Monday, March 06, 2006
Misc
I enjoy being a sports fan and sometimes I wish that DH were one too. But then, there are other days....days like today. Today, while heating up my lunch in the breakroom, I had the joy of listening to 2 men discuss various basketball players from around the state and how their school's team would fare against them. I'm glad they support their schools, really, I am. But I think I'd feel better about it if I thought for one minute they supported the academics 1/4 as much as they support the sports. I've always found it odd that people "re-live" their sports dreams through high school teams, whether or not their child is playing (of course, it's a tragedy and a conspiracy when their child ISN'T a star). But admittedly, the gentlemen discussing this are long overdue for a coffee shop. Not a coffee house and certainly not a Starbucks. No, these men need a coffee shop.
An early morning diner where they can pay $.80 for a cup of weak coffee and maybe a fried egg and toast and they can talk (about absolutely nothing) until lunch. There used to be such a place down the street from my grandparent's house. On nice days, Poppy and I would walk. He'd get a cup of coffee and buy me a glass of milk and a honey bun. I'd listen to he and the other farmers detail the season, what was and was not coming up on time, how old so and so never was much of a farmer and won't do well this year either; how this piece of ground was great for soybeans, but another farmer had the best land for cotton. Sigh.
South Dakota women, have you lost your mind? Governor signed the strictest abortion bill into law today. Virtually none allowed. Yes, I know, this is John Roberts and Samuel Alito's moments to pay back them which got them the power in the first place. Gentlemen, could you find another issue? Some of us would prefer to see abortion as a safe (and hopefully RARE), medical procedure rather than a lethal do-it-yourself project. Because that's what it will become. Outlawing abortion doesn't stop it. Any woman with enough disposable income to get herself to Canada or bribe a doctor will have hers. Anyone poor or young enough to not have that kind of spare cash may take it on herself.
Part of me is so tired of it all. Tired of signing petitions and writing letters. Tired of giving money and being outraged. Smug in my decent healthcare, neighbor who gives me samples of pills, knowledge that I could find enough money to get to Canada, Mexico or Europe. But no one should be forced to undergo a pregnancy that she cannot bear, afford or could die from. We should be handing out condoms, the pill, IUD's to every woman from menarche to menopause. Human beings have sex. The young, the poor, the middle class, the rich, the old. And none of us should have to carry to term a child we do not want simply because it doesn't fit someone else's values. Men walk away from their responsibilities toward children every single day and no one bats an eye. Why must society punish women for 2 minutes of irresponsibility by taking away her goals, her reproductive system or at worst, her life?
An early morning diner where they can pay $.80 for a cup of weak coffee and maybe a fried egg and toast and they can talk (about absolutely nothing) until lunch. There used to be such a place down the street from my grandparent's house. On nice days, Poppy and I would walk. He'd get a cup of coffee and buy me a glass of milk and a honey bun. I'd listen to he and the other farmers detail the season, what was and was not coming up on time, how old so and so never was much of a farmer and won't do well this year either; how this piece of ground was great for soybeans, but another farmer had the best land for cotton. Sigh.
South Dakota women, have you lost your mind? Governor signed the strictest abortion bill into law today. Virtually none allowed. Yes, I know, this is John Roberts and Samuel Alito's moments to pay back them which got them the power in the first place. Gentlemen, could you find another issue? Some of us would prefer to see abortion as a safe (and hopefully RARE), medical procedure rather than a lethal do-it-yourself project. Because that's what it will become. Outlawing abortion doesn't stop it. Any woman with enough disposable income to get herself to Canada or bribe a doctor will have hers. Anyone poor or young enough to not have that kind of spare cash may take it on herself.
Part of me is so tired of it all. Tired of signing petitions and writing letters. Tired of giving money and being outraged. Smug in my decent healthcare, neighbor who gives me samples of pills, knowledge that I could find enough money to get to Canada, Mexico or Europe. But no one should be forced to undergo a pregnancy that she cannot bear, afford or could die from. We should be handing out condoms, the pill, IUD's to every woman from menarche to menopause. Human beings have sex. The young, the poor, the middle class, the rich, the old. And none of us should have to carry to term a child we do not want simply because it doesn't fit someone else's values. Men walk away from their responsibilities toward children every single day and no one bats an eye. Why must society punish women for 2 minutes of irresponsibility by taking away her goals, her reproductive system or at worst, her life?
