*Drinking and driving don’t mix. That’s why I ride a bike.
Posted on August 31, 2008 @ 10:06 pm
When I was nine, I rode my bike everywhere. I was fearless.
Then when I was 18, 19 I had a nasty spill on a bike which resulted in a nasty scar on my left wrist and a healthy fear of riding bordering on phobia.
I didn’t get on a bike again until January 2005 when I was on vacation in Maui with a bunch of friends and we did the sunrise bike ride down Haleakala. I whinged the entire way. My wrists were killing me. Something just seemed wrong. I was unhappy and fairly certain I was going to die. It wasn’t until around mile 30 that one of my friends noticed that the handles on my bike were twisted wrong and fixed it. It had been so long since I was on a bike, I had just assumed that there was something wrong with me. It never occurred to me that the bike was messed up.
Yeah, I’m a rocket scientist.
Stuart has been after me to start riding, but I really don’t want to. You have to have serious balls to cycle in this town and I just don’t got ‘em.
His bike is a fold up military mountain bike that is folded up more than is used. Yesterday he took it out for a bit and I met him at The Nightingale for dinner.
I’ve been on a healthy kick since I came back from my moms. I’m trying to only eat fish and lots of fruits and veggies and I didn’t drink all week. I’ve decided that I would let myself drink one day a week, but that didn’t mean I could get lashed and Saturday was going to be my day this week.
Cut to:
Three pints of ale and a glass of wine from 5 PM to last call. Isn’t the most I have ever drank, but it isn’t the least.
Stuart and I had had a stupid fight earlier in the evening, but we had made up. I mention this to explain why when he suggested that I try out his bike when there was no one around on our walk home I agreed. The drink in me also didn’t hurt.
Then bad things happened.
1. The bike is too big for me. This will be important later.
2. I try to peddle, but something isn’t working quite right. This will be important later.
3. Stuart starts pushing me like I’m five, but he is pushing me too fast so I shriek at him to let go.
4. He lets go.
5. I try to peddle. I can’t.
6. The bike gets wobbly due to lack of forward movement.
7. The bike is so big and I am so short, I can’t get my feet down on the ground.
8. I fall over and go boom.
After Stuart lifted the bike off of me and made sure nothing was broken or bleeding and after he texted and twittered the event, he told me that he had forgotten to unfold the pedals.
I feel like I have been hit by a train. Not a big train, but a little one. I’m fine other my arm feels dislocated and I have a serious mondo bruise on my arm and elbow that I can tell is going to be really pretty in a day or so.
I had a comment in my last post from someone that said that the VAM act is unconstitutional which is poppycock misinformed.
Not interested in getting in a pissing contest, so I leave you with a summary of what VAM is and what it did from the Family Violence Prevention Fund.
You make your own mind up. . .
History of the Violence Against Women Act
The Violence Against Women Act of 1994
The first comprehensive federal legislation responding to violence against women was introduced in 1990. While the U.S. Senate held several hearings and reported bills out of committee, not until the 103rd Congress was there finally traction on the issue in both the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. With the help of outspoken advocates across the country, including the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) and other members of the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was finally signed into law in August of 1994 as a part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (PL-103-322).
The provisions included in the final bill were a compromise of two pieces of legislation that had been introduced previously, H.R. 1133, introduced by Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-CO), and S. 1607, introduced by Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE).
VAWA created:
- new penalties for gender-related violence and
- new grant programs encouraging states to address domestic violence and sexual assault including:
law enforcement and prosecution grants (STOP grants)
grants to encourage arrest
rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement grants
the National Domestic Violence Hotline
grants to battered women’s shelters
While no one felt this completely addressed the needs of victims of domestic violence, almost all involved believed this was a vital first step in our nation’s efforts to treat domestic violence as a serious problem.
The Violence Against Women Act of 2000
Because the authorization for the original VAWA provisions expired in 2000, the Congress took up the reauthorization of this landmark legislation in 1999 and completed its efforts in the fall of 2000 with the passage of the Violence Against Women Act of 2000. The House version of the bill, known as H.R. 1248, passed on September 26 by a vote of 415-3, and the Senate version, known as S. 2787 passed on October 11 by a vote of 95-0. During the course of final negotiations, VAWA 2000 was merged with the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 and several smaller bills, and President Clinton signed the legislation into law on October 28, 2000 (PL-106-386).
Despite early efforts by advocates and congressional allies to create a more comprehensive bill, the final version of VAWA reauthorization included mainly a continuation of already existing programs with a few improvements, additions and funding increases. The following is a summary of the major components of the legislation.
VAWA 2000 Summary
Total Authorization: $3.3 billion over five years (This number represents the total amount authorized, the actual money distributed has yet to reach this “allowed” amount).
STOP Grants (Services and Training for Officers and Prosecutors): $925 million over five years. This is the largest portion of the funding in the legislation and goes to states to be distributed among police, prosecutors, courts and state and local victims services agencies mainly for the purposes of enhancing law enforcement activities.
Shelter Services for Battered Women and their Children: $875 million over five years. This is the second largest portion of funding from the bill and funds programs to help communities provide services for women and children living in shelters. These grants also go initially to the states, and recent legislation increased the minimum amount that any state would receive to $600,000/year. Remaining funds are distributed to states based on their populations.
The legislation also created new programs and strengthened existing legislation in the following areas:
Civil Legal Assistance: $200 million over five years. This section creates a separate grant program for civil legal services to give women legal help with protection orders, family court matters, housing, immigration and administrative matters.
Transitional Housing: $25 million per year but only for one year. This program provides grants to aid individuals who are “homeless, in need of transitional housing or other housing assistance, as a result of fleeing a situation of domestic violence and for whom emergency shelter services are unavailable or insufficient.” This program was never funded.
Supervised Visitation Centers: $30 million over two years for pilot project authorizing the Attorney General to provide grants to state and local law enforcement to provide supervised visitation exchange for the children of victims of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault.
Full Faith and Credit: Allows for protection orders from one state to be recognized in another state and allows Grants to Encourage Arrest to go toward providing technical assistance and computer or other equipment to law enforcement to aid in the enforcement of interstate protection orders and those between state and tribal jurisdictions.
Battered Immigrant Women: Legislation addressing the needs of battered immigrant women was by far the most significant addition to the original VAWA. This section removes the U.S. residency requirement and “extreme hardship” requirements for immigrant women to receive VAWA protections; allows battered immigrant women to obtain lawful permanent residence without leaving the country; restores access to VAWA protections for immigrants regardless of how they entered the country and creates a new type of visa for victims of serious crimes that will allow some to attain lawful permanent residence.
Dating Violence: defines dating violence and allows grants to go toward programs that address dating violence
Services for Disabled and Older Women: $25 million over five years to provide grants for training law enforcement and developing policies to address the needs of older and disabled victims of domestic and sexual violence
I agree completely with Senator Schumer that McCain’s choice of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate is a Hail Mary Pass, but it is going to make things very interesting. . . that said, I honestly don’t think they are going to be picking up a lot of women from Senator Clinton’s camp. As Senator Barbara Boxer said, “If John McCain thought that choosing Sarah Palin would attract Hillary Clinton voters, he is badly mistaken. The only similarity between her and Hillary Clinton is that they are both women. On the issues, they could not be further apart.”
For me, it has never been about wanting a woman or wanting someone of color. It has been about who has been the closest to what I am about and what I would like to see happen. Senator Clinton had never been my candidate. I would have supported her as I did Kerry four years ago even though he was not my first choice.
I’m happy that Senator Obama has the nomination. I’m happy that Joe Biden is his running mate. Is he perfect? No. Does he sometimes have a big mouth (yes- and I kind of like that actually) But I’ll stand behind someone with all of the foreign policy experience that he brings plus let us not forget he authored the Violence Against Women Act
Why has McCain (who has a dreadful record on women’s issues) brought Palin to the National Stage? Ann Friedman has a great article in The American Prospect.
It’s clear that Republicans believe that what made Hillary Clinton such a good candidate was her gender, not her political experience or positions on the issues. And McCain’s decision to pick Palin shows he took this message to heart and chose to add her to the ticket primarily because of her gender. In so doing, McCain has turned the idea of the first woman in the White House from a true moment of change to an empty pander.
Why is this a pander? Because Palin is not a woman who has a record of representing women’s interests. She is beloved by extremely right-wing conservatives for her anti-choice record (fittingly, she’s a member of the faux-feminist anti-choice group Feminists for Life). Palin supports federal anti-gay marriage legislation. She believes schools should teach creationism. Alaska is currently considering spending more on abstinence-only sex education. And when it comes to a slew of other issues of importance to women, such as equal pay, she’s not on the record.
Of course, I’m of the belief that more women in politics — across the ideological spectrum — is always a good thing. On a superficial level, nominating a woman to the Republican presidential ticket is indeed a milestone. But the real reason many women were excited about Hillary Clinton’s candidacy is that she was the whole package — a politician with a solid record on issues like choice and fair pay, and with a lot of experience, who was also a woman. Even feminists I disagreed with during the primary made the compelling point that it wasn’t just about Hillary’s gender. It was about her record, too
I really just don’t see a lot of people switching their vote simply because of gender. I hope I’m not wrong, because a McCain/Palin administration would not only be horrible the United States at home and around the world, it would be a disaster for women.
Calling everyone in London that reads this! My Department is doing a Community project with a Children’s Centre in Kent that is part of Barnardo’s.
We’re in the fundraising part at the moment. . . If you would like to come to a fab party Saturday September 6th at Adam’s Street, a fantastic London Private Members Only Club, please go to our Just Giving site and donate £10.00. Then leave a comment on this post and I will make sure the ticket is e-mailed to you. (Please note that drinks are not included.)
Tickets are limited, so move fast!
If you aren’t able to come to the party, if you can donate even a small amount, that would be amazing. Microsoft doubles whatever we raise so even £5.00 can go a long way!
Political Conventions: More proof that I am a nerd
Posted on August 26, 2008 @ 6:00 pm
So, I am one of those people that actually watches political conventions. I’ll even watch as much of the Republican convention as I can before my head explodes.
I remember the first time I heard Obama speak was at the last convention and I thought, “Damn. He’s going to be a star.”
The New York Times has a fantastic timeline on the history of the Democratic National Convention that you can see here.
And if you are so inclined, Michelle Obama’s speech is kick-ass. It’s twenty minutes, but I think it’s worth it.
I’ve always liked Joe Biden. But I never thought he’d get picked for the VP slot.
I think it’s a good choice.
—————–
update
Funny. I’ve read a few blogs from people saying that they aren’t pleased and remember how he treated Anita Hill. I think maybe my memory is bad because I remember something else. I remember how he went after Thomas. That was when I was first aware of Biden and I liked him for it because I was so against Thomas. . .
After three years in London, I still don’t get Celsius. Much like French where I can order a glass of wine and say hello or goodbye, my understanding of it is rudimentary at best. If someone says it’s 35, I know that is damn hot (by UK standards- not growing up in Las Vegas standards) but I wouldn’t know what that number translates into Fahrenheit unless I use an online tool.
It’s been warm here in Charleston and the humidity packs an extra one, two. A couple of nights ago Gary thought it was cool enough to not have the air on and just open windows and run fans and Stuart and I nearly died. The folks told us if we need to adjust the air con to feel free to do it.
Last night, it started to be rather chilly. I pulled one of the blankets around me and snuggled my toes up to Stuart while we watched TV. I just figured they had cranked up the air con because of night before. But then it got even colder.
We saw Gary go to the thermostat and mumble to himself. Stu turned to me with a small look of horror.
“Oh no.”
“What?”
“I turned the air on and I think I forgot it was in Fahrenheit.”
The parentals back yard is on the largish side as I mentioned. All sorts of wild beasties are in it. You may recall that they have raccoons.
Yesterday was a big day for seeing creatures.
Charlotte loves the garden because she bounces around like a thing possessed and barks and digs at anything that moves. A few months ago she was bitten by a copperhead and had to go to the vet. It hasn’t really slowed her down which was proven when she started barking at a little tiny snake yesterday. We think it was just a garter snake but we stayed away from it.
They also have moles. I’ve never seen a mole until yesterday when Charlotte ran into the garden threw something up into the air that I thought was one of her stuffed animal toys until I realized with horror that she was playing with a dead creature.
It was a little thing, four to six inches long with a down turned nose, you couldn’t see any eyes and little rat like paws.
I suspect if it was my garden, I wouldn’t feel so bad about it.
Late in the afternoon, I was sitting finishing reading the 2nd book that I brought, watching a cardinal hop around in the trees when Charlotte started going nuts barking at something at the rear fence. My mom went to investigate and discovered a little turtle about the size of my hand. We let it out in the wild area behind the back gate far from the dog.
We’re going to the beach today so if we see and or are eaten by sharks, I would not be completely surprised.
Not that I think that anyone would be silly enough to steal my ramblings, but in case you may be thinking about it. . . the very act of my writing this means that I own the copyright. Really. Look it up.
So, please don't plagiarize. It just ain't cool. And what I say just isn't that interesting. Trust me. Most of my friends don't even read this.
That being said, I do subscribe to the T.S. Eliot philosophy of "Immature poets borrow, mature poets steal." There is a difference between Stealing and stealing. . . This is not to say that I am mature. If anything. . . I'm rambling aren't I? That's what I do. I ramble. So, yeah. I'll shut up now.
