Another Day in My Life: First post of 2016

In the last four days I’ve come face to face with the reality that I will be an orphan. The word “orphan” is usually associated with a child who was given up by parents or both parents are deceased. Well, the inner child dwelling within me will fall into the latter category one day…

My sister and I respect our mother, and as we were taught, we will respect her wishes.  We have placed her into in-home hospice. Over and over she has let it be known that she wants to die in her own bed, and being that this woman is the most important person in my life at the moment, what she wants is all that matters. This is how 2016 began for my family.

As opposed to when I lost my dad or a grandparent, the emotions here are different. Mom has good days and bad days. Given that she has days where she is lucid and is the woman I knew, there are days when she is not. During the latter, the dementia can totally transform the people we know and love into an alien life form, barely recognizable…

Those are the days that are difficult but I am going to hang onto every lucid moment that I can get. The nurses and workers who are in the trenches every day with this should be commended. Thank you, Ms. Colorado for your monologue on nursing. People need to watch it.   The nurses that took care of my mom at Hendrick Medical Center treated my mother with dignity and respect. She hasn’t been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s but she does have some dementia.

The nurses are more than nurses. The aides are more than aides. They also helped me to cope. They also bore the brunt of the difficult moments. For that I am grateful. Anyone who wants to make a detracting, snarky statement should come talk to me.  Joy Behar,  in particular should take note. If she wants to continue in her snarky commentary due to her lack of education and/or common sense, she should be job hunting because journalism is clearly not her forte.

When dealing with sensitive subject matter, if someone is going to editorialize and not report the facts of a matter, they should remain silent rather than reveal themselves for the incompetent writers that they are. Entertainment at the expense of the elderly, the vets, the nurses, doctors and aides is not entertainment. It is an insult and this viewer will not watch any show that allows its writers and/or hosts to engage in such detracting garbage.

Why? Because my mother is the most important person in my world at this moment, as is every other person who suffers from such things. If writers cannot comprehend that we should be responsible adults when dealing with these subjects, then it is time to back away from the pen and the keyboard.

 

 

Political Correctness Truly Defined (Part 2)

I want to make something perfectly clear here. I do not feel that one’s political views should have any bearing on whether or not they are accepted as artists, writers, singers, etc…The trend in Hollywood has been for decades to embrace the far left and shut out anyone with any views that deviate from that view, even if the person trying to make a living is middle of the road.

There is a view among many in society that a comic should only entertain according to the point(s) of view that are personally acceptable to them. Artists in all camps do not accept this notion as it is a form of dictating their material, or in easier terms to understand, societal censorship.  Politicians have been subject to ridicule from both sides of the spectrum but it is only when someone who is in power on the left that the specter of censorship rears its ugly head.

There were proposed rule changes to the FCC about writers and reporters that did not get put into place because those rules interfere with the first amendment and since the media is largely “owned” anyhow, it was a waste of taxpayer funds to make such rules. If the people of the United States wanted government controlled media, they’d start moving elsewhere.

Reporters, if they have any sense of ethics, should be reporting the story truthfully, without interjecting what they think should happen as a result of the evolving stories coming into place. The people do not need a journalist to help them make up their minds. They have a sense of what they feel is right and what they feel is wrong.  In fact, if anything, viewers should find any reporter that takes it upon himself/herself to try to change their views on any issue to be insulting. That is not their job. If they want to get preached at by anyone, they will turn off the television and go to church. The audience, for the most part, wants the story–without how  the person reporting “feels” about it.

Both the media and Hollywood have worked very hard to be the self-appointed moral compass of this nation and that is the last thing they should be. Individuals can decide the course of their own destinies without their advice. For the most part if they are not paid to entertain, they are paid to inform. Personally, unless I’m watching the news or PBS, I do not want to hear about political topics. I go to movies to escape these things. I go to concerts to escape these things. When those in these fields try to tell me I should have point of view A rather , point of view B, I tend to get rather angry.

I do realize that some acts in general ARE politically motivated and write their music accordingly. If the fans want that, that is their decision. Those acts are doing what they think is their “mission” in life which is to bring awareness. There is nothing wrong with that.  The same holds true for writers who make it known what the purpose is for script A or script B. However if it’s not on a topic that has my interest, I won’t go or watch the show.  However that is NOT the job of the journalist and they need to get back to reporting the news and stop giving 3 minutes of story and 30 minutes of editorializing.

When writers insert politics into a script with what otherwise would be a very good drama that isn’t pushing their views, I change the channel. I do not want to watch a TV sitcom and hear about how good Obamacare is. That is not why I watch TV. Thank God the Brits aren’t doing that crap. However getting money from grants to do so is an incentive. I’m sure if the GOP had done that, the left would be screaming bloody murder about taxpayer funds going toward that. Well I would also, but it is because taxpayer funds shouldn’t be going to pay for advertising government programs and campaigning on mainstream TV shows on MY DIME.

We have a 17 trillion-dollar deficit and that is the last thing government money should be going to…Common sense should dictate as much.

As for Hollywood, they should have followed Clint Eastwood’s example when he hired both Tim Robbins and Sean Penn to be in “Mystic River”. He hired objectively and their political views didn’t make a bit of difference. He hired them on the merits of their talent.  Remember Matt McConaughey’s Oscar acceptance speech and how Hollywood cringed? I hate to burst their bubble that speech was indicative of a more “new age” view than anything, which many there embrace.  Hollywood, by exhibiting such bias, is alienating  the movie going audience. As they continue to lose more at the box office due to this and the rising prices of tickets, they should bear in mind that if they cannot be open to viewers of all factions, this trend will continue.

That being said, if anyone is open to the idea of opening up an Independent movie studio in TX, I know of a place that is for sale in a desert location that would make an excellent spot due to it’s historical significance alone–for a cool $2.9 million bucks and you’d better snatch it up before a certain studio in California decides to do so (if they get the idea)! I just had to throw that in, but have a great day!

The Power of the Discretionary Veto & Why Rosemary Lehmberg Should Have Resigned

Has anyone ever heard of this? I have…I learned it in Government 101 class when I was in college. When a public official has veto power, whether it is the President of the United States or the Governor of any of the 50 states, it means that he or she can veto any bill before him/her, or any bill with funding in it at his/her discretion for any reason. Period.  That should be the end of the story but it is not.

Before I go any further, watch the entire video. It’s long but I feel it important to tell the story from start to finish:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndYMqTqNeuE

This is the entire video surrounding the story of Rosemary Lehmberg. If you do not know WHO she is, you will soon enough. She is the District Attorney of Travis County, TX.  This is the same public official who would like to be trusted with taxpayer funding to run a “public integrity” unit. As you see in the video, she has no integrity.  Why would anyone trust her with taxpayer funding after the acts seen on this video?

This is why she indicted Rick Perry. He doesn’t trust her–and he shouldn’t.

Now back to the power of the governmental veto. As I have stated, I have always been taught that this is discretionary. The president (regardless of party) and countless governors have vetoed laws and funding for many reasons at their own discretion. This is true whether the item in question is attached to other items on a bill that the voters do not want passed into law, or (as in this case) there is a question as to the integrity of the official about how the funding is to be used when such funding is requested.  After watching the video of the arrest, I would strongly question her ability to run an “integrity unit”.

As a public official, she is responsible for the for prosecution DUI cases.  Her arrest will, without a doubt, cause many of the DUI cases prosecuted by this office to come under judicial review if it can be proven that she was too lenient  in her prosecution of them.  Family members of victims can have this investigated. This is especially true of a case where she failed to get an order to seize the passport of a young lady named Evelyn Mezzich. If you have Facebook, you can read about that case here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-Lindsay-Brashier-Extradite-Evelyn-Mezzich-from-Peru/134878483190277

That entire debacle could have been prevented if she had simply gone to a judge and asked for an order to seize her passport since she was a flight risk and a death was involved. As a result, Ms. Mezzich escaped to Peru. She cannot be prosecuted because the current treaty with Peru was not in place until later. Ms. Lehmberg was grossly negligent in her prosecution of this particular case.  As a result, there has been no justice for Lindsay Brashier, who lost her life far too soon…

That being said, I wonder how many other cases were botched by this office?  The assistant DA was also busted for DUI…I’m wondering if any of those cases will be reviewed being that Ms. Lehmberg obviously feels that driving drunk is not that big of a deal. I know where I stand on it–she should not be in office. Too many people get killed by people, who like her, are stupid enough to get behind the wheel while they are drinking.

Now back to my point, which is this:  This woman made a mess of the office to which she was elected by her outrageous public behavior and she has misused her own office to attempt to rewrite the laws of the State of Texas. This indictment is not only outside of the realm of law, it is an abuse of her own power as a District Attorney–something for which she should have her license to practice law revoked.  The way she conducted herself at the time of her arrest should have least brought that issue up since she threatened the arresting authorities after being taken to jail.

Needless to say, Judge Jeanine Pirro  called this one right.  Here is what she had to say about it:

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/08/17/%E2%80%98pure-unadulterated-hogwash%E2%80%99-judge-jeanine-slams-indictment-rick-perry

It doesn’t matter if one likes or hates FOX news, this woman is right on the money when it comes to this issue.  Rick Perry was well within his rights on this matter, and therefore, I support him on the issue. Special thanks to those who shared the Pirro link with me. I was impressed!

Why We Should All Read the Writings of ANY Public Figure…

If you want to know what any public figure is about, read their writings. Read the books they wrote themselves. Those reveal the content of their character. If you have not read those, then don’t criticize those who have. To refuse to check out a person’s own words means that one is willing to remain willfully ignorant. They are willing to be used for that person’s gain. It doesn’t matter if that person is a political figure, entertainer or journalist. Those words that were put into print define them. It is those who choose to stay willfully blind who refuse to read them–or listen to them if they are available on audio. If they are upset with YOU for doing so, then it is because they don’t want to see the truth, but to live in their own Utopian delusion whatever that may be.

I have a nasty habit of calling writers on the carpet when they contradict themselves as well. We all should all be doing this if we are paying attention.

One Tin Soldier Rode Away…

I am shocked and saddened to learn that Tom Laughlin has passed away.  Even though he was 82, his death was unexpected.  For those of you who do not know who he is, I consider him to be the grandfather of the Independent Film.  He is the one who took on Warner Bros. and then distributed his own films which are still among the highest selling films of all time.  I am referring to the “Billy Jack” Trilogy.  These films inspired an entire generation to look within themselves and to try to make a difference in the world.  The release of “Billy Jack” also signaled the birth of a whole new way of marketing film–and it changed the industry whether some recognize this or not.  The world of Independent Film owes this man much more than people realize.  So it is here I will pay my tribute. I cannot think of a more fitting tribute than to close with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qswm7lHp7oY

My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends, his wife of 60 years, Delores, and his children and grandchildren.

Here is a copy of the obituary as well:Obituary – Tom Laughlin (1)

How Times Have Changed…

In 2014, the 3oth Anniversary of Live Aid will be celebrated, I’m sure.  1984 was a self-defining Christmas for me and for a lot of my generation because we were forced for the first time in our hedonistic generation’s existence to think about someone else in another part of the globe. The artists had the guts to put this in our faces and to this day I still respect them for it.

In recent years we’ve seen so much focus on the self among our own youth that somewhere along the road, they didn’t find that same sense of purpose–yet. It appears to me that we are so focused on ourselves and pissed about what our government is doing in this country that we’ve lost sight of ONE fact.  WE CAN CHANGE THINGS–ONE PERSON AT A TIME.  However we must start with ourselves. We can and must  lead the way for a younger generation.  We cannot leave this up to others because it is not their job to do our job. It is up to us to impart a sense of what is good and what is right into our children, our grandchildren and in a few more years–maybe our great-grandchildren.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy the video. I hope it renews the fire in your soul that we had back when were younger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjQzJAKxTrE

 

They started it all…

 

A Question Most Who Engage in this Will NOT Answer…

Why is it when a celebrity dies, there is some sort of envy that they were ever famous?  Better yet why do people feel the need to bring attention to themselves by slamming the fans who are grieving or putting posts up about who or what they feel focus should be on? Seriously…People need to get off of that self-elevating crap  because that is exactly what it is. It is not about anyone who died, it is about anyone who wants to bring attention to themselves by bashing those who are expressing sympathy for the celebrities‘ families and such.

This part is for those who feel the need to engage in such behavior in social media:  Look, if you don’t want celebrity status that is your choice. You chose your life path, and you are simply jealous of their recognition so you try to bring some to yourself by bashing them. They earned their status and whatever else came their way. If you are jealous of that, it is you that has the problem, not the celebrity (or late celebrity).  It doesn’t garner you much respect either. Either way, the fans identify with the celebrity they are grieving because they come into their homes or into the theaters and are visible to them. If they are musicians, they hear their words that touch their lives daily.

YOU want them to grieve the invisible–the ones they don’t see, but yet you seem to have a connection with. This is especially true when people post about troops that died on a celebrity death thread. That doesn’t mean the fans feel no regret for the loss of anyone–especially a soldier, sailor, airman, etc…But you have no right to tell anyone how they should feel or how they should express grief–let alone WHO they should grieve at any given time. You have no right to try to lay a guilt trip on them for your own pleasure either.

IF you want to grieve someone, put up your own tributes and leave the fans of the celebrities alone. You don’t help yourself by bashing them, belittling or bullying them either.  They are entitled to what they feel as are you.

For those wondering what the heck I am talking about, THIS appeared on FB the other day:

This is one example of what people will create to bring attention to themselves and cause crap…The chances are, the person who created this didn’t know who Paul Walker or Roger Rodas were, but used this to bash fans with because he/she had nothing better to do with his/her time.

And just so everyone is aware, I have seen condolences posted toward both families on twitter, FaceBook and elsewhere…This behavior is inexcusable and immature–period.

The bottom line is that when anyone dies, they leave friends, family, co-workers and in the case of celebrities, a lot of fans and colleagues behind.  They are entitled to grieve in any way they see fit and if the people making such posts have a problem with that, they need to find another way to channel their negative energy or simply get quiet.

Then again, I am sure they will continue to engage in such behavior because it is far easier to bully a group from behind a keyboard than it is to say it to their faces, isn’t it?

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This is a HUGE Problem in Today’s Society…

Can anyone take a guess at what one of our biggest problems in today’s society is? As a whole we have become complacent to the idea that it is okay not to keep one’s word. A person is only as good as their word is, and if their word fails, then they fail. Period. Americans will allow their intelligence to get insulted time and time again and not bat an eyelash when they get manipulated. Why is that? What has made us so accepting of people who will say anything we want to hear, only to find that they never had any single intention of honoring their word?

This takes place in many areas of our lives but the result is the same.  If someone we care deeply about does it, we are far to quick to forgive–especially if that person is our partner. Well–most of us anyway. I am not that way anymore. I got in touch with my inner bitch a long time ago, and I am here to tell you, when I get lied to and the person is caught, that trust can never be brought back at any price.  In fact, I tend to make a clean break now.

In fact, I’ve booted exes, former buddies and a few peers from my life that seem to take pride in such behavior. Yes, pride. They say things like, “Oh I was just BS’ing.”  Sorry but your BS’ing got people hurt.

Now I want to address another form of “lying”.  Remember this story?

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Gay-Server-Tip-Lifestyle-Receipt-Discrepancy-233040811.html

 

Don’t jump the gun yet! I don’t think the waitress lied.  I think she and the family were, in fact, victims.  HERE is what I think went down with this story.

I think the waitress turned the ticket into whoever was handling the cash register.  I believe a reprint was made and that was the ticket given to Ms. Morales.  The reason I am giving her the benefit of a doubt is that there are more ways to rip off a person than one can shake a stick at, and I think whoever did it pocketed her tip and gave her a bogus receipt. I feel the note on the receipt, which again does NOT match the customer’s handwriting, was written by whoever cashed out the original ticket. If this is the case, there are two victims here–the family AND Ms. Morales.

Now there are people who will get even more angry if this is the case because of all the donations sent to Ms. Morales as a result. Either way she was still a victim. She got angry and posted that receipt merely to make a point. She did not intend to expose the people by name, but was simply hurt by the note left. Sadly, if that note was left by a fellow employee, I hope that he or she is caught via video, fired and then made ineligible for rehire because this type of person will continue to perpetuate fraud upon his/her co-workers and upon other customers as well. IN fact it should become a police matter at that point–even if all he/she did pocket was the $18 tip.  There is no telling how many other tips got pocketed that should have went to the wait staff  if this is the case.

I would also like to add that cons who are into criminal theft are not going to be making donations to “Wounded Warriors” either. As far as Ms. Morales goes, people really need to reserve their judgment.  I find it highly disturbing that if my scenario is correct, that anyone would leave such a hateful, spite-filled note to any waiter or waitress.

Have we as a society not learned that all people deserve a fair shake? Evidently not given some of the heated rhetoric I see directed at  Ms. Morales as well as  the family. America it is time to be quiet and wait to see what happens on this one. I think that both the family and Ms. Morales deserve that much.

Parents, Parents, Parents! It’s TERM PAPER TIME! Here is HOW to Help Your Student!

Parents, if you’re helping kids with their term papers and such, MAKE SURE that the blog posts they are citing  (IF THEY ARE USING THEM) are run by REAL PEOPLE whose credentials you can verify. There are a lot of phonies out there giving out phony facts to elevate their egos and they are spreading a LOT of false information about various subjects they claim to be experts in.  If the paper counts for a MAJOR GRADE, your quick thinking may make the difference between an A/B paper and a C/F one.

If they name a university, check out its website and see if that person is a faculty member. If that person’s name is NOT on file, then the whole site is bogus! Tell your kid to keep looking!  That’s the best way to check it. Then direct your child to find something easier to verify. In fact, if you want to, call that professor up on the university extension IF that person’s REAL name is on the blog, and ask him/her and verify that this is his/her site. A lot of people do rip off ID‘s. Most professors won’t mind verifying the info either and if it is not their blog, they will take action to shut it down.

There are too many “wannabe” experts out there pretending to be somebody they aren’t. Some get paid for each hit on their website. Think of it this way, if the site is bogus, you’re not just helping your student to a better grade, you might be preventing possible internet fraud.

Tune in next time for another writing tip…Same bat time! Same bat channel!

 

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Preamble Then and Now…

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

That was then…This is NOW:

We the people of the former United States, have torn apart our once perfect union, have no justice, encourage domestic turmoil, failed to provide a common defense, forgotten what general welfare is (and it includes EDUCATION), and allowed the blessings of our liberty to be misused to the point where almost no prosperity remains. 

We have torn apart our once perfect union by allowing ourselves to become bigoted against one another for one excuse or another. If it is not due to race, it is due to regional bias, religion, sexual preference (or the fact that some will never agree to mind their own business from both sides of any issue). Americans, let people be who they are, marry who they want and address the coming problem…Here it is…

We have failed to establish justice because we have allowed those who were considered to be on the lunatic fringe when we were children to come into positions of power.  In doing so we have seen not only THIS administration but many in law enforcement personnel ignore the 4th Amendment.

Defense? The people have no defense.  I will support no candidate who does not pledge to pull our troops from the Middle East.

The general welfare…NO I AM NOT talking about social security here or any aid to the elderly disabled. THESE are the ones who truly need it…Yes, some people have been on welfare too long.  Part of “welfare” includes educating the youth. When teachers are forced to be social engineers, children will not get educated. It is time to change this.  It is not the job of the educator to mold my child into a government mouthpiece.  Period.  We must look to other models of education (such as Belgium’s) and remove the government (and especially the NEA) from making decisions about the curriculum for each state, as well as making decisions on educational policies for each state. There is no need for “national certification” because this is a power that should remain with the states.

To try to nationalize the curriculum is the same is trying to eradicate each state’s individual culture under the guise of expanding education and making it equal for all, when no matter how much they put into place, it never can be so. There are many here who know what it means to  secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. However the government does not want a populace that knows what this means.  Hasn’t anyone else figured this out yet?

Oh I forgot…They aren’t taught the meaning of those precious words in the Constitution any longer. THAT would encourage critical thinking.  My god we have so squandered this great blessing of ours so much that nobody can see what is happening? It is time for citizens to take back the country. Run for local offices and move up from there. It is also time for the PEOPLE to lay differences aside.  Our freedom remaining in tact is what is important right now. PERIOD!

Santa Anna’s army was defeated at the Battle of San Jacinto in 18 minutes with an army that was tired, worn and determined.

All this country needs is one sweeping election to defeat anyone who is trying to usurp our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.   We KNOW who they are yet we keep putting them all back in office, on our school boards and on our city councils–not to mention every other city, state or county post known to man.  Hint: BOTH major parties are loaded with these people.

This lady has been bent but she is not fully broken yet. We can still work together to keep this country together, but we have to stop letting the government keep us divided. They feed off of that. We have to learn to mind our own business instead of telling our neighbor how to live his/her life and stop telling other countries how to conduct their business–and to further the end of the latter, we shouldn’t be providing monetary aid to any country that abuses others via forced marriages at young ages, mutilation, and denial of basic human rights.  We should also limit humanitarian aid to such countries.  The last thing we should do to further our own end is to ban travel to these areas and close our embassies there. Most countries like this do not want the U.S. or any European country there anyway and if we would all agree to give them what they want by leaving them behind, they would eventually learn who their real enemies are.

Then again, so would we…All we have to do at this point is look in the mirror because we did this to ourselves as a nation.