5 Rights

With the cold season coming on us..I thought I would drop some knowledge.

Being surrounded by people in this world it is inevitable that we will get sick. A few simple tricks and you wont have to share your little buggies.

1. Hand washing of course is always the best way to prevent illness, but when you are sick...you would be washing all day. So prevent the dry chapped skin that comes with over washing and use a Kleenex. No silly not to blow your nose....but to open the doors in your path. This will prevent you from transferring your buggies as well as you from picking someone else's up. Okay so you can use the Kleenex to blow your nose if you need to...but then please do not use it to open the door...unless your into sharing buggies.

Transportation...

See when someone sneezes, coughs, wipes their butt, or what ever, they provide a transport mechanism for little buggie things to move around on. Kind of like the bus, these little buggies come with their own sticky gooey coat that works better than a seat belt. But, when your least expecting it... they will jump the bus and find someone else to play with. Using the dollar bill you just stuck in your pocket, the pen you borrowed, or the door knob you used. Think about all the things you and a million others touch every day!!

Port of Entry...

You picked up a bunch of vagrant bugs from something or some one, stuck your finger in your nose, rubbed your eye, or maybe inhaled when someone 30 feet away coughed or sneezed in your direction. They hide in the carpets and jump when you walk...right up your nose. These little fellows find a way to get into you...the only way they can reproduce is by invading you.

So when, despite your best effort, the buggies have invaded, you feel like crap,the nose leaks, the chest is tight, the cough annoys those around you...and the sneezes send mini microbe jets streaming through the air attacking all in their path. Well... take the drugs... they may or may not make you feel better...but it will make you less...ummm icky to the rest of us. (You can still pass these critters on to others even though you feel better...so use the Kleenex!!)

Medications....

You go to the drug store, Wall Mart or where ever you prefer to pick up your drugs. Now please remember... most who shop this isle are sick, touch all the boxes and are probably sniffling and buggifying everything in the vicinity.

So I am giving you a secret. Yes it is a secret, only known to those who spend thousand of dollars going to some kind of advanced medical training. (Or to those who chose to read a book and do a little research instead of waiting for an over priced "professional" to tell them what they could already know.) I suggest you write the following information down...then put it in your wallet, pull it out before entry into the battle zone.

There are 5 Rights medical professionals are taught. This prevents medication errors. I am giving them to you...

1. The Right patient...well thats obvious
2. The Right Dose...this varies depending on age, weight and illness
3. The Right time...yes timing is everything in the drug world. They are designed to work a certain way.
4. The Right Route...now this is the difference between taking it by mouth (PO), Rectal, or shot/IV.
5. The Right Drug...now this should be obvious, but to some it is not. This depends on the symptoms one is suffering...cough-dry or wet, itchy eyes and throat, runny or stuffy nose chest congestion or not...

Okay so you do not need to write that down...but the drug information following is the important part of this writing. Okay the reason for it, to answer all the questions I have received over the last few years.

The common cold is actually the easiest to medicate without a professional. Antibiotics will not cure it only time will help...maybe someday the "Life Cycle of the Cold" will follow this publication.
Symptoms can be treated which will make you feel better, but will not stop the bugs from moving on. (you still should not pick your nose and open a door...the next unsuspecting person will still get your bugs. ie...YOUR STILL CONTAGIOUS!)

There are actually only maybe three or four drugs that can be bought over the counter, I am not discussing the ones you need to buy during pharmacy hours to prevent idiots from cooking crank these are really nasty anyway and epinephrine based drugs should only be used as a last resort, in my opinion. (oops a personal opinion)

All drugs come in two forms, generic and name brands, you know how this works...generic is sometimes just as good but cheaper. I buy whats on sale. What really matters is...what is it made of, and how does it taste. Nothing works if you throw it up right after you take it.

So to feel better when the cold buggies are free loading...try chicken soup...it works.
Okay you want instant relief, well then read the following and hopefully this cold season will be easier for you and the rest of us too.

READ THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT LIST!

Acetaminophen is NOT a cold medication. It is the generic form of Tylenol (an over the counter pain reliever). It is found in a lot of medications because it takes care of pain, you know...sore throat, ear ache, joint and body stiffness (these dudes attack everywhere)

Chlorpheniramine maleate- An antihistamine works by "stopping your body from producing histamines." Confused? A histamine is a part of your bodies defense mechanism and may or may not be addressed in future writings...for now...lets just say it marks the sites of battle so the troops your body will later produce can find the area and attack...histamines make you itch...you know the throat thing, eyes, and that annoying sneeze.

Dextromethorphan HBr- This drug gets into your brain and tells it you do not need to cough. This is okay IF your cough is from an itchy throat or, dry and hacky but coughing is also a defense mechanism natural to the body...suppressing it, if the cough is caused by gooey wet stuff in the lungs, could lead to a bigger problem. Pneumonia causing buggies love the dark, warm, wet world of the lungs...especially if the air flow is decreased from the common cold.

Phenylephrine HCL- a nasal decongestant, this medication causes your blood vessels to shrink in size, less blood swelling them up allows more air space when you inhale...heaven, when your nose is stuffy. (oops a personal opinion...but I bet we all agree.)

Guaifenesin- is a drug that makes the icky stuff in your nose and lungs wetter, less sticky...perfect for coughing up...unless you have taken a cough suppressant.

All these drugs can be bought alone or in several different combinations. Some have alcohol added to increase the sleepiness caused by some of the drugs. All come in pills or liquids, as well as infant (birth-2), children (2-12), and adult doses.

So know your symptoms, check your medicine cupboard, have your Kleenex handy and we will all make it through cold season in harmony.

Me...I buy the one with all the drugs in it...then unless it is a wet cough...I have covered all my bases with one pill...that used to NOT taste icky till some idiot decided they should cover them in an easy to swallow toothpaste tasting gooey substance that sticks to your mouth if you swallow them with water. (oops I tried to keep all political opinions to myself in this writing...but...)

Tell Me Why?

After reading todays paper I can not help but wonder....
Why can people not see life through another's eyes?
Why can people not walk in another's shoes before passing judgment?
For that matter, why do people pass judgment on others when they themselves must screw up once in awhile?
The man sharpening that shovel to break ground to build his son and soon to be daughter in law, a recreational cabin, is already feeling the guilt in him self.
Does he deserve to be punished for what was going to be a good deed but went bad?
Can anyone of us say what we would have done in his shoes?
I cant, maybe that fire went so fast he had no time to go for water and or an extinguisher?
Who would have thought a shovel spark would have started a fire that size?
Knowing the way a small town runs...I will guess that him and his family will move out of Ninilchick, people will not forgive them even though there is nothing to forgive...
The Caribou Hills fire was destined to start...we have feared it and talked about it for the past 6 summers...
Knowing those trees would go up in a blaze...
were the uninsured cabin owners out there building fire blocks on their property last summer? Funny how when one procrastinated preventive measures and something goes bad...they blame anyone but them selves.
I was taught, or figured out, at an early age that if I wear pants, when I fall off my bike my knees wont get skinned. This taught me to plan ahead and look for all possibilities. If I were the owner of any of the land out on the Kenai peninsula tundra I would have either purchased land that had a natural fire/flood block...or...knowing the forests were dead and dying...I would have spent part of each "recreational trip" clearing those trees and grass so when the fire began (It was inevitable to happen) my property would have had some kind of help in surviving.
With family and friends owning property and cabins in the area...I saw first hand the fears of loss.
I saw devastation, I felt the pain of the unknowing...
What I also saw...
A group of people with a common need...to save their vacation spots...
I saw a group of people who helped each other...pulled together when the going was bad.
I saw compassion for others and their property...now I am sure a lot had to do with the fact that if you saved the cabin in front of you, you had a better chance of saving your own...but this fire still brought back a small sense of community...something Homer used to have and has lost through the years.
What I would like to see now that the fears are subsiding and reality is setting in...
That same group of people helping the ones who lost in the fire...rebuild.
A very large number of families were effected by this blaze...blaming someone will not make it go away...and "suing them" will not get the money needed to replace material possessions.
This man and his family can not now and probably never would be able to pay for the damages...nor does he deserve to.
Material possessions were lost...but as far as I know...no one has lost their life. A few have been injured but the ones I have read about chose to cross a fire line to save their "toys". A choice I too would probably have chosen...but I would have understood that I was going into dangerous areas and by crossing the barricade I would be solely responsible for my own actions and injuries.
I am sure I would feel anger toward the fire starter, but that anger, if I looked for it's root would be at myself really. For allowing myself to get into the position in the first place. For not taking preventive measures. I have three fire extinguishers in a 16 foot camper...preventive measures!!
So...tell me why...it is so hard to accept our consequences?
Why do we all think we are superior to our neighbors and their needs?
And... Why would someone who owns property covered in dead spruce think their land is fire resistant?
Oh I know...the same reason someone will build their home on a large river and complain when it floods!

Insurance To Keep Crime at an All Time High

As a parent rising the future generation of America, I have worked hard to teach my children that you must work for your wants, follow the rules and respect their neighbors and community. I have watched other parents struggle along trying to raise decent hard working young adults also.

As a professional in the medical community I have seen the affects of crime on our youth. I have treated the victims as well as the perpetrators of these crimes. I have often wondered what it is that makes an other wise good kid go bad.

Well here is part of the problem…A young person spends most of their day dreaming time thinking and planning for their future…their thoughts roam around their first vehicle, their first apartment, and what they will do to support themselves. I have watched my own as well as many friends of my children move through the stages of childhood and into the next phase as adults…now this is where an other wise good person can go bad..

All of the “must haves” as well as the cost of living are the biggest issue we have in our country today. Our government, for our own protection, has become BIG DADDY. We are told what to do, when to do it and that is will cost us a lot of money to follow these rules or we go to jail. Now that sounds like the communist countries we are trying to free. Only difference is our country “gives” us the luxury of being able to buy cool expensive toys. This pacification technique works well for toddlers and the rich, but it causes the lower income families to struggle for survival. These families not only live without the “incentive toys” but they live without necessities too. I know I used to be one of them.

So now a young person starting out on their own needs to have financial backing or they will spend all their time frustrated and depressed…this will lead to crime, domestic violence as well as the making and distribution of drugs for a fix to their money problems. I have seen this happen many times and am now afraid it is going to become the trend in our country.

A young person today needs a college education before they turn 18 now. There are NO entry level jobs in our state that pay enough for a young person to make ends meet, let alone have any extra money to reward them selves for a job well done. There also is NO ONE in our country that does not require “a little extra” for leisure time.

Our young adults today don’t have a chance. Rent in our city is going to cost them at least $650.00 a month that is $7800.00 a year for a very small studio style apartment in one of the highest crime areas in town. If this is not pushing them to crime I am not sure what would. Add on the monthly eminence bills, and you probably have another $200.00 a month for electric and gas. Then of course they have to eat, so let’s add another $150.00 a month. This won’t feed them but one meal a day, but when you’re poor or starting out on life you must sacrifice somewhere. So now they must make $1000.00 a month just too barely survive.

So now the problem of How to get to work and the incentive to keep going, there is none! Pricing car with my son we decided that he needed to buy a “cheap older car”, we decided this for economic reasons, no car payment, and gas mileage should be better, and insurance should be cheaper. WRONG!!

A 1991 Chevy Cavalier with 149,000 miles on it has a “blue book” value of $800.00. This value is based on the car being in the best possible shape. Fair market value on this car is only $350.00; this particular car has some body damage and is basically a disposable car. So upon returning home, we looked up insurance, sure we had found the car that would not cost the kid his left arm in insurance.

Wrong again, Insurance on this little car is going to cost my son $2000.00 every six months!! That is $500.00 a month for the four month period with a two month “grace period”. So this young man will have to pay for his cheap car eight times over market value a year in order to drive to work. This does not include gas and maintenance either.

Now Insurance is a must, my oldest son and his family has been struggling to get off of Welfare now for a year. They successfully completed that task three months ago. Although their new budget did not allow any extra money for a soda, extra diapers, or auto insurance.

They were pulled over for a dirty license plate. Their car was “arrested” and it took a week to get it back from the municipality. Now the fines for retrieving this car were not too bad…about $500.00. But needless to say that money came from what they had saved up for rent. So now the kids are driving legal and homeless. Their two babies sleeping in the back seat of the car, okay so my kid has family to rely on but what happens to those that do not, or those whose family can not afford to help them. They turn to the streets. They turn to selling drugs and stealing to make ends meet.

We as society blame them, we blame their parents, we blame their neighbors, but we never blame ourselves. Could the rising crime rate have anything to do with the fact that a young person needs at least $2500.00 a month to barely survive? I am appalled that our law makers can not see this trend. Maybe they just ignore it. To change it would mean pay cuts for many of them. Well I encourage all of them to put their “extra money” aside for six months. Live like the rest of the community. Pay the gas bill with the electric bill money to avoid being shut off. Be forced to go with out food and diapers so you can pay the astronomical insurance rates on your car so as to be driving legal. I encourage anyone that makes more than 32,000 a year to try this. Put yourselves in someone else’s shoes for a while. Understand that the poor are not poor because they want to be. They are poor because the rich in our country have made them that way.

They are poor because insurance companies are not regulated on their fees. It is a competitive market.

A few years back I was pulled over for speeding, I had no proof of insurance and at this time the law was new. Despite the fact that I had insurance, I fought the ticket. Many hours I spent in the law library at school. With the help of a “law major” we discovered that our constitution does have an amendment regarding the mandatory insurance law.

This amendment was put together in the 80’s. This amendment states that “If any state or institution makes insurance, uniforms, and other purchasable commodities mandatory, that state or institution MUST provide these at a discount rate.”

I have never heard of an insurance company offering to pay part of anyone’s premium. I have never heard of the state making that offer either. But I have seen the cost of said insurance triple in the last ten years.

So in conclusion…if the government would stop allowing the rich to rape the poor, the poor would not need to turn to violence and drugs to survive. Survival is a mammal’s strongest instinct. Humans are mammals and have this instinct to do what ever it takes to survive.

The Game of Life

FAIRNESS

In all fairness to the word I will say it is a rather pretty looking word, although a word that is useless in our language. What is fair? I was taught that “playing fair” means playing by the agreed upon rules. These rules are made to prevent arguments over what is “fair”. These rules are not subject to change. Monopoly has “rules” of this nature and they have been the same for over 20 years! No “amendments” or “ratifications” just consistent “rules of the game.”

In our nation today we change the rules on a daily basis; I am thinking this is to insure that no one “cheats” in life. We change the rules to meet our needs at the time. These rules are never consistent and most of them most of us have never heard of. These rules are “written to protect”, I want to know who they are suppose to protect, me or the people paid to enforce them.

For the most part I am a “law abiding” citizen. I usually wear my seat belt, more for the example for my children than for your personal safety. In fact I am not even sure how me wearing a seat belt insures your safety. I “don’t smoke in public” so it is not my smoke that is causing non-smokers to be cranky. Maybe they should light up! I don’t wear fur; this is a personal preference not an “animal rights” movement. I vote when I am suppose to, maybe not for “who I am suppose to” but I make it to the poles, there fore I also have the right to complain….

More than a complaint, for the first time in my life I am right and the people “who make the rules are idiots! I am not sure why the rest of the world can not see it but our “rules” to make “life fair” are the exact reason life is screwed up!!

A prime example that most states have now enacted is the “Mandatory Insurance Laws”. Now I understand the “need” for insurance. I am also under the impression that insurance was originally started for people to buy to protect themselves. I do believe insurance became a HUGE hit in the 1970’s when people discovered “the right to blame”. At this time everyone and anyone was “suing” anyone and everyone. an easy way to make a dime. This started the whole mess we are in now. More “rules” had to be made to make sure we were all “playing fair”, due to insurance companies having the entire nations police force backing them, they can now charge what ever they want as well as make up their own “rules” to a game we have no choice but to play.

In all “fairness” I should be able to “not play” if I so chose. So my beef is not about mandatory insurance but about the prices and how they are allocated.

A young couple in their 20’s with two small children, starting out their lives trying to “play by the rules” unfortunately they discovered that to “buy into the game” was costly so they have to “rent” from another player. Their “rent” is over half of their income as they are “new to the game” and must start at the beginning.

With the “high cost of living” and the “low wages” society pays for beginning jobs these young people quickly discovered they would have to “cut” corners somewhere. Diapers? Baby formula? Already living without a phone or cable they cut the insurance saving themselves $380 dollars a month!!! See our society requires us to have “insurance coverage” on our automobiles, the banks require us to have “full coverage” on any car with a lean on it therefore the insurance companies can charge what ever they want of our young people, not bothering to consider what these same young people will have to “live without” in order to pay for the insurance.

This young couple is heading home from Anchorage to Wasilla, where they were forced to move in order to afford to live outside of their parent’s home. Both their young babies safely in their car seats sleeping in the back, worried about moose and other motorists they set the cruise control at 60 and settled in to enjoy the ride. Red and Blue lights flashed behind them and they pulled over, they were stopped for having a “dirty license plate” in the spring time in Alaska! Not “cited” for any traffic violations the officer discovered they had no insurance. In our state this is an arrest able offense, although the officer that night was nice and did not “arrest” anyone but the car.

Okay consequences for our actions, it is the law to have insurance, and the law states that your car will be “impounded” if you do not have “proof”. Sounds kind of like a bunch of ten year olds talking about the opposite sex. So this young couple was lucky enough to have just received a “tax return” and they happened to have the money to pay the 300 dollar fine and purchase the insurance so they could provide the “proof”. Taking the day off work to accomplish this so they would have a car for transportation to work, a must if you are going to make it to your place of employment on time, they waited for the impound lot to “return” their call, they waited and waited and waited. Finally a call was received from the lot and the couple was informed that “an officer has 48 hours to turn in his paper work.” Seems like plenty of time to “forget” the facts. Without the paper work the car can not be processed and released. So they must wait. This wait is costing them 150 dollars a day!!! In impound lot fees. So now they are “being punished” for “paying their consequences”, what the hell kind of message is that to send to our young people.

"HEY KID PAY THE CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUR ACTIONS…THEN WE CAN KEEP PUNISHING YOU FOR THE HELL OF IT.”

I want to ask everyone why this is right. Why are we punishing the ones who were not complying for good reason, then do comply? Why is this “little incident” costing my children more than a drunk must pay to “get back on the road”? And how is a young family suppose to “make it” in today’s world?

So this “little ordeal” is not over yet, even though the young couple did what “was required” of them, they were also informed that the car will be released “on bail” when the paper work is processed. What the hell does that mean? Are they afraid the car is going to run? If they do not return to court on the appointed court date, even if they are not arguing the offense, the car will have a warrant put out for its arrest!!! So watch out for the new spike it taxes when we have to pay for all the “retained” automobiles to have wash and wax jobs regularly. Automobile rights activists everywhere will jump on that ban wagon. They have the “right to hold the automobile in custody for 30 days.” Wow that car better not get caught again next time it might get life.

So I want to know why we do not just go back to the days of “flogging”. Seems like a much more humane means of punishment then taking a young family’s transportation to work, charging them all kinds of “momentary fines”, “impound fees”, and still allowing an insurance company to gouge them for another grand up front plus monthly fees of 200 dollars.

This young couple is lucky…they will have family to help them out when they are living in an abandoned house in Mountain View. HELLO WORLD…cant you see it….

You take the car, they still must pay the car payments or the bank will be taking it from the impound lot, you charge them any and all money they have saved for the months bills so they can “retrieve the car” and still get to work then tell them to wait another 48 hours to 30 days, then the land lord wants his rent, the electric company wants their bill paid, the gas company will not wait another month and the cost of fuel to sleep in the car is too high .

Welfare will not “kick in” if you are employed or quit your job due to “lack of transportation”. There is a waiting list miles long to get on state housing, and the local churches are all “maxed out”. So now you have a “desperate young couple”, this young couple has now become high risk for domestic violence, manufacturing and selling drugs for income, and stealing: All due to a “dirty license plate”.

Wake up world my kids are not alone, I am sure millions of young people are driving without insurance, not to be defiant but to survive. Punishing them by taking their “source of survival” is why our young people have turned to “other means” for making money. They no longer “trust” us to “do what is right”. Most of the young people on the streets today have watched society push their parents to the lowest point, why would they trust societies “rules”? Why would they even want to play the game? They are set up to lose the minute they role the first dice. People, the problem does not lie in our schools, it is not “the kids fault”, it is ours, my generation, we have the problem and we need to deal with it. We need to GROW UP and quit “expecting” others to take care of the problems. We need to face up to the fact that we, not the children chose to drive through McDonalds waiting in a line full of cars for 15 minutes when there is absolutely no body in side the store. Obesity is not their fault it’s our life style just as automobile insurance has become our dictator, with the entire police force enforcing their scheme.

So everyone buckle up, make sure your insurance “proof” is in the glove box, pop that hot fry in your mouth, dial up that cell phone, crank the tunes, and drive the two blocks to Safeway for the milk that you can not get at the drive thru. Don’t mind the young family outside the store, they are just passing time” waiting for mommy to get off work” so they can return to their “insured car” and sleep away their hungry tummys.

What is fair?

I hate the word "stupid"...this word should NEVER have become a word in our language...
Did you know that English is the only language that this word is in, in the form it represents for us?
Well this morning in the paper I found another word that sucks...."FAIR".
What is fair? IF everyone in this world were treated the same and recieved all of the same benifitts...would that be fair?
It seems that in a society where "competion" to be "better" than your neighbor, and the NEED for faster more convenient "play toys", fair would not be brought up so much.
When we are kids and scream "thats not fair" it is a way to learn to communicate. It is also a time to learn that..."it takes all sorts.". If we had everything we want...and people were treated the same our world would be BORRING....now there is a misused word.

So what is fair? Six bears were killed near a Native Village near Katmai. These bears were killed over two years ago...now the "naturalists" have realized that the "killers" of these bears have NOT been prosecuted. so now two years later...it is time to bring this issue to the front lines....What is that all about? Most of us either did not hear about this little issue or it was so long ago that we have forgotten.

Animal Rights activists will scream that it was a "heinous crime", (this word seems to surface alot lately...what exactly is a "heinous" crime?) I am not sure I believe them.

Sometime last year I think it was...a man and his buddy "shot at" a mother bear who had cubs. They claim they were "shooting to scare her away."...but their aim was better than they thought I guess...the bear died...leaving behind a couple of older cubs that were able to survive on their own...

These men were also in a "wildlife" refuge on the Russian River...they are serving time. I feel the two cases are on entirely different ends of the spectrum...the men on Russian river were in the wrong...there are many people on that river and NEVER that I have heard of has a bear interferred with a fisherman other that to "steal his hole".
Seems if fisherhumans can do this to each other...why cant fisherbears? It was competion and those men did not want to lose...so they shot her.....

These boys in the Village have lived there all their lives. In fact their lives depend on whether or not they can shoot a bear. If they can not they better stay behind closed doors. The bears in this region are numerous...they "migrate" from the other side of the mountain to fish in the streams near the village. These boys were not being tormented by the bears, but when bears are similar to a racoon in their enviroment...they shoot them. These bears visit their yards on a regular basis...looking for pets and garbage for a quick easy snack. These bears hold an entirly different heiarchy in the village locations than they do in the city. We dont see them...they are here but we dont see them.

The minute someones kid is harmed by one of our "urban" bears....well then we will swing the pedulum the other way and start screaming....unfair....kill the bear.....So which is it....fair to kill a bear...or unfair? I do not get it.

I guess the point of them "bringing" this up again is...well they did not realy get to one...except that the "kids" need punished. Two years later it is a little late I think. Not to mention the money that would go out to "fight" a trial for this one... the money to support these young men when they are put in jail....and the "bad" feelings between the Native village and the rest of the state.

One last bit of information was brought up at the end of the article...by a Village Elder..."they confiscated several large garbage bags full of herbs that we have gathered for our sweat lodge."

So in our war on drugs...we are now jumping to conclusions...and not appologizing for the mistake. I am going to guess that the "feds" do not want to push the bear killings...seems they did their job wrong again...they were in the Village looking for "evidence" of bear killings...they "gave up" when they thought they found something bigger and better that would offer them more media coverage....it back fired on them and they are now trying to "ignore" (now that is a great word) the whole situation....Maybe we should "shoot the feds" saving a select few....put them on the "endagered species list" and breed them to rebuild the population in a controlled enviroment....this way they will learn to do things "our way" and the world will be fair for a bear.......................my reality

Teachers are the "front line of defense"

Okay so it seems the last write up is going to lead to this one. Once again in today’s paper I have read about numerous “laws” that are “on the table”. These “laws” are all about crime penalties; time served, and increased costs. Well if we did not have to continue to “support” the ever growing population of under educated criminal’s maybe we could “support” our local community schools. I see this as a way to alleviate the need to continue reevaluating the issues “on the table”.

I have some personal experience with our prison system for youth as well as adults due to a psychology course I took in school called “criminal psychology”, seems it is also the responsibility of a nurse to free the world of “bad guys” when we discover them in our hospital beds. Another story for another time.

I am seeing first hand the lack of “education” our youth receive while institutionalized in a correctional facility. School is mandatory and these institutions do release “high school graduates”. Unfortunately these graduates are text book educated with a two year olds’ schedule.

They are not taught to be responsible for their “every day” actions. Just the “criminal ones”. They are not given the responsibility of “setting an alarm clock”, filling out job applications, scheduling home work into a busy social life, or even finding time to fit a shower in.

Do to the “need for control” these daily tasks we all take for granted, are “scheduled” into the day. Your “shower time” is given to you as well as when to eat, socialize, work out and go to school. Free time is a part of the day but in a controlled environment there is no “learning to find something to do”.

Upon release these “children” are “expected” to fit in to society and “stay out of trouble”. With no peer group to relate to and no “life skills” to rely on, I see them headed for a “repeat offence”, especially if they have no “support system” on the “out side”.

These are the “criminals” in question “on the table”. Could this problem not be solved by?

Making the prison inmates “work”. For their living too.

Why can we not put a “community” inside a prison, a “community” that is well monitored but self sufficient? A way to “learn” the “life skills” most of these people are lacking….and by…

Re-evaluating our current “position” on the school boards…removing many of them and re-routing the funds saved back into the schools, instead of cutting the “front lines”. Money “cut” from the first line of defense is like suicide. Teachers are our “front line”, they hold the future in their hands, and they are “responsible” for our children’s education and actually have more influence on their lives, as they have knowledge of the “friends” your child keeps.

Once again it seems to me that the “crime” problems and the “school funding” problems go hand in hand. The Children are our future if we do not “help” them learn “how” as well as “when and why” we will keep going the wrong direction.

Again School is so much more than a “text book”, when I was a student it was a “sample” of adult hood. I did not take it seriously then, but I wish I had now.

We are so stupid, we deserve that F

WOW…are we really that dumb?? As children we could not wait to be adults…to live in the adult world and “make the rules”. As adults we have a responsibility to our community for its present survival and well as its future.

I am seeing adults have become “stupid” (a word I reserve usage of unless it is needed). Stupid people are people who make “stupid judgment calls”. Now the state of Alaska‘s voters are being “stupid”. We are all over 18 and have obtained the “rights” of an adult in our society. Why do we still think like children?

As kids we “hated school”…is this why we will not keep the school budgets up to par? That hate for having to get up every morning and go sit in a class room and listen to other students snore, fart, and belch. The hassle of carrying books and studying for exams…and we wont even go into the teachers…their bossy and nosey.

GROW UP!...If it were not for the lessons we learned in school…more than “those teachers” ever taught us…we would not function as adults. Getting up in the morning and having to meet a schedule, taught us how to hold together a job, family and social life. This lesson taught to us at the expenses of our parents who were there to bail us out should we screw up.

The social life in school helps us learn to deal with the differences of opinion and person on the work front…it is so much more than just book learning. We need to realize this.

After school sports, band, art classes, foreign languages, and even “study hall” are important to our communities…not only do they provide something that is structured and time consuming for our youth, (in case you don’t see it…this will keep them off the streets and drugs too…hellooo) but they provide the students with a sense of school spirit. Who did not look forward to going to the Home Coming Game? Sports and music provide entertainment for the community and can be used to keep a community in contact with each other.

My fondest memories are of Homer at a time when the whole town turned out to freeze their buns off and watch a “Winter Carnival Parade” that consisted of mainly local businesses and children…after words…cherry pit spitting contests and bowling…warm meals with friends and bon fires on the beach…oh yah…the reason for Winter Carnival was NOT the parade…but the Schools Wrestling Meet…Homer High hosted one of the largest State competition back then…schools from all over the state would show…people would be camping in “host” families yards…Thanks to the School we made new friends from Bethel to Barrow, Sitka to Dutch Harbor.

This is long gone…budget cuts from long ago…omitted the Villages and Island communities from joining the rest. Anchorage and the Mat-Sue became so populated that they no longer “needed” the smaller schools for competition and new “districts” were formed. I see this as segregation…I see it as discrimination…I see it as unfair…and I will forecast that the “no kid left behind” program is leaving a “huge” portion of Alaska children “left behind.”

When the Peninsula Schools get to the point that they can only offer “core classes” needed for graduation…they will lose a big portion of their students. For many students it is the art, shop, and music classes that bring them to school in the first place. By removing these classes we are removing incentive for them to attend. If the problems that will arise are not obvious I will point a few out to you…

1.Kids without anything to do…will find something to do.

2. Denying these kids anything but Core classes will affect them in attempts to get into a decent Upper Educational Facility.

3. No education leads to lower income jobs…poverty, drug abuse and all the things we are trying to alleviate from our society.

Funding for schools is a serious Nation Wide Problem…it is time we find another source for this income. Tax payers do not want the whole responsibility for the children of their community’s education, nor their communities’ future. As these “children” will soon be responsible for our well being. The Federal Governments monies are tied up in trying to “better” foreign countries education and legal systems. This may do us some service when our crime rates rise so high we need somewhere “safe” to migrate too.

I am not sure of the answer to the funding issues but the answer to our crime problems is written all over the text book.

Sex Should We or Should We Not

This is written from my personal point of view...the view of a teen mother after the child is no longer a teen him self...a view compiled from years of child raising...mine and their friends...as well as five years of "Higher Level Learning". (A fancy term for college.)
My opinion? Some kids will and some kids won’t. I do not believe the choice is solely based on the child’s up bringing...I believe it is more of positioning in the family, social influences, and the ambitions of the child it self.

Psychologists have studied sex and all the various issues surrounding it in depth...Freud was big on believing that our world revolves around sex from the time we are infants...his theories are correct and have been proven in most cases...they have been taken and added to with many years of research...Freud was considered "extreme". From his studies Behavioral Psychology began...Behavioral Psychologists believe our lives are patterned by nurture with nature playing only a minor role...Pavlov studied these theories in depth his most famous study being..."the salivating dog". Pavlov proved that an animal could be trained to salivate (showing a mental need for food) at the ringing of a bell...even after the critter was fed and full he would still salivate when the bell rang...thus his brain was trained....Pavlov proved we can train our brains like any other muscle in our bodies...Religion has been doing it for years...parents do it to young children...and our social circles also train our brains to like a certain body and life style.

So where does sex fit in? Though out our whole lives...as infants we are born with "basic" survival instincts...the need for food, warmth, safety, and love. Infants have proven this theory for eons...the infant raised in a crib at an orphanage with out the snuggles and loves a normal child would get grows to be "detached". Statistics show that these children grow up with very negative views on life...possibly ending up in the prison system eventually...studies show this process can be reversed with lots of love and patience.

So as an infant our bodies need and desire being held...Freud claims this is early sex yearnings...I believe this is a sign that the human is suppose to "connect" to each other...
An infant’s brain is born to seek warmth and comfort...as that infant grows it learns it can control its body...it also learns that it can give itself pleasure...

At around two...when the child can finally reach what’s been hiding in a diaper it begins to explore. NOW is when nurture enters the picture...a parent who screams at the child that this is NOT right...will change the images a child’s brain has on self comfort...this child will begin to refrain from making him or her self feel good in both sexual and non-sexual ways. A fear of "feeling good" will become implanted in the child’s brain and the need to be loved is strong so it will go against nature and stop anything that makes him feel good. Thus the beginning of negative interactions with our selves and others; comforting our selves is an important task in other areas of our lives.

Now if the parent tells the child to go to their room and do that. "It's your private place. No one else needs or can share it with you..." Then lets it drop...this child will learn that it can make it self feel better...eventually the "touching" will quit for a few years and the child will move onto a different level of learning to comfort him self.

Until we are about 5 our worlds revolve around mom and dad...our brains do not register there is life out side of the family...As we grow our brains allow us to take in and conceive information at a different level...a child of three conceives a kiss as a way to show love...nothing sexual. A child at 5 will run and tell the neighbors his or her parents are "doing it" for that same kiss. This child is at an age where it's brain is learning it has it's own identity...it is no longer thinking like it did a few months ago...the world begins to evolve into a society not just a family at this age...

Where does sex fit in here? Self-vs-self....this child is beginning to understand the make up of a family...daddy is a boy, mommy is a girl...only girls can be mommy’s and only boys can be daddies. Thus the "playing house" years begin. Boys and girls alike will be exploring their gender roles at this age. Boys will begin playing "only boy roles" and girls "girly" roles. Thus that kiss equals sex and sex makes babies.

Now as a parent this is the time to begin answering questions and paying very close attention to the children at play. This is the age that "doctor, doctor" and "check ups" begin. An age where many young children are now being accused of molesting younger ones, a natural role for our brains has become a challenge to our society for change. It WON’T happen. You can only suppress this instinct NOT get rid of it. Children should be encouraged to experience the gender roles. They should be encouraged to do it in proper ways. If a child is found in a compromising action, this action should be dealt with by explanation. Explaining to the children involved that it is not okay to look at or touch one another at this age. Answering questions with the truth is important. At five the child does not need to know "how", but the "when, and whys" are important to them. Brief "This is not a good way to play. You are not yet old enough to look at or touch another or be looked at or touched. These feelings feel good now...and your welcomes to play alone in your room...but you’re not allowed to share them with other kids." By acknowledging the child’s feelings you are not “denying” they have them…it may take a few rounds but the child will learn that these “feelings” are natural and the curiosity for them will fade for a few more years.

Again sex roars it’s into our growing children around the end of elementary school. Sex education classes taught in fifth and six grades now do a pretty good job of educating this age. This aged child is usually more concerned with what’s happening to their own body compared to others, than what will happen when the two bodies meet.

Parents should talk to children at this age about sex. Once again addressing the growth issues the child is facing at this time…this is the age where “responsibility” talks should be given. This child knows its own body by now and is comparing it to others its own age. A child at this age needs to know that they are normal whether they are at the lead in their developmental issues or a follower. This is also an age where the act of sex should be addressed. This age group varies on the information they require. It is a parents job to watch society, the child’s friends, and the child it self. It is also a parents responsibility at this age to address concerns and issues…this age child usually will NOT come to a parent for information they find it our from friends, and society. This is an age where you should arm your child with facts. Sex makes babies, condoms prevent illness.

I was once told…”Never tell your child something you will have to un-tell them someday.” This is the age of honesty…respect for us as people not just parents begins to bloom at this age. A respect that should be nourished it will come in handy in future years.

From Junior High on, our bodies begin taking on the roles Mother Nature intended them to, before modern technologies have allowed our lives to span a century instead of a decade. By six-teen the human body is ripe for reproduction…not so long ago we were marrying and having babies at this age. Society has changed that and I will not argue six-teen is too young to have a child. Maturity helps in raising a child and holding together a productive life. There are also many psychological issues evolving during High School interactions that are critical in today’s times.

By High School children should KNOW the “whys, when’s, whereas and haws” they should also know the consequences for each…not just pregnancy, diseases, and labels (i.e.…slut). But the psychological effects…obviously the baby wont go away…but they will keep you up all night…curb your social life…and cost you a lot of “fun”. The diseases can affect you for the rest of your life…should you get AIDS or Herpes do you really want to have to tell other people you like that you have AIDS or Herpes not to mention having to mention it to your doctors each and every time you see them. You can move away but Labels stick if you plan on returning someday this should be considered. (I over heard girls from High School at the bar talking about me like it was still 1985.) Kids need to know the consequences for their actions and parents NEED to tell them. Often times we forget how our own hormones were surging at that age…why should are children’s not be?

Many will say arming your child with information on sex is “giving them permission” I will strongly disagree with that. My parents did not talk to me about sex. They thought 16 would be about the right age. Society did not agree with them. For me sex was a way to feel loved. I felt misunderstood and over looked. I knew sex made babies, this information I found at my local library after reading a Judy Blume book that made me interested in doing the research. I did not know a baby would cost me prom, high school graduation, home coming, and many other social events I had once dreamed of.

For many of my friends sex was a way to fit in. I remember one group of girls who felt they were the only virgins left in Homer. They went out one night to a party and had a “race” to see who could lose their virginity.

For others sex was not an issue…whether hormones lacked or self-esteem thrived…these select few made it through High School with out sex.

No matter how hard a parent tries…sex will raise its head in your child’s life. If you are really opposed of sex before marriage and are practicing what you preach…then tell your child the truth. They will see it else where and probably interpret it wrong, so tell them the truth and do not shelter them from seeing the consequences from others actions.

I was once told…”to win the battle, one must know its enemy.” Some famous quote I am not sure who’s…in sex…the enemy is lack of facts not the how to's

In parenting…society…don’t hide your head…your children wont. Don’t think your “beliefs” will prevent your child from dealing with it. RESPECT, respect for a parent who tells the truth and can admit they too were once young, dumb and stupid. This is the way to keep your child from falling under the “norm”.

I work for respect from my child…but I am more concerned about respect from their friends. Children naturally try to put distance between their need for a parent and their want to be an individual. If their friends respect you they will help you keep your child out of trouble and will remain out of trouble too. I am the “cool” parent, but I wont hesitate to tell the child I caught trying to sneak out that she was heading down a path that is very hard to walk…the next day…my daughter took her to task for trying to be a “slut”.

My kids may not wait to have sex until they are married, obviously since I am a grandmother, but they will never be able to say I with held information or lied…nor will I ever feel guilty about telling them. “I TOLD YOU SO!!!” Love that feeling.

Blame and Betrayal part 2

All right lets discuss the Baptist Temple and their issues on "tax discrimination". It seems to me that a church of this magnitude would be happy to pay the extra taxes on the properties it owns...seems money is not an issue when the Church itself is a Monument of sorts.

I do not understand how a religious institution can be so hypocritical...they will only help their own...I do not believe that Jesus had this in mind...I do believe he is said to have died for all of our sins...not just the ABT patrons. I also believe his message preached "DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE DONE UNTO YOU."

I fear that money has once again taken it's evil roots into the church. For years it has been known that the Catholic churches hold a huge bank account...is the ABT competing? Does a church realy need to hold onto money...Seems that the money would benifitt our communities immensely...the extra taxes from the property owned by the Baptist Temple will be put back into the very community the claim to want to save...

From reading this and other articles about the subject I feel I can safely say...the Anchorage Baptist Temple wants to save your soul...at the price of your offering every Sunday and Wednesday...the increase in YOUR property taxes but not theirs...

But on the up side...your soul will be saved in a beautiful building that has cost you as a paton of the church, part of your already stretched budget. Your property taxes, that seem to spike every election, will continue to keep this building safe from crooks and fire...the roads to it clear and smooth, and should the need arise...if you are a patron of the church...they will compensate your investment with a small donation to help pay your electric bill, which you could afford if they would just take over their own share of property taxses.

Blame and Betrayal.

Seems anymore when I open the paper I am assaulted by headllines screaming "unfairness" in some form or another. "Elementary school parents feel betrayed as district changes bounderies." Wednesday March 29, 1006 Anchorage Daily News Alaska Section. I do not need to read this article, although I did, to know what the issue is...parents want their kids in the new school. These are the same parents who probably voted against the new school for the last 5 years in the first place.
"Author blames civilizations' fall on enviromental destruction" same section of the paper. Okay fine this is a very popular opion already, I believe it to to be false.
"Baptist Temple calls tax plan discrimination", again the same blame seeking attitude.

So my readers...the reality of it is...YOU are the problem...YOU and all who walk on two legs with brains they forget to use.

Our world is going to shit and it is all our fault. Man kind screams that life is unfair, discriminative, and other people are to blame...I say take the blame for your own actions and maybe we would notice a difference. Our nation is filled with people who "want" bigger and better than their neighbors. To achieve this goal we will walk on who ever we must to get it. If it is unachievable...we will find someone to "blame" or "sue" to manipulate our path to achievement. This is the attitude that will cause the destruction of the world as we know it.

School bounderies have to be changed when new schools are added to the ever growing population...when they are...well if you dont like it...MOVE!!! Quit manipulating the system to "get your child privlages". why should your child be prioritized over others? If your not happy with the school your child has to attend...DO SOMETHING about it...quit sitting at home complaining to your friends and family and motivate your butt to join the PTA, volenteer to help out in your childs class room...but quit setting a crappy example for your child..complaining only makes negative energy...causing negative emotions and actions...this my readers equals "destruction". Your children feed off you...they hear you...they act on your words...if you discuss your "unhappiness" with the school...you have made the school staff look inferior in your childs eyes...this will cause them to lose respect for the people who are resonsible for educating our youngsters to run our world some day...Do your job as a parent and teach your child through your own actions...show them that even when we dont get what we want, there is time to reevaluate the situation and problem solve without "blaming". Sometimes "accepting" that we can not have it our way all the time is not easy...but if we had it all we would still want more.

The motto here...Be happy with what you have...when you are you will find that more comes naturally.

lets see if this works

this is a test...I am moving ALL opion articles to here...my other blog will be personel here you will find my views on the world around me.