Adventures of an Urban Jungleboy

If you haven't already done so, and you think everyone has a right to control their own body, please go sign Sen. Boxer's petition against the Stupak amendment. The Senate is likely to vote really soon, and though we're ahead at the moment, there are surely no guarantees. Please give a crap, take a moment, and sign!

... a brand new study came out last month, finding that the rate of abortions does not change when abortion is illegal. But the number of women killed soars.

ganked from lobolance

EditAs rm noted, Senator Boxer may be from CA, but the issue and petition are national. Any and all US voters concerned about the Stupak amendment should sign.

This morning I was planning to skip my morning workout (given my 5-day a week gym habit, you need to understand that's not a casual decision) to get in line and vote first thing this morning instead. When I voted in the primary I did so in the evening, and my precinct had actually run out of ballots and had to improvise for me.

At the last moment, the little voices suggest I kit up for my workout, put on my neat sweats and pack my work clothes in the gym bag anyway, so if the wait wasn't horrific I could still do something at the gym. If it was long, I could just shower and change there and head to work.


I got to the polling place at 6:58 and there were 18 of us waiting. Two turned out to be at the wrong polling place (they needed to be at the church down the block and up the hill), but everyone one was patient, eager to vote, and almost everyone was carrying their sample ballot (hurrah!). The polls opened right on time and I was out at 7:20, so I managed to get some rowing and stretching in after all.



Get out there and vote. I won't claim I don't care how you vote (in particular, if you're in California I hope you'll vote No on 8), but I hope you'll take the time to consider the issues and exercise your franchise.

Are you a California voter?

3 years ago, we had a commitment ceremony. It was presided over by a minister. 3 months ago we got married. It was provided over by a minister. California Proposition 8 isn't about religious rights. This is about denying religious rights.

You can't save marriage by destroying marriages.

A vote for California Proposition 8 is a vote to destroy my marriage.

A vote for California Proposition 8 is a vote to destroy my family's life.

A vote for California Proposition 8 is a vote to destroy my friends' lives.

A vote for California Proposition 8 is a vote to ruin the lives of ordinary Californians.

And I'm going to take it personally.

What? You don't vote? It's too hard? It's too inconvenient?

I'm going to take that personally too. An abstention might as well be a vote in favor. Get your sorry ass registered and out to the polls. Read up on the other propositions too. Read up on the candidates for office. Do your fucking civic duty.


And now, a additional note from me (kproche) that you should consider and add to your arsenal of No on 8 information:

You may have heard the Yes on 8 commercials that claim "over 4 million Californians voted to ban same-sex marriage, and activist judges overturned them."
As of September, there were 23,171,364 registered voters in our state. So why should the 17% who are bigoted homophobes be allowed to take away the rights of any of us?

They shouldn't. And that's part of what the courts are for, to protect all of us from denial of our basic rights.

Here's my letter to the governor, going out by post tomorrow:

( My letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger )

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Yes, I know he's been quoted as saying he'll veto it. Call and write anyway. He's from Hollywood, his popularity is in the toilet right now, and thus is HUGELY sensitive to public opinion.

The gender-neutral marriage bill in CA just made it through the legislature intact and is now heading to the Governor! Yay!
It's bill AB 849. Everyone should call and support it, hopefully we can get it to go through.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633

It's easy to voice support through the voicemail system - the buttons in order to show support are 2 - 1 - 1.

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gacked from danaoshee by way of bovil

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ETA: you can also use the form at http://www.govmail.ca.gov/ (be sure to use the dropdown to choose AB849 and click the SUPPORTING button before you submit the form.

Email is never as effective as a phone call or postal mail. So call in, too!