Planned Parenthood Vs Susan G Komen: The Battle Continues

This isn't over, far from it actually. I know people who want to picket the Race for the Cure, and with the flushing out of Occupy DC, you know those people are going to need something to do.  So Susan G Komen, game on.

Regardless Karen Handel finally resigned, and it is about damn time, too.  Apparently, she doesn't fully understand her role here, which is that of scapegoat. Don't get me wrong, this is her fault, but not completely. The rest of the board and her supervisors went along with the anti-women agenda, and I imagine they will come to rue this day. To fulfill her role as scapegoat, Ms. Handel should take complete responsibility and divert attention form the wildly inappropriate use of time and resources Komen spends on things other than breast cancer, their shady relationships, and just all around failings as an organization.  Her resignation letter should have read like this, "I'm sorry for using time and Koman resources to fund my crazy right wing political agenda." Instead, please read the actual letter as obtained by AP and posted by Jezebel:

Dear Ambassador Brinker:

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been the recognized leader for more 30 years in the fight against breast cancer here in the US – and increasingly around the world.

As you know, I have always kept Komen's mission and the women we serve as my highest priority – as they have been for the entire organization, the Komen Affiliates, our many supporters and donors, and the entire community of breast cancer survivors. I have carried out my responsibilities faithfully and in line with the Board's objectives and the direction provided by you and Liz.

We can all agree that this is a challenging and deeply unsettling situation for all involved in the fight against breast cancer. However, Komen's decision to change its granting strategy and exit the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood and its grants was fully vetted by every appropriate level within the organization. At the November Board meeting, the Board received a detailed review of the new model and related criteria. As you will recall, the Board specifically discussed various issues, including the need to protect our mission by ensuring we were not distracted or negatively affected by any other organization's real or perceived challenges. No objections were made to moving forward.

I am deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it. I openly acknowledge my role in the matter and continue to believe our decision was the best one for Komen's future and the women we serve. However, the decision to update our granting model was made before I joined Komen, and the controversy related to Planned Parenthood has long been a concern to the organization. Neither the decision nor the changes themselves were based on anyone's political beliefs or ideology. Rather, both were based on Komen's mission and how to better serve women, as well as a realization of the need to distance Komen from controversy. I believe that Komen, like any other nonprofit organization, has the right and the responsibility to set criteria and highest standards for how and to whom it grants.

What was a thoughtful and thoroughly reviewed decision – one that would have indeed enabled Komen to deliver even greater community impact – has unfortunately been turned into something about politics. This is entirely untrue. This development should sadden us all greatly.

Just as Komen's best interests and the fight against breast cancer have always been foremost in every aspect of my work, so too are these my priorities in coming to the decision to resign effective immediately. While I appreciate your raising a possible severance package, I respectfully decline. It is my most sincere hope that Komen is allowed to now refocus its attention and energies on its mission.

Sincerely,

There is a kind of denial there that is beautiful in a way and really disturbing.  Handel is a condescending ass, and Koman, well, if Komen thinks getting rid of Handel is going to fix all this, they have another thing coming.  It is about damn time people started to understand what comprehensive health care for women is because it isn't just abortions and breast cancer.

Can someone explain to me the mischaracterization that Handel is referring to here? Because I don't know how I miss understood bring an anti-women politician into a women's health organization and being mystified when she pushes to cut funding for an organization that is actually pro-women.  "Unfortunately been turned into something about politics", unfortunately? Really? This is the kind of thing that conservatives love, look at the feminist making everything political, and of course it is. Poor women rely on the Planned Parenthood for everything from pap smears and medication to breast cancer screening, because women's health is never a priority unless it's abortion or some other political issue.  Well, Ms. Handel, looks like we're not as stupid as you thought.

But more this week on the amazing idiocy that sweeps the nation when discussing women's health includes Obama coming under fire for the inclusion of birth control in preventative medicine.  Looks like 2012 is going to be a big year for women('s health). Now, settle in for a year of debates by bros about women's health. Our champion President Obama, who largely ignores women until absolutely necessary and Newt and Romney, who, well, they just hate women. It will be fun for me to watch these three try to fake an understanding of women's health and women's issues with Obama throwing up Lilly Ledbetter and birth control every chance he gets and Newt reminding everyone that birth control leads to sluttiness.  And, well, he'd know.  I'm guess we'll see another woman VP from the conservatives (Palin, Bachman, any woman who hates women).  Additionally, rumor has it H-Rod is not going to serve if President Obama gets a second term.

Addendum: Romney in favor of Komen's public relations' disaster. Romney has come out in favor of Komen's decision to cut funding for the Planned Parenthood, because he's an idiot.

Beware Feminism will Destory Everything!

At first this was funny when I saw it on Feministing.com, but the longer it went the scary and sadder it because.

The highlights:
1. women are the root of everything wrong in the world
2. feminists hate babies, and though the trailer didn't say it we eat them too
3. Hilary is evil for having one child...I'm sure there is more to this
4. women raped during military service never should have been there
Oh, there were so many. If this is a joke site please let me know. I hope it is, but I looked under internship, and became even more disturbed and had to close the site.

Obama's Inauguration as the 44th President of the United States of America

Anyone else watching? I'm excited! I got the picture from CNN.com. A few preliminary notes: still a big pet peeve to attribute Obama's victory only to G.W. Bush's failures; really it is like saying the Allies won because the Axis did such a horrible job on their military campaign in Russia. Kind of true, but only one part of the story, and the most frustrating is that there is no way to prove it.

Anyway, so it begins. The former Presidents and their wives are walking out to their seats. And now the kids, which to be a little cynical I don't really get why the children are a big deal. Mrs. Laura Bush and Mrs. Lynn Cheney come in. Mrs. Michele Obama and Mrs. Jill Biden enter. President Bush, the last time I have to write that, and Dick Cheney enter with the "top Republican leadership." Vice President Elect, Joe Biden enters so does Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi...and President Elect Obama!

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, CA, gives the welcome and address.

Dr. Rick Warren gives the Invocation.

Aretha Franklin sings "My Country Tis of Thy."

The Honorable John Paul Stevens administer oath of office to Joe Biden.

"Air and Simple Gifts" composed for this occasion by John Williams, and performed by Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Anthony McGill, and Gabriela Montero.

Obama has become President of the United States even though he hasn't taken the oath of office because it is after 12:00pm.

Chief Justice of the United States, John G Roberts, Jr. give President Obama the oath, which Obama messes up on, and is all the more human for it.

President Obama gives his Inauguration speech, saying (and these are the highlights):
We the people have remained faithful to the founders and founding documents. We are in crisis, war, economy, greed, collective failures. A nagging fear that the next generation must lower sites, the crisis are real, but they will be met. We gather because we have chosen hope instead of fear. All are free. The time has past for waiting; we must dust ourselves off and begin rebuilding America. Restore science to it's rightful place. Transform our schools to meet the demands of a new age. Some suggest our system can't do it, but they are short sited. The ground has shifted, and those arguments no long apply. Without watchful eye the market can spin out of control. Reject safety or ideals. Rule of law and rights of man, and we will not give them up for expedients sake. America is a friend of each nation, and we are ready to lead once more. Power alone can not protect us or entitle us to do as we please. We will begin to leave Iraq, establish peace, and we will defeat you who change peace. We know our patch work heritage is our strength. The old hatreds will pass, and our common humanity will reveal itself. The world has change and we must change with it. New era of responsibility.

Elizabeth Alexander, American Poet, reads "Praise song for the day."

Benediction given.

National Anthem, and then exit.

This is What a Feminist Looks Like...

I talked about this before, and I think Obama is a feminist. And frankly many of you already know opinion that Sarah Palin is not a feminist just because she is a woman. I became angry when these critics of Ms. said she would have been a better choice than Obama. I agree H. Rod or Biden would have been better choices, but Obama is a feminist. By far the most feminist President we have ever had. I say way to go Ms.

Bitch and Ditz

I think New York Magazine got this right.  Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin reinforced gender stereotypes about women.  For good or bad, whatever you may think of either of them.  Hilary gets to be the bitch which sets her up for a fall, and Sarah looks like a ditz which means she is no threat.  So what does this mean: be a threat and be a failure or be no threat and still be a failure.  Don't get me wrong I stand by previous statements about these two having limited things in common.  It is just an interesting argument for women in politics.  Obama won, and defied racial stereotypes in the process.  The argument is that for a woman to do the same she will have to defy stereotypes as well.  Unfortunately neither Hilary or Sarah does.  

Clinton may be Secretary of State!

Yeah I said it.  Dare I dream?  They are calling it the ultimate "Team of Rivals" like that book by Kearns.  It was a tactic employed by Lincoln, and not a bad model for Obama to emulate.  I am a huge Hilary fan and thus would jump at this, but still I'm on the fence for her because she is kind of shit in the Senate right now.  The Dems are the controlling party, and she has a decent amount of experience in the Senate now, but then again Secretary of State!.  

Excuse me?

Apparently Sarah Palin believes her and Hilary Clinton fell from the same feminist tree...Because you know they are both women, married, political, and have kids.  After all they have nothing else in common.  They couldn't be farther away on issues that actually matter like reproductive rights, labor, foreign policy, and everything else.  I guess Sarah Palin is the kind of person the Republican Party was targeting with her nomination for VP: people who believe two women are interchangeable just because they are women.

“Wrong Kind of Feminists” Unite!

This is why when trying to fend off people asking for money on the street who begin with “Do you like children?” I always respond with “I’m one of those liberal baby killing feminists.”

After reading Jezebel.com, I once again learned something about myself from the GOP: real feminist vote for Sarah Palin. Wait, is Sarah Palin running for President because I thought people should be voting for McCain/Palin or Obama/Biden? Silly, uninformed me.

F you Palin and F you GOP: according to Palin women aren’t feminist unless they vote for her, and according to McCain Palin is the answer to the liberal feminist agenda. Well, I kind of agree with McCain on this one…Palin is the farthest person from a feminist. NEWSFLASH: HAVING A VAGINA DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE A FEMINIST!!! It means you are a woman. I refuse to vote for a woman because she is a woman. I will vote for a woman who’s policies I agree with.

I’m not even going to touch the lines about the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. I have had the privilege of meeting Lilly, and listened to her when she endorsed Obama. She is currently traveling with Michelle Obama. I will remind readers, as the article does, that Obama and Clinton made it back to the Senate to vote on the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and McCain found it so important he didn’t show up. Of course the article also mentions the Rachel Maddow clip, which is an earlier post from today.

But a question for the GOP and its leaders: Does this mean all black people who don’t vote Obama aren’t black? I’m just want everyone to get on the same page, and god help those of us who identify as more than a single aspect of ourselves...what about black women?

SNL Sexist? I am Shocked…because they have been a pillar of enlightenment in the past.

Yes, Carly Fiorina has come out condemning Tina Fey’s portrayal of Sarah Palin as sexist. Check out the Huffington Post article here. Fiorina had little to say about Amy Poehler’s Hillary Clinton except, “sexist in the sense that just because Sarah Palin has different views than Hillary Clinton does not mean that she lacks substance.” I am just wondering if Fiorina watched the same skit I did? Because I watched two female comedians, we won’t discuss the barriers they had to fight in their career choice, giving exaggerated portrayals of two female politicians, who have both been discriminated against in the media. No one cared about Hilary being protrayed as a “ballbuster,” but we can’t call Sarah a “ditz and a beauty queen.”

Didn’t Palin, say women who expect to compete with men have to work harder? I don’t subscribe to this line of thought, but I mean she is the one who said it. [I don’t have a link for this; I saw it on the Daily Show.] I think the sexism in our media and cultire was a disservice to Hilary, and is now for Sarah. But again, when you campaign on culture and not on issues this is going to happen. When it is as important to have been a PTA, hockey mom as it was to be Mayor and Governor when running for the Vice Presidency then this is going to happen. You want people to relate you to you because you have no experience then people are going to spend a lot of time talking about your inability to answer questions or your weak answers.

I’d personally be happy with Tina Fey as our Vice or Liz Lemmon for that matter.

Feminism: Palin, Clinton, and the rest of US

The word feminism has been thrown around a lot these days. It is an interesting turn of events seeing how at a previous job (I had less than a year ago) feminism was a dirty word worthy of ridicule (interestingly enough at a predominantly male work place which has a connotation of being normally progressive). That is neither here nor there, and perhaps the title of this entry is a little deceiving. I do not intend on dissecting the two women in the title claiming they are or are not feminists, but after evaluating the word feminism maybe people can do that for themselves. Let us define feminism; according to our man Webster, feminism is: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes and the organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.

Who do I consider a feminist? Anyone regardless of sex that is working to promote feminism [see paragraph above]. I believe conservatives and liberals alike can be feminists, however, it has been my personal experience that those who lend themselves to the conservative point of view are more wary of the word. Simplistically what would a feminist do? A feminist would support the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that was dismissed in Congress, a feminist supports a woman’s right to work outside the home regardless of whether or not she has a family [this is a only an issue that comes up when women choose to work outside the home; men do not face this issue, but should], and finally a feminist should support the right of a woman to run for office, but is not obligated to support the woman’s politics.

Where am I on the Palin issue? I think go right ahead and run for office Sarah, and do it despite the critics saying as a mother of five you should be at home (though if you campaign on motherhood it should be expected). However, I can’t support her politics being pro-choice, pro-fair pay, and just about anti everything that the McCain-Palin ticket is. Clinton on the other hand I say the same thing to: Clinton has the right to run for office, and not be criticized for her family’s indiscretions. I am happy and proud to say I agree on many issues with Hilary, and would have gladly sent her my vote.

Unfortunately, I don’t know much about Palin’s politics just the platform McCain is running on. I haven’t taken the time to go to her webpage and read up on her stance on the issues. I hope to see her interviewed tonight and gain some light on her as a political figure. Though we are probably not going to agree.

In the end, being a woman doesn’t make you a feminist, and being a woman [or a feminist] doesn’t ensure support of other women. I do hope, men, women, and PR representatives alike will remember this.