-Johannes Mehserle had a bail hearing today, in which bail was granted. The judge set bail at $3 million, stating that Mehserle was not a flight risk or a danger to the community.

-Mehserle has hired a new attorney who is arguing that the crime committed was not murder, but manslaughter.

-A second officer, Tony Pirone, is currently under investigation. Pirone, who pinned Grant's head to the ground with his knee right before Mehserle fired his gun was also seen, on video, leaving a man unattended to go punch a restrained Grant in the face, knocking him to the ground.

-"Resisting arrest" charges dropped against a man who was beaten by Mehserle a few weeks before the killing of Oscar Grant.

-Oakland police department under investigation in cases involving the mishandling of warrants.

-Mehserle says that he "thought Grant had a gun". (at what point, since Grant's hands were behind his back?)

-News of the "bail, not jail" led to more angry protests today in Oakland and heavy police presence was enforced to try to avoid rioting.

-UC Berkeley's BAMN (Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration
& Immigrant Rights, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary) teamed up with other UC campuses, including Riverside, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz for a statewide march for demands in the case:

• Jail All the Killer Cops
• End BART's and District Attorney Orloff's cover-up—Open an independent public investigation of the murder
• Disarm the BART police, and keep the BART police out of Oakland
• Drop all the charges against protesters

-BAMN held a press conference + speakout on the UC Berkeley campus

Answering the President-Elect's call to service on MLK Day, I will be participating in making some donations of coats to my city's community center, which is hosting a Serve Expo.

Get involved by committing some hours out of your day to serving your community or make a donation of canned food, blankets, coats and anything else that you think can help someone in need, to local service organizations.

Go out and make your mark on the world!

Nope, its not over yet. The fight for equality is still in effect. I wasn't aware of the Day Without a Gay campaign until this morning while in the daily grind of forcing socks onto twisted little feet that were not yet awake. Piggy-backing on the success of the Join the Impact campaign, that staged an international rally for queer rights on November 15th, the saga continues...

This campaign is asking the queer community and their allies to call in "gay" to work today and devote your 9-5 to your community or a non-profit organization instead. Complete random acts of kindness, while fighting for total human equality, where can one go wrong with that?

But I'm not Gay!

That's ok. You don't have to be. If you want every human to have their human and civil rights that makes you an ally and you can still get involved.

But, I can't miss work!

That's fine. Click here to see other ways that you can still get involved. They include helping to seek out and post volunteer opportunities in your area and spreading the word.

To find out more information, check out the Day Without a Gay website www.daywithoutagay.org

I have been thinking about getting one of these for Miss J. As sweet and helpful as she is at school, she'd rather pull her own hair out than pick things up here at home. I once told her that if she didn't clean her room that I would throw all of her toys away. Now, this kind of talk usually works on all kids at some point. They collect items that have some type of meaning to them over the days/weeks/months/years and would likely be sad to see most things go. I thought this would always be the reaction of Miss J. when threatened, but she has proved to be one tough cookie that does not easily crumble... not even for big and bad little old me. Her simple reply was, "ok, you can throw them away". She was more than a little shocked to arrive home one day missing over half of the items she refused to take care of.

Perhaps she thinks that she doesn't have to devote much time to cleaning because I don't? On any given day it would not be hard to find laundry that has not been put away, dishes that have not been washed and floors that have not been mopped in my home. Not that we run a dirty operation over here, just an unconventional one. Like the magnet on my sister in-law's fridge says, "Boring Women Have Emaculent Homes", and I am sorry to say that no boring women live in this camp, only an extremely busy one. If only I had been blessed with the kind of OCD that makes you wanna rip someone's head off if every label in the cabnet isn't facing the front instead of funky old depression and anxiety, I could keep things in order around here. Ahh well, gotta work with what you've got, right?

Yes, I know. If I make the decision to incorporate a rewards chart into Miss J.'s life, I will have to also make one up for myself. See, I'm not in denial. Unlike a "to-do" list or daily planner (both of which experience the ink of my pen regularly), a rewards chart never leaves the fridge or special place that has been designated for it. It doesn't get left in a purse or backpack, its duties and incentives are constantly there, staring at you, awaiting completion and retrieval. So, I am still seriously thinking on this one, baking up all kinds of possible rewards for myself. I am still trying to decide if getting a maid service all up and through here is considered a reward or a chore... Huuuuuummm?

Do any of you have any organization challenges in your life right now? There has to be something. Tell me I'm not alone, or if I am, at least tell me that you are willing to hop on the next thing smoking and come give me a hand!