ExecutiveMom's Safety and Self Defense Blog

If you can vote then why not?

Organizers were trying to get enough votes on a petition to add a change to Missouri's drinking age to the November Ballot.  They will be falling short of their 100,000 needed by May for this November's ballot so they are setting their sites on 2010.  The following is a report in USA Today on Missouri's efforts:

By Judy Keen, USA TODAY

 

Debate over lowering the drinking age is heating up in several states, fueled in part by legislators who contend that men and women who are old enough to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan are responsible enough to buy alcohol legally.

Legislation introduced in Kentucky, Wisconsin and South Carolina would lower the drinking age for military personnel only. A planned ballot initiative in Missouri would apply to everyone 18 and older. An initiative in the works in South Dakota would allow all 19- and 20-year-olds to buy low-alcohol beer.

Vermont’s legislature is considering a task force to study the issue. A Minnesota bill would allow anyone 18 and older to buy alcohol in bars or restaurants, but not in liquor stores until they’re 21.

Then today, I read a sad story about a 15 year old who is now in the ER at Children's Hospital because she had a blood alcohol level of .389 - five times the legal limit.  She is lucky to be alive.
I remember when I was 18, Illinois and Florida both had 18 as their drinking age (just remember this because it made for a fun spring break)...did it make any difference? Honestly have to admit i started drinking at the age 0f 14  - never stopped or slowed us down.  But, today, I don't drink...actually drank less AFTER 21 and yes, I paid a couple tickets for my choice. 
So, would the change in drinking age have made any difference for this 15 year old now struggling for her life?  Or was it just an immature choice she chose to make?  Would this put more drunk drivers on our roads? Younger drivers are a greater risk on the roads the way it is? Do you really think the age limit slows the number of drinkers down? I'm not sure.

So, what do you think? Should we take a vote and consider lowering the drinking age?

Be SAFE out there....

To Helmet or Not

Finally, dry weather and sunshine!  What a beautiful Sunday afternoon I had to take my kids to the ballpark for Kids Opening weekend.  I guess when you live in a "baseball town" and have grown up with the same team - many of your fondest memories revolve around those days and I don't my kids to miss out on that. 

So, yesterday, we packed up drove out and tried to find a parking spot with a million others dressed in Red.  I suppose the thing that caught my attention, though, after a winning ball game and driving home with smiles on our faces and windows open was the group of motorcycles that drove (okay, flew) past us on the highway. 

Now, I have to confess, I am not one who pokes along...so here I am doing - let's say 70 to keep me out of a lot of trouble (+ or - 10)...and 3 bikes went whirring past us - they had to have been doing close to 100 with short sleeve shirts and (yep one guy had shorts on) proudly I do have to say that they did have helmets (but JMO but you hit something at that speed - helmet or no - it isn't going to be pretty).

My point, I am not a motorcycle fan.  Now my husband would absolutely love a Harley but after spending my college summers working in the X-Ray department in the ER and watching them bring in the guys they had scraped off the pavement - leaves a lasting impression let me tell you! 

But, I read a recent article (and sorry can't seem to find it again but was from March 2008) that stated - since the state funding for highways is no longer linked to riders having a helmet, enforcement has dropped tremendously and many states have even let their laws drop (despite this fact: Recent data from Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety cites nearly 75 percent of fatally injured motorcycle riders were not wearing a helmet in states without mandatory helmet laws compared with only 15 percent in states with all-rider helmet laws. What’s more, latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates helmets saved 1,158 motorcyclists’ lives in 2003, and that 640 more could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn them.)

So what do you think?  A drivers choice to wear a helmet or not? Or should the laws be enforced like the seatbelt laws? Would love to hear your opinion...enjoy that sunshine and either way-  Be SAFE....

Now you need a degree and a bullet proof vest to teach 3rd Grade

 

First, I have to say that I'm glad my mother has retired from teaching 3rd grade....

Second, let me understand this - teachers haven't been able to "spank" kids since I was in first grade (way too long ago to mention), then they couldn't say anything that might hurt a child's "self esteem", and now they have to be afraid if they discipline children for inappropriately standing on chairs?

Third, what the $$%^* has our world come to??!!

Difficult to spend my days advocating for safety and helping kids who have been victims of sexual assault but then to read about the behavior of our lovely little ones .... is this because we are no longer disciplining them at home, because we have let all of our rules and regulations slide, because we want to be friends instead of parents to our children, because we haven't taught respect for our elders, we allow too much violence into our children's lives via TV, video games and the internet, ALL OF THE ABOVE AND MORE....

I am just flabbergasted....someone here had to understand the extent of the harm they were planning - that this wasn't just a game - they even divided the "roles" to be carried out.  At what point do we finally say enough is ENOUGH....and become parents and guide our children or do we let these precious little darlings grow up into high school or college mass murderers?  Today's story read:
WAYCROSS, Ga. — A group of third-graders plotted to attack their teacher, bringing a broken steak knife, handcuffs, duct tape and other items for the job and assigning children tasks including covering the windows and cleaning up afterward, police said Tuesday.  The plot involving as many as nine boys and girls at Center Elementary School in south Georgia was a serious threat, Waycross Police Chief Tony Tanner said. The children, ages 8 to 10, were apparently mad at the teacher because she had scolded one of them for standing on a chair, Tanner said. Currie said the children are too young to be charged as adults, and probably too young to be sentenced to a youth detention center. Police seized a steak knife, steel handcuffs, duct tape, electrical and transparent tape, ribbons and the paperweight from the pupils, Tanner said The purported target is a veteran educator who teaches third-grade pupils with learning disabilities, including attention deficit disorder, delayed development and hyperactivity, friends and parents said. The scheme involved a division of roles, Tanner said. One child's job was to cover windows; another was supposed to clean up after the attack.

Any thoughts and opinions on this one?  What do we do to change the way our children are being raised?  Allow our schools and teachers to discipline again and then follow up at home? Do we now have to worry about keeping ourselves safe from 9 year olds? My head is still shaking in disbelief..