Another Press Conference

The Secretary of Health in Maryland speaking before the cameras about swine flu.

Meeting

Meeting on our Swine Flu situational awareness.

With the governor

That's the governor, Martin O'Malley, in the middle. Fran Phillips is addresing the press... I'm trying to keep it all together.

George W. Bush vs. Jacob Zuma... Which Is Scarier?

I'm paying close attention to the national elections in South Africa because the candidate who is expected to win, Jacob Zuma, has some very erroneous ideas on a number of fronts. These ideas may make matters worse in South Africa, a nation that has HIV/AIDS as a main threat, and Zimbabwe (where genocide is taking place) as a neighbor. With the international community so quick to point out how "stupid" former President George W. Bush was, I can't seem to find anyone saying how "stupid" Zuma's beliefs and, worse, his actions are:

In 2005, he was charged with rape. Zuma admitted to having sex with the woman, and he admitted to knowing that she was HIV-positive. But it's okay, according to him. He stated that he took a shower after having sex with the woman in order to "minimize the risk of contracting [HIV]". You'd think this was probably a common misconception for an uninformed person. Maybe. But he was the head of South Africa's national AIDS council when he said this!!! Zuma was acquitted of the charges in 2006. The woman who accused him of the rape is now under political asylum in Holland.

Perhaps it's because of the powerful, antiviral-laden showers that Mr. Zuma takes that he has decided it's okay not only to have unprotected sex but to do so with multiple women. See, Mr. Zuma is a polygamist. He married his fourth wife last year. This by itself is not, per se, a "stupid" thing. Many cultures follow this lifestyle, and, as long as none of his wives are underage, it's okay. However, can you see how his thoughts on HIV transmission might make things worse if he's polygamous?

I must admit that I am a little hesitant about writing all this about the man. He has sued numerous media outlets for reporting on him. He has even sued humorists for making fun of him. If he reads this, I might get a friendly letter telling me to shut up. Oh, well. If he hasn't sued Jackie May for her remarks on Mr. Zuma's education plans (which include forced education), I might be okay.

At the end of the day, it is up to the South African people to elect their leader. I just wish that the international media and the international community were more objective in their assessments of world leaders. Who is scarier, George W. Bush with the nuclear launch codes or Jacob Zuma with his thoughts on HIV and AIDS?

Easter Thoughts

I was telling The Girl yesterday about how it worries me that we get caught up in the minutia of the holidays and forget the true meaning of why we celebrate. As I saw hundreds of children dig around for eggs, I couldn't help but wonder if they would ever get to know the meaning of Easter. This worry compounded itself when I heard, time and time again, questions on what I was doing for Easter. Many of my friends were traveling to be with friends and/or family. Dinners were planned. Parties were planned. I hope the meaning of it all is not forgotten.

If you don't fully believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, then let's just stick to the facts. Jesus was a wise man who led multitudes into lives of service and understanding of each other. He did not discriminate, making disciples out of even the most "unwanted". He was condemned by the Jewish leaders of his time because of his teachings (which went against established Jewish doctrine and some established Jewish laws). The rulers of Judea at the time, the Romans, carried out a death sentence on Jesus on or about the time of the Jewish Passover Holiday. Three days later, Jesus appeared to his disciples and to hundreds of people (a few days after his first appearance). He seemed unharmed by the crucifixion.

Historically, thousands of people died for their belief that, indeed, Jesus did rise from the dead to fulfill a promise. Even the Apostle Paul, who persecuted Christians before coming to believe himself, serves as a historical reference in what happened those days. They were strange days, indeed. A whole new way of thinking, one that put God in a direct relationship with His creation, was born.

For those of us who believe in all of this, Easter is a time of contemplation, more than celebration. We think and pray on the meaning of a promise fulfilled and how many promises we have yet to fulfill... And how far we are willing to go to fulfill them. Jesus was crucified, a manner of death most gruesome, to fulfill his promise. The Romans did not fool around when they crucified someone. It doesn't matter how much people say that Jesus did not die on the cross. Historical and archaeological evidence shows that He did. He must have. The Romans did not fool around, and they saw Him as a threat.

Passover, Easter, and other celebrations seem to coincide with the coming of Spring, so many people will tell you that Easter is nothing more than a celebration of life. It is. But these folks will throw in eggs and bunnies (symbols of fertility) to take away from the life we were given on that day about 2,000 years ago. Many don't do it on purpose. Some do. And the many that don't get the true message are what worries me. Like Christmas and other holidays, Easter has become political, commercial. I saw this as I drove by an "Easter Flowers" stand.

Easter flowers?

Still, life would not be interesting at all if we all marched to the beat of the same drum. If everyone was forced into believing, we would all be drones and not human. And this is where I find some solace in the whole thing. I find solace in knowing that I need to walk the walk and talk the talk so that I can be an example to those who have a hard time believing. And I must be willing to sacrifice it all to be the person that I am supposed to be. After all, if I'm right, death is not a permanent thing. And, if I'm wrong, nothing happens.

I Don't Mean To Offend You, But...

The Girl and I were talking with her parents about our wedding plans. Ever since we won the free wedding reception, her parents' influence in the matter has been diminished. However, that influence is not gone. Her father is still fronting some money to pay for some extras, which is great. But The Girl and I agree that their help, while greatly appreciated, has become non-essential. We both can work long enough and hard enough to make the wedding our own now.

Still, there are issues...

The Girl's parents are very vocal about their concerns about us incorporating Mexican themes into the wedding. Her mother went as far as saying that these things would be "offensive". And she also stressed that Polish themes should be included to reflect Deanna's heritage. This all has irked me a little bit.

It has irked me a little bit because there is nothing offensive at all in incorporating established wedding traditions and themes from ANY culture. If Deanna decided that she wanted to include African or Asian themes, I would be all for it. It's OUR wedding. (OUR = Hers and Mine) Deanna is the woman that I want to marry for many reasons, among them what she likes about the world. We matched in that sense.

I'm also irked because I was actually born in Mexico. Deanna is a couple of generations removed from the Eastern Bloc, and only those on her Mother's side are Polish. Her Father's side is German. (Maybe also Eastern Bloc?) Many of my family members will actually have also been born in Mexico. Spanish is going to be widely spoken at the wedding whether they like it or not. Not because I demand it, but because it'll be the natural way to communicate.

It irks me because these feelings from her parents (self-confessed Liberals) have all the markings of the English-only movement. That movement has been all about making English the official language of the United States not because they want a standardized language to be used but because, for the most part, they don't want their members to learn another language. (Most kids in Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America know two or more languages!!!) It was the English-only people that tried time and time again to keep me out of public schools in the United States under the veil of wishing me a "prosperous" future in learning English.

And it also irks me because being "American" is not at all about being a descendant of one group of people from Europe. The census doesn't lie... The United States is made up of 66% "White" (from all regions of Europe), 15% "Hispanic" (from all regions of North, Central, and South America), 12% "Black" (from all regions of Africa), and the rest are from all over the world. Everyone standing on this ground that is the United States is from somewhere else. Even the Native Americans can trace back their lineage to Asians who crossed the land bridge that was the Bering Strait. Go to Europe, and you will find that people on one end are very different from people on the other. Heck, go to Maryland, and you'll find that people on one end are very different from the other.

So, if The Girl and I get into the business of trying not to "offend" anyone at our wedding, there might as well not be a wedding. Because someone, no matter the size of the group, always gets offended. And that someone who is offended probably has an ethnic and national identity that is very weak to being with. They feel like a fish out of water instead of a person enjoying, learning, and taking part in a new thing. "Xenophobic", I think the term is. Look it up.

That kind of thinking and fear does not get any of us very far. Had I been a xenophobic ten year-old, I would have never learned English. I would have stayed home in Texas instead of venturing out to the East Coast. I would have never met the woman of my dreams that is The Girl. And I could have never worked in Public Health. Had she been a xenophobe, The Girl would not be where she is right now, either.

The time comes when we must take a stand for what we believe in, the ideas that shape us to who we are. This might very well be one of those times...

The Rabid Goat

This may or may not have happened...

A man noticed that one of his goats at his goat farm was acting kind of weird. Only a few days earlier, he had shot and killed a raccoon that was also acting strange. Suspecting rabies, the man decided that the goat should be set apart from the other goats and maybe tested. The problem was that the only lab where a test could be done was many miles away. Instead of placing the goat in his truck, he called a cab. Yes, that's right... A cab. The man was incorrectly worried that the goat could contaminate the truck on which he carried all his other goats.

Once at the lab, the man and his goat walked into the lobby. When he was informed that the goat had to be sacrificed to be tested. (Rabies is not the kind of thing you can just test from blood.) Sure enough, the goat was rabid. But that's where the fun started... The goat farm was used to get goat milk to families who refused to consume pasteurized milk. Yes, that's right... The milk was unpasteurized and consumed by many.

Take a wild guess as to how many people had to be treated for exposure to rabies?

Not Shady At All

My future brother-in-law, Jared, and I decided that it would be really neat if we had two XBOX 360 systems on two televisions in the living room at Apartment G. That way, we could both play online with his friends. I told him I had $200 to spare. It was money that I had saved to buy a video game system or to build a computer system. He went online and found that a local video game store had used systems for under $200. We jumped in Jeep 3.0 and headed to the store.

Once there, we saw that the systems were $160. As I stood in line to get it, a young kid in front of me was trying to sell his system to the store. The store clerk told him that they would give him $80 in store credit or about $65 in cash. The kid seemed a little bit miffed that he was getting ripped off. The system he had, and XBOX 360 Premier Edition, retails for about $400 (with all the accessories). Heck, the system by itself is on Ebay for about $250. When he didn't take the clerk's offer, I tapped the kid on the shoulder and asked him how much he wanted for the unit. "I don't know," he said.

"How about a hundred?" I asked. He nodded his head.

Next thing I know, we're on our way to an ATM (about a mile and a half away) to get the cash. He followed us all the way. I got the cash from the ATM and parked in front of his car. I got out of the Jeep and walked over with cash in hand. He got out of his car with the game in a box and handed it to me. "You promise it's working?" I asked. He nodded yes. I gave him the cash.

Jared and I played for 90 minutes last night on two systems.

I'm not usually one to take risks. For all I knew, the system could have been a brick. But I thought about it this way: If it works, I saved a lot of money. If it doesn't, then I have a project to keep me busy for a few weeks. Besides, the kid would have been in enormous Karma-trouble had he fooled me out of $100. Still, looking back on it, I realized that I did a parking lot deal in Baltimore City. No, not shady at all.