Stonepounder
Stonepounder's JournalFound on Facebook. Abortion. How to help.
This was posted with 'permission to share far and wide'. Note the Twitter hashtags:
Hey ladies who are feeling trapped in an impossible situation in Texas/Alabama/ Missouri/Ohio/Georgia/whatever new state has decided you shouldn't have autonomy over your own body,
if you need to visit your Auntie/Cousin/Sister/BFF, you just DM me.
No judgement.
No questions.
I'll be here, pick you up from the airport/train/bus, hold your hand, help with "reservations", take you where you need to go, give you a peaceful place to escape.
We'll take some selfies at the monuments, go to the zoo, chill out by a campfire, check some cool art. You know, for your social media for those new state border checks just to prove you're all good.
And you will be all good.
Let's face it. It's been too long since we've seen each other. 😉
#GeorgiaGOPcansuckit
#TexasandOhiocansuckittoo
#AlabamaBlows
#FamilyTrip
#undergroundrailroad2019
Feel free to share far and wide.
Note: If you can do this, please add a way to contact. I would if I could, but my health won't allow it.
A daughter's gift to her mother saves two lives
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-daughters-gift-to-her-mother-saves-two-lives/2019/05/11/59dead7c-7277-11e9-9eb4-0828f5389013_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1A daughter’s gift to her mother saves two lives
Just 42 years old, Erosalyn Deveza was drifting toward death. Her kidneys were barely functioning. She was constantly exhausted. She had vertigo and vomited frequently. She was tethered to a home dialysis machine for eight hours each night as she slept.
A kidney transplant was the only thing that could save her, but it was unlikely to happen in time. There is a severe shortage of kidneys from deceased donors in the United States. No one on Deveza’s side of the family could provide an organ through a living donation, doctors said, because all were at risk for the same kidney disease. It was too dangerous to leave any of them with a single kidney. Other family and friends were not a match.
This is a story of a daughter’s answer to her mother’s illness, an idea so obvious yet so inventive that it had never happened before, and hasn’t since.
It took four women, two computer scientists, teams of doctors and support staff, luck and uncommon selflessness to pull it off. Though it occurred nearly two years ago, few knew about the case until it was published in a medical journal last month.
This is a long article and all I can post is the opening. If you have a subscription to WaPo, you of course can read the whole article. If you are an Amazon Prime subscriber you can also get to WaPo via Amazon. (Also check your local library and see if they have a subscription.)
I'll try and summarize the story. The daughter was doing everything she could to help her mother and, at the same time, trying to find a way to get her mother a kidney transplant. One of the new techniques is 'chained transplants' where Patient A needs a transplant, unfortunately even though there are several family members willing to donate to A, none of them are compatible. Patient B is in the same boat. Needs a transplant, willing donors, none compatible. But, a couple of the willing donors for B are actually compatible with A, and some of the willing donors for A are compatible with B. So an agreement is struck and an A donor gives a kidney or a lobe of the liver to B and a B donor gives their transplant to A.
This actually goes on. I think the longest 'chain' was something like 113 'chained transplants'.
OK, back to the story. Daughter is scouring the internet and stumbles over a researcher who is doing work in the field. Daughter gets in touch with researcher and says 'Hey, what if I give a lobe of my liver to someone who needs it and they have a doner who is willing to give a kidney to my mother? Why does it have to be liver for liver or kidney for kidney?' The researcher is stunned at the simplicity of the concept that no one has ever thought of before.
After some more research, checking with the Medical Ethics panel and the like, the idea gets approved, mama gets her new kidney and daughter donates a lobe of her liver and two lives are saved.
Talk about thinking outside the box.
Hot off prosecuting 11-year old rape victims, Ohio GOP following up with #HumanCentipedeBill
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/5/9/1856469/-Hot-off-prosecuting-11-year-old-rape-victims-Ohio-GOP-following-up-with-HumanCentipedeBill?detail=emaildkreHot off prosecuting 11-year old rape victims, Ohio GOP following up with #HumanCentipedeBill
A new Ohio bill would ban most private insurance coverage for abortions. Opponents say it would also ban effective methods of birth control.
One-fifth of representatives in the House, all Republicans, have signed onto House Bill 182 sponsored by state Rep. John Becker (R-Union Twp.) that would prohibit most insurance companies from offering coverage for abortion services.
The bill would ban non-therapeutic abortions that include "drugs or devices used to prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum.”
Becker says the bill also speaks to coverage of ectopic or tubal pregnancies where the fertilized egg attaches outside of the womb.
For those of you old enough to remember Robert A Heinlein 'Future History' stories, we are certainly in the 'Crazy Years'. Take a look at the above bill:
1. You can't get an insurance policy that covers any form of abortion, including saving the life of the mother.
2. It bans just about all forms of (female) birth-control. If course it doesn't say anything about anything that prevents fertilizing said egg.
3. But you get insurance for the relocation of a fertilized ovum that it ectopic or tubal to where it belongs. Of course the fact that there is NO medical procedure currently known to do this is irrelevant to these cretins.
What the Hell is this country coming to? And who wants to bet that is any of these sanctimonious idiots needed an abortion for their mistress or if their daughter was raped and got pregnant and the pregnancy turned out to be ectopic, they would be flying off to an expensive clinic where they could 'get it taken care of'?
This IS NOT the country I grew up in. I am NOT proud to be an American any more, I am ashamed of my country!
A proud mother.
Mrs. Stonepounder has a group of women the regularly chats with on line. One of the was saying that she couldn't figure out why her son's school lunch bills were so high. She kept grumbling about it until other members of the group suggested that she go to she school and inquire.
So, off she went and asked to see an accounting. The school was happy to oblige. Turns out her son was buying 4-5 lunches a day. Turns out her son was buying lunches for several other students who couldn't afford to buy their own lunches. Mama didn't say a word, paid the bill, and told her son she was so proud of him!
There's a mother who is doing a great job of parenting.
Five rules for life.
Found on Facebook.
AN OLD WOMAN WALKED UP AND TIED HER OLD MULE TO THE HITCHING POST.
AS SHE STOOD THERE, BRUSHING SOME OF THE DUST FROM HER FACE AND CLOTHES, A YOUNG GUNSLINGER STEPPED OUT OF THE SALOON WITH A GUN IN ONE HAND AND A BOTTLE OF WHISKEY IN THE OTHER. THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER LOOKED AT THE OLD WOMAN AND LAUGHED, "HEY OLD WOMAN, HAVE YOU EVER DANCED?"
THE OLD WOMAN LOOKED UP AT THE GUNSLINGER AND SAID, "NO,... I NEVER DID DANCE... NEVER REALLY WANTED TO."
A CROWD HAD GATHERED AS THE GUNSLINGER GRINNED AND SAID "WELL, YOU OLD BAG, YOU'RE GONNA DANCE NOW," AND STARTED SHOOTING AT THE OLD WOMAN'S FEET.
THE OLD WOMAN PROSPECTOR -- NOT WANTING TO GET HER TOE BLOWN OFF --STARTED HOPPING AROUND. EVERYBODY WAS LAUGHING. WHEN HIS LAST BULLET HAD BEEN FIRED, THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER, STILL LAUGHING, HOLSTERED HIS GUN AND TURNED AROUND TO GO BACK INTO THE SALOON.
THE OLD WOMAN TURNED TO HER PACK MULE, PULLED OUT A DOUBLE-BARRELED SHOTGUN, AND COCKED BOTH HAMMERS.
THE LOUD CLICKS CARRIED CLEARLY THROUGH THE DESERT AIR, AND THE CROWD STOPPED LAUGHING IMMEDIATELY.
THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER HEARD THE SOUNDS, TOO, AND HE TURNED AROUND VERY SLOWLY. THE SILENCE WAS ALMOST DEAFENING. THE CROWD WATCHED AS THE YOUNG GUNMAN STARED AT THE OLD WOMAN AND THE LARGE GAPING HOLES OF THOSE TWIN BARRELS.
THE BARRELS OF THE SHOTGUN NEVER WAVERED IN THE OLD WOMAN'S HANDS, AS SHE QUIETLY SAID, "SON, HAVE YOU EVER KISSED A MULE'S ASS?"
THE GUNSLINGER SWALLOWED HARD AND SAID, "NO M'AM... BUT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO.
THERE ARE FIVE LESSONS HERE FOR ALL OF US:
1 - Never be arrogant.
2 - Don't waste ammunition.
3 - Whiskey makes you think you're smarter than you are.
4 - Always make sure you know who has the power.
5 - Don't mess with old people; they didn't get old by being stupid.
Some days karma is good to you.
We have a new puppy in our house. About a month ago we had to say good-bye to our Maggie. We had helped her get through over a year of end-stage CHF, but the time had come to help her shake free of her earthly bonds and run free at the Rainbow Bridge.
A couple of weeks later I was on Facebook and there was a post from Lucky Star Rescue that they had a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel they were looking to get adopted and he was only about 100 miles from us. He was a cute looking fellow, but when I dug a little deeper I discovered he was 9 yo. I just didn't think we could handle another short-timer. Just on a whim I checked the Cavalier Rescue USA web page. I almost fell out of my chair when I found a Cavalier puppy, again only about 100 miles from us. I put in my app and 1 week ago he came to live with us.
He is 9 months old and hasn't had much training. We're working on house breaking him and he's making good progress. When we got him he wouldn't go outside after dark. Now he just needs someone to go with him after dark, so the number of 'incidents' have decreased significantly. He is also a chewer. I suspect that his adult teeth are coming in. Oh my! He chews EVERYTHING. Even through we have chew toys all over the house, they aren't enough. A couple of days ago he managed to get hold of my cordless mouse and totally destroyed it. Sigh - off to Best Buy for a replacement. He's managed to get hold of pill bottles, sewing thread, and on and on. Last night at about 3:00am I was awakened to the sound of crunching. Beau had managed to get hold of a full bottle of pills and was merrily chewing the cap to pieces. I leaped out of bed, chased him around the house a bit and finally got the pills away from him. As I headed back to the bedroom I heard the Mrs. hollering at him. Evidently, as soon as I got the pill bottle from the little rascal, he dashed back into the bedroom, jumped up on the bed, and got my glasses off the nightstand!
By the time we got them away from him, he had popped one lens out and scratched both lenses. Arrrrgh! This morning at 9:00am I was waiting at the glasses store to see what could be done. Answer: you need to get the lenses replaced. And here's where the karma kicks in. I asked them to check the warranty (the glasses come with a 1 year unconditional warranty, but I couldn't remember when I got my current pair). My warranty is good through May 10! So, they will replace the lenses at no charge!!
The dog gets to live. 
Just a story of me and my dogs.
I don't know whether I believe in God, or Karma, or Fate, or anything else. But sometimes stuff happens that I find somewhat inexplicable.
About 16 years ago we decided that we wanted a dog. We did a lot of research to try and find the right breed for us. Everything we found pointed us to Cavalier King Charles spaniels. So, after searching we found someone who seemed to be the perfect breeder and got our first Cavvie. We named him Sancho (after Sancho Panza, Don Quixote's faithful companion). He became our heart dog. As time went by we managed to acquire a couple more Cavvies. When Sancho was 8 he passed away in October, with absolutely no warning. We were in Pendleton, Ore at the time to celebrate my dad's 90th birthday. We had chosen to drive so that we could bring our dogs with us. Sancho's death devastated us and the drive home is still a blur. The house seemed wrong without Sancho in it. We talked about it and decided we needed a new dog but would wait until after the holidays.
A few days later (actually late at night after the Mrs. had already gone to bed) I was idley wandering the internet and stumbled across an ad for a Cavalier puppy. Somehow the ad called to me and I bookmarked it to show the Mrs. The next morning, my wife being an earlier riser than I am was already up when I wandered out. She said to me "Look what I found" and showed me an ad she had stumbled across for a Cavalier puppy. It was the same ad. I don't know her we both found the exact same ad, but the next day Bennie became ours.
Flash forward to Feb. 2018 when we had to have our Dulcinea sent to the bridge. We had taken in for a routine dental and the vet found an inoperable cancerous tumor in the back of her throat. While Scancho had been 'our' dog, Bennie somehow became 'my' dog and Dulcinea had become 'her' dog. Again we decided to wait some time before we thought about getting a dog to fill the hole that Dulci had left in our hearts. This time it was 'Pet Finder' that that sent me an email with a puppy that we fell in love with immediately. And Bella came into our lives. Again, we hadn't gone looking for a new dog, but a new one somehow showed up.
Two weeks ago we had to let our Maggie go. Again, we weren't looking to immediately get a new dog. I was browsing Facebook the other night and a Reputable rescue organization was looking to rehome a Cavvie who was being fostered only about 100 from us.. However, when I looked closer, this one was already 9 years old and had health issues. We already have two diabetic dogs and the thought of taking in another old dog with medical issues was not what we were looking. Just out of curiosity I check the web site of the Rescue org that I volunteer for. Imagine my amazement when I found a pedigreed 8-month old Cavalier puppy looking for a furever home the same 100 miles from us. So, today Beau, a frisky tri joined our family.
All I want to know is how is it that we have needed a dog to add to our family, regardless of the amount of time we think we need before we start looking, we never have to look, somehow the right dog is offered to us, the exact dog we have been looking for.
(And just for the record Beau rode the two hours home with us with no problem, politely introduced himself to our existing dogs and seem totally at home with no problems leaving his foster home and coming into a new family. And also for the record, Bella is not quite a year and a half and Beau is 9 months and they seem to be getting along great.)
Like I said at the beginning, I'm not sure what agency is providing these wonderful pups, but we must be doing something right and I am thankful to that agency.)
Found a great tweet re: William Barr
https://twitter.com/jwgop/status/1118876182693519360For those of you who can't see the tweet:
John Weaver @jwgop:
What a fucking embarrassment to the rule of law in this country. William Barr has decided he is 1/2 Roy Cohn and 1/2 Sarah Sanders.
Trump offered to pardon Homeland Security head if law broken while closing border
Trump offered to pardon Homeland Security head if law broken while closing border.
If this turns out to be true, then Congress might want to take a look at the following section of the U.S. Code:
18 U.S. Code § 2. Principals
U.S. Code
(a) Whoever commits an offense against the United States or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission, is punishable as a principal.
(b) Whoever willfully causes an act to be done which if directly performed by him or another would be an offense against the United States, is punishable as a principal.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 684; Oct. 31, 1951, ch. 655, § 17b, 65 Stat. 717.)
Netanyahu says Trump named Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group at his request
https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-israel-netanyahu-iran-revolutionary-guard-election-20190408-story.htmlNetanyahu says Trump named Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group at his request
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a hotly contested bid for a fourth term, tweeted on the eve of the election that the Trump administration designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization at his request.
“Thank you, my dear friend, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, for having decided to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization,” he wrote in Hebrew on Twitter on Monday. “Thank you for responding to another of my important requests, which serves the interests of our countries and countries of the region.”
His English-language thank you note posted later omitted taking credit, but said of Trump, “Once again you are keeping the world safe from Iran aggression and terrorism.”
In Israel, the move by the Trump administration is being viewed by some as an election eve gift to Netanyahu.
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