reasons why I need to buy an Obama t-shirt

Both of these came to me via Bitch, PhD, which I love.

Amnesty International is calling out the police involved in the arrests of protestors at the Republican National Convention for using excessive force.

Amnesty International recognizes the challenges involved in policing large scale demonstrations and that some protestors may have been involved in acts of violence or obstruction. However, some of the police actions appear to have breached United Nations (U.N.) standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials. These stipulate, among other things, that force should be used only as a last resort, in proportion to the threat posed, and should be designed to minimize damage or injury. Some of the treatment also appears to have contravened U.S. laws and guidelines on the use of force. The U.N. standards also stress that everyone is allowed to participate in lawful and peaceful assemblies, in accordance with the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Gosh, I'm glad to see them speaking out about this.

And if you were starting to regain a little of that warm and fuzzy feeling about government now that the convention in St. Paul is over, think again. This story from Alaska disgusted me. The police chief of Wasilla when Sarah Palin was mayor spoke out against state legislation in 2000 that would prevent sexual assault survivors from being billed for the cost of their evidence-collecting exams, claiming it would put a burden on the police department to fund the exams.

[House Bill 270, signed into law by the governor] makes it illegal for any law enforcement agency to bill victims or victims insurance companies for the costs of examinations that take place to collect evidence of a sexual assault or determine if a sexual assault did occur.
[...]
"In the past we've charged the cost of exams to the victims insurance company when possible. I just dont want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer," Fannon said.

Glad to see he was looking out for the female taxpayers in his community.

Let's round this out with some Gloria Steinem, who I've always loved. This came to me first via Siobhankha.

Republicans may learn they can't appeal to right-wing patriarchs and most women at the same time. A loss in November could cause the centrist majority of Republicans to take back their party, which was the first to support the Equal Rights Amendment and should be the last to want to invite government into the wombs of women.

And, if Gloria's not your taste, you can always go watch my political tv girlfriend Rachel Maddow over at MSNBC. Love that woman; she's super smart and sassy.

rest in peace

She did a lot of good work. Lesbian rights pioneer Del Martin dies at 87.

Hey Illinois voters!

If you're interested in seeing who's considered a pro-choice/pro-women's health candidate, Planned Parenthood had a new website for Illinois voters.

Just when you thought Barbie couldn't get any thinner...

You can thank Wal-Mart for selling this gem.

talk about hitting me where it really hurts

As someone who works at a college and volunteers at a family planning/abortion clinic, things like this really piss me off.

Millions of women who purchase contraceptives at student and community health clinics across the country have seen prices go from about $10 a month to anywhere between $30 and $50. Such out-of-reach prices are putting intense financial stress on women who can’t afford to pay retail for birth control.

We tell students things like "Don't spend too many hours per week working. You should be focusing on school." Realistically, they have a lot of things on their minds, including dating/sex. Coursework is only part of what goes on at colleges. So, if we tell them focus on their school work and they don't work, how are they supposed to afford any birth control for the free time they do have.

Among college undergraduate women, some 3 million of them (39 percent) use oral contraceptives, while others use NuvaRing, the contraceptive patch and other forms of birth control, according to the American College Health Association [...]

For many women, changing birth control methods or makes is not easy. NuvaRing and the patch have no generic alternatives, and women are often reluctant to switch brands of oral contraceptives after finding a good fit without undesirable side effects.

I actually lost track of how many different ones I tried before I found one I really loved (Yasmin). And, I had to be taken off of that because of how it reacted with the amount of ibuprofin I took daily for joint pain. I'm back on one I tried in high school or early college, and as they greatly affect my moods, I had to double my zoloft dose when I made the switch off Yasmin.

The soaring costs are the result of an obscure provision in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that stripped away a long standing incentive encouraging drug companies to provide steeply discounted birth control to certain low-cost health-care providers. The law took effect in January, forcing many health clinics across the country to ratchet up their prices

It sucks when the federal deficit has such a hard hit on women who don't have much money.

In every year he has held office, Bush has sought to freeze Title X funding, which pays basic operating costs at more than 4,500 family planning clinics serving millions of low-income women. [...] In fact, taking inflation into account, Title X funding is now 61 percent lower than it was in 1980, according to the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. Had funding levels merely kept up with inflation, clinics would now receive more than $725 million a year; instead, Bush wants to freeze Title X funds at last year’s $283 million level.

And, if you're not yet outraged enough, how about this:

In 2002, the Department of Defense approved a plan to make emergency contraception (EC) available at all military treatment facilities, but political appointees later reversed the decision. And in 2004, the Department of Justice did not include EC in its recommendations for treating sexual-assault victims—an omission [Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)] calls intentional.

I just... wow...

This must be how my brother feels when he argues with people about religion. I'm constantly shocked and appalled by the lack of common sense people exhibit when it comes to family planning issues. (And, it's often so directly related to what my brother's arguing...keeping religion separate from everything else, especially government.)

*sigh* Full text here.

Well, well, Wednesday...aren't you a jerk...

1. So the FUNK in- and outside my office (otherwise known as mildew in the ceiling) is still here, despite several communications with Facilities Management. The only thing that helps is opening the window, but seeing as fall started today, that's not the best option I've ever had. In short, it's stinky and chilly in my office.

2. One of the fluorescents is flashing a little. That's going to to get old pretty quickly. If I can't get FacMan over to fix the stench, I'm doubting they'll come change my ballast. Assholes.

3. My friend Jenn and I were planning to go see Katha Pollitt tonight at Women and Children First bookstore, except that it's actually tomorrow she's speaking, not tonight. Tomorrow? Jenn can't go, and I've got to meet with Important!Facutly!Committee! till at least 5, which means that, with the train schedule, I likely won't make it down there in time.

4. This month is Disability Awareness Month, and tomorrow is National Coming Out Day. What better way to celebrate than me telling my story? Except it's me telling my story! To a room full of students and people I work with! Yipes! What the hell was I thinking? I need to put my outline together for the blasted thing.

At least this week ends with us traveling to New England to see the lovely fall foliage as Shanna and John get married! :)

Seriously??!!

Remember when I threw this together?

Well, today I got this email:

Dear [T]:

Congratulations!

With pleasure, we invite you to participate in the 59th annual Convention of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, which will be held in New Orleans, April 2-5, 2008. We are following the CCCC policy of allowing only one speaking role in the peer-reviewed concurrent sessions in order to maximize the participation of the CCCC membership.

To ensure your place on the program, you will need to do the following: click on the links for Invitation Response and Convention Registration, check your personal information and presentation title to insure accuracy, fill them out, and return them. You will also need to pay the appropriate convention registration fee by November 16th to ensure you are listed in the program.

*dies*

it's a good thing I love her

Oh, that Heinous... She invited me to submit a proposal for a panel she and a friend are putting together for the 2008 CCCC's conference in New Orleans. She obviously forgot how long gone I am from theorizing comp/rhet! She tempted me with "medical rhetoric." What could I say? No? And let all the goods I have one Feminist for Life go to waste? Hardly. On short notice, I put the following together for her:

By examining the online communication of two feminist non-profit organizations engaged in providing educational information on abortion, [I] will consider the ethical obligations organizations have in the communication they provide to the general public, specifically to potential medical patients. Through a rhetorical analysis of two organizations' (one "pro-choice," one "pro-life") online material, [I] will discuss the rhetorical positioning of women as patients, decision-makers, and agents of change by these organizations. The implications for how these technical communications [re]construct women's realities and the reality of medical procedures could provide rich discussion material for students of technical communication exploring their ethical obligations for presenting accurate medical information and how their presentations of that information position patients.

Yeah, that took an hour to write, but I'm pleased with it. I don't have high expectations for actually being accepted to present, but I certainly appreciate Heinous's confidence in me and the chance to stretch my tired academic wings a little.

This is what happens when one of your best friends is finishing up her PhD.