Coffee or Tea?

Everyone, meet Annabel Park:

So what is this Coffee Party really about? To start, it’s about civility. One of the first things you see on their website (which, by the way, is here: http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/) is the following pledge: “As a member or supporter of the Coffee Party, I pledge to conduct myself in a way that is civil, honest, and respectful toward people with whom I disagree. I value people from different cultures, I value people with different ideas, and I value and cherish the democratic process.” Wow, an actual conversation? Sounds like something I could get behind.

Although the media has already begun to try to pit the coffee party against the tea party, the two movements actually have a lot in common. First of all, everyone’s angry. Both sides are afraid for the financial stability of the country and are sick of politicians who seem painfully out of touch with ordinary Americans. Both movements are planning to elect their own people, normal citizens, to office, although the Coffee Party might be a little late to the party to get into the 2010 election.

If you’d like to find out more about them, here’s a good Washington Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/25/AR2010022505517.html

If you’d like to follow them on Facebook, go here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/coffeeparty?ref=search&sid=35802366.3302691802..1

At the end of the day, whichever movement you identify most with… enjoy your caffeinated beverage!

Resources and Re-education

Today I am giving you the opportunity to stop reading my blog. (Wow, did I really just say that?! I didn't mean it! I love that you read my blog!) What I'm really doing is giving you the opportunity to find out more about what you want to find out about.

http://www.opencongress.org/

Everything you need to know about the United States Congress in one place. As a joint project between two non-profit foundations, the site combines official government data (you know, all that legal mumbo-jumbo that only those crazy lawyers understand) with relevant Google news articles, and campaign contribution information from OpenSecrets. Which leads me to the next site you should definitely take a look at:

http://www.opensecrets.org/index.php

Their mission at OpenSecrets? "Inform, Empower & Advocate!" Let's face it, I'm all about empowerment so next time I need (or am just wildly curious for) information about campaign contributions or lobbying data, I'm definitely going there.

http://www.followthemoney.org/

Show me the money!! Need I say more? (But seriously, for the more graphically inclined this site is pretty neat.)

http://maplight.org/

Last, but certainly not least (drumroll please) maplight.org! The data compiled by this website actually lets you see the timeline of contributions (including who's doing the contributing) and votes for each bill, and will actually show when the legislator received large donations before or after the vote. Yes, that's right, you can actually see that shady business right up in your face!

Happy researching!

Norma McCorvey, You So Crazy

Every time a U.S. Supreme Court judge retires, the question is always the same: will the new appointee uphold Roe v. Wade? The same is true today as the Senate Judiciary Committee questions nominee Sonia Sotomayor, who, if confirmed, will replace Justice David Souter.

On, Monday, July 13th, the first day of the Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for Sotomayor, four protestors were arrested during the hearings for unlawful conduct – disruption of congress. One protestor, Norma McCorvey began yelling during Senator Al Franken’s (D-MN) opening remarks that Sotomayor was “wrong” about abortion. (Check it out on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJj0OMdZT4w about two minutes in.)

McCorvey, as it turns out, is better known as Jane Roe, the plaintiff in possibly the most famous and well-known Supreme Court case ever. Now, if you’ll hearken back to the days when you had time to watch Law & Order, the plaintiff is the person doing the suing. They are the person who is unhappy and wants something changed. In the case of Roe v. Wade, Roe was unhappy that her state, Texas, didn’t allow its citizens the freedom of abortion. The decision in Roe v. Wade, overturned that law, taking the decision away from the states, and legalizing abortion on a federal level. She wins, yay her.

So why is she screaming at Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor that abortion is wrong?

In the 1980s McCorvey revealed herself to be Roe, and in 1994 wrote an autobiography I Am Roe (what a creative title). At a book signing that same year, she was befriended by a pro-life activist and within a year converted to Christianity. McCorvey was baptized in 1995 in a backyard, swimming pool event that was filmed for national TV and announced shortly after (two days to be exact) that she had become an advocate for the pro-life movement.

Two years before the book was published, McCorvey split from her longtime partner. Partner, as in, yes, she’s a lesbian. I’m sorry, she was a lesbian until 1998 when she joined the Catholic Church. Not that those two things have anything to do with each other (Ha!).

In the case she claimed that her pregnancy was the result of rape, which she now says is not true.

Since all the ruckus, McCorvey has been a busy girl. So far this year, McCorvey has been arrested twice, once for disrupting Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings and once during the protest of President Obama’s commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame.

Check this out for more info on Norma McCorvey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norma_McCorvey

And check this out for a picture of McCorvey and her painted on eyebrows: http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid98017.asp