Preserving What?

One of the joys of my adult life is that I married a man who, in addition to great calves, has great understanding. I am always learning from him. In politics especially he is very temperate, very thoughtful, whereas I tend toward extremes.

A recent challenge came from his column in the Abereen American News.

This paragraph was particularly striking to this stick-in-the-mud conservative that I often am:

"We often look at the arts and humanities as luxuries. This is especially odd coming from so-called conservatives who sometimes deride these subjects because of their lack of economic utility. But what precisely are we conserving if not our culture and civilization? And if the arts are important to the cultivation of our souls, thus the cultivation of virtue, should not those who worry about cultural decline advocate hardest for the promotion of the best in the arts?"

But what precisely are we conserving if not our culture and civilization?

That struck me to the core. How do we raise our children to be somewhere between robotic-like fascists and lovers of those squishy, voyeuristic excuses for art that are so popular today?

Better Left to the Imagination

Saturday was our child birth preparation class, and it rates among the top five most unpleasant experiences of my life.

The beginning of the class was innocuous, boring even. There was the basic anatomy lesson, an explanation of what's happening when you are having contractions and a vocabulary test.

Then WHAM. The nurse turns on a video about "natural" childbirth. Four couples are profiled and followed by cameras from the beginning of labor right up until birth.

I used to mock Hollywood's portrayal of women giving birth: Everything is clean and bright and short. There is just the right amount of sweat and screaming; then there's a baby and we smile and tear up.

Now I would give anything to go back to those air-brushed images.

Why do I want to watch a woman lying in her bed, humongous belly exposed, eyes closed, moaning, while her exhausted husband times her contractions? What am I learning?

Cut to the couple in the hospital bathroom, pregnant woman soaking in a hot bath. Now to a couple walking the hallways. Now we're in a hosptial bed while a red-faced woman battles nausea as she reaches the "transition" phase of childbirth.

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS DECENT IN THE WORLD, MAKE IT STOP!

Two videos later, I wasn't paying attention anymore. The final video was just footage of delivery--not even narration to help you forget what you're seeing. Just a bunch of women suffering. And I couldn't press mute.

Some things are better left to our imaginations. As my sister blogged after she delivered my nephew, pregnancy is deeply personal. No one needs to know what you went through in that room. You don't have to tell us it hurts like hell--we figured that out. You can show us different positions for delivery that might provide some comfort without images of women actually in them!

And if you want us to learn how to breathe productively, consider taking the time to teach us how instead of merely showing us!

Maybe our ancestors had it right: Close the door, kick everyone out and preserve this remaining fragment of female modesty. (And if we can't go back to that, then let's pass on the videotaping, shall we?)

The Case Against Barack Obama

Have you been enjoying the series of thoughtful, informative posts I promised?

I failed dismally. If I had to blame something, it would be the pregnancy. Who wants to blog when you could sleep? Or puke?

Now we are fewer than 48 hours from knowing who our next president will be.

Maybe I assumed that what was wrong with Barack Obama was obvious. Unless you're a hard-core lefty, he doesn't represent you. Start at the top of your list and work your way down. Universal health care. Abortion. Education. The War on Terror. Far from being the peaceful moderate he claims to be, he is an unabashed leftist. Not convinced? Read his platform.

I concede that this campaign season has been a bummer. In spite of the options I'm presented with, I won't be throwing away my vote.

John McCain is not my ideal candidate, but last week I heard the difference between him and Barack Obama summed up pretty nicely: "John McCain wants to change Washington. Barack Obama wants to change America."

I've seen a little bit of the world, and I still like America. I love the Constitution. For all its warts, American is still a brave, wonderful place, and we didn't get here by socializing medicine, redistributing wealth, or kowtowing to tyrants. We got here in spite of an ever-expanding government, Roe vs. Wade, and bad military intelligence.

Now we are poised to elect a man who wants to change America not by improving on what has made her great, but by abandoning those precious, fragile ideals that helped found and sustain her.

Picking on Palin

I think I hate "spin" as much as the next girl. I don't get it when Governor Palin won't give a straight answer. Dodging questions is just annoying.

But it looks like we're going to pick on her like we picked on Dan Quayle. She can say or do no right, as long as she's a right-winger.

Joe Biden can make all kinds of outrageous claims (overlooked by the super sleuths at NBC's TRUTH SQUAD, da dum!) and gets away with them. Sarah Palin on the other hand stumbles and she is a fool and a hick.

The Wall Street Journal today highlights a few of Biden's foibles from last week's debate. He said the kinds of things Palin would have been smilingly crucified for.

And I love the article's byline:

Sarah Palin may not know as much about the world, but at least most of what she knows is true.

Not to brag

But I'm having this man's baby.

I Am So Bored Already

So I subscribe to The Stylephile, a fashion spin-off of Variety. It’s cute, but so irrelevant to my life I rarely read it. (But if it's schedules of upcoming trunk shows in L.A. you want, I'll forward it to you.)

This time I opened it. A Pea in the Pod month-long style drive for expectant moms, the subject line read. (Don't think I don't want the Secret Fit Belly pants.) I clicked through to the article:

Like EVERY website these days, there's a place to post your comments. Here was the sole contribution:

Really?

Poor Stacey forgot she was on a fashion website and not on her lavender-scented soap box.

Am I surprised? A Variety reader is a petty left winger? Okay, I wasn't. Timing and perspective are not strong points amongst the hoi polloi of web surfers and lefties seem particularly immune to them.

But seriously. This is just boring. And not funny. And boring.

Get a cause, Stacey! Fight a real enemy! Do anything but what you're doing now: giving voice to other people's severely limited view of humor.

Good News / Bad News

Kiplinger.com named Boise #4 out of Ten Best Cities to Live, Work and Play.

Even though, as my sister pointed out today over the phone, this kind of press might encourage people to move here (progress is usually better than regress, though!), it's good to rack up these kudos.

One of the things that I found especially encouraging:

Employers know they'll find a high proportion of college graduates here (37%, compared with the national average of 27%) and that new hires will find plenty of affordable housing.
What I can't figure out is where they got this:

The average work commute is 18 minutes.

The video above is the so-called walking tour of Boise, but native Boiseans will get a laugh. Their reporter apparently covered a five-mile radius: downtown and the North End Boise area. She even points to a couple of homes in the North End to give you an idea of "Boise home prices!" Um, if you are looking at homes in the North End to help you determine home prices as a gauge to making a decision about relocating, you should know those are generally the most expensive houses per square foot in the whole city.

What about the arts? What about philanthropy? How about the university or the greenbelt or the Boise Bench?

Why Are They Celebrating? They Might Confuse Oliver Stone.

"As news of [Castro's] resignation spread, motorists honked vigorously at police patrol cars and television reporters. Shouts of "Free Cuba!" echoed in the streets, and small groups gathered to chat in local eateries. But there was no widespread celebration, just caution."

I'm puzzled. These celebrants are treating Castro's resignation like it was a good thing. I thought Castro was our friend, spirtual guide and inspiration.

"I hope this is the beginning of the end of the system, but we have to wait," said 35-year-old chemist Omar Fernandez, who left Cuba for the U.S. six years ago.

Poor soul; he's been misinformed. He should have dined with Steven Speilberg and Fidel until the early morning hours. Spielberg announced that his dinner with Castro "was the eight most important hours of my life."

Model Naomi Campbell declared that Castro was "a source of inspiration to the world," and Oliver Stone called him"Very selfless and moral. One of the world's wisest men."

Personally, I'd trust Naomi, Stevie and Oliver before I'd trust a bunch of Cuban transplants dancing in the streets of a free USA. What have they contributed? Who are THEY? Bunch of ungrateful serfs.

The beautiful people always know best, especially when they have nothing at stake.

Via the AP and CNS News

This One's for JEB

I know we were disappointed about Fred Thompson, and I picked on him.


But the good doctor has defended him in such a sensible manner I'm a little ashamed.