UPDATE: Kevin and Thom read my email on-air. Thank you and I accept your apology.

The Sports Fix

Today, I am listening to the radio. I am listening to a ESPN 980′s The Sports Fix to be exact. The topic at the time is Gilbert Arenas and his stupidity for carrying a handgun into the locker room. So far, I am following along with the show and agreeing with most of the views and comments.

Then, all of a sudden, there is was…”Gilbert Arenas must be bipolar or something.” WHAT THE FUCK!!!

Yes, I was pissed. Yes, I am pissed. I marched downstairs to ask my husband what radio station he was listening to and told him why I was so pissed. I told him that I am sick and tired of people saying, “they must be bipolar” every time some idiot celebrity does something stupid. How does being an asshole with a gun equal bipolar disorder?

Here is what I wrote to The Sports Fix:

I enjoy listening to your show, I am not a sports fan but, my husband is. However, I was appalled this afternoon when one of you referred to Gilbert Arenas as being Bipolar because of his recent behavior. As a person that suffers from this disease, I am disgusted by the overuse of the term whenever anyone displays some sort of schism in their personality. Bipolar disorder is not a personality disorder, it is a mood disorder that can cause great damage to a person’s life if not end it all entirely.

I would appreciate it if, in the future, you would refrain from using that term unless you actually know that the person has been diagnosed as such.

I am so sick and tired of the use of bipolar being the code word for crazy. Bipolar disorder is a very real mental illness that affects moods, not personalities. If you don’t know, ask about it.

Tell it!

I don’t usually write about politically charged issues such as abortion, but, today I will make an exception. I want to ask the question, ” Are you really pro-life if you take a life?”

For the record, I am pro-choice. However, I am not pro-abortion. I believe that it is a woman’s right to chose. As a mother of two, I can attest to the stress and trauma that a woman’s body endures during pregnancy. Any woman who says that, at some point it wasn’t hard, is just trying to get you to join the club. Don’t get me wrong, I love my children and I would not trade the experience for anything in the world, but it was hard.

Back to my original question. How can someone who claims to be pro-life not respect the sanctity of life just because the person is outside of their mother’s womb? I do not follow the abortion rights issue and I have never heard of George Tiller before today. I was not aware of the work that he has been doing. I just know that he is dead. Someone gunned him down in church. IN CHURCH!

How can that happen? Is there no place that is safe anymore? I don’t know why Scott Roeder did what he did. It could have been something completely unrelated to Dr. Tiller’s practice. However, the fact still remains that a man was killed in church while serving God and his community. That disgusts me most of all.

I am Catholic, but I do not follow the party line of most Catholics who seem to be pro-life or else excommunication. I believe that it is a woman’s right to choose.

I have always found it interesting that there are so many protests against abortion and rallies to protect unborn children, but the same vigilance is not shown for the children who have already been born. According to the Administration for Children and Families, in 2007, there were approximately 3.2 million referrals of child abuse and neglect for approximately 5.8 million children were made to CPS agencies. The ACF also reported that in September of 2007, there were 493,000 children in the foster care system across the U.S. Where are the pro-lifers? What are they really doing to protect children? Does their care and concern for children end once they are born?

I don’t usually get up on my soapbox, but it really pisses me off when people try to impose their beliefs on others. I am pissed off by the hypocrisy of pro-lifers who only care about unborn children and do little or nothing to help the ones who are already hear. I am pissed off by the hypocrisy of pro-lifers who march and protest kill for unborn children, but continue to cut funding for health care and education for the children that are already here. I am pissed off by the hypocrisy of pro-lifers who disgust us with images of mangled fetuses but, they want to deny services to families struggling to feed and clothe their children. What about the children who are already here? What about the families? What about the single mothers?

I do not like the idea of abortion, but who am I to judge another for choices that they make? Just as Hamlet says, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

To me, the pro-lifers have done nothing but fortify my resolve to remain pro-choice. I am pro-choice, but most importantly, I am pro-child and pro-family.

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For the most part, I believe that most people are good and truly interested in meeting new people and making new connections when they go out to social events. Then, there are the occasional asses that you meet who are clearly only interested in promoting there self interests, everyone else be damned and rudeness prevails. I happened to encounter one of those people the other night.

True Story

I attended Tech Cocktail this past Thursday and I had a great time. I met some new people and made a few new connections with people I follow, but, never met, on Twitter. She who shall remain nameless was one of them.

I currently serve on the board of two great organizations, Art Creates Life and Heads Up in DC. I was interested in approaching this woman-about-town to help me with throwing a fundraiser. I was a potential client.

So what happened? I was talking with a someone I had just met. We were in the middle of a conversation and just about to exchange business cards. Out of the blue, she extended her arm across my face and the face of my conversational partner to touch the should of someone who was walking by. Then she proceeded to  insert herself between the two of us and strike up a conversation with her intended target. My convo partner looked at her and looked at each other in disbelief because she never acknowledged our presence.

After she moved on, we decided to continue our conversation and exchange contact information. I then proceed to seek out someone else to help me with my project. I am better off any way without her. Also, when I got home I also tossed her card which I had received earlier from someone else and unfollow her. Petty, I know, but I don’t take too kindly to obviously rude slights.

The Rules

1. Be nice to everyone. You never know where your next client or employer will come from.
2. Say “Excuse Me.”
3. Don’t make assumptions about the people that you meet, you never know who knows whom. Remember six degrees of separation has been scientifically proven.
4. Be real online and offline. You will be found out and it will not be pretty.
5. If you or someone you needs help, read Social Intelligence: The New Science of Success.

If you see me being rude, please call me out.

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Old Souls, originally uploaded by Andrew D MacDonald.

I would really like to know why at this late date, why we are still talking about whether or not Barack Obama is eligible to be the President. Unless I am completely wrong about the guy, I would think that a constitutional lawyer would know the Constitution.

There is a case before the Supreme Court alleging that Barack Obama is not eligible to the President and that his Hawaiian birth certificate is a fraud. WTF? What is even more disturbing is that Clarence Thomas is leading the charge into looking into this matter.

The challenge seems to be around the term “natural born citizen.” Now, unless Cesarean does not count towards being a naturally born citizen, how else could he have been born? Is there such thing as an artificially born citizen? I mean, seriously.

Here are the facts:

• Barack Obama won the election for President of the United States.
• The Constitution is clear about the eligibility requirements and Obama studied the Constitution in law school.
• Barack Obama meets all of eligiblity requirements.
• There are those who still can’t get over the fact that he won.
• There are those who are trying to manipulate the system and waste our money on frivolous suits.
• The Supreme Court should rule and put the idea of “natural born citizen” to rest.
• Clarence Thomas should stop hatin’ on another brotha’.

It’s time to move on and get ready to accept Barack Obama. Let’s face it, what are we going to do if they rule him ineligible? Can we really take much more George Bush? Does that mean that John McCain wins and we’re stuck with Sarah Palin? Oh the horror!!!

Dear Supreme Court Justices: Please stop picking the President!

Update: On Monday, December 8, the Supreme Court turned down an emergency appeal from a New Jersey man who says President-elect Barack Obama is ineligible to be president because he was a British subject at birth.

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Okay, I thought that I had truly missed something when I opened on to TweetDeck and saw tweets with #MotrinMoms popping up on the screen. I seriously thought that some mother had overdosed on Motrin or that some child had been harmed by taking Motrin. Little did I know that it was over a silly ad that I believe was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek. I mean, seriously?

Fifteen years after the birth of my first child, I probably still look a bit frazzled and crazy (for completely different reasons). I am certainly no where close to being the hot momma I used to be. I have aches and pains and Motrin is my best friend, I am sad to say. Motrin or some other pain reliever was my best friend then too.

So, when I saw this whole thing blow up around babywearing and Motrin IB, I thought, this is silly. Then I thought, what the heck is babywearing? Then I found out that it was something that I used to do with my kids. It’s not that deep and women all over the world have been doing it for thousands of years. This is not a new discovery. Granted, I do not recall there being a Babywearing International in 1993, nor do I recall there being an International Babywearing week. I am sure that I would have ignored both. It’s not that deep.

Don’t get me wrong, I carried both of my children in a sling. I loved my Baby Bjorn. I did it because it was convenient, l did because I liked having easy access for nursing. By the way, yes, there were days when I had back pain. There were days when I felt like my stitches were going to rip. So I way this with all seriousness, speak for yourself.

Has it really come to this? Has it really come down to using our powers for change on the Internet to scare the hell out of a company because it tried to make a funny?  I mean, seriously, I thought that it was funny and rather cleaver and rang true for me. We could and should get angry about a whole lot more and spread the word by any means necessary.

I saw the sad video response with the posts from different women put to music. I wish that I had that much time. People, the Internet is powerful, please use it sparingly. Use your network for good.

Tell it!