...and I sincerely mean it. This is the first Presidential candidate I've seen in my adult life that I can get really excited about. His record is shiny clean and bright - it's a breath of fresh air, I tell ya.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to worry anymore about which candidate has the least amount of corruption or extra-marital affairs or investment scandals or donations from criminals. It's all so tedious. I just want to be able to "hang my hat" on what the leader says and get on with my life.
Ron Paul reminds me of who my father could have been if he were an outspoken man. He's got Grade A morals and an unwaveringly clear stance, and that's the kind of honesty I'll support until the very end.
Yes, he's running under the Republican ticket and frankly, I don't care what "ticket" he's under - they're all becoming blurry. I've been voting as an Independent for years and have been waiting for a nice, intelligent, moral person to come along so I could actually feel proud to vote for him.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Make Us Happy
I received this joke from a friend today and I just love it!
President Bush, First Lady Laura and Dick Cheney were flying on Air Force One.
George looked at Laura, chuckled and said, "You know, I could throw a $1,000 bill out of the window right now and make somebody very happy."
Laura shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I could throw ten $100 bills out of the window and make ten people very happy."
Cheney says, "That being the case, I could throw one hundred $10 bills out of the window and make a hundred people very happy."
Hearing their exchange, the pilot rolled his eyes and said to his co-pilot, "Such big-shots back there. Shit, I could throw all of their asses out the window and make 56 million people very happy."
Isn't email the greatest?
President Bush, First Lady Laura and Dick Cheney were flying on Air Force One.
George looked at Laura, chuckled and said, "You know, I could throw a $1,000 bill out of the window right now and make somebody very happy."
Laura shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I could throw ten $100 bills out of the window and make ten people very happy."
Cheney says, "That being the case, I could throw one hundred $10 bills out of the window and make a hundred people very happy."
Hearing their exchange, the pilot rolled his eyes and said to his co-pilot, "Such big-shots back there. Shit, I could throw all of their asses out the window and make 56 million people very happy."
Isn't email the greatest?
Sunday, September 23, 2007
The Cycle
I've got a friend that I see once or twice a month - for purposes of privacy, I'll call her Linda. She's intelligent, pretty, funny, sweet and quite good with a Karaoke microphone. She's got two beautiful children, she's in great physical shape, has a job that she loves, and a husband who abuses her. I love this girl to death.
People that know Linda say they are frustrated that she just doesn't just kick out her abuser or take her children and leave. Sounds simple enough....
But wait, let's think about this for a minute. Her abuser has been working his plan to control her for years - he's already convinced her that she's fat and ugly and worthless. Now he's physically beating it into her.
I did volunteer work at a Battered Women's Shelter several years back. We were trained to recognize the various stages in the Cycle of Violence. We had several of the same women & children come back over and over because they couldn't get out of the Cycle. They were so convinced that they were worthless - it had been literally pounded into them by their abusers. We did everything we could to help them gain some pride in themselves, and it was always so devastating when we'd hear that one of our ladies and/or her kids was lured back and murdered. IT HAPPENS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Well, "She should call the police or just leave!"you say. If she calls the police she's afraid it will make him angrier. If she leaves him, he'll ceaselessly and mercilessly track her down at work or school or at the babysitter. He'll "lure" her into believing he has changed, he "needs" her, misses her and the children, he loves her, etc. She's weak from being battered, she'll cave again, the Cycle continues, then one day he'll lose it. IT HAPPENS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Linda is mentally and physically abused and I can see the fear in her eyes. She tells me she wants to get away from him, but doesn't want to give up everything (this is the perfect time to take action because she's thinking hard about it). You can really tell a woman is down when she knows her own children are being hurt but can't find the strength to get away. We can listen to her, let her cry on our shoulders, and support her, but someone has got to give this girl a boot in the right direction or one day we could lose her! She's right on the verge of leaving and needs a firm but gentle push from her friends.
I'm setting up a time to visit a local Center to talk about a plan to help Linda and see if there are other friends or family that may want to help.
If you know someone who is being abused, find a safe home for them and give them a push in the SAFE direction. Go online to the Family Violence Prevention Fund (www.endabuse.org) and click on the "Resources" tab at the top of the page, then "Get Help". This will help you locate a shelter in your area. You can also call (800) 799-SAFE to find out how to contact a family violence program in your area.
People that know Linda say they are frustrated that she just doesn't just kick out her abuser or take her children and leave. Sounds simple enough....
But wait, let's think about this for a minute. Her abuser has been working his plan to control her for years - he's already convinced her that she's fat and ugly and worthless. Now he's physically beating it into her.
I did volunteer work at a Battered Women's Shelter several years back. We were trained to recognize the various stages in the Cycle of Violence. We had several of the same women & children come back over and over because they couldn't get out of the Cycle. They were so convinced that they were worthless - it had been literally pounded into them by their abusers. We did everything we could to help them gain some pride in themselves, and it was always so devastating when we'd hear that one of our ladies and/or her kids was lured back and murdered. IT HAPPENS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day. In 2000, 1,247 women were killed by an intimate partner. The same year, 440 men were killed by an intimate partner. http://endabuse.org/resources/facts/
Well, "She should call the police or just leave!"you say. If she calls the police she's afraid it will make him angrier. If she leaves him, he'll ceaselessly and mercilessly track her down at work or school or at the babysitter. He'll "lure" her into believing he has changed, he "needs" her, misses her and the children, he loves her, etc. She's weak from being battered, she'll cave again, the Cycle continues, then one day he'll lose it. IT HAPPENS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Linda is mentally and physically abused and I can see the fear in her eyes. She tells me she wants to get away from him, but doesn't want to give up everything (this is the perfect time to take action because she's thinking hard about it). You can really tell a woman is down when she knows her own children are being hurt but can't find the strength to get away. We can listen to her, let her cry on our shoulders, and support her, but someone has got to give this girl a boot in the right direction or one day we could lose her! She's right on the verge of leaving and needs a firm but gentle push from her friends.
I'm setting up a time to visit a local Center to talk about a plan to help Linda and see if there are other friends or family that may want to help.
If you know someone who is being abused, find a safe home for them and give them a push in the SAFE direction. Go online to the Family Violence Prevention Fund (www.endabuse.org) and click on the "Resources" tab at the top of the page, then "Get Help". This will help you locate a shelter in your area. You can also call (800) 799-SAFE to find out how to contact a family violence program in your area.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
MeetUp.Com
MeetUp.com is a great place to meet people, either via email or in person at events in the area. I came across the site when I did a Google search one day, just looking for someone to hang out with in Kansas City.
I had called several of my friends to see if they wanted to go to a ZZ Top concert with me and everyone was doing some family thing or another. Many times friends invite me to attend their family functions, parties, cookouts -- some even say I'm the "life of the party", but for this particular event almost everyone seemed to be busy. Darn it, I really wanted to go see ZZ Top, but didn't want to go alone.
Anyhoo, for some reason I was dying to go to this concert so I turned to my very best friend (the Internet) for answers. Surely there was a group of fun people out there in KC who might be going to the concert.
What I found was nothing short of astounding. MeetUps in Kansas City have thousands of members, 275 top interests, 10 groups with over 200 members each, and so much to choose from! I thought I actually found heaven! I now belong to four MeetUp groups and have met some really great people. I'm "hooked into" the community and doing some worthwhile volunteer work with my MeetUp buddies.
By the way, I felt it a bit early to wrangle anyone from my new MeetUp groups into going to ZZ Top with me, but my sister and I ended up going together and we had a KILLER time. More on that later...
I had called several of my friends to see if they wanted to go to a ZZ Top concert with me and everyone was doing some family thing or another. Many times friends invite me to attend their family functions, parties, cookouts -- some even say I'm the "life of the party", but for this particular event almost everyone seemed to be busy. Darn it, I really wanted to go see ZZ Top, but didn't want to go alone.
Anyhoo, for some reason I was dying to go to this concert so I turned to my very best friend (the Internet) for answers. Surely there was a group of fun people out there in KC who might be going to the concert.
What I found was nothing short of astounding. MeetUps in Kansas City have thousands of members, 275 top interests, 10 groups with over 200 members each, and so much to choose from! I thought I actually found heaven! I now belong to four MeetUp groups and have met some really great people. I'm "hooked into" the community and doing some worthwhile volunteer work with my MeetUp buddies.
This MeetUp.Com site thing ROCKS!
By the way, I felt it a bit early to wrangle anyone from my new MeetUp groups into going to ZZ Top with me, but my sister and I ended up going together and we had a KILLER time. More on that later...
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