Why You Should Care Who Your Loved-one, Loves….

Recently someone told me that they didn’t care who their brother was dating, ultimately, they only cared about their brother…. I started to think about that statement at great length and decided that I believe you SHOULD care who your loved-one is dating (and marries)! 

My brother, who is 6 years older than I am, and I were not terribly close growing up but we loved each other and made time as adults to hang out when we could. He eventually married a woman and my sister-in-law and I became best friends! I was even in the room as she gave birth to my nieces and nephews. Eventually our relationship became stressed and we got into an argument and ended our friendship. When my relationship ended with my sister-in-law, it also ended with my brother. One of the last conversations I had with my brother went something like this…

Mark, “Amy, you are my sister but she is my wife, the mother of my children. I will stand by her side and support her decision because THEY are my family now.”

As much as it hurt, I knew that I had to respect his decision. That was 6 years ago and I haven’t spoken to my brother since. I whole heartedly respect that he stood by his wife and supported her decision. In the Bible it clearly says that “a man must leave his mother and father and unite with his wife, and the two will become one flesh”. My brother was being a Godly husband. It was a hard lesson to learn, but I learned it.

My sister, who I am very close with, married a man that is very pleasant, but very different from me. It would be easy for my brother-in-law and I not to get along because of our different personalities, but after losing my brother, I knew I had to view these sibling relationships differently. I could have just focused on my sister and not paid attention to my brother-in-law; the same mindset as, I love my sister and don’t care who she is with – but that didn’t seem natural to me. I decided that I needed to see my brother-in-law through my sister’s eyes. I watched my sister interact with her husband when I would visit them. I started to see my sister’s eyes light up when her husband spoke to her. I was able to catch candid moments between my brother-in-law and my sister. As I watched their eyes connect, I noticed that speck of happiness in the corner of her mouth that always seemed to fasten a smile. When he walked by and gently reached out to touched her, I saw her shoulders drop in comfort and at times her eye brows raise with excitement. I continued to watch their interactions and to my surprise, the love I have for my sister began to grow, and eventually that love spread to her husband. I see my brother-in-law entirely different now, I see him through my sister’s eyes, I respect and love him for being the man that my sister chose to spend her life with. He is not an extension of my family, he is my family.

In my life I have learned that when a man leaves his parents and unites with his wife, it is the duty of the family members to fall in love with that unity in order to keep that family foundation strong. It may not be natural to just love someone because they marry your sibling or family member, but if you take the time to see that person through your loved-one’s eyes and embrace their unity, I have no doubt that you will fall in love and truly gain a new member of your family and your heart will be full. 

The Right to Bear Arms...or Not?

     I read an article from UrbanGrounds.com about Open Carry Laws in Texas. This article is pushing for Texans to contact their representative about introducing an Open Carry bill. “Open Carry” is shorthand terminology for, openly carrying a firearm in public, as distinguished from concealed carry, where firearms cannot be seen by the casual observer. Today in the United States, the laws vary from state to state regarding open carry of firearms. The categories are defined as follows:

Permissive open carry states (Gold Star States)
A state has passed full preemption of all firearms laws. They permit open carry to all non-prohibited citizens without permit or license. Open carry is lawful on foot and in a motor vehicle.

Licensed open carry states
A state has passed full preemption of all firearms laws. They permit open carry of a handgun to all non-prohibited citizens once they have been issued a permit or license. Open carry of a handgun is lawful on foot and in a motor vehicle.

Anomalous open carry states (Open Carry Friendly)
In these states, open carry of a handgun is generally lawful, but the state may lack preemption or there may be other significant restrictions. The term is questionable as the limitations and/or lack of pre-emption means that certain of these states are, in their judicial system and law enforcement societies, not very "friendly" towards the practice.

Non-permissive open carry states (TEXAS)
In these states, open carry of a handgun is not lawful, or is only lawful under such a limited set of circumstances that public carry is prohibited. Such limited circumstances may include when hunting, or while traveling to/from hunting locations, while on property controlled by the person carrying, or for lawful self-defense

Gold Star Open Carry State (yellow)

Open Carry Friendly State (Green)

Licensed Open Carry State (Orange)

Non Permissive Open Carry State (Red)

Rural Open Carry State (Grey)

So where do you fall into this highly debated area?

The State constitution says, Article I, Section 23; Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful defense of himself or the State; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.

The 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights says, "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

The Government has taken control over the American’s right to bear arms. I feel like the founders wanted the country to be protected, giving them the right to bear arms. In all honesty the 2nd amendment was designed to act as protection from the abuse of the government. American’s have teh right to defend themselves and their property. Of course it is a little scary when you think about crazy people walking around with guns. We have police officers that carry guns for our protection…. Is that good enough? I guess you can probably tell that I am on the fence with this debate. On one hand I am for it and on the other hand I’m scared of it. A part of me thinks that if the pilots of the airplanes that went into the Twin Towers had the right to bear arms 911 might not have happened…But would crime spread and would there be an overwhelming amount of unintentional deaths because of people walking around with guns on their hips?

What's your opinion? Watch these clips, they might help make your mind up.... or just make you laugh!

I LOVE YOU

My college wrote a blog called Freedom, it is about how Americans show affection in the USA. Thi is from Vietnam and has only been in the US for about 2 years. In her blog she talks about how she loves it when she hears American’s say “I love you” or when couples give each other a kiss in public. Thi said that in Vietnam she was taught to keep her emotions to herself and that showing affection in public was considered rude.

I LOVE EVERYONE! I will admit that sometimes I get myself in trouble because I am so affectionate and outgoing… but I can’t help it! I love talking to new people and getting to know them. I make eye contact and smile a lot when I talk to people and I love to give hugs or handshakes.  I also tell my friends and family that I love them all the time. Some of my friends think I am crazy for saying it, they feel like saying “love” is a powerful thing (it is!) but I love lots of people and want them to know that! The love for my children is different then the love for my friends and the love for my family members is different then the love for a boyfriend or husband… but love is love and when you feel it, why not say it!?

We are a nation of “touchy-feely people” and I love it! I also love to 'people watch', I know it sounds creepy, but again….I can’t help it! It is so interesting to watch how men and women react to each other, especially at a bar! They lean in towards each other, looking into each other’s eyes, the girl might touch his arm while laughing (fakely) at one of his jokes, he might touch her leg on “accident” when reaching for his beer…and then by the end of the night (after a few beers) they are walking to their cars with their arms entangled with each other like they have known each other forever. It’s amazing to watch. Touching is a powerful thing!

Pregnancy! Ah, the glow of a pregnant woman is wonderful! When I see a pregnant woman it is hard for me not to reach out and touch the miraculous baby bump! I know how annoying that can be when YOU are the pregnant mom getting touched by random people (I have 3 children of my own) but those bellies just look so touchable!

I understand that some people HATE people like me, but who cares! The warm touch of another person is an amazing thing, connecting us as humans. Life is all about experiences, so make some! Next time you are out, shake a hand or give a hug to a person you don’t know and spread the love… it’s the American way!

“I love you!”

funny clips about LOVE and "touchy-feely people"

Enhanced Interrogation... Right or Wrong?

Is enhanced interrogation right or wrong?

Should American’s torture inmates that we believe have vital information?

This is a touchy subject…..I'll be honest I don't know much about torture but I DO watch the show 24 with Jack Bauer and when he tortures someone I can't help but cheer him on! All joking aside…I think certain situations call for the use of torture. If there is someone that has information that could save other people's lives and they won't talk then why not torture them? (I mean it works for Jack!) Now I do think there should be guidelines when it comes to torturing, the President should draw a line deep in the sand….like, no cutting off limbs, messing with people's genital, etc. But a broken finger or waterboarding is okay! Unfortunately the "nice guy" doesn't always win, sometimes we need to be mean in order to do what is best for the Country! I was looking at some websites to get some information on torture and I came across a PBS article about President Bush and some of the torturing/interrogation tactics he allowed on some al-Qaida inmates. The article said that "torturing" some of the detainees actually helped in getting some information.

So I vote YES, interrogate/torture someone when all other means of getting the information from the person have been used. Interrogations with torture should only be used if the information will save other people's lives! Great quote from Dick Cheney, “The easy thing to do is, well, let's not do terrorist surveillance, let's not have a robust interrogation program of these al-Qaida folks when we capture them, let's not take aggressive action to defend the nation, because then the New York Times will love us and we'll get editorials written about us all over the country and our numbers will go up in the polls."

For those of you that think I am horrible for saying that I agree with torturing people let me ask you this…..You have a 3 year old daughter who has been kidnapped. The police have a man who knows where your child is but he will not talk. Every minute that ticks by, your daughter has the chance of being murdered, raped and other children could fall victim in the future..... Do you allow torture to save your little girl?

You might say, it’s unconstitutional…blah, blah, blah….What about Americans that are being put to death with the death penalty! Is that ok? We kill people to keep them from hurting anymore people, right? Why not hurt someone to save other people? Isn’t the death penalty an extreme way of torturing someone…makeing someone sit in a cell, counting down their days to be alive. That sounds worst then waterboarding.

Some argue that if we allow torture for some cases then why not let local police officers do some torturing of their own.....Let's not get crazy here! My daughter fell victim to a sexual predator and I wanted nothing more then to hook his gentiles to some electricity and get a confession and other information to protect other children, but I couldn't.... and I totally understand that in this case it is not fair to do that! We live in America and we have the court system for those cases. Torture should be used to save lives and should only be used as a last resort! It should only be used in extreme situations. Local police officer should NEVER have the authority to perform enhanced interrogation.

So to recap…I only think enhanced interrogation is necessary when ALL other options of getting the information out of the person have been used AND if we believe that person knows information that can save lives.

Watch this video of "The View",
Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Jesse Ventura debate about Enhanced Interrogations.
GO ELISABETH!!!

"The View" talking about enhanced interrogation...Rosie O'Donald and Elisabeth Hassbeck.

Food Stamps

My colleague wrote a wonderful editorial called My Whining on her blog, The Pen Wheel of Red, White and Blue.  Here is my reply to her….

Mallorie, I think you wrote a great blog and I agree with you. I will bravely admit that right now I receive food stamps (aka Lone Star card). I am recently divorced and like you I am in transition. I was a stay at home mom for 9 years. Now that I am a single mother of 3 children I know that going to school is the best thing I could do for me and my children. Working, being a full time student, plus raising 3 children was too demanding for me. I quit my job and now focus on school and my children. I have a lot of pride and walking into the Health and Human Service office and waiting in a long line to ask for help was very humbling yet humiliating for me. I did what I had to do so that I can give my children the future they deserve. With the help of the lone star card, student loans and grants, I am able to survive.

With that said, when I have to sit in line at the Health and Human Service office to turn in paperwork and things, I am appalled at what I see and hear in that place. I have actually overheard a pregnant woman with 3 small children that were all misbehaving say to another woman, “yeah this is baby number 4, I can’t wait to pop him out so I can get more money!” I have also heard a very young mom tell someone in line, “I am so mad that my baby is ugly, I never thought I was going to have an ugly baby! I regret not having that abortion.” I have sat in bewilderment asking myself why the hell I was there and how I ended up among these people.

To answer your questions, NO you don’t get drug tested, they don’t even look that hard at your income (they “trust” that you are honest-- a couple utility bills and a pay check is all they ask for to prove income and expenses), and there are no social workers watching you or your children. The people that work there seem like they all hate their jobs. I get infuriated when I think about how many people the government is enabling to be losers! Yes I am glad that there is help for people like you and I who are trying to better ourselves but unfortunately about 90% of the people getting assistance don’t look like they want to be better, they are perfectly satisfied with the money the government gives them! The system is obviously flawed, lazy people are getting help and hard working people are struggling.

School-Choice

The future is not a gift - it is an achievement.

- Harry Lauder

      Most Americans would agree that the future of America is our children…. So what are we doing to help our future? The key to making our Nation great, is giving our children a great education, right? So why is it that the government can rape us with property taxes but give us no choice on the public schools our children can attend. Property taxes are the largest source of funding for local services in Texas. They help pay for public schools, city streets, county roads, police, fire protection and many other services. Texas does not have State taxes, but local property taxes have increased rapidly in recent decades and are now among the highest in the nation. Property taxes in Texas are approximately 1.82 percent of a home's value, ranking the state as the second highest in the nation. This means that Texas citizens could reduce their property tax burden by moving to any other state in the nation, except Wisconsin (Who the hell wants to live in Wisconsin?).

      Let me get this straight.... I pay high property taxes that go towards for my children’s public school education but I have NO say in what school they go to. How is that fair? We live in America where everything has competition…except schools! If I buy a $100,000 home, I will pay approximately $1,820 a year in property taxes. The location of my house determines where my children have to attend school, unless I decided to put them in private school. Private schools costs an arm and leg to attend AND I still have to pay high property taxes for the public schools my children do not attend!  If I find my dream home but discover that the schools designated for that area are under par, I should not have to keep looking for a house. I should have the right to pick where my children attend school. Hell, I’m paying for their education with my property taxes!

      So what is the solution? One way I think we can make America better is by evoking School-Choice in all States. Florida is doing this and they are thriving. Here are the basic rules for this program…..

• Public-school choice:
Students in low-performing public schools may transfer to a higher-performing public school of their parents’ choice.

• Private-school choice:
Families with special needs children have access to a Scholarship Program, which provides vouchers to attend a private school of choice.

• Performance pay:
A system rewarding teachers who achieve student gains, not necessarily those who have the longest tenure. It also provides bonuses for teachers who increase the number of students who pass Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

• A+ Accountability Plan:
Requires that students be tested annually. The  students and schools are held accountable for academic outcomes.

      Give the parents the right to choose where their children go to school! Making the education system more competitive will only better the teachers and make our children smarter, giving America a brighter future.

Check out these songs (my inspiration)....

Whitney Houston - Greatest Love Of All

Pink Floyd - We Don't Need No Education

Watch these funny episode of Family Guy --

Public School vs. Private School

(working 2 jobs to pay for Private School)

(Grades in Public Schools)

Registered Sex Offenders

In the blog of Andrew Sullivan (The Atlantic) I found the article titled “Sex-Offender City.”  This article is about a man named Randy Young, who is a registered sex offender (convicted in 2003 of a lewd act with a minor - “a 19-year-old girl performed oral sex on a 15-year-old boy in my presence” says Mr. young). Mr. Young talks about how hard life is for registered sex offenders because they are forced to live at least 1,000 to 2,500 feet from schools, day cares and parks. Mr. Young has started a business called, “Habitat for Sex Offenders”, where he helps registered sex offenders find a place to live. The targeted audience for this article are regular-average-Joe people that have a big heart. The author does a great job at making you feel sorry for registered sex offenders.

"Randy said, Pay what you can, I’ll work with you," said Eddie Pruna, who lived in the house of 24 and kept losing work when his employers found out he had molested his 10-year-old niece. “He helped me when I was on my last nerve.”

Most readers don’t pay attention to “he had molested his 10-year-old niece” and just focus on feeling sorry for Mr. Pruna because he can not find a job. The argument in this article is that the laws are too harsh on registered sex offenders making it hard for them to return to a normal life. Randy Young says that there are many registered sex offenders that are homeless because it is so hard to find a home within the appropriate areas. Mr. Young is a savior for registered sex offenders.

I think this is a bunch of BULL! Why are we feeling sorry for registered sex offenders? Poor, poor perverts! Give me a break! What about the victims of these perpetrators, how are they suppose to go back to a “normal life?”

As a mother of an 11 year old girl, who was violated by one of these creeps, it makes my blood boil to read garbage like this! When my daughter was 7 years old a 50 year old man name Diego Cano stalked her every day before and after school. While she innocently played on our backyard trampoline after school Mr. Cano got 'off' by watching her. We lived in a nice house with a privacy fence around our backyard. Mr. Cano would park on the street behind our home, giving him the perfect view of my daughter playing on our trampoline. In the mornings while she waited at her bus stop he would park where I could not see him and watch her. His behavior finally progressed and instead of only stalking her he exposed his genitals to her. It took 2 years for us to go to trial. During the 3 day trial, my daughter was on the stand for over 3 hours as lawyers overwhelmed her, asking her personal questions as the audience of 12 jury members stared at her. Mr. Cano finally took a plea option and plead guilty to stalking. He recieved the lenient punishment of 10 years probations and 10 years as a registered sex offender. What I did not tell you about Mr. Cano was that he is a father, his wife works at a Pflugerville elementary school and he had applications at several schools looking for a job where he could be around children all day. He is now a felon for the rest of his life and hopefully that will keep him from working with children!

I think that laws should be harsher on these perverts. Sex offenders should be treated like monsters and monsters should be locked in cages!

A group called BACA (Bikers Against Child Abuse)
helped my daughter during her experience.
They gave her support and offered protections
before, during and after her court date.

This is Taylor on a ride along with a
BACA member named 'Big Cheese'!

This was the day Taylor was adopted into the

BACA group and recieved her official leather vest
and "biker name" - Chatterbox.

Over 50 BACA volunteers came
to our house on motorcycles!

It was amazing!!!

 Thank you BACA for everything you did

for my daughter and family!

New Abortion Bill in Texas

In the Dallas Morning News there was an editorial called, “Abortion bill is unwarranted state intrusion on woman’s right to choose”. This article is about a new Texas bill by Senator Dan Patrick of Houston, concerning abortions. Senator Patrick is trying to require women to get a sonogram within two hours of the planned abortion, during which the doctor would have audio of the unborn baby’s heartbeat and would educate the woman on the fetus’ anatomy. In this particular article the author is clearly against this bill, using words like “impose”, “punishing women” and “state-imposed guilt”. The author did a great job of persuading the reader to think this bill is a vicious and heartless idea. The author also gives some facts about other State’s abortion laws and makes it seem like Texas is just going overboard. To the average reader who is on the fence about pro-life/pro-choice issues this article will convince you to think this bill is a bad idea which as a result steers you to the pro-choice side of the argument. For the people who are passionate about their pro-life stance this articles is very frustrating.

I personally would love to see this bill pass. I think it would educate women contemplating abortion. Education is the key to making good decisions. In the United States, about 6 million women become pregnant each year and nearly 1.2 million women have an abortion. This bill would allow woman to hear the heartbeat of her unborn child and educate her on the developmental stage of the unborn baby before she decides to terminate the pregnancy. All of these measures empower women with the information on the fetus before she makes her final decision.

Roe v. Wade is the historic Supreme Court decision making abortion legal in the United States. The Roe v. Wade decision held that a woman, with her doctor, could choose abortion based on the right to privacy. Because abortion is legal in the United States it is only fair that each State has the right to make laws to regulate the amount of abortions performed. If the Nation can declare abortion legal then it is up to each State to mandate the education of women before they make this hard decision.

Educating American Children on Civics

          In an article on the ABC website called, Former Justice Pushing for More Civics, Less “American Idol” by Sarah Netter (March 4, 2009), former Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor expressed her concerns with the education of American children on civics. Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens. This article is important to read because it makes you think about how much you actually know about US government. In order to continue to have a great Nation we must stay educated so that we can make the right votes. Thomas Jefferson once said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." So let’s stop being ignorant America! Ask yourself, who did you vote for during the last Presidential election and why did you vote for that candidate? It is not uncommon for people to say that they voted for a specific person because they had a ‘good name’, or because that person dressed cool, or because they read an article and the editor was supporting that candidate. Let’s vote for candidates because we believe they share our same beliefs and will advocate those beliefs for us.
          Former Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor has developed a website for children to help them learn civics called iCivics. After reading this article it made me think about my own children and how much they really know. Over dinner one night I asked my children a few questions and unfortunately my family fell into the low statistics. I have added Mrs. O’Connor’s website to the list of acceptable web-site that my children play on our home computer and I have made it a goal to talk about our government to my children over dinner more often.

            Rick Shenkmen wrote a book called, Just How Stupid Are We? In this book it talks about the statistics of America’s knowledge on civics. Here are some statistics, only 2 out of 5 voters can name the 3 branches of the federal government (Executive, Judicial and Legislative). Only 30% of people know that Roe v. Wade was the Supreme Court decision that ruled abortion legal. Only 20% of Americans know that there are 100 senators.

click here to watch Jan Leno asking Americans about the Supreme Court. Very Funny!

iCivic is a great kid-friendly website, but so is this "old school" video by School House Rock, I'm just a bill.