Demon's Nest

Pibgorn

Oldie But A Goodie...

Via Gerard

Martha (Bumped for Mother's Day)

I just noticed today's date, and remembered that it would have been my mom's birthday.  Not only that, today would have been her 100th birthday. (Originally posted 8/12/2012)

Anyone who knew her would say that she was an amazing woman.  I was blessed to have her as my mom.

She was born near Moline, Illinois.  She was, I believe, the middle child of five.  Two older brothers, and a younger sister and brother.  She graduated high school, then moved to Chicago to study nursing.  She finished school there, looking forward to being a surgical scrub nurse.  Something changed her mind, and she chose obstetrics instead.  Like my mother, she migrated to Los Angeles, spent a year at Childrens' Hospital in Hollywood to get her California license.  She went to work at St. Vincent's, staying there until the closed the O.B. department at the end of the baby boom in 1966.  She took a job at St. Anne's Maternity hospital, after working for a month in I.C.U.  She didn't like losing patients.  She told me that they had only lost four during her time a St. Vincent's.

She met my mother at a professional women's club.  After Gladys and dad got married, and Gladys became pregnant with the twins, she introduced them to a doctor, and off we went.  It did not turn out well.  Gladys developed pre-eclampsia, and was, by the time Lane and I were born, unable to clot blood.  She and my brother both died as a result of complications.

Martha was in the delivery room when we were born.  After I was able to go home ( after a month in an oxygen tent), she started to help dad and his housekeeper take care of me.  One thing lead to another, and they decided to get married.  They decided to marry in Montana, at the same ceremony where my grandparents were renewing their vows to celebrate their 50th anniversary.  It did not turn out well.  A couple of days after the wedding, we headed out for Moline, to see her parents.  Somewhere in Nebraska, a tire blew out, the car rolled, and dad was killed.

After she and I returned to L.A., she resumed her job as St. Vincent's.  Her parents moved out to stay with us, to help care for me.  She went through the process of adopting me, which included getting my aunt to sign off, since she was still my guardian according to dad's will.

And then she raised me.  We were by no means well off, but we had a warm, happy, safe place to live.  We went on day trips and weekend trips and three "great loop" trips through the U.S. She made sure I did well in school.  There was never a doubt that I was going to college.  She nursed me thru the measles, mumps and chicken pox, took me to swim practice (I remember her sitting in the gallery, reading), and was there for me whenever I needed.

She helped deliver her granddaughter, whom she loved dearly.

She developed polymyositis, a muscle wasting disease.  Treatment with steroids left her a diabetic, and treatment with morphine for pain from diverticulitis left her in and out of clarity and consciousness in her last three weeks.  The last time I saw "her" was on a Tuesday evening.  It seemed that she needed to know it was OK to go, and so I told her.  By Wednesday evening, she was unresponsive to the environment, and she slipped away late Friday evening.

A few weeks later, I had a dream with her.  She told me that everything would be OK.  My experience of that dream was unlike my experience of every other dream I've ever had.  My personal belief is that I had an actual conversation with her.  could I prove it?  Of course not.  But that's what I think it was.

Mom and me, 1952

So.  Happy Birthday, mom!

(More photos at the Tumblr page, up top.)

Benghazi

Q: Where, exactly. was the "Commander in Chief"?

A: I'm betting under his bed, pissing himself.

Apres le Deluge...

...c'est automation.

Self-check lanes sprouted like mushrooms after the Southern California Retail Jerks' Clerks' strike about 10 years ago.

Happy Star Wars Day

May The Fourth Be With You!

Grace

Retweeted by @TheH2
Renzo Soprano ‏@Renzo_Soprano
This deserves endless retweets.

Benghazi It's starting to heat up, boys and girls!

Res Ipsa Loquitur

IIRC, he had a fundraiser in Vegas to get ready for.

Retweeted by leelu

Sharyl Attkisson @SharylAttkisson  ·

Correct story link to docs showing terrorism right away: http://www.sharylattkisson.com/state-dept.-al-sharia-email--may-1--2014.html …

Go, RTWT.

 Damn Obama's ass. And Hillary, too.

Just A Look Around...

I'm thinking Obama's sanctions are smoke and mirrors.  They are targeting individual Russians, Putin's buddies, but they aren't stopping the flow of dollars into Mother Russia:

US Buying Russian Helicopters for Afghanistan

Sanctioned Russian Has No-Bid Contract With US

I understand why we don't want to turn Europe's heat off, but there must be a way to get around that.  Gas exports, anyone??

I don't believe Obama et. al. are taking this mess anywhere near seriously enough.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong??

Via @PoliticalLaughs @JoanOfArgghh

New Dem Fundraising Tactic in MD

Phone scammers say they are from Md. sheriff's department, request money

 Interesting.  Note the "...funds... on a pre-paid card..." part.  That means you can't get your money back as you could if it were on a credit card.

Just. Don't.

Via Drudge.

Happy Birthday...

...James Tiberius Kirk!

 

  Live long and prosper!

Falling Angel

Let's Make The Dems'...

...heads explode!

 

Thx, @yesnicksearcy

Polite Look...

...at Vlad and Barry's relationship

Carrying Putin's balls.

Heh.  Thanks Janie Johnson!

Debate Rules For Liberals

You got that right!

Thanks to @BarracudaMama!

New Time Waster...

...Twitter.

I opened an account so I could Tweet when I put up a post.  Sadly, it got out of control in the last month, and I've spent a significant part of my time over there.

Which has to stop.  I stumbled into a potential money-making gig about a week and a half ago, and we met today to start getting our brains around it.  I walked away with a pretty good list of things I need to do.  In addition, I need to get some things sorted out at the office here at home in order to support what I'll be doing there.

Yes, I'm being deliberately vague about what it is.  I think we need to get the proverbial ducks lined up before I make a big to-do about it here.

But I'm optimistic about it.

And I'm saying the (Alan) Shepard's prayer, too.  A lot!

More as it develops.

This Will Leave A Mark! Updated

The Weekly Standard's Elliott Abrams filets  Obama's (lack of) coherent foreign policy!

I see  a consensus building:

Deseret News

Washington Post

(And, just for fun, Freedom Outpost - totally unrelated!)

Sane Discussion About Abortion

I found out about Cecile Richards and her "hand wave" about when life begins in this article at NRO yesterday.  She says:

“It is not something that I feel is really part of this conversation,” Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood told Fusion’s Jorge Ramos on Thursday. “I don’t know if it’s really relevant to the conversation.”

I started reading the coments, and found this one, by Bob Wynne:

 

Bob Wynne • a day ago

If any of you full grown adults that are definitely alive needed to be hooked up to my blood supply for months, would the choice to carry that burden be up to me or not? It is not a question of whether you are alive. I accept that you are. Yet there is still a question.

 It piqued my interest, and I responded to him.  I was expecting the "forced gestation" argument to surface pretty quickly, but it didn't.  Instead, I found myself in a conversation with someone who has genuine concerns about the rights of the mother vs the rights of her unborn child.

See what you think.  My initial response:

 leelu Bob Wynne • a day ago

Wonderfully bogus argument, and totally off the point, too.

Bob Wynne leelu • a day ago

No argument from me, Boss. Just asking a question. You might wonder, "Why would Bob ask that?" In order to get an answer. So far I have been unsuccessful.

leelu Bob Wynne • a day ago

 Ah... To answer your question, I would say yes, you definitely should/would have a say in it. OK?

Bob Wynne leelu • 21 hours ago

Now, I am asking what the point is that I am off of?

leelu Bob Wynne • 21 hours ago

What I perceive as the point of the article - the assertion that the issue of when life begins is irrelevant to abortion. I just don't see a connection there?

Bob Wynne leelu • 8 hours ago

The point is that I think that if we, as civilized people, can agree that society cannot force an individual to share their blood, oxygen and nutrients with another living person, then it is not relevant when a cell mass becomes a person for purposes of abortion rights. If we can agree that society can force a person to share their blood, oxygen and nutrients with another person, then personhood might be relevant in the discussion.

leelu Bob Wynne • 3 hours ago

The short answer is, if "it is not relevant when a cell mass becomes a person", then ,by a simple logical extension, there no reason why I should be penalized in any way for shooting you. (This is *not* a threat, btw.)

Your whole "sharing" example is irrelevant as well. In your case, you are talking about somthing that, absent force, would be, by definition, a contractual arrangement. I expect that you would not let me "hook up" for nothing. That is not the case between a mother and child - no contract exists. It is a moral issue, based exactly on the point of the start of personhood. Hand-waving it doesn't make it go away.

Bob Wynne leelu • 3 hours ago

You may be right on your primary position here. We all agree that you cannot do anything to another person. I am suggesting that if the fetus is a person, that there is more to discuss along those lines.

Some would argue that refusing to share your resources is not doing something to them. It is not allowing them to do something to you. You are removing them from your personal space. You are redirecting your blood flow for your personal use. They are free to go on their way. But they feed on you only by your grace and agreement.

That is what I would say if some born person needed some component in by blood for some period of time. I do not believe in killing another, but I do not belive in forcing anyone to support someone else, either.

As far as the comparison to the abortion debate, I have no answers. I cannot support forcing anyone to make that sacrifice. Even if the fetus is deemed a person, why would I give him or her more rights than me or you? I am glad that the decision does not rest on me. I feel that it should be left up to those that will have to live with it.

leelu Bob Wynne • 2 hours ago

If you donate blood or are an organ donor, then the resource sharing issue is moot. You may, if you want, or not. Same with me, as a first responder - I am under *no* legal obligation to administer CPR, just as you are under no legal obligation to give blood. 

"Feeding" suggests a parasite-host relationship, which again, is moot, since we are agreed that you have voluntarily donated blood or organs (I'm thinking "live donor" here, as in kidney or liver parts).

I don't think it's ultimately about rights, altho that certainly is a big part of the legal debate. If we agree that the unborn baby is human, then I would argue that his/her "right to life" is equal to yours or mine. So, in spite of Richard's hand waiving, it really does come down to that.

I'm enjoying this discussion. I can relate to your dilemma- my Catholic upbringing informs my conscience even today, yet I don't want to see women forced into the old "back alley/dirty coat hanger" environment. Women *will* get abortions, legal or not. If it came to a vote, I *would* vote my conscience ("No"), and still hope that women who sought them would be well cared for.

I'd like to post this to one of my blogs (leelusplace.blogspot.com). If you prefer, I will "anonymize" you.

Bob Wynne leelu • 2 minutes ago

Post it if you like. But I would like to close with the notion that not all decisions that need to be made, need to be made by government. And if the solution is not universal, then it should not be enforced by law.

leelu Bob Wynne • in a minute

Agreed!

And there we have it.  What do you think?

Demon's Nest

On time this week.

Don't be hard on the maggots!

Via Pibgorn