Category Archives: Politics

7 Quick Takes — Prohibitions Against Brown M&M’s, the Promise Walk, and Lent

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

NPR’s Facebook page posted an interview with David Lee Roth on the prohibition of brown M&M’s in the Van Halen dressing room It has to do with compliance to stage safety and is not one of those random rock star quirks. It was a simply fascinating interview and you can view it here.

— 2 —

Jennifer from Our House will be bringing her adopted son Joshua home from Eastern Europe in a few days. She and her husband were gone from their family for four weeks as they were in Joshua’s home country doing all the necessary things to adopt him. The whole thing has taken almost seven months from start to finish and I am completely overjoyed (as a mom who had to wait to take her baby home) that she is headed back overseas on Sunday to bring him back with her to the States.

— 3 —

I’ve maintained that whoever puts up the first political attack ad will automatically lose my vote. The winner: my Congressman. Is it so hard to run a clean campaign? It’s not even March yet! If I’m having to change channels now, I shudder to think what it will like this August/September.

— 4 —

I managed to catch an interesting case on Judge Judy when I was watching on Wednesday night. I should have waited to switch laundry around in the wash house because I missed the last part of a case where a couple are claiming that a friend totaled their car and expect her to pay off the note. I don’t know how it was resolved but one of the things that blew my mind was that the couple was allowed to take out a car loan without having both liability and collision coverage on their insurance. No lender that I know of allows you to borrow money from them unless you can prove that you have both. There was also the matter of their speech. You don’t get “drove” to work — you get “driven”. It has been a long time since I’ve heard the English language butchered that badly. (The “drove” thing was just the tip of the iceberg.) The rest of the cases were entertaining but not as memorable as that particular one.

— 5 —

My cough from the MUTANT DEATH COLD is gone! Serious props and my thanks to Lisa of All Things Gale for her suggestion of a spoonful of honey. I had forgotten that honey has antiseptic properties and is something I put in my tea when I get bronchitis. Yay for homeopathic remedies! Go visit Lisa and congratulate her on the birth of her son Roman on February 15th!

— 6 —

I’m pondering what my Lenten sacrifice will be. I’m Lutheran so doing something for Lent is encouraged but not required. I came to faith in the Episcopal Church however so I *always* do something for Lent. I’ll definitely be going meatless on Fridays (which I try to do anyway during Lent) but I haven’t figured out what I’ll add or give up. Some thoughts are giving up soda (as Coca-Cola is my comfort food), giving up meat for the whole time, or perhaps not petting fluffy cats. (I have one next to me who is biting me.) After my pancakes on Mardi Gras, I’ll figure something out.

— 7 —

I’m participating in the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia in May. As a survivor of HELLP Syndrome (a variant of preeclampsia — it’s why I had to have an emergency c-section at 29 weeks with Daniel), I participated for the first time last year and it was an awesome experience. It was healing to do it last year and I’m excited to be able to participate again! Please consider sponsoring me.

For more Quick Takes, visit Hallie Lord at BettyBeguiles.Com who is graciously hosting this meme while Jen pushes toward the end of her manuscript.

7 Quick Takes — Mea Culpas, Susan G. Komen, and Marshmallow Shooters

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7 Quick Takes

Wow! Lots for me to choose from this week in the news, so I guess I’ll get started.

— 1 —

Mea culpa. I owe a number of you an apology for posting the link to the White House blog and saying that there were religious exemptions if you had mentioned the HHS situation on your Quick Takes. Thank you to Lisa at All Things Gale for emailing me and explaining the intricacies of the situation politely and civilly. Thank you also to Katie of NFP and Me for giving me the link to the roundtable on ABC that includes this discussion.

— 2 —

Regarding the Susan G. Komen debacle, it is THEIR choice as to whom they choose to grant funding. Yeah, it was spineless of them to have caved to public pressure but it would also be dishonest if they did not fulfill the grant money that had already been promised for this year. Next year, however, is different and they can sever ties at that point. The damage has already been done — their donations will drop because of this. This should also be a sign to Planned Parenthood that they need to acquire some mammography machines and get some licenses to use them so they can actually claim truthfully to promote breast health rather than making referrals out to other providers.

— 3 —

On Monday night, I found a great article on being a super successful introvert. I’m one of the last people to like anything sanctioned by Oprah but this article is excellent. I’ve actually put some of these things into practice in past situations and they really do work. And seriously… I’m proud to be part of a class of people that includes Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt.

— 4 —

The petition to rescind the HHS mandate hit 25,000 signatures on Tuesday. It’s not surprising given that even *I* signed it because I think that the terms of the mandate needed to be adjusted to allow for issues of conscience for *ALL* religious groups, not just the Catholic Church. (I signed it on February 1st if anyone wanted to know). 25,000 is the threshold to go to the HHS peeps and the president so I hope this all gets resolved soon. It doesn’t go into effect for another year but it isn’t good to have more tension in a country that is already polarized enough and has been for a very long time (since 2000 at least).

— 5 —

I’ve been having to sleep in the living room because of the cough from the MUTANT DEATH COLD. I can’t be flat or I start coughing up a lung, making it really hard to get sleep. I’m on the last few days of my antibiotics which were supposed to treat any infection if it was present (as bronchitis = hospital for me) and the only difference is that I’m maybe getting some stuff up now. I don’t know if I just have a really inflamed area in my throat or what but this is getting frustrating. *makes a mental note to get more cough drops*

— 6 —

Dude… marshmallow gun. President Obama and Joey, an 8th grader from Arizona, shot a marshmallow across the State Dining Room of the White House using the air cannon that Joey built for his science project at the White House Science Fair.

I don’t care how you feel about Obama — I think shooting *anything* out of an air cannon needs to be viewed… repetitively.

— 7 —

This article on helicopter parents in the workplace from NPR is scary. I honestly can’t imagine my parents calling the seminary or the clinic or UPS Supply Chain Solutions (my brokerage in Montana) to make them be nice to me or make them pay me more. For one thing, it’s highly unprofessional and it also shows that the candidate cannot function independently if their parents are still fighting their battles for them. My mom has told me who happened to be hiring when I was looking for a job one summer and I’ve asked her advice with regard to work situations (she’s calm and diplomatic which is what I aim to project); but that’s the limit. The only reason she met my boss in Montana is that she was at the baby shower that the UPS Supply Chain Solutions people threw me when Daniel came home from the hospital. Helicopter parents in general just stymy me. I mean, I’m uber-involved in Daniel’s life and advocate for him but he’s also only two years old and autistic. I’ve told friends of mine to shoot me if I ever show up to a parent-teacher conference and complain that the teacher doesn’t see Daniel’s innate specialness.

— Bonus —

In California news, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Prop 8. This is kind of a useless ruling because it was going to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, regardless of in whose favor the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. (The 9th Circuit Court gets overturned by the Supreme Court 54% of the time which another reason why this ruling is useless.) I probably should have an opinion on this… and I don’t. I have too many friends on both sides of the issue who are going to be wounded when it is decided one way or the other that I’ve just decided to keep my mouth shut. I will say, however, that this is not a good thing for those who were in favor of Prop 8 (which means that they are against same-sex marriage) because the Supreme Court deciding the law is unconstitutional means that the door is WIDE open for DOMA to be repealed and other states to pass laws allowing same-sex marriages.

For more Quick Takes, visit Hallie Lord at BettyBeguiles.Com who is graciously hosting this meme while Jen pushes toward the end of her manuscript.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: February 6, 2012

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY February 6, 2012

Outside my window… cloudy and chilly (at least to me). We might get some showers which would be great because we need the rain but not so great because it might cancel PT tomorrow.

I am thinking… that there has to be a middle ground between keeping one’s mouth shut so as not to offend anyone and this which is rage-filled yelling.

I am thankful… for my massage last Friday.

In the kitchen… Jon cooked up a ton of stuff for himself for the Super Bowl yesterday.

I am wearing… my preeclampsia survivor shirt and capri sweats.

I am creating… this entry. 🙂

I am going… to Bible study tonight. It’s Men’s Night Out so I’ll be taking Daniel with me. The ladies love him so it should be OK.

I am wondering… when my stomach will calm down. Evil antibiotics! (I can hear my mom’s voice telling me to start eating some yogurt to build my intestinal flora back up.)

I am reading… Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren Winner. It’s a bit of a tough read because I can identify with many of the things she says even if I’m not in the same circumstances.

I am hoping… we do end up having PT tomorrow — it’s been two weeks since Daniel’s last session.

Around the house… next question!

I am pondering… my Quick Takes for this week.

A favorite quote for today… “An explanation of cause is not a justification by reason.” — C.S. Lewis

One of my favorite things… my new laptop. 🙂

A few plans for the rest of the week: PT tomorrow, speech on Wednesday, OT on Thursday, and nothing on Friday.

A peek into my day… Someone likes his bottom shelves of our bookcases.

Naptime in the bookcase.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

We Are Dysfunctional Voters

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Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson had the following to say as part of a collection of opinions entitled “If I Were President…” that appeared in the New York Times. I saw his response on Twitter yesterday and thought it needed to be shared as it identifies the problem we as a country have with politics.

The question, ??If I were President I??d???? implies that if you swap out one leader, put in another, then all will be well with America??as though our leaders are the cause of all ailments.

That must be why we??ve created a tradition of rampant attacks on our politicians. Are they too conservative for you? Too liberal? Too religious? Too atheist? Too gay? Too anti-gay? Too rich? Too dumb? Too smart? Too ethnic? Too philanderous? Curious behavior, given that we elect 88% of Congress every two years.

A second tradition-in-progress is the expectation that everyone else in our culturally pluralistic land should hold exactly your own outlook, on all issues.

When you??re scientifically literate, the world looks different to you. It??s a particular way of questioning what you see and hear. When empowered by this state of mind, objective realities matter. These are the truths of the world that exist outside of whatever your belief system tells you.

One objective reality is that our government doesn??t work, not because we have dysfunctional politicians, but because we have dysfunctional voters. As a scientist and educator, my goal, then, is not to become President and lead a dysfunctional electorate, but to enlighten the electorate so they might choose the right leaders in the first place.

(Source: Hayden Planetarium website)

Exemptions Not Enough for Some

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This evening, I saw on my Facebook page that President Obama and HHS Secretary Sebelius had announced religious exemptions to the HHS mandate for insurance companies to cover birth control. There had been a petition on the White House website (which was a pain to login to and sign) asking for the mandate to be rescinded and there were lawsuits from Belmont Abbey and Colorado Christian College. In response to those, the administration threw religious organizations a bone and announced the exemptions.

Apparently, this isn’t enough for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. They’ve issued a statement nitpicking the announcement from the White House. I found this out after one of the people on Quick Takes (who is remaining nameless because I’d rather pull my fingernails out than give her or her minions blog traffic) left the following snippy comment on my blog:

I don’t know why you’ve been going around to Catholic blogs and posting false information, but the religious exemption in the HHS mandate is worthless.

Um yeah… way to be civil, princess. It’s the kind of thing (coupled with the fact that you’ve proven yourself incapable of actually having a civil discussion on your blog) that gets you I.P. banned. *sigh* I’ve really missed playing with my *.htaccess file lately.

For the record, the exemptions to the mandate are not worthless — they’re on par with the religious exemptions provided for military service and social security. Quakers are conscientious objectors and yet they still pay taxes that support the U.S. military. Some Anabaptist groups consider Social Security to be akin to gambling (no, I am not making this up) and they can opt out of contributing to it even though their taxes are paying other peoples’ Social Security.

I’m sorry but the Roman Catholic Church is not that special. If we are to provide healthcare to everyone (which they should really be in favor of doing considering their history of charity), Catholics are going to have to bite the bullet on this one and pay. As it stands as of today, churches do not have to pay their insurers to cover contraception. For example, I’m a pastor’s wife and my denomination has the right not to pay our insurer to cover my birth control pills. (Oh yeah… gonna get hate mail for that one.) I know that it doesn’t exempt Catholic hospitals but it would exempt Catholic colleges if all their staff members are Catholic. For Evangelical schools, it works because all staff and professors have to sign a faith statement.

And for the love of all things holy, would people please stop acting like this is a Catholic pogrom? Nobody is being jailed, beaten, executed, or thrown to the lions over this issue. If you want to talk about persecution, talk to Christians in places like China, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, and Malaysia. You guys aren’t losing your 501(c)3 funding for telling your members not to vote a certain way by denying them the Eucharist (which is a violation of that particular I.R.S. statute). You get to keep the seal of Confession — every other clergy person has to report it if someone tells us that they’ve harmed themselves or others. In other words, you have a lot of religious freedoms that others don’t get to have. Going off about how this is a Catholic persecution gives the impression that y’all are whiny and will not play ball unless things are exactly YOUR way. I can tell you straight up that it does not leave a good taste in peoples’ mouths.

Oh yeah, comments are disabled on this post and any comments placed on other posts referencing this one will be deleted. This is one of those things that is my opinion and is not negotiable.

7 Quick Takes — Coughs, Books, and Women’s Health Politics

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7 Quick Takes

Dude… everyone and their mother did Quick Takes last week! It took me DAYS to get through all the entries with me reading 40 entries a day. It was good to see some new people as well as some who haven’t participated for awhile.

— 1 —

I finally went to see the doctor about the cough that has been lingering from my MUTANT DEATH COLD at Thanksgiving. I ended up seeing Dr. Passive Aggressive and his thought was that it was probably a side effect of the Lisinopril (my blood pressure medication — I am the phenotypical embodiment of every negative gene on both sides of the family). He switched me to another one (whose name I can’t remember and should learn in the event that I end up in the E.R.), put me on Doxycycline to nuke any potential bronchitis as bronchitis and asthma don’t mix well (apparently, I actually looked like I was sick because of the sleep deprivation), and gave me a lab slip which I’ll deal with next week when I’m not binging on cough drops. (That whole fasting from midnight onward doesn’t work when you require cough drops to numb your throat so that maybe you can sleep.) I am also having to sleep in the recliner because I have coughing spasms when I lie down. OK… end of whining about this particular thing.

— 2 —

I finally finished Inheritance by Christopher Paolini. The siege of Galbatorix’ capital and the fight between him and Eragon is maddening to read because it feels like it stalls but it was good. The chapters after the demise of Galbatorix kind of drag because you want things decided and wrapped up quickly. (OK… spoiler there but seriously, the book’s ending is going to suck if Eragon doesn’t win.) Still, it was a wonderful read and I will be downloading the other three books onto my NOOK so that one fine day, I can read all four in order.

— 3 —

I guest-posted on A Day in the Life this week. Emily put out the invitation for the married ladies (and single ones too if they had anything to say on the subject) to do a guest post on the subject of our vocations as wives. It’s kind of scary that I’m probably the oldest contributor and I’m only 31 (32 in May)! Do some women who have been married longer than I have (10 years in March) have anything to add? If you do, please talk to Emily.

— 4 —

The home visit portion of ABA training is tomorrow (Friday) morning at 11:00. I’m having an attack of “OMG-I-suck-as-a-mother-because-Daniel-doesn’t-fit-into-this-little-box” flipping out because I’m not getting exactly three seconds of eye contact and OMG Daniel isn’t at 100% for putting on his shirt (the skill I’m teaching for it). My mom talked me off the ledge on Tuesday night and explained that none of this means that I’m a loser mother and that they do understand that kids (especially autistic ones) do not perform on command. The whole reason I’m flipping out is that Friday’s visit determines whether or not we receive services for Daniel through the Regional Center.

**UPDATE** We passed with flying colors. The person doing the home visit was impressed with the work I’d done with Daniel and with his skill level. This is one more check off my list as I trudge toward March 26th and his IEP.

— 5 —

I signed the petition to have the HHS mandate rescinded. I know that my pro-choice friends probably think I’m traitorous for doing so but… while I support the idea that health plans need to provide access to birth control that isn’t prohibitively expensive, I also believe that there should be a way for those whose conscience is violated by this to opt out. It’s not just THE CATHOLICS but also Jews and some conservative Protestant groups. If President Obama or Secretary Sebelius could come up with a way to do this, the firestorm would probably die down. I think their idea is good in theory (my birth control pills are mitigating out the PMS that can land me in bed for a week out of the month) but they failed to take the faith issue into account.

I also wanted to share this piece that was written by my favorite KU med student Katie of NFP and Me. Katie, thanks for letting your combox be taken over for discussions.

— 6 —

My new laptop arrived today (Thursday). It was worth being woken up from my nap to answer the door. I’m glad it’s here so that I don’t have to keep harassing the Fed Ex drivers that stop on my block. It’s an HP dvt6 and I’ll be transferring stuff over this weekend after I can get myself to Best Buy to get a migration cable. In the tradition of naming my personal electronics after titles for Orthodox priests’ wives, this one will be “Presbytera” which is the Greek Orthodox title. (My iPod is “Panimatushka” and my NOOK is “Popadija”.)

— 7 —

Given that my homeboys (the 49’ers) got knocked out by the Giants last week, I think I’ll be rooting for New England this weekend. I’m not a football person and I don’t understand how the game works. However, the 49’ers game the weekend before last was excellent (and I actually watched it) so I might watch the Super Bowl to see if it’s even close. Of course, there’s the most important thing: THE COMMERCIALS!!!!!

For more Quick Takes, visit Hallie at Betty Beguiles who is graciously taking over hosting for the next few weeks.

Susan G. Komen and Planned Parenthood

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For those who haven’t heard, Susan G. Komen stopped giving funding to Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood does provide breast exams and referrals for mammograms so this is a blow for them.

I have absolutely no opinion on this matter at all so I’m going to give my friends who are pro-choice the same advice as I give my pro-life friends with regard to Planned Parenthood: put your money where your mouth is. Just as I tell my pro-life friends to donate to crisis pregnancy centers and community health clinics to eliminate the need for Planned Parenthood, I’m going to tell my pro-choice friends that Planned Parenthood is already dealing with this situation and is asking for donations to continue breast care services. Donating to them is a proactive way to deal with the situation — kvetching about “those evil pro-life freaks” is not.