To the friends who supported me and the foes who criticized my writing, the message is the same:
May the year 2012 be one of tremendous joy.
The face that greets you in the mirror each morning should sport a big smile!
Let a "shot" of happiness accompany every cup of coffee with a friend!
Freely dispense hugs to friends. Not those inhibited little "side hugs" but the "holdin' on to you like my life depends on it" kind of affection.
Kiss more babies this year and buy more bouquets of flowers!
Catch happiness by the wings every single day!
Laugh out loud.
Love life!
Have a wonderful 2012!
Tammy Swofford
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Happy New Year!
Abortion: Such a Gentle Word if Preceded by the word "Therapeutic"
When issues of conscience begin to bother us we use adjectives to modify nouns. And we use adverbs to modify verbs.
Abortion transforms into "therapeutic abortion". The violent action taking place within the womb is therapeutic for the woman. Go figure.
A wife-beating becomes domestic violence. That black eye and choke marks on the throat are "domestic", hence, the location softens the blows. If the woman is beaten on the sidewalk the world is aware. But if she is beaten in the home only the children are the witnesses. Go figure.
Would you kill another human? Would you kill a twenty pound toddler? Would you kill a seven pound neonate? Would you kill a two pound neonate in the NICU?
My older brother made his startling appearance quite early. He dropped down to two pounds and eleven ounces after birth. We nearly lost the little guy from our family tree.
Would you kill another human being and stuff their remains in a freezer?
What do you call medical doctors who abort babies who are perfectly formed, cognizant within their environment and full of human potential?
Butchers.
I believe abortion is murder. I believe we need to continue to mount legal challenges against the abortion industry. Blood cries out. Even from the womb. Those of us who are sane must stand against insanity. And then we must provide avenues for vulnerable women to find the support they need to bring their generations to light.
Are babies punishment for mistakes? If so, what is the punishment for the sperm donor?
Link here
If a father takes his daughter for an abortion is he aborting a punishment? Or is he allowing the abortion of his grandchild?
We are Americans. What are our values? Without core values such as sanctity of life, a nation is weakened.
Link to article
Tammy Swofford
tammyswofford@yahoo.com
Thursday, December 29, 2011
The Hamas Covenant: Part I
Readers,
Here is the latest for Daily Times.
Hamas Covenant: Part I
Please take the time to read the Hamas Covenant. There are various translations available.
Next week my commentary provides a basic document analysis. Things are skeletal with a thousand word column. But you will catch the drift. smile
Tammy Swofford
New York Times: Telling a Lie for an Administrative Error
Here is the link:
New York Times
Yesterday I received both e mails. The first one puzzled me and I ignored it. We enjoy reading the New York Times.
The second e mail explained the first.
The Tweet sent out was deliberately dishonesty.
Can I trust what they put on the page?
Tammy Swofford
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Anjem Choudary's Christmas Message: Lacking the Element of Surprise
Anjem Choudary's message that Jesus is a Muslim and will bring Shari'ah law is predictable enough. I have references in my library. So here we go!
First the Qur'anic ayat:
And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), but must believe in him (Jesus, son of Mary, as only a Messenger of Allah, and a human being), before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection he (Jesus) will be a witness against them. An-Nisa 159
The Hadith link is this:
Narrated Abu Huraira: "Allah's Messenger said, 'By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely (Jesus), the sone of Mary, will shortly descend amongst you (Muslims) and will judge mankind justly, by the law of the Qur'an (as a just ruler); he will break the cross and kill the pigs and there will be no Jizya.....' "
Additional Hadith add the phrase "and slay Dajjal" after "kill the pigs".
I don't like spoon-fed research blogs, so will leave you with two links.
I wrote about Anjem Choudary on the link below:
Daily Times commentary
Here is the link to Choudary's Christmas message:
Link to article
To which I MUST respond....
And a Merry Christmas to YOU, Anjem Choudary!
Smiling
Tammy Swofford
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
CHRISTMAS 2011: Jesus Christ, Lamb of God
"It is time." She said it simply enough but there was a flicker of fear in her eyes.
"It is too soon!" The voice of the man bounced off the walls of the animal stall.
Carefully standing up the woman moved her garments aside. The proof was there: water mixed with blood. A new life was emerging from unknown darkness.
The man quickly gathered hay from all of the stalls and built up a rectangular area the size of a small sacrificial altar. Gently assisting his wife into a seated position he instructed her to lie back and grasp the iron rings used to tether the animals.
When her breathing began to come in jagged bursts he cried out, "I do not know what to do!" Through clenched teeth she hissed back at him, "You have delivered lambs in the field. This is no different! Think like a shepherd!"
Searching about in the stall he found two skin flasks. Opening the one, he poured wine vinegar on a piece of cloth. "Bite down on this! Let your lips be moistened with the liquid!"
From the second flask he poured a bit of oil on another rag. He sat it aside and returned his hand to the belly of his wife.
When she screamed the final time it was accompanied by piercing words, "It feels like thorns! I have the feel of thorns within my frame!"
Watching the crown of the head appear with a dark tangle of hair the man quickly grabbed the rag with oil. As the baby emerged he wiped the small face and watched as a slightly blue complexion turned flush with life. Turning the baby over he simply said to his wife, "It is as was spoken. It is a man child. His name shall be called Jesus."
Years later, Mary stood on the hill and watched as Jesus was crucified.
When he cried out, "I thirst!" she ran her tongue across her lips. Suddenly, she felt a bit weak. She watched as a sponge soaked with sour wine was raised to his lips.
She stood silently when He cried out, "It is finished." There was nothing more she could do for her son. She had given him birth. She could not give him new life.
But then a Roman soldier pierced his side. Water and blood came out and flowed into the dirt. Mary crumpled to the ground. The woman beside her exclaimed, "Mary, Mary! What is it?"
When he cried out, "I thirst!" she ran her tongue across her lips. Suddenly, she felt a bit weak. She watched as a sponge soaked with sour wine was raised to his lips.
She stood silently when He cried out, "It is finished." There was nothing more she could do for her son. She had given him birth. She could not give him new life.
But then a Roman soldier pierced his side. Water and blood came out and flowed into the dirt. Mary crumpled to the ground. The woman beside her exclaimed, "Mary, Mary! What is it?"
Trying to stand up and moving her garment aside she answered, "I have an intense pain inside of me. It feels like the pain of thorns. It feels like the pain felt when I gave birth to my Son."
John 19:28-37
Tammy Swofford
Suffering from Paranoia? The TSA has a job for you!
This news breaks on Christmas eve.
Cupcake IED
Well, not really. It was just a red velvet cupcake.
But perhaps the TSA bureaucratic midget thought the container looked like a primitive IED. Just stuff a birthday candle in the thing, add your legally purchased in-flight bottle of Scotch, light it up and toss it into the first class cabin. Torch!
My guess is the TSA agent was hungry. That cupcake was down the security hatch two minutes after the Christmas terrorist wannabe safely boarded the flight. I bet it was delicious too! Another sacrifice, on behalf of our nation.
If boarding a flight with a cupcake looks like terrorism in progress we should also ban my grandmother's banana pudding from airports. There are more than a few who would kill for this recipe which requires a double boiler and plenty of stirring.
We should ban all food service on flights. If a cupcake is dangerous, I hate to consider the danger which might be lurking within my fruit cup which is sweetly handed to me by the flight attendant.
We should ban all food service on flights. If a cupcake is dangerous, I hate to consider the danger which might be lurking within my fruit cup which is sweetly handed to me by the flight attendant.
Big Brother should completely ban alcohol.
Flaming distilled beverages
Hmmm. Maybe I should not have mentioned the aforementioned.
As for me, Christmas at home is the better choice. No removal of shoes, wands flourished across my bags for explosives, confiscation of my manicure scissors and heightened awareness looks from people wearing ugly blue gloves.
The Israeli's have a better system. They perform pre-flight ThreatCon on humans. They are not worried about flour, eggs and oil.
Tammy Swofford
tammyswofford@yahoo.com
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Isn't he.....Beautiful!
Christmas is drawing near. In the Dallas area the sky is clear and without clouds. It will be sweater weather today. No real need for a jacket. As typical for most years, we will not receive a blanket of snow.
The message we celebrate is simple enough. We are Christians. We believe Jesus is who He proclaimed Himself to be: Son of God.
Faith is a beautiful gift.
Faith is a beautiful gift.
Enjoy the link!
Christian Worship
Smiling,
Tammy
Monday, December 19, 2011
Walkouts by Nurses: A Crisis in Confidence
There is currently an artificial bubble regarding nursing shortages due to the recession. Registered nurses who had planned to retire now work a bit longer if their spouse is unemployed. Other nurses have returned to the marketplace for the same reason(s).
Much of what is written in the article link below rings true. My hospital also hired highly paid consultants to move into our work spaces and observe us. Staff nurses were also required to keep time logs of their activities. Did they note three minutes to have a bowel movement, wash their hands and return to work? We were then given scripted responses to improve patient satisfaction survey scores. Should this present as an ethical dilemma for a profession which attempts to maintain high ethical behavior? I duly noted that we were not allowed to follow administration around, require them to hand us a time log, and then suggest better ways they could extend the "servant leadership" back to the peasants outside the moat.
My facility does give a Christmas meal and a gift card to employees. It is a fifteen dollar Target card. I say "my facility" in past tense at this point. But for any nurses feeling the burn of skeletal staffing patterns which throw units into a crisis when one R.N. calls in sick; for any R.N. wishing to share with the public the wonderful Christmas gifts offered up by her smiling leadership, this is the place to vent.
The end of the road came for me when attending an Employee forum where we faced the cheering squad a.k.a administration. Our hard work was rewarded of course. Dietary provided boxes of animal crackers and cartons of milk for our refreshment. I determined on that day, to walk away and never look back.
Is it time for Texas nurses to change the way hospitals conduct their business with regard to the talent pool known as registered nurses? Unfortunately, we are not allowed to unionize in Texas. The law needs to be changed. A mighty sea wave of change is needed in workplace conditions. It can only be accomplished when nurses are truly given a voice - not the falsetto of corporate hospital groups. We need hospitals to make the hard decisions now. Less and less women are choosing nursing as a profession. There are valid reasons for my concerns.
I am an R.N. with highly valued critical care skills. My fifteen dollar Target card was handed off to a homeless man last year.
Much of what is written in the article link below rings true. My hospital also hired highly paid consultants to move into our work spaces and observe us. Staff nurses were also required to keep time logs of their activities. Did they note three minutes to have a bowel movement, wash their hands and return to work? We were then given scripted responses to improve patient satisfaction survey scores. Should this present as an ethical dilemma for a profession which attempts to maintain high ethical behavior? I duly noted that we were not allowed to follow administration around, require them to hand us a time log, and then suggest better ways they could extend the "servant leadership" back to the peasants outside the moat.
My facility does give a Christmas meal and a gift card to employees. It is a fifteen dollar Target card. I say "my facility" in past tense at this point. But for any nurses feeling the burn of skeletal staffing patterns which throw units into a crisis when one R.N. calls in sick; for any R.N. wishing to share with the public the wonderful Christmas gifts offered up by her smiling leadership, this is the place to vent.
The end of the road came for me when attending an Employee forum where we faced the cheering squad a.k.a administration. Our hard work was rewarded of course. Dietary provided boxes of animal crackers and cartons of milk for our refreshment. I determined on that day, to walk away and never look back.
Is it time for Texas nurses to change the way hospitals conduct their business with regard to the talent pool known as registered nurses? Unfortunately, we are not allowed to unionize in Texas. The law needs to be changed. A mighty sea wave of change is needed in workplace conditions. It can only be accomplished when nurses are truly given a voice - not the falsetto of corporate hospital groups. We need hospitals to make the hard decisions now. Less and less women are choosing nursing as a profession. There are valid reasons for my concerns.
I am an R.N. with highly valued critical care skills. My fifteen dollar Target card was handed off to a homeless man last year.
New York Times article
Tammy Swofford
tammyswofford.blogspot.com
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Republican Bill Johnson: A Family Man goes Rambo
Being a gentle southern lady it is not within my nature to cut loose with public cursing. But after catching this bit of news, I did have to let lose with a surprised "What the firetruck!"
Let me get this straight.
* A fifty-two year old man is secretly donating his sperm for lesbian couples?
* A fifty-two year old married man is secretly donating sperm whilst living on a different continent than his wife?
* A fifty-two year old married man with three children wants to produce babies without his family's knowledge?
* A fifty-two year old married man with three children tells a reporter his wife had a hysterectomy ten years ago and would like nothing better in the world than giving him children?
Since Mr. Johnson has traveled extensively, is it possible that he has provided sperm donation across the world?
Note that I did not use the word "fathered" when referring to Mr. Johnson's activities.
Any man can make the donation. But a sperm donor is not a father. He is part of a business transaction. A father is the man who is present in the child's life and not merely present as a sample in a plastic cup.
Hug your children today if you are their father. You deserve a reward. As for Mr. Johnson, he deserves worse than a kick in the seat of the pants.
Since Mr. Johnson has traveled extensively, is it possible that he has provided sperm donation across the world?
Note that I did not use the word "fathered" when referring to Mr. Johnson's activities.
Any man can make the donation. But a sperm donor is not a father. He is part of a business transaction. A father is the man who is present in the child's life and not merely present as a sample in a plastic cup.
Hug your children today if you are their father. You deserve a reward. As for Mr. Johnson, he deserves worse than a kick in the seat of the pants.
Article link
Bill Johnson website
Tammy Swofford
Monday, December 12, 2011
Senator Ted Lieu: Because One Bigot Always Recognizes Another
"All-American Muslim" lost retail giant Lowe's advertising dollar. Investment in advertising dollars is meant to attract business. Perhaps Lowe's determined that their investment in a program which evoked the specter of an agenda and worked to polarize communities was not a good deal.
What would be funny were it not so tragic is the manner in which Senator Ted Lieu, D-Torrance used his own decloaking device against himself when identifying Lowe's as a master villain. He railed against "naked religious bigotry". He then stepped into his own mud fight with this statement:
"We want to raise awareness so that consumers will know during this holiday shopping season that Lowe's is engaging in religious discrimination," Lieu said.
The season is Christmas. The shopping is for Christmas presents. They land under a Christmas Tree to await the day we call Christmas in our denominational communities of faith.
The pot clangs against the kettle. Do you note the distinct sound of tin clashing with iron?
My next article for Daily Times addresses in flanking manner, the political pox which has infected our own Christian holiday.
As for Lowe's, the decision was driven by an understanding that what divides us communally does not draw us financially. Advertising is meant to draw us to a product or corporation with our buying power. A majority demographic won this one with a little spitfire sent out from Florida. In the end, the decision came down to capitalism and statistics. The one percent Muslim population could not make up for the economic boycott threatened by a demographically larger population group. In time, these things always sort themselves out.
Ask me about this again in ten years.
Ask me about this again in ten years.
Article Link
Tammy Swofford
tammyswofford@yahoo.com
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Tim Tebow: The Gift of the "Mile High Messiah"
The Wall Street Journal ran an article in the weekend edition titled, "God's Quarterback: The Tim Tebow Phenomenon.
The article claims "deep-seated anxieties in American society about the intertwining of religion and sports". I disagree with the assessment. Perhaps it is better stated that American media has deep-seated anxieties about expressions of Christianity when in tandem with success and celebrity.
Nobody minds the homeless drunk singing "Amazing Grace" on YouTube. In fact, we applaud like chimpanzees. Who can feel threatened by a socioeconomically impoverished Christian? But when an increasingly popular and successful NFL quarterback proclaims his faith, we go ape sh-t over the whole thing. Read my lips. If there is anything the liberal left hates, it is a successful and popular Christian.
Football is a team sport. It seems to me that perhaps the Broncos are successful with Tebow as quarterback because he exhibits the gift of encouragement. His enthusiasm is caught by the team. He believes in the team and they believe in him. The fact that he also believes in Jesus Christ is merely part of his identity. May he continue to thrill us with the freshness of his vision. Our young people need role models like Tim Tebow. Those who are anxiety-ridden can continue to bow before the altar of the Kardashian family.
Link to Tebow
Tammy Swofford
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Journalistic Standards and Blogging
Not all journalists blog. But all bloggers are not journalists.
I do both.
The blogging community needs to be aware of the pitfalls of online blogging journals. We cannot hide behind the profession of journalism and use it as our legal shield if we fail to uphold the standards for ethical journalism.
I have been threatened with a lawsuit in the past for a post on this blog. I received a demand letter from a lawyer and threatening letters into my email account. A lawsuit would have been thrown out. The blog contained verifiable facts which were checked and double-checked for accuracy. The supporting documents were available for the public. But lacking financial resources to mount a defense, this particular blog which received tremendous traffic and reader comments was returned to the drafts folder.
Bloggers cannot engage libel and slander and hide behind "anonymous sources". With just the skeletal details in the second link, my guess is I would have also sided with the jurors of this particular case.
But let's kick back for a moment and review the ethics of professional journalism. As stated previously, not all bloggers can rightfully claim to be journalists. The title is earned by consistent use of high professional and ethical standards. Those who use the digital age to produce disinformation and defraud the public need to feel the eyes on their backs.
April 7, 2008 blog
I have been threatened with a lawsuit in the past for a post on this blog. I received a demand letter from a lawyer and threatening letters into my email account. A lawsuit would have been thrown out. The blog contained verifiable facts which were checked and double-checked for accuracy. The supporting documents were available for the public. But lacking financial resources to mount a defense, this particular blog which received tremendous traffic and reader comments was returned to the drafts folder.
Bloggers cannot engage libel and slander and hide behind "anonymous sources". With just the skeletal details in the second link, my guess is I would have also sided with the jurors of this particular case.
But let's kick back for a moment and review the ethics of professional journalism. As stated previously, not all bloggers can rightfully claim to be journalists. The title is earned by consistent use of high professional and ethical standards. Those who use the digital age to produce disinformation and defraud the public need to feel the eyes on their backs.
April 7, 2008 blog
Link to article
Tammy Swofford
tammyswofford@yahoo.com
Thursday, December 01, 2011
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