Proletarian

Monday, March 28, 2005

Blessed Sunshine

Oh, today was just a marvelous day. For a change, it was sunny and warm outside, and DD and I had some real good time outside.

The morning was busy today, filled with time split between the computer and housework. With everything going on in Florida, I've been logging on frequently to check the news, not to mention that I have a number of blogs to read. After I ran through some of my internet business, I moved myself off into the bedroom to listen to the radio and fold laundry. For me, folding clothes is right up there with cleaning between the tines of dinner forks. It's basically an odd form of torture. *laughs* I have found ways to make it easier though, sometimes even enjoyable. That is why I listen to the radio. I time my laundry just right so I can be folding while I listen to my favorite Christian radio show. I also clean up my room and dust everything while I am in there, so I at least have things getting done while I listen to the first portion of the show (it's 4 hours long, total).

This afternoon, I decided that I was going to bake some bread. I used the recipe that I had in my lovely old cookbook that I snitched from DH. Anyway, I used a packet of yeast that I had in my cupboard. Unfortunately, I think that it was too old. When I pulled my bread out of the oven, it was flat and heavy. *pouts* Bummer. I was looking forward to some fluffy goodness.

On the upside, I took DD and Skippy for a walk today, around the neighborhood. I learned that the dog really pulls, and that my sleeve has plenty of room for half of DD's arm. lol The wind was blowing a lot, and was pretty cold. So, she and I held hands inside my sleeve, to keep our hands warm. The three of us walked for a half hour, just wandering around and checking things out.

After coming home and getting some more housework done, I went out to the garage today and pulled out DD's "Little Mermaid" bike. Since it had warmed up so much, I took her bike out to the front sidewalk, and we had a "learning how to pedal all over again" lesson. DD has difficulties moving her feet and steering at the same time. Yes, she is as graceful as her mother. lol DD did finally get a bit better at riding her bike, and then the neighbor kids came out. Now, DD and I hadn't met these neighbors yet. They live two doors down, and we moved in when it was getting pretty cold outside. So, we all introduced ourselves, and then the children had loads of fun playing together. There was some driving of a toy jeep, sword play, ball bouncing, and drawing with sidewalk chalk. I think it was a success, as far as meeting new friends and getting along goes.

Dinner was interesting, since I had been out playing with DD, instead of cooking. So, when DH came home, all I had to offer was some flat bread. lol But, dinner was in the process, so I just hurried up and finished up. We had grilled chicken, corn, peas, and mashed potatoes. Yummy! I have to say that I am exhausted. I think it was the kids. They just wore me out. With the walking and the running behind the battery-powered jeep, I'm bushed. DH actually asked me if anything was wrong, because I was sitting at the table after dinner, with my head on the table. *laughs* I could have fallen asleep right there.

DH went to the video store tonight, and rented us some movies. I have "Vanity Fair" to watch, so that should be interesting. He got his usual 'silly' movie, and DD has another scooby flick. She really likes Scooby now, and makes me sing the theme song with her every so often.

*slumps and snores from over the keyboard*

Posted at 09:01 pm by Jenna
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Delving Into Decisions: Another Attack on Tom DeLay

In a recent article posted to Yahoo news, provided by the Associated Press, Tom DeLay is being attacked for participating in the decision to take his father off of life support after he suffered an accident that left him with a brain hemorage and severe organ damage.

Here are some exerpts taken from the article:

"DeLay had just been re-elected to his third term in Congress in 1988 when his father, Charles DeLay, was severely injured in an accident. As the elder DeLay's vital organs began failing, the family chose not to connect him to a dialysis machine or take other measures to prolong his life, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday, citing court documents, medical records and interviews with family members."

"She[DeLay's Mother] called comparisons between her husband's case and that of Schiavo "interesting" but said she agrees with her son that Schiavo might have a chance of recovering if her feeding tube were reinserted. "

**emphasis mine

What I find so interesting is that the entire tone of the article points at Tom DeLay in a negative manner, insinuating that he is being some sort of hypcrite for championing Terri Schiavo while having agreed with his family's decision to end life support for his father. However, it was documented and even mentioned in the article that DeLay's father was in a state of dying, that his body functions were failing.

That aside, I still have to challenge the idea that the reason why Terri should be given the chance to live is that she has a chance of recovery. I see it as a bonus that documentation shows that she has made partial improvement in the past, and stands a chance of recovering more if given proper therapy. However, that has nothing to do with my stand on the validity and precious nature of Terri's life. She deserves to live, because she lives. By now, I am sure that those who care to honestly research the whole situation know that Terri was not in a state of dying. She simply needs help in feeding herself, whether through tube feeding or by spoon. It makes no sense to me to put Terri's situation on par with those of a person who is in a state of dying, and is hooked up to machines to perform body functions (respirators, for example). It is not a logical parallel to me.

Posted at 03:41 pm by Jenna
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Mother Arrested: Abortion News

LEADER EXCLUSIVE: Mother arrested for attempting to intervene in her 14-year old's decision to have abortion

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

By Joyce Morrison, Southern IL News Correspondent

Source Article @ The Illinois Leader

For legal reasons, the names of the family and the 14-year old girl that are the subject of this story have been withheld at this time.

GRANITE CITY - A Sothern Illinois woman was arrested last week (March 17) after trying to intervene on behalf of her 14-year old daughter's effort to have an abortion. The girl was allegedly taken to an abortion clinic by the mother of the man allegedly to have impregnated the 14-year old.

According to the girl's mother, her 14-year old daughter was called off from school in Madison County by a woman posing as the girl's “grandmother.” The woman took the girl from her home only minutes before the girl’s mother returned home from work.

It was later determined that the woman who had posed as the "grandmother" to the school authorities was the mother of the male who had fathered the unborn child the 14-year old girl was carrying. The age of the male has not been released.

When the parents were notified their pregnant daughter was not at school, they suspected she had been taken to the Hope Abortion Clinic in Granite City. The parents and grandfather were the only persons authorized to request school absence for the fourteen year old female.

“My husband and I rushed to the abortion clinic where we saw our daughter’s name on the roster and the time she had checked in,” the mother said. She then went into the clinic and searched a room filled with young women awaiting abortions but did not see her daughter.

She took a seat near the main desk and said, “I was told I could not prove my daughter was there so I began calling her name. A medical tech at the clinic told me , ‘It’s your daughter’s rights, it’s her body. You have no rights.’”

After continuing to call out her daughter’s name and telling her “don’t do it,” authorities were called and the mother was arrested.

The 14-year old told her mother she could hear her but when she asked employees to give her mother a message, they came back to the room and told her that her mother had left.

Angela Michaels, of Small Victories Ministry, was tipped off as to what was happending at the Hope clinic. According to Michaels, she witnessed police placing the mother’s hands behind her back, taking her into custody. As the police were putting the mother in the squad car, she was crying out, “Please, please, help me...my daughter is in there.”

Michaels said, “Exactly one hour later at 10:35 a.m., the 14-year old emerged from the clinic looking disheveled. The 14-year old told us that employees kept her in a quiet room until the procedure was performed and she was told that her mother had left.”

Employees assured this girl on her departure, “No-one will ever know you were here, we’ll bury your records.”

In the meantime, the woman who had taken the girl for the abortion was slipped out the back door of the clinic.

The police in the community in which the family lives allegedly told the girl's mom that they couldn't intervene despite her making a charge that her daughter had been raped (by statute) because the charge was stale--7 weeks after the incident. They did tell the girl's mom that, while she had no right to stop the abortion, she did have a right to go into the clinic and speak to her daughter.

The parents are expected to file charges.

Posted at 12:46 pm by Jenna
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"Babies Do Fine When Mom Works"

This article caught my eye today, as I was perusing the news. Below, are some of the statements made in the article that were of interest to me.

"Working moms in the study did spend less time overall with their young children than mothers who did not work outside the home. But they tended to make up for lost time on their off days at the expense of other activities like housework."

"When they examined two 24-hour time periods that included one workday and one nonworking day for the moms with outside jobs, the researchers found that stay-at-home moms only spent about an hour and a half more with their young child than working moms."

[Quotes from Source Article @ Fox News]

As I read through the article, I realized that they were indeed speaking only of very young children. I think that there is a danger in fuzzing right over that, being that many working moms may feel that what has worked in the past for their infant may still work when the child is a bit older.

I would say that the study was less than fair, because they did not compare a true stay-at-home mom and working mother. No, they compared a working mom, and a mom on her day off from work. That definitely does not give a good representation between the differences in time and care.

Posted at 10:33 am by Jenna
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