Milestones

Today I reached another milestone in life. Today I am 60 years old. And I find it comforting, joyous and a true accomplishment. When I think back on some of the things that should have killed me in my youth and realize I survived, I am even more overjoyed to be celebrating this age. For some reason, to me, being 60 is much more fun than turning 50. 60 is such a ROUND number. Kinda flows off the tongue. 50 sounds so harsh. As will 70. It's those odd numbers that seem cruel. LOL. But maybe by the time I reach 70.....I will be as overjoyed to have made that milestone as I am about this one.
I have no regrets....well, maybe some, but I wouldn't change a thing...okay, maybe a couple....but as my precious daughter points out to me....."yesterdays made me who I am today" and I am happy with the me I have become.
And for that.....I am having a joyous day of birth. 60 ROCKS. Because I am out of THAT generation. Groovy.

Borders

Today, while listening to a talk show on the radio, a caller who was a police officer in Phoenix, Arizona called in. He had served two tours in Iraq and one in Afganistan while in the military. And here was his point:

He spent three years guarding the borders of other countries. As a police officer in Phoenix, he had arrested one particular man three times for driving drunk without a license. An illegal. And each time, the man was let go. Not turned over to immigration, not even tried and sent to prison! The officer was livid. He went to his superiors. They said.....just learn to deal with it. That is the way it is.

We are spending billions defending borders of other countries. We are ignoring the problem right here in the USA.

So, what else is new, I guess?

CONTROL

1. An armed man is a citizen. And unarmed man is a subject.
2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
3. COLT: The original point and click interface.
4. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
5. Gun control isn't about guns, it is about control.
6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
8. If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.
9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
10. The United States Constitution (c) 1789. All Rights Reserved.
11. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand?
12. The Second Amendment is in place in case they ignore the others.
13. 64,999,987 gun owners killed no one yesterday.
14. Guns have only two enemies; Rust and politicians.
15. Know guns, know peace. No guns, no peace.
16. You don't shoot to kill, you shoot to stay alive.
17. 911- government sponsored Dial a Prayer.
18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
19. Criminals love gun control - it makes their job safer.
20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.
21. Only a government that is afraid of it's citizens tries to control them.
22. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.
23. Enforce the "gun control laws " in place, don't make more.
24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.
25. The American Revolution would have never happened if the colonists had submitted to Gun Control Laws.
26. At least Mothers Against Drunk Driving are smart enough NOT to have gone after cars as the problem.

Today on Yahoo Buzz Up

Posted in the comment section:
Cross the North Korean border illegally you get 12 years hard labor.
If you cross the Iranian border illegally you are detained indefinitely.
If you cross the Afghan border illegally, you get shot.
If you cross the Saudi Arabian border illegally you will be jailed.
If you cross the Chinese border illegally you may never be heard from again.
If you cross the Venezuelan border illegally you will be branded a spy and your fate will be sealed.
If you cross the Mexican border illegally you will be jailed for two years.
If you cross the Cuban border illegally you will be thrown into political prison to rot.

If you cross the United States border illegally you get:
1 - A job
2 - A driver's license (In some states)
3 - A Social Security card (I'm not so sure about that)
4 - Welfare
5 - Food stamps
6 - Credit cards (not so sure about that either)
7 - Subsidized rent or a loan to buy a house (many citizens can't get a loan to by a house, so I pretty much don't agree with the original writer of this statement on the house buying thing)
8 - Free education
9 - Free health care
10 - A lobbyist in Washington
11 - Billions of dollars in public documents printed in your language
12 - Millions of servicemen and women who are willing to – and do – die for your right to the ways and means of our constitution
13 - And the right to carry the flag of your country - the one you walked out on – while you call America racist and protest that you don't get enough respect.

And today, as I was checking out different news sites about today's news...I see a picture of a group of Mexican protesters holding up large crucifixes and pictures of the painting..."Our Lady of Guadaloupe"....WHAT does religion have to do with ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS??????

And the protesters holding up signs saying "I'm not going to Live in Fear"....If you are a citizen, if you are LEGALLY in this country...WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO FEAR??
If they would only listen honestly to themselves.....they would see some lack of intelligence.

Number 13 above says it all for me.

Rant for the Day

What is wrong with the people who are AGAINST the State of Arizona checking for illegals? WHY IS THAT A PROBLEM???????
The key word, ILLEGAL......how can checking ANYONE's identity be a problem? We have to prove who we are at a branch of our bank that we don't normally deal with. We have to have a driver's license and we HAVE to show it to a policeman if he stops us in our car. And here, I'm gonna say it. Maybe a little profiling would have saved the 3.000 souls who died in the Twin Towers, those the died at the Pentagon and those that were brave enough to try to take over the plane that crashed in Pa.
Oh, I love the whole "but we need the illegals to pick the peppers!!!! Americans won't do it". THEY CAN PICK ANYTHING THEY WANT and be LEGAL. OH that just really gets me going.

Does anyone remember those in high school who went to North Carolina for the summer to pick tobacco? I am quite sure that wasn't and easy job. Trust me, there are people without jobs right now in 2010 who would be happy to pick a pepper or two.

Read the 14th Amendment.......Emphasis on CITIZENS of the UNITED STATES. How can it be unconstitutional if the are ILLEGAL ?????

Am I losing my mind?

Listening to Radio

I am slowly becoming my mother. Oh, of course I knew this would happen sooner or later. I was just hoping for later.
I started listening to radio talk shows. The only good radio talk shows are on two channels here in the Detroit area. WJR in Detroit and CKLW in Canada. WJR is a conservative radio station. I wish there were a liberal radio station with the same megahertz power of WJR as I would like to hear both sides of the issues.
This way I get confused as to whether I am a conservative or a liberal. Am I a Republican or a Democrat? I don't want to be either. I hate the fact that if you are one or the other, you have to "think" like "they" do. Hold the party line.
Let's see. I believe in the constitution. But do I believe in it literally? Not quite sure.
I believe in Freedom of Speech. But I don't believe that it means that people can spout off any word in front of me or my children or grandchildren. I don't think they have that right. I believe that Freedom of Speech has to do with Freedom of the Press...not the freedom to slander.
I think we have plenty of Freedom of Speech. Just listen to the talk shows on WJR. Rush Limbaugh(I think that is the right spelling), Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. Especially Mark Levin. He has some ripe opinions sometimes.
I believe in the Right to Bear Arms, though I don't own a gun and wouldn't. If an intruder came into my home, it would be more likely that he would use it to shoot me than me shooting him. And just yesterday, a police officer was gunned down in Taylor Michigan while talking to a suspect. The officer, married with two young children, died. The gunman was shot by the officer's partner. The gunman survived. But then again, if we made owning guns criminal, only criminals would have guns.
It says the right to bear arms to form a militia...yet anyone associated with being in a militia is considered to be against ANY form of government. I'm confused.

I am Pro-Choice. I believe that welfare shouldn't be necessary because if all religious organizations did what they are supposed to do, there would be no need for welfare. How is it that the Vatican is so extremely wealthy. Vow of Poverty? Where?

I am an atheist. I believe in evolution. (Things I am sure would shock my child and grandchildren) But my life became so unburdened when I finally admitted that I do not believe in a god. Nor do I believe in a devil. I believe in Right and Wrong. I believe in Good and Evil. In humanity. Because that is just the way it is. I'm not a Pagan because I don't believe in their many gods and goddesses. I am not a witch because I don't believe in their gods/goddesses either. So I must be an atheist. And I'm okay with that.

I love nature. I love animals of all kinds, especially spiders. LOL.

The basics of who I am and I'm not done finding out what more there is to me. I will soon be 60. An age I never could imagine being. Yet, here I am.
Listening to talk shows on the radio.

And I ask

Why is it when they decided to drill, baby, drill in the deep water...they had no plan on what to do if something goes wrong? And why are there violations written for mines, drilling platforms and anything else that is "monitored". Who monitors the monitors? I don't understand.
I saw a show on TV today and they were showing film of a fire in a factory. The problem was that the factory had 45oo lbs of magnesium inside. Which burns at 4000 degrees. It cannot be put out with water. Water would only make the fire worse. They must use a special powder to put out the flames from magnesium. The fire department didn't have ENOUGH powder to put out the fire. Why would they NOT have enough powder in case of a fire????
These things just drive me crazy. Why wasn't there a plan for the problem with the BP deep well? Wouldn't you think they would be prepared for anything?
Is it me, or am I just nit picking.
Peace out

Artificial Intelligence Justice

What would the justice system be if there were, in every courtroom in this country, a computer that was fed all the information from criminal cases. Fed all the evidence, fed all the defense. And then made a decision of guilt or innocence. No emotion involved. No "human error". Would it make a better justice system?
Is it one step closer to a very frightening world?

I always wonder why

Why why why do they still have commercials that make drinking beer SO enticing to young people??? It disgusts me. The "powers" that be made a big huge stink over cigarettes being advertised as being cool and enticing to young people. That came off the TV in a flash. Came out of magazines. Because children knew the name of Joe Camel more than they knew the name of Mickey Mouse. Really? Who were they kidding?
Beer causes more family sadness, abuse and family situations than a cigarette ever did.
I don't smoke. I used to.
I don't drink. I used to
I am glad I don't do either anymore.
Take beer commercials OFF of TV.
Somebody.

Cape Fear

I watched part of that movie again today. Robert Di Nero plays the scariest human being I have ever seen in a movie. Evil, Fear, Terror. He plays one frightening man.
If you have never seen it, you have to.

Caprica

One cannot watch Caprica if they haven't seen Battlestar Galactica. I miss Battlestar, but once they found Earth...well, but we could have had the Cylons rebel again!!
But Caprica tells the story of how the Cylons came to be. The new Cylons in Battlestar, the ones that look human....they aren't nearly as scary as the Centurian Cylons. They scare me. The Cylons from the original Battlestar aren't nearly as scary. But those new Centurians are frakin' scary.
And of course, everyone knows that the F-16 Fighting Falcon is known by the pilots that fly and have flown them as the Viper.
And of course, everyone knows that
The Cylons were created by Man
They rebelled.

Not Fair

I don't think it is fair that in some sports in the Olympics, one person can win 7 or 8 gold medals while team sports, like curling and hockey all those people can only win ONE gold medal. I think that people should only be allowed to compete in one game. If you are a speed skater, you get to pick ONE event. Give other people a chance of a lifetime to get the gold.

Why should people end up going home with their necks bending with a bunch of medals around them and others who are just as good an athlete if not better, goes home with ONE.

Just my humble opinion.

Wild Animals

Why are people so shocked when a wild creature that we are keeping in captivity goes wild? Is it right that we keep them for our own amusement? Can humans ever really take the wild from their instincts? And no matter how nice we make their captivity...in our terms....it isn't their natural habitat. And then to make them do tricks.
Is it their fault that their natural instincts take over if they see something that resembles prey? Of course not. The chance the human takes in treating them like pets.....which they are not.
Yes little baby lions and tigers and bears (oh my) are so so so CUTE....They do grow up to be very large and dangerous predators. And that is what they are. Predators. We think we are at the top of the food chain. I beg to differ.
We don't need to see wild animals doing tricks.
And when something happens that is totally natural for the animal, blame the humans, not the animal.

Wart Hogs....

This is a picture of the A-10C Thunderbolt, respectfully called Wart Hog by it's pilots. She ain't pretty but she is packed with firepower. She is one awesome plane.
My neighbor across the street is a Wart Hog pilot. He used to be an F-16C pilot, but now commands the controls of a Hog.
I was lucky enough to care for his family's Golden Retriever this week. And since I would not accept any kind of payment for this service, Thursday and Friday I got a Wart Hog fly-by!
I can hear them coming from upriver and have enough time to jump up on my computer chair and look out the little window above my computer and watch them fly by! I know it was my thank you for taking care of Honey...
I love it.

1968

I watched a show the other day. Title? 1968. It was fantastic. If you ever have the chance to see it, whether you are an old hippie or a young person wondering what it was like...watch it.
All of the changes that were going on in that year. Assassinations...Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. The Vietnam war....The draft....protests....civil rights changes....women's rights.....A year of change. Make love...not war. Imagine that you would be going to a jungle for your senior trip. I mean, seriously, young men. Imagine YOU had been drafted. It was either sit on the Group W bench or head for Canada. What would you do? What if they brought back the draft today? What would you do?
You have got to see the show 1968.
Peace..............Out