Maybe It Is Just Me?

Many folks are already talking about gun control laws after the horror of Sandy Hook Elementary.  In China, there was an attempted mass killing with someone using a knife.  It doesn't matter the method of weaponry.  We need to address the issues of mental health in this country.  Mental illness shows up in many forms from anxiety, depression, and other forms of mental illness.

I have read so many stories since Friday concerning the shooting.  One of the most horrifying commentary is the question, "Where was your God during this shooting?"   He was with the mother of Adam Lanza as she was sleeping.  He was with the principal, Dawn Hochsprung,as she fought him over his decision.  He was with the school psychologist, Mary Scherlach,as she argued with him about his decision. He helped the teachers keep children calm with prayers and happy thoughts.   He was with both of the teachers as they begged him to change his mind.  He was holding the children asking them to come home.  He was there kneeling with the victims as they passed.  He was holding each and everyone of them.  So yes my God was there. 

On the day of the shooting,before, and afterwards, there were several reports of other shootings such as Bartlesville OK, Cedar Lake,Indiana, San Antonio, Portland Oregon, and countless more.  Some of the extremists are blaming single mothers.

I was in the U.S. Army.  I have shot the military equivalent of an AR 15.  I have shot a nine mil.  I have shot various shotguns. So Nancy Lanza was a gun enthusiast.  I can understand it.  She lived in a remote area alone with her son.  I understand the need for a gun.  I lived in a very rural area where we had wild life that would attack and kill beloved pets and horses.  We also had to protect livestock.  It was a requirement for us.  There is no ifs ands or buts about the situation.  I understand.  As a Christian, I am willing to give her this leeway.  Despite the horrible report blaming single mothers, the divorce of the parents was not acrimonious.  In fact, the father went out of his way to provide a loving safe environment for his ex-wife and sons. Blaming absent fathers is another mistake.   Current child support laws and enforcement of visitation is to blame for that.  In fact the lack of enforcement of visitation hurts children more.  Having been in that situation, I know personally.

More guns are not the answer.  I believe that the assault weapons should be banned along with large magazine capacity.  There is no need to have such a powerful weapon in the hands of citizens.  It is not a good hunting weapon as it destroys the meat to a point where no one can eat it including wild life.  Keep your rifles and hand guns locked up.  Background checks on people purchasing weapons including at gun shows.  People who are purchasing these weapons should be required gun safety classes plus providing locked gun cabinets and gun locks at a lower cost at the end of the class.

The absence of God is off base radically. God was there as he motivated the teachers to protect children.  God was holding those children as they slipped into heaven's realm.  I can't help but wonder when Adam turned the gun on himself did he realize the horror he caused.   I wonder what exactly he was feeling when he turned the gun on his mother and himself.  I wonder why he used his brother's identification.  He had quite a bit of ammo as well

 Please do not blame Asperger's either.  They are not weird.  They are loving children.  I have two members of my family that have this disorder.  They are not violent but in fact, super intelligent beings.  I do agree that mental health illness as a whole needs to be addressed in this country.  We need to provide resources for families so that they don't face this kind of horror.  If anything we need to figure out why Autism exists. 

Truthfully we have no one to blame but ourselves in this situation.  Sandy Hook could have happened any where or any place.  We need to look at everything that played a role in this mess.  We can't blame just guns, video games, autism, and mental health issues.  We can't point the fingers at his parents.  We have to look at society as well.  What can we do to change? 

Govenor Perry Hates Texans

Governor Perry hates Texans especially if they are impoverished, people of color, female and children.   Rick Perry came out today saying that he and the Republican State Senate and House of Representatives are going to spend every single legislative day (total of 140 days) ending abortion in the great state of Texas. 

When is this idiot of a Governor going to be voted out of office?  Many ranch owners, farmers and other land owners should be the first ones to vote him out of office.  Why?  He cut 75% of funding for Texas volunteer fire departments during the worst fire season in the history of Texas.  He actually wanted the federal government to pay for the fire disasters according to many news reports.  He has failed land
owners and home owners all across Texas.  Human lives, pets, livestock and wild life was destroyed.  A beautiful part of Central Texas was destroyed while Governor Rick Perry was out politicking at Texans' expense no less for his failed presidential bid.  He spent more time worrying about politics than he did his own burning state.

Lets talk about education in the state of Texas.  We have the STAAR tests where fifty percent of students failed one or more portions of the test.  The state of Texas also slashed education by 5.4 billion dollars.  Students no longer have books to study from.  Many folks claim that with books on the internet, there is no need for textbooks in the public school systems.   When you go to college, you have to buy textbooks and read them.  High school students do not learn how to research a book for a research paper.  There are fewer buses to run to keep children protected.  Katy ISD has had several stranger danger alerts since school has began.  So many schools are teaching the tests instead of teaching concepts in order for their students to understand the tests.  I don't mind as a parent helping my daughters understand concepts but what about parents who both have to work and don't have time to help their kids understand these concepts?

What about healthcare?  I am a disabled veteran.  I can't afford healthcare on my own because I can't get the Veterans Affairs Administration to expedite my compensation claim.  My ex husband is having a hard time with finding good quality work that will give him benefits.  Many times employers provide insurance at a HUGE cost to its employees.  Our governor is refusing to even give a health exchange a chance to work.  Our governor is refusing to accept additional medicaid funds to help poor folks like me for myself and my children.  I am not the only one.  If I didn't have the VA medical system (It is an issue all its own and worthy of its own blog post several times over), I would have nothing.  In fact, more than likely my daughters would have lost both of their parents.   Governor Rick Perry is not about parents, children, or families. He isn't about the human condition.  He is not about humanity.  He is not about a living wage in which families can support their children.  He is not about decent healthcare or education.  He is about selling the soul of Texas to the highest bidder. 

Instead of facing serious economic issues, health care, jobs, education, and public safety, he and the legislative branch of Texas wants to fight abortion every single day of its 140 legislative session.  Wow!  I never realized that women were such a threat to the state of Texas. How can these folks even call themselves Christians?  They are against everything our Lord Jesus Christ stood for.  Hypocrisy never ceases to amaze me in the state of Texas. 

Love A Veteran? Sign Your Name to this Petition!

I have mentioned that I classify myself in different ways.  My life is affected by three different groups women's issues, adoptee issues, and veteran issues.  For a long time, I was just an adult adoptee.  Now that I am facing health issues resulting from my time in the U.S. Army, I am also a veteran, specifically a Desert Storm/Gulf War veteran.  My ex husband is one as well.  Now that my cousin is facing the same kinds of health issues, I realize that I can no longer stay silent or wait for the Veterans Affairs Administration to stand up and do the right thing.  It is a government entity that cares only for its own well being.  It is usually screw the vets attitude that hurts veterans country wide.  I can't stay silent because this affects not just my family and I but it also affects thousands of fellow Gulf War vets but new veterans from two ongoing conflicts. 

I filed a claim soon after leaving the service in 1996.  I was denied coverage  and compensation of any kind.  At that time, I claimed my left arm and nerve damage, female health issues, and cystic acne.  I was denied less than ten percent at the time.  I let it go.  The closest VA clinic/hospital at the time was in San Antonio.  We were too broke at the time to do anything. 

Fast forward twenty one years later, my health issues have advanced to critical stages.  My cystic acne is all over my body.  Every time a bump appears, it tunnels to another bump close by.  I no longer have my uterus and one of my ovaries, and my left arm has gotten so bad that I have no feeling in three of fingers and the lower half of it.  I have had six surgeries in the last six years.  I can not get the VA to tackle all of my health issues.  I have been called Mr. Burt more times than I can shake a stick at.  I have five dogs.  I have shaken a stick quite a few times.  I have had my pain levels ignored especially after surgery.  I have requested appointments only to be ignored.  I have PTSD with secondary bruxism.  I have nerve damage to the left side of my body.  My blood pressure is so low that I am now wondering if I have autonomic health issues.  My cystic acne has expanded to the groin, armpits, stomach, inside of my legs and my buttocks.  It is consistently ignored or passed the buck on.  The Micheal E. Debakey VA Medical Center has ignored my complaints and said that they were my fault. 

I am asking all that love me, respect me, and even hate me to please sign this petition.  Gulf War veterans deserve a treatment course other than treatment of symptoms.  I don't want to develop an addiction to narcotics.  I want to sleep through the night and wake refreshed.  I want to be active along side of the people that I love.  I want to live not survive.  It is what every Gulf War veteran wants.  We want our quality of life.  We gave our lives for our country.  We want our country to help us do so.

Gaming and Misogyny

I gotta love Facebook  My friends come up with some seriously good articles.  I have also liked pages like the Huffington Post, AlterNet, and now Upworthy.   These pages bring forth some seriously tough topics.  Sometimes they sugar coat the topic such as adoption, adoptees, and issues surrounding their families.  Being an adult adoptee, it is a subject that I feel needs massive reform starting with opening birth certificates to adoptees and their families.  There are, however, deeper issues that result from this topic.  It may be semantics to the pro life movement.  Women do have a choice when it comes to their bodies.  There is no single person who is pro death or pro abortion.  I personally believe that both adoption and abortion are tools used to diminish women and their God given role as life giver.  I am not one to fight against the rights and responsibilities of women and their choices.  These decisions are made by women every day according to their circumstances. I may not agree with their choices but I back them with my very life.  I am also a Gulf War/Desert Storm veteran. 

Sometimes I think that we have moved forward in regards to domestic violence and womens' issues.  I sadly come across this Upworthy Video about female characters in video games.  Anita Sarkeesian wanted to change those characters so that women in general would not be so sexualized.  Considering my children play video games, I would like female characters to be normal women, instead of hypersexed visuals for the male fantasy. I don't know a single female veteran who is a hypersexed woman.  This is not what war is like.  Women don't go around in a war time situation with their boobs busting out carrying a M-16.  It just doesn't happen.  BDUs are not sexy clothing for men or women.  You can check out Anita's video blogs yourself

The Huffington Post wrote about her and her project.  You can also follow the links as well.  I find it interesting that when men disagree with a woman's issue, men say that she needs to get laid or worse.  It really is shocking.  Would you say this stuff if she were your sister, your mother, your daughter or your wife?  I believe that men and women are different.  God did not intend for women to be treated so badly.  That is on man and man alone.  Men through out time have perverted the meaning of submission.  A woman needs to feel safe.  She needs to be able to trust.  This video games do NOT encourage that.  Why should I as a woman trust a man who plays these kinds of video games with who I am as a woman?  That is what this comes down to.