Catherine Seipp has some excellent points about 9/11, Islam and the KKK. I think she underestimates a few things. The insular nature of many Muslim communitites makes speaking out risky in terms of physical safety but also in terms of ostracism. It's not easy to take a stand against people who would cut your head off without a thought. If I were in Northern Ireland and I had kids, I'd probably keep my head down for fear of punishment beatings, or worse, kneecapping. No thanks. As Mel Gibson said in The Patriot: "I'm a parent. I haven't got the luxury of principles." That said, if a few brave souls do stand up to those in their midst, I believe we will see a watershed of change. The first steps are the hardest.
Quarantine 2008 has ended
Fair warning: possibly graphic post and not for the squeamish. So it all started Friday night. Wife and I had a long day (as usual) and had finally finished with dishes, laundry and the rest of the normal daily grind. The baby had been fussy most of the day and had spit up here and there. Mostly we thought it had been switching from formula to milk which can sometimes cause this type of thing. By the time kid #4 rolls around you tend to let these things slide. If this were #1 we'd have called in a medivac at the first sign of vomiting in a 1 year old. He finally calmed down and we got him off to sleep. We watched a bit of The Wire and retired (very) late. About 10 minutes later #2 wakes up crying complaining of a stomach ache. I ask if he has to go to the bathroom and he says no, it's not that. His stomach really hurts. OK, into my bed and I'll get the heating pad for a bit. We get him settled and he calms down. Knowing that he tends towards the dramatic, I s...
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