Let Freedom Ring

This posting is a "mixed bag" of my political ramblings, research, and emotional opinion. Let me start with a quote:

"When the people fear the government...that's tyranny, when the government fears the people...that's liberty." - Thomas Jefferson

Today (June 30/09) the U.S. handed over security responsibility to Iraqi forces. President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, said this day could not have happened without the help of the United States. Iraq is now "Free". Free from oppression! (Remember Saddam Hussein? It's estimated he killed between 150 - 340 Thousand of his own people, LINK).

I don't care if you think it was wrong to invade another country or whatever your opinion. I believe it was the right thing to do. Do YOU think you can live a daily life fearing for your life or your family's life? If Saddam's Government labeled one of your family members a "traitor", you have to sign an agreement that they're a traitor, forbidden to mourn that member and you are BILLED the cost of the bullets to execute them. LINK.

I don't care if you're left, right, independent, whatever. Y'all better be DAMN GLAD that you have the FREEDOM to say whatever you like about our government eh? If we were under a dictatorship, people like Michael Moore, Sean Penn, Janeane Garofalo, Cindy Sheehan, Danny Glover, and everyone else who takes a stand against the government would probably not be around today and yet they don't realize this precious gift that the USA offers.

It feels like that these people are actually speaking out against helping other human beings achieve freedom and rights to live the way they want to. They rub elbows with Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, while ignoring the "cries" of the citizens.

Now it's Iran's turn to cry for Freedom! Yet President Obama has stated he won't get involved. I'm not suggesting that the US jump on a tank and invade Iran. The least he could do is tell the Iranian people "I know you crave freedom" and give moral support. Maybe even go to the U.N. and do something about the brutality against the citizens. (Then again I think the U.N. is a crock organization that really doesn't do anything).

Now let's turn our attention back home to the good old U.S. of A. We're soon to celebrate our 233rd year of Independence this coming 4th of July. Yet when I look at our Government, I'm scared.
These figures published by the Heritage Foundation and the Cornwall Alliance:
* Direct energy costs will raise the average American family's energy bill by $1, 241 each year by 2035. That's more than $100 per month.
* The economy will shrink to $385 billion dollars from 2012 to 2035. Meaning more jobs lost.
* The "Cap & Trade" Energy Bill will increase costs of EVERYTHING, food, housing, transportation. This is due to companies being taxed for energy use. So they'll pass that cost on to us, everyday consumers.
* A "Universal Health Plan" proposed by Obama, will hurt doctors, private insurers, and consumers. Doctors will be underpaid, forcing them to raise prices in other areas, which again are passed down to us, the consumers.

Let's not forget the "stimulus" package passed earlier this year. I posted on this earlier LINK. This boils down to costing $37,000 PER PERSON to pay it off!

This reminds me of another quote:

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." - Thomas Jefferson

Think about that! Everything that the current US Government is doing so far is slowly stripping Americans of our freedom and choices!

Oral Deaf and Foreign Languages

Transcript:
I grew up orally in a French Canadian family. My grandparents and older relatives speak French. They tried teaching me some French.
"You have to rrrrroolll your r's"
"But that HURTS!"
One time at a family gathering, my mom and aunts were making tort...tour....."tourtiere" or meat pies. My Papa was teasing them and they were yelling in French at him. I asked my mom,
"What are you guys saying?"
She said it in French, I didn't understand, so she wrote it down. Now, I pronounce things the way they're written.
"Mangeee la crutt"
"No you got to roll your r's its Mange la cllllutt"
"What does that mean?"
"Eat shit"
"ooookay"
Then there's my experience with Spanish. When I was a teenager, my parents had a 32 foot pleasure boat. It had a top deck for driving, then you climb below with bed, table, kitchen and so on. One time we're cruising along and dad says,
"Can you get a music tape for me?"
"Sure, who do you want?"
"Hulio"
So I go down, get the tapes, "H...H...Dad! There's no Hulio!"
He climbs down and looks and gets the tape,
"It's right here"
"But dad thats J, you said Hulio not Julie-o"
"It's Spanish, J is H"
"Okay if J is H, then what's H?"
"Well it can be silent like 'ola, or a W sound, depends on the word"
"Oh so then it's not chi-who-a-who-a?"
"Chi-WHAT?"
"You know small dog, big eyes, shakes a lot"
"That's Chi-wa-wa!"
I give up, I'm gonna just stick with English and ASL. Easy right? Nooooo, you know if you have a hand in wrong position it's a whole different meaning!
When I went to Madonna University, hi maddies, I remember a counselor telling a story about when he was at Gallaudet University summer school for interpreting.
Now I'm going to block out the sign so I won't spoil the joke.
He finished a class and was walking outside and saw some Deaf friends sitting around chatting and he joined them.
"Wow hot today?"
"Yes hot today"
"Lots of "bugs" around"
"Really?? Where? Where?"
They're howling laughing. He's puzzled but kept on chatting. Later in class he asked a hearing friend,
"Don't mind to help me?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"I was chatting with Deaf and I said lots of "bugs" around"
"the sign for bugs is [sign]"
"Oh then what's [sign]"
"orgasm"
It doesn't matter, any language, spoken or signed can be misunderstood, right?
See ya laters!

My White Cane Stories

Stories about having a White Cane.
Select "CC" in the lower right corner for subtitles.

Transcript:
Hello, some of you know I use a white cane. This is my 2nd cane in 2 years. I moved to Oklahoma, 2 almost 3 years ago, it's a small town.
One time my kids were acting up and I was yelling "Come here, come here". But they wouldn't listen, so I slammed my cane down on the sidewalk and snapped the end. I tried taping with duct tape, it didn't work so I gave up.
Luckily a Blind agency gave me the 2nd one. But what's wrong? (Showing a bend in the cane). What happened? Here we have lousy sidewalks and I was tapping along, I didn't see a crack and my cane sticked to the crack and I kept walking. (snap), it was done, got a kink in it. Now people ask "Have you seen the lady with kink in cane" "oh yeah, over there".
But I have funny stories, I was chatting on SeekGeo.com. I was telling a story about my cane that's Geo's favorite, now I'm sharing with you.
Once I went to Deaf Dart night, my husband dropped me off. I went in and saw my friend who's the Chairperson. Her husband had been working 16 hours, worked all night, tired, mind is "out". I went in, said hellos, how ya doings, etc. The husband came up and asked "How arrive? Drive?" "Yeah! I opened window and tapped cane on road! What do you think?" The wife was going "What's the matter with you?!" That SeekGeo loves that story.
2nd story is a crazy one. When we were moving with a trailer, we had all our things stacked up and a tarp over it. We drove along and then noticed the tarp blowing. We knew we had to tie it again, we pulled over and husband's fixing ropes. He told me to stand and hold a rope, I gave my cane to my daughter to hold, she later came back and said "Momma?" "What?" "People really should clean up after their dogs" (lifting cane to show me with a big pile of dog poop stuck on the end, sticking it in my face. I'm flailing to get her to move it.) My daughter was 6 but should've known better.
That's my funny cane stories - Thank you!

Cub Scouts - Meeting & Cookout

These are pictures from the Cub Scout Meeting. Hubby is the Scoutmaster.



Here's a pic of me, and then a pic of son jumping in front of the camera (eyerolls).



Now here are pics of the Cub Scout Cookout



Son won several achievement pins!! Way to go boy!!