Off The Cuff

Fears That China Could Take Over The Market--Apples

I am doing this in the category of "What's wrong with this picture?" because we have had too many things coming out of China that are detrimental to our health, our children's and the health of our pets. Why now are we accepting inbound shipments of things like apples? What would possess anyone or any company to buy from this obviously untrustworthy place?

Now the farm bill is up for renewal in congress this year. Farmers are petitioning for a huge, unheard of, amount of funding for new technology so that harvesting will cost less plus aid in developing overseas markets so that a glut into the U.S. market by China will not hurt like it has in the past. Have we learned NOTHING?????

China is toxic to us. They do not care that we are being poisoned by their products. Our pets die from their tainted foods. Our children and adults get sick from their tainted products. HELLO???? Does no one get a clue here?

Isn't it time for the U.S. to take care of it's own for a change? Isn't it time to say NO to countries that are trying to do us in? I believe that they are doing just that, doing us in. Getting us out of the picture. If you do not agree, then what was that tainted foods thing about? We had it in our dog food, cat food and other things, all from China. How does this happen if they are not trying to do this? Do not insult my intelligence by saying that they simply have looser laws concerning outbound products. Come on!! What Is Wrong With This Picture?

I Am Tired Of People Saying Some Slur Then Needing THERAPY

I am so tired of people who get mad, say some ethnic, sexual orientation or other type of slur and then are relegated to therapy to smooth somebody's ruffled feathers. The first thing I will say here is that I oppose people saying things of that nature. BUT, it does happen and especially in the heat of an argument. However, when a person or a group gets all up-in-arms or so hostile that someone gets fired or made to go to therapy, there is something truly wrong with this picture.

I do realize that people have foot-in-mouth disease. All sorts of people have it including those in the news and entertainment fields. I have watched a politician have to do a silly dance just to back off from some insensitive boobish remark. I have watched prominent personalities get fired from their jobs because they said something wrong at the wrong time.

For instance, Don Imus got fired for saying some that I do consider trashy but THAT was what the man was hired to do and he had done that same thing for a multitude of years. Only because the SPONSOR got big britches and decided to drop the show did the man get fired. What kind of crap is that?

Another for instance, Isaiah Washington got fired by ABC from Grey's Anatomy for saying a gay slur and the resident gay guy (T.R. Knight) got offended. Has no one else EVER said these things to him or anyone that's gay or black or Latino or white or green striped with dots????? Has no one ever said anything nasty to anyone before???? HELLO!!!!!!!!!

People are nasty. They say incredibly nasty things to each other. Want to know where it starts? AT HOME!!!! Kids take the nasty they hear at home and drag it to school where they say the nastiest things possible to their classmates. Then, when the little darlings grow up they become biggotted, nasty, foulmouthed beings that spread their good cheer some more.

However, there are some nice folks out there that can get into situations and say something not nice. Do they have to then end up in THERAPY? The answer is NO, they don't. But because of small minded people like those who insist on this action, folks who might otherwise be very social and happy people end up spending lots of cash to "cure" themselves of the "hate in their hearts".

I can give you an easier way to do all of this. It's really quite simple. It's so simple that many folks do not think of it at all. Just ask the Lord Jesus into your heart. When a person does that, while everything may not change right then, God changes the heart. The person does not need therapy, they need the Lord.

For more information on this subject, please visit Lura's Bookcase and A Peculiar Place.

Walmart Getting Hit With Shoplifting Problems

It seems that Walmart is having problems with shoplifters and it's getting way out of hand. The cost of this problem is radically rising, meaning the cost of everything else will be too. It is too bad that those who do this don't get it that they have to pay more the next time they shop, assuming they pay then instead of lifting the items. We all pay more for those who do this.

Walmart used to have a better handle on things but that was some years ago when Sam Walton owned the stores. People were polite, courteous, helpful. Today, it appears that most Walmart employees...pardon me, associates....are there for the usual. The dollar and a few stocks.

Thing is, they are looking at about $3 billion in stolen property. Does anyone see anything wrong with this picture? We are going to be asked to bail this outfit out when the numbers really hit. And guess why they are getting hit with all this theft? You bet. They announced last year that they were no longer going to prosecute the minor cases of shoplifting. Hello??? Is that an invitation? Yes, I think it is. But their reason for this...it's such a good idea.....is that they would rather prosecute the bigger shoplifting rings. Then, after having said that, they drop the number of employees so that the security is not as tight. Oh yes, this is definitely an invitation. DUH!!! Can you say stupid? What are they going to do next? Put it all out on the sidewalk and leave it out all night with aa sign that says TAKE ME...THEY WON'T CARE!

Maybe they should just rearrange another store so we can all be confused and leave it at that.

eBay Being Sued Over "Buy It Now"

The first thing I have to say about this is...are you kidding me? Someone is suing eBay over the "Buy It Now" button on their auctions. Personally, I have used those buttons a bunch of times and, frankly, I would be less likely to even be on eBay if they did not have them. I just cannot stand to lose to some person who waits til the last few seconds and then grabs what I waited to win for a week. I don't think so.

Apparently, a place called MercExchange had the idea, supposedly, for the "Buy It Now" buttons and has tried to actually patent the words and button. Are you kidding me? It is, apparently, an auction site that no one has ever heard of....at least in our neck of the woods. Appears to me to be an eBay wannabe. Hey, I am not altogether a fan of eBay either. I do not like the way they have upped the fees, separated out the eBay express items, made it nearly impossible for the little seller to make a buck now. They have allowed their fame to go to their collective heads. That's trashy.

The buttons on the website I just visited, MercExchange, are solid red with white letters and in a rectangle box. The buttons on eBay are not in a box, first two words are gray and the last word only is red. The words are in italics. What is the problem here? Are we now patenting common WORDS???? Maybe Mr. Clinton should patent the word "IS". Whatcha think?

What the heck is wrong with this picture?

Dan Rather Accused Of Sexist Comments

Seems that the head guy at CBS thinks that comments made by former anchor, Dan Rather, are sexist and aimed at Katie Couric, Rather's successor. Rather stated that CBS was taking the Evening News and "dumbing it down, tarting it up" because they appear to be bringing on celeb topics instead of coverage on the war. His accusations include that the whole thing is to bring in a younger audience.

The problem that I see here is that Dan Rather is more than likely right. If CBS is trying for a younger audience, which it definitely sounds like it is, it does not matter that Katie Couric is the anchor. What does matter is that this particular news agency seems to believe that it is necessary to "dumb it down, tart it up" in order to attract the age group in question. Does anyone see anything wrong with this picture?

If this is the tactic it takes to bring in the younger crowd then there is something wrong with the younger crowd in the first place. The "dumbing down of America" is a Shame of America and should not be encouraged or allowed. People should be aiming higher than a 7th grade educational level in reporting the news or in any other type of reporting, like magazines and documentaries.

So, is Dan Rather guilty of sexist remarks or is CBS guilty of more "dumbing down America"? Don't we have enough of this in our school systems? This is definitely another Shame of America in motion.

Dumb And Dumber

I usually do not want to post anything concerning people like Paris Hilton but this is really too much. Paris Hilton is confined to a....ready?...medical ward in a MAXIMUM security detention center due to an outraged judge who didn't like it that she got out of jail to go home for medical reasons.

Okay, this is a jumble of stupid to start with. The girl needed to be confined due to reckless driving charges. She had been in jail only three days when she was released by an officer because of an undisclosed medical condition and was expected to spend her time at home. Yeah right. Only the rich. She should never have been released at all.

So, this judge gets wind of it and goes ballistic. Understandable. What is not, is that this woman is now in a maximum security place on a 45 day jail sentence. Is there something wrong with this picture? Uh, that ain't all. Seems her Mom was talking to Barbara Walters when she called. Everyone hung up and Paris called Barbara collect to talk. And what was the conversation about? Paris wants people to be focused on something besides her 45 day stay in the graybar hotel. Understandable. Ah, but there was one more thing. She also states that she will no longer "act dumb".

""I used to act dumb. ... That act is no longer cute," ABC quoted Hilton as saying."

So, she was playing into the stereotypical idea of blonds by "playing dumb". All the blonds of the world ought to stand up and cheer and say "Thanks alot Paris Hilton!!" Are you serious?

Cleavage In The Workplace-Yes Or No?

A current controversial debate is about cleavage in the workplace. The question is...is it appropriate? You might be surprised to know that most women AND men believe that it does not belong. It is entirely too distracting for everyone.

The problem is that what might be appropriate for a sexy night out on the town is definitely not right for the office where people need to dress for success. The success is not to get the latest boyfriend but to get ahead in the business world.

The question then becomes, do you want to be taken seriously? For those ladies who do, the secret is to show some breast but not to show it all. Recent studies, whereever anyone chooses to study such things, have found out that a medium breast size is generally taken seriously, unlike the very large and the extremely small. Go figure.

Frankly, my opinion of this is that a woman should dress conservatively and very businesslike. That would be taken seriously. Breasts in the workplace? What's wrong with this picture?

Ebay Supports Dishonest Sellers

In case you have never had a problem with a dishonest seller on Ebay, let me tell you that the company that is EBAY supports the dishonest seller to the max. If you find that you have not received what you thought you were buying, try to find a way to let Ebay know this. Just try. Good luck.

They send you to a page that allows you to put in the item number of the auction. When you click on that, it brings up a page that tells you that you have not allowed enough time to pass. Give me a break here. When I put the number in, it was because the item I received was NOT what they advertised. What does the one have to do with the other??? Bear in mind that all of this is AT EBAY under the heading...are you really ready for this one??.......PROTECTION FOR BUYERS!!! Uh huh. (For the record, I have been through this process a couple of times before. It ain't pretty.)

I have been buying a few NEW DVDs from sellers on Ebay. Up to now, all was great. The sellers were sending out brand new DVDs, sealed and in brand new condition. However, I bought two DVDs from a seller by the seller name of "perfectfuture" who sent me two DVDs that were, in fact, in far from new cases. He/she says that the DVD is new regardless of the condition of the case. At this point, my response has to be....HOW DO I KNOW THAT? You put them in used cases.

One thing about these sellers that is truly ugly. Ebay used to be all about the feedback that a seller or buyer got for a transaction. A high feedback rating was valued. At this time, Ebay has been revamping the feedback system. We need to wait and see if it is effective. However, sellers have one edge after another over buyers. One of the more blatant is "holding the feedback hostage". What does that mean? The seller does not give you feedback for paying immediately. They do not give you good feedback for anything UNTIL AFTER you have given them your feedback. Then, if they are dishonest and you say so in your feedback, they hit you with horrible feedback, totally undeserved though it may be. No one will know that part. All they see is the negative RED feedback button. You can respond but that does not remove the bad feedback that you receive. If you have a great feedback rating, you either protect it by not giving the feedback the jerk or jerkette deserves or you do give bad feedback and they slam you with crap, crap, crap. At that point, your only options are to 1) live with the negative mark on your feedback rating or 2) go to Ebay and mutually have the rating removed. I am so ready to SCREAM over this. You have no idea.

I wonder how far Walmart would get if they put DVDs into used cases??? Or any retail seller? But since it is, for all intents and purposes, a private seller then it is okay with Ebay or at least all right for the moment. After the "proper amount of time" has elapsed, whatever that means, I will try again.

I should point out here that I received an email from the unscrupulous seller today that stated that since I complained, they have changed their auction pages to read that the DVD, not the case, is the new part, that they are not sealed. That, at least, makes them more honest. Also, they have offered to reimburse the money I spent IF I send the items back. The problem here is that they do NOT pay the shipping. Then, the problem becomes....can I trust this person to give back the money...minus shipping costs on BOTH ends.....when I send the items back? Absolutely NOT! I can't trust them now. I'm going to lose what little I already have to HOPE I get money back out of this? Oh please.

Now, the seller will likely get away with this because 1) Ebay could care less 2) there is no real way to actually TELL them about this particular seller since everything is a fill-in page where you simply answer predone questions with a radial button. There is not way to actually TELL them anything. THEN, adding insult to injury, when you do have a legitimate complaint, if you paid via paypal, which Ebay conveniently owns as well, Ebay sends you to paypal to resolve the issue. There are no guarrentees that they will listen either. Have you EVER TRIED to find a phone number for either outfit? Again, good luck.

Ebay, we call on you to reform the resolution department of Ebay. We call on you to do the right thing, make the sellers--YES, EVEN THE POWERSELLERS---be HONEST. What a concept. How about it, EBAY? Do something to help the buyer besides pass it off and hope the person will give up so your precious powersellers can have their way again.

Go To The Movies, Have Popcorn, Take Out Loan

I have not been to the movies in years. With VHS and then DVD coming in, I had no real desire to see a movie in those tight, small seats that someone else was in and spilling sodas, candy and popcorn. Speaking of popcorn, I love the stuff. I love the movie popcorn. The last time I went to a movie I bought the popcorn. I paid $9 for the whole experience including the LARGE tub of EXTRA BUTTER popcorn. That was in 1989 or so, I think. What has happened since then?

Well, for anyone who has not been to the movies in a while (that would be a lot of us, I am certain), there have been a few changes. For instance, in Brooklyn, N.Y., recently at the Shrek The Third movie, the family paid out....are you ready for this?....$5 for a SMALL popcorn, $5 for a drink from the concession stand. But the tickets themselves were $11 for each adult and $7.50 per kid. Hello??? Do you see ANYTHING wrong here?

Yes, I do. For one thing, the movie experience should be fun and entertaining, not a place to decide if you need a loan or not. How about this. Forget the movie until it comes out on DVD. Save the money for something that will mean something to you later. This is outrageous. Why should we pay that much money for a couple of hours when we can OWN the thing in a few months anyway? Buy the DVD and make your own popcorn!

Medicine Is Great! Or Is It?

Today, I woke up to the news that a drug that about a million people in the U.S. with diabetes take, called Avandia or Avandamet, is hazardous to their health. Because I have recently needed to know a lot more about this disease and I have friends who are diabetic, it was of great concern for me. This particular drug, which has been on the market for about 8 years, has a 43% shot of causing heart attacks and death. Sounds pretty serious to me. So, what is the FDA doing about this since they approved this drug in the first place? Not much. They issued a safety alert and are apparently going to "convene an advisory panel, but planned no immediate changes to the current side effect warnings on the drug's packaging."

The company that makes the stuff. What are they doing about this? GlaxoSmithKline says that it's fine and that the good that the drug does outweighs the bad. Are you kidding me?

Then, if that is not nightmare enough, the very next story was about a birth control drug called Lybrel that actually stops a women's menstrual periods indefinitely. The FDA is planning to approve this drug TODAY!!! Are you kidding me? Does anyone know the possible side effects of this? They are trying to stop something that is built into a woman's body. The natural working of a woman is going to be halted by a pill. I do realize that there are many women who will welcome this and think that it is a blessing. However, they do not know what the long term effects are because they do not HAVE long term anything on it.

I must question the FDA on these two items. They appear to be going off in a direction that is not good for the country. They have hampered the progress of good medications that would have benefited many of the now deceased people because of their tedious and lengthy approval programs. But now, they seem to be putting through something that is extremely detrimental to women and have no problem with this at all! That on top of their lackluster interest in dealing with the drug Avandia.

What is wrong with this picture? You decide. But be sure you know more than the stories tell you. Be sure you get the real picture. God created these bodies. He put in a marvelous system to keep it healthy. Then came along those who apparently know better than the Creator how the body works. Maybe it is time to stop and rethink this whole thing.

"Honest Graft" Land Deals In The Capitol

Are you kidding me???? HONEST graft!!! That was the title of the news article I started to read just now. Seems that the lawmakers, you know the ones, have some questionable land deals afoot. This is apparently raising some serious alarms throughout Washington, as it should.

The deals are all different but the idea is the same. The lawmakers, alone or with others, buy up land. Then they push for changes in a law or federal spending which raises the value of the land. So, what happens now? You guessed it. Land prices go up. Lawmaker sells the land making a tidy profit. Isn't there something really wrong with this picture? I would say!!! Can you say INSIDER INFORMATION? The deals are not technically illegal but they are not honest. And any congressperson or senator that does this type of deal needs to go home.

And hang on here. If we were to do this, some lawmaker would find a way to make it illegal...as they should really....but it's going to be our hides on the line, not theirs.

So, what should be done? Well, for starters, all of the "lawmakers" that are doing this need to vacate their offices. This is underhanded at the very least.

"Honest Graft" Land Deals

A series of questionable land deals involving U.S. lawmakers have raised alarms among government watchdogs, who fear such dubious arrangements are on the rise.

"Everyone's been trying to catch up to this phenomenon," said Keith Ashdown of Washington, D.C.-based Taxpayers for Common Sense.

"In Congress, land deals are more popular than a shoe sale at Nordstroms," quipped Naomi Seligman-Steiner of the left-leaning anti-corruption group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Her group has called for IRS and FBI investigations into several recent land sales by lawmakers that have been linked to their public actions.

Discounts On Gas Prices Illegal? Are You Kidding?

What is wrong with this picture? A gas station owner in Merril, Wis., was told recently that he had to stop giving the customers discounts, in some cases up to 3 cents a gallon, because it violated Wisconsin's Unfair Sales Act. Are you kidding me?

Seems he was giving the discounts to seniors and through cards that were helping the local youth sports groups. Everything was good until the government, of course, stepped in and shut it down. Want to see more? Okie dokie.

Gas Discounts Stopped In Wisconsin

MERRILL -- With gasoline prices rising, a Merrill service station made an attractive offer: Save 3 cents on each gallon and support local youth sports at the same time.

Senior citizens also paid less for gas, saving 2 cents a gallon.

That was until the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection heard about the offers and informed Center City BP owner Raj Bhandari his discounts were too good to be legal.

Bhandari said he was unaware the offers -- a card supporting the Merrill Youth Hockey Association and a senior discount -- violated Wisconsin's Unfair Sales Act, which requires retailers to sell gasoline for about 9.2 percent above the wholesale price.

The law had been explained to retailers in a December 2003 letter. Bhandari has owned the Merrill store since May 2006.

My take on this is that the government, be it state or federal, really does NOT want the prices of gas to go down. Had they wanted that, they would have worked it out by now. They have known for lots of years that this was coming. Do I need to remind anyone who is at least 40 about the long lines at the gas stations when we were told that the suppy was running out? Hello!!!

I don't know about you but I am disgusted with government that is willing to not help those in need (Tsunami victims, Katrina victims, Rita victims, etc.). How about you?

The Imus Finale

I know, there are debates everywhere about this guy, Imus, and his incredibly ignorant mouth just like there were when it was Mel Gibson, Michael Richards or whoever else is now or was in rehab because of a big mouth. I will not send you to any articles on any of them because I, myself, am tired of hearing about Imus and what he said about the girls basketball team or any of the others and what they said or who they hurt by it. No, I will not quote it here!

This is a commentary from me. Frankly, I am totally disgusted with ALL, I said ALL, of the coverage on all of the people who have mouth diarrhea. Ignorance is rampant in this country anyway. Why on earth do we have to advance the course in "Stupid 101" by having enormous coverage on this one and that one who can't keep a civil tongue in their heads? Why must we show how ignorant they are by broadcasting it from here to there in great detail? All THAT shows is how ignorant WE ARE for listening to this drivel. Why must we hear, over and over and over again, what the racial slurs are? Who does that serve? The television networks, that's who. And that gets ratings. Isn't it about time we cut them off at the knees?

If the people of this country are that thin skinned then I think THEY have a problem that is worse than the guy who is spouting the crap, don't you? Haven't you ever had someone say slur words to you? Did you need to broadcast it to the world? Why must we be subjected to MORE ignorance by seeing all of what they go through, all of what it does to the other guy/gal? What is wrong with this picture?

The thing that is wrong with it is that we love sensationalism. We love to see the big guy downgraded by this. We MUST see Al Sharpton show up like he does every single time there is a perceived racial slur afoot. We love to see ignorance in action because if we see the famous guy doing it, then it makes it okay for us to do it too. We "tisk tisk" and tell each other how much better we are since we didn't say that. We tell each other that it's just too bad that they have to get into rehab and we sympathize with all involved. That is, as long as we don't have to paddle in the same boat. If we do, then the guy is justified. Get real. No racial slur is justified. No negative comment about anyone like that is justified.

Now we need to address one more thing. Imus is a shock jock. He wasn't all that well known...until now. Much like Howard Stern, this guy blew off his mouth. No one seemed to mind all that much because he was in the business for a multitude of years. His job was not in jeopardy. In fact, he was paid for the diarrhea of mouth. So, why is he jobless now? Because the SPONSOR didn't like it. Not because we, the people, didn't like what he said. NO! In fact, we didn't get bent until it went on the national news. HYPOCRITES ALL!!!!!

But there is one thing that I should point out. This guy spoke his mind on the radio and it was also on television. Where are his rights? What happened to freedom of speech? Did it get flushed because the SPONSOR didn't like it?? YOU bet it did. Freedom of speech is only as good as what you say. How communist can you get?

Where is the outcry FOR the guy? We need to sit down and check out our priorities here. Let me say this. I do NOT condone or agree with anything that guy said or what any of these other people are saying. BUT, I have to believe that they have the right to say it. I have to believe that I still live in a free country where we are supposed to have our freedom to say what we want to without being shut down because some guy or corporation is paying the bills.

What's Wrong With This Picture. Perhaps it is time for you to decide that now.

John Stossel-Enough IS Enough

I tried to post this on the message boards of the ABC news site, 20/20. I will continue to try to post it. According to the note I received, it said that the site was too busy to post it at that time. However, I believe that this message should be on here too. The particular story that I am referring to will air tonight at 9PM Central time on ABC 20/20. Here is the post I will continue to try to post on the message boards:

John, I agree enough IS enough. However, I am telling you that and the guy who is supposedly honestly watching the ministries. I saw the report you had on GMA about the televangelists that have "too much" to suit you and others. I am sorry here but when did it become a problem for people of the United States to have "too much" for our good?

I realize that the person who is supposedly watching the ministries is trying to "do the right thing" at least in your eyes. However, he admits that he has a problem with the theology of those ministries. I have a problem with someone who is a watchdog who has that. They tend to slant things to suit themselves.

Have you investigated all people who have such wealth? Or even more wealth? Yes, I know. We aren't contributing to them. The implication in the report is that the ministries you mentioned are stealing the ministry funds in order to have these items such as big homes, fancy expensive cars, etc. I, for one, know that sometimes people who are patrons of the ministries will give such things to the preachers to help them have nice things. Sometimes the ministries need things like jets to get to where they need to be in short time because of the schedule they have.

Did it occur to you that most of those preachers that you have targeted have incredible schedules and do not take a lot of time off? Do you honestly think that they are simply grabbing in all they can get and are not working at all for those things that you targeted? Has it occurred to you or the watch guy that they might just be receiving things through their ministry because they honor GOD? Or is that too crazy to think?

I have had enough of the flaming stories about preachers. There are some that do wrong, yes. However, there are many, many more that are above board, doing what God has called them to do and YOU are not taking the time to see exactly what their message is.

This is the time of the last days according to the Bible. It is a very dangerous time for all of us. Our country is heading in a direction that you might want to track. The Bible is extremely clear in what is about to occur. We are already getting to a place where almost all of the prophecies are fullfilled. Please try to see it from the point of view of a Christian! Please try to see that you are only working on bringing down the very people that will possibly give you the answers you seek if only you will look, truly look.

Yes, I have had enough.

Sex Ed In School--Going Too Far or Just Right?

Today, there was a story on ABC/GMA about sex ed in schools. But now there is a twist. A few states are advocating the teaching of sexual orientation. They will teach about bisexuals, gays and homophobia, among other things. The general idea is that children are inundated with sex everywhere...on TV, magazines, radio, the internet, music, signs. Everywhere you go, there is some reference to sex in some way. The children are now seeing this as "normal", whatever that means. But somebody thinks they are getting the wrong message. Ya think?

Now, parents and guardians are giving up their rights to teach their children about sex. Why? Because it's an uncomfortable topic? Or they don't care where the kid learns it? Or there just isn't anyone knowledgeable enough to teach the right things on this subject? Many kids are adrift because of that. So, the schools, due to larger numbers of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, are fighting back by giving sex education themselves. All those wrong messages are compounded by more wrong messages.

What is wrong with this picture??? First, parents and guardians should tell the child about sex in the privacy of the home where the kid gets more information given in the proper way. At school, what they get is a clinical version of the sex act. Is it any wonder that children grow up or don't grow up....having sex without understanding what the beauty of it really is? Is it any wonder that the kid gets such a skewered view of it that they question what sex they ought to be? Where are the children getting the idea that sex is so commonplace that they cannot leave high school or even middle school/Jr. high school without having the sex act? Peer pressure, of course. But there is also the clinical teaching from the school because they don't want to be accused of having porn in class. Therefore, they must teach this watered down, impersonal, it's only sex view of what it's all about. If it feels good, do it type of attitude. Is it any wonder the kids come away learning that sex and love have nothing at all in common?

Second, the kid gets sex ed..101, the watered show. After that, he/she gets the new and improved version that teaches about sexual orientation. Please. Some of these kids didn't know they HAD an orientation until the school made them aware of it. So now the child understands that he/she MAY be really quite normal if he liked the dolly instead of the GI Joe or she liked the cars and trucks instead of the beautiful Barbie. Now they understand that the very normal feelings that they thought were all weird are explained away as being something that used to be in a closet but now is okay to bring out, name and flaunt, if necessary.

What is happening to our children? They are being taught wrong things and actually, it appears that they are being indoctrinated into a different society than what I grew up with. Is that good or bad? In my opinion, it is extremely bad for the child. These people at the schools are throwing out information that the child might be too young to hear and/or understand. How on earth would they know? These people really do not know the kids they teach. The kid is one way at school among the classmates and another way at home. The parents and guardians possibly will know the young person better than the school could ever know them. Unfortunately, some or maybe most of the parents and guardians would rather have the schools teach what they find to be either offensive or embarrassing or might be a time waster.

Our children are learning that sex is okay and rather common. How many kids in their class have already had sex because it was made to sound just like another lesson in school. For goodness sake, they hand out condoms in school and expect them not to use them!! That rates are a rather large, king sized DUH!! What are these officials thinking here? What are the politicians thinking? Politicians? Getting reelected, what else? Do they care about your kid? Absolutely not. They could care less. You must take up the fight to bring sanity back to this country before it's too late!

I say Sex Ed in school is going too far. What do you say? I say that kids do not need to hear about sexual orientation. What do you say? If you allow the school to teach your child things that ought to be taught at home, then you cannot be surprised when the girl comes home pregnant and wanting your help and love. Or the girl is forced by the boy to head for an abortion clinic to "get rid or it" because the boy can't TELL HIS PARENTS what he has been doing. Why not? Because he has college to think of. What about the girl? He could care less about her. The girl is now at the mercy of the boy, the parents, the system. She is caught in a trap that no one taught her was WRONG in the first place. She got the information from the sex ed class and thought it would be different. Why? Because they taught her that it was sanitary, fun and all you have to do is "be careful", use the condom. Don't get a disease!! HELLO??? If you didn't DO the sex, the disease wouldn't be there, the pregnancy wouldn't be there, the future would be bright for all concerned.

It is time for the sane people of this country and world to stand up and take responsibility. Yes, RESPONSIBILITY. It's a word most people would rather not hear because it would be too inconvenient, wouldn't it. Too much time to teach the child the RIGHT WAY to think about sex. Teach them to understand that there is a time and a place but only if you are 1) in love, 2) understand something about love (not the teen version where the girl is gaga over the boy and the boy is showing off to all his friends), and most important of all, 3) be married. Ouch! That last one hurt didn't it? Too many people believe that extramarital or living together arrangements are a good thing. Try it out first. If it works, think about marriage. This is why marriage is becoming almost an obsolete idea. This is why children today do not see what the fuss is about. This is why the parents MUST take control of what the kid learns in school before it's too late.

What's wrong with this picture? Everything!!!

SCAM ALERT!!

This is an Off The Cuff scam alert. Have you noticed those ads that promote the free Xbox, free Rachel Ray items, free computers (laptop, desktop), free anything that you do not have to pay for if only you will accept one of these offers? I have seen them on Iwon and several other pages. Also, I have received emails on these same things. The whole idea is that you are going to get something expensive for free if only you will qualify by accepting small offers of items you will not really want in the first place.

As you accept or deny each page of offers, there are more to choose from. You go through pages and pages of offers. At some point in each category, you must select one offer from this page, two offers from that page. Some pages have only offers for signing up for credit cards. Others have equally stupid offers that, if you sign up for them, you will be finding too many things in your mailbox that you had no idea where it came from.

By this time, you begin wondering if this will ever end. They tell you that you have ALMOST qualified and that you only have this much more to do. Each time it says that, you are expected to accept one or more offers. From what I have seen, there may be an end and people might be satisfied to do all that to get the FREE item, which, if you are paying attention, really isn't free at all. At the point I stopped and had accepted three offers, more than they told me I had to in the first place, I was still apparently 2 offers short of my FREE item. Can you see how much more money this is going to cost?? I, frankly, do not know how I got wrapped up in this stuff. But I have learned. I hope that you do before it costs you anything.

Frankly, I have no idea how far this goes since I could never get farther than the offers you have to take. I will not accept a credit card so I didn't get any farther. At one point, I did take a couple of offers that only cost a couple of bucks each. Some offers say they are free and all you have to pay is shipping which will be a small sum considering the item they are sending you.

Now comes the rub. If you pay by credit card or debit card, which is the only way they take these small payments, then the card number is open for them to use it as they will. People have learned this when the so-called company tells you something is a trial period and that you have X number of days to respond. Likely, the time is too short to do anything about it. In none of the pages you read about the product does it say that you will be billed a larger amount.

People are now learning that when they sign up for the smaller amount, as their bank statements come in, they find themselves being billed for much, much larger sums of money. For example, these items we have researched so far are:

Online Supplier-this place is listed in the frauds page. They send you a CD or book about "how to sell on Ebay". You are charged a very small fee for shipping...$1.95-$1.99. Remember, you were trying to qualify for a much larger, FREE item. At that point, it is likely that you believe you are finished especially if you do nothing more. However, on the bank statement you will find a $49.95 charge. It will have a long number such as 8009309932ONLINESU01 of 800-9309932 CA. You have no idea what the notation is. You will have no idea what the charge is for. We looked this up on one of the frauds pages and discovered that people try to call the 800 number only to find out that there will be a one hour "on hold" and they never get to talk to a human. Others have tried to email them and receive no response. BEWARE!! THIS IS A SCAM!!

Triclear-This is under beauty products. It is supposedly a FREE trial offer. It costs only the shipping according to the information page. The shipping charge is about $5.95-$6.95. You are told to try it out and if you are not satisfied you can cancel. Regardless of your actions, on your statement you will find a charge for the shipping the original package and then a charge of anywhere from $49.95-$69.95, which is supposed to be your next monthly installment since they are supposedly sending out another box of product for the second month. It is vital that you cancel this item before it reaches that stage. Unfortunately, most people who have signed up for this did not cancel the first part. Possibly they forgot about it since it was a FREE TRIAL OFFER and nothing else was sent out to the consumer. BEWARE. This is A SCAM!!!

Video Professor-This one requires only the $6.95 shipping charge. You can check out the item when you receive it and order others like it for a fee. At no time, are you told that it IS a trial period until you get the item in the mail. Items are CDs for learning how to write html or something else that you might not know about on a computer. The page looks like an online school of some sort. These are all learning CDs of one kind or another.

However, when you receive the item, you find in TINY print, that they are going to charge you $79.95 after the TRIAL period is over. This one we were involved in ourselves. I called the company. They were nice but wanting me to keep the item. I told them I did not want it and expected them to allow my returning it. It required a " return authorization number". If you do not get that, they will still charge you for $79.95. We returned the package with delivery confirmation. We received the card back and have not been charged the $79.95 to date. BUT, others have not received the item and have been charged $79.95 as well as a couple of charges for $5.95 (unknown) and a couple for $1.00 (unknown). What we have received though is a couple of $1.00 charges that are unknown since we cancelled all business with these people. That puts them into a fraud category unless they are willing to credit these charges back to us. We are still waiting on that. BEWARE!

In each of these cases, the people at the other end are hoping that you do not act on cancelling within a time period, whether you know what that is or not. They expect INACTION . Do not ignore these so-called FREE offers if you should get them. They will lead to unnecessary and unknown charges on your statement.

These and all others that you find must be reported to your local bank and authorities. Hopefully, they will be able to help you. If not, then take it to your attorney general in your state. If you do not do this, others will be scammed too and those who are doing this will reap much money. Then, they will switch to another product or sales pitch. In any case, these are scams and must be reported.

If you have others that you would like to include, please go to my comments section and send them to me. People will be able to access the comments section and be warned like I am warning you.

Update On The Pace Post

As usual, the media gets in there and the story goes off on it's own path...again. See, I read the story about General Pace. I read the remarks he made. In the article, he said that he was giving a personal opinion about homosexual and adultery type acts. That they were immoral. I congratulated him for his honesty!! But now, the MEDIA.....yes, those wonderful souls that can't even read their own copy.......has left out, conveniently, the reference to adultery so that they can sensationalize the piece.

The latest article talks about Sam Brownback, Senator from Kansas, getting in line with the General about the remarks. He agrees with him. Unfortunately, in the translation of that first article, in the second article the part about adultery is missing. They focus on the "gays shouldn't serve openly" part. Yes, he said that. However, read the first article. It is out of context. Nevertheless, the Senator is in General Pace's corner on this. He believes that all the criticism is wrong and unfortunate. The critics believe that a guy like the General has no right to state his views. I say that he does. Is this still America or not?

Of course, our front running Dems are all scrambling to stay away from the remarks made by General Pace. Now isn't that interesting. They seem to want to be removed from the limelight on this subject. At first I laughed about that but then it occurred to me that they are only interested in being critical when it is easy to be a critic. When the oven gets hot, they want no part of it. BAH!!! If that isn't reason enough to seek a candidate elsewhere, I don't know what is.

Update On The Pace Post

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback is backing the Pentagon's top general over his remarks that homosexual acts are immoral. The Kansas senator planned to send a letter on Thursday to President Bush supporting Marine Gen. Peter Pace, who earlier this week likened homosexuality to adultery and said the military should not condone it by allowing gay personnel to serve openly.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs also said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune: "I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe the United States is well-served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way."

More Heads Roll Over Walter Reed Debacle

FBI Oversteps With Patriot Act?

This is another Shame of America post, like it or not. It seems that the FBI has been underreporting it's use of the Patriot Act in order to force businesses to turn over records of their customers in a terrorist investigation. While the Patriot Act does appear to give such agencies broad scope in what they can do, it was obviously not enough for the FBI. Why not? They can practically do what they want now. Yet, that didn't do it for them. They had to go beyond that, allegedly.

The article states that a report from the Justice Dept., due out Friday, is blistering in it's assessment of the FBI's actions. In addition to forcing businesses to work with them, they were telling telecommunications companies that they would follow-up on this but never did.

Apparently, the FBI is allowed to send out national security letters in terrorism cases that do not have to have approval by a judge. These letters require businesses, telephone companies, credit bureaus, banks, internet service providers to provide very personal information about subscribers and customers.

I don't know about you but I do not feel that they should have the right to do this without approval of some judge somewhere. Of course, having seen what judges do, it is likely irrelevant anyway but it would be nice if they simply did not have all that power without some type of checks and balances.

FBI Oversteps With Patriot Act?

WASHINGTON (AP) - A blistering Justice Department report accuses the FBI of underreporting its use of the Patriot Act to force businesses to turn over customer information in terrorism cases, according to officials familiar with its findings.

The report, to be released Friday, also says the FBI failed to send follow-up subpoenas to telecommunications firms that were told to expect them, according to several government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report by the Justice Department's inspector general had not yet been released.

Overall, the FBI underreported the number of national security letters it issued by about 20 percent between 2003 and 2005, the officials said. In 2005 alone, the FBI delivered a total of 9,254 letters relating to 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents.

Walter Reed Debacle Fueling Dems

As is highly predictable, the democrats are using the Walter Reed debacle to slam the President again on his Iraq policies. With more and more people turning against our involvement in the war, criticism from the very people who approved of it in the first place is gaining tremendous strength. And of course, the dems are crying "failure, failure, failure" at the Bush administration.

Tuesday, President Bush told the American Legion that he was appointing a bipartisan committee to look into the mistreatment of wounded troops. He also directed the Veteran Affairs head to set up a task force to probe into the treatment of American troops in medical facilities. To cap the day, President Bush is inviting the press to a naturalization ceremony for 5 wounded soldiers.

The underlying problem here is that those who knew about this outrage should have acted on it. Sending troops to war is necessary. Taking care of them after they are wounded is essential and an obligation that we cannot shirk as Americans. How our troops are treated is vitally important to them, their families and to the US as a whole. How can we, in good conscience, call ourselves Christian, humane and compassionate if we are not that to our own troops??? What is it going to take in this country to wake America UP!!!!!

Make no mistake, it would be WRONG, WRONG, WRONG to bring home the troops right now. We are in this war. We are committed. If we do NOT win this thing, we are history as a respected country. The world opinion of us is deep in the hole now. How can we turn our backs on those we have committed to defend? It is our own fault that we are not respected now. This did NOT come with this particular President. It came way back when we turned tail and ran from the Vietnam war. We GAVE UP!! After all of those precious boys, men and women lost their lives, we snuck out of town. There are other places where we did the same. Do you honestly think that if we do this again, we will be respected, honored or treated as heroes?? No way. We will be second class. We call them third world countries. Some day, we will be that to them. Unless we change the tide NOW, RIGHT NOW!!!

How can we change our standing in the world? Get a grip, finish what we started in Iraq. You may not agree with the administration but we MUST finish what we have started. We were giving these people hope. You, who want to take the troops out, want to rip hope out from under them. You want to take their lifeline and cut it. Where is the humanity in that? I saw it today in a survey. The question was:

Do you think Congress should pass legislation requiring U.S. troops to come home from Iraq within six months if Iraqi leaders fail to meet promises to reduce violence?

And how many of the voters said yes? TOO MANY. You are believing the MEDIA hype. You are listening to the rhetoric of politicians who have agendas. These people are seeking office. Of course, they are going to tell you what you want to hear!! Get a clue, America!!!! When are you going to see the real enemy? Probably when it's already too late. That is not that far off.

Walter Reed Debacle Fueling Dems

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats are using the uproar over Walter Reed Army Medical Center as their latest cudgel to batter President Bush for his Iraq war policies as the administration shows signs it fears political damage from the revelations.

Reports of patient neglect and shoddy outpatient rooms at the hospital have brought Army brass to Capitol Hill to explain and apologize. Bush's handling of the war has been widely unpopular with voters, and reports about Walter Reed come on the heels of his decision to send more troops to Iraq - which has also met a negative response from the public.

Democrats are stepping up their anti-war rhetoric and casting Walter Reed as the latest Bush administration failure in planning for the war and other contingencies.

Perhaps it is time to get on our collective knees and pray to God that our country is still standing in a few months. It doesn't look too good from here.