Mother Talkers

Hump Day Open Thread

by Elisa

Wed May 07, 2008 at 05:47:40 AM PDT

I went to bed as soon as Indiana was called for Sen. Hillary Clinton at around 11 p.m. west coast time. Here is a CNN roundup of election results from Indiana and North Carolina last night.

Update On Burma: The death toll in Burma after a cyclone hit the southeast Asian country this weekend has climbed to 22,000 people, according to CNN. The already devastated country is facing food shortages.

Census Bureau on Latino Growth: In case you missed it, one in four children younger than 5 in the United States, is Latino, according to U.S. Census Bureau information released by the Washington Post. Here is the breakdown according to state:

Hispanics account for more than half of children younger than 5 in New Mexico and California, where their share of the overall state population is 44 and 36 percent, respectively. In Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado, about one-third or more of children younger than 5 are Hispanic.

The figures are less dramatic but still notable in Virginia and Maryland. In both states, Hispanics account for 11 percent of children younger than 5 -- and 7 and 6 percent of the overall population, respectively.

Peace Corps Boots HIV-Positive Man: The Washington Post ran an editorial condemning the Peace Corps' decision to oust a volunteer for being HIV positive. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the man, Jeremiah S. Johnson:

In his lawsuit, Mr. Johnson said the Ukraine country director for the Peace Corps told him that he had to return to Washington because Ukraine does not allow foreigners with HIV to work there. We will save our quarrel with Ukraine's policies for another day; no matter how misguided and discriminatory, they cannot excuse the U.S. government. After another medical examination in Washington in February, Mr. Johnson's Peace Corps volunteer career came to an end...

A more formal response to the ACLU letter is forthcoming. Peace Corps press director Amanda H. Beck told us yesterday that the agency does not have a policy of "automatically excluding people with HIV." Still, the fact remains that Mr. Johnson, now waiting tables back in Colorado, was booted from the Peace Corps because of his diagnosis. HIV should not be a barrier to public service. Making it so, as in Mr. Johnson's case, is a waste of talent and goodwill. With all of its work in dealing with HIV-AIDS around the world, the agency should know that.

What else is in the news? What's up with you?

  • ::

Tags: open thread, Census Bureau, Hispanics (all tags)

Permalink | 48 comments

  • I went to bed (0 / 0)

    at midnight central, as Obama was closing the gap but nothing had been called yet. It was an interesting ride last night.

    We'd planned Field Day at school today, but threats of thunderstorms and hail forced us to postpone until Friday. So I am enjoying a "free" morning, since I'd planned to volunteer at Field Day all morning.

    by Lisa in Austin on Wed May 07, 2008 at 07:08:01 AM PDT

  • Peace Corps and medical (0 / 0)

    Back when I was toying with joining the PC, they emphasized that they would turn down people with serious medical conditions if they were unsure that the person could receive good care in the host country. This went for many things, including diabetes. It seems to me that this might have been the case for the poor HIV fella.

    On another note, PC remains in my top 10 'things I wish I'd done before children'. I often wonder if I could get DH to go with me in retirement.

    if you wobba cypress trees then I will wobba you

    by thais on Wed May 07, 2008 at 07:21:04 AM PDT

  • West Coast here, too (0 / 0)

    My hubby was on a flight from DC to Seattle last night.  He called me from Minneapolis when all of this was going on with the returns narrowing in Indiana.  CNN was on in the airport, of course.

    Anyway, what a ride it was.  I wanted to see Apolo Ohno's return to DWTS and it narrowed from 4% to 2% right when I changed the channel so I was being all male by flipping back and forth between DWTS and MSNBC.

    by janetle on Wed May 07, 2008 at 07:53:05 AM PDT

  • Out of Control (0 / 0)

    My crazy co-worker has to go. He is a retired friend of the CEO that is setting up a department here before he goes happily (for all of us) back to retirement. He is the Vanity Job guy, as in "This must be a Vanity Job for you, Melissa. Call me old fashioned but my wife stayed home with our kids." He is Mr "this war is great and so was vietnam, where I jumped from planes and now I own a ton of guns and hide them in the couch and let's talk about religion" lunch conversation guy, and as of today, fat-ass implying guy.

    Me, talking to a co-worker:  Yes, yesterday went well, thanks for asking, but I was tired because I'm not used to being on my feet all day, I'm used to sitting all day."

    Jerk Face Retired guy: It shows.

    Me (to another co-worker): Co-Worker, did JFG just say I have a big butt?

    JFG: Well in some cultures they like that kind of thing.

    DONE AND DONE WITH THIS GUY.

    by lilianna28 on Wed May 07, 2008 at 08:19:08 AM PDT

  • Thesis to book (0 / 0)

    Working on turning my Master's thesis into a book...I should've done it 5 years ago, but life got in the way. I had tremendous feedback from Cynthia Enloe (!) and she gave me a contact at UC Press. Anybody else done this? I'm going to submit a chapter and a proposal but am not sure how to make the transition from scholarly thesis to readable/sellable (albeit academic) text. Any/all suggestions welcome. I did order The Thesis and the Book and am hoping it will have some good suggestions.

    by GiGi on Wed May 07, 2008 at 08:57:13 AM PDT

  • What is a Hispanic? (0 / 0)

    No, I'm not crazy. I just mean that on State impact forms as a child, on official documents now, I always fill in Hispanic, or if they want to get real Specific, Mexican/Latino, or on some forms Hispanic/Caucasian...

    My Dad was Mexican American, my Grandfather was Mexican American, Great Grandparents from Mexico. My Mom and all of her relatives were WASPs. So... you know, what are my kids? I grew up feeling like a latina. I had a quince, my Abuela spoke Spanish, I had God's Eye over my bed and went to Catholic church. I willingly ate menudo!

    I plan on raising my two daughters with a lot of awareness of their culture, and of course by that I mean Chicano culture. My husband is also a Euro-mutt, so there isn't an unbroken cultural identity there. Unless you count "white-boy" in which case my hubby is a cultural ambassador.

    So are my kids counted as "Hispanics", and if so, in what sense? Culturally, for scholarships, for the census bureau, just in my heart?

    by Suzanne77 on Wed May 07, 2008 at 09:49:16 AM PDT

    • It's up to you (0 / 0)

      I used to work for a federal agency that dealt with this stuff and went to a lot of meetings around the OMB race/ethnic directives.

      Personally, given what you say, I would check yes for you and your children.  However, it's all a personal choice.  Some people who are multi-racial or -ethnic check multiple boxes, some check just one ... it's your decision.

      According to Wikipedia:

      The U.S. Office of Management and Budget currently defines "Hispanic or Latino" as "a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race".

      I would say you fit that definition. It doesn't have to be 100%.

      Katherine

      by pat of butter in a sea of grits on Wed May 07, 2008 at 09:57:19 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      • Thank you! (0 / 0)

        That is very helpful! I always wondered how these determinations were made.

        Thinking about the "anti-miscegenation" laws in the Southern US yesterday, (because of Mrs. Loving), I wondered how such a racially mixed populace had ever pretended there was such a thing as "racial purity".

        by Suzanne77 on Wed May 07, 2008 at 10:18:36 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

    • what is hispanic? (0 / 0)

      Nobody knows.  It's a huge headache for demographers and epidemiologists trying to deal with data, because everybody checks the box using their own definition.  Sometimes multiple boxes, sometimes not.  The original definition is hardly relevant if people filling out forms don't use it.  And I'm a geneticist - don't even get me started on that problem.  Hispanic/latino and/or amerindian ends up being understudied and misrepresented as a result.

      I know two cute little girls who are the bilingual, jewish, blond daughters of two well-off doctors.  I don't think this exactly fits the stereotypes some white people hold, but they are in fact hispanic.

      by lyn on Wed May 07, 2008 at 10:37:27 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      • Were they Sephardic Jews? (0 / 0)

        I don't even know about being Hispanic at all. My Mom was Mrs. Santos, and she was a petite redhead with freckles. Cuban people always thought she was Cuban. And I think my maiden name in this form is actually Portuguese? It was a shortened version of our original last name.

        But yeah, my Dad's culture was a blend of European Spanish, Native Indians and a smattering of other cultures/races. In our family we actually had a grandmother who was Arabic of some sort? We realized this through geneaology and some intact Arabic words that had been passed down through our family. Crazy...

        by Suzanne77 on Wed May 07, 2008 at 11:11:35 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        • nope (0 / 0)

          They're Mexicans (on the mom's side) of Ashkenazi descent, classmates of my boys.  Our two families nicely illustrate how the combination of race, language, religion, and heritage all work together to obscure the definition of hispanic.

          My dark skinned son wears his central american heritage on his face, but though everyone sees him as latino he's being raised in an anglo household.  His white classmate is being raised in a spanish speaking family that values and preserves its Mexican heritage.  They're both hispanic, but about the only thing they share in common is the Jewish part.  Oh, wait . . .

          by lyn on Wed May 07, 2008 at 01:05:14 PM PDT

          [ Parent ]

          • I have a good friend (0 / 0)

            who is Ashekenazi Jewish, but his Dad "Carlos" relocated to South America in the 40's. He was originally Karl I believe, so anyhow the whole family speaks Spanish, is totally assimilated into the culture etc. Its awesome!

            But he told me that Jews from Spain (?) are Sephardic... yeah I have no idea, but Jewish cultural/racial/religious identity seems as complicated to me as defining the term "hispanic"! And he gets a two for one deal!!

            by Suzanne77 on Wed May 07, 2008 at 01:11:12 PM PDT

            [ Parent ]

    • I don't know. (0 / 0)

      Is my grand-child-to-be hispanic?  His/her other grandmother was born in the Dominican Republic and Spanish is her first language.  My son's girlfriend and her sisters was born here, but speak a mix of Spanish and English at home.  Racially, however, they are viewed as African American.  

      And ofcourse, our families heritage is almost 100 percent British.  

      by tjb22 on Wed May 07, 2008 at 01:11:42 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • Does it Get Easier??? (0 / 0)

    So this is my first week on my own with the two boys. I'm not complaining, but man life sure is different! I had a system down for running errands etc with Jack. Throw a newborn into the mix and I had to rethink everything and it took me twice as long. Sigh. Before long I'll have a new system down, but there sure is a learning curve! And, why does one crying make the other start??? Last night it was off and on from 5pm until Jack went to bed. My ears were ringing from all of the whining (Jack) and crying from Justin.

    Oh, and we are moving into our house on Saturday and I am sooo not packed. :)Its been too nice to stay cooped up in the house packing!

    Jen in NJ

    by littlepear on Wed May 07, 2008 at 11:39:48 AM PDT

    • Aww sweetie! (0 / 0)

      My Mom had three and she always said babies were "the stick in her spokes" as far as routines. You will survive! Mom did! And I will be right there with you in a few weeks! Good luck!

      by Suzanne77 on Wed May 07, 2008 at 11:48:20 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • hang in there, Jen (0 / 0)

      I only have one kid and am therefore pretty useless on this question, but I have always marveled at single-parent families could pull this off.   Maybe some ear plugs and a nice, big pat on the back?

      by mamacita on Wed May 07, 2008 at 11:55:29 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • it does (0 / 0)

      It gets easier!  

      I am still amazed that you can handle moving and a baby right now at the same time.  You sound so calm about it.  I'm sure you will get through it all with flying colors!

      by NJmom on Wed May 07, 2008 at 12:00:25 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • Eventually it does (0 / 0)

      No one ever tells you how hard it is to have two (or more) kids. I used to watch in awe as other moms seemed to have it so together with their brood. I felt like an abject failure. And then I was pissed that my sister never told me, my sister in law never told me, etc. I guess it's supposed to be a secret, but I always tell new moms that it is indeed hard and often sucks.

      It will get easier, it just takes time. Lots of time. Hang in there  - lower your expectations and try to farm out the bigger one whenever possible!

      by GiGi on Wed May 07, 2008 at 12:42:33 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • Oh sweetie (0 / 0)

      The first week is so hard.  And you're moving on top!!!!  Yikes! It will get easier as you get used to it.  

      Is there a way that you can read to Jack while you are feeding Justin?  My boys are just short of 2 years apart and it helped if I could engage the older one like that while tending to the younger one.  

      With errands, the trick is finding carts that are are two seaters or ones that have the little trucks atached at the grocery store.  DS#1 can ride in the truck part (and probably have a ball) while you place ds#2 in the carrier in the main seat.  It also helps to keep the double stroller in your trunk for places where there are not carts or you could try a sling/or front carrier for the baby while you push the older boy in the stroller but I found that hard for long trips.

      Good luck-oddly enough the transition form 2 to 3 is easier but it takes some planning to get things like dinner and laundry accomplished LOL.

      by music teacher on Wed May 07, 2008 at 12:55:22 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • I feel for you (0 / 0)

      DH has been home a lot so far on the days that DD1 does not go to daycare, but tomorrow morning will my first half day alone with both girls - we'll see how things go.

      Good luck with packing and moving!

      by SwissClogs on Thu May 08, 2008 at 12:55:35 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • When did they start messing with my ice cream?? (0 / 0)

    This probably happened years ago but I just noticed last night.  My 1/2 gallon of ice cream is no longer a 1/2 gallon.

    The Breyers chocolate and the Tillammook vanilla are both 1.75 quarts.  The Breyers rocky road is 1.5 quarts.  Both Breyers were the same price and the containers look very similar so you have to look closely to see that the rock road container is slightly smaller.  The slides slant in slightly towards the bottom where the chocolate container's sides are more straight.

    I know companies do this to quietly raise prices - shrink the size slightly but keep the price the same.  I knew that canned goods have been shrinking.  The ice cream was a surprise.  Then next time I shop, I'll be checking the size of everything!

    by mommy turtle on Wed May 07, 2008 at 12:11:26 PM PDT

    • it's been awhile (0 / 0)

      because the favorite brand around these parts, Blue Bell, proudly notes on their cartons "STILL 1/2 gallon".

      I hate the smaller size, same price trick. Juice boxes used to come 10 to a package, and then they switched to 8. One day I'll go to buy a gallon of milk and it will be smaller...

      by Lisa in Austin on Wed May 07, 2008 at 12:21:16 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      • Cans (0 / 0)

        It's the same issue with cans.  I have a family recipe from my great grandmother for pumpkin pie and it calls for a pound of canned pumpkin.  The cans went to 15 oz and now are 14.5 oz.  It's pushing it to try to make this recipe without buying two cans and throwing most of one away.

        I'm thinking pretty soon the pistachio ice cream will come served in a pistachio shell.

        Katherine

        by pat of butter in a sea of grits on Wed May 07, 2008 at 12:39:05 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

  • IT HAPPENED AGAIN (0 / 0)

    I cannot f-ing believe it but LILY BROKE HER FRICKING ARM. She was playing at daycare, fell with a friend and we thought, maybe it's the nursemaid's elbow.

    So I take her to the pedi who is slightly convinced I'm one of "those hysterical moms" or something because he says it's pretty obvious it's not nursemaid's elbow. Ok, fine, but my kid has been crying for three hours. So he wanted her to calm down first so I took her for a walk and got her a "coffee" steamer but her arm still hurt (momma, arm hurrtss). So I took her back and said look, she still says it hurts, so he concedes to x-rays (her third set, for those of you counting). He prescribes a set of "right arm" x-rays to which the tech says "well thanks for being vague doctor." She proceeds to be extremely thorough and call my doc to tell him to prescribe a shoulder x-ray, and voila. A break in the shoulder. Yeah, hysterical my ass doc. He felt so bad. Good.

    The good news is it doesn't require casting. MiL and I will be creating a nifty  sling. She is in decent spirits, but often has a little cry of "my arm hurt momma." hurts the heart. I'm gonna stay with her tomorrow to monitor, but the only real instructions are "don't fall on it". After the trauma of the body cast-like leg fracture, this was actually relieving.

    And I thought being told I had a fat butt was the worst of the day. I was wrong! And yes, this is less than a year (three weeks shy of a year).

    by lilianna28 on Wed May 07, 2008 at 04:21:47 PM PDT

    • When my DD broke her arm (0 / 0)

      I was convinced that she was just crying hysterically because she hadn't gotten her nap. She was just 2 years old. I was ANNOYED with her and put her in the car to drive 45 minutes to go get Daddy. She fell asleep in the car and I thought, "Ha!"

      When we got to Daddy and she woke up, back to the crying and hysteria. Daddy suggests ice cream. It was only when she was using only one hand to eat her ice cream (in a cup with spoon) that DH is like, "Suzanne, how long has she been refusing to use her right arm?!"

      I felt so, so, so bad. Might have been my lowest point as a mother.

      So, yeah. Three in a year? They might have to put me in the hospital for trauma. I am so sorry for you and your little girl!

      by Suzanne77 on Wed May 07, 2008 at 04:57:14 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • poor Lily! (0 / 0)

      She has had more than her share of owies.  Hugs and boo-boo kisses all around.

      by mamacita on Wed May 07, 2008 at 06:09:27 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • Oh no (0 / 0)

      Sorry to hear that, Melissa.  Poor kid.  I'm glad for you and her that it doesn't require casting.  I hope she heals quickly.  

      "If it's not Scottish, it's crap!" ~Mike Meyers

      by 1plain1peanut on Thu May 08, 2008 at 05:38:17 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • Oh I am SO sorry (0 / 0)

      poor Lily, she has really been through it!

      My heart goes out to both of you, and boo on your ped. for not taking you seriously!

      Get well soon, Lily!

      by Lisa in Austin on Thu May 08, 2008 at 06:16:05 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • Wow, what a day (0 / 0)

      Poor Lily!

      And poor you, for all the hassle and your jerk of a co-worker.

      Take care,

      by SwissClogs on Thu May 08, 2008 at 01:00:38 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

Permalink | 48 comments