Kathryn
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Kathryn" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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11:35 am
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Laws and sausages
So, the Democratic caucus was yesterday. Here in Washington state, we have both a caucus and a primary; the primary is a useless beauty contest for Democrats, as it has absolutely no bearing on how the delegates are assigned. (It's a long, weird story as to why; the upshot is, "because of the religious right.")
The caucus was an absolute zoo. First of all, turnout was probably twice as high as was expected. We had, easily, 600 people in our area, packed into the Maywood Elementary gymnasium. Out of those 600 people, split between 14 precincts, we only had 2 PCOs (Precinct Committee Officers) show up. And one of them was Erik. This means that Erik and this other guy basically had to lead the entire caucus; they were the only people there who really knew what was going on. Fortunately, people were very patient.
The din was unbelievable. As soon as I got there Erik had me run around and tell all the acting PCOs -- people who had stepped up to lead the process -- that if someone was committed to their vote, didn't want to sway other people, and had no interest in being a delegate, that they could leave. A lot of people were misinformed and telling folks they had to stay the whole time. That took some of the pressure off, but it was still just crazy. My first caucus, twelve years ago, three people showed up from my precinct, myself and a married couple in their seventies. Yesterday, my precinct had 62 people show up. Sixty-two!
The noise level was so bad Erik had to have me lead the precinct meeting because he couldn't be heard. I was yelling -- not speaking with projection, but yelling -- as loud as I could and I could still barely be heard. And those of you who know me in person know that I can yell pretty damn loud. That's one thing you can count on me for, is loud. As a result, a lot of people thought that I had much, much more of a clue than I did, which didn't help the general atmosphere of chaos any.
I had originally intended to caucus for Gravel and then throw my support to Obama, but I abandoned that plan pretty quickly because the caucus didn't need any more monkey wrenching than it already had. So I just signed in for Obama and then ran around trying to help things run a tiny bit smoother, which I don't know if I actually accomplished. But given that we had no area leader, no PA system, no microphone, not even any bullhorns? HAving someone with a half a clue and a powerful set of lungs was actually pretty valuable.
Anyway, my precinct had 7 delegates, and we went 5 for obama and 2 for clinton, and 2 undecided people showed up specifically to learn more, and did so quite successfully. And we signed a bunch of people up to become PCOs for next time, and registered a lot of people to vote. Erik was at Denny's until basically 8 PM tabulating everything.
Better than the GOP though, who -- with 12.8% of precincts still uncounted, and the votes at a 26% / 24% / 21% / 17% split -- simply stopped counting ballots and declared McCain the winner! That's McCain / Huckabee / Paul / Romney in the numbers, btw. And unlike the Democrats, the GOP caucuses are winner-take-all (all together now: "Of course they are!") so this is really important. And, as ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) solarbird points out, who's going to make them count the final 12.8%? The national GOP, who's as desperate as the WSRP to prevent a Huckabee win?
Tags: caucus, democrats, politics, republicans
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11:51 am
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Joining the happy throngs!
Nearly EVERYTHING in Washington State went right yesterday. Cantwell re-elected, all the initiatives went the right way. If Darcy Burner takes it, it'll be a sweep, though that's pretty uncertain. Dems took the House for sure and probably the Senate, and Rumsfeld is stepping down!
I must have fallen through a wormhole and ended up in the good place!
Tags: politics
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12:57 pm
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Oglala Sioux Reproductive Clinic Update
I just got this email from Vonnie Bush, President Fire Thunder's secretary:
Greetings from the Oglala Sioux Tribe. A name has been decided for the clinic here on Pine Ridge Reservation; it will be the Sacred Choices Clinic. On an exciting note, it is fast becoming a reality. We thank you and your support is deeply appreciated.
Sincerely, Vonnie Bush OST Presidents Exec. Secretary.
OST SACRED CHOICES
PRES CECELIA FIRE THUNDER
PO BOX 2070
PINE RIDGE, SD
57770
Due to the many requests of another organization on the Pine Ridge Reservation re: donations I have suggested the following non-profit organization re: Sacredness of Women (domestic violence).
Cangleska, Inc.
Karen Artichoker, Director
PO Box 638
Kyle, SD 57752
PHONE: 1-605-455-2244
EMAIL: karen@cangleska.org
I don't think this is going to be a Planned Parenthood-branded clinic, but I am SO glad to see that they are moving forward and providing reproductive and other health care. Hooray! I feel important and part of the loop!
Tags: politics
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01:17 pm
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Ms. Fire Thunder and the Oglala Sioux Planned Parenthood
I called the Office of the President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of Pine Ridge, and spoke with Ms. Fire Thunder herself. (In case you haven't seen it, this is in reference to http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/013061.asp)
If you want to mail donations to the reservation, you may do so at:
Oglala Sioux Tribe
ATTN: President Fire Thunder
P. O. Box 2070
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
OR: and this may be preferred, due to mail volume:
ATTN: PRESIDENT FIRE THUNDER
PO BOX 990
Martin, SD 57751
Enclose a letter voicing your support and explaining the purpose of the donation. Bear in mind, the Pine Ridge Res is not exactly dripping with disposeable income, so do consider donating funds directly to the tribe as well as specifically for this effort.
ETA: Make checks out to OST Planned Parenthood Cecelia Fire Thunder. This will ensure that the funds get routed properly.
For email contact, you can contact the president at:
firethunder_president AT NOSPAM yahoo DOT com
cc:vbush AT NOSPAM oglala DOT org
That is Ms. Fire Thunder's personal email address; I have received permission to post it here. For the sake of record keeping, do cc: the listed address on all correspondence; that's her official secretary.
She was frankly kind of surprised that a white girl from Seattle was calling to express support, and even more surprised that the news had spread so far so fast. She's likely to get deluged with screaming hate mail soon, so get your support in fast. Send email with good thoughts if you can't send money.
ETA: Yes, please, dear God, link it anywhere and everywhere!
ETA: OK, folks, before you all go off half-cocked, read the disclaimer. If you want to argue, do it somewhere else.
Tags: politics
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10:23 am
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In happier news
Rock the fuck ON.
http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/013061.asp
Summary: Cecilia Fire Thunder, President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, is opening a Planned Parenthood on res land which will provide abortions. The state has no jurisdiction over reservation lands.
You GO, Ms. Fire Thunder.
Tags: politics
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10:13 am
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Post an anti-war poem, you say?
There are many to choose from, but only one that really envelops my disgust for the cavalier sacrifice of youth by those who sit secure in power, and the reckless propogandizing of same.
Wilfred OwenDulce Et Decorum Est Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.
GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.--
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Tags: politics
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08:43 am
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Politics again
In the so-called "Red States", suicide rates are higher, divorce rates are higher, teen pregnancy rates are higher, and more tax money flows in than out, meaning blue-state residents are paying more taxes than we receive while red-state residents receive more than they pay.
Tell me again about how the "Red States" support economic responsibility and family values?
Current Mood:  cranky
Tags: politics
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12:54 pm
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Politics, etc.
Boo YA. Now, an indictment is not a conviction, but you don't get an indictment without some serious evidence. Of course, one of the major crimes in the indictment is perjury, which Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison isn't that fond of:
I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars.
(From Meet the Press, Oct. 23, transcript here.)
Of course, Sen. Hutchison had a very different opinion of a perjury indictment six years ago. But those were different times, and different crimes, or something.
Tags: politics
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09:18 am
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Turdblossom
That's President Bush's nickname for Karl Rove.
No, really. Really for REAL. True in this reality, on this planet.
Yeah, I didn't believe it either -- but it's true.
Current Mood:  whomperjawed
Tags: politics
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10:16 am
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Oh NO
Sandra Day O'Connor is retiring. She's the fifth vote for Roe v. Wade.
I live in a state that has the right to choose enshrined in the Constitution (along with the right to privacy and the individual right to keep and bear arms). Still, this could be catastrophic.
Tags: politics
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02:02 pm
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Fucking health care
A couple of months ago, I was sitting in the doctor's office at the Northwest Allergy and Asthma Clinic. The doctor had just diagnosed me with what he described as "the worst case of dermographia I'd ever seen in someone who doesn't have leukemia." (Dermographia is a condition where I break into hives when touched; the word means "skin writing," and refers to the fact that you can literally write your name on my arm with a toothpick and it will pop up into hives.) He began to talk to me about various treatment options, specifically "prioritizing your comfort vs. cost" and "examining the expense of various treatment alternatives," at which point I broke in.
"Doctor, let me stop you right there. My husband works at Microsoft. I have Microsoft insurance."
"Fantastic!" he said. "Ignore everything I just said. Let's double the amount of the drug you're currently on; take that every morning, and then take the maximum dose of this other drug every night. I love Microsoft patients; I can treat them very effectively."
I just refilled my Allegra prescription. 180 mg every day, the maximum dose. Cost to me, today? $0. So here I sit, itch-free, because I am a woman of privilege, because my husband goes off to work every day at a job he doesn't particularly like but which compensates him very well. If not covered by insurance, my drug costs would exceed $300 a month. Most insurance companies won't cover two antihistamines at the same time, and they won't cover them at higher than the standard doses, for sure (My Zyrtec dose is twice the standard maximum) unless the patient's condition is life-threatening. Dermographia isn't life-threatening in itself; it won't shut down your heart, or give you a stroke, or make you bleed internally. But the most common complication to untreated dermographia? Is suicide, because people can't take the constant hellish itching and the necessary touch isolation. Some insurance companies won't cover antihistamines at all unless you can show what you're allergic to; I'm not allergic to anything, of course, so I'd be shit out of luck.
The real kicker here is that both of the drugs I take to treat this condition are available without a prescription in Canada. Total monthly cost? $65. It's absolutely crazy.
Tags: politics
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12:06 pm
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My yesterday -- screaming and smiling
I went down with spazzkat, solarbird, and annathepiper to protest outside the anti-queer rally at Safeco Field. We came with no signs and no agenda, since we'd had almost no time to get ready for it. I'm not sure what I really expected, but it was different for sure.
We arrived as busloads of people were streaming in. There were some people who were being very raunchy and confrontational; I know every movement needs its radical fringe, but in this case, I felt like they may have been doing more harm than good. When the people you're trying to educate have this image of you as depraved sodomites, maybe it's best not to show up waving a giant rainbow-colored plush cock, you know? At any rate, we tried really hard to be the friendly, normal queer people down the block; I was wearing my Iowa City Prairie Lights T-shirt, for example. We got up near the front of the crowd -- the police had very effectively and very neutrally set up their bikes to make an impromptu barrier -- and were smiling and waving at people as they came in, flashing peace signs, and I was saying "Lord forgive you" to anyone who would make eye contact, which was not many. At least half of the people who did look at us were children, some with tight-lipped parents pulling them away with purposeful strides. The guy next to me was saying to people "Be careful in there -- there's a lot of hate. Remember the love that Jesus has for us all." And then, of course, a guy further down was saying "I hope you brought your wallets, you suckers! That's what Dobson really worships! That's what he really wants from you!" Seemed harsh at the time, but I know they were asking for donations or purchases in there, and I hope maybe it struck an uncomfortable chord in people's hearts.
The MOST effective protestor I saw -- bar NONE -- was the nine-year-old daughter of a lesbian couple who had her picture taken with them, holding up a sign that said "Love makes a family." She was very savvy politically; she was going up to confrontations between protestors and people at the rally, tugging on the bigots' sleeves, and saying "Mister? Mister? Please let my parents get married, Mister." She was playing very sad and innocent -- when people said "Your mommy and your daddy can already get married, sweetheart," she'd say "My daddy left before I was born. He doesn't love me. My mommies love me. Please let them get married," and then turn around with a "ha-HA SUCK ON IT YOU ASSHOLES" look on her face.
Things quieted down once most of the people were inside -- stragglers were still trickling in, and we'd shout "You guys are SO late! Late late late!" There were some really, really terrifying families there, families with a puffed up slicked back father in a suit and his wife and seven children trailing behind him, all the girls in identical long-sleeved long dresses, with their hair long long long and put up into heavy, intricate buns. There were interracial couples going in, dozens of them, which broke my heart. We'd shout "Coretta Scott King supports gay marriage!" after them as they hustled inside. We whooped it up to see the lesbian couple who had been married in Canada smooching on the balcony, and we nearly deafened ourselves with cheers when a banner plane trailing a banner that said "The Stranger Says: Bigots Get Out Of Our Ballpark."
When people started leaving, we returned to the smiling and the waving, along with the shouts of "Thank you for leaving early!" and "There's a lot of hate in there, isn't there?" When people shot "Jesus loves you!" at us, Anna and I replied with "Jesus loves you, too," still with big smiles and peace signs. Paul started calling out "God bless," which really seemed to make people uncomfortable, so I joined in. We got a lot of very defensive responses to that, which I let Dara and others handle (which they did, admirably). There was a hilarious moment where Dara told the woman collecting Bush/Cheney signatures that she had been a Forbes delegate in 96, to which the woman gaped and said "What happened to you??!?" Dara said "The party moved towards the homophobic right, and as a lesbian, I could no longer be a part of it." "But. . ." said the woman. "I'm in favor of smaller government," said Dara. "Anti-gay regulation is bigger government." Then the woman went away and started soliciting signatures farther from us, giving us more face time to the people leaving the protest.
We finally left when my feet were screaming, because we were hungry and tired. I feel like a grain of sand in the tide, but at least I'm on the side of righteousness.
Current Mood:  determined
Tags: politics
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07:36 pm
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Frustration
So, lately I've been talking Democratic politics with a lot of people. Today it was a woman who said, "My favorite candidate is Dr. Dean, but I just don't think he's electable -- he has a manner that puts people off."
"That's cool," I said. "From the candidates' stated positions, you're probably best off caucusing for either Gephardt or Edwards, then."
"Yeah, but Gephardt practically wrote the bill that gave Bush the power to declare war," she said.
"Then you need to support Edwards."
"Yeah, but he doesn't have enough experience."
"Well," I said, "Then you need to support Dean."
"But he's unlikeable!"
"What you mean is, other people don't like him, and so you don't want to like him either. Dubya has a manner that puts people off, too, but he's in the White House! I won't say he won the election, but he is in the White House. Don't talk yourself out of the race before it's even started! Back the guy you like the best, whether he's "electable" or not. I promise you, whomever the majority of Democrats choose is going to be plenty electable, if we don't do the Republicans' work for them before we even have a candidate."
It frustrates me so much, this idea that we can't elect anybody who isn't a total panderer. If our primary desire in a candidate is to have someone inoffensive, well, we end up with Gore, or Mondale. There's nothing wrong with making enemies in a campaign, as long as they're the right enemies, and you make them through honest opinions honestly stated. Bush makes thousands of enemies every time he fucking opens his mouth. We can't win this fight if we're not willing to take a swing.
Current Mood: irate
Tags: politics
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06:23 pm
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*sigh* bigots and bigotry.
It's Marriage Protection Week. I'm being told right left and center that my marriage is in imminent danger because other people want to get married too. Funny, the only danger *I* see to my marriage is that marriage rights aren't fairly and equally extended to all. If the government can arbitrarily deny marriage rights to one group (a lot of groups, actually), why am I to suppose that any group is safe?
Current Mood: enraged
Tags: politics
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07:54 pm
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Holy Crap
Strom Thurmond died.
My personal system of ethics frowns on celebrating the injury or death of another. But apparently I'm a big fat hypocrite because I've been waiting for this fucker to go for a long, long time.
Tags: politics
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01:18 pm
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QOTD
from freerepublic.com:
"To: Lazamataz
First they came for anti-miscegenation laws, but I didn't speak up because I think some of those black sistahs are pretty hot.
Then they came for the blue laws, but I didn't speak up because I sometimes like to check out lawn tractors at Home Depot on Sunday.
Then they came for the marijuana laws, but I didn't speak up because, dude, I was totally toasted.
Then they came for the sodomy laws, but I didn't speak up because hey, whatever, as long as they're not doing it in the mall food court.
And then there was no one left to speak up for the window-peeping blue nosed religious extremists, because everybody else was at home busy drinking and sodomizing and race-mixing and such.
518 posted on 06/26/2003 9:42 AM PDT by IowaHawk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 443 | View Replies ] "
Tags: politics
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08:49 pm
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Sometimes I say the damndest things.
This afternoon, we got a phone call from a very earnest young woman urging me to vote for Joshua Freed for state representative. Freed's a republican. I meant to say "No thanks!" but instead I said "Where does Freed stand on abortion?"
"He's pro-life!" the young woman said proudly.
So I said, "How can you campaign for a man who wants to chain you to your womb?"
"Look, don't go attacking me, I don't have anything to do with it," she backpedaled.
"Of course you do! You're campaigning for him! You're implicitly supporting everything he says!"
"Look, I have it here that you're registered Republican. Is that not true?"
I forgot that I'd registered Republican. I had intended to go to the caucus and try to push the platform back closer to the center, but Bothell Republicans scare me too much.
"Well, not all registered Republicans are anti-woman fascists!" I blurted out, and then hung up the phone.
At first I was horribly embarassed, but now I'm kinda proud of myself.
Tags: funny kathryn stories, politics
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09:28 am
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link OTD
The Spiders is an online comic about the troubles in Afghanistan under a slightly-alternate history. Good reading, at least for me. I found it very moving.
Tags: politics
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09:09 am
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Israel
my heart hurts with all the violence in the Fertile Crescent. The news keeps playing images of attacks and bombing, and in my head, I keep seeing it the way it should be: instead of machine gun fire erupting from the fourth floor of a bombed-out apartment building, I see that same apartment building, whole, with window boxes and children's toys on the balconies. Instead of civilians lying face down, hands behind their necks, in a courtyard, I see kids playing, maybe some sullen teenagers hanging out in the corner being cool. I'm grateful that I live in a place of peace, that if nothing else, my *home* is a place of peace.
Tags: politics
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04:33 pm
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So check this shit out!
The endodontist's office called me just now. They called my insurance, and it turns out that the Washington Dental Services people think my insurance was termed on 4/01! Now, if nothing else, my illustrious former employer paid for my health insurance through August, so it should have lasted at least until then. And I've paid all my premiums, and my plan administrator confirmed that everything is OK and up to date, so I should be fine.
AND, they paid for a claim in October, which they are now claiming was an accident. And the person who can actually straighten all this out is gone right now. Yay American Health Care!
I hate insurance more than I hate anything else except root canals. Oh wait.
Current Mood: pissed off
Tags: politics, teeth
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