Arkansas Court Backs Gay Foster Parents

The high court in Arkansas clearly stated that " there is no link between their sexual orientation and a child's well-being

"The court agreed with a lower court judge that the state's child welfare board had improperly tried to regulate public morality. The ban also violated the separation of powers doctrine, the justices said."

The justices agreed Thursday, saying the ban was "an attempt to legislate for the General Assembly with respect to public morality."

Word.

Support CARE

To ensure emergency contraception is an option for all rape survivors, Congress has proposed the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act (“CARE”: S.1264/H.R.2928), which would guarantee that emergency rooms provide every woman with emergency contraception as an option following her assault. Sign the petition to support this legislation now!

Newly Released NAF Report on CPC's

To better educate the media, policy makers, and individuals, NAF has developed a new report entitled Crisis Pregnancy Centers: An Affront to Choice. This report includes details about the deceptive and harmful practices of CPCs, how they are funded at the state and federal levels, and what individuals can do to oppose them. It also highlights the voices of participants in NAF’s Patient Partnership who have experienced the misleading tactics of CPCs firsthand.

Quote of the day and Link-A-Dink

"Bush is insulated -- his staff smiles a lot and only gives him the news that he wants to hear. Unfortunately, they still have this delusion that they create their own reality."-Al Gore, in a Rolling Stone interview.

At a hearing on June 29, the first woman elected to lead the Oglala Sioux tribe, Cecelia Fire Thunder, was removed from office with five months remaining in her first term. Link.

The anti-choice group Operation Rescue purchased a Kansas building that housed a clinic--and then they evicted them. Wichita now has only one clinic that performs safe, legal abortions.

Charlotte Allen of the "Independent Women's Forum" (don't be fooled--they are an anti-feminist organization!) is up in arms about the recent recommendation that girls be vaccinated against some of the cancer-causing strains of HPV. Cause the slutbag whores should die!

A new anti-choice project attempts to pair single, pregnant women with anti-choice men. It's called “Grooms for Life.”

Carey Roberts has developed the TWELVE-STEP FEMINIST CURE. I hate you.

It looks like Minnesota is going to be giving a shitload of money to the same “crisis pregnancy centers” that others are trying to regulate due to false advertising and scare tactics that intimidate women into not having abortions. This is a part of the “Positive Alternatives Act” that was passed last year.

Peace activist Carol Fisher, the 54-year-old woman who was arrested and ordered to a psych unit for posting anti-war, anti-Bush World Can't Wait posters, is still in jail. What a democracy.

The “Roe v. Wade for Men” case results are in. "Frivolous"...imagine that.

The All Girl Army is up and running. Check them out!

This could very well be the hottest-ever condom ad. The website address translates as "The King of Condoms" and the tagline is "Go ahead, we've got you covered."

Psychological therapy for sex offenders can reduce re-offending rates, but does not provide a cure, a study says. Via BBC.

MSN has a survey of "why men cheat." U.g.h.

Via WCCO, on March 30, Minnesota Timberwolves center Eddie Griffin was drunk and masturbating when he crashed his luxury SUV into a parked Suburban outside a store in Minneapolis. I guess its true that women are better at multi-tasking.

"The Warren Buffet donation of billions to Bill Gates means killing womb babies agencies will get more money to kill womb babies."--Pastor Skank, I mean Swank. Everybody Loves Swank.

Susie Bright recently wrote an essay on a percieved universal decline in male libido. Yawn.

Obama: Democrats Must Court Evangelicals. "We cannot abandon the field of religious discourse. ... In other words, if we don't reach out to evangelical Christians and other religious Americans and tell them what we stand for, Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons will continue to hold sway."

Maxim's 100 Things You Need to Know About Women...is complete bullshit, with winners like this: "Never trust the woman who gives you the best blow job you’ve ever had." MAXIM ONLINE. Die, Maximum Bullshit.

Pamela Anderson protests fur by going naked. All previous photos of her naked? Not protests. These photos? Protests. Huh???

Friday Top Ten Tracks

1. Dreams--Fleetwood Mac






2. Favorite Mistake--Sheryl Crow

3. The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance--Sinead O'Connor

4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road--Elton John

5. Sarah--Bob Dylan

6. Witchy Woman--The Eagles

7. Nutshell--Alice in Chains

8. Blood and Fire--Indigo Girls

9. The Rose--Bette Midler

10. Tears Go By--The Rolling Stones

Cat Killer agrees to Stem Cell vote

Senate Majority Leader Bill "Cat Killer" Frist (R-Tenn.) on Thursday announced that he will finally schedule a vote as early as next month on three human embryonic stem cell-related bills, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bills are: (HR 810) (S 2754) (S 3504).

About time, asshat.

Only humans feel fear...

Roman Catholic Church leaders are concerned that the Vatican someday could be charged with a crime because of its opposition to abortion, human embryonic stem cell research and gay marriage, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, head of the Roman Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for the Family, said in an interview published Wednesday in Italy's Famiglia Cristiana, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports. "The church is at risk of being brought before some international court, if the debate becomes any tenser, if the more radical requests get heard," Trujillo said. He added, "We fear above all that, faced with current legislation, speaking in defense of life and the rights of the family has become in certain societies a sort of crime against the state, ... discrimination against women". Trujillo reiterated a church rule that says women who undergo abortion, nurses and doctors who assist in the procedure and men who consent to the abortion of fetuses they helped conceive are excommunicated from the church. He added that people taking part in embryonic stem cell research should be excommunicated. "Destroying an embryo equals abortion and that excommunication goes for the woman, the doctors and the scientists who eliminate the embryo," Trujillo said. Trujillo's comments come before the church's World Meeting of Families, which this year will take place in Valencia, Spain, from July 1 to July 9.

Get Up, Stand Up

An inspirational message about inequality, fighting for a dream and never giving up.
Wimbledon Has Sent Me A Message: I'm Only a Second-Class Champion-by Venus Williams.
Billie Jean King fought over 30 years ago...and Venus is still fighting today for equal pay.

Happy 40th NOW!

Natiobal Organization of Women: Happy 40th Brithday!

The National Organization for Women was founded in 1966 at the Third Annual Conference of Commissions on the Status of Women in Washington, D.C. Twenty-eight women contributed $5 each to help fund the new organization -- which was intended to be "an NAACP for women." One of the women was the late Betty Friedan, author and founder of NOW. On a paper napkin, Friedan wrote the famous acronym "NOW." The rest, as they say, is history. Fast forward forty years and NOW is still going strong, with over 500,000 members across the U.S, and chapters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. NOW has been at the forefront of every major advance for women's equality for four decades--making progress and enduring setbacks.

Link-A-Dink

Headline of the day: "Jesus Is Not a Republican."

After gaining the right to vote and run in parlimentary elections back in May 2005, women will be participating in the Kuwaiti elections this Thursday for the first time. via Reuters.

"A braided leather whip, a sniper rifle, six jars of fertiliser and a copy of the "Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook" were among the presents foreign leaders have given George Bush. They are clearly trying to tell him something."

This one goes fiercely into my "Hell with gasoline drawers" file. “Everybody likes beaver, even women,” Tom DeLay declared happily, with a passion he once reserved for attacking "liberals." “The best thing about it, it’s a shaved beaver!" U.m.

Cops in New York City conducted a thirty-six-hour undercover operation targeting subway pervs. The sting yielded a bountiful harvest of gropers and masturbators, and thirteen guys were nabbed. More importantly, it gave the New York Post a reason to use the phrase "next time you cop a feel, you might be feeling a cop."

Very cool. Egyptian women flock to hear female preachers.

This geeksmakemehot post about naming a computer "Vagina" is truly creepy.

Footloose Revisited

Gutted - slang book is banned
The author of what has been described as the definitive dictionary of slang is gobsmacked, gutted, throwing up bunches, honked, hipped and jacked like a cock-maggot in a sink-hole. A North Carolina school district has banned the dictionary under pressure from one of a growing number of conservative Christian groups using the internet to encourage school book bans across the US.

School officials in Wake County, North Carolina acted after pressure from Called2Action, a local Christian activist group whose website asks people to "join our E-army today to take your place on the front lines of the battle for our children's future".

Some parents were also upset that their children were required to read books such as The Colour Purple by Alice Walker and Beloved by Toni Morrison, on the grounds that the books contain "vulgar and sexually explicit language".

Next period: Censorship 101.

Controversy: Then and Now

Flag burning is controversial?
Remember the days when Madonna, clad with nothing but a bra and panties wrapped in a flag was controversy?
Here it is on YoutTube.

Rape Me

Watch Rescue Me or as I like to call it, "Rape Me", video here and clearly watch the show, and Dennis Leary himself, minimize and even glamorize what is clearly marital rape.
When tv airs such a no-biggie attitude towards rape, it demonstrates and perpetuates the tolerance of violence towards women.
I believe that the only reason Dennis Leary's character will "face consequences for his actions" is due to the uproar of the episode, not because any of the producers actually thought it was rape.

Limpy's Viagra Diary

Not sure what this creep photo is about, but host Rush "Limpy" Limbaugh tongues "24" star Mary Lynn Rajskub before a Heritage Foundation-sponsored discussion.

Heritage Foundation eh? ***bimbles off***

Guantanamo was illegal..you don't say?

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Decider overstepped his authority in ordering military war crimes trials for Guantanamo Bay detainees.

The ruling, a rebuke to the administration and its aggressive anti-terror policies, was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, who said the proposed trials were illegal under US law and Geneva conventions.

The 5-3 ruling means officials will either have to come up with new procedures to prosecute at least 10 so-called enemy combatants awaiting trial, or release them from US military custody.

Damn activist judges!

Advisory Panel Approves HPV Vaccine!

I loves me some good news! And it's about time that science and medicine prevail over ideology and politics. (U.S. Panel Endorses Routine Cervical Cancer Vaccine for Girls)
But the fight is not over...its just beginning.

A U.S. advisory panel unanimously voted Thursday that 11- and 12-year-old girls be routinely vaccinated against the virus that causes cervical cancer! Cervical cancer is the second most common malignant disease in women globally, causing an estimated 290,000 deaths worldwide each year. In the United States, some 10,400 new cases will be diagnosed this year, and 3,700 women will die from the disease.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also recommended that the vaccine, called Gardasil, be administered to girls as young as 9, at the provider's discretion, and for women up to age 26 who have not previously been vaccinated against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV).

The advisory committee also recommended that the vaccine be included in the Vaccines for Children Program, which provides free vaccines for children up to age 18 who are eligible for Medicaid, are uninsured or are Native American or Alaskan Native.

Some religious conservatives and other critics have expressed concern that giving the vaccine to children could encourage underage sex.

The recommendations will be passed along to the head of the CDC and to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for review, and are expected to be accepted.

However, via Feministing, Madeline Halperin-Robinson states:
"But more hurdles to access must be cleared before we can declare victory over the STI that can cause cervical cancer. Typically, the committee's recommendations are adopted by each state and used as a guide for government and private insurers to decide whether or not to cover the vaccine. But we are not living in typical times. Feministing has already reported about the far right’s opposition to making the vaccine available to poor women and girls, and they may still succeed.
The ACIP committee's recommendations are great news for rational people who believe science should trump political ideology. All but two states allow religious exceptions to mandatory vaccines, and many states allow exemptions for philosophical reasons-- so fundamentalists will be able to say no to the vaccine for their own daughters. But that's not enough for the religious right. They want to foist their religious beliefs on all young girls. We may see individual states bow to these pressures and make the unprecedented move to go against the ACIP recommendations. This would derail efforts to make the vaccine available to all by weakening the incentive for insurance companies to cover the cost of the vaccine."

One Million Voices Loud

The Save Durfur Coalition has reached its goal of one million postcards calling on President Bush to take stronger action on behalf of the suffering people of Darfur!

In a ceremony this morning at the U.S. Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) became the 999,999th and one-millionth postcard signers!

CDC's Advisory Committee to vote today

Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will determine whether Gardasil — which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a guard against the cancer-causing human papilloma virus, or HPV, for girls and women ages 9 to 26 — should be widely used. The panel’s decision would establish whether private insurers and the government would cover the cost of such vaccinations. By recommending that Gardasil be universally administered to girls ages 11-12, the committee can facilitate widespread vaccination and enable all girls and women to protect themselves from a sexually transmitted infection that the CDC says 80% of American women will have by age 50.

Opponents of the vaccine argue that abstinence is a “foolproof” alternative that negates the need for mandatory vaccination. These groups believe that vaccination will act to lower young women’s sexual inhibitions and promote risky sexual behavior, despite scientific evidence to the contrary.

thoughts and more to come

Will continue today, must go to phone conference...

When President Bush declared "This Administration supports the availability of safe and effective products and services to assist responsible adults in making decisions about preventing or delaying conception."

At first glance, it appears as if the President suddenly supports contracpetion, after years of being questioned on his stance. In fact,
Bush didn't say he supports contraception—only methods to prevent conception. That would eliminate some of the most common forms of birth control— including the IUD, the birth control pill, and the morning-after pill (also called emergency contraception). So that leaves what—condoms and the rhythm method? Hardly what I'd consider "support" for birth control."
Funny, those sound alot like The Reich's preferred methods.

Walks like a man and talks like a man

This is Mark Green.










Mark Green is the leading republican candidate poised to become Wisconsin's next governor. He loudly supports criminalizing abortion, yet votes to limit access to contraception.
Mark Green, a walking contradiction to watch in Wisconsin.
Restoring trust? Taking Wisconsin back from special interests?
Mark Green believes wanting freedom and autonomy is a "special interest".

Link-A-Dink

The Second Carnival Against Sexual Violence is up over at abyss2hope.

PageOneQ reports that the Pentagon will reverse its listing of homosexuality as a mental disorder.

Rush Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at Palm Beach International Airport after authorities said they found a bottle of Viagra in his possession without a prescription. Limbaugh was released without being charged.
"I am not a hardened criminal," blowhard states firmly.
Not on your own at least, thats what the Viagra is for. Idiot.

WORD. Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains will be giving away free emergency contraception this Friday to protest Colorado Governor Bill Owen's veto of a bill that would have made the pill available over-the-counter. WORD.

An article in the Washington Post on Monday discussed a new study on the troubles of boys at school. Puke.

There are blogs and Op/Eds everywhere about Monday night's Rape scene on Rescue Me, that do everything from wonder why Rescue Me hates women, whether it was rape or consensual sex, or proclaiming the series has hit an "all new low". Let's see. Dennis Leary's character hits his ex-wife, rips off her shirt and forces himself on her, holding her down and penetrating her, while she protests violently, then he drives away with his shit grin. Hell with gasoline drawers.

What a stupid idea. Hooters' Benefit for L.A. Animal Services Is a Bust.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Brett Myers, 25, has been charged with assault and battery after he assaulted his wife in front of numerous witnesses. He beat his wife in public, with several witnesses, yet Mike Teevan, a spokesman for Major League Baseball said: "We're obviously very concerned about it. But it was an off-field incident and it's the player's private life. We're going to let the legal system run its course." How is a public beating private? Domestic violence is EVERYONE'S business, bag-o-douche. Cause the MLB can't lose a star pitcher over something as trivial as a wife-beating, eh???

Bitch PhD has a women's and men's thread for "honest" talk about sex: what you like, what you don't, in response to the "blow-job" firestorm that has struck the blogs lately. Fun by all.

Up until Monday afternoon, Right to Life of Montana had been endorsing Shawn Stuart, who’s running on the Republican ticket in Butte’s House District 76, but is also the Montana contact for the National Socialist Movement, described as “America’s Nazi Party” on its Web site. Idiots. Seems he "slipped throught the cracks", but that's lame because of all the press coverage!

A new statistical analysis, published this month, shows that poor and uneducated women have fallen farther behind their more affluent peers in their ability to control fertility and plan childbearing. D.u.h. Give women the tools to prevent unintended pregnancy and they will. The problem is, a lot of women aren’t getting those tools.

Match Point...Again.

John McEnroe has come out in support of equal prize money for men and women at Wimbledon.
"There should be no argument when they are at the same event at the same time, that there should be equal pay," McEnroe said during a teleconference arranged by U.S. broadcaster NBC.

"The opportunities that are being given to young girls and the thought that they can be in position where they can make as much money as a man, which doesn't really happen in any other sport, sends a good message," McEnroe said.

"I have to point to (former tennis champion, women's tour pioneer and equal-pay campaigner) Billie Jean King, because if it weren't for her, these girls wouldn't have that money in the first place."

Mind you, Billie Jean said this in April: "It's just the right thing to do in the 21st century," King said. "The people in power can do whatever they want. But I would hope they would find it in their hearts and minds."

John McEnroe is my middle-school crush of the day.
And Billie Jean King is my heroine of a lifetime.





Watch Preview of HBO's "Portrait of a Pioneer".

Virginity...at a cost

Chastity can be a beautiful thing. Or it can be a death warrant for young Muslim women, who are Going to extremes to be virgins.

Hymen repair, fake virginity certificates and other deceptions, said to be commonplace in some Muslim countries, are practiced in France and elsewhere in Europe, where Muslim girls are more emancipated but still live under rigid codes of family honor.

Such ploys have saved many a young woman from scorn and worse...even death. Honor killings are rampant in certain Middle Eastern cultures, as well as parts of Africa.

Chastity is a moral forced upon women, by men who do not live to the same standards.

When sanitary products are unavailable...women die...

Give the Women of Zimbabwe Back Their Dignity.Period!

The average salary for a Zimbabwean woman is £20 a month with sanitary products costing on average £9 for a month. Unemployment is currently 75%.

"Ordinary women cannot afford sanitary wear, we are using old pieces of cloth or newspapers. Consequently, we're suffering the loss of our dignity and serious infections, in some cases leading to infertility. Many women are facing violence from their husbands who believe these infections to be sexually transmitted" says Thabitha Khumalo, trade union activist and women's campaigner. So desperate is the situation that women are being forced to use rolled-up pieces of newspaper. Zimbabwe already has the world’s lowest life expectancy for women — 34 — and Khumalo believes these unhygienic practices could make it drop to as low as 20 because infections will make them more vulnerable to HIV. “It’s a time bomb,” she said. The shortage is forcing schoolgirls to stay at home when they start menstruating.

Khumalo has begun a campaign, donate here: Send your donation to Action for Southern Africa by either sending cheques payable to ACTSA with sanitary appeal written on the back of the cheque or call ACTSA on 0207 833 3133. Alternatively, please click here to make a secure online donation.

And also: Listen to Thabitha Khumalo on BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour.

A Republican South Dakotan Wakes Up

I heard that Sen. Clarence Kooistra of Garretson, SD has left the Republican party and registered as a democrat. His primary reason for leaving: "I and many of my constituents do not support abortion, but neither do we support legislation that violates the United States Constitution,” Kooistra said in a statement. “The abortion issue has never been a major part of my agenda, and I have never supported abortion nor can I support legislation that makes felons out of medical doctors who perform safe abortions that are a result of rape or incest.”

Bravo, sensible person.

"Medical decisions should be left to doctors and patients, not politicians in Pierre," said Dr. Marvin Buehner of Rapid City, a co-chair for the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, a group that opposes the ban.

Kaiser Updates

From Kaiser:
The Michigan state Department of Community Health recently announced that in 2005, 25,209 abortions were performed in Michigan, the lowest number of recorded abortions since the state began detailed recording of the procedure in the 1970s, the Detroit Free Press reports. According to the health department, 11.9 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 were performed in 2005, compared with 12.8 abortions per 1,000 women in 2004. Health department spokesperson Geralyn Lasher said that the agency attributes the decline to programs aimed at reducing unintended pregnancies. Restricting access is more like it folks.
In 1987 the number of abortions and the abortion rate peaked at 49,098 and 22 abortions per 1,000 women, respectively. Since 1988, when state voters approved a measure that banned Medicaid coverage for abortions among low-income women, the number of abortions performed annually in Michigan generally has declined, according to the Free Press. Yes, its called forced pregnancy.

More Good Jersey News:
The state Senate on Monday voted 31-6 to approve a bill (S 1195) that would require pharmacists to fill prescriptions for any drug, including contraceptives, the AP/Cherry Hill Courier Post reports. The bill also would require pharmacies to refer patients immediately to another pharmacy and have the prescription transferred if the drug is not in stock. The bill now goes to the state Assembly for consideration.

And back to Reich Madness:
House Republicans this summer plan to bring to a vote a series of bills they are calling the "American Values Agenda," which include a bill (HR 356) that would require some women seeking abortion to be told the procedure can cause fetal pain and a bill (HR 1357) that would ban human cloning, the AP/ABC News reports. The fetal pain bill would require abortion providers to tell women seeking the procedure at 20 weeks' gestation or later that there is "substantial evidence" that fetuses can feel "substantial pain" during abortion procedures. Both of the bills are expected to be debated on the House floor "in the coming weeks and months," according to the office of House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). "Through this agenda, we will work to protect the faith of our people, the sanctity of life and freedoms outlined by our founding fathers," House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said.
Who's "our" people? The twisted and foaming interest groups in their pockets?
And "sanctity of life"? Who's life? The lives lost in the war? Or the lives lost to death warrants signed by all the hypocritical "pro-life" nest of vipers?
Sounds more like "Reich Values Agenda" to me...by the way, the "substantial evidence" they claim is not supported in the medical community, where study after study says fetal pain begins in or around 26-28 weeks. Again, The Christian Taliban's constant refusal to accept proven medical findings is part of their spin-agenda.
Lies, lies, lies.

ILL to test newborns for HIV

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) on Friday signed into law a bill (HB 4306) that mandates HIV testing of infants born to women whose HIV status is unknown, the AP/Belleville News-Democrat reports. Illinois since August 2004 has required hospitals and clinics to counsel pregnant women about HIV and offer blood tests for the virus. As a result, the percentage of pregnant women who know their HIV status before they leave the hospital has increased from 72% to 98%. The state's former law required any pregnant woman who decided to be tested to sign an informed consent form before undergoing the test. The former law also said that infants born to women whose HIV status was unknown also automatically had to be tested for the virus unless the mother signed a form to opt out of the infant testing. Under the new law, sponsored by state Rep. Mary Flowers (D), infants born to women whose HIV status is unknown automatically will be tested unless a parent or guardian submits a written form to the physician stating that the test "conflicts with his or her religious tenets and practices". The task force monitoring the state's voluntary Perinatal Rapid Testing Implementation program said only 1.9% of 13,205 infants born in December 2005 were not tested. Although opponents of the law argue that mandatory testing for infants could compromise the confidentiality of the pregnant women's status, some physicians have said immediate treatment for infants exposed to HIV might prevent mother-to-child transmission, the AP/New-Democrat reports. The law takes effect immediately.

Anti-Choice Plates Case Declined

The US Supreme Court declined to hear a case Monday that challenged the distribution of anti-choice license plates in Louisiana. Louisiana provided anti-choice license plates as one of many specialty tags the state offers, but did not offer pro-choice plates. The case, Keeler v. Stalder, was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights in 2000 on behalf of Doreen Keeler, who had requested a pro-choice plate only to find that no such plate was manufactured.

Dozens of conservative politicians across the country have supported the anti-choice plate trend, including Florida Governor Jeb! Bush, who commented, “It’s a pretty tag that says ‘Choose Life’ and it’s for adoption. If people want to politicize that, they’ll politicize anything,” according to Slate.com. There are currently 13 states selling similar anti-choice license plates.

Hhmm, just the other day the court accepted King Bu$hit's abortion ban case, yet they chose to decline this case...interesting.

Conraceptive Equity on New Jersey

I loves me some good news. From Planned Parenthood: Contraceptive Equity In New Jersey.

As one of his last acts as New Jersey's acting governor, Richard Codey signed into law a bill that will drastically improve access to contraceptives for thousands of New Jersey women by requiring employers, including the state government, to cover FDA-approved contraceptives. Currently, 24 other states have similar laws or policies. New Jersey's law will go into effect in July.

The Choice NJ Coalition, which includes Planned Parenthood Association of the Mercer Area (PPAMA), Planned Parenthood of Central New Jersey, Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey, Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey, Planned Parenthood of Southern New Jersey, and the local chapters of NARAL Pro-Choice America and the National Organization for Women, worked to get the legislation passed.

Condom Lockdown

According to a recent article in The Washington Post, nearly half of the Washington area CVS stores keep condoms in a locked cabinet. Customers must push a buzzer and request their items from a store employee.

According to CVS, the reason that condoms are locked up is to prevent theft. Mike DeAngelis, a CVS spokesman, told The Post, "We're not trying to restrict access — we're trying to prevent people from stealing."

So, why not just put one of those security tags inside like the other items, i.e make-up? So, is all the other merchandise being stolen behind lock and key???

National HIV Testing Day

Happy National HIV Testing Day!

The goal of National HIV Testing Day is to encourage you to know your HIV status by participating in an anonymous or confidential HIV testing program.

HIV counseling and testing helps people with HIV to take steps to protect their own health and that of their partners, and helps people who test negative get the information they need to stay uninfected.

To learn more about young people and HIV, please visit: http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/hivsti.htm

To find a testing site near you, please visit: http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=83448256&u=767216

Get tested. Save your life. Save the life of your partner(s).

Wire Hanger State Poised for Battle

From Kaiser:
South Dakota abortion-rights advocates on Thursday at a Planned Parenthood Federation of America-sponsored panel discussion in Washington, D.C., outlined a strategy for overturning a ban (HB 1215) that bars abortion in the state except to save a woman's life, CNS News reports. South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson (R) on Monday certified that petitioners of the state ban had submitted more than the 16,728 signatures required to place the law on hold and put it on a statewide ballot in November. The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, a coalition of opponents of the ban, last month filed the petition. Nelson needed to validate the signatures in order to suspend the law pending the outcome of the referendum. Opponents gathered more than 38,000 signatures out of 500,000 registered voters in the state. Abortion-rights advocates on Monday said they were hopeful for a successful outcome of the referendum. "We believe this is the moment for us in South Dakota," Sarah Stoesz, president of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, said, adding that the group will "pursue a legal battle if we lose, because we intend to keep our clinic." Al Quinlan, a Democratic pollster who has conducted research for PPMNS, said South Dakota is divided about the ban. He added that PPMNS plans to "make sure people know this is going to put South Dakota in the middle of a terrible, national political debate that is going to cost the state a lot of money." Leslee Unruh, president of the Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, said, "It's too late to worry about us being in the spotlight. Our polling shows that South Dakotans will stick to their values". Jim Sedlak, vice president of the American Life League, said he thinks PPMNS has "absolutely zero" chance of defeating the ban, noting that "[e]very legislator who supported the abortion ban and was challenged won their primary and four legislators who were opposed to the abortion ban lost their primary elections".

It's a tough road ahead. But one worth fighting.
And the Leslee Gassbags will be stopped.

Warren Buffet offers stock to reproductive health agencies

Berkshire Hathaway Chair Warren Buffett on Sunday in a letter disclosed that he plans to donate stock currently valued at about $3 billion to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which is named after his late wife and supports reproductive health and rights, family planning and college scholarship programs, the Wall Street Journal reports. Warren Buffett's donation will be added to the $2.5 billion bestowed to the foundation in the will of Susan Thompson Buffett, who in 2004 died of a stroke. The Buffett Foundation has been a "quiet force" in population control and has made "substantial donations" to organizations that support abortion rights, according to the Journal. In the past, the Buffets' philanthropic efforts reportedly have contributed to the Center for Reproductive Rights in support of its court battle to overturn Nebraska's ban on so-called "partial-birth" abortion; the ban was overturned in 2001. Their foundation also has given money to Ipas, the Population Council, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Family Health International, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Catholics for a Free Choice and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. In addition, they funded millions of dollars to help mifepristone, which causes a medical abortion when taken in conjunction with the drug misoprostol, win FDA approval.

Creatures from the far right

Creatures from the Far Right is a parody. But the reality is serious, and far scarier. This election season, anti-choice politicians will stop at nothing to keep their dangerous grip on power. To stop them we must elect pro-choice candidates at all levels, or the Creatures from the Far Right will continue to chip away at a woman's right to choose.

Women's Breasts Ironed in Cameroon

I was alerted to this article, Cameroon girls battle 'breast ironing', and it just makes me want to just die. I am livid beyond words and I am just so sick to my stomache yet again. It seems every time I turn on the news or search the blogosphere, I become more and more aware of how much I want to curl under a rock and sob. Yet I don't. I am here--blogging because I have so much anger and I am unable at this point to go where I am being called to...places like Cameroon.

"A nationwide campaign is under way in Cameroon to discourage the widespread practice of "breast ironing". This involves pounding and massaging the developing breasts of young girls with hot objects to try to make them disappear."

"Statistics show that 26% of Cameroonian girls at puberty undergo it, as many mothers believe it protects their daughters from the sexual advances of boys and men who think children are ripe for sex once their breasts begin to grow."

"The most widely used instrument to flatten the breasts is a wooden pestle, used for pounding tubers in the kitchen. Heated bananas and coconut shells are also used."

Student Geraldin Sirri recounted her painful experience. "My mother took a pestle, she warmed it well in the fire and then she used it to pound my breasts while I was lying down. She took the back of a coconut, warmed it in the fire and used it to iron the breasts. I was crying and trembling to escape but there was no way."





This picture shows common tools used to iron the breasts of young girls.





My question is: why is it ALWAYS women who physically and emotionally suffer and are punished because of the fear that they might have sex? Or G-d forbid--enjoy it.
Women are people. Women are people. Women are people.

Why is it always the woman who has her breasts pounded or her genitals sawed off? Why are we allowing this to happen to our women of the world? Why is it always women who must endure painful, excrutiating practices? Why do we constantly ignore the problem and attempt to maim the possible victim? Why, why, why? Why do we constantly ignore that women are being tortured because we impose morals onto them that we do not place onto men? Why do we do nothing to prevent women from having to live up to impossible standards?

Are men having their penises removed at puberty for fear they may have sex before school? How are we brutalizing the penis to make sure boys remain virgins until marriage? Do we cut the penis with razors? Do we poke balls with hot pokers? Do we pound balls to make sure they don't produce sperm, hence no impregnantion of whores?

I'm just rageous over this. I am tired of women being forced to lay down while their genitals are cut off. I am tired of women being blamed for shit they have no control over. I am tired of women being blamed for the patriarchy's ridiculous idea of what a woman should be. I am tired of hearing women tell the tales of being raped with knives. I am tired of reading about a 7 year old girl gang-raped repeatedly until she is ripped apart.

I am tired of it, I'm just so tired.

Carnival Time!

The 17th Carnival of Feminists is up at Bitch Lab. Check it out!

Weekend Link-A-Dink

Time magazine covers the new HPV vaccine-- and arguments for and against making it mandatory for public school enrollment.

The current issue of Seed contains a list of over 450 species that practice homosexual behavior. Fun times had by all.

Dang, you know when the National Right to Life expresses concern over the Wire Hanger State's abortion ban, there is dissention among the freaks. Priceless.

Actress Anne Hathaway described her her experience with "The Devil Wears Prada" co-star Stanley Tucci. "He would just smack me in my boob and elbow me," Hathaway told journos at the New York premiere. "If you're a girl, you know that hurts, so, after about the fourth time, I finally said: 'Stanley, can you please stay away from my t - - s?' He got really flustered and he responded: 'What do you expect? You're flinging those melons around like it's harvest season.' " Um. W.T.F.

Senator Feingold was at his best this morning in an interview with Tim Russert on NBC Meet the Press. Video -WMP Video -QT

MSNBC has a predictable article about how women get off on monogamy and men don’t. Way to reinforce age-old gender stereotypes!

Parental notification for abortion is likely to be on the California ballot once again, although it failed at last attempt.

Think female genital mutilation only occurs in thir-world countires? Think again, click here and learn about clitoridectomies performed in the U.S. in the 1950s to--imagine this--stop female masturbation, "melancholia," "promiscuity," and to "cure" lesbianism. Dirty whores.

Dick Cheney said that the Miami 7 were "a very real threat." Except, after actually investigating, there’s ample reason to believe that’s not the case.

Senator Harry Reid has proposed a new bill that would strengthen and expand security for judges, prosecutors, witnesses and their families in the wake of Darren Mack shooting Judge Weller. Where is the added security for abused women?
Also to note: Darren Mack has been captured. He turned himself in in Mexico. When police searched Mack's house after the shootings, they found bomb parts in his bedroom.

Pedophelia is alive and well...59 year old James Woods, who said of his twenty-year-old girlfriend: “She has it all: beauty, brains and charm. I knew her when she was a little kid.” Is that when she ran around in her underoos?

Time magazine covers the new HPV vaccine-- with arguments for and against making it mandatory for public school enrollment.

On Thursday, just as the vote to renew the Voting Rights Act was about to take place, some members of the Republican Party met behind closed doors and decided to stall the vote. Their reason? That some of the requirements of the act were no longer relevant to key southern states that historically have tried to prevent African Americans from voting. Two Congressmen from Georgia, Lynn Westmoreland (10 Commandments Man) and Jack Kingston, led the movement to delay the vote, and they were joined by 78 other Republicans.

In New Hampshire, Another Case Of An Angry Divorcing Guy Threatening A Judge.

Carbon Paper: A letter about a personal decision that conservative newspapers refused to print.

Canada is planning to raise the age of consent from fourteen to sixteen. Stay away James Woods.

Absolutely appaling! ABC News reported last week about a sexual assault case of a disabled woman in Colorado Springs, where the district has refused to take up the case that the woman’s parents filed because their expert claimed the attack was “pleasurable” for the victim.

Unquote Sunday

"I would have given the same answer when asked if a single woman, who was pregnant and living with her boyfriend, should be hired to teach my third-grade children".--Republican US Senator Jim Demint "clarifying" his previous comment that public schools should not hire lesbian and gay teachers.







"Well, you're not the vice president. And I doubt you ever will be".--Seah Hannity to Senator Mary Landrieu, after she asked not to be interrupted and noted that he did not interrupt his previous interviewee, Dick Chenney.

NOW Press Release

The Michigan State Senate voted on a bill Thursday that would amend the 1976 Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to permit single-sex public schools, classes or programs in Michigan. The bill, SB 1305, passed the Senate 32-5. This is the second single-sex school bill to pass in Michigan, and the state is dangerously close to endorsing gender segregation in its public schools.

Today should be a day of celebration: 34 years ago today, Congress passed Title IX, the civil rights law prohibiting gender discrimination in education programs and activities receiving federal funds. But we are not in a celebratory mood, as we face state and federal efforts to sex-segregate public schools.

The National Organization for Women has fought for the rights of women since our founding. We have fought to eliminate sex bias and stereotypes, to include girls in sports, and to achieve equal educational opportunities at all levels of learning. It is inconceivable today that we must fight for our daughters -- including my own daughters -- to be able to sit next to, and be educated alongside boys.

The Michigan Legislature is continuing to work on several bills that attempt to weaken Title IX equal education guarantees. We strongly oppose these bills because the separation of boys and girls, and the underlying (and false) assumption that girls and boys are so different that they shouldn't even be educated together, introduces harmful gender stereotypes into public education. This could lead to, among other possible outcomes, emphasizing math and science for boys, and for girls, less rigorous course work. Equally troubling, these bills violate the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, and if such segregation is allowed to move forward, it will set a dangerous precedent for all other civil rights laws and protections for women.

The issue of single-sex education is being promoted by some educators and parents who think it is innovative. Supporters suggest that single-sex classrooms are a way to give parents a "choice" in their children's education. Parents, however, have no guarantee that their girls will receive the same educational opportunities as their boys, and years of experience suggest that girls will get the short end.

Contrary to what supporters are saying, research does not show that gender is an accurate, consistent, or even useful determinant of educational needs. Why not put this misplaced energy into offering all of our students smaller classes and better teacher-to-student ratios and establish regular classrooms where every child can receive the benefits? As we should have learned by now, "separate but equal" has no place in public education.

An interview and a reflection

abyss2hope has a wonderful post about porn, with a link to Ted Bundy in his final interview, given to James Dobson.

What I find ironic is that Ted Bundy decided to give his final interview to Dr. James Dobson. Yes, the one and only, the allmighty founder of Focus on the Family.

James Dobson, the same man who believes, as Bundy did obviously, that women are less human, inferior to them. James Dobson, who believes that women are incapable of making their own decisions. Therefore, decisions need to be made by men, and Dr. Dobson has self-nominated himself for that position. Why Bundy picked another woman-hater, we will never know.

James Dobson believes that women should and need to be controlled. Ted Bundy did as well, just in a much more violent, sadistic manner. His choice of control was violence, Dr. Dobson's is repression of autonomy.

Keep in mind that some of my opinions are pretty radical, but what I'm trying to say is that while both are seemingly normal men, their views of women are not that much different. It is merely their actions based on those views that were different.

And while I would not dare compare Dobson to Bundy, the very simple fact remains that the idea they share--their view of women and their view as being superior--is comparable. They both foster the notion that THEY get to decide women's fates. They have decided this for themselves. I am exposing the similar views. I am exposing the similar thought process. Beyond that is non-comparable, for obvious reasons.

Noteworthy News

This is f*cked up. The Cincinnati Planned Parenthood Clinic must give a family that is suing the clinic all records on abortion patients younger than 18, a judge ruled.The documents are being sought in a lawsuit by the family of a teenage girl. The suit alleges that Planned Parenthood never got parental consent to perform an abortion on the girl, as required by Ohio law.

From womensenews:
The Supreme Court on Monday gave plaintiffs greater latitude in prosecuting domestic violence cases, The Associated Press reported July 19. In Hammon v. Indiana, the court ruled that statements made by victims of crime in emergency situations are permissible in court even if those victims do not testify at trial. In a separate case, the justices held that a Washington man's "right to confront his accuser" was not violated because he could not cross-examine his ex-girlfriend, who claimed in a 911 call that he had assaulted her.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., introduced a bill June 22 to require all HIV-prevention programs funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to address violence against women and would strike the requirement that one-third of the funding under the plan be directed toward abstinence-only programs. At the United Nations AIDS summit in New York three weeks ago, violence and discrimination against women were highlighted as a major factor in higher infection and death rates among women.

Vatican and Amnesty at war...of morals at least

Vatican warns Amnesty on abortion:
Amnesty International and the Vatican are gearing up for a fight over abortion.
Using a curious phrase, Cardinal Renato Martino, "who heads the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People," warned that by "doing this, they cut off their hands." (Gah!)

The "this" is Amnesty dropping its neutral stance on abortion and pushing for it as a human right. They're seeking to decriminalize it in countries that already have repressive laws, like El Salvador and it's Forensic Vagina Specialists.

Martino went on to say that "if they do, they are disqualified as defenders of human rights."
Wow, if they disagree on this issue they're "disqualified"? How does one get "disqualified"?

That's a bit hysterical, but then, in the eyes of the Vatican, abortion is murder. But then again, they refuse to sanction birth control, which is an unconscionable and ultimately cruel position given food shortages in a changing world.

But Amnesty, "founded by Catholic lawyer Peter Benenson in 1961" doesn't believe that the Vatican has a red phone to G-d.

Back in 2000 Amnesty joined other groups in pushing for legalized abortion in the UN's declaration on women's rights, opposed by the Vatican. At the time, "Amnesty... accused the Vatican of entering into an unholy alliance with a number of Muslim and developing countries to stop abortion from being enshrined in international law."

Hint to the Vatican: If you want to have a say in what happens to women's bodies, a good start would be to NOT pretend that men are better than women by refusing to allow them to join the ordained hierarchy. Just a thought.

And I'd just like to add that the Vatican needs to keep its cross out of my crotch and worry about what their priests are doing with Johnny boy behind the alter.

The Struggle for Women's Freedom

Steven Conn has an absolutely brilliant article in Common Dreams, In Struggle For Women's Freedom, Which Side is US On? Also via Pioneer Press.

A few snipets:
"States that are repressive enough to control women's contraceptive options are just as likely to control other aspects of childbearing. The Romanian despot Nicolae Ceausescu made contraception illegal in 1966 for any woman who had fewer than five children. Not satisfied with that, 20 years later, in 1986, he created a monitoring system for all pregnant women, and miscarriages became subject to a criminal investigation. These acts forced women to have children whether they wanted to or not, and 200,000 of those children wound up in those infamous orphanages. Just as tyrannically, China, which limits family size by law, has long been accused of coercing women to have abortions and be sterilized."

"So as Ohio and Louisiana rush to join South Dakota in attempting to criminalize abortion, we should ask: Which side are we on? Are we among those societies who permit women the full measure of their freedom or with those who control women's bodies in the service of a larger state agenda?"

"The lesson of the 20th century is clear, at least to the rest of the world. Free societies allow their citizens to make their own reproductive decisions; repressive ones restrict them. Which side are we on when this administration votes with countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia to block funding for family planning initiatives in the United Nations?"

"No society can be called a free society until and unless women are free to make their own decisions about family planning, and this includes the United States. So are we going to join those nations where women enjoy their freedom or are we going to follow places such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and El Salvador, which treat their women as less than free? Which side are we going to be on?"

Link-A-Dink

Man with 10-year erection awarded $400,000. Ouch.

New Research Connects Availability of EC and Dropping Healthcare Costs
A new study by the University of British Columbia reveals that by making Plan B available over the counter, healthcare costs can be dramatically reduced.

The global response to fighting rape and other sexual violence -- which can lead to HIV infection -- in war zones has been "grossly inadequate" in comparison to the scale of the problem, U.N. Population Fund Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obiad said on Wednesday at the opening of a three-day conference on the issue; International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond in Brussels, Belgium, organized by UNFPA in partnership with the European Commission and the Belgian government, Reuters reports.

A new drug to treat HIV won federal approval today. FDA approves new HIV drug, Prezista

HHS Assistant Secretary for Health John Agwunobi last month in a letter responded to an inquiry about President Bush's views on contraception by saying the administration "supports the availability of safe and effective products and services to assist responsible adults in making decisions about preventing or delaying conception," the Washington Post reports. So where's our EC, assbag? Liar, liar pants on fire...cause you're going to hell with gasoline drawers, hypocrite.

The American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge to stop the Miami-Dade County school district from removing a series of children’s books from its libraries, including a volume about Cuba which depicts smiling kids in communist uniforms. ACLU sues district for pulling Cuba book.

Valedictorian unplugged over God-speak. Clark County School District officials in Nevada and a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union say administrators followed federal law when they cut the microphone on Foothill High School valedictorian Brittany McComb as she began deviating from a pre-approved speech and reading from a version that mentioned God and contained biblical references.

A priest who admitted sexually abusing a 12-year-old altar boy fled to Mexico after his bishop failed to immediately report the confession to authorities, a law enforcement official said. Priest flees after abuse report delayed.

Tennessee Waltz

The conservative group Family Action Council, in Tennessee, headed by state Sen. David Fowler (R), on June 5 sent surveys to state Supreme Court and appellate court judges seeking re-election on issues such as abortion, the AP/Tennessean reports. The survey includes a question asking the judicial candidates if they believe the Tennessee Constitution requires the use of state funds for abortions. Fowler said candidates are allowed to answer such questions under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a Minnesota case. The Supreme Court in June 2002 ruled in a 5-4 decision that Minnesota state judicial candidates have a right to free speech during campaigns and may openly discuss their views on issues such as abortion. Tennessee voters in August will decide whether to retain three of the five state Supreme Court justices, as the other two are retiring.

And yes, Family Action Council is an affiliate of Focus on the Family.

Political Link-A-Dink

Consultant Charged with Molesting Girl in Ad. Nice. Family Values, for sure. Political consultant Carey Lee Cramer (R), credited with an anti-Al Gore ad in 2000 that showed a young girl picking daisy petals and ends with a nuclear blast, is charged with molesting two girls, including the one in the ad, according to McAllen Monitor.

The US Senate on Wednesday defeated a proposal by Democrats to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour by January 1, 2009. Yet, on 6/14, House lawmakers voted to increase their salaries by $3,300. The 2 percent cost-of-living raise would be the seventh straight for members of the House and Senate.

Former Bush misadministration official David Safavian has been found guilty of covering up his dealings with Republican pet lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Safavian was convicted on four of five felony counts of lying and obstruction. Word.

Oblivious and incompetent Bozo George urges republicans to keep Bill Frist as the Senate Majority Leader. Only one small problem: Frist plans to retire from the Senate this fall. It's like he doesn't even try anymore.

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), who screwed over PA taxpayers not too long ago, has received the "Hero of the Taxpayer" award by Americans for Tax Reform, run by nasty, viper-like conservative assbag Grover Norquist.

"Senior US intelligence officials said Thursday they have no evidence that Iraq produced chemical weapons after the 1991 Gulf War, despite recent reports from media outlets and Republican lawmakers."

King George states the "Hungarian experience should inspire Iraqis" - completely forgetting, (or more like; completely fucking stupid) the Hungarians revolted against their Soviet invaders.

Equality Now

Equality Now works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world through the mobilization of public pressure.

Issues of concern to Equality Now include:
RAPE-DOMESTIC VIOLENCE-REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS-TRAFFICKING-
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION-POLITICAL PARTICIPATION-
GENDER DISCRIMINATION

Please view this video and join the mobilization today.



Equality Now PSA featuring Meryl Streep, Marisa Tomei and Sarah Jones

34 and still vulnerable

Happy 34th Birthday Title IX!

Title IX was the first comprehensive federal law to prohibit sex discrimination against students and employees of educational institutions. Title IX benefits both males and females, and is at the heart of efforts to create gender equitable schools. The law requires educational institutions to maintain policies, practices and programs that do not discriminate against anyone based on sex. Under this law, males and females are expected to receive fair and equal treatment in all arenas of public schooling: recruitment, admissions, educational programs and activities, course offerings and access, counseling, financial aid, employment assistance, facilities and housing, health and insurance benefits, marital and parental status, scholarships, sexual harassment, and athletics.

Here's one reason why Title IX is still vulnerable to undermining:
"On March 18, the Department of Education (DOE) released an "Additional Clarification" that greatly weakens Title IX. Under the law, federally-funded schools must provide equal educational opportunities to female students, including equal opportunities to play sports. The education department's regulations give schools a "safe harbor," allowing a school to be deemed in compliance with Title IX if it meets any one part of a three-part test. With the DOE's new policy guidance, schools will now find it much easier to comply, while at the same time restricting athletic opportunities for young women."

Read more here: Good News and Bad News for Title IX

Friday Top Ten Tracks

1. Storms-Fleetwood Mac








2. Save Me-Aimee Mann

3. Black-Pearl Jam

4. Someone Saved My Life Tonight-Elton John

5. Harvest Moon-Neil Young

6. You-Bonnie Raitt

7. For My Lover-Tracy Chapman

8. Drowning Man-U2

9. The Scientist-Coldplay

10. Cowboy Take Me Away-Dixie Chicks

Cat Killer on a mission to kill people too

Stem cells are "blank" cells that have the potential to develop into any type of cell in the body -- nerve cells, heart cells, kidney cells. This gives scientists hope that stem cells could treat illnesses like diabetes, paralysis, and Alzheimer's disease.

But one man in Congress is holding up a vote on this life changing research.

One year ago this month, the House of Representatives passed legislation to expand stem cell research. Yet so far, Senate Republican Leader Bill "Cat Killer" Frist, who is a doctor himself, has refused to schedule a vote in the Senate, caving instead to the herd of hypocrites.
The American people, and the people afflicted with these horrible diseases deserve better. This is a rare opportunity for Congress to significantly improve the quality of people's lives.
Tell Senator Frist: We want a vote on stem cell research!

Darth Frist also added a poison pill to the minimum wage amendment, which ultimately resulted in its failure. Thanks, bag-o-douche. As someone who worked for minimum wage back when it was 4.25, I can tell you that his pockets got fuller while mine got smaller. But hey, on June 14th, they all got a raise! Cause they need it, you know.

Humanity is a crime

Couple arrested for saving illegal immigrants’ lives, via The Durango Telegraph.
Crime? Decide for yourself.

To The Commander-in-a-Bubble: You are a crime against humanity.

9:31 Rant

The Supreme Court ruled today that employees can sue when businesses retaliate against them for making sex harassment claims.

Excellent, one down. Now onto the list.
Like childcare, healthcare, family planning, deceptive "crisis pregnancy centers", clinic violence, reproductive freedom, medically accurate sex education, the FDA's hostage of EC, the infiltration of The Goons into our political, scientific, and medical communities, rape and victim blaming, domestic violence, access to birth control, sex trafficking, the systematic oppression of women and their autonomy....aarrgg, whatev.

I've got fire in me today.
And speaking of being tired of it: Bronx students petition school for informative sex ed.
All the self-righteous MisLeaders can go to hell with gasoline drawers.

I.n.t.o.l.e.r.a.n.c.e.

This Link-A-Dink is in rememberance of what brave souls still must endure just for being themselves: hate and intolerance.

A Boise Bigot has complained that his local public library stocks such offensive titles as "The Joy of Gay Sex." Although the library has decided not to ban it, but instead place it on the high shelves (whatev), one of the library board trustees said he'd rather have his 9-year-old son start smoking than look at a book about gay sex. Cause dying is better than butt sex...didn't you know?

Who knew Arabs and Jews could agree on ANYTHING? Yes, I know...huh?
Well, it seems the religious zealots are trying to stop a gay pride parade on August 7 in Jerusalem. The Arabs and Jews are calling for a ceasefire so they can gang up on the gay folks.
With all the pressing issues facing these two groups, homosexuality is what brings them together? Will there be a day when humanity or love or peace or healing or smiles brings them together? Or the world for that matter?

The Episcopal church, after electing an openly gay man a few years ago and just days ago a woman, is now asking dioceses not to elect openly gay bishops. Bend over, homophobe.

A woman burned 100 books in the gay and lesbian section of a Chicago public library. Officials said it wasn't a hate crime, but ahh yes...if I had burned 100 books on Christianity, The Reich Robots would be screaming holy hell, wouldn't they?

Happy Pride Week

Happy Pride Week!

Stand Tall, Stand Proud, Stand Strong!

This is for you, my Doodles.

Condom use decreases risk of HPV in newly sexually active women

Consistent condom use by their male partners appears to reduce the risk of human papillomavirus, or HPV, infection in newly sexually active women, a study reports today.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the USA. Certain HPV types cause nearly all cervical cancer cases, and others cause genital warts.

The new study, in The New England Journal of Medicine, followed 82 female college undergraduates who reported their first intercourse with a male partner during the study or within two weeks of its start. The women had pelvic exams and HPV and Pap tests every four months. They also completed a Web-based diary about their sexual behavior every two weeks.

Women whose partners always used a condom were 70% less likely to acquire an HPV infection than women whose partners used condoms less than 5% of the time, the University of Washington researchers found.

As with everything, spread the word, tell your friends. Information is power.

Sell-Out Girl

Nelly Furtado used to be cool. Hip. Even innovative and inspiring.

Now, she is just another sellout.

She has bent over to the machine, taken it in the ass for cash and has abandoned her fans that stood loyal to her. Where is the Nelly we used to know and love? She is on the street corner flashing her wallet with her new, transparent hit: "Promiscuous Girl". The new and manufactured Nelly has named her new album "Loose". Clearly.

Turning to the oh-so tired 'formula' of featuring a rap star on a song to gaurantee sales is not only ultra-lame, but it is as unexpected as her recent Blender interview, where she had this to say:

On toning down her hippie vibe: “I went through a feminist phase and read a lot of philosophical stuff. Some of the male bashing brainwashed me for a bit so I stopped. I love men!”

First, what does being a hippie have to do with feminism? Sure, there are plenty of hippie feminists, but they are not one in the same and there is certainly no correlation.
Second, screw right off. It's as if her PR Rep got a hold of her brain as well as her artistic integrity.

From her website: Nelly Furtado has gone from flower child to "Promiscuous" girl.

Not one dime from me, Sell-Out girl.

Snap, Crackle...Pop

Sandra Bernhard visited The View today and was thrown into a battle against The Brainless Blonde.

Ms. Sandra was speaking about women's reproductive rights and was also asked what she thought of The First Robot.

"I think she's...heavily medicated".

The Brainless Blonde went into a tailspin and foamed at the mouth.

She's truly off her rocker and deserves a swift kick in the ass.
I want to know what brainwashing cereal she is being fed in the morning.

Here is YouTube - Sandra Bernhard vs. THE VIEW Cat Fight....the war of words is at the very end of the clip.

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

I love it when liars get nailed.

David Sirota exposes John Stossel's "dishonest talking points."

Please go check it out.

Save Mississippi's only remaining clinic

Just in from FMF:

As summer begins, the Feminist Majority Foundation is preparing to protect the lone remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi . The Jackson Women's Health Organization is facing a week-long siege by Operation Save America (formerly Operation Rescue) from July 15-22 to make Mississippi “the first ‘abortion-free' state in America.”

Flip Benham, the director of Operation Save America, has said “We will not wait for the President, Congress, or the Supreme Court to end abortion.”

The Feminist Majority Foundation is determined to help this clinic and protect women's access to abortion in Mississippi. We are sending organizing staff to help the clinic withstand the protests this July and to work with law enforcement to ensure the safety of the clinic and its healthcare workers. We need your help to ensure that doctors, healthcare workers, and volunteer clinic escorts are safe and the clinic remains open.

They need to immediately raise $25,000 for security equipment and staff. Half of your emergency tax-deductible contribution will help the Jackson Women's Health Organization get the security assistance they need.

The other half of your tax-deductible gift will support the Feminist Majority Foundation's Clinic Defense Project, which will be working closely with the Jackson clinic and with other targeted clinics across the country.

We cannot allow anti-abortion zealots to win through violence and intimidation.

World Refugee Day Exposes the Ugly Truth...Now DO Something

Yesterday, CNN acted like real media...they exposed one atrocity after another. They covered World Refugee Day from sunrise to sunset. If you missed the coverage, here are the stories.

One of the stories they highlighted yesterday is the use of rape as a weapon in the Congo.

The reality is that rape is being used as a military weapon. Those who are poor and have few resources – like refugees – are most often targeted. In fact, poverty has been found to be one of the leading causes of violence against women.

A woman desperately needs our help. She’s been gang-raped in a Congolese prison and has a chance at asylum, but we need to move immediately.

"Monique was at her government job in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in January 2001 on the day President Kabila was assassinated outside her office. The military swept everybody there into detention. She was imprisoned and repeatedly interrogated, beaten and gang-raped by guards for the next six weeks.

"She was able to escape to the US, but now the United States government has denied Monique asylum based on the shocking rationale that being repeatedly gang-raped and beaten was nothing more than a "legitimate investigation.” She could be sent back to the Congo any day."

This is an outrage!!!

Click here to write Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and demand Monique be given asylum.

Click here to write CNN to thank them for their great coverage of World Refugee Day.

Kaiser News To Note

News from Kaiser:

Not "new" news, but Crisis pregnancy centers are using "deceptive tactics" to attract women seeking abortion services, according to a report released Thursday by the National Abortion Federation, the New York Sun reports. The report says that the centers -- which do not provide abortion services -- are deceiving women and using tax-payer funds to subsidize their work. The report cites several examples, including a pregnancy center in Massachusetts that used the title PP, Inc., or Problem Pregnancy, and moved into an office on the same floor as a Planned Parenthood Federation of America clinic. In addition, the report alleges that some women who went to crisis centers "describe being harassed, bullied and given blatantly false information". The report suggests adopting legislation that would regulate advertisements for crisis pregnancy centers. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) in April proposed legislation that would require the Federal Trade Commission to adopt policies barring health providers from advertising "with the intent to deceptively create the impression that such person is a provider of abortion services if such person does not provide abortion services." Maloney said that she drafted the bill with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union to avoid infringing on free-speech rights (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/3). Kristin Hansen -- spokesperson for CareNet, a national network of antiabortion counseling centers -- said the NAF report contains outdated and erroneous information.

Washington, D.C., Cardinal Theodore McCarrick on Thursday at a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Los Angeles reiterated a policy approved by the bishops in 2004 that the decision to deny communion to Roman Catholic politicians who support abortion rights is up to the local bishop, Reuters/ABC News reports. The USCCB in June 2004 at a closed meeting in Colorado voted to approve a statement saying that Catholic politicians should work against legalized abortion "lest they be guilty of cooperating in evil and in sinning against the common good." However, the statement also said the decision to deny Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be left to individual bishops. "These dialogues are not about winning votes but saving souls." The task force has written a booklet, "Readings on Catholics and Political Life," that has been distributed to every Catholic member of Congress. The church also is arranging education and information sessions on Capitol Hill about Catholic teachings. McCarrick said the church needs "more, not fewer Catholics in political life" and announced that the task force is ending its work. Yuk.

The federal government has suspended $2.65 million in funding from a California program that offers breast and cervical cancer screenings at no cost to uninsured women after the state Department of Health Services neglected to correctly collect and report data on the program to CDC, Kevin Reilly -- deputy director of prevention services for DHS -- said Friday, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports. About 270,000 women annually receive screenings through the state's "Every Woman Counts" program, which was launched in the mid-1990s, according to the AP/Mercury News. State officials were notified about six months ago that the federal funds would be suspended, the Sacramento Bee reports. Initially, state officials thought they would have to discontinue cervical cancer screenings and in a May 31 letter told clinic operators to stop enrolling new patients in the screenings by June 30. However, DHS on Friday said it would be able to use funds from the state's share of the national tobacco settlement for breast and cervical cancer screenings. "It is true that we need to improve our data collection to be more comprehensive," Reilly said, adding, "We're attempting to improve that system right now." CDC officials were not available for comment, according to the Bee. Why not just help them fix the problem instead of refusing medical access to 270,000 women???

Canadian sales of Barr Laboratories subsidiary Duramed Pharmaceuticals' emergency contraceptive Plan B have increased since nonprescription sales of the drug were approved in the country, according to figures released on Monday by DoctorSolve Healthcare Solutions, a company that sells drugs through its Web site, the Boston Globe reports. Canada's national health agency, Health Canada, in April 2005 approved Plan B for use without a doctor's prescription, allowing the pills to be sold at pharmacies nationwide. Duramed in January 2005 sold 23,000 pills to retail pharmacies, compared with 41,000 pills currently sold by Canadian pharmacies monthly, the DoctorSolve figures say. A Barr spokesperson said the company does not track product transfers to Duramed but added that inventory figures corroborate DoctorSolve's figures.

Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive poll: The majority of U.S. adults believe information and access to birth control should be more available, according to an online survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal and Harris Interactive. The poll, which surveyed 2,689 U.S. adults between June 9 and June 13, finds that 89% of the adults surveyed believe that information about birth control should be more accessible; 81% believe that providing access to birth control is a good way to prevent abortions; 73% believe that a person's access to birth control should not be limited by someone's ability to pay for it; and 58% believe that emergency contraception should be easily available in all pharmacies. The survey also finds that 46% of participants believe teens should be allowed access to contraception without their parents' knowledge.