Election Day Musings

If you haven’t voted yet, today is the day. Make it the most important thing on your schedule, because: it is.

A few thoughts: the states where reproductive rights are safest in the nation are the states where Democrats hold the majority in the state legislature. Maryland is one of them, and yet, because of the actions of a Republican Governor, necessary funds for training providers haven’t been released.

I’m not seeing any Republican candidates campaigning on reproductive rights. In this case, the concept of people suffering and dying due to a lack of appropriate health care is not a top issue for them.

It is for me.

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I continue to be more excited by the candidacy of Brooke Lierman for Maryland State Comptroller than any other race in the state. (My apologies to all the other candidates.) If you want to know why, here’s my piece from earlier this year.

“Still Excited”

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Pet peeves: misplaced political signs and sign theft. For Heaven’s sake, people. Can’t we get a handle on this? Are candidates not able to communicate adequately to staff and volunteers where signs are allowed to go and that you never steal another candidate’s signs? Are human beings completely unable to follow the most basic rules imaginable?

I don’t have an answer for that.

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A huge thanks to all the people who will be working today to keep each poll location running smoothly. One of the things I miss about voting on Election Day is thanking them in person. Yes, I’m that person who actually says “Thank you all for being here today so that I could vote.”

You should try it.

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Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents. When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

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F ³: Who Belongs at the Library?

One of these things is not like the others One of these things doesn't belong Can you tell which thing is not like the other By the time we finish our song?* Did you guess which thing is not like the others? Did you guess which thing doesn't belong? If you guessed this thing is not like the others Then you're absolutely right. Our library promotes equity. Our library promotes literacy for adults who have come here from many places. Our library promotes accessibility to materials and opportunities. Our library is hosting multiple Harry Potter themed events? Tell me this isn’t so. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, has and continues to use the profits from those books to advocate for laws that diminish the rights of trans people. She has and continues to use her fame to influence public opinion to view and treat trans people negatively. In short, Ms. Rowling is using the Harry Potter book series to make transgender people around the world less safe....

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