i no longer recognize the town

Imagine this scenario.... You live in a small suburb outside of a fairly large city. Your small town, although 15 years ago was a very small rural community, has now grown in to an upscale bedroom community with a good reputation. And let's say that in your town, a private developer planned to put in an athletic stadium. Now, there are already other sports fields and venues in the town, but the addition of a new and even bigger one will not be a bad thing. Everyone, for the most part, agrees that the development and construction of the stadium is a good thing.

In this stadium, the question has come up as to what sort of material the playing field will be made of.... artificial turf or natural grass? No matter which option is chosen, the size, appearance and function of the planned stadium will not change. Due to contract negotiations and confidentiality, the decision of whether the turf will be artificial or natural must be kept secret until the final contracts are signed. There is much buzz about town about which option it will be. There are public notices posted and an, as required by law, at least one public meeting held to discuss the two options. Of the town of roughly 18,000 people, only about 25 of its citizens show up to the public meeting on the stadium. But the rumors and guesses continue.

Now, other towns have also had stadiums built and the option of artificial or natural turf was a hotly debated issue with the natural turf being the "preferred" option. The artificial turf proponents are a rather quiet bunch, not prone to protesting or public complaining, but rather just quietly cast their votes either, (literally) on their voter's ballot, or (figuratively) with their wallet. But the natural turf proponents are a noisy bunch, prone to picketing, sign-making, letter-writing and just all around complaining. They are good at linking to "facts" about the dangers of artificial turf and "evidence" of how artificial turf has destroyed other towns on social medial sites and blogs.

During the planning of the stadium and the hush-hush contract negotiations, the natural turf proponents have been, for the most part, silent. They did not appear, in any organized way, at any of the public meetings regarding the stadium. No letters were written to the editor of the local paper. No testimony was given at City Council meetings or any other public meetings that involved the impending stadium development.

But then the day comes that the contracts are finally signed and it is publicly announced that the new stadium's playing field will be artificial turf. All Hell breaks loose. The anti-artificial turf folks scream and yell and whine and complain that no-way-no-how-not-in-their-town will they have a stadium with artificial turf. They act as if the world is ending and the town will turn in to a ghetto within weeks of the stadium opening. They call for meetings. They write letters to the Editor. They pack the next City Council meeting and loudly voice their displeasure over the final choice. Members of them name-call and threaten the long-term resident on who's family land the stadium is to be built. This same resident is also an elected member of the City Council but he abstained from any votes regarding his property. But still they call for his ousting.

All of this happening AFTER the final contracts were signed. Now don't all of them appear to be petulant children who didn't get their way?

Change some aspects of the above fictional story to the real planned development in Sherwood, Oregon on some of the Langer Family land on which it was recently announced that the anchor store would be a Super Wal-Mart.

In the early 1990's I was living in Keizer, married to my first husband and dreaming about moving to Sherwood. Flash forward to the start of the 2000's and I was married to my second husband and moving in to our newly-built home in Sherwood. We lived in Sherwood for five years after which we moved to Newberg. So Sherwood is no longer my home community but I still do a lot of shopping, dining, visiting clients and attending church there. I also belong to one of the service organizations in town and I still have many friends in Sherwood.

When we lived in Sherwood, it was a rapidly growing bedroom community with a lot of church-going folk who voted, for the most part, conservative. In the early 2000's you could buy/build a very nice house for around $250K and, before the housing crash in 2006, that same house would sell, almost overnight, for around $400K. The streets are clean, the schools are well supported and the parks are green.

Sherwood is still a very nice little town but I felt it had really started to change over the past few years and this recent brouhaha over Wal-Mart coming to town proves it. In the Sherwood I used to know, the citizens would not stay quiet over a rumored change to the city they did not agree with. They would work to try to change the issue before final contracts were signed and it was too late. But in the Sherwood we have today, citizens are instead acting like selfish toddlers who did not get the right flavor of candy that they preferred. Really, it's embarrassing.

Recent press over the issue:

Wal-Mart coming to Sherwood as anchor for town center near downtown

Sherwood residents opposed to Wal-Mart fear collapse of small-town environment

Council gets earful from group opposed to Walmart

Langer explains Walmart decision, rebukes social media attacks

Sherwood anti-Walmart group gathers to make signs, talk

It has been known around town for several years now that the next big piece of Langer Family land would be developed and it would be a large retail complex with one large anchor store. So the rumors have flown around town as to who the anchor would be. Fred Meyer? Winco? Cabelas's (this rumor recently put to rest when the coming-soon Tualatin location was confirmed) Or, heaven-forbid, WAL-MART? I supposed Lowe's was probably on the rumor list as well. Sherwood already has Safeway, Albertson's, Home Depot, Target, Regal Cinemas, and a newly opened Kohl's (in the old GI Joe's building). So, whatever the rumored anchor store was, it was already going to have stiff competition in town and would be a redundancy.

Personally, I was rooting for either a Wal-Mart or Winco as both are union-free unlike Fred Meyer.

But now people are screaming that Wal-Mart is going to destroy Sherwood and they are claiming that property values will drop the day it opens. Small, local businesses will suffer with a large competitor to whom they cannot compete on price. But how would any of that be different with a Fred Meyer vs a Wal-Mart? And no one screamed when Target came to town a few years ago.  A large national chain was going in to that spot no matter what. 

And to make matters worse, one of the more junior City Council members is working to pass an ordinance in Sherwood that would require paid sick time for "employers of a certain size." Thus making Sherwood less friendly to business. And many of the citizens are in agreement with her! What happened to the Sherwood I used to know?

And yes, I love the mom-and-pop independent businesses that are the life blood of Sherwood and towns like it. When I find a good one, I am loyal to a fault. It is the people and small businesses that define a community, not the large corporations that choose to put a location there. But national chains bring with them more choice for the consumer and make the mom-and-pops work harder at keeping customer loyalty through a unique product selection and outstanding customer service.

I used to frequent one of Sherwood's independent, locally-owned businesses regularly. But then one day, I heard the business owner spewing some very anti-capitalist socialist dogma and complaining loudly that the City should not have "allowed" a national-chain competitor to open a store within Sherwood. Say what??? Then, to top it off, the very same business owner flat out like to me about something. So now, I shop at the now-open national-chain competitor where I am greeted with a smile, have never been lied to that I'm aware of, and have not heard one peep of socialist rhetoric from any of the staff members.

So I shake my head in confusion at the people who are protesting Wal-Mart and promising to stop them from opening in Sherwood. I have to ask them... where were you when it was a rumor? Did you attend any of the public meetings about it? Why do you complain now, once the ink is dry on the final contracts?

The Tri-Met folks are probably watching all of this with glee and knowing that very soon they are surely to get the money to build one of their inefficient light-rail lines out to Sherwood because it's become obvious that there are many in the City who are ready to jump on the Agenda 21 train as it rolls in to town.

~kate

conservatism is calling

This is the BEST political video I've seen yet this election.  The numbers do not lie and yes, it really is as simple as less government, more liberty.  And yes, it really is all about the economy, stupid!



~kate

we've heard it all before...

Same promises as 2008. If he didn't succeed the past four years, why would you think he would succeed the next four years?

  

 ~ kate

e coli is not my friend

It's been a long while since I've posted anything.  First, Tax Season hit and then I got sick.  Really, really sick.

On May 14th I woke up with a high fever and a lot of pain in my lower left abdomen and back.  I got progressively worse throughout the day so around 2pm my husband took me to the ER.  By 8pm I was admitted and I was there for 6 days.

I had a massive infection in my kidneys that was caused by a very drug-resistant form of e coli.

I was released from the hospital on May 20th but was released on oxygen during activity.  What this meant is that any time I was doing anything except sitting on the couch or lying in bed I had to wear oxygen.  Our insurance company delivered all the oxygen equipment to our house including a concentrator, back-up tank and 5 small tanks to take on trips outside of the house.  I had developed fluid on my lungs from the infection and all the fluids they gave me in the hospital hence why I had to have the oxygen.

Thankfully, within about 5 days at home I no longer needed the oxygen.  Whew!

A few days after coming home I started running fevers and developed pain on the right side.  More tests were done by my doctor's office and they found the e coli bug had jumped over to my other kidney and I was still infected with it.

But luckily I did not need to go back in to the hospital as an inpatient.  Instead, we rushed over to the Short Stay unit at the hospital where they inserted a PICC line in to my arm.  I then returned to the hospital every twelve hours for 7 days for an infusion of antibiotic in to my veins.

The antibiotic killed what little appetite I had thus further decreasing my energy levels so it was a very rough week.

Flash forward 2.5 weeks and I now have the PICC line out of my arm and my appetite and energy levels are much improved.  But the pain on the right side has remained and in the past few days has gotten significantly worse.  But the fevers are still gone.

I am on painkillers for the pain and had a CT scan today that will hopefully shed some light on what is causing the pain.  I see my doctor tomorrow afternoon and I look forward to him having some answers for me.

During all of this I have had to discontinue the Humira that keeps my Crohn's Disease under control and I cannot start it again until we are absolutely sure the infection is gone.  So I do feel my CD starting to act up but so far it's been relatively minor.

The outflow of love and support my husband and myself received was humbling.  You really do find out who your true friends are when things like this happen.  Our pastor was extremely caring and supportive and even visited me in the hospital to show his concern and to pray with us.

So many people have sent their love and prayers I've lost count.  I received flowers, plants and even cards in the mail.  And one of my favorite clients even sent one of those edible arrangements to my hospital room.  And he's in New York!

But through this all I have discovered that family I thought I have I do not have.  Despite our connection on facebook and the many many updates about my condition that were posted by both my husband and myself to my facebook page, I have heard absolutely NOTHING from two of my cousins.  This hurts me beyond words.  The half a minute it would have taken them to post a few words of support on my wall would have meant the world to me.  It's ironic too as one of those cousins has expressed to me in the past how she thinks the generations ahead of us did such a crappy job of staying in touch with each other and she hoped we could set a better example.

I don't mean for this to sound like I am ungrateful to the people who did show their love.  I am unbelievably grateful but I am still really, really hurt but the complete disregard people who are supposed to be family to me have shown.  I hope that by expressing my feelings here I can let it all go and move on.

I still have a lot of healing to do and some uncertainty as we face what is causing the pain I am experiencing.  There is a high probability that surgery is in my near future.

~kate

California Dreamin'

Reposted from an email I received....

California's Not Dreamin': 
This Is the Nightmare of an Obama Second Term
By Roger Hedgecock

I live in California . If you were wondering what living in Obama's second term would be like, wonder no longer. We in California are living there now.

California is a one-party state dominated by a virulent Democratic Left enabled by a complicit media where every agency of local, county, and state government is run by and for the public employee unions. The unemployment rate is 12%.

California has more folks on food stamps than any other state, has added so many benefits and higher rates to Medicaid that we call it "Medi-Cal." Our K-12 schools have more administrators than teachers, and smaller classes but lower test scores and higher dropout rates with twice the per-student budget of 15 years ago. Good job, Brownie.

This week, the once-and-current Gov. Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown had to confess that the "balanced" state budget adopted five months ago was billions in the red because actual tax revenues were billions lower than the airy-fairy revenue estimates on which the balance was predicated.

After trimming legislators' perks and reducing the number of cell phones provided to state civil servants, the governor intoned that drastic budget reductions had already hollowed out state programs for the needy, law enforcement and our schoolchildren. California government needed more money.

Echoing the Occupy movement, the governor proclaimed the rich must pay their fair share. Fair share? The top 1% of California income earners currently pays 50% of the state's income tax.

California has seven income tax brackets. The top income tax rate is 9.3%, which is slapped on the greedy rich earning at least $47,056 a year. Income of more than $1 million pays the "millionaires' and billionaires'" surcharge tax rate of 10.3%. 

Brown's proposal would add 2% for income over $250,000. A million-dollar income would then be taxed at 12.3%. And that's just for the state.

Brown also proposed a one-half-cent sales tax increase, which would bring sales taxes (which vary by county) to 7.75% to 10%. Both tax increases would be on the ballot in 2012.

The sales tax increase proposal immediately brought howls of protest from the Left (of Brown!). Charlie Eaton, a sociology grad student at UC Berkeley and leader of the UC Student-Workers Union, said, "We've paid enough. It's time for millionaires to pay."

At least five other ballot measures to raise taxes are circulating for signatures to get on the 2012 ballot in California . The governor's proposals are the most conservative.

The Obama way doesn't end with taxes.

The governor and the state legislature continue to applaud the efforts of the California High-Speed Rail Authority to build a train connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco . Even though the budget is three times the voter-approved amount, and the first segment will only connect two small towns in the agricultural Central Valley . But hey, if we build it, they will ride.

And we don't want to turn down the Obama bullet-train bucks Florida and other states rejected because the operating costs would bankrupt them. Can't happen here—we're already insolvent.

If we get into real trouble with the train, we'll just bring in the Chinese. It worked with the Bay Bridge reconstruction. After the 1989 earthquake, the bridge connecting Oakland and San Francisco was rebuilt with steel made in China . Workers from China too. Paid for with money borrowed from China . Makes perfect sense.

In California , we hate the evil, greedy rich (except the rich in Hollywood and in sports, and in drug dealing). But we love people who have broken into California to eat the bounty created by the productive rich.

Illegals get benefits from various generous welfare programs, free medical care, free schools for their kids, including meals, and of course, instate tuition rates and scholarships too. Governor Perry , California has a heart. Nothing's too good for our guests.

To erase even a hint of criticism of illegal immigration, the California Legislature is considering a unilateral state amnesty.  Democrat State Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes has proposed an initiative that would bar deportation of illegals from California .

Interesting dilemma for Obama there. If immigration is exclusively a federal matter, and Obama has sued four states for trying to enforce federal immigration laws he won't enforce, what will the President do to a California law that exempts California from federal immigration law?

California is also near fulfilling the environmentalist dream of deindustrialization.

After driving out the old industrial base (auto and airplane assembly, for example), air and water regulators and tax policies are now driving out the high-tech, biotech and even internet-based companies that were supposed to be California's future.

The California cap-and-trade tax on business in the name of reducing CO2 makes our state the leader in wacky environmentalism and guarantees a further job exodus from the state.

Even green energy companies can't do business in California . Solyndra went under, taking its taxpayer loan guarantee with it.

No job is too small to escape the regulators. The state has even banned weekend amateur gold miners from the historic gold mining streams in the Sierra Nevada Mountains .

In fact, more and more of California 's public land is off-limits to recreation by the people who paid for that land. Unless you're illegal. Then you can clear the land, set up marijuana plantations at will, bring in fertilizers that legal farmers can no longer use, exploit illegal farm workers who live in hovels with no running water or sanitation, and protect your investment with armed illegals carrying guns no California citizen is allowed to own.

The rest of us only found out about these plantations when the workers' open campfire started one of those devastating fires that have killed hundreds of people and burned out thousands of homes in California over the last decade.

It was said after California 's Proposition 13 in 1978 cut property tax rates and was copied in other states, that whatever happened in California would soon happen in your state.

You'd better hope that's wrong.

Roger Hedgecock

BAM!!  Liberals and unions are DESTROYING our country and we aren't going to take it any more.  We will not sit down.  We will not shut up.

~kate

I want to live among the cowboys

As many of your know, the hubby and I are very seriously considering a move to a different state. Due to ObamaCare, the hubby's job is now in very serious trouble at the company he's currently with (get ready for YOUR healthcare to get hiked in price and take a steep nosedive in quality). We also both feel that most of our family on both sides could really care less whether we are here or not. (Note, I said "most of our family," not "all.") For the most part, we are much closer to our friends than to family. And we have both lived in this state (Oregon) for all of our lives (well, hubby moved here when he was a very young child.)

Also, with sites like Facebook, it is very easy to stay in touch with people no matter where they live. Due to her Facebook and blog activity, I know more about the day-to-day life of a friend of mine in France than I do about family who live mere miles away. And the people we want to see, will come and visit us. And we can come back and visit.

So we are looking for the opportunity to start fresh somewhere new to go together "for the adventure." I am feeling led by God strongly to get out of this state. We don't know where or when yet, but it's becoming more and more a *when* we move and not an *if* we move.

So, where? We have been researching states and hubby has been watching the job opportunities. Several possibilities where there are job opportunities have been scratched from the list due to the cost of housing there. But there are still some very interesting ones out there and the search continues. Luckily, right now we don't have a definite deadline so we have the luxury of taking our time in our search and saving our money and the hubby still has his job here.

Until a few years ago, I have always wanted to move to either Central or Eastern Oregon. I LOVE the high desert climate. Every time we've taken a trip over to Central Oregon, as soon as we drop down off the pass into Sisters, my whole body just feels "at home." And I continue to feel that way until we leave. My dad says it's the same for him.

But, let's face it. Central and Eastern Oregon are still OREGON. And Oregon is being destroyed by the Liberals in Portland. The path the state is on fiscally, like much of the nation, is simply unsustainable. The numbers do NOT add up, no matter how they move them around. Without serious cuts to entitlements, extreme audits (and follow up enforcements) of the welfare programs, cutting off aid to illegal immigrants and, probably, most importantly, getting RID of public employee unions, the state cannot be saved.

Oregon used to be a great state to live in. Not any more.

But if ever the day comes that Central and Eastern Oregon (or even just Eastern Oregon) succeeds from Oregon to form a new state, we are there! Count us in as founding citizens.

But, back to where to move to. Currently we are looking at NE Washington/NW Idaho (with a preference to live in Idaho), Southern Idaho, North Dakota, Alaska (although Juneau has been ruled out), Montana, Wyoming (no jobs at all there for hubby right now), Utah, and Indiana.

But with so many choices, what I am looking for in a state really comes down to a few things. I want four seasons (not Summer and Rain nor HOT all the time) and I want to live in a small town (not sure what "small" means to me yet as my business does require a good internet connection) where the people love God, their Country and their neighbors. I want to live in a COMMUNITY, not just a town.

I'm able to put it into a clear, concise definition: I want to live among the cowboys.

Now, when I told the hubby this, he immediately said to me, "no, you can't have a cowboy."

Sigh... I don't WANT a cowboy (I'm happily married, thank you very much.). I want to live where the cowboys live.

Why?

Because cowboys....

• Love God
• Love their Country
• Love their family
• Love their neighbors
• Believe in property rights
• Believe in gun rights
• Know how to provide for themselves and their community
• Respect the environment (I've NEVER seen a cowboy litter but I sure have seen a lot of urban-dwelling, liberal-voting slackers litter. In fact, we pick up litter out of our front yard every week that is dropped by high school students as they walk to and from the school we live nearby. My Dad would have KILLED me if he had ever caught me littering. My Dad. Who hunts and votes conservative.)
• Vote conservative

Sounds good to me!

~kate

Ten

1 decade. 10 years. 120 months. 520 weeks. 3650 days.

Far, far away

I hate Mother's Day.

There, I've said it.

I HATE it.  And no, it's not because I haven't been able to become a mother either through childbirth or adoption.  It is because my mother hates me.

I'm not being dramatic.  She really does.  She proved it last year with a package she sent me right before my birthday.

I love my mom.
I miss her.  Every day.
I think about her.  Every day.
I pray for her.  Almost every day.

I hope she is safe.
I hope she is healthy.
I hope she is warm when it is cold outside and she is able to stay cool during the heat of summer.
I hope she is not lonely.
I hope she is happy.

I used to hope she would one day be part of my life but over the past year I have had to give up on that hope.  I have a lot of "hopes" in my life but that one is dead.

The hope is gone but the ache and pain remain.  An every day reminder of what will never be.

My heart hurts every single day when I think about my mom and I so wish I could put her out of my mind but the thoughts persist.  Every day.

Over the past six years, certain members of my family relatives of mine have shown a complete lack of character and disregard for me.  Over and over again.  And over the past year, the actions of a few of them have shown me their TRUE character and I am pretty disgusted with what I saw.

I want nothing to do with them.  Nothing.

I feel God telling me that it is time to move away.  Away from the people who don't care about me.  Away from the rumors.  Away from the gossip.  Away from the threats.

So the husband and I have been talking about moving out of state.  I've lived in Oregon my entire life but except for my father and step mother, I really feel there is nothing here for me any longer.

I know that moving away will not cure the pain.  It will not repair the relationship with my mother.  It will not change the relationship I have with any of my relatives.  But for some reason, I feel that it may hurt just a little less if I know that I am at least a day's drive if not an airplane trip away from them instead of the 45 minute-2 hour drive that I am from most of them now.  I certainly wouldn't see them any less than I do now.

So I want to fly.  Far, far away.  With my husband, and my dogs, and my cats.  Just us.  No rumors.  No gossip.  No snide comments.  No threats.  Just us.  Gone.  Far, far away.

Of course there is a whole other side to this and that is my husband's family, most of whom are wonderful.  We would miss them dearly so that is indeed a complication and is something my husband will have to be alright with before we go anywhere.

But for now I can dream of a place, far, far away.  And maybe, just maybe, Mother's Day won't hurt so bad.

~kate

An interesting observation

Recently I've observed something interesting and it has been bopping around the blog section of my brain as something that might make a good blog post.

Unfortunately, I don't really have a long, detailed discussion of it that could turn into a great essay-like blog post. But rather it is just a concise observation with a few related thoughts thrown in.

I do not have any children so therefore I get to sit back and observe others who do. AND I get to judge them and their parenting skills. After all, they are raising the future adults that will possibly share my community or otherwise influence my life and/or future. So even though we are told repeatedly not to judge people, I choose to go against the grain and I do place judgment upon parents.

Thanks to Facebook, I now get tiny little glimpses into the lives of those who dare to be on my friends list. With their status updates and comments to others, I now get a near constant newsreel of the goings on of people whom before Facebook I would have no clue about.

So, getting back to what I originally started this post about... recently I've noticed something....

There is a direct correlation among parents, particularly mothers, of those who complain about their kids and those who do not and their religious practices and political leanings.

Overwhelmingly, those who complain about their kids and question whether they should have even had children, do not appear to have much of a relationship with Christ and are decidedly liberal in their political views. On the flip side, of my friends who identify as conservative and belong (and regularly attend!) a church, I never see them complain about their kids or their job as a parent.

The conservatives praise and support their kids, almost to the point of gushing. But the general feeling I get from them is that they enjoy parenting, get much satisfaction from it, and overall feel blessed to have their children in their lives.

The liberals on the other hand, complain so much about their kids that I am often left with the thought "why did they even have kids if they are so awful?" Some of them even post that if they had to do it over again, they either would not have had kids or would have had fewer.

Good grief. They post that on the internet! And it's not just a single post after a particularly bad day. We all have those. No, this is a regular theme with them. I see very little praise of their kids but much bitching and complaining.

Hmmmmm since anything you put on the Internet is pretty much permanent, I can only hope that their kids don't someday come across these posts from their mother. Can you imagine the emotional damage that could do?

For myself, I have felt my entire life that my mother never approved of me and nothing that I did was ever good enough. That alone has caused me a lot of heartache over the years. But I never for a moment ever doubted that she wanted me or felt that she regretted having me. Good Lord, the complete emotional cripple I would surely be had I ever some across something she had written whereby she complained frequently about me and being my mother.

Now none of this is meant as a blanket statement. I can think of several people right now who do not fit into this mold... but I can also think of quite a few who fit right into this....

So I leave you with this.... If you have kids, ENJOY them and support them. Their little egos are fragile and you are helping to develop the person they will be more than you think. And if you don't have kids but think you may in the future, PLEASE give it some thought first and be sure that you will be a supportive, nurturing parent and not one who acts like they resent their kids' existence. Those of us who cannot have children are relying on you to produce emotionally healthy people that we may someday share a community with.

~kate


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Reading the Presidents

So I'm a big reader.  And I've switched to only Kindle books.  I always read 4 or 5 books at the same time so switching to the e-book format is so much better for me as now everywhere I go, I already have all my books with me.

I love memoirs but also have some fiction writers who are favorites of mine.  So I'm usually reading one memoir, one non-fiction and two or three fiction books at the same time.

One of the books I am reading right now is Decision Points by George W. Bush.  I'm taking my time reading it as I am absorbing it.  It is an absolutely FABULOUS book.  I recommend for everyone to read it, no matter what your political views are.  I guarantee that the chapter about 9/11 where he takes you through it from his perspective is something I will re-read at least once a year.

Since reading this book, I've decided to make it a personal goal of mine to read a book either by or about every one of our presidents.  Yes, even the current one...  I don't plan to do it in any particular order but will probably do it in a close chronological order.

I've recently started on Washington with The Life of George Washington by John Marshall.  The $.89 Kindle price is awesome!

So do any of you want to join me in this path?  I would love to have some people to come along with me to discuss the books with....

~kate

The state of leadership in Portland summed up in one small news article...

So I came across this short piece on KATU's site last night and it just really struck me how it just summed up the whole state of lousy leadership in Portland right now.

So, summed up, this could be the letter the citizens received from the City:

Dear Citizen:
Enclosed is a bill for a public service we provided that we never told you we would be charging you extra for. But if you don't want to pay it, that's ok.

We will just raise your taxes that much more next year, er, we mean we will absorb the costs for you.

Be sure to re-elect all of us next chance you get so we can continue to screw you over, er, we mean provide the fine leadership you've come accustomed to.

Mayor's Office, Portland, OR

Drive a Liberal crazy.....Vote!

Want to drive a Liberal crazy?  I know... it's not hard to do. Yes, there is the usual steps of laying the facts on them.  That alone is usually enough to raise their blood pressure to a dangerous level.  But if you really, really want to drive them nuts then do this:

Simply remind them that YOUR vote has just much weight as their vote.  Regardless of income, education level, what blogs you follow, who your friends are, the intials after your name, the lack of initials after your name, the degrees on your wall, the lack of degrees on your wall, the size of your house, the numbers on your paycheck, the balance in your bank account, what party you belong to, what groups you belong to, the color of your skin, what your sexual preference is, what religion you belong to, the town you live in, the car you drive, and yes, even your carbon footprint. 

NONE of it matters.

one person = one vote.

So let them act smug and elitist.  Let them talk down to you and treat you as if you're just an ignorant redneck.  It doesn't matter.  Because even if you fit right into that Ignorant Redneck sterotype, their vote does not count more than your vote.

Just be sure to vote!

And after the election, Oregon voters can use the link below to check that their ballot was received and processed:

ORESTAR

 ~kate

Hey Susan - are you going to sue me too?

Out in Yamhill County there is a heated race for State Representative between incumbent Jim Weidner and Susan Sokol Blosser.  Yes, from that wine family.  This week, the final week before the election, Blosser has filed a libel lawsuit against Weidner for what his ad below says:



It seems that Ms. Blosser has issue with statements from Weidner's supporters about her hiring illegal aliens and paying them "under the table."

That would appear to be quite inflammatory except for the fact that Blosser herself admitted to those actions in her own words in the book she wrote At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life.

As shown on NW Republican, on page 66 of Blosser's book, she writes:

"There was no federal program allowing foreign farm workers, but that didn't stop them from coming or us from hiring them. There was always an abundance of Mexican farm workers in our area, and we were lucky to have them. It was generally known that most of the workers entered the country illegally...the black market must have been huge. The whole situation existed under the table. Everyone knew about it; nobody talked about it."

So that's the latest dirty campaigning that Democrat Blosser has engaged in against Republican Weidner.

So, Susan, are you going to sue me too? And is the IRS and Oregon Department of Revenue aware of your admitted criminal tax evasion?


~kate

Armageddon is coming for the Democrats and their precious unions

Fascinating piece about the "Armageddon" that is on the horizon for the Democrats and their precious Unions:

Armageddon: What Democrats Are Hiding & Why They Are Really Scared

 As I've said before.... abolish the unions!  They are destroying our country.

~kate

close-minded and cold-hearted

No matter how old I get, I will never understand the people who judge others without even attempting to hear their side of the story or to even get to know them.

To the person on my Facebook friends list who prefers to completely ignore my existence except to talk down to me in a condescending and elitist tone:  You really are a very sad person.

I know it's different in your world, but in my world, I don't care what degrees a person has, what initials are after their name, what neighborhood they live in, how much they paid for their house, or the amount on their paycheck.  For the people in my life, I only care what is in their heart.  And from what I have seen, you have a lot of bitterness in your heart.

~kate

The art of forgiveness

As Christians, we are taught about forgiveness.  The bible shows us that we need to forgive transgressions against us and also that God will forgive us for our sins.

The concept of forgiveness has been on my mind a lot lately and with today being the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 Attack, I find myself reflecting on it once again.

My Facebook page is filled with posts from friends about today's anniversary.  Most of the posts say essentially the same thing:  We will never forget.  We thank those who serve to keep us safe.  We pray for those who were killed and their families left behind.  We thank and pray for those lost in battle against our enemies.

I agree with all of those sentiments but I have not forgiven them.  When I think about the 9/11 attack, even 9 years later, my blood still boils and I still want revenge.  It doesn't consume me day in and day out, but it is the first feeling I experience when I think about that day.

God tells me I need to forgive.  He tells me that we are all His children and He loves us.  But to be honest, I have a lot of trouble seeing those who seek to kill innocent people all in the name of religion as belonging in His kingdom.  Keeping with the blatant honesty, I big part of me questions whether those who believe in the doctrines of extremist Islam are truly children of God or if instead they were sent here from Satan.

I don't know the truth.  Do you?

I do believe that the vast majority of those who practice Islam are part of God's kingdom.  I've known several Muslim people and they are a peaceful people and do not agree with the extremist ways.  So please don't think my statements above mean that I don't like Muslims.  To me, those who practice Islam and those who believe in the extremist Islam rhetoric are worlds away from each other.

But back to forgiveness.  Forgive thy enemies.  Enemies.

This issue also has arisen in my personal life.  A few months ago I was grossly and publicly attacked by my nephew.  He did so completely unprovoked.  I've never said a cross word to him nor ever argued with him.  In fact, I've had very little contact with him in the past 20 years (not my choice).  I knew him well from the day he was born until he was approximately 6 years old.  He was a good baby, an adorable toddler and the sweetest little boy ever.  I loved to get him giggling as he had the most infectious laugh I'd ever heard.  I can still hear it in my head to this day.

But unfortunately that sweet little boy has apparently grown into a very angry and bitter young man.  He has obviously evolved into someone who can attack a relative without provocation and without remorse.  He threatened my husband's life and he put a lot of fear into mine.  Because I know he runs in a dangerous world of drugs and guns, I no longer feel safe in my own home when I'm home alone.  I've never felt this way before.  And I never would have thought that a family member would ever be the cause to make me feel this way.  And never in a million years would I have thought that sweet little boy would grow up to be that family member.

My dad has gotten involved in the situation by speaking with my brother (my nephew's father) and has told me that my brother agrees that his son owes me a big apology.  But no apology has come nor any word to me from my brother.  This tells me that he doesn't really condemn what his son has done and possibly even agrees with his actions.  My dad has spoken to me about reaching out to my brother to "help start the healing."

And this is where I get stuck.  God tells me I should do this but yet day after day go by and I don't pick up that phone.

The past six years I've put up with a LOT of crap from some of my so-called family members, all over an issue that they only knew one side of.  Those in the family who bothered to ask me my side of the issue all support me and do not judge.  Those who have not asked for my side all judge me and treat me with contempt.  I've put up with it for 6 years and kept my mouth shut for the sake of "keeping the peace."  I had gotten to the point where I would have extreme anxiety in the days leading up to a family gathering and the day of I had to take Xanax just to keep it together and manage to show up with a semi-smile on my face.

But after the attack from my nephew I put my foot down and said NO MORE.  I will not attend any more gatherings and be treated like shit.  I don't deserve it and I won't subject myself to it.  And all of a sudden I felt FREE.  Gone is that burden.  Gone is the dread of the next family event.  I don't dread it because I won't be there.  I have other family I'm related to, family I married in to and many friends to fill my life.  I don't need their brand of "togetherness."

So when my Dad speaks to me about "healing" when no amends have been made towards me, I just can't do it.  Not now.  I don't have forgiveness in my heart for him or the others.  Not without apology and remorse from them.

God, I know you want me to be able to do it, but I just can't.  Not right now.

~kate

Take a swig

I'm approaching 40 years old and for the past few years I've thought often about the things I have not yet done in my life.  The list is long.

One thing is get a tattoo.  I'm working on that one.  It took me 3-4 years to figure out what I want and now that I know, I just have to get in there and get it done.

I've never had sushi.  I would like to complete that one soon but need to go with one of my friends who is a connoisseur of sushi and knows what the hell to order.

Another one is that I had never taken a swig of hard alcohol straight from the bottle.  Sure, I've had mixed drinks and I've drunk hard alcohol straight but always from a glass.  I had never just picked up a bottle and taken a good healthy drink.

I'm not a big drinker and generally in a year I'll have less than 6 beers, 3 or 4 glasses of wine and maybe 5 or 6 mixed drinks.  Almost always any drinking I do is at an event with friends or at a restaurant with my husband.  I never just drink at home.

Many times I've seen on tv or in a movie where a character just drinks straight from a bottle of whiskey, vodka, etc.  And I've thought to myself, "self, you've never done that!"

Well I have now.

So the other night I was home alone.  It was getting on towards 11pm and I had just finished up working for the night and was closing up the house and getting ready for bed.  I walked through the kitchen and for some reason thought about my un-done alcohol swigging.  So I opened up our well-stocked liquor cabinet.  Right in front was a bottle of Citron.  I looked through the cabinet at the other bottles and decided, "what the hell, vodka is a good as any of the others."

So I opened the bottle, sniffed the contents and then took a big swig from it.

My lips and my tongue went numb.

But hey, one more thing off my list.

~kate

Silent no more

No, the title of this post does not refer to a political rant (although it does fit my political philosophy).

Instead it refers to my family.  Over the years I've been accused, indicted and convicted of various offenses in their eyes and never once was asked for my side of the story.  Mind you, the other side of the story they got from a bitter, alcoholic/drug addict.

Now to claify, when I refer to my "family" and "they," I am not referring to my relatives as a whole.  Many of them are great people whom I love dearly.  But there are a few who like to ruin it for the rest of us.

My family does not like to talk about issues.  There have been countless bad things said, rotten things done, resentments that have built, gossip behind others' backs and blatant lies told over the years.  And every single time it was swept under the rug and treated as if nothing happened.  Never once was it discussed out in the open where all persons could share their side and their feelings.

No, instead, at family functions, we talk about the weather and dead people (relatives and friends who have passed on).  Some members of the family drink to excess to cope, others leave at the first opportunity, some of the smart ones don't show up and I've learned to take a Xanax before any family function the past few years.

My father and my brother HATE conflict.  So we dont' have conflict.  Period.  I am 39 years old and every time there has been a conflict I have wanted dealt with, I have been told to SHUT UP to keep the "peace."

This week it happened once again.

Well, you know what?  I'm done.  I'm no longer going to keep quiet so that those people don't have to deal with the giant elephant that stands in the middle of every room my family gathers in.  I'm sick and tired of it.

I married into a large Italian family.  Italians are a loud, passionate people.  My husband's family loves each other fiercely and they fight with each other fiercely.  But you know what?  There's nothing "unsaid" when they get together.  Instead, it's REAL people sharing time together with the good, the bad and the ugly.

My family gatherings are milk toast in comparison.

In my husband's family, they are there for each other, in each other's lives and they give a damn what happens to each other.  Not in mine.  We come together once or twice a year, a bunch of related strangers and we share a meal and few forced hours of pleasantries.  Gag.

I've thought frequently over the past few years of getting my feelings out there in written form.  My written form of choice is blogging which of course puts it out on the Internet for all to see.  That fact has stopped me.  Until now.  I feel a pull to start blogging about all of this and the shit that has gone down.  Right now, though, I'm now sure if I will keep it here on this blog or move it to my private, confidential blog.  We will see.

I love both my brother and my father dearly and they are not the ones who treat me like I'm a pariah.  But they are some of the ones who want me to just shut up and take it.  Again, I love both of you, but for my own mental and physical health, I can no longer remain silent.

More of the story to come (probably...) but right now I'm going to so see a movie with the best husband in the whole wide world.  It's hot today and the movie theater is air conditioned.  Then later tonight we will go down to the festival that's going on in our small town and share some carnival junk food and a great fireworks show with a large gathering of our good friends.  And not a single person that I'm physically related to will be there.  :)

~kate

Nasty campaigning

I have previously written about the local campaign race for US Congress District 1.  Currently our Rep is David Wu and he's just a complete do-nothing disaster.  On the Republican side, three men are running to replace him:  Doug Keller, Rob Cornilles and John Kuzmanich.  After meeting all three men, hearing them debate and meeting them in person, my support is behind Rob Cornilles.  I wrote about my reasons in a previous post.

Now that we are at the end of the primary race with a winner to be announced in less than 48 hours, I've noticed some recent nasty campaigning going on by Kuzmanich's supporters.  The nasty campaigning I am referring to is not coming from Kuz's campaign staffers, but rather from some of his supporters.  Specifically, in the form of a few political cartoons that make Kuz look like a winner and Cornilles look like a RINO. This is fine.  Kuz can't control that.  But what has dismayed me and further cemented my support for Cornilles is that Kuz has openly laughed at the nasty cartoons and shows his obvious approval of them.

Here is the first cartoon:

It was added by Kelly Hodsdon. 

I commented on the cartoon and how I see it as nasty campaigning and that Kuz's obvious support of it further supports my choice not to vote for him.  I was told that I was "absurd."  Really Kelly.  How mature of you.

A few days later another cartoon was posted by Kelly:

with this caption underneath it:

Got news for you Kelly, name calling whether with words or pictures is still name-calling. 

I consider name-calling nasty campaigning.  Period.  And I will not support a candidate that tolerates that in a primary election.


I was turned off by Kuz when during a debate with Keller and Cornilles, Kuz treated Cornilles with disrespect and disdain.  He also dismissed me when I was introduced to him.  And this was BEFORE I publicly said anything about who I was supporting.  I was introduced to him at the debate I attended and he treated me as if I was wasting his time.  I suppose I'm too "common" for him.

If Kuz wins the primary, I will support him in the general election but I will be watching his words and actions carefully and will call him out if I see nasty campaigning.  We aren't in middle school anymore.  Grow up.

~kate

Mother's Day

Due to my marriage and the divorce and remarriages of our parents I have 4 mothers. I love all of them. Three of them love me.

I hate Mother's Day. I have my reasons.

Love the women, hate the day.

~kate

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]