Trials and Jury Vertdicts

Have you ever sat on a jury trial for any reason whatsoever? Have you ever prepared for a trial as a defendant, victim, paralegal or attorney? Have you ever been part of the media reporting on a jury trial? Unless you have, I would suggest that you keep your opinions about someone's guilt or innocence to yourself because you would be wrong. In all  cases no one knows the entire story but those involved. It is all about perspective. It is all about how someone sees the facts. It is about how the evidence is presented. It is about the expert witnesses. It is about research. It is all about who the jury believes. In the end, it is not how you or I feel at all. Remember: Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one. 

I watched The OJ Simpson trial and it all of a sudden was about race because he killed his ex-wife who was white. It was not about race when they got married now was it?

I have watched the George Zimmerman trial and how it became about race.  He is Hispanic because of his mother and he is White because of his father. But wait - he is also Black because of his maternal grandfather.  WHAT DOES IT MATTER? 

 “This time we’re doing it right… This time we’re not burning down our communities. This time we’re going out to Whitey’s suburbs and burning down HIS community. We’re going to make Whitey feel the pain.” Supposedly attributed to the current Black Panther Leader. Seriously? Why? You have the same choices everyone else in this country does. You can go to college and make something of your life regardless of race, creed, or religion. So this whole thing of being stomped on by the white folk is just so not real. I was never a slave owner and none of you living now was ever a slave. Get over it. If you want to be angry about being a slave be angry at several of the Arab Muslim countries who imported the most. They used them for everything, including to fill the ranks of their armies. They didn't grow in population though because all of the male slaves were emasculated before they were allowed to enter the Muslim country. The thousands that died from this because of infection, blood loss etc could be easily replaced because it was only a relatively short trip for them to get more slaves. England came next because they figured out that they could have return cargo on those empty ships that went there to trade. Black Africans sold their own.  Did you you know there were free African American slave owners not just white owners? "These include individuals such as Justus Angel and Mistress L. Horry, of Colleton District, South Carolina, who each owned 84 slaves in 1830. In fact, in 1830 a fourth of the free Negro slave masters in South Carolina owned 10 or more slaves; eight owning 30 or more"  (Black Masters: A Free Family of Color in the Old South, Michael P. Johnson and James L. Roak New York: Norton, 1984), p.64.) There are more listed in the book. It is worth reading.

As the late Senator Daniel Moynihan reportedly said, "[e]veryone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  

So lets look at some facts on the Zimmerman Case:

1. Trayvon Benjamin Martin, born February 5, 1995, was a 17-year-old African-American high school student who lived in Miami Gardens, Florida with his mother Sybrina Fulton. In February 2012, Martin was visiting his father Tracy Martin in Sanford, Florida after receiving a ten-day suspension from Krop Senior High School. The suspension stemmed from the discovery of drug residue in Martin's book bag. His mother kicked him out of her home.

2. George Michael Zimmerman, born October 5, 1983, was a part-time student at Seminole State College and a neighborhood watch captain at the Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community in Sanford at the time of the shooting. He is married to Shellie (Dean) Zimmerman and is the son of Robert (of German decent) and Gladys (of Black Peruvian) Zimmerman. His maternal grandfather was black. (so how does this play out in the race card?) (How did "white Hispanic come out of that?"

3. A handful of members from the New Black Panther Party (NBPP) offered a $10,000 reward for the "capture" of George Zimmerman.

4. 911 call shows Zimmerman stopped following Martin after dispatcher’s request, corroborates story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj7qEcD8R-8

5. Prosecutor Angela Corey announced that she will not present the case to a grand jury. (Did she fear that it would not get to trial if she presented the evidence she had?)

6. Zimmerman's bond hearing was held. Judge Lester sets Zimmerman's bond at $150,000. During the hearing, Zimmerman apologizes to the family of Trayvon Martin for the loss of their son. A judge later had him and his wife arrested for supposedly lying about their income for the bond hearing and change the bond to 1 million dollars which he paid the 10% of by law and was released. 

7. A photo of Trayvon Martin's body and George Zimmerman's school records were mistakenly released by prosecutors. Special Prosecutor Angela Corey's office issues a statement asking reporters to "please disregard and do not use the information contained in the initial e-mail. It was inadvertently attached."

8. Zimmerman sued NBC Universal for allegedly editing the 911 call he placed on the night of the tragic event. He states in the lawsuit that NBC unfairly made it appear that "Zimmerman was a racist, and that he was racially profiling Trayvon Martin".

9. Trayvon Martin's girlfriend, known as Civilian Witness 8, who was on the phone with Martin the night of his death, admits that she lied under oath when she told court prosecutors that she was in the hospital on the day of Martin's funeral.

10. Martin's parents settle a wrongful-death claim against the homeowners association of the Florida subdivision where their son was killed.

11. The jury saw multiple photos of his bloody and swollen nose, and cuts to the back of his head, showing that Martin clearly got the best of their fight before Zimmerman fired the shot.

12. Although Martin was only 17-years old in life, his stature 5'11", 175 pounds (Definitely not the 12-14 year old we were shown in the media) and  Zimmerman, in contrast, seems to weigh between 170 and 175 pounds, and is between 5' 7" and 5'9" 

12. Zimmerman was in trouble previously prior to this was 1. Failure to have the registration for his car, 2. Unlawful Speeding (same day as 1), (age 21)  3. Resisting arrest without violence 4. Resisting Arrest with violence/Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer on the same day as 5. He and His girlfriend at the time filed restraining orders against each other.  6. The #4 here was moved to NON Violence on a Law Enforcement officer because Zimmerman completed an Alcohol Program. Zimmerman was 20 when these occurred.

13. Martin had been suspended from school because of drugs. He also used "Lean"  and did so since June 2011 per his texts. That were presented in court. 

So they both were not the angels everyone claims. SO what! Are you perfect? No. Am I perfect? No. A jury of his peers found him NOT GUILTY. That is how things work in this country. If you want to lynch people just because you "think" you know the entire story, please go to another country to see how that works. Some places have no trials. They kill you on the spot for an accusation. No facts. Just accusations.

More facts laid out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF-Ax5E8EJc

Something that was interesting. A black man talking about the demonstration in Akron, Mississippi. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0b7_1373822934

Weed, fights and guns: Trayvon Martin’s text messages released.  http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/23/3413343/

Did Trayvon Martin Referee School Fights?  http://www.wagist.com/2012/dan-linehan/did-trayvon-martin-referee-school-fights

Senseless violence after the verdict:

http://www.mrconservative.com/2013/07/21344-black-mob-beats-up-white-guy-over-zimmerman-verdict-on-tape/

http://twitchy.com/2013/07/14/kill-pigs-anti-cop-vandals-in-oakland-riot-smash-windows-burn-flags-over-zimmerman-verdict-photosvideo/

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/07/14/george-zimmerman-acquitted-murder-in-trayvon-martin-shooting-death/

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/07/violence_aftre_zimmerman_verdict_why_oakland.html

Perhaps all of us should understand what Martin Luther King was about. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Martin Luther King, Jr. 

“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it.” Martin Luther King, Jr. 

“Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

A jury who saw ALL the evidence made a decision. That is how the justice systems works. You do not have to like it, but you do have to live with it. No one wins in this case. The divorced Martin's lost their son. George Zimmerman and his family will forever look over their shoulders because someone is going to do something stupid. George has to live with the fact that he took someone's life. 

There are far more important things that are going on this country that we all should be upset about: IRS targeting, NSA, Benghazi, Fast & Furious. countless serial killer trials that are going on now. 

I am sorry that the 17 year old young man is dead. What if it had been Martin that had killed Zimmerman? Would this have gotten the media attention that it has? I think not.  It would have been a Black against a Black Hispanic then. That would have gotten swept under the rug and called self defense.  

This is the picture of Trayvon the media portrayed

This is the reality. This face shows a young man who was a fighter. Check out his teeth. He has a few missing now.

This is reality

Again, not the little boy

This was the night Trayvon Martin was shot
NOT A LITTLE BOY

This is what the media portrayed.  Man shoots little boy. NOT WHAT HAPPENED!

George Zimmerman that night

Back of George Zimmernan's head that night

Maternal side of the family of George Zimmerman

Black Panthers Reward Poster

Life in General - It sucks

I will be selling a lot of things in the coming week or two. This is so I can afford to pay rent, utilities, car payments, groceries, cell phone bill. etc. and putting my stuff into storage.

My lease is up at the end of August and we discussed my inability to pay and stay caught up. I will need to move because without a job and a roommate who does not do what they agreed to, I cannot make ends meet. I am too far behind to even make it work now. Where I will move I have no clue. My car most likely if I can keep up the car payments, otherwise I will be in a homeless shelter. Then if I cannot make the payments on the storage, I will lose what little I do have at the end of all of this. I guess it should not matter. They are only possessions and memories that I do not need. Who needs those right?

Quite frankly, I never know from one week to the next if I am getting my unemployment or not. Apparently I missed an appointment that I did not know I even had with the Career Center so my check this week is not forthcoming until I make another appointment.  Oh and I have no gas for a job interview that I missed this morning because I have no money from unemployment. This cycle never ends.

Oh and Frankie needs a home otherwise he is going to a Cat Shelter. I cannot afford to feed myself let alone the cat.  I also cannot afford kitty liter. Before you tell me about Bi-State Pet Food Pantry, I have used them in the past and they are wonderful. They require Veterinary records of shots to continue to use them. I cannot afford that either. Hell I cannot afford to go to the doctor myself right now let alone a cat.

This all stems from a person who could not keep his dick in his pants and be faithful. To you I say the following: Cheating is not an accident. Falling off a bike is an accident. You don't just trip and fall into a vagina!

I have been on a downward spiral ever since. the cycle needs to end and I need a job that I can stay at until I retire! 10 years. 10 years till I retire. But the way my luck has been going they will raise the age of retirement or I will have to work until I die because there will be no Social Security.

Before you get offended at what is coming up please note, I am not discussing those I consider Family.
Unlike some people I know, I do not have the luxury to spend my husbands money and not work.  I would love that luxury! I would love to consider that all jobs out there are beneath me because they do not pay what I used to make before I got laid off.  I would love it if I did not have to work and be able to spend time with my own children and grandchildren on a regular basis.  That is not the way the world works, not for me and not for most people.

I would like it for an employer to say " We know you are over qualified for this position but we will hire you anyway!" I would like an employer to say "We want someone who is here for the long haul and we think you are that person!" I would like an employer to say "We value your experience, wisdom and knowledge and we want to hire you!"

One can hope right? In the meantime I have to make ends meet. Things I will be selling include books, dvds, gaming books, a PS3 with games, computers, computer parts etc.

National School Lunch Program

The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (79 P.L. 396, 60 Stat. 230) is a United States federal law that created the National School Lunch Program to provide low-cost or free school lunch meals to qualified students through subsidies to schools.The program was established as a way to prop up food prices by absorbing farm surpluses, while at the same time providing food to school age children. It was named after Richard Russell, Jr., and signed into law President Harry S. Truman in 1946.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Lunch/AboutLunch/ProgramHistory.htm

http://federaleducationpolicy.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/1946-national-school-lunch-act/

The majority of the support that is now provided to schools participating in the program comes in the form of a cash reimbursement for each meal served. Schools are also entitled to receive commodity foods and additional commodities as they are available from surplus agricultural stocks. The National School Lunch Program serves 30.5 million children each day at a cost of $8.7 billion for fiscal year 2007. Most participants are also eligible for food during the summer through the Summer Food Service Program.

The current nutrition standards being used by the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast program were established in 2010.

In late 2009, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies released School Meals: Building Blocks For Healthy Children. This report reviews and provides recommendations to update the nutrition standard and the meal requirements for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. School Meals also sets standards for menu planning that focus on food groups, calories, saturated fat, and sodium and that incorporate Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Dietary Reference Intakes.

hefoodfarce.com/2010/07/18/the-future-of-america-its-a-fat-outlook/


In November 2011, an agriculture appropriations bill passed by Congress garnered controversy for blocking a proposed change by the Obama administration to school lunch regulations, whereby 1/8 of a cup of tomato paste would no longer have been considered as having the nutritional equivalent of 1/2 a cup of vegetables, but instead only as having the nutritional equivalent of 1/8 of a cup of vegetables (i.e., schools can only credit a volume of vegetables as equivalent to its actual size). Critics of this move by Congress claim that pressure was placed upon officials voting on the bill by lobbyists representing pizza manufacturers and cheese producers, as it was seen to threaten the ability of schools to serve pizza and credit it with the same level of nutritional value as they heretofore had. Many critics have sardonically summarized the situation as "Pizza is now a vegetable" or "Congress decides pizza is a vegetable". However, others have pointed out that 1/8 of a cup of tomato paste stacks up remarkably well against a 1/2 cup of vegetables nutritionally, albeit with an excessive amount of sodium that could be argued to reduce its nutritional value.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/9/new-york-school-drops-michelle-obama-lunch-standar/

Gee Mrs. Obama - can you please stick to your own kids and stay out of our business and our schools? You are wasting our school tax dollars!

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Legislation/dietaryspecs.pdf

This is the rule for School Lunches and Breakfast Programs. Breakfast must consist of 1 Fruit Cup and 7-10 oz of grains which is cereal and 1 cup of milk and that is across all age groups. Lunch varies by grade level.

Let me see. Meat alternatives include Black Beans, Black eyes peas, Garbanzo or Chickpeas, Great Northern, Kidney Beans, lima beans, mung beans, navy beans, Pink Beans, Pinto Beans, red beans, soy beans, baked beans with a variety of meats in them, refried beans, lentils, almonds, brazil nuts, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pretty much every nut and seeds out there and soup beans.

I have to admit I had no idea what a mung bean was and looked it up. The mung or moong bean is the seed of Vigna radiata, native to the Indian subcontinent, and mainly cultivated in India, China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, Bangladesh, Laos and Cambodia. Amount Per 1 cup (202 g) Calories 213 % Daily Value* Total fat 0.8 g 1% Saturated fat 0.2 g 1% Polyunsaturated fat 0.3 g Monounsaturated fat 0.1 g Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Sodium 4 mg 0% Potassium 537 mg 15% Total Carbohydrate 39 g 13%
Dietary fiber 15 g 60% Sugar 4 g Protein 14 g 28% Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 3% Calcium 5% Iron 15% Vitamin B-6 5% Vitamin B-12 0% Magnesium 24% *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001W2W2Q The cost of a Mung Bean is not cheap. $14.10 per pound for organic which the first lady wants us all to eat. (Still have no real idea if I would like it or not but hey I will try something once to see if I do, but not at those prices)

Then we get to the MEAT of it. Beef Brisket, Corned Beef Brisket, Beef Cheek Meat, Beef Chuck Roast, Beef Flank Steak, Ground Beef, beef heart, beef kidney, Beef liver, beef loin steak, beef ox tail, beef rib eye, beef skirt steak, beef rib roast, Beef Eye of Round, beef round roast, beef rump roast, Beef Special Trim (practically free of fat), beef steak that is formed like a steak, beef stew meat, beef tongue, canned beef, chicken and ALL its parts and organs, canned chicken, dried eggs, frankfurters, knockwurst, vienna sausage, ground buffalo, goat, lamb, pork, clams, crabs, crawfish, fish steaks, fish portions, fish sticks, mackerel, Oysters, salmon, scallops, sardines, shrimp, quid/calimari, tuna, turkeyand yogurt. Remember we are talking ALL organ meats as well with everything here.

ALL of this HAS to be LEAN MEAT! Have you priced lean meat at the store? It is the most expensive cuts of meat! The good news is that it can be fresh or frozen so maybe the school can catch a sale? Nah. They have to buy from the USDA. It is in their rules. The rest of the food is supposed to be organic. Have you priced organic foods? Look up Whole Foods and Trader Joes online and tell me how much organic and lean meats are.

The problem is that a lot of kids are going hungry because they do not like the food they are being served in our schools. This program was supposed to alleviate the problem of hunger for low income families. Most kids are not buying the food or taking what is served because the portions are either too small or they taste horrible. The schools are losing money to the tune of $100,000 a school year. That might not seem like much but when you figure out that it is your school tax dollars that is being spent on that food, it is horribly wasteful.

Recent local store ads.

Dierbergs Ad that is inclusive of today:
Dierbergs All Natural Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast is $3.99 lb.
Fresh Alaskan Sockeye Salmon $11.99 lb.
Fresh Jumbo Catfish Fillets $9.99 lb.
Center Cut, All Natural Bone-In Rib Pork Chops are $2.67
Jumbo or Family Pack Fresh Ground Chuck $2.97 lb.

Schnucks Ad that is inclusive of today
USDA Choice Certified Angus Beef, Fresh Boneless Shoulder Steaks $2.99 lb.
Pride of the Farm Fresh Rib Pork Chops $3.69 lb.

Both stores offer Fresh Local vegetables and fruits all summer long. After the summer is over though, they ship it in just like everyone else. Is it all organic? No clue. The ad does not say.
Not bad prices really. But times that by 5 days a week per student. Not so cheap now is it?

Let us now look at Whole Foods. Their web site says that their Quality Standards are "We’re seriously serious about quality around here. We carry natural and organic products because we believe that food in its purest state — unadulterated by artificial flavors, sweeteners, colorings and preservatives — is the best tasting and most nutritious food available." So you know when you buy from their it is going to be organic.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-values

Current ad for Whole Foods
Organitc Hot Dogs $4.99 each 12 oz pkg. About the same as Oscar Meyer equivelent at most stores not on sale.
Wild Caught 16/22 count cooked shrimp 11.99 each

How much does it cost to go organic? Check it out:
http://www.chow.com/food-news/53451/how-much-does-it-cost-to-go-organic/

I am not saying that we cannot go organic in the schools or do lean meats. What I am saying is that the cost needs to go way down, be competitive with the other non-organic foods and the health of the food needs to meet proper guidelines. When a fast food restaurant checks the food  for bacteria and pathogens more often than the schools do, there is a huge problem. Of course the restaurants are held to safety codes and health standards. Schools are not held to the same standards. Organic food does not last as long as the normal antibiotic drug ingested foods we are used to eating.

My own organic test came in the form of tomatoes and potatoes.  I bought organic tomatoes and potatoes at a farmer's market and I got normal tomatoes and potatoes at the local grocery store.  The organic cost more per pound but I felt that I needed to eat a little healthier. Now mind you I purchased from the local store first and still had not eaten very many of either one. I got the organics and used a few that day and then put them in the fridge for the next day. By the time I got to the tomatoes the next morning, they were rotten all the way through. My other tomatoes were fine (the ones from the store). My organic potatoes also started getting moldy that day. So in reality I would have to go to the store more often with the organic fruit and vegetables, which with the cost of gasoline will cost me more than going to my local store. (I am not here to debate organic vs. Monsanto. That is another rant for another day.)

In December 2009, a report was released that showed that fast food restaurants were far more rigorous in checking for bacteria and dangerous pathogens in beef and chicken than the school lunch program. "We simply are not giving our kids in schools the same level of quality and safety as you get when you go to many fast-food restaurants", said J. Glenn Morris, director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida. "We are not using those same standards." (Eisler, Peter; Morrison, Blake; DeBarros, Anthony (2009-12-09). "Fast-food standards for meat top those for school lunches". USA Today)

The statistics in this article amaze me
 http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/shpps/2006/factsheets/pdf/FS_FoodSafety_SHPPS2006.pdf

When I worked in the food industry I had to take classes on those safety codes and health standards. Why is it not REQUIRED in the schools?

Your child gets sick at school and they send them home. Are they really sick or was it tainted food?

http://hernandotoday.com/he/list/news/food-poisoning-cause-of-elementary-school-illness-20130531/

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/23/nyregion/a-second-bout-of-food-poisoning-sickens-22-children-at-a-school-in-trenton.html

This set of articles listed here at the New York Times website scare me.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/food_safety/index.html


Some more things for you to look at.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2173937670001/several-districts-opt-out-of-federal-school-lunch-program/
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-06-19/catlin-leaving-federal-school-lunch-program.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/niskayuna-school-district_n_2544868.html
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/11/20/school-trash
http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/school_lunch.htm
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-02-20/news/ct-met-school-lunch-waste-20110220_1_cps-lunchrooms-lunchroom-waste-unwanted-fruit
http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/ph/rt/food_waste_and_organics.htm
http://www.kiddiecatering.com/
http://www.fns.usda.gov/slp
http://docs.schoolnutrition.org/newsroom/jcnm/04fall/bergman/bergman1.asp

Sequester Fall Out

What exactly is Sequester? "It’s a package of automatic spending cuts that’s part of the Budget Control Act (BCA), which was passed in August 2011. The cuts, which are projected to total $1.2 trillion, are scheduled to begin in 2013 and end in 2021, evenly divided over the nine-year period. The cuts are also evenly split between defense spending — with spending on wars exempt — and discretionary domestic spending, which exempts most spending on entitlements like Social Security and Medicaid, as the Bipartisan Policy Center explains. The total cuts for 2013 will be $109 billion."(http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/14/the-sequester-explained/)

Today, a friend of mine, who is a veteran, found out that because of the sequester in Washington, he was going to lose it all. His income, his health insurance and his home. They denied his disability for disability that was received while in the military. Totally unacceptable!  Is this the way we treat our Veterans who served our country and put their life on the line?

My son was not allowed to reenlist in the Marines. They disbanded his Battalion. It was the oldest Battalion in this country. This is unacceptable. They are having to cut another 8,000 Marines. The Marine Corps plans to reduce the size of the active-duty corps to about 182,000 as part of overall reductions in defense spending. It is about 194,000 now, down from a peak of more than 200,000. The Army announces Tuesday that it was eliminating 12 Brigade combat teams as it shrinks the size of the services to 490,00- soldiers by 2017, down from a wartime high of 570,00.  Again, is this they way we treat our Veterans who served our country and put their life on the line?
(http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/06/26/commandant-amos-helmand-afghanistan-odierno/2460619/)

Locally a senior center not far from me quit transporting patients to needed medical appointments because their funding was cut because of the sequester. This is unacceptable.  Is this the death camp idea circulating already starting? Some of these seniors will die without medication, dialysis, breathing treatments, etc.  Is this how we treat the people who helped to build roads, buildings, planes, etc., and helped our economy grow?

Personally myself and many others I know that are on unemployment are losing $320 a month in Missouri through September all because of the sequester. This is unacceptable. I cannot live on $900 a month and pay bills. I do not get those funds back. They are deducted from my total income allowed by unemployment. So I did not get the money but I lose it completely. Is this how you treat those of us who cannot find a job because the economy is so bad?

According to CNN Money the worst is yet to come. "The blunt, across-the-board cuts to government spending designed to deliver an austerity blast fell out of mind for most Americans back in April when Congress patched FAA funding to stave off an impending air travel nightmare. Planes kept taking off, more or less on time, and the broader predictions of economic cataclysm failed to materialize.

But the program is wreaking quiet havoc by boring into all sorts of other critical federal programs -- clinical trials for cancer patients, Head Start help for low-income kids, in-home assistance for seniors, Western fire-prevention efforts, the post-Benghazi push to beef up embassy security, not to mention cuts to unemployment benefits, housing programs, public defenders, national parks, and on and on. The changes have been relatively small and diffuse enough to stay off the front pages, especially as the nation enjoys unexpectedly brisk economic growth.

That may be about to change. The first sequester cuts that could rattle the recovery are due to start hitting next week, as the Pentagon begins furloughing roughly 650,000 of its civilian employees across the country without pay for up to 11-day stretches, through September. Measuring any ripple effects from all those unpaid vacations could be tricky, since sequestration choked off funding for the Mass Layoff Statistics program, which the federal government uses to track and explain what happened whenever a company fires more than 50 people at a time."  (http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2013/06/26/sequester-spending/)

This is just the cuts scheduled for 2013:

The 2013 sequester includes:

$42.7 billion in defense cuts (a 7.9 percent cut).

$28.7 billion in domestic discretionary cuts (a 5.3 percent cut).

$9.9 billion in Medicare cuts (a 2 percent cut).

$4 billion in other mandatory cuts (a 5.8 percent cut to nondefense programs, and a 7.8 percent cut to mandatory defense programs).

The cuts are only going to get worse of the next 8 years. Cuts to social security means cuts for the elderly and disabled. Medicare which all of us who have ever had a job paid into is going to have cuts.  

While I applauded President Obama for giving up a months paycheck at the time to show his support of the Air Traffic Controllers losing their jobs and closing of control towers, his giving himself a raise recently was unacceptable. If he can have his raise and congress can have their raise,  I can have my unemployment. My friend can keep his benefits and the seniors can get their rides.

Without those clinical trials for cancer drugs, I would not be alive. Many will die without those trials. While I agree many will die even with the trials because they are on placebos, the point is, without funding research moves out of this country and overseas which takes jobs.

"The last few years have seen a remarkable number of American companies moving overseas, resulting in the loss of many jobs in the US economy. While manufacturing companies have taken their operations overseas for decades, the trend is now happening in the service industry.

The spate of U.S. companies moving overseas has been given subtle terms including the most famous one, "overseas outsourcing." A majority of economists has wished away the worry of a grand negative effect to the overall economy but some have been more cautious in their sentiments.

The U.S. economy depends largely on consumer spending. The increasing numbers of unemployed have meant that employed persons are fast surrendering the clout required to demand pay raises. With lower wages, the masses have less to spend, and this low spending power becomes counterproductive for consumer spending. There is a healthy reason for concern, therefore, even as the exodus of American companies overseas continues."
(http://www.ehow.com/about_6403114_american-companies-moving-overseas.html)
Wake up! Those people you elected and re-elected every year have caused this problem. Special interest groups have caused this problem. We cannot drill for our own oil without some group getting up in arms. We have the largest oil deposit on our own soil. Why let OPEC control our gas prices? We can control our own.

Depression is defined as: A period of drastic decline in a national or international economy, characterized by decreasing business activity, falling prices, and unemployment.

It is time to remove every member of Congress and put people in there that care what we are doing to the people of our country. Can it be fixed over night? No. But we have to start somewhere.

An Open Letter

Dear ex daughter-in-law,

Selfish  is defined as "devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others; characterized by or manifesting concern or care only for oneself: selfish motives."

Faithful is defined as "true to one's word, promises, vows; steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; reliable, trusted, or believed."

User is defined as " a person or thing that uses something or uses others"

Self-centered  is defined as "concerned solely or chiefly with one's own interests, welfare, etc.; engrossed in self; selfish; egotistical; centered in oneself or itself" The archaic meaning is " fixed; unchanging."

I give these definitions in the hopes that you will see yourself in them and try to correct your actions and thinking.

When I met you, I liked you. I thought you were a good and kind person. I always look for the good in people. It is one of my biggest flaws. Even when it is evil looking me in the face, I still look for the good. I suppose that is where Star Wars influenced me. Even Darth Vader had good in him.

 You were staying with your best friend. That is how you met my son. While you were dating my son you also dated others and slept with them.  Your best friend warned my son and I about you. You denied it all of course.  What you never understood was that your best friend was in our lives long before you ever came along.  My son of course accepted your denial  and you moved into my home.

While you lived in my home, I got your respect and we talked about everything under the sun.   We even discussed your best friend. You even had me convinced that she was crazy. This continued until you and my son moved out into your own apartment.  Then the real you appeared.

You will never understand how I felt when he moved out. He is my oldest. He is my friend.  I never expected a daily phone call and I still don't expect them but you hindered my even seeing him. He never understood your anger when he did talk to me or see me.

You got married in a lovely ceremony performed by one my oldest friends in your parents home. I told you then, that you had my son's heart and that if you ever broke it, you would answer to me.

"For this cause, a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh, and the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:24-25)"  This is what you expected. He would never have anything else to do with his family.

I hate to break it to you but The word “leave” from the biblical text means to “forsake dependence upon.” It means to turn your allegiance away from your parents toward your spouse.  My son was never dependent  upon his parents when he married you. He had a job and supported you. That does not mean for him to stop loving his family.

As time went on you pushed me away even more. You divided what could have been a good relationship between both families. Your parents and our family. Instead you said I was trying to run your life. If I ever gave you any advice at all, it was just that. advice.  I rarely called and can count on one hand how many times I was ever at your house.  It is kind of hard to run your life when I do not see you or talk to you. I think in your mind you have me mixed up with your mother who does run your life.

When I found out you were pregnant, I was very happy. I thought it might calm you down about life in general and understand what it really meant to be mother. Boy was I ever wrong.

When my granddaughter was born, I was so happy. I know you did not want me in the delivery room and I really was ok with that until my other daughter-in-law was allowed in there. My son put his foot down and I watched my granddaughter being born. It was one of the happiest days of my life.   It brought both families closer. At least I thought so. Everyone hugged after she was born and we all got to hold her.

Then it came time for godparents to be picked. While it was your decision to make, I had one trepidation on the godfather you chose.  I am also confused as to why you picked him.  It was your choice.  Yours and my sons.  I am thankful for his involvement early on though. He talked some sense into you. Looking back I figured you only went along with it though because you were not allowed to drive. You used him and me.  I went with you to the pediatrician. Our family pediatrician. The same one my sons went to. It was a good sign I thought.

For a few months life was good for everyone. We enjoyed the new bundle of joy.  You went to work and had a free baby sitter in my mom. She watched her other granddaughter so you figured she could watch your child.   I saw my granddaughter when I visited my mom. I never came to your house to see her except when it was her first birthday.  I spoke to you briefly when I saw you at my mothers. I rarely talked to my son.

You continually used the free babysitting even when you were not working anymore.  You never told my mother that though. You continued using your free babysitter every day.  Apparently being a mother was not all cracked up to be what you thought it was going to be. Some of the comments you made to a crying baby were just shocking to me. You smacked her bottom when she was crying and made her cry even more. I took her from you and walked to the kitchen at my mothers to get her calmed down. When my son was around you were the loving mother.  I think it is all for show.  

I had heard rumors that you were sleeping with someone else. I was also told that my son was not the father of his firstborn.  I did not want to believe it. I truly thought you loved my son. 

Then I found out that you lost your job because you could  not keep your mouth shut and swore at a customer without muting the phone. They fired you and rightfully so.  I told my mother that you were not working.  You quit using her because you had been found out. The look on your face when we confronted you was priceless

The world ended for me when my son joined the Marines. I was proud of him and fearful at the same time. He got through boot camp and school. Then the dreadful news came that he was heading to Afghanistan.  

You moved to Rolla. Taking my granddaughter with you. You moved in with your parents instead of being the adult and raising your daughter, you let your parents take over. So within the space of six months I lost both of them.  The only time I saw my granddaughter was when you came to St. Louis and wanted something.

Once he joined the military though, you never made a house payment.  You did not care if you ever moved back into that house.  You expected to live with your parents for the rest of your life or at least have my son live in Rolla.

When I heard from my son or got a phone call from the base phone tree, I sent an email to everyone. You got mad because I did this. It included your parents. You said it made you look like a bad person because you should be the one to tell everyone. So I removed you and your parents from the email list and continued on. You never once told his friends or family what was going on. 

I know how you felt when he left. I know because his father was in the Navy. I was happy that he talked to his family. If he only had one call he could make, I was not upset that he called his parents. They called me to let me know he was ok. We wrote letters and I sent packages and he sent home gifts.  They have deployment classes that you never took advantage of. You could have done them at Fort Leonard Wood. They had them because their soldiers were heading over there too.

When my son returned home, you moved to California. My son called me more from there than he ever did the rest of your marriage.

In the meantime, the rumor mill continued about you and your sleeping around . I started paying attention and asking questions about when this happened. What I discovered was that you cheated on my son before and during the marriage while you lived in St. Louis.  The evidence was mounting. I still kept my mouth shut.

You found out you were pregnant before his last deployment. I was happy for both of you. I kept thinking that perhaps two kids would stop your idiocy. I was still wrong.  I heard rumors again about this deployment and your actions.  Military wives are vicious. They do not condone someone cheating. You had your parents move you back to Rolla.

When my son was gone on the last deployment, you made sure I was not on the phone tree anymore. You NEVER once emailed, called or talked to anyone about what was going on with my son. I only knew about where he was because of the Marine Battalion website, his phone calls and our Skype time. At least I had that. I watched him sleep when we were finished with Skype because he left it on.  

My son came home and missed his daughter's birth by 10 days because he could not get leave until the entire unit came home. That was his job.  You did not care though.  In your mind the marriage was already over. What I did not know until he came home was that a bullet missed his head by inches. He brought it home. You didn't even know that. You would have been happier if he was dead because you would have gotten his social security for the rest of your life and your daughters would each get money. You would never have to work again.  You would never have to deal with anyone in his family. Unless you needed to use them for something.

I picked him up at the airport. I came with him and his friends to see my new granddaughter.   I fell in love at first site. She looks just like David. So I just knew all the people who said you cheated were wrong.  You found an apartment for David to move into. A 3 bedroom.  He moved in and the rest of the furniture and boxes were delivered there.  We all assumed you were moving back in together.  You never lived there.

Then the bombshell hit. You asked him for a divorce.  Your reason was because he got out of the military. Excuse me? What the hell kind of reason is that? Did he beat you? Did he belittle you? Did he hurt the kids? Those are reasons if they happened. Getting out of the military is not a reason. That is an excuse.  I hate to break the news to you but, my son was not allowed to reenlist.  I saw the paperwork.  When you finally showed up to go through the boxes and to take what you wanted you saw it too. Did it change your mind? No. So your reason for wanting a divorce is not that at all. You have found someone else. We all know it. Your daughter let that slip out.

During this entire divorce you have been unbelievably antagonistic towards my son. You have tried to withhold his children from him. Oh he could only have one of them but not both. But he said he made an agreement with you that until she turned one, then youngest would stay with you and he would see her there in Rolla. This still does not happen. She is almost 2. We were able to see her there. And we did. When you came to St. Louis we had to endure your presence as a supervisor because you never let my son have his youngest daughter alone. You got mad because both of your daughters love me and their dad.

There are some people who do not understand what it means to be a parent. You are one of these people.  You may not love the father  or mother of your children and that is ok. That does not make him any less of a father. It does not make you any less of a mother. That fierceness that will make you protect your child is within both of you.

I have a website for you. Since you never took the parenting class required by the courts during your divorce. It is about putting kids in the middle and you being selfish.

 http://helpguide.org/mental/coparenting_shared_parenting_divorce.htm

It took a year. But your are finally divorced. Now we do not have to endure your presence anymore where either grandchild is involved. We can just enjoy them. I am not sorry that the judgment did not go your way and that the judge felt that my son has rights. I am  also not sorry that you will not be able to see your daughters except on weekends during the summer and that their father has them all summer including the oldest grandchild's birthday every year. Pity that you only get 2 weeks exclusively during the summer.  Here is a news flash for you. The world does  not revolve around you anymore. It revolves around your children. I suggest that you grow up and figure this out. 

I suggest you remember what I told you when you married my son. If you break his heart you will answer to me. This will be my revenge to you.  Your children already love me. I intend to spend as much time as I can with them.  They will always remember me. Even when I am gone. You will know that I am special in their eyes when they say they miss me. You will know that I was loved by them.  You will know that they had a relationship with their grandmother that you cannot stand. They even will have one with my mother. The one who you cannot stand either but had no problem using. 

Know this, if you or anyone else ever touches my granddaughters in any way that is unacceptable or inappropriate, I will come for you and even though I will not look good in prison orange, please know that it would be worth it in the end.  

In the end, I know you are just a Cannot Understand Normal Thinking type of person. Read the letter of those capitalized words. I cannot stress it enough. That is how you are listed in my phone. That is the only name I can call you. You have earned the title. Your lying, cheating ways can continue with someone else.

Save Early Save Often

This is a cautionary tale of the mantra Save Early Save Often

Today I spent hours working on research and editing a couple of documents with the research in it. I was just getting ready to finally save it all and my desktop decided to reboot itself. It does this frequently. I am sure it is getting too hot and probably needs cleaned out. I lost everything I just worked on. 2 documents back to their original state. Can I scream now? please? just once? REALLY LOUDLY????? sigh.

So tomorrow I will attempt to do this all over again. Hopefully Bing saved my research pages in my Bing history. At least I will not have to reinvent the wheel. 

Tomorrow also brings me to the point of opening my computer to clean it out of all the dust, dirt, cat hair and dog hair that has accumulated over the last couple of years.   Hopefully that will take care of this rebooting problem. If it doesn't I will have to resort to copying off documents that I have and reformat the hard drive and re install windows 7. Sounds like fun yes?? NOT! 

Free Food Friday

For the first time in years I have gone to a food bank. (Last Friday). I actually went to two. That was an experience. Let me see. What did I get? Steak, Chicken Breast, 2 hamburger patties, seriously days old bread that went moldy within 2 days, weird noodles,  another mixed bag of noodles, dozen of eggs, one onion, 10 potatoes (could have had more but had no room, can of peas, can of green beans, 6 cans of sparkling water, an orange, chips ahoy cookies, peanut butter cream cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, small jar of peanut butter, 6 individual off brand fruit loops, 2 packages of soft tacos, 1 large soft burrito shell package 4 pineapple yogurts, baby Bella mushrooms, seriously black bananas, cherries, one package of macaroni and cheese, snowmen marshmallows, pretzel m&ms and soft cheese sauce that was repackaged in a plastic container with black marker on it. Oh and 2 Gerber toddler peaches.(Why they gave those to me, I have no idea. I have no kids)

Now I understand it is all about who donates what to the pantries in the area. Let us see how this will work for the week on meals. Got plenty of snacks! Have no one to give the toddler peaches to. But.. hey.. I might eat them if I get hungry enough I suppose.

Day 1 Friday

dinner: Steak, potato with mushrooms and onion

snack: cookies, cherries, pretzel m&ms throughout the day and watching TV

Day 2 Saturday

breakfast left over steak, fried potatoes, mushrooms and onion with eggs 6 eggs (had to make extra to share with roommate)

lunch and dinner were at a friends

Snack: cherries mostly (they are good) couple of cookies and pretzel m&ms

Day 3 Sunday

breakfast omlet in a bag with my last hotdog in it (2 eggs)

lunch: fried potatoes and mushrooms

dinner: PBJ sandwich on weird bread that has poppy seeds on it 

Snack: cherries mostly (they are good) couple of cookies and pretzel m&ms

Day 4 Monday

Breakfast 2 egg fried potato, last of the mushrooms  (made extra to share with roommate)

lunch pbj sandwich

dinner: Hamburger patties and potatoes

Snack: cherries mostly (they are good) couple of cookies and pretzel m&ms

Day 5 Tuesday

Breakfast last  2 eggs fried potato

Lunch PBJ

Dinner Last ground meat from the freezer and fried potatoes

Snack: cherries mostly (they are good) couple of cookies and pretzel m&ms

I have been mostly drinking water until today when I made iced tea. I had two cans of Ginger Ale left and drank those.  

What I currently have left is chicken breast, cherries, some of that poppy seed bread, taco and burrito shells, 3 yogurts, potatoes, macaroni and cheese (no milk or margarine), some of the soft cheese sauce (might put that in the mac and cheese tomorrow), weird noodles, other package of noodles, peas and green beans, bananas that will be frozen for bread when I can get the ingredients and cookies and pretzel m&ms and santa marshmallows.

So after tomorrow the meat will be gone. I received no butter, no milk and no real cheese or lunch meat. 

So this is the plan for the rest of the week:

Day 6 Wednesday

Breakfast - Yogurt (roommate had one yesterday) and dry cereal

Lunch - PBJ on the last piece of that weird bread

Dinner Chicken Breast, Green beans and maybe potatoes

Snack: cherries mostly (they are good) couple of cookies and pretzel m&ms

Day 7 Thursday

Breakfast: yogurt and dry cereal

Lunch PBJ on a taco shell (2)

Dinner: Macaroni and Cheese Sauce

Snack: cherries mostly (they are good) couple of cookies and pretzel m&ms

So there ya have it. My week of menus from the trip to the food pantries. 

Here is my suggestion for those of you that donate to places like this: Give them food that YOU would eat. While I appreciate the snacks, I would have rather had filling meals that I could make all week.  Make sure the food is not expired when you donate it or soon to be expired. The bread that gets donated by the Bread Company really needs picked up the same day it is given out. Donate food coupons to local restaurants. Doesn't have to be much. Even $5.00 at McDonald's gets you stuff off the $1.00 menu. That includes a drink so really for $3.00 and change you can get a meal.  

Friday, I will play Russian Roulette and see what I get again from the food pantry. Expect me to report in again on this subject.