Susan Smith All Over Again

I know my kids can aggravate me sometimes, but I would never think of killing them. Why would a mother think of doing such a thing? What would make her go to such great lengths?

Susan Smith is known for putting her two sons in the car and letting it go into a lake, drowning her young boys. She survived and is serving a life sentence, where the bill is footed by us tax payers.

Now a woman in New York puts her and her four children in a car and drives it into the Hudson River. Her 10 year old son managed to open a window and swim to safety. This woman even posted on Facebook that she was going to do something and told the children they were going to die. The woman apparently changed her mind, last minute, but still her and three small children drowned. The children were two boys, ages 5 and 2, and a girl, 11 months old.

Now the tax payers don't have to foot the bill to have this woman in prison, but still many people will suffer. The 10 year old has to think about the fact that his mother tried to kill him yet killed his young siblings. I read that he had regrets that they might have survived if he had taught the younger ones to swim. What a weight to carry for such a young boy. I pray he knows it was never his fault and that his brothers and sister are in heaven.

The dad of the young children will suffer for never seeing his boys play baseball or graduate from college or ever see his daughter turn a year old. The rest of the family and friends will suffer from such a hole in their family and neighborhoods.

We all will suffer for the loss of a child is great to all.  One child could have been the doctor who cured cancer. One child could have been the one who ended world hunger. One child could have been a world leader who brought peace to the earth. We will never know what we missed out on because one woman used her children to seek revenge. One person decided they were not important enough to let them live to grow up to be the great adults they deserved to be.

Why?

4 Day School Week

An article in the news last night showed an article where someone suggested that a great way to help the budget was to change the school week from 5 days to 4.  Duh!! Of course that's gonna help.  When the schools are open one day less a week, the electrical use is down. Bus drivers and custodians are paid less. Enough things will cost less that it could be worth it.

The thing is, it's really nothing new.  The UMS (University Model Schools) already have figured this out. These are private schools which are run like universities. K - 3rd attend two days a week, 4th - 8th attend three days a week, and high school has classes which meet two or three days a week. Many of the smaller schools may only meet two or three days a week.

During the school days, the teacher will still teach a week's worth of lessons, then the students will still have work to do on the off days. It combines school and homeschooling. For many families, a 4 day school week would not work due to having to pay for childcare. It could leave too much free time for some youth. For some families, it may just be an inconvenience.

My husband and I chose to homeschool our children. It was really more a personal want more than having to do with any religious beliefs. We actually wanted to spend that time with our children. We wanted to know what our children were being taught and not to limit them to a state test. We wanted to make sure our children received the individualized attention they deserve and to challenge them where they needed. Many parents would like that same opportunity to spend with their children but are unable to due to the need of two parent incomes or not having the knowledge and/or skills which might be required or needed to homeschool.

Whatever the need might be, the greatest concern should first and foremost be the children.  Whatever is done needs to benefit the children's needs over our own. Like the song says, "The children are our future. Teach them well, and let them lead the way." If do not teach the children what they will need in their future, they will be more apt to make the same mistakes of our past. Let's take the lead now, so our children are capable of taking the lead later.

Barry Who?

I read an article online yesterday about our "fearless" leader.  Our president claims that he was born and raised as a US citizen. What he fails to produce is a birth certificate. How is it that someone can get a job, like being a president, without a birth certificate. You have to produce one when enrolling in school, obtaining a driver's licence, obtaining a passport, going on a cruise, etc. So why is he not producing one to the American public since he is suppose give our leader?

There are so many stories about who Barak is, where he grew up, anyhow does and does not qualify to be president. I will pray for our leaders no matter what, but I also would like to know if I am praying for Barak, our president, or Barry, wknd guy pretending to be our president.

The article I read stated that's dad wrote a book. In this book, a claim was made that Barak's real name is Barry and that he changed his name because he did not feel that the blacks would accept him as Barry. I don't know why people would not accept him as Barry, but U know that people aren't going to accept a liar.

I always told my boys that they will always receive a greater punishment for lying to me. If they owned up to their crime to begin with, their punishment was not near as bad. I wanted to punish the crime, not the person, and lying always caused one crime to be bigger. As long as the American people feel that our president is lying, the thoughts of punishment will grow.

I believe that our government should be honest with the American people instead of making it look like we're being dwindled. Just get it over with so we can go on with whatever actually needs to affect the people.

Government Shutdown

For the last few weeks, our government has been deciding whether or not to close the government until agreements can be made regarding the budget. I decided long ago that our government has been closed for some time, otherwise how would we have gotten where we are now? We would not be in budget crisis if had actually followed a budget from the beginning. Our fore fathers wanted a country where we did not have to worry or suffer. The whole point of leaving their previous countries was to be new. What we ended up with was the same ole thing.
Also, how could it even be an option to stop paying our soldiers? They are the only people related to the government who actually earn what they get. Actually, I don't they are paid enough for protecting our freedom and willing to die for it. Who else in the government are willing to do that? How many of our leaders even know what it is to sacrifice for the good of the people? I think it should be a requirement to serve in the military in order to be senator, representative, superior court judge, vice-president, president, or any other government official who is able to decide anything to do with the military.
Another thing with the whole budget thing.....why did it take so long for them to decide that the government should not be paying for abortions? Actually, when did they decide that we the people, the citizens of America, the tax payers should not have to pay for someone's abortions. If someone ends up with an unwanted pregnancy, they should take care of it themselves. Also, most of those should have thought about the consequences before having sex. The only ones I don't hold to this are those who were raped. They didn't choose to have the sex or the baby. I do not agree with abortions at all, but if a person chooses to have one, then they should mayor it, not us.
We may still be considered a young country, but we are making way too many mistakes that should have learned not to make. Dumb people learn from no one's mistakes. Smart people learn from their own mistakes. Wise people learn from other's mistakes. I am proud to be an American. I would just like to see us become wise.

Cyber-Bullying Plus

I just finished watching the CSI from tonight that I recorded on the dvr. One of the stories was about a girl who committed suicide after being cyber-bullied. The bullying started after the homecoming queen's boyfriend decided he liked another girl.

We all remember what it was like in high school.  For some, it was an awesome experience. For others, it was not. Bullies have been around since the dawn of time. I remember that the worst was being called names or teasing, but it stayed within one area. Now the bullying has the capabilities of reaching the entire world through the internet.

Why don't parents keep an eye on what their kids do on their computers and cell phones? Some say it's an invasion of their privacy. I say it's pure laziness. We are responsible of our children until they turn 18. This does not mean that if they do something wrong, we are the reason. Then again, we may be.  Did we teach our children right from wrong? Did we teach our children compassion? Did we teach our children that there are consequences for their actions?

We need to take a more active roll in the lives of our children, especially when they are teens and don't want us there. That means we may upset them by seeing who they talk to, where they are, how they spend their time online, and any other aspect of their lives. We need to be able to discuss what mistakes they are currently making and have consequences now instead of them making the larger mistakes later as adults and end up in jail, prison, or dead.

We took the responsibility of conceiving the children. Now let's take the responsibility of raising them and teaching them to be the adults they deserve to be.

When is it wrong to support your team?

I watched a story last night on the news about some guys getting kicked out of a softball game for haggling the opponents when they were up to bat. They were not making any crude comments. They were saying things like, "Your shoe's untied," "swing," and other things that are usually said to opposing team members when they go up to bat to try to get them to strike out.

The assistant coach who kicked out the guys for the remainder of the season basically said that it was his right to so what he wanted, and they couldn't do anything about it. He didn't give a valise reason as to why he did it.

What is wrong with people today? Why do they have a right to kick someone out of something for no reason? Why do people stand by and allow this to happen? Why do we not get involved with what is going on around us and become NIMBYs? If more people would be more proactive, society itself would be proactive, changing how our government is ran, and ultimately changing our great nation into one we should really be proud of.

What started it all

Last week, I was watching the news with my family.  I heard a story of two teenagers who purchased baby chicks and beheaded them.  That wasn't the part that actually upset me.  What did was when the newscaster stated that law officials were still deciding whether to prosecute the teens or not!!  We should all be held accountable for what we do, whether it was right or wrong.  Those chicks had a life ahead of them that was taken away.  True that their lives could have ended when they were processed for Sunday dinner, but these chicks didn't even have that opportunity.

I told my kids all the time that I would always love them, no matter what they said or did and that I would always be there for them.  This would still be the case if they committed a crime.  I am still willing to be there beside them even while they have to stand before a judge and jury.  I love my children, the persons, but that does not have to mean that I have to love everything they do.  I will stand up for my children, the persons, even if I agree with the fact that they are being charged with a crime that they did.

With that in mind, these teens should have to pay some kind of price.  Yes, they paid for the chicks, but these chicks were not sold for the intent of them being beheaded with baseball bats.  As a parent, I would feel that I failed to teach my children something if they felt a need to behead baby chicks.  What is this world coming to if it is okay for things like this to happen?

Welcome!

I see and hear stories on the news, online, and the newspapers all the time that make me think,  "I cannot believe what I'm hearing!!"  I decided that enough was enough and wanted a place to vent about what I did not agree.  You may not agree with what I have to say, but it may give you something to think about.  We should all have something we believe in and be able to give our opinions.  This is my place, and I welcome you!!