Blatantly political

Sorry, folks, but politics is too much on my mind tonight. So is indignation. I listened to a most informative Diane Rehm program this morning. The general impression I got was that the Republicans are going to shut down the government as sort of an advertising gimmick, preparation for the 2012 budget. A Republican legislator has already drafted that budget which will, in the words of one commentator, take us back to the days before LBJ's Great Society, even before FDR's New Deal. Ummm, wasn't that the Depression? And it has nothing to do with Planned Parenthood. The Republicans are using that as a weapon so they can shut down the government and blame the President. According to what I've heard and read, it's a risky tactic that may well backfire on them as closing the government did in the 1990s when Newt Gingrich and his buddies shut down the government. President Clinton gained stature in that one. May the same thing happen again.
That the Republicans are willing to shut down the government, sending military forces and government employees on forced leave, closing down everything from the Library of Congress to the Smithsonian as a grandstand move is beyond comprehension. And yet members of Congress will not be affected--they'll get their payhecks. It' time to reform Congress and the rules by which it governs itself.
To me it's also beyond comprehension that Republicans are so concerned about the life of a fetus but then so willing to abandon children once they're born. So far, they've targeted women, children, the elderly, the disabled, and the military. But never corporations. It does not make one proud to be an American.
I am hearing rumors--TV, Twitter, etc.--that many leading Repubilcans, including Governor Mike Huckabee, have urged Rep. Boehmer to let it go. Planned Parenthood, according to Huckabee, is an infintestimal issue. Some predict a compromise before midnight, but I'm not sure. I hope I'm wrong, but I think having gone this far, Rep. Boehmer is not going to turn back. It will be on his watch--and his conscience--and may the voters realize that next time they go to the polls.
I''m watching an Army wife in Germany who says her family will suffer if that have to go one week without a paycheck. "It makes no sense to me," she says. "What are they fighting about?" What, indeed? Egos? Power?
Apparently no one expects the shutdown to last past the weekend--it is after all for show and absolutely meaningless. Kudos to President Obama and Senator Reid for not being bullied.

Finding yourself through memoir

My memoir class met tonight for the second session of the spring semester. It simply amazes me how those women have bonded and will share the most personal secrets--sometimes blurting them out, which is what I did tonight. Something we were talking about touched a nerve in me, and I told about an incident I had never ever mentioned to anyone--not my bad, but that of someone close to me at the time. It's wonderful to be in a group where there is such trust--what is said there never leaves that room. And, as Jordan always warns me, "Don't blog about this, but . . . ." and then she proceeds to tell me some tidbit. So, no, I can't share. But take my word--it's fascinating. This much I can share:
One class member recounted a story about a strange woman she met periodically over the years, and she said it was only in the writing that she realized the significance of those meetings and the message she was supposed to get from them. Memoir is indeed a way of discovering yourself. Another woman described her parents' descent into old age, and I suggested I wanted to hear more about her, more about how she felt. We have moved into fiction, and one woman read a part of a short story that was gripping, though she had some things to work on.
The whole time I was leading the class, I was babysitting--sort of. Jacob was in the back watching a DVD, but close to the end of the class he called for me and said he was hungry (I had bought a Lunchable for him that he despised) so Linda and I collaborated on fixing a pbj. He came in to greet the ladies as they arrived and charmed them all. After they left he was through with TV and decided to follow me wherever I went--we had some interesting conversations, but it's no wonder I find myself bone-weary tonight.
I did mention to the class that this morning I heard Diane Rhem interview a woman named Stacy Lannert, author of Redemption, a memoir about her father's sexual abuse of her and her sister and her ultimate act of shooting him, for which she spent time in prison. In the interview she came across as a remarkable woman, charming, open, frank, and dedicated to seeing that no children suffer as she had. I recommend the book highly, even though I haven't read it. It sounds like everything a memoir should be--looking back and making sense out of your own life experiences. That's what I hope I can lead these women to do--and maybe do myself. I'm going to write a piece for next time, though I never read my pieces unless we run out of class material.