A Sandy Hook Memorial

I meant to post this on Saturday, but with the little one being sick, time just got away from me.

I hope each and every one of you took some time to cherish the loves in your life and remember these lost lives on Saturday. For me, not a day goes by that I don't think about all of them.

You see, as a teacher, I took this especially hard, considering it had nothing to do with me. I told the hubs that I would absolutely have been the one to stand and protect my students.....my kids......from the madman that walked in with the intent to kill. And that terrified me.

Please take a moment to remember these sweet babies and the adults who tried to save them.

Their names and birthdates are:

Charlotte Bacon, 2/22/2006
Daniel Barden, 9/25/2005
Olivia Engel, 7/18/2006
Josephine Gay, 12/11/2005
Ana M Marquez-Greene, 4/4/2006
Dylan Hockley, 3/8/2006
Madeleine F Hsu, 7/10/2006
Catherine V Hubbard – 6/8/2006
Chase Kowalski, 10/31/2005
Jesse Lewis, 6/30/2006
James Mattioli, 3/22/2006
Grace McDonnell, 11/4/2005
Emilie Parker, 5/12/2006
Jack Pinto, 5/6/2006
Noah Pozner, 11/20/2006
Caroline Previdi, 9/7/2006
Jessica Rekos, 5/10/2006
Avielle Richman, 10/17/2006
Benjamin Wheeler, 9/12/2006
Allison N Wyatt, 7/3/2006

Adults listed as Sandy Hook Elementary victims were identified as well:

Rachel Davino, 7/17/1983
Dawn Hochsprung, 6/28/1965
Anne Marie Murphy, 7/25/1960
Lauren Russeau, 6/8/1982
Mary Sherlach, 2/11/1956
Victoria Soto, 11/04/1985

Dreaming of Adoption - Mike and Floyd

Meet Mike and Floyd.....two adorable guys who would make great parents. Please take a second to read this with an open mind. Go visit their Facebook page and given them a "like". These two are going to raise some amazing kids very soon.

Love and luck to the both of you....

One Blunt Mom

XOXOXOX

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Dreaming Adoption - Mike and Floyd


Introduction:

In September of 2003, our lives changed forever. We met in San Francisco, at a local Mexican restaurant, after chatting online for a few weeks. It was the beginning of a friendship that would lead us down the path of starting a family together.

For years, we talked about how one day we would love to start a family together. At first we were living in a small apartment and working on getting our careers going. We knew it would take time and groundwork, to build a solid foundation, that would one day support our dream. 

Building the foundation:

Today, we feel like that foundation is ready to start building our family on. We have a four bedroom house in San Jose, CA where we envision our child running in the yard, playing at the park down the road and enjoying the endless possibilities that the entire San Francisco Bay area has to offer. We have a second home in South Lake Tahoe, CA where we envision ample amounts of family memories such as boating, skiing and hiking.

The options:

We began researching our options, of starting our family, as a same sex couple. We researched surrogacy both domestically and internationally. We attended foster care training through the county and we started researching adoption agencies. We found the pros and cons of each of them and ultimately decided that a private, open adoption, would be best for us at the moment in time.

Why we chose the Open Adoption route:

We will take great comfort in knowing that our child will know his or her birth mother from the beginning. Our child will not need to go searching for unanswered questions later in life. We will let our child know that he or she was not given up on but given a chance. That his or her birth mother was strong and loving enough to make a decision that would benefit this child in the best possible way.

The birth parents will take comfort in knowing that their child is being well taken care of by seeing pictures of the child as she or he grows up, video conferencing and even in-person meets. The birth parents will be able to tell the child themselves how much they loved them and they wanted to give him or her a life that they just weren't able to give them at the time.

The difficult search:

One thing we did not know about adoption, when we started this process, was the competitiveness. Many more families are searching for children to adopt than children being placed for adoption. Some families, working with a lawyer or agency, rely solely on them to find them a mother who is considering adoption. Many families wait years until they are matched with a birth mother. Some give up hope during the process. The way we see this approach is compared to looking for a job by posting your resume on a job board and just waiting for someone to call you.

The social media plan:

Being matched with a birth mother is all about networking. It only takes that one mother who is considering adoption to make your dreams come true. Finding that mother is all about having as many eyes and ears helping you as possible. We created a facebook page to describe ourselves and our dreams to adopt. We shared it with our friends and asked them to share it with their friends and so on.

We make regular updates to the page, and hope to keep reminding everyone, to keep their eyes and ears open, for that one special mother. At times it feels awkward putting yourself out there. Especially being a same sex couple, you're really putting yourself out there, in front of a lot of people, all with different opinions. We have received a lot of positive feedback from people wishing us well and looking forward to the day we are able to announce the arrival of our child. 

Our facebook page is our way of proactively looking for that "job" instead of just placing our resume on the job board and waiting for an employer to call. We hope and pray that you are willing to help us spread the word, share our facebook page and help make our dreams come true.

With love and gratitude,

Mike and Floyd

https://www.facebook.com/mikeandfloyd 

Email us directly: mikeandfloyd@gmail.com

Meet Mike and Floyd here:

Mike and Floyd - Adoptive Parent Profile

If you're only going to read one thing today, PLEASE make it this.....

So I'm sitting at my computer, just catching up on stuff, and D2 (the 3 year old) is sitting behind me playing on the iPad.

And then this comes up on my Facebook feed. As soon as I saw the pic of the doggie I knew it was going to make me cry. And I am still crying.

We, as people, as parents, as a NATION......we take SO VERY MUCH for granted. We don't wake up daily wondering if there are going to be snipers in the upper windows of  city buildings, or ethnic raids, or bombs dropped at random moments. We don't worry about suicide bombers and terrorist threats. We just don't. 

Yes, we've had terrible things happen. The mass shootings, September 11th, Oklahoma City, etc. But there are people in other countries who live in constant, debilitating fear.....fear of just going out for necessities. I don't think anything of jumping in the car to go to the store, or to go have a coffee, or just to go shopping. I completely take for granted that I am, for all intents and purposes, safe. 

All of the political nonsense going on.....people arguing and fighting over ridiculous things.....all of it means squat when compared to the sacrifices our servicemen and women give every single day. And then for them to come home and basically be told, "You're on your own," is so very wrong. 

America doesn't have a political problem, America has a PRIORITIES problem.

THANK YOU TO EVERY SINGLE SOLDIER WHO IS SERVING OR WHO HAS SERVED AMERICA. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. For me, for my children, for my family......THANK YOU. I cannot say it enough. 

 

"If you’re only going to read one thing today, read this…

18 November, 2013 in Animals, Images | Comment

** http://themetapicture.com/if-youre-only-going-to-read-one-thing-today-read-this/

Who is One Blunt Mom? Here ya go.

At one point or another I've pretty much covered all of this on Facebook or on the blog. But we've got lots of new people, so here's a synopsis.....


- I make no apologies for who I am. I will be the first to apologize when I am wrong about something.

- I live in Texas. Rick Perry is an ass, Ted Cruz is worse, and I could go on and on listing the problems with the "good ole' boy" network prevalent in this state. Wendy Davis is going to change that, though. <3

- I was born in California, raised in Texas, and did a 7 year stint living in Massachusetts until last year. Kind of gave me a new perspective on lots of things.

- I'm mom to two beautiful girls, ages 8 and 3. The oldest is in third grade and the youngest is in preschool. I usually refer to them as D1 and D2. Although, I might change that to Thing 1 and Thing 2, considering they're both tiny tornadoes in my house. They are the lights of my life, sometimes the bane of my existence, and they make me crazy a lot of the time. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

- My husband is amazing. No, he's not perfect by any means, but he provides well for his family, he loves me, and his two little girls have him wrapped around their little fingers.

- I'm 42 years old. I tell you that so that you get a perspective of where I am in life. I'm not just starting out, I have plenty of life experiences, etc.

- I've worked with children since I was 12. I have a background in early childhood education, I worked in preschool, and I taught elementary school. My degree (which I paid for, working full time while going to school full time) includes a double minor in math and reading. I stopped teaching when D1 was born to stay home and raise her, and then her sister arrived. :) With regards to teaching, I have some pretty strong opinions. The No Child Left Behind Act was the worst thing to ever happen to the education system in this country. It assumes all children learn the same way at the same rate. They don't. I also despise standardized testing. I think it should be done away with. Here's my solution to the problems with the education system: pay teachers a livable wage, reward good teachers, get rid of the bad or ineffective teachers, and then let the teachers do their jobs. It's not that hard.

- The hubs and I met when I was teaching. I had my own apartment, I was paying my own bills, living independently. On a teacher's salary, that was tough a lot of the time, so when I met him I was working a second job in retail to make ends meet.

- I volunteer in my community, I'm involved in local politics, we give to charities, and we are involved in our children's schools and in our neighborhood.

- I believe in manners, courtesy, politeness, and kindness, but I also believe in not letting anyone walk all over you. Use your voice, but use it well. That being said, if you come on here and the first thing you do to argue is insult me, it's on. Try "I don't agree, and here's why....".

- The hubs and I are agnostic. We were both raised in "Christian" households (his more than mine). He says that he was disillusioned because there seemed to be so many hypocrites, and his family seemed to pick a church based on how pretty it was more than anything else.  My parents were divorced when I was nine.....a nasty, hate-filled debacle. My mother remarried, a man she didn't love, and they were miserable for 26 years. I watched people profess to follow the Bible while living completely differently. I have family who are true, Southern, Bible Belt Baptists, and some of them are the most ignorant, intolerant, hateful people I've ever known.

- I respect other religions. I really do. I've said that I envy people with strong faith. I have NEVER, EVER harbored the attitude that just because someone else believes differently than I do, that makes them wrong. For all we know, they could be right. What I do have a problem with is people who think the lives of others should be governed by their own beliefs. If you believe the teachings of the Bible, good for you. You do not get to tell others how to live their lives because of it. If you come on my page and start telling me or anyone else that we're all going to hell because of what the bible says, you're going to be banned. If that's what you believe, fine. Your faith should be between YOU, your GOD, your family, and your church.

- We teach our girls to be respectful of everyone. I don't care what color you are, where you are from, what you look like, what you wear, or anything else. If you are a good person, you are kind, and you treat people with respect unless you are given a reason not to......then you will get the same from us. Children are not born bigoted, racist, or intolerant.

-  I completely, unequivocally believe in equal rights for all. If you don't agree with that, I am sorry for you. Who are any of us to deny anyone else the chance to be happy? Life is too short for that.

- I also believe in some form of gun control. No, I do not advocate repealing the 2nd Amendment. But the founding fathers never imagined the level of weaponry we have readily available to the general public today. Just this morning there was another story of a toddler finding a loaded gun and killing herself. What is it going to take for that kind of insanity to stop?

- I am a HUGE, GINORMOUS advocate of common sense. That means thinking for yourself, researching what you don't know, admitting when you're wrong, and knowing what's right and wrong, and what's fact and fiction.

So that's it. That's pretty much me. If you have a question about something that I didn't cover, please just ask.

And THANK YOU for reading and following.

XOXOXOX

One Blunt Mom

Stop the insanity! -OR- How the spread of misinformation is tearing this country apart.

People, PLEASE......stop the insanity. Stop spreading misinformation. If you're unsure about something, ask. If you don't understand something, find the answer. If you disagree with someone, then argue your point.....WITHOUT name-calling, WITHOUT resorting to personal insults, and WITHOUT repeating the same inaccurate information over and over again. I am begging you. When you post and re-post without checking the validity of said post, you are doing nothing but perpetuating the paranoia and giving fodder to the sheep. 

Start sharing the truth. Here are some facts to get you started:

• Congress is not exempt from the Affordable Care Act. No, they're not. No really.....no, I'm not wrong, they really aren't. I promise.
• If you have insurance, you can keep your insurance. If your insurance has raised your premiums by outrageous amounts or if it has dropped your policy, that is the fault of your insurance company, NOT the ACA. Who do you think are some of the major backers of the fight against the ACA? Insurance companies. 
• Doctors who complain that the ACA costing their patients huge amounts of money, or costing them huge amounts of money, are using scare tactics. Plain and simple.  Doctors who tell you otherwise are more concerned about their pocketbook than your health. 
• We have all been supporting social medicine. It's called the emergency room. Now, people won't be able to use the emergency room as their free, personal general practitioners. 
• This nation was not founded on Christianity. It really wasn't. It doesn't take much research to learn that truth. Some of the first settlers came here to escape religious persecution. And, newsflash: religious freedom does not mean the freedom for you to make everyone believe what you believe. 
• Obama is NOT from Kenya. His ancestry is from Kenya. And unless you're 100% Native American, your ancestors weren't from here, either. 
• He is also not Muslim. And, brace yourselves......even if he were, that would not preclude him from being the President of the United States. 
• There was no voter fraud involved in the election of the President. He won fair and square. Those who oppose him love to use this falsehood to demonize him. In fact, read this: Voter Fraud Facts.
• A person's sexual orientation is no one else's business. If you're opposed to homosexuality, then stay heterosexual. It's that simple. 
• If you seriously think the earth is only 9000 years old, there's no help for you.
• One of the major backers of the Tea Party is the Ku Klux Klan. Still think they love this country? Some of them might, but they hate the President more. 
• It's ok to disagree with the President. It's ok to disagree with his policies. It's NOT ok to turn a blind eye to fact and reason simply because you dislike him. And if you dislike him only because of the color of his skin, well.......I have nothing else to say to you.
• There are many, many more. Do some research yourselves.

Why, as a mom, am I posting this? Because I want a better future for my daughters. I want them to know that there are good people out there who want what's best for them. I want them to know that even though they might disagree with someone or vice versa, there are ways to debate and argue points without resorting to insults. I want them to grow up knowing how to use their voices to affect real change, and how to stand up for what they believe is right. 

And I also want them to know that even if you disagree with him, we respect the President of the United States. We do not call him a "monkey", a "Kenyan imposter", a "dirty Muslim", a "terrorist", a "tyrant", an "imitator", or any of the other derogatory terms I've seen and heard people say about him. We do not EVER, and I mean NEVER......judge a person based on the color of their skin. Ever. 

So please read the President's speech. And please do so with an open mind. I'm asking you as a MOM.

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REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON THE REOPENING OF THE GOVERNMENT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. Please have a seat.

Well, last night, I signed legislation to reopen our government and pay America’s bills. Because Democrats and responsible Republicans came together, the first government shutdown in 17 years is now over. The first default in more than 200 years will not happen. These twin threats to our economy have now been lifted. And I want to thank those Democrats and Republicans for getting together and ultimately getting this job done.

Now, there’s been a lot of discussion lately of the politics of this shutdown. But let’s be clear: There are no winners here. These last few weeks have inflicted completely unnecessary damage on our economy. We don’t know yet the full scope of the damage, but every analyst out there believes it slowed our growth.

We know that families have gone without paychecks or services they depend on. We know that potential homebuyers have gotten fewer mortgages, and small business loans have been put on hold. We know that consumers have cut back on spending, and that half of all CEOs say that the shutdown and the threat of shutdown set back their plans to hire over the next six months. We know that just the threat of default -- of America not paying all the bills that we owe on time -- increased our borrowing costs, which adds to our deficit.

And, of course, we know that the American people’s frustration with what goes on in this town has never been higher. That's not a surprise that the American people are completely fed up with Washington. At a moment when our economic recovery demands more jobs, more momentum, we've got yet another self-inflicted crisis that set our economy back. And for what?

There was no economic rationale for all of this. Over the past four years, our economy has been growing, our businesses have been creating jobs, and our deficits have been cut in half. We hear some members who pushed for the shutdown say they were doing it to save the American economy -- but nothing has done more to undermine our economy these past three years than the kind of tactics that create these manufactured crises.

And you don’t have to take my word for it. The agency that put America’s credit rating on watch the other day explicitly cited all of this, saying that our economy “remains more dynamic and resilient” than other advanced economies, and that the only thing putting us at risk is -- and I'm quoting here -- “repeated brinksmanship.” That's what the credit rating agency said. That wasn’t a political statement; that was an analysis of what’s hurting our economy by people whose job it is to analyze these things.

That also happens to be the view of our diplomats who’ve been hearing from their counterparts internationally. Some of the same folks who pushed for the shutdown and threatened default claim their actions were needed to get America back on the right track, to make sure we're strong. But probably nothing has done more damage to America's credibility in the world, our standing with other countries, than the spectacle that we've seen these past several weeks. It's encouraged our enemies. It's emboldened our competitors. And it's depressed our friends who look to us for steady leadership.

Now, the good news is we'll bounce back from this. We always do. America is the bedrock of the global economy for a reason. We are the indispensable nation that the rest of the world looks to as the safest and most reliable place to invest -- something that’s made it easier for generations of Americans to invest in their own futures. We have earned that responsibility over more than two centuries because of the dynamism of our economy and our entrepreneurs, the productivity of our workers, but also because we keep our word and we meet our obligations. That’s what full faith and credit means -- you can count on us.

And today, I want our people and our businesses and the rest of the world to know that the full faith and credit of the United States remains unquestioned.

But to all my friends in Congress, understand that how business is done in this town has to change. Because we've all got a lot of work to do on behalf of the American people -- and that includes the hard work of regaining their trust. Our system of self-government doesn’t function without it. And now that the government is reopened, and this threat to our economy is removed, all of us need to stop focusing on the lobbyists and the bloggers and the talking heads on radio and the professional activists who profit from conflict, and focus on what the majority of Americans sent us here to do, and that’s grow this economy; create good jobs; strengthen the middle class; educate our kids; lay the foundation for broad-based prosperity and get our fiscal house in order for the long haul. That’s why we're here. That should be our focus.

Now, that won't be easy. We all know that we have divided government right now. There's a lot of noise out there, and the pressure from the extremes affect how a lot of members of Congress see the day-to-day work that’s supposed to be done here. And let's face it, the American people don’t see every issue the same way. But that doesn’t mean we can't make progress. And when we disagree, we don’t have to suggest that the other side doesn’t love this country or believe in free enterprise, or all the other rhetoric that seems to get worse every single year. If we disagree on something, we can move on and focus on the things we agree on, and get some stuff done.

Let me be specific about three places where I believe we can make progress right now. First, in the coming days and weeks, we should sit down and pursue a balanced approach to a responsible budget, a budget that grows our economy faster and shrinks our long-term deficits further.
At the beginning of this year, that’s what both Democrats and Republicans committed to doing. The Senate passed a budget; House passed a budget; they were supposed to come together and negotiate. And had one side not decided to pursue a strategy of brinksmanship, each side could have gotten together and figured out, how do we shape a budget that provides certainty to businesses and people who rely on government, provides certainty to investors in our economy, and we’d be growing faster right now.

Now, the good news is the legislation I signed yesterday now requires Congress to do exactly that -- what it could have been doing all along.

And we shouldn’t approach this process of creating a budget as an ideological exercise -- just cutting for the sake of cutting. The issue is not growth versus fiscal responsibility -- we need both. We need a budget that deals with the issues that most Americans are focused on: creating more good jobs that pay better wages.

And remember, the deficit is getting smaller, not bigger. It’s going down faster than it has in the last 50 years. The challenges we have right now are not short-term deficits; it’s the long-term obligations that we have around things like Medicare and Social Security. We want to make sure those are there for future generations.

So the key now is a budget that cuts out the things that we don’t need, closes corporate tax loopholes that don’t help create jobs, and frees up resources for the things that do help us grow -- like education and infrastructure and research. And these things historically have not been partisan. And this shouldn’t be as difficult as it’s been in past years because we already spend less than we did a few years ago. Our deficits are half of what they were a few years ago. The debt problems we have now are long term, and we can address them without shortchanging our kids, or shortchanging our grandkids, or weakening the security that current generations have earned from their hard work.

So that’s number one. Number two, we should finish fixing the job of -- let me say that again. Number two, we should finish the job of fixing our broken immigration system.

There's already a broad coalition across America that’s behind this effort of comprehensive immigration reform -- from business leaders to faith leaders to law enforcement. In fact, the Senate has already passed a bill with strong bipartisan support that would make the biggest commitment to border security in our history; would modernize our legal immigration system; make sure everyone plays by the same rules, makes sure that folks who came here illegally have to pay a fine, pay back taxes, meet their responsibilities. That bill has already passed the Senate. And economists estimate that if that bill becomes law, our economy would be 5 percent larger two decades from now. That’s $1.4 trillion in new economic growth.

The majority of Americans think this is the right thing to do. And it's sitting there waiting for the House to pass it. Now, if the House has ideas on how to improve the Senate bill, let's hear them. Let's start the negotiations. But let's not leave this problem to keep festering for another year, or two years, or three years. This can and should get done by the end of this year.
Number three, we should pass a farm bill, one that American farmers and ranchers can depend on; one that protects vulnerable children and adults in times of need; one that gives rural communities opportunities to grow and the long-term certainty that they deserve.

Again, the Senate has already passed a solid bipartisan bill. It's got support from Democrats and Republicans. It's sitting in the House waiting for passage. If House Republicans have ideas that they think would improve the farm bill, let's see them. Let's negotiate. What are we waiting for? Let's get this done.

So, passing a budget; immigration reform; farm bill. Those are three specific things that would make a huge difference in our economy right now. And we could get them done by the end of the year if our focus is on what's good for the American people. And that’s just the big stuff. There are all kinds of other things that we could be doing that don’t get as much attention.

I understand we will not suddenly agree on everything now that the cloud of crisis has passed. Democrats and Republicans are far apart on a lot of issues. And I recognize there are folks on the other side who think that my policies are misguided -- that’s putting it mildly. That’s okay. That’s democracy. That’s how it works. We can debate those differences vigorously, passionately, in good faith, through the normal democratic process.

And sometimes, we'll be just too far apart to forge an agreement. But that should not hold back our efforts in areas where we do agree. We shouldn’t fail to act on areas that we do agree or could agree just because we don’t think it's good politics; just because the extremes in our party don’t like the word “compromise.”

I will look for willing partners wherever I can to get important work done. And there's no good reason why we can't govern responsibly, despite our differences, without lurching from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis. In fact, one of the things that I hope all of us have learned these past few weeks is that it turns out smart, effective government is important. It matters. I think the American people during this shutdown had a chance to get some idea of all the things, large and small, that government does that make a difference in people's lives.

We hear all the time about how government is the problem. Well, it turns out we rely on it in a whole lot of ways. Not only does it keep us strong through our military and our law enforcement, it plays a vital role in caring for our seniors and our veterans, educating our kids, making sure our workers are trained for the jobs that are being created, arming our businesses with the best science and technology so they can compete with companies from other countries. It plays a key role in keeping our food and our toys and our workplaces safe. It helps folks rebuild after a storm. It conserves our natural resources. It finances startups. It helps to sell our products overseas. It provides security to our diplomats abroad.

So let's work together to make government work better, instead of treating it like an enemy or purposely making it work worse. That’s not what the founders of this nation envisioned when they gave us the gift of self-government. You don’t like a particular policy or a particular president, then argue for your position. Go out there and win an election. Push to change it. But don’t break it. Don’t break what our predecessors spent over two centuries building. That's not being faithful to what this country is about.

And that brings me to one last point. I’ve got a simple message for all the dedicated and patriotic federal workers who’ve either worked without pay or been forced off the job without pay these past few weeks, including most of my own staff: Thank you. Thanks for your service. Welcome back. What you do is important. It matters.

You defend our country overseas. You deliver benefits to our troops who’ve earned them when they come home. You guard our borders. You protect our civil rights. You help businesses grow and gain footholds in overseas markets. You protect the air we breathe and the water our children drink. And you push the boundaries of science and space, and you guide hundreds of thousands of people each day through the glories of this country. Thank you. What you do is important. And don't let anybody else tell you different. Especially the young people who come to this city to serve -- believe that it matters. Well, you know what, you’re right. It does.

And those of us who have the privilege to serve this country have an obligation to do our job as best we can. We come from different parties, but we are Americans first. And that’s why disagreement cannot mean dysfunction. It can't degenerate into hatred. The American people’s hopes and dreams are what matters, not ours. Our obligations are to them. Our regard for them compels us all, Democrats and Republicans, to cooperate, and compromise, and act in the best interests of our nation –- one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Thanks very much.

 — with Barack Obama.

Don't get spun by Internet rumors. (From www.factcheck.org)

Words cannot express how tired I am of the drama. Watching and listening to these politicians is worse than nails on a chalkboard. I am amazed that these right wing nutjobs claim to be pro-life, and yet many of the victims of this shutdown are children. The propaganda being spewed by those against the AFFORDABLE CARE ACT is mind-boggling. What's even worse is the number of people who actually believe most of it. And the birthers.....holy crap. Obama is not Kenyan, his ancestry is from Kenya. And unless you are 100% Native American, your ancestors weren't from here either. He is also not Muslim. And even if he were, that would not preclude him from being the President of the United States.

Seriously, people......the Koolaid is BEYOND tainted and you shouldn't be drinking it. And you look pretty silly in those tin foil hats.

Just sayin'.

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From www.factcheck.org:

Don’t get spun by Internet rumors.

Just because you read it on somebody’s blog or in an email from a friend or relative doesn’t mean it’s true. It’s probably not, as we advised in our special report “Is this chain e-mail true?” on March 18, 2008. On this page we feature a list of the false or misleading viral rumors we’re asked about most often, and a brief summary of the facts. But click on the links to read the full articles. There is a lot more detail in each answer. If you’re looking for articles about other viral claims, please use our search function.

Will doctors be required to ask patients questions about their sexual history under the Affordable Care Act?
No. A program created by the stimulus law – not Obamacare — encourages health professionals to use electronic records. But there is no requirement in the program to ask anything about sexual history.
Oct. 1, 2013

Does the health care law contain a “hidden” tax on hunting and fishing equipment?
No. There is a 2.3 percent excise tax on certain medical devices. Cabela’s, a Nebraska sporting goods company, applied the tax to some of its customers’ purchases by mistake.
Sep. 18, 2013

Will there be forced home inspections under the Affordable Care Act?
No. The law provides grants for state home-visiting programs for expectant and new parents. The programs are voluntary and participants can opt out any time.
Aug. 26, 2013

Is it true that there are bills in Congress that would exempt members and their staffs and families from buying into “Obamacare”?
No. Congress members and staffers will be required to buy insurance through the exchanges on Jan. 1.
May 3, 2013; Updated on Aug. 7, 2013

Do 11 states now have more people on welfare than they have employed?
A viral email making this claim is off base. It distorts a Forbes article that compares private-sector workers with those “dependent on the government,” including government workers and pensioners, and Medicaid recipients — not just “people on welfare.”
Jan. 11, 2013

Is President Obama honoring Jane Fonda as one of the women of the century?
No. That was done 11 years ago by Barbara Walters of ABC News.
Nov. 22, 2010

Did Muslim terrorists stage a “dry run” on AirTran flight 297?
The airline and an eyewitness say this e-mailed claim is “an urban legend” spread by persons who “live in a fantasy world.”
Dec. 14, 2009

Are Obama’s early records “sealed”?
No. Many records that presidential candidates don’t ordinarily release do remain confidential, but they are not “sealed” by a court. The 16 claims in a widely distributed graphic are mostly false or distorted.
July 31, 2012

Does the Obama administration intend to “force gun control and a complete ban on all weapons for U.S. citizens” through a United Nations treaty?
No. The administration plans to negotiate a treaty to regulate the international export and import of weapons. It says that it won’t support any treaty that regulates the domestic transfer or ownership of weapons, or that infringes on the Second Amendment.
June 27, 2012

Did Barack and Michelle Obama “surrender” their law licenses to avoid ethics charges?
No. A court official confirms that no public disciplinary proceeding has ever been brought against either of them, contrary to a false Internet rumor. By voluntarily inactivating their licenses, they avoid a requirement to take continuing education classes and pay hundreds of dollars in annual fees. Both could practice law again if they chose to do so.
June 14, 2012

Is it true that members of Congress, their staffers and their family members do not have to pay back their student loans?
Not true. Some congressional employees are eligible to have up to $60,000 of student loans repaid after several years — just like other federal workers. But that’s not the case for members of Congress or their families.
Jan. 6, 2011

Is there any truth in the e-mail claiming to give “a few highlights from the first 500 pages of the Healthcare bill”?
Barely. We examined all 48 claims, finding 26 of them to be false and 18 to be misleading, only partly true or half true. Only four are accurate.
Aug. 28, 2009

Will Muslim Americans be exempt from the mandate to have health insurance? 
The Muslim faith does not forbid purchasing health insurance, and no Muslim group has ever been considered exempt under the definitions used in the health care law.
May 20, 2010

What about the “Congressional Reform Act of 2011″?
A viral e-mail calls for fixing some abuses and excesses that don’t exist, repeating misinformed claims that we’ve addressed before.
March 18, 2011

Does Illinois pay a grandmother $1,500 per month per child to be the foster parent to her eight grandchildren?
No. State officials have no record of such a case, and state law would not allow it. This second-hand story spread by a Danville urologist isn’t true.
Dec. 10, 2010

Has President Obama canceled the May 6 National Day of Prayer?
No. This widely circulated falsehood echoes similar claims made last year when the president issued a pro-prayer-day proclamation but didn’t hold White House services as President Bush had done.
April 29, 2010

Is the ACLU suing to have cross-shaped headstones removed from military cemeteries?
The ACLU has filed no such suit, and it hasn’t sued to “end prayer from the military” either.
July 5, 2009

Has a “smoking gun” been found to prove Obama was not born a U.S. citizen? Did he attend Occidental College on a scholarship for foreign students?
This chain e-mail is a transparent April Fools’ Day hoax. It fabricates an AP news story about an nonexistent group, and makes false claims about Obama and the Fulbright program.
May 7, 2009

Is Congress about to give Social Security to illegal immigrants?
No. Congress hasn’t voted on any measure to pay benefits to illegal immigrants, and has no plans for any such vote.
March 1, 2009
(This long-standing falsehood was bandied about back in 2006 and again during the 2008 presidential election.)

Was Obama born in the U.S.A.?
Yes. We give you the truth about Obama’s birth certificate.
Aug. 21, 2008
Updated Nov. 1, 2008

Is there a connection between FactCheck.org and Barack Obama or Bill Ayers?
None, aside from benefiting at different times from the charity of the late publisher Walter Annenberg. We are a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania and get funding from the Annenberg Foundation, created by Walter Annenberg in 1989. Ayers was one of three Chicago educators who applied for a grant from the Annenberg Foundation in 1995, which was one of 5,200 grants the foundation made during its first 15 years. That $49 million grant, plus additional funds raised locally, funded the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which sought to improve Chicago public schools. Obama was selected by Chicago officials (not Ayers) to chair the board set up to administer Annenberg Challenge funds, and he headed it until 1999. FactCheck.org came into being in late 2003. For other details see our Oct. 10, 2008, article about Obama and Ayers, which includes a sidebar: “FactCheck.org and the ‘Annenberg Challenge.’ “

Today We Mourn the Passing of COMMON SENSE

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: 
Knowing when to come in out of the rain; 
Why the early bird gets the worm; 
Life isn't always fair; 
and
Maybe it was my fault. 

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). 

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6 -year- old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. 

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Tylenol, sun lotion or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. 

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. 

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. 

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. 

He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim. 

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

The Day I Almost Threw My Baby Down the Trash Chute

Yeah, so let me explain.....before Child Services and the FBI show up at my door. Wait, there's the doorbell.......pizza's here!

So there was life before children. You know, life where you didn't worry about getting home at a certain hour, where staying out until last call was pretty much a given on the weekends, and you could go to the grocery store whenever you wanted, even a couple of times in one day if you had to. Alone. With time to browse. Actually read a label or two. Grown up stuff.

Now I don't know about most of you, but I didn't have my first child until I was over thirty. Before that, I worked in child care, retail, and as a teacher in elementary school. I've worked with kids of all ages since I was twelve.....babysitting, working with camps, at church (yes, I actually went to church), and volunteering. I'd always wanted to be a teacher, and so I put myself through college, got my degree, and worked for the public school system for several years.

For years I had the chance to observe the parents of the children I worked with. Parents of varying age, experience, backgrounds, and ideas. I would think to myself often that, "I'll do that differently", or, "Wow I'm going to have to remember that when I have kids," or, "Oh HELL no that did NOT just happen."

Kids throwing a fit in a restaurant? Oh my children would be taught to know better. Child pitching a fit in the grocery store over candy? My children will be standing quietly, hands folded behind their back, waiting patiently for me to finish checking out. Teenager in the department store arguing about why she needs a $100 pair of jeans? Oh no, my children will be taught to be respectful and to value themselves, no matter what they're wearing. I was full of judgement and self-righteousness, knowing that when I had my own children, things were going to be different.

And WOW are they different.

We all hear the saying that babies don't come with owner's manuals. There is SO MUCH that you don't get told about what it's like to all of the sudden have this tiny life literally in your hands. And you're expected to keep it alive. For like, EVER. Sure, they'll help you learn to breast feed, they'll ask you if you know how to change a diaper, they'll even help you give the baby a sponge bath in the hospital. They'll show you how to swaddle, how to support her head, the basic stuff. Then they'll send you home  like you know what you're doing. And you leave the hospital absolutely terrified.

And then it sets in. PARENTAL PARANOIA. Come on.....you know you've had it. Situations that before seemed completely innocent are now danger-prone death traps that might harm your newborn baby. You'll conjure up these ridiculous scenarios of what MIGHT happen to the point that you'll give yourself mini panic attacks thinking they could actually come true.

Hence the trash chute. When my oldest was just barely a year old, we moved up to the Boston area. Until we found a house, we had a temporary apartment in the city. We were on the 8th floor. My husband went to work every day, leaving me, the baby and the dog to fend for ourselves in a city I knew nothing about. I do know that I am NOT an urban dweller. By any stretch. I need grass. (No, not that kind.) But I digress. Anyway, to take out your trash, you had to go down the hall, use a key to open the trash closet door, and put the trash down the chute. Most of the time, I was holding my daughter in one arm and holding the trash in the other. After doing that a few times, I told my husband that I would no longer take the trash down, he would have to do it. Why? Because I would have little panic attacks as I stood there and I would think to myself, "What if I put the wrong one down the trash chute?" I would envision this to the point where I would literally get sick to my stomach.

Now OF COURSE that wasn't going to happen. I am not a complete idiot. I do have my moments, but for the most part I'm a pretty intelligent, level-headed girl. Really I am. But having this little life that I was completely responsible for just changed my perception on so many things. Normal, every day things. Simple, common sense things. But you become so much more aware of the dangers out there, the things that can hurt you, your child, your family.........and I haven't even gotten to the dangers that include the crazy people. That's a whole other blog for a whole other day. Hell, that's a book right there.

So, parental paranoia. It's that feeling of panic when you can't see your child in the department store even though you know for a fact that he's standing on the other side of the t-shirt you're looking at. It's those ridiculous scenarios you'll create in your head when you're driving down the road about what exactly would happen if the car went into the lake.......how would you get out? How would you get the kids out? Then you realize you live in a desert. It's the wide-eyed panic you feel when your little one is eating a cracker and coughs.....and you're sure they're choking to death and you hope to God you can remember how to do the Heimlich on a toddler. It's seeing the video of the woman leaving her stroller on the train platform......and the stroller rolling off.......and the train hitting it (the baby, miraculously, was fine)......and thinking to yourself that you're going to handcuff yourself to the handle of your stroller every single time you use it from now on. It's checking on your newborn fifteen times a night during their first year because you've been staring at the video monitor for an hour and you just can't be sure they're still breathing. It's all of those things that common sense would tell you don't make sense, and yet it doesn't matter.

It's Parental Paranoia. And no one tells you about it. And it doesn't go away. But it's real. It's out there. And it's not fun.

Good grief......when my kids start driving I might just have to check myself into a mental institution.

OBM

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Tattler Thursday Blog & Social Media Hop!!!

Re-posted from The Precious Princess's Guide to Bananaland:

Tattler Thursday Blog & Social Media Hop!

Welcome everybody *waving frantically*! I'm so excited to be here co-hosting the Tattler Thursday Hop. Probably more excited than I should be. I'm an odd bird. Whatever. That doesn't change the fact that this is a great hop to share your all your social media links. I know stuff. I'll shut up now and you go and link up. Go head, do it. - PPB

Hiya Snappers! Welcome back to the 18th week of the Tattler Thursday Blog and Social Network Hop!

It's time to tattle and hop!

It's a share your crazy, gross, hilarious, in-the-trenches parenthood stories, kind of blog hop! We love funny kid stories and we want to hear yours!

Just leave a comment with your story, post not required! So think of your funniest, wackiest or favorite kid stories, leave a comment  with your story/tattle, follow your Hostesses and Co-Hostesses, visit and discover other blogs, and have fun!

Remember the easiest way to get a follow back is to like/follow other pages and leave a comment! So hop around, tell your friends and share, share, share! This is a hop designed for you to have fun and share! Happy Tattling!

 about the Blog Hop HERE!

This week's featured blogger of the week is, Literally Vague from Chaos With A Curve! Go check their site out! It is a conglomeration of 4 women bloggers who blog together because they want to be heard. Because they have something to say, whether you want to read it or not.  Thanks for commenting last week Literally Vague ! You are now entered to be featured on The tattler's Studio next month!



To be picked as next week's featured blogger of the week, and to be eligible for September's Tattler's Studio featured post on W3G, all about you and your blog, simply comment on one of the three Hostesses blogs with a funny, silly, gross, scary, wacky, or crazy kid story!

	The Rules are:
	1- Follow Your Host and Co-Hostesses
	2- Grab the button and display it on your blog or hop page/section
	3- Leave a comment with a funny, wacky, or gross kid story/tattle

*Be Sure to Hop over to other blogs and visit/network and share the Hop

*Have fun Hopping! (and come back next week!)

---

  Your Hostesses

The Co-Hostesses

    

    

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LINK UP your BLOG here!

1.	The Wild and Wonderful World of Gingerssnaps {Hostess}	10.	Mom In Wonderland	19.	We Made That
2.	CHill Thoughts {Hostess}	11.	It's why you like me	20.	What's Up with the Wilhelms
3.	ComfyTown Chronicles {Hostess}	12.	Chaos with a Curve	21.	The Undead Journals
4.	Baby for Scale {Co-Hostess}	13.	The Jenny Evolution	22.	Caffeinated Chronicles of a Supermom
5.	Completebliss {Co-Hostess}	14.	Momasaurus	23.	Whitney
6.	New Mama Diaries {Co-Hostess}	15.	Trista @ A Purpose Driven Wife	24.	Shamene@Say it with Cake
7.	The Precious Princess's Guide to Bananaland {Co-Hostess}	16.	Laugh Lines	25.	Domesticated Breakdown
8.	Out Little Life	17.	Le Petite Paradis (FOLLOWS BACK)	26.	Cant Google Everything
9.	Mamamusing	18.	Ann @ Such a Mama	27.	One Blunt Mom

(Submissions close in 5d 4h 48m)

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LINK UP your Facebook here!

1.	The Wild and Wonderful World of Gingerssnaps {Hostess}	11.	Chaos with a Curve (follows back!)	21.	What's Up with the Wilhelms (likes back)
2.	ComfyTown Chronicles {Hostess}	12.	Estes Family Blog	22.	The Undead Journals
3.	CHill Thoughts {Hostess}	13.	The Jenny Evolution (follows back)	23.	Caffeinated Chronicles of a Supermom
4.	The Precious Princess's Guide to Bananaland {Co-Hostess}	14.	Sarcasm, My Second Language	24.	Whitney 'Nic' James
5.	New Mama Diaries {Co-Hostess}	15.	Momasaurus	25.	Shamene @Sayitwithcake I always like back
6.	Completebliss {Co-Hostess}	16.	Fourtuitous.com	26.	Domesticated Breakdown (likes back)
7.	Baby for Scale {Co-Hostess}	17.	Trista @ A Purpose Driven Wife	27.	Cant Google Everything
8.	Our Little Life	18.	Laugh Lines	28.	Time for Mom!
9.	Shannon @ Mamamusing (likes back)	19.	Le Petit Paradis	29.	One Blunt Mom
10.	It's why you like me	20.	Ann @ Such a Mama

(Submissions close in 5d 4h 48m)

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LINK UP your TWITTER here!

1.	The Wild and Wonderful World of Gingerssnaps {Hostess}	8.	Chaos with a Curve (follows back!)	15.	What's Up with the Wilhelms {follows back}
2.	CHill Thoughts {Hostess}	9.	The Jenny Evolution (follows back)	16.	Caffeinated Chronicles of a Supermom
3.	ComfyTown Chronicles {Hostess}	10.	Momasaurus	17.	Whitney 'Nic' James
4.	Baby for Scale {Co-Hostess}	11.	Fourtuitous	18.	One Blunt Mom
5.	Completebliss {Co-Hostess}	12.	Trista @ A Purpose Driven Wife	19.	Rachel B
6.	New Mama Diaries {Co-Hostess}	13.	Vikki Claflin
7.	Our Little Life	14.	Le Petit Paradis (FOLLOWS BACK)

(Submissions close in 5d 4h 48m)

Link tool by inlinkz.com

LINK UP your Bloglovin' Page here!

1.	The Wild and Wonderful World of Gingerssnaps {Hostess}	6.	Completebliss {Co-Hostess}	11.	Trista @ A Purpose Driven Wife
2.	ComfyTown Chronicles {Hostess}	7.	Baby for Scale {Co-Hostess}	12.	Le Petit Paradis (FOLLOWS BACK)
3.	CHill Thoughts {Hostess}	8.	Our Little Life	13.	Ann @ Such a Mama
4.	The Precious Princess's Guide to Bananaland {Co-Hostess}	9.	Mamamusing (follows back)	14.	What's Up with the Wilhelms
5.	New Mama Diaries {Co-Hostess}	10.	Chaos with a Curve (follows back!)

(Submissions close in 5d 4h 48m)

Link tool by inlinkz.com

***If you are interested in co-hosting the blog hop or would like more information, you can reach us at tattlerthursday@gmail.com***