This and That

Happy New Year! Only 14 days in and it's been eventful so far!

My resolution to cook more often has not gone so well. I have cut back on eating out for dinner, but my dinners at home have tended to look more like college dorm meals or something a kid who is home alone might prepare as an after school snack. There's plenty of mac 'n cheese, hot dogs, and I even threw in some tater tots one night. I think my unborn baby has caused me to lose all adult tastes and regress to kid food, in preparation for all the times I will nibble at his plate when he doesn't eat his lunch or dinner. Yes, let's stick with that.

My husband is dieting. He does very well when he sets his mind to losing weight. Not that he needs to lose a lot, but he prefers to be at a certain weight. He's doing the South Beach diet, and making lots of meals and snacks according to plan. I'm very proud of him, clanging around in the kitchen, trying out new recipes as I watch from my barstool, happily shoveling Spaghettio's into my mouth. He's made some awesome salads, a yummy looking plateful of mini-quiches, and some great veggies. The only thumbs down from me was a blackened fish recipe that smoked up the house so bad with a spicy noxious fog that I seriously thought we were going to be asphyxiated. We had to throw the windows open and it was 20 degrees outside.

Hmmmm, what's been happening in the news lately. Oh I know!

The Arizona shootings. I am as shocked as the next guy how this has turned into a such a nasty political battle over who is to blame for the all the bloodshed, particularly the Congresswoman's injuries. When, exactly, did the shooter state that he did this heinous act for political
reasons? I know they found some items to imply he was a bit obsessed with her, but who knows why. Yes, I could sit here and wag my
finger at my favorite political punching bag, but I'm not, because I actually feel like she got the raw end of the deal when she got blamed for the shootings because of something on her website (who reads that anyway?.... Sorry, i just couldn't resist).
I digress...

Where was I... oh yes.

I really wish they would stop showing the shooter's mug shot on TV, it seriously gives me the creeps. He is so obviously disturbed. So now we have these politicians puffing around all these great new rules they're gonna push for. The best one I heard last night on Jon Stewart's Daily Show was something about any armed person must stay at least 1000 feet or yards or something away from any government official.

Are you kidding?

And of course, just like he always does, Stewart smartly summed up the ridiculousness of such a rule with: "And how do the rest of us get one of them there rules?" Have I mentioned how much I love Jon Stewart??

But where were all these politicians after Columbine? Virginia Tech? The Florida school board meeting? The Oklahoma City bombing?
Why did it take the shooting of a member of Congress to get everybody riled up? Were all those murders just not that important? And why did it take the shooting of a member of Congress to get everybody paying attention to mental illness? Were all those previous shooters just not that crazy?

The mentally ill have been long ignored in this country. The debate can't just be about the right to bear arms. America is tired of that. The attention has got to be turned back to the safety and health of human beings, and the stigma of addressing and treating mental illness has got to be knocked down. Think back to your last doctor visit. Did he or she ask you, "So, how's your mood? Life going ok? Ever think of hurting yourself? Ever think of hurting someone else?" Somehow I doubt it. Something so taboo is just not part of our culture. You would probably be appalled at such questioning. But why??? Aren't doctors really supposed to treat the whole person, not just the physical body ailments? 25 states don't have involuntary commitment laws. Not good. Families need to be able to get help for their loved ones when they recognize something is very wrong. Who else is going to? Nobody, until that person commits a crime and then ends up in the legal system instead of health care system. Too late. Yes, Americans have the right to buy guns, carry guns, go ahead and love your guns. But we ought to think about the responsibilities that come with buying and owning a gun, and be able to speak up when we think someone is about to hurt another and have that person get immediate, quality, easily accessible medical evaluation and treatment. And maybe, just maybe, could we find a way to keep them from buying that gun (and bullets at WalMart) until we're sure they're sane?!?!?

Hrmpf.... Help a pregnant lady down from her soapbox, would ya? I gotta go heat up some pizza rolls.

All things Olive today:
Heroes in every bad story
Jon Stewart (did I mention how much I love him?)
Tater tots