Some play chess while others play checkers, but The Man plays poker...

Shall we?

The other day a colleague handed me the Pride issue of the Vital Voice magazine.  I love the cover and the fact that so many diverse businesses and organizations are advertising in our community’s LGBT publication.  I flipped through pages…took note of the Pridefest Guide and the schedule of events for the two day festival scheduled for the last weekend in June…then came upon an article titled The State of Gay: Chess or Checkers.

The State of Gay: Chess of Checkers?

That looked interesting so I settled down to get my read on…

…and had several reactions, one on top of the other.

Reaction #1 – If one is going to assemble “a panel comprised of individuals within the LGBT community who represent the gamete of opinions and political identities” why would one assemble a panel without one of the many transgender activists in the region…or a woman…or a person of color…or someone from Black Pride…or someone older or a representative from SAGE?

Reaction #2 – well tis another question really.

If a panel discussing the state of gay lacks representation beyond white gay men is that supposed to send a message?

Mayhap the author was being clever?

I mean, really…that has to be the answer.  In this day and age, with so many LGBT organizations addressing and/or being challenged for their lack of diversity and inclusion, who the fuck would assemble the panel that was assembled unless they were trying to send some sort of message.

Pause…consider…continue.

But, but wait…what if the message was that this is how the author sees “individuals within the LGBT community who represent the gamete of opinions and political identities”!

Mercy.

The reality is that many folks will read the article and not notice the lack of diversity in the panel...others will think that one can explore the state of gay merely by chatting up a Republican, a Tea Party member, an activist and a representative from HRC.

In a freakish way, the framing of the article is a statement on the state of gay.

My take away is not that we’ve got a lot of work to do…that would dismiss the incredible social justice and political work being done in our community by the very folks who were not on the panel – transgender activists, LGBT people of color, LGBT elders and advocates for LGBT elders and the fantabulous youth activists and grassroots political organizations like PROMO and I could go on and on.

No, my take away from the article is that the state of gay represented on the panel has a lot of work to do and that folks should feel uncomfortable even engaging in that kind of segregated discussion of the state of gay.

The article’s author states that people and groups seem to be more divided and disbanded…and seems to make the case that LGBT activism may be “playing checkers in a world where chess is the game.”

And so I learned that a game of checkers was played in a world where too many people think chess is the game.

I suppose it makes sense to point out that you can’t play either game worth shit with so many of the pieces missing.

Meanwhile, The Man prefers poker.

Blink. 

National Doughnut Day…

I watched the news today (brutal) and then read my email (some good stuff followed by multiple comment attempts by some rancid racist knaves with more time than common sense) and…well, I was left feeling that the world has gone to shit.

Absolute steaming shit on ice…yep, stankified shit.

But then I saw news about National Doughnut Day scroll past on the telly.

That’s right, chil’ren…today is National Doughnut Day!

No, that won’t fix the fubar in the Gulf…it won’t cure knavish trolls of their racism or cut off their internet access…and it won’t bring about peace in the Middle East.

But National Doughnut Day will give this bitch an excuse to eat a sometimes food…and that’s a good thing.

I’m going to get my eat on, damn it and savor the simple joy of deciding between a cake doughnut or a jelly filled one…

…and put thoughts of that giant sinkhole in Guatemala sucking all the assholes of the world into the bowels of Earth (sigh) aside for as long as it takes to inhale deep fried sugar coated dough.

Happy Friday!

Hockey anticipation and a quicker than quick look back at Game 3…

Gawd, what a week!!

Post-holiday weeks always wear this bitch out.

Anyhoo, I neglected to post about Game 3 in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals…my bad…but I did watch!

The Flyers beat the Hawks in overtime and it was a nail biter of a game – it had goals that were goals, a goal that was a goal but wasn’t called a goal until after play was allowed to continue for multiple minutes and an overtime goal that wasn’t a goal followed by one that was a goooooooal.

Lawd, have mercy.

The Hawks are still up 2 games to 1 in the series with Game 3 tonight in Philly.

I leave you to your hockey anticipatude with this link to a clip of Don Cherry acting a fool as he channels the Phantom of the Opera.

No, I’m not kidding.

Toodles!

By request – my thoughts on driving while black in Missouri…

Let’s jump in!

A bitch has received several emails requesting my thoughts on the recent report by Missouri’s Attorney General Chris Koster on what we like to call driving while black.

Now, I know that more than a few folks respond to people of color taking exception to being pulled over for being black and behind the wheel of a moving vehicle the same way they respond to people of color taking exception to being asked to produce proof of citizenship simply for being brown in a border state – they shoot back some bullshit about how we shouldn’t be upset if we didn’t do anything wrong and gleefully ignore the fact that we didn’t do anything fucking wrong in the first place…unless someone reactivated Jim Crow and my ass missed it.

Christ.

Yeah, I know that’s how some people feel…that it isn’t a big deal and if people of color didn’t commit crimes we wouldn’t be pulled over and blah followed by blah followed by another fucking blah.  This bitch knows that if all straight white men between the ages of 24 and 45 in a community, regardless of whether they have a criminal record or not, were pulled over and/or hauled in for questioning every time a child went missing or a serial killer was wanted those same folks would sing a different tune on profiling.

This shit is easy to dismiss when you’re not the one with a cop at your car window for no damn reason.

Anyhoo, Koster released the 10th annual report on vehicle stops…the report says that “if you are African-American you are 70 percent more likely to be pulled over than if you are Caucasian" and that "In the city of Ladue, you are 1,700 percent more likely to be pulled over than if you were Caucasian."

For non-locals, Ladue is an affluent St. Louis suburb and is known as a place where black folks get pulled over and asked if we are lost…trust a bitch, it’s happened to me more than once.

The Attorney General’s office examined 1.7 million stops by 642 law enforcement agencies in 2009.

Over the past 10 years the rate of black folk getting pulled over has increased in Missouri from 30 percent to 70 percent.

A bitch thought that shit was disturbing all on it’s own…but much of the media attention has focused on the Ladue stats ‘cause Ladue is Ladue.  Seems to me that Ladue is just doing what Missouri does with more dedication and consistency and we’d do well to not give the state a pass simply because one suburb is particularly rancid when it comes to harassing black drivers.

Even if you are comfortable with the idea of black residents in the state of Missouri having to add an extra 30 minutes to our drive time to allow for a potential incident of driving while black…your ass should be pissed.

Every time a Missourian is pulled over for driving while black and there wasn’t a crime or cause or reason…every time a police officer takes the time to run plates, write that shit up, call it in, walk to the car and ask if we are lost and then issue a verbal warning for some shit that never happened…every time that shit happens it wastes time, money and an opportunity to protect and serve.k.

I’m not even going to get into the civil rights violations or the precious privilege demonstrated by the Ladue police department when they defend these stats by saying drivers can always come into the police department offices and file a complaint…but I will point out that the former Ladue Police Chief is suing Ladue for allegedly firing him due to his refusal to racially profile black drivers.

The true tragedy is that there are people out there who have been conditioned by a media that only mentions race when the race isn’t white to think that black people…all of us…are guilty until proven innocent.

Just like there are misguided liberals who think that claiming that we are all a part of the human race is progressive and who feel that thinking of humans in terms of race is the problem.

But a bitch has personally been pulled over and I can tell you black trumps adhering to the laws a lot in Missouri and a hell of a lot in Ladue.

For the record, humans are a species not a lets-all-hold-hands-and-ignore-our-differences-so-I-can-tolerate-you race.

And post-racial is a delusion just like that “I don’t see color” claim someone is typing up right now to post in the comments.

Sigh.

This isn't complicated.

'Tis rather simple.

A bitch is a full-figured chocolate brown woman with an Afro and I sure as shit expect people to see that shit…

…what I don’t want or deserve, even though I've come to expect it, is to be pulled over and harassed for that shit.

Blink.

If he can come up with a way to stop the oil spewage before August…

…James Cameron may actually be the King of the World.

A bitch can only hope that the Feds have learned from BPs failure to plan and have a relief well ready for the overflow of red hot liquid smugness that will spew from Cameron’s mouth should he come up with the cure for fubar.

Fuck it.

It’ll be worth the risk that Cameron’s already monumental ego may explode like a volcano or expand to become earth’s second moon.

Pause...consider...continue.

And then he can battle it out for the title of King of the Known Universe with Kevin Kostner of the dances with machines that clean oil from water Kostners, who will likely reappear to save the day once the spewing stops.

Hooray for Hollywood!

Blink.

Oh, the agony of fubar and the limits of liability…

Okay, so now is appears that the massive oil spill that just keeps spilling will most likely not be shut off until August.  The best bet to actually stop the spewing is a relief well…they need to construct that motherfucker and that won’t be done until August.

Lawd, have mercy.

I can’t even look at the live video feed.

Anyhoo, now lawmakers in Congress are looking to lift the liability cap on companies like BP…that begs the question of why the fuck there is a liability cap to protect companies capable of producing disasters that redefine liability?

***cue crickets***

Rumor has it that the Justice Department is taking a look at environmental laws to see if BP can be held criminally liable…which begs the question – if we aren’t talking about tossing these assholes in jail why the fuck aren’t we talking about tossing at least one of these assholes in jail?

***bring those crickets back for an encore***

Sigh.

The sad reality is that financial liability, though beyond important given the scope of this disaster, won’t "punish" BP.

Not really.

BP is making mad cash even as I type and they will continue to make mad cash throughout the made-for-television-yet-not-really-expected-to-work public displays of trying something designed to distract the masses until that relief well is finished.

And even if we could toss some folks in jail for this shit, that wouldn’t do a damn thing to punish BP…hell, they probably already have some poor mid-level asshole marinated and prepped that they can toss under the bus if indictments are ever issued.

Sigh.

Mayhap Momma Nature could open up a massive sinkhole, like the one in Guatemala City that sucked in a building and is big enough to hide Lady Liberty, and just suck BP into the earth’s molten core?

What?

Shit, there’s a better chance of that shit happening than BP finding their corporate ass with both hands and a GPS navigation system.

Blink.

Reflecting on four days off…

A bitch had a refreshing four days off for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Gawd, I needed that!

I slept…and then slept some more…and then took a bunch of naps - clearly I needed to recharge my battery.

I got some paperwork done, which went a long way to relieving my stress.

A bitch also organized some seriously disorganized shit…again addressing a source of stress.

And then there was the quality dawg time…pet-based guilt has plagued a bitch but extra snuggle time with both beagles made up for that.

The lawn was mowed…laundry was done…and then more napping.

Sigh.

Yeah, I needed this extended rest-based staycation…big time!

Hell, it took me most of day one to figure out what to do with myself for the remaining three days off.

Blink.

Now, back to work!

Yes, a bitch is featured in the June 2010 issue of St. Louis Magazine!

Yep, that’s me.

The very fantabulous Stefene Russell wrote about this bitch for the June issue of St. Louis Magazine – ‘tis on the stands and St. Louisans can check it out, but the article isn’t online just yet.

They do have a podcast up about the June issue, though.

Minor correction to the podcast – a bitch was actually born in St. Paul Minnesota but I was certainly raised in St. Louis Missouri!

Anyhoo, I’ll post a link as soon as the article goes online.

Many thanks to Stefene Russell and all the folks at St. Louis Magazine for choosing to profile a bitch...

...and tons of thanks to a certain Matt Marcinkowski, photographer extraordinaire, who made this bitch look good and my Afro look even better!

Stanley Cup viewage – reflections on Game 1 between the Hawks and the Flyers…

Hockey is nothing if not unpredictable and Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals proved that shit…big time!

A bitch and C-Money settled down to watch the pre-game build-up on the NHL Channel and the anticipation was fantabulous.

Would it be a blow out?

Would anyone put on the foil?

Would nerves play a role?

Would the Flyers contain the Hawks top line?

Would Americans get a Don Cherry sighting?

Oh my!



I.


Love.


This.


Game!

A blow out?

No.

Both teams got their score on, much to this bitch’s surprise.  I would have expected Chicago to drop some whoop ass in a high scoring game, but the Flyers held their own right down to the final few minutes.  There were 11 goals total with the wining one giving the game to Chicago 6-5…but Philly played with ‘em and met their firepower with some of their own.

Did anyone put on the foil, coach?

Nope.  There weren’t any fights and that too was surprising, since ‘tis obvious some of the boys would rather look at a smear of shit on a wall than some of the dudes on the other team.  Darn those NHL rules!  Tussles, high sticks, one unfortunate boarding incident and some shoving aside…both teams left the foil in the locker room.

Nerves, however, did make an appearance.

A bitch suspects that both goalies had a case of the jitters.  Both shat the bed a bit in the game…but Leighton was the one who got pulled.  Most the of the post game analysis says that the score-fest wasn’t due to synchronized sieve-ation between the pipes…but trust that this bitch will be watching the minders of the net closely in Game 2!

Mercy.

All in all, it was a wild game…with goals coming from expected and un-expected places.  My take-away is that this is going to be a serious series…both teams are there to win…and we the hockey adoring masses are in for some damn good NHL viewage!

That should make up for the fact that a bitch was assaulted by several shots of an asshole Hawks fan in full this-is-what-white-people-think-Native-American-war-paint-looks-like gear complete with a headdress and…wait for it…a tomahawk.

Pause...roll eyes...continue.

Lawd, give me strength.

I can only hope that the NBC cameraperson will skip the public displays of cultural disrespect in the future.

I mean shit, next time cut to a crazy ass Don Cherry rant or something!

Blink.




Anyhoo...

Hawks 1 - Flyers 0 and onward to Game 2!

Dream a little dream of me…

Stars shining bright above you.
Night breezes seem to whisper, 'I love you,'
Birds singing in the sycamore tree.
Dream a little dream of me.

A bitch has a rare four days off from work!

Pause…consider…continue.

Okay, that’s not accurate…I have four days off from my nine to five gig, but my ass still has plenty of work to do.

Say nighty-night and kiss me.
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me.
While I'm alone and blue as can be,
Dream a little dream of me.

Shit, it still feels like a vacation to me!

I slept in a bit…made cheesy eggs and bacon (yum!)…and skipped the coffee ‘cause I intend to take a mid-day nap, damn it.

Aw, the joy of a four day stretch…a holiday weekend with dawgs, and a lawn to mow, and paperwork, and writing to do, and…shit!

Stop…cease…don’t do it, bitch!

Breath in relaxation…release stress and obligation.

Sigh.

Yeah, that’s the way.

Stars fading, but I linger on, dear,
Still craving your kiss.

‘Tis a beautiful summer-esque spring day…and I don’t have to do a damn thing.

I'm longing to linger 'till dawn, dear,
Just saying this:

Maybe I’ll make some iced tea…oh, oh no…lemonade with tons of sugar and ice!

Sweet dreams 'till sunbeams find you,
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you.

Yeah, that sounds like heaven…some iced out lemonade, a good book or documentary on the telly and dawgs sleeping at my feet.

Fantabulous!

But in your dreams, whatever they be.

Dream a little dream of me.

Toodles ‘til tomorrow….

British Petroleum and redefining fubar…

Shall we?

Lawd, have mercy.

There are fuck ups and then there is the current eco-disaster pumping out in the Gulf.  Everyone is frustrated…every day this shit gets worse and every day entire industries are being destroyed.  Watching this unfold is the very definition of agony and the eco-disaster itself is the very definition of fubar.

It just is…all indications are that it simply will be…an absolute hot mess of epic proportions.

I’ve noticed a recurring statement in the media coverage of BP’s attempts to stop the oil from pumping out – “this has never been tried in deep seas.”

Every time they propose and then attempt a fix...every time that fix doesn’t work…BP is forced to admit what no one wants to acknowledge – that companies are drilling offshore in deep sea conditions, that drilling carries with it the risk of spills and spills will happen, and no one has a proven technique to deal with those spills in deep water when they do happen.

The only question on the table is whether anyone will figure something out, who that person will be (and it sure as shit doesn’t look like BP’s gonna get a clue anytime soon) and how much oil will be in the region once that yet to be determined genius gets her or his genius on and delivers a fix.

Damn it all to hell.

As the masses come to terms with the reality that screaming “do something!” doesn’t make a this-will-fix-this-shit-so-we-can-start-cleaning-up-this-oil perfect something-based fix suddenly appear on the table, I’m left wondering if we’ll learn anything and knowing that the odds are against it.

BP is arrogant because they can be…they aren’t taking responsibility because they don’t have to…they lack a sense of urgency because they know that their proposals to fix this shit might not work and there aren’t consequences for that, other than our anger…and the worse thing about all that is that BP is a monster the lack of regulations created.

The federal government doesn’t have the answers because they don’t have to…they’ve been reformed to do just what they are doing – spin in circles while waiting for private business to solve problems.

This is small government, rampant free enterprise and lax regulations in practice…economic theory playing out in a real life scenario for all the world to see.

But hey, we’ve got a live web cam to capture all that fubar for the record!

Yay.

Christ.

Will we learn anything?

Will we apply the lessons we learn?

Will the oil ever stop pumping out so we can even think about lessons and changes and reform?

They drill baby…because they can.

And it spills, baby…because it will.

And even if the buck stopped somewhere we’d still be faced with that recurring statement ‘cause “this has never been tried in deep seas”, with the Gulf as testing ground and with a growing eco-disaster no one is responsible for.

Because they don’t have to be.

Fubar, redefined.

Blink.

Onward to the Stanley Cup Finals...

Okay, Game 5 of the Habs v Flyers series was exciting as hell.

True, no one took a puck to the face...lost 7 teeth...and still return to play in the game (Lawd, have mercy), but that goal by Richards was a thing of beauty!

Anyhoo, the fantastical play-off run of the Montreal Canadians came to an end...and a bitch must confess that I was sad to see its conclusion.  But the Habs have a lot to be proud of…they played with heart and truculent belligerence (wink).

Now onward to the Finals in the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup!

It’s going to be the Hawks vs. Flyers and a bitch suspects both teams will be puttin’ on the foil, coach…

It's off to the Stanley Cup Finals for the Hawks...

A bitch caught Game 4 of the Hawks v Sharks Stanley Cup Playoff series yesterday afternoon.

I really thought the Sharks were going to make a go of it…but they ultimately fell short and the Chicago Blackhawks took out the broom and swept their series.

Daaaaamn!

It’s off to the Stanley Cup Finals for the Hawks!

Now we get to see if the Flyers will finish the Habs to join them.

A bitch would call that series for the Flyers…but if any team can pull a miracle run it’s the Habs.

Can’t wait, can’t wait...CAN’T WAIT!

Sigh.

Hockey bliss…

Pondering a nun, an abortion, hospitals run by religious institutions and how one person’s “good” is another person’s “evil”…

The other day my sister C-Money and I were discussing the case of the nun in Arizona who was excommunicated for authorizing an abortion at a Catholic hospital to save the woman’s life.

My sister remarked that the nun likely knew that there would be consequences of some sort or another.

Then she added that courage is what you do even when you know the risks.

Shall we?

I’ve been following coverage of the news story about the nun, Sister Margaret McBride, who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church for approving an abortion in order to save a woman’s life.  The specific situation is disturbing – the 27 year old woman was 11 weeks along in her pregnancy when a serious heart condition placed her life in peril.   Doctors said that the woman would face certain death if she continued the pregnancy.  The Catholic Church allegedly has a loop-hole for such cases at Catholic hospitals…so Sister Margaret McBride, an administrator at the Arizona hospital, approved the abortion procedure.

The woman survived.

Sister Margaret McBride was excommunicated.

In the eyes of church officials, she “consented in the murder of an unborn child”.

CBS News quotes Rev. John Ehrich, the medical ethics director for the Diocese of Phoenix - "There are some situations where the mother may in fact die along with her child. But - and this is the Catholic perspective - you can't do evil to bring about good. The end does not justify the means."

Alrighty then.

As someone who lives in a region with several Catholic hospitals, I’ve known that not all hospitals are the same for quite some time.  There is a never-ending debate over the role of religion in hospital administration that everyday folks are probably not even aware of.  On the surface it is all so simple – churches have rights, hospitals run by religious institutions often build policy based on religious doctrine and patients can choose to not go to a hospital if they disagree with that shit.

But things are never as simple as they first appear.

When a person has a medical emergency, they are taken to the closest medical facility…and that should be a good thing.  In cities, there are usually several hospitals to choose from for elective things…but if a body lives in a rural area there may only be one hospital serving a large area, so the issue of choice does not apply.

That brings us back to the issue of hospitals run by religious institutions, those rights and the policy positions based on religious doctrine.

Even if you aren’t Catholic you are subject to Catholic ethics at a Catholic hospital…or [insert religious institution here] ethics at a [insert religious institution]'s hospital.

Even if your doctor isn’t Catholic she has to adhere to the policies of the hospital she is practicing medicine at.

That may not mean a damn thing…or it could mean everything.

Rape survivors who are taken by ambulance to the nearest medical facility may not be offered emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy.

Women who would like to have a tubal ligation procedure after giving birth are denied that option.

And a woman facing certain death should she continue a pregnancy might have died...but for the decision of a nun working in hospital administration.

It all depends on hospital policy…policy based on faith dressed up to look like medical ethics.

Think about that for a moment - the difference between life and death for many of us could all ride on the actions of one nun in administration.

Other writers have pointed out the rancidity of a church automatically excommunicating a nun for authorizing an abortion yet protecting, enabling and not excommunicating pedophile priests.

But my focus keeps coming back to what this all means for people living in communities all of the nation...to everyday folks who assume that hospitals are all the same and doctors will do everything they can to save a person’s life…and I can’t help but wonder what other scenarios are out there, unexplored and not yet pondered, that may challenge the ethics of a religion and thus limit the life saving options for doctors.

Tis true that “you can't do evil to bring about good”…

…and ‘tis also true that everyone isn’t working from the same definition of  “good” or “evil”.

Many are now asking the question are Catholic hospitals safe for pregnant women and this bitch is wondering who else they aren't safe for.

Blink.

Hockey Night in Bitchlandia continues…

A bitch caught Game 3 of the Canadiens v Flyers series last night.

The Flyers went in with a 2 Game to 0 lead in the series.

The Habs went in needing to win…to show the hell up and play a full 60 minutes…to recapture the fighting spirit that has fueled their remarkable playoff run.

Well, playoff hockey was in the house last night…big time!

Montreal came out gunning while the Flyers seemed to pay for every mistake and turn over.

Habs 5.

Flyers 1.

And some old time glove-to-the-face drama broke out in the 3rd period, so a bitch suspects Game 4 is going to be fierce as a motherfucker.

Next up, Game 3 in the Hawks v Sharks saga.




Fantabulous!

I love hockey…yes I do…I love hockey and so should you!

Dear Anonymous Asshole…

Pause…stretch a bit…and begin.

Dear Anonymous Asshole,

This bitch is reaching out to you in response to the comment you attempted to make to my Where we stand after the Great Primary Showdown of 2010 post, because I feel that you may have a serious problem in need of immediate treatment.

It’s best that I just come out and say it – you may be able to read but you lack the ability to comprehend.

Now, now…I’m making that diagnosis based on your over-the-top, freakishly rambling and ALL CAPS SO A BITCH’LL KNOW YOU MEAN BITNESS defense of a certain Rand Paul, who you seem to think I called a racist in my post.

But…um, well…I didn’t call Rand Paul a racist in my post.

As a matter of fact, I didn’t reference Dr. Paul’s comments about race or the Civil Rights Act at all.

Pause…wait for Anonymous Asshole to re-read post…continue.

Did anything sink in the second time around…where you able to absorb the fact that my mention of Rand Paul addressed the wrongness of his statements about the Americans With Disabilities Act?

Now, ‘tis true that many people of color benefit from the Americans With Disabilities Act…but a bitch isn’t gonna stretch that to try to make an argument that Rand Paul opposes protecting the rights of the disabled because a brown disabled person may benefit.

On the contrary, I think Rand is an equal opportunity supporter of organizations and businesses that would like to deny rights and privileges to Americans with disabilities!

Back to your condition – charging a bitch up about whether I’ve read or could understand Arizona’s immigration bill after you clearly demonstrated that you either did not read or could not understand my post was priceless.

Using racial stereotypes to make the case that Rand Paul isn’t a racist while self-diagnosing your own ass as not racist even as you refer to “the history of colored people” and “radical Negros” was delusional.

But accusing this bitch of calling Rand Paul a racist in a post where I didn’t call Rand Paul a racist was probably the all time hand down most ridiculous shit I’ve read in years.

And for that achievement Anonymous Asshole, you get a radical, socialist, undocumented worker loving, militant, pro-abortion rights supporting, state sovereignty denying, feminist, lgbt equality rights advocating cookie!

You can redeem this post for your cookie as soon as you get a fucking clue.

And we’ll just let Rand Paul speak for himself on the issue of the Civil Rights Act of 1964…

Toodles!

Rain, rain and more motherfucking rain…

Fuck a duck.

Complaining about the weather is foolish…a bitch gets that…but damn it to hell and back, I’m tired of this constant rain so I’m gonna indulge in a bit of foolish complaining.

Is this what it’s like in Seattle?

Jesus!

I don’t know why, but St. Louisans drive like they’ve lost their damn mind…as if rain slick roads are triple dawg daring them to test their breaks.

And don’t even get me started on the wet dawg situation.

Two rain hating sorta-beagles plus one three-legged chow are also tired of this constant rain…and a bitch is tired of the aroma of wet or recently wet dawg.

Mercy.

At least we’ve got a steady drizzle and not a fierce storm.

But, fuck a damn rain soaked duck…we’re going to miss spring and skip right into a humid as hell summer!



***shakes fists at rain pissing sky***

Shit!

Sigh.

Thanks.

I needed that.

Toodles!

Where we stand after the Great Primary Showdown of 2010…

Shall we?

This bitch didn’t watch coverage of the mid-term primaries last night…’cause some serious ice hockey was on the telly and I’ve got my priorities straight. 

Wink.

But I easily caught up on what's what this morning.

Senator Arlen Specter will not be returning to the Senate once he finishes this term.  The former Republican turned Democrat lost his Democratic primary battle to a certain Joe Sestak.  Sestak is pro-choice with a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America, so reproductive justice advocates in Pennsylvania need to ramp it up and turn out the vote for him this November.

In Arkansas, incumbent Senator Blanche Lincoln received a message from the progressive masses…she’ll face a run-off against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter to determine who the Democrat will be to face Republican John Boozman, who won the GOP nomination yesterday.

In Kentucky, Rand Paul delivered a Tea Party victory.  A bitch doesn’t know much about Paul…but his public statements against The Americans With Disabilities Act are enough to turn my stomach.  Suffice it to say, Kentucky will have a choice to make in November and that choice will have consequences…let’s hope voters look beyond the spectacle at the doctor's policy positions.

Mercy.

Now to the race political junkies were anxious about…despite a shit-load of money pumped in by the GOP, Mark Critz defeated his Republican challenger to win the special election race to fill the House seat vacated by the death of Rep. Murtha.

This truly was the race to watch last night…unless you were watching hockey.

Democrats were testing to see what works as they battled to hold on to the blue-collar Pennsylvania district where they have a 2-to-1 registration advantage.  The GOP was testing out the effectiveness of the Obama = evil, health care reform = socialism and Pelosi = Satan message.

Progressives need to take note – Critz won by leading with his anti-choice, pro-gun, same-as-Murtha economic policy positions.

If the Democratic Party is formulating their survival plan based on Critz’s road to victory, we who would like to see them take the reproductive choice plank of the party platform seriously have a serious problem.

Blink.

Where we stand after The Night of Two Game 2s…

Last night was Hockey Night in Bitchlandia in my house as we caught two Game 2s in the quest for Lord Stanley's Cup – Habs v. Flyers and Hawks v. Sharks.

The Habs v. Flyers series is a battle of the unexpecteds, so it seems as if anything is possible…but this bitch assumed Montreal would come out blasting after shitting the bed in a 6-0 loss in game one.  But nooooo…twasn’t in the stars!  The Flyers were in control and the Habs looked bewitched, bothered and bewildered as the Flyers skated to a 3-0 shut-out win.

The Flyers lead the series 2-0 and this bitch suspects Montreal is praying that there’s no place like home for Game 3.

The Hawks are looking like a team that learned something last year…big time.  The Shark Tank is usually an intimidating place to enter as the visiting team, but the Hawks were focused in Game 1 and stayed focused for Game 2.  Even though they started both games slow, the Hawks battled hard for wins…and the Sharks are now down 2-0 in the series as they head to Chi-Town. 

Hockey drama = hockey bliss!

Primary election frenzification….

First an update on Theo the sorta-beagle!

As some of you know a bitch has two sorta-beagles, Theo and Betsey.  Theo had surgery on Friday to remove a freakish skin tag from his front leg and he got his teeth cleaned while his ass was knocked out.

Theo is recovering well, but…well, he’s beyond pissed off at his being coned.

I tried to explain to him that I coned him for his own good…Theo, like all dawgs, is prone to lick his wounds and that’s not a good thing.

But Theo ain’t trying to hear that shit – he spent last night alternating between trying to get free of the cone, glaring at me or trying to seduce me into removing the cone by casting puppy glances my way.

Sigh.

I’ve got five more days of this shit.

Yay.

Lawd, give me strength!

Onward.

Some folks will get the chance to vent their political frustration at the polls in a primary election today.

The press has worked itself up into frenzy as they anticipate the fall of incumbents followed by the opportunity to feed upon the corpses of multiple political careers for the next few weeks.

A bitch suspects that voters will indeed vote against incumbents today…but I’m more interested to see if they vote for anyone.

See, throwing the bums out is one thing.

Voting a party in is another altogether.

This has all happened before.

This will all happen again (wink).

A bitch recalls the mass anti-incumbent correction of 1994, when many in the media interpreted voter anger as a political thumbs up for Newt & Company.  In reality, many voters got their vent on and flipped Congress more to punish Dems than embrace Newtology…even so, those voters sure as shit expected the newly crowned GOP to kick ass and take names.

Just like voters who kicked GOP incumbents out in 2006 expected much of the new Democratic majority.

I’m fascinated to see what happens today and in November.

I’ve come to understand that the masses aren’t consistent voters…those that are consistent voters aren’t necessarily party loyalists…and mid-term house cleaning is as reliable a happening as my basement flooding when it rains (translation – 'tis reliable as a motherfucker).

Anyhoo, this bitch won’t be watching the primary-apocalypse tonight – I've got a volunteer phone bank (non-election based) and...well, after that it's Hockey Night in Bitchlandia.

Pause…consider…continue.

Could the fall of the defending Stanley Cup champ Penguins have been a harbinger of Great Incumbent Dethronification of 2010?

Blink.

***logs off to eagerly anticipate tonight’s viewage of Habs v. Flyers and Hawks v. Sharks***

Get back up, dust self off and continue…

I don’t know ‘bout you, but a sistah needs some Mavis Staples singing We Shall Not Be Moved right now (click here for a listen).

Gawd, I love this song.

Shall we?

We shall not we shall not be moved
We shall not we shall not be moved
Like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
We shall not we shall not be moved
We shall not we shall not be moved
Like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
Union is behind us
We shall not be moved
We shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved

The 2010 Session of the Missouri Legislature has ended.

Legislators passed an abortion restriction bill, an ethically challenged ethics reform bill…they cut funding to all manner of programs and services…and they sent to the August ballot an unenforceable measure to allow Missouri voters to decide whether to opt out of federal health care reform.

The Missouri legislature failed to pass a single jobs bill…a bitch suspects that multiple days spent pandering to sovereignty supporters and crafting legislation to insult and oppress women ate up a lot of time.

Sigh.

This was a rough one…but we who fight for social justice shall not be moved.

We're fighting for our freedom
We’re fighting for our freedom
We shall not be moved
Like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
Fighting for our children
We shall not be moved
We're fighting for our children
We shall not be moved
Like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
Black and white together
We shall not be moved
We shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved

I listened to the end of the session Friday, logged off my computer and made myself a stiff as hell vodka cran.

I was disgusted and tired as hell of this bullshit.

But I woke up yesterday and reminded myself that they call this a struggle for a reason.

We didn’t lose the war this session…maybe a battle or two, but certainly not the war.

Reproductive justice advocates did not walk away from this session empty handed – expedited partner therapy, which allows doctors to write a prescription for a person’s partner too when a person is diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI), passed and will be law.  As a resident of St. Louis city, where STI rates are some of the highest in the nation, this is an awesome legislative win that will have a positive impact on my community.

A fluff of the Afro to all who worked so hard for years to make expedited partner therapy (EPT) a reality!

Ohhh
We shall not we shall not be moved
We shall not we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
Well now
We shall not we shall not be moved
We shall not we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
Ohhh
We shall not be moved
We shall not be moved
Like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved

This bitch is preparing for what's next…for the work yet to be done.

And the truth is still true…regardless of the lies and misinformation spewed under the dome in Jefferson City.

Our cause is just.

There is no true freedom without reproductive justice.

And we shall not be moved.

Onward!

***logs off grooving to Mavis and refueling my activist soul***

Stressed and pondering the ban on ethnic studies...

Just when a bitch thought I couldn’t possibly be more stressed out…a certain Theo the sorta-beagle came up with a red and irritated skin tag on his leg that the vet says has to go.

Thus, Theo’s skin tag removal plus teeth cleaning (fuck it, once you knock him out you might as well get some shit done) both of which will happen this morning.

Lawd, give me strength.

Anyhoo…shall we?

Arizona has banned ethnic studies.  

Legislators passed and the Governor signed a bill that…well, the law prohibits the teaching of any classes that promote “the overthrow of the United States government,” “resentment toward a race or class of people,” “are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” or “advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

Blink.

My initial thought was that, when my grade school history class in Missouri taught a section on the Civil War, at least two of my fellow students spoke in favor of the cause of the Confederacy using phrases from our text book to make their case.  Makes a bitch wonder if that class would violate Arizona law...since it explored whether the armed revolt against the United States government that was the Civil War was just.

I’m just saying.


Onward!

When asked what the fuck they were doing and why, the response has been 1) that “ethnic studies” classes promote ethnic solidarity over community integration and 2) “Public school pupils should be taught to treat and value each other as individuals and not be taught to resent or hate other races or classes of people,” (from the text of the bill).

So, teaching students that young people were attacked with water hoses in Southern cities during the Civil Rights movement when they protested segregation…which may result in black students realizing that there was a time in this nation’s history when those in power oppressed black people to maintain their social control…that kind of history is dangerous.

‘Twould be better to teach students that the South would have gradually done away with segregation but a bunch of socialist trouble makers came down and stirred up shit?

Or should students be taught that activists sang that they would like to give the world a Coke to keep it company and then, hearing that song, Southern segregationists were inspired to join hands and sing of the joy of tolerance – thus the nation was integrated?

This is such bullshit - the history of the United States is littered with the oppression of people of color.  Teach students the truth...that there were people here before this territory was "discovered", that the economy of this nation was built on the back of free slave labor and that we the people have come a long way but have a long way to go. 

The truth hurts...but it also gives us some shit to be proud of.

Ugh.

As to classes like Chicano History teaching racial solidarity…well, Gosh – why in the world would students of color need to be taught to be proud of their cultural history in Arizona?


Lawd, have mercy.

A bitch suspects that this law coming on top of the rancid immigration law is one more step in a master plan.   First, create a climate where even natural born people of color are seen as suspect.

Second?

Re-write history to remove any references to facts so that the next generation of Arizonans will believe that Arizona was settled by pilgrims from the Mayflower and that the Constitution was drafted in Phoenix while Native Americans looked on with appreciative joy and then celebrated the birth of a new nation by peacefully re-settling themselves far away ‘cause they wanted a change of scenery.

Christ.

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

Or mayhap Arizona is in some sort of We're Rancid - Come Visit brand war with Virginia to win the title of #1 Travel Destination for bigots who fear all who are brown.

Nice.

A bitch has been getting my lobby on…

Hi all!

A bitch has been in Jefferson City lobbying the state legislature to vote NO on the Abortion Restriction Bill.  This is the last week of session and, as usual, the legislature is working to pass a lot of pending shit before the bell rings at 6pm on Friday.

Sigh.

Longtime readers know that this bitch highly recommends the folks pay attention to their state and local government.  Legislators need to hear from their constituents – it is essential and does make a difference.

Trust me, they hear from special interest groups hourly…and legislators often define the values of their district by which voice in the special interest group chorus is the loudest.

Sigh again.

Since my ass has had to juggle dawg care and work with the drive to and from Jefferson City, I know very well that it isn’t easy for the masses to get their citizen lobby on.

But we can all send an email, pick up the phone and make a call and let our elected representatives know where the people stand.

Missouri lawmakers are poised to pass legislation that will add more restrictions to access to abortion services…restrictions that shame women, promise support for women who chose to continue their pregnancy that the state can not so will not provide and that do nothing to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in the state.

And the same ridiculous shit is happening in state after state.

So this is my tired as hell, stressed out and generally disgusted with the ease with which some people pander to anti-choice organizations in an election year soap-box appeal to the masses…

Be aware…be vocal…and be persistent – politics is local and we the people cannot afford apathy.

Pause…consider…continue.

Gawd, how I long to be able to say “Thank goodness that law didn’t pass!” instead of “My Gawd, I can’t believe that piece of shit is going to be law.”

If you live in Missouri and have not taken action against the Abortion Restriction Bill, please click this link and do so now.

Thanks.

Remembering the great Lena Horne…

When I was a young girl I had the pleasure of seeing the great Lena Horne perform at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

She was touring a one-woman show and my parents wanted me to get a chance to see her perform live.

When Lena Horne took the stage that night she took command…she was larger than life, a long slim column of pure power…her arms stretched up as if to touch heaven itself and she moved across the stage in great sweeping steps, her entire body swaying and rippling with the music.

Lena Horne sang with her entire body…she was a truly beautiful woman who wasn’t afraid to get ugly when a note demanded it.

She was an instrument…the sound and the story of each song interpreted through fierce movement and fearless music.

And I sat up in the balcony knowing that I was witnessing magic…a woman who knew who she was, who was confident in her talent…so glorious a performer that I was moved to tears.

It is hard to process that Lena Horne has died…she was so alive, so full of power and energy that it seems impossible.

But the news is ultimately undeniable…Lena Horne passed away last night.

And when I was a young girl I had the pleasure of seeing Lena Horne perform at the Fabulous Fox Theatre…

Today I treasure that moment…the happening that was Lena Horne.

Lena Horne was 92 years old.

On Mother’s Day...

A longtime lurker sent this bitch an email asking me whether I dislike Mother’s Day because I am estranged from my mother. 

Interesting question! 

Here’s my answer.

I cannot and do not speak for all folks who are estranged from their mother or mothers this Mother’s Day…but this bitch appreciates mothers 24/7 and all year long because I am estranged from the woman who gave birth to me.

I have known the absence of maternal comfort, support and love…so it dazzles me to see it demonstrated by mothers I know.

Women who aren’t perfect but who parent with humor, love and dedication.

Those are the mothers I think of today.

So, no…a bitch doesn’t have a problem with Mother’s Day.

Parenthood isn’t for everyone but it fits some folks like a custom made glove.

A fluff of the Afro to mothers this Mother’s Day and I hope you have a glorious day…

And a very special Happy Mother’s Day to my aunts and cousins…y’all are fantabulous!

A Terminator situation…

Confession – a bitch doesn’t trust the stock market.  It has a look in its eye that screams at a bitch “I’m going to fuck you over and it’s not a question of if but when.”

Shall we?

Yesterday the stock market freaked out…lost it’s shit…had a total public melt down.

Speculation is that a trader typed in a sale for a fabillion trillion when it should have been a million…and then other traders responded by selling everything they could as fast as possible…and then the machines took over and took a single human fuck up followed by frantic reflex trading for a wild ride.

Financial pundits are now debating the cause and the fact that they can’t seem to agree on what caused this shit is enough to make this bitch ponder banking with my mattress.

Lawd, have mercy.

Some say that it was human error…others say that the machines that kicked in made all the mistakes…and still others are trying to link yesterday’s drama to the economic fubarity and civil unrest in Greece.

Yep, ‘tisn’t a matter of if but when.

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

At least this public display of financial crazy has produced some fantabulous Terminator-based conspiracy theories!

Just think of it…what if this really is the rise of the machines?

Mmmhmm, what if the machines decided to flex their power or just got bored and decided that watching the ignorant masses freak out would be a fun afternoon diversion?

And they probably have red eyes…and are liquid-looking shape shifters…and our feeble bullets can’t kill them…and it’s only a matter of time before they tire of torturing us and seek to destroy all human kind!

Mercy.

Remember people, no fate but what we make.

Blink.

What to do in Atlanta…

Flock of bitchitude!

My good friend and blog-father Brother Rob Thurman will be visiting the fantabulous city of Atlanta.

I'm damn sure Atlanta is going to treat Brother Rob right!

So, what’s what?

Drop must dos and should sees in the comments, please.

And thanks in advance!

Toodles...

And the walls...come crumblin', tumblin'...

A bitch hit an emotional wall yesterday.

It happens.

As an activist, I’ve learned that there are up days and down days…there are moments that inspire and moments that make one question what kind of world we live in…and then there are fucked up from the floor days that pile up, one after the other, and become the wall I hit yesterday.

Sigh.

I hit that wall and sat watching the NHL hockey playoffs, disgusted that I live in a state where legislators spend the bulk of the legislative session trying to deny Missourians access to reproductive health care.

That’s not new…the legislature does the same shit every year.

But that’s the kind of shit that builds the wall…the same wall I hit yesterday.

Adding to my disgust is the response many have had to Arizona’s new immigration law…and the fubar that is the oil spill in the Gulf…and so on and so forth.

I just sat there disgusted.

The Sharks beat the Red Wings.

And then I went to bed…a sorta-beagle warming my feet.

When I woke up this morning (the sorta-beagle is still sleeping…and snoring), I fully expected to still be too disgusted to practice the fine art of bitchitude.

But…and this may seem silly – fuck it…but I saw the story about how the Phoenix Suns basketball team will wear Los Suns jerseys to honor the Latino community for Cinco de Mayo.

And my disgust eased.

Sometimes the little things are the right things at the right moment…the perfect thing to remind a bitch that everyone doesn’t support the wrongs out there anymore than everyone in Missouri is thrilled that our state legislature is fixated on attacking women’s reproductive freedom like a beagle fixates on a new bone.

And the walls…come tumblin’ down.

And the walls…come crumblin’, crumblin’.

And

The

Walls

Come tumblin’, tumblin’…down.

Wink.

***logs off to go get active while singing along with John Mellencamp***

A quizzical about the political chats this morning…

A bitch caught the Sunday morning political chats this morning and watched several spin masters discuss the tragic oil spill in the Gulf.  CBS Sunday Morning had very solid coverage of the spill and the impact it is already having on local businesses.  But, as I watched This Week on ABC, I couldn’t help but wonder why producers didn’t take this opportunity to invite Sarah Palin on.

Pause…sip water…continue.

I’m serious.

Sarah Palin made drilling off shore for oil a foundation of the 2008 election…she mentioned drilling at every opportunity…and she even questioned the patriotism of those who opposed drilling off shore.

So, why wasn’t Sarah Palin on every single show this morning?

Didn’t the very hosts who indulged the Drill Baby, Drill crowd in 2008 want to follow-up with those folks now that drilling has resulted in spilling?

Blink.

I do.

I really, really do.

I’d like to ask Palin what her solution to this drama in the Gulf is…if her Drill baby, Drill policy would mandate remote shut off technology…what she has to say in defense of off shore drilling to the folks in the Gulf who, based on 2008 election results, voted for her ass and McCain.

But the rogue has gone silent.

Sigh.

‘Tis shit like this that makes a bitch wish I had my own political chat show…This Week in Bitchitude!

Spill, baby…spill.

A bitch still remembers watching the horror of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on television.

It was hard to watch…I have a hard time watching animals suffer and images of birds covered in oil were beyond disturbing for me.

I don’t remember the Three Mile Island drama, but I sure as shit remember Chernobyl.  We watched that drama unfold in the pre-internet days…slowly learning that things were not under control and that the politics of the Cold War were making it hard to find out just how not okay things actually were.

The damage to people and the environment is still unfolding.

There have been many accidents in the quest for fuel and energy…and the environment isn’t the only victim.  Sometimes I think that people forget that we live in the environment…that humans are animals too…that shit doesn’t happen separate from us and the shit that does happen will touch us. 

Now we have a disaster of yet to be determined proportions off the Gulf Shore.

An accident…a fire…the tragic loss of life…and the oil spill…and then a leak that now threatens the environment.

Off shore is now on the shore…big time.

Spill, baby.

Spill.

Habs oust Caps in Game 7!

Oooh, la la!

A bitch caught Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs between the Habs and the Caps…and it was wild!

Several sports outlets are spinning the Caps loss as a collapse…and ‘tis true that their power play was non-existent, they could convert for shit and there were a lot of mistakes made on the ice.

But the Habs outplayed them, stuck to their game and pulled off an upset on the road…BIG TIME!  Folks need to give them their due…they won this one.

For those of us who love the under-dawg, there’s nothing like watching the number 8 seed take down the number 1 in a decisive Game 7.

Fantabulous!

This bitch can’t wait for round two…

Another day, another opportunity to lobby for reproductive justice...

Gawd, what the hell did people do before coffee?

Shudder.

Anyhoo, this bitch is up at the break of dawn and getting ready to head to Jefferson City Missouri to lobby legislators.

Lobbying is critical.  For every one of my core values, there are folks who disagree who are sharing their opinion with legislators.  If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard a legislator say that their district thinks this or believes that or supports whatever…and more often than not my data obsessed ass knows that the truth is quite different…I’d be set for life.

But we the people are too often silent.

The thing is, the public square isn’t.

There are plenty of loud as hell folks who claim to represent the will of the people and who are trying to legislate reproductive rights away in state after state.

Yeah, lobbying is critical as hell.

So I’m headed to Jefferson City...again...to make sure my voice is heard!

Toodles for now…

Hockey is for EVERYONE!

As most of you know, this bitch is a fan of ice hockey.

Hockey is for EVERYONE, particularly angry black bitches (wink).

Anyhoo, I’ve mostly recovered from my beloved St. Louis Blues failure to make the playoffs (sob) and am now indulging in the bittersweet joy of watching the playoffs without being able to root for the home team (sob one more time and then sigh).

Last night I watched the Caps v. Habs and witnessed a certain Jaroslav Halak wall it up between the pipes…BIG TIME!

Halak was a goalie god, making 53 saves and only letting one get past him.  Lawd, by the time the Caps finally scored this bitch was about to declare Halak a hockey team of one!

Fantabulous.

I followed that hockey-based joy up by sorta-watching the Blackhawks close out their series with the Predators and as I watched a bitch couldn’t help but wonder why the hell the NHL has broadcast contracts that make finding and enjoying a hockey game hard as hell for the average hockey fan.

Talk about a marketing fail – ice hockey got a huge boost after the exciting finish to the Olympic medal race and lots of folks who hadn’t thought of ice hockey were ripe for the picking as new fans of my favorite game.  But the NHL has games tucked away, like a sorta-beagle hides it’s favorite bone, and new fans aren’t likely to haunt the dial until they find a game that probably isn’t even the “right” game being shown on Versus or being teased on Versus but really being broadcast on NBC’s alternate channel.  And my heart goes out to folks who don’t have NHL Center Ice!

Lawd, have mercy.

Mayhap the NHL is thinking that a decrease in supply will equal and increase in demand?

Blink.

Anyhoo, a fluff of the Afro to Jaroslav Halak for one hell of a game and congrats to the Habs for forcing game 7!

On Arizona's new law...

Let’s jump right in, shall we?

Last year someone sent this bitch a link to a powerful post on racial profiling.  (Update - found it!   http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2009_06_09_archive.html Thanks!)... trust a bitch that this was one of the best posts I’ve read on the topic.

The author wrote of driving through a western state, being pulled over and asked a series of leading questions about where she was coming from and where she was going and then being allowed to continue with a warning about speeding even though she hadn’t been speeding when she was pulled over.  She wondered if the unwarranted traffic-stop was an attempt by the local police to harass visibly brown people and create an unwelcoming climate for undocumented people in the border state.  What made the post powerful for me was that the author also wrote about how her people had lived in the same region for generations...from a time when it was part of Mexico until the present.  I tried and failed to imagine what it must be like to have those kind of roots in a region and then have some asshole harass you as if you don't belong there.

I sure as shit thought of that when I heard of Arizona’s new immigration law.

And I’m calling bullshit on anyone who tries to say that the Arizona law won’t lead to profiling.

As a matter of fact, supporters of the law should be outraged that the Governor of Arizona claims that profiling won’t be a part of the law.  The only way this kind of law “works” is if it is applied based on visible difference.  Usually paper laws mandate that only the other...the undesirables…are required to have their documentation on them at all times.  But Arizona has Americanized that shit…everyone is assumed to have some sort of government issued identification or easily produced proof of legal status, so supporters of the law can make the false claim that anyone who raises suspicion that they may not be American could be asked to produce documentation or face the consequences of having to prove that they are in the country legally.  Yeah, that’s American as a motherfucker…kind of reminds me of the impossible to pass voting tests members of my family had to take in Mississippi back in the day that were only given to black people trying to vote.

The thing is, Arizona could have passed the law with equal oppression for all.

Legislators could have drafted it to mandate that all residents of Arizona, regardless of age, have state issued documentation and that all interactions with law enforcement include producing that documentation.  That would have left the problem of how to deal with visitors to the state…but Arizona legislators could have mandated that any non-resident of the state who has any interaction with law enforcement who cannot produce a passport or legal identification issued by another state or the federal government be detained until their status can be determined.

But Arizona didn’t do any of that…Gawd forbid they subject everyone to what they so callously want to subject people of color to.


Sigh.

A bitch supports the idea of a boycott mostly because I think people should be warned that their family trip could turn into an apartheid experience quicker than flies gather on shit.

Better to avoid Arizona altogether…and that’s a damn shame, since I’ve been there and found it to be a beautiful state.  But natural beauty and stunning sunsets aren’t enough to overcome the now legal and oh so public threat of being treated like a suspect simply because you are a person of color. 

And this is also one of those things that those who are not subject to profiling usually fuck up on and "don’t get".

Right now there is someone writing a comment to this post who is going to try to make the case that people who aren’t in the country “illegally” shouldn’t get upset over being asked to prove that we aren’t in the country “illegally” because we can just show our papers and then go on about our bitness so what's the big deal and why do you always have to play the race card. 

Oh precious privilege, that those who enjoy you are gracious enough to tell the rest of us what should or should not be offensive…what is or is not insulting and wrong and the very definition of unequal treatment under law.

But a bitch is gonna be a witness...the only race card on the table is this mandate of unequal treatment under law that is the new Arizona law.

The race card that says people of color, people with accents, people who wear "different" clothing or people who are conversing in a foreign language get to experience one kind of American while the rest of y'all get to expereince the other kind of America where your ass isn't asked to prove your legal status when you're pulled over for failing to yeild.

Somebody ought to be 'shamed, but that'd be too much like right.

Missouri State Senator Joe Keaveny, his blatant flip floppery and why this shit is fubar…

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

This is gonna be a bit longer than my usual post…a bitch has some shit I need to get off my Afro.

A bitch lives in the 4th Senate district in Missouri.  I love living here…’tis diverse as hell, populated by some of the most progressive folks in the state and has lots of pretty trees a bitch can enjoy once they cease spitting pollen.  When I first moved back to St. Louis, my state Senator was…well, he was reluctant to vote in a manner consistent with the values of his constituents (translation – he feared being denied communion more than he feared the wrath of the voters).  Typical to Missouri politics, that state Senator was sitting pretty because it is difficult to unseat an incumbent who is backed by the machine.  So this bitch watched as the then state Senator for the 4th district voted for bad bills that sought to shame women seeking to make decisions about their reproductive health…and he voted for the same-sex marriage ban in 2004, even though our district is pro-LGBT equality.

Yeah, that dude really sucked.

Imagine my happiness and joy when that state Senator was termed limited out of office…and then imaging all the joyification a bitch felt when a certain progressive as hell Jeff Smith emerged as a candidate and won!

Oh, happy day!

Finally the 4th was represented in the Missouri Senate by a person who articulated and voted the values of his constituents…outstanding.  But Jeff Smith had done a bad thang back in the day when he was running for Congress and that bad thang caught up to his ass last year, resulting in Smith going to prison and the 4th needing a new state Senator.

That’s when The Man and his machine kicked into gear…and candidates to fill the seat were selected by a bunch of ward-based committee people who played political poker for a day and spit out a certain Joe Keaveny as the Democratic candidate.

I didn’t know shit about Joe Keaveny except for the fact that he was part of the political machine…and, since a bitch is deeply involved in reproductive justice in Missouri, I had a bad feeling about a candidate I didn’t know shit about.

Keaveny won...the 4th is true blue...and he took office in January of this year.

He passed his first reproductive justice test when he voted against the heinous 2010 Abortion Restriction Bill when it came up in committee, but the bill passed despite his no vote.

Keaveny signed on to the pro-choice Prevention First Act…another good sign…but my bad feeling lingered.

See, I kept remembering the Senator who held office when I first moved to the 4th…the one who was allergic to voting in a manner consistent with the values of his constituents.

Well, a bitch didn’t have to wait long.

The 2010 Abortion Restriction Bill came before the full Senate Thursday morning...

...and Senator Joe Keaveny indulged in a public display of blatant flip floppery Thursday when he voted for the fucked up from the floor up Abortion Restriction Bill he had voted against in committee.

What…the…FUCK?

I suspect that Keaveny is going to try to spin that shit isn’t shit and that this heinous bill isn’t as heinous as it used to be.

But let’s skip that dance.

Abortion is the most regulated medical procedure in the state of Missouri.  Despite the delusions spewed forth on the Senate floor, Missouri already has and providers in Missouri already comply with rigorous informed consent requirements.

This bill isn’t about establishing regulations that don't exist.

This bill is about politics...about pandering to the anti-choice forced that waltz the halls under the dome in Jefferson City like they own the building because a majority of state legislators do ig'nant shit like Mr. Keaveny just did and make them feel that they basically own that fucking building.

When he voted for the 2010 Abortion Restriction Bill Senator Keaveny voted for…

A bill that plops the Missouri state government down between doctor and patient.

A bill that adds additional…and let’s stress that these are addition, burdensome and unnecessary…requirements to the informed consent process for abortion.

A bill that mandates providers deliver dogma dressed up to look like fact through a script to be developed by government rather than medical professionals.

The bill denies women the ability to purchase private health plans that cover abortion, even if they pay the premiums with their own money…prohibits the sale of single service riders for abortion coverage purchased with private individual funds…and goes beyond the Hyde Amendment, which has prohibited public funding of abortion in most instances since 1977.

And this is my favorite bit of rancidity...the bill mandates that providers post signs at abortion clinics that contain claims of some fantastical state funded programs that will provide assistance in carrying a child to term and caring for that child once born, including health care, housing, transportation, food, clothing, education and job training. 

Get this, the Senate voted to slash funding for programs that provide that shit before they voted to mandate that clinics post signs claiming that the state has programs that provide that shit! 

I’m not kidding.

Shit, if this bill becomes law a bitch hopes some woman takes the state up on that last bit and then sues the hell out of Missouri for false advertising and fraud.

Lawd, have mercy.

Sadly, for the 4th Senate district this is all just another case of history repeating.

A bitch is beyond pissed off.

Keaveny sent this bitch an email when I reached out to him to ask that he vote in a manner consistent with the values of his constituents…an email that stated that he didn’t support the restrictions in the bill because they would do nothing to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies in Missouri…an email that said he was instead in support of prevention measures like those contained in the Prevention First Act.

I've seen this shit before…the Missouri Senate 4 two-step…the 'say one thing to get your constituents off your back' move that is always followed by the 'do the opposite because you really answer to another'.

Which leads me to the question I plan to put to Senator Keaveny soon and very soon...

Just who the hell did he serve with this vote?

Not people who want to reduce the number of abortions in Missouri…by his own admission via email to me, this bill and the provisions in it will do nothing to prevent unplanned pregnancies.

Not his constituents…I live here and we the people of the 4th district are not anti-choice and do not want the Missouri state government in the exam room with us and we sure as shit don’t support mandating the posting of lies at clinics or that claim of fetal pain.

So, who did Senator Keaveny serve…who is doing a happy dance over his vote…who is being represented in the Missouri Senate by Mr. Keaveny and his flip floppery?

I’d really like to know…because clearly I need to lobby that motherfucker if I want my values and wishes to be represented by Senator Keaveny in Jefferson City. 

***logs off to prepare to make one hell of a phone call***

Happy Earth Day...

The war on salt…

A bitch has been on the front lines of the war on salt for a few years now.

I’ll confess that I didn’t give a shit about the war on salt until my ass was diagnosed with high blood pressure.

Pause…sip coffee and do happy joy coffee dance in my head…continue.

Okay, okay…I still didn’t care about the war on salt even after I was diagnosed with high blood pressure.  My caring began after I started taking my blood pressure meds and realized that when they list frequent urination as a side effect they mean the hell out of that…they are serious…a bitch was peeing every half hour and that ain’t a recipe for happiness or joy!

What?

I’m just keeping it real!

All that pee made a bitch go back to my doctor and ask her what I needed to do to control my blood pressure without meds.

Random conspiracy theory aside - I suspect they did that shit on purpose…mmmhmm, a gaggle of doctors got together and decided to make blood pressure meds side effects just bad enough to have people consider changing their diet but not bad enough to have people stop taking them altogether.

Anyhoo, I’ve been at war with salt since the post meds peeing began.

And let a bitch tell you, keeping my daily salt intake under 2400 milligrams per day is harder than it should be!  Food manufacturers put salt in everything and that shit adds up quick as hell, so this bitch used to struggle to keep my diet diverse while still keeping my alt intake under 2400 milligrams per day.

Ugh.

Anyhoo, salt intake is in the news now ‘cause some folks want food manufacturers to cut the salt they add to things…and other folks want the government to mandate that food manufacturers cut the salt they add to things…and still other folks want the anti-salt people to stand down ‘cause folks have the right to eat a bowl of salt for breakfast if they want to.

Mercy.

All I know is that the best way I’ve found to control my salt intake has been to cook my own food…and read labels.

So far so good.

I’m not off the blood pressure meds yet but my doctor reduced the dosage so I’m not peeing as much and that is a very good thing!

But the war on salt continues!

Something tells me that food manufacturers aren’t going to change a damn thing until the masses join this war and change becomes a factor in their profit margins.

As my beloved father used to say, money talks and bullshit walks…

Remembering Dorothy I. Height…

Dorothy I. Height has died.

Height was a key figure within the Civil Rights movement…a champion for voting rights, school desegregation, equal opportunity to employment and for fair and decent housing.


Dorothy Height went to the front…not so that she would get noticed or credit for being there, but to do work.

One can truly say that there was an America before Ms. Height and there is an America after...we are far from perfect, but it serves us well to look back at what was to better understand what is so we can get to work on what needs to be.

When there was a protest, Dorothy Height participated.

When someone needed to be lobbied, Dorothy Height got her lobby on.

When President Eisenhower failed to act on school desegregation, Dorothy Height took him to task.

When Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of his dream, Dorothy Height was there…

…and when four families buried their daughters in Birmingham, murdered by a church bomb just weeks after the March on Washington, Dorothy Height was there too.

Dorothy Height was a social justice warrior who leaves a legacy of action and participation.

Ms. Height was known to say that we must learn to take our task more seriously and ourselves more lightly.

She lived a life to remember...she was a leader who led by example…and she was a woman who went to the front, not to get noticed but to do work.

Dorothy I. Height was 98 years old…

15 years ago...

15 years ago I lived in Dallas Texas…in Irving, actually.  I worked at an advertising agency and had just learned how to drive a car.

I was 22 years old (Lawd, have mercy) and had just started to stretch my wings post college.  I was a young 22…totally absorbed with trying to get a promotion at my first “real job” and still dazzled by the feeling of independence I got out of having responsibilities. 

I was years away from feeling weighed down and stressed the hell out by those same responsibilities.

15 years ago today I woke up at dawn…put on the oh so corporate suit-based uniform we used to have to wear back…drove to work and began my routine.

By 8:30am I was already pulling media reports and sending deadline reminders.

By 8:45am I was already up on some serious work gossip from the day before…I think it was a Tuesday.

15 years ago…no, it was a Wednesday…I walked to the office vending machine area and purchased a honey bun.

It was 9am.

I walked back to my office…checked the reports that were churning out of the old as hell printer we used…returned to my desk and settled down to enjoy my honey bun.

Then there was a shout, followed by rapid voices, sharp sentences…an intense conversation happened just far enough away from me that I couldn’t make out what was being said, just that it was emotional as hell.

Was it 9:30am? 

10am already?

I can’t remember…I didn’t look at the clock on my computer, just pushed back from my desk and went to look around the corner.

What time was it?

It couldn’t have been 10am yet.

My co-worker was throwing things into her bag…her phone was off the hook and someone was shouting her name on the other end…she shoved by me and took off at a run.

Her supervisor ran after her.

I looked around for someone to ask what the hell was going on.

I remember all that, but not what time it was.

Someone whispered that there had been an accident in Oklahoma City…and the co-worker who had taken off was from there, had tons of family who worked downtown and had received a call from her mother that something very bad happened.

We all began the now familiar office ritual of tragedy…someone turned on CNN, other television sets went to local news…and the rest of the day was spent learning rumors and then the shocking facts.

We later learned that my co-workers family was not harmed...

...and that the tragedy was no accident. 

15 years ago, when I was 22 years old and working at my first job post college, Americans attacked America.

Domestic terrorists murdered 168 people at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

And I think now, as I thought back then, about the people and children who began that Wednesday like they began every other day…about the pre-work routine, the pause for gossip, the emails sent to kick off the day and then maybe a dash to the vending machines.

Then I think of the horror that I cannot comprehend…the chaos I know only from what television crews captured from a distance and those pictures I can still see when I close my eyes…the confusion and fear and dust and rubble and that desperate search for survivors.

And then the slow…oh, it was slow as honey straight out of the fridge…that slow roll-out of who, what, when and we already knew where.

Not foreign, but domestic.

Children killed not due to miscalculation but rather indifference.

The deadliest domestic terrorist act in this nation’s history...

…happened 15 years ago today.

It was a Wednesday.

Did you know Missouri has a thought panel just for women?

‘Tis true! 

The Missouri State Senate is there to “help” women with complicated things like thinking and making decisions in partnership with our doctor!

Yep, the same MO State Senate that has wasted countless hours of the people's time working to prevent our access to federal health care reform because they are allergic to government being involved in health care has...oh, glorious hypocrisy reigns supreme...passed a bill that would plop the Missouri state government down between women and our doctors!




Classic.





Pause…crack knuckles…continue.

I’m so tired of being tired of the shit cranked out by my state legislature, y’all just don’t know!

The latest public display that the majority of Missouri legislators think it’s a miracle women have survived this long without their asses guiding our every action and decision is the Missouri Senate’s passage of the 2010 Abortion Restriction Bill.

This bill is a steaming pile of paternalistic bullshit on ice.

Want more restrictions to go with the tons of restrictions already in place to regulate abortion services…even though abortion is already the most regulated medical procedure in the state?

You’ve got it!

Want the Missouri State Legislature all up in your personal bitness…up in there standing tall and proud to be ig’nant between your doctor and your ass?

You’ve got it!

Did you think Stupak was extreme?  Think again – the Missouri Senate took Stupak and shoved that coverage ban so far to the right it hit a fucking wall!

Yay!

Want to prevent unwanted pregnancies, increase sexual literacy and treat and prevent sexually transmitted infections?



Too fucking bad!

Nothing about this steaming pile of paternalistic shit on ice does a damn thing to prevent unwanted pregnancies, increase sexual literacy or treat and prevent sexually transmitted infections in Missouri.

‘Cause passing prevention legislation would have been too much like right and it sure as shit wouldn’t have given our oh so worried about the little ladies of Missouri’s ability to think independently legislators the BIG WIN pile of steaming shit proof-based anti-choice pander-bill they were really going for to appease the anti-choice organizations that they serve.

That they did it on tax day…so that this bitch could know to the penny how much of my hard earned money goes toward the pool out of which these craven motherfuckers get paid…was salt in the wound.

Well done, Senate - if you're gonna say "Fuck You", say it loud and hard!

Fuck this fucking shit twice on Sunday.

When I schedule my well women exam next week this bitch is tempted to contact the assholes who voted for this shit and demand that they come along too…just in case I have to make a decision or think.

I mean, if they truly believe that women are feeble masses of emotion who get all worked up when visiting a doctor to address anything and everything going on “down there”, then they are fucking negligent for failing to pass the same bullshit regulations for my pap smear or for all medical things related to my reproductive system.

Hell, if the Missouri Senate is to be believed, this bitch needs a permission slip...from some man, of course...to green light a pelvic exam!

Shit.

I’ll end this rant of absolute disgust in the majority in the Missouri Senate with a tip of the Afro to the minority – to those State Senators who stood up, pointed out just how ridiculous the 2010 Abortion Restriction Bill is and took the opportunity to point out to the fools on the floor that, if they really gave a damn about preventing unwanted pregnancy and empowering Missouri women, they’d give a hearing to and pass the 2010 Prevention First Act.

Our pro-choice legislators are fantabulous…like fresh air in a room full of stank…and I appreciate the hell out of them.

I need look no further than the 2010 Abortion Restriction Bill to know that we need more pro-choice voices in the Missouri Senate to protect us from those who would protect us from ourselves...