Believing

Long before I ever heard the phrase "Climate Change", I knew something was happening. Everybody noticed. People talked about how summer wasn't the same as it used to be, how winter was different, how the rain didn't seem right, and the wind was weird. Farmers knew something was wrong. The timing was off somehow. Fields dried up. We are all being affected by this, one way or another. More wildfires, more asthma, missing the birds and the butterflies, watching lakes shrink or tides rise. And when someone asks, "Do you believe in climate change?" I imagine a person who's been punched in the face being asked, "Do you believe in fists?"

Free to Be

I always thought I could marry whomever I wanted. As it happens, I didn't want to marry a woman, so I didn't really think of it as an option. But just because I don't want to do that, doesn't mean I should try to stop someone else from doing it. But that seems to be the foundation of many people's opposition to gay marriage. They don't want to do it, they think it's icky, therefore no one else should do it. Hey, I think marrying a Republican would be icky, but I'm not going to try and make it illegal.

Right now, all over town, there are people doing things I don't want to do. They are eating foods I don't like, reading books that bore me, watching TV shows I hate, and engaging in sexual activities that don't appeal to me. So what? It's none of my business. We really don't need laws to make everyone do what I would do (or not do what I wouldn't do). But that's the kind of thing that gets right-wingers all fired up. They've got a powerful desire to make everyone be just like them. They want us all to follow their religion, live their approved lifestyle, ignore truth if it doesn't match their vision of the way things should be. No matter that they like to see themselves as individualists fighting for freedom, the Republican Party is the party of conformity. ^@realrkwest
 

Election Integrity

Imagine you're back in the 8th grade and it's time to vote for class president. There are 35 students in the class. Bob gets 25 votes, and Jim gets 10. But the next morning, the teacher announces that Jim is the new president. When the students complain, the teacher explains that all the students in the 3rd row voted for Jim, and traditionally, votes from the 3rd row are worth triple the other votes. So the final count is now 25 for Bob and 30 for Jim.

That's the Electoral College.

Now it's the next year, the same two guys are running, and everyone in the 9th grade is prepared. They persuade most of the 3rd row students to vote for Bob. Bob gets 30 votes, and Jim gets 5. Even with the triple-vote system, it's 30 for Bob and 15 for Jim. But the next day, the teacher announces that Jim is the president. When the students complain, she explains that a new rule allows her to throw out votes she doesn't like. Her final count is 1 for Bob and 15 for Jim.

That's the new "election integrity" law Republican state legislatures are trying to impose.

Choices

You may never want or need an abortion. Maybe you won't find yourself facing death from an ectopic pregnancy. Maybe you won't suffer a miscarriage and need lifesaving treatment. Maybe you won't be impregnated by a rapist. Maybe the hundreds of other things that can go wrong won't go wrong in your life. Lucky you. But what we are being told isn't just about babies and pregnancy. We are being told that the government has the right to monitor the most personal aspects of your life. That the government has the right to overrule your doctor regarding health care and emergency procedures. What if the government decides you shouldn't get cancer treatments or that setting your broken leg is contrary to God's will? Do you want the government to tell your doctors they can't treat your diabetes or your high blood pressure? Don't dismiss these ideas as farfetched. There are already politicians planning to tell you you can't have birth control pills or condoms (even if you're married). And there are already politicians planning to limit the medical decisions parents can make for their children. It's easy to think this only affects other people. But you will wake up one morning and find out it affects you. ^@realrkwest