Obamacare, Mental Health, and Guns

This is directly from the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare, iow):

PROTECTION OF SECOND AMENDMENT GUN RIGHTS.—As
added by section 10101(e)(2) 
‘‘(1) WELLNESS AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS.—A wellness and health promotion activity implemented under subsection (a)(1)(D) may not require the disclosure or collection of any information relating to—
‘‘(A) the presence or storage of a lawfully-possessed firearm or ammunition in the residence or on the property of an individual; or
‘‘(B) the lawful use, possession, or storage of a firearm or ammunition by an individual. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON DATA COLLECTION.—None of the authorities provided to the Secretary under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or an amendment made by that Act shall be construed to authorize or may be used for the collection of any information relating to—
‘‘(A) the lawful ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition;
‘‘(B) the lawful use of a firearm or ammunition; or
‘‘(C) the lawful storage of a firearm or ammunition. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON DATABASES OR DATA BANKS.—None of the authorities provided to the Secretary under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or an amendment made by that Act shall be construed to authorize or may be used to maintain records of individual ownership or possession of a
firearm or ammunition.

http://housedocs.house.gov/energycommerce/ppacacon.pdf …  Page 20

So, attention: all you TV talking heads and stupid politicians who passed a law that you didn't read,

Before you go spouting off about "what to do" about the "mentally ill" being able to "get/have guns" do a little research!  Lord have mercy.  I'm just a middle-aged, nobody-reckneck housewife and don't get paid to look up this stuff and don't have assistants or interns or "fact-checkers" to help me out.  Do your freakin' jobs already!   

Necessary to the Security of a Free State

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

What it says and really means is that individuals' rights to keep and use weapons shall not be taken away or reduced because the security of a FREE state depends on the government's military powers being balanced by a citizenry that is capable of defending itself from a government that has become oppressive, like the one that the Revolution defeated.          

Don't Cry for Big Bird - He's Rich!

According to the financial statement of Sesame Workshop their total revenue for 2009 (most recent year available) was a whopping $130,606,413.  Don't believe all the whiny "poor" Big Bird nonsense being spouted by mindless bots in response to Mitt Romney's statement about ending federal funding for PBS.  But back to the numbers for a moment, according to USAspending.gov Sesame Workshop received $5,000,000 in federal funding in 2009.  Clearly, Big Bird isn't really relying on federal funding for his income.  I think maybe he needs to be audited if he's trying to convince people otherwise.  Another interesting figure from their 2009 form 990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (because it's supposed to be a 'non-profit' organization) is that the list of highest compensated officers, directors, employees totals well over $5,000,000.

Can I get a job at Sesame Street?  They sure do pay well for a non-profit.

So don't cry for Big Bird because he's looking a lot like a top 1% greedy rich guy.  He sure as heck doesn't need any of my money!  And how about that writer making $658,789?  Dang, I wonder how his personal tax rate compares to Romney's.

 
Typical street thug.

The 99% Stupid

If you align yourself with the self-professed "99%" who were "occupying" various parts of cities around the country then you might not want to read this because your feelings will get hurt.

While a couple of the issues associated with the OWS "movement," such as bank bailouts and government corruption, are valid complaints, most of what the protestors represented has been just plain stupidity, unAmerican goals, and selfish greed. Protesting greed with greed is uneffective and ridiculous. If those people are so against Wall Street, wealthy corporations, and capitalism, then they need to throw out all of their iphones, ipads, macbooks, ipods, and whatever other idevices they "own" (even though they don't really believe in private property) because Apple is a wealthy capitalist Wall Street traded corporation with more money than the US government. Yeah, why aren't they camped out in front of the Apple headquarters since it sure looks like they are hoarding a big chunk of the American wealth. Of course, I don't really care how much wealth Apple hoards for itself. Their wealth does NOT prevent me from increasing my own wealth. I choose not to be beholden to any particular corporation because as an American I really do have choices and I have enough brains to make good choices. I don't need the government or some bums on the street telling me how much money I am allowed to have or how or where to spend it. If other people are too stupid to make good choices and do things that do make them slaves to some bank or other corporation, then maybe that's why they are bums. There are consequences to being stupid.

While hesitant to admit that I am probably smarter than most people I will admit that I know I am much better informed. Instead of believing every biased article on the web or every snarky satirical show on tv I go to the source for my information. I don't know why that seems so hard for everyone else. It's not like I have any more time than anyone else to find things out, but maybe that limited time is put to more efficient and effective use. You think some immigration law says that the police can just randomly question someone who looks Mexican? Well, go read the actual law and you'll see, at least if you have half a brain and use it, that it does not say that at all. Jesus. You think the Bill of Rights gives you absolute and unlimited freedoms? Go read it and learn the truth. It's not that hard! You ask for kindness towards one group but then ridicule someone for being offended? Walk the walk, don't just talk the talk. Freedom comes with lots of responsibility. And your freedom ends where someone else's begins. You can't trample on my freedoms while asserting your own.

A Lonely Heaven

Gosh, blogger looks very different since my last look. So many times I've thought of things that I would like to blog, but there is always something else that needs my attention and then the ideas fade back into the constant drone of "noise" in my mind. I'm wanting to extend that metaphor into the cosmos, but then again, I don't want to go that far.

Again this late spring the lightning bugs, or fireflies as most people call them, are putting on a spectacular show. I've tried to capture them in pictures, but I haven't hit the right technical settings or maybe my camera just isnt capable. Isn't that always the question? "Am I doing it wrong or is it just impossible?"

I sure am getting old. Back when I was a kid in the 1970s CB radios were the iphones of the day. By the way, I have one of those now - iphone, not a CB radio, ha, but I still hardly use it and all of its wonderful advancements. Sorry, Siri, I've left you lonely in your own heaven. Anyway, my parents had CBs in their cars and their "handles" were "Tumblebug" (my dad) and "Firefly" (my mom). I just thought of that tonight while enjoying the lightshow in the woods. You never get too old to miss your parents, and it's nice to have those little reminders.

The world seems to be going all to hell. I guess it always has been that way.  I sure do appreciate the quality of my mostly isolated life, but it can sometimes be a lonely heaven.

So Much For Planned Parenthood

The New York Times has reported a study that says over half of US births to women under 30 occur outside of marriage. One so-called "sociologist" in the article explains it is because marriage is a "luxury" reserved for the higher educated. I have a few thoughts about that. I've decided to blog about these kinds of things again, instead of posting them on facebook, because I no longer feel free to express myself fully there. Blogging is more of an intellectual safe haven, at least for now.

Anyway, marriage is certainly not a "luxury" in reality. On TV and in the minds of idiots who call themselves sociologists, maybe it looks luxurious, but most definitions of luxury do not involve lots of hard compromise, sacrifice, and effort. Instead of pretending that marriage is some far-off luxury that only the mythical "one-percent" can afford, people should recognize that they are making excuses for selfish irresponsibly. Selfish irresponsibility and marriage are pretty much mutually exclusive in the long term. Sure, selfish irresponsibility is a lot easier than marriage. And that, basically, is why marriage has lost its status in our modern society that gorges itself on instant gratification.

Let's look at some other aspects of this story. I'm not too organized in my thoughts so that is just how this is going to be. The NYT article's examples of single mothers seemed like stereotypically promiscuous, careless, immature government dependents. Yeah, that sounds harsh. Spare me the bleeding hearts and enabling minds. Come on, why excuse people from being selfish and irresponsible? Why not instill in these young women that they really don't have to have sex with these guys they don't even like that much? Why aren't these young women being encouraged to value themselves more than that? And why the hell hasn't that supposedly untouchable and indispensable organization called PLANNED PARENTHOOD been more effective in actually helping these women PLAN their parenthood?? It's definitely not a lack of funding when they get nearly $500,000,000 a year from the government plus whatever other funding.

However, the women are not all to blame. Way too many men under 30 are also too selfish and irresponsible. Why aren't young men being encouraged to value themselves as more than just penises with no self-control? It's so much easier for them to sit around connected to some virtual fantasy world where their actions don't really have any consequences and where they don't really have to exert any effort to support themselves and any offspring they just happen to disseminate. Living at home with mom, who is/was likely also a single mother, is just too comfy to leave. These older single mothers have not shown their sons how to be responsible men because they have taken on all the responsibility themselves. The guys grow up seeing that their biological fathers are "off the hook" for the work, sacrifice, and compromise of marrying their mothers. So why would they think that they should do the work of marrying the mother of their children? If we want to play sociologist then it should be obvious that not marrying, not being a responsible father, and relying on the government to support your kids and their mothers are much more of a "luxury" lifestyle than marriage.

I guess if people are offended by the brutal truth then I don't really want to hear about it. I'm probably just going to turn off comments because I don't have the time or energy to coddle hurt feelings or defend the free expression of my views.

Rockin' On With My Bad Self

Beware the wrath of the vicious momma. There's a new pitch fork added to the list. This one is guilty of being a vile turd of the variety that has been an asshole pecker to my son, along with some of his peers. I don't know why he has such a problem with these kids in particular, but his actions reveal that underneath his appearance of accomplishment and contribution lies the evil heart of a pitch fork who enjoys knocking down and stabbing kids' souls. He is creepy like Jerry Sandusky and all those other "benevolent" men posing as teachers and helpers and advocates who in the shadows reveal their true depravity to their selected victims. No, this pitch fork hasn't molested my kid physically (or any others that I know about though unfortunately those who work with lots of kids tend to be the culprits). But he's still a dangerous, hateful person. And I feel sorry for his family.

Look Closely

http://www.myvidster.com/video/3110656/Footage_of_Scott_Olsen_being_shot_by_Police_at_Occupy_Oakland

At :29 Scott Olsen pulls something out of his right pocket. The position of his hand is as if he is holding a pistol. Then he appears to cock it with his left hand. Then a woman walks in front of him and blocks the view. Was there a gun found anywhere near him after he fell? Would the other protestors admit it if he did? I would really like to know what exactly he pulled out of his pocket and if the police thought it looked like a gun too. The look on Olsen's face was the gaze of a man in a standoff waiting for his moment of draw his weapon. This is certainly an unpopular suggestion, but cold objectivity has never been popular.

The First Amendment protects the right of people to assemble for peaceful and lawful purposes. The police have every right to act against people who have become unlawful and refuse to obey laws. The government may prohibit people from knowingly associating in groups that engage and promote illegal activities. The Occupy Oakland protestors were definitely becoming unlawful and promoting illegal actions.

It is unfortunate that so many otherwise intelligent people allow their emotions and rationale to be manipulated by media biases. Why can't they think for themselves and look at events with a discerning eye? Or is it that they just really aren't all that intelligent?

Abundant Life

Last night I was watching the lightning bugs, and there were so many that they looked like the camera flashes in the stadium when the Superbowl Halftime Show begins. It was so surreal and beautiful that I found it difficult to keep looking.... it was like trying to look into the face of God.... a beauty so intense it might burn out my eyes.

The light show made me think about how abundant life is here and how it seems unfair that so many other parts of the world are dealing with death, destruction, and desolation. But I imagine that this is the natural ebb and flow of life around the globe. Sometimes I think that all those bugs flashing lights in the night are part of the tsunami of energy released into the world earlier this year. Everything is connected, right? And if the huge earthquake in Japan caused waves in groundwater thousands of miles away from it, then why couldn't all that energy vented from inside the earth have other waves of consequences across the planet?

The Man Comes Around

(originally written 4-10-09 but never published)

Opening Introduction (Spoken part)

And I heard as it were the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying come and see and I saw
And behold a white horse

Song

There's a man going around taking names
And he decides who to free and who to blame
Everybody won't be treated all the same
There'll be a golden ladder reaching down
When the Man comes around

The hairs on your arm will stand up
At the terror in each sip and in each sup
Will you partake of that last offered cup?
Or disappear into the potter's ground
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling, voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
It's Alpha and Omega's kingdom come

And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks

Till Armageddon no shalam, no shalom
Then the father hen will call his chickens home
The wise man will bow down before the throne
And at His feet they'll cast their golden crowns
When the Man comes around

Whoever is unjust let him be unjust still
Whoever is righteous let him be righteous still
Whoever is filthy let him be filthy still
Listen to the words long written down
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling and voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
It's Alpha and Omega's kingdom come

And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks

In measured hundred weight and penney pound
When the Man comes around.

Close (Spoken part)
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
And I looked and behold, a pale horse
And his name that sat on him was Death
And Hell followed with him.

"The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash

Lines on the Sphere

For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great,
You who distress the righteous and accept bribes
And turn aside the poor in the gate.
Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is an evil time.
Seek good and not evil, that you may live;
And thus may the LORD God of hosts be with you,
Just as you have said!
Hate evil, love good,
And establish justice in the gate!

Amos 5: 12-15

Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Amos 5: 23-24

Do horses run on rocks?
Or does one plow them with oxen?
Yet you have turned justice into poison
And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood

Amos 6: 12

(Okay, for the mathematicians and other science types, I know I'm taking liberties with this lines-and-spheres metaphor, but I think it works somewhat for my purposes.)

While the United States Constitution guarantees us the Freedom of Religion and forbids the establishment of a mandatory State Religion, too many postmodern "thinkers" have decided that the only way to protect these rules is to completely eliminate all religious influences from public life. Well, it should be logically obvious that such thinking clearly cannot be defended because it violates its own premise of Freedom. How can restricting the "free exercise" of religion in the public sphere be consistent with protecting any true Freedom? Some might object and insist that they are guaranteed some "freedom from religion" and that all public places should be free of any kind of religious symbolism or other influences, but that kind of 'reasoning' does not fit on a sphere where it does not intersect with other fully reasoned freedoms. How else can I make it obvious that one cannot violate a basic principle with such an exception? We know that parallel lines on a sphere will eventually always intersect, and this is not a flat world.

Basic principles and fundamental laws and liberties cannot be breached for the sake of "exceptions." And to favor or champion the exceptions at the expense of the basic and fundamental is inconsistent with reason, justice, fairness, and the rule of law.

An inconvenient reality for the postmodern Constitutional flatlanders is that our entire system of Freedoms is dependent upon the Christian concepts of morality. As Christ taught people how to live in peace and harmony with one another, and he insisted that all men treat each other with the same esteem and respect as themselves. He berated the leaders who did not live in accordance with these principles.

Jesus answered, "How terrible also for you teachers of the Law! You put onto people's backs loads which are hard to carry, but you yourselves will not stretch out a finger to help them carry those loads

Luke 11:46

"How terrible for you teachers of the Law! You have kept the key that opens the door to the house of knowledge; you yourselves will not go in, and you stop those who are trying to go in!"

Luke 11:52

It seems to me that the downfall of our Constitution (and arguably, our society) began with the illogical and errant Supreme Court ruling in Brown v Board of Education which used faulty sociological reasons for declaring that "separate is inherently unequal." Now, no one should confuse himself that I am defending racism or any kind of mandatory segregation. That is NOT my point and that does not fit anywhere on the Sphere of Freedom. My argument is that the very idea that 'separate cannot be equal' is completely wrong and unnecessary to assure equal freedoms. Racism is not an argument I am pursuing, and I will not engage in it at this time except to suggest that one look at the evidence of the last 40 or so years that shows us the steady decline in the quality of education and social conditions since the Court ruling. Usually such evidence speaks for itself.

Jesus Christ himself was arguing that separate IS equal - that all men are equal in the eyes of God (and should be in the eyes of the law) even if they are "separated" by the natural variations of life experience and conditions. And this idea is at the heart of our American psyche and soul:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

What that means is basically the same as what Jesus Christ taught his disciples about their own status in the world:

And there was an argument among them about which of them was the greatest. And he said, The kings of the Gentiles are lords over them, and those who have authority are given names of honour. But let it not be so with you; but he who is greater, let him become like the younger; and he who is chief, like a servant. For which is greater, the guest who is seated at a meal or the servant who is waiting on him? is it not the guest? but I am among you as a servant.

But you are those who have kept with me through my troubles; And I will give you a kingdom as my Father has given one to me, So that you may take food and drink at my table in my kingdom, and be seated like kings, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Luke 22: 24-30

Of course, Jesus Christ required that men accept the judgment of God over the judgment of other men in order to have eternal life in heaven. While these are religious requirements, one cannot dismiss or deny the basic truth of equality within the statements. Our Founding Fathers knew, and assumed that others would know, the biblical basis of their own principles. However, it cannot be considered any kind of co-mingling of Church and State to have your basic principles founded in the truths that are shared by a religion. It is merely an intersection of the parallels on the sphere

I'm a Convert

I just bought a MacBook Pro yesterday. The little Acer Aspire One netbook I've been using for a couple of years was just unable to perform some of the tasks I've needed, especially since I got a really good high-def camera for Christmas. My oldest got an iMac for Christmas and ever since I've been pondering the MacBook. When my daughter dropped her ipod touch (also a Christmas gift) and shattered the glass we took it to the Apple Store at West Town Mall to see if they could fix it. (I probably should add that I further damaged it when I took it apart to see if I could fix it myself.... after all I have replaced broken laptop screens by myself and thought maybe I could do the ipod too, ha.) They said they could trade it out for $149 but that she should take it home and synch all of her music and stuff before trading. So we went back yesterday for her to trade it and they surprised us by replacing it for free! Well, that kind of customer care was enough to sell me the MacBook. Even though Apple products are more expensive than their competition, those little things can make a big difference. Anyway, I do like the Mac very well so far. (Not to worry Windows/PC, I still like you too.)

Life Goes On

Man, the words just don't come like they used to.

Ghost of Toolshed Present: Busy, busy, busy

This picture intrigues me with its sense of work and industry and the shadows and shapes. It's some painting by a Depression Era artist who was paid by the government as part of the New Deal or something. There's a post about that here somewhere. The Lego-looking men are almost comical, but I guess their form also suggests the dehumanization of the world at that time. And who doesn't love Legos?


The present is the shortest period of time we experience because it's gone in a flash. All of a sudden it's the past, so it's really hard to justify spending too much of that precious present on talking about it instead of actually living it.. Time flies when you're having fun - or when you're too busy to know if you're having fun or not. Anyway, the future looms with its deadlines, responsibilities, and potentials that fuel the present. Speaking of presents, it's only 10 days until Christmas and Santa has lots of work to finish.

Merry Christmas to all!

Ghost of Toolshed Past

Heh, time has flown by - I blame the accelerating universe. Or is that now an outdated idea? Anyway, revisiting the toolshed I have to admit it's a pretty funny little spot in the cyberverse. I did alright.

Blogging has fallen by the wayside as I have used my limited time on many home improvement/maintenance projects. It's amazing how so many things in a dwelling need attention. I've been ripping out carpet and putting down new flooring, installing new light fixtures, repairing minor plumbing leaks, tiling the kitchen walls, repainting rooms and ceilings, and some other things I can't recall at the moment. Well, it's all part of being a home-maker. And I just didn't even think about documenting it all with pictures and blogging. Ooops.

But above all of that, mothering my children has been the primary focus of my life. The oldest is now a high school freshman and is the "beast" of the quads (tenors) in the high school drumline. My daughter is now in middle school and has thankfully so far avoided the middle school problems her older brother had.
And the youngest is in 4th grade, and he is still full of many potentials that are yet to be cultivated.

So that's just a very brief review of the passing time.

Thank You Blogger

.... for not dumping my sorry incommunicado self.

The inclination for putting thoughts into words in a blog seems to be trying to return. Well, I have some news anyway, for the moment.

I have another squamous cell carcinoma. This time on the other thigh. It will be cut out and checked for a clear boundary on Aug. 6. I'm trying not to get all freaked out and worried about some other cancers trying to spout elsewhere in and/or on my body, but I have looked up where else squamous cell cancers are prone to grow. It's time to get a good checkup and maybe some other tests just to keep an eye on things.

So, other than the country going all to hell around us, that's the state of the constitution.

Boo!

Just haunting the old toolshed real quick....

Long Time, No Blog

I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth.... sorry to disappoint anyone, LOL.

Life has been very full and active, and I guess I haven't had much blogging in me lately. It's just one of those phases or breaks, like a sabbatical or something. At least I don't have any family deaths or major illnesses to report. We're just trucking along trying to enjoy life and living.

I hope that Google or Blogger or whoever doesn't decide to suspend blogs that have been relatively inactive... I do anticipate having a renewed writing spirit at some point in the future.

Enjoy the summer, everyone!

WWJD

Not even Jesus wanted a Pay Czar:

3 Jesus was eating in Bethany at the home of Simon, who once had leprosy, when a woman came in with a very expensive bottle of sweet-smelling perfume. After breaking it open, she poured the perfume on Jesus' head. 4 This made some of the guests angry, and they complained, "Why such a waste? 5 We could have sold this perfume for more than three hundred silver coins and given the money to the poor!" So they started saying cruel things to the woman.

6 But Jesus said: Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me. 7 You will always have the poor with you. And whenever you want to, you can give to them. But you won't always have me here with you. 8 She has done all she could by pouring perfume on my body to prepare it for burial.

Mark 14:3-8

It's nobody's business what people do with the money they make. Even Jesus said that what looks like an indulgence to others looks very different to him. He was very thankful that this woman used her perfume because it was part of the "annointing" the dying. He probably saw the woman's kindness and generosity as a gift from God and as the sign that his demise was imminent. (Recall that the next thing that happens is Judas betraying him.)

Well, I just don't think that Obama really believes in Christian values. Some people think that's great, I guess, but his actions reveal that he is not looking at the world through Christ-like eyes. - Whatever problems people have with religion, I think that they are also not seeing the obvious fact that modern Christianity is a provider of guidelines for looking at the world in a way that is irrationally kind, generous, charitable, grateful, and loving. - Obama is acting like the people yelling at the woman for "wasting" her perfume. And it is this view of the world that drives his need to appoint all these control czars of every flavor.

Summer Break

Now that school is out for the summer and the baseball season is winding down, I hope to have more time for blogging. It is not that there haven't been plenty of things to talk about. There is so much! And I have to confess that I've been a bit of a facebook "hoe" over the last several months. Well, it's a faster and more efficient way of keeping in touch with friends when time is tight. If you would like, send me a friend request.

A Must-See For Everyone

"even makes the weather perfect every day"