Whoosh!

So goes the month of January. I've not posted lately because there isn't anything happening on the immigration front and I've been insanely busy with teaching, writing, and prepping for a course overload in Spring. Then there's the matter of 5YO being on the verge of being 6YO. Yes, it's true. I'm not sure how that happened, but six he will be!

The good news is that it looks as though I'm going to get to take a trip to Seattle in April. The even better news is that it's for a consulting gig (read: $$) and I get to visit with a friend I rarely have the opportunity to see. But, wait, it gets even better. If things work out I'll tag on a quick trip to Victoria. So, for those of you who have agreed to talk with me about your immigration plans, experiences, etc., once plans are set I'll be in touch.

Meanwhile, back in MN... yesterday morning it was 0. Right now it's 15 with a wind chill of -1. Yes, those are Fahrenheit. I'll wait until we move to make the switch to C.

That's about it. Just waiting for the next communique from Detroit! As always, you'll be among the first to hear!

Same-Sex Marriage?

Hillary Clinton? No.
John Edwards? "Not there yet."
Tom Vilsack? Nope.
Barack Obama? Nah.
Dennis Kucinich? Yup.

Then there's John McCain playing kissy-face (or was that kiss up?) to James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Oh, this is going to be fun. Not.

My tag line may be:
"Barack Obama - Apparently he thinks Brown v. Board was wrongly decided. Long live Plessy and separate but equal, says Obama."

Democrats? No, thanks!

These two snippets just happened to catch my eye - both appeared within the last 24 hours. Just more evidence of why the Democrats, IMHO, aren't any more appealing to me than the others. Also, see Tom's recent posts at Canadian Hope.

From the Stonewall Dems:
"Former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. (TN) will soon assume the Chairmanship of the Democratic Leadership Council - the centrist organization which seeks to influence the policy and politics of the Democratic Party. Ford is a strong supporter of amendments to both the Tennessee and U.S. Constitutions that bar domestic partnerships, civil unions and civil marriage for same-sex couples. In Fact, Ford aggressively campaigned on that support during his failed Senate campaign last year (earning the dubious distinction of being the only major Democratic senate candidate in 2006 to wind up a loser). Ford's position puts him at odds with the stated policy of the Democratic Leadership Council, which opposes such amendments. Stonewall has called on the DLC to reaffirm their position and for Congressman Ford to rejoin the majority of Democrats and Americans in supporting the policy of the DLC by opposing the federal anti-marriage amendment."

From The New York Times
January 16, 2007
Democrats Seek the Middle on Social Issues
By Robin Toner
WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 — The promise may not outlast their political honeymoon, but Democratic Congressional leaders say they are committed to governing from the center, and not just on bread-and-butter issues like raising the minimum wage or increasing aid for education. They also hope to bring that philosophy to bear on some of the most divisive social issues in politics, like abortion.

In their first days in session, Senate Democratic leaders reintroduced a bill that they said was indicative of their new approach: the Prevention First Act, which seeks to reduce the number of abortions by expanding access to birth control, family planning and sex education.

In the House last week, Democrats showcased a vote on expanding federal financing for embryonic stem cell research, which, despite fierce opposition from many conservatives, has won bipartisan support among lawmakers — and voters — who are otherwise divided on abortion.

The mantra, for many Democrats, is the search for common ground. On gay rights, lawmakers and advocates said the most likely legislation in the new Congress would focus on hate crimes and employment discrimination, issues expected to be much less polarizing than the debate over same-sex marriage that was front and center in the Republican Congress....

In the mail...

Today, just before noon, an envelope containing: FBI cards, police certificate from Germany, proof of funds, proof of medical examinations, and a check for $890 went in the mail. Now we just wait to see what comes next - mystery brown envelope, PPR, or perhaps a request for some additional documentation? You will be among the first to know!

This is great!

You may recall my comments about Michele Bachmann, the incredibly hateful and ignorant GOP conservative who got, incredibly, elected to Congress in the MN Sixth. This editorial appeared in today's Minneapolis paper - it's fabulous!!!!

Bachmann: Our secret weapon for Baghdad
By Nick Coleman, Star Tribune

Praise the Lord and send Bachmann to Iraq. And make it snappy.

Michele Bachmann is the freshman congresswoman who raised eyebrows last fall when she claimed God had "called" her to run for Congress. I know the Lord moves in mysterious ways, and I am open to the possibility that divine intervention helped Republican Bachmann move up from the state Senate to Washington so that she might stop smiting Minnesota's gays and lesbians and start solving some real problems.

Anything is possible.

So I am glad that Bachmann apparently believes she will know what we should do about that pesky Iraq thing when she can get there and take a look-see.

This is fabulous news. After almost four years of a war that has cost thousands of lives and seems to be getting worse by the moment, we have overlooked the obvious solution:

Drop Bachmann on Baghdad!

I pray she won't waste another minute booking a flight.

"I don't believe we have all of the information in front of us," she recently said. "As a member of Congress, that's why I want to go to Iraq as quickly as I can. I want to get the best information in front of me."

The thanks of a grateful nation to Michele Bachmann!

All that nonsense about the Iraq Study Group was a waste of time, as was the 2006 election, in which Americans thought they were expressing disapproval of the war.

As it turns out, all we needed was to get Baghdad Bachmann into the fray to find out what to do. I don't know why we didn't think of it long ago: Michele goes to Mesopotamia and we get a solution! She is very sweet to offer, and she should be deployed as soon as possible, so we can get this thing wrapped up.

Or perhaps Bachmann should just give fellow Republican Norm Coleman a call.

Sen. Coleman already has been to Iraq, twice (he made his second visit last month). He may not know what to do about Iraq, yet. But he knows what not to do: He says the answer is not to send 20,000 more troops and extend the tour of 2,600 Minnesota Guard soldiers who thought they were coming home in March.

In this, he is ably representing the thousands of Minnesotans whose lives have been disrupted by an ill-conceived and unnecessary war that has gone off the tracks. Norm voted to authorize that war, like many Republicans and Democrats in Congress. But unlike Newbie Bachmann, who believes she might know the solution once she sees Baghdad, Norm says we have seen enough already.

On the day we learned that another Minnesota soldier had died in Iraq, the troops heard from a cable TV channel that their tours had been extended.

Sen. Coleman didn't have to go to Iraq to find out what he should do about that disgrace.

He wrote an angry letter to the secretary of defense, saying that announcing extended war tours on cable TV was an "unacceptable way to treat our nation's citizen soldiers." He also opposed the president's face-saving plans to gamble more lives on a failed policy in Iraq.

A "troop surge" in Iraq, Norm said in a Senate speech, will "put more American troops at risk" trying to fix a problem -- sectarian violence -- that is Iraq's, not America's.

Give Norm credit. Sure, he's running for reelection in 2008, but Bachmann will be, too. At least Norm is smart enough to start backing away from the Kool-Aid vat. And by abandoning the president's line, he is speaking up for the troops and their families, who are expected to remain silent.

More politicians should listen to the people (61 percent disapproved of a troop surge in a poll taken after President Bush proposed it). And more, like Gov. Tim Pawlenty, should serve their constituents before their ambitions. Although our governor spoke up on behalf of the Minnesota Guard members Thursday, he has spent months playing buddy-buddy with presidential prospect and surge proponent John McCain.

Still, if Michele Bachmann or others think they can enlighten us by going to Baghdad, I say, by all means. Go. Get a move on.

Nick Coleman • ncoleman@startribune.com

WTF?

20,000 more troops to Iraq?

I asked my students to watch tonight so I was taking notes.
Just a sampling...

“The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people…and it is unacceptable to me.”
“Failure in Iraq would be disastrous for the United States.”
“…advancing liberty across a troubled region.”
“Increase the active Army and Marine Corps…”
‘Mobilize civilians overseas…”
“Advance of freedom is the calling of our time...”

Every time I hear him utter words like liberty, freedom, and democracy I wonder when everyone in the United States will truly have liberty and freedom.

I absolutely loathe the man.

Catching Up

I didn't have time to include this in Friday's post...

We went to one of the two places in the Cities where you can get a CIC medical exam. It's in one of the suburbs (the aforementioned Apple Valley) and is staffed by a physician of Latino origin. The support staff are primarily Latina. The nurse practicioner was listed as "Sr." That's as in sister, as in nun. It's fair (and honest) to say that - as two moms coming in with a child - I was a bit apprehensive.

Then... the NP walked in the door. She was sporting a Wellstone! button. Good sign! As soon as she put her things down she set to work with our materials. She was very cool! That's cool in a good way, not cool as in distant. When I was in her office going over the paperwork she saw my occupation listed as "Professor" and [paraphrasing] sighed, "Brain drain. We're losing all the good people. But, what do we expect when we make policies that force them to leave?" Was I happy or what!

So, all in all, a great experience and a reminder about Catholicism. She happens to be a member of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet, a very cool order as far as Catholic orders go. You might have heard of Sister Rita. "In 1996 she was arrested for the first time for peaceful protesting, and in 1997 was again arrested and sentenced to a federal penitentiary in Pekin , Illinois . When asked what she got for her 70th birthday, Sister Steinhagen quipped, 'Six months!'"

Anyway, just wanted to add that to the tale. More as it happens!

110/80

Well, all the information you really need to know is in the title of this post. Woo-hoo! But, here's the quick story.

We headed down to Apple Valley (don't you love that name) for our 9 am appointment. 5YO had to pee so as soon as we walked in I asked if he would need to provide a urine sample. The woman who greeted us said that she didn't think so and that he could go ahead and pee. He did, we got settled, and started some paperwork. She came back about 5 minutes later and said that, yes, in fact, he would need to provide a urine sample, and would he like orange juice or water - a bottle in each hand. He opted for the OJ.

Thus began an hour and a half of two middle aged women and a 5YO "round-robining" the examination room, etc. But, the glorious news was that my BP was 110/80. A more accurate statement is probably that that was the reading. I've often had LPNs and such get a low reading, I think, bc it was what they were expecting. Then, the physician does it and, voila, too high. All I know is that the paperwork reads 110/80.

The assistant couldn't find a good vein in my left arm, got the needle in my right and couldn't find a vein, and ended up having the nurse practicioner draw from the back of my hand - nice and veiny. What else? I loved getting weighed in kilograms. Insert grin here! We made it out the door after about two hours and had to go down the road for our chest x-rays.

The only other "blip" in the day was that P had to get some documentation from her primary care provider. At the end of some lost paperwork, misinformation, etc. she was able to have someone print out the info and leave it for her after hours. Now she can hand carry it back to the immigration meds office and, as soon as they get the x-rays, off it all goes to Ottawa.

Then, we just wait to see if we get the mystery brown envelope... But, all I know is that I'm thrilled with the BP. I've been dreading that for about a year and a half!!!

More as it happens. Hopefully I can post some "catch-up" info soon. Cheers!

Back for a moment!

I can't believe I haven't posted since 19 December. That was finals week, then grading, then the holiday and a week away with almost no Internet access. We got back on the 30th and it's been insanity ever since. I started teaching Tuesday morning and teach from 9-12 three days a week until the 25th. Then there's that @#$% book deadline hanging over my head. Thus, not only have I not been posting, I've not been reading.

As some of you may recall, we have our physicals on Friday. This was supposed to be the end of a peaceful retreat, resulting in lower blood pressure. Instead, I'm on the verge of just cracking up, at least momentarily.

But, if I can just get a bit ahead on daily prep and get a bit more written... Anyway, thought I should dash off a quick post to let everyone know that all is well, just not enough hours in the day.

I hope you had a great new year and that 2007 provides you with peace and all things wonderful!