Octuplets

The California woman who recently gave birth to eight babies is another example of the self-centeredness running rampant in America. The six children she already had apparently weren’t enough for this baby factory. So far the media has only been able to identify one baby-daddy from the previous brood, and the egomaniacal daddy of this litter has yet to own-up. The ethical questions these births have spawned have nothing to do with a woman’s right to choose. Had this mega-pregnancy been natural, perhaps that argument would be valid. But this woman was purportedly paid to pop babies out like an assembly line at Chrysler. What we have here is an obsessive ‘breeder’ renting her body out for pay, and a guy so enamored with himself that he wants to produce multiple copies. Ego and avarice make dysfunctional bedfellows.

And who shall speak for the babies in cases like this? No lawyer for the kids-to-be was retained, the government which will wind up supporting them wasn’t consulted, and the Pope to my knowledge provided no blessing to this serial-mom. The woman simply wanted more children, and then somebody made her an offer they knew she could not refuse. Perhaps she envisioned being the subject of a documentary on cable or a reality show on Fox-‘Have Womb Will Travel.’ Whatever her intent her motive remains selfish and self-centered.

I cannot imagine raising fourteen kids during the strongest economy. How a 33 year-old spinster-student-mommy, still living with her parents will support a basketball team is a mystery. Talk about a failure to launch. I have this image in my head of this woman trussed up in a futuristic clean-room, forcing out the little rug-rats like that hook-headed, insectile mother in the movie Aliens. Where was Sigourney Weaver we we needed her?

But this woman, no matter how misguided could not have done this alone. Her parents apparently supported this abomination. But my ire goes out to the fertility clinic that super-glued the little suckers to her uterus, then sat back waiting for the hatching. Maybe the clinic needed publicity to market their services to the barren Hollywood elite-‘purchase five and we’ll deliver one for free, (just pay shipping and handling).’ Who knows, it is California, maybe she’s in some sort of psychotic mommy-competition with Angelina Jolie and wants to win really big. Whatever the reasons behind this unfortunate misadventure, it speaks to the ‘if I want it I'm gonig to have it’ attitude of the Wall Street Bandits, Prosperity Preachers, and the former Governor of Chicago. Each of them has a ‘Blagojevich’ attitude of avaricious entitlement. And sadly, it is always someone else who gets caught with the bill.

Disclaimer; I am as excited about the coming inaugural celebration as President Obama’s most ardent supporters. I donated what I was able throughout his campaign, posted blogs on his official website, and volunteered down the home stretch by making calls and doing whatever was needed of me. But I will not venture home to DC for his inaugural.

Two close lady friends were planning on taking a bus trip down to DC along with a four year old child for the event. I first gently, then more vociferously, recommended against it. They argued that the opportunity was perhaps one-in-a-lifetime, and that they wanted the child to witness it first hand. Such a momentous occasion they said, should be viewed in person. I could not disagree. Thankfully they re-assessed and decided not to attend.

I took my Mom to witness the Million Man March, some years ago. It went as smoothly as any major event of such magnitude. Washington, DC it should be said does ‘huge’ very, very, well. DC is a world-class city when it comes to such events. To my knowledge, there has never been a stampede of crowds or large numbers of deaths, routinely experienced by pilgrims attending the Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. But as with any major gathering, there were glitches and moments of concern. Port-a-potties though plentiful, were woefully crowded and too far apart to be considered convenient. Walking distances from the Metro rail system were considerable for my mother at the time in her sixties. People fainted, lost companions, required medical assistance, became confused, and collapsed from simple exhaustion. What I did not see, was a single altercation, theft, or incidence of bad behavior. DC in retrospect was exactly the right venue for the Million Man march.

But this event is different. The numbers will probably dwarf those of all previous gatherings. The crowd will be a plurality of types and kinds of people, not all of whom will have the same mind-set. The sheer density of the numbers will constrict movement in a way that other events did not, and the requisite amount of security will add a wild card element absent other events. Stampedes in Mecca have been caused by a loud ‘popping’ sound, a wave of pushing, or even a simple rumor. For certain members of our society the chance of something going terribly wrong is simply too great to justify the risk of being at ground zero, irrespective of its historical importance,

My point is that if you are able to make the trip, can endure the severely cold weather, can stand for extended periods, and run like hell if necessary, then by all means attend. But if you are in any way infirm, elderly, slow on your feet, or under 16, my advice is to stay at home. Also, if you tend to be short-tempered, smart-mouthed, or really love cheese, this could be your day, because the security folks won’t hesitate to lock your dumb-azz up. I have heard that the DC Jail has an extensive menu planned for trouble-makers, consisting of zesty cheese sandwiches and tea for breakfast, an exquisite tea and cheese sandwiche for lunch, and oh yeah, an extra cheese 'sam-mich' for you ignant folk, with tea for dinner-yum!

Instead of adding to the throng, why not record the celebration as a memento and have an inaugural party locally? In the company of some enthusiastic friends, it could be like, 'Chutch' up-in-there! President elect Obama’s celebration will be greatly enhanced by minimizing negative incidents. Just my opinion, but I’m not budging from it.

Copyright & copy; 2007, Tnasiti Speaks. All rights reserved.

A New Year and new world full of old and new seemingly intractable problems. No wonder Obama won the election-chuckle. Madoff made-off with billions, yet enjoys the finest Cuban cigars and wines. This thief is under house arrest surrounded by expensive tapestries and art work of all types, within the spacious confines of his 7 million dollar apartment. Madoff is the 'avatar' for corporate greed predicated on the idea that enough money and power can place a privileged person above the laws of the common man. The 'Bush Years Debacle' only exacerbated this nation's historical penchant for slapping the wrist of the privileged rich while bludgeoning the poor for lesser offenses.

The institutions of Justice and Religion seem to have acquired an intractable infection of immorality; a kind of AIDS (acquired immorality disease) that attacks an institutions’ ethical underpinnings. Both institutions, created to protect what is good, ethical, and fair, have somehow gone terribly awry. The ethical compass of these institutions have steered them into a bizarro-world where the upstanding gets downtrodden. The Israelis are killing Palestinian civilians at a rate of 100 to 1, but the response from Western governments the US included, is simply a wink and a nod. Fat-cats on Wall Street that drove their companies like a drunk on crystal meth into the abyss, are now returning from exotic vacations paid for with bail-out tax dollars. Perhaps the most glaring indicator of a Justice system off-track is the attitude of implied immunity from prosecution for the heinous acts relating to the war. The practice of rendition and government sanctioned torture are but a few examples of the hubris-run-amok of powerful White men. Richard Nixon's assertion that if a president does it, it cannot be illegal could have been the banner over the entrance to the Bush White House.

In terms of Religious institutions, the Catholic Church takes the lead when it comes to sexual predation on children. Over a period of decades, the Catholic Church gave these predators its tacit approval by simply relocating the offending priests to other parishes, thereby facilitating the continuation of these ungodly acts. Evangelicals don’t get a pass either, particularly when it comes to hypocrisy. Many pastors preach family values while secretly cavorting about in drag, doing drugs, and having homosexual fandangos, all at the expense of church members. Other men and women of the cloth live lavish lives off the donations of members struggling to support their own families. These 'prosperity preachers' chastise parishioners for sinning and pressure them to tithe and donate in preparation for the next life, while they're stealing what little folks have in this one!

If Justice is blind, then organized Religion can be deaf and dumb. The problem is inherent in man, and infuses the DNA of the institutions we create, no matter how hallowed the intent. It is incumbent on us therefore, to diligently question, monitor, and make modifications to both institutions. Neither is sacrosanct, particularly in this Obama phase our world. The negative forces within and without this country are marshalling their resources to destroy what is orderly, right, and good. We must confront them all, including President Obama, if the disenfranchised are being exploited, or if what is moral and ethical is sacrificed for what is expedient.

Why doesn’t someone ask Sarah Palin why it took five or six years and five universities to get a four year degree? She sites her ‘executive resume’ as though it were a kind of impenetrable shield, so let’s see what’s in it. Virtually all executives at minimum have an impressive undergraduate record. Most have an advanced degree in at least phys-ed or something as well. I for one, would pay money to have a peek at her college transcript.

Too many asinine Americans still seem to want a candidate that they could have a drink with and not feel intimidated by. This country’s decade long slide toward mediocrity has hit bottom in the frozen tundra of a state populated by more than a few ‘salt of the earth’ intellectual cretins. I once thought with a high degree of confidence that the bar was so lowered by George Bush that not even a Bahamian limbo-king could wriggle beneath it. Then along came Sarah, able to not only slither under it, but to do so with a rifle in one hand and ‘Bowie knife’ in the other. Since President Bush, we’ve never achieved so little in so much time.

How did John McCain, who also wields a kind of war hero amulet that 'backs-down' most reporters, ever become an aircraft carrier pilot? Aren’t carrier pilots supposed to be ‘the best and the brightest’ when compared to all other pilots? The Discovery Channel which I admittedly watch perhaps too much of, did a show detailing the intensive nature of a carrier pilots’ training. Mathematics, engineering, and aeronautics are just some of the classes in which one must excel. Competition is said to be fierce, and only the top students are taken. So how did a guy that graduated 89^th out of 94 get to be a pilot? John McCain obviously received help from his dad the Admiral. Why does this story of string-pulling by a powerful father on behalf of a ‘dullard’ son sound familiar? The Republican Presidential ticket has shaved thirty points off our nations’ collective IQ.

When did we as a nation become so enamored of under-achievement that we champion as leaders, people that do not have passports, can’t send an email, and think Magna Cum Laude is the hot new hand gun on the market? We once talked tough about bombing Al Qaeda back into the Stone Age. At the current rate of our financial collapse, we’re likely to get there before Bin Laden. The Stone Age-now that's an environment in which McCain-Palin just might work.

Copyright & copy; 2007, Tnasiti Speaks. All rights reserved.