My mom is an inspiration

My Mom is an Inspiration from Center for Reproductive Rights on Vimeo.

ht Feministe where a transcript is also available.

My parents, and especially my mom, talked to me about feminism, reproductive rights, and where to go to get more information from when I was a pre-teen.

I'm going to make sure my son knows this stuff too. I've given him the copy of "How Babies Are Made" that I had when I was a kid. And I'm going to get him "Where Did I Come From?"

We've already talked about a lot of what those books contain, but it's always a good idea to have sensible, fun, factual books on hand!

One thing I've also talked to him about is that, like the truth about The Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus, not every kid is in the know. If other kids ask, tell them to ask their parents - because their parents will want to be the ones to have that conversation. Goodness knows, I don't want to be the one whose kid spilled the beans. On the other hand, I want my kid to have the facts. When it comes to the truth about procreation, ignorance is not bliss.

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.

Happy and Sad

Happy! Marty Martinez won in Leesburg. All the incumbents were reelected. Congratulations, Marty! I had a great time at the Brandon Park polling place!

Sad. Cesar Del Aguila didn't win in Herndon. I am very disappointed about that, but it looks like some good people won and that there is no longer a majority of teabaggers on that council.

Sad that turnout was low everywhere. Sad that Middleburg had 2 candidates on the ballot for 4 seats (two people got substantial write-in support) and an uncontested mayoral race. Sad that the mayoral race in Purcellville was uncontested (though there were 201 write-in votes and 155 undervotes - which could be write-ins without the "write-in" checkbox checked.)

Democracy takes work. It takes candidates contesting every seat. It takes a free press and it takes shoe leather. And it especially takes voters going out to the polls.

In Leesburg, 13% of voters turned out. A bit over 3,000 people decided how a town with over 24,000 registered voters will be run.

I just can't understand people not voting. I don't get it. The right to vote is something that women were chaining themselves to fences and starving themselves to death in prisons for less than 100 years ago. And people just throw it away. Just let others decide for them.

It makes me furious.

VOTE TODAY!!!!

Virginia town elections are TODAY! TUESDAY! MAY 4! Go vote!

Leesburg: Marty Martinez.
Herndon: Cesar Del Aguila.

I'll be working the Brandon Park polls at Loudoun County HS from 4 PM till closing. See you there!

Blogging Against Disablism Day was May 1st.

Go read the many myriad wonderful posts that were written about and against Disablism.