Hypocrisy Runs Rampant In Washington!!!

Well President Calderon of Mexico has just finished his visit to the United States and I am pretty much convinced that Calderon, Obama and the Democrats are the biggest bunch of hypocrites and liars maybe in the history of this continent. 

Calderon had the nerve to tear down Arizona in a speech in front of the House of Representatives Thursday.

And what’s worse is that most of the Democratic representatives stood up and gave this man a standing ovation.

Later that day, Calderon sat down with Wolf Blitzer of CNN and gave an exclusive interview.  In a flash of real and actual journalism which is scarce in today’s media, Blitzer read an excerpt from a Washington Times article, detailing Mexico’s immigration law and asked Calderon about it.  The link to the Washington Times article is here:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/03/mexicos-illegals-laws-tougher-than-arizonas/

Here is a portion of the Blitzer interview:

As you can clearly see in the video, Calderon admits that if a person crosses the southern border into Mexico illegally, that person is sent back.

I have two simple questions:

1) Who does Calderon think he is by attacking one of our states for a law that pales in comparison to the immigration law of his own country?

2) Why does the government, the Democrats in particular, think that attacking the law of a state is a good idea, especially when that state’s  law mirrors the law that the federal government has on its books right now?

The Arizona law states very clearly that profiling on the basis of color, creed or national origin is prohibited.  It says it several times throughout the law.  To me, the Calderon, Obama (who in a completely unrelated move, brought Calderon in for a State Dinner) and the Democrats who stood and applauded a man that stood in front of the entire Senate and lied are absolute hypocrites. 

Please do yourself a favor.  And this is an invitation that I must apparently extend to countless members of our legislative and executive branches.  Before you jump on the bandwagon of a cause you believe in, read up on it.  Make sure you know what the hell you’re talking about before you spout off about it.  All I can ask is that we educate ourselves with the truth (not necessarily what you learn from the media) and everything else will take care of itself.

Fundamental Issues …

There is something unpleasant afoot in our political climate today, and it has been there for a really long time. It makes us look, as a nation, as a people, pretty darned silly, if you ask me.

One of the fundamental precepts of our form of government and the founding of the United States of America was the separation of Church and State. This was meant by the Founders to provide a nation where laws were not subject to, nor created by, the leaders or dogma of any religion. This meant that we could formulate laws to govern ALL people of any race, creed or sex EQUALLY, without religious fervor or interference.

The current broohaha over the State of Arizona’s passage of a law which allows that state’s law enforcement agencies to supplement and enforce the immigration laws of the United States of America is being raised, at least in part, by “religious leaders” without regard for the laws which are being broken and which affect each of us on a daily basis, whether we are actively aware of the impact or not.

I invite you to read this article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and tell me what is wrong with this picture:  http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/E0A2BB422C2E9C6C8625771600839105?OpenDocument

This is NOT, as one religious leader states: “Beyond this being a political issue, this is a faith issue,” she said, emphasizing that the church stands for immigrant rights.

No one in the United States is here without immigration in their family history.  All we ask is that immigration be done LEGALLY. And that our governmental agencies ENFORCE the laws already on the books.  This has nothing to do with “faith”, “religious persecution” or “profiling”.  It has everything to do with respecting the law of the land and enforcing it.

If we are not going to enforce immigration laws, by all means, tear down the fences, fire the Border Patrol, disband the U.S. Coast Guard and throw that money into the welfare system.

But, primarily, let’s remember that the CHURCH, ANY CHURCH, is supposed to have NO VOICE in our government. If any person breaks the law, the law should be enforced – no matter which law. Illegal immigrants are breaking our laws. PERIOD. It has nothing to do with anything else, does it really?

And, please note: I was born into a Roman Catholic family, baptized into the Church in 1959, confirmed as a Catholic in 1966 … and still do not believe that the Church should have any say in the LAW that governs my life and country. The responsibility of the Church(es) is to teach people on a moral level, to RESPECT law and authority and observe it. To know the difference between right and wrong and to choose to do right.

Encouraging ILLEGAL (wrong) activities seems a major contradiction, don’ t you think? So why are the churches’ leaders so enthusiastically against the promulgation of laws and the enforcement of those laws? Ought they not spend their time encouraging people to follow the law – to do “right”?

Good grief!

What Are They Thinking In Arizona?

I realize a lot of this seems like rambling, so bear with me:

A lot of news has been made in Arizona over the last week stemming from an immigration bill that was passed and signed into law by the Arizona governor late last week.  A lot of people have come out against it, including an entire class of high school seniors who walked out of class to protest the bill. 

The question you ask yourself is this:  Why would Arizona do something like this?

The answer is: They are doing this to allow their own state police and local sheriffs to do the job that was supposed to have been done by the federal government. 

Somewhere along the way, the federal government decided to stop enforcing laws already on the books that say that anyone who enters into the United States without permission is doing so illegally.    That’s right.  The current federal law prohibits entry into this country by anyone who sneaks in or crosses the border at a point other than the established points of entry. 

Why is this illegal?  Because the country needs to be able to keep track of those people who come into our country.  They need to be put into a process that allows them legal status in this country.  If this sounds familiar to you, it should.  It is the process that many of our ancestors became a part of in order to become legal citizens of the United States of America. 

In today’s world, especially after the attacks on our country on September 11, 2001, the need for keeping track of who comes into this country for any reason is paramount.  If it wasn’t important, then why have guards at established border crossings in the first place?  We as Americans must demand that our government enforce laws that prohibit people anyone from crossing our borders without question.  Is the need for border security so hard to comprehend? 

The kidnapping and car theft rate in southwestern cities such as Phoenix has skyrocketed in recent years as a direct result of illegal aliens entering into our country and taking what they want with little to stop them.  The American families of those kidnapped are then at the mercy of someone in Mexico demanding a ransom for their American family member’s return, for which the money is then used to transport more illegal family members across the border.  And our government wants to allow anyone who has entered into our country illegally a free pass?  This all sounds like another entitlement, or handout as they are sometimes called. 

There are several communities in the American southwest that have been greatly affected by illegal immigration.  And in each case, the law enforcement officials that make the plea to the U.S. government are labelled by those who favor amnesty as racists or xenophobes.  However, these American citizens just want our government to enforce the laws they already have in place, laws that will protect American citizens and allow for those who want to come here legally to do just that. 

Let me be clear:  I am not saying that I do not want people from other countries to be able to come here and become citizens of our great country.  NOT AT ALL.  I simply want them to follow the rules and do it legally. And I simply want the government to enforce the laws they have in place that will allow for this to happen.

Life’s Reality

So, life is this day-to-day thing that we all do…while one person gets up at the crack of dawn, another works the graveyard shift and sleeps all day….we all have one thing in common though….we are all, at this very moment dying….morbid, huh?

Not really! We know that at some point, there is an end to this life and what happens next is anyones guess…we all have our own opinions….do you believe in reincarnation? Or a heavenly or hellish afterlife? What comes next? I can’t say that I know, but I can tell you what I believe to be….

I believe that when my time comes, I will have accomplished everything God set out for me to…though I may not know what that is, I am here for some reason and when I am done with the task at hand, God will bring me home. Now, what does this home look like….I have no idea, what I do know is that when I get there, I plan on seeing loved ones who have been waiting for me.

There are my Grandma and Grandpa Hayes…they died when I was 10 and 12, respectively….they were great people and I miss them greatly. I have often wondered how my life would be different had they lived a longer life…they left much to soon, both in their mid fifties….

Then there are my Grandpa and Grandma Shaw….my grandpa died in the summer of 1993 when I was staying with them in Florida….it was a long and sad death….I think he would have LOVED my boys! It would have been great to see them interact. My Grandma passed away in February 2008 after a quick battle with lung cancer. She was the most amazing woman and I want to be like her when I grow up.

And then there is my brother, Billy….I hope he is the first to greet me…I hope that when I get there, he hugs me as tight as he can…..this time of year is very reflective for me. We found out he was gone almost 4 years ago…I was his emergency contact, so I had to break the news to my sister. I can’t tell you how hard that was to do. He was her hero and to tell her that her hero was gone still breaks my heart. Life without him has not been the same.

3 months after he died, my husband and I found out we were having another child…..it was decided that if said child were a boy, we would call him William….and so, Will was born in March of 2007…just six weeks shy of the first anniversary of my brothers death….it was bittersweet….I was holding my son, but could not share that moment with my brother…

God gives and God takes away….and I have often wondered why God didn’t let us have both of them, my son and my brother. The miracle of Will is that we had been trying for 3 years to get pregnant….one William left us and God blessed us with another….

I have come to realize that on the rollercoaster of life, God has a plan for all of us…we may not know it and if we do know it, we may not like it…but there is comfort in knowing there IS a plan and I can trust in that….just like I trust that one day, when my ride is over, I will be greeted with open arms by God and my heavenly family.

Observations made while commuting …

As you all know, I take public transport to and from work. I see people (people watching is a sport) dressed a million ways.

I see people dressed in really put-together outfits, where their shoes and belts match, or their shoes and handbags are a ‘set’ piece, and perfectly coordinate with the fabric garments. I see the same people day after day, because we take the same trains.

I see gang type clothing, I see why-would-you-wear-that-in-public clothing and I have to say the one that makes me giggle the most is: young-ish men with their pants down around their thighs! They waddle up stairs, run for the train or bus holding their pants up as they go. I have a vision of a thug holding a gun in one hand, his pants up with the other and robbing a liquor store. I still don’t get this, but am not brave enough to ask one of these folks WHY they wear their pants around their thighs, and walk on the legs. I mean, if you are gonna wear your pants like that, buy shorter pants.

And, only on a spring morning (temp 56-ish) in St. Louis, in the Central West End, would you see THIS coming down the sidewalk toward you:  one pair of rubber thongs, bare legs, traveling up to some serious short-shorts, with a strappy cami on a tall slender college student with iPod attached, walking with her friend (they were chatting anyway) wearing pink boots, black jeans, a pink down jacket, and a pink scarf and hat (all dressed for winter) and mittens.

The candidate for best why-would-you-wear-that-in-public outfit of the last ten days was this – on a rather large, mature, well endowed in all dimensions woman:  SPANDEX, I swear! And without undergarments (you can tell).  In day-glo colors:  orange, lime green and pink. I know I saw this “look” displayed in Sears’ windows several years ago at Northwest Plaza. But I never thought I’d see it on living people. The display dummies were rail-thin. This human being was anything but(t) as she waddled up the stairs in front of me last Thursday morning. If you’re reading this, yes, I am the person who sounded like she was having an asthma attack behind you at Civic Center station. I was choking on laughter.

I am EVIL, but it was funny, and I don’t think you really had to be there to get it.

I know I’m not the most fashion-forward of people, and I wear jeans and sweaters or t-shirts to work every day. But, I don’t trip over my clothing, or expose parts of me to public view that I don’t even want to see in private anymore. And, I can clothe myself in such a way that I am appropriate to the season.

However, it is after Easter and before Labor Day, so white shoes are permitted!

What did YOU see on your commute this week?

I Just Can’t Get Into Hockey…

I hate it when I hear it from the mouths of others.  It makes me cringe when they say things like:

“The puck is so small.  I can’t keep up.”

“All they ever do is fight.  It’s so barbaric.”

“I’d rather watch baseball.”

Ugh.  Just typing that last one made me throw up a little bit.  I don’t get it.  Who are these people and from what insane asylum are they missing?  Hockey is probably the most exciting sport from start to finish.  Everything about it is fun to watch.  I cannot begin to understand where people come from when they claim to not get it.  Let me try to break this down for you.  I’ll begin by addressing the points above one by one.

1) Puck Size

Yes the puck is small.  So are baseballs and golf balls.  Try picking up a baseball as it comes off the bat while you’re sitting in the seats.  It takes a second for you to pick it up doesn’t it?  But you can’t get into hockey because you claim the puck is too small.  This argument doesn’t hold water. 

And I’ll go one further and say that I don’t understand those who claim that it’s better to watch a game live.  While not many things match the excitement level of a good hockey game live, the game to an entry-level fan is not much different.  The puck is still small. 

2) Fighting

Fighting is a necessary part of the game, bottom line.  Call it what you want, but the players have to be able to protect their teammates and best players because the officials can only assess penalties after your best scorer has been assaulted by the other teams’ “role players.”  What good is that?  If an opposing player goes into the corner with your best player, he has to know in his mind that if he roughs the guy up a bit too much, his turn is coming next.  That’s just the way it goes. 

Fighting will never go away, no matter how much the media makes fun of it when they show it on their highlight show.  (ESPN is a whole other animal when it comes to hockey.  Let’s show a fight where someone drew blood right between 14 minutes of basketball highlights and tell the public how brutal and ridiculous it all is.  But, I digress.)

3) Baseball Instead?

Are you joking?  Am I being Punk’d?  Baseball is good background noise for a get-together like a BBQ or a pool party.  It’s good for putting you down for a nap on a Sunday afternoon.  Hockey is engaging.  It makes you pay attention because if you don’t watch intently, you will miss something. 

—

There is not one thing that I can think of that puts baseball anywhere close to hockey as far as excitement or intensity.  I absolutely LOVE watching hockey, especially as a spectator in the stands.  Watching plays develop before they happen is simply awesome.  Being able to focus your attention on one player to truly understand what he does on a particular shift is educational and it makes you appreciate what hockey players go through on a nightly basis.  To watch a guy realize that he has to drop down and block the shot of a guy who can shoot the puck at speeds close to 100mph is riveting.  Then to watch that guy block the shot, jump back to his skates, corral the loose puck and pass it to his teammate for a breakout all in a split second is amazing.  These guys are true athletes. 

Baseball has its defenders.  That’s fine.  Say what you want about my favorite sport.  But your baseball player is out for four weeks because he pulled a muscle in his leg.  My favorite hockey player is playing with a bruised shoulder and just came back from the locker room because he got 17 stitches in his upper lip when a deflected puck jumped up and caught him in the face.  He’s probably gonna acquire a few more bumps and bruises before the game is over.  And all while skating with guys that are slightly bigger and a little bit faster than he is. 

And in closing, thank you Keith Tkachuk for the nine years you wore the Bluenote.  You embodied what it means to wear the St. Louis Blues jersey.  You were a hard working, take no shit from anyone type of player.  And for that I thank you.

Being the parent of boys…

So, I have come to the conclusion, that in some WAY, SHAPE or FORM, one or both of my children are going to be the death of me!

My sons have very little fear…I think their internal motto is, “Where there is a will, there is a way!”  They will stop at NOTHING to get what they want, even if it means a trip to the ER and more gray hair for mommy and daddy!

Take my 9-year-old for example…when he was 7, he needed to get his PJ’s out of the chest of drawers, the drawer was a bit high, so what does he do?  He CLIMBS it!  In the process, he pulled the chest and his TV down on top of him….crash, boom, bang…trip to the ER and a $150 co-pay!  He walked away with just a concussion.

Less than 2 months later we were on a family vacation to the mountains of Tennessee to visit  family.  My son was playing with my cousin’s son.  We told the boys not to play at the bottom of a hill.  They decided that just because the adults said don’t play at the bottom of the hill, that meant riding their bikes down the  hill was no big deal.  Well, he could barely ride his bike on level ground, let alone down a mountain hill.  He flipped over the bike and broke his collar-bone and his nose!  He also cut clear through the outer part of his nose.  He landed less than 10 feet from a barbed wire fence.  He as a permanent scar on his nose as a reminder.

Then there is my 3 year old…that kid is bound and determined to eat ANYTHING he finds on the floor…carpet fuzz…a random leaf…whatever…it is going in his mouth….I think he may be part scavenger!  Even at 3, the kid has an oral fixation the boggles the mind.  I recently wondered (after pulling out a plastic light saber out of his mouth), “What haven’t we caught?”  Seriously, what has he swallowed and passed through his system!  I don’t think I really want to know!

Not to mention the fact that he too, is a climber….and a runner.  He started walking at just over 8 months old… at the ripe old age of 13 months old, he had a confidence level no small child should have when it comes to walking and such…so he walked at a very fast pace…and fell a lot too…one fall had us in the ER w/ a busted mouth and he could have lost a few lost teeth when we are all said and done. 

Now, when we go to the park, he scales the rock climbing walls meant for older children…he climbs the rope spider webs and then back down with the ease of a pro! Meanwhile, I’m at the bottom watching my baby, my toddler be a big kid and calm the fears that come along with letting your children go.

I am told raising boys is easier than raising girls…I am starting to doubt that…though, I don’t have teenagers yet…..if we all make it to that point, I will be mighty pleased with myself…I just hope the boys have all their limbs and appendages still!  LOL!