I knew there was a reason why I loved using Google:

Google tells votes to "stick it" to Proposition 8

The Proposition 8 that will remove the rights of some to marry those they love

Google, thy name is God.

~~Toni

One thing I like about living so far away from the city: We have land. And kick ass neighbors with ADD who like to build things. So he uses his own lawn mower and clears the empty lots behind us and builds his and my kids a baseball field. His, mine, and the Mad Dad all playing...

And the couch, it used to belong in our living room. We are such rednecks... hehehe.. it's now their backstop.

~~Andrea, email me or something and tell me how to delete multiple pictures off of this server. I can see where the photos section is, but instead of removing them one at a time?

~~Toni

He's almost 6 weeks old today. Here are pictures of his baptismal.

My youngest(in green and pig tails) and Gabezookey, during the Children's Church Time

Auntie Baloney with Baby Noah..

The Stone Family--My sister, her husbandCraig, Noah and Gabzookey

The Dude:

SQEEE!! New Baby...

I love them. I also love the look on Gabezookey's face.

And some of them are blue because my dumbass forgot to turn off the "indoor" feature and turn on the "outdoor" feature. hehehe..

~~Toni

Was actually a nice day too. No crazy homeschoolers, met some new people (yes, ME!), had a good time, ate lunch there (surprisingly good), even corrected the bad grammar on one sign and had the guy laughing at it ("Tattoes IS not working today"--that's what it said and how they spelled it). Got in free thanks to my membership to MOSI. Not something we'd do all the time like Busch Gardens, but it was a nice, fun, little break.

Off with the pictures!!

See my sleeve? Even my short ass, ON A FREAKING STEP STOOL, still could not reach the sharks (quit laughing Mother)!

This ray was HUGE. And I mean really flipping big!

U-G-L-Y...no make that F-U-G-L-Y!

You can't see me.... Peek a boo!! (look closely, there's a white Goby peeking his head out of the sand)

My Little Hermit Crabs:

Don't let this fool you: This turtle was really, really, huge.

We got to see some South African Penguins up close:

Sea Dragons:

This thing was a YELLOW Plecosamus. He was actually cool looking:

And if you are wondering why I have so few of the teenager, it's because I have to go all Ninja-Homeschooler with a Camera on her ass. She runs from me.

~~Toni

In Sarah Palin's Acceptance Speech last night. One only needs Google the facts to prove this. From Yahoo News and the Associated Press:

Some examples:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.

He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state — by population.

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.

EPIC FAIL... Major Epic Fail and Majorly BUSTED.

And just for fair comparison, here is the Fact Check on Obama's Speech

And if you can actually read, you will see that only one time did Obama not "hit the mark". The rest of the comments, made by people other than Obama,, just did not elaborate in the short time they had.

Sad, really, that this country is leaning towards voting for someone who, quite possibly, could die (he is the oldest person to ever get the nomination) while in office, leaving Palin as our President; versus someone who is young, ready, willing, and able to take the lead.

Scary times ahead folks. Very Scary.

~~Toni

I need to try much harder...

~~Toni

Sarah Palin: Dominionist Stalking Horse

I urge you to look beyond your ovaries and one track, one issue voting mind and see this election for what it is: big trouble. You do not have to like Obama, but you really cannot like McCain/Palin. You have no idea what voting for them will do to this country. You think we are bad off now?

She also is trying to get Creationism taught in the schools as actual science.  Does the phrase "Jesus Camp" hit anyone especially hard? Good, because that is exactly the type of church/belief Palin has and supports.

Caution, people, caution. Get out and vote this year, but do so based on facts not lies (like the whole Obama being muslim thing). Do so based on who can turn this country around, not who's the most pro-life/pro-family. There is more to this election, to any election, to being President, to anyone being President; than "pro-life" or "pro-family".

~~Toni

First, let's tackle the "is it really homeschooling?" issue. See, in his book, he states that his mother (an english teacher) got him up at 4 am to educate him prior to both of them  leaving the house for the day for school (her work, his learning).  Now, if we split some very fine hairs (which some at a certain message board seem to be doing), one could call this "after-schooling" or "pre-schooling". Either way, I'd say he got his primary education at home, which would make him a home-schooler.

That he went to a brick and mortar building after he was done at home, means nothing  simply because I can apply that (faulty) logic to those of you who after-school or even send your kids to school part time--you wouldn't be a homeschooler (according to this board's logic). That's not going to sit well with some of you, so why "name call" if you don't want to be called the same?

Obama, for all intent and purpose, was homeschooled during his formidable years--". . .His mother taught him history, math, reading and social studies, waking him at 4 each morning to give him special tutoring, pouring her knowledge into his agile brain. . . "
.

He's also stated that he never had any other intention other than to honor the choice of families, be it homeschooling or otherwise .

Yet some, are making the claim that since the NEA supports him, he can't possibly be in support of homeschooling. Now ignoring the obvious Straw Man here and ignoring the fact that McCain himself also stated he supports "school choice" (be it in the home, public or private), the fact that the NEA endorses Obama means nothing for Obama supporting homeschooling. He CAN do both and it looks like he will.

The proof:

Obama has expressed a clear, supportive, recent opinion about homeschooling. On p. 344 of his 2006 book Audacity of Hope:

" . . . Of course, none of these policies need discourage families from deciding to keep a parent at home, regardless of the financial sacrifices. For some families, that may mean doing without certain material comforts. For others, it may mean home schooling or a move to a community where the cost of living is lower. For some families, it may be the father who stays at home -- although for most families it will still be the mother who serves as the primary caregiver.

Whatever the case may be, such decisions should be honored. If there is one thing that social conservatives have been right about, it's that our modern culture sometimes fails to fully appreciate the extraordinary emotional and financial contributions -- the sacrafices and just plain hard work -- of the stay-at-home mom. . . . I want my daughters to have a choice as to what's best for them and their families. . ."

You must really be desperate if you believe that Obama is against homeschooling, is going to turn all 50 states into another California, and can't possibly be in support of both teachers (which we are) and homeschoolers (which we are). There is no "us or them" in this. And that's part of the problem--those of you who believe that it has to be an "us or them" situation. It does not. We are already divided with the rest of the country, why do we have to further divide amongst ourselves? Don't you realize that this only proves everyone else's point about us?

In reading the stupidity that is this board, I am seeing comments like:

Um, EVERY parent worth a child's hug teaches their child is some fashion, be in 4am or 4pm. I taught my children history, reading, literature, religion, gymnastics, etc BEFORE we ever homeschooled. Does that make me a candidate for sainthood. Not likely. It does make me a proactive parent.
Joe Blow across the street also educates her children before she sends them off to their respective schools. Sounds like Mr. Obama is placing Momma Obama on a pedestal instead of giving her a big thanks for helping him learn the basics.
Sorry, but I think he's full of hot air and hope he's simply a foot note in poli-sci textbooks next year.

AND:

He went to live with his grandparents when he was 10, so if they did homeschool, before school, it couldn't have been for very long.
A ten year old is in about 4th grade.

I'd like for you two morons to tell this to an after-schoolers face. Please. I'd like for you two to say this to someone who has their kids in public school, please. Natural Selection wouldn't work fast enough for me. I hope the after-schoolers of that board chime in on this thread and rip you two and the others, a new one. I hope they make you feel like the pathetic wastes of space that you are. How dare you say that that his schooling at home, no matter how little it was, is "hot air" and not worth anything.  And like someone said--"so if you only homeschool for 4 years, it doesn't count?"

Oh someone please hit up that board and go to the "Obama was Homeschooled" thread. I want to watch the shit hit the fan on these idiots. I want to watch SWB crawl into a corner, sucking her thumb, crying for her mommy, because she's the Queen Asshat who started this mess. And if you aren't a member of that board, become one, go to that thread and be sure to tell these "nice ladies" just what you think of their opinion on you not being a legit homeschoolers simply because of your chosen time of day to do it.

For me. Please.

I'll love you forever.

~~Toni

We've been hacked. Not sure how or why, but I've got a support ticket open right now. Do not log in, do nothing. Leave the board alone until I figure it out. Log OUT of your name.

toni

Obviously, as an atheist, I watched this with some trepidation, what with it being held in Saddleback Church, the home of Rick "Purpose Driven Life" Warren and his 20,000 some followers.

Click here for the CNN write up on it

I have to admit that this was handled in a most professional, and surprising way. He truly was unbiased with his questions and questioning, he did not play to either side, he did not favor either side, he truly remained unbiased. That's a big kudos in my book.

Let me start by saying that anyone who votes in this election based on only two things --pro-life and pro-homeschooling-- really needs to sit down and re-evaluate your life and what's actually important, not for you, but for the entire country. I love homeschooling as much as you, but it is not something I am wasting my vote over. I am unapologetically pro-CHOICE, but I also would not waste my vote on that.

No, people, we need to be voting in a President who's going to get us OUT of this war, get us out of this debt we have, and repair this country back to the standards of life we had before dumbass Bush took over. Sadly, even if Obama accomplishes all of this, someone will still blame all of our ills on him.

And as much as I respect those who are serving our country, as much as I love my grandfather, listening to McCain talk was like listening to my grandfather after I asked him "what's for dinner tonight" and getting no answer but how everything was the "japs" fault and all the hell he went through to put that food on my table.

Ok, I get that.

Everything Obama  said tonight took balls and it's about time, too. It's about time we had someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and isn't spending his time pandering and playing the masses like in-bred fools. I'd like to know how McCain's "I don't want to tax anyone but let's give everyone a $7,000 per child tax break" speech is actually going to work. Where the hell is he going to get this money to give us? And he's got a lot of nerve saying he doesn't want to "pigeon hole" what "rich" means when he comfortably owns 8 lavish homes, a private jet, and wears $500 shoes (public record people, google it).

And don't get started on the whole "But Obama wanted to legislate homeschooling" shit either. You know, I'm beginning to think we need some type of legislation--what with idiots actually believing their Creation "Science" and "Judeo-Christian" History lessons are real "learning" and that their kids are smarter for it.

On the whole, both Obama and McCain, surprisingly agreed on many factors. They just disagreed on the execution of those factors. Obama is unapologetically Pro-Choice (took balls to say that, sadly it might cost him votes because dumbass Christians actually use this as a basis for voting), believes in marriage as one to one BUT feels strongly for Civil Unions. Obama wants to end this war as humanly as possible. McCain wants to remove a woman's right to choose, wants marriage legislated(and he admittedly said "some rights given to some type of unions"), but he wants to put us in another 8 year long war.

Good luck with that one.

I think anyone who survived torture in a prison camp has the right to speak of it anyway they wish. Anytime they wish.

Spoken by a pCm (the one who likes to lie and backstab) on the WTM board when someone said that they felt McCain used the Christmas story to pander to the audience. Oh how I could not disagree more. I am sorry he was so badly tortured(along with others, including my own grandfather, thankyouverymuch). But using it as a means to pander to your constituency and win votes? No thank you.  I do not like nor do I appreciate him using my grandfather's and hundreds of others suffering and pain as a means to win an election.

Can't tell you who to vote for. But if you vote for McCain, I'm organizing a grass-roots campaign to run your asses out of this country.

It's about time someone stepped up and forced YOU to leave. I'm staying right the fuck here. Go form your own doomed island and have fun blowing yourselves up with scripture. I don't want it here.

~~Toni