I live the Amendments, part II in an on-going series (I hope)

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

I have been held up at gun point. Not once, not twice, but THREE times in my life.

In NYC. Where the right of the people to keep and bear Arms is totally infringed. Also the right of the people to keep and bear bullet-proof vests.

The first time, I was 10. In the house alone (I KNOW! But in my parents defence, it was the 70's and latch-key kids were not so rare then). I let in a woman who said my parents had hired her to be the new cleaning woman. And she robbed us.

The second time, I was 16 and working at David's Cookies. The guy who robbed us was really not very smart as he came in only an hour after we opened.

The third time, I was 26 and working at Murder Ink, the World's Oldest Mystery Bookstore (now, sadly, defunct). The liquor store next door was much better protected than we were.

None of those instances made me fear guns. Nor did they make me fearful of gun violence. Nor did they make me want to run out and buy a gun.

We do own two guns. They came to our family in the early '00's. They are very tidily locked up away from our son and our son's friends. My spouse has held a concealed carry permit which he got in...2003? I think? in conjunction with some work he was doing at the time.

I have practiced at the range with both guns. Guns will never be anything for me to get passionate over, except where I feel that people aren't handling them safely. Keep them locked up. Especially if you have children in your house.

The question that always comes up for me about guns and the US is...why, if we have fewer guns per capita than either Canada or Switzerland, do we have more gun violence than either of those two countries?

What are they doing right? What are we doing wrong? Is it a difference in attitude? Is it a difference in focus?

Ooh! Here's a bit of gun trivia for you...while young women ATTEMPT suicide at greater rates than young men, young men SUCCEED more often...because they tend to have greater access to, and familiarity with, guns. So please keep your guns safely locked up away from your teens, too.

I live the Amendments, part I in an on-going series (I hope)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

• Well, on the religion front: I was born to a long line of Jewish atheists. After an abortive attempt at going to a Yiddishkeit summer camp, my parents sent me to a Quaker camp that some of my friends (ha! see what I did there!) went to and I went there for the next 5 summers. I am, therefore, much more Quaker than Jewish, though I always say Jewish is a place you come from. So I'm a Jewish Friend of the Unitarian Universalists and if that's not freedom of religion, I don't know what is.
• As to freedom of speech and the press...hello! I'm a Blogger! I'm living that one quite nicely, thank you.
• The right of the people peaceably to assemble is one of my favorites. LCDC meetings, the Leesburg Obama rally two years ago, the No Nukes marches my parents took me on lo these many years ago....As an aside, did you know that Pete Seeger pled the First Amendment when he was brought before HUAC*? He is the coolest person on the planet, bar none.
• The right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances is a good one too. Again, I remember going on marches with my parents..."No Draft! No War! US out of El Salvador!". Writing to Legislators, signing petitions. All of these are excellent things.

My favorite thing about the First Amendment is that it means that I can go door-to-door to talk to people about what they want from their government and to ask them to vote for someone that I care enough about to actually be out walking and ringing doorbells. The First Amendment allows me to do that. (I always respect "no soliciting" signs though. Even though I'm not selling anything, I think it's rude to knock on a door with a "no soliciting" sign. I will leave literature, along with a nice note.)

My second favorite thing about the First Amendment is that I don't have to worry that someone's going to drag me and my son out of our home in the middle of the night just because we're Jewish. That's a feeling of safety that I truly appreciate.

*"I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this." (Pete Seeger to the House Unamerican Activities Committee, August 18, 1955. Quoted, along with some other exchanges from that hearing, in [Wilkinson 2006], p. 53 as quoted in Wikipedia).

Here's a strong indication that you may be in the wrong

When people who agree with you are threatening to commit or are actually committing acts of violence.

Nice work, Sarah Palin. Gun sights on congressional districts where there have already been reports of violence! I'm glad to see that at least the phrase, "Don't Retreat, Reload" has been removed.

On my way...

...To my first NARAL-VA board meeting.

WOOT!

Just a brief note to say,

YAY!!!!!

THANK YOU CONGRESS!!


No one can be turned down for pre-existing conditions; no one can lose their insurance just because they become ill. It's not enough, but it's a start. Can we get a public option, or (gasp!) single payer in the next Congress, pretty please?

Waiting for HCR

Wishing it had a public option. Heck, wishing it were single payer. But I'll take what I can get.

Hoping we get it for the sake of the daughter of one of my friends. The daughter has liver disease. She's nine. She's been in and out of the hospital her whole life. If HCR doesn't pass, when she grows up she won't be able to get health insurance. Pre-existing condition. Sorry.

Hoping we get it for the sake of American businesses. Every other industrialized nation has some form of universal health insurance that's not tied to employment. That means that one of the top cost sectors for our businesses isn't a factor in other countries. We're competing on an unlevel field.

Hoping we get it for the sake of American health. Our country has a lower life expectancy than most other industrialized nations, and is dead last in maternal life expectancy and infant mortality.

Hoping we get it.

Vote!!!

The Loudoun Independent is asking which Supervisor we'd most like to see leave office. I voted to boot Delgaudio. I hope you do too!

Drug Court open thread

Opening a thread to discuss Drug Court so as not to hijack other blogs on it.

LC BOS is talking school budget.

Sounds like they are taking a hard stand on how much they're willing to spend.

You can watch it on the gov't access cable channel, or streaming online here.

Hatrick sounds a little miffed.

3:22: So far, total cuts to LCPS, with a mix of flat-out cuts, cuts to balance state transfer, and temporary deferral of retirement expenses, now stand at $75,000,000. Tax rate implied is $1.295.

Phone banking for Cesar del Aguila

That's what we'll be doing a bit later this afternoon. Why don't you join us?

I'm now on the board of NARAL Prochoice Virginia

This makes me very happy! I'll be attending my first board meeting on the 23'd and, of course, will be at Luna Fest on April 7th.

It's no secret that I'm pro-choice. I mean, it's not like I haven't written about it several times.

Most women I know have had at least one time in her life where she has waited desperately for her period to come --- and thought every moment until it did about what she would do if it didn't.

Other women, like Cecily, have desperately wanted the children they were pregnant with, and faced a choice of abortion or death.

Abortion must be kept safe and legal. Contraceptives must be kept safe and legal. And everybody should be taught (age appropriately) how babies are made. And if they are in puberty: how contraceptives ACTUALLY work, and how to use them.

I'll be posting a link to NARAL's site in my sidebar later, along with a link to donate to them.

Had lunch with the World's Best Finance Director, Bar None*

She was in town for various reasons and we hadn't seen her since just after the election.

Had a lovely time schmoozing and sitting in the sunshine at Anita's in Ashburn. I highly recommend the #10 on the Burrito menu.

She's looking well and happy. Looking to move up in the world. I love when that happens.

There, now, was that so difficult?

WaPo: "Gov. McDonnell prohibits bias against gay state workers"

Thank you, Governor McDonnell.

For the record

This has nothing to do with this.

My past three blog posts have been about (or by) three different friends.

I still don't have permission to explain what precisely the SQUEEE!!! was about. When I do, I will, and I'll be clear about it.

Friends in High Places

So, I was chatting with my friend from high school, Daniel Radosh, on Facebook and I mentioned our own Man in the Orange Hat in the context of Cooch's bigotry.

And apparently he talked about it at work, because the next thing that happened was:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Gaywatch - Virginia Edition
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform

Did I mention that my friend is a writer for The Daily Show?

I was going to write a post about Cuccinelli, but then a friend sent me this:

From her email:

"First of all, it is absolutely appalling that the attorney general of the state -- the top legal officer of the state -- is openly advocating discrimination. This isn't a random nutjob just spouting off, as so many do. He holds a position of considerable legal authority, and is using that position to promote hatred.

Furthermore, he is the lawyer for state entities, and is advising them to take legal steps to strip legal protections from a group of people who have suffered grievously from discrimination, hatred, and abuse -- not just over time, but gay-bashing is sadly and shockingly still an everyday concern for many.

The news story has it wrong. this is not an "increasing split" on issues regarding gender orientation -- it is pure and simple an effort by someone in power, seeking more power, to advance the despicable and uninformed prejudices of the past for his own political gain. This is shameful beyond description.

Universities and other learning institutions have a strong interest in making all their students, teachers, and employees safe. Bans on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation are one way that intent to provide a safe place is expressed.

I swear to god, Dick Cheney is more enlightened than this man, on this issue. That's not a compliment."

Thank you for writing this, my dear friend. I couldn't have said it better, or with more passion.

SQUEE!!

Doing a very happy dance.

Happy! Happy! Happy!

Lalalalalala.

Update on this ecstatic interlude when the person for whom I'm happy clears me to release the news.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled ranting.

So, if a beautiful campus and a football stadium isn't necessary for a good school, what is?

Teachers.

Good teachers.

A focus on academics.

A belief in the value of learning.

Parental involvement.

Good principals.

Good principles.

Lastly, pointing out the connection between things kids enjoy and the things they are learning, which leads to joy in learning. For example: the most recent OK Go! video is "...a celebration of actual root-level physics." And is there anything more fun than this video?



My son, who attends a Loudoun County Public School, is getting exactly this joy in learning from his teacher (he's in 2nd grade). He also got it from his 1st grade teacher. The teachers and principals in Loudoun County are, bar none, TERRIFIC.* The second grade curriculum is strong and has room for children with differing levels of skills to succeed.

This would be the case even if they didn't have a baseball field outside. For instance, the most desirable public school in my home town neighborhood of Park Slope, Brooklyn, is PS 321.


View Larger Map


View Larger Map

See? No baseball field. Three story building. The fifth grade is in that "temporary" building in the backyard (second street view). That temporary building is older than I am. Yet they win awards.

To sum up: Good teachers, good principals, and a focus on academics. Are you telling me we can't get that done on less than 70 acres for a high school?

*Full disclosure: my son does not attend his zoned school. The after-school facility where he's been since age 3 doesn't pick up from there, so he has received permission to attend a school his after-school facility does pick up from. I would be proud for him to attend ANY school in the LCPS system.

Watch the BOS finance committee!

http://loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=1698

Impressions so far:

Is Lori Waters serious? SELL land in this market? Still focusing on building stadia for schools while we're having difficulty providing basic services? GET REAL. Where are her priorities?

YES, kids need places to play, but (at the risk of sounding very "get off my lawn-ish") my high school football team had to travel to the BRONX to play, and they were still division champs. They had to sell candy and get sponsorships to buy uniforms and pay for the bus to get them to the field and THEY WERE STILL DIVISION CHAMPS.

When I went there, our "ball fields" were Stuyvesant Park, a two-block-square city park down the street from us, that we shared with the Society of Friends School across the way.

And yet, we consistently ranked (and still do) among the top schools in the country.

And now they're housed in the bottom portion of a skyscraper, with an apartment building above them. Which is how they paid to get a state-of-the-art gymnasium with pool (at the old building where I went, no pool). The residents of the apartment building get to use the gymnasium facilities in the evenings and on the weekends - which pays for upkeep on those facilities.

Granted, Stuyvesant is a competitive admissions High School. Also granted, I got in by the skin of my teeth. HOWEVER, the point I'm trying to make is that you do not need a fireplacing FOOTBALL STADIUM to get a good education. You don't even need one to have a good football team.

You will NEVER EVER get me to agree that buying 70 acres to build a high school is reasonable. Not in this or any other economy.

Loudoun county has plenty of completely empty office buildings. Why can't we use one of them for a high school?

End the word

HT to Dave


Rahm Emanuel shouldn't have used it. Rush Limbaugh shouldn't have used it. My co-workers shouldn't use it (and don't around me anymore). Don't add it to other words ("Repubtard"). Don't tell me you don't mean it like that.

Don't.

Don't use it.

When you use it, you're being hurtful to a whole group of people you've never even met because you're using a mean word in a mean way.

That group of people are doing their best to get along in the world despite huge hurdles that, some of them, are placed there by us - by our attitudes, by using this word.

Here's a post I wrote on my other blog last August:

If you know the word's offensive, why would you say it?

It's not about being PC, it's about not being a douchebag.

Deliberately using words that are hurtful, when you KNOW THAT THEY ARE HURTFUL means that you are not a nice person.

Two people who have children who fall into the category of people you have just insulted are sitting within hearing distance of you and you know it and you used the word anyway. And you'll use it again. Because you, YOU*, are a douchebag.

*Obviously, the YOU that I am talking about is a co-worker who doesn't read this blog. But I did tell her to her face that I thought she was being pretty horrid.

So, let's all sign on to stop using this word. Here are some alternatives: dense, ignorant, ill-planned, bigoted.

Leave your alternatives to this word in comments! We'll be doing good and improving our Bananagrams and Scrabble abilities at the same time!

Congratulations Del. Elect Eileen Filler-Corn!!

And congratulations, too, to my friends Danny Friedman and Trent Armitage! I know how hard the two of you worked getting volunteers and getting out the vote.

Don't forget that you can watch the BOS streaming live

http://loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=1698

My observations on today's meeting:

10:04 AM: Is DELGAUDIO recommending taxing people? Creating a whole NEW tax? Goodness gracious me!

10:10 AM: Kelly Burke Burk never remembers to turn off her cell phone. (ETA, and I never remember to leave off that last e. Sorry, Supervisor Burk!)

10:20 AM: I don't have an opinion one way or another on where the best place to put the station is, I just want them to build it.

10:31 AM: Awww...my spouse is so sweet.

10:40 AM: Susan Buckley is right on the facts, but that sounded awfully like a campaign speech, which is what she was complaining about. Us We LCDC members fell down on the job, we should have answered the LCRC statements and called them out for not being open about their affiliations.

11:10 AM: Delgaudio, people disagree with you, so it's the WATER? Oy vey.

11:13 AM: Discussion on advertising the tax rate for hybrid fuel cars. Delgaudio is voting for a tax hike! Hehehehe.
Seriously, though...the Mini Cooper gets 38 - 45 mpg, the Hybrid Escape gets 21 MPG. In what way is the Hybrid Escape more worthy of a tax break than the Mini Cooper?

11:25 AM: An all-electric 1993 Ford Escort???!!!!??? WANT!

11:28 AM: Meeting adjourned.

Noteworthy: "Anti-tax" Delgaudio voted for one tax hike and suggested creating a whole new tax (to pay for increased cost of building Metro station if it gets moved a bit to the west to allow for more economic development opportunities).

VOTE!!!

If you live in the 41st District, go vote for EILEEN FILLER-CORN!!!

Beautiful post on the meaning of Marshall's Remarks

Read it.