Rally 2/28 @ Jim DeMint's Office, 4-7PM

I'm thrilled and excited to say that I'm a key member in organizing a rally in front of Jim DeMint's office on Monday. It should last three hours, and the time is set so that, ideally, the workers will be forced to walk through our protest against cuts for Planned Parenthood. We have fliers, and even though we're not directly affiliated with Planned Parenthood, the Columbia branch has been indispensable in helping us get this together. I have several friends working on this with me. It all started when I e-mailed a few of them with a certain blog post at BlogHer and said “What are we gonna do?” The rest is history in the making.

I'm really excited. If anyone reading this blog (currently few of you, but the support is appreciated) has any input and advice that you suspect hasn't been mentioned to us, I implore you, do tell! Help is always appreciated: Leave a comment or e-mail me at forreal.respect@gmail.com. Also, if you want a copy of the flyer to print and/or distribute, I'd be happy to send it to you.

Happy Valentine's Day, Indeed

Some interesting things happened at the beginning of this week, though I don't think that they got the attention they deserved in my hometown.

[BACKGROUND INFORMATION:  I recommend reading an article or two in order to familiarize yourself on the topic of J. Marion Sims.  I've provided the citation for the favorite one I've read at the bottom of this post.  I am especially fond of it, because it examines the issue without demonizing Sims, but without freeing him from any sort of blame; I think it could be considered as objective an article on the topic as can be expected by anyone.]

I saw what I fondly think of as My Valentine of 2011 while I was driving home from a friend's house late at night.  Sometimes, I'll go somewhere to study where I can be supervised and held accountable for completing my work on time, which is why I found myself driving back to my building around 4:00 in the morning.  I took the route that would put me past the SC Statehouse, since I prefer more heavily trafficked roads at night.