there really is no such thing as a free lunch. today on my way home from the gym, i noticed that my bike tire (on my old bike) was pretty flat. i stopped at the gas station on 53rd to get some air, but apparently you have to pay for air these days. 50 cents. but, since i wasn't carrying any money, no air for me.
the good news was that i was able to enter the gym, for the second time since my incident.
so the letter i spent a week writing got entered into the senate record thanks to durbin. he really does read these things. and the ammendments were finally stricken from the appropriations bill and asylum seekers live to see another day in america. today that is.
anyway, it's a pretty cool feeling to have something i wrote printed in the senate congressional record. you can read it if you google search Durbin Heartland Alliance Real ID and read S4004.
i sure hope so. in the past 5 days i have spent hours of my day trying to come up with a clever acronym for accion in spanish that somehow encompasses an ad campaign to fight domestic violence and human trafficking, all this while my desk piled to the top with other things i should be doing. and, i crashed on my bike, giving me and my bike a few nice scrapes. and, the scrapes go nicely with the lacerations i have on my back from my sports bra. i should do some kind of exercise that has less of an injury risk, like go swimming. except i cant get into ratner. i cant get anything done. im frustrated. and i just want to curl up and wait for this week to pass.
never before have i had a week when at the end of every day, i've thought, "i should have stayed in bed today"
i dont really want to turn this into a political forum; there are plenty of blogs out there to do just that. but, with an issue this important, i cant really resist. REAL ID (HR 418) is a piece of legislation that is intended to dismantle our asylum system and to deny some fundamental rights to immigrants. this bill passed in the house when they attached it to an ammendment that will provide emergency funding to the troops in iraq. i spent much of last week writing a letter to our senators to oppose it. and, it looks like the first round of oppositition has worked, but not for long.
today in the senate, we got our first reprieve. the higher house of congress has decided to strike the immigration clauses from the appropriations bill and vote on it as is. of course, winning the battle does not mean we've won the war. after the appropriations bill is passed in the senate, it will go to a conference committee where the battle over who can get a driver's license and who can seek political asylum will resume. (i must say that it is ironic that these two issues, both very important to me but for drastically different reasons). and, even if REAL ID fails all together here, there are many promises to introduce it with other legislation or as a stand alone bill in the coming months.
and the really sad part of this whole thing is that congresswoman Melissa Bean from illinois voted for REAL ID because she says it's what she hears from her constituants. and Senator Obama, someone who is the son of an African, has stated that he has not decided on the bill. (well he says he doesnt like it, but it will depend on how and with what it's presented how his vote goes).
why is REAL ID so bad you may ask? The list is long. It builds a fence on our border with Mexico, much like the one the Israelis have built to keep out the Palestinians (last time I checked, the Mexicans weren't coming to America to become suicide bombers...). it make it very difficult for persons seeking political asylum to win their cases, even if they are able to establish that they meet the definition of a refugee and they present clear and credible testimony to that affect. it eliminates judicial review for certain classes of immigrants, even those contesting the conditions of indefinite detention. it gives an immigration judge license to rule on a case based on someones demeanor in court, so if you cry when you talk about being tortured, the judge can decide he doesn't believe you. it prevents undocumented immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses, so they will continue to drive, but without an ability to obtain insurance. it eliminates stays of removal for people with pending cases in federal court. the list is long and bad, but here's a good overview.
so, here's what you should do about it. call your senator and tell them you're opposed to this legislation. and when it gets bounced back to committee start calling congressmen too. i cant believe i am advocating a letter writing/phone campaign, but all joking aside, if this bill passes, we may as well take down the statue of liberty and put her in storage somewhere in kansas.
in february, the university turned off my access to the network. since then, i have gone almost two months without access to the internet in my home. this is the longest i have been without a regular internet connection since i was in junior high. but alas, we took the plunge and bought ourselves wireless. after a few hours of fighting with my computer to convince it that i really had installed the proper soft ware, i somehow managed to get my conection established. i must say, the sound of opening and closing doors coming from AIM is not something i truly miss.
anyway, with regular access to the internet resumed, i now hope to revive this blog, though i dont know what exactly i'll say or who will read it. i guess it doesnt really matter. for now, i'll fight the urge to sumarize everything of not that has happened in the past four months and instead provide a few current updates.
i've done a lot of registering for things lately. the unfortunate part of that is that by registering for the LSAT or the triathlon is that i need to prepare for them. and like all OCD people, i have devised schedules to make sure that i am well prepared for both of these things. schedules with which i have no hope of complying.
so, with the those two things, and a job that is draining not only time wise but also emotionally and mentally, i find myself feeling a little burnt on both ends even though im not in college. but, im still getting 6 hours of sleep, something i never got i college, so it's not time to worry yet, right??
