Political Pontifications

It hasn't really made that much sense to me, why Bush is so soft on illegal aliens. To me, it is a simple fact of law. If someone is in our country illegally, they must be sent out. The thousands of dollars spent by hardworking people to enter this country under the blessing of the law are rendered moot by the offensive manner in which thousands have crossed the border and laid claim to welfare, education and healthcare without even the smallest slap on the wrist.

Bush has a dream of a North American Union- a merger of Canada, U.S., and Mexico into a cohesive unit that shares all. This dream is becoming a reality. Check it out at SPP.gov. Without the approval or oversight of Congress, Bush has blazed ahead reducing a future United States to a homogenous mixture of the North American Union. How would this affect you? Superhighways are planned connecting our borders which will involve eminent domain takings of private properties. The rights of State and local governments would be trampled. It would dilute the National and Constitutional independence of the United States. Nancy Schaefer has introduced S.R. 124. in an effort to protect our country's soverignty and security.

This is taken directly from the Resolution: "Now, Therefore, be it resolved by the Senate.....use all its efforts, energies, and diligence to withdraw the United States from any further participation in the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America and any similarly bilateral or multilateral activity, however named, that seeks to advance, authorize, or fund or in any way promote the creation of any structure of relationship to accomplish any form of tNothr American integration or merger."

You can read this bill for yourself by going to http://www.broc.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/fulltext/sr124.htm

Want to get involved? Call Senator Balfour at 404-656-0095 and tell him to pass S.R. 124 immediately.

Political Pontifications

There are several things that seriously bother me about the Georgia Legislature. First and foremost, our Senators and Reps seem to believe that government is the source of our liberties. Of course, God is the source of our liberties and the purpose of government is to restrain itself and others so that these God given liberties are not infringed upon. One excellent example of this is seen with vaccines. It is almost unfathomable that today state governments are declaring what vaccines children should be given- mandatory vaccines- where the parent has no rights, no say, as to what their child is given. Unless of course, the parent thinks to protest for religious reasons, and even then it is iffy.

After giving birth to our 6th child at Northside, I was told that I could "fasttrack" out of the hospital and leave within 24 hours. I was very pleased with this option and the necessary paperwork was put through the works. One thing my nurse made clear to me was that the PKU prick test needed to be done before we left. I let her know that I would take care of it at the pediatrician's office the following week for this reason: The PKU test, as I understand it, tests for how the baby is responding to a breast milk diet. If the baby hasn't had breast milk for very long, the test is inaccurate and must be conducted again. The nurse was furious that I would refuse the test, and I said that I wasn't refusing the test, I was scheduling it for when it would do the most good. My pediatrician came to my room and encouraged me to have the test otherwise the nurse might call DFax. So, I did the test, and ruefully commented while signing the paper that clearly I didn't have any say about it so why should I sign. I also had to strenuously argue against having my daughter vaccinated, as I start vaccines much later in childhood. Fortunately, I was much more successful at the latter than the former.

I say all of the above as an introduction to Sue Ella Deadwyler's Radio commentary- I have cut and pasted it below...


Sue Ella Deadwyler's WMVV Radio Commentary, 3/2/07


Georgia's one of 18 states Merck thinks gullible enough to add still another vaccination to the shots children already have to take. Merck's new drug Gardasil is the most costly on the market at a whopping retail price of $360 for the first three-shot course and boosters at five-year intervals. Gardasil is supposed to prevent a couple of strains of cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus, better known as HPV, that causes about one percent of all cervical cancer cases in the U.S. HPV-related cervical cancer is easily diagnosed, responds well to treatment and does not surface until the female is almost 50 years old.

Merck's first success was in Texas where Governor Perry swallowed all Merck's hype and issued an executive order mandating Gardasil for every sixth-grade girl in Texas. Oh, yes, this is important, too. Merck contributed $6,000 to Governor Perry's reelection campaign and generously contributed to campaigns of other Texas officials.

Merck's success in Texas is being used in Georgia as an example of what needs to be done to our sixth-grade girls. Senator Don Balfour introduced S.B. 155 February 14 and I've asked him to please not make it mandatory, but it is. If his bill passes, the only girls that will not be vaccinated with Gardasil are girls whose parents learn about the religious exemption and act on it. Quite frankly, I'm offended that legislators think religion is the only reason to object to filling girls with a drug that's brand new, was researched for less than five years on 25,000 third-world females, only 1,184 of whom were preteens. My question is: What ever happened to common sense?

HPV is not floating through the air where everybody may be exposed. It's caught through sexual contact. So, the way to prevent HPV-related cervical cancer is to refrain from sexual contact with anyone infected with HPV and the last time I checked, sixth-grade girls aren't mature enough to engage in sex and are still under parental authority. Mandating this vaccine violates parental rights, informed consent and privacy laws.

Gardasil's safety has not been proven, especially for young girls. It's been on the market since June 2006 and at least 82 reports of serious side effects have already been filed with the FDA. Texas Governor Perry must've ignored the facts. So, Texas parents are working with legislators to repeal his executive order. The Texas mandate caused such a backlash from doctors, parents and consumer advocates that Merck's pulling back its lobbying efforts. But, that's not affecting us in Georgia. The author of S.B. 155 thinks Texas Governor Perry is right and will continue pushing for all sixth-grade girls in Georgia to be vaccinated with Gardasil.

I dare say most parents do not agree with Governor Perry and object to giving their children an unproven, unnecessary, very expensive and, very possibly, harmful drug. Call Health and Human Services Senator Don Thomas* at 404-656-6436 and ask him to either kill S.B. 155 or amend it to make the shots voluntary. If the state is dead set on selling Merck's drug, at least, give parents a choice because children do belong to parents. They don't belong to the state or doctors or anybody else in the village!

* This bill has since passed the HHS Committee. Call your local senator. If you don't know their phone number, you can look at www.legis.state.ga.us .

Daily Diary

I have come down with the flu. All week I haven't really felt like myself, and last night I started getting a sore throat. But I attributed it all to the need for a good night's sleep and then I'd be fine. After picking up Jon's grandmother this morning (she spends Fridays with me), I headed home and decided that I'd just take a quick nap. By the end of the nap I was much worse- achey joints, back pain, the chills, fever, etc. Clearly this was not lack of sleep. I called Jon at work who immediately wrapped things up at the office and headed home. He rushed to throw the kids in the car and of course his grandmother (whom he escorted not threw). Our oldest had to be picked up from school. So off they all went and then decided to stay at Jon's mom's house for the afternoon and evening so they wouldn't be near me- cootie girl. I emailed Curtis asking if he would get me some flu drugs, and then went to sleep.

I'm a decidedly light sleeper and when I heard the front door open, I awoke. I listened for a moment for the obvious- it's Curtis-noises. He usually comes in and settles things at the dining room table. But hearing none of that, I called out...nothing. Then I heard more footsteps and called out again. Nothing. I was rather unnerved by this development. Were I my usual hyper energetic self, I would have clutched my trusty scissors and ran downstairs to stab the intruder. However, I'm about 2% of my normal self and incapable of such feats- even with the adrenaline. I tiptoed downstairs, clutching the scissors (I felt I should have at least something), and peered around quietly. No one. I opened the back door and stepped out, walked across the "yard" and opened the back gate. Then I went and knocked on the neighbor's door. Everyone was gone. Then I went to Theresa's house and thankfully she was there. I stayed on the front porch and used the phone. Turns out it was Curtis, but he came in and walked quickly through the downstairs to the garage- that is when I called his name. Seeing that the Suburban was gone and not wishing to wake me, he walked back out the front door- I called his name again and was standing at the landing on the stairs and thus failed to see him depart. SHEESH. Thankfully I didn't have to stab him with the scissors, and he is getting me some flu drugs. So all's well.

My Job

I am the chief bottom wiper and bottle washer. Or should I say President of the Request Porcessing Department. "Mommy, may I have a drink? Mommy, where are my shoes? Mommy, when's lunch? Mommy we're not having oatmeal again, are we? Mommy, does God send a helicopter for us when we die, or do we grow wings and fly to heaven? mommy, I know I'm not supposed to hit my sister, but sometimes I just have to." Ok, the last one wasn't a question but it still needed a response.

Many has been the time when my husband has arrived home to the sound of three crying humans while I'm fixing supper with a glazed expression on my face. "Honey, why is everyone crying?" he asks. Crying? I don't know. I didn't hear anyone crying. The survival instinct of tuning everyone out has kicked in.

This instinct does become a bit of a problem when my friend sits across the table from me carrying on an earnest conversation and I realize moments before she wants a response that I tuned her out long ago and have been mentally compiling a grocery list while admiring her impecably applied makeup. Or when I've asked the same person the same question thirteen times. "Mommy, I just told you that." Well, tell me again. Then my pre-schoolers exchange looks that clearly state, mom's losing it. I take comfort in the fact that the phrase 'losing it' presupposes that I had it to begin with.

My all time favorite moment of the day is when I'm in the bathroom and someone invariably knocks on the door. Knock, knock. I turn off the fan. "What?" I ask. "Mommy, can you take my shoes off?" someone on the other side of the door asks. "I'm in the bathroom" (amazing how incredulous can still make its way into my voice. Nothing should surprise me now). " I know, but my shoes are wet," the kid responds. "Oh that changes everything. I'm actually just standing here on the other side of the door waiting to fulfill your next request." Could I get anymore sarcastic? So that kid sighs and moves on. Knock, knock. "What?" I ask, frustration mounting. " Mom, Oliver pooped, I think," a different kid says. "Great, now I know," I respond with a voice that's more a plea for privacy. Knock, Knock. " Whoever is on the other side of that door better be dying!" I practically scream out the words. Silence follows. Beautiful silence.

One part of my job that I genuinely enjoy, is ripping my sleeping children from their beds. This gives me profound, deep joy. I think it's all about revenge, really. I couldn't possibly count the number of times my children have awakened me. One week when a stomach virus was making the rounds, I had been awakened at least twice a night several days in a row. At dinner, I asked the kids why in the world didn't they wake up their dad when he slept on the side of the bed closest to the door. The children gazed at me for a few minutes. Clearly they hadn't really thought about it, but finally Charles came up with an answer. " Dad needs his sleep." I was momentarily speechless. Do I not need sleep? So I responded, " My favorite child is the one who wakes up dad." That night, Charles woke up his father. Ah, that was a beautiful moment.

And then there's the whole issue of friends. Women with a large family are typically close friends with other women who have a large family. Low maintenance friends are a must to the mother of many. Perhaps you've been told by a mother of one, " I've tried telling my girlfriends I just can't drop everything and go out for lunch and shopping on a whim anymore," and you give her what you hope is a knowing look while you realize that the two of you exist on planes so entirely unrelated that at best you can hope for a mentoring friendship rather than a friendship of mutual understanding and support. And let's face it- mentoring is a drain on already low reserves. So when you see a woman rush into church with a brood of 5 all under 7, wearing no makeup, you sigh a breath of relief and know that here is a woman you can be friends with. She'd never be upset if you forgot her birthday. She won't even remember having called you when you forget to return her phone call. Then there's the woman who mentions to you her extreme frustration at being too busy to get her nails done. You do your best not to laugh out loud and mentally move on. Who's going to need a new coat this fall? I wonder if there's chicken in the freezer I can thaw for dinner tomorrow night?

Perhaps you've been told, "it must be so wonderful being a stay at home mom. You don't have to worry about anything." At these moments there's only one thing to do. Breathe in and out deeply with your mouth firmly closed.

Family Circus

I wanted to get this one down before I forgot. Another Oliver incident that just confirms my opinion that small humans are the grossest entities on the planet.

Today Oliver spent an unusually long time sitting on the toilet, door open, singing away. When he was finished, he dismounted I should say, as he is rather small in relation to the toilet, and checked out the contents. With great enthusiasm he ran to the door of the bathroom, "Hey, guys. Check out the size of these logs!"
I thought someone was going to lose an eye or limb the way the children clawed past each other to be the first to the toilet. Oliver stood by, chest swelled, ready for compliments.
"Wow, those are huge."
"Look how many there are!"
Just as I came around the corner and hollered for everyone to get out and get back to work (they were practicing instruments, or had been rather), Charles leaned over the toilet and took a deep whiff.
"And the smell, Oliver is horrible."
Oliver could hardly take it he was so entirely gratified.
"Really, Charles. Do you think it is the smelliest ever?"
Charles reflected for a moment, " No. Not the smelliest."
Oliver was crestfallen, but then Charles went on, " But I think it is very close."
"Wow, it's almost the smelliest ever!" Oliver was jubilant. I shooed everyone out and flushed the toilet. I think Oliver was wanting to save the trophies for awhile.

Family Circus

Yesterday morning at breakfast Gabriel came down and stood in the middle of the kitchen wearing a soggy diaper and a shirt. I was rushing around, throwing a load in the dryer, turning off the kettle, spooning up oatmeal and in a general hurry. Charles observed his little brother and said, " You know mom, I don't think Gabriel has been dressed yet." I responded with sarcasm," Way to use those deductive thinking skills, Charles." Charles contemplated this for a moment and then turned to Jonathan seated on the stool next to him. " I think she's mocking me," he stated. Jonathan replied in his rather good British accent, " and right you are, my good man."

Daily Diary

This isn't exactly turning out to be daily yet. Last night we had some friends over for dinner. Once I figure out downloading pictures, I'll add them! (Even Jon couldn't quite get it to work, so that made me feel a little better). After dinner, Jonathan, Caroline and I fiddled. Unfortunately, Oliver insisted on being a part of the action, but he can only play a couple notes in random order with even more random rhythms. He can play LOUD, however. We convinced him to go in the music room and play with the door closed so we wouldn't disturb him, but this only lasted a little while. I thought we were pretty good fiddlers, as did my friend Kevin. Jon said it was more annoying than anything else because he was trying to talk and it was too loud.
With all this great weather we are having this week, I'd rather be camping! After lunch we (the kids excluding Vivian) went outside and jumped on the trampoline. It rather shocked the kids to see Big Mama, as they call me, jump. I let them know that once upon a time I was quite capable on the trampoline and could do front flips, back flips and other things. Should all of them not exist, I would probably still be able to do those things, so watch it! It is either really good excercise, or I'm seriously out of shape, but I was quite worn out after 15 minutes.
Violin and Viola lessons were canceled for today. The teacher is sick. All the kids were bummed. Jonathan wanted to switch over to his new violin and also work on the fiddle tunes. Charles has finally gotten his latest piece down and was eager to start the next song, and Oliver, who considers himself to be a virtuoso, just loves his lessons.
Back to the school room....