Super Bowl Sunday!

What a day it was! We were invited to the home of our oldest grandson, Aaron, whom I had never met. Aaron was given up for adoption at birth as Lisa was in college and unable to give him the life she wished for him. We met Gary and Karen, who raised Aaron. He is their son and we are pleased that they chose to invite us to meet them. As soon as we arrived, Gary was there to greet us and then came Aaron. He gave a BIG hug to Lisa and then to me. Tears came to my eyes as I remembered those three days in November 1984 when Lisa and I held him at the hospital. It had been VERY hard to give him up and a phone call to Arne for support was needed as we were ready to keep him. Gary and Karen are wonderful people and Lisa did an excellent job in selecting them to raise her son.




The game was very exciting. While we were disappointed that our Cardinals lost, they made us proud and it was a great game. The final score was 27-23. There were MANY, MANY flags so the officials had a definite part in this game. No comment as to which side I thought they favored. :-)

A New President

I watched with pride yesterday as America peacefully moved from President 43 to 44. George W. Bush quietly slipped out of Washington after Barack H. Obama was sworn in as the new leader of the free world. I watched TV off and on all day and my favorite part was the Inaugural Balls. President Obama is a very sexy dancer. I felt sorry for the First Lady. She had on a beautiful dress but it had a train and didn't allow her to "move out." I'm sure we'll see more pictures of them dancing at different functions over the next four years.

Over a million people crowded the Washington Mall to witness the swearing in of our first "black" President. I find it ironic that he is actually half white and half black, a melding of the two races. I pray that he can truly change discourse in the country and bring us all together. President Obama talked about responsibility, which is on my list, along with shame and common sense.

One concern I have is that racism is still alive and not so much in the white community but among blacks. Rev. Lowery gave the benediction and I found the last paragraph offensive. "Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back . . . when brown can stick around . . . when yellow will be mellow . . . when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. ..." What does Rev. Lowery mean by "...when white will embrace what is right..."? Obama would not have been elected without millions of white voters.

Jack is Back!!

One of my favorite television shows, 24, is back after the writers' strike wiped out the '08 season. The hero, Jack Bauer, is played by Keifer Sutherland.

Because of the "real-time" storytelling approach to 24, and the series' willingness to directly address the threat of terrorism, the implementation of torture as a way to acquire information and the use and misuse of government authority, the series has generated a sizable critical reaction, both positive and negative. The series and the main character, Jack Bauer, have been accused of promoting the use of excessive violence and torture in the minds of the voting public, in part to support the policies of the current federal government. Slate magazine commented that the United States' torture policy has deeper roots in 24 than in the U.S. Constitution.

Feminist Movement

I went to college in the early '60's. Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" published in 1963 describes the dissatisfaction felt by middle-class American housewives with the narrow role imposed on them by society. It became a best-seller, and laid the groundwork for the feminist movement. The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded in 1966 by a group of feminists including Betty Friedan. The largest women's rights group in the U.S., NOW seeks to end sexual discrimination, especially in the workplace, by means of legislative lobbying, litigation, and public demonstrations.

In 1969, California adopted a "no fault" divorce law which allowed couples to divorce by mutual consent. It was the first state to do so; by 1985 every state had adopted a similar law. Couples who once might have wed and then divorced now are not marrying at all, according to The State of our Union 2005.


March 22, 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Originally drafted by Alice Paul in 1923, the amendment reads: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." The amendment died in 1982 when it failed to achieve ratification by a minimum of 38 states.

Also in 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments bans sex discrimination in schools. As a result of Title IX, the enrollment of women in athletics programs and professional schools increases dramatically. While this was a good thing, it has gone too far in that it took funds away from the men's programs for programs in which few women participated.

As a result of Roe v. Wade, in 1973 the Supreme Court establishes a woman's right to safe and legal abortion, overriding the anti-abortion laws of many states. Today over 90% of all abortions occur for social reasons (i.e. the child is unwanted or inconvenient). If common sense were still alive in the U.S., abortions would only be permitted in the case of rape or health issues. Instead, over 3500 babies per day are aborted in the United States.

In 1976, the first marital rape law is enacted in Nebraska, making it illegal for a husband to rape his wife.

In 1984, EMILY's List (Early Money Is Like Yeast) is established as a financial network for pro-choice Democratic women running for national political office. The organization makes a significant impact on the increasing numbers of women elected to Congress.

In 2006, The ruling, 5–4, which upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, a federal law passed in 2003, is the first to ban a specific type of abortion procedure. Writing in the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "The act expresses respect for the dignity of human life." Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who dissents, called the decision "alarming"..." I agree with Justice Kennedy and do not understand how any sane adult can wish to legalize partial birth abortions, which can be done as late as the third trimester. They argue about the rights of the woman. What about the rights of the unborn? The woman made a choice to have intercourse while the baby made no choice. In the RARE CASE where the mother's life is in danger, then it might be considered.

There have been two waves of feminism. The first phase took place during the 19th century and early 20th century. Feminists focused mainly on political power, particularly the right to vote. While they also campaigned for women's sexual, reproductive and economic rights, they were hostile to abortion which is a big part of the second wave of feminism

This is a brief synposis of what the women's movement has done for American women. We've gone from June Cleaver on "Leave it to Beaver" to Brittany Spears, today's celebrity "mother." You decide which is best for the family. I prefer something in the middle. The feminist movement brought forth many changes with which I am very happy. They just went too far in their push for equality. I don't believe men and women were created equal by God. We were designed to complement each other and give balance to a relationship and to society.

Happy New Year!

Another year has come and gone. Time for resolutions which I probably wouldn't keep so will only make one...to lose 10 pounds in '09. I've let the weight creep up the last two years and it's time to reverse the trend.

I had a really nice Christmas this year. Erik and the girls arrived Sunday night, the 21st, and were here all week. On Monday, I took them to Palooka Boutique for custom-made flip flops. They were able to pick out the color, ribbon and bling and were able to watch them being put together. They were given several ribbons so they can change the look when they wish. We then went to the Phoenix Zoo where we had a fun, but chilly, afternoon.

On Tuesday, the girls got their hair trimmed and I took them swimming for an hour. I had on a winter jacket, gloves and earmuffs but they were warm in the water.

Christmas Eve, we went to church at 5 PM. Santa arrived at 6:30 and brought a smile to all our faces. After a chili supper, we opened gifts. You would never know we were in the midst of a recession by all the gifts under our tree.

Christmas Day, the girls got more presents from Santa, including Wii and Rock Band 2. Throughout the day, the rock band performed with different family members playing the guitar or drums or singing. Mark, Marla, Megan, Andy, Drew and Kayley came over at 3 PM. We had dinner at 5:30. We were blessed to have Danny in attendance as we hadn't heard from him in several weeks.

Saturday afternoon, 27th, we had a family bowling party to celebrate Taylor and Nick's birthdays. Taylor turned 13 on the 19th and Nick turned 22 on the 29th. This was Drew's first time bowling and he was having a great time.

Erik and the girls drove back to New Mexico on Sunday. Gracie was very sad to be leaving, as was I to see her go. Arne and I spent several hours getting the house cleaned for Open House on Monday.

Longtime friends, Jody and Merlin, arrived yesterday and will be here until January 7th. We haven't planned any activities as they just want to relax and enjoy the nice weather.

I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2009.

Maybe This Man is "Change We Can Believe In"

President-Elect Obama selected Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his Inauguration. The GLBT (Gay-Lesbian-Bi-Transgender) community thought this was a slap in the face to the millions of gays who voted for Obama.

"During the course of the entire inaugural festivities, there are going to be a wide range of viewpoints that are presented. And that's how it should be, because that's what America is about. That's part of the magic of this country is that we are diverse and noisy and opinionated," he (Obama) said.

I was glad to see our next President stand up to these activists. If this country is to truly come together, then both sides must have the opportunity to take part without emphasis on left or right but rather as Americans.

Thanksgiving is over. On to Christmas!

I hope everyone had as happy a Thanksgiving as we in the Swensen household...at least me. Marla made the turkey and stuffing from our mother's recipe. I can't remember the
last time I had good, old-fashioned, made from bread stuffing. I made all of the side dishes. Lisa was in charge of clean up. Besides those already mentioned,present were Taylor, Nick, Aaron, Erik, Megan and Andy and their darling little ones. We ate at 1:30 so that all food had settled well before bedtime. Mid-afternoon, Marla, Drew, Taylor and I went out in the golf cart. After visiting the ducks on the pond, Taylor was complaining about how slow our cart went. He even ran beside it and showed me that he could run as fast as the cart could go! For a video, check out Marla's blog for Thanksgiving day. The picture on right is Erik with Kayley, Megan and Andy's miracle baby.

Friday I played golf while Erik and Arne went to Joey's for Chicago hot dogs and had a nice visit.

Saturday morning, Marla and I hiked Pinnacle Peak. According to my car clock, we completed the 4 mile hike in less than 90 minutes. If that's true, I'm pretty impressed with this 66 year old body!

Erik ate dinner with his parents Saturday night and then went to Lisa's. Erik, Lisa, Taylor, Nick and Brit went to Cosmic bowling. It didn't start until 10 so was WAY beyond my bedtime.

We skipped church this morning to get some things done around the house. I had to do laundry as Arne had no clean boxers...again! This open house schedule makes it difficult for me to get chores done. It's 8 PM and I'm just finishing up the last load in the dryer.

The picture below is from Friday night when Erik, Lisa, Nick and Brit went to Barcelona, a nightclub in Scottsdale. I guess they had a pretty good time. Brit swore off alcohol for at least the next day. :-)