ElizabethEdwards

Hi Jeff!

Could you and/or /u/jdennon describe your decision-making process for having a child? I have the vague feeling that it's looked-down-on from an EA perspective, but you two seem to make it work.

Do you hope she will be less consumption-oriented as a tween than tweens seem to be? Are you doing anything now to help her have less interest in the accumulation of stuff?

Do the public schools in your area satisfy you, or are you going to take a different educational path?

Do you and Julia have any student loans? Did you in 2008?

(I know I could probably find all this out by searching your blogs, but an AMA is the perfect opportunity.)

For the purpose of this answer, I'm going to assume you live in the U.S. Let us know if that's wrong and somebody can give you a better answer!

A. Local advocacy at the municipal or town level. Call and e-mail your mayor, city or town council, or board of aldermen. They control law enforcement budget and resources, and therefore influence law enforcement priorities. Tell them you support de-prioritizing aggressive "quality of life" policing and would prefer a harm reduction approach instead. Tell them you'd like to see your local police department adopt an official policy like the San Francisco Police Department that people who report violent crimes, threats, or suspicions of trafficking will NOT be arrested or prosecuted for prostitution.

B. State-level advocacy. This is possibly the most important, since prostitution is not a crime federally, only at the state level. Call and write to the people who represent you at the state level, including your governor's office. Tell them you support evidence-based policy and the decriminalization of all aspects of adult consensual sex work.

C. Federal advocacy. If you're lucky enough to have a Congressperson or Senator who voted against FOSTA, call and write them to thank them for their courage and tell them you'd like to see it repealed. If you have a normal Congressperson or Senator, call and write them and tell them you want them to educate themselves on the effects of FOSTA. If they're up for reelection, ask their opponent to take a position against harmful legislation like FOSTA that sounds nice but actually hurts more people than it helps.

Federal advocacy continued: Also, tell your Federal delegation that you support greater autonomy for the residents of Washington, DC. There is legislation in Washington, DC to decriminalize sex work, put forward by Councilmember David Grosso (who is the real deal btw, a staunch advocate for criminal justice reform). There's some concern that even if the legislation passed in DC, Congress would nullify their decision like they did when DC legalized cannabis. This adds insult to injury, since DC residents already get no representation in Congress!

In general, TALK to people about sex workers' rights. Sex workers themselves often have to stay in the closet due to safety concerns. Be a vocal ally.

Finally, there's the topic of donations. Are you donating to the ACLU? I think the ACLU is pretty great, and they came out against FOSTA, but they could be MUCH louder about this. Sex workers are canaries in the civil liberties coal mine and the ACLU needs to prioritize a lawsuit to get FOSTA overturned. (Even the Department of Justice said it was unconstitutional because it has an ex post facto clause...) The EFF was a consistent voice against amending section 230 from the beginning, and I know Reddit was already a pretty big fan of them for their work on net neutrality. EFF deserves that support. If you're currently donating to an organization that "raises awareness" (typically a red flag in charities), stop your donations and donate to orgs that actually do useful work.