Votergasm — my favorite democracy-related initiative. And no, I am not disclosing whether or not I pledged, and if so, at what level I pledged. Just go vote — I’ll worry about my sex life, you worry about the future of our country.

Continuing yesterday’s thread, this editorial, Imagining America if George Bush Chose the Supreme Court, was forwarded to me by my friend Doug, who had gotten it from our friend Rhea. Scary, scary stuff. . .

This article on the potential effects of the rollback of Roe v. Wade is a good illustration of why the upcoming election, and the general mindset/ignorance of most of the American public, scares the living shit out of me. Until recently, the Supreme Court was not even raised as an election issue by the candidates, and it is certainly not in the forefront of most voters’ minds, but it is clear to me that the composition of the Supreme Court is clearly at stake on November 2nd. The right to choose is, and always has been, my key issue when it comes to voting. Yes, I realize this is somewhat narrow-minded, but that’s the way it is. After reading in college about the decades of struggle involved in making abortion safe and legal, I remember distinctly the day that the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision came down. This was one of the decisions that permitted fairly burdensome restrictions on access to abortion, like 24 hour waiting periods and spousal and parental consent provisions. Essentially the Court held that all of the restrictions at issue were constitutional with the exception of the spousal consent provision and further held that the right to an abortion was not “fundamental,” as it had been defined in Roe.

I sat on my bed crying out of sheer frustration, realizing that those nine people — the Justices, sitting up on high — had the power to determine whether or not I, or others like me, would have access to a safe, legal abortion if I wanted to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. I realized that they had the power to determine many things about my life, which is ultimately what piqued my interest enough to send me off to law school in the first place, but their ability to impact my reproductive freedom, or lack thereof, was devastating to me.

I spent the one summer in college and a year after I graduated working in a social service organization in Boston that offered, among other health services, abortions. I walked past protesters three days a week at the clinic around the corner from my apartment, my teeth clenched, wanting to scream at them to leave these poor women alone — they were having a difficult enough time without being called murderers as they tried to walk into the clinic. I went to law school with hopes that I would someday run Planned Parenthood. And although my career path has shifted, my convictions have not. To me, this election is not primarily about terrorism, or even the war in Iraq, but about our day-to-day lives, the role that government can and should play in improving our society, and the impact that a more conservative court could have on the rights and freedoms to which we have grown accustomed.

I’m no activist. Never have been. But I decided that given the issues at stake here, I might as well put my law degree to some practical use. I just signed up to monitor the integrity of the upcoming election through the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Election Protection Program. For all you lawyer types out there, it’s easy. They provide you with training on how to staff a hotline; I’ll be working a five-hour shift on November 1st or 2nd. It’s the very least I can do. I am constantly impressed that people I know from all areas of my life are making the extra effort this time around — what are you doing? Send a donation, go to a swing state, participate in a phone bank, convince someone to vote, just do something. Our future is at stake.

. . . for finally articulating to the American public that the Supreme Court is at stake in this election and how different your views are from W’s about potential judicial nominees. It’s about time that this was brought to the forefront of peoples’ minds, because, for me, this is HUGE. Now granted, I have little faith in the average American voter to look beyond the quick fix of a tax cut to realize the potential impact that one Supreme Court justice might have on our lives over the long term, but at the very least, it’s out there for people to see now, at least to some extent. And another shout out to moderator Charles Gibson for selecting the question. Now, get out there and VOTE, people.

As I’ve mentioned, I am telecommuting this week — my office is right by the site of the RNC, and we didn’t want to be caught in the fray. I have been doing my best to keep up with all that’s going on, though, and a great source has been Gothamist, who has been posting excellent photoblogger roundups of all the protests and other activity: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.

It almost makes me wish I had stayed home . . .

And while you’re at Gothamist, be sure to check out Gothamist Food, for what the real New Yorkers are eating while the delegates are at Applebee’s and Red Lobster.

As I walked to and from work yesterday, I noticed more and more signs which indicated that New Yorkers are gearing up for the convention. None quite as obvious as the one I saw last week, but effective nonetheless.

And also, for your downloading pleasure, even more: RNCNotWelcome.org

Saw this while walking down 7th Avenue yesterday — it was being put up by “Steel Workers for John Kerry.”

Later that night, ran into Augie who was sporting his own political statement.

We’re ready for you republican types. How do ya like them apples?!

As I mentioned earlier, I’m training for several events in the near future – Run Hit Wonder on July 22 and a biathlon (running/biking, not skiing/shooting) in September. Yet I’m still finding it tough to pull my lazy self out of bed in the morning to run before work. This morning, however, I found another reason to motivate — Run Against Bush. You buy a t-shirt, run with a group in your area if you choose to do so, and your money goes to support Kerry through the Democratic National Committee and voter registration intitiatives. You can sponsor me by donating, or get your own t-shirt, get out there, and run against Bush! [via Andrea Strong]