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Full Plate

2009-01-07T01:27:00Z

I have never seen anything like it—since the beginning of 2009, or at least since Christmas, so much BS has happened in the news..... Not quite enough to take the Israel/Hamas mess out of the top spot, but enough to divert our attention. You watch, Dumbya will do something that will fuck up more people, and the news will miss it.

But back to the craparooney....

First, we have Mr. Burris, trying to go to Washington. Personally, I feel for this guy. I think he’s probably ok - he’s certainly no worse than many other senators who are/were in office! And at the age of 71, having to deal with the disrespect and some really nasty Senators’ comments is just absolutely disgusting. At least the “top two” Democrat Senators, Feinstein and Durbin, are on his side. Even if Harry ~~Milquetoast~~ Reid isn’t.

I can’t see how the law wouldn’t be on Burris’ side, either. Blagojevitch is still in office, and had every right to appoint whoever he wanted. My bet is that he is going to go scot free. Fitzgerald has nothing solid on him, or he’d have done something by now. I haven’t forgotten what happened with Rove and Cheney a few years back, have you??? Fitzgerald is all mouth, no action. No one wants Blago in office. So why is he still there? Hmmm??? AAAnnnt! Time’s up, Patty Boy!

Really, this is all just ridiculous. Why can’t the Democrats just knock off all the stupidity and crassness, and be the standup party they always purport to be??? Or at the very least, get the hell on with the dog and pony show?

Then we have Al Franken....winning by 225 votes.....and then having it disputed. Lovely. Let’s just hold up fixing the economy, for an asshole’s sake. Can’t get shite done unless we have them all seated. Let’s get ON with it, gang. Someone please pound Coleman into the ground. Thank you.

In news that isn’t on the internets, look for a respected Pulitzer-prizewinning reporter from a famous magazine to get the axe from his/her publication. Word on the street is that the magazines and news programs aren’t sending investigative reporters out into the field any more; they are just using the talking heads. So much for real news. And of course, the upper level reporters that do this type of job make so much that they are sitting ducks for the axe.

OH and then there’s Goofy Obama Appointments of the Week. Ought to be a new Olbermann category.....

Leon Panetta. Ah, yes, Change. Not that I think he’d do a bad job (although intelligence is not his forte). But he’s...um....OLD SCHOOL. Clintons. Remember? Change???? I seem to be saying that an awful lot since Obama got elected.

And....Sanjay Gupta?????? Does Obama think he needs ratings or something? I cannot imagine that there was not a more qualified physician sort to take this job. Dr. Weil? Dr. Mercola? How about Dr. Phil, he’s another Oprah buddy...!?!

Maybe Obama picked Gupta because Dr. Welby is dead. ER is going off the air, maybe he could have found someone from there.... I’m sure that he is looking for a PR rep to sell his “health care” “plan”. Gupta did an interview a while back with Amanda Baggs, so at least we know he understands autism to a point. But a TV star ain’t a practicin’ doctor, and we need someone who’s been in the trenches and knows what real people are dealing with.

Next—Suze Orman for Secretary of the Treasury!!!

Oh, and let’s not forget Poor Governor Richardson.... WTF is wrong with this whole big picture???? Please don’t tell me Obama didn’t know about this stuff. His cronies know EVERYTHING.

Gee, I wonder who Obama will appoint as Richardson’s replacement.....

He hasn’t paid her back yet....

The Nerve….

2009-01-06T04:14:01Z

The hEx and his gf are just infriggingcredible. Let me tell ya what they did this last weekend.....and I’ll start with some background....

Since Bug doesn’t have a job, he does yard work for me for money. (Allowance hasn’t worked for us.) Around the holidays, I generally will give him a bit to shop with, as well. When it comes to presents, Bug picks out pretty good stuff. He likes to buy costume jewelry for the women (i.e. myself, his “grandmom”, etc.), for the most part, and gadgets for the guys. He also knows how to shop - looks for sales, and he even had a coupon for one of the stores! Let’s say that Bug got about $100 worth of presents for $55. That’s how good of a shopper he is. But I’ve always taught him it doesn’t matter what the gift costs, it is about whether he put any thought into it or not.

So he went to his father’s house last weekend and took their gifts, since he didn’t get to see them at Christmas (they go away every holiday, not that they’d ever want to see him). He was also expected to buy a present for a kid he’s friends with there, who is about 5 years younger. Yes, I know. 5 years is a lot when the older kid is 16, but there is nothing I can do. So I tell Bug, just stop at Game Stop and get him a gift card. No big deal, we know the kid will like it.

Bug comes home last night, and first hands me a $50 bill. Evidently this friend - or rather, the friend’s mother - gave him $50..... Now, this boy is a Chinese boy whose mother runs a restaurant near the hEx’s house, and who receives at every birthday and holiday, THOUSANDS of dollars from relatives in China that he has Never Met. Bug does not have that kind of money, and neither do I. I mean, that was almost Bug’s whole budget!!! Then hEx TELLS ME to put some of it in Bug’s savings. OK, fine. But I have not heard the story yet.....

While at the mall, hEx TELLS Bug that he HAS to spend $30 on the gift card. Bug only has $25 with him, which was his Christmas gift from my aunt. So hEx antes up a whopping $5. If it were me, I would have said $15-20. OR I would have told his father to split the $30 in half, if HE wanted the kid to have $30. We have never given ANY child $30, let alone $50, not his best friend, not the Buddy group exchange, no one.

But I said nothing...yet....because the kicker was yet to come.

HEx then hands me a box, which had contained his girlfriend’s present. Bug had bought her a pendant, albeit without a chain. It just came that way, it was this artsy thing, and she likes clunky jewelry. And he knows that I change pendants on my chains all the time. He said “What is this cheap thing? Where’s the chain? Is it broken?” I looked at it and said that it was JUST the pendant, didn’t she have her own chain? No, she didn’t, they all had things on them. Evidently she had never heard of changing your charms....(oops, I forgot, she has no charm....) Evidently she had raised a hissy fit! Then she TOLD Bug to buy a chain for it!!!! Talk about low fucking class.....

Ya know, when you get a gift you don’t like, you don’t send it back to the CHILD who bought it and say “go buy me more shit to go with it!”. You just keep it and shut your fucking mouth. It’s not like Bug is an adult with a job and income. He’s a 16 year old autistic kid, with not a hell of a lot of money in his wallet, who took a LOT of time deciding what to buy that bitch. Pardon me, FUCKING PIG. What Nerve!!!

And for his father to back HER, over him....well, he can Bite Me. Because after I heard that, and after the hEx left, I told Bug he can KEEP the $50. SCREW the hEx and his ungrateful hag. I told Bug I’d have given him his $25 back, too, but I didn’t want to pay for the friend’s gift card, lol. I told Bug that we would take her pendant back, and he can get her a pair of ugly socks. Hey, she can’t bitch, they will be complete. Or better yet, I have a pair of Santa sox that he can regift to her. And he can keep the money he gets back.

RIP, Jett Travolta, Find Peace

2009-01-03T05:01:01Z

I think a lot of the Autism Bloggers are staying away from this. It’s a touchy subject, so I don’t really blame them. (Update: Evidently there are a lot of blogs who aren’t so scared any more.) Of course, some aren’t (Kristina at her new blog, of course.) Including myself. I can’t. This has to do with organized religion, and pardon me if you’re offended, but God Damn Organized Religion.

There has always been speculation that John Travolta’s son, Jett, was autistic. This even though John has denied it, saying Jett had Kawasaki Syndrome. Of course, he could very well have had both.

Here is a video of the child stimming, and he also watches his hand while moving it, a trait in many autistics. In addition, he’s being led and has a handler to guide him. Most 16 year olds don’t need that..... Jett didn’t talk, either.

For those of us who are parents of autistics, one look and the clue is only too obvious.

The toes don’t lie.

Evidently Kawasaki Syndrome is curable, and usually occurs in kids under the age of 5. Seizures can be reduced or even possibly eliminated with meds. The Travoltas, however, are Scientologists, and Head Scientology Dorkball L. Ron Hubbard says that mental issues are a sign of weakness. (I guess this was his reasoning? Talk about avoidance to the max...) As such, the Travoltas had never had Jett diagnosed, because then it would have been their fault instead of the supposed carpet chemicals....

What kind of “reviving” is allowed in Scientology? Perhaps someone out there can answer that? I am not sure if I am confusing my apples with oranges or not.

All the interventions Jett may or may not have received, the idea of religion encouraging neglect or abuse, none of that matter now. However, we as bloggers for autism should stand up against the religions that cause this treatment of autistics. We have an obligation to these kids, and we need to stand up for them as we did for the children of parents who abuse kids like Katie McCarron.

To think that at the very least, seizure meds may have saved this child. Had Jett had them, he may not have had that seizure. Vibrations as a cure? That’s just plain child abuse.

The absolute worst thing is the death of a child. God bless this child, please give him and his parents peace.

Friday Kitten Blogging - Didn’t Make it to Midnight….

2009-01-02T16:12:00Z

Although these were probably better New Year’s photos, I decided to save them for Friday - for Kitten Blogging!

While we were in DC, Ollie Cat went to visit one of my friends. She *was* going to just come check on him here, but decided to take him to her place instead.

He evidently had a good time, because when we brought him home last night, this is what happened....

(He must have been dreaming about Chessie!)

Pooch, who had gone to DC with us, had his own good time. They did have a “bark bar” at our hotel......He decided to join Ollie 5 minutes after I took the first photo. Maybe he missed him, too!

These were taken about 7:00, and neither of them moved until after midnight.

I don’t know, it it just too much cuteness for one post?!

Meet him on the Modulator....and others later!

Reboot

2009-01-02T01:47:00Z

I don’t do resolutions. They are way too easy to break, and too stupid to keep, anyway.

Today I called Comcrap to activate a box, and got a guy who was in Bangladesh. Yes, that is F’ed up to begin with, and the whole conversation will be another post. But finally, we got the box to receive the channels, although the On Demand wouldn’t work, and he kept saying, “Reboot! Reboot!”

Reboot. I thought, how appropriate. My whole frigging life, the whole frigging country, for that matter. Maybe we All need to Reboot.

Me, I could Reboot my work. Teaching sucks. My roster has gone down from 25 students to 5 in less than 3 years. What’s the first thing to go in a recession? Music lessons. Although a full-time job is not a time is of the essence thing for me personally right now, it’s something I have to think seriously about. A lady I spoke to at Comcrap today told me they are hiring....@@

We went to DC this week. What a refreshing change from PA, let alone Aymish Country. My system felt the Reboot, I’ve had a pretty good week. Friends of ours from England were also there; we all stayed at the same hotel, and it was great to see them. The wife is also Rebooting, she starts a new job on Monday after too many years of grad school, lol. It would be a *real* Reboot, to move there....sigh....maybe in a few years, but not now. DC needs to Reboot, too....

In any case, since Bug has been on this George Washington kick, we decided to go to Mount Vernon one day. They were supposed to have the place decorated for the holidays, but truthfully, there really wasn’t much to look as far as decorations went. That was disappointing. The decorations seemed to be mostly on the Christmas trees in the hallway, of which there were several. All were *covered* with ornaments from their shop, supposedly so you’d see them and make a purchase.

Ornaments which were ALL made in CHINA. Of course, their website doesn’t tell you that. But the ornament tags do. The ornaments were also nicely displayed on a table in the shop, which also had a big MADE IN THE USA sign on it....because there were Byers’ Choice dolls on it, too. Those are made in PA, in Bucks County, so they could get away with the sign…

WTF??? How is that ethical? Can you even begin to imagine what Cousin George would say? (Unfortunately, I don’t think the word would be Reboot....)

Consumer Reports posted on their blog about a Buyer’s Strike…

A “buyers’ strike” refers to the refusal by large numbers of consumers to make purchases, typically because of high prices.

Commenting in 1923 about a famous buyers’ strike that followed World War I, B.C. Forbes, founder of the business magazine Forbes, wrote that, “the ‘buyers’ strike’ was not declared merely because the people objected to high prices. The ‘strike’ developed because a very, very large number of families didn’t have enough money to pay the prices asked.”

OK, Corporate Amurrika, and Consumer Reports, y’all need to Reboot your Whole way of Thinking.

People DID spend money this holiday, just not on things in stores. I bought a bunch of gifts at craft shows, and made some others. Those who did spend of course spent a lot less than before. MAYBE that’s because you all fucked their jobs. MAYBE the people are also tired of our jobs being sent elsewhere. MAYBE they object to paying too much money (if any at all) for cheap crap made by sweatshop workers, and MAYBE, just maybe, if companies would refuse to sell things that weren’t made in this country, MAYBE we’d actually pay a few extra bucks. If I knew that buying an ornament made here (or in another country that isn’t trying to own us, for that matter) for a couple of bucks more wouldn’t put my neighbor out of work, I’d ante up. Big frigging deal. What’s worth more?

Last year they killed our animals. How much do you want to take? Do you really want to continue to invite China, George Bush and his Corporate Asshole Buddies to shove it up our hinds? Yes, by buying this Chinese Crap, you are INVITING it.

We need to ALL Reboot our way of thinking. Can you do without that Chinese set of Christmas lights? You KNOW you can. I had a bitch of a time finding oven mitts not made in China a few weeks ago. Well, I can make potholders if I have to, with fabric made in the US. SAFE fabric that won’t fry.

REFUSE. Buyers Strike NOW. Don’t buy ANYTHING made in China - make the corporations Reboot. Write to WalMart, or whereever you shop, and tell them this. WE have to make THEM change.

I do plan to write to Mount Vernon, because truthfully, all those beautiful ornaments they sell CAN be bought in this country. There are all kinds of crafters who make brass and porcelain ornaments, and manufacturers who would make them in bulk. There is absolutely NO REASON for them to buy ornaments made in China, and George Washington would be disgusted with them.

Reboot, in 2009. Otherwise, THIS won’t get any better.

Update: Here are some photos, just to piss you off more. Click the photos to see larger images.

(You’ll get the closeup from this one....)

(You can enlarge this one even more - it’s George Washington’s freaking Presidential Chair!!!)

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T04:58:00Z

more animals

Is it Any Wonder The GOP is Toast?

2008-12-30T12:52:00Z

Psychos.

A candidate for the Republican National Committee chair sent out a holiday CD to committee members that includes the song “Barack the Magic Negro,” a parody first aired on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show.

Chip Saltsman, the former campaign manager for Mike Huckabee who’s considered a long shot in the crowded field for RNC chair, is a friend of the song’s writer, Paul Shanklin, a comedian and frequent Limbaugh guest. The CD, called “We Hate the USA,” pokes fun at liberals, their causes, and their slip-ups with titles like “The Star Spanglish Banner,” “Love Client #9” and “Wright Place, Wrong Time.”

In a voice meant to recall Al Sharpton, Shanklin sings on the “Barack the Magic Negro”: “They’ll vote for him and not for me, cause he’s not from da hood. See, real black men like Snoop Dogg or me or Farrakhan have talked the talk and walked the walk, not come in late and won.”

Com Frigging CRAP.

2008-12-29T16:06:00Z

OK, y’all have heard about the DTV changeover in February. Well, like good little compliant folk, we got our coupons.

In the meantime, Comcrap tells us, Oh, you don’t NEED converter boxes. You have Digital Cable. Which we got when we got our HDTV, of course, complete with HD box.

Here’s the catch: Well, no, you don’t need converter boxes, if you want to get just basic cable on your old frigging TVs. Doesn’t matter if you’re PAYING for digital, you can still “get cable.” It’s freaking BASIC. And half of our “basic” channels have moved to “digital” stations, which are in numbers above the numbers you can get on old TVs.

Why would they tell us this? So we don’t use their freaking bandwidth? F. THEM.

In any case, our coupons expired. I chatted with an agent and put in for a credit for $80, since they told us a lie. And I’ll follow up on it later in the week.

I Didn’t Feel The Earth Move….

2008-12-28T13:25:01Z

But Hub did...

An earthquake was felt across a large part of Lancaster County shortly after midnight today. (Note: early Saturday a.m.)

There were no initial reports of damage or injuries.

The quake measured 3.3 on the Richter scale and was centered about one mile north of Salunga in East Hempfield Township, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Seismograph readings on the Millersville University Web site showed a sudden, short-lived movement at the time of the quake.

The USGS said the quake occurred at 12:04:34 a.m. today.

The Intelligencer Journal newsroom was flooded with calls from residents of the city and Lititz, Manheim and Mountville Boroughs and East Hempfield and Manheim Townships who said they heard what sounded like an explosion.

He heard the boom, too, and thought it was the furnace. (Old house, old furnace, what can I tell ya?!) I was in the living room online, and the fireplace fan was going, so I heard nada. Of course, the animals were probably playing Varmint Soccer (that’s yet another post), so that could be why I didn’t notice, either…

According to one of the commenters in that post, the epicenter was on one of those Amish farms along Landisville Road west of the Colebrook Road intersection. Even though we’ve supposedly had three of these recently.....Can you imagine what they were thinking???!!!

Didn’t Buy Chinese….

2008-12-27T05:08:00Z

Remember when I said I wasn’t going to buy anything made in China? Well, I actually did pretty well this year, as far as Christmas went. There was only one thing I bought made in China. That was a $3 Ralph Lauren grooming kit for Bug.

OK, don’t bust on me too badly - the way I look at it, $3 is a pretty Chinese price. Believe me, I looked everywhere - I wanted one in a case, and found this up at the outlets in Reading.

I checked everything I was given and only one thing was made in China, too, which was a stencil cutter. I don’t think that Hub could have found one that wasn’t, he just doesn’t shop online, and even when I looked I couldn’t find anything like what I wanted. So, whatever....

But here are photos of Bug’s “treasure chest” - the one I redid for him. Click them for larger images!

Don’t ask how I found the map fabric. Isn’t it great???

The gems and coins are from his “collection” from over the years....he is so fascinated with them. They are, of course, gimungous paperweights. Not real gems. (Someone stupid somewhere would ask me, if I didn’t say it. You just know it.)

Friday Kitten Blogging - Destructo Kitten!

2008-12-27T04:10:00Z

I’m too cute to be bad....

But I do want to see what’s in this bag.....

Hmmm....this is way too much fun!!!

I’d better get out of here before they catch me.....

I will go link to the Modulator....’cuz they’re up late....

Have a Happy Holiday

2008-12-25T11:48:00Z

(Feak would want you to. She always did...)

Definitely Not in Zhivago Land….

2008-12-24T22:59:01Z

(Click to see the temp...)

Our kitchen window, yesterday morning. The storm door was just as bad - the photo, however, is all white.... Whoever says, though, that there’s no global warming, can just stick it. Here’s what it is now....

Down where my dad’s gf lives, it’s 62. No wonder people around here get sick all the time.

We can’t win for losing. It started out this morning with freezing rain, and my porches were ALL a half inch thick with slick ice. It’s been raining all day...so it’s damp, I have water in the basement - and I just don’t care.....

Pooch hates going out in the mess. Ollie, on the other hand, has gotten into the ribbons and wrapping and also found his kitty presents. He does not, however, engage in under-the-tree sitting like Feak did. (sigh) And Bug has had every Christmas video in his vast collection out for us to watch today....

So, for those of you who don’t have a fireplace.....

There’s also On Demand…

Turn one on, or turn on some music (you are welcome to use my radio.blog ) and fix yourself a nice Irish coffee or something similar.

I think I’ll make mine Grand Marnier.

Happy Festivus!!!!

2008-12-24T01:53:00Z

Want more Festivus Fun? Go to You Tube and see all the videos of people and their own Festivus celebrations!!!

Pec Man

2008-12-23T18:32:00Z

Where’s the grass skirt???

(Photo courtesy of Bauer Griffin...)

Griffin’s site has been overwhelmed, what with all the Obot porn, so bear with it....or come back in a couple of days.

Listening to critics on Sirius this morning, you’d think he’d committed a crime going to Hawaii for his last Christmas before his inauguration. The multi-million dollar mansion he’s staying in is not really something he should be flaunting in this economy, that he’s supposedly a president “of the people” - but not acting like anything other than just another rich guy. Oh, and that all kinds of people will be homeless, while he flies to Hawaii.

They have something of a point, but ya know, people DO live in Hawaii. They are allowed to go home for the holidays, ya know? Obama’s sister still lives there. And of course, no one knows whose house it is (not his), or if the vacation was a gift, or what.

I say, let the family chill. His grandmother just died, he just ran a hell of a campaign. There are kids involved. It’s Christmas, let the kids enjoy their Santa time. We can enjoy the photos.

And no, I don’t blame Michelle for using the cover-up. Not with the nutbags on the internets.....