In the News

Back before I discovered blogs I used to start my day with several cups of coffee as I perused the New York Times and the Washington Post (on line). I would then take my joe to-go and listen to NPR all the way to class or work. I felt informed and enlightened, if somewhat depressed by the state of the world.
However, once I became pregnant I traded in news for blogs. I found it so much more entertaining and comforting to read about childrearing itself rather than the nasty world I was bringing my baby into. They say ignorance is bliss; and I have truly enjoyed a reprieve from stories of Bush’s latest debacle, bloodshed and corruption in the Middle East, rising gas prices, natural disasters, and various degrees of terrorist hoopla (ranging from very real to entirely concocted).

However, the last two mornings I have started feeling like I might want to plug back in and check in on the happenings of the globe. News has trickled to me of the conflict between Lebanon and Israel; the US’ rising concern about the nuclear capabilities of Iran and North Korea; the terrible train bombings in India; and the MASSIVE fires raging in the West. It has made me think maybe I should pull my head out of the sand…or maybe not.

When my mom was here visiting last month, she watched NBC’s nightly news via the internet. After 10 o’clock pm Eastern Time the 6 o’clock news, in its entirety and without commercials, is merely a right click away. So, the last two mornings I have tuned in during our morning nursing session. All I can say is, WOW, I am ready to be uninformed again.

The world seems even more f@#$%ed-up ;-) than when I tuned out last October. It is so disheartening to hear that the USA was the only veto in a UN resolution to condemn Israel’s aggression in Gaza. Bush’s stance that Israel has a right to defend itself seems almost silly. Israel hardly needs defending from Lebanon. They are pummeling the shit (Hey! This is a family site!) Sorry. Israel is pummeling the dookie out of Lebanon right now. Bush should just say what he means: Israel has a right to use as much force as they like to attack any nation that is under the influence of Syria (who we don’t like). Stability in the Middle East be damned.

I am not saying the Lebanon is a good-guy here or anything. But, I believe the military force Israel is slinging at Lebanon is WAY “disproportionate” in responce to the capture of two Israeli soldiers. Of course the whole world knows that is just an excuse for the power play Israel is making; the US is just the only one supporting it. OK, I’m done with the politics. If my husband has read this far into this post he is now annoyed with me and shaking his head: “Damn (insert my maiden name)s!” You can check out my father and my brother’s rants to see what he means! ;-)

Ooo. OK, I’m not quite done. On the other hand, what makes the Big Guy automatically the villain in a conflict? Israel is fighting to survive as a tiny island is a sea of enemies. Let’s leave aside the whole question of their right to exist there; and the fact that they PUT THEMSELVES in the midst of those enemies; and have done NOTHING (ok, almost nothing. Sorry Yitzhak Rabin. Sorry Shimon Peres.) to play nice and make friends. If a nation feels threatened, what determines if it has the right to use force to protect its autonomy? Israel certainly has every reason to feel threatened by Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. However, it seems to me that their current aggression will only increase the likelihood that Israel’s enemies will cooperate to retaliate against them. In much the same way that destroying the infrastructure of Iraq and robbing its people of basic necessities has only increased the number of Iraqis desperate enough to resort to terrorist tactics to retaliate against the USA. Oh NOW I see why Bush is backing Israel on this one! They share the same strategy!

Okay, okay… done. I’m done. We return now to our regular programming featuring Baby Sonny, the most wonderful baby of all time.

My darling baby is now a month old. He is blossoming to quite the little character; a fussy little character. As it turns out there is good cause for him to be cranky. He has a mild case of Thrush (Thank you Grandma Teafoe). For those of you who don’t know (and good for you) Thrush is basically a yeast infection in a baby’s mouth caused by a lack of the helpful bacteria that would normally kill such fungus. It can spread through his digestive track and also appear as a nasty diaper rash. Further, if left unchecked it can spread to Mama’s nipples. Eww…no thank you! Any way, even before we suspected Thrush we had decided that it was time Sonny met his pediatrician, just for a hello. We went yesterday; she was great! Happily, other than this early detected and easily treated case of Thrush, our's is a prime specimen of healthy adorable baby! The Doc was impressed by his strength and neck control.

In other baby news, Sonny has easily made the transition to sleeping in his own cradle. He actually had a much easier time of it than I did. I really enjoyed co-sleeping for that first month, and the first night without him right next to me was heartbreaking. I kept peering anxiously over the edge of the bed and into the cradle to place a licked finger under his nose to check for breath. However, once I banished the thought of SIDs from my head, I slept much deeper than I had next to Sonny. My subconscious could relax knowing I no longer had to be on guard against stray blankets and pillows; and it was a release to be able to thrash about the bed with abandon. Plus, because the cradle is SOOO close to our bed, the transition has had no effect on the ease of night nursing. Plus, Sonny is now getting some use out of the heirloom crib that his Grandpa W. made for his daddy to sleep in. We like traditions in this family!

Well folks, sorry if I bored/offended/annoyed you with my politics. I hope the cute baby pictures make up for it.