I know that by now, two days after election day, you are (like me) extremely tired of hearing the political banter, comments, and stories. You are probably still recovering from spending two days seeing nothing but red and blue! And you are probably thankful (like me) that you can now listen to the radio and watch TV without being subjected to the ads and smear campaigns.
So, the last thing I wanted to do was blog today about politics. BUT…
When we started this blog, I promised myself that I would blog about whatever is on my mind for that day or week, no matter how important or insignificant the topic is. I realize that because my kids are always at the forefront of my thoughts you normally get such “riveting” topics from me such as Wal-Mart complaints, what is brewing in my crock pot, and tales of Blackberry bandits. But, today I have something much larger on my mind. So if you will please allow me for a moment to step off my toy box and onto a soapbox...
I am normally not one to get into politics. I mean let’s face it the only “donkey” and “elephant” in my life are Eeyore and Dumbo! Although I am a proud Democrat and keep up the best I can on political issues, I don’t really participate in the political process (outside of voting of course). But, every now and then an issue comes up that I really get behind or upset about and that happened this year.
I live in Iowa and practice law in both Iowa and Illinois. In Iowa, our Supreme Court Justices are appointed through “merit selection”. Briefly, for my out of state readers, merit selection begins with a nominating commission of fifteen citizens, a chair who is the senior associate justice, seven of whom are non-attorneys appointed by the governor, and seven of whom are attorneys elected by attorneys. Iowans for Fair and Impartial Courts, website. When there is a vacancy on the court, judicial applicants submit their applications to this nominating commission, the commission reviews the applications, and then nominates the top two or three most qualified individuals. Iowans for Fair and Impartial Courts, website. The governor makes the final decision on who to appoint. Once a judge is on the bench, regularly they are placed the general election ballot for a retention election where the citizens decide whether that judge should retain their seat. Iowans for Fair and Impartial Courts, website.
The merit selection process is designed to keep politics out of our courtrooms. Essentially, the judges don’t have to fear about the decisions they make because they are not elected officials. They can simply apply the law and Constitution without the giant elephant (or donkey) in the room. In my opinion, this is how justice should be. They say “justice is blind” right? So this “blindness” should mean we will not stand for politics invading our justice system.
But Tuesday, I sadly learned my opinion is in the minority in my state. This election, three Iowa Supreme Court justices lost their seats in the retention election. The justices’ removal marked the first time an Iowa Supreme Court justice has not been retained since 1962, when the merit selection and retention system for judges was adopted. Des Moines Register, 11/3/10. This decision was “a historic upset fueled by [the Iowa Supreme Court’s] 2009 decision that allowed same-sex couples to marry”. Des Moines Register, 11/3/10. In 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court declared that the law banning same sex-marriages violated the constitution’s equal protection rights of gay and lesbian couples that wish to marry. Des Moines Register, 11/3/10.
Now, although I respect them, I don’t care about your opinions on same-sex marriage. I understand it is a hot topic in our time and there are adamant voices on both sides of the fence. So, I’m not here to argue the merits of the 2009 decision by the Court or whether same-sex marriage should be allowed. But I want a justice system that ignores the political banter and makes decisions based on the law, not the beliefs of Americans. To boot three justices off of the Iowa Supreme Court because they interpreted the Constitution and ruled the same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional makes no sense to me.
What this vote means is that now instead of ensuring their opinions and rulings are based on the law and Constitution the justices are always going to think in the back of their heads: “Wait, what is the public going to think of this? Am I going to lose my job if I affirm or reverse this decision?”
I think what angers me the most about this decision is the fact that as a lawyer I am subject all the time to lawyer jokes, comments about how our justice system is flawed, etc. Yes, our justice system is not perfect, but its decisions like this that allow it to become this way. Being a Supreme Court Justice should not be a popularity contest…its about following the letter of the law and not worrying about what others think.
I wonder how many Iowans really knew the effect of this vote when they filled in those circles on their ballot. I wonder if they knew that what they were doing was going to damage our judicial system. They are taking our fair and impartial courts and turning them into just another political playground. And in case you are curious just how much politics played a role in this decision: Groups that wanted the justices out poured more than $650,000 into their efforts with heavy support from out-of-state conservative and religious groups. Des Moines Register, 11/3/10.
When I found out about this historic decision, I looked at my kids and wondered what the face of the judicial system will look like when they are adults. I don’t want them growing up with a judicial system that is more concerned with what is popular than what fits the letter of the law.
Thanks for letting me vent…now down off my soapbox and back on my toy box I’ll go. I know this blog post was much more serious than I normally post, so just so you know it is actually me that is writing this…the crayons that replaced the pens in my briefcase today were peach!
And I hope this goes without saying, but this post contains my thoughts and feelings on this subject alone...no thought here is meant to convey the thought of any other JD Mom but myself!
Mandi
Showing posts with label voting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label voting. Show all posts
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Election Day!
If I had been a truly coordinated working mother, I would have realized before today that I would have the privilege of posting on Election Day and saved my post about the weary working mother and midterm elections for today. But I’m not that coordinated and didn’t figure that out until just now. So I’ve already exhausted the most relevant topic and am faced with the impossible task of following Mandi’s gut wrenching tale of emergency room horrors. Dear readers, please set your expectations low.
Today’s election isn’t really a big deal in my house. Overall, I don’t care very much about midterm elections. I understand that they are an important part of the political process and that the results of the election will shift the balance of power and shape the future of our country, blah, blah, blah. But on an everyday scale, I’m right there with the weary working mother: I want things to change, but don’t believe any of the candidates can actually effectuate that change. Every time I think there is a viable candidate that I *might* actually be able to get behind, I learn something about the candidate or his or her platform that leaves me unable to offer my full support and pushes me back into voter apathy.
The main thing I care about this election is a referendum for the local school district. The school district is asking voters to agree to raise their property taxes to help cover an approximately $3 million deficit in the school budget. And I’m itching to go vote no.
Much of my local school district’s budget problem is the result poor negotiations with the local teacher’s union. Years ago, the district (once one of the best in the state) entered into a contract it couldn’t afford with the teachers in order to avoid a strike. That contract called for increased salaries, guaranteed raises and pensions the district simply could not afford. A bunch of educators should not be surprised that the result was a deficit.
The school district has done everything in its power to try to honor its contract with the union. It closed a school. Cut all kinds of language and art programs. It even instituted a pay-to-play (dangerous words in Illinois) program for sports and music. It was only as a last resort last fall that they asked the teachers to take a pay cut and save the job of their colleagues (and the programs for the kids). And that’s where the true side of our local teachers shone through. Those very same people who are out on the streets politicking today telling us to vote yes “for the kids” are the very same people who were unwilling to take a pay cut “for the kids” three months ago.
I’m sure any teacher reading this right now is screaming out in protest. Teachers are already underpaid! And they bear so much responsibility for our children! The future is in their hands, we should value that and pay them accordingly. Sounds familiar right? The plight of the teacher is repeated often and loudly. But I’m calling b.s.
The teachers in my local school district aren’t suffering any “plight.” They are some of the highest paid teachers in the state, often making over six figures. Heck, it was published in our local paper that the local kindergarten teachers make $60,000. Kindergarten is half day, people. On top of adequate salaries, the teachers enjoy guaranteed raises, pensions upon retirement, job security (in the form of tenure), “planning periods” and 100 days off per year. Tell me any other profession that offers these perks. There isn’t one.
The truth is, teachers have it made. No amount of whining about having to grade papers or monitor recess will convince me otherwise. I drag home a laptop and work for hours each night, and this work takes me away from my family – same as grading homework takes away from a teacher’s family. And handling the squabbles of school kids isn’t any different than handling clients: both usually involve negotiating a solution between stubborn people with unreasonable positions. When you get right down to it, our jobs really aren’t all that different – except teachers get a boat load of time off and go home at 4 pm.
The recent (current?) recession has hit my community hard. Many people have taken pay cuts, been forced to take furrow days or lost their jobs all together. The number of foreclosures is astounding. And yet, while families in our community struggle, the teachers – people who claim to be dedicated to helping our children – are demanding more money for themselves.
I think we owe it to our community to stand up for what’s right. The answer to our school district’s problem isn’t a lack of money, it’s a failure to use money wisely. And if our teachers can’t understand that paying pensions and ensuring job security isn’t the best use of a limited pool of money, then maybe the problem is the teachers. We need to be an example of fiscal responsibility, and if that means challenging our teachers to face the realities of real-world professionals, than so be it. Teachers are important to our children’s future, but throwing good money after bad won’t solve any problems. We truly need our local school district – and teachers – to do something for the kids. And I hope today, we as a community stand strong and tell them so.
Karen
Today’s election isn’t really a big deal in my house. Overall, I don’t care very much about midterm elections. I understand that they are an important part of the political process and that the results of the election will shift the balance of power and shape the future of our country, blah, blah, blah. But on an everyday scale, I’m right there with the weary working mother: I want things to change, but don’t believe any of the candidates can actually effectuate that change. Every time I think there is a viable candidate that I *might* actually be able to get behind, I learn something about the candidate or his or her platform that leaves me unable to offer my full support and pushes me back into voter apathy.
The main thing I care about this election is a referendum for the local school district. The school district is asking voters to agree to raise their property taxes to help cover an approximately $3 million deficit in the school budget. And I’m itching to go vote no.
Much of my local school district’s budget problem is the result poor negotiations with the local teacher’s union. Years ago, the district (once one of the best in the state) entered into a contract it couldn’t afford with the teachers in order to avoid a strike. That contract called for increased salaries, guaranteed raises and pensions the district simply could not afford. A bunch of educators should not be surprised that the result was a deficit.
The school district has done everything in its power to try to honor its contract with the union. It closed a school. Cut all kinds of language and art programs. It even instituted a pay-to-play (dangerous words in Illinois) program for sports and music. It was only as a last resort last fall that they asked the teachers to take a pay cut and save the job of their colleagues (and the programs for the kids). And that’s where the true side of our local teachers shone through. Those very same people who are out on the streets politicking today telling us to vote yes “for the kids” are the very same people who were unwilling to take a pay cut “for the kids” three months ago.
I’m sure any teacher reading this right now is screaming out in protest. Teachers are already underpaid! And they bear so much responsibility for our children! The future is in their hands, we should value that and pay them accordingly. Sounds familiar right? The plight of the teacher is repeated often and loudly. But I’m calling b.s.
The teachers in my local school district aren’t suffering any “plight.” They are some of the highest paid teachers in the state, often making over six figures. Heck, it was published in our local paper that the local kindergarten teachers make $60,000. Kindergarten is half day, people. On top of adequate salaries, the teachers enjoy guaranteed raises, pensions upon retirement, job security (in the form of tenure), “planning periods” and 100 days off per year. Tell me any other profession that offers these perks. There isn’t one.
The truth is, teachers have it made. No amount of whining about having to grade papers or monitor recess will convince me otherwise. I drag home a laptop and work for hours each night, and this work takes me away from my family – same as grading homework takes away from a teacher’s family. And handling the squabbles of school kids isn’t any different than handling clients: both usually involve negotiating a solution between stubborn people with unreasonable positions. When you get right down to it, our jobs really aren’t all that different – except teachers get a boat load of time off and go home at 4 pm.
The recent (current?) recession has hit my community hard. Many people have taken pay cuts, been forced to take furrow days or lost their jobs all together. The number of foreclosures is astounding. And yet, while families in our community struggle, the teachers – people who claim to be dedicated to helping our children – are demanding more money for themselves.
I think we owe it to our community to stand up for what’s right. The answer to our school district’s problem isn’t a lack of money, it’s a failure to use money wisely. And if our teachers can’t understand that paying pensions and ensuring job security isn’t the best use of a limited pool of money, then maybe the problem is the teachers. We need to be an example of fiscal responsibility, and if that means challenging our teachers to face the realities of real-world professionals, than so be it. Teachers are important to our children’s future, but throwing good money after bad won’t solve any problems. We truly need our local school district – and teachers – to do something for the kids. And I hope today, we as a community stand strong and tell them so.
Karen
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Weary Working Blogger Moms and Midterm Elections
In the last week, I’ve read two separate articles speculating on who will be the “Soccer Moms” of the 2010 midterm elections. According to the Wall Street Journal (blogging about an NPR blog), the key voter group impacting the outcome will be the “weary working women” – women so tired from working and raising their families in these tough economic times that they won’t go out and vote. http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2010/10/04/the-rise-of-the-weary-working-women/
According to the Huffington Post, however, blogger mommies “hold the reins of destiny and control the future of our nation.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-wilson-keppler/mommy-bloggers-delighted-_b_740965.html
The truth is, however, (and as the Huffington Post blog suggests) that these are not two separate groups. The women who will influence the November 2010 midterm elections are the exhausted working moms who leave work early, pick up their kids at day care, bring the squirming, hungry toddlers to vote moments before the polls close and then go home and blog about it. Or, in other words, us.
There is no doubt that I am a weary working woman. I like my job and I like working, but I am SO tired. From the moment I wake up at 5:30 (ok, 5:45) I am on the go. I’m either getting myself or my kids ready to get out the door and on the way to school. And there is no room for error in our morning schedule. I take public transportation so we have to leave on time. Then, I work a day that requires me to account for my time in six-minute increments. With the pressure to bill a full eight-hour day in six-minute increments, we working moms don’t have time to peruse the internet or ponder who wore it best. I work as fast as I can as hard as I can with as few interruptions as possible. And then I go home, where I manage dinner and homework and baths and bedtime. And then, once the kids are finally in bed, I do the dishes, prepare for the next day and collapse.
But I’m also a blogger mom. I read (and now write) about working mom issues, and am at least somewhat in-tune with what’s going on in the world. And I’d like to see the government doing something – anything – to make things just a little bit easier for the working mom. Things like improving the economy. Implementing a health care plan that is better and affordable. Maybe addressing the skyrocketing cost of college.
It is precisely because I am both a weary working mom and a blogger mom that I should go out and vote. Weary working blogger moms are more than tired, stretched-too thin products of the feminist movement. We are intelligent, practical women who will be directly impacted by the results of the election and the subsequent legislation. We understand the issues and take time to consider all of the implications before adopting a position. We are the people whose voices should be heard.
And while exercising our right to vote doesn’t necessarily result in success for our particular candidate, we moms know that “we simultaneously control everything and nothing.” We may not control the state of the economy or the outcome of a particular election, but we can – and should - have a voice. We have an opportunity to demand change, and we should embrace it. We certainly can’t be too tired to ask for some help.
Karen
According to the Huffington Post, however, blogger mommies “hold the reins of destiny and control the future of our nation.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-wilson-keppler/mommy-bloggers-delighted-_b_740965.html
The truth is, however, (and as the Huffington Post blog suggests) that these are not two separate groups. The women who will influence the November 2010 midterm elections are the exhausted working moms who leave work early, pick up their kids at day care, bring the squirming, hungry toddlers to vote moments before the polls close and then go home and blog about it. Or, in other words, us.
There is no doubt that I am a weary working woman. I like my job and I like working, but I am SO tired. From the moment I wake up at 5:30 (ok, 5:45) I am on the go. I’m either getting myself or my kids ready to get out the door and on the way to school. And there is no room for error in our morning schedule. I take public transportation so we have to leave on time. Then, I work a day that requires me to account for my time in six-minute increments. With the pressure to bill a full eight-hour day in six-minute increments, we working moms don’t have time to peruse the internet or ponder who wore it best. I work as fast as I can as hard as I can with as few interruptions as possible. And then I go home, where I manage dinner and homework and baths and bedtime. And then, once the kids are finally in bed, I do the dishes, prepare for the next day and collapse.
But I’m also a blogger mom. I read (and now write) about working mom issues, and am at least somewhat in-tune with what’s going on in the world. And I’d like to see the government doing something – anything – to make things just a little bit easier for the working mom. Things like improving the economy. Implementing a health care plan that is better and affordable. Maybe addressing the skyrocketing cost of college.
It is precisely because I am both a weary working mom and a blogger mom that I should go out and vote. Weary working blogger moms are more than tired, stretched-too thin products of the feminist movement. We are intelligent, practical women who will be directly impacted by the results of the election and the subsequent legislation. We understand the issues and take time to consider all of the implications before adopting a position. We are the people whose voices should be heard.
And while exercising our right to vote doesn’t necessarily result in success for our particular candidate, we moms know that “we simultaneously control everything and nothing.” We may not control the state of the economy or the outcome of a particular election, but we can – and should - have a voice. We have an opportunity to demand change, and we should embrace it. We certainly can’t be too tired to ask for some help.
Karen
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