I redecorated my "living room." Actually, Danielle did it for me. I think she did a bang-up job. I love the colors. I'm a very color-y sort of person, and the plain blogger template was starting to bore me. So welcome to my new home!
New blog, new president, new hope. What a great day!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Attention Radical Right
Please step back and resume your rightful place as a minority fringe in American politics. Karl Rove, you can step even further and go straight to hell as far as I'm concerned.
America has spoken: we reject your policies and your campaign tactics, and we rejected your candidate. For too long, you have dominated American politics. You are frightfully good at motivating your followers to get out and vote. In fact, we Progressives should study your tactics. But you are not a majority, you do not represent the majority, and you never have.
Tonight, I am laughing and crying at the same time. I have literally gotten up and done a little dance of joy. I can't wait to see my kids in the morning and tell them the news: I have real hope for your future today.
Finally, America has a president who makes me proud. President Obama will help America regain its image in the world. Once again, we will be seen as a leader, a defender of peace, democracy, freedom and tolerance. There is once again a chance that we can improve what used to be the world's best free public education system so that our children can compete in the world economy. Perhaps we will figure out a way to develop a sane health care system that looks out for children, the elderly, and the mentally and physically disabled, and makes fair demands that those who can afford to pay their share do so without forcing the rest of us to pay outrageous fees and premiums. Our soldiers who have fought so honorably to defend us can come home from Iraq, and Iraq can start paying for their own defense out of their ridiculously flush bank accounts, while we try to pay off our debts and balance the budget. We can re-focus our military policy to address the real threat to our safety: Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Families like mine will see a tax cut, while those who can afford to pay more in taxes will. Our tax policy might be restructured so that it favors corporations who provide jobs for Americans, instead of giving breaks to companies that move off-shore. Energy independence will now get more than lip-service, and we can start providing the incentives producers and entrepreneurs need in order to boost wind, solar, and other clean sources of energy.
Thank you America, and thank you Barack Obama. Now I can't wait until January when he can get started.
Buh-bye Bushies, don't let the door to the Oval Office hit you on the arse as you head back to Texas.
America has spoken: we reject your policies and your campaign tactics, and we rejected your candidate. For too long, you have dominated American politics. You are frightfully good at motivating your followers to get out and vote. In fact, we Progressives should study your tactics. But you are not a majority, you do not represent the majority, and you never have.
Tonight, I am laughing and crying at the same time. I have literally gotten up and done a little dance of joy. I can't wait to see my kids in the morning and tell them the news: I have real hope for your future today.
Finally, America has a president who makes me proud. President Obama will help America regain its image in the world. Once again, we will be seen as a leader, a defender of peace, democracy, freedom and tolerance. There is once again a chance that we can improve what used to be the world's best free public education system so that our children can compete in the world economy. Perhaps we will figure out a way to develop a sane health care system that looks out for children, the elderly, and the mentally and physically disabled, and makes fair demands that those who can afford to pay their share do so without forcing the rest of us to pay outrageous fees and premiums. Our soldiers who have fought so honorably to defend us can come home from Iraq, and Iraq can start paying for their own defense out of their ridiculously flush bank accounts, while we try to pay off our debts and balance the budget. We can re-focus our military policy to address the real threat to our safety: Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Families like mine will see a tax cut, while those who can afford to pay more in taxes will. Our tax policy might be restructured so that it favors corporations who provide jobs for Americans, instead of giving breaks to companies that move off-shore. Energy independence will now get more than lip-service, and we can start providing the incentives producers and entrepreneurs need in order to boost wind, solar, and other clean sources of energy.
Thank you America, and thank you Barack Obama. Now I can't wait until January when he can get started.
Buh-bye Bushies, don't let the door to the Oval Office hit you on the arse as you head back to Texas.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Pretty, like the bowling alley
B was left somewhat to his own devices for an hour and a half on Sunday afternoon. Z and I were out & about, and his dad was working on our new raised vegetable bed. After B had been quiet for a few minutes, M started to get suspicious. When he went looking for B, this is what he found:
B had very carefully and precisely painted one stone in the back patio a bright green. M says his knee-jerk reaction was to get mad, but when he saw how proud B was of his work and heard his explanation for why he did it, he couldn't be mad.
Why did he do it? He wanted to make it pretty, like the bowling alley. We occasionally take him bowling at a place where they turn out the overhead lights & turn on colored lights and disco balls and that sort of thing for about 15 minutes out of every hour. B loves it and calls it "the bowling alley that lights up." Apparently he thought our back patio was in need of a little bowling-alley-style beautification.
Sadly for B, his improvement was only temporary. He and M hosed it off (thankfully it was Crayola washable kids' paint, so it was no biggie), and we asked B to please restrict his future painting projects to paper, or at least to ask us before he tries to paint something else.
You do have to admire the kid's creativity and initiative! I wonder what it would have looked like if he'd had a little more time before he was discovered?
B had very carefully and precisely painted one stone in the back patio a bright green. M says his knee-jerk reaction was to get mad, but when he saw how proud B was of his work and heard his explanation for why he did it, he couldn't be mad.
Why did he do it? He wanted to make it pretty, like the bowling alley. We occasionally take him bowling at a place where they turn out the overhead lights & turn on colored lights and disco balls and that sort of thing for about 15 minutes out of every hour. B loves it and calls it "the bowling alley that lights up." Apparently he thought our back patio was in need of a little bowling-alley-style beautification.
Sadly for B, his improvement was only temporary. He and M hosed it off (thankfully it was Crayola washable kids' paint, so it was no biggie), and we asked B to please restrict his future painting projects to paper, or at least to ask us before he tries to paint something else.
You do have to admire the kid's creativity and initiative! I wonder what it would have looked like if he'd had a little more time before he was discovered?
Monday, November 3, 2008
Who is bock-o-mama?
According to Z, he's the guy who's going to be the next president.
Stay tuned...I have some great photos of B's most recent creative efforts that I'm too tired/lazy to download tonight, so I'm putting it off until tomorrow morning.
Obama!
Obama!
Obama!
Stay tuned...I have some great photos of B's most recent creative efforts that I'm too tired/lazy to download tonight, so I'm putting it off until tomorrow morning.
Obama!
Obama!
Obama!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
FURIOUS
Last night, we got a robocall that I wasn't able to pick up because I was putting Z to bed. They left a message on my answering machine. It said that Barack Obama:
"pledged to relegalize tax-funded partial birth abortion, which pierces the skulls of pain-sensitive late-term babies during childbirth."
It went on to spout some nonsense about parental notification for abortions for minors (yeah, the teenaged girl who's raped by her father should have to get his permission before she aborts his baby; it's only fair, right?)
HOW DARE THEY? Does B need to hear that? Should I have to explain what abortion is to a four year-old? I.AM.OUTRAGED. They have no right to leave such a graphic message on my answering machine. No right.
The call came from the National Pro-Life Alliance (please see sub-rant below about the term "pro-life"). I think I'm going to call a local news station about this, because it is so totally inappropriate to be leaving these sorts of messages on family answering machines. I'm also going to write the Alliance, and call them too. Join me if you'd like --
Martin E. Fox
President
National Pro-Life Alliance
4521 Windsor Arms Court
Annandale, VA 22003
(703)321-9200
Now let's talk about the content of this ridiculous and infuriating phone call.
1. "Partial-birth abortion" -- the medical term is actually intact dilation and extraction (D&X). It was renamed "partial birth abortion" by abortion opponents because that sounds scarier. I prefer the less judgment-laden term "late-term abortion." Let's just call it LTA for short, OK? So why would a woman have an LTA, and why would a doctor perform one? The procedure is rarely used -- it accounts for less than half a percent of all abortions performed. It is also most often performed "postviability" -- in other words, when it is too late to save the baby anyway. Something has gone so terribly wrong that the baby would not survive. In other cases, the mother's life is so severely at risk that she would not survive the pregnancy. Sometimes both are true. Bottom line: it's rarely performed, and it's a desperate life-saving measure. NOBODY wants a late-term abortion. Nobody does it just because they don't want to be pregnant. Nobody. Prohibiting it would cost some women their lives, and would force others to carry a baby they know to be dying for weeks or months. What an awful thing to do to women.
2. Barack Obama on LTA -- He thinks that LTA should be available, but properly restricted. Obama is not pro-abortion. His stance is much like my own: abortion is a sad but often necessary choice, and instead of prohibiting abortion, our society should do a better job of making sure it's less needed than it is today by reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies. The bottom line: He thinks women should be trusted to make the appropriate choice for themselves in conjunction with their doctors, their families and their clergy.
3. On the term "pro-life" -- It's a load of bullshit. How many of those people do you think are opposed to the death penalty? Not many, I'll bet. How can you be pro-life, yet support the death penalty? And why do so many "pro-life" politicians and citizens oppose government-funded health care for poor children? Or food stamps? School lunch? Head start? They're "pro-life" for fetuses, but think kids need to get it together and earn their own way, pull themselves up by their bootstraps, or maybe go shopping for better parents.
I'm pro-life. I love life. I love being alive. I'm also anti-abortion. I cannot imagine many circumstances in my own life when I would choose an abortion. If I had to, it would be devastating. I'd mourn it for the rest of my life. But I'm also pro-choice. I don't believe anyone should tell me I can't choose a particular medical procedure for my own body, and I certainly don't want to force any other women to live by my moral values instead of their own.
Can you tell I'm done being bipartisan? I can't do it anymore. The stakes are too high, and it's gotten too ugly. The other side is spouting lies about Obama and leaving hateful messages on my answering machine. The McCain website is making me sick -- it's all anti-Obama crap, empty Republican talking points, and minimal useful content. Sarah Palin is a mean, vindictive woman who was ill-prepared to take the role she's been given. She has succeeded in setting women back at least a decade in our hopes to someday occupy the White House.
I simply do not understand the other side in this election. Usually I'm pretty good at seeing both sides, but this year, I just don't. There is only one choice. Obama.
"pledged to relegalize tax-funded partial birth abortion, which pierces the skulls of pain-sensitive late-term babies during childbirth."
It went on to spout some nonsense about parental notification for abortions for minors (yeah, the teenaged girl who's raped by her father should have to get his permission before she aborts his baby; it's only fair, right?)
HOW DARE THEY? Does B need to hear that? Should I have to explain what abortion is to a four year-old? I.AM.OUTRAGED. They have no right to leave such a graphic message on my answering machine. No right.
The call came from the National Pro-Life Alliance (please see sub-rant below about the term "pro-life"). I think I'm going to call a local news station about this, because it is so totally inappropriate to be leaving these sorts of messages on family answering machines. I'm also going to write the Alliance, and call them too. Join me if you'd like --
Martin E. Fox
President
National Pro-Life Alliance
4521 Windsor Arms Court
Annandale, VA 22003
(703)321-9200
Now let's talk about the content of this ridiculous and infuriating phone call.
1. "Partial-birth abortion" -- the medical term is actually intact dilation and extraction (D&X). It was renamed "partial birth abortion" by abortion opponents because that sounds scarier. I prefer the less judgment-laden term "late-term abortion." Let's just call it LTA for short, OK? So why would a woman have an LTA, and why would a doctor perform one? The procedure is rarely used -- it accounts for less than half a percent of all abortions performed. It is also most often performed "postviability" -- in other words, when it is too late to save the baby anyway. Something has gone so terribly wrong that the baby would not survive. In other cases, the mother's life is so severely at risk that she would not survive the pregnancy. Sometimes both are true. Bottom line: it's rarely performed, and it's a desperate life-saving measure. NOBODY wants a late-term abortion. Nobody does it just because they don't want to be pregnant. Nobody. Prohibiting it would cost some women their lives, and would force others to carry a baby they know to be dying for weeks or months. What an awful thing to do to women.
2. Barack Obama on LTA -- He thinks that LTA should be available, but properly restricted. Obama is not pro-abortion. His stance is much like my own: abortion is a sad but often necessary choice, and instead of prohibiting abortion, our society should do a better job of making sure it's less needed than it is today by reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies. The bottom line: He thinks women should be trusted to make the appropriate choice for themselves in conjunction with their doctors, their families and their clergy.
3. On the term "pro-life" -- It's a load of bullshit. How many of those people do you think are opposed to the death penalty? Not many, I'll bet. How can you be pro-life, yet support the death penalty? And why do so many "pro-life" politicians and citizens oppose government-funded health care for poor children? Or food stamps? School lunch? Head start? They're "pro-life" for fetuses, but think kids need to get it together and earn their own way, pull themselves up by their bootstraps, or maybe go shopping for better parents.
I'm pro-life. I love life. I love being alive. I'm also anti-abortion. I cannot imagine many circumstances in my own life when I would choose an abortion. If I had to, it would be devastating. I'd mourn it for the rest of my life. But I'm also pro-choice. I don't believe anyone should tell me I can't choose a particular medical procedure for my own body, and I certainly don't want to force any other women to live by my moral values instead of their own.
Can you tell I'm done being bipartisan? I can't do it anymore. The stakes are too high, and it's gotten too ugly. The other side is spouting lies about Obama and leaving hateful messages on my answering machine. The McCain website is making me sick -- it's all anti-Obama crap, empty Republican talking points, and minimal useful content. Sarah Palin is a mean, vindictive woman who was ill-prepared to take the role she's been given. She has succeeded in setting women back at least a decade in our hopes to someday occupy the White House.
I simply do not understand the other side in this election. Usually I'm pretty good at seeing both sides, but this year, I just don't. There is only one choice. Obama.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Indian summer
We now take a brief pause in the political rantings to look at cute pictures of the kids:
Pure joy
Bike girl & her dad
Wheee!
Silly kids
Those are legos clutched in B's hands
"Ears"
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