On Language

Originally posted in January of 2010. Posting it again, because it's become current again.

A good explanation of why thinking about the words we use can be complicated and useful.

And another one.
And one more.

There are words I have never used outside of a discussion about why one doesn't use those words.

Here are some words I no longer use because I have been the one who began the discussion by using them:

• Crazy (I'm working on not using this one, it's been hard to scrub from my vocab).
• Insane (same)
• Lame

So my commonly used phrases, "Things are crazy busy here" and "Things have been insane around here" are being slowly changed to "Things are really very busy around here" or "Things have been a whirlwind around here"

And, "that's so lame!" has become "MEDICARE FOR EVERYBODY!!! WHAT'S SO HARD ABOUT THAT??"


If you have words you no longer use because a discussion about why you shouldn't use them began when you did? Please add them in the comments, along with an alternative sentence that expresses the same concept.

Comments that ask what ever happened to freedom of speech* will be deleted from the comments thread, but I will keep a tally of them and will post a total later.

Comments that use offensive words just to use offensive words and not to offer up non-offensive alternatives will be deleted. Repeat offenders on this front will be banned.


*Freedom of Speech is your ability to create your own blog and say what you like there.

Here's the thing

Blogging at work, and reading blogs at work, is a major no-no. So I wait until I get home. And then I make dinner, and eat dinner, and play with my son, and watch Red Dwarf, and put my son to bed, and then I read blogs. And then I'm just pooped. So that's what's been going on with the lack of bloggish activity on this here blog.

But there's a whole hell of a lot going on in the world. Wisconsin. OH MY GOD, how much do you love the Dem Senators in Wisconsin? And the protesters? I am so stoked by what's going on there. This is the stuff I read about when I was a kid, and sang songs about at summer camp, and everything. I am totally living vicariously through my Twitter feed.

I think that the Wisconsin GOP are going to get seriously spanked by the voters for this one. And I, for one, can't wait.

Perhaps more federal Dems will take their cue from the Wisconsin 14. Standing firm against stealing from the poor is a Democratic value.

And last but not least, Johnny Mathias who worked on Stevens's campaign for Delegate, is in WI as we speak, and is reporting LIVE! on Facebook and Twitter. He is awesome.

WHAT THE HELL?

[Sounds of me banging my head on the keyboard]. THIS IS WHY WE'RE HAVING AN ENTHUSIASM GAP! Dammit! Equality is in the National fucking Platform for crying out loud.

I hear Danny Glover shouting in my head.

We have a majority, we need to act to keep it

In the last two years, while Congress has gotten an enormous amount done, they have not addressed:

• Immigration reform
• DADT and DOMA
• The racial disparities inherent in our nation's drug laws.

On the other hand, in the health care bill they:

• Attacked reproductive freedom
• Did NOT give us single payer
• Gave away huge concessions to the Republicans who ended up not voting for the bill

So, what we've ended up with is:

• Pissed-off women
• A disappointed LGBT community
• A disappointed hispanic/latin@ community
• A disappointed and disproportionately disenfranchised black community.

Which could lead to:

• Poor turn-out of democrats to the polls.
• Because we're NOT fired up.
• We're NOT ready to go.

Democrats on the Hill, if you want to keep your majority, if you want to keep your jobs, then DO THE JOB WE ELECTED YOU TO DO.

Act upon your promises. Stop pretending the republicans will work with you. They won't.

Pull up your socks. Repeal DADT. Repeal DOMA. The world won't end, and the LGBT community will come out to vote.

Show intestinal fortitude. Allow anyone who lives in the United States for five years without incident to apply for citizenship - even if they weren't here legally to begin with. You will be rewarded with votes.

Bring fairness to our justice system. Equalize the drug laws. Re-enfranchise people who've served their sentences. Because, hello? VOTES.

And you'd better start thinking about this: reproductive freedom's not just about abortion, it's about the right to not be shackled during birth, the right to decide NOT to go on bedrest, the right to choose NOT to have a c-section, the right to choose. While pro-choice women won't be voting for the republicans any time soon, the Stupak amendment has made us not just disappointed but ANGRY. Why would a pro-choice woman vote for a dem? Because the republicans are worse? That's not a good enough reason anymore.

Democrats on the Hill - give us a reason to vote for you. Do your jobs. And crow about it.

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.

Yes! Yes! What she said!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Elected Federal Democrats: please give us a real health insurance bill. Take out every amendment suggested by a Republican who subsequently voted against the crap bill you're trying to foist on to us, and give us real reform. I want single payer. That is what I want. Failing that, I want a strong public option. Stop "negotiating" with the Republicans. Bipartisanism only works if the other side is negotiating in good faith. They're not. They admit it.

You have the majority. Act like it.

Great LCDC Meeting Last Night!

• LCDC has a facebook page!


• We had a brief visit from Bill and Tracee from ENDependence. They're really happy with us for being aware of accessibility issues.


• Jeff Barnett and Dennis Findley both spoke (Rich Anthony was at our December meeting). I love that we have such a great set of candidates to run against Frank Wolf this year. My intention is stay neutral in this primary, because they all have strengths I think we can use in Congress. The thing I like best about all of them? They follow the five rules of campaign speaking:


1. Tell everyone who you are.
2. Tell them what you're running for.
3. Tell them why you're running.
4. Ask them to help you.
5. Tell them who you are.

I will be posting campaign updates from all candidates as they send them to me.

• We had a visit from a guest speaker who forgot that this was not a group concerned about an unduly speedy gov't takeover of healthcare, we're a group who wanted Single Payer Healthcare - yesterday. Steve, thank you for joining us! I hope we weren't too rough on you! Please tell everyone back on the Hill that we want Medicare for Everybody NOW.


• I asked everybody to call or canvass for Eileen Filler-Corn.


• Several new members joined us, and several lapsed members returned!


• We got updates from the chairs of the various committees


• We got times and places for district and full committee meetings (I'll post them here, too!


• We were reminded of various volunteering, and civic involvement opportunities


• Stevens asked the membership to join us next Sunday at the UUs of Sterling for the Standing on the Side of Love forum. More on this later.
  
• And I got several people signed up to join the Membership Committee! YAY!

Okay, so we don't have 60, but we have a substantial majority

So, Federal Democratic Senators, get off your duffs and get it done.

Medicare For Everybody. Do it now.

Are you in Massachusetts?

Then go vote for Coakley. NOW.

CONGRATULATIONS SENATOR-ELECT MARSDEN!!!

Thank you for coming out to vote, Democrats!!!

Special Election Today

Go vote for Marsden if you live in the 37th!

Outcomes

Here's the results of yesterday's LCDC reorganizational meeting:

Chair: Mike Turner
Vice Chairs: Ellen Heald and Denis Gordon
Secretary: Jenniffer DeNigris-Kalinowsky
Treasurer: Dan Moldover

Blue Ridge:
District Chair: Ann Sallgren
Vice District Chair: Joe Pabis

Broad Run:
District Chair: Pravin Gandhi (acting)
District Vice Chair: Dave Nemetz

Catoctin:
District Chair: Lovely Lall
District Vice Chair: Alexis Downing

Dulles:
District Chair: Marianne Bowen
District Vice Chair: Larry Roeder

Leesburg:
District Chair: Dave Kirsten
District Vice Chair: Evan Macbeth

Potomac:
District Chair: Thom Beres
District Vice Chair: Glenn Lintelman

Sterling:
District Chair: Tony Barney
District Vice Chair: Marlene Barney

Sugarland Run:
District Chair: Denise Pierce
District Vice Chair: Eileen Murdock

Reminders:

Tomorrow, Saturday January 9th is the LCDC Reorganization Meeting. It starts promptly at 2:00 at Heritage High School. Nominations for officers will be accepted from the floor and officers will be elected. I'll see you there!

On Sunday, we'll be canvassing for Marsden. I hope you'll join in as well. You can also do phone-banking (even virtual phone-banking from home!). The election's on Tuesday, people. Let's make it work.

That's my boy

I'm so proud! He's fighting the ultra-conservatives at the state level right here at home. Equality Loudoun is happy, too.

In the parking lot at Wegman's* last night

I had a conversation with one of my favorite LCDC members. She asked if I thought the health care bill would pass and I said, "I really hope not"

Whereupon, she, aghast, said, "But if it fails, we won't get health care legislation passed for decades! Look what happened when Clinton tried it!" and I said, "I'd rather have it not pass than get this piece of crap. It's WORSE than what we have now. No public option to keep costs down. No guarantee of affordable coverage for people with pre-existing conditions (and yet, a mandate that they must buy coverage), less coverage for women (who, btw, make up more than half the nation's population), and on, and on. AND IT DOESN'T COVER EVERYBODY. It stinks. It should fail."

She said, "But if it fails, we'll lose all those seats in congress and Obama won't get re-elected."

I said, "If it fails and then the Democrats pull up their socks and pass Medicare For Everybody with 50% + 1 vote, they'll look strong and mighty and they'll get reelected. They need to stop negotiating with people who won't vote for the bill no matter what. They need to act like a majority, or they deserve to lose. It makes no sense to work to put Dems in a majority if they cave on every little thing."

And then we smiled at each other, and I went to my car to work my way out of the Wegman's parking lot. Which is a whole other story.



*An error in judgment. I should have gone to Giant instead - but I wanted a pain de campagne.

I hate the Senate bill. HATE. IT.

It's worse than no bill at all. Really.

No help for people with pre-existing conditions.
Women's health? Not in this bill.
Public option? What's that?

Don't pass this crappy bill!

I'm with Howard Dean and Bernie Sanders

Scrap that POS and start over. Here's a good place to start! Amend the existing Medicare bill to change the starting age to "birth"! Raise the contributions from employers and employees by 4% and leave the rest alone. It'll get paid for, cover every citizen, and still be cheaper than what we have now.

You're welcome!

I want single payer - That is what I want

Anything less is a compromise.

And compromising away from the compromise? That is selling out.

Single Payer. Failing that, a strong public option. Failing that? We might as well have lost the House and the Senate in 2008.

It's not that complicated.

We have a majority. Act like it.