A Tasteful Affair 21...

One of my favorite events, A Tasteful Affair, will take place this Sunday in St. Louis.

2009 marks the 21st anniversary for A Tasteful Affair and this year the event goes GAME SHOW!

A Tasteful Affair is all about the food! With over 35 restaurants and caterers involved, this is a foodie’s dream. Over 300 silent and live auction items are the hallmark of the event.

Preview Party is from 1-2PM and Main Event 2-5PM.
Preview Party Ticket (Includes Main Event): $121
Main Event Ticket: $50 in advance/$65 at door

A Tasteful Affair benefits Food Outreach, an organization that provides nutritional support and enhances the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS or cancer in the St. Louis Metro area.

Come Sunday…get your eat on…and help Food Outreach keep their pantry full!

And make sure you purchase a raffle-based something-or-other from this bitch while you’re there…

A Palin pondering…

A certain Governor Palin gave a speech in the lower 48 to an anti-choice gathering and shared her…um, analysis (wince) of the economy and her views on reproductive choice.

Shall we?

A bitch’s first thought…
Damn it to hell and back again if Governor Palin didn’t sum up the brand identity problem of the GOP with one speech. The marriage of traditional Republican values (small government and low taxes) with the modern social conservative bent (anti-choice, anti-separation of church and state, anti-equality and anti-intellectual) is the reason most regular folks can’t get down with that elephant. Most people are turned off by one or the other…and since all the multiple personalities trapped within the ravaged carcass of the GOP are vocal as a motherfucker, people don’t have a chance to fall in love with one for dislike of the other.

If a voter likes the fiscal responsibility angle…and can overlook the evidence of party bullshit that is the last eight years of The Great Republican Pork Festival…then they still run straight into a social agenda that hermit monks find oppressive.

If a voter adores the social agenda angle…and can get past the evidence of individual bullshit that is the last eight years of The Great Republican Failure to Walk that Walk that they Talk…then they still run straight into an economic agenda that is at best a well dressed corpse, lacking clarity beyond a series of historically inaccurate tea-based temper tantrums.

Once a bitch got past that fascinating ponderfication…
During her speech Governor Palin shared her experience of being unexpectedly pregnant and choosing to continue her pregnancy. She offered that she understands what other women face when confronted with an unplanned pregnancy...and a bitch can’t help but wonder at her lack of inner-work there.

Palin spoke of thinking about her options…pondering the decision and knowing that no one would know her choice…and then choosing to continue her pregnancy to term based on her personal faith. That is the experience her audience would like to deny women…choice. Palin's confidence in her decision is the emotion her audience seeks to destroy…her clarity of purpose is what they would like to dismantle for women.

Yet they applaud Palin’s choice even as they raise money towards the effort of denying other women the ability to make reproductive decisions…oh no....oh shit!

Fuck a duck, now my Afro hurts.

Wince.

In conclusion...
Even as I wonder at the current state of Palin and her party I know that one should not sleep on this shit.

Republicans have an amazing ability to find the spin that makes otherwise rational people vote against their best interest and for that well dressed corpse-like split personality having hypocritical as a motherfucker knavish elephant.

Blink.

...but that would have been too much like right...

The Missouri Senate has voted down a proposal to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The House and the Senate can’t agree on how to use federal stimulus funds…and the Senate decided to clarify that the majority of its members don’t think those funds should go towards providing healthcare coverage to Missouri children.

It is important to note that the layoffs that make news are also layoffs that force families to make hard financial decisions about healthcare...like “is that a cough or an infection?” or “do we need this prescription or will things clear up on their own?” or “groceries, utilities or Timmy’s asthma treatment?”

One of the elements of the federal stimulus plan that this bitch liked was that it funneled money to states that are sure to have funding gaps so that those states could continue crucial programs that are more needed than ever given the ramifications of fubar economics.

But the majority in control of Missouri’s House and Senate have decided to play politics…to basically guarantee the failure of the stimulus plan by refusing funds, cutting programs and forcing families to shut down instead of move forward.

Expanding S-CHIP would extend healthcare coverage to the children of the newly unemployed.

Expanding S-CHIP would mean that a child with asthma would get proactive treatment instead of an emergency room visit…and save all of us money in the end.

Expanding S-CHIP should have been a no-brainer.

But expanding S-CHIP was just too much like right.

I guess this is one way for legislators to support those traditional values they are always talking about…if by tradition they mean their history of callous disregard and willful neglect.

May decency prevail when this bill is discussed in the House-Senate conference committee…

…because it sure as shit was a no-show when the Senate took this vote.

Its Thursday April 16th, y'all.

Do you know where your state's stimulus funds are?

Blink.

The Playoffs - Game One…

A bitch and C-Money caught Game One of the playoffs between the Blues and the Canucks in beautiful Vancouver!

The anticipation was out of control!

Our beloved Blues missed several opportunities to score on power plays and lost 2 to 1…one of which was a painful to watch 5 on 3 gift from the hockey gods that we failed to convert.

Oh, the humanity!

But now that we’ve got that first play off game out of the way…and the nerves that come with it…this bitch believes the Blues will come on strong as hell for Game Two!

On Friday we play in Vancouver again.

Go Blues!

One more chew and then a bitch'll be done…

A bitch would like to thank everyone who commented and/or emailed me regarding my post on The Post’s fucked up from the floor up mismanagement of rancid comments!

Although I’m tempted to put StLtoday.com in the fuck it column, I’m going to have one last chew first.

Shall we?

The Post would like us to believe that their comment policy…which is pretty much to leave up anything that doesn’t use profane language (and damn it all if the comments don’t illustrate the flaw of what is considered profane and what isn’t) or threaten someone (a damn it all once again if the comments don’t demonstrate the editor’s confusion over what some of us consider threatening and why)...exists to encourage participation by a variety of opinionated folks rather than a festival of politically correct agreement.

Clearly some of those folks making comments feel very welcome in the land of anything goes…so welcome that one might believe that they have lacked a safe space through which to manifest their bigotry (a bitch will get to that in a minute).

But the anything goes = stimulating conversation position is bullshit. Not only because the quality of anything goes is fucking pathetic but because anything goes pretty much guarantees that only one set of ideas will…um, get going.

See, what the comment policy fails to appreciate is that people of color…and Jews and Muslims…and LGBT people…and all the other “others” who are open targets in the comment section do not need to be reminded that there are rancid bigots full of hate out there.

Trust a bitch…we know!

Contrary to editorial belief, those assholes aren’t starving for opportunities to express their views…that’s the lie that keeps on lying. True, they may not have The Dearborn Independent anymore…but that hasn’t stopped them. Google a racist term and you’ll find plenty of sites where bigots are free to express how hard it is to be a bigot and how they don’t get any respect and how the (insert "other" here) are trying to take over the world.

The voice of the American bigot has a guaranteed presence in the mainstream media, who are forever fearful of being branded liberal thus always willing to allow Ann Coulter or Pat Buchanan or Michael Slavery Was a Good Thing Medved to come on and insult the hell out of some group that is already regularly insulted by the fans of those same assholes at work, at school, while driving, on television, at the movies, while shopping and when reading the motherfucking newspaper.

Cough.

If a bitch gives The Post the benefit of the doubt - the comment policy is an attempt gone wrong to remind that other “other”…those people who talk of a color blind society and a post-racial America…that one election does not social justice make.

If a bitch goes with my gut – the comment policy is an attempt to generate controversy and thus readership as rancid bigots and those who can stomach opposing them engage in arguments.

If a bitch gets my conspiracy theory on – The Post is really trying to make their web site so intolerable that people will pick up the printed paper again in desperation.

Pause…consider…continue.

I’m done!

***moves The Post into the fuck it column and logs off***

Pondering a conversation about race…

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

A wee bit ago this bitch posted about the launch of the St. Louis Post Dispatch’s newish blog venture, A Conversation About Race. I took a wait and see approach…which is to say that I was waiting to see when that shit would blow the fuck up.

Background – St. Louis is a racially polarized city that carries the Missouri baggage of midwestern segregation barely dismantled and poorly addressed. Catch that knee…the truth is the truth and no one gets anywhere denying the fucking undeniable. We may have come a long way since the murderous race riots of the early 1900’s, but we’ve got a long way to go.

Some more background – a bitch is not a fan of the school of tolerance or the avoidance it teaches. In order to heal we must expose and treat the wound, so I support folks having difficult conversations about race…religion…immigration…the economy…and hockey fan-based adoration (wink). But I’ve learned that those conversations must be carefully monitored lest they be high-jacked by knavish trolls who take them off topic even as their threatening rhetoric discourages others from entering the conversation…which can basically turn a blog post conversation attempt into a Hitler youth rally.

Sadly, that last sentence brings me to the St. Louis Post Dispatch and their Conversation About Race blog.

Cough.

The Post ran a piece in their Go! Magazine about best places to get your kiss on. The cover featured a couple kissing…a local couple kissing…a local inter-racial couple kissing…A BLACK MAN KISSING A WHITE WOMAN!

Gasp.

Oh, the humanity.

Pause…check date to make sure my ass didn’t accidentally wake up in 1962…continue.

Mercy.

Certain readers felt that the picture was staged (it wasn’t – the couple ‘tis indeed a couple) to inflame their sensibilities. They wrote in the express their disgust over that public display of inter-racial affection.

The Conversation About Race blog decided that this dust up deserved some …umm…conversation, so they posted about it. And, keeping with their blog style, opened the comment section up for thoughts and opinions.

Sigh.

Well, I suppose a bitch should be grateful that the editor has deleted the overt violent racists comments…those being a violation of Post policy.

Since they left up the one comparing the kiss to a bloody deer carcass a bitch shudders to think of what the fuck they decided to delete.

Blink.

Lawd, give me strength.

Dear Post posters - If you intend to have a conversation about race then you need to appreciate the history of violence and intimidation that accompanies race in America…and moderate the comments in such a way that folks don’t feel assaulted just reading that shit.

'Tis a difficult task, I know...but one that comes along with having a motherfucking conversation about race!

Otherwise y'all might as well embrace your inner Town Hall and change the name of the blog to The Bigot’s Round Table About Race…

Shit.

Update - More on this topic over at Show Me Progress and Blog Saint Louis!

Go Blues!!!!!!

Oh shit!

Oh shit, oh shit....OH SHIT!!

The Blues have made the playoffs!

A bitch is shit faced and fucking overjoyed!

Go Blues!!!

Wooooooooo hoooo!

Sit back, relax and enjoy the show...

A bitch is catching up on the latest Somali pirate breaking but sorta-developing so let’s get some awkward as hell interviews with emotional family members to fill time news.

I double-checked with my family’s resident pirate expert, C-Money. She claims that the Somali pirates tried to take the Maersk Alabama, occupied it for a spell, were overthrown by the crew, entered into some sort of negotiation for prisoner exchange but ultimately took the Captain hostage.

C-Money’s analysis – “Apparently they broke faith, but they’re pirates.”

I’m not sure if those are the exact details but it sounds pirate-ish to this bitch.

Anyhoo, the Navy is now on the scene and all eyes are on the pirate hostage takers.

A bitch’s prediction – the pirates will hold out as long as they can, so I anticipate a lot of awkward as hell time filler interviews in our pirate news future.

Moving forward…

Last night a bitch and C-Money got our documentary film watch on. We screened The Take (Avi Lewis Naomi Klein) and The Trials of Henry Kissinger (Eugene Jarecki).

I highly recommend The Take, which is about workers in Argentina taking over a factory that was closed down due to fubar economics. I found myself cheering in my couch-based area and fretting over the twists and turns of the worker’s struggle to gain control of the factory.

A bitch gives The Take four out of five fierce Afros.

I can also recommend The Trials of Henry Kissinger. I wasn’t nearly as familiar with Kissinger’s role in certain historical events as I thought I was…and this documentary has inspired this bitch to get my research.

This bitch gives The Trials of Henry Kissinger four out of five Afros.

Warning – The Trials of Henry Kissinger does feature a lot of Chris Hitchens, but he’s the political thinker Hitchens not the women can’t take a joke one.

Oh he’s still Hitchified but not so Hitched that one can’t watch the film for fear of a detour into the birth stories of the ancient gods…or random Kipling quotes.

Blink.

Toodles…

One clinic’s closure…

A bitch was saddened to read that La Clinica on Fairview Avenue in St. Louis has closed due to financial trouble.

La Clinica provided affordable healthcare to mostly Hispanics and immigrants.

Most of the staff spoke fluent Spanish and English.

They also did not question a patient’s legal status.

The loss of La Clinica highlights multiple needs…for quality affordable healthcare, for multi-lingual healthcare options to address racial disparities in care…and for the reform of immigration policy that forces people underground, discourages them from seeking medical care for fear of deportation and puts all of us at risk.

There are several providers serving the uninsured and under-insured in the city. Some have bi-lingual staff…others may or may not ask a patient’s legal status.

But the loss of La Clinica, a trusted provider, demonstrates the far-reaching impact of our economic crisis.

One clinic’s closure equals our community’s loss…

A quick fluff of my own Afro…

A bitch’s piece on the anti-choice fubar going down this session in the Missouri legislature is up over at RH Reality Check!

Flex…

A bitch is pondering Kim.

Kim Jong-il, that is.

Mmmmhmmm, the Dear Leader got his rocket launch on this weekend and now everyone is in frenzy trying to figure out what the what the…LAWD, WHAT DOES IT MEAN!?!

Blink.

A bitch thinks this was the rocket launch equivalent of clearing one’s throat after having gone unnoticed whilst hovering impatiently on the edge of a conversation…say, a recent world leader kickball tournament that a certain Dear Leader didn’t get invited to.

Now, the sorta-world will gather…issue overly crafted resolutions…and then, hopefully, get about the bitness of trying to figure out what the fuck Kim Jong-il wants.

And then they’ll sorta-give it to him…slowly and with a lot of eye rolling...and heavy sighing and trash talking behind his back.

Sigh.

Such is the way of things with nations that can flex their nuclear capabilities…much like it was back in the day when the class asshole was the only person who remembered to bring a kickable ball.

Belatedly – Go Iowa!!

A bitch has been fighting round two of the cold from hell, so this is a wee bit late…

...but no less sweet.

Congrats to my state-based neighbor in the Midwest, Iowa, on the recent court ruling that will grant marriage equality rights to same-sex couples!

Get those Madison County wedding tourism packages ready, y’all…

How Missouri Republicans celebrated World Autism Day – or – Didn’t I say that not all Fuck Yous are Delayed…

A bitch has been involved in a piece of legislation here in Missouri that would require insurance companies to cover treatment for autism spectrum disorder. This bill was opposed by insurance companies but a bitch had hope that the power of the autism coalition and the voters it represents would overcome the entrenched power of the insurance lobby.

A bitch’s hopes were dashed yesterday…on World Autism Day…when Missouri Republicans in the House Rules Committee refused to send the bill to the floor for debate. The Senate’s bill is also curiously hung up in committee.

On World Autism Day, House Speaker Ron Richard threatened to appoint a special committee to study the issue...which is pretty much a death sentence for this legislation.

So, Missouri Republicans celebrated World Autism Day by pretending to be confused by the fact that 1 out of 150 children have autism spectrum disorder… 1 out of 150 families can legally be denied insurance coverage for proven treatments that radically change people’s lives and futures…1 out of 150 families must now wage a losing war against insurance companies, who take our money and then deny our loved ones coverage.

Just when you think they can’t get any more panderific to special interests, they show you that they’ve just gotten started.

Shit!

Old time hockey – Backes style!

Warning – hockey gushitude to follow.

Faithful readers know that this bitch is a hockey fan. Last year, a bitch had to watch other teams move on through the playoffs while my beloved Blues stayed home having failed to make the cut.

And this year the Blues haven’t exactly locked up a playoff slot…but they sure as hell are fighting like hell to get that shit secured!

Last night this bitch watched David Backes (#42) get his highlight reel on with four…maybe five, but if he ain’t bitching a bitch ain’t gonna…goals!

Fantabulous!

And the Blues beat the Red Wings and redeemed themselves from the serious sin of losing to the Blackhawks the night before!!

This bitch knows that it ain’t over until ‘tis over…but my Blues are playing it out with heart and some strategic whoop ass and it doesn’t get any better than that.

I fucking LOVE this game!

GO BLUES!

Autism Awareness Month – Pondering the delayed FUCK YOU!

Let’s jump right on in!

A bitch’s 38 year old brother is profoundly autistic and aphasic. April may be Autism Awareness Month, but this bitch lives with autism every day of every month of every year. As a result, the realities of having a sibling with autism are my family’s definition of normal. We’re used to the sounds, the behaviors and the never ending battle to protect and defend the services that make my brother’s life possible.

Autism is not a childhood disorder. It is a brain disorder that, despite claims made by some celebrity authors, will continue to be a brain disorder once a person with autism reaches 18 years of age. Since there have been several high profile celebrities who have a loved one with autism…and since we now know that autism spectrum disorder impacts 1 out of 150 children who, Gawd willing, will become adults with autism…many a lawmaker has championed funding for programs that serve autistic children.

And a bitch is not going to bitch about that shit, since we need to fund programs for autistic children that will likely increase the independence and quality of life of those children when they grow up.

What I am going to do is clear something up.

Ahem.

When Missouri lawmakers fund programs for autistic children even as they butcher the Department of Mental Health budget, the Medicaid budget and funding for social services they are issuing a delayed Fuck You to every single Missouri family with an autistic child.

Note – that Fuck You is immediate for those of us who have an adult loved one with autism.

Don’t be fooled into giving them a pass on this budget shit just because they are pandering to the voting block that is parents of autistic children.

And do not allow yourself to assume that your child will not need support…will not require a job coach…will be able to live in an apartment downtown, drive a car and so forth and so on.

I hope they will and many adults with autism are living independent lives.

But many are not and many will not - families need to prepare for that shit…need to protect the programs with make the difference between people like my brother living in a glorified institution isolated from the world or living in residential facilities while actively participating in their community.

So, I’ll say it again - when Missouri lawmakers fund legislation for programs for autistic children but hack away at funding for programs that serve adults with autism they are telling parents and their autistic children and the adult their child will become to Fuck Off.

And they are doing it despite the fact that many states received federal funds designed to prevent cuts to programs that serve the most vulnerable residents. That shit isn’t responsible legislation, y'all…it’s a classic pander.

April is Autism Awareness Month.

Be aware.

And do not be fooled…

By request, pondering the Diddy color struck casting call drama…

There’s a lot going on in the world…the Justice Department plans to drop charges against Senator Stevens, the G20 Summit, the protests at the G20 Summit, Conficker confusion and so forth and so on…but a bitch has received several emails requesting my thoughts on the Diddy color struck casting call drama.

Blink.

Alrighty then!

Shall we?

This bitch grew up in a time when lighter skin was considered prettier by magazines and casting agents and even by certain members of my family who were the very definition of color struck. So coming to adore my Hershey brown (dark chocolate in the summer) skin tone took some time…a lot of inner work…and the blessings that come from the dedicated study of bitchitude.

But the recent re-do of the landmark baby doll test tells us that internalized notions of black not being beautiful and darker black skin being even more not beautiful are alive and well. Despite the protests of many, we are not post-racial and the wounds of bigotry are often visible when many a person of color looks in the mirror.

When I ponder the drama over some sort of casting call sent out for a Ciroc vodka commercial (Diddy is a spokesperson…more on that in a minute) in which lighter skinned women of color were specifically requested, I initially felt the sting of a lifetime spent in a community that often frets getting darker in the summer sun the way some white people fret losing their tan over winter.

Whoever sent that shit out should have anticipated some serious drama even though casting calls are the very definition of insulting as hell for one reason or another.

Then I took a step back and remembered that those Ciroc commercials are insulting for a lot of reasons…and this skin color casting call shit is not at the top of the list.

I dislike the poor production quality of the commercials…they come across as if Diddy’s friends decided to film him over a weekend spent indulging in every possible materialistic excess using their fucking cell phones or hand held cameras.

I dislike the definition of luxury sent out by that shit…and trust a bitch, Diddy announced his relationship with Ciroc stating that he was going to take that brand to another level. Well, he sure as shit took it some place, but it twasn't to the land of luxury. Instead, Ciroc vodka commercials look like cheap hastily put together music videos and feature depictions of women of color as objects in a Diddified world where we are necessary decorations for cars, parties and King like happenings.

Before this bitch can even ponder the skin color of the women in the commercials I must get past their hanging all over a perpetually bored looking Diddy, sending him looks of adoration and lust while they all fly across some body of water on a motherfucking speed boat...and then tossing out final looks of complete smug agreement as Diddy declares himself a king.

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

Suffice it to say Ciroc has a lot of explaining to do when it comes to approving Diddy’s brand identity…and the light skin color specificity shit is just the latest.

One of these days this bitch will land an endorsement deal and launch my Absolut Blackness campaign where all will be welcome as long as they aren't trifling.

More budget ponderfication...

A bitch is once again keeping my eye on how the Republican majority led legislature in my home state of Missouri defines stimulus. I’ve said it before and my ass will say it again, the states are ultimately in control of whether stimulus money is allowed to stimulate.

Shall we?

Missouri’s Head Budgeter in Charge, House Budget Committee Chair Allen Icet, has a plan…well, he may have a plan by next week…okay, so he’s got this box full of our stimulus money and next week he’ll tell the masses what he intends to do with it.

Apparently Icet and his conservative minions have all kinds of plans for the stimulus funds…but they are proving to be allergic to the idea of using those funds to prevent cuts to necessary social programs that serve the most vulnerable residents of the state. Instead they are pondering…wait for it!..a tax rebate check (as long as it isn’t $10 per person, ‘cause that just would not do). Oh, and they appear to be excited about a series of one-time projects that a bitch is willing to bet will ultimately benefit campaign contributors.

Um, and they will also propose some plan to fund staff for colleges and universities to train and teach doctors and medical professionals.

Blink.

Train healthcare professionals to treat…who, exactly?

‘Cause these same legislators sure as shit aren’t addressing the fact that thousands of Missourians lack coverage. As a matter of fact, they are going out of their way to make sure stimulus money doesn't prevent additional cuts! Just who the fuck are those healthcare professionals going to treat?

And I sure as hell hope their proposal doesn’t bother training more pediatricians or specialists in children’s healthcare…because those same legislators don’t see the benefit of covering the born.

Maybe that’s the deal.

Maybe these fiends intend for Missourians not to be the beneficiaries of that increase in trained healthcare folks.

Gasp!

Mayhap the training of healthcare professionals is part of a Missouri tourism program.

Pause…consider…continue.

Mmmmhmmm, a bitch saw a news program about shit like this going on abroad! People with money or insurance or both would travel to Missouri, stay at the Four Season’s in downtown St. Louis and have a procedure done.

Oh my…could Icet’s plan actually be a freakish conspiracy to have Missouri compete in the growing travel sector of medical tourism?

Or does he really not see the fuckeduptitude of training healthcare professionals with stimulus money after declaring that stimulus money should not be used to prevent cuts in healthcare coverage for Missourians?

***cue crickets***

Getting from A to B...

Let's jump right on in, shall we?

A lot happened during the election last November.

The nation elected our first black President.

Missouri elected a Democrat to Governor.

And St. Louis County voters narrowly defeated a sales tax increase that was to help fund public transportation routes through Metro.

Starting today, thousands of St. Louisans will no longer be able to get from A to B and many of them will lose their jobs because of an inability to find alternative transportation.

Now, there are many who will argue that Metro is mismanaged and that voters where right to defeat the increase and not reward that mismanagement with additional funding.

And there are others who simply won’t give a shit because they don’t rely on public transportation and can’t think beyond themselves and their life.

But a bitch is disturbed.

For the record, I don’t rely on public transportation…but I live here and these cuts are sure to have a negative impact on the region.

I am blessed to have Miss Sister Girl Cabrio to take me to the market, to work, to doctor visits and to visit my brother, who lives in St. Louis County.

But many of the young women I volunteer with rely on public transportation to get to work. They must travel hours away from their community because Lawd knows there aren’t any jobs in the ‘hood. And many of them use Metro to get to school, to the market and to doctor visits too. As a matter of fact, budgeting for transportation is part of my basic budgeting curriculum and now…

Now, I must sit down with them and try to find alternative transportation that is also affordable and reliable and…Gawd, life was already complicated enough.

Ugh.

But here we are…all of us. These cuts will impact all of us, even those who don’t give a shit because they don’t use public transportation and can’t think beyond themselves and their life.

If Metro is a mess then someone needs to address that shit. The solution is not to let it go to shit and hope for the best.

A bitch sees this as a teachable moment. In many ways, it mirrors the challenges faced by many organizations and companies providing necessary services to communities.

Need ain’t going anywhere…and the ramifications of cuts are everyone’s orphans.

Lawd, what a week…

A bitch is mentally exhausted. I think pondering all which is fubar is taking a toll on my attitude!

Sigh.

Even watching the fantabulous Blues victory during the hockey game last night hasn’t pulled me out of my funk!

Note – a bitch is not ready to begin NHL playoff speculation or trash talk ‘cause my ass is superstitious and the Blues are still fighting for that 8th spot.

Pause…toss up playoff prayer to the hockey gods…continue.

Whilst looking for a news-based distractitude a bitch came across this piece on how dawgs and cats are responsible for some 86,000 injuries to humans each year.

Blink.

The CDC is advising seniors to improve lighting, put pet toys away and use obedience training to cut down on the number of serious falls related to pets.

Trust a bitch, everyone should do that shit regardless of age.

And I’ll add that people need to pay attention when walking sorta-beagles too. This bitch adores my sorta-beagle companions Theo and Betsey, but they are short and frisky and known to cut a person off at the ankles in their pursuit of attention.

A year or two ago this bitch suffered a monster sprain after Theo the BayMaster decided to get his tug on in the opposite direction of Betsey Sue, who was already getting her tug on…and damn it to hell if my ass wasn’t trying to give them the walk they had been begging for…all of which resulted in a bitch hitting the sidewalk and damn near destroying my ankle!

As I explained to both of them at the time, face licking will not speed up the ankle healing process and sad puppy-dawg eyes will not make a bitch forget how I ended up on my ass with a busted ankle.

Shit.

Anyhoo, be mindful of thy pets...and their chews and toys...lest you end up on your ass and in pain!

The proof is in the budget…

The fillet-o-fish budget jingle is now floating around this bitch’s brain.

Sigh.

And I’m not even a fan of fillet-o-fish sandwiches!

Damn Lent-based fish advertising.

Ugh.

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

A certain Meredith from Columbia Missouri (wassup, Columbia!) sent this bitch an email asking why I haven’t blogged about the federal budget battle and what my thoughts are on the Missouri state budget drama. Well, the reason a bitch hasn’t blogged about the federal budget drama is because I’ve been spending hours tracking the Great Bleed Out Missouri Budget Massacre of 2009 that is our state budget battle and trying to make sure the fiendish knaves in the majority in Jefferson City don’t eliminate programs that make my autistic brother’s world function.

I’ve got to tell you, this battle is fucking fubar. Not only are the budget fiends hacking flesh away from necessary programs but they are refusing federal stimulus money that would make cuts unnecessary and that are designed to…well, give the struggling masses a fucking break so we can get about the bitness of recovering from Blunt Trauma and the ravages of Bush-o-nomics.

The proof, my friends, is in the budget.

Allow me to rant.

***steps up on box of soap***

Knavish state Republicans are cutting $58 million dollars from the Department of Mental Health budget…on top of $20 million in cuts proposed by the Governor. DMH services are crucial to people like my brother, who is profoundly autistic and who has already suffered from the series of cuts made to programs over the past several years. People with developmental disabilities are Missourians…and most of their families will not be able to make up the difference. People with developmental disabilities participate in our communities and society…they don’t just languish away in institutions and they aren’t a population lawmakers can simply dismiss because they want to pander to some political theory that social programs don’t benefit society. And this sister of an autistic adult can promise those knaves that nothing good will come from cutting necessary programs whilst indulging in a federal stimulus refusal game.

Ugh!

Missouri seniors organized a paper plate mail-in action to the knaves that resulted in them backing off cuts that would have damn near eliminated a meal delivery program. That shit was fantabulous, but someone ought to be shamed that people have to resort to mailing thousands of paper plates to Jefferson City to make elected officials consider their hunger while they fling axes about in a conference room.

Lawd, I can just see it…a gaggle of more ambitious than inspired craven assholes hovering the starved body of the state budget, laughing as they hack of limb after limb while federal stimulus dollars lay in a corner, bound with duck tape over the mouth struggle to get free.

Mercy.

And someone needs to tell me how the same legislative body that voted for another abortion restriction bill and refuses to even consider prevention bills can walk about the people’s house without shame after then voting to strip funding for children’s services that would have, among other things, funded insurance coverage for some 27,000 Missouri children when families need that coverage more than ever.

Heaven to hell and back again, that just ain’t right…it ain’t logical…and it sure as shit ain’t pro-family.

Sigh.

So, Meredith, a bitch has been busy contacting my legislators and writing letters and waking up at 3 o’clock in the morning fretting and calling legislators because this state shit is where the stimulation of the nation will certainly fail if the head knaves in charge are allowed to get away with cutting instead of innovating and thinking outside the box and protecting the most vulnerable residents of the state.

We the people need to multi-task on this shit…stat! Because these fools are fixin' to make Limbaugh’s dream a reality one state at a time.

***steps down, sends another letter explaining how DMH cuts will fuck up my brother's world, and logs off to go to work***

Today is the Back Up Your Birth Control day of action!

Back Up Your Birth Control is a national campaign committed to raising awareness of and expanding access to emergency contraception (EC).

This year's Back Up Your Birth Control Day of Action is especially exciting because it comes on the heels of a federal decision to make EC available over-the-counter to seventeen-year-olds.

Emergency Contraception (EC) is a back-up birth control method, as opposed to a regular birth control method like condoms, hormonal contraception, IUD placement, etc. EC, also known as the “morning after pill” and by the brand name Plan B®, is a safe and effective way to prevent pregnancy AFTER unprotected sex or the failure of other birth control methods. EC is a higher dosage of the same hormones found in many types of regular birth control pills. When used within 5 days (120 hours) of unprotected sex or birth control failure, EC can significantly reduce the risk of unintended pregnancy. EC is most effective when taken as soon as possible after unprotected sex or the failure of other birth control methods. So don’t wait!

Visit the Back Up Your Birth Control website for more information.

Live in Missouri?
Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region
Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri
Planned Parenthood of Southwest Missouri
Tri-Rivers Planned Parenthood

A faith-based pondering…

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

A bitch has been experiencing a seasonal lull over the past couple of days, so I took my ass offline and indulged in my funk.

Sometimes there’s no way around it.

Anyhoo, I had an interesting conversation the other day about religion. Well, it wasn’t actually a conversation about religion so much as an aside tossed out by someone during a conversation about something totally different. I won’t get into the specifics, because I was more struck by the guaranteed to get a bitch’s back up tone used to dismiss a theory that “wasn’t based in scripture” than what the asshole saying that shit was actually responding to.

Pause…consider…continue.

Yeah, it was the tone…that I’m in this club that makes me better than non-members and we’ve got a rule book that I’ve memorized and use when it suits me to posture and preen.

Note – this is different than the other popular people of faith tone known as I pity you ‘cause you are damned to burn in eternal hellfire and that’s kind of sad to me even though I’m thrilled that ‘tis you and not me.

Here’s the deal…a bitch wouldn’t give a shit if it weren’t for the results of that behavior demonstrated in the other interesting faith-based interaction I had later that same day. A really good friend and I were chatting on the phone about some volunteer work we hope to do together while the weather is nice. He was thinking a Habitat for Humanity build and a bitch was thinking we should also pick a block and get our beautification/trash clean up on. My friend was lobbying hard for Habitat even though he “hopes there aren’t any of those church groups volunteering on the same day.”

And there it is! That’s the shit that makes a bitch give a shit about the ways of some people of faith.

Catcheth thy knee-eth before you injureth thy neighbor…a bitch ain’t painting all y’all with the same brush!

It seems to me that faith is being branded by the fucked up from the floor up actions of a few…and the tragedy of that is that those few aren’t even acting in a very faith-based way. As a matter of fact, they are kind of anti-faithish…if one is thinking of the world’s major religions.

And a bitch can’t help but wonder when this happened. When did some religions and faith in general become the prisoners of certain religious people who use religion like other people use a Louis Vuitton handbag?

Mercy.

Even as I ponder that I long for the faith-based experiences of my youth…for a church full of regular folks trying to find guidance and inspiration so that they can leave the world a better place and do some good.

And I fear for the brand integrity of faith…because the brand suffers when there are more faux Louis Vuitton knock-offs than the real deal.

Blink.

Pondering outrage...

A bitch must confess to being too wrapped up in the Missouri State Budget Battle of 2009 to pay much attention to the AIG outrage.

I know that AIG got federal bailout money.

And I know they paid…or attempted to pay…retention bonuses after getting that bailout.

Honestly, I would think the masses would be more outraged about US bailout money going to companies overseas through AIG…but damn it all if we're not unpredictable.

Blink.

Anyhoo, as I watched a curiously mellow Jim Kramer on the Today Show this morning (my people call it a correction-based re-branding…good luck with that!) and the sorta-news segment featuring outraged folks explaining why they are outraged a bitch noticed a potential benefit.

Some people have begun to connect the quality of work these executives do to their salary.

Gasp.

And a few folks have started questioning the huge salaries paid Wall Street executives in general.

Double gasp and a blink!

This bitch hopes this trend continues and works its way to government.

Mmmhmm, all the way to state governments…

…because I’d like to know why the fuck we pay a salary to people who publicly admit they don’t do their job…like Missouri Speaker of the House Ron Richard who voted to block Governor Nixon’s budget proposal even though HE HASN’T READ IT YET!!

Ugh.

I hope outrage is contagious as a motherfucker.

Lawd, knows bullshit is…

Pondering proper brushing...

Longtime readers know that a bitch’s older brother is autistic and that my sister and I are co-guardians.

Well, ‘tis that time of year again…when plans and budgets meet and all manner of shit gets fucked up from the floor up.

A bitch is getting my guardianship on…lobbying for that insurance bill in Missouri…making sure yearly appointments are scheduled…reviewing meds and dosages…and problem solving the best way to demonstrate proper tooth brushing techniques to an autistic adult who is neglecting his gum line.

We’re giving that dental wash that stains where brushing needs to happen a whirl today.

Sigh.

Oh, and my ass is reading up on the Missouri budget to see what’s being cut from programs that have already been cut to the bone.

Pause…consider…continue.

Something tells me the brushing project may be easier than the budget cut analysis.

Blink.

The Ruth Ellis Center...

A bitch received an email from a volunteer at The Ruth Ellis Center in Detroit asking for some help.

Like many non-profits, The Ruth Ellis Center has taken a hit during fubar economics and is in need of assistance in order to continue providing services.

The Ruth Ellis Center honors the life and work of Ruth Ellis, an out lesbian of color born in 1899 who was a social justice advocate. Her life and work were chronicled in the fantabulous documentary, Living With Pride: Ruth C. Ellis @100.

The Ruth Ellis Center is dedicated to homeless LGBT youth and young adults. Among their services are a drop-in center, street outreach program, transitional living programs, and emergency housing shelter.

If you are able, please extend some assistance to The Ruth Ellis Center.

Thanks!

Recovering and a nudge…

Lawd…have…MERCY.

This bitch has been the very definition if ill for days.

Coughing, yacking, sneezing, eye drool-age and spit-up nastification took over a bitch’s body and went to battle!

But this bitch…and lots of cough ‘tussin approved for people with high blood pressure…won the fucking war, damn it.

I’m not 100% yet but I feel sorta-human…thank the gods.

Many thanks to all y’all who reached out to confirm that my black ass isn’t dead!

Moving forward…

You, your state legislators and Spring Break – A nudge…

I can’t speak for other American states…or for Canadian provinces and territories up north…but in Missouri the state legislator gets a Spring Break.

Blink.

Mmmhmm, ‘tis true that they do!

I know, I know…your asking yourself why they get a motherfucking break when the majority of them have been spending the majority of their time pandering to ultra-conservative social value groups like Missouri Right to Life instead of taking care of the people’s business like job creation, covering the thousands of Missourians who are uninsured or [insert crumbling infrastructure in need of attention here].

But you should know better than to toss logic at the leaders of the Missouri House or Senate (wink).

Cough…toss back proper dose of ‘tussin…continue.

Anyhoo, they get a Spring Break…which the few progressives within (love ya, for real!!) have earned the hell out of because they’ve been working hard as hell trying to prevent the realization of some pretty freakish conservative state-based dreams (shudder)…and this bitch wants to nudge y’all to set up a meeting while your legislator is back in town!

Call your Rep. or Senator’s office and get on their calendar for a check-in. Make sure you show up with something to discuss…can I recommend any of the fucked up from the floor up anti-choice restriction bills that have occupied the Missouri House’s time instead of the Prevention First Act…and then get your meet on! Ask them what they’re doing and where they stand on the shit that matters to you.

Make sure they know that their constituents are watching what they do when they aren't breaking and are supposed to be serving the people.

And yes, this still illish but much better now bitch and C-Money are already on our State Senator’s calendar for tea and side of keep-it-real.

Consider yourself nudged!

Oh shit...a bitch is sick!

Ugh.

I've caught nastification coughupolus robustus...

...and it don't play.

Bitchitude will continue when my ass feels human again...

Illish...

A bitch is illish.

Congested and coughified…ugh. I can’t tell if this is an allergy thang or a full out cold thang, but I do know that it is a fucking drama.

Ugh!

Anyhoo...this bitch woke up pondering honesty, economics and politics.

Yesterday a bitch avoided the political chat shows…’cause I was already feeling ill (wink)…and stuck to CBS Sunday Morning instead. I was enjoying the hell out of the show when all of the sudden Ben Stein’s face popped up on my television screen and it…umm, he…proceeded to lecture this bitch on Economics 101.

In a classic prince to pauper tone, Stein explained how the economy groweth. He praised Bernanke for flooding more money into the system…then fussed at viewers for not playing our part and getting our spend on. Stein blamed our reluctance to spend on certain politicians who aren’t being optimistic enough.

It struck me that Stein wasn’t taking politicians to task for inaccuracy but rather for being too accurate…too on point…too honest with we the people.

And, as a prince speaking to we citizen paupers, Stein is clearly dismayed by the way we are responding to all that honesty.

***cue Nicholson***

In short, we can’t handle the truth.

Shit…a little bit of truth and look at us, not spending money or buying shit we don’t need.

‘Tis a scandal!

Not.

We the people aren’t the warm body that the fiendish economy can tap a vein on and feed upon at will!

Glances at arm and spots a minified Ben Stein sinking his anti-worker pro-corporation vampire teeth into a bitch's vein.

Fuck a duck!

***logs off to do battle with Ben Stein's vampire apparition***

If a bitch ruled the world….

Brother Rob Thurman gave this bitch a crown!!

Fantabulous.

It feels natural (wink).

Shall we?

Have you ever taken stock of things and wondered what you’d do if you ruled the world?

Mmmhmm, me too!

If this bitch ruled the world I'd sport a fierce crown on my Afro...and I’d declare war on bullshit.

Oh, I’d consider declaring all manner of other shit…but even the Ruler of the Known Universe needs the will of the people to get shit done and the people don't like being told what to do or when to do it even if that direction is correct as a motherfucker.

Blink.

But bullshit and this bitch would go to war.

For example, this bitch has been reading up on President Obama’s move to reform health care.

The President has invited labor leaders, politicians from both sides of the aisle, medical professionals, business leaders and even real people (wink) to the White House to discuss and debate health care reform.

A bitch thinks that’s a great start, but it opens the door to bullshit.

Opponents have already voiced their objections to anything government related concerning health care. As usual, they oppose but do not propose…a clear indication that bullshit is about to slither into the room and stank up the debate.

If I ruled the world today’s meeting would be mine and we’d kick it off with a list of known things.

In 2008 health care spending was 4.3 times the amount spent on national defense…and the product purchased ain’t working, people aren’t covered and preventable things aren’t being prevented.

46 million Americans are uninsured yet the United States spends more on health care than other industrialized nations…and those nations provide insurance to their citizens.

Millions of people lose their homes to foreclosure due to unaffordable health care costs.

It costs more to treat an illness than to prevent one…but prevention requires access to affordable health care.

And I could go on and on and on.

We’d spend at least half of the meeting on the known shit…on the realities of the health care system as it currently stands…and then this bitch would break out a marker and some blank paper and present the gathering with a challenge – let's fix this broken ass shit.

Not tinker with it…not denounce the ideas of others without offering solutions…and not piss in the bowl of reform Corn Flakes just to score political points at the expense of the American people.

It seems beyond logical to start by publicly admitting that we have a problem...that what exists today has not been, is not now and will not work.

And this is one of the most important policy debates this nation has ever faced.

A bitch shudders to think of the record setting reality denying stankified panderific 'Is that camera on?' bullshit sure to plague it.

Sigh.

Election congrats…

Yesterday was Election Day and y’all know a bitch adores an election!

Congrats to fellow blogger Antonio French on his St. Louis City Alderman win in Ward 21!

And congrats to a certain Shane Cohn on his St. Louis City Alderman win in Ward 25!

And a huge CONGRATS to the…umm, win-based defeat in the Great 2009 Battle of Shaw (otherwise known as the Shaw Special Business District property tax increase confrontation at the polls). A bitch was beyond impressed with the organizing that went into that…even if my ass never did get one of those yard signs (sigh).

This bitch would like to point out that Shaw Special Business District tax increase was defeated 782 against to 377 in favor.

782 votes between a $.50 per every $100 valuation property tax increase and home owners.

We the people need to stay focused and continue to get our vote on...because local elections can turn into monumental political moments while the masses are not watching.

Or property tax increases.

Blink.

What, no clowns?

A bitch is working on my second cup of coffee (bless the gods) and watching the Today Show…a special edition of the Today Show…Matt Lauer live at the New York Stock Exchange much like he’d be ‘on scene’ for a natural disaster.

Daaaaaaaaamn!

They open up with a live shot of the horrific scene (in this case, the freakishly quiet almost vacant floor of the NYSE).

Lauer explains why he is there (“oh, the humanity!!) and lists off the carnage (the market has sunk to a 12 year low).

Then he brings in the sorta-experts…Jim ‘I’m a heart attack waiting to happen’ Mad Money Kramer and Erin “if this crazy motherfucker yells one more time I’m going to drop him right here on national television’ Burnett…and lets them discuss/debate/argue/yell/agree to disagree and ultimately say nothing of substance about the economy and what we can expect out of the markets today.

Moving fast, because Gawd forbid they take time to actually discuss a damn thing, Lauer tosses a lateral to Chuck Todd…who explores the Obama administration’s economic plan by discussing the latest cabinet nominee with a tax problem in less than 60 seconds.

Somehow the action swerves further off course to feature a smidge of the Rush v. Steele ‘does it matter who is driving the bus when the fucker is out of gas?’ flare up.

But before a bitch can even process how strange that shit is there’s Meredith V. chatting with Tavis Smiley about political accountability and his new book.

Pause...consider...continue.

Lawd, there really should be a law against Fellini-esque morning television.

Blink.

A caution about abuse…

A certain someone who shall remain anonymous sent a bitch an email asking for my thoughts on the alleged assault of Rihanna by Chris Brown. Anonymous said that she is a teen who has a friend in an abusive relationship and that she is angry over recent news reports stating that Rihanna has reunited with Brown. She expressed worry that her friend would do the same thing and confusion over why anyone would stay in a relationship that was abusive.

Sigh.

I have avoided posting about this because so much is unclear and what little is clear has been exploited by the press.

But what I won’t avoid is the following caution about abuse.

Shall we?

I have never been the victim of physical abuse…but I was the victim of emotional and verbal abuse by my mother.

I spent years blaming myself for not being perfect…then blaming society for not seeing what we worked so hard to disguise, for not sensing what I had been trained to distract attention away from. I thought I deserved the rants, the tantrums, the cruel words and the vicious taunts.

Even when I decided that enough was enough…it wasn’t. I left home at 16 to attend college, but a connection remained.

And with a simple phone call or over a week during break the pattern was re-established.

I…the wrong, the flawed and the one who called down criticism upon myself.

She…the authority, the parent and the one burdened with imperfect children in need of discipline.

I didn’t break from my mother until I was thirty and that final break wasn’t the result of another incident.

It was time and right.

And I’m sure there are people who say that it must not have been that bad…that I share responsibility because I stayed or returned or blah, blah and blah.

Sigh.

Whatever may come of this single news story, I caution folks to try to understand that leaving isn’t easy.

Staying is not an admission that things aren’t that bad.

I have known abuse and I have known the struggle to get away, the pressure that is still tossed my way to forgive and forget and the guilt that flares at the strangest times.

And I know that there isn’t a damn thing easy or simple about it…

…even though I know it was the right thing for me to do.

National Domestic Abuse Hotline
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
TTY 1-800-787-3224
Info. for teens is available here

Update – Ban on coverage lifted…

A bitch posted about the policy review of the military’s ban on allowing coverage of fallen soldiers returning from the war.

Now, that ban has been lifted.

Defense Secretary Gates consulted with the armed services and military family groups and ultimately decided to apply the same policy that is used at Arlington National Cemetery.

It’s almost March – do you know what your state legislature is doing?

A bitch adores watching political theatre…shit, I often break out the popcorn and settle down in front of CSPAN just for the laughs.

Blink.

But I also keep close watch on my home state of Missouri’s legislature.

And the chorus asked… "Why, bitch?”

And a bitch replied, "Because what they do matters too!”

Shall we?

A bitch has been fascinated by the intense coverage of all things Obama administration related. I think its great…even though I wonder where the fuck the media was when Scooter B. was gorging himself on pork at the people’s expense.

Cough.

Anyhoo, ‘tis our role as cits to keep it real with government. But too many of us are missing a crucial chunk of government in desperate need of some keep it real people-based oversight.

Behold, the state.

Specifically those state legislatures that, like Missouri, are controlled by large majorities and are spending their time pandering to the radical conservative fringe rather than addressing the mountain of important shit we need them to be addressing.

For example, the Missouri House recently spent two days debating then voting on a non-binding resolution against the Freedom of Choice Act.

Chorus… "What Freedom of Choice Act?”

A bitch…“The Freedom of Choice Act that would codify Roe v Wade…the same one that has not been introduced in Congress.”

FYI - TIME has a great piece up on this.

Yep, with everything going on in Missouri and in the country…with thousands of Missourians losing their jobs and uninsured...with our infrastructure crumbling and education failing…with all that shit pending, the Republican controlled legislature wasted two fucking days sending a message to Congress about an act that has not even been introduced.

Blink.

But, but wait…they aren’t done!

This week…today to be exact…the Missouri House is debating HB46, a hellish anti-choice abortion restriction bill that would create the new crime of “coercing an abortion” and do nothing to reduce the number of abortions in the state.

Because Lawd knows we women folk can’t make up our minds and our fragile temperaments make us vulnerable to blah, blah and more insulting and inaccurate blah.

Mercy!

But the Missouri House isn’t going to let facts get in the way of an opportunity to score some political points…nor are they going to let that mountain of important shit we need them to be addressing get in the way of their lust for pandering either.

Ugh.

If you are a Missourian, please click this link and tell your Rep. to get real.

Tell them to vote no on HB46.

And if you live someplace else, take a look at what your state legislature is doing while all eyes are fixed on Washington.

It’s almost March, y'all…and we all need to know what our state legislature is doing with our time and our money in our name.

The reckoning…

Confession – a bitch got so caught up in the Blues v. Coyotes hockey game that my ass missed watching the State of all things Unified live.

What?

Shit, we’re trying to make the playoffs here!

And we won...go Blues!

Anyhoo, thank the gods for TiVo.

Read the full transcript of President Obama’s speech here.

Shall we?

Pondering the reckoning…

Last night President Obama said that “the day of reckoning has arrived.” And that got this bitch pondering.

A certain Nancy Goldstein recently wrote a piece for Salon’s Broadsheet on why the economy is a feminist issue and a bitch couldn’t agree more. I realized that I’ve avoided writing about fubar economics because it is a daunting topic that inevitably brings out “experts” who adore debating the hell out of it while ignoring any exploration of the impact or arriving at any solutions to the problem.

But Nancy G. has inspired a bitch!

The economy and the policy changes being debated and passed into law are our issue. Many of us have been reckoning with fubar economics for years…and we must watch and provide oversight lest this rebuilding ignore our communities the way the bullish boom ignored the hell out of us back in the day.

See, there is a tolerance at play here…and a bitch isn’t a fan of tolerance. We tolerate crime…in certain places. We tolerate vacant buildings…along certain stretches of road. We tolerate hunger…for certain people. And we tolerate economic stagnation…for those we judge lazy and deserved of want.

But Lawd, have mercy! Now the virus has spread into “good” communities…it has even hit man on woman sanctified married families!

So now folks are freaking the fuck out because that wasn’t the deal. Poor people did something to deserve their plight, but this middle class drama is punishing folks who did everything right.

Right?

Wrong.

Our current economic crisis is an expansion not a new situation.

And it is hitting the working poor hard…and double wammy of layoffs in communities where there aren’t any jobs, funding cuts to programs that were already under funded and foreclosures on shit properties people have lived in despite the horrible conditions and now are being booted out of.

Hell yes, this is reckoning…damn near biblical in its reaping of what we the people have sowed.

But in crisis there is opportunity...if we focus on the whole despite our conditioning to focus on the middle class.

That’s where all these policies come in and why we must rouse ourselves to analyze the stimulus plan to make sure job creation will touch the sistah who is heading her household while working two or three jobs just to break even…her children who attend broken down schools lacking supplies and materials…and her community, with those vacant buildings and substandard housing sorta-options.

Sigh.

I reckon ‘tis time to get busy and read this stimulus shit…state and federal, mind you...thoroughly.

Presidential Address Preparedness…

Shall we?

Longtime readers know that this bitch watches presidential addresses…and that such viewage requires a certain level of preparedness.

President Obama will address a joint session of Congress tonight at 8pm CST. He is expected to make the case to the masses for his agenda to get us out of the fubaristic economic implosion that we are currently in.

Now, if that’s not a speech worth watching I don’t know what!

ABB’s Presidential Address before a Joint Session of Congress Preparedness…

The tools of the trade…
Notebook for note taking
Writing instrument for which to scrawl
Telly with beloved TiVo…so a bitch can record the Blues hockey game whilst watching the President.

Blink.

The munchables…
Something crunchy, because economics makes a bitch gnash
Something spicy and cheese…because spice and cheese makes a party in your mouth!
This bitch is thinking nachos will do.
Vodka followed by grape cran…because.
Dawg crisps…to keep those sorta-beagles occupied.

Pause…consider…continue.

Perfect!

Let the addressing and defiant responding followed by political pundit-based speculating begin…

Take Action for Autism!

As most of you know, a bitch’s older brother is autistic. Autism has been in the news a lot and there have been tons of features exploring how autism impacts a family…but one of things rarely covered is the economic impact and the lack of insurance coverage for treatment.

I grew up in a house where everything from a family meal to an outing to pick up groceries was a structured treatment…my parents tried everything and anything to try to help my brother adjust to the world.

Now that my sister and this bitch are co-guardians, we are working to try and make the world adjust more to my brother.

And looming over every option…whether a family has a young child or an adult with autism…is the issue of funding and what is or isn’t covered by insurance.

Well, we now have a chance to act through legislation that would reform the way the insurance industry handles coverage for treatments of autism spectrum disorder.

Legislation is being considered in several state including Missouri. Autism Votes is asking for folks to contact your legislator and let them know that insurance coverage matters and that you are watching.

Take a moment and visit the Autism Votes website.

Get familiar with legislation pending in your state.

And contact those charged with making decisions and casting these important votes!

Thanks.

Party with Planned Parenthood!

The Planned Parenthood Young Friends invite all y'all to Party with Planned Parenthood!

When?

Saturday, March 7 beginning at 8 p.m.

Where?

Atomic Cowboy 4140 Manchester Ave. in St. Louis

Featuring burlesque by Lola van Ella, Clownvis Presley & much more.

Sex, politics and cocktails....oh, my!

Well, allow me to retort…

This bitch was home ill yesterday when a friend sent forth this link to a guest post on Professor, What If? co-written by Mandy Van Deven and Brittany Shoot. The title of the guest post is What if the feminist blogosphere is a form of digital colonialism?, so you know a bitch just had to read that shit.

And as I read it hit me that they were kinda talking about me…since I’m a blogger of color who has my own blog but also contributes to Shakesville and Feministing.

So, a bitch has been colonized?

I’ve been purchased…gobbled up…hoodwinked and bamboozled?

And my simple ass just didn’t notice that shit…right?

Blink.

Now hold the fuck on and wait a minute!

For the record…

I do not blog for profit at AngryBlackBitch. That fact doesn’t make C-Money all that happy, but ‘tis a fact. The ABB Store ain’t bringing in serious money…trust. I am an activist who blogs…and this never has been, isn’t now and never will be a money for posting kind of arrangement.

I was not purchased…Lawd, have mercy…nor did I sell out when I chose to contribute to other blogs. And someone somewhere needs to educate these co-authors on how much that particular accusation and language will make a woman of color GO THE FUCK OFF!

Purchased?

My black ass!

Neither Shakesville nor Feministing have input in my content. None…nothing…no input at all. I didn’t have to negotiate that…they never asked, I never offered and everyone is cool. That isn’t how a bitch rolls. So, if my posts are lacking something that’s a bitch’s fucking fault and I own that. The tactic that brought me on board was that I was offered the opportunity to post as much as I wanted, about anything I damned well want to and whenever I saw fit to. Oh, and I still get linked to...not that the post in question acknowledged that. Come to think of it, they didn't exactly acknowledge me at all...just kind of worked their way around a bitch...mayhap they don't consider me a contributor even though I, um contribute?

How precious it is to be made invisible by authors who are challenging a system they say is making women of color invisible.

Shit.

A bitch might not be all about the ego, but my ass sure as shit isn’t some little blog that the big bad feminist blogs found and made a land claim on. I am the shit (wink)…and, as of this upcoming Sunday, I will have lived 36 years and all of them as a black woman…I know very well how the tools of oppression and colonization work and find the attempted tutorial on that shit insulting as hell.

Now let me get to the root of the problem…and that is the theory that my contributing to Feministing and Shakesville was a sell out move and that I’m just too damned stupid or Auntie Tomish to realize that my black ass is being played.

I reject the hell out of that. Mostly because my black ass has a very strong working understanding of what oppression, colonization and domination looks, feels, tastes and acts like.

Breaking News - I am a woman of color. I live that shit.

In my 36 years of living I have been kicked down, bullied, judged and denied. I have been threatened and I have been dismissed. And when I read the guest post in question I saw it for what it is - an attempt to critique large feminist blogs at my and other women of color contributors expense...to control my behavior, sanction my actions, diminish my contributions, mock my decisions, school me on my alleged foolishness and lecture me on the history of colonization.

And I shall not be used...or schooled on a history I live every fucking day and know all too well...or judged to be a sell out my people who don't even have the decency to call me by name.

Or silenced from contributing where the fuck I want to by some condescending 'you’re a victim, honey and you just don’t know it' critique of the feminist blogosphere that basically says that women of color bloggers aren't making a difference if the mainstream doesn't know their name.

Breaking News - sometimes we blog and don't tell y'all about it, we talk and don't invite y'all to witness it and we debate and don't want you to be a part of it.

And sometimes we contribute and aren't sell outs for it, we connect and aren't being taken for a ride as we do it, we join and are not consolidated as a result of it.

But hey, who the fuck wants to acknowledge women of color bloggers when it might get in the way of a good old fashioned defense of the oppressed by...um, the privileged...critique?

***cue crickets***

Mercy.

Entertaining whilst broke and an easy as hell recipe…

ABCNews.com has a story up about how Americans are staying home…and knitting, cooking and playing Scrabble…as a result of the recession.

Blink.

Well, those of us who have been…um, budgeted…for years have long known the joys of home-based entertainment!

A bitch adores a comfort-food dinner with friends and I can’t say enough about the particular joy of slow cooked yumminess.

So, the news that there is a slow cooker recipe contest was beyond exciting!

Chocolate pudding cake in a slow cooker?

Fantabulous.

Anyhoo, if there is an upside to this economic drama it may be that some folks are rediscovering their house and the kitchen in it.

Trust a bitch, it’s hard to beat pot roast with smashed potatoes and several hours of good conversation…

ABB’s Slow Cooker Easy as Hell Pot Roast Recipe.

What you need…
A pot roast
An onion
Black pepper
Salt or seasoning if blood pressure is an issue (sigh)
Worcestershire sauce
A slow cooker
Vegetables (optional, because a bitch prefers smashed taters as a side)

What to do with all that shit...
Salt or season and pepper the roast to taste
Put that thang in the slow cooker…on low
Add sliced onions on top
Dash it up with several shakes of Worstershire sauce
Put the lid on

And leave it alone to get its cook on for…um, 10 hours.

Invite others to bring sides and something sweet...it will cut down on costs while adding extra yummification to the meal.

‘Tis happiness and joy in a crock pot…

Save Sexuality Studies petition...

The National Sexuality Resource Center asked this bitch to support the field of sexuality studies and the role of science in policy development and health interventions by promoting, blogging about and linking to the 'Save Sexuality Studies' petition that they launched the other day.

With pleasure!

Called "disgusting" by legislators, queer, women's and sexuality studies courses and research are being sliced or threatened at some public universities in the US under the guise of budget cuts...and what we stand to lose is the important contributions that research and scientific inquiry make to sexuality related policies, programs and interventions. Any researcher, program or class across the country could be next. Whether we work as advocates, researchers, students or health educators, these cuts will ultimately compromise the integrity and accuracy of all our work.

Please read and sign the petition now to support sexuality studies...and link to the petition and pass it on to your friends.

Let’s work together to support this critical work!

You can also read the National Sexuality Resource Center blog (and see the ultra-offensive video from GA legislator Charlice Byrd).

Thanks.

Pondering the photo ban...

Lincoln’s birthday and the President’s Day holiday brought with them television shows covering the Civil War…and more than a few explorations of the impact war photography had on the publics view of that war.

The American Civil War was brought home to many because it was fought in their front yards…and to many more through battlefield photographs that showed the death and destruction that comes with conflict.

Upfront and personal.

The unimaginable became imaginable.

And real…oh so vividly, painfully real.

I thought of those Civil War photographs when I read this news report on the debate over whether to lift the current ban on showing the return of our war dead from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Many military families who have lost a loved one support lifting the ban and I do too.

Not so we can posture and feel smug if we oppose these conflicts…not so we can put together photo essays calling for a continuation so that the fallen will not have died in vain.

But because what we don’t see is too often not real.

And war needs to be real to more than just those who serve and their families.

Upfront and personal.

The unimaginable must become imaginable.

And real.

Oh so vividly, painfully real.

So that we, like those Americans of long ago, will look at war through different eyes…as something real and ongoing and yes, with cost beyond measure.

Mayhap it is the lack of guarantees…of being able to control how photos are received by the mind and filtered through our values…that prompted this ban in the first place?

I don't know, but this is a policy discussion worth watching...

A condom-based stank eye incident at the Walgreen’s…

A bitch is concerned about the impact of stank eye.

Specifically, I’m concerned by the stank eye many people are subjected to when they buy condoms at their local pharmacy.

Shall we?

This past Saturday a bitch journeyed out and about of my lair because we were out of cranberry juice and that just won’t do. Since I didn’t need a ton of shit I decided to journey to Walgreen’s for a quick swing through. I failed to anticipate that Saturday was Valentines Day…and that there are a lot of last minute sweethearts out there…and that my local Walgreen’s can be slow as a motherfucker…so, I stood in line holding cranberry juice for several minutes (more like 10!!).

Cough.

Anyhoo, a bitch is a natural observer and took a look at the folks in line with me.

There were several young men purchasing silly ass Valentine shit that would hopefully make up in sentiment what it lacked in originality. The young man in front of me appeared to be itemless…until I glanced down at his hands and noted that he held two packs of condoms. He obviously wasn’t trying to bring attention to his safe-sex purchase, and one of the reasons why was waiting behind the counter to check him out.

As the young condom purchaser set his items on the counter the woman behind the counter leveled the most intense stank eye on him that I’ve seen in a long time.

I’m talking the same level of stank coming from the eyes that this bitch gets from those wooden cross dragging protesters outside of Pridefest each year…mmmhmm, STANK!

I was stunned and then I got pissed.

I’ve purchased condoms before…hell, I used to be the designated condom purchaser for my friends…and I’ve been the recipient of stankified eye before. And I found that shit insulting and intolerable.

Given the fact that St. Louis ranks number one in STIs, this bitch finds that kind of sanctimonious judgment beyond insulting and intolerable.

So, when I came up to purchase my juice I gave Ms. Thang some stank eye right back.

I stared hard…hard as hell…so hard and so filled with angry disgust that when she lifted her eyes to me she physically jerked.

And then she flushed and looked away.

Sigh.

The problem is that Ms. Stank Eye from the Walgreen’s isn’t the exception…she’s far too often the rule.

We need to create an environment where people can purchase condoms with out judgment …be in stank eye or from the other end of the spectrum and equally insulting “I’m so bloody proud of you for using protection!!!” over the top praise.

‘Tis fitting that this is National Condom week, because we really need to commit to raising awareness about condom use and the facts.

And based on what I witnessed whilst shopping at the Walgreen’s, we also need to work on breaking down that stigma and curing the eye stankification condom purchasers face.

The Lezzy Awards…

The announcement of the Lezzy Award winners has been moved up to Wednesday February 18th at 9:45 EDT and will be announced live on The Lesbian Lounge Podcast.

Nominations will close 2 hours earlier at 9:00 pm.

‘Tis this blog’s honor to be nominated!

Listen to the live broadcast of The Lesbian Lounge on Wednesday the 18th at 9:45 by going to www.mylesbianradio.com and clicking on Listen HERE!

If you can't listen to the broadcast the winners will be posted on TLL directly after the show.

Oh shit, a bitch missed my own blog anniversary…again!

A certain Carin from Sweden sent this bitch a belated Happy Blog Anniversary email and reminded a bitch that my blog anniversary was February 10th.

Blink.

Shit.

Well hell, I’ve been busy!

Anyhoo…

Four years and a couple of days ago, Brother Rob Thurman gave this bitch AngryBlackBitch.com for my birthday.

Pause...check to see if my ass missed my fucking birthday too (whew, thank the gods)...continue.

Many thanks to Rob for noting my tendency to rant (hard to miss) and telling me to do so online.

A special thank you to the many knavish trolls who have proven many a point made here through their comments…bless y’all for your usually anonymous, anti-knowledge, often racist, freakish dedication to the Dark Side!

Sincere thanks to all who read, comment, discuss and debate through this bitch’s blog...you are beyond fantabulous!

And long live the fine art of bitchitude...