president repeals global gag rule

recipient:

Banc of America Insurance Services, Inc/ Plan Administrator/ 6301 Owensmouth Ave Suite 700/ Woodland Hills, CA 9136-9663

sent: 

White House Blog: “Statement released after the President rescinds “Mexico City Policy“

reasoning:

the Mexico City Policy has been the political football that has dictated the direction of various presidential administrations in regard to international family planning and women’s health issues. it was one of the first things President Bush reinstated once in office, and it’s one of the first things President Obama has repealed. themain component of the policy was US funding for organizations that promote or provide abortions overseas.

Reinstating the Global Gag Rule was a prime example of Christian Right morality dictating much of US policy during the Bush administration – the thinking against the Mexico City Policy was that supporting family planning and abortions would mean women, young girls would be having sex all over the place. the ABC rule of abstinence, being faithful, and condoms sounds good in theory, but it’s completely unrealistic – people are going to have sex for the sake of having sex, not always for baby-making -> it’s human nature. and to take away access to family planning and birth control is more harmful to the poor than it is helpful.

beer to stock in the white house

recipient:

National Review/ PO Box 667/ Mount Morris, IL 61054-7529

sent:

Draft Mag’s Out with the Buckler, in with the Brew: real beer returns to the White House by Will Coughlan 

reasoning:

Will Coughlan, co-host of Political Lunch, has written this great piece about the beer President Obama should stock in the White House. it’s hard to believe Bush didn’t have anything ‘harder’ than non-alcoholic Buckler. i always imagined there were bottles of scotch in secret compartments all over the Oval Office (which apparently isn’t actually in the White House, it’s an addition attached to it). i don’t think Barack Obama did too well in a poll that asked whether you’d like to share a beer with him, but if there’s a good selection of IPAs and regional brews in the White House fridge, maybe his numbers will go up in 2012. woo for the Yuengling (Pottstown, PA) shoutout!

january 20: the inauguration of barack obama

recipient:

The Economist/ Subscription Department/ PO Box 46973/ St. Louis, MO 63146-9772

sent:

photograph by simon_travelboy

reasoning:

i didn’t have a ticket. but woke up at 5AM, walked down to the national mall. got stuck in b/w a line of ticket holders and a large marble building for an hour. apparently jesse jackson walked through my crowd, but i can’t confirm b/c i was more than shoulder-to-shoulder with people, we  were literally standing on top of each other. i was so happy to free myself from the cluster mass of people, i walked into busboys & poets, ordered breakfast and decided to just watch the inauguration from there. but around 9:30 AM, CNN announced that there were still open spots in between the Washington and Lincoln Memorial. i knew i’d regret not going, especially being so close. so i hauled ass over 15+ blocks to get back onto the mall. i really regret not having a camera. but to use simon_travelboy’s shot as example, i had a perfect view of the jumbotron on the right, i was somewhere close to the flag. while i watched the inauguration on a giant TV, much like everybody else in the world, to be on the Mall, to know that this was happening less than a mile from where i was standing, when barack obama was sworn in – it was incredible, and completely worth it.

as much as DC boasts there were no arrests, and things went rather ’smoothly’ except for the purple ticket holders stuck in the tunnel, i have to say even with as many volunteers and police present, very few were actually giving directions to help keep the crowds moving -> leaving the Mall was more chaotic and frustrating than trying to get in. it was nice to have national guard on every street corner of DC though.

immigration in the new administration

recipient:

IdentitySecure/ PO Box 5561/ Binghamton, NY 13902-9920

sent:

Orange County Register article by Dena Bunis, Washington Bureau Chief – Under Obama, immigration reform may have to wait

reasoning:

i’m going to try and be more diligent about this ’series’ i’ve decided to do. i guess my deadline is january 20th, when obama takes office and the news will be actually what he is doing, and not just predictions of what he will be doing. while the issue of immigration is often seen as being overshadowed by the financial crisis, and the talks about healthcare reform, there is not a dearth of articles talking about immigration not being discussed in the news. working at The Migration Policy Institute also helps.

“I’m not particularly impressed with raids on plants that grab a handful of undocumented workers and send them home, leaving the company in the position where it can just hire the next batch.” Obama said in a 2007 interview with the Des Moines Register.

activism isn’t just for white young anarchists

recipient:

Glamour/ PO Box 37690/ Boone, IA 50037-2690

sent:

Philadelphia Inquirer article written by Jeff Shields – A true melting pot helped spared libraries

reasoning:

ah, an inspiring story for the new year. b/c that’s what new year’s is all about right – starting over, people getting together, hope that this year will be better. this is about a story where mayor nutter, fairly beloved in the city of philadelphia, announced plans to close 11 branch libraries, and how a very diverse group of people came together in a matter of months to organize and demonstrate against such a move. and they were able to win a court-stall of the mayor’s plans. groups of African American block captains, along with white anarchists from West Philly – two groups that normally wouldn’t be seen working together, now mobilizing their communities, getting lawyers and citygroups and everyday people involved to save these libraries. (pictures from a rally to save the libraries held on december 6, and youtube video that the Eagles football team paying their debt back to the city would be enough to save the libraries)

this article talks about how the usual ‘professional’ protesters, those who are anti-establishment, and anti-everything were involved, almost in a ‘of course’ manner. but the strength of this coalition was that other people who may not have been associated with the young anarchists got just as deeply involved. a previously unpolitical 3rd and 4th grade teacher, whose school does not have a library, became a volunteer in the Obama campaign doing all the grassroots heavyduty work of knocking doors and making phone calls. that she felt inspired she was a part of the change got her to become involved in this coalition – a political activist is born.