The Saddest Day in History

I don't usually post here about politics but I'm so saddened/angry/frightened for my country I have to write about it.

With one stroke of a pen, George W. Bush did what Saddam and Osama and Hitler and Tojo and Castro couldn't do. He shredded the Constitution of the United States, and took away all of those freedoms he so proudly touts.

Just think about it. By simply signing his name to the Military Commissions Act of 2006 George Bush has removed the protections that made this country unique. That made the citizens of this country FREE. Now any person, anywhere in the world, US citizen or no, can be arrested, detained indefinitely, without recourse, simply on the President's say so. He also quite conveniently pardoned himself and his administration for any war crimes, past present and future.

People joke about King George. I think it's gone beyond that. He wants to be God.

Talk about power. What a rush for him! Don't like Cindy Sheehan's t-shirt? Don't have to arrest her and cause a public outcry anymore! Just disappear her. Keith Olbermann's "Special Comment" segment getting on your nerves? Poof! Gitmo for you! Toss in a little homo-erotic torture and some waterboarding in, just for fun.

How have we let this happen? How can it be that even stalwart Republican members of Congress cannot understand that this is wrong? Why are Democrats not SCREAMING about this? Why aren't WE THE PEOPLE not out in the streets, with torches and pitchforks to toss these criminals out?

We are no longer America. The land of the free, and the home of the brave? I don't think so.

Maybe we deserve it. We abdicated our responsibility to monitor our government. We somehow allowed this country to become a two party system; something our founding fathers warned us against. We've become so complacent, trusting our elected officals to be working in our best interest rather than for themselves. We pick one issue and elect people on what they say about that one issue, rather than picking the best person for the job. We're too busy watching "Dancing with the Stars" and following Paris Hilton's escapades and "Branjelina" new baby and Tom Cruise's Scientology meltdown to care that our government is killing us. Killing our soldiers in Iraq. Killing our children with poverty and ignorance. Killing our creativity buy killing our freedom of speech. Killing our self esteem with unemployment.

Even as Iraq continues to decompensate, and the administration continues to deny there's a civil war, and Afghanistan is falling again to the Taliban, and there's nowhere nearly enough troops there, even as North Korea tests their nuclear capacity again... the Eisenhower Strike team is headed for Iran to prepare for the next war. Have you heard about it in the news? Nope. They arrive on or about the 21st of October, just three short days. What happens next?

And what will happen to those who protest it? Will they be labeled "unlawful enemy combatants" and be rendered?

This is the darkest day in our history.

Where is the outrage?

I am SO excited!

Ok, I haven't been blogging much recently. I've been busy. I know, yadda yadda. But I really have! And I have a bunch of news that is exciting, to me at least. Those of you who visit now and again may not find it all that enthralling, but here goes.

One VERY big, very wonderful piece of news is that Murphy, my "I will not make any developmental milestones until I'm darn good and ready and you can't make me, nyah" child, who swore only two short months ago that he COULD not read, WOULD not read, and didn't WANT to read - he read me a book tonight.

And he really really read it. Unlike Eric, who would just remember, memorize and read by context at first, he actually reads every word. Murphy brought this book home from school today, with instructions to read it to one person and bring it back to school. So he read it to Daddy, in the car on the way home. And he read it to me and Eric. And to himself. I'm so proud and happy I could bust. The best part of it is his attitude. Hey, I can do it, no big deal. But there's this undercurrent of excitment and pride and happiness, and THAT's what makes me want to burst.

Have I mentioned I love Montessori? At least for Murphy, it really seems to be working.

On to the next wonderful excitment; and this is about Eric. The last two weekends he performed in "A Series of One Act Plays" at Ventura College. He was in a Perry Mason play. Again, I'm busting with pride. His character was a bit of comic relief, and he really did it well. He kept it from going over the top (he played a hayseed with a trash collection business) and it would have been easy to make him TOO much of a caricature; but he didn't. They didn't allow picture taking so I didn't get any, unfortunately, but here's a picture of the program.

Then on Saturday, I attended the monthly meeting of the Ventura County Handweaver and Spinner's Guild. It was a lovely meeting, as always; the women are so friendly and helpful. I won a huge bag of charcoal roving, which is rather coarse. I'm going to try knitting with it unspun, as roving; it works up soft that way. Not sure what I'm going to do with it. The news from that meeting is twofold; first, I met two lovely women named Ellen and Anna, who would like to learn how to spin. They have a couple of alpacas and want to learn what to do with them. I, in my VAST experience as a spinner for all of half a year, told them I'd try to help them. So we met at Nibbles N'knits on Wednesday and had a lovely lesson, with some help from Susie too! They're such very nice people. The second news from the meeting is that I've been roped into "running" for Recording Secretary for the coming year. I'd feel very honored to be asked if I didn't know how desperate they were.

So now we come to the next exciting news. Like I don't have enough to keep me busy? Well, I started a project. A major project. The Yahoo group "Spindler's List" where I have found a world of information and wonderful people has the occasional exchange, where people sign up to make a gift box for someone else on the list, usually with some theme, or purpose. I am running this one. And it's a biggie. A Breed Project. Each person in the swap will give one ounce of fiber, one lock of fleece, and one yard of spun fiber from a breed of sheep, along with a page of information, all sent to me. I will compile them all into 32 separate notebooks which will then go out to all the participants. We'll end up with a book of information and samples of 32 breeds of sheep. I am SO excited about this project. And my fiber arrived today! Two pounds of roving and one pound of raw fleece from a breed called CVM, or California Variegated Mutant. Sounds like the breed *you'd* pick, I can hear some of you whispering now! I've never dealt with raw fleece before, and WOW I forgot that it would be a bit ripe! But it's so cool and still greasy and I can't wait to dive in and play!

Poor Peru has been sick this week. I feel so bad when he's ill. But it made me remember last year, when I was sick on and off for months on end. I didn't do anything around the house, I whined and was miserable. He waited on me hand and foot, did all the chores, made me soup, comforted me. He never complained, never made me feel like he thought I was slacking, just took care of me, and the house, and the kids. This is love. Simple, true, amazing, unconditional love. Roses are nice, and candy and jewelry, and all the trappings that men are supposed to give to show their love. But I don't need those, because every day, I get the "I love you" message in ways that don't expect reward. Coffee that arrives magically in my pot every morning, even though he has to warm his up in the microwave. Making me my comfort food, Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup (classic only!) when I don't feel well. Shoveling my grass path (in flipflops and shorts!) so I wouldn't get snowy feet from the car to the door back in Boston. Letting me cry when I need to for no reason at all without judging me. Always accepting me, as I am, taking what I'm willing to give, sharing what he has. I am so blessed. And so very grateful.

And then we come to politics. Oh dear God. I can't even go there. I am so angry with these self important selfish greedy power hungry idiots I can barely breathe. But that's going to ruin the lovely mood I had thinking about how much I'm loved, so I think I'll go play with my fiber -oh! and watch Dr. Who!