"We just wasted so much money for a . . . girl," she said angrily. "If I had known, I would have let it die. A girl is worthless. Worthless!"

Quoted in an article in the February 12, 2011, issue of World magazine. The speaker is a young woman whose baby had just been delivered on an emergency basis by C-Section at Emmanuel Hospital Association in northern India's Uttar Pradesh province. The mother, who had neglected the advice of the hospital to come by for regular checkups after she become pregnant, had been rushed there when she began having seizures. The title of the Article is "Worthless!," the subtitle "In India, the birth of a baby girl often brings grief and shame - and murder."

The article also includes this passage:

India is scheduled to complete its 2011 census this month and the results - due in spring - are likely to reflect the effects of abortion and female infanticide on that country's culture. Studies suggest that up to 50 million girls and women are missing from India's population, according to UNICEF.

Matthew 19:13-15 (King James Version)

13Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.

14But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

15And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

One of the important reasons to be faithful to the text when dealing with gender is that this passage does not appear to refer to little boys alone, but to all children. Compare Ps. 127 and 128, where the references are to sons. (We miss this contrast when we have a "gender neutral" Bible.) It is good to be under the New Covenant.

Don't Mess with a Mom

As the public mood changes [from pro-abortion to pro-life], some existing laws are now being enforced, thanks to people with determination. Eileen Smith is one of them: After her 22-year-old daughter Laura died in 2007 on the operating table of Rapin Osathanondh, an abortionist who was a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health, Smith's lawyer told her that calls to the district attorney and medical examiner were probably futile. But the mother—who was living at her sister's house and falling asleep at her computer each night in her quest for justice—persisted.

Prosecutors eventually charged Osathanondh with manslaughter, alleging that he failed to monitor her while she was under anesthesia, delayed calling emergency services when her heart stopped, and later lied to try to cover up his actions. The state Board of Registration found that Osathanondh did not have any means of monitoring the heart of Smith, who was 13 weeks pregnant, and did not have oxygen or a functioning blood pressure cuff in the room. The Board also alleged that he "failed to adhere to basic cardiac life support protocol" and did not call an ambulance in a timely manner.

Laura Smith's father, Tom Smith, described how he and his wife adopted Laura after she was left in an orphanage in her native Honduras and later abused by an American couple. He said she sang in a choral group and was in demand to sing the national anthem at school ball games.

On Sept. 13, 2010, just as his trial was about to begin, and facing a potential prison term of 20 years, Osathanondh pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He received a sentence of six months in prison and a ban on ever again working as a doctor or teaching medicine. The plea bargain required him to pay the Smiths $1 million out of his own pocket along with the $1 million the insurance company paid out.

Eileen Smith had an opportunity in court to give a victim's impact statement. She turned to Osathanondh and said that she prayed he would turn to God's mercy so that he didn't have to fall on God's justice. Smith has become a national speaker on pro-life issues: Mothers who turned against abortion after hearing Laura's story sometimes send her pictures of their babies, which leads Smith to conclude that Laura "didn't die in vain. God is using her death to save babies, and that's a comfort to me, that justice continues to be done."

-from "Red Zone Defense," an excellent report on the pro-life situation in our country (and it's not all bad) in the January 29, 2011 issue of World Magazine.

Hello, on Saturday

Already posted three times, so you can tell how productive this Saturday is starting to look. However, I did get up early (surprise!), and hit two gas stations. I filled up the Pathfinder and three five gallon containers at the first; and filled up the 4Runner at the second. (Two gas stations? Maxed on on the pump with the credit card at the first.) All of this is getting ready for Ike, which now appears to be dipping south of us.

As I saw the new track for Ike laid along the east coast of Cuba, it occurred to me that Katrina-like devastation there might finally cave in the regime. I wonder if our planners are thinking about this? I don't wish any further hardship on the people of Cuba; I'm just speculating.

I also wonder if McCain's "change" plans include lifting the embargo on Cuba? If so, I doubt he would say so. Would Obama be more likely to do so? I doubt he would say so either. Raul Martinez, the former mayor of Hialeah, and someone I admire (in part because the Herald hates him) is running for Congress from our district as the Democratic nominee. (Martinez has always been a Democrat, which is rather anomalous in Miami-Dade.) Martinez has thrown his lot in with the younger generation of Cuban-Americans who are not scandalized by the idea of rationalizing our relationship with Cuba. (Notice that I did not say "liberalizing" our relationship; this liberal/conservative dichotomy continuously fails us . . . or betrays us. For example, tell me again what "compassionate conservatism" means, please?)

As to challenging the beltway mentality, it is finally apparent that we have both Presidential nominees advocating change. McCain is finally being seen as alongside Obama on this point, and he may be on the verge of completely co-opting that idea. At the risk of sounding partisan (who me?), I would suggest that the differences between the two include, but are not limited to, (that's lawyerspeak) this: McCain really means change or, if both really mean it, McCain has the backbone and experience to effect it. Where is Palin in all this, besides eye-candy (which, by the way, is a complete justification for her being nominated)? She is a profound gesture to traditional American values and to the (completely consistent) idea that women are entirely as capable as men, with the added feature of being able to produce the next generation, and should be at liberty to do what they are lead by the Spirit to do. (Let me, for example, talk to you about my daughter and daughters-in-law.)

More reasons to like Palin: (1) She's having trouble with her teenage daughter. (2) Her teenage daughter is having trouble with her. (3) Her husband looks like a great guy who has put up with a heck of a lot and still has a genuine looking smile.

I'm thinking about whether I want to see the 'Canes dismantled by the Gators today.

Nah.

Well, I better get to work. I'm down at the office, looking at the end-of-week mess. Time to do the GTD comprehensive, weekly review.

Rhythms

Lately, I have found that my life is very full, so full that I can't possibly find time to do everything that needs doing, and yet when people ask me what's going on in my life, I find that I don't have much to say. I have been thinking about this and have wondered, "how can I have nothing to say? My life is so full!" Then, I realized that my life is very full but it looks very much the same every day and progress is slow and change very gradual. There are not many tasks that I can point to that are truly and finally done as most of them are tasks I will simply have to do again the next day or the day after that (e.g., laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, cooking, changing diapers, putting kids down for naps, feeding kids, burping my baby). These things all take time, and none of them are inspiring to talk about, but in the midst of them I am learning to recognize the rhythms of my children, their needs, their highs, their lows. I am learning when to discipline and when to laugh (and sometimes choosing to laugh is one of the hardest choices in my day...I tend to be more of a worrier than a laugher, and laughter is so necessary to both my sanity and my children's sense of hope and confidence).

I am learning to enjoy this slow and gradual process. I am learning to laugh when I would rather shout or maybe even cry. I am learning to give choices when I would rather just push something through and say "because I said so" (although sometimes it comes to that anyways). One of the greatest achievements in my recent life is beginning to discover my daughter's cues of tiredness before she reaches the point of sheer exhaustion. This was difficult to do with my son, and that was when he was the only person I was paying attention to. Now, I am paying attention to him and to her, and having enough presence of mind to read her signals has taken most of the attention that I have to give. But it is so exciting when I put her down and she drifts off without fighting it, when she can fade into drowsiness and sleep because I didn't wait until she was too tired. I feel like I have served her well and like I am getting to know her better as I begin to sense her rhythms.

My son is finally starting to be okay with me saying "I need to go feed your sister and put her down for a nap", and I cannot tell you what a relief it is when he does not pitch a fit every time I need to put her down. He has been having to learn new rhythms. Everything he thought he knew has been shaken up and put back down in a different space. This has been very trying for him at points, but he is beginning to be able to move with the new tempo. He is beginning to find himself again in a new way, and is learning to enjoy his sister. One of the great joys in my life right now is how he can make his sister laugh. She is only 4 and 1/2 months old, and while her father and I can make her smile, only her brother can really make her laugh. When he is silly for her, she will laugh from her gut and will shriek with glee. What a gift! What a pleasure. What a wonderful thing for him to discover that one of the spaces he now fits into is that of her friend.

As I move through my days, one looking much like the other, I am discovering what a privilege it is for me to get to watch and take part as my children begin to discover themselves and one another, as they learn how to move within their own rhythms and that of the other.

It's a full life, and one I love. So, that is what's going on in my life for those of you who have asked and found me silent or slow to respond. I wanted to share and let you know, but the rhythm of my life is slow and it took a while for me to figure out what to say about it.