Responsibility

Reality Check

2010-01-17T08:09:00.000-08:00

I can't believe what a big deal is being made over former Pres. Clinton and Bush joining together to raise funds for Haiti. Do the people in the press actually think the majority of the American people are so stupid to believe that either party, Democrat or Republican, has all the RIGHT answers or is 100% right?

This is part of the problem in politics. If either side doesn't get things 100% their way they blame the other party for shortcomings and outright failure. The American people would be much more confident in government if they saw less finger pointing. It should not be a shock or history-making to have former presidents from different parties working together. Stop making out to be!! it is a good thing but should not be unexpected.

CNN Opinion

2010-01-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

I was watching Anderson Cooper's reporting on the tragedy in Haiti. One of the reporters implied rescuers were not assisting the poor but focusing on victims in a "posh" hotel. SHAME ON YOU!!! How dare you make this into a bigger tragedy by saying the people who went there to help are selecting who they help by reviewing their economic status first!!! There is no doubt in my mind there are many, many poor people suffering alone in places far away from the main focus of relief efforts. I do not believe this is due to people selecting those being helped based on social status. Aid is not reaching many of those in need. This happens for a variety of reasons, some of which are out of the control of those trying to help. There is no need to turn this into a "Jerry Springer" moment by playing on the emotions of people in crisis.

When I went to the site to leave a comment on the blog I noticed comments had been closed on several posts. It seemed as though it was as soon as there was disagreement with the politically correct view. One in particular was about profiling. Say what you wish, profiling is a tool that works!! It is not PC to support it and many times those in authority pass up opportunities to verify status just so they do not get into trouble with civil liberties, etc. The Ft. Hood shooter is a perfect example of people knowing he was crazy but not wanting to appear "racist." They did nothing!!!

Let's stop being so worried about being politically correct that we lose the chance to avert tragedy. It would be nice to have people who are not politically motivated sit down and objectively look at the systems in place now and streamline policies. It is for the protection of ALL.

Racism

2010-01-11T19:27:00.000-08:00

Although I don't think I am racist, no doubt someone will say I am. I just heard Soledad O'Brien say young (3 - 5 yrs old,) non-white children who selected the white doll as the food doll over the dark skinned doll were racists. Furthermore they are racist because of television and society's influence. Give me a break!! I taught elementary school for 17 years. She is wrong. You wish you could influence children so young that directly and profoundly with subtle messaging. I remember my three year old son commenting a man was "dirty" when we were in line at a store. The man was Hispanic. I was upset and explained the error to him. He was OK with that and did not grow up racist. I did not plant the idea in his head back then either. We had no reason (or so I thought) to even discuss the difference in skin tone. There are many shades.

What about the grass is always greener on the other side? I know many white people who wish they had the ability to dance like black people they see. I know, there are probably white people who dance well but seriously I think black people are better dancers generally speaking. I don't mean that to be a dig. It's something I envy!! White people often go to tanning salons or lay out in the sun to get tan. No they don't get "black" but that isn't because they are racists.

All people need to stop overreacting to comments that were not made to insult or demean. I realize racism exists. Some of the things we do to fix the situation are I understand there were slaves and that was wrong. It was however the way things were years ago. Black people were selling other black people to white people. I don't want to be blamed for mistakes made 100's of years ago and I am tired of excuses being made for the lack of progress. Yes people of color have had a harder road but thing have changed for the better. Now you find examples of reverse discrimination. I seriously doubt white people will be able to use the same excuses for not getting where they feel they should be 100 years from now. AND THEY SHOULDN'T! We learn from the past and try not to repeat it. Civilization has evolved. Christians are no longer used for entertainment by being throw in with lions. Most countries have changed punishment for crimes to be more humane.

The world is not made up of one culture, one religion, one race. There are differences and each country, religion and race should take pride in their individualism. The best way to prove racists wrong is by achieving more or performing better than those who put you down.

Profiling?

2010-01-09T09:33:00.000-08:00

It will be unpopular but profiling is going to happen. Stereotypes have developed because of trends. The fact is TSA workers randomly select people they know are not terrorists just to keep people from complaining about being profiled. My 91 year old father was pulled aside and given a full body search. Because of his hearing disability he was treated like a criminal. I had to keep telling him to calm down. He did not understand what was happening. You cannot convince me any TSA worker truly believed he was a threat. I have traveled plenty with my children. I have been singled out because my flight was cancelled and, since my new flight arrangements were made last minute, marked for additional screening measures. I did not choose to make my flight arrangements last minute. The airline did it but I was still selected. I remember one screener asking what was in a box and requesting we unpack it. You could see it was a model of a ship. We had been to Europe on a cruise. I thought he was an idiot but I did not complain. If I were someone other than a white female I could have made a stink and claimed "profiling." Personally I believe you need to have profiling. If TSA were paying any attention they would have stopped the Nigerian for NOT HAVING LUGGAGE on a transatlantic flight. Think about whether or not the workers felt they would be "profiling" a Nigerian for additional security checks and passed him along so they would not be ridiculed. Honestly I don't think that was what happened but some lawyer will no doubt use an excuse similar for the complete failure to use common sense!

Airline Security

2009-12-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

The system is fine - PEOPLE FAILED!!! Stop making excuses by saying we need better machines. People need to GIVE A DAMN!! Let's start doing our jobs well. TSA workers are often on power trips stopping Grandma for a lighter or four ounces of perfume. This is making me completely crazy. His father warned the right people and THEY DID THE WRONG THING or DID NOTHING!! Be serious. Pouring more money into a training program for people who don't want to do ANY job well is pointless.

Airline Security

2009-12-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

I am sure we all wanted to believe we were somewhat safer on flights since 911 and the new security measures were implemented. How many times were you patted down, asked to step aside and be further screened, lost a small bottle of mouthwash? You were led to believe this made us safer. Now the TSA cannot deny they have not been doing their job properly. Yes they caught the grandmas, hurried parents and busy travelers but they failed to stop a wannabe terrorist from attempting to blow up a plane. Even after being warned by the parent of the suspect and having him on a "watch list." I want to know who didn't do their job. Not because I want to assign blame. We need to know where the breakdown occurred so it can be corrected.

I believe the blame can be placed on a few people who just didn't do their job the way they knew it should be done. Anyone who was aware of the warning sent by the father or was instructed to put him on the watch list SHOULD have followed up. We need to raise everyone's awareness to the level which people realize they can make a difference in the outcome. By not thinking they made any difference or what they do made no difference, regular employees just past the info on to the next person and assumed they would DO THE RIGHT THING!!! We all should be doing the right thing.

911 Again

2009-12-16T07:49:00.000-08:00

Another 911 operator from the same area in Florida didn't do her job properly. After being notified there was an unresponsive man off the side of a road no one was sent to investigate. There is a bit more to this. Apparently the person reporting could not provide an exact street address but gave turn by turn directions to the operator. She said "our system doesn't work that way." Her system does provide for her to notify someone else however. It also provides for her to look up road names that were similar to what the caller was saying. Fifteen hours later the same caller returned to the scene to find the man still there.

One of the comments I received about this event made the excuse "What do you expect from someone paid minimum wage?" I expect them to do the right thing!! I know that is not the norm. We have lowered our expectations and some people are happy to stupe to a lowered bar. This operator was being paid $35,000 per year. I am not convinced making more money would motivate people to do a better job. We seriously need to look at how we handle our personal responsibilities. Every job needs to be done well. If you don't want to put effort into your job, quit!! Someone else will. What really gets me is I am fully aware that when you have one person who puts little or no effort into their job someone else is doing twice as much to make up the difference. This is not limited to employment.

Although 911 operators have made news lately for being irresponsible, they are not alone. More training is not going to get people to do the right thing. You either understand the importance of doing your best and caring about the effect your actions have on others or you don't.

Politically Incorrect

2009-11-19T23:00:00.000-08:00

There has to be some way to deter uncivilized people from committing horrific crimes. This Shaniya Davis case screams for changes in our justice system. There is NO DOUBT she was raped by the man who admitted kidnapping her. His DNA was found inside her. She was 5 years old. IT WAS RAPE. I don't even want to debate the murder charges or if in fact the mother gave the child to the man to settle a drug debt. The fact is he had sex with a 5 year old. No trial necessary. I don't think he is a pedophile in the clinical sense. I'm sure he has had sex with men, women, young and old and possibly animals. He has nothing else to do with his energy but #@!! and consequences be damned. I truly believe we could deter animals like him from preying on innocent victims if he thought for one minute he would lose the thing that drives him. God forgive me for this but I am enraged. He should have his penis split. He has no mental illness he has no conscience. He just wants sexual release and apparently can get aroused by just about anything, even a non-sexual child. He isn't drawn to children only. He may have just be trying it out. Yes he is a sick SOB and there are many other people out there who do horrible things without ever having to worry about consequences that hit them where it matters. Maybe if they thought they would never be able to have sex again they would see the risk was not worth taking and other innocent children or adults could be spared the agony of rape.

I will go back to my core belief. We need to instill values and ethics in our children from day one. We need to re-sensitize society so everyone has an understanding of how their actions effect others. It will take generations I'm sure. We have not gotten to this point overnight and the damage cannot be undone quickly but we NEED TO TRY!! Perhaps physically demonstrating the pain cause by raping a 5 year old or setting fire to a person would be going too far. If children understood this was unacceptable and put themselves in the victims shoes for a minute perhaps they would be less likely to grow up to be act without conscience.

Yes there will still be true mental illness but it is time we stop letting people cop out with that excuse. Just because you choose to do wrong does not mean you have a mental illness. You simply don't care. When this happens, and can be proven beyond any doubt as with this five year old girl, punishment should be swift and to the point. I do believe other scum would be less likely to commit these acts if they thought they would have to endure even a small percentage of the agony they cause.

Additional Info on Health Care Worker

2009-11-10T13:46:00.000-08:00

I need to update the situation with my father's home health aide. She decided to not come back after my vacation. Supposedly it was due to her feeling badly about letting me down. She did feel fine about calling and asking if her brother in law could pick up her sheet so she could get paid for (3) hours. I truly tried to give this person every benefit of any doubt. The fact is she had missed time prior to the respite time. I had told her and her supervisor that I was not trying to be difficult and wasn't making a fuss about 1/2 hour here or there and a missed day occasionally. I implored them to make sure no time was missed while I was away. The supervisor said she was going to make a home inspection to keep the aide on her toes. That never happened although once my father had fallen and I called everyone in the chain of command the aide's direct supervisor did show up. I also wanted to add that my father lost 6 pounds in 5 days prior to the fall. When I left I had made egg salad, stocked the frig with hot dogs, meals that only needed to be microwaved and frozen dinners. There were enough for two weeks. After one week all food was gone from the refrigerator and yet my father had lost 6 pounds. I have no explanation for this. I was told by one of the neighbors that spent time at our house visiting during my break that the aide was rather rude. She walked in, never spoke to the visitor or my father. The guest said she walked around the house for a minute and left. Obviously my father did not get his meal that day. I suspect the aide did not want to come back to the house because it is difficult to face the person you screwed. She may not have been prepared to be faced with getting caught not doing her job. Of course her supervisor will most likely send her to another person's house. I hope they have a better experience. Anyone who depends on health care workers for assistance needs to be very careful. Be vigilant and hopefully have another person observe what goes on. It seems you can't get dependable people. I am amazed at who is able to get home health care jobs. Be aware of the potential for problems.

Plenty of Blame But No Responsibility

2009-11-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

My father is a 91 year old disabled WWII vet. Forget it took 60 years for the VA to acknowledge he had a service related disability. After my mother passed away after a long battle with metastasized breast cancer I had only my father to care for. He had a stroke one month prior to her death and lost all interest in rehabilitation once she died. After trying for over a year to care for him, spark an interest, encourage him to try I thought perhaps I should take use some of the VA benefits he was entitled to. I originally asked for someone to come for rehab but the VA has rules and that wouldn't be allowed. They approved a home health care aid to come 3 days a week to help with personal grooming (showering, shaving.) The benefit also included "respite care." I am not one to take advantage of the system but there came a time when I really needed a break from the 24/7 routine. I asked the VA to provide an additional 3 days a week (3 hours per day) so someone could come in and check on my father, make sure he had taken his medicine and he ate a decent meal. He love candy and would only eat that if left alone. I left prepared meals, lists of snacks, instructions, etc. I also made sure I had spoken to the aid. In fact I planned things so I did not leave until she had been in the home and used to the routine for a month.

I called daily while away. Sometimes I got an answer, others none. The last time I spoke to the aid there were three people here. One nurse from the VA who said perhaps the next time I go away I should have 24 hour care for my father but he was OK. She only saw my father once a month and didn't know him very well. She was just being cautious. Most 91 year old people need more help than my father. I said I would consider it but did not plan on leaving again. The second aid and her supervisor both spoke to me and said my Dad was fine, happy and telling jokes. That was Wednesday. I had said I would fly home if that was necessary. All said it was not.

Saturday night I arrived home. My father had not shaved in at least three days. He had cuts and bruises from a fall (it happened when there was no aide here although a nurse, an aide and her supervisor had examined him. That was why there were three people at the house on Wednesday.) No bandages apparently the VA nurse didn't put any dressing on the wounds and the health care worker cannot do things like that. He had been sleeping in bloody sheets, feces were all over the bathroom. My father had tried to clean up. This happened prior to the fall as blood was on top of the smears.) The most disturbing wound was a bed sore at the base of his spine. In addition, the VA had called Adult Protective Services. They said it was for safety reasons however it felt like an attack. I wondered why I was not told that would be happening. I called the home health care agency. I was told by the boss's boss that they had reported the sore to the VA, offered to send a courtesy nurse out and were told "No." I spent hours, and days calling back and forth trying to get to the bottom of who dropped the ball. It turns out the agency had not reported the sore to the VA until (and this is being generous) minutes before I called. Of course I had already called the VA raising hell because they had not provided proper care. I later apologized. I called the investigator and was advised it was clear I had tried to provide care for my Father and this was not my fault. Maybe not but I felt like I should have never left. After speaking to many people many times I gave up. I told the VA that it was a real kick in the chest for them to call and report me after I had spoken to their representative, offered to return home and was told it was not necessary. The health care agency called back to say the aide would not return. Of course not. Don't face the people you just let down. After that call the aide called to ask if she could send a family member out to pick up her pay sheet. Sure. You can get paid for three hours even though you missed days, left early and basically did not perform as expected. I certainly can't risk you getting angry and retaliating.

I fully realize my Father's situation is not nearly as desperate as others. I sincerely tried not to use the system or take advantage of anyone. I am very disturbed by the lack of care, proper communication and sincerity displayed by others however. My heart goes out to others who have greater need and still meet with the problems I encountered. WHO IS THERE FOR THEM? HOW CAN PEOPLE KEEP PASSING THE BUCK? WHEN ARE WE GOING TO MAN UP? The only way things will improve is if we recognize our shortcomings and learn from them. If we continue to insist it is someone else's responsibility we are going to lose!!

Personal Integrity Matters

2009-11-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

We all have issues with certain things that happen in life. Over the past several years I have become increasingly upset with the lack of ethics in society. I am posting, in part, to vent. I hope we all think about what we may be able to do to improve situations.

DENISE LEE – On January 17, 2008 a 21 year old mother was kidnapped from her home. Two days later her body was found near her home. According to records, the police received a 911 call from a woman driving down the road. She reported her position and said there was a young girl screaming in the car next to her. She stayed on the phone with the operator for some time reporting what she saw. WHY DIDN’T ANYONE COME TO DENISE LEE’S RESCUE?
The police have made excuses and are implementing a new training program for all 911 operators. Nice idea but in MY OPINION I believe the problem is more basic. Why didn’t anyone, the 911 operator, her supervisor, the dispatcher, the two officers who passed Denise as she was driven down the road by a madman, the relative who saw the accused murderer with Denise (he provided a shovel and gas without questioning what they were for) or anyone who was standing around the water cooler talking about the strange 911 call and what it could be, DO SOMETHING? More specifically, why didn’t they do the right thing? If one person’s conscience was engaged during the four plus hours it took this terrible tragedy to play out, maybe the results would have been better. Someone could have prevented the death of Denise Lee.

Personal Experience - My son had an auto accident. He was pulling into the median and a motorcycle hit him on the driver’s side. The rider was thrown 150 feet and was fortunate to survive. He was wearing body armor. It turns out he was a friend of a friend. My son was sited for failure to yield. He went to traffic court to ask if it mattered that the cyclist was speeding or if he was stopped in the median (backed up by photos taken at the scene.) The judge recommended he enter a not guilty plea and take it to court. It turned out the third rescheduled date fell at a bad time for my son. He was in college and it was final week. He was unable to make it on the day the case was actually heard. We had requested a continuance but the judge refused. He allowed the police to reschedule twice since they did not appear the first two times the case was called. The same judge who suggested my son fight the ticket heard the case. The driver of the motorcycle testified (from jail on a drug charge) that the night of the accident he had looked down to check his gauges and when he looked up the car was there and he could not avoid it. I went to court with photos of the intersection and scientific evidence that the cycle had to be speeding (there is a formula you can follow.) The speed was also confirmed by the driver. You see my son spoke to him after the accident. He was offered money by the guy on the cycle. He also bragged to friends the officer came to his room at the hospital and advised him to say he was only going 55. He admitted to driving on a suspended license and having outstanding warrants in Ohio. The officer on the scene of the accident was also made aware of this. The motorcycle driver begged the officer to cut him slack because he was so injured. I really don't blame him for his attempt to avoid arrest. I presented the photos of the scene and scientific evidence of the speed of the motorcycle. I didn't expect the driver to admit careless driving but he certainly gave the judge something to consider when he admitted taking his eyes off the road. However, the end result was my son was given a fine more than double the original and required to go to traffic school. The same judge who told him to fight it slammed him with the fine and points.
I thought this was wrong. I wrote a letter to the court administrator. They apologized but said nothing can be done. Judges can make bad decisions. My son could not even appeal the ruling. Amazing.

One more example of bad job performance. My aunt had breast cancer. Once removed she went for her 6 month check ups regularly. She developed a throat irritation and began having difficulty swallowing.
The doctor ordered an MRI of her throat and chest. The radiologist reported no abnormalities. As her condition deteriorated she took the actual films to another doctor. He immediately saw a spot slightly left of her throat in her neck. The radiologist did not report it because the doctor did not mention anything about checking out the neck. She past away rather quickly after finding out the truth. Perhaps she would have had a better outcome if the situation was properly diagnosed. When the truth came out the radiologist blamed the doctor and the doctor blamed the radiologist. MY OPINION: The doctor perhaps should have been broader in his instructions however the radiologist was morally responsible for reporting the irregularity because he knew there was a need for further tests.