Which Is It?

I really wish the media would get together on this whole recession thing. One source says, we are coming out of the recession and another says, we are falling deeper in a recession. I tend to believe that we are falling deeper in a recession. According to the stock market, we are falling deeper in a recession and I tend to believe that more than we are not. One of the problems with these articles saying, we are coming out of the recession is they use the fact that unemployment is down. The big question is, why is unemployment down? Is it because people are actually back to work or does it have to do with more people are actually out of unemployment benefits and are still unemployed? Those people who are still unemployed and out of benefits are no longer counted as unemployed. Then you have to add in the factor, that some states shortened the length of time a person can collect unemployment. I truly believe that the majority of people on unemployment are collecting unemployment, because they truly can not find a job. Then there are the people out there who had jobs making $50,000 or more a year who are now doing minimum wage jobs or very low paying jobs. Those people are not included in the numbers either. Do you really think it's fair to say some one's economic situation improved if they went from $50,000 or more a year to a minimum wage job. That is worse than being on unemployment. You definitely can not support a family on a minimum wage job.

Not only are the adults affected by the recession, the children of the United States are affected by the recession. It's not about wearing expensive cloths or having material objects. It's about parents not being able to put food on the table for their children. Minimum wage jobs put people in the poverty level. Therefore, our recession hasn't improved. We have more people in the poverty level living in the United States.

The food banks are having a crisis. They don't have enough food to meet the demands, because there is a higher demand and less people to donate. Because, some of the people who used to donate are now standing in their lines getting food to feed their families with.

Schools are closing left and right in the Metro Detroit area. Why are the schools closing left and right in the Metro Detroit area? Because of the city officials stealing the money and more people losing their homes, which means less people to pay property taxes. If there are less people owning homes, then that means there are less money going to the schools, because a portion of your property taxes go to the schools in your district.

To me, the facts point to the recession has not made an improvement. We are forced to make changes in our homes and in society to live with the new way of life. Which is not for the better, but for the worse.

I think the government needs to spend less time trying to blow smoke up our ass and spend more time finding a solution to the problem. Low paying and minimum wage jobs are not putting Americans back to work. The only thing they are accomplishing with that is, starving America's children.

WOW Cable Is In The US

Well, I am always complaining about companies having their call centers overseas. Well, finally I can boast about a company that has the call center right here in the good old U.S.A., imagine that. I recently switched to WOW cable. I had to call today, because I think with all the wind and rain we were having trouble with our On Demand. What a nice surprise I had when I called, I got a a very pleasant customer service representative in Alabama. I could actually understand what she was saying and she could understand me. It makes me feel a little better about paying my cable bill know it's going to help pay the wages of Americans and not to build the economy in another country.

Overlooking companies moving their call centers and manufacturing plants overseas is what has played a huge role in our economy falling. You could probably walk through your house and have a very difficult time finding anything made in the United States. Take Levi's for example, there was no jean more American than a pair of Levi jeans. Well, not anymore. Almost all of our clothes, electronics, household items, and so on is made anywhere, but here. We shop and spend our money to pay people to work in another country. It is going to come to the point where there are very few jobs for Americans to work. Even some of our food comes from overseas. Maybe it's just me, but the quality of the clothes, household items and, etc. has seriously declined. Shoes wear out faster and clothing falls apart faster. They are even making them smaller. My 10 year old buys a small in her t-shirts out of the junior section. I have no idea how they expect that a junior small will even fit a teenager?

Even at the Smithsonian Museum, if you pick up a bust of President Lincoln or an American Flag, they are made in China. You go to gift shop in the Museum to get memento and they are made in China. How ridiculous is that?

The only way to fix this problem and bring jobs back to the United States is to charge the companies overseas a higher tax to ship the products back in the United States and only give tax breaks to the companies that solely operate in the United States. No more tax breaks for companies who send our jobs overseas. Make it more profitable for the companies to come back to the United States and more expensive for them to move their companies overseas and import their products back to the United States. You don't see people from other countries buying our products. So, why are we buying theirs? We are forced to, because our own government has allowed the companies to move overseas.

I did send emails out to the companies I did know had their call centers in overseas letting them know how displeased I was to know where my money was going and with my blog links to my posts on their companies. This time when IndyMac called, they called me from the United States because I told them I refuse to speak with someone overseas regarding an account my account in the United States. I don't trust their account security measures. If enough people took the time to send emails to the companies who have call centers overseas, then maybe it would make a difference. Without us spending our money supporting these companies they would go under. They are smart enough to know it. But, it will continue to go on unless someone stands up and tries to do something about it. I decided, I am tired of our call centers and jobs overseas. Every time I talk to a customer service representative I find out where they are located. If they are located overseas, I give them a hard time and refuse to talk to them. The conversations are recorded, it will eventually get back to the big decision makers of the companies. From working in a call center in the past, I know the banks and companies spot check the recorded conversations to see how the call center is functioning and handling their account. So, a big high five for WOW cable!

-Mama On A Mission

Sending Our Jobs Overseas

About a month ago, I did on post on our jobs being sent overseas. This is not my first post about companies sending our jobs overseas, nor will it be the last post about companies sending our jobs overseas. I will continue to discuss the issue as I find more companies who sent our jobs overseas.  Well, I have a new company to add to the list. Fifth Third Bank has their call center in the Philippines. Yes, my payment was late and they called to see if I would do a check by phone. Well automatically, I picked up on that I could barely understand a word she was saying. So, I asked "Where are you calling from?"  She proceeds to give me this bull shit line of where the head quarters is located. Well, if you knew me, you would know that isn't good enough for me and that is not the question I asked. I didn't ask where is the headquarters for Fifth Third Bank. I asked where was she. So, I asked her again. "Where are you physically sitting at right now?" She tells me the Philippines. She proceeds to verify my information. I told her "Have someone from Fifth Third Bank who is in the United States call me and verify my information if they need to." Then she still proceeds to try and get me to do a check by phone. Hell no, I will not give someone sitting in the Philippines my bank account information. So, I let her know that I will do the payment electronically and I refuse to do a payment over the phone with someone who is sitting in another country.

Then she proceeds to ask me "Why is the payment late?" Well, that is the last thing to ask me if your sitting in another country doing a job an American should be doing in the United States. I told her "If Fifth Third Bank and other banks didn't send our jobs overseas to other countries maybe they wouldn't have as many late payments, because more Americans would have jobs and could pay their bills on time." She thanked me for my time and asked me to call the 1-800 number after I made the payment. I asked her "Where does it go?" She said at our call center here. I laughed and said "I don't care if it is a 1-800 number, I refuse to call the Philippines about my account here in the United States. Not only that, she wanted me to call on Thursday and I kept telling her I'm doing the payment on Friday. I don't thing she understood what I was saying.

Well, they called me back on Friday night to ask about the payment. Another women proceeded to let me know the conversation is recorded, then asks me about the payment. So, I let her know I made the payment and how much. Then she tries to verify my information again. Of course, I didn't make it easy for her. So, I tell her tell someone from Fifth Third Bank in the United States to call me if they wish to verify my information, because I refuse to verify my personal information with someone sitting in the Philippines. I thanked her and then hung up on her.

All of this just really burns me up. What the hell kind of crappy wage are they paying them for it to be cheaper to lay off thousands of Americans and send their call centers overseas?  According to the Outsourcing Essentials, "For example, the average wage for telephone operators in the US is $12.57 per hour while their counterparts in India are paid less than a buck an hour. and Payroll clerks in the US are paid, on average, $15.17 per hour compared with between $1.50 and $2 per hour in India."


I am more than happy to hear the conversation is recorded and I really hope that these companies are listening to these recordings. So maybe they can hear about how unhappy we are they are using our money to fund overseas call centers. But, I am sure those unhappy customers recorded conversations never make it to Fifth Third employee decision makers. They are probably deleted.

In my previous post, Overseas Customer Service Centers, I started my list of companies who are sending their call centers overseas. I will continue to add to my list as I discover more companies who have laid off Americans and sent their call centers overseas. If you know of any companies, let me know so I can add them to the list. Ask them where they are physically located the next time you call or they call you. You will be surprised to know how many of these call centers are overseas. I find it difficult to believe this isn't upsetting and people aren't uncomfortable with giving someone overseas their personal information with identity theft and unemployment at an all time high.


 I wrote the White House a few months back about the recession and American companies sending our jobs overseas. Well, they have no response. Apparently, they don't have any answers. Nor do they care, nobody is doing anything to stop it or make it more difficult for them to send our jobs overseas. They are just giving them more tax breaks to send more jobs overseas. By now, we all know they are not using the money to create jobs. At least not in the United States.

I am a mama on a mission, blogging for change.


Direct TV- Your calling the PHILIPPINES when you call them! Ask & you will see.

IndyMac- They are calling you from INDIA!

Fifth Third Bank- When they call you, they are calling from the PHILIPPINES!

The Knock Out Game

Kids have really gone and lost their minds now. Teenagers come up with the stupidest things to do and it only gets worse as time goes on because, they run out of ideas. So they just come up with something more stupid to do. Teenagers are playing the Knock Out game. The game started a couple of years ago, but it is now picking up speed as more and more teenagers are posting videos of themselves playing the Knock Out Game on YouTube and their social networking sites. The goal is to hit someone hard enough to knock them out. They play it among themselves, but they are also playing it in the street against unsuspecting victims. One boy was attacked on the street by 5 teenage boys playing the game and ended up with severe bruising on his brain and the 5 teenage boys were charged.  It is insane what they are doing. Can you imagine one of your children being an unsuspecting victim of the Knock Out Game? I wouldn't care if they were teenagers, I would make sure they were prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Because, they are old enough to know better than to do something stupid like that and should put more energy into using their brains instead of focusing so much time trying to cool and act stupid. Innocent victims are the ones who have to pay the price for their stupidity. That boy could have died and they would all be sitting there looking at murder charges. Here is one example of the Knock Out game I found on YouTube.

Rihanna's S&M Video

Rihanna's S&M Video has been banned in 11 countries. Has she gone too far this time?

Fugitive Charged With Human Trafficking



Veniamin Gonikman, 55, a US citizen, was arrested in the Ukraine Wednesday and deported back the United States to be charged. Gonikman fled the country before he could be formally charged with 22-count indictment with trafficking in persons, forced labor, alien smuggling, money laundering, extortion collection and conspiracy, among other charges. He was on the top ten most wanted by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for smuggling women from Eastern Europe into the United States and forcing them to work in the strip clubs in Detroit. Gonikman came to the attention of federal agents in 2005, when his victims escaped and it was confirmed he was operating a company out of Detroit called Beauty, Inc. The indictment alleges that Gonikman and his associates developed Beauty, Inc. as a cover for human trafficking. They smuggled the women into the United States and forced the women to work long hours in the strip clubs. Gonikman and his associates, took all of the women's money and kept them under their control through through threats, coercion and isolation. Gonikman's associates, including his son Aleksandr Maksimenko, Duay Joseph Jado, Evgeniy Prokopenko, and Michail Aronovo, were previously convicted and sentenced on similar charges. They are currently serving prison sentences ranging from seven to 14 years.
Personally, I feel that serving seven to to fourteen years is not a long enough sentence. It's time for the American government to make an example of people like Gonikman and his associates. Let the Gonikmans of the world know the United States Government will not let you slide by with a slap on the wrist for human trafficking and enslavement, because if these men are capable of smuggling women into the country then what is stopping them from kidnapping our young girls and enslaving them in the human sex trade. We know it already happens.

Elton John's New Baby

By now, I am sure everyone has heard about Elton John adopting a baby. The baby was born on Christmas day by a surrogate mother. It's a beautiful little baby boy, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish. John and Furnish said, they do not know which one is the biological father, because they both contributed. I am not opposed to gay couples adopting. They should be able to adopt, because who is to say they can't provide them with a loving home and there is a lot of children out there who need homes. The couple tried adopting two Ukranian brothers who were in a foster home, one who was HIV postive, but were denied. I think it is terribe they were denid. Think about how they could of changed those little boys lives. They could have given them happy lives, full of opportunity. The thing I am opposed to is he put the baby in an apartment next to him with a nanny and increased his staff. What is the point of having a child if your going to pay someone else to raise the child. He wants a child, but he isn't willing to make any sacrifices to have a child. I am sure the couple will have lots of love to offer their child. I just think maybe they should consider moving the child into the same apartment as them.

In Response To A Second Chance For Convicted Felons

I have had a few responses in response to my blog posting “A Second Chance for Convicted Felons.  I don’t want anyone to think I don’t feel they don’t deserve a second chance. I feel they should have to work for it and go through the hiring process like everyone else.  Below is the response of few of my readers.  I thought it would be fair to post both sides of the fence on this topic.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  I just wanted to say, I do enjoy the comments and I am open to hearing the opinions others may have on a topic.

You are wrong. Everyone deserves a second chance at life. We can't give up on people who have made mistakes. Remember when we close the door on convicted felons,we only hurt ourselves. What you put out comes back. Let me explain further, when you close the door on convicted felons,and you will not hire them, you leave them with only one choice, and that is back to a life of crime. The crime they commit could actually come back to you or your family. On the reverse side, if you hire them, they can provide for their families, raise their children and teach them that crime is bad and maybe that same person can reach out to another convicted felon and guide them. These are the effects when help our brothers and sisters. Sincerely, Convicted Felon

By Anonymous on Second Chance For Convicted Felons? on 1/14/11

I am not saying they don't deserve a second chance. Just they should have to earn it like everyone else. It angers me when there is thousands of unemployed in Michigan alone and they hand a convicted felon a job just because he goes on the news and asks for a second chance. The job should have been posted for anyone who is interested in the position to apply. If he is serious about getting a second chance he wouldn't be sitting on the news whining about getting a second chance. He would be out there actively trying to find a job. The man in Michigan was only unemployed for a year. There are people out there unemployed longer than that looking for jobs. I have been unemployed for two years & I have multiple college degrees and I am having trouble finding employment. Believe me I am not being picky about what jobs I apply for. There are thousands of people in Michigan alone who are unemployed. Nobody is handing them jobs. If he is serious about his life back on track he will work on it. One thing I always teach my children is nothing will be handed to you on a silver platter, you have to go out and work for it. So, he needs to do the same as me and the rest of the unemployed, work for it. I'm sorry if your feel offended by the post. But, I think everyone should have to work for what they get.


By Mrs. E on Second Chance For Convicted Felons? on 1/14/11


I think your thinking is in the wrong place. I respect your thinking, but lets look at it another way. Your life and unemployment situation is nothing more than the reflection of your thinking. Don't look at the outer circumstances for rational of what's happening in your life. Look within. Your life is nothing but a product of your thinking. Why do you think Ted and Marlon were able to find employment. It's because when you change within or shift your consciousness, the laws of life move in to place to accommodate that level of consciousness. Change your thinking, change your life and situation. This is how life works. Its nothing against you. There is nothing unfair about life. We may sometimes perceive it that way. When we truly look at life from a different perspective, and realize that we are the cause of our circumstances and situations, then and only then can we change it. Be happy for those two that found employment. This will cause a shift in your thinking and open the flow and abundance of life to you and you will find employment. Do things in the same way, you get the same results. Change it, and you change your life. I believe in you and know that you can be happy for those two that found employment. Change your thinking, change your life.


By Anonymous on Second Chance For Convicted Felons? at 9:04 AM


Mrs E, I just read your profile and you have an interest to understand human behavior. I would really like to share some books with you if your open. I believe that I truly understand how life works. I use to think just like you and now things are working perfectly for me. I would like to share with you some of the things i learned and hopefully it can help you expand your thinking and open up the flow of abundance. Sincerely, David


By Anonymous on Second Chance For Convicted Felons? at 9:16 AM


Mrs. E's Response 01/16/2011:

My situation has nothing to do with my thinking. Looking for a job is a full time job. I spend hours a day looking for a job, sending out as many as twenty or more resumes a week. I don't sit around waiting for someone to hand me a job. As far as Michigan goes, there are employment programs they can sign up for once they get out of jail if they are serious about getting a job. Another 4,000 people were laid off in Michigan just between October and December. There are people who used to have good jobs, which are now living in tent cities or in their car because they were laid off and lost their jobs and are having difficulty finding work. The educated, seem to be the group of individuals who are having the hardest time finding a job. There is nothing wrong with the way I think. There is nothing wrong with thinking people should work for what they want. I don't feel that it is our responsibility to make sure convicted felons have jobs so they don't rob us or kill us. I never said they shouldn't be hired. But, they do need to learn to accept responsibility for their own behavior and actions. They need to learn to be a responsible person and stop using crime or their past as an excuse for their bad choices. Thank you for offering a list of books for me to read. But, I am educated. I have an Associate’s Degree in Human Services, a Bachelors Degree in Psychology & Family Life Education.


I believe a person should accept responsibility for their own actions and their own fate. Ted Williams had every opportunity to have a good life. He walked away from 9 children and a good job for drugs and alcohol. He had family who tried to help him every time he said he was going to stop taking drugs. He consistently let them down and chose a life on the street, taking drugs over his own children. If the man in Michigan was serious about looking for employment instead of handouts he would have signed up for the back to work program. Many felons in Michigan are back to work within 6 months when they sign up for the program. But, then again that was something he chose not to do. He heard about the Ted Williams story and then proceeded to call the news stations looking for someone to put him on the news. I have no sympathy for anyone who chooses not to actively try to change their own life. Not when there are thousands of Michigan families who have lost their homes and almost everything they own because of a lack of jobs in Michigan. I have sympathy for those who have worked all their life to achieve the American Dream and lost it, because of the economy. The economy in North Carolina is better than here in Michigan. Unless you are on top of the current economic situation in Michigan, that doesn't make you the right person to place judgment on Michigan’s unemployed or myself. By saying we are in control of the situation when we are not. I cannot make people hire me. I apply for a lot of different jobs, they tell me I am over qualified for the position. One thing I do not expect are handouts. I just feel everyone should have a fair chance at the job. If the news wants to cover human interest stories, do it on people who are more deserving. I have watched families in my neighborhood lose their homes because of a lack of employment. I have seen my children’s friends families sit in the dark and cold in the winter because of a lack of employment and money to pay their utility bill. One of my daughter’s friends stayed with us for almost two weeks because they had no heat or electricity in their home, just a month ago. There is a group of individuals who supposedly make too much money for help who are struggling. I was a single mother when I first started college. I worked and raised my daughter while going to school full time and pulled off honor roll. I am thousands of dollars in debt for my student loans that I am still paying for. Nobody has ever handed me anything. I have been divorced and a single mother of three children in the past and I made the right choices for myself and my family. I worked and supported my family. I didn't go out and rob a bank to get money or stole from others to get what we needed. The only way someone who has chose that lifestyle will change their life is to want to change and to actually do something about it. If you hand them the tools they need to change their life, it doesn't mean they will change it. They will appreciate it more if they have to work for it. Then and only then will they have something to be proud of. Yes, I came from a middle class family. But, I was taught when I was young; I have to work for what I want. I went to work when I was 15 to work for the extra things I wanted when I was growing up. When I decided to return to college, I worked 45 hours a week and raised three children while attending college and this last time I went to college, I went to two colleges to attain my degree faster to return to work. I have worked hard my entire life to get what I want. You don’t have to get a degree to make something of yourself. All you have to do is have some ambition and be willing to work hard for what you want. Further more, I feel for the family members of the person he killed sitting there watching the person who committed the murder get sympathy for being out of work and get handed a job. They are probably reliving their loss of their loved one.

Please leave comments, this is a very interesting topic.

Response to Anonymous Comment Below. (Sorry, my response wouldn't fit in the comment section).

01/17/2011
  I didn't say there were 0 jobs. The fact I am having trouble finding a job is not a figment of my imagination.The answer to your big question is my field is practically dead right now at least here in MI with very few openings. Nonprofit organizations are losing their funding left and right and being forced to run on fewer staff.The office jobs which I do have exp. in don’t want to hire me, because my education is in psychology. I used to make 50,000 a yr. & they feel I would'nt be happy & will leave when another opportunity comes up, regardless of what I tell them.I've been to interviews where 200 or more people were applying for the same job. Tell America’s unemployed it’s their fault they are unemployed and are having trouble finding jobs. I think even Obama would disagree with you on that one.
You're stuck on the fact you're a convicted felon and you don’t like it when someone says they should have to work for what they want, the same as everyone else. You are missing the point even though you claim you are thinking on a higher level. Try reading it again & ingesting what I said. I never said they don’t deserve a second chance. I said they should have to work for it like everyone else. I don’t call it creativity the way they found jobs.I call it laziness. They went on television looking for handouts. As far as the man in MI, he's just trying to jump on the Ted Williams band wagon & take advantage of anyone who is willing to hand him a little sympathy. I sympathize with the victims, because I have worked with the victims as an advocate. I have seen firsthand the destruction crime can have on the victim’s life. It stays with them the rest of their life. I have seen a 4 year old boy who has had his life destroyed by an adult. Now, he is a little boy who tries to kill other people, because his pain is unbearable in his head and he had to be removed from his home and put in a mental facility for children. The mother had to decide to get him help or risk losing both of her children. Before a man decided to walk into his life and destroy it, he was a normal little boy. I have heard the victims’ stories and I had to do everything possible not to burst into tears and had to take bathroom breaks just to compose myself before returning to the room. I used to sit there biting the inside of my mouth & focus on the pain to keep myself from crying in front of them. Until you have seen the pain on a victim's face and heard their stories, you have no right to down play what crime does to the people they hurt. NOBODY has the right to destroy another person’s life and then act like it is nothing and act like they should be forgiven just because a criminal says; he did his time and claims he is reformed. The criminal gets to walk away from the crime. The victim lives with it forever and so does their family. I feel bad for the family of the person he killed. I can imagine the pain they were feeling when they watched their family member'smurderer on television asking for a second chance. He didn’t give the person he killed a second chance. What makes him feel like he has the right to ask someone to give him a second chance and to help him? He's thinking of himself as a victim, because he says, it's my cross to bear. That doesn't sound reformed to me. It is also the family of the victim who also has to bear the cross of what he did. He has to earn his second chance. He has to prove to society he is no longer capable of murder.
There is not just one side of this coin, there are two sides. The victim and the person who committed the crime against the victim, I choose the side of the victim. You're keeping yourself from looking at the big picture. That is one of the problems with criminals, they only see their side. They don’t see the affects their crime has on the victim. You claim you are thinking on a higher level when your only thinking on one level, the level of a convicted felon. You are sympathizing with them, because you were one. However, you are totally ignoring the victim. I heard their stories and watched them cry. I can’t forget the victim. Their stories and faces will live with me the rest of my life. If you're trying to get me to have sympathy for a convicted felon, it will NEVER happen.
I know I will find a job eventually; it is just a matter of time. I know the economy is better in NC than it is in MI. I was considering moving to North Carolina. I looked into the unemployment rate and compared the two states. I have family there and my sister is a police officer there and said there are jobs there.
I am done discussing this topic with you; it is like beating a dead horse. I am not trying to change anyone else’s opinion I am only trying to express my opinion. I have allowed you to express your opinion and took that into consideration. But,considering my history of working with the victims of crime, my opinion cannot be changed. I was a child and family advocate in the past and I always will be a child and family advocate in my heart. Working with victims of crime is my passion. You cannot advocate for a victim and have sympathy for the criminal. It simply doesn’t work.

Preschool Or No Preschool

A few months ago, I ran into a Mom who thought she was doing a wonderful thing by being a stay at home mom. She says to me, my husband and I thought it would be best for our children if I stayed home with them and besides I don't know how people drop their children off in day cares and leave them there all day. I didn't really appreciate that comment, all of my children were in learning centers and they turned out very well. Being a stay at home mom can be a wonderful thing. But, it is not always best for your child if your not taking the opportunity to educate your child while your staying at home with your little ones. I try not to judge others. In this case, it may have been better for her to put her children in a daycare or learning center as young children. They may have gotten some very valuable skills from a daycare that they didn't get at home. I will put it this way, I don't allow my child to play with this boy anymore. He runs around harassing other children and doing inappropriate things that a boy his age should not be doing, i.e looking for pornography online at the age of 11. Hmmm.... where did he get that from?

Children are a "tabula rosa" (a blank slate). Their minds are like little sponges, absorbing everything in their surroundings. They watch everything we do and they learn from us. Children learn through association. They are not capable of knowing what words and objects represent until we teach them what they represent. I don't really believe in bad children, I believe in bad parenting skills. We can either help them fill up their chalk board with positive learning experiences that will help them grow and be happy children or we can leave their chalk board blank and just allow them absorb their surroundings taking from it what they can.

I have never fully understood why so many parents are against putting their children in a daycares or learning centers. I personally prefer learning centers. I enrolled all my children in learning centers and they are all intelligent children. My two youngest were enrolled in all day kindergarten at the age of four. I don't regret giving them the opportunity to get a head start in school. They both excel in school and are honor roll students.

I was a preschool teacher in the past. I taught a classroom of three year old children. We were required to write lesson plans and teach the children. Children will amaze you. If given the opportunity they can learn amazing things at the age of three. If you are taking the time to teach your children at home, that can also be a wonderful thing. Just make sure you understand your child's full learning potential.

Obviously, not everyone feels daycare or learning centers are best for their children. I just think it is an option that should not be ruled out. Even if you don't want to enroll your children in for a full day, look into part time. See what is the best time of the day to bring your child. Children can learn valuable socialization skills and reach their full learning potential in learning centers. Let's not forget, it's fun to play with other children. If you do decide to educate your little one at home, you can find preschool lesson plans on line to help you educate your child and help make learning fun.

Childhood Sexual Abuse

From time to time when I can't find anything to watch on television, I will turn to the Talk Shows. Well, yesterday was one of those days. I was flipping through the channels and came across the Steve Wilkos show. Every time I watch these shows, the people who appear on these shows amaze me. I give Steve Wilkos a little more credit than the others because he does try and do some good.
Yesterday, the show was about a 13 year old girl who was accusing her step father of attempting to sexually molest her. Her mother didn't believe her. This is something so common among women. They take their boyfriend's side or their new husband's side over their own child. Some women just refuse to believe the truth. Her husband had not only tried to sexually abuse her, he physically abused the girl and the mother knew about the physical abuse, but she kept making excuses for the abuse. He beat her with a belt (really beat her excessively), smacked her across the face hard and on one occasion held her down on the bed with his body and had his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming. Now, this was the occasion in question. He told his wife he was holding her down and covering her mouth to keep her from screaming when she walked in the room. She didn't ask "Why are trying to keep her from screaming?" That would be my question. The girl claims, he was trying to keep her from screaming because he was trying to unbutton her pants. The lie detector test came back that he was lying and the daughter was telling the truth. The girls real father tries going after him immediately and when he was stopped, he drops to his knees sobbing. The funny thing about it the mother didn't even cry at first. Not until after Steve talks to her.
In the summer of 2009, I completed my internship working as a Child and Family Advocate and I wrote my Thesis on advocating for children and families where there are allegations of abuse. I worked with the families during and after the interviews of children where there were allegations of sexually abuse. I would have to say, that a good 50% of cases that came through there were cases where the mother doesn't believe the child and cases where the man has had previous cases of child sexual abuse allegations against him. The crazy thing is, the mother makes light of the situation and says the child is exaggerating for one reason or another. I have heard stories of child sexual abuse that would give the average person nightmares. Stories of where I had to sit there and fight back the tears and then run into the bathroom and cry. It just really angers me when I see mothers who refuse to believe their own child. If their child was raped by a complete stranger, would they brush it off as the child was exaggerating? Probably not. So, why is it so difficult to believe when their own child is saying it is their boyfriend or their new husband?

Reality TV

What's up with reality tv? It is taking over television. There is a reality t.v. show for everything. Has the tv producers and writers run out of ideas? There is a reality tv show for everything and everyone is looking for their five minutes of fame. It just gets a little boring when you can't find anything to watch other than reruns, reality tv shows or talk shows to watch on tv. These girls get on these reality tv shows and their heads swell and they think they are stars.  Take Snooki from Jersey Shores for instance, in the real world, what would that girl do? She is trying to make money off of being superficial and ditsy.
These mothers on Teen Mom need to spend more time focusing on getting an education and trying to raise their children instead of trying to make a tv show out of their lives. The show focuses more on their relationships, instead of raising their children. There is only one girl who actually shows the difficulties of being a teen mom. Once she finds a boyfriend that will be all over. The show does show some of the difficulties of being a teen mom, but it also glamorizes being a teen mom. After all, these girls are on tv now. I think glamorizing being a teen mom is the wrong direction to go. The reality tv shows teens as being reckless and making poor decisions. As if it's cool to be wild and out of control. Teens are messed up enough and don't seem to understand what it is like to live in the real world. The last thing they need is reality tv shows glamorizing reckless behaviour.

Lifetime New Movie Monday- The CraigsList Killer

Tonight I watched The CraigsList Killer on Lifetime. The movie was pretty interesting. It's a true story about the CraigsList Killer in Boston. I am always interested in watching movies that are based on true stories. Having studied psychology in college, I love getting insight on what makes people do the things they do. In the movie and real life, Philip Markoff is a straight A Med student engaged to get married. He was the kind of person that people looked up and would never suspect he was capable of being a killer or would be living a secret life. It makes you wonder, how could his fiance' not see anything strange going on? But then again, the people closest to them are the ones who least suspect them. Woman are criticized for not knowing and they are criticized if they suspect something and try and find out what is going on. A man is currently being charged with a federal crime for getting into his wife's email account and discovered she was cheating on him with someone he considered to be a threat to her and his child. Now, if it turned out that she committed a crime, people would ask him "How could you not know? or "If you were suspicious, why didn't you look into anything or ask questions?"
The CraigsList Killer killed one woman and robbed and tied up fifteen other woman that they knew of. He found the woman who posted CraigsList ads and met them in hotel rooms. Some of the ads were for massages and some were from the erotic ads.  It's a scary thought when you think about. How much of our personal information do we put out there on the Internet? Making ourselves vulnerable to just about anyone. It's a digital world and all of our information is out there for anyone to see. Too many people have become trusting of people they meet on the Internet. People use the Internet for making friends, socializing and dating. Putting too much trust in the hands of strangers.
That is one of the reasons I put so much emphasis and watching what children are doing on the Internet. Almost all the websites designed for children have live chat. You think your children are safe because they are on neopets or barbie.com, but when your not in the room they could be going into chat rooms chatting with what they think is anther child and they could actually turn out to be an adult. All they need to do is ask them simple questions, like "where do you live?" and the child thinks it is completely innocent.
I worked with someone who's son was abducted by someone they had met on the internet. Her son was kind of a loner. He started chatting with someone he thought was a teenage boy, actually turned out to be a man. The man had invited him to hang out. Her son went because he thought he was meeting another teenage boy. The man abducted him and tried taking him to the bus station to take him out of the state. Thank God, they caught him before he could actually leave the state with him and do something terrible to him.
So, the movie just goes to show you can't trust everyone you meet online.  Somebody who looks completely normal could actually turn out to be a rapist or killer. You never know who the other person is sitting on the other end of the computer. Look at the CraigsList Killer, he was someone no one suspected of being a killer. He was described as looking like a prep school boy. Last year a man was robbed by meeting a woman online. He set up a date with her and she met him at his home. While she was waiting she asked to use the bathroom and opened the bathroom window for her friends to get in and rob the man. Then let her friends know when they were leaving and he was robbed while he was out on what he thought was a date. Serial killers and rapists have turned to the internet for their victims. It is easier to lure them in and get them in secluded places, making them easy victims.

Minimum Wage Earners Will See An Increase..... LOL

In the year 2011, seven states will see an increase in minimum wage of 9-12 cents an hour. Wow, can they afford it? They act like raising minimum wage by 9-12 cents an hour is a big deal to make up for the cost of living increase. It's not even all 50 states, just seven states. I'm sorry but there is a lot people out there who used to make a whole lot more are now out there working minimum wage jobs because their unemployment has run out and they have no other option because jobs are slim pickings. You would think with the millions of Americans out of work and out of unemployment benefits, they would give all 50 states a significant increase. A minimum wage job isn't even enough money to pay rent, utilities and buy food. But, yet it is just enough to keep you from getting any welfare benefits. Think about all the crappy work people have to do for minimum wage jobs. It's ridiculous that they are even paying people minimum wage to get treated like a work horse doing shit jobs!!!! It's damn near slavery. It's just not people out there who didn't have the opportunity to go to college or teenagers working minimum wage jobs anymore. It's people with bachelors and masters degrees also, because they have no other choice if they want to put a roof over their families heads. Even if it was like it was five or six years ago where there were more jobs for people, it's no excuse for paying people lousy wages. Teenagers used to work minimum wage jobs, now it's adults trying to survive until the economy turns around. Do you really think by the time they take taxes out of their paychecks they even see that money? Think about it, if get in increase of say 10 cents an hour that is only 70 cents a day by the time they take out breaks, not even $5 a week. How is that going to help anyone in times like this? It's a joke if you ask me. You can only get about a gallon of gas after they take the taxes out and a gallon of gas isn't even enough to get most people to work. It's just enough to keep the people poor without any light at the end of the tunnel. This is what they call the "American Dream?" It's what I call a "bleepen" joke!

Direct TV's Call Center Is In The Philippines

This is exactly what I am talking about when I say all of our jobs are being sent overseas.  We have called Direct TV three times to change the address on our account. We cancelled our Direct TV and because someone doesn't seem to speak English enough to actually change the address. Direct TV charged our bank account $132.50 for an equipment charge because they didn't get the boxes back.  Well, they didn't get the boxes back because their employees at the their call center which is located in the PHILIPPINES didn't change the address when we called. I called again today because we haven't received the money back in our bank account or the boxes to send the equipment back. Why did we not received the boxes yet? Because they still didn't change the address to the correct address. She proceeds to read back our correct address with an apartment number. WE DON'T LIVE IN A APARTMENT. So, of course we still haven't received the boxes to ship back the equipment to Direct TV. The frustrating thing about this whole thing is they are blaming us for not calling them and making sure they had the correct address for the boxes to be shipped to. Well, dammit, we did! But, maybe they would know that if they could actually understand us when we are speaking to them!!! Try it sometime, when you get a customer service representative who has an accent, ask them "Where is your call center located?" and see what they tell you. This is frustrating as hell and it seems that there is nothing we can do about. But, you know what? It makes me think twice about returning back to Direct TV when our financial situation changes.

More Jobs Sent Overseas

Unemployment in the United States are edging up near 9.8% regardless of the top 500 companies showing the highest increase in sales since 2008. Where are the jobs going? The companies are hiring overseas. The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, says "American companies have created 1.4 million jobs overseas this year, compared with less than 1 million in the U.S. The additional 1.4 million jobs would have lowered the U.S. unemployment rate to 8.9 percent, says Robert Scott, the institute's senior international economist." China has become the world's second largest economy, thanks to the American companies. Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria worries that the trend could be dangerous. In an article in the November issue of the Harvard Business Review, he says that if U.S. businesses keep prospering while Americans are struggling, business leaders will lose legitimacy in society. He exhorted business leaders to find a way to link growth with job creation at home. Other economists, like Columbia University's Sachs, say multinational corporations have no choice, especially now that the quality of the global work force has improved. Sachs points out that the U.S. is falling in most global rankings for higher education while others are rising. Our jobs are being ripped from right under our feet and the products from overseas are being shoved down our throats.  Many 3rd world countries have set out to set to achieve the "American Dream". Now, the "American Dream" is no longer attainable by our own Americans. Countries like China and India are prospering while America is quickly spiraling downwards. The quality of life has been changed for many Americans and the future is looking dangerously scary.

Older Men Dating Young Girls

I'm watching the Dr. Phil show and it's about a 41 year old man dating a 19 year old girl. I don't know about anyone else but, that just creeps me out.  If a older man is dating a young girl, it is borderline child molestation. Dating a 18 or 19 year old girl is safe legally. But, by being with someone young fills their thrill of having sex with a teenage girl. They are still a teenager, but legal. I wonder if the thought of what these men are going to look like in 10 years crosses their mind? They are still going to be young and pretty and their husband or boyfriend is going to be wrinkled and maybe in poor health. What about when they are in their 20's and they want to start going out with their friends and enjoying life? Most likely they won't be able to because their boyfriend or their husband will not want them going out to the bars and dance clubs because they are afraid they are going to find someone younger and more attractive. These young girls have a long road ahead of them if they don't open their eyes and see what a catastrophe these kind of unhealthy relationships can bring in their life.

The "N" Word

Why do so many young people drop the "N" word every time your turn around like it's nothing? I hate that word, it drives me absolutely insane. Why did that word have to become such a popular word any how? Want to be white people use that word more than black people. Everyone is a "N" according to them.  Black or white, no matter what you may be, I think that word should be left alone. Its "N" this and "N" that. I just want to tell them to shut the hell up and go back to school and learn proper English. I am no angel, but that is a word I just don't get. Why would you want to call someone a derogatory name and think it's cool? What about black people calling each other that word? What are they thinking? Thank God my husband doesn't use that word, because I probably wouldn't have given him the chance to get to know him well enough to fall in love with him. That word was used during slavery and segregation.  African Americans fought for their freedom and to be treated fairly. So, why would they call each other that name? STOP USING THAT WORD! (Yes, I'm Shouting)

Human Trafficking- The Sex Slave Trade Industry

Human Trafficking has become a billion dollar business. Ad posting pages like CraigsList has aided in the industry growing in the United States. The same place where you look for furniture or cars also has young girls and children for sale. The adult services on CraigsList make it easier for them to move the girls and children selling them to the highest bidder as a sex slave. Men prey upon young girls in foreign countries who wish to come to the United States in pursuit of the American dream, young runaways and young girls traveling alone. The traffickers fly the young women to the United States promising to help them find a place to live and a job so they can send money to their families.  Once they get the women or young girls here, they put them up in an apartment, get them jobs at local strip clubs or put them in pornography or on the streets to prostitute for them. Some of the young girls are brought here and forced to work in sweat shops or braiding hair for long hours. They tell the women they have to work off what it cost to bring them here and if they don't their families will be hurt or killed. Many of these young women are forced to work long hours and are raped. Right here in Metro Detroit a strip club on 8 Mile, Cheetahs On The Strip have been guilty of working young girls who have been victims of the sex trade.  The club works the girls from 2:00 pm until 2:00 am six days a week. Then the girls are forced to turn over every dollar they make to their captors. The number of girls and young children sold into the sex slave trade is higher than you think.

100,000 American children or more are victims of child prostitution and trafficking each year said Ernie Allen, CEO for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in testimony before Congress in July.

12-14 is the average age range in which girls become prostitutes.

11-13 is the average age range in which boys become prostitutes.

1,100 children or more have rescued from June 2003 to  September 2010, through an FBI effort know as Project Innocence Lost.

600 offenders have been convicted through Project Innocence Lost.

388 arrests and 148 Indictments

165 human trafficking convictions were obtained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2009

Domestic Violence

Christina Aguilera - I'm OK

The "purple drank"

Kids found a dangerous concoction to get high, referred to as the "purple drank or city syrup."  Kids are mixing cough syrup with codeine, with sprite, rum or vodka. The drink was popularized in Houston and by the rap scene, where the drink got it's name "city syrup." The purple-ish hue of Purple Drank comes from dyes in the cough syrup. Recently, the term has expanded to cover mixtures including over-the-counter cough syrup. Other terms for Purple Drank include Purple Oil, Sizzurp, Drank, Purple Tonic, Serbian Intestinal Scum Drizzank, Southern Lean, Texas Tea, Memphis Mud, Mrs. Dranklesworth, Derek’s Dookie Sauce, Tsikuni, Lean, Syrup, P-Flav, Slip, Purple Sprite, Surp, Bazzigazzulp (a portmanteau of Big Gulp and hip-hop slang), PG Tips, and Purp or sprite with syrup and a jolly rancher.