South Park Moments

There are Malox moments, I need a Snickers moments; now allow me to introduce South Park moments.

Drum roll.....

Crazy things happen in the Baez house. Regular things with bad language also happen in the Baez house. This may be both of those things.

Anyone who has ever watched South Park should remember the "did you say the f word" episode. You don't? Here, watch this. I'll wait.

Okay, so today I drove the girls home from school instead of walking. All the cars were so backed up that the lane to turn left was taken up by people driving the wrong way to get to the pick up area. Naturally, I don't blame them, I'm a human too. But this meant we had to turn right out of the school and then drive almost aimlessly for a bit avoiding road work in strange places.

Naturally we broke into song. Specifically the following (sung to the tune of "if you're happy and you know it clap your hands):

If you're a nazi and you're fired
It's your fault!

If you're a nazi and you're fired
It's your fault!

You were spotted in the mob
Now you've lost your fucking job!

If you're a nazi and you're fired
It's your fault!

(I linked a video because you haven't lived until you've heard it sung.)

So on to tonight. Normal after dinner conversation. I started telling my mother (aka Grandma) about the drive home from school. When I came to the part about the song, the girls and I just started singing. This is the conversation immediately following:

Grandma: Don't get them to sing that bad word. That's horrible.

Izzy: Nazi?

Grandma: No! Not Nazi.

Me: She means "fuck."

Lexi: So not Nazi?

And that, dear readers (all 8 of you) is how our afternoon went. I never claimed to be appropriate for children.

Jesus And The Dinosaur

I have a pretty amazing story to share about something that happened this afternoon. It's taken me pretty much the whole night, off and on, to process it.

After school, Erica and Izzy were playing outside. Erica was playing with a little green plastic stegasaurus, appropriately named "Steggy."

When it was time to come in, Erica couldn't find Steggy. First we retraced her steps. Then we tried as close to a grid search as 2 people, one of them a 4 year old, could get.

When I told her it was getting dark and we'd have to call off the search for the night, she cried like her heart would break.

So, I suggested we ask Jesus to find Steggy for us. She agreed, and told Jesus in some detail how Steggy was a really wonderful dinosaur. I got the distinct feeling that we needed to stop looking, and go do her bath.

After the bath,  she ran to her room to get her pajamas on. I handed them to her and she jumped up on her bed to put them on.

Guess who was on her pillow? If you guessed Steggy, you would be right. And there was no way any human could have put it there.

So, at the top of her lungs, Erica yelled, "Thank you, Jesus! I love you!"

I remember a passage in the Bible where it says that not even a sparrow falls without God knowing.  So apparently God looks out for plastic dinosaurs, along with the little girls who sometimes misplace them.

WTF

I posted a photo on Facebook about the girl who was knocked out of her desk and thrown like a rag doll by a police officer. Then I was unpleasantly surprised.

What do you do when someone you have known for years expresses a thought so reprehensible that it takes multiple readings to even begin to wrap your mind around it?  Someone who you thought shared your basic values, someone you always enjoyed spending time with...

Granted, it's been years since we lived in the same city. We are both probably very different people than we used to be.

But I never thought I would hear her call the girl a "thug."



Posted via Blogaway

Doc McStuffins - Lola's Review

My granddaughter Isabella spends a lot of time here at Chez Baez, and my mother and I use the DVR to pre-record different TV programs that we think she would enjoy.  Izzy has certain shows she loves and watches over and over.  And over. And over.  And...well, you get the idea.

Yesterday, my niece Kennadee (age 5) spent some time here and recommended a Disney show called "Doc McStuffins."  (Even though Izzy is just 2, she prefers shows with plots - so her preferences are for shows you might think would be a little old for her.)  Well, both girls sat down to watch, and Izzy was entranced.

Izzy was still entranced when she watched our one recorded episode again. (Gulpy Gulpy Gators) Here's proof:

She didn't move at all until it was over.  At all.  (Neither did Grandma, who fell asleep!)

So yeah, this is a show that gets Lola's* Seal of Approval. Here's the premise: A little girl who wants to be a doctor spends her play time being a doctor to broken toys.  She's really good at it too, and other reviewers have commented that the show can help ease children's anxiety about visits to the doctor.  "Doc" also encourages good health habits inside the story line, without being lame or annoying.  In the above mentioned episode, "Doc" and her brother played a game of "Gulpy Gulpy Gators" (a sort of generic version of Hungry Hungry Hippos) and one of the alligators eats too many marbles and then feels sick.  So we learn not to overeat....or in my case, that I shouldn't overeat because who really needs a 5th piece of cornbread?

Check it out....I promise you will be glad you did!


*Lola is "grandma" in Tagalog.  Since my older son's biological mother was Filipino, and my mom was already "grandma," Lola made sense.  Izzy doesn't do her "L's" too well yet, so it often sounds like "Yo-Ya," but we'll leave that for another day.

Immigration and Amnesty and Racism, Oh, My!

I have just finished re-reading "Infidel," written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali born Dutch politician who now lives in the United States and works for the American Enterprise Institute. 

Whew, what a mouthful.   I used to be one of those people who scoffed at "hyphenated Americans, Canadians - or Somali-Dutch or whatever" but seriously, we are going to keep referring to people's backgrounds and other attributes in conversations.  For the most part (the only exception are the Native Americans) we all hail from somewhere else.  It is just human nature to want to place people and objects in categories.  Doing so is not necessarily discrimination.  Making assumptions is also human nature - sometimes seriously bad manners, but human nature nonetheless. It's also human nature to want to express ourselves.  Part of that self expression can include how we self identify.

Assumptions can be maddening - like when my New York born Puerto Rican husband was constantly stopped and harassed by police in Athens, Georgia - police who demanded his "Green Card" (they aren't actually green, but I digress) and sometimes threatened him with arrest when he tried to explain that Puerto Rico is part of the United States.

Assumptions can be amusing - like when I once upon a time went to pick up my African-American/Puerto Rican niece from school.  The teacher said, "Aryanna, your aunt's here for you!"  Another little girl piped up, "That can't be your aunt!  She's the wrong color!"  Aryanna's response?  "She can't help it that she's pink and not brown!"

We have some major ethnic diversity in our family, so we have lots of jokes and stories to laugh at.  We also have stories after stories about awkward or just plain bizarre happenings.  Some are funny ...and some are creepy. 

Arizona has gotten a lot of attention lately.  Okay, that's an understatement.  Arizona's recent law dealing with immigration issues has been extremely controversial.  There are so many different aspects of immigration issues, and there are as many ways to look at it.  Below is the full text of Arizona's law.  Read it for yourself.  Decide what you think of it.  I'll post my own analysis very soon.

SB_1070_Signed

Studies in Contrast

Well, things on the lawsuit front have been quiet lately, but that
isn't stopping "The Chicken Woman" (TCW) from continuing her tirade
while hiding behind an imaginary "friend" while swearing that this
"friend" is 1) real, not imaginary and 2) actually likes her.
She does this in a .pdf file on her - oops her "friend's - website.

Drawing on her superior social skills, TCW calls me a "bleached blond
bimbo."  Well, I am a bleached blond. I am also pretty hot for
a grandmother.  Well, okay, I'm pretty hot compared to
anybody.  Wikipedia defines a "bimbo" as "a woman who is
physically attractive but has a low intelligence or poor education" or
"a woman who acts in a sexually promiscuous manner."
Hmmmm.  How do you spell D-E-F-A-M-A-T-I-O-N?

TCW (or her imaginary "friend") runs on at the mouth for FOUR PAGES
about me. She has nothing really bad to say about me....just playground
insults and innuendo.   And playground insults are
always a sign jealousy, instead of true contempt.  TCW makes
much of the fact that I am fortunate enough to be able to help
others.  I don't announce it when I am able to make someone's
life a little easier, but TCW seems to have made a hobby out of doing
so.

I have an amazing life that TCW can't even begin to wrap her head
around.  Everything I am is everything she's not, and it is
obviously eating at her.  I have a loving, devoted husband who
absolutely adores me.  I have two children who love me and who
are very protective of me. I see my beautiful granddaughter every
day.  I am attractive.  I am well traveled.  I live in a beautiful
house.  I am respected and liked by people involved with
Family Rights.

In other words, it's not pretense if you really have it.  So without further ado.........

This is TCW's house.


Photo via El Paso County, Colorado Tax Assessor


And this is my house:


Photo courtesy William Wiseman

Sightseeing In Augusta, Georgia.....or how to spend a "golf-free" day during Masters' Week

It's Spring. The Japanese Magnolias and the Dogwoods are in full bloom. School is out for the week. There's only one problem: It's Masters' Week - the week where golf aficionados and zany fans alike descend on Augusta from all over the world. Washington Road is virtually impassable, sane people have decamped for the duration, and crazy people have all the local golf courses booked solid. So how should those who have stayed in town and those who aren't crazy for golf entertain themselves? And, God help us all, entertain the children?

Here's the family tested, mother approved, relatively inexpensive list:

*Artists' Row: Broad Street (mainly 700-1200 blocks) An eclectic collection of local art galleries, special boutiques and unique cafes.

*Augusta Cotton Exchange: 32 Eight Street Constructed in 1886 to house the business activities of cotton farmers, brokers, and buyers, the Cotton Exchange was once the second largest cotton market in the world. The bank lobby displays cotton-era artifacts such as the trading board that listed cotton prices, as well as an 1880s-era walnut bank teller line and period furnishings.

*Augusta Common: 836 Reynolds Street A park space that links Broad Street to Riverwalk.

*Riverwalk: 836 Reynolds Street Riverwalk has so much to offer, but most important to families is the playground right on the water. "Nuff said.

*Augusta History Museum: 560 Reynolds Street Don't miss Augusta's Story - a 12,000-year journey through local history. Interactive - great for kids.

If you're coming to Augusta, I hope you find time to visit these attractions....


Tags: Dorothy Kernaghan-Baez, Georgia

2010???

Well, we're into 2010 and I had decided last fall that this year was going to be "The Year of Dorothy." As in I plan to simplify my life, really take stock of what is important to me....yada yada yada. I've put others first for so long that I'm looking forward to indulging myself a little.

So, I found myself looking at various predictions for this year, and according to my source, Yemaya will be in charge this year, and guess what? I am a child of Yemaya!

So, it seems like everything is on track for the "Year of Dorothy." My granddaughter is due in April - I look forward to having a "Minnie Me" to play with. My children are healthy. Spiritually, I'm in a good place. I'm finally organized and the house runs smoothly. (Damn, can you imagine?) I'm planning a web based sort of half reality series half mockumentary series, along with some other projects that I'm keeping to myself for the time being.

I don't make New Year's resolutions - instead I set goals and plan projects. So, ahem: I want to improve my Spanish and learn a little Chinese. I want to ride a mechanical bull. I want to finally finish my second book. I want to do some renovations on my greenhouse. I want to build an aviary for my pigeon. I want to (maybe) get my nose pierced. I want to expend the same effort making myself happy that I spend making others happy.

Off to the races!

Are My Hands Clean?

Are My Hands Clean?

Some food for thought...... Are your hands and clothes really clean?

(Lyrics and music by Bernice Johnson Reagon. Songtalk Publishing Co. 1985)


I wear garments touched by hands from all over the world

35% cotton, 65% polyester, the journey begins in Central America

In the cotton fields of El Salvador

In a province soaked in blood,

Pesticide-sprayed workers toil in a broiling sun

Pulling cotton for two dollars a day.

Then we move on up to another rung—Cargill

A top-forty trading conglomerate, takes the cotton through the Panama Canal

Up the Eastern seaboard, coming to the US of A for the first time

In South Carolina

At the Burlington mills

Joins a shipment of polyester filament courtesy of the New Jersey petro-chemical mills of Dupont

Dupont strands of filament begin in the South American country of Venezuela

Where oil riggers bring up oil from the earth for six dollars a day

Then Exxon, largest oil company in the world,

Upgrades the product in the country of Trinidad and Tobago

Then back into the Caribbean and Atlantic Seas

To the factories of Dupont

On the way to the Burlington mills

In South Carolina

To meet the cotton from the blood-soaked fields of El Salvador

In South Carolina

Burlington factories hum with the business of weaving oil and cotton into miles of fabric for Sears

Who takes this bounty back into the Caribbean Sea

Headed for Haiti this time—May she be one day soon free—

Far from the Port-au-Prince palace

Third world women toil doing piece work to Sears specifications

For three dollars a day my sisters make my blouse

It leaves the third world for the last time

Coming back into the sea to be sealed in plastic for me

This third world sister

And I go to the Sears department store where I buy my blouse

On sale for 20% discount

Are my hands clean?





Tags: Dorothy Kernaghan-Baez, AFRA, family rights, twitter, cyber-dissident, tarot cards, psychic, DFACS, Georgia, politics

a ChildProtectionReform groups post

Over the years, many have tried to "bring everyone together." It never seems to work.

I've been part of this movement since before there really was a movement. I've heard and seen it all.

My take? We should focus on our states and our local areas. Granted, there is a national problem and federal laws and funding to deal with. Believe me, I get that. But it's only one piece of the puzzle.

I believe it is extremely important to work on changing attitudes of the general public at the state and local level. I believe it is extremely important to work on those elected officials and non-profit managers who control our state and local funding streams. Here in Georgia, even though we have a state government directed system (as opposed to say, North Carolina which has a county directed system) DFACS (CPS) gets various funding and other support from local governments. Even more is given by local charities. THIS IS WHERE WE NEED TO POINT OUR EFFORT, in my opinion.

If significant numbers of us focus our efforts this way, our work will lead to changes all over the country. Changes are already happening in Georgia. I'd love to see changes happen everywhere.

So, how exactly do we do this? We write timely letters to the editor, we respond to local news stories touching on CPS, we write to our local lawmakers, we offer concrete help to victim families who are close to us geographically.

Of course there will be people who won't do any of these things. And there are going to be people who will. For example, if a group member posts a sample letter to the editor, the majority of members won't bother to personalize and send it. But some will.

Let's at least expect "some."

--------------------------
Thanking you in advance,
(Mrs.) Dorothy Kernaghan-Baez
http://www.dorothybaez.com
http://psychicsoundoff.blogspot.com
http://www.familyrights.us

Georgia Family Rights, Inc.
http://www.georgiafamilyrights.com
811 Aumond Place East
Augusta, Georgia 30909
Phone 706-533-6522
Fax 706-736-4832
Email dorothybaez@yahoo.com

I am not an attorney and I do not give or pretend to give legal advice. I merely relate strategies I learned in the past that have worked for families. I provide information and help for free and do not expect to receive any form of payment or reward on this side of heaven.

Responses to my 4/24 letter to the editor

On April 24, The Augusta Chronicle published a letter to the editor that I had written. This letter had 43 web comments. There is one particular comment that I am going to address here.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/042408/let_196159.shtml

The images we have all seen of the families involved in the Texas polygamy case are disturbing. It doesn't matter where one's opinion lies -- the whole situation is simply disturbing.

I would not agree to live in a plural marriage, no matter how often my husband jokes about finding another wife. But I do believe that people should be able to choose their lifestyles. I am strongly in favor of changing our marriage laws to provide gays and lesbians the chance to marry. In my mind, polygamy is not all that different as long as the marriage partners are consenting adults.

Unfortunately, at issue in the Texas case is not only freedom of association, but accusations that children are forced into arranged marriages. It is interesting to note that Child Protective Services in Texas decided that accusations of teen girls being forced to marry justified the detention of more than 400 children, some of them infants . According to CPS' own information, 90 percent of the children detained were in no imminent danger. It is for this reason that I'm crying "foul."

Over the past decade, I have seen some extraordinary silliness in CPS cases, usually perpetrated on families who are ill-equipped to fight back. If you stand by and say nothing as multiple families are torn apart, then you may find yourself on the receiving end of the same bitter medicine with no one to speak out for you.

Dorothy Kernaghan-Baez, Augusta

From the Thursday, April 24, 2008 edition of the Augusta Chronicle

And here is the comment with my responses.

Mrs Baez: For YOUR information, ANY TIME ONE CHILD IN THE HOME IS SUBJECTED TO SEXUAL EXPLOITATION, ALL OF THE CHILDREN ARE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE MOTHER WILL NOT PROTECT HER CHILD.

At this point, no abuse has been proven in court. Child Protective Services (CPS) are using the "risk of harm" argument as justification for detaining all of the children.

Also, I disagree with your basic premise that all children are sexually abused just because a sibling is.

If you remove the victim and leave the others in the home, then there is a new victim. (The caps are for emphasis, not shouting).

As I stated above I disagree with your basic premise.

The Texas authorities have acted in the best interest of the children and have not only legally, but rightfully, removed any potential victim.

Actually, it is not lawful to remove a "potential" victim. Federal law requires that "reasonable efforts" (Congress's words, not mine) be made before detaining a child away from his or her home. Reasonable efforts must also be made to make it possible for a detained child to be released.

The reason the "parents" are lying is because they know and understand that they have broken the laws regarding overt sexual behavior towards a child.

Where have the parents lied?

Those "men" are nothing more than perverted pedophiles who, if living in any other city or town, would have been arrested and prosecuted. The men who fathered these children have left the area in order to circumvent the law. Arizona and Colorado would do well by raiding those FLDS compounds.

Then how do you explain the presence of all those men still at the ranch?

Also, are you saying that anyone who has sexual relations with a girl under the age of 18 is a pedophile? Young people have sex all the time, often VERY casually. It seems to me like you're taking a single kumquat and trying to split it in half and then call it an apple and an orange.


How would you like it if your 13 year old was impregnated by your pastor because he believed he is "spiritually authorized by God?" Some of these children are now products of incest, which is also against the law.l Imagine the medical problems they will develop in the future.

I don't think my just turned fourteen year old would sit still long enough for anybody to impregnate him.

Seriously, we are talking about arranged marriages as part of an alternative lifestyle. Sure, I'd take issue about ANYBODY being forced into any marriage. But as far as I understand the situation in Texas, we don't know for sure that this is the case.

Time will tell.

Posted by mable8 on Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:20 PM

Tags: Dorothy Kernaghan-Baez, AFRA, family rights, twitter, cyber-dissident, tarot cards, psychic, DFACS, Georgia, politics, Texas, polygamy, CPS

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