Tag: Women’s Issues

A Victim Speaks Out

Filed in National by on June 6, 2016 81 Comments
A Victim Speaks Out

This is one of the most powerful things I’ve ever read. I’m going to highlight some passages, but you should read the whole thing.

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A Self-Respecting Feminist?

Filed in National by on May 13, 2016 51 Comments
A Self-Respecting Feminist?

Yesterday’s comment section was, indeed, nuts, but when I went back and reread it several things jumped out at me. First, the incorrect use and expectation of feminism. Let’s start with the definition of feminism: 1 :  the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes 2 :  organized activity on behalf […]

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No.

Filed in National by on March 21, 2016 29 Comments
No.

I had to read this article twice, and it still didn’t make sense. Wooing “pro-lifers” to the Democratic Party by implementing more laws restricting abortion? No. Just no. Many pro-lifers were already frustrated with a party that merely goes through the motions and lacks a coherent plan when it comes to protecting prenatal children from violence. After […]

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The Nest Is Empty And, Boy, Does It Feel Strange

Filed in Delaware by on August 24, 2015 22 Comments
The Nest Is Empty And, Boy, Does It Feel Strange

I haven’t been blogging a lot because this spring and summer have been crazy. My youngest graduated high school, had her wisdom teeth removed, and attended orientation at the university she finally decided on. My oldest knocked off a summer course at UD (He’s starting his senior year of Mech Engineering and decided to take a required gen-ed Philosophy course over the summer mainly because he knew he wouldn’t give it the attention it needed given his course load this year. Sounded like a good philosophy to me!) Add to that all the shopping for my daughter’s dorm, ordering textbooks, finalizing class schedules, endless list making, packing up two kids, scheduling doctor’s appointments before both of them left the state, and fitting in a lot of family time and you’ll see why my blogging lagged.

I still read DL every day!

But this weekend everything came to a screeching halt. They left. In the blink of an eye I went from having a million things to do and a house full of people (and chaos!) to… silence. That freaked me out.

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Can You Chip In To Help Planned Parenthood?

Filed in National by on July 31, 2015 12 Comments
Can You Chip In To Help Planned Parenthood?

Never mind that this probably won’t pass… yet. The writing is on the wall, and it doesn’t have a single thing to do with abortion (Hello, Hyde Amendment). But given the rampant ignorance and stupidity within the Republican Party we really need to send a message.

Via WSJ:

The Senate will vote as early as Monday on a bill to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding, a largely symbolic vote causing pain for centrists in both parties and drawing fire from conservatives who say it won’t satisfy their quest to put the organization out of business.

The bill isn’t expected to garner the 60 votes needed to advance, as nearly all Democrats object to it. Its defeat, however, won’t end the effort to cut off federal money for Planned Parenthood.

When you consider the Hyde Amendment, you need to ask yourself, what is the real agenda of the GOP? The correct answer is that The War on Women continues. This is really about contraception… and women who have the ability to have an enjoy sex (a mythical creature in GOP land, among GOP men and women – which is really sad.) without the fear of pregnancy.

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Al Mascitti, Bill Cosby And Me

Filed in National by on July 20, 2015 15 Comments
Al Mascitti, Bill Cosby And Me

I have avoided this topic, mainly because it seems so obvious. Bill Cosby drugged women in order to sexually assault them. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking with it. Via NYT: While Mr. Cosby insisted the only drug he had given Ms. Constand was Benadryl, he was open about his access in the 1970s to […]

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All Things Being Equal, John Still Gets The Advantage Over Jennifer

Filed in National by on July 13, 2015 4 Comments
All Things Being Equal, John Still Gets The Advantage Over Jennifer

This morning I dropped my daughter off for her university orientation. She’s attending school in Philadelphia – she’s a declared Mechanical Engineering major on scholarship. We are very proud of her accomplishments. So… when a study like this comes out it worries me.

For the study, researchers from Yale University asked more than 100 science faculty members at academic institutions across the country to evaluate one of two student résumés. The résumés were identical except for one small part: The candidate’s name was either John or Jennifer. Despite both candidates having the exact same qualifications and experience, science faculty members were more likely to perceive John as competent and select him for a hypothetical lab manager position.

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Do Men Really Trust And Believe Women?

Filed in National by on March 23, 2015 34 Comments
Do Men Really Trust And Believe Women?

Add this article, Men Just Don’t Trust Women – And It’s A Huge Problem, to another thing I find fascinating. The author admits that he basically doesn’t trust and believe things said by his wife. He downgrades the emotional importance she attaches to a problem. He states: “Generally speaking, we (men) do not believe things when they’re told to us by women.”

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Legal Representation For Fetus Of Brain-Dead Women, Or The Next Step In “Personhood”

Filed in National by on February 10, 2015 10 Comments
Legal Representation For Fetus Of Brain-Dead Women, Or The Next Step In “Personhood”

We’ve seen Personhood on the ballot, and we’ve seen it fail in some pretty conservative states. That doesn’t mean it’s going away. It just means the pro-Personhood contingent has switched tactics. They will chip away at the fringes of legalized abortion and they will use the most vulnerable among us.

The proposal by Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, would appoint a representative to speak on behalf of the fetus if a pregnant woman is declared brain-dead or otherwise permanently incapacitated. Krause is working with legislative bill-drafters and has yet to introduce a specific measure in the House.

“You’ll hear what the family wants, and you’ll also give the pre-born child a chance to have a voice in court at that same time,” Krause said. “The judge weighs everything and he or she makes their decision based on that.”

Please notice how the pregnant, brain-dead and/or permanently incapacitated woman’s wishes aren’t considered.

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Did You Know That “firing a woman for breastfeeding isn’t sexist because men can lactate, too”

Filed in National by on February 4, 2015 21 Comments
Did You Know That “firing a woman for breastfeeding isn’t sexist because men can lactate, too”

Every new mother is well aware of the benefits of breastfeeding and why they should breastfeed their baby. A pregnant woman and new mother are bombarded with research, flyers, books, advice, advice from strangers, etc. on why the breast is best.  It’s everywhere… except, it seems, at Nationwide Insurance. Although I’m sure Nationwide would claim to be pro-breastfeeding in a “We 100% support breastfeeding… in the home” sorta way.

The Supreme Court has declined to overturn a lower court’s ruling that an insurance company was within bounds when it fired a breastfeeding mother. The woman’s suit was dismissed by the Eighth Circuit Court on the grounds that firing a woman for breastfeeding isn’t sexist because men can lactate, too.

The ACLU’s Galen Sherwin wrote Monday that former Nationwide Insurance Company employee Angela Ames sued her employer when she returned from maternity leave to find that no allowances had been made to enable her to pump breast milk for her baby during the day.

When Ames asked her supervisor for accommodations that would enable her to express milk and store it for her child, the supervisor reportedly responded that Ames should “go home and be with your babies” instead. That supervisor went on to dictate a letter of resignation to Ames that day, effectively forcing her to resign.

Men can lactate, too! They don’t, but they can (or some can), so… hand that baby over to dad and get back to work, Ms. Ames!

I breastfed both of my children, and while I sincerely enjoyed it I would have loved to hand off those 3am feedings to my husband. If only I had known at the time some men could lactate! I would have bought him his very own pump!

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Supreme Court Strikes Down Massachusetts Buffer Zone From Inside Their Own Buffer Zone

Filed in National by on June 27, 2014 43 Comments
Supreme Court Strikes Down Massachusetts Buffer Zone From Inside Their Own Buffer Zone

Can we start making Supreme Court Justices go on field trips?  Because it’s obvious they have never witnessed what goes on outside of an abortion clinic.  Perhaps we can simply demand that they look in a mirror, since the buffer zone around the Supreme Court (one of the most publicly owned areas in the country) is massive.  Why does that buffer zone exist?  Why do they afford themselves and the people who work in that building protection from sidewalk counselors?  Why shouldn’t they be counseled when they arrive at work?  For that matter, why can’t we have sidewalk counselors at polling sites?  At military funerals?  Why are these petitioners/sidewalk counselors considered harassers and a threat when “pro-lifers” – who have a history of harassment and violence are not?  Consistency, please.

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Why Is Consent So Difficult To Understand?

Filed in National by on March 26, 2013 128 Comments

con·sent

/kənˈsent/
Noun
Permission for something to happen or agreement to do something.
Verb
Give permission for something to happen: “he consented to a search by a detective”.

Sometimes you come across an article that won’t let you move onto other things.  Here’s mine:

MARCH 22–A New York City man flying cross country with his 12-year-old son allegedly put his hand underneath the skirt of a sleeping female passenger and massaged her thigh, an act he later defended by telling the victim, “It’s not like I molested you. It’s not like I stuck my my finger in your pussy or grabbed your tits.” […]

As detailed in a probable cause statement, a few hours into the flight the woman took medication to help her fall asleep. About 40 minutes before arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the woman “woke up… to Zorse massaging her thigh underneath her skirt.” […]

When questioned by investigators, Zorse claimed that he believed the female passenger was “flirting with him, telling him he was attractive and he was a good father,” adding that he felt he had “bonded” with her. While copping to placing his hand on the woman’s leg for “approximately 30 seconds,” Zorse denied placing his hand up her skirt. He did acknowledge, however, that he “could have said something like ‘It’s not like I stuck my finger up your pussy or grabbed your tits,’” according to the probable cause statement.

Here’s what really bothers me about this ugly, illegal incident.  Zorse confesses. Easily. He doesn’t see anything wrong in what he did to a sleeping (NON- CONSENTING) woman because he believed “the female passenger was “flirting with him, telling him he was attractive and he was a good father,” adding that he felt he had “bonded” with her.”  It’s all about his feelings.  Those are his only social clues.

Zorse determines what constitutes flirting.  He also determines what constitutes bonding.  He even decides that the conversation before the woman fell asleep progressed to the point where he could touch her. He had already granted himself permission.

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Republican War On Women – Alaska Style

Filed in National by on March 21, 2012 13 Comments

There’s a lot of lady parts business going on in Alaska. They have a forced ultrasound bill, a bill that “forbids full disclosure of pregnancy options and referrals for abortions,” and… Abortion Permission Slips from Men

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