another day, another baby

jeesh, you'd think it was spring or something with all the babies popping out at random. st. jerome of elementville bespawned yesterday afternoon a baby and her name is faith the slagle. and it shall be a sign unto you. yea, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a plastic hospital bin. our across-the-street neighbors chris (male) and chris (female) had their second baby earlier this week. apparently that labor was exceedingly difficult--"just get the drugs; no matter what she says, give her the drugs," was the received moral. it's good to remember that, the gallaugher's blessedly easy birth notwithstanding that, no matter how natural, giving birth is no walk in the park. but b is insisting that, despite encouragements to the contrary, she will go sans drugs. yes, folks, we are the ultimate conservatives: only willing to walk in the footsteps (or squat in the rice paddies, as it were) of our distant ancestors. in other news, also strangely baby-related, book #2 The Handmaid's Tale can be filed under "books i have read." i was pleasantly surprised--it wasn't bad. there were obvious allusions to 1984 throughout and the same sort of invisible, all-powerful government that exists in most dystopia literature. what i was most surprised by was the author's almost prescient narrative about the suspension of the u.s. constitution, military control, and then suppression of naysayers or conscientious objectors through draconian measures. unlike 1984 or even brave new world, where the change to a totalitarian regime was so far past as to be unrecollectable, the handmaid's tale reconstructs the takeover (through fits and starts that were a little tough to follow but powerful nonetheless). i must admit, with all of this "questioning the government only helps the terrorists" being batted around, it seems within the realm of possibility that a conservative or progressive faction could swiftly rise to power unparalleled in the u.s.'s history following a minor or major attack--either on the u.s. itself or on something important to us (like the u.k. or iraq or japan or shell's off-shore oil rigs in the north sea). to illustrate the strange rhetoric, i present the following quote from one of our respected senators: "It's obvious to me that this country is rapidly dividing itself into two camps: the wimps and the warriors. The ones who want to argue and assess and appease, and the ones who want to carry this fight to our enemies and kill them before they kill us. And, in case you haven't figured it out, I proudly belong to the latter. This is a time like no other in the history of this country, and this country is being crippled with petty partisan politics of the worst possible kind. In time of war, it is not just unpatriotic; it is stupid, and it is criminal." the clear message: thinking about right and wrong, consequences and responsibility, (maybe even thinking in general) is clearly a waste of time; we need more 'yes' people (or at least completely apathetic people) scattered throughout the voting public and our legislative bodies. at least that's how the honorable senator's statement seems to me. feel free to disagree. here's to another potentially dangerous, criminal mind: come forth oh babe still in b's womb. lay not down for any governing body of this earth. follow instead the clarion call of the great commission--discipling and being discipled by those who are citizens of the kingdom heaven rather than simply the united states. [wow that was cheezy. you'd think it was late at night instead of right in the middle of the day. forgive the interruption.] [btw, the band pinback is pretty rockin': thanks, dave!]