Well, down here in Texas one representative thinks so.

A Republican state lawmaker from Baytown has filed a bill that would charge parents of public school students with a Class C misdemeanor and fine them for playing hooky from a scheduled parent-teacher conference……Excuses are allowed, but be prepared to have a good one. In a state that allows corporal punishment, this could subject parents to a good spanking.

Let me just say that although corporal punishment is allowed here in Texas and even in our district, I have never heard of anyone actually using the punishment. They much prefer detentions and suspensions at least in our area. But it’s right there in the handbook. The Principal can do it if he or she so chooses.

Having said that….what the hell? I know teachers tend to live in their own worlds at times and find it hard to believe a person couldn’t step away for a meeting with them about their child during one of three time choices….during the work day.

Yeah…right. The spouse is out of the country when he’s at work, and when I was working there were some days that I had film crews at the office and top-level interviews I was managing with my CEO. There were days, sometimes even weeks where there would not have been one single minute I could have been away from the office (this during product launch times).

Haven’t these people ever heard of phone conferences or email exchanges? In a pinch things could be handled that way. But I know some teachers don’t “do” email and they certainly don’t post class grades or lesson plans on the Internet like they’re supposed to. It was good to see that even some teachers think pressing charges and levying fines is a little excessive. Parents can already be sent to jail if their kid doesn’t show up for class. Now this? A misdemeanor for not appearing when summoned by the teacher? That’s a little much, I think.

So, do you think it should be a crime not to show up for a meeting with a teacher if you can’t “appear” on one of the three times offered?

Did you see this story about a new ray gun they’ve developed that makes people think they’re about to catch fire?

Anyone hit by the beam immediately jumped out of its path because of the sudden blast of heat throughout the body. While the 130-degree heat was not painful, it was intense enough to make the participants think their clothes were about to ignite.

Ouch. It sounds like the thing has more reach than a stun gun, but dang that’s harsh.

As an aside, this bit about microwaves they included to show the effects aren’t really that bad sorta freaked me out:

The system uses millimeter waves, which can penetrate only 1/64th of an inch of skin, just enough to cause discomfort. By comparison, microwaves used in the common kitchen appliance penetrate several inches of skin.

Hmm….I don’t know about you, but I think the next time I make popcorn I’ll probably stand a few feet farther away from my microwave!

Okay, y’all know I’m solidly on the Republican side of the fence. But even I am sick of the whole Iraq mess. We didn’t go in with enough troops or secure what we should have. Plain and simple. There’s a plan for moving forward. I hope it works.

Overall, I think the Pres did as well as one could have expected considering the viper’s nest he spoke from. It was the same way for Clinton when early on in his presidency the Republicans won control of both houses, BTW. So….good speech. Huge obstacles to overcome with the opposition who made their feelings known in no uncertain terms by their lack of applause. But this was expected.

Now…Jim Webb’s response. One small part made a big impact with me personally. Here it is:

The stock market is at an all-time high, and so are corporate profits. But these benefits are not being fairly shared.

This fundamental feeling among far-left democrats that all should share in the success of others is why I will never, under any circumstances, vote for anyone (democrat or republican) that shares these views. This idea that all must share in one’s personal success goes against the idea of personal responsibility on the most fundamental level. This position of entitlement to the benefits of the success of others really pisses me off.

To be sure, there are those truly in need and they should get it. But those that feel entitled to take our money just because they think all should share in the rewards of our hard work and sacrifice? I have no time for them. And no…they are NOT entitled to more of our paycheck to pay for government programs that only serve to further their own careers and do not truly help others get back on their feet.

I really hope people aren’t naive enough to believe that the economy’s in the shitter when all the hard data proves otherwise. Doom and gloom in the face of positive indicators just does not make sense to me. It really doesn’t.

Sorry, but that one line just really pissed me off. You can read Webb’s whole transcript here if you’re interested. If you’re a fair person, you can also read Bush’s speech here.

I have to say that my answer to this is yes. How many of us have been on a plane with a family that totes unruly tots, and then expects everyone else to put up with them? How many of us have had our hair pulled or filled with sticky stuff from a toddler’s fingers, had our chair kicked, or had a nap interrupted by a whining obnoxious toddler? I think all of us from time to time have had to deal with the offspring of people who have not made prior preparations to deal with the possibility of an upset or unruly kid.

Recently an Airtran crew made the decision to remove a family with an uncontrollable three year old when they could not get the child into its seat on a flight that was already late.

The flight was already delayed 15 minutes and in fairness to the other 112 passengers on the plane, the crew made an operational decision to remove the family…..Julie and Gerry Kulensza, who were headed home to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers, said they just needed a little more time to calm their daughter, Elly.

More time to calm their daughter? It’s not like the kid was an infant. She was three. This was a flat-out temper tantrum and a battle of wills with parents who were clearly not in the power seat with their child. What gets me is they were perfectly okay with inconveniencing 112 other people (possibly making some miss their connections). Not to mention the other connecting flights that would have late flight crew arrivals due to their kid’s tantrum.

Now…clearly I don’t know what went on that day with that family or whether or not the kid was sick or had problems that were otherwise not apparent. But come on….those parents should have been able to grab the kid and stick her in the seat and get the seatbelt on her. Which is all the flight crew was asking. It’s against the law to let a three year old sit in someone’s lap when the plane is in motion. It just is. No exceptions. Just a guess, but maybe this was the first flight she’d been on since turning two and was expecting to get to sit in her parent’s lap instead of in the seat. And the blame for this lies totally with the parents who knew this was the case since they had to purchase the extra ticket. They should have prepared the girl for the rule before ever leaving for the airport.

I think this family got much more for their “inconvenience” than the hundred plus other people they inconvenienced by delaying the flight further. They were offered a full refund for all three tickets, for God’s sake. Their fellow passengers had to rush around to get where they were going because this unprepared family stole precious minutes from them by arguing with the flight crew and trying to break the rules.

Yes, they should have been kicked off the plane. And they got much more consideration than they deserved.

That I LOVE that ABC has the most recent episodes of Grey’s on their site?

Okay, so here’s the deal. I set my dual tuner DVR to only record the new episodes of Grey’s. So of course Verizon listed a repeat episode when it was actually a new episode this past Thursday. And THEN, instead of showing the repeat on Friday night…..our local station (here in Bible belt hell) showed a BILLY GRAHAM CRUSADE THING!!!! Which meant that I did not get my Grey’s fix this week. And I can SO NOT be in the know and live!!!

So after watching Brother and Sisters tonight (because how could I NOT watch that show because it’s so great…has something for everyone)…I logged on ABC.com..ya know…just to see if there was a chance.

And…YES!!! I am currently watching Grey’s from last Thursday.

Life is good.

That is all.

Oh, you know…that time of year when all of us dedicated (or guilted by what we’ve eaten) people who religiously go to the gym at least three, sometimes five days a week must contend with those that go only during the first month or two of the year.

It seems particularly bad this year. I Don’t know why. Maybe more have turned forty and have been duly chastised by their doctors during their checkups. Maybe others have overindulged to the point where even they have finally realized they must do something about the weight. Still others might have decided to finally take advantage of their memberships.

In any case…they are back. Barely breaking a sweat while they hog cardio equipment that others actually sweat upon must now wait for. Standing in the middle of the aisle with their massive girth, blocking the way for those trying to get from one machine to the other. Sitting on equipment for extended periods of time between sets, making it impossible for those that actually use the equipment to complete their workouts in a decent amount of time. Blocking the way to the drinking fountain so others practically die of thirst trying to get their attention so they will move as they talk loudly on their cell phones about the “workout” they just completed.

Hey, don’t get me wrong. Those that are actually trying, breaking a sweat, and are making visible progress I truly commend. I really do hope they stick with it. About six people from last year’s batch of newbies are still sticking with their routines and they’ve made noticeable gains since last January.

But those people that hog equipment, get in the way, and sulk around at the gym like they’re young children completing chores they really don’t want to do….those people I can definitely do without.

Oh well, as one lady said to another lady in the free weight area last week (both these ladies I see at least three times a week): “It won’t be much longer before they’re gone. Things will get back to normal by February.”

Sad, but true. I just wish they’d either decide to do it or not and quit getting in my way every January.

Seems a hunter shot a duck and put it in the fridge without checking its status first.

Wildlife officials said the feathered Lazarus had been shot by a hunter and put into his refrigerator for two days. That’s when the hunter’s wife opened the door and the duck lifted his head, giving her a scare.…..Sanctuary veterinarian David Hale said it has about a 75 percent chance of survival.

Like I said, that’s cold. But apparently not cold enough! I bet that woman won’t ever approach a fridge without extreme caution again.

That tenacious duck sort of reminds me of the buzzard in Tommy’s story. If you haven’t read it, go take a peak. A good funny for your Sunday if you have a few minutes.

And the streets don’t even have any ice or snow on them. Well, they did earlier but they don’t now. And The Boy couldn’t be happier. He’s still running around in his PJ’s.

And he will be here. All day long.

Help.

Let me preface this by saying that I think anyone should be able to go to whichever church they want to (or not go to church if that’s what they chose) and they should be able to believe whatever they want. It’s what our country was founded for, after all.

Having said that…a couple of weeks ago (when I was at home and not at my best due to Christmas tree allergies) I experienced an onslaught of people that for some reason or another wished to “save” me.

First, I went out to lunch with my hairdresser (whom I love and also consider a friend). Somewhere during our second beer she brought up the fact she’s in some sort of fellowship where they discuss the bible and explore how its guiding principles can help them in life. I didn’t take it the wrong way…hey, she’s cool. She drinks! I politely declined, telling her that organized religion is not our thing and I’m not into the idea that I need to be “saved”. From what? I mean, really. She said “Hey, I had to try.” We had a good laugh about it and I told her I understood that because of what she believes she truly feels it’s her mission to spread the word or whatever.

Moving on…a couple of days later my most favorite neighbor came over with her daughter and some girls from their church, and they serenaded us with no less than five Christmas songs. I thought that was nice. Kinda weird since it was 75 out at the time, but nice.

A few days later, the same girl came over with some Christmas cookies and a card advertising the Christmas service at their church with a long note talking about how great God is and how they hoped we would join them. I mean…it was like a paragraph. This is probably the fourth time they’ve invited us to their church. I suppose they’re taught that you gotta keep trying…whatever. We don’t go to church. I send them a nice thank-you for the singing, the cookies, and the invite wherein I reminded them that although organized religion is not our thing it was still a thoughtful gesture that was appreciated.

The next day, the lady two doors down who is SO church-lady like stopped by with a CD her church choir recorded and it contained a note from her saying how much she enjoyed doing the recording and how great God is or whatever…

Dude, it’s like being stalked by salespeople that just will NOT take no for an answer! Are we on some sort of list or something? Because last time I checked we did not register with any church group or ask to be called upon. We do our part in that we give all our old stuff or stuff we can’t use to charity so it can be given away or sold for cash which can help the needy. We’re not bad people. We just don’t go to church.

I’m sure that since I was pretty ill at the time I took it all a little too personally. I know their hearts are in the right place and they feel that since they get so much out of the experience that I would too. But I’ve been to church. I’ve never felt that just because you go to church you’re somehow “saved” where others are not. I believe rather it’s in how you live your life and how you treat others that you can show you’re a good person or “worthy” or whatever. Not that I feel unworthy. In fact, I think I turned out pretty good to begin with. Which is why I’m wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to simply wear this shirt so I can remove all doubt from their well-meaning minds:

Should I? Do you think?

P.S. After the whole everyone wanting to save me all in one week experience, I guess I can understand why some people might not want to have Christmas decorations shoved in their faces if they take them to mean something religious vs. the secular meaning most take from them.

for the grossly overweight guy I saw at the grocery store today with the scruffy, greasy hair and beard who was wearing pajama pants and a dirty t-shirt and slippers on the motorized scooter .

The items in his scooter basket included a case of full-fat beer, three Heath Bars, three packs of Rolos, two Snickers Bars, two pounds of bacon, a dozen eggs, two frozen pizzas with the works, and a gallon of whole milk.

Seriously, I could have understood the bacon and eggs (thinking maybe he was on a low-carb diet), but the presence of beer and so many other carb and sugar laden items made it impossible to believe.

Normally, I have some sympathy for handicapped people since most times they are living with the hand they’ve been dealt. But I have not.one.ounce. of sympathy for someone who has eaten and drunk themselves into handicapped status and then does absolutely nothing to improve his situation, either by eating healthier or at least walking short distances when they can.  The guy at the store? Well – he drove the scooter all the way to his car in the closest handicapped space in the parking lot and the only time I EVER saw him stand up was when he got in the car (making sure that he did not take one single step when he did).

People like that are the result of sloth and self-indulgence. And we are all either supporting them via public assistance now, or will be by the time we pay for all the obesity-related heart problems they have caused themselves. I say self-induced obesity should absolutely not be covered under any public assistance program, unless the person is making at least some attempt to change. The guy today? I shudder to think what we’re all paying for his high-fat, high sugar diet and (no doubt) astronomical medical bills.

You see where I land on this subject. Now it’s your turn. What do you think? Should society be responsible for people that drink and eat themselves into such a state? Or, should these people be required to take some responsibility for their actions and commit to changing their ways before they receive assistance? If they do receive assistance, do you think the grocery list should be regulated to ensure those receiving payments do not go back to their old ways?