There are those who are accuse Deomcratic Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan of turning Republican after putting forth the short sighted and discriminatory anti-women’s rights amendment to the health care bill. I disagree. No competent Republican would endorse a bill that would result in such a fiscal time bomb.
Rep. Stupak, you need to reconsider the financial impact of your “cost saving” measure to the health care industry, existing welfare programs and the tax payers, you claim to be protecting. You have failed to consider the costs on society of a single parent and children born into households already unable to afford minimal health care and other necessities of life.
Yes, this would save the government the expense of pre-op examinations, the surgical procedure itself and doctor’s fee for possibly an office check-up afterward. I have heard this could amount to about almost $2000.00 which I, and many single women, could ill afford. So your plan would work in establishing a financial deterrent to abortion. Which you have to admit is the real reason for your drafting this amendment, rather than any real issue over the cost to the government or tax payers.
The result of your success will be the classic unwed mother and her unwanted child living on welfare because someone who cannot afford $2000 for an abortion certainly cannot afford to feed, clothe and properly care for a child. So it is the government and the tax payers who will make up the deficit.
We will pay for months of pre-natal health care, the cost of the delivery, the post delivery stay in the hospital though various governmental assistance programs. This alone far exceeds the cost of the abortion.
We will pay for the child’s pediatric care.
We will pay for the either the mother to go on welfare to provide day care for the child, or we will subsidize the day care she finds.
We will pay for these unwanted children with higher demands on agencies dealing with abandoned and abused children.
We will pay for the higher demand on already scarce resources for indigent families.
We will pay for the already crippling demand for emergency care for these who will be left with no other choice.
Your amendment is simply another way to further penalize the economically challenged. Those in your tax bracket will not be deterred from abortion because they can afford to hire such services.
Your amendment is simply another way to further penalize the women of this country, who continue to be the ones who bear the burden of pregnancy and child birth when there is not a second parent taking responsibility.
7 Feb 2010
20 Jan 2010
HUSH!
Today is my day for people to irritate the fire out of me. I have been awake just over 9 hours and already wanted to seriously “educate” eight people. For some people this might not seem to bad. At least it’s not quite a rate of one an hour – YET! But I have only spent one hour in contact with the public, so this does not bode well for the rest of the day, that in two hours will resume with public contact.
Even though only two people are guilty repeatedly ruining my mornings (and those of several others), the offense committed by all eight today are essentially the same; thus my finally venting my irritation here.
If you think that because your personal life is not open to those of us around you, do not think for even one self-absorbed moment that your obliviousness does not affect us. Your actions affect everyone in your vacinity to some extent. And when you are inconsiderate of this fact, we grow to despise you. Not only are last night’s activities none of our business, we do not want to hear about them when you give your daily oral dissertation to the person next to you on the train or bus. There is no need to expound in a voice that can be heard over the ambient noise of public transit and quieter conversations of the other 30 passengers in your vicinity.
A child’s misbehavior is something we all accept as inevitable at some point. Small children are known to be loud and tempermental from time to time. But a crying, stomping, temper tantrum every 48 hours or so is not. And none of us volunteered to endure your child reaering issues. Some people appreciate efforts to explain to a child that they should behave better, but at some point an unruly 3 year old needs something they understand better than adult logic. The only thing worse than the screaming brat, is the ineffective parent who cannot control them. Perhaps if you use the vocal authority and force of the person previously described, you could delay a judiciously timed spanking. Whichever method you choose, just either take control or remove the child from the area. We do not appreciate the disruption of both our mood and our schedule, as we delay while you attempt to persuade someone who seems to be more resolute than you to have their way.
Music is something I love and good vocalist is to be admired. But singing to your self in a public area has its price. If you are listening to your iPod, do you realize how far off key you are? If you are not listening to your favorite recording, have you notice people staring as if you are crazy? And if you are leading an impromptu choir, please take it to your local church, that I choose not to attend. I paid for a train ticket, not a gospel concert.
For those of you who think we all share your tastes in entertainment, you are wrong. If your car stereo is vibrating the vehicle next to you, it is too loud. The content and style that you choose to destroy every last semblance of hearing with is irrelevant. When another person feels it before they hear it, you are a public nuisanace. And if its commercials and talk radio, I have a personal vendetta in mind for you. If were are listening to your earbubs from across the aisle, don’t you dare expect my tax dollars to underwrite your hearing aids that will eventually replace them.
Easier to understand, but just as aggravating, are coworkers who shout back and forth, thinking themselves as more productive and promoting a friendly, inclusive atmosphere. Well, if you are the one having to answer phones or focus on something different from the carousing group, it’s a problem. It’s a problem because callers hearing the background noise may not understand. It’s a problem if callers have to repeat themselves when they cannot be heard over the phone. And it’s a problem because as it disrupts the concentration of other workers, it adds a sense of their being left out of the group, too.
Yes, I am complaining about noise pollution; pollution at a level that individuals can address. And for those of you who don’t know, I am not a quiet person who wishes the world was as quiet a library. I play drums; I sing at the top of my lungs; my speaking voice has been known to resonate of the far walls of auditoriums. But there times and places for these things, and they are not on public transit or in your average business office.
Even though only two people are guilty repeatedly ruining my mornings (and those of several others), the offense committed by all eight today are essentially the same; thus my finally venting my irritation here.
If you think that because your personal life is not open to those of us around you, do not think for even one self-absorbed moment that your obliviousness does not affect us. Your actions affect everyone in your vacinity to some extent. And when you are inconsiderate of this fact, we grow to despise you. Not only are last night’s activities none of our business, we do not want to hear about them when you give your daily oral dissertation to the person next to you on the train or bus. There is no need to expound in a voice that can be heard over the ambient noise of public transit and quieter conversations of the other 30 passengers in your vicinity.
A child’s misbehavior is something we all accept as inevitable at some point. Small children are known to be loud and tempermental from time to time. But a crying, stomping, temper tantrum every 48 hours or so is not. And none of us volunteered to endure your child reaering issues. Some people appreciate efforts to explain to a child that they should behave better, but at some point an unruly 3 year old needs something they understand better than adult logic. The only thing worse than the screaming brat, is the ineffective parent who cannot control them. Perhaps if you use the vocal authority and force of the person previously described, you could delay a judiciously timed spanking. Whichever method you choose, just either take control or remove the child from the area. We do not appreciate the disruption of both our mood and our schedule, as we delay while you attempt to persuade someone who seems to be more resolute than you to have their way.
Music is something I love and good vocalist is to be admired. But singing to your self in a public area has its price. If you are listening to your iPod, do you realize how far off key you are? If you are not listening to your favorite recording, have you notice people staring as if you are crazy? And if you are leading an impromptu choir, please take it to your local church, that I choose not to attend. I paid for a train ticket, not a gospel concert.
For those of you who think we all share your tastes in entertainment, you are wrong. If your car stereo is vibrating the vehicle next to you, it is too loud. The content and style that you choose to destroy every last semblance of hearing with is irrelevant. When another person feels it before they hear it, you are a public nuisanace. And if its commercials and talk radio, I have a personal vendetta in mind for you. If were are listening to your earbubs from across the aisle, don’t you dare expect my tax dollars to underwrite your hearing aids that will eventually replace them.
Easier to understand, but just as aggravating, are coworkers who shout back and forth, thinking themselves as more productive and promoting a friendly, inclusive atmosphere. Well, if you are the one having to answer phones or focus on something different from the carousing group, it’s a problem. It’s a problem because callers hearing the background noise may not understand. It’s a problem if callers have to repeat themselves when they cannot be heard over the phone. And it’s a problem because as it disrupts the concentration of other workers, it adds a sense of their being left out of the group, too.
Yes, I am complaining about noise pollution; pollution at a level that individuals can address. And for those of you who don’t know, I am not a quiet person who wishes the world was as quiet a library. I play drums; I sing at the top of my lungs; my speaking voice has been known to resonate of the far walls of auditoriums. But there times and places for these things, and they are not on public transit or in your average business office.
8 Sept 2009
Korean History in the West?
As a “westerner” who was educated in both the U.S. and briefly in the U.K., let me state first of all that it is regrettably true that for the most part Korea is ignored in western education.
The focus is on “western civilization” and ancient Asian history is only mentioned where there are direct links to the history of the west. Years ago China and India were only mentioned in because Marco Polo wrote about visiting there. The only exception was if one chose to delve further in college, but even then the options were seriously limited. Most of the western curriculum focused on Asian only in the modern era, and sometimes, with the exception of WWII, even that was only a brief surface level look. I seriously cannot remember having to even know where Japan was on the Globe. We knew China because of the USSR and because I was in school during the “Cold War”. Korea’s only mention is the “Korean Police Action” and the fact that the country remained divided with an “evil government” in the north and a democracy in the south. That’s it – nothing more. Learning what I have on my own in later years, I find it disgraceful.
Were it not for some people I met because my father trained Asian pilots, and a separate interest in Shamanism, I might still be largely ignorant of Korean history. I would probably still see Korea through the visions relayed to me by a man who was a negotiator at Panmunjom the year I was born. And that would be extremely distorted.
In higher education, depending on your field, you do start learning more about China and Japan. But it’s not necessarily just because of a bias toward those countries. Most of the material I was taught was philosophy, religion, political structure and military strategy. The reason most of that centers on just China and Japan in the west is because those are the resources most readily available. Ancient Chinese and Japanese manuscripts are widely published in English and other western languages. I still find it hard to find these types of works that have been transcribed in Hangul and then translated into English. Is it that there is not much Korean History published in English, especially on a high school level, or have I just not found a good source? People only learn from what they have access to. Hangul is not taught in most schools in the west, so unless the history is in English and put before students, Korean history and culture will remain a blank for most westerners.
A recent example of this is that despite my interest in Korean history, it was only within the past month that I learned that 100 years ago there were more Koreans in Texas than Chinese or Japanese. I knew the history of the Japanese here because of the rice fields and internment camps. And the Chinese have always been very visible. But it took being given a book by Irwin Tang (a Chinese American) to find out about the Korean communities because they have been so self-contained. Granted this is not really part of Korea’s history, but if something that close and in my own country is unknown, think how remote the information before the immigration is to us? Korean history is not usually something that comes up in casual conversation over drinks between a Korean and an American, so what is going to spark the American’s interest to learn more than is put in front of them?
(Actually I have had those conversations, but those in earshot have looked at us like we are either insane or had way too much soju.......and they may have been right on both counts.)
The focus is on “western civilization” and ancient Asian history is only mentioned where there are direct links to the history of the west. Years ago China and India were only mentioned in because Marco Polo wrote about visiting there. The only exception was if one chose to delve further in college, but even then the options were seriously limited. Most of the western curriculum focused on Asian only in the modern era, and sometimes, with the exception of WWII, even that was only a brief surface level look. I seriously cannot remember having to even know where Japan was on the Globe. We knew China because of the USSR and because I was in school during the “Cold War”. Korea’s only mention is the “Korean Police Action” and the fact that the country remained divided with an “evil government” in the north and a democracy in the south. That’s it – nothing more. Learning what I have on my own in later years, I find it disgraceful.
Were it not for some people I met because my father trained Asian pilots, and a separate interest in Shamanism, I might still be largely ignorant of Korean history. I would probably still see Korea through the visions relayed to me by a man who was a negotiator at Panmunjom the year I was born. And that would be extremely distorted.
In higher education, depending on your field, you do start learning more about China and Japan. But it’s not necessarily just because of a bias toward those countries. Most of the material I was taught was philosophy, religion, political structure and military strategy. The reason most of that centers on just China and Japan in the west is because those are the resources most readily available. Ancient Chinese and Japanese manuscripts are widely published in English and other western languages. I still find it hard to find these types of works that have been transcribed in Hangul and then translated into English. Is it that there is not much Korean History published in English, especially on a high school level, or have I just not found a good source? People only learn from what they have access to. Hangul is not taught in most schools in the west, so unless the history is in English and put before students, Korean history and culture will remain a blank for most westerners.
A recent example of this is that despite my interest in Korean history, it was only within the past month that I learned that 100 years ago there were more Koreans in Texas than Chinese or Japanese. I knew the history of the Japanese here because of the rice fields and internment camps. And the Chinese have always been very visible. But it took being given a book by Irwin Tang (a Chinese American) to find out about the Korean communities because they have been so self-contained. Granted this is not really part of Korea’s history, but if something that close and in my own country is unknown, think how remote the information before the immigration is to us? Korean history is not usually something that comes up in casual conversation over drinks between a Korean and an American, so what is going to spark the American’s interest to learn more than is put in front of them?
(Actually I have had those conversations, but those in earshot have looked at us like we are either insane or had way too much soju.......and they may have been right on both counts.)
12 Jan 2009
Gong Xi Fa Cai
My new goal is to spend each Lunar new Year in a different place.
2007 - Los Angeles
2008 - Dallas
2009 - Chicago or Houston (?)
2007 - Los Angeles
2008 - Dallas
2009 - Chicago or Houston (?)
6 Jan 2009
A.D.D. or Antidote for Boredom?
Whether it is a mild case of ADD or just too many interests to stay focused, switching between interests has been a double-edged sword from my earliest memories. The scenario usually goes something like this. Something catches my attention and I have to know everything possible about it yesterday. Of course this impossible, but I dive in headfirst and plow through everything I can until my version of reality sinks in. Either I do not have the resources (financial, free time, physical stamina, or skill) to continue, or I finally face that my goal is incredibly unrealistic. I scale back my efforts and eventually the quest becomes a memory. Or, as with ADD, something equally intriguing surfaces and the ever-hopeful seeker goes off on this new tangent. The original interests either fall by the wayside or mutates into something that blends with the new exploration.
Either way the results tend to be consistent. A basic understanding of the new subject is added to the rest of the Trivial Pursuit answers stockpile in my biological RAM. An appreciation for those well versed on the subject of the moment is added to the “good guys – might want to meet someday” list. A mosh pit arranged pile of papers, notes, books and other data is added to the ever-growing pile of crap I will someday have to move, even though I can rarely find any item I go looking for later from this pile. And most imposingly, this unattained grail is added to all the others I will someday resume my journey to find when I am old and have nothing better to do (as if I will ever be able to retire?). Stockpiling against future boredom!
Some of this is good – knowledge gained, even if incomplete. Some of this is bad – a pack rat’s paper heaven!
Such has been the fate of my studies of music, language, theology, sports, and many other fields. The debris of instruments, dictionaries, iconography, toys, notebooks and file folders litters my surroundings like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumb trail through the forest. If I follow it, I will retrace old paths, but it is more likely the debris will wear away over time leaving spaces to be filled in only by having to choose another unmarked direction.
What is the growing smirk for? Well, considering all this, I wonder what those paths I have walked to the end of say about me. For there are those expeditions into unknown territories that I managed to pursue to their final destination (at least final as far as I am concerned), before allowing the sparkle of a new idea to distract my magpie sight. If you have read this far, I suppose you are wondering just what strange lands those journeys crossed and where they saw their finish. Or maybe if you have seen my library and talked with me at length, you have seen a map of where I have been and maybe even learned the why and how. But I doubt that even you know what rewards awaited the journeys’ conclusions, because years later I am still finding new ones once in a while. Mostly the rewards were confidence replacing ignorance, and even fear at times, and indelible memories of experiences that others only read about in books.
But future blogs will disclose the details of a few.
Either way the results tend to be consistent. A basic understanding of the new subject is added to the rest of the Trivial Pursuit answers stockpile in my biological RAM. An appreciation for those well versed on the subject of the moment is added to the “good guys – might want to meet someday” list. A mosh pit arranged pile of papers, notes, books and other data is added to the ever-growing pile of crap I will someday have to move, even though I can rarely find any item I go looking for later from this pile. And most imposingly, this unattained grail is added to all the others I will someday resume my journey to find when I am old and have nothing better to do (as if I will ever be able to retire?). Stockpiling against future boredom!
Some of this is good – knowledge gained, even if incomplete. Some of this is bad – a pack rat’s paper heaven!
Such has been the fate of my studies of music, language, theology, sports, and many other fields. The debris of instruments, dictionaries, iconography, toys, notebooks and file folders litters my surroundings like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumb trail through the forest. If I follow it, I will retrace old paths, but it is more likely the debris will wear away over time leaving spaces to be filled in only by having to choose another unmarked direction.
What is the growing smirk for? Well, considering all this, I wonder what those paths I have walked to the end of say about me. For there are those expeditions into unknown territories that I managed to pursue to their final destination (at least final as far as I am concerned), before allowing the sparkle of a new idea to distract my magpie sight. If you have read this far, I suppose you are wondering just what strange lands those journeys crossed and where they saw their finish. Or maybe if you have seen my library and talked with me at length, you have seen a map of where I have been and maybe even learned the why and how. But I doubt that even you know what rewards awaited the journeys’ conclusions, because years later I am still finding new ones once in a while. Mostly the rewards were confidence replacing ignorance, and even fear at times, and indelible memories of experiences that others only read about in books.
But future blogs will disclose the details of a few.
12 Dec 2008
They're baaaaaaack..........
In 1990 I had more PCs than people in my house and spent WAY too much time online moderating forums, running my own BBS (for you youngsters those were the local networks that preceded the web) and being a regular poster on the (all text) internet. Fortunately, I also had a geek for husband who spent even more time in front of keyboards and monitors than I did.
Eventually, real life commitments, need for sleep and lack of finances weaned me away from uber-geekdom. And life was good.
But slowly the insidious web of connections crept back into my life. A static web site, turned into an interactive one. I tamed that monster, which once again is hibernating, only to be lured into the clutches of MeetUp and Yelp. If that was not enough contagion, I then succumbed to the infectious MySpace, Blogspot, countless personal web pages and forum, and finally the great time consumer, Facebook. Now, not only do I again have more computers at home than people, I even have their offspring invisibly leashed to me - the smart phone. Of course it is SMART; smarter than me. How else would it have insinuated itself so deeply into my existence?!
I used to fear becoming the old lady surrounded by cats. No more. I think it is more likely to be mechanized beings with AI that I will be surrounded with; strangling me with wiring instead of choking to death on feline fur.
Eventually, real life commitments, need for sleep and lack of finances weaned me away from uber-geekdom. And life was good.
But slowly the insidious web of connections crept back into my life. A static web site, turned into an interactive one. I tamed that monster, which once again is hibernating, only to be lured into the clutches of MeetUp and Yelp. If that was not enough contagion, I then succumbed to the infectious MySpace, Blogspot, countless personal web pages and forum, and finally the great time consumer, Facebook. Now, not only do I again have more computers at home than people, I even have their offspring invisibly leashed to me - the smart phone. Of course it is SMART; smarter than me. How else would it have insinuated itself so deeply into my existence?!
I used to fear becoming the old lady surrounded by cats. No more. I think it is more likely to be mechanized beings with AI that I will be surrounded with; strangling me with wiring instead of choking to death on feline fur.
10 Dec 2008
SOALD .... oh, please.......
With all the acronyms we are being awarded when unable to function in society as the infamous “THEY” think we should, such as ADD, ADHD, SAD and PTSD, I am laying claim to my own. I suffer from SOALD. It is closely related to the more common known SOHSD, but differs in the manifestation of symptoms.
To spare you from a frustrating search through the net (does anybody use reference books anymore?), I will unscramble the alphabet soup here.
SOHSD (Seasonally Occurring Holiday Stress Disorder) The marked increase in stress experienced by individuals in response to society's prescribed holidays. Most commonly observed in 1st world countries. Symptoms & Ancillary Causes: Excessive spending, often beyond means; marked decrease in patience with the normal time tasks require; increased guilt and/or competition to display wealth, status or other indications of perceived success and/or happiness. Other symptoms have been noted such as retail stampedes, increased thefts, insomnia due to decreased evening darkness (see outdoor lighting), obsessive list use, and inability to concentrate (see Christmas music recordings).
SOALD (Seasonally Occurring Alternative Lifestyle Disorder) The marked increase in stress experienced by individuals in response to society's prescribed holidays. Most commonly observed in ostensibly conservative communities. Symptoms & Ancillary Causes: Withdrawal from community activities and large crowds, especially those directly related to the seasonal holiday in question; increased guilt and/or denial of any desire to participate in traditional observances; increased emotional response to societal issues (warning – politics or religion may trigger uncharacteristic outbursts.); increase identification with societal outsiders (alternative religions, liberal activists, any group identified as “excluded” or “oppressed” because of their cultural attitudes.); increased intolerance with those whose actions are in conflict with their expressed beliefs, increased pedantic or oratorical discourses on cultural diversity.
Yes, people, I am one of you. One who struggles to overcome a perceived disorder that is in reality just a matter of my being a normal human being following our biologic mandate for uniqueness and individuality.
I just happen not to believe in the teachings of Christianity and despise having months of a religon-based celebration of materialism overwhelm my existence. The decorations are pretty, the reminders of the need for peace are laudable, but the price is too high! And the disconnected observance of how most Christians despoil their own holiday is even more revolting. I used be become the ranting pagan, liberal around mid-December. But the media mentioning Christmas as early as Labor Day and Thanksgiving just being a feed while waiting for the stores to open, my SOALD kicks in earlier and earlier every year.
(DISCLAIMER: This is not to say there are not true mental disorders that need treating, those people do exist and deserve help. But of those I have met who are deemed to be ADD, ADHD, and so forth, damned few have anything more than a problem with those around them being inflexible or intolerant.)
To spare you from a frustrating search through the net (does anybody use reference books anymore?), I will unscramble the alphabet soup here.
SOHSD (Seasonally Occurring Holiday Stress Disorder) The marked increase in stress experienced by individuals in response to society's prescribed holidays. Most commonly observed in 1st world countries. Symptoms & Ancillary Causes: Excessive spending, often beyond means; marked decrease in patience with the normal time tasks require; increased guilt and/or competition to display wealth, status or other indications of perceived success and/or happiness. Other symptoms have been noted such as retail stampedes, increased thefts, insomnia due to decreased evening darkness (see outdoor lighting), obsessive list use, and inability to concentrate (see Christmas music recordings).
SOALD (Seasonally Occurring Alternative Lifestyle Disorder) The marked increase in stress experienced by individuals in response to society's prescribed holidays. Most commonly observed in ostensibly conservative communities. Symptoms & Ancillary Causes: Withdrawal from community activities and large crowds, especially those directly related to the seasonal holiday in question; increased guilt and/or denial of any desire to participate in traditional observances; increased emotional response to societal issues (warning – politics or religion may trigger uncharacteristic outbursts.); increase identification with societal outsiders (alternative religions, liberal activists, any group identified as “excluded” or “oppressed” because of their cultural attitudes.); increased intolerance with those whose actions are in conflict with their expressed beliefs, increased pedantic or oratorical discourses on cultural diversity.
Yes, people, I am one of you. One who struggles to overcome a perceived disorder that is in reality just a matter of my being a normal human being following our biologic mandate for uniqueness and individuality.
I just happen not to believe in the teachings of Christianity and despise having months of a religon-based celebration of materialism overwhelm my existence. The decorations are pretty, the reminders of the need for peace are laudable, but the price is too high! And the disconnected observance of how most Christians despoil their own holiday is even more revolting. I used be become the ranting pagan, liberal around mid-December. But the media mentioning Christmas as early as Labor Day and Thanksgiving just being a feed while waiting for the stores to open, my SOALD kicks in earlier and earlier every year.
(DISCLAIMER: This is not to say there are not true mental disorders that need treating, those people do exist and deserve help. But of those I have met who are deemed to be ADD, ADHD, and so forth, damned few have anything more than a problem with those around them being inflexible or intolerant.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)