Coleman - Colon.  Sound freakishly similar don't you think?  I'm obviously in a medical mood because just an  hour ago,  I was in a tube being magnetically photographed.  The lumbar spine - ah, more specifically, the L4 disc.  Herniated or ruptured...doesn't matter.  It's had me flat on my back for 3 weeks.

But in that tube, with all the hypnotic clanking, whirring and clanking, I tried to focus on the healing that needs to take place in my lower back...so close to so many internal organs.  My liver, pancreas, kidneys and yes, my colon.  It's here where my mind leaped to the thought that our entire state needs to cleanse itself.  How apropos that the logical leap went from the pain in my lower extremeties to our FORMER Senator Norman Bertram Coleman - the Coleman/Colon connection is obvious: we need a good cleansing to get healthy again.

Former Senator Norm Coleman, in possession of a narrow electoral lead the day after Election Day, challenged Al Franken to concede the election despite an automatic statewide recount as per the MN state electoral guidelines. He stated on November 6, 2008:

"I would step back (from challenging election results). I just think the need for the healing process is so important."

These were the former senator's exact words.

Fast forward: we've now completed an exhaustive state recount.  While not perfect, it's been under such intense watch from both parties, our state government and in fact, the entire country.  Minnesota's Canvassing Board on Monday certified Al Franken's lead after a seven-week recount, but under state law was prohibited from issuing a final certification in the event of a lawsuit.  All five members of the Canvassing Board - Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, plus two state Supreme Court justices and two Ramsey County judges - voted to accept the recount results.  That very canvassing board, made up of 'super politico's' on both sides of the aisle, at the end of this exhaustive recount, felt accountable to name a winner on behalf of the people.  And boo hoo, it's not poor Norm.  So what does the former Senator Norm Coleman say?  Here's a quote from the USA Today (dated January 6, 2008):

"We will not allow the full process to be short cut. Minnesotans deserve 100% confidence that their senator was fairly elected by all the people. We need to get this right for all of us."

For who?  Norm Coleman that's who.    

While former Senator Coleman, a craven politico driven solely by ambition, begins a steady diet of eating his words from November 6th, who is most apt to lose in this attempt to stall our government further?  Of course folks, we the people of Minnesota.

Senator Amy Klobuchar has been a wonderful addition to the senate.  She has received high marks from both Republicans and Democrats on her contributions, but even she has stated that this hold up (which could be months, not just weeks) will inevitabley cost Minnesotans by forcing bills upon our citizens that would otherwise be prevented by adequate representation on the floor.  Bills that could hurt our quality of life, not to mention our financial health.  Oh yea, we ended the year with a record deficit and crisis - that seemed to be acknowledged out of nowhere in the last quarter of the year ....did you already forget?

Cuts are being made everywhere and sadly, we're still a country at war with soldiers in harms way 24/7.  What's more important - lives of millions or the former senator's ego?  Cuts from federal tax dollars are going to impact this state as never before.  People continue to lose their homes, jobs are dwindling and the food shelves have never been busier with NEED, not donation.  From our schools to the environment - we need representation.  We need to move on and get a fresh start...and look who was named the winner.

The New Minnesota Senator - Al Franken
Declared the Winner by State Canvassing Board
1/06/09

And here you see Norm, as if asking for just "1 More" recount.

Step aside Norm.  It was a close race to be sure, but you had your time; it's over.  To those of us that have watched your career, it never seemed to be about Minnesota - it always seemed to be about playing in the big Washington sandbox, using Minnesota to get there. 

Here, I'll even help you.  Good Luck, Best Wishes....B'Bye

http://www.cs.state.ny.us/jobseeker/

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Fun Facts About Norman Bertram Coleman (provided by sourcewatch "Congresspedia".)  Fun Photos off Google

Statements made by Norm Coleman on the Iraq War:

• January 24, 2007: "Probably six months to a year, for everything. And I talked to some of my colleagues tonight, the military knows, I think they know, that they have to produce big-time over the next six months." ^[1]

Oil

Norm Coleman has voted in favor of big oil companies on 67% of important oil-related bills from 2005-2007, according to Oil Change International. These bills include Iraq war funding, climate change studies, clean energy, and emissions.^[4] See below for oil money in politics

Drilling in ANWR

On December 21, 2005, Senator Coleman voted to end debate on a defense appropriations bill that included oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) after having pledged in 2002 to oppose such drilling. He stated that he did so because although he planned to vote against the bill, he didn't believe that a filibuster was warranted. The filibuster held, however, and Coleman voted to strip the ANWR provision from the bill in a subsequent vote.[3][4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

[edit]

Abortion and stem-cell research

Coleman identifies himself as being pro-life - he universally opposes abortion. He supported the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 100% of the time in 2005. [9]

Coleman does support stem cell research, but only using adult stem cells and stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood. [10]

On January 23, 2007, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) introduced a bill (S.363) aimed at providing $5 billion over 10 years for stem cell research that does not involve "crossing the ethical line of using taxpayer dollars for the destruction of human embryos." The president for the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical, Sean Tipton, said "It's not clear that this bill would allow the NIH (National Institutes of Health) to do anything it can't already do. [11]

Hurricane Katrina

On February 10, 2006, in a meeting of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs of which he is a member, during testimony of former FEMA director Michael D. Brown, Coleman attacked Brown for poor leadership during Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts, "you didn't provide the leadership, even with structural infirmities." Coleman went on, "you're not prepared to kind of put a mirror in front of your face and recognize your own inadequacies" and "the record reflects that you didn't get it or you didn't in writing or in some way make commands that would move people to do what has to be done until way after it should have been done." [27] Brown responded combatively, "Well, Senator, that's very easy for you to say sitting behind that dais and not being there in the middle of that disaster, watching that human suffering and watching those people dying and trying to deal with those structural dysfunctionalities" [28] and implored Coleman to stick to questions. [29] He later likened Coleman's charges to a "drive-by shooting." [30] Brown had recently stated that he notified Department of Homeland Security and the White House of the tremendous scale of Katrina flooding earlier than had been previously reported. [31]

Editing Wikipedia entry

On January 30, 2006, it was reported that Norm Coleman's staff had been actively editing his entry on Wikipedia, removing critical references to his voting record and revising the description of his former political leanings. [32] [33][34] Similar instances of edits to several senators' pages originating from Congressional IP addresses have occurred. [35] Coleman's chief of staff said the editing was done to correct inaccuracies,[36] but Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said "it appears to be a major rewrite of the article to make it more favorable." [37]

[edit]

Immigration

In May 2007, Sen. Coleman voted against an amendment to the 2007 comprehensive immigration reform bill that would have stripped it of any paths to citizenship or permanent residency for undo****ented immigrants, leaving it largely an immigration-enforcement bill. The amendment was defeated, 29-66. The amendment was opposed by the groups like the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the AFL-CIO and the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy.

Do you believe in angels?  I definitely do.  Sometimes they appear at moments when you least expect them, and when they do, its exactly what you need to keep moving forward.  But are all angels purely of heaven?  In my book - not a chance.

Yesterday I received a gesture of kindness on my doorstep from one of you.  It wasn't a grand public to-do - in fact, my angel didn't even ring the bell!  It was a quiet, private way to perfectly express thoughtfulness and caring - and it touched me deeply.  A mere thank you doesn't seem enough.

While I believe angels are always close, I also know things happen for a reason and people come in and out of our lives for a purpose.  Whether you've just found this site or you've been here a long time, take a moment to find the blessings of this connection. 

I've been thinking a lot about how the holidays aren't always what they're cracked up to be.  Forced expectations of happiness and joy, yet in a world that can often be cruel and unforgiving.  This time of year amplifies the pain for so many.  So as you continue to wrap packages, bake cookies and find the wonder and joy in the season, also try and be compassionate for others.  That too is the spirit of the holidays.  

The following is an example of how the holidays are now hard for me.  With every joy is a reminder of the loss and pain that's still very fresh.  Even though I continue to overcome the sadness, I understand now how it's not easy for everyone.  The blessing in my own struggle is the compassion I feel for others.... 

1095 days ago I got a call from my dying mother around 4:30am.  She was in a Bloomington nursing home, recuperating from a procedure to remove fluid from her lungs as breast cancer continued to ravish her body.  It had gone from her breast to her bones (mostly her spine) and then started to suffocate her by infiltrating her lungs.  The 7-10 days of recovery was suppose to get her strong enough to go home for her last 6-8 weeks of expected life.

Just days before this morning, the doctors had given her a 6-8 weeks prognois, allowing her one more chemotherapy before her last Christmas.  But at 4:30am, I was abruptly jarred from my sleep to a panic-striken mother.  "I'm scared Jill, the workers in this nursing home are hurting me".  An orderly responding to her call light had yelled at her for disrupting his break time.  He threw insults her way as he commented how she wasted good food, pointing to her meal tray that had gone untouched from dinner.  My mother needed her oxygen to be turned up, but rather than help her, he turned off her call light and left the room eating her unopened yogurt - but not before warning her to keep her light off.

That was the last straw.  I had witnessed the awful abuse of the residents too - mostly by neglect.  The elderly had fallen and staff was slow to repond; patients had gone for as long as an hour crying for help with nobody to assist them.  What was wrong with these people?  My mother was the newbie  there and a short-timer.  I didn't want her to be a target, so I mostly kept quiet.  But this was it - as early as I could arrange it that morning, she was being transported to the N.C. Little Hospice in Edina.  When I showed up at the nursing home a few hours later, they didn't want to discharge her.  I let them know that I would carry her to my own car if they tried to stop me!  They denied the night's incident and told me my mother was difficult to please.  Difficult?  She was suffocating and needed help! 

Once at the N.C. Little Hospice, the nurses got her out of soiled pajamas, gave her a warm bath and got her comfortably in bed.  They came to me and noted that the wound site from both lungs looked as if they hadn't been attended to in days.  They replaced the foul smelling packed dressings, stating that had this gone on, she would have become septic.  I was horrified, but then the bomb dropped.  They wanted me to know she was actively dying and to be prepared for her death within days.

What?  What about the 6-8 weeks the doctors had given her? Oh please - not on Christmas - not with 3 young boys to have that as a lifelong reminder.  The head nurse told me my mother was anxious and highly stressed, talking about the abuse from the nursing home.  Likely that stress had taken its toll on her body.  Once settled in bed, mother continued to push her call light about every 15-20 minutes asking for help over the next 3-4 hours.  Once she realized that someone would come to assist her immediately, she started to relax and feel more comfortable.  She was always greeted by a compassionate nurse or volunteer.  I am so very grateful for that.

1095 days ago I went home to get my mother's greatest treasures: my three sons.  They came to the hospice after school and spent the early evening talking with her and sharing stories.   She suddenly seemed brighter and stronger.  She was actually requiring less oxygen through her canulla, which meant she was less stressed.  My middle son told her he was looking forward to sharing Christmas with her and she quietly told him "I'll be with Jesus honey".  We all just tried to laugh it off, but it really made us uneasy.  Later, with the children now back at home,  I settled in a chair next to Mom and allowed her to drift in and out of sleep.  A few times she started talking in her sleep to my father, my great aunt and to others I couldn't identify. You could tell they were pleasant dreams and yet I wondered, was she now starting her journey between two worlds?

A little after midnight Mom got up and asked the nurse to help her to the bathroom.  She asked me to wait in the beautiful living room and I respected her privacy.  When she called for my return, I entered the bedroom to find my mother lying in bed with one hand waving in the air. "You are dismissed honey, go home and be with the boys".  We argued a bit about me wanting to stay a little while longer because it was her first night, yet she assured me she was fine.  She grabbed my hand and thanked me for rescuing her from the nursing home (her words, not mine). She said she loved the hospice and she felt safe.  Now she could sleep well and she wanted me to have a good night's sleep too.  Then she kissed me and told me she loved me - and how grateful she was to have a daughter like me; someone she could count on and someone she was proud of.  I left her telling her I loved her too.

As I walked out the door, the snow was lightly falling and I was feeling so grateful to have gotten her to the hospice.  Never in 1095 days would I have assumed it would be the last time I would talk with my mother.  At approximately 6:00am the following morning, a nurse was in her room as she quietly and slowly took her last breath and died. 

The day before Christmas Eve we buried my mom, alongside my father at Lakewood cemetary.  It was a beautiful sunny day and yet, the images of mom's abuse put a cloud over everything; it continues to haunt me.  I called the nursing home hours after her death and demanded to speak to the Head Administrator.  I'm still waiting for that phone call.  I found notes in my Mom's purse about forced enema's to lessen the staff's time requirements for bathroom breaks and other explicit abuses that make my heart ache, but even after providing this to the State of MN's investigators of nursing home abuse, I've been told there is very little they can do but 'write them up'.  My mother (the victim) can no longer can testify to her abuse.

What I've chosen to do, 3 years (1095 days) later, is to volunteer at the N.C. Little Hospice.  I've been assisting as a volunteer for 2 years now and each time I leave a shift, I'm reminded how much more I get from the experience than I give.  I was there yesterday (at least until I got a phone call from the school nurse that child #3 had hurled).  Just three years ago I shared a common experience with these families..the pain of impending loss during the holidays - what's suppose to be a joyous time of year.  When these people leave their loved ones to shop at stores, buy groceries or go home at night, it's painfully aware to me that it's with sad hearts and the fear of impending loss. 

As you walk through your day and make it through the rest of the holidays, keep in mind that while it may not be death, there are a lot of people struggling and in pain this time of year.  The holidays are a time of giving - and the blessing of giving compassion & help to others is the biggest gift of all.

No matter what you Celebrate, May the Peace and Joy
of this Holiday Season Bring you Many Blessings!

I'm sorry ~  I couldn't resist Ian. 

One look at Illinois Govenor Rod Blagojevich and I couldn't help but think:

OMG - it's Ian Punnett's Evil Twin!!!

You decide.....

The family circus continues and I don't have a playbill to follow....

Step right up and see which circus monkey is going wild.  My husband, the ringmaster and me, his trusted assistant, are constantly battling against mutiny with the animals.  Bobo the chimp has currently sprung from his cage.

Three rings - three sons.  Holy cow.  The youngest turns into a teenager in a few weeks and I've been bracing for impact since the middle one hit the hormone highway.  Each bend in the road is met with either a shower of tears or hysterical laughter.  There seems to be no middle ground.

I can't run away and join the circus - I'm already a part of it.

Just thought  I'd share my thought of the day