I know a girl named Cory. She thinks she's cool. I've talked about her before here.

Anyway, I was talking to my sister tonight and she informed me that Cory had broken her wrist over the weekend while playing dodgeball. The Boy and I watched Dodgeball a couple weeks ago. It was pretty funny...although I think the PG-13 rating was a little weak....

Anyway, you expect people to break their wrists snowboarding or playing hockey or football or something...but dodgeball? Completely ridiculous.

Unless of course you are Cory. She not only thinks she is cool....she is VERY competitive. I can just picture her flying through the air, checking everyone in site to avoid a ball as she fell to the ground - only to hear that crisp, clean snap of her wrist bone breaking (radius or ulna....I'm not sure) as she landed.

But I still think she could have picked a cooler activity than dodgeball if she was going to fall on her sword and break her wrist.....

Well it appears that Chirac had to back down due to all the protesting in France. Now Chirac says he's going to "replace" the legislation that would have allowed employers to fire workers under the age of 26.

Chirac was quoted in the article, saying:

"I wanted to act quickly, because the dramatic situation and the despair of many youths demanded it."

Of course, this should be no surprise to anyone...a different outcome could not have been expected given France's history of backing down from conflict.

Also, what did they expect when they passed this law? They have a population that is used to handouts for everything, including jobs for life. A system like that would be VERY hard to change under any circumstances. I mean, if you had a free meal ticket for life wouldn't you do what you could to force the government to continue your gravy train status? What's happened here is a good example of how an entitlement society operates. Once you hand everything out for free, it's really hard to go back.

Details have yet to be disclosed, but I'm sure the "replacement" legislation will be everything the protesters wanted, if not more.

it is true. But I really do think there was something going on in the homes of these two 2nd graders who stabbed a classmate with a dirty needle they found on the street and told her she was going to die that made them think this was acceptable behavior.

And...sorry....for those of you who like to call deeds like this "bad choices". Nope...this was a violent action taken with malicious intent toward that poor girl. Kids like those two boys need to be removed from the school immediately so they do not harm one more kid. Sound too harsh? What if that had been your little girl. How would you feel then? Still just a bad choice by kids that didn't know any better? No? Didn't think so.

And let's remember that we're only hearing about this one thing the boys did. It's my belief there have been plenty of other aggressive acts taken by these kids toward classmates...this was just one time that they were actually caught in the act.

Bad parents breed bad kids which result in bad actions taken by the kids toward others.

They just might set a cruise ship on fire and kill someone due to careless handling of cigarettes.

I always worry about what fires might be started by people carelessly tossing still lit cigarettes on the street or out their car windows and this is why.

Completely ridiculous. Now the only question is....was the guy that died the one that did it, or is he gone due to someone else's careless behavior? I guess we'll have to stay tuned and see.

By now I'm sure you've all heard about this high school teacher in Colorado who compared Bush to Hitler. The teacher is currently on leave pending an investigation by the school, and the teacher had filed a 1st Amendment suit to protect his right of free speech.

While I respect everyone's right to free speech, I do draw the line at proselytizing any view to a class without FAIRLY presenting the other side so then there can be a discussion of the issue at hand. But in this case from what we've been told (and I'm sure we haven't been told everything), it appears this was more of a 20 minute Bush-bashing rant by a liberal minded high school teacher made in a persuasive way so as to ensure maximum agreement with his view.

I think many teachers are very careful about how they approach highly volatile issues in the classroom, such as politics, religion, right to privacy issues, etc. But I also think like in any profession there are those that will use this platform of authority to mold eager young listeners to their view and add boots to their army of activists.

If this guy had made a similar speech about, say,.....Hillary Clinton for example. I might agree with him, but I would still think what he did was wrong. School age kids are highly impressionable and it is ALWAYS WRONG when teachers take advantage of their positions to further their own political agendas.

Not on this scale, but when Scytheboy was in elementary school during the last election, the principal played Kerry's concession speech throughout the school, interrupting classes so all could hear what he had to say. But when it came time for Bush to give his acceptance speech....no televisions were on and not one word of what he had to say was heard in school. In this subtle way and in the Colorado teacher's very outspoken way, some of the mainly liberal contingent of teachers and administrators will use different methods to ensure the students "understand" their view.

This is the way it has always been. It is probably the way it will always be. I find the majority of teachers to be very giving, altruistic people and I do believe they think they are doing the right thing by (in their view) teaching the kids what their very idealistic view of the world is to "make them better people". I don't think this is ego-driven in most cases when it does happen.

But I still think it's wrong. It's our job as parents to teach our kids about the way the world IS (on all sides), not the way we would like it to be. We must remain engaged and discuss with our kids why the education establishment presents things in one way and what that view is, then explain to them what our view is (whether we agree or if it is different) and why. And if you do agree and find through your discussion with your kids the other side has not been fairly presented, then you need to explain the other side to them so they clearly understand the differences. And THEN...only THEN....can your kids form their own opinions on the issues.

And...it's the job of educators to at least make a minimal attempt to explain the other side in a factual, untainted way so there can be an open discussion so the kids can expand their capacity to understand the issues.

At least...that's what I think.

Why is that some people seem to think that if they go to the gym for a few weeks at the end of February and the beginning of March, they will somehow magically wipe away the long months of eating poorly and letting their physiques atrophy into gelatinous masses of flab?

Every year it is the same thing. Right after Valentine's Day and before Spring Break, the same group of people show up, taking advantage of a year's worth of health club dues which they only redeem during these (what they
think) are key weeks of the year.

Note: This is the same group of people that used to show up after New Year's Day but now have pushed the window back a bit and wait until "After the Super Bowl".

But I digress. So anyway.....they come to the gym, stand around staring dumbly at this piece of equipment or that, and try to access those dim memories of actually knowing how to operate the machine.

I can't blame them for trying. At least they are there. They bothered to put gym clothes on, drive to the place and actually get themselves motivated enough to walk past the front desk.

However...(and you knew this was coming)....it would be really, really nice if they actually worked out while they were there instead of either going at a snail's pace, never breaking a sweat, on the treadmill or on the ellipticals...or sitting on equipment taking five to 10 minute breaks between their prescribed three sets...and....GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY OF US GYM RATS WHO BOTHER TO SHOW UP EACH AND EVERY WEEK FOR OUR TORTURE.

I guess what I'm trying to convey here...is something these people deep in their hearts already know. A few weeks a year does not undo all the neglect of and bad things they've put into their bodies. Either go...or don't go. I just wish they'd decide once and for all either way because it would make it SO much easier for me. And we all know it's all about ME.

I'm just sayin'....

I mean, if one is going to run off with a beer delivery truck, one ought to choose a truck containing better beer....like maybe Sam Adams or Heineken or something. I'm just sayin'....

But this is WAY over the top in my book.

In 2002, California began requiring its seniors to pass exit tests in order to receive their high school diplomas. Since that time, there have been numerous lawsuits filed on behalf of students who did not pass the test, yet believe they deserve to receive a diploma anyway either because they are not proficient in English or feel they have not been given the education necessary to pass the test due to unqualified teachers or poor funding. Here's an excerpt from an article covering the suit:

Wednesday's lawsuit was filed on behalf of 10 seniors who have not yet passed the exit exam and their parents. State officials estimate that 80,000 of California's seniors have not yet passed the exit exam. Schools with low exit exam pass rates tend to be overcrowded and lack credentialed teachers, the suit says.

Here's my take on the whole exit exam thing. These students have known since as early as 2002 that they would have to pass the test to get a diploma. They have been given practice tests and have been offered additional help in preparing for it. Yet now...when graduation (or not) is imminent....they decide it's necessary to file a suit to get a free ride instead of working harder in order to pass the test.

This is a diploma from a high school in the United States...a country where English is the official language. While I know learning English can be a challenge...there are many immigrants that do and they learn it well enough to not only pass the exit tests in many states, but they score high on SAT and ACT tests and gain entrance to prestigious colleges and universities all over the country. In my opinion, to say they should be given a diploma even though have not mastered the language, or basic math, or whatever..is just a copout.

What....others should have to study and pass the test but they shouldn't just because they haven't bothered to learn English? If the diploma is that important to them, they would find a way. Others have and are achieving the American dream their parents wanted for them when they brought them to this country. While it's not their fault that English is their second language, these are American schools where all the classes are taught in English, and so it makes sense the tests would be in English as well.

If we offer the test in Spanish, say...we are setting a very complicated precedent. It would open the door for all non-English speakers to be given the same treatment...soon millions of education dollars will go toward teaching and creating tests in tens, if not hundreds of languages. Do we really want to go down that road?

Having said that, it is clear that many schools in impoverished areas do not have the teachers or funding necessary to help some overly challenged kids pass the test. This is why I am for school vouchers so those kids who actually want a decent education and care about the diploma and passing the exit test would have access to the support they need to accomplish this goal. There are clearly problems that need to be addressed in these areas.

However....it's also clear these kids have known they would have to pass the test for years. I would be interested to find out more background regarding what they've done to alert the school they feel they are not being served, and what steps the parents have taken to help their kids prepare for the test. It's my guess, unfortunately, that they've done little or nothing to work with the school until they filed the suit.

I think a kid should at least be able to pass a test that measures a minimum level of subject matter mastery before they are given a diploma. The bank is not going to give them "alternative" ways to balance their checkbook and an employer is not going to give them "alternative ways" to write their reports or whatever. A diploma is supposed to show a person is prepared to move onto the next steps in their lives; it is not just another piece of paper that is given as a handout for showing up the minimum required days of school and sitting in a seat.

UPDATE: In her comment, Paula raises one of the key issues here. Educators for so long have only had to show up and have not had to worry about providing any certain level of education as they are protected by their unions and the lack of a school voucher system which their lobbyists have successfully blocked in Congress. If we did it the way they do it in Denmark, I would guess standards everywhere would be much higher as teachers and schools would need to entice kids to enroll and stay since the money follows each child to the school of their choice.

You can read more about the Denmark system here.

Man, I wish we could make this fly in the U.S. but I know it's not possible given the politics of the situation.

I am not a morning person. Let me just say that up front. So I am probably not in the best of moods when I take the boy to school in the morning. So things I see along the way might not exactly show themselves in the best possible light to me as I drive by.

But....I think you would agree....what I saw today was probably not the smartest move. There was a guy riding down the main street to the school, with one of those baby trailer type attachments. Now, I will say the baby was cute...all with his little baby bowl cut and baby PJ's and baby blanket and baby toys with him in the little trailer deal.

Having said that....it is windy today. Very windy. The little trailer deal was swerving all over the road as cars were swerving around the guy on the bike. Not good. SO not good.

I realize the guy probably needed to get his workout in and I of all people understand that. But I wonder if maybe he should have picked a better route....he could have gone down the bike trail close by so he could have kept his baby safe instead of in harm's way as the trailer swerved all over the road...or maybe if he'd just waited 30 minutes he could have avoided all the school traffic.

Just my opinion....poor baby.

First, let me say that I am now officially out of painting hell. The small bathroom is as finished as it's going to get, and we have a contractor coming in to take care of all the major painting that needs to be done next week. And...the headache is gone.

Now that I've had time to sit down and catch up on the news, I caught the story on 12,000 government paid-for hotel rooms that FEMA will no longer be responsible for.

You all know that I am a Republican so I am for limited government and all that goes with it. I do believe that there are some things that should be seen to, such as school vouchers, school lunches, food stamps, etc. to help people get back on their feet once something happens that precludes their ability to take care of themselves and their families, or in the case of school vouchers to aid them in ensuring the best education possible for their kids.

Having said that....I do NOT believe the government should be responsible for supporting people 100% for the rest of their lives, or even for years - if they are physically able to work. What we've seen happen in New Orleans and other gulf states is horrible, to be sure. And I do believe those people needed to be helped for a few months until they could get their bearings and come up with short and long term plans for how they would find housing, get jobs, and take care of their families.

But come ON, people! It's been more than five months. The nation's unemployment rate is very low. There ARE jobs to be had. And FEMA is providing money that victims can use to fix their homes or rent new ones. What we are seeing here is the result of a highly flawed welfare system. It's my guess that at least some, if not the majority of, those families still living on the dole in hotels come from generations of welfare recipients which have never worked a day in their lives. Grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren...none of whom have ever had to do an honest day's work. And our flawed system has given these people absolutely no incentive to get off the dole - in fact, they are penalized when they do manage to find gainful employment to subsidize welfare and in some cases lose assistance when they find even just a low paying part-time job to help make ends meet and put food on the table.

We need to fix the system, that is not in question. But also....at some point if we don't start requiring able-bodied people to take personal responsibility for their own destiny by requiring them to work for the assistance they receive, or limit the time they are eligible to receive assistance, or at least make sure welfare recipients are seeking to better themselves by taking advantage of education assistance so they can move out the the system, the problems we see with hurricane victims looking for unlimited handouts will continue to get worse and worse until we eventually become a socialist welfare state where nobody is given any incentive to try and do better for themselves because it's too easy to just live off the dole.

(Deep breath).

There's my two cents.

That stupid, negligent people should not be allowed to have kids.

Tommy and I went to Home Depot today to get some paint. You see, SugarMommy is coming to visit and I wanted to spruce up the place a bit before she gets here.

Anyway.....at the paint counter was probably one of THE most high-maintenance customers I've ever seen...anywhere. There she was...bottle blond, Botox forehead, fake boobs, high heels, designer clothes, expensive purse - well, you get the picture.

She had her husband with her and three or four Home Depot employees surrounding her and her pillow she had purchased at Foley's (in the Foley's bag to make sure everyone knew she had paid top dollar), trying to help her decide what paint to get that would match just perfectly with the pattern. I'm not kidding...she had a crowd around her. She kept calling one service person after another over to ask their opinion, demand more samples, and generally ensure the maximum level of assistance was procured for herself and her needs - above all other customers in the store.

At one point one service person said to another in hushed tones..."He's gonna kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon."

Seriously...it's one pillow with maybe a total of three or four colors in the pattern. It is NOT THAT DIFFICULT. I mean....Tommy and I made our paint decisions - by ourselves....fetching our own paint brochures to compare...in way less than 10 minutes.

Clearly, this woman is used to very high levels of service wherever she goes...from home to Foley's to The Galleria (I'm sure)....and even the paint counter at Home Depot.

Certain people just shouldn't be allowed in stores. Neither indecisiveness nor narcissism are attractive traits...and they are doubly ugly when combined in one person.

I'm sure all the paint department personnel on that shift had to go home and drink after dealing with that woman.

Okay, so as usual I'm having a hard time coming up with something to post about on this beautiful, sunny February day in Dallas. So I was scanning the headlines and I ran across this article. I know...it's on the Fox site....sorry for those of you that don't like to go to that page but the story did catch my eye.

Apparently there are some businesses that have been complaining to sites like Yahoo and AOL that their emails are not making it through to their customer base. And some customers have complained that their needed emails have been taken out by spam filters. So....Yahoo, AOL and probably others are going to offer a program where in exchange for paying a fee, e-mail senders will be guaranteed their messages won't be filtered and will bear a seal alerting recipients they're legitimate.

Of course, we've all missed emails from companies that we do business with and that we probably need to see...but that's what the "Bulk Mail" or "Junk Mail" folders are for. We don't lose the emails, we simply delay looking at them until it's convenient. This way WE can control when we sort through what we do and don't want to read. So there are workarounds for those of us who like and use spam filters.

Look, we all know these sites are in the business of making money, and while they would like their customers to think their included spam filters will protect them from obnoxious, unsolicited ads.....this program (in my opinion) will negate the filters. Now, spammers will look at the additional fee as a normal cost of doing business.

The article didn't say if there are review measures in place that would disallow companies known for sending out pure spam (re-finance solicitations, Viagra ads, etc.). It only says that companies can pay for their emails not to be deleted by the spam filter. Here's an excerpt:

In exchange for a payment and a pledge to contact only people who have agreed to receive their messages, the companies would be ensured their e-mails aren't diverted to spam folders or have images or Web addresses filtered out.

The companies also would receive reports showing how many e-mails were received successfully - great, not only can they bypass the spam filter, they can ensure they sent the spam to a legitimate address and then sell that address to other spammers.

Wonderful. Sounds like this program is tailor-made to aid spammers, not deter them.

So the end result of this program will be, I fear, that now we will all start seeing many emails in our Inbox claiming to be legit that aren't, and our email addresses will be sold and re-sold at an ever-increasing rate through the spam community.

Happy Monday.

Well, here we go again. I had the news on while doing laundry, and one of the "News Alerts" caught my attention. Apparently, a 9 year old shot another 11 year old this morning on a school bus in Compton, CA.

Nine. That's what....third grade? What could possibly be going on in the life of a third grader that would require shooting a classmate on the bus?

Details aren't out yet, but my guess is it's another case of a kid showing off a gun to his friend and this resulted in an accidental shooting.

I've said before that I think people should be allowed to own guns...not machine guns or anything, but hunting rifles and maybe a revolver for protection. I think I might have to ammend that to say.....only intelligent, law-abiding non-neglectful people should be allowed to own guns. Maybe they could install tracking devices on guns so police could check to make sure they weren't left laying around the house for kids to pick them up, play with them, and take them to school for show and tell? Oh, I forgot. "Invasion of Privacy" PC folks would nix that plan. They wouldn't want children's safety to get in the way of their civil liberties, now would they? Of course not.

In any case, no matter what happens I really don't think we'll see the end of these stories until the parents are held accountable - and in a BIG way. I'm talking major fines AND jail time and CPS investigations...I'm for whatever it takes to keep the kids and their friends safe from random guns laying around the house.

UPDATE: Apparently, I was correct in assuming this was an accidental shooting. You can read the short article here.

If you're only going to be on level one, not breaking a sweat, and refuse to actually use the arm things...GET OFF THE DAMN MACHINE and let someone use it who actually like, you know, USES it.

rollerblading in the middle of the main street which parents in the neighborhood use to take their kids to school in the morning....could you....would you....PLEASE GET OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE FRIGGIN' ROAD SO CARS AND SUVs DON'T HAVE TO SWERVE AROUND YOU, CAUSING MANY NEAR MISSES AND MUCH FRUSTRATION?! I mean...it's not like there's not a nice, big wide bike path/sidewalk right next to the road.

Oh, I know...you look hot in your brand new roller blades and helmet and very tight rollerblading spandex pants.....and you wanted to be sure EVERYONE got a gander at your outfit and supreme skating style....whatever.

SOME people not only THINK it's all about them....they act upon this thought to the detriment of many others. Jerk.

Oh, but they are, my friends. There I was, fully prepared to watch my favorite smut show…cheese and crackers and freshly poured glass of wine at the ready and Scytheboy sent off to work on his project…only to find….Desperate Housewives is friggin’ re-run!

Crap. Well, I’ve been taught by my Irish-Catholic family and the Air Force fighter pilot community that it is a sin to waste a perfectly good drink….so I drank…and watched my TiVo’d episode of Surface. You see…I pre-drink a little before Desperate Housewives. Always a good idea to pre-drink no matter what the circumstance. Surface was pretty good. But now….now…I have a full hour of more drinking (2nd glass poured) before I can watch a new episode of Grey’s Anatomy – and yes, Grey’s Anatomy is much better if you are a bit tipsy.

But wait…..they have an Iron Chef behind the scenes deal on Food Network. OK, I can deal with that. I’ll watch that until Grey’s Anatomy while I listen to Scytheboy who has now moved on to practicing his Sax. He’s learned the first few bars of “Soul Man” and the Pink Panther Theme by ear. He is very talented, if I do say so myself. A nice accompaniment to Iron Chef behind the scenes thingee. Love Iron Chef.

Later, I will listen to electric guitar practice while Grey’s Anatomy is on. But it’s all good. I’ll prob’ly be on by 3rd glass by then. Yeah, Grey’s Anatomy! Yeah, Patrick Dempsey! Yeah, Christina…my very honest, very loyal friend but not politically correct hero!

OK, gotta go watch the rest of the chef thingee. I may have to slice more cheese…I’m almost out. Buh-bye!

I don't think so. But apparently many parents in the Dallas ISD area do. I was watching the local news this morning while I was waiting for Scytheboy to get ready to go, and there was a quick segment about schools in the Dallas ISD moving kids in the 6th grade to middle school. Apparently, many parents went to the Board meeting last night and were up in arms over the whole thing. One parent was on camera saying, "Kids are not ready for such a highly charged emotional environment at this age. I mean...the people that are supposed to care the most about our children are stealing their childhood." Or...something like that. But it's pretty close, trust me.

Wait...what? "Stealing their childhoods"? They're 11 and 12 for God's sake! I have never heard of 6th graders NOT being in middle school. I mean...I was. I know some areas do junior high instead of middle school and that's 7th and 8th grade...but the areas that have middle school usually start in 6th grade don't they? Or...maybe I'm wrong.

What I'm trying to say is....I have a strong suspicion that it's not the kids that aren't ready for middle school....it's the parents. These are probably the same parents that held their kids back a year before starting them in kindergarten because they "weren't ready". Whatever. They were ready. But the parents weren't. I will admit that in a few extreme cases where the kids have been highly sheltered they might not be quite ready for kindergarten, but I believe that is the fault of the parents for not getting them ready more than anything else. Just my opinion...I'm not a psychologist or anything. I'm just a parent who through the years has seen some really good parenting and also some really bad parenting on the part of my son's friends' parents.

I can say from personal experience that our son was MORE than ready for middle school. There's more freedom of choice, less coddling, and more expected of them in the way of academics, physical education and how they behave toward others and their teachers. I think sending them to middle school is a GOOD thing. Our son was miserable in elementary school, but he is thriving in middle school....in the 6th grade.

They are more than ready, my friends. More than ready. Not ready? Ridiculous.

Apparently, an eight year old boy shot a seven year old girl "accidentally" at a daycare center in Maryland.

Accidentally? Come ON, people! Let me say that I live in Texas and I do believe people should be able to own guns. Unfortunately, there is that segment of the population which is so ignorant of gun safety and/or neglectful of their kids that they just leave the things laying about the place for their kids to pick up, put them into their backpacks, and take them to school.

According to the story, the boy was simply playing with the gun and it went off by mistake and injured that poor little girl. I believe the parents should be charged with criminal negligence in this matter, or something along those lines.

How many more kids have to get hurt before people realize their actions (or inaction by not putting the gun away in this case) can cause others serious injury? Some people just should not be allowed to have kids.

Let me ask you some questions....are we at war? Do you think the attack on our country in September 2001 was an act of aggression against the United States? If so.....do you think it's a good enough reason to go to war?

I would venture a guess that most of you reading this would have said yes to these questions back in 2001. And we all cheered when the Taliban fell in Afghanistan. And (whether you like to admit it or not) when Saddam had declare America his enemy and the intelligence said that he had WMD at his disposal....most of us thought the UN needed to do something about it, and when it didn't Congress overwhelmingly voted in favor of us doing whatever it took to remove the threat of Iraq using WMD on countries in the region or...God forbid...us.

Let me remind everyone that given the intelligence we had at the time, the world and Congress agreed that Saddam was a threat.

Well, guess what? He didn't have the WMD. But you know what he did have? Al Zarqawi in Baghdad recovering from the injuries he received in Afghanistan, and Al Qaeda training camps in more than one location in Iraq.

Our country has been at war before. Remember WWII? Remember the rationing, the personal sacrifices, the women going to work in factories to support the war effort, the victory gardens, etc.?

It seems to me that today not only do we try and re-write history to our liking, we also are not willing to make any sacrifices to the greater good that would aid the war effort in any way. We are at WAR, people. We can't change that. The enemy started this on 9/11 and our leadership is trying to do what it can to protect us from the evil that lurks outside (and inside) our borders.

Personally....I don't think it's a big sacrifice of personal freedom when intelligence agencies monitor calls to and from Al Qaeda made to and from our country. The ONLY people that should be worried about this attempt to track communications of the enemy are those that are aiding the enemy with intel or are directly involved with their operations. To call it domestic spying is not only inaccurate, it is an underhanded way to score political points at the cost of gaining intelligence that could save people's lives.

Just my opinion. I'm certainly not an expert and I'm sure we don't have all the facts. But really....are we at war or aren't we? If you agree that we are, you should also agree our leadership should be doing everything it can to protect us. Personally....I'd be pissed if my neighbor was talking to Al Qaeda and the government wasn't monitoring the communications. I know it's sad to say...but those same people complaining about the program now would be the first ones to blame the government if they could have stopped a plot to kill Americans but didn't because they were hesitant to do anything that would "appear" to be taking away any civil liberties from us.

Think about it....you know it's true.

I know I'll get angry lefties commenting on this post, but I do think this needed to be said.

Oh....My....God!!!! I couldn't believe what I read today in the monthly newsletter put out by our health club. They are now considering starting classes for what they call "de-conditioned kids".

What are de-conditioned kids, you ask? Well...judging from the things covered in the class...as you might have guessed....this new term is (I'm assuming) the politically correct way of referring to overweight kids. Nutrition information, weight management strategies, and beginning exercise routines are among the items the proposed class will include.

But I guess this is the center's way of recruiting kids to the class without offending them or their parents. Hey, I was a chubby kid myself and I think being referred to as "de-conditioned" would have been more offensive to me than to just call me chubby...but that's just me I guess.

"De-conditioned kids"...seriously....they have GOT to be kidding.

Spam is definitely a ridiculous item. I had it under control for a really long time. For a while, I got no spam at all. Then, I launched this site. It started out with just a few here and there to my site email address. Then....someone got hold of the entire email list for the customers that use our ISP....and I was getting upward of 20-30 spam emails a day.

I was using Outlook for my email, contacts and calendaring because it was what I used to use at work and it was so damned convenient...didn't even have to think about it.

Tommy never has used Outlook, and he's been on Mozilla Thunderbird for quite some time. Every time I would complain about Outlook, he would tell me to use Thunderbird. But...I refused to move.....after all, Outlook is the standard, right?

Well, I got up today and was greeted with my daily dose of spam first thing in the morning (it comes all day, but I get a block of it every morning). And...I...had had....ENOUGH. The Outlook spam filters are either too hard for me to figure out or too labor intensive to keep updating constantly with all the new tricks the spammers have. Okay, so maybe I'm just too lazy to figure it out....

Anyway, I downloaded Thunderbird (by the way, when you do this it recognizes your current email program and then automatically moves everything over for you, except the calendar; all your emails, contacts and personal folders show up when you launch the program). I then whined about how it wasn't working like I wanted it to...so Tommy sighed and came down to fix my email settings and download the contacts and calendar extensions for me.

The only issue I've noticed so far is you have to manually move each calendar item over to Thunderbird as it is a new extension and doesn't automatically install with all your other items.

But the really cool thing about Thunderbird is it has spam filters that are intelligently designed so that as you give them new information they get better and better as time goes by - learning more about junk mail and filtering more of it each and every day. Way cool.

To summarize...had Outlook....with associated Spam.....got sick of it...finally caved and listened to Tommy....now have Thunderbird. Thunderbird is better - unless of course you love to get spam. That is all.

Nope. Sorry. You're not going to find any resolutions here. First of all, I think making resolutions on one particular day of the year is probably a waste of time. I mean...come on....chances are you're hungover or at least very tired from staying up late, you're all bloated from grazing on not-good-for-you food until the wee hours of the morning, and you're probably generally in one of your worst moods of the year because the neighbor's dog, your kid(s) or a combination of these woke you up before 8:00 a.m.

So....why the hell would anyone pick a day like January 1st to make a list of all the things they hope to accomplish in the coming year? You're grouchy, tired, and generally not a very nice person to be around so clearly you're not thinking straight...yet you choose to make a comprehensive list of goals for the year? And THEN....you actually SHARE this list of goals with anyone who will listen?

What are ya? Nuts?

Uh uh...no sir...no way...not me.....ever. No resolutions or goals for me. I strongly feel that if you live your life the way you're supposed to live it and try to be a good parent and treat people the way they ought to be treated you shouldn't feel the need to take part in such a ridiculous exercise.

On the other hand...I'm not you or your spouse or your kids or your relatives who you think should have some plan to make themselves better. If resolutions work for you, that's great. I don't see how they would work, but if they do then good for you.

In short...don't do resolutions...never have...never will....don't understand why people do...but if they work for you that's cool.

Anyway, happy new year. Tommy comes back in the morning so there will be the eating of beer salami and pistachios and ham and the watching of football and the drinking of beer and probably a lot of napping.

Hope your day tomorrow is just as relaxing.

Cheers,

Peaches

Well it appears the Do Not Call Registry actually has a purpose. They received enough complaints from people who were called by telemarketing firms on behalf of Direct TV for the FCC to take action. Now, Direct TV will have to pay a fine of $5.3 million dollars for calls made on its behalf to numbers on the registry. Apparently, six telemarketing firms were involved.

You know, I really don't mind direct mail. And by now you all know I do detest advertising items to be left near, slipped into the frame of, or taped to, my front door.

I will say that I know being a telemarketer is a thankless job and it is probably one of the least rewarding professions out there. And if that's what people have to do to put food on the table, I commend them for sticking with it and doing their job as required.

But telemarketers are the absolute worst. I hate to shop to begin with, and I really would rather not have sales people dog my every step when I'm in a store looking for something. But when these people call you unsolicited at all hours of the day and night, either waking you up in the morning, interrupting dinner, waking the kid up after his bedtime, etc.....it's just aggravating.

We signed up all our numbers to National Do Not call Registry. And whenever we get called, we have caller ID so we don't pick up the phone...but we report each and every call via the Do Not Call website. If everyone would do this, then more companies like Direct TV would finally have to pay the price for being so annoying.

Unless you LIKE getting all those calls.....

I know I tend to gripe a lot about customer service...but this time the owner of the establishment was actually in my corner.

Let me explain...

Day before yesterday they predicted it would begin sleeting with freezing temperatures in Dallas some time early in the day (like before noon) and in the northern sections of the metroplex the roads were predicted to be quite hazardous.

Well....I had a dentist appointment scheduled at 10:30 in the morning to get my permanent on-lays (step below crowns) put in to replace the temp fillings I've been saddled with the past month. And...can I just say...it sucks having to chew on one side of your mouth for Thanksgiving dinner?

Anyway, I digress. As stated, my appointment was for 10:30. They called at 8:50 to ask me if I could come in "as soon as possible" as they were going to close the office early since most of the girls lived north of Dallas and were afraid of icing on the overpasses.

OK...fine...I hauled my ass out of bed, took a 10 minute shower, barely dried my hair, scarfed breakfast, put on a wrinkled sweatshirt and headed off to the dentist office with damp hair and no makeup on.

So...I get there...wait 20 minutes...they put me in the room...start the anbesol numbing thing prior to Novocaine....and the dentist asks where my stuff is.

Guess what? The stuff's not there. The assistant knew the stuff wasn't there and would NOT BE THERE and didn't bother to tell the office manager before she called me to rush in early so they could do the work.

Well...I was pissed. I told them it wouldn't have been so bad if they had called to wake me up so they could tell me my stuff wasn't ready so they had to reschedule. And they understood that and the dentist was pissed and called the lady at the lab to gripe her out while I was standing there. Turns out the lady at the lab didn't want her delivery people (her daughters) driving in the icy conditions (yeah, right....can I just ay it was NOT icy at that point?)...and....one of the things wasn't even ready. So icy streets or not they could not have done my appointment anyway.

So...we get done rescheduling the appointment about 40 minutes after my quick arrival...and....one of the daughters who "would not be allowed to drive due to the icy roads"...shows up...as I was walking out...to pick up MORE WORK!!

Of course, the office manager was mortified and said, "Oh, my God!" Turned bright red, apologized to me, and escaped to the dentist's office to speak behind closed doors.

What a cluster. I'm stuck with temp fillings until Tuesday, the dentist and his office manager are duly embarrassed, the assistant who neglected to tell the office manager my stuff was NOT going to be there will more than likely be fired.....and I'm sure other work set to be done that day was canceled due to no deliveries from that "lab".

Turns out this is a lady who does this mold stuff from a converted old house, has all family working for her, and is basically a sole proprietor contractor. But...apparently she does the best work in town...and knows it. Because she was late with the last pieces they had to install in my mouth too. But that day I waited while they "rushed" it to the office.

Anyway...when Tommy and I got back from errands yesterday (due to having time since I did not get drilled) there was a message on the machine saying they were going to give me a $50 discount on the work when I come in next week. So at least there's that.

In summary...was supposed to get drilled on and get permanent stuff...was awakened by dentist and rushed my ass in to get drilled early but didn't get drilled ..was pissed (still am pissed)....still have temp fillings and thus still have to chew only on one side which is a pain in the ass....have to set aside ANOTHER morning next week to go get drilled....but at least they're paying me $50 for the inconvenience.

'Kay? Kay.

Man, I can't believe this. Saddam "refused" to go to court today, so they've suspended proceedings at his trial. Last time I checked, he is a prisoner. I don't understand why they can't just handcuff him and drag his ass in to court, sit him down, shackle him to his chair, and ensure he sits there and listens to each and every word of testimony related to many years of atrocities committed upon his own people.

But...I guess in an effort to ensure the world sees that he is treated "humanely", the court decided to avoid that type of confrontation on camera and is working toward a solution that will work.

I say, if he won't come to court, bring in a screen he can't get to but is in his line of sight and blast the testimony into his prison cell so he HAS to hear his evil deeds put into words.

Do you do this? Send text messages while you drive? I must confess that on occasion I might do this while stopped at a stop light or while in my car before starting it. But WHILE you drive? I know a lot of people do it because I've seen them. I've also seen them full-on reading the paper, putting on make-up, curling their hair, and even smoking-talking-drinking coffee simultaneously...while driving.

The bad habit of doing other things while we're supposed to be driving has caught on with the younger generation. Apparently, in Colorado a teen caused a death because he hit and killed a cyclist while he was text messaging when he was supposed to be paying attention to the road. The article is in the extended post.

Sort of makes you think twice about multi-tasking while driving.......and about letting your kids have a cell phone, doesn't it? Perhaps I'll have to re-evaluate when Scytheboy starts driving...

Text Messaging Driver Charged in Death
The Accociated Press
Friday, December 02, 2005

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — A teenage driver faces charges in Colorado after allegedly hitting a cyclist while text messaging behind the wheel.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says the 17-year-old was charged with careless driving causing death. The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison.

The victim was riding his bicycle November 23rd when he was hit by the teen's car. He died two days after the accident.

The teen has not been identified because he is a minor. Authorities say he lost control of the car because he was sending text messages on a cell phone.

Hey, we all know that for the most part schools are run by liberals and most teachers live on the left. This is a fact everyone is aware of. This is the way it has always been. Public schools, in my opinion, are still for the most part the best place for learning as immersion in all subjects related to required testing and testing for college (ACT, SAT) goes far toward helping kids score high on these tests. The constant exposure to all subjects covered in the tests and the social learning with regard to dealing with peers, understanding different points of view, exposure to the arts, etc. make public school a good place for a well-rounded education.

As most who work in the fied are on the left, those of us on the right do need to keep on top of what our kids are being taught with regard to politics, morals, etc. It is the bad parent who remains uninvolved and lets views they don't agree with go unchallenged and does not put opposing views in the proper perspective.

Having said that, I absolutely do NOT agree with teachers doing what this one person did in Vermont. He integrated an anti-Bush message within a required vocabulary quiz in school. The article follows below. Hey, I realize it's unrealistic to believe that you can curtail any and all comments by teachers with regard to politics one way or the other. Comments are going to happen. And I think it's a good thing kids are exposed to some degree to this as they will be faced with many who do not share their beliefs in their adult lives, and it's a good training ground for them to learn how to deal with it.

I'm sure this is not the first and won't be the last time this has and will happened. And I'm also sure that those few teachers who live life on the right may have done similar things when Clinton shamed our country with his oval office antics and committed perjury on the witness stand .

For us, it was clear Scytheboy's principal was a leftie when Bush was elected the second time - she televised Kerry's concession speech throughout the school, but the televisions were turned off when it came time for Bush to speak. This is an example of the many subtle ways some (not all - if you're one who doesn't do this I commend you and I apologize if my thoughts on this offend you) teachers attempt to convince students the liberal agenda is better. Scytheboy told us about it that day, and we discussed why she might have done this and explained to him that it was not a very democratic (as in how things are supposed to go in a democracy) thing to do...only showing one side.

So anyway, I think this guy went too far, but I also know a lot of teachers go too far promoting their beliefs, whatever they may be. It's our job as parents to discuss these things with our kids and make sure they understand what the motives might be, that it's wrong to integrate political leanings into class material, and to always tell us if something like this happens so we can talk about it and understand it.

The article follows in the extended post for your review. That's all I have to say on this.

Students: Teacher Gave Anti-Bush Vocab Quiz

Friday, November 25, 2005

BENNINGTON, Vt. — A high school teacher is facing questions from administrators after giving a vocabulary quiz that included digs at President Bush and the extreme right.

Bret Chenkin, a social studies and English teacher at Mount Anthony Union High School, said he gave the quiz to his students several months ago. The quiz asked students to pick the proper words to complete sentences.

One example: "I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes." "Coherent" is the right answer.

Principal Sue Maguire said she hoped to speak to whoever complained about the quiz and any students who might be concerned. She said she also would talk with Chenkin. School Superintendent Wesley Knapp said he was taking the situation seriously.

"It's absolutely unacceptable," Knapp said. "They (teachers) don't have a license to hold forth on a particular standpoint."

Chenkin, 36, a teacher for seven years, said he isn't shy about sharing his liberal views with students as a way of prompting debate, but said the quizzes are being taken out of context.

"The kids know it's hyperbolic, so-to-speak," he said. "They know it's tongue in cheek." But he said he would change his teaching methods if some are concerned.

"I'll put in both sides," he said. "Especially if it's going to cause a lot of grief."

The school is in Bennington, a community of about 16,500 in the southwest corner of the state.

I've been immersed in Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy tonight so I didn't get my usual dose of news. As I scanned the headlines, I ran across a story about pit bulls that attacked six people (including two children) after running out their owner's front door.

I can remember when my little sister was very young, she was bitten by our neighbor's German Shepard. She had to get multiple stitches on her cheek, and she carries a scar to this day. The dog had always been friendly and pettable, but it turns out he had mange and it was making him do crazy things - like bite kids when they tried to come close.

Now, his owners did the right thing....took him in to get tested for rabies and all that. Luckily the test came out negative and my sister didn't have to go through that painful shot regimen. These were responsible owners who had trained their dog to behave around children, only a disease changed things for them so they had to quarantine the dog until the disease had passed and the dog was once again himself. However, even after the dog was back to his old self they would fence him away from children that came to the house like good, responsible, caring pet owners. I'm not sure what happened to him, but eventually the dog stopped being at their house altogether. My guess is they didn't want to risk one more person getting hurt after what happened with my sister, even if the dog was cured.

I also remember a friend of mine which adopted a deaf pit bull that had been terrorized by his mother and litter mates. He was the sweetest dog, always coming up to you for pets. His owners treated him kindly and he got along well with their other adopted dog. Nothing wrong at all with that pit bull. He had been saved from a miserable situation and was grateful for any love he could get.

But then you hear about all these stories where pit bulls are attacking their owners, neighbors and children. I do not believe these dogs are inherently bad...I think their owners are either neglectful by not training their dogs to behave properly, or just plain stupid. I mean, who gets a dog that may have issues with being from a blood line that was bread for violence, and then lets it around other people without training it properly to ensure that all are safe? Every time I hear about stuff like this I just cringe.

We all know people who buy dogs and then make absolutely no attempt to train them in any way, shape or form. Letting them loose in the neighborhood without a leash, allowing them to relieve themselves wherever they please without following behind to clean up the mess, allowing them to bark well into the night and disturb the sleep of others, etc, etc. Unfortunately, there are a lot of irresponsible pet owners out there...we all know who they are.

Taking a step back, we don't know the whole story. One of the kids may have provoked the dogs in some way...we don't know. Or maybe the kids were genuinely afraid and the dogs had not been trained to recognize the fear and deal with it, rather than moving into a primal state and attacking a weak being near them solely on instinct.

And we don't know if this happened with these dogs in the past. We just don't know. If you read the story, it's certainly slanted to make you think it's all on the dogs and owner....but I will say that the owner was irresponsible for letting the dogs so close to anyone that came to the front door unannounced. I always try to keep my animals away from the door when I answer it...but that's just me.

So....what do you think? Is it the dogs or the owners? Should proper training classes be mandatory and passed successfully before someone is allowed to own one of these dogs?

All I know is I feel really bad for those kids and their parents - and yes, I am angry at the owner for not restraining his dogs before he answered the door. And yes, I think anyone that buys a pet of any kind and does not take care of them and train them properly is scum. There, I said it. They're absolute scum. That is all.

Once again....I got nuthin'. But the news does. Have you seen this story about a bunch of second graders that got stung by yellow jackets while outside communing with nature?

Hmmm.....what to say, what to say. Okay, I will say this. If the kids are allergic to bees and the parents know they are going to be outside at recess or for a nature walk.....should they make sure the school nurse knows about the allergy and has the necessary anti-bee pollen meds on hand in case the kids get stung? Our son's not allergic (that I know of), but if he was and I knew about it I think I'd send stuff in with a note so everyone was aware..at least I think I would.

Tommy's dad is allergic to bees and I know he's always got a dose of the stuff on hand. I can remember when I was in elementary school my older sister got in to a nest of bees or wasps and was stung many times. I think my mom hosed her down, and then spread mud on the sting marks and kept it on there for a while. I think she heard somewhere that was supposed to help.

Anyway, what a scary deal for those poor kids and the teachers too. I'm sure they handled it the best way they could...no way to predict that would happen. However....I hope the kids that had allergic reactions now will have access to necessary meds on school premises in case they get stung again at recess or something....I heard that the reaction gets worse for the allergy sufferer each time they're stung.

To summarize....bees.....scary.....ouch.

I was scanning headlines this morning, mostly reading about the Miers withdrawal, when I saw this. Unbelievable. A company fired a receptionist for needing an extra day to deal with the fact her husband was going off to war on a dangerous mission. Let's be honest....guarding truck convoys is not a walk in the park.

After many years with Tommy in the military, including seeing him off to Iraq where he was later bombed at Khobar Towers, I feel I can speak on this subject with some degree of expertise. People....it is NOT easy to watch your husband walk away, knowing what he's walking into, and not be more than a little upset by the prospect of perhaps never seeing him again. Words cannot describe the agitated state of worry, concern, and wondering "what-ifs" that ensue for days, weeks, even months (basically until the spouse is safely back on American soil) after a goodbye such as this. Nobody...and I mean NOBODY has a right to judge this woman or anyone else if they need an extra day to regroup. Firing her the day after she got back was just bad form.

On the other hand....she could have at least called in to let them know she wouldn't be there so they could cover her shift. And I must say that the company is in a difficult position as they cannot legally say anything about past performance or past unexcused absences regarding this woman.

But....they could have picked a better time to fire her other than the day after she got back from sending her husband off to war. Don't ya think?

I went over to poopie's place and took this quiz. Can you believe this? They say I should dress as a fairy. Of all the ridiculous things....a fairy. Whatever.

Your costume is a fairy costume!


What Should Your Halloween Costume Be?
brought to you by Quizilla

Be warned...I think the quiz questions are geared toward females. Sorry, Jack.

I hate to keep harping on this issue, but I found this article that talks about some Amish kids getting polio because they were not vaccinated.

Wake up people! Vaccinate your kids! With more people entering the country not vaccinated and others choosing not to vaccinate because they're willing to take the risk of not protecting their kids vs. protecting their kids with minimal risk of side effects, the chances that unvaccinated kids will get some sort of communicable disease and spread it in their community grow each and every day.

Care about your kids? Vaccinate them. That is all.

I know we don't all have kids, so if you don't this might not interest you. I ran across an article today that talks about Pediatricians actually "firing" their patients who either don't vaccinate or just partially vaccinate their kids.

To be honest, I have never understood the logic behind not vaccinating kids. I mean, it's been proved that these vaccinations, when given properly, go a long way toward protecting the individual kid from disease and also preventing large outbreaks of of these diseases in the general population.

I do think that parents who don't vaccinate are trying to do what they think is best for their kids, given the limited information they're working on that detracts from the practice.

However.....personally I think these parents are misguided. I've talked to more than one parent that does not vaccinate and their logic seems to be, "All the other kids are vaccinated, so there's really no danger of my kid catching anything from them or giving anything to them. I'd rather be sure my child is safe from autism or other vaccination related dangers and take the small risk of them getting some disease."

Small risk? Are these people not watching the news? I would guess that MANY of the illegal aliens and students that have illegally extended their visas in this country are not vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, hepatitis B, whooping cough, etc. Haven't we all read about recent outbreaks of whooping cough and measles in the news these past few years?

Yet, even given the overwhelmingly positive statistics for disease prevention and very minimal risk of giving their kids vaccinations, these people still choose not to vaccinate. I really hope that one day their kids don't have to pay the price for their parents' decisions when they come into contact with a fellow non-vaccinated kid and catch some disease that ends their life way too soon.

And I have to say that I agree with doctors firing parents with kids that don't vaccinate. Think of the risk these people bring into the office each visit....who knows what types of diseases they've been exposed to and are not immunized against?

Thoughts? Do you vaccinate?

I was once again sifting through the news today trying to find something to write about, and I ran across an article describing a treatment for alcoholics that convinces them that alcohol is equal to death. Here are some items from the article so you can understand what we're talking about here:

-"Coding" is a catchall term for a Russian method of treating alcoholism that essentially involves scaring the living daylights out of the alcoholic. Dating to the former Soviet Union, it involves the manipulation of the alcoholic's psyche to create the belief that alcohol equals death.

-In this treatment method, the patient is induced by mild hypnosis followed by injection of a temporary but powerful drug that could attack the respiratory system. Before the drug kicks in, the doctor gives the patient a small quantity of alcohol to taste. The patient becomes dizzy and has difficulty breathing before the doctor steps in with some oxygen to revive them.

-The doctor then tells the patient that the injected medicine will stay in their system for some period of time and if they drink during this time they will die. Finally, the doctor insists that the patient sign a release form saying he will bear no responsibility for the patient's death should they drink within this period of time.

I was at first suspicious that this technique is being used on people against their will, but the article does quote a guy who's been through the treatment several times because he's looking for anything that will help him stop drinking. So it at least appears to be a voluntary procedure.

But the Internet has brought this treatment to light, and many that have undergone "coding" have entered chat rooms to say that it has its faults and the injection does not seem to be 100% effective. As with anything, knowledge is power, and I think that power will eventually defeat the program and the believability of the experts who claim it to be a viable option for treatment.

I'm happy for those that say this treatment has worked for them. And I know that when a person has an addiction and is desperate to kick it, they will try anything they think might help them break the cycle.

But for me....hypnosis and injections and mind control....that's just a little too scary. Scary. Very, very, scary....

Okay, I admit it. I have a reputation for being kind of anal when it comes to the cleanliness of my kitchen and bathrooms, the washing of hands, etc. Some people I know might say I'm a little OCD about the whole thing. But hey, it keeps the house smelling clean and it also wards off sickness. Case in point....Tommy has the flue and neither Scytheboy nor I do. We've all been wiping stuff down, washing our hands, and generally trying to keep those bad flu germs at bay. We might still get the flu, but so far it's been working.

Now, some people I know have bought into the whole idea created by this guy called Levy that basically said if you use antibacterial stuff in your house you will create and environment where some new super-germ will take hold and basically make everyone in the house deathly ill as it is resistant to antibiotics and using the antibacterial products will increase said resistance. I never believed it. But some people I know actually stopped using all the antibacterial stuff and went back to using yucky, wet, germ-filled sponges in their kitchens. Um....ewwwww!

Well, now there's a new study out that disproves the hype. Here is an excerpt from the article I've linked to:

The researchers reported in the October issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases that, “The results from our study do not implicate use of antibacterial cleaning and hygiene products as an influential factor in the carriage of anti-microbial drug-resistant bacteria on the hands of household members.”

While the researchers also reported that they found no evidence indicating triclosan-containing antibacterial products work better than soap and water, the key point here is that there’s no evidence that triclosan is contributing to the development of “supergerms” that would be resistant to antibiotics.

The health scare over triclosan-based antibacterial products was kicked off in the 1990s by Tuft University researcher Stuart Levy who, ironically, is one of the researchers on the new study. Levy authored an August 1998 study in the journal Nature reporting that widely used antibacterial consumer products caused genetic changes in bacteria.

Going beyond the scope of his study, however, Levy then speculated that these genetic changes could create dreaded “supergerms.”

By July of 2000, the scare had caught fire to the point that the American Medical Association urged the Food and Drug Administration to expedite the regulation of antibacterial products -- even though, as I pointed out in my FOXNews.com column at the time, there was no scientific evidence that antibacterial products had caused any increase in antibiotic drug resistance, much less produced any “supergerms” despite more than 30 years of use in hospitals and homes.

I'm SO glad that I've finally been proved right to these people who who think I'm anal, OCD, and possibly even insane for using anti-bacterial stuff in my house. Who knows? If they see this study, maybe they'll jump on board the anti-bacterial train and be as clean as me!

Yes, I've filed this under politics and ridiculous items, because it's one of the most ridiculously politicized items I've seen in a very long time.

Today as I'm sure you're aware, a vastly liberal judge in San Francisco ruled that reciting The Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional. Because of the phrase "one nation under god". Wait...what? Let me get this straight...many of our founders fled to America to ensure their right to religious freedom, and then many years later we referred to such religious freedom in the pledge to our country's flag by including this universal phrase to remind us that all can worship or not worship as they please. Now, suddenly reciting this phrase in the pledge has been deemed "unconstitutional"?

P-u-leeze. All this is is an activist judge that is doing his level best to help remove all widely accepted references to a higher being from all facets of our society. This case was brought before the court by the same spotlight-seeking idiot that tried to get "In God We Trust" (yet another universal reference to the belief of your choice) removed from our currency.

To judges and people like this I say only this......clearly, you do not like America. There are PLENTY of countries (France for one) that would be glad to have you. You are free to go there any time you choose. Please go, and leave the rest of us that love our country and everything that it was founded upon and stands for alone.