Be Careful of What You Ask For

... or in this case what you legislate.

Did you know if you default on your mortgage and the bank has to take a loss because of the fallen value of the property, you can be held liable for the difference? Yes, it's the law in Arizona.

Well, because of the fallen housing prices, the spikes in foreclosures and unemployment have left quite a few people in a very vulnerable position.

Now, the twit who came up with the legislation is asking for it to be repealed. Apparently he's got some constituents who are not too happy with the law, especially if they are being hurt by it.

Here's the link:

Arizona Senator calls for repeal of his foreclosure bill

A Hero's Salute

A small snippet in the local newspaper about when Sgt. John C. Beele's body was arriving home provided enough information for those in the area to provide a fitting tribute to a fallen soldier.

A Hero's Salute

Can Community Colleges Save the U.S. Economy?

A good article to read from Time.com.

Can Community Colleges Save the U.S. Economy?

Mexico To U.S. Immigration Down 40%

Here is an interesting article on this by cnn.com.

Mexican Immigrants

Independent voters continue to rise in Ariz.

I love it! People have finally had enough with BOTH parties!


Independent voters continue to rise in Ariz.

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Some Eye-Opening Information On Horizon

This was on Horizon last night, be sure to watch the entire segment, because State Attorney General Terry Goddard isn't just covering medical fraud, drug trafficking but also money laundering via gift cards to Mexican cartels. Things have gotten really creative around here.

Top 10 Surprising Facts About the World's Oldest Bible - TIME

This article from Time talks about the online release of one of the world's oldest Bibles.

1. You Can Read It — Right Now — Online - Top 10 Surprising Facts About the World's Oldest Bible
- TIME

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A New Look On Health Care,

Health Care Reform, and the lengths that some well known companies will go to in order to keep you from knowing the truth. These are from The Bill Moyers Journal and can be found here:

Health Care Reform

And here: (this part would not fit as an embedded video, but it's the part you're going to want to see)

Wendell Potter

From CNN: Residents Still Choking On Ash

Here's the link to the article:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/13/coal.ash.illnesses/index.html

If you recall, I wrote a blog entry about this:

If you life around Knoxville Tenn., don't drink the water.

Are they getting the help they need? Read the CNN article. So much for "clean coal".

Gossip

An incident that occurred a few weeks ago on a fan site I belong to has prompted this message.

As many of my friends know, I'm a big fan of Barry Manilow. I have been for many years ( and no, I will not go into how many). Barry's Fan Club has a Ning account that is used as a message board for blogs and discussions by his fans, for his fans. I've made a lot of really great friendships on this site, but there has been some drama lately.

One of the fans on the site, I'll call her Sally, posted a blog post on the site saying some rather not-so-nice things about how much the other fans were posting on the site about Michael Jackson. Then she got into another topic, one that didn't sit well at all with many of the fans, saying some inflammatory remarks about Barry. She was concerned about Barry regarding his personal life, and her posting it on a web site - operated by Barry's Fan Club - was how she felt it needed to be done. Sally, and now a friend of hers, is stating they have every right to post this because it is their opinion. I'm not buying that argument.

While I'm not privy to Barry and his personal life (and neither is Sally), things of this nature should be handled privately through his managers, not in a public forum where anyone can look it up and see this being posted.

When anyone talks about someone's private life without that person's consent, it moves from opinion to gossip. Gossip is very destructive and humiliating. I know as I've been the object of gossip myself, and while I do love the people behind the gossiping, they have lost my trust. Forgiveness is one thing, trust is another. It's also especially destructive because usually the object of the gossip is not there to defend themselves from what people are saying and/or accusing them of.

Sally backed up and made apologies, however she privately sent messages to some of the other fans stating she wasn't backing down from her "opinions".

I've stated on the site, a sincere apology comes in 3 parts: I'm sorry, it will never happen again and what can I do to make it right. Some wise words to live by from Randy Pausch. He stated that while a lot of people do the first, and should do the second parts, the third part of that is usually ignored. That's how you can tell that someone is being sincere in their apology.

The really sad part of gossiping is that the person gossiped about usually finds out. It was that way with me when I found out I was the butt of the gossip at my Church when my husband died. It was discovered, however the public apologies and tears didn't stop the gossiping, it still continues on to this day. As I've said, I love these people, however I will never trust them again, nor do I even want them setting foot inside my home. Sad. Very sad.

A Capitol 4th

Did you get to see the PBS special on the 4th of July?

If you didn't get to see it, click here to watch or download the video for it.

I have to say I loved it, but then again I'm biased. Why? BARRY MANILOW was on!

Enjoy.

Squatting

Have you ever heard of squatting? It's a term used from the last two centuries being reapplied today. It's living for free in a home you don't own. It's illegal, but that isn't stopping people from doing it, with the increasing numbers of homeless in this country.

If you've read my blog for a while, you'll remember a post I made earlier this year regarding how to use the bailout money to help the homeless, by using the money to legally lease from banks foreclosed homes and turn them into shelters. Here's the link to the post: Homeless Assistance

To me, my idea makes more sense because it brings the money back into the situation. Management agencies would need to be created to manage the leases and maintain the foreclosed homes, creating jobs. Homes not habitable will need to be fixed up before they could be used, that creates jobs.

Yes, it's a short term solution to a long term problem, but it would infuse money where it's needed, and at a local level.

The Illegal Seizure of Property

One of the great things about this country is we are allowed to question our Nation's leaders and tactics. So what does it tell you when people's property is illegally seized through Eminent Domain? We've seen it abused with shopping centers and baseball stadiums, now we are seeing it with the fence that is supposed to be protecting our border.

25,000 students in Arizona now homeless; up 18% in past year

This is just sad. The number of homeless students in Arizona is now the equivalent to the population of Fountain Hills.

25,000 students in Arizona now homeless; up 18% in past year

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Ghost

I'll have to remember this video the next time Halloween rolls around...