Tag Archives: life

Temper Tantrums

Posted on by
7

Obama throwing a tantrum

We don’t have time for this crap. Partisan politics, ignoring our allies because Congress did not “follow protocol”, giving notice in advance that policies the people want to see changed, passed or eliminated will be vetoed, being told we are riding on our high horse above the rest of the world… We just don’t have time.

If I went through the list of times Barry did not “follow protocol”, this would be a twenty page post. That is not to say that tit-for-tat is the right way to deal with his particular brand of immaturity, but I can understand it. Years of enduring belittlement, false accusations (such as shutting down the government when we know damned well that horse was owned by Harry and the Dems in the Senate), working to pass bills only to have Harry Greed sit on them – refusing to put them up for a vote in the Senate – and public castigation by Barry during televised conferences can make one a tad testy, to say the least. Although I was never a fan of Bill Clinton’s policies in general, I respected the way he worked with a Republican majority Congress for the sake of America and her people.   I am not as confident that his wife would do the same, but she is inconsequential in my opinion.

Why does the Ego in Chief have such a hard time understanding his role as President? Why is the Democratic wing of the House led by Nancy Pelosi even considering being unavailable for Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the joint Congress? Why is our Vice President suddenly making a trip overseas (and if you believe this was scheduled a long time ago, I have a mountain for sale up here in the Rockies)? If I were one of their constituents, I would be livid. Israel is our ally. They are afloat at sea amidst a gam of sharks known as Islamic Extremists and I feel it is our obligation to at least listen to what Netanyahu has to say before passing judgment one way or another. Barry had time to entertain a group of Muslim “leaders” which included a player for the NBA (but not Dr. Zuhdi Jasser – a decorated Naval Veteran and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy), yet he is throwing a public hissy fit and refuses to meet with Netanyahu? His lack of class is glaringly obvious. But, then again, Netanyahu is just a “chicken shit” and not worthy of the Anointed One’s respect, right? I mean, he only served in Israel’s Sayeret Matkal Special Forces unit when he was in the Israeli military. Gee, Barry, I forgot. What unit did you serve in in our military?

I detest Michael Moore, yet I have read two of his books. They sucked, but one cannot have an intelligent argument without hearing from both sides. I do not understand parents who do not give their children an opportunity to experience some form of religion in their younger years. How can a person make an informed decision later in life without having a basis for that decision? I went to a Congregationalist Church in my youth, but am nonreligious now. Spiritual, yes. However, I have way more faith in God than man. How do you know you hate avocados if you have never tasted one? How does anyone in government know if they agree or disagree with the ideas of others if they don’t open their damned minds and listen to the other side before dismissing them off-hand?

Both parties are guilty of being the boy in the bubble and it needs to stop – now. Whether they wish to admit it or not, we are at war with an enemy who would love nothing better than to see all Western nations obliterated from the face of the earth. In many cases they disguise themselves as fruitful citizens of the very countries they wish to destroy. This is not the type of war we are used to. It is as much psychological as traditional – perhaps more so. That being said, we must be ever watchful.

ISIS is by far the most dangerous cult we have faced in decades. A cult, you ask? Yes. Not much different in tactics and approach than Jim Jones, Charles Manson or the KKK. They target socially disassociated individuals and promise them many things – respect and fear from those who have hurt them in the past, the respect and honor of a god (or, in Manson’s case, Charlie himself), the respect and acceptance of others in the cult and the ability to destroy those they perceive to have tried to destroy them.

However, the aforementioned were pussycats compared to ISIS. Why? Well, for several reasons. Social media did not exist when those cults were in their heyday. Charismatic leaders with evil intent did not have the ability to stretch their tentacles across oceans or continents to reach their intended targets. Photos were carefully distributed as they are today. However, video was not available for international distribution, especially the professionally produced videos we see currently. In most cases, a person wishing to join the cults of yesterday had to physically attend church meetings, rallies or party with Charlie in order to become an initiate. I am not saying the KKK does not still exist, by the way. They have been made all but impotent because people reject their message more than accept it in today’s world.  The media did not report on the atrocities committed by those groups with the frequency and fervor that they do ISIS. The Manson murders were a big story for a bit. So was the People’s Temple massacre. But they soon faded into the ionosphere, as did the crimes committed by the Klan. And, in many cases the despicable acts of the Klan were committed in Southern States in which the media chose not to report on them at all.

ISIS is reaching into our children’s bedrooms and snatching their psyches right out from under our noses and POTUS can’t seem to grasp this concept. Statements by him and his administration show their naiveté over and over again. It is almost as though they perceive ISIS and the rest of the world as nothing more than siblings sitting in the back seat of the family truckster screaming “He’s on my side!” or “I’m not touching you! I’m not touching you!” and all we have to do is yell at them and it will all stop. It is not going to stop. The killing of innocent children is not going to stop. The rape of young girls is not going to stop. The danger to Israel, those being held hostage, our homeland and the blameless caught in the crossfire is not going to stop. Killing our citizens on our soil is not going to stop. And if POTUS and Congress don’t end the bickering that has become all too common in DC these days and come up with a cogent plan to obliterate this boil from the ass of the world, it is only going to get worse. Then it will be all but impossible to stop.

Ennui

Posted on by
7

I am not sure how this post is going to turn out. There is sadness, frustration and, yes, resignation flowing through my thoughts and I am not happy with any of those emotions.

Is the sadness a result of the knowledge that most Americans are willing to accept what those in DC are feeding us? A consequence of years of misinformation from both the White House and Congress that we have gotten to the point of “accepting those things [we] cannot change”? Or, the realization that we CAN change them, but are too lazy to do so? What happened to the American Spirit? Yeah, sure, we make snarky, sarcastic remarks about the policies and lack of same of the Ego in Chief. We yell at the TV when yet another insane proposal is made by a member of Congress that we know will never see the light of day or Barry acts like a little child by refusing to meet with our most treasured ally in the Middle East because he chose to talk to a joint session of Congress without permission. We sigh at the announcement of more committees to investigate the findings of other committees that were formed to decide if the very first committee’s findings were just partisan hogwash. Then we let them spend money that we really don’t have to fund said committees, bitch about the national debt under our breaths and bemoan the fact that we can do nothing about it.

Trust me. I am no better than any other American. I bitch, piss and moan right along with the rest of you. I wrack my brain trying to figure out what my one voice can do to change what our nation has become. Talking to the television has become second nature. My dogs think I’m nuts. No, not nuts. Just frustrated. I believed our Constitution would not allow us to get to this point. I believed that those we voted into office would respect the most important document in the history of our great nation. Instead, most of those in DC seem to spend time emulating the NFL – trying to figure out how to run plays that avoid the defensive line our forefathers built to save us from what we have become so that they can score points for their personal campaigns. Just another check in the “win column” so that they can use that to hold on to their cushy government jobs and become Legacies in the DC world. Short of leaving our homes and parking our butts on their doorsteps 24/7 (which seems not to work well, either) what recourse do we have? Do I sound defeatist? Perhaps. I really am not that kind of girl. Believe me, I have been reading and studying a lot over the past few years. The only power we seem to have, short of physically removing those who seem determined to ignore the will of the people and undermine the good works our forefathers did, is the power of our words. However, if our words are crumpled into a ball and thrown in the trash time after time after time, who among us is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and eradicate the cockroaches in the cupboard? Very few, I believe. We talk a good game. Then, we look at our comfy couches, flat screen TVs, fairly well-stocked pantries and sedentary lives and say to ourselves “Do I really want to jeopardize all of this for freedom?”

Freedom. Ha. Are we truly free when our government can tell us that we count less than those who cross the border illegally? That we should accept the fact that many American citizens will lose their jobs to H1B rated illegal workers who have been given Social Security numbers and drivers’ licenses? That the illnesses our children are contracting are just minor inconveniences we must endure in order to have a more affordable work force? Allow me a moment of immaturity. I have heard people labeled “stupid” because they believe the more recent epidemics of diseases that had been wiped out in America are the result of unvaccinated children crossing our border. You are “stupid” if you believe this is not the case. Immaturity moment has ended. Will those immigration advocates be so protective over illegals when the M13 roles double and triple in hard hit inner city communities and the death tolls rise, or will they join the rest of us in demanding better border security and a larger police presence in those areas? No, they will join in making more videos and organize demonstrations demanding the death of police officers. I used to criticize the police for accepting “toys” from the federal government – things that seem like overkill (pardon the pun) in small towns that previously knew nothing of violent crimes. I even deduced that they could be used if the Anointed One decided to declare Martial Law based upon some manufactured national crisis. That is a belief I still hold in the back of my mind, but after Ferguson I can sort of understand the desire of smaller police organizations to own equipment that can compensate for the lack of personnel if serious situations arise. Sort of…

Because Americans are constantly being pitted against one another based on race, ethnicity and religion day after day by the likes of Holder, Sharpton and Obama (and a whole host of others), we are ignoring one of the biggest threats to our nation since 1993. ISIS is not a threat to us since they are predominantly in Syria and Iraq? Really!?!? I am sure the rookie cops who were attacked by the man screaming “Allahu Akbar” and wielding a hatchet might disagree. Perhaps those who survived Fort Hood would have a thing or two to say about that. Or how about the family of the soldier killed at the Recruitment Center in Arkansas? The list can go on and on. Is it possible that the level of ignorance in the White House is so great that they believe one ocean will stop them dead in their tracks and put a halt to any violence in the United States? Does what people did 800 or 500 years ago in the name of Christ really even out the playing field? I guess we are supposed to accept the rapes, live burials, beheadings and burnings of live human beings because Christians committed heinous acts centuries ago. Just forgive and forget. We had our time, this is theirs. My inner angry woman keeps asking, “Is it January 20, 2017 yet?” I don’t know if our Republic can hold on that long.

It is sad that recalling the days of Jim Crow, Watts, Internment Camps during WWII, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the Sandy Creek Massacre in Colorado can be used time and again to classify us as a nation of hate and divisiveness, but we are Islamophobic when we mention the crimes against humanity committed by ISIS. Sorry, Barry, I would rather be classified an Islamophobe than declared dead after a terrorist attack on US soil – which is inevitable and a lot more imminent than you think. I agree that what has happened to minorities in our nation, or original citizens such as the Native Americans, were horrific. We have worked hard as a nation to correct those wrongs. Not perfect yet, but we have come farther than many other nations in the world to mend our wounds. Although, you seem to be doing all you can to destroy the good we have accomplished. We need to concentrate on the threats of today, not the mistakes made in the past, if we want to survive as a nation. But, I have resigned myself to the belief that you truly dislike America.

This may sound like a strong statement. Maybe if you, just once, sounded sincere when you talk about protecting us and our most treasured way of life I would not feel that way. Perhaps if you stopped blaming the past and started fighting for the future for the sake of our children and grandchildren, I would excuse you for some of your lack of enthusiasm. Sadly, I stand by my statement that you dislike America. You seem to want a Saul Alinsky “paradise”. Those who choose not to educate themselves may think this would be a perfect world if their only source of information was the wide-eyed oratory of cult-like liberal Alinskyites. However, his world is not much different from that of Lenin or Stalin and I WILL get up off my dead ass to protect my child, my husband and my country from the horror of a future like that. Mark my words…

A personal message to the ignorant mobs “protesting” in New York tonight…

Posted on by
1

maya angelou

It may seem odd to couple this quote from the great Maya Angelou with my post, but I do not hate.  I am angry, disgusted and in complete befuddlement by the actions of some people tonight.  Hence the following:

PISSED OFF WOMAN COMMENT TO FOLLOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!! To the scum bag sons of bitches who are protesting as I write in my home town of NYC – FUCK YOU!!! You can’t even have the common decency that God gave a sand flea to wait until the officers who were assassinated protecting your sorry asses have been properly buried and give their families time to grieve!?!? A thirteen year old boy lost his father, his friend and his heart on Saturday. I would never wish something like that on your families. I would never wish any one of you dead or injured. Before you go out in public spewing your ignorance for the world to see, perhaps you should do this thing we call “reading”. I know that nothing is important unless Kim Kardashian’s ass is involved, but take the time and actually educate yourselves. Look up the facts on your precious cell phones and find out how many people were REALLY killed by police officers in the past 12 months for DOING NOTHING BUT SITTING IN THEIR CARS EATING LUNCH! You better disable the 9-1-1 functions on your phones, by the way. After all, why would you want a “murdering pig” to come save you if you are being robbed or raped, or someone in your home is having the shit beaten out of them by a loved one? Cops have not always been my friends and I have had my issues with them in the past. However, I never wished them dead and was always grateful that they were there when I needed them. I showed respect even when I disagreed with their reasons for dealing with me or my family. You all need to get the fuck home, mend your own houses and spend your time raising your children right instead of using 2 completely innocent police officers as the scapegoats for your shitty lives. Karma and God don’t play, mother fuckers. Remember that…

Bring me your poor, your hungry, your Ebola infected!?!?

Posted on by
2

http://comicallyincorrect.com

Panic in tough situations is not in my nature. I am more of a “take charge” kind of person who collapses into a gallon of Pabst once the emergency is over. So, I feel that it is important to be concerned about the possibility of Ebola spreading within our borders; I do not believe it is time to hit the panic button – yet.

The Ego in Chief’s actions might change my views about this (and other communicable diseases) if he stays on his current, extremely wishy-washy course. There are so many questions to be answered and contradictory statements and actions to be explained, but the American public will never be told the entire story until we are living smack-dab in the middle of it.

News was released yesterday of a memorandum from The State Department (copied to the Department of Homeland Security and White House) outlining a plan to allow patients with active Ebola to be transported to the United States from West Africa for treatment. Of course, Mr. Less-than-Ernest uhmmed and ahhhhed his way through a lame statement directing reporters to ask those Departments about the memo because the White House had not read it – or some other such blather. According to what has been reported, the total financial toll per patient will be approximately $500,000.00. Seriously? We just spent (more than likely) our next three years’ budgets on accommodating thousands of potentially disease-ridden illegals, feeding them, clothing them and shipping them via air and land across the country without our knowledge! But, we can’t afford more Border Patrol agents or a completed fence?

These are the questions I would love to have answered (but never will):

  • We have sent some 3,000 troops to West Africa to build hospitals and assist with the current Ebola crisis there. Why are we putting them in harm’s way if the ultimate intent is to bring sick people here to be treated?
  • Why did we send regular ground troops and not the Army Corps of Engineers and/or Seabees if the mission is mainly to build medical and quarantine facilities? Oh, that would make sense! Answered my own question, I guess.
  • Part Two of the second question would be “Why are we putting them in harm’s way if the ultimate intent is to bring sick people here to be treated?” Why do we need to build facilities if the sick are not going to be there to use them?
  • I completely agree with the Pentagon and DOD’s assertions that the troops should be quarantined on the base in Italy before repatriating to the U.S. for 21 days to ensure that they have not contracted Ebola. Why is it so obvious a solution to the Military brass, but not to you, Barry, or your minions?
  • If planes can fly sick people into our country, why can’t they just send medical supplies to West Africa and let those people remain there? I am sure that the plasma from those who have survived Ebola can be transported safely by military aircraft and be used to treat patients in their home countries. Sorry, that was common sense. I will self-flagellate later 😉
  • How can the government expect us to trust the CDC (also “the government”) when they say that doctors and nurses exposed to Ebola patients both in West Africa and here at home are responsible enough to self-quarantine when they clearly are not? I don’t know about you, but I have more respect for other people than to hop on a plane to Ohio or take a few subway rides through New York City when I know I am within the 21 day incubation period. Sorry you’re bored. Catch up on your reading. Perhaps refresh your knowledge of the nature of Ebola and the fact that you can go from asymptomatic to full-blown infectious in a New York minute. Just a suggestion…
  • Perhaps the actions of the doctors and nurses who went to West Africa (or the nurse from Dallas who tended to Mr. Duncan) could be considered heroic. However, the “heroism” ends there. I see nothing heroic in not showing their fellow citizens the same respect and concern by disregarding all they know about this virus in order to satisfy their own needs. The nurse who was quarantined in New Jersey (until she whined so loud I could hear her in Colorado) is now openly stating that she will not be kept prisoner in her own home in Maine and fully intends to go out if she feels like it. Do they not remember taking the Hippocratic Oath? “I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure. I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.” (Lasagna, Hippocratic Oath).
  • Why can you, Barry, not keep your damned nose out of the states’ business and stop criticizing them for initiating their own forms of quarantine for those arriving from the infected areas? Personally, I do not think they are carrying it far enough! Fever or not, anyone with a Visa from West Africa should be quarantined for a minimum of 21 days before being allowed to engage with the general public. I would even go a step further. Quarantine them in their respective homelands for 21 days before they can get a Visa in the first place! Uh, oh. More common sense. AND, I guess I am a racist as well. Shit… You are not taking care of the business that is your business, so the people have to do it for you. Believe me, if I was able to build a fence along our southern border, I would do it myself. I would build humane quarantine facilities in the Border States and examine people for any and all communicable diseases. They would then be held for the time recommended for each individual disease or virus until they are medically cleared. Finally, I would ship them back to their own countries happy, healthy and out of our hair!

Take care of your own before others. If grown people choose to put themselves in harms’ way, they must accept responsibility for their actions, heroes or not. Our soldiers might be members of a volunteer military, but they seem to understand what others cannot. The mission is to protect our country, our children, first and foremost – above all else. All you care about protecting, Mr. Obama, is your own skinny ass.

I would like to thank Antonio F. Branco for allowing me to use his wonderful cartoon in this blog. Mr. Branco is an extremely talented artist with a kick butt sense of sarcasm and an uncanny grasp of the importance of events affecting our nation. The link to his work is

http://comicallyincorrect.com/

I highly recommend a visit to his site. ~Katrina

Fair Warning…

Posted on by
4

I apologize to those who follow my blog that nothing new has been added in 2 or 3 weeks.  I have been fighting with the MS that seems to want to screw with my hands and I absolutely dislike talking into a microphone while the computer prints my words.  This old broad doesn’t work that way.

Anyway, the anger towards the state our nation is in has been building – and I have been taking copious mental notes about the string of injustices that have occurred in the past month.  Today I plan to park my butt in front of my computer and write my little fingers off.

If I don’t post it today, it will definitely appear tomorrow.  My apologies to Cry and Howl for not being a good contributor.  I promise to do better in the future.

~Katrina

The Most Popular Burger Flipper in America

Posted on by
Reply

I have a friend (yes, some people actually like me) who was having problems with his teen aged son.  My friend was called to school one day and the Principal told him “Joe” would most likely fail 8th grade.  He could go to summer school, but his chances of passing were still grim.  Joe is not a very motivated kid and also has minor learning disabilities that made school a frustrating, boring experience for him.  My friend said that his son should be held back a grade if he wasn’t passing his classes.  So did Joe’s mother.  The principal refused on the grounds that being held back might lessen Joe’s self-esteem.  My friend responded “Oh, goody!  My kid will be the most popular burger flipper in America!” Needless to say, Joe dropped out of high school and received his GED a few years later.  He has had several minimum wage jobs, but they never seem to last very long.

“Among hourly-paid workers age 16 and over, about 11 percent of those who had less than a high school diploma earned the Federal minimum wage or less, compared with about 5 percent of those who had a high school diploma (with no college) and about 2 percent of college graduates.” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011)

I am surprised that any children try hard in school anymore.  I want to believe that most still do.  But why bother?  Chances are that they will never be Valedictorians because that might hurt someone’s feelings.

I know that not all of those who are unemployed are Millennials, but a good amount are.  When you go through life never having to try, never having to face adversity, can you imagine what a shock working in the real world must be?  If you lose your job, why bother looking for another one right away?  Who wants to face that hassle?  “The number of unemployed youth in July 2013 was 3.8 million, compared with 4.0 million a year ago. The youth unemployment rate was 16.3 percent in July 2013. Among the major demographic groups, unemployment rates were lower than a year earlier in July for young women (14.8 percent) and whites (13.9 percent), while jobless rates changed little for young men (17.6 percent), blacks (28.2 percent), Asians (15.0 percent), and Hispanics (18.1 percent).” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013)

But, our revered Prevaricator in Chief does not think that a fair percentage of those on Unemployment will take advantage of it and sit on the couch playing video games and smoking weed.  NO!  Who would do THAT!?!?  Uhm, perhaps the now grown-ups who always won in school because everyone gets a trophy?  Maybe the Millennials who passed every test and quiz because it would be detrimental to their egos if they saw anything lower than a B on their papers?  Or maybe the former kids who received their grades in purple ink because red was just too mean?

“Voting for extending unemployment insurance helps people and creates jobs,” Obama said. “Voting against it doesn’t.” (Barack Obama, 2014)  If extending it hasn’t created jobs or helped people by now, it sure isn’t going to cure the jobs crisis anytime soon!

My point is that maybe we have taught our children that even if they don’t try, they win!  SNAP, Unemployment, Medicaid (unless they are young enough to be on their parents’ insurance), LEAP, etc., etc. will be their saving grace.

No, an Education system filled with teachers and administrators that worry more about teaching children the skills they need to face real life and less about what the Unions can do for them is what our kids need.  (I know those teachers are out there and they work their hearts out every day, but they are fighting the machine that is the federal government). Kids need to learn that you don’t always win, that red ink is just a color and, yes, there will be people in life who are better at some things than you are.  I just feel as though our kids are being sold short because schools no longer teach them to push the limits of their abilities.  They are not taught to use their minds to solve problems – the solutions are given to them without an explanation as to how it was done.  Self-esteem is important, no doubt.  But do you really have a healthy grasp on your self-esteem if you are being coddled throughout your school years?  The government needs to stop creating programs that force teachers to teach to the test.  The government needs to leave decisions about education to the residents of the individual states and keep their damned noses out of it.

Minimum wage jobs are not what you aspire to, they are what you rise from.  Unemployment is an emergency back-up in case you find yourself in a horrible bind.  It is something that will keep you fed and clothed while you look for your next job.

Even healthy middle-aged people take advantage of all of the government programs that are now available to them.  Some look at unemployment as a mini paid vacation.  However, it is going to end some day and those who took advantage are going to find it harder to get a decent job because they have been out of the loop for so long.  They might end up applying for the same jobs as Joe.

I never thought I would say any nice things about Bill Clinton, but I am beginning to miss him – just a little.  When he extended unemployment, it was a temporary extension that got people through a rough economic time.  He also put programs in place, along with Congress, to help the economy recover.  The states fought to get companies to open in their back yards and give job opportunities to their residents.  It worked.  Minimal federal intervention and strong state actions brought us back.

I don’t think Obama wants us to succeed.  He wants us to feed at the government trough and become dependent upon Washington to wipe our butts.

http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2011.htm

http://www.searchquotes.com/quotes/author/Barack_Obama/10/

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/youth.nr0.htm

2013 “Bite Me” Awards

Posted on by
Reply

lips

For those of you who did not read my first (and only until now) “Bite Me” awards, let me educate you. They are a collection of serious, sarcastic, sometimes angry and often “what the f**k were they thinking?” news and personal items that have been rattling through my head during the year.
Feel free to add on if you think I forgot something. Keep in mind, personal attacks, racial and gender slurs and vulgarities aimed at anyone who comments on my post will not be published. I am a big girl and I can take it, but I will not allow anyone to disrespect my guests.
That being said, here goes:

1. Jahi McMath has been declared brain dead by a judge in California. She is 13. She received a routine tonsillectomy and suffered a cardiac incident post-surgery that placed her in a “vegetative state”. What has truly been lost in all of this is “How did she get this way in the first place?” It is difficult enough to lose a child, but Jahi’s parents have faced this tragedy during what is supposed to be one of the most joyous times for a young girl – Christmas. Isn’t it easy to understand why they are fighting so hard to have her moved to a facility willing to take their insurance and keep her on life support until her “natural death”? However, the hospital she is in currently will not perform the procedure required to transport her to the nursing home because (and I am paraphrasing) they do not perform medical procedures on cadavers. Jahi is not a cadaver to her family, she is their child. This hospital gets a Vacant Heart Bite Me for their complete lack of empathy.

Update:  Jahi’s family won the right to have her moved to a long-term care facility and receive the care she needs.  I will pray for her and her family.  No matter the final outcome, she will always be in the hands of the Angels.

2. Since I am a Libertarian, one could safely assume that the legalization of marijuana in my state does not really bother me. What does bother me is that it seems like the legislators all got together in someone’s mom’s basement with a huge bong, some good skunk weed and a few cases of Lay’s™ potato chips and said “Dude, this legal stuff is a total buzz kill. Just make it okay to smoke and worry about the boring shit later.” “Yeah, man, seriously. Hey, stop hoggin’ on that shit man! I need a hit. Oh, and give me those chips…” It seems as though we are a study-obsessed society. We study everything. The effects of baby poop on our air quality, whether purple hair ties will leak dye into our brains or if e-cigarettes are tempting our youth to become deviant smokers. So, why is it so hard to come up with laws concerning driving under the influence of pot? “Colorado’s Amendment 64, also passed in November 2012, legalizes private pot use by most adults and allows them to grow a small number of marijuana plants. However, no legal blood limit was set for drivers. The debate about what should be done is ongoing” (Edmunds.com, 1/15/2013). You can smoke a joint outside of a restaurant or a store – that’ll just get someone else high if they are forced to stand there, too. Smoke a cigarette and you are lower than a child molester! So, the “But I Got High” Bite Me goes to the Colorado legislators for whatever they were smoking – or not – before they passed this law.

Update:  A chain of sushi restaurants in Colorado has come up with a pairing menu for those who smoke weed.  I wonder if they are only going to allow those 21 and over who do not mind a contact buzz into their restaurants, designate a day specifically for this activity, or just run things like they usually do.  Can’t wait to see how this one plays out…

3. David D. Kirkpatrick of The New York Times wrote, “The violence, though, also had spontaneous elements. Anger at the video motivated the initial attack. Dozens of people joined in, some of them provoked by the video and others responding to fast-spreading false rumors that guards inside the American compound had shot Libyan protesters. Looters and arsonists, without any sign of a plan, were the ones who ravaged the compound after the initial attack, according to more than a dozen Libyan witnesses as well as many American officials who have viewed the footage from security cameras” (nyt.com, 12/28/2013) (emphasis added).

“’I still see pictures on that TV of bloody finger prints on the wall thinking ‘are those my son’s?’ Patricia Smith said” (fox5SanDiego.com, 8/20/2013).

I dare Mr. Kirkpatrick to sit across the table from Mrs. Smith and try to explain his delusional “theories” to a mother who cannot get a straight answer from anyone in Washington. Are the Democrats in Washington so desperate to win their seats in 2014 that they are sending one of their shills out there to rehash an already disproved story and make it appear as though it is new information? For this reason, I am awarding the Manufactured Crises Bite Me to Mr. Kirkpatrick and The New York Times for their valiant efforts to bail out a sinking ship with a thimble.

4. I want to know what planet the Ego in Chief resides upon when he is not on Earth boring us with his condescending speechifying. If he is so concerned about the fact that the House Republicans have not produced a gazillion page roll of toilet paper that masquerades as a Health Care Law, as his does, I have a news flash for him. They haven’t. What they have done is come up with basic solutions to our nation’s health insurance issues as smaller bills that would not cause the chaos his behemoth has. If he wants to know where these solutions are, he needs to look up Harry Reid’s ass. Senator Reid has been sitting on them for years. My personal message to Barack – Barry, babe, it might be too late for you. You are the lamest duck I have ever seen. You would not know the truth if it bit you on the ankle and you think your silken words will lull our ears to believe all we hear you utter. Sorry, Sweet Cheeks, but you are not a Siren. Because your ego is so huge I know leaving a legacy is extremely critical to your self-image. Here’s an idea! Act like a damned grown up, repeal your law and hire people who actually know what they are doing to rewrite it. We do not need to overhaul our entire system, just initiate tort reform, tweek some of the Medicaid and Medicare requirements and allow the health insurance companies to engage in commerce across state lines. Then, maybe Harry can afford to go have surgery so he doesn’t walk around like he has every piece of legislation the House has produced since 2010 up his ass anymore. You might even leave office with a modicum of dignity. Mr. Anointed One, I am awarding you the Aesop’s “The Ass in Lion’s Silk” Bite Me.

5. You might not have done this as a child, but I never listened to my mother so I used to put pennies on the train tracks and watch them stretch and get thinner. Give me some slack – it was a small town and we still had black & white TV back then. Anyway, the penny’s length and width might have increased, but its strength and worth diminished greatly. This is similar to what happens when you just keep printing money in order to solve your problems. More money – worth less. More money – more people have dollars but they are economically weaker. The Holy Shit! We Gotta do SOMETHING! Bite Me of 2013 goes to the Federal Reserve. I am sure my future grandchildren will thank them some day when they are pushing wheelbarrows full of money into Kroger’s to get a loaf of bread.

6. I just found out yesterday – on the local news, mind you – that at least 19,000 Medicaid subscribers have had their HIPAA information hacked in Colorado. Although, we are being half-heartedly assured that no one has had their social security or bank account numbers stolen, I don’t think many are buying it. Our exchange is subsidized by the federal government, so I guess it should have been a foregone conclusion. Why will the government not listen to those who know best and install their security systems first and build upon them? So, this Bite Me is the “AND FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED…”

Garrett_morris_SNL_news_for_the_hard_of_hearing

which I am awarding to all of those in government who should put their hands down and back away from the techie shit!

7. I have decided to start an organization and request 501(c)(3) status. It will be called Gun Owning, Law Abiding, Constitutional Originalist, Bra Hating Women over 50 Who Don’t Give a Shit About KimYe. So…who’s giving odds on my chances I get approved within the next 10 years? My final Bite Me goes to the IRS and Barry’s campaign machine for Gestapo Tactics Cleverly Disguised as Economic Equity Programs.

Please do not forget me when I am in prison. I have enjoyed writing my blog with the hopes that I have entertained, informed, angered and provoked thought over the years…lol 🙂

Katrina

Pounding a Point Home with a Sledgehammer

Posted on by
1

2014 is the year we say “good bye” to incandescent bulbs.  Here is a paper I wrote in 2012 concerning the adverse conditions breaking just one of these bulbs can cause.  You tell me, does it really seem worth it?  And, seriously, how many people do you really think will take the precautions listed in the following paper?  Read on…

We tend to concentrate on the small picture, yet expound upon and speechify about the big picture, when it comes to the environment.  The blackout of 2003 should have taught us that our electric grids are outmoded and inefficient.  Repairing our energy infrastructure might make it more efficient and less polluting to our environment while we are working on other, better ways to power our homes, etc.  Recycling should not require a Ph.D. in “little triangles you can’t read on the bottom of a container”.  Some states do not do any kind of vehicle inspections, and if they do, some do not test emissions.  The cost of environmentally-friendly products and systems are sometimes out of reach to the average consumer.

Small things can help – like recycling, driving energy efficient vehicles, or riding a bike to work or school.  Compact Fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) are a suggested small “solution” to reducing our carbon footprint that could have been investigated further.  They contain mercury, and unless you read the package you might be unaware of the method of disposal of this hazardous waste material.  According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, there are safety procedures you must follow (as an individual citizen – different laws apply to businesses) if you should break one.  The following are just three of many steps:

  • “Prior to cleaning up the spill, put on old clothes or disposable coveralls, old shoes or disposable booties, and disposable rubber, latex or nitrile gloves. These items may need to be disposed of after you have completed cleanup of the spill.”
  • “Place clean clothes, shoes and a trash bag just outside the room where the mercury spill occurred.”
  • “After cleaning up the spill, carefully remove your gloves by grasping them at the wrist and pulling them off inside-out. Place the gloves in the trash bag for disposal.”

It is also suggested that you air out the room for 24-48 hours before accessing it again.  (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 2009)

“On average, CFLs contain about four milligrams of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury – an amount equal to the mercury in over 100 CFLs” (EPA.gov, 2012). So, it is not a great amount of the poisonous heavy metal.  “The OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) for mercury is a ceiling limit of 0.1 milligrams per cubic meter of air (mg/m³), which is currently enforced as an 8-hour time-weighted average” (OSHA, 2012).  An average bulb contains 4mg of mercury.  If it breaks in a 10’x12’x8’ room containing 27.18 cubic meters of air your maximum exposure should be 2.72 mg of mercury during an 8 hour time period.

You will have used a plastic trash bag (petroleum product), latex gloves (petroleum product), fuel to get to a recycling facility (if you do not have hazardous recycling in your neighborhood), plus the cost of the clothing you had to discard.  The above information does not include the steps necessary to dispose of bulbs that have just burned out and are not broken.

Personally, I would rather our government had put money into our Universities and research facilities to thoroughly examine the costs and benefits (financial, environmental and health related) of “environmentally-friendly” products before items such as Compact Fluorescents were put on the market.  I would also like to see more of these products manufactured in the United States.

Katrina

 

OSHA Fact Sheet.  Protecting Workers from Mercury Exposure While Crushing and Recycling Fluorescent Bulbs.  June, 2012.  Web. http://www.osha.gov/Publications/mercuryexposure_fluorescentbulbs_factsheet.pdf Accessed November 26, 2012.

 

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.  Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division.  Compliance Bulletin Solid Waste.  Broken Thermometer and Fluorescent Bulb Cleanup. Guidance for Households reviewed/revised September 2009. Web.  http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=Content-Type&blobheadervalue1=inline%3B+filename%3D%22Broken+Thermometer+and+Fluorescent+Bulb+Cleanup+Guidance+for+Households.pdf%22&blobheadervalue2=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1251813336777&ssbinary=true Accessed November 26, 2012.

Scientific American.  The 2003 Northeast Blackout–Five Years Later. August 13, 2008.  Web.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=2003-blackout-five-years-later Accessed November 26, 2012.

 

What are the Connections between Mercury and CFLs? November 08, 2012. Web.

http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cfl-hg.html Accessed November 26, 2012.

 

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.  Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division.  Compliance Bulletin Hazardous Waste.  Small Mercury Spill and Fluorescent Bulb Cleanup. Guidance for Businesses reviewed/revised September 2009. Web. http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=Content-Type&blobheadervalue1=inline%3B+filename%3D%22Mercury+Spill+and+Fluorescent+Bulb+Cleanup+Guidance+for+Businesses+.pdf%22&blobheadervalue2=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1251813173513&ssbinary=true Accessed November 26, 2012.

Remember the days when school was safe and motorcycles were dangerous?

Posted on by
Reply

There was another school shooting in Colorado today. A student walked into the building with a shotgun looking for the Librarian. A student confronted him and was shot in the head. He/she is now in critical condition. The Librarian was warned that there was a threat against him and he left the building. Why the students who were in the Library weren’t made to leave as well is beyond me.

Eventually, the gunboy (he was only 15 or 16) shot himself and is dead.

Where were the parents of this kid? Didn’t they notice he was obviously a troubled person? Did they even care? What about the adults at the school who had contact with him on a daily basis? No one noticed anything!?!?

Now the gun control advocates will be out in force again. They will try to get them banned – again. They will fail to listen to the logical argument that, had there been armed security personnel in the school, the student with the shotgun most likely would not have made it through the door. If there were better laws and treatments centered around the mentally and emotionally ill, two thousand students lives would not be forever changed.

And this child would be alive…
And the one he shot would not be in a hospital with his/her family praying at the bedside that their son or daughter makes it through the night…
And praying that their child will be the same if he/she survives…

MemorialCandle

Taking a stumbling block and making stepping stones…

Posted on by
Reply

080813_sarahm_854Wanted to post something inspiring.  Here is Sarah Murnaghan on her 11th birthday taking her first steps after receiving two lung transplants.  Is there anything better to start your weekend than the smile of a child?