Safe, Legal and Rare.

If We Outlaw Abortion, What Alternatives Are There?

This column originally appeared on Finding (Un)Common Ground.

“You should terminate this one,” the doctor said. I was 37 years old, ten weeks pregnant, and suddenly faced with an unexpected life or death decision. An ultrasound revealed the fetus I was carrying had implanted at the top of my uterus. If it grew up towards my stomach, it threatened to burst a large artery, very likely killing me and the baby it promised to become. My doctor continued, “You already have two healthy children who need you. This is for your safety.”

Safe or not, I didn’t want an abortion. I wanted this baby.

Are Voter Id Laws A Conspiracy?

You may have seen my new adventure with conservative Christian, Aimee Whetstine, Finding (Un)Common Ground. We believe those from across the divide can engage in civil discourse. We’re doing a she said/she said. Here is my latest post. Come join the dialogue.

Who Decides?

Look, I am not generally a conspiracy theorist. But, I’m always more than a little suspicious when legislation is roundly proposed by one party or another and even more suspicious when a single organization seems to be behind the lawmakers who sponsored said legislation. Let’s take the latest 62 voter id laws  that have been proposed in 37 states in the last two years. In the vast majority of these laws, conservative Republicans have been leading the charge. And behind them? The Washington, D.C.-based American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Samuel Jackson Says It all…

 

(Pardon the swearing. I think he is just trying to make a point).

Pass it on!

Civil Discourse Requires Work; On Finding (Un)Common Ground

Aimee Whetstine might call it an act of God. I think of it more as serendipity. Whatever it was, something brought us together that morning at BlogHer ’12 in New York City, facing off across from each other at the conference’s annual “speed date” meet and greet.

Welcome to BlogHer ’12

I had already met a host of food bloggers, a pack of DIY bloggers, and a few marketers trying to convince me why their products would be a great fit for my blog. But, since I am not much of a cook, can’t sew for the life of me, and don’t take ads on my personal blog,  there wasn’t much of a love connection.

And then I met Aimee.

So When Did Dis-Respecting Other Religions Become A Staple of American Values?

I don’t know about you, but I’m afraid. Could it really be that the foolish, pathetic ramblings of some religious zealot will be the start of World War III? No, I am not taking about Osama Bin Laden. I am talking about Florida-based evangelical Christian pastor, Terry Jones.

Is Chick-fil-A the Best of American Capitalism?

The Best of America

This column originally appeared on Palo Alto Patch.

It’s been a relaxing week now that I am finally on vacation.  Between sunbathing on the beach, reading in the hammock, and kayaking along the bay, I’ve been busy doing nothing. Most mornings I wake up not sure what the day will bring. But you can be darn sure I know what I’ll be doing on Wednesday, August 1st: donating to organizations that support gay rights.

I vowed to have a media free holiday and so I turned off the TV, suspended my newspaper subscription, ignored my Twitter feed, turned away from Facebook, and only checked email once a day. As a result, I had no idea Chick-fil-A’s President and COO, Dan Cathy, stirred up a hornet’s nest by declaring his company supports “the traditional family.”

He went on to say, “I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is about.”

Huh? 

The Other One Percent: Why Reinstating The Draft Would Benefit Us All

This essay originally appeared in Palo Alto Patch.

Reinstating The Draft Would Benefit Us All

It seemed so innocuous, just a little box at the bottom of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). But the box was so much more than it appeared, because when my recently turned 18-year-old son checked said box, it meant he was now officially registered for the draft.

I wouldn’t have given it much thought until I realized the draft is in the news again. At the Aspen Ideas Festival hosted earlier this month, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former top commander of international forces in Afghanistan, argued for reinstatement of the draft.

He said, “I think if a nation goes to war, every town, every city needs to be at risk. You make that decision and everybody has skin in the game.”