Is that a petting zoo? Please let that be a petting zoo!

[ebonlock]

Hey, a new Kurt-ified icon, go me! Gods I hope they do him justice in X2 or I'm going to have to go back down to LA and do some serious ass kicking. Do not mess with my blue fuzzy elf.

Also, this is just too cute for words:
The Shieldmaidens: Walk to Rivendell, and a damn fine idea it is too.

Came to a conclusion last night, it's about a week before the trip to LA, I could be stressing about not having gotten into the shape I wanted to be in for it. Instead, I will accept the way I look, accept my flaws and bulges, put on the damn evening gown, and have a very good time at the party. I'm not spending next week freaking out and going on a crash diet, the dress fits, I can actually sit down in it, that's good enough for me.

Also sat down and did a couple of Tarot readings last night. Roll your eyes if you like, but when my cards are hot, they're almost scary. Last night I actually asked a question and got a straightforward answer. No hidden meanings, no ambiguous cards, just a clear, easy to read answer. I followed up with another question to clarify the "so how do I do this?" part, and again they answered clearly. I kind of sat there and stared at them for a bit, then muttered, "Well all right then."



As a follow up to yesterday's Pro-Choice discussion, I got to see some of the Congressional coverage of the debate last night, and actually hear the senators' words. It was interesting, and once again made me very happy to be a Californian. But something to keep in mind:
30 Reasons We're Still Fighting for Choice (And you should too)
Choice isn't something we can take for granted, and we've all had a wake up call this week. I intend to pay attention to it.

And I'll probably be up in SF marching for peace tomorrow, the weather is undoubtedly going to suck, but I think it's worth a little discomfort. If you're at all interested in doing the same click here for details.

Comments

[aelfsciene.livejournal.com]

What you said, RE: in shape. No, I'm not where I wanted to be, but I'm still losing weight and building muscle, and this is just one night. Not really going to matter in the long run of things, and I like my dress((es)--still undecided!), and will just have fun. I'm still having problems with the whole "I'm driving to LA" thing, though. *^_^*

[tersa.livejournal.com]

"I'm driving to LA"

You're driving to me? That's so sweet! :)

*snort*

[aelfsciene.livejournal.com]

I keep having problems with that; saying something about going to LA and then mentioning you LA in the same sentence or something. It's very confusing!

[tersa.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're not stressing about L.A. I would like you to enjoy yourself, and you look so gorgeous in your dress!

Remind me, and I'll show you the little velvet number tonight I've mentioned several times. I may even try it on to see if I can squeeze into it, sizes or no.

Also, if you're willing, I'm deeply curious as to what the Tarot reading is, but I'll see if I can talk to you sometime tonight about it.

[centerfire.livejournal.com]

I took a look at the list. Some of the points are important; others are just silly; some are naked propaganda. This is a particularly egregious one of those:

4. As of January 2003, the Supreme Court is only two votes away from outlawing abortion again.

This is a common trope of pro-choice leaders that gets repeated uncritically by the media. It's true only in the sense that it's not an outright lie.

First, the "two votes" argument overlooks a legal doctrine called stare decisis, which is basically the judicial equivalent of "let sleeping dogs lie". Regardless of the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court, it is obligated not to overturn itself on a whim.

Second, and far more importantly, even if Roe is overturned, this will not outlaw abortion. Roe contrived a right to abortion under the Fourteenth Amendment, and thus removed discretion on the matter from the states. If Roe is overturned -- and there are more than a few pro-choice people who nonetheless feel that it should be overturned, because it is poorly-reasoned and inconsistent with federalism -- then we simply return to the status quo ante, with individual states able to create their own abortion policies.

Justice Scalia, no ideological friend of abortion, made a few comments that are instructive:

My difference with Roe v. Wade is a legal rather than a moral one: I do not believe . . . that the Constitution contains a right to abortion. And if a state were to permit abortion on demand, I would—and could in good conscience—vote against an attempt to invalidate that law for the same reason that I vote against the invalidation of laws that forbid abortion on demand: because the Constitution gives the federal government (and hence me) no power over the matter.

Granted: with discretion returned to the states, a few states (probably in the southeast or inland west) might choose to outlaw abortion. Abortion would remain legal elsewhere. People who didn't like their own state's policy could vote with their feet if they couldn't get satisfaction at the ballot box, and women in need of abortions could simply travel to a jurisdiction where it was legal.

[centerfire.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the runaway italics. I must've missed a close-tag in there, somewhere.

[tyee.livejournal.com]

Thank for the pointer to the shieldmaidens -- I emailed them asking how far they've calculated the Hobbiton->Rivendell distance to be because I decided it would be cool to swim to Rivendell!

Re:

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

Thank for the pointer to the shieldmaidens -- I emailed them asking how far they've calculated the Hobbiton->Rivendell distance to be because I decided it would be cool to swim to Rivendell!

Hey now that's an interesting idea too, lmk when you get an answer from them, I'd be fascinated to find out myself!

[tyee.livejournal.com]

Will do. Although I won't be surprised if it takes a day or two to get a response, because they probably got a whole bunch of email in response to the theonering.net post.