Mothers' Manifesto

We have — at minimum — two [unrelated] people among our commenters at Firedoglake who were involved in the resolution of the Irish struggles who are engaged with trying to bring the current situation in Gaza to the attention of the world.

After a certain number of decades/centuries of enmity both sides must agree to pull back and say, no more orphans.

No more children with arms and legs blown off.

No more people dying from stupid reasons like lack of medical supplies.

No more bombing hospitals and universities.

No more taking 18 year olds and throwing them into the furnace of war. It is wrong. It is immoral. The mothers of the world will tolerate it no longer.

*****

crossposted at firedoglake oxdown 1 jan 2009

One - No, Two - Deaths at WalMart

crossposted at firedoglake 30 nov 2008 and oxdown 29 nov



A man was crushed to death and a woman lost her baby in the madness that is post-Thanksgiving shopping.

I am trying to put myself in the place of those who were lined up, eager to shop for certain items that had limited availability, those folks who wanted to be Good Parents for their child and secure the wii or other urgent item.

I've always been leery of the phrase "I would kill for..." because we are not so evolved that we wouldn't. Taught my children not to say the word kill unless they meant it. Words lose their meaning if they are used in mundane ways. Take care to use the words kill, freedom, God, love, "Help!" when it matters so that these words don't lose their meaning.

A man--a temporary employee--was killed, and a baby was killed, so that good parents, well meaning parents, could be the first in line to get the Christmas items their own children desired.

I am trying to imagine the first person who stepped over the body of the fallen man. Or those who rushed past the stricken pregnant -- but pregnant no longer -- woman on their way to the toy counter. It is human. But very dark. Our first story in recorded human history is that we screwed up. Not sure we've evolved very far past that.

Spontaneous Honor Guard for the Fallen

crossposted 11 November 2008 at firedoglake. My grandfather McIntosh died on 11/11 - WWI vet, fought in France.

Honor Guard

Wanted to share Prairie's story from 2007 about a spontaneous honor guard she observed along the frozen North Dakota highway for a young Minnesota soldier who was killed in Iraq.

Had a really poignant drive into town. Turned on the Fargo radio for weather and road reports. Right at the freeze mark and rainy dismal white-knuckle driving all the way back.

Then the radio mentioned a motorcade for the [------] soldier’s remains which were arriving in Fargo and asked people to come out to honor him.

Just west of Hawley we started seeing pickups and SUVs at the ends of driveways. Flags flying in front yards. By Dilworth, the fire dept trucks were all out along the road. As we drove into Moorhead, the police escort led the way for their group.

My God, I had tears running down my cheeks. Flashing our lights seemed such a small gesture. All those fatheads on the Sunday shows and cable news with their strolls and photo-ops and posturing.

And it’s all about this. One 28-year-old kid coming home for the last time.

These sons and daughters of America died for us. Let us remember, and honor.

Obama's Grandmother Dies of Cancer

crossposted 3 Nov 2008 at firedoglake, at which point i start crying and have to leave work from the stress.

Source: Obama campaign headquarters

MSNBC and Reuters reporting that Barack Obama's grandmother Madelyn Payne Dunham has just died.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's grandmother died of cancer, he said in a statement on Monday, a little more than a week after Obama interrupted the White House race to say goodbye to her in Hawaii.

"It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer," Obama said in a joint statement with his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng. "She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility."

Dunham helped raise Obama from the age of 10 while his mother was working in Indonesia, and Obama took an emotional 22-hour trip to Hawaii to visit her on October 23 and 24.

Our deep sympathy and love to the Obama family.

An Inconvenient Death

Grew up being the piccolo player for Stars and Stripes Forever. Great music, but....

There is a jarring disconnect between the upbeat military music and the reality that cold dead bodies of warm loving children will be sent back to parents today and every day for a long time to come from Iraq. And don't get me started about Iran.

We had damn well better have a good reason for telling a mother that her son has been taken away. Forever.

Remembering Russert

[written friday 13 june, when Russert died]

Tim Russert was only 2 years older than me. Very sobering loss.

I am watching MSNBC, Brokaw, Olbermann, and others deal with the loss of someone who is like family to them. The day will come when our own organization will face losses of this kind, and I hope those on the other side of the political spectrum will be able to acknowledge our common humanity.

Thinking ahead to our Sunday Talking Heads there will be people commenting on Russert however we handle the post, we'll need to be prepared once again for some rough comments. It won't be a typical Sunday morning, the only thing we can hope is that the angriest folks will be sleeping in and not here to dance on the grave. I was really shocked by some of this stuff today. Are we not all human beings? Do we not all face the same foe at the end?

Of course we found his reluctance to do followup questions in the piercing way that our FDL prosecutors would exasperating, but now I am trying to look at his situation from a different perspective. What would it be like if some of the media including him KNEW what was going on and it was so big and ugly that if they got too far out of line they would just be fired? I personally know one individual on national television who is not a koolaid drinker who has had to be very very careful in what she/he does on the air. Maybe some of them are doing what they can, in the way that some people in Congress that I know are taking the steps they can. I liken it to having a garden hose to put out a forest fire. There is a very big concentration of power that does not take well to being challenged. Russert might have seen this -- I had not realized he was Daniel Patrick Moynihan's aide -- and tried to push things as best he could. It would not be our way, but then, we aren't in his shoes.

I wouldn't put this on thread because I have been scolded for being too inside and too quick to defend people that "should" speak out. I'm saying, maybe there are people who are giving it their best, and likely he was one of them. Condolences to Russert's famiy and friends and colleagues at msnbc.

photo from ericbargeron

A man dies in my presence

Speaking to you from the airport in Frankfurt, more than 24 hours after my trip home from Russia began. We took off from St. Petersburg only to turn around for a man with a heart attack. I fear his outcome was not good, since they stopped the CPR. It was a strange experience to sit quite close to where they were working on him with CPR, thank goodness there was a doctor on the flight. I always think about volunteering in case there isn't a doctor available. Memo to everyone: refresh your CPR skills. This could be you.

I have seen many people die in my presence, which is not so common outside a war zone. Except for my grandmother they have all been children. It is an opportunity for prayer, urgent energy, and reflection on the meaning of life and death. What is it which animates this human flesh?

And I think there is something more, beyond what we know here. As a Christian I have certain beliefs about the afterlife, but here is an idea for everyone: There is conservation of matter, conservation of energy, why wouldn't there be conservation of the life force?

Realizing how precious life is, keeps me from quitting time after time. [See below post for me deciding I've had enough, yet again.] NZexpat has such a good quote about pushing back against the forces of darkness:

"I hope the miracles of what you are doing can filter through the curtain of obtuseness, obstruction, and ignorant power."
---------NZexpat of firedoglake

This is deeply healing for me. What are we fighting? Stupidity, selfishness, refusal to see beyond one's own world...yet I am also sympathetic to those things. Every day it is a struggle to think beyond my own mental illness.

To reach out and help other people in an unusual way makes as much sense as hiding at home under a blanket---very appealing many days, especially during my seasonal winter depression. So if it's hard to get thru a normal day, and only a little bit harder to work at a children's hospital in Russia, why not go for it?

What's on your other hemisphere?

What's on your mind, is generally my question. But I figure from Russia I'll ask what's on your other hemisphere.

We are in negotiations with the city to develop a tissue bank. That would allow us, and others, to have pediatric heart valves available in general and especially for emergencies. Why does this matter? For girls, with a human valve she will be able to have children; with an artificial valve, not possible because of the drugs needed to prevent rejection.

Just saw the new anatomy textbook produced by the local medical society, containing a chapter on congenital heart operations by our chief surgeon. Russia once was a world leader in cardiology, then fell when the money stopped. They lost a generation of momentum. We're trying to keep it from being yet another generation before they get back on their feet scientifically.

Have been here 29 times so much is familiar. But this time couldn't stay in my regular hotel, and this one is nice but unfamiliar. I'm such a baby! Oh wait, that's the patients.

Tomorrow we operate to correct a previous surgery done by another institution, that will remain nameless to protect the guilty.

And speaking of guilty, there is going to be an investigation of why certain materials are not reaching the hospital. Three guesses. Ooops, you only needed one? Very good.

I'm not talking here about the things that were wrecked somewhere between the airplane and the other side of customs, which made me almost quit for real this time, but the broader issue involving more people. To which I say, about f*cking time Godspeed.

I can't quit. I think about quitting every couple of months. This work would not be so easy for a normal person and I am mentally ill. But I realize I can't quit. Who would fill my shoes? And why would I want anyone else in my shoes :)

Gradually the government is taking up the reins, and reining in those who need it, and beginning to accept responsibility for saving the lives of their own newborns. Yay for that. In the meantime I will do what I can to keep these little ones alive.

My brother died at age 3 hours, and the tsunami of grief created then still haunted the family a year later when I was born. His loss has always been part of my story. Fair or not, that is how I'm wired. Might as well take advantage of that, and try to help others.

On the way to having my three angelic children I had 8 miscarriages. So I know a little bit about loss.

What's on my other hemisphere? Babies who live.

Old age: the shrinking room

Two elderly people that I love are going thru dreadful changes in their circumstances this week.

Of course I am in denial that -I- will ever get old and feeble*, but it is disconcerting to see how these strong-willed women have their space and their lives shrinking. *Simple denial, not some hint of depressed thinking, don't worry.

One is my aunt, who is losing her mind but doesn't realize it. She is getting all the loving care possible but is still angry and resentful about her circumstances. I can understand totally, to go from independent living to round-the-clock care in two years is weird. Naturally she's angry, look what she's lost: Her home. Her friends. Her church. Her bridge club. Her neighborhood. Her city. Her really good symphony. Her mind. Not necessarily in that order.

Think about the math of the situation. Either you or your spouse/partner will die, leaving the other alone [barring hideous accidents]. You will watch your friends die. The very people you want to talk to about all these things are the ones who are so unfairly being taken away from you. I have already had some very angry conversations with God on this point. There are several Psalms that are fists in the sky/arms too short to box with God.

The other person is a neighbor, who at 91 has been able to live at home with the attention of children and neighbors. I arranged for my housekeeper to work over there part-time to help her stay independent. I don't need quite so much help since the kids have flown off. [Yes I need help but of a different kind :) ]

My neighbor fell while holding the porch door open for a visiting friend. You do these things for decades and one day these simple actions are the cause of great changes. Her children tried to treat her at home but now she is in the hospital. When I walk by her home it seems so dark. She might never return. She is willing to hear my manic verbal wanderings, stories, and worries both as a good listener and as one who wants to stay connected to what's going on with the outside world. Difficult to replace people like that.

If she lives, her mobility is likely to be restricted. I have so enjoyed watching her go up and down the street, holding her cane horizontally like a tap dancer. What, you're supposed to put it on the ground? She says "that's for old people."

I think part of why I enjoy working with the old, the feeble, the sick, and even the dying is that I totally get the loss of dignity. As a child teased for being a hillbilly and a person blessed with ADHD, I've experienced loss of dignity for quite some time. Add childbirth, and all its attendant attendants to that, and I have very little original dignity left. Raising three teenagers pretty much polished off the rest, as they were happy to inform me of my many flaws. They'll get the picture when they have teenagers.

These children used to come with me to the nursing home to visit, sing, and play piano. The residents always loved seeing my little ones, because if you think about people in their 80's and 90's, sometimes even their grandchildren are grownups. They rarely see little kids. We would go around and shake or touch the hand of each person who was up for a visit. I generally went home feeling vigorous despite crippling asthma and then-untreated depression.

With smaller families and people moving far from home, we don't experience the full range of ages unless we consciously construct it. I hoped that someone in Ohio would "adopt" my grandmother, while I was visiting others' grandparents in Massachusetts and Virginia. I no longer have babies [must. resist. talking. about. grandchildren] but work with babies at the hospital. I feel a more whole person for having people of all ages in my life.

Usually there is much joy on either end of the spectrum. But this week, thinking about life and death as I pack my suitcases to help save the lives of newborns in Russia, I ponder the shrinking room of old age.

It is undignified.