Remembering our veterans on their day

Today as I sit and type this entry, I'm reminded of the sacrifice our
veterans have made so that we have the freedom to post such material, to
live and work in the community of our choice, to practice our religion and
to criticize our government when we don't agree with a decision they have
made. Much of this would be impossible in many countries and could subject
one to harsh treatment, including death.

As someone who is blind with a mild hearing loss, I am able to work and live
on my own. Contrast that with some other countries where someone like me
would be kekpt at home and cared for the rest of her life. I have access to
technology that allows me to ac cess information. I'm able to participate
in the political process through my advocacy work. I can even go out
shopping on my own.

I'm able to do many, if not all, of these things because of the sacrifices
our veterans have made. They have defended freedom so that I and others
like me can have choices. They have answered the call to serve so that all
of us might be able to vote in free and fair elections as many of us did
last week, choosing to toss out politicians we didn't like in many places.
In many countries, they don't have free and fair elections so can't affect
change in this way. We can and that is a right we have because of the
sacrifices of our veterans.

I'm reminded of these sacrifices thanks to the Greatest Generation who are
now part of the honor flights and are just now getting the thanks from a
grateful nation which they so richly deserve. That's been a long time
coming but well and richly deserved for life would be very different today
if they had not answered the call to serve.

So if you see a veteran today, tell him or her thank you for their service
no matter which branch of the military they served in or which war they
served in. All have sacrificed much for future generations.

In closing, I just want to say thank you to any veteran who might read this.
Please know that your service to our country is greatly appreciated.

About four weeks to go

It's about four weeks until the election. There's a lot at stake this time
around and no one can afford to be on the sidelines. You need to make sure
you're informed and vote for the candidates youfeel will do the best for
this country,your state and or local area.

Our vote will influence the direction of the country for years to come.
Business is not investing due to uncertainty. They don't know what
regulations will be coming down the pipeline; they don't know what they will
be paying in taxews and they don't know how much their costs will rise as a
result of Obama Care. Business won't hire or invest until they know the
answers to these questions. To that end, who wins will say a lot about the
direction of the country.

If the Democrats win,it will be more of the same thing that we're getting
now. There will just be more regulation They willhave succeeded in taking
over health care by mandating what must be covered; who must be covered and
how much can be charged for said coverage. When private companies are
reduced to offering what the government mandates just to stay in business,
that's a takeover despite what the media would have yu believe. What will
be next? That's a scary thought.

If the Republicans win, we will see an effort to repeal the onerous
takeover of one-sixth of the economy. We will see regulations reduced and
taxes will be reduced which will allow for investment. Bailouts would end
and they need to as taxpayers should not be funding failng businesses. If
they have a bad business model, then they fail under capitalism.

The Democrats view business as evil and greedy. Just look at their
so-called financial regulatoryreform. It strangles business and regulates
what credit card companies and others can do. Granted some changes were
needed but not in the manner that the Democrats did it.

Republicans, on the other hand, see business as innovative and the creator
of jobs. It is the private sector who creates job, not the government.
Democrats believe just the opposite when it comes to who creates jobs in
this country.

The future is in our hands and we need to make sure we let everyone know
what direction we want to see things go. That's why it's important to get
out and vote as if your life depends on it because it does..

Taking the opportunity tocomment on cell phone access

Rarely are we given an opportunity to comment on such an important issue.
This is such an opportunity and it has been made so easy. I urge all who
read this to do so, encourage others to do so or help someone to do so.
These comments are due to the FCC by October 15 and were sent to
pam.gregory@fcc.gov. let her hear our voices.

Docket #10-145
Accessibility of cell phones
I appreciate the extension of the deadline for comments on this very
important topic.

While it is nice that Applle has made a phone that is accessible out of the
box,not everyone will want to use a touch screen. Some people,like me, will
not have the patience for such a device. I saw a friend's I-pod touch over
the weekend and know I am in that category.

This leads me to my next point, that being that there must be options out
there; and that's not the case unless one is willing to invest money over
and above the cost of the cell phone. I, as a blind hard of hearing person,
should not have to do that. Right now, I have to pay $300 additional for
the cost of a screen reader to make my phone accessible as I cannot read the
menus, text messages or anything else on the phone. I then must invest
money to keep that software current, something a sighted person does not
have to do. That puts the cost of access at right around $500 over and
above the cost of the phone itself. Sighted people don't have to pay this
extra cost and neither should I. I am happy with Verizon, my current
carrier, and I don't want to switch just to obtain accessibility out of the
box. I should, like anyone else, be able to choose the carrier from whom I
want to obtain service.

As I wear hearing aids, I also had to test the phone in the store to make
sure it was going to work for me. Thankfully it did and the representative
in the verizon store knew something about the ratings system for hearing aid
compatibility (HAC). In the past, I've had to use a loop which added
additional cost to the phone. However, I've not had to use such a device
since 2006 and I'm not going back.

In conclusion, Apple has shown that accessibility out of the box is
possible. However, the I-phone is the only phone for which this is true.
Other manufacturers need to follow Apple's lead. It's good for business and
the consumer.

Six weeks and counting

It's six weeks until the mid-term elections and it can't get here fast
enough. Six more weeks and hopefully Obama and his minions will be slowed
down dramtically, giving this country a chance to slow down the pace of
change and get us to 2012 without too much more damage. Heck we may even
have a shot at repeal of the government takeover of health care. I hope so
as I want to make my own health care decisions. I don't want them made by a
bureaucrat in Washington.

Businesses will be happy to see the elections come too as maybe the
uncertainty will end for them. They will get a clearer picture of where
issues of taxes, regulation and health care are headed. Only when business
is certain about these issues will they begin to create jobs once again.
Only when they know what they will be paying for health care for their
employees and what they will be paying in taxes will they then decide to
create jobs.

Unfortunately you have a President right now who has never worked in the
private sector so he doesn't know the first thing about how government
policy affects business. President Obama and his Democratic friends think
that government, not the private sector,creates jobs. This is, of course,
not the case. Government thinks right now that they are the only ones who
create jobs and that the private sector is evil. You see this here in
Illinois. All you have to do is read any news release from Gov. Quinn's
office to realize that Gov. Quinn spends money thinking it will create jobs.
That's what you see time and again as a justification for every project on
which there is a release. There are releases on broadband projects,
high-speed railroad service and highway interchanges just to name a few. Go
to www.Illinois.gov and click on news and then Governor's office and you
will see what I mean. What happens when these projects are finished? Where
are the jobs? Are these projections grounded in reality? Does anyone know?
I wonder why but won't speculate here.

You can look in other categories on the above-mentioned site to see what
else is going on. You will find out about regulations, appointments and the
like. There's not much in the area of budget fiscal, with nothing being
mentioned in this category since July. What are they doing to fix the
budget problems? Spending is obviously outpacing revenue and that can't be
sustained. We need long-term solutions that are not crisis-driven. We need
solutions that will stabilize the situation, not make it worse.

Six weeks until the mid-term elections and it can't get here fast enough.
Make sure you are registered and then that you vote for the candidates
youfeel will do the best job for the future of Illinois and the nation.

Ground Zero Mosque no way

I've been listening to all of the controversy surrounding the building of a
mosque/Islamic Cultural Center near Ground Zero. While those who own the
property on which this facility is to be built have the right to do what
they want with the property, does that mean they should? In this case the
answer to that question is a resounding NO!

They should have known that building a Mosque/Islamic Cultural Center so
close to Ground Zero would stir up some strong emotions, especially among
the families of those killed on September 11, 2001 by Islamic extremists.
Locating the facility where its backers want only serves to cause pain and
ill-will. These people should be more sensitive to the situation at hand.
There are other places further away from Ground Zero that this could be
built; and these options should be explored. This should have never gotten
this far due to the sensitive nature of this area.

As for the burning of the Quron to protest this Mosque/Cultural Center,
that's far out of bounds of free speech and is far beyond wrong and far
beyond being in extremely poor taste. It's extremely disgusting and should
never, ever happen. Disagreeing with a project is no reason for
dessicration of any religious symbol of any religion. Let's not inflame
the situation literally here.

I have not forgotten

Today is 9 years after 9-11, that horrible day when this country was
tragically and brutally attacked by terrorists using planes as weapons.
These 19 so-called human beings had no regard for human life and some 3,000
people lost their lives, many just going to work as they normally did. The
only thing different is that they never came home. Then there were the
heroes who died just doing what they do. (taken from Allan Jackson "Where
Were You When the World Stopped Turning?")

You also have those aboard United flight 93 who were determined that their
plane would not destroy another landmark. They were the first soldiers in
the war on terror. Tod Beamer and the rest died like heroes in that
Pennsylvania field. Then there are those who died at the Pentagon.

It's a day I'll never forget and a day we must never forget because if we
forget, then it will happen again. We must do everything we can to defeat
terrorism so that these deaths will not be in vain. We came together as a
country and we must continue to work together as a country.

Have you forgotten? No I haven't and never will. I still remember talking
to my husband that day and then turning on the radio to find that the
station was taking feed fromNYC. I called my husband and told himn to turn
on the radio. He did and thus began a day filled with terror and horror.

My hearts go out to the first responders who did their best to try and save
those trapped at the WTC, many of them dying in the process. It just shows
the sacrifice these people make every day, and especially on 9-11. They
paid a high price as did this country. May we never see another day like it
ever again.

When will liberals get it?

When it comes to almost anything these days, I must ask the question that is
the title of this blog post. When willliberals get it?

It's obvious they don't get it when it comes to jobs. They insist on
passing numerous laws that affect small business. This shows in legislation
that they enact such as the misguided financial reform measures which will
only serve to further tighten credit. What will the regulations for this
legislation require? Noone knows yet and that will further fuel uncertainty
by business which will in turn mean fewer jobs and les investment. Why
should business create jobs if they are not certain what will be coming down
the road in terms of regulation and taxes? As for taxes, there are a ton of
these in the health care legislation. Talk about more uncertainty, you have
it in a large piece of legislation which amounts to a government takeover of
health care. Don't forget what they did to the student load program either.
Talk about uncertainty. There is some for students as well. What will
those regulations look like? I don't think anyone knows.

You have liberals talking about energy independence. What this means is cap
and trade which would choke off industry and necessarily, by Obama's own
admission, raise electric rates. How is this a good thing for business or
the individual? One more example of where liberals don't get it.

Then there's uncertainty at the state level. Providers and others aren't
getting paid due to state financial problems. When will the Dems realize
the problem and begin working across the isle to help fix the problem? Who
knows.

Noone really knows what the future holds. The liberals don't seem to
understand that uncertainty is no friend of business. They just think that
business is evil and needs to be regulated. They think that the government
knows what is best rather than the individual. Whatever happened to free
enterprise? I don't know but we had better figure that out before we become
so like Europe that there's no turning back, something we're really fast
approaching.

November can't get here fast enough.

ADA 20 years later

We have an important anniversary to celebrate tomorrow. What is that
anniversary? It's the signing of the Americannnnns with Disabilities Act
(ADA) by then-President George H.W. bush. It gave those of us with
disabilities the right to be included in all aspects of society including
success and failure. It gave us access to the built environment, to state
and local government programs and services and places of public
accommodation. This meant stores, restaurants, bars, amusement
parks,festivals etc. We could go where everyone else goes. We have a right
to get material from city council meetings in accessible format.
Transportation became accessible so we could get out and go where we need
and want to go. This includes fixed route and paratransit service. These
are just a few things that the ADA has allowed us to do.

Is there still a ways to go? Yes there certainly is. There is the issue of
access to goods and services sold over the Internet. The Dept. of Justice
will be dealing with this issue very soon so that is a step in the right
direction. Are there still access issues when it comes to voting?
Absolutely there are but voting is something that we can do independnently
now thanks in part to the ADA and I for one am not going back.

Pedestrian access is something that still needs work but will improve.
Access to state and local government programs and services is better but
again could improve.

There is, however, one thing that legislation will not change no matter how
hard you try; and that is attitudes. There will continue to be problems
with employment when you have attitudes which say that PWD can't work or
live independently. These attitudinal barriers will come down much more
slowly than the physical barriers have come down. All of us have attitudes
that we have acquired since a veryh young age. It's hard to change those
attitudes but we must continue to try.

Does the ADA hold promise for equal rights? You bet it does, especially if
we make full use of its provisions. If we don't make full use of its
provisions, then we won't realize the true power that this law gives us.
Let's dedicate ourselves to realizing the full potential of this landmark
legislation.

Arizona

Once again I must ask if people have actually read the Arizona immigration
law or even understand how it works? If you're a liberal, the answer to
that is probably no on both counts because it doesn't fit your agenda of
open borders. If you're a conservative, the answer is likely yes because
you understand the issue and know that the feds aren't doing what they need
to and you want to see the boarders secured.

Liberals say this law is or will lead to racial profiling. Well, if there
is documented racial profiling going on then let's deal with it; but until
then let's enforce the laws that are on the books. How many people know
that there is a federal law on the books, signed by a Democratic President,
that requires aliens to carry their papers on their person? I'd venture to
say not many, especially among the liberal crowd as once again this doesn't
fit their agenda.

As further proof that this is getting nasty, there was news that an ACB
affiliate has withdrawn an invitation for the Maricopa County sherrif to
speak at there convention this summer in Phoenix. Once again, if people
would read the law, they would know what it says. People cannot be stopped
primarily because they might be here illegally. They can, however, be asked
as a result of a stop for another offense or reason for contact with the
police. What's so damn hard to understand about that?

While the convention will be fun this summer, I'm not looking forward to the
freaking politics due to the location of the convention. Can we just do the
organization business without getting involved in an issue that IMO we
should not be involved in? I pray that the answer is yes but I'm afraid it
won't be given GDUI's action on the speaking engagement of the sherrif.

He has every right to be angry over that one as it's real disingenuous to
invite someone and then pull the invitation just because you don't agree
with a law that was passed and that he only enforces.. If anyone has a
better solution out there, I'd like to hear it but let's not get the
convention or the organization involved in this one please.

BP and anyone else can't get it right

We've all heard about the explosion of the deep water horizon oil rig in the
gulf of Mexico and the oil spill that has resulted from this explosion.
We've also heard how the beaches and marsh lands have been fouled by this
oil. With each passing day, we also hear about the fact that BP hasn't a
clue how to stop this. It's been said that everything they've tried hasn't
been tried at these depths. You've got to be kidding me. Why would a
permit even be issued in this situation?

The answer to that question is certainly open for debate and the fact that
deep water drilling has been closed for now is a good thing despite what the
Mississippi Governor Haley Barber says. We do need to know how to deal with
something like this if it were to happen. And we don't right now. BP
certainly hasn't got a clue.

I go back to the 60 Minutes broadcast done about three weeks ago where the
gentleman from Transocean who was on the rig at the time of the explosion
said that BP wanted to move too fast and that there were problems with the
ring on the blow out preventer. Well, the blow out preventer did not do its
job, that's for sure. Did BP move too fast on production? I think that the
answer is likely yes. Did they ignore signs of trouble with the blowout
preventer? I think that we will find out that the answer to that one is
likely yes. Come on, when there's rubber where it shouldn't be, that's a
problem.

Does the government have some blame here? Certainly they do and Obama, if
he can bring himself to do it, needs to take responsibility for it too. The
response has been slow at best. Come on, Louisiana is waiting for answers
regarding , I believe, the digging of berms or something to protect the
coast line and marshes. The last I had heard on this was that they had not
yet received an answer. What's taking so long for that answer to come? As
for the finger pointing game in front of Congress by the companies involved,
there'll be enough blame to go around by the time this investigation is
finished so no one needs to worry about anyone escaping responsibility on
this one.

BP certainly can't get it right though. Everything they try doesn't work;
and it'll be two months before the relief wells are done. That's no
comfort to the coast states, especially Louisiana who stands to lose big on
this one. What will they try next? Stay tuned to find out.

Thank You To All

On this Memorial Day, I pause to say thank you to all who have served,
especially those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. It is because of
you that we are free today. Those who went to war did so out of a sense of
patriotism and a call to serve their country. They did so because there was
a danger to our country and our way of life.

This Memorial Day I am reminded of the Greatest Generation, the men and
women who served in WWII. They came home and quietly assimilated back into
society. At the time, they were not properly thanked. Thanks to the Honor
Flights, they are finally getting the thanks they truly deserve for what
they did. So many never made it home either. It is these men and women
whom we remember this weekend.

Please take a moment out of your busy day to remember these men and women
from all wars who gave the ultimate sacrifice. To very loosely quote a Toby
Keith song, Courtesy of the Red, White and blue, " When you see Old Glory
fly, there's a lot of men dead so we can live happy and free..." Please
remember that as you go about your day today.

Reflections on local news

Yesterday was certainly a busy day in local news rooms. You had two big
stories happen at once with no rhyme or reason to either one of them. These
two big stories happened within a half hour of each other which I'll bet is
a nightmare for any news room.

The first story was the death of Metra's Executive Director and the other
was the shooting at the Old Navy store in Chicago's loop.

The shooting , while sensless, was easier to explain but difficult to
swallow. The reason is that an innocent woman was taken down with the guy
who didn't want the relationship to end. There are better ways to handle
that situation than to murder someone and then take one's own life.

The Metra story however gives me the creeps as I have had interaction with
the Executive Director in the past when transportation issues were hot in
the early to mid 1990s. He was one who got it where disability access was
concerned and that was saying a lot for the Executives at that time. The
waythis gentleman chose to end it was what makes this so creepy as he no
doubt saw reports and handled incidents of this type while employed at
Metra. Why would you use a train, something you were in charge of running
the service of, to take your own life? There were obviously more problems
here than we will ever know because the taking of money inquestionable
fashion should not alone be a cause for taking one's own life.

Will I ever look at getting on a Metra train or any other type of diesel
train the same again? Probably not because I knew this person
professionally and that's the creepy side of this story. My condolances to
the family who is left wondering why. May the good Lord give them the
strength to get through this crisis in their lives.

November we need you now

The title says it all. We need November and it can't get here fast enough
for me. I say this for a number of reasons.

First of all, the Democrats so-called health care reform will be the death
of this economy if it isn't repealed and replaced. However, we need
Republicans in office in order to make this happen. Small business, which
is the lifeblood of our economy, will be hurt or even killed if this
so-called reform is allowed to stand. What small business will be able to
afford to open its doors given that its health care costs will go through
the roof and they'll have to hire someone just to keep up with all of the
mandates. Small business' who can afford to do so will choose to drop
their employees into the exchange and pay the penalty rather than deal with
the headaches of this travesty that calls itself reform but is really part
of the democrats plan to create a single payer system by gutting the private
insurance companies.

You also have legislators who want reform of the financial system but who
won't deal with the root cause of the problem which is Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac, the two mortgage lending giants who are being bailed out by the
taxpayers because they made loans to people who couldn't afford them. The
Democrats don't want to deal with reform of these two entities because they
don't want to deal with the fact that some people just can't afford a home.

Then there's the issue of terrorism which was brought into sharp focus last
week. You had the Time Square bomber who nearly made it out of the country
and should never have gotten that close. You have the fact that the
administration still feels that this is a criminal justice rather than a
military matter. Something unfortunately is going to happen; it's only a
matter of time. Two close calls should tell you all you need to know.

Now we get to the issue of immigration. The Democrats clearly don't want to
deal with this one as they support open boarders. What else can you say
when they deem a state potentially racist because that state wants
immigration laws enforced. I'm talking about Arizona who has a real problem
with a porous border and the feds aren't doing a damn thing abobut it so
they sent a message. Obama's response is to have the Justice Department
look at it because people's rights might be violated or there might be
racial profiling. Give me a freaking break. Then there's the whole issue
of the border and federal land. That's another matter all together. Not to
metion the fact that theliberals don't even talk about the requirement, on
the books since the 1940s, that aliens carry their paperwork on their person
in orer to prove their status and that they are here legally. Why not
enforce that law while we're at it and the liberals don't need to give any
crap about violation or rights because we would e expected to have our
papers on our person if we were traveling abroad.

Porkulus and the health care debacle have only seved to raise the national
debt. These liberals who are spending like drunken sailors and worse need
to be stopped before we wind up in the same shape that Greece now finds
itself in. We're not going to spend our way out of the recession which is
something the liberals don't understand. And you can't even have a civil
debate about this without being called a racist or anything else. Just
watch how the liberals marginalize he tea party movement which is a
cross-section of America. It's not just Republican but Democrats and
independents as well. It's people who want their country back as I do.

As you can see November can't get here fast enough and we need it now before
the liberals inflict more damage on this country. I want my country back
and I will do what I can to see that this happens.

More like Europe Not Here

Obama has said more than once that we need to become more like Europe. My
answer is no we don't. We don't need the out of control spending that they
are now having to wrestle with. We don't need the regulation of every facet
of our lives and we don't need the debt crisis that is sure to come our way
by spending like Europe has spent and taxed too for that matter.

Spain was the third country to have its debt downgraded by Standard and
Poors or Moody's. I'm not sure which one but it's one of those two big bond
houses. Greece was downgraded to junk status. Portugal was downgraded
yesterday from what to what I'm not sure; but it wasn't good. Now we have
Spain; and I hear this may not be the last one either. Italy is on the list
as well. Where will this stop and when will people see that you can't spend
yourself into oblivion nor can you spend your way out of aneconomic crisis.
I don't care what country we're talking about.

My fear is that the U.S. could be next down the line. I say this because
the debt is going up, up and away. We can't afford to keep doing this; and
I certainly don't want to see us end up like any of the countries listed
above. As it is, foreign powers control our debt which isn't good either.
This is especially true when you consider that these countries have leverage
over us; and China is the biggest among these countries. Scary stuff to say
the least.

Just one more reason we need to take our country back and gridlock Obama
until we can get him out of office. My nieces and nephews and their
children don' t need to be dealing with this crisis and explosion of
spending. We've got to control spending. If we don't, we'll end up like
Greece, Portugal and Spain and likely Italy. The debt virus is one virus
that doesn't need to make its way to U.S. shores.

My message for the Dems is to stop spending like drunken sailors. The GOP
needs to stop enabling it too. This fall should prove to be the first step
in stopping this out-of-control spending. God I hope so for the sake of
this country. I can't say this enough. I want my country back.

What will they regulate next

The question has to be asked with the Democrats in power. Santa Clara
County is regulating the offering of toys in children's meals under the
guise of combating childhood obesity and Sen Charles Schumer D-NY) wants
Facebook and other social networking sites regulated with regards to
privacy.

With regard to the Santa Clara county regulations, since when was it the
government's job to regulate what children can eat? It's not. What
children eat is up to the parents and they need to say no if they don't want
their children eating the happy meals because they are fattening. Next
thing you know, we will all be told what we can eat and when we can eat it.
The liberals don't trust the people to do what the liberals think we ought
to do. They believe that the government is more capable than the
individual. I believe quite the opposite, that the individual is quite
capable of deciding what is best for them or their family; and certainly
much more capable than the government. Remember that requirements for
listing calorie counts on restaurant food are hidden in the massive health
care debacle known as Obama Care. What else is hidden in that monster of a
piece of legislation? Who knows? Only the Dems do but the Republicans are
pointing it out too.

Now on to Facebook and other social networking sites. Sen. Schumer who
likely has never held a real job in his life wants to regulate something he
does not understand at all. First of all, Facebook is a global site which
means that it would be difficult to regulate for that very reason. If it
were to be regulated, there would have to be tracking of people so that the
necessary regulations could be applied to U.S. users, something which
Schumer doesn't understand even if he were to object to it which he likely
would. But wait! The government knows best. Schumer doesn't understand
that when you go on-line you are taking a risk in the first place. That's
the nature of the beast.

Just two more examples of why the Dems need to be driven out of office and
Obama gridlocked for the last two years of his administration so he can't do
any more damage than he's already done; and he's done quite enough already.
I want my country back and I hope you do too.

Have they no brains

The title is the question for the Obama administration today. Regulations
take affect which will add to the cost of a home remodeling job. The
contractor will now have to prove that they have the EPA's stamp of approval
to do the work which will add cost to the job. This involves homes built
prior to 1978 which is the year that lead paint was banned. It's designed
to, in the minds of the liberals, combat lead poisoning, but in reality
sticks it to the construction industry in a down economy. Once again I ask
has this administration no brains?

All this regulation will do is kill jobs as people forgo remodeling in order
not to pay the additional cost which will be incurred as a result of this
regulation. The EPA in an article I saw in the Washington Post said that
this will add something like $80 to $167 to the cost of a job. Contractors
tell a different story, saying it will add at least $500, if not more, to
the cost of a job. There's the cost of training employees and also the cost
of God knows how much paperwork which likely will have to be done as a
result of this one.

I tend to agree with the contractors on this one. This is kicking an
industry when it's down. It's about policies that kill jobs while
satisfying the liberal agenda; and to roll this out on Earth Day is the
bitterest of ironies too.

One more example of why this administration needs to be gridlocked until we
can get it out of office.

I want some sanity back and my country as well

The last couple of days, or should I say the last couple of months or more,
have been totally insane when it comes to politics in this country. You
have the Democrats at both the state and federal level on a spending orgy
that has no end. You have Democrats like President Obama and House Speaker
Pelosi and others shoving health care reform down our collective throats and
the people gagging on that one. You have terrorism cases being handled as
criminal matters rather than military ones. You have Democrats who have no
clue as some in the state of Illinois want to cut spending, or at least
pretend that this is what they want. You have state Democrats who are
proposing their favorite solution to the problem of the spending orgy,, that
being a tax in crease in a bad economy. It won't fly and they are clueless
to that as it is their only solution. You have programs all over the place
who are getting hurt as a result of this; and you have the federal
government, through the recently-passed health care monstrosity, dumping
people on to the state Medicaid system which is in trouble already. What
more could go wrong? Plenty if these idiots aren't stopped.

The liberals have wanted to shove their agenda down our collective throats
for a long, long, long, long time; and now it appears that they will succeed
if they aren't stopped. These people are so arrogant that they think they
can do whatever they want. They have no clue about the outrage of the
people nor do they have any clue about what will happen this November.

What needs to happen is a /Republican revolution that makes 1994 look like
child's play. What needs to happen is that the Democrats need to be told
that they are absolutely and completely out of touch with the people. It
doesn't help that the majority of the media is in bed with these idiots
either. Fox and maybe the Wall Street Journal are two of the better outlets
for news as they aren't biased. The mainstream media, on the other hand, is
and they've been losing audience share because of it as people have other
options and are using those options.

I have never given to a campaign nor worked on one in the past but that
might change if the right situation presents itself because I want my
country back. I don't recognize what this country is fast becoming, a
country where the government takes care of your every want and need rather
than the individual making his or her own choices and controlling their own
lives. It used to be that we had statesmen who would step up in tough times
and do what was right. I'm not sure we have that anymore. Instead we have
Chicago-style politics at the national level. It's the politics of
coercion, thuggery and arrogance. I don't want that. People like the late
Sens. Simon and Kennedy were partisan to the core but each knew when to
reach across the aisle. The same can't be said about today's so-called
leaders. Those like Pelosi, Reed, and Obama lead by intimidation and
they'll do anything to get what they want, including buying votes with
sweetheart deals. This occurred so many times on the health care
monstrosity, it's not funny. There's the Stupak sellout, the cornhusker
kickback, the Louisiana purchase, Gatorade and more. It all stinks and I
can't take the stench anymore. I want my country back.

We all need to do whatever we can to take our country back from these
idiots. I plan to check some things out and see where I go from here but
taking no action is not an option. Only time will tell what action I will
take.

Powerless on health care

Right now I feel powerless as the steam roller that is health care reform,
oh I mean deform, keeps rolling on. Last night this country was
transformed in a historic way with the passage of health care reform. This
legislation will drive up the deficit, saddle our children and grandchildren
with debt, kill jobs, force people on Medicaid, mandate that everyone have
health insurance and use the IRS to achieve these ends. This country was
transformed from a free enterprise system to a socialist economy last night.
Government knows best according to the Democrats. Well, not in this
author's opinion. Government doesn't know best and I sure as hell don't
want to be asking for permission to do absolutely anything related to
health care from what I can eat to when I can make a doctor's appointment
and with whom. Don'[t even get into health care records which I won't be
able to access because they haven't considered the needs of people with
disabilities.

I feel powerless because I am opposed to this train wreck. Fortunately I am
represented by a Congressman who is also opposed and I certainly appreciate
his no vote on this monstrosity. He knows that this will be a jobs killer
and will hurt the economy. How the hell could it not when you are affecting
1/6 of the economy.

and the contempt for life shown by the Democrats is breath taking. What you
saw last night was the naked repeal of the Hyde Amendment which bans
federal funds for abortion. The Democratic comeback on that is that there
will be an executive order regarding this. Well, what is done by executive
order can be taken away by the same means. You also have the fact that,
according to Rep. Roskam, an executive order must be congruous with the
legislation in order to be constitutional and this one would not be. Stupak
and his ilk were rolled on this legislation big time. There's no question
about it. The Democrats were so desperate for votes on this one that they
were willing to do anything to get what they want. Welcome to Chicago
politics at the national level.

I've heard that this monstrosity will be signed as soon as this Tuesday.
Hopefully it will soon be declared unconstitutional, something that I have
heard several state AGs are going to go to court and contend as soon as this
is signed. I hope to God that they succeed because this travesty cannot be
allowed to stand. Where in the Constitution does it state that the
government has the power to compel a citizen to buy something, in this case
health insurance? It doesn't. The Dems obviously don't understand the
meaning of commerce.

Let the Republican revolution begin. Maybe we can bottle up this
administration until we can get it out of office. For the sake of this great
country. I want my country back and the fight is now to get it back. I
pray that the courts will stop this travesty and soon.

Obama Care no thank you

I was recently visiting some family members and let's just say that we don't
agree on health care reform. The people we were visiting did not seem to
think that the Republicans have any alternatives to the huge mandated
takeover by the government of health care. Yes they do and these need to be
looked at seriously by all involved for no one side has all of the answers.
God knows the Democrats don't. The Democrats' answer is for the government
to take over health care thus creating some 118 new agencies if the estimate
on this that I heard is correct. Do I want government to expand that much?
Hell, no I don't. It only contributes to the deficit and drives us further
into debt and makes people more, not less, dependent on the government for
things that they should be able to control themselves. I don't want some
government puke telling me when I can go to the doctor. The insurance
companies do enough of that right now. For example, I'm told how often I
can go to the dentist, especially if I want insurance to pay for it; which,
by the way, is why I have insurance. I'm told how often I can get tests
such as a mammogram. I certainly don't want to be told by some government
puke what I can eat and when; and I fear that could come in the name of
combating obesity. Don't forget that the Democrats see the restaurant
industry as evil and in need of regulation.. That should be considered an
issue for another day but unfortunately it ties in here in the name of
telling restaurants what ingredients they can use in food preparation and
how much they can use of things like salt. It's my responsibility to make
choices about what I put into my body, not the government's responsibility
to make that choice for me. More on that some other time.

Have there been some mistakes? Yes and the biggest one was with the
prescription drug program for Medicare. Why wasn't the government allowed
to negotiate for the lowest price? Well, because Congress caved in to the
pharmaceuticals and insurance lobby on that one. Even this Republican
doesn't agree with that move.

Republicans talk about allowing people to buy insurance across state lines.
This is all well and good as long as the state with the lowest standards
doesn't become the Delaware of the insurance industry. I say this because
Delaware has the , what I would consider, weakest laws regarding corporation
and/or bankruptcy; which is why a lot of companies incorporate there. What
is done to make sure this doesn't happen, I don't know nor do I pretend to
have the answer. This is one argument which was brought up on our recent
visit.

There's so much wrong with the Democratic plan that I don't know where to
start but I also think it's going nowhere and fast. It needs to die a
merciful death, that's for sure. About the only argument we did win on our
recent visit was over the presence of death panels in the Democratic plan.
There is language about this in the bill, section 1233, and those with whom
we were engaged in this conversation did not say much when we brought this
up. I wonder if they knew that we were right.

Let's have some meaningful, incremental reform that doesn't explode the
deficit. Why do the Democrats want to give us a plan that requires 10 years
of taxes for six years of benefits? Why do they want this to take affect
after they leave office rather than immediately? Is the legislation that
bad that they don't want to own up to it? My answer to that question is yes
it is. Let's scrap the current legislation and start over, that is if Obama
will truly listen to the people rather than practice Chicago-style politics
on this one. If the Democrats want to fight over this one, then the
Republicans should just stand and watch them kill the legislation. It's the
best thing that can happen to this country.

The time is now for H.R. 3101

If ever there was a critical time for legislation, now is it when it comes
to H.R. 3101, the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of
2009. This legislation would do a number of things in the area of access to
telecommunications including the following"'
Require hearing aid compatibility (HAC) for cell phones.
Require accessible user interfaces for telecommunications devices.
Provide $10 million a year from the Universal Service Fund (USF) to fund the
purchase of telecommunications equipment for deaf-blind consumers.
Restore the requirement for video description.
Require that programming that moves to the Internet have video description
and closed captioning.
Require small devices to carry closed captioning and video description .

I've just outlined the key provisions of the bill. To date we only have 30
co-sponsors for this legislation. We need much more than that in order for
this legislation to move. Are we prepared to see this opportunity for
meaningful legislation in this area lost? I sure am not. I am not prepared
to be party to telling the deaf-blind community that we don't care about you
and your access needs. I'm not prepared to tell people who are blind or
visually impaired that they must have sighted assistance to set up a home
theater system. I'm not prepared to tell people who use hearing aids that
they can't have direct access to a cell phone. I'm not prepared to tell
people who are blind or visually impaired that they must pay extra for
access to all of the features of their cell phone. In short, I'm not
prepared to lose this opportunity and lose it we could if nothing happens
with this legislation.

If nothing happens this year, the legislation will die and must be
re-introduced next year. There's no guarantee that this will happen as no
one knows what the Congress will look like next year; and if we couldn't get
this done in a Democratically-controlled Congress, there's certainly no
guarantee that we'll even get this introduced in a Republican-controlled
one. Therefore, the time is now for H.R. 3101. Don't let this time pass
you by. Please contact your Representative in Congress and ask him or her
to co-sponsor this critical legislation. If you don't, the opportunity
could be lost for a generation. Are you prepared for this to happen? I'm
not.

Live from Washington

Today was the first full day of meetings here in Washington D.C. We had a
full agenda too.

We discussed how to advocate effectively for your school for the blind, how
to use ACB radio to get more content to more people, convention plans for
this summer and legal matters such as confidentiality, conflict of interest
and financial forms.

It was all good information but I do have concerns in one area. That area
is the use of ACB radio. I don't mind using it but we need to remember that
audio content doesn't work for everyone. There are some among us who don't
have enough hearing to make effective use of audio content.

I must say though that I am proud and excited to be here. I thought fondly
of who I think influenced me and thought of a couple of giants in ACB, one
living and one dearly departed. Both of these people have spoken up for the
db community. I would like to think that I have followed in their footsteps
although the shoes to be filled are large indeed.

That's all for today. We had a heavy load, especially at the end with all
of the legal stuff. That can get you down if you let it because it can seem
so big, bad and challenging. We as leaders can't let it get to us though.
If we do, we're done. I'm not ready to give up.

More thoughts from Washington tomorrow.

Batteries not being nice

Last week I had a day where a couple of batteries were not being nice at
all. First the left hearing aid battery went out. I got that fixed after
the nurse found the batteries and discovered that she had one left in the
size that I needed. Then, later the right one started doing the same thing.
I had to hope that this battery would make it until I got home, which it did
barely.

It's frustrating when you don't have both of them working as directionality
is messed up as is the amount of sound you hear. That's not a good thing at
work either, especially considering the fact that I work on the phone and
use a computer.

I got the second battery changed as soon as I got home and all was well with
that problem.

However, I have an ear mold that likes to show up once in a while and it has
decided to do just that. Once I'm done traveling, I'll get it looked at but
now is not the time. I don't know why it always shows up when I'm
traveling. I hate only having one hearing aid in is also a pain for the
same reasons mentioned above. I hate it too. I won't do that one outside
of home either as my mobility is royally messed up if I do and that's not a
good thing. If only that ear mold would behave. It would be very nice.

Adventures with a chili can

It was Super Bowl Sunday and my husband and I were making a dip to celebrate
prior to the game. There was one problem though. I was getting my
ingredients together as it was my turn to make the dip. It's a real easy
recipe too. I had the cream cheese and the chili and I knew where the
shredded cheese was. The problems is that I then lost track of the can of
chili.

I thought it was over by the chips on the south counter of our kitchen. We
both looked all over for it. And a minor shouting match was had over this
with me accusing him of throwing the thing out and him saying he didn't do
it. I finally went to a neighbor's place to have him help us look for the
can as both of us are blind. The neighbor found the can immediately when he
walked in. It was sitting on the north counter pretty as you please. If it
was any closer, it would have bitten both of us in the nose. I did move it
and forgot that I had done so. Boy was I embarrassed. How many shades of
red could I turn for that one? Also where was the nearest hole that I could
crawl into?

Believe me we had some laughter and a discussion with the can after that
one. The can of chili was promptly put into the dip and the dip prepared
and consumed. That can would not haunt us again..

Stories that changed our lives

All of the first week in January or the last week in December WTMJ out of
Milwaukee WI did a top ten list of stories that changed our lives. As I
don't recall the full list, I will concentrate on the top two stories, those
being /#2 9/11 and how it spawned two wars and changed the world and at #1
the digital revolution.

9/11 is certainly one of those stories where you remember what you were
doing when you heard about it as well as remembering that day and, likely,
the days that followed it. Who can forget where they were that day? I
can't as I was listening to the radio after speaking with my husband,
something which usually happened as he left before I did at the time. I
called him and told him that WBBM was taking feed from New York and I didn't
know why. The whole world would soon learn why. The World Trade Center
(WTC) became ground zero in the war on terror; but more importantly a field
in Pennsylvania gave us our first casualties in that war. The fact that the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were spawned by this attack cannot be
understated. They showed the U.S. resolve to go after these animals
although the war in Iraq was not a popular decision by any stretch of the
imagination. Now you have to wonder about that resolve with Obama in power
and a team who doesn't even know how the hell to handle a terrorist suspect,
i.e. enemy combatant.

Now, eight years later we're still dealing with the fallout from 9/11,not
the least of which is the ill-advised sale of the Thompson prison here in
Illinois to the Federal government for use in bringing Guantanamo to
Illinois. Then you have the difference in how Republicans and Democrats see
this issue. The Republicans see terrorism as a military issue while
Democrats see it as a law enforcement issue. Where has that gotten us?
Nowhere fast. Are we more or less safe today than under Bush? Less safe in
my opinion precisely because of how this issue is seen by those in power.

The #1 story though is the digital revolution. It has changed our lives for
better or worse. I'm typing this blog on a netbook. Who would have thought
ten years ago that we would have full-blown computers of this size? I
certainly wouldn't. We have the social networking sites such as facebook
and twitter. We have I-pods, cell phones that do all manner of things and
the ability to access the Internet on the go through the use of air cards.
Technology is becoming smaller and more ubiquitous in our lives. /While
that's not always good, it is what it is. It has also changed political
campaigns as well. You saw it in 2008 and you are continuing to see it
today. The use of twitter, text messaging and more has changed the
political landscape. Blogs have also done this.

The digital revolution brings up new issues, including Internet security and
cyber security in general. You hear terms such as spam, virus, worm and
more. These things can get down to national security concerns, something
which I wonder about with this administration especially given the fact that
they don't know how to handle an enemy combatant caught on U.S. soil. How
scary is that?

Stay tune to find out my feelings on the state of the union.

Obama's first year in office nothing short of failure

It's been one year since President Obama took office amid all of the talk of
hope and change. He had high approval ratings at the time and everyone was
feeling good and hoping for the best. Let's take a look at what things look
like one year later as this will constitute my grade for Obama's first year
in office. I must warn you though that if you're still drinking the Obama
kool-aid, you need not read any further. However, if you're not drinking
the kool-aid, read on as this will be a harsh assessment of the first year.

What do I see as his grade for the first year overall? I see his grade as
an F- as he has utterly failed in his first year in office. He has done
this on several fronts which I will address. These include terrorism,
Afghanistan, the economy and health care.

I'll start off with terrorism as that has been in the news since Christmas
Day with the "underwear bomber". You have the tepid response including
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano saying that the system worked
and having to retract that comment. This shows a secretary who is
incompetent and in over her head. Furthermore, Obama is not holding anyone
accountable for the failures so nothing will happen. He only says that
agencies must share information and does some vague things to see that that
supposedly happens. How can no one lose their job over this one? It's
unphathomable to me. Napolitano and head of the National Counter Terrorism
Center John Brennan ought to be gone at the least, along with at least one
or two other people. How could this colossal a failure be allowed to occur.
It's but by the grace of God that nothing bad happened on that day.

Now we get to Afghanistan where Obama took far too long to make a decision
in part because he was trying to do whatever wouldn't anger the liberal
base. He did end up sending more troops but this is a decision which should
have been made much sooner than it was. This further shows the lack of
competence and experience of the national security team. What experience
does James Jones, the National Security Agency Director, have in this area?
My answer is probably not much. The commanding General Stanley McCrystal
was put there by Obama and then left hanging on the troop decision. You
can't do that and say you are affective. What does this signal to our
enemies? It signals that we are weak and that talk is cheap and won't be
backed up by action. Why do you think we did not have another attack after
9-11? We didn't because our enemies knew that Bush meant business. They
don't feel the same way about Obama.

We now move to the home front where the economy was, and still is, front and
center. Obama insisted that his economic stimulus package needed to be
rushed through Congress, which Pelosi and Read did. It was said that this
pork laden bill would create some 8 million jobs and some other benchmarks
but none of these have happened. All we got out of this bill was the
liberal agenda shoved down our collective throats. The economy is still
losing jobs namely because businesses can't hire because their costs are
going up in the form of taxes as Obama and his liberal buddies tax the hell
out of business and create programs with mountains of paperwork that must be
completed in order to get any money attached to them. This is true of the
stimulus bill from what I have heard.

Then there's health care. Obama wants the government to run everything,
telling us when and what treatment we can get, when we can see the doctor
and more. They even have the audacity to tell us when we must die. They
want a public option but don't look likely to get it in the face of mounting
opposition. They want to ram it through Congress because the more the
public sees, the less we like the bill. This is why they're so desperate to
get it through Congress. The Democrats will do anything to get votes on
this too, including sweetheart deals regarding the rest of the country
paying for Nebraska's Medicaid costs; something which I have heard will be
challenged on Constitutional grounds if this bill were ever to become law;
something I think is highly unlikely now. You also need to ask about the
promises of transparency with regard to this debate as the deals are being
made behind closed doors much as things are done in Chicago. How come they
don't want to do this in the open, allowing C-span in on the debate? They
don't because they know that the more we the public find out about the bill,
the more we won't like it and won't want it.

However, I don't think it will become law now thanks to the voters of
Massachusetts, a heavily blue state which elected a Republican in a special
Senate election. How ironic too since it was Kennedy's seat. The voters
were fed up with health care so-called reform and many other things as well.
That election was a referendum on that plan and other policies and is a
harbinger of things to come and Obama is not going to get what he wants now.
He won't get another stimulus package, his bank tax, card check, i.e. forced
unionization, health care or anything else. Thanks to Brown's victory last
night, health care reform died a merciful and needed death. We're starting
to take the country back from the abyss that the liberals have put us in.
They need to stop blaming Bush and start taking responsibility, something
liberals are allergic to anyway. I also heard just before this writing that
Obama's nominee to head the TSA has withdrawn his name. This is great news
and a victory for Republicans who have held up this confirmation over
skeletons in this guy's closet as well as his plans to unionize the TSA.

When you have a grade of F-, it's time to clean house and the voters are
doing that starting with the Senate race in Massachusetts. There have been
other signals too coming out of Virginia and New Jersey, the latter of which
is definitely significant since New Jersey is a blue state that elected a
Republican governor. There's a God after all and his plan is for us to take
back our country. Republican voters need to get out and vote this year as
we have a chance to stem the tide of failure and stop Obama from doing more
damage than he's already done. Here's also hoping we can make him a
one-term President. That would be a great day; but let's savor the victory
from yesterday and move on toward further victory and past the failure of
this last year. The more we can ,gridlock Obama, the better off this
country will be. Le't's make sure we can recognize this country by the end
of this year, let alone in two years time.

Count your blessings

Once again the title says it all. As I continue to hear and read stories
coming out of Haiti, I am thankful for what I have. Many of these people
had far less than I now have even before the quake; but have far less now
than they did before the quake. We are talking about the poorest country
in the western hemisphere but even they don't deserve this. No one does and
tragedy of this magnitude knows no boundaries in terms of wealth or social
status. The rich as well as the poor are dying and suffering in this
disaster.

As I made my meal this evening, I thought about the fact that I have food to
eat and was thankful for that. I also have a roof over my head, a place to
call home. So many of these people don't right now. They've also lost
family members in the cruelest of ways and it only took seconds for it to
happen.

This is why we should count our blessings. We can lose everything in an
instant. We don't know when this might happen either. Be thankful for
every moment you have as it is precious as are the people you love. Take
time to stay in touch with your family. I pray that I never ever have to go
through a living hell like what is happening in Haiti. The tragedy is
horrific and unimaginable. All I can say about the situation is nasty,
nasty, nasty!

One book not to miss

I recently read a book which is one not to miss, especially given current
events. It's called Let's Roll: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage by
Lisa Beamer

This book tells the story of her husband Tod and their family. Tod Beamer
was a passenger on United Flight 93 on 9/11. This book recounts the
chilling details of that day as well as the aftermath for Lisa and their
children. You also learn about both Tod and Lisa, their family, their faith
and their lives as well as values. It is these values that allowed Tod to
risk his life to save others. Believe me when I say, you won't want to
put it down as I had a hard time doing that. I wanted to go on to learn
more about them and what happened. This book was very well written and
paints as positive a picture as one can on something so horrific. As you
will see, faith is a big part of their lives. It is my opinion that this is
what helped Lisa Beamer get through it all; and this is very evident in the
story.

After reading this book, you'll want to see more done about current events.
You won't want to see another family go through what the Beamers and many
other families have gone through. This book gives a behind-the-scenes look
at what it was like for the families of 9/11, particularly the Flight 93
families.
It's available through NLS for those who are eligible for that service. I
encourage you to read and be forever changed.