Is
it possible, right here in Washington, DC, a few days ago, on Friday, January
26, that our outdoor temperature really reached 80F or 27C? That’s what the thermometer
actually said. We certainly didn’t expect that weather to last, but we did enjoy
it briefly. The Washington Post
described it as the highest observed January temperature here since records
began in 1872.
Since I am still among the living, let’s celebrate my own life and yours for as long as we both shall live. Flowers blooming now on my back sunporch have raised my spirits.
In the wake of my Covid illness and ongoing recovery, son Jon, who calls me daily, recently gave me a simple cognitive test over the phone, which, not too surprisingly, I passed with flying colors. “When were you born?” “Where?” “What was your mother’s maiden name?” So now Jon has decided that my bout with Covid has not noticeably damaged my intellect. The same basic test used to measure dementia once prompted Donald Trump to brag, “I totally aced it.”
Our earthly human lineage goes back countless centuries, well beyond the reach of recorded history, back for untold eons to distant ancestors we will never know. Yet we owe them our very existence today. Let’s keep humankind strong and our human life continuing on.
Post Covid, I’m so glad to still be alive and breathing, back again in easy communication with family and friends all around the country and the world, now able to go out onto my own front porch to just take a breath of fresh air. After my recent Covid recovery, it is such a blessing to see everything again through new eyes. Carpe diem.
I do support all human life, not only the future life of someone not yet born, but even the life of someone convicted of murder, as in the case of Kenneth Smith of Alabama, who has now been executed. Yes, he participated in the wanton killing of another human being, but how does killing him ever bring her back?
Guardian, Nearly 65,000 US rape victims could not
get an abortion in their state, analysis shows
These
numbers reflect what has happened in the US just since the overturning of Roe.
Many of these women have now given birth to a child reportedly conceived in
rape, as still happens every single day all over the world.
In Latin
America, I’ve known countless women caring for a child they insist was the
product of rape, though some rape stories appear a bit shaky. Whatever actually
happened, nearly all of these women then gave birth to children with whom they have
bonded, treated no differently than their other children.
Now in the
US, a baby allegedly born of rape may be relinquished for adoption though not always,
as many still stay with their birth mothers. I certainly do not condone rape,
but it apparently has happened fairly often throughout human history.
Sometimes the line between rape and consensual sex is disputed, as demonstrated by E. Jean Carroll, who just won an $83 million lawsuit against Donald Trump, who had argued that “she is not my type.”
NYTimes, Carroll Promises to Do ‘Something Good’ With a Fortune Won From Trump
Quite a few
celebrities and movie stars have claimed to have been conceived via rape, and numerous
everyday citizens likewise. Not to excuse Mr. Trump, but is rape really such a
rare crime or is it actually a rather common sexual practice?
A man usually
initiates sex with a woman (someone has to make the first move) and often then pressures
her in the process. How much sexual pressure is considered too much? What is
the crossline defining rape? Not to justify rape or unwanted pregnancies, but,
in fact, many or even most human conceptions are surprises or accidents or have
occurred after a man has pressured a woman. As for the frequency of accidental pregnancies,
were our own parents actually wanting or even expecting us to be born?
People, Police Tell Public to Avoid ‘Unhelpful’ Comments About
Newborn Found Alive Inside Shopping Bag
A baby girl
was found inside a shopping bag left at a London intersection in subfreezing
temperatures. A search for the mother has ensued.
Miami
Herald, Newborn found in car seat under blankets
behind Mississippi dumpster, cops say
This birth
mother may have wanted to avoid being questioned and from having to involve the
father, deciding to just walk away and go on with her life as if the birth had
never happened.
People, Couple Adopts Boy Surrendered at Fire Station as a Newborn:
'He Was an Answered Prayer'
This baby had been surrendered at a Kentucky fire station accompanied by a note from the birth mother.
The so-called “right to bear arms,” first enshrined in the US Constitution, referred to guns being used then by organized “militias.” Only in 2008 and later in 2012, due to concerted efforts by the NRA, did the Supreme Court come to support the right of ordinary citizens to keep guns for individual self-defense, resulting since then in many gun deaths by accident, suicide, and murder-suicide at home within families. CNN, Children and teens are more likely to die by guns than anything else Gun deaths for children and young people now surpass those for auto accidents.
No countries are pure democracies, as most favor particular ethnic and religious groups and, of course, certain languages, with English now dominant around the world.
I was born and raised right here in the USA and have no Hispanic heritage, but sometimes find myself thinking or even dreaming in Spanish. That’s really not too surprising, since I am bilingual, told that I speak Spanish with no gringo accent. I’ve picked up the language on visits to Spanish-speaking countries off and on throughout my life. My speaking ability served me well during my 3 ½ years as a Peace Corps health volunteer in Honduras, where I was excused from Spanish language classes required for other volunteers. After Peace Corps and right up until the pandemic, I worked for 17 years as an on-call Spanish medical interpreter in the DC area after passing a rigorous oral test. Will being bilingual actually help protect me from dementia, as is alleged? Vamos a ver, we shall see.
After having given up my interpretation work, then falling ill with Covid, I’ve now also resigned from my 43-year volunteer position with Amnesty International to make way for a new Caribbean Coordinator. My successor turns out to be someone actually mentioned in my Confessions book, Ted Henken, a professor at Baruch College in NYC, a man around the age of my own kids, so I hope he will stay active for at least the next few years. Ted is fluent in Spanish and also speaks French, so I’m relieved to now leave Caribbean human rights concerns in his capable hands.
UPI, Dexter Scott King, youngest son of Dr. Martin Luther
King, dies at 62
I’ve known a couple of older men who have died of prostate cancer after choosing less impactful hormone therapy, gambling that something else might kill them first. Removing the prostate often affects male sexual performance, prompting many men to avoid it at all costs, even though surgery would probably prolong their life. If caught early, the prostate or a portion can sometimes be removed without impeding a man’s ability to have an erection. A friend dying of prostate cancer after opting to retain the organ admitted to me before his death that he would have not considered his life worth living without being able to engage in sex, so had no regrets about his decision to forego surgery.
Another male friend has insisted to me that
men and other warm-blooded male animals are naturally polygamous and also sexually
promiscuous, while admitting that females of their species tend more toward
monogamy and trying keep the mate around to help raise offspring. There is some
support for his view, as testosterone, the male sex hormone, the main impetus for
seeking sexual coupling, is considerably stronger in men than in women and may also
propel them to seek more variety among their partners. Men’s natural licentiousness
was a friend’s excuse for constantly pursuing multiple liaisons with different women.
The internet proved to be a boon for him, allowing him to keep on meeting new
women. “It’s simply in my masculine nature to seek variety; I just can’t help
it,” he would argue with a smirk, throwing up his hands. But it was also in the
nature of many women with a more monogamous bent to have rejected him.
NBC, Nearly 30% of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ, national
survey finds
If this identity trend holds up, it just shows once again how humans continually influence and mimic one other’s behavior. That is the basis of all culture. A trend or fad may then continue on for a while until there is a backlash or course correction. Mores and accepted practices constantly ebb and flow, with no particular behavior ever written in stone and with no human habit, fashion, or cultural practice continuing on indefinitely. Some of the anti-abortion and traditional values sentiment seen resurging here in the US today is a reaction to what many regard as excessive libertinism. No one is an island. Accepted practices can move either backwards or forward. We all influence and are being continually influenced by one other. (And I must note now that vinyl records have once again become a thing.)
This is a very unfortunate development for the
long-suffering people of Haiti.
Wash. Post, U.N. court orders Israel to
prevent civilian deaths in Gaza, but no cease-fire
Wash. Post, Israel-Gaza war live updates: South Africa welcomes ‘landmark’ ICJ
ruling, Israel vows to continue war
The International Court of Justice ordered Israel to
prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, but stopped short of calling for a
cease-fire.
An Israeli
official reportedly had even suggested dropping an atomic bomb on Gaza, which
must be considered just a bogus threat. But Israel has lost its once-sterling
reputation in the court of world opinion. Israel seems to have already started tempering
its fierce assault on Gaza in the wake of South Africa’s genocide accusation. World
opinion does matter.
NY
Times, Where Is Hamas Getting Its
Weapons? Increasingly, From Israel. The very weapons that Israeli forces have used to
enforce a blockade of Gaza are now being used against them.
Telegraph, ‘In the
name of God, go’, ex-PM tells Netanyahu
Ehud Barak, former Israeli Prime minister, has urged Netanyahu to resign and for Israel to hold new elections.
Israel is not unique in having a majority religious, language, and
cultural identity, in this case, an identity based on Judaism, which had provided
the rationale for its original founding not so very long ago, just within my
own lifetime.
The horrors of the Holocaust had provided the impetus for carving out
the nation of Israel as a refuge for Jews. This new homeland was then located in
a territory already occupied by other ethnic and religious groups for
generations. No effort was made to integrate newcomers with existing residents,
rather, the old residents were driven out, causing tensions and conflict ever
since. Locating Israel elsewhere had been considered but was rejected by
Zionists, who had been pressing for a mid-East homeland ever since before the
Holocaust. With American pressure required to make it happen, Israel was then established
in the Middle East and Jews from Europe moved in, to the detriment of preexisting
occupants who were expelled and have felt aggrieved ever since about their
exile. Palestinians were not in any way responsible for the Holocaust, after
all. The future now more than ever needs to include a Palestinian state.
The US does not favor any religion or ethnicity in law, yet history and
custom have had a major influence on our own national development. In religion,
Christianity is dominant here, though the number of non-church affiliated is growing.
English is the common American language, as well ascendant now worldwide. Is
the US actually a democracy? We certainly like to think so.
Is Israel a democracy--is Palestine, even though not a recognized country? That depends on the definition. Are democracies always the “best” forms of government? We here in the US support the right of a majority of inhabitants of a recognized political entity to decide their own fate. Therefore, probably most Americans would support the right of Palestinians to govern themselves and to have their own state, despite Israel’s opposition.
My friend Nina Shea has written a provocative article
for National Review:
A Weaponized Church Is a Threat
to Ukraine
The
thoroughly politicized Moscow Orthodox Patriarchate has been instrumental in
supporting Russia’s unjust war.
Just
before Christmas, the Ukrainian government added Orthodox patriarch Kirill of
Moscow to its “most wanted” list, its latest move against the Moscow
Patriarchate and its affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Ignoring the
larger church–state context, Tucker Carlson and other conservative opponents of
military aid to Ukraine have been quick to accuse Kyiv of persecuting
Christians. Yet, Ukraine has the right to defend itself from Russia’s
aggression, and that should include defending itself from a weaponized church.
She has another article in The Hill: The political show trial of Jimmy Lai now underway in Hong Kong
