• “Choice Guardian” Sponsor: $250 — Includes 4 tickets; name listed on invitation and program, recognition at event
• “Choice Advocate” Sponsor: $125 (or $75 for GEM for Choice members) — Includes 2 tickets; name listed on invitation and program, recognition at event and reserved seating
• General Admission: $40 — 1 ticket
• Discounted General Admission: $25 — 1 ticket, for people under 35 years of age, students, or current GEM for Choice members

LUNAFEST – 2012/2013 Season Trailer
from Clif Bar & Company on Vimeo.

I hadn’t realized how much I miss knocking on doors. I love meeting people again, and talking about Virginia politics.

Just this past week, I’ve knocked hundreds of doors, gotten signatures from almost everybody who was at home, even Republicans. Women are excited to have a woman on the ballot. Last night, we met a neighbor who invited me to come speak to her Girl Scout troop as a role model! SQUEEE!

And you know what? EVERYBODY has heard about the transvaginal ultra-sound bill and that Tag Greason voted for it.

I’ve been especially thrilled by the number of people who know who I am, have read my blog, are following my twitter and facebook, and have been doing so for years. I hadn’t realized how many of my online friends live in the 32nd district!

Those who haven’t been online, know me through my husband and recognize me at the door.

I’m hearing that people care about toll fees, commute lengths, the economy, the environment, and how much they want government to stay out of their private lives. I’m hearing that they’re concerned about the balance between gun rights and gun safety. And I’m hearing that they’re interested in more transparency in government, and are frustrated with the two-party system.

I’m looking forward to this evening’s set of doors.

Loudoun Times

Here’s what I’ve missed talking about:

• I’m mad as hell that President Obama is negotiating away Social Security and other social safety net measures. The congressional republicans will a) never think it’s enough and b) will use it to say that he’s attacking seniors.
• I’m mad as hell that 13 states, including Virginia, have moved to make abortion harder to obtain while, at the same time, moved to eliminate the programs that a) reduce unwanted pregnancies and b) make responsible parenting possible.
• I’m mad as hell that even after Columbine, Aurora, Newtown, Virginia Tech, etc., we are still having to argue about asking that people get flipping background checks before they are able to buy, sell, or trade for a flipping gun. Seriously, you’re going to make me get an internal ultrasound and wait seventy-two flipping hours before I can get an abortion if I need one and it’s too much to flipping ask that you put up with one flipping second of delay before you can buy a gun?  Well-regulated militia! The words have meaning! Look it up!!
• I’m mad as hell that two more girls who were gang-raped by people who flipping filmed the rapes and then distributed those films ended up being so harassed by people in their communities that they killed themselves. My friend Andrea talks about this much more eloquently than I ever could.
• I’m mad as hell that Exxon seems to be able to just dump oil anywhere they damned well please and that they get to keep being one of the most profitable companies on the planet. Take all their money, and use it to clean up their mess.

What are you mad as hell about today?

I lived in Pittsburgh, and went to Pitt for two years, then I dropped out to work full-time. I worked three jobs, and volunteered at the local radio station, and I had an apartment that I shared with my boyfriend.

He was ex-army, kicked out for abusing Percocet that he’d gotten for a knee injury (training, not combat — this is before Desert Storm). A terrific writer, but no follow-through. He’d get 10 pages into a story and then….stop. He wasn’t really able to hold down a job. I supported the two of us. I was really kind of an idiot about him. But not so much of an idiot that I would have unprotected sex with him. No, I was not so much of an idiot as that.

We spent some holidays with his parents (he lived locally), and I loved his mom and sister.

We got a dog, and we both adored that puppy. And then, one day, my boyfriend got pissed about something that the dog chewed on, and kicked him.

He kicked our dog.

I packed up everything I owned, called my friend Steve Mahofsky (he had a car, a credit card, and a somewhat flexible schedule), and he rented a U-haul, filled it with my stuff, and drove me and my dog home to Brooklyn the very next day.

The Very. Next. Day.

Two weeks later, in Brooklyn, I didn’t get my period. I thought it might be stress, you know. But I took a pregnancy test anyway when it still wasn’t there five days after that.

It was positive.

I made an appointment with Planned Parenthood. There was no doubt in my mind about what I was going to do. I was NOT going to tie myself forever to a man who had kicked. my. dog. If he could kick the dog, he could hit me. Or a baby. No. Flipping. Way. I was NOT going to bring a child into the world to have that man as a father. I was NOT.

Being with him in the first place was the stupidest choice I’ve ever made. Having an abortion after I left him, was the best choice I’ve ever made.

And it’s important to me that other women, that ALL women, be able to be free to make their own choices.

The second button down is for the tax deductible foundation

If it’s important to you, too. You know what to do.

• January: A thought on property rights.

This post contained just one sentence. Here it is.

“Why is it that the folks who fought against the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance on the basis of property rights (Delgaudio, York), now all in favor of imposing county rules on folks without HOAs if they aren’t mowing their lawns, and are parking too many cars on their grass?”

• February: The big list of links from a conversation over at Too Conservative

The past few days, there’s been a really excellent conversation about abortion over at Too Conservative.

I’m not reading or commenting over there anymore, because my New Year’s resolution was to reduce stress in my life. But I am grateful to them for giving me the impetus to create this list of links. I update it periodically.

• March: Limbaugh loses over 50 advertisers, American Heart Association won’t even take free time on his show.

That’s right, Rush is having trouble giving time away on his show.

Includes bonus Roy Zimmerman video.

• April: Explosive device blew up at a Wisconsin Planned Parenthood yesterday.

Report here.

Please note that the headline of that article says, “Explosive device found at Planned Parenthood”, while the story specifies that the device actually exploded.

Okay, that’s the first TWO sentences. But I maintain that the first one didn’t really count.

• May: Happy Birthday, Pete Seeger!

Did you listen to this song when you were a kid?

With TWO bonus videos.

• June: Help build a home for LCpl Martinez in Purcellville

From my inbox:

Homes for Our Troops will be building at NO COST to the veteran a specially designed brand new home for a disabled veteran.

That ended up being the weekend of the Derecho, and I am thoroughly ashamed that I did not follow up afterwards.

• July: Power

Thinking of everybody who is still without power after the storm, and thinking especially of those with storm damage.

• August: More Delgaudio spotting

Turns out, that picture of him in front of Chick-Fil-A is a still from a video.

• September: Guest Post: Religion in politics – or – How to be a bigot in two easy steps

Bigot (ˈbɪɡət): -n

a person who is intolerant of any ideas other than his or her own, esp on religion, politics, or race

This post was written by my friend, Marc Lieberman, a person with whom I’ve had many a profound political discussion.

• October: Ann Romney on Mitt Romney

In an interview with KTVN Channel 2 Nevada, Ann Romney said she was concerned about Mitt,

With bonus videos featuring both those sterling individuals.

• November: It’s Election Day. I’ll be at Dominion Trail Elementary handing out Democratic Sample Ballots

9 AM until the polls close y’all.

• December: My thoughts are in Connecticut

And that’s all I’m going to say about it today.

In fact, that’s all I said here at all last month. But I wrote a ton on Facebook and Twitter.

 

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What can we do to get the people who turned out on Tuesday to come out for the off-year elections? If we can get the Obama voters in Sterling to vote in ’15, Delgaudio will be out on his ass.

How do we do it? Ideas needed here.

Volunteered on Election Day:

All but one out performed Loudoun as a whole. All went for Obama.