Feb. 21st, 2011

California congresswoman: a vendetta against Planned Parenthood has nothing to do with creating jobs or reducing the deficit
And a comment that includes more links and history: What sickens me is that Rep Speier is not the first woman to be "self-outed" as the recipient of an abortion in an effort to bring the point home. It's gotten to the point where our female politicians are being forced to disclose their medical histories to back their beliefs!

In Hour-Long Attack On Planned Parenthood, Beck Inexcusably Ignores Key Fact
You know what's especially extra-amazingly offensive about this? Aside from all the lies in general? He starts out with what seems to be intended to be a mostly rhetorical question: BECK: If I told you there were people in Afghanistan under the noses of our troops that were assisting mullahs that were keeping underaged girls in a slave trade and our troops were not reporting it and they were watching it go on, they were in fact assisting or advising the pimps, would you say those troops need to come home and be court-martialed? Those troops should not be serving us?
Really? REALLY? That's the example you're going to use? Because for once, I'll happily say Beck's right. He's right. We should go after anyone who does anything like that. LIKE DYNCORP. LIKE THE CONTRACTORS WE PAY. Somehow he seems to have missed that bit of actual news in his hunt to destroy scary left-wing purveyors of contraceptives, though. Nevermind that PP reported the scum to the FBI, and these contractors did nothing of the sort, and instead actively aided and abetted child prostitution. *rage*

Why I didn't have an abortion. -- Also, it's worth noting that the comment discussion clarifies further in useful ways. This reflects my story, too. My thoughts after the cut.

I'm fortunate and privileged and lucky that I haven't had to face this decision, at least yet (still 15-20 years to go, most likely). I had excellent and open sex ed from both family and school from a grade-school age (5th grade at a private school was head and shoulders above anything I received after that in public schools, but it laid the crucial groundwork, along with actively available info from my parents).

Although I didn't know of access to low-cost or free contraceptives when I first became sexually active, just after high school graduation, I did have the knowledge and confidence (thanks Mom!), to go to the pharmacy with my boyfriend to go condom-shopping. I also had the disposable income to buy them without worry. As soon as I got to college that fall, I had access to discounted contraceptives ($5/pack), and free condoms all over the place. I made use of both, got in the habit early of just always having protected sex, always using a backup method.

The one time I had a condom break when I wasn't using backup hormonal contraception, I was educated enough (thanks to a Female Sexuality class at college) to know about Emergency Contraception years before it was widely advertised information. I had access to a doctor I knew and trusted that I could immediately get ahold of for a scrip. As a favor, even though I had already graduated from college at that point, he only charged me college rates -- saw me free, and discounted the scrip (which was crucial, since I was broke).

From college on I've had uninterrupted health insurance for almost 20 years. Because I don't work for one of the many institutions that refuse to cover them (like the catholic hospital in our network), I had and have access to prescription coverage for the costs of my contraceptives, with relatively reasonable copays that I've generally been able to easily afford. My insurance is good enough that my preferred forms and brands have so far always been covered. I had the luxury of shopping around for a gyn I really trust and love, with whom I can easily have necessary conversations. Although I struggled some to find a good method, I've found options that work well with my body.

I have partners who share responsibility and, at times, costs of contraceptives. I have and have had partners who treat me and my body with respect and care. I've never been sexually assaulted in a way that created a risk of pregnancy. Lots of my sex over the years hasn't involved any risk of pregnancy at all.

All those advantages, and I've still had moments of panic and uncertainty, I'm still always aware of the risk, of the fact that "never me" only lasts until it doesn't. And despite the fact that so far it hasn't been me, abortion has been a part of my life since I was 16, since the first of many, many times the necessity or possibility has arisen amongst my friends and chosen family. When we talk about it, we're talking about our lives, not about some dry political debate. We're imagining what would happen if, what could've happened, we're applying the concepts to our lives. Because that's what it's about. It's about our lives. It's about what would've happened when my friends and I were 16 if Michigan had parental consent laws back then ("stern lecture" wasn't exactly on the list of possible responses in this situation). It's about what would've happened if my friends hadn't had the options they needed throughout the years. It's about the difference between choosing to have a child and being forced to carry one.

I get livid when folks imply that I just take this issue too seriously; it's at the core of my ability to choose the course of my life on the most intense and intimate level. And you know what's kind of interesting? When you do talk about it, when you are public about it, people talk to you. People who need an ear, or a referral, or who just know you're safe to share with. And sharing can be remarkably powerful, sometimes.

Also, as a note for my local friends, please be aware that I try to always keep a spare supply of condoms (including latex-free polyisoprene), emergency contraception, and pregnancy tests. If you are unable to get what you need elsewhere, either because of cost or access, be aware you're always welcome here.

Abortion rights activist Frances Kissling on why the movement is stuck in the past -- I disagree with her pretty thoroughly, especially her seemingly willful disregard for the fact that we _already_ make most of the distinctions she’s talking about (post-viability/third trimester requires medical/psychiatric need already, dammit! [also, since that cuts off unless you’re a member, have some wikigoodness; important note: the “reasons” listed is for 16 weeks and up, not for post-viability situations approximately two months beyond that point]). She’s got a long history with the movement, but the last few articles I’ve seen from her have gotten more and more baffling. I don’t really know what to make of it, but I do love watching the commenters tear this article apart in the meantime.

Texas to women: we'll manipulate you into keeping that fetus!

Nancy Pelosi's extremely blunt assessments of the true motives of Republicans are why her supporters love her and her enemies hate her with equal passion, and on a conference call with bloggers just now, she unleashed a slashing attack on the House GOP's new anti-abortion push that may churn up emotions on both sides.

Walk for Choice 2011

Rachel does it again. -- per a commenter: The segment that followed featured two Republican members of the Wyoming state legislature who were objecting to the radical abortion bill that was in debate... one of whom shared her personal story of having an abortion, and why the state needed to GTFO, from a purely libertarian point of view. It was pretty emotional and amazing.

On Labor
Finally almost caught up on Linketies! So hard to do when I get even a few days behind. Since I'm so close, here's the last of 'em (at least until tomorrow, when my folder will have refilled again).


Wisconsin roundup 2/20
'We Stand With You as You Stood With Us': Statement to Workers of Wisconsin by Kamal Abbas of Egypt's Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services -- Makes my fuzzy liberal protest-lovin' heart swell.

Black History Month With [info]radiovolume, Day Twenty

Major in the Universe -- Story of my life! For the record, I went with Psych with a Neuroscience concentration, and a side order of Women's and Gender Studies. I only didn't do Bio because I was so depressed my first semester that I slept through almost the whole damned thing and got a .95. Since I'd loaded up on Bio, I would've had to retake a bunch of stuff (I was too embarrassed, and I do sometimes regret that, although I did eventually go back and ace Calc on a retake).

Mammatus Clouds Over Olympic Valley

triple-plus good love

Should I work for free? (chart) -- Really quite sensible, honestly.

The fact that Logan is pretty is a meaningless detail. Of course she is; like it or not, being good-looking is a job requirement for on-camera TV reporters, male or female. So how come nobody has mentioned Anderson Cooper's good looks when reporting the assault on him? Oh, that's right -- he's a man. Only in a woman is beauty equated with sexual availability. And that prejudice is alive and well not only in Egypt, but right here as well, as we've seen by the endless, breathless reporting of the attack on Logan. Damn, but we have a long way to go.

San Francisco Neighborhood Associationists Prefer Revisionist Art

Italy declares migrant emergency

Palestinians to hold elections by September

Florida Congressmembers Advance AIDS Drugs Funding
Icestorm. Whee. It's ice over sleet, too, so extra pebbly-weird. Standing outside by my office fence did give me an interesting idea if I ever find myself needing to Plan a Caper. Ice barbed-wire well enough, and you could probably make it pretty easy to slide over, especially if the weight of the ice helps lower the top edge, too.

I'm not as manic as I was a few days ago, definitely more of a mixed state at the moment, which makes it easy to feel overwhelmed. It's part of why I've really wanted to catch back up on the Linketies; clearing my mailbox is the equivalent of cleaning my brain. I'm also still tracking a lot of lists of "things to do", with greater or lesser success.

If the world were less chockful of "OMG, WOW!" right now, I'd take a break from online stuff, delete news updates unread and hermit for a bit, just focusing on household obligations. I just can't do it, though. It's too incredible, too amazing to miss. Also, my intention of writing more personal ramblings is on hold until the world calms down a bit; if I have to choose between navel-gazing and watching/spreading the word about incredible political movements in action, I think I'll take the latter, thanks.

And with that, on to the Wow:

Crowd descends on Ohio Statehouse to protest changes to collective bargaining

LOTS of links and info about both the Middle East and North Africa, and also about the Wisconsin protests -- I'm seriously considering how feasible it is for me to get to some of these events; it's tricky with my work schedule and lack of time off due to FMLA, but I might be able to pull something off, especially if they're still going on here in Ohio during next week's "weekend" (Wed/Thurs), or if any events happen here in Cleveland (which seems likely, in my estimation).

The Betrayal of Public Workers

Wisconsin Crowds Swell to 30,000; Key GOP Legislators Waver
The teachers showed up en masse in downtown Madison Wednesday morning.
And then something remarkable happened.
Instead of taking the day off, their students gathered at schools on the west and east sides of Madison and marched miles along the city’s main thoroughfares to join the largest mass demonstration the city has seen in decades – perhaps since the great protests of the Vietnam War era.
Thousands of high school students arrived at the Capital Square, coming from opposite directions, chanting: “We support our teachers! We support public education!”
Thousands of University of Wisconsin students joined them, decked out in the school’s red-and-white colors.
-- I'm getting positively mushy over here.

What Conservatives Really Want

Qaddafi’s Grip on Power Seems to Ebb as Forces Retreat

Cheeseheads Welcomes Tea Baggers -- Great story, great tactic!

Libya's UN mission asks world to defend Libyans from Gadaffi -- Wow. If this fails, I'm betting they won't be going home any time soon.

Gene Test for Prostate Cancer in the Works
Early Research Suggests Test Could Pinpoint Which Men Need Immediate Treatment


Don't forget your Rapture Pet Insurance!

We got Rick Rolled - Anonymous ain't doin' shit to WBC

Cleveland Clinic geneticist takes part in testing of Abraham Lincoln's DNA -- Interesting; I'd heard discussion of Marfan's Syndrome, but not this.

Oberlin College celebrates graduate's discovery of inexpensive way to produce aluminum

New wave of MRI-safe pacemakers set to ship to hospitals

Operation "Libya White Fax"

Materials, Structures, Standards -- Ooh, adding this to my amazon list.

Report: military aircraft are firing at protestors in Libya

Mystery behind two Libyan fighter jets landing in Malta, revealed -- Military officials say their pilots have asked for political asylum amid a bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters in Libya, in which air force pilots were ordered to fire on civilian demonstrators (see previous BB post). Apparently, these pilots refused to follow those orders. -- Much love to these brave pilots.

Pakistan: American arrested after shootings worked for CIA

Iran: crackdown on anti-government protesters grows more violent

Rheingold U: higher ed for happy mutants

LIVE POST: Govnt Violence in N. Africa/Mid-East (Part II)

Anti-government protests around the world (big photo gallery)

Human Reproduction Go Live Process Document

HuffPo declares Kristi Noem "hottest freshman"; Noem responds "unfortunate" -- Huffpo's getting way too full of FAIL for me recently. I'd already given them up as one of my primary sources of links (although I still end up there from other sites relatively often) due to their godawful woo-filled "health/science" sections. The buyout by AOL didn't make me happy, and this fucknuttery just adds to the demerits, imo.

Following the Libyan uprising

Increased U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan killing few high-value militants -- "Sourcing on civilian deaths is weak and the numbers are often exaggerated, but more than 600 civilians are likely to have died from the attacks. That number suggests that for every militant killed, 10 or so civilians also died."

quoting epicurus

FDR spent his entire presidency hiding the fact that he needed a wheelchair, and he wanted a memorial that would do the same. Future generations disagreed.

Bahraini army murders peaceful demonstrators

3D printing's first copyright complaint goes away, but things are just getting started

Most wonderful hat ever

PA Judge Accepts $$ to Incarcerate More Kids; Satan Raises Eyebrow, Admits Being Impressed

the international league for pizza and freedom -- Oh, I could do this! Even if I can't make it to the main event, once I get my tax refund I can order pizzas for them!
More: So Shines A Good Deed of the Day

Cosmic census finds crowd of planets in our galaxy

The Greenest Car Is...

I was a Mob Sex Attack Victim in Tahrir Square... Just Like Lara Logan

Pro-Union Rallies Spread

More Union Busting. This Time It's Indiana

China Cracks Down on Human Rights Defenders, Liu Xiaobo's Wife a 'Hostage' [VIDEO]

Libyan Protests Spread to Tripoli; Gaddafi May Be in Venezuela [VIDEO]

LGBTs Face Extortion and Blackmail in Sub-Saharan Africa

Notre Dame Accused of Mishandling Another Sexual Assault Case

Q&A with Randi Hutter Epstein, "Get Me Out -- A History of Childbirth" and Book Giveaway

How Clean Must Food Containers Be Before Recycling?

Female Foreign Correspondents’ Code of Silence, Finally Broken -- I think I already linked to this, but I'm not positive

Skepticism in the Face of Evidence Is No Virtue

Green Tree Python Babies Slither into Houston

Newly Released Documents Detail FBI’s Plan to Expand Federal Surveillance Laws

Debate Over Internet Backdoors Heats Up in Congress and in Court

10 Developments in the Huge Story of Wisconsin's Uprising (Multiple Updates)

Exposing the Republicans' 3-Part Strategy to Tear the Middle Class Apart -- Let's Stop Them in Wisconsin

Heartbreaking Stories: It's Time to Listen to the Powerful Voices of our Soldiers

Cultish Christian Leader Teaches Women Should Submit to Husbands -- Victims of His "Submission Theology" Speak Out

7 Bad Ass Comedians -- Including Dave Chappelle, Richard Pryor, George Carlin -- Who Refused to Sell Out
Seven funny folks have changed their lives for progressivism -- some on purpose, some not so much -- and made us laugh in the process.
-- I'm sad to see so few female names on the list. I think Kathy and Mo definitely count, as does Margaret Cho, among many others, and I don't even follow comedy all that closely. And where the hell are all the funny as hell queer comics on their list? Like they haven't been taking a stand and making a difference for years?

Correction: It's a Ginned-Up "Crisis," but Scott Walker Isn't Entirely to Blame for Wisconsin's Budget Gap

Now Even Wisconsin's Business Leaders Signal They're Turning Against Gov. Scott Walker

From Montgomery to Los Angeles and Beyond: Formerly Incarcerated People Building a Movement -- Excellent news! "Land of the Free" my ass; we imprison more of our population than any other country. The drug war and the for-profit prison systems are huge parts of the problem, as are the ways in which our justice system recapitulates the biases in our society in general.

Women on the Frontlines in Bahrain: Dispatches From a University Student and an Expat Mother

'This Is What Democracy Looks Like' in Wisconsin, as Largest Crowd Yet Opposes Union Busting

WI Update: "It's Not About the Budget; It's About the Power," Weak Compromise Offered by Republicans

Reefer in a Bottle? The New Sedating Sodas

A movement for food justice must encompass the food workers that toil in sweatshop-like conditions, the often-invisible labor that help bring our food to the table.

Change We Can Believe In? Not for Medical Marijuana Research
So much for the American Medical Association's demand for clinical cannabis research.


Why Santa Barbara Is the Perfect Example of Our Messed Up Food System
The agricultural county exports 99 percent of what is grown there while 95 percent of the fruits and vegetables consumed in the county are shipped in from elsewhere.


A bill has been introduced in California that would allow landowners to install rain barrel systems and not only capture water for outdoor use, but for indoor use as well.

Major quake hits Christchurch NZ -- a lot of the reason I often link to the ONTD_P posts rather than the direct articles is because there are often commenters in the region directly affected, and I find I get more perspective that way.

250 reported dead in just the past 24 hours. Air force colonels defecting after being ordered to attack protesters. Libya is blowing up right now, and people need to get the word out.

On, Wisconsin

DA vows to help Scott Brown if he wants to pursue case against molester

So, not to continue on the topic of The Internet Makes Sady Cry and/or Sady Only Ever Talks About Bad Things, but I went through the comments on that “Is Lara Logan To Blame For Being Sexually Assaulted” poll.

Amigurumi Discworld

Calling Out Gendered Advertising
Brilliant Idea: Donate to Planned Parenthood, and Have Thank You Note Sent to Anti-Choice Congressman

Events Responding to House’s Attacks on Planned Parenthood

Georgia Legislator Wants To Investigate Miscarriages, Create Uterus Police
Life Imitates Art, and Not in a Good Way

Quoted: Planned Parenthood’s Possible Defunding and Black Women

Bill Would Require Kan. Babies To Undego Paternity Test

Why I Support Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger Notwithstanding
• Citizen Dreamer’s comment really encapsulates my feelings about Sanger and the use of her offensively-in-line-with-her-times attitudes: Funny that people always bring up Sanger's connections to eugenicists. We don't boycott Ford because of Henry's support of eugenics. We never mentioned that Prescott Bush's Wall Street partner funded the Eugenics Record Office in Cold Springs Harbor. I never hear discussion of Winston Churchill's proposal that the poor and "otherwise unfit" be sterilized.

But it is always the cudgel used against women's access to reproductive rights.

This conflation is politico-moral entrepreneurship at its most basic:
--there is a hot topic with historical conflict;
--media magnification of the division;
--there is a kernel of truth in the allegiances that Sanger made (surely, she could not have gotten support from the Catholic Church--she went where the support was: eugenicist foundations);
--politico-moral entrepreneurs (people who make their living off of this controversy);
--professional interest groups;
--the association of birth control with some "dangerous class" of people (for at least one interest group, that "dangerous class" would include women who want to control their reproductive lives);
--scapegoating Sanger and Planned Parenthood for a variety of social problems.

This attack on Sanger is a red herring.


Birth Control for Men? 3 Promising Advances -- No mention of the research into reversible vasectomies?

Will Draconian South Dakota Force Women to Visit Religious Pregnancy Centers Before Abortions?
From Equality Ohio:
SB 5: Defend domestic partner benefits achieved through collective bargaining
Many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Ohioans who work for public employers, including schools and universities, receive domestic partnership benefits as a result of collective bargaining. These benefits are in jeopardy.

Ohio's Senate Bill 5 contains language that could impact current and future domestic partner benefits for LGBT employees. Join us and thousands of other opponents of SB 5 at the Statehouse in Columbus tomorrow to stand up for equal access to health care and other benefits for all Ohio families. The rally is scheduled for tomorrow, February 22, at 1pm, and the committee hearing is scheduled for 3:30pm so we will be there for much of the afternoon. Look for the Equality Ohio banner and raise your voice with us.



From MoveOn.Org:
Solidarity with Wisconsin in Columbus tomorrow: Bus from Cleveland at 10 AM
Have you seen what's happening in Wisconsin?

Teachers, nurses, students and firefighters have occupied the state capitol building for the past week. On Saturday, 70,000 Wisconsinites took to the streets of Madison to protest their tea party governor's radical attack on public workers.

Wisconsin has become the national rallying point in the fight that will decide whether our economy works for all Americans, or just the super-rich. Republicans are using budget deficits as an excuse to attack workers, cut funding for crucial public services, and threaten successful programs like Social Security.
With the groundswell in Madison, we have our best opportunity yet to stand up to the radical Republicans who think we can cut our way to prosperity. Dozens of progressive organizations are organizing solidarity rallies this week in cities across the country, including one tomorrow in Columbus.
Can you come out tomorrow to make clear that we'll fight back as a national movement, not just state by state? The rally is at the Capitol Building, at 1 Capitol Square, in Columbus. It starts at 1:00 PM tomorrow.
A bus will be leaving from Cleveland at 10 AM. To reserve a place on the bus and for more information contact: KameahleChristopher 410.746.7219 / [email protected].
11 other states are considering similar bills. And in nearly every state, politicians are using budget shortfalls—caused by a Wall Street-driven recession—as a justification for cutting necessary public services.
So let's get out there tomorrow and show our solidarity. Can you join us at 1:00 PM in Columbus?


Sign On to People For the American Way's Statement of Support for Wisconsin Protesters

From Democracy for America:
Just like what's happening in Wisconsin right now, Governor John Kasich is trying to ram through a radical plan to strip the rights of nurses, teachers, and other middle class workers to negotiate for fair wages and benefits.

Tens of thousands are protesting at the capital in Wisconsin. It's time to hit the streets in opposition to Kasich's plan here in Ohio to start pushing back everywhere against Republicans working to destroy good middle-class jobs.

Can you attend a big rally in Columbus on Tuesday, February 22nd, at 1pm against this radical plan?

Click here for details and to RSVP.

If Columbus is too far away for you to get there on your own, you can join a free bus ride to the capital from five cities around the state.

Click to sign up for a free bus ride near you

NOTE: To assure your spot on the bus, please sign up before noon today, so they can secure your seat.

Thank you for everything you do.

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