The Birth of Liberty

Today was Liberty's 1-week birthday. We were definitely ready for Liberty to be born. Her due date was December 24th. I was looking forward to two weeks vacation, and Brandie was feeling big. After trying all the 'old wives tales' (spicy food, sex, walking, etc.) to no avail... who knows what triggered it? Maybe it was the doctors appointment earlier that day with a cervix check, or probably it was just that time... (To toot my own horn, I predicted to Brandie that she'd be born on Festivus, Dec. 23rd about a week or two prior).

I wanted to capture the important memory here. Maybe Libby will enjoy reading about it one day, or maybe we can remind her of the ordeal if she ever misbehaves. :-D

Labor

• Tuesday 12/22/2009, around 6pm: Brandie starts feeling contractions. They are irregular and about 45min. apart. We thought they are probably Braxton-Hicks (aka "false labor") contractions.
• 8pm-Midnight: Contractions start becoming more intense and regular, coming closer to 5min. apart. Brandie is needing to bend over to bear through the pain. After calling a nurse at the hospital, we are told she's is in labor and can come in when we're ready.
• Wednesday 12/23/2009, Midnight-1am: We spent some time packing up and trying to relax, but we dreaded the car ride to Roseville with worse contractions so drove to the hospital. They put us in a small room and Brandie in an uncomfortable bed strapped to monitors. After she starts screaming "I NEED OUT OF THIS $*&%$-ing BED!", they decide to admit her even though she was only 3cm dilated... figuring she was ramping up quickly.
• 3-6am: Brandie battled contractions like a warrior. They took a lot out of her, but we did lots of positions and massage which helped. Sometime around 4am she wanted to take the birth ball into the shower. I sat down on the sofa and passed out. She somehow had the birth ball over the shower drain, and when Brandie woke me up I had no idea where I was and the room had slightly flooded. The nurses called in janitors to mop it up.
• 6-8am: At this point Brandie was around 6cm. She was so exhausted, that we both layed down to rest for a bit and the contractions eased slightly.
• 8-11am: After the rest, Brandie had gained a second wind. We started moving around to get contractions progressing again. The midwives at Kaiser were absolutely awesome (especially one named Gina) in supporting us. At some point, Brandie vowed "This is the last kid!". The midwives were amused and said they'd like to ask her after it's all over.
• 11am-2pm: - Brandie was about 8cm dilated. After talking with midwives, we decided to break her amniotic sac to increase the contractions. She went through intense contractions and eventually reached 8-9cm around noon, and 10cm around 2pm.
• 2pm: - The pushing starts. The nurses tell her "push like you gotta poop", and Brandie says she's afraid she's going to.
• 3pm: - We can see the top of the head. At this point, Brandie is really tired and says things like "I think I'm going to die" and "Pull her out of me!". At a few points she loses her vision because she was pushing so hard. They give her an oxygen mask to help.
• 3:53pm: - Liberty is born. The moment she's given to us is filled with relief and tears of joy. Holding Liberty for the first time, I knew my life had changed forever and had been given a new purpose (sounds cliché I know, but it's true). I went out to share the news with her happy grandparents in the waiting room.

If I learned anything about the birth process, it's that nature rules. Almost every mother we talked to advocated epidurals/pitosin/etc, and you have to wonder about the benefits of these drugs when humans have been giving natural births for a million years. The midwives and nurses all expressed utmost respect for Brandie's strength and commitment to bear the pain. One nurse said afterwards "You've done such a beautiful thing for this baby, not bringing her into the world with poison". When we were moved to the recovery room, the nurse was surprised "Wow, this is like a real baby.... not drugged up or anything". The evolved natural process can't be beat. That goes for breastfeeding as well (vs. formula). I'm so happy my wife feels the same.

Recovery & Coming Home

After giving birth, they move you into a recovery room. It's a little smaller, but you have your baby in there so nothing matters too much. Nurses and doctors come in every so often poking and prodding the baby. That first night, I was constantly amazed watching her and holding her. You almost feel afraid to handle a new baby. They seem so fragile, but my father reminded me that after the ordeal of labor... they can't be that fragile.

We were looking forward to leave on Christmas Eve, but a nurse told us during that day "they hadn't observed enough feedings". We replied "WHAT?!" and were pretty upset, since NO ONE told us we needed to call in a nurse to observe the breast feedings. Brandie and I said we would be leaving if that was their only concern. The nurse said they'd have to call Child Protective Services if we decided to leave against recommendation and that "we wouldn't want that on our record". I snapped back "Well this is ironic... her name IS Liberty after all." Anyways, we came home on Christmas. I suppose that is Liberty's first experience with a little bit of tyranny. If only we could get free market health care reform like tort reform instead of communist ObamaCare... then hospitals wouldn't need to operate with under such ridiculous policy in fear of litigation.

We were so happy to come home on Christmas. It was the best Christmas ever. No more doctors poking and prodding. A new family and new life to start, with a new decade around the corner. Welcome home Liberty!

Comrade Santa

Why do parents lie to their kids, telling them there is a magic man who gives gifts to all the good children in the world? Is Santa just religion for kids? (religion being a set of supernatural beliefs designed to encourage specific attitudes and behavior) Perhaps topics like the soul, creation, and afterlife are too serious for children - so Jesus was reinvented as grandpa in a fuzzy red suit rewarding with toys instead of eternal life in heaven. As a parent, I'll have to decide whether I will participate in the Santa lie. I suppose it's part of our culture, it engages children's' imagination, and Christmas can be fun. I guess those are all good things.

We may outgrow believing in Santa, but we don't outgrow vulnerability to other myths, fallacies, and biases. We are basically talking primates after all, so "to err is human". Karl Marx called religion the "opium of the people". Ironically, Marx called on people to give up "religious illusions", while he perpetuated economic illusions like the labor theory of value. Both religion and Marxism deny truths.... whether it be evolution or economics. Religion has heaven. Marxism has a stateless, classless society. Americans commonly fall for their own set of political myths and fallacies. The "appeal to tradition" fallacy: accepting that government must provide schools/freeways/health care/post/etc, because that's how it's been done. People want to have faith in a powerful protector: be it Santa, Jesus, or Government. People want to imagine that government provides things for "free", by magic the same way Santa and his elves provide presents.

If you support socialism for altruistic reasons... so be it. Just don't try to convince me it's practical or justifiable if your cognitive dissonance has convinced you so. Deadweight loss is an unavoidable truth with any government intervention. Public services crowd out private services, destroying jobs and competition. Subsidies create overconsumption, driving up prices. All of these also limit choice and quality... not to mention the tax burden. Keynes and Marx were the witch doctors of economics.... building a political-economic religion advocating looting. If you choose to be cognitively lazy, considering benefits of "free" public services without fully examining the costs and consequences... go right ahead. You might as well believe in Santa too.

Neighborhood associations run amok

So, I live in Southside Park neighborhood. I like the area a lot... and since I've lived here, I've kept in the loop with the neighborhood association (SPNA). I even volunteered for the board of SPNA one year. I'm going to vent a bit here about my experiences with this organization. I suppose someone from SPNA may somehow come across this blog post & have issue with it. So be it. I've voiced these concerns there to some chagrin, and am merely reiterating them in more detail here.

I'll start by describing a bit about how SPNA runs. There is a Yahoo Group where open online/e-mail discussion occurs. There is also a monthly meeting. There is a board of (about four) who meet in addition to that. My issue with the SPNA is that there are a few (one in particular) person who devote significant time and energy on getting involved with any issue in the area and representing a position to the City or media on behalf of SPNA. The problem is... repeatedly, the communication to the City or media "on behalf of SPNA" seems to be greater than the communication to the actual residents in the neighborhood. The other fact to note... the individual lives in "co-housing", which is a commune style set of homes in the middle of a city block - very different from the way most of us live. So, "SPNA" is somewhat of a farce... one or a few people driving their own agendas. My neighbor who's lived in the area longer wholeheartedly agrees, and stopped involvement because of this.

Here are just a few examples of issues I've had conflict with SPNA on:

Online Voting
I have voiced concern over the renegade representation... requesting that SPNA use Yahoo Groups voting/poll feature as a requirement before representing the neighborhood. This was met with resistance, and the board members stated that only meetings & the board truly represent the neighborhood. *laugh* Hardly... just because someone is in the extraordinary circumstance that they have time to meet in-person every month doesn't mean you get to speak for the all the busy property owners in the neighborhood.

Broadway Bridge
The "co-housing" is on 5th St, a one way street heading north from Broadway into downtown. For a long time, people around Sacramento have suggested that a Broadway bridge would help develop the riverfront and improve the blight along west Broadway next to our neighborhood. When this issue was being considered, I read in the paper that SPNA was against a Broadway Bridge. WHAT? No discussion or poll had been done. This was another case of co-housing NIMBY's along 5th St serving themselves rather than the whole neighborhood and speaking on our behalf.

Green Waste Bins
The same co-housing folks don't have "claw" leaf pickup, and they don't really have trees or leaves to rake. The same individuals contacted City Utilities and drove a change to move our neighborhood to green waste bins. Many residents have been outraged by the change, since bins don't make sense in the city. Read more about my thoughts on that here.

Other stuff
I am a proponent of freedom to develop the area. SPNA seems to support the dozens of approvals and bureaucracy, such as Historic Preservation Committee, that any person must navigate before changing anything on their house - let alone building a new house on an empty lot! Hell, last year there was a decrepit rotting building causing blight on S St, and the SPNA renegades actually tried to fight the City and save the building! Another time, a convenience store across from Old Ironsides had changed ownership and the new owner was removing these ugly tiles from the side of the building. The SPNA individual proudly announced on the Yahoo Group that they had reported the incident to the City, as permission wasn't granted to remove the tiles! The clubhouse in Southside Park is used for SPNA meetings and when the Sacramento Police Department wanted to use the clubhouse certain evenings for peer counseling... the SPNA folks raised a territorial raucous of concern. It's not theirs.

Although I've agreed with SPNA on some issues, there have been and will be other conflicts. If I live here long enough and get irked enough, I may take things into my own hands. I could walk the streets of the neighborhood with fliers for a new organization... say "Southside Park Representation Committee" which would actually poll/vote on these issues to let the City know how we really feel. Or I suppose I could just make it a one man club of myself, and it would be nearly as viable as SPNA in terms of representing the neighborhood.

Spoiled brats

I was thinking about the concept of parenting... probably since I'll have to face that role soon. My thought is: parenting is analogous to any relationship in society where one person/group (the guardian) is responsible for another person/group (the subjects).

• Parent-Child:
  The parent is responsible for the behavior of the child and for providing for its basic needs.
• Supervisor-Employee:
  The supervisor is responsible for the employee's work, setting expectations and fairly compensating them for performance.
  
• Government-Citizen:
  The government is responsible for protecting it's citizens from threat of foreign invasion and enforcing equal law among citizens.

In each case, the guardian must determine a set of rules to apply towards their subjects. Applying these rules will involve reward or discipline of the subjects based on their behavior. So, what happens in any one of these relationships when the guardian is inconsistent in applying the rules? What happens when the guardian is influenced by whining, swaying on the rules and principles? In each case, the subject would become a spoiled brat... someone who's been taught 'the squeaky wheel gets the oil', and that the guardian doesn't uphold a consistent set of principles (such as rewarding work with payment, or supporting property rights). Most private companies will not survive if they operate this way, so spoiled brats don't thrive there. However, you will see lots of whiney spoiled brat employees in public sector or government protected union jobs. You also will find spoiled brats in a nation where the government has decided to provide "free" services for citizens. You see this today in every protest against the government cutting socialist services. You see it amongst the public health care supporters. The "Nanny State" is a bad parent, and raising a nation of whiney spoiled brats. It's time for government to get back to it's proper role and stand for consistent rules and principles... like any good parent or supervisor.

My 20 Point Political Manifesto

1. A person owns their own life and property.
2. To initiate force upon another is immoral.
   
3. Force is denying another a choice for their own life or property, whether by aggression or fraud.
4. A right is something you have naturally, not something given to you.
5. Equality means equal rights, not equal property.
6. A free market drives competition and innovation, benefitting all.
7. Government intrusion in trade creates market distortions, deadweight loss, and black markets.
8. A literal monopoly can only permanently exist when supported by government.
9. The end does not justify the means.
10. Collectivism is immoral; a form of theft by looting another's property.
11. Collectivism and freedom cannot coexist.
12. Collectivism is supported by blame and jealousy.
13. Government's moral purpose is to protect individual liberty with common justice and defense.
    
14. Any government activity beyond protection of liberty is an immoral initiation of force.
15. Democracy is "mob rule", which is why the USA's founders created a Constitutional Republic to protect individual liberty.
16. The US Constitution's intent was to limit the federal government, reserving powers to the state or the people.
    
17. The US Government has ignored the intent of the Constitution, growing into tyrannical socialism and corporatism.
18. The US Government's immoral actions have hurt freedom and distorted the markets in areas like education and health care.
19. An immoral government will never limit it's own power, unless driven to by it's people.
    
20. A people will never have a moral government unless they uphold the principle of liberty themselves.
    

Will Blog For Free Stuff

I read this in the news today. I just wanted to announce to any companies out there... send me some freebies. I'll be your product whore in the name of free speech. (I prefer shiny new techno-gadgets please). If I could be the first blogger to be fined $11,000 for blogging...I think that's a good one to go down for in the name of civil disobedience.

Don't Be A Pussy

Brandie & I had a beautiful weekend in Carmel celebrating our 1-year anniversary. Friday we put our name in for lunch at Dametra Cafe. Another couple ("Lara", photo right) put their name in after us. Without going into detail.. they knew we were ahead of them, but when a table cleared she asked the waitress "Can we have this table?" as she started to sit down. I said "Actually, I'll take this table" and the waitress checked our names. As they passed I said "Yeah, you could see we were before you.". They were led back to a jammed corner table, and the waitress gave me soup on the house.

We've all faced those situations where some stranger cuts in line, steals your parking spot, or otherwise violates what you consider to be social etiquette. In each circumstance, we are faced with a choice:

1. Defend civility
   or
   
2. Be a pussy

I firmly believe that unless there is risk of physical harm, it is one's moral imperative to confront/reciprocate against douchebaggery. I'll admit... I've erred on the side of danger in the past. I confronted some guys I thought were dumping a car in my neighborhood one night (later to find out they lived around the corner). My actions will definitely err on the side of caution now that I'll have a child. Still, in 95% of cases, I believe there is no excuse for playing the pussy card, whether it be "creating a scene", "embarrassing your friends", or "being outnumbered". Deep down inside a douchebag KNOWS they are being a douchebag and will withdraw in discomfort as you stand up to them for what's right. Other than getting your ass beat by a cracked-out gangbanger... there is no excuse for avoiding your responsibility to demand civility from those around you. To do otherwise is cowardice, plain and simple - and I shame anyone who fails to do so.

Here are some simple guidelines I recommend one follows when combating douchebaggery:

• Don't jump to conclusions. There ARE cases when it's more about brainlessness than cheating. E.g. that moron who humps the Starbucks barista stand immediately after ordering... ignoring the people standing around waiting before him. Then he grabs your drink and gets his stupidness all over it! Don't get me wrong - this is still being a douchebag. It's just slightly less of a douchebag than someone who steals your drink.... so don't yell quite as loud.
  
• An eye for an eye. Don't ever key someone's car because they stole your parking spot. That's an arm and leg for an eye. Once a dude arrogantly stole my parking spot in Arden Fair Mall. I returned the favor by filling a cup with a sticky-sugar concoction and dumping it over his car. His cleaning effort was roughly equivalent to my effort put out by the entire ordeal.
  
• Shame & embarrassment are your friends. If someone cuts in line, chances are you are not the only one who noticed. However, you may be the only non-pussy in line. If you confront the person, everyone else will send you psychic high-fives. Perhaps you may even inspire others to not be pussies.
  
• Google Karma. If at all possible, get photos and full names of douchebags when you encounter them. Post them on your Facebook/blog. You never know... someone they know might see it, or find them on a Google name search!

A few more examples...

One of Brandie's friends had a birthday party at BJ's in Folsom last year. The place was packed and some party of 6 lied saying they were our reservation of 10 for "Mike". There was no mistake... only one reservation existed for "Mike". I could not believe everyone in our party just wanted to let it go. It bothered me so much I asked where they were sitting, went over to their table and chided them for stealing our reservation. They sat there mostly speechless.

Another time... on a pub crawl, we stopped for eats at Brew It Up (in the bar section mind you). Some guy came over and asked one of my friends to 'keep it down". He wasn't being overly loud. I told the guy to "fuck off", then yelled at him after he went back to his table "Fuck off" and flipped him off. Okay, not my wittiest moment... but I think he got the point.

Douchebags aren't just encountered at restuarants, finding parking spots, or waiting in line. I once had a boss at work who was playing favorites. I confronted him, asking for equal promotion. After getting the run-around, I opened an HR case on him requesting civil service procedures be followed with objective criteria for promotions. After they tested us, I got the promotion... and have perceived a higher level of respect since (that boss is long gone).

The list could go on....

Don't be a pussy. Don't be that person that retaliates inward with resentment, only later to think "Yeah, I should have said THAT." You must defend the principles of civility. To do anything less is to not respect yourself. First, have your own principles. Second, stand up for them. We all have the responsibility to make this world a better place. Don't let in the drivers who fail to signal. Tell people who talk too loud on their cell phones to be quiet. Follow people who don't pick up their dog poop home, and shit on their front porch. I guarantee you will feel your angst transform into self-respect.