The Solution to the Country's Budget Crisis

Want to solve the country's budget crisis? 

There's a relatively simple solution

that won't adversely effect the farmer and agriculture

and grocery prices

without increasing prices in stores, at the gas pumps & elsewhere

without jeopardizing health care

without sacrificing our military's pay & benefits

without cutting benefits to senior citizens

without making it more costly to die, i.e. estate taxes & such?



The solution????

Furlough Congress!

Two months?  Six months?

Whatever it takes!

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It's About Balance and Drawing Lines

WARNING: This is a serious message, not my usual light-hearted scribbling.

Freedom of speech is awfully important to us, isn’t it? In fact, we hold dear all of our basic freedoms, liberties and rights.

Having the right to do something, though, doesn’t mean that “something” should be done.

For example, in our country, individuals have the right to burn “Old Glory,” our flag, the piece of cloth that is a symbol of our wonderful country. That doesn’t mean people ought to burn the flag, however.

Our citizens have the right to burn the Bible – or the Koran or any other book. Again, recognizing the right to carry out these activities doesn’t mean agreeing that it should be done or that we shouldn’t be repulsed when such takes place.


People have the right to demonstrate and picket, whether they are promoting something or protesting against it.

Yes, we have wonderful freedoms in this country as long as we don’t do harm to others and infringe on their rights.

But, just where do we draw the lines? It’s the figurative locations of those lines that concern me. What has brought up the concern this time?

It’s the Westboro Church members who protested with signs near the funeral of 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green. Those church members have the right to speak their minds, both with words and with signs.

But what about the rights of family members during such unimaginable times of grief and sorrow? Not just Christina’s family but also the families of our military heroes who have given their lives? Where are their rights to privacy?



Do we take away the free speech rights of picketers? Or do we allow the demonstrations but instead restrict the time and place?

For example, should we allow them to march with signs but not within an hour prior to a funeral service until an hour after the service? Do we restrict them to an area outside close proximity to the funeral service and burial site?

This is another time when I have questions but no perfect answers.

What do YOU think?

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Thank You to Our Veterans

America! America!  God shed his Grace on thee.

And crown thy good with Brotherhood

From Sea to Shining Sea!

Thanks to our veterans for our "sweet land of liberty."

May our liberties always remain and may they never be taken for granted.


A special thanks to some of my personal favorites:

Hubby, Karl J. Duppstadt a/k/a Dupp & The Duppster

 

 

 

Daughter, Tiffany Martschink - US Army

 

 

Dad, the late Ryan Shealy - USN

The Dawg, the late Carroll T. Smith - USAF

Numerous family members/relatives,

 including Ross Shealy, Ted Koon, Jack Buyer,

Steve Buyer, Pat Spence, Jud Spence, the late Judson Spence;

Veterans in my Sunday School class and church;

Countless other friends and acquaintances.

To ALL Veterans,

THANK YOU!



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Lindsay, Michael, Brian, Matt and More

This is what my oldest daughter, Tiffany (pictured on the left), posted on Facebook several days ago: Can you believe the news coverage being given to a spoiled 20-something this week? Lindsay WHO? Here are a few 20-somethings worth knowing about: Justin Allen, 23; Brett Linley, 29; Matt Weikert, 29; Justus Bartett, 27; Dave Santos, 21; Chase Stanley, 21; Jesse Reed, 26; Matt King, 23; Chris Goeke, 23; and, Sheldon Tate, 27. These 20-somethings gave their lives for you this week.

Tiffany hit the proverbial nail on the head, didn’t she? Where ARE our values? Far more people know the name of Lindsay Lohan than the names of those young members of the military who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Has the loss of life in the military become something that is just a number, just a statistic in the news? And are our values as a society such that we idolize celebrities like Lindsay Lohan?

Similarly, does the name of Brian Bradshaw ring a bell for you? No? He was the 24-year-old soldier who was killed in Afghanistan on the same day Michael Jackson died – June 25, 2009. A Pacific Lutheran University graduate, Bradshaw was, according to his aunt, "…a search-and-rescue volunteer, an altar boy, a camp counselor … [who] carried the hopes and dreams of his parents willingly on his shoulders. What more than that did Michael Jackson do or represent that earned him memorial 'shrines,' while this soldier's death goes unheralded?"

I am not questioning Michael Jackson’s talent or that of Lindsay Lohan. What I question is the attention given to them and the lack of attention to our young people who are true heroes.

Cookouts? Beach Trips? Golfing?

It's okay to spend Memorial Day with friends at the beach or lake, or having a cookout, or even golfing.  The important thing, though, is to take time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we might enjoy our freedoms and lifestyles. 

Whatever the war, wherever the battle, we must not ever forget!

Several people e-mailed the following to me and I thought they were worth sharing on this site. 

PH: Memorial

This week's Photo Hunt is memorial, so I've posted a few pictures from here in Summerville that seem appropriate for the theme and for this weekend. 

Here is the George Washington Bicentennial Memorial tree (or at least a part of the tree.)

Flags flying in front of Summerville Town Hall.

And, from inside O'Lacy's in Summerville, a poignant reminder:

Whatever the war, wherever in the world, let us never forget!

Click for others who participate in Photo Hunt.

Oh, No! I Missed It!!

                                                                
              

Oh, no!
I missed one of my very favorite annual observances this year.

Saturday, December 5th, was Bathtub Party Day – and I missed it. Did you?


This celebration reminds me of one of my all-time favorite poems. It’s by the creative genius/poet Shel Silverstein (1930-1999):


                                                       Crowded Tub

                                                       There's too many kids in this tub.
                                                       There's too many elbows to scrub.
                                                       I just washed a behind
                                                      That I'm sure wasn't mine,
                                                     There's too many kids in this tub.

For years I read stories and poems weekly to elementary school students. They all loved this poem, as well as most others by Silverstein.

Now that I’ve missed one of my favorite observances, I am hereby officially reminding myself of another favorite that comes up next Wednesday, December 16th: National Chocolate-covered Anything Day.




Those are both fun days and observances, one in the past, one in the future.

Today, though, is another special day - National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. It’s a day to be reminded of Pearl Harbor but also a good time to say “thank you” to all veterans and to all current members of our military.

So, a big “THANK YOU” to all!

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

WW: Thank You, Veterans!

In Thankful Appreciation

Veterans Day 2009

With special appreciation to two of my favorite veterans no longer with us:  Dad (Navy) and the Dawg (Air Force); and to active military daughter Tiffany (Army.)

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Wordless Wednesday participants here.

PH: Surprise!!!!

Surprise is the theme for this week's Photo Hunt. Life is full of 'em!!!!

Several years ago, the folks at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, were surprised to have the tallest soldier and the shortest soldier to ever go through MOS training there at the same time. The short one is Tiffany, one of my daughters.



I was surprised when part of my eBay purchase arrived like this!

I was surprised when I forgot that I was boiling eggs on the stove!

Grandson Harrison is surprised about something!

Sometimes people are surprised to learn how one of my brothers, Shawn, teaches children to water-ski. He pulls them on the ground first, behind him running!




This is Shawn's daughter, Kendall. Can't tell if she is laughing at the joy of skiing or at how tired her dad is getting while doing the running & pulling!

My dad took the easy way out years ago, but folks were just as surprised to learn that he pulled us on skis behind a car!!

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Photo Hunt participants are throughout blogland. Click here to see other surprises this week!

Michael Jackson and Us: Why Am I Even Writing About This?

Add me to the list of those not quite understanding all of the hoopla surrounding the death of and memorial service for Michael Jackson.

He died on June 25th, the same day my husband, The Dawg, died. It’s been 12 days.

Yes, Michael Jackson died at what our society considers an early age: 50.

Yes, Jackson’s death was a surprise; it was unexpected. We knew Farrah Fawcett was seriously ill and nearing death, so when she died on the same day, it was not a shock.

Perhaps some people thought Michael Jackson was healthy. As the clips of Michael Jackson from the last year or so fill the television screens, I see someone who walked as though he were drugged on occasion, or on several occasions. He didn’t look healthy to me.

Yes, there are questions and suspicions about Jackson’s death. How did he get the drugs found in his system? How did he get those quantities?

Michael Jackson was a talented musician and a terrific performer, but other performers have died in the last few weeks: Karl Malden, Gale Storm, Billy Mays, Fred Travalena, Ed McMahon, David Carradine, for example. Were they as sensational as Jackson?

Probably not.

Nor were they as controversial. Questions and allegations were a big part of the last several years of Jackson’s life. Some even described him as “freakish.”

Still, the coverage of the aftermath of Jackson’s death has gone beyond the pale. (No pun intended.) Today the three major networks are changing regular programming to cover the memorial service.

This kind of treatment is usually reserved for presidents and royalty. The last time I remember so much hoopla was in 1997 when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash. But, of course, Jackson was royalty of a sort; he was the “King of Pop.”

Probably more influential to music, though, was James Brown, the “King of Soul.” There was no such extensive coverage for him.

Yesterday, seven American servicemen were killed in Afghanistan. Those are the heroes and they are the ones who deserve the coverage.

Where are our values?





Jackson photo from Wikipedia.