Back to the rants

I heard a story on NPR Monday night that really set me off. It has all the key elements of a story that should be a red flag to people that the bullshit is going to be thick. It had the police, a criminal, drugs, and the ACLU.

Apparently the ACLU and the left are pissed off because these crackheads who resist arrest are dying from over exertion while on drugs. The medical examiners have labeled this "excited delirium". The ACLU thinks this is a made up term. It seems that using this label places the responsibility for these deaths on the criminals not the police.


The title of the story is 'diagnosis or cover up' . The implication is that the police are somehow killing these fine citizens. Then the police cover their murderous tracks by getting the medical examiner to make up a fake diagnosis. The story waits a long time before mentioning that drugs are even involved. Nowhere in the story does it say how the police are doing this or how they could avoid it, just that it's wrong and the police are at fault.


So I guess the police are suppose to show up to a call and if the suspect appears to be on drugs and out of shape just leave them there? What about that people who called in the disturbance? What if this drugged up criminal hurts an innocent person? Then the polices really will be at fault for leaving a dangerous person on the street. But who cares about the innocent people right? Not the ACLU.


When are organizations like the ACLU going to accept that people are responsible for their own actions? That if you break the laws of society you will be dealt with public safety considered first and the criminals second. How are we suppose to attract qualified people to join the police force if they are always painted as the bad guy? Last time I checked calling 911 put you in touch with your local police department not the ACLU.

It's about to get mushy in here

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who has taken the time to read and comment on my blog. When I started this blog the idea was rant and rave about all the silly injustices in my world. I really never thought anyone else would bother to read it. Never in a million years did I think it would turn into what it is today.


I have learned so much from your comments and your blogs. You've given me a lot of laughs, a few tears and a lot to think about. I would have never believed that people from all over the world could come together and have such good hearted, interesting, caring and thought provoking discussions. The genuine concern you have shown for me and each other is touching.


So thanks to everyone for restoring a little bit of my faith in people. It came at a time when I needed it the most.


YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

For whom the bell tolls

I got some bad news this past week. My uncle became sick and had to go the hospital. Within a few days we found out he had cancer. He was given six months to one year to live. While they were waiting to find out what kind of treatment they would try he was readmitted Friday and the months turned into three weeks. Well it looks as though he won't even make that because as of now they expect him to die any hour. Very sad.


Although I saw him a few times a year, every year of my life, I can't say we were close. He was a private type person and never had much to say but he was always nice and very well liked. He raised a tremendous family that anyone would be proud to have. His daughter had his last grandchild just two weeks ago.


I don't mention this to get sympathy as I said I were not close but it does have me down. I have always felt lucky to have been blessed to have many aunts and uncles. Six aunts on my mom's side alone. This is the third uncle to die. I can't help but think in the next few years I will watch this process repeated many times. There is a part of me that's glade that I was never that close with many of them. I know that sounds bad but it doesn't sound so bad today.


I have an older brother and a younger sister. All day I kept thinking that one of us will be the first to die and one will be the last. One of us will go to the others funerals and one of us will not attend any. Worse than the thought is knowing this is a fact and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. Death is such a sad part of life, one I will never get use to or understand.


Now I have to be ready to put on my suite and go to my uncles funeral and wonder when is the next one going to happen.

Update on Jen

Copied from Jen's blog:

"The short version is that this doctor doesn't think that the brain lesion is what's making me ill. That means that he doesn't want to cut the back of my head off. Yet.
I have to go in at 6:45 in the morning on Sunday for more tests. He's casting his vote with MS. Many have traveled this road and failed but he thinks he'll be able to detect something the others haven't. I wish him the best of luck.
In the meantime he's treating me with a different nerve block (which is the first step in treating MS) with the hopes that it will control my tremors, headaches, seizures, and other assorted symptoms from hell."

Again I'll be praying for you Jen.

Many of you may not realize that Jen, who you have seen comment on my blog, has been very sick for the past year. Tomorrow she is going to the doctor to get a head scan to see if she will need a brain operation. I can't imagine the fear that must be involved in this process.


I'm not aware of everyones religious or spiritual affiliations but I ask and hope that everyone takes a moment to say a prayer for her. I don't believe a person can have to much support in a situation like this.


Jen my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Expectations

Expectations are a big part of every body's life. It seems to me that expectations are the cause of a lot of unhappiness in this world. Are they a good thing or a bad thing? What are they really based on? Usually I set my expectations for myself and my situations so high that the outcome can only be disappointing.


I seem to have high expectations for the people I know and love as well. They have to go above and beyond my expectations to impress me. Expectations they aren't even aware of sometimes. Strangers, on the other hand, can do the smallest of things and make me happy. Is this fair?


This scenario players out hundreds of times a day with the end result almost always disappointment. Everything from how I expect my wife to treat me down to how my food should taste is all weighed against my expectations. This can lead to hurt feelings when people aren't even aware that they have injured me. In fact, they may be thinking they did me a favor. When I am sick I expect my wife to take care of me but does her definition of care match my expectation. It better or I might just blame her for my unhappiness instead of the illness. Totally unfair on my part but it has happened.


Of course the few times my expectations are met euphoria should ensue but in most cases I just feel relief that I wasn't disappointed. Most of the time I find happiness when my bad expectations turn out to be false. A good day when I expected a bad one. No traffic when I expected rush hour grid lock. No waiting at my favorite restaurant to get a seat.


Why do I feel the right to place my expectations on everything and anyone? How do I keep from having these expectations? Where do they come from and how do I control them? I hope some of the answers I find are the ones I'm expecting to hear.

Per Harbinger

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After reading Lindsay's comment about not having children I sat in disbelief that anyone would not want kids. Of course my opinion comes from my own experiences with my children and the fact that I have always wanted a family more than anything else. I will admit that children are not for everyone and everyone shouldn't have them because your life, as you know it, pretty much ends if you plan on doing it right.


Still I can't help but want people who have never experienced the joy of it to know what it's like. So here is a list of what I love about children and why I think people should have them;


You will never know unconditional love until you have a child


You will never know true pride until you have a child to be proud of


You will never understand your parents until you have a child


You will never understand the magic of being a child until you have a child


You will never understand concern until you have a sick child or you stop by their crib just to hear them breath (yeah, I still do it)


You will never truly under stand innocence until you spend time with a child


You will never know true Patience until you teach a child


You will never know trust until you have a child count on you for their life


You are almost guaranteed immortality through your child

I didn't know love - TRUE LOVE - until I had my first child.

A woman will have something to blame her saggy boobs and flabby stomach on after having a child. :)


There are probably hundreds more but these are the ones that quickly came to mind.


I'm sure people will say they have experienced some of the things on my list without having children but I never knew these things completely until I had my children. Just something to think about.

My middle name is "childish"

After accepting 20 Somethings challenge to do something childish this weekend I had to stop and think what I could do. The problem is I act childish all the time (no noise from the peanut gallery here). It really wasn't any problem for me to do something childish this weekend or any other day. The wife says I'm just a big kid anyway.

At work I'm in a position that nobody will say anything no matter what I do, so pulling a few pranks is kind of expected. It helps break up the day. We shout things, throw things, and hide each others stuff all the time.

In case there's any doubt that I did do something childish here a few things I did this weekend.

Played hide and seek

Rode a scooter

Rode a tricycle

Had a tea party

Played army

Played ring around the Rosy


Yep, I lead an exciting life.


The other day when Spiller told the story of him jumping to his car on one foot in the snow to freak out his neighbors it reminded me of another funny story. This seems like a good place to put it so I'll remember it.

A friend of mine in his fifties told me this story last year and it cracked me up. It seems his neighbor got a new Cadillac that he was very proud of. So every few nights my friend would sneak over to his house and pour a few gallons of gas into his new Cadillac. After about a week the neighbor came over and slapped my friend on the back and said "62 miles to the gallon." Every time the neighbor saw him he would run him down to brag about the car. After a month my friend started taking a little gas out of the car every few nights. In a few days his neighbor would come home and go straight in his house without saying a word. Eventually he took the car back to the dealership claiming it was broke because it wouldn't get 62 miles to the gallon anymore. They thought he was nuts. I think that's funny :)

Per harbinger

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