RadioHead

I know I have become my mother in so many ways, I leave my car doors open, I can repair just about anything with staple and glue guns, I irrationally love my animals, don't have much time for television and believe in dinner parties. I realized today I am there in yet another. She listened to WOR out of NYC on the car radio as a rule. I was familiar with Joan Hamburg, who knew, it seemed everything about New York. If you want to buy fresh Mesopotamian flatbread, or want to take Grandma to an authentic 1920's restaurant, or plan to ask your beloved to marry you and need a well priced rock? Call Joan Hamburg. The guy that knew everything to know about gardening in the tri-state area? Unlikely named Ralph Snodsmith. And the morning Rambling With Gambling show with John Gambling. I suffered as teens do whilst listening to talk radio. I preferred to listen to I-95 rock and roll and 101- pop music.
But, now, I find that often music in the car gets under my skin and I feel annoyed. Kids, this is what your talk radio listening parents are avoiding when they can't handle "your" music. An itchy kind of I-can't-take-another-note feeling that makes our finger stab out at the buttons on the dash.
But  my choices in talk are also limited. There is talk sports radio, which can be interesting depending on the topic (for me, baseball, pro basketball, hockey are really NOT interesting...sports not likely to be discussed, i.e. anything horse, would be very interesting).  But, it seems that on my usual commute time, the sport radio host is a most irritating man. He can make the most awful run on sentences, that continually seem to switch topic, never ending where they began. (For the astute, yes, that also seems like this blog. Ugh.)
I have AM conservative radio- Rush Limbaugh specifically, which is beyond my abilities to sit through. I have a problem with political talk in general, and often find myself saying aloud during many a political discussion "You, are an idiot, You, are an idiot, You, are an idiot." Which, I realize falls short of eloquence, but it is just me and Denty, and the car doesn't care a whit about my eloquence.
By default, I end up switching between the NPR stations available looking for the most interesting/least irritating fare. And today I found out I have an opinion about abortion/ birth control/ sex education.... I still don't' know what my opinion is, exactly, but I feel strongly there is an opinion there.
This came about, I think, by the world population estimation passing 7 billion. So, there were several programs aimed at assessing the different aspects of this advent.
This morning it was a Doctor in Ghana and some guy in the World Population office, (sounded American)  or something. My eyebrows got hot when the World Population guy tried to get me to believe that the solution to the birth control concerns of African women would be best addressed by "Urbanization, Education" and getting wealthier. Because, as he says, as societies move to cities, get educated and acquire more wealth, they have fewer children. This is what has happened in Europe and the U.S.  Ummm, this is where the "You, are an idiot..repeat" comes slipping out. The guy in Ghana, a doctor in a hospital there, was saying the women would like access to birth control and family population control education. There are so many who feel they can't feed the babies they have and would not like to watch any more starve.... so, the World Population guy says, send them to the city to get educated, rich, and problem solved.
Then, later in the day, a program discussing a new piece of legislation in Mississippi- to be voted on Tuesday- that means in the state of Mississippi a "person" will be defined as beginning at the moment sperm meets egg. So..... if you miscarry, you have ended a person's life. So, have a car accident, miscarry your baby and not only have that heartache, but a murder trial to boot.  If you get raped, and have a "morning after" pill, you are potentially committing murder, so... sorry, you must have the rapist's child. No more I.U.D's, they are murder weapons. You cannot have IVF, because if you implant a fertile egg and it dies- murder. And, if you fertilize several eggs, and any of them die in the petrie dish, same result. Murder trial.  The woman representing the group backing the legislation when asked about any of these scenarios said "I don't think that would happen. It doesn't make sense." After that, it seemed as if they didn't really need a person on the other side of the argument. Still, the other fellow was extremely well informed and rational, which made her seem even less so. My finger stabbed out when a caller felt the need for me to know that "She agreed with the Mississippi legislation." but the real kicker was "I don't believe in these sexual education classes. They shouldn't be teaching that to kids." Which, okay, I have a problem with the government being responsible for forming my own children's opinion about sex and the right and wrong of it all, but still, there are plenty of kids who get nada from their parents, this lady I'm thinking is one- and she's happy keeping children ignorant of the reality of things, then holding them responsible for murder. "You are an idiot, You are an idiot, You are an idiot..." Not my best moment. But, I did decide to get my kids in on the discussion. Murderers? Mothers? 
So, no I'm not sure how to define my opinion about these things, but I do know when I think something is malarky. Oh, how I wish they had a Joan Hamburg of TBC, I would really prefer to hear about where to find a great place to find yards of velvet ribbon, or the best chicken statues in town. Perhaps I should just work on enjoying Lady Gaga and LFMAO on the radio......