Yesterday many of you made thoughful contributions to a discussion on the blog thread about the abortion issue. I was struggling to understand why the issue was so hard to solve before, but with the variety of viewpoints offered I have new insight.
One argument I have always bristled at was that "men can't have an opinion". (I've never been in the military either, but I don't think the war in Iraq is a good idea!) Yesterday several women took time to put more substance behind that position. It did help me to understand. That single catch phrase is not the entire argument - it's just the summary. Now I better see the link to personal privacy too.
After all that I am sure that we can be respectful of differing viewpoints, but there will not be a solution to this particular battle. What we CAN do is to look at our societal problems - address the causes. We will have to do this while agreeing to disagree about the symptom.
I don't know what I was thinking yesterday to post that out in the open. Yeah, the discussion went without a hitch and it was a raw, honest, and informative experience. Thank goodness no trolls noticed it and tried to seriously incite something. Or maybe they did notice, but even they realized the sensitivity of the issue and chose to respect what we were trying to do.
OK, so thanks again everyone. I won't try to do that again anytime soon. :)
To all Washington state residents-
Send in your primary ballot. I am seeing Hillary supporters whisper about having a strong showing in the primary. They want to sway our pledged and super delegates. They want to prove the caucus is not representative of the state. They want to boost Hillary at a time when she needs it most.
So send in that ballot, and make sure to fill it out properly! Don't forget to sign the party oath on the envelope. And tell all the Obama supporters you know to do the same.
My congressional representative, the honorable Brian Baird, is an undecided superdelegate. Let's show him that Obama is the right candidate from day one!
Washington state holds a caucus to determine delegates, but this year we ALSO have a primary. It is a MUST for Obama to win this primary. To lose the primary will serve as proof that the caucus system is broken and/or wrongly favors Obama due to the throngs of disenfranchised voters. To win the primary, especially by a commanding margin, will force Sens. Murray and Cantwell to reconsider their endorsement of Clinton.
The primary is vote by mail, and voters have their ballots RIGHT NOW. Obama supporters should not ignore this important event. Get out the vote.
Filling out the ballot is simple, but remember there are TWO places to fill in. First, you must mark your candidate (Obama!!) on the ballot. Then on the ballot envelope, you must mark your party preference - Democrat. If you do not do the second step, your vote will not count. Thousands of people have already had their ballots invalidated because this step was missed.
Get out the vote in the primary!
