You were not aborted but were born to a loving, nurturing mother. A true miracle. Thank her.

 No matter whether it happened on a snowy January morning, or a hot July evening, you know the date, the day of the week, the year and perhaps even the time of day. What is it? It is none other than the day you were born, or, as a two year old would say, "Morrow is my bird.. day!" 

And if you are under 16 years old, you want to load that cake with candles. But if you are over 25, you'd rather lose count after 20 candles! Regardless of the candles, or the flavor of the cake, you know the month, day and year of your birth. 

But do you really appreciate

the true significance of that day? Do you really understand that everything had to be perfectly lined up and in sync for the miracle of your birth to take place? Following is a brief chronology of the events that took place leading up to and including the spectacular miracle of your birth.

First four to five weeks (1st Trimester):

In the first four to five weeks after you were conceived, your brain and spinal cord began to form. And so your heart and your arm and leg buds began to appear. At this point, you were an embryo and were very, very tiny!

At eight weeks (1st Trimester):

Your organs and body structures have begun to form. Your heart started beating with regular rhythm. Your arms and legs grew longer and your fingers and toes began to form. Your sex organs began to form. Your eyes moved forward and your eyelids formed. Your umbilical cord, which was your lifeline to your mother, became noticeably visible. You were a fetus and looked more like a human. You were about an inch long and weighed less than one eighth of an ounce. 

At 12 weeks (1st Trimester):

Your nerves and muscles worked in sync and you were able to make a fist. Your sex organs revealed your gender. Your eyelids were closed to protect your eyes as they developed. Your head growth had started and you were much longer and you weighed nearly an ounce.

At 16 weeks (2nd Trimester): 

Your muscles and bones continued to grow (your skeletal structure). You had your first bowel movement. You were able to make sucking sounds with your mouth. You were about 4 to 5 inches long and weighed almost 3 ounces.  

At 20 weeks (2nd Trimester): 

You were more active and fluttered slightly.You were covered with fine downy hair, lanugo, that protected your underlying skin and by a waxy substance called vernix. Your eyebrows, eyelashes, fingernails and toenails had began to form. You were able to scratch yourself. You were able to hear and to swallow. You were about 6 inches long and weighed around 9 ounces.

At 24 weeks (2nd Trimester):

Your bone marrow began making blood cells. Your taste buds formed on your tongue. Footprints and fingerprints began to form. Real hair began forming on your head. Your lungs had formed but did not yet work. Your hand and startle reflexes began functioning. You began to sleep and to awaken regularly. If you are a male, your testicles began to move from the abdomen to the scrotum. If you are a female, your uterus and ovaries were in place and you were provided with a lifetime supply of eggs in your ovaries. You had begun storing fat and had gained weight. You were about 12 inches long and weighed about one and a half pounds.

At 32 weeks (3rd Trimester): 

Your bones were fully formed but still soft. Your kicks and jabs were forceful. Your eyes opened and closed in response to light. Your lungs engaged in practice breathing moments; although they were not yet fully formed. Your body began storing vital minerals, such as iron and calcium. Your lanugo began to fall off.  You were roughly 17 inches long at this point and weighed about 4 to 4.5 pounds.  

At 36 weeks (3rd Trimester):

Your protective waxy vernix became thicker. Your body fat increased. Your body became bigger and had less room to move around. Your movements were not as forceful and jabbing, but you stretched and wiggled a lot during this period. You were 16 to 19 inches long and you weighed about 6 to 6.5 pounds.

Weeks 37 - 40 (3rd Trimester):

At 39 weeks, you were full term. Your organs were nearly ready to function on their own. You most likely presented a "head down" position for birth. You probably weighed between 6 pounds 2 ounces and 9 pounds 2 ounces at birth. 

Birth:

Obviously you made it here and beyond. Your mother loved you enough to carry you full term and to birth. She withstood the late nights, the kicks, the pain, the fevers, the dizzy spells and all of the uncertainty that encircles a pregnancy. And why? Because she loved you. And she loved you since the second she learned that she was expecting you. Her maternal instinct was in control the whole time and she knew exactly what to do, and how and when to do it with the right amount of tender loving care. 

And she was there with you on the first day of kindergarten. And she waved "Good bye" to you for the very first time on that day. And that day has stuck with you ever since. Well guess what, it has stuck with her too. If she is still with you, give her a big hug and kiss, or call her or send her a card if she is far away. And thank her for carrying you to term and enabling you the greatest miracle ever bestowed upon us, the miracle of life. 

If your mom has passed, say a little prayer for her or have a moment of silence for her. She did so very much for you. She brought you to this life for crying out loud! 

 

 

 

Your Assembly member's bills get plucked and amended: The Nuts and Bolts of Sacramento

 It's election season and your local CA State Assembly member suddenly realizes that he has not introduced a single bill for his district in the last two legislative cycles. And he is in a tough fight with a primary challenger of his own party who is after him for not introducing any bills to protect the water rights of Valley farmers. He desperately needs a bill but does not have time to write one. What does he do? He finds spot bill! 

What is a spot bill?

A spot bill is a bill that already has been written and that sits in the inner sanctum of the State Legislature waiting to be introduced by a State Assembly member or State Senator who is in a real pinch and quickly needs a bill that is crafted on a particular area of interest to that legislator and his or her district. The spot bills usually do not change existing law and are not controversial and so they easily pass in committee hearings and on the floor of the legislative chamber in which they are introduced. 

In this particular hypothetical case, our legislator needs a bill on protecting water for Valley farmers. Since the bill can't change existing law as a spot bill, it simply will state things the way they are but will sound important: "The State of CA remains committed to the agricultural industry's commensurate needs for water in the pursuit of its requisite obligations in planting, growing and cultivating California's rich agricultural manifold." As you can see, the bill does not change existing law in any way but it sounds important and it attracts headlines in the local papers for that incumbent Assembly member who is facing a tough primary challenger from his own party.

So far so good

OK so far so good, right? Our hypothetical spot bill, which is proceeded by the letters AB because it is an Assembly bill, (State Senate bills are proceeded by the letters SB), has made it through all the Assembly subcommittees, including the Assembly Appropriations Committee (there's nothing to appropriate) and now is on the way to the Assembly floor as AB123. It will easily pass in the Assembly with a bipartisan vote because the bill does not change existing law in any way. And the Assembly member gets great press at home: "Assembly Member ________'s water bill for farmers, AB 123, passed in Assembly with a bipartisan vote." 

Plucking and Amending AB123

But what happens to AB123 when it reaches the State Senate? A ha! This is where the plucking and amending takes place! And this is the really, really scary part. This is the sordid reality of the California State Legislature as it is today. Our bill, AB123, goes through the same committee review process that it underwent in the Assembly. However, the difference is that this is the opposite chamber of the Legislature and all bets are off. No more "Mr. Nice Guy." AB123 gets completely plucked and amended. It no longer is a spot bill on water for California farmers. Besides it does not even mention farmers or water at all!

What has happened to AB123? To put it simply, it has been plucked, amended and thrown back onto the table for approval. First, all, and yes I do mean all, of the language of the bill has been crossed out, erased, and removed from the bill. It has been plucked. And the language has been replaced with wording about gun and ammunition purchases, age limits, caliber limits, background checks, etc.. (amended). Our non-controversial water bill, which did not change existing law, has been converted into a very controversial gun and ammo purchasing bill in totally incognito fashion. But it retains its original title: "AB 123 Water bill for farmers." This is what is so deceiving to voters and even to the media.

Why would State Senators do this?

Why would the opposite chamber, in this case the State Senate, want to change the language of a bill and make it a completely new bill? Think about it. There are State Senators who would lose their seats if their constituents knew that they voted for tougher gun and ammo purchasing laws. This way they can vote for a controversial bill without anybody knowing about it. So far as the public is concerned, their State Senator voted for a non-controversial water bill for farmers that did not change existing law. And no Assembly member voted for a gun and ammo law. They all voted for a do nothing water bill! And yet the final result is a controversial gun and ammo law that everybody could say they did not vote for because they voted for a water bill! Whew! So that's how things are done in Sacramento! 

 Our challenged Assembly member

And what about our Assembly member who originally introduced AB123 as a water bill? He's still lamenting his victory in the Assembly with his bill and boasting how he is protecting the water rights of farmers, hoping all the while that the local newspapers won't delve deeper to find what really happened to AB123. More than likely, they won't and our do nothing Assembly member with his spot bill will get re-elected to another mediocre term.

Nuts and Bolts

This, my friends, is the low down and dirty reality of the California State Legislature today. Sobering, isn't it? That's the nuts and bolts of it like it or not!