MA L.

I think I might have mentioned this before but there is an interesting
correlation between many of the PFB OP's and people who go on talk
shows/judge shows/reality shows.

In almost every case, the people who go on TV (or come here to PFB)
tell their little sad story and cry and whine about how life has
treated them SOOO unfairly, Yet, when the audience members start to
see through their facade and poke holes in the supposed "truth" all of
a sudden, the guest (or the OP) goes ballistic. Screaming out "You
don't KNOW me!" "You can't judge me!"

Oh yes we can sweet cheeks! You brought your dirty laundry to air
before a national audience and people didn't buy your story. If you
can't handle not being agreed with, maybe out in public is not where
you want to advertise your business.

I get so tired of people who post here that scream and yell about how
"rude" "venomous" "hateful" and "argumentative" the commenters are.
Since when does disagreement = negativity? Just because someone's
viewpoint differs from your automatically means that they're a bad
person? Doesn't that make you just as bad as the commenters you claim
are so unfair?

I try to provide logical rationale for my posts and I admit that I
have been baited into a flame war with certain OP's more times than
I'd like to, but bottom line, I don't call them out because I think
they are bad. I call them out because I think they're wrong.

There have been times when I have even tried to be calm and supportive
and have STILL been called to the carpet because someone disliked my
response. But do I hate these people for disagreeing with me? No! I
let bygones be bygones and move on. I said my peace. Take it or
leave it.

While I can't change anyone else's mind, I implore those who post here
on PFB - please remember that it is ONLY a forum for communicating and
expressing opinions. IT IS NOT a moral or social barometer. You
can't measure people's worth based on their reaction to blogs posted
here.

In the words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

I am shocked - my company ACTUALLY shut our office yesterday. Course,
its not like it matters since I had already told my boss that I
wouldn't be in if my oldest son's school was closed (it was).

But so now I'm wondering if I have to claim a sick day tomorrow or if
because they closed the office if that means they're comping me the
day.

How cool is that? Spent V-day at home with my babies and dno't have
to take a hit against my PTO!!

Way to go United : )

OK, I understand that by choosing to live in Northeastern Ohio that I
am voluntarily subjecting myself to being buried alive in snow and
cold from November until around March, but this has just gone too far
this year!

It was 55-65 degrees here when I went to my mom's in Florida over
Christmas, thus lessening the "coolness" of not being here in Ohio.
But no sooner do we get back here then the temps plummet and we've
basically spent the past 6 weeks getting frozen or snowed on.

Now the National Weather Service has made us the punchline of yet
another one of their un-funny jokes again by predicting over a foot of
snow to be dumped in the next 12 hours! Lovely.

My son is obsessed with watching the news every night now because he
is convinced that after the 3 days they had off last week that he's
sure to see more snow days off from school very soon!

What happened to El Nino and predictions of a "kinder, gentler" winter
this year? If it's this bad now, I can imagine our spring and summer
are pretty much shot.

So who can I complain to? Can I send a nastygram to the National
Weather Service demanding that they start sending us sunshine and 70
degrees??? I mean, we've suffered through the bitter cold (-20) and
snow. Aren't we entitled to some nice weather??

I know its not nice to fuss with Mother Nature, but that b!@#h is so
on my poop right list now.

I have never been a big fan of hers, but lately, her need to chastise
everyone else is kind of working my last nerve.

It's almost like she is trying to drum up publicity for herself by
taking everyone else to task. Just who died and decreed her to be the
queen of perfection and grace is beyond me.

First, she jumps into an argument (or lack of an argument) between
Kelly Ripa and Clay Aiken. Apparently Kelly is a germophobe and
doesn't like being touched. Clay tried to shut her up during an
interview (like THAT's possible!) by putting his hand over her mouth,
to which she responded, "Don't go there!"

Rosie jumps into the fray (which had NOTHING to do with her!) by
saying Kelly's comment was homophobic.

HUH?

That's an interesting viewpoint, Rosie, especially since the poor guy
HASN'T COME OUT! Granted, I would personally be amazed if he isn't
gay, but that's HIS business and who is Rosie to out him while jumping
into an non-argument that was none of her business.

Then she jumped on "The Donald" over the problems with his beauty
contestants (can anyone say "Girls Gone Wild?"). Come on Rosie -
don't hate just because you will NEVER get with girls like that in
your life and a geek like "The Donald" (combover and all) can pretty
much get any chick he wants by flashing his cash.

Now she's upset that the American Idol judges are "too mean." One
word for ya, Rosie - DUH!

And on top of that, the implication that Paula Abdul has some sort of
addiction problem - Again,Rosie - DUH!

Funny she didn't hold it against Danny Devito that he showed up for he
interview on The View completely tanked, but she feels the need to
throw in her two cents worth on everyone else's behavior.

Is she TRYING to become more hated than Star Jones? Is that the plan?
Or is it working with Barbara Walters? My guess is that could drive
anyone to be cranky and catty.

At any rate, if she's smart, she'll shut up before Isaiah Washington
isn't the only one begging ABC to spare his job because of verbal
diarrhea.

I wanted to let everyone know that there is a GREAT show on the FX
Cable Channel called "30 Days." It's hosted by Morgan Spurlock, who
did the documentary about what happens when you eat nothing but
McDonald's for a month (Supersize Me).

Since the Pesos for Pizza post has been kind of a hot button recently,
there is one episode that featured a "Minuteman" (civilians patrolling
the southern borders seeking out illegal immigrants to bust) forced to
live with a family of 6 illegal Mexican immigrants for 30 days.

At one point, the man traveled to his host's former home in Mexico and
visited with their extended family who were left behind. Seeing how
they lived before in what was no more than 4 brick walls with no real
covering for a roof, no electricity and a cesspool for a well was a
serious wake up call.

The host husband and wife were day laborers trying to make a better
life for their 4 children, all of whom were very well assimilated and
spoke perfect English. The oldest was trying to get into college and
was an honor student at her high school.

So much for the stereotypical illegal immigrant who speaks no English
and is on welfare.

Other topics included a straight guy living with a gay man in San
Francisco for a month, a Pro-choice woman living in a pro-life women's
shelter, a Christian living with a Muslim family and the host himself,
living as a minimum wage earner.

It's an incredible series and it really makes you stop and think that
maybe you can't really understand someone until you've walked in their
shoes. I've had it on DVR all season & can't wait for the next season
to arrive.

It's probably the best example of "Reality TV" I have ever seen. If
it was up to me, I'd propose that every high school have some form of
education along this line as a requisite to graduating. Seems a far
better use of semester credits than P.E. or French 3.

Congratulations to you and your newly extended family. I am so happy
to hear that all of you are doing well!

And welcome back!

OMG! If this kid doesn't come out of me soon I think I'll scream!

I feel like I have a Buick in my belly and he is not a very
cooperative little guy.

He doesn't sleep when I do, pretty much hates everything I eat and has
the sharpest elbows (or feet, or knees, I don't know what the heck
he's hitting me with in there!) I have ever encountered!

Hubby keeps pestering the Midwife to have them induce me. Apparently
he's sick of my whining.

Not to mention that the more pregnant I get, the dumber everyone else
around me becomes(thus my most recent posts!) and the less patience I
have for that idiocy!

Pretty much Hubby and my Dad have now forbidden me to drive until
after I deliver for fear I'll shoot one of these dumb a$#es on the
road with me. (Being a cop's daughter with a concealed carry license
FINALLY comes in handy!)

The one cool thing is my Dad and brother VOLUNTEERED to have Turkey
Day at their place. All I have to do is show up - no cooking, no
cleaning!

Hell, I'd have gotten pregnant this time last year just for that
alone!

So please everyone, pray for me. Just let me get through the next 17
days without any irrational fits that land my butt on the front page
of the Plain Dealer being hauled away by the Cleveland PD!

I hope this doesn't distrub or offend anyone, but I just heard the
best news yesterday and it made my week.

My 9 year old son attended a YMCA-run day care for about 4 years. We
had to take him out in 2004 for financial reasons and turns out it was
a good thing we did.

About a year after we took him out, we got a letter from the Y stating
one of their former Day Care instructors was being investigated by not
one, but 2 local police departments for alleged inappropriate contact
with male minors.

Turns out this slimebag had convinced himself that it was a sacred
right of God for him to engage in sex with little boys. And not just
any little boys, these kids were all handicapped. Most had Autism.

Well he's about to become some big inmate named Bubba's Bey-otch
because he just got sentenced this week to TWENTY-SIX consecutive life
terms with NO possibility of parole - EVER!

This case was so personal to me because even though my son is not
handicapped, it so easily could have been my baby that was affected.

My son told me he remembered this clown working at the Y and that he
had played chess with him a few times (but never unsupervised). That
alone brought the hair on the back of my neck to standing at
attention!

After 74 charges of Gross Sexual Imposition, Corruption of a Minor,
Rape and Sodomy, his 9 victims FINALLY have their justice!

While mercifully, my son was not one of the boys this happened to,
it's still chilling to know that it could have been any one of my
son's day care mates because they aren't releasing the victims names.


All the boys were between 8 and 11 years old

The parting shot for this warped cretin was him asking the sentencing
judge if he could instead get house arrest because he felt that he
should be helping to counsel other pedophiles and sexually based
offenders like himself!

Needless to say, I think the response was H*!! no!"

For more info, read here:
http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1161074238835
50.xml?ncounty_cuyahoga&coll=2

I'm starting to think I'm in a bad episode of the twilight zone.

The letters that are showing up in the Top 20 are getting more and
more outrageous and I've been biting my tongue so hard that I'm afraid
I may need stitches!

I'd love to ask if there was some advertisement out on Goolgle or
AltaVista to the effect of, "If you have any illogical, angry, bitter,
hateful complaints to lodge against anyone, anything or anyplace,
PLEASE come to PlanetFeedback!"

It looks like just about every person who has posted a letter recently
is pretty much both grammatically and linguistically illiterate (and
people are worried about speaking Spanish when they can't even write a
coherent letter in English??), honked off beyond reason, making
overblown demands and basically having no sense of rationality.

Or is this just me that sees it like this??

I don't know how much more of this I can take.

I don't know what to be more shocked over, that so many people stopped
by my blog or that (God help me!) I wound up in the Top 20 again!

I had been meaning to start the blog for some time, but never quite
knew what to jump off with. Then when that story came in yesterday,
all Icould think is, "That is SUCH a case for PFB!"

But thanks to all of you (esp. my fellow Ohioans!) for the warm
"welcome." It is greatly appreciated : )

My Dad has been listening to a syndicated radio show in the mornings
called "The Bob and Tom Show." They typically have comedians on and
most of the time it's pretty funny.

One poor lady wrote in requesting they play a bit about airport
security she'd heard previously in honor of a bad situation she'd
recently encountered at the Dallas airport.

She was trying to board her flight when a certain passenger began
throwing a fit and behaving quite irately (not sure if that's a
legitimate word, but I'm using it!)

Anyway, she and some of the other passengers witnessing their fellow
passenger's "outbursts" were making light of the situation and
commented amongst each other that the irate passenger's antics would
likely get him thrown off the flight.

The letter writer commented that she should have realized it would
make bad Karma to say those things because no sooner did she board the
plane, she was summoned to the front of the cabin where she was told
SHE was being put off the plane.

Apparently, whatever the irate passenger was spewing about must have
involved a lack of seat, so, without warning or asking for volunteers,
the airline arbitratily bumped this other lady to give the irate
passenger her seat and forced her to take a layover that didn't return
her home until 1:00 the next day.

She said she didn't feel like she could complain for fear of being
grabbed by an Air Marshall and hauled off to be interrogated, but she
couldn't help but wonder how the irate passenger got away with having
his little "snit fit" and was basically being rewarded for it with HER
seat.

Just goes to show when it comes to customer service, sometimes you
can't win, no matter WHAT you do.