GM's Collapsing Ladder

I loved this op-ed written by Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post. My Father was with GMAC for 35 years and my husband (who is now the Vice President/General Manager of a dealership) was with them for just over 20. As a loyal and life-long GM consumer it saddens me, too, to see the company in its current state.

Black Friday

From Wikipedia:

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, is historically one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year. Many consider it the "official" beginning to the holiday season. The "black" in the name comes from the standard accounting practice of using red ink to denote negative values (losses) and black ink to denote positive values (profits). Black Friday is the day when retailers traditionally get back "in the black" after operating "in the red" for the previous months, often by cutting prices considerably. In addition, most retailers will open very early.

Although Black Friday is typically the busiest shopping day of the year in terms of customer traffic, it is not typically the day with the highest sales volume. That is usually either Christmas Eve or the last Saturday before Christmas.

Because of the large amount of shopping that typically occurs on Black Friday, it has also become Buy Nothing Day."

Oh how I miss the days of 5 AM shopping on the Friday after Christmas! For the past few years, my husband has worked on Black Friday and I just haven't felt brave enough to venture out on my own with 2 small children. For those who go and enjoy it, some links for you...

• Black Friday 2005 - "your one stop source for all the best Black Friday Deals and information"
  
• Target's Wake-Up Call Service - I love this! They're offering a "tuck-in call" service this year as well.
  
• Black Friday List 2005
  
• Black Friday - claims to be the "OFFICIAL" list for deal-searching shoppers
  

Happy Thanksgiving!

As always, I have a long list of things and people to be thankful for this year. My online friends are definitely on that list. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

More Bad GM News

GM to Ax 30,000 Jobs, Close 12 Facilities

They are certainly having a bad month, year - DECADE!

A "Cure"

In a few of my recent posts, I've mentioned the possibility of finding a "cure" for Autism. It's been brought to my attention that not all parents of Autistic children (nor all Autistic adults) necessarily want a cure to be found. Some believe that it's not necessary - that they (or their children) don't need to be "cured".

This fascinates me. I admit that it was probably close-minded of me - but it never occurred to me that there might be people out there who felt that way. I, of course, respect them and their wishes but would ask, in return, that they respect me and mine.

I love - adore - my Autistic son but it makes my heart hurt to see him frustrated and struggling with the issues that his diagnosis burdens him with. If there were something out there that could "cure" my precious boys' uneasiness in certain social situations, his preoccupation with parts of objects (wheels!), his socially and emotionally inappropriate responses, his spontaneous verbal chirps ("stims"), the difficulty he has with eye contact, his inability to "turn off his brain" and sleep restfully at night without medication, his limited (but intense) range of interests, his failure to develop age-appropriate peer relationships... you can bet that I'd jump at it.

American Music Awards-Bound!

I'm so excited! We will be in attendance at the 33rd Annual American Music Awards next week! It's going to be held at The Shrine Auditorium and starts early (5 PM - live for the east coast but tape-delayed out here) so it won't be a terribly late night for us...

Chronicles in Autism - A boy recovers: Can children be cured ?

(Click on link above to read.)

An inspirational story that fills me with hope!

Court Rules Against Special Ed. Parents

Nov 14, 3:55 PM (ET)

By GINA HOLLAND

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that parents who demand better special education programs for their children have the burden of proof in the challenges.

Retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, writing for the 6-2 court, said that when parents challenge a program they have the burden in an administrative hearing of showing that the program is insufficient. If schools bring a complaint, the burden rests with them, O'Connor wrote.

The ruling is a loss for a Maryland family that contested the special education program designed for their son with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The case required the court to interpret the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, which does not specifically say whether parents or schools have the burden of proof in disputes. The law covers more than 6 million students.


The Maryland family in the Supreme Court case had argued that when there are disagreements between schools and parents, education officials have better access to relevant facts and witnesses.

The Bush administration backed the Montgomery County, Md., school district which maintained that the extra requirement would be expensive for local schools.

Chief Justice John Roberts had recused himself from the case, because attorneys from his old law firm represented the school district in suburban Washington.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer wrote separate dissents.

"School districts are charged with responsibility to offer to each disabled child an individualized education program (IEP) suitable to the child's special needs. The proponent of the IEP, it seems to me, is properly called upon to demonstrate its adequacy," Ginsburg wrote.

O'Connor said the court was not ruling on a separate issue, whether states could set their own policies and put the burden on the school officials.

The case is Schaffer v. Weast, 04-698.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the decision and was joined by Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, and Thomas. Justices Ginsberg and Breyer filed dissenting opinions. For a transcript of the complete decision, click here.

Long Night For Arnold Indeed!

His reform propositions were shot down across the board. A few of the more conservative counties easily passed 73, 74 and 75 (and some even 73 through 77) but, statewide, everything failed. Were they bad props? Or did the more than $100,000,000 raised by special interest groups (to campaign against them) just win out?

California Special Election

I voted today. (It drives me up a wall that the prediction is for such a low (35-42%) turnout.)

Here are the props we voted on today:

Proposition 73: Parental Notification of Abortion

Proposition 74: Public School Teacher Tenure

Proposition 75: Union Dues for Political Purposes

Proposition 76: State Spending and School Funding Limits

Proposition 77: Redistricting

Proposition 78: Discounts on Prescription Drugs

Proposition 79: Discounts on Prescription Drugs

Proposition 80: Electric Service Providers Regulation

Results can be viewed here after polls close at 8 PM PST. It's going to be one long night for Arnold...

Cure Autism Now

We were fortunate enough to attend a weekend full of events sponsoring the Cure Autism Now organization. We attended a lovely cocktail party Saturday night at actress Patricia Heaton's home in Los Angeles (and dinner afterwards at The Belvedere inside The Peninsula Hotel - fantastic!). Sunday night, we went to the 10th anniversary gala for the organization held at our hotel (The Regent Beverly Wilshire) during which Anthony Edwards, Dr. Ricki Robinson, Frank Del Olmo (posthumously) and Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek were honored.

It was fun "rubbing elbows" with the celebrities - Mary McCormack, Ed Asner, Debra Messing, Treat Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Annette Bening, Vern Yip, Dana Delany, Catherine O'Hara, John Spencer, Ed Asner, Kristin Chenoweth, Bo Welch, Michael Chiklis, Catherine O'Hara, Steven Weber and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa... The highlight for me, though, was hearing the personal stories shared by other parents of Autistic children and not just the hope - but the confidence - that the Cure Autism Now people have that a cure will be found within the next 10 years.

General Motors has signed on to be a corporate sponsor of the organization and, for that, I'm thrilled.