Category Archives: Politics

31 Days of Parenting Kiddos with Special Needs: Choosing Life (III)

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31 Days of Parenting Kiddos with Special Needs

I voted on Monday and wanted to be DONE with the election so I didn’t watch the debate on Wednesday. I am, however, hearing pieces of what was said and one topic that everyone seems to want to talk about is what Hillary and Trump said regarding late-term abortions, whether unborn babies have rights, etc.

I know that this is a serious issue and that people on both sides have very passionate feelings about it. However, I have one request:

COULD Y’ALL PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THOSE FACING THESE DECISIONS ARE ACTUAL HUMAN BEINGS AND NOT MERELY TALKING POINTS?!?!?!?

I’m asking this as one who has both had their life endangered by their pregnancy and one who faced the possibility of having a baby with disabilities and was asked to consider terminating the pregnancy. Last year, I had a close family member ask me if we could screen for autism in the womb so I could abort my next kid if they were autistic. (I no longer have a relationship with said family member for a reason.) My views on abortion did a complete 180 after my pregnancy with Daniel, especially after I read the following quotation from former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop:

Protection of the life of the mother as an excuse for an abortion is a smoke screen. In my 36 years of pediatric surgery, I have never known of one instance where the child had to be aborted to save the mother’s life. If toward the end of the pregnancy complications arise that threaten the mother’s health, the doctor will induce labor or perform a Caesarean section. His intention is to save the life of both the mother and the baby. The baby’s life is never willfully destroyed because the mother’s life is in danger.

When I was trying to find the correct words for the above quotation, I came across another quotation of his that fit our current situation as a nation:

The American ideal is not that we all agree with each other, or even like each other, every minute of the day. It is rather that we will respect each other’s rights, especially the right to be different, and that, at the end of the day, we will understand that we are one people, one country, and one community, and that our well-being is inextricably bound up with the well-being of each and every one of our fellow citizens.

For the record, I think that Hillary is misguided in her view that unborn children aren’t people and don’t have rights… but I also know that what she’s trying to avoid is a woman being forced to carry a child, even if doing so *WILL* kill her. With Trump, I do not believe for one second that he is pro-life nor that his election as president will lead to Roe v. Wade being thrown out as people claim it will. Five of the seven justices who were in the majority on that decision were Republican appointees and it was a Democratic appointee who wrote the dissent. When it was upheld in Casey vs. Planned Parenthood, the five justices in the majority were all Republican appointees and the lone Democratic appointee on the court voted to overturn it. (Source)

I guess what I’m trying to say in all of this is that unless you, yourself, have been in my shoes, don’t even pretend that you have any right to judge any decision I did or did not make. I obviously decided in favor of not aborting Daniel (my words were along the lines of “I’ll have the ultrasound but I will not do amniocentesis nor will I abort my child because they will be loved regardless of the outcome” and the ultrasound backed up my decision); but I have several friends who made the decision to terminate the pregnancy when it was discovered that their child had problems that were indeed incompatible with life (I think in one case, the skull had not formed and the brain was floating in the amniotic fluid) and I can’t even comprehend the idea of telling them that they were wrong when I might have made the same decision when given the same information. It’s very easy to say that you would not decide to go a certain direction when given a hypothetical situation but it’s a decision that will feel like it’s about to rip you in half when it’s your baby or your life that is in jeopardy.

I’m also aware that this is not the most fluid response to what is going on but it’s a really tough issue for me and I’m trying to sort through all of my feelings right now.

7 Quick Takes: Sick As A Dog Edition

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Prayer Request. Yesterday, I got hit with the crud Daniel had last week as well as a severe fibromyalgia flare-up. The pain was so bad that I was almost in tears. I’m slightly better today but I had to miss class to sleep off the Flexeril I had to take to try and help with my achy joints and muscles. If you could pray for some healing for me, I would appreciate it. 🙂

— 2 —

Voting early and voting often. I got my absentee ballot in the mail on Monday and voted immediately, tossing it in the mail on my way to campus on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the mainstream media didn’t get my message that they could cancel the debate last night and as well as all the political discussion because I had already voted.

— 3 —

Speaking of the debate… Having the debate between Clinton and Trump was kind of pointless because I really don’t think there is anyone who hasn’t decided between those two. A more helpful thing would have been to have the debate between Jill Stein, Evan McMullin, and Gary Johnson — you know, the third party candidates that a lot of people are considering because they can’t fathom voting for Trump or Clinton.

— 4 —

Doing your devotions. Jessica talked this week about how she has her devotions. Mine really depend on the day and what’s going on but I’d love to know what all y’all do. Leave me a comment or email me and let me know!

— 5 —

A day in my life with Daniel. I blogged about a day in my life with Daniel yesterday. It’s slightly atypical in that I’m not usually in my jammies so early in the day, I don’t usually spend that much time in bed, and I usually have choir on Wednesday. Unfortunately, it was Day 1 of me being sicker than sick so I had to bow out of choir.

— 6 —

New glasses. I ordered my new glasses from Firmoo on Friday and they arrived in the mail yesterday! I cannot say enough that is positive about Firmoo — they have been a wonderful company with whom to work.

Glasses #1
Glasses #2

— 7 —

Astonished. I got another 98% on my Accounting test on Monday. (I missed a 2-point question on a definition.) Considering how mathphobic I used to be, I’m laughing at how much I am enjoying this. I even worked on Accounting homework while sick in bed last night!

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: October 16, 2016

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For Today…

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… cloudy and windy with temps in the low 50’s. We missed getting hit with the worst of the big storm last night but we’ve still got some of the winds from it blowing.

I am thinking… about my Practical Accounting test tomorrow and the Excel work to get done before Wednesday.

I am thankful… we didn’t lose power last night or have any of the big trees in the yard fall on the house like it was predicted to happen.

One of my favorite things… calm nights where I can listen to music and chill.

I am wearing… chocolate brown shirt from Fred Meyer and jeans from Kohl’s. Church clothes were my burgundy Old Navy shirt and my black slacks/black cardigan from Kohl’s with my trusty black flats.

I am creating… a folder for the student files for this chapter of Excel. (We have database files that we play with as we work through the chapter.)

I am listening to… the wind outside.

I am hoping… my glasses arrive from Firmoo soon and that they do in fact fit and look good on me.

I am learning… about maintaining workbooks in Excel and adjustments in Practical Accounting.

In my kitchen… I think chicken cacciatore is on the menu tonight.

In the school room… Daniel has school pictures on Wednesday so I need to schedule in a haircut for him in the next two days.

Post Script… I was greatly amused by this during the last debate.

Shared Quote… I thought this was awesome.

My new motto.

A moment from my day… I had the song “I’ll Tell Me Ma” in my head last night and found a cool version by Dr. Eric Jones that involves body percussion. The original song is on top and the Eric Jones version is on the bottom.

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Migraines, Eye Exams, and Secret Trump Apologists, Oh My!

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

*facepalm* Let me explain this in small words so that people understand because apparently, there are people on Facebook who are depriving a village somewhere of their chief idiot:

If your reaction to the news that he’s groped women, harassed them, and treated them horribly is anything other than “that’s horrible!” and possibly “I’m not voting for him” (I’m not saying that you have to like or vote for Hillary)… YOU’RE A TRUMP APOLOGIST.

If your reaction to this news is “well, I’ve been dealing with that all my life so why is this any different”, you’re missing the freaking point and… YOU’RE A TRUMP APOLOGIST.

If your reaction to the news is to deflect to Bill Clinton and what happened during his administrations, you’re missing the point (yet again) and *surprise surprise*… YOU’RE A TRUMP APOLOGIST. (And for the record, I was not old enough to vote in the 1992 and 1996 elections so you can stop claiming that I’m responsible for whatever he did.)

If your reaction is to cite 50 Shades of Grey as evidence that women are asking for it, you’re a disgusting human being and (not shockingly)… YOU’RE A TRUMP APOLOGIST.

If you’re reaction is to say “yeah, it’s horrible but I’m voting for him anyway”, you need a filter between your mouth and brain and *drumroll*… YOU’RE A TRUMP APOLOGIST.

— 2 —

And speaking of the stupid deflection to 50 Shades of Grey… This meme explains the problem in that logic very succinctly. It also illustrates why I am *INCREDIBLY* proud to have contributed money to the effort to kick Joe Walsh out of office and replace him with the amazingly wonderful Tammy Duckworth. 😀

Joe Walsh is a moron.

— 3 —

And for the record… You are not required to vote for either Trump or Hillary. If you find them both repugnant and are of the opinion that third parties take votes away from your chosen candidate, you have the option of simply not voting for a presidential choice on the ballot. HOWEVER… you *DO* need to vote for someone for the House, Senate (if there’s a Senate race in your state this year), governor, and for any local races because those people do the day-to-day governing. In the case of your House member and your senator, they’re part of one of the checks and balances on the President’s power.

— 4 —

Eye exams. One of the temple pieces on the frames of my glasses snapped on Tuesday and I had to find someone who could do an eye exam because I haven’t seen either an optometrist or ophthalmologist in probably 2 years. (They get pissy if you go in for glasses and your prescription isn’t current.) One local place was able to get me in this afternoon and when they checked my vision, we discovered that my distance prescription on my sunglasses corrects to better than 20/20 in terms of reading as well. As I’ve had reading glasses for 23 years and bifocals for 22 of them, this was a surprise. It’s also another sign that my vision improved after the HELLP Syndrome which is almost unheard of — usually, women have to get a stronger prescription for their vision after having it.

— 5 —

The timing is impeccable. Can I just tell you how fun it is to have an eye exam while dealing with a migraine? It’s just fabulous. The tech and the optician were both apologizing for putting stuff in my eyes and shining lights in because light sensitivity is one of my migraine symptoms.

— 6 —

Stormy weather. The Pacific Northwest is supposed to get hit with several *MASSIVE* storms this weekend with insane winds and atmospheric pressures that are apparently reminding one forecaster of what was seen during the 1962 Columbus Day storm that killed 46 people. (My Practical Accounting professor had me look it up during class today because I was bored and done checking my homework. It’s nice to be useful.)

I and the rest of God’s country would appreciate it if you’d keep us in prayer that there are no fatalities and no widespread power losses.

— 7 —

A kindred spirit. You know your professor is a kindred spirit when you get all the references to literature, movies, and TV shows that she throws into quizzes/pre-tests/tests. Our last test had the business owners named after characters on The Office and our pre-test for the chapter test this coming Monday had names from Pride and Prejudice.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: October 9, 2016

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For Today… October 9, 2016

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny though chilly (at least to me). The Grumpy Cat Weather app on my phone says it’s in the low 60’s.

I am thinking… about people who are dismissing Trump’s statements as “locker room talk” or “jock talk”. Especially odious are the people *WHO HAVE DAUGHTERS* and are doing this. His alleged apology showed no remorse — “I’m sorry if you were offended” is narcissistic crap as is his explaining away what he did and alluding to Bill Clinton. True men don’t deflect their behavior onto others when they apologize.

I am thankful… for those I follow on Twitter who are live-tweeting the debate tonight so I don’t have to waste 90 minutes of my life watching it. (Lest I be accused of creating my own little bubble of like-minded people on Twitter, most of the people I follow are people with whom I disagree on politics.) I’d love for the mainstream media to stop moderating these debates and give them back to the League of Women Voters. There might actually be some civility if each politician isn’t trying to vie for the ability to get their soundbite into the debate.

One of my favorite things… having all of my Excel work done 24 hours ahead of when it is due.

I am wearing… blue-green shirt and black capris. Church attire this morning was my burgundy shirt from Old Navy with a black cardigan and black slacks from Kohl’s. My shoes were my amazingly awesome black flats from Naturalizer that are two years old and still going strong.

I am creating… a separate page with the comment policy for this blog. It *WAS* listed on the page with the ground rules for this site but I have some readers who apparently are illiterate and *SHOCKED* when I dare to enforce it. Having it on a separate page might solve this issue. 🙂

I am reading… not enough. I need to make a better effort to commune with my e-reader more often!

I am hoping… for a relatively quiet week.

I am learning… about journalizing and posting in my Accounting class.

In my kitchen… I think Mom is making “Jimmy Chicken” tonight. It’s a family recipe.

In the school room… Daniel continues to enjoy school and even tried some of the applesauce his class made for a fall-themed activity.

Post Script… I’m hoping the research they’re doing pans out.

Shared Quote… Yay adulting!

Let them eat cake!

A moment from my day… We were blessing animals today so we sang this for our processional:

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Flu Shots, the VP Debate, and Other Fun Topics

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

The hazards of sleeping in. Daniel’s quarterly ADHD appointment was yesterday and I somehow set my clock forward an hour while trying to turn off my alarm so I was an hour early getting dressed, getting my latté, and arriving at school to pick up the kid. Of course, I discovered this when I looked at my watch while signing him out… and had to tell the secretary (who was on the phone with his teacher) that I was an hour early and would be coming back an hour later to get him. (I ended up going home and doing accounting homework.) When I came back to get him, his incredibly awesome teacher managed not to laugh when she brought him out and I explained what had happened. I’m also very thankful that she came out personally to bring him to the office because other schools would just send an aide. (Then again, his classroom is right across from the office so it was a matter of just popping out of his classroom.)

— 2 —

Blown away. We managed to get what I thought was the first appointment after lunch because the waiting room and office were pretty empty. (I later learned that his pediatrician takes a late lunch.) Kiddo was in a relatively good mood because it was a school day (he would go to school seven days a week if we let him) and was unusually chill when Dr. Awesome and her medical student came in and talked to us. (As it was an autism appointment, she just needed to make sure the meds were working and continuing to be a blessing for Daniel instead of a curse.) He was totally happy with her until she wanted to take a listen to his lungs. He was not amenable to this but having her listen to his lungs was not negotiable, so kiddo ended up on my lap with me holding him and telling him over and over that she was not hurting him. Other than that, she was fine with just watching him play tablet, talking to me, and surreptitiously observing him.

The nurse had asked when we came in if I wanted my kiddo to have a flu shot and I said “yes” because having to come back again for it was not going to make me happy. Once Dr. Awesome and her student were out the door, two nurses came in and while one of them prepped, the other one explained the game plan to me: put the kid on the table and have me hold down his upper body while one nurse held down his legs and the other one gave him the shot. I’m not even sure that more than five seconds elapsed between me setting him on the table and them being done with the shot — they were that fast! (Then again, they do this all the time so they have a good system.) In any case, I was incredibly impressed and told them this.

— 3 —

Baseball!!! DIDJA HEAR ABOUT MY BOYS ANNIHILATING THE METS IN THE NL WILD CARD GAME?!?!!?!? DIDJA?!?!?!? DIDJA?!?!?! The trash-talking has already started in anticipation of their play-off games with the Cubs starting Friday.

— 4 —

My pretty notebook. Jenny of Unremarkable Files asked for pictures of my notebook. I aim to please so here you go, Jenny! I apologize that my lines aren’t straight — I’m drawing all those things freehand and I’m incapable of drawing a perfectly straight line.

My pretty notebook
My pretty notebook
My pretty notebook
My pretty notebook

— 5 —

Prerequisite take on the VP Debate. I didn’t watch the debate for obvious reasons (as in, I already know who I’m voting for) but I find it amusing that two of my friends who are on opposite sides of the political spectrum and who don’t know each other came up with the same suggestion: each candidate has a shock collar and gets shocked every time they interrupt the other candidate or the moderator. Shocks also happen if they go over their allotted speaking time. THAT would be entertaining!

Another friend (completely unrelated to the other two) suggested that the moderator should get a taser. I’m thinking I like this one better?

— 6 —

Worth a read. My priest shared this piece on the art of condolence by Bruce Feiler on Facebook this week. I thought it was pretty awesome and a good read for people of every age group.

— 7 —

You mean my college education is actually a good thing? I saw this story on the news a few days ago and it reiterates why a college degree or at least *SOME* form of post-secondary credential is essential. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a bachelor’s degree but at least some kind of specialized study is needed. So, if you’re going to claim that “not every kid needs to go to college”, think again. 😀

As for my “useless” degree in Religious Studies, it taught me how to learn, how to find research (a skill which I have heard my professors here say is sorely lacking across the board in students from homeschoolers to public schoolers these days), and proves to employers that I can stick something out long-term. If I was still at the import brokerage in Montana, I’d be eligible for management training simply *BECAUSE* I have a bachelor’s degree.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

7 Quick Takes: The “Your Notebook Is So Pretty” Edition

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Apparently, I might be able to #bulletjournal? On Monday, my Accounting teacher collected all of our notebooks before giving us our homework quiz so she could grade our outlines (for those who decided to do theirs on looseleaf paper, she collected those) and upon seeing my notebook, someone blurted out that my notes were so pretty and precise and that I must be an engineer. Considering that I can barely draw a straight line even with the help of a ruler, I was suitably honored to hear this. #egostroked

Apparently, I might be able to do a #bulletjournal someday… if the #bujo can be in pencil. 🙂

— 2 —

A song for today. I went to the chapel service held by the Campus Christian Fellowship this week (think Intervarsity or Cru) and this song was sung. I’m kind of in love with it.

— 3 —

Interesting… Apparently, the Depression changed our eating habits and how we look at food. I might have to check out the book reviewed in this article.

— 4 —

Proud of my home state. Because of the accounts scandal at Wells Fargo, California’s State Treasurer John Chiang has suspended business relationships with them for the state because he feels they should be punished for their wrongdoing. Considering they’re a crappy bank to use (I just ended my banking relationship with them after 18 years because of bad behavior on their part in the last few years), I’m happy that he’s taking a stand against them instead of being bowed by them because they are kind of a goliath entity in the financial world.

— 5 —

An interesting suggestion. Elizabeth Scalia of Aleteia.Org has an interesting suggestion: read aloud to someone. Even though I can read by myself now, it’s fun to be able to sit and listen and crochet while listening to someone read.

— 6 —

*facepalm* This personal anecdote about racism has been making the rounds on Facebook. My question to y’all: would you have stepped out of your privilege and comfort zone and stood up on behalf of Ashley (the protagonist)?

— 7 —

An explanation on the Dr. Sears sitch. Last month, I blogged about anti-vaccination law activist Dr. Robert Sears being charged with gross negligence and facing the possibility of losing his license to practice medicine in California and shared the story on Facebook. One of my more crunchy friends from college is a fan of his vaccine book and schedule and emailed me to ask why I thought this was such a big flipping deal.

Well…

1.) His failure to actually research the kid’s vaccine reaction (and it would have been very well-documented if he had done so) if he had another one. I know from my own kid that having a paper trail is essential and having all of the records is vital if your kid has any problems, so much so that one specialist will not rule on anything unless they’ve seen all the records. I have never had a doctor take my word for it on almost anything related to Daniel — everything has to be backed up and it is considered to have never happened if it isn’t documented. This means that he would have needed records from the kid’s prior physician, ER records, or urgent care records from when the mom got the kid treatment for the vaccine reaction… because what mother wouldn’t take their kid in if they were having a reaction like that?!?!?

2.) By excusing the kid from future vaccines (and not just the one to which he reacted badly), he put both the kid at risk of contracting a disease that could have landed him in the hospital or killed him as well as anyone else who can’t be vaccinated for health reasons. One of the reason that they started requiring such a strict policy in California is that there were outbreaks of diseases like pertussis (for which you cannot vaccinate infants) and measles in the state that could have been prevented if parents hadn’t claimed phony “conscience” reasons for not vaccinating themselves or their kids. Having been in this situation, it is *HORRIFICALLY PAINFUL* emotionally to have to watch your kid suffer to breathe or to have your kid end up with a horrible side effect from a hospital stay. I know I would be angry beyond words and pondering a lawsuit if Daniel had gotten something like pertussis as a baby because someone unvaccinated (for no rational reason) was in the waiting room with him and Daniel died as a result. THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY IN 2010!!!

3.) For the love of all things holy, IT HAS BEEN PROVEN BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM. Dr. Andrew Wakefield lied and his lie was heinous enough (he spread false information for his own gain) that The Lancet had to retract what was written (a big deal because lawsuits had been decided using the false information which created an entirely new headache for the legal system in the UK and the US) and his name was stricken from the British Medical Record (a.k.a. he lost his license to practice medicine in the UK). There is a lovely infographic which gives all of this information PLUS links.

4.) After one appointment, the child claimed he had been hit in the head by a hammer and Dr. Sears did not report it to CPS. He is a mandated reporter and if he heard something like this, he is required by the state of California (and every state in the nation) to report this to CPS and do an in-depth evaluation. He didn’t. That is a serious breach of protocol and could mean that the child (if he was being truthful) could be an abusive home and in danger. That’s lawsuit material right there.

An interesting response detailing why he’s being charged with gross negligence is here.

And yes, I know that this was not a quick take but I felt like this explanation needed to be presented. 🙂

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.