Just A Thought..

You know how a thought sometimes leads to a second somewhat related thought, and then a third that barely resembles the initial thought?  Well, here's my circle of thoughts from the last five minutes:

1. This 12 year old kid on Grey's Anatomy is having a horrible meltdown because he suffers from autism.

2. His mom is so stressed, scared, tired, and hopeless.

3. I'd like to be a mom one day, and I'd be devastated if my child had autism.

4. The only thing I could do was watch him everyday, worry, and pray to God that he doesn't show the signs.

5. But when he reaches his third birthday, shows no signs of autism, I'd still have so much more to worry about.

6. What if he breaks a leg learning to ride a bike; or has a developmental handicap; or one of the innumerable circumstances that can happen in this lifetime?

7. I wish I could live a life without worry.

8. The only life that offers that is one in heaven with Christ.  This world only promises me trouble after trouble.. guaranteed.

9. If He only takes people to heaven who want to be there, then this is definitely on my growing list of reasons why I wanna make it.

10. Sick kids need parents too Tam..

Just a thought.

--TamSam

His Year of Giving

I follow @shakc on Twitter. He always shares really nice articles, and yesterday was no different (thanks Twitter pal *smile*). Here it is:

http://www.aolnews.com/philanthropy/nc/article/philanthropy-on-10-a-day/991224?ncid=webmaildl1

The article speaks about a guy, recently out of work, who decides to give away $10 a day to perfect strangers. Yep, he roams the streets around his neighborhood, looks for someone who catches his eye, gives away money, and then blogs about it. How awesome is that!! Here is his blog:

http://yearofgiving.wordpress.com/

Reed seems to be having a lot of fun with this. He asks each person what their plans are for that $10 bill, and it's so interesting to see the responses - from donations to charity to cups of coffee. Besides the satisfaction that comes with any nice gesture, our gift-giver here gets to watch his philanthropic efforts inspire other people to do good.

Have you seen the Liberty Mutual commercial with the circle of good deeds? Of course I have the link for you..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMwoexR1evo&feature=youtube_gdata

The sap in me got really emotional after reading through Reed's blog. I may not have $10 to give away to a stranger every day (or the gall to walk up to randoms with my video camera), but we all have some responsibility to make a difference while we're here. The death of Dorthy Height, and the highlights of her life shared all day yesterday, show us the potential this responsibility holds.

So what does Tammy plan to do to contribute a little extra to society? Not quite sure yet, but I'm thankful that Reed has me thinking about it..

What about you?


-- TamSam

Posted from my cute, purple clad, iPhone while in bed at 6:25 in the morning. A nightmare that remarkably resembled an episode of 24 interrupted my sleep, and this blog post is the end result (so cut me some slack for typos, grammatical errors, and the like lol).

I Just Bought A Handgun

Yea right... I'd probably never buy a gun.  I just used the title to get you to click the link.  It worked, and I accept your forgiveness.  Since you're here, you might as well read about other people buying guns.

Today’s podcast is my first official reference from The Cato Institute. I fear this is a giant leap for me towards becoming a Libertarian *insert horror music here*. My husband and brother are eagerly awaiting the moment they can welcome me into the fold, but alas, I’m not so sure I’m ready to claim them as yet *smile*. For those of you unfamiliar with The Cato Institute, Wikipedia is your friend: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_institute

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in the case McDonald v. Chicago – a challenge to Chicago’s ban on handguns. Currently, Chicago residents are limited to owning shotguns. The suit asserts that the second amendment right to bear arms is a fundamental and individual right that should be applicable at the state level (right now it only applies to the federal government). Mr. McDonald is fighting for the right to protect his home against the numerous break-ins he has experienced. But of course, there are those who disagree with the idea of law-abiding citizens owning handguns.

That’s where the Cato piece comes in. The gentleman speaking, Mr. Tom Palmer, makes excellent points to support handgun ownership. Here are Tammy’s top three picks:

1. Criminals are already armed.

This point should hit you over the head like they do in the V8 commercials. It is highly unlikely that Mr. Gangbanger will be requesting a gun license from the state of Maryland. People have a misinformed notion that lifting handgun bans would provide criminals carte blanche to procure weapons. Have we learned nothing from the prohibition of alcohol and marijuana? When people want something, and you ban it, they will merely create a black market for it. Criminals will find guns when they want them. Only one person is left unprotected – the law abiding citizen.

2. Violent crime does not increase with handgun ownership/carry laws.

Criminals are not stupid. Ok I take that back… Most criminals are not stupid. As Mr. Palmer described it, an armed citizenry serves as a disincentive for criminal activity. Just as the gangbanger will likely skip over the house with the ADT sign on the front lawn, or the vehicle with the car alarm light flashing, he’s less likely to aggress against an armed person. I would certainly opt to have an armed, law-abiding citizen next to me when the gang banging of it all goes down *shrug*. Most people who would follow the process and purchase a handgun are only really interested in brandishing the weapon if they are faced with harm, as Mr. Palmer did.

3. Constitution guarantees the right to bear/carry arms

If you’ve read anything I’ve written before, it is plain to see that I want to protect my ability to have and protect all my stuff. Translate that into the individual rights that the constitution is designed to protect. It’s simple people. We should be allowed to have the option to own a handgun. We should be allowed the right to walk around with our handguns. The second amendment says so:

“..the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Keep your ears to the ground to see what our Justices say. My prediction: handguns for all!

FYI – If you live in Maryland, you are free to get a handgun license, provided you haven’t murdered anybody. You aren’t allowed to carry your handgun (unless you’re transporting it to the shooting range), but you may keep it in your home. If you have an Oprah type story of people trying to hunt you down, you MAY be able to secure a permit to carry your weapon… but good luck with that one.

--TamSam

Posted while listening to ‘I Am One’ by Chrisette Michelle (on repeat because it took me a while to type this)

“If one can make a difference, then two can change the world..”

Daddy Dearest..

My radio at home pretty much stays locked to 88.5 fm - NPR news radio. This morning as I listened, I heard a cute segment featuring a discussion between a father and son (a better term would likely be 'touching'.. but that just doesn't evoke the same warm fuzzies).

I don't know very many single fathers personally, so this short, sneak peak into the relationship of Colbert and Nathan was interesting. The appreciation and pride the son had for his father speaks to something very special, inherit to such a relationship, that I don't think can be duplicated by anyone else.

Ok that's enough sappiness for one day. Tomorrow I dissect a random rap song discussing bling and fast cars, performed by some dude named Lil or Yung. Until then, take a listen to the NPR piece here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124092252

(photo of Colbert and Nathan taken from NPR.com)


-- TamSam

Posted from my cute, pink clad, iPhone.

Yell at me one more time Hubby!!

A friend of mine sent this article to me the other day:

http://bit.ly/70BwFQ

The first sentence reads: “Married couples in France could end up with criminal records for insulting each other during arguments.”

You know the face you make when McD’s tells you they ran out of fries? That ‘you-gotta-be-kidding-me-with-this-crap’ face? Yea, that’s me right now…

People have got to stop implementing laws based on their moral standards, rather than using their brain. A heart person would say that this law would protect married people from emotional abuse that can be sustained during marriage. A brain person would say that people deserve the autonomy to work out their own issues.

My opinion: the state is not responsible for 'fixing' every unpleasant situation a person may find themselves in. Life sucks sometimes, and that's unfortunate. But, the more we sacrifice to the state because of our fears, the more harmful it is to us.

How do we know Jack and Jill married couple don’t typically holler out their aggression, littered with insults, and then get to the make-up sex that leads to happily ever after, until the next rift (that was a crucially long run-on sentence, I know)? Or maybe their constant bickering leads them to discover that they can’t stand to be around each other, and they decide to call it quits! Even if Jack is insulting the living daylights out of innocent Jill, and she’s been suffering for years from his emotional attacks, we should NOT be meddling!

I know someone is thinking that I'm void of a moral compass.  That couldn't be further from the truth.  Do I believe that emotional abuse is real, hurtful, and has long-term effects on it's victims?  Do I cringe to think that some people have to endure this in their marriages?  Of course!  However, I think my frustration needs to be channeled towards some option other than the addition of more and more laws.

Instead of enacting a law that may help a few, but will otherwise snatch individual rights from the many, here's an alternative. Let's consider allowing the individual, and the community, to address some of our societal problems. Rather than slapping Jack with a criminal record (which could screw up his life..), maybe one of Jill's neighbors could reach out to her, providing a listening ear.  Or, the local church might sponsor a seminar on abuse or healthy marriages, providing Jack and Jill with the helpful resources they need.

It may be, that we like to allow the state the leeway to make all kinds of laws, because we're too lazy and indifferent to do something about it ourselves.. maybe.

--TamSam

Preparing for Snowtorious B-I-G

One of the most amusing things to watch is the behavior of the masses. If you live in the DMV, you've most likely had the comedic pleasure of witnessing this phenomona over the past 24 hours. As we prepare for a major snowstorm - so serious it's earned names such as Snowpocalypse and Snowtorious BIG - there is a mad rush at every single grocery store. The Twitter reports speak of check out lines down aisles, and out the store doors; people fighting over shopping carts and turkey bacon; empty shelves where milk and toilet paper belong.

In light of all this activity, I do have two questions that I've always wanted to ask the masses raiding the grocery stores..

1. How long do you think two feet of snow will have you trapped in your house? Because your cart has enough food to last two weeks..

2. Does your family usually use toilet paper? And if so, is it atypical for you to have reserves of this at home already?

Follow up: do you guys poop more when it snows?


Note to all: snow is not the end of the world. it melts..


-- TamSam

Posting from my cute, pink covered, iPhone as my husband goes to Safeway to get some sorbet for movie-watching. Please don't maul him. Thanks.