My World … and welcome to it!

I see I’ve been quite remiss in posting here. Not that anyone but me is reading my blog but what the hey. It gives me some place to vent if nothing else.

So I may or may not get back to the Ireland travelogue and thus, dear reader, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

No, today’s musings are about the hcg protocol from Dr. Simeon’s and how it’s been working.

FANTASTICALLY WELL. 3 1/2 weeks into the protocol I have shed 18.4 pounds! Almost unbelievable. I’m on a short, planned break for this weekend as we’re driving to Coeur d’Alene to attend a wedding. When we get back Joe is going to start the protocol so I’ll wait to return to the VLCD until Thursday which is when he’ll start.

I’m looking forward to the next 3 weeks and hope I can behave myself a little better than I’ve done in the last 10 days. Can’t believe I was still losing weight anyway. Not that I overindulged in anything just nibbled here and there on nuts and a bit of popcorn at the movies (like 12 kernels until yesterday’s 2nd viewing of Star Trek when I gobbled the last handful out of the bag. Bad Darleen!) But had I stayed on protocol I might have dropped 25 pounds. Who knows?

Well it doesn’t matter. I have plenty on hand to do at least 4 long rounds if necessary. Since I have 46 more pounds to get rid of I’m hoping it will only take this short one and a second long one to get the job done.

And on that note, for the wedding I actually bought a dress. A size 16, thank you very much which I haven’t been able to squeeze into for a couple of decades. OK it’s stretchy. So what. My size 16 jeans ALMOST fit so by the end of the second 3 weeks I’m sure they’re going to be baggy. I cannot wait.

Wow. That’s it in a nutshell. Just. Wow.

I can’t believe the trip is done and we’re back home (3 days already). I had the BEST time even though I’m completely tuckered out.

The trip over was delightful. Not. 6 airports and 5 plane changes and one stop in Heathrow security for a “feel up.” We left Billings at 7:16 A.M. on Wednesday the 8th. Had a nice flight on a 727 to DIA and sat next to a very nice woman who was headed, with family, to Hawaii. I swear to god she looked like she was about mid-20’s and when I told her that she blushed, said thanks, she was 40-ish. Ish being a fine old gaelic word, or so I learned on the trip.

ANYhoo. Her hubby is an emergency room doc and they have 3 kids and were meeting her parents in Denver. They were flying in from Minnesota and it was going to be close. Hope they all made it and had as grand a time as we did.

DIA. It’s big. We all wandered around and finally settled on a small bar/cafe for a bite. Even though I had wanted to go UPstairs where there was a bakery. We finally boarded a 737 to Dulles after learning our 45 minute layover wasn’t going to be a problem because the gate we were leaving from for London was … wait for it … right next door to the gate we were arriving in from Denver.

OK we’re grand.

Oh wait, no we’re not. After arriving 10 minutes early we sat on the tarmac for an HOUR waiting for the big butt plane ahead of us to leave the gate. Good thing we didn’t have to walk far.

All righty then. Boarded the 777 overwater for Heathrow. Jammed into our seats like sardines. Well, it’s a nice plane with tiny screens in the back of every seat and a selection of movies and tv shows playing the entire flight. Am I glad I brought my iPod earbuds ’cause the ones the airlines provide suck. Big time.

Anyway, I watched most of Transporter 3 on the way over. Wasn’t really in to any of the other selections. Had a meal, tried to nap. Actually did sleep a little bit. I have to say the “No Jet Lag” stuff I bought from Magellan’s actually lives up to it’s name. We both took it as directed on the package and arrived tired but feeling pretty darn good. Landing in Heathrow was uneventful. We arrived THURSDAY the 9th at 1P.M. Remember, we LEFT Wednesday 7:16 A.M. from Billings. I’m just sayin’ …

Had to go out and come back in through customs & security and that’s when I set off the security alarm. forgot to take off my watch. I pretended I was in the doctor’s office as the female security guard felt me up in front of everyone. Afterwards I heard the damned alarm going off every few seconds so I wasn’t alone.

We managed to find our way through the maze to the Aer Lingus gate where we had a short wait. The flight over to Dublin on an Aerbus 320 was not much longer than the one from Billings to Denver. BUT …

They dumped us out on the tarmac in front of a small terminal. I ran for the bathroom and when I got back out discovered everyone had headed up the stairs WITHOUT ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS. We had about 45 minutes to get to the next gate for the flight to Shannon. We had to go out through customs and back in through security and THEN we found the REAL Dublin airport which is at least as large as DIA. Our gate was D69 which is about as far out as you can get.

So I was sent ahead to hold the plane and boy am I thankful for all those moving walkways. I’m sure they all thought I was having a heart attack but they sent someone to look for the stragglers and I collapsed on the plane (an Aerbus 330 which was headed to Boston after a quick stop in Shannon).

Well it turns out that one of our number opened his big yap and made some comment about “we should have just bombed the terrorists in the first place.” OH GREAT. One of the words that should never come out of your mouth at an airport and he has to say it in Dublin. I didn’t know it at the time but they are having problems again in the North. Just sweet.

So part of the holdup was he was hauled off to a little room by security. Well DUH. But everyone made it and off we went to Shannon. We deplaned and went to collect our luggage.

Yup. You guessed it. MY bag (along with 4 others including the big mouth) stayed behind in Dublin. Well bother.

We met up with our Tour Director, Maura who, it turned out, is an absolute peach. A real wild Irish rose, she is. She’s a teacher who only needs to defend her dissertation to obtain her Ph.D. from, I believe, Toronto University (or it might be a university IN Toronto). She does a couple of these tours a year and I’m sure she won’t want to be messin’ with the likes of us any time again soon.

After a bite to eat we hopped on the coach (which was lovely!) and Tommy drove us up to Galway where we were booked in to the Clybaun Hotel. We were supposed to join with a group from D.C. but they got stuck in New Jersey and didn’t arrive until late afternoon on Friday. So on Friday instead of starting the tour we went out on a short jaunt to Spiddle and then over to Connemara (which was closed as it was Good Friday and Ireland being mostly Catholic was closed pretty much everywhere). We went back to Galway city center and did some window shopping and had a bite.

On the way up to Galway I kept nodding off and when the coach geared down I’d wake up just a bit and think we were landing again. NEVER, and I mean NEVER, do 5 flights in 24 hours if you can help it.

OK, where was I? So the group from DC showed up minus some luggage (do I detect a trend here?) while my luggage finally showed. Boy it was good to put on some clean clothes!

Saturday was a BIG day since we were combining the Friday and Saturday itineraries. We headed off to the Burren (means rocky place, if I recall correctly), appropriate since it appears that the SECOND largest crop Ireland has (next to the taters) is rocks.

We made a brief stop at Dunguaire Castle:

Where Maura had to restrain on of the “D’s” as the road is little more than a cow path (literally!) and the sharp curves makes it difficult to see oncoming traffic PLUS they drive on the left side of the road so most of us were very confused.

From there we headed to the Aillwee Caves and the Cliffs of Moher. Then on to Bunratty Castle where we were delightfully entertained AND enlightened by the Castle Guide. A dapper little man who thoroughly enjoyed playing to his captive audience. There was also a folk park to visit which showed the town as it had been through the years. I had a lovely pint of Guiness at the pub and the barmaid artfully drew a shamrock in the foam. Way cool!

We stayed in Killarney (Kill meaning “church” in Gaelic, btw) at the Lime Court B&B which looks MUCH nicer on the website than in reality. I will say that the rooms were quite clean but I can’t say much about the “dinner” we were fed at the B&B next door. It was little more than a snack and I think everyone was hungry a few hours later. I know one of the Dads took his girls out for pizza after. Good thing I had a snack bar with me.

Next day we visited Muckross House where I could have stayed a week just contemplating the beauty of the grounds. I swear to you it is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. I’ll put up a couple of pictures tomorrow.

From there we stopped for a demonstration by a gentleman farmer who trains sheep dogs using a series of whistles. Very informative and delightful and well worth the admission price of €5. We then drove the Ring of Kerry and back to Killarney for the night.

I’ll be adding more to this post later but I need to have a cup of tea right now. I’ll be doing a slideshow of the pictures I took and will add a link when they’re done.

Holy snowflakes, we got more snow.

It snowed a good 24 hours. Not heavy though. Had it been rain it would have been a nice little mist.

Sammy and I both worried all day about Blackie. I know the poor little guy must have been so hungry! When I went to bed he still hadn’t been by. When it snows (or rains) I put his dry food dish inside one of those clear plastic (empty) kitty litter buckets set on its side. Keeps it dry and he can eat and see around himself.

Well, when I got up this morning most of the food was gone and there were little kitty footprints in the snow on the deck. After the sun came up (gee I’d like to sleep past sunrise some day) I went and looked and saw how he’d arrived:

Now that snow is pretty darn deep and yesterdays snowfall was fat, fluffy springtime snow. And I KNOW he doesn’t have snowshoes, lol. But he managed to get here. He hugged the side of the house when he left and I saw his tracks across the front deck and saw where he left the side of the house and went across where Joe had shoveled past the front of the garage.

A bit later and looked up and there he was, enjoying the wet food I’d put out for him. Then he was gone again, presumably to get a drink and then go home and sleep a bit. I had stomped out a path for him the LAST snow storm so he could get up and down the stairs to the creek. I hadn’t had a chance to do this yesterday but that didn’t deter him:

GOOD kitty!

So the countdown clock nears lift off. Yesterday I finished up most of the laundry in spite of migraine. Darn those things! Today is bill day and the last bit of ironing. Tomorrow I have a couple of errands to run (don’t worry it’s going to be 50° so most of the white stuff will go away) and packing to do. Tuesday Wini comes out for a quick tour (which reminds me I need to type out instructions, phone numbers etc) and then we’re off! Bless WIni for house/kitty sitting, btw. Now I won’t worry about our furbabies.

Anyway. Allie goes to Bruce and Nancy’s (thanks you guys!) and we’re off to Billings. Wednesday is going to be a loooooooooooooooooooooong day.

We leave Billings at 7:16A.M. and arrive in Denver about 8:30. We have a lovely 3 hour layover at DIA then we takeoff for D.C. (Dulles). 45 minutes at Dulles to change planes and hope our luggage follows suit. Then an 8 hour flight across the Atlantic to Heathrow and 90 minutes to catch our breath before heading off to Dublin via Aerlingus. That’s an hour and 15 minute flight. 45 minute layover in Dublin then off to Shannon. Don’t know how long that one is but can’t be all that long. Then it’s off the plane and onto the coach and I hope I got some sleep or I’m going to miss the first day!

Whew. I have 7 oneMB cards for my camera so plan to take LOTS AND LOTS of pictures. When we get back I’ll get them up as a slideshow like I did with our DisneyWorld pics. No updates while we’re gone because I don’t have a laptop (boo).

So that’s probably it for now. Got lots to do before we go. Man am I excited!!!

as it was the wind. We’ve had no winter to speak of until we passed the Sping Equinox and then BAM! POW! Ma Nature hit us with her best shot.

Here I was standing at the corner of the garage trying to find the driveway. I know it’s under the snow someplace:

That’s the neighbors across the way. and all that white stuff is about waist deep.

Standing in front of the garage doors (you can click on the images below to see the whole thing):

Better shot from the corner of the garage:

View from the front door:

I went out and scraped off the deck because that’s where Blackie’s little house is and it was buried under all the snow. here’s Blackie:

We figure he’s living over in the neighbors old tack shed. Saw him head off that way last night as the snow started. Figured we’d seen the last of him for a while but someone came and ate the rest of the dry food which was in front of his little house, under the bench. Might have been the racoon but you never know.

Anyway, the snow has drifted so deeply in back the poor little guy is not going to be able to get over to our deck for day or two. I sure hope that by next Fall he’s used to me so I can grab him, haul him to the vets and get him fixed and fixed up with all his shots. THEN maybe we can bring him in for the winter. We’ll see.

He’s sure a scaredy cat but he’s getting used to me and he now knows where all the food’s coming from.

One of my daily stops has become The Mudflats where I find a nice dose of political reality from the far north. Yesterday was a sad one because it seems that one of the duly elected Democrats up there has taken it upon himself to “out” the author of that blog.

Why did he do it? It was her choice to remain anonymous and she probably had a very good reason for doing so. He chose to use public time and money to hunt her down and make her public.

Blogs are not journalism. She was not writing for pay but to express her opinion about the state of Alaskan politics. Her blog, her rules.

So today I’m reading about the aftermath and came across another blog which is going into my list of faves. And this is where I have to ask where all this hate and vitriol and just pure fugliness is coming from.

Go on. I dare you. Go to this blog and read the hate mail this woman has received and tell me this is America. I’ll wait.

The vileness of those people makes me ill. As angry as I was over the last 8 years during the Bush (mis)administration I NEVER resorted to that kind of verbal violence. I wrote letters to the editor of the Casper Star Tribune and got bashed almost as badly as Diva has been. Being print, of course the CST wouldn’t print foul language but I took some major personal hits.

What is it with the personal attacks? You don’t like someone’s opinion why do you feel the need to attack them?

You tell me … what has happened to us that we have sunk so low.

That appears to be the basis for the movie/book Watchmen which I finally got to see last night. BTW I thoroughly enjoyed especially the montage at the beginning. But then, I AM of that age so it made a lot of sense to me. Younger viewers have complained that they didn’t quite get it.

Anyhoo. I felt the movie was overly long. They could really have cut about 45 to 60 minutes and still kept the storyline intact. It was also confusing at the start as to when/where we were and who was who. Not overly so but enough to be annoying.

I loved the costumes, the themes, the ideas, but NOT the violence. I know, I know, it’s from a graphic novel and they’re all about violence. But still.

I liked the ending. It really makes you think, does the end justify the means? Who should be sacrificed to save the many? Should anyone be sacrificed? Can humanity be save at all? Or are we forever enslaved to our viler nature?

That’s something I’ve mulled over a lot especially during the last 8 years. Are we worth saving? I have to admit sometimes I look around and think, NO. Mother Nature should wipe us off the planet. Or maybe 90% of us and let us try again. But would that solve the ultimate dilemma of how do we live peaceably amongst ourselves and in harmony with nature? Will we ever figure it out or should we just go gently into that good night?

Overall I’d give Watchmen a B-, 4 out of 5 stars, 1 thumb up.

It was NOT, however, worth the $85 motel room we had to get because it was snowing so hard by the time the movie was over at 10:30 P.M. (only one showing a day in our little town) that we couldn’t see to get home. Yup. That’s right.

We live 7 miles outside of town on an unlit, 2 lane blacktop. We got about halfway home doing 30mph and Joey finally had to give up. We couldn’t see from one marker to the next it was coming down so thickly. We were passed by a Sheriff’s suv and by the time hubby got the truck turned around those tracks were already obliterated.

We crept back to town and made it to the Holiday Inn where we checked in just ahead of another couple who’d spent the previous 4 hours driving down from Hardin, MT at 20mph pulling a 22 foot trailer. She was PISSED because they’d been through this a few years earlier when they’d been stuck here for 3 days AND it was so late the restaurant was closed. As were all the fast food joints in town, it being 11PM and all the sidewalks were already rolled up. bummer.

So we woke up to iced streets and overcast skies. The furbabies were glad we were home and I’m exhausted.

For weeks now, I’ve been waiting with bated breath the conclusion to the monumental tv series BSG. I have wondered whether or not they would live up to the rest of the series of if they’d just shove the viewing audience off a cliff.

I needn’t have worried. There’s a reason this show has been called “the finest hour on television.” It eclipsed even the most beloved show M*A*S*H and has proven that the idiot box doesn’t have to cater to idiots. The acting, production, writing, music … all have been top notch from the very start. And they finished it up that way as well.

The two hour finale had me at the edge of my seat, holding my breath, shedding a few tears, shocked speechless, and so satisfied I would have reached for a cigarette if I smoked. They took every single loose thread from the entire series and wove it together into a sparkling tapestry that completed the tale of a lost civilization. They did it without resorting to maudlin tactics, silly references, or “I’m outta here” boredom on the part of the writers.

It was clean. It made perfect sense. They even gave yet another tip of the hat to the original (loathesome!) series. The original Centurians on the Cylon ship bore an odd resemblance to the original series’ robots. They even wove Bob Dylan’s old song “All Along the Watchtower” into the script so that IT made sense as the song that woke the final 5.

There are a number of books that also tie in to the ideas in the BSG universe, among them Zechariah Sitchin’s Twelfth Planet series:

Twelfth Planet: Book I of the Earth Chronicles (The Earth Chronicles)

And Robert Doherty’s Area 51 series which I SWEAR came about because he must have read Sitchin’s books:

Area 51 (Area 51, Book 1)

And of course, the “granddaddy” of them all, Erich von Daniken:

Chariots of the Gods

They also added spiritual commentary that, again, made sense within the context of the story itself. No religious preaching (I was amazed to find out that the original series had ties to Mormon theology) which was refreshing since they could have easily gone that route.

I tell you, this show was one of the finest efforts ever seen on either the big OR small screen and NBC is crazy NOT to run the entire thing on the big network (they own SciFi channel now) so that more people can see it from start to finish.

As for me, I’m saving up my money so I can buy the entire boxed set when they release it which I’m confident they will do. They’d be nuts not to.

Kudos to the entire cast and crew of what is bound to become a classic of not only the genre but television as well.

I hope the new series CAPRICA can live up to its distinguished forebear.

edited On 4.4.09 to add: Since I wrote the little diatribe below I have done even more research. And by that I mean I finally got my hands on a copy of Dr. Simeons’ POUNDS & INCHES. First I BOUGHT it from Amazon then found a freebie on the ‘net. Damn. What I found is I was thoroughly off base on my assumptions. Yeah, I know never ASSUME anything because it makes an ass of u and me. Not only have I found out WHY this protocol works but I’ve found hundreds of people online who have done this and done it with great success. I’m putting the free version on my site and if you want to read it, just click here: Pounds & Inches Read the document and make up your own mind. I was wrong. As usual.

Here’s my original (wrongheaded) post:

One of our “nieces who are nurses” has been gently prodding me about some diet developed back in the 70’s by some idiot doctor. Basically you get small amounts of a pregnancy hormone and, get this, are limited to 500 calories a day with NO FAT allowed.

I have been trying to come up with some sort of justification for this idiocy but so far can’t think of a single reason why ANYone would do this to themselves.

Here’s my list.

1. If you only have 10 pounds to lose and can’t seem to get it to come off, maybe this would be a way to do it.

2. If you weigh over 100 pounds more than you should and are contemplating by-pass surgery, maybe this would be a healthier way to get some of the weight off.

Well, my “con” list for both of those would be … you don’t learn how to eat properly and will just gain it back and then you’re right back where you started.

Why does everything in our culture demand instant gratification? Why is a quick fix preferred over long standing adjustments and course corrections? I blame tv.

Back to the HCG diet. I finally remembered about 12-15 years ago one of the MD’s in our town was giving “injections” and women were losing weight like mad. I knew one of them who dropped about 20 pounds practically overnight. She had a high school reunion to attend. She looked great. And 6 months later was back to her old weight. Which she still weighs, btw. She didn’t learn anything about proper nutrition, eating healthy etc. But she looked good for 5 minutes.

Over on one of the low carb forums I found a 2 year old thread about this diet. The first page was FULL of the same arguments against it that I was thinking. then the naysayers left the HCG dieters to their own devices. Guess what. 2 years later they’re still trying to make it work.

See, I am an anorexic. It took me years to admit that I have an eating disorder. When I was in my 20’s and early 30’s I stayed thin by … NOT EATING. Literally. Before my weight began to spiral up and out of control I lived on 750 calories a day. I got down to 135 pounds. I’m 5′9.5″ tall. Think Charlize Theron only not nearly as gorgeous. And a lot older. I was thinner than she is now (according to the latest beach bodies photoessay in the National Enquirer) and I had to STARVE myself to get that way. Or so I thought.

But several surgeries with all the attendant toxic drugs, bad eating habits, massive amounts of stress all conspired to throw my body completely out of whack. My liver stopped functioning as well as it was supposed to and the result was (many years later) a kilo’s worth of fibroid tumors in my uterus which resulted in a total hysterectomy AFTER I HAD GONE THROUGH MENOPAUSE. Now that’s ironic with a capital “I.”

It took the N.D. to show me that fixing my liver was the first step to fixing my weight problem. Rest for my exhausted adrenals is helping too.

But the thought, the very THOUGHT, of starving myself on 500 calories a day again? Dear god. That’s like offering an alcoholic just “one” drink a day to cure them of their alocholism.

See there’s a part of me that still wants to be scary skinny. I know it’s wrong. I know it’s insane. But that part is still there. Fortunately she doesn’t get to drive.

As to those poor, confused women who think that taking a pregnancy hormone and starving on 500 calories a day will make them thin, rich, and beautiful … realty’s a bitch. And she’s gonna kick you in the butt.

Boy howdy am I on a rant today. It all started last week when I got my third shipment of food from Jenny Direct.

Yeah, I went back on the diet. After gaining back almost 30 pounds in one year I decided that perhaps eating without a plan might not be the best idea. So after doing a liver cleanse supervised by the N.D. from Billings Naturopathic Clinic, I felt maybe I could tackle the JC diet again. And it’s going great! In 3 weeks I’ve lost a little more than 10 pounds. Yippee!!!

Then I looked at the invoice. Then I wrote my counselor.

It seems that Nestle Corp., in it’s “infinite” wisdom, decided to ditch the “Jenny Rewards” program which gave long term clients a 15% discount. That’s a lot of money. Well, no more. First month was $611. Second month was $577.

I am not made of money. I cannot justify spending THAT kind of money (which amounts to nearly $20 a DAY) on just entrees and a snack daily. You have to add in all the fresh fruit, veggies and dairy “extras.”

I thought about Nutrisystem which is HALF the cost of Jenny Craig and is delivered FREE by my local Schwan’s guy.

Then I thought, WTF am I thinking? So I dug out my old Zone diet books, dusted them off and am busy reacquainting myself with the 40-30-30 plan that keeps, among others, Jennifer Anniston so trim and slim.

I followed it once before and easily lost 2 pounds a week EVERY SINGLE WEEK I was doing it. Plus the added benefit was I WAS NEVER HUNGRY.

So why did I quit? Well, I didn’t, really. I just sorta slid away from it, kept the weight off for over a year then had a total hyst and oh hell, in 10 years added another 40 pounds.

Which brings me full circle to the liver cleanse. Hey. WHO KNEW?! It’s not as “out there” as it might sound. I’ll leave it to those who want the info to do a google search.

So, right now I’m doing one meal a day “on my own” and eating the packaged stuff for the other 2. That should stretch my food out for 5 weeks at which time we’re off the Ireland!!! When I get back I plan on doing another liver cleanse then will really get on the Zone plan.

the other tirade?

HEALTH INSURANCE

@*#()%_^($ thieves. OK. first off, while hubby worked for the railroad we had coverage first with Travelers, then they sold out to someone and evenually we wound up with United Health Care. You remember them? The outfit that saw fit to “reward” the freaking CEO with, what was it? SIX billion dollars?! Or it might have only been one billion. All I know is I saw red when I heard that and am still pissed. All those years of denying a huge chunk of a claim then only paying 80% of what was left. Motherfrakkers.

So hubby retires. All of a sudden I DON’T HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE. Oh shit. So I go to Blue Cross Blue Shield. and pay and pay and pay. $314.60 a month for the last year. with a $5,000 deductible. Mother frakkers. 3 visits to the ND which I pay for out of pocket. $300.

Thank god I’m relatively healthy.

then last month I got a letter. They are raising my premium to $370+ a month. WTF????? so I went to ehealth.com. Filled out the form. Saw Celtic insurance would only cost me $271. OOOOOkay! Applied, was accepted, got the visa hit for $295.58 for the first month’s premium. Coverage to start 3-15.09.

OK. I’m set.

Then Saturday’s mail shows up with a frakking bill for $361.25 for March. WTF!! OVER!!!

So I got to stew all weekend about this. Called, ready for bear. Got a very nice woman who politely agreed to cancel the policy and refund my money. Then called BCBS and was loaded for bear again. Again, a nice CS rep who let me rant about $250,000 parties for top salespeople and bonuses for the CEO.

god I hate apologizing after I’ve blown my top. Well, I didn’t really yell but I wasn’t very nice either. Had to laugh about being a cranky old lady.

So where the frak is the single payer health care? I keep hearing rumblings that Obama is backing away from it because the insurance companies (who along with banks, big oil, and big business in general OWN THE FUCKING GOVERNMENT) are not happy.

Yeah. Right. What about the CITIZENS?

I’ve been over on Huffington Post reading the many MANY responses to the story of the California woman who recently gave birth to octuplets.

Granted, my initial response when I heard of the births was, wow! a litter! But that’s as far as my thinking went.

Not the rabid folks over on Huffpo. They are all for the government yanking her uterus, stealing her 14 children and giving them to foster homes and disemboweling the doctor who did the IVF treatments. Well, maybe not the last one but they are calling for his figurative head on a platter.

What the hell is wrong with these people? Do they actually want Big Brother to come back into their lives. I mean, we just got rid of him. Do they believe that they can insist on this one case and then go back to things as usual?

Perhaps most of them are not old enough to remember the bedroom police of the pre=60’s. When legislation existed telling people what they literally could and could NOT do in the privacy of their own bedrooms.

Do they really want to go down the same road as China where more than one (or is it two?) children is all a couple is allowed to have? Which results in the abortion of female fetuses … boys being so much more revered, of course.

Or is all this hoopla really displaced anger over the state of the economy, the fear of losing homes, jobs, a good way of life?

People are really really angry right now and really really scared. The problem is they are not addressing the real basis of that anger and fear and have, instead, chosen to go on a witch hunt.

What a mess.