“And sometimes, someone, usually mom, leaves the workplace to stay home with the kids, which then leaves her earning a lower wage for the rest of her life as a result.  And that’s not a choice we want Americans to make.”

The remarks above were made by President Obama at a speech in Rhode Island on Halloween (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/10/31/remarks-president-women-and-economy-providence-ri).  I know that they have made their way around the internet and I didn’t really pay that much attention to them.  To me it is just another case of President Obama inserting his foot into his mouth. He has done that a lot.  But then I got to think about what he said.  I am exactly who he is talking about. In April, I resigned my position at a community college to stay home with my boys. They are not babies or toddlers. The decision was one that I wavered about.  I really enjoyed working, but the strain it was causing to me and my family was not worth it.  I began working when my husband retired from the military. Despite what some may think, transitioning from military to civilian life is not easy.  My husband and I reversed roles.  He stayed at home, going to school and taking care of the boys while I worked.  Then about six months later, he got a job. We were both working.  It was not easy.  Finally, we decided I was needed at home.  It was the right decision and a decision that needed to be made.  My boys deserve for their mother to be home.  I am not worried about having lower wages for the rest of my life if I know that my sons will have the guidance and love they need. I tried very hard to be active in everything that the boys did while I was working, but I missed things.  It couldn’t be helped.  The boys were very understanding, but it hurt.  The email to my coworkers was very honest and open about the reason I was leaving. It was to be a stay at home mom. There is no shame in the decision. I don’t understand who the “we” is when President Obama said “that’s not a choice we want Americans to make”.  I am very comfortable with me and my husband making decisions for our family. I do not need outsiders, like President Obama, making decisions for my family.  Women deserve more credit than we are given.  There is no shame in being a stay at home mom.  There is no shame in being a working mother.  The point is it is the individual’s choice not the government’s.  For the last 6 years, the government has been slowing creeping into our homes.    We have been told what we should eat, drink and even what we should think.  Women staying at home rose 29% in 2012. There are 10.4 million women who are stay at home moms.  There are a myriad of reasons for women staying home, but the decision to stay home is their decision.  I have been home for about 7 months now.  I am very busy and sometimes probably have too many irons in the fire. I still work. I substitute teach, but it gives me the flexibility to be here for my children.  I am active in my sons’ school, my church and in my community.  I have been able to focus on my children that I never was able to do as a working mother. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but for me the decision to stay home is one that makes good sense for my family.  It may not be what President Obama wants, but it is what my family wants.

I had the opportunity to attend the Mentoring Institute’s conference at the University of New Mexico for three days last week.  I wasn’t able to attend, but for a few hours each day.  On Friday, I went to one session and the presenter did not show up.  I made the decision to go to another session that sounded interesting – Mono-culturalism, conversing our way to success.  It was presented by an English woman who is currently living in Utah and teaching at Weber State University.  Knowing that this presentation was about diversity, I was shocked when she opened up her presentation by bashing Utah and Mormons.  I was about to jump out of  myseat and call her out.  I didn’t. I thought I would just see what would happen next.  It continued.  She said in her experience people in Utah in particular Mormons are not accepting of others. They only see Mormonism and Zion. They never look beyond.  She also said that if you are not a Mormon in Utah than you are referred to as a gentile and your children will be shunned.  My mouth was gaping.  In between her rants, she spoke about her success in partnering English speakers with ESL students.  But even then she would bash Mormons.  She said that while returned missionaries were quick to volunteer as a conversation partner they don’t empathize with the person or their situation. What!?!  I learned very little about her program and only about her feelings about Utah and Mormons.  I wondered why she chose to live there.  She could always go back to England.  So after the presentation, I wanted to speak to her.  Another attendee had her attention so I followed them out of the room.  As they were talking, I quietly stood to the side.  I jumped in when she began to tell the woman about Mormons.  I said excuse me but I am a Mormon.  I am offended by what you have presented.  She said I am sorry you are offended, but it is my truth.  She then told me she is a Mormon!   I was shocked.  My mouth fell to the floor.  She said she is the Gospel Doctrine teacher in her ward.  I found this very hard to believe.  I told her I found it very interesting that she would paint such a wide brush stroke over the church knowing that the majority of people in the room (there maybe 10 people) were not members of the church and would believe whatever she said.  She never once said during her presentation that she is a Mormon.  She never made that disclaimer.  Here was a member or at least she said is bashing her own church and its members.  She said she watched the recent general conference and that she hated everything the church leaders said.  From what I remember, it was about following Christ and strengthening families.  How could anyone be upset about that?  I told her we all have free agency to think and act how we want, but I was disappointed that she would portray the church in such a poor light.  She didn’t care what I had to say and I had to get back to work so I left.  My blood was boiling.  I was glad that I had said something, but I really should have jumped out of my seat.  I understand that everyone has their opinions and ideas and I respect that.  I just don’t understand how denigrating a religion is helping the dialogue in this country.  I am writing a letter to the organizers of the event as I think they should know about this incident.  If they want someone to speak about diversity, then maybe they should screen them first.  I might even write a letter to the president of Weber State University.  I wonder how they feel about a woman representing herself as from Weber State that goes around beating up the Mormon church and the state of Utah?  Maybe this is going too far, but I don’t think so.  I believe in doing what is right and just. That is my truth.

Okay so now I will write about Herman Cain.  I am not a Herman Cain supporter.  I think he has some interesting ideas, however, I am not supporting any of the candidates as of yet. I also believe that sexual harassment is  wrong and is not to be tolerated. The allegations that have surfaced over the past week alleging Mr. Cain sexually harassed three women while head of the National Restaurant Association are serious.  Politico broke the story, but there were no names to the sources.  It seemed a little fishy to me.  Then the lawyer of one the women that received a “settlement” was planning on talking but now won’t.  Again seems fishy.  Then the National Restaurant Association releases this statement:

Based upon the information currently available, we can confirm that more than a decade ago, in July 1999, Mr. Bennett’s client filed a formal internal complaint, in accordance with the Association’s existing policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment,” the NRA said, according to National Journal. “Mr. Herman Cain disputed the allegations in the complaint. The Association and Mr. Bennett’s client subsequently entered into an agreement to resolve the matter, without any admission of liability. Mr. Cain was not a party to that agreement.”

It seems as though Mr. Cain is off the hook. The National Restaurant and the alleged victim made an agreement.  Mr. Cain did not.  Now out trots Gloria Allred and a new woman that says she, too, was sexually harassed.  When I heard on the radio that she was a client of Gloria Allred all credibility was lost.  I wonder where Ms. Allred finds these women.  Does she put an ad in the paper? Does she have  a room of full of women that wait around until the next big scandal and say oh and by the way I was a victim, too.  The new accuser, Sharon Bialeck, had no problems reading a statement in front of the cameras.  As I watched this on the news, I thought if this happened to her why does she need to read a statement.  She stumbled over words and got teary eyed in the right places.  It just screamed phony.  Googling Sharon Bialeck will tell you that she has filed bankruptcy 2 times and has been a job hopper.  Now does that mean that her allegations are automatically false? If course not.  Why is she coming forward now?  The alleged incident happened in 1996 and Herman Cain ran for the Senate in Georgia in 2004.  Where was she then?  It doesn’t add up.  There is more to this story.   Why would anyone put themselves in a position of running for public office if they knew these types of allegations could potentially come out?  Again it doesn’t add up.  If he did do it, why not come out and tell the truth?  Honesty is after all the best policy.  But day after day, Mr. Cain says this isn’t true.  So who are we to believe or should we even care.

I know, I know what a lengthy title and probably a little strange too.  It has been far too long since I have been musing and really need to get it all out.  So first things first.  I didn’t get up at 2:00 am and watch the royal wedding.  The only royal wedding I did that for was when Prince Andrew and Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson got married. I was 12 so I think it gets a pass.  So while I did not get up and watch I did hit the internet to see what her dress looked like and to see the first kiss (or two) from the balcony.  I am not awestruck, but I have to say I am a sucker for such pomp.  The British have a reputation as being boring, but they sure do know how to put on a wedding.  So after the royal wedding, Osama was found and killed. It was a like a wedding present to the world from the United States more accurately the Navy Seals.  I was sitting in the living room when my husband came in and told me that Osama bin Laden was dead. I didn’t believe it. Then I saw President Obama on the Fox News and knew he wasn’t kidding.  Personally I thought the guy was dead a long time ago.  How wrong I was.  He was not in a cave, but in a house watching videos of himself on Al Jazerra.  Which leads me to Pakistan.  If they think anybody believes that the government or military did not know that he was living just a few blocks away from Pakistan’s equvialent to West Point well I have ocean front property in Arizona.  According to the Pakistani ambassador if it is found out that someone knew about Osama living among them in Pakistan, heads will roll.  I don’t take this very seriously, but maybe something will happen. Pakistan has received $18.6 billion dollars since 2002.  They shouldn’t be receiving anything at all nor should any other country.  I totally agree with Ron Paul on this one. No foreign aid!  So while that is all playing out, the NFL and possibly the NBA will have lockouts.  The front page of the sports page in the Albuquerque Journal had a story about how the lockout would affect child support payments.  Seriously, child support payments.  In the players handbook about what to do during the lockout one section is devoted to child support and alimony.  One women quoted in the story has a child with Antonio Cromartie, an NFL player who reportedly made $1.7 million last year.  Her child is one of 9 by 8 different women. He needed an advance on his salary last year just to pay his child support.  Then there is the basketball player, Shawn  Kemp.  He has 7 children with 7 different women.  The list goes on and on.  I don’t get it.  In this video clip( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHe1AT-rk50&feature=player_embedded#at=42), Cromartie lists all of his children. Most are 2 to 3 years old.  What the heck!  We wonder as a society what is happening to our children.  Which now leads me to something else I should have put in the title – polygamy.  I am not a supporter, however, I wonder what is worse a man married to 2 or more wives who is involved in his children’s lives or a guy who has several children with women he is not married to and has very little contact with them?  The players and there are certainly players in the NFL and NBA that need to learn to keep it zipped.  Do they have children in every city that has a NFL or NBA team?  There are young, aspiring football and basketball players who look up to these guys.  I just hope they only admire their athletic ability and not their ability to father children. Okay so I ranted a little and it felt good.  As summer is on it’s way, I will have more time to muse and rant. I am looking forward to this.  So go forth and rant, rave and muse. It does a body good.

After the horrific shooting that took place in Tucson, the sheriff of Pima County came out and stated the shooting happened because of “the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government.”  After he made this statement, a fire storm of liberals and other left leaning pundits came out of the woodwork to blame Sarah Palin, talk radio, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and Sean Hannity among others.  During the 2010 election, many congressional districts were listed as “targets”.  This wording was apparently inappropriate and could have set the shooter off.  The left leaning media must think the American people are stupid because they continued to play this up as if the shooter, Jared Loughner, should be let off easy because he was being encouraged to commit the act of violence.   We now know that he was not encouraged by any one except for maybe the voices in his head.  So instead of trying to bring the country together especially after a act of violence that left six people dead and seven others wounded in various stages, we are now bombarded with the sensitivity police.  I should have not used the word “fire storm”.  It’s insensitive.  Any words that conjure the image of guns or violence is wrong.  The Arizona shooting did not start this.  It has been going on in our country for many years.  The Columbine Shooting in Colorado was horrible.  It is an incident that should not be forgotten. However, our society can sometimes take things away from incidences like Columbine or the Tucson shootings and take things out of bounds. A 17 year old Eagle Scout in Massachusetts was suspended from school for 20 days because he had a 2 inch knife in his car.  It was not in the school on his person, but in his car. A Rhode Island  8 year old was told  he could not wear a hat he had made to honor the military because it violated the schools ban on drugs and weapons at school. The hat had an American flag on it and green army men on it that held guns.  Just this month in Oklahoma City, a first grader was given in school suspension for using his fingers to pretend to shoot a gun.  The principal said he would be given a harsher penalty if it happened again.  These are examples from schools, but we also have an example from John King who hosts the John King USA show on CNN who recently said this, “Before we go to break, I want to make a quick point. We were having a discussion about the Chicago mayoral race just a moment ago. My friend Andy Shaw used the term ‘in the crosshairs’ in talking about the candidates. We’re trying, we’re trying to get away from that language. Andy is a good friend, he’s covered politics for a long time, but we’re trying to get away from that kind of language. We won’t always be perfect. So hold us accountable when we don’t meet your standards.” Should he also apologize that the very network he is on once had a show called “Crossfire”?  This is all getting out of hand.  We are back to the point where political correctness doesn’t mean anything because it seems one can’t open their mouth without being politically incorrect.   So I leave you with a quote from Susan Powter, that chick with the shaved blond hair in the 1990s, “STOP THE INSANITY!”

A woman in Sacramento is suing McDonald’s over Happy Meals.  She says that McDonald’s markets directly to children because of the toys.  Well, duh. She also says that McDonald’s makes it hard to say no to her children. She wants McDonald to stop making her job as  a parent easier. What does she do when her children want a  toy or a sugary cereal at the store? Does she give in because it’s hard to say no or does she say no? This lawsuit may become a class action lawsuit. So if the courts allow this suit to go forward, we could all get 15 cents from McDonald’s and that’s not even enough for the dollar menu. Now another crazy story is on my radar. In the town of Brookline, Massachusetts the elementary school has not said the Pledge of Allegiance for 5 years. Starting in January, the principal will begin reciting the Pledge with the students at least once a week. A letter was sent home with a permission slip. Imagine having to give permission so your child can say the Pledge of Allegiance.  Now the ACLU is involved. They don’t think it should be the parents decision, but the children should decide.  These are elementary school aged children.  Most elementary school kids I have been around can’t decide what they want for lunch much less decide whether they should say the Pledge.  So one parent in California hates that she has to say no to her children and a school in Massachusetts has sent out permission slips.  So here is a call to arms. Eat a Happy Meal and then recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Just make sure you wipe the ketchup off your face first.  Mmmm…french fries.

Dancing with the Stars is getting out of control.  Across the country viewers of DWTS are outraged Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah, has moved on to the final three.  It has gotten so bad that a man in Wisconsin shot his tv because Bristol Palin danced so badly. On the front page of the Albuquerque Journal on Friday (11/19) there was a front page story all about it. The reporter even tried to contact the head of the state Republican party. People were outraged and even called the local ABC affiliate to voice their complaints.  I confess I have not watched DWTS and only watched it once when bull riding champion, Ty Murray, was on. He got a lot of grief because the judges said he moved like a robot and consistently gave him low scores. He did make it to the semifinals because of Professional Bull Riding fans like me. Most of the tv I watch are shows taped on the DVR.  Even if I watched a show that had voting by the time I get around to watching the show, the voting is closed. Apparently the Tea Party is stacking the votes for Bristol. This is just out right dumb. People call and vote. Anybody who has a phone and/or computer can do it.  From the blogosphere it looks like Jennifer Grey will win.  She should know how to dance. She was in Dirty Dancing and her father is Joel Grey, dancer and choreographer.  But who cares. I just think it’s really sad that people take DWTS so seriously and would get so upset over Bristol Palin’s dancing because her mom is Sarah Palin. Dancing with the Stars is a joke.  The majority of the contestants aren’t stars. They are one shot wonders who are way over their 15 minute time limit.  I don’t think Bristol Palin should even be on the show. She’s not a star.  She’s just a kid from Alaska.