There Were 10 In The Bed And The Little One Said...

It's going to be a starred file kind of a day.

1. MAB wrote a really lovely tribute to Leave It To Beaver in the wake of Barbara Billingsley's death. I hadn't thought about the show in any substantial way in years. He makes a wonderful case for real family values.

2. Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks (whose book, The Beauty of Different, is coming out right now) talks about bullying and how we adults need to react with increased awareness of our own behavior. She is wise.

3. Dude, someone is making AMNH dinosaur skeletons out of pancakes. Delicious, delicious pancakes!

4. This weekend I did a photo shoot with Audio Girl for the PR for a benefit concert she's doing on December 13th to help pay the bills that resulted (and keep resulting) from her having breast cancer. I told someone this and the immediate reaction was, "Didn't she have insurance?!" Yes she did and still the bills are so much that one person cannot possibly pay them. Here's a little article about how health insurance companies gouge people who are fighting disease.

5. The voting hoopla continues. If you still stand staunch with the owners of the electronic voting machines I just want to direct your attention to what's behind door #3. Several counties in New York State, after asking for and requesting an extension, still did not manage to get their absentee ballots mailed out to voters on time. Do you know who that's going to effect (read: prevent from voting)? Active duty military. Yeah. Fight. Bleed. Break. No vote for you.

6. Oh hey, here's MAB again! I forgot about this and it's so important. Really, if you want a proper, well thought out political discussion you are depriving yourself if you're not reading his blog. Anyway, there's a notion being bandied about in some circles that higher taxes discourage people from working. It's...oh really, don't listen to me, go see what MAB says. It's a math lesson even I can love.

7. One night last week or the week before Pony Express was over and we were watching TV. It began to rain around the time she thought she should go home. As we peered out the window deciding if it looked like a rain that might stop soon I heard another noise. "It's hailing!" I cried noticing little white nuggets hopping around on my air conditioner. "No it's not." she insisted, "It doesn't hail here." Oh yes it does. Inside and out.

8. Here's my other favorite health insurance article. Lady gets denied insurance because of a (healed) ankle sprain. There's a lot more to it but that's the most fun part. (My teeth are grinding even with heavy use of palliative sarcasm.)

9. As we head toward the voting booth again (you better believe there's a big pro-voting post coming up soon) I really wish that I had been as eloquent as Suzanne Reisman in this article about why legal abortion is not a fringe political issue. I know some of you don't click through so let me quote just the kick start, "An article in the New York Times reports that Democrats are making legal abortion a big issue this year. Their opponents claim that attention to their anti-choice platforms (abortion should not even be available in the case of rape or incest) is a distraction from “real issues” (my quote marks, since I think self-autonomy is a real issue)..." Please, though, click through to watch her clarify the fact that legal abortion is not only a core issue it's about jobs, economics and the economy, too.

10. Just to round the list out I want to remind you that Kizz & Tell exists. Also that I totally understand if it weirds you out to read my sex-talk. Sometimes it makes me a little uncomfortable, too. But, it's there, in case you aren't weirded out.