A Clockwork Orange

After seeing the Stanley Kubrick film, my son, the 14 year old intellectual, read the book (including the original last chapter). He did a good job explaining it to me - similar to the article.

Jail time for parents

Beacon Journal 02/20/2006

Associated Press
COLUMBUS - Prison officials are asking lawmakers to consider alternatives to putting deadbeat parents behind bars, where they don't earn much money and continue failing to support their children. The 601 men and 24 women sent to prison in 2004 for not paying child support made $12 to $18 a month working prison jobs, while taxpayers paid about $63 a day for each prisoner's shelter, food, clothing and medical care. ``We strongly think each child should receive the support they are due,'' Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman Andrea Dean said. ``But we also understand there are going to be some deadbeat dads or parents for whom, if they had an opportunity, an alternative sanction other than prison would be a good option.'' About 2.5 percent of inmates admitted to prisons in 2004 were felony child support cases. Failure to pay child support is punishable by six to 12 months in prison. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned for as long as 18 months. Prison officials want lawmakers to consider work release or other programs that would allow nonviolent child support violators to work under supervision. They say those options could help ease crowding and save taxpayers the $23,000 each prisoner costs annually.

Having a child support arrearage of more than $5,000 OR moving to another state without reporting new employment qualify for felony violation. My ex has had approx. $25,000 in arrears for many years AND has moved to many different states without ever reporting his new employer. The child support agency hasn't filed charges. We usually manage to find where he is employed and as long as he's paying, what's the sense? My take? There should be a consistent way to apply the law or the law should be changed. The best child support change was allowing the state agency to collect directly from employers in another state. Before, if someone was in another state, it was a slow, cumbersome process which never worked for me.

My kids have done without and now that they are older, they will continue to lose out on opportunities. They have no college savings. Their dad hasn't filed income tax in order to avoid having child support arrearage taken from his refund; therefore, applying for financial aid becomes impossible. The amount of arrearage currently being paid is 20% of the current payment (one child now). Arrearage payments will continue to be paid after my youngest turns 18 in 3 years. (current estimate=80 months)

I believe that if he would have been jailed the first time, that may have been the last time he purposely avoided paying support.

My Politics

You are a Social Liberal (68% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (28% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

My Mom

Mom's recent experiences in falling: For years, she's had some kind of arthritis somewhere. At one point or another, every kind everywhere. So when she falls, injury occurs. Last time, she was admitted to the hospital while they examined her back. First few days the word according to mom was that they'd be doing surgery tomorrow. Finally, it was no surgery at all. She got to spend a week in the rehab unit where they said she did wonderfully. She sent me to her apartment to get some clothes and I counted 20 bottles of assorted psychiatric, pain, anti-inflammatory, cholesterol, and thyroid drugs plus stuff I don't know anything about. After talking to a couple of friends from the building and seeing that, it's no wonder she can't walk! I should have been suspicious when she called and asked if I had any tranquilizers a few weeks ago. Now, I have NEVER had tranquilizers nor given my mom ANY of my prescription medication. Well, while she was at the hospital she sounded pretty good, but after a day or two back home, it's back to the slurred speech. Today the gist of what she said was that she fell getting into her lift chair. It's a special chair that when you press a button, it lifts up to help you get out of it. She tries to get in it while it's in the lifted position. I told her to put the chair back down when she got out and just try getting into when it was down. Like a regular chair. The elderly, spaced-out mentally ill parent can be a source of frustration.

The Witching Hour

This term refers to an hour, typically midnight, when witches have a power surge. Or something like that. In my world, it refers to the time in the middle of the night that pops your eyes open. Or the time when you're trying to keep your eyes closed as long as possible before having to get up and go pee. I've been waking up in the middle of the night for so long, I can't remember when it started. When I used to smoke, it was time for a cigarette. Now I check my email and have a snack if my tummy is growling. If it's close enough to morning, I just stay up.

This waking in the middle of the night is a symptom of depression. The doc says if it bothers me, he'd give me something to help me sleep. No thanks, there's too many bottles of pills already in the medicine cabinet. My theory is that for all of history, some of the late night wonderers had vivid imaginations and interest in the occult; thus, the witching hour. That doesn't describe me at all, it's just the kind of stupid stuff I think about in the middle of the night.

My Valentine

My sweetheart of a husband sent me a pajama-gram on Valentine's Day! A cute, comfy set of jammies in a beautiful sheer hat box - just what the doctor ordered. On Valentine's Day, I was home after having tummy trouble the evening before, so I showered & changed from the jammies I'd been wearing to my new jammies. My recovery was speedy.

Catching Up

Here I am, guilty of neglecting my blog. My goal is to get some posts from mind to screen. First, an update on me (it is MY blog, right?) A couple pounds found another place to live. Maybe it's the water walking - I'm adding water aerobics soon. The pain in my heel (plantar fascia) led to a doctor's visit. He prescribed orthotics which the insurance needs a pre-cert, so when that gets done, my feet will be in comfort. The heel is the main reason for the water exercising. I figured out why the left heel hurts worse. When I get up from my knees while shelving books in the children's department, I use my left foot first. So I've been trying to use the right, which has no strength in comparison! I am wayyy to young to have these physical ailments.

Rolling Stones Censured and so much more

Rolling Stones Censured

Perhaps we are on our way....

TV censors deemed two lyrics too sexually explicit to be broadcast and they were cut from the three-song show.....ABC said the changes to the Stones' show were made by the US National Football League (NFL) and its producers.

and So Much More:

It seems there's a trend to control free speech around the world. If people are already dying as a result of the Islam cartoons, what happens next? What is the reaction of countries whose embassies have been attached? Which Muslim countries will band together about this?

Countries are in flux about elections, democracy, power: In Nepal

The rebels have called the week-long strike as part of a campaign to disrupt local elections due on Wednesday.

And then there's the countries getting and wanting weapons:

Venezuela and Iran:

Iran's dispute with the international community over its nuclear program deteriorated sharply yesterday when Tehran withdrew from an agreement with the UN's atomic watchdog and stepped up its controversial uranium enrichment work.

And we have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting a war on terror which includes wiretapping American citizens. Is the world becoming a jumbled, confusing, difficult and scary place? Or has it always been that way and we didn't happen to live through it like the generations before us: WWI & II, the Cold War - you get the idea.