Say it in Spanish; Say it with Pride!

That's Venezuela's new edict to their citizens following a "disturbing" trend of *gasp* *horror* ENGLISH words showing up in phone books, dictionaries and even speeches given by President Hugo Chavez.

Apparently though, Chavez has had a change of heart and now wants to fight American "Imperialism" by removing all english words from their language and printed materials.

According to this article published by Fox, The Communications and Information Ministry said in a statement that Venezuelans must recover Spanish words that are "threatened by sectors that have started a battle for the cultural domination of our nations."

WHY IN THE HELL CAN'T WE DO THAT HERE IN THE UNITED STATES!!!!!!!!

In Mexico, anyone caught crossing their borders illegally are immediately deported- no questions asked. And now they're going to use biochips to identify anyone entering their southern borders as a curb to illegal immigration.

AGAIN, I ASK YOU... WHY IN THE HELL CAN'T WE DO THAT HERE IN THE UNITED STATES!!!!!!

WHY???
Because we're the United States of America! Can't be seen as the bully on the block, requiring LEGAL entry into our country, or the establishment (and enforcement) of an OFFICIAL language now, can we? Oh no.. Can't do that.
*shakes head*

If Venezuela can ban the common usage of english words, and Mexico can ban illegal immigration INTO their country and track ALL immigrants with biochips... it would make sense that we could do that too. In a perfect world, of course. And this is NOT a perfect world.

NYC Killing Spree Leaves Five Dead

A 45-year-old NYC park worker went on a killing rampage this weekend. He recklessly drove his city-issued golf cart in a park, purposely running down FIVE innocent birds! The perpetrator and the names of the deceased have not yet been released by the police, pending notification of next of kin.

What did these pigeons and seagulls do to you, Mister!??? Do you have any idea what you've done?
Those birds had FAMILY... they had a FUTURE! Now, there will be no dive-bombing at the piers; no free meals at city hall or Central Park; no squacks of target-practice joy heard overhead... NOTHING. There will be 5 empty spots on the branch at Suzie's Fledgling Flight celebration. Five innocent lives... LOST. (well, ok. Charles wasn't so innocent- he was known for stealing birdseed, and Kelly did lay eggs before James joined her in marital bliss). Have you NO CONSCIENCE? No sense of right or wrong? Why, oh why, did your parents pay for those driving lessons which you later turned into a Skill to Kill!???? Someone should hold them responsible!

And these families have NO MONEY to sue your ass, or the NYC Park District! I'm hoping and praying that PETA steps up to the plate and provides the best bird-kill lawyers in the country to sue the city of New York for hiring someone with obvious mental issues and providing him with a weapon of mass destruction- FOR FREE.

ohhhhhhh THE HORROR OF IT ALL.....
I hope you ROT IN JAIL, MISTER!

If you'd like to help out these crushed families, please send your donations to:
Victims Of Rampaging Park Workers
PO Box 666
NY, NY 20069

*The story above has been brought to you by AFSis's evil twin, who read this front-page story on FoxNews last night. SNERK*

#1 Reasons for McCain

#1 reason I'd vote for McCain: His stance on the war, and his honest opinion of how long we could be there. He recognizes that the war on terror is a life-long committment which just happens to be centered in the Middle East, necessitating our presense there for a very long time.

"It's not a matter of how long we're in Iraq, it's if we succeed or not," McCain said to CNN's Larry King.

"And both Sen. Obama and Clinton want to set a date for withdrawal -- that means chaos, that means genocide, that means undoing all the success we've achieved and al Qaeda tells the world they defeated the United States of America.

"I won't let that happen."

He goes on to explain that we could be there for a hundred years- much like we're still in Germany and other foreign countries. Doesn't mean we're FIGHTING in those countries- we're just "there". And I completely agree with him on that first point: It's not a matter of how LONG we're there, it's winning that matters.


And, on the flip side... the #1 reason I wouldn't vote for McCain: His stance on illegal immigration, and how he's handling criticism of his failed McCain-Kennedy immigration bill.

In a Jan. 5 debate, Mr. McCain declared that anyone who says he supported amnesty is "a liar, is lying." Several days before he won the New Hampshire primary, Mr. McCain was asked by a voter about criticism of his record. The senator replied: "I do not support, nor would I ever support, any services provided to someone who came to this country illegally, nor would I ever and [I] never have supported Social Security benefits for people who are in this country illegally." Any assertion to the contrary, he added "is absolutely false."

I swear. The man must be in COMPLETE denial of his authorship of "The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act". The bill had some strong points (combating human smuggling, securing the borders against illegal immigration, coordinating our efforts with Mexico, federal funding for states apprehending and incarcerating illegals, and a few others). But the major failing point of the bill was granting temporary worker status to illegals already in the United States with payment of a $1,500.00 fine. That, in effect, IS amnesty- you just have to pay a little to get it. The new visa, the H5A, would entitle these recently bailed-out criminals (yes, criminals- illegal immigration is a crime. That's why it has the word "illegal" in it.) to every right and service available to similarly employed US citizens and legal aliens. Therefore, formerly illegal aliens now in posession of an H5A visa would be entitled to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and every other service provided by our government- something he now denies he supported.

Look at his voting record, and you'll see EXACTLY where he's stood on these issues in the past. He voted to support mass amnesty in 2003. He co-sponsored a bill which would allow in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, and allow illegal immigrant college students who entered the US before the age of 16 to automatically get green cards for their parents. He voted against barring convicted foreign terrorists, gang members, and sexual offenders from ever entering the United States. And in 2006, he worked with Ted Kennedy to kill a bill which would have erased Social Security credits earned by illegals working under false Social Security numbers, in effect giving them credit for working here illegally and increasing their Social Security benefit.

Knowing all of this is public record, how can he stand in front of the American public and claim that he's NEVER supported amnesty, and he's NEVER supported providing government benefits (including Social Security, Medicare, Medicade, and other welfare programs) to illegals???

McCain now says that the stunning defeat of this bill back in 2005 was a wake up call, and that he now "gets it", which is good. But looking at his voting record and recent comments about his former stance on illegal immigration makes me believe he is either waffling or has an incredibly short memory- especially for someone who wants to run the United States of America.

Toy? or Lighter?

This is something near and dear to my heart.
When Thomas was about 6 months old, I started teaching fire safety classes for Red Cross. I'd been a Red Cross volunteer for about 7 years at that point (I've been a volunteer for 17 years now) and had been to countless house fires, local and national floods, and two hurricanes. I've seen what nature can do to a house and to a body... and what fire can do also, and I wanted to teach kids how to survive- and avoid- fires.

One of most horrifying fires I've ever been to was started by a child playing with a lighter underneath his brother's bed. The boys, who were 8 and 2, I believe, were playing under the bed. It was dark, so the older boy lit a lighter so they could see better. The bed caught on fire, and the older boy backed up from underneath the bed and ran. He was scared- he'd started a fire! He knew he'd get in trouble... so he didn't tell. When his brother's screams got their 8-month-pregnant mother's attention, the bed was fully engulfed in flames. Without regard to her own safety, the mother rushed into the room, dove under the bed, and pulled his burning body out of the fire. She herself was on fire too. I met this family in the burn unit at two different hospitals. The 2 year old was at Children's Hospital, and the mother at neighboring University Hospital. The 2 year old somehow survived; the mother, and the unborn baby, eventually died.

Fires like that are why I started teaching fire safety classes for Red Cross. It was a tragic experience, but not unique. It happens every day, all over the country.




The program I taught was geared toward 3-7 year old children. It covered all of the basics- stop, drop, and roll; what smoke detectors sound like; what firefighters in turnout gear look- and sound- like; and how to get out of a burning building. What it didn't really cover was playing with lighters or matches, so I wrote a special script and created a game just for that purpose.

The game was actually my Mom's idea, and it remains to this day one of the best ideas she's ever come up with. She had the idea of showing kids multiple kinds of lighters and asking them if they knew what they were. I turned that idea into a game of "What's this?". I had a small bag which I filled with about a dozen little toys and lighters. As I pulled each one out, I asked the kids a simple question: What's this? Easy, right?





Not really. The kids got the matches and normal-looking bic lighters right off the bat. Then I'd pull out a few toys, and then go back to the lighters. I'd pull out one of those long-reach lighters, the kids would start throwing out guesses like "A CURLING IRON!", "A LITTLE BLENDER!", and "A TOY GUN!"... but they rarely said "a lighter". I'd show another toy, and then, I'd pull out a little dolphin. It was shiny and cute, about 3 inches long, and... it was a lighter. Not one child- OR adult- ever guessed it was a lighter. I warned the adults not to buy such novelty lighters, and told the kids not to touch anything until they knew exactly what it was, because it just might be a lighter that looks like a toy.



The National Association of State Fire Marshals has also taken notice of these toy-like lighters and is trying to get them banned in the US. The president, John Dean, showed one that looks like a little frog, and accurately described these novelty lighters as "something you would get in a McDonald's Happy Meal". Why do we even need novelty lighters? Do the people that buy them have some unresolved "I never had enough toys as a child" issues? Or do they just see them as cute little lighters and never think about it from a child's point of view.


He is SO right. Several states are sitting up and taking notice, including Oregon where a woman was burned when her child accidently set her bed on fire while playing with a lighter that looked like Santa on top of a Christmas tree. Two children were killed in Arkansas last year while playing with a motorcycle-shaped lighter.


People who market and sell these lighters consider the fire marshal's concerns ridiculous, saying "they're safety lighters- kids can't use them!" But anyone who has a child has observed them figure out a new toy or puzzle with determination and glee. They pick up a new item, explore it, and if it looks interesting enough, they will figure it out.

Every legally sold lighter in the United States meets or exceeds child safety regulations, yet children figure them out and use them all the time. Some times the fire is accidental; some times it's on purpose, but regardless... why make lighters look like toys a child would want to play with? I truly hope that these types of lighters are banned in the United States.

Next time you go to a convenient store, take the time to notice what is being sold at child's-eye level at the register, and you'll find candy... and novelty lighters. I guarantee it.




And yes... every picture featured on this post is a lighter.

Cat's Back

The Questing Cat is back on US soil!!!!!
MANY thanks to his AF SIL, $19.95, for the update and her incredibly emotional post.


And after spending some time checking out their video... read their story. $19.95 linked that story in her post, with a "it's long, but worth it" disclaimer. She's right. It's long, but worth it. Here's a little taste:
Over 15 months, the war would kill 13 men from Charlie 1-26, more than any other Army company sent to Iraq, according to their battalion commander.

The group of 190 would earn at least 95 combat awards. They were part of Task Force 1-26, some 820 troops, who would find 47 weapons caches, capture more than 300 insurgents, including high-value targets, and find hundreds of explosive devices. But 122 men would receive Purple Hearts and 31 would die, more than in any Army battalion since Vietnam.

Damn. Just... Damn.

SUPER!

I'm sure Tom Petty would like to know that Kevin thinks:
1. That the half-time show was an "American Idol" commercial
2. That he looks like Count Doku from Star Wars (I didn't even know he could sing, Mommy!)

May I also add a huge, hearty CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW YORK GIANTS!!!!!
HOOAH!

Oh, my favorite commercial???? The Amp energy drink "jumper cable nipple guy".
(if my link doesn't work, go to myspace.com, click on Super Bowl ads, 4th quarter)