How Specter's Switch affects the Senate and you!

Senior Republican Senator Arlen Specter has announced today that he will become a Democrat, a switch that has many people wondering what is going on in the Senate.

Senator Specter said:
"I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans."

With Senator Specter becoming a Democrat, this would allow him to run for re-election as a Democrat in 2010. He states that many of his constituents have switched parties as more and more Pennsylvanians turn away from the far right stand the Republican party has taken.

The swine flu outbreak has brought to the forefront the fact that the Republican Senate's filibuster (or just lack of voting) has left the confirmation of an HHS Secretary up in the air when we need that person the most. The Secretary of Homeland Security should not be having to do the work of the Health and Human Services Secretary.

Specter's switch would also raise the stakes for the outcome of the disputed Senate race in Minnesota. His decision would give Democrats a 60-seat majority in the Senate, assuming Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next Senator of Minnesota, a margin that would allow Democrats to break Republican filibusters.

Maybe the Senate could get a little more work done then.

Swine Flu from Mexico, today's Montezuma's Revenge

Did your child go to Mexico for Spring Break? How many Colleges and High Schools have been infected by students that went "South of the Border" for Spring Break? If you are planning a trip "Down Mexico Way", should you go?

Yesterday the Secretary of the Department Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, declared a public health emergency in the United States and the CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate the agency's response to this emerging health threat. This will allow funds to be released to support the public health response. CDC's goals during this public health emergency are to reduce transmission and illness severity, and provide information to assist health care providers, public health officials and the public in addressing the challenges posed by this newly identified influenza virus.

What You Can Do to Stay Healthy

There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.

Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.

If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

To keep up with the latest go here.

Beta Testing Video Games for a Living?

Have you ever played Video Games? World of WarCraft, BioShock, Call of Duty, Crysis are just a few of them. Well, my Brother was going crazy because all his 24 year old
son was doing was playing these video games. He had gotten out of the service and was talking about going to school but all he did do was sit in his room playing these games. It was driving my brother crazy.

Well, he stopped complaining when his son started getting paychecks for playing these games. He had become a beta tester of video games and got paid to find the little bugs in the games. This has to be done before any of the games go on sale to the public (and look how many games there are!).

Maybe this is something you would be interested in doing for fun (and get paid for it) or to supplement your income. My nephew is doing pretty good at it and has decided he wants to go into computer game design. He already has acquired a great deal of knowledge just from beta testing these games. And he has made some great contacts to help him. Check it out here.
This is how he got started.

Same-Sex Marriage Controversy on Miss USA pagent

When judge Perez Hilton asked Carrie Prejean (Miss California) about legalizing same-sex marriage she was honest in her feelings on the matter.

She respected the rights of others to feel differently but she was raised that marriage was between a man and a woman and that was how she felt it should be.

She did not say she would not respect the feelings of others.

Would Perez Hilton prefer that she had lied just to win the competition, knowing her answer could cause her to lose. (and may have)

I believe her honesty with her answer shows her integrity. People say do we want someone like her being a role model to our girls. I would! She stood up for her principles. She respected others rights to theirs.

Why is everyone putting her down? Everyone has the right to their own views.

That is what America is all about.

picture Credit:Richard Salyer/Miss USA

Keep Columbine in your Thoughts Today.

Ten years ago today a tragedy befell Columbine High School. Two students went on a rampage and killed 12 students and one teacher. We all morn along with the families that have had to deal with the loss of their loved one and also those who tried to figure out why these two boys did such a thing.

Were they ostracised because they were different, were they bullied, were they depressed. What ever the reason for what they did, they changed High School life across the country. Security, Counseling and more have all been added to schools to try to change the atmosphere that causes these things to happen.

Oprah Winfrey cancelled her show today because after looking at it she felt it centered to much on the shooters instead of the victims.

Celebrate the students that survived and where they have gone today. Celebrate their families, their accomplishments, their children and more.

Celebrate the braveness that the families of those who died have showed.

The parents that started a scholarship program in their daughter's name and went to the graduation of one of those students.

The step-daughter of the teacher that gave his life saving so many of the kids, her daughter now attends Columbine. She is not afraid to go to school there.

So much love and community love came out of the tragedy. Keep the Columbine community in your thoughts today.

There should be a lesson to all communities that maybe you should not wait for the tragedies to happen, Spread the Love Now and maybe they will not happen.

Listen to your children and pay attention to what they are saying (and what they may not be saying out loud but in the way they are saying things)

We have become so involved with working, stressing out over everything, that we are losing ourselves and our families.

The computer should be used as a tool to help our lives but not as a babysitter, friend, and sole contact with reality for our children. Computers are not real people!

We are the real people!

Stop and talk to your children, your neighbors, family, and friends. Say hello to perfect strangers and maybe they will say hello back.

Smile, as they say, it is the best medicine. Pass it on!! One good turn does bring another! These may seem like just old sayings but they became "old sayings" because they were found to be truths.

Pass these actions down to our children and they will pass them on to their friend.
Imagine if everyone just did one good turn, just imagine.

5 Reasons not to Invest in Gold!

Jamie Dlugosch is a contributor to InvestorPlace.com. and has listed
the following as "5 Reasons not to Invest in Gold"

I found it very interesting reading and he has some great points.

Here are five reasons why gold should be avoided (click for more details):

Reason #1: There is no inflation.

Reason #2: Gold prices are easily manipulated.

Reason #3: Gold is in limited supply.

Reason #4: Gold was dead for 20 years.

Reason #5: The dollar is the global currency.

Click on each Reason for more details and click here for complete article.

Canon AE1 and Vivitar 400SL Cameras for Sale

I am selling the following cameras to help pay for my Medical Bills from Breast Cancer. I was diagnosed 18 months ago and since then I have had 4 types of Chemo
(I just finished the 4th) and will be on Anti-Hormone medication for 4 more years.
(Boy, how I love having all those menopause symptoms again, night sweats, mood swings, hot flashes, swelling etc. My poor Husband)

If you know anyone who is into photography these cameras are in fantastic condition.
They are both 35mm SLR Film Cameras. My husband and I used them a few years back for a photography class we took.

The packages are on ebay. each contains camera body, lenses, filters etc.

for the Canon AE1 package go here
for the Vivitar 400SL package go here