As usual, Friday has arrived, and there are a whole host of topics we'd like to address: the failure of the anti-worker lobbies to severely weaken Nebraska's CIR, for example. Or the heavy-handed attempt by Republicans to skew Nebraska's congressional redistricting - and in the process, leave one of the U.S. military's most important assets, Offut Air Base, with Congressional representation that will not be able to properly address its concerns.
Today is Friday, however, and around here, that means we try to have a little bit more fun, and focus a little bit less on the political issues of the day.
For those of you who don't know (or you forgot), this Sunday is Mother's Day, 2011, in the United States. Other countries celebrate this holiday on other days, but we'll be sending gifts or good thoughts to our Moms, wherever they may be.
One of us actually is a Mom - so we're wishing Amy a very happy Mother's Day right now.
Most Moms are pretty incredible people, especially in today's America. For example, most American Moms have at least two jobs - the one they do for pay, and being a Mom. Some have three or four jobs right now.
These days, more than a few Moms take care of things they rarely were expected to when we were growing up. Coaching little league sports, for example, is a common thing many Moms do these days.
Our web guru Shawn uses his Mother for extra memory - but not for his computer. For example, he'll call her when he forgets the birthday of a relative - or needs to know (again) how to get a grass stain out of a new pair of shorts. [Of course, she also uses Shawn as free 24 hour computer tech support, so we suppose there's plenty of give and take there.]
Some Moms aren't really Moms at all, just mother figures to certain lucky individuals who needed a Mom and didn't have one.
Even if a person has a difficult relationship with their Mom, she at least brought that person into the world - so some credit is due there as well.
For all the things our Mothers do for us now, and have done for us in the past, we have to thank them dearly.
We hope this weekend, if you're in the U.S. - or more importantly, if your Mom is - you at least give her a call, if you haven't gotten her a nice gift. If you're financially challenged, you might do something nice for her instead - like mow her lawn or vacuum her floors.
And if your Mom has passed away, we hope you at least think of her, and thank her in spirit.
Happy Mothers Day!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Squeezing The Good Out Of Life
For most of our lives, Nebraska has generally been a live-and-let-live kind of state. It's been the kind of place where we want our politicians to be fiscally conservative - but on social issues, we'd just as soon they stay out of our lives.
With these facts in mind, it's with some shame that we also have to acknowledge two short-sighted groups who aren't acting like real Nebraskans at all.
The first group is the anti-abortion people who continue to try and force their idea of so-called "smaller government" into our bedrooms and inside our bodies. We've discussed their true nature at length before, including why they are truthfully not "pro-life", but rather are "anti-choice."
The second embarrassing group is those Nebraska state legislators who are obviously more concerned with pandering for votes from the anti-choice crowd than seeing to the needs of their constituents.
In case you missed it, the conservative-when-it-suits-him state Sen. Tony Fulton followed the lead of other narrow-minded lawmakers on Tuesday by cramming through some of his pet legislation onto the floor of the legislature at the last moment.
His proposed bill, LB521, would ban a procedure known as telemedicine abortions from being allowed in Nebraska. It's now up for a full vote of the Unicameral.
In general, we're not in favor of remote medicine if the option of a live physician is available. But sometimes, that's simply not possible.
As long-time Nebraska residents know, ours is a big state, with lots of open spaces between some of our smaller towns. Many of our smaller towns these days don't even have a doctor.
With the advent of distance medicine - what the proposed bill calls telemedicine - some smaller Nebraska towns have begun to see the promise of non-emergency, quick medical care being available in their towns again, through multi-purpose telemedicine clinics. Such proposals to add care facilities have been discussed recently by several groups, including Planned Parenthood.
It's likely though, that if this bill passes, those plans will never be more than just plans - and once again, rural Nebraska towns will be left at an even further medical disadvantage.
We understand that the topic of abortion is one that brings about strong emotions. We remind you once again, abortion continues to be a legal medical procedure in the United States. Anti-choice groups are well aware of that fact. Instead of working within the system to decrease the number of women who have unwanted pregnancies, they persist in foisting legislation on us that makes it more and more difficult for a woman to choose the option of SAFE, LEGAL abortions, should she choose to do so. One suspects that if the anti-choice crowd is ever successful in passing a nationwide abortion ban, the next thing they will go after is the availability of artificial birth control.
We can't understand the blind hatred and myopic focus of many in the anti-choice cabal. They would deny a better way to deliver medical care to their fellow Nebraskans who live in rural areas, just so that they can restrict the choices of others in the same way they've chosen to restrict their own choices. By that logic, vegans should also be able to restrict what the rest of us eat - an idea that we find abhorrent.
Nebraska has used the state slogan, "The Good Life" for many, many years - and most of the time, we tend to agree that it's a good place to live.
However, when some of our fellow citizens want to strangle the choices of their neighbors due to their own fanatical beliefs - and when many of our legislators are willing to help them pull tight those strings - we wonder how much longer we're really be able to call it the good life.
With these facts in mind, it's with some shame that we also have to acknowledge two short-sighted groups who aren't acting like real Nebraskans at all.
The first group is the anti-abortion people who continue to try and force their idea of so-called "smaller government" into our bedrooms and inside our bodies. We've discussed their true nature at length before, including why they are truthfully not "pro-life", but rather are "anti-choice."
The second embarrassing group is those Nebraska state legislators who are obviously more concerned with pandering for votes from the anti-choice crowd than seeing to the needs of their constituents.
In case you missed it, the conservative-when-it-suits-him state Sen. Tony Fulton followed the lead of other narrow-minded lawmakers on Tuesday by cramming through some of his pet legislation onto the floor of the legislature at the last moment.
His proposed bill, LB521, would ban a procedure known as telemedicine abortions from being allowed in Nebraska. It's now up for a full vote of the Unicameral.
In general, we're not in favor of remote medicine if the option of a live physician is available. But sometimes, that's simply not possible.
As long-time Nebraska residents know, ours is a big state, with lots of open spaces between some of our smaller towns. Many of our smaller towns these days don't even have a doctor.
With the advent of distance medicine - what the proposed bill calls telemedicine - some smaller Nebraska towns have begun to see the promise of non-emergency, quick medical care being available in their towns again, through multi-purpose telemedicine clinics. Such proposals to add care facilities have been discussed recently by several groups, including Planned Parenthood.
It's likely though, that if this bill passes, those plans will never be more than just plans - and once again, rural Nebraska towns will be left at an even further medical disadvantage.
We understand that the topic of abortion is one that brings about strong emotions. We remind you once again, abortion continues to be a legal medical procedure in the United States. Anti-choice groups are well aware of that fact. Instead of working within the system to decrease the number of women who have unwanted pregnancies, they persist in foisting legislation on us that makes it more and more difficult for a woman to choose the option of SAFE, LEGAL abortions, should she choose to do so. One suspects that if the anti-choice crowd is ever successful in passing a nationwide abortion ban, the next thing they will go after is the availability of artificial birth control.
We can't understand the blind hatred and myopic focus of many in the anti-choice cabal. They would deny a better way to deliver medical care to their fellow Nebraskans who live in rural areas, just so that they can restrict the choices of others in the same way they've chosen to restrict their own choices. By that logic, vegans should also be able to restrict what the rest of us eat - an idea that we find abhorrent.
Nebraska has used the state slogan, "The Good Life" for many, many years - and most of the time, we tend to agree that it's a good place to live.
However, when some of our fellow citizens want to strangle the choices of their neighbors due to their own fanatical beliefs - and when many of our legislators are willing to help them pull tight those strings - we wonder how much longer we're really be able to call it the good life.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Out On A Limb
We don't really think it's a reach of any kind to say that the government of the United States, as well as many Americans, do not trust the government of Pakistan.
They have good reason. The most wanted terrorist in the world was discovered, captured and killed less than three days ago in a fortress that dwarfed the houses of his neighbors, that was built specifically for him. It was in a suburban area of one of Pakistan's largest cities that also happens to be home to a large contingent of retired Pakistani military and intelligence officers, a stone's throw from Pakistan's version of West Point.
To say that in Bin Laden's neighborhood, town, or region, there was no one who knew that he lived there is stretching credulity farther than even the most gullible person could withstand.
Many current and former intelligence personnel have said - some for years now - that Bin Laden wasn't holed up in a cave in the Waziristan border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Even a group of college geographers predicted - with surprising accuracy - where Osama Bin Laden was hiding back in 2009.
Yet, officials of both the current and previous governments of Pakistan insisted that they had no knowledge of the location of Mr. Bin Laden.
Leon Panetta, current CIA chief, said in an interview on Tuesday that U.S. cooperation with Pakistan on the Bin Laden takedown didn't really even exist, because of the lack of trust between the U.S. and Pakistan.
This lack of trust in Pakistan - a nominal ally in Southern Asia - stretches across both major political parties in the U.S. It's also hastened the call by some U.S. lawmakers for President Obama to make a rapid retreat of all forces from Afghanistan, and the Middle East in general.
We're well aware of the sacrifices made by Americans, and by other countries that have helped and supported the U.S. in it's military and diplomatic efforts in that region of the world. We'd certainly love to see our American service members back in the U.S. sooner, rather than later.
All this may lead you, dear reader, to think we also support an immediate and rapid withdrawal of American forces.
You'd be wrong.
Much as we wish it were true, just because Osama Bin Laden is dead doesn't mean the terrorist organization he began, Al Qaeda, is also dead. Most Americans also feel Al Qaeda isn't gone - and we trust their lack of faith on this issue, as much as we trust the opinion of terrorism experts who agree with them.
As we've said a million times, anything worth doing is worth doing well.
That includes UN-doing things that were done poorly when they were began. Leaving the Afghanistan/Pakistan region should be done carefully and correctly - much as our nominal allies, the Pakistanis, continue to test both our relationship and our national patience.
They have good reason. The most wanted terrorist in the world was discovered, captured and killed less than three days ago in a fortress that dwarfed the houses of his neighbors, that was built specifically for him. It was in a suburban area of one of Pakistan's largest cities that also happens to be home to a large contingent of retired Pakistani military and intelligence officers, a stone's throw from Pakistan's version of West Point.
To say that in Bin Laden's neighborhood, town, or region, there was no one who knew that he lived there is stretching credulity farther than even the most gullible person could withstand.
Many current and former intelligence personnel have said - some for years now - that Bin Laden wasn't holed up in a cave in the Waziristan border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Even a group of college geographers predicted - with surprising accuracy - where Osama Bin Laden was hiding back in 2009.
Yet, officials of both the current and previous governments of Pakistan insisted that they had no knowledge of the location of Mr. Bin Laden.
Leon Panetta, current CIA chief, said in an interview on Tuesday that U.S. cooperation with Pakistan on the Bin Laden takedown didn't really even exist, because of the lack of trust between the U.S. and Pakistan.
This lack of trust in Pakistan - a nominal ally in Southern Asia - stretches across both major political parties in the U.S. It's also hastened the call by some U.S. lawmakers for President Obama to make a rapid retreat of all forces from Afghanistan, and the Middle East in general.
We're well aware of the sacrifices made by Americans, and by other countries that have helped and supported the U.S. in it's military and diplomatic efforts in that region of the world. We'd certainly love to see our American service members back in the U.S. sooner, rather than later.
All this may lead you, dear reader, to think we also support an immediate and rapid withdrawal of American forces.
You'd be wrong.
Much as we wish it were true, just because Osama Bin Laden is dead doesn't mean the terrorist organization he began, Al Qaeda, is also dead. Most Americans also feel Al Qaeda isn't gone - and we trust their lack of faith on this issue, as much as we trust the opinion of terrorism experts who agree with them.
As we've said a million times, anything worth doing is worth doing well.
That includes UN-doing things that were done poorly when they were began. Leaving the Afghanistan/Pakistan region should be done carefully and correctly - much as our nominal allies, the Pakistanis, continue to test both our relationship and our national patience.
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