Easter Weekend

Mom and dad arrived in town last night, and the in-laws arrive tonight. Busy weekend ahead. We went to Holy Thursday mass at St. Matthew's so we can go out tonight (maybe burgers? LOL).

It's a busy hectic time, but it's so nice to have them here and have family nearby. We get so busy all of the time. We don't slow down, we don't focus on faith and family and time together. My parents aren't getting any younger. Well, neither are we. But seeing them slow down, or step tentatively, or squint a little harder at a map, it's all a stark reminder that we should be grateful to have this time away without commitments or dad having to get back to work. It's a time of peace, and family, and a home together. And it's time to remember during the holiest week of the year. Gay marriage has dominated the headlines these last few days. I don't begrudge those who want that "right" for themselves. But a traditional definitely of marriage and family is one of the Catholic Church's longest legacies. And it should be treasured. Marriage is marriage, right? Civil unions and legal commitments are another.

I digress. Happy Easter.

Car Search

Well, I think the Jetta is about to meet its maker, because we aren't going to spend $2500 in repairs for a car barely worth $2500. So we're on the market for a new car, maybe an SUV, a smaller one, and I'd prefer something American (can take the girl out of Detroit, but not the Detroit out of the girl, right?). The Ford Escape is one possibility, and I am intrigued by the Buick Encore. We know nothing about buying cars, simply because I've only done that once, and not for 13 years. So this is all a mystery, whether we buy new or head to Carmax.

Anyway, I will have many memories of the Jetta. All of the times we took it to the shop. When it told me to STOP driving and pull over. When it started violently shaking on the Memorial Bridge. All of its failed inspections. When we didn't think it would make it to the beach after leaving the dealership. The check engine light coming on as he left the dealership. The broken mirror resulting in the chain reaction leading to the beer bottle incident. The fender benders. The sunroof getting stuck. Ah, so many memories, so few of them good. We're more than ready to move on.

Nothing Right About This II

In a Post Style Section article about daddy-daughter dances at a Richmond jail, there are some disturbing comments about such an old fashioned party. No, it's no disturbing that the fathers are in prison. It's that "daddy" dances exist at all.

The event in Richmond is just one example of the alternative father-daughter dances springing up around the country amid growing concerns that traditional father-daughter dances are exclusionary. Their detractors say they are outdated, discriminatory and sexist and that they no longer reflect what American families look like. For starters, according to 2011 census data, more than half of all children in this country are raised by unmarried mothers.

“The whole idea feels very 1950s,” said Peggy Drexel, author of “Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughters, Fathers and the Changing American Family.” “I mean, do you invite your sperm-donor dad? Today’s America has the daughters of donors, lesbians, two gay dads. . . .”

In October, school officials in Cranston, R.I., banned the dances — along with mother-son baseball games — after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint citing discrimination against single mothers, as well as gender stereotyping. “It’s ‘Ozzie and Harriet’ stuff — it shouldn’t be happening in this century,” said Steven Brown of the Rhode Island ACLU. “Not every girl wants to grow up to be Cinderella; some might actually more enjoy playing baseball. But these types of stereotyped events promote an opposite impression.”

One indication that times are changing: The Girl Scouts of America have given some of the events new names, such as “SAM” — significant adult male — dances or “Someone Special and Me” dances. There are also new events replacing the dances, such as the “Daddy-Daughter Boot Camp” for Girl Scouts on Fort Belvoir.

Yeah, some kids don't have a dad. Sometimes their fathers died in Iraq or passed away elsewhere. But sheesh, because this is so out fashioned--the concept of two married, heterosexual parents--we should ban this? Is everything about not offending some PC-version of America? I applaud the opportunity for young girls to spend times with their fathers in this piece, and I'm sorry it had to occur like this. But the entire convoluted piece should not be some commentary about the role of fatherhood. Ultimately, it should press that what children need are two parents, a mom and a dad, in one home.

Nothing Right About This

This is what going on two generations of legally allowed infant infanticide (ie abortion) has wrought.

And the sickening details:

Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, faces the death penalty if convicted of killing seven late-term babies after they were born alive. He is also charged with third-degree murder in the overdose death of a 41-year-old refugee who sought an abortion in 2009.

Medical assistant Adrienne Moton admitted Tuesday that she had cut the necks of at least 10 babies after they were delivered, as Gosnell had instructed her. Gosnell and another employee regularly "snipped" the spines "to ensure fetal demise," she said....

Moton, 35, had lived with Gosnell's family during high school because of problems at home, then went to work for him years later. She earned about $10 an hour - off the books - to administer drugs, perform ultrasounds, help with abortions and dispose of fetal remains from 2005 to 2008.

She once had to kill a baby delivered in a toilet, cutting its neck with scissors, she said. Asked if she knew that was wrong, she said, "At first I didn't."

Abortions are typically performed in utero.

Of course. Because a 30 week "fetus" killed inside its mother is aborted. Killed over a toilet...well that is murder.  Except for that occasional "outside the utero abortion."

Looking Forward To...

1. Spring. It is so effing cold. Today it's about 60, and then it's only getting colder. I really want to file away the winter coat for good.
2. Mad Men returns in a few weeks!
3. Eating potato chips again after Lent is over.
4. Seeing mom and dad for easter.
5. Seeing the new nephew in April.
6. Seeing my friends in Chicago.
7. Getting the garden going again. I will have some success based on what I learned last year!
8. Having the husband home. It's been a long week already, and it's only Tuesday!

Appointed

A lawyer from Washington is coming to Detroit to rescue its finances. Kevyn Orr was the same lawyer who helped rescue Chrysler a few years ago.

Detroit still doesn't think this is needed.

Some of Detroit's Lansing delegation said they felt the city should have been given more time to correct the fiscal problems, instead of having an EM appointed.

“The council presented a convincing and compelling case to continue the consent agreement. I feel they didn’t receive a fair hearing and due process. The city of Detroit and its citizens deserve the opportunity to continue on that path without the interference from an emergency manager,” said State Rep. Thomas Stallworth, D-Detroit.

“In the minds of Detroiters, they feel like an emergency manager is going to come in and fix their quality of life and nothing could be further from the truth. An emergency manager’s job is to fix the spread sheets. And that doesn’t deal with crime or emergency response times, abandoned homes and blight or that my trash is getting picked up at 11:30 last night. How is an emergency manager going to fix those issues," said state Rep. Harvey Santana, D-Detroit.

Well, if a city is broke,  you can't hire police to deal with crime. You can't hire ambulance drivers. You can't demolish abandoned homes. You can't pick up trash. Without money, you can't do anything. Sorry, that's the reality. Wake up.

The New Holy Father

Habemos Papem! Pope Francis, the Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio from Argentina, is the successor to the seat of St. Peter.

It was sort of chilling to watch and wait during the selection process. So much eager anticipation. Apparently, the Catholic church is not as dead as the MS claim it is.

Perfect timing for St. Joseph's Day.

More Attention

Even the New York Times recognizes that Detroit is deeply broke.

The state review team found in recent months that the city’s main courthouse had $280 million worth of uncollected fines and fees. No one could tell the team how many police officers were patrolling the streets, even though public safety accounted for a little more than half the budget. The city was borrowing from restricted funds and keeping unclaimed property that it was required to turn over to the state. In some city departments, records were “basically stuff written on index cards,” as one City Council member put it.

New Orleans 2013

I've been lucky enough to travel to New Orleans several times over the years. Maybe ten time? This year we ate at Domenica on Friday night. The clams pizza with oregano, calabrese pepper, garlic, and olive oil was delicious, though I suspect that copious amounts of butter helped its cause. We also at Commander's Palace, and despite the restaurant being a bit of a pain, the meal was every bit as good as I remembered it last time I dined there a decade ago. The very sherry spiked turtle soup was good, but a bit too much booze. And the shrimp remoulade was delicious. The filet mignon was also just perfect. I wish we had bread pudding, however.

I also saw some of "true" New Orleans at the Maple Leaf bar. The answer to how many people were in the Corey Henry Treme Funktet? Nine. That is how many are in a Funktet. Great music, but we certainly are getting older and slower with our aging livers.

Always a good weekend, but I was so grateful to be back at home.

Kwame is Going to Prison

For a long, long time.

His conviction on public corruption charges Monday is the latest indignity to befall the former highflier.
It follows his resignation in 2008, his 99-day jail hitch for obstruction of justice and another 14 months for violating his probation. Prosecutors may file more charges in the future on questionable pension deals.
"He had it all. The sky was the limit," said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. "And he squandered it."
Smart, charming, politically savvy, Kilpatrick's gifts are hard to deny, said political observers. So are his flaws.
Low morals and poor judgment plagued a public life that pursued pleasure as vigorously as responsibility, said Walter Russell Mead, a Bard College humanities professor who frequently blogs about government.
Along with the criminal charges, Kilpatrick is guilty of arrogance, narcissism and self-delusion, Mead said, adding any reader of Greek tragedy could have told him what happens to heroes besotted with hubris.

Gotta Love It

This guy always makes me smile. We loved seeing him on our commuting days on H Street, and I was happy to see that the Washington Post profiled the backwards runner.

If running backward brought Givens attention, it also helped him focus on what was important in his world. Running became both more pleasurable and more meaningful. He ran slower, but with a heightened awareness. For nearly 30 years he has interacted with his neighborhood, with his city and with people in a way he hadn’t before. He says he feels connected to everyone he sees on his run.
“People feel like they know me on a personal level,” he says. “And when I’m running, I’m really getting into it with the folks. To me, it’s spiritual.”
It leads, he says, to a regular conversation.
“I ask God all the time, ‘Why do you have me running backwards?’ ” Givens says. “But only God knows the answer.”
God may be the only one who knows, but Givens has a few ideas.
“You don’t realize how many people you are changing,” he says. “People tell me, ‘You’re an inspiration. You’re a legend.’ ” He laughs. “Maybe it’s the joy I’m bringing people. I don’t know, but it feels good.”

Snow-Buster

So our busted forecast yesterday made for a day at home. What kept me occupied? Rand Paul's awesome fillibuster, er, snow-buster (don't like filliblizzard). And the principled senators who stood with him were led by Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee. Here's the full list, with Ron Wyden the only Democrati who participated.

The Republican senators who participated in the filibuster with Paul include Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wy.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.).

Detroit Hope

Since so much of what I post about regarding Detroit is negative, here is a more hopeful outlook.

But so much misery also brought newcomers: out-of-town investors who learned of properties for sale at prices unimaginable in other cities and young entrepreneurs, artists and musicians who said they valued Detroit, in part, for its grit and its seemingly wide open spaces, the very elements that had made some people flee. Business incubators, like TechTown, began emerging, and Michigan business executives began reinvesting in the city, among them figures like Dan Gilbert, the founder of Quicken Loans, who has bought building after building downtown. 

Meanwhile, Detroit’s car companies have experienced what had once seemed like the unlikeliest of comebacks after the financial crisis. General Motors and Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy filings and government bailouts to far more upbeat signs — and with investments in Detroit. Not long ago, Chrysler moved its regional marketing team into a downtown building here, and an assembly plant in the city, Jefferson North, was retooled to produce a new version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicles, among the company’s hottest sellers.

Private business is what has sparked the revitalization of one of the most Detroit-like parts of DC: H Street.  Whether it is Joe Englert and his restaurants or the Ethiopic owners and their bakery, small entrepreneurs have brought commerce where there was none, on the street where the riots hit hardest. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here. Of course it takes much more than all of this...

37

So it's been a year of being 36. It's another year older, with little changed. We might get a lot of snow on Wednesday. We have to go to New Orleans on Friday. And the world keeps turning.

I guess I have my own private wishes for the year ahead, and I also hope it goes as well as this past year has gone. There was loss for my friends, but many new babies born. Including a niece and nephew. There were continents explored, like Africa, a place I never thought I'd visit. There were vacations enjoyed and there were miles flown on United.

There were also some hopes and dreams not realized, and there was not always the peace I longed for at times. And there are always some tears and some unfulfilled goals. But there was also joy.

Happy 37th birthday, Lisa. I hope the year ahead brings some of the joy of family time, professional fulfillment, friends, and home to fuller fruition.