and the world was different.
The cosmos in my garden were still brown and wilting. My neighbor's cars were lined up in the usual order in their driveway: silver car, red car, old blue truck pockmarked with rust. The streets were quiet. Lights were on in homes where people sluggishly readied themselves for another day of work. It was all as it always is, yet nothing felt the same.
Last night I witnessed an occurrence of such magnitude that it defies explanation or description. It didn't come in the form of some spectacular supernova, but on my television screen, in a steady sequence of small red and blue explosions. It happened as numbers ticked by and fate become increasingly apparent. It happened while my children watched and while the greater world held its collective breath.
I'm so tired today that I feel as though I'm still lingering in a dream. The last time I had a hand in electing a Democrat to the presidency, I was an eighteen-year old college kid. Now, I'm a mother with three children born into a world that has become increasingly ugly, due in no small part to the leadership that has served throughout most of their lives. I want them to see America and Americans as I saw it/them when things seemed sane and decent. Maybe now they'll have that chance.
When I watched the towers fall on 9/11, I was five months pregnant. I imagined the violence that would follow in response. I wondered what kind of a world I was bringing my child into. Last night I got a glimpse of what may define my country in the next years, and it was profoundly beautiful, in contrast.
The very same country who elected an inarticulate right-wing war monger four and eight years ago just swept in a brilliant young black man from Chicago. What a change, indeed.
It's supposed to snow this weekend. I've been generally sick of the white stuff, but today I don't even care. There's a bright sliver of sun slicing through the relentless gloom that has hung over this corner of the world like a stifling wet wool blanket.
I'll get a shovel, brace my back, and be ready to work. I expect no less from our president-elect, Barack Obama.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
The Palin Pick.
The announcement of John McCain's VP pick has barely been circulated, and already the 'net is abuzz; Alaska's Republican governor Sarah Palin will grace the ticket.
Palin has five children, the youngest of whom has Down Syndrome. I find it disturbing that some members of the Democratic camp are seizing on the opportunity to point out a perceived contradiction in values, wherein Palin is slated to spend the next two months campaigning while she has an infant with special needs at home. I think on the issue of her values, this is the wrong approach to take.
Every child with Down Syndrome is different; their "special" needs are broad and varied. As the mother of a child with Down's, I realized in my son's infancy that caring for him was not terribly unlike caring for my other children. I was no martyr, I was not his desperate servant. I was his Mom.
If, as a party, we want to highlight any contradiction in "values" inherent in Palin's circumstances and convictions, we ought to focus on the fact that the Governor's party undermines the causes that are of most concern to the Down Syndrome and disabled communities. American health care, education, and equal opportunities for those with disabilities all suffer under Republican leadership. Parents struggle to pay medical bills for specialists, fight to obtain services their children need for successful mainstreaming in the classroom, and desire most profoundly that their children be embraced by society, rather than tolerated by it.
Anti-choice values hold that all life is precious, but here again we see the Pro-Life Republican modus operandi of revering life inside, but not beyond, the womb. Palin's party sees an individual life as a flower that must be allowed to take root and bloom. Democrats realize that for this flower to bloom, we must nurture it from a seedling, prune it as it ages, and expend the energy it takes to water, feed, and care for it. Some plants require special soil. Some demand particular nutrients. Some must be supported and trained to climb toward the sun. None that exist can be neglected, and no blanket solution will enable every plant to thrive.
In truth, no person or political figure can justly be called "compassionate" or "pro-life" while seeking to further policies that are antithetical to the idea that:
"The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped. "
(Hubert H. Humphrey)
Palin has five children, the youngest of whom has Down Syndrome. I find it disturbing that some members of the Democratic camp are seizing on the opportunity to point out a perceived contradiction in values, wherein Palin is slated to spend the next two months campaigning while she has an infant with special needs at home. I think on the issue of her values, this is the wrong approach to take.
Every child with Down Syndrome is different; their "special" needs are broad and varied. As the mother of a child with Down's, I realized in my son's infancy that caring for him was not terribly unlike caring for my other children. I was no martyr, I was not his desperate servant. I was his Mom.
If, as a party, we want to highlight any contradiction in "values" inherent in Palin's circumstances and convictions, we ought to focus on the fact that the Governor's party undermines the causes that are of most concern to the Down Syndrome and disabled communities. American health care, education, and equal opportunities for those with disabilities all suffer under Republican leadership. Parents struggle to pay medical bills for specialists, fight to obtain services their children need for successful mainstreaming in the classroom, and desire most profoundly that their children be embraced by society, rather than tolerated by it.
Anti-choice values hold that all life is precious, but here again we see the Pro-Life Republican modus operandi of revering life inside, but not beyond, the womb. Palin's party sees an individual life as a flower that must be allowed to take root and bloom. Democrats realize that for this flower to bloom, we must nurture it from a seedling, prune it as it ages, and expend the energy it takes to water, feed, and care for it. Some plants require special soil. Some demand particular nutrients. Some must be supported and trained to climb toward the sun. None that exist can be neglected, and no blanket solution will enable every plant to thrive.
In truth, no person or political figure can justly be called "compassionate" or "pro-life" while seeking to further policies that are antithetical to the idea that:
"The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped. "
(Hubert H. Humphrey)
Monday, August 11, 2008
John, John, John, tsk, tsk.
So John Edwards had an affair. He might have fathered a child outside of his marriage. It's disappointing for anyone who supported him, but is it shocking in a political context? Probably not. Politicians of every stripe seem compelled to bask in the "dark" privileges that entice those who grasp the brittle reigns of power. What I'm really disappointed about is the lack of creativity in his deviance.
Christianity holds that adultery is a sin. Our leaders are supposed to be upstanding, exceptional individuals, yet so many fall prey to the simple, albeit destructive lure of the flesh.
If John Edwards had to pose sin, I wish he could have picked a more interesting one.
I have examined a list ( http://www.saintaquinas.com/mortal_sin.html) of purported grave and/or mortal sins and culled from such an assemblage of sins that I endorse as "way more interesting than banging a political aide."
Divination, magic and sorcery— "A grave sin which includes attempting to command the powers of the occult, control or speak to demons or spirits (especially Satan), attempting to divine the future, and the use of magic charms."
If a political candidate were found to be stuffing his pockets with "magic charms" and trying to contact spirits or demons, I would probably be MORE inclined to vote for him.
Deliberate failure of the Sunday obligation— "Involves one's failure to praise God and give him thanks..."
I would love it if some political figure spent every Sunday morning at Denny's eating breakfast, then blowing down neighborhood sidewalks on a juiced-up Segway.
Lukewarmness—"Lukewarmness is negligence in response to God’s charity. It can also mean the refusal to give oneself to the prompting of charity."
I would totally back up any political officer who refused to donate money to that snotty boy who comes to my door every year to collect money for Camp Miller. I'm fine with his cause, but he just stands there holding out the box as though he can't talk, and I've heard him talk, because he dropped the f-bomb at another kid while riding his bike past my house last summer.
Theft— To "violate a person’s right to property by theft is a grave sin, especially if the loss of the property will severely hurt the victim The gravity of theft is determined by the harm it does to the victim. "
How funny was it when Winona Ryder got busted for shoplifting? How funny would it be if rather than cheating on his wife, Edwards had gotten arrested for eating grapes out of a produce bin at a Boise Super Wal-mart?
Come on, candidates; let's make this whole "sin and political corruption" business a little more interesting for the viewers at home. It's pretty much your patriotic duty.
Christianity holds that adultery is a sin. Our leaders are supposed to be upstanding, exceptional individuals, yet so many fall prey to the simple, albeit destructive lure of the flesh.
If John Edwards had to pose sin, I wish he could have picked a more interesting one.
I have examined a list ( http://www.saintaquinas.com/mortal_sin.html) of purported grave and/or mortal sins and culled from such an assemblage of sins that I endorse as "way more interesting than banging a political aide."
Divination, magic and sorcery— "A grave sin which includes attempting to command the powers of the occult, control or speak to demons or spirits (especially Satan), attempting to divine the future, and the use of magic charms."
If a political candidate were found to be stuffing his pockets with "magic charms" and trying to contact spirits or demons, I would probably be MORE inclined to vote for him.
Deliberate failure of the Sunday obligation— "Involves one's failure to praise God and give him thanks..."
I would love it if some political figure spent every Sunday morning at Denny's eating breakfast, then blowing down neighborhood sidewalks on a juiced-up Segway.
Lukewarmness—"Lukewarmness is negligence in response to God’s charity. It can also mean the refusal to give oneself to the prompting of charity."
I would totally back up any political officer who refused to donate money to that snotty boy who comes to my door every year to collect money for Camp Miller. I'm fine with his cause, but he just stands there holding out the box as though he can't talk, and I've heard him talk, because he dropped the f-bomb at another kid while riding his bike past my house last summer.
Theft— To "violate a person’s right to property by theft is a grave sin, especially if the loss of the property will severely hurt the victim The gravity of theft is determined by the harm it does to the victim. "
How funny was it when Winona Ryder got busted for shoplifting? How funny would it be if rather than cheating on his wife, Edwards had gotten arrested for eating grapes out of a produce bin at a Boise Super Wal-mart?
Come on, candidates; let's make this whole "sin and political corruption" business a little more interesting for the viewers at home. It's pretty much your patriotic duty.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Epic News and the Small-Town Paper.
I had a letter-to-the-editor printed in this week's edition of our local newspaper. This isn't a particularly notable honor, as pretty much any idiot who writes in can get published. The paper is, itself, a source of endless amusement for me. Just this week I found a number of chuckle-worthy examples. I will commence to share them:
The date. I'm often a little bit off, but I'm pretty certain of the month. It's July. And it's not the 28th, either.
There is a pie social upcoming at BethlehAm Church. The name of this church hearkens to a small town outside of Bethlehem. They had a burgeoning pork industry there, but still wanted to capitalize on the whole Jesus bit.
Some timely and newsworthy info. from the contributor who writes the news section pertaining to some of the smaller outlying towns.
The ONLY personal ad in the paper. It runs every single week. Jesus appears to be striking out in the "love" department.
Oh. My. God.
It's only the biggest thing to happen in our town since we got rid of the pony express service;
it's the fiftieth anniversary of the construction of our tourist mecca: THE GAS STATION!
This one just cracks me up because Rick's advertising endeavor employs a minimalist approach and manages to be reasonably grammatical and at least somewhat professional until he gets to the end and offers his finely honed skills of "hauling stuff away".
Sorry, local old people. We wanted to serve you sauerkraut, but we had all this surplus "sauerdraut" we have to use up first.
ALERT! ALERT! Kids are "on the prowl" in Scanlon! Kids NEVER used to do this in the old days!
Anyone who is smart will jump all over this! You can not find quality ceramic rabbits, colorfully dressed, carrying carrots or flowers, for this price! GO! NOW!
The date. I'm often a little bit off, but I'm pretty certain of the month. It's July. And it's not the 28th, either.
There is a pie social upcoming at BethlehAm Church. The name of this church hearkens to a small town outside of Bethlehem. They had a burgeoning pork industry there, but still wanted to capitalize on the whole Jesus bit.
Some timely and newsworthy info. from the contributor who writes the news section pertaining to some of the smaller outlying towns.
The ONLY personal ad in the paper. It runs every single week. Jesus appears to be striking out in the "love" department.
Oh. My. God.
It's only the biggest thing to happen in our town since we got rid of the pony express service;
it's the fiftieth anniversary of the construction of our tourist mecca: THE GAS STATION!
This one just cracks me up because Rick's advertising endeavor employs a minimalist approach and manages to be reasonably grammatical and at least somewhat professional until he gets to the end and offers his finely honed skills of "hauling stuff away".
Sorry, local old people. We wanted to serve you sauerkraut, but we had all this surplus "sauerdraut" we have to use up first.
ALERT! ALERT! Kids are "on the prowl" in Scanlon! Kids NEVER used to do this in the old days!
Anyone who is smart will jump all over this! You can not find quality ceramic rabbits, colorfully dressed, carrying carrots or flowers, for this price! GO! NOW!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Some insights from Sophie.
Sophie took a break this morning to sit down with me for a conversation. We discussed pressing matters of global concern, as well as trivial fodder. The highlights:
There is no such thing as a dragon. There were once dinosaurs on Earth, but they "dried up".
The fiercest among them was the "Trap-asaurus". He stood 250 feet high, with "a little bit of colors on him, huge claws, and that's about it."
Global warming is "when it's very, very warm, and that's bad. If it happens, the global will burn up. If you touch it, it will burn your fingers."
George Bush is "a very bad president and he should go to jail and they should feed him raw horse meat."
It would be nice to travel to France, because they speak "bonjour" there.
There should be a new law so people can not "go over gates, especially the shaky, silver kind that say 'no going over the gate.' If people do that, they should have to go talk to a lawyer with their parents."
"Fashion is good, except for orange clothes. Orange should just be for lipstick."
There's no such thing as Jesus or God. Some people think Jesus is going to fall out of the clouds, and that's ridiculous. Jesus would not be fat enough to fall out of clouds.
Noel would like to throw in a joke that he made up. He's very proud of himself.
Q: What kind of bees make milk?
A: Boo-Bees.
There is no such thing as a dragon. There were once dinosaurs on Earth, but they "dried up".
The fiercest among them was the "Trap-asaurus". He stood 250 feet high, with "a little bit of colors on him, huge claws, and that's about it."
Global warming is "when it's very, very warm, and that's bad. If it happens, the global will burn up. If you touch it, it will burn your fingers."
George Bush is "a very bad president and he should go to jail and they should feed him raw horse meat."
It would be nice to travel to France, because they speak "bonjour" there.
There should be a new law so people can not "go over gates, especially the shaky, silver kind that say 'no going over the gate.' If people do that, they should have to go talk to a lawyer with their parents."
"Fashion is good, except for orange clothes. Orange should just be for lipstick."
There's no such thing as Jesus or God. Some people think Jesus is going to fall out of the clouds, and that's ridiculous. Jesus would not be fat enough to fall out of clouds.
Noel would like to throw in a joke that he made up. He's very proud of himself.
Q: What kind of bees make milk?
A: Boo-Bees.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Ohhhh BAMA! Watch out for McCain!
It seems we FINALLY have a presumed nominee for the Democratic candidacy. Now that the "magic number" has been met by Barack Obama, we can look forward to a lively and spirited campaign for the presidency.
Obama faces a unique challenger in his opponent. In order to get a better feel for what John McCain is all about, I have culled together an "exerview" with the Republican powerhouse, comprised of actual responses from McCain (to other people's questions).
Why are you running for president, Mr. McCain?
"Why am I running for president? Well, my wife, Cindy, says it is because I sustained several severe blows to the head in prison camp."
The war in Iraq is a prominent issue in this campaign season. How many years do you envision our forces continuing hold a presence in Iraq? Two? Four? Ten?
"Make it a hundred...That would be fine with me."
And what do you feel are the pressing domestic social issues that need to be addressed by our next leader?
"It's not social issues I care about."
Okay, well, how about the economy? What do you bring to the table, in terms of a plan for improving the state of the U.S. economy?
"The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should."
Ohhkay... On the subject of health care- we have an aging population of baby boomers in the impending years. What kind of dialogue would you like to create with the public on the issue?
‘The nice thing about Alzheimer’s is you get to hide your own Easter eggs.’”
What are the most fundamental tenets of your platform in this election?
" Leonardo DiCaprio is an androgynous wimp...[and] gambling on amateur athletics is wrong."
It's certainly been noted that you are a much older and more seasoned politician than Mr. Obama. Do you have any words of wisdom that you'd like to share with your opponent, going into the campaign?
“Never get into a wrestling match with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.”
Thanks for your time, Mr. McCain.
"Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly? Because Janet Reno is her father."
Okay, that's just nasty and unnecessary...
"F**k you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room."
Okay, thank you for your answers, sir.
“Thanks for the question, you little jerk."
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Our Tooth Fairy Sucks.
I don't know if there is, in fact, one Tooth Fairy, or a squadron of them assigned to different regions. It must be the latter, because while a lot of children seem to have their recently liberated chompers expeditiously collected, Sophie has recently found that our Tooth Fairy is rather inept at remembering to visit our house.
After the third (wince) failure of the grand TF, we decided we'd have to take measures to make sure poor Sophie was compensated for her lost teeth. We decided to get legal on the Tooth Fairy's Ass.
Here is Sophie's "Petition for Compensation of Tooth Forfeiture." I hope you have good eyesight.
After the third (wince) failure of the grand TF, we decided we'd have to take measures to make sure poor Sophie was compensated for her lost teeth. We decided to get legal on the Tooth Fairy's Ass.
Here is Sophie's "Petition for Compensation of Tooth Forfeiture." I hope you have good eyesight.
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