Burnettiquette

A little inspiration: No Barriers Festival 2009

Heard of No Barriers USA? If not, follow the link. It'll take you five minutes to read. Blind can see, and it's not a religious experience. And if you have time watch the videos. Both are short. Both are very good. But the second one is mind-blowing.

Good moms, bad moms, misunderstood?

First, the case that's close to home...literally: A Miami woman was charged with manslaughter today, after her 18-month-old son died yesterday in her truck. The woman left her home Thursday morning to drop the kids off at school before going to work. Kid 1 got dropped off. Kid 2 was forgotten and left in the vehicle. Mom went into work. When dad came to visit her at work around 3 p.m. Kid 2 was discovered inside the vehicle, still strapped into his car seat, with the windows rolled all the way up. He was dead.

The story pisses me off 'cause I don't get how you forget a kid and leave him in a car. It's not like a sack lunch or an ID card. We're talking a live child. On the other hand, manslaughter seems harsh. My neighbor argued that harsh would have been a murder charge, 'cause that would have suggested the mom was malicious in leaving the kid in the car. That makes legal sense. Still. I mean if cops/prosecutors didn't think the mom had intent - malicious intent, then wouldn't this just be an accident?

Second, there's the case of the farm family from Minnesota, where the mom fled town with her 13-year-old cancer-stricken son, rather than obey a court order to put the boy back on chemotherapy. The mom said her refusal to allow the treatment was for religious reasons and 'cause the family believed in natural/holistic healing alternatives.

A court-ordered X-ray showed that a tumor in the boy's chest has grown. And doctors testified he'll likely die without treatment. I might be wrong, but I don't think the courts force children of Jehovah's Witnesses to get blood transfusions. Why force this family that follows a Native American natural/spiritual healing regimen to do it?

Now the mom faces an arrest warrant. Sucks for all involved. I'm sorry. If I was worried that God or some spiritual thing would get upset by me using modern medicine, even for my kid, I'd get my kid treated by a doctor and ask God to forgive me later. But I don't have kids, so what do I know?

I'm heading for NASA

I may not be literally heading for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, but if this article is true I have gotten 10 pounds smarter over the past couple of months. And by my math that makes me fit to build a rocket.