Ya Gotta Work For It

I was absolutely galvanized by last night's speech by Barak Obama. He is everything this nation could hope for in a leader: brilliant, articulate, dedicated, inspired and inspiring. He has gotten things done about the issues he feels are so important to our nation. He wants to get so much more done: healthcare for all, justice for women, the end to unfair pay practices, jobs right here in America, energy independence, an end to global warming, an exit strategy that gets our troops home asap, and so much more that has been neglected, trampled and destroyed by George Bush and his minions. He called Bush to account and questioned McCain's loyalty to Bush's backward and destructive polices, but he did not question McCain's loyalty to America.  He did all this without the vitriol and rancor we see in so many politicians' speeches. He was forceful but respectful of the other side. 

One of the best things I saw in that speech was a willingness to work with Republicans to mend this battered nation. He does not want to widen the dangerous rift that has formed over the past 20 years and more in America. It's not about liberals and conservatives. It's about America. As he so eloquently stated, it's not about him. It's about lifting America up from the gutter we've fallen into in the eyes of other nations. It's about lifting up the middle class for so long used and abused. It's about getting involved in communities. It's about being an American in the best sense of the word. God, we need him now so badly, which is where the work come in. 

Folks, if you want change, justice, fairness, peace, ya gotta do some work for it. Get out there and get involved in trying to get this wonderful leader elected so that he can do what he does best, which is help people, which is fight for what he believes in, which is what is best for America. 

1. Find out where folks are registering voters and volunteer. 

2. Help with sending out informational literature down at the local Democratic headquarters. 

3. E-mail, text, phone, talk face to face with anyone you know who is sitting on the fence.

4. Help distribute absentee ballots to shut ins and nursing homes. 

5.  Volunteer to take voters who don't have transportation to the polls. 

6. And most importantly, GO VOTE! It's never been more important. 

If you happen to be thinking of voting for McCain and are reading this, please find a transcript of Obama's speech and really read it with an open mind. Then ask yourself who will take America forward and who will take America down the same dark path we've been following for the last eight years?

Refusing Women Contraception

You have GOT to be kidding! Except it isn't funny. Some pharmacies are refusing to fill women's birth control products! No birth control pills, no condoms, and certainly no Plan B or morning after pills. This right wing push to dictate what women can and cannot do with their own bodies has gotten way out of hand. I'm so appalled that I can hardly write this without fuming, which is not the way to try and make a point. However, I feel compelled to get my point across, which is this. What part of THIS PREVENTS ABORTION don't you understand? These measures, with the exception of RU486, prevent the egg from being fertilized; hence, there is no need for a woman to have an abortion or terminate even a barely underway pregnancy.  No fertilization, no abortion. Get it? 

But this is not just about being anti-abortion, is it? It's about forcing women back into the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, over and over again. Oh, yeah, I forget. Abstinence is the preferred  form of birth control for the right. But people have sex and people enjoy it. They don't enjoy having unplanned pregnancies, for the most part. Yeah, yeah, there are "happy" accidents, but I believe that most of these happy accidents are actually a choice. The rest of these  unplanned pregnancies result from carelessness, ignorance,  immaturity or a combination of these, especially with teenagers.  The most heinous of these unplanned pregnancies are the result of rape and incest. And, no, I don't think any woman should be forced to carry a child conceived in violence. It's her choice to do so or not. I wouldn't. I would get myself to a doctor asap to prevent the pregnancy or stop it all together if egg actually does meet sperm. The topic of genetic predisposition or genetic problems caused by incest is for another blog.

The upshot of this abomination is that the right hates sex. They prefer tap dancing in men's rooms. 

Election Day for Some

If today is election day where you live, please go VOTE! If you haven't done your homework about the  candidates first, please DON'T go vote! Parties don't matter. Issues matter. 

Eldercare Blues

Just got Mom out of the hospital again yesterday. It took an entire week at the "skilled" care facility for the nurse practitioner (apologies to those NP's who are wonderful) to believe me and several others of the staff that Mom needed to go to the hospital for breathing problems. I think she would have died if it were not for the fact that she is the Energizer Bunny in disguise. The facility is understaffed, so Mom stays in a wet diaper sometimes. She has another UTI because of it. The staff they do have are wonderful caregivers and try to keep up, but because of the great increase in the elderly population in the US, they just can't manage all the time to get to everyone. Mom knows this and hates to "bother" them. 

Something has got to give with the state of elder care in this country. It's starting to improve as far as assisted living facilities are concerned, but they are prohibitively expensive. Also, once you get past being able to hobble out on your own with a walker, you can't be in assisted living. You then have to go to a skilled care facility. From the one assisted living facility I've seen (that Mom got herself kicked out of because she wanted to go home, which was not good but done anyway), they had skilled nurses and CNA's there. The surroundings were much nicer there. Long-term care facilities are drab for the most part, with a few very expensive exceptions. 

In other words, healthcare for the elderly in this country sucks. I think my generation of late boomers will do things differently. I am not going to one of facilities like my mother lives in without a fight. Fortunately, I don't have children who will have to worry about it. My husband and I will take care of each other. If one of us dies, the other will find a way around the eldercare mess. More on that plan later. Right now, I'm supposed to be working on my fiction and poetry.