Someone just say something already!

I've been reading many articles about this Trayvon Martin shooting. At first when I read about it last week I questioned whether or not Zimmerman shot this kid in self defense but have since begun to rethink that.

Last week, there was no mention of a good reason why this boy was shot other than he was a suspicious looking character in the neighborhood. Zimmerman, the 'killer', was being painted as someone who had some personal vendetta against black people and damn if it didn't almost drag me in.

Our own president, who I am not a big fan of, even chimed in so good grief, there has to be some injustice going on--especially for the leader of our country to speak out on the murder of a single man considering all the other murders that take place on any given day. This one just has to be special. Although, I am not really that naive..perhaps it is just that part of me that tries very hard remember there are two sides to every story.

What I have learned from all my reading is that there most certainly is an injustice going on. I have sat for hours reading more and more about this. My own personal belief now is that this whole media blow up of racism, the president's reaction, Spike Lee posting the 'murderers' address on Twitter not once but twice--except they weren't really the murders address but that of an elderly couple who are now terrified, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, the 'p****-ass Cracker' t-shirt wearing children, hoodies on the senate floor, the mother trademarking her deceased child's name, protests and storming of a Walgreens...ALL of them are making a huge mistake and one that is maddening.

I won't elaborate much more other than to say that I am appalled at the President of the United States--why? He should be standing up and pulling on the reins of this runaway train as more and more information begins to surface. All that outrage I read about last week seemed very real, very reasonable...after the things I've read up to today....my own outrage is for a man who should really be setting an example of a proud man, a proud race, a proud country. Instead the hateful words are still being doled out everywhere...

There is so much I could say about both sides of this but I cannot. But I will say this...once someone who finds this post offensive you can be damn sure that because I am angry with the President for his lack of upstanding behavior I will be labeled a racist; and the mere fact that I am even posting on it I will be accused of making this political as is already starting to occur. It's funny too because it seems to me that the shooter is a registered democrat, the majority of those protesting or wearing hoodies on the senate floor are more than likely liberal and democrat and here I sit in my home, reading all about these follies, shaking my head, becoming very concerned about what will be the result of this mess and it will be me that is a hater, a cracker, a racist, a murderer.....is that NOT how things have been going since I have become a blogger??? Yeah, pretty much..but oh well.

I am very sorry for the death of Trayvon to his parents, to all his friends and family. I am sorry that Zimmerman will have to live with this for the rest of his life and god help him live a good long life. I say that because the way things have been going there really is no telling how safe that man and his family will ever be again. What I am most sorry about is how this one death has been made so very important above so many others in this life I have lived and for what may be reasons that equate to nothing more than self defense. How will people accept that as a reason with so many strong leaders screaming 'cold blooded murder' or worse, remaining silent as the havoc unfolds.....

Doesn't it take two?????

Mother protests one-sided suspension

Of course my first reaction to this story it outrage! Why only the boy? Why not the girl? Maybe there are circumstances involved in this that would warrant this disciplinary action from the school but that remains to be discovered.

The blame game, lets blame the wind

Buried in an article from the Star Tribune I found something interesting:

At the site, Hoeppner talked to construction workers who survived the fall. They had been doing repair work but expressed concern to him that the bridge had been wobbling several days before it collapsed. Every layer of concrete the workers removed, the bridge would wobble even more, they told Hoeppner.

Reading various things, seeing the finger pointing, listening to those just looking for someone to blame, the State's lack of action to fix a bridge that was deemed safe to drive on, yet with some areas of concern...not an abnormal rank among the country's overall bridge rating...

I would like to point out that the bridge was in fact being worked on, that MNDot did what it thought was best in terms of determing safety...drilling many holes in the steel they feared that it would weaken the steel or overall structure. Can't fault them for that, had they done this and the same thing occured they would have been blamed for drilling all those holes to put up steel plates on the stress areas. Damned no matter which route they took.

On the way home from soccer pictures the night it happened I told Pat that MNDot was going to be coming under fire for this, blamed for this. And then we started to discuss the how it could have happened. My own theory was that it's been ungodly hot in the Cities, the normally 8 lane road was down to a measley 2 lane road with traffic bumper to bumper and large machinery placed all over for the work...did I mention that workers were actually WORKING on the bridge...the added heat from the work, the weight of all the cars, perhaps it was just way too much.....Pat said no, not possible, those bridges are made to withstand that sort of stress.

I have stood by my theory simply because I'm a stubborn person...he came home from work yesterday and started talking about how him and his editor were reading an article in the NY Times or something and how her theory went....After he got done telling me what he thought she came up with, I looked at him and said, "Umm, hon, that's what I was trying to tell you the night it happened, but you told me no way." Oh, it is? Oh, well, I didn't look at in that way until I read that article."

Removing layers of concrete could actually weaken the structure and with all of that weight and stress it could have caused this. I personally don't know what the article said but after seeing the above quote from the construction worker, it makes me wonder. I'm no engineer or scientist by any means and can't wait to hear what may have caused this.

Next thing you know, it will be those construction workers on the hot seat, it will be their fault. But no one can predict something like this no matter how many inspections, how many steel plates you put on, how high or low you rate something like this. Humans are capable of only so much, when humans make a mistake, not only does the bridge come tumbling down but the very fabric of humanity. Sad!

Bizarre things happen in life, horrible things that there's just no answer to. Horrible things that could have been prevented. Although it is human to NEED to blame someone for something like this, it's not going to bring back all those who have been lost, filling your pockets with cash will never amount to what this person or that person filled your heart with. Not in my book.

Are the previous reports just a bunch of hooey to scare you?

Isn't he so cute?! Gosh I just love polar bears but don't think I'd want to meet one on a floating berg! Next to the tiger, polar bears are my next favorite animal. I had a teddy-bear hamster when I was about 16 that was white with a black nose and black eyes...his name was Goober. He looked a lot like a very mini polar bear.

It appears that the polar bears are thriving according to this article. And that they also travel on these bergs that they were supposedly stranded on a few weeks ago. Heck, if I wanted a free ride what better way to go than the bergs!

Polar bears 'thriving as the Arctic warms up'

What is really interesting to read though is that these animals are thriving BECAUSE of human intervention. Conservationists. Again, this is in line with the whole global warming thingamabob but mostly just because I like to have pictures of cute animals here at this blog. Adds a little spice to things I think but also, it's a good article that should be noted in the big global warming debate about the demise of the polar bear.

Oh, and I would like to point out one other thing. Apparently if a person doesn't believe that the polar bears are dying off because of global warming, it's because we like to hunt bears. Just a little tid-bit you can find in this article. I would bet this person is also anti-gun.

Bill Maher is a pig!

I've been really trying to ignore the nasty comments on the whole Dick Cheney assassination attempt but have had enough. Maher, Huffington...too bad that Huffington removed the comments and certain posts from her site about this...from what I've read, they were pretty bad. I guess again, I should not be surprised should I?

When is it that it became okay to publically wish a political figure dead? A man who has a family who just happens to be the VP is nearly killed by a bomb and it's 'too bad he didn't die'? What is missing in the lives of these people that they have to be so vicious and evil?

I really hope that HBO looks into the Maher show but I guess I won't get my hopes up. Something that should have been done a long time ago in my opinion.

Go check out News Busters...a site I have frequented quite a bit as of late. It's a place notorious for outing the evil that comes from the mouths of these who feel it's a 'right' to wish another dead or who love to bash the administration, or who simply have that foot in mouth syndrome.

Mother Nature is not choosy

The tornado that killed the students in Alabama has been a pretty big deal on the news. As it should be. It's a tragedy, the wrath of Mother Nature taking the lives of the kids.

What could have been done differently? First and foremost, there will always be that lingering question, what if? Or the, shoulda, coulda, woulda nagging. It is truly a sad outcome. Sure, let the kids out amidst a morning full of sirens and warnings...have them drive home or walk home unsure of what might occur within the moments of them leaving. Worse case scenario is that wrath would have come then and the school district would have come under fire for that decision.

Imagine too that the superintendent of that school is feeling a mountain of guilt and grief and wishing that he could change all the decisions he made that day! Don't forget, he too is grieving the loss of these kids who are his responsibility when on school time.

I know all too well that people who are grieving and suffering the loss of a loved one 9 times out of 10 seek out someone to blame. It's a common step in the grieving process. But the media has really taken liberties with this I think and is encouraging that step with stories that paint those in the middle of the mess as the ones to blame.

Ala. School Warned Hours Before Tornado

Why not blame the builders of the school for the deaths of these children? Or the roofers who didn't reinforce the roof? Or why not blame the parents for sending their kids to school in the first place? Or the parents for not coming to the school and picking up their kids or getting them released early? Why not blame me because I live in Minnesota?

Or, more importantly, why not look at this situation and realize that no one can predict what will be when it comes to Mother Nature. That it's always best to err on the side of safety, which I believe the school did. How in the heck were they supposed to know that the school would collapse? HOW???

One woman is quoted as saying:

"It came real fast, but they had plenty of time to get those kids out because sirens were going off all morning," said Pearl Green, whose 15-year-old niece attends the school and was hit in the head by a flying brick.

I don't know about the rules of weather in Alabama but when the sirens are going off in MN, you best well be in a safe place. And what, are the school officials supposed to send those kids home between sirens because they go off at specific intervals. "Hey kids, the siren stopped, you have 5 minutes to get home, hurry go, before the next siren goes off."

And this woman said it herself..."It came real fast"...Hello lady, you contradict yourself here...it came real fast but they had plenty of time....apparently she's an expert on tornadoes, and the rate of speed at which they come? She could have made a much better decision when it comes to the lives of these kids right?

While I am truly sad for the loss of these 8 kids, I am also truly sad that there are people in the MSM that would get behind the mentality that there must be some sort of justice served every single time a death occurs, no matter how little the humans could control it.

One cannot predict what wrath mother nature will bring nor the fate of another person's life. Help the families of these children through their pain and stop trying to be the valiant ones by seeking justice for a force that is beyond the reach of human control!

I cry 'DISCRIMINATION'!

This is so discriminatory I don't even know what to say! How come the men get this message in their bathrooms and women don't? It just isn't fair!!!!! **stomping foot**

Talking Urinal Cakes Offer Drinking And Driving Advice

Ok, I don't advocate drunk driving nor do I think it's a wise thing to do. But really, if a man goes to the bathroom one last time before he's leaving the bar is this talking urinal cake really going to sober him up or make him think second about driving? Or that some drunk man might not freak out or come rolling out of the bathroom with laughter? Or another might get so incredibly annoyed with this talking cake that he hurls it at some other drunkard and causes a brawl?

Just thought this was one of those crazy stories that warranted a little ribbing!

And really, why are the men targeted??? I see plenty of women stumbling out of the bar. Maybe it's a secret way for men to take the high ground and put some order back into things. Who knows.

Those darn snow plows

It was a very nice day today except for this:

Serious injuries reported after massive 40-car pileup on I-35

Yeah, we got some snow but it didn't seem to be the cause of this heap of metal! Visibility over a dip in the road caused this.

But that didn't stop the rag news from taking it's pot shots at the plows and MN Dot, oh and Governor Tim Pawlenty. It couldn't be the fault of over confident drivers who think that they can travel the speed of light in questionable conditions.

I drove this morning and really it wasn't bad. The snow blew right off the road as I drove over it. And from the looks of these pics it's looks similar to the road conditions out here. In fact, it was worse where the snow plows HAD been with their salt. It turned the roads into slushy messes. I actually think it was better to not have salted the roads but I guess I'm not a professional reporter or anything.

Stranded fact or fiction

Global warming sees polar bears stranded on melting ice

Are they really stranded because of us humans or are they just basking and resting after a long swim? Or perhaps they're just playing? Quite an assumption, if you ask me, to make such accusations and analogies.

The big todo about Global Warming, as I have said is not one of my topics. If you want more on that go to Pat's site.

The article says, 'see more dramatic pictures of the Polar Bears here'. Dramatic? I guess when I saw that I was looking for bears that were emaciated and/or dead.