Monday, November 29, 2004

16 year old's journal seemed normal....

In Anchorage, Alaska, a 16 year old blogger, is accused of murdering her mother. Her last blog page, which could be viewed as late as yesterday, but has been removed, stated almost casually that she would not be online for a few days. Her computer had been confiscated by the police due to her mothers murder. She was arrested a few days later. Some of her blog can still be viewed at this link. On November 4th she posted "yes everyone it's an update *everyone dies of shock* Her mother was murdered on November 14th. The girl had alledgly been plotting with others to kill her mother for at least 2 weeks.

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

What were they thinking?!?!?!

Some recent articles in the Clarion Ledger and NewsMax.com have gotten my attention.

Doctors Group Opposes Mandatory Mental Health Tests for Kids
Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.comThursday, Nov. 11, 2004 Under new law being considered, the federal government would require that every child in America undergo psychological screening and receive recommended treatment, including drug therapies. Next week the Senate re-convenes to consider an omnibus appropriations bill that includes funding for grants to implement mandatory universal mental health screening for almost 60 million children, pregnant women, and adults through schools and pre-schools.

WHAT?!?!?!? My first instinct as a mother is immediately declare that my child will never be in public schools. Other articles expand further to explain that parents can not give or withhold consent, it is mandatory and therefore the parents don't have a choice but to comply. The same goes for treatment, if a child is found to have an abnormal psych profile, the parents are not given a choice, the child is then treated. How will they enforce it? Social Services!!

But officials of the respected Association of American Physicians & Surgeons (AAPS) decry what they see as “a dangerous scheme that will heap even more coercive pressure on parents to medicate children with potentially dangerous side effects.”
One of the most “dangerous side effects” from anti-depressants commonly prescribed to children is suicide, regarding which AAPS added, “Further, even the government’s own task force has concluded that mental health screening does little to prevent suicide.”

It is frightening to think that our government is actually considering testing our children and eventually adults on a mandatory basis-totally ignoring the wishes of the parent. They might as well tell all American parents that we don't know what is good for our children, and what we want for them does not matter. I will be damned if anyone ever tried to force me to make my child be tested, much less undergoe drug therapy!

I will be graduating with a psych degree in May, my mother in law is a psychometrist, and I have a minor in elementary education... even with this limited amount of knowledge that I have gained, I am able to see some major problems with testing children.

First, they are tested against predetermined social norms. In other countries where this was done in the past, the norms were chosen by the gov and if a child had different cultural beliefs, they were considered abnormal. This may seem far fetched but this problem is cropping up in the tests that we use today to test our children. Our nation has become so diverse that it can be difficult to accurately test many minority groups. Soviet communists attempted to paint all opposition to the state as mental illness. It now seems our own federal government wants to create a therapeutic nanny state, beginning with schoolchildren. It’s not hard to imagine a time 20 or 30 years from now when government psychiatrists stigmatize children whose religious, social, or political values do not comport with those of the politically correct, secular state.

Second, many of the tests used with children today are to determine levels of intelligence. None of them are perfect, and should be used with a battery of tests that test the same thing-as well as teacher interviews, parent interviews and so on. To suddenly decide that children will be tested using one or two tests is very scary indeed because there is little room for mistakes.

Third, I think the entire No Child Left Behind idea has gotten way out of hand. I am a Bush supporter, and I am very proud of him and the Republican party. However, I think that they have made a huge mistake in this act. Today's emphasis on achievement tests and psychological tests is bound to backfire. After observing several Mississippi school systems, and the children in those classrooms, I am seriously disturbed. Any teacher will tell you, it is hurting more than it is helping. They are now forced to teach how to pass this test because the children's future and their job depends on each one. And the children as young as 8 were in tears before one of the tests because they were scared! What are we doing to our children?

American parents must do everything they can to remain responsible for their children’s well-being. If we allow government to become intimately involved with our children’s minds and bodies, we will have lost the final vestiges of parental authority. Strong families are the last line of defense against an overreaching bureaucratic state.”

Monday, November 22, 2004

To the Second Degree

I've been busy, been away from blogging for a few days, because.......

It's a Boy!
Thursday, November 18, 2004. Trey Anthony was born weighing 7'4 ounces. Born a perfect little baby with his Mommy's long skinny little feet. I am now a Grandmother to the second degree. My first little Grandchild, Laura Grace is 16 months old.

Trey
So glad to finally meet you.....
Little froggie
bright little eyes
soft cheeks
strong little legs
jump up and down
in Granny's lap
when dinner is due

Laura Grace
Tiny Dancer
Little arms
with twig in hand
pump by her side
as we walk outside
poke the bug, see the flower
as we make our way

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Racism from the Left?

Cartoons Portraying Condoleeza Rice in a Racist manner?

The first cartoon, posted on Jeff Danzinger's web site then pulled, was not published in a newspaper. The Wall Street Journal's online opinion page states :

"The cartoon has since been removed from both Mr. Danziger's Web site and that of the New York Times Syndicate, which distributes it. But racist or not, the illustration is certainly revealing. For liberals, Condi Rice's real crime is bucking Democratic orthodoxy and working for a conservative president. This makes her fair game for race-based attacks even when the issue at hand has absolutely nothing to do with race. She is a black woman who, in Mr. Danziger's view, has wandered off the liberal plantation. And this is his way of putting Ms. Rice and other black conservatives in their place."

The second cartoon posted by Pat Oliphant, can still be viewed on today's issue of the Washington Post by clicking on the link, then clicking on Cartoonist Oliphant's name. To view all 3 cartoons this link will take you there.....


Sunday, November 14, 2004

Thug Nation

Ellie
Out of touch with a reality, just a tad?
Joshua Dean Williams, 20 and another man apparently had a need for new tires. They had access to marijuana but were having a cash flow problem. (sigh) They decided to try to trade some pot for tires. Yep, thats right, pot for tires. Seemed sensible at the time. So they approached a tire store. Instead of asking a out of the way quiet locally owned tire store, they decided since they had POT to offer, they should approach the big boys. They went to a Sears Auto, tire store.

Apparently, the Sears tire store employees would not accept the pot for tires :(.
Some sort of altercation broke out. The pot vendors ended up swinging a bat at the stubborn Sears tire people, the stubborn Sears people through a rock at the pot vendor's car and busted their window. The pot vendors not willing to take no for an answer, grabbed two tires.

The pot vendors screeched off, with tires in hand, in their busted car. I am not sure what ensued in the preceding hour, but my guess is, they must have ingested some of the pot they had tried to trade. Logic being therefore skewed, they RETURNED to the Sears store to revenge the busting of their car window.

They were recognized at once and the police were called. One of the pot vendors was arrested. The other remains at large. I hope the at large pot vendor has his stash. He probably needs it.

Bloggers Beware! Ethics in Blogging

Ellie
Bloggers are being called dangerous and irresponsible by some. They point at the left and right. The latest round of finger pointing focuses on the early poling results for the presidential election that turned out to be flawed. The bloggers didn't lie, there was a pole and the results were as reported, however the data was skewed somewhat by the time of day and people being interviewed by the exit polers.

It could be argued that the pole was designed to do just what occured, release information early in the day that Kerry was winning big to discourage Bush voters. I could have also had the opposite affect. Kerry voters assured of a win, might not have the same sense of urgency about their own individual vote. Thankfully, neither seems to be the case. The voter turn-out is touted to be at a record high.

Some news sources are blaming bloggers for running the story. Apparently because a few bloggers out there ran the poling results, and were viewed as "scooping" the story, news sources felt they had no choice but to report the results as well. They ran the results without checking out the facts. To blame the blog world for their irresponsibility seems a little disingenious. Reminds me of the old adage told to children for eons, "if John told you to jump off a bridge, would you?"

They feel the blogworld should have the same responsibility to the public as they supposedly do.

I feel torn about the matter. On one hand, I think we should be careful about what we tout as "truth". On the other hand, in the blog world for the most part, we don't have the resources and time that the professional news world has. We can't check out every story.

So what do we do? In my case, I cannot do personal investigative reporting. I don't have the time or resources. What I do try to do is quote existing news sources. I am espousing opinions and editorializing based upon data compiled by the existing news world.

I think we need to be careful. Some media types seem to be somewhat jealous of the blogger world. They could try to shut us down. How sad it would be if we no longer had the freedom to comment on and speak our mind about the worlds events.

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Veterans Remember

The first time I watched Private Ryan, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of horror. I daresay my mind might not be strong enough to survive, if I was fortunate enough to live through, D-Day at Omaha Beach. I stand in awe of all our Veterans. The following stories told by veterans recount some of their own experiences.

Kids who went to war.

Veterans of Underage Military Service (VUMS) tell their stories. Charles Kelly of The Arizona Republic Newspaper writes, "Some of those who jumped the gun guarded the secret for years, concerned they might get bad-conduct discharges if they were still in the service or that their military benefits might be taken away if they had returned to civilian life." "Probably the youngest member of the armed forces to see combat in World War II was the late Calvin Graham, a Navy seaman on the USS South Dakota who was wounded in the Battle of Guadalcanal at the age of 12."

Only survivor
Another article
related to Veterans day tells Paul Polson's story. He was only 17 when he enlisted during War World II. He was the sole survivor of a troop of 130 infantrymen before being re-assigned to the 160 Infantry Regiment Negros Island. All 400 men in his company were either killed are wounded. Paul Polson was wounded twice.

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Fallujah

I have heard it said that the Iraqi people have got to stand up and do more fighting for themselves. Catch 22 for the people of Iraq. If they embrace us and we leave, they face certain death.

With the recent election, and the US presence a certainty for a time, maybe they will feel more free to express the support for us that they did last time.

Things are heating up in Iraq with at least 14 US soldiers lost and many more injured in the last 2 days. With the troops pushing further into the heart of Fallujah, there is a chance more will not make it back home. My heart and prayers go out to the friends and family members of those "out there". My heart also goes out to the innocent civilians of Fallujah.

I cannot pretend to understand the feelings of a family missing a soldier, or the horror of a war torn homeland.

May Peace come soon.

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Clark County, Ohio

Ellie
Who would have thought after Farenheit 911, the British Guardian's campaign to inflence our American election, and with our American press coverage being so biased, so blatantly pro-Kerry, Bush would have been re-elected. There is alot of confusion out there. The Democrats are in a tail spin, pointing fingers of blame and imploding before our very eyes.

They are blaming Kerry, blaming the Clinton's, blaming, blaming, blaming. They need to take a good look at their own party. They need to look at their platform. They need to find a better way to woo the American voter.

I think we got tired of the crap. I think we rebelled against Hollywood trying to influence our opinions. And the Guardian's campaign to influence Ohio voters in Clark county? It backfired big time. Clark County voted for Bush.


Thursday, November 04, 2004

Sanity Prevailed In The 2004 Presidential Election

Cindy
At no time in history has an election inspired so many to take a position on political matters. The election seemed to be all about George Bush. You supported George Bush, or you hated George Bush.

I found it interesting that I could find scant evidence of Kerry supporters who had a favorable thing to say about his agenda, his leadership, his record, or his potential as the president of the most powerful nation in the world. The prevailing reason for voting for Mr. Kerry was because of extreme hatred for George Bush.

I always wondered if Kerry supporters had really listened to his position on weapons issues. If he had been elected we would have had virtually NO DEFENSE against our enemies? He stated in several of campaign stops that terrorism was a law enforcement issue, just like the war on drugs, and was being used to scare America. He said this after attending very few intelligence committee meetings after 9/11.

Clinton raped the intelligence department by cuts in funding so greatly that their intelligence was extremely inadequate. Most of the intelligence was gathered through technology instead of using field agents to verify the information. During the Clinton presidency intelligence showed and Clinton himself proclaimed that there was a presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Yet, Kerry and the democrats blame 9/11, and the Iraq situation all on George Bush.

America is not as stupid as the Democrats obviously think we are. We have spoken in the loudest voice yet. Will we be heard? The jury is out. From watching the pundits on the News Channels they do not appear ready to admit that America is saying we want tax breaks, we like what Bush stands for, we believe in the war and the freedom of the Iraqi people and we are tired of being lied to.

Want to know how your county voted? The map below breaks down the vote state by state , county by county.
I can proudly say that I am a middle class tax payer who did get a tax refund from Bush's tax cut.










"Unenlightened Voters"

There are people out there that are dissing the people who voted for Bush. We have been called ghostites, (a term for people who believe in God) neo-cons, fascists, hicks, unimportant, uneducated, dangerous, etc.,
In response to some of the intolerance out there and to clarify the obvious I thought I would introduce you to some of the people who voted for Bush.
Azcentral.com
Wyoming %69 of the vote went to Bush
Wisconsin %49 vote for Bush
West Virginia %56 vote for Bush
Washington %46 vote for Bush
Virginia %54 vote for Bush
Vermont %39 vote for Bush
Utah %71 vote for Bush
Texas %61 vote for Bush
Tennessee %57 vote for Bush
South Dakota %60 vote for Bush
South Carolina %58 vote for Bush
Rhode Island %39 vote for Bush
Pennsylvania %49 vote for Bush
Oregan %47 vote for Bush
Oklahoma %66 vote for Bush
Ohio %51 vote for Bush
North Dakota %63 vote for Bush
North Carolina %56 vote for Bush
New York %40 vote for Bush
New Mexico %50 vote for Bush
New Jersey %46 vote for Bush
New Hampshire %49 vote for Bush
Nevada %50 vote for Bush
Nebraska %67 vote for Bush
Montana %59 vote for Bush
Missouri %53 vote for Bush
Mississippi %60 vote for Bush
Minnesota %48 vote for Bush
Michigan %48 vote for Bush
Massachusets %37 vote for Bush
Maryland %43 vote for Bush
Maine %45 vote for Bush
Louisiana %57 vote for Bush
Kentucky %60 vote for Bush
Kansas %62 vote for Bush
Iowa %50 vote for Bush
Indiana %60 vote for Bush
Illinois %45 vote for Bush
Idaho %68 vote for Bush
Hawaii %45 vote for Bush
Georgia %58 vote for Bush
Florida %52 vote for Bush
District of Columbia %9 vote for Bush
Delaware %46 vote for Bush
Connecticut %44 vote for Bush
Colorado %52 vote for Bush
California %44 vote for Bush
Arkansas %54 vote for Bush
Arizona %55 vote for Bush
Alaska %62 vote for Bush
Alabama %63 vote for Bush

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Spammers get felony sentence

Ellie

There have been various times when I hoped wistfully for work-at-home employment. Once I was all set to sign up for a home medical billing business, with a price about half of it's competitor's. Common sense made me do a web search, typing in the name of the business followed by scam. And low and behold, site after site, listed stories of people, wanting to work at home, forked out their hard earned dollars for this "business opportunity".

Turned out, the sofware included with the purchase price only had a database for one person. in order to generate medical record billing for additional patients, you had to fork out roughly the same amount of money as the other companies were charging.

Remember the Fex-Ex Refund Processor work at home jobs listed on various web-sites and touted in countless emails? The creators of this so-called "opportunity",Jeremy D. Jaynes, 30, and Jessica DeGroot, 28, were convicted today on felony charges. They were sending spam emails to millions of America touting this and other wonderful products and work at home jobs. They were sentenced to 9 years each and fined $7500 for sending untraceable, fraudulent emails.

The convictions today are being touted as the first, sending a message to the online community. There will be others. Maybe next time I see this wonderful, spectacular ad about a in-home job, it will be for real. Sigh...

Azcentral.com


Monday, November 01, 2004

Get Out and Vote


Get Out and Vote
Originally uploaded by E_llie.
The winds of change are blowing. Can you feel it in the air?

Whatever the outcome of tomorrows election, we will never be the same. These are turbulent times. Whatever your political persuasion, your vote could be the one that changes the outcome of history.

America Needs Your Voice, don't let her down.