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'.

*********************************************************************************

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.’ “