I know some people are upset about schools being closed again today. Many roads in the area are passable and when your own commute is okay, it's hard to imagine that others might have a different experience.
But over in Oakgrove (near Sterling), we have a slightly different situation.
One of the school buses here picks up kids on Oakgrove Road, turns right onto Trefoil Road, where it picks up more kids, makes another right onto Rock Hill (where I assume it picks up more kids), and then turns onto 606 to head off to the school.
Oakgrove Road is plowed. There are some snowy patches, but it's plowed.
Trefoil is NOT. It is snowy, bumpy, icy. There is no way that it would afford safe passage for a bus.
And that's just one road in one neighborhood. What about all the dirt roads in the county (like the western end of Waxpool!) that school buses are expected to travel to pick up kids?
The schools made the correct decision to stay closed today.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Where I'll Be
(from epluribus unum's posts on Loudoun Progress and Equality Loudoun)
"
Loudoun Out Loud Kickoff:
Leave a comment below if you want to attend.
A bit of background: As recently as 2005, some members of the Loudoun County School Board were discussing a policy that would have prohibited the presentation by our public school drama departments and clubs any work that acknowledges the existence of GLBT people. That ridiculous situation, largely created by former delegate Dick Black and some of his family members, was provoked by a student's original work. See Equality Loudoun archive. Although the policy eventually adopted by the board did not include unlawful viewpoint discrimination, the debate (which included threatening hate mail and some atrocious behavior at School Board meetings) did result in a chilling effect. The message was, as one drama department head put it, "Don't poke the bear." That era of self-censorship has now ended with the announcement that The Laramie Project has been selected as the spring play at Broad Run High School."
As to why we need to do this? Check out the comments at the Loudoun Times Mirror (HT David Weintraub).
"
Loudoun Out Loud Kickoff:Leave a comment below if you want to attend.
A bit of background: As recently as 2005, some members of the Loudoun County School Board were discussing a policy that would have prohibited the presentation by our public school drama departments and clubs any work that acknowledges the existence of GLBT people. That ridiculous situation, largely created by former delegate Dick Black and some of his family members, was provoked by a student's original work. See Equality Loudoun archive. Although the policy eventually adopted by the board did not include unlawful viewpoint discrimination, the debate (which included threatening hate mail and some atrocious behavior at School Board meetings) did result in a chilling effect. The message was, as one drama department head put it, "Don't poke the bear." That era of self-censorship has now ended with the announcement that The Laramie Project has been selected as the spring play at Broad Run High School."
As to why we need to do this? Check out the comments at the Loudoun Times Mirror (HT David Weintraub).
Friday, January 21, 2011
What Choice means to me
It means the ability to say, "No". It also means the ability to say, "Yes".
Choice means that sexual contact with someone who cannot or did not consent is rape.
Choice means having full and factual information. About how reproduction happens, about how to prevent reproduction from happening, and how to have the healthiest baby possible - if you choose to reproduce. Without full and factual information, there is no informed consent.
Choice means that women should be able to choose to get a tubal ligation, or be able to decline to get one.
Choice means that women should be able to get their birth control pills from any pharmacy that also stocks Viagra.
Choice means that any insurance company that covers Viagra should also cover birth control pills.
Choice means that abortion should be safe and legal and available and, yes, covered by insurance (and not on a separate policy).
Choice means that the health of the mother should trump the life of a fetus.
Choice means that clinics that provide out-patient first-trimester abortions should not be held to a higher standard than clinics that provide out-patient vasectomies.
I am pro-choice. Please donate to NARAL Pro-Choice VA, to help stop TRAP. Or join Tarina and many others for Lobby Day next week.
Choice means that sexual contact with someone who cannot or did not consent is rape.
Choice means having full and factual information. About how reproduction happens, about how to prevent reproduction from happening, and how to have the healthiest baby possible - if you choose to reproduce. Without full and factual information, there is no informed consent.
Choice means that women should be able to choose to get a tubal ligation, or be able to decline to get one.
Choice means that women should be able to get their birth control pills from any pharmacy that also stocks Viagra.
Choice means that any insurance company that covers Viagra should also cover birth control pills.
Choice means that abortion should be safe and legal and available and, yes, covered by insurance (and not on a separate policy).
Choice means that the health of the mother should trump the life of a fetus.
Choice means that clinics that provide out-patient first-trimester abortions should not be held to a higher standard than clinics that provide out-patient vasectomies.
I am pro-choice. Please donate to NARAL Pro-Choice VA, to help stop TRAP. Or join Tarina and many others for Lobby Day next week.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Q&A
Paul (a friend of mine from High School) asks:
And the answers are: I often miss living in NY and...probably not.
There is so much about NYC that I love: not needing a car; the parks; the Indian Restaurants in the East Village; the general walkability; living near my parents.
But I love Loudoun and Virginia too. I feel at home here, I feel that my being here makes a difference, and I'm hoping that someday it will be a county where I won't need to drive everywhere. Now, if only someone would get working on a transporter so I can see my parents more often...
"Ok Liz, here's two questions. Do you miss living in New York and do you think you'll ever move back??"
And the answers are: I often miss living in NY and...probably not.
There is so much about NYC that I love: not needing a car; the parks; the Indian Restaurants in the East Village; the general walkability; living near my parents.
But I love Loudoun and Virginia too. I feel at home here, I feel that my being here makes a difference, and I'm hoping that someday it will be a county where I won't need to drive everywhere. Now, if only someone would get working on a transporter so I can see my parents more often...
Monday, January 17, 2011
Oya Simpson is a finalist for an award!
Oya does a terrific job every year putting together the Earth Day celebration at Clyde's in the Broadlands. She's a phenomenal organizer. Please vote for her!
(via John Stevens)
(via John Stevens)
Friday, January 14, 2011
It's national delurking day!
Comments! Put yer comments here!! Comments! Put yer comments here!
Ask me a question, and I'll answer it in the next couple of posts.
Ask me a question, and I'll answer it in the next couple of posts.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Markers
There are many historical markers that people use to judge what generation a person is in. Were you born before or after WWII? Before or after Kennedy was shot? Before or after we landed on the moon? Before or after the Wall came down?
On Saturday, I was at the NARAL Prochoice VA Retreat and realized that there's another one:
I was born before "Roe".
On Saturday, I was at the NARAL Prochoice VA Retreat and realized that there's another one:
I was born before "Roe".
Monday, January 10, 2011
Why?
You all know how I feel about guns (short version, they're okay by me, but don't point them my way), but I don't understand why the sale and manufacture of clips to hold large amounts of ammunition for handguns is allowed.
What legitimate need does it fulfill? Hunting? Not with a handgun. Home defense? What, 9 or 11 bullets won't do? Militia duties? Again, not with a handgun.
The combination of an easily hidden handgun and a large clip of ammunition increased the scope of Saturday's tragedy.
So, why? What legitimate purpose did the availability of that clip serve?
(Yes, yes, I know that the ammunition clip didn't kill and injure the people at that event, that the shooter did. But he wouldn't have killed or injured as many people without that clip.)
My thoughts are with the friends, families, and victims.
What legitimate need does it fulfill? Hunting? Not with a handgun. Home defense? What, 9 or 11 bullets won't do? Militia duties? Again, not with a handgun.
The combination of an easily hidden handgun and a large clip of ammunition increased the scope of Saturday's tragedy.
So, why? What legitimate purpose did the availability of that clip serve?
(Yes, yes, I know that the ammunition clip didn't kill and injure the people at that event, that the shooter did. But he wouldn't have killed or injured as many people without that clip.)
My thoughts are with the friends, families, and victims.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Talking about a resolution
Loudoun Times Mirror's David D'Onofrio very kindly asked me to contribute to his collection of resolutions for Loudoun County!
What my last name means
Miller. It's a very common name. Easy to spell. Easy to say. Almost...anonymous in its plain-vanilla ordinariness.
My former last name was not at all common. I was the only person in America with my former full legal name. Even in the days before facebook, it was a very obvious name. Many people all over the country had heard of at least one person with the same last name and asked if I were related to that person (usually my father's oldest brother. If not, it was my uncle one brother up from my father).
When I got married, I was happy to take on the anonymity of Miller. There are names I would not have traded for. In fact, a former boyfriend had a common last name that suited him very well, but would not have suited me at all. At 4'11", one does not take on a name that means, "tall building".
Changing one's name on marrying was and is a very un-feminist thing to do, and I consider myself a feminist. But Miller as a name was pretty darn seductive to someone whose name had been forever a thing to reckon with. Even my father pronounces it differently depending on if he introduces himself as Bob (emphasis on last syllable) or Robert (emphasis on first). So believe me when I tell you that I did not change my name lightly or without a lot of thought.
As a feminist, I think I made the poorer choice, the choice that makes it harder for others to remain themselves if they wish.
Perhaps the better choice would have been for both of us to have changed our names to something like Brown or Jones. I don't know.
I know that I made the choice that felt right to me at the time, and that still feels right to me as a person.
And the fact that men, in general, don't have to think about this? Is a privilege I haven't got.
But here's the thing. I got married in New York State in 1996. If I had wanted to marry another woman, I wouldn't have been able to, and still could not in NY or VA. So the ease of changing my name through marriage? Is a privilege.
Funny that.
My former last name was not at all common. I was the only person in America with my former full legal name. Even in the days before facebook, it was a very obvious name. Many people all over the country had heard of at least one person with the same last name and asked if I were related to that person (usually my father's oldest brother. If not, it was my uncle one brother up from my father).
When I got married, I was happy to take on the anonymity of Miller. There are names I would not have traded for. In fact, a former boyfriend had a common last name that suited him very well, but would not have suited me at all. At 4'11", one does not take on a name that means, "tall building".
Changing one's name on marrying was and is a very un-feminist thing to do, and I consider myself a feminist. But Miller as a name was pretty darn seductive to someone whose name had been forever a thing to reckon with. Even my father pronounces it differently depending on if he introduces himself as Bob (emphasis on last syllable) or Robert (emphasis on first). So believe me when I tell you that I did not change my name lightly or without a lot of thought.
As a feminist, I think I made the poorer choice, the choice that makes it harder for others to remain themselves if they wish.
Perhaps the better choice would have been for both of us to have changed our names to something like Brown or Jones. I don't know.
I know that I made the choice that felt right to me at the time, and that still feels right to me as a person.
And the fact that men, in general, don't have to think about this? Is a privilege I haven't got.
But here's the thing. I got married in New York State in 1996. If I had wanted to marry another woman, I wouldn't have been able to, and still could not in NY or VA. So the ease of changing my name through marriage? Is a privilege.
Funny that.
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