Here We Go Again!

Be prepared, I've got the soap box out and primed. This post is going to piss people off and before you even bother to say it: Yes, I'm aware of the fact that immigrants helped build this country, most of my family came here from somewhere else, so let's skip that particular dead horse, all right?

I was reading the news this morning on MSNBC, as I usually do and I came across an article about the House and the Senate debating the "English as a National Language" issue again. This is an issue that has been debated repeatedly for years. Easch time it is defeated and dropped.

Now it is being discussed again, due in large part to the recent immigration discussions. Here's the kicker: It's being called racist.

All I have to say to that is WTF??????? How is it racist to want the people that live in THIS country to speak the launguage taught in it's schools and spoken by the people NATIVE to the country.

Again, yes I know that this country was built by people from other countries, but not solely, and not all of them were non-english speaking. In fact, a large majority of the first people to settle here were native english speakers...AND...when those people came here from other countries, it was with the intention of becoming American citizens, they WANTED to learn English, and they wanted their children to learn English. So I say again, let's not beat that particular dead horse.

Fact is if I moved to another country, any other country, I would be expected to learn it's launguage. It's true that a lot of countries teach English in their schools, but not all citizens speak it and so I would not be able to rely on that. I would have to learn to speak French or Chinese, or Spanish, or Italian, or whatever the native language was if I intended to live and be sucessful in my new home. Why should it be any different for people living here?

I do belive that it is a good idea for children in our schools to learn a second launguage, but I DO NOT believe that they should have to learn a second language simply because a portion of the population doesn't speak English.

It boils down to this: Just like anyone else, just like any other situation, if you want to be successful you have to adapt. English IS the language spoken in the United States. Yes, there are bilingual households. Yes, speaking a second language is a good thing. However, we are an ENGLISH speaking nation, just like a lot of other English speaking nations, we shouldn't be ashamed of it, we shouldn't apologize for it. It's not racist to want the people that live here to be able to communicate freely.

It would be racist to say that if someone didn't speak English you weren't going to teach them, and you weren't going to let them work, but no one is saying that. It would be racist if people that spoke other languages were shunned and not given good opportunities, when in fact, at many jobs, people that speak other languages qualify for pay increases.

I'm putting the soapbox away now. Just remember, before you send me angry notes....please don't beat the dead horse, he's suffered enough.

Pictures of my Daughter for Mother's Day

Judy sent me pictures of Genevive for Mother's Day. Wasn't that thoughtful? I went out and bought a frame for one of them right away, it's one of Genevie and I together. She's so beautiful. I've posted a few that Judy emailed to me last week, just wanted to share her beauty with the world...oh and I added a couple of Jareth, because, well...because it's mother's day and I LOVE MY KIDS!!!

Start your week off with a laugh....(warning:adult content)

More fun stuff from Virob.com. Again, I warn you, if your easily offended, or at work, don't watch this. But it's a good way to start the week with a laugh.

Sunday

It's Sunday. Not much else to say. The weather was nice. I took a nap.

Wow...my life is boring.

I seriously need to try something new. Brazilian frog juggling or French Poodle Shaving or something. Any suggestions? Maybe I'll take up Nude Interpretive Jello Wrestling.

I'll be taking suggestions all week.

The Birthday, The Road Trip and the Blow Up Sheep

I love rainy mornings. The sound of rain against the windows has always been one of my favorite things. My son is still asleep, so I thought I would take some time and come in and write for a minute.

I went on a little road trip with a Stephanie on Tuesday, it was her birthday. Her original plan had been to sit at home and do nothing by herself all day...BORING!!!!! I told her we needed to get her out of the house and do something, anything...she decided we should take a roadtrip to Evanston, Wyoming. (For those of you NOT from Utah, Evanston is just over the border and it's where all the repressed people go to buy porn and fireworks *LOL*)

So, we get in her car and we head for Wyoming. On the way we listen to 80's music, we sing, we car dance.....you heard me, car dance. This makes everyone else on the road look at us funny and laugh, I'm not sure why. My theory? Life is to short NOT to have fun..so car dance for gosh sake's.

Anyway...

We get to Evanston, grab a quick bite to eat at a local restaurant where we manage to convince the waitress that we are either high or drunk, when we are neither and then we're off to the local porn store. That's right intrepid readers...the porn store.

I have never laughed so hard in my entire life. I have however decided that the job I want is "sex toy namer". You know someone gets paid to just sit around and think up names like, "The Anal Intruder".....I mean come ON, you know whoever thought that up was laughing their butt off , or stoned, or most likely both. Stephanie and I were laughing so hard I thought I would pee my pants. There was this little vibrator shaped like a DOLPHIN....I'm not joking, a damned dolphin...and we were both making jokes about it:

"I wonder if it makes the noise...."insert me making dolphin noise here"

Stephanie: "Even better, I wonder if it makes YOU make the noise..."insert BOTH of us making dolphin noises here."

There was a store employee standing next to us and at this point he started cracking up.

We moved further up the aisle and at this point I spot...wait for it.... the Blow up Dolls. They had one named Two Ton Tammy. So the employee that we made laugh says: "They even make blow up sheep."

I reply, " Oh Lord, you're kidding, Do they come with Blow up velcro cowboy boots?"

He says: " I don't know, let me check."

The laughter is over the top at this point.....and he comes over with....you guessed it, BLOW UP SHEEP.....I thought I would die.

So yeah...it was a good day. I haven't laughed that hard in ages.

Well, not since the last time I hung out with Stephanie.

A little sad....

Having just realized that her best friend is on vacation this week, our intrepid blogger is a little sad. She realizes this means she will have no one to chat with while her son naps.

*moment of silence for the vacationing Stephanie*

Fun Words

This is my list of words in the English Language that are fun to say. I'll probably update it from time to time. You should try saying some of these words outloud for no reason at all, just to see how fun they are. (If you don't know what the word means, you can always look it up)

(1) lollygagger

(2) kumquat

(3) pfeffernusse (it's a cookie pe*fer*noose)

(4) nincompoop (and it's oh so fun derivation: nincompoopery)

(5) tomfoolery (yes, it is an actual word, I looked it up)

(6) bulbous ( even more fun when paired with the word bouffant and shared with a friend)

(7) mukluk

(8) idiosyncrasy ( this one has many fun derivations, play with them, roll them around on your tounge, make people stare at you....just makes the word more fun)

Well there you have the initial fun word list, I'll update it soon. If you have a word you think is fun ( and isn't a swear word, those don't count....) let me know, I'll add it to the list.