Shanamadele’s Coffee Break
Pet Peeve #162Archive for politics
More unforced gratitude
Today, I am celebrating the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. I was thrilled to have had an opportunity to advocate for it the last time it was brought up for a vote, and I am even more thrilled that it is now law.
A colleague who was there posted photos on her facebook page–I was thrilled to see that she was there. Plus, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who is my personal hero, got special recognition.
Playing chicken
Right now, M61 is failing and M57 is passing – that wasn’t supposed to happen. M57 is the kinder, gentler version of M61, a measure that creates mandatory minimum sentences for people committing property crimes. When it was clear M61 was going to make to the ballot, pollsters prognosticated that there was no way to defeat it, and proposed a strategy of putting an alternative on the ballot that would include more leeway and drug treatment. Plus, it has a provision that the measure that has the most “yes” votes, wins. And, the financial burden to the state, if M57 passes, won’t be as great as M61.
So, we progressives sucked it up and voted for M61 and against M57.
Marion and Deschutes counties are not in the count, yet. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I hope they are as conservative as usual and pass that damned thing. But, you know, not by too much.
The new normal
My son is 2. A black man has just been elected president.
Someday, he may say, “Tell me again, mama, why was it such a big deal? I don’t understand.”
A girl can dream.
The pit in my stomach
Today, I interviewed with an outfit that will be doing voter turnout this fall, and needs someone to massage data and help laypeople understand how to use it. The state director says the job could continue for “the right person,” but someone close to, but not inside, the organization sounds skeptical that the outfit will continue to have funding after the election.
In any case, they hope to make a decision by the end of the week, and I may know sooner since the state office people need to make a recommendation to the national people about who goes to the next round.
If we come to a mutual agreement that I’m the right fit for the job, I will pretty much be moving into their offices and saying goodbye to my friends and family for the next 84 days. That puts a pit in my stomach. However, it’s not nearly as big as the pit in my stomach when I think about the Supreme Court justices President McCain would appoint, or what a McCain administration would do to, well, just about any issue I care about.
