Mundane (warm) week

The warm winter continues.  NASA continues to document the "hockey stick" of temperature increases for the world.  They are actually pretty nicely linear over the 70s (link from dailykos.com).  A strong trend over the last 40 years documenting a dramatic departure in the world temperatures.  Here is one of many links of the increased acidity of the world's oceans from the liberal watch dog wunderground.com (a joke).  I won't spend more time on this right now, except to say I am sure the Fab Four (apologies to the Beatles) will eventually get around to blaming the data on (your pick) A. What data, there is no warming, B. Obama, C. Educational Brainwashing, D. Taxes, or E. Obamacare.

Work slowed down dramatically, meaning no more relentless evening work.

That gave me time to see two Middle School soccer games.  My youngest daughter scored two goals in two games, but they team lost 2-1 and then 3-2.  She could perhaps have scored a couple more, but she was very happy with the efforts.

My oldest daughter turned 17, so I reminded her that meant she could see R rated movies without being questioned.  She's been the object of some bullying in a classic "mean girls" fashion by a gang of girls.  The circle is closing on them with the help of her true friends, us, and now a teacher.  There are multiple ways to deal with bullies, but it always involves calling them on it and making it clear that they'll pay for it if they continue.  One thing that never works is expecting bullies to care about the damage to do and expect them to change.

This immediately reminds me of the most important political news of the week:

While the GOP dramatically demonstrated that Rush Limbaugh is bigger than the GOP itself by failing to stand up for Sandra Fluke and women in general, some 40+ advertisers and many many Americans stood up to him and the mean girls ditto heads.  If you don't think we're dealing with a bunch of bullies, read this post by Sally Quinn on the Limbaugh fiasco.  Ignoring and pretending these guys are not both wrong and dangerous just encourages them to continue.

Of course, there was some good news on the economy. 

Obama needs to get on with approving the Keystone pipeline.  He should have done it right at the beginning of the year rather than just hand it to GOP as an election year issue.  The Obama adminstration already agreed to fund some related pipeline work, so the Keystone pipeline is going to happen.   The delay is clearly political, but I am not sure what their angle is.  (Of course, I am not a professional politician, so what do I know).  No, I don't think it will really help gas and energy prices in the US, but better our easy access than someone elses.  Plus, it is governmen spending that will generate jobs in the US - something the GOP also believes and which no one has yet to point of as a bit GOP hypocrisy (they usually say ANY government spending is a drag on the economy - even infrastructure).

Marriage limits and more driving

(Edited for various weird errors on 3/5)

Driven to tears (of boredom)

I drove up to Silver Springs today, but not until after stopping to see my son at GW.  He's off to see the Ann Coulter and Laurence O'Donnell fundraiser debate tonight.  I am envious.

Of course, my bad planning meant I didn't keep track of my schedule well enough, so I had to drive back into the city to eat at the America Eats Tavern.  I wasn't paying which would have negatively affected my take on the meal.  My salad and dessert were OK, but the main dish I had was Clam Chowder with Poached Cod and it was excellent.  

After which I drove 30 minutes back to the hotel.  In short, I drove over an hour extra because of lack of vision.


Shallow Meanderings

In my many hours of driving, I pondered for a while the fact that I found polygamy highly objectionable.  The Sister Wives show I endured a few times re-inforced my existing feelings on the topic heavily.  On the last episode I watched, the excessive self-important rooster, Cody, counseled a couple that couldn't bring themselves to bring another woman in their marriage.  It was all one could do to not scream at the TV for them to run as far away from Cody and his hens.  It was like sitting in a horror movie and yelling at the screen for the actors to watch out because Jason was about to make an appearance.  There was a fair amount of whining from them all about not being judged.  Not judged enough in my book - hopefully their kids will make better choices.

My main thought was that I fully understand that other people see gay marriages just as I view the polygamy.

It is no more likely they will be convinced that gay marriage is OK than it is I'll be convinced that polygamy is OK.  Having watched a few episodes of the show made me sad for the wives.


Super Tuesday Loons (oops Looms)

I wish we had another week before Super Tuesday so that Rick Sanctorum could blow another gasket about something.  As it is if he's been sufficiently quiet to not do himself any more damage.  He probably could have won Michigan before going on the contraception attack.

At least the week brought a massive dose of trouble for the GOP when Rush went off like an exploding asteroid further delivering a blow to GOP Presidency aspirations.  I still think Romney has a chance - but I have to stick by my earlier prediction.


Laters

Everyone have a fine week.

Its not a Fluke, BCPs used for a lot more than BC

Apparently nuance is lost on the a lot of paid professionals who write opinion columns (ignoring alone Rush).

What Ms Fluke was going to testify about was that a woman that had a medical condition that without treatment with birth control pills resulted in a cyst on her ovaries.  This required a surgical procedure to remove.  Ms Fluke was not advocating that we pay directly for her birth control so she could have sex. 

I have known of multiple woman that have used BCPs to help regulate the cycles in order avoid excessive bleeding and pain, help with acne, etc.  The use of hormone therapy had NOTHING to do with having sex. 

In other words, BCPs have medical uses far beyond birth control.  The Catholic Church should be sophisticated enough to recognize this. 

The focus on sex is purely an election year ploy or, worse, some odd GOP obsession with sex.

The opposition to Obama and Obamacare remains incoherent, because, like GOP tax cut fantasy's it is devoid of realistic options.  The status quo position ignores the 10s of millions without insurance.  Something simple things like making it possible for parents to keeping paying for insurance for their kids a few more years put millions of people back on insurance.  This is good for all of us.

If it were not abundantly clear before, it should be abundantly clear after the last couple of weeks that the GOP has regressed in the last four years. If you have any questions about this - just check how much worse their proposed budget plans are for the deficit compared to Obama's.  Let alone obsessing about women's sexuality.




  

Punch a Democrat in the Face Day (or Keep a Woman Down)

Rush Limbaugh wagged the GOP today.  If you are a Repubican and you have a wife or daughter and a shred of dignity, you will turn off Rush and walk away from the misogyny of Rush, the Blunt Amendment, and forced vaginal ultrasounds. 

None of this surprises me, because I saw way too often that GOPers would have liked nothing better than to have a Punch a Democrat in the Face Day. 

It goes way back.  During the Bush/Gore Florida ballot count, I was sickened to watch a GOPer used a megaphone to shout at a women from about a foot away.  That is an act of aggression the same way it is to hit someone.  They police should have arrested the titanic asshole on the spot.  These guys were GOP "heros" for using thuggery to defend Bush.

Too bad no one did then, too bad everyone GOP let Rush and his followers take over their party, too bad all the GOP has left is obstructionism, an irrational hatred and endless disrepect for the Presidency of the United States.

The lunacy will continue until someone has balls big enough to put Rush in his place, someone with balls big enough to tell the Tea Party that tax cuts will only make the debt worse, someone with balls big enough to show respect for ALL AMERICANS, even your President (that's right - the one that got Osama Bin Laden).

Rush Limbaugh said that a women that uses birth control is a sluts and not one GOP candidate for the Presidency of the United States has the guts to call him out on it.  If you've got a wife or daughter that has or may use birth control at some point in their life - Rush thinks they are sluts who should be performing porno on the web for his entertainment.

If you don't walk away from that, you are a sorry excuse for a man, because you would put Rush's giant ego ahead of respect for your own.  I bet you had a laugh at the title of this post:  Punch a Democrat in the Face Day.  Get a life.

Michigan, My Michigan

I am still not sure if that is that state anthem or not, and I know I don't know the words either.  I grew up there, but have not lived over half my life in another state. 

It has been a tumultuous couple of weeks in Michigan and it seems like a bomb going off in the GOP party.  I can only sight a few random things, in part because I am having to work day and nights, so my mind is getting a littly mushy about now.

First, I understand I may be a rube about this - but I have tried to keep my work in the US employing US citizens.  But get this:

• We're planning to hire another person and placed ads locally, netting a total of ZERO US citizens applying.  None. Zippo. This deserves a complete post of its own, but we'll probably end up having to sponsor someone from abroad.  This is not to say that there are not a lot of very bright and talented people that want to have jobs here and I won't feel bad about it, but there is something very wrong with our system if I can't even get a resume short of going to head hunters.
• Recently for probably the 5th or 6th time, I had the opportunity to serve as a US representative for a company that wants to off-shore most of the labor.  They want to maximize what they can make here by selling their services with a local representative to serve as a face for the company and maximize their profit by employing the cheapest possible labor.  Understandable, but don't be surprised if there is a hidden cost in not being able to walk into the office down the hall and work out a difficult problem in 20 minutes versus via e-mail with a 8 to 12 hour lag.   

Anyway, given our funding approach to education, I doubt things are going to get better.

Sanctorum would, I guess, call me a snob for thinking we need to do crazy stuff like fund higher education and try to get more Americans into college.  Lets not kid ourselves, though, because these jobs and likely even mine will be off shored too and perhaps more easily because of the internet, but we have to stay in the game.  Once we are totally out of the game, there will not be a way back in.

Anyway, back to the original intent of the post:  Romney will win Michigan (or has) and is getting closer to wrapping it up.  The Southern states may keep Sanctorum or Gingrich alive for a while, but Romney is still grind it out in the end.  

Sanctorum jumped the shark in the last couple of weeks, so Mitt Romney, the bumbling boob from Michi-Massa-chewsets, super smart, business king, and disturbingly disconnected, will steadily wrap it up from here.  Romney will win because he is the only legitimate GOP candidate running.  While all of that social conservative red meat, which Sanctorum obviously believes in more than anything else, cost Sanctorum Michigan.   The separation of church and state makes Rick want to throw up?  Education after High School is indoctrination against religion?  Aren't these some thing very things we find disturbing about the Taliban?  

So I am watching a bit of Romney's speech in Michigan.  Romney is going full bore on tax cuts and the imaginary way on how he will preserve all of our programs and balance the budget.   He sounds pretty good right now.  If only I could drink the koolaid and it would really work out.

Sigh. 

Work, Travel, Work

Boring background

It has been tough to get a good block of time to post.  I am resting at home this afternoon following an aborted dental implant procedure.  Apparently the last bone graft didn't take hold, so the implant couldn't be put in and we'll try again.  I did get the sinus lift done.  After having been on the way to bleeding to death a few weeks ago, I am hoping for a safer recovery now. 

Last weekend I took my daughter to a lacrosse clinic at American University and a campus tour. She  would be good fit there and I am thankful she's got schools she is really interested in.  We stopped and met with the Mary Washington coach, which I like as a school.  We have visited a number of other schools and it has been hard identifying just what she wants.  Two weekends ago, I was down in Myrtle Beach, SC for a soccer tournament.  My daughter's team won their group and scored a couple of goals.

Before that I worked both weekend days and I expect to work Saturday and Sunday this week.  I have been working most evenings in the last two weeks.

Anyway, you get the idea, I am getting pretty worn out.

Thoughts on Stuff, Mostly the Abortion

I can't imagine outlawing pre-natal testing even though it is functionally used in many cases to decide to abort children.  My wife was pregnant 5 times and we had 4 kids.  We never had amnio done because we would not have had an abortion for any of the things you detect with amnio and amnio has its own risks.

My view on abortion itself lies is pretty extreme and I hope that none of my daughters would ever go down that path.  However, I don't think making abortion illegal in all cases will stop all abortions, though it would stop some.  It will force other women desparate enough to put their lives at risk and make them criminals.  Just in the same way prohibition did not work.

Further, if you are going to outlaw abortion on moral grounds, then I think you should also accept the next step on the same moral grounds:   accepting at least responsibility for the life you are now bringing into existence.  If we are going to outlaw all abortion, then we should be prepared to take over the care of those children when the mother or parents are not capable.  By forcing someone to try to care of child, special needs or not, that they are incapable of caring for will, of course, often lead to pretty bad outcomes for the parent, the child, and add costs to society.  If you choose to force parents to bring kids forward against their wishes, then you have to cough up the tax money to actually make the world better including providing for some support of that child.  While I may little sympathy for the parents, it is not fault of a child that they are born into a bad or difficult setting.

If some guy that could afford insurance, did not buy it, but then develops some disease he now can't afford to treat, I don't mind saying tough luck.  However, if a child is born into poverty and their family can't afford treatment, it is not fault of the child.  If your morality requires that child be born, surely your morals require that you value their life outside the womb to at least the degree to cared for it in the womb.

As Jesus said, the rich man has the same chance entering heaven as a camel has passing through the eye of a needle.  Rather, he needs to get rid of his riches and lead a life based on serving God and serving others.  So at least Christians, opposing abortion on religious grounds, should be more than willing to give their resources to caring for society, especially kids from single-parent households.

For myself, I already know that I not that great and I want the opportunity to make my older years be more secure and easy.  Further, I believe that capitalism ultimately produces and helps more people than other systems - but it needs rules and we are better for with a safety net for the oldest and poorest.  However, black and white we may feel abortion is, it does involve imposing on a woman's body if you are going to restrict it complete, let alone dip into birth control.

Settting aside the forced vaginal ultrasound (e.g. forced rape) rule, which is completely obscence, perhaps then the status quo is rather sensible.  We have plenty of room to push for fewer abortions without making women criminals that make that decision.  Allowing women to have choice, knowing that is a very difficult decision, acknowledges that we don't walk in their shoes.  It also acknowledges that we are no better as a society in so many other areas.  This allows us to remain righteous without having to face that fact that very few of us really live up what Jesus' ask of us.  It allows us the room to avoid full embracing the less comfortable aspects of a complete Christian life.

Holy Moly Start Stockpiling Condoms

Holy Smokes!  Obama makes an over reach on birth control and then backpedals to the obvious position of not requiring religious organizations to fund it if it at odds with their beliefs.   Republicans, faced with a chance to let Obama twist in the wind a bit and save it up to bring up for the next 9 months, BLOW IT.

How in the world do you go from there to apparently wanting to stop all women from using birth control?  Are the Catholic Bishops running the GOP?  Are condoms next?  Doesn't the GOP know that porn is more popular in Red states? 

Last I saw, there were more women than men in the US.  Last I knew, the vast majority of women use some form of birth control at some time in their lives.  Many of them using BCPs. 

Do Republicans just want to lose?  

Clearly this is what Romney means by severely conservative:  so conservative that you have a burning desire to violate the separation of church and state to impose the most antiquated and misogynistic religious beliefs with regard to women's health to appease some imaginary voting block.

May be someone will explain to me why the Republican candidates would turn Obama's mistake into a massive victory for him? 

Do you hear that flushing noise GOP?  That is your presidential aspirations going down the toilet. 

Everyone else - if the GOP wins - start stockpiling beer and condoms.  Because shackling women to the house, pregnant and barefoot, is just phase I of some fantasy about reviving the Victorian age.

PS  We're trying to hire a couple of employees and we're able to give raises this year- after 2 years of downsizing and tightening.  I hope this means that the economy really has started to turn loose some cash.  It feels good, so I hope it sticks.