Archive for November, 2006

I quit smoking last Sunday. As most of you who know me, I’ve been a hardcore smoker (sometimes accused of being a chainsmoker)
for the past 5 years. I had some great times. I’d like to pay my respects:

Cloves, you…just look at you, you’re the
catalyst to my addiction. Remember that night in Santa Cruz? Oh it was a great night. That sizzle of yours truly
seduced me. However, too much of a good thing can be the death of you. After a few days of smoking a pack of you
a day, my lungs told me that you were just too much for me. I loved you clove, but we needed our space.

Nat Sherman, you suave fucker you. With your solid sleek brown physique, all natural blend and smooth sensations.
You helped me enjoy my breaks from work or school and show that I have style and class at the same time. But unfortunately
my dear, you were getting too expensive for me. How I wish I could have stayed with you.

Lucky Strikes, what can I say, you’re toasted. You gave me warmth and comfort. You were a trooper with Maker’s Mark,
knowing when to join in and when to butt out. You were my wingman with all those rockabilly girls in Austin, Tx and for that,
I owe you a lot.

Camels…there’s not much to say about you, you were usually on sale. Easy to get when I was dying for anything
and wasn’t too picky. You served you purpose but left me slightly less than satisfied.

Pall Malls, oh dear oh dear oh dear. Our relationship started for so many reasons. It seems like our time together
was just a summer romance, a rollercoaster of emotions. You were always there for me, but at times I had to pay more than
I was willing. You were harsh in just the way I needed and you comforted me in a way where I always desired more. Thank
you for keeping that desire alive.

Pall Mall 100′s, you were just too much for me. I’m sorry. But you were always there, always waiting to take care
of me. It was getting too much, the thrill was lost and the excitement dwindled.

I’ll miss you all.

Sexual education is the new black. Everyone talks about it now, parents pass notes at PTA meetings, students hold
thunderdome-like matches to see which form of education wins. The big topic is whether children and adolescents should be
taught comprehensive sex ed or abstinence-only until marriage. According to a recent poll, 82% of Emerrrcan’s
are in favor of comprehensive sex ed, however, our administration is still funneling approximately $170 million
each year into abstinence-only until marriage education. This is obviously an issue of religion, morals and values.

But I don’t want to talk about those issues at the moment. I’m interested in others Sex ed experiences.
I’m one of the many whose parents never talked to me about sex in a matter of fact way. We always joked about sex,
a lot. Since I was a youngin’ my parents would tell me sex jokes, joke about them having sex or joke about my development
(always made me feel quite comfortable). I had my first sex ed class when I was 10 years old, we learned about
reproductive health, terminology and safer sex techniques. The teacher passed around a mint flavored condom for
all of us to taste. When I was a freshman in high school we did the typical sex ed exercise, we all were told to yell
“penis” and “vagina” so we could get over our awkwardness about the terms. That didn’t really work for me, I still
laugh hysterically when I say those words, I’m laughing right now. What stood out to me the most in high school sex ed was
being shown incredibly graphic pictures of STD’s given to the teacher by the CDC. What bothered about this was that these
pictures represented the worst case scenario, so if/when a student contracts the clap or genital warts and it’s a mild form
they’ll believe that they don’t have an STD because it doesn’t look like their reference point given to them by the CDC.

I’m curious as to what experiences the readers of this blog have had with sex ed. How old were you when you first
had sex ed? Was it from class, church, parents, peers? What did you learn? Was it helpful? The usual questions. Please please
please comment if you took the virginity pledge!!

On November 7th civic-minded citizens and people with nothing to do in the morning will head to the polls to cast their votes.
They will surely be clammering about arguing over pot holes, transportation and whether or not global warming is real. But in three states
there will be another issue at hand that many voters will have to decide on that will certainly show the true colors of their values. Oregon, California
and South Dakota all have ballot measures regarding a woman’s freedom of choice for abortion.

In California, Prop 85 and Oregon’s Measure 43 calls for parental notification for teenagers seeking abortion. I have nothing against a well informed family, but what about
abusive families or families who do not listen to their childrens needs? To top it off, this really isn’t about parental notification but more of a
helpful stepping stone towards reversing Roe V. Wade (the Supreme Court case which made abortion legal) as well as a full ban on emergency contraceptives
and birth control pills in general.

Last February, South Dakota Legislature passed an all encompassing ban on abortions, including instances of incest, rape and the detrimental health of the
mother (although it is said that there is an exception when the mother’s illness can be fatal). However, it was decided that the ban would require a
statewide vote to pass. Next week South Dakota residents will decide on whether or not to pass this sweeping ban against all forms of abortion. If this
ban passes, it will make it a felony for any doctor to perform almost all abortions. This is most certainly an attack on Roe v. Wade and if passed,
will be a major step in reversing this Supreme Courts decision. Supporters of the ban claim that because this ban does not include the morning
after pill (an emergency contraceptive), there will still be options for women. But what is going to stop Legislature from banning emergency
contraceptives in the near future? Furthermore, most states allow pharmacists to deny filling emergency contraceptives as well as birth control pills
if they have moral objections towards it.

Am I just making a slippery slope argument? Surely just because one state bans abortion, it doesn’t mean all states will, right? Yes, it does mean they
will all try to fall in line. If California, a state many see as the most “liberal” of states, has a ballot working towards banning abortions, then what’s stopping other
states from going further? What is stopping the federal Government from working towards banning abortions? Nothing is stopping them, and they are obviously
working very hard at making that progress. They know that most citizens won’t initially vote for an oversweeping ban right off the bat, but they do know
that if they candy-coat small ballot measures that are stepping stones to a larger ban, then citizens are more apt at voting in their favor.

Don’t let this happen to the nation, don’t make women go back to haphazard methods of abortion that might result in severe illness or death. Realize
what your values are and what you believe is the best for women and people in general and vote accordingly.

California: No on Prop 85
South Dakota: No on 6
Oregon: No on Measure 43