So this little boy in England went through a tough time - complained of headache, had a fever, then a seizure only to discover there was an abcess on his brain caused by a rare form of meningitis. What an absolute nightmare for him and his parents.
HOWEVER - read the article! Not only has he made a full recovery, but he's also learned to speak again - but with a completely different accent! Medicine and miracles go hand in hand in so many ways.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
He gets this one right
I think it's well-documented (OK, well maybe not documented, but certainly well KNOWN) how I feel about Senator John McCain. But being intellectually honest means admitting when someone totally nails an issue on the head, even if you don't necessarily like that person:
ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain made the following statement today: Senator Clinton said that believing General Petraeus' testimony requires a 'willing suspension of disbelief.' I think it willingly suspends disbelief to not repudiate an advertisement run by a radical left wing organization that impugns and dishonors the integrity of a man who has served his nation with dedication all of his life. If you're not tough enough to repudiate a scurrilous, outrageous attack such as that, then I don't know how you're tough enough to be President of the United States.
Hat Tip: The Corner
ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain made the following statement today: Senator Clinton said that believing General Petraeus' testimony requires a 'willing suspension of disbelief.' I think it willingly suspends disbelief to not repudiate an advertisement run by a radical left wing organization that impugns and dishonors the integrity of a man who has served his nation with dedication all of his life. If you're not tough enough to repudiate a scurrilous, outrageous attack such as that, then I don't know how you're tough enough to be President of the United States.
Hat Tip: The Corner
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
The dust waits
An acquaintance of mine shared the following yesterday:
*****
On September 11, 2002, I appeared on the Kean University radio program “Poets On Air” (http://www.kean.edu/~kuradio/segments.html ) to read a poem I wrote shortly after 9/11/01 for the families left behind. To commemorate the sixth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, I am sharing my work for those who may not have seen it …Never forget.
CB
*****
THE DUST WAITS
(to the families left behind)
The dust waits
shrouding sidewalks
anticipating footprints
that will never come
There are no cell phones in Heaven
sound-bite from a mother/daughter conversation
belonging in some far-off future
not a five year-old’s now
In a suddenly unfamiliar living room
a mother holds on
to a silent cell phone
that final connection
with a husband
whose death she just heard
Replaying in her mind
those last words of love
she listens to the decomposing static
until three hours later
the battery runs out
An interconnected network of empty beds
with permanent holes on one side
will remain
like the family photographs and wedding videos
capturing lives that will never be again
stared at so intently
in the hope of somehow pulling out
that one last piece of a soul
and touching it ever so briefly
until the warmth fades into memory
like the September 11 sun
before 8:46 AM
*****
On September 11, 2002, I appeared on the Kean University radio program “Poets On Air” (http://www.kean.edu/~kuradio/segments.html ) to read a poem I wrote shortly after 9/11/01 for the families left behind. To commemorate the sixth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, I am sharing my work for those who may not have seen it …Never forget.
CB
*****
THE DUST WAITS
(to the families left behind)
The dust waits
shrouding sidewalks
anticipating footprints
that will never come
There are no cell phones in Heaven
sound-bite from a mother/daughter conversation
belonging in some far-off future
not a five year-old’s now
In a suddenly unfamiliar living room
a mother holds on
to a silent cell phone
that final connection
with a husband
whose death she just heard
Replaying in her mind
those last words of love
she listens to the decomposing static
until three hours later
the battery runs out
An interconnected network of empty beds
with permanent holes on one side
will remain
like the family photographs and wedding videos
capturing lives that will never be again
stared at so intently
in the hope of somehow pulling out
that one last piece of a soul
and touching it ever so briefly
until the warmth fades into memory
like the September 11 sun
before 8:46 AM
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Woof
As a lover of all things critter (ok, well actually just the mammals - and anything non-mammal but cute), I have had an incredibly hard time understanding the motivation behind Michael Vick and his dog fighting activities.
I just don't see this as a sport, sorry. Breeding animals to be vicious to each other just doesn't strike me as a good idea. But what I am absolutely incredulous about are those people who are attempting to defend him and the activities as CULTURAL issues.
Take, for example, Whoopi Goldberg's words: "Goldberg said that 'from where he comes from' in the South, dogfighting isn't that unusual.
'It's like cockfighting in Puerto Rico,' she said. 'There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of the country.'"
Well sure, but that doesn't make them RIGHT. First of all, the manner in which she defended him is absolutely insulting to all Southerners. There was a time when the "cultural sport" in the south involved burning crosses in certain demographic groups front lawns--maybe preceded or followed by a chase through the woods. That was certainly "southern cultural" at the time - it didn't happen in the north. Why not defend those heinous activities as "cultural"?
Secondly, not all "cultural" things are equal. It was cultural for the Romans to capture people and make them fight as gladiators to the death (sound familiar?) - doesn't mean it was right. It was cultural for ancient Mayans and Aztecs to sacrifice virgins to the gods - doesn't make it right. It's cultural even today for women in many Islamic countries to be treated as second class citizens (or worse) - barred from going to school, working, owning property, voting. Just because these things are part of one's "culture" doesn't make them OK.
This is the problem with the liberal worldview. In their "anything goes, all things are equal, I'm OK, you're OK" world, there is no room for discernment, critical thought or - heaven forbid - judgement of values. Right and wrong still exist in this world, whether liberals choose to believe it or not.
It is not right what Michael Vick and his friends and family did. It's also not right to try and paint this as a cultural issue.
I just don't see this as a sport, sorry. Breeding animals to be vicious to each other just doesn't strike me as a good idea. But what I am absolutely incredulous about are those people who are attempting to defend him and the activities as CULTURAL issues.
Take, for example, Whoopi Goldberg's words: "Goldberg said that 'from where he comes from' in the South, dogfighting isn't that unusual.
'It's like cockfighting in Puerto Rico,' she said. 'There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of the country.'"
Well sure, but that doesn't make them RIGHT. First of all, the manner in which she defended him is absolutely insulting to all Southerners. There was a time when the "cultural sport" in the south involved burning crosses in certain demographic groups front lawns--maybe preceded or followed by a chase through the woods. That was certainly "southern cultural" at the time - it didn't happen in the north. Why not defend those heinous activities as "cultural"?
Secondly, not all "cultural" things are equal. It was cultural for the Romans to capture people and make them fight as gladiators to the death (sound familiar?) - doesn't mean it was right. It was cultural for ancient Mayans and Aztecs to sacrifice virgins to the gods - doesn't make it right. It's cultural even today for women in many Islamic countries to be treated as second class citizens (or worse) - barred from going to school, working, owning property, voting. Just because these things are part of one's "culture" doesn't make them OK.
This is the problem with the liberal worldview. In their "anything goes, all things are equal, I'm OK, you're OK" world, there is no room for discernment, critical thought or - heaven forbid - judgement of values. Right and wrong still exist in this world, whether liberals choose to believe it or not.
It is not right what Michael Vick and his friends and family did. It's also not right to try and paint this as a cultural issue.
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