Put down the red pen and step away slowly

How do you find out what your LJ user number is?

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:14:38 GMT

I saw a post by Ali Wildgoose where she made an LJ card--and she had her user number on it. I clicked, hoping it would go find it for you, but no, you have to fill it in. So where do you find it?

~Amanda, the stupid

More healthcare details

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:19:39 GMT

My brother passed this along. And for those of you who will tell me to consider the source and that it's misinterpreted? I say that any legislation where such radically different interpretations are possible is deeply flawed, and we need to go back to the drawing board.
*********

We need to be vigilant in investigating the ramifications of the Pelosi Health Care Bill. Some provisions sound so outrageous as to be considered impossible to fathom, but they’re right there in the bill in black and white. For instance, page 297 of the bill explains the punishment for not purchasing government mandated health insurance. If you don’t buy what the government considers “acceptable health care coverage,” you’re going to be hit with a tax of at least 2.5% of your income. And if you don’t pay that new tax, you could be fined as much as $250,000 and sentenced to up to five years in prison.

But here’s the thing: they have to make the penalty for opting out very harsh in order to force us to buy coverage. The only way to keep this government run health care plan afloat is for everyone to buy into it – especially young and healthy people. That means that they will have to penalize citizens if we choose not to buy a plan that will cost a minimum of about $15,000 per family per year.

The bill that came out of the Senate last month – the Baucus Bill – does just the opposite. It calls for a much lighter penalty ($750 maximum) for people who don’t buy government approved health coverage, making it cheaper to pay the fine than to pay for the coverage. (And with a recession on, who can blame families for not wanting to pay $15,000 for a government mandated health care plan?)

But here’s the kicker: the bill also forces insurance companies to cover everyone, regardless of pre-existing conditions. Think about what that means. A lot of people – especially young and healthy people – will just pay the penalty instead of purchasing coverage because they’ll figure that it’ll always be there if they get sick, as government has promised. That’s what will happen, and when it does it will totally undermine the very concept of “insurance” – which is basically a group of people pooling their resources over time to cover themselves for a rainy day, paying while they’re healthy so that they’re covered when they’re sick. Those who are healthy now pay for those who are sick. If your insurance pool only contains sick people, it’s a bust. And that’s what this government plan will be. Without all of those young and healthy people paying into the pool and defraying the costs, the government will have to pony up more and more money, and who knows how long the whole crazy plan will last before it goes broke – and our country with it!

That’s where we are with this bureaucratic mess: either the government penalizes people so harshly that they could be hit with huge taxes and even possible jail time, or the government makes the penalty a slap on the wrist and undermines the plan from the get-go. Forcing individuals to buy health insurance seems unconstitutional, yet Congress wants to foist it on us anyway. Proponents of government controlled health care will say, “But we’re made to buy car insurance and home insurance, what’s the difference with health insurance?” It’s apples and oranges. Auto insurance is a state law requirement, and people can always choose not to drive. Banks might require you to have home owner’s insurance, but again, you choose to own a home, just as you choose to drive. You have no choice at all when it comes to this federal government health care insurance mandate.

There are other ways to reform health care without violating our Constitution and our personal liberties. Let’s get back to discussing market-driven, patient-centered, result-driven solutions, like, for example, allowing people to purchase insurance across state lines, tackling existing government waste and fraud, and reforming medical malpractice laws (tort reform) to stop unwarranted lawsuits that force doctors to order unnecessary procedures just to cover themselves.

Please let your Senators know that the Pelosi Bill should be dead on arrival. Once we go down this big government path, it will be virtually impossible to reverse course. Let’s fight for the reform that makes sense for Americans before it’s too late.

- Sarah Palin

Please, somebody kill this healthcare bill

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:44:49 GMT

I figured the House would pass it, but I had been hoping more Democrats might actually listen to their constituents. Alas, it's about the power.

I'll keep fighting the good fight, praying for a miracle now and serious conservative action in 2010, but it still just baffles me how otherwise intelligent people are willing to support this, who even think it's a good thing.

What the Pelosi Health-Care Bill Really Says

~Amanda

Michael's prepositional poem

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:23:15 GMT

I swear, this kid is a constant source of surprises. Most of them are horrible, I grant you--the old food stashed under the bed, the fights at school--but this one was of the more pleasant ones. He had an assignment to write a poem using 18 prepositions, and he wrote this. A love poem. Jan said when he saw what it was turning into, he just ran with the genre.

I just don't expect this sort of thing out of a 10-year-old male hellion who's into Wii combat games and sees everything through a lens of espionage and war.

Transcribed from his paper--all notes and misspellings are his. Prepositions are underlined as he had them.

Michael Poem (weird! I don't know how it turned into a love poem)

Across the sea and over the land,
Seeing you is just grand,
Beyond beauty and above heaven,
Your love is a given.
But when you leave my heart is gone,
Without you, my love is gone off.
Upon my sorrows, you arrive
With your arrival, you make me derive
Into your arms, to wrap around you
From inside my heart, through and through
Toward your arms I go into.
Of all beauty, only you are the most
From east to west, from north to south,
You are my sunshine.

--Michael, October 2009

Just because of this icon

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:44:35 GMT

Saw this picture on a friend's Facebook and I had to have it as an icon. The "microwavable" is the best part, I swear.

No idea where she took this photo--I have to ask her!

~Amanda

Please support my Light the Night Walk in memory of my brother

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:05:25 GMT

In 2007 I registered to walk for the Light the Night Walk in San Antonio; and I have again. My family and I will be walking in memory of my brother Kelley, who died of leukemia in 1968 at age 7.

Light the Night is sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and this Walk is a major fundraiser for their cancer research.

I was four when Kelley died, and he was wonderful. As I put it once in an essay, his smile spared our mother many tears. Kelley would be 46 now; and I've often wondered how my life, and the world, would have been different if he had lived. Fundraising events like this may help other little sisters be able to grow up arguing, tattling, fighting, and wishing their brothers were dead--instead of the other way around.

My site is here, and this year I managed to add a picture of Kelley, taken on July 20, 1968, about a month before he died.

If you are so inclined, you can make a donation online. And my heartfelt thanks for any contribution you care to make.

~Amanda

Another Michael opus (drumroll)

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:59:16 GMT

Michael, currently 10 and in the 5th grade, had an assignment to plan out certain elements of, and then write a story. With a little back-and-forthing, as the story took hold and required the basic elements to be adjusted, he produced this. Unedited by Mom.

Story elements:

Problem: Radiation transforms plants and animals into monsters

Setting: Floresville, Texas

Solution: The team gets giant squirrels to eat the killer pecans

Characters: Shawn, Issah, Daniel, Alehandro, Michael, and the mayor

And now, with no further ado, may I present....

The Killer Radiation Monsters!!

On a chilly autumn day, three men in black suits watched as the truck dumped its radioactive cargo into the hole that had been dug earlier that morning. As the radioactive waste sat in the hole, slowly it sept into the water pipes of a town in Texas called Floresville. Suddenly, the radiation struck!!!! Thousands died, hundreds fled the city, and everyone was in a panic!!! The yearly Floresville Peanut Festival was cancelled, and the mayor scheduled it in a town called Waco. But some people stayed behind. They were Shawn, Issah, Daniel, Michael, and Alehandro. First, they fond a really old stash of radioactive-proof gear. Second, they put on the gear and went out into the street. Then they met a super, man eating, giant, killer peanut. Try as they might, they could not kill that nut!! Then Alehandro ran and in a flurry, was bustin' that plant to kingdom come!!!!!! Then they continued until they saw a grocery store with the door blown off its hinges. They saw a suspicious pecan-shaped outline in the wall. They decided to go in. They went in and found 1,000,000 super, man eating, giant, killer pecans. They ran like lightning out of the store and into the street, ran through the park, and found 1,000,000 super, pecan eating, giant squirrels. it looked like there was no escape for our heroes, but suddenly, the squirrels jumped at the pecans and ate them and went to Antartica. Then our heroes unradioactified the city, and everything was back to normal again.

the end

Honestly, I've seen high-budget movies with less plot development. And he does seem to have a pretty good grasp of the basics of the genre--deus ex machina abound; heroes do stupid things (go into the store, despite the sinister pecan-shaped hole (how many of us have yelled at a movie screen, for the character to NOT walk down into that darkened basement?); and the ending ties everything up with a broad brush. AND he invented the marvelous word "unradioactified." I must use that in a sentence tomorrow.

I thought you'd enjoy this, especially those of you who remember his earlier opus.

~Amanda

Especially for Macloudt!

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:25:25 GMT

I have no idea if this is legit. The world would be a better place if it were.

I honestly can't decide which option is my favorite; probably that last one.

This is starting to get chilling

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:11:43 GMT

I am so proud of Senator Cornyn for speaking up.

Here's the white house blog entry in question, FYI.

I'd like to find the Drudge link to the expanded version of the Obama quote about single-payer universal healthcare, which showed that it was NOT taken out of context (referenced here). I'd forgotten how much I like the Drudge Report, but I just don't have time to comb his archives.

I need to find some way to do more than just wear my Tea Party shirt.

~Amanda

Oh, SO much more detail than you wanted to know!

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:28:05 GMT

I realized I hadn't posted anything post-surgery, so I thought I would, to let you know that alas, I seem to be fine and the surgery was successful, and yes, you all still have to read my overly detailed, TMI-rich posts. Bwahahaha, etc.

So. Surgery was Thursday, 7/23, and I was dropped at the hospital at the ungodly hour of 6:00 a.m. by Jan and the boys. We had gotten rid of Kasia the night before; she was having a sleepover with her best friend. Jan then found breakfast for the boys somewhere, and deposited them with the lovely and patient Kelley, before circling back to l'hopital.

In the meantime, I'd filled out the various and sundry forms required of admission ("yes, I understand the hospital could suddenly be hit by a meteor and that personal injury could result...initials:_____"), been fitted with an IV (always the most painful part of any medical experience), seen my surgeon, and met my anesthesiologist (who had a long, thin face, deep black eyes, fair skin, luxuriant shoulder-length center-parted glossy black hair, and a great smile. It was Muggle!Snape!).

Surgery must have been soon after; I don't remember much past he of the lovely hair, until I woke up in my room. Private room! Yaay! Jan came back sometime after I woke up--very proud of him for actually navigating the bureaucracy enough to find my room (I don't think he had time to look in every room until he got to mine...). He said encouraging things and hung around until I sent him home. Nothing for him to do there, and they were keeping me overnight anyway. (And he had things to do. Kasia was accepted by a private school, a new Catholic high school they're opening up, that we found at the eleventh hour--another long story there--and of course, the open house to meet teachers and the other students ended up being that Thursday night, so he had to go collect the boys from Kelley's, Kasia from her friend's house, and get them all fed and dressed and to the school by 6:00.)

Nothing hurt (except the IV), which was nice. I never had to call for pain meds. They keep you overnight for this procedure mostly to make sure your calcium levels are sufficient, because the thyroid has to come out from under and around the parathyroids, which regulate calcium in the system, and said parathyroids can be stressed and stop working for a time. Mine were fine, though, and I was cleared to go home the next day.

There was a bit of a comedy of errors getting me home, because Jan was waiting below for me to show up, and they were keeping me in the room until he came up, but we finally got the wires straight and I was wheeled out in style. Jan took me home, parked me on the couch, told the kids to see to my every whim (really), and went to get my prescriptions.

And that's been it. I get tired fairly easily, and I don't have a great range of motion with my head yet. The incision is about, oh, 8 inches long? maybe 9, all together, and runs from just above my right collarbone, across my throat, then takes a 90-degree turn north and goes up to behind my left ear. Supposedly it really doesn't leave much of a scar; we'll see. It'll make for some interesting party conversation, if not.

What worries me more than the scar is that above the incision, the skin is numb--my left ear, completely, and the skin of my neck up until just over the curve of the jaw onto my face. I can move and control it--just not feel anything. Worse, the muscles that pull down the left side of my chin--the ones you use "baring your teeth" or when you're rubbing your lips together putting on chapstick?--they don't respond. I can control my lips themselves, but not that section of facial muscle. It's a little awkward to talk, and when I smile or laugh, my lower lip pulls in over my teeth on the left side. Ugh.

It was like that just after surgery, and my surgeon told me the nerves get stretched when they do a neck dissection, but he didn't cut any (although the procedure says to). He says his female patients complain too much, so he stretches the nerves out of the way instead. But apparently it takes some time for them to recover from the procedure--can be six weeks--so he swore to me that most of it, 95%, would come back. Hope so.

I had my followup appointment this morning, and he took the tape off the incision, and was pleased with the progress. There had been no change re: the numbness or muscle control, but again, he said he didn't cut those nerves and the response should come back gradually. The analysis after surgery: he took out both lobes of the thyroid; the right was clear, but the left had two main tumors, one of which was an inch in diameter; he took out 13 lymph nodes from the throat under the thyroid, most of which were clean; and he took 7 nodes from along my neck, five of which had tumors in them. So all in all, probably good to have had this done, even if the nerves don't come back. Which is my lurking fear.

I was supposed to go back to work on Monday 8/3, but I didn't feel I was able to turn my head well enough or quickly enough to drive, so the surgeon approved a longer time away. I just have to get his office to call our short-term disability agency on Monday.

So. Part of me likes being at home--they have me on some thyroid hormone, and I'm doing as much of my Wii yoga and exercise routines as I can, to get my metabolic expectations set with my system--and it's nice to sleep until I wake, do my routine when I feel up to it, rest when I feel tired, etc. And I'm gradually getting the clutter cleared out of our bonus room and hallway--I commandeer one small minion a day, and direct the activity for an hour or so. Lets me feel like I'm accomplishing something. Part of me is worried to be away from work for so long--they'll charge on ahead and leave me behind, right? Or they'll realize that nothing's all that difficult with me gone, so I couldn't have been doing anything that critical, right? Etc. I never have decided if I'm insecure or brutally honest.

So. Next steps involve being on this thyroid hormone for a month (of which, I've done a week and a half); then apparently they have me quit cold turkey for two weeks and let me go hypo-thyroid, the better to have the radioactive iodine sucked up when I take it. Which procedure requires me to be in the hospital for two days, even though it is simply the taking of a pill and has no real physical effects, because it's, well, radioactive and they can't let me go out in public glowing in the dark. Yeah, it'd probably keep Jan awake, anyway. So that'll be in another month or so, I guess.

Anyway. I owed you an update. Sorry if it's TMI. I am a detail person. And now, since we've finished Season 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation and don't have Season 3, I believe I will crack open the Cadfael collection someone gave us. *sigh*

~Amanda

Update--Surgery! Whee!

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:12:21 GMT

Okay--barring my finding out something wholly unsavory about this surgeon or the Metropolitan Methodist Hospital--which is unlikely, since all the rating services I can find on the net involve $$$ or subscriptions--here's the details of my surgery:

(1) Scheduled for Thursday, July 23; if no complications, I'll go home the next day.

(2) They'll take out the whole thyroid, plus the lymph nodes on the left side of the neck.

(3) Risk is LOW. I told you. Main risk involves nicking the vocal nerves, causing permanent hoarseness. I could go for a husky Lauren Bacall thing, but I bet it wouldn't work like that, so that's really the only thing to cross your fingers about.

(I tend towards TMI with respect to medical procedures, so as a favor to you all, I'll stop there; further details available upon request. Complete with little diagrams.)

(4) They said to expect to be home for at least a week; or rather, they said not to drive for a week. I imagine that's due to the head-twisting required, which is probably bad after surgery on the neck. Jan's offered to drive me to work if the restriction is only on driving; but I'm not sure what other activities are restricted and for how long.

(5) As I understand, if I do anything billable in that whole time I'll hose up short-term disability kicking in; and this will drive me insane. If I had any sense I'd have put this off until August 25, when House MD Season 5 comes out on DVD.

I'll let you all know if anything changes.

~Amanda

This was an interesting call

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:17:38 GMT

Sort of a long story. Or actually, has some longish prequels.

March-November 2007:
My company offered health screenings, which I participated in. Results of just about everything (except body mass index, shut up) were within normal and healthy limits--I'm apparently one of those people who does just fine somewhat overweight--except my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was just over the limit into the red.

FYI, TSH is a hormone that the pituitary puts out, to prod the thyroid into action. If the thyroid isn't working well, it doesn't suck the TSH out of the bloodstream, so there's a lot of unused TSH left floating around. So a high level of TSH means your thyroid isn't working too well.

My OB/GYN looked over the health screening report and advised I see my doctor about the thyroid. I did; she put me on thyroid hormone, and I started to lose my hair. She also sent me to a specialist, who did a needle biopsy (which REALLY hurt) and an MRI, determined there were nodules on the left side, and wanted to take out the whole thyroid.

Being unimpressed with the specialist or her level of rigor in discussing options, I wanted a second opinion. While I was figuring out how to find one, my whole gallbladder attack and surgery and such happened (November 2007), and with one thing and another, this was back-burnered. I mean, it's asymptomatic. I wasn't having problems. Thyroid issues can cause any or all of a whole laundry list of things, but for me it seemed to be fatigue, depression, and some memory issues, which I'd probably have anyway, given my schedule, kids, etc. And I could totally live without the hair loss.

March-May 2009:
I took the company's health screening again, figuring I should at least check on things. And everything came back within a few points of what it had been--I really do seem to be a basically healthy person--but the TSH was twice as high. So whatever wasn't working, was working even less now. Okay, okay. No new symptoms, but yeah, that's signficant.

Well, I knew I didn't like the specialist my primary physician had recommended. I wasn't even sure what specialty to go for--ENT? Endocrinologist? etc. I did some poking around online, decided for the endocrinologist, and asked some people at work who I know have thyroid problems for references. I got one, and got an appointment for yesterday.

Yesterday, June 24, 2009:
I really liked the doctor; he talked to me in his office, and this office was the coolest place. Bookshelves everwhere, with books both orderly and not, on a huge range of topics; framed formal portraits and diplomas interspersed with snapshots and certificates from taking viticulture classes in Bordeaux; newspaper clippings about his winery (owns a winery!); but the sense everywhere of not a cluttered but a mobile and interested mind. Very organized desk in the middle of it all.

The doctor took a good history; took time to really talk; and understood my personal goal of avoiding baldness. Then he opted to do an ultrasound (right then and there), then a needle biopsy (right then and there). Make that five needle biopsies. But he gave me little deadening shots, which the other specialist hadn't--she only used a topical--and it was only uncomfortable. Sent me down to the lab on my way out for a blood draw for blood testing. And said to call him tomorrow at 10:00 for the biopsy results.

Today:
The doctor called me at 9:00. Ominous, when they call you before the time they'd told you to call them. Upshot? I have thyroid papillary cancer.

Apparently it's a "good" type of cancer to have, if such a thing exists--very curable, treatment won't destroy you, etc. I called Jan to let him know, and told my supervisors at work.

The doctor referred me to a surgeon, and I have an appointment to talk to him on July 1; I'll update when I know more.

Jan and I are pretty matter-of-fact about this--moreso than some of my work people. I mean, I've done what I can, and in the meantime, I have to get ready to go to Canada! And I'm seeing Wicked tonight with Jan and can't work late! I respond to high-stress situations by doing what needs to be done; I've done that, and what's left is not within my control, and that seems pretty straightforward. (My supervisor did wish to know why I could not be so reasonable about the lower-stress situations I get into at work.)

Anyway, this seems something I should let you all know about, so consider yourself notified. Once I figure out the best ways to milk this, more pitiful and manipulative posts will appear.

~Amanda

I have a great tit!

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:11:32 GMT

His name's Steve.

We went to the bird show today, to get a better cage for our second cockatiel--the one we bought as a companion to our first cockatiel, but who lives in his own cage because they can't stand to be together. And I finally succumbed to temptation and bought myself a little bird of my own.

Although it would undeniably make for better puns if I had a pair of great tits, having one is still very fun. In fact, I was intending to name him Hefner until "Steve" lodged itself fairly strongly in my mind, out of nowhere.

I think he's the Indian variety, because he's not very yellow beneath. He's starting to make charming little cheeps, as he gets used to his new cage and home. He's adorable. I'd post a picture if I knew how.

~Amanda

Randomness Win

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:37:06 GMT

Can anyone *cough*Macloudt*cough* possibly make me an icon that says "Ne portez pas pour le sumo luttant"? That is the most wonderfully random thing I've seen in forever.

see more pwn and owned pictures

HELP-->Level of non-G-ratedness of "Wicked" (show)

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:53:36 GMT

My cousin is singing Glinda in Wicked, and it's coming to San Antonio, and my husband and I should go see it. My question to you all--what is the age-appropriateness of the content? The book is definitely not G-rated.

Kid ages are 13, 12, and 9. Interest level in the 12 and 9 is iffy anyway, but my daughter may want to come. Good idea, bad idea?

~Amanda

The evil, infamous, contagious one-word meme

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:06:54 GMT

I think I did this meme a while back, so this may be a repeat for all of you, and I know you have better things to do anyway. But I need a diversion from my horrible filthy house and stressful work and school spiraling into disaster. Divert me.

- Describe me in one word... just one single word. Positive or negative. [AMANDA EDIT: there's a third option...?]

- Leave your word in a comment before looking at what words others have used.

- Then copy and paste the meme to your journal to find out how people will describe you when limited to one word.

I kind of like this result.

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:06:28 GMT

Your result for The Golden Compass Daemon Test...

The Honest Soul.

You are a talkative, open kind of person. You wear your heart on your sleeve, and you trust people not to break it. In a way, you are as honest and trusting as a child. You are comfortable with who you are and have a strong sense of self, but you are also a little sensitive. Hurtful remarks, especially from people whose opinion you value, have the power to wound you terribly.

You tend to be open about your thoughts and opinions, and you find it difficult to hide your emotions from people. You like to share your thoughts, opinions, and emotions with people, and to hear theirs in return. When someone disagrees with you or offends you, you will take them up on it, whether they are friends or strangers. You don't mind a friendly debate, but become upset when things get hostile. You wish that people wouldn't take everything so personally, but simply think calmly about things.

You have a close knit group of friends and family for whom you would sacrifice almost anything. You don't like big parties full of strangers - you would rather spend your time with the people whom you really care about. You need a private spot where you can retreat when the world gets to be too much, but you want to be able to emerge from your "den" and find your loved ones there to heap love and affection upon you.

Your daemon would represent your loving, open nature, and he or she would probably spend a lot of time encouraging you to be independent and to do the right thing.

Suggested forms: Dog, Otter, Marmoset, Saw-Whet Owl, Songbird, Chinchilla.

Take The Golden Compass Daemon Test at HelloQuizzy

Why, indeed?

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:36:53 GMT

Your Word is "Why"

You see life as complicated and intriguing. The only thing you know for sure is that you haven't figured it all out yet.

You question everything and believe very little. And whatever you believe is likely to change.

You are interested in theories, philosophies, and religions... even if you don't buy into any of them.

You are also fascinated by how things work. You'd like to understand as much in the world as possible.

What's Your Word?

Kids. Teachers. Suggestions?

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:59:57 GMT

From: Ms. Adams (Michael's teacher)
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 3:04 PM
To: Geist, Amanda [USA]
Subject: Michael - drawing

Hi Mrs. Geist,

I just tried to catch Mr. Geist on the phone before he came into town to pick Michael up but I missed him. I was calling to let you know that Michael drew a comic strip to express his aggravation with another student after being told not to. It showed him fighting with/hurting the other student and then declaring that he won. He was warned not to express himself in this way because it could get him in more trouble but he did it anyway. He also told me that he will continue to draw them but make secret envelopes and hide them so no one sees them.

After school I had to walk him to the doors leading outside because he was running. He was arguing with me and saying that he hated the other student (the one he drew the picture of). He also went to the counselor this morning after getting very mad at me for a hole punch that I gave him because he was refusing to do his work (he sat there for an hour doing nothing though myself and another teacher tried to give him ideas and gave him positive reinforcement). He refused to fill out the hole punch note and continued to say that he didn’t deserve it. I tried to reason with him. After visiting with Mrs. Torres he came back to the room and was fine until this afternoon with Mr. Walton. I just wanted to let you know what else went on today.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for your time!

--------------------
Ms. Adams--

Thanks for the note; I was away from my desk today. We'll try to see what's going on, but I have to ask--why is drawing as an outlet for aggression objectionable? I had always believed that was a healthy outlet (as opposed to expressing it verbally or physically). Can you clarify? If we remove all outlets, he'll turn into a little pressure valve.

Maybe we can work it out so that he draws his strips and gives them to you, or goes to the counselor to draw them, or shows nobody and brings them home? You have to understand that Michael is acting on a longstanding precedent, because his brother Tomek's focus for years has been comic strips which reflect current happenings, and we've always encouraged this, as have Tomek's teachers. Michael may see this as the grossest inequality, that Tomek does this and he's being told not to.

Even if he had no precedent, I'm very concerned that we may cause a worse reaction by blocking a largely harmless one.

Thanks,

~Amanda

I would agree.

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:09:31 GMT

From yesterday's Wall Street Journal: The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace.

I'd agree; in my opinion, Bush's main fault was that he genuinely tried to be bipartisan and reach across the aisle. It made his own party question him, and let his opponents use him. He never achieved the "new tone" he so wanted to. He was a realist in many ways, but an idealist with respect to human nature, and Washington runs on the lowest common denominator of human motivation, not the highest.

I fully believe history will show him a great president who led well in challenging times. Too bad he wouldn't just take his authority and run with it the way he could have.

~Amanda

This will be interesting.

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:34:56 GMT

Well, you guys got what you asked for. Let's see if it's really what you wanted. And now let's see if the boy can make more than pretty words, when he's confronted with reality.

He always sounded more like a proposal than an execution plan to me, and now it's time to execute. This is what I doubt he has the experience to do. Eh, he may do fine, since I suspect he is the tool of greater masters. Unless he finds out that he is, and reacts badly.

My kids are bummed out, but I'm trying to convey the point that this is still the best country to live in, even if you disagree with the current leadership. And I renewed my Rush 24/7 membership, and my Limbaugh Letter subscription, to help keep my faith up for the next few years.

~Amanda

I have loved Orson Scott Card before, and do now again

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:14:29 GMT

This is wonderful. Reproduced in its entirety with no LJ-cut, because I agree with every word.

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?

by Orson Scott Card
October 20, 2008

An open letter to the local daily paper -- almost every local daily paper in America:

I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.

This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.

It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans.

What is a risky loan? It's a loan that the recipient is likely not to be able to repay.

The goal of this rule change was to help the poor -- which especially would help members of minority groups. But how does it help these people to give them a loan that they can't repay? They get into a house, yes, but when they can't make the payments, they lose the house -- along with their credit rating.

They end up worse off than before.

This was completely foreseeable and in fact many people did foresee it. One political party, in Congress and in the executive branch, tried repeatedly to tighten up the rules. The other party blocked every such attempt and tried to loosen them.

Furthermore, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were making political contributions to the very members of Congress who were allowing them to make irresponsible loans. (Though why quasi-federal agencies were allowed to do so baffles me. It's as if the Pentagon were allowed to contribute to the political campaigns of congressmen who support increasing their budget.)

Isn't there a story here? Doesn't journalism require that you who produce our daily paper tell the truth about who brought us to a position where the only way to keep confidence in our economy was a $700 billion bailout? Aren't you supposed to follow the money and see which politicians were benefiting personally from the deregulation of mortgage lending?

I have no doubt that if these facts had pointed to the Republican Party or to John McCain as the guilty parties, you would be treating it as a vast scandal. "Housing-gate," no doubt. Or "Fannie-gate."

Instead, it was Sen. Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, both Democrats, who denied that there were any problems, who refused Bush administration requests to set up a regulatory agency to watch over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and who were still pushing for these agencies to go even further in promoting subprime mortgage loans almost up to the minute they failed.

As Thomas Sowell points out in a TownHall.com essay entitled "Do Facts Matter?" (http://snipurl.com/457to): "Alan Greenspan warned them four years ago. So did the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the President. So did Bush's Secretary of the Treasury."

These are facts. This financial crisis was completely preventable. The party that blocked any attempt to prevent it was ... the Democratic Party. The party that tried to prevent it was ... the Republican Party.

Yet when Nancy Pelosi accused the Bush administration and Republican deregulation of causing the crisis, you in the press did not hold her to account for her lie. Instead, you criticized Republicans who took offense at this lie and refused to vote for the bailout!

What? It's not the liar, but the victims of the lie who are to blame?

Now let's follow the money ... right to the presidential candidate who is the number two recipient of campaign contributions from Fannie Mae.

And after Fred Raines, the CEO of Fannie Mae who made $90 million while running it into the ground, was fired for his incompetence, one presidential candidate's campaign actually consulted him for advice on housing.

If that presidential candidate had been John McCain, you would have called it a major scandal and we would be getting stories in your paper every day about how incompetent and corrupt he was.

But instead, that candidate was Barack Obama, and so you have buried this story, and when the McCain campaign dared to call Raines an "adviser" to the Obama campaign -- because that campaign had sought his advice -- you actually let Obama's people get away with accusing McCain of lying, merely because Raines wasn't listed as an official adviser to the Obama campaign.

You would never tolerate such weasely nit-picking from a Republican.

If you who produce our local daily paper actually had any principles, you would be pounding this story, because the prosperity of all Americans was put at risk by the foolish, short-sighted, politically selfish and possibly corrupt actions of leading Democrats, including Obama.

If you who produce our local daily paper had any personal honor, you would find it unbearable to let the American people believe that somehow Republicans were to blame for this crisis.

There are precedents. Even though President Bush and his administration never said that Iraq sponsored or was linked to 9/11, you could not stand the fact that Americans had that misapprehension -- so you pounded us with the fact that there was no such link. (Along the way, you created the false impression that Bush had lied to them and said that there was a connection.)

If you had any principles, then surely right now, when the American people are set to blame President Bush and John McCain for a crisis they tried to prevent, and are actually shifting to approve of Barack Obama because of a crisis he helped cause, you would be laboring at least as hard to correct that false impression.

Your job, as journalists, is to tell the truth. That's what you claim you do, when you accept people's money to buy or subscribe to your paper.

But right now, you are consenting to or actively promoting a big fat lie -- that the housing crisis should somehow be blamed on Bush, McCain and the Republicans. You have trained the American people to blame everything bad -- even bad weather -- on Bush, and they are responding as you have taught them to.

If you had any personal honor, each reporter and editor would be insisting on telling the truth -- even if it hurts the election chances of your favorite candidate.

Because that's what honorable people do. Honest people tell the truth even when they don't like the probable consequences. That's what honesty means. That's how trust is earned.

Barack Obama is just another politician, and not a very wise one. He has revealed his ignorance and naivete time after time -- and you have swept it under the rug, treated it as nothing.

Meanwhile, you have participated in the borking of Sarah Palin, reporting savage attacks on her for the pregnancy of her unmarried daughter -- while you ignored the story of John Edwards' own adultery for many months.

So I ask you now: Do you have any standards at all? Do you even know what honesty means?

Is getting people to vote for Barack Obama so important that you will throw away everything that journalism is supposed to stand for?

You might want to remember the way the National Organization of Women (NOW) threw away their integrity by supporting Bill Clinton despite his well-known pattern of sexual exploitation of powerless women. Who listens to NOW anymore? We know they stand for nothing; they have no principles.

That's where you are right now.

It's not too late. You know that if the situation were reversed, and the truth would damage McCain and help Obama, you would be moving heaven and earth to get the true story out there.

If you want to redeem your honor, you will swallow hard and make a list of all the stories you would print if it were McCain who had been getting money from Fannie Mae, McCain whose campaign had consulted with its discredited former CEO, McCain who had voted against tightening its lending practices.

Then you will print them, even though every one of those true stories will point the finger of blame at the reckless Democratic Party, which put our nation's prosperity at risk so they could feel good about helping the poor, and lay a fair share of the blame at Obama's door.

You will also tell the truth about John McCain: that he tried, as a senator, to do what it took to prevent this crisis. You will tell the truth about President Bush: that his administration tried more than once to get Congress to regulate lending in a responsible way.

This was a Congress-caused crisis, beginning during the Clinton administration, with Democrats leading the way into the crisis and blocking every effort to get out of it in a timely fashion.

If you at our local daily newspaper continue to let Americans believe -- and vote as if -- President Bush and the Republicans caused the crisis, then you are joining in that lie.

If you do not tell the truth about the Democrats -- including Barack Obama -- and do so with the same energy you would use if the miscreants were Republicans -- then you are not journalists by any standard.

You're just the public relations machine of the Democratic Party, and it's time you were all fired and real journalists brought in, so that we can actually have a daily newspaper in our city.

I refuse to sign this.

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:26:07 GMT

Every year, the Floresville school district sends home, in the packet of forms to fill out and send back, a "Compact for Excellence." It has sections for "The School Shall" and "The Parent Shall." Here is what the parent shall, in the Elementary version:

> Make sure the child attends school consistently.
> Make sure that homework is completed.
> Supervise television watching.
> Participate in deciions relating to the education of child, such as school board elections, completing surveys, or other means of communication and involvement.
> Attend a parent-teacher conference as scheduled by the teacher(s) or staff.
> Volunteer in the child's classroom when possible.
> Communicate with the teacher if any problems are observed.
> Make sure extracurricular time and activities are positive.
> Other.

Here is what the parent shall, in the Middle School version:

> Take an active role in my child's education.
> Make sure my child comes to school rested, prepared, and on time.
> Maintain a balance between homework and recreational activities.
> Keep an open line of communication between home and school.
> Model appropriate character that I want my child to develop and demonstrate.

In fourteen years of dealing with the school district, I have never signed this form. I will never sign it. It offends me in two ways. For one, it ventures into areas that I believe are absolutely no business of the school. The school system persistently, quietly, and in the guise of convenience, has consistently tried to put itself, not the home, as central in the child's life. I hated the way the buses came early, forcing me to get my children up at 4:30 so they could get to school in time for "breakfast," undermining my own attempts to have a family breakfast before school. Meals are an intensely social activity, and I resented the way the school--which already owned lunch--was pre-empting another. School keeps reaching its tendrils into my home, trying to replace it as the center of social focus, and I detest that. Peer pressure didn't exist in the form our society bemoans, until we created it by providing artificial age-sorting that allowed the formation of peer groups as we know them. And what do we do? Not remove the cause and encourage mixed-age education; we increase the focus on the problem caused by the school, by adding more programs that are school-based to combat it. Circular, aggregative, putting family and home second. Pah. So for the purposes of this "pledge"? It's none of the school's damn business what I let my children watch on TV, or whether extracurricular activities are positive, or whether I "model appropriate character." Their "character" programs also offend me. Teach my children to read, to do math, to learn science. I will teach them responsibility, trustworthiness, (insert any other of their stupid "Community of Character" program). Stop trying to deliver *my* messages. Get your social agenda out of the school. Shades of Harper Valley PTA.

For another--I am deeply offended by the implication that I needed these basic parental duties pointed out to me. That I would not otherwise be paying attention to homework, communicating, making sure they get enough sleep, etc. I wouldn't sign a pledge not to murder people, or steal cars, or beat people up--of course I won't do these things. And so I won't sign a pledge promising not to neglect my child. The implication is that I must be asked to promise this--otherwise I *would* neglect them. That is offensive to me as a person and as a parent, and they can stuff their form where it might model inappropriate character to say.

My husband is mildly amused by my reaction. He says it's because I'm Texan, and my first reaction to laws/rules is negative--they are limitations (as opposed to Easterners, for instance, who tend to have a positive reaction--laws/rules are protections). But even factoring out my initial negative response to any "you have to" instruction? This is damned offensive.

(throws forms in recycle bin at work, now that I've vented)

~Amanda

Except for anime, I'm an all-purpose nerd, actually

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:47:47 GMT

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Science/Math Nerd
Drama Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Musician
Artistic Nerd
Social Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Oh, NO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:08:53 GMT

I have class on Tuesday nights, 7:00-8:30.

HOUSE is on, Tuesday nights, 8:00-9:00.

I don't have the capability to videotape.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA(breathe)AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA(etc.)

This is, quite honestly, the. Only. Thing. I do for entertainment. My life is working and laundry and remembering kid obligations and working and nothing fun, nothing I demand *ME* time for, not even movies not even at home (because I get up to do various tasks while the movie is going, hating to waste the time)--except this one show. And I can't see it this semester. See "AAAAAAAA..." above.

I hadn't realized; it had been on Mondays last season. And the class would have been Tuesday regardless. But still.

*sob*