YOUR FIST IS HITTING MY FACE

rep·re·sent·a·tive   /ˌrɛprɪˈzɛntətɪv/ Show Spelled[rep-ri-zen-tuh-tiv]
noun
1. a person or thing that represents another or others.
2. an agent or deputy: a legal representative.
3. a person who represents a constituency or community in a legislative body, especially a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or a lower house in certain state legislatures.

I have had a bee in my bonnet on this issue for a long time.  It seems like it is coming up more and more frequently, and not just because it is an election year.

When we elect someone to office, it is their responsibility to then represent us.  I know that each election has a winner and a loser and that the losing side deserves some consideration when it comes to their point of view.  The concept of "majority rules" is meant to keep both sides working to have their points of view debated and weighed during elections and the "side" that wins is the one which gets the most consideration when positions are taken.

What I see developing more and more is elected representitives making decisions based on their own religious beliefs, on what is politically expedient or what they think will make them electable in the future.  So when I see these polls indicating that 67% of Catholics and 64% of other voters think the President's birth control coverage requirement should stand, why are we still talking about this?  What leverage should there be when the will of the people, the desire of the voters is to support the President?

Why are the elected officials of this country even meeting with the Catholic Bishops Council?  Beyond their individual vote and the sway they may hold over their church members, what other say should they have in the governing of our country?  None.  If they want to become a political force, then they should give up their non-profit status, pay their way and join in the fray.  Otherwise, their constituency is their own membership - which is certainly not the entire country.

When John F. Kennedy was running for President there were a lot of people against him because of his Catholic religion.  They said they didn't want the country run by the Pope.  Yet just these few years later we are being forced to fight off  religious intolerance, whim, mandate, threat and  prejudice at every turn.

As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, 'The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins.' Rights must be limited to claims of freedom to do anything which does not violate the freedoms of others.

If you don't believe in abortion, don't have one.  If you don't believe in using birth control, don't use it.  If you believe homosexuality is a sin, don't have sex with someone of the same sex.  If you don't believe in evolution, teach your children what you do believe and let the science teachers teach what they know.  Your right to believe in what you believe and practice your beliefs doesn't bother me until you try to foist it on me, my family, schools and the rights of others in this country.

FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  We have read the salacious details, heard the re-enactments, gawked at the photos and seen, as usual,  that Gloria Allred found a way to get involved in the Wiener story.  Oh the puns and double entendres - the writers have had a field day.  Hurrah - another sex scandal so we can continue to avoid delving into the real, hard issues.  The media outlets are not even making an effort to seem like they care about anything but frivolity and titillation.  When Pelosi had her scheduled press conference on the day the congressman had announced he would resign, this is what happened per the Talking Points blog when she made her opening remark:

"As usual we're here to talk about jobs, about protecting Medicare and protecting the middle class. If you're here to ask a question about Congressman Weiner, I won't be answering any."


If you thought disappointed news networks decided then to make do with the other items on her agenda, you'd be wrong. All three of the major cable nets -- CNN, MSNBC, and Fox -- all cut away right then.

I continue to believe that the media is the biggest contributor to the stupidity of the country and the decay of our government.

2.)  Since we are on the subject...crusaders against male circumcision (intactivists)  want parents to choose not to circumcise their sons AND they want the government to prohibit circumcision including  punishment for adults involved in circumcisions. 

We did not circumcise our son shortly after birth because my husband is not circumcised and he preferred not to do it to our son.  I went along with his wishes.  However, our son had to be circumcised at age 10 because of urinary issues.  He suffered from a problem a small percentage of uncircumcised males have and it had nothing to do with not being clean (which is what everyone always says is all it takes to maintain an uncut penis.)

So if we are going to say parents can't choose to have this procedure performed for medical or religious reasons - then, as raised in an opinion piece on CNN - we should ban the piercing of baby girl's ears.  Ear piercing is painful and it carries MORE complications than circumcising.

And that is the problem with all this poking our noses in other people's business - if you don't like it, don't do it.  Please feel free to let us know your opinion, but it is not your place to legislate based on your beliefs.

3.)  One more highlight from our graduation celebration and then I promise I will stop.  I managed to snap this reaction when Ally opened her gift.

We had completely fooled her into thinking she was not going to get what she asked for - an iTouch.  She really wanted an iPhone which we said we couldn't do for her and the iTouch came up briefly as an alternative.  She is aware of our finances and so I think she had given up on the idea that she would get a gift beyond the grad party.

So fun to surprise our kids, isn't it!


4.)  On Monday Ally and I spend the day at San Francisco State for a new student orientation.  We will learn more about the campus, the programs and meet with her advisor.  She will register for her classes at the end of the session.  This sounds like a very helpful program for new students entering into the complicated morass of college.  I am looking forward to it - except that it starts at 8am and I work the night before...I'm not as young as I once was and leaving the house 6 hours after I get home will be tough!

Ally is nervous about the orientation, meeting people, looking right - but she is excited to purchase an official college sweatshirt and decals for our cars.

THIS WILL BE OVERCOME

Every work day for over 5 years I have enjoyed the company of our parcel delivery service driver. We have talked about our kids, families, neighbors, politics and sometimes shared a little gossip. She is a great person and we have become friends.

During the summer she told us that she was going to get married. We were all so happy for her. She was getting married on the 10th anniversary of her commitment ceremony to her partner. They are lesbians. They have 2 wonderful children, a boy and a girl. I attended their reception and met other friends and neighbors, some gay, some straight all thrilled that our friends could be married.

The day after the election, and the passing of Prop 8, all of us at work were very sick at heart, very down. When our friend came in, we commiserated a bit.

But the next morning, she came in and said she was feeling good about things. A couple of lawsuits have been filed and, more importantly, the area where we live had not passed the proposition, in fact, almost the entire Bay Area had defeated it. She said it made her feel so much better knowing that the place that she lived and worked was supportive of her marriage. She said they have been through so much over the years, it was nice to have that.

Her positive take on what feels like such a soul crushing outcome made me even more determined to do whatever I could to help her and others who just want the same rights that I have.