Sign the Petition to Repeal the Hyde Amendment!

I've mentioned the National Network of Abortion Funds in this space before. One of their big projects currently is working for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment- I recently received an appeal from them that I wanted to share with you:

Dear Friend,

Abortion is still legal in the U.S., but every year thousands of women are denied this right because they don't have the money to pay for abortion care.

Low-income women are often forced to use money they need for food and rent to cover the cost of an abortion. Many women cannot raise enough money and must continue the pregnancy and stay trapped in poverty. Women face this difficult situation because in 1976 Congress passed the Hyde Amendment, which excludes abortion from government-funded health care programs.

We urge you to join the more than 60 groups in the Hyde – 30 Years is Enough! Campaign demanding an end to this injustice! Sign our petition calling on Congress to repeal the Hyde Amendment and restore coverage of abortion for low-income women.

Women enrolled in Medicaid and similar programs receive coverage for all medically necessary health care services, including prenatal care, labor, and delivery. However, as a result of the Hyde Amendment, a woman enrolled in Medicaid is denied assistance in most circumstances if the care she needs is an abortion.

Sign the petition and make your voice heard! Our goal is to collect 20,000 signatures to deliver to Congress by January 22, 2008. With your help we can meet this goal! Please forward this email to your friends and colleagues and encourage them to sign.

By signing the petition, you join a strong, national effort called the Hyde – 30 Years is Enough! Campaign. The campaign is led by the National Network of Abortion Funds, a network of groups that raise money to help women cover the cost of abortions. A complete list of organizations participating in the campaign can be found here.

Please join us and sign the petition now!

Together, we can create a society in which all women have the power and resources necessary to make healthy decisions about their bodies and families.

Thank you,

The Hyde – 30 Years is Enough! Campaign
www.hyde30years.nnaf.org

Please, take a second to sign the petition. And again, I implore you to use some of your free time or funds to help out the abortion fund in your area. True reproductive justice can't be achieved while abortion is still financially out of reach of anyone in our communities.

Condom Dance Party!

Warning- extremely catchy.



We'll get back to the regular blogging soon, I'm saving myself a bit for NaBloPoMo!

It's NaBloPoMo time again!

Is it November already? Well, almost, and that means it's time for both National Novel Writing Month AND its only slightly less ambitious cousin, National Blog Posting Month. And being the slacker that I am, I'm going to go with NaBloPoMo once again this year. Last year I managed to stick out for half a month before everything else got in the way (why do they always do this in a month with a major holiday???), but this year, with working at home, I really think I can do it.

And you, dear reader, you can too! Just click on the link above or the button on the right, or if you're really lazy, right here. There is so much to blog about in this great big blogosphere, so don't be intimidated! You can do it!

A trip to Fenway

Since no normal person's going to be able to afford a ticket to tonight's game 1, here's a short tour:



Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go take a nap so that I'll be able to stay up and watch the whole game...

Random Red Sox memories...

As the Red Sox face a critical game six tonight, I thought I'd put down on the page some of my memories from a long time of being a Sox fan:

-First game attended at Fenway: if memory serves correctly, it was 1983, and I went with my dad to see the Sox play the A's on a Saturday afternoon. It was Yaz's last season. We sat behind home plate on the first base side, up about halfway. I don't remember much, but I seem to remember Yaz coming in as a pinch hitter in the late innings.

-My first big trip into Boston without my folks was in high school, when two friends and I went to see the Sox on a weekday afternoon, and sat along the left field line. I can't remember who they played, but I remember yelling at Mike Greenwell all afternoon...

-It's not every day you get to witness history, even if it was made by the opposing team. The whole family went up to see the Sox play the Twins on a weeknight (My brother was always a big Kirby Puckett fan), and the Red Sox managed to hit into two triple plays, soomething that had never been done before, and hasn't since. They did manage to win the game at least. :)

-I've proably seen the Sox at Camden Yards more often than anywhere else, which has led to some fun memories, including both games of a doubleheader, teaching an Englishman some of the finer points of the game from the left field nosebleed section, and my favorite:

-Cal Ripken's last game. When Cal decided to retire at the end of the 2001 season, his last game was supposed to happen at Yankee Stadium. I had tickets to the last Orioles-Sox series, which was scheduled for the middle of September. Because of what happened on September 11th that year, many of the games that week were bumped. And the game I had tickets for was bumped to the very last day of the season. It's weird how fate works sometimes.

It was a very odd game- there were lots of speeches beforehand (including Bill Clinton, which brought about the very odd sight of secret service sharpshooters on the roof of a sports stadium), and for the first time in a long time, the seats at an Orioles-Sox game were mostly held by Orioles fans. The Sox won, which made it easier to sit through even more speeches afterwards, and all of the celebrations.

-Then of course, there's the little memories. I remember exactly where I was when the ball went through Buckner's legs, and where I was when the Sox won game four in St. Louis. And the names- Oil Can, El Guapo, Dewey, Nomah, and Papi.

You can't give up on your team when you've got this kind of history, can you? Nope.

Go Sox!

This is not funny.

Nope, not a bit.



Ah, dammit, who am I kidding? It's hilarious. And I feel dirty for saying that.

Ron Paul? Really? Are you sure about that?

Every couple of days, I get emails, letters and telegrams from you, my valued readers, asking something along the following lines:

"Stegan, we know you're a huge Dennis Kucinich fan, but what do you think about the "Ron Paul Revolution"?"

I have to admit, I'm new to the Ron Paul watch, so I decided to check out some of his positions. He's anti-war and would pull us out of Iraq (good), against the Patriot act (very good), against trade deals such as NAFTA (good), wants to take us out of the UN (huh?), abolish the Federal Reserve (um, okay), abolish the IRS (alrighty then), return decisions on abortion and contraception to the states (BAD), repeal all federal gun laws (BAD), return all decision making power over medicine and education to the states (BAD), and make the rights of homeschooling families paramount (WHAT?).

His views appear to have drawn in support from white supremacists and the forced birth crowd, as well as certain numbers of anti-war republicans and people who enjoy saying "Ron Paul" while intaking their favorite illegal or semi-legal substance. To each their own, I say. I mean, as a Dennis Kucinich supporter, who am I to judge who you vote for?

But let me ask the Paulies this- your boy wants to return a large number of powers to the individual states. Have you looked at your state assembly (or legislature, or what have you) lately? Some of them only meet every two years! They think teachers unions shouldn't be allowed to strike! They think they know better than anyone what you, or your partner, or your mother should be allowed to do with your bodies! They are, in short, elected officials. The minor leagues of elected officials, no less. And while I'm honestly not a big fan of Congress, I think they've usually got smarter people telling them what to do than your standard breed local politician.

In the final analysis, it seems like Ron Paul really just wants to pass the buck down to the states (and the UN) and create a system of federal governance where the bigwigs in Washington can sit back and say "Hey, it's not my problem!"

Which, now that I think about it, might be the perfect system of government for the early 21st Century United States- we have after all become the "Hey, if it doesn't affect me, I don't care about it" culture. Hm- maybe I should reconsider this whole Ron Paul thing...

Uniform madness...

(it's an oxymoron, see- uniform implies order, while madness implies chaos? but you probably figured that out already, didn't you?)

Over the past year or so, I've become a regular reader of Uni Watch, which, as the website says, is dedicated to "The obsessive study of athletics aesthetics". I find the minutiae that Paul Lukas and his team dig up to be fascinating, and I've found myself watching sporting events, such as a White Sox game a couple of weeks ago, and trying to understand why they'd wear special unis to commemorate "Halfway to St. Patrick's Day" instead of just enjoying the game (it really was distracting!).

Anyways, my original reason for all this was to make you aware of this week's Uni Watch article on ESPN.com- I found it hilarious and fascinating. And I would imagine that it's articles like this that create jobs like "uniform spellchecker" in sports stadiums across the country.

On a similar (although not uni-related) note, last night I had the pleasure of watching the documentary "Helvetica", which was, as the title promises, a film about a font. A font that is so ubiquitous, so everyday, that you can't go five minutes without seeing it, or a version of it. And this has made it both beloved and reviled over the last 50 years. It's a fantastic documentary that takes you into the hitherto unknown world of typeface design, and I think, gives great insight into the last 50 years of graphic design in general. It's touring the world right now, and I could not recommend it more highly. The website has the dates and locations of screenings.

No, seriously.

Am I the only one who needs to keep reminding themselves that the presidential election is NEXT November? Enough with the campaigning already!

Words to the wise.

From Natalie Dee.


nataliedee.com

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???