Paws Awhile

Bobby Jindal and Louisiana Politics

Have you ever wondered what makes a politician tick?  I have.  It seems the most honest, fair and likable men turn to scum the minute they win an election.  Keep in mind that I am from Louisiana, so I may be more than a little biased on this subject.  Especially after the last and ongoing episode in Baton Rouge.

We just elected a new governor, who was sworn in this last January.  Bobby Jindal was expected to be a refreshing change from governors of the past.  We only seem to elect leaders that are corrupt or inept, sometimes both.  Governor Jindal made history, not only for being so young but he is of Indian descent.

We all had high hopes for Bobby.  He ran a campaign based on change.  He said he wanted to bring honor and respect back to our state.  He wanted to pass bills that would do away with corruption.  He got off to a good start.  He appeared on Jay Leno and other shows promoting Louisiana and actually didn’t embarrass us.

It wasn’t long before Republicans, pundits and political advisers started throwing out his name as a good Vice President choice for John McCain.  He was even invited to a barbecue in Arizona that most thought was an interview.  He always said the right thing.  He assured us he didn’t want the job.  He had too much to do at home and he wanted to be elected governor for another term.  This was Louisiana’s chance and he wanted to lead the way.

Back home, things are not so rosy for Bobby.  Our esteemed legislators voted themselves a hefty raise.  The package also guaranteed them a raise every time the US congress gets one.  It later came out that the Governor’s Cabinet was included.  Governor Jindal said he didn’t approve of the bill, but would not veto it.  His argument was that he wouldn’t be able to get his reform bill passed if he vetoed the raise and reform was too important to jeopardise it.  That led voters to question his reasoning.  We are going to fight corruption with corruption?  In the ensuing turmoil it was revealed that Jindal has let approximately 100 bills pass into law without his signature, a record in Louisiana.  Now it is being speculated that this is also a political ploy.  If he is ever on the ticket for President or Vice President, no one will be able to point out bills that he signed.

You may be asking why there is such an uproar over our legislators receiving a raise.  To begin with, it is the size of the raise and the fact that they will get one every time one is given in Washington without ever having another vote here in Louisiana.  Then you have to factor in that Louisiana is not a rich state.  We have a very high amount of people who live in poverty.  Others, who were at one time considered middle class, can no longer afford to go to the doctor or purchase medicine, not to mention gasoline.  Being such a rural state, it is almost impossible to give up driving.  Gasoline that cost $4 a gallon hits a budget very hard.  It doesn’t seem fair for the politicians to get a big raise now.  Not when so many people are hurting.

The people in question don’t help themselves in this fight either.  Most of them come from modest means.  They were not nor will be the recipient of a large inheritance.  They did not make a fortune in business.  That is until they got elected.  They all seem to do quite well after they are sworn in.

Now the whole thing has blown up in all their faces.  The people of Louisiana are protesting.  There are petitions being circulated to recall Jindal and some legislators.  Governor Jindal is being protested every where he goes.  It is being talked about in all the newspapers and on all the television news.  Even if the recalls don’t pass, and we know they probably won’t, chances are he will not be elected for that second term he wants so bad.  The congressmen also know they are in trouble.  Several are now denying they threatened Jindal with a negative vote for his agenda.  Some are saying they won’t take the raise.  Others say they will give it to charity.  None of this is changing the minds of the people who vote for them.  It is just the same old politics in the bayou.

This is such a disappointment for me.  I not only voted for Jindal every time he ran, I actively supported him.  I had very high hopes he would succeed.  And I had faith in his integrity.  One day I may learn that one politician is no different from another one.

I never intended to bring politics to this blog.  I want it to be a place to relax and have fun.  But sometimes I get worked up over things and this is one of them.  So please bear with me this one time. 

I Shall Not Live In Vain

I Shall Not Live In Vain

Emily Dickinson

If I can stop one Heart from breaking

I shall not live in Vain

If I can ease one Life the Aching

Or cool one Pain

Or help one fainting Robin

Unto his Nest again

I shall not live in Vain

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was an American poet.  Though virtually unknow in her lifetime, Dickinson has come to be regarded, along with Walt Whitman, as one of the two quintessential American poets of the 19th century.

This has always been my favorite poem.

Congratulations Kyle!

Kyle did it.  He started 30th, led 76 of the 112 laps at Infineon Raceway and won his 5th race this year.  He also extended his lead in the standings to 103 points over Jeff Burton, who finished 13th.

Good Luck, Kyle

This is just a quick note to say “Good Luck”  to Kyle Busch in Sunday’s race at Sonoma.  Kyle has seemed to be very down or tired for the past couple of weeks.  I hope he finishes well tomorrow.

Another Saturday at Paws Awhile

This is Saturday.  And like all my Saturdays for the past two years I am at the barn.  As much as I love what we are doing and as committed as I am to my goals, days like this make me want to rethink the whole plan.

The day started out bad by getting out of bed early on my only day off from my regular job.  This may not seem like a big deal to most of you, but all the “night” people out there know exactly what I’m talking about.  My idea is that normal hours are between noon and two or three AM.  Everything else is off schedule.  Don’t even think about telling me I will get accustomed to your hours after I go by them for awhile.  If I’m not there after all these years of school and work I will never get there.  To be honest with you, I am more than just a little tired of morning people suggesting that I will.

To get back to the original message, after breakfast my Mom and I  drove over to the barn.  Jessie’s is in the next town, about 15 miles from our house.  Once there, we trudged inside, turned on the lights and fans and opened the doors for business.  That was the start of another long day.

The barn is located on what was a very busy highway.  When I say was, I mean before gas went up to $4 a gallon.  Now there are few people driving anywhere.  Of those few we are dependent on the ones who have a little money to spend on something other than food and medication.  That leaves us with the ones who will consider stopping to see if we are open even though most times it looks like we are not.  All in all that is the setup of a very boring day.

I would be more satisfied if I had my computer or a television.  At least I could get some work done and the time would go faster.  Some Saturdays my Mom and I spend the day looking at each other.  But most of the days are spent making plans.  We have some definite ideas on what we would do with the barn or a place of our own.  A lawn mower and weed eater are at the top of the list.  A garbage dumpster comes up quite often also.

We would like to buy an old white wood frame house with a big yard, possibly with some acreage.  Inside we would fix the rooms up pretty, where everything could be seen.  We know exactly what we want to sell.  We want to have old things.  Not antiques that cost a lot or have to have a COA with the piece’s history.  Just old things, that people remember from their childhood.  Things that people collect.  Things they lost or got broken.  Replacements for missing pieces of sets.  I would love to have a fan space.  Somewhere to find memorabilia of your favorite team, player, driver, singer, band or actor.  We want a place to buy a nice gift without having to spend your entire paycheck.  Something unique.

My sister-in-law, Debi, owns Ebenezer Estate Sales.  She has an eye for shopping for collectibles and memorabilia.  She also knows what will sell, how much to pay for it and how much we could sell it for.  it would be her job to shop and price.  Mama and her friend, Annie would do all the displaying and selling.  My job would be accounting and marketing.

One of the things I would like to have is a mini Farmer’s Market outside.  There are a lot of farmers in this area who set up on the side of the road to sell their produce.  These days they are having a hard time finding a place to park.  It is also hard to find home grown produce now.   We would give them a space in exchange for drawing in customers.

The bottom line is we would like to have a place of our own.  A place where we can do things the way we want to.  Maybe then I would feel like I was a little closer to realizing my dream.  I have to admit it is becoming easier an easier to get discouraged.  It seems like every time I let myself believe it will happen, I get knocked back down again.  Days like this are the hardest.  This is when I start to think I am working myself to death for nothing and want to give up on the whole thing.  Then a couple of days later it all comes back and I begin to believe again that it will happen.  One day I will have the Paws Awhile Ranch with the cemetery, our gift shop and the pet rescue.

So, when all of you send me a prayer request for the website, please say one for me, my Mom and Paws Awhile.

Prayer List

Please pray for all the people in the Midwest who are affected by the tornadoes and floods. 

And please remember to include their pets and livestock, all the homeless animals and the wildlife.

Please pray that Sarah finds a good job.

Remember all the shelter animals in your prayers.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Finally Wins

This is the day that I am going to get on my soap box.  Sunday was not the best of days.  It was Father’s Day.  In most homes it was a day for families to get together and spend time with Dad.  At my house it was a day to remember Dad.  We lost my Dad on February 2, 2006 and on this day our feelings are still very raw.

My way of dealing with things is to block it all out.  So I curled up on the sofa with a Coke (Coca-Cola) to spend the afternoon watching the NASCAR race in Michigan.  It was a so-so race, not too exciting.  As you all know my favorite driver is Kyle Busch, who is usually in the lead or fighting for it.  However, he was having his second not so good race in two weeks.  He did do better Sunday by coming in 13^th in comparison to 43^rd last week.  The winner this week was Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

This is where I step up on the box.  There are 43 drivers racing each weekend and there are 42 I would rather see win before Jr.  My desire for Jr. not to win has very little to do with the man himself.  As far as I can tell his only fault is he’s just not Kyle.  Other than that he seems very likeable, quite and congenial.  He has shown on more than one occasion that he is fair and has a lot of class.  Most notably when his father died and again when he and Kyle got into each other in Richmond.

I grew up watching NASCAR, but got away from it as I got into my teens.  That was long before Jr.’s time.  Even before Sr.’s time.  I didn’t get back into racing until the start of this year, but I did somewhat keep up over the years.  I wasn’t completely clueless.  But I was surprised by what is known as “Jr. Nation”.  I knew he had a huge following.  I just didn’t know they were so mean and heartless.

I sit through every race hoping that anyone will win other than Jr., because I know what will happen immediately after he crosses the finish line.  They didn’t prove me wrong on Sunday.  They came out in full force.  They had every reason to be jumping for joy.  I don’t blame them for being happy after such a long dry spell.  If that had been my driver, I would still be shouting it from the rooftops.  But why couldn’t they be happy with just celebrating a well deserved victory?  Why did they have to bring Kyle into it and start bashing him?  What did he do wrong this time?  He didn’t have a good day.  He finished 13^th.  He wasn’t even interviewed after the race, so he could not have popped off anything to offend these people.  Why did they have to take shots at him for that?  Did his fans do that when Jr. had a bad day?

Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth had legitimate questions about some things that happened in the race.  A lot of people had the same questions.  They deserved an answer.  That’s all they asked for, an explanation.  It was not a personal attack on Jr., but Jr. Nation labeled them as whiney and crybabies.

These people can’t seem to stop at just cheering for their own favorite driver.  They talk about other drivers as if they are dirt.  The only ones they can abide are the ones who never win.  In other words, the ones who never beat Jr.  Anyone who does win is accused of cheating.  They are cussed, booed and have beer cans thrown at them.  The fact that beer cans on the track could be a major problem when all the cars are going 200 miles an hour is of no concern.  The safety of the other drivers does not interest Jr. fans.  They threaten other fans if they “mouth off”, but have no problem mouthing off themselves.

As for Kyle, he is Kyle.  He is young, determined and yes, he is cocky.  He wants to win.  He sometimes lets his mouth get ahead of his brain.  He is also generous with his time and his money.  He is tender hearted.  He is loyal.  But to hear Jr. Nation tell it, he is the spawn of the Devil himself.  He is evil, mean, selfish, spoiled, arrogant and stupid.  He has been called a jerk, a baby and numerous other things I will not repeat.  And why?  He wins or comes close to winning almost every race.  In my opinion, the most low class thing they ever did was on Mother’s Day.  At the driver introductions the mothers were brought out with their sons.  Kyle and Kurt were introduced together with their Mom.  And they were booed.  That was disgraceful.  No mother should have to endure that.  She is their mother.  She loves her sons and is proud of them, just like any other mother.  She was actually quoted the day before saying, “He is still my baby and it hurts.”  Kyle is young man who needs the chance and the time to mellow.  He is not much different from the other drivers.  They are all headstrong and driven.  They all can be cocky and arrogant at times.  They all mouth off on occasion.  It takes that type of personality to succeed at what they do.  It takes that drive to get where they are at such a young age.  And let’s face it; even the worst driver out there is better than anyone in the stands.  None of that justifies the way they are treated if they are more successful than Jr.

On Sunday Dale Jr. drove a good race.  He worked hard and so did his crew.  In the end he went across the finish line on fumes.  There wasn’t even enough gas to burn his tires.  His crew had to push his car to victory lane.  The most memorable thing was the ear to ear grin on his face.  He was hot, tired and so very happy.  He looked like a little boy at Christmas.  It was a look that would have warmed any heart.  Why couldn’t Jr. Nation just revel in that moment?  The guy they loved and cheered for through a long winless streak was having his day.  That should have been enough.  Instead they took away from his glory, brought it down a few notches.  They made fans who want the same for their favorite wish it had been someone else that won.  And that was not fair to Junior.  He deserved to have everyone happy he had finally won again.

Now, I am aware that there are Jr. fans out there who will call foul.  They will protest and point out that not all of Jr. Nation is like that.  And they are right.  It is unfortunate that they, along with Jr., will always be lumped together with the bad apples. And like Jr., they deserve better.  I know they are out there, because they have come forward with congratulations on someone else’s win and they have called down some of their own when needed.  Jr. has even had to come forward at times.

To Jr. and his loyal fans, I congratulate you on your win.  It was a long time coming.

And now I climb down from my box.

I Am The Flag of the United States

I AM THE FLAG . . .

  I am the flag of the United States of America.
     My name is Old Glory.
     I fly atop the world’s tallest buildings.
     I stand watch in America’s halls of justice.
     I fly majestically over institutions of learning.
     I stand guard with power in the world.
     Look up and see me.

I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice.
     I stand for freedom.
     I am confident.
    I am arrogant.
     I am proud.
        When I am flown with my fellow banners,
     my head is a little higher, my colors a little truer.

     I bow to no one!
     I am recognized all over the world.
     I am worshipped I am saluted.
     I am loved I am revered.
     I am respected and I am feared.

 I have fought in every battle of every war
     for more than 200 years.
     I was flown at Valley Forge, Gettysburg,
     Shiloh and Appomattox.

     I was there at San Juan Hill,
     the trenches of France,
     in the Argonne Forest, Anzio, Rome
     and the beaches of Normandy, Guam.
     Okinawa, Korea and KheSan, Saigon, Vietnam know me,
     I was there.

I led my troops,
     I was dirty, battle-tested and tired,
     but my soldiers cheered me
     And I was proud.

America has been attacked by cowardly fanatics
And many lives have been lost
But those who would destroy me cannot win
For I am the symbol of freedom,
Of one nation
Under God
Indivisible
With liberty and justice for all.

I have been burned, torn and trampled
on the streets of countries I have helped set free.
It does not hurt, for I am invincible.

I have been soiled upon, burned, torn
and trampled on the streets of my country.
And when it’s by those whom I’ve served in battle it hurts.
But I shall overcome for I am strong.

 I have slipped the bonds of Earth
     and stood watch over the uncharted frontiers of space
     from my vantage point on the moon.
     I have borne silent witness
     to all of America’s finest hours.
     But my finest hours are yet to come.

When I am torn into strips  and used as bandages
     for my wounded comrades on the battlefield,
     When I am flown at half-mast to honor my soldier,
     Or when I lie in the trembling arms
     of a grieving parent
     at the grave of their fallen son or daughter,
     I am proud.

MY NAME IS OLD GLORY

     LONG MAY I WAVE.

St. Francis of Assisi

Prayer For The Animals