I Think I Really LIke Sarah Palin!

Me and a whole lot of American's!

Hopefully if McCain is elected and she becomes our first woman VP, she'll have a little better luck than Dick Cheney in the hunting arena.

I wonder if he'll ever live that down! Or if he will ever get anyone to hunt with him again! It's a sure bet if he does, they'll insist on keeping him in their line of vision at all times!

So what do you think of Sara?

The Problem With Bussing

First on, last off...

There are a number of reasons for this policy, the top of the list being, well...“it’s just our policy“. Then there’s the, “It’s easier for the driver,” and “It’s more efficient” excuses.

But any way you slice it, the first kid picked up for school in the morning, if he lives in the country, is going to be the last one dropped off in the afternoon. Because the bus driver wants to dump as many kids off in town as fast as humanly possible. Because it makes their job easier.

This is one of many problems in our country today. Whatever people can do to make life easier on themselves is the way to go. And while that’s not always a bad thing, it’s not the best policy when your selfishness affects others. Especially kids stuck on busses without seatbelts and sucking in exhaust fumes. (And let’s not even get in to how the rough ride itself is!)

Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

I don’t think so.

Let’s tackle the first excuse. “It’s just our policy.” So what! The policy stinks, and is a cop out, so change it! A short, sweet....and simple solution.

Now for the second argument. Who cares what’s easier for the driver? The driver is getting paid pretty well to do a job, not to be catered to. I’m sure there are many other employees across the country who would like to have the ability to ‘change things to suit themselves,’ but they just have to suck it up and live with it. What makes bus drivers more special than anyone else?

Which brings us to my personal favorite. It’s more efficient. How? And for whom? Certainly not the poor kid who rode an hour and fifteen minutes in the morning, and who gets to ride an hour and fifteen minutes again in the afternoon. More efficient for that kid, who has already spent about seven hours in the classroom, and who will likely spend a couple more hours (at least, depending on what grade he‘s in) doing homework, would probably include a little more time for himself at home.

Of course ‘more efficient’ could mean a savings of time and fuel. Another load of bunk. If bus drivers are picking up and dropping off the same amount of kids every day, they’re going to travel the same number of miles regardless of the order in which they do it.

No, I’m sure the whole first on, last off issue boils down to one thing, and that is getting the bus as empty as possible as fast as humanly possible. Because, of course, kids get bored. And it’s better to keep that number low.

Better?

Easier.

It’s kind of like the whole ‘alphabetical order’ system. You don’t even want me to get started on the unfairness of that antiquated bunch of malarkey. But, since I don’t have anything better to do right now I will say this about it....

I started life off at one end of the alphabet and pretty much zipped right across all the letters to the other end, so I know from experience. Life is, more often than not, easier when you’re on the left side of that particular line up.

Don’t get me wrong. I know there has to be some sort of order to life. If there wasn’t, chaos would reign. I’m just saying that some things are done for convenience, with little thought to fairness.

Do I have kids riding the bus this year? Yup. I do. My son. Who is autistic and already an old hand at how unfair life can be. And, for the first time ever-thanks to some genius in the special education system who apparently can‘t read-has found himself in the unenviable position of first on, last off.

At least for today.

Fortunately for him, his mother who kind of enjoys challenging the status quo. And after twenty-four years of parenting a special needs child, I’m an old hand at taking on the system. Something I’ve also done for my girls on occasion.

And it’s something all parents should do for their kids. Whether you’re dealing with a teacher with an attitude, your child being last because her name starts with ’Z,’ or ’first on, last off,’ just because ‘that’s the way they do things‘.

Our kids learn right from wrong from us. They also learn that we love them when we stand up for them. Oh, I don’t mean if Johnny smacked Bobby on the playground because Bobby beat him to the last available swing. If you’ve done your job, Johnny knew better and needs to be punished, not have Mommy and Daddy there trying to bail him out of trouble.

That’s another problem in America today-parents refusing to let their kids be accountable for the choices they make. But that’s a topic for another blog another day.

Maybe tomorrow...

It's too hot today to even think about thinking!

So I'll post something tomorrow...

When the high is supposed to be twelve degrees lower than it is today. Until then, I'm just going to get comfortable in front of the fan, drink some ice water and listen to REO Speedwagon.

Sarah Palin

I have to say that I have been riding the fence over who to vote for as president in the November election. Martin Sheen, Harrison Ford, Bill Pullman and even Eeyore have crossed my mind as write-in possibilities.

Actually Mike Huckabee would be my president of choice. And if he runs again four years from now, he's my man. Unfortunately that doesn't help me out now.

But then John McCain made what, in my opinion, was a smart move. He chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. I admit that when I first saw his choice I thought, well, Obama's got it in the bag now.

However, the more I hear about Governor Palin, the more impressed I'm getting. Truth be told, I like pretty much everything I've heard about her. Whether it's enough to beat Obama is the question, though.

Guess we'll have to wait and see how all this plays out.

While I tend to be a Democratic supporter at heart, they rarely get my vote when it comes to the office of President. And in this instance, I'm not sure how things would work out with them being the majority in the House and Senate if Obama were to win.

I know people tend to blame the state of the country on the President and, even though some of it is his fault, it's not all his fault. He can't run the country on his own and the sad fact of the matter is, America has gone steadily downhill with an abundance of Democrats on the job, too.

All in all I've been pretty depressed about the upcoming election. Now I feel like there may be the tiniest bit of hope with the introduction of Sarah Palin. I sincerely hope that she's everything she claims to be.

Then again, even if she is, does that mean she can make McCain in to a great president?

What do you think about her and McCain's chances now that he's chosen her as his Vice-President?

American...or not?

America is in trouble. Once we were a country united. Now we’re a country of White American’s, Black American’s, Hispanic Americans, Asian American’s, Muslim American’s, Japanese American’s... You name it and each race singles themselves out as separate from the whole.
Rather than being just good old fashioned American’s, everyone has to point out their differences. Their allegiances are divided between this, their home, and countries most have never so much as set foot in.

Some who have come here, to America, in an effort to escape the ugliness and violence in the countries of their birth, refuse to embrace the American lifestyle, preferring instead to cling their ’heritage’ and all of its customs, clothing styles and languages for all they’re worth.
It’s almost like they’re saying America is their second choice. The place they’ve had to settle for and they’re not going to do anymore than they have to in order to be here.

I’m sorry but I find that extremely offensive.

Much has been written about people who came from foreign lands, eager to immerse themselves in the American lifestyle. They couldn’t wait to learn the language, to talk like ’us,’ to dress like ’us,’ to be American’s.

Now it’s more important to set themselves apart.

And that, in my opinion, is a big part of the reason that America seems to be falling apart at the seams.

We’ve abolished slavery, given women rights and are making great strides in eliminating discrimination. But for what purpose?

All I see is a nation that seems to be striving for division rather than unity.

And I think our forefathers would turn over in their graves if they could see what’s become of the United States they fought to give us. The United States so many have lost their lives defending.

Is heritage important? Of course it is. We should celebrate who we are, who are ancestors were and let our children know where we’ve come from. But we should stress that everyone living within the borders of this great country, legally anyway, is first and foremost an American.

Stop minimizing what that means by adding to it.

If you’re an American, be an American. If that’s a problem for you, then maybe you need to think about whether you really want to call this place your home.

The United States doesn’t just refer to a huge of piece of land separated by invisible boundaries. It refers to every individual living on that land and within those boundaries.

One Nation under God.

One nation, not many separate nationalities fighting to hold on to their past, all living under the umbrella of laws created to protect the rights those who do feel privileged to be here.

Stop making America your second choice. Stop trying to make America in to something different than what it was intended to be.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not anything but a good old fashioned American. I’m not a German,/French/Canadian American. Or any of a host of other nationalities that may be in my lineage. I don’t care where my great, great, great grandparents came from. All I care about is that they arrived here and, because they did, I’m living in the greatest country on the face of the earth.

Mike Huckabee

There are a lot of people out there who strongly support John McCain or Barack Obama for president. They will defend their candidate to the death.

However, I also believe there are a lot of people like me who would like to see Mike Huckabee in office. So I decided to do something about it.

It may be a waste of my time. It may make me look like a fool. Oh well. It won't be the first time that's happened to me...and it probably won't be the last.

But if you, like me, want to see if we can change history and write in a winner, let people know there's a group of us who are disgusted with with the candidates we're stuck with, a group that wants Mike Huckabee, and a group that wants to vote their conscience.

Get the word out. Take the poll. Leave comments. Let those who stumble on this website know they're in good company!

Let's make Mike Huckabee our next President of the United States!