Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Home Ownership in the Days of Big Business
So, now that we know that the government can use eminent domain on behalf of private business...what can we do?
There are several states (Washington, California, Montana, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, Maine, South Carolina and Florida) that have protections for homeowners. The state that I live in (its Indiana or Insanity I've not decided yet) decides eminent domain situations on a case-by-case basis. I imagine now that this Supreme Court case has been decided that the state courts are going to be more reluctant to side with the homeowners. I can't believe this words are passing from my Libertarian fingers but THERE SHOULD BE A LAW!
I have already written to by state representative and plan on writing to my state senator. If you don't know who to bitch to http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/legislator/search/ is a great site to let you know who to vote against. Let your legislators know that you want to own your own home and not live in it only if Wal-Mart doesn't want to build there. Also, email or phone your federal legislators. We the People have to make a fuss about this.
For a far more eloquent discussion of this matter : http://boortz.com/nuze/200506/06242005.html.
Debby
There are several states (Washington, California, Montana, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, Maine, South Carolina and Florida) that have protections for homeowners. The state that I live in (its Indiana or Insanity I've not decided yet) decides eminent domain situations on a case-by-case basis. I imagine now that this Supreme Court case has been decided that the state courts are going to be more reluctant to side with the homeowners. I can't believe this words are passing from my Libertarian fingers but THERE SHOULD BE A LAW!
I have already written to by state representative and plan on writing to my state senator. If you don't know who to bitch to http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/legislator/search/ is a great site to let you know who to vote against. Let your legislators know that you want to own your own home and not live in it only if Wal-Mart doesn't want to build there. Also, email or phone your federal legislators. We the People have to make a fuss about this.
For a far more eloquent discussion of this matter : http://boortz.com/nuze/200506/06242005.html.
Debby
Sunday, June 26, 2005
I don't own my own home
Forget the outrageous Patriot Act. The other day the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision decided that one of the two basic reasons for government, the protection of property, is no longer valid.
For those who don't know what I'm talking about.....the Supremes handed down a ruling regarding a case that started in New London, CT. A group of homeowners with waterfront property had their homes claimed through the eminent domain process. Did the city want to put in a harbor that would increase revenues? a new highway? No, private developers wanted the land to build private businesses including a hotel (and I'm sure a Starbucks was part of the plan) The government was going to seize private property from one group and give said property to private companies so they could make money. For a more complete story http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelo_v._New_London
I was sure that the Court wouldn't allow this to happen to US citizens and their property. One of the main causes of the American Revolution was the British refusal to respect the property rights of the colonists. Feeling regarding the seizure of private property for government use was so strong that the Founding Fathers wrote the 5th Amendment. How could people who are sworn to uphold the Constitution do this?
As a further shock to the system....the 5-4 decision came down along ideological lines...and I agreed with Justices Scalia and Thomas!! It was the more liberal wing of Souter, Kennedy, Ginsberg, Beyer, and Stevens that did this. Many ideological liberals are in knee-jerk fashion blaming the traditionally pro-business conservatives for this decision. No, its the group that protects the rights of rapists, murderers, and terrorists that wants to hang poor/middle class families out to dry if a company decides to build where their homes are.
Some states do offer protections in their own state constitutions...more about them next time (and what to do if your state is not on the list!)
For those who don't know what I'm talking about.....the Supremes handed down a ruling regarding a case that started in New London, CT. A group of homeowners with waterfront property had their homes claimed through the eminent domain process. Did the city want to put in a harbor that would increase revenues? a new highway? No, private developers wanted the land to build private businesses including a hotel (and I'm sure a Starbucks was part of the plan) The government was going to seize private property from one group and give said property to private companies so they could make money. For a more complete story http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelo_v._New_London
I was sure that the Court wouldn't allow this to happen to US citizens and their property. One of the main causes of the American Revolution was the British refusal to respect the property rights of the colonists. Feeling regarding the seizure of private property for government use was so strong that the Founding Fathers wrote the 5th Amendment. How could people who are sworn to uphold the Constitution do this?
As a further shock to the system....the 5-4 decision came down along ideological lines...and I agreed with Justices Scalia and Thomas!! It was the more liberal wing of Souter, Kennedy, Ginsberg, Beyer, and Stevens that did this. Many ideological liberals are in knee-jerk fashion blaming the traditionally pro-business conservatives for this decision. No, its the group that protects the rights of rapists, murderers, and terrorists that wants to hang poor/middle class families out to dry if a company decides to build where their homes are.
Some states do offer protections in their own state constitutions...more about them next time (and what to do if your state is not on the list!)
Saturday, June 25, 2005
I am the Sandwich
Goo Goo G'joob!
I'm not really the sandwich...I'm only the filling. In my first post I mentioned that I am caring for my father who has Stage IIIb or IV lung cancer. My mom died many years ago so she's not available to help my dad...I have no brothers or sisters and my dad is very distant from the surviving members of his family. I'm all he has. Add to that I have two young children, one of whom has a bad speech delay and requires therapy. I'm a little busy :)
I'm finding that people, mostly the medical or therapeutic professionals I'm dealing with at that particular moment, expect me to put their patient (my dad or my son) at the top of my priority list immediately. Often there is little or no regard for the fact that there are others who I am responsible for caring for as well. Let me share two examples with you.
Example One:
My son's kindergarten teacher...very controlling woman who did many other things to alienate my son and me through out the year...wanted to set up our last parent/teacher conference of the year. Conferences were supposed to happen on a specific Friday in May. The Monday of that week our old au pair left so I had no childcare. My dad had radiation treatment every morning at 9AM that I had to drive him to since the radiation was damaging his eyes. I was assigned the 8:30AM time slot for a meeting. I told the teacher that I would not be able to meet that day and that any time the following week would be fine. I was trying to be flexible! The teacher then told be she would be flexible too...I could come it at 8:30 or 7:30AM on the day of the conferences. We didn't have a conference and the teacher complained in the staff meeting about my priorities (I know this because a teacher that I'm friends with was there) and that my kids should come first regardless of what was happening with my dad. Let me add that our parent/teacher conferences were never particularly fruitful. She had a very rigid idea of who and what my son was that just didn't jibe with what the professionals or myself felt to be the truth. This teacher complained for over 5 minutes about what a horrible mom I was because I wouldn't sit down with her for 30 minutes (when I saw her twice a day 5 days a week) to discuss stuff that I didn't feel was all that important.
Example Two:
This week my dad was readmitted to the hospital because of excessive bleeding from the lungs. I called my dad's oncologist after going into my dad's room and seeing several bloody paper towels. The nurse there said I was supposed to take him to the hospital. This was around 10AM. My in laws were already on their way to visit the boys and I was sure they'd be happy to watch them while I took my dad in. The only problem was that they are about an hour away and that's with good traffic (And right now on the tri-state there is no such thing as good traffic). I told the nurse I'd be happy to bring him in and that I was waiting for childcare. 30 minutes later she called to ask where we were.....the hospital is 30 minutes from our house...even if we had left the instant I put down the phone we might not have made it. I told the nurse I was still waiting for the childcare to arrive. The nurse then expressed frustration because I wasn't "moving fast enough".
Me: How much of an emergency do you really think it is? Should I call an ambulance?
Nurse: Oh No NO NO! But Doctor XXXX would like to see him around noon. That means your father needs to be admitted no later than 11:15AM.
Me: I will leave as soon as my in-laws arrive to watch my children.
Nurse: When will that be?
Me: Depends on traffic. They can be here in the next 15 minutes to 45 minutes depending on traffic
Nurse: *sigh* I guess that'll be ok.
Friggin' drama queen :)
Most sandwiches complain about the time involved in caring for people at both ends of the age spectrum. My problem is less the time and more the expectations of people. Neither my dad or my boys are the first priority all the time. My job, as the family caretaker, is to evaluate and prioritize the family resources. Sometimes my dad comes first. Other times my boys come first. That is what people who have not been in that position before don't understand. It's a nice idea that everyone gets what they need at the exact moment they need it. But sometimes it just isn't going to happen.
Debby
I'm not really the sandwich...I'm only the filling. In my first post I mentioned that I am caring for my father who has Stage IIIb or IV lung cancer. My mom died many years ago so she's not available to help my dad...I have no brothers or sisters and my dad is very distant from the surviving members of his family. I'm all he has. Add to that I have two young children, one of whom has a bad speech delay and requires therapy. I'm a little busy :)
I'm finding that people, mostly the medical or therapeutic professionals I'm dealing with at that particular moment, expect me to put their patient (my dad or my son) at the top of my priority list immediately. Often there is little or no regard for the fact that there are others who I am responsible for caring for as well. Let me share two examples with you.
Example One:
My son's kindergarten teacher...very controlling woman who did many other things to alienate my son and me through out the year...wanted to set up our last parent/teacher conference of the year. Conferences were supposed to happen on a specific Friday in May. The Monday of that week our old au pair left so I had no childcare. My dad had radiation treatment every morning at 9AM that I had to drive him to since the radiation was damaging his eyes. I was assigned the 8:30AM time slot for a meeting. I told the teacher that I would not be able to meet that day and that any time the following week would be fine. I was trying to be flexible! The teacher then told be she would be flexible too...I could come it at 8:30 or 7:30AM on the day of the conferences. We didn't have a conference and the teacher complained in the staff meeting about my priorities (I know this because a teacher that I'm friends with was there) and that my kids should come first regardless of what was happening with my dad. Let me add that our parent/teacher conferences were never particularly fruitful. She had a very rigid idea of who and what my son was that just didn't jibe with what the professionals or myself felt to be the truth. This teacher complained for over 5 minutes about what a horrible mom I was because I wouldn't sit down with her for 30 minutes (when I saw her twice a day 5 days a week) to discuss stuff that I didn't feel was all that important.
Example Two:
This week my dad was readmitted to the hospital because of excessive bleeding from the lungs. I called my dad's oncologist after going into my dad's room and seeing several bloody paper towels. The nurse there said I was supposed to take him to the hospital. This was around 10AM. My in laws were already on their way to visit the boys and I was sure they'd be happy to watch them while I took my dad in. The only problem was that they are about an hour away and that's with good traffic (And right now on the tri-state there is no such thing as good traffic). I told the nurse I'd be happy to bring him in and that I was waiting for childcare. 30 minutes later she called to ask where we were.....the hospital is 30 minutes from our house...even if we had left the instant I put down the phone we might not have made it. I told the nurse I was still waiting for the childcare to arrive. The nurse then expressed frustration because I wasn't "moving fast enough".
Me: How much of an emergency do you really think it is? Should I call an ambulance?
Nurse: Oh No NO NO! But Doctor XXXX would like to see him around noon. That means your father needs to be admitted no later than 11:15AM.
Me: I will leave as soon as my in-laws arrive to watch my children.
Nurse: When will that be?
Me: Depends on traffic. They can be here in the next 15 minutes to 45 minutes depending on traffic
Nurse: *sigh* I guess that'll be ok.
Friggin' drama queen :)
Most sandwiches complain about the time involved in caring for people at both ends of the age spectrum. My problem is less the time and more the expectations of people. Neither my dad or my boys are the first priority all the time. My job, as the family caretaker, is to evaluate and prioritize the family resources. Sometimes my dad comes first. Other times my boys come first. That is what people who have not been in that position before don't understand. It's a nice idea that everyone gets what they need at the exact moment they need it. But sometimes it just isn't going to happen.
Debby
Monday, June 20, 2005
Opening Day
I can't believe I've joined in with this phenomenon. For the longest time I thought blogging was really about people who feel that others are interested in what they have to say. And now I don't think its about the blogger looking for attention as much as its the blogger's need for expression. For many years I've realized that putting words to a thought or concept has amazing power. I'm not sure what I'm hoping to get out of this.
About me...I'm 35, married, 2 kids, 1 au pair, 1 dad-in-the-basement, 3 cats, 1 dog, and a tadpole named Polie. The kids are 6 and 1 (yes, we really did want them that far apart) and the au pair from Japan is a great help. My dad lives has lived with us the past few years. Currently he is undergoing treatment for lung cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer. Chemo, radiation, and general doctor appointments take up much of my time right now.
Much of what I'll be talking about are politics and general human relations. My latest outrage is the upcoming renewal of the Patriot Act...the most unpatriotic act of Congress ever. The ACLU has some great information on this legislation http://www.aclu.org Conservatives are also concerned about many provisions. To check out their perspective go to www.checksandbalances.org
Today's music: Arabic Groove
About me...I'm 35, married, 2 kids, 1 au pair, 1 dad-in-the-basement, 3 cats, 1 dog, and a tadpole named Polie. The kids are 6 and 1 (yes, we really did want them that far apart) and the au pair from Japan is a great help. My dad lives has lived with us the past few years. Currently he is undergoing treatment for lung cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer. Chemo, radiation, and general doctor appointments take up much of my time right now.
Much of what I'll be talking about are politics and general human relations. My latest outrage is the upcoming renewal of the Patriot Act...the most unpatriotic act of Congress ever. The ACLU has some great information on this legislation http://www.aclu.org Conservatives are also concerned about many provisions. To check out their perspective go to www.checksandbalances.org
Today's music: Arabic Groove
