Mr. Newt

Every since the 1990s, I have had an infatuation with Mr. Newt. He is a writer, historian, and generally brilliant man. He was able to implement the Contract with America and balance the federal budget. He and my fave, John Kasich, worked to turn around some of the wrongs of Washington. When I heard Mr. Newt speak, he was decisive. I enjoy his sport of slamming reporters. He and Dick Cheney must have studied that tactic somewhere. Those two men are my two favorite "debate brains".

When Mr. Newt decided to run for the Republican nomination for president, I had mixed feelings. Is it possible to have higher "negatives" than even Hillary Clinton? How can someone so polarizing unite a party. I have to set aside my enjoyment of "the slam" that he serves and really evaluate what type of president he would be. My concern... the most massive ego of all time!

A successful president surrounds himself with wise counsel. I cannot imagine Mr. Newt surrounding himself with any one who is strong, perhaps even smarter than he is in some area. His ego doesn't seem to allow for that possibility. One man trying to run a country surrounded by weaker voices and subsurviant points of view is a recipe for more of the same that we have had with presidents who think they are the smartest in the room.

need a photo id to vote?

How frustrating it is to hear people in the community say that it is somehow discriminatory to require a photo id to vote. How is it oppressive to ask someone to go to the BMV to prove their residence and birth in order to impact our government, impact our communities, and impact our taxes?

Why is this such an issue? Let me propose two reasons...

Reason 1: Some people want to commit voter fraud. If there are no photos required, then there is a possibility to vote as someone else or vote multiple times. In my experience, it took many many election cycles for the Board of Elections to remove my dead husband from the voter roles. Over and over I filled out the paperwork. I had identification. I had his death certificate. I had paperwork, and they still couldn't get it done.

Reason 2: Some of our leaders who claim to want to help people really just want to keep them in their "place". Think of it this way. If the democrat leaders really wanted people to have improved lives, they would suggest integration into society, not a furthering gap from what is necessary to survive in society. We need people to be literate, speak a common language, and all follow some basic citizenship standards. Think about it... if you have no photo id, you are not allowed to legally drive (although many do). You cannot get a library card. You cannot fly on a plane or leave the United States. You cannot write a check or open a bank account. You cannot cash a check, make a large purchase such as a house, or fill out a job application. If you cannot show a photo id, your job opportunities are relegated to "under the table" cash work that further deteriorates our society. What purpose does it serve to have people left in that state of disconnect? Look at who this group votes for. It is there that you find your answer.

The Shooting in Arizona

Mental illness knows no gender, no politics, no rhetoric. It just knows what the irrational brain knows. 

As people across the country, in an attempt to understand, start blaming certain public figures, blaming teachers who didn't ask for an evaluation, blaming parents who didn't do enough, let us at least stop to ponder that this shooter was ill. Do we really understand this kind of mental illness? Do we understand paranoia, delusions, and these strongly held irrational beliefs? 

It is a tragedy when someone is able to kill the innocent and fulfill their delusions. And it is also a tragedy that one can be mentally ill in this country, over 18 years old, and still have the "right" to live crazy. Perhaps the laws should change-- not the laws of free speech, not the gun laws, not the free press-- but the laws that allow an adult who is psychotic to remain that way, tying the hands of all who might change his trajectory.  

the boy becomes a man

It chokes me up.

Lunch with my son.

Trying to plan his international move in eight months. I thought that it would be easier to have a son move than a daughter, but it's not. The move is temporary, perhaps a year or two. The distance is long. 26 hours is an eternity for me on an airplane. Realistically, he may never come back. What is it that those in recovery say? One step at a time.  

But then there are plenty of ways to communicate. I will teach him to Skype. We'll always have email... Laptop... air card... but there is no substitute for a hug from my baby.

I didn't realize that the empty nesting would involve concentric circles of further distance. Feeling weepy today.

the ADHD of the TV networks

The major television networks (NBC, ABC, and CBS) are driving me bananas. They film a new show. They promote a new show. They start a new show. Then before I know it, they cancel a new show. We are only a month into Fall Premieres, and already the networks are canceling shows.

Many shows in television history would have never had the chance to become successful with this type of jerky reaction to the first two or three shows. I will pull out the geek card and suggest that Star Trek would have never been the enormously successful franchise that it still is today if ratings were the only factor. No spinoffs. No merchandise. No fims. No books. No Borg. Good heavens. Give some of these shows a chance!

the Text Twist and Family Tree Maker obsessive in me

In general, I don't understand the draw of video games. It seems mindless. There isn't any tangible accomplishment. Most of the teens and children who compulsively play video games are not productive in other areas of their life. Then I found an game that I like. It's called Text Twist. I had a period in time where work was slow, so I tried it. Six letters appear on the screen. The goal is to see how many words you can make from those six letters. If you guess the six-letter word, you get to go on to another round. I feel like I need a 12-step program some days. And at other times, I say I am not addicted because I can walk away for a whole month without turning it on. My score is 800,000. I feel like I need to hit 1,000,000 before I walk away. Addict behavior for sure! I have learned something about myself in the process. I need to work on learning more words that start with vowels. 

And then I found Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker. I have always had a curiosity about my heritage. Now I have a software program that is like crack. Every time I find a person, it leads to another and another. I started with family documents and written history. There were almost 400 names, dates, and descriptions just within the documents I had. In just one short month, I have amassed over 1000 ancestors. This program/web site is amazing. It is productive, but yet, a fantastic diversion. It has given me insight into who I am, a hodge-podge of nationalities and wandering souls. I cannot ever see myself on a boat across the Atlantic, in search of a new life, but most of my ancestors had that courage and fortitude. I have 6 kids. Right now it's all about a good night's sleep and sensible shoes. I can't imagine having 10 or 15 children. One particular gr gr great grandfather had 24 children, most of them living into their 80s and 90s in the 1700s. These were strong and determined people. Many more of them were highly educated than I realized. One side of the family has remained for 6 generations in the same county in Ohio. I guess that means they like each other? they are good people? not the type of family you need to run from? I am in an obsessive, researching, geek nirvana right now. Love it!

the fat-tastic week

Ok, so tired about fat prejudice... 

It is possible to be overweight, 44 years old, and have a PERFECT cardiac stress test. Of course, going to have the test, I was mistreated. Normally the whole fat thing doesn't bother me. I look at the women in my family and add my understanding of genetics and accept reality. Sometimes genetics does equal fate. I am glad. I would rather be the chubby girl who lives in a family of chubby girls who live into their 80s and 90s in generations going back to the Highlands of Scotland. I deal with some inherited tendency toward OCD, toward alcoholism, and toward kidney stones. On balance, I am glad that my forefathers and foremothers were intelligent, educated, and interesting people. They didn't care much about their size. They contributed. They lived long. I am blessed.

When I went to the clinic to have my cardiac stress test, the nurse pointed to the treadmill, making a gesture similar to The Price is Right. Over here we have the "treadmill". Have you ever seen one of these before? We are going to have you "walk" on in to see how your heart reacts. They we will speed it up and quickly take some pictures. She was so patronizing. I go to the YMCA three times per week. I ride my bike 2-3 times per week as often as the weather in Ohio permits. Despite all of this I AM STILL A BIG GIRL. I actually own (and USE) a recombinant bike. I know that my abs are in there somewhere, but I don't define myself by muscle definition. 

Anyway, if you are fit and beautiful and lean, awesome for you. I just happen to not be. Stop treating me like I eat Ding Dongs all day long and don't know what it means to walk. I go to the beautiful central Ohio metro parks every week of the year. Sigh.... If I could get thinner somehow, I would. But there is no point being depressed. I might as well embrace my fat-tastic self! Given the current political climate and push toward nationalized health care, those with prejudice will be writing me off for sure. They will raise my rates. They will attribute higher risk to me. And they will certainly not have a box on the forms for fat but healthy. The last acceptable form of prejudice in America...