Your Liberal smugness, My Corporate Oversight

Wow, it must have been a slow news week if George Will is breaking out the liberal smugness column (What’s Really Wrong With Liberals Today? 9/16). While the country recognizes the 5^th anniversary of 9/11, violence in Iraq escalates, and the march to war with Iran gains steam, Mr. Will chooses to admonish Liberals for suggesting that Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola have less then stellar business practices. Mr. Will, what you see as liberal smugness, I see as corporate oversight. It is very evident that the current administration bows to corporate demands and will do little to curtail corporate malfeasance. What exactly is wrong with pointing out that Wal-Mart is consistently a low wage provider and that they provide few of their employees with health insurance by limiting work hours? What is wrong with suggesting that Wal-Mart buyers bully their suppliers or that Coke might be responsible for abusing the environment? These issues are worth discussing whether it is a Liberal or Conservative who initiates the conversation. As for Wal-Mart’s impact on the economy, the dollars saved by Wal-Mart’s shoppers are impressive, but I also thought the fact that 25,000 people applied for 325 job openings which Mr. Will glossed right over, said a lot more about the state of our economy.

All Pony, All The Time

Yesterday was one of those days. It was one of those days when the forces of depression and despair make a strong assault against the forces of hope and happiness in the never ending civil war for control of Townser’s mind. Their little battering rams bashing against my frontal lobe. Yesterday my daughter turned four. This is the daughter who I have probably spent less than eight months time with under the same roof. This is the daughter, with her Shirley Temple curls, her Mother’s eyes, and impish grin from God knows where, who owns my heart. This is the daughter with health issues that stop her from doing the things that normal girls her age would do, but that does not seem to mind as she is far from a normal girl. As I sit 600 miles away and ache, I try not to think about what brought me to this point. I try not to think about all the bad decisions, mistakes, and lies. I try to be happy. Frankly, I am not. I wish I could make things right, and I wish that I could turn back the clock, but more than anything I hope that my kids can understand how much I care about them.

This was the pony birthday; the birthday where all she wanted was a pony, a live one and a stuffed one. As she said, “I want one for the backyard and one for inside the house” which makes perfect sense in a four year old mind. Hell, it makes perfect sense in my mind. Unfortunately, she had to settle for a stuffed unicorn that she could ride or at least pretend to ride. Fortunately, she did not seem to mind. As I sat last night watching the grainy images through my web cam of her wearing her pink cowgirl boots, straw hat and a smile as big as Texas while riding her unicorn, I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream, but instead I smiled and I laughed because that was the right thing to do. I thought a good night’s sleep would cure me, of course I have not had a good night’s sleep in years, so I woke up today and hurt even more. I just want it to stop.

Happy Birthday Soph.