The Kate Effect

she's back....

hey blog world. 

i am back.

 

after trying to phase out, considering new options and planning/re-planning/researching new blogs+websites for business... I have come realize a few things.

I am junk-drawer kind of girl.

Some people can be the filing cabinet type. They can organize and separate home, work, friends... and file the different areas of life. 

I cannot. It's all mixed up together for me. I talk about work at home and home at work. I have friends who are clients and all my clients are friends. I bring my work to church and to family dinners. It's all in one big drawer of my life.

Maybe it's my personality or maybe it's that my "work" is so deeply personal. All I know is that it's all one in my head. Therefore to some extent it needs to me all one on the internet - at least for now.

I miss blogging - and I hate shopping for new websites/blogs. 

So I am back. *Hopefully* there will be ALOT of changes in look and organization of this blog. 

I considered even starting from scratch. But I like that it has evolved and like me has changed in content and usage. I am ok with it. So for now I will write and little by little change change change.

 

today is primary election day

decisions are made today that change courses

vote, be heard.

this is the day that "we the people"

choose our representatives.

don't wait until the runoffs.

vote today.

 

 

need links to candidate info, voting info, voting locations click here: stop drop & vote.

stop, drop & vote.

tomorrow is voting day. time to figure out who you want in the running for Texas Governor.

here are the three major candidates I am researching today:

Rick Perry

Debra Medina

Kay Bailey Hutchison

click on the candidates name to go directly to their campaign site and read up on their positions.

here is a link to a list of all the candidates running in this primary, including comptroller...attorney general ... and more.

http://www.uselections.com/tx/tx.htm

 

 

Now for the big question: Where do I vote?

http://www.votexas.org/

 

 

a call for prayer.

i do not do this often. ok, i never do this. so understand that this is important enough for me to share.

i have at times gone on and on about my favorite  photographer - more aptly one of the most inspiring photographers to me... Natalie Norton.

she has been kind enough to share her life and professional  life with us through her blog and even answered my tiny questions over email. at this moment the youngest of her four sons, who is about 8 weeks old, is struggling for his life.

you can read her posts on the situation here http://www.natalienortonphoto.com/

and follow her twitter updates here http://twitter.com/natalienorton

She has been so bold and humble to ask for prayer and i could not deny that request...right now my heart is breaking for her family and yet I am inspired and filled with hope by her passionate requests for prayer.

take a moment and allow her posts to move you. move you to speak to God. to be be open before Him with your fears and your hopes and your love for your family and hope for natalie's son.

photos of natalie and gavin.

maybe I am a tree...

follow up to this post : am I a tree, no.

 

thank you to all who weighed in on the previous post, I love hear what people are thinking. (most responses were post on Facebook if you are reading this from the blog you may not be able to see all the input.) generally everyone dislikes the the 'wet sloppy kiss' which thanks to David Crowder we can sing alternative lyrics, but many of you resonate with His love being described as a hurricane...representing strength, overwhelming love.

After the lyrics got under my skin they bothered me enough to

...but now I am the parent.

when i was in elementary school they installed televisions in the classroom and started piping in a TV program called Channel One.

I remember this not because of the amazement that the teacher was going to "make" us watch TV at school (which to a kids seems very strange) but because I my mom's reaction. She was not happy. Not happy at all.  In my child-like memories this kicked off a trend that lasted through my junior high year and let to me being home-schooled in my high-school years.  Granted had I been a little less deviant my mother would not have felt so overwhelmed with fighting the propaganda AND my sudden desire to get into as much trouble as possible.

There was the school TVs teaching morals, then science teacher telling me GOD didn't exist, then SEX ED classes that showed how to use a condom on a banana (i heard that from my friend Misty because mom opted me out and I spent health class in the library).Then there was the Clinton vs. Bush election where they had our school do a mock election. I remember being with a group of girls in Math class discussing who we would vote for. When asked, I said Bush and they just stared at me until one girl said "But he is so old and I don't think even plays an instrument." (Bush Sr.)

Obviously the MTV video of Clinton playing the saxophone we watched during out social studies did wonders for his approval rating because most of the 7th grade voted for Clinton.

I as a child I remember feeling a little left out when I didn't see what the class had even if I understood why my mom chose to opt out of subjects. I remember wondering why it mattered whether I saw things or heard things - mom and I could just talk later about it.... After all I already knew that the fact I believed in God made me different. I grew up and experienced amazing things and traveled and figured out that my mom made some pretty damn good decisions raising us. I even acknowledged that they were difficult decisions.

Today I feel the weight of just how hard those decision really were. Today I am the parent. This morning as I shop for Kate's school clothes I hear how our President Obama will be addressing students across America in their classroom. Pre-K to 6th grade student will be addressed in a speech that students will watch with their class. Not their parents, their teacher. I have no idea what will be said or how it will be presented. Granted the fact that I do not agree with 99.4% of President Obama's positions doe snot help but honestly I believe that same fear would have gripped my heart if Bush or McCain ( or any other so-called republican) had been the speaker. 

In my car I was transported back to the halls on my junior high-school, only I am not a junior high-schooler. I am a Mom whose child starts preschool next week. I breathed a huge sigh of relief that this doesn't immediately affect Kate but my resolve to speak out is not diminished.

Upon coming home I have jumped on the computer and looked at the worksheet of directions for teachers regarding the speech. It seems their hear is int he right place but where are the questions that question Obama? There is a general feeling of you should or have to agree with the message. As a parent I would want to know what you are going to say to my child. If it is make good grade and stay in school - hurray. But I want to see it first.

I encourage you - check out the link below to see the document given to teachers. Be prepared to discuss with your child. Ask if you can go to the school and view it as well, or how you can view the speech from work or home. Ask to opt out if you are not comfortable! Do not feel cornered by this, you are still the parent. You can choose how and where your child views this message. Express your thoughts about this to your principle. At least stop and think about this event and know what your feeling on this are. The worst thing to be is apathetic and later wish you had taken the time to make a decision - if you don't decided "yes, my child can see this at school" or "no, I do not want the politicians speaking to my child via school" - you are letting society make that decision for you.

Speech is scheduled for September 8th, 2009.

President Obama’s Address to Students Across America September 8, 2009 -

flag this.

this wednesday i recieved the following alert from the Heritage Foundation via Facebook. Click and and read it. Take the time to do so.

Morning Bell: The People Spreading 'Disinformation' About Obamacare -The Foundry

this was the first I heard of the request to flag the goverment of those who are spreading disinformation. i felt like i had stepped into some kind of movie. lately all of my first responses are: "seriously?"

but here is the video of Linda Douglass, the communications director for the White House’s Health Reform Office.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/

If you are opposed to the healthcare reform bill that is being discussed in Washington, know why you don't like it and be prepared to be called crazy and "disinformed". It's going to be more important than ever to know your facts and know your source of information.

Read the articles above and listen to the videos, listen for the inconsistancies. Then take a moment to Flag the Goverment of "Disinformation" on healthcare reform... starting with their own.

it's as simple as copy and pasting the links of video from the articles into an email and asking, "which one of these is truth and which on is 'disinformation'?"

Silent No More

For awhile now I have felt the urge to be more vocal. Not to shy away from thoughts that refer to my faith or comment about current events that may lead to political debate. I believe I often let the fear of offending readers censor my blog posts.

The need to be heard and not feel silenced is very essential part of me. My biggest pet peeve is feeling like I am ignored, that I had something to say and the listener had better things to do than hear me. That my verbal feeling and thoughts where not important enough to remember.

Stifling this blog leaves me feeling only half heard.

It is important to me that I walk away from a situation and know I had a say - to know I was apart of it and not just subjected to it the outcome. win, loose or draw. I need to know I did my part, that I was informed, represented, and heard.

Over the past few years, and especially in the recent months, I have woke up morning after morning to news that has baffled, outraged, and appalled me. I told my mom at one point, "How is this happening, Why are we sitting here talking about it? Why are we not on the front White House lawn yelling at the top of our lungs?!". That was in reference the my bewilderment of just hearing on the radio that Obama had bailed out GM and the CEO was asked to resign.

It took me about a week to grappled with my own lack of involvement and apathy to the world around me. I had to accept the fact that I took my safe surroundings for granted. That I was so interested in keeping terrorist out the country that I didn't see the terror on the horizon right here at home. I had allowed my world view to shrink when we moved out of state years ago to finish college. Between putting Brad through school, pregnancy and a new baby, then moving home again and starting our careers - creating our family life - I had no energy or thought beyond surviving. We were focused on doing the best we could. We paid off tuition and car payments, budgeted and save money. As I did all of this I was in a haze, no longer connected to the events occurring in my country and my government. I had to accept that I assumed that others were watching and 'taking care' of the country.

Now I realize that my days of apathy need to be over. I am waking up everyday to a country I don't recognize and government that wants to take rather than serve. In recent months I began to take what I refer to as Initiative. It's more than reading articles and listening to radio, though being informed and challenged is good, it's looking for ways to be active - to speak - to find the tools to be heard and sharing them!

You may see more posts under the category MY VOICE on this blog because My Voice is ready to be heard. I will not spend another day watching things happen and wondering if my representative really thinks they represent ME. I will not let opportunities to show my support or my disapproval go by.  I will not assume that someone out there is speaking  my perspective, fighting my fight.

I will be Silent No More.

Did you know?

July 23rd, 2009

Friends and Family,
I have been trying to formulate an email all day when the following email arrived my INBOX. This was originally written and sent to me via a good friend who has better spelling and writing skills than I, but her thoughts and information echo mine. I pass this along in the same spirit of urgency and desire to encourage you to be educated on the legislation taking place and take the initiative to make your voice known. 
 

"Friends:
 
I'm passing along some information regarding the massive government run health care bill being debated in Washington, DC right now.  I rarely send these types of emails, but after watching the health care reform debate for weeks, I am convinced this current reform effort will bankrupt our country, harm our health care options, and prevent growth and opportunity for generations to come.  Our health care system is not perfect or fair.  It needs to be reformed. However, the current health care reform bill is NOT the answer.  Bigger government is not better.
 
Did you know?
 
President Obama and Speaker Pelosi are pressuring Congress to vote on and approve a massive unfunded health care reform bill before the August Congressional recess.  The bill is over 1,000 pages and few Members of Congress have read it.
 
The Congressional Budget Office Director estimated the cost of the current bill over $1 trillion, and warned that the federal government did not have funds to cover the cost.
 
Most of the unfunded costs are being pushed down to the states, which means that our state taxes will go up and that our Governors will have to find money to pay for these benefits out of state budgets that are already bankrupt.  Say hello to increased property taxes, sales taxes, etc.  Federal health care will come at a cost to our schools and our local economies.
 
The federal government would amass greater power over the financing and delivery of medical services; it would also determine the benefits and medical procedures that Americans would get and the prices providers are paid for them.
 
Such government control would:
 
•Result in substantially lower payments to physicians and other health care providers compared to a multiple-payer system; •Reduce the quality of care by limiting the ability of physicians to invest in advanced medical equipment that takes advantage of new technology; •Limit access to care in the near term, as current physicians and other professionals retire earlier or otherwise leave the profession; •Limit access to care even more substantially in the long term, as the prospect of lower lifetime earnings reduces the incentive for talented people to choose careers in health care; and •Reduce the rate of medical progress, because fewer talented people receiving medical training decreases the supply of talented medical researchers.
 
 
We are so privileged to live in a democracy where our opinions and our voices count. Make sure your voice is heard!
 
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
 
1. Sign one of the many online petitions opposing government run health care and supporting patients' rights.  I've listed two groups below under resources.
 
2. Call your Members of Congress: Your Representative and your Senators.  Tell them you do NOT support the health care reform bills in Congress. President Obama is having a tough time keeping moderate Democrats on board with his outrageously expensive proposal -- the pressure is working.  Your calls will encourage your Members of Congress to keep fighting, especially when they are being pressured by the President himself.
 
3. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper.  Even if it does not get published, editors take note of the topics and the comments of their readers.
 
4. Email your friends. Call your parents.  Put a status on your Facebook page.  This is not time to sit on the sidelines.  If the current reform plan passes, it will have decades of negative impact on the health care system in America.
 
Resources for more information:
 
1. Patients United Now
http://patientsunitednow.com/
 
2. Conservatives for Patients' Rights
http://www.conservativesforpatientsrights.com/
 
3. Heritage Foundation
http://www.heritage.org/LeadershipForAmerica/health-care.cfm"