The Bicentennial Anniversary of Lincoln's Birth

I was born and raised in Illinois, the Land of Lincoln.

Growing up in the 1960's was a problematic time for those of us who needed heroes, as the deconstructing of the virtues of dead white men and their civilization got underway in that decade. Nevertheless, Abraham Lincoln was one of my heroes.
I read every book I could get my hands on about Lincoln's life and legacy.

I remember standing on tiptoe at the adult book checkout counter of the public library, handing over Carl Sandburg's Lincoln. The librarian peered over the counter at the little girl in braids, and then said, "Tell your mother that this is due in three weeks."

I learned to sing this song from my first music book, Music for Americans:
"Old Abe Lincoln, he came out of the wilderness . . . way down in Illinois!"
And this from the Illinois state song:
" . . . On the record of thy years,
Abraham Lincoln's name appears,
Grant and Logan, and our tears, Illinois, Illinois,
Grant and Logan, and our tears, Illinois."

In grade four, I won the county literary contest with my delivery of the Gettysburg Address, ending with the stirring phrase ". . . that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth" (November 19, 1863).

In the following year I won again with the recitation of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. I loved this part: " . . . With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in . . ." (March 4, 1865).

I learned in first grade that Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, near Hodginville, Kentucky; and as an Illinois schoolgirl, I had a school holiday every year on that date until I graduated from high school. I was taken to Lincoln's New Salem, Lincoln Log Cabin Stae Park, Lincoln's Home, the Old State Capitol, and to the sacred silence of Lincoln's Tomb, many times.

Today, I marvel that as an adult, I am here to honor the Bicentennial Anniversary of Lincoln's birth. In the '60s, I did not even think about how old I would be when Lincoln's 200th birthday came around!

Here is my favorite picture of Abraham Lincoln as 16th President of the United States, along with two very timely quotations by Lincoln:

"Property is the fruit of labor...property is desirable...is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built." Reply to New York Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association (March 21, 1864).

This is a very different than the plan of our current politicians to take from those who have worked to build their houses to pay for those who haven't.

"It is an old maxim and a very sound one, that he that dances should always pay the fiddler. Now, sir, in the present case, if any gentlemen, whose money is a burden to them, choose to lead off a dance, I am decidedly opposed to the people's money being used to pay the fiddler...all this to settle a question in which the people have no interest, and about which they care nothing. These capitalists generally act harmoniously, and in concert, to fleece the people, and now, that they have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon to appropriate the people's money to settle the quarrel." - Abraham Lincoln, January 11, 1837

I only wish that the current President of the United States, also from Illinois, would harken to the homespun wisdom of a man born in a log cabin, rather than use the people's money to pay the fiddler to the tune of a so-called stimulus.

Abe, where are you when we need you?

The Third Storm

NEARLY WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

After almost a month of sunshine and two weeks of really warm weather, three storms blew in over the past few days. The first dropped about an inch of very wet snow on Sunday afternoon, but it blew through in a few hours, and caused no incovenience. Then it snowed lightly Monday morning.

We were warned that the big storm was coming in Monday night, but it wasn't until 7 AM Tuesday morning, when I took Lily out for our (sadly) solo walk, it started snowing and the rapidly accumulating snow was blowing over the roads. Given that Zoey needs her meds every few hours, I did not want to get stranded in town, so I stayed home all day.

A break in the storm in forenoon gave me

the chance to take the dogs out for a break.

This is a rare picture of the northeast side

of the house. It is sheltered by the trees,and so

was a good spot for Zoey to walk gently.

Just as we were coming inside for lunch,
another wave blew over Cedro Peak,
blurring the far horizon, and making
our world seem smaller, darker and colder.

It snowed off and on, as waves of clouds came over the mountains from the south.

The sun would appear, only to be obscured

by clouds that were dark and blue,

and thunderstorm-like.

Towards sunset, the last of the clouds

tumbled over the Sandia Mountain Front,

and towered, thunderheads, high into the

evening sky, hiding the sunset.

As night deepened, it became blustery as broken clouds scudded across the full moon, and temperature dropped rapidly.

A cold morning is coming on.

Today, New Mexico-like, the temperature should swing from a low of 15 degrees to a high of 50.

We Are Not Alone, WE Surround Them

In the summer of 2007 I wrote two posts, Creeping Fascism and Neither Left Nor Right, and in both, while addressing different issues, I expressed my concerns about where the United States was heading.

As I look back at that summer and those posts, I recognize that we are now in the crisis that I thought we might be headed for, and it appears that things are only going to get worse.

Throughout the primaries and the general election, as I listened to the candidates from both major parties, I felt entirely disenfranchised. I believed that they were all lying to us in one way or another, and that all of them were refusing to acknowledge the disastrous storm we were heading toward. I did go vote, but not for any of them.

Towards the end of the campaign, after the credit crisis and the stock-market crash, I listened to Obama's rhetoric, and considered his history, and I thought: "This man is lying to us." The day after the election, I posted the Obama National Anthem, as black humor (I had a different piece to post if McCain had won). But like all black humor, there was a biting truth behind the satire.

Today, only three weeks into the Obama adminstration, as I look at what is in the so-called economic stimulus package, and when I listened to Obama dismiss the concerns of those who have pointed out that much of what is in the spending bill will not put money into the hands of taxpayers anytime soon, and do so with a cavalier sixth-grade defense of the New Deal, I know we have been lied to.

How does the imposition of a health-care czar stimulate the economy? They're sneaking in Socialized Medicine without open discussion and debate!

Last night, when Obama used fear to promote this bill, warning of dire consequences if it is not passed, despite the fact that much in it is really a progressive social program, I knew that we have been had. Despite his promises of hope and change, he is no different than Bush, who used the same argument from fear to impose the Patriot Act. (It also had to be passed in a big hurry with no time for debate).

Throughout the last two years, I have felt powerless about this, and relatively alone.

I wondered if, aside from some good homeschool blogger friends, there was anybody out there that gave a damn about individual liberty.

And throughout the election, I felt that when I truly spoke my mind, I was dissed and dismissed by what I came to refer to as the hive mind:

"We are the Major Parties. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

And the syncophants of the press made it clear by their treatment of Joe the Plumber what would happen to you if you publically questioned their pick for president.

So I thought my little voice made no difference, and that I was powerless to stop the destruction of our rights. I have called and called my Congress Critters, but even when the calls were coming in 10:1 against the Bail-Out, they did what they wanted. I did not know how to let them know that they are supposed to represent me.

But last week, I opened an e-mail to find the following statement:

"Do you watch the direction that America is being taken in and feel powerless to stop it? Do you believe that your voice isn’t loud enough to be heard above the noise anymore? Do you read the headlines everyday and feel an empty pit in your stomach…as if you’re completely alone?

If so, then you’ve fallen for the Wizard of Oz lie. While the voices you hear in the distance may sound intimidating, as if they surround us from all sides—the reality is very different. Once you pull the curtain away you realize that there are only a few people pressing the buttons, and their voices are weak. The truth is that they don’t surround us at all.

WE Surround Them. "

Glenn Beck, a commentator on Fox News and a libertarian-leaning radio talk-show host, has begun a kind of movement of the disenfranchised.A movement of the ignored taxpayers in fly-over country. A movement of those bitter ones clinging to G-d and guns since 1775; those who have been told to shut up, surrender their rights, and pay for the privilege.

It is a kind of Alice's Restaurant movement. Remember Alice?

"Imagine if three people got up, just three people, got up and sang "you can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant" when it comes around on the guitar. Why then, we'd have ourselves a movement!" (With apologies to Arlo Guthrie).

Well, we have ourselves a movement.

This is the We Surround Them movement.

And all you have to do to join is ask yourself nine questions about principles, and agree with seven or more of them. Seven of the questions are about American values plain and simple, and two are more particular:

Answer yes or no:

1. America is good.

2. I believe in God. I may not go to the same church or synagogue or mosque as the majority of people in America, but I believe in God and he is the center of my life, and God does not tell people to behead others or to persecute others that see God in a different way.

3. It is my responsibility to be a better and more honest person than I was yesterday.

4. The family is sacred. I and my spouse are the ultimate authority under God when it comes to our family. If we fail, we answer to God not the government.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but that is not a guarantee of equal results.

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8. It is not un-American for Americans to disagree with one another, but some opinions may be anti-American. Anti-American rhetoric would be anything that is destructive to the Constitution and our country as our founders understood it.

9. The government works for me. The government answers to me. I do not answer to the government.

(I took this from the transcript in my e-mail. I did clean up the grammar somewhat).

All of the points except numbers 2 and 4 are core American principles that come from the ideas in the founding documents of our country.

Point 2 was difficult for me in that Jews do not talk about G-d as being the center of our lives; rather we think of G-d, Torah, and the people Israel as being central our identity and purpose in life. However, if I think about it that way, I can agree, understanding that individual rights are endowed to us by our Creator, not by governments or the will of the majority.

Point 4 makes complete sense to me as a Jew. We say that the 5th commandment--"honor your father and your mother"--is placed between the duties owed to G-d and those owed to others because parents stand in the place of G-d for their children, and thus bear the responsibility for them, until those children become responsible for their own actions. (This is why the commandment says "honor" and not "obey". Children need to honor their parents for standing responsible until they are able to think for themselves, but they cannot be bound to obey parents indiscriminately, because it is not guarranteed that all parents are moral human beings).

But an atheist could not agree to either point 2 or 4. And yet an atheist can, and may atheists do, agree on the core founding values of the United States, and consider them to be moral values. I believe that this is why joining the We Surround Them movement requires agreement on seven of the nine. We do not have to be in perfect agreement to unite and require accountability to the Constitution from "that man behind the curtain" that is our government pretending to be the Great and Powerful Oz.

This is not about left or right, red or blue, liberal or conservative.

This is not about political parties, it is about principles.

Our founders did not say that we should be ruled by the executive branch; they established our laws upon inalienable rights, and said that "among these are the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Our founders did not say that our government was established by the winning political party;

they said "governments are established among men by the consent of the governed."

The WE Surround Them movement is the beginning of the Governed uniting to hold our Servant Government accountable.

If you are getting frustrated because your public servants are following their own agenda, violating the constitution, and ignoring your voice;

and if you want to be part of a grass-roots movement to make the federal government accountable to the Constitution and to the Consent of the Governed;

and if you can uphold seven of the nine principles above, then please click through to We Surround Them.

The symbol of this movement is a nine-part snake modeled on the old Ben Franklin "Unite or Die" Flag of the American Revolution. Just as the several colonies and regions were unique, and yet could join together to cast off the tyranny of King George, so can ordinary citizens, remaining unique, join together in common cause to hold our government accountable and protect our rights from the tyranny of the political parties.

Focus on Visual Processing Development in Three Ways

The UNM began a few weeks ago, and even with everything else that is going on, I am doing some interesting work. In particular, I am interested in how differences in development between what is called the dorsal visual stream (a.k.a. the where stream) and the ventral visual stream (the what stream) may be affected by autism, what symptoms may arise from that, and how such developmental differences may be similar to and different than those in people who are neurotypical visual learners. What I want to do with this information is called translational research--that part of research that focuses on using the basic science to development treatments and educational interventions to help people with ASD use their visual gifts and yet interact with the rest of the world.

My coursework this semester is quite specialized in order to help me delve more deeply into my interests.

The only organized course I have is Psychology 650: Introduction to Neuroimaging Analysis. In this course, we will learn how to interpret data provided by the various neuroimaging techniques: EEG, ERP (event-related potentials),MEG, Positron Emission Tomography (both PET and SPECT), fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging, and MRS (magnet resonance spectroscopy). Each technique has strengths and weaknesses, and each has specific ways to properly interpret the data collected from it. My purpose here is to be able to tell when conclusions made in the original research are warrented or not, and also learn how to analyze and interpret data that I get from my research.

In this class, the professor lectures about a technology--right now we are doing EEG and ERP--and then assigns us papers to critique. The doc students (like me) have the additional assignment of finding papers in their area of interest to critique. EEG and ERP are particular interests for me, because much of the data in my area of interest is gathered from these electrical imaging techniques. However, there is a very specialized vocabulary for interpretation, so that even though I know my neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, and even though I understand the physics of the EEG and ERP methods, I find myself getting lost on the interpretation. The prof did not assign a textbook, and it is hard to tell what sources on the web are reliable and relevant. So I e-mailed the prof and asked about a book. He recommended one, but naturally, our university library does not have it. However, Amazon does, and at a very reasonable price. So I am eagerly awaiting Steve Luck's An Introduction to the Event-related Potential Technique in Cognitive Neuroscience.

I am also taking hours for Psychology Problems 550 with my second major advisor, Dr. C. These problems involve the neurodevelopment in visual processing and also differences in cognitive switching, and will result in my name going on two published papers. I am currently finding and reading papers on the trajectory of cortical development as measured by the thickening and thinning of the cortex of the brain in normal children, intellectually gifted children, children with ADHD, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and other developmental differences. Here is where the class on analysis is paying off already, even though my understanding is still at the novice level. Now when I read papers, I can at least begin to understand why two different papers using the same technique can come up with very different results. Much of that has to do with how differently they collected their data, and how they interpret it.

Finally, I am also taking Special Education 595: Indepedent Readings in Special Education with my first major advisor, Dr. N. I am meeting with her tomorrow in order to determine a direction for my readings. I am proposing to look into the connection between visual processing and deficits in working memory for people with ASD. This also involves the development and functioning of the two visual streams. I am hoping to agree upon writing a Literature Review on this, using information from cognitive testing to bridge the gap in understanding between the basic science and methods for helping with working memory.

Working memory is the cognitive ability to temporarily store and mentally manipulate limited amounts of information in order to guide behavior. (Behavior here can mean anything from mental math activities to choosing what to pay attention to and what to ignore). Auditory working memory is known to be deficient in ADHD, and certain forms of ASD. New evidence is now coming out that suggests a link between visual processing and attention, that seems to also affect visual working memory. And I have a great interest in this area, as I explained above.

What is really good about my coursework this semester is that each one contributes to and reenforces the others, and all of them allow me to focus on my particular area of interest. This is how a Ph.D. progresses. Coursework starts off broadly, working off the master's degree, but as the doc student progresses, it increasingly narrows towards the dissertation interests. All the papers read, all the knowledge gained during the coursework phase prepares the student for Comprehensive Exams. These are exams that test the student in the areas of interest important to the dissertation topic, and assure the candidate's committee that she is conversant in the narrow field. Once the comprehensive exams are completed, the student then begins the often lonely process of finishing the research and writing the dissertation. Good advisors try to help their students maintain a narrow focus in a particular area, so that the dissertation actually gets written before old age sets in! Once the dissertation is finished and successfully defended, the new Ph.D. has joined the community of scholars by virtue of expertise in a narrow area and by expertise in the research process. Then the new scholar can once again attend to broad areas of interest to the field.

I have very good advisors. Whenever I want to go off on a tangent, both of them sit me down and force my attention strongly encourage me to get back on track.

I am going to be much closer to the dreaded Comps after this very focused semester!

An Unsettling Discovery

As many of you know, we have two dogs. Zoey, on the left in the picture, is now eleven or twelve, and Lily, on the right, is a little over three.

Last Wednesday evening, I noticed that Zoey was limping a little on her left leg when we went for our walk.
I checked her foot for pebbles or other impediments, but found nothing. I thought it might be sore from her arthritis, so we took it easy on speed, but walked our full walk.

Thursday morning, the limp was still there, and by Friday evening it was worse. On Saturday morning, she seemed happy on her walk, but when we crossed a ditchbank lined with rocks, she tripped. She got right back into the walk, though, and I made a mental note to go more slowly on uneven terrain.

The Boychick and I went into town in the later morning, and after a full morning there, we delivered two bales of straw to the Chem Geek Princess for Ruby's new doghouse and dog run, and then headed home. When we got home, I asked the Engineering Geek if the dogs had been out, and he said that we should take them out.

So I got the leashes, and Tomboy Lily came running, but Zoey lifted her head and then tried to get off the couch. I thought she was stiff, so I went to help her, and when I put my hand under her left left shoulder, in the axiallary area, I felt a big, firm mass. Zoey whimpered when I touched it.

I called the Engineering Geek over, and he lifted Zoey off the couch and then felt up her leg. He whistled when he felt the mass, and said, "Call the Vet. I'll take them out and then we'd better take her in."

Although our local Vet does have Saturday hours, they were booked and so the very concerned receptionist recommended that we take Zoey into town. We knew of two emergency clinics, and the closest one to us was the Urgent Care vet next to Blake's Lotaburger on Montgomery. We had taken Zoey there years ago when she was bitten by a rattlesnake. We really liked that Vet, so I tried to call them. Their mailbox was full. So I called the other possibility, and we decided to stop at the Urgent Care on the way. It turned out the Urgent Care had merged with an Animal Hospital very close to the Boychick's Dojang, so we went there. The Engineering Geek went inside to see if they would see Zoey, while I waited with her in the car. We did not want to get her down unecessarily, because she seemed to be in some pain.

The Engineering Geek came out and signaled thumbs up, so we took Zoey in. She had a decided limp by this point, but she still walked in with the dignity of a dowager, and won the hearts of the front-desk staff. A tech (I guess this is a vetinary version of a nurse) came our right away, and looked at Zoey's leg and side.

"Has she always had this mass?" she asked.
"That's why we brought her in, " I answered.
"She seems to want to lie down," the tech responded. "I'll take her back where she can have a soft spot."

We sat down to wait. Later, the tech informed us that Dr. E. was with Zoey, and shortly after than we were ushered into an exam room. Dr. E. explained that Zoey had a mass, that it was large and firm, and that Zoey was in pain, but very stoic during the examination. She recommended that we have X-rays, bloodwork and an aspiration biopsy.
We agreed.

The X-rays showed that the mass is in the axillary area and up against the chest. It did not look like ribs were involved. We were sent home with pain medication and orders to keep Zoey quiet. The pain medication does help with this, because, although it is not an opiod, it does bind to one of the opiod receptors, and also binds the Serotonin re-uptake mechanism.

But it is amazing how quickly our Zoey has become worn down. Despite the pain medication, she is not able to get ahead of the pain, and the tumor is growing.

On Monday, I took her in for more blood work.
On Wednesday, we heard that the blood work and urine came back normal, so she's in good metabolic shape.

Yesterday (Thursday) morning, Zoey woke me at three, moaning. I took her out, and then she seemed to settle. But at four a.m., she woke me again, and the Engineering Geek, too. We noticed that her whole 'underarm' area was bruised. So we called the Animal Hospital. We spoke to the tech on duty, tried to feed Zoey--she has to be coaxed to eat--and then got her settled.

Thursday afternoon, I spoke at length to Dr. J. The aspiration biopsy had come back inconclusive, but she recommended that we make an appointment for a surgery consult for next week, and that I should bring Zoey in for a pain patch.
So Zoey accompanied us as I picked up the Boychick and A. from school, dropped A. off at the library, and then went to the Animal Hospital. The Boychick helped me get Zoey out of the car, and then headed across the street for Taekwondo.

When we saw the vet, she said that Dr. J. was busy with an emergency, but that they had shown Zoey's X-rays to the veterinary surgeon. The surgeon thought we ought to get a tissue biopsy, and possibly other imaging prior to any surgery, because she thought she saw infiltration of the mass into the chest cavity and did not want to go in until we know what kind of tumor this is and the extent. So they recommended a biopsy procedure with a local anesthetic and I agreed. But I called the Engineering Geek to meet me, as this was more than I had expected when I took Zoey back in.

The procedure was done quickly, and Zoey was more animated than I had seen her in days, because the local meant that the area was pain free. She came home and ate.
But by 3 a.m., she was once again restless, although she ate again after being taken outside.
Today, she has pain from the biopsy, as well as her limp, although she had a short, slow walk in the woods near the swingset.

Since the samples are sent to Phoenix (I just don't understand this!), we won't get results until the middle of next week. Much of what we do next will depend on those results.
We will probably have a double consult meeting with the surgeon and the doggy oncologist (!), if the tumor is malignant. I am not sure how far I am willing to go in treating this thing, if it is. Zoey is an old lady, and furthermore, how would a dog understand treatments that are more painful than the disease?

In the meantime, we wait.

In the Real World They're Shutting Detroit Down

Is Washington out of touch with reality?



John Rich thinks so.

I think he understands the anger of the Flyover Country.

Cross Quarter: Evidence of the Coming Spring

Groundhog's Day. Candlemas. Imbolc. Tu b'Shevat/New Year for Trees.

By whatever name we call it, today, tomorrow, and this week, we notice a subtle shift in the light. It is a lighter earlier in the morning, and a bit later in the afternoon.

It is still definitely winter here in the Sandia High Country, and snow lies under the trees, though we've had warmer days of late.

But evidence that Old Man Winter is on the way out is everywhere.

Here, the Groundhog's sunrise has shifted north, and for the next week or so, it will shift north by one solar diameter per day.

On the Winter Solstice the sunrise from this spot could be seen at the top of the road to the right of where it rose over the trees this morning.

And here, at the top of Via Sedillo, the sunrise over the Estancia basin is also north and closer to the lone Pinyon Pine than it was on the Solstice.

In the old calendar, today would have been the beginnning of spring, as the seasons were counted from the Cross-Quarters.


The European Candlemas, the American Groundhog's Day are on February 2, a fixed date on the solar calendar. But this year the Cross-Quarter Day is actually tomorrow, February 3, at 9:45 AM MST, which corresponds to 16:45 Greenwich Mean Time (UT).

Here, more evidence of the shift in the light is seen as the sunrise moves down Pinos Altos.
During the day, the slight change in the solar angle is becoming more apparent.

All of these changes tell us deep down inside our brains that, just as sap rises in the trees, the new wine of the new year for trees, so the energy that ebbed so in December begins to rise within us again.

I hear that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and retreated back to his burrow.
Winter will be prolonged according to legend.

And this indeed has been a long one already.
But the changes in the light, the return of birds here in our mountains, all are messengers that spring is coming, the tipping point has been reached, the season must change, even if the weather remains wintry for a while longer.
Even in hard times.

And in hard times, how much more needful it is that we stop and rejoice at these small signs of the coming thaw.