I don't see how it could work

Hey guys! Just a short note before I get into what I want to talk to you about today. I realize not everyone that visits me here visits me on my Happy At Home blog aka my me blog, so you wouldn't know what my blogging plans have come to be.

I've decided that I am only able to blog once a week for the time being. Well, actually twice a week but the first bit of time I have available I've designated as reading time. So I will be by to read your blogs on Friday's and I will be here to write my blogs on Saturday's. Once I get more time I'll be able to go back to my regular reading everyday, writing everyday schedule but for now that's just impossible.

Ok, enough rambling. On to what I wanted to talk about.

Did you read the story about the candidate that wants to replace Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor of California and the crazy idea that he has?

Douglas R. Hughes says that if he's elected governor he wants to rid society of pedophiles. That's a great thing by itself but it's how he wants to do it that I find crazy. He wants to set up an island and put them all on it. He even has a name for it, Pedophile Island. 


He says pedophiles and sex offenders have three options: life in prison, get out of California and never return or live on Pedophile Island with other people of their kind. 


He even has a type of society in mind to set up for them...

The first pedophiles sent to the island will be "a lead team" made up of pedophile police, pedophile fire personnel, pedophile judges, and pedophile forest rangers, among others. They will create what he calls the island's "master plan," which will include building a city hall, medical facility and other needs for the community. 

They will also write the Pedophile Island Constitution.

He has a website all set up that goes into detail of his plans if he is elected. The header says "Why I Need Your Vote. Pedophile Removal Stops Child Rape. My Promise To The People Of California."

Here are my issues with his idea..

Does he believe that only men molest and rape our children? I hate to tell him that there are women guilty of this horrible crime too. So does he want it to be a coed society?

If he does, is he going to require that everyone sent to the island be sterilized so that they can no longer have children? If they are able to have children they will and then what does he want to do with the children born on the island? Leave them there to become victims or put them into an already overwhelmed system that can't find homes for the thousands of children currently up for adoption?

It's an island not a prison. How does he expect to keep the people there? People brave the ocean everyday to get to the United States. What's to stop someone from swimming back to California?

He wants to give them the option of leaving California forever. Well gee thanks Mr. Hughes. I guess California is the only state you care about. Just send them around to the other states and let us deal with them. We obviously don't matter to you. I hope your political aspirations don't reach beyond California otherwise you may be pretty unpopular after this.


Your site says that you will set up the island to be completely self sufficient including farming to provide food. So does that mean that you'll be providing the weapons necessary to kill the animals they're supposed to eat? How about kitchen utensils needed to cook the food such as knives? Do you think that a group of people, of armed people, no, make that armed mentally ill people, can't get together and decide that they want to come back and punish people for the way they've been exiled? I bet they could. History tells us that people have fought with much less. Fought and killed. There's a great idea. Arm them and keep them 22 miles off the coast of California.


I just don't believe this idea is very well thought out and I doubt very seriously that it could ever work. I could be wrong. I have been before but I just don't think I am. What do YOU think?

Pistachio newest nut to avoid

I don't know about you but I haven't had a peanut in a while now. I just can't bring myself to do it. I can't get past the idea of dying because I had a snack.

In case you've somehow missed it, peanuts have been on the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recall list after a salmonella outbreak in a PCA (Peanut Corp. of America) plant out of Georgia. The outbreak is still an issue and products are still being added to the list (you can find an up-to-date list at the bottom of this page). More than 690 people in 46 states have gotten sick and almost 3,900 products have been recalled.

Now there is a new nut to concern yourself with, the pistachio.

Tuesday Kraft Foods Inc. notified the FDA that it had detected salmonella through routine product testing in roasted pistachios . Kraft and the Georgia Nut Co. recalled their Back to Nature Nantucket Blend trail mix because of those test results.

Friday Kroger Co. (the grocery store chain) recalled bagged pistachios from California-based Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., the nation's second-largest pistachio processor. They voluntarily recalled more than 2 million pounds of its roasted nuts shipped since last fall. Those nuts were sold in 31 states.

A spokesman for the company, Fabia D'Arienzo, said "It will be safe to assume based on the volume that this will be an ingredient in a lot of different products, and that may possibly include things like ice cream and cake mixes. The firm is already turning around trucks in transit to bring those back to the facility."

Salmonella is the most common cause of food-borne illness. It is a bacteria that causes diarrhea, fever and cramping. While most people recover it can be life threatening for children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

Because I HAVE to just move on

Since Saturday afternoon Tim and the other homeless men that are living under a bridge not far from my home have been all that's been on my mind. It's consumed my thoughts and dominated several conversations that MY Tim and I have had. I've tried to see all sides of it and give it a fair shot but I just can't come to any real conclusions. I guess my final thought is I hope Sean and his website help these men but I think they did it in the absolute worst taste they could have. End of discussion for me. I just can't think about it anymore right now. It's too much for my heart. I want to believe everything but...

That's where I'm stopping. If I continue it will make me crazy. So with that in mind, I forced myself to read about OTHER things tonight. Thankfully I found a story that made me smile and think Ok, I am right...People are good.

A California woman recently lost her job. I know how she feels. We had quite the time after Hurricane Ike and were out of jobs too. It's a terrible feeling. You horde everything you have just so you'll still have it. (That makes me think about Tim under I-10 again. So sad.) Anyway, I imagine that's what the lady was thinking when she put all her money into a bank bag and then the bag into her purse. The bag contained $4,000 in cash and more than $20,000 in checks. It fell out of her purse in a Kmart parking lot.

You know she had to be panicking. I would be panicking for sure. Lucky for her a good Samaritan was the one that found the bag. He turned it in to police, they tracked her down and returned her money.

First bravo to the man that found a bag full of money in a parking lot and turned it in instead of taking it for himself like it would have been very easy for him to do. Second I am so relieved for the lady. It really makes me happy that she got her money back. Her life would have gone in a bad direction if it hadn't been returned to her no doubt. (And that yet again makes me think of Tim.)

So now that I have a good story in my mind (plus some thoughts that I WILL deal with in my own time) and a happy feeling in my heart I think I can finish my evening. I hope everyone has a good evening.

Keep your eyes open: Children playing

When my children were younger I was a very paranoid mother. If they got out of my sight for even a second I panicked. Visions of horrendous accidents filled my head and wouldn’t leave until I found whichever child was missing.

My paranoia didn’t end there. I completely baby proofed my house. I had plastic covers on all the outlets. I kept all the chemicals locked up in a cabinet that was well out of their reach. I wouldn’t even keep our medications in the medicine cabinet. They were stored on the top shelf of our bedroom closet in a box. Like I said, I was paranoid.

When Christina was around 4 we got a great deal on one of those old International Harvester refrigerators. You know the ones. The have a big latch on the front that locks into place. I think it was made around 1947.

It was a monster refrigerator. That scared me. I remembered something about the company no longer making them because of the dangers of people being trapped inside. Specifically I remembered that if you wanted to take your old I.H. refrigerator to the dump you were required to remove the door. There was no way to open it from the inside unlike modern day refrigerators that can just be pushed open.

The idea that my child could get inside and be trapped wouldn’t leave my head. Eventually I bought a padlock and kept the refrigerator locked at all times. Everyone thought it was a big pain but it made me feel better.

I had actually forgotten all about that old refrigerator and my fears that went with it until I came across a heartbreaking story out of California while reading my morning news today. It involved both a 4 year old and an appliance.

The girl and her 15 month old brother were playing. For some reason the 4 year old decided to climb into a front loading washing machine. Then her brother turned it on. Tragically the girl died.

Her mother found her in the running, water filled washing machine around 2 minutes later. The spokesman for the Orange County sheriff’s office said that the switch to start the machine was a simple push button. They have ruled it an accidental death.

I can not even begin to imagine what that mother is feeling right now. I believe I would have trouble even going on. It would have that profound of an effect on me.

And I never even thought about front loading washing machines being a danger. When I’ve gone to laundrymats, I’ve seen children running around and playing. I’ve even seen them stick their heads into the washers. It never crossed my mind that they would think it was a good place to get inside. I don’t know why I didn’t think that. It’s natural behavior for children to be curious. And I think those years between 1 and 6 are the most curious. They don’t have fear yet. They just want to see what’s in there. Or what that does.

I’m just so sorry for that California family. I wish this didn’t happen. But because it has I’m now looking at washing machines in a different light. Maybe the appliance manufacturers need to see them in a different light too. Maybe they need to look at their products and reevaluate their safety features so no further tragedies occur.

Updates, updates, updates

I got to wondering about some of the stories I’ve talked about here and decided today was as good a day as any to check up on them. I’ll stick to 2009 although it’d be very easy for me to go back to the beginning of this blog…

January 2: Locked away all these years

The Type 57s Atalante is set to go to auction February 7 in Paris. They believe it will be the most expensive car ever sold at auction with the bids going as high as £6 million or $8,576,292 U.S. dollars. That’s not too bad for a car that sat in a dark garage for 48 years. It was untouched from 1960 until it’s discovery in 2007. I’ll let you know what the actual price is when February gets here.

January 3: What is wrong with this world

I’m still upset over the treatment of the Travolta family after 16 year old Jett’s death. This is probably the fourth time I’ve written something about it. First, people in general suck (you can read my rant again if you’d like; I’m just leaving it at in general people suck).

It was reported on FOXnews.com that the document the lowlifes were using to try to extort $25 million dollars from John Travolta was a release form. Basically John Travolta was trying to figure out if it would be better to fly his son to America to be treated rather than taking the 45 minutes to drive him to the Bahaman hospital.

The document stated that the family wouldn’t hold the paramedics liable for anything that might occur if they drove Jett to the plane versus the hospital. Seems pretty standard to me. I assume ambulances are required to go to certain hospitals.

What isn’t standard is the people who were supposed to be trying to save a life using the opportunity to get some money. I believe previously I called them unscrupulous. I stand by that.

January 4: Dear soldier, thank you for my freedom

Dave and Fiona Fulton were arrested for sedition on Saturday, November 29, 2008 after writing emails about the Gambian government. They were sentenced to a year in prison with hard labor and fined £6250 or $8,933.63 U.S. dollars. They have plead with the government to allow them to return to their home in Britain but so far there has been no response. Their website, The Fultons in The Gambia states that you can help their case by writing a letter and gives instructions on how to do that if you are interested.

January 10: The dangerous seas

This is a never ending story for the ships that sail in the Gulf of Aden. Yesterday a German tanker was hijacked by pirates. The tanker has 13 crew members that are being held hostage. It was the 3rd ship seized by pirates in 2009 (I remind you January is not yet over) and more than 40 ships were taken over by pirates in 2008. Japan has now joined the fight to patrol the Gulf of Aden and along the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean.

January 13: Calling all beach bums!

Over 9000 people applied for the dream job in Australia and more than 2.3 million visited the website. The winner will be announced on May 6 and applications can still be submitted until February 22.

January 25: Have you seen this goat?

They still have the goat. It hasn’t changed back into a man yet. The government is conceding that it’s just a goat and are waiting for the owner to claim this now famous four legged car thief. I'm disappointed.

And finally...

January 27: This mornings headlines

The octuplets born to a California lady are all doing well. Seven of them are breathing on their own and one has an oxygen tube. The doctors are impressed with how well they are all doing. In a statement released by the family of the mother they said “The babies continue to grow strong everyday and make good progress.”

I’m happy to hear that. When I first learned of this story and the small size of the babies I was very concerned for their survival. Now I believe they will make it. They expect to keep the infants in the hospital for several more weeks. When they do go home they will have plenty of people to love them. The mother already has six children ages 7, 6, 5, 3 and 2 year old twins. 14 kids under the age of 10... I can’t even begin to imagine.

This mornings headlines

Reading the news this morning, I came across several things that caught my attention so today I thought I would basically summarize each one rather than write about one particular subject. And off we go...

Unreturned library book leads to woman’s arrest

This story is out of Iowa. She was arrested and had to post a $250 bond for a $13.95 book. What I don’t understand is why spend that money to use the police to arrest someone over less than $20. I just think that’s ridiculous. Give them back the book and pay them the $13.95 and move on. Next…

93-year-old froze to death, owed big utility bill

This story out of Michigan just broke my heart and it made me so angry at the same time. The man was 93. He should never have been living alone. I don’t believe the power company should be able to control how much power you receive either. I had no idea they did that. Oakland County’s deputy chief medical examiner said the 93 year old man died “a slow, painful death” after the power company restricted his electricity use because he was past due on his bill. Neighbors said there was ice on the inside of his windows when they discovered him dead in his home. The temperature inside the house was 32 degrees. That’s… I have no idea how to end that sentence. It’s just heartbreaking.

Paramedic Charged in John Travolta Extortion Plot

I was so upset when Jett Travolta died. And I was upset by some people’s reactions to his death and some of the things that were said. I just don’t understand people sometimes. A child died. That should be the end of it except for the mourning. But no, unscrupulous people are always looking for a way to make that money. The details are still pretty sketchy, but one of the paramedics from the ambulance Jett rode to the hospital in has been formally charged with attempting to extort and conspiracy to extort $25 million dollars from the Travolta family. All I can say to that is what goes around comes around and I'm glad the police are doing something about it.

And last but not least…

Woman gives birth to octuplets in SoCal hospital

Six boys and two girls weighing in from 1 pound, 8 ounces to 3 pounds, 4 ounces. Doctors only thought the mother was having seven babies and baby #8 surprised them. Three of the infants needed medical care but as of the story I read, they were all stable. This is only the second time in known history that octuplets have survived more than a few hours. I hope she’s resting at the hospital now; she’ll definitely need the energy once they all get home!

Watch the video on Yahoo

Th-th-th-that’s all folks!

Have a great day everybody!

Where are my crackers...

Yesterday I did my grocery shopping as I mentioned on my Happy At Home site. Then this morning, browsing through the headlines as usual, I came across this story from Irvine, California.

It seems a family did a little shopping in their local grocery store where they bought a box of crackers. Upon returning home they discovered an envelope in the box of crackers. Inside the envelope were one hundred crisp $100 bills.

Now I can imagine the shock on the mothers face when her daughter brought her the envelope filled with money. And I can also imagine the thoughts that would be in my head. Maybe the store was giving away a prize. Maybe it’s my lucky day. Maybe somebody was hiding the money for someone else…

It turns out an elderly Lake Forest lady had decided the box of crackers was a safer place for her money than the bank. She then inadvertently returned the wrong box of crackers to her grocery store in Tustin. Frantic she went back to the store but her crackers were gone.

Then in an odd and a little disturbing twist, the crackers were put back out for sale in the Irvine store where the unsuspecting family bought the woman’s life savings.

I can’t begin to imagine how a store would resell a returned food item but thankfully this time they did. And luckily an honest person found the money and it was returned to the rightful owner.

While I believe it’s appropriate to return items to the people they belong to, I also believe the family that turned the money in should have received something for their good deed. Sadly all they received was a new box of crackers. Now that would be my luck.