Transplant

I'm a Minnesota transplant. I was born in Michigan and moved to Minnesota when my father accepted a new job.

I have fond memories of a magical place in Michigan; Mackinac Island. I've included a link on my blog. Where else can you get away from the noise of cars and go back in time to an era of relaxation? Over the years, things have changed on Mackinac, but the essence of the island is still there.

Growing up, I was intrigued by the history of the Straits area and I voraciously read anything I could get my hands on about the region.

My father designed one of the ferry boats that plied the straits between Mackinaw City and the island. That was a very cool thing to me.

I never grow tired of reading about the island and hearing about the things that are going on there.

It really is heavenly there.

Gasoline Prices

Today when I drove past the local SuperAmerica, I noticed that the price of gas is at $2.89 per gallon. I am pretty certain that it will be over $3.00 by the 4th of July. That will leave most of the commuters in my area at a loss since the state has put more backing into new highways and less into public transportation. In fact, city bus routes were being eliminated only a few months ago. Suburban bus lines seem to be booming with increased ridership though and I am glad to see that. Still, people are commuting many miles in big, huge, gas-guzzling SUVs and they are not carpooling.

I do not believe that the answer is to drill for oil in ANWAR. The solution is to find alternate energy resources, increase the MPG of vehicles (I want a Prius!) and fund more public transportation. It's been nearly 30 years since the energy crisis of the 1970s and Americans are still consuming oil and other energy resources at an alarming rate. Except now we have competition from China. Oh and we have greedy oil companies who seem to be making money at alarming rates. Just heard on the news that in China a gallon of gas is going for less than $2 per gallon and in Venezuala it is .19 cents a gallon! It's time for Americans to stop this dependency on foreign oil and find alternate energy sources as well as ways that we, as consumers can save energy and stop global warming.

Immigration

My great grandparents on my mother's side emigrated to the US from Germany in the 1860s. They settled in the Detroit area where my great grandfather started a business and contributed heavily to his community. My great grandparents spoke their native tongue at home, and my grandmother spoke German too. She was bilingual. They didn't come here expecting that everything would conform to them; they adopted the language of the United States and they sent their children to school where they were taught in English. The other thing about my great grandparents is that they came to this country legally. They went through the proper channels and become US citizens. I don't believe that someone who comes to this country ILLEGALLY has the right to US citizenship or even amnesty over someone who has legally tried to emigrate here. It is unrealistic to keep our borders open so that anyone can cross over and enter this country illegally. We should not be rewarding people who break the law! I do support a guest worker program that would require workers to come here temporarily, and through the proper channels, apply to become citizens. This would also force employers to treat these workers with respect and fairness. But those who are here illegally should not be allowed to cut to the front of the line ahead of legal immigrants. It is important for the US to maintain a strong and secure border, especially in these uncertain times. I think it would benefit the workers as well so that it would be less likely that they would be taken advantage of. The US needs to accept people from all over the world, not just our latin neighbors. Everyone should have the chance to come here as long as they follow the law of the land. And they should work to become Americans and melt into the pot, not stir it and try to meld it into their image.

Anyone heard of English as a second language classes?

I totally support this idea! If these people are so brilliant then they should have no trouble taking and completing an ESL class. They may be the most brilliant professors around but how can they teach if their students cannot understand them? In my opinion, it is a failure on the part of higher education if the professors cannot teach coherently and students cannot understand them. With the price of higher education skyrocketing it is especially important that the people who teach do so in a coherent way so that students and parents get their money's worth.

Minnesota professors should speak English, lawmakers say

Associated Press
A House proposal to get tough on Minnesota college professors whom students find difficult to understand got a little easier Wednesday.

A measure brought forward would give such professors a year to improve their speaking skills.

Rep. Bud Heidgerken earlier proposed requiring that professors at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system speak coherent English.

Faculty groups and college administrators said the most talented candidates for math and science professorships often have foreign backgrounds and, at times, limited English skills.

But backers of the proposal said students and their parents have a right to expect they will understand their professors.

Memories....

At times I can remember when the roles were not reversed. Times when my mother took care of me and not vice versa. I am the youngest in a family of 3 children. My sister and brother are several years older than me so I grew up having the best of both worlds; I had siblings yet by the time I was 13 both of my siblings were in college so I was like an only child. My dad and I were so close that we were called the "gruesome twosome" by the rest of the family. Sadly, my dad passed away nearly 9 years ago and I still think of him and miss him every day. My relationship with my mother was always very close. I remember crying buckets of tears whenever she would leave for a night out with my dad. She was always there to take care of me. In my teenage years we became friends as well as mother and daughter and that relationship has continued. Now my mother is losing her memories and the roles are reversed; now I'm the caregiver. In fact, sometimes she will call me "Mom" as in her mind the line has become gray. The woman who ran the family budget now is too confused to write a check correctly. When we have groceries delivered, she cannot remember that cottage cheese belongs in the fridge. She's lost her creativity too. She was a painter, a knitter and a jewelry maker. Thanks to my mom, I too have a very pronounced artistic side. She was also an avid book reader; plowing through several books every week. Now she struggles to say the right words and has trouble recalling the names of everday items. She knows something is happening to her and she quite frequently dissolves into tears over things that she never would have before. I'm grateful for the time that I am able to spend with her. We live together now so that I can be her caregiver. I know that she is eating well, that she is bathing and that she does not have to struggle with finances. I take care of those things for her. I try not to think about what lies in the future for both of us. I truly try to live one day at a time. I adopted a kitten to join us. Mom loves this kitten and the kitten loves her. My mother, as a young parent, never had time for pets as she was busy caring for a family. Now she enjoys petting Olivia and playing with her. It's nice to see her bonding with a pet.

Truth

This is so true. I agree 100%

Clooney Faults Democrats on Iraq War
Mar 13, 3:29 PM EST

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- George Clooney has faulted Democrats for their timidity in the months before the start of the Iraq war, saying many party leaders muted their criticism of the Bush administration rather than risk being branded as unpatriotic.

"The fear of (being) criticized can be paralyzing. Just look at the way so many Democrats caved in the run up to the war," Clooney said Monday in a profanity-laced posting on The Huffington Post blog site.

"In 2003, a lot of us were saying, `Where is the link between Saddam and bin Laden? What does Iraq have to do with 9/11?'" Clooney wrote. "We have to agree that it's not unpatriotic to hold our leaders accountable and to speak out."

In the Web posting, Clooney, 44, said, "When you hear Murrow say, `We mustn't confuse dissent with disloyalty' ... it's like he's commenting on today's headlines."

Roe v. Wade

What do a bunch of old men know about women and their bodies? It is unbelievable in this day and age for government to invade the privacy of women in the decisions they make regarding their own bodies. The right to privacy is guaranteed by the constitution of the United States. Any decisions a woman makes about her own body is her personal right; no one should be able to tell her what to do. The solution is to educate women and men about ways to avoid conception. Government has no business coming between a woman and her right to privacy.

Prince?

One of the women in my carpool told me that last summer she had a visit from Prince at her home near Chanhassan Minnesota. She said that he was canvassing the neighborhood for the Jehovah's Witnesses! Not sure if I believe her.

In the 90s I used to see Prince cruising around on his motorcycle. Paisley Park is nearby and he lived in the neighborhood.

Oh what to say...

It's been awhile since I have posted. Winter has been fairly mild here in Minnesota all things considered. The last few days have been seasonably cold. We currently have little to no snow which is weird.

In January, after feeling achy and tired one too many times I finally relented and went to the doctor where I learned that I have fibromyalgia. Of the 18 different tender points used to diagnose fibromyalgia, I have 12. Or at least I had twelve on that day. After reading everything I could find on this disease I concur with my doctor. I have so many of the symptoms it's scary. But in the end it's a relief to know that it has a name. My case seems to be fairly mild except when I have a flare up and then I am in utter pain and fatigue.

My SAD has been pretty good this winter. I attribute that to meds.

Religion

Just got one of those emails that everyone loves to pass around. This one concerned Christian holidays and stated that if the government did not want to acknowledge them, since "it's the law" then maybe government employees and elected officials shouldn't get Christian holidays off from work. I'd like to take it a step further: if the government recognizes Christian holidays then why not Jewish holidays, Muslim holidays and all other religion's holidays? Our country was founded for religious freedom as well as other reasons. Why are Christians, I count myself as one, so up in arms? Why aren't the Jewish people up in arms, and the Muslims?

Just a thought......

Who's the Patriot?

I recently read a letter to the editor of the local newspaper. The letter was from a parent who was complaining about the November 2nd student walkout to protest the war in Iraq. This parent was vilifying any student who would dare to speak out against President Bush. My first thought was, Hello, this country is a democracy. EVERYONE has the right to speak their beliefs and thoughts. If you don't like this, then you can easy move someplace where the freedom of speech is prohibited. There seems to be a movement lately that claims that if you speak out against our government then you are unpatriotic, un-American and engaging in treason. Baloney! Do these same people feel that the founding fathers who laid the foundation of this great country were treasonous? (they might still be British colonials if they believe that!). That would also make the Boston Tea Party an act of terrorism and treason (again, it would be if you were loyal to King George).

If the government makes a bad decision, then it is our right as Americans to speak out!