National Anthems should be sang in the language in which they were written!

Excuse me, but WHEN will this $*!# end!!!!!!

First Immigration laws, next marches in several cities, followed by planned nationwide Boycotts! Now you want OUR National Anthem too?!?! Excuse me but WTF!!!! If you don't like the way things are here then go back to your own country! We aren't immigrating to Mexico & then trying to CHANGE your country! UGH!

I am NOT prejudice & I have no problem with people who come here legally & at least TRY to speak English. Even very broken English makes me happy. People from other countries manage to come here through proper channels (& illegally as well I am sure) I don't see OTHER countries immigrants trying to CHANGE the USA. Maybe because I live where I do I am more over-sensitive to these issues. I am getting sick of this crap. I vote. My family pays taxes. My husband works his A$$ off to provide for us. DO WE get any breaks from OUR government. HE!! NO! Did we get FREE medical care when my husband was out of work & I was due with our baby any day? HE!! NO! Did we have to pay through the nose for COBRA insurance & have no idea how were going to pay for it? HE!! YES! We should not have to learn a different language to function in our own country in the future. That is what we will soon be faced with if things don't change. We are in AMERICA people! We speak ENGLISH in AMERICA people! If you don't like it then get the HELL out!

Ahhhhh! I feel a little bit better now. I hope I didn't offend anyone. Don't get in a debate with me because you won't change my mind.

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Here is the article.

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Spanish 'Star-Spangled Banner' Draws Ire
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated PressApril 28, 2006 7:04 AM EDT
MIAMI - British music producer Adam Kidron says that when he came up with the idea of a Spanish-language version of the U.S. national anthem, he saw it as an ode to the millions of immigrants seeking a better life.
But in the week since Kidron announced the song - which features artists such as Wyclef Jean, hip-hop star Pitbull and Puerto Rican singers Carlos Ponce and Olga Tanon - it has been the target of a fierce backlash.
Some Internet bloggers and others are infuriated by the thought of "The Star-Spangled Banner" sung in a language other than English.
"Would the French accept people singing the La Marseillaise in English as a sign of French patriotism? Of course not," said Mark Krikorian, head of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that supports tighter immigration controls.
The initial version of "Nuestro Himno," or "Our Anthem," comes out Friday and uses lyrics based closely on the English-language original, said Kidron, who heads the record label Urban Box Office.
Pro-immigration protests are planned around the country for Monday, and the record label is urging Hispanic radio stations nationwide to play the cut at 7 p.m. EDT Friday in a sign of solidarity.
A remix to be released in June will contain several lines in English that condemn U.S. immigration laws. Among them: "These kids have no parents, cause all of these mean laws ... let's not start a war with all these hard workers, they can't help where they were born."
Bryanna Bevens of Hanford, Calif., who writes for the immigration-focused Web magazine Vdare.com, said the remix particularly upset her.
"It's very whiny. If you want to say all those things, by all means, put them on your poster board, but don't put them on the national anthem," she said.
Kidron, a U.S. resident for 16 years, maintains the changes are fitting. After all, he notes, American immigrants borrowed the melody of the "Star Spangled Banner" from an English drinking song.
"There's no attempt to usurp anything. The intent is to communicate," Kidron said. "I wanted to show my thanks to these people who buy my records and listen to the music we release and do the jobs I don't want to do."
Kidron said the song also will be featured on the album "Somos Americanos," which will sell for $10, with $1 going to the National Capital Immigration Coalition, a Washington group.
James Gardner, an associate director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, said Americans have long enjoyed different interpretations of the Star Spangled Banner, including country or gospel arrangements.
"There are a number of renditions that people aren't happy with, but that's part of it - that it means enough for people to try to sing," he said.
Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Perez, said this country was built by immigrants, and "the meaning of the American dream is in that record: struggle, freedom, opportunity, everything they are trying to shut down on us."
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Associated Press writer Suzette Laboy in Miami contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
Song history by National Museum of American History:
http://americanhistory.si.edu/ssb/6_thestory/6b_osay/fs6b.html

Senate Panel Recommends Abolishing FEMA

By LARA JAKES JORDAN (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated PressApril 27, 2006 9:46 AM EDT
WASHINGTON - Hurricane Katrina's latest fatality should be FEMA, the nation's disaster response agency, a Senate inquiry concluded in calling for a government overhaul to avoid future failures like those the devastating storm exposed.
Eighty-six recommendations by the bipartisan panel indicate the United States is still woefully unprepared for a storm of Katrina's scope with the start of the hurricane season little more than a month away.
The recommendations conclude that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is crippled beyond repair by years of poor leadership and inadequate funding. They call for a new agency - the National Preparedness and Response Authority - to plan and carry out relief missions for domestic disasters.
Although the proposed changes do not place blame on any official or government agency, Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., will offer "additional views" to the panel's findings in a statement accusing President Bush of failing "to provide critical leadership when it was most needed."
"The United States was, and is, ill-prepared to respond to a catastrophic event of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina," said the recommendations. "Catastrophic events are, by their nature, difficult to imagine and to adequately plan for, and the existing plans and training proved inadequate in Katrina."
The recommendations are to be released Thursday and will be included in the Senate panel's full report to be issued next week.
The recommendations, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, are the product of a seven-month Senate investigation. The probe follows similar inquiries by the House and White House and comes in an election year in which Democrats have seized on Katrina to attack the Bush administration.
President Bush is to visit Louisiana and Mississippi - which bore the brunt of Katrina's wrath - on Thursday.
Katrina, which struck on Aug. 29, was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. The storm killed more than 1,300 people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, left hundreds of thousands of homeless and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage.
The new authority would communicate directly with the president during major crises, and any dramatic cuts to budget or staffing levels would have to be approved by Congress. But it would remain within the Homeland Security Department and would continue receiving resources from the department.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who led the inquiry by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said the new authority would be "better equipped with the tools to prepare for and respond to a disaster."
She described FEMA as a "shambles" and said the change "will help ensure that we do not have a repeat of the failures following Hurricane Katrina."
But the proposal drew disdain from Homeland Security and its critics, both sides questioning the need for another bureaucratic shuffling that they said wouldn't accomplish much.
"It's time to stop playing around with the organizational charts and to start focusing on government, at all levels, that are preparing for this storm season," Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said.
Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, who resigned under fire after Katrina, said the new agency would basically have the same mission FEMA had a year ago before its disaster planning responsibilities were taken away to focus solely on responding to calls for help.
"It sounds like they're just re-creating the wheel and making it look like they're calling for change," Brown said. "If indeed that's all they're doing, they owe more than that to the American public."
The House report, issued in February, similarly criticized Bush, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Brown for moving too slowly to trigger federal relief. The White House report, which came a week later, took a softer tone and singled out Homeland Security for most of the breakdowns.
Many of the rest of the Senate recommendations were far less dramatic, ranging from creating a Homeland Security Academy to encouraging plans to evacuate and shelter pets during a disaster.
They also called for more funding for disaster planning and response at all levels of government, clarifying levee maintenance responsibilities, and suggested better contracting procedures to avoid waste or fraud in the rush to get aid to disaster victims.
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On the Net:
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee: http://hsgac.senate.gov/

DDR, Z-Coils & other stuff

DDR = Dance Dance Revolution....

If you are under the age of 25 & have been to a video arcade in the past 2 years then you have probably played this game. I FINALLY got to play it at Amazing Jake's Pizza Friday night & it can become addiciting. It was SO much fun that my hubby went out & bought the home version for me today. I played on beginner & made it through every round...working up a sweat & burning muscles the entire time. People were porbably thinking "GEEZ! WHat is this fat old cow doing!?!?! WHEN is she going to be DONE already!" I didn't care I was having a blast. I only played one complete game. It's not as if I was pumping more tokens into the game to keep playing. Lizzy was on the pad next to me "playing" too. She was having fun & this way she stayed right next to me. This game is fun, sweaty cardio at it's gaming best.

A couple of weeks ago we went to a home & patio show. I tried on these strage looking shoes with an exposed coil in place of a regular heel. My husband had been trying to get me to try them since I was diagnosed with a heel spur back in 2004. I refused saying they were too expensive, etc, etc, etc. Yes they are costly but I put a couple of pair on & wasn't sold. Yesterday we went to the closest store called Spring Chicks. ALl they sell are Z-Coils. I tried on a pair of the hiking boots & I fell in LOVE with these shoes. It feels like they are molded to my feet. I have no problem with my balance & normally when I am on my feet....within a couple of hours tops my back is aching & I usually will have to sit down. We went to the county fair, walking & standing around for SIX hours & I had no pain. My back, that I've had problems with since my first pregnancy was no problem. My feet were a little sore but not anything that prevented me from walkign around today. That is normally NOT the case. These shoes are heaven for my feet. My husband bought a pair of the work boots & has deceided to return them. When the coils wear out, all I have to replace are the coils....not the entire shoe. I am looking forward to being able to walk & be active again. For me, this was money well spent.

Thank you income tax return!

!Mine are just like these only in brown!

I got to talk to my sister yesterday. We didn't say whole lot but I miss hearing her voice. It was so nice to chat, even if it was pretty much about nothing.

That is about all for now. Until next time, have a great day!

The Little Girl & the Firefighter

*DISCLAIMER* I received this in an e-mail from an Aunt of mine. I in no way would EVER let my children do this to an animal. I must put this here because some people have NO sense of humor.

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A firefighter was working on the engine outside the station when he noticed a little girl nearby in a little red wagon with little ladders hung off the sides and a garden hose tightly coiled in the middle.

The girl was wearing a fire fighter's helmet.

The wagon was being pulled by her dog and her cat.

The fire fighter walked over to take a closer look.

"That sure is a nice fire truck," the fire fighter said with admiratiration.

"Thanks," the girl replied.

The firefighter looked a little closer and noticed the girl had tied the wagon to her dog's collar and to the cat's testicles.

"Little Partner," the fire fighter said, "I don't want to tell you howto run your rig, but if you were to tie that rope around the cat's collar, I think it could go faster."

The little girl replied thoughtfully, " You're probably right, but then I wouldn't have a siren."

I hope you all had a great Easter.

This year Easter Sunday fell on my Husbands birthday. He REALLY didn't want to eat my mom's cooking so he suggested we all go to Rawhide Steakhouse for lunch. He treated us all & Bill to lunch & then we went to a carnival being held at Rawhide as well. It has moved from Scottsdale to the Gila River Indian Reservation. Personally, I liked it BETTER in Scottsdale. The girls sat with the Easter Bunny. My DAD rode a carnival ride with Elizabeth. He wasn't going to until she walked up to him, grabbed his hand & said "Pa Pa, will you ride the Dumbos with me?" He went ahead & rode them with her. I rode Dizzy Dragons (similar to the Tilt-a-whirl) & my hubby rode the Ferris Wheel with her. That left just enough for her to ride one ride alone. We played three games & we were finished. Charlotte even played her first carnival game...the ones that you pick three ducks from the water, turn them over & see what size prize you won. It was nice to spend a holiday NOT at my parents house for a change.

On Satuday, they took the girls to Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park to see the White Alligator. At their house they "painted" (dyed) Easter eggs & drew pictures. The they kept BOTH girls all night long so we could celebrate Bob's birthday. When I asked my Dad how they were for him he replied "They were both little dolls".

It was nice for us because we got to watch a movie in a theatre, do a little shopping & eat TWO meals at restaurants without our little ones. We love them to pieces but it's nice to have a break occasionally. The time alone helped in the Romance department as well. THAT of course makes my DH very happy. I can't complain either.

Charlotte is just a few steps away from walking on her own. She LOVES to push toy her Daddy brought home recently & can't play with it enough. Now when the cats see her comming....they run! LOL!

Elizabeth is learning to write her letters. Next I will work on SPELLING her name & writing it. She has to be able to write her first & last name, know her address & phone number, know her shapes & her colors before she starts Kindergarten! Gone are the days when you could go to school knowing nothing. Oh well, it is just a sign of the times I guess.

I am still getting into Postcrossing & I am enjoying it SO MUCH. I have sent cards to several different states within the US, England, Portugal, Poland, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Germany, France, Iran, Spain, Malayasia, Estonia, Russia, Finland & The Netherlands. I have received cards from nearly all of those same places. It is really cool to open your mailbox & receive a card from someplace else in the world.