We Lost One of the Good Guys Today; Good-bye Terrence "TB" Bolden

I have been hibernating from blogging for quite some time, but this news has made me want to post a tribute to a good man who lost his life early this morning.  He died peacefully in his sleep at the very young age of 35. 

Anyone that has been involved in GOP politics in Virginia has a heavy heart today.  We lost TB.  Virtually everyone involved in those circles knew Terrence.  Virtually everyone like Terrence. 

Anyone that knew him, even a little, knew he was a good man.  You didn't have to agree with him politically to sense that.  He was one of the most optimistic people I have ever met.  He always had a smile or fun loving smirk on his face.  He gave everything he had to all that he did; and he did plenty.  Blogger, conservative activist, son, friend, committee chair, and so many other things that are impossible to list. 

He was a principled man.  He stood by those principles even when it was hard and unpopular to do so.  If he knew you, he cared about you.  He would have your back if you were in trouble or even being harassed because you took a position that goes against the flow.  He stood up for you.  He praised you to those that were determined to shoot you down.  I saw him do that many times. 

Terrence and I were on opposite sides when it came to a position for the Virginia Young Republicans.  We backed different people to head up the organization.  We ribbed each other about it, but in a fun loving way.  Neither of us took the other's position personally.  We disagreed, but knew it wasn't an attack on the other. 

Terrence believed you got more with honey than with vinegar.  He knew that every person had the right to get their viewpoints heard.  He wanted nothing more than a more inclusive Republican party in not just Virginia, but all across America.  He believed that we should be speaking to every single voter to have our message heard.  He refused to back down on that belief even when it got him labeled the dreaded "Rino".  He knew it wasn't pandering, but giving people a chance to listen to our ideals and dreams for all Americans.  He wanted people to know we cared and were willing to listen. 

Terrence was raised by a single mother.  He knew that blaming single family homes for the ills within certain communities was not just a false premise, but counter-productive.  He was a real life living example that single parents could and did raise fine upstanding citizens.  After all, he was one of them.  He and I debated that topic because I have talked about the breakdown of the family and the ill effects on society, but he also knew that I never thought for one instant that weren't millions of very good single parents. 

One of the things I loved most about him was the fact that he wanted GOP politics to be about what we could do.  He wanted to see us be the party of optimism, he didn't want to engage in the politics of fear.  He got deeply involved in politics because of the very unfair labeled of racist that was leveled against Senator George Allen by the Jim Webb camp.  He knew George Allen was no such thing.  He was determined to fight that unfair characterization.  He wanted to rise above the politics of hate and wanted all of us to remember to the "Shining City on a Hill" speech by Reagan.  He believed that and he believed that was the proper way to run elections.  Oh how I wish more people agreed with that.  The politics of hate may work to get elected, but it hurts this nation. 

We lost one of the good guys this morning.  The details of his death are still unclear at this point, all we know is he didn't wake up this morning.  The indications being that he had a massive heart attack in his sleep. 

I am sure his family is reeling right now.  I won't even pretend to say that we understand what they are feeling, because we don't. 

Terrence had this habit of ending his social media posts with #ICan'tEven

Well Terrence, I can't even either today.  Godspeed to you and may your family find comfort in this most difficult time.  You will be missed, deeply and profoundly missed. 

What Those Calling Bruce "Call Me Caitlyn" Jenner Brave Seem to Forget

Bruce Jenner has made his long-awaiting appearance to the world as woman.  She is now Caitlyn Jenner, thank you very much.  I want to make perfectly clear at the onset, I couldn't care less what she/he does.  It isn't my business. 
 
What my concern in this matter is are the calls of bravery and courageous.  I take issue with those words.  Not because of his surgery (if he is even going full board on the surgery, as I am not sure if that is the plan or not). 
 
I am more than willing to accept the idea that transgender people have brain issues.  It is scientific fact that a woman and man have different brain wiring.  I can't remember which is which, but one is more wired left to right and the other is front to back.  It is very possible that a transgender person has the wiring of the other sex.  Studies have shown that postmortem brains show differences in people who self identify as a transgender person.  The human brain is a mysterious thing that in truth we know very little about. 
 
Maybe it is a "mental illness" as some call it.  But, most mental illnesses are issues with brain function.  So it is possible that both things can be true.  I don't know, and quite honestly I don't care.  Caitlyn Jenner is free to do as she pleases. 
 
I get what people who are throwing the words "brave" and "courageous" around are trying to say.  Caitlyn may help other who are dealing with the same issues down the road.  That is great I suppose. 
 
What bothers me about the use of the words is that if you really take a look at the whole picture, it isn't really that at all. 
 
I fully admit I didn't watch his (If I am not mistaken, that was the pronoun to use at the time) entire interview.  But, I did watch parts of it.  I did hear him talk about how he felt this way as a young child.  I did hear him talk about this was the reason his first two marriages ended.  Ok, he married the first time.  I might even be willing to throw in the second marriage as part of his confusion in his identity.  But I draw the line at the third marriage. 
 
He talked about how he started taking female hormones at the end of second marriage.  He looked into getting surgery and living as woman back in the late 80's.  He then met his third wife.  He stopped taking the hormones and got married.  That is selfish, not brave or courageous. 
 

 Probably a mistake I made was maybe not having her understand,'

Probably?  I think Ms. Caitlyn needs to change that to definitely.   

"I wasn't as fair as I should've been to the women I married. I've apologised to everybody. I've apologised my entire life."

What would have been courageous and brave was to live your life without dragging innocent people into it.  As a man, he fathered six children.  4 of whom he freely admits he was an absentee father to.  Now they are dealing with the fact that their father is a woman.  As any child would, the love they feel for their dad outweighs the confusion and other emotions that they must be feeling.  Every child wants their parents to be happy.  But was it fair to them?  I don't think so. 

"Kris is a good woman, I got no complaints with her. Honestly, if she had been really good with it, understanding, we'd still be together."

It is brave to expect a woman who married a man to be ok with becoming a woman in a lesbian relationship with her husband who is now her wife?

I'm no fan of the Kardashian clan, but I don't see how anyone can blame her for wanting a divorce.  She has children with this man who is now a woman.  For the sake of her children she needs to do what she can to be accepting.  I can't believe that I am saying this, but she is far more brave.  Imagine how hurtful it must be to the spouse of someone who comes to you and says, hey I am not happy with my gender and would like to get my penis cut off, get a breast implant, and live as woman.  Most people would want a divorce in that case.  My understanding is that he did tell her some time ago.  But again, he married her.  He had children with her.  He was a father figure to her children from her first marriage, especially after the death of their own father. 

"Call Me Caitlyn" Jenner isn't brave.  He had the opportunity decades ago to be that.  But instead he dragged another family into his issues.  Brought more children into the world to deal with the aftermath of his issues and dragged yet one more woman into a marriage.  He did this because he wasn't brave enough to be who he believed he should be.  From his own words he knew this for more than sixty years before he did this.  He created a mess and expects them all to happy about it, because he is now ready to be who he/she should have been all along. 

As I said, I have no problem with someone deciding for themselves to change genders.  Whatever.  There is plenty of science to back up that this is an issue with brain function.  I also fully get that at the time of his first marriage, it would have been difficult at best to be openly transgendered.  But, by the time he was in marriage number three that was no longer the case.  Yes, there is hate towards transgender people.  They suffer abuse from not only their families, but others who find them disgusting.  But there are plenty out in the world that are accepting, this would be especially true had he lived a more private life instead of a very public one. 

The State Uses it Power to Remove Child from a Medical Marijuana Activist

There certainly isn't a shortage of things to worry about when it comes to our out-of-control government, and it is becoming abundantly clear that we can add CPS to the list.  In the past many of the complaints have been about them not doing enough to protect children when it is clear that children are living in unsafe environments.  The answer that came from the agency was almost always the lack of funds and staff to handle the case loads.  It seems that has been taken care of. 

In Kansas, there is a medical marijuana activist by the name Shonda Banda.  She has Crohn's Disease.  It is a very painful digestive problem that causes severe cramping, among other things to its victims.  She uses cannabis oil to help with her pain.  In Kansas marijuana is illegal in all circumstances.  She is working to change that.  

One day the school her son attends gave a class on drug use.  Since his mother is an activist, one can imagine that this little boy understands the ins and outs of the issue.  During this discussion her son made statements when he believed the information that was being told to the class was incorrect.  This raised the hackles of the counselors.  They called the CPS, who then called the cops.  

They show up at the school, take the little boy out of his class to question him.  They did not call either parent to get permission to talk to an 11 year-old-boy.  

After her son spoke out about medical marijuana, police detained him and launched a raid on Shona Banda’s home. “Well, they had that drug education class at school that was just conducted by the counselors… They pulled my son out of school at about 1:40 in the afternoon and interrogated him. Police showed up at my house at 3… I let them know that they weren’t allowed in my home without a warrant… I didn’t believe you could get a warrant off of something a child says in school.” Banda continued, “We waited from 3 o’clock until 6 o’clock. They got a warrant at 6 o’clock at night and executed a warrant into my home. My husband and I are separated, and neither parent was contacted by authorities before [our son] was taken and questioned.”

They found a small amount of cannabis oil in her home.  With the amount being as small as it is, obviously it is for personal use.  She isn't a drug dealer.  She uses a substance that helps her deal with chronic pain.  For this, she has lost her child.  

She has been charged with no crime, yet she still must go into court to prove that she should still have custody of her child.  You can feel that pot, even for medicinal use, should remain illegal, and realize how wrong this is.  

There is no proof that this child was being given an illegal substance.  The boy simply understands the issues surrounding the use of medicinal pot.  That isn't a crime.  That isn't child abuse.  

The State of Kansas has done nothing to "protect" this child, they have done quite the opposite.  This child has been harmed by the very agency that is supposed to help him in cases of abuse and neglect.  When we have a government that is so large that it can walk into a classroom of a child, question him without parental permission, then use those statements of a child to get a warrant to get into the home of the parent, we have a government that is too powerful.  

This child has been harmed more by the state than anything his mother has done.  That is something that shouldn't be allowed to stand.  

Hey Millenials, How You Dress for an Interview Does Indeed Matter

Elizabeth Bentivgna, a senior at Oberlin, seems to be completely unaware of the fact that how you dress for a job interview does indeed matter.  She is in the process of interviewing for summer internships before returning to school for her final semester in the fall.  

She was given a lesson in this after finding out that a company would not be hiring her.  Her recruiter was honest with her about why a company wouldn't be giving her the internship.  

"She told me that OnShift would love to hire me based on my technical skills and personality, but that they were not going to. These are the reasons she cited: 1) I 'looked more like I was about to go clubbing than to an interview.' 2) I 'had a huge run in my tights' 3) I was late."

So little miss princess decided to vent her frustrations on her facebook page.  

Using all those F-bombs will also help land her next interview won't it?  What she forgets to mention in this little rant is that she was late to the interview.  I don't know, but I think that showing up on time, or even early, is interviewing 101.  

She claims that is a mostly male office and that they wear jeans and T-shirts.  Now I wouldn't be surprised if that were true.  But, that doesn't mean that those men showed up in the interviews dressed that way.  You wear the jeans and T-shirts once you have the job, not the day you interview for it.  It is unprofessional.  

I have had jobs that the dress code was so lax that the only real line seemed to be no bathing suits in the office.  I knew that was the policy before I started working there, as it more or less a norm in the field I was working in at the time.  I still wore a suit to the interview.  

In all seriousness, if I noticed a run in stockings before heading into the interview, I would either find a store and get a new pair, or just take them off all together.  I wouldn't walk into a interview with a huge run.  That falls into the attention to detail category.  I have this feeling that being a software programming company, that is something that is looked at as a necessity, not a quirk.  

I have interviewed people over my working lifetime.  I have seen the pettiest little things make the difference between hiring and not hiring.  If a man walked into an interview with stains all over his tie or pants or a wrinkled mess, yes it would be noticed.  If another candidate who had equal qualifications but presented himself more professionally he would likely be the person who ends up with the job.  I once interviewed a woman who had on such strong perfume that it literally lingered in the conference room after she left.  My eyes were watering during the interview due to my allergies.  That left a lasting impression with me when it came to making the evaluations of all the candidates.  We ended up hiring another equally qualified candidate that wouldn't stink up the office.  

In an interview setting you have a very brief window to make an impression.  How you are dressed is part of that impression.  That doesn't matter if you are male or female.  Yes men have it easier in the dressing department, but that doesn't mean that it isn't noticed at all.  

Do yourself a favor, go to the suit department at Macy's or Ann Taylor and buy yourself a nice blazer and matching skirt or even a suit.  Keep it in the back of your closet and when it comes time to do an interview, make sure it is pressed and cleaned.  Don't show up dressed like this again until you are on your second day of the job.  Try to remember a little saying, dress for the job you want, not the one that you have.  Another words, be professional when making a first impression, especially when you have a very thin resume that accompanies being a college student.  

Hat/tip Daily Dot

Suspended Teacher Speaks at Public Hearing on her Students Get-well Letters to Convicted Cop Killer

Marilyn Zuniga, a third-grade teacher, has been suspended with pay for sending Mumia Abul-Jamal get well letters written by her students.  The board is deciding on what, if any, further action will be taken.  

During the meeting that was being held, Ms. Zuniga made a public statement.  In this statement she said:

"Growing up in a predominantly white suburb, attending a majority white school district, my teachers and peers marginalized me as a first generation immigrant, Peruvian-American. The cultural gap between my educators and me caused me to feel disconnected from my school work and learning altogether. It wasn't until my experience in the classroom my senior year of high school that I realized I could be the teacher I never had."

 Ok, fair enough.  I hope that every teacher in the country has a passion to help all students learn and to think for themselves.  That is what a teacher should be doing.  The problem is that she is going beyond that mission.  She is putting her viewpoints into the classroom and to the heads of very innocent 8-year-olds.  

Now the problem with the supporters of Mumia is that they never answer the question about why he has never told who the murderer of Officer Faulkner is.  There is no dispute that he was there and witnesses it.  There is no dispute that he had a gun.  There is no dispute that his brother assaulted Officer Faulkner.  There is no dispute that the police arrived on the scene within minutes of the shooting.  There is no dispute that Mumia was shot by the police officer.  He was a very short distance away with a gun shot wound and a weapon when the police arrived.  

Most people want to say he was arrested due to his political beliefs.  The problem is that he was arrested within minutes of the police arriving on the scene.  They didn't have time to find out about his political beliefs and writings.  Writing that includes talk about "killing pigs".  For those that may be unclear what that means, it is police officers.  

Anyone that has read my writing over the years knows that I am against the death penalty.  I have no problem with him be taken off death row.  But I certainly don't think he is some innocent lamb that is being led to slaughter.  

She is entitled to her beliefs, but she isn't entitled to bring those beliefs into the classroom.  No teacher is.  What really kills me is the people who were at this meeting supporting her.  

"It is teaching children at a tender age one of the most valuable lessons that they need to absorb in order to mature into adults who sympathize with the plight of their fellow human beings,"

It goes on:

"The lesson that was taught through this project is that in order for society to be peaceful and just, we must care about or reach out to those members of society who are most vulnerable, including children, the frail, elderly, the sick and disabled, the poor and, yes, even prisoners."

What about the family of the dead officer?  Don't they deserve someone to reach out to them as well?  What about the compassion for the young woman who had to go the hospital in very early hours of the morning to see her husband with a gunshot wound to his face?  A wound that was done at very close range and literally blew most of his head off.  Where is the compassion for a woman who didn't have her happily ever after simply because her husband was doing his job?  A car was driving down the wrong way on a one-way street so he pulled it over.  He didn't pull that car over because the driver was black.  He pulled it over because is was posing a safety hazard and violated the law.  She has lived her life without the man she loved enough to marry and pledge the rest of her life to.  

"We are here tonight because Marylin Zuniga is our hero," Larry Hamm, chairman of the People's Organization for Progress, said to the board members. "We ask that you restore her to her job and let her continue to teach the compassion that our children need to learn."

Sorry to tell you Mr. Hamm, that isn't her job.  Teaching compassion is the job of the parent.  Her job is to teach children how to think for themselves, not what to think.  Did she go over the evidence of the case?  Did she tell these students that this man has had two trials and numerous hearings and the best the defense can come up with is that it was a racist police force that sent an innocent man to jail because he was black and a political activist?  If not, that isn't compassion, that is indoctrination.  There are two sides to this story.  Now, don't get me wrong, I think this way beyond what a third-grader should be taught in a classroom.  But the point is still the same.  

Yes Ms. Zuniga should lose her job.  She wasn't doing her job.  She was making political points in a classroom.  That is a job of an activist, not an educator.  She should lose her job the same way the teacher who went an anti-Obama rant should lose hers.  You are not there to push your point of view.  You are there to help them develop their own point of view.  

If you have any doubts that she is an activist her tweet that caused this uproar says it all:

Just dropped off these letters to comrade Johanna Fernandez. My 3rd graders wrote to Mumia to lift up his spirits as he is ill. #freemumia

Comrade?  Oh yeah, she doesn't have an agenda.   

The part I think I like best about this whole thing is this:

"In April, I mentioned to my students that Mumia was very ill and they told me they would like to write 'get well' letters to Mumia,"

That's right, lets throw the eight-year-olds under the bus.  

Cops, Shootings, and The Usual Knee Jerk Reactions

One of my big pet peeves is willful blindness.  I can't stand it.  I mean I really can't stand it.  I especially hate it when it comes to politics.  I will vote for a democrat if I believe they are best person for the job.  Now, that doesn't happen often, but in theory it can happen. In fact, I have voted for democrats in my life.  One was a protest vote for governor many years ago.  The republican candidate made this comment about the death penalty that I just couldn't stomach and I refused to vote for him, since I don't like not voting, I cast my ballot for his opponent.   

I don't like it any better when it comes to issues that while in practicality aren't political, but where one stands on that issue usually will fall within political lines.  Cops being a good example.  Generally speaking, the far left will almost always cry racism when a white cop has some sort of altercation with a person of color.  The right will, in many instances, say the thug got what he deserved.  Normally speaking it is far more nuanced than that.  

A shooting between a white officer and black man happened last weekend, the dead man was unarmed and running away at the time of the shooting.  The police officer told his story.  Once that story was told a person who happened to be walking to work that morning saw the incident and used his phone to record it.  Once this man heard the police officer's story he knew that his video told a very different story, so he turned it over to the family of Walker Scott, the man who was shot and killed.  

The video shows Scott running away from Officer Michael Slager.  The officer raises his firearm and shoots eight shots.  Mr Scott was struck multiple times in the back side of his body.  On the video the officer can be heard saying into his radio

"Shots fired and the subject is down. He took my Taser."

The problem is that video doesn't back that up.  The police officer clearly went back to where he was standing, picked up an object, walked back to the body and dropped something on the ground near a dying man. All the while giving no medical attention to man whatsoever.  

A man has lost his life.  He was shot in the back multiple times by a officer who took an oath to serve and to protect.  That is his job.  That is what he is paid to do.  The fact that people are saying this man somehow got what he deserved is simply stunning to me.  

What is the NEED to run? The action of running caused him to be shot. If he didn't run the officer would not have shot him. He didn't like it that he was going to be arrested due to a warrant....so he ran

The punishment for that should be death?  No judge, no trial, no jury, just a verdict by a police officer, who in seconds, lies about what happened.  That is something we want happening in this country?  

I support law enforcement.  The reason I support law enforcement is that I believe in the rule of law.  With that belief comes the understanding that sometimes the people we need to protected from are bad cops.  They are out there.  That cannot be denied.  

As conservatives we should want all bad cops to be weeded out and fired.   Yes police officers do a dangerous job.  Yes they have the right to go home at the end of every day.  But so do we.  We shouldn't be shot in the streets by over zealous cops.  

I fully understand that more information may come out.  We have yet to hear the defense of the officer.  But conservatives can't stand it when liberals and the media make assumptions that a police officer is racist simply based on the fact the person they are dealing with has a different hue on the color bar.  Why then are so many jumping to the conclusion that officer was somehow justified in this shooting when the evidence, at this point, doesn't back that up?  

Mr. Scott was an unarmed man, running away from the officer.  He posed no threat.  Yes running away from the cop wasn't smart.  But again, the punishment for that isn't death.  That is something for a court to decide what the punishment should be, likely jail time.  Yes Mr. Scott apparently owed back child support.  Again, not punishable by being shot in the back and left face down in the dirt to die like a rabid animal.  

If you want to justify this you aren't looking at facts.  You are making a knee jerk reaction to protect someone based on the badge he wears.  Just ask Serpico how many that wear a badge that aren't doing it out some calling to protect you from evil criminals.  Bad cops exist.  Protecting them makes you look as willfully blind as the people who keep up the false narrative of "hands up, don't shoot" in the case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.  

One of the principles of conservatism that I find most appealing is the equal protection under the law.  No one should above said law.  I don't care what uniform he puts on.  A cop doesn't get a pass simply because he is a cop.  He has the same rights as everyone else does.  Mr. Scott had rights as well.  Or, at least he should have.  

A social media friend of mine made a comment:

 Conservatism is only as good as that which it seeks to conserve.

Another example of what set me off today:

Sad part part is....this guy was arrested 9 times for refusing to support his children....he was willing to die, than to support his kids....and YOU people support that.....that is pathetic...

Yeah, I don't that thinking is worth conserving.  A knee jerk reaction to protect someone who wears a badge is no better than blaming an officer for protecting themselves against a criminal who means them harm.  

The Race Pimps Who Let Anthony Stokes Down

Anthony Stokes was killed in a car crash.  He was driving a stolen car and was being chased by police.  This normally wouldn't make national news, but Anthony Stokes had health problems that put him in the national spotlight two years ago.  

As a 15-year-old he was diagnosed with severe heart problems that could not be taken care of with medicine.  His only chance of survival was heart transplant.  Initially the hospital said he didn't qualify for the transplant by the protocol in place.  He was listed as "non-complaint".  

Race groups ran to his defense once his mother talked to the media.  Stokes, according to his mother, was turned down do behavioral issues.  He had some problems in school as well as problems with the law.  While his records as juvenile are sealed, the family admitted he had some issues with violence.  This of course turned into a race thing.  From Think Progress

Regardless of Anthony’s specific past, his story fits into a larger pattern of racially-motivated skepticism about young black men. The routine criminalization of black youth — thanks in large part to the so-called “school-to-prison pipeline,” which funnels a disproportionate number of black teens into the justice system for minor infractions — ensures that teens like Anthony are often seen as threats. And once society labels those kids as criminal, suspect, or “non-compliant,” their lives are typically considered to have less value.

Now the hospital never publicly commented on their decision, as they cannot due to HIPPA.  So we only have the word of the mother of what that meant.  She herself said that the worry was that he wouldn't do the proper follow-ups and take his meds in a timely fashion.  Which if you know anyone that has had an organ transplant are vital to long-term survival.  

The real tragedy of this story, besides the loss of a young man, is that people who ran to defense were no where to found once he was given the heart transplant.  Where were the race baiters who cried for the injustice once the camera's went away?  The SPLC were all to willing to stand in front of the camera to use that young man for a political talking point.  But after the heart transplant was completed he lost his usefulness.  

If they are standing up and talking about how #blacklivesmatter why weren't they giving the support that teenager so obviously needed?  Where were his parents to help keep him on track?  I realize that every child that goes wrong isn't a direct relation to parenting skills. While growing up I knew a girl whose older siblings both became doctors and she was hell on wheels.  Some children, regardless of the circumstances of their upbringing, turn out differently than what people would expect.  But in many cases the children that do go wrong at a young age are doing so because they don't have proper role models and a family unit that is functional.  

The young man was given a second chance at life with his heart transplant.  But he wasn't given a second chance to live that life in a way that honored the donor.  He was a political tool and talking point about how this country doesn't care about young black men.  While the SPLC did indeed give him a name of therapist to help him with the transition after his surgery, they did no follow-up to make sure he was actually attending.  

This is one of the reasons that I can't take these race pimps seriously. When the camera is on, they are right there to soak in their time in the media glare.  But when the media hype dies down and the real work that needs to be done is beckoning, they are nowhere to be found.  

I am certainly not excusing the young man, he made the choices that resulted in his death, but he isn't the only one that deserves the blame.  If the race baiters want to say that black lives matter, then they need to be in the trenches and reach out to the at risk kids that are so selfishly using to increase their own coffers.  

When the black community finally has enough of the people who are using them for their own ends, maybe they will see some progress.  But until then, stop telling me that I don't think black lives matter, when you can't do something as simple as making a follow-up phone call to see if the kid ever bothered to show up for the therapist.  Stop telling me that the mother, who had no problem going in front of the camera for guilt shaming the hospital into changing protocol for surgery couldn't do anything when the red flags were appearing everywhere, including another arrest in January of this year.  That is the time that she should have gone back in front of the media and shamed all the race baiters who said they wanted her son to have a chance at a better life but simply walked away when the real work had to be done.  

Getting the transplant was the easy part.  That isn't what was going to give him a second chance at life.  The second chance was seeing the error of his ways and living a life away from crime.  That was going to take real work and dedication outside of the spotlight.  That was the time to show that black lives matter.  It is a shame that no one bothered to show up.  

A Career Woman Answers the Question Does a Hard Working Dad Feel Guilt & Doesn't Even Know She Did

I was reading this article from Good Housekeeping titled I'm 99% Mom and 1% Wife: And It Has to be That Way.  Really?  It has to be this way?  I don't think it does nor should it be that way.  

I put John last, pretty much all the time. And it's not like he's a bad guy — far from it. He does the laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, makes the kids' lunches, even braids my daughter's hair. He often compliments me, and regularly asks if we can go away, alone, for a weekend, or at least out to lunch.

I tell him I have no time for leisurely lunches, let alone two entire days away. I can't be bothered to figure out who is going to take care of our kids, pack, unpack, then scramble getting ready for Monday morning.

What kind of marriage is that?  Now I realize that feminists have, over the years, made marriage seem like a bad thing, but why even bother to keep pretending you have a marriage if this is truly how you feel?  

It is very hard to keep a marriage going after the kiddos come along.  The more you have, the more time the kids will take up.  But, that doesn't mean you don't get to behave like being a spouse is unimportant. 

While I think many people think the skill sets for being a parent and being a spouse are pretty much the same, they are also very different.  Your children should be enhancing your marriage, not causing you to ignore it.   

She goes on:

I've spoken this sentence to John. "Let me be clear: If I have to choose between you or one of the kids, you will lose every time. Do you have a problem with that?"

No why would he?  It isn't like he is their father and loves just as much as she does.  

I put John last, pretty much all the time. And it's not like he's a bad guy — far from it. He does the laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, makes the kids' lunches, even braids my daughter's hair. He often compliments me, and regularly asks if we can go away, alone, for a weekend, or at least out to lunch.

I tell him I have no time for leisurely lunches, let alone two entire days away. I can't be bothered to figure out who is going to take care of our kids, pack, unpack, then scramble getting ready for Monday morning.

But she is the main breadwinner.  

For most of the last 10 years, I've been the breadwinner. I worked long hours commuting into Manhattan full-time. Now, John has a job, but I still commute, and also work from home trying to keep us ahead of the bills.

My older son is in college, and I will save him from student loans or die trying. My younger son has some special needs, and keeping him on track is a full-time job. My daughter, like any 11-year-old girl, wants her mom to listen, to watch, to help. The clock is ticking on her innocence, and I dare not miss a second of what's left of it.

I am tired, and I am worried. Worried there won't be enough. Enough money, enough luck, enough time, enough of me. John's a great dad, but I play a singular role in each of my kid's lives. And as they've grown, the urgency to get it right screams at me, day and night.

It sounds like that John was a stay at home for a period of time.  So that makes her comments even more shocking.  By that I mean isn't it feminists that keep harping on this stupid theory that some how men who are out working don't get what it is like to have the responsibility of home life and the female gets stuck with all those roles?  In this family the roles are reversed.  He is the one doing the day to day, yet she still realizes that a mom and a dad have different roles in the life of a child.  Their expectations of what they want from them are different.  

She has taken on the traditional role of the man in her family, yet isn't happy that she has to worry about the money being enough, the time being enough, the kids getting enough. 

No matter what your particular family dynamic is, there is guilt either way.  This woman has answered those questions for feminists without realizing she has done it.  It is strangely and sadly comical.  

The main breadwinner who is out working feels guilt.  They too wish they had more time to be a more active and involved parent and spouse.  But there is only so much to go around, so they take shortcuts and prioritize what works best for them.  

There are no easy ways to navigate marriage and parenthood.  But ignoring your spouse and putting your marriage on the back-burner you are doing your children no favors.  They aren't seeing a healthy relationship  By thinking that having a big Christmas with every little thing they ask for under the tree will make up for the shortcomings of not being around, the only person you're deluding is yourself.  

This woman may be a much happier person as well as a both a better parent and spouse if she realizes that providing all the material things isn't nearly as important as giving of yourself.  Forgo some of the extra Christmas and birthday gifts.  Let your kids take on a little of the responsibility of paying for college, or send them to a community college for two years.  You can spend your money in different ways and not feel this burden to "have it all".  

To John, you obviously love your wife and children very much.  One day they are going to read this article and fully understand what it means; and they will love you all the more.  

Planned Parenthood Weighs in Ted Cruz for President

Oh my.  

First, what does "equal pay" legislation have to do with Planned Parenthood?  Secondly, this myth has been debunked ten ways to Sunday, but still won't die.  

My real question for them is don't they realize they are aligning themselves with many slave owners who also didn't want their "property" to be considered human beings?  

There is no way around this, from the moment of conception that fetus is biologically human.  I never bring God into a conversation about abortion.  I only talk about human rights.  I am a person who believes in the rights of every human being; born and unborn.  Every human being deserves human rights.  

The Further Criminalization of Your Parental Choices

Danielle and Alexander Meitiv were recently investigated by the police and child welfare for allowing their two children, aged 10 and 6, to walk home from the park without them.  The walk is approximately one mile in length.  A person, who very likely thought they were doing a good deed, saw the children and called the police.  
The Meitiv's live in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC.  The law in Maryland states that a child under the age of 8 cannot be home alone without someone who is at least 13-years-old.  It says nothing about being outside of your home.  But that didn't stop the police.  Now, I want to be clear, the police aren't really to blame here.  They were called.  They had to respond.  They followed the law, as is their job.  With children they are also most likely obligated to contact Child Protective Services.  

Child Protective Services were contacted and came to check out the parents and the safety of the children.  When CPS arrived at their home, they were interrogated and told not to allow the children out alone unsupervised.  They were told that they were being investigated for neglect.  They were basically told do as your told, or your children will be taken away.  

CPS has finished their investigation and the outcome is "unsubstantiated child neglect".  Whatever the heck that really means I'm not sure, but for these parents they are now in the cross hairs of CPS for the next five years.  That is not a typo.  For the next five years, they will be continually monitored for child abuse.  Insert primal scream here.  

It matters none if you agree with their parenting style, known as Free Range Parenting.  It matters none if you would feel safe letting your children walk a mile on their own.  What matters is do you want the state to have this type of power over your choices as a parent?  

Now, when I was kid I was not driven to my middle school on a daily basis. Unless the weather was bad, we walked.  I can't tell you how long of a walk that was, but I figure it had to be at least a mile, if not a little more.  I also walked through a wooded area when I did it.  I did this twice a day for three years.  I grew up in one of the few states that allows you to have your late in the year birthday kids start school when they are four, if you choose.  My mother did make that choice because I already knew how to read and she felt I was ready.  That means I was ten when I started middle school.  So was my mother guilty of neglect when I was walking to school?  I guess I might have thought so at the time if it was snowing or raining out.   

Here are the facts, the rates of children being abducted by strangers is down by more than 35%.  A child is in much more danger of being in accident while you are driving them to school instead of letting them walk.  Do we start telling parents who drive their kids to school are guilty of neglect because the odds are far greater of being hurt than they are if they walked instead?  

Parents need to let children grow, mature, and learn responsibility.  How each parent chooses to do that is going to vary.  But it is part and parcel of the parenting experience.  Today, we are seeing more and more parents who are constantly on top of their children.  The so-called helicopter parents.  The parents who are so engaged with their children and their activities that we hear stories about them involving themselves in the job interview process.  

Government is getting larger and larger.  It is getting more and more intrusive.  A government that can swoop in and decide that a parent isn't allowed to make a choice about a short walk home from the park is a government that is way too large.  A government that now has the right to investigate these parents for the next five years is a government that I don't want.  

I am not sure I would let a ten and six-year-old walk a mile on their own.  I lived outside of Washington, DC for many years.  I know the Silver Spring area fairly well.  The children were walking on Georgia Avenue, it is a major roadway that normally has a great deal of traffic.  But what I don't know is the maturity levels of these children.  There will be ten-year-olds that are very likely ready for that walk.  
But I do know that I don't think that act alone is a good enough reason for this family to be investigated continuously for the next five years.  Has anyone thought that these children are going to become distrustful of police now?  How is that a good thing?  

These children have learned a valuable lesson.  A government that is large can do almost anything.  I hope they carry this with them into adulthood.  

Why the Attack on the Obama Girls Matters

Elizabeth Lauten, former PR representative for Congressman Stephen Fincher(R) of Tennessee, has resigned from her job after an facebook posting on the Obama girls went viral.  

“Dear Sasha and Malia, I get you’re both in those awful teen years, but you’re a part of the First Family, try showing a little class. At least respect the part you play. Then again your mother and father don’t respect their positions very much, or the nation for that matter, so I’m guessing you’re coming up a little short in the ‘good role model’ department. Nevertheless, stretch yourself. Rise to the occasion. Act like being in the White House matters to you. Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar. And certainly don’t make faces during televised public events.

The hashtag #fireelizabethlauten was trending on twitter for a time and this facebook post got a great deal of media attention.  It likely got way more attention that it deserved, but it did deserve some attention.  One of the things that makes me a conservative is the fact that I believe in family and family values.  I want to associate myself with those that have those same beliefs.  Now I am not saying that only conservatives have family values and that my definition of what that means is the only true definition.  I know plenty of liberals who are great parents and put a great deal of time and effort in being the best parents and want the same types of things for the next generation that I do.  But I don't believe that the democrats put family first, I think they put government first.  That I strongly disagree with and I am willing to stand up and fight against it.  I believe that putting government first gets in the way of forging strong family bonds that is a cornerstone of society.  

Do I think that losing her job was really necessary?  There is a part of me that says no, but deep down I have to say I agree with the decision of her leaving her position as the Public Relations person for a sitting congressman.  A congressman who has a section on website labeled Christian Values.  Since when did a grown PR professional attacking a 13 and 16-year-old girl become a Christian Value?  

I am getting a little sick and tired of hearing, well what about the Bush girls?  What about the Palin children?  I have written extensively on how young children of people running for high office should be off limits.  They have made no choice in the matter of what their parents do.  I have also been quite clear that I hold people who have young children running for high office with more than just a tad of suspicion.  I question the judgement of people putting their kids in that type of fishbowl.  Because that is exactly what it is.  But in any event, I don't care to play a game of tit for tat.  It is unseemly at best.  Nor does it actually solve anything.  

If the base of the GOP want the party to represent family values; which many do, then start acting like you respect them yourself.  Saying that a 13-year-old is dressed for a bar because of the length of her skirt doesn't quite have that feeling of respecting families to me.  

Politics, much like reality, is largely about perception.  The perception for Congressman Fincher is that he had a PR person that didn't care all that much for those values that he runs on.  Those values that have led him to a life a public service.  Those values that are supposed to be a guiding force in the votes that he casts not just for his own district, but those that could affect every American across the country.  

While it may not "fair" that Ms. Lauten lost her job, it is the perception of what she did that made it impossible for her to continue to work for a person that says he cares about families and Christian values.  More to the point, life isn't fair.  It never has been and it never will be. 

I don't want to people who give me lip service about those values.  I don't want people who decide that taking the moral high ground is too much work.  Yes the left goes after the children of conservatives.  David Letterman paid virtually no price for going after Willow Palin.  But David Letterman is self-employed and doesn't work for a sitting member of congress, whereas Elizabeth did.  Trying to compare the two is apples and oranges.  

If conservatives want to fight for family values, standing by a young woman who felt that is was acceptable to go after two underage teenagers isn't the way to go about it.  

Ms. Lauten will be just fine.  She will find another position.  The notoriety that she has received from this almost guarantees that.  But people justifying her behavior, and sadly some are, will only serve to give the calls of hypocrite more credence.  Actually take a stand for the values that you say you believe in, even when someone on your "side" makes an error in judgement makes an unwarranted attack on children.  If not, don't talk about your family and Christian values.  You obviously don't really mean it, it is just lip service.  This isn't about elections, this isn't about winning or losing, it is about right and wrong.  Leave underage children of politicans alone.