Bryan Fischer Contradicts Himself Again

This one is so simple that I'll just post the evidence without comment.

Bryan Fischer says women are not emotionally fit for combat:




Bryan Fischer says Valerie Jarrett made the Bin Laden call - not President Obama:



Which is it, Bryan?

"Life and Death" Over Lunch

WHO WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR FAMILY'S HEALTH?

There was a time when I thought that those deeply personal medical decisions regarding my uterus and the contents thereof was a matter between my doctor, my husband and me. How silly! There are others who believe that they are far better qualified to decide what happens to my body and they are arguing their case before the Supreme Court right now. In fact, they are telling the Court that their religious freedom is being violated if they cannot control women's bodies! 

There are several angles from which we could discuss this case but I want to discuss the most obvious consequence of these people winning their case: that employers and government officials would be making decisions about your body and your family size for you.

Your Employer

You can always have another kid.

Think about that for a minute...the first person who would have control over your family size and family health is your boss. That's right, your boss. You know that obnoxious asshole who is always looking for a reason to write you up. Or that dipshit who isn't smart enough to do half of what you do. Or maybe that lazy fuck who makes you do the work and then s/he takes all the credit. Yeah, that boss...the one you duck and dodge on a daily basis. The one you badmouth as soon as you get home. 

That's the person who gets to make your first choice because s/he decides what your insurance can cover:

• Catholic or Evangelical boss - no birth control.
• Jehovah's Witness boss - no blood transfusions - not even to save your own life.
• Southern Baptist boss - no coverage for smoking- or alcohol-related illnesses (those two "sins" are mentioned in the church covenant; abortion is not). 
• Christian Scientist - no medicine for any reason.
• Vegan/Vegetarian boss - no medications or treatments containing animal parts or tested on animals.
• Scientologist boss - no mental health coverage (no therapy, no medicine)
• Anti-Vax boss - no vaccinations.

But wait, you say. There aren't many of those folks around like that. You'll just work for a "normal" employer. Good luck with that! Have you seen the job market lately? All those jobs you think people should just grab simply don't exist any more. It's highly likely that you're going to find yourself stuck in the job you hate with insurance that doesn't meet your needs. So when one of your kids gets cancer and you depend on that insurance to pay for it, your boss might just decide that it's too expensive and cancel cancer coverage. Good luck paying for these treatments and medications without that insurance too. American medical costs are high enough to put millions of people in bankruptcy.

Your Politician

Then there's your second obstacle to freedom: your politicians. Yes, those men and women who are mostly professional liars and fundraisers. You know, those guys that you don't trust with any of your other rights. The folks you keep saying are going to take your guns and turn this into a police state...that's the people you're going to turn your medical freedom over to? The same people who show little to no knowledge of basic biology and have a reckless disregard for facts...those are the ones who get to decide what happens next?

But babies are so cute!

Just think, if I had gotten pregnant a few years ago, I could have invited Roger Wicker and my Catholic boss to lunch and they could have told me how I'd be allowed to handle it. Of course, neither of them would know that pregnancy is a fatal condition for me but I'm sure they'd at least have sent flowers to my funeral. 

Close your eyes for a second and imagine yourself at lunch with your boss and your representative (or governor or whomever). Imagine that you are explaining your family's medical needs to them and hoping that they will allow you to have the coverage you need - the coverage that YOU are paying for. When I think of sitting down like this with Phil Bryant and Hillbilly Joe Blow, it makes me sick.

Your Choice

As I said before, there are stronger and better legal arguments that these cases can be decided on. But all too often we focus on the cold, hard facts without adding a dose of reality. This is your dose of reality: that two of the people you likely mistrust most in the world are a stone's throw away from deciding what kind of medical care you can get. It's not a choice between you, your spouse, and your doctor for much longer. It's going to between the "man" and the "machine" and their profit, not your health, will be the deciding factor.

The Supreme Court will rule however it wills and I'm sure further legal battles will ensue. But the real fight is not in the court - it's on the ground among our family and friends. There are a lot of people out there who call themselves "pro-life" but, when confronted with the reality of the forced birth movement, they take 'pro-choice" positions. We need those people to come out of the closet as it were. The only way that's going to happen is for them to hear from us, to see that we aren't monsters but people who value independence and recognize the superiority of quality over mere quantity.

So if you don't want to discuss your family's life and death over lunch with Alan and the Bossman, then you'd best speak up now.

Republicans Have Already Won 2016 Because...Tits

In yet the latest piece of ageist, sexist garbage, Bryan Fischer explains why Hillary Clinton cannot win the presidency in 2016.

May I take this opportunity to say, "Fuck you, Fischer!" I don't have to be a Hillary fan to see that her age and her body type have nothing to do with her ability to lead the nation. If we were going to vote based on such criteria, people like Reagan, McCain, Christie, and a plethora of others would not have been in the running. People are way more than their age or looks. Women are way more than the quality of their boobs (whatever "quality" may be). Just because you won't look beyond appearances doesn't mean the rest of us won't. 

It's easy to be angry at anonymous internet trolls who make fun of women and objectify people but here is a guy who makes his living doing it publicly. Who is the bigger jerk?

A Little Help?

I need a little help but the current climate is such that one cannot even ask for help in some circles without being branded as "unhelpful." I find that attitude unhelpful so I want to talk this through with you.

You are an educated atheist and you find yourself fielding questions from creationists all the time. It's frustrating and time-consuming. First, you don't know how many of these people are ignorant and how many are just trolling. Second, you aren't an evolutionary biologist so why are they asking you? Third, why don't they look it up themselves instead of being lazy? You tell them to get on Google and just look up the answers instead of wasting your time. I get it - I really do. You don't owe these people one minute of your time. Any information you give them is a kindness on your part - especially since there is a good chance that most of them aren't really interested in learning about evolution or atheism.

But what about the ones who are? You've sent them to Google but they probably don't have enough information to do a good search. If they are particularly uneducated on the subject (as so many Americans are), then they don't know a good source from a bad source. They may google the subject and come up with all kinds of nonsense that is palatable to them but completely untrue. Furthermore, if they do find a reputable source of information, how are they going to digest it? A lot of evolutionary science is very technical and intimidating. Not every article is written with the layperson in mind. It's possible that our honest inquirer may find a good source and then despair at ever understanding it.

How can we fix this? First, we need professional people who are willing to field the same questions repeatedly. Usually, these are writers, speakers, and other activists who are dedicated to a subject (or set of subjects). Second, we need educated laypeople who are willing to do the same kind of outreach but with a more personal touch. Third, we need a list of good sites and sources that are easy for new inquirers to find and understand.

Now let's back this up and apply it to the subjects of sexism and racism. As a woman, I've lived with sexism my whole life but I didn't know squat about feminist theory until recently. I'm still pretty ignorant about the subject. And as a white person (albeit one who grew up with a best friend of color), I'm still terribly ignorant about racism and its effects. In fact, I'm so awash in white privilege that I often don't even know what to ask, much less how to ask it. How can I overcome this?

I need professional people who are willing to speak out. I need laypeople who are willing to help me learn. And I need a place to go to find reputable sources about these subjects so I can do my own heavy-lifting.

Should I expect every professional or layperson to answer my every question? No. They don't owe me any help.

Do they want me to be a good ally for their cause? If so, then I have to know where to go to find the good information and I need people I can talk with about this so I don't go making a fool of myself and hurting others. If I'm going to be your partner in this fight and help educate others, then someone will have to invest in me!

So what I'm saying is this: there are honest actors out here and we need a little help. Telling us to just "google it" isn't always going to cut it. There's too much misinformation and pseudoscience out there to just expect that we're going to find the good stuff on the first try. And we need people who are willing to deal with those of "good faith" I'm not saying everyone should have to do it. I'm not saying we have a right to demand anything of you. I'm simply saying that some of us want to do better and we really hope you will see something in us that is worth investing in.

Do We Owe Someone an Apology?

If you're looking for a post that's going to take sides in the sexual harassment/rape scandals in the atheist community, you've come to the wrong place. I am in no position to tell you that any person is guilty or innocent of anything because I've had nothing to do with these situations and I've not experienced anything personally. I'm not a lawyer, an accuser, or a victim. I'm looking at this from a sort of outsider perspective and I just want to share some thoughts. So again, if you're looking for someone to take your side in the drama (whatever that side is), you won't find it here.

First, I want to say that if you've been accusing everyone who doesn't fully agree with you of "not being a real skeptic" or "not thinking critically" then please stop. This is a gross insult to many in the skeptic community. Most of us can and do think for ourselves. The fact that we refuse to jump on every popular bandwagon (including yours) should tell you that we aren't just "sheeple." You are not the sole arbiter of truth and we aren't convinced that your opinion is right just because you believe it is. We don't want authority figures to tell us what to believe - we are thinkers who are going to figure this out ourselves. It may take us more time to come to a conclusion than you did (some of us have to spend extra time reading, observing, researching, and sorting this stuff out), but that doesn't make us stupid. It means we are careful.

Second, I've been thinking about how we deal with these outcries. When people accuse Catholic priests and other pastors of rape or sexual assault, we don't typically demand a lot of evidence. We don't wait for these cases to go to court or for a jury to convict. We usually shrug, say "Who's surprised?" and show sympathy for the (alleged) victims. We demand that the churches stop moving around the perps and covering up the scandals. We seem to be pretty comfortable with the idea that a priest accused is a guilty priest indeed.

When you turn the tables and put the same scenarios in the atheist community, we act differently. Many desire "evidence" of the accusations, demand a trial before we can decide, and come up with all manner of reasons why the harassment/assault/rape probably didn't happen since the accuser didn't report it, or is anonymous, or whatever. We seem to be pretty comfortable with the idea that our own leaders are innocent unless there's enough evidence for a jury to convict.

It seems to me that we have a severe disconnect in how we handle these cases. Do we owe all those priests and pastors an apology for deciding they are pedophiles without a trial or "proper" evidence (not even a victim's name)? Or do we owe the apologies to those in the atheist community who have reported harassment and rape and were met with scorn and ridicule?

I'm sure there is a middle ground that I haven't covered. That's what I'd like to explore here in a calm, civil manner. Are we falling victim to our own prejudices or is there some substantial difference in these cases that I'm failing to see? 

*I'm not much for monitoring comments but, if someone tries to derail the thread or attack other people, then you can expect those comments to be dealt with. Stay on topic and please be civil while you are a guest in my blog house.

Why I'm An Out Feminist Male in Australia

 I haven't always been an advocate for gender equality. During my days as a fundamentalist Christian, I had a definitive notion about what I deemed to be appropriate gender roles. I dismissed many acts as sinful and had some chauvinistic ideals in regards to a number of other items. Even in the incipient stages of my atheism I possessed an apathy about a plethora of social and humanistic concerns.

 Only in the last year and a half have I acquired a a strong humanistic and secular mindset. Exposure to podcasts and news stories elucidated to me controversial issues concerning feminist's and women's issues and remoulded my attitude from one of  nonchalance to a strong concern for equality for all.

While issues such as abortion and access to contraception aren't such an exigency in Australia, gender inequality still manifests itself in most salient ways in this country (such as the disparity of wages between the sexes). According to ABS statistics, women on average still earn only 83 cents to the dollar earned by their male counterparts. Examples such as these illuminate the fact the gender gap needs to be closed here. While many female advocates voice their opinion in this subject, the dissenting voices of males remain conspicuous by their absence. We need to focus on controversies like this to have a truly egalitarian state in Australia where all people enjoy parity. We must strive harder to eliminate the vestiges of an archaic patriarchal mindset.

While abortion and access to contraception may not be of a poignant nature in Australia, we shouldn't insulate ourselves, remain oblivious, not show concern and express our disdain of problems facing females in other countries. These issues have been prevalent in places such as the United States and Ireland (the unnecessary and tragic death of Savita in Ireland a few months ago due to not being given an abortion when it was quite evident carry to birth to term would cause complications to mother and fetus). Despite medical intervention being needed  to prevent the death from occurring, negligence was displayed due to not being legal to perform the necessary operation, which resulted in the death of the mother.

Also there are numerous examples of politicians defunding organizations such as Planned Parenthood and ratifying laws making it virtually impossible in some areas to enjoy access to birth control, contraception and abortion. The lunacy of some politicians is befuddling - they defund Planned Parenthood, restrict access to birth control, then complain there are too many abortions and unwanted pregnancies. The stupidity of some politicians is incredulous. I'm sure if they farted their brains would fall out. These oppressive laws stem mostly form religious ideology,  an ethos that remains the most stultifying and stymieing obscenity to a true state of secularism and equality.

Attitudes to rape remain eerily problematic too. Victim blaming resonates all too much in this day and age as well:. Implications such as its somehow the physically weaker victims fault that when a strong perpetrator violates her. In many circumstances the victim is too afraid to come forward for fear of being stigmatized, is reluctant to go though a grueling legal process or thinks too many people will conspire to conceal the matter. Insinuations that the victim was being "too provocative" or "asking for it." Never addressing the real cause - the neanderthal who couldn't keep his libido in check.

Honor killings and immoral sentencing in many parts of the world are associated with the aforementioned attitude. If a woman is violated, it is her fault and gets either sentenced by the law or executed by her insane family for bringing shame upon them in a shambolic attempt to restore honor to the barbaric murderer's family name. Similar abhorrent attitudes have been echoed by certain Republic politicians and evangelical Christians. Egregious remarks such women possess a biological mechanism to prevent pregnancy caused by rape or if impregnated its somehow a gift from God

Since when are old men with two inch penises and misogynistic attributes qualified to adjudicate or comment on the bodily rights of women. Then again, its no surprise that attitudes like this exist because they are derived from scripture - a book in which no instance occurs where a woman's consent is ever required or requested. Just look at Deuteronomy 22:28 -29 where, if a woman is violated, the rapist just has to pay the victims father 50 shekels and must marry her. No consideration is given to to obvious psychological trauma this would cause the female in question. Attitudes and occurrences like these need addressing. Retaining antiquated attitudes like this need to be eradicated for the betterment of human kind and for progress to a better world. There are many more topics I could address but space prevents that.

For now I will continue to crusade against misogyny and sexism.

Tweenky's Pregnancy Aftermath and Recovery

Ever since my appearance on the Godless Bitches podcast, I've had some people ask me about the aftermath of my near-fatal pregnancy and my recovery. In order to answer these questions more fully and dispel the myth that pregnancy is harmless, I've decided to write an detailed account. Some of this may be slightly misremembered or garbled but it's the best I can do. You may also want to read Nathan's account here.

When I awoke from the coma, the first thing I registered was the bag of platelets hanging to the left of my head. I immediately knew I was in trouble - that something major had happened - but I wasn't scared. I didn't feel any emotion. I remember seeing Nathan, then my mom and my sister. I remember thanking them for making the 6 hour drive to come see me. They looked exhausted and distraught but that didn't register. I was too thirsty to care about anything. My mouth was drier than I've ever felt before and it was unbearable. I begged for fluids but they told me that I couldn't have anything to drink until the fetus was delivered. I didn't care. I continue to beg and bitch until a nurse let me have a sip of Sprite Zero so I'd shut up.

Once I got a little relief (and believe me, that was temporary), I asked what had happened. They explained that I had HELLP Syndrome which I was not really familiar with. I was down to 30,000 platelets (normal level is 150,000 to 450,000) and the transfusion was my only hope. They explained that our son was already dead and that I couldn't have a proper drink until he was delivered.

I told them to cut me open. C-section NOW! My brain wasn't working right. It didn't dawn on me that with such a low platelet count, I might bleed out were they to cut me open. All I knew was that I was painfully thirsty. I argued and griped about it until they let me have another sip. My fuzzy mind spun trying to understand the biochemistry going on. What was happening to my platelets? Where were they going? It just didn't make sense.*

I looked up at the collection of bags on the poles and saw one labeled "pitocin." I knew that one. I followed the lines down to my arm and saw the tubes go into the side of my arm near the elbow - not the traditional place for an IV. I looked quizzically at Nathan and he explained I had a PIC line (peripherally inserted catheter). They had used an x-ray machine to insert a tube into my arm that lead to my heart. From it they could send medication and draw blood without further sticking me. I blessed them for that. I hate needles.

They rolled me over and gave me a vaginal suppository, a prostaglandin that would help me dilate and get this over with. This is a medication that was originally planned to be banned under the Mississippi "personhood" amendment 26. I think that's when I realized I had a catheter. I chalked it up as another victory that I'd been too busy dying to feel it going in. I asked about it and Nathan told me my kidneys had started shutting down and I was passing reddish-brown urine. Gross.

That's about the time I noticed that something was wrong with my vision. I could see spots everywhere, gaps in my skin and the wall. I looked at my arms and realized I was terribly swollen all over. My eyes had swelled and that was causing the weird spots. I didn't care. I was too thirsty to care.

I felt it when my water broke. It was a wonderful relief - the way you feel when you've been holding a full bladder for ages and you finally get to go. They dialed up my morphine but I didn't care. I didn't feel any pain or fear. I felt the medication hit my heart and I remember thinking, "This is what morphine feels like? It's not worth the bother." 

Delivery was pretty quick. There was all the "push, push, PUSH" that you hear in the movies. There wasn't any pain, just pressure. I delivered lackadaisically, really only caring about getting something to drink.

Then they laid my son in my arms. I looked at him. I thought I saw him move.

"Did he move?" I asked? "I thought I saw him move."

No, they told me. You're shaking.

I looked at him again. I held him but I don't remember touching him. I sat still while the family took pictures. My mother and sister were openly sobbing. I don't remember what Nathan was doing. I might as well not have been there.

They took him a few short minutes later and asked how we wanted to dispose of him. I jumped in with cremation. I was adamant. I was consigning my son to the flames. I was designating him as "medical waste." It sounds horrid but all I could think of was that I was not going to let my mother get his tiny body and bury it at her church so that she could have a perpetual monument to grief and guilt. I was not going to let her use my son to manipulate me into going to church. I was not going to let her claim an inch of my son for Christ.

He was born free and he died free. I am not chained to his grave. I experience him every day in his father, in the air I breathe, and in my continued existence.

I spent the weekend in the hospital recovering quickly. Although my physical recovery was remarkable, my mental recovery was far less so. I was considered a very high suicide risk and the nurses counselled Nathan that I would have to be watched for a very long time. Strangely enough, suicide hasn't crossed my mind since that day. I've never had a stronger, sharper will to live. But my life was bought at a heavy price and I'm not yet sure how much more I'll be asked to pay.

Although the brain scans showed no permanent damage, my cognitive abilities have been impaired. I don't remember things very well any more. I don't type or spell as well as I did in the past. I often get my words mixed up or I blank out when I speak. 

My blood pressure is an absolute wreck. Without two types of medication each day, my blood pressure will skyrocket and I will die. I take both Bystolic and Lisinopril to deal with it.

I suffered some nerve damage in my legs that got better over time. I have restless leg syndrome but, with exercise and a massage pad, I deal with it well. It took me a year to fully be able to walk again. I had to use a cane sometimes for the first year but I was damned and determined to get rid of it. Now I can walk around a Walmart Supercenter without stopping to rest.

I gained weight during my convalescence (but only because Nathan fixed my meals and made me eat) and that has not come off. I'm still working on it. Nathan still fixes my meals and rations out my medication. I don't trust myself with medication since my last overdose and hospitalization in 2010. He also encourages me and helps me continue moderate exercise. I'm taking Victoza injections to control my type 2 diabetes and I have a pill I can take to help with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The pill doesn't really help much.

The worst impairment I've suffered is mental. I dealt with survivor's guilt a lot that first year but I never really grieved. I still haven't. I don't know if it was the morphine or what, but my emotions never really came back. I've had a precious few bouts of breakthrough crying but they feel just as fake and forced as the smile I wear. My morality is solely a product of my rational thought; it's something I choose to do and not something I feel. If I were living according to my feelings, I would be in prison because I feel no empathy or kinship any more. I am kind because I choose to be. I do what's right because it's for the best.

The schizoaffective disorder is what won me my permanent disability and it will likely never go away. Although the hallucinations and delusions of the schizophrenia are generally well controlled, I do hear breakthrough voices and sometimes feel paranoia. Sometimes I think the walls and floors are folding in on me. Sometimes I get the feeling that there is still a divine hand on me that sustains me and make me strong.  I struggle to accept these as biochemical anomalies and not as fact. Although my life is better without the voices, I miss them and the richness they gave my life. I take Seroquel to combat the psychotic symptoms.

The bipolar part of the equation has been more difficult. I'm currently suffering through a major depressive episode. I don't feel sad or worthless too much though I remember times when I did very vividly. I do not feel suicidal thanks to my Lexapro. What I do feel is rage. Sometimes it's focused, sometimes not. There are times when it takes everything I have not to slam my fist through glass or the wall for no reason. I live in fear of my next manic episode because each one is a harsh test of my relationships, my abilities, and my character.

And finally, I can never get pregnant again without dying. I'm on the pill right now even though the risk is higher at my age for blood clots and such. Now that I have Medicare, I'm planning to schedule an Essure procedure. They'll take some corkscrews and put them in my Fallopian tubes. The tubes will scar up and close thus making me permanently sterile. Even with Medicare, there will be deductibles and copays so it's a work in progress.

This is my life now. I've lost so much and I feel like I have little to show for it. There is a lot of potential guilt in thinking that you're so pathetic you can't even have a baby right. I've combated that by sharing my story and fighting against both anti-choicers and mental health bigots. I've put just about everything publicly on the line, opening up myself to some ridicule and risk (if you can believe that), so that people will know how dangerous and disabling pregnancy can be. That doesn't make me a hero but it does give me a reason to keep going. I'll never be a shining star in the movement or a big name but I will do what I can to educate, encourage, and support my fellow humans.

I don't do it because it feels gratifying. I do it because I've decided it's right...and doing right is how I choose to spend my remaining hard-won days.

*As I understand it, HELLP causes platelets to clot within the blood vessels. As these platelets form their sticky clotting webs inside the vessels, red blood cells get trapped and ripped apart. So you lose platelet availability from the internal clotting and you lose red blood cells from them being torn up. Hence:

(H)emolysis
(E)levated
(L)iver Enzymes
(L)ow
(P)latelet Count

The Shamed Slut Diaries

If you are interested in my 28 day contraception blog, please visit The Shamed Slut Diaries. It's a sarcastic yet somewhat serious documentary about the monthly cycle, contraception, and other family issues written as a testimony to the state legislators and governor who think it's their business to regulate my ladyparts.

Slaves to Our Biology No More

What is the most fundamental difference between humans and other animals?

You might start thinking about things like language, music, and culture. Those are good answers but I'm thinking deeper than that. What really sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom? What does humanity have that other animals do not? I believe the answer is simple:



Humans have both the will and the means to become masters of their biology.

Think about it. Most animals are slaves to their biology. They don't get to decide their role in their societies. They don't get to decide when to reproduce or how many offspring to have. They do not appear to have the will to transcend their biologically-assigned roles or the means to do so. If there is another animal so capable of mastering itself so, please enlighten me.

It is human nature to want to understand and control the world around us beginning with our own bodies. Why? I'm sure there are several reasons but self-preservation is the first and most obvious answer. We all want better lives and taking charge of our bodies and our environment is the way to do it. 

In other words, we've been "playing God" since the beginning of our species and doing so with a great deal of success.

While there are many who wring their hands in desperation and look to heaven with chagrin any time someone mentions us "playing God," we should remember that we all do so. The food we eat was artificially bred to suit us. The medicines we take were developed to extend our lives or ease discomfort. The clothes we wear are made to suit both our need for shelter and to feed our egos. No person living in the modern, developed world is immune or exempt. We're all playing God by struggling to become masters of our domain.

But all is not well in paradise. Since our early days, there have been many among us who decided that the best way to become a master of their own interests was to enslave others - especially those who were different. This basic concept is at the root of so much tribalism, racial tension, religious wars, and gender inequality (yes, there are places where women rule the roost and men better keep their mouths shut). 

Of the problems listed above, I want to apply this to the "War on Women" that we're having now. When you boil it all down, there are some people (men and women) who are promoting the idea that men should be the masters of their biology and women must remain enslaved to their biology. That's what this whole forced-birth, anti-contraception mess is really about. It's about going back to the "good ole days" when boys were boys and ladies were the guardian of the gate. It's about seeing men who enjoy sex as "studs" and women who enjoy sex as "sluts." It's about letting men freely exercise their rights to bodily autonomy while telling women that they must be protected from the consequences of their bad decisions. 

It is the re-enslavement of women to their biology, a disgusting double-standard that we should not even be having to talk about in 21st century America.

If you want to know how this looks, take a look over into Muslim countries like Somalia and Saudi Arabia. They are slowly, so slowly, trying to climb out of this enslavement culture but it's firmly entrenched. Women must cover up their bodies because, dammit, those men just can't (and shouldn't have to) help themselves. Women should never show themselves because, after all, that's just a temptation. They're only good for fucking anyway, right?

Wrong. Women are human beings with the same natural rights to be master of their bodies as men have. By what right do these people demand that we surrender our self-mastery to anyone else? By what authority do they dare to suggest that we are too foolish, weak, emotional, helpless, or ignorant to make decisions for themselves?

There is no just cause for these brutal assaults on women's rights. There is no excuse for this attempt to re-enslave women to their biology - to make us nothing more than brood mares for the state. And there is no way in hell that we are going to give up this fight for freedom and justice. 

Men and women who value equality and believe in the American principle of liberty must join together now and rise up against this atrocity. Every where a bill pops up or the enslavement of women is promoted, we must be there with fire in our bellies and rage in our eyes. When politicians priss and preen about, touting their enslavement laws, men must fight back and say, "Not our mothers! Not our wives! Not our daughters!" And women must stand up too, not in the back lines but in the very front, calling down all the curses and condemnation due a tyrant who seeks to suppress another human being.

Thomas Jefferson made a famous remark about a "tree of liberty" and the "blood of patriots and tyrants." I submit to you that we women are well acquainted with bloodshed. We enter the world in blood, we give birth and blood, and all too often, we die in blood. We will not go back into servitude. We will not accept the chains of biology. We are Americans and we will fight with every drop of our blood for right to be masters (or indeed mistresses) of ourselves.

Appetizer 04 "Tu Quoque"

The GOP Jobs Plan

Every so often there comes a time when I must admit to you, my dear readers, that I am wrong and issue an apology.

This is one of those times.

Like many of you, I have been wondering since the Republican influx of 2010 what their jobs plan is. Since they have overwhelmingly submitted forced birth, anti-woman legislation, I assumed that they had no jobs plan and was just following their Christian Dominionist agenda. I was wrong and I must now apologize to the GOP for mischaracterizing their position.

Stay with me now. I haven't lost my mind or been co-opted. I think I see more clearly now and I want to know what you all think.

I think the GOP is implementing the most sweeping jobs plan in my lifetime. It begins simply with passing forced pregnancy and forced birth legislation (what you may call anti-contraception and anti-abortion laws). These laws will increase the number of pregnancies nationwide and increase the need for prenatal services. Jobs will be created as the demand for maternal care goes up. We will likely need some new agencies to enforce these policies so that will create some jobs too.

Now here comes the brilliant part. Since women will be having tons more kids than they want or need, they will all have to leave the workforce and stay home taking care of the children. This will free up millions of jobs for men who will now probably need an extra job to take care of all the extra kids that they didn't want or need too. I predict that even with the extra jobs needed, their will be a surplus of jobs when women leave the market.

Now, having extra kids is more than a financial burden. It is physically and mentally draining as well. We'll need more police and social services to take care of domestic violence, neglect, and abuse so that can create more jobs. Better yet, we can give more of our tax dollars to churches and let them worry about that stuff. After all, nothing solves our social ills better than being forced to follow someone else's patriarchal religious beliefs.

So, yes, I think the GOP does have a jobs plan and it is full steam ahead. All they need to do is put women back in the kitchen where they belong and keep men tied to their job(s). No time to be creative, no time to think for yourself. Just more time and more need to work, work, work.

Oh, yeah, and time to vote as long as you vote right.