Valentine's Day Love

OK, I'm a total Squish about mushy stuff - so much so, that I seldom express my feelings in words.

But, THIS is an EPIC ODE TO LOVE!

The Atrocity From Planned Parenthood

Yeah, I know, there are ALWAYS atrocities from them.

This one involves selling human body parts from abortions.

'Cause, ya know, you NEED to make your money back!  Plus some more!

If you are not OUTRAGED, if you are not APPALLED, then move on.  And seriously question your humanity.

Follow the logic. If children can be bought and sold, then what do we call that?

It’s called slavery.

So, when is the mainstream media going to find it important to talk about, write about, and urge Americans to protest it?

 

Sittin' Here, Resting My Bones...

However, unlike Otis Redding, I am NOT lonely.

Just enjoying the sun - it's perfect.  Mostly dimmed by cloud cover, occasionally breaking through for a dazzling over-the-top light (I left my seat, briefly, to get a hat with a brim).  My newly-finished Adirondack chair is comfortable, the air is warmish, without inducing sweat.

Perfect.

So few moments in life are that.  We need to stop sometimes to enjoy God's creation.  Just sit in the sun.

 Link to "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" lyrics.

Link to the song.

And, don't forget to sit and do NOTHING occasionally.

Should You Be Concerned About Ebola in the USA?

Donald Trump recently put himself into the news again when he expressed concern about Ebola making its way to the USA.  He, like many, favors quarantine of Ebola victims.  He is against letting victims, including medical personnel and Americans, into the USA.

The question:  Is he right?

The Washington Post thinks Trump is wrong, but their story is mixed:

• Ebola is contagious - which means that you have to be in direct contact with bodily fluids of the infected person


• "Amesh Adalja, a member of the public health committee of the Infectious Disease Society of America and an infectious disease doctor at the University of Pittsburgh" says that there is NO chance of infection for the general public.  This is in part due to the superior contagion-blocking capabilities of US medical establishment - hoods, masks, full-body suits, etc.


• However, the CDC reports that American hospitals do a poor job of controlling infection - "One in 25 patients in U.S. hospitals has an infection acquired as part of his or her care".


• Hygiene is critical - keep in mind, that health workers can sometimes neglect hand-washing.  In Britain, the NHS has permitted exceptions to sterile procedure (long sleeves, no use of alcohol-based sterilants) for Muslims.  It has led to higher infection rates.

An explanation of how the Original Plague (also known as the Black Death) spread:

...the 14th-century strain, the cause of the most lethal catastrophe in recorded history, was no more virulent than today's disease. The DNA codes were an almost perfect match.

According to scientists working at Public Health England in Porton Down, for any plague to spread at such a pace it must have got into the lungs of victims who were malnourished and then been spread by coughs and sneezes. It was therefore a pneumonic plague rather than a bubonic plague. Infection was spread human to human, rather than by rat fleas that bit a sick person and then bit another victim. "As an explanation [rat fleas] for the Black Death in its own right, it simply isn't good enough. It cannot spread fast enough from one household to the next to cause the huge number of cases that we saw during the Black Death epidemics," said Dr Tim Brooks, a scientist from Porton Down, who was not part of the Crossrail team, will put forward his theory in a Channel 4 documentary, Secret History: The Return of the Black Death,on Sunday.

To support his argument, Brooks, who has yet to examine the Crossrail evidence, has looked at what happened in Suffolk in 1906 when plague killed a family and then spread to a neighbour who had come to help. The culprit there was pneumonic plague, which had settled in the lungs of the victims and was spread through infected breath.

The skeletons at Charterhouse Square reveal that the population of London was also in generally poor health when the disease struck. Crossrail's archaeology contractor, Don Walker, and Jelena Bekvalacs of the Museum of London found evidence of rickets, anaemia, bad teeth and childhood malnutrition.

So, the factors that were important were:

• General poor health (in these cases, complicated by lack of food, but it must be remembered that TOO MUCH food also leads to immune system impairment)


• Other diseases - we have AIDS, asthma - which would be particularly susceptible to airborne Ebola, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and a multitude of non-lethal, chronic illnesses.  In Western societies, you can live a long life, even though not healthy - until another factor, such as Ebola, enters the picture.


• Closeness to neighbors - the original plague spread rapidly in the cities.  The countryside was largely immune, both for reasons of better nutrition, and because of the distance between potential victims.


• The major plague outbreak years had AIRBORNE transmission.


• Compulsive attention to hygiene - in a crisis situation, this is a component that may be ignored or given less attention.  And, a widespread plague IS a crisis.

Health workers are at greatest risk - about 100 have died in this outbreak.  One of them "Sierra Leone’s leading doctor in the fight against Ebola, Sheik Umar Khan, a national hero" is, by his name, a Muslim.  Now, why is that important?

Islamic beliefs have led nurses and other health workers to wear long sleeves, and refuse to use alcohol-based sterilants.  In Britain, the problem is so great because the NHS has allowed them to ignore procedures for reasons of religion.

The real concern is the possibility that Ebola might become airborne - infectious through coughs and sneezes.  From Wikipedia (I know of Wikipedia's unreliability on politically-related subjects, but for basic information, it's not bad).

It is not entirely clear how Ebola is spread.^[15] EVD is believed to occur after an ebola virus is transmitted to an initial human by contact with an infected animal's body fluids. Human-to-human transmission can occur via direct contact with blood or bodily fluids from an infected person (includingembalming of an infected dead person) or by contact with contaminated medical equipment, particularly needles and syringes.^[16] Semen is infectious in survivors for up to 50 days. Transmission through oral exposure and through conjunctiva exposure is likely^[17] and has been confirmed in non-human primates.^[18] The potential for widespread EVD infections is considered low as the disease is only spread by direct contact with the secretions from someone who is showing signs of infection.^[16] The quick onset of symptoms makes it easier to identify sick individuals and limits a person's ability to spread the disease by traveling. Because dead bodies are still infectious, some doctors disposed of them in a safe manner, despite local traditional burial rituals.^[19]

The CDC claims that Ebola absolutely CANNOT be spread through the air.

However, the organization then issues an advisory that seems to contradict their claims:

Crew members on a flight with a passenger or other crew member who is ill with a fever, jaundice, or bleeding and who is traveling from or has recently been in a risk area should follow these precautions:

• Keep the sick person separated from others as much as possible.


• Provide the sick person with a surgical mask (if the sick person can tolerate wearing one) to reduce the number of droplets expelled into the air by talking, sneezing, or coughing.


• Give tissues to a sick person who cannot tolerate a mask. Provide a plastic bag for disposing of used tissues.


• Wear impermeable disposable gloves for direct contact with blood or other body fluids.

The study that looked at transmission between species showed that non-contact transmission was possible.

There are three likely candidates for the route of transmission: airborne, droplet, or fomites.

Airborne and droplet transmission both technically travel through the air to infect others; the difference lies in the size of the infective particles. Smaller droplets persist in the air longer and are able to travel farther- these droplets are truly “airborne.” Larger droplets can neither travel as far nor persist for very long. Fomites are inanimate objects that can transmit disease if they are contaminated with infectious agents. In this study, a monkey’s cage could have been contaminated when workers were cleaning a nearby pig cage. If the monkey touched the contaminated cage surface and then its mouth or eyes, it could have been infected.

Author Dr. Gary Kobinger suspects that the virus is transmitted through droplets, not fomites, because evidence of infection in the lungs of the monkeys indicated that the virus was inhaled.

- See more at: http://healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/pigs-monkeys-ebola-goes-airborne-112112#sthash.ByoHbzTT.dpuf

The other side?  The Canadian Health authorities have grave concerns about airborne Ebola:

In the laboratory, infection through small-particle aerosols has been demonstrated in primates, and airborne spread among humans is strongly suspected, although it has not yet been conclusively demonstrated (1, 6, 13). The importance of this route of transmission is not clear.

Couple the above with concerns that Ebola might be used as a Bioweapon, and you have some interesting - and disturbing - issues.

So, could Trump be justified in his concerns?  Answer in the comments.

 

Why Surrogacy is Wrong

I do get that, for some women, infertility is a major sorrow in their lives.  They want to be mothers, but, physically, it just isn't possible.

For those women, and their husband, adoption is also not possible.  Unless they have a LOT of money to spend, legally adopting a child is hard.  It's made harder by social workers who oppose adoption if a parent is living, however ill-suited they are to raise that child.  Too often, that opposition keeps children in foster care for years.  Some have accused agencies of keeping kids in foster care for the money it brings in - I can't believe that.  I think it's an ideological position that is to blame.

For those reasons, some women feel that they have no alternative to surrogacy.  Today's surrogacy has evolved into a multi-partner process, that splits the pregnancy action into parts:

• The male contribution - sometimes from the prospective adoptive father, other times from donors (the men are generally paid for their sperm).  Sometimes, the sperm samples are mixed, so the father-to-be can assume a biological connection.


• The egg contribution - an egg donor is paid far more than the sperm donor.  That's because she is pumped full of drugs to stimulate release of multiple eggs.  Research on the dangers has not fully explored the long-term damage to the egg donor's system.  See information about Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome, which is just ONE of the problems that can arise.  For this part, younger, more educated women are preferred; often, these egg SELLERS are recruited via ads in college newspapers.  The high cost of college makes them a vulnerable population.


• The Surrogate - that's the woman who actually carries the child to term.  Since there is no genetic connection, she may be of any race or background.  Previous mothers are preferred for this part of the "job".  Third-World women are often recruited for this.  India is one of the countries that have taken over this "job that Americans won't do".  Since the surrogate has to be pumped full of hormones to carry the pregnancy, it may well have a lifelong effect on that woman's health.

Breaking the motherhood part into 2 separate parts (it can be more, if the egg of one woman is used, but the DNA of another woman) virtually eliminates the problem of the "Baby M" case, where the genetic mother carried the baby, and bonded with it, leading her to challenge giving the child up after birth.

Older would-be mothers are often encouraged to use eggs from another woman, as their own might be old enough to have potential damage.  For very busy women, or those who don't want to "ruin" their figures, the surrogate option is preferred.

The whole process is expensive, involves multiple payments to the various people in the process, and legally severs the connection to original mothers and fathers.  For that reason, it is strongly promoted by well-off older partners, straight and gay.  They are the core group that has the financial resources to engage in the practice, and the ones that cannot, or would prefer to not, biologically create the child the natural way.

Who loses in this?

• The sperm seller, who has left pieces of himself spread around the country.  In some cases, donors have been forced to contribute to the support of children they helped create.  The secrecy of the system can lead to unaware grown children becoming involved with their genetic brothers and sisters.


• The egg seller, who, for a substantial amount of money, risks her health and future fertility.  Like the sperm seller, she has unknown numbers of potential children.


• The surrogate, who takes some of the largest risks (pregnancy is still a risky proposition, especially when assisted with extra, injected chemicals).  During the pregnancy, both the hormonal changes, and the natural emotions of a mother contribute to a wrenching separation at birth.  Some husbands may resent the intrusion of the infant.  Children may have trouble understanding how mother could give away a child; lifelong insecurity may result.


• The buyers, who are benefiting from many people's loss.  They have to know that only their money made this possible; the ethics of it all are questionable, at best.  At the worst, it is exploitation of vulnerable and poor people.  The surrogacy is a form of temporary slavery-for-hire.

As Pope Paul VI made clear in his encyclical, the conception process is a holistic endeavor.  To divorce one part from another, or to mechanize part of the process, is wrong.  He wrote that modern man had:

...a new understanding of the dignity of woman and her place in society, of the value of conjugal love in marriage and the relationship of conjugal acts to this love.

I do realize that Pope Paul VI was widely disparaged for his encyclical.  Few were the clergy that actually taught their congregations about the thinking behind it.  It was reported in the press and on TV as the anti-sex preaching of an out-of-touch papacy.

The encyclical warned of four resulting trends: a general lowering of moral standards throughout society; a rise in infidelity; a lessening of respect for women by men; and the coercive use of reproductive technologies by governments.

Fast forward almost 50 years, and we have:

• People coupling with virtual strangers - if a woman doesn't know that person well enough, she gives him oral sex.  Say what you will, the "Hookup Culture" is NOT compatible with human dignity.


• Very young women becoming pregnant - sometimes having abortions, sometimes having children, and raising them as single mothers.


• Sex tapes - often made by those who are more emotionally involved, and with the understanding that it is to stay private.  Lots of luck with that when they break up!


• Online porn - for some, a substitute for interaction with an actual human.  For both producer and viewer, a dehumanizing experience.


• Forced use of contraception and forced abortions.


• Many older women who have passed their fertile window of opportunity, often due to focusing on their careers.  For them, the seemingly reasonable option of surrogacy.


• Women without partners they want to make fathers - single motherhood as a CHOICE.


• Men-men partnerships - don't have the equipment to carry a child, so "HIRE" a woman or (by splitting the egg/bearer job), women. 

It is, in part, because surrogacy does not respect the dignity of women, that I am opposed to it.  It isn't that I don't understand (as far as I am able) the torment of a woman and a man that cannot conceive naturally.  The Biblical story of Abraham and Sarah is filled with that pain.

But, it is also filled with the consequences of going outside of natural marriage means to solve that problem.  Sarah insisted that Abraham impregnate a slave, Hagar.  After the child was born, Sarah did NOT bond with it, but resented both the child, and his mother.  She eventually insisted on banishing Abraham's son and his mother.

Why might Sarah have been infertile?  Well, Abraham had to labor 7 years, only to be tricked into marrying the wrong daughter.  He then had to labor another 7 years - 14 in all.  Let's assume that Sarah was 16 when Abraham first proposed.  Add 14 years to that age, and she would have been 30 when finally married.  By 27, women have lost 10% of their fertility.  By 30, women have lost 90% of their eggs.

That story is an object lesson in the perils of waiting to start your family.

The New "Womb-man"

Here's some information about IVF and the increase in surrogacy - rent-a-womb services.

"For women under the age of 35, 40.7% of fertility treatment attempts resulted in a live birth. So did 31.3% of the attempts by women ages 35 to 37; 22.2% of the attempts by women ages 38 to 40; 11.8% of the attempts by women who were 41 or 42; and 3.9% for women who were 43 or older.

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-ivf-births-record-high-20140216,0,6799611.story#ixzz2vffq6eRC"

So, because most older women do NOT experience a successful pregnancy, even with a "test-tube" conception, SOMEONE has to carry the child for 9 months.

Enter the "womb-man" - the person who is thought of only as a disembodied uterus. She needn't be the same woman who donates the egg - in fact, for the purposes of wresting the baby from her at birth, it's MUCH better if she is not.  It's easier to deny her parental rights if she has no genetic connection to the child she nurtured during her pregnancy.

Read more about the ethical implications of this trend - about 1.5% of children born have parents who used IVF.

"Three" Parents, Surrogacy, and Commercialization in Conception and Birth

I've been thinking about this subject for some time.

First, some admissions:

• Getting pregnant was NEVER a problem for me.  I had 3 kids in four years.  Coulda done more, but I was really getting tired of birthin'


• In my younger years, I did follow the crowd and use contraception.  Never had to consider an abortion, which I thank God for.  Some things, it was just a mercy I hadn't been in a position to have to decide upon - I don't know that I'd have decided in a good way.


• There have been days my kids drove me crazy.  Well, the same is true of my husband.  But, I never wished they hadn't been born.

I never had to wrestle with the conflicts between a strong desire to have children, and the ethical problems that lay within that decision.

In high school, we all read "Brave New World" and "1984" (funny, seldom do kids read either these days.  1984 is too uncomfortably close to the near-worship of our current leader.

And, Brave New World, with its manufactured baby products, seems WAY too close to modern elite parenting.

And, it IS an elite problem - they are the ones that delay pregnancy until conception is difficult, if not impossible.  They are the ones (Octo-Mom notwithstanding) who have the money to make their quest for a mini-me possible.  And, they are the ones that can see a potential egg donor or surrogate, and see - what?  A virtual non-person?  A "lesser" human being?  A bought-and-paid-for servant?

Egg donors take enormous risks.  The process of "harvesting" eggs requires the donor to be pumped full of drugs, some of which will imperil future pregnancies, cause premature menopause, or, even, serious illness or death.

The surrogates take risks, too.  They take on the normal risks of pregnancy, plus the added complication of implantation or medical intervention to join sperm to egg.  If the sperm donor is gay, she risks AIDS exposure, hepatitis, or other STD (Yes, I know that the sperm is screened.  Keep in mind that, in the pre-AIDS testing years, such an unknown pathogen couldn't have been guarded against.  Caveat emptor - or rather, let the SELLER beware.).

Here's a thoughtful look at the ethical challenges that commercial child-buying entails.

Here's a look at sperm buying, from a person whose father was "Donor".

Sex was not necessary for me to exist. I was not the natural fruit of a marriage. I was a very clear decision, an economic transaction and exchange of services rendered by buyers and sellers who did not know each other—not even as acquaintances. - See more at: http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/03/4628/#sthash.8H149Qag.dpuf

He differentiates between types of immortality:

There are two types of immortality: genetic and memetic. Genetic immortality includes the preservation as well as the reproduction of genes. Living forever like Duncan MacLeod in Highlander is one example of genetic immortality through preservation; freezing your body cryogenically is another. Genghis Khan and his now 16 million living descendants are an example of genetic immortality through reproduction. Memetic immortality, on the other hand, has little to do with the physical matter of our bodies. It is the theory that mental content and "cultural units"—ideas, beliefs, patterns of behavior, etc., can be reproduced from mind to mind—as individuals influence each other to adopt new ways of thinking, preferences, and so on. - See more at: http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/03/4628/#sthash.8H149Qag.dpuf

How does the never-present father benefit?

Fifty years ago a man had to devote his life through marriage to pass on his genes. Today he doesn’t even have to buy his mother’s child a drink. - See more at: http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/03/4628/#sthash.8H149Qag.dpuf

If the seed of the father contains at least SOME of the character traits - introvert/extrovert, easy-going/uptight, athletic/clumsy - then will our future civilization be shaped - perhaps NOT for the better - by the careless seeding of these absent men?

This woman was charged with crimes.  Read it, and tell me - just how different are her actions from the LEGAL actions of those purchasing surrogates?

Welcome to the Re-Boot!

I'm off work, due to snow (it's a laughable amount to a Yankee transplant, but it causes serious problems for a part of the country that doesn't have the materials, equipment, or expertise to deal with it).

 

I've decided to get back in the saddle, and add my voice to those that are passionate about changing our country BACK to:

• Less government - not just BETTER government, but LESS


• Better schools - I'm strongly of the belief that Conservatives need to start writing alternative curriculum, with the state standards in mind (although they need to get embedded in the State Boards of Education, to be able to influence the standards, as well).


• TRUE civility in public life - which ALSO includes the freedom to get into the dirt, if attacked by a pig.  No holding to a higher standard Conservatives, while allowing Leftists to go for the gonads.


• Creation/Expansion of HONEST media.  There needs to be Conservative channels on TV/Cable, as well as Conservative Packages.  Families shouldn't be forced to allow Leftist propaganda into their homes, nor near-porn.  Blocking shouldn't be necessary.


• Fewer, and Lower, taxes.  Less regulation by bureaucrats.  An end to the Imperial Presidency, including trimming the budget.  That would also include a provision that ANY and ALL trips not taken for official business be billed to the President at Air Force 1 rates/military jet rates.  Those official visits may NOT be combined with private business. Exceptions ONLY for immediate family emergencies/funerals.


• For Heaven's sake, it would be cheaper, and possibly safer, to buy all of a small commercial aircraft's seating, and bump passengers!  The movie Air Force 1 was only a movie (although, quite entertaining).


• Change the tax structure.  Change to a flat tax rate, and eliminate the hidden/add-on taxes.  EVERYBODY pays - even those on welfare or unemployment, or on Social Security.  If they ALL suffer when a new tax is brought in, they'll stop voting for them.  Same with Social Security - EVERYBODY pays in, and NO MORE government pensions.  You want to build your retirement, do it at YOUR expense.


• Health Care - EVERYBODY pays a co-pay, even the Medicaid patients.  It doesn't have to be that much ($1-$10), but everybody has to have some skin in the game.  If you are from another country, your country WILL be billed, if you are indigent.  If they refuse to pay, bye-bye.  We don't need more free-loaders - we have enough of them, home-grown.

I'm also going to continue beefing up the part of the site dedicated to Conservative Self-Education, and include links to books (both free, and those that can be gotten on Amazon and elsewhere).

NOT Having a LARC

I added a page for that last post, rather than on this page.  I did it accidentally, but I think I'll leave it, because I'm planning to come back to this topic.

The link is here:

NOT Having a LARC

Remember When Komen Caved on Planned Parenthood...

...and PP SWORE (pinky finger swear!) that they would INCREASE the number of mammograms they offered?

Yeah.

That happened...NOT!

Vegetative States Revisited

There's a link to a story about a man who was presumed to be comatose for 23 years.  When a state-of-the-art PET scanner was used, doctors found that the man's brain was functioning normally.

But, he was paralyzed and unable to speak.

He lived in a nightmare of inability to communicate with the rest of the world.  Thankfully, he has been hooked up to a device by which he can "talk" to others.

My big objection to the euthanasia of Terry Shiavo was the fierce determination of her husband NOT to determine whether or not she had any consciousness left.  In other words, he WANTED to think of her as "non-human", so he could put her down like a dog.

Scratch that.  Dogs are better treated than Terry was.  She was slowly starved and dehydrated over a period of weeks.

Memorial Day, 2013

This year, I have 2 vets to remember.

The first, my dad, was in WWII.  He served in the artillery, which likely contributed to the major hearing loss he suffered from in his senior years.  Even when younger, he consistently turned the TV to a fairly loud setting.

I've spent some time looking into his service - apparently, his unit was moved around a bit, and the command changed several times.  He did serve in the Battle of the Bulge.  He told my mother (she later told me) that he had seen some of the survivors of the concentration camps; it so haunted him that he buried the memory for years.

He mostly told funny stories of his time in the war:

• Cutting across a minefield to avoid being late for dinner


• Coming across a barn with SS uniforms left behind.  He and his buddy tried them on, and admired their panache.  He almost got shot by another soldier who saw the uniform - fortunately, the other soldier fooling around was his buddy, Red, and the hair made the soldier hesitate in pulling the trigger.


• He had little to say that was good about the French - he thought them crude and vulgar.  He did admire the German people - even after bombing, the housewives would rise in the morning and sweep the steps, walk, and street.

So, the sanitized version of war that I received was not unlike that of many other children.  Later, in school and in photomagazines, we saw some of the more grim facets (although in black and white).

My dad died after a long, and largely successful battle with cancer.  At 60, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer - that type usually kills within a short time.  He elected to try an experimental surgery, and survived another 16 years.

Dad was affected by his service, but was able to re-build his life after the war.  He married, raised a family, and enjoyed a wide circle of long-time friends.

My brother's war was one that was televised - the Vietnam War.  He was not a combat soldier, but repaired the mobile communications equipment.  However, he did serve in a combat zone, and saw and experienced much of the stress that comes with war zones.

Like my dad, he didn't talk much about the war, other than a few funny stories.  Like my dad, he didn't join the VFW.  Instead, he found a job, and tried to blend into society.

He was partly successful, for a time.  He functioned, although he never married or had children.  He had one long-time girlfriend; after they broke up, she married someone else.  To my knowledge, he never had another serious relationship.

Fairly early on, he started drinking.  For a long time, he kept his consumption manageable - going to bed with a buzz on, saving the major drinking for the weekends.  Over time, it accelerated.

After a major life crisis (his best friend died), he started deteriorating.  He eventually lost his job, his house, and what life he had.  He started living on the streets.

He was on the streets for about 10 years.  Some of that time, he'd find a temporary place to live - a shelter, a few days with an acquaintance, or he would talk his way into staying with a family member.

My brother and sister took the brunt of the work of dealing with his alcoholism.  They fed him, sometimes housed him, and, when they could no longer live with the chaos his presence caused, made the decision to ban him from living with them.

It had to be hard to watch my brother destroy any hope of a life.  He would show up at their door, dirty, hungry, and confused.  Sometimes, they would let him in for a shower and a meal.

He bounced around for many years.  As soon as he got access to money, he spent it on booze - one major reason that I WON'T give money to bums.  The VA was helpful, and he went to rehab multiple times - always returning to his ways after checking out.

Just before he died, he was assisted in getting into an apartment.  For years, every winter, I worried about him freezing to death in the streets.  He was just 63 when he died.

There are too many vets like my brother, who just never manage to get back to a normal life after service.  I can't fault the VA, who did all that they could to help him recover.

In his case, isolation was a major factor.   He was a man with few friends, even before the war.  He lacked many of the social ties that anchor men, and help them adjust.  He was an introvert, a loner, and a man who used alcohol to ease him into social situations.  With booze, he could talk freely with women (not QUITE as bad as Raj on The Big Bang Theory, but close).

He liked children well enough, at a distance.  He didn't want children, his own or otherwise, and that had to limit his potential female partners.  He didn't date women with children.

In some ways, he was a throwback.  Loners were common enough in the early days of the United States.  Being disinclined to socialize was not that unusual, particularly in the more isolated frontier or the mountains.

His burial, at the Western Reserve National Cemetery, was beautifully done.  By his choice, he was cremated, and the urn was to be placed in a setting with his fellow soldiers.  The people at the cemetery spoke about him and his service, and he received an honor guard volley.

After the service, we went back to my sister's house, and dealt with the paperwork and talked.  One VERY funny moment occurred when we had to decide what inscription/symbol to put on his marker.  The inscription was easy, but the symbol was tough.

Mary and I wanted this - as a SERIOUS Star Trek nut, Mike would have LOVED it.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Ron talked us out of it - after a LOT of discussion. We decided on an eagle.

Still, I know that Mike would have preferred the "Live Long and Prosper" symbol.

I Have Been Blessed

In my life, I have been blessed:

• I have a roof over my head.  True, it did come with a big mortgage, but I am sleeping warm at night.


• Along with the above, my neighbors are great, and watch out for the neighborhood.


• I have enough to eat - so much so, that I am having to spend energy on dieting.


• I have money from my job to pay for that mortgage and other things.  True, I was unemployed for almost 7 months this year, and had to dip into retirement savings, but I had savings to dip into.


• The job I have now is the best I've ever had - great co-workers, good kids, excellent administration.  I have to pinch myself to make sure that it's not a dream.


• I have good kids and wonderful grandkids (yes, I DID notice that the adjectives changed, but that's due to the fact that I don't HAVE to discipline my grandkids).  They're working and making lives for themselves.


• I have a husband who has stuck by me for many years.  He is supportive of my endeavors (in general), and we're currently on our 39th anniversary year.


• BTW, over the last 1-1/2 years, my youngest grandchild has moved from illiterate to literate - it's amazing, that transformation that happens in so short a time.  God bless K-3 teachers!


• I live in America.  On an American's WORST day, they're living better than perhaps 90% of the world.  Our poor people live better than middle-class people in most of the world.


• I have 24/7 access to the Internet.  For a reading junkie like me, this is like living in a crack library.


• I belong to a strong and caring Catholic community - both at my church, and through association with others - in my daughter's community, in the parishes we attend when traveling, and on the Internet.  Bless them all.

Nothing else special in this - I just wanted to express my gratitude for all that God has given me.

The Pope Resigns!

This was a shocker!

At first, when another teacher said that Pope Benedict would resign at the end of the month, I thought it was an Onion spoof.

But, I checked - it's really happening. Go to the Vatican site , and see for yourself.

I'm flabbergasted. I never expected this.

But, I'm going to think of it as an opportunity. It's a chance for a new breeze to blow through the Church walls.

Several things occurred to me:

1. Compared to the Cardinals from the JPII era, the Cardinals have been through intensive scrutiny re: the Child Abuse Scandals. Those that stayed, have been vetted.


2. The Church has retired many of the most egregious "Vatican-Lite" personnel. Those that remain are, generally, committed to upholding Church teachings, even against opposition.


3. The retirement will bring in new blood at a time when the Church needs to stand firm, opposing the US Government's intrusion into the policies of its hospitals and other charitable organizations. It's going to be a battle, I suspect straight to the US Supreme Court. (After that, if the answer is not favorable, it may have to go to the Ultimate Supreme Court of God). Both Clergy and Laymen will be tested, and will have to show their backbone.


4. This may set a GOOD precedent. In a time when the clergy of a parish have to retire at a certain age. it's probably a good idea to have SOME sense that the head of the Church might want to pack it in at some time. It's a good argument for basing PART of the vote on the candidate's age. That being said, I'd rather have SOME older people than younger - it truly depends on the individual.


5. Perhaps some orders of priests and nuns might want to consider this precedent, as well. Leadership in the modern age demands a lot of the leaders - both physically and mentally. There are a few of them that might want to re-think their roles in light of this announcement.

I'm choosing to look at this as a GOOD thing.

Life After the Election

It's over 1 week into the last term of Obama (if you don't believe that it's possible that he may try a power grab near the end of his term). Many people looked at their paychecks, and said "What!" It's difficult to believe that they, somehow, thought that the tax increases would just pass them by. I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying "I TOLD you so" in a smarmy voice.

It's just the beginning - we'll be facing WAY more in Ooops, Surprise! from the administration. To give the public everything they asked for without raising taxes is simply not possible.

The part of this all that I am beginning to truly fear is this summer. I live in a city, as does most of my family. If sequestration does take effect, expect the "poor" (I put it in quotes to distinguish them from the truly impoverished - most of the former are making more, if you count their access to EBT, heat subsidies, rent subsidies, and all the rest, than the people to work to provide them with the benefits) to express their displeasure in LOUD, DESTRUCTIVE, and FRIGHTENING WAYS.

Out of the Loop

I've been out of town for the holidays (I left a few days earlier, due to a death in the family). I basically haven't looked at news on TV or on the Internet for the last 3 days.

It's kind of refreshing.

I tend to obsessively watch current events, looking at the interconnections and working my way through the original documents (I use Thomas.gov for the original text of legislation). I find that the news does a poor job of getting the information out. Too often, they rely on press releases and quick conversations with legislators that favor their pre-set biases. As a result, the public is often in the dark about the "pork stuffing", hidden costs, and full implications of pending legislation. They use the sound-bites of their favored party's arguments, and fail to get the true story out.

But, for the last few days, I've concentrated on dealing with the items that I had to - family, shopping, time spent with my husband (not that I HAD to), and other immediate concerns.

It was like a mini-vacation fro reality.

I must do this again, sometime.

Life Can Be Tough

It's been a rough week. On Tuesday, I received a call from my sister that my elder brother, Mike, had been found dead in his apartment. He likely was there for days before being noticed.

Mike had been battling alcoholism for years. Due to it, he lost his job, his home, and nearly all his friends and family. Periodically, he'd surface, needing to shower or clean his clothing, and my sister or brother would take pity on him and let him in long enough to clear up.

I was spared much of this; by the time he hit the streets, I was living in SC. I was only occasionally present when he surfaced. In 10 years, I doubt I saw him more than 10 times.

He couldn't get along with others at the shelters. He claimed that they "messed with" him, but I suspect that he irritated them quite a bit - he was smart, and could use his intellect to put people down. His smart mouth, even in his youth, got him in a bit of trouble.

When he was in his 20s, he started a science fiction novel. To my knowledge, he never finished more than a few chapters. Could he have, if he had not been drinking? Possibly. My sister finished her book; I'm still trying to find time to get back to mine. In the meantime, I post to my blogs; I've run one for almost a decade. Writing is apparently in the family genes.

Mike never married. He was skittish about arguments; he was uneasy about children. Illness scared him. When my children were hospitalized, he would, briefly, show up, then, abruptly, have to leave. His squeamishness about many of life's trials seemed to be avoidance of pain.

An Insightful Post

I've long enjoyed Right Wing News' John Hawkins' work.  He is thoughtful and pays attention to the personal motivations underlying the political strife.

This post, on 20 Observations About Human Nature That Liberals Would Disagree With, is quite insightful.  I noted several of them,

2) The more a behavior is rewarded with attention, fame, sympathy or money, the more of it we'll see. We recognize this almost instinctively when it comes to good behaviors, but we also tend to almost habitually block it out when it comes to behaviors we don't want to encourage.

and

19) Greed isn't about wanting to keep what you've earned; it's about wanting goods, products or services that you aren't paying for or haven't earned.

which were some of my favorites.

Note that most of the listed observations have to do with the culture, not politics or religion.

Posting About the Culture

I've long said that the culture is what drives the politics, not the reverse.  Unfortunately, I've acted as though the political part of life was the important part.

With that in mind, I've decided to focus on The Culture, and WHY it has to be resisted.  Naturally, much of my thinking will come out of my Catholic Heritage.

Like Nancy Pelosi and Joy Behar, I was raised Catholic.

That's where we differ.  I still attend church every Sunday, and am currently also spending one evening a week (and some spare time online) learning more about my faith.

Unlike many cultural Catholics, I don't ignore the "inconveniently illiberal" parts of the church.

To that purpose, I've been checking out some Catholic blogs that stand firmly on the side of The Church in the HHS fight.

Among them, Bad Catholic, who writes about specific ways that The Church stands up to the Standard American Culture.

Bad Catholic also writes about nudity - and how the Culture has made men (and women) ashamed of their bodies.  Which, BTW, the Catholic Church never was - did you think all those naked and near-naked statues and pictures in the churches just somehow escaped the attention of The Church?

Bad Catholic also takes on porn - and points to a modern man who rejected it.

He takes on popular thinking about abortion.

If you haven't read Bad Catholic in the past, start now.

Why Black Participation in Baseball is Falling

The central thesis of this is disheartening.

...baseball is a game taught by fathers, while basketball and football are more often taught by peers in pickup games.

Gerald Hall Jr., the director of a youth-baseball program in Washington, D.C., told Milloy: “If you did a survey, I believe you’d find that the one thing average and above-average players have in common is a father. Baseball is, at heart, a father-and-son sport. And if you’re a kid that has nobody to throw to, nobody to talk to, nobody to discipline you in the way that baseball demands, you’re not likely to play the game.

How unbearably sad.