Passionate Reprieve

My Baby Sister

2006-12-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

Those of you who have read my and/or my husband's blog(s) have probably gotten a pretty good idea of what I am like. I amuse my loved ones. I can be very serious when it is called for; I ususally have strong words for subjects about which I am passionate, and I can be a real pain in the ass upon occassion. This is not unlike you, I presume. However, I just finished a phone conversation with my little sister. I don't get to talk to her as much as I would like, but today's conversation just epitomized her for me. It makes me realize just how true the "came by it natural" phrase is in our family.

My little sis has severe juvenile diabetes. All her life, it has been difficult to keep everything under control. I have seen her go blind from her levels being too high, but more often I have seen her go into "insulin shock." This is what happens when her glucose (sugar) levels go to low. It is a terrifying thing to witness. It's even worse to experience, or so she tells me. Thankfully, she has not had an episode in over 5 years. Until today, that is. She, like many of the people in my family, has an over-active work ethic (a relatively new development on her part). She sometimes pushes herself too hard. Once the EMTs brought her out of the woods, her first words were, "Grab the garnish for my chowder. It's burning." (She is an assistant chef of some sort. I'm not exactly sure what her current title is.) Her co-worker apparently replied, "Well, she's feeling better."

That isn't the part that really hits home for me though. It was my sister's account of what happened next that just had me in stitches.

"Well," she says to me, "first the paramedic was checking my respnosiveness. He asked me if I knew where I was. When I told him, 'yes,' he says, 'where?' I told him, 'Just like I tell everyone else, Hell. I'm at work, so I must be in Hell.' Then he starts telling me that I'd be cold and that I needed to drink juice and, etc. etc. etc. I told him that I was sick, not stupid. I have had this disease for over 25 years (since she was 2). They wanted me to eat a sandwhich to bring my sugar up, so they brought me a cheese sandwhich made of sourdough with the cheese over 1/2 inch thick."

"Okay," I say. "Wasn't your mouth already dry from the insulin shock episode?"

"Yep"

"So, you were effectively eating a glue sandwich."

"Pretty much!"

She goes on to tell me that they were putting I.V.s in her arm, but that they kept jabbing her. She said to them, "Christ, just let me do it. I've had 3 years of nursing school; I can guess just as well as you can."

Well, I am just laughing my butt off.

"Then," she says, "they can't get my fingers to bleed. So I have to take the stick from them and punch my own finger. I have 2 I.V.s in one arm and a sandwich in the other, but I stuck my own finger."

All of this is humorous ... every bit of it. But, not one single thing was surprising to me. That is just the way we are.

Barnes and Noble University is closed

2006-11-28T13:58:00.000-08:00

Okay. I have to admit that I didn't even know Barnes and Noble University existed until my best friend pointed it out. After she did, however, I took 2 classes that I really enjoyed. As soon as I finished these 2 courses, however, I received an email that said that it was changing from BNU to BNBC (book club). The book club idea is fine, they already offered several of those. But, I also took a writing course that was loads of fun. And, the great thing about BNU? All the classes were free. All you had to do was pay for the texts that you needed. Often you could simply get them from the library and have no cost at all. Now there are no classes, just book clubs (or reading groups). The classes that were offered varied from literature and writing to psychology, religion, science, history, etc.

Ah, well. Does anyone, who may possibly be reading this, know of anyother online source that offers free classes like that?

Barnes and Noble University is closed

2006-11-28T13:57:00.000-08:00

Barnes and Noble University is closed

2006-11-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

There were even fewer of me before I got married

2006-10-24T02:58:00.000-07:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
16
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Not many of me

2006-10-24T02:49:00.000-07:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
80
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Superman is gay, and I'm a Vampire. So what?

2006-06-22T17:24:00.000-07:00

Superman is gay? Now, let's get serious.

Really. What is all this about? Why is one of the week's hot topics on Headline News about Superman being gay? My husband and I actually talked about this a little because I really wanted to know, "What?" and "Who cares?"

When I asked, my husband told me that part of this idea comes from the possibility that the gay community identifies with Superman. The principle he described is one that he read about in Superheroes and Philosophy. Superman was the first true superhero. All others were "based" around him, or at least the basic ideas he represented. However, Superman has always been different from other superheroes in one important aspect. Clark Kent is the "alter ego," who he becomes. Superman, the hero, is his who he was born as. That isn't true for others. Spiderman was born as Peter Parker. Batman was born as Bruce Wayne. Superman can only be truly himself under the right conditions. That, for so long, has been the way of life for the homosexual community.

Okay, that makes sense. That still doesn't mean that Superman is gay. And, what if he was?

All people identify with at least one hero. Heroes are necessary for personal and societal survival. People need to be able to identify with someone that others (often publically) look up to. We look for aspects it these people that we also see, or want to see, in ourselves. These idols can range anywhere from Superman (superhero), the Punisher (anti-hero/vigilante), or the 9-11 rescuers (real-life heroes). That is why we each like certain movies, books, television shows, or even musicians. We identify with characters or characteristics. That may also be why we dislike some of those same types of things.

Take me for example. I have always been one of more eclectic tastes. I am also quite liberally minded. I was always, as my husband tells me, more gothic than those around me. (And, by gothic I don't mean stapling my face, spiking my hair, and wearing flour-white makeup.) I never quite fit in anywhere, but I tried. In high school, my brother told me that one of his friends said to him, and I quote, "You know your sister is pretty nice, but she's a little too weird."

From the time I was a small child, I read all the time. I still do. I found intersting some things that my family and friends found morbid. So, to keep everyone from worrying and trying to fit me for a straight jacket, I only indulged in those interests when I was alone. I would watch the 1:00 am showings of Friday the 13th: The Series, Poltergeist: The Legacy, etc. Just a few months ago, my mother asked me, while laughing, if I remembered that I read about vampires and that kind of stuff when I was a kid. .... You can tell my mom hasn't really looked at my shelves in a long time. I have an entire shelf of books focused on vampires, faeries, werewolves, etc.

When I got to college, however, I met people that held interests the same as my own. I was even introduced to more things in the same genre that I still enjoy to this day.

So, what did I do? I became a teacher and moved to the Bible belt. In public, I have to hide many of my interests, at least the "unusual" ones. I even have to be careful about disclosing my religious and political views. After all, I don't want parents or community members to think I would be a poor influence on their children because I think differently than they do.

So, I still identify with the vampires. I have tastes that some consider morbid. (I have always been intrigued by abnormal psychology. I even minored in psych in college. So, now I find serial killers fascinating.) I feel that I have to hide my true colors (fangs) from so many people. And, the people that I can be myself around are few and far between. If there are more around here, I don't know about them becuase they are keeping quiet too.

So .... Superman is gay, and I'm a Vampire. So what?

A Bite to Remember: A Review

2006-06-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

A Bite to Remember
by Lynsay Sands

Once again Lynsay Sands tempts, thrills and humors us with her fifth book in the Argeneau vampire series.

After having seen to it that her children were happily involved with their "true life mates," Marguerite Argeneau travels to California to concentrate on her nephew, Vincent. She is afraid that after 400 years Vincent is beginning to become unhappy and bored with life, and that is never a good thing whether you are human or vampire.

Vincent, however, already has a full plate when his aunt arrives. He is rapt in trying to find out who is sabotaging his company and hurting his employees. He has even gone so far as to hire Jackie Morrisey, a private investigator recommended by Bastien, his cousin and Marguerite's son.

Soon this live-alone bachelor has a house full of people who are in pursuit and/or victims of this stalker whose crimes are escalating by the minute. The problem is Vincent is a pretty laid back guy who has never purposely hurt anyone in his very long life. He has no idea who could be doing these things or why.

To make things more complicated, his aunt has her cunningly sharp eyes on the way he and Jackie interact all while she is making friends with Jackie's gigantic assistant, Tiny. Jackie has a bad history with vamps, and Vincent is trying to keep his loving aunt from playing matchmaker with him as she has done with all her children, not that any of them are complaining ... now. However, Vincent just can't seem to forget how he really likes this girl - even when she is being bossy and rude.

*****************************************

This heartfelt, witty, romantic-fantasy/horror(?) mystery has something that pretty much any reader would like. (As if you couldn't tell by that description.)

Whether you are a fan of fantasy or realistic fiction, who can't sympathize with a relative, especially an older one, butting into your personal life, even if it is simply to give advice, because they love you and think it is for your best interest? Marguerite Argeneau loves her family deeply and wants her "youngsters" to learn from her and have happy lives. A long life will seem even longer if it is unhappy.

The characterisation is probably my favorite aspect of these books. They are very real. Not everyone is the perfect size or shape. No one is an absolute jerk; if they are they have a good reason. And, some of the lines she gives to these characters keep me in stitches for hours.

For the romance lover, yes, there is some sex, lots of sexual tension and plenty of (gasp) real romance. It is almost impossible to find a vampire story without sex, but the sex in this one is nowhere near the focal point of the story. It is also part of the logical outcome of true romance and affection.

Fantasy and horror lovers will like this book (and series) if they aren't purists. I, for one, love the concept. Vampires are .... da da dat daaa ... Atlantians. Well, the oldest ones are. They escaped before the destruction. It is a really interesting concept.

And, all of these books have the element of mystery. The opportunity to figure out "who done it" is always a plus for me.

I adore this series of Sands' books. I haven't read her other series, but if her characters are like those in the Argeneau series, I am sure I would enjoy them as well.

********************************************

The titles in this series are: (by publication thus far)
Single White Vampire
Love Bites
Tall, Dark, and Hungry
A Quick Bite
A Bite to Remember

Curious about the future of these characters and books?
A quote from Sands' blog, http://spaces.msn.com/members/lynsaysands, says:

"...The right order should actually be A Quick Bite (Lissianna’s book) then Love Bites (Etienne’s book) then Single White Vampire (Lucern’s story) then Tall, Dark and Hungry (Bastien’s story) They were printed out of order, but should be in order from now on. Vincent’s story - A Bite To Remember - is the next one out, then Uncle Lucian’s story which I think they’ve changed the title to Bite Me If You Can. I’m working on Victor’s story now and hope to do Marguerite’s after, though you just never know with these guys."

I M R2

2006-05-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know it has been quite a while. Things have been really hectic at my school. I mean everything from racially charged outrage to dissension in the ranks. The year is almost over now, and I hope things will calm down and the papers will have better things to write about.

Anywho ... here is my Starwars Personality Profile. I laughed when I saw the result.

Artoo
You scored 62% airiness, 47% squishiness, and 47% edginess!

According to our patented Jawamatic^TM technology, you are most like Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) in personality

Artoo, being an astromech droid, favours technical challenges. He's quick-witted and, when called upon, can come up with creative solutions to difficult, complex problems. Artoo is logical, flexible, and ideas-driven.

Artoo is, in a word, eccentric.

(The polar opposite of Artoo-Detoo is See-Threepio.)

The eight profiles are as follows:

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 65% on airiness

You scored higher than 28% on squishiness

You scored higher than 51% on edginess

Link: The Star Wars Personality Test written by MiguelSanchez on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Too good to be true

2006-04-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well, folks ....

Just when I thought that progress was being made, the religious reich and ignorant fearful win out.

Well.... They've gained a temporary victory anyway.

The actuality of this fiasco was pointed out to me by my husband. It seems to be that the BoE gave in to their "community that voted for them" so that they will vote for them again in the upcoming election. When this entire thing is pushed to court (which, in all honesty, it should be) and costs the tax payers massive money (no matter what their view of this issue), the law is the law. The BoE gets re-elected. The GSA gets to have their club. And, the BoE gets to claim to their "community" that they tried and tried their best, but that their hands were tied by the law.

My best friend put it most succinctly when she said, "They are clouding the issue with the issue." The club has the right to exist. Period. The point is not whether or not homosexuality is morally right or wrong. That battle will never be won. And, the BoE has no right to even attempt to make that call. The rules are very clear. The principal has said that the club has not disrupted the learning environment. No matter what Mr. Shuping thinks, he doesn't get to define terms so that they fit his fancy.

You can read about the original ruling referred to in my last post.
Here are the things I have been sent since then:

http://www.salisburypost.com/area/367522152471958.php

http://www.salisburypost.com/area/341535198049430.php

http://www.onlinegreensboro.com/~matthillnc/?p=827

Teenagers and Tolerance

2006-03-29T16:46:00.000-08:00

This was an interesting article. Tolerance among (1) teens in (2) the Bible belt for (3) homo- and bi-sexuals? I hope it takes. Look at some of the other attitudes in the area.

http://www.salisburypost.com/area/307178487782771.php

Review of Micah

2006-03-12T17:01:00.000-08:00

Laurell K. Hamilton fans, listen up.

After 2 years of waiting for the next Anita Blake installation, we get a double dose this year. Micah was released on Feb. 28, 2006; and Danse Macabre will be here in June.

Some are calling it a novella. Some are calling it The 13th Anita Blake novel. Whatever it is, at approximately 1/3 the size of a normal Anita Black volume, you will find quite a bit of the kick-assery we all know and love about Anita. However, we also get answers to questions that we have all been asking since Micah came into the picture.

We all know that Micah is one of the top men in Anita's life for a variety of reasons, but we know more about the past of the twins, Stephen and Gregory, than Micah. That is all about to change. Micah is okay sharing Anita and would do anything to keep her in his life. He said as much right after meeting her. Wanna know why? Read the book.

Yes, there is a sex session. Would you expect anything less? But, it is more emotionally charged than some of her more recent ... um ... trists.

Overall, I like the story. It is worth the time and money for a true Anita fan.

Pricing varies. The only place I have found a hardback copy (for we geeks who have the entire series in hardback already) is the Science Fiction Book Club. It will cost you $10.00 or so. Is it worth it? That depends on your level of committment. Other than that I have only been able to find paperbacks. The costs range from $4.88 (Walmart) to $7.99 (cover price). Of course, as an English teacher and avid reader, I also always recommend the public library.

I guess I'm a Rebel too :)

2006-03-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

You scored as Serenity (Firefly). You like to live your own way and donâ??t enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you.

Serenity (Firefly)

100%

Deep Space Nine (Star Trek)

81%

Moya (Farscape)

75%

Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)

75%

Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)

63%

SG-1 (Stargate)

56%

Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica)

56%

FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files)

50%

Bebop (Cowboy Bebop)

44%

Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)

44%

Enterprise D (Star Trek)

38%

Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)

31%

Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com

Little girls grow up, daddies grow older

2006-02-20T16:27:00.000-08:00

Five years old, blonde and bright-eyed
She giggles as he makes silly faces
And raises her high above his head.
Twenty-four and a father of three,
He smiles at his bouncing children,
Two girls with a boy sandwiched in between.

At the age of ten she's smart as can be
And just as stubborn as her dad.
They butt heads a little, but she has yet
to find her voice, her place, her passion.
He is proud of her, more than she can know;
He also worries but tries not to let it show.

She is 22 and he is 41 as he walks her down the aisle.
This is a day he knew would come
He said, "Her mother and I do."
She kissed him on the cheek;
And as another man took her hand
A woman stood where his little girl had been.

He is 48. She is 29 and doesn't know what to do.
Her father has always been so strong.
Through sunny days and cold, dark nights
Times were tough. He was tougher.
Here comes the invader, a scourge of human kind
The same one that took her granddad when she was less than 9.

He is fighting, and he is winning
But, it is a battle hard fought
He is burned and hurting.
He has aged a decade in less than a year
Her head knows everything is fine
Her heart, however, is filled with fear.

Dumbledore alive, Snape not evil

2006-01-31T15:15:00.000-08:00

Okay. We have been "discussing" this issue with some of our friends since vacation this summer.

It's long, but read www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com. It is several pages long, but worth the read for hard-core fans.

Make sure you click on the "clues" pages at the bottoms.

Love it. Love the pics.

My Husband

2006-01-29T08:03:00.000-08:00

I want to clarify something about my last post. My husband (Coralius) is not wonderful because he is taking on himself a domestic burden of mine. He is trying to take care of me, to help me take care of myself. He is wonderful because he loves me. Because I love him. Because no one else will ever understand me the way he does (albeit he says HE doesn't understand me sometimes). Because we share a mutual respect. Because of a million different things that I could never completely list or explain. Because of a thousand things I'm not sure I understand myself.

(Yes, yes I am an English teacher, and I have written mostly in sentence fragments. It is a writing style. Stream of consciousness - look it up.)

His post, I Don’t Have the Words, talks about me, him, us, and emotion itself. It is exactly how I feel about him as well. I don't think I could have ever said it better. Yes, I know I can be frustrating, although it bothers me that I am. And, yes, he can be a jerk sometimes, although he hates it too. But, to me that just makes our relationship that much better, stronger. One may ask, "Huh?"

A. It means we are honest with each other. When people are truly honest with one another, not all things that are said are full of sunshine and butterflies.

B. It means that we love one another enough to lash out at each other, even when it is unfair. I know that when Coralius gripes at me either 1 - I have done something that I need to fix, or at least work on not doing again, or 2 - he is frustrated with work, tired, sick, or something of that nature and he knows I love him enough to let it go. Face it, we only really ever lash out unfairly at the people we love. They will always forgive us. I do the same thing to him.

C. It means we respect each other. We respect one another enough to be honest about our opinions even when they differ. (This is different than the honesty listed above. You see, one can always be honest with others and not have respect for them or from them. Respect, in my book any way, requires a certain level of honesty.) We listen to one another, even when we disagree. We are not only husband and wife, we are the best of friends.

Couples who never fight or disagree bother me. (And, they do exist.) Do they lack respect for one another? Why aren't they more honest with each other, even if they can't be honest with other people? If that is the case, what is their relationship based on? How long can it last? Are they so alike that they don't disagree on anything? Would that not be so totally boring? Coralius and I do agree on most important topics, but we do disagree occassionally. Of all the adjectives I could use to describe our relationship, boring would not be one of them. When I was a teen, somewhere the idea was planted in my head that compatible people didn't fight. I hope that whoever gave me that idea has learned better since then for his/her own sake.

Me? Stressed?

2006-01-28T20:57:00.000-08:00

My wonderful husband told me this morning that he wants me to stop doing house work for a little while. Hmmm.... Most wives would jump up and down for joy. My first reaction? I felt like I was being punished, like I wasn't doing a good enough job, like he was fed up with me. That isn't it; at least I'm pretty sure it isn't.

The truth is that I have not been doing well dealing with the twists and turns of the emotional rollercoaster I have been on as of late. I am extremely stressed, overly stressed one might say. I can't seem to focus on much at all. I can do one, maybe two things at a time; but multi-tasking? Not right now. And, my energy is just zapped. By 6pm during the week I can barely function. I have been trying to suppress all this ... stuff so that I can deal with those things that can't wait. I am a teacher; and, no matter how I feel, the students will come and so will the tests. The problem with suppression is that the stress or issue really doesn't go anywhere. You still have to take time to deal with it. I have been trying to ignore it, and it's not working well.

Coralius is trying to lessen my stress levels so that I can deal with this and move on. I love him so much. But, I didn't realize that I was doing such a poor job dealing. In looking back over the past few weeks, I remember him asking me repeatedly, "What's wrong?" and, "Why aren't you smiling anymore?" And, I answered, truthfully I thought, "Nothing." and, "I am." Thank goodness he looks out for me.

Underworld: Evolution -- a review

2006-01-22T13:35:00.000-08:00

Wow. We just walked in from watching Underworld: Evolution, and it was great. Fangs, claws, sex, fur, blood, gore, revenge, deceit, and family ties -- what more could you want?

The movie starts with a flashback that allows true fans an "Aha" moment but poses more questions based on what we "know" from the first movie. The origins of the Corvinus brothers and the ensuing vampire and werewolf races are revealed. Although he isn't seen in many of the previews, Michael Corvin is in the movie, and we learn about his new "condition." Questions that were posed at the end of the last movie are answered, and we are left with questions about what is to come. Will there be a third movie? My guess is that anyone who liked the first movie will really enjoy this one. I could talk about this movie all day, but I would reveal things that I wouldn't want to know prior to watching it. Don't take my word for its worth, however. Go see it and decide for yourself.

By the way, parents, be sure that you want your children to watch this before you purchase the tickets for them. It is rated R for violence and gore, nudity, sexual content, and some language. There is quite a bit more gore this time, and I jumped 10 times more during this one. But, you're watching a movie about a war between vampires and werewolves. What do you expect? In the one real sex scene none of the naughty bits are revealed, but those are the only bits not revealed. This is the closest cut movie sex I have seen in a while. I saw several parents cover children's eyes during this short clip. There are a few breasts revealed later, but very briefly and not in a really "titillating" context.

Being Thankful

2006-01-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

Okay - I started this blog and then took a break. I had some personal issues to deal with, but I am back.

If anyone keeps up with Coralius' blog, you know that back at the beginning of January my cousin was one of the men who died in the Sago Mine in WV. When I was a child and teenager I was very close to him. He and one of my uncles were like brothers. I have always been very close to that uncle too. I live far away from them now, but I still love them. This was a difficult thing to deal with, and I wasn't sure how to write about or share it.

In watching all the media coverage of that tragedy, I wonder how many people paid attention to the climate of that area. And, I don't mean the weather. Journalists repeated many times that to make a decent living in WV you either have to have a college degree or work in the mines. That area of WV, my home, survives mostly on the mining and timber industrues. (The mines make more money though because of the risk factor.)

My father worked in the timber industry, which can be described as seasonal depending upon which part of the lumber production industry you work in. However, we raised and butchered our own livestock, we raised a garden, we harvested fruit, etc. I learned to can and freeze food as a child.

My parents were determined that we all (my siblings and I) receive a college education. They worked hard to give us that opportunity, one that was not afforded to them when they were young. Our children will, hopefully, never have to know how to butcher an animal or preserve fruit in order to survive.

My life wasn't nearly as easy as those of some of my friends, but we always had what we needed; and we always had each other. We always had love. And, for so much, I am thankful.

I am so thankful. (Not to any deity in particular or at all)

I am thankful that I DID have to work when I was growing up. This taught me to take pride in a hard days work and the rewards that come with it. It taught me to appreciate things that I have.
I am thankful that I had to work to put myself through college. I can truly say that I did it on my own. I earned scholarships and worked various part-time jobs. Other than the occassional gas money to come pick me up, my college education was not placed on my parents' shoulders.

I am thankful that my parents instilled in me the value of an education and encouraged my desire to read and learn. I learned that the imagination is a wonderful place to visit and has so much to offer. I learned the beauty and power of words.

I am thankful that my parents taught me the values of people and family and history and heritage. Without knowing where you come from, you truly cannot know where you need to go. Without respecting what and who brought you forth, you cannot appreciate what it took to get you here and what you, yourself, are capable of.

I am thankful that I have a husband who respects me as a person, trusts my judgement, believes in my intelligence and capabilities, and values my opinions. Without him I would have never learned that it is important to take care of myself first -- that if I don't take care of me I cannot care for others.

I am thankful that I have a brother and sister that I love and love me. I can depend on and trust them. We grew up not only as siblings but as friends. I am thankful for my brother's wife and son who have brought happiness and love into all our lives. I am thankful for my sister's fiance who was my friend before he was hers.

I am thankful for the in-laws that love me as though I were their own and have accepted me lovingly into their family.

I am thankful that I have friends with whom I can be honest, even when we don't agree, and they will always love and respect me.

I am thankful for the education I received. This will help me on my journey to be more than what I am. This will help me give more to our children.

Without these factors in my life I would be a different person. And, contrary to a decade ago, I like who I am. I am not perfect, and I have bad days. But, I do the best I can; and that is pretty darn good.

I am thankful that my father's doctors are confident that his cancer can be "cured" with radiation and chemotherapy. It won't be pretty, but it is better than it could have been.

There are still things that I (we) want: a bigger house, less(no) debt, more education, more time with loved ones, and, most of all, a family. These are life goals that we have yet to achieve, but for all that we already have --I am truly thankful.

My nerd score

2006-01-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

Freedom or "Patriotism"? Why must we choose?

2005-12-31T09:21:00.000-08:00

Well, the U.S. Congress has not yet permanently signed us over into a dictatorship. They have allowed 5 more weeks of the Patriot Act so that the civil liberties of our country can be reviewed and determine whether or not this act infringes upon them needlessly. Bush is asking that it be instated permanently.

I understand the push to fight terrorists. I really do. But, this goes directly against what the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is set up to protect us from. Without this law having been put in place so long ago to protect us, the citizens of the United States of America, we would be subject to being treated like citizens of any other "police state" - you know, those guys we fight against and condemn for their political and social practices.

Conservatives, take this into account, if this passes potential terrorists will not be the only people who are infringed upon. This gives the federal government the power "to conduct secret searches, obtain private records, intercept telephone calls, among other activities, to hunt for suspected terrorists." This means anyone's privacy can be disregarded-even yours.

Oh, and to those who support racial profiling, this is only the first step. It wouldn't take much at all for those in charge to think, Hmm.... Not all terrorists are dark-skinned or from other countries. We have had our own internal terrorist incidents in the past. You now say that if these people who are being profiled have nothing to hide, then they shouldn't mind. They should understand the situation and just deal with it. I kind of doubt that you will be so kind when you are being cavity searched and your belongings being pulled out for all the world to see. Your support of things like these will only allow that we, as a nation, have fewer freedoms.

People have to fight for freedom. Blood has to be shed. EVERYTIME. Many who supported the Patriot Act in the beginning were heard saying something like, "It's temporary, and it is for our own protection." Well, Bush now wants to take those freedoms away permanently. Who is now going to have to bleed to get back the freedoms that our forefathers fought, bled and died for us to have? I think those who supported this nonsense should be the first to step up to the plate. What? No takers?

Oh, and you know what else burns my ass? (And, maybe this should be a completely different post.) The fact that people keep telling me that if I am not patriotic or if I don't like the way the country is right now that maybe I should leave. Now maybe, as a teacher, I should not be upset with the ignorant. That, after all, is a correctable condition. But, for goodness' sake: shut up and listen upon ocassion, pick up (and read) a G.D. history book before you rattle off at the head, and, oh yeah, BITE ME.

1. Don't call me unpatriotic when you "patriotic" types are making a mockery of what our ancestors, or forebearers at least, sacrificed for. The founders of our nation were tired of being forced to support and worship a religion they did not want or believe. They came here, many loved ones dying along the way, for a fresh start.

2. That leads me to separation of church and state. That is another thing that is CLEARLY set up in our founding documents. (The reason? See #1 for simplified explanation.) And, now to be dubbed "patriotic" you have to support legislation that is clearly and blatantly UN-Constitutional. How the hell does that work?

3. I have been told that my issue in #2 is unfounded because our country is based on Christian values. Bullshit. Thomas Jefferson, the guy who wrote the Declaration of Independence, 3rd president of our great nation, was a deist. He wrote the bill establishing religious freedom that was enacted in 1786. Today we would probably call him an agnostic. Deists believed in a god, but were not necessarily convinced that it was the Christian god -- or that there was more than one god at all. It was kind of a "great clockmaker" idea at the time, at least as I have been able to find. It is believed that many of our founding fathers were of this stint due to their beliefs, or lack thereof in Christianity and/or its superiority. (See www.deism.org)
4. As a teacher, and competent human being, this entire ordeal makes me want to cry. I teach literature and writing. My students also take history and science. This movement has made it nearly impossible to help them become independent thinkers who can analyze, explain and logically justify. Or is that the point?
As far as literature and writing are concerned, this new American attitude causes our young adults to not be able to put themselves in the place of others, to see things from another's point of view or to put evidence together in a formal paper to come to a proven logical conclusion. History? Well, that is just shot all to hell isn't it, if teachers are only teaching the parts of history that fit in with what the current religious guidelines approve of? And, science? During a recent class discussion, one of my more liberal seniors, who is usually pretty logical and level-headed, spouted out to me that "party line" nonsense that evolution and ID are both only theories and that one theory is not better than another -- that until one of them became a law, both should be taught on equal footing. Coralius recently had an excellent post on this subject in The Scientific Method In Layman's Terms .
I can only hope that this development is a temporary regression in our intellectual evolution.

Cancerous Invasion -- Support Relay for Life

2005-12-27T21:22:00.000-08:00

The fight against cancer has always been important to me. Several members of both my family and that of my husband have been diagnosed and killed by cancer in its various forms.

I learned about lung cancer when I was 5. My grandfather died of it 2 years later. As I grew up, I learned the hard way about many of the various types of cancer as those I loved were diagnosed and struggled with them. A cousin died of an inoperable brain tumor. A good friend's older brother was bested by leukemia. Those are only the starters. I could needlessly list several more.

Programs like Relay for Life are essential to improving the quality of life for cancer patients and their loved ones. Through these programs research has been conducted and treatments developed that saved my aunt from breast cancer years ago. And, the treatments are only getting better.

Cancer has recently played yet another unfortunate role in my life.

I am a teacher. During the past month, I have been to the funerals of two of my former students. They were both still teenagers. One had leukemia, the other brain tumors. Both had been treated, successfully it had seemed, and then gone into remission only to have the disease come back with a vengence. To this day the count of my students I have seen buried is 7. I have been teaching for less than 10. It really makes one think.

An even more difficult issue deals with my family. Between funerals for students, my father was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx. It was caused by smoking for more than 30 years. Thanks to treatments and technology that have improved greatly since my grandfather's time, my father's oncologist feels sure that he can be successfully treated with radiation and chemotharapy. That process in itself will not be pleasant, but it is a better prognosis than surgery or ....

Support Relay for Life or similar programs. Everyday people need you. This isn't a celebrity benefit, and you won't have some great recognition for contributing. But, every time you hear about a cancer success story, remember that you helped that happen.

Testing...

2005-12-27T18:07:00.000-08:00

This is my first post. It is a test. More later.