Which right is righter?

The Republican party has been trying to recast their war on women as a "fight over religious freedom". Despite the spate of anti-women legislation and rhetoric to the contrary, the Republicans are merely defending the First Amendment rights of religious institutions. And that's commendable. But maybe they should take a look at that Bill of Rights that they are now using to hide their efforts to control women.

See fellas, that document actually protects the individuals' rights over institutional rights. In other words, my right to privacy as secured by the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments trumps your institutional right to free speech. In fact the entire Bill of Rights was created to protect the individual from government and other institutions. So they cannot use the First Amendment to attack a women's right to privacy.

This isn't a constitutional "Hunger Games". The Bill of Rights are not written in descending order. All rights are equal. And in a country that was founded on personal liberty, the idea that any institution would use the Bill of Rights as a cover to restrict personal freedom contradicts the very essence of our Constitution.

No Birth Control? No Viagra!

The Republicans have declared an all out war on women. But in their assault on our reproductive rights, they have overlooked something. A little blue something. They have forgotten that many of them are on the pill...just a different pill.

But unlike the Pill, their pill is medically unnecessary. Erectile dysfunction is not a disease, it is symptom. And it doesn't kill you. Granted, it may cause some men to lose the will to live, but it will not kill them.

Aging men and women alike are obsessed with retaining their youth. Women want to look like they are in their early twenties, men just want to fuck like they are. The male penis shares the same mission as the Starship Enterprise; to boldly go where no man has gone before. But as the "starship" ages, it goes on fewer and shorter missions. And sometimes may not leave the dock.

But while a docked "starship" is sad, it isn't dangerous, and it poses no medical threat to its' captain. Pregnancy, however, is another story. Over 340,000 women lost their lives while giving birth in 2008. I couldn't a single erectile dysfunctional fatality for the same year.

So I am sure the same religious institutions, right-wing politicians, and Faux News commentators that condemn the use of contraceptives hold the same dim view of erectile dysfunction medicines. And if they don't want their insurance paying for women's promiscuity, then it shouldn't be paying for men's either.

And if Rush Limbaugh is calling for women who use birth control to post their sexual liaisons online; it is only fair to call on men who use erectile dysfunction drugs do the same. But no one wants to see old men pretending to be virile. We get enough of that on C span.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Wow, half of 2011 has gone by and this is my first blog of this year. I guess when you're in the dryer, time flies. I know, most people talk about life's ups and downs but my life has been more like a ride in dryer. No sense of up or down, left or right, the only constant is change and disorientation. Well, and on some days, nausea.

Financially, things have definitely been on the upswing. My husband is now fully employed in the field that he loves. But now I find myself on the unemployment line. See what I mean about a dryer? But given the fact that our kids will soon be making that all important transition from home to college in the next year makes my unexpected sojourn at home seem fated.

Don't get me wrong, I have not forgotten the multitude of lessons I have learned during the past few years of economic turmoil, but the opportunity to be fully present for my family during a crucial rite of passage makes a certain sense. I spent the bulk of my time as a full time parent while my kids were growing up and to be home to see it through does give a certain satisfaction. It does not hurt that my unemployment means that I will get paid to be here.

This unplanned hiatus does afford a chance to look at my life and make some decisions. The fact that it coincides with the graduations of my kids, the start of my own metamorphosis via the approach of menopause, and other various and sundry life-altering changes can only be coincidence. Or maybe just a new dryer.

Revelations

My apologies to my handful of followers for my long hiatus from this blog. Ironically, it is not because things have gotten worse, it is because things have gotten busy. I will confess that I don't have a theme for this blog. There is so much to shed "lyte" on, but I can't seem to narrow my focus or to find a shared thread among the chaos.

Now that we are officially a duel-income family, the days fly by. Everyone has a full plate and since my husband and I are still carting our kids around to their activities, I don't have a lot of time to mull over things like I used to do. I have also taken a media break; skipping the cable news, glancing occasionally at the paper, and rarely going online to catch up.

I don't go on Facebook very much. I am finding that I prefer my friendships to be of the face to face variety, or at least phone to phone. My whole life has undergone such a fundamental shift over these past few months, I scarcely recognize myself. I am figuring out what I really want in my life, and what I need to let go of.

OMG! I am undergoing a midlife crisis. Who knew? I have been so focused on the basics of survival and crawling out of the wreckage of a former life, that until I wrote these words I did not realize that I am undergoing a seminal right of passage. Well, this makes things a lot more interesting. Now I have something to mull over in the spare nanoseconds between one thing and another. Now I have a unifying thread I can cling to in the maelstrom. I have found my focus and (gasp!) it is going to be me. Stay tuned my faithful few....

Change I Can Believe In

Today I am happily shedding a little "lyte" on change. After a long, hot, difficult summer, my husband has been offered employment. In a town with the highest unemployment rate in the nation, and the average job search nationwide taking 6 months, that is no mean feat. The job is not in his field of expertise, it is not at a pay rate that we wanted, it is a commission based position, but it is J O B!!

We are still in financial straits, but I am confident that that will work itself out, courtesy of some help from a lawyer. But the important thing is that we now see a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not an oncoming train.

This process has wrought a lot of changes in my life and my family's. It has changed my view of all things material. It has changed my relationship with money. It has changed my definition of success. And while the events that prompted these changes was painful and stressful, I can honestly say that these changes are all for the better.

I have a whole new appreciation for all the things that money cannot buy: family, friends, and peace of mind. I have a whole perspective on our capitalist society and it is apparent that all of us; rich or poor, red or blue, need to rethink our values and priorities as a nation.

A country that does little or nothing to help out the least of its citizens cannot claim to be the greatest nation on earth. A country that pumps billions of dollars into a failed and flawed financial system, while allowing millions to lose their jobs, their homes, and their savings cannot advertise itself as the "American Dream".

I keep waiting for the gun-toting, flag-waving, bible-thumping masses that blindly follow Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and Rush Limbaugh to wake up to the fact that everything they are so angry about cannot be laid at the feet of President Obama, he did not create this economic disaster, he inherited it. When will the Tea Party, with all its claims of being a grass roots, Main Street movement, descend on Wall Street and hold those who authored this tragedy and profited so handsomely from it, accountable?

We need to rediscover the grit and determination that built this country. We need to start nation building again, and start with our nation. But for now, I am going to concentrate on rebuilding my little corner of the universe. But remember, I am just getting started....

Everybody's In The Pool

After an extended hiatus, I felt my muse descend and decided to shine so more "lyte" on surviving this economic tsunami. The last several weeks have been spent exploring places that, until recently, were places only other people inhabited. Collection agency, bankruptcy, and foreclosure are all very real destinations and may be some stops on my summer vacation.

It does help to know that I am not alone on this trip. I can easily say that everyone in my city of Las Vegas has been touched by the crisis. Some have felt a mere brush, while others have been pummelled like a UFC fighter. But like the cliche says, it isn't how many times you get knocked down, what counts is how many times you get back up. And my family and I keep getting back up.

I figure I have an excellent opportunity to demonstrate for my children how to act in a crisis. Actually, they are learning a lot of life lessons during this summer of pain. They learning that credit cards are tools but not crutches. That they should always measure their success by the quality of their life, not the quantity. That what defines you is not your possessions, but your relationships.

I am happy to report that despite enormous stressors, my marriage is thriving. When tragedy strikes, couples either turn together to face the crisis, or turn on each other. My husband and I chose the former, and it has made all the difference.

But I know this event is a game changer for our family. Our lives will never go back to what they were, no matter what the outcome. But that's okay, we are on a new adventure and the important thing is, we are all together and looking forward.

Breathing

I am shedding some "lyte" on survival today. It is amazing how you can find your equilibrium in even the worst of times. Yes, we have no money. Yes, my husband is still unemployed. Yes, the creditors have descended in a calling frenzy. But, that's okay.

Sometimes when what you fear the most finally happens, a sense of relief kicks in. And that's where I am at right now. When the awful moment passes and you find that you're still breathing, that life does continue on and even happiness is possible, a weird sense of contentment develops.

I must admit, there are times when "fear takes the wheel and steers" in the immortal words of Incubus. But I just keep breathing. The fact that I am still employed helps tremendously. I can bury myself for nine hours. And then I sleep for another eight hours. So there are only 7 hours in a day when panic can creep in and that is happening less and less. I am also working out everyday and really helps keep the jim jams away. But really, we're okay.

This experience is an intense exercise in faith, but I will blog about that another day. For now, all I am going to do is breathe in and breathe out.