A Prayer for Ryan

This from a dear friend on facebook yesterday...

Prayer Request: for my student Ryan who has major issues at home which, I believe, are at least partially responsible for his behavior at school. It hurts my heart to see a child with eyes that are just . . . dead . . . and frightens me a bit too. I believe in the power of prayer so ask for yours

I met with that friend yesterday after work, and during our conversation she spoke of Ryan. This young man - well CHILD, actually - has had more than his share of pain in his life. I'm not sure why his story touched me so much...perhaps because he's not much older than the Boy...but I couldn't stop thinking about him. So I'm asking all who are inclined to pray for Ryan - that he gets the guidance he needs, the help he needs, and the love he deserves. It not only hurts my heart, but it makes me angry that there are so many children out there who are in so much pain. These are innocents - yet the actions and inactions of the adults in their lives have had dire consequences. I'm praying that it's not too late for Ryan.

Screwed Again

Bend over folks - RUSD is at it again. I'm going to try to watch my language, but can't promise anything. I'm PISSED.

The School Board decided this week to extend the school year by another day, to June 13, to make up education hours missed during a sick-out Feb. 17. Many school staff members, including 25 percent of the district's approximately 1,600 teachers, called in sick amid protests over changes Gov. Scott Walker suggested to collective bargaining and retirement and health care contributions. The changes later became law, but a judge's ruling has put the law on hold.
...
Adding the school day could cost the district as much as $478,000. The cost comes from paying staff members for an extra day after they were already paid for work Feb. 17, either because they came into work as suggested or took a paid sick or personal day. Staff members are not paid on snow days, Tapp said.
...

This is all bad enough, but what tipped me over the edge was the final paragraph...

"(The school year extension) is necessary because we had one extra snow day and school was closed on February 17, 2011," the release stated. "There is very little we can do to affect the weather. Lately, there has been very little we can do to counter the reckless and unnecessary cuts to RUSD as proposed by the Governor in his Budget Bill. It is truly unfortunate that the Governor's actions continue to penalize the District, parents, students, teachers and educational assistants."

The Governor's actions? Are you f*cking kidding me? Did the governor stage an illegal sick-out? Was it the governor's illegal sick-out that forced so many unified parents to scramble for daycare so the teachers could go have their hissy fit? Was it the governor who decided it was more important to go to Madison than teach the children for whom they claim to care about, and for which we will be paying an additional $478,000??? How can you possibly blame this on the governor? Is there NO personal responsibility left anymore??

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

Goodbye My Friend

You touched my heart. You touched my soul. I'll admit I was a bit intimidated by you in the beginning, but we had a kinship. You had a huge hand in saving my life, and touched the lives of so very many others. I love you more than words can express, and I will miss you more than you'd ever know.

Rest in peace my friend. You've most certainly earned it.

Men Can Have Abortions?!?!?!

Well, according to this opinion they can. It's all about inclusion, don't ya know.

Gender is this thing that we construct out of a million different characteristics. The way we hold our hands. The length of our hair. The shape of our face. What we wear. Our voices. But then, for some reason, when we got to the question of what is it really, we go to what lives between your legs. Even though that’s not how we make gender and that’s not how gender works. It’s in that assumption that gender lives in our crotches, that we end up erasing the reality that men can have abortions, men can get pregnant and give birth.

Wow. Where to even start.

Oh! I know!! Let's start with basic biology. Now, I'm not a doctor and I don't even play one on tv, but from my admittedly limited knowledge, in order to get pregnant, one must have a UTERUS. According to Merriam Webster, a uterus is: "a muscular organ of the female mammal for containing and usually for nourishing the young during development prior to birth —called also womb." [Emphasis mine]

Okay - I'm stuck here. I don't even know what else to say about this. This is so utterly ridiculous I feel like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. Seriously - click on the link above and read the rest. The comments are priceless as well.

Ya know what scares me? These people vote.

H/T The Daily Gut

California v. Texas

I got this email at work today. Yes, I know you've probably seen it before:

The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor's dog, then bites the Governor.

1. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only doing what is natural.

2. He calls animal control . Animal Control captures the coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.

3. He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.

4. The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound bandaged.

5. The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while Fish & Game conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now free of dangerous animals.

6. The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a "coyote awareness program" for residents of the area.

7. The State Legislature spends $2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world.

8. The Governor's security agent is fired for not stopping the attack. The State spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training re: the nature of coyotes.

9. PETA protests the coyote's relocation and files a $5 million suit against the State.


Texas :

The Governor of Texas is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A Coyote jumps out and tries to attack his dog.

1. The Governor shoots the coyote with his State-issued pistol and keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge.

2. The Buzzards eat the dead coyote.

And that, my friends, is why California is broke and Texas is not.