Union Blues

My grandfather was a blue collar, union man. Very stubborn. Honestly don't know if he'd accept the rot that today's unions have become. But I'm sure he never would have approved of using his pipefitter's union dues to purchase a golf course. iOwnTheWorld comments on the irony of the class envy: it's only bad when you're not the one doing it. So I was thinking. My grandfather loved opera. Maybe some pipefitters should buy an opera house.

Late Night Weirdness

I had the problem today of my mind racing and not really being able to concentrate on much of anything. I'm starting to wonder how many times I've had this issue and not pinned down what was going on. I used to be on ADD medication, until I was hospitalized and diagnosed as bipolar. Now I'm not sure what to do. I could mention it to my doctor and play a round of medication roulette. Or not.

Speaking of bipolar, I'm also beginning to wonder how much more fun I could be having if I cashed in on it. People have been talking on the interwebs today about how Charlie Sheen might have bipolar or another mental illness. Or maybe he's just addicted to crack. Hey, don't mind my drunken binge! I'm bipolar!

And lastly, what kind of doctor gives a bipolar woman an abnormal boob job? What's next, cutting off limbs for those people who are obsessed with getting rid of them? Oh, and by the way? I feel so ugly without a diamond tiara. I'll be a better role model for my daughters once I get one.

Mad at Ohio

At my daughter's dance lesson tonight, I was talking to a father who happens to be a teacher in our school district. He informed me and the other mom there that the state of Ohio is shifting to mandatory full-day kindergarten AND mandatory *preschool.* I'm angry and appalled! Yes, I sent my daughters to preschool, and they enjoyed it, but it was only mornings, not every school day, and I certainly wouldn't want it to be forced on every child. I also don't see five-year-olds as necessarily being ready for all-day school, either. They're still so young! Of course, too many children that age are in all-day daycare anyway, and I have to wonder if parents who do have children in daycare were a driving force behind this. It also makes me mad that I am subsidizing their daycare, basically. They are probably using some sort of excuse about helping the children academically, but seriously. When my daughters were kindergarten age, they were still solidifying letters and numbers. I don't see going to a whole day making a difference in that. Not to mention that there is evidence that even Head Start ends up not giving kids an advantage in the long run. Where is the evidence that all-day preschool will work?

Another issue is the cost. Our school district is blessed to be in a financially good place at the moment, but adding all those extra kids, and the extra hours, will put a strain on the district's budget. How will districts that already struggle financially deal with it? Especially in this economy? It will mean more levies, and of course the schools know how to manipulate parents, by cutting "non-essential" classes like art, extracurricular activities and busing. Of course, so many parents work today that they are apparently happy to pay the extra taxes to ease the burden of having to drive them to school, and pick them up right after school.

I'm so disappointed in Ohio. I'm definitely contacting my legislators, although it's a bit late at this point. I wish I had a place to get good Ohio news besides the local rag. Homeschooling did not work out in the long run for us, but I think I would probably homeschool during the preschool and kindergarten years if I had children of that age. It's a sad development.

I Can Haz Free Healthcare?

I guess we've been doing it wrong all this time. My husband should quit his job, become a woodworker, and then we too can live in a 3,000 square foot house, drive SUVs, send our kids to tony private schools, and get free healthcare for our kids off of you sucker tax payers. I guess we can drop our auto insurance too. Yeah!

Michelle Malkin has a pretty thorough run-down. Don Surber chimes in also.

Natural Consequences

Of course it makes sense that a woman who shoots herself in the stomach and killed her unborn child may not be charged for murder. After all, she could have just had it sucked down a sink without any consequences at all, right? At least, no *legal* consequences. Ironic that a woman is being charged for drowning her two children in the bathtub at the same time. She should have just killed them before they were born. Then she wouldn't have to deal with all this.

Oh, it's all so clear now!

Okay, so I didn't turn the radio off fast enough after Monday night football last night, and they cut right to Coast to Coast AM. Turns out the reason Bush nominated Miers is because...he's been taken over by aliens! Glad we've figured that out, huh?