Constitution Day

(This is part of a piece I wrote for my companies newsletter that I wanted to share with all my blogger friends)

On September 17th we will join together as a country to celebrate Constitution Day. Created to honor the timeless principles that govern our country, the purpose of this holiday is to remember the important values that contributed to America’s political foundation and to celebrate our individual freedoms.

As a young girl I traveled to our nation’s capitol and visited the National Archives to view our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. At the time I failed to appreciate the value of these historic documents but through the years I’ve grown to cherish the battle fought by our Founding Fathers to secure liberties for America and its future generations. Over two hundred years later, the words found within both our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence have found residence in the deepest and dearest parts of our being.

As Gary Palmer, president of the Alabama Policy Institute, noted in a recent column, “One of the urgent challenges facing America today is the need to pass on the essential core knowledge and principles necessary for the next generation to successfully lead our nation.” I believe in the values that shaped our country’s history and recognize the importance of ensuring that they remain in the forefront of all policy debates both at the national and state level.

My favorite time of the year.

I can't resist posting something about the beautiful weather this morning and the glorious occasion that will happen in just 5 days, 1 hour, and 25 minutes. Yes folks it's football season. This morning as I stepped outside I could smell the fresh fall air fighting against the sticky humid summer air for it's chance to grace my presence. Unfortunately it lost that fight as we climb into the upper 80's but I know that soon I will be enjoying cool 70 degree weather. What's better is enjoying that while you sit outside Owen Field enjoying a hot dog and cold beverage. Sitting around talking football with your best friends wondering if this will be the year that Stoops leads us to a National Championship. Hoping for the chance to experience something special so we can sit with our grand kids one day and say, "We were there!"

I spent this weekend shopping for the perfect game day shirt. One that would show my Sooner Spirit but also keep me cool as I sit in the glorious North End Zone and cheer on my team. Yes folks I am that nerd. I plan my weeks, wardrobe, and social events around the OU game day schedule. I look forward to this time of year in the same way that a little child looks forward to Christmas morning. Sooner football is wrapped in tradition and fills the Oklahoma history books with many glorious stories. OU games attract dignataries, famous personalities, and occasionally are highlighted on network television shows. It's part of our culture here in Oklahoma and I will always feel honored to be a part of the show!

To be or not to be? That is the question.

When I get bored and I allow my mind to wonder it immediately fills up with questions.  Questions about life, people, animals, and mostly why things are the way they are.  I've always been like this ever since I was a little girl.  Some might call me nosey but I call it curious. I would spend hours during the summer taking things apart in my mother's house just because I wondered, "How does this thing work?"

So I began to think the other day about how powerful the question mark is.  Think about it. It's probably the most powerful punctuation mark there is. Think of the many marketing campaigns and historical events that have been surrounded around questions...

• Where's the beef?
  
• What Would Jesus Do? (if you think this wasn't a marketing ploy you are wrong)
• Mr. President did you have sex with that woman?
• What came first, the chicken or the egg?
• Does this make my butt look big?

And a few less famous questions I ask myself on a daily basis.

• What made me think this looked good on me?
• What's up with Amy McRee's face?
• How can I make money doing nothing? (besides being a politician)
• Does my dog really have to lick my face every other minute in the morning? Yes I hear the alarm!
• Why do people ALWAYS let their children run wild in Wal-Mart?

As children we are naturally inquisitive.  Anyone who has spent more than five minutes with a toddler knows that their conversations consist of mainly questions. Why is the sky blue? Who invented people? Where do pop tarts come from? Why can't I eat my buggers? Why don't girls have weenises? (that one is for my boy Bo)  There's even a game show where you can only answer with questions. (Jeopardy)

Think about how the world would be if people stopped asking questions?  I think this quote answers that..."There are no foolish questions and no one becomes a fool until they stop asking questions."

I will leave you with some of my personal favorite questions.  Most I can't take credit for. Please feel free to respond with your own favorite questions. Like, Why did I waste 2 minutes of my life reading this blog?

If laughter is the best medicine, who's the idiot who said they 'died laughing'? 
If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches? 
Why are the little styrofoam pieces called peanuts?
Why does the Easter bunny carry eggs? Rabbits don't lay eggs.
Do siamese twins pay for one ticket or two tickets when they go to movies and concerts?
Why does caregiver and caretaker mean the same thing?
How fast do hotcakes sell?
When there's two men who "get married", do they both go to the same bachelor party?
Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?
Who was Sadie Hawkins?
Why do we sing "Rock a bye baby" to lull a baby to sleep when the song is about putting your baby in a tree and letting the wind crash the cradle on the ground?
Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?
Why do we put suits in a garment bag and put garments in a suitcase?
If Mars had earthquakes would they be called marsquakes?
Why do people never say "it's only a game" when they're winning?
If an ambulance is on its way to save someone, and it runs someone over, does it stop to help them?
Why is it called a funny bone, when if you hit it, it's not funny at all?
Why do dogs like the smell of other dogs butts?
Do Chinese people get English sayings tattooed on their bodies?
Do glow-in-the-dark objects stop glowing when somebody turns the lights on?
If you died with braces on would they take them off?

How come lemon washing up liquid contains real lemons, but lemon juice contains artificial flavorings.

Ten Reasons Why Your Company Needs to 'Tweet'

A great article about why Twitter is important. (FYI I'm addicted) I stole this from jenx67's blog because I'm not creative enough to come up with my own stuff.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/8/prweb1199294.htm

All Gore's Hypocrisy Caught by AFP

Before you listen to another word from Al Gore watch this video. Before he starts preaching to me he better start making come changes of his own.

Teachers cry, "More, more, more!" AGAIN!!!

The Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) announced a plan yesterday demanding $850 million additional dollars for education. Their goal is to raise Oklahoma's per pupil spending to the national average. While I'm ok with that I would also suggest that we LOWER the per pupil spending for administration costs. Oklahoma may be in the bottom as far as the amount of dollars that go straight to the classroom but we are one of the top ten in how much we spend per pupil on administration costs. These include, among many other things, the comfy salaries that we pay our MANY superintendents.

Read the Oklahoman article here.