Can Anything Good Come Out of Mississippi?

What's Wrong with Mississippi

Mississippi has had a lot of problems since its inception, not the least of which was its sordid support of slavery. We've come quite a long way since the Civil Rights era but, due to conservative religious saturation and natural human bigotry (we like to call that "tradition"), we still have a whole lot of work to do. Since it is now a public death wish to be known to be a racist, people have taken refuge in the next brand of socially-accepted bigotry...anti-gay intolerance.

SB2681 and Its Real Meaning

This bill was hailed as a "religious freedom" bill but its real intent was to give Mississippi business owners the power to discriminate in their dealings. The bill was pretty much DOA but a quick slap by the Mississippi Southern Baptist Convention reminded our legislators that religion runs Mississippi - not the law.

The law takes place on July 1 and allows people to discriminate against anyone or anything for any "sincerely held" religious reason. When I say "any religious reason," I mean any:

"Exercise of religion" includes, but is not limited to, the ability to act or the refusal to act in a manner that is substantially motivated by one's sincerely held religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief.

So the reason doesn't have to pertain to a particular religious doctrine or belief. It can be any peripheral idea you've pulled out of your ass or any other non-religious belief you hold and slap a "religion" label on it.

Who is the arbiter of what belief is "sincerely held?" The court, by default, will become the decider of what is legitimate religious belief and what is not. So much for religious freedom. The law forces the state to define religion - not stay out of it.

What Is Mississippi's Response?

Many of us Mississippians did not support this bill and we are actively standing against it now, sometimes at great personal risk to our family, friendships, and business interests. 
The beginning of our campaign to fight back was to make this sticker available to those who were against the bill and let people see the very real opposition.

We want people to see that it's ok to fight against the radical, conservative religious agenda. It's ok to publicly say, "I'm not going to discriminate against anybody." We wanted to challenge people to stand up to the bigots in our state whether they are at home or at church. We are trying to be powerful agents for change in this state and this is our FIRST step, not our last. We are strongly encouraged by the fact that the AFA has called this sticker a "bullying campaign" because a) it's obviously untrue, and b) it shows we've got them scared.

Is It Good Enough?

I'd hope that people around the country would rally to our cause and encourage us in the fight but, sadly, that's not always the case. When the AFA's comment was covered on Pharyngula, a couple of commenters made the following statements:

1. @5: It’s worse than that. These stickers aren’t calling for a repeal of the “bigotry is allowed” law — they’re just saying that this store chooses not to avail themselves of their God-given right to be bigots. That the bigots take this as bullying of *them*…….defies all attempts at explanation, however desperate.


2. These non-discrimination signs aren’t even very welcoming. They’re basically saying, “Even though we’re not legally required to recognize your humanity, we’ll take your money.” Fuck that whole state off.

Because Mississippi has allowed the AFA and their ilk to define our state image and speak on our behalf for so long, I can understand why these people feel this way. I sympathize strongly with their weariness at our intolerance and willful ignorance. But I feel I must speak up on behalf of the many Mississippians who don't share those views and have been working tirelessly to try to change this state. Our work here is difficult and it's not always very rewarding. Often we see no personal benefit except to know that we are doing what is right.

We do want this law repealed but we can't start the big legal work on that until it takes effect. As for being welcoming, I suppose we could have made signs that said, "Get Your Cute Gay Ass in Here and Spend Some Money!" but that wouldn't have helped our cause much.

Friends, we need your support badly. Instead of looking for fault in what we do, encourage us and help us do it better. This whole state isn't just conservative, religious nutjobs. There are a lot of decent, caring folks here of all stripes and we're working to find our voice.

What Good Is Coming Out of Mississippi?

We are rising up slowly but surely. We are working to pull our state kicking and screaming into the 21st century. We are struggling to liberate our family and friends from the toxicity of the SBC's rule. We are working to change minds and open hearts (figuratively, mind you).

We successfully fought against the 2012 Personhood bill and we'll likely fight that again this year. The struggle is over once you're done reading the article but it continues daily for those of us who live in these trenches.

We're not going to stop until we accomplish our goals. Support us.

"Yes on 26" Starts Off New Campaign by Disturbing Their Own Viewers

When initiative 26 (the "personhood" amendment) hit Mississippi a couple years ago, we documented their lies, misinformation, and general fail. It appears that they are back to push a new personhood amendment because their page is rapidly filling up with the most idiotic and revolting statements people can make.

Rest assured, DFFT will fight these people every step of the way - and not because we love abortion, but because we strongly value freedom and bodily autonomy. We oppose any government attempt to force a person to donate his or her blood, tissues, or organs to anyone else for any reason. Also please remember that the one time we had an opportunity to make such a choice, we chose the pregnancy. We have not ever and hope to never need to choose abortion. That is our personal preference. 

That being said, I want to focus today on a (possibly) disturbing image of a miscarried fetus and the incredibly harsh comments that followed.

This would be a very disturbing image for me as a mother who experienced a 23 week stillbirth if I still had properly working emotions. Not only does it give me flashbacks of my dead son but it also seems to imply that I, as a pro-choice woman, did not consider my son a person in any sense. This is untrue, of course, because I did consider him to be a future person and member of our family. But at no time did I think that he had any legal status. How could he? He did not have the ability to carry out even the simplest privileges of a born citizen - to breathe American air and experience his environment - much less carry out any duties.

Not everyone on "Yes on 26" appreciated this graphic image either. Two women and one man (all against abortion) told the page that this picture was too disturbing to them and possibly to others who had experienced miscarriages and stillbirths. The gentleman even said he would have to hide the post because he couldn't bear to see it. I am not going to post their names or comments because I do have respect for those who grieve. But guess who didn't show any respect? "Yes on 26" sure didn't bother taking it down. Better yet, some of the commentators retorted that it wasn't disturbing or, if it was, that folks needed to see it anyway so they could see what they were killing. I don't feel any remorse for showing you those comments below:

Never mind how this picture makes you feel, sir. Never mind if it makes you relive the agony of losing a child you desperately wanted. We've got to get these icky pictures in front of America and its children so they'll know that abortion is...well...icky. I hate to tell this guy but he could wave a thousand pictures of people dying or dead from horrid diseases and that won't make me vote to force people to donate their organs. Life is full of suffering and it is always good when we can give of ourselves to help alleviate another person's suffering. But it has to be a choice - not a legal imperative. And there's no need for you to so unapologetically rejoice in your fellow man's suffering. Where's your compassion for the born? You have none.

Well, hooray for you that you love women who, by your definition, are murderers. You are going to push for legislation to send them to jail for their abortions, right? And why do you need to gratuitously share these "loving memories" to fight your fight? Yes, I'm aware that the family has posted many pictures online and given everyone permission to share them; nevertheless, do you not stop to think that maybe they aren't making that decision from a good place right now? Do you not stop to think that maybe there are better ways to honor that family's decision than by slapping the picture on every pro-life site you can find like it was a cheap porn ad? Hell, I'm feeling pretty crappy for showing the picture now (so much so that I learned how to hide it) but I can't think how I will make my point if I don't. But you seem to have no concern for whom the picture hurts - you can only think about how many unborns you can save and then discard once they take their first breath.

I don't feel particularly happy about including this picture either but it's so crucial to my point. Perhaps this is a simple declaration of hope but, in context with the other posts, it sounds like, "Didn't bother me so it shouldn't bother you." I get that people need to believe their loved ones are in Heaven but please don't assume that your lack of pain is shared by us all. My mother desperately believes in Heaven but she has grieved for the loss of our son. You do not want to tell her that the picture shouldn't upset her. You really don't.

Here we have the worst offender - the commentator who drove me to write this post. Not only does he feel no sympathy for his fellow pro-lifers who were hurt by the photo but he lectures them and goes so far as to blame them for offending him! I hate to tell you, dude, but unborn babies are pretty revolting. Have you seen one come out? They're pretty revolting too until they get cleaned up. Isn't that why you guys parade the pictures around after all? Because they are shocking and revolting? 

And how dare you tell these grieving parents how they should feel or what they should look at! Does your picture of your dead cousin show him all mangled and bloody or is it a pleasant picture? It makes a difference. These parents shouldn't give a single thought to what offends you or what you expect. You don't control us and you don't speak for us.

I can already tell this next battle is going to be dirty. It's already begun. It's going to compel me to write and to relive my experiences until I have to double my blood pressure medicine. But one thing you won't see me do - you won't see me drag out pictures of my dead son and tell everyone to post them all over the internet to support my pet causes. Not because I'm ashamed of him but because I care about other parents out there who are grieving and do not need to be traumatized again so that I can make a point. I'll tell my story, yes, but I won't whore out pictures of my grief to win votes.

"Yes on 26" and their crew, however, seem to have little compunction about doing so. I guess we'll continue to discover their true colors again as this battle rages on. As for me, I'm not going to post a link to the family's blog or other pictures even though they've given everyone permission. I just don't feel like it's the right thing to do.

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

Is Yahweh Pro-life?

During a recent conversation on abortion on Alan Nunnelee's page, I saw the following comment:

I'd like to debunk Mr. Cox's claim that his god (Yahweh) will not tolerate murder of the unborn and I intend to do it using the Bible, Yahweh's holy book that is supposed to be the inerrant, literal word of this deity.

Genesis 7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

There were undoubtedly pregnant women on the earth at this time so Yahweh drowned an incredible number of innocent unborn with the Flood.

Genesis 19:24-25  Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

There were pregnant women in those cities too. Their innocent unborns were murdered.

Genesis 38:24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.

Judah, and ancestor of Jesus, orders the death of the woman he knocked up including her innocent unborn. He obviously doesn't think Yahweh will have a problem with it since burning whores is the law.

Exodus 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

Granted, we aren't dealing with unborns here but we do have Yahweh indiscriminately slaughtering the oldest children of every family. How would you feel if God killed your oldest child because of something Obama did? Also, were the firstborn young children not innocent too?

Exodus 21:22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

Yahweh decrees that the innocent unborn are worth whatever price (in coin or barter) that the father decides and the judges determine. It is not equivalent to a living being.

Leviticus 25:45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.

Again, this isn't dealing with unborns per se but it does show that Yahweh puts only a monetary value on gentile children. They have no legal personhood.

Leviticus 27:6 And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.

Any unborn or child under one month of age has no value.

Numbers 3:14 -15 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.

One again, if you're under one month of age, you have no value. You aren't even counted. And this isn't some Old Testament crap that Moses dreamed up. The LORD told him to do it this way.

Numbers 31:17-18 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

If you kill every woman who has had sex, you are bound to kill some fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses too. Yahweh doesn't seem to care. Oh and while you're at it, capture and rape the little girls.

Hosea 13:16 Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

Women with child shall be ripped up. Infants dashed into pieces. God is intolerant of the murder of unborns? He glories in it.

These are just a few verses picked out to let Yahweh have his say about pro-life matters. I encourage you to read these verses in context and let the full horror of Yahweh wash over you.

And for those who want to excuse it with, "Oh, that's the Old Testament. It's been done away with since Jesus," and all that tripe, you need to understand: you cannot take this view and then quote obscure verses from the rest of the Old Testament about knowing you in the womb and such. If you dismiss the verses above, you must stop quoting the other ones too.

I leave to Mr. Cox and his friends to now try to contort and dodge their way out of this. I'll leave them with a final thought:

Don't be mad at me. I'm just telling you what God says!

Paramount - The Newest Fallacy of Personhood

Paramount - that is how Mississippi HC 14 describes the "right to life." The wording is precise and simple but the consequences are less so.

This statement is a contradiction of Roe v. Wade which states that the unborn's right to life and the mother's right to liberty must be balanced. It is also a contradiction of another fundamental human principle, one that helped birth our nation - that a life without freedom is not worth living.

Let's begin by examining the word "paramount" as defined by Dictionary.com:

If the right to life is paramount, then it takes precedence over every other human right - including the right to be a free citizen. If the right to life is the most important right, then everything else must necessarily fall by the wayside.

My right to life is more important than my right to smoke cigarettes.
My right to life is more important than my right to drink alcohol.
My right to life is more important than my right to own a gun.
My right to life is more important than my right to eat junk food.
My right to life is more important than my right to own a pit bull.
My right to life is more important than my right to die for my faith.
My right to life is more important than my right to die for my country.
My right to life is more important than my right to choose anything.

Who decides what's best for my life and enforces those choices? The government.

And don't think you are exempt. My right to life is greater than your liberties too. If I'm dying of kidney disease, I have a right to demand your kidney. My right to life is greater than your liberty to choose. I can demand your blood, your tissues, and your organs to stay alive - so long as your right to life isn't compromised - and you have no choice.

Better yet, I'll demand stem cells from your newborn. He won't remember the procedure and, by god, I HAVE A RIGHT TO LIFE!

Defining the right to life as "paramount" creates the ultimate nanny state but it isn't socialism that's pushing the pram - it's conservative religion that seeks to impose its will through government since they can no longer do it through culture.

Is it likely that this law would be used to such an extent as described above? Probably not. It's pretty much just a trigger law that would become effective if Roe were overturned. But when we write this concept into law, we should be prepared to enforce it fully; otherwise, we become a state of liars and hypocrites. 

The Mississippi Constitution already (incorrectly) describes the unborn as being a "human being" for legal purposes. HC 14 is an unnecessary distraction from legitimate government business and likely a bone tossed at wealthy conservative and religious donors. Nevertheless, it's a bad bill that has no business being on the roster. Rep. Gibson should, once again, be ashamed of himself.

Taking Back Mississippi

Credit: Thomas Thornycroft

It's no secret that Mississippi has long been under the boot heel of preachers and politicians who put their own interests above those of the people. I think it's even safe to say that corruption is so ingrained in our way of life down here that we've come to expect it and take a rather lackadaisical attitude towards it. Many are the times I've heard people say, "That's just the way things are down here," or "It's never gonna change. It'll always be that way."

Mississippians proved that wrong in 2011 when we said NO to amendment 26's "personhood" initiative. Against the dollars funneled in by Colorado's forced-birth group, against the organization and bullying of the local churches...against all hope...we defeated them by 58%. And now we've done it again.

Last night - Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - in Corinth, MS, the voters passed a liquor referendum by 70%. The churches posted their signs. The pastors thundered their sermons of doom. But 70% of the voters paid them no mind. Now the pastors are weeping and caterwauling at this stinging defeat and well they should - it's a sign of the times and conservative religion is losing!

The most damning belief we can hold is that we can't change anything. It's a message you'll hear all the time from those who don't want things to change or those who have already given up. The future is not for those people - it's for us. Mississippi doesn't have to always be the third-world state of the union. It doesn't always have to be the brunt of every joke. We can make it a better, freer place to live but it's going to take work.

Be sure, that work is going to continue to be arduous, maybe even risky, at times. It's always hard to take a stand against something that is so deeply ingrained. Nevertheless, we owe it to ourselves, our country, and our future generations to turn this ship around. Someone has to fight these battles and last night's victory is proof that votes - and voices - matter.

Every soldier in this fight is valuable. It doesn't matter whether your job is to stand on the front lines, fire the cannons, lead the calvary, run the ammunition, or cook for the troops. Everybody has a place in this fight. So do what you can. Plant the seeds of freedom by challenging myths and assumptions. Spread those seeds on Facebook and Twitter. Use humor. Be creative. Find your place in the ranks and help us pull this state out of its corrupted and prohibitive rut.

We pay a lot of lip service to the concept of freedom. Now it's time to claim that freedom - to claim our natural rights as free people. We don't need Mississippi's version of the nanny state, always telling us what religion says we can't drink or view or buy. We need to make those decisions for ourselves.

Use your voice. Use your vote.

Take Mississippi back!

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.

Freedom Is Worth the Cost

Now that our Mississippi legislators, particularly Sen. Joey Fillingane, have taken it upon themselves to reintroduce "personhood" measures, we've got to listen to the incessant whining and puling of the anti-freedom fetus cult yet again. Forced birth supporter Linda Broome wrote this letter to the Hattiesburg American so I will respond here to her statements.

My, My. How could any of us forget the vote, 58 percent to 42 percent, to reject the rights of the unborn.

I don't think the 58% voted to reject the rights of the unborn so much as to reaffirm women's rights to make their own medical decisions. The forced-birth fetus cult pulled all the stops trying to make us believe that this was just about abortion but the initiative also opened the door to deny women access to medication and healthcare services that might be in their best interests. No exceptions was just a step too far.

I believe no matter how inconvenient or unwanted a pregnancy may be, abortion is a very selfish act.

Ms. Broome has every right to believe this but her belief should not trump our Constitutional values or our scientific and social understanding of pregnancy.

Mothers are supposed to love, care and protect their babies, not murder them.

Legally, abortion is not the same as murder. Ethically, abortion also does not equal murder for many Americans. So while it is true that parents should love their children and not harm them, this isn't relevant to the personhood question.

What about their rights? They are the most vulnerable in our society.

This question has already been settled by the Supreme Court in Roe v Wade, Ms. Broome. The unborn's right to life does not trump the right to life and liberty of the mother until the later stages of pregnancy. It's a delicate balance that the states were supposed to work out. Instead, many of them, like Mississippi, have made a mess of it.

Who will protect them? Or acknowledge they are the creation of God? Maybe, just maybe, our elected officials represent these, too.

It is not the government's job to declare fertilized eggs to be any god's creation and that is not a sufficient reason to grant them the same rights as a living, born person. 

Although the unborn souls are not of the age to vote, maybe votes are not all that matter to our elected officials.

Unborn souls? We should pass personhood laws because you believe a soul enters the fertilized egg the moment it is fertilized? Can you define a soul? Can you demonstrate that it exists? Can you show us the mechanism by which it enters flesh at a particular time? If not, then you have no basis for your statement.

And what part of this don't you understand? 

I don't understand the part where you want to ignore settled law in favor of some trumped up religious rhetoric.

I don't understand the part where you think that the right to life of a fertilized egg is magically equal to or more important than the rights of the woman carrying it.

I don't understand the part where you want to take away women's freedom to make the best healthcare choices for themselves because of your ideology.

I don't understand the part where you set yourself up as a god by defining life and dictating who gets the benefits (which is always the unborn).

And I definitely don't understand the part where small government advocates make arguments just like yours for letting big government intrude into the most intimate and important places we have. I don't understand why you hate women's freedom.

The forced-birth fetus cult is working desperately to turn this into a zero-sum game in which the fertilized egg gets complete rights to life and the woman carrying it (whether by her will or no) gets no rights to liberty or life. They are willing to sacrifice pregnant women at the altar of politics and prayer and for what? What's going to happen to all those unwanted children? Do you really think there are enough adoptive parents around who want crack babies, those with fetal alcohol syndrome, and those who've been abused? Do you seriously believe that all these pristine white parents are going to rush to adopt children of color? Some will, true, but the majority will not. You're living in a fantasy world if you don't realize that you are damning most of these fertilized eggs to years of misery and grief.

There is a price to freedom and that price is that some people aren't going to use their freedom in ways that you like. For example, I don't like that people believe in and practice fundamentalist religions. I think it's harmful to society. Nevertheless, I have absolutely no right to demand that Americans be denied religious freedom. If I wrote a letter to the editor whining about how fundamentalist Christian churches should be closed for your own good, I'd quite rightly get tons of stinging retorts. So too should Ms. Broome be hearing high and low from Mississippians who love their freedom and refuse to have it taken away. Ms. Broome may have the very best intentions at heart but she has no right to assign personhood to my fertilized eggs and force me to carry an unwanted child - especially when that fetus is a threat to my physical or mental health.

The cost of freedom is having to deal with some things you don't like. It sucks but freedom is worth the cost.

Deal with it.

Just let me cry for a few minutes, please.

For anyone reading this that has ever had to grieve the loss of a friend or family member, I ask how long does this grieving process last?

I have started writing this again (for about the 6th time) since mid December. I seem to get to a point and just delete it only to start over a few weeks later. It has been about a year to the day that we lost our son and I have yet to cry.

 I have had to remain strong and be the one in constant control of my feelings. Making those hard decisions and make sure everything, to the best of my ability, is taken care of. I don't see it as a sacrifice I chose to make but rather a decision to make the best of the situation and provide the needed care. But sometimes it would be nice to just cry for a few minutes.

It's gets easier to tell our story and until just a few weeks ago no one outside our families knew about it. Not even the people who joined with us back in August 2011 in the fight against amendment 26. It was a private matter that fueled our desire to shut the amendment down and helped give us the courage to create the DeepFried Freethinkers and go public with so much skepticism and freethinking in North East Mississippi that was just unheard of. We are so deep in the Anti-Family Association (or AFA) area that we could see Bryan Fischer go to work everyday. But the AFA keeps us busy and they feed us fodder to blog about daily, too much fodder in fact.

By the time I finish writing this I will be one step closer in my personal grieving process, I hope.

The following is an account from my viewpoint of the events that happened and how they have affected me, so please bear with me as I slowly recall it.

At the end of the January 2011, I took Tweenky out for an authentic Italian dinner in Gulfport, MS, at Pasta Italia Trattoria - a place that allows you bring you own wine in to enjoy with your meal, but not for us. We were celebrating my 2nd New Years sober in 12 years and just our lives together in general. Tweenky ordered the pasta with marinara sauce and I ordered the mostaccioli.  About half way through our salad, Tweenky suffered a severe nosebleed with no apparent cause. It wasn't a normal nosebleed; the blood appeared really thin and watery. Tthat was our first clue this was serious. We left for the hospital and had to deal with a front desk nurse who was more worried about getting Tweenky to sign some papers than the fact there was blood literally gushing from her nose and mouth. I know I was upset and scared, she was only doing her job, but I wanted the bleeding to stop. I had no idea what was happening to her or why. What caused this? Not knowing has the worst feeling ever or so I thought at that moment.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, she was in a room and then we waited for the doctor. They ran a few test and checked her nasal cavity to find the source and cause. I was asked to leave the room. Later I found out they had asked about any domestic abuse and such. That's when they discovered that she had high blood pressure which resulted in a posterior tear in her nasal cavity but the high blood pressure was caused by her being pregnant......Yes, I said pregnant; something I was told previously some years ago would be impossible for me after sustaining an injury and some painful swelling. I have lived with that knowledge since I was 14, but at that age you're not thinking about having a family. It was in my early twenties that the desire to be a father nabbed at me from time to time. It would have a longing effect on me for several years and then fade away.

They carefully packed both her nostrils, stopped the bleeding, and prescribed some blood pressure medicine. They moved her up to Labor and Delivery to address the other factor that caused all this, her being unexpectantly pregnant. The results came back positive and she was approximately 21-22 weeks and, after a sonogram, we found out it was a boy. We were both surprised, scared, excited and lost to say the least. Neither of us had planned on ever having kids - it was something I once longed for but had been denied early on in life, thus given up on. Tweenky had decided that she hadn't had any yet and just didn't really think she wanted to have any as she got older.

Then this is were our lives are changed in so many ways it has taken almost a year to realize what all happened. There are details that I could vaguely remember 6 or 9 months ago that I can't get out of my head now. It's my brain handling the mass amount of emotional information and the slow process is probably needed or one would go insane and lose control of their own emotions, but I have yet to cry.

 It was about a week later when I got up for work as usual and Tweenky said she was having trouble seeing; in fact she had gone completely blind for a few minutes and then the seizures happened. There is nothing scarier than having a loved one in your arms suffering a seizure and there is really nothing you can do but keep them safe from their surroundings. I had no idea what was causing this but I knew I had to act fast. I had managed to get her into the car when she came back around and we headed straight to the hospital where she had 2 more seizures in the ER. The attending doctor in the ER had totally pissed me off; Tweenky was having a seizure and he just stood there. I alone was holding her and keeping her from falling off the table. They finally got her stable, which took 15 minutes because no one could find the freaking key to the medical cabinet - really? 

Then they tried 3 or 4 different times and with different equipment to find and check the baby's heartbeat and vitals. It was frustrating no one would tell me anything and I knew that if I caused a scene I would likely be escorted to the waiting room - not where I wanted to be. I was playing back the past week in my head: had I forgotten to give her her meds? There were only 3 pills she took daily - had I given her the wrong one at the wrong time?No, I had given her the right meds at the right times...that much I was for sure. But still my head was racing for a reason as to why this was happening. This feeling of helplessness and unknowing was infuriating to say the least.

The ER doctor took me outside and said, "There's no heartbeat or movement and we are moving her to labor and delivery." I felt my world stop, fall around me, and there was nothing else around me except Tweenky. She had lost consciousness from the seizures but she was stable for now.  It was like the world had gone into slow motion for the next forty minutes or so. I don't remember who I called first or who I actually talked to. I was, for all intents and purposes, "going through the motions."

After calling family on both sides, I stayed at her side while the ob-gyn ran tests. It was within a half hour the doctor confirmed that our son had in fact died but that was only part of the problem. Tweenky was suffering a severe type of pre-eclampsia called HELLP Syndrome, symptoms of DIC and her kidneys were barely functioning. They had to install a PIC line for faster results to the medicine they were giving her. She had an IV in each arm, one was saline to keep her hydrated and to keep her kidneys functioning as much as possible.  Her platelet count had dropped to almost 30,000; it should be around 250,000 to 300,000. This meant surgically removing our son (which would stop the DIC and release her from the HELLP syndrome) was not an option and she would have to perform a vaginal birth.

Tweenky had fallen in and out of consciousness 3 times after being moved to the ICU. I know that it was 3 times because, when she would come around and ask what was going on, I had to tell her that we lost the baby each time. This killed me inside every time. She was apparently in such a state of shock, compounded with the seizures; she was having problems remembering, focusing and remaining awake. The doctors came to me with paper work for a blood transfusion and other life-saving permissions,( I was raised a Jehovah's Witness for 20 some years - a blood transfusion would not have ever been allowed had I still been a follower and she would have died.) I signed them all without hesitation. I wanted them to do everything imaginably possible to save her. They kept us up to date as things were happening, but still time was of the essence. She was going to become more septic as the minutes passed and her kidneys were barely functioning, zapping what little energy she had in her to stay awake. All the while they were telling us to plan for the worst. Yet, I still hadn't cried.

Thankfully, she was given prostaglandin suppositories (something that Amendment 26 tried to ban) to induce labor; otherwise, she would continue to slowly die from our dead son who was now becoming septic to her body. In a way I am thankful that Tweenky doesn't remember all the events. I believe it would have destroyed what was left of her after suffering so much. I literally spent the next week at her side in the hospital. I left only for 2 hrs to pay bills as she slowly recovered. The hospital staff was very sincere; they all knew what had happened and that she was lucky to have lived through all of it. We had several doctors come and visit us, some who only heard about our situation, to give condolences and wish us the best. For all intents and purposes, they said she should have died. "Her platelets were so low and her kidneys had all but stopped," one doctor told me several times. At the end of the week, the doctors released her and I was at her side always. I was happy to have her home and still I didn't cry.

Though she suffered several seizures, there wasn't any permanent damage per se. However, she can barely remember much of what happened at the hospital. Personal care, medicine for high blood pressure and depression would be a constant fixture for a long while. I quit my job in Biloxi and made arrangements to move closer to her family to ensure sure she had better care. I am only one person, I can only do so much and was not afraid to ask for help. We ended up moving just north of Tupelo, MS, where we have a family support group that has helped us in so many ways. I may never be able to repay them for all that they have done for us but I will never stop thanking them for it.

Occasionally I feel my eyes swell up and think, "Finally, I can cry," but then something inside reaches up and pulls the tears back. "Not yet, there is still something to do."

Like I mentioned before, perhaps writing this will bring me one step further in the grieving process. It has become easier to at least write about it - that's a step forward. Talking about it to others is still hard at times: I find myself either going blank or changing the subject. "Just a little more time," I tell myself. I usually find something to bury myself into, keeping myself busy and putting this on the back burner.

But it would be nice to just cry and let it all out. I know in time I will.

Thank you all for letting me share. It means a lot.

As always we look forward to getting feedback from you. Please share your thoughts with us.

Birth Control Is Abortion?

We heard the argument made during the personhood debates that any chemical which acts to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting is an abortifacient. If our medical understanding had not changed in the past 50 years, we might be forgiven for believing that. But we have learned, however, that fertilization doth not magically a person make. Fertilization is no guarantee of anything because most fertilized eggs will naturally not implant and will be flushed out of the body. So based on our updated understanding of the pregnancy cycle and because we realize how ludicrous it would be to mourn and document the "deaths" of millions of fertilized eggs per year, we now understand pregnancy to occur when the fertilized egg is successfully implanted in the uterus. Contraceptives then do not end a pregnancy. They cannot, by definition, be abortifacient.

But the AFA isn't interested in science, medicine, or anything that resembles a fact. They seem to be more interested in getting their base riled up so that they'll raise a ruckus and send in the bucks. Case in point is their latest Action Alert which reads:

Take Action: Obama mandates pro-abortion policy on faith-based organizations

The "pro-abortion" policy they are referring to is the one that says if you don't fall under the strict definition of a "religious employer," then you must provide insurance coverage for contraception and sterilization. I don't see anywhere that Obama is mandating insurance coverage for abortion. We can only reasonably conclude, therefore, that the AFA still believes that contraception is the same as abortion.

What's also rather dishonest is how the AFA fails to note that churches are exempt from this rule. Nobody is going to force the Catholic Church, for example, to provide birth control to its employees; but any of their organizations, universities, or charities that are generally open to non-Catholics will have to provide contraceptive coverage. 

An exemption provided for "religious employers" is so narrow that it fails to cover the vast majority of faith-based organizations, including Catholic, Baptist and Methodist hospitals, Christian and religious-based universities, and service organizations that help millions every year.

It's pretty simple really. If you want to be tax-exempt, retain control over your organization, and only bring in people who believe like you do, then you can. But if you want to bring in outsiders and get federal funding, then you must play by some federal rules and one of those rules is contraceptive coverage. You know how it is when a church gets threatened with having their tax exempt status revoked and they go screaming about how the government is trampling their freedom of speech? Same thing here - they refuse to play by the rules and then cry when they break the contract and receive the consequences of their actions.

I think that organizations who take our tax dollars and hire people of all faiths (or none) should be held to the same rules and standards as the rest of us so I don't have a problem with this law.  What I do have a problem with is the AFA portraying this law as a "pro-abortion" and "anti-religious" thing of Obama's making. I resent their attempt to paint the President as a murderous monster in this situation - they could make that case better and more honestly over NDAA, Guantanamo Bay, and other stuff - because they also paint us pro-choicers and pro-contraceptive folks in just as bad as a light. Did you ever think you'd see the day when the "godly" among us would call us murderers for using birth control? Now you've seen it. When you look in the mirror, do you see a murderer staring back? 

The AFA continues to lie about personhood and we plan to point it out every chance we get. Spread the word.

The Forced Parenthood Hydra Returns

As many of you may have seen on Facebook, I am now going to refer to the Personhood movement as the "Forced Parenthood" movement. I think this more accurately reflects what they intend. After all, if they really believed a fertilized egg was a person, then they'd investigate all miscarriages, issue death certificates for them, and count those deaths in our mortality statistics. But that's not on their agenda - all they are really interested in doing is preventing women from having access to contraception and abortion. That, my friends, is forced parenthood - the opposite of planned parenthood - and a great infringement on our liberty.

I remember during the 26 campaign how some supporters claimed that we thought children born of rape or children born with birth defects should have been aborted. Certainly, I never thought such a thing, much less said it. You can be very sure that when you oppose these new forced parenthood measures, we will be accused of saying these things again. Here is my thinking on the subject:

If I say that a woman should have aborted (or been forced to abort) her child for any reason, then I am guilty of doing the same thing that pro-forced parenthood people are doing. I'm simply desiring a different outcome. Forced parenthood supporters want to control women's choices so that they will ultimately have children. Pro-abortion supporters (and who do you know who even is one?) want to control women's choices so that they cannot have (certain) children. Same game, different outcome.

I am pro-choice. I believe that the choice, as well as the responsibility, rests with the woman and those she chooses to include. I do not want to control the outcome but recognize her liberty to decide what is in her own best interest.

It's still amazing how these "small government" people want to force parenthood through legislation and ballot initiatives. Clearly, they are in favor of penis-sized government since they constantly attempt to ram belief down our throats, shove injustice up our rears, and fill our wombs with their tainted seed. This would be a humorous comparison if not for the fact that it's an insult to the penis which is generally a fine, worthy instrument.

Mississippi's battle starts anew today and many more states are going to be confronting heads from the same hydra. Our battle tactics are the same: cut off the heads and burn the stump. Get the word out and do everything you can. You may lose some fair-weather friends but you'll find better ones just around the corner...friends and neighbors who won't go into your bedroom uninvited and will be content to let you choose if and when you wish to be a parent.

Do not be ashamed of your position. Do not cede the moral high ground. Do not let anyone go unchallenged who says that you are evil because of your views. Stand up for yourself, for your family, and for your freedom. Stand up for what's right.

Personhood's appeal to emotion

I have never been really good at expressing myself. I blame my upbringing and the mind conditioning I was subjected to. At the very early age of 4 yrs. old, if memory serves, I was taught and would practice vigorously a brief presentation for a religious tract. This in itself was a very effective tool used by the ministry of the Jehovah's Witnesses and many other religions as well. I mean, seriously, if a little boy/girl around 4-5 years old came up to you and asked you, "Would you like to live forever on earth in peace and harmony with no fear of sickness or death?" how could you not listen to them and respond in any way, shape or form? Whether it was complete politeness or true heartfelt curiosity, the message was in fact delivered and it was in your mind stewing quietly and provoking some thought on the matter.

 However, one thing that I did manage to take away from all that was the ability to ask people (complete strangers even) some very thought provoking questions in a way that would make them think and, hopefully, start a conversation. I am, however, a little out of practice with going door-to-door and asking these questions, but I have it within myself to use if I should so need to. So exactly were am I going with this? Well, that's a question I had to actually ask myself. Literally, I had to stop typing and recollect my thoughts because I was thinking about one subject when I started and was thinking about 3 different ways I could go from here. (I blame Tweenky for that since, meeting her, she has encouraged me to be myself, express myself, think about the subject matter beyond its surface and read books on skepticism. I have been asking questions from a very young age, but never got answers that made any sense or was told, "'Cause I said so." Now I can find the answers myself and question without fear or disapproval - after all, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," right?)

Ok, so I can get back on track now. The main item I wanted to discuss was the "heartstrings effect". This is something I have been guilty of at a very young age but completely oblivious to it until recently. I have to admit it is a very effective method and it is widely use throughout our daily lives. Now it infuriates me when people use these tactics to mislead or misinform others. Prime example is when any pro-life ad or statement mentions something about "tearing a baby apart" or similar phrases. I mean, come on, really, that is in reference to a procedure used some 30 years ago. The idea and image it puts in your mind makes you have feelings of disgust, sympathy for the baby and outrage that this happens at all. So I ask you all, when you hear someone quoting such bullshit or see it in an article online, call them on it. Help show the rest of the crowd, that seem to act like mindless sheep, that the facts are greatly exaggerated and show them where they can find the truth of the matter. Please help by getting them to look up the information themselves and help educate everyone. There are so few of us out there right now calling them on their bullshit and we can only do so much, but with one person showing a few and a few showing a dozen the numbers grow exponentially and we become a better educated nation as we should be. This in turn will make it harder for them to pull this crap and make them actually own up to what they claim. Seriously though, I'm not immune either - if I'm ever guilty of spewing just flagrant bull, call me on it. I promise to be the bigger person and admit I was wrong, retract a statement and give credit to who ever called me on it. I know my shit stinks just like the next person but i'm not the one blaming the girl down the road for it.

Today, through the use of modern medicine the D&X procedure seems even more barbaric because now we have access to pills that can prevent implantation before sex and even after with "Plan B." So why continue to use this reference to a 30 year old procedure that they are fully aware of is no longer used, except in the rare occasion of a late term complication and there are no other options? It all about the heartstrings: if they can get you emotionally involved, you will be more willing to follow whatever course they have laid out for you. Even if that course leads you down a road that will strip women of their rights in all matters concerning their own bodies. But that's just it, we have so many other options today than we did back then. If the proposed "personhood" amendments are allowed to continue they will eventually reduce all these options drastically.

The recent upsurging push to bring "personhood" up for debate actually hasn't been a debate really at all. They have just skipped the debate and pushed for it to be voted on and even with a ballot initiative failure they now have people in positions to start pushing it in the legislature. Twice now personhood was defeated in 2008, 2010 in Colorado, even recently 2011 in Mississippi it failed by 58%.  In fact, there are several presidential candidates that have mentioned something in line with personhood, banning birth control, etc.

Really? Since when does the majority of the people not have a final say on a matter that affects them directly. This is just like a small child that ask mommy,  "Can I go outside?" "No, dear, it's too dangerous out there!" only to have the child to go ask daddy the same question hoping for a different answer. That is another issue for another blog post in the near future.

When it comes to these heartstrings attempts, I can see their usefulness. That doesn't mean I  condone using it when you're misleading someone to believe lies and half-truths. They are most effective when telling a story and the need for you to become emotionally involved helps you understand the feeling of the words. Take for example the following:

I was recently talking with a few friends about our work involving personhood and what lies we have exposed and such. When, out of the blue, a close friend who rarely gets involved with such things says "What the fuck, are you serious? The government wants to take away my wife and daughter's rights and force them them to continue to carrying the baby should they happen to get raped by some diseased infested, honky, wet-back, nigga?"

Needless to say, I was taken aback. Here is a self-proclaimed Christian, born and raised in the South, and has some hidden racism that I had never heard from him before. It did surprise me but he never expressed anything like that before until it became something that hit him emotionally. Then I thought about what he was saying without the racism involved. He was not only upset that his loved ones would be forced to carry a child of rape and in his mind the rapist could have been of any race but that they were diseased-infested as well.

The very idea that you could be forced to endure a pregnancy from rape is indeed appalling when there are options available. For him to convey that emotio,n he had to imagine the worst possible man and describe him to us. Whether they are diseased-infested, drug-addicted or one of those guys from "The Hills Have Eyes," it's a very emotional picture he painted in words. The difference is he was expressing his opinion as opposed to these pro-life ad or articles that are misleading people as they are describing a 30 year old procedure that is rarely used unless, as stated before, there is a late term complication and all other options have been exhausted.

So again, please call them on their bullshit - don't stand in it and let them mislead your friends and family.

My Patience Is Wearing Thin

They say opinions are like assholes - everybody has one. Nowhere has that been more obvious to me than with today's letter to the editor from Christie Miller of Tupelo. Since she's seen fit to bare hers to the world, I'd like to present her with mine. Perhaps some would see this as a bit of petulance on my part but I think a large reason why we've gotten into the mess we're in is because we've decided it is impolite to ridicule stupidity. I disagree with that and, as my patience wears ever thinner with these "forced birth" people, I intend to indulge in as much pointed ridicule as I can.

God frowns upon Mississippians, as they voted NO on Amendment 26 that stated life begins at the moment of conception.

How the hell do you know that? Can you see Yahweh's face because even Moses wasn't given that privilege (Exodus 33:20). Or did Yahweh come down and tell you he was pissed? Can you please explain how you know anything about how Yahweh feels at a particular time and who the hell gave you the right to speak for said deity? (Perhaps there is some truth in I Timothy 5:13-14 which advises that it's best to keep women pregnant and busy; otherwise, they run around talking too much and poking their noses in people's business as we see here.)

How could this state, known as the Bible Belt of the South, have been so blinded and misinformed? Many myths and out right lies were circulated by the pro-choice advocates, but one cannot place all blame on these.

The reason so many are blind and misinformed is because they look to the Bible and their preachers as the ultimate source of truth and those are not valid places to look for scientific truth. As long as we've used holy books to determine scientific truth, we've thought that the earth was a flat disc, that a wife's fidelity could be determined by water, that bats were birds, insects have four legs, and that breeds are determined by whatever kind of plants they happen to look at while they mate. When we put aside these silly tales and take up actual scientific inquiry, we learn the causes for disease and how to cure (or better yet prevent) many of them. We learn how the world works and we use these discoveries to improve our lives. We didn't get good vaccines, surgical procedures, or plans for space shuttles from the Bible - we got them from science. So when you are going to the Bible as your source of authority for biology and American law, you've already double-failed.

The Bible, God's Holy Word, utterly dispels all that Planned Parenthood and the pro-choice groups would have one believe. Even nature itself provides common sense in defense of pro-life. It is each individual's responsibility to seek out and separate the truths from the untruths.

Are you still talking about the Bible? What is it going to take for you to extract your head from your rear and learn that ancient holy books are not scientifically accurate? What if we make a rule that those who do not value science no longer get to benefit from it? How about we take away your car, your computer, your cell phone, your easily-accessible food and clean water, your medications, and all the shit that makes your life worthwhile. Why don't we just take all that away from you and you can fall back on your Bible and take its advice instead. I can't wait to see you pack up your gear and trek to the Mississippi River, take a dip in it, and hope that your cancer is somehow cured.

As for what nature says, don't get me started. Some animals eat their young. Some primates kill the children of rival females. Nature is not always the best place to go for our morals as I suspect you well know. After all, we know that many animals are homosexual but you don't go saying that it's ok for humans to be gay because of that, right? 

Ignorance is indeed the enemy, and public perception seems to be guided by those with the least amount of knowledge at the present time.

You're totally right. Our public perception is largely guided by people like you who don't know jack about anything but are happy to spread that ignorance around in large doses. If you had any knowledge on the subject, you'd be making rational arguments from biology and law but you don't have any. All you have is your interpretation of an old book and your concept of a god (who apparently always agrees with you). 

Albert Einstein said, "Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it."

I agree with this too for the most part. And since the government isn't demanding that you abort or use contraceptives, feel free not to do so. As for the rest of us, leave us the hell alone. Our consciences are every bit as important as yours.

Amendment 26 is not a socialistic governmental issue, but instead a life or death morality issue. Having said that, the current socialist White House Administration is very pleased with the citizens of Mississippi: God is not.

And with that last sentence, you just proved that you have no knowledge or insight on anything much that's going on politically. Apparently, all you can give us is whatever drops off the lips of the most ignorant and insane among us. At this point, no reasonable person should take you seriously since you think a center-right administration is somehow "socialist."

"Thus saith the Lord," Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." Jeremiah 17:5.

Honestly, I don't care about the words of a deity who doesn't understand the world he supposedly made or how anything in it works. His curses don't scare me in the least. But if we want to play the battle of out-of-context verses, I'll offer up this one to you, Ms. Miller:

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. - I Timothy 2:11-12.

That means you need to hush and quit lecturing men about how they should have voted. You are sinning - a disgrace to your husband and to your god.

Mississippians neglected a perfect God-given right and opportunity to lead this nation in the right direction, and instead chose to wander, just as the Children of Israel in the wilderness for forty years. It has been thirty-eight years since Roe vs. Wade, with forty years fast approaching. With the number forty meaning probation, Mississippians as well as this nation as a whole, should awaken to the truth.

No, Mississippians rejected the temptation to take your particular religious view and make it law. I know this may come as a shock to you but not every Christian interprets the Bible the same way you do and not everyone in Mississippi is a Christian. You have NO right to make your religion my law. You have NO right to determine my medical treatment for me. And you have absolutely NO right to demand that I have kids just because you think they are precious gifts from your god. What makes you think you have the authority to demand this of us?

Oh, I know. Because of your god. Because, sadly, you are playing god. 

Truly, God is long-suffering, but His patience will not last forever.

Truly, I'm not very long-suffering any more. I'm done with patience because people like you interpret silence as consent. I do not consent to your theocratic, pseudoscientific bullshit. I will not allow you to force your religious beliefs on me. And I will not sit idly by and let you lie and threaten Mississippians in the newspaper like a spoiled child because you didn't get your way. I seriously suggest that you go to your room for a time out and read the Bill of Rights. Read the history of America. Read and understand that you have a right to your religion but you've got no authority to make the rest of us believe it or practice it. You aren't a god. You're just a selfish kid who's mad because you didn't get your way and now your screaming, "My daddy's going to get you all!" Guess what? We don't care. We're not interested. Some of us don't see your god as a malevolent tyrant and some of us don't believe in him at all. So quit wasting our time with the foot-stamping. Grow up a little and realize that you don't own the playpen and you're stuck in it with those of us who aren't going to roll over or bow down every time you throw a fit. No, every time you come at us with this kind of nonsense, we are going to point and laugh and call you out for what you are. 

And for those who are extremely pissed off now that I've hit a nerve or two, there's a place for comments just below. Use it. Speak your mind. There's plenty more where this came from.