Sally Kern has Competition!

It's not much of a secret that I find Sally Kern to be a giant moron. I heard a story on the radio today, however, that taught me that she has competition for being the biggest moron among our nation's state legislators -- Linda Gray from Arizona.

Linda has been a member of Arizona's legislature for more than 12 years, and according to her bio on the state's Web site, is considered to be a "foremost expert on education." What a freaking joke. Read on -- you'll understand why.

You see, Ms. Gray received a letter from a high school student in her district, asking her to not support cuts to the state's schools; this e-mail/letter was written as part of a class assignment. The letter, apparently, was poorly written and contained grammatical errors, including run-on sentences.

What this morong did next takes the cake. Without batting an eyelash, she responded to this student, taking her to task for using poor grammar in her message. Instead of checking into this student's background before firing off her vitriolic message of nastiness, she charged forth, certain she was fixing all of the world's problems. Part of her response read, "By your poorly written email, your example tells me that all the money we have spent on your education shows a lack of learning on your part."

Well, what Ms. Gray managed to do was malign a young girl who has learning disabilities and is enrolled in ESL and remedial reading courses. I wonder if Ms. Gray has ever tried to learn a second language. I wonder if she ever struggled in school. It's apparent to me that she hasn't learned the value of addressing the concerns of the residents in her district, nor the value of encouraging future generations to participate in the political process.

Oh...the funny part? Ms. Gray's emailed response contained not just one, but SEVERAL grammatical errors of her own.

What's sad is that this idiot's response has had a hugely negative impact on this young woman. This sweet young girl apparently wrote back to the representative, apologizing for taking her time and for not being intelligent.

When all of this came to light, her response was to invite the young student to spend a day with her at the Capitol. Happily, the young girl refused, but she did invite Ms. Gray to spend a day with her at school. No word yet on if she's accepted.

What I know is this -- karma's a bitch and Ms. Gray will eventually answer for her nastiness. In the end, I have a feeling that it'll be the young woman who has the last laugh.

Eleven?!?!

This evening as I sit here and wait for Walgreens to fill my prescriptions (I'm SICK of being sick; have a sinus/ear infection), I'm reading the news to kill a little time.

Yesterday, a man from Hutchinson, Kansas, was sentenced for his ELEVENTH DUI. Eleven? Are you kidding me? How in the hell has this man been allowed to continue to drive? He apparently had at least some form of a driver's license because he was supposed to have a device on his moped that would test his blood alcohol level.

Click here for the entire story.

Smackdown!

After my night of insomnia, I came to a conclusion: I think it would be awesome to put Billy Mayes and Shamwow!'s Vince in a head-to-head match to see who wins. My money's totally on Billy Mays. Vince seems like a weasel and I've gotta think that Billy could kick his ass.

Oy -- I think I need a little more sleep!

Insomnia and Late-Night TV

It's currently 4:13 a.m. on Monday morning. I've been awake since shortly after 2 a.m., thanks to a drunkenly-dialed wrong number call I received on my BlackBerry. And, yes, the ringer was on because it's my work phone - I have to be able to answer it pretty much 24/7.

Anyway, I typically have a pretty hard time going back to sleep if I'm woken in the middle of the night. So, here I sit...exhausted, sore, and yawning, yet strangely unable to shut down my mind and drift off back to sleepyland.

I finally got tired of tossing and turning, so I grabbed a pillow and a blanket and curled up on the couch, thinking that some mind-numbing television would do the trick. Not so much. This time of night, even with digital cable, there's NOTHING on, with the exception of infomercials. There's normally not a thing wrong with a good infomercial, but they're not helping lull me to sleep; instead, they're just making me want to spend money. Good thing I'm too sleepy to grab my debit carb because otherwise, I might now own a Rocket Grill, the Magic Bullet blending system, a book by Matthew Lesko, and some Super Colon Cleanse. Okay, so I'm kidding about actually buying the last two, but still, you get the picture.

Not Really a Surprise

I grew up in the bible belt - Kansas - and still live in an area of it today - Oklahoma. I've grown accustomed to the conservative values that many in this area hold and can appreciate the fact that we're each entitled to our own thoughts, beliefs, and values -- that's part of living in America. There are stories, however, like some of those I read today, that still manage to surprise me.

Story one: we're wasting valuable time and money in the legislature debating the merits of changing the wording on our state flag to say Oklahoma! instead of Oklahoma. The same representative also wants to create an "official" state abbreviation: OK!. I'm sorry, but I think there are better things to spend our time and money doing. Sure, the relatively trivial things can sometimes add some lightheartedness to our life. This one just seems pointless. Click here for the full story.

Story two: another Oklahoma legislator drafted a resolution today opposing a lecture being presented by Richard Dawkins tonight at OU. Great idea! Let's waste time AND money to draft a pointless resolution to continue to make us a laughingstock. What's next? Following the former Kansas State Board of Education in removing the teaching of evolution from the classrooms? Here's the full story.

Story three: and finally, saving the best for last, an instructor for an Oklahoma hunter safety course took an anti-President Obama stance and kicked all liberals and those who voted for Obama out of his class. When I first saw this headline, I literally laughed out loud because I couldn't believe it. Then I realized that it wasn't some sort of sick joke. It was true. Kudos to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation for their quick thinking and actions. Read the story here.

I think I'll go hide and pretend that I'm not an Oklahoman, although my home state of Kansas isn't doing a whole lot better -- more on that tomorrow.

Annoyed

People who make statements that are gross overgeneralizations annoy me. Sure, we all do it from time to time, which is understandable, but when your idiocy transcends boundaries to attack me, then chances are, I'm not going to like you.

Case in point: shortly after meeting me, don't tell me that, as a rule, you don't like public relations people. If you feel that you need to make that statement, then you'd damned well better back it up with reasons why that applies to me. Notice that I didn't make the statement that I can't stand pompous jackasses and give you a very telling look. Oh, wait....perhaps that's because I learned some manners and, as a PR person who you so hate, I know when it's appropriate to say things and when it's appropriate to keep my mouth shut. Now, since you've insulted me and some of my best friends who also are PR people, go back to your cozy little hole and leave me alone.

A Sad Thought

I went to a funeral today. It was for a woman, just seven years older than me, who lost her battle with cancer. I didn't actually know her, but I am friends with her mother-in-law, thus the reason that several of us went to the funeral.

Let me say up front that I have numerous friends and family members who have battled cancer -- most have won, while a small handful have lost the fight.

As the euology was presented, I learned that this woman began battling cancer six years ago...when she was just slightly older than I am today. From the very beginning, she was not given a good prognosis - two years - but she valiantly fought for six years; it was not an easy fight, but she fought until the very end.

Looking at where I am in my life, I cannot imagine facing such a horrible disease at my age...at any age. I can't imagine being told that I had just a matter of months to live. I just cannnot imagine...

I used to think that cancer was a disease that struck only "older" people. Today, I realized that I'm one of those "older" people. It happens to people of all ages each and every day.

Veniece, even though I never had the opportunity to meet you, I hope that your soul is at peace tonight. I'm glad that you're no longer in pain. I just hate that cancer has to happen to anyone, especially one as young and loved as you.

Cleaning House

I have yet to have a garage sale as an adult, but that's about to change. I have too much crap. Way too much. More than any one woman needs to have, especially if she's preparing to move.

So, once I've found a new house, or maybe even before I find one, I'm going to have a ginormous garage sale. Huge. Giant. Previously unseen proportions. The sale to end all sales. I'm getting rid of a lot of crap. I have a TON of clothes - nice clothes, but clothes that no longer fit me. I have even more books. Shoes, odds and ends, picture frames, and a bunch of other random crap also will be sold. Probably even some furniture, depending upon my new house.

It's time to clean house, and if I can make some cash to help finance the move while doing it, then all the better. I don't have a date selected yet, but hope to soon.