"Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Writing Well"
Now all we need is for the weather to cool down so we can eat on our patio.
And yes, Kevin is cooking. Are you kidding me? The man could be on the Food Network, he’s THAT good.
Me? I prepare the food for him to cook and then wash dishes. That’s my job.
What should America be focused on — sex scandals or the sorry state of our country right now?
Do I really need to answer that?
While the rest of America has been transfixed on Wiener Gate …
(Seriously people — he’s a sick man who has proven he can’t exercise self-control in his personal life, let alone his professional life and by the way, I listened to a debate on Hannity’s radio show yesterday where the guy was actually trying to convince America that what Wiener did was normal by today’s standards. Now granted, there is a lot of sick stuff that goes on via the Internet but I would HOPE it’s not considered NORMAL behavior. WOW. JUST WOW).
… other, more important, things have been happening.
I spent WAY too much time yesterday and this morning looking up interesting news stories. Stories much more interesting than yet another sex scandal by our sleazy politicians. (I blame reality TV for America’s obsession with distasteful sex stunts).
I’m going to post my tweets here (the links are clickable) and my thoughts on each.
Ready? Brace yourselves. A lot has been happening:
http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/78154531497705472
From Biblical Conservatism:
Last week, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into a law a bill that requires drug tests for welfare recipients.
As you can imagine, Democrats are going nuts over this.
Their [Democrats’] only reasonable claim is that this law is unconstitutional because it is forcing people to take a drug test without probable cause (a supposed violation of the 4th Amendment). This may sound plausible at first, until you understand the Constitution better. First and foremost, the Constitution provided against unlawful search and seizure in terms of accusing someone of a crime, not as it pertains to receipt of public money in benefits (considering the Founders never intended the government to handle those situations anyway). Secondly, many, many jobs require a person to pass a drug test as a condition of hire.
Here’s the point: Those who are employed are receiving other people’s money in exchange for performing some sort of physical or intellectual labor (that is the simple definition of a job) and THEY are frequently asked to take a drug test as a condition of employment. Those receiving public assistance are receiving other people’s money WITHOUT performing some sort of physical or intellectual labor (aka free money) so why shouldn’t they be required to prove that they are not using drugs?
I completely agree. These programs exist to assist people who truly need help. The food stamp program does not exist in order for people to purchase lobster and steaks and then resell them later. If we assign/enforce restrictions on government assisted programs, then perhaps more of these programs would go to people who TRULY need the help and not to people who choose to make a living mooching off the taxpayers.
http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/78484784921313280
To an extent, yes. Parents are responsible for making sure their kids get to school, stay in school, do the work they are required to do, and dole out punishment for not following through. (Which translated into us taking away the boys’ entertainment for us – video games, computer games, TV – until they focused their energies back onto their studies).
Parents are also responsible for teaching their children personal responsibility and the value of education. Parents need to teach children the importance of taking it seriously and doing well. It’s also crucial for parents to stay involved with their children’s scholastic life. I think too many parents view school as a make-shift babysitter. Just because our children are away from us for six hours doesn’t mean our responsibility ends for six hours.
If you have a few minutes, the comments on the article are definitely worth reading.
http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/78485404944310272
After the Department of Education raided the home of a Stockton man Tuesday morning, officials said the search was part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
The search warrant is part of a criminal investigation and not because of unpaid student financial aid loans.
However, the official would not say why the department is investigating the Wrights.
Question: why does the Department of Education even have the AUTHORITY to raid your home to begin with? Why does the Department of Education, as an agency, even allowed to have guns?
The Department of Education?!?
The couple is separated and the wife, who this whole ordeal is about, wasn’t even living with him. Could they not have investigated that before breaking this man’s door down and scaring his children half to death?
From Mark Levine’s radio show on June 8, 2011:
“Did you know that the Department of Education has agents that are armed? Did you know that most of our federal departments do?
Which departments have the power to send local police to send in SWAT teams?
What’s next, debtor’s prisons?
Someone in the House of Representatives needs to look into the power behind these agencies. And how many of them actually have armed agents? Because most of them shouldn’t and don’t need them. The Secretary of Education has some answering to do.
Can you say “nanny state,” ladies and gentlemen? This is just a preview of how our country will be run, how we won’t have the freedom to make our own decisions before long, if we don’t put a stop to our power-hungry government.
This stuff is real, folks. It’s happening right now, all around us. It’s time we said STOP.
http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/78567748128616448
I find it incredibly sad that parents have to be taught how to play with their youngsters nowadays.
Kids are resilient. And playing around with them teaches them limits, what to do, what not to do, and how to respond if they get hurt. It also teaches them about their bodies and shows them their physical limitations.
Have we coddled our children so much that we now have to be taught how to physically interact with them?
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I find this bizarre.
http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/78861239777886208
Our president is poison to our economy, people. It’s time for a POSITIVE change.
http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/78863836576362496
This seems a little “out there” for me, but the underlying message is legitimate: we have become a sedentary nation. As I tell Dude, day after day after day, (after day), our bodies are not designed to sit around all day long. We need to get up, move, exercise, etc.
“You’re tired because you haven’t done anything all day.” (A common sentence in our household).
Just a friendly reminder to leave your computer once in a while and LIVE your life.
http://twitter.com/#!/writefromkaren/status/78934623949815809
Once again, Obama proves that he thinks himself above the law.
This man has GOT to go.
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