Pansy: May 2008 Archives

Why it's our very own Berylla modeling another new outfit sewn at home. (I know, there's a lot of them).

Remember him from back in the day?

A few months ago (or maybe a year?) they opened a Goodwill Superstore in my town. I had never been, but always intended to check it out. I was pleasantly surpised. For $19, I left with two new pairs of boys shorts (still with original tags), two button down boy's shirts, one new Osh Kosh 24 months dress (still with a tag) and one size small men's dress shirt.

Actually, all I wanted to get was the men's shirt because I had been itching for some time to use this tutorial on making a toddler dress from a button down shirt. If I were smart, I would have taken a picture of the shirt before I started sewing. I apologize, you will just have to settle for pictures of the end result:

He quotes this section from the First Things article:

Carter had one serious strike against him. The U.S. Supreme Court had legalized abortion on demand in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, and Carter the candidate waffled about restricting it. At the time, I knew Carter was wrong in his views about Roe and soft toward permissive abortion. But even as a priest, I justified working for him because he wasn’t aggressively “pro-choice.” True, he held a bad position on a vital issue, but I believed he was right on so many more of the “Catholic” issues than his opponent seemed to be. The moral calculus looked easy. I thought we could remedy the abortion problem after Carter was safely returned to office.
...

In the years after the Carter loss, I began to notice that very few of the people, including Catholics, who claimed to be “personally opposed” to abortion really did anything about it. Nor did they intend to. For most, their personal opposition was little more than pious hand-wringing and a convenient excuse—exactly as it is today. In fact, I can’t name any pro-choice Catholic politician who has been active, in a sustained public way, in trying to discourage abortion and to protect unborn human life—not one. Some talk about it, and some may mean well, but there’s very little action. In the United States in 2008, abortion is an acceptable form of homicide. And it will remain that way until Catholics force their political parties and elected officials to act differently.

Why do I mention this now? Earlier this spring, a group called “Roman Catholics for Obama ’08” quoted my own published words in the following way:

So can a Catholic in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate? The answer is: I can’t, and I won’t. But I do know some serious Catholics— people whom I admire—who may. I think their reasoning is mistaken, but at least they sincerely struggle with the abortion issue, and it causes them real pain. And most important: They don’t keep quiet about it; they don’t give up; they keep lobbying their party and their representatives to change their pro-abortion views and protect the unborn. Catholics can vote for pro-choice candidates if they vote for them despite—not because of—their pro-choice views.

What’s interesting about this quotation—which is accurate but incomplete—is the wording that was left out. The very next sentences in the article of mine they selected, which Roman Catholics for Obama neglected to quote, run as follows:

But [Catholics who support pro-choice candidates] also need a compelling proportionate reason to justify it. What is a “proportionate” reason when it comes to the abortion issue? It’s the kind of reason we will be able to explain, with a clean heart, to the victims of abortion when we meet them face to face in the next life—which we most certainly will. If we’re confident that these victims will accept our motives as something more than an alibi, then we can proceed.

On their website, Roman Catholics for Obama stress that:

After faithful thought and prayer, we have arrived at the conclusion that Senator Obama is the candidate whose views are most compatible with the Catholic outlook, and we will vote for him because of that—and because of his other outstanding qualities—despite our disagreements with him in specific areas.

I’m familiar with this reasoning. It sounds a lot like me thirty years ago. And thirty years later, we still have about a million abortions a year. Maybe Roman Catholics for Obama will do a better job at influencing their candidate. It could happen. And I sincerely hope it does, since Planned Parenthood of the Chicago area, as recently as February 2008, noted that Senator Barack Obama “has a 100 percent pro-choice voting record both in the U.S. Senate and the Illinois Senate.”

Changing the views of “pro-choice” candidates takes a lot more than verbal gymnastics, good alibis, and pious talk about “personal opposition” to killing unborn children. I’m sure Roman Catholics for Obama know that, and I wish them good luck. They’ll need it.

This article seems to hit home for me because I come from a family of non-voting-Democrat Democrats. I envy people who feel so strongly about a candidate- that have that "this is The Guy" feeling. I just couldn't vote pro-choice because the reason I feel so strongly that abortion is not simply about whether women are inconvenienced or not. To me it is a social justice issue that encompasses ageism, classism, and racism. I guess abortion, personally, is the deciding issue for me (as with many of my non-voting-Democrat-Democrat family...who also voted for Carter back in the day).

but it's going to be that way, for a little while anyway. As long as I am involved in this "thing", campaign, mission, whatever you want to call it in regard to the Planned Parenthood opening up here in Amsterdam, I am going to whine and kvetshn. I am no fool, there is no true way to fight PP. They are a huge corporation. But what they are bringing with them is not simply a birth control clinic, they are bringing a philosophy and a culture. I am also not so naive to think that Margaret Sanger's culture. She herself invented the terms "birth control" and "family planning". She financed development of the first Pill all to fuel her anti-minority eugenics program. How many people pay and swallow hormonal contraceptives without understanding the philosophy behind their creation? (I will save the rant about racism and health issues for another entry...I guess tomorrow. And yes, I know I am preaching to the choir.)

My question for today is about the culture Margaret Sanger created: How was she so successful?

Planned Parenthood's President, Janet Colm, May 2008:

Research indicates that emotional problems resulting from abortion are rare and that for most women the response is relief...Anti-abortion groups have invented [“post-abortion syndrome (PAS)”] to further their cause. All of the studies that purport to prove PAS contain flaws – and all of them studied women who already self-identified as having problems after abortion.

Annie's reply?

Flat.out.bullshit

Gotta love it. She has much more intelligent stuff to offer. "Bullshit" was all I could muster up at the moment.Read the rest.

So something I say doesn't end up on the Overheard Everywhere site, such as this quote from Overheard in NY:

Guy #1: So we went to a baptism yesterday.
Guy #2:Wait, you're Catholic. Not Baptism. I'm Baptism.
Guy #1: You're Baptist.

--Times Square

I don't think we should use the word "modesty" and just call it "common sense".

Case in point.

In an attempt to combat the newly opening PP in Amsterdam a few volunteers (read 4), myself included were granted a bit of closet space in the local Catholic Charities to distribute diapers and other baby supplies to mothers (or fathers) who come in and need them.

Our first day open was Monday evening. We didn't expect anyone to show up that night, or even the next day for that matter, until word got around that we had free baby supplies.I was not even slotted to volunteer that night, but I live right across the street, so I said I would go and help out the girl who was volunteering. She had not been to the CC and was not there while we set up, so she needed someone to show her where we were stationed. Lo and behold we had a small line. I guess it was a good thing I was there.

We are supplied by donations. I pray the Lord continues to supply for our needs. As it is, we have tons of newborn diapers, yet everyone who came requested size 5. If you can offer up a "Hail Mary" for us, we would be much obliged!

Jill Stanek links to an old debate between George Bush and McCain on the abortion issue.

She sums up the gist of it in her WND column:

Pro-lifers voting for president in November will have to choose McCain. He knows that. We know that. But if he makes one wrong maverick move on the pro-life issue from here until then, such as trying to weaken the Republican pro-life platform, many of us will bail.

The same old dilemma-being Catholic and voting.

PS-I agree with Alan Keyes: if you are going to be pro-life, be pro-life. If you feel that is a child who is being murdered, the circumstances of their conception makes no difference. If you do not feel it is murder, then why be pro-life? Makes no sense.

Why would this child's mother let her out of the house like this?.

Now the headlines claim "arrested for prom dress", which is not exactly true. The police were called over the commotion caused when she was asked to leave because her dress was inappropriate.

That being the case, I really don't see how this is as newsworthy as the original headlines make it out to be.

However, I am just so frustrated. Why do girls no longer see beauty in something beautiful? Why do they only see beauty in skimpy? How skimpy does a dress have to be these days to be the nicest dress, because Oh Girl's doesn't leave any room for hers to be topped. I keep thinking about when I was a very small girl, and how I would love to play dress-up with my patent-leather Mary Janes, little white gloves and anything frilly and pink. How sad for someone so young to have already lost that childhood simplicity.

I often feel like The Modesty Police and oddly, it is not a subject I am that obsessed with. I am just tired of women being objectified. God gifted us when he made us the more visually beautiful of the two sexes. But this isn't beauty. I don't know what this is.This is taking God's delicate art and saying "it needs more color" and spray painting it fluorescent pink.

What I also don't understand is where are her parents? Why isn't her father barring the door with a shot gun "Hell no you ain't going out the house looking like that!" Isn't that what fathers do? Why isn't her mother telling her "I know you think this is pretty, but this is not appropriate, let's find a compromise." Isn't that the point of mothers?

Girly Comments & Graphics

Time Magazine this week (pdf. article) has examples of food prices that have gone up since 2003:

Wonder Bread up 74%
Boneless center-cut pork chop up 124%
Farmland Skim Plus milk up 38%
Arnold Stone-Ground wheat bread up 36%
Rib-eye steak up 64%
Carr's water crackers up 39%
Bird's Eye frozen sweet corn up 28%
Bananas up 41%
Bird's Eye frozen baby peas up 21%
Diet Coke up 10%

Notice the crap on the list-the Diet Coke- is the price that has inflated the least. I am too tired to speculate about the meaning because I am too busy trying to feed a family of eight nutritious and palatable real food on a budget.

I am running out of all those bright ideas I used to have.

but it is too funny to ignore. Previously, I blogged about Miley Cyrus and how tired I am of not only hearing about them, but how tired I am of Hollywood telling me how backwards I am for thinking the images inappropriate. If the Tila Tequila quote was not enough, how about this quote from Hugh Hefner:

Says Hef: "Sure, she’d be welcomed in the magazine. Very pretty lady. And I think to make such a big to-do over something as innocent as those [Vanity Fair] photos, I think is a reflection on how schizophrenic America is about sexuality."

.

Young Ladies, this is why modesty is important. You do NOT want the attention of dirty old, old (did I mention old?) men calling you pretty...If Miley Cyus has any sense, now she is getting the creepy crawlies and thinking "Ohmygosh, no more suggestive pictures again!"

Ugh...shivers.

A warm welcome to Baby Nikola!!

They are building a Planned Parenthood in the city in which I live. Naturally I wanted to become part of an effort to be a thorn in their side. The problem is all the committees, groups, or what-have you are about cliques and I don't know what else. I hope God can use me for some good.

These are so cute!

I think like many a parent, I am semi-outraged by the Miley Cyrus Vanity Fair photos.I have a 15-year old and I'll be damned before I let her take pictures implying she is naked... with a bed sheet making people wonder why she is naked with a bed sheet...and 15. Never mind, grossed out. However, I am even more annoyed that Hollywood is telling me why I shouldn't be outraged:

The frenzy over Miley Cyrus' Vanity Fair cover shots was inescapable earlier this week -- everyone seemed to have an opinion on the snaps, and most of them were critical of the tween star and her parents. But that's starting to change, as some familiar names -- like Sally Field and Rosie O'Donnell -- have come out in her defense.

Hollywood never gets that the world they live in is not the same one we poor shmoes are raising our children in. We do not have the benefit of the money and fame to save them after failed marriages and drug addictions. Whatever.

So here I am reading these dopey celebrity quotes from the likes of Rosie O'Donnell and Nick Cannon when the last one came up. I could not have written anything better myself to back my point up:

"I think it's hot. When I was 15, I was doing the same thing except I bared it all ... She's just showing her back. She's growing up. I don't think she's doing anything harmful ... I think she's hot!" -- Tila Tequila

is a very, very strange place. I, um, er, um, you know...wow. I don't know what to say.

I'd spend tons of money on Liberty of London fabric, and I probably wouldn't do "I just spent how much on what?" thing. (OK, I would, but I sure wish I had the money to waste on Liberty fabric).