Santorum's War on Industry

Sometimes, I feel like I went to sleep and woke up in the 1970s. This has been happening more and more lately. First with discussions on birth control as though it is up for debate, and now Dworkin like discussions on porn. Of course when the Republican candidates are involved there is less coherent arguments.

Naturally, Santorum is promising to rid the nation of porn.

“America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography. It contributes to misogyny and violence against women. It is a contributing factor to prostitution and sex trafficking,” the former Pennsylvania senator wrote in a statement posted on his campaign website.

I guess, this is the next target on Santorum's list of things to alienate people and pander to the conservative right.

“Current federal ‘obscenity’ laws prohibit distribution of hardcore (obscene) pornography on the Internet, on cable/satellite TV, on hotel/motel TV, in retail shops and through the mail or by common carrier,” Santorum wrote in the statement, adding that these laws should be “vigorously enforced.”

"Vigorously enforced." Well, I don't know about that. Additionally, Obama isn't doing enough to be tough on porn. I'm guessing because he realizes how well the industry is doing. A writer for the Chicago Tribune, Steve Chapman argues Santorum doesn't know what he's talking about,

"Santorum doesn't seem to notice that as porn has become ever-more available via the Internet, the prevalence of rape has plunged. Since 1991, the national rate has fallen by 86 percent -- compared to a decline in overall violent crime of 65 percent," Chapman wrote.

Which is true!. Porn is an ever growing billion dollar industry. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/16/rick-santorum-war-on-porn_n_1353383.html

Unbreakable: A truly amazing project

Project Unbreakable is a project that allows victims of sexual abuse to empower themselves through the language used while victimizing them. Grace Brown, a student at The School of Visual Arts in New York, thought of this project in October after a friend confessed that she had been sexually assaulted. This wasn't the first time someone disclosed to her, and as it turns out not the last time either. 


The next morning Brown had an idea of how to deal with these sexual assaults while empowering the victims. She asked participants to write words that their attackers had used on cardboard and photographs them aiming to diffuse the strength of the words and assist in the healing process. 


Brown said: 

"It's not something that you really think about. A survivor can tell their story of abuse to someone but the words are never really said," she said. "They bury themselves in a pit in their stomach and then it's forgotten about. You realise this is something a human said to another human; it's very important that they not hold onto those words because they are incredibly powerful."

After 5 months, survivors from around the world are uploading their own photographs to the website in addition to the subjects Brown shoots. 


Ashley Ray, one of the subjects described the photo as freeing: 

"Taking the picture was like ripping off a band-aid. I barely even remember it. Afterwards I felt emotionally drained but there was a weight lifted off of me," she said. "I had a panic attack the first time I saw my picture in print. But after working through that, I'm in a place where I can feel proud to be part of something that has healed me and is healing others. I'm truly grateful every time I see that picture. It's a piece of me that is no longer hiding in shame and guilt. It's a beautiful scar."

I don't even know where to begin with the amount of amazing this project is. I wasted quite a bit of time on the site, trying to read everything that was posted. 

Comic Review: Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks

To be fair, I should explain that after reading this book in an hour, I bought all Hicks' other books. They will arrive tomorrow, and I will be radio silent until I finish them, which if this one was any indication will be by the evening.

So, the book is about a girl starting her first day of real high school, after being home schooled by her mother. She has three older brothers all, already attending school, and having their own melodramas. They are dealing with their mother's abandonment and their father's promotion, while being teenager. Personally, I found the conversation about the dynamics of being twins particularly interesting and spot on. Oh, and what makes the girl so special? She's haunted. However, the ghost hasn't been a round much lately, which seems to coincide with her mother's departure. The one-sided conversations between Maggie and the ghost are excellent, and demonstrate the complex and often contradictory emotion responses teenagers have.  The oldest brother Daniel acts as the guide for Maggie throughout much of the book, but also proves to be all the more realistic when he is unable to put aside old prejudices. The boys ability to move on from some thing with just a head nod will resonate with anyone who has ever seen this in action. Finally, there is a clever humor throughout the entire book.

After a bit, Maggie makes two friends, but her brothers are not impressed. And the adventure begins...

I love the art and the story telling. I'm giving Friends with Boys a solid 4.5/5.

Come at us, bro...

Mitt Romney is a bro, you can tell by his general lack of self-awareness and inability to learn.

The Planned Parenthood raised $3 million dollars quickly when Susan G Komen threatened to cease funding them. So Romney being the genius he is, is now promising to defund the Planned Parenthood to balance the budget. You'd think a robot would be better at math (is that kind to robots?). Apparently, Romney wants to be the first President elected without any votes from women since the 19th amendment was passed.

You want a generalizable statement about all women: Women don't like it when men say their health isn't important. Women are people. How about another? Poor people don't like it when you cut off services.

I'm just ridiculously angry by the lack of awareness from these assholes. How many stories have come out in the past 2 weeks about the number of women fleeing the GOP? White men alone can not elect you to office.

The pandering to the right-wing lunatic fringe needs to end, and if they aren't the fringe than I'm asking for plague for Christmas. I've been fearful that Santorum, in all his idiocy would be elected, but apparently, we have to watch out for this asshole, too.

Let's cut benefits for white guys. Goodbye social security, workers comp, and pensions. I know a lot of this is under fire for poor people, but I'm saying we should toss it out for anyone who holds public office or is running for it, they shouldn't get any benefits or pay. They should get a modest stipend from campaign funds and anything more should be considered misuse of funds and they should be liable. More so, anyone who hold public office or runs for public office should have to sign a contract with their (potential) constituents that allows us to sanction their pay for a job poorly done. Treat these bastards the way they do welfare mothers, and see how they like being second class citizens.

I am a whole person. I vote.

The International Sex Work Rescue Industry

When I think of Thailand, I think of sex work. I've read about sex workers who are abused, those choosing to perform sex work, and those living in "rescue homes." Last year, there were a series of articles sex workers being rescued and then raped in rescue workers' custody. The truth is there is a lot of money to be made in "rescuing" sex workers, even those who do not wish to be rescued. 


In Thailand, the Empower Foundation has worked to obtain rights for sex workers. No more pimps or mamasans, and less physical abuse. That being said the rescue industry is still in full swing. The Empower  Foundation's director, Chantawipa Apisuk, released a report entitled "Hit & Run: Sex Workers' Research on Anti-trafficking in Thailand."Apisuk asserts:  

We have now reached a point in history where there are more women in the Thai sex industry being abused by anti-trafficking practices than there are women exploited by traffickers.

She continues to argue that those agencies working to "help" sex workers are going too far to enforce the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act. 


The Empower Foundation has worked to provide sex workers with tools and networks needed to get rid of pimps and make the work environment safer. They have designated work places.  There are more than 20,000 sex workers who use Empower's contact points in 11 provinces in Thailand. Empower has successfully worked to make sex work a semi-legitimate profession. However, sex work is still criminalized and workers and clients are treated accordingly. Legislation framing sex workers as victims aren't very useful either. 


The "Hit & Run" report aimed to assess sex work as a profession: 

The "Hit & Run" report is an effort to assess the state of the profession. More than 200 sex workers helped the foundation conduct a survey over the course of 12 months, in bars, restaurants and brothels across the county and even into Burma and Laos.
"We trained them in legal rights," Chantawipa said, although some were already university graduates and several even had law degrees. "We call them our 'high-heeled human-rights defenders'."

The first training was done over a 12 month period, were 23 sex workers were trained including men, women, and transgender people. The survey determined that 50,000+ sex workers had been involved in Empower from it's benign, and most were immigrants from Laos, Burma, China, and Cambodia. Migration was noted as part of the "culture of sex work."


One sex worker with 7 years experience claims:

We're better off there than taking a risk waiting around on the street. If better choices are available, then naturally we choose them.

Migrant sex workers have been picked up under the anti-trafficking laws and sent back to their countries of origin even if they had traveled of their own volition. Often being sent back to their families empty-handed instead of being able to make new lives. After being deported some of the workers try to come back only to end up with debt they previously lacked. 


Empower is trying to get the government to recognize that trafficking and sex work are not the same. The anti-trafficking law undercuts women's efforts in the areas of sex work. Instead the government must recognize that sex workers are not always criminals or victims. 


Empower's survey found the following:

Empower's survey has determined that:
- Today's sex worker provides enough income to take good care of the family.
- Their workplace - usually an evening entertainment venue - has regulations, covering work schedule and monthly salary paid according to skill level. Thus, sex workers are employees.
- Gone, for the most part, are the days of random arrest, regular violence, pimps, the prostitution mafia and the "green harvest", when girls are recruited upcountry. In their place are helpful "older brothers" - the motorcycle-taxi or tuk-tuk driver, the bar manager.
- Sex workers now have hi-tech tools like smart phones and the Internet, and they're also skilled at using them.

Time for something new? Probably, but the US still does it's report on human trafficking with the emphasis on sex work even when the numbers of trafficked persons for sex work are substantially lower than other forms of forced labor. 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Sex-trade-not-traffic-30177322.html

Why is this necessary? A literary rant about an erotic novel

First let's address the phrase "Mommy Porn." Legitimately, at least this time it isn't images of men doing housework, but actually something sexual specifically erotica. Erotica is probably as old as the written word. Honestly, I've never had anything against erotica; I haven't read much of it mostly just Ana Nin.  However, it is essentially, porn's equivalent in literature: some is really good and some is really bad. Of course, exploitation, racism, and sexism are rampant just about everywhere, with traditional notions of beauty and normalcy.

Now, for the actual discussion: 50 Shades of Grey is a soft core BDSM novel that has been making serious waves in New York. The author, E.L. James wrote this and two sequels after getting into Twilight  (I know you can see where I am going with this). Actually, the novel started as "fan fiction," which is a dangerous statement to make given it would open James up to litigation from Meyer and her publishers. So essentially, the books are being billed as Twilight for grown-ups sans scifi, down to the location in the Pacific Northwest, I wonder if there will be some kind of racialized violent other boyfriend. A young literature student (virgin, which always seems so important) takes up with a wealthy millionaire, but he has some dark sexual proclivities.

This is a BDSM novel of course so Mr. Rich Guy (which I guess is all the character development you need, but we'll call him the Hero) is a Dom and wants Virgin Girl (and her Heroine) as a Sub. So our Heroine has to deal with conflicting feels about the submissive sex and our Hero's feelings on relationships. I'm sure there is a lot of inner monologue on this, just thinking about it makes me want to put a screwdriver through my ear. Their relationship goes back and forth, etc, but seems to missing the communication aspect that is needed in Dom/Sub relationships.

The reviews are mixed. On Amazon, a gynecologist questioned the practicality of the sex being described. Some readers found the writing poor, but felt that a book discussing "alternative sexualities" making waves was worth the poor writing. Of course, some loved it and others hated it. Thus far, it has 16,000 reviews on Goodreads. The majority of the sales (90%) are e-books, which adds to the secrecy of the novel and perhaps the allure?

Also, there seems to be a buzz surrounding the novel about bring BDSM into the mainstream, but if the Secretary didn't then I'm not sure anything can. The Heroine isn't allow to eat or masturbate without the Hero's approval. He gets her off with a whip and a lot of role-play. That being said the relationship is monogamous and respectful outside of the predetermined sexual aspects; they even have a contract, which is pretty standard in these relationship.

So my thoughts are really surrounding the idea that this started from Twilight. There are few healthy relationships in Twilight, and the misconception that submissives are that way constantly is just wrong. I'm worried we have an Edward grooming a passive Bella, who can't manage declarative sentences, e.i a relationship full of the same manipulations we see in Twilight. Additionally, it would be interesting to see a study of the women reading this book and their views on sexuality give the puritanical views held by a lot of US citizens when it comes to sex. I'm not sure I want to read this. I am sure I don't want to pay the asking price. My assumptions based on reviews is that it will be poorly written and pretty trite.



http://jezebel.com/5892524/is-the-bestselling-mommy-porn-book-worth-the-hype
http://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Shades-Grey-E-James/dp/1612130283/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331583370&sr=8-1http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/mamma_mia_TFCh9ZeqKU7QpYDnH2npoL#ixzz1ovT33QMC

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/business/media/an-erotic-novel-50-shades-of-grey-goes-viral-with-women.html?_r=2

Red Cross Still on Strike in Ohio

Red Cross workers in northeast Ohio are still on strike (yeah, that's my neck of the woods). 200 blood collection technicians and other workers are frustrated while management refuses to come to the table. They haven't had a contract for almost a year (in May). They are part of Teamsters Local 507, and went on strike February 14 because of worker safety, working conditions, pay, and health insurance.

This affects 19 counties and 57 hospitals in Northeastern Ohio.

So essentially, they are understaffed, and employees taking the job seriously as to not "cut corners" has led to longer donor wait time. The staff has 12-14 hour days, which can result in wariness and less attention to detail. Workers have had a pay freeze since 2010, which makes the 400% increase in health insurance costs equate to a pay cut.

Of course, the workers are wary of bring their fight to the public because of fear of being attached to the attacks.  90% of the workers who began the strike 3 weeks ago are still out. The Red Cross is staying open with shortened hours and fewer blood drives staffed by supervisors and people crossing the picket line. They are nowhere near their normal collection go 800-900 pints of blood per day.

Of course, workers look bad for striking because the Red Cross does some great work. Arrangements were made before the strike to procure blood from other regions if necessary, but that doesn't stop the Red Cross from talking up a potential blood shortage. Despite being a non-profit, the Red Cross makes millions selling blood to hospitals. The expectation is that if more people were aware of how the Red Cross operates then there would be more public support. Youngstown workers were joined by Teamsters last Saturday.

However, the under staffing and benefit cuts are not going away anytime soon for the Red Cross. 7 unions coordinated the 6 state Red Cross strike in 2010, where 1,200 workers walked out. Last year, workers in New Jersey struck for similar demands. Ohio Red Cross workers refuse to go back to work to the same conditions they left, and the longer the strike goes on the more likely it is to continue. At least that is the optimism from the Labor Notes article. I'm never that optimistic. I hope they win though, and that there is more organization for a full on strike if needed.


http://labornotes.org/blogs/2012/03/red-cross-strike-management-squeezes-last-drop-blood

What exactly is attempted feticide and murder?

Next week Bei Bei Shuai will have spent a full year jailed in Marion County, Indiana. She is being prosecuted for attempted feticide and murder. And if you're like me, you're thinking, well what's take? Attempting suicide while pregnant. 


Briefly, Shuai was working in Indianapolis with her boyfriend, Zhiliang Guan, and they were 8 months pregnant. He then told her that he was married and had another family, and he was going back to them. She begged him to stay, and in response he threw money at her [stay classy, tool]. She then took rat poison and wrote a letter in Mandarin saying she and her baby were going to hell or specifically, "take this baby with me to Hades." Her friends were able to rush her to the hospital where she was saved and her baby, Angel, was delivered 8 days later. Angel then died of a cerebral hemorrhage within four days. 


Three months later, prosecutor, Terry Curry (D.) brought charges against Shuai claiming the rat poison could have killed her baby. If convented, she could get 45 to 65 years in prison. 


So very much wrong with this...

• Suicide is the result of mental illness, depression, and emotional distress. Anyone considering suicide needs compassion and treatment regardless of if they have an occupied uterus. 

But if Shuai is convicted, what pregnant woman will seek help? “Every major medical and public health organization that has considered the issue has concluded that it is dangerous for maternal and fetal health to hold women criminally liable for their pregnancy outcomes,” says Emma Ketteringham, director of legal advocacy for National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW), which is co-counsel to Shuai’s defense. 

• But we're more and more likely to punish women for their behavior while pregnant. 38 states have declared the fetus (the embryo or fertilized egg) a separate victim in cases of homicide. Now, that is supposed to be to protect the mothers from violence specifically abusive partners, not the women themselves. 

But that is what has happened, as the antiabortion forces have gained power. “The prosecution’s legal arguments are exactly based on legal arguments behind the personhood measures now moving through the states,” Lynn Paltrow, executive director of NAPW, told me by phone. “They treat the fetus as completely separate within the pregnant woman. How can you be separate and within?”

So yeah, we all know the danger here pertaining to the anti-choice agenda. However, these personhood laws also mean women could be charged for all conduct during pregnancy if the prosecutors think that behavior could result in a bad outcome. Now, remember 15-20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, 1% end in stillbirth, and 19,000 end in neonatal death. 

Women could be arrested for miscarriage if someone thinks their behavior lead to it. 60 women in Alabama have been charged for harming their fetuses, the article implies because of their drug use. 

A woman could be charged for attempted murder if she attempted suicide when still eligible for an abortion or even before she knows she's pregnant. 

Shuai was granted bail on appeal, which might be the first time a defendant in a murder case in Indiana has won that in a 100 years. The court of appeals refused to dismiss the case. Currently, Shuai remains in jail. 

The ramifications of something like this are seriously disturbing. Women could be charged for miscarriages. Yeah, people shouldn't do drugs because they are illegal, but what about smoking and drinking? I know lots of women who didn't realize they were pregnant right away. This is just crazy. Also, the article doesn't mention anything about mental health services being made available for Shuai, which I imagine she needs right now. 

http://www.thenation.com/article/166664/protect-pregnant-women-free-bei-bei-shuai

"Do we hate our women?"

So I thought it would be interesting to juxtapose Tupac's "Keep Ya Head Up" with a timeline of GOP douchebaggery for the year from the Huffington Post. 

And now for Tupac:

International Women's Day

So, today is International Women's Day, mazel tov.

I could pull together a list of all of our losses or the legal actions taken against women in the past year, but that would make me want to punch myself in the face, and I want to celebrate women. However, that is proving to be more difficult than I initially thought. That being said, I want to draw attention to the US Service women suing the US military for sexual assault and harassment. First, let me say these women deserve our respect and admiration for enduring all of this. Secondly, this has international implications because at times these individuals were deployed, and the idea that we're sending rapists out to police the world is revolting.

To summarize, 8 current and former members of the US military have filed a federal lawsuit that they were raped, assaulted, or harassed during their service and were retaliated against when they reported these incidents to their superiors. This lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, here in Washington, DC. The suit specifically claims the military has "high tolerance for sexual predators in their ranks" and of fostering a hostile environment, which acts to discourage victims from coming forward and punishes them when they do. The suit claims the Defense Department has failed to take strong enough steps to confront this problem.

The 8 women include an active-duty Marine and 7 veterans of the Navy and Marine Corps. 7 of the women allege they were victims of rape or attempted rape by a comrade. 1 claims she was harassed and threatened with deployment overseas, she was also told by a superior that "this happens all the time."

Naturally, the women are citing a host of traditional trauma and stress disordered stemming from the assaults. 1 woman even attempted suicide after her assault in her home by a senior officer and his civilian friend. The suit names as defendants present and past military leaders including the Defense Secretary and those previously holding that post.

Cynthia Smith, Defense Department spokeswoman, refuses to discuss the litigation, but echoes the military no tolerance policy on sexual assault, this policy says service members who report sexual assault have the option of transferring their unit (which based on my research doesn't work). Additionally, the Defense Department has increased funding for investigators and judge advocates to receive specialized truing in sexual assault cases, creation of a data system tracking sexual assaults, and reviewing how commanding officers are trained to prevent and respond to rape.

Lt. Cmdr. Alana Garas, the Navy spokeswoman, says the navy have developed an education and truing program on sexual assault reporting. (Anyone else, wondering why they are parading out the women as spokespeople in this case? No one, didn't think so.)

The victims were told to toughen up, not to have rape kits performed, in addition to the other forms of intimidation and just douchebaggery.

Goodbye Dennis

Dennis Kucinich has been my representative, well as long as I can remember. I grew up with the legend of the boy mayor who stood up to the banks, which lost him his position. I've had issues with his politics along the way, of course. I've been frustrated by the politics he plays, and like every other politician sometimes I wanted to and did remind him of who he represented.  All that being said, Dennis was a progressive, a leftist, and he will be missed in the House.

Marcy Kaptur won last night. Dennis and Marcy represented two very different populations in Cleveland that were forced into one district, District 9 (fitting in a way, because Ohio Republicans were trying to force two very progressive areas into one to isolate the votes). Marcy is also a progressive though not the way Dennis is.  Unfortunately, the campaign got kind of ugly, which is probably the most difficult for me to understand because I expected so much more from these two. I would have assumed that two people who were interviewed together and described one another as friends would have been able to run against one another with a little decorum, but I guess not.

In the end I was pro-Dennis, despite his short-comings. He was the one I knew. He tried to save our schools, and I'm sure Marcy did the same kind of things for her district and constituents. But Dennis took it upon himself to keep Democrats honest, and that is needed.

We're going to have to see how this plays out. A few things are for sure:
1. Marcy is anti-choice. Given the attacks on women in Ohio and nationally, this could be very bad.
2. Dennis will be back. I mean he comeback after a humiliating defeat after he was Mayor, you can't keep this man down. However, Representative Kucinich could come back as anything at this point.

Cleveland Rocks

Those of you not from Cleveland might need to be sold on this point, but let's be honest for a moment, it does. Cleveland is awesome, in a way people from other places (other than Detroit and Pittsburgh [god, forgive me]) don't really understand. I'm a Cleveland sports fan, and not a fair weather fan. I liked the Cavs when Mark Price played, and while baseball has never been my sport 1995 was a great year for the Indians. But more importantly, you can't grow up here and not care. Because any Clevelander will tell you that it is a rebuilding year, decade, half century when talking Browns; then laugh about it. 


Last year, I took an Urban Sociology course. It was taught by a man from Collinwood (what!) and the man who taught the course before him hailed from Cleveland's East side as well. So naturally the course focused on urban areas, urban sprawl, and deindustrialization. It was pretty cool. We had an interesting assignment and read several books on public financing for stadiums, and what I feel are inherit problems with that system. However, what was the most interesting was the relationship between poor cities (i.e. poor people) and "their" teams. 


That being said, the Cavs have pulled their advertising support from Limbaugh. The article I read mentioned a few interesting things about the potential ramifications of this:

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert announced on Twiiter Friday his Quicken Loans company—which also has naming rights on the Cavs' arena—would be pulling its ads from Limbaugh's show immediately. It gets more interesting, though, when you consider the Cavs' flagship radio station is WTAM 1100—which is Cleveland's Home For Rush Limbaugh.

Additionally, the Cavs are suspending all advertising:

That Cleveland Cavaliers have decided to suspend any and all on-air advertising with the Rush Limbaugh radio program, citing "inflammatory comments" coupled with valuable feedback from both clients and team employees. 

Epic. 

Smile

One dead so far in Ohio

This morning there was a school shooting in Chardon, Ohio.  One gunman opened fire in the high school cafeteria.  Thus far, one student was killed and four others were wounded.  The student believed to be responsible was arrested.

Chardon High School has about 1,100 students.  Reports put the shooting at about 7:30am, when the students heard gun fire they began running out of the cafeteria trying to exit the school.  The five students were taken to Cleveland area hospitals, where one died.  They are not releasing the suspect's name yet because he is a minor. The wounded students' conditions have not been released.  All classes in the district were canceled.

No one is talking motive thus far, but some of my more conservative friends out of Ohio are already worried about their guns (head slap).

I know, when I hear someone was shot and killed for what could come down (and probably does) bullying, I worry about my guns (nope not really). I kind of thought we were past gun violence like this in schools. I always find it interesting that these kinds of school shootings highlight the vast difference between gun violence in rural schools and urban schools. Chardon is almost 97% white, so we're talking gun violence and one lone kid who will be vilified I'm sure (not saying he shouldn't be use saying this will have little to do with motive or guilt just someone to blame because in the Midwest that's how we roll).  When violence happens in black schools, well that's just the way it is, and no media coverage is necessary.  So naturally, I can't even find gun violence in school statistics broken down by race, these activists groups do break them down by gender though. Below is the closets I could find and it's still not what I want because it is from 2007 and about feeling afraid in school.

Percentage of Students Who Feel Afraid at School or on the Way to School, By Ethnicity

Additionally, I'm having trouble finding any articles on a national scale that discuss violence in urban schools that get this kind of attention. 

Update: 3 of the five wounded are dead. 

Ok, so I've never really knew where I stood on a man's involvement in the abortion process...

I mean I want to involve them. Theoretically, any dude who knocked me up would be progressive enough to have the conversation about abortion without the expectation that I'd have to do what he says.  That being said, I'm not even sure I'd tell him, I mean if I got pregnant tomorrow, I know I can't support a baby or any of that. I also know I'm not a healthy person, so this isn't even a good incubation system.  I'm also not in a relationship. Who wants to make that call, "Hey, I know we hooked up once, but hey I'm preggers. I'm going to have an abortion. Have an opinion?" Why even have that conversation?

However, Arizona Republican Trent Franks wants that conversation.  They passed a bill out of committee called PreNDA, which addresses the problem of sex and race-selective abortion, which doesn't really exist.  But you know Republicans, constantly addressing problems that don't exist.  This law isn't really about protecting the unborn, but rather making sure men have control over women's bodies on a local level opposed to the state and federal level we are looking at in other places around the nation.

Jezebel likens it to a Men's Rights Manifesto, and they're not wrong:

(2) CIVIL ACTION BY RELATIVES- The father of an unborn child who is the subject of an abortion performed or attempted in violation of subsection (a), or a maternal grandparent of the unborn child if the pregnant woman is an unemancipated minor, may in a civil action against any person who engaged in the violation, obtain appropriate relief, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion.(3) APPROPRIATE RELIEF- Appropriate relief in a civil action under this subsection includes—(A) objectively verifiable money damages for all injuries, psychological and physical, including loss of companionship and support, occasioned by the violation of this section; and(B) punitive damages.(4) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF-(A) IN GENERAL- A qualified plaintiff may in a civil action obtain injunctive relief to prevent an abortion provider from performing or attempting further abortions in violation of this section.(B) DEFINITION- In this paragraph the term `qualified plaintiff' means—(i) a woman upon whom an abortion is performed or attempted in violation of this section;(ii) any person who is the spouse or parent of a woman upon whom an abortion is performed in violation of this section; or(iii) the Attorney General.

So, partners or the parents of an underage woman could prevent an abortion and force a woman to remain pregnant by charging her with seeking an abortion based on race or sex without any basis in reality. The longer this discussion of whether the woman is trying to abort based on race or sex the more expensive the procedure becomes.  So if the judge doesn't think the woman is aborting because she hates girls or is racist, the woman could be priced out of an abortion or god forbid be in the third-trimester.  Additionally, if a woman obtains an abortion anyway without the court's ruling, she can be sued.  Yes, sued. By the grandparents or partner for depriving them of a child.  

So, to summarize: men are passing laws to allow a man to sue a woman for refusing to carry their child to term, or a woman's parents would be able to file an injunction to keep their teenage daughter pregnant (even an emancipated one). All of this under the guise of "civil rights." So my body, not my choice? Everyone else gets an opinion, but me. This is really crazy. 

No Girls Allowed?

Three Democrats walked out of a House Oversight and Government Reform hearing this morning on religious liberty and the use of birth control to protest Chairman Darrell Issa's (R.-CA) refusal to allow a progressive woman to testify in favor of the Obama administration's contraception rule.  See image above, these were the men on the panel all from conservative religious organizations.

Women were suspiciously left out of the panel, but that must be because it isn't about birth control. The three members who left were Carolyn Maloney (D.-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.-DC), and Mike Quigley (D.-IL). There were 10 witnesses testifying during the hearing, but none of them are in favor of the Obama administration's birth control rule and only a few are women.  Barry Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, was noted as a witness, but will not be testifying, intend he will be submitting written testimony.

Democrat tried to invite a young woman to testify, but they were blocked by Republicans.

I think the real question is why would we have thought that women should be involved in discussions regarding birth control? I mean, trust women? Please. If they could handle anything they wouldn't be under constant attack.  I'm simply amazed by the crazy that is happening.  Really, this is happening in 2012?

http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/02/16/house-oversight-democrats-told-birth-control-access-hearing-not-about-reproductive-rights/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/16/contraception-hearing-house-democrats-walk-out_n_1281730.html
http://www.thenation.com/node/166311
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/02/16/426850/democratic-women-boycott-issas-contraception-hearing-for-preventing-women-from-testifying/

Personhood Passes in Oklahoma, and surprises no one

The Oklahoma Senate approved a personhood bill declaring life begins at conception.  The vote came down on Wednesday and upset physicians who think the new law will jeopardize reproductive medicine, because it will.  The bill is now going into the House, where it is expected to pass.  The Governor, Mary Fallin (R.) won't discuss pending legislation, but has described herself as "pro-life." The bill grants all the embryos and fetuses with "all the rights, privileges, and immunities" of other citizens. The Republicans claim it is modeled after a 1968 Missouri law that was deemed constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Naturally, the Oklahoma State Medical Association opposes the bill because it may affect reproductive medicine and bans come forms of birth control.

Anyone else getting really concerned about all these personhood bills? Because there is at least one more set to pass this week or the next.  This is insane.  I'm actually not up for a lengthy discussion on this because how many times can you say this is bat-shit crazy.

Happy Valentine's Day, Virginia would like embryos to be people now.

I know, I wasn't going to post today because I'm going to celebrate a holiday that justifies my obsession with rom-coms and chocolate, but then Virginia gains some traction in this embryos are people too debate.

Yesterday, the Virginia House of Delegates advanced a personhood bill that gives legal rights to a fertilized human egg, but they rejected the amendment that ensured contraception remain legal once the bill goes into effect.  Yes you read that right, embryos are people, contraception may not be allowed.

Delegate Bob Marshall (R-Prince William) defined the word personhood as the moment of fertilization in the Code of Virginia. Marshall has been pushing for a bill like this for 20 years, and promises that the bill will not "directly" affect contraception or abortion.  It just provides the legal framework for mothers to sue if anything happens to their unborn baby (hide under the beds doctors and healthcare providers).

I'm pretty sure when they rejected the amendment that protects contraception they were telling you what they think of it.  Personhood bills are being considered in at least 12 other states as ballot measures or bills.  These would lead to a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.  I think we should remember that Mississippi rejected a personhood measure because of how it complicated the legality of stem cell research, in vitro, abortion, and some birth control.

Remember the good old days when conservatives just wanted to take away abortion?  Is it wrong to miss that?

I'll once again go over my argument against personhood: it only counts as a person if it isn't female, gay, or brown. Then this whole legal protects thing goes out the window.  Because women, gays, and minority groups find themselves fighting for legal rights all the time.  I say make these little parasites fight for themselves too.

Finally, I reserve the right to kill anything inside me without my consent.  It seems fair.

The Anti-Choice and Pro-Women Compromise

So apparently, I'm the only one expecting the worst here.  Alright, first the compromise, which after a heated Facebook argument with a friend of mine we've boiled the new announcement down to:

1. religious groups get to keep their freedom and not cover birth control
2. insurance companies will cover the birth control so women don't have to pay out of pocket
3. this is better than the alternative for insurance companies because it is cheaper for them
3. and rainbows and sunshine will shoot out of my ass.

At the end of our conversation, we understood a few things about each other.  Including, I'm never optimistic, and he was unaware that 28 states were in favor of this measure to begin with.  My prediction is that this will become a states' rights issue when the insurance companies fight the measure in state courts, claiming that it violates their rights and is somehow unconstitutional.  After they win in the 22 states that hate women, nothing will have changed. Compromise, feel it, hate it.  I had to point to that the states that weren't in favor of the measure aren't going to be the second time around.  Additionally, these are the states that protect a pharmacist's right to deny contraception to women already...so nothing changes.

Now, it is totally possible for all this to work out, and I'm just being a Debbie Downer after one to many times women have been thrown under the bus, but I've promised to wait and see.

No campaign slogan: No Change. Vote Obama.

Cleveland Rocks: Case Western Reserve

Case Western Reserve announced that the neuroscience faculty has made a breakthrough in Alzheimer research.  Professor Gary Landreth and his team found a cancer drug can quickly reverse Alzheimer's symptoms in animal models.  Within 72 of receiving the medication, the number of plaque deposits closely associate with Alzheimer's are cut in half.  Additionally, it saw signs of the cognitive and memory deficits disappear in the same time.

The full press release is below. I'm very excited about this.  Hopefully, it will be successful.

Drug Quickly Reverses Alzheimer's Symptoms in Mice
Case Western Reserve Researchers Discover FDA-approved Drug Rapidly Clears Amyloid from the Brain and Reverses Cognitive Defects

CLEVELAND – Feb. 9, 2012 – Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, show that use of a drug in mice appears to quickly reverse the pathological, cognitive and memory deficits caused by the onset of Alzheimer's. The results point to the significant potential that the medication, bexarotene, has to help the roughly 5.4 million Americans suffering from the progressive brain disease. 

Bexarotene has been approved for the treatment of cancer by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more than a decade. These experiments explored whether the medication might also be used to help patients with Alzheimer's disease, and the results were more than promising.

Alzheimer's disease arises in large part from the body's inability to clear naturally-occurring amyloid beta from the brain. In 2008 Case Western Reserve researcher Gary Landreth, PhD, professor of neurosciences, discovered that the main cholesterol carrier in the brain, Apolipoprotein E (ApoE), facilitated the clearance of the amyloid beta proteins. Landreth, a professor of neurosciences in the university's medical school, is the senior author of this study as well.

Landreth and his colleagues chose to explore the effectiveness of bexarotene for increasing ApoE expression. The elevation of brain ApoE levels, in turn, speeds the clearance of amyloid beta from the brain. Bexarotene acts by stimulating retinoid X receptors (RXR), which control how much ApoE is produced.

In particular, the researchers were struck by the speed with which bexarotene improved memory deficits and behavior even as it also acted to reverse the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. The present view of the scientific community is that small soluble forms of amyloid beta cause the memory impairments seen in animal models and humans with the disease. Within six hours of administering bexarotene, however, soluble amyloid levels fell by 25 percent; even more impressive, the effect lasted as long as three days. Finally, this shift was correlated with rapid improvement in a broad range of behaviors in three different mouse models of Alzheimer's.

One example of the improved behaviors involved the typical nesting instinct of the mice. When Alzheimer's-diseased mice encountered material suited for nesting – in this case, tissue paper – they did nothing to create a space to nest. This reaction demonstrated that they had lost the ability to associate the tissue paper with the opportunity to nest. Just 72 hours after the bexarotene treatment, however, the mice began to use the paper to make nests. Administration of the drug also improved the ability of the mice to sense and respond to odors.

Bexarotene treatment also worked quickly to stimulate the removal of amyloid plaques from the brain. The plaques are compacted aggregates of amyloid that form in the brain and are the pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found that more than half of the plaques had been cleared within 72 hours. Ultimately, the reduction totaled 75 percent. It appears that the bexarotene reprogrammed the brain's immune cells to "eat" or phagocytose the amyloid deposits. This observation demonstrated that the drug addresses the amount of both soluble and deposited forms of amyloid beta within the brain and reverses the pathological features of the disease in mice.

This study identifies a link between the primary genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and a potential therapy to address it. Humans have three forms of ApoE: ApoE2, ApoE3, and ApoE4. Possession of the ApoE4 gene greatly increases the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease. Previously, the Landreth laboratory had shown that this form of ApoE was impaired in its ability of clear amyloid. The new work suggests that elevation of ApoE levels in the brain may be an effective therapeutic strategy to clear the forms of amyloid associated with impaired memory and cognition.

"This is an unprecedented finding," says Paige Cramer, PhD candidate at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and first author of the study. "Previously, the best existing treatment for Alzheimer's disease in mice required several months to reduce plaque in the brain."

Added Professor Landreth: "This is a particularly exciting and rewarding study because of the new science we have discovered and the potential promise of a therapy for Alzheimer's disease. We need to be clear; the drug works quite well in mouse models of the disease. Our next objective is to ascertain if it acts similarly in humans. We are at an early stage in translating this basic science discovery into a treatment."

Daniel Wesson, PhD, assistant professor of neurosciences at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and co-author of the study agreed.

"Many often think of Alzheimer's as a problem of remembering and learning, but the prevalent reality is this disease spreads throughout the brain, resulting in serious insults to numerous functions," he said. "The results of this study, showing the preservation of behaviors across a wide spectrum, and accompanying brain function, are tremendously exciting and suggest great promise in the utility of this approach in treatment of Alzheimer's disease."

Bexarotene has a good safety and side-effect profile. The Case Western Reserve researchers hope these attributes will help speed the transition to clinical trials of the drug.

Professor Landreth said modest resources funded this self-described "far-fetched idea." Crucial support came from the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Foundation, the Thome Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.

The Science study was co-authored by John R. Cirrito, Jessica L. Restivo, Whitney D. Goebel, Washington University School of Medicine; C.Y. Daniel Lee, Colleen Karlo, Adriana E. Zinn, Brad T. Casali, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; Donald A. Wilson, New York University School of Medicine, and Michael J. James, Kurt R. Brunden, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.