promote, the destruction of human life here. I believe that we serve God, not the earth. I do not believe we should forfeit our sovereignty to the United Nations as part of a global, transnational, new world order in the name of sustainability (social justice, environmental justice and economic justice).
I believe that life begins at conception and ends with natural death, and should be protected. I believe that God alone decides who lives and who does not. I believe that without the right to life, all other rights are worthless. I believe that abortion is the greatest evil of our day, and humans should not be destroyed for material comfort, or in the name of "mercy."
I believe that non-Americans who wish to live here should come through the front door, and abide by the immigration process established by law. I believe that all Americans should obey our immigration laws, as well. Non-Americans are not allowed to vote in American elections.
I believe the wall of separation between church and state is a twisted, manufactured excuse to eliminate God from all public discourse. The Constitution established Freedom of Religion, not freedom from religion. Our Founders were guarding against an establishment of a national religion, the reason they left their homeland to begin with. They were trying to ensure religious freedom of expression, not restrict it.
I believe progressives have been working to destroy America for more than a century. I believe they are in our government, our churches, and our schools. I believe that my children should be able to go to school and not be indoctrinated with environmental justice or revisionist history.
I believe the Tea Party movement has exposed the progressives, and has changed politics as usual in America... and I say, it's about time. I believe the Democratic party has been fundamentally transformed into the Democratic Socialists. The Republicans have been undergoing a transformation of their own, albeit slower, and would do well to pay attention, before they become irrelevant as well.
I am proudly part of the Tea Party movement. I believe in Constitutional originalism, the rule of law, limited government, low taxes, the free market, a guarantee of equal opportunity, not necessarily equal results, personal responsibility, personal charity, a deep reliance on God's Providence, peacefulness, a strong family, love of country, and the right to life and liberty.
Because of my beliefs, I have been labeled a danger, a racist, a homophobe, a hater, a bigot, unstable, crazy, not thinking clearly, clinging to my guns and my religion, stupid, a hillbilly, an extremist, and an enemy.
More and more, there is a clear choice for America. Please choose her leaders wisely.
And please pray for God's protection.
"Look upon me, and be merciful unto me, as you always do to those who love your name." ~ Psalm 119:132
Monday, October 25, 2010
Is it, or is it not, your money?
The government is considering disallowing or reducing the mortgage interest deduction, the child tax credit, and pretax health insurance accounts, among other tax deductions. Read here from the Wall Street Journal.
Any time I read about the government looking for ways to "save money" by limiting your tax deductions because "they cost the government too much money," I always go back to the same question... Whose money does the government think it is?
They think it's theirs, of course.
They can spend it better than you. So they take more of your money... and put it back where it belongs... into its own hands... and out to those it deems worthy.
Somehow, I don't think this is the definition of justice.
Next week, you will be given a clear choice in the voting booth. Do you want a bloated government, seizing more and more of what belongs to you? Or do you want freedom?
Any time I read about the government looking for ways to "save money" by limiting your tax deductions because "they cost the government too much money," I always go back to the same question... Whose money does the government think it is?
They think it's theirs, of course.
They can spend it better than you. So they take more of your money... and put it back where it belongs... into its own hands... and out to those it deems worthy.
Somehow, I don't think this is the definition of justice.
Next week, you will be given a clear choice in the voting booth. Do you want a bloated government, seizing more and more of what belongs to you? Or do you want freedom?
Friday, October 22, 2010
Funny Guy Friday... My wife is soooo nice!
Every so often, I hear someone ask why Catholics say prayers to the Blessed Mother instead of going right to the Big Guy. The answer that I have heard that makes the most sense is that you pray for Mary to intercede on your behalf to ask Her Son to grant your prayers.
Let me tell you, this works. On a much smaller scale, the same sort of thing happens in our home. There have been several occasions when I have come home from work, and Cheryl greets me with the usual, How was your day?
Then after the usual small talk, she gets around to, I got a call today from so and so and they have a problem with their son... or She has an issue with her ex-husband... or He needs some help with moving furniture.
This, of course begs the question, Well why are they calling you? You can't help them with their son/ex-husband/furniture. I mean, it's not feeding the masses or anything, but she really can't help them.
Well, they thought that I might be able to ask you to help them out and they didn't want to bother you, she tells me, as if it is okay that she bothers me.
I have no problem with this whole process, and for the most part it is not a bother. But what happens once I show up to do the actual favor, does get under my skin. The folks that call my wife to ask her to ask me to help feel the need to tell me... Your wife is soooo nice!
Let me get this straight... she is home asleep in bed while I am doing my good deeds and you want to tell me that she is the nice one? Why don't you call her and wake her up and then we'll see how nice she is? I have been there for that, and nice is not the description that I would use.
I have moved furniture in several different states, conducted a two day pro bono trial for a woman she met at the bus stop, unloaded a thousand boxes of Girl Scout cookies, drafted documents, retrieved documents, and selected her friends' sons on my baseball teams despite the fact that they can't play a lick. I get the joy of telling Junior to stop making mud pies in right field, so my wife can be the nice one.
This week, a request from a neighbor resulted in a bit of an adventure. My mission was to go to the courthouse to retrieve a document for her. Simple enough... but the only information that she had given me was a name and a date. Unfortunately, that date happened to be twenty eight years ago. No case number and no guarantee that the case was even in the county where I happened to be. It was up to Super Agent Me to fill in the blanks and deliver the goods to my wife's "client."
I started my quest at the courthouse in the Clerk's Office, to see where they keep the really old case files. I made contact with some old friends and was sent to the basement, where I met a very nice young lady who was in her second week of work.
She advised me that I needed a case number, and the only way to get that number was to go to Land Records. I hate Land Records----it is just very confusing. The people that go to Land Records know what to do with all those books, but I have been there once before and I have no idea.
I relayed my prior experience in Land Records to my new friend, and she pulled me aside and whispered under her breath, They don't have any staff over there, but if you go in and act like you are confused, someone will offer to help you out.
This will be easy, I thought. I can look confused with the best of them. A good agent, er uh, lawyer, must also be a good actor.
I must say that I carried it off to perfection---dare I say, I looked like a complete idiot. I did such a good job that not just one person came to my aid, but two people came to my aid. Once they located the book I needed... a huge book that listed all of the cases from 1942 to 1988... my excitement began to build.
I blew the dust off the book and began my search. I felt like Nick Cage in National Treasure. The answer was there... I could feel it.
I found the case number and ran back to the courthouse to get the file.
On the way there, I ran into a friend of Cheryl's, and after chatting for a few moments, I told her what I was doing and she said, Cheryl is so nice. Uh-huh.
Anyway... I went back to the basement and met up with my new found friend. The whole time I was thinking, Where do they keep all of these files? The answer is... They don't keep files, they keep microfiche. Microfiche is cool---very spy like. I had to place the microfiche in the little machine and scan for the document that I needed. Very cool!
As I reviewed the file, I discovered names of deceased lawyers, retired judges, and lawyers who later became judges. The whole thing was very much in keeping with the action adventure movie that I had going on in my pea brain.
Finally, I found the specific document that I needed, and I discreetly asked my friend to make me a copy (taking care not to use my credit card, as you never know who might be trying to trace my whereabouts).
I took my copy, and used a different route back to my car, crossing the hallways on many occasions, watching for anyone would follow me back to my office to try to steal my find.
Once back at my office, I viewed everyone suspiciously, even my secretary, whom I have had doubts about for months. I had come this far, and I was not going to let it be spoiled by anyone.
Later, under the cover of darkness, I was able to deliver the secret document to our neighbor, and my mission was accomplished.
On a side note, I just got back from delivering the document and listened to a message on our phone... thanking Cheryl for the favor. She is soooo nice!
I did not have to wait for the message to self-destruct, as I took the tape, myself, and threw it out of the window.
Let me tell you, this works. On a much smaller scale, the same sort of thing happens in our home. There have been several occasions when I have come home from work, and Cheryl greets me with the usual, How was your day?
Then after the usual small talk, she gets around to, I got a call today from so and so and they have a problem with their son... or She has an issue with her ex-husband... or He needs some help with moving furniture.
This, of course begs the question, Well why are they calling you? You can't help them with their son/ex-husband/furniture. I mean, it's not feeding the masses or anything, but she really can't help them.
Well, they thought that I might be able to ask you to help them out and they didn't want to bother you, she tells me, as if it is okay that she bothers me.
I have no problem with this whole process, and for the most part it is not a bother. But what happens once I show up to do the actual favor, does get under my skin. The folks that call my wife to ask her to ask me to help feel the need to tell me... Your wife is soooo nice!
Let me get this straight... she is home asleep in bed while I am doing my good deeds and you want to tell me that she is the nice one? Why don't you call her and wake her up and then we'll see how nice she is? I have been there for that, and nice is not the description that I would use.
I have moved furniture in several different states, conducted a two day pro bono trial for a woman she met at the bus stop, unloaded a thousand boxes of Girl Scout cookies, drafted documents, retrieved documents, and selected her friends' sons on my baseball teams despite the fact that they can't play a lick. I get the joy of telling Junior to stop making mud pies in right field, so my wife can be the nice one.
This week, a request from a neighbor resulted in a bit of an adventure. My mission was to go to the courthouse to retrieve a document for her. Simple enough... but the only information that she had given me was a name and a date. Unfortunately, that date happened to be twenty eight years ago. No case number and no guarantee that the case was even in the county where I happened to be. It was up to Super Agent Me to fill in the blanks and deliver the goods to my wife's "client."
I started my quest at the courthouse in the Clerk's Office, to see where they keep the really old case files. I made contact with some old friends and was sent to the basement, where I met a very nice young lady who was in her second week of work.
She advised me that I needed a case number, and the only way to get that number was to go to Land Records. I hate Land Records----it is just very confusing. The people that go to Land Records know what to do with all those books, but I have been there once before and I have no idea.
I relayed my prior experience in Land Records to my new friend, and she pulled me aside and whispered under her breath, They don't have any staff over there, but if you go in and act like you are confused, someone will offer to help you out.
This will be easy, I thought. I can look confused with the best of them. A good agent, er uh, lawyer, must also be a good actor.
I must say that I carried it off to perfection---dare I say, I looked like a complete idiot. I did such a good job that not just one person came to my aid, but two people came to my aid. Once they located the book I needed... a huge book that listed all of the cases from 1942 to 1988... my excitement began to build.
I blew the dust off the book and began my search. I felt like Nick Cage in National Treasure. The answer was there... I could feel it.
I found the case number and ran back to the courthouse to get the file.
On the way there, I ran into a friend of Cheryl's, and after chatting for a few moments, I told her what I was doing and she said, Cheryl is so nice. Uh-huh.
Anyway... I went back to the basement and met up with my new found friend. The whole time I was thinking, Where do they keep all of these files? The answer is... They don't keep files, they keep microfiche. Microfiche is cool---very spy like. I had to place the microfiche in the little machine and scan for the document that I needed. Very cool!
As I reviewed the file, I discovered names of deceased lawyers, retired judges, and lawyers who later became judges. The whole thing was very much in keeping with the action adventure movie that I had going on in my pea brain.
Finally, I found the specific document that I needed, and I discreetly asked my friend to make me a copy (taking care not to use my credit card, as you never know who might be trying to trace my whereabouts).
I took my copy, and used a different route back to my car, crossing the hallways on many occasions, watching for anyone would follow me back to my office to try to steal my find.
Once back at my office, I viewed everyone suspiciously, even my secretary, whom I have had doubts about for months. I had come this far, and I was not going to let it be spoiled by anyone.
Later, under the cover of darkness, I was able to deliver the secret document to our neighbor, and my mission was accomplished.
On a side note, I just got back from delivering the document and listened to a message on our phone... thanking Cheryl for the favor. She is soooo nice!
I did not have to wait for the message to self-destruct, as I took the tape, myself, and threw it out of the window.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
October Surprise?
So the NAACP just released a scathing report about the Tea Party Movement. Everything makes perfect sense when you discover who wrote it. Read all about it here, from The Blaze.
What a coincidence that this report comes out just days before an election.
When you cannot win on the battlefield of ideas, you simply smear.
No surprise here.
What a coincidence that this report comes out just days before an election.
When you cannot win on the battlefield of ideas, you simply smear.
No surprise here.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Indoctrination update...
You may have read my post about the indoctrination field trip. Here is my update.
Yesterday, after reviewing what appeared to be another go-green science lesson, I contacted a representative from the STEM program at my daughter's high school, to discuss what I feared was a green trend for STEM science.
She apologized about the field trip, and assured me that the children were not supposed to see the global warming exhibit at the museum. The museum curator had been instructed to show them the infectious diseases exhibits only.
She further assured me that our school's STEM program has no agenda to indoctrinate the students with the man-made global warming point of view. She said the current science assignment examining climate data trends was designed to enable the students to discover the natural causes of changes to our climate, not just accept the current drum beat of man is the cause. The point of the exercise was not spelled out, but I will take her word for it.
I further mentioned two speeches from the Secretary of Education and the Undersecretary of Education, given at last month's Sustainability Summit, regarding the STEM programs, and the Department of Education's mission to turn our students into "good little envirionmental citizens" in this "green revolution."
She assured me that at our school, they are not doing that.
I believe her, because I still have hope that things may be different on the local level. But I will stay vigilant.
Yesterday, after reviewing what appeared to be another go-green science lesson, I contacted a representative from the STEM program at my daughter's high school, to discuss what I feared was a green trend for STEM science.
She apologized about the field trip, and assured me that the children were not supposed to see the global warming exhibit at the museum. The museum curator had been instructed to show them the infectious diseases exhibits only.
She further assured me that our school's STEM program has no agenda to indoctrinate the students with the man-made global warming point of view. She said the current science assignment examining climate data trends was designed to enable the students to discover the natural causes of changes to our climate, not just accept the current drum beat of man is the cause. The point of the exercise was not spelled out, but I will take her word for it.
I further mentioned two speeches from the Secretary of Education and the Undersecretary of Education, given at last month's Sustainability Summit, regarding the STEM programs, and the Department of Education's mission to turn our students into "good little envirionmental citizens" in this "green revolution."
She assured me that at our school, they are not doing that.
I believe her, because I still have hope that things may be different on the local level. But I will stay vigilant.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
A poem from my fifth grader...
It seems Funny Guy isn't the only other writer in our family. Here is a poem Matthew wrote in school...
I Am From...
I am from the sound of crickets at night...
Home run derbies with my friends...
Kids riding their bikes.
I am from steamed crabs with old bay and vinegar...
Grandma's just-right meatballs...
Cold Ledo's pizza just for breakfast.
I am from sayings like, "Is your homework done?"...
And, "Lights out"...
And, "Do not eat so fast."
I am from a loving family...
A funny dad...
And a loving mom.
I am from kindness.
I Am From...
I am from the sound of crickets at night...
Home run derbies with my friends...
Kids riding their bikes.
I am from steamed crabs with old bay and vinegar...
Grandma's just-right meatballs...
Cold Ledo's pizza just for breakfast.
I am from sayings like, "Is your homework done?"...
And, "Lights out"...
And, "Do not eat so fast."
I am from a loving family...
A funny dad...
And a loving mom.
I am from kindness.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Funny Guy Friday... I demand a trade...
Randy Moss was recently traded from the Patriots to the Vikings. For those of you who don't know, Moss is an incredibly talented wide receiver who is also incredibly temperamental. If things don't go his way, he complains and pouts and eventually makes himself such a nuisance that he gets traded. If he were a female singer, he would be a diva making demand after demand. Although he has probably been the best wide receiver in football for the past ten years or so, he has now forced his way into three trades.
His actions never made much sense to me, and I have never been a fan of his. Personally, I have never been in a position where I could make demands on my employer, until now.
My kids have reported that I received a telephone call from Michelle Malkin, and I am sure I know what is coming. As a result.........
After twenty two weeks of FGF, I feel that I must demand a trade from the You Are Mine blog to Michelle Malkin's blog.
Like every great athlete that demands a trade, it is not about me, it is about everything else but me. Sure my interests are at the center of each of my reasons, but rest assured, it is not about me. I think that after you review the reasons for my demand, you will find it is really about you, my fans. Before I go on, I just want to say that this is not done without much thought and consideration---about you, not me--- and it is clear that I cannot continue to write under the current circumstances.
First, I feel that my talents are being wasted in a small market. Sure, You Are Mine gave me my start, and I appreciate that, but this is a website for those interested in my wife's politics and religious beliefs. I know all six readers of the site, and----and I don't want to paint all six of you with a broad brush, but----- it just seems that none of you are really interested in laughing. In the event that you are interested in having me make you laugh, you can always log on to a bigger market website, like Michelle Malkin's perhaps. More people exposed to more right wing politics and religion... and more people exposed to FGF.
The owner of FGF does not put any money into the site. Has anybody noticed that You Are Mine does not market? No advertisements, no sponsors, no flyers on your window when you come out of the mall, no nothin'. No advertising means no money. I have not received one red cent in twenty two weeks.
But I want to make this clear---IT IS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY! In fact, money has nothing to do with it. I hate money! I write for the love of writing and for you, the fans. I have never based FGF's value to society on whether FGF was a commercial success or not. I am not writing for The Man, I am writing for The Fan!
No, no, the fact that Ms. Malkin is going to offer me boodles of cash is really just a bonus for you, the reader. How? You ask? The money allows me to go out and experience more funny stuff, so I can expand my writing and be Funnier Guy Friday. Oh by the way, FGF will soon be sponsored by Fast Freddy's French Fries---a healthy potato snack! and will be known as Fast Freddy's French Fries's Funnier Guy Friday... aka... FFFFFGF.
I am not respected by my employer. Every week, I come up with clever human interest stories about the goings on in our family. It is not easy to come up with a story week after week, but I do. Once it is ready to go to press---or post, as Michelle and I say in the weblog industry---I have to clear it with the editor. Then the creative battle begins, and you should know that for the past 22 weeks, I have been writing with cuffs on my wrists and shackles on my feet.
I need creative control---for you the fan, of course. How many times can I hear... Don't say this about my mother. Don't call our kids little rats. Jackass is a bad word. The kids' teachers might read this. You're going too long. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. The list goes on and on.
The straw that broke the camel's back occurred this past Friday when FGF was not the feature post for Friday, October 8. That's right. Some silly white board/black board battle between Glenn Beck and the White House was the feature post. A post about lies, perpetrated by the White House, regarding the Bush tax cuts that will affect every American.
Wake me when it's over. Couldn't that tidbit of information wait? It is not like there won't be some politician lying about something else on Saturday!
Again, this is not about me, but you, the reader. I will not sit idly by as she forces you to scroll down to get to the good stuff.
Wait a second... What's that?... Michelle Malkin didn't call?... It was Michelle Mulligan from the kids' school?... She doesn't want me to blog for her?... She wants me to chaperone the zoo trip? Wow, this changes everything. My kids are rats... er... uh... silly rascals. Never mind all that stuff I just wrote.
Well, just to show it really is about the fans, I want everyone to know that you should eat Fast Freddy's French Fries, because they really are a healthy potato snack!
His actions never made much sense to me, and I have never been a fan of his. Personally, I have never been in a position where I could make demands on my employer, until now.
My kids have reported that I received a telephone call from Michelle Malkin, and I am sure I know what is coming. As a result.........
After twenty two weeks of FGF, I feel that I must demand a trade from the You Are Mine blog to Michelle Malkin's blog.
Like every great athlete that demands a trade, it is not about me, it is about everything else but me. Sure my interests are at the center of each of my reasons, but rest assured, it is not about me. I think that after you review the reasons for my demand, you will find it is really about you, my fans. Before I go on, I just want to say that this is not done without much thought and consideration---about you, not me--- and it is clear that I cannot continue to write under the current circumstances.
First, I feel that my talents are being wasted in a small market. Sure, You Are Mine gave me my start, and I appreciate that, but this is a website for those interested in my wife's politics and religious beliefs. I know all six readers of the site, and----and I don't want to paint all six of you with a broad brush, but----- it just seems that none of you are really interested in laughing. In the event that you are interested in having me make you laugh, you can always log on to a bigger market website, like Michelle Malkin's perhaps. More people exposed to more right wing politics and religion... and more people exposed to FGF.
The owner of FGF does not put any money into the site. Has anybody noticed that You Are Mine does not market? No advertisements, no sponsors, no flyers on your window when you come out of the mall, no nothin'. No advertising means no money. I have not received one red cent in twenty two weeks.
But I want to make this clear---IT IS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY! In fact, money has nothing to do with it. I hate money! I write for the love of writing and for you, the fans. I have never based FGF's value to society on whether FGF was a commercial success or not. I am not writing for The Man, I am writing for The Fan!
No, no, the fact that Ms. Malkin is going to offer me boodles of cash is really just a bonus for you, the reader. How? You ask? The money allows me to go out and experience more funny stuff, so I can expand my writing and be Funnier Guy Friday. Oh by the way, FGF will soon be sponsored by Fast Freddy's French Fries---a healthy potato snack! and will be known as Fast Freddy's French Fries's Funnier Guy Friday... aka... FFFFFGF.
I am not respected by my employer. Every week, I come up with clever human interest stories about the goings on in our family. It is not easy to come up with a story week after week, but I do. Once it is ready to go to press---or post, as Michelle and I say in the weblog industry---I have to clear it with the editor. Then the creative battle begins, and you should know that for the past 22 weeks, I have been writing with cuffs on my wrists and shackles on my feet.
I need creative control---for you the fan, of course. How many times can I hear... Don't say this about my mother. Don't call our kids little rats. Jackass is a bad word. The kids' teachers might read this. You're going too long. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. The list goes on and on.
The straw that broke the camel's back occurred this past Friday when FGF was not the feature post for Friday, October 8. That's right. Some silly white board/black board battle between Glenn Beck and the White House was the feature post. A post about lies, perpetrated by the White House, regarding the Bush tax cuts that will affect every American.
Wake me when it's over. Couldn't that tidbit of information wait? It is not like there won't be some politician lying about something else on Saturday!
Again, this is not about me, but you, the reader. I will not sit idly by as she forces you to scroll down to get to the good stuff.
Wait a second... What's that?... Michelle Malkin didn't call?... It was Michelle Mulligan from the kids' school?... She doesn't want me to blog for her?... She wants me to chaperone the zoo trip? Wow, this changes everything. My kids are rats... er... uh... silly rascals. Never mind all that stuff I just wrote.
Well, just to show it really is about the fans, I want everyone to know that you should eat Fast Freddy's French Fries, because they really are a healthy potato snack!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Indoctrination Field Trip...
For my update, please click here.
Yesterday, I accompanied my 9th grader on a field trip to the Marian Koshman Science Museum of the American Academy of Sciences. We were told this would be a lesson about infectious diseases.
It is true that there was a lesson about infectious diseases, but we also were required to walk through an exhibit about... wait for it... global warming.
In fact, the global warming exhibit took up half the square footage of the actual exhibit area. There were no questions to answer for purposes of the field trip, but we were told by the museum curator to spend twenty minutes in that exhibit and just "absorb."
I wrote down the museum's statement about global warming. According to the National Academy of Sciences, "A growing body of evidence indicates that humans now have a significant impact on climate. Nevertheless, it is difficult to identify humans as the only cause of a particular weather event or local climate change."
Yes. For instance, perhaps sun activity warms the earth.
So... According to the Academy, humans are significantly impacting climate, but not the weather or local climate change. What? A growing body of evidence? Any proven scientific fact?
Someone at the Academy may want to read the reports about Weathergate. It appears the growing body of evidence concerning man-made global warming was admittedly falsified and subsequently debunked.
When someone thinks that two things are scientifically connected, I was taught that that is called a hypothesis. Then if researchers actually prove it, it becomes a fact that can be taught in high school. All the talk of a consensus is an attempt to legitimize something that simply cannot be proven, nor universally accepted.
Makes me wonder what else is being taught as scientific fact.
I did not have long to wait for another example.
Once we were in the actual infectious disease part of the exhibit, we watched a video about the spread of HIV/AIDS. Condom use was clearly and graphically promoted as the answer to controlling the spread of AIDS. This was reiterated in the group discussion at the close of the field trip. There was no mention of either the failure rate of condoms or the moral considerations of contraception.
You know how educators have mostly taken history and changed it to social studies? I think the same thing is happening with science. Yesterday, I witnessed science being transformed into some sort of global social studies.
Science is supposed to reflect physical truths. This was about global social reforms.
You can be sure my daughter knows the truth. She knows the truth because I was there to tell her, every step of the way, what was true and right... and what was not.
But what about the other thirty kids? Their parents were not there. What about the ones who do not believe in what was promoted as true. They may send their kids off to school and trust that they won't be indoctrinated this way.
Sadly, I can only trust that they will. It is getting difficult to manage. There is simply too much of it.
And sadder still is that my options are slim. You may think this indoctrination only occurs in public schools, but the US Conference of Catholic Bishops is promoting, as part of Catholic education, the St. Francis Pledge, otherwise known as the Catholic Climate Covenant, and environmental justice as a collective pursuit.
So, what is a parent to do? Our daughter could be in for four more years of this.
Homeschooling a high-schooler? I'll have to investigate.
I am praying for discernment.
Yesterday, I accompanied my 9th grader on a field trip to the Marian Koshman Science Museum of the American Academy of Sciences. We were told this would be a lesson about infectious diseases.
It is true that there was a lesson about infectious diseases, but we also were required to walk through an exhibit about... wait for it... global warming.
In fact, the global warming exhibit took up half the square footage of the actual exhibit area. There were no questions to answer for purposes of the field trip, but we were told by the museum curator to spend twenty minutes in that exhibit and just "absorb."
I wrote down the museum's statement about global warming. According to the National Academy of Sciences, "A growing body of evidence indicates that humans now have a significant impact on climate. Nevertheless, it is difficult to identify humans as the only cause of a particular weather event or local climate change."
Yes. For instance, perhaps sun activity warms the earth.
So... According to the Academy, humans are significantly impacting climate, but not the weather or local climate change. What? A growing body of evidence? Any proven scientific fact?
Someone at the Academy may want to read the reports about Weathergate. It appears the growing body of evidence concerning man-made global warming was admittedly falsified and subsequently debunked.
When someone thinks that two things are scientifically connected, I was taught that that is called a hypothesis. Then if researchers actually prove it, it becomes a fact that can be taught in high school. All the talk of a consensus is an attempt to legitimize something that simply cannot be proven, nor universally accepted.
Makes me wonder what else is being taught as scientific fact.
I did not have long to wait for another example.
Once we were in the actual infectious disease part of the exhibit, we watched a video about the spread of HIV/AIDS. Condom use was clearly and graphically promoted as the answer to controlling the spread of AIDS. This was reiterated in the group discussion at the close of the field trip. There was no mention of either the failure rate of condoms or the moral considerations of contraception.
You know how educators have mostly taken history and changed it to social studies? I think the same thing is happening with science. Yesterday, I witnessed science being transformed into some sort of global social studies.
Science is supposed to reflect physical truths. This was about global social reforms.
You can be sure my daughter knows the truth. She knows the truth because I was there to tell her, every step of the way, what was true and right... and what was not.
But what about the other thirty kids? Their parents were not there. What about the ones who do not believe in what was promoted as true. They may send their kids off to school and trust that they won't be indoctrinated this way.
Sadly, I can only trust that they will. It is getting difficult to manage. There is simply too much of it.
And sadder still is that my options are slim. You may think this indoctrination only occurs in public schools, but the US Conference of Catholic Bishops is promoting, as part of Catholic education, the St. Francis Pledge, otherwise known as the Catholic Climate Covenant, and environmental justice as a collective pursuit.
So, what is a parent to do? Our daughter could be in for four more years of this.
Homeschooling a high-schooler? I'll have to investigate.
I am praying for discernment.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Law of the Sea Treaty...
Do you ever wonder why President Obama issued a moratorium on American drilling, but is enabling other countries to drill? Even funding them? Read here and here.
Maybe it has to do with the goals of a UN treaty called the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST). President Ronald Reagan opposed the treaty for reasons outlined here. He understood that American sovereignty must be protected.
Then again, he wasn't post-American.
Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to most Americans, in July, the US House of Representatives passed the CLEAR Act, which would automatically include us in the treaty, without going through all that fussy procedural business of a two-thirds approval from the Senate.
About the same time as the House passed CLEAR, President Obama signed an Executive Order naming the National Ocean Council, putting in place the structure needed to implement LOST's provisions, using a sub-council established in the CLEAR Act. How convenient.
The CLEAR Act bill has been passed on to the Senate for passage. I would love to know how many Representatives actually bothered to carefully read the bill. Do they really want to turn our sovereignty over to the UN and global governance? Maybe they do. Maybe some of them do.
What was that Fabian goal about a powerful Executive, at the expense of the Congress and Judicial? What was that other goal about controlling energy... and transportation?
LOST is like so much else being pushed upon us from the elites in the name of social justice... a global attempt to redistribute America's property to the world. Being snuck in through unconstitutional channels.
Once you know who these people are, everything is all too CLEAR.
Maybe it has to do with the goals of a UN treaty called the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST). President Ronald Reagan opposed the treaty for reasons outlined here. He understood that American sovereignty must be protected.
Then again, he wasn't post-American.
Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to most Americans, in July, the US House of Representatives passed the CLEAR Act, which would automatically include us in the treaty, without going through all that fussy procedural business of a two-thirds approval from the Senate.
About the same time as the House passed CLEAR, President Obama signed an Executive Order naming the National Ocean Council, putting in place the structure needed to implement LOST's provisions, using a sub-council established in the CLEAR Act. How convenient.
The CLEAR Act bill has been passed on to the Senate for passage. I would love to know how many Representatives actually bothered to carefully read the bill. Do they really want to turn our sovereignty over to the UN and global governance? Maybe they do. Maybe some of them do.
What was that Fabian goal about a powerful Executive, at the expense of the Congress and Judicial? What was that other goal about controlling energy... and transportation?
LOST is like so much else being pushed upon us from the elites in the name of social justice... a global attempt to redistribute America's property to the world. Being snuck in through unconstitutional channels.
Once you know who these people are, everything is all too CLEAR.
Obama claims imperial powers...
Isn't this what the early Americans fought against in the first place? Read all about it, from Floyd Reports.
I do not want this.
Push back America.
I do not want this.
Push back America.
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Blackboard is more reliable than the Whiteboard...
So the White House is trying to take us to school. Too bad their whiteboard presentations cannot be trusted.
Let's just put an end to the lies they are telling about the Bush tax cuts.
The progressives keep saying that extending the tax cuts would be expensive, and that the government would have to unfairly pay the rich hundreds of billions of dollars. Why should the rich get all the breaks?
Nothing like a little class warfare to fan the flames of discontent.
Just a side note, have you seen the Fabian Window? Just sayin'.
The truth is that the tax rates established by the Bush tax cuts have been in place for a decade. They were simply a lowering of income earners' tax rates after the Clinton Administration had raised them.
The fact is we have been living with the same federal tax rates for ten years. There are no new cuts on the table.
If the White House were telling you the truth, they would tell you this... If Congress allows the Bush tax cuts to expire, the tax rate you have used for the past 10 years will cease... and will increase... for everyone who pays taxes.
If the White House and the Democrats in Congress were truthful, they would tell you that their plan is quite simple.
To raise your taxes.
Additionally, allowing the present tax rates to merely continue will not cost the government a dime. They would still collect the same percentage of revenue as they have for the last decade. They would not be spending any money to continue with the same rates.
Their logic about tax cuts costing money makes no sense, unless you view taxation the way they do.
There is only one way the government would consider the notion of not increasing taxes as an expenditure. Because the government thinks that all the money you earn belongs to them, and they let you keep what they deem necessary.
That is why they think tax cuts are expensive. To them, it means more money they have to give you back.
And that is why they think that those who earn more should pay a higher percent. Progressive taxation. Because the government has decided that some people make too much... and it is just not fair. Because their money should be spread around evenly.
During the primary presidential debates, Charlie Gibson asked Barack Obama why he would raise taxes, even after it had been shown that when you lower taxes, the revenue to the government actually increases. Obama said he would raise taxes anyway "out of fairness."
There it is. They think they should confiscate the money, out of fairness, and redistribute it as they deem fit.
It is regrettable that Congress never made the Bush tax cuts permanent in the first place. Regrettable, but completely understandable... once you understand that the progressives in government think that your money is theirs to begin with.
Let's just put an end to the lies they are telling about the Bush tax cuts.
The progressives keep saying that extending the tax cuts would be expensive, and that the government would have to unfairly pay the rich hundreds of billions of dollars. Why should the rich get all the breaks?
Nothing like a little class warfare to fan the flames of discontent.
Just a side note, have you seen the Fabian Window? Just sayin'.
The truth is that the tax rates established by the Bush tax cuts have been in place for a decade. They were simply a lowering of income earners' tax rates after the Clinton Administration had raised them.
The fact is we have been living with the same federal tax rates for ten years. There are no new cuts on the table.
If the White House were telling you the truth, they would tell you this... If Congress allows the Bush tax cuts to expire, the tax rate you have used for the past 10 years will cease... and will increase... for everyone who pays taxes.
If the White House and the Democrats in Congress were truthful, they would tell you that their plan is quite simple.
To raise your taxes.
Additionally, allowing the present tax rates to merely continue will not cost the government a dime. They would still collect the same percentage of revenue as they have for the last decade. They would not be spending any money to continue with the same rates.
Their logic about tax cuts costing money makes no sense, unless you view taxation the way they do.
There is only one way the government would consider the notion of not increasing taxes as an expenditure. Because the government thinks that all the money you earn belongs to them, and they let you keep what they deem necessary.
That is why they think tax cuts are expensive. To them, it means more money they have to give you back.
And that is why they think that those who earn more should pay a higher percent. Progressive taxation. Because the government has decided that some people make too much... and it is just not fair. Because their money should be spread around evenly.
During the primary presidential debates, Charlie Gibson asked Barack Obama why he would raise taxes, even after it had been shown that when you lower taxes, the revenue to the government actually increases. Obama said he would raise taxes anyway "out of fairness."
There it is. They think they should confiscate the money, out of fairness, and redistribute it as they deem fit.
It is regrettable that Congress never made the Bush tax cuts permanent in the first place. Regrettable, but completely understandable... once you understand that the progressives in government think that your money is theirs to begin with.
Funny Guy Friday... Amen, Brother...
A gentleman came into my office last week looking for advice about a divorce. As always, I asked what was going on in his marriage that would result in him seeing a lawyer. Among the many reasons he cited was that his wife is "addicted to her computer and the internet." For the first time in my legal career, I got a tear in my eye, and said, Amen brother.
I didn't actually say Amen brother out loud, because I think that it is a stupid expression... but in this instance, I could feel his pain!
I have my own nightmare about a lawyer's office and a divorce, but mine starts with Cheryl in the attorney's office seeking her own divorce:
Attorney: So, Cheryl why are you here today?
Cheryl: I want a divorce so I can spend more time with Mac!
Attorney: Who is Mac?
Cheryl: Not who, what---Mac is my laptop.
Attorney: I see. Do you have children?
Cheryl: Mark can have them, I just want the Mac!
Typically the dream ends about right there, as I am awakened by the sound of typing on a key board, and Cheryl saying something like, I'm sorry, I was just saying my goodnights to Mac.
If you think that my worries are unfounded, I am here to report three revealing, mostly true anecdotes:
First, the other night I was lying with Noah in his room, and we were talking with Grace. Cheryl came home with Matthew, and Matthew ran upstairs with Slurpees.
We were all just sitting in Noah's room, talking and laughing when Cheryl followed a few minutes later. She came in the room, left for a few seconds, and came back with the laptop and plopped it right down in front of her. At first I thought does she really think that Mac is part of the family and can't miss out on quality family time. I asked, do you really need to do that now?
I have cross examined enough people to know when I ask a question to which they have no good response, they get a panicky look, and then just make something up. Cheryl had that look when she said, I didn't want to leave it alone out in the hallway! What? There are five people in our family, we are all right here and none of us are putting Mac at risk.
Second, the other night, I came into our bedroom, looking for the laptop so I could check our email. I could not find it so I asked Cheryl, who was in the bathroom, if she knew where it was. No response, except, I heard some banging on the other side of the bathroom door. I opened the door to explore the noise, and she was trying to sneak the laptop under the door so as to hide her addiction. Pathetic!
Third, we eat dinner together every night, and sometimes we will sit and talk and laugh for as long as we can keep all the kids herded in the kitchen. One night in the middle of this family conversation, Grace grabbed the Mac. Clearly irritated, Cheryl took a minute to explain the importance of family time. However, somewhere between "put the computer down" and "those are the reasons why it is rude to 'log on' in the middle of family fun time," my girl had the Mac in her hands and was knee deep in Glenn Beck's website. The whole exchange reminded me of a crack addict trying to convince a smoker that cigarettes are bad for your health!
I understand that when people get new stuff, they want to spend time getting familiar with it, and learning all of its capabilities. That usually lasts a few weeks, and then the user falls into a normal routine----you use it when you need it.
But Mac is different. Mac and Cheryl are attached at the hip. It is the first thing she does in the morning, and the last thing she does in the evening.
I didn't expect that when I bought it because in the past, when I bought her shiny, cool electric stuff, she never really used them much, or gave them a second thought. For instance she barely ever touches the new washer and dryer that I bought her for our anniversary, or the new vacuum that I bought her. Certainly, she has never considered including the washer, the dryer or the vacuum in family conversations or Slurpee time!
You know, the computer issue is a problem, but perhaps if you consider the gifts that I select for my wife, there could be more than one explanaton for my divorce dreams.
I didn't actually say Amen brother out loud, because I think that it is a stupid expression... but in this instance, I could feel his pain!
I have my own nightmare about a lawyer's office and a divorce, but mine starts with Cheryl in the attorney's office seeking her own divorce:
Attorney: So, Cheryl why are you here today?
Cheryl: I want a divorce so I can spend more time with Mac!
Attorney: Who is Mac?
Cheryl: Not who, what---Mac is my laptop.
Attorney: I see. Do you have children?
Cheryl: Mark can have them, I just want the Mac!
Typically the dream ends about right there, as I am awakened by the sound of typing on a key board, and Cheryl saying something like, I'm sorry, I was just saying my goodnights to Mac.
If you think that my worries are unfounded, I am here to report three revealing, mostly true anecdotes:
First, the other night I was lying with Noah in his room, and we were talking with Grace. Cheryl came home with Matthew, and Matthew ran upstairs with Slurpees.
We were all just sitting in Noah's room, talking and laughing when Cheryl followed a few minutes later. She came in the room, left for a few seconds, and came back with the laptop and plopped it right down in front of her. At first I thought does she really think that Mac is part of the family and can't miss out on quality family time. I asked, do you really need to do that now?
I have cross examined enough people to know when I ask a question to which they have no good response, they get a panicky look, and then just make something up. Cheryl had that look when she said, I didn't want to leave it alone out in the hallway! What? There are five people in our family, we are all right here and none of us are putting Mac at risk.
Second, the other night, I came into our bedroom, looking for the laptop so I could check our email. I could not find it so I asked Cheryl, who was in the bathroom, if she knew where it was. No response, except, I heard some banging on the other side of the bathroom door. I opened the door to explore the noise, and she was trying to sneak the laptop under the door so as to hide her addiction. Pathetic!
Third, we eat dinner together every night, and sometimes we will sit and talk and laugh for as long as we can keep all the kids herded in the kitchen. One night in the middle of this family conversation, Grace grabbed the Mac. Clearly irritated, Cheryl took a minute to explain the importance of family time. However, somewhere between "put the computer down" and "those are the reasons why it is rude to 'log on' in the middle of family fun time," my girl had the Mac in her hands and was knee deep in Glenn Beck's website. The whole exchange reminded me of a crack addict trying to convince a smoker that cigarettes are bad for your health!
I understand that when people get new stuff, they want to spend time getting familiar with it, and learning all of its capabilities. That usually lasts a few weeks, and then the user falls into a normal routine----you use it when you need it.
But Mac is different. Mac and Cheryl are attached at the hip. It is the first thing she does in the morning, and the last thing she does in the evening.
I didn't expect that when I bought it because in the past, when I bought her shiny, cool electric stuff, she never really used them much, or gave them a second thought. For instance she barely ever touches the new washer and dryer that I bought her for our anniversary, or the new vacuum that I bought her. Certainly, she has never considered including the washer, the dryer or the vacuum in family conversations or Slurpee time!
You know, the computer issue is a problem, but perhaps if you consider the gifts that I select for my wife, there could be more than one explanaton for my divorce dreams.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
More on the Fabian Society... The Road We Are Traveling...
I posted yesterday about the Fabian Socialists.
Listed below are the Fabians' goals, fr0m the 1942 book, The Road We Are Traveling, by American Fabian Stuart Chase.
Listed below are the Fabians' goals, fr0m the 1942 book, The Road We Are Traveling, by American Fabian Stuart Chase.
1. Strong, centralized government.
2. Powerful Executive at the expense of Congress and the Judicial.
3. Government controlled banking, credit and securities exchange.
4. Government control over employment.
5. Unemployment insurance, old age pensions.
6. Universal medical care, food and housing programs.
7. Access to unlimited government borrowing, abandon the gold standard, deficit spending.
8. A managed monetary system.
9. Government control over foreign trade.
10. Government control over natural energy sources, transportation and agricultural production.
11. Government regulation of labor, labor organizations.
12. Youth corps devoted to health, discipline, community service and ideological teaching consistent with those of the authorities.
13. Heavy progressive taxation, with heavy emphasis on estates and income of the rich.
14. State control of communication and propoganda.
It wouldn't be a lot of takeover of property or industry, as in the old socialistic sense... The formula appears to be control without ownership. It is interesting to recall the same formula was used in the management of great corporations in depriving stockholders of power.
Look how much they have achieved here in America.
This fundamental transformation has been underway for more than a century. It has been carried out by progressives. They are the Fabian socialists. Even if they don't carry membership cards, that is what they are. And they are running our country.
For more information about the advancement of the Fabian Society and stealth Marxism throughout the world, read this report, called The Fabian Socialist Contribution to the Communist Advance.
Fabian socialist thought infiltrated the London School of Economics, Harvard University, FDR and the New Deal, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Keynesian economic theory, and much more.
According to the report, Keynesian economic theory is widely, but falsely, believed necessary to prop up capitalism, but it is meant to destroy capitalism, in favor of socialism.
"Keynes supported the Fabian concept of not making a direct assault upon private enterprise, but of sapping its foundation to the stage where the Government had to take over."
Despite its failure to grow the private sector, President Obama wholeheartedly employs Keynesian economic theory. It makes sense when you discover that it is not meant to grow the private sector.
The report goes on to explain, "... the basis of true freedom is economic freedom. The widespread ownership of private property, decentralised and genuine competitive free enterprise, the inheritance of any form of property or money from one's forebears, the obtaining of dividends from investments , and the making of financial profits are all detested by the Socialists. The Fabian Keynes and his followers have done even more than the Marxist-Leninists to make 'profit motive' a dirty term."
Yes. They have.
Further... "The underlying philosophy of all Socialist policies, whether advanced by the Marxist-Leninists, the Fabians, or any other brand of Socialists, is collectivist, reactionary, and opposed to the freedom of the individual. All central planners fear individual freedom, because no one can predict how the individual is going to use his freedom."
If we are to preserve our Republic, and restore our liberties, we must stop the centralized planning and control by the Government, and then work to reverse it.
Remember in November. And please pray for America.
This is the Fabian Society Crest... A wolf in sheep's clothing. They tell you who they are.
"Few discoveries are more irritating than those which expose the pedigree of ideas." ~ Lord Acton ~
14. State control of communication and propoganda.
It wouldn't be a lot of takeover of property or industry, as in the old socialistic sense... The formula appears to be control without ownership. It is interesting to recall the same formula was used in the management of great corporations in depriving stockholders of power.
Look how much they have achieved here in America.
This fundamental transformation has been underway for more than a century. It has been carried out by progressives. They are the Fabian socialists. Even if they don't carry membership cards, that is what they are. And they are running our country.
For more information about the advancement of the Fabian Society and stealth Marxism throughout the world, read this report, called The Fabian Socialist Contribution to the Communist Advance.
Fabian socialist thought infiltrated the London School of Economics, Harvard University, FDR and the New Deal, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Keynesian economic theory, and much more.
According to the report, Keynesian economic theory is widely, but falsely, believed necessary to prop up capitalism, but it is meant to destroy capitalism, in favor of socialism.
"Keynes supported the Fabian concept of not making a direct assault upon private enterprise, but of sapping its foundation to the stage where the Government had to take over."
Despite its failure to grow the private sector, President Obama wholeheartedly employs Keynesian economic theory. It makes sense when you discover that it is not meant to grow the private sector.
The report goes on to explain, "... the basis of true freedom is economic freedom. The widespread ownership of private property, decentralised and genuine competitive free enterprise, the inheritance of any form of property or money from one's forebears, the obtaining of dividends from investments , and the making of financial profits are all detested by the Socialists. The Fabian Keynes and his followers have done even more than the Marxist-Leninists to make 'profit motive' a dirty term."
Yes. They have.
Further... "The underlying philosophy of all Socialist policies, whether advanced by the Marxist-Leninists, the Fabians, or any other brand of Socialists, is collectivist, reactionary, and opposed to the freedom of the individual. All central planners fear individual freedom, because no one can predict how the individual is going to use his freedom."
If we are to preserve our Republic, and restore our liberties, we must stop the centralized planning and control by the Government, and then work to reverse it.
Remember in November. And please pray for America.
This is the Fabian Society Crest... A wolf in sheep's clothing. They tell you who they are.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Gruesome climate ad under fire...
The Blaze has a couple of stories about an environmental activist group's latest ad campaign. Warning! This is gruesome and shocking... so you may want to just read the stories.
See the ad and read the details here. Read about the backlash here. The second article also contains real-life examples of like-minded, eco-fascist thinking.
I would say, Who do these people think they are?... but sadly, I already know.
See the ad and read the details here. Read about the backlash here. The second article also contains real-life examples of like-minded, eco-fascist thinking.
I would say, Who do these people think they are?... but sadly, I already know.
Fabian Socialists...
Here is an explanation of the Fabian stained glass window from the Beatrice Webb house, headquarters of the Fabian Society. It was created by Fabian socialist, George Bernard Shaw.
The Fabians believe in hammering out their new world order from above... imposing their will on the people below them... and slowly convincing them to kneel down and pray to the god of socialist thought, represented in the window by the stack of books about what else... socialist thought.
Through the years they have championed eugenics and the use of global warming propaganda for population control.
Look at the Fabian Crest in the upper right part of the window. The Fabians are wolves in sheep's clothing. They tell you so.
Dear love, couldst thou and I with fate conspire
To grasp this sorry scheme of things entire,
Would we not shatter it to bits, and then
Remould it nearer to the heart's desire!
Progressivism.
Fundamental transformation.
For more about the Fabian Society, watch Glenn Beck this week, at 5pm, Fox News Channel.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Who are we?
Glenn Beck talked about this tonight on his show...
Who are we as Americans? Do you know what you believe?
Do you believe in the free market?... Or government controlled entities...
Hard work?... Or hand outs...
Personal responsibility?... Or bailouts...
Individual liberty?... Or controlled liberty...
Are we problem solvers?... Or whiners...
Is America special in the world?... Or is God done with this little experiment in freedom called America?
To whom much has been given... much is required.
Isn't it our moral obligation to pass on to the next generation an America that is at least capable of providing liberty for its people?
Real change is coming... Know what you believe.
Glenn went on to point out the huge contrast between the Restoring Honor crowd and this past weekend's One Nation crowd.
One sees real hope for the future. The other wants a revolution.
One believes in the free market. The other wants socialism and communism.
One treated our nation's capital and monuments with respect. The other trashed them.
One sees America as special and good. The other sees America as an oppressor, and blames her for all the world's woes.
One believes in liberty for the individual. The other sees redistributive change for the collective.
One turns to God. The other turns to big government.
I proudly stand with the Restoring Honor crowd.
You?
Who are we as Americans? Do you know what you believe?
Do you believe in the free market?... Or government controlled entities...
Hard work?... Or hand outs...
Personal responsibility?... Or bailouts...
Individual liberty?... Or controlled liberty...
Are we problem solvers?... Or whiners...
Is America special in the world?... Or is God done with this little experiment in freedom called America?
To whom much has been given... much is required.
Isn't it our moral obligation to pass on to the next generation an America that is at least capable of providing liberty for its people?
Real change is coming... Know what you believe.
Glenn went on to point out the huge contrast between the Restoring Honor crowd and this past weekend's One Nation crowd.
One sees real hope for the future. The other wants a revolution.
One believes in the free market. The other wants socialism and communism.
One treated our nation's capital and monuments with respect. The other trashed them.
One sees America as special and good. The other sees America as an oppressor, and blames her for all the world's woes.
One believes in liberty for the individual. The other sees redistributive change for the collective.
One turns to God. The other turns to big government.
I proudly stand with the Restoring Honor crowd.
You?
Shocking. Horrifying. Hopeless...
This weekend, a woman on a BBC talk show advocated putting a pillow over the face of a suffering child, as the loving thing to do. "Any good mother would."
She equates this and abortion as the merciful thing to do for disabled children. She sees the two acts as the same. The sad thing is that she is right, they are the same. And a breath of oxygen, and the method of killing are really the only differences.
Do you wonder about people who legitimize killing people for their own good? I do.
This is what happens when God is removed from the equation. This is what I mean by hopeless.
Watch the video, from the Blaze.
These people come right out and tell you who they are. Listen to them.
She equates this and abortion as the merciful thing to do for disabled children. She sees the two acts as the same. The sad thing is that she is right, they are the same. And a breath of oxygen, and the method of killing are really the only differences.
Do you wonder about people who legitimize killing people for their own good? I do.
This is what happens when God is removed from the equation. This is what I mean by hopeless.
Watch the video, from the Blaze.
These people come right out and tell you who they are. Listen to them.
One Nation Working Together vs. Restoring Honor...
Check out this footage of the aftermath of the One Nation Rally, from The Blaze. The link includes footage from after the Restoring Honor Rally, as well.
Whose society do you want to be a part of?
And now, a word from the environmental groups that were there clamoring for justice.... chirp... chirp... chirp.
I have an idea. How about One Nation Working Together to clean up after themselves.
Whose society do you want to be a part of?
And now, a word from the environmental groups that were there clamoring for justice.... chirp... chirp... chirp.
I have an idea. How about One Nation Working Together to clean up after themselves.
Communists out in the open... Does anyone care?
The mainstream media obvioulsy doesn't. Did they even blink an eye?
This past weekend, there was a rally at the Lincoln Memorial. A rally called One Nation (as in, The Collective, I suppose). A who's who of far left groups and community organizations. Progressives.
A rally touted as the antedote to the 8/28 Restoring Honor Rally... reportedly organized to push the Democrats' agenda.
The media reported that the groups at this One Nation rally included civil and human rights groups, unions, immigration advocates, environmental and gay rights groups, anti-war activitsts, abortion-rights advocates, free-education-for-all activists and churches. Ah yes. The churches.
But the reporters failed to mention a couple of categories of groups in particular. Ahem... THE COMMUNISTS AND THE SOCIALISTS. Organized together to push the Democrats' agenda?
HELLO... ANYBODY IN THE MEDIA AWAKE OUT THERE?? THESE PEOPLE ARE COMMUNISTS! SOCIALISTS! Does that mean anything anymore?
The Socialists/Communists were out in the open this weekend, marching in our nation's Capital. Some of them were calling for the distruction of America. Anybody? Anybody?
I guess it's no big deal.
I will support the right for people to peacably assemble. But call me old-fashioned. I still think that the American media have a duty to report back to the American people as to who was there and what their designs are for our Republic.
Especially when these groups proudly endorse President Obama as the means to their ends. And they are openly endorsed by him.
Please read history. I know it is hard to imagine, but America is in real danger.
For any of you who supported the ideas behind this rally... or the groups themselves... Do you understand who these people are, and what they want? Complete redistribution of everyone's money and property. And a centrally planned way of life for us ordinary folks. Complete control. Do not think for a moment that you are not vulnerable.
We are called to give. That is true. But by choice, and from the heart. Americans do that. We are generous individuals.
But these groups that marched this weekend are demanding the government take everything by force, to feed the collective.
This is still America, isn't it?
Know what you believe before it's too late. And ask yourselves... What is the media trying to hide. And why?
"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
This past weekend, there was a rally at the Lincoln Memorial. A rally called One Nation (as in, The Collective, I suppose). A who's who of far left groups and community organizations. Progressives.
A rally touted as the antedote to the 8/28 Restoring Honor Rally... reportedly organized to push the Democrats' agenda.
The media reported that the groups at this One Nation rally included civil and human rights groups, unions, immigration advocates, environmental and gay rights groups, anti-war activitsts, abortion-rights advocates, free-education-for-all activists and churches. Ah yes. The churches.
But the reporters failed to mention a couple of categories of groups in particular. Ahem... THE COMMUNISTS AND THE SOCIALISTS. Organized together to push the Democrats' agenda?
HELLO... ANYBODY IN THE MEDIA AWAKE OUT THERE?? THESE PEOPLE ARE COMMUNISTS! SOCIALISTS! Does that mean anything anymore?
The Socialists/Communists were out in the open this weekend, marching in our nation's Capital. Some of them were calling for the distruction of America. Anybody? Anybody?
I guess it's no big deal.
I will support the right for people to peacably assemble. But call me old-fashioned. I still think that the American media have a duty to report back to the American people as to who was there and what their designs are for our Republic.
Especially when these groups proudly endorse President Obama as the means to their ends. And they are openly endorsed by him.
Please read history. I know it is hard to imagine, but America is in real danger.
For any of you who supported the ideas behind this rally... or the groups themselves... Do you understand who these people are, and what they want? Complete redistribution of everyone's money and property. And a centrally planned way of life for us ordinary folks. Complete control. Do not think for a moment that you are not vulnerable.
We are called to give. That is true. But by choice, and from the heart. Americans do that. We are generous individuals.
But these groups that marched this weekend are demanding the government take everything by force, to feed the collective.
This is still America, isn't it?
Know what you believe before it's too late. And ask yourselves... What is the media trying to hide. And why?
"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
Friday, October 1, 2010
DOJ pairs with Planned Parenthood to target pro-lifers as violent...
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice paired with Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation in an FBI training seminar to target pro-life Americans as violent and racist.
Read the article here, from Life News.
So let me get this straight. The organizations that for years have promoted the killing of millions of innocent lives are accusing the people that try to save those lives... of violence?
And the groups that advocate the extermination of wide swaths of the minority population by abortion are claiming that the ones who try to save those lives... are the racists?
Anyone still claiming they are helping minorities and the poor by eliminating them, please read up on eugenics, the roots of contraception and abortion. Read about Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood. Read all about how she just loved minorities, and other undesirables.
You could say she loved them to death.
This DOJ program is not about clinic bombings, or any bodily violence at all.
It simply claims that peaceful free speech, like posters and pamphleteering, and gasp... praying on the sidewalks of abortuaries... is violent. Oh, and racist.
Note to the DOJ... The pro-life groups are the only ones here standing up for non-violence and equality.
Up is down. Down is up.
Read the article here, from Life News.
So let me get this straight. The organizations that for years have promoted the killing of millions of innocent lives are accusing the people that try to save those lives... of violence?
And the groups that advocate the extermination of wide swaths of the minority population by abortion are claiming that the ones who try to save those lives... are the racists?
Anyone still claiming they are helping minorities and the poor by eliminating them, please read up on eugenics, the roots of contraception and abortion. Read about Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood. Read all about how she just loved minorities, and other undesirables.
You could say she loved them to death.
This DOJ program is not about clinic bombings, or any bodily violence at all.
It simply claims that peaceful free speech, like posters and pamphleteering, and gasp... praying on the sidewalks of abortuaries... is violent. Oh, and racist.
Note to the DOJ... The pro-life groups are the only ones here standing up for non-violence and equality.
Up is down. Down is up.
Funny Guy Friday... We don't need no stinkin' Mommy...
Cheryl decided to leave us this past weekend to spend some time with friends in Ocean City. Ever since the kids were little, I have had a battle cry for these occasions. We don't need no stinkin' Mommy, we cheer. I need this cheer because my kids like their mom better than they like me. When they were younger, they cried when Mom left and I never understood this because I have always been the fun parent.
For example, this past weekend, we did not eat a single meal at home. That's right, we ate out for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. MacDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, Cold Stone Creamery, and the list goes on and on. We had bad stuff, too, so take that Michelle Obama!
Cold Stone's offered a concrete example of my mad (I think that is a term the kids use today) parenting skills. Cold Stone's has three sizes--Like it (small), Love it (medium) and Got to Have it (large). Cheryl makes the kids order a size that they don't even advertise----the children's size. It's embarrassing! Me? I tell them get the Like it Love it Get sick from it size... w/two mix-ins! Cheryl has them brainwashed. Not one of them took me up on my offer.
This brings up something that the kids do that I just don't understand. Oftentimes, I give my permission for the kids to do something or go somewhere. This is often countered with, "Mommy usually says no."
My immediate thought is, Well then, aren't you lucky that you asked the fun parent!
My usual response is one of the following: Don't you know by now that I outrank her, or If we actually got into a fistfight, I would crush Mom.
Neither of these clever retorts seems to persuade them as they scurry off to tell mom that I gave them permission to do something bad. They tattle on me for crying out loud! In fact, when I said we ate "bad stuff too," what I really meant was that I told them that they could eat bad stuff but they ordered healthy stuff. I ordered bad stuff and they ratted me out to their stinkin' mommy when she got home.
But I am not just the fun parent when it comes to dietary issues. I let them stay up later. I let them sleep in my bed. I let them watch stuff that Cheryl would never allow.
But in spite of all that, I get this exchange from Noah... Let me set the stage...
Cheryl had been gone for about 24 hours and we had gotten ice cream the night before. We had stayed up and watched a movie (one with a little bit of violence and a few bad words, but I don't think the kids noticed) and then had Dunkin Donuts for breakfast.
Later that morning, I walked into a room and found Grace reprimanding Noah for repeating a word that sounded just a smidge like a word that he may have heard in the movie the night before (maybe he did notice the language in the movie... Who would have thought?).
Anyway, I gently reminded him that we should not say words like that, especially with mommy only 12 hours away from returning home. The little monkey burst into tears and hollered, "I want Mommy... I don't like staying at home with Dad!"
You have got to be kidding me. I told him to stop crying, and to hurry up and eat his lollipop because the ice cream man was on his way! Mom would have never given that kind of response.
As I read this post to Noah, I asked him why he likes Mommy better. He did confirm his choice, but he also acknowledged that I was, in fact, the fun parent. The reason he likes his Mommy better is because... "Mommy is prettier." How do I compete with that? There is not a lollipop in the world that beats a pretty mom.
Anyway we survived the weekend, and I would appreciate it if nobody mentions the stuff that I wrote in this week's FGF to Cheryl. You know, on second thought, go ahead and mention it because when it comes right down to it, if we actually did get into a fistfight about it, I would crush her.
For example, this past weekend, we did not eat a single meal at home. That's right, we ate out for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. MacDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, Cold Stone Creamery, and the list goes on and on. We had bad stuff, too, so take that Michelle Obama!
Cold Stone's offered a concrete example of my mad (I think that is a term the kids use today) parenting skills. Cold Stone's has three sizes--Like it (small), Love it (medium) and Got to Have it (large). Cheryl makes the kids order a size that they don't even advertise----the children's size. It's embarrassing! Me? I tell them get the Like it Love it Get sick from it size... w/two mix-ins! Cheryl has them brainwashed. Not one of them took me up on my offer.
This brings up something that the kids do that I just don't understand. Oftentimes, I give my permission for the kids to do something or go somewhere. This is often countered with, "Mommy usually says no."
My immediate thought is, Well then, aren't you lucky that you asked the fun parent!
My usual response is one of the following: Don't you know by now that I outrank her, or If we actually got into a fistfight, I would crush Mom.
Neither of these clever retorts seems to persuade them as they scurry off to tell mom that I gave them permission to do something bad. They tattle on me for crying out loud! In fact, when I said we ate "bad stuff too," what I really meant was that I told them that they could eat bad stuff but they ordered healthy stuff. I ordered bad stuff and they ratted me out to their stinkin' mommy when she got home.
But I am not just the fun parent when it comes to dietary issues. I let them stay up later. I let them sleep in my bed. I let them watch stuff that Cheryl would never allow.
But in spite of all that, I get this exchange from Noah... Let me set the stage...
Cheryl had been gone for about 24 hours and we had gotten ice cream the night before. We had stayed up and watched a movie (one with a little bit of violence and a few bad words, but I don't think the kids noticed) and then had Dunkin Donuts for breakfast.
Later that morning, I walked into a room and found Grace reprimanding Noah for repeating a word that sounded just a smidge like a word that he may have heard in the movie the night before (maybe he did notice the language in the movie... Who would have thought?).
Anyway, I gently reminded him that we should not say words like that, especially with mommy only 12 hours away from returning home. The little monkey burst into tears and hollered, "I want Mommy... I don't like staying at home with Dad!"
You have got to be kidding me. I told him to stop crying, and to hurry up and eat his lollipop because the ice cream man was on his way! Mom would have never given that kind of response.
As I read this post to Noah, I asked him why he likes Mommy better. He did confirm his choice, but he also acknowledged that I was, in fact, the fun parent. The reason he likes his Mommy better is because... "Mommy is prettier." How do I compete with that? There is not a lollipop in the world that beats a pretty mom.
Anyway we survived the weekend, and I would appreciate it if nobody mentions the stuff that I wrote in this week's FGF to Cheryl. You know, on second thought, go ahead and mention it because when it comes right down to it, if we actually did get into a fistfight about it, I would crush her.
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