Better Cafeteria Food

A lot of attention has been given to school lunch programs. I think reform is long overdue. I learned my eating habits from my parents and from school. I hope that improving school lunches will allow kids to make better choices than I did.

My family criticized my eating habits my entire childhood. But you know what? I'm not the one who did the grocery shopping. If you don't buy or provide garbage to children then they can't eat it! Same goes for schools. In elementary school, we were provided with rectangular pizza on Styrofoam. In junior high, we had nachos with powder cheese mixed with milk, chocolate chip cookies and deep fried chicken sandwiches. In high school, we had the greasiest pizza you can imagine, a snack line and fries served to us everyday. Kids can't make healthy choices when there are no choices. Why not throw a handful of salad or carrots on the tray instead of fries? Kids will eat it if its given to them and all the junk food is gone.

Some schools are allowing kids to grow their own gardens at school as part of the curriculum. This is neat because it teaches kids about gardening, feeding themselves and it saves the school money. What I think is super cool is that some CPS students are demanding better lunches and making suggestions at to what they want to be served. Even though high school students have been doing this for decades, these kids finally got someone to listen to them.

Better school lunches will help with the childhood obesity epidemic and encourage kids to make smarter life decisions. Schools need to educate students on all aspects of life, including nutrition.

Immigration

A group of people protesting immigrant deportation were arrested today. They are angry about what's happening in Arizona, and they do not want people who came into this country without the proper paperwork to be deported.

I have been doing a lot of research on this subject, and I've gotta say I'm on the immigrants side. Did you know it can take anywhere from 6 months to 6 years to obtain a work visa for the United States? That is a long time to wait for someone with no job, starving children and a not so great government.

How horrible does life have to be that you would rather sneak into another country and live as quietly as you can, constantly worrying about being caught? How destitute would you have to be to consider working menial labor jobs for less than minimum wage and have to support a family? You can't have any say in your new goverment or where your kids go to school. You have little choices and no authority to make your situation better.

How bad must things be that you would trade you current life to live in a country with hillbilly white men with mullets and rusted pick up trucks who want to shoot everyone and then take a trip to Wal-Mart?

Mexican immigrants are choosing to endure all of this. What is going on that they would rather settle for America then stay in Mexico? Why isn't this question being asked and why is nothing being done to help their situation?

The government needs to provide immigrants with the proper paperwork in a timely manner. More needs to be done to ensure that people who want to live and work in the United States have a fair chance and are shown respect. We need to address the reason why so many people from Mexico want out of there, and why so many don't have the proper documents.

No, "jumping the fence" isnt' a great way to come to America and it does cause problems. But, my God show some compassion and respect for these people. You have no idea what their lives have been like and the constant fear of deportation they live with every day.

In the words of Alicia Silverstone, "It does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty".

Mind Your Manners

Why do racist, sexist, homophobic people talk to others like everyone agrees with their craptacular views?

I have been around plenty of people lately that don't know me very well. I heard someone say "why can't we have white history month" and I heard another person say that she is deathly afraid of black men because Barack Obama is president. I think she was implying that they are all going to start attacking white women.

I am not making this up. Real people said these things. I have witnesses.

If you insist on being a bigot, please keep this to yourself. No one likes you. Thanks.

Alaska Dogs Are Pretty Awesome

Read the full story here

Subtract Boys, Add Confidence

The Tribune did a great feature on an all girls Chicago Public High School today. This school is preparing girls to work in predominantly male professions, such as Engineering and Science. I thought this quote by one of the students was great:

"In other schools, boys mostly answer all the questions and do all the talking in class, and the only thing the girls care about is looking cute for the boys," said Jenaun Armstrong, 18, a senior who plans to major in acting when she starts at Tennessee State University in the fall."At ‘Y-Dub,' we speak up, and we don't have to worry about the boys doing all the talking."

I agree with Jenaun. In my high school, most girls' only goal was to find a boyfriend. I remember one girl in my senior economics class saying her motivation for coming to school every day was to talk to boys. I remember thinking that was stupid, but now that I know about sexism in the education system, I realize that girls are conditioned to think this way as soon as they reach junior high. In my Women in Contemporary America course in College, I read a great article about what it would be like if girl's and boy's roles in the schools were switched. I'll find it and post it at another time.

I remember very vividly my second grade teacher, Mrs. Burnham, saying to me "girls are not good at math, so it's ok if you need extra help." I believe I was about 8 at the time. I also remember being told that boys were better and math, science and social science and that girls were better at reading and writing. This was in the early 1990's! Were any girls encouraged to take math or science courses?

This girl is cool and way smarter than I was at 18:

"I grew up in a single-parent household, so there wasn't much motivation to go to college. If not for ‘Y-Dub,' I might have gotten pregnant and dropped out of high school and struggled to make a living, maybe working at a retail store," said Clanton, who attends Harold Washington College and will transfer to the University of Chicago next year to study elementary education.

I think this school is great, but I don't think there should be more single sex schools. Girls should be given more encouragement and motivation by the public school systems. Some anti-feminists insist this is happening and that boys are being neglected. This is not the case at all. What's happening is that girls are finally being given a chance to exceed and they are just happening to out-succeed their male peers. I don't think boys will ever be neglected in the public school systems. I think it's a likely as football programs being cut.

Reading this article cheered me up and gave me hope for future generations of girls.

Destroy your TV!!!!!!

I have been living without cable television since October 2009. It's not difficult and I don't miss it. If there is something I want to watch (The Rachel Maddow Show!!!), I watch it on the Internet. It saves me money and it also saves my mind from being exposed to advertisements and brain cell loss.

I have no idea what movies are currently in theaters. I don't know what kinds of deals I can get on a new car. I don't know what god awful sitcoms are when I get home from work. What I do know is that I have more time to write, sit outside, read and socialize. My life doesn't revolve around the next Grey's Anatomy episode or Dancing with the Stars. And yes, I prefer it that way.

I read actual newspapers for my news. Therefore, I get more well-rounded information instead of 30 second clips of crap.

I do have a TV in my apartment and I do use it. I enjoy watching certain types of movies and documentaries. I also own the first 3 seasons of Paranormal State and Eric has season 1 and 2 of The Office. What I don't have is 900 channels of garbage.

When I was writing for my college newspaper, my mother told me that my writing sounded whiny and snotty. Sure, I think I'm better than everyone else, but as a friend of mine I think that is to your advantage! (Ha!) So here's my snotty whiny advice to you. I'm requesting that all of you stop watching cable television. It's not good for you and it's made my life more enjoyable. I guarantee it will do the same to yours.

Computer Engineer Barbie

The Tribune reported today that Mattel is coming out with a Computer Engineer Barbie. While I applaud their efforts to have Barbie work in a predominantly male field, I am disappointed that this "smarter" Barbie still looks like a trashy whore. This dumb broad still has an unrealistic looking physique and a blank, idiotic look on her overmakeup faced. My guess is that Computer Engineers don't wear tight leggings and stilettos while on the job. Hmm.....Computer Engineer Barbie, you look like RuPaul at an engineering firm. Just say no to Barbie and her fascist beauty standards.

Sister Lakes, Michigan

Driftwood

Superman Ice cream

Blue Moon

We went out for ice cream for my sister's birthday party. We had Blue Moon ice cream, which we only ever had in Michigan. I said Blue Moon ice cream tastes like Michigan and we started talking about our memories from there.

We always got Blue Moon ice cream at the Cone Dock, which isn't there anymore. That place had a little arcade and tons of ice cream flavors. Blue Moon was cool because they only had it in Michigan. They also had Superman ice cream, which had Blue Moon in it. Superman ice cream was cool because it turned lavender as it melted.

We also went to Driftwood for ice cream, more so when the Cone Dock closed. They had Beanie Babies there, so my sister loved going.

Another cool place to visit was the Jesus House. This house was a short walk from our cabin. It had signs everywhere with Bible quotes and crazy paranoid phrases. Their car was 100% covered with bumper stickers. They had nailed signs to the trees. The front yard was covered with signs like a political convention. Even the outside of their house wasn't safe from the wrath of Jesus love. The windows were covered up with Bible verses. Walking past that house was always fun.

On the way back from the Jesus house was the 3,647,489-year-old Antique store that had not been occupied in about 300 years. When I was little, my sister told me it was haunted and some gross guy lived in there. The place terrified me since. I couldn't find any pictures of it, but my dad said it was still there.

My parents went to Wick's Apple House often. It was a short drive from our cabin and is located in the middle of nowhere. It had fresh fruit and vegetables, a gift shop and a small restaurant that was added later. It's a neat place and I highly recommend it. According to their website, they are located in Dowagiac. However, for some reason when I go to the website, it says their account has been suspended. Last time I checked they were still in business.....

I have some cool memories of Michigan since my family has been going every summer since right when I was born to about my senior year of high school. Since my brother and older sister never let me hang out with them, I had to entertain myself since all my parents wanted to do was lame stuff like play cards or watch TV. Behind Cabin 1 and 2 there was a hill with concrete stairs going down it. The hill was covered with rocks that were intentionally stuck there. It was fun to climb up and down that hill and I thought cement stairs were cool because I've never seen any before. I also liked to hang out on the benches that faced the channel. Feeding the bluegill stale bread was always entertaining for me, but probably hazardous to the fish.

Someone posted a lot of pictures on YouTube of Magician Lake, the lake my family stayed on. We stayed in the ghetto "channel" and our cabin did not look like these huge houses!

Brookfield Zoo

Today I went to Brookfield Zoo. I am amazed at how much crap is there to distract children from the animals. I think there are four playgrounds and a merry-go-round. There is also a Family Play Zoo, where, according to their website, children can pretend to be zoo animals or zookeepers.

From my observations, there were more kids on the playground at any given time than in one of the animal houses. I saw kids who went into Tropic World and just kept walking without even glancing at the monkeys. What 3-year-old doesn't like monkeys? As I was walking past one of these stupid playgrounds (there wasn't even a swing set), one little girl was crying because she didn't want to leave. What's wrong with this kid? The zoo has penguins, giraffes and elephants. Why do you want to play at some lame, swing set-less piece of crap playground?

I would not be writing this if it were just a handful of kids. It was a lot of kids who had very little interest in the animals. Not that long ago, all kids loved animals and got excited when the rhino sprayed pee everywhere. I wonder what happened? I'm not that hip with current children's programming, but are there not enough nature shows or something?

My little sister loved Jack Hanna and the Discovery Channel. Zoo animals are awesome. What's wrong with these kids?

And that merry-go-round is uber whack. A brand new house could have been built on that spot instead of that hunk of garbage. Or, for money making purposes, build another store or snack shop.

Little kids should be taught about conservation and the planet and stuff like that. They should be taught an appreciation for wildlife and the rain forest. Obviously, they are not since they are more preoccupied with some inferior, dumb park.

It's not the parents fault either this time! All the parents were desperately trying to sweet talk their kids into looking at the animals. One father couldn't even get his daughter to show an interest in the lion. It's a lion for Christ sakes!

I blame Brookfield Zoo. They don't charge anything to play at the playgrounds, so why have them? Why don't they want the kids to be excited about seeing the animals? If they want the zoo to be more kid friendly, they should have the volunteers interact with the children more so they can learn about the animals they are seeing. Right now they are just sitting behind tables with some snapping turtle skulls and a donation jar.

If youngen's don't start caring about wildlife, there will be no future in conservation and then our beloved animals will die, like the woolly mammoth. ( I love Lyuba. I need to visit her again soon.)

PS: At lunch, a mother changed her baby's diaper at the table next to mine. Disgusting! People are going to eat at that table. When I gave her a disgusted look, she looked at me like I was the one with the problem. What a sick ass!

PPS: There was a couple trying to find the Panda exhibit, because the woman saw a picture of a panda on a postcard at the gift shop. I didn't tell them that 1935 was the last time Brookfield Zoo had a panda but it is now stuffed and on display at the Field Museum if they really want to see it.

Get your Bachelor's in Marriage and Motherhood!

A coworker of mine received a transcript for Hyle Anderson College. Upon looking for the school's accreditation, she discovered some unbelievable things about this institution which she shared with her coworkers. I will now share these things with you.

"Hyles-Anderson College was started 37 years ago as the fulfillment of the vision of Dr. Jack Hyles. His heart burned with a love and a deep concern for the direction his beloved nation was taking. The United States Supreme Court was permitting the genocide of the unborn infants of this land; the illegal drug culture was at its peak in our public schools; and the rock-and-roll culture of rebellion and promiscuity was having a profound influence upon the teenagers of our land. Brother Hyles feared our country was quickly slipping from the old-fashioned ways upon which she had been founded. He wanted to do what he could to save this nation from the sin and destruction she was bringing upon Herself.

Walking along a highway in Southern California late one night into the early morning hours of the next day, Bro. Hyles felt God speak to his heart about founding an old-fashioned, sin-hating, Devil-fighting, Christ-honoring Bible college where the students would dress modestly and act courteously; a college where all the students went soul winning and were trained by soul winners; a college where the chapel pulpit was ablaze with red-hot preaching; a college where authority was respected and sin was abhorred; a college where young men would be trained to preach with zeal and knowledge; a college where young ladies were taught to be submissive wives and dedicated servants of God. Thus was the birthright of Hyles-Anderson College when the doors opened in 1972.

Thirty-seven years later, our founder is in Heaven. He gave us a legacy that burns brighter and with more intensity today than it has ever before. The soul-winning zeal, the fervent love for the lost, the evangelistic fervor, the red-hot preaching, the old-fashioned standards of decency and propriety are alive and well here at Hyles-Anderson College."

OMG. But wait, there's more!

Our Dress Code
Many think our dress code is too strict. Skirts above the knees are not allowed.
Men must wear neckties to class and must have short haircuts. Young ladies may
not wear shorts or slacks.

Our Old-Fashioned Discipline
Young ladies are not allowed to go off campus unchaperoned. Young men and
young ladies may not date alone in cars. Absolutely no hand holding or other
intimacies are allowed between the genders. There are date nights with bus
transportation and adequate chaperones provided by the college. Student insubordination
is absolutely forbidden.

Our Separatist Position
Absolutely no drinking, smoking, or dancing is allowed. No student is allowed
to attend Hollywood movies, play cards, or participate in other questionable
amusements. We do not fellowship with liberals, but instead take a strict separatist
stand from the world and apostasy.

No dancing? Did they not see "Footloose"?

"It is a school policy that
students who have been divorced may
not live in the dormitories".
Students who
have been divorced are not allowed to
date other students except for other
students who have been divorced or
are widowed."

Seems fair. That's what you get for sinning.


"All full-time students and part-time
dormitory students are required to have
hospitalization and surgical insurance."

That's socialism. Jesus doesn't like that.

The sexist language isn't surprising, but it kind of is. In the catalog, all students are referred to as "he" and when females are referred to it is either "lady" or "wife".

"If a person is twenty years
of age or older, he may enter our fiveyear
program without being a high
school or G.E.D. graduate; however,
intended applicants are strongly
encouraged to complete high school
or a G.E.D. before enrolling."

At last! A college that doesn't require a high school degree!


My Favorite:

"Department of Marriage and Motherhood
This course of study is designed to train ladies to be wives and mothers. Courses
in Christian womanhood, the art of being a good wife, the way to be a spiritual
mother, and the rearing of children will be emphasized."

Ok, enough. Now onto my critique. Where to start? I don't even know.

And the kicker: Went to look up the accreditation. Typed in "accredidation" into their search engine. Got this message:

"Search results for: accreditation
Not Found
Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn't here"

What it should say:

"Search results for: Education

Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn't here"

Response to my letter from my Senator

I am not very pleased with the response I got my from Senator (Please see post below). I am disheartened by his view on abortion and health care.

I already know all of you are anti-choice and my goal is not to belittle your views. However, after much contemplation (approximately 5 years) on the issue, I have decided that anti-choicers come in a few varieties: The Uninformed, The Willfully Ignorant, The Stupid, and the Nutbars.

My Senator falls under The Willfully Ignorant. "The conscience clause allows doctors to refuse to perform abortions in most circumstances, if doing so conflicts with their views". I have expressed my outrage against doctors who express their political beliefs to their patients enough times, so I'll skip that part. Willfully Ignorant people refuse to believe that abortion is necessary health care for women. They are people who believe that women use abortion as a form of back up birth control. They are the ones who don't want to do the research to understand why abortion is health care. They are the people who make me the angriest, because they are usually women.

I try to ignore the Stupid people. They have "compelling" arguments such as, " If you spread your legs, it's your fault." There is no reasoning with these people, so let's move on.

The Uninformed are just that. They are not aware of the issues and have not been exposed to them. They can sympathize with a woman who gets pregnant as a result of being raped, but doesn't really understand why she would want an abortion. They usually consider themselves to be Pro-Life because they wouldn't have an abortion but they think it should be between a woman and her doctor. (This actually makes them Pro-Choice.) These people tend to be pretty quiet and don't necessarily have much of an opinion on the topic.

The Nutbars are the Jesus fanatics who show pictures of aborted fetuses to 6-year-olds.

I am really disgusted that women's health care is a political issue. My uterus is not my government's business. I do not believe that a fetus is a child. I do not believe that a fetus has a soul. The government is trying to force this belief on all of us.

My question to you is, what happens after the baby is born? Do you really think it's going to be happiness,rainbows and love all around? No. Do you think all these children will get adopted into affluent and loving homes? No. There will be more teenage girls throwing newborn babies into dumpsters, more children in foster care, more abused children, more children living in poverty and more women dependant of welfare and government handouts, which I know all of you hate.

There are too many unwanted children in this world as a result of abortion bans. Child abuse pisses me off and it could be prevented with safe, affordable access to abortion care. For those of you who think abortion is the ultimate child abuse, you can consider yourself to be in the Stupid category.

Abortion is health care.

Letter from my Senator

Dear Ms. Meyer:

Thank you for contacting me regarding abortion. I appreciate the benefit of your views.

For more than thirty years, there has been a long-standing provision in federal law that prohibits federal dollars from being used to pay for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother. The Senate’s health care reform bill, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), will preserve that prohibition and facilitate coverage choices. The bill would allow consumers to purchase abortion coverage, out of their own pocket, as a part of their individual health plan, while those who do not agree with abortion could choose a different plan. Consumers would need to write a separate check for abortion coverage if they receive any government affordability credits for the rest of their insurance plan. The insurer would then keep money for abortion coverage in a separate account. I support individual choice and therefore support the Senate provisions regarding abortion.

The Senate reform bill also contains a conscience clause for doctors. The conscience clause allows doctors to refuse to perform abortions in most circumstances, if doing so conflicts with their views. Further, it prohibits health plans from discriminating against doctors, based on their choice to provide abortion services or not.

Reforming our nation's health system is not an abortion issue. The Senate bill maintains current federal law in regards to abortion, while bringing our health system into the 21st century, and providing health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans. I support comprehensive health reform to improve quality, reduce cost, and hold insurance companies accountable.

I will continue to listen closely to what you and other Illinoisans have to say about matters before Congress, the concerns of our communities, and the issues facing Illinois and the nation. My job is not about merely supporting or opposing legislation; it is about bridging the divide that has paralyzed our nation’s politics.

Sincerely,

Roland W. Burris
United States Senator

Courtney Love

While reading this, I ask you to think about why you don't like Courtney Love. Is it because she has/had drug problems? Is it because she married Kurt Cobain and you really wanted to? Is it because she's not polite to everyone she meets?



Courtney is my favorite rock star, musician, singer/songwriter, artist of all time. She is a perfect example of sexism in the music industry and wonderful idol for young girls. Yes, Courtney is screwed up a bit, but she's done well for herself despite all the set backs she's had to endure. She was born to parents who didn't love each other and didn't really want her. She managed to take that anger and loneliness and successfully make a music career out of it.



Courtney and Hole evolved from the Riot Grrl movement. (Courtney is a former member of Babes in Toyland. She got kicked out.) She incorporated her feminist views into a band she made mainstream and brought a new way of thinking to many young girls and women with Hole's album, "Live Through This".



What I really admire about her is her inner strength. She goes about her business every day despite great opposition and tremendous roadblocks.



People hate Courtney Love. I mean, REALLY hate her. I think people hate her for the same reasons they hate Hillary Clinton. She's just another outspoken female doing a man's job, which is not acceptable in America.



Courtney is brash, unfeminine and unapologetic: 3 things I love. Hole is currently touring, and I am waiting rather impatiently for them to announce Chicago dates. She is a very talented musician and her lyrics are always empowering and personal.

Shopping Mall Obsession Confession

I love shopping for clothes. It makes me happy. I shop at stores with some of the worst advertising campaigns in history. I love new clothes and designer purses. What I love the most though, is the MALL.

The mall is one of my favorite places because a lot of my favorite memories happened there. When I was a child, I remember my mother taking me to Stratford Square Mall. I remember being fascinated by all the water fountains, the tan square tiles that were slightly uneven and the trees in the middle by the food court. The water fountains and tiles are no longer there, but the last time I was at Stratford I noticed those awesome fake trees have made a triumphant comeback! There also used to be this bitchin elevator that was all glass and came down into the middle of one of the fountains. That was so cool and I wish they still had that. We also used to have lunch at Houlihans. That restaurant looked totally rad. The ceiling wasn't flat. It was almost like waves and large bumps. Maybe if someone else remembers, they can explain it better in the comment section.

When I got older, the mall became my hang out place. Dana and I were always at Stratford Mall. One of my favorite memories, though, is of Oakbrook Mall. In the autumn time, Dana's mother would take us there. We always had a blast making fun of people, and I always liked looking at the overpriced designer clothes.

I go to the mall whenever I'm feeling lousy. It's guaranteed to cheer me up. I'm sure I'm a bad person for spending my money there and on items that were made by children. However, few things make me happier than a new bra and a cute purse. My sincerest apologies, Ms. Gloria Steinem.

Urologist refuses to treat Obama Supporters

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/os-mount-dora-doctor-tells-patients-go-aw20100401,0,7224897.story

Another awesome doctor in this country!!!! Real great people....do a lot of good....truly care about treating patients....they don't do it for the money......they are true scientists.....GREAT!

Riot Grrl

Anyone my age and older can remember a time (the early to mid 1990's) when bands with women members were all the rage. Remember when Garbage, Veruca Salt and Hole were on the radio all the time? That was because of the Riot Grrl movement.

Because of lesser known bands (at the time) such as Bikini Kill, L7, Team Dresch, Heavens to Betsy and Bratmobile, bands such as the ones previously mentioned were beginning to get signed on major labels.

The media and fashion industry and all other types of popular media discovered that these young women could possibly make them some money. Because feminists don't like crap like that, the Riot Grrl movement disbanded. Unfortunately, so did women artists getting breaks. ( I totally disagree with the rationale behind why the Riot Grrl movement ended. I wish these bands didn't mind becoming popular. Think of how many young women around the world could have been exposed to the message and have saved them from "lipstick and boobs".

I'm not 100% knowledgeable about the music industry today. From my limited observations, I see that there really are no women bands. There is Pink, which from performances I've seen are not entirely feminist friendly. Yes, she has that one song about not being like Lindsey Lohan or something, but the message is lost when she performs practically naked and the majority of her songs about some guy.

Then there is something called Lady Gaga, which, with all my research, I still can't entirely figure out what's going on there other than another female "role model" selling young women fascist images of beauty instead of intelligence and empowerment.

I am discouraged with the music industry. I still hope someday MTV will once again try to sell Riot Grrl to it's viewers.

Check this out. Riot Grrl was so popular, it made it onto an episode of Roseanne!

Hillary Rodham Clinton

I am Hillary Clinton's #1 fan. There is much she has done to gain my admiration. She made a speech at her graduation from Wellesley that, according her her biography, was seen as controversial and inappropriate for the occasion. Ever since, she has not been intimidated to speak out about issues that are unpopular.
What I really admire about her is her bravery and determination. She has a lot of enemies, yet she never shuts up and doesn't let anyone stop her. She doesn't care what other politicians say about her. She doesn't let her opponents get the best of her. I cannot think of one other person in my life, including me, who are like that.
One reason why I'm naming my first daughter after her is because of the 2008 presidential race. She didn't really give a flying crap that Obama really wanted the job too. She fought until the very end, despite being tired and criticized by many Democrats.
I don't understand why all women are not feminists and why all women don't love Hillary. It's unfortunate that strong women are misunderstood. I try to live my life by the motto "What Would Hillary Do?" I wish all women would join in.

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