Elisa Maser

Take your rights for granted …

Elisa Maser — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:26:29 +0000

If you don’t work in women’s health, you might not realize just how lucky we are. But the right to birth control (something MANY of us take totally for granted) hasn’t been around all that long… and there are groups that would be happy to see that go away (along with a lot of other pesky privileges women have picked up over the years). Consider this:

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Lori Lamerand, president and CEO for the Planned Parenthood Mid-Michigan Alliance wrote an Op-Ed for the Jackson Citizen Patriot celebrating Griswold v. Connecticut. “Saturday, June 7 was the 43rd anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court decision in 1965 that gave married women the right to use birth control. The Griswold case paved the way for laws that provided all women with the right to use contraception.

It seems hard to imagine a time when it was illegal for women to use contraceptive devices to plan the size of their families. Birth control is an essential element in the effort to lower the rate of unintended pregnancies and reduce the need for abortion. Contraception and comprehensive sexual education are the best prevention tools we have to ensure that children are born wanted and loved…. It is astounding that the American Life League - a staunchly anti-birth control group - commemorated the anniversary of Griswold with a nationwide “Protest the Pill” Day.

These anti-birth control extremists protested in front of our health centers. Why try to take away a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion, and then use intimidation and harassment tactics to scare women from using one of the most effective ways to avert the need for abortion - taking birth-control pills?”

Americans religious, but not about the details

Elisa Maser — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:12:55 +0000

A survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has some interesting findings:

Most American (92%) believe in God and 58% pray every day
Three in ten Americans profess no religious identity, but sometimes go to church
Overall 78% say there are “absolute standards of right and wrong,” but only 29% rely on their religion to set those standards out
The report concludes that we are a nation of “free-flowing spirituality.”

Doesn’t always feel that way in my line of work … but it’s nice to know the spirituality is free-flowing.

Tempus Fugit

Elisa Maser — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:03:47 +0000

Latin for time flies. You know it does when you check out your site and the last post is for the vernal equinox, and here we are PAST the summer solstice already. I’ve been busy learning how to twitter and flickr and keeptempo.

Vernal Equinox!

Elisa Maser — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:19:20 +0000

One of my favorite turns in the wheel of the year! Spring equinox! In Reno, we know the lilacs are still a month or two away from blooming, but we’re getting tantalizing previews of the weather to come (just don’t plant anything yet!). And let’s not forget that great Sierra Spring skiing - corn! Check out these spring options!

The Dummy Downhill at Mt. Rose is worth a trip up the hill.

Big sigh of relief

Elisa Maser — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:04:49 +0000

The Washoe GOP County Convention is over. I chaired the Credentials Committee, and given the record turn out we’re seeing everywhere this year, that caused a few sleepless nights, I can tell you.

Good news is that I had a great crew of dedicated and hardworking volunteers and we were able to get everyone registered and in the door by 10:30 a.m. Prelim credentials report at 11:30 - final report before lunch. Over 1,200 people at the Peppermill in all.

The more libertarian-minded Republicans in the room tried hard to get a platform that was a little more “hands off” in terms of government dictates, the platform ended up being adopted pretty much as written.

Even though 52% of Republicans in Nevada describe themselves as “pro-choice,” the County Party’s platform completely ignores the wide range of views party members have on this issue. What was it Ronald Reagan used to say about “the big tent?”

Sticks and stones…

Elisa Maser — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 06:34:12 +0000

Getting prepared for the County Convention here … reading up on the Convention in Vegas. The great news is that we’re still seeing record crowds — what an amazing political year.

I was sorry to see that John McCain’s representative ridiculed the Democratic presidential candidates. “Even the names Barack and Hillary sound liberal.” Really? Disappointing. Their voting records and public statements are fair game. Do we really have to call people names? Kind of juvenile. And not exactly inspiring.

I don’t like it when either side calls the others names.

Bluebird Saturday

Elisa Maser — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:05:55 +0000

Feels like the political scene has been all consuming. On the Dem side, it still is. No rest for the weary. On the GOP side, at least Team McCain can take a breath and gather their strength.

I will be curious to hear if the GOP county convention in Vegas runs smoothly, after the challenges the D’s faced.

Help those who are here

Elisa Maser — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:59:33 +0000

This morning, I took my son to McDonalds for breakfast. I know - not the healthiest start, but we don’t do it very often. I couldn’t help but notice a woman sitting there with a cup of water. Her clothes didn’t fit well … but I wasn’t sure if she was just having a bad morning or if she was homeless and hungry.

I hate to say it, but I had to debate for a while about offering just to give her some money. As I walked over to give her $5, I noticed she was wearing men’s boots but no socks. Just said, “hey, you look like you could use a cup of coffee or something.” So simple to do. She thanked me several times. Which just made me feel worse. How hard was that? Why is it so hard for people like her to get help? You can help by donating to the Food Bank. Or the Committee to Aid Abused Women.

Then off to work …. catching up on e-mail. I’ve gotten about 10 updates from the 40 days for life vigil. (They pray outside abortion clinics during Lent - and I greatly appreciate their Statement of Peace.) Today’s update was “don’t you have something better to do?” (The feedback they get from some people in the community.) And I thought of the woman I talked to this morning. Yes, there is plenty to do. Right here. Right now.

Many, many women decide to have abortions because they want to be good mothers, and know they aren’t capable of doing that now. Or because they are doing all they can to take care of the kids they have now, and know that one more will plunge their whole family into poverty. There are lots of reasons women have abortions.

Here’s my wish: let’s all work together to end unintended pregnancies. And, let’s all work together to help women take care of the families they do have.

The Nevada Google Connection … who knew?

Elisa Maser — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:48:49 +0000

Surfing the net and I ran across this interesting trivia: The very first Google Doodle was a reference to the Burning Man Festival in 1998 (or 1999?).

Water …

Elisa Maser — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:08:22 +0000

If there’s one thing I know about water, it’s that hydrology is an exact science, but to really understand it you have to know a whole lot about the studies and assumptions that went into the modeling in the first place. Still, I hope the latest study reporting that Lake Mead could go dry gives us all pause. And instead of panic, may we turn to PLANNING!

Lake Mead during the 1951 drought: