Sure he's a right wing Fox News loving nutjob,

But will he blend???

The answer my surprise you. Although it shouldn't:

Quick Hits- Champaign

It's been almost two months since we picked up stakes from Harrisburg, where I'd lived for ten years, and moved out west. I figured it was a good point to share some observations on the city, gathered while sitting outside Pekara with a lovely cup of coffee (Ethiopian dark roast, always a good bet.):

-I really could see myself living here for a while, especially if we stay within biking/ walking distance of downtown. I love that there are still a lot of local businesses, and a good number of vegan or adaptable vegetarian options (although it's far from perfect in that respect) foodwise.

-There is a disturbing lack of bagels. From a quick non-scientific tour of the coffeeshops, Dunkin Donuts appears to be the only reliable source for bagels. This is no good. The server I talked to at Pekara confirmed my fears, so it's not just me. Someone needs to fix this situation.

-I've started to notice some of that famous midwestern reticence. The students I've met have been lovely and friendly, but there is definitely a difference when it comes to "townies"- people are not really interested in making eye contact, and it's rare that a smile is returned. I'm not sure if it's because I dress fairly casually around town, so it could be guessed that I'm a student, or if it's just the way people are around here...

-Working from home has definitely made it harder for me to meet people. I've definitely got to go make an effort to do things like go downtown to watch a game at the bar and whatnot (dare I become a Cubs fan in addition to a Red Sox fan?)- this will be a LOT easier when the bars in Champaign go smoke free at the end of the year...

-Steak n' Shake scares me.

90 seconds on the Global Gag Rule

via Feministing:



to take action, visit: NARAL Pro-Choice America

So you like abstinence only education, do ya?

Your tax dollars pay for this man to speak at schools:



My personal favorite comes at about the 4:00 mark, where he goes on about how all the aborted fetuses are thrown in a blender and put into makeup. Not to mention the shame he's heaping on anyone in the audience who may have already had sex, or an abortion, or, god forbid, kissed someone...

Gah! I will say that I think it's great that one of the students was annoyed enough that he got out his camera and filmed this- this is the stuff that these righties won't show when they tape a presentation for teevee or anything like that. This is the stuff that Henry Waxman rightly went after this multi-million dollar industry for spewing (if you do click on that link, spend some time on the Guttmacher Institute website- you'll learn something).

The worst part is, even when you scream at the top of your lungs about this, you get the feeling no one's listening.

Yarn!

Yarn!
Originally uploaded by VeganSteve

I'm finally moving out of the world of washcloths and scarves, and ready to try my first knitting in the round project. is the one- and of course, it's no simple hat. I hate wearing hats in the winter, so it seems to make sense to do something that I can move around, and has an opening to let my head vent. Very exciting stuff!

Boehner makes a boner?

First, watch the video:



Now let's see that in slow motion (emphasis added):

BLITZER: How much longer will U.S. taxpayers have to shell out $2 billion a week or $3 billion a week as some now are suggesting the cost is going to endure? The loss in blood, the Americans who are killed every month, how much longer do you think this commitment, this military commitment is going to require?

BOEHNER: I think General Petraeus outlined it pretty clearly. We’re making success. We need to firm up those successes. We need to continue our effort here because, Wolf, long term, the investment that we’re making today will be a small price if we’re able to stop al Qaeda here, if we’re able to stabilize the Middle East, it’s not only going to be a small price for the near future, but think about the future for our kids and their kids.

It could be argued that Rep. Boehner was just ignoring the part of the question about Americans dying, but one would think that, in this media savvy world of ours, a politician would be REALLY clear on how he feels about the Americans who die every day fighting an invisible enemy...

What a maroon.

Six years later.

I consider myself clever, after a fashion, and capable of spouting forth nonsense on so many subjects as to make the mind whirl and get myself ten seconds of attention. But there are times, like today, when words fail me.

I was at work that day, like any other Tuesday, bemoaning some project or other, thinking of places I'd rather be. And then the internet went nuts, and everyone was whispering, and "I heard" became the beginning of every sentence for the rest of the day.

"I heard they're telling everyone to go home"

"I heard there was another explosion in San Francisco"

"I heard they blew up a school bus"

The first visual evidence I had was going down to the hotel lobby and standing in the bar. At that moment, the first tower fell. I was dumbstruck. How is it possible?

A month later, I went to see Ani DiFranco just outside of Philadelphia. I'd been to several of her shows, but had never seen a crowd so quiet. There was a yearning there, that we all needed to be entertained, needed to think of something else, needed, maybe, someone to put how we felt into words. That night, she performed a very early version of "Self Evident", and there was one line that stuck out to me then, and still gets me to this day:

"and every borough looked up when it heard the first blast
and then every dumb action movie was summarily surpassed"

Because that was it. We never think of the impermanence of things like buildings, especially not once they become symbols. These buildings are forever. They only disappear in movies.

It didn't take long for arrogant patriotism to take over the country, and an almost nauseating quest for retribution began. And I could go back to fearing for the future our leaders were dragging us towards again. Le sigh.

Mo Rocca gets to the heart of the matter.

And people wonder why I sometimes get offended when I'm referred to as a "guy"???

Small Fish, Big Pond

I finally made it down to the local Planned Parenthood today- it feels weird to go from someone who was a board member and spent a few nights a week volunteering or in meetings back down to an entry level volunteer. Just another effect of big change, I guess.

Best. Commercial. Ever.

It may be fake commercial, yes, but how many people would actually realize that???

Sure it's pretty, but...

A lot of the streets in our part of Champaign look something like this:

It's lovely, really. You don't imagine this part of the midwest being quite this tree lined. And paved with bricks no less!

Another quite popular thing in the city is bicycling- you see a lot of students and townies biking from one place to the other (which makes perfect sense- from one end of Champaign to the other end of Urbana is only a couple of miles). And after finally getting my front tube replaced on my bike and taking it out for its first ride today, I can say one thing for sure:

I'm glad I'm not trying to ride a road bike around here!

The bricks, while lovely, are uneven, to be kind. There aren't many that stick up, but there are quite a few small gaps, and some areas where the bricks have started to sink, and even more areas on the side of the road where grass is poking through. You definitely don't want a skinny tire and no suspension in the brick parts of town, this is for sure.

On a similar biking note, I've been looking at the idea of converting my 24 speed down to a single speed . There are some good tutorials on the subject, and it seems to make pretty good sense for an urban area like this- no hills to climb, more nimble for avoiding 18 year old idiot drivers, that sort of thing... And weirdly, single speed bikes are just as expensive if not more so than their billion geared cousins. Definitely calls for some DIY investigation...

There is no humane meat.

I often stumble during arguments, not always sure of what I'm saying. And arguments about animal rights are no different. So I tend to refer people to books and articles that do a far better job of making a case.

The argument against "humane meat" is no exception. The term itself I find fairly stunning and contradictory- how can one have humane slaughter? Because inevitably, those happy little animals you see running around the "humane farm" are going to be sent to a slaughterhouse and be murdered.

Josh from Herbivore deals with this issue in his latest editor's note (thanks to vegan chai for pointing it out). At a recent conference sponsored by HSUS (Humane Society of the United States), the "Animal Welfare Institute", an organization that advocates, among other things, "humane meat" and "humane animal research", paid their money and was able to sponsor a "panel discussion" (where they hand picked their supporters for the panel).

Take a look at the article- I'm curious to know where you stand?

Defend Dr. George Tiller

Dr. George Tiller is one of my heroes, and just an amazing human being. I'll have more to say about this later, but I wanted to get this up- excellently worded:

Defend Dr. Tiller

Blog post by Peter Rothberg in The Nation, Tue Aug 7, 6:50 PM ET http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow?pid=220941

Dr. George Tiller, one of the few late-term abortion providers in the US, pleaded not guilty last Friday to 19 misdemeanor charges brought against him by the state of Kansas. The charges revolve around a state law which requires that two legally and financially uninvolved physicians sign off on any late-term abortion procedure--a law that seems to have no other purpose than to make life difficult for abortion providers.

The charges against Tiller brought by Attorney General Paul Morrison allege that in 19 procedures from July to November 2003, the Wichita doctor consulted with Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus. The attorney general has said they had a financial relationship, although he hasn't been more specific. As a result, he faces up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine for each of the nineteen charges.

As a comprehensive cross-post by Cara at Feministing.com and thecurvature.com details, Tiller has a long history of being harassed for his work and these allegations are just the latest chapter. He has faced regular protests at his clinic, other trumped-up criminal charges, physical threats, severe vandalism and constant intimidation. He has also been shot.

This new law under which he's been charged is harassment, pure and simple. That's why Tiller's attorneys are challenging the constitutionality of the statute. (A hearing was set for Aug. 10.) Moreover, as Cara rightly insists, "Requiring written approval of any late-term abortion procedure from two independent physicians is not only requiring the abortion provider to seek permission to practice medicine, it's also essentially requiring that the woman get permission to successfully request medical care. Her choice, along with the medical advice of her doctor, is not enough. Late-term abortions, contrary to what anti-abortion activists constantly profess, are not undertaken lightly. The women who receive medical care at Dr. Tiller's facility come from all over the country; Dr. Tiller is hardly going to be their first medical consultation. They seek their abortions either due to health risks to themselves or severe fetal deformity. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who likes late-term abortion, and that includes the women who need them."

Tiller has been operating bravely for years doing thankless work in the face of constant efforts to drive him away from his practice. The latest charges against him are meant to distract as much as punish and make it financially prohibitive for him to continue his services. So now he needs our help. Please send donations and words of support by mail to the address below:

Women's Health Care Services
5107 East Kellogg
Wichita, Kansas USA 67218

Sharing a Birthday.

Ever since I was a kid, I've always been curious as to what's happened historically on this, my birthday, who was born then, what holidays there are, that sort of thing. Well, I've had 33 years to compile a list, and here it is:

-Birthdays:
-Fidel Castro
-Alan Shearer
-Don Ho
-Alfred Hitchcock
-Jocelyn Elders

-Happenings:
-1961- the GDR closes the border between East and West Berlin, prompting the construction of the Berlin Wall
-1987- Ronald Reagan owns up to his role in Iran-Contra

-Holidays:
- International Lefthander's Day! (a holiday that is, of course, near and dear to my heart!)

So, once I get done with this pesky work thing, I plan on sitting back and honoring the day with a rum in one hand, champagne in the other, kicking a soccer ball, watching a horror movie and doing that which Jocelyn Elders always so heartily endorsed. Should be quite a scene!

A question for the masses:

Help me figure this out. Are lolcats a sign of societal progression or regression? I know I've got at least one armchair philosopher reading this who must have an opinion:


Anyone?

Almost ready...

I'm beat. I have no energy to entertain you people. Go look at some lolcats.

The Vick Thing.

Okay, so I'm a football fan. And vegan. And a "dog person" (as well as a cat person, but that's a different story). So there's a few angles on which this whole Michael Vick dogfighting case appalling.

Football Fan: I might be one of the few people who sides with Charles Barkley on the whole "athletes as role models" argument- as much as we might like our major athletes to be role models for our kids, it's just not going to happen. As the philospher once said, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Give someone enough cash and attention, and they're going to think they're above the law. And for that reason, Vick needs to be dealt with harshly. I'm sure the NFL has done their own investigation into the matter, and has a good bit of the same evidence that the feds used to get their indictment. This alone should be reason enough to suspend him pending the outcome of the trial. And if convicted, he's done. For good. This isn't gambling or steroids- it's not as though he cheated at the game and can be monitored to make sure he doesn't do it again. No. If the indictment is correct, he participated in straight up sociopathic behavior. It's only a matter of time, the specialists tell us, before a human becomes a target instead of a dog.

Vegan: It's been interesting to read the comments on the Vick stories on espn.com and see how people have reacted- I would say nine out of ten responders have talked about how despicable this crime is, but they're "no PETA supporter". Oddly enough, neither am I. But it's events like this that always make me cringe that PETA has become the commonly accepted face of animal rights. They're what some would call welfarists- they declare victory every time conditions become just a little bit worse for an animal before they're killed for food. And I really can't abide that- how about we just don't kill them??? And don't get me started on their use of nudity as an attention getting tool.

Dog Lover: Yeah- I can't even go there. I'm just disgusted. Literally, it makes me nauseous...

On Futbol!

On the day when "Becks" will become more than the name of an imported beer to Americans (or so Alexi Lalas hopes), I thought I'd pay at least some homage to some local boys, the Harrisburg City Islanders, who knocked off MLS powerhouse D.C. United on Wednesday night to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup, which is a nationwide competition open to all amateur and pro soccer teams. This is huge! Now the Islanders move on to play the New England Revolution in Foxboro- my love of the underdog will have to trump my New England roots on this one, and I'll definitely be pulling for Harrisburg! Hopefully I can find a TV with Fox Soccer Channel somewhere in the midwest. :)

Hey, Cancellara!

MEtC asked me last night, after seeing me completely entranced by watching the Tour, how anyone could sit there and watch people ride bikes. It's because of finishes like this!



Just amazing stuff. If they can just avoid any foolish doping scandals this year, I'm going to enjoy the next few weeks in front of the Tour. :)

The end of the beginning...

Or something. This is the last Monday that I will sit at a computer in Harrisburg and fret over the micro-details of hotel buyings and sellings, as I have for the last seven years. It's the longest stretch I've spent at one job, and it very much feels weird to leave. For all the ups and downs this particular job has had, it's become a second home, and my co-workers a second family- it's hard not to have some sort of emotional feelings that cloud the relief at removing the weight of the job itself from my shoulders. I'm sure I'll have many more nonsensical musings over the coming days so I ask the gentle reader to stick with me- I'll be back to my old rip-roaring self in no time.

In the meantime, check out this nifty article on the next wave of librarians, from the NYT style section, no less!