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It is the first night of the Third Civil Rights Movement. We will not go back. We will not give in. We will not close our eyes. We will not tolerate this hate.

Women. People of Color. Immigrants. The poor. Children. Our elders.

They ARE America. We will NOT stand down and let them be trampled.

» Posted By choicelady On July 13, 2013 @ 10:10 pm

Another point lost here is that Protestants, Jews, Unitarian Universalists, and many others believe abortion is often a highly moral choice. “Pro life” includes the well being of the woman and all who love her. Not everyone believes life begins at conception, and that is theologically grounded in ‘first breath’ or at least sustainable viability. Roe takes fetal development well into account in sustaining centuries old understanding of those issues. The very recent deification of the zygote-embryo-fetus is a right of every person, but it is neither a fully ‘Christian’ notion nor universal. Puritans, surely the most religious people in the New World, accepted the common law definitions of abortion that was fully available until “quickening” about the 5th-6th month. Before that a woman was “merely pregnant”, a legal definition, in which the fetus had no personhood at all. Today many faiths and Christian denominations have declared the moral ground for a woman’s right to elect an abortion. Those standards, the theological reflections, and identities of denominations and religious groups supporting this right can be found at the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice: http://www.rcrc.org

Every time morality is defined as the Power of NO, it erodes the religious liberties of those who define morality as the Power of YES. The ONLY way to balance rights is to honor them all and stop the restraint of conscience among the majority – believer, non-believer, whoever it may be. No one’s faith trumps anyone else’s belief.

» Posted By choicelady On July 4, 2013 @ 10:45 am

When people think of “afterlife”, it ought to be grounded in being sure you leave the best love and best memories ever for those who survive you.

That’s how we can go on as the ones left, too: holding onto the joy of what has been so we can move forward.

All of us including Nirek who is celebrating his amazing anniversary have learned the “power of two”. One of the things that I loved about Vonnegut’s ‘Cat’s Cradle’ was his conception of The Nation of Two – the power of the partnership of marriage when the world is less than stable or friendly.

We who can celebrate a great love have been truly fortunate. May all of us have a cherished memory of a beloved person to carry always.

» Posted By choicelady On July 3, 2013 @ 7:16 pm

I remember your writing about your marriage. It was beautiful, and it saddens me to think he’s gone from your life physically. I hope the joy of memory helps some when the ache gets hard? I count my blessing daily that mine did not die last year, and I often think of you whenever I get exasperated or fussed – he’s so good, why AM I wasting precious moments on trivia?

You are in our hearts. You have known the best AND the worst of loving deeply.

» Posted By choicelady On July 3, 2013 @ 3:31 pm

Congratulations, Nirek! Long-lived marriages are a source of joy not just to the participants but to the whole world! I doubt your wife “puts up with you” but thinks she’s fortunate, too.

Happy, happy anniversary!

» Posted By choicelady On July 3, 2013 @ 3:28 pm

Stupid much?

» Posted By choicelady On June 24, 2013 @ 5:21 pm

AB – nothing riles up us women more than some brain-dead good ol’ boy telling us how to use our bodies. I think they have stepped on the tail of a sidewinder that will turn on them and make them sorry they ever tried this.

» Posted By choicelady On June 24, 2013 @ 5:20 pm

Wow – sounds perfect. I’d love to have a place like that, too. Being surrounded by birds and critters is just MY idea of heaven, too. Enjoy!

» Posted By choicelady On June 21, 2013 @ 7:43 am

I so do not understand the situation, the only question I can ask is whether the Iranian election might not make a HUGE difference in their actions in Syria?

The upset win by a “moderate” is very heartening! I think. Where is Khirad???? Murph???? We need insights! At least I do!!!

» Posted By choicelady On June 18, 2013 @ 10:28 am

Thank you, Kalima. It must be appalling watching this unfold over there?

All I can say at this point in the day is that I will NEVER watch Chris Hayes again. I have HAD it with people who pay no attention to facts, who promote lies and then try to build policy and movements upon that quicksand.

Furthermore, I will work tirelessly to make sure that law enforcement people don’t get to determine what laws they uphold, which ones they do not. Shades of the civil rights days and southern sheriffs with fire hoses! And are those still some of the laws they will not uphold? Not clear.

No one is spying on us. NO ONE. I’ve BEEN spied upon – it’s ugly. We demanded and got courts especially FISC to vet everything and they did. So we got what we wanted, are NOT being wiretapped, and we’re still screaming.

Narcissism is our worst trait as Americans. I posted something funny about this from a pin I saw years ago at a dance similar to square dancing: “No damned caller’s gonna tell ME what to do!” We think we have the right to disobey laws we don’t like. Stop signs, red lights? Hah – they’re just the tip of the iceberg.

This personal choice to reject following existing laws is called “nullification” and has been, until recently, the province of the extreme right wing, but it’s now ubiquitous. Pat Robertson’s law school teaches courses in legal nullification – the ‘right’ of the jury to determine the LAW and decide if they ‘like it’ or not. Yikes!

As today progressed, the facts about Snowden emerged, and they’re scary – he was there less than 3 months, has NO background so how’d he get clearance, and was in touch with Greenwald two months BEFORE he took the job with Booz, Allen. So what’s up with this?

So we have left and right converging on support for the most extremist positions ever – nothing the government does, no matter how in compliance with the Constitution, will ever be OK. We are prepared to do – I’m not sure what. But it’s scary to see a nihilism creeping across the land.

I keep thinking of all the people who’ve died and all who have NOT – folks on planes where bombs were removed before the flight – because of legal and Constitutional surveillance. I do not want to give that up.

To the Left I’d just ask – if we substituted “Chilean dictators” or “Nazi Germany” for Al Q’aeda – how would you think about this then?

America may be on the brink of disintegration, and the reasons lie in the purely self interest of each of us that exists at the expense of all of us.

I love this country, warts and all, and watching it unravel at the hands of idiots is distressing indeed. Move over, Kalima – we may be joining you over there. It seems very dangerous here in America not because of the government but because of those who hate it. We have to find a way to stop it NOW.

» Posted By choicelady On June 10, 2013 @ 6:16 pm

Thank you, glenn, you unholy radical, you! A TEACHER??? Robbing the public blind you must be.

Yeah. Right.

While I’ve vetted my Twitter account to keep friends and toss off idiots, the majority of comments seem to support you. That is reassuring as are polls that indicate most people get the truth of the matter. Only the fringes, both sides, seem totally at odds with reality.

Thanks for the kind words! Go forth and TEACH people. Obviously we have too many who learned NOTHING. Your work is essential!

» Posted By choicelady On June 10, 2013 @ 6:11 pm

Yesterday the Sacramento Bee, in a way too small story, revealed that several county sheriffs in northern and even central CA have vowed to resist enforcing “Obama’s Unconstitutional seizure of guns”. These people are ‘Oath Keepers’ – law enforcement personnel who signed on to a 10-point pledge to resist tyranny. That any gun laws we might pass come from our ELECTED CONGRESS seems to elude them. They did not worry about tyranny and martial law under Bush – just, you know, the Black guy.

So here we have Libertarian Edward Snowden who also seems to have NO understanding of government at all. He, like so many hysterical zealots, has been paying NO attention to how things are under the rule of law. Over the years since the Patriot Act was passed, court challenges from human rights and civil rights groups have produced huge changes including the demand for warrants before ANY surveillance at all. We have known about the secret NSA spying for YEARS. What IS news is that they no longer have carte blanche to invade our privacy. And they are not.

This morning’s paper, however, brings what I think is the REAL story about the NSA leaks.Unlike Daniel Ellsberg, Snowden fled to a safe harbor in Hong Kong so he faces no consequences. The REPORTER Barton Gellman at the Washington Post this morning has a feature all about his and Snowden’s clandestine meetings with secret code names and all the bells and whistles of a covert operation including how Snowden warned Gellman he might be killed over this because our security people under Obama are SO EVIL.

Seriously dudes? Seriously???

Suddenly this story is about the participants NOT about the issues. Somewhere the facts are lost, the hype prevails, the serious discussion about what remains to be changed about both the Patriot Act and our role in the world – all that and more is lost to the faux revelation about two guys pretending to be doing something significant. But their focus betrays them – this is about THEM and their ‘brand’ not about issues of national importance.

So now two things are really clear. One – lots of Americans of all stripes no longer believe they need to follow the rule of law, feel no responsibility to others, do not need to change those laws via legislation or the courts, but only have to ignore, disobey, flout any and all rules they dislike. Each of us knows best about everything and can go our own way.

Second – it’s not about beliefs. It’s about how you can sell your brand and get fame and maybe fortune. These folks are no Daniel Ellsbergs, no Woodward and Bernstein. That Gellman’s story is about himself and Snowden, about the theater they created to feel they were doing something important – that’s the MAIN THING now. Snowden safe in Hong Kong , Greenwald safe in Brazil, and Gellman safe with the power of the Post areall seeking their 15 minutes-plus of fame and all of them clearly now are mostly self promoters.

So what is the difference between the Oath Keepers and Snowden? Nothing. What is the relationship between investigative reporting and either Greenwald or the Post reporters? None.

Narcissism rules and when it does, the rule of law weakens, the engagement of people with making real change alters, and theater trumps serious commitment. Left or Right we seem devoted to celebrity, to grandstanding, to pretense so we can justify our actions. But nothing changes or grows from that. It’s not noble, it’s cowardly, and it diverts us too often from the serious work we have to do to create real change. THAT is the real danger in America.

» Posted By choicelady On June 10, 2013 @ 9:16 am

Can’t answer Sue and Kalima but yes – we HAVE to get rid of the Patriot Act and find better vehicles because the care Obama is taking on FISA warrants and interpretation of data MAY NOT BE ENOUGH if we have a conservative president.

Since it’s clear that under Bush and undoubtedly under Romney even the CONSTITUTION was insufficient, we do need better immediate laws.

» Posted By choicelady On June 7, 2013 @ 2:35 pm

I don’t disagree on the probable cause, but with Chechnya suddenly in the picture (whoda thunk it) they are simply looking for patterns of calls NOT at your calls or mine.

If something pops – a flurry of calls somewhere – they HAVE to get more warrants, and these require massive amounts of probable cause to obtain.

WE are not being scrutinized. Nothing about this is tied to any one of us at all. That makes me considerably more comfortable.

» Posted By choicelady On June 7, 2013 @ 2:33 pm

Remember Nirek that in the intervening years, even SCOTUS – yup that one – passed rulings that mandated warrants and other civil liberty safeguards.

THE most under-reported stories ever are the court rulings that led to the destruction of much of the Bush doctrine. It did not end the Patriot Act but strongly shaped boundaries it had not had at the beginning. Obama has respected those boundaries, and I am no longer afraid of my government. I was. I’m not now.

As one who was hacked in 2003, I know the difference between metadata searches that have NO ties to us individually and actual surveillance over our ‘patriotism’. Knowing things have to be screened by the FISC is HUGE in terms of protecting our rights and personal security.

As long as the president and security personnel follow the law and Constitution, I am OK with it. Because as with the Nazi threat in WW II, there really IS an enemy, and the enemy really DOES want us dead. And I’m pretty NOT all right with THAT.

» Posted By choicelady On June 7, 2013 @ 2:27 pm

Sally – that is a boffo statement, and thank you! That IS one of our strengths here – we can disagree and still care about one another and respect those differences.

That means Sue’s black helicopters ain’t here yet – for anyone.

» Posted By choicelady On June 7, 2013 @ 2:20 pm

OMG – every time I want to look at something I get blasted with headlines, popups, whatever from some company related to that thing I looked up! What we live with in material land of goodies we scream about if the gubbmint is anywhere close. They are NOT collecting info on our calls’ content or numbers linked to us or other data that they trace. The metadata was obtained – unlike Bush – with a warrant. If, heaven forefend, they find something curious or worrisome, they have to get ANOTHER warrant specifically about the number/people in question.

The ONLY people who have a right to be concerned are in fact Muslims whose families reside in nations we’re not friendly with. That might trigger something. For example, it would NOT trigger a case once it was determined my Iranian friend was calling home, that the number was a family one, and that he and his wife were long time US citizens with no ties to terrorism.

Sorry folks – the threat IS real. Put Nazi Germany into this little black box and then tell me you’d still want the government to do nothing.

And if you’re shoe shopping online, realize they already know a ton more about you than the government does – including your credit and purchasing etc. That’s really scary, and we don’t care.

» Posted By choicelady On June 7, 2013 @ 2:17 pm

If it’s the Sacramento area FBI – and it would be for Sue – they’d just fall out laughing. They are not stick in the mud idjits thank goodness. They and our US Attorney all have a sense of humor and proportion!

» Posted By choicelady On June 7, 2013 @ 2:09 pm

Woo hooo! GREAT work, Patsy! I will write, but if you see Rochelle, please give her my love! You folks absolutely ROCK and just made the world – not just CA – much, much safer!

» Posted By choicelady On June 7, 2013 @ 2:07 pm

Over either at Imasmartypants or Balloon Juice,the blog-o-meister pointed out that this warrant covers ONLY corporate/business records, not individual accounts.

There IS a warrant. That is critical since my little go around clearly was a warrantless intrusion – there simply was not time for the intruder to GET one.

The current administration folks are looking for patterns. I am not feeling at risk. OK – truth in posting: I have NO Verizon account, so maybe I’m just blowing this off. But I am not feeling under threat at ALL from their reviewing call records that we willingly turn over and get on our paper bills. And again – it’s companies, not people, whose call patterns are being aggregated for patterns of trends to other nations.

I do NOT want another 9/11. I’ve not recovered from the first one. So this seems balanced to me. See if there is something to worry about. Worry about it if there is. Leave us our rights, privacy, peace of mind intact.

I’m pretty OK with this.

But I will not be calling Verizon for the Friends and Family discount…

» Posted By choicelady On June 6, 2013 @ 7:24 pm

LOL!!! I think you have absolutely the right attitude about this all.

That just cracked me up. I will remember it. Can you post bail?

Love you!

» Posted By choicelady On June 6, 2013 @ 7:17 pm

I think the outrage is over-reach. It is not getting the content of anyone’s calls at ALL. Neither is it tracking individuals per se. As someone who had a total stranger call my office in 2003 and report a back to me the totally private email discussion in the pursuit of the NAMES and ADDRESSES of those involved in the discussion (about whether we should protest the FBI’s over-reach in demanding imams’ sermons before they were delivered) I don’t see the gathering of metadata the same intrusion at all.

The Patriot Act MUST be re-evaluated, that is for sure. But to have an administration be careful NOT to gather content but only look for patterns of possible contact with terrorists seems very different from the Bush-Cheney pursuit of definitely private information.

Before we flame out, we need to look at the distinctions AND the care this administration has been taking on content. I’m not so sanguine I think we can demand our government pursues nothing at all about large movements that might help reflect patterns of terrorist group contacts. This requires some nuanced understanding. I’ve been surveilled. I sort of know the difference.

» Posted By choicelady On June 6, 2013 @ 12:04 pm

Well gosh, Sally – you don’t expect the Gummint to use its powers for GOOD do you?

Sheesh.

» Posted By choicelady On May 23, 2013 @ 5:09 pm

Yup. Only a matter of time with Alex.

He’s showing his impotence in public. Ick.

» Posted By choicelady On May 23, 2013 @ 5:09 pm

I totally agree, and undoing the post 9/11 damage is a real problem. I just think we see a very different dynamic now from Bush or the GOP in general. The local police actions were not guided by federal ones as during Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement. No snooping J.Edgars following us all. But the legacy from federalization of local cops? Horrible. Don’t know how to stop it other than lawsuits and time.

» Posted By choicelady On May 20, 2013 @ 10:06 pm

OMG – the Guatemalan high court overturned the conviction of Rios Montt. Despicable! They are sending him back for retrial. This is why no nation ever tries its own – too many powerful and vested interests can undermine justice.

» Posted By choicelady On May 20, 2013 @ 8:42 pm

It is important to note this is a STATE agency in a state that has gone increasingly bonkers. Across the country you will see vast differences in the ways that OWS was handled, and yes, I am SURE the Kochs etc. had hands in this. But it is NOT federal, and to date I have seen not a shred of evidence that any federal agency did surveillance at all anywhere.

Many states and cities were federalized after 9/11. CA was – but it’s very hit or miss. Oakland was not – and their problems can be laid very clearly to a traditionally bad police department and the incursion of anarchists who may or may not be agents of the Right. Someone REALLY needs to find that out.

Years ago I landed in the LAPD terrorist files. Citizens who had been parts of groups infiltrated by LAPD officers sued and won to end that function. Yeah. Right. And 9/11 never EVER raised THAT up again… So the problems come from the BUSH era of using local police as their long arms into disparate communities, but not all – by no means all – were part of that, and under Obama there is no evidence at all that he’s geared that back up or has a federal presence in these acts. Jan Brewer acting along with Obama? Not bloody likely! Bloomburg taking directions from the White House? I don’t think so! They are and were acting on their own as they had done with Bush and with the directives from 9/11.

» Posted By choicelady On May 20, 2013 @ 8:40 pm

AdLib – it was by no means everywhere. Denver, Portland and many other cities had no violence, no police oppression. Sacramento was pretty indifferent to OWS people only demanding they not get rights – sleeping in Chavez Park – not offered the homeless who were driven OUT by OWS.

Some police departments in the US were federalized, esp. NYC that for years until Obama learned of it, had a CIA agent IN PLACE with the NYPD. The NYPD used to travel to other cities acting as if they were feds, too. But OWS was by no means resisted with force and violence everywhere. It really did depend on the nature of the PD in question.

BTW – a handful of OWS people ARE STILL in Sacramento. They aren’t even a blip on the radar, but still, they’re here.

» Posted By choicelady On May 20, 2013 @ 8:30 pm

Indeed, Nirek – the death toll is now up to 51 including 20 children. We mourn them no less than the ones at Sandy Hook albeit this is no one’s fault. I knew people caught in the horrid F5 in 1999, and it’s terrifying to think such a thing could happen again, much in the same area. People just want to live their lives, but those who settled the Great Plains took on a relentless force in so doing. I hope they will come out of this again as they have before, but it’s so sad it has to be. May people be found and saved, may the injured recover, and may they come up with better solutions to keep everyone safe in the future. Our hearts are with them.

» Posted By choicelady On May 20, 2013 @ 8:26 pm

Of course – just wanted to know she was starting to heal.

We all want her back ASAP. Thank you for collecting our wishes and getting them to her when she’s better. Knowing you can eventually be in touch means so much to us all, thank you! You are our ‘touchstone’ in connection with her, and we appreciate that a lot.

» Posted By choicelady On May 16, 2013 @ 10:19 am