Were they taught that at home??

All over the news this week was the tragic passing of Tyler Clementi. It shouldn't have happened, he should be playing in the concert tonight, more importantly, he should have been safe at the university. I haven't been on the campus in 10 years or a little more- are there posters up with suicide hotline numbers? Were the incoming students made aware of the laws involving use of the internet and streaming of anything involving a persons life?
The big one though- were those 2 students taught that it was ok to do that to a person of a different sexual persuassion at home; by their parents??Both students are from minorities, they should know how hard it is to be different. I feel for the parents of Tyler, and knee jerk reaction was for the other two parents also...after thinking about it....I hope both of those students get the max allowed in that state...then I hope the parents are also held responsible for the actions of those two peons. Does that seem harsh?? How harsh is it to tell a mom her son is dead because he could no longer handle the persecution, to tell a younger sibling that his brother took his own life? Harsh?? Then step up to the plate and teach your kid to be accepting of people that are different from you.
There is help out there, www.thetrevorproject.org it started as an HBO documentary, then the director and producer thought about it..it's too bad that Tyler didn't have these connections, maybe it would have saved his life.

Palin's soccer moms pale in comparisson to a Military mom

On Monday night I watched Dancing With The Stars and the former candidate was there to watch her daughter, commedable...while I disagree with 98% of her politics and I think she's a kook, I stand by her right as a mom to be there. The controversy over whether the boos from the audience was for her or the judges scores for fan faves derrick and jennifer 'dirty dancing' grey is a moot point for some and fodder for other pundits. Where I really part with her was her comment about hockey moms being so tough, blah , blah here's a news flash sweet cheeks- your ass couldn't hold a candle to a military mom!
I want to see any politician raise a family on an enlisted paycheck...they would be running with their tails tucked between their legs crying for mercy by the end of the first week. In the "studies" they use the payscale for officers, significantly higher than the grunts who have to be ready to report at a moments notice.
For an E5 with 10 years of service, his base pay is 2907 a month before taxes. This number is from http://www.navycs.com/2010-military-pay-chart now, deduct taxes because yes the military does pay taxes and social security, and state taxes if their home of record has it. Now deduct a car payment, insurance, and buy groceries for a family of 5- the standard 3 kids, mom and dad. How much do you think is left? Now, phone bill- they have to be able to reach you. Cable because you can't afford to go out..what's left? Now buy uniforms for the service member because contrary to popular belief, they ain't free. And you have to piece it out over a few paychecks. Now let a kid need to see a dentist...no that isn't a provided medical service, it's an out of pocket expense. Surprised? Eye opener? Now lets look at housing, did you notice that was left out? There is a "housing allowance" it doesn't cover the full cost of rent and utilities.
Food stamps, yeah, if you can wade through the paperwork, usually the military makes 3 or 4 dollars a month too much for benefits. If they have less than 10 yrs, yeah, usually they get them in a heartbeat. Walk into a commissary on a payday and watch as the spouses hit the registers with carts already separated out, its training. The at home parent learns early on, if your kid wants to play sports, the cost is covered by grandparents as a birthday present or just because. Music lessons? yeah, that doesn't happen either.
Now let's look at the average serviceman in Iraq/Afghanistan now- E3 with less than three years in-1923.00 a month, now start deducting. IF they are lucky they live in base housing and it's "the good ones", otherwise its classified as substandard and you get a few dollars added to your check for living in next to unsafe circumstances. Yeah, thats a comfort.
So, Sarah, while your kid plays hockey and has all the privelages, the military kid learns to play on the street in front of the house, turns in soda cans for movie money(rentals only) and wishes they could afford that 200.00 stick. You think you're a bad ass? I dare you to live on an E5 pay for a month- you couldn't do it and neither could any of those candy ass senators that left the soldiers in limbo until Dec. when we find out if they get paid or not. Semper Fi.

maytag pt2/ and holy ground or just a need to hate.

So the night of the blow out, I had a sore throat, among other things. It turned into a cough, that progressed until I coughed so hard I would vomit- I gave in and found a doctor. It turns out that the stuff that is packed in with the propane usually causes asphixiation and when coupled with bronchitus which was most likely caused by the irritation of the propane, it looks like I will be on antibiotics for the next 6 mos. And still no luck with the insurance company covering it, and maytag insists their design isn't flawed, which is about as accurate as saying a 747 is a duck.

On to my bigger bitch, which is the hoopla over the community center "at ground xero" which is the first bone of contention. It isn't at ground zero...its a couple of blocks away, and it isn't just a masque, its a set of meeting rooms, an auditorium, a day care center, etc. This whole project was approved by the appropriate offices, and then one nut job by the name of Pam Geller got a bur in her britches and decided she ruled the universe and she didn't want the project to go on. I find it amusing that she stole the name of a book by Ann Rand for her blog; "Atlas Shrugged", now she'll say hers is shrugs so it isn't stolen, but it's close enough for government work. She's all riled up about this mosque, but she also has a real thing about black sports figures.
There's a huge section on Chris Jackson aka Abdul-Rauf. and the fact that he left the NBA to go play ball in turkey. Here's a hint....his stats had gone downhill. He's getting older. This Gulfport Mississippi native has many things going for him, but he can't stop the aging process. I wonder why this is any of Queen Geller's business?? Who is she really?? A frustrated wanna be sports manager, or just another nosy bitch who wants her two minutes of fame to run forever? I will bet on the latter. Her blog picture is a highly sexed up version of superman, complete with the red s, and her face plugged into it....it should have been her rear end. she has this one section in her bio, where she refers to herself as Atlas. Rememeber your high school mythology? Atlas was a male, is she loaded with penis envy or just another tranny? She also tried to convince the world that she immersed herself in geo politics after 9/11 to gain better understanding. Really?? of what? Cause she obviously has no idea what true Islam is about, or any other religion. Her political affiliation is listed as "conservative" which when coupled with Christine O'Donnell, is another reason to take a long hard look at the independants or the Democrats.

Maytag lies thru their dollar signs.

A couple years ago our 20 yr old gas stove lost one burner then another, so we decided it was time to replace it. This led to a trip to Home Depot and we picked out a maytag. Now the first clue should have been when the store creeper said it would be ordered that day and in on a certain date..turns out the jerk didn't order it until then and it would be ten more days before it got there. This ended with me snarling at Home Depot headquarters and we were finally told to go get the store model and yeah they would knock 60.00 off the price, they also sent a 25.00 gift card- whoop de do. Well from the begining we have had nothing but problems, the gas burners make this loud popping noise like a mini explosion. Ed said it was ok, Joe and I thought otherwise.
Last night in making dinner I had oil in the pan, turned the burner on and turned toward the fridge and boom! out shot a fireball, it went up my shirt toward my face, I grabbed a towel and put it out, raced to the door and screamed for my husband-then at Joe to get his dad. I was shaking like a leaf, and of course Ed doubted what I said...so he had to try it, guess what- Kaboom- this time it lifted the whole blasted stove off the floor, sent out another fireball and smoke rolled out like wet leaves had been lit.
It took me all of 3 seconds to decide we needed the fire dept. I know I was burned, but it was only like a sunburn, a little sting, nothing major..a sore throat from the fumes, inside my nose is tender...I had Joe grab my computer and the book I've been working on and move the dogs out.
I replayed that blast maybe a hundred times last night. We were very lucky. We could have lost everything, the dogs, our lives. What if Joe had been here alone when that happened?
This morning I went online and discovered that Maytag has a history of problems with their stoves, among other appliances. They have glass windows that blow out, burners that light without being turned on, etc and about three dozen complaints of gas lines exploding. Its a closed unit..because the lines are attached to the top. Most gas ranges have gas feed lines that are attached to the main body of the unit-which can not be lifted, unlike the top. so some nitwit thought this was a prime idea. We found it out when the fire dept was here...imagine that.
Just so you know- if you get hit by a fireball, it feels like you were sucker punched by a semi truck, now add the muscles tightening and jumping, etc and you have one sore woman. Why my shirt didn't go up in flames is unknown. My hair is long and was in my way so I tied it up out of my way.... if not, it could have caught on fire also. Have you ever seen someone who has been in a fire?? I worked the burn unit and it isnt pretty.
I want to toss this thing and get a new one, preferably electric, of course the husband has other ideas..I don't think I'm going to give on this one.

Memorial Days

One day, set aside to remind people to remember those who died in the service of their country..why? Why do they need to be reminded? If they have lost someone in time of war- they do not need a day to remember- its everyday. It's finally mastering something and reaching for the phone to tell them---and they are gone. For a minute you forget, then it all comes back. Maybe its not the knock you to your knees drag your guts across the floor, but its there.
I remember when we got Doug's body back, the streets around Arlington were littered with protestors... they screamed and yelled baby killers at my brothers, ironic because it was a kid who lobbed a homemade bomb and blew my brother to bits. I became very political in that moment. Now I can say in all honesty that I believe we need to pack up our people and bring them home. This IS the modern day Viet Nam...no more sons, brothers, uncles, aunts, daughters, moms,dads,or sisters dying for a cause that has become so convoluted it isn't even funny..enough have died.

Dedicated to all the Nurses and Corpsman

Hear my prayer in silence before Thee as I ask for courage each day.Grant that I may be worthy of the sacred pledge of my profession and the lives of those entrusted to my care.Help me to offer hope and cheer in the hearts of men and my country,for their faith inspires me to give the world and nursing my best.Instill in me understanding and compassion of those who led the way.For I am thankful to You for giving me this life to live. Prayerof an Army Nurse Colonel Mildred Irene Clark, 1956

As we go about honoring those who have fought for this country, let’s remember the trail blazers, the often maligned, overlooked and ignored, the women who paved the way for the next generation, and who, in some cases, gave their lives, many without any recognition of the gov’t.
Col. Sally Murphy, the Army's first female helicopter pilot; Ellen May Tower of Byron, Michigan was the first U.S. Army nurse to die on foreign soil, of typhoid fever, in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, and was the first woman to receive a military funeral in Michigan.
One hundred and eleven Army Nurses died overseas and one hundred and eighty six died stateside, all while serving their country in WWI. Twenty two or more U.S. Navy Yeoman (F) died during the World War.
Twenty seven Navy Nurse Corps women died while serving. Dieticians, telephone operators, YMCA volunteers, Red Cross and Salvation Army women, and women in military intelligence also lost their lives. more than 400 military women lost their lives during World War II.
In 1944 U.S. Army Nurse Aleda E. Lutz of Freeland Michigan was the first U.S. military woman to die in a combat zone during World War II when her hospital plane went down on her 196th rescue mission.
9 US woman are still listed as MIA from the war in Viet Nam and SPC Lori Piestewa, first woman, first Native American, to die in the current fiasco.

Hi Mrs. Amlaiky's class

Hi!
The best way for you to see where Stanley has been, is to invite you to my blog. There's lots of pictures and facts, if you see something underlined in green-it's an advertisement, don't bother with it. They go down to where it says "For Jessie's class", but the other pictures are from Scotland, I was there last summer for school. Besides being Jessie's gramma, I'm also a student at Western Michigan University and in July I will go to the University of Akron to work on my Master's degree. Graduation is just a few days away and I am both excited and sad.
I have homework to do, so Ihope you like the pictures and the book.

more pix for Jess

This is Sasha, gramma's puppy, she's a saint bernard and just a big fuzzy baby.

This is the gang- Phi Sigma Pi at our formal. Once a year we get all dressed up and have a big party.

This is the other side of Miller Auditorium,it's where they have plays and concerts...and where our graduation will be.

This is Waldo Library, at the top of the steps is our mascot, a bronco- its a relief of the bronco head and it is supposed to be bad luck if you step on it.

The PSP seniors, I'm the old one...

more pix for jess

This is the fountains in the commons between Brown Hall, Sprau Tower, and Miller auditorium, Everybody is happy when the fountain is on because that means winter is over!! YAY!!! Students hang out there and study or just sit.

This is the old bridge in Hillman, right now they are tearing it down and building a new one. This one was almost 100 yrs old.

These are the the percheron horses that pull the sleighs at Thunder Bay, lots of fun, but can be very cold.

This is Jessie's pawpaw, he came down to Kalamazoo to help out with rent a puppy. It was an event held by Phi Sigma Pi, a national Honors fraternity that helps out the Humane Society. We had a supply drive-if people brought supplies for the shelter they got a picture of them and their pooch, we raised over 900.00 on a cold, wet, snowy, sunny day. The weather did some of everything that day.

The eagle was in the field by our house, we see them all the time.

This is the Sturgeon point lighthouse, the prints in the snow were cougar tracks....just a bit scary.The area used to rely heavily on trade by water. The lighthouse was built in 1870. There used to be thousands of boats and ships on Lake Huron then. The Coast Guard took over the building in 1941 and it is still operational now.

Ess lake, one of the closer lakes where PawPaw likes to go fishing. there are all kinds of coves and little spots for fish to hide. In all it's about a 3 mile area.

Elk out in the back field, they can weigh a ton. Atlanta,Mi is listed as the elk capital of Michigan. Atlanta is about 2o minutes away from Hillman.

this is from the middle of downtown Hillman, not a lot there.

this elk is at Thunder Bay, they have an elk viewing area and sleigh rides

For Jessie and her class

This is the skating rink, it's called Northern Lights Arena. The Orange jacket on the left is Jessie's uncle Joey.