If You Could Describe The Presidential Candidates as Animals...

Would you describe Hillary Clinton as an "eager beaver" and Barack Obama as "the black stallion" in an article where you urge people to stop seeing the presidential race in terms of gender and color? As Feministe pointed out, WTF? Erica Jong is seriously losing it...

On the plus side, I laughed so hard I almost spit my lunch out on my computer monitor! Thanks Erica...I needed the laugh.

Best Story Graphic EVER!

I get Alternet's daily update on news stories, and today it contained the best story graphic I've ever seen.The story is on the meeting that took place last Sunday in Rep. Jerrold Nadler's district in New York to urge Nadler to begin impeachment proceedings against Cheney. I just wish there were a larger version of the graphic available!

Oooh, thanks to Renee for the tip: more graphics of Cheney as the International Man of Mystery on the Daily Show last night:

Petition to Restore Affordable Birth Control Pill Prices

I signed this petition to restore affordable prices for birth control pills. Please sign and share with others!

If you haven't heard, a loophole in a new federal law caused the price of birth control pills to double or even triple at college and university pharmacies, which is a real problem for college age women, many of whom don't exactly want to explain to their parents that they need help paying for their birth control.

The price has also skyrocketed at over 400 community health centers that primarily serve low income women. One of the most common criticisms of low income families is that they are poor due to their own poor choices, such as having more children than they can afford. Well, if they can't afford birth control, can we blame them?

It's Educational. Really.

I am an animal lover, and I watch a lot of Animal Planet. Which has some new shows featuring male hosts that are knowledgeable, humane animal lovers, and also pretty hot.

There is a new show called "After the Attack". Despite it's grisly name, it really is a good show. The host, Dave Salmoni, is a strapping zoologist who specializes in large animals. He is also a humane accredited provider of trained animals. What I like about the show is that he really does delve into and explain the instincts and circumstances behind animal attacks on humans. For example, an 11 year old girl in Anchorage, Alaska was walking in the woods behind her house. A female moose charged her, knocked her down and trampled her, then ran off. The girl suffered a fractured skull, broken collarbone, and her ear was almost torn off her head. Her father said that female moose had been coming into those woods to give birth to their calves for years. It was likely that the girl stumbled upon a mother and baby, and the mother was protecting her calf. At first I was skeptical, wondering if Salmoni was a pretty face who had no idea what he was actually talking about, but the more I see of him, the more I respect his knowledge of animals, and the way he explains their instincts, dispelling the idea that animals attack because they are just "bad" or vicious. His special "Living With Tigers" was great - he and another zoologist release two young tigers into a wildlife refuge in Africa after teaching them to hunt.

The new show "Escape to Chimp Eden" is bittersweet, but uplifting. Handsome Eugene Cussons is the South African rescue director at the Jane Goodall Institute's Chimpanzee Eden. As one would expect from a facility associated with Jane Goodall, humane methods are used, and the chimps are treated with kindess and respect. It's truly heartwarming to see chimps enjoying the freedom, food, and company of other chimps after living in cages in deplorable conditions.

Check them out. The shows are great for any animal lover, and the hosts are a bonus.

Headline: "If you want more sex, do the dishes"

Don't you love the headline? You'd think that the moment a man put a dish in the sink his wife/girlfriend was shoving him down on the bed because all woman secretly have a fetish for men in rubber gloves and aprons.

Hardly. But what's really the big shocker here? Think about it: in households where men don't pull their weight around the house and the majority of housework falls on the woman, she's going to be more tired, and probably have some resentment toward him because she has to do all the housework, so she will probably be in the mood less often.

In contrast, in households where the house work is shared more equally, I'd think that would make a big difference. I know that for me, one of the quickest ways to kill affection/romantic feelings is a guy who takes it for graned that I am a housemaid and will do all of the cleaning. So yeah...egalitarian guys who share in housework probably do have more sex. Let that serve as an incentive for all of the men who don't pull their weight around the house.

Maryland Wants to Make "Crisis Pregnancy Centers" Tell the Truth

I've lived in Maryland almost all my life. You do occasionally see signs that say "Pregnant? Scared? Call us, we'll help." Those are "crisis pregnancy centers". And no, they don't help. They have staff with no medical training who give women sonograms and spout pro-life propaganda at them, outright lying about contraception and abortion, and pressuring women against terminating their pregnancies, regardless of their situations.

The bill would force such "crisis pregnancy centers" to tell the truth about their mission and the fact that their staff is not qualified to provide sonograms, read sonograms, or provide any reproductive health information, and that they are in fact "pro life"(anti-choice) based organizations.

This article in the Frederick News Post has a great quote:

Delegate Joseph Bartlett, a Frederick County Republican, said the centers should be able to continue to operate normally.

“The premise that we’re going to require these organizations to disclaim that they don’t have to tell the truth is just about the silliest thing I ever heard,” he said. “We certainly don’t do that in the case of politicians, do we?”

So, I wonder how he got into office?

Lots of Stuff to Piss Me Off Today

So here, I'll put them all out there and you all vote on which one is the worst.

1. Arizona just passed a bill that requires minors to "prove by clear and convincing evidence that she is mature enough to get an abortion without her parents' consent". So, if the minor can't prove she's mature enough to have an abortion, then she's forced to have the baby, even though she's too immature to have an abortion...
   
   
2. The Washington Post runs an op-ed by a misogynist woman about how dumb women are. The Post later says the piece was "tongue in cheek", which the author denied in an online chat yesterday.
   
   
3. Chicago sex therapist Laura Berman advises couples to "Try traditional gender roles: Men may become more sexually assertive if they feel more in control, and women may feel more desire for a mate with newfound machismo. "You don't have to get his slippers," explains Berman. "You just have to give him some control." She suggests a date where the man chooses everything -- her clothes, the restaurant, the food -- as a starting point." Yet she doesn't say what the woman should do about the involuntary vomiting that may begin immediately after reading that craptastic advice.
   
   
4. The NY Times runs an article about what huge fucking liars women are. No mention of men.

How Does He Dress Himself Every Day?

If he is THIS STUPID???

Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”

Q: “I mean, I think you’d probably agree it probably does help stop it?”

Mr. McCain: (Laughs) “You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception..."

Q: “But you would agree that condoms do stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Would you say: ‘No, we’re not going to distribute them,’ knowing that?”

Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) “Get me Coburn’s thing, ask Weaver to get me Coburn’s paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I’ve never gotten into these issues before.”

This went on for a few more moments until a reporter from the Chicago Tribune broke in and asked Mr. McCain about the weight of a pig that he saw at the Iowa State Fair last year.

Well, I suppose someone had to change the subject. Me, I would have let him twist in the wind and made sure the entire thing was videotaped.

Finally!

My doctor called me back this morning about the Nuva Ring. I told her what happened, and she said that was very unusual. I guess the majority of women who use the Nuva Ring don't have problems with it sliding down, but if you look at the online reviews, there are women who have that problem.

Anyway, she said she would be fine with doing a tubal ligation for me, but she wanted me to wait 3 months (which is better than the 6 months she previously said!) and then come in and talk to her about getting it done. In the meantime I'm thinking of using the sponge. My doctor said I should use it with a condom. Hmmm. Well, it's only for three months!