Month: September 2008

  • Nancy Pelosi Made me Do It …

    When I was a child my dad had one of those “Aesop’s Fable” type stories about a man who was asked by a neighbor if he’d loan him his lawnmower.  The man said, “I’d love to, but my flowers need to be watered.”  The neighbor said, “What does that have to do with the lawnmower?”  And the man answered, “Nothing, but when you don’t want to do something one excuse is as good as another.”

    As children, we got that.  Occasionally we’d offer up some ridiculous excuse or another and the family would all laugh and say, “When you don’t want to do something …” 

    Well, today, we saw grown-up men offering something just as ridiculous as “my flowers need to be watered” as their excuse for voting a particular way.

    Now, I’m not going to say that I think they should have voted yes or no, but I will say that regardless of your vote, you should be grown-up enough to offer something a little better than “Nancy made me do it” as your excuse.  I rolled my eyes so hard I got a headache. 

    I wouldn’t accept that nonsense from my children and would be likely to say, “If you didn’t like what Nancy said, would you jump off a bridge?” to make the point with them that responsible people don’t blame others for their thoughts, behavior, and feelings.  To the cowardly Congressmen who went on national television with that tripe I say, “Go read Profiles in Courage and give me a 1500 word essay on what it means to take responsibility.”

    idiots

  • What Mama Wants

    … My son, Michael, is the undisputed Lord of the Laptop when it comes to finding and storing music and setting up everyone’s iPod.  We just ask him for what we want and we get it.  It’s a workable arrangement, most of the time.

    Last week, I requested that he put one of my WOW albums on my shuffle so I could listen to worship music while I’m working.  A few minutes later he returned the shuffle to me and I thanked him and thought nothing more of it until I plugged it in to listen.  Uh, this was not the contemporary Christian music I was expecting to hear.  In fact, it mostly wasn’t even English, but French. 

    So when I got home, I asked him about it. 

    “Well, I couldn’t find your album in the “purchased” tunes, so I went out and found one with that name and bought it for you.”

    Melt Melt Melt

    My 14 year old, decided that Mama’s happiness was that important even in a relatively minor thing, that if there was something he could do/fix/buy to make her happy, he was gonna just DO it. 

    Never mind that he got the wrong album, or that the right album IS already downloaded into iTunes library from my cd.  He earned about a million brownie points for that one.  (I’ll reimburse his iTunes account tomorrow when I get paid.)

    Thank you for the compliments on my jewelry designs.  I completed one more yesterday that I’ll show you in a minute.  One of my friends sent an email last week about a jewelry company that will be holding an open house showcasing the fall line which has a lot of Fresh Water Pearl designs.  I thought, “I can work with F.W. Pearls” so I went to work on this piece.  I think the colors make it look like Indian Corn.  What do you think?

  • Creating My Space

             I cycle through different phases of creative life.  I go from more cerebral creations, (writing) to more tactile ones, (Jewelry design/quilting).  And I’ve begun to see commonalities among all my creative endeavors as I get a little better and more confident in what I’m doing.

    I like color.  When I started out I threw in a lot of color everywhere.  Over the years, I’ve learned to temper.  I’ve learned that using color as an accent rather than screaming it is sometimes the more effective way to realize my visions. 

    Lately, I’ve been making more jewelry.  For a lot of reasons.  I like the way it relaxes me.  I’ve finally broken down and bought some reading (magnifying) glasses so I can see what I’m doing.  And I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on the pieces I wear to work.  So I thought I’d share it here. 

    In the dark, early morning hours when I’m not asleep, this is what I do:


    The Work Station

    Gladys the Cat is always very concerned to know what I might be up to, she keeps an eye on things.  The pickles are for Tucker, who watches me and compliments my work.

    Amber Swarovski crystals with clear crystal spacers.

    Detail of the pendant because I get a lot of people stopping and looking at the way it’s strung with the seed beads.

    A similar one made of aqua crystals to match one of my fav pairs of earrings (shown in the center) which were made by Teri

    I love the clasp on this one and regret that it is hidden behind my hair.  I may have to restring the necklace some way to have the clasp show because it’s so pretty.

    Coral and Onyx – this one gets me lots of compliments when I wear it with a blouse of red/gray and white trimmed in Black Satin.  It has something of an Asian/exotic look I think. 

    Chinese turquoise.  I like the cool feel of the pendant.  I touch it a lot during the day.

    And of COURSE there had to be something purple.  I wear purple more often than any other color, although aqua is a close tie.  The aqua because every time I wear it someone says how BLUE my eyes look in contrast. 

    What do you do when you can’t sleep?

  • White Chili

    My chili didn’t win the cook-off, but it at least got a few votes. 

    2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized cubes
    1 onion diced
    1 clove garlic, pressed
    2-3 T olive oil
    2 cans of chicken broth, plus 2 cans of water
    2 cans of cannellini (white kidney beans)
    16 ounces frozen medium or hot green chiles (or if you can’t get them frozen, 3 small cans of green chili diced)
    2 T oregano
    salt to taste

    Saute chicken, garlic and onion in olive oil in a large soup pot.  When the chicken has no pink left, add all remaining ingredients and simmer until flavors are blended (about 40 minutes).  Serve with corn chips and grated cheese. 

    I’m sure you noticed that I don’t add any thickening, but if you like your chili less soupy, you can stir 2 T of flour into 1/2 c of water until no lumps remain then add to the chili just before serving.  It’s best if the chili is at a good simmer to cook the flour quickly, and avoid lumps. If you like it more soupy, add more water.   

  • One of My Kind …

    Remember the old INXS song?

    I need you tonight
    Cause I’m not sleeping
    There’s something about you girl
    That makes me sweat

    So slide over here
    And give me a moment
    You moves are so raw
    I’ve got to let you know
    I’ve got to let you know
    You’re one of my kind

    One of my kind.  I want to be kind.  I want to be part of a kindred.  (I’m not trying to make anyone sweat, and in fact, I think that line is creepy.) 

    Tomorrow is Western Day at work and we’re supposed to bring chili.  Okay.  I’m in New Mexico where people are more than a little weird about their chile.  In the first place, they spell it with an “e”.  In the second place, they distinguish between Texan, Mexican, and New Mexican and depending on what crowd you’re with you could be run out of the state if you accidentally get them mixed up.  So am I brave enough to take a pot of MY chili to work tomorrow.

    Heck yeah.

    This is MY state now. 

    So I’m heading into the grocery store tonight because I need some beans for my chili.  I’m going in, there’s an old man coming out.  I paused with my cart.  (Yeah, I felt I needed a cart for two cans of beans, what can I say.)  I was trying to be polite, allowing him to go first.  He glared and proceeded to remonstrate with me for being “one of those kinds of people who hold up everyone behind them.”

    I looked around. 

    There was no one behind me.  No one beside me.  No one in sight of me except the boy who was supposed to be bringing in carts but was instead wrestling with his buddy and ripped his pants from ankle to whitey tighteys as I was approaching the store.  He could see me but he was sliding in through the cart door with his backside carefully turned toward the wall and he wasn’t moving very fast.  I really doubt I was impeding him from his important business. 

    Nope, for all intents and purposes it was just me and the old man.  The old man who was able in a single glance in less than a second to size me up and pronouce me “one of THOSE kind”.  Definitely not HIS kind. 

    Hmmmmm.

    Or maybe I was one of his kind because just like that I decided that he was a cantankerous old coot who probably wouldn’t like my chili.. 

  • Not an opinion in sight

    In August 1991 the Senate ethics committee reprimanded John McCain for his “poor judgment” in pressuring Federal Investigators on behalf of Charles Keating, then president of Lincoln Savings and Loan.  Charles Keating went to jail for his actions in defrauding his depositors of millions of dollars.  John McCain went on to win the Republican nomination.  

    The Keating Five consisted of Senators Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, John Glenn, John McCain, and Don Reigle.

    McCain and Keating had become personal friends following their initial contacts in 1981,[11] and McCain was the closest socially to Keating of the five senators.[25] McCain considered Keating a constituent as he lived in Arizona.[22] Between 1982 and 1987, McCain received $112,000 in political contributions from Keating and his associates.[26] In addition, McCain’s wife Cindy McCain and her father Jim Hensley invested $359,100 in a Keating shopping center in April 1986, a
    year before McCain met with the regulators. McCain, his family, and
    their baby-sitter made nine trips at Keating’s expense, sometimes
    aboard Keating’s jet. Three of the trips were made during vacations to
    Keating’s opulent Bahamas retreat at Cat Cay.
    McCain did not pay Keating (in the amount of $13,433) for some of the
    trips until years after they were taken.[7][2

    The core allegation of the Keating Five affair is that Keating made
    contributions of about $1.3 million to various U.S. Senators, and he
    called on those Senators to help him resist regulators. The regulators
    backed off, to later disastrous consequences.  By the end of 1986, the FHLBB (Federal Home Loan Banking Board) found that Lincoln Savings and Loan had $135 million
    in unreported losses and had surpassed the regulated direct investments
    limit by $600 million.  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chair L. William Seidman
    would later write that Lincoln push to get depositors to switch [from FDIC insured certificates of deposit to uninsured bond certificates issued by American Continental] was
    “one of the most heartless and cruel frauds in modern memory.”  More than 21,000 mostly elderly investors lost their life savings.

    Keating was hit with a $1.1 billion fraud and racketeering action, filed against him by the regulators.[4]
    In talking to reporters in April, Keating said, “One question, among
    many raised in recent weeks, had to do with whether my financial
    support in any way influenced several political figures to take up my
    cause. I want to say in the most forceful way I can: I certainly hope
    so.”[18]

    McCain said, “I have done this kind of thing many, many times,” and
    said the Lincoln case was like “helping the little lady who didn’t get
    her Social Security.”[22]

    (From the Wikipedia entry on the Keating Five … )

    * * * * *

    In today’s environment of financial markets gone haywire I want to know whether John McCain’s judgment has improved. 

    So let’s take a took at a few of the numbers associated with his Vice Presidential choice.

    2007: the year in which Sarah Palin first obtained a passport (Source)

    312: the number of nights during her first 19
    months in office that Palin charged taxpayers a “per diem” totaling
    $16,951 for staying in her own home — an allowance intended to cover
    meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business (Source)

    $500 to $1,200: the fee that Wasilla charged rape
    victims to pay for post-sexual assault medical exams, after the city
    cut funds during Palin’s tenure that had previously covered the exams (Source)

    $150: the cash payment offered by the Palin
    administration to hunters who turn in legs of freshly killed wolves
    gunned down from airplanes (Source)

    3: the number of times during her first few weeks as mayor that Palin inquired with the Wasilla librarian about banning books (Source)

    3: the number of months after the censorship discussion that Palin fired the librarian (Source)

    100: the approximate number of Wasilla residents
    who rallied to support the librarian, prompting Palin to withdraw her
    termination letter (Source)

    0: the number of foreign heads of state Palin has met (Source)

    0: the number of commands Palin has issued as head of the Alaska National Guard (Source)

    0: Wasilla’s long-term debt when Palin took office in 1996 (Source)

    $18.6 million: the long-term debt Palin racked up by the time she left office in 2002, amounting to about $3,000 per resident (Source)

    $50,000: the amount of city funds Palin used
    without authorization to redecorate the Wasilla mayor’s office. (Source)

    33: the percentage by which Palin increased the
    budget of Wasilla during her tenure, despite billing herself as a
    fiscal conservative and champion of smaller government (Source)

    25: the percentage by which Palin raised the local
    sales tax in Wasilla to pay for a sports center, despite claims that
    she cut taxes (Source)

    $27 million: the total amount of federal earmarks
    Palin secured for Wasilla’s town of 6,700 people while she was mayor,
    thanks to the help of a Washington lobbyist with ties to indicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and convicted felon Jack Abramoff (Source)

    3: the number of times John McCain specifically
    criticized earmarks requested by Sarah Palin when she was mayor of
    Wasilla, citing them as examples of wasteful spending (Source)

    $453 million: the total amount of earmarks Palin
    has asked U.S. taxpayers to fund for Alaska projects over the past two
    years, despite McCain’s insistence that she hasn’t sought earmarks or
    special-interest spending from Congress (Source)

    20: the percentage of domestic energy that Palin claims Alaska produces (Source)

    3.5: the actual percentage share of domestic energy Alaska produces (Source)

    $600,000: the loss at which Palin sold the
    governor’s jet after making a show of placing it on eBay. It was
    eventually sold to a Palin campaign contributor who paid $2.1 million
    (more than 20% less than the original $2.7 million purchase price). (Source)

    1: the number of private tanning beds Palin installed in the governor’s mansion after taking office (Source)

    1.5: the approximate number of hours Palin spent on
    a refueling layover in Ireland, which the McCain campaign cited as part
    of her foreign policy experience (Source)

    0: the actual amount of time Palin spent in Iraq
    during a 2007 visit to the region, despite the McCain campaign’s claim
    she had visited the Iraq battle zone. She never made it beyond the
    Khabari Alawazem Crossing in Kuwait. (Source)

    2006: the year in which Palin declared she favors
    abstinence-only education and that “the explicit sex-ed programs will
    not find my support” (Source)

    2008: the year in which Palin’s 17-year-old
    daughter was impregnated by a self-described “f***ing redneck,” who
    wrote on his MySpace page “I don’t want kids” and “ya f*** with me I’ll
    kick ass” (Source)

    9: the number of U.S. Geological Survey studies
    concluding that the habitat of Alaska’s polar bears is threatened by
    global warming, which Palin discounted as “insufficent evidence” when
    she sued the Bush administration to overturn its decision to list polar
    bears under the Endangered Species Act (Source)

    5: the number of colleges Palin attended over six
    years before graduating in 1987 from the University of Idaho with a
    major in journalism (Source)

    500: the number of Fortune 500 companies Sarah Palin is not qualified to run, according to McCain adviser Carly Fiorina (Source)

    50: the number of days after Palin announced she
    “will fully cooperate” with an ethics investigation into the
    “Troopergate” scandal that the McCain campaign announced she was
    “unlikely to cooperate” because it had been “hijacked” by Obama
    operatives. The probe was unanimously authorized by a bipartisan panel
    of eight Alaska Republicans and four Democrats. (Source)

    28: the number of days prior to accepting the vice
    presidential offer that Palin said she couldn’t entertain the idea
    “until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does
    every day” (Source)

    * * * * *
     It won’t be the job of the Senate ethics committee to decide what kind the judgment of John McCain adds up to.  That’s your job, and mine. 

    Are you registered to vote?

  • Well, Ollie, that’s another fine mess you’ve gotten us into …

    … okay, there’s not really a mess here today (other than the usual clutter) but that phrase was in my mind, so hey, I’m using it as a title even though it bears no relationship to the content.  That seems to be the trend these days and I don’t want to be left out.

    We’ve already gotten off to a good start by sleeping in.  Then we had our Sumptuous Saturday breakfast.  This week’s menu was banana/pecan pancakes in lemon batter, bacon, ham, fresh pineapple and watermelon.  With fresh coffee – I received a gift of whole coffee beans a couple years ago (my how time flies!) and that made me a believer in freshly ground and quickly brewed.  Yummy.

    The laundry is laundering.  I’ve already vacuumed.  The kids have brought me their sheets to wash (so hopefully we can reduce if not entirely eliminate that “I’m a 12-14 year old boy” smell that wafts from their room.)

    One of my co-worker’s birthday is today, so I’m heading out here in a few minutes to pick up some beads for a necklace design I have in mind.  I think it’s always a little chancy to give someone a gift you’ve made yourself, because of course you know how much work went into it, and how much of yourself is in that box.  But she has admired some of my other work, so I feel confident that she will appreciate this one.

    I saw a design at the State Fair in the craft exhibits last week that I’m dying to try.  It looks like it will be pretty labor intensive, but it was gorgeous, and I want to try working it in my colors.  (purple or teal)

    20 years ago, planning my wedding, I wanted my colors to be dusty rose and teal, and wanted the wedding to be in March.  We wound up getting married in December and our colors were white and red.  Now as a Razorback Hawg fan, it’s not that there’s any objection to white/red from me.  But I don’t want to live in a football stadium. 

    My closet has a lot of rich jewel-toned blouses and the colors I lean toward most are the teal/aqua or plum/maroon/purple families.  I’m going to need some long bugle beads for this one, and I haven’t found just the right ones yet, so it may take a little more looking before I’m ready to start work on the necklace for me.  In the meantime, I’ll create this other one for Joyce, based on a design she’s already expressed admiration for.  Man I hope she wasn’t just being polite. 

    So this evening, I have a couple other co-workers coming over for food and jewelry making.  I’m putting my actions where my commitment is to opening up and getting to know people better. 

    Happy Saturday to you!

  • A little more gratitude please …

    … okay, remember how it was just the other night that I was saying that I have a lack of friends in my life?

    Today, no fewer than 5 people made it a point to ask about the kids, and ask where we’re going tonight for date night.  Maybe I just need to pay a little more attention to the people who are paying attention to me?

    It’s Tucker’s turn to choose so I’m headed out to Panda Express with my men.

    Thank You for the encouragement you’ve given me this week. 

    I’d like to hug you all for the kind words you shared.

  • I get it …

    This summer has made some things really clear to me. 

    1. I’m going to die.  It may not be tomorrow.  But it will happen and sooner than I would like it to.
    2. Dying is something that I will have to do alone. 

    This summer has been horrible and I’m ready for it to be over, only I’m afraid that the issues uncovered over the past three months are not going to evaporate with the changing of the calendar.  I have been really busy with the business of my life.  I go to work.  I
    do the Mom thing.  I haven’t done things that get me out meeting people and
    building friendships.

    I’ve met some people here in Albuquerque and I like the people I’ve met.  But it was a real eye opener for me the day that I was in the ER.  Yes, it’s been two months and I’m still harping on it because it made a huge impression on me.  Like the whole past year can be divided into the time before the day I first realized that I really am going to die some day and all the days after that point. 

    I don’t have an urge to go climb mountains, or see Paris, or any of the things I think of as the “I’d like to do this before I die” list.  What has become crystal clear to me is that I just want to know that someone who cares about me will there and hold my hand. 

    I have always assumed I’d be there for my friends holding their hands, taking care of them, doing the kinds of things for them that have to be done when a body is dying.  That’s what I do.  I take care of people.  I don’t get taken care of.  I get it now that I may have been assuming a lot to think that I’d have the privilege of helping and that I wouldn’t need to be helped.

    Cool Mary has pointed this out to me more than once with some exasperation.  I’m really bad at asking for help.  And the truth is that most of the time I wish I had help.  I’ve been wishing for it in that same wistful way that I imagine the princesses in the fairy tales wished to be relieved of their sufferings, without any realistic idea that there would be help forthcoming.  At the same time I have a fear that I might use up the grace my friends might offer me.  So I don’t want to ask for something today because I might have a bigger need tomorrow and then where would I be having used it all up today?

    I have two powerful forces warring in me now.  One – lets call the thinking part of me that’s saying, “get out of the house, meet more people, join a book club, do something that will put you in the way of making connections and finding friends who will be there for you.”  And the other force, let’s call it the frightened 9 year old, is saying, “You aren’t the kind of person who inspires other people to care about you and the more you try the more you will fail and it’s better to just do it yourself than face the pain of disappointment.”

    I love the city I live in.  I enjoy the culture, I’m grateful for the schools taking care of my sons, I’m grateful for my job and the best boss in the world.  And in spite of the fact that I’m in the best place I’ve ever been, that day in the hospital all I could think about was how much I wished I had moved to where Cool Mary lives.  It wasn’t just frightening to be told by the Dr that my symptoms appeared to be life-threatening.  It was horrible to be alone and to know that my sons were at home alone. 

    It may seem I’m making a mountain of a molehill, because in fact I didn’t die.  I’ve done all the things I can think of to be responsible.  I have life insurance to cover expenses.  I have phone numbers that the kids have memorized and plans for who would be in charge.   But I’m not comforted by the thought that someone would eventually be in charge. 

      

  • Where has this year gone?

    I started out this morning wondering where the past week went, because I had such great intentions of getting back in here to blog more.  But then I realized it’s not just the past week, but the past month and indeed the whole past year that seems to have flown by. 

    Work has been satisfying but very busy (which is satisfying in it’s own way).  The boys have had another good week.  We have date night every Friday, and this week was my week to choose.  I was tired and not much interested in a crowd (or the expense of a nice restaurant) so we went to Captain D’s where I can get grilled/broiled fish and they can pig out on their baskets. 

    Yesterday we went to the State Fair.  The photos I got with my phone were less than stellar.  I did get a few though most of the art buildings prohibited any photography.  But the “Creative Arts/Crafts” building was mostly entries by non-professionals and they allowed photos.  I saw a lot of things that gave me ideas for things I’d like to do … someday …  We visited the Indian Village and watched the dancers, Michael shared some of an Indian Taco with me, and then we all three split a Turkey leg.  Drank a LOT of expensive water.  And rode the Ferris Wheel.

    Much State Fair fun.  And now we’re tired.

    I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and to be honest I had to overcome some reluctance on my part to drag my carcass out to the Fair yesterday.  But life has been a lot of work lately, and we need our fun. 

    My Mom told me yesterday that another cousin passed away. This one about 14 years older than me.  I’m pretty sure he never expected it.  Just like the rest of us, he assumed that he would be in that percentage of people who make it to at least 90.  But what if we knew we only had 10 or 15 more years?  or maybe even only 5 more years?  It’s not a new thought, but as I’m reaching an age where I’m seeing more and more of my friends and family face mortality, its coming home stronger than ever that we really don’t know. 

    None of us have a guarantee of tomorrow.  So while the sun is shining and the Fair is in town, I want to play a little.  It may be that at the end all we have left are memories, and I don’t want my kids’ memories of me to be of the mom who worked and worked and never took time to play with them or just relax and enjoy the day. 

    And to change horses entirely  I feel the need to have my say about some of the things I’m hearing from the political arena.  I know we all have opinions – and you’re entitled to yours just as I’m entitled to mine.  John McCain and Sarah Palin frighten me with their stated platform and my blood boils every time I hear someone trot out that line about Republicans and moral high ground.

    I personally can’t imagine that I would have ever chosen to abort a baby.  But I also experienced the pain of involuntary abortion with several miscarriages and I desperately wanted children.  As a single mother, I clearly see the financial issues that have to be considered by any responsible person before bringing a child into the world.  I know that there are those who tout adoption as the answer to unplanned pregnancy, and that is a good answer for a great many people, but that doesn’t answer it for everyone. 

    The reality of our culture is that an unplanned pregnancy can very well mean an uninsured pregnancy.  With 47 million people lacking health insurance (and many of them young) do we as a society have the right to tell a young woman that she must bear the thousands of dollars of delivery expense versus the few hundred it costs for an abortion?  I’ve seen the devastation unpaid medical bills wreak on a family’s security and those things follow and follow and follow.  There are collection agencies in business today collecting on debts over ten years old. 

    Someone with those marks on their credit record can easily find themselves paying double or triple interest on a car loan over the rates charged to someone with good credit.  Because more and more employers are checking credit before making hiring decisions, those bills can cost workers jobs.  Insurance companies base their rates for home and auto insurance in part on your credit score. 

    But lets take that another step down the road of what happens to a woman with an unplanned baby and consider her condition if she does try to keep and raise her child.  The “welfare” system is worst than a joke, its an insult. 

    People who gripe, moan, and complain about women having kids and then being taken care of by the welfare system have no idea what they are talking about.  The amount of cash dispensed to families under TANF isn’t enough to pay rent on a run down tenement in most places much less put food on the table.  I discovered when I was struggling to live on less than $12,000 a year that the food stamps formula allowed for $92 a MONTH for three people.  You can imagine that we were having steak and caviar on that? 

    The cost of child care has always been out of my reach.  The low cost after school program with a Federal grant to subsidize it, wanted me to pay $120 a week – each – to care for my then 10 and 7 year olds.  And I was only bringing home $600 a week at the time I applied for that.  So my choice was to get home by the time school was out or have my kids be latchkey kids.  Even when they got old enough that I wasn’t terrified for them to be at home for an hour before I got there, I had a neighbor who reported me to the police for child neglect.  (Happily for me, the police sided with me, but that could so easily have gone the other way.) 

    What does money have to do with the decision to abort an unplanned pregnancy versus giving birth to the baby?  Studies done by Planned Parenthood reveal that over 85% of the women who abort feel that they are pushed into that choice by a lack of support from their families and the fathers of their children.  They aren’t being unrealistic to say that they can’t care for the baby.  They probably can’t. 

    Everything I’ve written assumes that the costs are those associated with raising a “normal” healthy child.  But what if that child has special needs?  Michael Savage recently shocked and angered the autism community when he said on his program that parents want that diagnosis for their children because it gives them access to money and programs.  What appalling ignorance.  There is no money for children with autism disorders.  This year I have already paid out of pocket over $3,000 for therapy and medication for my kids and that’s all I can afford.  There are other things they need that they simply aren’t getting because I do what I can and I can’t do anymore. The worst part of Dr. Savage’s comment to me wasn’t that he said it, but how many people wrote editorials defending him and agreeing with his position.  I wish those people would stop and think for just a moment, or better yet ask a family struggling with autism what they have to go through.

    Parents with a special needs child are more likely to be passed over for promotion, are more prone to depression, illness and suicide, and less likely to have a penny in retirement savings.  A single mom in these circumstances has about 12 strikes against her before she starts.  And with approximately 1:150 children falling on the autism spectrum that’s a lot of single parents out there who will be dealing with the issue for their whole life.

    Giving birth to a special needs child doesn’t make one a special needs
    advocate.  A record of support for the few pitiful programs we have in
    place might impress me, but Governor Palin can’t point to anything
    she’s done to advocate for Special Needs prior to birthing her baby.  I’ve read a lot of “shame on you” comments and editorials from people who think it’s harsh to take Gov. Palin to task on this issue, but I believe that she put it on the table when she brought it up in her acceptance speech and it would be ludicrous to take her “advocacy” at face value without saying, “okay, advocate, what have you done?”

    And have you noticed how often the same people saying that women shouldn’t have the right to choose what to do with their bodies then use the next sentence to talk about how we shouldn’t give “handouts” to irresponsible people?  Does anyone else find that irony a bit too much to bear?  We need policies and procedures that provide realistic help for parents struggling to raise children in a world increasingly hostile to the needs of families.  We don’t need to outlaw abortion or waste our time on amendments to define marriage. 

    Morality means a lot more than whether or not we make it illegal for a woman to abort a child or whether we interfere with the right of adults to decide on their life partners.  Issues of economic justice, social justice, environmental protection, and unjust warfare (and unless you have read and know what the “just war” philosophy even IS please don’t tell me that we were justified invading Iraq – I refuse to discuss it with anyone who parrots propaganda) are all moral issues and the Republican platform is far from high ground on these points.  The past 8 years have seen the most massive erosion of personal freedoms ever in the West.  Guantanamo Bay, waterboading, wiretapping US citizens, firing US Attorneys for political party affiliation, VETOING the Child Health Plan … shall I go on? 

    No, I don’t think I will go on.  I think I will go to church now because I feel the need to pray and pray and pray.