An open letter to Governor Brownback and the Kansas State Legislature

I had abandoned this blog as having my children had rendered my heart considerably lightened. But as I lay awake wondering what the future holds for my family, I can't help but think these guys are real dillholes.

Dear Governor Brownback and the Kansas State Legislature:

My family's story begins at Pittsburg State University where my husband and I met and fell in love. After graduation, we moved to Olathe to start our big awesome careers and big awesome lives but it was 2008 and well, the economy was in the crapper. My husband, being a smart man, went on to achieve an advanced degree in hopes it would improve our chances. We bought a modest home in a smallish suburb, we married and grew our family by two more, Charlie and our darling Scarlet. With my husband and I and my daughter Taylor, we make five. We attend church. Our cars are almost 9 years old and we don't have cable. We recycle and we eat most of our family meals at home, around our table. I'm telling you all of this because I thinks it's important to know what kind of people we are. We are average Americans and Kansans and we are on the verge of financial ruin. Our very own fiscal cliff, if you will.

You see, almost three months ago now, our sweet Scarlet was born. We knew from prenatal tests that she would be born with Down Syndrome and another condition needing immediate surgery. She came almost five weeks early and was immediately transported to Children's Mercy. Scarlet had surgery the next day and spent the next seven weeks in the Intensive Care Nursery. Luckily, I had insurance through my job. Unluckily, it was a high deductible plan because some right-winged radio show host convinced my employer that if he didn't shop for cheaper insurance now, the rates would be astronomical down the road. Worse yet, Scarlet also has a heart defect that will require surgery. This defect makes her more vulnerable than most babies. An illness would almost surely mean another hospitalization. So I made the difficult decision to leave my job. I couldn't have afforded the child care anyway. The only problem is we can't afford COBRA and my husband had only recently started his new job. After five months of unemployment, he got a job. My husband has a MBA and he installs television and internet service, but that is a whole other tragic story. We aren't eligible for benefits through his new employer until February. So all five of us are now part of the 48 million Americans without healthcare coverage. 48 million and five. 

I applied for coverage through the State of Kansas and was denied. I applied for supplemental coverage before, when I was pregnant and my husband was unemployed and we first knew all of this was coming, and was denied. We applied for mortgage modification and were denied. We applied for WIC and were denied. When the hospital social worker first spoke with us about applying for disability for Scarlet, who medically qualifies, I took one look at the financial qualifications and said "Why bother? We'll only be denied." In some cases, we miss the financial qualifications by $20 a month. So here we stand, on the edge of our fiscal cliff, below us is the safety net of public assistance, and in order to save ourselves, we must now swan dive into it. But what if our cliff was at the edge of a canyon and all we really needed was a bridge to get to the other side? A finite amount of help for a finite period of time. And what if you could build that bridge for us and the Federal government was going to give you money to build it, effectively making our swan dive totally unnecessary all while not costing you a penny? Well, we don't really have to ask "What if?" We already know the answer. You'd say "No." You already did. Under the Affordable Healthcare Act, Kansas would have received money to expand Medicaid coverage in order to cover the working poor and you said "No thanks."

Did I mention that I am a Republican? I voted for Obama this last time though. I don't ordinarily come right out with that but I think it's important that you know. I voted for AHA, I wanted AHA and we needed AHA. I know it probably isn't the perfect solution to this country's health care crisis but there are families, Kansas families, who cannot afford to wait until it is.

Sincerely

Kirstin Johnson

I am what the political world calls a RINO, Republican  in Name Only. I've been a registered Republican since 1998 and voted with my party in every election since then...except the last one. So disappointed was I in my party, that I voted the other way in nearly every single race.

What would it take for me to start voting Republican again?

1. Why is conservatism reserved for Christians? Isn't it plausible that Muslims, atheists, and Buddhists can all believe in strong families, fiscal prudence and small government/state's rights? Our country was founded on religious freedoms, shouldn't our party be?

2. Speaking of families, stop trying to so narrowly define what is and isn't a family. Blended families, families of mixed ethnic origin, grandparents raising grandchildren, same-sex parents, adoption, surrogacy and single parent homes all exist in today's world. Shouldn't we celebrate the fact that our unique culture allows these families to not only exist but to thrive? Isn't it our diversity that makes us great? If we don't all look the same, why should our families all be the same?

3. Roe v. Wade, let it go. It's been upheld for more than 30 years. Please stop wasting resources on trying to overturn it or passing legislation to circumvent it. Instead how about putting those same resources into helping women avoid having to make that kind of decision in the first place. Start by making sure that women have access to affordable contraception, including the Plan B pill. Allowing women and families to determine the timing and number of children is to empower women economically. No politician, doctor or pharmacist should be able to impose their religious beliefs on patients. Additionally, we need to work to ensure that women and young girls know their worth and have the confidence to take control of their sexual health. Rape victims should be protected while offenders need to be prosecuted swiftly and to the fullest extent of our laws. Sex education needs to be part of the curriculum in health education, not because it encourages sexual activity (which it doesn't) but because it's useful and important information for people to have. Just as a final note: not voting to pass an inclusive version of VAWA and saying incredibly insensitive and inaccurate things about rape, do nothing to dispel the War on Women accusations. Rapes do result in unintended pregnancies, they do occur on college campuses and they are not blessings form God.

4. Speaking of the War on Women, Pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the ERA. How can the U.S. reach it's full economic potential if over half of the population has one hand tied behind their backs?

5. Climate change is real and it's a problem, admit it. As much as we all hate to say it, Al Gore was right. I have no idea who said it first but "The great thing about science is, you don't have to believe in it for it to be real." Believing in science and religious faith are not mutually exclusive of one another. Lots of people have figured out how to rationalize the two within their own minds. I invite you to try and do the same.

6. Stop legislating for Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Oil, the NRA, ad nauseam. Seriously, the gig is up. We know about lobbyist and how that works and we have a vague understanding of how campaign finance works. We also know there are politicians on both sides of the isle taking fat campaign checks to get elected and then returning the favor at the expense of the American people, the environment and sometimes the world at large. Citizens United is a horrifyingly bad piece of legislation. It undermines the very notion of the people's representation in government and democracy.  At some point, someone is going to figure out how to win and election rather than buying it and then where will you be?

Lethal Weapon

Living in in the suburbs of Kansas City has taught me a few things about the rules of the road. Foremost, that here there really are very few rules that are actually observed. People ignore posted speed limits both for the maximum and minimum speeds. Turn signals and lanes of traffic; Who needs 'em? Signs cautioning drivers are disregarded like yesterdays bologna sandwich. How can anyone be expected to pay attention to all those signs and flashing lights when we are so busy talking, texting, typing addresses into our GPS', downloading apps to our iPhones, trying to find an HD station, putting in a DVD for the kiddos and eating a Big Mac? I've even seen people reading books and one guy practicing his trumpet. Suits driving Land Rovers, Lexus', Infinitis or some other luxury car brand, who assume that whatever it is they're doing is far more important than whatever everyone else is doing so therefore traffic should part before them like the Red Sea? Then, there's the Mom in the SUV who blows through a construction zone 15 mph over the posted speed limit while on her phone. I'm sure her kids are safer because they are strapped in the huge gas-sucking beast but how much therapy do you think the kids will need if they witness Mom mow down a construction worker?
We are driving what is potentialy a 2,000+ lb lethal weapon. Would we weild a gun around with such carelessness? No of course not because someone could get killed. So why the hell are we driving around like we haven't got the sense God gave us?

Parenting: The Old Fashion Way?

So, this was a post from a local news station's Facebook page:

Pledge of Allegiance dispute results in Md. teacher having to apologize - washingtonpost.com

and this was a comment from another fan:

"If only every school would enforce the "Pledge of Allegiance".... I remember having to say it every morning in the gym and if you were behaving badly you would get OSS. Kids now just have no respect....and it is our societys fault... Kids today are being treated as little adults.. rights and all. So different from when I was a kid. I was to be seen and not heard and that is the way I am raising my children."

What?! Really?! Has this person ever heard the phrase "You know better, you do better"? We didn't use to require child safety seats either. And how on Earth is a child going to learn what it really means to be an American and what the Bill of Rights IS if they are being "seen and not heard"? Lady, you want something cute to look at? Buy one of those kitten calendars or something. DO NOT run out and procreate because quite frankly, there are plenty of little robots running around. And what do you mean "...rights and all?" Children aren't people? Citizens? Worthy of civil liberties? So by that logic is would be perfectly acceptable to call a child a racial slur, as long as you didn't call the child's parent the same thing. Seriously! And how does promoting activism equal permissive parenting? I suppose Civil Rights activists and Women's Lib activists were just disrespectful brats as well. They didn't appreciate the soldiers that fought and died to protect their rights either? Oh wait, they didn't have any rights! And what good are rights if you're never allowed to exercise them?

Once again, overwhelming proof that not all people who can procreate, should. Kudos to the student's Mother who, it seems, is trying to raise a child who has critical thinking skills and for defending her child's rights.

Post- Christocalypse

Prior to the holiday season, I like to take a second job, usually in retail. Most people think this is insane due to the high volume of over caffeinated, stressed-out-from-keeping-up-with-the-Jones, can't-put-their-iPhones-down shoppers. They are usually so pre-occupied with the additional 5 lbs they have packed on, their maxed out credit cards and asking themselves why they are spending money on a spoiled nephew who they never see and who won't appreciate it, that they can't see anything past their own noses. There are a lot of those people but honestly, they shop all year round and are not a seasonal novelty. The majority of the sea of humanity that I see, are actually improved during the holiday season. They say "please" and "thank you" more, they offer to let someone with just a few things go ahead of them in line, and they understand that sales people are particularly overwhelmed and have just a little more patience with us. Then Christmas comes, with all the warm fuzzy feelings that the lights and glitter of the holiday can possibly give us and the mayhem seems worth it because the time with our families is priceless. However; when the lights come down and the glitter is swept into a neat 75% off corner, something happens. Suddenly, everyone's patience has been pushed beyond it's limit and they simultaneous snap like a giant rubber band. It's like a post-Christmas sale apocalypse. Usually mild mannered housewives, become soldiers of fortune armed with over-sized handbags and sharp tongues. They walk in the door, cell phone firmly attached to their face, sometimes with exhausted toddlers or husbands as POW's. Their warpaint is lipstick and mascara and their scowl can clear a room full of hardened criminals. They scream and rant over parking spaces, return policies (which are clearly printed on the back of most receipts), misplaced (usually by customers) and mismarked (usually by exhausted employees who don't get paid enough to care that much) sale items. True, it is the last sale of 2009 but there will be all new sales in 2010. All the same cheap crap they didn't really need this year, will go on sale next year. Trust me, there are little factories in China that are already mass producing the 'one-of-kind' (fill in the blank) that they missed the sale on this year.
So, before you stamp your feet and demand to speak to a manager, think about this "Is your life really going to be better if you have (again, fill it in), or are you just making yourself look like a giant ass?" Before you berade another sales person/waitress/customer support professional ask yourself "Will this ultimatley help me accomplish my goal or will this just give the waiter an excellent reason to spit in my food?"

First

I am the only female in the office where I work. In some ways this is a blessing, for instance, I don't have to share the bathroom with anyone. Sometimes however; it is not a blessing. Boys are, by nature messy creatures. It doesn't bother them in the least if the entire microwave is coated with a cooked on mixture of various soups, chili, hamburger helper and Chef Boyardie's finest culinary masterpieces. I found that I was the only one who cared about the condition of the microwave enough to clean it. I've had a similar problem at home, for which I found an excellent solution: one of those covers. I purchased one a brought it into the office only to find that the microwave was still getting splattered with what I sincerely hope was alfredo sauce. How can this be? They were putting the food ON TOP of the cover. I work with programmers, engineers and electronics techs. EPIC FAIL!

It's not exactly a book...

I find that I have an inordinate amount of time on my hands at work which means lots of time to think about the people, places and things that annoy the hell out of me. One day I posted "I'm going to write a book called "Dealing with Dillholes" on my Facebook wall and people I haven't heard from in years replied. Don't the wrong idea. I don't sit around and think about all the annoying things that happen to me all day long, I'm generally a pretty cheerful individual. But my Facebook post got me thinking, we as a society are so self-involved that we often forget ourselves and our manners. I've decided, as sort of a PSA, to blog about our absentmindedness (and other stuff), in hopes that through self examination we can all become just a little more conciencious (there may also be a chuckle or two, but only incidentally). I'd like to follow that up with a disclaimer: I, in no way think of myself as an expert on manners. I've caught myself on many occassions being very discourteous. All I'm saying is, on those occassions when I catch myself being a real B!%*$, or even when someone is bold enough to call me out on it, I'd like to think that the next time I find myself in a similiar circumstance, I handle it with a little more grace than the previous episode. So it isn't a book, and it'll never be a New York Times Best Seller, but here it is, Dealing with Dillholes.