Irresponsible?

While there are some folks out there gushing over this fantastic "miracle," I just cannot wrap my mind around the irresponsibility of the mother who recently made headlines by giving birth to octuplets. Is she trying to rival the Duggars? I suppose it's not a bad plan, our society has a funny way of rewarding irresponsibility these days.

The mother of a woman who gave birth on Monday to octuplets said her daughter already has six children at home and was undergoing fertility treatment.

-CNN

Who is this woman's physician. If you already have six children, do you need fertility treatment? I think not. Based on this I feel that this was a deliberate attempt to have a large number of children at one time to take advantage of some notoriety and the aforementioned rewards for irresponsibility.

In her written statement delivered by Dr. Karen Maples of the Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center in California, the woman who delivered eight babies in five minutes said she would soon make public the details of her "miraculous experience."

-CNN

Gee, I really hate to be a party pooper, but there is nothing "miraculous" about giving birth to eight children after receiving fertility treatments and electing not to have the number of embryos reduced after being told that she was carrying multiples.

Other reasons that this was irresponsible behavior:

-The babies were born nine weeks premature
-A large team of medical professionals was required to handle the birth and subsequent care of eight premature babies, there are two nurses assigned to each child
-The babies will be in the hospital for about eight weeks
-The mother is still unable to hold her own children, apparently she is touching them, but I expect that most of their care is being provided by their nurses
-Mom has been hospitalized for the past seven weeks because of the high risk of this pregnancy

The medical resources devoted to this one family seems so greedy to me. The future medical costs of caring for children who were born immature should also be taken into account. I wonder how much it costs to provide the medical team and the lengthy hospital stays of both mother and babies.

Additionally, the future mental health issues that these children will face must also be considered. Children need to bond with someone fairly quickly otherwise may be at risk for reactive attachment disorder. Reactive attachment disorder may be uncommon however it is very scary and very real. Just ask Nancy Thomas. Read her book Dandelion on My Pillow, Butcher Knife Beneath to get a feeling for living with reactive attachment disorder. There is no possible way that one woman can care for eight infants, we are not made that way (just count your nipples). Some of the older children will be taking on child rearing duties, not the end of the world, it happens in a lot of families and used to happen quite often in the past but I submit that childhood usually does not last long enough and the older children will be ripped off of some of their opportunity for childhood.

Her husband is a contractor in Iraq, which I hear pays well, not that they will need it. Let's just wait for the suckers to start donating items to this "family in need."

Funny Crooks

Rush Limbaugh is UN-American

Who knew?

I submit that Rush Limbaugh and his racist, divisive comments are Un-American.

(CNN) – Radio host Rush Limbaugh said Monday that President Obama is “frightened of me.”

“He’s obviously more frightened of me than he is [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell,” Limbaugh told listeners. “He’s more frightened of me, then he is of say, [House Minority Leader] John Boehner, which doesn’t say much about our party.”

Limbaugh’s comments followed reports Obama warned GOP congressional leaders last week that they should stop listening to the conservative talker, who had said on air he wanted the new president to fail.

"Now this is the great unifier," he told listeners Monday. "This is the man who's going to unify everybody and usher in a new era of bipartisanship and love."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gave reporters the administration's latest message to Limbaugh at Monday's press briefing: "Tell him I said, 'Hi,'" he joked.

-CNN

With comments like these, it is evident that the narcissist is either on drugs (again) or needs to be admitted into a hospital for observation:

We are being told we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over and grab our ankles ... because his father was black, because he's the first black president, we've got to accept this.

-LA Times

One of his many soubriquets listed on the official Rush Limbaugh website is "the Most Dangerous Man in America". Others include: "America's Anchorman; America's Truth Detector; the Doctor of Democracy; the All-Knowing, All-Sensing, All-Everything Maha Rushie; defender of motherhood, protector of fatherhood and an all-around good guy".

-Telegraph

"All-around good guy?"

I don't think so.

This is a man who even accused Michael J. Fox of exaggerating his Parkinson's Disease for the political issue of embryonic stem cell research. Mocking a medical disability is not only insensitive, it is Un-American.

Hey, old man!

No one is afraid of you, in fact, you sort of remind me of the Grinch:

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch.
You're a nasty, wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks
Your soul is full of gunk.
Mr. Grinch.


The three words that best describe you,
are, and I quote: "Stink. Stank. Stunk."

Update 1/27/09: Dems Launch Anti-Limbaugh Petition

At Home on the Farm

I do have some big thoughts going on upstairs but it seems that I need to sit down and round them all up into something meaningful (at least to me) and coherent (that's for the benefit of any poor soul who chooses to actually read it). In the meantime, I thought I'd entertain (bore) you with my weekend activities.

I baked a pie:















Kyle made a 3D map (of no place in particular):















We checked out the pigs:















Kyle (and his dad) gave me a heart attack:















We checked out the cows:















Tim made pasta:















That's pretty much what we do around here, you know, on the farm...

The Post that is About Fisting

Okay, I was just minding my own business, checking out the new posts in my blogroll and sometimes I like to check out what's on their blogroll's too (it's kind of like playing a little Six Degrees of Separation or something like that or nothing like that). So, I was over at Aliceson's blog Feet off the Table! and I spied in her blogroll the following: The Bloggess, This post is not about fisting. Naturally, I have to check it out and I find a cute little kitty cat. Nice.

But... I cannot let it go, I must find the post that is about fisting, I found it, see it yourself if you dare:

The post that is about fisting.

Naturally, I just had to add The Bloggess to the blogroll.

Greedy with the Drink

The animal to the right is posted in honor of (and reply to) Skyewriter's post yesterday, The Writing Groove and the Pink Fuzzy Thing. As soon as I got home and took a look at the thing, I realized it was not the same, but the similarity is odd in my mind (of course, my mind IS odd). I have several other stuffed dragon creatures and I guess I'll introduce them to you someday. This one actually lives in my son's room, not on the TV as I had thought (I got home last night and looked up there, no, it's not the one). I don't think it has a name but could possibly be some cartoon character, maybe one of those fuzzy fighting Japanese animals, hmmm, Pokemon? Maybe.

Moving on to other musings. Last night my husband made dinner. Spaghetti Carbonara. It was divine, not just because the food was good but, I did not have to lift a finger (well, at least not until after dinner when the dishes needed to be done). My husband has the acute sense to know when I've almost had it with his macho laziness and then he does something and I can forgive him for a second. Of course, he really does have his work cut out putting up with my antics but we all know that is no excuse for leaving your clothes in a pile five feet away from the laundry basket.

I randomly happened upon a television show, Ladette to Lady, on the Sundance Channel and laughed my hind end right off (not really, but it wouldn't be bad if it really worked that way). As I was drinking my fine German wine, I overheard one of the young ladies explaining that her bad behavior resulted from her being "greedy with the drink." Oh! I love it! Check it out:

Blog for Choice

As our new President begins to dive deep into the numerous duties and responsibilities that we, the people, have bestowed on him through the democratic process, I turn my thoughts to the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The GOP has already begun pressuring President Obama to reconsider his position.

Republican lawmakers on Wednesday urged President Barack Obama to reconsider his support of legal abortions as anti-abortion activists arrived in Washington for a protest on the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling.

-The Miami Herald

President Obama, has stated in the past that he will not yield his position and I trust that he will not. My hope for the President and the new Congress is that they ensure the following:

-Fact based, comprehensive sex education
-An end to insurance discrimination for health services provided to women
-Laws to prevent the harassment and ensure the safety of health providers and their patients

Anti-abortion folk rely on fear and misinformation to bring more people into their fold, I hope that our elected politicians make their choices based on fact and their duty to uphold the civil rights of all citizens.

There's still time to Blog for Choice.

A World of Progress TeamZine

Hey! I know I'm a day late, hope I don't find out I need a dollar sometime today 'cause I'm sure I'll be short that too.

I'd like to share with you some of the fantastic work Kim has been doing over at the AWOP TeamZine. Of particular interest, of course, is this post by the Wandering Elf.

You'll always find something new to chew on over at the AWOP TeamZine, go on, check it out.

Paper

Perhaps because I don't have a great relationship with my own mother, I have developed a huge adoration for our dear Mother Earth. I try to be conscious of how the things I do affect the world I live in. There are two factors that drive my shopping habits: goodness & thrift. Goodness for the earth and thrift for my wallet. Much of the time I find that saving money is better for the earth, for example, I like to buy in bulk. There is less packaging, less waste, fewer trips to the store, and it's cheaper in the long run...you know what I mean.

So, the other day I realized that I needed copy paper for my printer at home. We really are good at stretching our paper supplies; using both sides of the paper whenever possible (I even recycle my son's school papers in this manner, going all the way to scanning his report cards and reusing that paper too!). I cut used paper into quarters to use as note paper and even use old envelopes for notes as well. We'll reuse anything until it cannot be reused any more (you should see the shape my towels are in). At any rate, I was in Office Max shopping for paper and it has been quite awhile since I've done this so I was quite pleased to find 100% Post Consumer Multi-Purpose Paper. I've been using the 30% Post Consumer paper for years, but 100% is totally the coolest!

I'm so excited I tell my husband who replies, "but doesn't it cost more?" Well, yeah, it does but it was actually on sale this week and besides if more people start buying it (demanding it) then supply will increase to meet the demand and eventually the price will be comparable with other paper on the market. The price may be higher because mills make it on a smaller roll, because they don't need to make as much to meet demand (duh?), but if we keep buying it they'll be able to use the big rolls. Recycled paper will hit the Big Time! That's not good enough for him, he hasn't quite made his point, "doesn't it cost more to recycle paper, with all the processing necessary, and stuff like that?" WTF? I've been living with this man for more than ten years and he still manages to come up with this stuff. I directed him to Conservatree and told him to leave me alone, after all, I'm busy saving the world.

In conclusion, I'd like to leave you with the following information on recycled paper from WasteCap of Massachusetts:

Facts & Figures:

* To make one ton of paper using recycled fiber saves the following:

17 trees
3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
360 gallons of water
100 gallons of gasoline
60 pounds of air pollutants
10,401 kilowatts of electricity
(source: United States Environmental Protection Agency)

* Nearly 218,000 tons of shredded paper is used each year for animal bedding. (source: American Forest & Paper Association)
* Recycling paper uses 60% less energy than manufacturing paper from virgin timber. (source: Environmental Protection Agency)
* Recycling office waste paper saves valuable landfill space – 3 cubic yards for every ton of paper recycled – and extends the lives of our landfills. (source: National Office Paper Recycling Project, The United States Conference of Mayors)
* Old newspapers are commonly used to make tissue and cardboard, while magazines are often recycled into newspaper. (source: Temperate Forest Foundation)
* Each person in the United States consumes approximately 675 pounds of paper per year. (source: Temperate Forest Foundation)
* The material that makes up the largest percentage of the waste stream is paper. Businesses use the greatest amount. (source: Browning-Ferris Industries)
* Every year, Americans throw away enough office and writing paper to build a wall 12-feet high, stretching from Los Angeles to New York City. (source: Browning-Ferris Industries)
* If everyone in the United States recycled one-tenth of their newspapers, we could save about 25 million trees every year. (source: Browning-Ferris Industries)
* In the U.S., more than one third of the fiber used to make new paper products comes from recycled paper. (source: American Forest & Paper Association)

Have a great day, and hopefully the next time you are in the market for paper you purchase recycled (remember the higher the post consumer content the better!).

Bradley Schlozman is UN-American

Bradley Schlozman, took it upon himself, while working at the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, to screen applicants based on his own definition of Americanism. Here ya go, Bradley, back at ya!

Did you really think that you could get away with this, Bradley? Seems our Brad has a problem with "mold spores," "libs," "commies," and even "lefties." You can find his quotes all over the place these days. Here's one of my favorites, "We hired another member of 'the team' yesterday. And still another ideological comrade will be starting in one month." I don't know, the use of the word "comrade" makes me think of...hmm..."commies." What's really scary though is his concept of "the team." Bradley, I believe the team you are talking about is a fanatical right-wing organization hell-bent on destroying everything good about the United States, you know, things like civil rights. Admittedly civil rights are a work in progress for us but Bradley has helped us take a big step backwards.

From Bad Boy Brad's Bio:

Mr. Schlozman joined Hinkle Elkouri in 2007 to contribute to the Employee Benefits, Employment Law, and Tax Litigation practice areas. Prior to joining Hinkle Elkouri, he held a series of high-level posts in the Department of Justice since 2001, including that of interim United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Brad also served as the principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, and a counsel to the Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. Before taking a position with the Department of Justice, Brad was an associate at Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White, LLP in Washington, D.C., where he was a member of the Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation Practice.

Also:

Brad has spoken on civil rights issues and criminal justice matters.

This man is absolutely unqualified to speak on civil rights issues. He is an embarrassment to our government and to us, the people of the United States. My condolences to the state of Kansas:

And the arrogant evidence this go-round was found in Schlozman’s own script.

“Perhaps the Division will name an award for me or something,” he said in one e-mail. “How about the Brad Schlozman Award for Most Effectively Breaking the Will of Liberal Partisan Bureaucrats. I would be happy to come back for the awards ceremony.”

No, please stay away from the federal government. (Schlozman is working for a private law firm in Wichita.)

But here is an honor you deserve: “The Brad Schlozman Award for Most Effectively Undermining People’s Faith that Civil Rights Laws Will be Fairly Enforced.”

-KansasCity.com

Bradley Schlozman, you have done a disservice to your country and that makes you Un-American.

Bishop Robinson

President-elect Obama has invited Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson to deliver the invocation at the Lincoln Memorial prior to a concert tomorrow. Bishop Robinson is the Episcopal Church's first openly gay Bishop.

This doesn't eradicate the dismay I felt last month when Rev. Rick Warren was selected to speak at the inauguration but it is one small positive step in the arena of human rights. I was disappointed for two reasons: 1) The invitation of any religious leader indicates endorsement of religion by the government and 2) Rev. Rick Warren fervently supported Proposition 8 in California.

So, the invitation of Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson cuts both ways for me. It's both wrong and right. Let me just focus on the right for a minute. After the damage done to our LGBT friends (not just in California) by the passage of Prop 8, Bishop Robinson is a small ray of hope. If you'd like you can join Bishop Robinson in his petition to ask Obama to support the Human Rights Campaign's Blueprint for Positive Change by clicking here.

On a lighter note, the HRC and Showtime are co-hosting premier parties for the final season of the show The L Word tomorrow. That means I've only got today to re-watch all of season 5. I've been cramming in past episodes for the past two weeks and it looks like I've really got to get down to business now.

The ending of the last episode of season 4 (which I watched just last night) was not just amazing because of the story line but also because it featured the song Dear Mr President by Pink, listen and enjoy:


- More amazing videos are a click away

Hookin' for Skool!

Friday Funny

A lady told me a story yesterday about a phone conversation she had the night before. It's only remarkable due to the fact that I'm still snickering as I think about it. First, let me tell you that this lady is naive. Very sweet, very possibly unaware of many nuances that crop up in conversations...while at the same time performing a job that is super-high in the area of authority. The lady got a Pedi Paws for her puppy and tried it out. She said it worked really well once the puppy got used to it (which apparently didn't take long). I, of course, am riveted to what she's saying because I want the darn Pedi Paws to use on my little dog who turns into a ferocious beast when I attempt to give her nails the clip. The lady continues answering my questions about the function and performance of the Pedi Paws and finally moves on to her phone conversation, in which she told her friend that she, "just used the Pedi File on her puppy."



more animals

The Gift that Keeps on Giving!

I had a hunch that the Financial Bailout would be akin to tearing open Pandora's Box. It is now a nightmare that never ends; no matter how loud you scream or how fast you run, the boogeyman isn't slowing down this time. This is really going to cost us Big Time! Administrative costs alone are estimated to cost us (lowly taxpayers) $6.5 million.

There's really nothing we can do about that now, the $700 Billion Bailout Plan is a done deal but what about everyone else that wants their piece of the pie. First the Big Three and now the Big Dicks. Who could possibly say no? The words of Joe Francis, Girls Gone Wild CEO, really tug at the heartstrings:

“the US government should actively support the adult industry's survival and growth, just as it feels the need to support any other industry cherished by the American people."

Did he really say "growth?" Cherished...indeed!

All joking aside, why pay for the cow when you can get the milk for free? There are so many volunteer porn stars online that I really think all the paid actors should start polishing their resumes (and stop polishing other things).

Junk in My In-Box

I received the following email today, from a family member:

Paul Harvey and Prayer

Paul Harvey says:

This is the United States of America, a country founded on Christian principles.

One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.

God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they want. It is time that the majority rules! It's time we tell them, You don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right; but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!

God bless us one and all ... Especially those who worship Him, God bless America, despite all her faults. She is still the greatest nation of all. God bless our military who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.

Let's make 2009 the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions. And our military forces come home from all the wars.

Keep looking up.

I hate these emails. Here are a few reasons why:

1) Paul Harvey did not ever say or write this, check out “the rest of the story." Apparently, the original intent of the mutilated message was to support the reestablishment of prayer in schools (this particular version does not appear to have a clear point but sure seems pretty angry...much like my blog posts, huh...)

2) Was this country founded on Christian principles? What about the Treaty of Tripoli: Article 11?

As the government of the United States of America, is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.

Our Founding Fathers are even difficult to pin down.

3) It doesn't sound very Christian to bless "especially those who worship Him." I'd think that a true Christian would save a little extra to pray for the non-believers that they may find Jesus Christ...

4) This message refers to the courts stripping "us of all our rights." No such thing has happened. The Supreme Court has consistently interpreted the Establishment Clause in a manner that has protected all of our rights.

Thank you First Amendment!

Resolutions

I know, I know, I'm totally behind the curve on this one but I've been consumed the past two days with closing down a business website that is proving to be much more time-consuming than I had initially expected when I decided to close the site this past November. There has been some other drama as well, my oven suffers endlessly from my tendency to boil over pies and (last night) lasagna, so I had to use the "self-clean" cycle (wow! that's pretty cool, I've never had a self-cleaning oven before, it used to be a night of vinegar and baking soda and a morning of elbow grease...this is much easier, I'm just going to vacuum it out in a bit).

In addition to my oven antics, I also broke my dishwasher last night (no, I was not beating my husband, he is definitely not the dishwasher!). The dishwasher came with the house, the house is about 17 years old and I suspect that the dishwasher is as well (I can confirm but it's really not that important I guess). So, last night my husband walks into the kitchen and then some expletives come pouring out of his mouth. There was foam all over the kitchen floor and he says "the damn sink is clogged again" (we have a poor sink drainage design issue as well) and I, with all my kitchen appliance knowledge, inform him that it's not the sink but it is the door seal. With the lovely Internet I was able to search for and purchase a replacement seal at the absolute best price (thanks Ebay) and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the door seal. In the meantime, I'm washing dishes.

So, I was going to tell about my resolutions...well there is one big giant one that must be mentioned: I quit smoking. The last cigarette I had was New Years Eve. It has been hell and I probably wasn't very nice when I corrected Timmy last night. I just cannot figure out why it is so hard. I quit prior to my pregnancy and remained quit until I was done breast feeding (no problems there, possibly because another life was entirely dependent on it). I also never smoke at work, so I go all day without smoking then just have to have one when I get home. So really, the most difficult time has been in the evenings. But, really, I have to quit. My blood pressure has been on a roller coaster ride since September 2003 and I'm really tired of the endless "let's try this medication" cycle that I've been on. I"m also overweight which doesn't help much either.

So, I keep reminding myself of all the benefits: saving a ton of dough; saving time (we don't smoke in the house, so if I wanted a cigarette, I'd have to go outside and then I wasn't getting anything else done but smoking. If I smoked ten cigarettes a day, I figure that I added at least an extra hour to my day); my son gets to see a parent that does not smoke (perhaps this will help him stay away from this awful habit, though I know plenty of people who smoke who were never exposed by their parents); more stamina.

I know I'll do it, especially now that I'm public about it.