July 13, 2009
DOWN WITH FLUSH TOILETS!
Mark Steyn:
Capitalism is liberating: You’re born a peasant but you don’t
have to die one. You can work hard and get a nice place in the suburbs.
If you were a 19th century Russian peasant and you got to Ellis Island,
you’d be living in a tenement on the Lower East Side, but your kids
would get an education and move uptown, and your grandkids would be
doctors and accountants in Westchester County.
And your great-grandchild would be a Harvard-educated environmental activist demanding an end to all this electricity and indoor toilets.
And your great-grandchild would be a Harvard-educated environmental activist demanding an end to all this electricity and indoor toilets.
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July 12, 2009
GOOD PARENTING DAYS
I suppose it's logical but pretty absurd that I enjoy hearing about my friends' children but not their babies. Any child born before January 2007 does not affect my emotional state at all, but I have a hard time reading about any child born after I started trying to have a baby. It's dumb, but that's the way it is. And it sucks if you're one of my friends with kids in that age range.
But I love reading about people's older children, especially when they capture the great parenting days when children learn lessons about effort and show off their knowledge of coral. Or when they crack me up.
FYI: frustrating parenting days are dreadful to read about. As if I need any more reason to second-guess my lot in life.
But I love reading about people's older children, especially when they capture the great parenting days when children learn lessons about effort and show off their knowledge of coral. Or when they crack me up.
FYI: frustrating parenting days are dreadful to read about. As if I need any more reason to second-guess my lot in life.
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July 11, 2009
CHECKING IN
I feel like I should check in, just to check in.
We're good. Despite what I said here, husband is back to the original plan; he leaves in a couple of days.
Let the packing begin...oy.
We're good. Despite what I said here, husband is back to the original plan; he leaves in a couple of days.
Let the packing begin...oy.
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July 09, 2009
A SAVAGE HYPOCRISY
Via AirForceWife:
A group of 50 black males beats up a white family, shouting "This is a black world!" while they do it, and, quote, "Akron police say they aren't ready to call it a hate crime."
Fantastic. Because we all know if a group of 50 whites beat up a black family while yelling "White power!", the police would tread lightly and not jump to any conclusions.
I think we all need to sit through a presentation:
A group of 50 black males beats up a white family, shouting "This is a black world!" while they do it, and, quote, "Akron police say they aren't ready to call it a hate crime."
Fantastic. Because we all know if a group of 50 whites beat up a black family while yelling "White power!", the police would tread lightly and not jump to any conclusions.
I think we all need to sit through a presentation:
PLEASE ELABORATE, PREFERABLY ON NATIONAL TV
Here's a perfect example of a Lefty doing exactly what the Right is accused of: being elitist and racist.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg on abortion:
To quote Ed Whelan, "Gee, Justice Ginsburg, would you like to tell us more about your views on those populations that 'we don’t want to have too many of'?"
That is old-school Margaret Sanger creepy, and Ginsburg just said that this week.
But I thought Republicans were the mean ones?
Ruth Bader Ginsberg on abortion:
Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.
To quote Ed Whelan, "Gee, Justice Ginsburg, would you like to tell us more about your views on those populations that 'we don’t want to have too many of'?"
That is old-school Margaret Sanger creepy, and Ginsburg just said that this week.
But I thought Republicans were the mean ones?
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July 08, 2009
GIVE A MAN A FISH, AND HE'LL ASK FOR 700 BILLION MORE
We just gave a man a fish and fed him for a day, and now he wants another:
The people of Palau also think they deserve another fish, because they took our piranhas off our hands:
The ridiculous thing is that we don't even have any fish to give out. The Fed is just printing new fish, but for some stupid reason, we just keep giving them away like they're real fish.
Enough fish metaphors.
This stinks.
The U.S. should consider drafting a second stimulus package focusing on
infrastructure projects because the $787 billion approved in February
was “a bit too small,†said Laura Tyson, an adviser to President Barack Obama.
The people of Palau also think they deserve another fish, because they took our piranhas off our hands:
Palau is asking longtime benefactor the United States for a 35-year
extension on direct aid funding — and hinting Washington should say yes
because of its offer to take in 13 Guantanamo Bay detainees.
[...]
U.S. government aid to Palau over the past 15 years has totaled more than $852 million, according to a congressional estimate.
[...]
U.S. government aid to Palau over the past 15 years has totaled more than $852 million, according to a congressional estimate.
The ridiculous thing is that we don't even have any fish to give out. The Fed is just printing new fish, but for some stupid reason, we just keep giving them away like they're real fish.
Enough fish metaphors.
This stinks.
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July 07, 2009
THEY ARE A TEAM
I write about my husband's team on Facebook often, but rarely here. For a little while now, I have been taking them hot lunch once a week: enchiladas, manicotti, meatloaf, etc. Today I took them their last lunch, complete with a cake for all the fellas who will be deployed over their birthdays, starting with my husband.
This branch of the Army is unique in a sense, in that the whole thing revolves around four-man teams. My husband goes on training missions with them, shares an office with them, does PT with them, eats breakfast with them, and will deploy with only them. In short, they have grown very tight. And while my husband had the same type of closeness with his tank crew back when he was in Armor, it's just somehow a little different.
The average age of the team is 27. They have spent a combined total of 10 years in combat. They have more tattoos than I'm able to count.
They've grown so tight that it annoys the other teams. They're so tight that their commander has split them up on occasion because it looks bad that they shoot better, run faster, lift more, and just click better than anyone else.
They truly are a team. I am so grateful they have each other. I thank heavens my husband ended up with these three outstanding men.
And I will miss taking them lunch.
This branch of the Army is unique in a sense, in that the whole thing revolves around four-man teams. My husband goes on training missions with them, shares an office with them, does PT with them, eats breakfast with them, and will deploy with only them. In short, they have grown very tight. And while my husband had the same type of closeness with his tank crew back when he was in Armor, it's just somehow a little different.
The average age of the team is 27. They have spent a combined total of 10 years in combat. They have more tattoos than I'm able to count.
They've grown so tight that it annoys the other teams. They're so tight that their commander has split them up on occasion because it looks bad that they shoot better, run faster, lift more, and just click better than anyone else.
They truly are a team. I am so grateful they have each other. I thank heavens my husband ended up with these three outstanding men.
And I will miss taking them lunch.
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A FUTURE PROMISE
I really enjoyed reading this blog post via CG, I was a pro-life atheist, though the message that stuck with me was likely not one the author foresaw. I found comfort in this:
In our case, the opposite is true: "even if it doesn't produce that for which it is designed."
My husband and I have said a variation on that for years. In fact, last night I mentioned that I would've had conception problems no matter who I married, but that at least I was having these problems with a loving husband. I apologized to my husband for ruining his chances at a baby, to which he replied that he'd rather have dead babies with me than live babies with a worse wife.
We're in this together, no matter what happens.
Because sex contains not a hard reality, but only a future promise, it becomes a promise, the promise of the man to the woman "I will be with you always, even if this does produce that for which it is designed."
In our case, the opposite is true: "even if it doesn't produce that for which it is designed."
My husband and I have said a variation on that for years. In fact, last night I mentioned that I would've had conception problems no matter who I married, but that at least I was having these problems with a loving husband. I apologized to my husband for ruining his chances at a baby, to which he replied that he'd rather have dead babies with me than live babies with a worse wife.
We're in this together, no matter what happens.
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July 06, 2009
BROWN NOSER DINNER
Compare and contrast Radio and Television Correspondents' Association dinners 2004 and 2009...
Bush jokes about looking for WMDs: "inappropriate", "no laughing matter", "astonishingly insensitive"
Obama jokes about having the media in his pocket: journalists roar with laughter
Holy cow, I agree with Helen Thomas on something.
By the way, this title is hilarious: Helen Thomas caught acting like a journalist - White House scandalized
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THE ANSWER: 6.25%
"If I stay pregnant..." That phrase gets said around our house often these days.
On the 4th, we had The Talk, the one every military couple has to have right before deployment. But this time with a twist...
If something happens to you, where do you want to be buried?
If I stay pregnant and something happens to you, do you want me to name the baby after you?
If I stay pregnant and something happens to one of your teammates, do we want to name the baby after him?
If I stay pregnant but something happens to the baby later on, where do we want it to be buried?
If I stay pregnant but something happens to both of us, do we still want to choose the same guardians we chose three years ago?
So we answered all questions, staying as detached as we could from what they mean.
But when I had a tiny bit of bleeding last night, I realized something: No matter how much you think you're not emotionally invested, you actually are. You actually want this to work out.
And it sucks lying in bed figuring out the probability of flipping four tails in a row.
I have an ultrasound scheduled for 12 hours after my husband is scheduled to deploy. How's that for emotional torture?
On the 4th, we had The Talk, the one every military couple has to have right before deployment. But this time with a twist...
If something happens to you, where do you want to be buried?
If I stay pregnant and something happens to you, do you want me to name the baby after you?
If I stay pregnant and something happens to one of your teammates, do we want to name the baby after him?
If I stay pregnant but something happens to the baby later on, where do we want it to be buried?
If I stay pregnant but something happens to both of us, do we still want to choose the same guardians we chose three years ago?
So we answered all questions, staying as detached as we could from what they mean.
But when I had a tiny bit of bleeding last night, I realized something: No matter how much you think you're not emotionally invested, you actually are. You actually want this to work out.
And it sucks lying in bed figuring out the probability of flipping four tails in a row.
I have an ultrasound scheduled for 12 hours after my husband is scheduled to deploy. How's that for emotional torture?
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July 05, 2009
WHERE IS OUR VANGUARD?
(Via Insty): Gay Patriot has a post called As people flock to conservative/libertarian banner, fewer politicians seem ready, willing & able to carry it into battle. I really liked the first two comments on the post:
A Conservative Teacher:
This could be the very nature of the Republican Party- a party built by people not liking big government may have trouble finding big leaders in government. The party that loves power and elitism (Democrats) has no problem finding elite powerful politicians.
DoDoGuRu:
It would be nice to find politicians both normal and politically savvy. Unfortunately, if you’re normal you get hounded out of politics. And if you’re politically savvy, you’re probably a kleptocratic vampire.
This could be the very nature of the Republican Party- a party built by people not liking big government may have trouble finding big leaders in government. The party that loves power and elitism (Democrats) has no problem finding elite powerful politicians.
DoDoGuRu:
It would be nice to find politicians both normal and politically savvy. Unfortunately, if you’re normal you get hounded out of politics. And if you’re politically savvy, you’re probably a kleptocratic vampire.
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NOT FEELING SO INDEPENDENT
I didn't write an Independence Day post yesterday.
I just didn't have it in me.
Neal Boortz hates the 4th of July. Every year he refuses to work that day because he says he cannot stand people's superficial displays of liberty and independence. Americans ask more and more of Uncle Sugar and relinquish more of their freedom in exchange for government security, and then they have the nerve to celebrate being free on the 4th of July.
I've always snickered at Boortz and thought he was overreacting.
But this year, I am slowly joining him...
As the future of our country goes down the tube, I had a hard time feeling very celebratory yesterday.
Many months ago, I happened to catch Sean Hannity doing a man-on-the-street interview with a young girl. He was asking her questions about what she believed people had the right to. According to her, they have the right to everything: jobs, education, shelter, transportation, health care, and so on. But when Hannity pressed her, saying that surely she can't believe that every single person deserves free everything, she frustratedly replied, "No, you're twisting my words around. Not everybody, only the people who can't afford it. If you can pay for your own college, you should, but if you can't afford it, the government should help pay." So Hannity goes, "Oh, OK, let me see if I can rephrase it. You mean we should function to each according to his need and from each according to his ability?" And the girl excitedly said, "YES, that's it, that's exactly what I meant!"
He then asked if she knew who Karl Marx was, and naturally she had no idea...
I just don't think my countrymen understand what true independence means. I don't think they understand that freedom also means the freedom to fail, to have bad luck, to lose it all. I don't think they understand what the signers of the Declaration of Independence risked and sacrificed.
I don't think they understand risk and sacrifice at all anymore.
And I can't help but note a new "long train of abuses and usurpations" with each passing day...
I just didn't have it in me.
Neal Boortz hates the 4th of July. Every year he refuses to work that day because he says he cannot stand people's superficial displays of liberty and independence. Americans ask more and more of Uncle Sugar and relinquish more of their freedom in exchange for government security, and then they have the nerve to celebrate being free on the 4th of July.
I've always snickered at Boortz and thought he was overreacting.
But this year, I am slowly joining him...
As the future of our country goes down the tube, I had a hard time feeling very celebratory yesterday.
Many months ago, I happened to catch Sean Hannity doing a man-on-the-street interview with a young girl. He was asking her questions about what she believed people had the right to. According to her, they have the right to everything: jobs, education, shelter, transportation, health care, and so on. But when Hannity pressed her, saying that surely she can't believe that every single person deserves free everything, she frustratedly replied, "No, you're twisting my words around. Not everybody, only the people who can't afford it. If you can pay for your own college, you should, but if you can't afford it, the government should help pay." So Hannity goes, "Oh, OK, let me see if I can rephrase it. You mean we should function to each according to his need and from each according to his ability?" And the girl excitedly said, "YES, that's it, that's exactly what I meant!"
He then asked if she knew who Karl Marx was, and naturally she had no idea...
I just don't think my countrymen understand what true independence means. I don't think they understand that freedom also means the freedom to fail, to have bad luck, to lose it all. I don't think they understand what the signers of the Declaration of Independence risked and sacrificed.
I don't think they understand risk and sacrifice at all anymore.
And I can't help but note a new "long train of abuses and usurpations" with each passing day...
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July 04, 2009
SPAGHETTI
My husband's in the dog house this morning. But his uppance will come...
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AMALGAM
I'm trying not to get ahead of myself and look forward to this right now, but I am looking forward to it someday:
I want to be an amalgam of all my friends' parenting styles...
One of the best things about parenting? Getting to do things twice, and
seeing things from entirely different perspective, you get to see tiny
people learn to walk, talk, run, swim, ride bikes, you get to jump on a
trampoline, and shoot your kids high in the air, and laugh until you
cry...
and you get 3 hours of rabbit jokes...most of them bad
I want to be an amalgam of all my friends' parenting styles...
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July 03, 2009
PATRIOTIC CROCHET
My local crafting group has been making patriotic lapghans for the VA hospital. These are my contributions.
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GLOBAL TEMPERATURES
I saw Glenn Beck's discussion with Alan Carlin of the EPA this week, which is available here. And this graph struck me as too crazy to even be true.
The red lines: "UN Predictions for Temperature Levels"
The yellow line: "UN Predictions: What Will Happen to Temperatures If Their Restrictions Are Put In Place"
The green line: "Global Temperatures from Surface Station Measurements"
The blue line: "Global Temperatures from Satellite Measurements"
So the red and yellow lines are what the UN says will happen, and the green and blue lines are what is really happening. Note the enormous plummet away from prediction.
If this is accurate, then what is actually happening on our planet is nothing like what was predicted. In which case, all decisions based on global warming predictions are moot.
It also reminds me of this unemployment graph.
The red lines: "UN Predictions for Temperature Levels"
The yellow line: "UN Predictions: What Will Happen to Temperatures If Their Restrictions Are Put In Place"
The green line: "Global Temperatures from Surface Station Measurements"
The blue line: "Global Temperatures from Satellite Measurements"
So the red and yellow lines are what the UN says will happen, and the green and blue lines are what is really happening. Note the enormous plummet away from prediction.
If this is accurate, then what is actually happening on our planet is nothing like what was predicted. In which case, all decisions based on global warming predictions are moot.
It also reminds me of this unemployment graph.
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July 02, 2009
RECONSTRUCT
More on Afghanistan from Michael Yon. Note:
And the term PRT, though accurate in Iraq, should be changed to “PCT†(Provincial COnstruction Team) in Afghanistan. The Provincial REconstruction Teams in Iraq are far different. The term “reconstruction†in Iraq is generally correct, but it’s usually a misnomer in Afghanistan and confuses people at home by implying there was something here to reconstruct.
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July 01, 2009
"MORE FAIR" REVISITED
This is a rant I probably oughtn't make...
Remember the post I wrote about how the Army had to make my husband's upcoming deployment "more fair"? The last one was 7 mos so this one had to be 9 mos because they were both supposed to be 8 mos. We have to even it all up so it's fair to everyone.
The way it works in my husband's branch is that four-man teams deploy to a variety of places. Of the teams in his company, two of them are going to Afghanistan and the other teams are going to various other Middle Eastern countries (not Iraq).
It turns out that the teams going to other countries have had an unforeseen complication. So they have to wait it out. One team is estimated to be gone by August, another may hem and haw until October. So those teams won't deploy in two weeksish when my husband does. But apparently everyone's still slated to come home at the same time.
The two Afghanistan teams will therefore be the only people deploying for nine months!
More fair? More FAIR? You're kidding me, right?
The teams going to the dangerous country will be gone longer and paid much much less.
I'm not good at this branch. I think I need out of it before I hurt someone.
Remember the post I wrote about how the Army had to make my husband's upcoming deployment "more fair"? The last one was 7 mos so this one had to be 9 mos because they were both supposed to be 8 mos. We have to even it all up so it's fair to everyone.
The way it works in my husband's branch is that four-man teams deploy to a variety of places. Of the teams in his company, two of them are going to Afghanistan and the other teams are going to various other Middle Eastern countries (not Iraq).
It turns out that the teams going to other countries have had an unforeseen complication. So they have to wait it out. One team is estimated to be gone by August, another may hem and haw until October. So those teams won't deploy in two weeksish when my husband does. But apparently everyone's still slated to come home at the same time.
The two Afghanistan teams will therefore be the only people deploying for nine months!
More fair? More FAIR? You're kidding me, right?
The teams going to the dangerous country will be gone longer and paid much much less.
I'm not good at this branch. I think I need out of it before I hurt someone.
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