Selling Babies and Planned Parenthood

The hoopla over the recent budget cuts to Planned Parenthood got me to thinking about several things.  Why the hypocrisy and how do we stop abortions?  No, not stop as in legal outlaw it, but stop as in cut down the occurance.  My idea, sell the babies.  No, not in the way you think.

Read more after the jump.

I Witnessed Autism and I Want to Be a Better Mother

On Sunday, April 10th, more than a month late, we finally got around to Jaykob's birthday party.  Circumstance led us to not being able to do it any sooner.  In our new neighborhood, our next door neighbors seemed very nice and on Saturday, we invited them over for cake and ice cream as they had a little boy and girl about my older son's ages.  We told them gifts weren't necessary, it was informal and it was last minute for them.

For the full story, click on the headline.

Parental Perusings

While I deal with what can only be the craziest period in my life, people often either think what I'm going through is unimaginably easy or incredibly difficult.  Both are right.

We are in the midst of a 3 bedroom tiny apartment, waiting to close on a new home.  After having a son diagnosed with bipolar disorder over a year ago, we have started seeing the medication not be as effective.  So, not so much trouble, but I was pregnant with twins so we needed to put our 2 year old in daycare.  Okay, not a big deal - except either between the apartment's condition (only known after living here) or the daycare environment, he's constantly sick with fevers and some array of accompanying side effects.

So again, not too much to handle, then shortly after our move and while still unpacking the necessities for our apartment, I needed to go to the hospital.  At 23 weeks, my babies were diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome.  They were so far along, they were hours from death.  Basically, one twin (the donor) was being sucked dry of his blood and nutrients by the other (the recipient).  Donor had no fluid around him to process, so he was suffocating slowly, could not digest and his bladder was almost gone and he was stuck to the uterine wall like he was shrink wrapped.  The recipient, for lack of better description was drowning in too much fluid and his heart was starting to beat backwards.  I was whisked away to Miami for a surgery by a world-renowned doctor.  Any other time or place in my life, I would have lost them because I could never have made it in time.

(More after the jump)

Seola's 10 Best Soundtracks

Yeah yeah, Saturday Night Fever was sooooo epic.  No.  Remixing a standard disco groove over a master's work is not epic.  Grease, while catchy to sing along was so cheesy, I had to drink a desert wine with it.  Too many people also pick "best" based on a single song being awesome on the soundtrack.  Somewhere Over the Rainbow does not a soundtrack make.  Now, onto my picks for best soundtracks ever.

List after jump, click on headline.

AIDS, Gays and Hate

Recently on CNN, Larry Kramar shared a rather... interesting viewpoint on AIDS.  Sadly, as seen in the comments section - his opinion spurned more hatred from both sides of the viewpoint than it did anything else.

The preface to the story acts as if his comments are facts, stating they are "realities".  He also labels what he thinks people think as an indisputable fact, that "we" didn't want to know the truth.  I could dispute it, since before I even began to think about sex, I wanted to be safe.  His comments in centered italics, my rebuttals after. 

1. AIDS is a plague -- numerically, statistically and by any definition known to modern public health -- though no one in authority has the guts to call it one.

Numbers do not define illness or plague.  More people die from heart disease (which is less preventable but still possible) than suffer total from AIDS.  Plagues cannot be stopped with education and thorough testing. 

(Continues after jump) 

Why Thanks "Gen Xers"

I'm apparently in a newly defined older "Gen Y" subset called Millennials.  I was born 2 years after MTV came on the air, my son was born when MTV went off the air and just became RTV (Reality Trash Viewing).  I have often lamented my peers reactions to everything in life.  I had a troubled childhood, but I almost wonder if that was for the best.  My counterparts are - mostly - self righteous, entitled, spoiled brats.  Products of homes where no one "lost" a game (not teaching children good sportmanship), where everyone got ribbons, even for 20th place (everyone deserves a prize), where some sports eliminated winning and losing altogether (self-esteem), all forms of punishment not written about in books by some "expert" without kids was outlawed and taboo (because all punishment hurts self-esteem and is embarrassing) and that every kid was taught they were the most special thing in the world and everyone else is beneath them.  They are taught that bullying is a reason for suicide (yes, I said it - TAUGHT).

(More ramblings after jump)

The Tax "Cut" Debacle

Reading so many news stories lately, I tend to gravitate towards the comments sections so I can see what people think of X or Y writer's thoughts.  A few things are clear:

1. Too many people expect too much.
2. Too many people having the faintest idea what the tax break means.
3. Too many people have no idea what it really costs.
4. Too many people are jealous.
5. Too many people are ill informed of the realities of taxes.

To be fair, there's dozens of news stories, anecdotal blogs (and hopefully, this post won't be one of them), thousands of "experts" all contradicting each other.

(Tax talk and math showing how a man on government "entitlements" makes more than a business owner lifetime after jump)

Yay Air Force!

Air Force Falcons played Georgia Tech in the Independence Bowl today.  After beating both the Army and Navy to get the Commander In Chief trophy back into their halls, they capped off the season with a win!  The Bird (the real Falcon) went MIA upon release but midway through the 3rd quarter, he was found in downtown Shreveport, LA and safely brought back to the stadium to watch the rest of the game, including the win from Air Force.

A New Blog - Now With More Intelligence!

A new blog exploring common sense, relating to news articles, silly rants and random quotes.