FAMILY HOLIDAY FUN

Children actually LIKE to cook. They can make your cooking easier by acting as your prep chefs. In order to make the cooking more fun, I gave my children white cook's aprons and white chef's hats. Be sure to put their names on the hats and aprons. (Craft stores have pens that write in glitter clothing dye.) The children were only allowed to wear the aprons and hats while cooking. My kids were 8 and 5 when we started them as prep chefs.

Get some children's cook books and allow the kids to try something on their own.

Regarding knives... It is necessary to use a knife to cut vegetables. I started by giving a knife to the oldest, with strict instructions not to misuse the knife. Then, when the youngest begged to cut something, I let him use a knife only after he promised NOT to misuse the knife. NEVER leave the kitchen while the children are cutting things. Do NOT let the children use a grater without explaining how you can get cut when the carrot gets too small.

Remember that prep chefs also help with the clean up.

You will not BELIEVE how much fun you will all have.

WE HAVE SAVED THE RICH, NOW WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US?

The stock market is back, with the Dow Jones industrial average topping 10,000 earlier this month. Banks are making profits and paying back the US Government for their loans.

But the jobless rate is almost 10%. Which means that almost 1 out of 10 people who want to work can not find a job.

We are all mad about the deficit. We seem to be perfectly happy to fund a deficit in order to fight a war, or in order to save rich people from paying taxes. We do not seem to be able to agree to help the 1 out of 10 of our citizens who are without jobs.

We are forgetting what made this country great. We no longer see workers as people, but as "costs". Companies brag about saving costs as they fire large numbers of workers.

Henry Ford was criticized for paying his workers so much. He always replied that he wanted his workers to be able to afford to buy his cars.

5% of the people in the US control 95% of the wealth. If we made a law that you could not pay the boss more than 300,000 times what his lowest paid worker or subcontractor got paid, there would be a great outcry.

A business is a collective enterprise. Each worker contributes to the success of the enterprise. Right now a business can not even reward its workers with stock options, as the government made stock options for any but the top executives a thing of the past.

I guess we all dream that we will be the boss making a million times more than his workers. May I remind you that you can not pay rent with dreams.

VICTIMIZING THE VICTIM

I strongly believe that a girl should be safe from rape even if she is standing naked on a street corner.

However, when a victim asks that the charges be dropped, stating that continuing the prosecution is causing harm to her and her family, shouldn't we listen?

The current debate over Roman Polanski ignores the psychological abuse we are heaping on the victim, who has asked for it all to go away. Instead of listening to the victim's concerns, the court justified its continuing prosecution by unsealing the court transcripts so we could all read the salacious details.

It takes great courage for a young victim to testify in court. Sealing the transcripts allows the victim assurance that her testimony will not be available for all to read. Will other abused children refuse to testify for fear that the transcripts will be unsealed sometime in the future?

I have read part of the transcript on several websites. I am troubled that the transcripts posted are incomplete and do not contain the defense's cross examination of the victim.

Worse, we are all continuing to publicly discuss, in lurid detail, an event where the victim has asked again and again for the case to be dropped so she could have privacy.

I note that the psychological review found that Polanski should be granted probation. I also note that Polanski's wife was 8 1/2 months pregnant when she and four others were murdered by the Manson family.

The case is now complicated by a former prosecutor saying, and then taking back, that he and the judge had decided not to honor a plea bargain because Polanski went to Europe to finish a film and was photographed in the company of beautiful women.

I do not care that Polanski is a famous director. I do care that Polanski himself was the victim of a horrific crime which may have caused him to act in a abnormal manner.

But mostly I care that the victim wants this all to go away. But, instead, we continue to victimize the victim.

ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS

Arsenic is all natural. Foxglove is all natural. Mercury is all natural. Belladonna is all natural.

Just because something is NATURAL, does not mean that it is safe for human consumption.

Arsenic (a mineral) often causes death by mimicking stomach flu symptoms. It was once used to cure acne and syphilis. It was also used in women's make-up.

Foxglove (a flower) can cause heart attacks as it is a source of digitalis. Digitalis is a common heart medication.

Mercury (a mineral) was used by hat makers, which is why we use the term, "Mad as a Hatter." It causes brain damage. It is in all florescent light bulbs.

Belladonna (a flower) causes hallucinations and sometimes death. Women used to use it to make their eyes look larger and more attractive.

MORE HEALTH CARE HOMEWORK

A congressperson on HBO said that, in order to REALLY get the attention of congress, you need to write a formal business letter to your congressperson. He said congress is very formal and needs to be approached in a formal manner.

This probably means that they are heavily discounting your phone calls. (Assuming, of course, that you made phone calls.)

So write a formal letter. Left justify everything. Put your name and address first at the top, two 'enters', then the congressperson's name and address, two 'enters' then the date, and two 'enters. Start the letter, "Dear Honorable Senator/Representative, (chose the correct title) (then the person's last name):"do NOT forget the ":" , then two 'enters', then write that you want universal health care because...." After the because, write a personal story of how the health care system has failed someone you know. Put two 'enters' between each paragraph, and two 'enters' before "Sincerely," then four 'enters', then type your name. Sign the letter just above your name. Your word processing program should be able to do the envelope. Make CERTAIN there is a return address on your envelope that shows that you live and VOTE in the congressperson's district.

DO NOT USE A FORM LETTER.

I know, I know. Some of you will not use snail mail for any reason. Feel free to use email.

Do NOT put off mailing your letter. All congress' mail has to go through security checks which delay the mail. (If your return address is not on the envelope, it will not be delivered.)

THE PERSON'S LIFE YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN!

IS A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PERSON GOING TO BE GOOD AT POLITICS?

SOME of the skills necessary to run a successful business are also the skills that are necessary to successfully be a governor or a president.

However, presidents and governors in the US do NOT run a state or our country by ordering people around. There is very little of the "I am President, so you do what I say." Presidents and governors are not allowed to just fire people who do not do what they are told to do. Unless the person is a political appointee, serving at the will of the president or governor, the governmental employee cannot just be fired. Civil service rules have to be followed in order to fire a governmental employee.

More importantly, congress and state legislators do NOT FOLLOW ORDERS AT ALL. They are allowed to vote any way they believe they should vote. Governors and presidents can not do much of anything without approval of congress or the state legislature. This is especially true when the president or the governor wants to spend money.

The most important skills for a governor or a president is the ability to persuade people, to get people to agree that a particular thing needs to be done, and that money has to be spent in order to do it.

It is usually a bad idea to vote for people who are used to issuing orders.

I know, I know, sometimes it works. BUT, under stress, most people revert to the skills that they know best. Which is why the California Governor thought the, "Do what I want or I will not sign any bills," thing would actually work.

HEALTH CARE -- TIME TO AGAIN CALL YOUR CONGRESSPERSON

Our health care system does not work for many people. As a county, we spend 17.6% percent of our GNP on health care. DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE GETTING HEALTH CARE THAT IS WORTH 17.6% of the money all of us together earn?

Doctors, nurses, insurance companies, health care advocates and sick people have been telling us all for years that the system is broken and needs fixing.

None of us are going to get exactly our favorite health care plan. The nature of politics demands compromise.

Please call your congresspersons (we all have three, 2 senators and 1 representative) and tell them that you want them to do their best to fix health care. Tell them that you do not want them to oppose a plan just to make the President look bad.

Our nation's health should be above politics.

DRUG DEALER JOB PERKS

If you are a drug dealer you get GREAT job perks that almost make up for the fact that if you are caught, you face a long prison sentence.

THE PERKS

You pay NO sales tax because all of your transactions are in cash.

You pay NO income tax because all of your transactions are in cash.

You pay NO employee benefits as your employees are also paid in cash.

You can avoid CHILD SUPPORT because no one can prove you are making any money.

If you are selling an addictive drug, you charge as much as you can, especially since, if you kill the competition, you are unlikely to get caught.

You cannot get sued if the drug you sell contains poisons or pesticides. Since all of the transactions are in cash, it cannot be proven who is responsible for the poison or pesticide.

THE ABOVE TRUTHS ARE NOT MY FAULT. As my readers know, I think all drugs should be legalized. I believe that keeping the drugs illegal is fueling world wide violence, because selling illegal drugs is so profitable.