A Conservative Lesbian
My favorite part of Christmas is singing Christmas carols. I spent Christmas Eve afternoon baking pies — one cherry, one pumpkin — and trying to get the high notes in “O Holy Night.” I never made it to the end because my big gray cat, Beauregard, meowed more and more desperately as I sang. Sigh. But my father and I had a lovely evening with our neighbors, who invited us to their Christmas Eve party. They truly are a joy, and they loved the pies.
Merry Christmas, gentle readers!
I’ve loved The Roches since the early 1980’s — maybe earlier — when I first encountered their music. I hope you enjoy these Christmas songs by The Roches.
My review of David Horowitz’s most recent book, A Cracking of the Heart, was published at Pajamas Media today. It is about his late daughter, Sarah Horowitz, and I have to admit I fell in love with her as I read this book. I don’t say so in the review, but I also was filled with admiration at Horowitz’s ability to select exactly the most important and meaningful aspects of Sarah’s life, writing and spiritual journey to include. His book allows his daughter to shine — the ability to step back like that is very rare. The more attention I put into this book, the more I was rewarded. For its account of the spiritual journey and dialog between an ex-Leftist Right-wing father and a Left-wing daughter of enormous compassion and integrity, it is an extraordinary and extremely important book. I hope it gets made into a movie — I think it will take that for people to appreciate what an important conversation took place between this father and this daughter. (Remember that I am a daughter who edits her father’s work, so this is a dynamic I live, too.)
My review begins as follows (click the link above to read the rest):
For those of us who didn’t have the honor and pleasure of knowing Sarah Horowitz, her father has collected her work, insights into her spiritual journey, and his thoughts on his late daughter’s life into a new book. David Horowitz’s A Cracking of the Heart refers both to the pain of the death of a loved one and to the opening of the heart to transcendence.
One of the greatest blessings of A Cracking of the Heart is that it also is a dialogue between two insightful souls: an ex-leftist, conservative father and an idealistic, progressive daughter, each wrestling with the questions of how to be good and how to do good from the point of view of their respective philosophies. Both recognized that neither side could hold a monopoly on goodness because, as the author quotes Solzhenitsyn, “the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through the human heart, and through all human hearts.”
I relate to the mother in this personal story because I was my late life partner Margaret’s warrior for over 20 years. But I’m also almost seven years in to the battle to save my own life from hypoxic brain damage due to obstructive sleep apnea — I was in death’s foyer before I was diagnosed and treated — and I can confirm that tenacity of purpose and a clear mental image of what you want to create can produce amazing victories:
Growing up, I always had to fight to get people to listen to me.
The worst part about being disabled isn’t the pain or the struggle but how the world tries to shove you into a corner and pretend that you don’t exist. After all, what could you possibly have to contribute? You’re going to die soon, poor thing. Here’s a nice, quiet room and some morphine to ease the pain.
They don’t proactively hold you back, no, but they don’t expect you to succeed either. I’ve spent my entire life fighting against the weight of those expectations.
Like when university professors were flabbergasted when, on the first day, I asked my attendant to raise his hand, so I could answer the question that no one else could.
Or the vaguely constipated look on the face of a venture capitalist when I asked for $500,000 of startup capital for my first software company.
Read the whole thing at Copyblogger here.
Update, 12/29/2009, Tues.: Welcome, gentle HillBuzz readers, and thank you, HillBuzz, for endorsing me for Grande Conservative Bloggress Diva! I read HillBuzz every day, but had no idea my dear HillBuzz boyz read my blog regularly, too. THAT is the highest praise! Thank you!
Gentle readers, amazing news! I am a finalist for Grande Conservative Blogress 2010 at Gay Patriot! Gentle readers, please vote for me early and often (you can vote every day from each computer you own until noon, EST, on Dec. 31).
I have to make my father’s breakfast now, but soon I’ll be listing my most important posts for new readers to get acquainted with me AND the reasons why Gay Patriot, and conservative readers, should select me as Grande Conservative Blogress 2010 — even in so august a group.
Later:
I spent the afternoon re-writing the lyrics to the song Ethel Merman first made famous from the 1959 production of “Gypsy Rose Lee”: “Everything’s coming up roses.” If I have the nerve, and the voice, I’ll make a YouTube video and post it here as part of my campaign for Grande Conservative Blogress.
OK, so here are some sample posts for new gentle readers:
Gay marriage/same-sex marriage equality:
“Gay marriage“: on my relationship of over 20 years with my late life partner, Margaret Ardussi, who had multiple sclerosis and was quadriplegic for the last 10 years of her life.
“I remember you“: I’m providing this link from the fifth anniversary of Margaret’s death for the comments more than the post itself.
Gays are the natural constituents of fiscal conservatism:
“How to turn around blighted neighborhoods for free the conservative way.”
Equality for homosexuals:
“Equality for homosexuals is as American as apple pie.“
“And to think, just 40-some years ago, EMU expelled my lover for being a lesbian.“
“Homosexual equality has nothing to do with slippery slopes.“
On Obama:
“Dr. Hanson, I can tell you why Obama just makes stuff up“: This post is an overview of how Obama matches the description of a high-functioning sociopath and links three of my earlier posts, which explain this in more detail, along with an explanation of why ridicule is such an effective tool against Obama’s destructive programs.
“Gays, lesbians: what this means is, Obama will never support homosexual equality.“
Humor
“How Stacy McCain became irresistible to women.” (Note to new readers: Stacy and I became friends after this post. He is a good sport and takes my occasional shellackings like a pro. I don’t think there’s anyone more supportive to new conservative bloggers than Stacy — his eye is on the sparrow.)
“How Robert Stacy McCain became irresistible to men.“
“How increasing the tax burden affects the small business owner.“
“So now we’re the LGBTQS community.“
“How Obama’s presidency will really end.“
“Obama, the economy, and that creek he’s led us up.“
Islam
“Remembering my friend, Alan Scherr, murdered in the Mumbai massacre, and the Maharishi Effect.” (Published at Newsreal and cross-published here.)
“Phyllis Chesler punksmacks Naomi Wolf — couldn’t happen to a nicer girl.“
Sarah Palin
Conservatives and Republicans have got to throw the Democrats off their game of destroying the United States as a meritocratic, capitalistic democratic republic.
Here’s our game-changer: we must recall the Democratic and independent U.S. senators who will be running for re-election in 2012 and 2014.
It’s not enough to focus on the 2010 elections, assuming they will be held, which I do not regard as a 100 percent certainty.
We have to let every Democrat in the Senate know that there will be no delay at all in bringing them to the ballot box for the destruction they are wreaking on the American economy. And we can do that by recalling the Democratic senators who smugly think their seats are safe for another election cycle or two.
Right now conservatives and Republicans are fighting piecemeal what is clearly a well-planned onslaught of initiatives to overwhelm voters with so many attacks on our economic system and national security that we just can’t fight them all.
That is why it is necessary to strike at the root of the problem. A Democratic-majority Congress is not going to find any reason to impeach a Democratic president, let alone remove him from office, even if he commits treason on live television, so Obama is safe. Members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years, so the threat of a recall is not a potent one for them. But senators serve six years and start to feel secure and smug and only a third of them are up for re-election in any given federal election cycle.
So let’s start recall campaigns for all the Democratic senators who do not have to run for re-election until 2012 and 2014.
They are not expecting it.
It strikes at the root of the problem.
It will throw them off their game.
And it energizes people to focus their energies on a single goal that solves a myriad of problems. Conservatives and Republicans and Tea Partiers who are getting worn out with protesting need this as a positive goal: our game-changer.
Let me know what you think and if you like this idea, please make it viral.
Update, 12/22/2009, Tues.: A piece at E-How says that only 18 states can recall their U.S. senators and provides an overview of instructions for the ones that can here. I think that’s enough to change the game. The 18 states that permit a recall of a U.S. senator are as follows: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.
Wikipedia has the list of current U.S. senators here.
The National Conference of State Legislatures explains the detailed requirements for recalls state-by-state here. Unfortunately, Minnesota is one of the states that sets the bar rather high, so Sen. Al Franken may keep his seat. Interestingly, Democratic Underground was recently discussing recall as a way to get rid of Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, but his state does not allow recalls.
The targets for recall from the 18 states that permit recalls are as follows:
Alaska: Mark Begich, Democrat, running for re-election in 2014.
California: Dianne Feinstein, Democrat, running for re-election in 2012. (Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer is running for re-election in 2010.)
Colorado: Mark Udall, Democrat, running for re-election in 2014. (Democratic Sen. Michael Bennett is running for re-election in 2010.)
Louisiana: Mary Landrieu, Democrat, running for re-election in 2014.
Michigan: Carl Levin, Democrat, running for re-election in 2014; Debbie Stabenow, Democrat, running for re-election in 2012.
Minnesota: Al Franken, Democratic-Farmer-Labor, running for re-election in 2014; Amy Klobuchar, Democratic-Farmer-Labor, running for re-election in 2012.
Montana: Max Baucus, Democrat, running for re-election in 2015; Jon Tester, Democrat, running for re-election in 2012.
Nevada: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid faces re-election in 2010, so no recall is needed, just the electoral process.
New Jersey: Frank Lautenberg, Democrat, running for re-election in 2014; Bob Menendez, Democrat, running for re-election in 2012.
North Dakota: Kent Conrad, Democratic-NPL, running for re-election in 2012. (Democratic-NPL Sen. Byron Dorgan faces re-election in 2010.)
Oregon: Jeff Merkley, Democrat, running for re-election in 2014. (Democrat Ron Wyden is running for re-election in 2010.)
Rhode Island: Jack Reed, Democrat, running for re-election in 2014; and Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat, running for re-election in 2012.
Washington: Maria Cantwell, Democrat, running for re-election in 2012. (Democrat Patty Murray is running for re-election in 2010.)
Wisconsin: Herb Kohl, Democrat, running for re-election in 2012. (Democrat Russ Feingold is running for re-election in 2010.)
Update, 3/17/2010, Wed.:
Ace has a thorough discussion of the legal issues involved in recalling members of Congress, prompted by the Tea Party seeking the recall of Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ). Sample:
Well! If that’s the objection — that the right to elect (and not elect) federal officials lies with the people, not the state itself — well, a recall petition certainly is by the people, eh?
Two feet of snow fell here on Saturday and I spent most of Sunday digging out the walkway and driveway. Then I spent the rest of Sunday and today recovering.
However, I did read up a bit today on the Senate’s vote on the healthcare reform bill. I agree with the rants on HillBuzz — in fact, I’m not sure they went far enough. The determination of Obama, Reid, Pelosi and the Democrats in Congress continually to say one thing and do another — in secret — and to spend money we don’t have with no regard for sanity does more than point to an intention to impose socialism on the U.S. against the will of the majority of voters. Their gleeful disregard for the will of the voters makes me wonder if what we are watching is a slow-motion coup and whether the reason none of the Democrats are worried about losing their jobs is because the 2010 elections will be so corrupt that their outcome is pre-determined or because they have a plan for suspending the electoral process in 2010.
I’ve mentioned before that Obama pledging that he will stand on a principle even if it means he will be a one-term president is a chilling promise, if you’re like me and think he intends to be president-for-life and therefore only needs that one term.
Bassoonists are rare birds and band directors don’t start just any kid on the bassoon. At the very least they look for someone smart and determined.
I got interested in music the way a lot of kids did in the 1960’s through the music of Bob Dylan and the Beatles. I joined our junior high school’s guitar and drum club in the spring 1966 and it is lucky that it met in the band room where I could see the sharp burgundy blazers the band wore, which filled my heart with a passion to get in the band, and that the band director, Pasquale “Pat” Cornacchione, was losing his bassoonist to the high school in June.
We had moved to Bel Air from Los Angeles in December 1964 — the anniversary was yesterday, 12/18 — when I was in the sixth grade. I don’t recall Los Angeles elementary schools having bands or music instruction, but Harford county, in Maryland, started children in the band in fourth grade. So normally I’d have been too late. But, you don’t usually start a child on the bassoon until the seventh grade when their hands are big enough to hold the instrument, so for that instrument I was in the right place at the right time.
Mr. Cornacchione asked me if I would like to be in the band and I said, “Yes!” I didn’t really like playing the guitar or drums, so he asked me if I had an instrument in mind. I was haunted by the flute solo in a Mamas and the Papas song, “California Dreamin’,” but before I managed to bring in the album so he could tell me the name of the instrument, he had the graduating eighth grader give me a lesson on the bassoon. It fit perfectly in my hands and I fell in love with it immediately. I tried the flute after, just to be sure, but I didn’t care for it and cleaved to my Linton bassoon.
Now, there was a serendipity that made my starting the bassoon in Bel Air, Maryland, which was like Mayberry, only smaller back then, much easier than it would have been pretty much anywhere else in the world except possibly for the progeny of professional bassoonists. And that is that the foremost preceptor of how to make bassoon reeds of the twentieth century, Louis Skinner, retired contrabassoonist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, presided over the music department of Beshore’s Furniture on Main Street and all I had to do to obtain a reed that professionals would envy was to walk a mile or so from my junior high school, pay $5.00, and say, “Mr. Skinner, I need a reed, please.”
The downside of this is that I never had to learn how to make my own bassoon reeds, but it is still one of my goals to learn.
Today, Dec. 19, we have gotten most of the 24 inches of snow expected here in Bel Air, Maryland, birthplace of John Wilkes Booth, our contribution to the nation’s heritage.
Maryland doesn’t get deep snows every winter, so it is common that people do not have the skills and/or tools to deal with a big snowfall. But I went to the University of Michigan where I learned snow survival skillz.
So I am posting the warning that the radio and TV stations forget: do NOT allow a car to idle when snow is blocking the tailpipe. The reason is that the car exhaust backs up into a car when the tailpipe is blocked. The car exhaust is filled with carbon monoxide. Also, remember that if you sit in an idling car for a long time during a snow fall, if you haven’t cleared enough snow away from the tailpipe, more snow could fall to block it up again.
When you are breathing in car exhaust, you do not realize you are being poisoned to death because the hemoglobin in your blood will accept both the oxygen molecule or the carbon monoxide molecule where the oxygen belongs. Carbon monoxide doesn’t irritate your lungs and make you cough, so there’s no warning symptom — you just get sleepy and fall asleep and never wake up. It takes 15 minutes to die of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Bonus warning:
Never warm up your car in your garage while the garage door is closed. When I lived in Silver Spring, an entire family died there because one family member left the garage door closed while warming up the car, even though the door between the house and the garage also was closed. The wisest thing to do is open the garage door before turning your car on. And your car doesn’t need that much time to warm up — the Car Talk guys say you only need to warm up your car for about 15 seconds anyway before putting it in gear.