“If we must die, we die defending our rights.” ~Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Sioux

I am having a tough time reconciling some legal stuff lately. No, not the judge’s ruling that I am not allowed near dairy farms without supervision, I mean other things all around us.


I’ve discussed this one … any student has the right to not take an exam, any exam. We don’t have tasers, they just get a failing grade. Pearlsky does not have this right, they “administer” the exam, her or my wishes be damned. Hence, she has fewer rights than all the normal students.


Also discussed, the state has a law that forbids a Durable Medical Equipment (DME) company from selling Pearlsky any parts for her wheelchair until Medicaid approves it. That means a minimum of three weeks, for any part at all. But non-cripples who don’t have Medicaid, can buy any part, anytime. Hmmm, that sounds like equal rights, no?


When you mix the media and the courts, you get reports that either don’t make sense or are missing so much information as to be ludicrous.

Lindsey pointed out this article that basically is about a woman who, while giving birth to triplets was permanently disabled by the doctor doing the delivery. My guess is he was using a pitchfork instead of forceps, neither of which are a good idea. She was left totally disabled, and it is claimed she can only blink “yes” and “no” (which leaves me wondering, wtf? If she can do that, teach her Morse code!) The triplets are fine, the husband divorced her a few years later and lives across the country. He is now in court demanding that the children never see their mother or even her picture, claiming she is “100% not there.” The woman lives with her parents and wants (?) to see the kids. There is no evidence that the kids do or do not want to see their mom.

There is so much missing from the article and so much craziness here. I do wonder what the divorce decree said. Does the custodial parent have the right to “eliminate” the other parent? I wonder why the maternal grandparents are not given visitation rights. I wonder what mom really understands.  I wonder what harm could possibly come to the children. I wonder how much their religion is involved. The whole thing is awful, mainly because the reporting is aimed at tugging at your heart, not at passing on information. What are “parental rights” anyway? And then, there is other information not offered unless you dig … mom got an eight million dollar settlement from the doctor, the maternal granddad sees the kids three or four times a year, the dad and maternal grandmother are not very endeared with each other, the dad’s not such a bad guy, etc.

I did find another article, after the judges decision. The judge is insisting on pictures and mementos of mom in the kid’s house (similar to my shrine to Aphrodite, I guess), monthly “Skypes” and a yearly visit. There still is a lot wrong with this picture.


If you read the page of this blog on the menu above called Shoes, you will see another take on the theory of not understanding until you walk in another’s shoes. In Pirkei Avot 2:4 we are told “… do not judge your fellow until you reach his place …” Hillel is not admonishing us not to judge, but to understand how a person came to his place before rendering said judgment.

That leads me to this article. A mother is on trial for attempted murder for withholding chemotherapy from her “severely autistic little boy with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.” The boy died (so why “attempted murder”?). There is no mention of the father or other family members. We are pretty much not told anything so what is the point of the article? Why would a mother do this? Can you imagine? You cannot answer that since who knows what “severely autistic” even means in this situation. Do you not do everything possible to extend your child’s life, to medicate and care for your child? I don’t know the answer to that, and it is not for me to answer. What are the parental rights? Do you HAVE to give all medicines? Is a doctor’s prescription law … do you have to do what a doctor tells you to? Can you refuse to vaccinate but not refuse to medicate?


Whose idea was this whole having kids thing anyway? Oh, and by the way, cow tipping is an urban myth.

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