Random Rage of the Day

There’s a wave of delusion sweeping over America’s pharmacists, leading them to believe that it is their appointed mission in life to regulate the reproductive lives of their customers. We’ve all heard about the rogue pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception and birth control pills, generally because a) they imagine the pill is some kind of abortion or Satanic ritual, or b) the woman with the prescription isn’t married and therefore, in the estimation of these self-appointed arbiters, has no business doing anything that requires birth control. But that’s nothing compared to the pharmacists who refuse to sell any kind of contraceptive device at all:

“Where would the condoms be?” A man asks with total sincerity and seriousness—He is an adult after all.
“We don’t have condoms.”
“You’re a pharmacy without condoms?”
“Well,” she scoffs, “that’s not exactly the kind of behavior we want to promote now, is it?”

And what kind behavior is that? Contraception?

Even by the godbags’ own reasoning (and I use the term loosely), this makes no sense. Here’s an adult (who could very well be a god-fearing Christian) who just wants to have a little nookie with his spouse without the fear of getting impregnating her every single time. This is common and perfectly acceptable among the majority of Americans. A pharmacist's job is to dispense medication, NOT morals. Last I checked, that is what priests did.

I’m guessing that sperm worship — which has long been the province of Catholics — is becoming more widespread among fundamentalist Evangelicans. Every spermatazoon is a perfect, sacred gift, created by Jesus Himself. Phooey. Then married men with wives after menopuase would be committing a sin every time they had sex, for that sacred sperm has been wasted.

As for pharmacists - I’m waiting for these sanctimonious hypocrites to deny an unmarried man erectile disfunction medication. Or condoms, for that matter. Will never happen. These "sex is for procreation only" fanatics never seem to have problems giving grandpa his little blue pill so he can mount his ailing wife all night long.

Let's switch the language here a bit:
“Excuse me, can you tell me where this bookstore keeps its stocks of Left Behind?”
“We don’t have Left Behind.”
“You don’t have Left Behind?”
“Reading trashy fundamentalist fiction isn’t exactly the behavior we want to promote, is it?”

Needless to say, if a clerk at a bookstore said that, there would be a nationwide boycott by angry Christians concerned with their inviolable freedom of expression.

Insulting Advertising of the Day

I'd love to know who comes up with this insultingly ludicrous "advertising".
Lemme guess...uh, male executives???

U.S. officials exclude car bombs in touting drop in Iraq violence

True to form, when the Cheney Menstruation doesn't like a set of statistics, they just change the method of accounting. So the question is: If a car explodes and say, 100 people are killed, but the U.S. says that car bombs don't count, did those people really die? Apparently not.

U.S. officials who say there has been a dramatic drop in sectarian violence in Iraq since President Bush began sending more American troops into Baghdad aren't counting one of the main killers of Iraqi civilians.
Car bombs and other explosive devices have killed thousands of Iraqis in the past three years, but the administration doesn't include them in the casualty counts it has been citing as evidence that the surge of additional U.S. forces is beginning to defuse tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.



*This never happened, move along.

Hypocrite of the Day: Randall Tobias

As you have all heard and I have posted about Randall "Hookergate" Tobias in my Link-A-Dink, the latest Bush crony resigned a few days ago after being exposed being named customer of the month of an escort service.

Deputy Secretary of State Randall L. Tobias submitted his resignation Friday, one day after confirming to ABC News that he had been a customer of a Washington, D.C. escort service whose owner has been charged by federal prosecutors with running a prostitution operation. Tobias, who is married, said there had been "no sex," and that recently he had been using another service "with Central Americans" to provide massages.

Another service "with Central Americans." That's what he's using now. This is the guy in charge of America's international aid and development assistance to countries around the world.

'Cause, you know, those hot Latin chicks - those Central American gals - are innately more talented at *cough* giving massages *cough*.

As the Bush administration's so-called "AIDS czar," Tobias was criticized for emphasizing faithfulness and abstinence over condom use to prevent the spread of AIDS.

Ground control to Major McSpooge: There are plenty of legitimate Certified Massage Therapists in D.C.
An "Escort service" for a massage?
Okaaaaay!
How much for a deluxe massage with a Happy Ending?

The hypocrisy of this MISadministration, all of King George's incompetent croonies, and the Christian Taliban is astounding. As I said, this is the guy that Bush hired to push abstinence-only programs abroad...while he was engaging in extramarital sex here at home.

But hey, a quick trip to Daddy Dobson's radio show will fix that right up for ya, as was the case with Gingrich, McFlipper and the countless number of Repuligoons who are all forgiven for their trespassess because, well...they are Christians you know.

McFlipper's Lack of Balls, Yet Again

Sen. John McCain (Asshat-AZ) has accomplished a milestone in the Senate: he has chickened out on the most votes of any active Senator in the 110th Congress — second only to Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), who is currently recovering from a brain hemorrhage.

While McFlipper did not have time to have yet another brain hemorrhage himself (he obviously has had several before,) he did find time to say Go fuck yourselves to the Senators who actually did have the fucking balls to vote and place their position on the record.

What a brave (talking) guy, will he be too busy sucking and slobbering on James "Daddy" Dobson's shriveled phallus or bending over for Jerry Falwell to vote to override the veto?

Link-A-Dink

NPR had a segment on the new Amnesty campaign to end violence against Native women. One of the shelters they featured, Pretty Bird Woman House, is holding a fundraising campaign. Click here to donate.

Caryl Rivers on how the news media scare women.

A man is arrested in the attempted Austin Women's Health Center bombing.

A new bill would make sure EC is available to women on military bases, who currently have to drive off-base to get the pill.

The debate over Kabul Beauty School.

One of the men who used the services of the "D.C. Madam" is... one of Bush's abstinence appointees. Yep, the guy that Bush hired to push abstinence-only programs abroad was, uh, engaging in extramarital sex here at home.

Who really benefits economically from marriage?

Shocking headline: "Condom Information in Abstinence Programs Called Inaccurate."

How Russell Simmons missed the point.

Somebody needs to fill Pat Robertson in on what Women on Waves actually does...

Remembering a vocally pro-choice woman who led the Republican party in the late '70s. (Kind of like the anti-Schlafly?)

The New England Journal of Medicine says "both health care providers and patients should be alarmed" by the recent Supreme Court decision on abortion. And Cynthia Gorney explores what this will mean for doctors.

...and in the wake of the ruling, the Supreme Court returns a handful of related cases to the states.

A sports columnist announces his upcoming surgery to make his body match his brain, which he says is "wired female."

Gay marriage evil, abortion terrorism: Vatican Come on, Catholics - tell us something new!

In other church news...

The Vatican's second-highest ranking doctrinal official on Monday forcefully branded homosexual marriage an evil and denounced abortion and euthanasia as forms of "terrorism with a human face."

In Remembrance

Somehow I missed this, but yesterday was "Creating a Day Without Sexual Violence: The National Day of Truthtelling", held in Durham, NC.

Along with all my sisters, I remember and cherish the countless women (and men) who have endured this atrocious form of violence, entitlement and oppression. (I am fully aware and do not deny that men also endure sexual violence, but my blog is woman-centered and focused. I choose to write solely about the oppressions and inequalities women face).

I wish to use this space in remembrance of my neighbor of 2 years ago. I will not recount her story because it is not mine to tell, but I will say this: I think of you often and hope you are well. We got him. He can not hurt you again. I wish for you peace and love.

Archbishop Protests Sheryl Crow Charity Appearance

St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke denounced a Catholic charity Wednesday for scheduling singer Sheryl Crow to perform at a benefit concert because of the singer's support for abortion rights.

Burke submitted his resignation as chairman of the board for the Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation, saying the decision to let Crow sing on Saturday left him no other choice.

"It's very painful for me," Burke said during a news conference Wednesday. "But I have to answer to God for the responsibility I have as archbishop.

"A Catholic institution featuring a performer who promotes moral evil gives the impression that the church is somehow inconsistent in its teaching," Burke said.

Crow is set to appear at the 19th annual benefit for the Bob Costas Cancer Center at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center. Costas will host the event, which will also feature comedian Billy Crystal.

Event organizer Allen Allred said he was disappointed with Burke's decision, but that Crow would appear as scheduled.

"This is not an event that's about ideology," Allred said. "This is about helping kids."

Burke made national news during the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign, by saying he would deny Communion to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, a Catholic who supports abortion rights.

He later clarified the statement to say Catholics can vote for such candidates if they believe the candidate's stance on other moral issues outweighs the abortion-rights stance.

Burke said it was a "scandal" to let Crow sing at the event and amounted to an act that could lead others to evil. He cited Crow's support for stem cell research and "procured abortion."

Burke said he became aware of Crow's participation in the cancer benefit in February and asked other board members to cancel her appearance.

"They didn't accept my concerns," Burke said.

Allred said board members did not honor Burke's request because they did not want to play politics with performers at the annual event, which has featured big-name entertainers like Jay Leno in the past.

"We do not apply an ideological litmus test" in choosing performers, Allred said.

Ahh, it must be nice when your already-set-to-go resignation coincides so well with something you can express your moral outrage toward, thereby martyring yourself for the cause on your way out the door. Asshat.

( posted here in case the link stops working, or if you don't feel like clicking )

Domestic Terrorist Caught

A 27-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a makeshift bomb that was found outside a clinic where abortions are performed, authorities said Friday.

Paul Ross Evans has been charged with use of weapons of mass destruction, manufacture of explosive material and violating freedom of access to clinic entrances, according to a statement issued by the Austin Police Department.

"We've got an ongoing investigation into him and all of his particulars," said Erik Vasys, a spokesman for the FBI. Evans was on parole for a burglary conviction, authorities said.

It contained an explosive powder and two pounds of nails, said David Carter, assistant police chief.

Had the bomb detonated, it could have injured people 100 feet away, police said.

Evans is in federal custody and being held without bond. He could face up to life in prison if convicted on the weapons of mass destruction charge, Vasys said.

Yes, this is domestic terrorism to any crazies who insist that terrorists are only brown people with towels on their heads. Using weapons to intimidate, threaten and cause bodily harm is terrorism. From the dictionary, DT is: "terrorism practiced in your own country against your own people".

They never learn. Their message of "murder" is wrong so lets murder the murderers is...futile. Come up with a new plan ya'll. Violence solves nothing. Learn how to use your mouth against things you disagree with. Why is this world so quick to utilize the "easy" way out by using violence instead of dialogue and debate? Also, I doubt the G-d they pray to would aprrove of this means of spreading a message. They never think of the innocent people who get caught in the line of their hatred. Ever think about a mailman happening along or even a woman walking inside? Whether the doctors performing abortions are innocent or not is based on opinion and one's value system and let me tell you something killer man, your opinion is YOURS. I don't agree. Are you gonna kill me too?

A Fat Rant

Oh, Julie Nash...how I heart you too.

Exactly Who Are You Giuliani?

Giuliani is such a bag-o-douche. He has reversed every progressive thought he once had in that tiny little brain of his.

GIULIANI SHIFTS ON "CIVIL UNIONS":
In a startling departure from his previously stated position on civil unions, Mayor Giuliani came out to The New York Sun recently in opposition to the civil union law just passed by the New Hampshire state Senate. "Mayor Giuliani believes marriage is between one man and one woman. Domestic partnerships are the appropriate way to ensure that people are treated fairly," the Giuliani campaign said in a written response to a question from the Sun. "In this specific case the law states same sex civil unions are the equivalent of marriage and recognizes same sex unions from outside states. This goes too far and Mayor Giuliani does not support it." The Democratic governor of New Hampshire, John Lynch, has said publicly that he will sign the civil union law.
On a February 2004 edition of Fox News's "The O'Reilly Factor," Mr. Giuliani told Bill O'Reilly, when asked if he supported gay marriage, "I'm in favor of ... civil unions." New York Sun: Giuliani's Startling Departure on Civil Unions

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On April 4th: "I am against abortion, I think it's wrong, but ultimately I believe it's an individual choice. People should know that, they should evaluate that and decide how important that is."

On April 5th: "TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told CNN Wednesday he supports public funding for some abortions, a position he advocated as mayor and one that will likely put the GOP presidential candidate at odds with social conservatives in his party.
"Ultimately, it's a constitutional right, and therefore if it's a constitutional right, ultimately, even if you do it on a state by state basis, you have to make sure people are protected," Giuliani said in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash in Florida's capital city.
A video clip of the then-mayoral candidate issuing a similar declaration in 1989 in a speech to the "Women's Coalition" appeared recently on the Internet."There must be public funding for abortions for poor women," Giuliani says in the speech that is posted on the video sharing site YouTube. "We cannot deny any woman the right to make her own decisions about abortion.
"When asked directly Wednesday if he still supported the use of public funding for abortions, Giuliani said "Yes."
"If it would deprive someone of a constitutional right," he explained, "If that's the status of the law, yes."
But the presidential candidate reiterated his personal opposition to the practice."I'm in the same position now that I was 12 years ago when I ran for mayor -- which is, personally opposed to abortion, don't like it, hate it, would advise that woman to have an adoption rather than abortion, hope to find the money for it," he said.
"But it is your choice, an individual right. You get to make that choice, and I don't think society should be putting you in jail."
And the Giuliani campaign noted later in the day that the former mayor would not seek to make any changes to current law, which restricts federal funding to cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother.

Yet, he supports last weeks' SCOTUS ruling on upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Act. Where's the individual choice there? Where is this supposed support? Why the flipping? Why support public funding for poor women but make no attempt to reverse current law to fund for vitims of rape or incest or to save the freaking life of the mother???

You are bafoon of massive proportions.

Craiglist: The New Sex Scene

The possibility of getting a blowjob from a complete stranger is what makes Craigslist so popular, according Stephen Bagg's recent report.

Sigh. Yesterday's news, folks. Anything for a free blow. The only difference here is that today's technology allows you the convenience of not having to go to a bar or seek out and *pay* a prostitute.

NY Governor Eliot Spitzer Is My Hero Of The Day

(Spitzer and NARAL Pro-Choice New York President Kelli Conlin)

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Wednesday that he planned to introduce legislation to overhaul the state’s pioneering but antiquated abortion law, shoring up abortion rights in New York.

The proposal follows the United States Supreme Court’s decision last week to uphold the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, at a time when several other states are moving to tighten restrictions on abortion.

New York took an early role in legalizing abortion, and the governor’s plan could take on much broader significance if the Supreme Court ever returns abortion law to the discretion of the states. Still, it is far from certain that the legislation will pass the Republican-led State Senate.

Mr. Spitzer’s bill, the Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act, would update current law, which, for example, does not include a provision allowing for abortions late in pregnancies to protect a woman’s health. New York state laws on the books also treat abortion as a homicide, but with broad exceptions that allow the procedure in many cases.

Mr. Spitzer’s proposal would remove abortion from criminal statutes and make it a matter of professional and medical discretion. It would also repeal an old statute “that criminalizes, among other things, providing nonprescription contraception to minors,” according to the governor’s office.

“Even if the Supreme Court does not understand the law, we do,” Mr. Spitzer said, appearing briefly at a Manhattan luncheon held by Naral Pro-Choice New York. “New York State will continue to be a beacon of civil rights and protection of women’s rights.”

I heart you. Will you marry me? Yea, your wife probably wouldn't appreciate that. Then can I just stare at you?

Children's Author Declares: You Strip, I Sign!

A Baltimore-area author of children's books has been banned from visiting Harford County public schools after publicly suggesting that a 10-year-old girl disrobe during a visit to her school, a comment the author said was a quip that was taken out of context.

Please explain ANY context that would be considered appropriate you pedophile.

Author Richard Lynn Stack, a former lawyer who visits schools around the country with his dogs, was at Abingdon Elementary School on April 16 for an event when a student asked Stack to autograph her forehead, said Don Morrison, a spokesman for the county school system.

Morrison said that parents of students who were nearby reported two days later that Stack responded by saying he would give the student an autograph if she climbed on a lunch table and took off her clothes. Stack told school officials he was making an absurd comment in response to the student's unusual request, Morrison said.

First, why did it take parents 2 days to report this?
Second, a girl makes an "unusual request" for him to autograph her forehead and instead of saying, "wow, that's a bit unusual, how about I just sign your book. Or how about your hand", he decides he has a better, more appropriate alternative:

No, get on that table you little slut and shake what ya got! Shake it or no autograph for you, you naughty little piece!

What I find typical is that if a boy had asked this same thing, I am pretty sure he never would have told him to get on top of a table and strip. In fact, I know he woulodn't have because males are not objectified as sex objects. As things. This is more telling on how he views the female poluation in general.

Oh and by the way, it was hardly an unusual request. Fans request signatures everywhere. Ever seen a Poison video? Every body part of a person has been signed, and by "person" I mean women.

And just what would he have done if she had gotten on top of that table and stripped? I shudder.

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The New Adventures of Old Christine

LA Times male sportswriter Mike Penner announces his transexuality: "“Today I leave for a few weeks' vacation, and when I return, I will come back in yet another incarnation. As Christine.”

I am a transsexual sportswriter. It has taken more than 40 years, a million tears and hundreds of hours of soul-wrenching therapy for me to work up the courage to type those words. I realize many readers and colleagues and friends will be shocked to read them.

For more years than I care to count, I was scared to death over the prospect of writing a story such as this one. It was the most frightening of all the towering mountains of fear I somehow had to confront and struggle to scale.

Transsexualism is a complicated and widely misunderstood medical condition.

How do you go about sharing your most important truth, one you spent a lifetime trying to keep deeply buried, to a world that has grown familiar and comfortable with your façade?

To a world whose knowledge of transsexuals usually begins and ends with Jerry Springer's exploitation circus?

This last sentence really puts the nail in the head. The only thing people see on TV about transexuals are the "freaks" and the crazies. Hardly the majority I would argue. There are no documentaries, no 60 minute special educating people about a population of people who DO exist. We were lucky just to get TransAmerica recently. Still though, one movie can not reverse the severity of the discrimination and oppression this population faces because deep down people view transexuals in sub-human contexts.

And I am still concerned about why the DSM lists transexualism, AKA gender identity, a mental issue. The DSM lists mental illnesses and I completely disgaree that this in any way is an illness. Funny, but heterosexualism is not an illness. Could it be because the assess who decided these illnesses are basing their beliefs from the viewpoint that heterosexualism is the "normal" and "healthy" standard?

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How Dare the Public Library Stock Books About How Other People Live!

An Arkansas father is suing a public library after his teen boys found a book on lesbian sex, titled The Whole Lesbian Sex Book.

The dad is outraged. Outraged! Apparently, he is not familiar with what they’ve been seeing all over the internet these days. He says the book is “patently offensive and lacks any artistic, literary, or scientific value.”

And what is artistic, literary or has scientific value in a hetero sex book on the exact same shelf?

I find THAT offensive!

Lesbian Author addresses Arkansas Library/Lesbian Sex Situation

Bomb found in Texas abortion clinic parking lot

Can someone please inform me why this isn't PLASTERED all over the news!?!

This is news man. A bomb? I mean c'mon.

AUSTIN, Texas - A bomb was left in a duffel bag in the parking lot of a clinic where abortions are performed, but a bomb squad safely detonated it.

An employee found the package Wednesday in the parking lot of the Austin Women's Health Center, authorities said. The immediate area, including nearby Interstate 35, was evacuated briefly.

The device "was configured in such a way to cause serious bodily injury or death," said David Carter, assistant chief of the Austin Police Department.

HELLO?????

Tests later confirmed that the package was explosive. The regional Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by the FBI and including Austin police, is investigating.

Explosive! Yet, no news. I haven't seen ONE report on this on any major news station.

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Crush of the Day

I heart Kendra Urdang. I heart her so.

Women on Waves, Coming To a Shore Near You

Offshore abortion women's group is given license again.

Rebecca Gomperts, the director of Women on Waves, told The Times: “We have just received the licence and there are some restrictive conditions but, yes, we are going to prepare a new campaign, that is for sure.

“We are in touch with women’s organisations in several different countries. There are still three countries where abortion is illegal in Europe but there are also invitations from Argentina and some other South American countries.”

Blatant Racist Photo of the Day

(Israeli fashion house Irit has these photos up for their Summer 2007 campaign)

Um.

Why racism is considered vogue is mind boggling and disgusting. Wow, look at all her slaves! Yea, hot.

April 26th: The Ask About Abortion Day

From the first televised Democratic Presidential Debate on April 26th: abortion, abortion, abortion. As always. Because for some reason, a personal decision has become politicized in this country.

Edwards is asked about abortion, 32 minutes in, he says the next President will decide who makes choices for women and their bodies. "I believe in a woman's right to choose, but this is an extraordinarily difficult issue for most Americans." Um, how about women make those choices? I don't like his wording although I know what he's getting at. And it's scary because he's right.

Obama's view on the Supreme Court decision, and the idea that "the public agrees with the Supreme Court's decision." He says, "I trust women to make these decisions with their doctor, their family, and their clergy. I think most Americans agree." He adds that we should move to areas where we agree, like prevention. Agreed.

Biden is asked if he'd have a "litmus test" for judges. He says he supports Roe v. Wade, and that the Supreme Cort decision was "intellectually dishonest" and "laid the groundwork for overturning Roe v. Wade. Kucinich, on the same question says Americans can support a "culture of life" that include health care and prenatal care, while respecting a woman's right to privacy. Agreed.

Dodd, about his vote to confirm Justice Roberts, says he's not sorry for it, but is disappointed in the Chief Justice. "Abortions ought to be rare, safe and legal," and a president should focus more on helping women avoid unintended pregnancy. Nice strategically safe language. And agreed.

All are asked about model Supreme Court Justices:
Ginsburg gets 3 votes, and Breyer one, no one else gets to answer the question because they took too long.

For more information about what candidates have said about the Supreme Court decision last wee, click here.

Remembering Becky Bell and the Consequences of Parental Notification Laws

On September 16, 1988, 17-year-old Becky Bell died of complications that resulted from an unsafe, illegal abortion, which she sought in a desperate attempt to avoid telling her parents that she was pregnant. Becky lived in Indiana, where the law mandates that young women obtain the consent of a parent before terminating a pregnancy.

Few would deny that most young women would benefit from adult guidance when faced with an unintended pregnancy. Few would deny that such guidance ideally should come from parents.
But unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world. Some teens live in troubled homes. The family might be having serious problems, or parents might be abusive, or a relative may even have caused the pregnancy. And even teenagers who have good relationships with their parents, as did Becky Bell, might be afraid to talk to them about something as sensitive as pregnancy.

Thirty-five states have laws in effect that mandate the involvement of at least one parent in the abortion decision. (Some states require the involvement of both parents.) The federal government has tried to enforce these restrictions even further.

On July 25, 2006, the U.S. Senate passed the so-called Child Custody Protection Act (CCPA), which would prevent family members like grandparents, aunts, and siblings from helping a teenager seek abortion services in another state unless the teen has met the requirements for parental involvement in her state of residence.

In addition to being ill-advised, CCPA is unconstitutional. It fails to make an exception for emergencies that threaten severe damage to a minor's health, and it burdens the constitutional right to travel to seek medical care to end a pregnancy. CCPA also ignores the fact that, because 87 percent of counties in the United States have no abortion provider, for many women the nearest provider is in another state.

Judicial Bypass

Young women who live under these laws and cannot tell their parents about their pregnancies must either travel out of state (enactment and enforcement of CCPA pending) or obtain approval from a judge — known as a "judicial bypass" procedure — to get an abortion. The result is almost always a delay that can increase both the cost of the abortion and the physical and emotional risk to the woman, since an earlier abortion is a safer one.

In Minnesota, for example, the proportion of second-trimester abortions among minors terminating their pregnancies increased by 18 percent following enactment of a parental notification law. Likewise, after Missouri's parental consent law went into effect in 1985, the proportion of second-trimester abortions among minors increased from 19 percent in 1985 to 23 percent in 1988.

And even the option of judicial bypass isn't always available. Some judges refuse to hear judicial bypass cases because of their own personal bias against abortion or other reasons, causing further delays for young women seeking abortions. In counties with a single judge, these refusals can force young women to travel to another county until they find a judge who is available to hear their case.

Punishment v. Prevention

Anti-choice politicians across the country continue to push for these laws with the goal of chipping away at a women's right to choose, under the guise that such laws will reduce the number of abortions. But these laws do nothing to reduce the number of abortions. Instead, they put the health and safety of young women, like Becky Bell, at risk.

Many of the same politicians who push for mandatory parental involvement laws also oppose measures — like comprehensive sex education and expanded access to contraception — that help prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce the number of abortions. They support legislation that punishes young women by jeopardizing their health and safety, while blocking efforts to promote responsibility.

The unnecessary deaths of women from unsafe, illegal abortions make clear the need for constitutional protections from regulations that endanger women. After Becky's death, her parents spoke out against laws that put women's health and safety at risk.

"Becky Bell was a beautiful, living human being who is no longer here because judges and politicians decided that they were going to be the moral conscience of this country," Becky's father Bill told 60 Minutes in February 1991.

In the same interview, her mother Karen said, "Two years ago I would have been totally for the parental consent law, but not now. ... Mothers and fathers have both come up and said, 'Well, we just know that our daughters would come to us, we know it.' And I said, 'And I knew Becky would come to me.' And look where she is."

Jon Platner is managing editor of plannedparenthood.org.

Toby Keith and the CMTA: Jerks of the Week

This video, "A Little Too Late," features Toby Keith singing to his girlfriend, who, is not only tied to a chair in the basement, is depicted as kinda emotionless and non-reacting. Sorry, but if you are waving a shovel at me, I'd have an expression on my face. Like fear. When she sees the shovel, she doesn't even scream. She basically looks pretty and looks around alot.

In the video it looks like he's going to drown her, then maybe bury her alive in cement. Nope, he finishes it off by what he thinks is enclosing her in a man-made wall.

It's fucking sick and scary.

It's sick because again, there is nothing funny or cool or non-chalant about domestic violence. At the end, he tries to excuse his behavior on his temper and she, of course, laughs it off like it is no big deal that he had her tied to a chair and attempted to enclose her behind a wall....alive.

He says at the end: "How do you like in there baby? This is the only way. I am beter off without you. Finally, peace and quiet. You got a big mouth, you know that?"

It was nominated for Best Video at the Country Music Television Awards. WTF?

Yea, real good work there, Toby. And while I'm at it, its high time the country music industry started accepting responsibility that much of its music endorses misogynistic themes, domestic violence and just all around outdated gender stereotyping. For starters, stop nominating videos that glamorize domestic violence.

He Don't See Nuthin Wrong, With A Little Bump And Grind

Like Akon?

Perhaps this video will change your mind.

Obviously, it is disturbing to say the least, the way he is manhandling and throwing the girl around the stage as he grinds on her. Oh yea, she's 15. Even more disturbing to me is that another female voice is heard cheering and laughing. Akon most likely didn't know she was 15, as club rules are 18+ only, but that little fact is irrelevent. What IS relevent is the type of message this sends to his much younger fan base.

Now, excuse me while I tell all my friends to promptly delete Akon from their playlists.

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Quote of The Day

"...no one suffers more than the president and I do."

--Laura Bush, speaking about the war

Uumm, I'd say the dead and mangled soldiers and their families suffered more...and are still suffering more you over-medicated, robotic bitch.

Eh. Joe Francis

Joe Francis, the millionaire founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” video empire, was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor sexual battery for allegedly groping an 18-year-old woman.

Francis allegedly touched the woman’s breast and buttocks repeatedly despite pleas to stop, said city attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan.

Oh, and Francis was JUST sentenced on Monday to 35 days in jail in Florida for criminal contempt.

U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak found Francis in contempt of court last week after lawyers for seven women complained he shouted obscenities and threatened them during civil suit settlement negotiations.

Settlement for what you ask? Just a simple lawsuit brought by women who were minors when Francis’ company filmed them on Panama City Beach.

What a guy.

Assholery Award of the Week Goes To...

Note to college boys who think rape is funny: it's not. It's not funny at all, you bunch of slime assholes. And using it as an April Fools' Day joke isn't clever--it's fucking disgusting.

European Parliament Asks Sauerbrey to Reconsider

Ever hear of the group known as The World Congress of Families? Would seem like they actually have families in mind, but upon closer look they are anti-choice, homophobic, supremist ideologues.

Driven by righteous ideology, their mission is to spread venomous lies and hate to anyone who listens. Anti-contraception? Check. Anti-immigration? Check. Deaming homosexuals as "perverts"? Check.

But this groups isn't your ususal hate group. They have official backing. Backing by the President of The United States. Bush's appointee, Assistant Secretary of State Ellen R. Sauerbrey will be speaking at their conference in Poland next month.

According to The Baltimore Sun, next month's fourth World Congress of Families is to include sessions on "the mother in the home and the new economics," "the attack on marriage as the union of woman and man" and "beyond the contraceptive mentality."

Here are a few of the wonderful folks who are involved with the World Congress of Families:

Representatives of James "Daddy" Dobson's Focus on the Family group.

Wade Horn—he's the former Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Allan Carlson of the Howard Center—you may remember him from such events as the "Contraception Is Not the Answer" (CINTA) conference last fall, at which his particular presentation focused on and implored a return to the Protestant roots against contraception.

Roman Catholic Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, head of the Pontifical Council for the Family—he states that condoms don't protect against HIV and that safe sex campaigns lead to an increase in sexual promiscuity. (Reality check.)

Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International—he was also a speaker at CINTA and represents an extreme organization that sees sniper attacks on doctors who perform abortions as a "superb tactic."

Stephen Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute—whose weekly briefing this week defends PRI's statement that Muslim immigrants are contributing to European countries' "demographic suicide."

Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (CFAM) -- who has previously "joked" about "taking out" Hillary Clinton.

So what about Sauerbrey, herself? When her nomination stalled in the Senate because of her conservative views, such as her attempt as U.S. representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women to remove abortion rights from a U.N. declaration on equal rights for women, Bush made a recess appointment and had her appointed without Senate approval. Incidentally, she attended the last World Congress of Families in 2004.

According to Proinsias De Rossa, a member of the European Parliament from Ireland, Sauerbrey's participation in the forum is a "diplomatic faux pas." Members of the European Parliament have asked Sauerbrey to reconsider attending the conference, citing several speakers' positions that clash with the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The Baltimore Sun cites members of the European Parliamentary Working Group on Separation of Religion and Politics saying that "several people scheduled to speak at the three-day conference have taken positions that clash with the European Charter of Fundamental Rights".

Virtual Wall of Protest

It doesn't stop with last week's Supreme Court decision.

In Florida , Planned Parenthood is continuing to fight battles to protect the health and safety of women and are standing strong against bills (HB 1497/SB 1602), that would place further restrictions on young women's access to health care.

These attacks only add to the outrage and frustration we all feel because of the Supreme Court's blatant disregard for women's health and safety. But despite our anger, we have hope - a desire to speak out, tell personal stories, and express frustration with the Supreme Court's decision.

Planned Parenthood has now created a communal space for our outrage: the Planned Parenthood Wall of Protest. Like the March for Women's Lives, where three years ago one million of us joined together and raised our voices in support of women's health and safety, http://www.wallofprotest.com/ is a place for us to gather — to express our anger, share our stories, and renew our strength. This virtual wall illustrates the widespread outrage at the court's decision, and is available online for the world to see. You can make your voice heard by uploading a picture or posting a YouTube video now and sharing your comments.

I posted a pic from my time spent in South Dakota (see below) fighting the draconian bill that would have outlawed all abortion, except to save a woman's life. The bill lacked rape, incest and health exceptions, and needless to say it failed. I urge you all to epxress yourself on this wall; with words, pictures, videos, anything. Speak. Be heard.

The Hypocrisy of the South

The University of Virginia claims that it expresses regret for the use of slaves to build much of their university, stating "The board expresses its particular regret for the employment of enslaved persons in these years".

The measure was inspired by the Virginia Legislature, which passed a resolution in February expressing its "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery. Legislatures in Maryland and North Carolina approved similar slavery apologies this year, and another measure is under consideration in Alabama.

It says "the notion of involuntary servitude is repugnant and incompatible with the ideals upon which this university was founded."

Really? Does the South actually believe this? We are still dealing with the trickle effect of slavery to this day. We went from slavery, to Jim Crowe's segragation to...today, where in 2007 Turner County High School in Georgia had their first-ever integrated prom. What was that? Yes, FIRST EVER. While some states have made moves to reconsile their part in slavery, others seem to willingly continue the notion of inequality and racial segregation.

One teen described her 2001 prom: "The white people have theirs, and the black people have theirs. It's nothing racial at all."

Obviously.

Apparently this racially-segregated prom thing has gone on for so long because the school never officially sponsored the prom--the parents did. Somehow, that doesn't seem to make it any better. Or right.

This, though, has to be my favorite part of the whole debacle: some folks just weren't comfortable with the new school prom, so the "white prom" still went on.

Nichole Royal, 18, said black students could have gone to the prom, but didn't.

"I guess they feel like they're not welcome," she said.

You don't say. Seriously, you don't say.

Nichole said while her parents were in support of the integrated prom, some of her friends weren't allowed to go.

"I've asked, 'Why can't you come?' and they're like, 'My mommy and daddy -- they don't agree with being with the colored people,' which I think is crazy," she said.

Yea, them coloreds can git their own prom. Sheesh, Billy Joe, why can't they just understand that we ain't racist, we just don't like em. We shouldn't be forced to be round em if we don wanna. It aint nuthin racial ya'll.

Georgia's Turner County High School's first-ever integrated prom. In 2007. For real. 2007.

Fight over baby's life support divides ethicists

Emilio is 17 months old and has a rare genetic disorder that's ravaging his central nervous system. He cannot see, speak, or eat. A ventilator breathes for him in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Austin Children's Hospital, where he's been since December. Without the ventilator, Emilio would die within hours.

Under Texas law, Children's has the right to withdraw life support if medical experts deem it medically inappropriate.

The law, signed in 1999 by then-Gov. George W. Bush, gives Texas hospitals the authority to stop treatment if doctors say the treatment is "inappropriate" -- even if the family wants the medical care to continue.

Now, what I find odd about this case is that the law was signed by then governor George W. Bush. Isn't this the same George Bush who in the middle of the night tried to get the federal courts involved in the Terry Schiavo case in going against the husband's wishes and forcing her to stay alive via machines? Even when doctors said there was no quality of life, no hope for survival--you know, "inappropriate"? Because this was about life, ya'll. And he's pro-life because, well...that's what he says.

I was in Florida when this circus occurred and I recall that is when Bush stood upon his high horse, claiming that this country needs to be a country that valued the "sanctitity of life". Mind you, this coming from a man who signed more death warrants in Texas than any other governor in history. Seems his pro-life values only apply to certain people and he gets to decide which lives are worth saving and which aren't. He has designated himself to be The Decider you know.

I also believe that Repulicans are are always screaming about less government, less government. If this is true, then why would he have gotten involved with Schiavo? Why would he have signed a law allowing hospital adminstrators to make what are supposed to be family decsions?

The right to die was the forefront of the Schiavo case. Her husband claimed she never would have wantd to be kept alive in that manner and her parents fought against it. Since she was married, her power of attorney was in fact her husband. Which is why in the end, he won and Terry was taken off her feeding tubes. All the "pro-life" groups were screaming that it was murder, murder, murder! And the president supported them and the parent's wishes by speakijng about life, cherishing life...blah, blah.. Yet, as Texas governor Bush signs a law allowing this so-called murder by giving the power to hospital adminstrators.

This seems so hypocritical to me. Why is it ok for a hospital to decide to terminate machine-use for life, yet families aren't allowed to decide the same fate?

I'm all for the right to die. But I believe that families, NOT hospital adminstrators or politicians should be making those decsions. This case is a tragedy because the mother can't separate her wish from that of which is best for the child. There is no survival or cure. There is no quality of life. And there never will be. But, I support that it is HER right and no one else's to decide his fate.

However, if she really believed her own words, that he should be allowed to die "naturally, the way God intended", then machines wouldn't be supporting his life right? What's "natural" about that? If she truly believed that then she would take him off the machines and allow him to die naturally, the way God intended. Her words.

Full story here: http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/04/25/baby.emilio/index.html

Farewell to a Feminist With a Voice

Boo-hoo. It was announced today that Rosie is leaving The View.

While many people have their opinions of Rosie, I for one believe she wa s a HUGE asset to the show, giving women's rights a voice to millions of viewers. While Joy is very pro-woman, she is not as vocal or unapologetic as Rosie.

While some dislike her for that very reason, that is exactly why I adore her.

Do not apologize for your beliefs ladies. Do not stand by in silence for fear of people's reactions to you. You have a brain. Think. You have a mouth. Speak.

What a bummer.

Action: National Call-in Day to Congress April 25 for Freedom of Choice Act

As you know, the Supreme Court last week upheld the Federal Abortion Ban, the nation's first federal ban on an abortion procedure. This law is so vaguely written that it may ban the most common abortion procedure used after 12 weeks of pregnancy. Worse, there is no exception when a woman's health is in danger.

As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg put it in her stinging dissent, "the Act, and the Court's defense of it, cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away at a right declared again and again by this Court."

That effort to chip away at reproductive rights is well underway in state legislatures around the country and we have every reason to expect that this decision will galvanize those efforts.

What can you do???

Call Your Members of Congress - 202-224-3121

Join women's rights supporters across the country for this national call-in day on Wednesday -- and keep calling until you get through. Use the switchboard number above, and ask for your members of Congress -- or get their receptionist's direct phone number from NOW's directory. Ask for the staff person who handles this issue, and request politely that the member co-sponsor the Freedom of Choice Act. If your senator or representative is already a co-sponsor (see a list of Senate and House co-sponsors), say thank you (trust me, they're hearing from the other side!)

While you're at it, drop them an e-mail for added impact. Send a message to both of your senators and to your representative today using NOW's easy alert system.

Take Action: Birth Control Prices Skyrocket!

As I posted on earlier, the price of birth control on college campuses and many clinics serving low-income women has increased dramatically! At some campuses and clinics it has doubled, at others it has have tripled, and at some it has gone up five times, from $10 to $50 a month.

Take action: Sign a petition demanding that Congress restore affordable birth control for college campuses and clinics!

The reason for this dramatic price increase is because the Bush Administration and his Republican Congress changed the Medicaid rules in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which just went into effect on January 1, 2007.

For almost 20 years, pharmaceuticals were able to offer a steep discount on prescription drugs, including birth control pills, to some health care providers such as college health centers and clinics serving low-income women. This allowed college health centers and many independent clinics serving low-income women to provide birth control at a substantial discount. As a result young women and low-income women across the country were able to protect themselves against unintended pregnancy.

However, under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, having discounts increases the money companies must pay to participate in Medicaid. As a result, pharmaceuticals are no longer going to offer discounts to campus health centers and many clinics serving low-income women, and prices for birth control pills are soaring. Women who cannot afford these new costs are forced to use less effective methods of birth control or stop using birth control altogether.

As a result, college women are facing an increased risk of unintended pregnancy and serious health risks. Some 39% of women in college use birth control pills, according to the American College Health Association, not only for contraception but also for health conditions such as endometriosis.

Church vs State: Wiccans Settle Military Grave Lawsuit

Finally, freedom of religion has won. Won it's right to be equally recognized in a land that delares freedom of religion or religious persecution.

Not being allowed to portray your religious symbol on a headstone is essentially religious persecution.

MADISON, Wis. (April 24) - The Wiccan pentacle has been added to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on goverment-issued headstones of fallen soldiers, according to a settlement announced Monday.

A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans adds the five-pointed star to the list of "emblems of belief" allowed on VA grave markers.

"This settlement has forced the Bush Administration into acknowledging that there are no second class religions in America, including among our nation's veterans," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which represented the Wiccans in the lawsuit.

AMEN. Or more appropriately: Blessed Be.

Mexico City lawmakers vote to legalize abortion

Leftist mayor expected to sign legislation in rebuke of Vatican efforts. Nice language: "Leftist".

MEXICO CITY - Mexico City lawmakers voted to legalize abortion Tuesday, a decision likely to influence policies and health practices across Mexico and other parts of heavily Roman Catholic Latin America.

The proposal, approved 46-19, with one abstention, will take effect with the expected signing by the city’s leftist mayor. Abortion opponents have already vowed to appeal the law to the Supreme Court, a move likely to extend the bitter and emotional debate in this predominantly Catholic nation.

“Decriminalizing abortion is a historic triumph, a triumph of the left,” said city legislator Jorge Diaz Cuervo, a leftist social democrat who voted for the bill. “Today, there is a new atmosphere in this city. It is the atmosphere of freedom.”

Nationally, Mexico allows abortion only in cases of rape, severe birth defects or if the woman’s life is at risk. Doctors sometimes refuse to perform the procedure even under those circumstances. Um, back up a minute here. Doctors can refuse to treat their PATIENTS??? The women who may be dying??? If you can't do your job find anotha, muthafucka.

The procedure will be almost free for poor or uninsured city residents.

“I feel happy, because this is a step forward, not backward, for a woman’s right and freedom to choose ... about her body and her life,” said demonstrator Gabriela Cruz, 36.

But with good, always comes the bad: Under the Mexico City law, women having an abortion after 12 weeks face punishment of three to six months in jail. Those performing abortions after that period would face one to three years in jail.

Most women don't even know they are pregnant until at least the 8th week. So let's again punish women for becoming pregnany by not only focring them to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term, but to incarcerate them as well. Because how dare she decide if she wants to be a mother? That's the government's job. The politicians, the lobbyists, and lest we forget: The Vatican. That's their job. To control their wimmins.

In a broader scope, the only countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with legalized abortion for all women are Cuba and Guyana. Most others allow it only in cases of rape or when the woman’s life is at risk. Nicaragua, El Salvador and Chile ban it completely. Meaning, die bitches. Your unborn fetus has more rights to life then even your own.

An estimated 200,000 women have illegal abortions each year in Mexico, based on the number who show up at hospitals later seeking treatment for complications, said Martha Micher, director of the Mexico City government’s Women’s Institute.

Botched abortions using herbal remedies, black-market medications and quasi-medical procedures kill about 1,500 women each year and are the third-leading cause of death for pregnant women in the capital, Micher said.

These numbers mean nothing to these politicians. These numbers are a wake-up call that criminalizing abortion does not eliminate it--it drives it underground where it becomes unsafe and potentially fatal.

Globally, 70,000 women die annually from illegal abortions. All preventable.

The View's "Partial Birth Abortion" Hot Topics Debate

Here's a great vid of Hot Topics on The View.

The Young Annoying One talks of how many lives lost because of "Partial Birth Abortion", but Rosie sets it straight by reiterating that those numbers represent the number of women whose lives were in danger. Why is it "pro-lifers" only care about unborn life? Not life that is already living, in danger of dying? Why do they not care about maternal death?

I'm also impressed that Joy pointed out to TYAO that she usually bitches about less government, yet has she no answer to back up her stance. She squirms around the issue, but it always comes back to the same old line: only when its convenient. TYAO believes in less government only when its convenient and only when it suites her and her ideology.

Carnival of Feminists

Belledame over at Fetch Me My Axe has put up a gigantic–three part!–edition of the Carnival of Feminists.

Here’s Part One.

Here’s Part Two.

Here’s Part Three.

Make sure to check out all the bloggy goodness.

“Pro-Life” Mississippi Has Highest Infant Mortality Rate in the Nation

White dudes in Mississippi inexplicably gleeful about breaking ground for an anti-abortion “memorial to the missing” (no, for real). No word on whether they’re helping to dig graves for the 481 Mississippi-born babies who died in 2005 — 65 more than the previous year, as the “pro-life” policies that these smiling men promote take stronger hold. Also no word on whether any of the $10,000 (or more) that they’re raising will be used to actually promote the health of pregnant women or babies. Or even to help buy headstones for the graves of infants born to poor mothers, some of which are currently being marked with metal signs.

According to a national “pro-life” organization, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, who has pushed a series of anti-choice laws, has made his state “the safest place in America for an unborn child.”

Too bad the same can’t be said for born children, as Mississippi now has the highest infant mortality rate in the country.

Barbour is so “pro-life” that he has made medical care — including pre-natal and children’s health care — harder to get.

• As a result, the number of non-elderly people, mainly children, covered by the Medicaid and CHIP programs declined by 54,000 in the 2005 and 2006 fiscal years. According to the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program in Jackson, some eligible pregnant women were deterred by the new procedures from enrolling.

Mississippi now has the highest infant mortality rate in the country (and other “pro-life” states in the South aren’t doing much better). In Mississippi, 11.4 babies die per every 1,000 live births (compared to 6.9 per 1,000 nation-wide, as of the last time national data was collected). Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee. Louisiana and South Carolina also saw increases in infant mortality. To put that in context, Mississippi has an infant mortality rate right around that of Uruguay, Ukraine, Macedonia, and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Mississippi’s infant mortality rate is twice as high as that of Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Singapore, Norway, and a slew of other countries.

Mississippi also has the third-highest teen pregnancy rate in the country. And the second-highest rate of child poverty.

• Interestingly, a postelection comparison found that “red” states had higher infant mortality rates than “blue” ones. In general, states that restrict abortion spend far less money per child than prochoice states on services such as foster care, education, welfare and the adoption of children who have physical and mental disabilities, according to a 2000 book by political scientist Jean Reith Schroedel.
  
• Schroedel also found that women in antiabortion states are worse off than their counterparts in prochoice states. They suffer from lower levels of education, higher levels of poverty, and a larger gender gap in earnings. They are also less likely to enjoy mandated insurance coverage for minimum hospital stays after childbirth. Together, the conditions make for an abysmal reality for women in Mississippi, which came in fifty-first in a 2004 ranking of the status of women in the fifty states and Washington, DC, published by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

It’s not a coincidence that the most “pro-life” states are the worst places to be born. There has long been a connection between pro-choice policies and healthy women, healthy families and healthy babies. Healthy women make for healthy babies — and pro-choice policies, which value women’s health, affirm women’s humanity, and embrace women’s general well-being, make for healthy women. It should not surprise us that the same people who fetishize fetal life at the expense of women’s lives don’t really give a damn once that fetus becomes a baby. It shouldn’t surprise us that when states under-value women and consider us incubators unworthy of basic self-determination and control over our own reproduction, that women are less healthy, and children suffer because of it.

The most “pro-life” countries in the world are some of the worst places for women’s and children’s health. The most “pro-life” states in this country are the worst places in the nation for women’s and children’s health. When “pro-life” policies dominate, infant and maternal mortality spikes, women are under-educated, poverty rises, and children go hungry.

But remember: It’s “pro-lifers” who love teh babies. Because, well, they say so.

An American Injustice

This case is...infuriating. I am completely against any form of rape, even statutory rape.

It begins to become blurry when 2 minors are involved in sexual acts, willingly. Cause every state has their own age of consent. It's often blurry because what happens when 15 year old Sue dates 16 year old Dave and they are engaging in consensual sex? What is blurry is when he turns 18 and she is 17. They have been in a relationship for 2 years now and both are consenting. Is he now guilty of statutory rape? Blurry.

What is NOT blurry, is that this case is blatant racism. This young man, under age himself, participated in a sex act with a minor. He happens to be black. A sentence of 10 years???
Coincidence? I think not. A white dude would never have gotten this harsh of a conviction and we all know it. The justice system sets up blacks in this country, hell just take a look at the prison population. While whites convicted of cocaine possession get light sentences, blacks convicted of crack are given steep and many times double or triple sentence time. Same drug, ya'll. Crack is cocaine in rock form. But because crack is viewed as a "black" drug, it is hardcore.

How many cases have I seen lately where judges let off rapists, even convicted rapists to probation or some bullshit rap? This guy is a victim. I wholeheartedly believe this.

The video shows a nasty contrast to a teacher who was on trial for having sex with a student. She is white. She's also an adult! Guess what she gets? Just guess.

The Good Student Rape Defense

This case caught my attention because the defense attorney focused on facts which have absolutely no bearing on guilt or innocence, but which focus on what type of men the general public believes commits rape and what type the general public believes doesn't commit rape.

An attorney representing the Hobart student accused of raping two students and sexually abusing a third told a judge Friday that his client had been wrongly charged.

"He was a good student with B grades at school," said defense attorney Michael Roulan of his client, Preston Wido. "He has no criminal record. ... Whatever happened was consensual."

This defense strategy may convince some people that this man must be innocent, but for me it means squat.

Ted Bundy raped his victims and he was considered a genius. AND??? Point being...?

And no one has a criminal record until they get caught. So only people who have been caught committing crimes commit crimes? L.A.M.E.

Good grades don't deter men from raping. Respecting women as human beings and their bodily autonomy does.

Happy Equal Pay Day -- Now mind the gap.

A report released yesterday by the American Association of University Women found that women one year out of a 4-year college earn 80 percent of what their male counterparts earn. When the report looks at women 10 years after graduation, women are earning 69 cents to every dollar that men earn. The most significant finding of the study, though, is that controlling for all factors, including "educational and occupational choices, as well as demographic and personal characteristics," an "unexplained" 5 percent gap exists one year out of college which widens to a 12 percent gap 10 years after college. Furthermore, as Catherine Hill, research director at AAUW testified, attending a highly-selective institution does little to boost a woman's pay, and educated women experience a greater pay gap than women overall.

Some more conservative committee members denied the credibility of the study, but as Rep. Carol Shea-Porter put it, the pay gap is "easily noticed by those who live it."

W.O.R.D.

First transgender student runs for prom king.

Fresno High School senior Cinthia Covarrubias is believed to be the first transgender student to run for prom king:

"School officials this week added the 17-year-old's name to the ballot for prom king, reversing a previous district protocol that allowed only males to run for king and females for prom queen.

Gay youth advocates called it a landmark victory for campus gender expression and said they believe it's the first time in the U.S. that an openly transgender student has run for prom royalty."

Covarrubias didn't make the cut when the winner was announced on Saturday, but achieved far more by running. "I'm happy I actually made a difference about changing the law and the policy so you can run for your choice," said Covarrubias.

Also, don't miss a little line in the article by who I will now refer to as Bag-O-Douche of the week: 18 year old Erich Logan says "I like lesbians, but they shouldn't be allowed to run for king".

Via Nerve.

Forced abortion in China. Choice means what???

I saw this incredibly sad and disturbing story that was on NPR yesterday about a recent spate of forced abortions in southwest China. The descriptions of women being packed into a hospital, with some forced to undergo abortions in the 7th month, was heart-wrenching.

But I found it equally upsetting that NPR referred to the perpetrators as Chinese "family planning" officials. I'm sorry, but "family planning" is about empowering women and couples to decide and plan for the number of children they want to have. It is NOT about the government deciding an appropriate number of children per family and forcing women to comply. What's happening in China is "coercive family planning." It's almost a sick and twisted version of Brave New World and Children Of Men. JMO.

It's also worth mentioning that Bush has used the fact that the Chinese government commits these crimes against women as justification for defunding the United Nations Population Fund, hampering its ability to help women and couples truly plan their families in countries around the world.

Bottom line? Despite what U.S. anti-choicers say, no one who is pro-choice is pro-forced abortion. We are against government intervention in personal reproductive decisions -- whether it be by the U.S. Congress in banning abortion or by the Chinese government in forcing it.

ND passes abortion ban

Here we go again.

The North Dakota Legislature voted Monday to ban abortion in the state if courts rule that such a move would be constitutional.

Under the bill, the only abortions allowed would be those to protect the life of the mother or in cases or rape and incest.

Sen. Tracy Potter called the bill "terribly embarrassing" and said, "I believe this makes it look like North Dakota doesn't respect women's rights." Um, yea.

Abortion Funding: A Matter of Justice

New Report Finds:

U.S. Abortion Policies Result in Later Abortions and Deny Reproductive Choice to Low-Income Women

Thousands of women and teenagers are denied abortions each year or are forced to have later abortions because federal law and 33 states withhold Medicaid funding, according to a report published this week by the National Network of Abortion Funds. The report, Abortion Funding: A Matter of Justice, exposes the harsh realities confronted by low-income women and girls who seek abortion services.

"This report looks at women's lives, which are too often missing from the abortion debate," said NNAF Executive Director Stephanie Poggi. It shows low-income women doing the best they can to take care of the families they have and struggling to find the money for an abortion."

The story of "Marie," a young, single mother with two children and a part-time job, provides a snapshot of the hardships for low-income women who face an unintended pregnancy.

When Marie found out she was pregnant in late December, she knew that she couldn't care for another child and wanted to have an abortion. She relied on Medicaid for healthcare, but her state Medicaid policy bans coverage for abortions. She needed to earn two more paychecks in order to pay for the procedure. She also had to borrow from her sister and delay paying her rent. She had gotten enough money together by February, but by that point, she was just over 12 weeks pregnant and needed to somehow raise an additional $200.

Read the Full Report.

And while you're at it, check out NNAF's website and donate for women who can't afford access to safe, legal abortions: National Network of Abortion Funds

I'll kick your balls like a girl

The new season of the show I like to call Rape Me, AKA Rescue Me, has a few preview clips airing on FX.

One shows wife-raping misogynist Dennis Leary kicking someone, who turns out to be himself. He tells his other self "you kick like a girl".

Nothing like blatant sexism to reel me in!

Link-A-Dink

The Washington Post has a whole section today devoted to feminism and art.

Wet nurses are getting popular again.

More women are becoming leaders of Mexico's drug cartels.

More evidence that conservatives only care about unborn babies.

Bjork says feminism is a major theme of her new album: "It's sort of trying to put out some good vibes for the little princesses out there. There are actually other things than losing a glass slipper. I mean, part of it was having a little daughter and realizing, what are we telling girls? All these books out there about finding your prince. All these little girls, all they want to do is be pretty and find their prince, and I'm like, what happened to feminism here?"

The number of women murdered in Guatemala grows ever-higher.

How the Democratic machine keeps women out.

Complications from unsafe abortions are straining Kenyan health clinics.

An excerpt from Courtney Martin's new book, Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters

Dozens of girls were turned away from a high-school prom in Louisiana for showing too much cleavage. What is this, the Victorian era?

Merck applies to sell Gardasil as a preventive treatment for vaginal and vulvar cancers.

A new study shows that, when you consider both work at home and work for pay, men and women work an equal number of hours, on average... in rich countries. In poor countries, women do vastly more work.

AlterNet reminds us why poverty is a feminist issue.

Iranian Kurdish women give new meaning to the term "guerrilla girls."

World Bank policies are undermining family planning efforts.

A review of Ellen Bravo's new book, Taking on the Big Boys: Or Why Feminism Is Good for Families, Business, and the Nation.

Where hip-hop culture meets the Brooklyn lesbian scene.

In a New Yorker piece on how Wal-Mart is trying to woo liberals, one of the women in the class-action suit describes her experience as a Wal-Mart employee: "Kathleen MacDonald joined the suit after she learned that a male counterpart, who, like her, was stocking shelves, earned more than she did. When she raised the issue, she told me, “my immediate supervisor said, ‘Well, God made Adam first, and Eve came from him.’ I was, like, what? That’s when I decided enough was enough.”"

Arizon considers similar legislation to South Carolina's bill that would require women to view an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion.

Jess hits the high points from her new book in a piece for the Guardian.

And more on last week's Supreme Court decision upholding the Federal Abortion Ban:
Lynn Paltrow of National Advocates for Pregnant Women describes how this ruling will affect all pregnant women, not only those who choose abortion.

Why "informed consent" abortion laws are much, much worse than you thought... and how they relate to the "partial-birth" abortion ban.

The Freedom of Choice Act is revived.

Jill writes that this decision won't save fetuses, it will only limit women's options.

Doctors are pissed.

Dahlia Lithwick on Kennedy's creepy paternalistic language.

More state-level abortion restrictions to come.

ACOG: The ruling "leaves no doubt that women's health in America is perceived as being of little consequence." (via Ema)

Amy Goodman interviews the ACLU's Louise Melling about the decision.

How Ginsburg's dissent could provide a jumping-off point for abortion jurisprudence that's based on equality rather than privacy.

Time's totally inane take on the ruling... that both sides are too extreme, and that this decision won't matter much.

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!!!

Learn here how to go green as much as you can: http://www.mambosprouts.com/enewsletter/hen/jan07/















And women hold the world.
In hands small and strong, large and soft, gnarled and tough, they hold the world.
Smooth brown hands wiping the foreheads of the sick
Old weathered hands catching slick new babies
Strong calloused hands polishing sticks smooth as they dig in the earth
Clever skillful hands weaving and spinning and smoothing clay
Playful hands making string figures and shadow pictures and making music
Warm protective hands enclosing the small sticky hands of children
Artful hands, smelling of spices, baking bread and frying food
Educating hands, tilting beakers, writing on chalkboards, drawing pictures in the dirt
If the women of the world were a nation, they'd be the largest in the world.
Their hands bind a world together.
Take those hands. Hold them to your heart. Help those hands be strong and healthy and clever, wherever they may be.
The hands of the women who live on the wide cupped palms of the earth.
The women who cradle the world in their hands.

Man accused of abuse in dungeon defends sex

Convicted child rapist says sex with 17-year-old girls was consensual. How original.

A convicted sex offender accused of raping two teens in a dungeon-like space behind his home testified Saturday that he had sex with both of his accusers hours before the alleged crimes took place.

Kenneth Glenn Hinson said one of the 17-year-old girls then asked him for money.

The girls have testified that Hinson, 48, took them from a bedroom while they slept in March 2006. Prosecutors allege he bound them with duct tape, raped them and left them to die in a small room hidden beneath a tool shed.

Hinson’s attorney has said the girls lied and the sex was consensual. Again, how original. Maybe it was consensual. They are minors, consent is irrelevant.

Hinson was convicted in 1991 for the rape of a 12-year-old girl. Two review committees recommended that Hinson be committed to a state program for sexually violent predators after serving a nine-year prison sentence, warning he could commit a future sex crime. But a judge rejected the plan and set Hinson free.

These girls are the victims of Hinson and now the judge who set him free to prey on more children. Hell with gasoline drawers, the both of you.