"My baby takes the morning train..."

Few things geek me out more than urban transit. I accept that I'm an oddity, but I really do love it.

Today in geeky transit goodness: We're setting up an email list for folks on campus who ride the Metra. The list started as an email list for commuters to relay information, and it's growing to include people who live near the College but make use of the Metra for fun. Within an hour-and-a-half of sending out a simple email about the list that asked people if they'd like to join, I already have 31 people on the list. And, I know there are others out there.

All of this started with one professor, who got in touch with a few other train commuters to see if they wanted to join him in asking our President to ask the city to do a better job salting the sidewalks. A total of 22 people were in on that plea, and the networking involved in that showed that we really do lack a means of communicating with one another as a group -- oftentimes because we just don't know who all is out there.

I think the thing that makes me most excited today is the prospect of power in numbers. We're a forgotten population, both around campus and in the greater community, and with this growing network of folks, the potential for mobilizing change also grows. One day, we may indeed have some love from the RTA for the reverse commuters. Today, I'll take the campus love for the email list.

I spend too much time with my social scientist friends

Chicagoist is one of my favorite blogs, and while catching up on it this morning, I came across this posting: The Legal Side of the Sizzlin' Chicago Sexpo. Most of the post discusses what attorney JD Obenberger discussed during his presentation, and while some of what he said might be a little extreme, I agree with the overall sentiment that criminializing sex work is problematic, especially when other laws that crimilaze acts associated with sex are also on the books but not often inforced--not that I think those things need to be on the books either. I understand laws against violent acts, but I just don't agree with criminalizing sex that falls outside the mainstream.

The problems Obenberger pointed out weren't what really got to me, though. I had a real problem with the comments people posted, though I doubt posting a counter argument would be productive. Instead, I'm blogging about it. Here's what commenters had to say:

• One of my least favorite justifications for breaking a law is that other people are breaking a law. I learned early on that "But they did it, too" is no excuse. By extension, murderers could make the argument that law enforcement officials are picking on them with impunity.
• So let me get this straight...Dart's picking on prostitutes just because they're doing something illegal. Gotcha. Look, I think prostitution should be de-criminalized, but until then, the law's the law. This isn't a "civil rights" issue. And until adulturers start advertising their "services" on Craig's list, it's being dealt with as it should and doesn't need Dart's intervention (Besides, think how much that would further clog up the courts). as is criminal fornication. [emphasis theirs] What, exactly, is "criminal fornication"? Sex with underage children? Cause if that's what it is, it's being dealt with as soon as it's discovered. And I've had sex that should be considered a crime as well. HEYOOOOOOOO!!!!!
• this Obenberger is an idiot.

What kills me here is the seemingly blind acceptance of "a law's a law." Juts because something's a law doesn't mean we can't question it. I think we have an obligation to investigate where a law like this came from, what it's based on/in. We've constructed this ideology that anything outside vanilla sex between a man and a woman is BAD. Just because that ideology exists doesn't mean that it's true/right (or that it's not). We're getting better at questioning this why-do-YOU-have-a-problem-with-MY-gay-marriage? thing in some places and some states, seeing that just because something's always been one way or another doesn't mean it's right or that it can't change. Even that's going to take a long time for there to be--in terms of national decisions/legislation--a paradigm shift. Will that make it any easier, once we're not so quick to criminalize "deviant" gay sex, for the sex workers and sex work in general to be decriminalized?

(There are so many other issues I don't have time to address here, like my caveats about people entering into sex work, but for the sake of this quick blog post, I'll save that for another time.)

various and sundry

Here we are on a rainy Monday. It's hard to get too distressed when we're finally getting to experience fall weather. I'm glad I finally got some real shoes, since I think the days of sandals are fading fast. Today, I'm wearing my Earth Shoes (a rec from Roly), and I'm pretty darn pleased with them. Cute and comfortable. What's not to like? (I had to steal socks from Anne. Don't tell.)

Saturday was very eventful. I started off with the normal volunteer gig at Planned Parenthood. I left around 9 to head down to the Hyde Park neighborhood (where Obama lives--there, now I've made it a meaningful reference), where the University of Chicago campus is located, complete with hospitals, including one for kids. As such, there's a Ronald McDonald House right near by. (If you aren't familiar with the work they do, go check them out.) This was to be my service site for the College's Annual Day of Service. The service day events got off to a rocky start for me and my gang of students.

After waiting for awhile for a Red Line train, I finally made it to the Garfield stop, where I didn't have to wait too long for the #55/Garfield bus. We headed through Washington Park, and I exited at Cottage Grove as my directions had indicated. I walked on down to 57th street, obviously in the medical district. I arrived at what should have been the RMH to find a construction site. Luckily, there was a cop nearby, and for the first time ever, I asked a cop for directions. As it turns out the house, which moved a year ago to its new location, was only 1 block from where I exited the bus. By the time I got back up there and figured out where I needed to go to get in the house, I was half an hour late.

My kids turned up a half hour after me--at 11am. We were supposed to be cooking lunch, which was to be served at noon. Yikes, kids, not a lot of time there. We hurriedly got our food supplies unpacked to find the College had provided us with lunchmeat, bags of chips, and cookies. Super lame lunch. And, who only sends one kind of lunchmeat? Hello, people. The families who stay at the RMH come from all over the world, and I would imagine that some of them, for religious or cultural reasons, don't eat ham. Hell, I don't eat ham.

The lunch took virtually no time to prepare, so we ended up doing other odd jobs around the house. Sandy, the weekend house manager, gave us a tour of the place and told us about what they do and how families get connected with them. Pretty cool, kids. And, the house they have now was brand new a year ago--and it's fabulous! I was all-around impressed with the service site. With our service day organizers? Not so much.

So, upon departure, I took myself to the Apple Store and bought an iPhone. And, I love it. LOVE. I need to remember to charge it every night; I'm running low on battery already today. I can't even think of where to start with my gushing because this phone is just made of so much awesome.

Laying in bed last night, I talked myself into getting up at 5 today and catching an earlier train than I normally need to take to go swimming on campus. The campus sports facilities are an untapped resource for me, and I'd heard there was open swim from 7:30 to 8:30 MWF mornings. I was the only one lap swimming, but I didn't care. It felt go to be there doing it. I only did six laps, which is fine. I'm out of shape and didn't have the entire hour to spend there, anyway. I was able to shower and everything and still be in my office by 9, which is what time I normally get in when I take my regular train. Not a bad morning over all, thought I think I may need to bring a hair dryer. Did I mention we can use the sports facilities for FREE? Why should I pay for a gym membership?

So, that's what's been happening around these parts.

PS The Cubs are in the playoffs!

reasons why I need to buy an Obama t-shirt

Both of these came to me via Bitch, PhD, which I love.

Amnesty International is calling out the police involved in the arrests of protestors at the Republican National Convention for using excessive force.

Amnesty International recognizes the challenges involved in policing large scale demonstrations and that some protestors may have been involved in acts of violence or obstruction. However, some of the police actions appear to have breached United Nations (U.N.) standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials. These stipulate, among other things, that force should be used only as a last resort, in proportion to the threat posed, and should be designed to minimize damage or injury. Some of the treatment also appears to have contravened U.S. laws and guidelines on the use of force. The U.N. standards also stress that everyone is allowed to participate in lawful and peaceful assemblies, in accordance with the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Gosh, I'm glad to see them speaking out about this.

And if you were starting to regain a little of that warm and fuzzy feeling about government now that the convention in St. Paul is over, think again. This story from Alaska disgusted me. The police chief of Wasilla when Sarah Palin was mayor spoke out against state legislation in 2000 that would prevent sexual assault survivors from being billed for the cost of their evidence-collecting exams, claiming it would put a burden on the police department to fund the exams.

[House Bill 270, signed into law by the governor] makes it illegal for any law enforcement agency to bill victims or victims insurance companies for the costs of examinations that take place to collect evidence of a sexual assault or determine if a sexual assault did occur.
[...]
"In the past we've charged the cost of exams to the victims insurance company when possible. I just dont want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer," Fannon said.

Glad to see he was looking out for the female taxpayers in his community.

Let's round this out with some Gloria Steinem, who I've always loved. This came to me first via Siobhankha.

Republicans may learn they can't appeal to right-wing patriarchs and most women at the same time. A loss in November could cause the centrist majority of Republicans to take back their party, which was the first to support the Equal Rights Amendment and should be the last to want to invite government into the wombs of women.

And, if Gloria's not your taste, you can always go watch my political tv girlfriend Rachel Maddow over at MSNBC. Love that woman; she's super smart and sassy.

rest in peace

She did a lot of good work. Lesbian rights pioneer Del Martin dies at 87.

a letter to my state legislators

I'm sending this through SaveChicagolandTransit, though I may print and mail it, too.

I'm taking the time to not send the typical form message preprinted here because of how important transit it to me--I want you to know that by my taking the time to write this. I hope you'll take the time to read it.

I'm legally blind. I can see well enough to read regular books, but I don't see well enough to drive. My vision problem is genetic and cannot be corrected.

I grew up in Kankakee, where I had to rely on friends and family for rides. They implemented their current bus system after I started college.

I attended college in Decatur, where I again primarily relied on friends for rides, though I did take the bus there occasionally.

I did my graduate school work at Illinois State, where I lived in the town of Normal and relied heavily on the bus system to get me to and from the university and for running errands. For big things, like grocery shopping, I primarily relied on friends.

When I searched for a job after graduate school, moving to Chicago was my dream. I knew I needed to be in a city with a good public transit system, and I hoped for a job in Chicago. My dreams were realized.

I've been living in the city for almost four years now and depend on the CTA for my trips to and from work, to and from the grocery store and Target, to and from friends', and to and from fun and cultural destinations throughout the city.

When I say that I "depend" on the CTA, I mean that. Because of my low vision, I'm too nervous to ride a bike around the city for fear of being hit by a car. I'll never be able to drive a car, and if I could, I would still take public transportation because I believe in the benefits to the environment. Chicago is a great place, but I can't walk everywhere.

I started a new job in Lake Forest in the fall of 2006, so now I also depend heavily on the Metra to bring me to and from Lake Forest, like many of my colleagues do.

Though I qualify for services for the disabled, such as Supplemental Security Income and reduced fare transit for people with disabilities, I don't take advantage of any of these services. I make a fine living and believe those services should be saved for those with lower incomes than mine. I can afford to pay full fare to ride the CTA and Metra, so I do. Please know that I'm not one of those people "milking" the system. In fact, I rely on the CTA to take me every Saturday morning to the clinic where I volunteer, helping many low-income women in the city have access to affordable healthcare.

I hope you can see from what I've written what an important impact public transit, particularly in the Chicagoland area, has and does mean to me.

Right now, I'm scared.

I'm scared that the huge cuts and fare hikes (as I'll be affected by both the CTA and Metra fare increases) that are looming in less than 2 weeks. I wonder how overcrowded CTA and Metra will be when I need to get around the area. I wonder how long I'll have to wait in the cold for a bus because there will be fewer on the road. I wonder how much farther I'll have to walk to get places (this is an important concern, as well, as I have pretty serious asthma).

I know a lot of people throughout the state won't be affected by this budget crisis one way or another, whatever happens in Springfield, but thousands of us in the Chicagoland area who have no choice but to depend on transit will be greatly affected. Honestly, the thought of how much longer commuting may take makes me nearly cry tears in frustration.

I hope you'll do whatever you can to help revise the fare structure in Springfield that provides funding for mass transit in Chicago, and I hope you'll do whatever you can to prevent the deep service cuts Chicagoans are preparing for on January 20th.

I follow the work of the CTA with interest, and I believe that Ron Huberman and his staff have done a lot to not only improve the CTA (since his start as president) but to cut spending where possible. I don't know what more they can do to prove to Springfield that the CTA is committed to the best service at the best price.

I ask you now: what will Springfield do to prove to the CTA (and Metra and Pace) that its committed to the people of Chicagoland and their needs for transportation?

disappointed coffee drinker

After four days on Priolsec (shit, I need to do my mailorder for the Nexium!), I braved coffee this morning. It was mightily disappointing. Last year for Christmas, I think every person I know gave me coffee, so I've been working my way through it, which is hard when you keep getting frickin' heartburn. I'm almost done with the ground coffee. I opened a small pack, seeing at as no real challenge--the last ground before the two bags of beans. I was optimistic with this small pouch of coffee. It was very dark, tempting me to believe it would be a full, deep, dark roast with robust flavor. It has, instead, been weak and uninteresting. I'm trying to finish it, but I might just dump the rest (2 or 3 travelmug's worth) and opt for the beans. Part of the problem is that Starbuck's Sumatra is one of the first coffees I made for myself at home, and it's ruined me. They classify it as "extra bold," and it tastes oh-so-good. (Plus, I just learned reading the summary on their website that it's a low-acid coffee! Score for the kid with heartburn!) I've vowed, however, not to buy my coffee beans at Starbucks anymore. *pout* They only sell one blend of coffee beans that's fair-trade. I will continue to buy my fru-fru coffee drinks there, though, because I believe they do try to be socially responsible and that they care for their employees here (see the info on their website about this). I'm thinking, then, that I'll try and buy my coffee beans at 10,000 Villages or Metropolis Coffee, which sells several blends that are organic and/or fair- trade. And while we're talking about coffee, how come I can't find Coffee-Mate Latte Creations anymore? At least I'm not the only one wondering this.

Gosh, I've really overanalyzed this whole coffee thing.

some people annoy the shit out of me

After dealing with Bitchy Mom yesterday morning, I ducked out early to do my last weekday escorting shift at Planned Parenthood for the 40-Day Vigil the antis are putting on. It's...amazing, and that's really the best word. All over the country right now, hundreds of people are giving up parts of their days to pray at abortion clinics. They're do busy worrying about women going in and out of an abortion clinic to do anything in their own communities to help kids, low-income women, teens. That's one of the most frustrating things for me.

And then yesterday, we had another one of the things that frustrates me most when I escort: aggressive protesters. If you want to do your prayer line, fine. Whatever. I think it's a waste of time that doesn't do anything to prevent unwanted pregnancy. (You want to stop abortion? Do something to help prevent unwanted pregnancy!) We had two yesterday afternoon who were CHASING people who left the clinic. I had one couple who left, perhaps to get money, and when I opened the door for them, he said, "We'll be back." The two women in the prayer line watched them cross Division and then ran across themselves. And then, they stood there and talked to them. I'm not allowed to go far from my post, and since I was the only escort there with our security guard, I didn't feel comfortable leaving my post. It was painful--and a real struggle for me to know what to do--watching those middle-class, middle-aged white women with their rosaries chase down that working-class black couple and hold them in conversation. That couple never did come back. Our security guard was livid. He was so pissed that the man wasn't standing up for his woman, protecting her from the protesters, and while the gender assumptions bugged me, I actually had to agree. What she was going through was bad enough; the person with her needed to help her.

When they left, they stopped to talk to us. That's the worst for me because we're not allowed to talk to them at all. The tall one of the two aggressive women stood less than a foot away from me and proceeded to tell me all about Margaret Sanger and what a bad person she was and how she hated albinos (Hello! I'm a person with albinism, bitch! Person-first language!) and how I shouldn't want to support an organization that she supported because she hated me. The shorter of the two was all about messing with our security guard, telling him he had kind eyes and that she wished he brought his kindness elsewhere. She got on him, too, about Sanger and how she was a racist and the same stupid lines they tried to feed me. The tall one left saying, "God bless you," to me. I wish I'd thought to say back, "Why? I didn't sneeze."

It BUGS me to no end when people try and impose their views on me and other people. It's my decision to be there and much as it's theirs, and I'm not attacking them for it. I'm not attacking them for their religious beliefs. Nothing like escorting to remind you of people's black-and-white thinking and double standards.

An interesting thing's been happening, though. I listen to them do their rosaries, something I once did, and I hear my own voice in my head repeating the Hail Mary with them. And then, it becomes something else: The Prayer of St. Francis, a prayer of peace.

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

I hear it sung by Sarah McLachlan (a lovely version), and the fact it came to mind "randomly" seems an apt move by my subconscious. It reminds me to work through my anger and frustration and focus on doing good work. And, to keep working at not hating. It's a work-in-progress.

He just doesn't get it.

Wow. I'm absolutely not regretting not attending last week's Thomas Friedman lecture when he was here on campus. He seems pretty out of touch with college kids. Granted, from what I heard from others, he had really good things to say. Those good things did stick with our kids; I know because I talked to them. Too bad he doesn't think they can do anything about it.

Friedman's Op-Ed piece in today's NY Times: Generation Q