Doctor, Doctor, Give Me The News...

Actually, the Washington Post has been doing a great job of that...see the links below...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/17/AR2007021701172.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/18/AR2007021801335.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/19/AR2007021900759.html

But I chose to take "the road less travelled by"...anyone can complain and play the partisan politics blame game.

February 20, 2007


President George W Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Vice President Richard B Cheney
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
476 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Charles E Schumer
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Congressman John M McHugh
120 Washington Street, Suite 200
Watertown, NY 13601


RE: Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Long Term Stay Accommodations

VIA E-MAIL AND POSTAL MAIL

Dear President Bush et al:

I realize by now that you have received numerous complaints and criticisms regarding the situation existing for our troops involved in long term stays at WRAMC. I would prefer not to finger point and blame, but to take a different approach to this issue. My father always taught me that it is better to be a part of the solution than a part of the problem. This is a value that I try to pass on to both my own children, and my students.

I realize that progress is now being made in repairing facilities available, streamlining the paperwork and treatment process, and ensuring adequate staffing. However, with the funds being spent on remedying these areas of deficiency, there may not be as much available to address the intangible needs of these troops and their families and help to make their experiences in long-term stay at WRAMC memorable in a positive way.

I currently have my own “army” of five children, about fifteen 3- and 4-year olds (in my church AWANA Cubbies group), and approximately eighty-five 7th graders at my disposal. Please let us know the needs of these troops, whether it be cards and letters, or fund-raising for recreational equipment and supplies, or simply decorations for their rooms. I would be more than happy to enlist my own troops to meet the needs of the troops of this country.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and all that each and every one of you does on a daily basis for all of us.

She's got to be Somebody's Baby...

but unfortunately, she's heading for a life "in the system", as are most babies born to babies...if on no other level than sucking up more public assistance funds due to the poor choices made at all levels.

Let's start with the parents of teens (male and female)...where on earth did they ever get the idea that co-ed sleepovers were "okay", or the stupidity to believe that "nothing will happen"?!?! I've got a lovely piece of swampland in Florida to sell to these parents.

Then there are those teens that believe that they can actually raise a child, finish high school, have a productive life without regrets, and not have that same child(ren) down the line do exactly the same thing to them. We won't even backtrack at this point to the trail of lies and deception that enabled them to get pregnant in the first place.

Let's move to the societal crap instead - the counselors at school who tell them "it's okay", and "if your parents won't help you, we will", and "nobody can make you give up your baby". Considering these "well-meaning" adults spewing out the free advice aren't the ones who will directly pay the costs, it's more than a little bit hypocritical.

Then there are the baby showers held - nice idea considering these teens can't even afford the basics in the first place, but it leaves them with the entitlement mentality. They begin believing that if they can't afford things for their baby, someone will give it to them. It also gives them, and their friends, the idea that it is "okay" to have a child when you aren't even able to support yourself. Lets add in the birth announcements in the local paper - more broadcasting the mistaken impression that kids having kids is just fine.

The court system is next on the list - even when the grandparents of the "little bundle" are capable of providing support and insurance, the judges often won't order joint custody - the paperwork needed by many insurance plans to provide coverage. Instead, the teen mommy is thrust onto the paperwork trail of social services - and further given the impression that she is capable of "providing" for the baby (at taxpayer expense) and reinforcing the entitlement mentality. This is the same mother who lied to get herself in this position, and isn't financially able to take care of herself, yet suddenly giving birth makes her capable of caring for an infant?

Don't get me wrong, I do not resent the babies themselves, for all children are a gift from God. But something has to change in this system that allows and encourages babies to end up with parents who toss them in the trash (either literally or figuratively) and allows loving couples who are unable to have children of their own to go without.

This is one more example of the "me first" society at it's "me worst". The thought processes of the mothers and grandparents often are along the lines of not wanting someone else to raise the child, or not wanting a baby of their own blood out there without knowing anything about it. Unfortunately, what almost never comes to mind first is what is best for the baby - and usually that is being place in a home that can provide love and support (both financial and emotional) from adults.

With the news regularly filled with reports of babies being killed or abused by young and/or immature parents, it is time to rethink this philosophy that has pervaded our society. Our children aren't capable of raising children - at least not in a way that does service to the infants or to our future.

You say goodbye, and I say hello...

Or more accurately, yell, "Hello!! What is wrong with you?!? Did you forget to insert your brain this morning?!? Or did you sneeze and blow it out through your nostril?"

A little bit of advice...hitting the brakes at the same time that you activate your turn signal isn't one of the brightest ideas.

The turn signals are there for a specific reason - to allow drivers behind you and oncoming drivers to know your intentions BEFORE they happen. A reasonable guidline is to activate the CORRECT signal (left arrow if you are turning left, right arrow if you are turning right) at least one utility pole distance prior to your intended turn.

And whatever else you do, make sure that there isn't traffic that has the right away over your intentions before you actually turn. (ie - If you are turning left, you aren't entitled to turn in front of oncoming traffic.)

Probably what would be most effective is to make sure that you have your brain turned on, and that all of your appropriate medications have kicked in BEFORE you get behind the wheel of your car. Then get the CD/radio choices set while you are allowing your vehicle to warm up (instead of while you are supposed to be driving).

And above all else, realize that if you hear someone honking, it is probably because you are pulling (or just executed) some boneheaded move like slamming on your brakes, using your turn signal, and actually turning, all at the same time.

Have a nice day!

Who let the dogs out?

Or, to be more specific, who let the dog off the leash?

I'm not animalphobic, but I am starting to get fairly well pissed off. Living in the City, we have a leash law that requires keeping your dog under control, as well as cleaning up any messes it makes.

What I do know is that if I wanted a dog peeing and pooping on my car tires, my garbage dumpster, my porch, and other areas that are clearly on my property and not in any proximity to the sidewalk, I WOULD BUY MY OWN DOG!!

There is an individual who lives around the block who apparently doesn't have the courtesy or intelligence to realize that with animal ownership comes the responsibility of taking care of the pet, and not allowing it to desecrate the property of others.

When the issues with his dog were clearly spelled out over two years ago (ie - keep your dog on a leash, keep it off my property, don't let it urinate on my vehicle or other items on my property, don't let it defecate on my lawn), this "gentleman" began guerilla tactics. He now walks his dog late at night or extremely early in the morning, and still allows all of the offensive behaviors to continue.

Is he so obtuse that he thinks he is getting away with something? Or is he just totally sociopathic and deserving of a little bit of payback.

All I know is that I have the mechanical skills and the knowledge to deal in a more straighforward and agressive manner should this behavior continue.

I seem to recall that I have a whole roll of electrical wire and some ready circuits in the garage. I wonder how Fido will enjoy peeing on something that has a live current running through it. And the little packages that get left on my lawn and sidewalk? A funnelator will do just fine. One of my attic windows is placed at the ideal angle to impact his house and yard.

Simple rule of pet ownership - if you can't play by the rules, don't own a pet.

Matthew 23:13 Hypocrites at City Hall

Recently, Eugene Hayes (at Watertown's DPW), issued a statement regarding the sidewalk shovelling ordinance for the city. What I found truly ironic about his public chastisement of those who don't keep their sidewalks clean is the "advice" that snow not be deposited in the streets.

Woe to the DPW! Would that they follow their leaders advice and not deposit snow on those sidewalks that those of us who are law abiding citizens attempt to keep shovelled (despite the incursions of the plow crews that seem to take a perverse delight in using the "wings" of the plow trucks to deposit enough snow to refill the pathways that we have put in sweat equity to clear).

Mr. Hayes - if you want the walks to be shovelled and kept clear, without the snow being deposited in the roadways, make sure that your plow crews use an appropriately reciprocal policy and practice respect for those who attempt to comply with your request.

DO NOT allow your crews to use the wings to backfill the sidewalks that have been cleaned.

Let's use a little common courtesy.

Baby You Can Drive My Car... {beep, beep}

On second thought, maybe not. When it comes down to SUV vs. car, I really don't give a preference to either, as it all comes down to the driver behind the wheel.

I can say that I do far better on the roads in my (frequently small) vehicles than these SUV cowboys who think they are 10 feet tall and invincible. I've passed quite a few of them (when conditions permit) in the past few days, and been stuck behind even more who seem mentally challenged by the appearance of snow.

I will say that I would prefer being behind the wheel of a small standard drive car, since I am able to push most of them out by myself should there ever be a problem (and the last time there even was a problem was more than 20 years ago).

Did you know that they actually make a number of SUV models with only 2-wheel drive? They sell them south of the Mason-Dixon line - the states where everything shuts down for 1/4 inch of snow. Call me xenophobic, but these "good ol' boys" bring these vehicles up here, and act like they're driving a half-track (or something that renders them impervious to difficulty).

No, I don't get my jollies from seeing them off the road down the line while I'm still doing fine in my little car (at higher speeds than they were able to do safely). But I do wish that they'd go back to {fill in the blank with whatever state is on the plate} and leave the real driving to people who don't drive 30 mph on clear roads under blue skies.

Walking In A Winter Wonderland...

As the lovely snow continues to pile up, coating all the North Country sidewalks in feathery drifts, the rocket scientists out there are busy migrating from the sidewalks to the (unplowed) roadways in order to travel on foot from place to place.

Some of these brain trusts even are decked out in the latest fashion colors of Arctic Camo, or even better, Winter White.

I question whether the few calories they save by not wading through the drifts on the sidewalks (as opposed to the drifts in the streets) is worth the potential for adorning the windshield of a vehicle which is already struggling to navigate its way through town.

Although they build them larger here in the North Country, I have yet to see any locals that outweigh even a compact car, and in a collision, it is easy to tell who will "win". But when I am navigating through the streets in a vehicle, I deeply resent these individuals whose lack of fortitude puts me in a position of risk.

Is this another example of Darwin weeding out the herd and cleaning up the gene pool? Possibly, but I'd rather not be the instrument of someone's demise simply because they lack Common Sense.

Sidewalks are there for a reason, use them, regardless of whether or not they are shoveled!

Kids' Night Out

(aka Charlie Foxtrot)

I drove my child and my child's friend to Kid's Night Out tonight. What an example of humanity at its worst and most enabling.

As I drove up in front of the building, traffic was slowed considerably by the morass of parents who were dropping off their children without bothering to stop inside to assess the situation. The most annoying part of this was that every parent dropping off was determined to drop their child in front of the doorway, even though they never stayed long enough to ensure that their child was inside safely. This made it difficult and slow for those of us who chose park so that we could accompany our child inside to sign them in.

Once inside, there was what appeared to be a single file line. Some of these charming young children who were dropped off decided to play the "lets cut line" game with their friends. There were a number of adults in line with their children who saw it, but said nothing (....but I, I took the road less travelled by). Normally I would have written it off as the rudeness of kids who are no longer under the watchful eye of an adult, or so they thought, but then I observed a number of parents deciding that they would cut to the front of the line with their little darlings also. I guess the apples weren't falling far from the tree.

It is amazing how many kids of all ages in this generation choose to behave badly, then deny all cupability and instead find fault with anyone who corrects them. I guess the "Me First" generation has now spawned the "Me Worst" generation, and is raising them to be penultimately selfish.

What is frustrating is that the "norm" age for drug use, alcohol and tobacco use, and sexual activity is dropping regularly. I read an article the other day about 4th grade age children using heroin "cheese". Before any parents start saying "Oh no, not my child", the target audience of the "Kids' Night Out" tonight was 4th and 5th graders. And judging from the already inappropriate behavior of some of the kids, illicit behavior isn't too far behind.