Jane:

So Lizzie, how has the past week been for you?  We’ve both been busy and spoken/texted a bit less than usual.  I’ve been feeding my internet/news fix with all sorts of interesting observations and even a Facebook Wall argument with a complete stranger.  

Last week was a big news week, what with the inauguration and all.  Suffice it to say I was awed, thrilled, ecstatic, excited, all sorts of things many other people felt and shared.  More than enough has been said about that elsewhere, so I’m not going to go there, here.

It was a crazy week, I bounced from elated to cranky and just about everything in between.  And so, in no particular order, I give you the things that incensed and/or amused me last week: 

1. Facebook Friend’s Random High School Ex-Boyfriend ragging on Obama lifting the Global Gag Rule 

A friend of mine (real life and Facebook, LOL) posted "thank you President Obama for overturning the Global Gag Rule", and linked to an article about it:   

and then some boob from her past decided to chime in…

FB FRIEND’S RANDOM HIGH SCHOOL EX-BOYFRIEND

Don’t we have better uses for these millions that will be used like paying to feed all the children who go to bed hungry every night in the US. How about paying for bridges that are falling apart or upgrading our nuclear reactors or how about building a few new oil refineries that have not been built in 40 years.

(OMG.  Nuclear reactors and oil rigs?  Instead of providing basic medical care?  C’mon, at least you could have said working to optimize Green sources of energy which would also create Green jobs which would then stimulate the economy so we could help our own citizenry as well as those abroad to receive basic medical services?  What about improving our schools, or insuring Americans without medical insurance?  If you insist upon going off on the bridges and roads thing, how about  creating infrastructure that would reduce our dependence on environmentally unfriendly modes of transportation?  But nuclear reactors and oil rigs?  Sigh.)

FB FRIEND’S RANDOM HIGH SCHOOL EX-BOYFRIEND

The USA has no business using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions!!! This is deplorable. Our country is now over $10 trillion in debt, where is this money even coming from!?

(ugh! where do I even begin to disagree with this?  The money sent to other countries was not for abortions.  It was to help provide very basic medical care for underserved populations.   I braced myself for the inevitable abortion debate I assumed would come next.  As for the debt?  Which president dug that hole, hmm? Still, the best way to tear this guy a new one, civilly, was going to be to arm myself with facts.  So here’s what I responded with)

JANE

"The funding ban forces clinics that offer women access to contraceptives and vital health services—often the only existing clinics in underserved areas of countries with weak public health systems—to cut back their services or even, in some cases, to close. It thus denies women access to contraception, counseling, referrals, and accurate health information, causing more unwanted pregnancies, more unsafe abortions, and arguably, more deaths."

Source: http://www.iwhc.org 

"In 2000, the "global gag rule," imposed by the U.S. Congress on foreign recipients of federal funding, forced approximately 430 organizations in more than fifty nations to "agree" not to use their own non-U.S. funds to speak about abortion law reform or perform legal abortions except in cases of rape, incest or if the woman’s life is endangered – activities that are Constitutionally protected in the United States. "

source: http://reproductiverights.org/

(The above information is courtesy of the Facebook group "The Global Gag Rule is Inhumane" )

(so neener neener, ya big schmuck! But then of course, he had to add to his rant…)

FB FRIEND’S RANDOM HIGH SCHOOL EX-BOYFRIEND

The US has no business constantly getting involved with other countries and people. Let them solve their own problems. Its immoral to pass on this huge public debt to the next generations and also our generation. We have a VAST amount of huge problems right in our own country to solve. We need to stop trying to be the world police and policy makers.

(But the Gag Rule was exactly that!  It effectively forced one administration’s opinion on every country who was relying on us for medical funding!  Is that not getting involved?  Is that not being police and policy makers?)  

JANE

But we can deplete their resources, take advantage of their lower wages to buy cheaper goods, declare war upon them? 

We live on one planet. There is not one country in the world that can survive in the vacuum you describe, in 2009. For better or worse, we’re an international community, international marketplace, we pollute the same water and air and land. And as a country that was founded on some pretty lofty ideals, I dare say we have an obligation to not look away from those in need of medical care, food, and basic human needs. While imposing our policies might not always be a fantastic idea, surely we can all agree that we all have an obligation to look out for one another. The global gag rule made sure that our medical resources and funding was denied to those clinics who WERE NOT SPENDING OUR MONEY ON ABORTION SERVICES, but were using it to provide extremely basic medical care and information.

You might argue that we might be helping others at the expense of our own under-served population. I say take a look at the money we’ve spent waging war since 2001. Surely some of that money could also have been utilized here, as well as abroad. 

We don’t have the right to take away medical services from those who are just doing, at their own expense, what we still have the Constitutionally protected right to do.

(Here’s what I wanted to add: You are right.  It is morally reprehensible that this huge national debt will be passed on to generations to come.  Now where did that debt come from?  Hmm, let me think… If memory serves me…)

FB FRIEND’S RANDOM HIGH SCHOOL EX-BOYFRIEND

We also don’t have the right Constitutionally to spend money we don’t have and bankrupt our great nation. I too agree that the Iraq war was a horrible waste of money. This irresponsible spending of our resources will be to our undoing.

JANE

At the time Bush re-imposed this rule, we DID have the money. It’s only thanks to his 8 years of tremendous fiscal irresponsibility that we no longer have it.  Hopefully, President Obama and his administration, and all of us as a country, can undo all of that.

And that was the end of that.  End game, Jane.  Yay, Me!

LIZZIE

Oh my goodness, Jane!  When I saw all that on your friend’s wall, I just assumed that you had gotten to know the old boyfriend in some context elsewhere.  (Perhaps even here on Facebook in some jolly and light-hearted way.)  Once again, I’m taken aback by the way this medium encourages such down-to-brass-tacks debate and discussion among strangers. 

I can’t help but wonder why the random old boyfriend (Shall we just call him ROB?) was so ready to hold Facebook Court on this particular issue.  I wonder if he actually read and considered your opposing viewpoint and the facts you researched.  In any event, you used the opportunity to offer (and back up) your position–and you didn’t back down just because the boor kept huffily repeating himself.  (I have to admit to some personal confusion over this thorny issue of the global abortion gag rule.  For many years, I was proudly and vocally a one-issue pro-life voter–and I would have agreed readily with the cock-sure ROB.) 

Because I have issued a personal moratorium on debating this subject from either position (with the exception of my very frequent, quasi-schizoid internal dialogues), I will keep quiet on this one and simply proclaim myself open to factual information.  But I can tell you that I find interesting what you have to say about the impact of the global gag rule on basic health care services.  And I agree with you that it is short-sighted and hypocritical for the U.S. to say it’s okay to invade other countries to extinguish perceived threats on the flimsiest of intelligence–but NOT okay to try to prevent and alleviate human suffering.  I will check out the supporting websites you’ve provided.)

2. Pope un-excommunicates four "SSPX" bishops , one of whom is a major Holocaust denying, Elders of Zion reading, 9/11 conspiracy theory believer

Do I really need to say much more?  Pope Benedict XVI, the Pope who wants to return the Church to it’s pre-Vatican II "glory", welcomed four excommunicated Bishops back into the Church.  Okay, he’s making amends with a group of fringe, unofficially ordained Bishops.  Too bad one of them, Williamson, has been very outspoken about saying only 200,000 to 300,000 Jews died during World War II, and none in gas chambers; he endorses the anti-semitic Elders Of Zion; and to round out his general charm and credibility, has publicly agreed with 9/11 conspiracy theories.  Okay, so they were reinstated because it was an attempt to reconcile with a group who were removed for their religious views.  The Church is saying they don’t have any say over a cleric’s secular opinions.  Way to go, Pope B!  Let’s keep those already frosty relations (oops, I meant to say that new reconciliation) between the Church and Jews and Israel moving forward!  And while you are at it, couldja stir up more controversy for your own more progressive Church members?  

 LIZZIE

(Cringe.)  I am reminded of why I left the Catholic Church.  My parents were the beneficiaries of Pope B’s romantically remembered pre-Vatican II era.  It was not glorious.  I think "stultifying" might be a better word.  I can’t help but wonder if the Pope and his friends are teaming up with Mel Gibson to direct the movie on where all those other 5,800,000 Jews vanished to and what they have been doing since the War.  Oy gevalt.

3. Thanks to another Facebook Friend (who is very local, but we’ve never actually met in real life, LOL) I found a terrific blog post about Obama’s inauguration by Dick Cavett  

How I managed to miss this blog is beyond me.  I have very fond memories of watching Cavett as a child, with my father.  Cavett wrote about the day in an emotional, open way.  About the tears inspired by the occasion, the music, the "Abbott and Costello Who’s On First" Oath of Office, and almost feeling sorry for W when he was booed.  Although he had me at "hello", he then signed off with, "But for starters, isn’t it nice having someone in the Oval Office with smarts?  And syntax?"  Mr. Cavett?  I shall be back for your next missive.

LIZZIE

I too have fond memories of watching Cavett with my dad.  One more thing we have in common, my dear.  And I believe I first learned the words "esoteric" and "acerbic" from hearing some of the adults in my life discuss Cavett’s charms.  I will be back for more Cavett too!  Thanks for pointing out this blog to me, Jane.  And I could not agree more about the appeal of having smarts and syntax in the Oval Office.  Not to mention the proper pronunciation of the word "nuclear."  Oh yes, and the absence of the smug and smarmy snicker (which always reminded me a little bit of Mutley from the Dastardly and Mutley cartoon from our childhood).

4. Speaking of the Inauguration, one of the highlights of the day, strictly from a millinery point of view, was Aretha’s hat  

The hat has it’s own web site, (see picture, left) and it’s own Twitter… ‘nuf said!

And then, over the weekend, in a heroic effort to expand my horizons from the Internet to other sources of information and entertainment, I tuned into Public Radio.  (Provided links will take you to sites so you can listen to these shows)

5. Public Radio, specifically Garrison Keillor, Harry Shearer and Brian Unger provided me with the more humorous side of the news this week

I am forever enamored with Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion.  This past Sunday’s show included Keillor’s observations on the Inauguration, as well as a Sonnet For President Obama. It was all very lovely and soothing and wonderful in that way that Keillor’s words can often be.  He then sang a little ditty to President Obama.  A Cole Porter-inspired "You’re The Top (Obama)".  If you wish to listen, the link is a few lines above, segment one of the show.  GK had more to say about the inauguration in segment three as well.

Harry Shearer had a great take on Obama’s sort of secret, second swearing in – and how it was performed without a Bible. Apparently they searched the White House high and low, and there was not a Bible to be found. Shearer equated this with the Clinton Gang removing all the W’s from the keyboards when they vacated the Presidential offices. He asked,  Did the Bush team remove all the Bibles from the White House?  

Today, which technically isn’t last week, Brian Unger (The Unger Report) provided the following insight into improving our ailing economy: He suggests we shtup our way out of the recession.  How?  Citing Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner, who is against spending $200 million dollars to spiff up the National Mall, as well as millions more on contraceptives.  Unger disagreed.  Refurbishing those lawns will provide the perfect place to have sex.  Which, thanks to the new bipartisan economic plan, includes all that money for contraceptives.  So we can "boink with impunity". Remember how the post-WW2 generation stimulated the economy by screwing and having a gazillion babies, thereby creating The Baby Boom Generation?  The irony is that this huge population is now aging.  They are poised to become a ginormous economic suck machine as they require elder care services the nation is not prepared to provide. Unger sugests   we should do it again, without the babies.  Stimulate the economy with romantic dinners, post-coital brunches, even weddings.  Unger posits that we can screw our way out of our economic woes, by rolling around on the newly manicured lawns of the National Mall.  

Now that’s a stimulus package I can buy into.

LIZZIE

Well, now, I have no personal moratorium on extolling the joys of screwing one’s way out of woe.  (Should we find out what ROB thinks?)  And, while even the best-manicured grass on my Irish skin gives me a rash, the idea is most appealing–and not a snooze like most economic plans. Throw in some thick, cotton-weave blankets, have the NSO perform Bolero on the Mall, and count me in as a supporter.  One niggling complaint, though.  Should it not more properly be called an arousal package than a stimulus package?

JANE 

01.28.2008 Update: My best distraction so far this week has to be Lizzie’s List of Distractions.  Sometimes I am totally enraptured by Lizzie’s silken prose.  The woman knows how to turn a phrase, for sure!