and next: the war on easter December 29, 2006

‘War on Christmas’ has a new jingle: money

Christian groups raise funds as they sell items to counter a perceived assault on the holiday.

By Stephanie Simon, Times Staff Writer
4:16 AM PST, December 23, 2006

The “War on Christmas” has never been so profitable.

For the fourth year running, conservative Christian groups have spent much of December mobilizing against what they see as a liberal plot to censor Christmas.

But this year, it’s more than a cause. It’s a heck of a fundraiser.

…

why didn’t i think of these when i was doing my xmas shopping?

The American Family Assn., a conservative activist group, has rung up more than $550,000 in sales of buttons and magnets stamped with the slogan “Merry Christmas: It’s Worth Saying.”

Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit law firm affiliated with the religious right, has taken in more than $300,000 with its Help Save Christmas Action Packs. The kits include two buttons, two bumper stickers and “The Memo that Saved Christmas,” a guide to defending overt religious expression, such as a Nativity scene in a public school classroom.

Also for sale through conservative websites: Christmas bracelets, tree ornaments and lapel pins intended to send a defiant message to those who would turn December into a multicultural mush of “winter parties,” “seasonal sales” and “Happy Holidays” greetings.

and since the good fight against the war on Christmas has been so successful (and profitable), the next target will be the war on Easter.

In fact, the fundraising went so well that the religious right plans to branch out. Next up: the War on Easter.

Scouts for the American Family Assn., which is based in Tupelo, Miss., will keep a keen eye out for stores that promote “spring baskets” or “spring bonnets” instead of celebrating the Resurrection. The group already has laid in a stash of Easter buttons, featuring three gold crosses and the words “He Lives.” They’ll go on sale in early January.

currently reading: the year of magical thinking December 27, 2006

the first lines of the book:

     “Life changes fast
     Life changes in an instant
     You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.”

i’ve never read her writing before, but perhaps for some of the reasons i was drawn to medicine, i was intrigued by this memoir describing the twelve months after a double tragedy: her daughter in a coma from septic shock and her husband dies of a heart attack.  the book is honest and touching in its exploration of her grief, a welcome departure from the constantly professional and overly intellectualized atmosphere we perpetuate at the hospital. 

i went into medicine because i enjoy being a part of people’s lives, during the best and the worst of times.  but sometimes, i feel the endless pressure slowly chipping away at my soul.

*sigh*  i miss the healer’s art.

home is: where your credit card/bank statements go? December 25, 2006

i’ve been home for a week now, doing mostly nothing.  the occasional cooking.  the near-daily shopping trips, usually at 8 pm or later [highly recommended for avoiding the roaming-around-for-30-minutes-plus parking headaches].  the requisite dining out with my parents at a sushi/asian food buffet. 

the same afternoon i got home last week, i went to the library and promptly checked out a few books and dvds. [yay books!]  i was sad to learn, however, that my library card was up for renewal which essentially means that i’ve run out of ways to justify having access to Reader’s Digest’s Best Public Library (2004) considering that except for a one-year stint in between college and med school, i haven’t lived here for 7 1/2 years.

after the check-out person explained the required proof of residence for renewing my library card, i tried the “what if my parents pay all the bills” excuse, which must have sounded ridiculous since, hello, i’m 25 years old [even if i don't look like it]. alas, it didn’t work and i’ll just have to resign myself to relying on my sister to check out books for me.

if you elect a muslim to congress… December 22, 2006

…then he will swear allegiance to the Koran and not the Bible.

And then he will write legislation allowing a sudden massive influx of more of those Muslim immigrants.

And more and more Muslims will be elected to the government, all swearing upon the Koran.

And then they will control EVERYTHING.

And then all of us God-fearing, good Christian American citizens will be doomed.

* * * * * *

from the LA Times:

Lawmaker affirms Muslim remarks

A Virginia congressman defends his call for an immigration crackdown to thwart Koran’s use in swearing-in ceremonies.

By Joel Havemann, Times Staff Writer
December 22, 2006

WASHINGTON — Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.) on Thursday stood by his demand for strict immigration controls that he said would prevent Muslims from being elected to Congress and using the Koran during swearing-in ceremonies.

* * * * * *

It’s nice to know that while the rest of America is preoccupied with their holiday – excuse me, Christmas – shopping, there’s someone looking out for us and warning us of the very real threat of Muslims taking over America and defiling everything we stand for.  Since, you know, our war against terrorism is sooo effective that the only way they can achieve their endpoint of world domination is through the infiltration of our free-speech-free-religion-equal-rights-guaranteed democracy.

leaves, leaves, and more leaves December 8, 2006

the gardener finally came this week, after 3 weeks of leaves from 3 large trees had collected on our yard, the sidewalk, and the street.

i should have taken a “before” pic, but here is one of the impressive pile of leaves after they finished:

and for size comparison, here is one showing the pile of leaves behind my car:

reasons not to go into medicine December 3, 2006

i’m not sure this link will work for non-ucd people, but this was our school’s sad attempt at encouraging physician well-being.  i don’t know about my classmates, but for me, all this video did was verbalize all the frustrations and worries that i already have.

the video was followed by a small group session, but instead of talking about all of the issues brought up by the video, the session was focused on a simulated encounter of confronting a “colleague” with a drug problem.

upset December 2, 2006

we won! 

i saw it on tv, but how cool would it have been to be there at the Rose Bowl?!

violated December 1, 2006

more car drama. 

earlier this evening, i was heading over to a friend’s house for dinner and Grey’s Anatomy.  i opened the driver’s side door of my car and noticed my car kleenex cup in my seat.  that’s weird, i thought.   how did that get that from the cup holder to the driver’s seat?

as i settled into the seat, i noticed that the center console underneath the dashboard looked different… it looked kind of empty…  my cds were missing!  and some mini-drawer thing on the driver’s left that i never knew existed was pulled out!  were they trying to hotwire my car?!

though my car didn’t suffer any apparent damage, it was unsettling to think that someone had somehow gotten into my car.  i know we don’t live in the best area, but it has seemed relatively safe around here.  i can’t even pinpoint when the robbery happened, since i haven’t driven my car in a couple days.

luckily, since i don’t keep anything valuable in my car, the most they made off with was a bunch of cds, mostly burned.  the few orignal cds in my car included cds from a capella groups [definitely no street value] and a Regina Spektor cd [very limited street value since she's no mega-star].  i’m sad about losing the Regina Spektor cd since it’s the special edition sold at her concerts but at least i’d already ripped it onto my computer.

so if you hear me singing “sexyback” a lot, it’s because it’s the only cd left in my car (it was safe in the cd player).