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Filibuster. We heard Senator Paul Rand’s last night. It’s fun word to say! But where did they come up with such an outlandish name? Well, my friends, it is a Dutch term that means “to pirate.” So you could say (I guess) “he filibustered the ship.” The senate in the 1850′s thought it was the perfect term to describe the “pirating” of the senate floor by a Senator to prevent a vote.
Merriam-Webster has two definitions for filibuster, and the first has nothing to do with the senate floor: an irregular military adventurer; specifically: an American engaged in fomenting insurrections in Latin America in the mid-19th century.
(Picture above from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – a famous movie filibuster.)
It’s deathly cold outside, which means today must be the March for Life. Even though a week ago we had warm weather and a week from now it’s supposed to be 50 degrees – today will be freezing, with temperatures dropping into the teens later this afternoon. It is always mind-numbingly cold for the March.
But that doesn’t stop hundreds of thousands of people from standing up for life. Have you ever seen hundreds of thousands of people all in one place? It’s beyond impressive. And these are just the people that could get off work, live close enough, and could physically brave the cold. There are so many more. (Don’t forget the Walk for Life in San Francisco Tomorrow! Go if you can!)
There are 55,000,000 people that will never have a chance to walk up Constitution on a bitterly cold Friday afternoon – because those 55,000,000 were aborted. And I am willing to bet my bottom dollar that if they could be with us today, come hell, high water, or the chance of frostbite, they would be walking up Constitution with us. There is not a single doubt in my mind.
Well, it’s over for another four years. I am so disappointed and sickened - there is nothing else to be said or done for the moment. I am going to keep a stiff upper lip and make french onion soup, pour a glass of red wine and enjoy the excellent company of a few good friends. Balm for the soul indeed.
All the same this quote from G.K. Chesterton’s The Ballad of the White Horse kept running through my mind today:
“The men of the East may spell the stars,
And times and triumphs mark,
But the men signed of the cross of Christ
Go gaily in the dark.”
Going gaily in the dark doesn’t mean that we are bumbling about. It means marching into a situation that is dire, but still letting our hearts be joyful, for what do we have to fear?
If you need some more inspirations for post election musings here are a few:
A great quote by St. Augustine from Ten Thousand Places.
An Election Reflection via Joan in Ordinary Time
What Cardinal Dolan said and commentary from Whispers in the Loggia.
A thank-you to the Romneys from Blog of the Courtier.
What to do when the going gets tough, from Dixie Grit (things always feel better when your nails look nice).
I have to say, traffic this morning was the best its been since that one still week in summer when all the interns leave before school stars again and everyone else is grabbing last minute vacations on the beach. Everyone is voting. Go team America! I voted absentee this year because I was supposed to be in CA right now – thanks hurricane Sandy.
And I tried to dress patriotically this morning – and that turned into an epic fail, color wise I mean. Red stockings with fuchsia heels and a black dress. Very Kate Spade – but not the red, white and blue scheme I was hoping to achieve. I forgot that I threw out my pair of blue flats this summer and didn’t remember until I was fully dressed and ready to head out the door. And I didn’t have the guts to wear my über sparkly, über high, blue heels. But I did have the nerve to wear red and fuchsia together. Go figure. (I wish I had a picture to complete this, sadly it wasn’t possible.)
Perhaps after reading this you are thinking I should have more serious thoughts on my mind today than what I am wearing. And I do. I’ll be praying and fasting all day today for the election outcome – you should too.
Friends, I am inviting you to join me and my fellow Americans as we pray during these next weeks for the continuation of religious freedom in the United States of America. The current government administration as taken it upon itself to propose laws that specifically targets Catholics and Catholic institutions to act against our beliefs in regards to our stance on the preciousness of life in the womb and the dignity of a woman’s body.
It was established by the founders of our country that we were to always have certain freedoms, freedom to practice our religion being one of them. In fact, if you take a little history lesson, the first colonists in America were seeking religious asylum from the oppressive English rule. To try and force a religious institution (and I say try because we will not act against our beliefs) to act in a way contrary to what they believe is neither right nor just.
You can find more information here. You can also read the blog posts of two of my friends, here and here, they are much more eloquent on the issue at hand and I feel that I would be foolish to reiterate what they have said.
I don’t usually touch on politics on this blog. But as we speak Obama’s healthcare is being reviewed by the Supreme Court and I cannot begin to emphasise how important it is that this bill is ruled as unconstitutional. As Justice Scalia stated today: “If the government can do this, what is left? What else can it not do?” If this passes and the government can force people to buy into this plan and opens the loophole for the people of America to be forced to buy into future unknowns. What else can they force us to do?
I am always amazed at people who will pitch a fit about war, taxation, the DMV, the postal service, pink slime in food, FDA rules, failing schools, bad roads, corrupted politicians and yet they are totally willing to let the government take over their healthcare. It befuddles me completely. Do you think they’ll magically care all the sudden because your health is in jeopardy? So you don’t trust them to stop shooting people in a war, but you do trust them to care about your medical needs? Um, because they won’t. Did you not see that road construction around the corner that has taken forever that is being funded and directed by the government? Now imagine them getting seriously mixed up in your insurance. Are you scared? You should be.
And my objections above are just reasons the government would be bad at taking care of your health insurance, nevermind that it is unconstitutional, wrong and dangerous for the government to be privy to so much more power than it already has.
To top it all off, if you are a working member of society, you are going to pay for this. Literally. Think this year’s tax return was bad? Wait until you are funding everyones insurance. If we really are the 99%, then you better believe the 99% will fork over what is due.
So I ask you to a moment, maybe two, and pray that the Supreme Court will uphold our freedoms as American people. I agree that the healthcare system does need some kind of reform. I agree that healthcare is expensive. But this is not reform, this is a usurption of power from the people.
This article is a good reminder of how insensitive the world can be towards the unborn; the designer Kenneth Cole brings a whole new meaning to the phrase ”treated like a handbag.”
On that note, children are not accessories, their sole existence is not to make the parent/owner/bearer look good. (I run into this a lot working with schools, parents today expect their child to be perfect and do not allow for the harsh reality that not everyone has a gift for quantitative physics at the age of nine. But the shocking truth is, they don’t want the child to be good at quantitative physics because the child loves math and has a talent for it, but because they want a trophy child.)
Actually, it seems that Kenneth Cole makes an unborn child have even less status than a handbag. At least a handbag, when its owner chooses not to use it, gets dusted and put on a shelf, or given away to Goodwill to someone who wants it and would be happy to carry a pleather bag manufactured in Chinese sweatshop (sorry Kenneth, I call them as I see them, in my book you’ve always had a reputation for making cheap products despite your exorbitant prices). Unborn children are just ripped to shreds and tossed in a bio-hazard container. How sick and twisted.
The past few days:
-Dear young people of London, shame on you! Sounds like you all need to be sent back to the nursery for a lesson in manners.
-My roommate and I hung pictures around the house, it looks so cozy!
-There was a trio next to the Ballston Metro Station: two violins and a cello. They were playing Canon in D. It was so lovely! I wanted to stay and listen, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to miss my bus.
-I did make my bus, but then when I got off the bus, I was caught in an unexpected downpour, without and umbrella. Completely soaked would be the best way to describe my person when I arrived at home. I should have stayed and listened to the music. Lesson learned. Always stop to listen to the music, smell the roses, drink the coffee, or enjoy whatever good thing happens to be at had so long as its not detrimental to health, soul or someone else’s schedule.
-While we are on the metro topic, the machine gave me $5 in coins that looked like the picture below. I felt very european with a pound of change in my purse. I prefer paper money, its easier to work with and carry, and I don’t ever think Americans will take to the $1 coin, its just not us.
-I am reading Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge, its good, but I am frustrated with the main character. Read it and you will see why.
-I have been delighting in lots and lots of watermelon. And smoked salmon. And garlic stuffed olives. And tonic water. I like plain tonic water, its really refreshing when its hot outside.
-My mint plant has come back to life, I guess it likes the front porch better than the back porch. Either that or it couldn’t take the excessive taunting from the basil. Anyway, its happy now.
-Went with a lovely group of friends to see Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on the Mall for Screen on the Green. Fun! We had the best picnic by far. . . I don’t think the other picnickers knew there was a competition, but they lost. 
-Tonight my roommate hosted a group to watch the movie The Swan with Grace Kelly and Alec Guinness. Its really sweet and the costumes are are a lot of fun! Apparently it was Grace Kelly’s last film before she became a princess. (I stand corrected, that would be High Society!)
This was an eye opening book (for me at least) on China, and after reading it I wonder how anyone could ever think that Communism is a good thing. For that matter, how anyone could commend China and the “advances” they have made while they’ve crushed will of their own citizens (I am thinking of a certain State of the Union Address). I can’t say the actual writing was phenomenal, but the true story was interesting.
After reading it I realized that I don’t know anything about China. . . just that is Communist (which is bad, but its got to have more of a history than just Communism). . .so now I am looking into a couple books on Chinese history. Considering that the population makes up 1/5 of the world (I think) it would be a good country to learn about.
One thing did stand out, was the pride of the Chinese people. That is not a part of Communism, that is Chinese.
