I should be in bed...

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States I've been in

Wild to think I've been in all these states - 90% of them. I haven't necessarily spent time in some of them - just a drive through several of them. Obviously I need to take a trip through the Northwest to hit all of those states. I've always wanted to spend time in Washington and Oregon - maybe someday...



create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Immigration

I haven't done much political blogging, as I feel that others do that better than I ever could. However, the whole immigration thing is bugging me. I didn't know how to verbalize why it bothered me so much until I heard Rush read from this column today (while I was sitting in Atlanta traffic). Here's the quote that hits home for me:

To ordinary Americans, the definition of “immigration” is very specific: You come here with absolutely nothing except a burning desire to be an American. You start off at some miserable, low-paying job that at least puts a roof over your family’s head and food on the table. You put your kids in school, tell them how lucky they are to be here – and make darn sure they do well even if that means hiring a tutor and taking a second, or third, job to pay for it. You learn English, even if you’ve got to take classes at night when you’re dead tired. You play by the rules—which means you pay your taxes, get a driver’s license and insure your car so that if yours hits mine, I can recover the cost of the damages. And you file for citizenship the first day you’re eligible.

Do all this and you become an American like all the rest of us. Your kids will lose their accents, move into the mainstream, and retain little of their heritage except a few words of your
language and – if you’re lucky—an irresistible urge to visit you now and then for some of mom’s old-country cooking.

This is how the Italians made it, the Germans made it, the Dutch made it, the Poles made it, the Jews made it, and
more recently how the Cubans and the Vietnamese made it. The process isn’t easy – but it works and that’s the way ordinary Americans want to keep it.

Mr. Meyer goes on to say that the people that ordinary Americans have a problem with are those that don't want to do the above. They want to live and work here, but they have no interest in learning the language, forcing us to provide schooling and health care to "all these foreigners among us who aren’t behaving like immigrants."

I don't have a problem with people coming here legally. And I know I'm not alone in that sentiment. But there comes a point that we can't continue down this road, or certain areas of the country will become, by all intents and purposes, a Latin American country.

The protests in all areas of the country really bug me too. They are asking for freedom. What do you call protesting in the streets of America without any fear of arrest or deportation? I think that's pretty free. Also, if they had been waving US flags, I would have felt a little more sympathetic. However, they were waving Mexican flags. They don't want to become Americans. They want us good taxpaying people to take care of them and provide jobs for them. But heaven forbid that they should do things the legal way.

Anyway, I may not express my opinions as well as others (Meyer, Limbaugh, Rich Lowry), so you should read those instead. However, I felt compelled to post something about this since it is such a huge issue right now. Do what you can to get educated about this, and vote for the person that you think will do the right thing.

Don't scream while giving birth...

..and no painkillers or anesthesia. Oh, and the baby can't be "poked and prodded" for 7 days. This is absurd. I believe that if people want to do odd things when they give birth, that's fine. The whole giving birth in a tub thing, no drugs, epidural, whatever. But making a statement that the child can't be examined for 7 days is just wrong. If the baby isn't born healthy or if there are complications, what then? Do they still wait for 7 days before getting medical care? Wouldn't that constitute child endangerment, which is a punishable offense?

Did you catch the part about not speaking to the baby for 7 days? So no cooing or singing to the child for 7 days. Scientologists claim they are concerned about the psychological impact on a baby if it hears its mother screaming as it is born. But they are okay with no verbal interaction as soon as it born? Not even when it needs to be consoled? I would think total silence (except for their own cry) would be more psychologically damaging.
I wonder if Katie will adhere to this, especially while she is alone with the baby, nursing. I've heard that she was a good Catholic girl before getting involved in the wacky Scientology group. If she has any strength of character left, she will defy the silence rule and sing and coo away to her new bundle of joy.

Churches I've attended

Found this list at Cerulean Sanctum and thought it would be interesting. So here are the churches I've attended in my life:

• Community Church in Edina, MN (1969-1973)
• Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA (73-74)
• La Jolla Presbyterian Church in La Jolla, CA (74-75)
• Wellshire Presbyterian Church in Denver, CO (75-82)
• Roswell Presbyterian Church in Roswell, GA (82-86)
• Wellshire Presbyterian Church in Denver, CO (86-88)
• St. Olaf College Chapel (ELCA) in Northfield, MN (88-90)
• Emmaus Baptist Church in Northfield, MN (90-92)
• Collegiate Presbyterian Church in Ames, IA (92-94)
• Shallowford Presbyteran Church in Atlanta, GA (94-present)
  

So that is 9 in 36 years. And as you can see, not much range in denomination. The St. Olaf Chapel and Emmaus Baptist were while I was in college (at St. Olaf) and there wasn't a Presbyterian church in the area. I was in grad school at Iowa State in Ames and was involved in the Presbyterian Church there.

Now, due to what's going on in the PCUSA, I might change denominations. The Evangelical Pres Church looks good - that's what my parents have just joined. But there aren't any in my area. Right now, I'm just enjoying being in a church for longer than 3-4 years. It's a grace-filled church and I love the people and the pastor. So until there is a final straw, I will stay here and stay involved.

Four Things

We've all seen those emails that friends pass around - what are you wearing, what's your favorite ice cream flavor. Well, here's another one. Four Things...which is appropriate for me, since my favorite number is 4... Don't ask...

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Bookkeeper at leasing firm (high school)
2. Accounting Intern at Cablevision Networks (college)
3. Ad sales intern at A&E Network (college)
4. Statistics Teaching Assistant at Iowa State (which means that I taught basics stats to undergrads who really didn't want to be there)

Four movies I could watch over and over:

1. Princess Bride
2. Ever After
3. Serenity
4. Die Hard

Four books I could read over and over:

1. The Walking Drum, Louis L'Amour
2. Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis
3. Rebecca, Daphne DuMaurier
4. Anything by Dean Koontz
5. The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexander Dumas - although, since it's 1400 pages, I can't reread it very often (and yes, I know that's 5 but I couldn't decide...)

Four places I have lived:

1. Northfield, MN
2. Denver, CO
3. La Jolla, CA
4. Lawrenceville, GA

Four TV shows I watch:

1. 24
2. American Idol
3. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
4. CSI: Las Vegas

Four places I have been on vacation:

1. San Diego, CA (Hotel Del Coronado)
2. Las Vegas, NV (Bellagio or Venetian)
3. Amsterdam, Netherlands
4. Pensacola, FL

Four websites I visit daily other than email:

1. Ann Althouse
2. Drudge Report
3. JigZone Jigsaw Puzzles
4. A List of Things Thrown 5 Minutes Ago

Four favorite foods:

1. Mexican - fajitas mostly
2. Bruster's Girl Scout Thin Mint Ice Cream
3. Popcorn
4. Peanut Butter and Honey on a tortilla

Four places I’d like to be right now:

1. In New York with Eric
2. On the beach in San Diego (at the Hotel Del Coronado) with Eric
3. In a mountain cabin with a fire, curled up with a good book
4. In Scotland exploring the historical sights

Four bloggers I’m tagging:

1. Since no one I know well has a blog, and I don't personally know anyone on the blogs I read, I'm not tagging at all. However, if you are here and reading this and would like to share your Four Things, please feel free to do so in the comments.