[cranky] goodbye Boehner

I have NOTHING positive to say about Speaker of the House John Boehner. He just announced that he is not only resigning his position as Speaker but he's retiring from roughly 20 years in Congress. His home district in Ohio is solidly Republican, so the Republican Governor John Kasich (yep, that one running for the Presidential nomination) should face no opposition to appointing another party line Republican to replace him.

While I won't miss the fake spray tan sour face of Boehner standing in the back of countless photo-ops, I am worried abut what face will replace his. Boehner originally planned to give up his Speakership at the end of 2014, but Eric Cantor's humiliating loss at re-election prompted him to stay on. (Remember -- Eric Cantor so arrogantly neglected to campaign in his run off that he lost his nomination and wasn't even n the final ballot.) Boehner once compared being Speaker to being a prisoner in an interview with Politico. Clearly, he won't be shedding any tears on November 1st when he walk out of Congress for good.

But why leave now?

[cranky] gynotician activism/harassment

Information for the "gynoticians" who need to receive pads, tampons, VAGINA postcards, and/or wire hangers in the mail, along with a phone call, email, or tweet about scheduling your next ob/gyn annual:

ALABAMA, for TRAP laws identical to Mississippi

GOVERNOR: Robert Julian Bentley
PHONE NO: 334-242-7100
FAX NO: 334-353-0004
EMAIL form: http://governor.alabama.gov/contact/contact_form.aspx
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/governorbentley
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/bentley2010
ADDRESS: 600 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36130

LT. GOVERNOR: Kay E. Ivey
PHONE NO: 334-242-7900
FAX NO: 334-242-4661
EMAIL: http://ltgov.alabama.gov/contact.aspx
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/LtGovIvey
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/KayIveyAL
ADDRESS: 11 South Union Street, Suite 725, Montgomery, AL 36130

ARKANSAS, for trying to implement a 12 week abortion ban

Governor Mike Beebe
Phone: 501-682-2345
Email form: http://governor.arkansas.gov/contact/index.php
Twitter: GovBeebeMedia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Office-of-Arkansas-Governor-Mike-Beebe/177813702279256?sk=wall

Lt. Gov. Mark A. Darr
Phone: 501-682-2144
Fax: 501-682-2894
Email link: http://ltgovernor.arkansas.gov/contact-us/
Twitter: @ltgovmarkdarr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ltgovmarkdarr

ARIZONA, for new clinic laws

Gov Jan Brewer
Phoenix Office: (602) 542-4331
Tucson Office: (520) 628-6580
Fax Number: (602) 542-1381
In-State Toll Free: 1-800-253-0883 (outside Maricopa County only)
@teambrewer
https://www.facebook.com/GovJanBrewer?fref=ts
The Honorable Janice K. Brewer
Arizona Governor
Executive Tower
1700 West Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007

KENTUCKY

Senator Mitch McConnell:
Phone: (202) 224-2541
Fax: (202) 224-2499
Email Form: http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mitchmcconnellcan send a message this way

Senator Rand Paul:
Phone: Phone: 202-224-4343
Email form: http://www.paul.senate.gov/?p=contact
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SenatorRandPaul
Twitter: @SenRandPaul

Governor Steve Beshear
Phone: (502) 564-2611
Fax: (502) 564-2517
Email form: http://governor.ky.gov/Pages/contact.aspx
Twitter: @GovSteveBeshear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/govstevebeshear

Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson
Phone: (502) 564-2611
Fax: (502) 564-2849
Email form: http://ltgovernor.ky.gov/Pages/contact.aspx
Twitter: @LtGovAbramson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ltgovjerryabramson/timeline?filter=3

MICHIGAN, for new clinic laws

Governor Rick Snyder
(517) 335-7858
Email form: https://somgovweb.state.mi.us/GovRelations/ShareOpinion.aspx
Twitter: @onetoughnerd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RickForMichigan

Lt. Governor Brian Calley
(517) 373-6800
Twitter: @BrianCalley
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/briancalley

MISSISSIPPI, for trying to become the first state with no abortion clinic

Governor Phil Bryant
Email form: http://www.governorbryant.com/contact/
Twitter: @PhilBryantMS
Phone: 601.359.3150
Fax: 601.359.3741
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/im4phil

Lt. Governor Tate Reeves
ltgov@senate.ms.gov
Twitter: @TateReeves
Phone: (601) 359-3200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tatereeves

OHIO, for redefining pregnancy, passing TRAP laws, and defunding PP in favor of CPCs

Gov John R. Kasich
Phone: (614) 466-3555
@johnkasich FB John R Kasich
Riffe Center, 30th Floor 77 South High Street Columbus, OH 43215-6117 Phone: (614) 466-3555

Lt Gov Mary Taylor
Phone: (614) 466-3555
@MaryTaylorOH
Riffe Center, 30th Floor 77 South High Street Columbus, OH 43215-6117

NORTH CAROLINA, for #motorcyclevagina, lying, and TRAP laws

Governor Pat McCrory
Phone: (919) 814-2000
Fax: (919) 733-2120
Email: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/contact/email-pat
Twitter: @PatMcCroryNC
Address:
Office of the Governor
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301

Lt. Governor Dan Forest
Phone: (919) 733-7350
Fax: (919) 733-6595
Email: lt.gov@nc.gov
Twitter: @DanForestNC
Address:
Office of the Lt. Governor
20401 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0401

Chris Whitmire: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=H&nUserID=660 Twitter: https://twitter.com/RepWhitmire

George Cleveland: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=H&nUserID=476

Jacqueline Schaffer: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=H&nUserID=647 Twitter: https://twitter.com/SchafferJM

Larry Pitman: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=H&nUserID=633

NORTH DAKOTA, home of the fetal heartbeat ban trying to go into effect any day now

GOVERNOR: Jack Dalrymple
PHONE NO: (701)328-2200
FAX NO: (701)328-2205
EMAIL-DIRECT LINK: http://www.governor.nd.gov/contact-us
EMAIL: governor@state.nd.us
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/NDGovDalrymple
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/DalrympleforGov
ADDRESS: State Capitol, 600 E. Boulevard Ave, Bismarck, ND 58505-0001


LT. GOVERNOR: Drew Wrigley
PHONE NO: (701)328-2200
FAX NO: (701)328-2205
EMAIL: http://governor.nd.gov/contact-us
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/DrewWrigley
ADDRESS: State Capitol,600 E. Boulevard Ave, Bismarck, ND 58505-0001

Chairwomen of ALEC: Bette Grande
TWITTER: @bettegrande

TEXAS, for its 20 week ban, TRAP laws, and all-around unlawful bullshit

Governor Rick Perry
PHONE: (512) 463-2000
MAILING ADDRESS: Office of the Governor, P.O. Box 12428, Austin, Texas 78711-2428
DELIVERY ADDRESS: Office of the Governor, State Insurance Building, 1100 San Jacinto, Austin, Texas 78701

WISCONSIN, for trying to be the newest vag-probe state

Governor Scott Walker
PHONE NO: 608-266-1212
FAX NO. 608-267-8983
EMAIL: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/Contact-Us
EMAIL: govgeneral@wisconsin.gov
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/GovWalker
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/governorscottwalker
ADDRESS: 115 East State Capitol, Madison, WI 53707

 LT. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch
PHONE NO: (608) 266-3516
FAX NO: (608) 267-3571
EMAIL: ltgov@wisconsin.gov
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ltgovkleefisch
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ltgovkleefisch
ADDRESS: 19 East, State Capitol, P.O. Box 2043, Madison, WI 53702

VIRGINIA, for new clinic laws

Governor Bob McDonnell
Phone: (804) 786-2211
Fax: (804) 371-6351
Email form: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm
Twitter: @GovernorVA

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
Phone: 703-766-0635
Email form: http://www.ag.virginia.gov/ContactUsForm/ContactForm.aspx
Twitter: @KenCuccinelli
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KenCuccinelli

[feminist] #exposeCPC

 

The irony of today... Texas is preparing to protest their House of Representatives from voting 3 anti-choice bills into law (since lovely Rick Perry is quite eager to sign them). Meanwhile it's also the planned well in advance Expose CPCs day. Texas is looking at using TRAP laws to close 39 of the state's 47 abortion providers-- requiring that abortions take place in surgical facilities with minimum requirements for hallway width, and equipment; requiring that abortion providers have admitting privileges at a local hospital; as well as ending abortion at 20 weeks instead of 24 (which Roe v Wade made law). Apparently now we can speculate that fetuses feel pain at 20 weeks instead of 24, and some low-IQ politicians believe that male fetuses can feel pleasure and masturbate in-utero meaning that the week limit should be brought down to 16 or less.


If Texas flushes women's rights down the toilet this afternoon, even more CPCs will pop up across the state. I can hear my father's voice saying "what's a CPC?"-- I didn't know what it stood for until I started volunteer escorting at my local clinic in college (only a 45 minute drive). Crisis Pregnancy Center. If you look up abortion services, family planning, pregnancy help, etc in the phone book most of what you'll find are CPCs. But you don't know that until you arrive, unless you're a prochoice fanatic who already knows where the nearest abortion clinic is at all times.

Crisis Pregnancy Centers are usually funded by churches, but are increasingly eligible (on a state-by-state basis) for tax dollars as well. CPCs look like abortion clinics but once you're inside you're inundated with guilt and lies. "abortions cause breast cancer" "if you have an abortion you won't be able to bear children again later" "post abortion syndrome" "if you have an abortion you'll definitely become depressed and wish you hadn't" "if you become a member of our church we can help you care for your baby" Many offer free ultrasounds, and then conveniently round down how many weeks along the embryo is, allowing the woman to think she has more time to make a decision than she really does. (Don't forget, first trimester abortions and second trimester abortions have a huge cost difference-- the kind of cost difference that can't be made up in one pay check for the majority of women).


Texas has already slashed funds for free and low-cost clinics which offer exams and birth control (note: not abortion providers). With a lack of access to reproductive information as well as birth control options, the need for abortions will obviously increase. Then, shutting down nearly 90% of the abortion providers in the state will increase the demand for CPCs. And, in turn, increase the number of unsafe, unsanitary, botched abortions. (yes, this is where you turn and bang your head on the nearest wall)

Want some official information to share about CPCs? NARAL Pro-Choice America: nar.al/r8

[feminist] VAWA House action

Boehner, Cantor, and the other GOP/TeaBagger leadership have created a counter Violence Against Women Act. We are asking these targets (democrats and women) to co-sponsor HR 11, the comprehensive VAWA-- not the conservative VAWA. The conservative VAWA excludes LGBTQ, Native Americans, sex trafficking victims, and not-unblocking the rape kit backlog.

sample tweets in English and Spanish:

• 1 in 3 #NativeAmerican #women are victims of #sexualassault during their life. We all deserve a comprehensive #VAWA
• Promueve HR11 porque todavia hay gente muriendo por violencia domestica. #dv #VAWA
• 2 in 5 black #women will be sexually abused during her lifetime. Sponsor HR11 now! #VAWA
• 2 de cada 5 mujeres negras seran abusadas sexualmente en el transcurso de su vida. Promueve HR11 ahora! #VAWA
• #LGBT survivors face the same rates of #DV & #SA as all – so #VAWA must include them too. Sponsor HR11!
• #LGBT enfrentan la misma tasa de #DV & #SA como los demas-por eso #VAWA incluirlos tambien. Promueve HR11!
  

AL	Roby, Martha	R	RepMarthaRoby	202-225-2901
FL	Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana	R	RosLehitinen	202-225-3931
GA	Barrow, John	D	repjohnbarrow	202-225-2823
IL	Lipinski, Daniel	D	RepLipinski	202-225-5701
IN	Walorski, Jackie	R	RepWalorski	202-225-3915
IN	Brooks, Susan W.	R	SusanWBrooks	202-225-2276
KS	Jenkins, Lynn	R	RepLynnJenkins	202-225-6601
MI	Miller, Candice	R	CandiceMiller	202-225-2106
MN	Bachmann, Michele	R	MicheleBachmann	202-225-2331
MN	Peterson, Collin C.	D	no twitter	202-225-2165
MO	Wagner, Ann	R	RepAnnWagner	202-225-1621
MO	Hartzler, Vicky	R	RepHartzler	202-225-2876
NC	Ellmers, Renee	R	RepReneeEllmers	202-225-4531
NC	Foxx, Virginia	R	virginiafoxx	202-225-2071
NC	McIntyre, Mike	D	RepMikeMcIntyre	202-225-2731
SD	Noem, Kristi	R	RepKristiNoem	202-225-2801
TN	Black, Diane	R	repDianeBlack	202-225-4231
TN	Blackburn, Marsha	R	MarshaBlackburn	202-225-2811
TX	Granger, Kay	R	RepKayGranger	202-225-5071
UT	Bishop, Rob	R	no twitter	202-225-0453
UT	Matheson, Jim	D	RepJimMatheson	202-225-3011
WA	Herrera Beutler, Jaime	R	HerreraBeutler	202-225-3536
WA	McMorris Rodgers, Cathy	R	cathymcmorris	202-225-2006
WV	Capito, Shelley Moore	R	RepShelley	202-225-2711
WY	Lummis, Cynthia M.	R	CynthiaLummis	202-225-2311

[feminist] senate shit list

These 22 Republican and Tea Party men voted against re-authorizing the Violence Against Women Act in the Senate. 8 of them voted against bringing up the VAWA for debate and vote at all.

The bill authorizes $659 million over five years for VAWA programs; expands VAWA to include new protections for LGBT and Native American victims; give more attention to sexual assault prevention and to help reduce a backlog in processing rape kits. Created in 1994, VAWA has helped to strengthen programs and services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.

[feminist] call to action! #ERA

 Here are additional tweets to use:

.@maddow Freedom from legal sex discrimination requires #ERA. Please discuss & share: http://wh.gov/P6gP

.@maddow In 1977 #ERA author Alice Paul died. In 2013, we can ratify her dream. Discuss & share http://wh.gov/P6gP

.@maddow Without the #ERA, Congress can weaken/replace existing laws on women's rights. http://wh.gov/P6gP

.@maddow Without the #ERA providing motivation, the status quo will change much more slowly. help! http://wh.gov/P6gP

CALL TO ACTION:

Nobody in the news media is talking about the ERA. We want to change that and with your help, we will.

It's very simple and takes less than a minute. Below is an email to Rachel Maddow as well as a tweet. All you have to do is copy and paste the text into an email and send it to her between 5:00 and 9:00 P.M. EST 1/31/13.

Rachel Maddow email: rachel@msnbc.com

Tweet:
.@Maddow plz discuss #ERA & share White House Petition 4 #equality 4 #women need your help! Please RT #uniteblue http://wh.gov/P6gP

This post is going up on many Facebook walls today. Thousands of people will see it. Rachel will not ignore hundreds or thousands of emails and tweets all at once.

Please copy and paste:

Place this in the email subject box: TIME SENSITIVE! TALK ABOUT THE ERA ON YOUR SHOW!
---
ATTN: Rachel Maddow

It's time to ratify the ERA and you can help get us by talking about it on your show.

70% of American women are unaware that women are not equal under the Constitution.

We need a constitutional amendment.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA NEEDS TO TALK ABOUT THE ERA!

Please tell your audience there is a new and powerful movement to get a Constitutional amendment for the ERA.

Unitewomen.org / We Are Woman / ERA Now / RTSV UNITED are all working to make this happen and we ask for your help.

A White House petition that expires on 2/9/13 needs just over 10,000 signatures. If you share the link on your program and tweet it, we can fulfill the goal of 25k in one evening. You have the power and we're asking for your help.

Please talk about it on your show and tweet this link to your audience:

RT Please support #ERA for #women 's rights by supporting ratification efforts http://wh.gov/P6gP

Thank you.
---
Sponsored by:
Kimberley A. Johnson - RTSV United
Karen Teegarden - UniteWomen.org
One Million Sluts Against Rush Limbaugh
Cranky Fat Feminist
Sussex County Democratic Women's Caucus

[cranky] VAWA action for the Senate

The Senate is planning to vote on a comprehensive Violence Against Women Act (senate resolution #47) soon! We have 60 of the necessary 60 co-sponsors. Unfortunately, this doesn't have true bipartisan support-- all 38 Senators that haven't co-sponsored are Republicans. When VAWA came up for a vote on whether or not to bring it into the Senate for discussion and a vote, 8 Senators voted no (their names are in bold). Want to call or tweet Senators to say that VAWA must be passed? Here's the info you need:

Alexander, Lamar - (R - TN)	@SenAlexander	202-224-4944
Barrasso, John - (R - WY)	SenJohnBarrasso	202-224-6441
Blunt, Roy - (R - MO)	RoyBlunt	202-224-5721
Boozman, John - (R - AR)	JohnBoozman	202-224-4843
Burr, Richard - (R - NC)	SenatorBurr	202-224-3441
Chambliss, Saxby - (R - GA)	SaxbyChambliss	202-224-3521
Coats, Daniel - (R - IN)	@SenDanCoats	(202) 224-5623
Coburn, Tom - (R - OK)	TimCoburn	202-224-5754
Cochran, Thad - (R - MS)	SenThadCochran	202-224-5054
Corker, Bob - (R - TN)	@SenBobCorker	202-224-3344
Cornyn, John - (R - TX)	@JohnCornyn	202-224-2934
Cruz, Ted - (R - TX)	SenTedCruz	202-224-5922
Enzi, Michael B. - (R - WY)	@SenatorEnzi	202-224-3424
Fischer, Deb - (R - NE)	SenatorFischer	(202) 224-6551
Flake, Jeff - (R - AZ)	JeffFlake	202-224-4521
Graham, Lindsey - (R - SC)	@GrahamBlog	202-224-5972
Grassley, Chuck - (R - IA)	@ChuckGrassley	202-224-3744
Hatch, Orrin G. - (R - UT)	@SenOrrinHatch	202-224-5251
Hoeven, John - (R - ND)	@SenJohnHoeven	(202) 224-2551
Inhofe, James M. - (R - OK)	InhofePress	202-224-4721
Isakson, Johnny - (R - GA)	SenatorIsakson	202-224-3643
Johanns, Mike - (R - NE)	Mike_Johanns	202-224-4224
Johnson, Ron - (R - WI)	SenRonJohnson	202-224-5323
Lee, Mike - (R - UT)	SenMikeLee	202-224-5444
McCain, John - (R - AZ)	SenJohnMcCain	(202) 224-2235
McConnell, Mitch - (R - KY)	McConnellPress	202-224-2541
Paul, Rand - (R - KY)	SenRandPaul	202-224-4343
Portman, Rob - (R - OH)	@robportman	(202) 224-3353
Risch, James E. - (R - ID)	SenatorRisch	202-224-2752
Roberts, Pat - (R - KS)	SenPatRoberts	202-224-4774
Rubio, Marco - (R - FL)	@marcorubio	202-224-3041
Scott, Tim - (R - SC)	SenatorTimScott	202-224-6121
Sessions, Jeff - (R - AL)	SenatorSessions	202-224-4124
Shelby, Richard C. - (R - AL)	SenShelbyPress	202-224-5744
Thune, John - (R - SD)	SenJohnThune	202-224-2321
Toomey, Patrick J. - (R - PA)	@SenToomey	202-224-4254
Vitter, David - (R - LA)	@DavidVitter	(202) 224-4623
Wicker, Roger F. - (R - MS)	SenatorWicker	202-224-6253
.@SenateFloor

**last updated at noon EST 2.1.13

[feminist] confession

Question: Why are you so passionate about women's rights, sexual victim's rights, and reproductive rights? You've never been raped or assaulted, you've never had an abortion, you've never been abused.

I have three best girlfriends. Among the three there have been two abortions, and two miscarriages. Today, two are married, one has two children and the other is expecting her first in a few weeks. The other is now happily single. I was the secret-keeper, the advice-giver, the voice and body of control and compassion. I've waited impatiently for pregnancy test results to show up in the tiny ambiguous window, I've seen how heart-wrenching the choice to have an abortion can be, I've seen how painful and confusing a miscarriage is.

My little sister was fourteen (I was nearly seventeen) when she was suddenly delivered home one Sunday afternoon by her then-best friend and her mother-- they pulled up in front of our house after calling to say she was sick, they opened the sliding side door of the mini-van, and my father and I pulled out a limp, wet, stinking child in a bikini. My father and I carried her up the stairs into the front yard as my mother called doctors to see why she was foaming at the mouth. I held my sister as she half-consciously rested against a tree, making sure she vomited to the side and not on herself, as my father went back down to the van to find out what had happened. The only answer they could give was that the bff and my sister had been at a guy's house, my sister had been drinking, and all of a sudden when they left she began puking. We live in a corner house, so we moved my sister around to the backyard, trying not to be seen as her breasts hung out of the bikini and she slipped in and out of consciousness. Eventually we laid her in a reclining pool chair that we had found a few weeks before on the side of the road, and hosed her down. She rambled on and on incoherently while smelling like a distillery.

Sometimes its really hard for me to forgive her stupidity, her choice of friends, her bad decisions. But she never in a million years deserved to have her drink spiked, her best friend turn her back on her, and to be drug up a flight of stairs and locked in a boy's bedroom while she was in and out of consciousness, and then to be slid back down the stairs and drug down the street to another house where my parents were called. What a sick power play, that this same boy has done many times over in our city since then-- his family has a great lawyer, and he has never even been brought into the courthouse for questioning, much less prosecution.

The evening after, my parents sat my sister down in the living room for a talk, and I was sent into the backyard. A bit later one of them came out and announced they were going to the ER and I couldn't come. They were gone about six hours, during which my sister had an incredibly painful and invasive rape kit that was never analyzed. She was questioned by several police officers who talked down to her. The doctors said that she definitely had something fucked up in her drink (how else could you foam at the mouth like a rabid dog?), but that it had already left her system and there was nothing they could do.

Since there was no stray hair, no sperm, no sexual evidence, there was no "proof" that she had been raped.

Since we didn't realize she had been raped when she arrived home that afternoon, and she was incapable of telling us, we didn't get her tested for drugs in time for there to be "proof" of that either.

When my father was five his father died of a heart attack. His older brother began sexually abusing him as a form of power... by the age of ten my father was able to fight back, and he turned on their little sister. When my sister was raped, my father nearly lost his mind. 

Who gets to dictate what is rape, who gets to dictate when and why women have abortions? Why is this a political topic of discussion? These are lifelong traumas, lifelong decisions-- these are personal traumas, personal decisions. I chose to run away from the south to go to school in the mid-west. But you can't run away from your past. So I am fighting for my future-- to keep my personal decisions, my personal traumas, personal. So that it can be my decision to press charges, my decision to have an abortion, and not someone else's.

[cranky] the letter you need to share: Explain That to your Daughter

 "An Open Letter to my 40-something white, male friend on Facebook"

Explain That to your Daughter

This is the letter that you've all be wanting to post on Facebook-- calm, well-written, and absolutely slamming the GOP and their misinformed supporters. How can someone vote against their daughter's future? How can someone vote against their own future? Does the general public have an attention and memory span the same length as my dogs? How much back tracking and mind changing does a person have to do before you realize that they're just full of shit? Have any of them taken the time to read the Republican party platform or the Democratic party platform? Does anyone know what the term "bipartisan" truly means, and does anyone comprehend what an ass John Boehner and his friends are? How many misinformed, uninformed, racist, sexist, ignorant people does it take to throw a country a hundred years backwards in terms of rights for half of the population?

[super cranky feminist] my theory on Paul Ryan's jobs plan

Reflecting on the religion/abortion question from the VP debate, Ryan said that (flip flop alert!) he WOULD allow abortion in cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother. Note that he said life of the mother, not health of the mother, which are two different things-- if the fetus isn't definitely going to kill the woman, there's a chance she won't get the abortion she still needs, or wants. We also can't forget that Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" fiasco goes hand in hand with Paul Ryan, they've attempted to "redefine" rape together-- further limiting a woman's choices. "Redefined" rape would mean that marital rape, ex-partner/spouse rape, date rape, etc would likely no longer be considered rape. Only violent "stranger" rape would be considered rape (if we haven't by then totally abolished the idea of rape...).

And how much work would a woman have to do to "prove" that she was raped? (Definitely not saying men are not raped, because I have male friends that are rape victims. I'm only talking about women right now because only women can get pregnant.) Already women usually pay out of pocket for a painful and humiliating rape kit that quite often is never analyzed; she would likely be required to press charges against her rapist(s) in order to secure an abortion (remember the rate of conviction is estimated at less than 3%); and she would have to face the public humiliation and stigma associated with publicly admitting to being a rape victim in today's society.

So then, if we've lowered rates of rape by redefinition, then why do Rape Crisis Centers need funding?
If we're going to teach and preach abstinence-only sex ed, why do we need to offer birth control? Why do we need to ensure that insurance companies cover birth control in health insurance plans? (just a reminder-- no one is asking for FREE birth control, we're asking for our health insurance to cover our birth control in the same way it covers other medications like pain killers and ED treatments) Should all sex be purely for procreating?

Reminder-- Romney has promised to de-fund Planned Parenthood (which just like PBS, can't run on donations alone).

Will my birth control pill, used primarily for controlling ovarian cysts and endometriosis, suddenly cost $120 a month instead of $30 a month because my insurance company (or my mother's employer offering insurance) suddenly has a "moral objection" to birth control?

Oh, and that Plan B you can get from the pharmacist? Forget that right now-- with fetal personhood lighting Ryan's toes on fire it will be outlawed. "Life begins at conception." Did you learn in your health/sex ed class that its quite common for eggs to be fertilized but simply fail to implant in the lining of the woman's uterus? So then is the woman a murderer for failing to have the perfect uterus for that particular egg to implant in? Plan B works to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, and Paul Ryan wants to make sure that not only is Plan B off the market (it would help to "kill" a 2-cell "innocent life"), but that it's not available to any rape victim that asks for it. This implantation-prevention form of birth control would become illegal, and it includes IUDs as well as other forms of birth control. It also, in theory, makes IVF illegal (unless of course your last name is Romney)-- all of the eggs that are harvested and fertilized must be implanted, and if you chose not to implant some and have them frozen, you honestly have to include the frozen test tube fertilized eggs in your will (and you can't dump them as medical waste, either). You can't make this shit up.

And just for good measure, lets not forget that when you've got kids at home to take care of you often can't work. Day care isn't an option for everyone, especially when you've got several kids. This could mean that 50% of the sexually-active working-age population would be at home, and out of the formal economy. I guess that means that there are more jobs for men and the women that aren't yet mothers... but that sure sounds like a shitty jobs plan to me.

[feminist] DNC- wednesday: where were you four years ago?

I'm hanging out with the four Unite Women national directors and a regional director, screaming and yelling at the TV and our computers. Right now its several small business speakers, but last night we had the tissues out for Lilly Ledbetter, Julian Castro, and Michelle Obama. (our mom-in-chief). I was floored by Nancy Keenan (president of NARAL, ProChoice America) being given prime time national coverage-- is this what progress looks like? Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood spoke earlier tonight, which was also incredibly exciting, but for NARAL/Democrats/Obama to be so publicly affiliated seriously just about knocked me over. Maybe we're seeing the end of abortion-shaming and more general woman-shaming.

Like Sandra Fluke just said, its time to choose which America we are going to live in-- Paul Ryan, redefining rape, advocating fetal Personhood; or Barack Obama, advocating affordable or free birth control for all women. Elizabeth Warren is on now, and we're sitting in awe. I'm attempted to tweet from the national account @UniteWomenOrg (cough, you should follow) while paying attention, while smelling brownies baking in the kitchen. I don't know which is most distracting, haha!

I want to know, where were you four years ago? What did you think about your reproductive rights, health care, jobs, education, debt, etc four years ago? I was just beginning my first semester of undergrad, with no concerns for how my meds would get paid for every month, or how my co-pays would be paid-- not to mention what would happen when I turned 22 and was out of school. Life is scarier for me now, the future is scarier, but without Obama I have no doubt in my mind that I'd be on Medicaid and without all of the medicines that I need. I would lose my left ovary through an emergency room trip and several ovarian cysts. It would mean I'd be out of work for several weeks. It would mean I'd lose my job. I'd go back to waiting tables for $2.13/hr and wondering how I'd eat. But instead, I'm still going to wait tables for $2.13/hr, but I'm going to have my medicine, I'm going to have a whole body and a healthy mind-- and that is priceless. I'm ready to go forward, and I'm ready to fight for it. Where were you four years ago? Are you ready to fight for progress?


NARAL
Planned Parenthood
UniteWomen

[Feminist] DNC- Progressive Democrats of America

I'm hanging out with the UniteWomen.org national leaders at the PDA's convention. We've had awesome speakers and panel discussions all morning, including reps from organizations: code pink, roots action, united for peace and justice / veterans for peace, move to amend, demand progress, national nurses united. And that was just the morning! Can't wait for the rest of the day! I'll add website links for the orgs tonight!

[feminist] #LegitimateRape and Todd Akin

when asked about allowing abortion in cases of rape, Todd Akin replied:

" First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."

from our own cranky feminist Jessica Anders (thanks!)

articles:

• Mike Huckabee's defense: "some great people are born from rape"
• Rape Stats: 1 in 5 women sexually assaulted

videos:

• watch Akin's interview
• Todd Akin's failed "apology"
• video from Planned Parenthood

why this is even scarier: 

• Paul Ryan and Todd Akin are friends
• Redefining Rape with his friend Paul Ryan (from Mother Jones)
• Rep. Steve King-- an Akin supporter
• Idaho... "silly ladies don't know what rape is"
• Rachel Maddow: the larger significance of Todd Atkin's ridiculousness

"science" of women's bodies behind Akin and the Teabaggers

• make sure you're sitting down, and only read if your blood pressure is under control. also might want to have a barf bucket nearby. "so where did Akin get that legitimate rape idea?" 

responses:

• from a rape victim who had an abortion: Rep. Akin my body did not shut down the pregnancy
• Washington Post blogs: Legitimate Rape and Todd Akins myths
• letter from our friend Renee at UniteWomen
• letter from Eve Ensler 
• raped, pregnant, and ordeal still not over: rapists' parental rights 

actions:

• Planned Parenthood Action: letter to Todd Akin 
• share this with your friends: The Official Guide to Legitimate Rape
• write Todd Akin a letter: 

Mailing Address:
PO Box 519
St. Charles, MO 63302
Physical address:
820 S. Main St., Ste 206
St. Charles, MO 63301

• leave Todd Akin a voicemail:

Voice: (636) 949-6826
Fax: (636) 949-3832
District office in St. Louis: Voice: (314) 590-0029
Capitol Office in Washington DC: Voice: (202) 225-2561

• email Todd Akin:

https://forms.house.gov/akin/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm

if you find more articles, videos, blogs/opinions/letters, please share them in the comments!

[feminist] "Angel" Melek Karasslan

This is Melek Karasslan. A woman wrote to me today through Facebook, asking me to share this story. As requested, I am not sharing our friend's name. (I edited for grammar, as English is not her native language)

"A girl died few days ago in Turkey, her name was Melek Karaaslan. She was married when she was 16 years old. She was beaten every day by mother in law, father in law, and her husband. She had her first child while she was 18. But when she was at the end of her pregnancy, her husband kicked her out of her home and she had to give birth to her child outside where it is -30 degrees. Of course, her child died. She took her baby to her husbands house, expecting her husband to [take her back], but she was beaten again. Her father tried to save his daughter from that hell, but Melek's family and elders told her father that it was a matter of family honour and she had to go back to her husband.

And after this, everything got worse. She locked in bathroom for 3 months, she got weaker every day till dropped to 30 kg from 70 kg. She lost her mind when her brother come to mother in law's house and found her. She died in a hospital, at 24 years old.

That is a terrible horrible shame for our country.

But if she didn't get to that hospital [to which she was airlifted from another], we wouldn't have heard of her at all. That happened in the east side of Turkey. While the west side of Turkey is so modern and respectful to woman, the east is not. Violence against woman in the east is increasing. Our government says that they will do something about this but I don't believe them."

http://www.cnnturk.com/2012/guncel/07/26/melek.karaaslan.yasam.savasini.kaybetti/670347.0/index.html

I used Google translate to read the story for myself, but it is just the same as our friend wrote. There are no stories/articles about her in English. Please share this story and picture of Melek (which means "Angel" in Turkish), and remember that domestic violence is everywhere in the world. While we often feel that many of the safety nets for battered women are failing, in many places they still do not exist at all. Remember to help the victims of domestic violence in your city, and raise awareness about the victims on the other side of the world.

Turkey can do better than this, and Melek deserved better than this.

[feminist] Scott Walker recall election!

I'm excited and nervous for the historic recall election which will begin in a few hours... Wisconsin is voting again for governor-- to get conservative tea-bagger Scott Walker out of office and instate Tom Barrett, the former mayor of Milwaukee (both were opponents in the last election).

Scott Walker is in favor of both corporate and fetal Personhood.

He thinks it is acceptable for pharmacists to not fill birth control medications if it goes against their personal beliefs; as well as for insurance companies and employers to not cover contraceptives.

He has reduced access to women's basic health care for the poor and uninsured.

He has worked to change and restrict abortion laws.

Women in Wisconsin currently earn on average 78 cents for a man's dollar.

[feminist advocacy] Letter to the Editior

Letter to the Editor of the Mount Gilead Ohio local paper. In response to a previously published letter in which the author clearly had his facts about Sandra Fluke, religion, Obama Care, and the Constitution confused. (to say the least)

Dear Editors,

I am a 21 year old college student, and I am on birth control. I am not ashamed that I am on birth control, because I have endometriosis and ovarian cysts. I was put on the pill at the age 15 so that my reproductive organs would remain viable for later in life when I chose to have children, and I would not have a high risk of an ectopic pregnancy. At the age of 19 I had a fast-growing cyst rupture after reaching the size of a tennis ball in just over one month. I could not go into work for three weeks, and laid in bed in excruciating pain when I was not at the doctor’s office. I was given a new birth control pill and told that if I stopped taking it, I might have to have my left ovary removed. Clearly, being on the birth control pill is a matter of my health, my quality of life, and my ability to be a productive member of society.

Sandra Fluke testified that as equal citizens in America, women should be able to access affordable birth control, meaning that insurance companies should be required to provide birth control coverage in their insurance policies. The birth control pill that I am on right now, which is the ONLY pill that I can be on for endometriosis and ovarian cysts without interfering with my hypothyroidism or pre-diabetes (the pre-diabetes was brought on after a 40 pound weight gain from my previous birth control pill trying to control the endometriosis), costs $30 a month because it is non-generic. It costs $120 a month without insurance. This means that, without required coverage for birth control, someone like myself might have to pay $120 x 12 months x 4 years = $5,760. Instead, after insurance I pay $1,440.

I am a Christian, I was raised a Southern Baptist. My NEED for birth control coverage has absolutely nothing to do with religion or sexual promiscuity or taking anything away from religious institutions. Put simply, I believe that birth control is part of my health care, and that if I have health insurance it should be covered. If a woman feels that it is against her religious beliefs to take birth control, then she has every right to never ever take or use any form of birth control. I do not think that an outsider, or any legislator, should decide my fate when they do not know me and my body.

Thank you for taking the time to hear my story and opinion.

[cranky] UNITE WOMEN

 

click here to go to the Unite Women on Facebook page, find other advocates of women's rights around the country, and join the organizational page for the state you're from and/or the state you're living in to find the rally on April 28 that you can attend.

I've managed to become the state leader of one of these groups and an admin on another. I'm not sure how I did this to myself as a 21 year old college kid, but the apathy of the people the same age as me is disgusting in the face of the war on women. I'm so glad to be a part of this movement, this march for social justice, women's rights, reproductive health care, for raising awareness and giving voice to people so frequently tossed aside. No matter which of my two states I march in, I will be bringing a car full of college-age people and I will be proud of every single person standing with me that day. Clearly, obviously, there is a war on women in America. I'm not going to sit down and listen to a man tell me how my uterus works-- I'm going to stand up and make sure that everything women have fought for in the past remains solidly in place for myself, for my god children, and for all women in America.

[feminist] video: virginia 3 march

Virginia state house, 3 March 2012. A peaceful protest against the state government's attempts to require ultrasounds before abortions. Walking, chanting, holding signs, and sitting (but not blocking) on the stairs of the state house received this response.

Full riot gear. SWAT armed with automatic weapons. In the 21st century apparently everyone in the world requires a response like this when they disagree with the government and want to have their voices heard. At what point will these police officers say "wait, my sister had an abortion 10 years ago. It was unbelievably expensive then, and now we're trying to increase costs with additional requirements? I'm NOT going to break this up, I'm going to sit this one out, even if I get in trouble." Wait until there are Personhood marches-- will someone say "but my girlfriend used Plan B last year, I'm so glad that was an option because we aren't ready for kids yet!"?

Why is the government, the police force, so quick to quell any dissent? Are we supposed to simply sit at home on our laptops using social media to bring down misogynist pricks like Rush Limbaugh and meanwhile never take to the streets as a physical, visible entity to say "this is fucked up, and you have to hear me say it. you're impeding on my rights as a citizen, as a woman, and as a human being, and I'm not going to sit by, apathetic, while you throw me into the dirt and spit on me because you're too egotistical to see beyond your own needs and wants and to understand that the world is not okay!"

[feminist] why I need birth control

This video should be watched by every voter in America. The idea that all women should have access to affordable birth control shouldn't be shocking, and it shouldn't be up for debate. What a person does with their body is their own business, and the way that they take care of their body is their own business, not the government's.

congressional birth control hearing-- the woman on the panel gets to speak

I was put on the pill when I was 15 because the doctor was afraid I had endometriosis, just like my mother. (Who had a terrible painful and extra complicated hysterectomy eventually because of this). I was told if I'm not on some form of birth control, its quite possible that my fallopian tubes will become blocked by endometrium growth-- meaning that I could be sterile, and also that I would have an increased risk of an ectopic pregnancy.

At 19 my pill had to be switched-- I'm over the weight limit for the low dose pill I was taking and I was still ovulating. (period control-- not birth control!, which was what I needed) I had terrible pain in my hip, and an MRI showed a golf ball size cyst on my left ovary. Less than a month later after other tests (before the MRI results came back) I had another test which showed that the cyst had grown to the size of a tennis ball. Also, I didn't get that test result back before I was walking across my apartment one evening and collapsed onto the floor in excruciating pain. The cyst had ruptured, and its contents coated my insides. It took about a month before that pain went away. I was told that if I had another, it could mean the end of that ovary through a necessary surgery. My bc pill now keeps me from ovulating. With insurance its $30 a month. When I had to have the annual beg-and-plead with the insurance company to reauthorize it, I had to go without for a month because it was $120.

The thought of not having insurance truly scares me. The idea of having insurance one day that doesn't cover all of my medical needs is disgusting and even scarier. Access to contraceptives is not just about unwanted pregnancy through promiscuous sex, its about basic healthcare for the well being of all women.

We have to stand together, call the men and women representing us in Washington, call the people representing us in our state capitals, and let them know that this is absolutely ridiculous and that their time is better spent on other things. Then, come November, we have to show all of America that we have the power to get rid of the idiots who are sponsoring these bills against women's health. Standing by and doing nothing is just a form of siding with the oppressors. I refused to be oppressed in the land of the free.