International volunteer work

I work in another country with a children's hospital
in support of congenital heart surgery in newborns.

For more information please see the link to the right,
"Working for Peace." And thanks.

Exercise/movement/?fun

Am easing back into the world of exercise/movement/?fun.

Grownup bikes are so high and so skinny they intimidate me from riding them. But an old fashioned kind with big wheels…that could work. Comfortable saddle a must.

Yesterday I extended my walk nearly all the way into town. I can see the day when I leave the car at home and just walk the 2 miles each way for errands.

Bipolar people -- welcome

Rejoice and cry, our motto.

A hearty welcome to all who go through life with bipolar, ADHD, major depression, OCD, or any other mental illness.

You are not alone.

Sometimes I feel like I am special, like special education.
But our differences can help us see the world in an unusual way. That might be just what the world needs in this time of trouble.

Blogfriend grieves missing pets

Sharkbabe,

And why would crying be a bad thing? You have us crying over the bond between you and these lovely creatures. It is a measure of the deep love you have for living beings. It’s part of who you are, and a very good part.

I’m part Cherokee and all over the bond with all living beings/horse whisperer stuff.

Seeing them in a happy new home will gradually make you feel better about THEM, but will not so much ease YOUR grief. I hope you will continue to visit them often. Do consider this idea of living somewhere new, where you can have creatures around you, ‘k? I sense it is necessary for your fundamental happiness.

Spazeboy: creativity/brilliance/burnout

Spazeboy, you are SO ahead of your time. Take whatever rest/timeoff you need in order to keep up your creativity, because the entire civilized world is depending on http://www.spazeboy.net/ your work. No pressure right? :D

Seriously, when you can work that’s great, and when you need to rest, do it. More important to have you intermittently and brilliantly. Works for me. At least that’s my justification for spurts of brilliance and then periodic flaming out.

Note for future historians: Spazeboy is the video genius that helped get Lamont elected to the Senate in Connecticut and thus saved the nation and the world. No pressure.

Prediction: future Pulitzer [or online equivalent] prize winner. You heard it here first.

World War Three. For real.

Matt O., at firedoglake: "The failed foreign policies of this administration have started a chain reaction of events that will, in my opinion, lead to our decline as the only superpower — if we do not stop it."

And not only our decline as a superpower.

Things like this start world wars.

Let’s not wait til the history books show us where we might have intervened, ok folks?

On Love and God

Comment on firedoglake: Sharkbabe, no need to be embarrassed here. Love goes where it will [matalin anyone?]. If getting pet goats for your partner helps your relationship, goats it is. Then they become dear to us as well. Life is strange and convoluted. Sometimes we get what we want, sometimes we are thwarted at every turn.

You’re way ahead of me in colorfully expressing the essential unfairness of the universe. I deeply believe in a loving God–have had many visions/ESP/spiritual experiences–but sometimes wonder what the **** He/She is thinking. This might not be the exact quote from the Bible altho I refer you to the angry Psalms. Arms too short to box with God. The human condition.

Saving a life

This is too good, need to pass it along:

http://multimedium.blogspot.com/2006/07/whalefare.html

Saving the life of a humpback whale, and what it means
for those who saved her.

Making wounded veterans pay for food. Damn.

We don’t give them body armor, we don’t have sufficient forces/logistics in the field to protect them in a firefight, we are now refusing to MEDIVAC troops out, and when they are lucky enough to get home, if they are lucky enough to survive long enough to make it home, we are CHARGING THEM MONEY FOR FOOD.

And they wonder why I call myself egregious.

Democrats, looking for a campaign issue???

TAKE ACTION——FIGHT BACK

Oldest child moves 3,000 miles away. Tears.

Sympathy request: my daughter (the married one) just came over to say goodbye before she moves 3,000 miles away. My first child. The very soul and light of my life. Hope to see you sometime soon, I say with more courage than I feel. Thanksgiving or Christmas, whatever works out best for the two of you. Sigh. Long interval of contemplation. Tears.

We honor what is true and beautiful, then are willing to fight for it. Right now I am very tearfully in the honoring part of that equation.

Against Geneva. Do we care?

And speaking of victimization of the civilian population [choice: Iraq, Gaza, United States], how do we justify supporting our "ally" when they deliberately destroy the only power plant in Gaza?

Not an accident, they took out all 6 transformers and all 4 access roads. No power = no water supply. Targeting civilian populations is AGAINST GENEVA, in case we still care. Do we?

The world is watching. We need to turn this ship around and FAST.

The official egregious political platform

Domestic policy: the Constitution

Foreign policy: Geneva Conventions

Geneva Conventions. Yes, they were serious.

BobbyG at firedoglake: "The Supreme Court decision that ruled against the Bush administration’s plan to try suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay prison has “hampered our ability” [WAAAA BOO HOO POOR LITTLE UNITED STATES] to deal with terrorists, the U.S. attorney general said Saturday. Under the 5-3 court ruling, the Bush administration must adopt a military system for trying suspected terrorists consistent with international standards - or release the suspects from military custody." bold by egr. ok also the waaaaa by egr.

Hey maybe we can find a ‘civilization’ somewhere in outer space that agrees we can torture aggressively question suspects just short of organ failure and death!

That’s in keeping with the Geneva Conventions, yes? Oops, we have decided to let the DECIDER personally decide to abrogate one of the most important treaties in modern history. No biggie.

I’m happy to support our space program, if it will help us locate another species of sentient beings that will agree with this ridiculous notion of human relations!

Yo Congress–DO YOUR FRIGGIN JOB and protect human rights and human dignity! Are we the next Germany? Will we spend the next 70 years in disgrace?