Just need to clarify this:

I recently saw a propaganda piece from Planned Parenthood, saying (basically) that the decision to use birth control shouldn't involve a woman's boss or congressman.  They are spreading fear that the lawsuits challenging the HHS mandate will cause women to lose all access to birth control.  My 10yo recently studied the "Appeal to Fear" in her logic class (Argumentum Interrorem in Latin, which I know because I'm raising little geniuses).  This is a classic example.

If the lawsuits succeed, that means an employer would not be required by law to provide health insurance that covers contraception with no out-of-pocket cost.  It has nothing to do with access.  Why is this somehow different than everything else in our lives, where the person who wants something is expected to pay for that thing?   Honestly, if you're asking your boss and your congressman to pay for something, they should have a say in whether you get it!  If you want privacy, don't ask someone else to fund whatever you want to keep private.  TINSTAFFL.

For many reasons that contraception is bad for women, bad for the planet, bad for relationships, and just plain wrong, look here.

Wind

It's windy outside today.  I like to listen to a windy day from inside, because it always reminds me how sturdy my house is: with all that going on out there, we don't feel any effects in here.  This house was built over 130 years ago, and has stood the test of time, and I'm thankful for the skill of the builders, and thankful that we are able to live here now.

Building is not the same now.  We're considering moving (don't really want to, but there are a few compelling reasons), and I don't really want to buy a house built after maybe 1960.  Nothing new is sturdy: we use inferior materials, and almost nobody has the kind of skill that went into building my current house.  Plus most new construction doesn't include a tower, and that's kind of sad.  I do have a tower now, not that we really use it for anything, but I really like having it.  There's a cool staircase going up to a trapdoor through the tower floor.

I have delusions of making it into a reading nook, but that would involve some serious cleaning and painting and I'm really too lazy.

Wind is not the same now either.  Those "wind farms" with the giant turbines are sucking the energy out of the sky.  I'm not talking in some new age way, either, but in a very physical, conservation of energy way.  If these machines are giving energy in the form of electricity, that energy has to be taken from somewhere - in this case, slowing down the wind as it passes over.  There's no way those things don't have an effect on our weather, but no one seems to be talking about it.  I blame them for last summer's drought, and there doesn't seem to be any science to disprove that, because as far as I can tell no one is bothering to look at the effect of these machines on the weather.  It could be that the media just doesn't mention it, because the average viewer doesn't care about science, or it could be that I don't notice it in the media because I really don't have a lot of exposure (no incoming TV channels here, and we only get the local weekly newspaper), or it could be that there is some kind of vast cover-up going on, but I don't think that's it either.  I think no one wants to find out the true cost of this "free" electricity.  Except that nothing is free.  Of course we're going to have to pay the cost of this electricity, and most people will be totally surprised by that.  Why don't we think things through before we do them?  Often unintended consequences were totally predictable (or maybe it just looks that way in hindsight).

Another reason homeschooling rocks

Sometimes science becomes snack.

We had to heat some water, as we're talking about heat transfer (remember that? convection, conduction, radiation?).  So when we finished discussing our panful of water, I poured in a box of noodles and Track Star had some mac & cheese.

Yes, we're schooling on a Saturday.  I've been a slacker lately, pretty much took Thursday completely off (it was our 15th anniversary, so I'm calling it a holiday), then didn't feel like working Friday.  Dancing Queen still has some work left, but she's been sick so I'm not pushing too hard.  Next week is Holy Week, so we'll have a lighter schedule, and we were off a couple weeks ago for our "spring break" so I really need to get them back on track.  Plus my big strong man is off hunting & gathering (okay, he's making some kind of computer-related speech, but whatever brings home the bacon...), so school gives us something to do today.

That word

You keep using that word - I do not think it means what you think it means.

I am SO tired of hearing the word "hate."  To hate someone means to wish bad on them, to desire harm for them.  It's a really terrible thing.  But the word has come to mean any disagreement or disapproval, especially of a particular lifestyle.  It has been adopted as a battle cry, and anyone labeled a "hater" is automatically discredited, no logic need apply.  But it only works one way.  The people doing the labeling can say whatever they want about the "haters" and somehow that's acceptable.  They can even actively wish them harm (actual hate), and people think it's what the "haters" deserve.  Nobody should be wishing anyone harm.

The worst part is that the majority of people are just caught up in this, swept away by the rhetoric, not analyzing any of it for themselves.  They don't actually mean anyone harm, but they fear that someone is wishing harm to them, because they've been told that the other side is full of hate and is out to get them in some way.  Our society has become very polarized: on every issue, everyone must fit in one box or the other, with no discussion between them, just namecalling.

Don't be fooled.  If someone has nothing useful to say, no actual evidence, so that they have to resort to namecalling, that's someone you don't need to listen to.  Read more.  Think more.  Make up your own mind.  Even if you make it up to disagree with me - I won't wish you harm.  We can agree to disagree, have civilized conversations, maybe one of us will change our opinion eventually and maybe we won't.  I wish you well anyway.

Armed, not dangerous

I carry a gun. Pretty much all the time. Most people don't know this about me (so I'm putting it out here for all the world to see, certain that most of them won't look).

My mom knows. I was at her house when a police officer came over, because she had been the victim of a crime, and state law says I have to notify an officer when they interact on official business. Her only comment was, "But there's no lump or anything." I explained that that's exactly what "concealed carry" means. I was very impressed at how she didn't freak out at the news, but she was already (legitimately) freaking out about something else at the time, so I kinda squeaked by under the radar.

A few of my friends know. Two of them were out with me on a Saturday, and we decided to go to a movie, but the theatre has a sign posted saying that it has a capacity of 2500+. Only those with a concealed pistol license would recognize that as one of my state's nine "no carry" zones, so the sign doesn't mean anything to most people. But that day it did mean something to me, so I had to disarm and leave my gun in the car, and of course my friends saw me do that. Two more friends know, one of them carries, but they live on a military facility so when we visited I had to ask to leave my gun locked in their house under their authority for the duration of the visit, because I was not allowed to possess it on the base and not happy leaving it unattended at our nearby hotel.

See how I follow the laws? When we travel, I look up the laws of the states we'll be passing through, because they are all different. I also look up carseat laws for the kids (thankfully they're old enough now that they don't need boosters in most states). Based on the mainstream media, the mere fact of my gun ownership means I'm an anarchist or homicidal maniac or (best case) a redneck. Actually, I'm a thirty-something mom in a small town. I'm not even biker chic: I drive a minivan, mostly to take my kids to sports or to fetch groceries.

If I've been to your house, I was probably armed. Right there in front of you. Don't freak out. I didn't kill anyone (even when you said something mean about me), I didn't hand my pistol to your toddler, I didn't get drunk and start shooting at the moon or the squirrels or your dog (which is not actually your child, by the way, but that's another post). I'm no more dangerous than you are. I don't especially enjoy carrying a gun, any more than I enjoy wearing a seatbelt. Sometimes it gets in the way, much like a seatbelt. But I do it for the same reason that I wear a seatbelt, the same reason there's a fire extinguisher near my kitchen, the same reason I take my phone upstairs with me when I go to bed.  Every day, when I get dressed, I pray for wisdom and protection - asking that I would never have to use it, but for guidance if I do.

If you don't want to carry a gun, fine. Really, if you don't want to, then I totally agree that you shouldn't. But don't tell me not to, because of how somebody else acted one time. That wasn't me. That won't be me. Those people were crazy, and no law is going to prevent crazy. Taking away my defense doesn't make you safer.  I'm armed, not dangerous.

Habemus Non Papam

Habemus non papam - Latin for "we do not have a pope." Pope Benedict XVI retired today.  Through the miracles of satellites and internet, the kids & I were able to watch him get into the helicopter & leave the Vatican today, then see the main doors close at Castel Gandolfo.  What a blessing he has been to the Church - I'm thankful for the years he put in, grateful for his prayerful judgment when it was time to leave, and hopeful for his successor.  It was really interesting to hear about some of the details, like how the Swiss Guard are now dismissed (he'll be protected by the gendarmes), because their mission is always to protect the sitting pope.  There is a lot of new territory here, and it will be interesting to watch how the process goes.  Plus it's been great that the kids recognize some of the words they've learned in Latin actually being used.

 I was talking to a friend on the phone today, and she asked, regarding his retirement, in a very concerned voice, "How are you doing with this?"  I said, "OK" and then there was a long silence, because apparently she didn't think that was a valid answer, though I really had nothing more to add.  I don't understand why some people think all Catholics should be in mourning or otherwise freaking out over this.   Yes, the seat of Peter is vacant, but the Holy Spirit has managed to preserve the Church for thousands of years, against great human effort, so I'm confident He can manage it for a few weeks until the conclave has its say.  I'm also confident that He will make sure that the conclave makes the right choice, or else will make their choice right.

 I am also reading, among other things, Light of the World - an interview with (then) Pope Benedict XVI.  It's well written and very interesting, but he has so much to say that I can only read it for a little while, then need some time to digest.  Benedict was not as popular (populist?) as John Paul II, but in this interview it is really clear that his love for humanity and for the church, and for God is just as overwhelming.  I hope that he will have a good retirement, as a reward for his years of service.

Oh, and where have I been for months?  If the word "introvert" in the title didn't clue you in, publishing my thoughts doesn't come naturally.  I'll try to do better.  Though right now I have a cold and am using that as an excuse for pretty much everything.