Registering Women For The Draft

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We should have known it would come to this. Women in the nation's all-volunteer armed forces are already involved in combat, but up to this point have never had to register for a potential future draft.

A current bill just approved by a 32-30 margin in the House Armed Services Committee may change that. And why not, since we are increasingly committed to equal treatment of all citizens regardless of gender (which in itself is a good thing).

But surprisingly, the main sponsor of this legislation, former marine Duncan Hunter of California, introduced it in the hopes that Congress would not approve it, since he would like to see fewer women involved in combat.

"A draft is there to put bodies on the front lines to take the hill," he said, according to an AP article in today's paper. "The draft is there to get more people to rip the enemies' throats out and kill them."

At least someone is being candid here.

The time has come when humanity needs to ask the more fundamental question of whether anyone, male or female, should ever be forced to take part in killing and maiming their fellow human beings.

Of all of God's creatures, we are the only ones who organize ourselves to destroy each other's lives and property in this kind of unimaginably barbaric way.

May God help us.

Do We Need A "Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Humans"?

Rockingham/Harrisonburg SPCA

"The structural and social environment, as well as opportunities for cognitive and physical activity, are important for all species of animals."

-Association of Shelter Veterinarians

Incoming humans at our local jail may be kept in a holding cell for up to 72 hours before being assigned to a regular pod, especially those arriving on a weekend.

In the holding area they are housed in an often cold and sometimes crowded environment, without being provided a blanket or mattress. No routine medical care screening is done at the time of their admission, nor any medical help offered for for those going through drug withdrawal or who are in need of their prescribed medications.

It was in one of these holding units that an inmate committed suicide at our jail on December 7, 2014.

All of which makes me wonder whether we shouldn't have standards for the confinement of human beings that are more in line with those set by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians?

Here are some excerpts from their 67-page book of Guidelines For  Standards of Care In Animal Shelters:

"The primary enclosure must be structurally sound and maintained in safe, working condition to properly confine animals, (and) prevent injury..."

"Primary enclosures must provide sufficient space to allow each animal, regardless of species, to make normal postural adjustments, e.g., to turn freely and to easily stand, sit, stretch, move their head, without touching the top of the enclosure, (and) lie in a comfortable position with limbs extended..."

"Temperature and humidity levels should be evaluated at the level of the animal’s body within its enclosure...  If animals appear too cold (i.e., shivering or huddling together for warmth) or too hot (i.e., excessive panting), necessary measures must be taken to ensure animal comfort and safety..."

"It is commonly accepted that animal shelters have a responsibility to provide for the health and welfare of all animals who enter their care. Unfortunately, compromised animal health and welfare have been documented in animal shelters... Animals often arrive at shelters already experiencing health challenges, and even healthy animals entering new, expertly designed facilities may have their welfare compromised, or risk becoming ill without a functional medical healthcare program."

"The structural and social environment, as well as opportunities for cognitive and physical activity, are important for all species of animals. An appropriate environment includes shelter and a comfortable resting area, in which animals are free from fear and distress and have the ability to express normal, species typical behaviors... The stress induced by even short-term confinement in an animal shelter can compromise health; and when confined long-term, animals frequently suffer due to chronic anxiety, social isolation, inadequate mental stimulation and lack of physical exercise."

A Fun Visit To The National Museum Of Play

Rochester,  New York, Museum of Play

"Play is the child's work."

Spending time with grandchildren brings out the playful side of grandparents. Since Thursday we've enjoyed being young again with our daughter and three New York grand-ones while their father is presenting at a medical conference in Tokyo.

I marvel at how creative our four -year old twins and their 11-year-old big brother are in their frequent "let's pretend" times with each other, entertaining themselves, and often us, for hours on end. 

To add to our fun we visited the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester yesterday, a paradise experience for the young and young at heart. Our first stop was the Butterfly House, with 800-900 beautiful butterflies to enjoy from all over the world (see the uniquely shaped building to the right in the photo above). Another highlight was the Museum's unique Toy Hall of Fame.

Each year the a toy or toys is added to this exhibit. Choices are based on playthings that have been widely recognized as fostering learning, creativity and discovery, and that have remained popular over time. The 2015 selections included the puppet, Super Soakers and the Twister. 

In the past the toy or toys of the year have included the bicycle, the kite, Crayola crayons, marbles and skateboards. The 2005 Hall of Fame winner was the cardboard box, an all-purpose, low cost option for active and creative play. 

The 2008 entry was even more basic, the lowly stick. Christopher Bensch, curator of collections at the museum, defended that choice with, “It’s very open-ended, all-natural, the perfect price (and) there aren’t any rules for its use. It can be a wild west horse, a medieval knight’s sword, a boat on a stream or a slingshot with a rubber band... No snowman is complete without a couple of stick arms, and every campfire needs a stick for toasting marshmallows.” 

How true. Without batteries or any form of gadgetry, its use is limited only by children’s imaginations, and I have seen it serving as a magic wand, a fishing rod or a rod in the hand of a Moses grandly parting the Red Sea. 

Oh to be young again.

"Welcome To Fluvanna Correctional Center" (by an anonymous inmate)

Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, Troy, Virginia

While I cannot verify  every detail in this inmate's account, I know her personally and know others who can vouch for her integrity. As always, I am willing to post any response from a facility like FCCW, but complaints like the ones listed below are distressingly similar to those I repeatedly hear from other prisons and jails across the Commonwealth, although I'm know there are many dedicated and caring staff members at these institutions as well.
This is a condensed version of something she sent me recently, posted with her permission.

Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women is saturated with compromising issues. Poorly trained staff and improper medical care top the list. 

American citizens should not be subject to being treated as little more than beasts. True, everyone here broke the law, yet the very name "Correctional Center" indicates that we are here to be rehabilitated back into society. From all I have witnessed here, this facility is accomplishing the opposite.

Day after day we see guards whose heads are swollen with power, and with a level of corruption demonstrated in the Stanford Prison Experiment. I have seen a guard walk directly up on an inmate, blowing a whistle in their ear. Many times I have heard a guard scream "Because I told you so!"

I have personally witnessed officers egging inmates on, wanting the inmate to combat them or another inmate. I have seen other staff behaving in this way as well. I have seen nurses play favorites in seeing inmates, who have even cursed at inmates, because they know that the inmate receives all the repercussions. Disrespectful behaviors such as these all show a lack of proper staff training.

Fluvanna does allow for inmates to put in a grievance regarding an officer, but everyone knows they will retaliate in some form of childish bullying. A common example is having an officer come shake your room down and write up some kind of charges. Doing time is hard enough without having this kind of harassment from officers. 

Fluvanna is supposed to be a medical facility, and many inmates are assigned here for that reason. But staff members are not properly trained to deal with emergencies. 

While in intake I witnessed a woman slip and fall, wearing what we call "suicide shoes". These are flip flops issued to us to wear fro showering. They become like ice skates in puddles of water. The guards acted like they had never experienced an injured person before. It took them some time to tell the other inmates to lock down. Meanwhile, the woman, in obvious severe pain, was being moved about and treated by guards as if it were no big deal. After being sent to the hospital it was determined she had broken her leg.

One inmate in my wing was bitten by a spider. This was not considered a medical emergency. Even when her finger was beginning to turn black,the nurse simply gave her Benedryl and told her to soak her finger in hot water. It wasn't until a week later, with the blackness spreading and the red blood poisoning line going up her hand that she finally did get proper medical care, after her being adamant about it and showing her finger to the sergeant.

Another medical failure I have witnessed is how easily they run out of people's medications. This is not something to be toyed with, since people may go through major withdrawal or start to act out. And someone with a kidneyinfection should not have to be told that they have run out of antibiotics.

In conclusion, Fluvanna's poorly trained staff, improper medical care and pattern of discrimination tend to promote patterns of negative behavior. The staff should be shining examples of productive members of society. Instead, they reinforce attitudes of negligence and disrespect.

It's a small wonder that offenders keep coming back.

Signed, An anonymous inmate at FCCW

How A Fixation On Psalm 23 May Hinder Us

How can "sheep" take on the mission and heart of the Shepherd? 

Like almost everyone else in the whole world, I love the Shepherd's Psalm. It well deserves its place as our most favorite passage in the entire Bible.

Even unbelievers are familiar with Psalm 23. Whenever I invite people to join me in reciting it, as I sometimes do at graveside services, for example, I'm amazed at how many are able to join in.

It is little wonder the passage has such broad appeal. It is one of the most personal of all scripture texts, full of references to "I" (4 times) "me" (6 times) and "my" (4 times). Yet it is all about what a gracious and benevolent shepherd God is, with seemingly no expectation of our offering anything in return.

It is about pure grace.

That's certainly a message we all need, given how impoverished and dependent we human beings are, and how we much need divine nurture and care, especially in times of loss, loneliness and distress.

But it's not intended to give us the whole picture of our covenant with God. The other side of the story, found in multitudes of other passages, is about how God calls us and equips us to learn shepherding and nurturing ourselves, and to graciously pass on that love and care to others in need.

It's that second calling that is so easily and so often overlooked. To a repentant Peter, Jesus's message is that if you really love me, you will shepherd my sheep, feed my lambs, lead others to places of nourishment and growth (e.g., to "feed" them).

In other words, we are called to be both aware of our spiritual poverty, to be receivers of grace, and to be a means by which we convey grace and help to others. God's shalom is always to be passed on.

Otherwise, we risk remaining spiritual infants, seeking only our own comfort, safety and blessing rather than living out the mandate of the apostle Paul, who urges all believers to "warn those who are complacent, comfort those who are anxious and afraid, take tender care of those who are weak, and to be patient with everyone." (I Thessalonians 5:14, paraphrased)

In other words, having been blessed by Psalm 23-style shepherding, we practice that same kind of shepherding toward others.

The Miracle That Was Mary: 1924-2016

Mary Hepner Wert

Mary Hepner Wert, married to my wife's oldest brother Harold, was a marvel and a miracle. Child number eight of eleven children born to Samuel and Sally (Snyder) Hepner of Juniata County, Pennsylvania, Mary Fianna wasn't expected to survive to even middle age, much less to 92. But she managed to outlive her husband by three years and leave behind five children, fourteen grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren, all of whom sang her praises at the memorial service Alma Jean and I attended Thursday.

Mary was born with Sturge-Weber syndrome, a rare congenital/neurological and skin disorder often associated with the port-wine stain she wore without any sign of self-consciousness. She was never one to feel a bit sorry for herself, but lived with the kind of zest and a spirit of gratitude that was truly contagious. She epitomized hospitality, always ready to open her heart and extend her table to take people in, including some non-family members she and Harold kept in their home for months at a time.

Over thirty years ago, she began to have painful and frequent seizures which interfered significantly with her active life. Her doctors, who had done everything they knew to do medically, saw this as an inevitable progression of her condition and reminded her that she had already lived much longer and better than anyone ever expected. 

Mary wasn't satisfied with their conclusions, however, and asked her pastors at the Erisman Mennonite Church for a service of prayer and anointing of oil for healing. From that point on, and for the next fifteen years she was miraculously free of all seizure activity. At age 75, however, she did have one more, a serious grand mal everyone feared would take her life, or at the very least leave her permanently impaired. But she not only completely recovered, but went on to live another seventeen good years.

Denison Witmer, one of Mary's grandsons, a singer-songwriter who inherited her love of music, sang the following piece at her memorial service, something he had composed some years before:

Grandma Mary

Mary, you are the bird inside the hand

Of St. Francis, in the garden where he stands

Handwriting, a birth mark and a quilt

Mother to my mother and to me and to me

Mary, you are the mason jars in spring

The kitchen with the view across a hill

First memory is a Bible verse in song

The organ while my family sings along

We sing along

And on the calendar when I leave

A little note for you, so you see

When I'm gone, I never go too far

Your heart is my heart

Your blood, my blood

When I'm gone, I never get too far

Mother to my mother and to me

Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/denison-witmer/grandma-mary-lyrics/#AvheP7zS5RsqbLiz.99

Announcing A Most Respectful Divorce

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A friend of ours recently received the following from a relative in a distant state announcing her upcoming change of address and marital status (names have been changed).

Nothing was said about her partner's or their children's or grandchildren's feelings about this latest development, but here are the details:

I'm moving April 18!

My new address is:

"Jane Smith"

(address)

(phone number)

"John" and I are completing the process of a respectful divorce through mediation. He will continue to live in our original home. I look forward to my new life with gratitude for the past and enthusiasm for the future!

I appreciate your prayers and friendship.

Jane

"John", by the way, is 84 and she is 82, and the couple has been married for 62 years.

Sigh.