Absent Blogger

I've been a horrible little Postey McPoster lately. Apologies. I've been encouraging The Lawyer to get more into his blog, and I believe he has, whereas, I on the other hand, have been kind of occupied- being a mom, working a couple of different jobs, handling some volunteer work and desperately dreaming of moving into a different house.

I promise more and better blogging from me soon. Sit tight and keep checking on me.

Memorial Day

Today, we remember all Americans who have died while serving in our nation’s armed forces. To date, that includes 2464 killed in Iraq, and 292 killed in the conflict in Afghanistan. (Phillip Martin has compiled a list of the Texans who have died.) How best to remember and honor them?

Many will enjoy the day off without even pausing to remember the meaning behind the occasion. We gather with friends, barbecue, maybe watch some baseball or an NBA playoff game, and celebrate the arrival of summer.

For others, we honor the dead by displaying the Flag, or perhaps by attending or participating in a parade. President Bush will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. There is certainly a place for this type of ceremony in honoring the fallen men and women of our armed forces. Sometimes, however, such events run the risk of unduly appealing to the jingoistic part of our nature.

Let us remember that Congress has actually called on us to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to our individual religious faith, for "permanent peace." Thus, it seems appropriate for us to consider, prayerfully, whether our current foreign policy, particularly our policy in Iraq, is advancing or impeding the cause of permanent peace. This process should involve consideration of all points of view, but this is an occasion for rational rumination.

If one concludes, as I do, that our involvement in Iraq is misguided, then we owe those Americans that we honor today, whose service helped preserve our freedom, an honest effort at changing our government’s policy. Indifference does not honor their sacrifice. Many of us, including me, could be rightly accused of inaction despite holding strong opinions.

We have the right to speak out, to contact our elected representatives, to organize, and to vote. Utilizing our rights in an effort to effect government policy that will truly advance the cause of permanent peace is a most appropriate way to remember and honor those military personnel who gave their lives.

Culture of Life?

Although I’m listed as a contributor, I’ve contributed nothing to this blog since its inception. Until now. Miss Melissa seems greatly interested in reproductive rights and women’s health issues. I happened upon a recent story that might be worthy of mention.

Now, I’m aware that the Roman Catholic Church (or as old school Anglicans would say, "the Roman Church") takes a dim view of such things as birth control and masturbation. (Do good Catholic boys have to mention nocturnal emissions during confession?) But I was surprised by the story of Kelly Romenesko, a former French teacher at a Catholic school in Appleton Wisconsin. She was fired from her job. The reason: she became pregnant via in-vitro fertilization. (Ms. Romenesko and her husband had tried unsuccessfully for several years to start a family before exploring the possibility of in-vitro fertilization.)

By employing medical technology to commingle her eggs with her husband’s sperm, Romenesko had violated two clauses in her teaching contract: to uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church, and to act and teach in accordance with Catholic doctrine and the church’s moral and social teachings.

In 1987, Cardinal Ratzinger--now known as Pope Benedict XVI--authored a church instruction on "respect for human life in its origin and the dignity of procreation." The document teaches that in-vitro fertilization is immoral. There are several reasons, apparently, for the Catholic Church’s position, including the fact that the process often results in extra embryos that may later be discarded. Also, to harvest the sperm, the donor must--gasp--masturbate.

I’m not Roman Catholic. There are many things I like about the Catholic Church. But really, what’s the scriptural justification for this position. And I wonder if any Catholic school teacher has been fired for practicing birth control or violating other Catholic teachings.

Ms. Romenesko and her husband eventually welcomed twin daughters into this world. Their girls were baptized in the Lutheran church.

Prepregnant = Prepared

I was a day early in recommending everyone read A Handmaid's Tale. If you're a woman, you should be alarmed by the CDC's report released today. In a nutshell, it says your uterus and the health of its future content(s) is more important than you are.

The report recommends all women of childbearing age- between the ages of 15-44- be treated as "pre-pregnant." The logic? Because nearly half of all pregnancies are unplanned, women should treat themselves as nearly pregnant as long as they menstruate. Do you 15-year-old virgins hear that?

Their recommendations? Even if you are not pregnant and have no intentions of becoming pregnant - you should still be taking a folic acid prenatal vitamin, not smoke, manage diabetes, do not drink excessively and maintain a healthy wait because "During the first weeks (before 52 days’ gestation) of pregnancy, exposure to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; lack of essential vitamins (e.g., folic acid); and workplace hazards can adversely affect fetal development and results in pregnancy complications and poor outcomes for both the mother and infant..."

Why don't doctors take off the labels- pre-pregnant- and just talk about maintaining good health? Smoking, binge drinking, obesity and diabetes are detrimental to all women- not just those of us who may or MAY NOT bear a child in the next 35 years.

With this report, we now know what the CDC values- functioning uteri (or uteruses). Don't treat women- just treat them as vessels for future humans.

My uterus is done. And if my doctor EVER suggests that I am "pre-pregnant" I will leave his/her office.

I'll be watching you

I find irony that "The Police" sang this song. I don't mind if Sting watches me, croons at me or talks all Tantric everytime I come across an interview with him. But, if we are speaking of "the police" in the more generic form, or say, any form of law-enforcing government agencies- FBI, CIA, NSA, Homeland Security, the fact that they are watching me makes me really, really uncomfortable and nervous.

The revelation last week that nearly all of our major phone companies are turning over records of EVERY call made in the United States should have your alarm bells ringing. You can read the news story here.

I first handled the news of this story very, very childishly. (I called everyone I knew and left voice messages saying "Praise be to Allah!" "Praise be to him" "I'm looking for 72 virgins). Unfortunately, The Lawyer really, really did not like this. In fact, he told me the government has no sense of humor about these things. And, most of the people I talked to gave me the following response:
"Dude, I don't care, I have nothing to hide."

This response sends my blood pressure sky-rocketing and into a near feverish fit of rage. After swallowing hard and counting to 10, I try to rationally and calmly make my arguement:
1) This program is unconstitutional and illegal. If you believe in the rule of law i.e. all those darned brown people need to get back to Mexico in a New York Minute.- how can you stand idly by and indifferent to this?
2) Do you honestly believe a program this massive aids in tracking down Al Quada suspects? I would assume it aids in tracking down whistleblowers, reporters' secret sources, leakers, drug dealers, adulterers, philanderers, women, men, children, pet sellers, ebayers.
3) Do you want the government knowing you (or one of your friends whom you talk to often) may have called a) an abortion clinic b) a 1-900 number c) your doctor d) your bank e) your stockbroker f) your lawn guy who may or may not be in the U.S. legally g) your mistress?

This is not about having anything to hide. This is about freedom. If we are exporting democracy across the globe, or at least to oil-rich countries in the Middle East, what does this say about our brand of freedom?

Would you want the government having a record of every place your car has driven? Every bank transaction you have made? Every airplane ticket you have purchased? Every medical record? Every phone call you have ever made? Oh wait- they have that last one.

I have some suggested reading everyone:
1) The Bill of Rights (especially the 4th amendment)
2) The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
3) 1984 by George Orwell

Knock, knock

Marc G and I loaded up the little G's- age 3 and 1- and participated in our neighborhood canvas. We weren't sure what to expect. The last time Marc G. participated in a neighborhood canvas was when Mondale ran for president. The last time I did, I was in college, drunk and on a dare for a self-serving cause- toilet paper donations.
Now, when you have little G's, a neighborhood canvas involves gear. We had a jogging stroller, 5 rain slickers- two for the kiddos, two for the grown ups, and one for the jogging stroller, a set of rain boots, snacks and sippy cups.
We were given a well organized folder with our scripts, a map of our locations and our 56-hit list and off we went. I have to give kudos to the Southwest Democrats of Tarrant County- they did a good job of organizing the event.
Here is some background on the neighborhood we canvased- largely blue collar, home values between 85-120, mixed demographics.
Here are my impressions:
- People in these neighborhoods sleep late on Saturday mornings and don't want to answer the door.
- Those that do answer the door either a) proudly vote democrat or b) thought we were the pizza delivery people
- White people are least likely to come to the door.
- Hispanic families answer the door- but let their children do it.
- Like in the movie Door to Door, the days of the neighborhood canvas are numbered. If this is how we reach people, we aren't reaching people. I'm not sure what the answer for reaching folks is, but I think for anyone under 50, it involves the web, e-mail, text messaging, a call to action.

Maybe we sponsor block parties/voter registration drives and get people out of their homes. Maybe we target one person who can engage his or her neighborhood. But in the areas we visited, there was a serious lack of neighborhood unity... Home was inside the door and not one foot outside of it. No kids on the street. No one out for a walk. No friendly waves or smiles from people driving by.

We finished our canvas about 3 hours later. Despite our dismal results, we were proud of our effort. The rest of the weekend my thoughts centered around one question: we have good volunteers, we have energy, and dedication. How do we reach the people? I'm open to ideas.

Leaning French

I'm always amazed by the rhetoric of Republicans. They will change the name of French Fries to Freedom Fries and poor perfectly quaffable French burgandy into the streets in juvenile attemps to rally the good ole' Americana Wearing Patriot. Yet, BushCo. is behind a guest worker program? That's so French. (a cursory study of the riots in Paris last fall should give anyone with a mind for social systems a clue why guest worker programs fail.)

Let's just go ahead and call it what it is: a caste system, a class system. No upward mobility. No American dream. Second class non-citizens. Sounds like a great idea to me.

And yesterday, half a million marched in Dallas. 1 arrest: for public intoxication. That's a great figure for the "all illegals are criminals" crowd to hang their hats on.