NARAL

Liza blogged about it this morning, but I thought I'd weigh in on the race that's presently consuming all of us.

As Liza lays out, there are several reasons to be interested in what at first glance appears to be simply a by-election of little relevance beyond the borders of one district. However, the circumstances surrounding this election are far-reaching.

New York State has a bicameral legislature, the lower House of which is held by Democrats, the upper, the state Senate, by republicans. They have held this body largely without challenge or interruption (there were two, in the last century, in 1932 and 1964 respectively) for one hundred and fifty years. In the 2006 election, for the first time in memory, Democrats won the popular vote for the Senate; it is ripe for a takeover.

This special election is for a seat in the state Senate. A few weeks ago, Governor Sptzer tapped a republican Senator, Michael Balboni, for a seat in his cabinet. To replace him, the other side nominated one Maureen O'Connell, presently the Nassau County Clerk and formerly a member of the State Assembly.

It's her record that puts choice on this ballot.

Thing 1 spent all of last week at home, sick with the flu which got aggravated by his asthma. We spent most of last week as we did for years as homeschoolers : working on different things, watching videos, reading, doing arts & crafts projects, and getting into each others nerves.

I loved every minute of it.

I love being a mom. This is an admission that does not come easy to me. When I was in my 20s I fantasized of becoming a mother after 40. I thought that only after becoming successful as a writer and scholar, only after finding myself and who I really was supposed to be, that I would be ready to be a mother.

Then the condom broke. Twice.

I suspected I was pregnant with Thing 1 on a New Year's Eve because all the champagne I drank tasted funky and I had a hankering for olives. The funky champagne taste was new to me but not the hankering for olives. That had first happened 10 years prior when I first got pregnant.

I lived as fast and furious as any nerd with wild tendencies could. Yeah, I did my work at college but I also partied hard. This was the 1980s after all and sex, drugs and more sex were everywhere --notwithstanding the dawning of the AIDS era.

Let Freedom Ring!

South Dakota voters overturned the most restrictive abortion law in the nation Tuesday, handing abortion rights supporters a huge victory in a conservative state.

The law was signed in March but was put on hold pending the election. If approved, it would have barred almost all abortions, including for rape and incest victims, and allowed them only if a mother's life was in jeopardy.

"This is a wake-up call to lawmakers in other states that the American pro-choice majority will not allow any assault on Roe v. Wade to go unanswered," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America

Unfortunately, they not only re-elected the man that signed the law, Gov. Mike Rounds, but they also banned gay-marriage.

Rhode Island Senate: Whitehouse (D) 50%; Chafee (R) 42%

Pennsylvania Senate: Casey (D) 54%; Santorum (R) 41%

And just because the headline reads, Senate balance of power -- Montana now a "toss-up" :