ABUSE OF SKATER TAINTS WINTER OLYMPICS

We first watched the Winter Olympics while on a vacation in Florida in 1994. Unfortunately, it rained three days in a row, leaving us without much else to do. Oddly enough, it’s the one thing I remember about that trip. Picaboo Street was a star skier, and everything about her was fascinating. David Letterman’s mom was CBS’s Olympic correspondent for the event. It was entertaining, exciting, and wholesome. Sadly, those days seem to be gone forever. When athletes start doping, and we have to watch a sobbing child being shouted at by her coach because she fell on the ice, it’s all downhill. A blatant show of child abuse taints the Winter Olympics.

Kamila Valieva’s figure skating was like a beautiful ballet. Since she’s the age of one of my granddaughters, I found it touching that this young girl had achieved so much.

Then came the report that she had tested positive for some kind of heart drug, several weeks before the games began. Why in the world would the results have come in so late, and at such a precarious time? They said she tested negative later on, so I don’t know why this would have disqualified her. But that’s only my opinion, and there’s a lot that I don’t know.

What I do know, is that all this negative publicity created tremendous pressure on this lovely girl, who is still only a child in the eyes of the law. Her coaches had a decision to make at that point. Either have her withdraw from the competition, or let her decide what to do, based on her own feelings and inner strength. Instead, they pushed her out onto the world stage, not caring at all whether it might be too much of a challenge for an adolescent to handle.

The result was too painful to contemplate or watch. In front of thousands of spectators, she tripped and fell, not once, but several times. Obviously, she was having a meltdown. And what did her coach do? She yelled and screamed while the poor girl shuddered with sobs. I would just as soon have seen someone kick a dog, or lash a person with a horsewhip. as witness that scene. The Russian coach-from-hell should be expelled from her profession. There’s now a dark stain on the Winter Olympics that may be indelible.

September 28, 2020September 29, 2020

THE SINNER VS.THE SAINT

Soon, we’re going to have Vice Presidential candidate, Senator Kamala Harris questioning Federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett as to whether or not she’s fit to be confirmed as a supreme court judge. It’s going to be like a scene from the Wizard of Oz: Sweet Dorothy from Kansas pitted against the Wicked Witch of the West. Get ready for a case of the sinner vs. the saint,

Amy Coney Barrett is mother of seven children–including two adopted black children, and one child with Downs Syndrome. She’s been married to the same man for eighteen years. In contrast, when former San Francisco prosecutor Kamala Harris was twenty nine, she hooked up with an influential married man thirty years her senior who helped her get ahead in politics. Recently married, she has no children, only step children.

This is what then Democratic presidential candidate, Rep Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, had to say about Kamala Harris. :

As attorney general of California, “She put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations, and then laughed about it when she was asked if she’d ever smoked marijuana. She blocked evidence that would have freed a man from death row until the courts forced her to do so. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California. And she fought to keep cash bail system in place that impacts poor people in the worst kind of way.”

Federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett was voted most popular professor on three different occasions at the University of Notre Dame. During her confirmation hearing in March of 2017, a group of 450 former students signed a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, telling senators that their support was “driven not by politics, but by the belief that Professor Barrett is supremely qualified.” She also she had the unanimous support of her 49 Notre Dame colleagues, who wrote that they had a “wide range of political views” but were “united however in our judgment about Amy.”

The contrast between the two women couldn’t be more stark. Kamala sashays around in a form fitting pants suit, while Amy is seen holding a small child’s hand, walking to the podium in a modest dress.

the saint vs the sinner: Barret vs. Harris — The saint vs. the sinner. There is going to be a showdown between two very different women.

I have a problem with Amy Barrett’s stance on abortion, but it’s not a deal breaker. This week in my city, a beautiful, seven year old boy was murdered by his father with a belt. No unwanted child should be brought into this world, only to be tortured and killed. This is why I am pro choice. And I don’t think Roe vs. Wade will ever be repealed.

Nevertheless, we’ll soon have a ringside seat to an interaction between two very different women.. It will be interesting to see who prevails. The saint or the sinner?.

September 4, 2019September 4, 2019

SMOKIN’ MAMA’S NOT HOT

The lovely park near me has no sign that bans smoking. And yet, you seldom see people smoking there. Perhaps that’s because walkers and nature lovers also tend to be health conscious individuals. But as I walked home on Labor Day, a car exiting the park caught my eye. First, I saw a young child in the front seat. As the car stopped to wait for traffic, the female driver lit up a cigarette and puffed away. , I guess she didn’t know that smokin’ mamas are not hot.

What is wrong with that scenario? Let’s give the mom some credit. She made the effort to take her child to the park. Maybe they spent some time on the playground, or even had a little picnic in a quiet place under a tree. It was a good day. She was a good mother. Let’a assume she didn’t smoke publicly in the park for whatever reason. Why, then, couldn’t she control the urge once she and her daughter were confined in that small space?

Actually, it would have been better for the child if she had smoked while outside, on the playground. At least the smoke would have dissipated before reaching the child’s lungs. By waiting to smoke in the car, she was exposing her child to far more secondhand smoke.

Is smoking with children considered child abuse? Some physicians believe that it is. A few states ban smoking in a private car with a minor. They are: . They are Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Maine, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Virginia Also,. Puerto Rico. What’s the matter with my state of Indiana, which has one of the highest smoking rates in the nation?

It is considered child abuse to smoke in a car with a young child — SOME STATES HAVE LEGISLATION BANNING SMOKING IN A CAR WITH A CHILD

Scientific research over the last decade has shown that second hand smoke may cause several diseases in children, include asthma and pneumonia. Exposure to secondhand smoke is not simply a nuisance; it is deadly. .Second hand smoke is a major cause of sudden infant death syndrome and may cause lung cancer and heart attacks with repeated exposure. No safe level of exposure exists.

In cases where a child suffers from asthma and other second hand smoke induced diseases the legal system has begun to initiate court-ordered termination of parental rights, changes in custody status, and other actions.

Most of us are hesitant to intervene when we see a stranger smoking while with a child . After all, they know it’s wrong, but are doing it anyway. Okay, I won’t say anything, but I can certainly frown and show my disgust. Smokin’ mamas are definitely not hot.

May 6, 2019May 6, 2019

VAPING GRANDPA GREETS SCHOOL BUS

While driving home from the mall on a winding road, I came to a stop behind a school bus as a young girl disembarked. Since I was several cars back, I could see the child running up the hill toward a house at the top. A gray haired man coming from the opposite direction came to greet her. A tender moment, yes? Except, he was surrounded by a vaporous cloud coming from his right hand. I’m not sure if he was her grandpa or another relative, but it seemed like a bad thing to do. Should a vaping grandpa greet the school bus?

Grandparents who vape grew up when it was commen to smoke around children — SHOULD A VAPING GRANDPA DITCH HIS E-CIGARETTE WHEN HIS GRANDCHILD IS AROUND?

When I was a child, most adults smoked—including my parents. Consequently, I started smoking as a teenager. That was the tobacco industry’s heyday. No one connected smoking with cancer. Cigarette ads featured movie stars who made it seem glamorous. On college campuses, free cigarettes were passed out to encourage smokers to start smoking particular brands. It took me 20 years to stop smoking.

Fast forward to the 21^st century. Exposing children to secondhand smoke is considered child abuse. Parents who smoke go outside and hide behind the garage to vape. For their own sake, I wish they could quit, but at least they are trying to protect their children.

Let’s go back to Grandpa, and give him some credit. Maybe he’s turned to vaping as an attempt to reduce his addiction to nicotine. Perhaps he was outside with the idea of having a smoke before his granddaughter got home from school. Maybe she arrived earlier than expected. But still, he had to have seen her running up the hill. Why didn’t he ditch the e cigarette the moment he spotted her? He’s obviously a caring person who loves the little girl. She isn’t a latchkey kid. She has someone waiting for her to get off the school bus. So, he’s doing a good thing, there. But, in a few years, she will be a teenager, and she will know exactly how to vape.

According to statistics compiled from 2011 to 1015, vaping is the most popular form of tobacco use among teens. In the US, e-cigarette use rose by 900 percent among high school students..

By 2016, over two million middle and high school students had tried e cigarettes. 40 percent of vapers from age 18 to 24 had not been smokers before.

A growing body of research suggests that that vaping is dangerous for teens.

https://www.yalemedicine.org/stories/teen-vaping/

Stop vaping, Grandpa!

The contrast between the two women couldn’t be more stark. Kamala sashays around in a form fitting pants suit, while Amy is seen holding a small child’s hand, walking to the podium in a modest dress.

Fast forward to the 21st century. Exposing children to secondhand smoke is considered child abuse. Parents who smoke go outside and hide behind the garage to vape. For their own sake, I wish they could quit, but at least they are trying to protect their children.

A growing body of research suggests that that vaping is dangerous for teens.

Fast forward to the 21^st century. Exposing children to secondhand smoke is considered child abuse. Parents who smoke go outside and hide behind the garage to vape. For their own sake, I wish they could quit, but at least they are trying to protect their children.