verb: argue over petty things
name: A surname (very rare: popularity rank in the U.S.: #34174)
On each bag was a photo of one of the 11, with the phrase, "Wasting New Mexico Tax Dollars" below.
Inside the bag, Segura had packed a diaper ('Since they are acting commensurate with diaper age,' Segura said), a schedule of Southwest Airlines flights from Albuquerque to Austin, and a change-of-address form, in case the 11 Democrats choose to stay awhile.
My oldest attacks by grabbing a limb and pulling. He is getting more adept at finding a supporting limb and is usually successful in distracting me from my current victim and allowing them to break free. Of course, freeing his brother means that he becomes the prey.
My younger son uses the Limpet approach. He rushes in full blast and wraps his arms and legs around my torso. He usually drives his chin into my shoulder which is bothersome, and then hangs on for dear life. It doesn't immediately free who I'm currently harassing, but eventually I do get around to removing this tumor from my back.
The star of the match, however, was neither of these.
I have a manuever called the 'clam' where I get my legs around the midsection of one of my boys. Once their arms and legs are clear and my ankles are locked, the act of straightening my legs compresses all the air out of the lungs of my prey. This is known as 'being clammed.' Once the word 'clam' has been audibly spoken, the intensity of the wrestling always intensifies. (And for the record, it is not I who usually brings up the subject.)
At one point in the match, I was lying across a large pillow but I had corralled both of my opponents. My legs were locked around the waist of my older son, while the younger was entangled within my arms. With them both pinned down, I was truly enjoying the moment. I could tickle one by moving my fingers and make the other one yell by straightening my legs. All this fun and yet at the same time I could rest and catch my breath for when I finally let them go.
Then my princess (4 years old) went on the attack. She had been in the fray and then out again, but she was back. She pulled herself up on top of my back using my shorts as a hand hold and giving me a severe wedgie in the process. Then, once she had established herself, she proceeded to whack my behind with her small hand, over and over again. Observing her subjects below, the Queen (may she live forever) nearly fell off the sofa. I myself, struck by the humor of the situation and the need to rearrange the location of my shorts, lost my grip on both boys in my mirth.
My princess is as girly as they come with her dolls and hair ribbons and moodiness. But once in a while she likes to mix it up with the boys. Yesterday, I linked to an article which talked about gender equity and that it is a mistake to try and ignore the differences between boys and girls. I agree - I can handle two growing boys, but found myself completely bested by one little girl.
On one side, the 11 Senate Democrats holed up in New Mexico say they'll stay away from the Capitol until Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst changes the Senate rules or Gov. Rick Perry drops congressional redistricting from the Legislature's agenda.
Their salvation could lie in a lawsuit to be filed as early as today challenging the Senate's power to arrest members and force them back to the Capitol. If it goes their way, the Democrats could come home without having to show up for work.
But on this side of the border, Republicans are prepared to wait out the Democrats and even tweak state law to buy some more time for themselves. And they've made it clear that the rules will stay the same and that redistricting will stay on the table - indefinitely, if needed.
"You leave off redistricting and then there's something else they don't like and they leave on that. That's like negotiating for hostages," Perry said Thursday. "There were hundreds of thousands, millions of people who went to work this morning, and they expect their legislators to be at work also."
The second issue is even more disturbing: The use of lawsuits to overturn or manipulate legislation. In the article above, both sides are in the process of filing lawsuits to help things go their way. The constitution defines specific rolls for each branch of government. I truly fear we will see lawsuits and the Judicial Branch wielded as a weapon of legislation again and again in the future.
By the way - if you are not from Texas, I would be very curious to know what opinion is outside of this state on this issue. Please drop me a comment or an email.
Is it fun to start those rumors?
Yeah, it's fun, because the press is like a big bass, you just stick a hook in their mouth and they'll take it. You know, I have to say that, with all due respect, the press is pretty gullible, especially the gossip press. They love to write about anything. You just go along and feed them crap and they eat it.
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Efforts to civilize boys with honor codes, character education, manners, and rules of good sportsmanship are necessary and effective, and fully consistent with their masculine natures. Efforts to feminize them with dolls, quilts, non-competitive games, girl-centered books, and feelings exercises will fail; though they will succeed in making millions of boys quite unhappy. Dissident feminist Camille Paglia is one of the few scholars who values maleness: "Masculinity is aggressive, unstable, combustible. It is also the most creative cultural force in history. When I cross...any of America's great bridges, I think-men have done this. Construction is a sublime male poetry."
It is hard enough to be a man without society sending you the message that you shouldn't.
