Lawyer Mama

Roman Polanski is a Sex Offender

Call me horrified.  I can't figure out why so many people are rushing to the defense of Roman Polanski.  In case you missed the news, the film director was arrested over the weekend in Switzerland where he had traveled to accept a lifetime achievement award at a film festival.

The arrest stems from a conviction in 1978.  Polanksi pled guilty to having unlawful sex with a 13 year old girl in the United States.  He gave her drugs, alcohol and then had sex with her at Jack Nicholson's home.  Before Polanski could be sentenced, he fled the country and has avoided the U.S. ever since.  He's even avoided traveling to countries with extradition treaties with the United States.  Why?  Because Polanski knows he's a fugitive and he knows that child sex crimes are taken pretty seriously in this country. 

And yes, what Polanski did is a sex crime.  A thirteen year old, no matter how seemingly mature or sexual, cannot legally consent.  Hell, an adult can't consent to sex in most states if they've been given drugs or alcohol without their knowledge, or even with their knowledge if they're so incapacitated that they can't make a decision.

I simply don't care whether Polanski has had a troubled life.  While I'm sympathetic about the deaths of his family in Nazi concentration camps and the murder of his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson family, that doesn't excuse taking advantage of a child.  Yes, a child.  The girl that Polanski raped undoubtedly had a troubled life as well if she was at a party at Nicholson's home at the age of 13.  It doesn't matter if the woman in question now forgives him.  It doesn't matter if he didn't know her true age, although as a 44 year old man there's no way he could have mistaken a 13 year old girl for a fully mature woman.  Come on.  Polanksi was the adult and we as a society do not tolerate the abuse of children.

Continue reading on D.C. Metro Moms....

Google, Abortion and Women's Rights

A few weeks ago Google made headlines when the Department of Justice urged the judge in a class action lawsuit against the search engine giant, brought by the Author's Guild and five major book publishers, to reject the proposed settlement between the parties.

The lawsuit arose over Google's plan to scan published books and make them searchable online through Google Book Search.  A Google press release has this to say about the program,

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Google Book Search was launched in 2004, and today enables the full text searching of more than a million books online. More than 20,000 publishers and 28 libraries around the world currently work with Google to market their books through the service. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com and books.google.com.

The plaintiffs allege that Google is violating copyright laws. 

Google's consistent response to criticism of its Book Search program has been to laud the open flow of information that will result from making the world's libraries accessible online.  Indeed, Google's stated purpose as a company is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."

So imagine my surprise when I read an article from AWID today reporting that Google is restricting ads for abortion services in 15 countries.  The restrictions come from an update to Google's AdWords policy from 2008.  The policy states that Google will no longer accept ads for abortion services in the listed countries.  If you aren't sure what AdWords is, go to Google and type in a search.  The links that show up along the right hand side bar and just above your search results are paid advertisements and they can be helpful if you're looking for a business or a service in your area.

There's been plenty of controversy over Google's AdWords program, or Google's restriction of certain ads.  In 2008, Google restricted ads that would name the companies who have donated to politicians.  So, this controversy isn't a new one.  Under the AdWords contract terms, Google can refuse to run any ad it likes.  I can't quibble with that.  But, considering the great power that The Google can wield with its search engine, I'm horrified that they're using that power to restrict, rather than expand, women's access to reproductive care information.

I suspect that Google began restricting these ads to appease some cultures and make it easier for Google to operate in certain countries.  Google was probably trying to avoid controversy.  But by restricting reproductive health care service ads, Google may as well be making a moral judgment for women in those 15 countries.  If Google is supposed to be dedicated to making information more accessible, then doesn't its restriction of abortion service ads directly contradict its purpose?

I think it does.  Google, shame on you.

Where is Thumper?

I realize I'm a bit biased, but I think I have one of the cutest kids ever! Here is Little H singing a song he just learned in "song class," as he calls it, in preschool:

Yes, those are Spider Man stickers all over his hands. It just adds to the cuteness.

The Soccer Strike

This year I officially became a soccer mom.  I signed my two boys, ages 5 and 3, up for Y soccer.  For my 3 year old, Holden, this is a first attempt at a team sport.

Holden had several months of swimming lessons this Summer and actually sat still, listened to his instructor and generally cooperated.  So we decided to raise the stakes a bit and try soccer.  The Y program is geared towards 3 to 5 yearolds and it's only once a week.  Every Saturday they have a 30 minute practice and then a 30 minute "game."  The kids rotate in and out every 7 minutes or so.  We thought this would be a good way to ease Holden into a sport.

Wrong.

The first Saturday wasn't bad.  Holden only wandered off of the field about 10 times.  He generally paid attention, although he found it necessary to play in the goal net every time he got near it.  He also picked up the ball whenever it ended up in a scrum of 3 and 4 year olds.  He thought it was much more efficient to just pick it up than to try to kick it.  Holden was, at least, a great source of amusement for all of the parents at the soccer field!

Read the rest of this post at D.C. Metro Moms.

Marion & Matt on LightHearted Photography, the Blog

I have a new post up on the Photo Blog.  The latest was a wedding at a Greek Orthodox Church.  I was tempted to title it "Their Big, Fat, Greek Wedding" but I refrained. Marion and Matt are a lot of fun and so their wedding was a lot of fun!

Marion & Matt

Love Song for Hollis on His Fifth Birthday

Excerpts from Love Song for a Baby by Marion Dane Bauer.  Because this time, my words just weren't enough.

Before the first stars blazed in your sky, before the sun ever kissed you, before you cried your first cry, we loved you.

You had tiny hands with perfect nails and fingers like the petals of a flower.  And yes, we loved you.

 

Your laughter was the sun. Your smile, the moon.  Even your burps were bells, since we loved you.

We clapped with you, we danced with you, we dried your tears and soothed your fears.

 

We tossed you high, we kept you dry.  Can you guess why?  We loved you.

 

You burst upon our world like a comet, like birdsong in the silver silence of dawn, and how could we help but love you?

 

We'd dreamed a baby, we'd wanted a baby, we'd planned for a baby,

 

we'd waited and waited and waited for a baby,

 

until finally, there was you.

And oh, how we love you.

 

Happy Birthday, Little Man.

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Let's Talk about Diabetes

I'm a diabetic.  I allude to it frequently on this blog.  But I never really talk about living with diabetes.  Liz Henry has a wonderful post up at BlogHer about Invisible Illness Week, for people living with non-obvious disabilities or chronic illness.  Liz's post made me realize that, while I mention my diabetes often, I never talk about how it's affected me.  I guess it's time to change that.

In 2004, I knew virtually nothing about diabetes.  I have no family history.  I didn't know any diabetics.  And then I turned up with insulin dependent gestational diabetes while I was pregnant with Hollis.  Gestational diabetes affects from 2-4% of pregnancies; even fewer require insulin to manage the condition.  The GD caused many complications with my pregnancy, and not of the type I was expecting.  I had only heard about GD causing big babies.  I had no idea that the opposite could happen.  We believe that my gestational diabetes caused the placenta to prematurely deteriorate, resulting in intrauterine growth disorder.  Hollis stopped growing.  Luckily, my doctor was completely on top of it.  It was scary as hell, but in the end, Hollis turned out just fine.  Well, except for a few issues with his digestive system.  But we've sort of blocked most of that from our memories.  (See photo, right.)

For the vast majority of gestational diabetics, everything is fine within a few days of giving birth.  That didn't happen with me.  For the few who don't lose the roller-coasting blood sugars, it turns out that many were probably undiagnosed diabetics before they became pregnant.  We know that I wasn't.  I'd been tested during our round with infertility and the first time I saw my endocrinologist during my pregnancy, my A1C Hemoglobin level was wonderful.

I guess I'm just lucky.  In a condition that affects 2-4% of pregnancies, only around 1% become full fledged diabetics immediately after pregnancy.  That's me.  I'm a full fledged diabetic.

I've been incredibly lucky.  Aside from my two pregnancies, my diabetes has been easily maintained through diet and, occasionally, with oral medication.  I get an A1C every 3 months; I have my eyes checked by an opthamologist every 2 years; and my cholesterol and triglycerides are carefully monitored.  Until recently, it's all been pretty easy.  You see, I have good health insurance and can afford the best preventative care. But this isn't a post about health care reform.  It's about how things can change with no warning.

Last Friday I woke up feeling like ass.  My blood sugar was a bit high when I woke up, but nothing dangerous.  Still, that afternoon I had a photo shoot out at Sandbridge beach, which is quite a drive from our house.  I had Trey drive me because I was still feeling crappy and he and the boys played while I snapped photos.  On the way home, I had to have Trey pull the car over so I could throw up.  When I checked my blood sugar, it was higher than I've ever seen it before.  And it stayed that way all weekend.

When I saw my doctor this week, she found the cause pretty easily.  I had a urinary tract infection.  Apparently infections can cause a sharp increase in blood sugar.  I took my antibiotics and now my blood sugar is slowly heading back into normal territory.

I had a small glimpse of what can happen with uncontrolled blood sugar.  And it was scary.  I've spent the last 5 years pretty much pretending my life was exactly the same; that my health was exactly the same.  But it isn't.  If anything, the need to take care of myself, to carefully monitor what I eat and how much I eat has been starkly reinforced.

It's a lesson I won't forget.