My Growing Disgust

My level of disgust is growing exponentially in the public education system of this country.

DH and I have grumbled at each other back and forth about sending our Deaf children to the deaf school versus the hearing impaired program in a neighboring district. For the time being, I have so far come out on top in this grumbling, my wanting them to have a broader range of experience with the hearing world in which they will be living and functioning within in the future.

HOWEVER.... After reading my 3-year-old son's IEP report from that program, I am reconsidering the wisdom of that decision.

First, we have chosen (as is our right as parents - for now, anyhow) against cochlear implants at this time. There are a couple of reasons for this, but suffice it to say that MY grumbling involves personal choice and who the hell am I to force a life-altering ELECTIVE procedure on another human being - regardless of who it is - when there is no concrete evidence that:

1. Implantation of a device that, while effective in many people, will necessarily give my son with profound hearing loss much benefit, if any at all;
2. Implantation of a device that, while effective in many people, will NEVER "cure" deafness and remove the social stigma from my child that he is "broken" and, therefore, needed to be fixed;
3. Waiting until he is a bit older and can contribute his own opinion to the discussion will diminish his capacity for language in any way. This is very important, drawing the distinction here: Just because he uses a different language does not make him defective or incapable of effectively using any language. I am meeting more and more Hearing people that know (or are attempting to learn) American Sign Language. Knowledge is spreading, and that can only benefit him.
   

Second, considering the distance between our home and the two schools and the availability of bus transportation to the neighboring district as opposed to the deaf school, which is further away and we would have to provide our own transportation - unless we boarded on campus, which would be unreasonable in light of his young age - and having other children departing for/returning from school at various times during the day (5 children in 4 different schools due to their ages and various special needs and which building can accommodate them - it's a fucking nightmare, the roadblocks thrown in front of us in attempting to secure their "rights" to COMPULSORY education) all in combination with my work schedule, the public school option seemed perfect.

At least, it seemed perfect until I got this wad of shitty-looking pink paper that is his most recent IEP report.

Keep in mind, my son was born Deaf - profoundly Deaf, in fact - as a result of a heredity condition known as Waardenburg Syndrome. His characteristic white forelock, brilliant blue eyes, and skin hypopigmentation (and, of course, the deafness) are long-documented traits in his father's family extending back generations. Nearly the entire family is Deaf, and they are proud of their heritage and - most importantly - their culture. Our daughter was also born with sensorineural hearing loss and did use hearing aids for a time, but (strangely, perplexing even our otolaryngologist) her hearing was determined to be normal at age 2. Of course, having had limited hearing during those critical years has affected her verbal language, but now at age 4, she is working diligently to catch up - and she is truly bilingual (we used Total Communication with her from the start, with only moderate to severe as opposed to profound hearing loss and her more substantial residual hearing ability and capability of making use of hearing aids).

Anyhow, on to what got me all in a yank about this report.

Impact of disability on progress/involvement in the general curriculum:
Present level of academic achievement [spelled incorrectly in the report, BTW, "acheivment"] and functional performance and hearing loss impacts how he is able to:

• Locate the source or direction of the speaker and sound
  
• Discriminate between speech and noise in all settings of the school
• Hear oral directions, instruction, and discussion in the classroom or other activities
• Attend when listening for periods of time
• Hear peers or side conversations
• Progress in oral and written language development
• Follow through with auditory information due to competing sounds

Um, he is profoundly deaf, and amplification devices have proven to be of little benefit due to almost nonexistent residual hearing, so it would seem rational to conclude that he cannot and will not EVER be able to "overcome" a single one of these issues. Perhaps this is the reason Deaf and Blind children were funneled into institutions such as the Michigan School for the Deaf to meet their needs, as they would not be able to be met APPROPRIATELY in the environment of a mainstream public school.... Let alone the fact that verbal language has little impact on written language - many Deaf are capable of producing perfectly coherent ENGLISH written documents without ever having heard a spoken word in their lives. And don't even get me started on the ability of Deaf individuals to learn to SPEAK ENGLISH - and do it well (think Marlee Matlin).

Let us continue:

"[...] decreased communication skills interfere with his ability to communicate his needs and the ability to communicate knowledge within all educational settings."

Interesting, considering the sentence immediately preceding that states: (Emphasis mine)

"He has been very resistive to using signs functionally to communicate his wants and needs; however gains in this area have been noted during the past month."

This is interesting in the fact that we had brought our son into a homeschooling environment for several months at the beginning of this year (due to his lack of progress in the public school, among other reasons, up to and including his teacher removing his clothes to "inspect" him for bruises without our knowledge or consent, a fact that our son was able to communicate quite readily to us at home and for which the teachers had no reasonable explanation as to why they had done so) and only about a month ago sent him back because he missed the social interaction. Hmmmm.... homeschooled for several months with little to no progress prior to that time while in the public school, back in that same public school for about a month and suddenly making gains that are noted over that month.... BUT: They scored him lower (yes, LOWER) on his current skills than on his prior skills, "Achieved/maintained" (scores of 1) and "Progressing at a rate sufficient to meet the annual goal for this objective" (scores of 2) before homeschooling, "Progressing below a rate sufficient to meet the annual goal for this objective" (scores of 3) after he returns from homeschooling, even though "gains in this area have been noted during the past month."

And on we continue, to an issue that shocked me, as it has never been addressed with either my husband or myself at any point by either the teacher or any of the other half-dozen people contributing to his IEP and in direct contact with our family for the past year:

"During therapy there have been several occasions that [he] suddenly stops what he is doing, when engaged in an activity, and blankly looks straight ahead. During this time, I have been unable to get his attention through signs, waving of my arms, and/or through any visual stimuli. After approximately 30 seconds, [he] becomes responsive, but appears confused and needs re-direction to complete the activity. Medical intervention may be warranted regarding the possibility of seizure activity."

Thanks a fucking ton for NEVER telling me that my son is exhibiting seizure-like activity so that I could, you know, TAKE HIM TO THE DOCTOR, YOU FUCKING HALF-WIT MORON! This is disturbing to me on multiple levels, even outside of the fact that they were obviously too stupid to tell us what was going on so that we may address it in an appropriate and TIMELY fashion (remember those removal of clothing and seeking injuries incidents and the fact that our county CPS agency is full of corrupt motherfuckers who have already tried shoving it up our asses without a bit of Vaseline in the past, a fact well known at that school - can you say "parents are guilty of medical neglect," regardless of the fact that they said not one word to us about what they had seen and the fact that he has exhibited none of that type of activity at home?) These people know my history, that I suffer from multiple sclerosis AND a seizure disorder AND an idiopathic syringomyelia.... So let us not tell the parent with a history of neurological problems. Although they are not necessarily hereditary conditions, taken together they could be disturbing to the parent and THE PHYSICIAN of a child with this history; my own neurological issues started at about age 6 with absence seizures - you know, those kind where you SIT AND STARE, UNRESPONSIVE?

Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick.

Moving right along....

Oh, I see that "gains in this area have been noted during the past month" again.

"The Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT) measures single word expressive vocabulary in a picture-naming format. This test is normed on hearing children. [He] was unable to establish a basal (8 consecutive correct responses). Therefore, the following data is being reported as baseline data only. [He] earned a raw score of 15, which gives him a percentile rank of 1 and a standard score of 65. [He] was able to label the following items: tree, eyes, kitty, telephone, bird, scissors, swing, couch (chair), plane, book, watch, wagon, ear."

Okay, let us now compare apples to oranges, shall we? We will compare your DEAF child to a HEARING child and score him.... well.... according to a skewed scale.

What-the-fuck-ever.

"The Carolina Picture Vocabulary Test (CPVT) measures the receptive sign vocabulary where manual sign is the primary mode of communication. [He] earned a raw score of 23, which gives him a percentile rank of 2, a standard score of 69, and an age equivalency of less than 4 years."

That is a bit better, comparing oranges to oranges. BUT: Considering he is THREE YEARS OLD, how is he "behind" with having "an age equivalency of less than 4 years"? Did I miss something here?

"Analysis of a spontaneous language sample revealed that [he] is communicating through occasional signs, gestures, facial expressions and a few vocalizations. He has been very resistive to using known signs functionally to communicate his wants and needs; however gains in this area have been noted during the past month."

There it is AGAIN, gains being noted during the past month!

"Functional use of the following true signs have been recorded: you, fall, big, drive, cry, finish, water, girl, fish, better, Kleenex, color. Furthermore, [he] is beginning to combine a few words: help me, me finish."

He is beginning to combine words, as per the stated "goals" of:

1. "Appropriately, verbally and/or sign, a 1 word sentence by the end of the 1st semester" [which was in January 2009, met November 2008 with a status score of "2" and January 2009 with a status score of "1" but currently with a status score of "3" (as above)];
2. "Appropriately, verbally and/or sign, a 2 word sentence by the end of the 2nd semester" [with a current status score (as it is the end of the semester now) of "3" - OH, BUT THEY EXPLAIN WHY: Because he was being homeschooled - even though they have indicated that he is, in fact using 2-word sentences.]

Of course, these are all attributed to not only expressive but receptive language skills - as in indicating that he does not understand more complex statements posed to him as a listener. However, I can tell my son "Tell daddy to come here," "Go outside and ride your bike," "Go find your crayons and paper" (fairly complex commands for a 3-year-old who suffers from receptive language deficits, right?) and he understands perfectly. He also says things you would expect from a 3-year-old: "That is MINE," "That is yours," "I don't like hamburgers," (okay, you might not expect that one from a 3-year-old, but something to that effect) "I want a drink of milk" and countless others. He quite effectively makes his needs and wants known - if you are not a teacher attempting to divide your attention between 20-some students of whom only 4 or 5 have varying levels of hearing impairment and the remainder being hearing, or if you are a speech pathologist who is attempting to force a young child into doing something they have no interest in doing when there are dozens of far more interesting things to focus that monstrous imagination and headstrong will upon.

During the months we were homeschooling - those months in which he made demonstrable gains prior to returning to the public school system - we were continually begged and pleaded with, cajoled, and eventually browbeaten into returning him to their facility.

For what? So they could tell us in a report a month later that he was being "penalized" for an (obviously superior) education simply because we were able to provide it ourselves and make the gains they were incapable of making, by marking his status scores lower? To subject him to testing that is "normed on hearing children" and comparing him as apples to oranges, PROVING he is "deficient"? To tell us that our child is "disabled" simply because he has a physical trait that precludes his being able to attain a cookie-cutter "education" in a "normal" school setting?

How much longer before CPS comes pounding on my door at the behest of the school system because I "refuse" to give him a "normal" life by forcing the invasive implantation of a device into his skull that may or may not work in his case?

Seriously, the only good I have seen come out of this is that now I have - inadvertently - been made aware that there may be a neurological issue with my child for which I can seek medical treatment, something that might not have been done but for their incidental inclusion of that little tidbit into their farce of an educational planning and progress report.

Yes, Michigan!

I remember an old theme song from my youth, "Yes, Michigan! The feeling's forever." God's Country, I call it, for the riveting beauty that is (in particular) Michigan's upper and northern lower peninsulas. Mountains, waterfalls, rock formations, vast tracts of forests and picturesque lakes and rivers, each sight and scene is breathtakingly beautiful. I have lived here my entire life, and here I shall remain until I pass from this existence. If someone wants me out of here, they will have to drag my cold, dead carcass out with a John Deere tractor.

Unfortunately, lately it seems a lot has been sucked out of the place.

Continuing the trend of the past several years, Michigan leads the nation in one statistic that carries no pride of ownership: The highest unemployment rate in the nation. As of December 2008, Michigan has toppled the scale at an astounding 10.6% statewide, 11.1% in the Detroit/Livonia area. You know Detroit - home of The Big Three. Just over a year ago in November 2007, our statewide unemployment rate was 7.7% - a 2.9% increase in 13 months' time. Our "governor" projects that the February data will be worse. Historically, the state's highest unemployment rate in November 1982 at 16.9% comes in second only to West Virginia's March 1983 18.2% (table does not indicate date range of data collected). I was but 10 years old and really do not remember much from back then, other than my dad being laid off for a really long time.

Of late, we have been blazing trails through the history books. Being the laughingstock of the nation during the Presidential primary elections was not enough humiliation for this state's residents to endure. Shortly after that spectacle arising out of gross stupidity, we were treated to Congressman John Dingell pushing for an additional 50-cent tax hike per gallon of gas - at a time when most of us already could not afford to fill up our vehicles. Last summer, I asked what was next, after an expanded state sales tax and a retroactive increase in state income tax. I did not have to wait long to find out the answer to a question I knew better than to ask.

Now, our governor wants to change the state gas tax. In addition to the 6% state sales tax, she wishes to implement a (likely) 16% tax per gallon instead of the flat 19-cents-per-gallon tax we pay currently. However, Governor Granholm "insists that the plan is not a tax hike." Looking at the comments left on the article, I found this and was rather stunned:

Today = .19 per gallon flat At the 16%, $2 per gallon = .32 per gallon added on... Last year, $4.50 per gallon = .72 per gallon. so if gas prices rise back to 4.50, like they did in the fall of 2008, we will actually pay $5.22 per gallon when we actually did pay $4.69 per gallon. On an average 18 gallon tank, that difference would be $9.54 more per fill-up. How is that not a tax hike. The only time her plan makes sense and is in our favor is when the price drops below $1.20 per gallon. When is the last time that has happened? This will KILL the already smothered Michigan economy. Jenny, YOU are the weakest link...

Late last September, we took an overnight camping trip down to southwest lower Michigan to take the kids trick-or-treating at one of the state parks. We stopped for gas on the way home, and this was what the pump read when the guy who filled up before us pulled out - and this was even before gas hit almost $5 a gallon:


Using this example, this man's 24.685 gallons of gas cost him $92.85 (yeah, I know the numbers are blurry - sorry): $3.76 per gallon. Had the tax been 16% rather than the flat $0.19 per gallon, his tank of gas would have cost $102.20 - a difference of $9.35.

Surely there is no tax hike there, right Jenny?

On top of that, despite President Obama's recent "challenge" with regards to higher education, Granholm "proposes to cut need-based funding," which helps students pay college tuition - while asking colleges and universities to freeze tuition rates. Along with a 5.8% funding cut ($18.8 million), more students would be able to participate in these programs - more students competing for fewer funds. I fail to see the logic in that move; as more students become unable to pay their tuition bills with fewer dollars available, does it not seem likely more would end up dropping out due to inability to pay - especially when considered in conjunction with the unemployment rate and those students, therefore, unable to work their way through school?

Barack Obama has it right - while Granholm truly is proving herself to be "the weakest link": (emphasis mine)

"Right now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma," Obama said. "And yet, just over half of our citizens have that level of education. We have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the students who begin college never finish."

"This is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. That is why it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education—from the day they are born to the day they begin a career."

Perhaps even scarier is the realization that our education system's decline has worsened since 2003 - the year she entered office: (emphasis mine)

University officials lay much of the blame for higher prices on the penny-wise, pound-foolish attitude in Lansing — with good reason. Michigan has the dubious distinction of being the only state in the country to spend less on higher education in 2008 than it did in 2003, a per-student cut of $2,852, according to state universities. That says a lot to us about the priorities and the foresight of Michigan’s political leaders.

The cherry on top is Obama C&T, which will have the effect of "sinking" Michigan. I fear it will not be long before we suffer what I had expressed concern about previously:

The future of Michigan is a large question mark. With few jobs, sky-high unemployment rate, increases in state income and sales tax this past year, and state leaders pointing fingers at the Bush administration while taking no responsibility for ANYTHING, she has entered dark times. An Obama Presidency would surely push us into crisis, our economy beyond salvage. What happens to an unsalvageable limb compromising the overall health of the body? It is amputated, sacrificed to save the life. Sit here in my seat for a moment, and imagine the terror felt at the image of a financial or political "amputation" of the Great Lakes State.

I am afraid. Very afraid.

Upper Tahquamenon Falls - Michigan's upper peninsula

Oh My God

I am a motherfucking genius.

A couple weeks back, I'd posted this brain-bomb after Dazd dangled an exceptionally tempting-looking carrot in front of my face:

At September 23, 2008 4:39 PM, allee

Doooooood. You chose some of my favoritest subjects today: The economy and the Depression.

Since I feel the Federal Reserve Act was a crime perpetrated against the American people, I cannot help but feel this "bailout" is little more than saying the first crime was no big deal and allowing a second to justify the first. Like we decided it was okay to knock an old lady down to steal her purse then letting the thief came back to kick her and rob her again because he forgot her wedding band. And laughing about it.

The central bank creates an environment leading us where we seem all too willing to follow - false manipulation of the markets to tweak a penny until it screams for the benefit of the banking elite followed by, unfortunately, the inevitable fast and hard blow in the form of recession that (of course) strikes the little guy below the belt just because he bought food and shelter instead of a nut cup.

The more manipulation, the harder the retaliation by the economy; much like in physics, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Factor in the natural ebb and flow of the economy and you've got a disaster waiting to happen. LIKE THE ENVIRONMENT, the economy has mechanisms of self-correction. We don't like how those make us feel, though; they don't leave us feeling all warm and gooey inside, so we try to avoid them by manipulating the system. But like water behind a dam, stuffing bubble gum in one hole doesn't keep the water from flowing, it only forces the water to find another outlet. Eventually, (and I love this analogy, so I use and over-abuse it) we experience the financial equivalent of Teton... The Great Depression.

Unfortunately, we didn't learn the lessons taught to us by history, so we are doomed to repeat it. We've allowed much more sophisticated manipulation and on much grander scale since the time of the Great Depression. Those self-corrections will be much harsher than those of the past and [sic] in turn, the results far worse. I know I've ranted my doom and gloom before, last time you dangled this subject in front of me, but I say it again. The next Depression will be far more devastating than the last - economically and socially.

This is interesting reading, if you're interested:

http://www.kwaves.com/kond_overview.htm

Okay, I know some of you think I am just a lunatic, that I drank a little too much Kool-Aid or maybe was dropped on my head too many times as an infant. You may be right, except for the Kool-Aid Part, since the only sugar in liquid form I drink is Mountain Dew. But aren't all geniuses a little weird around the edges?

Once again, I was right. Once again, I was ignored by pretty much everyone. But instead of saying "I told you so," I'll just let you in on a little secret: It's time to prepare for the final meltdown - NOW.

Have you ever watched footage of the Teton collapse? Fascinated by this event, never having learned about it in school but on (I believe) the History Channel some months back, I began reading about it, interested and wanting to know more. That was when I had my "epiphany." Our economic system and the markets of its operation are man-made constructs, subject to the same faults of engineers but also subject to falling victim to human greed. The economic version of the Teton breached and ruptured once already. Instead of taking instruction from the mistakes of our past, moving forward yet leaving the ghastly remains of our failure in plain sight so as not to repeat it, we just started shovelling even more dirt in the hole, rebuilding that same damn dam on the site of the first, burying that failure and hoping it will be soon forgotten.

Time passes, memories fade, and eventually those of the generation that survived the first rampaging flood pass away, future generations not learning from the experiences of their fathers and their father's fathers. Except someday, the water will once again leak through.

(This may seem like diverging off topic, but now you will see my true genius)

The environment, nature, Planet Earth, has series of natural cycles, rhythms, waves. Whatever terminology you prefer, the premise behind all is that there are upswings and downswings. There is a rich geological and archaeological record documenting the planet's - as in GLOBAL - warming and cooling periods dating back millennia. What causes this? Is it Man, plundering natural resources and polluting the ecosystem and creating global warming? Absolutely not. In fact, Man has little to do with it. Global warming (and cooling) results from the combination of planetary tilt and rotation, orbital deviations, gravitational pulls by other celestial bodies, and even the movement of our solar system within the Milky Way and the galaxy's course across the universe. Nothing will EVER occupy the same "place" twice in an infinite universe in which all components are in continuous motion right down to the atomic level. (Is that profound, or what?) Astrophysics on steroids.

Lesson #1: Man is but an insignificant speck when considered in context of an infinite universe. All things being equal, the entire population of planet Earth, all 6.6 billion of us - including me - is but an insignificant speck when considered in context of an infinite universe.
Lesson #2: Man is only a marginally more significant speck when considered in context of the finite proportions of Planet Earth. However, all things being equal, the entire population of planet Earth, all 6.6 billion of us, is just a really fucking annoying parasite.

We (humans) glorify ourselves, thinking we are so important that we have the ability to effect some truly horrific, radical destruction of the Earth. In reality, the worst we could ever do would be to effect some truly horrific, radical destruction of ourselves as a species. Asteroids and comets have pummelled the face of the Earth, but the Earth has endured, nature has responded and adapted, improved upon itself, strengthened and grown, incorporating and enveloping that foreign space rock into itself. Even if we nuked the shit out of each other, the Earth would endure, nature would respond and adapt, improve upon itself, strengthening and growing, incorporating and enveloping each of us back into itself. So are we really as powerful as we lead ourselves to believe?

Upswings and downswings. Any attempt we make to change the natural course of the environment will be met by an inherent self-correction. The more manipulation we exert, the harsher the correction: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Eventually, diddling around with it too much gives you the kind of situation you can watch in high-definition in movies like The Day After Tomorrow. (Yes, I know this is a movie, a work of fiction, but all creative works have some basis in reality.) We - as in humans, specifically ALL humans - got carried away and exacerbated and/or accelerated the natural cycles of the environment; and nature responded, mitigating the effects of our abuses with what was best for the planet, even if it was not what was best for it's inhabitants.

The economy is a dynamic, almost "living" entity, created by man but in many ways similar to the environment. Its very nature has endowed it with the ability to grow and adapt, giving it the same self-correction capabilities found in nature. The more we manipulate it, the harsher the correction. The meddling within the system is causing it to self-correct. Instead of allowing it to do so, further manipulation is attempted.

Eventually, just like the cracks the formed in the face of the Teton, the cracks begin to form within the economic structure; and eventually the breach will rupture and carry us all downstream. This is the ultimate in self-correction, the Body's capacity to maintain equilibrium, what is best for the economy, even if it is not what is best for the manipulators.

I saw a video clip a while back, Nancy Pelosi asking what was so great about the Great Depression? I'll tell her what was so great about it. It was a Great Opportunity for us to learn and grow and fill in the holes and gaps and cracks in that dam we insisted on rebuilding; but instead of learning, we shrugged it off - our Great Folly - and now we will pay a Great Price.

Blame it on Bush

(Up-tempo game show-type music plays, camera pans across cheering audience)
Announcer: Democratic or Republican, Republican or Democratic, Elephants and Asses are no help here in your quest to reach... The Winner's Circle! Anyone can play, but only the quickest will win! It's America's hottest new game show....
Audience: BLAME IT ON BUSH!
Announcer: And heeeeeeere's your host.... Mr..... Maaaaaaaaaatt..... DAAAAAAAAAAMON!
(camera pans across flailing audience, foaming at the mouth)
Matt: (waving arm to settle crowd, hand signal to Brutus in the back with suspicious bulge under his jacket, to be on guard) Hello, everyone, welcome, and thank you for joining us. Wow. What a great crowd. It's so great to see you all fired up. Okay. We all know how this works, it's fun to play and easy to win. All you have to do is...
Audience: BLAME IT ON BUSH!
Matt: Please welcome our first contestant, Nancy from San Francisco. Nancy enjoys scrap-booking and cooking....
Nancy: Excuse me, Matt?
Matt: Yes, Nancy?
Nancy: It's actually "cocking," not cooking.
(Audience screaming/flailing/foaming)
Matt: (chuckles) Ohhh...kay. Sorry about that. Nancy enjoys scrap-booking and cocking.... Nancy?
Nancy: Yes Matt?
Matt: You are one naughty girl.
(Audience screaming/flailing/foaming)
Matt: (laughing and shaking head) I can't do it. Really, I can't. I'm sorry, Nancy. (Laughing and wiping fake tears from eyes) Oh. My. No, I just can't. So allow me to introduce our returning champion, finishing out our last round with a grand total of $700,000,000,000 in cash and prizes.... Damien from Chicago.
(Audience screaming/flailing/foaming)
Matt: Wow, Damien. That is, that is just amazing. Wow. Congratulations, man.
Damien: Thanks, Matt. I can't tell you how great it is to be here.
Matt: Okay, folks. Let's get ready to play:
Audience: BLAME IT ON BUSH!
Matt: Now, you both know what to do. I'll read the question, and whoever buzzes it in fastest - and gets the correct answer - wins the points. Speed is what's gonna get your foot in the door, but only the correct answer wins the cash. Are you ready?
Nancy: I'm ready, Matt.
Damien: Let's do it, Matt.
Matt: Okay. Here we go. The first question:

Matt: Who squeezed the toothpaste in the middle of the tube?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who left half a square of toilet paper on the roll?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Then didn't bother to get another roll?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who farted and tried to blame the dog?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who took the remote?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who ordered the attack on the Twin Towers of the WTC?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who ruined the American economy?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who nailed Jesus Christ to the cross?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who got Jamie Lynn Spears pregnant?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who made Ellen gay?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who caused the extinction of the dinosaurs?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who broke Apollo 13?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who tripped that kid that was running in the hall on the way to the bathroom and made him shit himself?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who barfed/pissed/shit all over the toilet bowl, tank and seat, sink, floor, walls and ceiling at the bar this weekend?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who shot JFK?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who shot JR?
Damien: ~~~BUSH~~~

Matt: Who got a blow job in the Oval Office and made a mess on Monica's dress?
Nancy: ~~~BILL CLINTON!~~~

Matt: (Turns slowly to Nancy, motioning for Brutus to come NOW) What the fuck kind of answer is that, Nancy?

(Screen goes black, then white. High-pitched, ear-piercing tone sounds.)

PLEASE STAND BY FOR AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM. ATTENTION: THIS IS NOT A TEST. REPEAT: THIS IS NOT A TEST.

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening, fellow Americans. Moments ago, two intercontinental ballistic missiles directed out of Iran were detonated here, on American soil, destroying the cities of New York and Detroit...

Stupid People and Abortion

I can't help myself from going over to the ABC News website and particularly the comments sections of controversial articles, even after the last bout of stupidity shown by some of the members (not to mention the moderator or whoever it is that manipulates.... I mean, MANAGES these posts).

Not long ago I felt guilty, of what I'm not exactly sure, but kind of like I was rubbernecking at a fatal car wreck. Now I realize that I am witnessing not an automobile collision but bona fide train wreck: The United States of America. More on that later.

So, I'm reading this article about a woman who forged a consent form for his son's 16-year-old girlfriend to get an abortion and was sentenced to a year, but what she did in and of itself is not what got me on my soapbox tonight. I could really give a shit less that she did something so ignorant (I do think it took one HUGE set of balls - if there's one lesson we should have learned from so many of our Congressional and Presidential leaders over the past few decades, it would have to be NEVER PUT IT IN WRITING!) or even that she violated the parent-child relationship of another family.

No, what bothers me is this:

• The woman did NOT accompany the girl to the clinic to have the abortion, merely (illegally) signed a statement that she was the girl's mother and knew the girl was having it done. Interestingly, though, she has been accused of "coercing" the girl into having the abortion done against her will. Mysteriously, I find no mention of her forcibly dragging the girl to the clinic and, in fact, was proven by evidence at trial not to have even been present.
  
• The girl is being presented as terribly aggrieved, coerced into doing something she did not want to do. If she didn't want the abortion, why did she go, especially considering the fact that the one "coercing" her was not even there to make sure it was done? If she didn't want the abortion, why did she go so far as to obtain an illegal consent from her boyfriend's mother? If she didn't want the abortion, why didn't she tell her parents she was pregnant and being forced to do something that is just OBVIOUSLY so against her moral fiber BEFORE having it done, when it could have made a difference, instead of waiting to tell them a month after the fact?

Then, of course, we get to my favorite part: The comments board. I think I find it so fascinating because where else in the world will you find such blatant stupidity intermixed with interesting little nuggets of wisdom. Part of me, though, still finds it shocking that this stupidity is so proudly offered up in black and white, for the entire world to see. This one in particular, though, was by far my favorite:

I do not know how the mother of the daughter played a role in this, but there are many daughters who feel they cannot speak to their own parents especially on situations like this. I believe if a girl is old enough to have sex she is old enough to make her own decisions. All teenagers make mistakes so I am 100% pro-choice, and the girl would not have had a great oppurtinity to really explore her life. Teenager mothers are more likely to drop out of high school and not complete college. The settlers came to America for freedom so why should our government oppress women like this. If McCain does pass the law where abortion is illegial women will resort back to using clothes hangers and could more then likely bleed to death. I am proud of this mother for doing this, and she has given the young girl a chance to live her life.

She got knocked up. It happens. It's not like our society's not SATURATED with information about birth control (argued on the message boards because it's not 100% effective, even though they persist in "forgetting" that there is, in fact, one form of birth control that is 100% effective: Abstinence. Don't spread your legs, don't stick your member where it doesn't need to be, and you won't get pregnant - 100 PERCENT OF THE TIME. Just like the premise "ignorance of the law is no excuse," ignorance and/or failing to educate yourself (or your children) about the consequences of their actions is no excuse. Have sex = Get pregnant (or diseased, again, a story for another time). My position: This girl is just plain stupid, and she tried to cover her stupidity (proof she's a politician-in-waiting) with more stupidity and assigning the blame to someone else.

As for not wanting to talk to her parents, if *I* were being forced into doing something like this and I didn't want it, short of hog-tying and gagging me, throwing me in a lake with a cement block attached to my leg, you can bet your ass I'd be crowing from every rooftop, knowing the consequences for my silence would be far worse than those of what got me there in the first place.

How can someone be 100% Pro-Choice just because "all teenagers make mistakes"? What the FUCK does that have to do with not accepting responsibility for your actions and dealing with your guilt in a manner that does little more than punish a third party for your choices? This woman sitting in jail will NOT alleviate the girl's guilt feelings and now, by her own and her parent's actions, she has probably lost the support of her boyfriend - the father of the baby - who will have his own grief issues at the loss of his child, compounded by the betrayal by his girlfriend. Allowing teenagers to have an abortion because they "made a mistake" does not instill in them a sense of responsibility. It only opens the door to a lifelong commitment to lack of personal responsibility. "I fucked up, I want a do-over." Since when does "REAL" life allow do-overs?

"The settlers came to America for freedom so why should our government oppress women like this." Where the hell did that come from? How is the government oppressing women like "this"? Like what? Why should the Nazifems oppress MEN like this, "this" being stripping from the man, without whom that child and hence the woman's "right" to choose would never have existed, any "right" to have a say in what happens to HIS child?

Finally, my favoritest part of all, "If McCain does pass the law where abortion is illegial women will resort back to using clothes hangers and could more then likely bleed to death." First of all, McCain can't "pass" any law without it having first been approved by the Congress and presented to him to pass it. Why are so many people SO FUCKING STUPID when it comes to the workings of the government? Why are so people SO FUCKING STUPID that they need to start looking for a scapegoat before there's anything concrete to hang on the goat's head before sending him off into the wilderness? Why are people SO FUCKING STUPID that they feel they can't accept responsibility for their choices and actions that they will have to "resort" to anything?

If women can't accept responsibility for their actions and decisions and use good judgement, I say LET them "resort back to using clothes hangers." Let them bleed to death. It's just one less stupid, useless person consuming valuable oxygen.

Dude Needs to Get a REAL Job

You may remember Roy Pearson, the former judge who sued for $54 million for a pair of pants. Dude's back in court suing again, this time for $1 million in damages and his job back, claiming he was wrongfully fired, ". . . protected as a whistle-blower and . . . the city used the fact that he was being 'vilified in the media' to cut him out of his job" (because of the pants case).

I wonder WHY????? *sarcasm dripping* I would have fired him, too, a former judge filing a lawsuit as absolutely asinine as that. Had he sued only for the cost of replacing the pants (or even the entire suit, as he was wont to mention in his claim) instead of exhibiting his greed, the case probably would never have reached the public eye - and he probably would have won. Now he just looks like a moron.

Time to get a REAL job, buddy, and quit trying to live off the backs of others.

Crooked Is As Crooked Does

I had a credit card issued by a company that shall remain nameless *cough Chase cough* some years ago, for several years. I missed ONE payment (being admitted to the hospital is no excuse for missing your payment, you know) and the APR jumped from 17% to 30%. ONE payment, mind you - no more, no less. On a balance of almost $7000, this was a huge hit to my wallet and the company REFUSED to budge when I requested a lower rate. The reason? I had canceled the card MYSELF previously. I've been paying 30% interest on this balance for almost 4 years now and haven't had a late payment since, yet they refuse to negotiate in any way, shape, or form. Period. End of story.

I put this into a financial calculator and found I would be paying on this stupid fucking credit card for the next 60+ years, to the tune of well over $100,000 (on $7000 "borrowed"). I almost had a fucking heart attack and a stroke all at once, right there on the spot. Talk about usury, but thanks to the Federal Government, those laws do not apply to banks issuing credit cards that have "National" or "N.A." in their name, blah blah blah.

Finally I had enough and said FUCK YOU. I went to CitiFinancial and applied for a loan. They gave me enough to pay off Chase plus a little extra for some medical bills headed into collections, so I could pay them off and protect my credit rating, which had finally started improving. Yeah, it was at like 25% APR, but it hands-down beat the 30% Chase was ass-raping me for and would be paid off in 60 months instead of 60 YEARS. I sure as hell ain't planning to stick around that long, especially not to fork over my cash to fuck faces like that.

I thought things are done, check in hand for the (supposed) payoff balance on the card. They tell me "Well, you see, the billing cycle's already started again and you'll have to pay the accrued interest." "Fine, how much is that?" I ask. "Well, I can't tell you that right now. You'll have to wait for your next statement." Four fucking days into a billing cycle and you can't tell me how much I owe you so I can pay you and be done?

Of course not, because that doesn't fit into their little game.

First day of the next billing cycle, I log on to my account online to pay the shitting balance. You know, the "accrued interest" for the 4 days of the previous cycle. $143.74.

WTF? For FOUR MOTHER-FUCKING DAYS?

Whatever. I pay it and once again think it's done.

But. . . of course, it's not.

I get ANOTHER statement from Chase with the next billing cycle. MORE accrued interest on the $143.74 for that single day. $1.00. ONE FUCKING DOLLAR? ARE YOU SHITTING ME?!?!

So next month I will have to pay you ANOTHER $1.00 for the "accrued interest" on that $1.00 - into infinity?

Oh, they were so kind as to "adjust" that $1.00 charge, of course. Not that it mattered, since I'm done with Chase. The day I paid it off, I took the check from Citi directly into the local Chase branch and bellied up to the counter. The gal who helped me asked me if I were interested in any financial services through Chase. I'm thinking to myself, "Uhhhh. . . I just brought you a check issued by YOUR COMPETITOR to pay you off, and you're asking me if I want MORE?" I told her "Not through Chase. I'll take my business to Citibank, since they didn't screw me for years without the benefit of a little Vaseline." It was mean, yes, and I know it wasn't HER fault, but I was pissed.

What's Next?

Childhood Spanking Leads to Sexual Problems in Adulthood.

What's next? Hugs and kisses lead to sexual problems? Fatty foods? Carbohydrates? Owning a puppy as a child, or maybe NOT owning a puppy as a child? Not having enough coloring crayons in your box?

I'm so sick of the stupid shit money is wasted on to study. I've got a clue for you: What leads to sexual problems in adulthood? In most cases, a parent with a sexual problem. I know a story of a "woman" with two daughters who exposed them to and left them unattended with not one but TWO registered sexual offenders on different occasions during the children's younger years, had sexual intercourse in front of the children, attempted to coach one child to make accusations of sexual abuse against THREE different males when the mother did not get her way and as a means of revenge, admitted to routinely "examining" the girls' genitalia for "abuse," and was alleged by one of the girls to have been the perpetrator herself of sexual abuse against the child.

What did the authorities do? Nothing of significance - against the mother, anyhow.

I know this is not an isolated case, and knowing this, it's no wonder children grow up dysfunctional, not just sexually but psychologically, socially, and morally.

Amazing, Quality of Safety in Our Public Schools

Almost 5 hours after school was dismissed for the day, an automated call comes through on my cell phone from the district superintendent: Due to news reports this morning of an unapprehended criminal in our area, buildings went into secure mode until sheriff's deputies announced the criminal had been apprehended.

Nice to know that - FIVE FUCKING HOURS AFTER SCHOOL WAS DISMISSED. Not like they couldn't have sent these messages out hours ago, while the buildings were actually in lock down?

And people wonder why I can't stand the public school system and wish I had the time to homeschool my kids.

Anyhow, this is the story. Kind of scary, knowing these raids were going on within a few blocks of one of the schools and two others literally just around the corner from my home and near yet another school. Fucking morons, stealing shit - makes me wish we had the death penalty here in Michigan and the ability to fry these fuckers who steal guns with the intent to put them on the streets, where the intent would ultimately be to KILL SOMEONE, MOST LIKELY A COP.

Of Course, I'm Confused

My phone came unhooked, mysteriously (not really so mysterious but it sounds good), and I never knew it rang. The caller was directed to voice mail and later after I realized the phone was unhooked, I plugged it back in and saw a message waiting for me. Now, since my number's unlisted and the only ones who call me are the ones I actually give it to, it should be from somebody I want to hear from, right?. . . WRONG. I routinely get calls from credit consolidation companies and mortgage companies, and often I get calls asking to speak to the home owner. I tell them good luck trying to find him since I rent. They hang up. I get calls for all kinds of shit and tell them take my number from their lists (I know they're using auto-dialers) and they hang up on me before I get it out. Once I asked the solicitor for their name and home phone so I could call them in the middle of the night, being as I was as third-shifter and they were calling me in the middle of MY sleep time. I got an apology for that one, miraculously. Now, every day some asswipe calls me and asks for either myself by name or my husband by name. Strange, considering I obviously don't give my name and number out to solicitors and scam artists and my husband is deaf and can't come to my phone and, therefore, would NOT hand out my number either. Fuckers. Today, though, I had a surprise message. In between the 8 hang-ups my dad left (he refuses to leave a message), there was a message with people talking in the background, television on full blast, and someone breathing into the receiver. After reading some stuff online about that number that occasionally pops up on my screen, I figured it was just that fuck face again. Then I hear "Hello? Patty?" and then. . . disconnect.

Who the fuck is Patty? I've had this number for years, but I get her calls all the time. I had another line into the house for years, and I used to get Anna and Robert's calls and messages every day - 5 years after surrendering their number back to the phone company, they were still giving it out to everyone, including their BANK and a local car dealer who notified me that they were approved for the loan on the vehicle they wanted to buy. I had conversations with Anna and Robert's family members, to whom they gave MY phone number. Maybe they just didn't want to talk to their relatives, but I sure don't want to talk to them either. I don't even know these people. That in itself is a chuckle, since our town is so small that our whole residential phone book comes to about 3-1/2 pages, but I don't have a clue who any of these people are and why they're giving out my number.

OMFG

I was disgusted before, but now I'm just pissed right the fuck off.

Here we have in one article parents not only defending but taking legal action to allow the school to continue to use shock therapy on their children for behavior modification, claiming it teaches them to avoid prohibited behaviors (including assaulting others, according to the article). Then in another article, we read that this same school administered shock therapies to two boys on the telephone order of a former student posing as a school administrator.

• One boy suffered suffered first-degree burns.
• One boy was given 77 shocks and the other 29.
• The boys were awakened from sleep and punished for an infraction that supposedly happened hours before.
• The boys' arms and legs were BOUND during the shocking.
  
• Neither boy had been observed by staff to have been misbehaving.
• Some of the other students apparently informed staff that it was a hoax but they proceeded anyhow.
• The order to administer this severe punishment came via telephone and no one bothered to verify its source with the central office and no one bothered to verify if it was appropriate punishment for each of these boys.
  

Now, my argument as to why this shit DOES NOT work: The former student who did this probably received this same therapy during his residence at the school, yet he carried out a "prohibited" behavior (assault seems pretty socially unacceptable to me) by ordering the abuse of another student. If this type of therapy worked, this incident would never have occurred because he would have already "learned the lesson" in the past. I'm thinking about Pavlov's dogs and the bell-ringing shit here, folks. If he'd been truly deterred from unacceptable or prohibited behavior, he'd have been salivating instead of assaulting other people.

Oh, and this makes a lot of fucking sense: Police are looking into filing criminal charges against this individual, someone who is probably disturbed in the first place (else why was he a student at that school?), but NO ONE IS PRESSING CHARGES AGAINST THE STAFF WHO CARRIED IT OUT. They have merely been dismissed. They failed in their duties miserably, not only as staff at the facility but as HUMAN FUCKING BEINGS, did not do their jobs appropriately until AFTER the damage was done, and they physically and emotionally harmed another person, yet they are only "dismissed"? Where are the criminal charges against them?

This school needs to be closed down, the staff members who committed this atrocity need to be held accountable and charged criminally, and every asshole associated with implementing and perpetuating this behavior all the way from the legislature and Department of Education to the sick-fuck parents who ask for it and the judges who sign the orders approving it need to be charged, jailed, and hooked up with their own fucking backpacks. Where the fuck is the accountability here? Where the fuck is the social responsibility?

To me, this violates the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights declaration
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. the Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons, and Declaration on the Rights of the Child.

People Like This

Are the reason why everyone else, bad parent or good parent or somewhere in the middle, suffer at the hands of Child Protective Services and legislators who create laws requiring, in some cases, forcible "abduction" of children from their biological parents and subjecting innocent children and (in a few cases) innocent parents to months and even years of separation, irreparably damaging the parent-child relationship and leaving a path of destruction causing emotional trauma, financial devastation, and ultimate undermining of Due Process guaranteed by The Constitution, while people like this get away with MURDERING a child:

London Marie Sherwood

Here's what set me off: I got a very touching MySpace bulletin about a beautiful 3-month-old baby girl whose mother was pictured holding her and crying, having decided to terminate life support on the child whose father had abused her so severely she would never recover. It was accompanied by a (difficult to read and disturbing) note from the mother, Jessica, who had made this impossibly difficult decision and begging others to be careful who they leave their children with. Disturbed was a mild word for how I felt - I was mortified. I was going to post this case on my child abuse blog, so I started searching for more information from a slightly more "objective" source, if you will, than the mother (there's always more to the story, this I know). I found what I was looking for and about lost my shit right there. This bitch has the balls to whine about how we need to be careful who we leave our children with because she thought she trusted the man she left her infant daughter with (the baby's father, proven by DNA testing), AFTER SHE HAD ABANDONED THE BABY to this guy 3 weeks prior. This is a YouTube clip with a news report about the case:



In the current climate of "guilty until proven innocent and even then still guilty" where child abuse and neglect are concerned but "claim mental illness because you just can't help what you do when you're sick in the head," I know that both this bitch who abandoned her baby in the first place and the son-of-a-wanker who murdered his own daughter will both be excused from any meaningful form of punishment and will be offered services up the wazoo (at taxpayer expense, of course) to make them fit parents so they can keep breeding, while other parents who have done nothing this heinous (and are denied Due Process regarding their parental rights) will never see their children again and not be able to bring any more children into the world because the state would automatically remove THOSE children as well, will not be determined to be mentally ill and will receive no services PERIOD.

Yeah, great system here in this country, isn't it?

Aggravated Assault With

Cookies? Where do people come up with these ideas? Just imagine how great the world would be if people with this kind of creativity would put it to GOOD use instead of stupidity.

Corporate America Hard At Work

Yet again, Big Money hard at work trying to pork the little guy who is trying to do some good for mankind:

Johnson & Johnson sues American Red Cross

It really IS all about money, isn't it?

Stupid Crimes That Shouldn't Be Crimes

News Flash: There is no more violent crime in Mexico City. Because there are no crimes like rape, murder, or child molestation to fill up the dockets, prosecutors have gone in search of crimes committed by little old ladies. Prosecutors also have included diagnosing psychiatric conditions as part of their job description because they don't have enough work to keep them busy. Officials are investigating a "crime" committed by a woman who apparently couldn't let go of her husband after he died and kept him at her bedside for a year after his death. "Hiding a corpse" may be a crime, but it certainly doesn't sound like this family was "hiding" anything. After all, they didn't stuff the guy in the freezer, bury him in the basement floor, or brick him up in the fireplace. He died, apparently from natural causes, and his wife kept him in her bed - not very well hidden, I would think - until neighbors complained about the smell, and now the cry is "crime"? Whatever. My question for you, Mr. Attorney General: If the autopsy proves he died a natural death and you acknowledge that this woman is psychologically disturbed, do you really think locking her up in a nut house is going to make her better? She's old and probably demented; leave her alone, for piss' sake.

I am just disgusted by the crap in the news anymore. If news services took out all the garbage they spew to the public about celebrities and their own brand of stupidity (Britney, Paris, Lindsay, etc., ad nauseum), there would be a total of five stories in the news. One of them would be this story. A second would be about some asshole killing their kid after beating, torturing, and/or molesting them for years. Another would be about some food or medication recall (am I alone in noticing these seem to be increasing lately???). The other two would be about the mis-administration of the White House. Cheney is marketing hard for celebrity status alongside Paris and Britney, so fuck it, take those stories out, too. They're just fluff anyhow. We already know that no one who has the power to do anything will ever REALLY take action against what the Bush Administration has done to screw this country for years in the proverbial rectum without the benefit of a little Vaseline. The lawmakers in this country are too busy worrying about their next press appearance (our tax dollars hard at work to make sure it's a GOOD one), porking up spending projects (to benefit the lobbyists who contribute the most to their election campaigns), and ignoring the imminent demise of The United States (all the way from its democracy to the future well-being of it's constituents who put them there in the first place). Makes me sick.

Sorry I'm in such a pissy mood right now. I'm just tired of seeing shit in the news when there is so much more going on in the world that is actually IMPORTANT that never makes headlines.

Gonna Get You One Way Or Another

I have been the ultimate bitch busting my ass for the past few years working to get everyone to shut off lights, stop using the dryer and dishwasher so much, and turn off the TVs when not using them and/or only have on one TV at a time instead of four, and I thought my psychotic outbursts hard work paid off when the electric bill came down from over $300 a month to about $60 a month. Also contributing to this decreased use was my mom moving out and then passing away, who had been on not one but TWO home air/oxygen machines 24/7.

Then I get a letter from the all-powerful electric company telling me that I am not using enough electricity and they want to know why, asking if the house is vacant or a seasonal property or what was up. It’s none of their fucking business, I have a right to control certain issues in my life and how much electricity I use is my business, as long as I pay the bill, WHICH I DID, so I ignore the letter.

Bad move. Next, they come out to the house and rip the meter off my house because “it became apparent that it was not registering the electric you were using” and replace it with a new one and tell me I will get a new bill. As if by magic, suddenly I get an electric bill for - hang on to your hats, nut sacks, AND wallets, folks - $401.34, based on new meter usage of 46.3 kwh a day, adjusted for 3 months.

The TVs are still off, the dryer broke and hasn’t been used in 2 months and clothes are hanging on the lines outside, the dishwasher broke and went to the dump, and there’s nothing more than 40 watt bulbs in any single light socket in the house, so where the fuck did they get that number from? I think someone’s on crack. Run the numbers, it comes up to about $130 a month, which is more than double what it had been. I think that new meter is on steroids or something, the meter-reader is on crack, and the whole electric company is trying to bleed me dry just because I decided to try to take control of matters and stop handing over wads of cash to a utility service.

It’s Blondie, all over again:

One way or another, I’m gonna find ya’
I’m gonna get ya’, get ya’, get ya’, get ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna win ya’
I’m gonna get ya’, get ya’ ,get ya’, get ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna see ya’
I’m gonna meet ya’, meet ya’, meet ya’, meet ya’
One day maybe next week, I’m gonna meet ya’
I’m gonna meet ya’, I’ll meet ya’
I will drive past your house and if the lights are all down
I’ll see who’s around
One way or another, I’m gonna find ya’
I’m gonna get ya’, get ya’, get ya’, get ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna win ya’
I’ll get ya’, I’ll get ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna see ya’
I’m gonna meet ya’, meet ya’, meet ya’, meet ya’
One day maybe next week ,I’m gonna meet ya’
I’ll meet ya’ ah
And if the lights are all out I’ll follow your bus downtown
See who’s hangin’ out
One way or another, I’m gonna lose ya’
I’m gonna give you the slip
A slip of the lip or another I’m gonna lose ya’
I’m gonna trick ya’, I’ll trick ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna lose ya’
I’m gonna trick ya’, trick ya’, trick ya’, trick ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna lose ya’
I’m gonna give you the slip
I’ll walk down the mall, stand over by the wall
Where I can see it all, find out who ya’ call
Lead you to the supermarket checkout, some specials and rat food
Get lost in the crowd
One way or another I’m gonna get ya’
I’ll get ya’
I’ll get ya’, get ya’, get ya’, get ya’
Where I can see it all, find out who ya’ call

Get a Life, Grow a Brain

This makes me sick:
Nevada couple neglects their children to the point that they were starving and have serious health problems, blaming it on the internet/video games. Again the “experts” come back to gaming addiction as a mental illness - of course. It is pathetic attempt to shift responsibility from an individual, where it should lie, to society at large. These are the kind of people that need to not only have their children removed and never returned, but permanently sterilized and branded with a great big “CA” on the middle of their foreheads, for Child Abuser. Until we make people take responsibility for their actions, things like this are going to not only continue but escalate in frequency and severity.

This Just Makes My Blood Boil

Whatever happened to compassion? And it isn't even in New York but Wichita, Kansas:
People step over a stabbing victim in a store, and one even stops long enough to take her picture with a cell phone, but no one helps her. Of course, the woman died. What is wrong with people? It's not bad enough that you just walk over top of her and leave her there to die, you need to TAKE A FUCKING PICTURE?

New Drug Deletes Bad Memories:
Get the fuck out of people's heads, already. Our memories are a part of who we ARE, and if you take them away, painful or wonderful, good or bad or traumatic or whatever label you want to use, you are removing a part of US. Psychiatrists are barbaric mother-fuckers, first frying people's brains with electroshock therapy; this is just a more "humane" attempt at achieving the same result. Stop paying these witch doctors to fuck people up more than they already are, for pity's sake!

Leave Fireworks to the Pros:
I have two words for you - EAT ME. You bitch and moan about children being harmed by fireworks but fail to address the fact that this issue is entirely related to personal responsibility. Yes, accidents can happen to even the most careful, responsible adults and it's heartbreaking and traumatic to everyone involved when a child is hurt, but don't feed us some happy horse shit that we need to leave it to the "pros." How many times have people been hurt and even killed at these "professional" shows, and not just a single child but LARGE NUMBERS OF THE CROWD? I know this after watching the news reporting on the horrors of a "professional" fireworks accident in Bay City, Michigan, in 1990.

OK, I'm done being pissed for a little while.

Okey Dokey, Smokey

Yeah, the iPhones are cool, but I think I can live without one. I like my 5-year old Toshiba cell phone just FINE, thank you very much.

I can live with the fact that some people gotta have new gadgets with all the bells and whistles, willing to line up and wait for hours before the store opens so they can get one. My favorite story, though, has to be the one of this lady who paid $800 to a man to get his spot as first in line, planning to buy thousands of dollars' worth of iPhones and sell them on E-Bay. Unfortunately for her, she neglected to read the rules: One iPhone per customer.

It is priceless at the end of the clip, when the reporter comments to the man that the woman was not very happy with him. She really had no reason to be angry at him; he was not the one walking around with a "money talks" attitude (yes, she really said that), flinging money at someone who sat there and waited rather than dragging her ass out to stand in line and wait like everyone else. Had she read and followed the rules and not considered herself above sitting 12 hours on the pavement like those other people did, she could have saved herself those 8 crisp, pretty $100 bills. That dude got himself a free iPhone AND all the bells and whistles.

Disease Mongering

This spoof takes a poke at disease mongering in this country, and it is actually really funny; on the other hand, one cannot help but stop and consider the serious side to what is going on in the medical profession. You can check out this, this, and this, among others, if you want to know more.

I am afraid that someday we will see Big Pharma sitting back, laughing and pointing at us, for some of the fast ones pulled on us over the years, especially on little ones who cannot defend themselves like Rebecca Riley.