Women's Autonomy and Sexual Sovereignty Movements

Save Fawza Falih!

Morgaine — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:06:00 +0000

Wiccans, Druids, and other Pagans are part of an international coalition of religious leaders and others who have signed a letter to King Abdullah bin Abd al-'Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia pleading for the release of a Saudi Arabian woman, Fawza Falih, who has been condemned to death for "witchcraft." She was accused for "bewitching" a man and making him "impotent." She was imprisoned and beaten, her confession was coerced, the limited appeals process is now exhausted, and she is awaiting execution, a public beheading.

The coalition seeking her pardon and release also includes Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Native Americans, Buddhists, and those of other faith traditions. The letter will be delivered soon to the Saudi ambassadors to the United Nations and the United States.

ACT NOW -- sign the petition to save Fawza Falih's life:
http://www.petitiononline.com/AIDFAWZA/petition.html

NETWORK -- Please circulate this request for signatures and support. Time is of the essence. Post this email to lists, blogs, websites, elsewhere.

A Call to Activist Women in the US

Morgaine — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:07:00 +0000

Hello, Sisters,

There's a conversation happening among a circle of women about how disappointed we are in our options in this election. From this has grown the idea for a women's congress that would function independently from the government in a form similar to the Iroquois women's council.

The working title is the Women's Security Council and we have a wiki where we are debating and developing the idea. We want to involve sisters in every part of the country, from every background and walk of life. The idea is to give voice to those who have no voice in the current system of government.

If you think you might be interested, please come check out what we have so far, and feel free to add content or comment on what we've already done. If this is going to work, we need a vast web of women working together. I hope you'll consider being a part of it:

http://womenssecuritycouncil. wetpaint. com

Peace,

Morgaine Swann

EVILBIBLE.com: God's Not Pro-Life

Morgaine — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 07:38:00 +0000

God's Not Pro-Life

I was doing some research after someone on Yahoo Answers pissed me off, and I found this site that lays it all out in great detail. I'll be brief so you can go there and read more.

The biblical Commandment that says "Thou Shalt Not Murder", and all the rest of them for that matter, only applies to Jews about Jews. "God" takes great pleasure in the slaughter of "his" enemies, and even specifies that pregnant women are to be torn to pieces and babies' heads dashed upon the rocks.

Learn a few of these verses, and pull them out the next time some pie-eyed anti-choice crusader starts telling you that abortion is murder:

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

I Samuel 15:
2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

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.

Psalms 136:
10 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:
[note that "mercy" didn't apply to the Egyptian children. -MS]

Psalms 137:
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

How can anyone think that the 'god' of the bible has forbidden abortion? The only time anything of the sort is mentioned is when pregnant women are being ripped apart, and it's always the biblical heroes doing the ripping. There's one mention of what should happen if someone causes a woman to lose a fetus, and it only recommends a fine. It isn't considered murder.

I'm so sick of these idiots that don't even understand their own religion trying to force that religion on the rest of us.

O'Brien: Abortion debate b/w rationality and fanaticism...

Morgaine — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:31:00 +0000

AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK:

Barbara O'Brien of Mahablog has an excellent post on Alternet about the false dichotomy the media promotes in the abortion debate. She points out that the inaccurately labelled "pro-choice" side is only trying to preserve legal protections established by Roe V. Wade, while the also inaccurately named "pro-life" lobby is peopled with religious fanatics who are completely out of step with the will of the majority of the American people.

In a democracy, it's a slippery slope to tout the will of the people, lest it impose a "tyranny of the majority" that limits the rights of a minority group. In this case, however, it's appropriate because the rights opposed by the anti-choice movement are not their own, but the rights of others. No one is advocating that a woman who doesn't believe in abortion must have one. People simply need the option to terminate an unwanted pregnancy if one occurs.

The reasons are many, the result is that a pregnancy simply does not proceed to birth. You can ascribe any spiritual significance you want to the process of fertilization and gestation, but so can I. Ultimately, I still think that we have to take the focus off the fetus and put it on the woman impregnated. That woman has the right of self-determination - to choose how she will live, what will happen to her body. That's why I created the Women's Sovereignty Movement (WAM) site, and I wish more bloggers would focus on the simple concept that a woman has a right to her own body.

A woman is not the property of the state, of her husband or her father. That would seem an obvious statement, but the law hasn't fully embraced that simple reality yet, nor has the proponents of patriarchal religions. This is why it would have been nice to have an ERA amendment which would clarify things for the monotheists, who can't be reached with reason. They are in the habit of setting great store in things that are written down by some authority or other. (I think men should be glad women are willing to settle for equality, but that's another post for another time.)

If the focus is put on the woman, the debate changes. It moves away from mystical theories of "ensoulment" to the dangers faced by women in the American society of the 21st Century. A woman in an abusive relationship who becomes pregnant will be tied to her abuser for the rest of her life by law. A girl with an abusive parent is in danger of a beating, or worse, if a pregnancy is disclosed. A woman who is forced to seek a back-alley abortion is likely to die in the hands of a butcher. A woman who is ill can die as the result of a full-term pregnancy. These women need the protection of the state, and there's no way to determine who is and isn't in danger. No woman should have to face a court or a legislature to make a decision about something that can endanger her life, and that will most decidedly change her life if she isn't given sovereignty over her own person. The self-evident rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness can all be limited by an enforced birth - how hard is that to understand?

Monday was Blog for Choice day, and I'm sorry that I missed it. There was plenty to read in the blogosphere, though, and I hope you cruise around and find it. I wanted to join in, but I was dealing with some personal demons that prevented me from being around Monday. I do believe solidarity is important, though I'm sure my readers have no doubt as to why I support legal abortions.

Peace~

When Prudishness Costs Lives

Morgaine — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 22:03:00 +0000

New York Times

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: December 19, 2006

"Here in Poipet, I met a 27-year-old woman with AIDS, Tem Phok. She had been a prostitute in a brothel, so I assumed that that was how she contracted AIDS. "Oh, no" she said. "I got AIDS later, from my husband," who has already died.

"In the brothel, I always used condoms," she said. "But when I was married, I didn't use a condom. ... A woman with a husband is in much more danger than a girl in a brothel."

That's an exaggeration, but she has a point: It doesn't do much good for American officials to preach abstinence and fidelity in places where the big risk of contracting H.I.V. comes with marriage. In countries with a high prevalence of AIDS, just about the most dangerous thing a woman can do is to marry." [emphasis mine]

What is it going to take to get these Republicans and priests to understand that withholding information about condoms is tantamount to murder? Every policy they advocate regarding reproduction results in women's deaths. I'm sorry, but I don't think a teenager should pay for doing what teens are built to do with her life. 38% of girls and 46% of boys know nothing about birth control at the time of their first sexual encounter. That's appalling. And deadly.

A woman with an unplanned pregnancy doesn't deserve to risk death through birth or an illegal abortion. Married women don't deserve to die for the infidelities of their husbands. People have sexual contact for many reasons, and some of those reasons involve violence and oppression. This is a violent, misogynistic world full of women who don't have choices and risk being murdered for even the suspicion of "dishonor."

The United States should be leading the way in the fight against AIDS. We should be leading the campaign to stop violence against women, and forced birth, as well as making it clear that withholding information and access to condoms is violence against women. A live human's rights comes before a theoretical human life every time.

Eight states had ban-same-sex-marriage amendments on their ballots.

Morgaine — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 10:01:00 +0000

CNN.com

That's the bad news. Take heart, though - any laws that result will be struck down. All rights not enumerated or limited in the Constitution are reserved to the people. There is nothing in the Constitution that gives anyone the right to pass legislation regarding marriage. That's the approach the movement should take - it's none of anyone's business, and the government shouldn't extend privileges or limit rights in that area because it isn't authorized to fuck with an unalienable right - in this case, the pursuit of happiness. Being able to define the parameters of one's own family is essential to freedom, to free association and to freedom of religion.

Neither the government nor the Constitution can alter our unlienable rights. They don't come from a piece of paper or a power structure - we're born with them. They are inherent, implied, assumed. Government has traditionally limited our arrangements because the people allowed it. All we have to do is say stop. We don't have to accede a right to the government just because someone somewhere wrote a law. The law is based on nothing - it has no constitutional basis and the right is reserved to us. We are limited by neither English Common Law nor Judeo-Christian rules.

The American people have let a lot of things slide for a lot of years - we've allowed the government too much power over our lives and our property. We need to shake the American legal system to its foundations and insist that we be allowed full freedom unfettered by straight jackets constructed of out-moded customs and mores that aren't relevant in the 21st Century. There's no power for the government to tax us, to define our relationships for us or place limits upon them.

It's time to get down under what it means to be an American, and refuse to settle for this mediocre assortment of restraints designed to keep us obedient and servile. Like the Age of Enlightenment that gave birth to this country, it's time for Americans to free our minds from the tyranny of tradition and our behaviour from the tyranny of the majority. Let the 21st Century be the dawn of real freedom, unlimited by ancient parables, passé traditions and false presumptions of power.

No one has to give LGBT community the right to marry - we have it, and how dare anyone suggest that we don't? The onus is not on us to prove we should have it - the burden is upon government to prove it has the right to limit it, and there is no such authority in the Constitution.

Ask the Pope to lift the ban on condom use!

Morgaine — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 04:57:00 +0000

Catholics for a Free Choice - Action Alerts

I got a request to share this information with you all, and I hope you'll take the time to sign the following letter at the link above:

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Apostolic Palace
Vatican City

Your Holiness:

Today, we are writing to you in solidarity with the approximately 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS and out of concern for the more than 15 million children who have been orphaned.

We know you share our concern and have supported the many Catholic health and social service agencies, who have treated those with HIV and AIDS. In so many ways, the Catholic community has been an international leader in providing compassionate, nondiscriminatory treatment to those living with HIV and AIDS, and we applaud those efforts.

We write to you today to express our support for your decision announced 23 April 2006 for senior theologians and scientists to prepare a document discussing the use of condoms as a means of preventing the transmission of HIV. But we urge you to move forward quickly to set new guidelines for the prevention of this disease that would enable all agencies that collaborate with the Catholic community to educate those at risk of the option of using condoms to prevent the transmission of HIV and AIDS and to actually provide condoms to those it serves whose conscience leads them to choose to use them.

For years, Vatican spokespersons and other church officials have made clear the church’s moral objections to condoms as a contraceptive. However, the extension of this position to HIV and AIDS prevention has resulted in dangerous practices that have contributed to the spread of HIV and AIDS. There have been public burnings of condoms, gross distortions of the statistics on the efficacy of condoms
as a preventive and disregard of the very real human toll of this pandemic by some whose ecclesiastical objections outweigh concern for the common good and the promotion of a culture of life.

Indeed, since you became pope on 19 April 2005, 5.5 million people have acquired the HIV virus. And 3.7 million people have died of AIDS-related causes.

As people of faith, both Catholic and not, we urge you to pay special attention to those bishops and health care workers who have witnessed the devastation firsthand and who have courageously spoken out in support of the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV as a stand for life:

We think their witness demonstrates that a culture of life requires support for a full array of prevention methods, including condoms.

We know that condoms are neither 100 percent effective nor a simple solution to a complex problem. They remain however the only hope for those who are sexually active, either voluntarily or in forced circumstances, such as women who do not have the right to say no to risky sex.

We believe the world community must offer compassionate quality care to those already infected with HIV/AIDS, as well as fully support integrated prevention programs that incorporate women’s empowerment, sexual education, condom counseling and distribution, monogamy and abstinence— without discrimination or stigmatization. We maintain that the most ethical approach to combating HIV and AIDS is a comprehensive and balanced approach that meets the varied needs of all people while upholding scientific and medical integrity. To that end, we believe in and support a comprehensive range of methods by which to stem the spread of this pandemic, such as:

o the ABC method that equally emphasizes abstinence, fidelity and condom use, and
o the SAVE approach that emphasizes safer practices, available medication, voluntary counseling and testing, and empowerment through education.

As concerned and compassionate people of faith, we are bound together by moral and ethical values that call on us to address the global AIDS crisis with compassion and respect for the dignity and conscience of each person. Most of the world’s religions have recognized that support for condom education and use freely chosen reflects those moral values. We call on you to bring the Catholic community into this
religious consensus and support condom use as an important part of the international strategy to save lives.

We thank you for your consideration.

At the end of the letter there's a place for you to tadd your own text as well.

The letter is not perfect, and I certainly would never address a man as "Father" let alone "his holiness" but I'm signing that letter because people are dying. People who don't have to die are dying when they could be saved by simple use of a condom.

One unnecessary death is one too many. In this case, deaths number in the millions. This pandemic is decimating an entire continent, Africa, and it reaches every corner of the Earth. It's not a "gay" disease - the largest number of infections currently occurs in women, many of whom believe that they are in a monogamous relationship. No woman should have to die for her husband's infidelity and their children shouldn't be orphaned for it. Children don't deserve to be orphaned in the millions when there is a simple, effective method of prevention available.

Please sign the letter, and send the link to all of you mailing lists. Lives depend upon it.

Namaste~

Morgaine

A Woman Was Lynched Today:

Morgaine — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 09:09:00 +0000

A Woman Was Lynched Today is a brilliant new blog that highlights the problem of hate crimes against women. 4 women are murdered every day just for being women. This Sister is asking for help, and I know we've got plenty of material to send in, so I'm asking all of you to go by when you hear of a hate crime against a woman and give her the name of the victims. We need to drill it into the mass consciousness of America that there's a form of Apartheid in this country based on gender. If any country anywhere treated a group determined by race or national origin with such hatred and violence people would march in the streets.

Call a bigot a bigot and a misogynist a misogynist - let's not let domestic terrorism against women be dismissed as a private family matter anymore. Demand that we be counted, and that our voices be heard.

Over 250 million children raped each year

Morgaine — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 04:47:00 +0000

The Swazi Observer

Let that number sink in for a minute.

250,000,000

Someone on one of my groups pointed out that there are 2 Billion children in the world so this would be roughly 10 per cent. Knowing the state of women and girls in most of the world, I'd say that number is really low. It also makes me sick, as does the fact that most of these children are victimized by someone in their own families, or people they know. Also:

corporal punishment such as caning and beating was still standard practice in schools in a number of countries, and often results in school drop-outs.
between 20 and 65 percent of school age children claim to have been verbally or physically bullied in a 30-day period.
126 million children are involved in hazardous work, often enduring beatings, humiliation and sexual violence by employers
institutionalised children [whether in orphanages or detention facilities] are at a particular risk of violence from the staff responsible for their care including torture, beatings, isolation, restraints, rape and harassment.
violence in the family in the form of harsh punishment is common in both industrialised and developing countries.
Children in all regions have reported the physical and psychological hurt they suffer at the hands of their parents and care-givers.
over 500 000 children a year die from homicide
between one and two million treated for violence-related injuries

"The majority of violent acts against children are said to be perpetrated by people who are part of their lives such as parents, teachers, schoolmates, employers and care-givers. In only 16 States has all violence against children been prohibited, leaving the vast majority of the world’s child population without adequate legal protection from violence."

This United Nations report, prepared by Secretary General Kofi Annan’s independent expert, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, goes on to make recommendations that will address these problems, but it doesn't mention the real source of this barbarous behavior - patriarchy.

==BIG RAMBLING RANT COMING UP==

Matriarchal cultures don't view children or their mothers as property. That's a really important concept that we really need to get down under and comprehend its effects. We have to root it out of our psyches. Sexual abuse is not common in undisturbed indigenous cultures. James DeMeo has traced the source of sexual and physical violence against children to a region he calls Saharasia, beginning around 4000 b.c.e. It has spread through modern cultures as patriarchy moved throughout the world. Its origins lie in sexual and somatic repression coupled with violent treatment of infants and children. It's a remnant of a time when dominant cultures reacted to starvation with violence, greed, theft, slavery and genocide overrunning peaceful, agrarian matrifocal societies. Over the millenia, these abberant human behaviors have become institutionalized. We've been taught from infancy that these are natural tendencies that civilization must overcome. We've been taught to admire warriors, robber barons, slave traders - the Stanley Kowalski's and Gordon Gekko's of the world. There is nothing normal or human about this behavior.

Get that. It's not normal. Healthy humans don't wage war, rape, steal, kill one another for any reason. It isn't natural - it's sickness. Hurting each other is sickness. Taking more than you need, taking from one another that which is not freely given is sick. Humans are social, cooperative beings. We have the capacity for empathy - all mammals do. The natural instinct of the human animal is to protect babies. Even other species will protect babies from different animals - I've seen huge dogs lie quietly while kittens nap on their backs, and I've seen more than one pet dog or cat intervene when a parent attempted to "discipline" a child. The irony is that physical "discipline" does just the opposite - violence, aggression, and delinquent behavior in youngsters is a direct result of violent and oppressive treatment.

I know I'm repeating myself. I feel as if I'm shouting in the wind. What will it take to make us wake up to the fact that human beings are naturally peaceful and cooperative? What is going to bring us back to that natural instinct to protect children. To feed them if they're hungry, to soothe them if they're frightened, to allow them to grow strong and unbroken by anger or intimidation? To stop the multi-generational cycle of sexual abuse of children?

I know this - we are doing just the opposite right now. I don't know the answer, but I know it isn't to sit them in front of a flashing screen that overstimulates their synapses as they compete to see who can commit more murders. It isn't to let them watch movies where people are mutilated and tortured. We can't continue to inure them to the sight of blood and desensitize them to the suffering of others. One of the most disturbing things I've seen recently is a segment on 60 Minutes about teenaged boys who go out and beat homeless people to death for the fun of it. I can't get the picture of this young man, now incarcerated, responding to the question of why he did it. "I don't know" he said with a souless, unaffected tone "It was fun.. you know, exciting." He showed no emotion - no remorse for what he had done, no understanding that this man he and his friends had tortured and blugdeoned to death, stopping only to laugh at his cries for help, for no particular reason, was a human being that deserved respect or kindness. Killing to avenge is wrong; killing to steal abominable; killling for no reason is horrific. I bought a book recently called The Sociopath Next Door which states that 1 in 10 people has no conscience. Look around your office or classroom or even your dinner table - which one is it? One of those people could murder you for no real reason and be more upset about breaking a nail as they did it.

There's a meme going around Live Journal these days that begins with the following quote:

"Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?" - Ernest Gaines

My question is Why is it, as a culture, we find it more necessary to spank a child than to hug it? Both questions have the same answer - patriarchal dominance and erotophobia.

***

More later. The frustration is making me sick. I'm in that endless loop between anger and ennui.

X-posted everywhere.

URGENT CALL TO ACTIION!

Morgaine — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 08:07:00 +0000

Feminist Majority Foundation

An Iranian woman is about to be horribly stoned to death. 8 more await the same fate. Please go to that link NOW and send a letter. This horror has to stop.

Their text:

I am writing to urge you to intervene in the case of Ashraf Kolhari, a 37-year-old mother of four, who has been sentenced to death by stoning. Please urge the Iranian government to commute Ms. Kolhari’s sentence and to abandon the practice of stoning.

I am joining people around the world committed to peace and non-violence in urging that the United Nations intervene to prevent this brutal penalty from being carried out. I also urge you to work to end the horrific practice of stoning in Iran, which is not in compliance with Iran’s commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

To which I added:

There is never honor in killing a woman, and you make your men look weak and ignorant before the world with this practice. All nations will be more sympathetic to your goals if they see the first quality of civilization - mercy - in your dealings with your own people. All killing must end. Violence against women cannot be tolerated. Please join the world community in observing the basic requirements of universal civil rights.

Please send a letter. We have to stand together against governments that practice horror and misogyny and call it religion.

The Carnival of Feminists is Here! Hazzah!

Morgaine — Wed, 03 May 2006 05:55:00 +0000

Welcome, gentle readers, to the May 3 edition of the Carnival of Feminists. We have quite a selection for you this time around, from the truly disgusting to the completely ridiculous. Such is the lot of women - we get the extremes that society has to offer. The most danger, oppression, poverty. The least expression, respect, even tolerance. Our journey takes us to several continents, so let's get started. I'm going to tackle the big stuff first, and end with a few laughs.

First we go to mother Africa, where things are as grim as they've ever been for women.
Rombo tries to sort out her thoughts on Kenya’s Sexual Offences Bill, as Feminist African Sister reminds us why this bill is so important - an African woman is raped every 30 minutes. When was the last time you risked an auto accident because you were trying to get home without being kidnapped and raped? These women do every time they leave the house. The Kenyan government is debating whether this should be treated as a crime. In Zimbabwe, women are working for needs as basic as sanitary protection. This is why it's so important for us to drive home the point that women's rights are human rights - it is women who are being denied the most basic aspects of safety and survival. Since women constitute the majority of the population, the state of a society's women is the measure of that society's success. Let's pray that Africa's leaders heed the pleas of the women who live in these countries. I hope this carnival attracts more posts on conditions in Africa and the Middle East. Women in America aren't fully aware of the genocide, the AIDS devastation, or the horrible practice of female genital mutilation. I believe that if women in the West really understand what is happening there, we will demand that our leaders act for change.

In the same vein, Mary Ann reminds us Why Girls Matter in response to the trend of female infanticide in China, though she doesn't mention the most important reason of all - a culture with too few women can't rebound from a pandemic. Grim comfort knowing these misogynist cultures are dooming themselves to extinction. Natalie shows us that London can be as oppressive as Bangladesh if a woman is isolated by custom, language or marriage in The Other London. Of course, not everyone finds their way to the West voluntarily - Stevie (bookdrunk) discusses The Cost of Human Traffic at Rhetorically Speaking... The penalty can't be too severe, as far as I'm concerned.

Now, before you start congratulating yourself on being lucky enough to be born in a country where women aren't treated as chattle, consider Bark/Bite's post on the disturbing Christian phenomenon of the Purity Ball. It made my skin crawl even before I grokked the racism it expresses. Not restricted to the auspices of the Radical Right, even Progressives sometimes express A Pathological View of Girl Babies. Holly introduces A Guy from Dorking, who apparently thinks young girls exist to do his cleaning free of charge. On a more positive note, Martin is pleased to see that little girls can play soccer and still wear pink sweaters, though he expresses some doubt as to whether this has any importance in Beer and Football with the Girls. Which do you think he'd prefer - a note when my cousin Chrissy gets her soccer scholarship, or a picture of her playing first base for a boy's baseball league? She's only 13, but I'm pretty sure she could kick Martin's ass.

Then there's the effect of Booze, Education, Male Bonding, the Cooties and Rape, which converged tragically in the persons of the Duke LaCrosse team.

We did get one offering from a guy with a clue, as Paul confirms TNR's admission that The Non-Existent Mommy Wars are a canard to distract middle class white women from seeking social justice for poor women. Feminism has had an uneven history with minority women, the disabled among us, and the poor . The Soapbox looks at Feminist failings toward women of color and poor women, while Penny looks at Disablism, Suffrage, and Invisibility. It seems even the best among us will sometimes sell out the downtrodden to make a point. Let's pledge not to lose sight of those who can't speak for themselves.

We're blessed to be able to ponder the fine points of social theory while we fight for our rights. Submitted here for your consideration is a collection of posts exploring language and it's political and psychological effects:

Don't mess with Signifying Nothing - Damn!

Is it Art or Objectification? Goddesses on Parade: Birth, Pornography, the Britney Spears Birthing Statue has a pictoral essay that asks the tough questions. Check it out. Then ask yourself - are you a MILF? Do you care? Should you? Cruella asks - Would you fire this teacher? How do you feel about The politics of Self Worth?

Newsflash! Making Assumptions says guys in comic book stores don't know how to act around women! Supersonic ladies on a leash are more their speed - in their dreams. Karen indulges in some objectification of men in This would have been easier if I could draw, though the US version of Queer As Folk did a lovely job of that for 5 years. They even had a comic book!RAGE RULES!

Finally, Ginger at Diary of a Freak Magnet gets extra credit for best use of a Ghost Busters quote while making fun of a sexist idiot.

If you read nothing else here today, read MagPie's Tribute to Mother Jones. Bookmark it so you can read it the next time you feel as if one woman can't make a difference.

To everyone I couldn't include this time around - I'm sorry. Do feel free to send your entries in again - every host is different, this host was a little overwhelmed! And I hope my style of humor didn't put anyone off. I can be a bit of a smart ass.

The next carnival will be on Self Portrait As on May 17 . Email nominations to holly AT mclo DOT net or you can use the submission form.

If you are a woman blogging politics at least part time, please stop by What She Said! and make sure you are on the blogroll there. If not, drop me a line and I'll see that you are added.

Thanks for stopping by. If you agree with either or both of the political movements represented on this site, please consider displaying a badge on your blog to show solidarity.

Peace!

The Carnival of Feminists

Morgaine — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 02:26:00 +0000

Hey, Y'all -

I'll be hosting the next Carnival of Feminists here!

Send your posts or nominations in by Beltane, please - I'll post the Carnival on May 3. Go the the main Carnival of Feminists site to send your submissions.

I can't wait to read all the submissions - blow me away, ladies!

The Carnival of Feminists

Defining Violence

Morgaine — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 20:55:00 +0000

Blogging for awareness about Sexual Violence is a good idea. There are many types of violence, some not so obvious as others. If we compare women in Muslim countries to women in the West, you'd say it's obvious that the Muslim women are subjected to violence constantly - war, genocide, systematic rape; punishment for learning to read or wearing anything other than a burka; being sold into marriage or sexual servitude as young children; and the horrible practice of female genital mutilation. Men in those countries won't even shake hands with women sent to represent our government. Women can't leave their homes unescorted because of the possibility they'll be abducted, raped and killed. A woman's own family may murder her if they feel she has dishonored them in some way. A woman's in-laws may murder her if her dowry isn't large enough. No human should live in these conditions for any reason.

Women in America suffer violence as well, though it is rarely as overt as it is in the Middle East. If your husband beats you to death while the police sit outside in their car and do nothing, are you luckier than a woman forced to wear a burka? If you are gang raped and video taped by your classmates and the courts don't punish your attackers, are you luckier than a girl not allowed to go to school? Does it matter if you are raped in Africa rather than San Diego? If you can't feed your children, is geography a mitigating factor? I think not.

The American media likes to minimize the importance of women's rights by focusing on the issues of wealthy women - whether to stay home or work; equal pay for equal work; equal access to places where business is conducted outside the office. These issues are important, but they distract from the real goal of feminism: Survival of Women.

Women in America may have a camera stuck up their skirts and the video posted on the web, and in most places there is no law to prevent it. 2 out of 3 American women will be sexually molested at some point in their lives.(That's what the stats say - I think the number is more like 4 out of 5, because I rarely meet a woman that doesn't have a story of sexual abuse to tell.)The most telling statistic on the state of women in America is that the number one cause of death in pregnant women in this country is murder. It may not be as dangerous to live in America as it is in Iraq, but being female can still get you killed here.

We live in an era when a woman can be raped by a fraternity or a sport team, then be called a tramp by the men's lawyers and the TV commentators. A time when "sports heroes" get away with rape. When people find entertainment in video games that involve killing women, music that calls women "bitches and ho's" and women are sugicaly altered, humiliated or married off for money and TV ratings.

Our media glorifies men for lying to obtain sex. I like to call this "male fraud." It's not overt violence, but it is still a sexual violation. If a woman believes she is in a monogamous relationship, she may be less careful with things like birth control and AIDS prevention. A woman might reject a particular man if she knows that he is married or engaged; she might choose not to reproduce with a man who already has one or more children with other women; she usually considers things like job, relative success, stability, religious and political beliefs, as well as availability when choosing a man with whom she is willing to be romantically involved.

Abandonment is a covert form of violence. A woman who is impregnated and abandoned has been violated, and so has her child. A child whose father walks out on her mother will never recover. Even if a woman is able to meet the physical and emotional needs of her children alone, as many have to do, they are more likely than any other segment in this society to live in poverty. If an abandoned family turns to the State for help, the woman's own president will refer to her as a "welfare queen." When was the last time you heard a politician or a right-wing pundit complain about deadbeat dads? They're more likely to advocate absolving these fathers of any financial responsibilty at all. Deadbeat dads are often rich, white men, too. So are their attorneys.

Poverty is an insidious form of violence. You don't die from bombs - you die from lack of health care, decent food, a safe environment. A bullet in the Bronx will kill you just as dead as one in Fallujah. A poor education won't help you earn a living in America, even if you are theoretically free to apply for a job. And who is going to watch those kids while you are at work, you "selfish feminist?" Poor women don't have the option of staying home. They may not even have the option of working only one job. When George Bush praised a woman with a sick child for working 3 jobs as "uniquely American," he failed to comprehend that it's unique because only America has no safety net for that mother and her poor child. You're either lazy or neglectful - that's some choice. Actually, since Clinton gutted the welfare system, even that choice is not always available. I haven't even touched on the subjects of sexual harassment, discrimination in the work place and the very real threat of child molestation. And they wonder why feminists are angry...

America enjoys another dubious distinction in that we produce more serial killers than any other culture. Quick - name one British serial killer other than Jack the Ripper. Can't do it? I can think of one, but I don't remember his name. Name a Canadian one. A Swede? A German, not counting Hitler?
I'm sure there are some, but even when they have one, they don't make him a star.

Now, name an American serial killer. John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Richard Ramirez, Jeffrey Dahmer - that's just off the top of my head. Manson doesn't count - he's a cult leader, and his crew were spree killers. Spree killers happen everywhere now and then. Only America had to develop a professional law enforcement specialty called "Profiling." The word, the practice, everything, started in our FBI by a former Agent John Douglas. The last estimate I read is that there are 150-200 serial killers active in this country at any one time. Did you listen to the news this weekend? Did you hear about the 10 year-old girl who was abused, murdered and was about to be cannibalized by her killer? He even wrote about it on his blog.

What is it that makes America so uniquely adept at producing serial killers - who, by the way, are usually white men between 25 and 35. That's a hint. Yep, it's that white male privilege that says "I am the master of my domain. I can rape, pillage and plunder at will, for all creatures are inferior to me, and I am free to take what I want." It's not a huge step from Manifest Destiny to the Zodiac Killer. Or the Boston Strangler. Or Son of Sam. Or the Green River Killer. The same entitlement that allowed the settlers to commit genocide against the First Nations is the same entitlement that says I can stalk, torture and murder women or children. Not many Killers out there targeting other white guys, are there? They only target those they perceive as "less" - less likely to strike back, less threatening, less human. Now, lets take someone like Ramirez, the Night Stalker, who was charged with 13 counts of murder. These were obviously horrific crimes, and I don't mean to minimize the suffering of those victims. How many people will die because of the sense of entitlement displayed by Ken Lay? He never hurt anyone directly that we know of, but he destroyed life after life of the people who worked for him faithfully and put their trust in his company. Ramirez crimes were immediate and horrible, but had a comparatively small scope. Ken Lay will probably be responsible for 5, or 6, or 30 times as many unnecessary deaths because he stole the life savings people were counting on. Both crimes are unforgivable. Ramirez is in jail. Will Ken Lay ever pay for those unnecessary deaths? I doubt it.

That same sense of entitlement is why women aren't safe in their own homes. You don't have to be a Ramirez to be a danger to a woman. You just have to be in a relationship with her. Women are more likely to be raped by someone they know than by a stranger. They are more likely to be killed by a lover or husband than anyone else. Those pregnant women aren't being killed by other women - they're being killed by the men who impregnated them. How many women have to seek restraining orders against an ex? How many of them are killed or brutalized in spite of them? Too many. That's why we're blogging about this today.

I want an America where women are safe in their homes, in their schools and in their neighborhoods. I want a world where women everywhere enjoy the basic freedoms that any human being should have- control over their own person; education; the ability to support themselves through work other than prostitution; safety from rape, genocide, and war; food and shelter for themselves and their children.

It is absolutely possible. Are we going to make it happen?

Femivist: Blogging Sexual Violence

Morgaine — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:06:00 +0000

Femivist

Today, women bloggers all over the web are blogging to raise awareness about Sexual Violence. I'll be doing what I can on as many of my blogs as I can, and I invite the other women in the blogosphere to do the same. Keep checking in, and make sure you go to Femivist at the link above to see a list of the amazing posts as they hit the web!

Technorati tags: women, feminism, violence, awareness

Press Release: MyMenopauseblog

Morgaine — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 07:48:00 +0000

I got this in my mail recently:

For Immediate Release

Menopause Blog is Hot

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada recently reported that approximately four million Canadian women have now reached menopause. By 2026, it is estimated that women over the age of 50 will make up 22 per cent of the Canadian population. Statistic presented by the North American Menopause Society tells a similar story for U.S. women.

In short, the women of the world are heating up. Many of these women are looking for understanding, information and relief.

Sue Richards, author of MyMenopauseBlog.com was one of those women. After becoming a member of the peri-menopausal club and having no clue of what was happening, Richards started on a quest for knowledge about symptoms, natural remedies and treatments.

“My first need was to confirm I wasn’t going crazy. After I calmed down and accepted my new life stage, I simply wanted a heads up on what I could expect and what to do.”

Richards decided to do her own research and share the results with other women by way of a blog, an on-line weblog, she writes daily. Blog popularity is currently surging. Technorati, the top blog authority, tracks over 28 Million blogs, in a blogosphere that is doubling in size every 5 and a half months.

Richards’s blog postings include valuable information about the stages and symptoms of menopause, including details of clever and amusing ways to deal with the ‘change’. Her trademark ‘smart humor’ is liberally sprinkled throughout the posts, along with cartoons and Richards’ photographs. A social science graduate from the University of Guelph, she honestly delves into the psychology of menopause and aging offering insights and asking questions. Books and products that cross her path, get reviewed.

My Menopause Blog started quietly in July 2005 as a Blogger blog. In February 2006, after Richards found she had developed a following of readers, the blog moved to its new domain, www.mymenopauseblog.com , with a refreshed look and new features thanks to Barking Dog Studios of Guelph.

Publisher of the fine art photography, breast health calendar Breast of Canada, Richards is no stranger to the ‘dome of silence and shame’ that gets mixed into women’s health issues. Using her creative sensibilities, writing skill and social entrepreneur tendencies, Richards hopes that My Menopause Blog will serve as a touchstone for women who need to know that they will survive and that they are not alone.

“I feel so much better since I started the blog. If nothing else, my attitude has improved and I’m not as confused about what is going on with my body anymore. Plus I’m so much more open about this whacky experience. If I’m having a hot flash, I don’t try to hide it. In fact, I’m working on a meno-stripper routine,” jokes Richards.

Other MyMenopauseBlog.com features include Club Meno, a listing of links to other menopausal bloggers, paid advertising by Google, a comprehensive post filing system of specific categories, over 160 posts and a place for readers to leave their comments.

For more information about MyMenopauseBlog.com please contact:
Sue Richards at: artjam@artjam.org ; 519•767•0142

Link: http://www.mymenopauseblog.com
Link: http://www.breastofcanada.com

If I can't dance I don't wanna be part of your revolution by Kactus

Morgaine — Sun, 05 Mar 2006 10:21:00 +0000

Sister Kactus has had it with the face off between political wonks on both sides of our uteri. Read her whole post at Our Word, but here's my favorite part - see if this sounds familiar:

Whoops, better give the obligatory qualifier: some of you guys are really, really neat. You are committed to women's rights and you never take advantage of your male privilege and you really love eating pussy, really you do. So with that out of the way, relax cuz now you know I'm not talking about you.

I'd rather not take the position of professional symbol for your movement.

My Comments:

Women are 53% of the population. We are the majority of voters. We need to get it into our heads, once and for all, that there is no "Right" and "Left" in this country. There are rich men and poor women, and I don't care if you're Oprah Winfrey, you're still poor and still a woman. To quote Chris Rock "If Bill Gates woke up tomorrow with Oprah's money, he'd jump out a fucking window." No matter how high we climb, it won't be as high as they'll let one of their own go, and they stand on our backs to do it.

The revolution won't be lead by big boy bloggers. It's right here. We need to develop strategies that don't depend on help from men, because it isn't going to come. They'll pat us on the heads, and promise to get to us later, but there's always one more important thing they have to do before they get to our little lives. Fuck 'em. Or better yet, stop fucking them. Put your time, you money, your words, and your energy into women's issues, and let's make this our revolution. Most women - even most conservative women - will support reproductive choice and equal pay. We need to forget about lame-assed Lefty boys and reach out sister-to-sister, everywhere, anywhere, and develop some solidarity.

Barbara: Chao-chou's Dog Has Puppies

Morgaine — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 10:19:00 +0000

The Mahablog

Sister Barbara has a long, thoughtful post about the various theories on the beginnings of life. It's well worth a read.

For my part, I haven't written much recently because I don't see any clear vision in the Feminist leadership. They're all so concerned with being reasonable - that won't work when your opponents don't function reasonably or ever intend to try.

The goal of the anti-choice movement is not to end abortion. They'll see that their own kids can get them if they need them. Their goal is to control women's sexuality and reinforce patriarchal values. If they wanted to save lives, they'd be advocating that all women have access to the vaccine that can prevent HPV. Instead, the want to block access to it so that young women who fornicate risk getting cervical cancer. Charming.

If you wanted to stop abortions, you'd make birth control safe and readily available. They're going to go after birth control as soon as they topple Roe v. Wade, which will only create more unwanted pregnancies. If you wanted women to welcome unexpected pregnancies, you'd provide social services to make it easier for a mom, wed or not, to raise her kids - health care, affordable housing, child care, good education, a living wage. They are doing none of that. In fact, they are cutting our badly needed social programs left and right to pay for Bush's emperious tax cuts. They don't see a fetus as sacred, or a baby as a blessing; they see it as a punishment for fornication. What a way to come into the world.

Never forget this one basic reality: They can't have a patriarchy if they don't know who the daddies are.

A woman with options won't take shit from an unfaithful, violent, neglectful or stupid man. A woman who expects an orgasm and a little romance might go looking elsewhere if hubby can't measure up, and a woman with her own money doesn't really need a man for anything else.

There's a reason Bush is always surrounded by old white men when he signs an anti-choice bill. Those are the guys who want control of young women's bodies, politically, literally, biblically. Makes your skin crawl, doesn't it?

A commenter at MahaBlog stated that hir perception is that the average 30-50 year old man doesn't understand the basic biology of reproduction enough to be passing laws about it. The older ones would know even less, and let's face it, the few doctors in Congress are Frists (Terri Schiavo was blind, dummy) and Coburns (who has done abortions, but thinks others who do should be jailed.) We aren't talking about intelligent, well-informed people here. We are talking about privileged, well-heeled control freaks who see women as property and their children as cannon fodder.

We had a revolution in this country once over taxation without representation. Why do women pay taxes to a government that rarely includes us? Why does 53% of the population have less than 14% representation in Congress, yet allow that body of government to pass laws that only affect our bodies? I don't see any moves to regulate male sexuality, and frankly, I can see plenty of need for it.

This is a woman's issue, and only women are qualified to discuss it. Only the woman herself should be the arbiter of what she does with her body and her life. Any restriction of contraceptives or abortion kills women. It's that simple. This is about young women dying unnecessary deaths. If life is so sacred to our opponents, why aren't they fighting for those girls? The ones who will die in childbirth, or have their lives ruined for believing the wrong guy, or get cervical cancer when it was easily prevented? The actual woman with a family and memories and dreams and aspirations. Save Her.

There's another reason men shouldn't be allowed to make decisions regarding abortion - they can't be mothers. There are two aspects involved in a birth - the mother who gives life, and the child who depends on the support of her body until it is born. A woman can fill either role, and empathize with both. A man can never know what it is to be a woman. There are aspects of the feminine reality and female anatomy that will only ever be an abstract concept to men. The only role they can empathize with in the birth process is the fetus. That negates their ability to comprehend the mother's experience, and leaves them unable to view the situation objectively. Even Progressive men will shove reproductive rights to the side because they don't affect them directly. Let's acknowledge that and put the control where it belongs - in the hands of women.

The right to control one's own person is the most intimate, most basic of rights. Women endure intrusions on this right constantly - as many as 2 out of 3 women are sexually abused at some point in their lives, and only a few of those cases will ever be reported, let alone punished. We are restricted in our freedom of movement by the constant threat of rape or violence. We can be beaten to death in our own homes while the police sit outside in their cars. Now we are to endure the state wielding the speculum when we make our reproductive decisions. It's absurd, it's obscene, and if there were ever a concept that is contrary to the rights to "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" it is the restriction of a womans sexual and reproductive autonomy.

If it takes a revolution, ladies, let it be now, and make it count because our sisters will die without us.

New Frame: Last Hope for Life D & X

Morgaine — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 00:21:00 +0000

Deanna Zandt at Alternet's Echo Chamber has an important post called Talking points on the federal abortion ban. She's emphasizing that we need to be careful not to use anti-choice "frames" when discussing reproductive rights. In particular, we need not to use their frame for emergency procedures performed in the second or third trimester.

As you know, these procedures are exceedingly rare - only about 2,000 a year in a country of 220+ Million people - and it only used to save the life of the mother. The opposition uses it to chip away at reproductive freedom. Our opponents are relentless and we need to use every opportunity to get the focus off the fetus and get it on the life of the mother where it belongs.

I propose that we call these procedures Last Hope Dilation and Extractions, or Last Hope for life D & X s as well as Urgent Dilation and Extractions.

Please spread the word, and don't use the "p.b.a." frame.

Blogging for Choice: The Republican War on Sex

Morgaine — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:25:00 +0000

We all know that the "Culture of Life" the NeoCons are pushing is just another Big Lie from Karl Rove's bag of tricks. It sounds so noble - how could a reasonable, caring person object? The reality of it is quite different. They had no problem killing 100,000+ Iraqi civilians who never harmed a US citizen that wasn't trying to kill them. They had no problem sending our troops into an illegal war with no justification. They have no problem executing prisoners, even if they are retarded, or old and blind. Add to this all of the people who will die from AIDS, the women who will die needlessly in childbirth or from back alley abortions, or cervical cancer because the FDA is suppressing a vaccine that prevents the spread of HPV, and you have what can only be considered a Culture of Death.

The real goal of the NeoConservative, anti-choice movement is to stop all sex by anyone except married, heterosexual couples. Their precious patriarchy is in danger and they don't care who has to die to preserve it. The only way to maintain a rule by rich white men is to suppress women's sexuality. Rather than have people experience healthy, safe sex, they want a populace that is a repressed as possible so the ruling class can channel the people's energy into hate and war.

The greatest fear of patriarchy is sexuality - or what they would call "hedonism." A person with a healthy sex life is less likely to kill for an army, die for a cause, oppress another person for an arbitrary reason like gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. "Live and Let Live" won't keep those defense contracts rolling in. Sensuality makes a person hard to exploit. Only by insisting that society be arranged in nuclear units with a dominant male at the head of the home can they be sure to control women's lives, work, and bodies.

The wealth of the world is built on the work of women. The power structure wants to keep women in the home, focused on providing unpaid labor in keeping the home and raising the children. Paying someone, especially a woman, to do domestic chores subverts the hierarchy by putting money in the hands of women who might otherwise be forced to provide those services for free - or for a roof over her head, provided of course by the "breadwinner" husband.

Women with choices are harder to please. They won't tolerate an abusive spouse. They insist on fair pay. They want a say in when and how they have sex. They expect to be included in the decisions that affect their lives. They demand sovereignty over their own bodies. Choices of all kinds make women harder to control.

In a system that systematically oppresses women, control is everything. In patriarchy, the husband is favored in society and in law. Equality demands more of men. They have to accept responsibility for their offspring. They have to compete with women, who are rapidly proving to be better at almost everything. With any luck, there will soon be penalties for men who habitually prey on women and abandon them with their children. A guy has to work a lot harder in a fair system to create the same benefit he could demand under patriarchy, and his relative position is no longer dominant.

NO group is going to voluntarily give up an inherent advantage - especially if that group has been trained to have a sense of entitlement that tells them they deserve more because they are more. We see the effects of white male entitlement all around us. Most serial killers are white men. Most school shootings are by white boys. Rape, robbery and domestic violence are almost exclusively male crimes. In thge United States, murder with firearms is more common than in any other industrialized nation, and most of the killers are men.

Most of Western Culture still suffers from remnants of patriarchy, but nowhere in the west is it fighting for dear life the way it is here in the States. There's a direct correlation between the sense of entitlement a man feels that tells him he has the right to rape or murder and the sense that he has the right to dominate a wife and a child. It's no accident that the NRA is intimately entwined with the Republican party. It's no accident that the NeoCons hate gun control. It's so much easier to control your family if they know you have a gun and are willing to use it.

Europe is aghast at what the United States has become. We used to lead the world in progressive thought, innovation, education, social progress, and culture. The last 25 years or so has seen the United States take a dramatic step backward. We no longer have an advantage in education, and China and Japan have overtaken the advantage we once had in business.

We are the only developed country where the infant mortality rate is going up; where racism is a blatant, unyielding problem; where violence approaches levels more akin to African genocides than Western crime rates; where feminism is becoming more reviled rather than more common and assimilated into public policy; Where the welfare of our citizens takes a back seat to profit; where children go unsheltered and untended by the millions.

This latest wave of patriarchal hatred has made us venal and uncaring. Our generous spirit has been replaced by greed and lust for power. We've become an oligarchy where only the very wealthy prosper and to hell with everyone else.

And, yes, believe it or not, this all comes back to sex. Power for the people is being replaced by power over the people. The Rape Culture not only oppresses women, it represses all but a small fraction of the population. A person who respects others cannot rape, rip off old ladies or turn a blind eye to children's suffering. A person in touch with their own sensuality empathizes in a way that no ruler, no patriarch, no corporation, no government ever could.

All violence stems from somatosensory deprivation. Sex is a normal, healthy activity for adults. The United States own prudishness is proof of the sexual repression here. The biggest scandal of my lifetime should be what the Administration is doing right now - instead, as far as the media is concerned it was the Clinton scandal. Europe couldn't believe it was an issue; Russians were jealous that they didn't have such a young, virile leader.

Look at the Janet Jackson dust up. That wouldn't have cause a ripple anywhere but the United States and the most repressive areas of the Middle East. Now there's an effort to censor books, movies and television in ways not seen for a quarter century. Suddenly, the government wants to intercept our internet searches and snoop through our reading lists. The irony is that the group that screams about opposing the Taliban is the group most like them. We've set the women in Iraq back 100 years; women in America are looking at the same fate.

Abortion is finally being recognized as a basic Human Right, but this fight is not about whether women can have an abortion. It's about whether we own our own bodies. It's about whether we can have sex when we want, with whomever we choose. It's about whether we let 5,000 year old tribal mores - the same mores causing so much misery in Africa, Serbia, and the Middle East - are going to limit our behavior in the 21st Century. The Republican's own unethical, hypocritical behavior proves that they care nothing for morality. All they care about is control. Control of government; control of wealth; control of women's bodies.

Fight Back! Refuse to play by their rules!

http://bushvchoice.com/

Blogging for Choice: Democracy's Last Stand

Morgaine — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 22:17:00 +0000

Today is the 33rd Anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, and feminist bloggers of all stripes are blogging about the importance of choice. You can see the list of all who signed up here. It's an amazing collection of writers, and not to be missed.

As you know, Tuesday is D-Day for Democracy in America. The vote on Strip Search Sam Alito will be a milestone in American history. It will either be the day the Democrats stand up and preserve our way of life, or it will be the end of Constitutional democracy. No, I'm not being overly dramatic.

Sam Alito is a dangerous man. He believes in unitary power of the Presidency. That concept alone will make the difference as to whether we are a nation of laws, or a dictatorship in which the executive branch makes its own rules, unchecked by Congress or the Courts. Our government was specifically designed to prevent this. The Republican party now stands ready to undo 220+ years of democratic rule. We can't let that happen.

Go here to find out more and take action before it's too late.

Feministe: Carnival of the Feminists 7

Morgaine — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 03:37:00 +0000

Lauren at Feministe is hosting the 7th Carnival of Feminists, and it is amazing. I've always said feminists outnumber the men in the Progressive blogosphere by 5-1. I may have to increase our portion, because amazing women I haven't heard of yet continue to enter. Go, Sisters, Go!

firedoglake: takes on evil Kate O'Beirne

Morgaine — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 01:29:00 +0000

firedoglake:

Here's a sister blogger who knows a Nazi when she sees one. Go get her, Jane!

Democrats: ask not for whom the bell tolls...

Morgaine — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 07:53:00 +0000

... it tolls for your sorry asses if you let Alito be confirmed for SCOTUS.

Note to the big boy bloggers:

This is one of those posts that will scare the shit out of you,
but I'm telling the truth here.
I'll be damned if I'll show loyalty to a party that won't show some loyalty to me,
and plenty of my Sisters are with me.

It’s this simple. The Democrats may or may not win an election with the women, but they cannot win an election without us. If they screw around and lose Roe v. Wade, or any other civil rights, the women in this country will bury the Democratic party. The party has been a complete failure in its role as an opposition to the creeping fascism of the Bush junta, and we’re tired.

This is Democracy’s Last Stand, so get ready to filibuster, or plan on finding new work.
It’s time we had 2 political parties in this country - we’re all sick of Republican and Republican-Lite.

Lead or get out of the way. Following you is what got us into the unholy mess.

Stop Alito like your life depends on it, because for women, that’s exactly what’s at stake – our very lives. This is not about legal jargon, and it’s not about legal precedent – it’s about my uterus, and you’d better make it damned clear that it belongs to no one but me. It is not state property. It is not for some man to decide what I can and can’t do with it, even if I’m married to him. Its mine.

FILIBUSTER Slippery Sam ALITO!

Say Anything Sam Alito -

Morgaine — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 04:09:00 +0000

Well, we learned one thing in today’s Supreme Court Nominee Hearing - Sam Alito will say any damned thing he has to to get a job. It seems like every time they ask him about some of his past statements he was just saying what he thought they wanted to hear to give him the job.

Dr. Phil says the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Sam Alito must be telling the Senators what he thinks they want to hear. What did he tell President Bush to get this nomination?

• He had to promise to overturn Roe v. Wade
• He had to express support for unfettered executive powers for the President
• He had to guarantee to keep Congress from checking the President’s actions.
• He probably supported the whole Radical Christian agenda. Theocracy, here we come!

Sam Alito always says what his boss wants to hear. Then he does as he damned well pleases when he gets it.

He is the most RADICAL judge in the Third Circuit Court. He dissents more often than any other judge.
90% of his decisions support the Radical Right Wing agenda. He decides against racial and sexual discrimination plaintiffs 85% of the time.

He’s the perfect judge if you’re a rich, white man. For the other 99 per cent of America,

Sam Alito is the Wrong Judge at the Wrong Time

Say ‘NO’ to Say Anything Sam Alito

Stop Alito - Save American Democracy

Morgaine — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 00:42:00 +0000

I know you’re thinking that title is an exaggeration. It’s more accurate than you might think. The confirmation of Samuel Alito would represent a fundamental change in American policy. So fundamental that we may not look much like America in a few years.

Here are the issues at stake:

• The power of congress to check Presidential abuses of power
• The power of Congress to regulate the sale of machine guns and other dangerous weapons
• The Right to Privacy
• Your protection against Illegal Search and Seizures
• Affirmative Action
• Equal Access to Education
• Family and Medical Leave
• Your protection from Sexual and Racial Discrimination
• Protections from Violence against Women
• Public Housing
• Consumer protection
• Whether the President has Unlimited Powers or not
• Reproductive Rights.

Alito is not a conservative judge. He is a Right Wing Extremist with ties to the Federalist Society and the Concerned Alumni of Princeton.

• He is the most frequent dissenter in the 3rd Circuit court.
• 90% of his decisions are in line with NeoConservative policies
• 85% of his decisions go against the plaintiff in Civil Rights cases.
• He has declared his intention to over turn Roe v. Wade
• He believes the IUD and the Birth Control Pill are abortifacents and should be illegal.
• He favors spousal notification laws and scoffs at the danger to women in abusive relationships.
• He believes a husband should be able to execute “at least some” control over their wives.
• He sided with police in a case where a woman and 10 year old girl were strip searched in their own home in spite of not being named in the warrant. What that means to you is that the police would be unlimited by warrants and have unchecked powers of search and seizure.
• He has already lied to the Senate, and been dishonest with the Justice Dept.

We’re looking at the very real possibility of a police state in America, where the police can search people without showing cause, where your government can spy on you with impunity, where women lose their rights as free citizens, where racial discrimination goes unchecked and women become a permanent underclass without fair access to education, work or protection from violence. An America with a dictator in the form of a President unchecked by Congress or the Courts - and that, my friends, is no America at all.

This man cannot be allowed to sit on the Supreme Court.