Damn Liberals

Baker City Pictures

Jen posted some of the pictures she took on our Baker City trip on flickr. That's all. Just an update. :) No political talk for this post, at least.

Choice

I am pro-choice to the core - I believe that I should get to make decisions about what happens to my body, and that it is not the role of government to legislate those decisions. I also believe that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. I advocate making adoption easier - and for making the process less secretive.

I like to think I'm not a one-issue voter, but I don't know that I could ever vote for a candidate that wants to overturn Roe v. Wade - it's too critical a freedom to me.

There are those that don't agree with me, that believe that abortion does not honor life - these are usually the same people who are against embryonic stem cell research, because of the use of an embryo for such research (it's life!). But the thing to me is -- many of those embryos are going to be thrown away instead of used. Is the greater good that they should be discarded, or that they should be used to find cures for many of the medical problems that people face, like Parkinson's Disease?

I think that an unplanned pregnancy can be a joy - neither of my children were planned, and they rock my world each and every day. I'm so damn PROUD to be their mother and am so happy that they're here with me. I also think that an unplanned pregnancy can be a terror - when you're not prepared to be a parent, you know it. When you can't afford another child, you know it. When you're in an abusive relationship, you know it, and it's certainly understandable if you don't want to subject anyone else to the source of that relationship. When you've been raped, should you have to add the additional reminder of that action to the burden you're carrying? I am for choice - for doing what you feel you need to do in the particular situation.

I also am interested to know what the anti-abortion folks think should happen to a woman who gets (or even seeks) an abortion, should Roe v. Wade be overturned. Should she be jailed? After all, she broke the law! Should we put the doctor in jail? Should we force medical personnel to report an abortion seeker? It's all very big brother.

Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. It's not going to go away - it'll just go back to the back alley, and women will die. Is that the greater good? I know many people who believe that abortion is immoral, and I think those people shouldn't have abortions. Heck, I think that anyone who doesn't want an abortion shouldn't have one. I also think that they should stay the hell away from my womb.

P.S. Abstinence education doesn't work. We need REAL sex ed.

September 11, 2001

I originally wrote this years ago, when the events of September 11, 2001 were fresh in my head. It's somewhat blurrier now, but every year I re-read what I wrote.

I hope it never happens again.

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On September 11, 2001, I was working as a consultant to the US Senate.

That morning, like most other mornings, I took the MARC train (a commuter train, not the subway) into DC. As the train was pulling into Union Station, my cell phone rang. It was my husband, who was supposed to go into work late that day, telling me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. He didn't have a lot of details, but told me they thought it was a Cessna or some other small plane. (Mr. LT had been taking flying lessons - in the end, it turned out that one of the terrorists had tried - but never succeeded - to take lessons at the airport where Mr. LT had been taking lessons.) I mentioned it to the other people on the train, because I was so shocked, and one of the other people confirmed that they'd heard it on their walkman [ed: walkman! wow].

I got off the train and walked over to the government building where I was working at the time. I asked the security guards in the lobby if they'd heard anything, and they hadn't. Got on the elevator and went to the floor where the Senate's offices are, and when I reached the floor's lobby, I asked the Capitol Police officer who was resposnsible for security if she had heard anything. She told me that a second plane had just crashed into the other tower (I don't know if I've ever heard words that scared me more - one plane = fluke, two planes = attack), and that there was a television in the office around the corner that I could look at if I wanted to. So I walked into the little office and saw some of the footage of the smoke billowing out of the towers, and a replay of the second plane hitting the tower.

Of course, by now I'm very late for my morning meeting, but I really don't care a whit. I must have been as white as a ghost when I walked in, because there was almost a blanket "what's wrong?" look from everyone. I know I had a hard time telling everyone - the meeting had started at 8:30 [ed: one of my co-workers told me years later that he'd been upset at me for being late to the meeting at the time], and nobody had come and told the meeting participants about what had been happening while they were meeting. I stumbled over the words, trying not to cry. We all sat there in shock for several minutes, and talked about what this might mean. It was about 9:10 when I had walked into the room. We then half-heartedly finished the meeting, and several of us had a second meeting at 9:30 that we stayed in the room to conduct.

A little after 9:40am, my cell phone rang. Mr. LT was calling me to tell me that a plane had hit the Pentagon. I relayed the information to the other people in the room, and Mr. LT asked me to please come home immediately - there were other planes that seemed to be out of their flight patterns, and nobody knew what was next. I decided that Mr. LT was right, that there was no point to me staying, and told my co-workers that I was leaving. I packed up my stuff, and went to check the Capitol Police's television again, and left.

I got outside the building at 9:50am, and stood there shaking for a while, checking the MARC train schedule to see when the next train back to my car was running. The next train wasn't scheduled to leave Union Station until 10:20am, and a half hour seemed like too much time to sit around and wait for a train. The DC Metro (the subway) also runs out of Union Station, with trains leaving every 7 minutes or so, so I decided to take the Metro out of DC and worry about getting to my car later. (I made the right decision - the 10:20 train never left Union Station that day.) (you know, I can feel the adrenaline while I'm writing this - I was more scared than I'd ever been before in my life.)

The Metro station wasn't very crowded at that point - a lot of people hadn't decided what to do yet. I remember thinking that Union Station was a landmark in DC, and feeling like a target while waiting for the subway train to arrive to take me out of the city. I hopped on the next train that took me in the direction of my house (the Metro line ends about 10 miles from where we lived), with a bunch of other strangers who instantly bonded. We were all so happy to be getting out of the city. We were underground in the subway tunnels for a while, and then the train went to an elevated track, and we could see the smoke from the Pentagon billowing everywhere. There were lots of conflicting stories - that another plane had crashed, that a bomb had gone off in the West Wing of the White House... We didn't know what to believe, but we were all relived to be moving away from the city. I had one of the few cell phones that could actually make calls (most of the cell carriers' systems were overloaded), and ended up passing my phone around the train so everyone could call their loved ones. When we were nearing the end of the line, where we'd all get off the train, I asked for my phone back, explaining that I needed to call Mr. LT to come pick me up and take me to my car.

Immediately, several people asked me where I lived (Crofton, MD, if it matters), and one of the women said that she lived in the next town south (Bowie, where the MARC train station where I'd left my car that morning is) and that she'd take me home. I asked her to take me to the MARC train station instead of home, and she said that'd be fine. So off I went with a stranger, to get a ride back to my car. I called Mr. LT to let him know he didn't need to leave the house. Strangely, I don't remember the woman's name, but she was a piece of work. She didn't want to turn on news radio, and made me listen to these Burt Bacharach recordings that were pirated - she's a big Burt fan, and was so proud to have them. We also had to stop by her house so she could check in, and prove to her mother (who is pretty old, and was living with my new friend) that she was actually alive, as apparently a voice on a phone doesn't prove that... :)

I finally got dropped off at my car, and thanked the nice woman for helping me. And immediately turned on WTOP, which is the DC area's all-news radio station. I wanted to know what was happening, although at that point it was all reaction, nothing really going on. Called Mr. LT again to let him know where I was, and he asked me to pick Burger up at school - he'd tried once, but the school didn't want release kids at that point, but he wanted her home NOW. So I drove over to the school, and the school was releasing kids left and right at this point.

I'd held it together until I saw Burger walking down the hall toward me. The tears just started running down my face, and I was so so so happy to see her, and know that she was safe. The school hadn't told her what had happened, so I gently explained what I knew, and hugged her tightly. Then we went home and Mr. LT and I watched it all (Burger was allowed to watch a little, but thankfully, she was more interested in playing with her friends), and talked about it all, and cried, and were (and are) so grateful that we were together, and safe, and then we cried some more for all of the families that weren't so lucky.

If you've read this far - I can't believe that just poured out of me. Cathartic. Hold the people you love, and hope that we never have to face a day like that again.

Worries

My brother Eric blogs over on Inside Catholic (he is Catholic, I am not; we were not raised Catholic, but he has chosen this religion and feels very deeply connected to it - his faith is his, mine is mine, and we love each other and agree to disagree on this subject). He recently posted about the Palin pick (as did I, albeit much more crassly) and we had (not surprisingly) very different reactions. I commented on his post (using my real name, which means I'm no longer anonymous here. Kreepos who wish to send death threats should keep that idea to themselves.) Because I think this election matters so much, I'm going to copy my comment on his post here.

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I too watched Palin's speech, but had completely different reactions. The one thing I thought was good was the shot of Piper holding Trig while "fixing" his hair.

What worries me is that she has no foreign policy experience (and no, the fact that Russia and Canada are close to Alaska does not make her an expert on foreign relations), while we have not one, but two wars being fought.

I also worry about her (seeming) tendency to constantly check the loyalty of those around her and quickly judge, evidenced by the firing of several public servants in Wasilla upon becoming mayor. Asking the librarian whether she'd be willing to remove books screams of the desire to censor thought.

I worry that she has not held a press conference, and that the McCain campaign does not have one on her schedule. A single interview with ABC is all that they're offering now. If she isn't prepared to answer hard questions today, why should we believe that she will be ready to do so after the election? I do not believe she is prepared to be the Vice President, much less the President. Let us not forget that McCain has had skin cancer (melanoma, the deadliest kind) more than once and would be the oldest person elected to the office of President. Is she ready to lead on Day 1?

I worry that she wants to drill ANWR and thinks that global warming is not man-made. I worry that she thinks that it is okay to shoot wolves and bears from airplanes. I worry that she wanted Polar Bears (your favorite animal!) removed from the endangered species list.

I worry that the Republicans, while "pro-life" while speaking, have done nothing to reduce the abortion rate in the past eight years. While I am pro-choice (a dirty word here, I know), I am all for reducing the number of abortions in the United States. I am for supporting those who are pregnant and scared. I am for encouraging adoption.

In short, Sarah Palin worries me. A lot.

Meatloaf - Secret Ingredients

I made meatloaf for dinner tonight, and have gotten rave reviews from all. Basic recipe (this makes a TON of meatloaf, but I like to make extra; halve the recipe to to feed 5-6 people):

Loaf:
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground turkey
2 eggs
2 cups oatmeal
about 1 cup milk
1 small onion, diced
12 oz. cottage cheese (I used large curd, either would work)
3 tbsp. worstershire sauce (about, I think. I poured some in liberally)
Salt, pepper
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Pour oatmeal into bowl, pour enough milk into bowl to cover the oatmeal. Let soak for a half hour or more.

Mix all ingredients (including any milk that the oatmeal hasn't absorbed) together. Place in bread pan or other oblong pan (or two pans if necessary).

Topping:
Ketchup
Worstershire Sauce
Sweet Chili Sauce (if you can find it, if not, you can omit this)

I didn't measure these - I probably used about a cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of worstershire sauce, and 1/3 cup of the sweet chili sauce. Mix together well, spread a nice layer over the meat.

Bake at 350 F for an hour to an hour and twenty minutes, until a meat thermometer registers 160 F or more.

This turned out really yummy and was nice and moist. Who knew?

No Questions

Seriously?

I don't know about you, but I care.

dooce rocks, palin blows

I love dooce. Here's one reason why.

The republicans really did go off the edge this time - I made myself watch Palin's speech last night, and I'll admit that she was smooth in the delivery of her speech. It's too bad she couldn't add any actual substance or debate to this election. She's a vagina in a suit, and an uptight, snarling one at that (much like a pit bull, although that does insult many pit bulls. Maybe she's like one of the ones Michael Vick trained).

Not impressed.