Insanity

I believe in a woman's ability to choose her own path when it comes to reproductive rights. I'm pro-choice (as it pertains to the woman makes the choice based on her own morals or medical needs, not as it pertains to would I have one), I am thankful for IUI and IVF technologies that have made it possible for women to become mothers who would otherwise be unable to have children, and I can appreciate the selfless act of love it takes to place a child for adoption or to act as a surrogate. But with every right comes a responsibility - just ask my 12 year old son who is studying his rights and responsbilities as a citizen.

The news from California about an unemployed, single parent of 6 (some of whom has special needs) undergoing infertility treatments to wind up as the unemployed, single parent of 14 with no home of her own and still children with special needs is one of those things that has me scratching my head.

I believe that any potential parent - single, married, working, disabled, unemployed, fertile, infertile - needs to fully evaluate not only their desire to have children but their ability to meet the needs of any potential child(ren). The Lord commanded Adam and Eve to go forth and multiply but I don't believe He gave the commandment so that procreative powers could be used on a whim. And certainly, if we know that basic needs (shelter, food, clothing, health) cannot be met we should be extremely cautious in bringing new life into the world. It's up to each parent to decide if they feel they are prepared physically, financially and psychologically for the task of parenting.

The part that really gets to me isn't that she has been getting food stamps or government grants. It has very little to do with her living with her parents or her having filed bankruptcy. Those things are a part of life and no matter how much we plan ahead, sometimes things happen in families where it becomes necessary to receive some kind of help. The part that just eats at my heart is that she wanted to have all of these kids so that they wouldn't feel lonely like she did. Huh? I really hope that someone explains to her that the loneliness she felt because of the family dysfunction had very little to do with her being an only child and a whole lot to do with her mental state. It is extremely possible to feel lonley in a crowd of a million people. So where does that leave her now?

Personally, I think the woman is in over her head and for all of the wrong reasons. I hope, for the sake of her children, that she gets some mental health counseling in addition to the hands on help she is going to need with those children in the years to come.

Truer Words Were Never Spoken

And it doesn't seem to matter which candidate, party or issue is being discussed.

We Interrupt The "Financial Crisis" For a Moment of Brevity

Due to recent economic reversals and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil, the 'light at the end of the tunnel' has been turned off.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Your Government

Political Quandry

The race for president is heating up with the conclusion of the Democratic Convention and the onset of the Republican convention. Both candidates have chosen their running mates. And now, I start to weigh heavily the pro's and con's of each team of candidates. After all, if #2 is supposed to be able to take over for #1 shouldn't we be evaluating both members of the team, not just the "aggregate" characteristics of the team?

I'm a huge family value supporter. No, I do not believe in abortion but I would call myself pro-choice rather than anti-abortion. I don't feel I need to impose my moral values on others who may not share the same value -- I wish they would, but that's beside the point and there are a ton of factors that effect each person's decision on that issue. Yes, I believe that we ought to do something proactive to assist families in being stronger families whether that assistance comes from education, medical care, affordable housing - lots of temporal things affect our families. But I don't believe that in offering assistance we should be creating families who are solely dependant upon government aide and not using their own resources (time, talent, hard work) to help themselves as well. And yes, I believe in what some might call antiquated notions of family responsibilities.

So, imagine my surprise when the Republican candidate selects for himself a young, inexperienced, anti-abortion, mother of a 4 month old with special needs. You mean to tell me that running for vice-president and all that will entail over the next several months, that performing the duties of vice-president and all that will entail over the next several months... that with all of the travel and hoopla and circus that woman will have the opportunity to provide that little baby with the care it deserves from its mother? And just what does that say for her family values? [I can raise the same question about the Democratic candidate hauling his young children around as well]

I also wonder if she has any idea that the Republican machine has just selected her to be their "balancing" agent and could care less about her family values. She's everything their candidate is not: young, inexperienced, small children at home... and the biggest balancer of all, she's a woman. I wonder how many commercials/cartoons/editorials we're now going to see about how those democrats who were undecided about getting behind the Democratic candidate who isn't a woman will finally have a woman to support.

Yes, I know... sounds very judgemental of me when I look at what I've written. Even I can see that. But this is my initial reaction.

I'm not saying that women shouldn't run for office and that mothers make horrible candidates, but I do wonder about their priorities when news like this comes out.

Perhaps I'll be more pleasantly suprised in the weeks to come and we get to know this woman better.

The Plan

Every once in awhile I feel the need to "get political" around here. There's some controversy about who created "The Plan" but according to Snopes.com, it has been incorrectly attributed to Robin Williams. Regardless, I thought I would share it with you.

'I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan.'

1) 'The US will apologize to the world for our 'interference' in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those 'good 'ole' boys', we will never 'interfere' again.

2) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany, South Korea, the Middle East, and the Philippines. They don't want us there. We would station our troops at our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence.

3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of whom or where they are. They're illegal! France will welcome them.

4) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit! No one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in. If you don't like it in your country change it yourself and don't try to hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-1 1 cashiers.

5) No foreign 'students ' over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes,or they get a 'D' it's back home baby.

6) The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while

7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of their wells filling up their storage sites would be enough.)

8) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not 'interfere.' They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.

9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

10) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us 'Ugly Americans' any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH. Learn it or LEAVE. Now, isn't that a winner of a plan?

'The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.' She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'you want a piece of me?' '

While the author's ideas are a bit extreme (ok a lot extreme), I believe it should make us take a good hard look at what is going on in the world around us and figure out "What are we doing?", "Why are we here?" and "What should be be doing?". "What really is our place in this world?" and "Are we going about this in the right way?". "What is going to happen if we continue doing things exactly as we are now?" I believe there is a lot of room for change and "self" examination. I believe that change is going to come hard and with a price. But can we afford to continue as is? Everyone may have a different answer and I'm all ears to anyone with a plan. I may not agree with your plan but having a plan is a good starting point, right?

Apparently They Have Nothing Better to Do...

FEBRUARY 27--A Congressional committee today formally asked federal prosecutors to investigate whether Roger Clemens lied when he testified earlier this month that he never used steroids or human growth hormone.

So, how's that health care initiative work coming along? How's the budget coming along? How's the War in Iraq coming along? How's the "No Child Left Behind" and other education programs coming along? How is campaign spending and reform coming along?

Hmmmmm. All those problems solved, eh? Yup I can see where it would be important to spend all this time and money on trying to find out if professional athletes ever used performance enhancing drugs. Anyone here think they don't? Nope, I didn't think you guys were that gullible. It's a given. In a profession where people are paid according to their talent and their talent is highly dependent upon their physical health/strength you can assume that there is probably about as much illicit drug use as there is among the general population. It just might be a different drug.

Our esteemed professional athletes failed in their ability to be role models when they started becoming thugs, drug addicts, dead bead parents, gamblers, and animal abusers. Do we really have to spend additional money to know that the system is broke, is gonna stay broke and nothing we do is going to change that? Let them screw up their lives by taking these drugs. Just don't ask me to pay my tax dollars so you can justify not focusing on the real problems in America.

A Parable

I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. What a beauty of a bird feeder it is, as I filled it lovingly with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.

but then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue. Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table. Everywhere!

Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. And others birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.

After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.

Soon, the back yard was like it used to be ... quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.

Now let's see... Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, and free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen.

Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families; you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor; your child's 2nd grade class is behind at her school because over half the class doesn't speak English. Corn Flakes now comes in a bilingual box; I have to "press one" to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than "Old Glory" are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.

Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.

[author unknown]

This parable was sent to me in an email - one of those widely circulated, spam type things that normally I glance at and delete. However, this one touched a nerve. Perhaps a few nerves. While I feel the author may be extremely broad by some of his statements, the sentiment is felt in our household. Maybe the solution to the problem of social programs and illegal immigration is to simple take away the free ride.

A co-worker of mine (with whom I rarely chat politics because we differ so widely on some things) and I recently had a discussion about "entitlements". In a conversation with a third person, I had been challenged about the selfish nature of my belief that all persons in the US should have access to basic, necessary health care without worrying about having to file bankruptcy over medical bills or choose food over medications. Not once did I say that we should never have to pay for services - there are those which are elective or alternatively treated at lower costs (example: gastric bypass is an optional surgery however nutritional counseling and access to a fitness coach can provide similar even if slower results). But it got my blood boiling to think that I, as one of millions of hard working tax paying uninsured Americans, am footing the bill for others to receive basic services, services that are freely available to those who are not contributing to the system when I cannot access these services myself without having to give up some other necessity in life. Why does it make me wrong to want what I'm paying for other people to have? That doesn't make me entitled - it makes me justified.

I, for one, am looking forward to hearing more about affordable health care (and not just campaign promises, but real action). And I have a few suggestions about how they can start fixing the problem.

First they need to put wrongful death and malpractice caps back into place. Our society has become so sue happy that a good portion of the cost to walk into the doctor's office is for the overhead of malpractice insurance. Mistakes happen - doctors are human too. Medical treatment comes with inherent risk - since when did we start expecting guarantees of perfect health and zero complication so we don't sue? Sure, there are situations which warrent a charge of malpractice. But what amount of money is going to restore health or life to a victim of such circumstance? And why should the rest of us pay forever for something that cannot be undone?

Second, get rid of "managed" health care organizations. Let physicians and hospitals and medical services compete in the free market like other industries instead of being guaranteed certain fees for billing codes that may or may not be the service performed.

Third, get rid of all of the different social medical programs and their bureaucratic hierarchies. Start calling it what it is - socialized health care - and have if fall under the adminstration of a single program. The monies are there. No taxes have to be raised. National health care is feasible of we stop paying government officials to "regulate" 20 different programs that have the same function in our society.

And fourth, let's stop assuming that everyone who doesn't fit an exact measurement on a chart has health risks that make them uninsurable or insurable at unrealistic premiums. Health insurance should be rated like car insurance - start with a base rate. Add to it factors which contribute to cost. Subtract from it factors which offset cost. Base it on the individual rather than archaeic tables which are not even close to defining the "average" American. [as an aside: By no means to I mean to imply that weight is not a national concern, but not every person who is heavy has health conditions which should warrant excess premium.]

I am ashamed to live in a country where our priorities are so screwed up that you're better off not being a working taxpayer than by meeting your obligations. I'm ashamed to live in a country where we hesitate not to send aid dollars overseas when we have people with real needs living all around us - people who are struggling day in and day out to keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables the middle class poor, not just the impoverished. I'm ashamed to live in a country where we are more concerned with "how will a wall look" than in enforcing the laws of our country. And yes, I very much to agree that the sins of the parents become the sins of the child in regard to illegal immigration. Parents need to think about the impact of being caught and deported and how that will affect their children before they break the law.

I'm all for people wanting to come to a new country to better themselves and their families. But do it legally. And don't cry me a sob story about why you had to break the law. It's still a crime and deserves the appropriate consequence when you get busted. "But judge, my family was starving and we were about to be evicted from our home. I had to rob that gas station." It's the same parallel.

I do invite your discussion - reminding of course that rants are ok, bashing is not.