I thought this was an interesting article: When The Man is One of Us

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File under "I wish I had thought to say that." Lileks on Obama's "merci beaucoup" inanity yesterday:

In the context of English-as-a-national-tongue laws, itÂ’s an interesting assertion: Apparently it is right to expect people who visit Paris to speak French the day they get there, but it is cultural chauvinism to expect people who want to live and work in America to understand English well enough to navigate a ballot.

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My mother and I planted a vegetable garden while she was here, and I had four thriving, big tomato plants on the back fence. I go out there tonight and find this.

Every second plant was stripped completely bare. No leaves. Huh? I move in for a closer look.

Two of the fattest, grossest caterpillars took up residence in my garden. Both totally engorged with an entire tomato plant. They were about four inches long and as thick around as a Tootsie Roll.

Blech.

Naturally, I pried them off with a spatula and dumped them over the fence into the neighbor's yard. They don't have anything planted in their yard anyway.

I'm bad.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:39 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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1 Growing up it used to be a contest to see who could find the tomato worm first. Sometimes it was quite a challange, and if you are very quiet sometimes you can hear them chomping away. We would usually torture them once we found them.

Posted by: Kellee at July 10, 2008 03:19 AM (w2MFa)

2 To use a very old SNL phrase, "It's always something!" Tomato hornworms should be smashed immediately, they will turn into moths that come back, lay more eggs, make more worms. An endless cycle.I don't have any here, don't need them. We have leaf cutter ants that come overnight and do the job instead of them. Went out this morning with coffee cup in hand, only to find pepper plants stripped. They will even take the little peppers. They take them to their nests to plant their fungus gardens! The only plants they haven't taken at one time is mother of million kalanchoe plant, one I detest and is a pest! and cacti. They don't eat anything but the flower stems of aloe vera, so I never get to see them bloom. They love flower buds. So do the deer. So I'm turning this into a rant. Oh well. Sarah, next time you see those critters smash them!!

Posted by: Ruth H at July 10, 2008 03:43 AM (4u82p)

3 Oh, Ruth...they were SO fat; it grosses me out to think of smashing such a fat bug. There would be smashed bug everywhere! Ewwww.

Posted by: Sarah at July 10, 2008 04:32 AM (TWet1)

4 Yeah I don't squish either. That's what RAID is for. Sorry about your tomato's. You could still start over with cherry tomato's and get some fruit.

Posted by: Mare at July 10, 2008 05:08 AM (APbbU)

5 Yep, Ruth, remember how D. would smash them for me when he was young. Give the kid a brick and he was lethal! ;0)

Posted by: tt at July 10, 2008 06:05 AM (S/Fac)

6 I took a bunch of pictures of my beautiful, ruby-red strawberries, which I protected with bird netting last year and thought would protect them this year. I walked out the door the very next day, and they were ALL GONE. I think some critters (deer? raccoons?) came and got 'em. Oh well, at least I got pictures!

Posted by: Deltasierra at July 10, 2008 12:35 PM (7uphd)

7 I hesitated to tell you the easiest way to "terminate" the hornworms...pair of scissors...cut them in half...not as messy as squashing (and truth be told I don't look when I do it)

Posted by: Mary*Ann at July 10, 2008 07:23 PM (lnAFP)

8 Well, a jar of water works too, just put them in and hide it so you don't have to see it. Just don't let them live. I don't like to smash them directly either, put them under the mulch and step on them, that works. They are bio-degradable! ;D

Posted by: Ruth at July 11, 2008 05:29 AM (BkiKe)

9 My dad used to feed them to our (very small) dog. I watched her eat one once and nearly threw up. I thought for sure she was going to choke on that huge, thick, squishy thing. Yuck.

Posted by: Ivy at July 11, 2008 07:42 AM (A1thK)

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I talked to ArmyWifeToddlerMom this evening. She is unable to get online at her father's house, so she has been in non-internet limbo for a long time now. She's itching to get back. And I'm itching to hear from her again, because she always kills me.

One of AWTM's charms is her filthy mouth. Sadly, she's now going to have to curb her enthusiasm, especially for her favorite insult. Her son, Sir Rowland, is apparently cut from the same cloth as she is, and his inner-AWTM is starting to shine through. They were eating in a restaurant the other day and the waiter took a really long time to bring the kids their plates. As the waiter handed her son his dish and turned to go, Sir Rowland muttered under his breath, "Thanks, douchebag."

Ha. He's exactly like his mama.

We miss you, AWTM.

Posted by: Sarah at 01:30 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 PRICELESS! I'd have to stifle laughter to be a good parent and try and correct the potty mouth... while at the same time wanting to record it and show it to the family.

Posted by: sara at July 09, 2008 02:36 PM (lS9hT)

2 I LOVE this story. It is especially poignant to me after hearing M2 exclaim, "Holy Shiz-nay" when she ran into the house from a driving rain and slipped a bit in the entry...just like her Mama. I truly need to meet SR and PN in person.

Posted by: Guard Wife at July 09, 2008 03:34 PM (ccp31)

3 Too damn funny! Littles hear, remember, and repeat rough language at the WORST possible moment! (remember the Lifebuoy soap scene from the movie A Christmas Story?)

Posted by: Mary at July 09, 2008 08:40 PM (3k4VW)

4 LMAO!!(thank you!!!)

Posted by: Debey at July 10, 2008 04:20 AM (NcY+H)

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Oh yeah, I forgot how this works.
First time at the gym after a hiatus = fun
Second time at the gym = ouch

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1 Third time at the gym loosens up sore muscles and makes everything feel better. If you figure out how to do anything with yarn while exercising, let me know! :-p

Posted by: loquita at July 09, 2008 10:21 AM (kZVsz)

2 Oh! I need to know that yarn thing, too! Try the treadclimber! It burns more calories than anything!

Posted by: airforcewife at July 09, 2008 11:00 AM (mIbWn)

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OK, panic set in last night.

I should be working on that mess of an afghan, but it seems like such a pain in the neck to pick it up, untangle all the baggies, and start doing row after row of single crochets. My hands kept reaching for these instead.

Someone gave me a ton of that Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn, you know the stuff with the shiny string wrapped around it? I personally find it kind of a pain in the neck to work with, so I thought I'd use it all up by making simple granny square blankets to donate. And I really like how they turned out.

I am not one to get attached to my donated projects; I have never looked back after giving away the little caps. (OK, I did get a little wistful that I had already donated the American flag hat and then Sis B goes and has a preemie on July 3rd.) But I am really attached to these little blankets, like I don't want to give them away. I could just keep them around to have on hand when one of my umpteen friends has a baby. But that's not in the spirit of charity. Still, it will take a lot of willpower to drop them off on Wednesday.

Anyway, I've been wrapped up in the ease of just picking them up and going to town that I forgot that I only have less than a month to finish two adult sized afghans! Mercy me. I worked another four inches on the intarsia mess yesterday and today, but I really need to get my behind in gear.

I hid all other projects from myself.

Posted by: Sarah at 09:09 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Those are soo pretty. I like the shiny stuff, and blue and yellow are two of my favorite colors. Good job. Maybe you can keep one of them, your favorite?

Posted by: Sara at July 08, 2008 11:49 AM (SZeN8)

2 Woohoo, much easier than that Intarsia blanket. And very cute. Do you mind if I ask how you got in touch with the group you donate to? I'm thinking something like that may be a good motivator to keep up crocheting and improve my skill when I don't have specific projects in mind for myself.

Posted by: Emiy at July 08, 2008 01:52 PM (jAos7)

3 Nice blankets! I keep itching to do a single granny square blanket but have wanted to see the finished project. I love crocheting baby blankets and have to admit to keeping quite the stash of my favorites, even after giving a few away. It's just so much easier to know they're at a good home. Mine!

Posted by: Darla at July 08, 2008 08:35 PM (tIKcE)

4 They're beautiful! I see why you don't want to give them up.

Posted by: Green at July 09, 2008 03:44 AM (6Co0L)

5 I have so much admiration for your knitting and crocheting skills! I've only just started crocheting and can only do the simplest of granny squares..All of the pictures you've posted of your projects are great inspiration!

Posted by: Maria at July 09, 2008 03:57 AM (2rnKP)

6 Dude, make yourself happy. It's the little things. Keep one of the blankets carpe diem!

Posted by: Kate at July 09, 2008 07:27 AM (JIGe1)

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Via CG is a post by the American Princess about libertarians that ends with this:

That would be why I would consider voting for John McCain when given the choice between John McCain and Barack Obama. Or at least, thats one of the reasons why. The other is that I just hate Barack Obama so darn much that I would would stoop so low as to vote for (ugh) John McCain who is several thousand years old and lacks total respect for the First Amendment over him.

And that is saying something.

Read the whole thing.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:48 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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So I just wrote this morning about how safe and easy this deployment is. Now I'm going to write something mildly contradictory.

CaliValleyGirl just pointed me in the direction of the I Should Be Folding Laundry blog. This blogger, Beth, sounds like the kind of woman I'd like to be. Everyone speaks glowingly of her. She lost her pregnancy (twins) back in February, and this is what haunts her now:

So, on February 25th, 2008, when the nurse could not find their heart beats, I was fearful and faithful, I had faith as I took the elevator down to ultrasound, faith that these babies would soon be kicking me in my ribs. I had faith.

But then I watched the words "no cardiac movement" being typed slowly with one hand onto the screen. A piece of me died at the moment. And sometimes? I think that piece of me was my faith.

Because now I tread through life cautiously, I fear cars running into our's and injuring my children, I don't get my hopes up for our new house because I'm certain the deal will fall through, even with the closing being less than a week away. I fear another pregnancy, I fear I'll never see Brian again when he leaves for a business trip, I fear for Be Design, I have lost faith in myself and people and my surroundings.

I fear the rug being pulled out from beneath me in every situation.

I understand this "loss of faith" completely. I was carefree going into this second pregnancy, but when it too ended, a part of me worries that this will always be my fate. I actually plan to lose the next baby, figuring out who I'll call and what I'll do. I imagine giving all my baby stuff away in the future because I've never used it and the tags are still on.

And the worst of this is the nagging feeling that the loss of this pregnancy means the loss of bigger things. I've imagined my parents dying before they get to become grandparents. I've imagined losing a brother. I imagine someone breaking into the house and killing Charlie. Or me. And I often have the ridiculously morbid thought that "at least I won't be pregnant when the Army comes to the door and tell me my husband is dead." Because the only reason I can see for denying me the joy of a baby is to spare me the agony of raising the baby alone.

So I worry about my husband, not because there's anything to worry about but because I too fear the rug being pulled out from under me.

And then last night in my book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, I read about the likelihood of an asteroid hitting earth and killing us all. So there's that rug to worry about too.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:01 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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My husband's been gone for two months now. I asked him yesterday how this deployment compares to the last one. I wondered if, even though this one is shorter, it might drag because the adrenaline level isn't nearly as high. But he said that it's definitely not dragging; there's always something hanging over his head, and 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, isn't long enough to get it all done. We joke that this is his life,

because all he does is remind people to turn their paperwork in. Heh.

I told him that from my end, this time feels really different. Last time we had 18 phonecalls in 13 months, and during one of them, at the height of Najaf, he was so overworked that he fell asleep on the phone! But now we get to talk quite frequently. I don't worry about him being in danger at all; I only worry that he's bored or lonely. It just feels like a really long business trip this time, or like he's gone alone to an Army school. It's almost embarrassing how easy and safe it feels this time. Other wives will see what I mean when I reveal that I don't even take my cell phone with me a lot of the time. It's just too easy this time.

However, the husband seems to be impressing his unit so much that they've remarked that they want to make much better use of him next time. He may even get to go on that super awesome deployment that he wanted to go on this time. So I guess this deployment can be easy and embarrassing, and next fall he can do more exciting stuff again.

Ours is definitely a Donut of Hope this time around.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:04 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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This is a huge deal, right?

The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program - a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium - reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.

The removal of 550 metric tons of "yellowcake" - the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment - was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam's nuclear legacy. It also brought relief to U.S. and Iraqi authorities who had worried the cache would reach insurgents or smugglers crossing to Iran to aid its nuclear ambitions.
[...]
The deal culminated more than a year of intense diplomatic and military initiatives - kept hushed in fear of ambushes or attacks once the convoys were under way: first carrying 3,500 barrels by road to Baghdad, then on 37 military flights to the Indian Ocean atoll of Diego Garcia and finally aboard a U.S.-flagged ship for a 8,500-mile trip to Montreal.

It's not the Joe Wilson/Bush Lied yellowcake, but it's still a big deal that it was there and that they secreted it out, right? I mean, what a feat! I love hearing about these secret missions after the fact.

(Via Instapundit via Conservative Grapevine)

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(Via Insty) Timothy Sandefur discusses what the 4th of July is all about.

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Last night I set aside the afghan, plunked myself down to listen to SpouseBUZZ Talk Radio, and grabbed my needles. Normally at this time of the week I would already have several preemie hats sitting around, but this past week I've been straying from my norm and making preemie blankets. So I only had one hat, and not a very cute one at that. I whipped up a hat for little Crush last night.

Now I just need to track Sis B down to send it to her; she was traveling away from home when she gave birth! As if deployment three days ago, a custody battle, and a cancer scare weren't enough excitement in her life...she decides she needs to c-section out a preemie in another state. Silly girl.

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1 That is the CUTEST hat EVER!!! It's PERfect!!!! Thank you!

Posted by: Sis B at July 06, 2008 09:33 PM (1Ek1Q)

2 Knit hats are way cuter than crocheted hats. I should learn how to knit, just for that.

Posted by: Emily at July 07, 2008 09:51 AM (jAos7)

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When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Reading this makes my heart soar. It marked the birth of my country, the beginning of a beautiful idea, and the start of that "shining city on a hill."

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

That last line, that brings tears to my eyes. These men knew they could be killed for what they were doing. They did it anyway.

My husband is not here this 4th; he is off doing his best to help the Iraqi people gain independence from tyranny. And I know how to make his heart soar today.

Mike Eruzione! Winthrop, Massachusetts!
Who do you play for?
I play for the United States of America!

Happy Independence Day, readers. And Happy Birthday, America.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:22 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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When my mom was here, I was on and on about something. I can't even remember what. She looked at me incredulously and said, "And I thought I worried about stuff."

Today has been a day of worrying.

I got an email from a friend; her sister just lost a pregnancy and had to have a D&C. They couldn't stop the bleeding afterwards, and she nearly died. Four hours of surgery and many transfusions later, she is OK.

A D&C did that. I just had one of those.

I know there are risks in everything. Hell, I am planning on having someone shine laser beams into my eyeballs soon. But this got to me, this scared me. This thing I've been trying to do for a year and a half, this having a baby, it can kill you.

So I've been a little freaked out today. And I started thinking about Sis B and her Scheduled Worry Time. So I popped on over to her site to check on things, since she'd been having some early contractions.

Baby Crush was born. Early. And little.

Wait...a 4 lb baby? A little preemie? Who needs a hat? Hot dog, I'm on it.

I'm glad Sis B and Crush are OK. One less thing to worry about today.

Posted by: Sarah at 10:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Powerline critiques Obama's speech the other day.

Then there's this:

I remember, when living for four years in Indonesia as a child, I listened to my mother reading me the first lines of the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they're endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

I would have thought that pretty much everyone--certainly every Presidential speechwriter, and every Harvard Law School graduate!--knows that these are not the "first lines" of the Declaration, which begins, "When in the course of human events...." What, exactly, accounts for the fact that Obama is not a laughingstock?

Finally, this:

As we begin our fourth century as a nation, it is easy to take the extraordinary nature of America for granted.

"Fourth century?" The United States of America came into being in 1789. We have just recently begun our third century. I suppose Obama would say that the 21st century is America's fourth, just as Minnie Minoso played major league baseball in five decades. As always with Obama's howlers, you should ask yourself: would the press have bought it if it came from Dan Quayle?

Posted by: Sarah at 03:13 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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It seems I've got myself a full-time job now. A friend of mine is getting married in August. I had too many babies to knit for up until now, so I am just getting started on an afghan (View image). I spent the entire afternoon making 2376 single crochet stitches. And this is the first thing I've made in a long time that isn't for someone who reads my site, so I can actually talk about it!

Other projects, not so much.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:16 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Ha, Loqi, I had that same thought last night after I turned off the computer. Oh well, I think all yarnwork is knitting in my head!

Posted by: Sarah at July 02, 2008 02:20 AM (TWet1)

2 What a pretty afghan! That will make a gorgeous gift, Sarah.

Posted by: Guard Wife at July 02, 2008 01:38 PM (ccp31)

3 I bow to your endurance! I am an avid hooker and love to whip through a rare baby blanket on occasion but sc stitch after stitch just ties me in knots! (Have I ever mentioned I have an extremely short attention span? Ooh, pretty butterfly!) I have completed ONE adult 7' x 6' afghan for my honey, after much bullying and begging. It only got finished cause he flew home from his 1st tech school post boot camp for his grannies funeral. I did it for granny. Happy knitting!

Posted by: darla at July 02, 2008 05:08 PM (tIKcE)

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I've been feeling pretty mopey they last few days. No real reason, just bummed. I had this exchange with my husband yesterday:

Sarah: I'm feeling kinda down. I've been listening to The Cure a lot lately.
Husband: Oh God! Don't do that!

His exclamation was too funny; he knew right away what listening to too much Robert Smith can do to your head.

I also had a dream last night where I was trying to find a date for prom. Every boy I ever had the hots for in my life made an appearance in the dream, and every single one of them rejected me for a date. I think that says a lot about what's going on somewhere in my subconscious too.

My bio of George Washington wasn't doing much for me either way, so I left him right as the Revolution was starting and switched books. I was given a book called Stolen Angels at the miscarriage support meeting, so I thought I'd give that a try. And while I was heartened to find that many of the stories had elements that were similar to mine, I found myself coming away from the book armed with knowledge I didn't want to have. I found myself daydreaming stuff like, "When the next baby dies, I will do X differently." Not exactly positive thinking. So I set that book aside for a while too.

I picked up A Short History of Nearly Everything, and a wave of peace rushed over me. I had forgotten how calming it is to read about the universe. How much it puts my hill of beans in perspective. How much comfort Sagan's cosmic calendar brings to me.

I read this paragraph with wonderment:

Not only have you been lucky enough to be attached since time immemorial to a favored evolutionary line, but you you have also been extremely - make that miraculously - fortunate in your personal ancestry. Consider the fact that for 3.8 billion years, a period of time older than the Earth's mountains and rivers and oceans, every one of your forebears on both sides has been attractive enough to find a mate, healthy enough to reproduce, and sufficiently blessed by fate and circumstances to live long enough to do so. Not one of your pertinent ancestors was squashed, devoured, drowned, starved, stranded, stuck fast, untimely wounded, or otherwise deflected from its life's quest of delivering a tiny charge of genetic material to the right partner at the right moment in order to perpetuate the only possible sequence of hereditary combinations that could result - eventually, astoundingly, and all too briefly - in you.

I want to participate in "life's quest of delivering a tiny charge of genetic material" too. But today I'm centered enough to realize that it's miracle enough that I'm even here, and that my desires are tiny on the scale of the cosmos.

And no more The Cure for a while.

Posted by: Sarah at 05:24 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 Very cool quote. Talk about things that put your whole existence into perspective. I never thought about my life quite like that, but had been on the cusp of a similar idea just like that before. Weird, but that was a "pick me up" quote a little. How can I be sad (because the last few days I've been pretty down too) when someone tells me how miraculous it is that I even exist? Nice one.

Posted by: Sara at July 01, 2008 06:17 AM (SZeN8)

2 Love the quote. Boiled down to my rural upbringing, "A lid for every pot..." So funny you mentioned the Cure. I listened to them last night in the last leg of my walk. Maybe that's why all my muscles feel mopey today??

Posted by: Guard Wife at July 01, 2008 06:26 AM (lougU)

3 So The Cure...wasn't? Sorry, just had to.

Posted by: tim at July 01, 2008 07:11 AM (nno0f)

4 That's an awesome quote, I really like that. I'll have to check out that book.

Posted by: loquita at July 01, 2008 02:23 PM (X0NT2)

5 Ha! Yeah, I'd definitely stay away from Morrissey as well. I love that quote. You sound like me. I always have 4-5 books going at once, depending on my current mood. Sounds like you're recovering well. That's good to see.

Posted by: Tonya at July 02, 2008 06:09 AM (KV0YP)

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I babysat this afternoon for my neighbor's 7 year old daughter. While I was there, I taught her to knit. And the most wonderful words came out of her mouth: "This is more fun than playing with my Nintendo DS!" Ahhh, heavenly.

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I heard this Wesley Clark clip on the radio today, and it was so stunning I actually turned to the radio with this face.

Schieffer: How can you say that John McCain is untested and untried? General?

Clark: Because in the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk. It's a matter of gauging your opponents, and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in Air- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, 'I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle it publicly.' He hasn't made those calls, Bob.

Seriously. Upside down face.

Posted by: Sarah at 10:50 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Yesterday I found a clip of Dennis Miller going off on Obama. I went to YouTube and have been happily watching tons of Dennis Miller clips, including his appearance on Politically Incorrect. I then stumbled upon Penn Jillette's appearance on the same show. That one just twisted my gut into knots. I wanted to jump through the space-time continuum to argue against the moronic things that Nia Long was saying. They're talking about selling donor eggs from models, which apparently people wanted to buy so they could have beautiful children. (My thoughts: It's a waste of your money, but you have a right to waste your money.) It then became a debate on whether we should interfere at all in the reproductive process or if it's all part of God's plan. And Bill Maher says:

Here's a question then: Why does everyone have to spawn? Why can't the people who can't do that just take a hint?

To which Nia Long nods her head and says, "Right." Thankfully, my buddy Penn Jillette counters, saying that if science can help people, it should.

Do I even have to tell you what it does to my heart to hear someone say that if I can't reproduce, I should "take a hint"?

The debate later turns to making a law that people should not be allowed to get married until they're 26. A law. Seriously. The rationale is that people aren't mature enough to be married before that.

To quote AWTM, "Can I just tell you..."

I met my husband when he had just turned 19, and we got married a few months shy of his 22 birthday. By the time he was 24, he was already leading a platoon of men in combat in Iraq. Not mature enough? Please. He's got more maturity now at 27 than some 40 year olds I know.

The whole show was just a train wreck. I imagine Penn Jillette was just shaking his head after it was over, wondering how he ended up in a room of people who want to regulate who can donate eggs, what factors you can use to determine which eggs you want, how much science you can have in your life, and at what age you can get married. I can't believe he stayed as calm as he did.

Dang, that'll teach me to look for funny clips on YouTube. I'm a bundle of horrified nerves after that show!

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