Anyone have an Ashcroft vodoo doll handy?

A pretty no-frills article.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department has subpoenaed
hundreds of medical records from six Planned Parenthood
sites as part of the government’s defense in lawsuits
challenging the Partial-Birth Abortion Act.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Abortion-Records.html?ex=1078886388&ei=1&en=755b71268a9da95f



Every commentary I've read in the past few weeks agrees that there is no way today to guarantee that identities will be protected, even if the names are edited out. That's more than scary. That's terrifying.

And, again, I ask why they need these documents? Surely, before they banned the proceedure, they had enough evidence to support the fact that it was a danger to society?

(mind you, I support the ban in most cases. But I also believe in inexpensive birth control and the morning after pill and first trimester abortions on-demand, and all those other things that allow me my own personal freedom to decide if I'm going to be a parent or not. Since I, unlike a male, don't have the option to ignore the question.)

Do I believe that, if they're given these records, it will stop there? No, I don't. Not with Ashcroft in charge. This will give them precedent to get pretty much any records they want.

I didn't used to be this bitter. I also didn't used to feel this much under attack on my personal freedoms and choices, every time I turned around.


I feel the heart-sick need for a dandelion break coming on.

My Mother the Pop Culture Goddess. Not.

So my mom, who is a much better proofreader than I am, did my second check on the proofs for Staying Dead And I got back her notes, which were mostly useful things like punctuation and grammar (she's much more formal-rules about that than I am). And along with those notes there were a few sidebar comments.

Like "What's a MacGyver?"

Okay, so she didn't watch too much prime time television during the 70's and 80's, with three teenagers in the house and a full-time job to boot. It surprised me, but it didn't astonish.

And then a few pages later I came to "Who is Jim Morrison?"


"The Doors?" I say to her. "The Lizard King?"

Total noncomprehension.


I love my mom. I really do. I told her to stick to grammar and punctuation.


In other news... there is no other news. Actually had the window open this afternoon, to get some fresh air into the house. Pandora went nuts, so I finally had to close it. I think every winter she forgets there's actually an outdoors out there. Still working on a client project. Still trying to recover from minor bout of chocolate poisoning. Trying to convince myself I really don't want another can of diet coke. Trying to remember why it was I quit smoking*, 'cause I really really want a cigarette.

Life as usual.



* oh, right. Because then-boyfriend-now-spouse made me choose, him or cigarettes. Most days I'm pretty sure I made the right choice.