I realize that there are millions of liberals that are going to scream and tear their hair out as they read this blog today.  Millions more environmentally minded citizens are going to do the same.  I, however, opt to put the words on paper, despite the screams.  Once it is posted, I shall be running out to purchase a well made set of earplugs.  That is, if I can find a set that has been made in America.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!  Just how long are American Citizens going to continue to give Al Qaeda the power to drive us to the brink of bankruptcy? While we are on a roll we need to stop importing everything and anything from China. 

With the economy in shambles, terror suspects being arrested in droves in our country, and oil at $120.00 a barrel it is no longer enough to say “The buck stops here”.  We now must take action that will lend finite meaning to those words.  Every citizen needs to set aside the almighty dollar for one day.  We, as a nation, need to stage a protest that will hit where it hurts. Okay…I didn’t mean there!  I mean we need to have a serious effect on the pocketbooks of the greedy OPEC members who are catering to the Arab countries who are dead set on destroying our ideals in the name of religious perfection.

What is the difference between Bin Laden, Hussein and Hitler?  When Adolf Hitler killed to achieve the “Perfect Race” it was an outrage, and remains so to this day. We honor those who stopped him, and those who suffered the worst indignities.  Why is it we are wrong when a man with the same ideals under a different name kills children and teaches them hatred and disdain for anyone not of their faith?  Why are we wrong from fighting for the same principles we fought for in World War II?  It seems to me that Barbara Streisand, and others like her, need to think before they open their mouths and cause a war over a war.  Would she protest so profusely if the President sent troops in to stop an Arian uprising? 

The time to be politically correct is long past. If you don’t belong here, get out.  It is that simple.  Sniff every illegal out of hiding.  Shoot them if they attempt to flee.  That is the way our citizens would be treated if they entered another country illegally. 

Begin drilling operations in the Gulf, and anywhere we may find oil.  Put jobs back in the hands of the Americans who are suffering as the result of lay-offs due to the housing crisis. 

While we are at it…let’s stop worrying about how many children in other countries don’t have vaccines….ahem Proctor and Gamble…and worry about the children here who do not have health care because their parents are too destitute to provide it.  Let’s stop worrying about girls in other countries who cannot go to school because they don’t have any feminine products and concentrate on the millions of families here on welfare.  Food stamps cannot be used to purchase these items, toothpaste, toilet paper or soap.  Let’s take the power out of the hands of huge management companies who run up to 30 apartment complexes and raise rents with no limits.  That could put a damper on homelessness right here in the good old U.S. of A.

Let’s realize that charity begins at home.  Then let us worry about those in other nations.  

So far, I have been fortunate through these trying times.  As a single mom, each time I go to the grocery store I notice the price increases of one dollar per item.  There are necessities being cut out of my budget a bit at a time.  Gasoline for my car is one of them.  Fortunately, I work at home.  Had my company not been a casualty of the sub-prime implosion, I would not be able to travel to work.  I seriously mean that.  I drive a four cylinder car.    My fifteen-gallon tank now costs $45.00 to fill. 

So…what do we think?  Are we going to sprout feathers and become compliant and complacent or will be choose to remain residents of a country based on freedom?  Being free means cutting your dependency on others.  It will be interesting to see how many can truly walk the walk.

There is a common misconception among parents that announcements regarding improved “safety” on social sharing sites have actually changed the way the sites do business.  For an example of how MySpace has improved….check out the postings by Joseph Clipper.

There is a more widely spread belief that if your child is on-line and has been told of all the dangers lurking in the shadows of cyber space he or she will be safe.

For all of you that believe that…I’ve put on a HUGE pot of very strong coffee.  Heaven knows I got my cup this week.

My daughter has spent time in my office as I moved from account registrations to the National Sex Offender’s data base.  She has listened to report after report in Florida about young girls who have sealed their destinies by running out to meet the adorable teenagers on-line who turn out to be the worst kind of monsters.

On Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. as I was performing a last check of the site I work for before going to bed, I noticed that the modem was indicating someone was on the phone.  I found my daughter in her closet, engaged in a phone chat with someone she met in an AOL Teen Chat Room.  First she swore she didn’t have the phone.  I paged it and traced it to the closet floor hidden under clothing.  Then she swore the “boy” she was talking to was someone from school.  I may have been born at night…but it wasn’t last night…and fortunately I have learned to trust my instincts.

I’ve turned into a prison guard.  No out, no friends over, no television, no internet, no phone, no I-pod, no stereo.  I drive her to school and meet her at the bus stop in the afternoon.  She will realize eventually that the privileges she had were not used responsibly.  She will realize that these little “hardships” she is suffering are a thousand times easier that what could occur as a result of her actions.

Now that I am in possession of her passwords, I’ve found a picture that appears to be a man between the ages of 25 and 27.  She tried to convince me that he is a senior at her school. 

Currently, and unknown to the person she spoke to on the phone on Sunday, I am now communicating with him under her name.  At 1:00 in the afternoon….two e-mails have been received in her account, with one stating that they can “run away” together.  I can’t wait to see how this all turns out.

Toss your misconceptions out the window, invade their privacy and be all over your child’s internet activity.  Read the e-mails, watch the instant messaging,   be that nosy nasty parent…but keep your child alive.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am the meanest mom in the world right now…but my daughter will not be a statistic.

For the third time in two weeks, a female teacher has been arrested for having a sexual relationship with a male student in our area.  This time it was a bit too close for comfort.  Reporters are now camped outside my daughter’s school and the school Principal is not returning calls. 

 Wake up people….this is real life, not Wisteria Lane.  Although you may be desperate, you are certainly not Eva Longoria having an affair with a young gardener.

What in heaven’s name are these women thinking?  First off, in your forties, why would you endeavor to take on “raising” another child in a sexual relationship?  Secondly, why is the principal not speaking with anyone and not accountable for what happens in his school?  Apparently, he has no problem with reporters hawking students that attend the school as they gather like vultures on the property.

Most importantly, however, is the mentality of the fine upstanding citizens of the Tampa area.  “Good job son” stands among the comments posted on our local news boards.  My young daughter noted the fact that this woman dresses like a twelve year old “Prostitot”, and has young boys gathered around her constantly.  If the students of the school notice this, why did the administration not notice the behavior?

Had the victim had been a seventeen year-old female; the attitude would certainly be different.  There is no difference in the crime due to the gender of the victim.  An adult charged with the care of a minor child violated that trust in the worst way possible.  The courts need to stop the “slap on the wrist” punishment issued to these sexual offenders and toss their delicate little behinds in jail. 

Here, in the year 2008, we are still using a double standard and that is appalling.  A female teacher who has a physical relationship with a minor is just as guilty as a male teacher who does the same.  The crime should not be glorified, nor should any special consideration be given.

Unfortunately, the list of victims affected by the decision this woman made is not limited to the boy.  The woman in custody has a teen-aged daughter that attends the school where she taught.  Acting so irresponsibly as a teacher is a crime, acting that selfishly as a parent is incomprehensible. 

Children do not come with instruction manuals.  Like any new product, I firmly believe they should.  As a matter of fact, why should only one family per week benefit from Super Nanny’s knowledge? I think Jo should capitalize on her child rearing knowledge and develop that manual! 

Infancy is easy.  Pat here to burp, rock in a consistent swaying motion to quiet crying.  Feed here.  Have plenty of Tide Pens ready for spit up stains.   It all seems simple enough.  Around the age when you expose your child to other children it gets a bit more complicated.  Issues like parents who send children to day care while they are carrying what all parents know as “the crud.  Solution – visit pediatrician…get icky thick pink stuff.  School brings more questions.   “Hey Mom….why does my classmate have two Moms instead of a Mom and Dad?” Accccck!  Deal with child in a matter of fact voice, and explain according to family values and religious beliefs.

Before you know it you are smack in the middle of the dreaded teenaged years.  Suddenly, the little girl that once kissed a worm in your friend’s back yard notices …. (Gasp….) boys!

Rule # 1 –Teenaged boys are walking hormones, therefore, boys lie.  Boys Lie.  Boys will say anything to get into your pants and do anything to get you into their pants.  BOYS LIE is required memorization for every teen girl.

Once they ignore that with a burning determination you wish they would apply to cleaning their rooms, the inevitable happens.  The dreaded first broken heart appears and suddenly you wish someone told you before you had this child that you would feel everything that they feel.  The problem is you feel is from a parent’s point of view…and that is magnified a million times.

Broken hearts are bad enough; however, they are worse when they are suffered as the result of betrayal by your “best friend”.   Even worse – your best friend begins accusing you of things that you aren’t doing to deal with her guilt.

Rule # 2 – No friend that values a boyfriend more than they value a loyal friend is worth calling a friend.

These are two lessons that are the first of many that will count.  Most importantly, they are two situations where adult reason makes sense, but your heart is still shattered in a million tiny pieces.  That my dear is called commonly called irony.

This is the time Moms and Dads everywhere will do everything within their power to take the pain away, all the while knowing that no matter what they say or do,the child must still swallow this bitter pill.

So – I’ll go get the crazy glue and a quart of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey and get ready to have a shoulder full of tears and such ….heaven knows my little girl is growing up and I’m going to need those Tide pens again…but this time they will be removing mascara.

“Going Green” is about to take on new meaning.  Talk of stopping the use of plastic is going to mean more than cutting down on the purchase of disposable products and purchasing cloth shopping sacks.  America is finally feeling the effects of the “Charge It” generation.  Hold on to your boots kids, we are about to return to more disciplined times.

Most prevalent in the headlines is the sub-prime mortgage industry.  Firm after firm has imploded, and the Wall Street Firms that invested heavily in those mortgages are about to topple.   People who trusted these investment firms to manage retirement accounts have collectively lost billions of dollars, which presents a crisis for those ready to retire.  These Baby-Boomers are now faced with working well into their seventies to compensate for the losses. 

America’s homeless population rises by the day, as banks file foreclosure actions in rising numbers.  People are aware for the first time in a long time that the loaf of bread which was $1.29 last week now costs $1.40.  Comparison shopping is back in style.I can visualize the nightmare.  The same children that were spoiled rotten with designer clothing at top prices are going to be holding their breath until they turn blue.  Gone are the days where a credit card can be handed over with a “Now dear, use good judgment”.    The reign of terror created by American eagle, Aeropostle and others is just about over. 

Over a year ago, I voiced an opinion that the predicted “nine month cycle” of a real estate crisis would not turn out as the “experts” were forecasting.  We can no longer use plastic to put ourselves into debt for expensive video game systems, designer clothing and other frivolous commodities. 

Now that we have people making mortgage payments and tax payments courtesy of Visa and American Express, what happens when they default on those payments?  The cycle has to stop. 

Cut the cards, shred them, burn them …throw away the remains.  If you cannot pay for it in cash, don’t buy it.  If you cannot qualify for an A mortgage do not buy a home.  Let personal responsibility reign and for heaven’s sake, when you say “I’m going green “apply the philosophy to your budget as well.

I am counting my blessings.  The last time I put gasoline in my car it was $2.87 per gallon.  No, I did not stop driving years ago.  This was just three short weeks ago.  Working from home has given me an advantage.  I am no longer driving 52 miles roundtrip daily. I do not sit in traffic on a two lane highway for one and one half hours to complete what should be a twenty minute drive. The supermarket is approximately one mile away from me, and I consolidate my trips to the store.  While I am out, I get everything I need. 

 My knock-about 2002 VW Jetta with the four cylinder engine is a goddess right now.  I am horrified as SUV addicts pull into the convenience store and rack up charges of $90.00 or better.  To make matters worse, seeing $4.00 per gallon on a gas pump is worse than the “sticker shock” of a new vehicle.  When I began driving in 1978, gasoline was 52 cents per gallon. Any sensible person would be trading in that SUV for a small, fuel efficient vehicle more quickly than they could butter a slice of bread.  A friend of mine made this sensible decision three months ago.  In addition to saving money on her fill-ups, she is saving $200.00 monthly on her car payment.  Smart cookie!

Perhaps most interesting are the reasons I’ve heard as to why normally reasonable people are fuelish and continue to drive these trucks and SUVs.

“Well everyone one else is driving them and if you drive a car you don’t stand a chance in an accident” tops the list.  If everyone got smart and traded the gargantuan gas guzzlers in for a more efficient vehicle, we could disqualify that argument in a heartbeat.  The most fascinating aspect of this group is that these are the “green” citizens that demand we only use one piece of toilet paper and blame cows for all evils of the world.

“I really need it” is second in line.  Why in heaven’s name does an n unmarried young adult with no children “need” an SUV?  Granted there are some people out there with five children who truly do need a larger vehicle but somehow, I can’t help recalling a trip we took through the New England States at the age of twelve.  There was no television or DVD player in the back of the car to keep us entertained. My two brothers and I spent 3 weeks sitting in the back of an Oldsmobile as my mother created games to entertain us and did her best to keep us from whining and fighting.  Somehow, I made it to adulthood in one piece.   I am not suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of not being able to play Nintendo in the car during the ten minute drive to the local supermarket.

As a whole, we can deal a devastating blow to those nations that believe they will be rich because Americans require bigger and better possessions to gain status in society.  We can scrap all the vehicles and go back to using horses and wagons. 

At the very least, it would take the spotlight off those evil cows for a while.

Take cover e-mail addicts, here they come.  Your inbox is about to be besieged by horridly tasteless cartoons depicting the disgraceful fall of New York Governor Mark Spitzer. 

Society’s obsession with scandal turns coverage of private events in public families into the most highly valued prize a reporter can secure.  Covering the story of a governor that was elected as a result of his ability to cure social ills who falls in disgrace is like holding a forty six carat diamond.  At times, I am certain that ice water runs through the veins of these sensationalistic vampires.

Currently, any of our neighbors may be involved in an extra-marital affair.  Men and women alike cheat on their spouses through the course of their marriages.  None of these people are subject to scrutiny by the press or general global population.   The offended spouses do not withstand the embarrassment amid cameras, screaming reporters and hot lights as their straying spouses step down from the public eye.  As cameras were trained on the face of Silda Spitzer during yesterday’s news conference they captured the devastation and heartbreak broadcasting it throughout the world. 

The children in an ordinary family will go on with lives, blissfully unaware of the turmoil between their parents.  Peers will pass in the hallway, and there will be no cruel whispers among those who seek popularity. Teachers and friends will not avert their eyes from these children, nor will they remain silent or gossip about how the affected parties are reacting to a very private tragedy.  The Spitzer children will endure all of these embarrassments and more.

I would like to see the members of the press return to a time where decorum and consideration were in style.  Rather than reporters speculating on what caused this tragedy, or on what Silda Spitzer or the children feel, report the story.  New York State Governor Mark Spitzer was caught in a prostitution scandal. New York State Governor Mark Spitzer resigned.  The event is over.  Why must the pain of this family be prolonged?

Undoubtedly, a “journalist” somewhere will remember this event. A where are they now story will be solicited at all costs, and as these people attempt to put their family back together, the pain will be revisited.

One can only hope that this time next year they are as far out of the public eye as they can possibly be.

“Great minds discuss ideas.  Mediocre minds discuss events.  Small minds discuss people”.    Eleanor Roosevelt

In the wee hours of the morning, somewhere in America the peaceful sleep of any given citizen is rudely interrupted by the pounding bass of a car whizzing by, or if you are truly unlucky stuck at a red light outside one’s home. 

Long gone are the days of holding a door for someone more advanced in age and hearing a polite thank you, now the act of courtesy draws a worrisome leer and thoughts of an ulterior motive.

Visions of the American Dream of success and independence once meant diligent work practices, long hours and an endless desire to learn, improve upon and polish.  Small businesses flourished and when you walked into the local vegetable store you were greeted by a clerk that was not conversing on a cell phone to a friend as you patiently waited for service. The owner greeted you and often tossed an apple to the children you had in tow. 

In my quest for an experienced and talented beautician last year, I went to a salon that was recommended to me by a co-worker.  During my color and cut, the beautician was interrupted twenty times with calls from friends and family, and she took each call as I sat and waited at various stages of a service I was paying for.  My time held no value.  Needless to say, I never returned to that establishment. 

“Customer Care” now means a sophisticated phone system which directs you to a foreign country where the labor rates are cheap, and often, due to the language barrier, the customers receive no care at all.  What they experience is an ever increasing level of frustration as they are asked to repeat the same sentiment over and over again as the employee on the other end uses a translation system to decipher what they are saying.

The dependence of business and society on the internet has opened a whole new sector of corporate thieves who feel they are entitled to gain the trust of companies and of private citizens, and then deliberately and methodically steal trade secrets, hack into databases and personal information without a second thought.  Some steal money, others steal services.  No matter what the commodity, my greatest concern is the fact that these hackers have no sense of guilt.  They lay their heads on comfortable pillows at night and close their eyes without a thought to the crimes they have committed or the trusts they have violated.Perhaps it is the new parenting, or perhaps the increasing need to keep up with the Joneses has reached such a distorted importance that we have come to no regard for the work of others.  No matter the cause, this new sense of entitlement has come at a much higher cost than that which we can define in financial terms. 

As for me, I have decided I will do all I can to preserve the ethics I was lucky enough to learn as a child.

Laughter is the best medicine.  Millions of dollars have been spent on research of terminally ill patients who watched episodes of Abbott & Costello or the Three Stooges.The outcome is something our elders knew generations before.  The patients who laughed most often showed better response to treatment, and lived longer than those who did not. 

 Approaching life with a sense of humor is a must.  Learning to laugh at yourself is one of the best life skills you can develop. 

 Somewhere in your mid-40’s it happens.  You are in the midst of doing laundry.  You fold a load of towels and are going to put them away.  Suddenly, you see your child’s sneakers in the middle of the floor and go to put them into his or her room.  Once inside the room you discover a total disaster that you start working on.  When you are done, you go to the kitchen, then to the shower.  Suddenly you are looking into your linen closet knowing that you just washed a load of towels, and wondering intensely just what the heck you did with them.    Looking at the situation you can react with anger and get yourself into a tizzy over it….or you can laugh.  Laughter is the best choice.

The internet is definitely a great source for comedic relief.  There have been times that I’ve been chatting with a friend on IM and laughing so hard that I was certain that anyone who walked into the room and saw me laughing so hard that tears were running down my face would promptly call the men in the white jackets to come take me away. Last night was one of those times.  Now…while it may not be polite to laugh at the illness of another person, I received an e-mail from my mom that sent decorum flying out the nearest window and prompted my daughter to come running to see what had caused the hysterics.  The e-mail read:

No matter how bad you feel, it’s always good to get a laugh, today my right middle finger is locking in a curled toward the palm position.  It is excruciatingly painful to straighten it so I went on the computer and put in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome/Locking Finger.  I was so happy to see that E-Bay and Biz-Rite sites have bargain rates on carpal tunnel syndrome locking fingers.  Wonder what I can get for mine. I thought you would get a chuckle out of computer land.T

It is obvious where my sense of humor comes from, and amazing that my mother sent that just when I needed that break.

The conclusion….if you are faced with a medical problem, forget the expensive doctor bills…just Google it, the laughter will cure you. 

I have wanted a sister as far back as I remember.  I always envied the bonds shared between them, and even the competition.  I grew up as the oldest child and only girl, with two younger brothers.   Even the children that were close in age on my father’s side were all male.  After the age of six, the appeal of playing army and crashing matchbox cars looses the appeal.  Of course, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, in the very early 1960’s gender identity was defined even in Golden Books.  I had my dolls, blackboard, and all the essential pretend kitchen components….all the things girls should be interested in.  What I was lacking was someone to play with twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

As a child, I was so jealous of the cousins who had older sisters to pave the way and teach them all the tricks.  I longed to share even the knock-down drag out fist fights that scared the living daylights out of me while they were taking place.  I was lucky enough to have had three female cousins a year older than I on my mother’s side.  Even more fortunate was the fact that my mother saw fit to allow us to spend ample time together.

I did not, however, truly understand the connection between sisters until very recently.  My brother married in October of last year, and I decided long before that I would not have a sister –in-law, but a real sister.  The privilege of spending time with my new sister in the days prior to her wedding and helping with little tasks here and there, was wonderful.  Just *knowing* what had to be done and doing it, with no need for words.  Talking, and laughing and getting to know one another was wonderful.  Gentle feedback and reassurances regarding wardrobe and such were exchanged, and as I zipped up her wedding gown, I was confident that my brother could not have found me a better sister.

Events of the past months have called for the further development of that bond…one that will never be severed.  It is an indestructible force that sincerely celebrates small accomplishments of the other, and experiences the sorrows as well.

After forty-six years, I can honestly say this was most definitely worth the wait.