“If I want all day Kindergarten its $300 a month and if I do the am or pm option, then it’s only 2 hours with every other Friday off. My son goes to preschool longer than that now. That’s why I’m hoping McKenna gets in.”
“Who is McKenna?” She asked. I did one of those double take blasphemous “WHAAAAATT?”  I was pretty baffled. “How do you not know who Rob McKenna is?”

“Is it someone I’m suppose to vote for? Because I’m not even registered.” Face Palm. I’ve had this conversation way too many times before.

Parents, it’s your job to raise productive members of society. This is the ultimate goal of parenting. How can you not be concerned with voting when it’s one of the single most important decisions you can make for your child’s future? The people you vote into office, the policies they support, directly create the environment and future of your child.

I was in High school in the late 90′s when Meth started making it’s way into schools and my community. I saw people destroyed by it. Good people. I saw early on that Meth has no place in our communities. I don’t want to live in an environment where Meth labs thrive. That’s why I’m voting for Rob McKenna. As Attorney General he made Washington state safer with his “Allied Against Meth Taskforce.” Every year he has been in office we have seen a dramatic decrease in meth labs and toxic dump sites. The task force isn’t just a ‘find the bad guys’ platform, It focuses on education, prevention, awareness, legislation and advocacy. It also focuses on interdepartmental workings of the various law enforcement agencies. McKenna recognized a problem and handled it responsibly, effectively and efficiently. He did not handle it the politics-as-usual way: Throw A Lot Of  Money At The Problem, Hope It Goes Away. His approach in taking on the meth problem is one of the many reasons I feel comfortable raising my children in Washington state.

Our state is in a massive budget shortfall. Inslee would like you to believe that in order to fund education we have to raise taxes. That means more money out of our families pocket. The debate of name brand mac n cheese won’t be an option, it will be can I even afford mac n cheese? The truth is that our education budget allocation has dropped from 51% to 43% over the past several years. It’s not that we don’t have the money to fund education, it’s that we are wasting money in nearly every way possible. I hate reading that because Washington has a “Joint and Several Liability” clause that makes it very attractive for trial lawyers and promotes lawsuit abuse. Washington state paid out nearly $50 Million dollars in lawsuits while similar sized states paid out 13 Million. Rob Mckenna has a plan to reduce lawsuit abuse by ending the “Joint and Several Liability.” Wouldn’t it be great to cut the lawsuit payouts down to $15 Million and take that $35 MILLION dollars and invest into making our education system better? It seems like a no brainer to me. I’m going to make a silly comparison. If my family makes $50,000 a year, but I’m spending $30,000 a year in speeding tickets. Wouldn’t the logical and responsible choice be to STOP SPEEDING? That’s a silly comparison of course, because the DMV would take away my license long before I could rack up $30,000 in speeding tickets. But if it’s so silly why hasn’t our state taken away the “Joint and Several Liability” clause yet? Doesn’t seem so silly anymore, does it?

Parents, we need to start taking an active role in who we are voting into office. We can’t decrease education funding anymore. We need to stop wasting money. We need a responsible, logical, clear thinking Governor who puts the safety and the future well being of the citizens first and foremost. We need Rob McKenna as our next Washington Governor.

Flatter Me

I saw this today and it almost made me cry a little. So many people today forget how to be a decent human being. Someone that shows love, compassion, humility, understanding. I try to raise my kids to treat everyone with respect while still having the ability to question authority. I want my kids to grow up in a world, where they can say “This Is What I Believe And Why” without someone calling them names, belittling them or being rude. I want my kids to be able to speak with confidence and know that sometimes people will not agree with them, but their opinions will be treated respectfully.

It made me get all teary-eyed for a couple of reasons. One, being that I’m starting to lose faith in the people that are leading (or who hope to lead) our country. And Two, the people that blindly follow these people, salivating over their every word because they have some great ‘Insight.’

It’s not really ‘Insight’ if you’re just rehashing soundbites or saying something controversial for attention. It’s these people that scare me the most. They don’t have any real ideas or opinions. They don’t think about what impact they’re making. They just assume they are right and everyone else can go to hell. They jibberjabber away in hopes that someone -anyone- will engage them. They’re incapable of having a civil discourse. What they do is make destructive assumptions, name call, belittle and rally all their equally isolated cronies to ‘their cause.’ They’re so devoid of real, meaningful human interaction that they’ve lost all basic decency. The world they live in is so small and dark. It makes me sad that there are people that live like this.

“Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God.” 

-Ronald Reagan

It’s no secret that I love Reagan. I’ve read all the books, studied policy and out of all of it my favorite thing was the love him and Nancy shared. It continually warms my heart in the coldest of moments.

Tonight, I had one of those moments.

I can admit that I let someone get to me. Someone that has no place in my life. Someone that doesn’t even exist in my life, got to me. And it wasn’t so much them as an individual, as it was the past 3 weeks of cumulative jibberjabber hate mongers. I’m tired of them. I’m tired of being called names or belittled because my opinion is different. Is it right? Not any more so then theirs. But the difference is these people like to put words in my mouth. I say “If I pay for health insurance, I want it to cover my health.” They take that as I want the government to give me free health insurance and birth control. It blows my mind. I respond with “That’s not what I’m saying, I pay $647 a month for my health insurance. I want it to cover my health needs.” Then they tweet out “Everyone @LRJD wants you to pay for her birth control because she’s having to much sex.” Then all the cronies come, “Why should I pay for YOU to have sex?” “You probably want me to pay for your abortions to?” “Move to Canada if you want communist healthcare”  And my point is completely lost. Never to be found again. Incapable of actually reading what I had written. Are my thoughts just too complex for little minds? I think I’ve made it pretty simple. I pay $647 a month for my family to have health insurance but I can’t get my monthly medical necessities, but yet my husband could get all the viagra and vasectomies and prostate exams he wants. Is that so wrong to want my health covered when that’s what I’m paying for?

Most recently I came under attack for the Trayvon Martin Case. I’ve been following the case and it’s very heartbreaking. I’m well aware of Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law, and I’m a HUGE fan of it. I live in Washington and we have our own version of it. You must absolutely stand your ground if you are imminent danger. I have no comment on whether it happened like Zimmerman said or if it the incident happened the way Martin’s family is saying it happened. But we have a dead unarmed teenager who may or may not have attacked Zimmerman AFTER HE WENT CHASING HIM. What I do know is that the law doesn’t allow for you to go chasing after real or perceived dangers. Just because I have a gun doesn’t mean I’m running down people I perceive as dangers and if I run after them, they are just as likely to perceive me as a danger and stand their ground. I don’t have an opinion on whether Zimmerman should be charged with murder or manslaughter, the facts of the case aren’t public yet, if Martin did attack him then absolutely he was justified. However, did Zimmerman chase after him? According to the 911 tapes he did, he needs to be held accountable for his actions that led to the shooting. This isn’t a black/white/latino thing. This isn’t a cut and dry, already been decided either all or nothing. This is cause and effect. This is about the change we want to see in the world. Guns are not there for people to take the law into their own hands, to decide what’s suspicious or not or go searching for dangerous situations. I actually believed I could have a civilized conversation about the case. Discuss the ideas, the rationale, theorize. I stated that he could have avoided the situation and it was downhill from there. But sadly I was left with this gem (among others)

“Someone call the police. This woman @LRJD was able to solve this shooting from 2000 miles away from part of a 9-11 call.”

Once again, my point was lost and here come the cronies.

Of course I unfollowed, Of course I quit responding. And he just wouldn’t leave it alone. So I did what every grown adult does: resort to childish antics. I probably tweeted him twenty times with whatever letters my fingers could hit. And maybe that’s the reason I’m so upset. Is because of the way I acted versus the way he acted. I hold myself to a higher standard. I allowed myself to get upset about someone that doesn’t matter. Someone that has never mattered. And someone that will never matter.The only thing left to do is pray for him.

“The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas — a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.”

- Ronald Reagan

Flatter Me

Total jackwagon park job, right? That gold Honda parked THAT close to us! We had to load the stroller and everything into the backend. This guy is so lucky he didn’t come back to his car while we were trying to load the stroller in. This guy made it impossible for us to get out of our spot. Which is totally awesome when you have two tired cranky kids. The hubs literally had to reverse the Explorer and push the Honda back. I left a *super* nice note on the car that went something like this:

Feel free to copy this and print it out and put in on every jackwagon park job you encounter.

Flatter Me

The Republican Party is a disgrace and all Republicans should be ashamed at how we treat each other. What once was the Party of Lincoln – the party of Great Ideas for the Greater Good – the party of civil rights, womens rights – the party where people were encouraged to share and discuss ideas – The party based on liberty and unalienable rights – Republicans were founded on HUMAN DECENCY. This was the cornerstone of the Republican Party. Sadly, this once great party seems to have dissipated and I’m unsure of what we are left with.

I’ve been a Republican as long as I can remember. Watching Reagan speeches as a kid was a highlight of my childhood. Having my mom and dad sit me down in front of our TV and watch the charismatic Reagan speak the State of the Union or even when he admitted he was wrong (Iran-Contra). Even as a child I knew it took great courage and strength to apologize and admit he was wrong. Was he perfect? No. But he led from his heart with dignity, love and respect. He respected the people and most importantly he respected what it meant to be an American. Reagan it seems, was the last great Republican.

The current Republican party is not what I signed up to support all those many years ago.

I’m not just talking about politicians and pundits, I’m talking about the everyday Joe Blow Republican. I went to the Republican caucus and was appalled at what was coming out of their mouths. Only people that fall into their ‘special’ categories deserve equal rights under the law. There were nine people who showed up from my precinct. They voted me a delegate even though I did not support any of their candidates. I have always believed that Republicans were a fair group of people who believed that while the government should not provide for you, it will protect so that you can provide for yourself.

While debating the issues, one of the guys at the table said “She’s more conservative than we are!”

I believe that the constitution applies to ALL its citizens. A basic principle that the Republican party was founded on. I believe that the government protects those freedoms. I believe that the government should have respect for its citizens and that it’s citizens should respect it’s government, regardless of what party affiliation is in control.

I deeply respect President Obama. He is the commander in chief of this great country. He was voted in by the citizens of this great country. I don’t agree with 90% of his policies. But I do agree with him on a few things. I should be able to say that and discuss it, without being called a “moron” or a “godless liberal” or “ignorant trash” or that I am “A slut” for wanting my health insurance to cover my health needs. And this is where Republicans have lost their way. They refuse to hear anything besides what Republican pundits say regardless of thought and lacking all critical thinking skills . There are no suggestions just name calling and hate spewing. They shut down if it’s not their way. Democrats are always wrong solely on their label of Democrats. Republicans have become such a closed minded group of people, incapable of debate and resorting to personal attacks, blatant lies and hate. Now, don’t get me wrong – Democrats do this also. Just shut down and refuse to listen or try to understand. Both parties lack respect one another. But I’m not here to talk about the Dems. I’m here to talk about a once great party, that led the way in civil rights and freedoms. I mean, granted they supported prohibition – which is kind of a deal breaker – but that’s been repealed and they’ve seen the error of their ways.

The reason my precinct voted me a delegate was because for every soundbyte they tried to throw out, I countered it. Logically and effectively. One lady said that she liked Rick Santorum because of his stance on gay marriage. When asked why, she launched into this hate filled tirade that included snippets of the bible and the destruction of family values. “Ok, I understand that your religious beliefs prevent you from recognizing gay marriage. However, as a tax paying citizen having the government tell you who you can and cannot make a loving commitment to only undermines our collective traditional values as Americans. Our conservative beliefs are guided by the Constitution. A document that ensures that we have the right to privacy, freedom of speech and self expression. Now if two men get married, pay their taxes, how is that going to effect my marriage – or yours? It’s not going to, because what I do with my husband is none of the governments business.” Now, she went back to the bible, and I retorted once again, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise there of. What if my religion recognizes gay marriage? Does it still make it wrong? The gay marriage debate has two sides – political and religious. You can’t intermingle the two. If your church doesn’t recognize gay marriage that’s their right. However, as a citizen of America they are effectively told that they are not recognized to the same rights as other married citizens.” But then again, Rick Santorum doesn’t believe the constitution includes your right to privacy. Do you believe that the constitution includes your right to privacy?

This post will probably go over well with Democrats, because it’s pointing to the very flaws of the Republican party. But make no mistake Democrats, your party isn’t perfect either. You also have your fair share of hate mongers, extremists, in fighting and lackeys.

I encourage you all, regardless of party, to critically think about the policies and beliefs and most importantly the ACTIONS of who we are electing, who we want representing US – as Citizens. I encourage you to discuss the cause and effect without name calling or attacks – Or throwing out soundbytes or supposed ‘facts’ from people whose first concern is lining their pockets with money (ahem, Limbaugh and Olbermann). Let the other person finish their point, don’t dismiss their ideas or beliefs because they’re not yours. Try and understand WHY they believe that. Show compassion, dignity and love.

As I tell my kids, “Treat people the way you want to be treated and use your words.”

Flatter Me

She was admitted into the hospital and throughout the course of Saturday and Sunday we had about 22 different medical people ask what meds she was on. They were unable to communicate this information among each other. It was really frustrating. Then they kept saying she came from a nursing home or assisted living home – another bit of information they couldn’t seem to communicate among each other – that no, my grandma was living independently in a retirement home.

I fucking hate this hospital.

This is the same hospital that when Hubs went to the ER with massive kidney pain, they xray’d it and said that the kidney stone would pass. Three days later Hubs went to a urologist still in unbearable pain and unable to pass the stone. The Dr looked at the same Xray the ER took and literally went “HOLY SHIT” and got the Hubs into immediate surgery to remove it. It was that effing big. There was no possible way that it would have passed on its own.

I don’t have a lot of confidence in this hospital to begin with, so after Gramms was admitted into the hospital the Neurologist came in and said that it was either a seizure or stroke and that she will have the tests done on Monday since it was the weekend. Basically, it was inconvenient to run the tests because the MRI techs don’t work weekends.

Later that night Grandma started to become more responsive, and combative. She ripped out both her IVs. Sunday was really bad with delusions and the doctors just said she had dementia – because after all she came from a nursing home. It makes me really stabby. Which, old age memory loss, sure. But dementia? No way. Don’t feed me that crap.

Then Monday came. And she was fine. Normal. Happy as a clam. nor No recollection of the previous two days. Then the neurologist came in with test results. It wasn’t even definite results, it was “A seizure. Old people have seizures. I put her on drugs.”

Since Monday night my grandma has rapidly gone down hill. Her delusions and hallucinations are getting worse. Her physical abilities have gone down as well. She can barely carry a conversation without drifting in and out. She was mad because my brother is the only one that hasn’t come to visit her – my brother has been gone for three years now. Her husband – my grandpa, who has been gone for twenty years – keeps coming into her room and won’t talk to her. She was yelling at him while I was there. She was so concerned that they were trying to steal her brown towel and that I needed to hide it in my purse. She didn’t know who my daughter was.

My mom is content on the answers the doctors have given her. I am not. It makes me angry. Yes, I know my gramms is non compliant in her treatment. however I want to know why she was crazy, not crazy and crazy again. They are moving her to a rehab facility which is really just a glorified nursing home. My grandma wants to go back to her home more than anything. She’s not physically able to and my mom is convinced that after a couple days in ‘rehab’ she will go back home.

Its exhausting on me. I go see my grandma and I’m literally drained to the point of utter exhaustion. Ready for sleep and incapable of coherent thought. It’s draining on me. Emotionally and physically.

Flatter Me

I’ve been blogging since 2004. It seems like forever ago. Which eight years is a long effing time. In that whole time I was never a ‘regular’ or ‘successful’ blog. I’ve owned probably about 25 different blogging sites. All with a theme – a focus – a plan – and all of which failed. But that’s OK. I think the most money I ever made on my blog was $17 in advertising on one of my other now defunct blogging sites. This site has no plan. No focus. And definitely no follow through. That’s the other thing, I start getting followers on my blogs, maybe a little advertising money and then I just stop. For no other reason than a unicorn might poop on me. No – that’s not the real reason, but it’s as good as I got right now, because I really got nothing.

I am more determined this year to stick to my resolution than any other year prior. Nine more months to go! I can do this. I think. It would probably be a good idea to schedule those future nine monthly posts now. But I’ve never been big on following through with good ideas. Unicorns poop on good ideas.

Flatter Me