Small Town DA Mark Hurlbert

There is a lot going on in our small town. If you have ever lived in a small town you will understand the problems with the small town justice system. It is backwards. It makes me think of the song by Vicki Lawrence or more recently performed by Reba,'The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia." The accountablity for our DA seems a little weak. They are able to convince the victims to plea lesser charges so they don't have to go to trial. And most victims are so new to lawyer mumbo jumbo that they trust too easily. Why would a DA's office care so little about justice? Probably because they are not capable of winning any case that takes some thought and preparation. I can only guess.

Jennie has seen it first hand through her situation (I will let her share when she is ready). The Deputy DA tried to plea her case and the plea was ridiculous. That is when she realized that she needed her own lawyer. What we all quickly learned is the DA does not represent the victim. He represents the state and really doesn't have any interest in the victim. I am sure not all District Attorneys handle cases this way, but Mark Hurlbert does.

Mark Hurlbert was the DA prosecuting Kobe Bryant. Victim had to get her own lawyer in that case too. The recent case in the news of the hit and run accident. Later the driver of the car was caught trying to hide the evidence. The plea is a silly misdemeanor. And again the victim had to get his own lawyer. Another case of a teacher having relations with a student. The DA tried to make that one go away too, until the parents of the victim were forced to hire a lawyer.

I am sure there are many more cases out there. I am sure if this small town dug a little deeper they would uncover a very ugly underbelly of our small town justice system.

Just needed to vent a little....

Why do Wives Dis their Husbands?

First of all I must say I love the using the word "dis". It is such a silly word that has evolved as a slang term in our english language. This is why I can't learn a different language. Because, I am sure there are words like "dis" that people in the Hispanic, French, German etc. culture use and I will never understand what they are saying. So I will continue to use big gestures with my hands when speaking English in another country and hope for the best.

Okay that was a big side note that turned into a paragraph. My posts on this blog seem to have theme. Whatever comes into my brain must be written down and shared. Why do wives find the need to disrespect their husbands? Here is an example from this weekend:

I was waiting for my husband in the lobby of the local movie theatre when two ladies entered my space. They just came from viewing a movie and were laughing and giggling. Then I overhead what they were saying to each other that made them laugh so loudly.

Woman #1 "That movie was perfect. I love any movie that gives the woman an excuse to kick her husband in the face."

Woman #2 responds "There should be more movies like that."

Why? I do not understand the viewpoint of women who like to hurt, humiliate, or dis their husbands. I would never share with a friend how I would like to kick my husband in the head. First of all, I don't ever want to kick him in the head and second of all, I do not want to disrespect him to a friend.

My husband and I have rules that we live by concerning what we share with others. We respect each other with our words at all time. The three C's (cussing, crying and carrying on) only break down a marriage and leave it for ruins. No marriage is perfect (is there such a thing?) but bad mouthing your spouse will never help, so don't do it.

Just a thought from the eavesdropping lobby lady:)

Yoga in the Classroom

Well another great learning day at our local public school (sarcasm intended). My 5th grader came home upset about what they had to do for PE. Apparently a parent was allowed to come to the gym and teach yoga to all the 5th graders. She taught them a few chants and positions to allow their spirits to be connected with each other. Wow, did my hair bristle up and down my neck.

Of course, the principal didn't know that this took place and talked to the PE teacher. The PE teacher of course denied any chanting was taught and said it was just exercise. Passing the blame. The PE teacher is having a hard time finding time to meet with the parents who really had a problem with this guest speaker.

It was really just a lesson for me as a parent. Because there was a child in the class (a Christian girl)who refused to participate and told the teacher "I do not do yoga!" Her parents had explained to her the history of yoga and why it is not okay to use it as an exercise. I had not prepared my daughter in this way and she was confused. She is told to respect authority and to do her best in school. She knows the Truth and we discuss all the "stuff" she learns in school that is not true and is a world view. But I didn't teach her what to do when the authority she is respecting goes against God. She knew what she was doing was wrong but she wasn't sure how to handle it. She didn't want to get in trouble or be disrespectful to the teacher. It was definitely a lesson learned for all of us.

I am still going to hunt down that PE teacher and give her a true lesson on yoga, with love or course. I might just suggest that pilates might have been a better choice.

"..because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."
1 John 4:4

Praise the Lord!

Crazy Talk in the Public Schools

My son Logan could write a blog about the crazy stuff he hears at school. I am not talking about the silly "stuff" kids say, but the crazy "stuff" teachers say. I am so glad he knows the Truth and can filter out the crazy.

His science teacher explained to the class his interpretation of evolution. Old Darwin himself would turn over in his grave. Basically, 70 thousand years ago there were many monkeys. All differect species of monkeys. A certain species of monkey that were very clever, not wise, but clever, figured out which plants gave off the necessary oxygen they needed to evolve. With this clever knowledge they put these plants around them and were then able to evolve into humans. The monkeys we see now are not clever monkeys but dumb monkeys and haven't figured out how to evolve.

Wow, we are some smart monkeys. Unfortunately, most of the students in Logan's class are non-believers and so this information is believed and probably someday repeated.

I believe this poor science teacher can't seem to explain the big holes in Darwin's Theory, so he must make up the story of clever monkeys to put his mind at ease. And I suppose by teaching others this nonsense he can somehow make it true.

This is only one story of many that my son must listen to and filter during his many hours at public school. We feel he is truly learning life skills and with guidance and support from home he can stand firm for the Truth. Because someday soon he will be on his own and he will need to stand firm on a foundation based on Truth in a world full of clever monkeys.

Just another teaching moment in the Raitt household:)

We Can't Do Anything We Want

Obama, in his message to our public school children, repeated the same ol' American mantra of "We can do anything we want if we work hard and get an education". I am pretty sure those aren't his exact words but close enough. I disagree. I know it is not shocking that I disagree with Obama, but I disagree with the whole premise that all people can do anything if they work hard at it. That is false, and I think the contestants on American Idol can thoroughtly understand my argument.

I can't sing. I am quite sure I am tone death, I mean deaf. Although I murder any note I try to sing. Growing up in the Catholic church, I once had a priest lean over and tell me not to worry about my singing voice because God was tone deaf too.

Now my mom didn't tell me that if I worked really hard at it I could be a superstar singer. She told me big deal, so you won't be a singer, let's focus on the gifts you have and not the ones you don't have. Bless her pea-pickin' heart, she was right.

I can look at many directions I theoretically could have taken in life that would have been a disaster if I tried to apply the work hard and I can do anything method. Horse jocke? I am 5'11" and just a hair over 125 lbs (sarcasm intended). Hairdresser/stylist? I can barely braid my daughter's hair. Gymnist? Pilot? ballerina? No way Hosay.

I wish more parents would tell their kids to reach for the sky but encourage them in a realistic direction.

Just a thought...

Obama Talks to our Children

Are you kidding me? What a waste of value time and tax dollars.

That is all I have to say about that subject:)

Where's the Love?

Where is the love? This is what I want to know. We can have knowledge, wisdom, money, generousity, kindness, etc...but still refuse to love. Believe me I am at fault too.

Here is what I am talking about and I hope it comes across well. But since I am the writer of this blog I am sure someone will be offended. (I need to work on that...someday).

A friend of mine is on a brand new walk with Jesus. God has really openned up her heart to listen and understand the truth of who He is and what He has done for her. Sounds good so far. All she wants is to learn the Bible and truly understand what it says. She started meeting with a mentor from our church. Great lady, really knows The Word. But instead of teaching her the Word, she told my friend where change needed to occur in her life and pointed out her sins. Of course, she prefaced every comment with "I am not judging you, but you need to be aware of areas of sin in your life."

Needless to say, my dear friend came to me in tears. It made me think of our role as sisters in Christ. We need to take our authority out of the situation, because we have none. We forget that the measure of faith that we have has been given to us. And if we truly believe that, then God does the changing and giving along our walk with Him. We can't hurry someone's walk or give them the Cliff notes to catch them up. We are truly there just to love. God reveals our areas of sin. God changes our hearts and desires. God gives us the ability to understand His Word. God chose us for a purpose, His purpose.

Do we really feel He can't change people without our help? Are we really helping at all? If I look at my friend and her experience, I would say the mentor didn't help at all. And I am sure she wasn't trying to be mean or judgemental, she just forgot how to love.

What if some really "big" sinners entered through the doors of your church?
Sinners like hookers, gay couples, abortion doctors, politicians, molesters etc...You know the sinners that we justify don't deserve our love. Believe me I struggle with this all the time. But I shouldn't. If God can rescue me from the mire and change me, He can change them. All He calls us to do is love them and be a witness for Christ. Just love them.

Isn't that what Jesus told His disciples?

Just a thought..:)