Behind the Blockade

I am quite busy at work, so I thought you should see what life is like behind the blockade in Gaza. There is a reason people are trying so hard to break the blockade.

According to the World Health Organization: (emphasis mine)

72% of the children and 42% of pregnant women suffer from anemia while 30% of children under 5 suffer from stunted growth which is most likely attributed to malnutrition. Over 80% of the population are reported to be food insecure (cannot afford a balanced meal) compared to 63% in 2006. Out of 9000 commodities (including food items) that were entering Gaza over two years ago, only 20 are ‘permitted’ today further exasperating an already catastrophic situation. 50 trucks a day are now allowed to enter Gaza compared to 200/300 per day. Malnutrition, needless to say, is increasing. The situation will certainly continue to deteriorate with Gaza experiencing a 24% electricity deficit coupled with rolling blackouts leaving children in the dark as long as 12 hours per day. Hospitals have reduced their services to only urgent care patients as their fuel supplies run dangerously low. Returning from Gaza, a member of the European Parliament stated, ". . .it is the civilians who suffer from the siege. Seeing the tiny premature babies in their incubators in Shifa Hospital brought that message home. Israel has been cutting electricity supplies to Gaza. If the generator this hospital was now dependent on was to break down, the 30 babies would die within half an hour."

No matter how many terrorists lurk in Gaza, none of them are under 5 years old, but that's who's being punished. I wonder how many of us, if faced with watching our children starve, would find pacifism so appealing.

Cry Poe! and Loose the Skeptics of . . . Um . . .

So, anyway, I wish what I am about to present to you is the work of a Poe. Unfortunately, the woman who wrote this is utterly sincere, and that makes me sad.

Stay at Home Daughter Graduation

If you are unfamiliar with the SAHD movement, quite simply, it is a fundy movement to make sure that their daughters never, ever see, much less take advantage of, the opportunities the evil feminists have given them. The girls are homeschooled, heavily sheltered in every way, and then, when they reach legal adulthood, they remain at home, heavily sheltered in every way. They never get a job or go to college or date. They never watch an unapproved TV show, see an unapproved movie or talk to anyone outside their restricted little world. They never hear another opinion besides their parents' and the pastor's, and then they are married to someone they barely know and inflict this upon the next generation of girls.

At the time of my high school graduation in 2006, one of the first reasons I chose not to pursue college was that my interests had always been in real estate and I did not need a degree since I had already completed real estate school and received the credentials I needed to work as a real estate broker.

Ultimately though, the primary reason was that my greatest desire was to be a wife committed to furthering my husband's vision and a mother devoted to raising and teaching my children. It was obvious that the best training for this lifelong occupation could be obtained among my family in my own home and not among my peers in an institution. Although I did not consciously choose to avoid college specifically for this reason, it seems it could have been a great diversion if I had invested four years primarily in the pursuit of academics and autonomy.

Of course she has no vision of her own to further, and knowledge and independence would simply get in the way of slavish devotion to a man she's never met. Notice that she doesn't state she wanted to further one specific man's vision, just any man's vision. That's sad. It means that to her, any man's goals are more important than her own. Every man in the world is more qualified to tell her what to do with her life than she is.

She lists the many advantages of staying home, which mostly include cooking, cleaning and caring for her younger siblings, and then we get this bit of heartbreaking honesty:

Furthermore, the independent spirit that would have likely grown in me had I been living hours away from my family has been kept in check since I have lived under my father's authority. I trust that this will make the transfer of authority from my father to my husband an easier task than if I had been accustomed to exclusively running my own life.

Well, yes, having once been free, it would hard to be a slave again. I agree. That an argument for freedom, however, not against it.

The 66 Days of Strawmen

What's appalling about this list, entitled Knowing the Enemy (sigh. we're both americans, honey, and believe it or not, i do not want to destroy my country) isn't the 66 strawmen having a party, it's that these people believe that this is what we believe. I guess I can see why having a civil conversation about cheese would be impossible between a teabagger and a liberal, let alone a reasoned debate about the environment, or healthcare. None of which is good for those of us who have to live in this country.

1. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding. First of all, there is no "AIDS virus", it's called HIV. HIV leads to a condition known as AIDS. You can't even define what we are talking about here and you want to lecture me? Fantastic!

2. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach 4th graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex. Shouldn't children know how to read well before the 4th grade? How is illiteracy in this country connected to sex education? Why is the English teacher teaching sex ed anyway? Do you have any clue what happens in a public school in this country? No, I didn't think so.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists. So, nukes aren't a threat unless they are in the hands of commies? Does this apply if Iran has nukes? I rather think not.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before federal funding. That's just stupid.

11. You have to believe that the military, not politicians, start wars. Nobody thinks the members of our armed forces start wars. I support our troops- I support them coming home, alive, and seeing their families, instead of dying in a meaningless war based on lies.

13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high. Are you just stringing random words together now? You like paying high ATM fees?

16. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal, and really a very nice person. I have no opinion on whether or not Hillary Clinton is nice. I've never met her. She may very well be nice, but I don't particularly care as long as she's good at her job. As for "normal", I have no idea what you mean here. Are you trying to imply she is a pervert? It certainly is extraordinary for a woman to hold her position, perhaps that's what you mean.

19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying moral abominations should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal. I put up a manger scene on my mantle every year, you asshat. (I inherited it, it's very nice.) I just don't think my tax dollars should pay for religious scenes on public land. If you want to put up a manger scene on your land, feel free. Also, I'm fairly certain parades do not have orientations, sexual or otherwise.

21. You have to refuse to discuss the issues in a rational manner and whenever someone attempts to do so, throw a 3 ring tantrum, rant and rave, go into a lunatic rage and outshout them (preferably with profanity and name-calling) and stick to personal slurs, smear tactics, slander and building straw men so you can knock down the straw men (oops, sorry, straw persons) and hopefully sidetrack the conversation away from your lack of ability to support your position. Sorry about the irony meters, people. Just send me a bill.

26. You have to believe that all spirituality and all religions except Islam are bad. Atheist, by definition means . . .

27. You must use the following buzzwords as often as possible: "Nazi", "Hitler", " Gestapo ", "police state", "totalitarian state", "imperialism", "imperialist", "running dogs of [fill in the blank], "greedy corporations", "shrub", "fascist", "paranoid", " goose-stepping ", "ruling-class", "class-strife", "class warfare", "stolen election", "racist", "entitlements", "hate", "bourgeois" or better yet, "petty bourgeois", "counter-revolutionary", "progressive", "red-baiter", "anti-Communist", "deviationist", "revisionist", "reactionary", "multiculturalism", "oppressed", "victims of Yankee oppression", "plight of the [fill in the blank] people", "mean-spirited", "McCarthyism", "jingoism", "flag-wavers", " neocons " and, of course, overuse of the indispensible {Mod Snip}

The indispensable {Mod Snip}? How quaint. Glenn Beck can't shut up Nazis, Hitler, etc. so he's . . . Liberal? I'm disturbed. I can't say I've ever used bourgeois or petty bourgeois, progressive is a compliment in liberal circles, red baiter? Was this list written by Senator McCarthy? Deviationist? What does that even mean? Victim of Yankee Oppression is what Confederacy sympathizers call themselves, why would liberals use that phrase? GAH! Stop wasting my time!

34. You have to be a victim of as many forms of melodrama as possible and be ever vigilant to promote victimization of almost anything and anyone although that's very difficult to reconcile with the assertion that nobody's to blame for anything, except the people who don't agree with you. Do you mean the melodrama of my failing health, or the melodrama of Teh Hubby's MS? Fuck you.

36. You must with all your heart and soul hate America and Americans and bash them at every opportunity, while claiming you love America though you contend that American patriots are really traitors. And do remember to accuse people who don't agree with you of being the ones who hate America and Americans. This won't confuse people with IQs above eggplants, but remember some of our best friends are about as intellectually astute as ashtrays. So, is an ashtray more or less "intellectually astute" than an eggplant, keeping in mind that big words don't actually make you smarter, spleenweasel?

39. You are always to belittle and deride concepts such as optimism, patriotism, honor, honesty, faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty, courage, bravery, principles, trust, trustworthiness, reliability, responsibility, respect, common-courtesy, common decency, kindness, Good Samaritanism, sacrifice, patience, fortitude, values, integrity and character as being naive and passé . Call anyone who uses those words, “judgmental" and "intolerant". When did I ever belittle or deride optimism, honor, honesty, faithfulness, loyalty, courage (it's not that i'm skipping words, it's that a lot of these words are synonyms) trust, respect, kindness, sacrifice, patience, or integrity? I have never done so. I think those are good qualities. Nice try on stealing them for yourself, though.

40. You are encouraged to lionize, venerate, yea, worship sloth, lust, self-centeredness, selfishness, instant gratification, slander, criminal behavior, drug addiction, degenerate behavior, promiscuous sex, lewd remarks and behavior, rudeness, crudeness, crassness, smutty language, vulgarity of all kinds, disrespect for authority, laws, law enforcement and military while showing respect for prostitution, drug dealing, gang-bangers, organized crime, pornography and generally everything that would aid in tearing down the social fabric of the United States of America and all she stands for. "yea, worship"? Srsly? Okay, so lust, yeah, but . . . . hee hee- smutty language and vulgarity of all kinds. Sounds fun, when do we start? But sloth? I know what you're getting at. It's a swipe at all the lazy, lazy people on welfare or food stamps, who would rather live a life of desperate poverty than work, this swipe delivered during a time when there are 5 people for every available job. Go fuck yourself. (How's that for vulgar?)

63. Remember, one of the Leftwing Liberal hallmarks is to try to instill fear and use whatever scare tactics are available. This in conjunction with doomsday prophecies, perennial pessimism and hopelessness, real or imagined, will hopefully amplify the fear in others. "Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd." ~ Bertrand Russell

I'll end with this one, simply because it is delivered by a person who thinks, that at any moment, they will ascend to heaven (naked!), leaving us Leftwing Liberals (are there Rightwing Liberals?) to suffer horribly at the hands of a merciful, loving god. Doomsday prophecies, indeed.

The Evil- You're Reading It Right Now!

When my niece was 4, I babysat her every night while her mother was at work. Liberal though I am, I never allowed her more than 1/2 hour of TV a day, not because TV is evil, but because TV isn't particularly good for developing minds. One day in October, I was baking cupcakes for a bake sale at her preschool and completely lost track of time. When it came time to ice the cupcakes, I called for her to help me and she said, "I'm watching a Halloween movie!"

Then I heard the Jason sound: shuh shuh shuh shuh

I almost broke a leg getting out to the living room to turn the TV off, much to the disappointment of my niece, who was sure she'd just missed the good stuff.

So you can see that, liberal though I am, I certainly understand, and agree with, being careful what children are exposed to, but some people carry things a little too far.

There is good to be found in the below categories but I want us to examine the various choices of entertainment:

TV/Movies--the obvious offenders are evident, lust, sexual immorality, sensuality, foul language, witchcraft, but what about the ones that are not? Feminism, children deemed as superior and parents portrayed as imbeciles, rebellion towards authority and God, homosexuality, and the list goes on.

That's weird. Sex comes up 4 separate times, but violence? Not once. Actually, considering who lives and who dies in a Friday the 13th movie*, I guess this person would allow a 4-year-old to watch one.

Books/ Magazines-- glossy pages send strong messages, books can have hidden messages, philosophies and agendas that mom and dad don't have time to read through

Glossy pages send strong messages? Wtf does that mean? Oooh, shiny- BURN IT! As for "books can have hidden messages"? Um, yeah, that would be the point of . . . don't you read the Bi- . . . oh, fuck it, I give up. Don't give your kids books or magazines, ever. Better they never read than that they get exposed to glossy agendas. (Actually, here is a list of acceptable books. It is the saddest thing I have ever seen. I weep for the trees killed to produce these travesties of English.)

Video Games--violence, sex saturated, dark and evil, desynthesizing our children, satanic-- now they have video games that access the internet and so we move unto..

"Desynthesizing our children"? Wow, you managed to wtf me twice in two paragraphs. That doesn't happen every day. I looked. There is no such word as "desynthesizing". Maybe she meant "desensitizing"? And where are these "sex saturated" video games of which she speaks? I'd like to get a hold of one. Sure, GTA contains some implied sex, but "sex saturated"? I am so missing out!

Internet sites, blogs, Youtube and Facebook--all which put our children and ourselves on the fast track of information--good and bad. Be sure to have your filters on as a smorgasbord of depravitiees exists for the unsuspecting. Not only that, but also know what your children are reading and who they are visiting. Never let a child be online alone. I use the 'buddy system' for accountability. No one goes online without someone with them. Sometimes, even blogs for girls/boys (that appear godly) can dive into topics like sex, suicide and such so beware!

"a smorgasbord of depravitiees" This woman homeschools her children. "Sometimes, even blogs for girls/boys (that appear godly) can dive into topics like sex, suicide and such so beware!" ZOMG- a website aimed at teenagers deals with subjects that concern teenagers? That's insane!

Music--Since there are many points I want to discuss here, I will be discussing this subject in a different post.

Wow, the internet gets one paragraph, but music gets a separate post? Are these people still that worked up about heavy metal?

I have 'cleaned house' before and it is amazing how things still find their way in, it is definitely an ongoing process! Our family has adopted a 'walk beside, talk beside' method of dealing with these things and that in the event if they are exposed to ungodly influences-- we counter it with biblical worldview teaching. We must arm our children with the weapons of war that they will need for their time here on earth as we cannot shelter them from everything.

Everywhere I look I see evil, but that's okay because we have a system of brainwashing our children! Someday, I'll figure out a way to make sure they never think without checking with me first!

*Classic 80s horror movies punish immorality pretty much immediately. That drunk guy and the girl who has sex with him? Dead in the first 15 minutes. The dorky kid who wouldn't take a drag of a cigarette, on the other hand, stands a good chance of making it to the end of the movie.

I Wanna Start a Fight

It's funny how the patriarchy will sidle up next to you and pinch your rear end right when you least expect it, as evidenced by the conversation I had with a man who will remain nameless, a man who identifies as a feminist, btw.

Friday, as I was waiting for the bus, I got the above song, So What, by Pink, stuck in my head. (It was blaring from a car waiting at the light.) By the time I got home, "na na na na na na na, I wanna start a fight" was firmly lodged in my brain. Of course, the only way to remove a song stuck in your head is to listen to it again, so I found it on youtube.

The first verse is:

I guess I just lost my husband

I don't know where he went

So I'm gonna drink my money

I'm not gonna pay his rent

I've got a brand new attitude

I'm gonna wear it tonight

I wanna get in trouble

I wanna start a fight

At which point, a man who shall remain nameless said, "Trailer trash."

"What?!"

"I wanna start a fight? Stay classy, Pink."

"Not two weeks ago, [anonymous male friend] came over here after finding out his fiance was cheating on him and invited you to go to [notorious local bar] so he could, and I quote, 'bash someone's face in'. Why is that okay for [anonymous male friend] but not okay for Pink?"

"I, uh . . ."

"Oh, I get it, boys will be boys, but BITCHES BETTER BEHAVE?"

One of the most pernicious effects of the patriarchy is that way it defines male and female, lodging "truths" in your psyche that are true only because we all believe them, and we all believe them only because we are told they are true. It's a vicious circle that most of us can't even see we're trapped in.

Women want to talk, men want to fight. It's the truth, isn't it? Except that it isn't. I'm not advocating violence, but sometimes I do want to punch someone. Hard. But when I was a girl, someone stole that truth from me. They took away my right to be angry and to express that anger. Now I can't even admit to a violent impulse. When boys get into fights, we tell them it's unacceptable and ground them for a week. When girls get into fights, they're betraying their very DNA and all of society is on the verge of collapse. We're delicate little flowers, you see, and delicate little flowers don't want to break a chair over someone's head.

Men lust, women are nice enough to satisfy that lust sometimes, but women don't feel lust themselves. A comedian once said that the difference between male desire and female desire is the like the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing it. No, that's not true at all. However, I'd better not admit to wanting to remove someone's clothes with my teeth, in a public restroom, at noon, because then I'm a slut. Actually, at that point, I'm probably a nympho. That's totally normal for a man. Nothing to see here.

I can't ask a man out on a date. It's in the rules, you see. If I tell a man I think he's great and I'd like to get know him better, his penis will shrivel up and fall off or something. Or I'm a slut. Ask him to marry me?! That's insane! I'm supposed to hint at him and pout and nag until he finally gives me something sparkly to shut me up.

Even the way women sit or walk is carefully defined. I will never forget being twelve years old, sitting on a bench with my knees apart, elbows resting on my knees, chin resting on my hands. A classmate of mine turned to me and said, "You're sitting like a man! Women sit with their legs crossed!" Well, how dare I be comfortable! I've heard, more than once, a woman described as "walking like a man" because she strode purposefully instead of sashaying her hips from side to side. Women don't swagger, you see, that's for men.

Well, news flash: I am a woman and I do want to get into trouble. I do want to swagger, I want to sit any damn way I please, I want to be loud and curse, and yes, I do wanna start a fight.

Nothing About Obama Pleases These People

My eyes! They cannot take the uncovered fingers in this photo!

This has to be the weirdest complaint about Obama I have heard yet.

Look at Nick Clegg in the photo [above]. Have you noticed how men’s suit jackets today open too soon below the button, revealing the lower part of the tie instead of covering it? Obama introduced that look. Now it’s everywhere. I’m the only person I know who has noticed it. Do have any thoughts about what it signifies, culturally speaking?

In my view, it subverts the very idea of a suit, which is that it covers the man.

Now, mind you, we're talking about the bottom button being unbuttoned while the top button remains buttoned so that the wearer can sit down and stand up easily. also, the part of the man that is uncovered? nothing. he's still got a shirt on, and likely an undershirt as well.

These people are fucking insane.

pic link

Major Lulz from the Sheltered - Chapter 4

In today's exciting chapter in Life of a Teenage Slut, God steals an ipod! (Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3)

Wednesday morning dawned bright and cheery. Leona made her way down to the kitchen where
she heard her parents already eating breakfast.

Which leads me to the belief that Leona's parents eat with their mouths open, making what she heard a lot of slurping and gulping. Ew.

“Hello, dear!” Mrs. Jackson looked up from her bowl of cereal and grapefruit. “Sleep well?”
“Hi, Mom,” Leona answered. “Yeah, I did...hi, Dad,” she added, seeing her dad sitting across the small breakfast table from her mother.

This is a style criticism: the story is told from Leona's point of view in what's called Third Person Limited Viewpoint. We see everything through Leona's eyes and through the bias of her perspective. Why would Leona think of her mother as "Mrs. Jackson"? Also, she heard her "parents" eating, why does she just now notice dad, especially considering that he's probably at most two feet away from mom.

“Good-morning, Leona.” He looked up from his newspaper. “Where did you go yesterday? We hardly saw anything of you.”

That is really archaic language, probably caused by the fact that good fundys don't read any fiction written after Jane Austen's works. (What exactly they think Jane Austen wrote about is whole 'nother post.) The problem with using archaic words or structure in a modern story is that it jars the reader right out of the story. You want your reader to be absorbed, not stopping to say things aloud to see if they sound any more normal when spoken aloud.

Leona halted in making her English muffin. Since when had her parents been interested in her activities?

WAH! Sorry, her parents still sound like really nice people to me. I think Miss Raquel is trying to paint them as neglectful secularists, but they just seem . . . nice. Leona, on the other hand, is a whingey, spoiled brat.

“Oh, I had a few places to go,” she said, as nonchalantly as possible. She willed her muffin to hurry
its toasting.
“What was that book you brought home?” her mother asked.
Leona’s back went rigid. How did they know about the Bible that Peter had given her yesterday? She turned to face them. “How did you know about that?”

So, that's weird. That's weird on a lot of levels. Bibles are very distinctive books, and I cannot believe that Leona's parents wouldn't be able to identify one easily, unless they just arrived on this planet yesterday. Secondly, why is Leona so upset that her parents know about her Bible? She's acting like her parents found her stash of porn, and it's extreme furry BDSM at that.

“I saw it on your night stand, dear,” her mother explained. “After you came home last afternoon, you just fell into bed to rest. I went up to check on you and saw that you had been reading it. I was just curious.”

These people talk like aliens. It's like the book is set in 1850.

She rushed out of the kitchen and headed up to her room. She closed the door behind herself and reached for her purse. She needed some music to calm her before she started crying again. She sifted through her purse in search of her iPod, but couldn’t find it.

okay, so set in the modern day.

Where did it go? She wondered, then thought of a possibility. When she had gotten her wallet out at the Pregnancy Center, she had set her iPod on the counter, and couldn’t remember if she had put it back in her purse or not.
Great! She thought to herself. I wasn’t planning on going back to that place any time soon. I guess this calls for an unscheduled appointment.

Or a phone call. Is this some alternate reality 1850 in which people have ipods but not phones?

She went downstairs and quietly headed out the front door. She didn’t want her parents nosing into her business again and ask her where she was going.

Yes, those horrible people that don't care about her at all. But always ask her where she's going. Exactly like people who care.

Ten minutes later, she pulled up at the Center. She saw Sarah at the receptionist’s desk through the glass door.
“Hi, Leona!” Sarah called out, as Leona entered the building.
Leona was a bit surprised that Sarah remembered her name. “Hi,” she called back.
“In for another chat?” Sarah asked with a smile.
“Um, no,” Leona answered. “I think I left my iPod here yesterday by accident.”
"Oh, was that yours?” Sarah asked, coming around the desk. She walked to a drawer cabinet by the side exit door and reached into one of its drawers. “Here it is!” she pulled out Leona’s green iPod and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” Leona said, with a small smile. She stuck the iPod back in its rightful place.
“Don’t mention it,” Sarah responded. “We’re glad to have it back to its rightful owner. We were wondering whose it was.”

So, yeah. More confirmation that everyone in this story will speak in exactly the same voice, all the way through. Look, I know it's hard to give characters distinct styles of speech separate from each other and from your own, but at least try. Here, let me show you how it's done (altered text in purple):

Ten minutes later, she pulled up at the Center. She saw Sarah at the receptionist’s desk through the glass door.
“Hoy, Leona!” Sarah called out, as Leona entered the building.
Leona was a bit surprised that Sarah remembered her name. “Hi,” she called back.
“In for anodder chat?” Sarah asked with a smile.
“Um, no,” Leona answered. “I think I left my iPod here yesterday by accident.”
"Oh, vas dat yous?” Sarah asked, coming around the desk. She walked to a drawer cabinet by the side exit door and reached into one of its drawers. “Here it is!” she pulled out Leona’s green iPod and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” Leona said, with a small smile. She stuck the iPod back in its rightful place.
“Dun mention it,” Sarah responded. “Ve’re glad to hef it back to its rightful owner. Ve vere vonderink hooz it vas”

See, you can tell Sarah from Leona now. And, quite frankly, I think this story is vastly improved by transforming Sarah into a Jaegermonster. (And now I'm considering rewriting A Tale of Two Cities so that every major character is a Jaegermonster. It might even be readable when I'm done, which is more than I can say for the original.)

Just then, the bell over the front door tingled as someone entered the Center.

That's obviously a typo. I'm sure she meant to say that the door "tinkled". However, the idea of the door tingling is pretty amusing.

“Sarah!” a male voice called out cheerily.

*headdesk* This is a pet peeve of mine, along with "his eyes rested on the floor". (His "gaze" rested on the floor. If his eyes rested on the floor, something terrible occurred that I don't really want to know about.) A male voice did not and cannot call out, cheerily or otherwise. Someone can call out in a male voice, but let's just say "a man called out, 'Sarah!' ".

“Peter!” she answered. “What are you doing here?”
The two hugged each other and then Sarah remembered that Leona was still present.

Ouch! Perspective switch whiplash!

“Oh, Leona,” Sarah turned to her. “Meet Peter Gunn.”
Peter and Leona were both very surprised to see each other again.

And again! "Peter looked as surprised to see Leona as she felt at seeing him again."

“Oh!” Leona exclaimed.
“Why, Leona Jackson!” Peter grinned widely. “I’m sorry; I didn’t see you. How extraordinary that we meet again!”

Peter is apparently a refugee from Sense and Sensibility.

Peter quickly explained how he had met Leona yesterday evening. Leona felt herself flush with embarrassment to know that Peter now knew why she had been crying when he had first met her. Why else would she be at the Pregnancy Center?

This rings true. I can definitely see an 18-year-old girl feeling very embarrassed by this.

Leona wanted to change the subject desperately and said the first thing that came to mind. “So, you two are married?”

That's the first thing that comes to mind? Remember, Leona isn't from Miss Raquel's world, in which people marry young and members of the opposite sex don't touch unless they are married or blood relatives. Leona is from our world, in which it is in no way odd for a man and a woman to greet each other with a hug. "So you guys are friends?" would be a believable question from Leona, but "Are you married?" is bizarre.

Sarah and Peter both laughed.
“Goodness no!” Sarah said with a smile. “Peter’s my brother.”
“Oh,” Leona said again. Why did she feel relieved?

Dude. You are 2 or 3 months pregnant by a guy who dumped you yesterday. Maybe another man isn't what you need right now.

“I’m not married,” Sarah said simply.

Why? Why does she say this?

“Uncle Petey!” Leona saw Luke exit from the back toy room and rush up to Peter. Peter lifted him up in the air and Luke giggled with glee.

So, yesterday Leona is enraged to see a woman threatening her daughter's life with a possibly cold cup of coffee, but today a toddler in a room by himself is no big deal. Okay then.

“Come see car I make,” Luke said, in his progressing English.
“Okay,” Peter said and followed Luke’s direction to the back room that he had just exited.

How many back rooms are there?

"Uncle?” Leona asked, puzzled.
“Yes,” Sarah said. “Luke is my son.”
“But...” Leona was confused. “You said - ” Then she stopped. What right had she to be asking Sarah why she had a son if she wasn’t married, when she herself was pregnant out of wedlock? Leona’s face turned red and she ducked her head to hide her embarrassment.

Nearly 4 in 10 babies are born to unmarried parents in the US, but Leona just can't even wrap her brain around the idea that Sarah is a single mom? Nobody out here in the real world is the slightest bit surprised to meet someone who had a child out of wedlock. We just aren't.

“That’s how I qualify,” Sarah stated simply.
“I beg your pardon?” Leona asked.
“That’s how I’m able to counsel. Because I know what the young woman is going through.” Sarah said this with a kind look. “I was once like you, Leona, except a bit younger. I got pregnant when I was 14.”
Leona was shocked. Not necessarily at how old Sarah had been, but...she would never have guessed that this happy, beautiful girl could ever have gone through the same circumstances that Leona herself felt and was experiencing.

See, now we would be surprised at the age. Being pregnant at 14 will make the rest of us moralize about babies having babies and such. Also, now you know exactly what qualifications the "counselors" at pregnancy centers have.

“I didn’t want to tell my parents. I was afraid that they would kick me out of the house...disown me. My boyfriend was...well, let’s just say, ‘not involved’. I was so scared! Scared for myself, scared for the baby. Even as young as I was, I knew that what I carried in me was a life. I couldn’t bring myself to go to the abortion clinic. I had to try to find a way to keep the baby and myself alive.

Yes, Sarah, the children's agencies in the state you live in would have done nothing to protect you had you contacted them. There are no foster homes, no schools for pregnant teens, no adoption services, nothing. You were totally on your own.

I didn’t have the nerve to tell my parents, but I did tell Peter.” Sarah paused and smiled. “As you might’ve already guess, we’re very close to each other, even though he’s four years older than me. I told him that I was pregnant and he was...to say the least, shocked. But, he didn’t yell, he didn’t tell our parents - because I asked him not to, and he knew that he needed to help me. He was a Christian already - before me, and he knew about this pregnancy center and brought me here. That’s when I first met Miranda - Mrs. Black, as she’s known around here. She ‘took me under her wing’, if you want to say.”

"Mrs. Black, as she’s known around here."? Is "Mrs. Black" an alias? Is she known as Professor White somewhere else?

Let's confront something important to this story because it keeps coming up. In this story, it's the nonchristian parents who kick out their pregnant daughters, but the Christians do nothing but support their wayward children. Bullshit. I know lots of people who got pregnant in high school. Their parents weren't happy about it, but they did support them. The two girls from fundamentalist Christian families weren't nearly so lucky, which is how I know about state services for pregnant girls kicked out by their parents.

Sarah moved from her chair and sat in one next to Leona. She put her arm around Leona’s shoulders and said, “I’m guessing that my story is a lot like yours.” It was more a statement than a question.
Leona could only nod. “I don’t know what to do, Sarah,” she finally managed to gasp. “If my parents find out, they’ll....they’ll kill me. I wouldn’t know what to do or where to go. It would be impossible to have a job to support myself and the baby. My boyfriend ditched me - doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. I wouldn’t have anywhere to go. I don’t have a sweet, older brother like you do, and I’m sure Mrs. Black doesn’t want another daughter. Oh, it’s just impossible, Sarah! I can’t do this!”

I'll say it again. We have seen no evidence that Leona's parents would kick her out for being pregnant. None. They are presented as perfectly nice people who love their child. Yet I'm supposed to believe they are horrible people who will leave their only child to freeze in the snow.

“You can, Leona,” Sarah said, firmly but gently, with a squeeze on Leona’s shoulders for extra measure. “With God’s help, you can.”
Leona stiffened and shrugged off Sarah’s arm. “I don’t have God like you do. I don’t believe that He would let something so bad happen to me - an innocent bystander. It’s not fair! People say that He loves everyone and wants to help them. Well, why would He let something this bad happen to me? No, Sarah, don’t start telling me about God. He can’t help me. Anymore...anymore than you can!” With that, Leona, now flushed with anger and frustration, stood up from her seat and walked to the door.
“Leona,” Sarah called.
Leona stopped and waited before turning and looking at Sarah.
“God gave you that little life for a reason. It’s a precious gift. Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
Leona glared at her for a second, before walking out the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Peter leaning against the doorframe of the play room, watching her leave.

$5 says Peter and Leona get married by the end of this story.