Update on me: Family visits, 2010 Olympics, Ukraine, and more

It's been a while since I've written an update so have compiled a long winded one here :-) For starters, I got a new temp job. For the next four months, I'm merchandising for Northern Gifts, a company that produces all the 2010 Olympic Plush Mascot merchandise. So I drive around to all the stores in the Fraser Valley that carry the plushes and merchandise, place orders, etc. What's exciting is our company outfit is the HBC Olympic Athletes apparel, including the 2010 red jacket, 4 different shirts, etc. We've also been given a lot of other swag to use for showcasing to new/existing clients and I'm pretty sure we get to keep all of it once the job is over.

Another awesome plus is that, from January onward, I will likely be raking in a lot of over time, which means lots of extra cash. It's great because it will help me save up for moving to the Ukraine. I'll also be selling my car just before I leave, so that should add a few more thousand to the savings.

Last Friday, I went into my work to get more training on merchandising for another company on top of ours. Also met the guy in charge of Business Development and Marketing for the Olympics. Very charismatic guy. Learned a lot about things that are going on that the general public doesn't know about just yet. I'm starting to get excited because there's going to be all sorts of free events and entertainment going on. I may look into getting some tickets for one of the medal awarding ceremonies because he gave us some scoops as to which ones have really big rock bands playing at them after the medals are awarded, bands like Great Big Sea, Diana Crawl and others. Supposedly, tickets are $26, which is very reasonable! I was thinking that I'd go with my sister. It be a real nice activity to do together, since she loves music. I also found out that Coca cola is working to get U2 to do a free concert.

When I got home from training, I went out and bought new linens for 2 of our beds. Since I'm not paying rent, I'm putting what money I would spend on rent into beautifying the house and buying things that my dad really needs.

My grandma and aunt (father's mother + sister) arrived for a visit this last Sat and stayed till Tues. We had a wonderful visit; although it did involve me having to do a lot of organizing and cleaning to get the house ready. I also dropped a good $300-400 dollars on everything from juice glasses (my father only had plastic cups) to towels and cloths (the good ones I had previously bought weren't around any more - I think my sister took them when she moved out), as well as all new sheet linens and pillows for 2 beds, etc. I've talked to my dad about getting rid of the king sized bed in the basement though, because it takes up all the space in the rumpus room, which could otherwise be used for entertaining guests, as there's a nice little bar and fireplace, as well as my dad's piano. Dad was thinking of getting rid of this couch we had down there that has a pull out king sized bed. I think it'd be better to keep the couch and get rid of the king bed. We don't get visitors staying over night often so a couch with a pull-out bed makes more sense. The linens for the king bed that I bought can be used on my dad's bed upstairs, after my aunt and grandma have left. The sheets I bought are really pretty. They're white sheets (400 thread) with some nice embroidered leaves and flowers right on their very top edge of the sheet.

Before our guests' arrival, my father and I were even moving couches up and down the stairs at midnight. That was rather entertaining :-) The leather couch that my dad had in the basement is quite new and much more comfortable than the old floral one he had upstairs.

I was really sick 2 weeks ago. I actually had to miss a full week of work at my new job, and pretty well quarantined myself to my bedroom for the duration of that time. I still feel like my body's trying to get over the cough + sore throat. It's certainly good enough for me to work and function; however, by the time the work day is over, I'm exhausted. And since I've been home today, I've been having some pretty bad coughing fits for no apparent reason.

Since fighting over the cold + starting the new job, my goal is to establish a daily routine with work. After which, I'm going to join either the karate club again or start going to the local rec centre for exercise. After phasing that into the work week, I'm then planning on going for those Ukrainian language lessons. Oh forgot to mention, one of the Christmas presents my grandma and aunt gave me was a 5 cd program on learning Ukrainian, which came highly recommended by some of their friends who are avid members of the Ukrainian community in Manitoba, a community that's a lot larger out there than it is here.

Today's been a very productive and good day of work. I ended up having to work over time. Also have been wracking up a lot of mileage, which is good because it gives me extra money since I get $0.44/km. I'm also getting A LOT of exercise, as I'm on my feet running around all day, carrying loads of stock, etc.

Yesterday, I was at one store where they'd put all of last yrs Christmas merchandise on for 90% off their lowest marked sale price! I bought 12 boxes of Christmas cards (my mom sends out a few 100 every Christmas) and a decoration for our front door + the total was $2.30!! Crazy!

Siska's back has been really bothering her the last week. I think she did one too many flying leaps off the furniture :-) She now can't hop up on the furniture on her own so will whine at me if she wants up. We positioned some of the large floor pillows that my dad usually lies on in front of the tv so that they act as a ramp up to the coffee table that's beside the large front windows, as it's Siska's favorite look out spot. Her little bed is on the table and she perches herself there when myself and/or my father is away.

The other week, I made this Indian dish called chick pea masala. I bought a spice mix that gives directions on what to add to make the dish. Problem though is the spice mix is SUPER HOT! I added a few extra huge cans of diced tomatoes and a can of cream corn to try and tone down the heat but it didn't worked much. Just one bite of this masala, and you're stomach starts stomach burning. It really is tasty. Just too spicy for my stomach to handle. Dad can eat it; however, he has affectionately dubbed it "Fire Soup," which says a lot considering he can eat some of the hottest stuff I've ever encountered.

New Siska Mini-Movies :-)

I know I haven't updated for a long time. And I promise I will. Till then, I hope these adorable videos of my little dog tie you over! :-)

Why Public Health Care is Better then a System based on Private insurance

As a Canadian, I do have certain level of ignorance when it comes to the current US private insurance based health care system. I will make 3 comments and then conclude by accounting some of my personal experience with the US health care system. Firstly, I will pose a few questions so as to rectify some of my ignorance on the matter of the current US private insurance-based health care system. Secondly, I will offer a critique of US private insurance companies. Thirdly I will provide a synopsis of why I believe public health care is the way to go. Finally, I will conclude with my own experience of the private-insurance based system.

To begin with, I’d like to pose a few questions: If an uninsured person goes to the hospital in the USA, don't they get billed for that hospital visit? And, if uninsured and unable to pay due to low-income, are they not then tagged with whatever debt their visit has incurred, eventually resulting in collection agencies? I really feel for the poor because they barely can meet their own basic needs let alone then having to be stuck with monthly payments and/or debt. I have heard some Americans say that if worse comes to worse, the uninsured can go to the hospital, resulting in them being tagged with debt and yes eventually battle collection agencies but “you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip” so the saying goes, implying that if the person’s poor there’s no way they can pay the debt so no harm to them whether collection agencies come after them or not. My response to such a statement is that a collection agency can certainly make a person's life a living hell and possibly even result in compounding one's health issues (particularly mental and emotional health) due to the stress incurred, and thereby cause a snowballing effect for those uninsured individuals. Thus, one can't squeeze blood from a turnip but one can certainly mash a turnip to pulp and after battling credit collectors, I’m sure that’s exactly how such individuals feel. Like mashed pulp.

I also question the ethical standards of private insurance companies, who are a for-profit industry and not for the common good of the people. Insurance companies are businesses after all; therefore, capitalism is the name of the game and (unfortunately) seeking out people where their diagnoses fall under "pre-existing conditions" clauses seems (from my limited understanding) to be to the benefit of the insurance company since they can then say "we don't cover you". Furthermore, as profit is the game, higher fees may not necessarily mean paying for those of lower-income/ uninsured, so much as taking such higher fees in order to line corporate pockets.

Now reaching my third comment, I must stipulate that I do NOT mean to offend my reader with the following comment. While the Canadian system is certainly imperfect, I adamantly believe the Canadian public health system is far better than then the current private insurance-based system in the USA. I think it is better because I see Canadian public health care as a much more socially-just system, which has an in-built preferential option for the poor as well as presumes and upholds the dignity of the human person. Unlike private insurance companies, the Canadian public health insurance system it is not based on profit but rather on ensuring that all human beings (whether rich or poor, foreign or citizen) have a right to health care and that society has a responsibility to ensure all have access. Those who cannot afford it are not denied access nor rejected due to some sort of pre-existing condition.

Concluding, I would like to share from my experience as a Canadian who had no health coverage for the last 2 yrs I was a student doing my Masters degree in St Louis, MO. I found myself in situations where I needed health care but could not afford to pay for it, as it was over $1000. Even though health insurance was mandated for all students by Saint Louis University but I found a loophole in that, while I was registered as a SLU student, I was registered through being a student at Aquinas Institute where health insurance was not required or at least not specified in any documents that I signed.

Last fall, my financial situation was such that I literally lived for 2 1/2 months in a closet under a staircase, which only fit a single twin mattress on the floor and had a hanging bulb in the ceiling (bonus was it had a cat door, which my little dachshund-yorkie dog loved as it gave her easy bed access;-)). There were also times I had to borrow pay advances from Aquinas Institute in order to make my rent. This was all due to combined factors such as only getting a $3000 CAN student loan to last me a year and not having regular p/t research assistant work due to lack of research assignments from professors.

When I got sick, I thanked the Lord for Saint Louis having one free health clinic in the city that ran out of the basement of a Church every Sat from 9am-12noon. It was the only way I was able to see a dr, like the time I was diagnosed with laryngitis. The sad part is I had to go two Saturdays before I was able to see the doctor because it had a first come first serve policy and even though I arrived before the doors opened at 9am the first Saturday, I could not be seen by a doctor because of the number of people who had arrived there even earlier than me (illustrating the need for more clinics for the poor). It was a very difficult experience, not only because I had to wake up at 6:30am in order to weave my way on the transit system to the other side of Saint Louis and attempt to access this free clinic, but also had to wait out in line in the cold (it was winter) for a long time before then moving inside and waiting 3 hrs only to be told to come back the next week. So I survived another 7 days before coming back even earlier, waiting out in the cold, etc and finally (praise the Lord!) getting to see a doctor, and then finally learning, "You have a bad case of laryngitis and need antibiotics."

I couldn’t afford antibiotics but the free clinic was able to direct me to Schnooks, where I could get the antibiotics for a subsidized cost, so long as I hung out in the store for ½ hr browsing (i.e. the store hoped I’d shop and therefore offered the meds at a low cost so as to draw people… but they’re drawing poor people, so browsing is likely all they would do).

About 2 months before I was due to head back to Canada, I had to cough up $300US for a prescription that only covered 20 doses! Of course I put it on my credit card, since I had no money. But I did so grudgingly because, in Canada, the very prescription (if I actually had to pay for it) would have cost me $90! NOT because of any gov’t subsidy but rather because Canada allows for generic versions of the medication to be sold whereas the US does not, leading to a monopoly in the markets of certain types of medication and therefore driving up its prices, which I’m sure the monopolizing pharmaceutical companies love!

Any thoughts? :-)

Lovin' Academia!

I'm currently tired but VERY happy after a day of learning about the Ukraine and its history, exploring Notre Dame campus and taking artsy photos in the sun, corresponding with Gary Macy and Maxwell Johnson, and going to dinner with Antoine Arjakovsky! All in all, an eventful and amazing day! I meet with Maxwell Johnson tomorrow to discuss PhD programs at ND and hope to get a pic with him, as I'm a bit of a fan ;-).

Yesterday I had a long meeting with Arjakovsky to discuss all about the opportunity working as the Director of the Long Distance MA program in Ecumenical Studies at the Ukrainian Catholic University. I'm very excited about the opportunity. It may take some time for all the specifics to be worked out; however, we've both agreed that I will work with the university for two years.

Gary Macy and I were shooting a few emails back and forth today. I guess he had Dr. Terrance Tilly (the theology chair from Fordham University) and his wife Maureen (a scholar on Augustine and North Africa) over for dinner at his place the other night and Gary started telling them about my thesis and my PhD thesis ideas regarding the demise of the female diaconate. Dr. Tilly supposedly got really excited and wanted to read my work + thought I'd be a good fit for Fordham, but Gary stressed how much he wants to be my advisor. So they started bantering about what school I'd end up studying at and such. Gives me hope that I may get a good scholarship for my PhD!

Speaking of PhD programs, any thoughts on Berkley, the Graduate Theological Union, and Fordham? I spoke with a close friend + mentor of mine from my undergrad university about the GTU + Berkley and he said if I went there he'd "worry" about me "like a Jewish mother" because he understands the institutes to be "very liberal". Myself, I don't like categorizing and my experience at Aquinas Institute has led me to be open to perspectives that may be completely contrary to my own as well as be open to the reality that my position on an issue may be completely wrong. What I mean to say is, even if the GTU and Berkley are "liberal" and even if I don't agree with positions held by scholars there, I feel I am open.

I have really enjoyed my communications with Gary Macy and have to admit that I am incredibly flattered by how much he wants to be my PhD advisor. Today even, when I mentioned that I emailed my thesis and such to Dr. Tilly and inquired about Fordham's distance ed PhD program, Gary Macy replied stating, "ask Terry Tilley if it would be possible for me to help out with a thesis at Fordham." :-) It's always nice to feel wanted :-D

I'm hoping to get a picture with Maxwell Johnson when I meet with him tomorrow. It's getting late here and I need to get up early in order to head off to the next Ecumenism and Peace Seminar run by Prof. Arjakovsky.

I just checked my email while writing this and Johnson replied and, discussing our meeting tomorrow, he added, "yes, you can take a photo."

I can't believe how fast all this is happening. I feel wisked into the world of academia and am absolutely basking in it + loving it + feeling so alive! God how I love embarking on my career vocation <3.

Getting to the Ecumenism and Peace Seminars at the University of Notre Dame

Just a quick note, as I'm quite tired from all the traveling I've been doing, as I flew from BC down to Detriot, MI then stayed in Ann Arbor over night and then drove to Notre Dame, IN this morning.

The trip has been going good so far. I really enjoyed my short yet sweet visit with Ish yesterday. We got his car all ready for my trip down here and it's working great. It's a 1997 Geo Metro, which is a lot like mom's fire fly but in relatively new condition with very low miles. We had a lot of fun trying to get the license plate on the back of the car, as there were no bolts and the first set of bolts we bought did not fit so we exchanged them for a set where one is supposed to reach up behind the bumper and stick the nuts on the bolts but there was no access to where the bolts came out. Only way we could get it to KINDA work was by prying a piece of plastic forward far enough so I could squeeze the bolt through then maneuver it with one finger out the hole (without dropping it, mind you, into some odd random space that one cannot access from the back part). So yes, it took a good hour for us to get the license plate on. We eventually had the help of 2 of these automotive part clerks but even they couldn't get the bolts and nuts to fully screw on because of the odd set up. We're hoping that the bolts don't gyrate loose, as we couldn't tighten it much.

So today I drove down to Notre Dame for the first of 5 Ecumenism and Peace seminars. I showed up late to the first seminar, after getting totally lost for a good 1/2hr due to really bad directions around Notre Dame from Google maps. After the Google directions took me the wrong way, I decided to follow these signs that said "ND Visitor Parking" but eventually realized it was taking me farther and farther away from ND campus. I then realized the signs were for people who were coming to weekend football games and not visitors to the campus! After quite a bit of driving around, I eventually found the campus.

I caught the end of the first Ecumenism and Peace Seminar, got a free bag lunch (which I will be eating for dinner here shortly) and had a brief talk with Dr. Antoine Arjakovsky, who I will be having dinner with tomorrow and discussing the job opportunity in L'viv, Ukraine.

On a sad note, I threw my back out today at ND, believe it or not. Random! I was walking in my new knee-high winter boots, wearing that dress and leggings.... tripped over my own feet and landed on my wrist and side! Dress up in the air and everything! At least it didn't go over my head... at least not that I'm aware of! Only one guy saw it and we basically laughed about it together. My ribs were hurting earlier, but now it's moved into the back. I'm going to do a bunch of stretches and hopefully get some of the knots out.

On the plus side, I found an on-campus, free parking area that few people know about. Just happened to run into an off-duty ND police officer who was parking his car in the free parking area. It doesn't say free parking but he told me it was - except on Saturdays, which it seems is when they have ND football.



I'm going on a tour of the campus tomorrow. I went to the visitor's centre today and made sure to write a comment card full of suggestions so as to help make things easier for other visitors who come to the campus. For example, their online map needs to be updated (some of the new buildings aren't on it and the printing quality of the map sucks) and even the one handed out on campus could be improved if they used a "A-B-C, 1-2-3" map grid system combined with their building number system. There are just so many buildings and offices that it's nearly impossible to find the numbers one is looking for amidst the jumble of other numbers.


I spent $50 and 2 hrs at the ND book store. I really shouldn't have bought anything but I couldn't help myself. I also checked out all the books written by ND professors and was happy to learn of a few professors that I didn't know taught here, whose books I've read and studied in various undergrad and grad courses I've taken. I was also happy to see that a few of Sergius Bulgakov's books (the scholar who I wrote on for my thesis) are used in one of the theology courses here. I'm going to see if I can meet the professor who teaches the course, as he might be interested in reading my thesis. I'm also going to see if I can book an appointment with someone from the theology department and the history department, and maybe even the European Studies department, while I'm here. I really should have done it before I came here, when I was organizing all my travel plans; however, it completely slipped my mind.

Adventures!

Biggest news on my end would be about a job that's been offered to me. Only issue is it doesn't start till June 2010 but it's a HUGE phenominal opportunity. You see, I've been internet stalking and collecting the contact information for some really big scholars and theologians + sending them my thesis + academic resume. Antoine Arjakovsky, who is an expert on the Russian Orthodox theologian I compared with JPII, not only read my thesis but loved it and immediately wrote me + asked if I would be interested in working as the Director of the Long Distance MA program in Ecumenical Studies at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv Ukraine (just 5 hrs drive from Krakow Poland!). He wants a committment of at least 2 years working in the Ukraine. He's coming to give lectures for 10 days at Notre Dame University in Indiana at the end of October and wants me to come down to meet him face to face. I am also hoping to attend his lectures, which are part of a course on Ecumenism and Peace, so have been in contact with the Dean of European Studies at Notre Dame, and he wants to speak with me + get to know me because I think he wants to see what has Arjakovsky so interested in me. So very exciting!!!

Re: Cold Lake - interviews aren't being scheduled till the very end of Sept or beginning of Oct so I hope to hear from them soon and will keep you updated.

Other big news is that, right now I'm writing from Michigan, visiting a gentleman named Ishmael, who is a PhD student in Interdisciplinary studies at the University of Michigan. His degree is like getting a triple PhD in a way as he specializes in anthropology, visual arts (he makes a lot of fantastic documentaries), and natural science. His undergrad's in Linguistics (he speaks 7 or more languages) and his Masters is in Anthropology as well as another in Education. Ishmael is a very intelligent, caring, and wonderful guy. I've been enjoying getting to know him more.

We spent Sunday touring the zoo in Detroit. It's not as nice as the Saint Louis Zoo, but it was still a good time. I enjoyed their Butterfly and Hummingbird interpretive centre the most. When we arrived in Ann Arbor, where he lives, we went and took out some documentaries from the library and I was able to learn all sorts of filming techniques and such from Ish, which was very insightful and led to much discussion. The majority of the visit has been very laid back, which is good because I didn't have any plans besides just hanging out and for us to be able to get to know each other more.

Ish has shown me around the university he goes to and hopes that I consider it for my PhD studies. He's been trying to convince me of going more into the areas of education and the environment, as he knows these areas are passions of mine and thinks I would enjoy studying them immensely. At the same time, I have a very well-known Medieval Studies professor (Gary Macy) who is trying to convince me to come and get my PhD in History in a program through the Graduate Theological Union and Berkley University, down in San Francisco. We'll see how things play out.

Ishmael and I get along great. We share lots of great conversations and are never bored even when things are quiet and we are just enjoying each other's presence. He tells me how wonderful and beautiful I am about 100 times a day. He's very focused on spoiling me, never wanting me to do the dishes, always making me breakfast and leaving notes if I am asleep when he has to run off to school. After I first arrived I went to his Zulu class with him and learned my name in Zulu as well as how to introduce myself, where I come from and tell someone what I like to do all the time + ask them "how about you?" I've also attended his Actor-Network Theory class and his Linguistic Anthropology class. I think I liked the Linguistic class the most :-)

I've been using this little blue banana seat bike to pedal around to his school and to the store. I've almost crashed twice, just because the balance on the bike is quite different, as it is not like a normal mountain bike. But it's been a lot of fun.

Ish introduced me to a few of his friends and we went out last Friday and attended an Ocktober Fest that was happening in the area. Had brats, sourcraught, pretzels and beer for dinner. Ish was absolutely exhausted as he had drank this energy drink earlier in the day and it seemed to negatively affect his system. Instead of giving him energy, it seemed to absolutely exhaust him. We had a few videos to return to the movie library at campus so decided to leave the festival after dinner and drop the videos off. I figured the walk may wake him up a bit but it didn't. I wanted to get him home so he could have some rest; however, he was determined that I enjoy myself so we went for ice cream and then a drink at a new restaurant, where we met up with his friends again before finally going back to his place, where Ish passed right out and was dead to the world.

One morning during my visit, Ish and I were sitting out on his house's porch. We had just finished lunch and were watching the squirrels bury their nuts in the lawn and reveling in the songs of the twittering birds. Ish and his housemate planted a nice little vegetable garden beside the fence in the front yard as well as the garage in the back yard. The garden in the front yard ends right near the sidewalk, adding some green foliage to the front of the property. So we were sitting their observing the world around us. A lady with a dog was walking along on the sidewalk. Her dog popped a squat right IN the vegetable garden and peed for a good 15 secs (must've had a pretty full bladder!). Ish was in shock that the lady (who had obviously seen us watching) allowed her dog to pee right in the veggie garden. Ish was shocked speechless. After the lady had already left, he determined he would make a sign for the vegetable garden that would read, "Do not let your evil, evil dog pee here!" The way he said it, it was so funny! Later that afternoon I warned Ish's housemate that if he was going to eat veggies from the front yard, he might want to give them a thorough washing first! Break out the antibacterial soap! No wonder some of the swiss chard leaves were turning yellow!

Lastly, I want to share a Youtube video that is pure art in motion! Enjoy!

G.I. Janes: Why Women Soldiers Should be allowed to Participate and Lead Combat Missions

Right now I'm still waiting to schedule that interview with the Canadian Forces for the job working as a Chapel Life Coordinator / Unit Chaplain at the biggest air force base in Canada. I've offered to drive there so as to have a face-to-face interview instead of over the phone. I think this offer will illustrate to them my committment and will also give me an enjoyable car trip, albeit a long one.

A friend of mine forwarded me an article about women US military officers being actively involved in planned combat missions. I would encourage readers of this blog entry to also read the article I was forwarded, titled, "A Quiet Circumvention of Morality -- Women in Combat," by Albert Mohler.

My friend and I had a discussion a few years back whereby I expressed my support and pride for the Canadian Forces, particularly in how they permit women soldiers to hold active roles in front line combat as well as in leading combat missions. My friend disagreed with me, siding with the US military's mandate that women soldiers not be placed in planned combat missions nor in the front lines of war. He offered many arguments, which were persuasive but still failed to convince me that women soldiers should not be allowed to participate in and even lead combat missions.

So my friend sent me the article and asked for my opinion. I want to share with you my response.

I found the first half of the article you shared to be very telling of the situation. US military women are performing front line duties even though it goes against the US military's regulations. At the same time, I vehemently disagree with the author's statement that - by agreeing that women should be allowed to join combat situations - "the American people are demonstrating their disregard for the moral wisdom of the ages." Certainly, men and women have been created with distinct gifts and strengths. Whether or not they are married and have children, women still are endowed with a maternal, caring nature. Furthermore, they are principally peacemakers by nature, exhibited by how statistics show women are found to commit less violent crimes than men.

That being said, women will also stand against injustice and defend their family and their nation, even if it means resorting to combat and knowing that such combat may mean death. As such, I believe women soldiers have every right to enter into combat missions. Furthermore, I understand my position as being biblically based. For example, there is the Judge Deborah who journeyed into battle along side Barak (cf. Judges 4-5). She is the one who proclaims God's word to journey forth into war. Then there is also Jael, who goes on what appears to be her own commando mission and kills the fleeing Siscera with the use of nothing more then a tent peg (cf. Judges 4: 17-21). There is also the woman from Thebez that uses a rock to kill the up-coming King Abimelech, who was beseiging her town (cf. Judges 9:50-57).

Of course there is also the story of Judith. The vengence and wrath of Nebuchadnezzar upon the ancient near eastern world is described in great detail for the first three chapters, as if to further impress the gravity of the situation facing the Israelites, who were one of the nations he swore to conquer. Upon hearing the stories of destruction of surrounding nations, the Israelite people prostrate themselves before the Lord and beg for mercy. Did God raise up a male army to defeat Nebuchadnezzar? No. Instead, the Lord raised up a widow who was a strong "God-fearing woman" to enact judgment and save Israel.

Just as a mother bear will defend her cub, a mother will defend her child... is it so different for a woman to want to defend her family and her country? Or are we expected to just sit at home and be good wifey's? That's what some would like to believe as having happened during WWI and WWII; however, those women who did remain home were left with a great burden of responsibilities. Many had to be their family's and their nation's providers, as women were not only dealing with their domestic responsibilities but they were also the ones who ran the factories and tilled the fields in the absence of the men fighting over seas.

Overall, I do believe women should be allowed into the front lines and yet I also recognize that combat is meant as a last resort (hence why I also strictly opposed Bush's supposed 'preemptive strike' policy, but that's another matter). I agree with the author Albert Mohler that war and combat is certainly a messy business. At times it involves trickery and tretchery. Even in the above biblical stories of courageous women who went to war and put themselves in harms way in order to save their nation... even some of these saintly women resorted to trickery, using their intellect and pragmatism to enact their mission and ensure victory over Israel's enemy.

I have yet to hear or read an argument to convince me that women should not be allowed to fight for their country and their family in the front lines. I encourage discussion on the matter and am certainly open minded to being proved wrong on this issue, so feel free to respond with your two cents. ;-)