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Divided By Status

26 Apr

The New York Times has a pretty heartwrenching piece today examining what happens when a couple immigrates, then brings their small children over and raise them here. The kids, of course, get completely Americanized only to find out when they graduate from high school that the buck stops there. Should the children have to pay for the “sins” of the parents? I hate these laws. Regardless of anyone’s position against the parents, it won’t deter them to make the kids pay for it. How sad…

The article also addresses professionals, often women, who flee their countries to join their spouses in the U.S. and end up taking blue collar jobs and not utilizing their skills here. That is even worse!

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Posted in Politics

OTC Morning-After Pill

23 Mar

The NY Times reports that a Federal Judge ruled today that the FDA must relax restrictions on the morning-after pill and offer it to girls as young as 17 without a prescription. However, it does still have to be offered behind pharmacy counters. While I agree that the behind-counter measure provides some sort of protection against young girls using this as their primary birth control method without any counseling from doctors or parents, I think it also serves to intimidate, especially in small towns. Hopefully the FDA will fully relax the restrictions and allow it to be sold without behind-counter measures.

That said, the fact that it is so readily available and to girls so young means that there needs to be way more public awareness and education about using it as an emergency measure, not a primary line of defense against unplanned pregnancy. I’d also worry about girls who have been assaulted. If their only concern is pregnancy and it is alleviated here, will this reduce the number of girls reporting their assaults and seeking examination? The whole thing concerns me, even though the feminist in me understands the reasoning behind it and supports that. Still, education is key.

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Posted in Health, Politics

Obama’s “sensitive” Choice

13 Mar

The New York Times reports today that, barely two months into his first term, President Obama is having to face the “difficult” choice of whether to offer health benefits to domestic partners of government employees. To do so would be a great step forward for equal rights. However, should Obama allow domestic partners to receive benefits, he would be violating the Defense of Marriage Act (one of the biggest pieces of bullshit legislation Clinton passed).

Ben LaBolt, a White House spokesman, said: “While the president opposes gay marriage, he supports legislative repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. He believes this country must realize its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect.”

Obama has been down tougher roads in the past seven weeks. This choice is easy. Dignity when you are sick, the choice to have the person you love by your bedside as you die, the ability to provide properly for the person you have chosen to spend your life with — all of these should be basic human rights. Hopefully Obama will set the right tone going into this term with a choice to allow healthcare for all federal employees and their spouses or domestic partners.

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Posted in Politics

Wow…

20 Jan

So today was a crazy day. I tried to listen to the radio but ultimately I kept getting dragged into meetings or having to take calls and I missed it. Missed Roberts screwing up the oath (Doh!), missed the speech, etc. But I just watched it and I cried. Classy and inspiring. Wow…

My friend, Rick, had an awesome status message on Facebook today: “Rick is hopeful that someone at the White House had the foresight to rig things so that the door does in fact hit him in the ass on the way out.” Well, at least he left 30 minutes early. Didn’t think the boos were too nice but, hey, I felt those people’s pain. Hooray for a new day!!!

P.S. I was especially thrilled to hear him talk about holding public officials accountable for their spending while in office. I hope that leads to sincere campaign finance reform, lobbyist reform and a hard line with foreign dictators. I heard the Rev. Desmond Tutu speak on NPR this morning and he made an excellent case for Obama possibly taking the first firm steps against African and Middle Eastern dictators who keep their people in poverty by stealing them blind and preventing development. I look forward to see how foreign policy changes under Obama.

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Posted in Politics

Immigration Reform and Obama Cabinet Picks

26 Dec

The New York Times has an editorial today commenting on the fact that Obama’s cabinet picks for homeland security, labor, and commerce seem aligned to tackle the immigration issue. I hadn’t looked at the group together, but they are all well-versed in the practical issues of border states and the complicated tangle between the need for workers and the lack of legal entry options for them. The author makes the following important points:

The confluence of immigrants and labor is exactly what this country — particularly, and disastrously, the Bush administration — has not been able to figure out.

In simplest terms, what Ms. Solis and Mr. Obama seem to know in their gut is this: If you uphold workers’ rights, even for those here illegally, you uphold them for all working Americans. If you ignore and undercut the rights of illegal immigrants, you encourage the exploitation that erodes working conditions and job security everywhere. In a time of economic darkness, the stability and dignity of the work force are especially vital.

I went to the mall this morning to pick up a few items for next year that my mother wanted, such as wrapping paper and gift bags. The mall was very lightly filled… I think that the anti-immigrant sentiment is set to only get worse as jobs get scarcer and it will be interesting to see how Obama proposes to fix this. Just as important as finding a legal and humane way to deal with the people already here is finding a way to incentivize companies to keep jobs in this country and not seek out cheaper labor in other countries where the working conditions are substandard and the pay insulting. The question will be whether the country is willing to face the fact that most other countries pay significantly more for goods and that, if we want to “keep jobs in America”, we have to be willing to pay the higher prices that come with that (and pay our low wage earners more to keep them here – see editorial on teacher wages). We’re in for an interesting few years.

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Posted in Politics

Money, politics and religion

26 Dec

One of my longtime blog readers sent me an e-mail this week asking how I could afford to make charitable donations if money was really tight for me as a single mom. Well, I thought I would just e-mail her back directly. But then I thought, nah, if she is thinking this, so are others. So here’s the deal:

In November, I got hit with massive expenses between the law school demanding $2,500 repayment for summer classes, the deductibles for my car being broken into, the car payments I was making for Chapin, the need to replace my purse, makeup and other items stolen, etc. When I wrote on my blog “I’m financially fucked”, I was whining about my immediate situation. Fortunately, as I knew He would, God showed me a way out of each of those situations and I was able to make all of the payments through creative money movement and other blessings that came my way. In addition, I continue to pay $140/week for cognitive behavioral therapy for Pumpkinhead, plus $40/month for his medication, each unexpected expenses that I had not budgeted for (and we won’t even talk about my stupid meds!). I would say that no matter how much money a person makes or does not make, unexpected budget hits hurt, correct?

As for the charitable donations, I recently got paid for some contract legal document work I did this summer. It was a sizeable amount that helped with Christmas and some upcoming tax payments and homeowners association dues I must face. But I have a policy that whenever I get a large sum of unexpected money, I give some away. Sometimes that means helping a friend fulfill a dream that they could not otherwise afford; sometimes it means buying my brother’s college textbooks in the hopes that one day he would actually graduate and get a life; sometimes it means a little cash sent to my sister-in-laws in Guatemala so they can travel by bus to the city and buy some pretty shoes to counterbalance the hard life they live with no running water or electricity. Usually it also means giving to charity or two or to a local church. I hope not to grow out of this as I get older or more cynical but I believe in karma and that you get back what you put out there. I like to help people, always have. Whether it’s a lead on a job opening, a tip about a life-changing book, an invitation to join my Divorce Care group, etc., I believe that compassion is one of the gifts God gave me and it is something I like to show to others. Whether I can actually afford to do so in reality is another story. But the Lord provides. I don’t live life for tomorrow, but for today. I might (okay probably will) regret not putting that money into some sort of savings account in case of emergencies like that I faced in November, but I know that what I did feels 10,000 times better than hoarding the money for myself.

One of the things I really like about Barack Obama is his idea of attaching charitable work to a variety of financial gains. For example, students will be able to finance their educations but in return must dedicate time to charitable service. I think mandating that is an excellent idea that serves not only the student but also the nonprofits (assuming they start to actually put plans in place to properly utilize interns, which I have heard can be a challenge). I also feel some guilt about not regularly attending church (this is where the religion part comes in) and not tithing so my charitable giving throughout the year, whether as planned donations to United Way, one-offs to Dress for Success or fundraisers throughout the year, or end-of-year charitable donations, makes me feel like I’m doing what I am supposed to do.

So there’s my answer. Not sure if that is what you are looking for. Yes, money is tight many months. Fortunately sometimes I get little surprises that make things better. Other times the surprises suck and I’m living on credit. I think many people live this way. It may not be smart but it’s my life. Now, readers, go forth and buy all your Amazon products through my sidebar, get your sensual side taken care of through the Babeland links, or clink on any of the other ads to send a few (really, just a few) dollars my way and I will be sure to send the karma back your way. I’m not a hypocrite, no matter what the questioner who asked me all of this may think. I always click on someone’s affiliate banners before I shop (like Melting Mama’s ads for all my vitamins and protein!) because I feel like someone should be getting that percentage, so why not someone whose blog I read? I bought my Christmas cards through Trannyhead’s VistaPrint sidebar ad (go, buy! The cards turned out great, as did the address labels and playdate calling cards I ordered, and you can’t beat the prices.)

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Posted in Politics

Si Se Puede

05 Nov

Well it’s not a woman, but it is hope. I can’t wait to see what the country does with this momentum.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,” he said just before midnight Eastern time.

“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you: We as a people will get there.”

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Posted in Politics