I'm hoping Pablo Neruda was right, when he wrote that. As the Obama administration continues to make hash of the Hope and Change gardens he planted in the hearts of many Americans--particularly members of the LGBT community and people for whom HIV and AIDS are compelling issues--as his policies and words continue to drift apart, it's important to find an anchoring thought. I choose this one, by the great Chilean poet and social activist. There's a reason why I picked him. I'll share it further down in this post.
In 1993, Jesse Helms sponsored legislation that made it illegal for people who had communicable diseases to enter the country. In recent years, the law has come under fire for its outdated point of view, lack of value, and ineffective functional enforcement. It is important to note that President George W Bush supported repealing it.
Interestingly, the legislation to repeal was a bipartisan proposal, introduced by then-Senator Joseph Biden (D-Delaware) and Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) with broad support in both parties and in both houses of the Congress. The bill was called, The Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. It was signed into law by President Bush on July 30, 2009. Why isn't it being enforced? Why is the current administration simply reinforcing destructive practices that no longer serve the best interests or will of the people?
President Obama's administration, on the other hand, has made enforcing the 1993 law a priority. When the Pacific Health Summit 2009 convened last week (June 16-18), a key speaker was absent from the line up: Paul Thorn. He'd been denied access, despite interventions by Congress members and a direct appeal to the US Consulate in London.
It was too bad because the primary topic this year was tuberculosis and Paul has had, and survived, multi-resistant tuberculosis. He picked up in a hospital. The treatment took three years, but it worked! This was particularly remarkable because he is also HIV+.
It was this combination, and his work founding and directing a TB organization that made him a hot ticket for the Summit. One of the big concerns is the increased vulnerability to infection among those living with HIV. Think about the perfect storm that would arise if the two diseases crossed paths in a region with a large percentage of the population having an HIV+ status. Wait, you don't have to; it's already happening in Lesotho, where 70% of people with TB are co-infected with HIV/AIDS.
Good that the conveners are looking at this issue in a focused way. Bad that the enforcement of the law deprived them of Paul's presence. How was our safety enhanced by denying our shores his presence for the three days of the Summit?
Today, I learned that my favorite professor at school--the one whose seminar changed my life, my academic plans, and my career vision--was denied entry into the US in May due to his HIV+ status. He is a career community researcher who works in populations that are frequently neglected out of fear and barriers to access. His ethical and humane approach to research has granted him entrance to such communities and the result is a body of work that is incredibly useful. In addition, he's an artist and fiction writer. He was born into poverty in Chile, emigrated to Canada, and has been a citizen there for many years. It was in deference to his Chilean heritage and life long activism that I picked the quote from Pable Neruda.
He's been HIV+ since 1995, and has traveled freely between his home in Canada and the US for the past 20 years. Until May, 2009. Now, his name is in a big database and he will be barred entry until/unless the law is repealed, and those who are on The List are re-evaluated. This ban includes passing through the US, or US ports, in transit to another destination.
I'd hoped to have him as the faculty adviser for my senior study, had counted on it. If he'd turned me down, that would be one thing; but this reason is uniquely unsatisfying. And while I'm sure I'll find another adviser, his area of research, preferred methodologies, and professional posture would be a tremendous boon; I would feel comfortable stretching further in my work, knowing that he was overseeing my efforts. Who can measure how that benefit would ripple out over the years?
Under the 1993 law, it's possible to apply for a waiver, though none is guaranteed. Another thing one could do is simply not get tested for ANY communicable disease. If you have no diagnosis, you won't be lying as you float through Customs. Yet another would be to lie, committing a felony in the process.
This policy beggars several questions:
HOW DOES THE LAW ADDRESS the issue of those who travel to or through the US and don't know that they have a communicable disease?
IF A CANADIAN CITIZEN'S PARENTS TRAVEL TO THE US FOR A VACATION and are injured or become ill, and their adult child in Canada has Hepatitis C, does this mean that said child will not be able to enter the US to be with them at the hospital?
WHAT HAPPENS IF A FOREIGN NATIONAL CONTRACTS a communicable disease while in the US? Must they leave? What if they picked it up because they were in the hospital, or in the line of duty? Do they still have to leave?
WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHOSE RELATIONSHIPS STATUS status is not recognized by the federal government, such that they cannot become citizens by virtue of marriage to an American citizen, will they have to leave if they are sick of become sick?
HOW DOES THIS KEEP USE SAFER, if there is no way to vet for people who don't know they are ill? Is it a useful law? Does it protect us in a meaningful way? Do we need to be protected?
In 2007, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report, Moving Beyond the U.S. Government Policy of Inadmissability of HIV-Infected Noncitizens -- A Report of the CSIS Task Force on HIV/AIDS, which outlined considerations and issues related to the existing laws. The Center found the current policy to be out of date, reflecting the panic, knowledge base, and fear of the time in which it was developed. Several recommendations were made to bring it up to date, with the specific recommendation that care be taken to get it right. CSIS found these changes essential to affirming the credibility of the US regarding HIV/AIDS, as well as it leadership role.
FYI, I'm not putting this behind a cut because it's too important. I want it in as many faces as I can reach.
In 1993, Jesse Helms sponsored legislation that made it illegal for people who had communicable diseases to enter the country. In recent years, the law has come under fire for its outdated point of view, lack of value, and ineffective functional enforcement. It is important to note that President George W Bush supported repealing it.
Interestingly, the legislation to repeal was a bipartisan proposal, introduced by then-Senator Joseph Biden (D-Delaware) and Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) with broad support in both parties and in both houses of the Congress. The bill was called, The Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. It was signed into law by President Bush on July 30, 2009. Why isn't it being enforced? Why is the current administration simply reinforcing destructive practices that no longer serve the best interests or will of the people?
President Obama's administration, on the other hand, has made enforcing the 1993 law a priority. When the Pacific Health Summit 2009 convened last week (June 16-18), a key speaker was absent from the line up: Paul Thorn. He'd been denied access, despite interventions by Congress members and a direct appeal to the US Consulate in London.
It was too bad because the primary topic this year was tuberculosis and Paul has had, and survived, multi-resistant tuberculosis. He picked up in a hospital. The treatment took three years, but it worked! This was particularly remarkable because he is also HIV+.
It was this combination, and his work founding and directing a TB organization that made him a hot ticket for the Summit. One of the big concerns is the increased vulnerability to infection among those living with HIV. Think about the perfect storm that would arise if the two diseases crossed paths in a region with a large percentage of the population having an HIV+ status. Wait, you don't have to; it's already happening in Lesotho, where 70% of people with TB are co-infected with HIV/AIDS.
Good that the conveners are looking at this issue in a focused way. Bad that the enforcement of the law deprived them of Paul's presence. How was our safety enhanced by denying our shores his presence for the three days of the Summit?
Today, I learned that my favorite professor at school--the one whose seminar changed my life, my academic plans, and my career vision--was denied entry into the US in May due to his HIV+ status. He is a career community researcher who works in populations that are frequently neglected out of fear and barriers to access. His ethical and humane approach to research has granted him entrance to such communities and the result is a body of work that is incredibly useful. In addition, he's an artist and fiction writer. He was born into poverty in Chile, emigrated to Canada, and has been a citizen there for many years. It was in deference to his Chilean heritage and life long activism that I picked the quote from Pable Neruda.
He's been HIV+ since 1995, and has traveled freely between his home in Canada and the US for the past 20 years. Until May, 2009. Now, his name is in a big database and he will be barred entry until/unless the law is repealed, and those who are on The List are re-evaluated. This ban includes passing through the US, or US ports, in transit to another destination.
I'd hoped to have him as the faculty adviser for my senior study, had counted on it. If he'd turned me down, that would be one thing; but this reason is uniquely unsatisfying. And while I'm sure I'll find another adviser, his area of research, preferred methodologies, and professional posture would be a tremendous boon; I would feel comfortable stretching further in my work, knowing that he was overseeing my efforts. Who can measure how that benefit would ripple out over the years?
Under the 1993 law, it's possible to apply for a waiver, though none is guaranteed. Another thing one could do is simply not get tested for ANY communicable disease. If you have no diagnosis, you won't be lying as you float through Customs. Yet another would be to lie, committing a felony in the process.
This policy beggars several questions:
HOW DOES THE LAW ADDRESS the issue of those who travel to or through the US and don't know that they have a communicable disease?
IF A CANADIAN CITIZEN'S PARENTS TRAVEL TO THE US FOR A VACATION and are injured or become ill, and their adult child in Canada has Hepatitis C, does this mean that said child will not be able to enter the US to be with them at the hospital?
WHAT HAPPENS IF A FOREIGN NATIONAL CONTRACTS a communicable disease while in the US? Must they leave? What if they picked it up because they were in the hospital, or in the line of duty? Do they still have to leave?
WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHOSE RELATIONSHIPS STATUS status is not recognized by the federal government, such that they cannot become citizens by virtue of marriage to an American citizen, will they have to leave if they are sick of become sick?
HOW DOES THIS KEEP USE SAFER, if there is no way to vet for people who don't know they are ill? Is it a useful law? Does it protect us in a meaningful way? Do we need to be protected?
In 2007, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report, Moving Beyond the U.S. Government Policy of Inadmissability of HIV-Infected Noncitizens -- A Report of the CSIS Task Force on HIV/AIDS, which outlined considerations and issues related to the existing laws. The Center found the current policy to be out of date, reflecting the panic, knowledge base, and fear of the time in which it was developed. Several recommendations were made to bring it up to date, with the specific recommendation that care be taken to get it right. CSIS found these changes essential to affirming the credibility of the US regarding HIV/AIDS, as well as it leadership role.
The noxious brief mentioned previously was filed on June 11* and, to my knowledge, there has yet to be any response from the White House to the various complaints pouring in from LGBT-community VIPs, despite coverage from major print media outlets (e.g., NYT, WSJ, etc.). June 16 marks the convening of the Summit and of Paul Thorn being denied entry. Then, on June 17, the Obama administration made a show of unveiling an array of minor domestic partnership benefits that will now be conferred to federal employees. The language of the announcement was careful, incluing a clause that says something like, "to the extent that it's legal", which, of course, excludes things like health care. There is talk among LGBT community leaders, on the other hand, regarding an October march on Washington, to express significant disappointment regarding the growing rift between President Obama's campaign rhetoric and in-office actions.
The President acknowledged that new policy regarding benefits to the domestic partners of federal employees reflects only incremental progress was small, but that is a genuine first step--which is true. The question of sincerity comes up when, without addressing the June 11 brief at all, the President went on to say (emphasis mine),
I think we all have to acknowledge this is only one step," the president said. "Among the steps we have not yet taken is to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. I believe it's discriminatory, I think it interferes with states' rights, and we will work with Congress to overturn it. We've got more work to do to ensure that government treats all its citizens equally, to fight injustice and intolerance in all its forms, and to bring about that more perfect union. I'm committed to these efforts, and I pledge to work tirelessly on behalf of these issues in the months and years to come.
How do these claims line up with the content of the heinous brief? Not at all. The brief says that DOMA is not discriminatory, for one thing. It calls DOMA reasonable. It says that DOMA supports the best financial interests of the country. How are we meant to resolve these discordant messages, broadcast from the same "mouth"?
Bottom line: what can those of use who find this situation unacceptable do? We can hold a clear and vibrant hope that this President will live up to his promise and his promises, rather than allow what made him such an unusual and inspiring choice to whither and subside into a Clinton-esque shuffle-dance. We can share the information and resources with everyone we know. We can write to our elected officials, at every level of government, and express our desires, opinions, and requests for swift action to repair this dis-parity. We can continue to speak, and to hold this administration accountable--just as we held the previous administration's feet to the fire when we disagreed with it. We can re-mind all of our legal representatives of their tremendous capacity to effect genuine and enduring change--the kind of change that promotes the dignity and empowerment of all citizens and raises our communities and our nation to the next developmental level.
We can make a difference. We can prove Pablo Neruda right. Yes, we can.
-Dot
*The irony thickens when you consider that the noxious brief was filed on th 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling on Loving v. Virginia, the case that ended all raced-based restrictions on marriage. Key parts of the Justices' ruling remain intact, worthy of review:
Marriage is one of the "basic civil rights of man," fundamental to our very existence and survival.... To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discrimination. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.
Copyright 2009 Dot's Stuff. All rights reserved, except your right to be represented in your governance.
- Location:Home
- Mood:
Determined - Music:Yes, we can (Sly & Robbie, from "Riddim Killers")
-Dot
Copyright 2009 Dot's Stuff. All rights reserved, but you are welcome to a change of heart.
- Location:Home
- Mood:
Fed Up with Being A Good Girl - Music:Crickets
The ordering process was a snap. The paying and shipping processes have been Microsoft/Dell-worthy ... almost. The saving grace is that the product around which the havoc circles is fantastic.
First verse: ordered stuff, arranged to distribute payments across two debit cards, in two chunks. Apple blew that and, instead, got themselves listed by my bank as fraud-makers. Oops.
Second verse: ordered stuff, made arrangements to pay via wire transfer. No muss, no fuss for the involved banks. Apple blew that and, instead, created two partial orders--both of which included the computer, software, and warranty, and then each contained either the printer or the mouse, but not both. The mouse one had gone through, and for the proper cost less the cost of the printer, meaning that I'd "overpaid". (Wonder if they'd planned a refund...) The second one was pending authorization. Had I not checked this morning, it would have tried to bill my bank account after 3pm today. Yay.
Third verse: printer added to oder that was shown as paid, the total equaled what I wired, I am told all is well.
And, yes, pain in the butt. I said, "Never have I worked so hard to pay a company thousands of dollars!" What I didn't say was, "I'm so frigging happy to be jumping back to the happy side of the home computing fence that it's WORTH IT!"
The mouse is coming first. I'd better not let it near my work PC (a.k.a. "cheese").
That is all.
-Dot
- Location:work
- Mood:
cheerful - Music:"At the Codfish Ball" -- John Lithgow
( Grab a snack. It's a long one! )
That, my friends, completes this telling of beauty and wonder. Thanks for taking a ride on the Navel Gazer Limited!
-Dot
Copyright 2009 Dot's Stuff. All rights reserved. I'll share the moon.
One of the biggest insights I experienced yesterday was a perspective on the personal alchemy of challenge and ability I bring with me to this experience. Each has his or her own, of course, and that's part of what creates a dynamic atmosphere, to be sure. It feels nice, though, to have a sense of myself in this context because, coming into it, I was visited by a host of concerns and past themes from previous academic life periods.
( More about this. )
This is a good place and I am grateful to be here.
-Dot
Copyright 2009. Dot's Stuff. All rights reserved. Wanna pine cone?
- Location:Dorm room
- Mood: peaceful
- Music:Birds
Louise Hay Wisdom deck - "I am on the cutting edge of a new conscious awakening for the whole planet. I am willing to expand the horizons of the thinking."
That was pretty much the theme of what was being expressed by some of the faculty today. Why not?
Doreen Virtue Goddess deck: - Green Tara
All about asking for help and delegating. I did a good job with that today.
My brain is jelly and Hulu was not involved.
That is all.
Oh, except that faced with choosing between pork chops and tofu, I selected Drive to Montpelier and Eat at the Organic Vegetarian Restaurant. Curried garbanzos, kale, miso soup. Not super hot. Not super flavorful. Better than a pork chop or tofu.
Then, I went to The Black Door and got a piece of goat cheese cheesecake to go. It came with a lemon tuille that was a perfect eating utensile and yummy, as well.
When life hands you pork chops, eat garbanzo beans. That's what I say!
-Dot
- Location:Dorm room
- Mood:
silly - Music:rain on the tin roof
It hung out for a while and then bounded off, tail high. I shared that with a couple of people this morning. One thought it was a good omen. The other was worried that it was a dangerous thing, was even more concerned that it was in the courtyard rather than behind the building. I'm not sure the coyoted was as concerned with whatever the human concept difference is between those locations, given that they are separated by a scant 100 feet.
People amaze me with how wild they think their yards are not, and with how frightening nocturnal animal (and insect) activitiy can be to them. :) I do not want to go to there.
This morning, I'm waiting for the next step, whatever that may be. Meanwhile, I'm setting up my room and planning to head to the co-op for some things I neglected to bring. Like lotion. In Vermont. In March. An intellectual giant is me!
:)
-Dot
- Location:School!
- Mood:
curious - Music:Birds
So, just a note to talk about the hurricane's eye perspective of the last few months. So much change happening around me, with less going on inside. I'm more in assimilation and processing mode. It feels like the kind of swirly twirl that tends to accompany Big Transitions, by which I mean bigger, even, than moving 800 miles.
Going back to school has flirted through my brain for a bit more than a decade. Serious contemplation began in the early 2000s. Focused purposeful exploration joined the thronging thought beings in 2004. And today, it begins!
Here is a thing I enjoy: looking back and creating personal mythologies about alignment. They might be accurate, they might not be accurate, but they are useful tools for reflection and insight-gathering. Memory highlights the mirrors we most need to see, in my experience. So I try to pay attention to what stands out, to weave a narrative that is open to revision as I remember more, remember better, add a layer of new information. For me growth happens in this semi-crabwise fashion. Maybe it's more spidery and my water bias is showing. Webs are a better metaphor. Areas are visited, revisited, new connections and intersections are built. The pattern becomes increasingly refined.
I think I'll stop before I get to the dusty cobweb part. Or not. Webs that no longer serve are abandoned or cut away to make space for new creations. There. That ham-handed analogy is complete. Lucky are we! Now I can move on!
The things that have been flying part my Dorothy windows with the most persistent vigor are old dynamics, past relationships up for fresh contemplation, opportunities to commit more fully, opportunities to clarify and elevate. Am I releasing useless luggage in preparation for future baggage of a more serviceable sort? Perhaps.
I joined FaceBook for work, in order to perform some analysis regarding that particular paradigm of 'social networking'. My real name is the one I use. I don't friend people from work, with one key exception. I decided to immerse myself in the most normal version of site interaction that I could. There have been some predictable downsides emerging, some reasonable benefits, and some surprising outcomes. Rich. Among them, I have reconnected with the firefighter friend who bailed when I fell in her station (not because she didn't care, but because she was already dealing with a major mental health crisis -- trauma from 13 years of paramedic and fire fighting work -- and just couldn't bear to be present. I understood, missing her. We'd been friends for more than 15 years when it happened. So, we've connected and there are tender tenuous threads and lovely reminders of the well of love into which we dipped so freely before the accident. Lovely that.
The first boy who caused me to feel pretty found me. He is an incredibly gifted human and it's thrilling to see how his life has unfolded, the joy he experiences. Healing balm.
A handful of others have emerged. Some I knew better than others, back then. Some I barely remember (my own traumatic memory weirdness). But there is a warmth. And emerging, "Hey. We're still alive. That's got some value." It's poignant for my graduating class who lost so many members so quickly.
Outside of FB, the unpacking of a handmade object prompted me to breach the boundary set by my ex- regarding contact. It seemed only right for him to get to pick what happened to the object in question. The result is a green reconnection for which I am very grateful. He is so visibly comfortable in his skin, so happily mated with a brilliant and gracious woman, so much empowered. It feels like a gossamer and nearly unspeakable privilege to have this opportunity to make gentle contact. We got together once and will again. Ease prevailed. Peace. Who gets to have these miracles?
Back in FB, a person who I considerd ignoring when the friend request showed up (he was my brother's childhood friend and roadied for my band at one point--and was not very nice to me) but accepted out of respect for my brother was the vehicle for me finding out about a former bandmate's death, within hours of its occurrence. How odd.
These moments. These times when past elements present themselves so clearly for present review and dispensation, recategorization, they are so precious! After much of a lifetime spent flailing through a cottony fog of overloaded input channels and crazy natal home dynamics, to have such clarity... There are not words. It feels like an arrival and a departure in the same breath. So perfect. So crystaline.
And on the heels of this, I point my car to the north and the the west and head off to school.
-Dot
Copyright 2009. Dot's Stuff. All rights reserved. Help yourself to the sun!
- Location:Home
- Mood: cheerful
- Music:Poseidon and the Bitter Bug [Indigo Girls]
Whee!
- Location:Work
- Mood:
bouncy - Music:Indigo Girls: Poseidon and the Bitter Bug
I just found out that the bass player/leader of the main band I was in, died recently. I have no details yet, beyond knowing that his wife found him dead in bed.
It would be nice to say it's totally surprising, but it's not. The reason I left the band was because his drug use had crossed into the Scary Escalation universe. An old story: we were getting serious attention and turning down various offers, he and a couple of the other guys responded to the pressure by getting high. In the end, I could see the writing on the wall, couldn't bear to ride that ship down to the bottom of the ocean, walked away and onto the next adventure. After I left, things went south very quickly.
At one point I heard that he'd had to give up playing the bass because he'd developed carpal tunnel in both arms due to playing for hours at a time while dehydrated and high. To my knowledge, he never got cleaned up, though his pattern was sort of bingey and episodic. I know that he got a day job. I know that his son graduated from high school in 2007.
I've lost touch with all of my bandmates over the years. It's hard to remain connected when you're moving up the healing ladder and the other folks are in decline. Still, I remember them fondly. We had amazing times. And a lot of fun. I'll never forget the first morning we woke up in Japan. Our flute/sax player responded to the morning greeting from his room's maid with, "Yes! Ohio! That's where I'm from!" Good times.
So, farewell, friend. I'm sorry your road got so dark. Hope you found the light again before moving on.
- Location:home
- Mood: thankful
- Music:See You In The Light [Michael Franti & Spearhead]
Some are restless, ready for winter to end. For me, after four winters in a Very Grey Place Indeed, I'm soaking up the goreousity that is the combination of sun and snow. And TB like it, too. They say that mount MNR (the plow pile in our back yard) is an exciting place to summit!
I now return you to your previous preoccupations. :)
- Location:Woik
- Mood: cheerful
- Music:See You In The Light: Michael Franti & Spearhead
( Come, swim in the fresh waters flowing through my mind... )
People. We need to lighten up, by which I mean: we need to divest ourselves of unnecessary and untrue ideas about what Being A Good Person comprises. Oscillococcinum is a good first step.
-Dot
Copyright 2009 Dot's Stuff. All rights reserved, except the right to be happy. We all have that one. :)
- Location:Home
- Mood:
contemplative - Music:Puppy snores
Working HARD. Normal job, plus a for-fee consulting job to my department based upon my pre-U professional background.
Getting ready for school.
Experimenting with Facebook (for work, believe it or not:).
As of this week, dealing with the evidence of syringomelia in my Trubalicious boy. Devastating. Won't drag you through the grief that permeated the beginning of the week. He's only three and a half (which, for a cavvy means he's just attained full growth/development). His symptoms began before he was a year old (not a good sign), with escalation over the past six months.
At first it looked like we were going to have to let him go sooner rather than later, due to a variety of factors. Now, however, it appears he'll be accepted into a study being done right now on cavvies and this condition. They have some very effective treatments going and are doing no placebo group (which, given the pain involved in the condition, is correct and kind). Just waiting to find out when to pile into the car.
Doc can't leave mid-semester, but BA isn't teaching this semester and offered immediately upon hearing about it. Won't take no for an answer and, quite frankly, there's no one I'd rather have go with me. She's a wildlife biologist and a Dog Person. She got it immediately when I fell apart in her office. He's my heart muffin. Gus is my soul dog, for sure, and there's no minimizing that -- it's just different. Trub lives in a place in my heart no human or animal ever has -- it's a unique relationship with a lot of gorgeous ramifications. I would quite literally donate any body part I could spare and live if it would help him. A chunk of my liver will help? Take it. You want the skin off my right leg? It's yours. An eye? Who needs depth perception? I'm quite serious.
When connecting with the neurologist I said, "Here's the thing: there's no room for keeping him alive for me or for science if he's not comfortable and happy. If you can agree to that, then we're on." I won't do anything that promotes his suffering for any reason. I also want to know how they measure pain, given that dogs in chronic pain do not tend to give behavioral cues, lacking our human expectation of pain relief.
Getting rid of his collar and switching to a harness has helped for the short term. I should know more Monday or Tuesday.
For the science geeks:
Syringomelia happens when the base of the skull (occiput) is formed in a way that doesn't allow enough room for the cerebellum and brain stem as the animal (or human) grows. As a result, they begin to push down toward the foramen magnum (the opening where the spinal cord comes through) and inhibit the flow of CSF (cerebrospinal fluid). The resulting pressure can be painful, but that's not the worst bit. The chronic pressure causes pockets to form in the walls of the membrane that contains the spinal cord and CSF. The fluid pools in these 'lakes' and puts pressure on both the spinal cord and the nerve roots and nerves exiting the area. This results in pain and a wide range of neurological symptoms. It is a progressive condition because the ongoing pressure begins to degrade tissue.
It was difficult to diagnose before MRI technology existed and was applied to animals, in part because it shares several of its symptoms with other conditions. Sometimes the best that could be done was a misdiagnosis or a slow process of ruling out other conditions -- by which point the degree of suffering and severity of symptoms necessitated euthenizing the dog. The condition occurs in other breeds, primarily smaller dogs, but is very rare. Unfortunately, the damage that was done to Cavaliers in creating the English Toy Spaniel (after the UK fell in love with the pugs the Dutch brought back from Asia), has not been completely undone during the 80 years of selective breeding to restore the original spaniel. Up to 90% have a skull formation that could lend itself to promoting the condition -- depending upon growth. Of those, nearly half will develop some symptomology in their lifetime.
The hell of it is that there are no rules to screen for it in order to breed. In fact, one champion breeder in the UK had her male sire 26 litters (at last count) since his diagnosis! What. The. FUCK. I've' had a lot of dogs in my life and every breed is special. That said, I've never met the like of the cavvies. They are sporting, companions, sized for any aged human to manage, delightful in temperament, hilarious, gentle, fascinated and fascinating, adaptable, wonderful dogs. There's a reason to try and restore the breed and get rid of this threat.
If you, or anyone you know, ever considers having one, please require that your breeder provide proof that BOTH parents have been screened with MRI after age three and a half and found clear. Otherwise, say, "No, thanks." It's that serious.
~ Dot
- Location:Home
- Mood: contemplative
I have had an experience this evening that while, no doubt, shared by many, is probably not universal. And so I present it here for your delectation and commentary.
We watch American Idol. There. I've said it. Doc enjoys the human comedy/tragedy elements, while I am a sucker for people who can actually sing -- even to the extent of being able to tune out the ridiculous premise of the show in deference to witnessing one of the true physiological miracles of humanity. Last night, we each and both arrived home with Very Tired Brains, having had long days of brutal and contentious meetings comprised of people who all had good intentions (a.k.a. The Most Difficult Kind Of Meetings). The surprise was that these meetings were unrelated. Maybe it's the moon. We ate a restorative dinner (left over carrot and parsnip soup, hand made veggie burgers from a local general store, etc.) and agreed that companionable silence + mindless television was the gift we could share. What better choice than AI?
The catch here, and the only reason that any of this backstory is relevant, is that normally we watch things the day after, or at least delayed enough that we can skim through the commercials via the DVR. In this case, however, it was not to be. Neither of us was destined to stay up late enough to make that a functional option. So, we watched the show in real time. Apart from noticing that it changes the pace of the show to something only slightly better than stultifying, we got the opportunity to watch some commercials. One, in particular, stood out to me as an entirely new breed -- or, more accurately, an entirely new application of an old breed.
Is this enough preamble? Yes? On to the meat, then...
There was a commercial endorsing President Obama's jobs saving/creation programs that was uplifting and well-produced -- and looked exactly like a campaign commercial. At the end, however, was the message to contact Senators Snow and Collins -- both Republicans -- and tell them to vote in favor blah, blah. Now that seems quite something to me! I'm not sure whether I think it's brilliant, engaging, scary, oppressive, just plain creepy, or some odd mix of the aforementioned. It's innovative, for sure. I like that it encourages people to participate in their governance beyond voting. But it also raises a prickly feeling inside. I'll have to sit with that for a bit in order to get more clear, it's quite possible it's just persistant campaign-that-felt-like-500-years hangover energy.
What do you think? And, as importantly, for those who are not in the US, does this sort of thing occur where you are?
- Dot
Copyright 2009 Dot's Stuff. All rights reserved. Please use your right to tell your legislators how you want to be represented.
- Location:Workitty Work
- Mood: curious
- Music:REM UP
So, here's a short version:
Cruise was fun. Confirmed that I don't like cruising. Made some cool friends. Loved hanging out with K&P. The National Park on St. John is worth days of time. Snorkling off the Bahamas was fair.
Having my sister here for a week, alone, was a luxurious bath of time and love and space. Cozy and wonderful. The kids and their dad had an excellent visit, all things considered. Everyone is healing and moving forward.
Doc had her hated implants removed and is going through a gorgeous reclamation process that makes me well up with awe and love when I witness or think about it. The Boys are doing well. They each gained a pound while we were away on the cruise and are loathe to give it up.
I was rear-ended in December. Could've been much worse. Back still stiff. Hand continues to heal and I learn more about how to work with it, every day. Continuing to lose weight. Feeling really good in my body. Avoiding all of the winter yuckies that are taking friends and co-workers down, apace.
School starts in March! I'll be getting enough of a rebate on my financial aid that I'll be able to replace my dying computer. My experiences at work are adding shaping effects to my study plans. I think I may switch slightly, such that my double-major areas are Psych and Anthro with a minor in Ethnobotany... Not sure. Can definitely see a much larger long term vision than before. Can see how it could translate to continuing to be affiliated with my current employer.
My work world continues to be a revelation. All of the impossibly real passion and rubber-on-the-road practical optimism remains. Two additional team members make us more effective. Each day brings enhanced motivations to uncover and utilize the best I have to offer. I can feel myself growing. Non-visual me has developed several really effective visual presentations, artifacts, and other communication tools -- to rave reviews. I actually think that my non-visualness drives me to clarity in a way that is useful. I don't care about anyone knowing I did it, but I am over the moon that the things I produce are useful to the group, to the mission, to our constituency.
I am thrilled to be back to year-round outdoor fun. Kayaking, hiking, and snowshoeing are all weaving themselves into my life with attendant joy and laughter.
Flower essences are re-presenting themselves for consideration after leading me down quite a road of self-reflection.
My cooking is expanding to a broader range of palate elementals and a casual ease with making things that used to seem out of reach. Haven't bought mayonnaise in many months -- it's ridiculously easy to make (thank you Julia Child!) and fun to flavor. I'm a huge fan of bamboo-infused rice -- 10g of fiber per serving and it's delcious!
We are developing homeness and deepening communication.
My Christmas tree is still thirsty and beautiful. I'm trying to figure out how best to preserve the bits for scenting and shtuff. Anyone know anything about what parts are best to keep? It's a balsam fir, and I'm assuming needles are the mainstay -- just wonder about thin branches, as well.
And now, I must away.
For now.
Lots of love during this season of renewal. Hooray for a new President -- who, although he could never be called a liberal, is at least making useful efforts to shift the national dialogue away from scripted fear politics toward something more functional and meaningful.
-Dot
Copyright 2009 Dot's Stuff. All rights reserved and that's ok.
- Location:In transit
- Mood: happy
Come for a walk with me and contemplate being a Californian who was legally wed, just weeks ago, and who now faces the possibility that the status of her marriage is in jeopardy. Contemplate being a woman who was legally wed in Canada, more than two years ago, and sits in a bizarre grey limbo because her home state has both a DOMA and civil unions. Her marriage isn't recognized there, and married people aren't eligible for civil unions. So, she either remains "single", or commits bigamy.
Contemplate having the entire issue boil down to the fact that her sex chromosomes and those of her spouse, match.
Contemplate the incredible mathematic specificity of this. A couple has, between them 92 chromosomes. In your personal opinion, if one of those is of the incorrect designation, the couple ought not be allowed to marry.
You'll grant quasi-"equal rights", but unless that includes the right to marry, it's not really equal. It creates a separate class of citizenship, populated by couples, based upon your institutionalization of the unacceptable nature of 1/92 of their combined chromosomal array. And it gets weirder, because if one of those two people elects to have her legally-defined sex designation changed? They can get married. So, it actually comes down to less than a chromosome. It comes down to a perception of gender and the privilege that should/does confer.
Where does that trail of amorphous definitions end? If a masculine woman marries a feminine man, ought they to have to change their legal sex definitions? Ought he to be the nominal Bride and she to be the nominal Groom? (A hint: I'm taking this to its extreme, intentionally.)
Just sit with that for a little while. Think about the toll it takes on American creative energy when people spend minutes of their day trying to figure out whether or not they are married, in a given context. Think about the white noise of distress the uncertainty brings as its tenacious attendant. Think about your promises regarding security.
A note, Mr. President-Elect: I don't feel secure.
One of your Harvard professors described you as quite conservative, would've predicted you to be a Republican, and a Mayor, and your wife as a Republican Presidential candidate. You have openly expressed that you, personally, do not support same-sex marriage. Watch out for how that shapes your policy.
Contemplate the nature of governmental marriage. It can only ever be a civil contract in a country that requires a separation between church and state; a country that is based, in part, upon a conviction that religion is a personal matter. Civil contracts are a governmental matter. So, whatever your religious feelings about same-sex marriage are (and let us bear in mind that the denomination to which you belong was one of the first to sanction same-sex weddings), there is not a need for a separate civil contract process. The one in place works perfectly well.
There's no blood in the streets in Canada. The heterosexual divorce rate has not sky-rocketed since the legalization of same-sex marriages. Same-sex married couples have a better track record regarding divorce than evangelical heterosexual couples. Wouldn't that tend to suggest that we could have a stabilizing effect on the institution and on our communities, rather than the converse?
Another thing: are you prepared to offer the same set of rights to heterosexual couple who choose not to marry?
As you continue to ponder the roll out effects, what about the physical costs? When you create a new category of status and citizenship, not only to you institutionalize segretation, you provide a requirement that all forms be re-drafted to include the new designations and all database structures be altered to the same purpose. As someone who used to work in complex data modeling and complex relationship database design, I'm here to tell you that it is not as simple as it sounds. It can be a real money drain -- and that's not counting the soft money costs of the limbo land of couples holding multiple status designations, nor the bureaucratic nightmare that entails.
What are you communicating to other sovereign structures regarding your respect for their judgment? You will acknowledge the marriage license of a heterosexual couple married in Canada, but not a same-sex couple? How will you vet them on the paper trail end of things? The marriage license applications in Canada do not describe the sex or gender of either applicant. What if the two names are Robin and Chris? How does arbitrary disallowance of licenses granted by a friendly nation line up with the spirit of collaboration?
It's a lot to think about. Your policy stance offers an incredibly complex, disheartening, insecure, expensive, and disempowering result. The amount of time I've spent writing this could have been put to better creative use. The time I spend contemplating the daily labyrinth and my status/non-status circumstances results in unhappy chemical processes in my body. Might that affect my health over time? The time my spouse and I put into considering leaving the country is sadly used. Is it ok with you to lose an innovative genius in childhood development and curriculum development -- who specializes in science? That's my spouse. I'm probably significantly less critical to America's success, but I like to think that I contribute in my own small ways. Is it ok with you if we take the resources of our minds and labor to another country, simply because it will imbue us with full citizenship? Is it ok with you that our families will suffer the loss? That our nieces and nephews will lack close personal relationships with us, as extended family members? That our aging parents will have to rely on themselves and others as their needs increase?
Is it ok with you that the net effect of your relegating us to an Other Than Full American Citizen status results in psychic trauma? It seems so inconsistent with your general message of hope and collaboration that I'd like to think not. Unfortunately, your policy statements and replies to direct questioning suggest that this may be the exception that proves the rule.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not hating on you. Nor can I jump for joy over you, though. You see, you don't consider me your peer. You don't consider me as equally deserving of the privileges you enjoy, that your parents enjoyed -- however briefly. So, how cool can we really be?
Contemplate. That's what I ask. Contemplate.
- Location:my mind
- Mood: contemplative
- Music:love
Yesterday, for the first time since The Fall, I wore a mock turtleneck under a long-sleeved polo shirt. This may sound relatively unremarkable, but I'm here to attest that it was comfy, cute, and yummy. White mock turtle and pink polo. What is remarkable is that I could also tuck them in to belted slacks and not look lumpy. (Right. That's what I said. And now, I suspect, light dawns for those who'd been facing west.)
This morning, I jumped outside with TB without even thinking about the temperature, because we've got a programmable thermostat and I set the heat to come on half an hour before I get into the shower (do not like the cold naked body walk into hot shower, then wet warm body into cold air thing). As I stood out in the wind, with only a lightweight mock turtle and a cotton cardigan I thought, "I must be out of my mind." As I watched Gus be choosey about where, when, and whether or not he wanted to poop I thought, "Son, you must be out of your beagle mind!" Trub was much more accommodating.
Home tasks loom for the weekend. Need to figure out how to keep the mudroom door (for lack of a more accurate descriptor) from blowing open and, thus, effectively eliminating any insulating effect on the inner door. Need to either get the key out of the lock in the downstairs closet, or capitulate and call a locksmith (I vote for option two, and for waiting until spring). Need to buy felty stuff for door edges. Need to program the button in my car to open my side of the garage, so that I can give my garage door opener to the dog sitter (we will NOT be shoveling the front walk this year). Want to rent the carpet cleaner and do floors and furniture now that it's coming on Closed Up House Months. I might put that last one off a week, particularly since yesterday was pricey.
Pricey Number One: On Sunday, Doc's Trailblazer decided that 70k miles was enough for one alternator, ThengCueueBeddyMawch, plus her inspection was due. $620 later... It's running like a top. I'm all about the fact that the brakes and alternator presented themselves long before it got to be dangerous outside. Thank all that is!
Pricey Number Two: I don't recall whether or not I mentioned that the ophthamologist my doc sent me to see re: eye stuff from the head injury put me in glasses. He did. I've been wearing them since mid-September and they do make some difference -- enough that I was inspired to see if tweaking a bit more might make a bigger difference. My follow-up appointment was yesterday and we agreed that a tweak was in order. However, it also meant: prescription reading glasses (because my correction includes prisms in both lenses) and prescription sunglasses (because I wanted rimless regular glasses). I'm turning my first frames into the reading glasses because I have not got used to seeing the frames all of the time and find it disorienting when I'm moving around. Sind most of my reading is done in a relatively stationary position, I'm thinking it's a safer bet. I'm going rimless for the normal ones and I think I'll like that much better. Meanwhile, I'm really stoked because I think that my reading endurance is going to improve a lot. The prisms have taken such a load off of the muscles of my eyes that they sometimes actually feel relaxed! It rules me out for contacts and I don't care.
OK. Time to get back to work.
Vote.
~ Dot
Copyright 2008 Dot's Stuff. All rights reserved. Vote. Really. Do it. Thoughtfully. Consciously. Genuinely. Vote.
- Location:Work
- Mood: happy
- Music:Wynton Marsalis
Let's see...
The final installation of the Showtime/The L Word Celebration of Love Sweepstakes prize(s) that I won is fast approaching!
( Read more... )
Copyright 2008 Dot's Stuff. All rights reserved. I'd be happy to slip you some skin, however...
- Location:Home
- Mood: bouncy
- Music:puppy snores
The wise commuter brings more than one kind of cheese and merrily substitutes Gjetost for Brie.
That is all.
- Location:Work
- Mood: creative
- Music:Soul Vaccination [Tower of Power]
Profile
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
dottie_dear- Dottie Dear
Syndicate
