history is made

Today, the world watched as history was made. Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States and it is the dawn of a new era. Our future is bright and full of hope. A hope that we can rebuild this country to what it should be and can be. So much has happened over the last 8 years to take away a lot of what living in this country means. This is a chance to regain all of that. And so much more.

This morning as I got ready for work, I found it nearly impossible to move away from the TV. It is such an amazing thing we have in this country. The passing of the Presidency from one person to another is a wondrous act. It is moving, regardless of your political preferences to be witness to this historical event.

Scott was able to be there in person. He and his coworkers are all in DC this week, first for the inauguration and second for work meetings. His boss was able to get him a ticket so Scott was A LOT closer than he would have been without one. Watching it on TV, knowing my husband is there among the crowd of people, made it even more special for me. How awesome to be a part of history IN PERSON.

Tears of joy and happiness and pride filled my eyes today. And I know in my heart that only good things are to come.

and the fiasco continues

Well, all the talk and hype was for nothing apparently. Magellan made all these promises for a better mental health system in Maricopa County and said they would be better than Value Options. According to the yearly audit released this week, the promises were for not. The findings show that the county’s mental health system has actually regressed since Magellan took over in 2007. As a social worker and crisis counselor that works within the system 4 days a week, I am very distressed by this. We had all hoped it would be better. After a year it is only getting worse so that does not bode well for the rest of Magellan’s contract with the state. The audit calls for a complete overhaul. We’ll see if anything really happens.

enough already

A Tolleson, AZ school has seen enough tragedy already. Please, please let there be no more. First the students and staff were dealing with the news that over Christmas break two kids were severely beaten (and ultimately died from the injuries) while playing in a nearby park. Then after the school was back in session, another student was run over by a car while on his way to school and died. In approximately two weeks this school lost three students. I hope the school is utilizing all the resources it can in order to make sure the students, and staff, are able to process what has happened. They say things strike in three so hopefully the school has seen the end to tragedy. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

some people should be shot

I came across this article the other day and am again horrified at what people are capable of doing. This babysitter put a baby into the dryer…yes the clothes dryer because…prepare yourself…the baby interrupted the babysitter’s tv time. OMG!!!!!! There is no way to wrap your brain around that one. And yes, I do believe some people don’t deserve to live after what they have done.

Christmas horror

The horror of this story is hard to fathom. A possibly mentally ill man followed 2 young, harmless boys into a nearby park and beat them severely in the head. Then walked back to his home. The boys suffered such extreme injuries that they both died a day after Christmas. Thanks to a neighbors surveillance camera the police were able to identify the man and arrest him. Just leaves me speechless that such things occur in this world. I work in the mental health arena as a crisis counselor, and it scares me to think anyone of the clients I have seen could have this inside them.

and people still deny global warming?

Two news articles I read recently are painting a very scary and urgent picture for the world. If we don’t start making drastic changes in the next 20 or 30 years we will potentially see severe results such as species extinction and continued severe weather. I live in Arizona. I am not looking forward to having 110 plus degree weather more days than not. Yesterday I think was the 12th straight day of over 110. I can only imagine that this trend is going to continue and we will remain in a drought. As a country, we need to start making the changes that scientists and other professionals have been demanding for years and we need to do it soon.

help me understand

Even after having over a week to digest what happened on I-10 two Thursdays ago, I still can’t grasp that a 24 year old man was hit by possibly 20+ cars. To the point that he was extremely dismembered and DPS does not think they will be able to gather enough…ummm..tissue to test whether the man was intoxicated.

In my world, once say the 3rd car hit him, traffic should have come to a stand still. I personally would have tried to block lanes if I had witnessed what had happened. They say it happened early enough in the morning, that commuters were going 75 miles and hour and rush hour had not hit its peak when cars would have been only going 35 MPH. No matter how you look at it, it is pretty disturbing. Incomprehensible, actually.

Alaska sucks

Well, the listing of polar bears as threatened on the Endangered Species list is going to meet some opposition. Despite the fact that polar bears are very rapidly losing their habitat, Alaska is going to sue the government over the listing because that will threaten the state’s development.

I don’t even know where to begin with this. I mean, really!! You’re concerned more about your “development” than the survival of an entire species? Come on. It is inconceivable that they would eve think this is an ok thing to do. But then Scott reminded me that Alaska likes to do weird things like this and aerial gunning of wolves.

this can’t be good

A large chunk of Antarctica’s Wilkins ice shelf has started to break off. This ice shelf is a permanent ice sheet that apparently, due to being in a fast warming area, is not going really so permanent. This is a huge sign- in case all the other signs weren’t working -that the Earth cannot withstand the warming.

do Arizonans really care?

It’s possible that we will see a ballot initiative this November regarding the state trust lands. While I know where I stand on this issue, I am not sure that the majority of citizens feel the same way. We are still a society that think if there is empty land we must build. I hope that I am wrong and that if we do see this initiative, it passes without issue.