Bring it on Home to Me

When in doubt, remember you have love in your life.

... And if not love, then at least you're got a shitton of hilarious stories for later.
















Currently Listening: Cumberland Loft Sessions - "I Feel More Like I Did Back Then"

Also Listening: Cumberland Loft Sessions - "Shenendoah"

Hold Onto Whatever You Find, Baby.

I'll admit it: Yesterday was a Bela day. Despite a gloriously warm November breeze, I woke up early to set up shop in a sunny corner of the law school library. For the rest of the day, I manned camp and sneered at the bleary-eyed 1L's attempting to encroach on my prime real estate with their energy shots and frayed bluebooks. Then, I returned home, promptly put on my jammies and dwadled amongst piles of legalness.

Meanwhile, the House passed HR 3962, aka monumental healthcare reform. The news media really spun out its 24-hour news wheels yesterday for this one. Quick, CNN, show me that footage of the empty chamber room again. At approximately 11:15 pm, I watched as History Was Made. Applause applause. Pelosi says the bill has passed. Gavel. Huzzahs. Hoorays.

I'm not even sure I fully understand what's IN the House's bill. Does anyone? But, the one component that I am cognizant of is the Stupak/Pitts Amendment. Like so many crimes against women, the Stupak/Pitts vote assaulted us in the middle of the night, openly, amid the rushed minutes before Congressional climax. And now, after the fact, people point fingers as to who said yes to what.

The Stupak/Pitts Amendment tightens restrictions on abortion access in an unprecedented way. Private companies involved with the public exchange program established within HR 3962 may not fund or subsidize the cost of abortion at all. Impoverished American women receiving healthcare under the expanded public option would be similarly barred. Doubtful? Read it for yourself. (I love the NYT).

This last minute trade cannot be ignored. In a brief piece last night, Ezra Klein quips:

If this amendment passes, it will mean that virtually all women with insurance through the exchange who find themselves in the unwanted and unexpected position of needing to terminate a pregnancy will not have coverage for the procedure. Abortion coverage will not be outlawed in this country. It will simply be tiered, reserved for those rich enough to afford insurance themselves or lucky enough to receive from their employers.

The irony of containing this provision in a bill meant to expand national healthcare coverage is almost laughable. In addition to lowering costs across the board, the healthcare push is intended to provide primary insurance for Americans who are currently unable to afford it. These impoverished women make up a disproportionate size of the population that currently need - and will continue to need - abortions.

The Amendment allows for women to purchase "separate supplemental coverage plans", but the idea that families will dive further into the bureaucracy of insurance to purchase a special Abortion-Allowance plan is detached and ridiculous.

I firmly believe that the Choice/Life rhetoric is antiquated. Being Pro-Choice does not mean being Anti-Life. I love life. Furthermore, The Abortion Debate is not appropriate for legislation primarily focused on funding and coverage. The legality of abortion has already been determined by the S.Ct in Roe v. Wade. It's legal. So long as this is the case (and who knows how long that will be), it is insane that public funds would be barred from providing safe medical care for a legally recognized medical procedure.

Some proponents argue, unlike other necessary medical procedures, abortions are easily avoidable "conditions." Through the effective execution of "preventive" medicine like birth control, condoms, and - fine - abstinence, abortions wouldn't be necessary. The cost of correction for such carelessness is too high. Oh? Preventive medicine also includes eating right, exercising weekly, and avoiding McDonalds three times a day. However, in the unfortunate circumstance that someone develops Type 2 Diabetes from failing to do those very things, the government does not mandate them to a life without insulin. While I agree that prevention techniques are important, in the unfortunate circumstance of an unwanted pregnancy, there should not be the maze of restricted access which the Stupak Amendment creates.

Others further argue that gastric bypasses and plastic surgery (facelifts, etc.) are legal medical procedures that also won't receive funding. The difference is that those procedures are largely cosmetic, and not primary care. The outcome of not being able to afford a facelift? I get to keep the face I was given. The outcome of not being able to afford an abortion?

A world of change.


In the meantime, I don't want to detract from the very real work that Pelosi and the House has done in wrangling the 220 votes to Make History. However, I will hold my applause and celebration so long as it continues to come at the bartered expense of women's self-integrity.


Currently Listening: Mike Posner - "I Don't Trust Myself"

Weekends are Glorious.

Snippets. Video clip first. Link to full album at the end. Livin' is a wonderful thing.

From Andi's Party!

Like a Summer Rose, I'm a Victim of the Fall...

It's ironic (yet fitting) that I'm awake earlier on this bruised Saturday morning than any day during the week. Restless thoughts and a cool breeze.

Fall is absolutely my favorite season. I think it suits my baser instincts. I love the glam, glitz, and frenetic of Fun sometimes. But, on some level, I just want to burrow into a fleece blanket and dream of Thanksgiving & fried turkeys. I think if hard-pressed, however, I'd really have to say the best season(s) are the moments of intangible inbetween change. Does that even make sense? Can grey be my favorite color? The turn of a season is always the best part of it. All of a sudden the cool weather feels like a welcome respite against a too-hot summer. I embrace Fall's insistence that it's time to pack away the bikini and open up the sweater box. But, come February, I will be only too grateful for snow. I'll yearn for the cleanness of it in contrast to the rotted and browned leaves gathering on the sidewalk. So, maybe I'm just fickle.

Either way, fall will always be my favorite RUNNING season. I took myself (like usual) to Roosevelt Island yesterday. I adore the Teddy Roosevelet monument. I love everything about it. I love that it's snobbishly distant from the Smiths and the Mall. I love that when you stumble upon it, you always feel a little bit surprised that it still exists. I love that it makes me feel like I'm in one of those Post-Apocalypse Movies where civilization has been destroyed, and a renegade forest sprung up around this oasis of beautifully carved marble and stone bridges. I love that it's never crowded, and I love that this makes me feel like the entire monument is actually Mine.

After my run, I promptly took myself to U Street and discovered The Gibson. A nice little joint hidden behind an unlabeled black door, it's undeniably swank speakeasy. A good place to sit and entertain Fall drinking habits: slow, deliberate, and savored. It will eventually become terrible, but for now, it's balancing the popularity of its anonymity well. I promptly made friends with the bartender when we mutually rolled our eyes at the dame next to me who inquired:

"Uhm, what's the girlest drink you have? I, like, don't even know what half these things on the menu are!"

If you wanted a cosmo, darling, you should've stuck to Dupont. After an Old-Fashioned, the bartender insisted I try a Sazerac. Not a bad drink, however, a iPhone google search revealed it contains absinthe. Lady Bartender had neglected to mention this. Uh oh.

Finally, we made our way to Ben's Chili Bowl and I ordered a half-smoke with chili/cheese fries. (There is a fat kid inside of me dying to get out, I tell you). This was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. I was literally licking the chili off the tin foil when I was finished. Although. Maybe that was the absinthe.

After making my way home, I tucked in and forgot to pull the shades. I woke up this morning to a grey window and stoic emotions.

The thing is this: I love citylife.

But, how can I be thirsting for more when the city already offers so much? Will I ever be satisfied?

Currently Listening: Ben Harper - Morning Yearning.

Human LCDs

This is incredible. Students make a virtual LCD screen with their clothes! Huzzah Asians.

They'll be Sun Sun Sun

Before I dive back into the muck and mercury that is 2L year, I have to comment that it's been a perfectly perfect weekend at the beach with my hometown favorites. ADLeonard? I drop your name just to show off that I know you. And yes, I am glad.

As I attempt to catch up on the news, I notice that Gordon Brown has promised to maintain (if not increase) Britain's troop levels in Afghanistan, while simultaneously taking part in an int'l conference with France & Germany on altering the role troops play in Afghanistan. Obama, so far, has been unsurprisingly silent. Meanwhile, inside-the-beltway blogs are fretting over the resignation of Van Jones and Congress' return. Axelrod tries to assure everyone Public Option Isn't Off The Table, much to Michael Steele's nuanced disapproval.

In the news of me, I have nothing. I'm re-reading Faulkner's "Light in August" for funsies because I need something other than a casebook to maintain sanity. I have exactly 7 bug bites on each leg and I smell like sunscreen and beach. I'm excited to participate in DC's upcoming Shorts Film Festival because I've never really quit my love of film. Somehow, I've discovered Paste Magazine and this is special because it's new music no one told me about. (But I still love the music people tell me about.) My birthday was a blast (maybe too much of a blast) and now I'm 25. Twenty. Five. Most days I feel lonely and alive at the same time, and this makes everything bittersweet. Let's hold hands until the dizziness wears off. No? Then lets spin in circles until we fall down. In a pile of leaves. Crunch!

Hello Fall. You're still my favorite season.

Currently Listening: Jonah Smith - My Morning Scene.

Ed's Birthday Gift to Me

Me: Omg, I just got it.
Ed: Haha, you like it?
Ed: Afterall, what better gift
Ed: Than the gift of love
Ed: Or at least, funny dates.

I love my bb so much.