Red Kettle Collection.

The gay commuity is urging holiday shoppers not to donate to the Red Cross's Kettle Drive this year, citing that they are against the LGBT. The church itself is being accused of not supporting all those in need. If you are gay the Red Cross will not help you unless you renounce your gayness and leave your partner. That is what some gay and lesbians are saying about the charity. The charity denies the accusations stating that it doesn't matter your sexual oreintation they will help those in need that fall within the guidelines for help. Lt. Col. Ralph Bukiewicz says that nothing could be further from the truth. Despite all of this flying around the charity still raises a good portion of the money that they use for charity from the red kettle collection drive.
This is completly silly why on earth would a charity care if you are gay. Why would you tell them if you were anyway they don't care weather your gay or not they just want to help those in need. I know from experience that they don't discriminate against the gay community as a whole, I have volouteered for the red cross for years and they just want to help. They don't care if you are gay straight or curly. I just don't understand some people today it feels like they are just out to find a conspiricy of some kind to stir up some trouble. But even if one person in the charity felt like that, that doesn't mean that the charitiy as a whole is all the same.

College Hazing.

College hazing has been around for decades and nine times out of ten it ends up being just fun and games. However sometimes it ends in death. Just ask the family of college junior Robert Champion who's death this past year because of hazing. The 26 year old band major for A&M's Marching 100 in Florida's death was considered an act of hazing. The leader of the band a tenured professer, Julian White, had just suspended 26 students two weeks before Champion's death because of hazing. He knew it was a problem and tried to be the person to fix it. But the life of Champion was still lost. White was let go from the college because of the tragity as well.
I don't thing that the leader of the band was letting the students haze one another, he did make a giant effort to stop it by suspending the students in the weeks before the death of Champion. I don't understand why people don't stop and think before they act, if there is even a remote chance that something bad may happen why do it? I don't think that some people use they're brains. I am very sorry for the loss of a great musician. Maybe in the future the people involved might think a little longer before they act.

Arsenic anyone?

They have found very high levels of arsenic in the normal juice we drink eveyday the same kind we give our children. The levels in some apple and grape juices is much higher than the standard set for drinking water, (which is 10 parts per billion) it exceeds this amount by more than 10%. Study's have shown that higher levels of arsenic in a persons body can make them more at risk for cancer and other chronic disieses. The study done by Dr. Mehmet Oz is based on organic and inorganic arsenic meaning they didn't take in to account that maybe the organic arsenic may not have bad effects on humans. It however did show bad results in chickens when they ate the feed that had organic arsenic in it.
I don't know about anyone else but I have been drinking the same juice for years and I have been doing a lot of things that they say may one day give me cancer or take away my body's ability to fight a chronic desies. I am not going to stop drinking juice just to take away some minute chance that in a decade I might get cancer. Who is to say if I did that I still wouldn't get cancer? There are too many health benfits to drinking the juice than for not drinking the juice. I will not stop doing something every time someone tells me its bad. Before you know it you won't be able to eat anything at all if we listened to these tests.

Thanksgiving.

This is the first thanksgiving without my grandma and grandpa, I have lost them both in one year. This is a sad holiday for my family. I hope that in time it gets easier however for now I will be thankful for the family I have left. I love my family and I can't imagine my life without them in it. I am grateful that god felt me worthy enough to be in this family of mine. Yes we fight and we make up that's what family's do. The best part is though that it makes us stronger because of it. My family has been there by my side through a lot of things and I would not change them for the world.  I will dearly miss my loved ones who have passed on but I know that they are there if not in body then in spirit because none of us would be there if it wasn't for their love. Love for us and love for each other.

Crazy or just bad?

This Little girl went postal on her school bus. She attacked her bus driver and the police her mother says she gets a little mad when she doesn't have her medication. She is schizophrenic says her mother, but because of her great big outburst and violence she faces felony charges consisting of, battery on an officer, resisting arrest, and throwing a missule in an ocupied area. She was so upset and throwing such a fit in the police station that she was banging her head on the jail cell bars that the police had to use pepper spray on her to get her to stop hurting herself. The little girl is nine years old.
What I want to know is why did she not have her medication? If the mother knows she acts like this when she doesn't take it then why would she ever let her go without it? In my opinion and it is a little educated, my mother and sister are both child psychologists, this child can get upset without her medication however there is a level that most 9 year olds do not hit unless there are other underlying conditions that make her more upset than normal. All the medications do is even up the chemicals already in the body. They do not completly cure a child or make it where they are comotose other outside factors have more effects on a childs behavior than medication. She needs more supervision for her daily activities than what she is getting in my opinion, if this is not curbed now it will only get worse.

My family is yours.

Two sisters closer than most in Venice Florida, have shared more than most sisters would ever dream of. Jackie DeVita and Colleen Leary are sisters both working in doctors offices one has a family and one doesn't. Jackie is married to a wonderful man Richard DeVita is a doctor in FL. he has a thriving practice a nice home and 3 beautiful children. The sisters worked together in Richards practice for many years. Colleen stayed single this whole time she is now 42 years old. Her sister was diagnosed with a brain tumor that ended up being very fatal. She as her dying wish asked her sister to take her place, with her children and her husband, she gave her sister her wedding ring. Her sister died shortly there after, 3 months after her death her sister and her husband got married. Most people understood, they knew the sisters were very close and Jackie loved her family very much. So for her sister to take her place was the natural thing for her to do.The children where fine with it, most of the family of the Leary sisters were understanding. The people who did have a problem with it mostly were upset with the time between Jackie's death and the marriage of Colleen and Richard. The family says that everything has worked out for the best and they are happy.

When I first read this I was like no way would I share my life with my sister, mostly I would not like it if my sister married my husband should I die prematurly. However I don't have the complete bond that these sisters had with my sisters. But if I did I would most certainly pick my sister rather than a stranger take over my life. I am glad that in the end these sisters found peace in a time that would usually tare a family apart they found happiness in knowing that their life would go on in the brink of sadness.

Texas pushes the death penalty.

CNN posted on their website this week that the convicted murderer Hank Skinner, he was convicted of killing his girlfriend and two sons in 1997, wants some more tests run on the effects in the house where the murders took place to prove his inocents. The Texas prosecuters do not want to open anymore cans of worms where this case is involeved they just want this murderer to go to his death peacefully. He has always said he is inocent but the evidence is stacked against him. Prosceuters in TX. just don't want to drag this out anymore so they are saying no to a stay of execution based on waiting for test results on other DNA.
When I first read this I was like whoa if there is evidence that this man could be innocent why aren't you willing to test the things that need testing to make sure you are not killing the wrong man. That won't make you any better than the person who killed that family. I am now in the understanding that this man has made numerous attempts to prove his innocents and he has failed all of them. You can't beat a dead duck. It is time to put the fears of  the family and friends of the killed to have peace in knowing that this man will not hurt anyone else the way he has hurt them.

Can't sleep loneliness could be to blame.

If you are restless and aren't sleeping well maybe its because you are lonely. In and article on the CNN network they suggest that it might be relasionship related. Not meaning that you aren't amongst friends but that you feel social inept. Its how you look at your life and the people in it. If you start working on your perception of your social life maybe you can get a better nights rest. Not sleeping well can cause many other things to go wrong to such as diabeties, heart disease, high blood pressure, and depression. By looking at your social standings and your perception maybe you can get back on track.

I found this very helpful, my husband works overnights at a factory so he is gone when my daughter and I sleep. I feel very left out of his life and I don't sleep very well. Although that could have something to do with the fact that I have an infant that likes to wake up every few hours. He also complains that he can't sleep or if he does sleep he is still exhausted. I thought it might be that he is sleeping during the day when most people like to be awake. This article makes a lot of sense to me and I will be trying out new ways to make our time together more productive in the understanding that we need to spend more time together.

Air Fresheners

Air fresheners are now said to cause allergic reactions and breathing problems in people with asthma. They are made primarily of chemical compounds that have in the past been proven to trigger an asthma attack. This is mostly because people are more frequently using types of air fresheners like the plug ins the sprays and candles. Allergists agree that the spreaded use of these items is encouranging more and more asthma attacks.
This is something I didn't know, not knowing this is scary. My nephew is 7 years old and has been hospitalized with more severe asthma attacks than I can count. He has a severe case of asthma and lots of things i did know about trigger his attacks like cats, smoke, soap, and pollen. But I had no clue that air fresheners had the ability to trigger his attacks. I wish they could have told us this sooner. I am going to tell everyone i know not to use air freshners around him as to prevent anything from happening to him.

Manslaughter

The doctor accused of overdosing Micheal Jackson "The King of Pop" on a lethal dose of sleeping medication was pronounced guilty of manslaghter on Monday. He can serve up to 4 years in prison and loose his medical license. The family and fans of Micheal were happy with the conviction the cheering and happiness bubbled over in to the court room when the verdict was read.

This makes me sad this man yes took an oath to heal not hurt people. However I know that most stars are cynical self absorbed people. We already knew this of the singer. So how do you say no to somebody that carries the life you life in their hands. Micheal ran his house the way he wanted the doctor was his private doctor, he felt like he could tell him what to do and he had to do it. I think that the guilt is halved between the doctor and the popstar. The star lost his life and the doctor may loose his right to practice medicine, I still do not think this is fair.

Dessert before Dinner?

The article on the MSN website says that having a day where dinner courses are in reverse order may up the dinner time morale and make it something that your family wants to do. By picking a day where you choose not to make dinner a battle and something your kids want to do you teach them that there are more important things in life than order. Fun at the dinner table is something most parents want instead of bargining with desserts for more bites taken you teach them that eating is fun.

I agree with this article and as a new mom myself I am always looking for ways to make dinnertime more fun for my family. This in my opinion is a great idea its something to look forward to and plan. You can take turns making the dessert and dinner for that night. I remember as a little girl my grandparents always had saturday morning waffles, wenesday night musgos ( must go's, leftover night), and sunday afternoon additude adjustment hour. These were days I looked forward to and made my weeks spent with them the best and most fun memories that I have. I want to be able to create these kind of memories for my children. So maybe in a normal world you eat dessert last but once in a while eating dessert first can be a memory in the making.

Seperation

The seperation of conjoined twins this week in California at the University of Stanford's medical hospital was a success deemed by the 20 or so doctors that were in on the operation. The parents of the 2 year old's where happy about the operation. They wanted normal lives for the 2 little girls, to have a choose to be together or not.
I think this is amazing the fact that the medical field has come so far as it has to do things unheard of before. It makes me happy that god gives the gifts of health and life but also the knowledge to fix things let up to us to fix. I am really happy for those little girls. I hope that they can live normal lives without the media and just be little children and run around and be happy like most other children.

Amish cult.

CNN reported that there might be an Amish cult sect forming about an hour away from an already prominent Amish community. The head man of this would be cult is Mr. Sam Mullet, he however denies with a sneer that it is not a cult. The son's of this man have been accused of running a beard cutting ring against the non cult Amish community. The men in of the Amish faith don't cut there beards because of a faith of church and god. The fact that these men thought that the men that they cut off the beards of were thought to be sinning against the church by Mr. Mullet, that is why the sons did it for him.

This is crazy the Amish are thought by most to be a calm and sensitive group of church going people who enjoy and relish the simple state of life. No electric and no modern technology makes them self efficient and happy with their lives. The men of the other amish sect cult are mislead by a man thought to be better than god, they commit crimes in his name and other deads but they are mislead to believe this is right. I do not understand why people can get sucked in to others lies and mislead information. However that maybe because I am stronger than others but I do not always think it is the weak that are sucked in just people looking for something that makes them feel involved in things.

Candy?

Two very smart and 6th grade girls thought about something that most adults would on a normal basis just let it be. How alike looking are candy and some perscription pills? A scaled down adult version of a experiment done by these girls concluded that most adults have trouble deciding which is which, but children that can't read have the most trouble deciding which is candy and what could possibly hurt them.

I don't know about anyother parent out there but i have a fair amount of perscription medicine in my bathroom, and the thought that my daughter could potentially find a way to get to them and think they are candy scares me to no end. I recently went through and looked at the ones i have in my bathroom and low and behold they almost all looked to me like some kind or another candy. This is a scary thought. You would think after so many years of looking at the fact that children cant read and don't really know the diffence that drug manufacures would make the pills look unsavory or at least a little less like candy. Maybe these girls are on to something and might be able to make a difference for the lives of some children out there.

Boy or Girl Scout.

Bobby Montoya a 7 year old transgender boy is living his life as a girl. He walks like a girl talks like a girl dresses like a girl, and he wants to be a girl scout. He was told that he wasn't allowed to be in the girl scouts because he has boy parts. Is this unfair to do to a child? It was later told to the troop leader that she was allowed to have a boy in the girl scouts. She was afraid that she would get in trouble for allowing a young boy into her troop.

Is that fair to the girls already in the group? Is it fair to the boy to not let him be who he wants to be? I don't have the answers to these questions, but I do know that I would think that because part of the girl scout code states equality that they would show better tolerance than that showed by the troop leader. It is hard to get used to anything different in life especially if it goes against everything you grew up believing is right. However tolerance and equaility are the rights of every human life. We need to learn that just because we think its wrong does not make it wrong.

Illegal route to justice.

A man who's 14 year old daughter was brutally raped and then murdered in 1982 crossed a German border with the man that police think commited the crime. Andre Bamberski crossed a German border and brought back a very real suspect for the police to question about his daughters rape and death of 1982. The Germans thought that there was not enough evidence to extride the man. Bamberski decided that he wanted to get the ball rolling so he took matters into his own hands by illegally crossing back over the Germany France border. He will be put on trial for that crime, but at least he may get to see his daughters killer be convicted first. He deserves the father of the year award in my book.

It takes a lot to wait for almost 30 years to kidnapped and illegally cross a border with the man thought to be the man who killed your daughter. I commend this man for taking matters in to his own hands. Only after the legal system worked against him though. I can't believe they don't have more strict rules for persons fleeing the country when they are thought to be a rapist and murderer. I love the fact that I live in the United States, where most of the time people matter to the justice system.

Recession Hit Older Persons the Hardest.

The recession has been hard on us all according to MSNBC.COM, but the 55 to 65 age group of current workers will probalby not be able to recover. The younger generations will have time to build up the neccessary means to make their own way when they retire. The older generation may not even get to retire, at least that is the current fear.

I agree that the recession has hit us all hard and that the older generation may have a harder time catching up. But I have been hearing all my life to start a 401 k or retirment fund. Was this not something that was told to this generation? Did they think that the government was going to take care of them? Why are they struggling so much more than generations before them? I guess only time will tell.

'Onion Field' Killer

The man that killed and a California police officer in 1963 was denied a compassionate prison release this week he is presumed to have cancer. He did not want to be released, also they thought that because he didn't want to be released he might commit another crime just to go back to prison. He will remain in jail till he dies from his cancer.

When I first read this I thought good there is a reason he is there to begin with. Why should he get special treatment just because he is sick. When normal people who haven't killed another person gets cancer they don't get to have speacial treatment. So why should he the man that took a life. I agree that he should be released also because he didn't want to be and might commit another crime. Im glad that the people who make this decision didn't want another persons blood on their hands.

Grandmothers are Shining Stars

My grandmother died this weekend, and I am missing her very much. I wanted very much for my daughter to grow up know my grandmother, to be her MEMO as well as to my sisters' children. Sadly that was not meant to be. I watched as my grandmother passed away from this life. I was the single most heart wrenching feeling watching her slowly stop breathing. However she was lucid ten minutes before and asked for a hug from all of us and we complied. She took my hand and told me to wear a coat in the cold. (She was always telling me to wear a coat.) We shuffled all the great grandchildren in they gave her kisses and hugs and told her to get better, and then she said she was tired and slowly drifted away. I will never forget standing there in a circle around her waiting for her to breath again. It is hard to move on after that. My sister asked the question that was on everybody's mind, "What do we do now?". I still am not sure where my mother got the courage to say anything. If it was me I would be inconsolable, but she picked us all up moved us to the waiting room got every thing in order and then set the plan for the days to come. My mother just replaced my grandmother. It happened so fast if you had blinked you would have missed it. My mother is a grandmother to my daughter and my sisters' children. She has 21 grandchildren and great grandchildren, and she had to show them how you move on. She is a bright shining example of a strong women. I will never forget the day my mother turned in to my grandmother. We will always love and adore our grandmother and miss her dearly everyday but I know she is happier where she is in heaven with my grandfather and her dog.

Home invasion

Two men followed a mother and her two daughters home from the grocery store, sexually assaulted them, tied them up, and then set the house on fire with gasoline. In New Haven, Conn July 22, 2007 These two men decided that the lives of this family where not important and they were going to snuff them out. Joshua Komisarjevsky, and Steven Hayes were convicted burgalars out on parole when they decided to follow the Hawke-Petit family to there home in a suburb of New Haven. Steven Hayes was convicted last year of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, he was sentenced to death. On thursday they also convicted Komisarjevsky of 17 charges, they have not yet sentenced him.

This make me so angry, scared, and disgusted all at the same time. How can any one person think they have the right to lay their hands on another human being and harm them. Let alone kill them. This is not a matter of weather or not the man is sane or not he can walk, talk, and act sane he knows right from wrong he knows the truth from a lie. So what is the hold up, just sentence the man to death right beside his friend, and let this family move on. By dragging this out the father of these children has to relive this everyday till there is suffieciant justice for his family for him to move on with his life. He is in the public eye as much as they man on trial, from reporters to book people and the general public.
I personally see it as just another blow to this man and to his loss. Make a decision and move on.