"Collecting Money"
As the mother of 3 it seems my wallet is always weighing in on the light side. Every time I turn around I am writing a check for a yearbook, running to Hobby Lobby to buy a t-shirt, or giving the kids change for the ice-cream truck.

Recently I overheard my girls talking about going to Limited Too. My 11 year-old said "I have $28.00". Knowing that it was nowhere near Christmas and her birthday is a few months away $28.00 seemed like a lot of money for an unemployed 11 year-old. As any good eaves dropping mother would do I interrupted and asked, "Where did you get $28.00?" Her response was "I have been collecting it all week."

My curiosity had peaked "From where?" I asked.

"All over," she responded, "I find it in your car, Dad's car, on top of the dryer, on the floor, next to the computer." In one week she had "collected" change totally $28.00. I was impressed. Not that she had been "collecting money" (uh taking money that wasn't hers)but that she was resourceful.

The pennies, nickels and dimes that had been tossed in the drink holder and forgotten as we drove through Burger King, the left over lunch money that fell out of my sons pockets as he threw his pants on the floor, and the pennies that took up too much room in my husband's pocket had added up to a whopping $28.00 and my daughter was the lucky little thief (uh I mean "collector").

As I laid in bed that night, trying to decide if she should be punished for "collecting money" or rewarded for reminding me that nickles and dimes do add up, I wondered to myself: How much interest is she going to charge me when I borrow back my $28.00!

July 4th: The one time a year individuals decide it is ok to play with fire.
This has always been a quandary for me. I remember as a small child (younger than 5) holding sparklers and popping Black Cats. Granted my parents were always in attendance, but allowing a child to participate in activities involving fire is probably not the best choice to make.

Firecrackers are virtually all classed as "low explosives" but legal fireworks can be dangerous because the risk of high-temperature burns.

Statistics:
In 2003 4 people died form firecracker related injuries
45% of people injured are children under the age of 14 with children aged 5 to 9 having the highest injury rate
63% of injuries are burns
11% of injuries are from sparklers

Did you know a sparkler burns hoter than 1000 degrees F?

As the 4th of July approaches remember playing with fire is best left to professionals.

"Sish Boom Bah"

Supreme Court 6-29-2006
Did President George W. Bush overstep his boundaries in conducting tribunals for enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba?

The US Supreme Court ruled 5 to 3 that he did.

Justice John Paul Stevens said 'the proposed trials were illegal under U.S. law and international Geneva conventions.'

Justice Clarence Thomas dissented stating the court's decision would "sorely hamper the president's ability to confront and defeat a new and deadly enemy."

Boy Girl Oh My!Is it just me or does the term "Politically Correct" make your skin crawl. I heard this phrase approximately 10 years ago. My first thought was what liberal college kid came up with this. In my mind I pictured an arrogantly shabby former fraternity member introducing this concept on a job interview. The scenario goes like this...He is sitting in his trust fund suit wishfully imagining the $50,000 the firm is going to pay him as he makes nice with the black mid-level executive. He is trying to "relate" and mentions that he played intramural basketball...The interviewer responds...."I never got into sports much"...The interviewee stumbles with what to say and the possibilty that the interviewer is going to see him as a racist, he replies "with you being of African American decent, I just assumed."

That is where this phrase came from. Or at least in my mind.

I have always thought it was reverse arrogance. It reminds me of a guy I dated in college that always tried to relate to the servers in restaurants by remembering their name. All the while I was envisioning them spitting in our food because they took it as being cocky.

When I was a child it was ok to be black, it was ok to be a Mexican, it was ok to be colored, it was ok to celebrate Christmas, unless of course you were a Jehovah's Witness. The Pledge of Allegiance was a daily ritual & it was great that "we trusted in God" & I looked forward to my 2nd grade teacher singing Jesus Loves Me each & every day before we left our public school. Today my kids are looking forward to a "Winter Party". No longer do they learn Christmas Carols in school, to be politically correct my kids need to learn Kwanza songs & have Menorahs instead of a tree and jingle bells. Did I mention that 96% of the US population celebrates Christmas.

The majority of the population has allowed themselves to be repressed by the minority that sees political correctness as a way for us all to be equal.
Even with politically correct terminology we will never be equal. We will always be white, black, colored, blind, deaf, handicapped, rich, poor, Catholics, Jewish, Protestant. That was what the US was founded upon. Diversity. We were to be a "melting pot", or so a I recall from my slanderous politically incorrect history classes.

Sometimes simplicity is the way to go. Why not call a duck a duck!

I hope this terminology & waywardness ends soon. If it doesn't I foresee when my grandchildren are born not being blessed with a baby boy or baby girl but a "vagina challenged male" or a "diverse penised female" Wouldn't you love to hand out a cigar that reads like that! Makes my heart all warm and cozy.

I do not practice political correctness...I pride myself in calling it like I see it. I call that honesty.

The question of the day?
Should children born to illegal immigrants be granted US citizenship?I say no way!
I recently read an article, in the Midland Reporter Telegram, on this subject & was called an "ill-bred" individual, because of my belief, that all illegal immigrants should be deported, with their children, because they are criminals.
I stand firm on my belief. If an individual crosses the border illegally they are criminals. Plain & Simple. I have been scorned by others that declare "illegal aliens only want a better life in America for their children." I say ok fine, do it LEGALLY. I am not prejudice, a bigot or a racist. I just feel that criminals should be punished & illegal aliens are criminals. I think the majority of people who steal cars, TV's etc just want "something better for themselves or their kids". A crime is still a crime and the reasoning behind the crime does not make it any less illegal.

If a person is going to enter the United States they should follow the letter of the law & if they do not they should be prosecuted & deported.

I also feel that anyone entering the US should have to work fulltime for 20 years before they qualify for Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps & all other government funded programs. All too often pregnant women cross the border, deliver their baby & immediately sign these children up to receive all types of aid. If they had come into the US legally they could get a job and provide for their children themselves. Makes me question their motivation. Do they they want to provide a "better life for their children" or do they want the US government to do it for them?
I think I know the answer.

It has been 4.5 years since September 11, 2001. My first reaction when US soil was terrorised by evil was; Why did our intelligence not know that this plot was underway?
For weeks I questioned our nation's security. How could this happen in the United States? What is going to become of my 3 children? Should they go to school, out to play, should I be concerned about the water they are drinking?
My mind & heart were put to ease by implementations of Homeland Security. I felt safe that they were "listening to chatter." Now liberal activists are saying that their right to privacy is being encroached upon. If national security organizations want to listen in on phone conversations with suspected terrorists, that live outside of the US or known terrorists cells in the US, I say this should not only be expected but more so demanded by the US people. Why didn't this go on prior to 9-11-2001? If it had could 3000 + innocent lives been saved?
My right to live free from fear of terrorism outweighs my desire to wonder if my phone conversations are being tapped. I question the motivation of those that are in an uproar over this? I have yet to come up with a logical conclusion to their reasoning, even after listening to their debates & rhetoric.
My safety & my children's safety is more important than anything, including my right to privacy.