To Kill a Mockingbird

Last week, I represented a client in a hearing at the Fayette County courthouse in La Grange, Texas (home of the infamous Chicken Ranch!). I felt as if I were on the set of To Kill a Mockingbird. The tables, chairs, old school staunchions, lighting, and a balcony were straight from that period! I felt my shoulders broaden just like Atticus Finch's and projected my voice (since there were no microphones) just as Atticus did in his arguments. Later on in the week, it aired on TCM!

And today the sun was out, the air was warm, and all the mockingbirds in my neighborhood were perched at the top of the trees defending their nests and singing their sweet melodies. Forgot what they sound like? Listen to one here.

Above photo is published from Birds of North America.

Trails & Active Transportation Conference Starts Tomorrow!

The Conference starts tomorrow with lots of different workshops and an opening reception at Scholz Garten. Unfortunately, I won't be able to participate in the workshops due to a impromptu deposition. I'm especially bummed to miss the Bikeability / Walkability - Give Children a Choice - Skills Training conducted by Preston Tyree. The workshop will focus on what parents and the community can do enhance the walkability and bikeability of their neighborhoods. The participants will learn some basic pedestrian and bicyclists facility design.

Austin Safe Passing Ordinance up for a vote THIS Thursday!

Action Alert from BikeTexas
As you know, Governor Perry vetoed the Safe Passing Bill (SB 488). This bill would have made Texas roads safer by requiring motorists to give three feet clearance when passing a cyclist or other vulnerable road user.

But now we have a chance to enact this law right here in Austin - this Thursday, the Austin City Council will vote on an ordinance to implement the 3-foot passing law in Austin! It will be Agenda Item #30.

What you can do:
Register your support for Safe Passing in Austin! Stop by Austin City Hall (301 W. 2nd Street) anytime, starting today until the item is considered on Thursday. You can register on any of the kiosks in the atrium.

Attend the City Council meeting on Thursday, if your schedule allows. Let's show the Councilmembers that Austin supports Safe Passing! You don't need to sign up to speak. The presence of hundreds of cyclists will speak for itself! The item will likely be heard between 10 and noon.

Between now and the next legislative session, BikeTexas will be working hard to get Safe Passing ordinances passed in as many Texas cities as possible. The ordinances will all have identical language to the bill Gov. Perry vetoed.

If we show strong support across the state for the bill in its current language, we will be well-positioned in the 2011 Texas legislative session to get a Safe Passing law passed for good!

We will update you when we find out a more specific time that the ordinance will be considered. Please feel free to contact us if you would like more information, at 512-476-7433, or mail@biketexas.org.

See y'all on Thursday! Yay Austin!!

Need Cycling Pics?

Have you ever needed a cycling photo for a post, presentation or report about cycling, commuting, pedestrian, traffic, other issues and just didn't have anything to use? Well, now there's a solution. You can download a variety of photos for FREE from the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center's Image Library. The library is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and maintained by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center within the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center. You can browse thousands of images via the tag cloud or advanced search. However, these images can only be used for specific noncommercial purposes so be sure to read the guidelines as well as always cite the source and photographer when you use them. I'm excited about incorporating these images in future posts on MTBLAWGIRL. BTW, if you have some great shots of your own, you can submit them to PBIC here.

Photo Courtesy of www.pedbikeimages.org / Dan Burden

Don't Mess with Texas, Part Deux

Okay, someone please tell me why people think it is okay to throw bags of fast food garbage out their car window traveling at 75 mph in high traffic on I35. We witnessed such a travesty firsthand yesterday afternoon as we made our way back from Dallas. A young couple, presumably college students, passed us and proceeded to start throwing trash out the window, hitting our car and also the tractor-trailer beside us. We debated on whether to call 911 but didn't know what the protocol was for doing so. Is it really an emergency? One could make the argument that they were causing a hazardous condition on the road. We followed the car (at a safe distance) for the next hour or so into Austin and gave them the hairy eyeball every time we passed them or they passed us. Luckily they didn't throw out any more garbage – I guess they ran out. We were hoping to talk with them by following them upon exiting. But we lost them when we got to Austin. I also took down their vehicle information and plan to write a letter to TxDOT or if I still feel like it, to talk with a fellow attorney who handles personal injury cases against aggressive and reckless drivers. We'll see... Still, what's wrong with people?

UPDATE: The Texas Department of Transportation Don't Mess with Texas campaign has a website where you can report a litterer. Check it out here.

So, when you see litter exit a vehicle, intentionally or accidentally, write down the following information—license plate number, make and color of vehicle, date and time, location, who tossed the litter and what was tossed. Then go to the website and report it! TxDOT compares the information to their vehicle registration database and when an exact match is located, they will send the litterer a Don't Mess with Texas litterbag along with a letter reminding them to keep their trash off of our roads.

Please don't mess with Texas

This morning on my way to work, I noticed the driver of the car a couple of cars in front of me opening their door. My curiosity peaked, I continued to observe the car to see what the devil was going on. Were they sick, was something wrong. Not so much. Then I noticed smoke. Oh, they're smoking. But why is the door open, can't they roll the window down. Then I saw something that was steaming plop to the ground. My first impression was that it was a turd. Gross! Okay now I'm really curious so I'm studying the steaming object. Yes, I'm still sitting in traffic at a stoplight, I haven't moved an inch and I have an excellent vantage point. After studying and finally putting two and two together, I realize it's a tea bag. Yeah. This person apparently had to have the perfect cup of tea and couldn't wait to dispose of bag when they got to work. I couldn't believe it.

I mean sure, it's a pretty harmless tea bag but it's still littering. So is throwing out a cigarette. Chewing gum too. I was hoping that I could inch up, roll the window down, and tell the driver that they dropped something but the opportunity didn't happen. Within a few seconds, the light turned green and the litterbug disappeared. I was fuming. Littering is a major pet peeve of mine. Why not just keep it in the tea for a few minutes longer until you reach your destination and can dispose of it properly.

Please please don't mess with Texas. We've come a long way since the wayward days of throwing out bags of fast food, soda cans, beer bottles, and any other trash that was within arm's reach. Let's keep it clean - every "little" bit helps.

Who needs a rack when you have a fence post?

I captured this photo at the Sunset Valley farmer's market after watching a couple walk their bikes around the market in search of bike parking. As we left the market, we saw the couple chaining up their bikes to this fence post. Quite clever. But again I was reminded of bike parking woes that I posted about last week. After posting, I contacted the market and asked if there was available bike parking. I received the following reply: "there are lots of vehicles and trees you can lock your bike to, so yes." huh? Vehicles?

The market is held in the parking lot of the Toney Burger Center. It's a huge parking lot with lots of spaces for cars but none for bicycles. The Center itself is nestled in a residential neighborhood surrounded by retail shopping and jogging paths/bicycle lanes. In other words, there is an existing infrastructure for bicycles and therefore riding your bike should be encouraged more. But if you don't have anywhere to park, what's the point? It's kind of like putting the cart before the horse. The photo below depicts the dedicated bike lane and then the jogging/walking path on the far right.

So today I took action. I emailed the Market asking if they would consider asking a local bike organization to provide complimentary bike valet service in exchange for a free space or offering a larger space to an existing vendor who is willing to man the valet. I also contacted the Chairperson of the City's Planning & Environmental Committee to request that the City install complimentary bike racks (or incentives for doing so) at the Center and other shopping centers within the area. I then drove around a couple of the centers that I have yet explored searching for bike parking. I was pleased to find lots of it in the centers that are north of Brodie Lane. There were racks at several of the anchor stores and also strategically placed along the length of the mega centers. I happened upon the Sunset Valley City Hall and Public Works so I pulled in and inquired about the bike trails and maps depicting the bike path route. Unfortunately they don't have a published one so I'll be adding that to my list of requests as well as community education. If no one knows what those trails are, then no one is going to use them. Stay tuned.

A Must Read: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I am currently reading and enjoying Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It's a nonfiction narrative written by renowned Author and Biologist, Barbara Kingsolver, detailing the year that she and her family moved to their family's farm and committed to eating only produce that they grew themselves or that was grown in their community. Of course, each family member had a luxury item, such as coffee, to ease them into the process. But what they discovered is that they can actually survive! Many of you may recognize the author's name. She has written several novels including The Poisonwood Bible, The Bean Trees, Prodigal Summer and others. She has degrees in Biology and Evolutionary Biology which is evident in her storytelling.

In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, she discusses the environmental impact of buying food items out of season such as strawberries in December. Such food choices have a detrimental impact on the environment because most of the items we purchase travel more than 1500 miles from farm to plate which benefits guess who, the oil companies. She also makes an excellent point that we in the USA have lost our food culture. In other countries, they make food choices differently. They use what is grown locally and what's in season. In America, we want whatever we want when we want it. We don't want to wait for tomato season. We want it now and we're willing to settle for the tasteless version.

This book is really a must read for everyone but especially if you are concerned about the environment and making a more positive impact or rather, offsetting your own negative impact. It is one of the best gifts you will give yourself and I guarantee that you will become more impassioned about food and buying locally. I'll admit that there are a lot of veggies that I know nothing about preparing such as kale, acorn squash, leeks, etc. but this book has inspired me to experiment with them and to purchase a wonderful cookbook, Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka. This cookbook itemizes all the different vegetables and gives you a history of the veggie, the different ways to prepare them (steam, microwave, bake) as well as recipes. I use it daily as a reference.

Excerpt Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

Called Home
As the U.S. population made a statistical mad dash for the Sun Belt, one carload of us jumped off that ship and headed for the promised land, where water falls from the sky and green stuff grows all around. Our family was about to begin the adventure of realigning our lives with our food chain.

Naturally, our first stop was to buy junk food and fossil fuel.

In a cinderblock convenience mart we foraged the aisles for road food. Our family’s natural-foods teenager scooped up a pile of energy bars big enough to pass as a retirement plan for a hamster. As long as we were going crazy here, we threw in some 99-cent bottles of what comes for free out of drinking fountains in Perrier, France. In our present location 99 cents was a bargain. Arizona was suffering the worst drought in its history – one inch of rainfall in the last seven months. Living in Arizona on borrowed water had begun to make me nervous. So did importing all our food from elsewhere; the average food item on a U.S. grocery shelf has traveled farther than most families go on their annual vacations. Because of modern industrial farming methods and the jet-traveled foods we buy, Americans put approximately as much gasoline into our diets as into our cars.

As we gathered our loot on the counter, the sky suddenly darkened. After 200 consecutive cloudless days, you forget what it looks like when a cloud crosses the sun. We all blinked. The cashier frowned toward the plate glass window.

"Dang," she said, "if it isn’t going to rain."

"I hope so," Steven said.

She turned her scowl from the window to Steven. This bleached-blonde guardian of gas pumps and snack food was not amused. "It better not, is all I can say."

"But we need it," I pointed out. I am not one to argue with cashiers, but this was my very last minute as a Tucsonan. I hated to jinx it with bad precipitation-karma.

"I know that’s what they’re saying, but I don’t care," she avowed. "Tomorrow’s my first day off in two weeks, and I want to wash my car."

For three hundred miles we drove that day through desperately parched Sonoran badlands, chewing our salty cashews with a peculiar guilt. We had all shared this wish, in some way or another: that it wouldn’t rain on our day off. Thunderheads dissolved ahead of us, as if honoring our compatriot’s desire to wash her car as the final benediction on a dying land. In our desert, we would not see rain again.

At the end of our first full day in our new home, we headed into town for supper. Ten hours of unpacking had left us too tired to cook. We opted for a little diner of the southern type that puts grits on your plate until noon, and biscuits after, whether you ask for them or not. Our waitress was young and chatty, a student at the junior college nearby studying to be a nurse or else, if she doesn’t pass the chemistry, a television broadcaster. She said she was looking forward to the weekend, but smiled broadly nevertheless at the clouds gathering over the hills outside. The pastures of southwestern Virginia looked remarkably green to our desert-scorched eyes, but the forests and fields were suffering here too. Drought had plagued most of the southern U.S. that spring.

A crack of thunder boomed, and the rain let loose just as the waitress came back to clear our plates. "Listen at that," she clucked. "Don’t we need it. Let’s hope it’s a good long one."

For our family, something turned over that evening in the diner: a gas-pump cashier’s curse of drought was lifted by a waitress’s simple, agricultural craving for rain. I thought to myself: there is hope for us.

National Park Service considering opening more trails to mountain bikers

I just read an article in the Boston Globe reporting that that NPS is considering opening more backcountry trails to mountain bikers and that the Bush administration is pushing for it. Apparently, W enjoys mountain biking because it's easier on the knees than running. The article implies that because Bush enjoys the sport, that he is now pushing for easier regulations giving the NPS more flexibility in the decision to open more trails. Anyway, the article also quotes environmental advocate Jeff Ruch who opposes the idea and called the rule "a lame-duck gift for the mountain biking lobby from the "Mountain-Biker-in-Chief". Apparently he blames mountain bikers for the erosion of trails, trampling of native plants and "disturbing" other park users like "hikers, birders, and horseback riders."

This really chaps my hide because mountain bikers and especially mountain bike associations are active in trail building and maintenance and promoting careful riding. Hikers use the trails but don't take care of them. Consider backcountry hikers - they damage the trail because they don't set up camp ON THE TRAIL. They go OFF the trail to do so. Therefore, their use of the trail is much more damaging. And horseback riders? Don't even get me started. Horses are much more destructive to trails and trampling of plants than mountain bikers. Try riding a trail that has been frequented by horses especially if a horse went down a muddy trail. They all but dig up the trail because of their shoes and the weight of their riders. Horses are also most likely to go off the trail.

Whereas, most bikers stay on the designated trail and do not veer off for a jaunt in the wild or to trample plants. The worst thing that a biker can do to a trail is ride during a rain or while the trails are wet thereby rutting it up. (Still horses are way worse). However, that issue can quickly be resolved by implementation and enforcement of guidelines and procedures by the national park service. The NPS should be able to decide which trails should be open to bikers or closed to bikers and regulate accordingly. Most NPS parks have a ranger on duty and issue permits for riding, hiking, etc. Likewise, trails are closed during inclement weather or if it's determined that use of the trail will cause damage. NPS could also require visitors to complete a trail safety course prior to using the trails and assign a number to be used or some other system that would allow other users to report a biker.hiker.birder.horserider who went off trail or who was riding in a hazardous manner. The point is that everyone should be entitled to enjoy the trails and everyone should also take care of the trails.

Is this really a bike lane?

This morning I had an interview in Cedar Park and decided to tool around the surrounding neighborhoods when lo and behold I spot a DEDICATED BICYCLE LANE. At first blush, I was impressed that Cedar Park was so progressive but as I "progressed" further along, I began to get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I started noticing all the cars that were parked in the "lane" and also all the trashcans. Although the lane was marked properly with the cute little image of a bicycle, it's not really being used as one. Instead it's off-street parking and a spot for the trash service to leave the trashcans after they've emptied them. I went home and researched the ordinances regarding parking and bicycle lanes and found that the City of Cedar Park does indeed have an ordinance that states that at all times, parking on the street is prohibited if obstructing a designated bike lane. However, as you can see from the photo above both lanes are being obstructed by several parked cars which suggests that the ordinance is not enforced. Which begs the question... Why isn't it being enforced? The dangers are obvious. Cyclists are forced to share the road with cars which leads to accidents. I saw a couple of cyclists in the few minutes I spent on the street. I saw them weaving their way around the cars and trashcans. Luckily there are alot of stop signs on the street that ensures that cars drive slowly. But still. It totally defeats the purpose of having a dedicated lane doesn't it? Why spend all that money to create the lanes if you can't recoup it by enforcing the LAW and issuing citations? And if cyclists were to raise hell about it they would probably be met with the same resistance that Austin cyclists fought just last month on Exposition Boulevard. The residents will cry about the lack of parking for guests who visit them occasionally (even though each home has a garage and wide driveways as well as other parking opportunities on cross streets).

Hi all!! After hosting the Human Trafficking Awareness event, I decided that I wanted to do even more so I contacted TEN Charities to become an Ambassador. As an Ambassador, I recruit others to host small parties in their homes to educate their friends and family about trafficking and also sell handicrafts. I also will speak at parties and other community events about trafficking and educate the community. I'm really looking forward to it because it's something that I really care about and it's something that I can do on my own time. Plus I love love love the handicrafts!!!

So if you're interested in possibly hosting a small informal affair similar to all those in home parties like Tupperware, Surprise parties, Pampered Chef but without the sales pitch, contact me right away and we'll get you set up! And for all my friends and fam in Texas and Tennessee, don't be shy, I can ship everything you need!

An Awareness Party is a fun, inspiring, educational event at your home, school, community center, or place of worship, where you can educate your friends about human trafficking, and what is being done to fight it. You can also display and offer for sale handicraft products made by survivors of human trafficking. An Awareness Party can be formal or informal, large or small. You can inject your own interests and personality into the event – wine and cheese, a tea party, a four-course dinner – it’s all good! We provide you the tools to educate your guests about trafficking, including a video, a speech for you to read, printed awareness materials, recipes, catalogs, brochures, and beautiful handicraft products. There are no sales pitches or product demonstrations, and there is no pressure to buy. The goal is to offer information about slavery and human rights in a way that is not overwhelming or depressing but empowering.

It feels good to do good

As you know, I've been planning an event to create more awareness surrounding the prevalence of Human Trafficking or rather, modern day slavery, here in the US and to also highlight some of the wonderful work of organizations that empower survivors. The event was held on Thursday and was a huge success. A couple of organizations were at the event selling wares made by the survivors of trafficking and labor exploitation and of course I treated myself and a couple of loved ones to some really gorgeous items such a a beautiful red patchwork tote bag, a jeweled coin purse, a colorful screen printed pillow cover, and a journal all for less than $100 with all proceeds going to survivors! At the event, one of the organizations, TEN Charities, supports a school and shelter for women (and their children) who are exploited and essentially enslaved into prostitution. By day, the women and their children go to the shelter and learn skills in screen printing and sewing purses, bags, scarves and other types of handicrafts so that one day they can support themselves. By night, these women and their children return to the brothel to go to work serving customers. The children are present while their mothers service customers and are at high risk for also being abused. TEN Charities is a wonderful program that seeks to provide economic empowerment to these victims by providing a market for their handicrafts here in the US. They sold alot at our event as did another group, Sabiduria Oxlajúj Noj, who represents the collective efforts of a group of Guatemalan artisans producing high-quality clothing and accessories in New Bedford, Massachusetts. This talented group of women was brought together by a raid at their workplace. I bought my tote from them and it is GORGEOUS!! You can check out their wares and purchase items online at http://sabiduriaoxlajujnoj.googlepages.com/home. You can also purchase items made by survivors in India from TEN Charities at http://www.madebysurvivors.com/ or even sponsor a child or survivor for $25 a month or host an online party at http://www.tencharities.org/. Do what you can - the conditions in India are astonishing. Find out more about trafficking at http://www.eyeoftheday.org/ or the US Department of State at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/rls/33109.htm.

Women are too emotional to be President? WTF?

Okay ladies and gentlemen. My amazing boyfriend gets a gold star this week for being a progressive feminist! A couple of days ago, S came home in a huff. He and some coworkers were discussing Hilary's surprising win over Obama in the New Hampshire primary when one of the female coworkers said that she didn't want a woman to be President because women are too emotional. Yes you read correctly, a woman said that someone of her own gender cannot be President because women are too emotional. S reports that he and another MALE coworker were outraged and gave these women a tongue lashing. He countered their "emotional" argument with an argument against men who do not have any emotions at all - just look at the current administration! We talked that evening at length about it. He could not believe that they would say something like that much less really believe that is true. I told him that women are conditioned to believe these types of things about themselves and other women and that men are entitled to positions of power and revered for their strength, aggressiveness, etc. True leaders want to reach out and help others help themselves instead of using so called "might" for right. The most successful leaders exhibit what most consider not so manly or arguably feminine traits - desire to help others, thirst for education (look at the numbers of men v. women in colleges), and an ability to empathize and seek compromise. I was so proud of S for 1) really believing that a woman is perfectly capable of being in such a powerful position and 2) for feeling strongly enough about it to advocate to others. I just hope that the citizens of this country will not discount Hilary or Barack's ideas because of the color of their skin or their gender. It's time to move beyond all that folks. We are not the country we were in the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc. Although that's bad in some regards, it's good in many others. I also hope that my fellow female citizens will not be so hard on our gender. It's not the men who seem to espousing this ridiculous diatribe but instead it seems to be women. That's horrible. And it shows that we as women don't believe in our own abilities. In the words of Rosie the Riveter in an age where women RAN THIS COUNTRY, we CAN DO IT!

Come on Texas.

Today I turned in a memo for my Environmental Law class and came across a report which showed that Texas power plants account for 290 million tons of CO2 emissions. This staggering figure makes Texas the biggest source of CO2 emissions in the US. This news of course made me nauseous. It surely doesn't give me a sense of pride that I call Texas home. And it makes me even angrier that the politicians, particularly the Conservatives, refuse to address this problem and really endeavor to transition to cleaner fuels or alternate sources of energy. The Texas power plants are completely dependent on fossil fuels. This comes as no surprise considering how big the oil business is in Texas. Just fly into Houston and you'll see oil refineries as far as the eye can see. It easier to be more removed from the issue when I live thousands of miles away but now that S and I are planning to hang our hats in Austin after I take the bar, I'm growing more concerned. Luckily Austin is more liberal and there are lots of environmentalist tree huggers there. I guess S and I will have to ruffle some feathers and make a few waves when we get there. Can you imagine me picketing those oil refineries??

On My Nightstand - And Justice For Some

One of my professors and mentors, Wendy Murphy, has just released her book, And Justice for Some. I have had the privilege of working with Wendy on several projects during my law school career and had the further privilege of introducing her at her book release party. Her career has been so inspiring to me personally because she has an unstoppable passion for victims' rights. She is truly a voice for them which she has never compromised or shied away from. That is an accomplishment in and of itself because oftentimes it is not welcome in the legal community and usually recognized with a guffaw or a roll of the eyes. If you are interested in how the legal system really works, read this book. I'm halfway through and I am impressed by her writing style and also her courage in calling judges and defense attorneys to the mat on their decisions and trial tactics.

Here's a description of the book from Amazon.com.

"When Wendy Murphy was a young prosecutor, she learned that the deck is stacked in favor of criminal defendants. Between their arrest and (potential) conviction, murderers, rapists, and drug dealers get more than a fair shake—they get an unfair advantage, often at the expense of their victims. In many states, for instance, defendants can subpoena a victim’s private medical and counseling files, without any justification. They can threaten victims with brutal cross-examinations if they dare to testify. They can put on "dog and pony show" defenses that have nothing to do with the truth—and even lie under oath with virtually no risk of being prosecuted for perjury. These kinds of injustices make Murphy fighting mad. She’s made it her mission to help the victims who get the least protection from our twisted legal system. And in her first book, she guides readers through one horror story after another about judges and lawyers who bend over backward to let the worst offenders go free. You’ll meet judges who unapologetically declare that they care more about their liberal ideology than about the pain and suffering of abuse victims. Judges who let child molesters walk free because they’re "too frail" to go to prison. Defense attorneys who take big money from wealthy child molesters, then twist the Bill of Rights beyond recognition. And even a few prosecutors who go easy on criminals for their own selfish reasons. Murphy’s true stories will shock you, but they will also inspire you to join the fight for a more rational system. This is an important book that is sure to infuriate America’s legal establishment."

You can purchase the book online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ebooks, etc.

What a jackass

I'm utterly speechless but not surprised. I thought Bush wanted to ride the fence a bit longer on the abortion issue but guess what? His appointment essentially says that he is far on the right of this issue. I guess this is the beginning of the end - his final eff you on his way out. HILARY - WE NEED YOU NOW! She's my favorite. She just kicked the shite out of the FDA and the Whitehouse and got emergency contraception approved for over the counter sales at pharmacies. Whoo hoo!!

Contraception, abortion foe to head family-planning officePOSTED: 1:09 p.m. EST, November 17, 2006
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration, to the consternation of its critics, has picked the medical director of an organization that opposes premarital sex, contraception and abortion to lead the office that oversees federally funded teen pregnancy, family planning and abstinence programs.
The appointment of Eric Keroack, a Marblehead, Massachusetts, obstetrician and gynecologist, to oversee the federal Office of Population Affairs and its $283 million annual budget has angered family-planning advocates.

Keroack currently is medical director of A Woman's Concern, a Christian nonprofit. The Dorchester, Massachusetts-based organization runs six centers in the state that offer free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds and counseling.

It also works to "help women escape the temptation and violence of abortion," according to its statement of faith. And it opposes contraception, saying its use increases out-of-wedlock pregnancy and abortion rates.

"A Woman's Concern is persuaded that the crass commercialization and distribution of birth control is demeaning to women, degrading of human sexuality and adverse to human health and happiness," its contraception policy reads in part.

"The appointment of anti-birth control, anti-sex education advocate Dr. Eric Keroack to oversee the nation's family planning program is striking proof that the Bush administration remains dramatically out of step with the nation's priorities," Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement.

A message left with A Woman's Concern was not immediately returned Friday.

Keroack's appointment as deputy assistant secretary for population affairs does not require Senate confirmation. He is expected to start work in the next several weeks, Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Christina Pearson said.

The department's assistant secretary for health, Dr. John Agwunobi, cited Keroack's experience in working primarily with "women and girls in crisis" in lauding his appointment.

"He regularly speaks to youth audiences on sexual risk behaviors and has been nationally recognized for his work on preventing teen pregnancy," Agwunobi said.

Compliments of CNN.COM

Memoirs

For the last couple of months, I've been getting more in touch with my creative side by reading, writing, and painting. I've really missed it and I'm saddened by the thought of not having much time for it once class begins in a couple of weeks. As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm really interested in writing a memoir of my life experiences. I've done a lot of brainstorming and have come up with a theme for a book that ties everything together. I outlined my life history and also my parents' life history. I plan to send it to my mom for her perspective and also to help me fill in the blanks. I've also written one essay about my grandmother and drew her picture using color pencils.

I'm beginning to realize that this memoir project will probably take years and may never get published but it still excites me nonetheless. It will hopefully become our family legacy, something that our children and grandchildren will cherish. I would have loved to read memoirs from my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents - to capture how they were when they were young, how they felt during the Depression, WWII, the 50s, 60s, etc. We have so many photos but no stories to go with them other than what little I remember from conversations I had with them. Reading these stories in print will make them feel so much more alive and hopefully answer those same questions that I often ask of my parents about their lives and their parents' lives.

The Dark Side of Advocacy

For the last few weeks I have been conducting a domestic homicide study at Jane Doe and providing case summaries to Wendy Murphy's Sexual Violence Legal News. Although the work is meaningful, it weighs heavily on my spirit and I have been having a hard time finding joy. So much so that I'm questioning my lifetime commitment to such work. Can I do this full-time and be a happy healthy person? I'm not so sure. So, I've endeavored to not completely immerse myself in the "dark side" of the work and to seek balance by seeking out positive messages, material and programming. Before Jane Doe, I would watch alot of crime programs, surf relevant websites/blogs and read books on victims advocacy and such. Total immersion. Not anymore. Even though I find myself drawn to those programs when channel surfing, I've denied myself the opportunity to watch them and sink into depression or the gloom that ensues. I want to have a happy, joyful summer on my time off. I want to be there for my loved ones. And by there, I mean my joyful, spirited, true self not one who is preoccupied or silent and reserved. I'm learning to relax and to leave the heartwrenching stories at work at the end of the day. Already I feel better and more hopeful even though I still question if I have the strength and wherewithal to do it long-term. I work with women who have been doing this type of work for years and years and I am amazed at their continued commitment.

Heroines

Each of these women are my new personal heroes. They each portray qualities of strength, courage, determination, commitment, humor, and empowerment that I admire and hope to one day emulate. I would love to be able to look back and say that wow! I really did change a little piece of the world, if not on a national level then hopefully within my local community. Each of these women have overcome unbelieveable adversity to become advocates. They are super-heroines in my book and an example of how strong we women really are and how empassioned we become when fighting for what we believe in.

Marian Wright-Edleman - attorney, reformer, childrens' advocate
Oprah Winfrey - she's Oprah, advocate, survivor
Angela Shelton - film maker, actress, advocate, survivor
Gloria Allred - attorney, feminist, advocate, survivor

30,000 Pink Ribbons

Last Sunday, Seth and I participated in the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in Boston. Over 30,000 people walked and raised $3 million for breast cancer research and awareness programs. It was truly a special day as we both walked in memory of two ladies -- my dear friend and Seth's Aunt, both of whom passed away with breast cancer. Since 2001, I've participated in a walk or run to honor my friend. It's always been my special time with her. The whole time I'm running (or walking in this case), I think about what her life, her courage, her sense of hope and generosity meant to me. She was such a beautiful spirit. She was one of those rare people that always had grace and a presence about her that you automatically trusted, loved and wanted to emulate. This was the first year that I shared that time with someone else who also has lost someone to breast cancer and who also was special to me. It made it all the more powerful and such a blessing.