She's Right on Abortion

This week I am going to finally do my series of posts about the issues that were in my survey from two weeks ago. The survey is closed, so if you do not know the topics, you will just have to be surprised each day.

Question number one was: What is the "She's Right" view on abortion?

Answer choices were: She opposes abortion; she supports the right to choose abortion; she thinks abortion should be illegal; she thinks abortion should remain legal; she thinks education and outreach is the key to reducing/eliminating abortion; she supports parental notification. More than one answer could be chosen.

First, parental notification, in my view, is not about abortion, it is about protecting parents’ rights. Seven people rightly said that I support parental notification. You can read more about that on this post from last Wednesday, mostly in the comments of that post.

Now I will address the rest of the questions. Five people said I oppose abortion. Those five people are correct. I think that abortion is tantamount to murder. Not just because I am a right-wing Christian fundamentalist, either. I have ALWAYS thought that. I thought it when I was an atheist; I though that when I was an agnostic; I thought that when I was a Taoist; I thought that when I was a Pagan. I have never thought otherwise.

Two people said I support the right to choose abortion. I do not think abortion is a Constitutional right. I even had a class at UVM, where I minored in Political Science, where we learned about all of the cases leading up to and including Roe v. Wade, so I am not as ignorant as at least half of you are itching to call me in the comments section right this very moment.

It is not any kind of invasion of privacy to outlaw a medical practice when that medical practice involves willfully taking the life of another human being, or human being-to-be.

One person said that I think abortion should be illegal. Despite my two answers above, this person is actually wrong. Though I do not think it is a “right,” I think at this point it would be disastrous for our society to outlaw abortion right now.

Today we have two generations of women for whom abortion has never been illegal. Not only that, but these women were in many ways raised, by either their parents or by society, or both, to just take it as a given that if they were to become pregnant before they wanted, they would just have an abortion, as if it is as easy and inconsequential as having their nails done.

To go from that mind-set to a situation where abortion is no longer an option would have dire consequences, which makes the four people who said I think abortion should remain legal correct.

As five people correctly answered, I think that education and outreach are the keys to reducing or eliminating abortion. That really goes for many of societies problems.

I wish that the amount of money that is spent on lobbyists that fight for the legislative ways to stop abortion could be spent on educating pregnant women as to their options, supporting them throughout their choices to keep their babies or put them up for adoption and, of course, educating women before they get pregnant.

My much younger sister always assumed she would just have an abortion if she ever got pregnant, until my mother explained to her in detail what an abortion involves. Now she takes super careful precautions to not get pregnant to begin with. Kind of makes me wonder how many other women could be prevented from aborting an unwanted pregnancy if only they had the facts before they got pregnant in the first place.

It’s a sorry state when the word abortion is tossed around so much that most women never stop to think about what it really means. So much careful attention is paid to the wording of language used when talking about “the right to control our own bodies and our own healthcare decisions,” that people conveniently forget what actually happens during “the procedure.”

Another sorry state is that so-called “women’s groups” are so caught up in protecting a woman’s right to have an abortion, that they have little-to-no interest in helping prevent women from getting into situations where they feel that they have to undergo a procedure that often leaves them emotionally scared for the rest of their lives.

It is a sad commentary on our society when over one million babies a year, and almost as many women, are sacrificed to the political agendas of two opposing groups battling over a 30-year-old court decision. If we could just drop the fight to make abortion illegal and work on educating more women about pregnancy prevention and the reality of abortion, and reverse this trend of raising young women to view abortion as the only right choice when faced with an unwanted pregnancy, I think we would accomplish so much more.

Green Mountain Hard Right

I am hesitant to blogroll a new blog that is less than a month old, but I did want to alert She's Right readers to the newest member of Vermont's vast right-wing blogging conspiracy: "Green Mountain Hard Right!" - the blog of recent She's Right commenter VTPaleoCon.

Check it out.

And I know, I know, I am supposed to post the survey results and use them as the segue into a series of posts about why I am a conservative, but this heat is just not conducive to proper brain function. I spent yesterday at the beach and today going from air conditioned building to air conditioned building.

Thank you to those who participated in the survey. I will get some posts up soon. In the mean time, check out survey monkey yourself because it is so fun.

An interview with Greg Parke

My interview with Republican US Senate candidate Greg Parke on "She's Right: the show" is available to listen to online here. You can download the MP3 or just click play on the little player graphic under the episode title to listen online.

Greg is a really fascinating candidate with a lot of experience that would be very valuable in the US Senate. I think he would make a great candidate against Bernie Sanders, if he had the support to pull off a good campaign.

If you are planning on voting in the Republican Primary, I encourage you to check him out. He offers an appealing alternative to the other GOP Senate candidate, what's his name?

Oh, that reminds me, on an interesting side note, did you know that I have never seen or heard any of the notorious Tarrant commercials that everyone hates so much, except the one I chose to watch online. Isn't that funny? I must live in a cave or something!

Spin is not just a wash cycle

I wonder if the people over at Green Mountain Daily are at all concerned that their latest scare-people-out-of-voting-for-Republicans post contains blatant falsehoods that any two-bit hack could fact check against ANY news site over the past 24 hours.

From GMD:

Say you're a 14-year-old girl and you're pregnant because your father raped you. And say that you live in a state that requires parental notification. Under a bill passed by the Senate yesterday it would be a federal crime for a supportive friend or family member to help you get the abortion you need, even if your life is at stake. That's right, even in cases of rape, incest, or the life of the mother, a majority of the House and Senate have voted to allow parents, no matter how culpable or abusive they may be, to prevent pregnant minors from obtaining the health care they need.

Even this biased and misleadingly titled article from the Burlington Free Press, "Senate criminalizes interstate abortion," notes that "the bill contains an exception for abortions performed in this manner when the pregnancy posed a threat to the mother's life."

By the way, Free Press, the senate did not "criminalize interstate abortion." I, a woman and not a child, can go anywhere I damn well please and have as many abortions as I want. Not a crime.

Whether or not you agree with this law, let’s have some FACTUAL debate on this. Can we at least do that?

While I'm at it, here’s one more fact that you might care to ponder: a child rapist, whether a relative or not, would most likely want his victim to have an abortion to destroy the evidence of his crime, not keep her from having one.

And why isn’t this “supportive friend or family member” going to the police and/or social services about the fact that the girl’s father is raping her? I don’t get that.

Update: I forgot to add that the senate version contained an amendment that made an exception for cases of incest.

Freedom prevails, at least one more day

Update on the Abraham Cherrix case.

A judge ruled Tuesday that a 16-year-old cancer patient who has refused conventional medical treatment does not have to report to a hospital as previously ordered and scheduled a trial to settle the dispute.

This family is not safe from the state yet, but for now, Abraham will not receive chemo and the judge returned full custody to his parents. They are scheduled for an August 16 court date with the circuit court judge.

Read full story here.

Every time I think this country is on the brink, someone steps up and pulls it back. Let's just hope this judge is familiar with the Constitution. You know, that little piece of paper that is supposed to keep the ego-tripping, power-hungry men of government from taking away our God-given rights. Yeah, that Constitution.

What the government is going to do

There are too many poor people. What is the government going to do?

There is not enough housing. What is the government going to do?

Too many people die because they are not wearing their seatbelts. What is the government going to do?

There are too many people who do not have health insurance. What is the government going to do?

What is the government going to do? What is the government going to do?

What happens when we as a society decide that it is the government that bears the responsibility for all of our problems?

What happens is that the government – those people who have made a living by controlling our lives and taking our money to pay themselves for doing it – thinks it has the right to run our lives.

What happens is that a judge can force a 16-year-old boy to pump his body full of chemicals that will make him sick, weak, and miserable because that judge does not respect alternative treatments, because that judge does not respect his right to make choices about his own body, and because that judge does not respect that parents - not the state - have first rights to decide their child's care.

What happens is that social service workers and judges think they have the right to decide personal medical decisions for a child if they have a difference of opinion with the parents.

Abraham Cherrix has cancer, Hodgkin’s disease to be exact. He has gone through chemotherapy before and he does not want to do it again. This time, he decided to try an alternative therapy that involves an organic diet and herbal supplements, under supervision of a doctor in a clinic in Mexico. He did the research. He interviewed successfully healed patients. He convinced his parents to support his decision.

A county social worker did not support his decision and convinced a judge to give partial custody to the state. Cherrix remains at home but was ordered to go to a doctor or face a juvenile detention center.

Then yesterday, a judge ordered Cherrix to report for chemotherapy on Tuesday and give their consent to whatever treatment the hospital deems necessary.

WTF? That is all I can say. What country am I living in?

Wake up, people! It is NOT the government’s job to take care of us, help us, or run our lives! This is what happens when it does.

Next time you think I am so uncaring, naïve, or just plain wrong because I don’t think the government should be in the social welfare business, remember that this is why. Once we start giving the government our power, they will not stop taking it.

Links:
CNN article about the Cherrix's story
Today Show interview with Abraham, his father, and their attorney
A Virginia newspaper story on yesterday's ruling

The blog "Spunky homeschool" - where I first read about this

Burlington's core mission

Ward Seven City Councilor Carmen George (D) proposed that the City Council should direct the city’s Board of Health to work to encourage breastfeeding, in conjunction with the state's Department of Health, the La Leche League, the Community Health Center and others.

The measure was defeated by a vote of 7 to 6.

Progressive Councilor Jane Knodell (ward 2) said that, while she supports breast feeding, this has nothing to do with the city’s "core mission."

The core mission is to tax people out of their homes while providing as little infrastructure support as possible. Er..no..wait..that’s not it. What is the city’s core mission??

John Briggs of the Burlington Free Press wondered the same thing. He has put out a call to readers to have their say about what the core mission of a city government is (or should be, perhaps).

The City Council decided at its last meeting not to involve the city in encouraging breast-feeding. Some councilors said it is not a "core mission" of the city.

What are the core missions of city government, in your opinion?

Send your thoughts to John Briggs, The Burlington Free Press, P.O. Box 10, 191 College St., Burlington, VT 05401; or by email at: jbriggs@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

I encourage She’s Right readers to think carefully about this issue and e-mail Briggs with your thoughts.

Personally, I think the “core mission” statement was laughable given the propensity of the council to consume its time on equally stupid measures. I do, however, agree with the general point that Councilor Knodell, as well as Councilor Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4), made, which is that the city has more important matters to deal with at this time.

You can read the article here.

The council does not have a “core mission,” or at least not one that they adhere to. Maybe it’s time we help them define one.

What do you think it should be? I’ll add my thought later.

Blogs added

I just added a link to Alphecca.com because it is one of my favorite blogs to read.

I also added a link to my other blog, Crafty Mama, in case you want to peek at the non-political side of Charity Tensel (and because I wanted to showcase my mad blog-template-making skills). It’s not all that thrilling unless you homeschool, or craft, but even then it’s not all that thrilling. At any rate, it is in the "about me" section.

In case you hadn’t noticed, I also added a section called, “Blogs I read: the lefty edition.”

I actually do read those blogs. I also enjoyed meeting those guys at the blogger BBQ. And believe it or not, they all have links to She’s Right. Even Odum!

From GMD:

Interesting Local Blog from the "other side"

She's Right, (she's not, usually, but she means well...)

Love it!

I also removed “From the News and Sports Desk” because it hasn’t been updated lately.

And, lastly, I alphabetized the links for ease of reading (and, yes, I know that iBurlington and iBratt technically should not be at the bottom).

So that’s it for the boring blog roll update. I promise more divisive political posts soon!

She's Right - Friday on channel 17

She's Right airs tomorrow evening at 5:25PM on CCTV/Channel 17 in the Burlington area. For those who are not in the Burlington area, or do not have cable, the podcast will be available (probably) Monday.

My scheduled guest is Republican US Senate candidate Greg Parke.

Will we be "Dead Meat"?

The other day, I watched a short film about Canada’s healthcare system entitled “Dead Meat.”

The movie talks about the problems with the Canadian system and the long waiting lists. There is even one guy whose mother died waiting on a list after being bumped twice from surgery. And a mother of three who is waiting to die, I mean, waiting for an operation on what was a small brain tumor.

Anytime people that are opposed to universal healthcare programs bring this up, their concerns are dismissed without ever being addressed.

I know that this debate is mostly happening between two extremes – the free-market people and the government-program people – but that doesn’t mean that neither side should address the concerns of the other.

Okay, say you are a supporter of a single-payer system administered by the government and paid for with taxes, or whatever you propose. If you want to sell me on this idea you are going to have to explain to me your plan to avoid the waiting list problem because it is a real problem that exists in countries with the very same system of healthcare you are proposing.

It is not enough to dismiss me as a right-wing extremist, be that as it may. You are going to have to plan for this inevitable problem and offer a viable solution.

Pretending that the scenarios discussed in “Dead Meat” do not exist will not stop them from becoming America’s reality.

Those who do not learn from universal healthcare’s shortcomings are doomed to repeat them.

Can't take the heat?

Okay, so I don't have anything good to post. I think that this heat is frying my brain.

I was not struck by anything this weekend, so I was going to do a post about why I am a conservative. I think that this is a good time for that because of all the new liberal traffic I am generating thanks to new links on VDB , What's the Point?, and GMD.

I just can't seem to think with buckets of sweat pouring down my face. I think I might just call it a day and go to the beach.

On a related note, I made up a short (6Q) survey to see if She's Right readers know my stance on some of the hot button issues, such as gay marriage and abortion.

These are multiple-answer questions. Pick any and all answers that you think apply.

Click here to open the survey in a new window or here to open it in this window.

I will post the results and the "right" answers next week, along with a post about why I am a conservative.

I would say "enjoy the heat," but this weather just stinks, enjoy the AC if you have it. (I don't. I had this brilliant idea to not put them in this year to save on the electric bill. Needless to say, I regret that decision.)

I will try to have a new post up soon. Until then, you can read my thoughts on the whole scuffle over whether or not control of the after school program in Burlington should shift from Parks and Rec to the School District in the comments field of the previous post.

New posts soon!

I knew I hadn't posted in a while, but I can't believe that it's been this long! My last post was Tuesday.

My oldest son just came home from being in Florida for three weeks, so my husband took a couple of days off work and we have been having family time (after a LONG ride to and from the airport in Manchester, NH).

At any rate, I hope to update before y'all are back at work Monday morning.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

~Charity

Bloggers and pols take over North Beach

(Updated twice)

I had a great time on Sunday at the First Annual VDB/GMD Political Barbeque and Hamburger Summit. I got a chance to meet some of my favorite lefty bloggers - being the only conservative blogger there.

First up was Philip Baruth of Vermont Daily Briefing. VDB is one of my favorite blogs because I like Philp's writing style. It was great to finally meet Philip. He even said that he was going to put a link to She's Right on VDB. We'll see....

The next person I met was none other than Scudder Parker, Democratic candidate for governor. I really enjoyed talking with him and believe that he is genuinely interested in listening to people with other points of view. Maybe I'll even let you all know what we talked about sometime.

Next in line was none other than the one and only Haik Bedrosian from Burlington Pol. My husband happens to work with Haik, so the two of them were talking. As soon as I got the chance, I had to go over and meet the legend that is Haik Bedrosian. We talked for a while. It was cool. For those of you who miss Burlington Pol, Haik plans to ramp up again 'round town meetin' time. Local election coverage is his forte to be sure. I plan to have him on She's Right (the show) for the big unveiling, when the time comes. Stay tuned for that come January.

Then I met John Odum from Green Mountain Daily. He was fun to talk to. He even told me that he tends to be conservative! When estimating the number of people in a crowd that is. No, Odum assured me that he is text book lefty, but we didn't really talk politics. That's what our blogs are for, after all. We were there to have burgers and meet each other in 3D.

Hey, that reminds me, somewhere in here I also met Brattlerouser. Again more pleasant conversation. Who knew liberals could be so friendly! (Actually, I did know that, after all I live in the South End of Burlington, all we have are liberals down this way.)

Just as I was supposed to be leaving, I had a chance to meet Neil Jensen, aka vermonter, from What's the Point?, who just happens to have graduated from the same high school as I did, though he did so six years before I. We had a great conversation. It's always nice to meet someone else from the Rut.

Thank you one hundred times over to the folks at VDB and GMD and everyone else who made this thing fly. It was such a great event. I am already looking forward to the second annual event.

Here is a little link dump with more event coverage (which you probably already read):

Odum is up first with his thoughts, on Green Mountain Daily.
Cathy is bummed that she didn't make it, at 802 Online.
Philip gives thank yous, promises more later, at VDB.
Haik has pics, although they are a little distorted, at Burlington Pol.
Vermonter has lots of pics, with captions, at What's the Point.

Addendum: I have to add that there were a few other people that I met and had great conversations with, but this post was just running down people from the blogs I read.

Update: VDB is in with the official write-up, complete with pics - one of which I am still laughing about. And, just so you all know, I was joking when I said "We'll see" about Philip linking to She's Right. Of course he did.

Another Update: Brattlerouser offers his version of events at iBrattleboro.

In the best interest of the child

Have you read about the mother in Washington State who was jailed for kidnapping in a dispute with doctors over her son’s medical treatment?

Tina Marie Carlsen refused to allow surgeons to implant a catheter into her 9-month-old son for use in future kidney dialysis. Carlsen, who has been breastfeeding, eating an organic diet (for healthier breast-milk production), and using cloth diapers, was seeking alternative holistic treatments for her son’s kidney problems. The doctor disagreed and baby Riley was placed in State’s custody due to “medical neglect,” despite the fact that the child was “not in imminent danger of death.” When the courts refused to stop the surgery, Carlsen took the baby from the hospital. Since he was in State’s custody at the time, she was arrested and jailed for five days and now faces a charge of second-degree domestic violence kidnapping.

This case is disturbing from many angles. First and most obvious, it illustrates the lengths to which the government has usurped our rights as parents to make the best decisions for our children. This was not a negligent mother. She took great care to provide the best healthy environment for her son, even using glass bottles so the nutrients of the milk would not cling to the side of the bottle.

What right does the State have to step in and take over the parent's role when the child is not being abused? How far will the government take this? They already control educational decisions, apparently they control medical decisions; what will they control next? Maybe they will follow the UK and start tracking whether or not a child eats five servings of vegetables a day.

Another disturbing thing about this mess is that the government has clearly labeled alternative medicine as “medical neglect.” Does that mean anytime a parent seeks alternative care for a child, it is neglectful? How far do we take that? Will I be jailed if I give my child Echinacea for a cold instead of Tylenol Cold and Flu?

I knew this man who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer - a certain death sentence - and given 6 months to live. His daughter researched alternative therapies and began giving him an herbal course of treatment. He lived for three more years. Perhaps they should lock her up for elder abuse.

Once we decide to let the State decide what is best for our children, we limit their options to what is considered acceptable by the establishment. Any family that lives outside the norm-du-jour will be open to charges of neglect.

This is exactly why I am rapidly descending into libertarianism. The government needs to stay out of our lives. Period.

Funny, I said this very thing to a certain political candidate that I met at the blogger barbeque/hamburger summit yesterday (I’ll post about that event later) and his response was “how do we keep the corporations out of our lives”? Cute, but off the mark completely. I have never seen a corporation come in and take a child away from a mother (and throw the mother in jail) because she wouldn’t buy their products.

You can read more about this story at the website Help Baby Riley. The sidebar contains links to news articles about this situation.

Political Barbecue and Hamburger Summit - This Sunday

In case you haven't heard, VDB and GMD are planning a BBQ at North Beach this Sunday.

All the great political bloggers are making the trek and there will be lots of other politically-minded people.

She's Right will be there, with husband and kids (aptly named He's Right and They're Right, respectively). It should be a grand old time.

Check out all the details here, here, and here.

Hope to see you there.

Tarrant reveals healthcare plan

In today’s Free Press there was an article that is surely not good for Rich Tarrant insofar as the Republican Primary is concerned. The title? “Candidates' health plans closer than rhetoric suggests”

"There are remarkable similarities between the candidates in terms of the goals they seek to achieve," said Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

That should seriously make any conservative raise an eyebrow.

In reality, there is one key difference that makes Tarrant’s plan far superior. Under his plan, you can still buy health insurance from private insurance companies. In fact, he proposes to make that system even better by allowing you to purchase from any state (there are huge differences in price from state-to-state) and getting rid of some of the regulation.

Under Bernie’s vision, there will be no private insurers. It will be a single-payer government plan. (But, at least you will still get to choose your own doctors, so that makes it all okay).

Tarrant wants to expand the government Medicaid program to cover lots more people – lots more people. I am not exactly sure where the word Republican fits in here, but I have never really thought of Tarrant as a Republican, per se.

If he wins the Republican primary, I will probably vote for him, though. I would never vote for Bernie Sanders because his views are diametrically opposed to my own. At least Tarrant isn’t a socialist.

If you plan to vote in the Republican primary and want a look at the other candidate, the one whose commercials you haven’t been watching for months, check out “She’s Right” on Friday, July 21 at 5:25 PM, when my guest will be Greg Parke. You can even call in and ask questions.

http://www.voteparke.com/

Bad healthcare system or too many fat people?

I was just reading another enlightening column by Peter Freyne of Seven Days, in which he compares the healthcare systems of the US to that of the UK (in the context of a Tarrant commercial).

He points out that “when it comes to deaths from cardiovascular diseases, the UK's single-payer system beats the U.S. -- 181.8 deaths per 100,000 there to 187.8 in the land of health insurance for profit!”

He is not the first to point out that the US had a high rate of this type of illness and many use it to charge that the US healthcare system is substandard when compared to the countries with socialized medicine.

I look at this another way, the US has a high rate of obesity-related diseases because many of us are fat and lazy, which has nothing to do with our healthcare system.

When you compare conditions that are not obesity related – such as cancer – the US comes out on top. A fact acknowledged in the Freyne piece.

I was just reading this story the other day about whether or not to change the current CDC (government) guidelines that direct doctors to not use the word “obese” with children and teens and say the child is “at risk for overweight” when they are in fact already overweight in order to spare the feelings of the child and parents.

I don’t know who they think they are helping. Which is worse, being told by a doctor when you are 14 that you are obese, or being told by a doctor when you are 40 that you will probably not live to see your next birthday due to your unhealthy lifestyle?

The future of America's cardiovascular death rate (and diabetes and other obesity-related illnesses) does not look well, either. 34% of today's kids are in the "at risk for overweight” category (overweight) and 17% are in the "overweight" category (obese). That means that more than 50% of today’s youth are likely overweight.

The fact that America has an obesity epidemic – and a let's-not-hurt-people’s-feelings epidemic – is not the fault of our healthcare system. And it is certainly not a criterion by which to judge a free-market healthcare system versus a government-run one. After all, it was at the government’s insistence that this obesity problem has gotten so far out of hand in the first place!

Herbal Insect Repellent

I hate to use this blog as a product promotion, but I had to tell people about this.

My family tries to use natural products when it comes to lotions, soaps, dish detergent, etc., but often it is hard to find products that are affordable and actually work. It seems that some companies are more concerned with being "all natural" than they are with results.

If you are looking for a natural insect repellent, but are skeptical as to the effectiveness, you have to try Burt's Bees Herbal Insect Repellent. We used it when we went to the fireworks at Oakledge. Despite the swarms of mosquitoes around us, we did not get bitten even once.

It is a combination of Lemongrass, Citronella, and Rosemary oils in a grape seed oil and vitamin E base. My two-year-old said it "smells like tea." And best of all, it cost less than the parking did!

Celebrating July Fourth

Over at Jeremy Ryan’s blog, he has a nice little primer on the new 1% local option sales tax, where he notes, “What a way to celebrate the Independence day, but with a new tax,” and asks, “Am I the only one to see the irony in initiating a new sales tax right before a celebration for an event that started with a sales tax revolt??”

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the great leaders of this city who, as careful stewards of our hard-earned dollars, not only gave us the 1% local option sales tax to avoid higher property taxes, but then so generously allowed us to have both a new sales tax and higher property taxes.

No only that, but they even took it a step further to really give us a joyful Fourth of July celebration experience as free tax-payers of this great city. They decided to also allow us to pay $7 to park at Oakledge Park to see last night’s fireworks and not honor the season park pass that residents doled out 35-bucks for.

I have been going to Oakledge for the past four years and parking there with my season pass, so I can only attribute this latest money grab to the honorable new mayor Bob Kiss.

In honor of his commitment to the poor and his “progressive” principles, I will come at this with a story of a poor, single mother, who worked all day at her non-livable wage job to support her family. Tired - no, exhausted - from a long, hard day at work, she warily gathers her young ones into the family car to go see the fireworks. Having a family to feed, and feeling the extra pinch now that school is out and her kids can no longer have free lunch and breakfast at school, she does not have any extra money. Fortunately, she qualified for a free season pass to the Burlington parks, through a generous program of the Parks and Rec. Department.

She arrives at the park only to be told that this year, under Mayor Kiss’ new city policies, season passes will not be honored for tonight’s event and to add insult to injury, instead of the regular $4 fee for parking, it is $7.

“Just be glad that you’re not at Perkins Pier,” the sympathetically irritated attendant remarks, “they are charging $15 to park there.”

Unfortunately, this mom did not have any money, so regrettably, with crying babes in tow, she drives away. Unable to find parking, she tearfully promises to take them to fireworks tomorrow night – the real Fourth of July. For this is no celebration of independence for the residents of Burlington.

Thank you, Mayor Kiss, thank you. Thank you and all who work for you for understanding the struggles of the people you purport to represent.

I will close with this snippet from Freedom Works’ Vermont chapter:

It is interesting to ponder the emotions we modern Americans traditionally feel on the Fourth of July: Pride, joy, a certain sense of tranquility that unfolds with the picnic blankets on summer nights under a fireworks display. These are very different from the emotions coursing through people’s breasts on the original July 4 in 1776. The founding fathers weren’t joyful or tranquil. They were pissed. Fed up and angry over what? TAXES! Taxes, and a government totally out of touch with or accountable to their concerns.

_________________________________________________

Editor's note: The above story about the single mom was not about any real person. It was based on real circumstances and meant to illustrate one of the many flaws with the City's decision to charge extra for parking last night.

She's Right re-air dates

The "She's Right" episode about blogging from May 19, with guest Cathy Resmer from 802 Online, will re-air on channel 17 at the following dates and times:

Wed, July 5, 2006 at 10:03:00 PM
Thu, July 6, 2006 at 3:03:00 AM
Thu, July 6, 2006 at 9:03:00 AM
Thu, July 6, 2006 at 3:03:00 PM

For those of you without Adelphia cable (or Burlington Telecom), you can also listen online to the podcast here.