One Strike, You're Ours?

Mitt Romney is getting some media attention on his One Strike, You're Ours?.

This includes, proposed increased punishment for those who prey on children online stringent mandatory prison sentences, followed by lifetime tracking by Global Positioning System for first-time offenders who "use the Internet to sexually assault children."

While there are states that are making the punishment more severe for these types of crimes against children Mitt is taking it to a whole new level which as the Washington Post article points out us what those like radio talk show host Glenn Beck have promoted. The article also points out civil liberties groups are very against this, but one question that I have not seen asked or answered would be exactly how would Mr. Romney propose that this be paid for?

Dreamed of having a home-based business?

There are thousands of affiliate programs out there where people are using the power of the internet to create successful home based businesses. I've checked into a few but what stopped me was the amount of time I thought it would take to be able to get such a business and a website off the ground. I felt my political blogging which is very time consuming but done out of love not money would suffer. It appears I could be very wrong on that aspect after visiting World Market Systems.

What's interesting about World Market Systems is they offer a variation of services from the basics of providing you with a website designed to make you look like one of the big fishes rather than one of the small minnows, to a more full service program that even includes coaching. This type of a service would enable those who were either not tech savvy or did not have as much time to invest in seeking out individual advertisers to still take advantage of the affiliate marketing programs out there.

WorldMarketSystems has been in business since 2002 and during that time period they state over 50,000 people have turned to them for help in creating a web presence as well as starting and operating a home-based business. If you like me, have considered wanting to be able to earn an income from the internet and affiliate marketing programs, I recommend learning more about WorldMarketSystems by visiting their website.

I tend to agree with Michelle Obama

I think the whole debate on Barack Obama and is he black enough is just as silly and as racially motivated as those who state they wouldn't vote for him because he is black. It's just as silly as people who say they would not vote for someone who is gay, or a woman or any other motivation than what the actual candidate is about.

I also do know though, that if a white candidate made the same joke about being late in reference to the black race, that people wouldn't be laughing. The problem for Barack is going to be if he makes race an issue, appealing both sides rather than to just embrace the fact and campaign on no matter our race we are all Americans...

I recommend you watch the video that's included with the article...

Why I am looking at web design services...

While I like to consider myself someone tech savvy, I realize my limits and for me trying to update and re-design my local personal website and blog has been a challenge. This has made me start looking at companies like Dev3 - Web Design Services. I really enjoyed looking at their portfolio, it really demonstrated to me their level of expertise and creativity, especially the websites they designed for "The Edge" and for Block Island.

The prices Dev3.ro lists are very reasonable as far as starting at prices and after spending quite a bit of time visiting their latest works and all of the sites included in their portfolio, I'm going to take advantage of their free quote by email to see what they could do for my website. They also provide other services even Custom Web Applications, so I recommend checking them out.

Mitt Romney wins Iowa poll but..

This is not to diss the Mitt Romney campaign, to be honest if it came down to my having to make a choice between Giuliani and him, I'd pick Romeny but, as the headlines read Romney Wins Iowa's GOP Poll, the reality is that Giuliani, Sen. John McCain and former senator Fred D. Thompson were not even in the poll. Romney only won against the others, and lets' be honest, how many of you can off the top of your head name any of them besides Ron Paul or Mike Huckabee? I had to stop and think...

Draft brought up again...

Once again, we have the idea of a military draft being brought up - this time by the President Bush's new war adviser, Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute who shares some interesting information:

"And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security by one means or another," said Lute, who is sometimes referred to as the "Iraq war czar." It was his first interview since he was confirmed by the Senate in June.

Yet it appears very clear that while this is supposedly "on the table", the President isn't ready to embrace this dish:

"The president's position is that the all-volunteer military meets the needs of the country and there is no discussion of a draft.

Yet I'm willing to bet in the next few days we will see posts stating that the President is planning on pushing a draft and political posturing about it.

Fan of Scuba?

I know a few of you who are readers of the blog are interested in scuba diving, so this website, scubish.com Scuba Diving might very well be one that you have not yet seen and could be a great resource for tips as well as reviews of some of the hottest diving spots in the World. The site provides more than just dive information, each location also has information from dive shops to what some of the favorite foods featured in that area are. There are also reviews from those who dive as to places they recommend to use and places not recommended. The find a buddy feature looks as if it is really starting to take off as well.

Cashing in on parental fear...

This one should come as no surprise, for $175.00 you can buy your child a bulletproof backpack. Supposedly it's designed to keep kids safe by hiding the bulletproof material inside the backpack. However, it's obvious that if other manufacturer's take heed of this then would be school shooters will as well, thus it's really debatable how much protection this would offer. It will however probably make a profit for the two fathers...

Light up the night

Now that I'm going to be moving my "blogging office" back up stairs since my living room needs to serve double duty as an extra bedroom, it's obvious I'm going to need more lighting. My husband has our bedroom like a cave if the main light is not on and that would be too bright for my late night blogging adventures...

:-)

Popsicle stick projects...

I've been on a popsicle craze here lately which has made me think about the days when my children were younger and they would want to make a trip to the hobby shop to build all kinds of things from popsicle stick houses to sea monkeys and growing their own crystals. Or spending time making their own jewelry from the rock polisher that they loved messing around with, I still have some of the things they made for me during those days.

My son and Air Jordans

In my semi walking down memory lane for products, I remember when the very first Air Jordans came out and my son was convinced that his life would end as he knew it if he did not have a pair of Air Jordans. I was a single parent at the time, but my father even though he couldn't understand the appeal did make my son's shoe dreams come true.

Price still the same for Globe insurance...

Even before the days of the internet, Globe Life insurance offered the first month at one dollar for their life insurance no medical exam plans. It's ironically one of the longest running marketing campaigns that I can think of where the price has not gone up.

Is it better to slow down or to buy a radar detector...

One of my daughters makes frequent trips up into Michigan and a friend was trying to tell her that she should look at radar detector reviews and purchase one so that she could get there faster. Sometimes it is fairly easy to guess who on the highway with you actually has a radar detector, or the ones who don't care if they run into a speed trap...

:-)

Bards in Branson...

The below post got me thinking about Bards which I know many of the people who travel to Branson Missouri do so for the music. My aunt and uncle make twice yearly trips to Branson, because they are huge fans of country music and the flea markets there. For them it's the atmosphere that keeps bringing them back year after year.

Bard of Bushworld Denounced

Interesting title selected as the "gotcha" one on the main page of the Washington Post website, which then leads to the text of the article that is titled, Bush's Muse Stands Accused. I'd guess someone was really into trying to be the Muselike Bard of the WaPo with that adventure.

The text of the article brings into question did Michael J. Gerson really come up with some of the sound bites that he's been credited with or was it someone else:

According to Matthew Scully, who worked with him for five years, Gerson is not the bard of Bushworld but rather a "self-publicizing" glory hog guilty of "foolish vanity," "sheer pettiness" and "credit hounding." In Scully's account, Gerson did not come up with the language that made him famous. "Few lines of note were written by Mike," Scully says, "and none at all that come to mind from the post-9/11 addresses -- not even 'axis of evil.' "

You could ask yourself does it really matter who wrote what? It appears to some it does.

:-)

My Alzheimer's Experience and how you can help...

There are several organizations that I have given my time, money and blogspace to that I think are worthy as a Charitable Cause. One that I have not helped to support in the past but am now is the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk. This organization has existed since 1989 and they have raised over $225 million dollars in that time frame. They do want to do more and that's where blogging about this as well as giving you information on how you can be a walker or be a Team Captain comes in. I was happy to see that Toledo was listed on the website, the walk starts at the Toledo Zoo and will be held on Sunday, September 23, 2007. If any of you are interested in forming a team here in T-Town let me know and I'll be happy to get the ball rolling.

My grandmother had Alzheimer's and it was a sad journey for our family to watch her go from the vibrant woman who was the President of the Toledo Area Bowling Association to a shell of a woman who did not remember any of us. Long after she stopped remembering who I was and thought I was just someone who worked at the skilled living facility she was placed into, I'd visit to make sure her candy dish was filled with her favorites, it was my way of acknowledging that even though she didn't remember me, I remembered her. So for me, it's a very personal reason that I urge you to consider supporting the Alzheimer's Association and I hope you join me...

Differing opinions on border patrol goals...

Recommended article over at the Washington Times on the differing opinion as to can the goal of hiring 6000 new Border Patrol agents in the time line that the President has requested. The man the President hired for the job:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner W. Ralph Basham said that while increasing the agency"s manpower by 50 percent has been a major challenge, an aggressive recruiting drive has been successful and major revisions in training have streamlined the process while maintaining its quality.

Mr. Basham said the agency is "on track" to meet the goal helped, in part, by a training regime that includes a revamped schedule, a reduction in training days and a modernized Spanish-language program.

The man who represents Former Border Patrol agents:

But Kent Lundgren, coordinator of the 800-member National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers, said the massive recruiting goal and quality training are not compatible.

"It can"t be done and still turn out functional, effective Border Patrol agents," Mr. Lundgren said. "It may be possible to run trainees in one door and out the other. But train them well? No."

I think Kent probably has a valid point, it reminds me of when the government tried to replace huge numbers of air traffic controllers after they were fired during their strike. It didn't go well...

We love quizzes on LCS...but

During the years I've been blogging here on LCS, we've had fun with quite a few quizzes, some like the The Impossible Quiz which is really impossible because there is no way to find out what the score is without signing up for one offer which I did not want to do. Unfortunately that is the downside to QuizRocket, if you don't mind signing up for at least one offer after you go through several ad screens you can skip, there is no way to get the scores.

Still they get a Lisa Renee kudo for having fun quizzes, just not for making you jump through that many ad hoops to be able to get a response, especially when at the very last screen you discover that there is no option to skip...



(I am 18/18 dumb for taking that many quizzes to see if they all ended up the same - but it still was fun)

Does the US have a moral obligation to Iraqi's they've hired?

That is the basic nature of the situation as raised in this CNN story, Iraqi interpreter: 'Now I have no future'. Given the problems in Iraq the only way for the US to really fulfill the moral obligation that is being said by some to exist would be to bring every single family who supported or helped the US to the United States. Making arrangements for only 1000 of the interpreters is not a solution as many people will be left behind and if the government there is such that these people are living in the fear they are reporting? How have we really even made Iraq any better? It seems the only difference is who are the people that are living in fear rather than Iraq being a better nation than it was before.

Removing those who did support/help the US is not going to make Iraq a better country, as those who are left behind will feel abandoned if they were supporters and those very people who could have stayed to make a difference to make Iraq a better nation leaving just leaves more there who create the fear rather than fight it.

Driving Smart Minds

The title of this post is a play on Isuzu's "Smart Minds Drive Alike" campaign, the purpose of this post is to take a look at the isuzu pickup. I've had many different vehicles during the days when I used to drive, and among those years ago was a Isuzu owned by my ex-husband. So while I have not had the opportunity to drive any of the newer line, including the crew cab, I do know that that truck took quite a bit of use and at times abuse and kept driving. One of his favorite things to do was to drive out through the fields where his family lived up in Michigan, going "mudding". His truck was one of the few that never got stuck and more than one time pulled out other daredevils.

Pick up trucks are of course not supposed to be "pretty" but the whole Isuzu line is an attractive one, especially the Ascender SUV. The 7 year 75,000 mile warranty is an added bonus and I like the comparison feature on the Isuzu website. It's available for the Ascender, the i370 and the i290. Personally I would have been happier had my husband decided to get the extended cab i290 rather than the 5 passenger Chevy he bought, having the ability to haul items as we frequently end up doing with the way my daughters move in and out of our home would have been a plus.