On the CT School Shooting

Friday was so strange. It started off terrible. I was knee deep in work issues, and I get e-mails from my sister and partner. “So sad what happened in CT” and “All those kids in CT.” Huh? I was dealing with work stuff, so I didn’t hear. Then, I read about the tragedy. 20 children and 7 adults killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown CT, by a gunman who then killed himself. Ugh. Wasn’t there just a shooting in an Oregon mall?

God help us. What can we do to stop this? I’ve heard it all over the weekend. Conservatives, like Representative Louie Gohmert of TX, have said that more guns are the answer. He told Chris Wallace of Fox News,

“Chris, I wish to God she had had an m-4 in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out … and takes him out and takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids”

Liberals, like Michael Moore tweeted:

“The short term solution? A law immediately banning semi-automatic weapons & mega-clips. Must have license to own gun. Must pass mental exam.”

Honestly, I don’t know what the answer is. If the Principal was armed, it doesn’t mean that she could have taken him out. And if we ban semis and mega clips, it doesn’t mean they won’t be sold. I see a very profitable black market emerging.

All I know is that the whole thing depresses me. I worked as a sub, and I remember doing those lockdown drills. You lock the door, turn off all the lights, and close the blinds or draw the drapes. It was all very creepy. You just pray you never have to do it for real.

My mind doesn’t want to go to these dark places anymore. It’s really making me hope the Mayans were right. I think the entire world needs purging, and Friday sounds like a great day to do it.

Happy Friday Funnies 12/14/12

During the holidays, the days just fly by – probably because there’s so much to do. Well, at least Fridays feel like they come faster. 🙂 Have a great weekend everyone!!

Spinny Fell off the Wagon

Instead of the Yahoo! Comments section, I’ve been on a Facebook Comments bender. The “Being Liberal” page is infiltrated by Conservatives who irritate the crap out of me. Come on. The page is called, “Being Liberal.” They come on there and regurgitate whatever Hannity, Limbaugh, Levin said as a way to “prove” how stupid Liberals are. I usually tell them to take the condescension and shove it because they’re on our turf.

*sigh* When I first “Liked” the page, I enjoyed reading the comments of like-minded Liberals. The Conservatives just ruin it for me with their Liberal-bashing. I should stay in the blog world, but I was lured back into Lucifer’s lair.

The hot topics have been the Fiscal Cliff and the fiasco that is Michigan’s Right to Work Law. We’re inching toward the Fiscal Cliff, and I am praying that Obama doesn’t cave. I think he won’t because he is now emboldened with the win and the fact that there are no more political consequences for him. Before he agrees to any spending cuts, generating revenue via increasing taxes for the wealthy better be carved in stone and painted with the blood of dead plutocrats.

I believe that spending cuts are necessary. But so are those tax increases. If you’re broke, you can cut your expenses to the bone. To actually stop being perpetually broke, you need to earn more money. Same thing here. It’s not all about spending cuts or taxes. It’s both. However, I personally don’t trust the GOP farther than I can throw them, so Obama should take the carved in stone/blood suggestion above.

The fight didn’t end on election day, as we have seen in that disastrous Right to Work Law. Let’s see. You can choose not to be in a union, but still get the benefits of the same pay as a union worker and health benefits. You just don’t have to pay dues. Hmm. And Conservatives call us the freeloaders? Like I said in the comments section:

God forbid workers should have a living wage and good benefits. I swear to God the way a lot Conservatives are talking, they won’t be happy until people are indentured servants to the almighty job creators.

I need to be back here in blog world. There are posts of substance here – both sides. Those comments sections do nothing but make my blood pressure rise. My sister asked at lunch on Saturday, “Do we have to ban you from another site?” Heh. Looks like it. I’ll try and cut down. I promise!

Happy Friday Funnies 12/7/12

I made it to Friday without killing anyone. Winner! 😛 Have a great weekend, everyone!

GOP Shoots Down the Disability Treaty

In the mid 70s, mom and dad packed up me, my sister and cousin for a cross country trip. Being recent immigrants, they wanted to see America the Beautiful. Aside from being hot and itchy in Needles, CA, I don’t remember much. When I look at the pictures, I smile most at the one with me in front of the flags at the UN in New York. International travel and foreign cultures have piqued my interest since I was a child. I’ve always said that in the remote possibility I would end up in NYC, I’d want to live in Midtown close to the UN.

Conservative Republicans showed their disdain for the UN by voting down the Disability Treaty. Former Senator Bob Dole (yes, one of their own), in a wheelchair, tried to persuade the Senate into ratifying this treaty. He championed the Americans with Disabilities Act. It didn’t work. The treaty needed 66 votes and it only got 61.

GOP Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma said:

“I do not support the cumbersome regulations and potentially overzealous international organizations with anti-American biases that infringe upon American society.”

OK, “The UN sucks” argument is covered.

Rick Santorum, a name I didn’t want to type again, led the fight against this treaty.

What’s so problematic here is that the provisions of this treaty could open the door for a professional or government official to override the decision that we as parents need to make for our special-needs children.

Having been blessed with Bella, and all of our wonderful children, we’ve learned that when it comes to their care, we know what’s best. CRPD threatens to take parents out of the equation and attempt to determine the right path for children they have never met.

I read the articles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He’s referring to Article 7(2):

Article 7 – Children with Disabilities
2. In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

To me, that is overly paranoid and a huge leap. He spread this message further – to the home-schooling community. People were up in arms about how bureaucrats from Geneva would storm into their homes and tell them how to raise their kids. The result? The treaty was shot down.

Over 150 nations have signed this treaty. Sadly, because of irrational fears of black helicopters and a New World Order, we’re not one of them.

Totally Twisted Quote Tuesday 12/4/12