been a long time, interview discrimination.

OK, it has been a long, long time since my last post. It seems i have been way too busy to post for some time now. And my last few post were crap (simply copy and pasted arguments I have had on face-book.
Things are going well at school, in fact, they are going really well. Ayasha is back in school full time now at UNT as well. A funny thing is: we are making less money now than we have ever made before, even back when we had crappy jobs as cashiers and bareistas (sp) but we are doing better than ever before! We cut way down on a number of things, including our housing bill, and now can afford to go to school and every now and then treat ourselves to something we have been wanting to get for a long time. Next on our list of things we want/need is a bed. The bed we are using now is over 20 years old and it feels like it! When I say bed, I mean mattress! Gross huh?
I am looking back at this blog and while I don't feel bad or apologetic about anything I have said in it (it is just my thoughts and how I really feel) I am concerned that I will soon be looking for a new job and my employers will search and Google me and this blog will certainly come up. I wonder if because of my beliefs, which are certainly not mainstream (at least in Texas) will affect my ability to get a job. I would hope not, religious or ideological discrimination is illegal but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen every day.
Another thing I have been thinking about is how my weight may affect my ability to get a job. When someone sees a big fat guy, one of the last things they think of is "hard working" or "self driven". It can be a challenge during the interview process. I use to work at a company that would only hire girls that they thought were attractive, they would be terrible at their jobs, but at least they were good looking was their thoughts. It was disgusting and I felt really bad once I learned of the practice.
There was a particular occasion that a girl's resume "floated" around the office to all of the male members. My job was to look her up on the then popular site myspace. She was very attractive and I showed her page to my boss.
One of previous work experiences was from a company that was called something like ABC productions, and immediately the immature males in my office felt that she worked at a porn production company and that she herself was a porn star. That, coupled with the printed off pictures that my boss printed from her myspace spread across everyone in the company. This poor girl hadn't even come in for an interview yet but was already being endorsed by my male coworkers as they thought that our office really needed and attractive female ex-porn star. It got so bad that the poor girl wasn't even chosen for an interview because can you imagine what would happen if she were to ever come to work there? She would never be able to live down the rumor that she was a porn star. She didn't get a call back from us and I don't think she ever got a reason why.
This girl wasn't a porn star, ABC productions turned out to be something like a sign shop, but the point of the story is that even though privacy laws were broken no one outside of the office ever knew about it. Just because my views of liberalism and atheism and my obesity are protected from work place discrimination doesn't mean they won't be discriminated against. I may never even know if they were.

After writing this I thought of how I am lucky that these are the only discriminating factors that I have to deal with but many people have to deal with others such as: being a woman; being black or otherwise not white; being gay; being young/old; being Muslim or otherwise not Christian (lets face it, right now it is easier to be atheist that to be Muslim on the scale of how much idiots in America hate you); and many others.

a conversation from facebook

Nathan Ivy
Hugo Chavez supports Obama.
Yesterday at 10:10pm via Facebook for iPhone · Comment · Like / Unlike

Jeff Kennedy
Are you surprised? So does some of the rest of the scum of the earth like Muammar al-Gaddafi and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. So many "winners" out there so excited about "change". (Eyes wide shut)
Yesterday at 10:59pm

Adam Hensen
yeah so does the overwhelming majority of the voting united states. Maybe that's why he won.
Yesterday at 11:14pm · Delete

Jeff Kennedy
Unfortunately Adam, you are correct. YOU are definitely a winner. Enjoy your change.
Yesterday at 11:23pm

Adam Hensen
and thank goodness for it!
Yesterday at 11:23pm · Delete

Nathan Ivy
Lol. Adam. You're ridiculous.
Yesterday at 11:26pm

Nathan Ivy
And clueless
Yesterday at 11:27pm

Adam Hensen
your right, something about a tanking economy, outrageous health care prices, discrimination, lack of renewable energy, and poor education just appeal to my inner self. You right, we shouldn't change any of that! in fact, we should go back to the good ol days when blacks and women couldn't vote and i could get a drink of water without having to worry if the fountain was contaminated.
Yesterday at 11:48pm · Delete

Jeff Kennedy
Don't put words into my mouth Adam. It only makes you look foolish and desperate to win a debate. It also makes you a liar. I have never and will never say that "we shouldn't change any of that" (nor did Nate). That is YOUR spin. In fact Adam I believe those are extremely important issues. Unfortunately as of yet I don't see any of that changing for the better with the decisions being made within our government. I see it getting worse!!! So "thank goodness" for what? All I am seeing is more CORRUPTION, reckless spending & weak/dangerous/cowardly foreign policy. So let me know when the GOOD "change" gets here. Until then, goodnight.
11 hours ago

Nathan Ivy
Lol!!!!! BUUUURN!!!!!!
11 hours ago

Shannon Ivy Kennedy
You know Jeff, I don't always agree with everything you say ;) but I must admit...when it comes to politics you really do your research. I'm so glad that you don't blindly follow the crowd and you actually take the initiative to find out what is going on in our country. Thank you for standing up for the future of our children and this country. If only everyone else really understood politics and what is really going on with the government, then maybe we might have a chance for this nation.
11 hours ago

Adam Hensen
you obviously dont do you research, the Fed has come out and said the resicion is lickley over. Health care is on the verge of being fixed as soon as uninformed fear mongers stop lying about it. Obma has signed and passed an equal pay law, also an us workforce anti discrimination law that prohibits discriminating against gays, homosexuals and cross genders.
so if you want to talk about who looks foolish, I think it would be the one who says nothing is happening and tries to support that with "research". You obviously know nothing about the situation and as soon as you make an intelligent point and stop slinging (as you did from jump street) ill listen.
3 hours ago · Delete

Karen Workman
Fidel Castro supports Obama too. read this about how much dictators LOVE obama. scarey http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2347785/posts
2 hours ago

Jeff Kennedy
"Resicion"? "Lickley"? "The Feds said" so? Uhhhhhhhhhh....... You win Adam. I'm the one looking more foolish with each statement.
Oh, and you can pick up your rainbow flag in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas.
2 hours ago

Jeff Kennedy
Great post Karen!
2 hours ago

Karen Workman
Fidel Castro won on a ticket of change too, you know. Not all change is good change...duh.
2 hours ago

Nathan Ivy
LOL!!!!!!!!!! dude, Adam, you've definately got it backwards. You believe everything CNN tells you to believe. And as far as "research", maybe you should research a dictionary every once and a while, you're spelling is fantastic!
about an hour ago

Adam Hensen
what does a rainbow flag have to do with anything? and what do you mean everything cnn tells me? you believe everything fox news tells you. and the Fed is the Federal reserve bank. They are the ones who say if we are in a recession or not, so when it comes to believing someone, they would be a good place to start.. Again, you guys are just avoiding the facts, sticking your fingers in your ears and yelling nah nah nah i cant hear you!
about an hour ago · Delete

Adam Hensen
if you are going to "quote" me, do it right.
about an hour ago · Delete

Adam Hensen
i cant believe you made a "rainbow flag" in "oak lawn" comment. That is the kind of hatred and discrimination that we are trying to change and you obviously want to cling on to forever.
about an hour ago · Delete

Adam Hensen
and you say i believe everything i read in the news, and by that you mean "the Fed has come out and said the resicion is lickley over. Health care is on the verge of being fixed as soon as uninformed fear mongers stop lying about it. Obma has signed and passed an equal pay law, also an us workforce anti discrimination law that prohibits discriminating against gays, homosexuals and cross...." I don't see where the slant is in the preceding statement. Everything stated previously is a fact, not an opinion.
55 minutes ago · Delete

Adam Hensen
oh and its not your fault you don't know who the Fed is. Its a common mistake by anyone who knows nothing about economics or monetary policy.
51 minutes ago · Delete

Jeff Kennedy
You are toooooo funny!
Okay Adam, here's your homework assignment: PLEASE grab a dictionary and look a few things up. Start with the definition of "hate", "discrimination" and "fact". Then look up the correct spelling of "Recision" & "Lickley". Also read the definition of recession so the you will understand that it is not in fact determined by ... Read MoreANYTHING the Federal Reserve says. The statement that the recession is likely over is only speculation and cannot be determined until multiple FACTS are seen, such as and increase in employment, investment spending, household income, business profits and 2-3 or even 4 quarters of increased GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Even that depends on which macroeconomic "expert" you talk to. So you see Adam, to claim the recession (or "recision") is over as though it is a FACT is remedial and silly.
Your next assignment is to ask yourself how Christ likely (or "lickley") feels about two men having anal sex. Don't POST your answer! We don't want to know!
3 minutes ago

Adam Hensen
so you are telling me to ask myself how an imaginary person feels about anal sex? probably fine unless he is the one getting it.
about a minute ago · Delete
Write a comment...

Adam Hensen
and i did not say the recession is over as a fact, i said the fact is the Fed says the recession is likely over. we have to wait for trailing indicators to know for sure, and you mentioned several trailing indicators.

Nathan Ivy
Ok post is closed and Adam if you want to talk about politics, that's fine. But the second you start making derogatory commentary about my Savior, u are unwelcome to post on my wall.

Jeff Kennedy
"Imaginary"? Ohhhhhhh.........
The end.

Patricia Wandell
hey I personally LOVED the rainbow comment...OMG too funny jeff I like your 411 on the subject too...

oh yeah, the other thing I love is the in-doctrination going on in school...all hail obama..hey I have a great idea why don't we just throw democracy out the window and make a king out of em?? sounds GREAT to me!!

From the interweb

1. -I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.
2. -More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.
3. -Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
4. -I don’t understand the purpose of the line, “I don’t need to drink to have fun.” Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they’ve invented the lighter?
5. -Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
6. -That’s enough, Nickelback.
7. -I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
8. -Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the “people you may know” feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
9. -Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft.
10. -There is a great need for sarcasm font.
11. -Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
12. -I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I’ll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I’m still the only one who really, really gets it.
13. -How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
14. -I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
15. - I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
16. -The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
17. - A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
18. - Was learning cursive really necessary?
19. - Lol has gone from meaning, “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say”.
20. - I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
21. - Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
22. - My brother’s Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, “Cuz we beat you, and you hate us.” Classy, bro.
23. - Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.
24. - How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?
25. - I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
26. - Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’ examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss’s last name to an attorney and said “Yes that’s G as in…(10 second lapse)..ummm…Goonies”
27. -What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
28. - While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.
29. - MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
30. - Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
31. - I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
32. -Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
33. - I would like to officially coin the phrase ‘catching the swine flu’ to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: “Dave caught the swine flu last night.”
34. -I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.
35. - Bad decisions make good stories
36. -Whenever I’m Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if I do!
37. - Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
38. -If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
39. -Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….
40. -You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
41. -Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.
42. -There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
43. -I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
44. - “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.
45. -I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There’s so much pressure. ‘I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It’s only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?’
46. -I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?
47. - I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
48. -When I meet a new girl, I’m terrified of mentioning something she hasn’t already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
49. -I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
50. -Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles…
51. - As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
52. -Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
53. -It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
54. -I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
55. -Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn’t know what to do with it.
56. -Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time…
57. -My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day “Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?” How the hell do I respond to that?
58. -It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
59. -I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
60. -I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
61. -I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

Sophias drawings!

Sophia was doing some drawings. Oh yeah she is only 3, she rocks!

this is a picnic basket

this is a house

here is the house again

an apple


a bird egg

the moon with a face



a birds nest

here is the source material

Its been a while

Its been a while since my last post, and I don't have time to post now, but I would like to post a few facebook arguments that I have been having on the subject of Obama's health care plan.
Your thoughts are welcome.

Adam Hensen Public health for all! Oh no you can't go to the same doctor you have been using? Big deal ITS AFFORDABLE NOW!!!! Also more affordable for doctors, less mal practice insurance.

Megan Lay

honey...you do understand that just because it's affordable still doesn't mean that you can use it at your discretion. If one of your kiddos got sick and you go to the hospital if they think that another kid is less, ummm, dispensible than yours they get seen first..... plus, big government = big money and it'll all be tied together just like it is... Read More now.... corporations and the loaded guys who are backing the government will decided how this will all go down. "The government that governs least governs best."

Adam Hensen

when my kid was sick and we took her to the hospital in which we were told she was going to have her leg amputated, many people were treated before and after her, I didnt have insurance because I cant afford the premiums that my work would charge. We were very lucky to save her leg but we will be stuck paying for the massive bills well past her wedding. Our system sucks!

Megan Lay

yeah, but can you imagine the government not giving you that option and denying your daughter treatment? because it could happen and i'm not really to risk my daughters or my health on what the government "could" do....this is a free democracy...or at least its suppose to be but the more power we give the government the less we have.

Adam Hensen

Why would they deny her treatment?

Adam Hensen

Having government health care doe snot mean sick people will not be treated.

Megan Lay I just don't understand how people can want the government to run health care....seriously? You want your government to tell you what doctor you can go to, what hospital you can go to, when you can and can't go....crazy talk!!!

Adam Hensen

the government tells you what school you can go to, when your child can start and has to stop school. Because they tell you where you have to go they give it to you free. Pretty good trade off.

Schann Wilson

yeah...i've seen what government run health care is like in the Army...it was horrible!!! very cheap, but you get what you pay for.

Adam Hensen

it sucked because it was the army.

Megan Lay

public education and the health of my child are two completely different things. If i don't like the school district I am in, I can move or home school, I have options, if she gets sick or needs surgery I can do nothing but what the government says?! excuse my language but screw that!!!!

Megan Lay

Schann, that's a good point. Please go to FreeOurHealthCareNow.com and sign the petition!

Adam Hensen

government run health care does not mean "your not sick enough so we wont treat you" If your sick, help will be there for you.

Adam Hensen

if you want to go to a different hospital you can move too, you have options.

Megan Lay

Oh yeah, just like Canada? That's bull crap. You can believe and feel however you want but I'd rather be stuck paying medical bills the rest of my life than having the government run my health care for me.

Adam Hensen

All I am saying is the government did a pretty darn good job on the postal service. You mean you will take this piece of paper across country rain snow or shine for less than 50 cents? Kicks ass.

Megan Lay

The government doesn't own the postal service....it's a privately owned entity.

Adam Hensen

uh, that's incorrect. UPS and FEDEX are private but the postal service is government run and operated.

Megan Lay

ok, correction taken. But you do realize that you are comparing the health of people too mail...pieces of paper....parcels....

Cristall J. Harle

All of those are important services to people... your education, your health, and having your business taken care of... Adam, whoever you are, you're right. If you don't like the school the government has provided you, you can move, or use a private school. Same for mail. And the same will go for healthcare. If you don't like the government given ... Read Moredoctor that'll take care of your child, Megan, you could use one in through the private sector. This is America, and capitalism does still reign supreme.

There are people that live in our country that can't afford healthcare. If healthcare is government run, everyone will be able to go to the doctor if they're sick. You and I have never had the problem (I'm assuming that you've always had someone there for you when you were sick, same as myself) of not being able to just go to the doctor when it was needed. Could you imagine? I couldn't.

Adam Hensen

Cristall, I don't know who you are, but I like you!

Cristall J. Harle

Bottom line is, when it comes to issues that encompass an entire nation, everyone within that nation has to taken account for... poor or rich, young and old, everyone. So, maybe government healthcare would create an annoyance within your world, but to so many others, this is like a gift handed down from on high.

Cristall J. Harle

Hell yeah, man.
Power to the people.
c:

Megan Lay

As long as the government is running everything why don't you go ahead and let them take the rest of your freedoms. Yes, I am a christian and very right wing, you two and the rest of the nation that wants to can let the government control your life, as for me and many others we won't willingly allow our rights and freedoms to be taken away. What y'... Read Moreall are saying has valid points, but you don't seem to understand that it won't stop with healthcare. And if the government does a truly "government-ran" health care system there won't be any private doctors left. I'm not a fan of communism or facism or socialism....i like my freedom, my democracy, where the people rule the government not the other way around, and i'll fight to keep it that way.

Megan Lay

And Cristall, what you are talking about TAKES power from the people, unlike what you are wanting it to do...

Brent Smith

let me stroll in here and then jump out. we count on our govt. to keep us safe from thiefs, rapists, and north korea. we count on them to monitor our prescriptions (compare canada to usa with thalidomide babies) we count on them to build and maintain our roads, we trusted them to not monitor or spy on this facebook status when the patriot act gave ... Read Morethem the power to. we count on them to even tell us when we can have wine with our parents. why can't we count on them to assist the poor with medical needs? will they screw some of it up? yup. they screw everything up a little sometimes. but we overall trust them. the inconvenience us insured folk will have to endure wont be the end of the world. the loss of a young baby in detroit who can't get flu vaccines will be the end of the world for one devastated parent. whew! i'm done...

Megan Lay

vaccines are provided by the government if you can't afford to pay for them. And we all gripe about taxes, the ones that take care of homeland security, roads, etc and now you want to fight to have another one added.....and as far as being "uninsured" there are plenty of welfare plans and other "government helps" that can be used without allowing the government to take over it...

Cristall J. Harle

Megan. This is America. A democracy. We the people run the government. It comes down to us. That's why we can protest.. and VOTE. It's why were allowed to question the government on a website for everyone to see. Again, look at the big picture... you have so many freedoms and rights as an American, you forget that many people only wish they had the... Read More means to even have a conversation like this. We have the power to create (and destroy) this privilege of freedom. And actually, thinking about it... doesn't your insurance provider tell you which doctors you can and can't go to? and when/how often? Mine does. So, the government running healthcare doesn't take any power from the people that insurance companies haven't already taken from them.

Megan Lay

I don't have insurance, I save money in a health savings account that earns interest so when I need a doctor I go. And yes, you are right, vote, vote exactly how you feel. but remember, what you are voting for isn't always what you get. Look a voting records, see what you can really look forward to, and remember that by voting to give the ... Read Moregovernment more power you are giving up some of yours. There isn't a limitless supply of power, it's give and take, and the government will take it all if you give it to them, by voting, which our democracy gives us the right to do, but after so long you may not have that right either....just think about it is all i'm saying.

Cristall J. Harle

Taxes.... umm... right. You're paying out the ass for your insurance already. Brent, crazyyyy good points. The government is set up to take care of us and all our needs as a nation. Megan, no one's trying to take your freedoms away... you've already lost complete freedom to choose whatever doctor you want. The only difference is that the part of ... Read Moreyour paycheck that's taken out every month won't go to an insurance provider, it'll go to the US government. Oh, and poor people can get their teeth cleaned and a flu shot. Also, all those "governement helps" and welfare programs... where do you think the money for those come? It would be less of your tax dollars spent on those, and more on healthcare. Helping people live day to day is kind of different than keeping them alive and well... at least in my book.

Brent Smith

and as i was typing that admittedly long-winded manifesto (but i swear i'm no marxist, lol) the idea of them taking ALL our freedoms was mentioned. that's just paranoia and conspiracy theories. the liberals said the same thing about bush taking our freedoms and listening to my phone calls after the patriot act. but you know what? none of that ... Read Morehappened. it was just extreme conspiracy theories from the left. and to think obama will turn us into communism is just extreme conspiracy theories from the right. the more things change, the more they stay the same. our great nation will survive these next 8 years, just as we survived the last 8 years. there is nothing that can be done by congress or the prez that cant be reversed by the next group if it's a failure. just look at prohibition.

Cristall J. Harle

Dude, if the government gets that controlling, the people will revolt. Or move.
Also, if you're saving money in an account for healthcare... wouldn't this help you in the long run? You would save money by paying more tax dollars. I can see where you're coming from about freedoms... but by not having insurance, you have an additional freedom that most people have already willingly (and really, with no harm) given up.

This has nothing to do with being right wing/left wing, liberal or conservative... it's just about looking at the big picture and having the compassion to see this issue through the eyes of others.
... Read More
I have work, I'm out.
Megan, I really wasn't trying to argue or anything, I'm just a little over zealous about this topic. Have a good day!

Yuri Roberto López Arteaga

Sorry to intervene, but I just can't stay quiet. I find intersting how some people confuses things. It's not true that governments (specally in the US) can tell you what service to use, not for education, mail or health, they can give you a public option but you are not in any way obligated to use that service (public not free). What is comunism? ... Read MoreWhat is socialism? What is public? What is free? What is democracy?People have the tendency to use those words without really knowing what they mean. You don´t want to use a public service, then don't! as easy as that, but just because you have the money to get a "better" service, that doesn't give you the right to let people without resources enough to go to "your" doctor/school/post service without those vital services. As I said sorry to intervene, I know it's not my place to comment on the topic because I'm from El Salvador, but we are actually going through a similar process here.

Cristall J. Harle

Last thing: Brent, again, wonderful points.
Also, word to the wise: Don't let political parties pull you around with their extremes. They know what you want to hear, and politicians'll do whatever they can to get their hands on money and power.

Cristall J. Harle

Hey man, don't be sorry. All points are valid ones. You have some good ones.
Ok, for real, I'm gonna be late.

Megan Lay

They can if you give them the power to. And I'm very conservative, do I agree with all republican ideals? hell no. And the big picture if much bigger than you are seeing, its not about compassion, it's about money and power. My views have been put out there, like them or not. It doesn't really matter to me what you think, I've done my research, I know what I believe. You do the same. That's America, at least for now.

Kevin Hansen

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Today at 2:12pm

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Why complain? If you don't see enough liberal polls or crazy athiest polls on facebook, do something about it. Maybe you're seeing so many of these polls because your crazy conservative, christian friends are finally getting off their butts and trying to make their stance in political issues known.

Adam Hensen

Today at 2:16pm

There "stance" in political issues are known, Its whatever is on FOX NEWs.

Kevin Hansen

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Today at 2:28pm

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Oh, so we're supposed to limit our freedom of speech to what Fox News can cover in 24 hrs. I see. I guess since Gore invented the internet, we conservative minded folk don't have a right to express our opinions here.
You know... unlike your short analysis and stereotype of all who responded "No" to Obama care, there aren't just conservatives saying no. Despite what the career politicians of the left are saying, a large number of people are against this. That's why it failed with Hillary, and that's why there is opposition against this plan.

Believe me when I tell you I don't believe the majority of our DC people know what they are doing (Rep and Dem alike). They all got us in this mess collectively by working against eachother, not with eachother and making bad policies for nearly 20 years now. It's going take some cleaning house on both sides to make a significant difference.

Adam Hensen

Today at 2:43pm

While I hold no delusions of grandeur that if this county were ran by libs, the sun would always shine and flowers would blossom out of my butt each morning. If you want to drop stupid things that the other side has said (your comment about Gore and the internet) you forget, the republicans last president was a walking jukebox of retarded quotes.
I am not limiting freedom of speech in anyway; I am a huge advocate of FOS. That is why I made the comment that I did. However, my entire life I ave been forced fed right winged-chritian political ideas that have trampled on my freedoms.
It failed with Hillary, and likely will fail this time around too because of political pundits like O'riely fear mongering and saying things that just aren't going to be true, while avoiding saying things like almost all countrys that have government run health care have longer life spans thtn Americans, that health care will now be affordable instead of inflated to the maximum amount the market can bare.The opposition, not in toto but in the vast majority, are ill informed people following what there pastor has old them.

Kevin Hansen

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Today at 3:17pm

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Pardon my sarcasm about Gore.
When it comes to lies and fear mongering, you have to give both parties equal credit. Obama: "If we don't do the stimulus package, unemployment will be over 8%." Um, where is it now? He said he would create jobs, but more have gone away than were created; including jobs at profitable dealerships due to Obama's hand in GM and Chrysler. Since when was the government into shutting down profitable businesses? He said continuing with the Bush doctrine he accused McCain of following would put us in more debt. Umm... need I ask? He said he would change the tone in DC, include republicans, wouldn't sign a bill that hadn't been made available to the public... Instead he's changed the face of politics in a bad way. Unaccountable, unchecked Zars. Constitutional? I don't think so. I've seen a lot of bills written by Obama's boyz and girlz of DC, with late deliveries to the public and the Republicans before the vote. But who cares right? He's got majority, he's got the votes. What does it matter if the public sees it and agrees or not. The bill is going through. Besides, anyone who disagrees is just a crazy right-wing conservative 'clinging to their guns and religion.' Yeah, that's better than what we had before. That's good old fashioned open discussion about our issues. I wish he would show more interest in getting along with half of this country than he does in making friends with foreign dictators. Once we have our own issues and the Civil War of Words resolved, then we can go about rubbing shoulders with Iran. We're a joke to them all, you know. They see how much we don't get along here and how one party in power tramples over the other, over and over again.

Now, I wasn't for McCain, either. Let's get that straight, even though he got my vote. I would have preferred Romney over all the potential republicans. He had a hybrid of what Obama is asking for and what businesses want. You can't take a system and weigh it heavily in the consideration of one group over the other the way Obama wants to put the poor patient above all other patients and the doctors who treat them. You can't take money away from the industry you are relying on for the treatment.

The health care system, if you'll please, has less to do with the health of a group of people than how people eat and live. Our lack of insurance and healthcare for the poor didn't make them fat and diabetic. That was their parents not teaching them to eat healthy and be sparing on sugars and fatty foods. I've been to Europe (Germany) and have been through parts of their healthcare; I have no desire to have that here. They eat better and excercise more. But, because of their desire to Americanize their food industry, you might see them getting slowly unhealthy over time. Then they'll be turning even more people away than they are now. Don't you get it? Governement health care doesn't guarantee everyone gets taken care of. It just takes the decision from the individual or the insurance company and puts it in the hands of bureaucrats.

I don't know about most religions, but I can guarantee this christian doesn't get politcal advise from the pulpit because my church leaders don't abuse there religious position that way. While my personal believes do influence my vote on moral issues, those issues that are political come from my understanding of the constitution and economics. Neither of which were taught in Sunday School.

I am making my own drinks!

That's it, I am tiered of all these sodas!
I drink ridiculous amounts of soda each day and I don't even like it because it is too sweet!
I am going to the store tomorrow to get my own brewing supplies and i will attempt to make my own root beer and other sodas. However, i will not use sugar, i was to sweeten everything with honey instead. Let me know if you have any experience with this or have any good recipes i can alter to make with honey. I will post pictures tomorrow and let you know how the process goes.

What is to report?

Boy, there has not been much going on the past few weeks! I haven't been able to come up with a blog post that is even remotely interesting. So instead I will put up the first part of a story that I will write over the next few blog post, please comment and tell me what you think

Untitled
By Adam Hensen


Part 1

I can’t sleep.

I have been lying in bed for the better part of 4 four hours. I am tired, but not sleepy. I’ve been staring at the ceiling above my bed and using the light from the street lamps outside to try to see shapes and animals in the drywall of the ceiling like a child does in the clouds on a summer day. My wife is asleep beside me. Her naked body is hot. Tonight is hot. It has to be close to 80 degrees in this house, even with the windows open. Global warming; like it hell it doesn’t exist. Here we are not 3 nights into the New Year and its near 80 degrees.

The ceiling fan is making a clicking sound. It’s a because of this click, click, click of the ceiling fan and the bump, bump, caused by the wind blowing through my window causing the door occasionally sway and bang against something on the floor that’s stopping me from even closing my eyes. I can’t take very much more than this. I slip out of bed and throw some pajama bottoms on.

It’s been several hours since I have eaten now too. I make my way through the dark house, careful not to turn on too many lights so my wife and kids won’t be woken up at 4:00 am. I make my way into the kitchen and flip on the light. There are a few dishes in the sink and the floor is a little dirty but other than that, the kitchen is clean. I haven’t realized how hungry I have been until now that I am standing in the kitchen.

I open the closet door and reach to the bottom shelf to grab some ramen noodles. Immediately I jumped back because there was a small roach crawling towards me on the floor from out of the closet. My back shakes and my gag reflex starts kicking in. I am a wuss when it comes to bugs. They have always bothered me. I make my way to the kitchen sink and put my hands on the Formica to brace myself when I gag. I look in the sink only to find about another two roaches crawling among the dirty dishes. This is almost too much for me and I run almost full speed out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Suddenly I have lost any appetite I might have had.

My heart is racing; not just because of the roaches; it has been for a few nights now. About 3 days after Christmas I had a dream. Until now, I could not remember what the dream was about. I am sure I don’t remember all the parts but there is something familiar about it. I think the dream is reminding me of one I had when I was a kid. It’s because of this dream I haven’t had any sleep, it’s because of this dream I had to subject myself to the roaches in the kitchen, and it is because of this dream that I have pulled my journal out and started writing in it.

This journal was given to me as a gift a few days before my wedding over 4 years ago, but I can count the times I have written in here on my hands and toes. But something is forcing me to write now, I am so anxious I can’t even think straight. I am sitting at the end of the table, the furthest from the roach invested kitchen and their layer of the dirty sink. But before I get started I feel something from behind, something haunting me from a forgotten world. I decide to change seats at the table. This time I took the spot closet to the kitchen. This way I can get a clear view of the hallway closet. I don’t like closets, especially when it is so dark like it is now. Down the hallway there is a light on in the bathroom. I must have used the light to help me find my way to the kitchen but had forgotten to turn it off. The bathroom light cast an eerie light onto the hallway closet and much eerier shadows on the ground below.

2

I have had this same dream I don’t know how many times. But I do know I have not had it in a long, long while; especially not in my adult life. Along time ago I use dream about a secret passage in my parents’ bedroom closet. To be honest I dreamnt of it so often and so vividly that I have to really think hard if it as a dream or not. It could have been real. If you climb to the top of the closet in my parents’ bedroom in some house we use to live in; who knows which house of the dozens I had growing up, although I would pay good money to find the house that it was so I could destroy that dreadful place but, I am getting ahead of myself.

If you were small, light, and limber enough you could climb to the top of my parents closet with the help of a friend sibling, I feat that I have done many, many times in my life, too many. I know at least two other of my siblings who have gone through it as well. I had many siblings, 2 sisters, one older, one younger; 1 brother and 4 stepbrothers. My oldest sister, Sarah, was the first of the three of us to go. She was also the one who showed me how to use the passage.

3

It was a typical bright and sunny summer day and I was no more than six or seven years old. I had a very happy childhood; however some people that have heard me tell some of the stories of my childhood and you dear reader at the end of my story might not think so. But to me, I was happy and content. I played a lot and had good friends. Even my sister from time to time was nice. Don’t get me wrong, if you crossed her you would most assuredly be in a scratch fight for your life; one that ended in a stalemate after I would have my older sister in a headlock and she would be scratching or slapping my back.

That’s a funny thing I remember: whenever I would get into a fist fight with any of my siblings, and I had very many, fist fights and siblings both, we would never hit each other in the face or the old bread basket to try to knock the wind out of your opponent. Thinking about it, I am pretty sure we never even hit each other closed fist. I guess we really didn’t want to cause each other harm, we just wanted the other kid to know that we were mad and we wanted our toy back, or use the Sega game console, or to have to other kid just shut the heck up! No, our fights never amounted to anything more than slapping the other kids back, or scratching their arms. The latter was especially true in the case of Sarah. I think out of all of us, she may have really intended to do harm. It would seem like she would sharpen her nails in preparation for the next fight. Sarah would also not follow the rules of sticking to slapping or scratching the back only. If she was in a terribly bad mood, you could find yourself being scratch on the neck. I have the scars to prove it.

I had been in there several times before this incident of course, it’s completely normal for a child to sneak into their parent’s closet. Especially if that closet was practically a treasure trove! For a good month or two out of the year it help Christmas presents, unwrapped of course. My parents had a bad habit of waiting until midnight Christmas Eve to wrap presents. When you’re talking about wrapping 8 kid’s worth of presents, you really need a Christmas miracle to get it all done by morning. So, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, if you wanted to spoil the surprise, you could sneak in there when the parents weren’t home a take a peak under a sheet atop a strangely shaped mound to see what you and your brothers and sisters would be getting for Christmas.

Other times, like the summers especially, you would want to sneak in there to pull out my father old compound bow and arrows. None of the arrows had any heads to them, and come to think of it, I don’t even know if the bow had any strings. But why would that stop a couple of young boys from sneaking in there to pull it out and play Cowboys and Indians, or maybe Ninjas.

Of course there were tons of clothes and jackets in the closet too. There were all kinds of clothes in there from my Father and Stepmother. There were even some old dresses of my mother’s as well. While I have never asked them, I am sure that my sisters had gone in there every week to try things on and play dress up. Assuming I wasn’t scratched hard enough to bleed until I was forced to cooperate and play the part of the groom in some elaborate make-believe wedding, I of course had never had interest in a closet full of dress up clothes. But I will be honest and tell you that on more than once occasions, I was forced to be that unlucky groom who had to marry one of my sisters.

Then there was hide and seek. The closet had a great deal of good places to hide. It was a long walk-in closet filled on both sides with boxes with unknown contents and clothes hung on racks; some in old dry cleaning bags, some not. The way we played hide and seek was different than the way other kids played growing up. It took me until I was almost 12 to figure that out. For the longest time I thought the rules for hide and seek was that there was one hider and all the other players were seekers as opposed to the alternate more popular version of o seeker all other hiders.

On this particular day, I was it. And according to the rules, I was the hider and all the other kids had to come find me. If they found me, that kid would have to crawl into my hiding spot and hide with me while we both waited for the next seeker to come. Then the three of us would wait, and so the game would go until we all were found in the same spot.

No remember from what I tell you from this point on, I cannot honestly remember if it was real or a dream. Or how many times I went to this place, real, dream or otherwise. Logic tells me that this place and this thing was a dream. For all that things that happened after this, there is no way that it could be real. I only wish to write down a nightmare I had from time to time growing up as a kid; a nightmare that I have not had in over 20 years until just a few days ago. If I have learned anything in my life so far thought it is this: dreams, and especially nightmares, have a way of making themselves become real.