seriously, no on 8.

today i got a yes on 8 mailer. and i'm still pissed about it. i can't really write logically about it right now because i'm too damn angry. but:

for anyone interested in helping stop prop 8:

1. donate: your money puts ads on the air. the mormon church has pumped millions of dollars into the yes campaign, and turned public opinion from 38% in favor/55% opposed in mid-september to a majority in favor today. donations are being matched dollar for dollar until midnight tonight (10/31.)

2. call voters: the yes on 8 campaign mobilized thousands of people (many from out of state) to call and knock on doors, spreading lies about prop 8. you can sign up online to call people, either at a phone bank or from your own home. for calling from home, they use a fancy calling system that means that your number doesn't show up on people's caller id, and you pay no long distance fees. i've been doing it, and although it makes me nervous, i am proud to be a part of this effort.

3. talk to your friends and family about prop 8: i've definitely got friends who support/considered supporting/used to support prop 8. there are still people who haven't really heard about prop 8, since there's so much noise about this election. others have only heard from the yes on prop 8 people, and may be convinced that without prop 8, all elementary school classes will be replaced with mandatory, non-age appropriate sex ed. (for the record, parents have always, and will always have opt-out rights in the state of california...remember those permission slips you had to return before awkward sixth grade sex ed time? still the law.)

i talked to both of my parents about it. my mom donated, and my dad's thinking about it.

for more information: http://www.noonprop8.com

vote no on proposition 4 (again.)

in november 2006 i wrote this about proposition 85, which can be seen as the parent of proposition 4. (proposition 73 is the grandparent, i suppose; anti-choicers have been trying to force through a parental notification law in california for a long time) [i only changed the proposition numbers and the date references; the rest is vintage 2006 c.w.a.j.a.?.]:

so two years ago, california voters rejected prop 85. and this year, i hope we reject prop 4 as well. it's a law that would require parental consent for all minors seeking abortions. and it's a bad plan. in a super ideal world, no minors would have to seek abortions, period. (you know, that world in which no one is ever a victim of sexual assault, and all birth control is 100% efffective? that super ideal world.) in an ideal world, all minors would be able to talk to their parents and those parents would be supportive, emotionally and financially, if a minor decided to seek an abortion.

but here's the thing: we don't live in either of those worlds. sometimes girls can't talk to their parents about needing an abortion. because sometimes their parents would kick them out of the house, or kill them, or force them to keep a baby they didn't want and couldn't care for. and sometimes, those dads or stepdads are the fathers of the babies, or those moms or stepmoms are the ones who knew that girls were being raped and didn't stop it.

so seriously, california voters, think about this. sometimes girls will not be safe, and cannot get what they need, from their parents. awesome for you and your kids if that isn't your situation. but realize that this isn't the case for everyone. think of the girls who can't talk to their parents. and vote no on prop 4. it's a horrible idea, just like props 85 and 73 were two and three years ago, respectively. no on 4.

and there you have it. the bottom line is this: not all girls can safely tell their parents that they are pregnant. although proposition 4 provides an option for girls to seek a waiver from a judge, that is an unacceptable solution. the last thing a scared, pregnant girl needs is to have to navigate our legal system and then be forced to justify herself before a judge, who may or may not decide that she has to tell her parents because he finds her explanation why she can't uncompelling.

oh. also: making it harder for teenagers to have abortions isn't going to reduce the number of teenagers having abortions. it will just reduce the number of teenagers having saving, legal abortions. if prop 4 passes, more girls will turn to unsafe methods, and their lives will be in danger. no on 4.

vote no on gender auditors, and no on proposition 8.

courage campaign, "gender auditors"

via the always excellent meh-wee-uhn at hai voluto la bicicletta, which used to be called "sleep is the new sex", and which is still wonderful.

jesse danger, on urban transportation:

"i'm waiting for my bus. or as i like to call it, the peoples' taxi."

[a little later on]

"oh, i've got to go! my cab's here."

for anonymous: this is not a mccain/palin comment.

mike butler's endorsement:
as a matter of principle (or pragmatism?), i don't support third parties in national elections, only local ones. at least at the present time. but i do support cats, and also mike butler (who is both radical and rad. you remember. we've been over this before.)

so, in the spirit of fairness, and of not writing about mccain/palin (anonymous, i'm thinking of you!), here is mike's recommendation.

i just got the courage campaign's 2008 progressive voter guide today, and although it was well-written and quite reasonable, it lacked excellent photos of kitties. i'm glad to have this poster to balance things out.

the presidential race, in photographs.

option one: obama. this man clearly knows his way around a baby. it looks to me like he participated in the raising of his own children. he's got great technique. of note:

the butt support
that baby's firmly anchored to his tummy. it isn't going anywhere.

the upper back/neck/head support
this baby is too tiny to be held without supporting its upper half, and obama's doing a great job with that.

the look
he's into it. you can't fake that kind of appreciation for a tiny person.

the stance
he's standing so that baby can still see mama, just in case the baby's not as into obama as i am these days.

i am impressed.


option two: mccain. dude has no idea what's going on. he's uncomfortable and confused, he's making other people miserable, and he has no idea how to hold a baby.

i'll say it: sarah palin is a terrible mother.

1. she knew her seventeen year old daughter was pregnant when she was offered the vice presidential nominee slot. her choices: say no, and keep her daughter's major life issue more or less an alaska matter; say yes, and make her daughter's pregnancy international knowledge.

her desire for her own political career trumped her desire to care for and protect her own child. unacceptable.

2. she was in texas when her water broke, but instead of going directly to the hospital, she gave a speech as planned, then took a commercial flight back to alaska, where she then drove 45 minutes to a regional medical center. any woman whose water breaks needs to go to a hospital or call her midwife immediately. particuarly since palin already knew that hers was a high risk pregnancy, there is absolutely no excuse for her failure to go to the hospital. 30% of newborns with down syndrome require immediate surgery for a potentially fatal congenital heart defect. quite simply, she endangered her son's life by:

1. not going to the hospital right away;
2. getting on an airplane;
3. taking a long flight back to alaska;
4. driving to a medical facility with a relatively low level of capability for dealing with newborns with special needs.

i've seen a number of strong, independent women tying themselves in knots over sarah palin. these women hate the idea of feeling like something they think or say is demeaning to another woman who has chosen to have a career and a family. i have future aspirations in at least one of those areas, and possibly both.

but nothing excuses the way she has treated her eldest daughter and her youngest son. on a personal level, she has failed.

election thoughts:

so. i'm kind of freaking out about the election. it keeps coming up in most of the conversations i have each day, i'm reading the news and political blogs all the time, i'm having nightmares about how it could turn out (no joke.)

along with many of the people i know, i'm investing a lot of emotional and mental energy in the election. and i realized a couple of weeks ago that the only way i was going to make it to election day was to do at least one thing every week that will help keep sarah palin and john mccain out of the white house. i would like to encourage you to make a similar commitment, if you feel so inclined.

although it may seem painfully obvious to you that palin/mccain is a bad idea (because she's totally unqualified to become president, because he votes with bush 90% of the time, because she opposes abortion under any circumstances—even in cases of rape or incest [so a twelve year old girl who was raped by her father would be forced to carry the pregnancy to term, in sarah palin's america], because he and his buddies are some of the key people who got us into this economic catastrophe, because seeing russia from your house doesn't make you ready to deal with world leaders anymore than seeing the moon from my porch makes me an astronaut, because rich people aren't just those who earn more than five million dollars a year, etc), there is still a very real chance that palin and mccain will win.

you have the power to help stop this.

here are some things you might want to do:

1) register yourself or someone else to vote.

october 20 is the last day to register if you live in california.

you need to re-register if any of the following apply to you:
a) you've changed your name
b) you've moved
c) you wish to change your party affiliation (regardless of your present party affiliation, you can vote for whomever you wish for president)
d) you aren't registered already (duh)
voter registration forms are available at all post offices, libraries, and dmv offices. they're postage paid, so if you get one at the post office you can fill it out and send it in before you even leave the building.

if you will be 18 by election day, november 4, you can register. if you're on probation but off parole, you can vote.

2) volunteer for obama/biden.

they aren't perfect, but if you prefer them to the bible spice/old man mccrazy ticket, they need your help.

the obama/biden campaign in california is focusing on calling and visiting nevada. california is a safe state—although it won't be a landslide, obama will win here. nevada is totally up for grabs, at this point. kerry lost nevada by about 12,000 votes in 2004, and there has been a lot of new voter registration since then. it is entirely possible that the entire election will come down to nevada, and you could be one of the people who helps turn it blue.

the east bay headquarters is located at 3225 adeline street in berkeley, less than one block from ashby bart. it's open 10-9 every day of the week. the san francisco headquarters is located at 939 market street, and it's open from 9-9 daily. (information for the other california offices is here) you don't have to have any experience. just go when you have a bit of time, and you'll be able to make calls to undecided voters. (bring your phone and charger and a laptop if you can, but it's not essential.) they give you a script to read or paraphrase, and you aren't arguing with people. if someone doesn't want to talk to you or says they support mccain, you thank them for their time and move on to the next call (which just might be a 75 year old lifelong republican who tells you how much she loves obama and thanks you profusely for what you're doing.) if you really aren't up for phoning, they might have you do some data entry, or some paper shredding, or some photocopying. if you go in and tell them you'll do anything, they'll put you to work.

also, there are snacks. and it is beautiful to see so many different people coming together for different reasons toward the same goal. be part of history.

if you have time to go to nevada to knock on doors and register voters, go! they'll tell you all about it at the office.

3. donate money (seriously, even $10 makes a difference) to obama/biden or to moveon.org.

they'll make your money go far. obama/biden are funded just by donations from people, none from lobbyists. (palin-mccain take money from wherever they can get it.)

donate to the campaign directly at www.barackobama.com, or donate to moveon.org at, well, moveon.org. moveon.org is sending people union-printed, made in america, american apparel obama t-shirts for a donation of $12 or more. i've found space in my budget to send them a little more than that, twice. they're comfy shirts.

4. vote.

election day is tuesday, november 4, 2008. polls are open from 7 am-8 pm. find your polling place by looking at your sample ballot or calling your county registrar of voters (contact info here, from the california secretary of state's website.)

under federal law, your employer is required to give you time off to vote, if you cannot do it outside of work hours. you may have to ask them in advance, so figure it out now. (if you're registered with an old address, why not reregister with your new one? you'll get a sample ballot with all the propositions and candidate statements, and you won't have to plan to go far away to the proper polling place.)

5. read up. know what you think and why. talk to other people.

a lot is going on right now. it's a scary time to be alive. there's a lot at stake here, for americans and for the rest of the world. there are times when politics and religion and other potentially awkward subjects can be ignored, and there are times when they can't be. you know which is which. but when you have the opportunity, have those tough conversations.

6. don't give up.

if you want to see a different world than the one in which we currently live, we have a lot of work to do. it won't stop on november 4, but it will be a hell of a lot easier to work toward that better world if we don't have palin and mccain in office.

thank you for reading.

some free advice for the bigots behind california's proposition 8:

next time, consider getting your yard signs from a union supplier here in the united states like the no on 8 campaign did.

because then you might actually have some. i mean, in california.

free bonus advice: stop being so intolerant. obsessing over the sex lives of consenting adults of legal age is tacky at best. and trying to strip your fellow citizens of basic rights is downright nasty.

bonus free advice for those of you who don't believe in rewriting california's constituion to take away the right of a homosexual person to marry the person he or she loves: you can volunteer or donate money here.

can we all just agree that obama's on it?

selected awesome quote: "when you hear john mccain talk about taking on the ol' boys' network, know this: on the mccain campaign, that is called a staff meeting." -barack obama

go watch!


obama speaking to women in daytona beach, florida
september 20, 2008

uniting money and mouth.

over the last many months, but with increasing frequency these days, i've had quite a few conversations with people about hopes and fears (but mostly fears) related to the election. and way too many of these talks have been just that: talk. volunteering takes time and energy; donating takes money; we're all busy and anxious and strapped for cash.

but this week i've decided something: if you really want barack obama and joe biden to win, and/or if you really don't want john mccain and sarah palin to win, you need to do something about it.

every week. something. at least a thing. send a campaign contribution (you can even donate online here.) give some money to moveon here. get involved with the obama campaign in some way—you can even phonebank from home. write a letter to the editor of your local paper. have a difficult conversation with someone who disagrees with you. but something. every week.

there are only six weeks left. six things. do them.

heckuva job, guys.

c.w.a.j.a.?. extends its congratulations to the republicans in the california legislature who have, once again, managed to balance a budget on the backs of children, sick people, poor people, students, and california's public education system.

and to arnold schwarzenegger, who is planning to veto it.

and to everyone involved in perpetuating california's now 78-day-old budget stalemate, the longest we've ever had, which is hurting children, sick people, poor people, students, and california's public education system.

thanks for your support.

september 11 thoughts.

there is so much that could be said today.

i could write you a roundup of the deaths and injuries and environmental devastation and economic implications and tremendous waste involved in the war on afghanistan and the war on iraq.

i could talk about the people (including john mccain) who have discussed attacking iran.

i could mention the corporations that are making money hand over fist as a direct result of the wars.

i could reflect on the fact that new york/washington, dc/pennsylvania's 9/11 wasn't the only one that will live in infamy in this hemisphere.

i could explore the connections between the bin laden family and the bushes, note that we still haven't found osama bin laden, mention the people who have been arrested, detained, beaten, tortured, or simply disappeared for being, looking like, or sharing a name with someone the united states was looking for, or for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

i could share with you my september 11 story (we've all got one—some are more dramatic than others, but everyone has theirs.)

i could discuss the stark division i see in my own life between the pre-9/11 and post-9/11 days.

but i'm not going to. because i'm tired. and because i think that any of those things might detract from the very most important thing i can say about today, the thing i woke up thinking: if you didn't like september 11, 2001, then don't let that kind of thing happen to other people.

that is all.

can we all just agree that joe biden nails it here?

biden's talking about the rnc: "it's not so much what i heard...it's what i didn't hear." watch for his elementary school analogy and the reaction of the people sitting behind him. i think he really strikes a chord. and i think he's right.


joe biden on fire

please pay attention to the rnc protests.

amy goodman explains what happened

journalists, photographers, community activists, food not bombs volunteers, and plenty of other folks are being arrested right now. don't watch this happening silently.

can we all just agree that "pervious" sounds like a really bad thing?

i know it's just a typo, and that they meant to write "previous," but man does "pervious" seem like something inappropriate.

there were also three other typos in my hiring packet, but none of them were nearly as interesting.

in that case, i feel okay about it.

i just got a new job. i like the job a lot. but i had to sign a loyalty oath. this isn't the first time, but it always offends me when i have to do this. except when i think it's funny. so today i was feeling offended and/or amused by the oath, when i realized that the paper i signed actually said that i couldn't become "a member of any party or organization, political or otherwise, that advocates the overthrow of tilt government of the united states..."

1. i feel like this leaves some options open for me. the government is one thing. tilt government? another entirely.

2. i guess my job's safe from sarah palin.

more answers to your questions:

q: "cornchips or chocolate?"

a: yes.

action alert from mike:

"So things are getting worse in ST. Paul and we need to support our friends can you please post the following on your blog. Feel free to edit it but make sure to include the media links and the phone numbers as it is extremely important to get as many people as possible to call!

Peace, love, Unity,

Mike Butler

RED ALERT!!!

THERE IS A FASCIST POLICE STATE IN ST. PAUL

http://twincities.indymedia.org/

http://news.infoshop.org/search.php?mode=search&type=stories&topic=dncrnc2008

http://indymedia.us/en/index.shtml

http://www.democracynow.org/

Also Watch Democracy Now! Tomorrow as police have arrested a journalist with that show!!

KEEP THE PRESSURE ON: FREE OUR FRIENDS!!

Hennepin County Jail: 612-348-5112

Ramsey County Jail: 651-266-9350

FLOOD THE MAYORS' OFFICES ASAP

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman

651-266-8510

Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak

(612) 673-2100

(612) 673-3000 outside Minneapolis

Sunday

3:30pm: Plymouth police refusing to let IWW union workers off train taking them back to Bloomington Station. Diabetic who needs insulin also not allowed. (Twin Cities IMC)

2:30pm: Cops have surrounded train to get at reinstated IWW organizer and escorting friends and fellow union workers. (Twin Cities IMC)

1:30pm - Cops moved in on demonstration of around 30 people in intersection at 6th and Washington. Intersection cleared, no arrests.

Nine arrested from vets march detained

RNC protest groups file court order to stop police seizures

Sixth person arrested in anarchist investigation; advocate says one is being denied meds and vegan food

Saturday

10:45pm: Permaculture bus impounded? No reported arrests.

RNC Welcoming Committee Organizers Seek Sanctuary From Illegal Arrests

Complete search warrant from Minneapolis raid today

Coldsnap: NLG lawyers ejected from press conference. 2 NLG lawyers kicked out of law enforcement press conference in St. Paul!

3:30pm: One more WC member grabbed on street by police squad.

9:45am: House raid occurring at 3500 Harriet Ave S. Approximately 20 people

9:45am: One person arrested, taken to jail from Food Not Bombs House. One person from Food Not Bombs House Arrested, Charged with Four Counts of Conspiracy

9:45: People from 17th Ave. House Charged with Conspiracy to Riot

Friday night

St. Paul: 10:30 pm CDT: Convergence center on Smith Ave. has been raided by the cops. They have a warrant. The cops have handcuffed everybody at the center and are processing people to get their names and identification. No arrests at this time. Twin Cities Indymedia reports: The convergence space is currently being raided. Police burst in and are using force against people. Everyone inside has been handcuffed. Estimates of people inside currently vary between 20-70. One block radius around the convergence space has been blocked off. Lawyers, legal observers and media are on the way. More updates as they come.

St. Paul: 10:30 pm CDT: No arrests during Critical Mass ride, though there were several crashes."

i think i'm kind of over energy bars too.

awhile ago a friend mentioned to me that he'd decided he was "kind of over energy bars," and that, in those times where energy bars seemed necessary, he was just going to eat a candy bar instead because they were far more delicious and a lot cheaper.

while i don't think either of us are actually prepared to give up entirely on energy bars under all circumstances, i think i am moving squarely into the candy-bar-instead camp. my conversion took place when i glanced down at the wrapper for an energy bar i had just finished and saw that the ingredients list began as follows: "protein blend, high fructose corn syrup, high maltose corn syrup, roasted soybeans, sugar..."

since ingredients are listed in order of relative quantity, this means that the energy bar i'd just consumed had more sugar (and fake sugar, at that!) than anything else. gross.

also, the ingredients list wasn't finished messing with me, because the energy bar also contained...fish gelatin. and that is gross. it was in the "2% or less" part of the ingredients list, which is more than enough to irritate me (who would guess that fish guts are in a "yogurt honey peanut"-flavored energy bar?) and not nearly enough to make me think that fish gelatin plays a crucial role in anything about the composition of the bar.

in conclusion: candy bars are cheaper, tastier, and vegetarianer. candy bars, i'm in.

q: what does vladimir putin have in common with morrissey and pamela anderson?

a: they're all famous people who i have dreamed about in the last five months or so.

last week i dreamed that i was back at my elementary school (bb: on playground b, near the band portable) and i was walking up behind my friend eliza, who i haven't seen in years. i was really happy that she was there, and i decided to sneak to where she was sitting on a log and give her a kiss on the head. after i snuck up and kissed her, i turned around to see vladimir putin sitting in a golf cart with a henchman of some sort. both were looking very sour. apparently the girl-kissing-girl had disgusted them. although i was kind of surprised to see putin there, i was still really excited about catching up with an old friend.

i told him, "i love her!"

and he responded, "you love her? well then i hate her."

i really did want to stick around and argue with him, but i had to go right away because somehow we had been transported to my high school, and i had to go back to my elementary school and meet my high school debate coach in another portable classroom to play ping-pong. it was an emergency.

and that is what happened.

seven hundred.

it's nice to know that some things never change.

the crisis continues:

"if i have any hesitations about that boy, they're mostly about hygiene."

-audra

you can cross corn chips off your list of potential good shower snacks.

yesterday i went on a nice long bike ride that included some climbing. especially since i was a little sore from a ballet class and another ride the day before that, it was hard work! but a really nice ride.

when i got home i was really hungry, but i also felt totally disgusting. i wanted, equally and passionately, a shower and dinner. immediately. after eating a few handfuls of chocolate chips, i settled on a brilliant compromise. inspired by liz hatch's brilliant bath-and-a-beer, i decided that i would have a snack in the shower.

and, just for the record, corn chips aren't a very good choice. they are delicious and satisfying, but since i didn't have anywhere to put them except the ledge that was just a few feet above the bottom of the tub, water dripped down my arm and into the bowl.

but i do think there's something to this snack and shower combination. i've been thinking of snacks that would withstand water better, and i have some ideas for the next time i need to eat and wash at the same time.

five minutes in the city.

there is a man, sleeping? passed out? dead? no, he's breathing. he's on the sidewalk, and when i tried to talk to him, i got no response at all. i thought i should let him sleep it off, and i didn't want him to get in trouble, and i didn't want to get involved, but i called a friend for advice and realized that calling 911 was the best thing to do. i would have felt terrible if he was in real trouble and i saw him but didn't get him any help. (i hate that i couldn't kneel down beside him and try to wake him gently, the way you do with someone you love, but i was afraid.)

i called and explained what i had seen, and then answered a list of questions they were required to ask me (no, he didn't say anything to me. he's unconscious. no, he is not standing. he's unconscious. no, he's not sitting up. he's unconscious.) and went downstairs again to wait for the firetruck.

although he didn't move a muscle when i was trying to talk to him, the firefighters are more aggressive than i had been. one of them starts to talk to him, and wakes up.

firefighter: "see, the problem is that you're sleeping here and the neighbors are concerned about you. if you can't get up and show me that you can walk, i'm going to have to call an ambulance to take you away. can you show me that you can get up?"
man: (pointing at "no parking" sign above where he's lying) "what does that sign say?"
firefighter: (without missing a beat) "no parking and no sleeping."
man: (slowly starting to get up) "heeeyyy...are you bisexual?"
firefighter: "i sure am. you getting up?"
man: "huh. i am too."

the man starts to walk away, a little unsteadily.

other firefighter: (kind of concerned) "hey, did you counsel him?"
firefighter: "oh, i counseled him."