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This Message Brought To You By Choice
I don’t care for professional football and I don’t enjoy commercials.
Yet I always love watching both on Superbowl Sunday.
Watching the Big Game is a tradition for most Americans and a recent survey pointed out that most people watch because of the commercials. Superbowl commercials are usually clever, fun, and entertaining. Talking babies, fighting parade balloons, frogs croaking out Buuud-Weiiiiiis-Eeeer. Those are the types of commercials I anticipate watching while kicking back a beer and munching on buffalo wings. The last thing I want to interrupt the party mood of a good football game is the topic of abortion.
Where is that Doritos girl when you need her?
Thanks to CBS, college football superstar Tim Tebow and his mother Pam Tebow, the University of Florida, and Focus on the Family, the topic of abortion will be introduced at some point during the game. I can just see it now: families and friends gathered around the HD flatscreen laughing and having fun when, out of nowhere, comes the record-scratching moment when Tim and Pam Tebow come across the screen. We’re all going to go from enjoying a fun game with light-hearted commercials to talking about the most hotly-debated and divisive topic ever known to this country.
What is the purpose of their message? Most adults know where they stand on the topic of abortion, which leads me to believe that CBS and Focus on the Family is trying to reach out to a different audience. Our children. How do you talk to your young kids about abortion, let alone in the middle of a fun afternoon watching football? There is a time and place to air commercials of this nature and the most popular televised sporting event of the year enjoyed by families all over the country is not it.
There is no doubt that the topic of abortion should be introduced to your children at some point, especially once they hit the pre-teen years. But how and when you approach it should be on your terms, not by the terms and values of CBS and Focus on the Family.
21
Don’t Pity The (Other) Woman
After I wrote my blog post this morning about John Edwards, my thoughts kept turning to the other person responsible for this situation.
The Other Woman.
Or perhaps we should just call her “Mama.” There is a little girl out there who does.
Why would someone become involved with a married person? I have some ideas, especially when the married person in question is powerful and wealthy. But, whatever the reasoning (or lack thereof), it is usually a situation that will only result in heartache and stress. Or, in this case, a child that didn’t have a father for two years.
I don’t respect women (and men) that sleep with married people and I certainly don’t pity them when the situation becomes disastrous. As is often the case, potential consequences are rarely considered or simply ignored. There are various reasons why married people cheat, but it’s not usually because they are looking for love or another long-term commitment. If that were the case, they would have probably ended their marriage already. Long-term love or partnership is rarely the end result of cheating. Why? There are two reasons: one is because the majority of cheating spouses stay with their partner and the other is that affairs that begin based on secrets and lies usually end the same way.
Some people may view Ms. Hunter as the victim in this situation. Here she is, the single mother of a child whose father denied her for the first two years of her life. It’s certainly a sad situation, but a situation that she helped create. So no, I don’t feel sorry for Ms. Hunter. The only people that have my sympathy are the family members who became involuntary entangled in a web of deception and abuse of trust. And, of course, this especially includes the child borne from these circumstances.
Let’s just hope for the sake of their child, that John Edwards and Rielle Hunter can finally make some decisions based on truth, loyalty, trust, and commitment – to be the best parents possible to their little girl.
21
You ARE The Father! So Act Like One.
As a politician, John Edwards used to have my respect. And I say the same thing about him being a man.
It was so nice to see Mr. Edwards finally come clean about being the father to Quinn, his 2 year-old daughter with Rielle Hunter. He spent the first two years of her life adamantly denying paternity and, subsequently, denying his obligations to his daughter. If only Maury was around as soon as she was born.
I take issue with men like John Edwards. I say to them, step up and BE a man. Be a father. The circumstances of a child’s birth are not their fault, so don’t treat them like the big mistake you may believe them to be. No career or marital situation, whether it’s in the public eye or not, warrants the denial of paternity. If you choose to behave inappropriately by cheating on your wife, then understand that there will always be consequences. And as John Edwards has learned, some consequences are more life-changing than others.
John Edwards lost the first two years of his daughter’s life. When she is old enough to understand the lies surrounding her arrival into the world, she may or may not forgive her father. That will be her choice. But, for now, it’s time for Mr. Edwards to make up for lost time and be the responsible and loving father that his daughter deserves.
15
Foodie Friday: Lamb Ragu with Homemade Spinach Fettuccine
Nothing tastes better than homemade pasta and sauce.
This lamb ragu and spinach fettuccine dish is one of my favorites, especially since the Dude and I only make it a few times a year. It has now become a tradition for us to prepare it every New Year’s Eve. If you give this recipe a try, I assure you, this pasta dish will quickly become one of your favorites.
SPINACH FETTUCCINE
This recipe for spinach fettuccine is actually a combination of two recipes we discovered from Chefs Mario Batali and Thomas Keller. After several attempts to make the perfect pasta dough, we’ve come up with this recipe. Why spinach fettuccine? Well, there’s never anything wrong with throwing a little green in your food. Spinach is one of the world’s best foods for you and we think it adds a delicious touch to pasta dough.
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) semolina flour (you can use all purpose, but semolina is better)
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- A handful of spinach (baby or regular)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon milk
Try to use organic and local ingredients. I also prefer to use cage-free, local, and organic eggs.
Start by sauteing a handful of spinach with a touch of olive oil and minced garlic. Saute until wilted.
(Click on pictures to expand)
Add the sauteed spinach to the “wet” ingredients (egg, egg yolks, olive oil, milk) to your mixer and pulse. This mixture can easily become mayonnaise, so just use the pulse setting until evenly mixed.
Instructions on how to create pasta dough comes via the French Laundry cookbook by Thomas Keller: (continues…)
13
Help Haiti
Please Donate
I was born and raised in earthquake country. I have never lived anywhere that didn’t have an active fault line within 50 miles. I have no idea how many I’ve been through, but they never get any easier. Those mere seconds of shaking and rolling ground can be the scariest seconds of your life. I was never too concerned about earthquakes until I brought my newborn home from the hospital. We were living on the 11th floor of a high-rise building in downtown San Francisco. Exactly one week after his birth, late in the evening, I started to hear and feel something very familiar. The distant rumbling sound tends to warn you immediately before you actually start moving. The floor began to roll beneath us and the hanging lights above started swinging rapidly. I held tightly onto my baby boy, never so scared of anything in my life.
That particular earthquake only measured 5.6 on the Richter scale from the epicenter near San Jose. Many, if not most San Franciscans, probably feared in the first few seconds that this could be The Big One.
The Big One didn’t hit San Francisco that night, but it did hit Haiti two days ago.
As many as 3 million people, or one third of the population, has been affected. There is substantial damage and loss of life. The first 48 hours of a disaster are critical and it is imperative to bring in food, water, clothing, medical supplies, blankets, and shelter for the survivors. The American Red Cross has pledged an initial $200,000 and has sent enough supplies from it’s warehouse in Panama to support 5,000 families. More needs to be done. I am urging my readers to consider a donation to the American Red Cross, no matter how big or small. Ask your employer if they will consider matching your donation. Every dollar counts when it comes to disaster relief.
Please click below to be directed to the American Red Cross donation form:
http://www.american.redcross.org/haiti