Rambles (I'm not gonna lie). However, I confer with the most brilliant minds of Eastern Iowa on a daily basis - and some of their musings are bound to turn up...
Recipe For Success:
"My turkeys always turn out perfectly. I find the key to family holiday success
is buying as much wine as you think you need, and then doubling it."-- Ann,
36, Miami, Ohio
I don't agree with the use of embryos for stem cell research - which, incidentally, has not proven to be effective at all. Embryonic stem cell research is also ethically questionable, making it a hot topic of debate.
I DO agree with the use of adult stem cells in research - the research has proven effective in the treatment of over 45 diseases/conditions.
However, my point is that I don't want to hear anyone saying that GW Bush, or the current administration, has placed a "ban" on stem cell research. Not only is there not a ban, but stem cell research is performed on both adult cells and embryonic cells and federal money funds both .
Here's proof that the federal government funds embryonic stem cell research:
HHS
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of
Health
Fellowships for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Grant http://www.fedgrants.gov/Applicants/HHS/NIH/NIH/PA-05-013/listing.html
I was perusing the cyber-rags during a post-lunch break and came across an article about 80s hero Bob Geldof revamping the Band Aid hit "Do They Know it's Christmas?", which debuts Thursday on the BBC. Artists include such notables as Robbie Williams, Bono, and... Madonna.
"Twenty years ago I performed at Live Aid," Madonna says in the intro. "YouJust last week MSN reported on Madonna's final book in her 5-part illustrated children's series - "Lotsa De Casha". It's about an Italian greyhound who has all the money in the world but no happiness - mirroring Mo's own revolation that "wealth is overrated".
saw me and my generation demanding a change. Once again, here we are twenty
years later and more people die of hunger in Africa than war and AIDS put
together. In a world of plenty, it is hard to imagine that there are African
children going to bed tonight hungry. Bob Geldof and his friends are here to
remind you that none of us can forget. Not ever. Feed the world. I am
honored to introduce Band Aid 20."
Happy 25th Birthday little bro...
Uncle Matt...
Smarty-Pants...
I wrote some things about you last April regarding the positive impact you've had on so many peoples' lives - including mine.
Now, if there are any single women out there in the greater Chicago area looking for a man, Matt is the guy for you!
For more information, enter a comment below... (I crack me up!)
Earlier this week I posed a private query to a few friends and "intellectuals":
Give me a secular defense of traditional (heterosexual) marriage.I've received a few comments, but I don't want to post until others have formulated their final thoughts. I hope to have everything posted by Thanksgiving.
I was reading MSN's Slate and came across an article titled "the Gay Marriage Myth" that makes an interesting point about the extent to which gay marriage played a part in President Bush's re-election:
"...the morality gap didn't decide the election. Voters who cited moral
issues as most important did give their votes overwhelmingly to Bush (80 percent
to 18 percent), and states where voters saw moral issues as important were more
likely to be red ones. But these differences were no greater in 2004 than in
2000. If you're trying to explain why the president's vote share in 2004 is
bigger than his vote share in 2000, values don't help.
"If the morality gap doesn't explain Bush's re-election, what does? A
good part of the answer lies in the terrorism gap. Nationally, 49 percent of
voters said they trusted Bush but not Kerry to handle terrorism; only 31 percent
trusted Kerry but not Bush. This 18-point gap is particularly significant in
that terrorism is strongly tied to vote choice: 99 percent of those who trusted
only Kerry on the issue voted for him, and 97 percent of those who trusted only
Bush voted for him. Terrorism was cited by 19 percent of voters as the most
important issue, and these citizens gave their votes to the president by an even
larger margin than morality voters: 86 percent for Bush, 14 percent for
Kerry."
I attended my very first parent-teacher conference Monday afternoon. I don't know why, but I expected to go in, sit back, and ready myself to receive nothing but celestial praise in regard to my daughter's academic performance.
...didn't happen.
Instead, I was greeted with, "Madeleine is right on track. She's doing as well as can be expected in reading and seems to be excelling in math. Her social skills are finely tuned and I am not worried about her transition into higher levels of education."
Is that all? Where was, "Your child is beyond talented?" Shouldn't I be hearing, "Please talk to our counselor about getting Madeleine involved in the Excelled Learning Program?"
Why was I disappointed? Maybe it's because my friends hold Madeleine in such high regard. Friends like Randy, Jeff, Rachel, Jessica, and many more often label my child as precocious, incredible and genius.
However, it is the case that my daughter is (deep breath)... normal. After submerging myself in the landscape of my ordinary world, I realize that I am absolutely satisfied with normal. In fact, I rue having thought otherwise.
At any rate, the PE teacher came in to my conference, specifically, to laud Madeleine's performance in the gym, as a leader and participant. Wait... Madeleine? Well... I never assumed... are you sure... Maddie?
Phys Ed... Whodda thunk?
Turns out my kid is NOTHING like me! Good for her. I only hope I continue to parent in a way that encourages individuality and respect.
"Separation of church and state state" is a phrase that's possibly too often used without consideration for what it was really designed to protect.
The phrase originated as a means to 1.) eliminate the establishment of a national religion, and 2.) allow the people to practice any religion they choose. Check out http://www.expertlaw.com/library/attyarticles/first_amendment.html#C to check out the meaning of the phrase.
Dubya is a Protestant - that is his system of belief. You have your own system of belief. Your beliefs dictate your actions. Dubya's beliefs dictate his actions. Kerry believed one thing, but did the other - he didn't want to speak for the people. The people spoke - and voted for Bush.
The President is not forcing his beliefs down anyone's throat. He merely made his beliefs known. Props to the guy for staying true and not playing the popularity game.
So... I don't understand why the phrase "separation..." is being slung around so much with Bush when each president has had his own belief system. I mean, he's not telling us his religion is any better than the rest. He's not making us go to his church. He's not asking us to follow the doctrines of his church. He's not asking us to believe what he believes. It's just that his religion happens to encompass some universal moral values of which the interpretation may cause controversy.
The issues of abortion & abstinence education, for example, are really controversial. However, they are not merely issues pertaining to religion. Scientific evidence proves that life begins at conception. And ask the CDC how they feel about abstinence education. Ask Uganda's President Museveni what abstinence education has done to the prevalence of AIDS among his people - a nation that went from 30% incidence/yr to 5%. These aren't religious - they're scientifically collected data used to influence policy for the greater good.
Sometimes "moral values" work. They definitely don't hurt. I wonder if any of the 10 Commandments can be defined as oppressive, or depriving people of their basic human "rights"? I don't think so, but that's my opinion.
To go further on the issue of "hurt": If a woman isn't allowed the option of abortion, she is not "hurt" - and can terminate motherhood by adopting the baby out. But if she was allowed to abort, the baby would surely die. Death is not an ideal way to sustain life. Really, it's a matter of moments & inches that determines whether an act is abortion or murder. I cannot condone the option of abortion based on moments and inches.
Sex causes babies - it's the ONLY physiological function that causes a pregnancy. No sex = no pregnancy. It's simple. If you don't want a pregnancy, don't have sex.
In the absence of abnormalities and disease, our physiological functions strive to complete their missions. The reason pharmaceutical companies can't develop an obesity drug that turns off our hunger signal is because our body has ways to communicate the need for food despite the normal "route". Similarly, birth control is not 100% effective in eliminating the pregnancy signal. Our sexual organs are designed to work like hell in order to get the job done. The man releases hundreds of thousands of sperm in order for a single head to manage its way into the egg. Our design is such that we survive and perpetuate through procreation.
Viruses also procreate. Genital Human Papillomavirus (HPV), is the only cause of Cervical Cancer - a disease that kills more American women each year then AIDS. HPV can be stopped - not by condoms (0% effective in reducing the transmission of the virus), but by abstaining from sexual relations. This information, as well as information about several other sexually transmitted diseases, is why the CDC advises the President to push abstinence education. It has little, if anything, to do with religion.
We are humans and DO have the right to choose. We choose to make decisions based on our needs and goals. I need water; I do not need cola. My basic need, thirst, is fulfilled by water. Sex is not a basic "need". We can choose not to have sex as our bodies will endure without sex. The choice to not have sex is indicative of what separates humans from animals - the ability to reason. I can reasonably deduce that if I don't want to have a baby, I should not have sex. Again, sex is not a basic "human need". Sex is like cola. It's sweet and bubbly, but it can cause a big belly... if ya know what I mean. :)
And although the continuity of the human race depends entirely on the effects of sex, we have the ability to suppress the act of sex until we are ready for a pregnancy (again, entirely different from water as we cannot suppress the act of consumption in order to survive - it's not a choice). In the case of married couples who do not wish to have children, good luck with contraceptives. Some are fairly effective - but know that my daughter was conceived despite the use of a condom. But I digress...
So, um... yeah..."Separation of church and state" is a phrase that's possibly too often used without consideration for what it was really designed to protect.
I have a condition called "foot-in-mouth" disease. Sometimes it's due to lack of careful thought; but, more often than not, it's due to an orchestration of bizarre thoughts in pursuit of a great reaction.
I really enjoy saying bizarre things that draw interesting responses from people. It is SO not my place, but I like for those people to come up with a rational defense to what I say. Sometimes I just like doing it to see a funny expression on the other person's face.
Yeah.... so.... maybe I should stop, because I hurt a LOT of people's feelings over the weekend during a discussion about homosexual marriage. Frankly, I'm not sure which way I swing on the issue, but those with whom I was discussing the issue were pretty far out on the left. In thinking I'd have a little fun, I decided to play the "Extreme Irrational Religious Rightist".
In all sincerity, I have to stop. I know I've gone too far when my games hurt people. That, and nobody will ever take me seriously if and when I do have something important to say.
My daughter went to school today undecided about which way she should vote in the kindergarten election. She's 5. She had 2 adults and a 14 year-old try to convince her that Bush is a killer who takes our money while Kerry stands for peace and giving us all our money back.
Excuse me? There's something very wrong with that description - nevermind the fact that these people came up to Maddie at the park on Sunday and tried to influence her decision. What decision??? Even SHE understands that she has to be 18 to vote!
I'm really glad Maddie has taken such an active interest in this election, but she has a delicate mind. And even though I have my opinions, I want to be sure my little girl gets the whole story... about all the candidates (even Nader).
Kids are prime targets for influence - just ask all your soda manufacturers and cereal advertisers. Kids haven't formed opinions because, well, they don't care. You tell them one thing and they believe it because they were too busy playing tag to do their research. So the crafty "influencers" are now going into the schools telling kids to protect themselves when kids don't even know how to maintain healthy friendships. They are on TV telling kids to "VOTE OR DIE" when many teens haven't enough interest to form an educated opinion - many care more about pleasing their idols by voting as directed:
"Hey Eddie Vedder! I voted for Kerry because I love you and everything
about you! WOO HOO!!!"or
"Hey Alec Baldwin (he threatened to leave the USA if the previous elections didn't go his way - stumping for Gore. He's still here.), please don't go! I'll vote for Kerry if it'll make you stay. I loved you in The Cat in the Hat!"
I am a single mother who finds outstanding joy in ordinary circumstances. I love my daughter more than anything else of this world... and she loves the Beatles. I like to play the devil's advocate - it's a characteristic I inherited from my dad. I don't have any cavities (or fillings) and I only visit the dentist once every 5 years. I have the largest extended family of anyone I know and the coolest grandparents any kid could want. I was adopted and know ALL my parents. I own very little because I know it can all be taken away at any time. I take great solace in washing dishes by hand. I am blessed!
