My Bit of Earth

Small

I doubt any graduating high school senior has ever said, "I plan to be jobless and homeless by the time I'm 30."  But sometimes--even with the best of plans--shit happens.

The current financial climate, and more specifically, today's antics by the Kansas Legislature with regard to the paycheck I was expecting to receive on Friday (for the only slightly more amusing version, see S's post), has me thinking about that tonight.  

'Cause see, I had a plan.  Graduate from law school, spend a few years getting a jump start on the ensuing debt and a career as a public defender, buy a house, have a kid, happily-ever-after, and so on.  And while that plan is still pretty much on track, for the moment anyway, the illusion that I had control over it all has taken a huge beating this past month.  

I can go to work everyday.  I can be responsible and live more frugally and build up savings.  I can do everything that I'm supposed to do.  But the housing crisis?  I have no control over that.  Falling revenues leading to state budget shortfalls?  I have no control over that.  The Legislature capriciously deciding to not pay me for work that I have already completed?  I have no control over that.  There's just nothing I can do--it's all too big.

It's as if someone has taken my life plans and dreams and is dangling them over the edge of a cliff, just to tease me.  And while I know (please-god-and-knock-on-wood) that this latest fiasco is just a political game of chicken...and I know that, due to the fact that we have been planning ahead, things will be OK for a little while even if our Republican state legislators make good on their threats...still, it just knocks the wind out of you to have someone else playing with your life in that way--particularly when they do it with such an obvious lack of concern about exactly what it is that they're screwing with.

It just makes me feel so small....

Inauguration Day: Happy To Be Back In the Driver's Seat

A few weeks ago Stacy (who is pretty much as conservative as I am liberal) was reflecting on the year behind and the year ahead, and said,

"The most hated President in the history of Presidents is about to say goodbye, and we can see if President Elect Obama can make good on his promises.  It's sort of like having a backseat driver for the past 8 years and finally throwing up your hands and saying "Would you like to drive?  Go ahead!"  We'll see if they can do better."

Talk about hitting the nail on the head--I think I snorted my coffee laughing!  As one of those backseat drivers, the analogy captures my feelings over the past 8 years just as much as I'm sure it captures Stacy's as a driver.  

Because I don't hate George Bush.  I don't think he's gotten up each morning, put his pinkie to his lips, and thought to himself, "How can I destroy the world today?"  I'm willing to believe he's had good intentions.

But, at the same time, as one of the people in the backseat, it's been tiring, frustrating, and at times infuriating, to be constantly thinking, "Umm, shouldn't we have turned there?"  Constantly having that panicky "we're going in the exact opposite direction from what we should be" weight in my chest.  And occasionally even being driven to exclaim, "Where the hell are you going?  Can't you see we're headed the wrong way?!?"

And, like a backseat driver who finally gets to slide behind the wheel, today it feels like we're looking at the map, letting out a deep breath, putting our hands at ten and two, and turning the car around.  We might not get where we need to be by the fastest route.  There will almost certainly be a few wrong turns and detours....  

But at least we'll be heading in the right direction!

Seven Things That Are Making Me Very Merry On This Christmas Eve Eve

1.  It's the last day of working before the loooong holiday weekend--yay!

2.  Tomorrow at this time-ish I will be heading towards family and presents and one of Sweet Sister's so-hard-it's-almost-painful welcome home hugs.

3.  Maine Momma's beautiful odes to snow and light. 

4.  This article--"The Joy of Celebrating a Godless Christmas"--on Slate that echos my feelings about the holidays completely.  In short, Jesus isn't "the reason for the season" for all of us and that doesn't make our Christmas any less meaningful.  Very nicely done in a way that speaks up for us atheists and agnostics without denigrating those who are religious.

5.  That Nice Mommy just called asking me to bring some freezer jam for Christmas breakfast.  I feel like a wise little chipmunk pulling out my carefully stashed summer berries for winter feasting. 

6.  Dear Veens who ever so sweetly named me "The most awesome pic taking Girl" on her blog.  I'm abysmal at doing the "pass it along" things, but I do so appreciate the nice thought.  (And congrats on the upcoming wedding--I can't believe you're still managing to blog and comment on blogs and not be going crazy and stuff!)

7.  The thought of a possible road-trip adventure.  I haven't decided for sure if I'm up for it yet, but I'm considering busing it to DC for inauguration and some Supreme Court argument (one of my co-workers has a case there on the 21st).  Any bus riders out there have thoughts?

And, while you're thinking, what's making you merry today?

Save Handmade Toys

Just read about this last night and am troubled.  Apparently in response to last years Chinese toy recalls, congress has passed a law (the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act) requiring all toys to be tested for things like lead.  The problem?  While the testing is do-able for big toy manufacturers, it's financially unfeasible for smaller manufacturers and independent crafters.

So basically, the people mass-making plastic-y crap (the kind that sparked the recalls in the first place) will get to stay in business, while people who have always been making safe and beautiful toys will get forced out.

Which sucks!

If you are concerned about this, as I am, here is a page with more information and some things you can do.  Especially worth noting is the Handmade Toy Alliance site and blog, which includes a list of proposed improvements to the law that would allow small toy makers to continue their businesses while still keeping kiddos safe. 

To My Very Dear Non-Lawyer Family, Friends, Random Acquaintances

While I'm very fond of most of you already, our future interactions will be much better if you read and understand this:

What It’s Like Defending ‘The Guilty’: Thoughts From a Criminal Defense Attorney

(Go now please.  I'll wait.)

Yeah, and I just have to reiterate this one bit 'cause it cracks me up:

“So, you try to get them off on technicalities?”

“Otherwise known as constitutional protections.”

“Tomato; to-mah-to.”

“More like tomato; garbanzo.”

“Wait a minute. Tomatoes aren’t the same as garbanzos.”

“Exactly.”

(Via S.)

In Spite of the Good News, My Heart Hurts Today

We have a black President, and that is so great--look how far we've come, how inclusive and progressive we are.  And yet, while we're making strides in terms of racial discrimination, it breaks my heart that we've filled the void with a new group of second-class citizens--gays and lesbians.

I just don't get why people would vote for something that has absolutely no effect on them, but will deny the civil rights and happiness of millions of other people.  Gay marriage bans in Florida and Arizona....the people of Arkansas who would apparently rather let unwanted children linger in foster care and group homes, than let them be adopted by loving families....Prop 8 not looking good passed in California....can someone please explain to me why? 

And no, the fact that you think homosexuality is "icky" or it violates your religious teachings are not valid reasons.  (Further--not that it's relevant because religion has no place in this debate regardless--if your god is that mean then I'll take my chances elsewhere!)

I...can't find words for it even.  That one of my first worries when I found out my Dear Friend had had a heart attack was, "I hope that her partner won't have any trouble trying to stay with her in the hospital"....that another friend--who is hands down one of the best mothers I know--could have her right to parent her child called into question....again, anybody, WHY? 

Is it that the people who voted for this crap have so isolated themselves that they don't know any gays or lesbians to relate it all to? 

Is it that they don't have a good friend or family member that they have to imagine saying, "Sorry, I don't think you deserve to have the same rights as me," to, as they check that box on the ballot? 

Or is that something that's just comforting for me to think in order to avoid the alternative?

It makes me ache inside to know that here, now, when we're making so much progress, there are so many people out there who are still so small.

Election Night Watch

11:05 p.m.:  And that's it.  Go get some sleep Barack.  You need it, and so do I!

11:00 p.m.: Love it when candidates President-elects start talking 'bout their wives and daughers....and puppies! 

10:52 p.m.: The celebrating outside the White House warms my heart a little. 

10:40 p.m.: Now if Prop 8 in California could fail my happiness would be complete. 

10:25 p.m.: Don't let Sarah talk--if I never hear that woman's voice again it will be too soon. 

And we're at 333!  That's how much I guessed Obama would win by!  And he's still going!  And the Senate's at 56...wow, this is so great!

10:20 p.m.: And the concession speech--so wonderfully early....so wonderful that it's not 2000, or even 2004. 

10:15 p.m.: Goodness, eight years since we've had a President we can be proud of....

10:05 p.m.: Moe is glad Obama won, because Sarah Palin was going to take his squeaky toys.  Champange is opened!  Tbe first black President--hard to believe, but I'm so glad I'm seeing it.

10:00 p.m.: CNN just called it!!!  And Fox too!!!  Woohooo!!!!!!!!

9:58 p.m.: Call California, call California....

9:50 p.m.: And the Lawrence sales tax questions passed resoundingly--yay for the "T"!  (Our city bus needed the sales tax to survive.)  And Fox just called Virginia for Obama--I think we might be done in a few minutes here!

9:35 p.m.: Back from dinner. Waiting for the West coast polls to close to pop the champange. Love that this will probably be called before I go to bed tonight!

7:20 p.m.: Well, I've got it back for now. Feeling bad for the CNN reporter covering McCain. Wonder if they drew straws for that?

7:15 p.m.: My map broke! I may have to break out the crayons after all....

6:50 p.m.: And the first few states are called.  We've decided to go have dinner with friends.  Yes, I'm celebrating early.  There hasn't been much to celebrate politically these past few years, so I think we need to party it up.  Unlike Sweet Sarah (see comment below) I'm feeling really good.

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Does anyone else remember sitting up on election night as a kid, coloring in maps as each state was declared, red or blue?  My first memories of an election were doing just that.  It was Bush/Dukakis in '88 (I was seven going-on-eight), and I can clearly remember getting impatient with the newscasters for changing their calls after I had already colored in a few states.

Although Google and a computer have replaced my paper and crayons, this year--maybe because of the extra-historic nature of this election--I have the urge to do the same thing.  So, here is my map, and below I'll be commenting throughout the night.  (Or at least until Lawrence erupts into one big orgasmic Democratic party--knock on wood!)

And Now We Wait....

If, like me, you've already voted today (and if you haven't, go) there's not much to do now but wait.  (Well, and try to get some work done, but that's beside the point!)

But if you're looking for a good way to bide the time, check this out:

From those wonderful folks at Google, you can log in and post about your voting experience, as well as read about the experiences of others.  (Kansas always seems to work out well, but I like to know what's going on in our neighbor to the East, so this is great!)

Vote!

Obama Reasons by blackbird13

These are some of my reasons. Whatever yours are, don't forget to go vote today!

To the Stupid Punks Who Stole My Obama Yard Sign

Nice job geniuses!  Because, thus far, I hadn't donated nearly as much as I should have to the Obama campaign, but now I'm pissed off.

That's ten bucks for a new yard sign and fifty bucks just for spite.  Thanks for helping to motivate me to support my candidate even more!

Wednesday Poll: A Poetic Stump Speech

Because a) I'm starting to feel more comfortable just throwing questions out there on any old day, and b) as a consequence the idea of only doing so on Wednesdays is getting a little constraining--this will be my last official Wednesday poll.  And since we're at less than a week until the election, a little game to go out with a bang. 

For this week's poll:

Write a poetic tribute to the presidential candidate of your choice.  It can be a haiku, a limerick, whatever--just make sure it includes some form of linguistic cleverness.  Please note, I said a "tribute to your candidate".  In other words, the point is to say what you love about your nominee, not what you don't like about the other guy (or gal)--play nice!

Comment and discuss.

Obama in Kansas City

UPDATE:  Some great pictures from a guy that was standing next to me are here.  (I have total lens-envy!)

As mentioned yesterday, Sweet Husband and I drove over to KC last night to hear Barack Obama speak at the Liberty Memorial.  We got there at 3 p.m. and the line was already at least a few miles long--my calves are still a little sore from trekking all the way to the back of the line and then to the front again, all up and down hills! 

But standing in line was far from boring--the people watching was fantastic!  There were old people, young people, all different races, all different kinds.  There were cutie-pie "Babies for Barack", and rebellious-looking pre-teens wearing t-shirts for "Change".  There were yuppies in track suits and hippies in dreadlocks, all wearing "Obama" buttons.  There were serious looking college students ("Rock Chalk Barack") and hundreds of teachers ("NEA for Obama").  There were a few solitary, elderly gentlemen obviously sporting their Sunday best, and bunches of little old ladies standing in groups, furiously chatting.  My favorites?  Two homemade t-shirts, "Knitters for Obama" and "Elitists for Obama"--seriously, how much fun!

At about five we finally got up to the area where the speech was to take place, and, lo and behold, ran into a friend from high school who had also come over for the day.  (Hi Melissa!)  We passed the time catching up, and before we knew it the introductory speakers were starting.

Obama's speech was pretty much what you've heard if you've been paying attention.  He told the pie story, and talked about the economy, taxes, and Iraq.  Sweet Husband--the taller of the two of us--tried to take some pictures, but we were so far away that he was basically just a speck.  There are better shots here.

I did get a decent video of the last few minutes of the speech though.

Yay for the Comediennes!

Lately, every time some one mentions, well, that horrible woman who wants to be vice-president, I kind of get this throbbing-vein, tick-in-my-face thing going.  Even setting her policy positions aside, she seems like such a bully, and I just can't find anything to like about her.

But, just in case you missed it, one positive side effect of her candidacy is that a few wonderful female comics are now getting to play in the formerly boys-only world of presidential satire.  This video had me laughing my ass off, and given the way my sense of humor is suffering under the seriousness of the consequences of this election, that's saying something!

Helpful Hint for People Who Do Not Know If They're Registered to Vote

I was perusing the wonderful new Bark Obama site the other day (basically, think all the best pet bloggers on the net putting their considerable talents to use for the powers of good) when I found a great link. 

I knew I was registered to vote in the last election, but I couldn't remember if I was voting in Lawrence at that time or still doing the absentee thing or what.  I was just worrying about the potential bureaucracy I was going to have to go through to find out, when the Bark Obama site suggested checking out "Can I Vote?"

It has an easy-peasy pull down menu for each state, then all you have to enter is your name and date of birth.  It will tell you what party you're registered with, what district you're in for local and statewide offices, and even gives your voting history.  There's also a link to register to vote if you find out you need to.  Some state's registration deadlines are coming up rather quickly, so be sure and check this out to avoid having problems on election day.

Preach On!

Those of you who hang out here will recognize "S" of "Preaching to the Choir" as a semi-regular commenter.  (Truth is, I think I might be one of the "choir" of friends that led to her choosing that particular blog title.)  If you haven't been by her blog, you should.  I often find that she says just what I would want to say--if I were minded to come away from the butterflies and sunshine and light and talk about political and social issues more often--and usually makes at least a little more sense than I would make in saying it.

I bring this up today particularly, because she has two posts up that are both about issues near and dear to me. 

The first, "We defend family values!* (*as long as the family has a Dad married to a stay-at-home Mom, 2.3 kids, a minivan, and a dog.)" is about a clearly anti-gay ballot issue in Arkansas that, if passed, would prohibit unmarried couples who live together from adopting or fostering children.  Honestly, the bigotry and heartlessness of this (both to the children languishing in state facilities and to the parents who want to adopt them) bothers me so much that I have trouble forming coherent sentences, so just go read S's post.

The second, reflects on just how close Hillary came.  Even though I was an Obama fan before it was cool to be an Obama fan, this race brought out so many conflicting emotions in me.  I was one of those little girls who wanted to be "the first woman president" too.  I can't say I don't think the right person won out in the end, but, like S, it breaks my heart a little that Hillary was "thisclose".

Again, she's got some good stuff up over there.  Go, read.

Political Photographer

Last week I dipped my oar into the world of politics, and took some portrait shots of a bona fide candidate for the United States Senate. 

So that you don't think I'm way more famous than I am (am not?), let me explain.  One of my co-workers is running as a Libertarian candidate.  His name is Randall Hodgkinson, and--although as a third party candidate his chances of getting elected are slim--he's one of the smartest people I know and would be an incredible senator.

His website is still in the works, but you can see it--and my photo credit--here.

Blogging for the Legal Gig

I have a guest blog up today at Kansas Defenders, a legal blog that focuses on appellate issues in Kansas.  As the office "blogging expert" I comment on the potential ethical issues involved when judges write blogs.

I always knew this blogging thing would be good for more than just keeping myself entertained!  ;)

Here it is:  Judges blogging?

Wednesday Poll: When You Pry Them From My Cold, Dead Fingers

Once again, I must paraphrase an un-saved article, "Today's generation of young women take for granted the rights their mothers and grandmothers fought so hard for.  Because they're rights they've always had, they assume they always will have them, and don't pay much attention as those rights are slowly eroded."

Case in point.  Briefly, new regulations under consideration by the Department of Health and Human Services could be read to define birth control as an "abortion".  Coupled with language that would a) require facilities receiving federal funding to not refuse to hire doctors and staff who object to "abortion", and b) language that would allow health-care corporations or individuals to also consider birth control "abortion" and therefore to refuse to provide it--can you see where this is going?

It's an attack on reproductive rights, and it's an attack on reason.  Would someone pretty-please tell me where all those unwanted children are going to live on a planet that's already over-taxed?  What they're going to eat?  Who's going to take care of them when their mommies and daddies can't or won't?  And when parents are forced to choose, say, between having another child or feeding the ones they've got, how is that not going to result in more real abortions, probably being performed in illegal or unsafe conditions?

I know most people who drop in here are women, but this question is directed at the guys as well.  For this week's poll:

How would your life have been different without birth control?  What are things you are doing or have done that would not be possible if you had children or had children before you were ready to?

Comment and discuss. 

Got Scrap Yarn?

Here's a quick project to use it up and benefit a good cause, from Glampyre Knits (via Craft and Found).

"Oxfam is calling on all knitters in the UK to (purl together and) support a new campaign to help reduce the numbers of women who die needlessly every year in pregnancy and childbirth. Millions of mums in poor countries get low-quality health care or are forced to go though pregnancy and childbirth without it altogether, meaning that, every minute, a mother dies because she doesn’t have access to the medical care she needs."

"....[K]nitters will be asked to make 9-inch squares for a giant baby blanket, with each knitted square representing a mother who did not survive pregnancy or childbirth to be able to care for her baby....The aim is to get 250,000 squares by September, the number of mothers who could have been saved in that time if decent healthcare had been available....The giant blanket will be handed over to the UK Government just before world leaders meet in New York to discuss progress on the Millennium Development Goals, aimed at halving world poverty by 2015. It will represent a demand to global leaders to act now to ensure that everyone in the world has access to free basic healthcare.  After the giant blanket has been handed in, it will be dismantled and sold in Oxfam shops and at festivals, with the money raised going towards Oxfam’s work to fight poverty."

If you're a Ravelry member, there's a group with more info here.  The completed squares can be sent to:

Sarah Blakemore
Oxfam campaigns
47 Park Square East
Leeds
LS21 2NL
UK

Happy Fourth of July!

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe time!

We're headed off for our hometown for some food, family, and (I'm sure) lots of blowing things up.  There's just something about a good old Midwestern Fourth of July....I've really been looking forward to it! 

The Wednesday poll quiz answers are below.

(Photo: Raising the first flag at Independence Hall.  Copy of painting by Clyde O. DeLand.  Via.)