Bush Still Trying to Sneak in "Conscience Law"

Rachel Maddow had a great segment on this, the discussion on the topic starts at about 1 minute and 37 seconds. She touches on the fact that this legislation would also give ANY worker the option to refuse to participate in "objectionable actions", which would of course mean abortion (which is legal), but also make it possible to allow doctors, nurses, orderlies, the billing staff at a hospital or medical center - ANYONE who works at a medical facility which receives federal funding - to refuse to serve you or even provide information and advice.

Her guest also points out that this could affect other procedures such as anesthesia, blood transfusions, etc.



And, just in case you think "Yeah, but who would actually refuse to serve a woman who just wants to buy birth control?" and conclude that this is just about far left liberals freaking out, check out this story about a Walgreens in Oxford, Mississipi that harassed a woman who wanted to buy Plan B, which is sold to any woman age 18 or over who can display a valid ID.

The pharmacy worker and the pharmacist both asked her for additional information, which they aren't supposed to, and then stated they have a policy of supplying adoption information and making the customer wait an hour. They also wrote down her drivers license number, which they had no legitimate need to do. When I bought Plan B (almost a year ago), I was asked to show ID to prove I was 18 or over, which is in accordance with the law, and then discreetly supplied with Plan B in a pharmacy prescription bag (which was a nice touch, so everyone in line wouldn't know my personal business). Simple as that. (Coincidentally, I saw the kind pharmacist that waited on me that day at my polling place on Election Day, and smiled at him. I was very glad to see that a pharmacist who respects women's rights to have control over their own reproductive health took the time to vote). I was VERY stressed out at the time that I needed to buy Plan B (yeah, worrying about an unwanted pregnancy will do that to you) and the last thing I needed was a total stranger refusing to do their job and trying to force their personal opinions on me.

And the 1 hour wait - that's ridiculous, and as any gynecologist will tell you, the sooner you take Plan B, the higher the chance it will be effective in preventing pregnancy. Even one hour can lower those chances significantly.

Here is the info for contacting Walgreens if you want to let them know your feelings on this situation:

You can contact the Oxford Walgreens at (662) 513-0894. You can also call the corporate offices and tell them that store number 7757 is harassing women trying to buy Plan B. You can also call them at (877) 250-5823 and ask about their company policy regarding birth control and how they make sure that their pharmacists aren't denying women medication.

Greater Risk of Violence from Domestic Terrorist Groups

This article was a teeny tiny little sub-sub-sub headline on cnn.com this morning. Researches from various universities and institutions, including American University, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Center for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism in College Park, Maryland, the University of Oklahoma, John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, are seven times more likely than foreign terrorists to commit acts of violence in the United States.

Of course, since that doesn't help to justify the United States' military presence abroad, that article probably won't get a lot of attention.

Anti Choicers Defeat Bill to Make Contraceptives More Accessible

So, lemme see if I have this right...so called "pro life" legislators in South Dakota voted against and defeated a bill that would have protected access to contraceptives.

Some pharmacists believe that hormonal forms of birth control and the morning after pill (Plan B) cause abortions, and therefore refuse to dispense them. Currently, they legally allowed to do this by South Dakota state law. The bill would have drawn a clear line between contraceptives and abortifacients, which would have made it illegal for a South Dakota pharmacist to refuse to fill a birth control prescription.

That can't be right. Wait - they are against abortion, so doesn't it make sense that they would support laws that would help to decrease the abortion rate by making it easier for women to prevent unwanted pregnancies?

Apparently not. According to them, a 16 year old girl needs parental permission to obtain birth control. Seriously. How realistic is that? And how many teenage girls have the type of relationship with their parents where they can realistically ask for a permission slip so she can get a prescription for birth control?

The article states:

Kimberly Martinez, executive director of the Alpha Center in Sioux Falls, which provides services to women and men involved in unplanned pregnancies, opposed the bill and applauded the Senate for its majority decision Wednesday..."The key to reducing the number of unwed pregnancies and abortions in South Dakota is sexual integrity relationship education, which includes healthy decision making, healthy relationships and refusal skills," Martinez said.

Oh, so she just thinks that girls need to be taught to say no to sex unless they intend on making a baby. So if a 16 or 17 year old girl wants to have sex with her boyfriend, any pharmacist in the state of South Dakota can refuse to dispense her birth control prescription. And if a grown woman doesn't want to have children, weather or not she is married, then she is in the same situation - have sex at risk of pregnancy, because getting birth control will be a gamble.

A gynecologist who lives and practices in South Dakota disagreed. Maria Bell, who specializes in gynecologic oncology at Sanford Clinic Women's Health, said 95 percent of all women in South Dakota will use a method of birth control at some point in their lives. She added doctors prescribe birth control for reasons other than contraception, such as regulating menstrual cycles or treating ovarian cysts.

"I'm confused as to why more doctors, citizens ... aren't up in arms over this," Bell said of the bill's defeat. "To be denied birth control by the personal beliefs of pharmacists is really appalling."

Because issues like that are never covered on the evening news or on cnn.com or major newspapers. That's why looking at independent news sources is so important. Otherwise the important things like this slip by unnoticed, and you don't realize that you missed your chance to do something about it until you go to your local pharmacy and your pharmacist refuses to fill your prescription, like Karen Romano, the first woman featured in this video:

Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME!?!?!

How the FUCK did I miss Bush openly admitting that he doesn't read the news himself, but relies on "other people who have probably read the news themselves"?????

The only thing I can think is...can he read? Seriously?

Hey W...WTF???

I was web surfing today, and happened to stumble across something really odd. I swear, I'm not trying to pick on George W. Bush, but I do occaisionally look at Dubyaspeak.com, simply because some of W.'s, well, "Dubya-isms" are hilarious. As a former English major, the fact that the leader of our country has such abysmal grammar and speaking skills blows my mind. And yes, I love word games and puzzles.

Anyway, I clicked on the "Fresh Dubya" link, and the first quote led me to the "Repeat Offender" section, which list many of the words, phrases, and verbal blunders that routinely make appearances in W's speeches.

The one that I happened upon was W's repeated use of the phrase "married well". The site lists 75 examples of W using this phrase in speeches, dating from March of 2001 to December 6th, 2007.

If you look through the list of examples, it's really mystifying. It's obvious that W intends the phrase as a compliment, usually to a man. Only once does he apply it to a woman (Elizabeth Dole), but then adds that Bob Dole got the better deal, and he, of course, also married well.

My understanding of the phrase "married well" is that a person married into a family of elevated social connections, prestige, and wealth. The only definition I could find online confirmed that: "in a manner affording benefit or advantage; 'she married well'".

Personally, I've always thought that people who place such importance on social prestige and position as a determining factor in choosing a spouse are more likely to marry the "correct" person and just have an affair with people that they are attracted to. I think that's why there is such a long-standing tradition of marital infidelity amoung politicians, especially those from the old "blue blood" families (Kennedy). After all, if your primary concern is that your spouse enhance your social connections and prestige, then love, or even attraction, are not going to be your primary concerns.

So is Bush complimenting these men on marrying into families of high social standing? On marrying the "correct" type of woman? On marrying, in essence, Stepford Wives? I can't really come up with a scenario in which the phrase "you married well" doesn't make my skin crawl. Your thoughts?