He’s in it…but we can’t afford for him to win it…

Shall we?

Another deadline has passed and Republican Congressman Todd Akin is still in the race to represent Missouri in the US Senate.

40 odd days to go, y’all...and this is going to be one wild and crazy ride!

Lawd, give me strength.

Anyhoo, I can’t help pondering Akin’s infamous “legitimate rape” comment.

I know, I know…he’s apologized and tried to brush it off as a verbal malfunction.

But…well, that’s the thing that’s taxing my Afro.

After he realized that folks were disgusted and disturbed by his claim that women’s bodies have a way of preventing pregnancy from resulting from “legitimate rape”, Akin acknowledged that his bizarre theory came from some freakish conservative source.

So, Akin actually didn’t misspeak. 

Up until August 19, 2012, Todd Akin thought women’s bodies could “shut down” a pregnancy resulting from rape if that rape was “legitimate.”

As Akin likes to point out, he’s the husband to one, father to six, and grandfather to seven…and he's spent 65 years of life not knowing how pregnancy works.

65 years of life believing that women who became pregnant as a result of rape were lying.

Todd Akin may be running for a Senate seat, but he's been sitting in the United States House and played key roles in drafting legislation seeking to redefine rape and deny women access to the full range of reproductive health care.

And, if we take Akin at his word, until August 19 of this year he thought some rape was legitimate and other rape was bullshit…that some women deserved care and other women deserved scorn and restrictions.

If that’s not bad enough, Akin also has radical views about student loans, social security, the Voting Rights Act, and Medicare.

I can’t even imagine what junk science he’s basing that shit on.

Akin may be in it…but we sure as shit can’t afford for his bizarre radical fringe ass to win it.

Blink.

A quick note on fast food politics…

I just read the news that a certain Chick-fil-A plans to halt donations to groups that advance policies that would limit the rights and liberty of LGBT people.

I’m sure that there are folks who are encouraged and blah, blah, followed by blah.

But the reality is that Chick-fil-A showed that their flawed value having kitchen is filthy and I’m not going to forget that shit just because they are now saying they won’t allow filth mongers back there anymore. 

Fuck ‘em.

Since fast food companies have started to come out as ig’nant, I’ve discovered many a progressive local eatery where I can score a tasty sandwich without lining the pockets of some bigot who you know and I know will make a private donation to anti-equality groups and candidates to offset the donations Chick-fil-A is sorta-claiming they’re no longer going to make.

In my ‘hood I recommend The Poly at Shameless Grounds and the Grilled Chicken Breast at MoKaBe’s.

Those are two of my favorite local joints where y'all can score yummified goodness minus the bitter metallic aftertaste of social conservative bullshit.

Bon appetit!

A guest post by the one and only C-Money - I'm a pissed off hockey fan.

The NHL has cancelled preseason games through the end of the month and my sister C-Money has had ENOUGH!

Tell it, sistah!

A guest post from C-Money...

I'm a pissed off hockey fan.

That asshole Gary Bettman stood Godfather to this season, but all along he knew he was gonna kill it. He looked us in the eye, kissed us on the cheek and sent his goons out to whack the season.

My Blues are looking at Europe, skating stoically out in Chesterfield or getting ready to play for Peoria when they belong right here.

In St. Louis.

At Scottrade.

They didn't ask for this war!

I'm paying just enough attention to know that the current collective bargaining agreement is the one the NHL locked them out to get. So it can't suck that much.

They can't be that far apart.

And in a union fight the lib-lab lefty in me stands behind labor.

If the players are mad as hell and aren't gonna take it anymore, I say stand firm while you have the muscle. Keep working out and get prison hard while The Man thinks he's got you on lockdown brothas!

Cuz when the season starts, we'll be there.

Let's. Go. Blues.

So, about Romney’s Latino “joke”…

I’ve noticed that the press has dodged addressing some of the other shit Mitt Romney was caught saying to donors, like his attempted joke that he’d have a better shot at winning the presidency as a Latino.

"My dad, as you probably know, was the governor of Michigan and was the head of a car company. But he was born in Mexico ... and had he been born of Mexican parents, I'd have a better shot at winning this. But he was unfortunately born to Americans living in Mexico. He lived there for a number of years. I mean, I say that jokingly, but it would be helpful to be Latino."

Oh, some major news outlets have covered it. Ruben Navarrette Jr. has this post up on CNN.com, so odds are the producers over there have scratched that off of their to-do list.

But most anchors and reporters have opted to clumsily fumble through explanations of who pays income taxes and blah, blah, blah instead of tackling the other gaffe Mitt made that evening in the Hamptons.

 

See, the same thing that would have made Mitt’s joke score some laughs (if he hadn’t fucked up the punch line) is the exact same thing that makes anchors and reporters uncertain whether his Latino comments will result in any real political damage.

The thing?

There is a widely held belief that being a minority has guaranteed advantages for those seeking any sort of advancement.

I’ve personally encountered that shit.  I’ll never forget having an academically challenged friend respond to news that my sister was accepted at Harvard with a “joke” that he should paint his face black and apply too.  Everybody at the table laughed…except me. More than one friendship ended that day.

I was disappointed, but not surprised.

Just as I’m disappointed but not at all surprised that so many anchors and reporters have avoided discussing Romney’s Latino “joke”.

If Romney’s callous disregard for the struggles working people face and his boorishly stated belief that 47 percent of us see ourselves as victims are seen as troublesome, then Romney’s crass "joke" about the political benefits to be had simply from being born Latino sure as shit is too.

***cue crickets***

Blink.

By Request: Some thoughts on the “47 million Americans” public display of private buffoonery…

I had the pleasure of witnessing the latest Mitt Romney verbal malfunction unfold with a certain C-Money.  We were hanging out in our couch-based lair, checking Twitter and dropping snark for hours.

Good times!

For those who missed it, Mother Jones broke a story complete with secret video (oooh, damn near Nixonian!) of how Mitt Romney talks about the masses when he thinks he’s among like-minded uber rich folk.

By “masses”, I mean the 47 million Americans he was caught on tape saying he could give a flying fuck about. 

Mitt thinks we’re lazy and dependent on government. Oh, and he also thinks we don’t pay taxes.

Pause…frown…continue.

Yeah, that bit about the taxes made my Afro hurt too, until I realized that discussing regular people paying taxes with Mitt Romney would be like chatting about how expensive groceries are with [insert any Romney here].

Odds are Mitt Romney hasn’t bothered to learn how payroll taxes work because he never had any intention of keep workers on the payroll long enough to be taxed.

Anyhoo, at some point I mentioned how Lee Atwater would have handled Romney’s late night press conference…and that’s when C-Money demanded a post on this shit.

So, here are my thoughts.

Current conservative politics makes me kind of miss Lee Atwater.

Watch it….watch it, damn it…catch that knee before you hurt somebody!

I’m serious.

Lee Atwater was a dirty motherfucker…so dirty he was a master at modern political dirt distribution…but at least he was good at that shit.

When Atwater race-baited your ass, his hook had some serious unambiguous rancid ass bait on it. Lee put together campaigns that hit their mark with painful accuracy…causing outrage on the side he could give a shit about and inspiring cheers from the group he wanted to hear cheering.  Atwater was up in the head of the voters he needed to get the job done…the job being to get [insert conservative nightmare here] elected.

Now, we’ve got Mitt Romney fumbling through fundraising talks trying to be all delicate about saying that if he were Latino he’d have an easy time winning the presidency…after trying to arouse his bored as shit audience with watered down digs at 47 percent of the nation!

Mitt has insulted half the nation and managed to do so with such lame assedness that his base couldn’t be bothered to shrug.

This is just…disturbing.

Okay, okay…so I don’t actually want to see the second coming of Lee Atwater. 

One life-cycle of Lee was more than enough, thank you.

*wince*

But if someone is going to pander to the baser needs of his base…and if doing so requires race-baiting elite ass dismissive comments about voters…hell, if a candidate is going to take his campaign from zero to absolute FUBAR in record breaking time the least he can do is make that shit interesting.

Hell, even the man’s scandals are like over baked flounder.

Gawd, what I wouldn't do for a Demon Sheep or two...

Blink.

Locked out…

The NHL has locked out players after the CBA expired over the weekend.

***sobs***

Anyone who knows me knows that I adore hockey and get a lot of joy out of the NHL season.  Thanks to a fantabulous year last year for my beloved Blues, I also got a hell of a lot of joy out of the post-season!

But NHL hockey requires NHL hockey players…and they deserve a fair deal since they are the ones giving the faithful something to cheer about.

I’m just hoping for a quick, fair, and long lasting resolution.

***sends offering up to the hockey gods***

(Update) 26 Senators and 109 Representatives…

UPDATE: I mentioned that Missouri was fixin to go to court after the General Assembly passed Senator Lamping’s rancid birth control refusal bill.

Well, I was right.

This Missourian thanks the Greater Kansas City Coalition of Labor Union Women and Michele Newby, president of the coalition and a firefighter in Kansas City, for filing suit Wednesday to challenge the birth control refusal bill!

Someone ought to keep track of how much money Missouri is going to spend defending Senator Lamping’s legislative pander to the Missouri Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Pause…consider…continue.

Lamping’s birth control refusal law empowers government to take rights from workers and step all up in folk’s bedrooms.  Lamping’s Law basically has government deciding that anyone who takes birth control forfeits their rights to their employer.

AND the damn thing is going to cost the state some serious cash.

If it walks like it and talks like it, we should call it what it is…an expensive, ill advised, intellectually lazy, big government, theocratic shake-down.

_______________________________________________

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

I went to bed mad as hell…

….and woke up wishing that Missourians could feel the full weight of what the Missouri Assembly just did.

The Missouri Assembly had their veto session Wednesday, September 12.  They took up Senator Lamping’s Birth Control Refusal bill SB749.

The Senate took less time to override Governor Nixon’s veto than they spent unveiling a portrait earlier in the day.

The House cut off debate lest they hear just how trifling this rancid bill is and then the peer pressure began.

But wait…let me back up.

Before debate was cut off, (and that was so cowardly weak I can’t even tell you) several Representatives stood up to speak out against overriding the veto.  I listened live and recognized the voices of a few.  Then a woman started speaking and I couldn’t tell who it was.  I took to Twitter because some people were live tweeting the debate and…well, suffice it say I was SHOCKED that Representative Linda Black (D-107) was speaking out in favor of sustaining the veto.

Rep. Black, who is solidly opposed to abortion rights, spoke in favor of sustaining the veto because she is solidly opposed to abortion.  Black, unlike the majority under the dome, acknowledged the fact that restricting access to birth control results in more unplanned pregnancies and thus more abortions. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – folks who are opposed to abortion who then turn around and try to deny access to birth control can not, do not, and will not make a lick of sense… not that most folk working under the dome in Jefferson City fret about making sense or doing the right thing.

I disagree with Rep. Black on abortion…but she sure as hell has the courage of her convictions and shamed the cowards when she stood up yesterday.

109 of her colleagues voted yes and the veto was overturned.

SB749 will now be law, so supporters can cease bullshitting to the masses about what they just did. 

Any employer…any employer…any damned employer in the state of Missouri will now be able to provide an insurance package devoid of contraception or sterilization coverage because that employer has some sort of moral objection.

The law is certain to be challenged in court by insurance companies who opposed the hell out of it.

That’s what I woke up pondering and regretting.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the way to address the rot in Jefferson City is for the masses to feel the ache.

In this case, the thousands of Missourians who use birth control and take insurance coverage for granted need to have that coverage revoked.  They need to hear their employer explain his or her religious objection during their annual plan meeting…and then they need to get royally fucked over each month for 12 consecutive months until the next plan meeting.

But they won’t…because Missouri is fixin’ to go to court.  We just haven’t been served papers yet.

26 Senators.

109 Representatives.

Hit the lights.

Take a fucking bow.

Blink.

Ice cream for breakfast…

My father died in 1998 and it is still hard to say that he is gone.  

We had some great moments and several years of painful drama, but I take comfort that we were on solid ground when he took his final walk down Michigan Ave in Chicago and died of a heart attack.

It took several years for me to realize that the pain of his loss will be a constant companion.

It took even longer for me to welcome those unexpected tugs…from driving by a hardware store and remembering how fun it was to help out with small repairs to walking down grocery store aisles and recalling my father’s intense focus on food brought on by a childhood spent in hunger.

I miss my father every single day.

And every now…without setting a schedule or planning it all out…I pause in remembrance and do something that I know would make my father smile.

I eat a giant bowl of ice cream for breakfast.

Yep, ice cream.

Because my father once lied to some mean-girls at my grade school and told them that everyone who comes over to our house for a sleep-over gets ice cream for breakfast.  I can still see the look of awe on their faces…can still feel the giggle working through my body…I still feel adoration for my father for knowing exactly what to say to those girls I so desperately wanted to impress.

Later, my father told me that only silly people follow silly rules and deny themselves ice cream when they want it.

If he were still with us, he would sit down next to me and dig into that ice cream with gusto.

I always add an extra scoop just for him.

Far too many people know the constant companionship of loss.

I know that they probably feel those unexpected tugs too.

And I hope that they also pause and do something special to remember…

…even if it is something as ridiculously perfect as inhaling a huge bowl of ice cream at 7 o’clock in the morning.

ICYMI: Kansas City Bishop Finn was found guilty for not reporting sex abuse

I’ve watched coverage of the trial of Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn, because the case is so disturbing.

Here’s a timeline of case. 

A warning…the lack of urgency, compassion for victims, and due diligence will likely turn your stomach.

Bishop Finn is the first sitting United States bishop to be criminally charged for covering up child sexual abuse.

On Thursday he was found guilty on one count. 

Finn has been given a suspended sentence of two years of probation and will be required to undergo training for reporting suspected abuse.

This story didn’t make the morning news…

…but it should have.

Blink.

As we go forward…

Happy Friday, y’all!

Shall we?

Last night President Obama accepted the nomination of his party and made the case why voters should cast a ballot for him to remain in office for a second term.

Today we get to work.

Politics is still local and elections are still won or lost on the ground. 

Most states have races that should have every registered voter fired up and ready to go.  The contrasts couldn’t be greater…and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

So get up in the business of people you know…ask them if they are registered to vote and make sure they know how important this election is.  Find out if you live in a voter id state and, if you do, make sure everyone you know understands what that means.   

Ask them if they have a state issued id…and, if they don’t, help them get one.

Better safe than a victim of a poll tax revival come November.

We’ve got 60 days to go, y’all.

Let’s do this!

***logs off and prepares to fight***

Quick hits…

By request – September…

Happy September, y’all!

A certain Melissa from New Haven asked that I republish a post about my brother’s former favorite song, September. Her roommate recommended it and she couldn’t find it.

Here’s the link, Melissa -> http://angryblackbitch.blogspot.com/2006/06/by-request-september.html

Enjoy!

An NHL fret…

I’m emerging from the Labor Day holiday full of fretful thoughts over the NHL labor dispute that has now entered the countdown phase and could fuck up the season. I noticed some fans berating players on Twitter and…well, that’s not the route I’d go.  Seriously, fussing at players who are resisting what appears to be a money grab by owners for a bigger share of increased revenues that are the result of the players labor strikes me as intellectually lazy.

Catch that knee!

I’m as eager for hockey as anyone.  But I know that the history of professional hockey is littered with players getting screwed…I’m a Blues fan because of the team, not the people in suits…and the only people more motivated to see skates hit ice than my ass are NHL hockey players.

So I stand with the players even as I offer hourly prayers to the hockey gods.

On whether I’m better off today than I was four years ago…

Apparently, the campaign trail has heated up post GOP convention with the Republican challenge that voters ponder the question of whether we’re better off today than we were four years ago.

My answer?

Yes.

I’m serious.

Four years ago I, like all Americans, had a damn near mortal economic wound and didn’t even know it! 

We had an election and no one told me about it.

And then the market was crashing…the economy was in a nosedive…and we were on the brink of The Great Depression Round 2.

Four years ago, the nation experienced the equivalent of returning home after leaving a teen alone at home for the first time.  Some of us knew that the teen wasn’t ready, but we were overruled by the damned majority.  So leave the unready teen in charge we did…and then we returned home, hoping for the best but thinking we were prepared for the worse.  

But we underestimated just how much fucking up a veteran fuck up can accomplish in 8 years...and woke up to that harsh reality during the transition from Bush to Obama.

The question of whether I’m better off today than I was four years ago is easy to answer.

I mean, you’d have to be completely out of touch and desperate with it to decide to remind my voting ass that the last CEO in Chief left the nation facing a situation that was damn near FUBAR…

…or perhaps Romney/Ryan is betting on benefiting from the short-term memory of American voters like Bush the II did in 2004.

***shudders***

Anyhoo, this week brings the DNC in Charlotte and then the games really begin! 

Toodles.

Congressman Todd Akin has opinions…

***trigger warning***

Let’s jump in, shall we?

Over the weekend Missouri Congressman and candidate for Senate, Todd Akin, indulged in another rancid moment of sharing.

Akin would like to spin it as a verbal malfunction, but…well, he meant what he said he just regrets saying it…and saying something you later regret is extremely different from saying something that inspires bipartisan condemnation because it is inaccurate, medically impossible, and insulting to rape survivors.

And the choir asked… “What did that fool say this time?”

And a bitch replied… Akin was discussing abortion with reporter Charles Jaco when he said…

“If it’s legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

Pause…collect thyself…continue.

Akin’s statement inspires so many questions.

How does he define “legitimate rape”? 

Does a survivor have to be roughed up…would bruises be helpful? 

Is he a Phyllis Schlafly-ite on the subject…does he agree with her that a married woman can’t be raped?

How exactly does the female body expel a pregnancy resulting from rape?

Is this a spontaneous act or something triggered after a successful conviction?

I’m dying to hear the answers.

Ugh.

This, my friends, is a public example of what Missouri reproductive justice activists encounter often from folks opposed to women having access to the full range of reproductive health care including abortion.

Inaccuracy.

Medically impossible information they then swear they got from a doctor.

And regular insults followed by callous disregard.

Akin didn’t misspeak.

He just said in public what these conservative fiends say behind closed doors after refusing to allow a vote on legislation that would establish a consistent standard of care in emergency rooms that includes information about emergency contraception.

So don’t give Akin’s presidential wanna-be buddies a pass cause they rebuke his statement.

Until the GOP condemns the policy behind his statement…policies that attempt to block access to emergency contraception…they might as well add an Akin seminar on “legitimate rape” to the GOP convention agenda and own that disgusting shit.

Baked flounder with a side of braunschweiger…

Mitt Romney has selected a certain Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate.

***rubs hands together***

Oooh…this is gonna be fun!

Shall we?

Paul motherfucking Ryan!!!

I’ve got a very special level of resentment for Mr. Ryan…since he’s the architect of a budget that would slash social service programs many disabled folk, like my brother Bill, rely on to live.

Oh, no one can deny that Ryan has an appeal...but I, for one, am thrilled by it.

What?

Think about it.

Ryan is a Tea Party dahling…and what comes with rallying the Tea Party base?

You got it – Tea Partiers!

Their collective orgasm will produce a rather motley crew of supporters…and those supporters will go a long way to helping Team Obama make the case that Romney-Ryan is an unhealthy meal for the masses.

This election is now clearly going to be about choices.

And that’s the best kind of election, in my humble opinion.

Let the games begin…

...and may the masses vote like their Medicare depends on it!

Vote like your rights depend on it…

Longtime readers know that this bitch adores voting.  I unfortunately didn’t have time to teach Voter Education classes this cycle (sob), but I find comfort in knowing that there are tons of first time voters who will head to the polls for tomorrow’s Missouri primary.

Go forth and vote like your rights depend on it, y’all!

Cause they do…they really, really do.

Every year brings at least one example of why elections matter.

In Missouri we need only look at the 2010 State Senate race for District 24 when Barbara Fraser faced John Lamping.  The outgoing State Senator Joan Bray had been an outstanding champion for progressive causes including women’s reproductive health care.  A lot was at stake.

In 2010 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch painted Republican candidate Lamping as a moderate…even hinting that he would break with his party on key abortion votes.  Heck, even Missouri Right to Life opted not to endorse…that had to mean something, right.

Wrong.

Senator Lamping won that race in 2010.

In 2012 he wrote the highly controversial birth control refusal bill SB749…a bill that would allow any employer to refuse coverage of birth control in insurance plan simply because they profess that coverage violates the employers moral blah, blah, blah.

SB749 passed with ease.

Lamping emerged as the anti-choice darling…his picture adorning religious email blasts, his presence coveted at rallies in support of opposing birth control.

The same St. Louis Post-Dispatch that painted Lamping as something other than a typical lockstep Missouri Republican came out in opposition of his birth control refusal bill.

Governor Nixon vetoed the birth control refusal bill and the fate of that veto is now in the hands of the September veto session.

Elections matter.

The ballot is no place to roll the dice, close your eyes, and take a chance.

Vote like your rights depend on it.

They do.

I hope to see you at the polls tomorrow August 7!

Again…

A gunman opened fire and killed at least six people Sunday inside a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee.

Even as my heart hurts for the victims and survivors, I can’t help noting that we’ve gotten freakishly good at this…the media at coverage, communities at gathering for memorials to mourn, and the masses at making excuses and then moving on.

Another mass shooting…another violent act of hate…and reports of six people murdered by a gunman.

The gunman was also shot and killed.

There’s a damn formula that unfolds.

The attack…calls to police…a massive show of force…and end to the violence…and then the media reports…followed by public displays of mourning and perhaps flowers and candles deposited near the murder site.

Then the excuses…the debates and defense and dismissive statements.

Yeah, we’ve got this down now.

And that says a lot…

…doesn’t it?

A chicken sandwich quizzical…

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

Chick-Fil-A had a good day August 1st.  Throngs of supporters lined up, many in excessive heat zones, to buy a chicken sandwich and show their support for Chick-Fil-A. One Chick-Fil-A even ran out of food!

All this came about after the fast-food chain received criticism for statements Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy made about his opposition to same-sex marriage and that supporting same-sex marriage invites God’s punishment upon our nation.

In an effort to better understand what Mr. Cathy is supporting and condemning and predicting the wrath of God over, I sorted through several articles and noticed that Cathy was rather specific in his wording.

From Huffington Post…

Questioned about the opposition his company, Chick-fil-A, has received on its position supporting the so-called "traditional family," CEO Dan Cathy quipped, "Well, guilty as charged." In a recent article appearing in theBaptist Press (July 22), he continued that "We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that."

Pause…consider…continue.

It seems that Cathy takes issue with more than same-sex marriage there.  Oh, he is clearly opposed to all things rainbow…but some other folk may want to take pass on that sandwich too.

For example, the divorced.  

Base on his quote, Cathy feels that being man-on-woman married is a one-time deal. 

Folks who are living together may want to get a nice crispy tolerant and accepting salad instead.

Um, folks who lived together before getting married.

Oh, and people who had or are having "pre-marital" sex too!

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

Come to think of it, if folk falling short of Cathy’s interpretation of what pleases God stopped going to Chick-Fil-A and scored salad and soup instead…well, the health care benefits would be huge!

On a positive note, this whole mess shines a light on how we should all be wary of where we spend our hard earned cash lest we line the wallets of bigots.

Seriously, though…I don’t understand Chick-Fil-A’s statement of how they treat everyone who enters their establishments with respect and blah, blah, followed by blah.

If they truly believe that LGBT people seeking marriage equality invite the wrath of God then why the fuck are they committed to respecting them?  

That doesn’t make sense within the anti-gay vengeful God rhetoric Cathy spouts.

Either Chick-Fil-A is full of shit or their family-run private bitness worships the god of money more than they fear God’s wrath.

Mayhap they are a crispy fried combo of both?

Blink.

Pause…wave hello…continue…

Lawd, it has been a while since I posted!

I’ve been working my happy ass off.

My day job is all about data management and online organizing that includes cleaning up data and setting up phone banks, among other things.

Well, the data gods have been taxing my Afro with delays, changes, and glitches.

Add to that a series of online platform fails…followed by switching to two new platforms, which required my ass to learn two new systems in less than 24 hours…and, well…yeah.

Pause…yawn and rub eyes…continue.

Suffice it to say that the last two weeks have felt like I’m on a fucked up online organizer reality show where viewers are amused watching roadblocks, hurdles, and glitches challenge contestants on an hourly basis.

Sigh.

Fuck it...I'm still in the game!

Anyhoo, trust that your regularly scheduled bitchitude shall return soon.

Toodles for now!

$160 a month…

Longtime readers know that my older brother Bill is autistic.  My sister and I are co-guardians.  We’ve had that role for years now…and every year has provided raw lessons in the difference between how people talk about social services and how people experience them.  Now that the GOP controlled US House has announced plans to cut food assistance funding, I’m compelled to share a bit of the lessons I’ve learned.

A confession first – I’m more than a bit emotional about this shit.  I adore my brother.  I want the best for him.  I struggle daily with feelings of inadequacy and fear for his long-term wellbeing. So, when Republicans threaten to gut a program that barely meets his needs I feel it…deeply…to the bone.  And I’m having a hard time dealing with callous disregard from a nation my father served in the military and that my parents fought to improve as civil rights activists.  

But I’m a co-guardian…this is about my brother’s life…and I don’t get to dwell on my disgust. 

All I get to do in this situation is fight.

Having said that…

People on food assistance are people…seniors, the unemployed, the under-employed, disabled people.

If you are an American then someone you know has or is receiving food assistance.

If you have someone in your life with a developmental disability then you have someone in your life that will likely need a social service once they are an adult.  Tisn’t a matter of if…tis all about when and for how long.

My brother is disabled.

He used to work…but then Missouri Governor Matt Blunt declared war on the poor and passed policy changes while cutting 150,000 people off of Medicaid.  Those policy changes meant that people like my brother who were on Medicaid but also worked would lose coverage if they made over a certain amount in income.

My brother made less than $80 a month working in the kitchen of a fast food restaurant. He loved it…used to wake up at 4am to put on his uniform even though he didn’t start work until noon.  But he had to quit…because in Matt Blunt’s Missouri, adults with autism who make $80 a month and also seek Medicaid coverage are freeloaders addicted to the government’s tit.

It took us 5 years to find a day program to sorta-replace the job my brother loved so much he woke up before dawn to get ready for.  The same “reforms” that cut Medicaid and forced thousands to quit working for fear of losing health care coverage also slashed funding for other social services that provide day programs or volunteer support.

That brings me to the food assistance situation.

A single adult like my brother gets $160 per month in food assistance.  My brother is 42 years old and he has all the nutrition needs of a 42-year-old man.  My father died of a heart attack at the age of 58…we’re working our asses off to make sure my brother doesn’t follow that family tradition.  Bill also has type 2 diabetes that is controlled through diet.  

Suffice it to say, $160 per month doesn’t meet his needs.

We haven’t seen an increase in food assistance funds since I became a co-guardian.

Now the Republican controlled House, under the “leadership” of Congressman Ryan, is seeking to cut federal food assistance funding.

My brother currently gets $160 a month in food assistance.

My brother’s birthday was the 5^th of July.

$160 a month for 30 days of food.

We found out about the proposed funding cuts right before we made plans for a family dinner at his house.

$160 a month equals $5.33 per day.

I went to the store and spent money I don’t have on ingredients for a meal I know he’ll enjoy.  Eating well is a treat…a rare one for Bill and I know it.  So, I’ll skip a few meals…eat soup or whatever…make it work somehow. 

An 11 percent cut means $142 per month.

We dine at 5:30pm.

$142 per month equals $4.73 per day.

And I really hope he enjoys it.

$4.73 per day for food.

I hope he can’t see the fear in my eyes and doesn’t notice how stressed out I am.

$4.73

I seriously hope people realize that the same political party that politicizes special needs kids is prepared to starve special needs adults to expand defense funding.

Well, I'm my brother’s defense.  The only "funding" I get is unconditional love...and that's fueled many a war.

I don’t get to wallow in fear over what may happen to him if his sisters aren’t there to pick up the slack…about how much food he’ll do without ‘cause a Congressman is trying to make a point or whether he’ll end up on the street ‘cause a Senator is having a bad week or if my brother will die young like his father because we didn’t have to means to give him the things he needs to live long.

All I get to do in this situation?

Fight.

Congress should prepare accordingly.

Baking in the city and pondering politics…

Confession #1 – I was more than a little surprised by the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act.  As a matter of fact, I spent the entire pre-ruling morning getting myself prepared to witness a festival of anti-health care joy break out ‘mongst those who adore tea.  Now, I’ve got more than a few issues with ACA…’cause enjoying health care without access is like trying to eat soup with your hands tied behind your back.  But I also know that this country is nothing if not inefficient and nasty with it when it comes to reforming shit that needs to be reformed.  We are what we are.

Confession #2 – I hate the heat and it is hot as hell!  Trust that a bitch is bitter…beyond bitter…so bitter that I’d have a fit if I weren’t so damned tired from the fucking heat.

Sigh.

Shall we?

I woke up this morning to a news bit about how Governor Christie of New Jersey is being considered as a possible Vice Presidential candidate for Mitt Romney.  Christie joins Senator Marco Rubio, and [insert conservative white man here] as possible VP candidates.

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

Team Romney has made it clear…well, hold up…not really.

Team Romney is trying to be very unclear.

They are trying to keep the VP search hushed up so that they can get the most out of the announcement and because they face a HUGE challenge.

I’m serious!

Romney’s people are making a meal with Mitt as the main dish.

Mitt is…well, um…he’s like baked fish.  A rather dry and unseasoned baked fish…probably flounder.

While some of his team is testing sauces like an economic plan or alternative health care plan, the other members are searching for a side dish to compliment bland baked fish. 

Anyone who has ever been to an awards dinner knows that no sauce can hydrate dried out chicken or fish.  But Mitt is what he is…the fish is done and Team Romney is going to be serving likely voters flounder until November.

And anyone who has ever put a meal together by committee in hopes of making it appealing knows that this side dish issue is some drama.  The natural instinct may be to choose a wild and unpredictable dish like Christie…but Governor Christie isn’t easy to make.  On any given day it may be too spicy or power through the digestive system with all the relentless fury of bad sushi.  If people get the runs then they may blame the flounder Mitt Romney and decide that Romney with a side of Christie is not something they want to ever have again, thank you very much. 

Senator Rubio is a more predictable and appealing side dish…but it is also the "it" side dish and conservatives just adore dining on it.  Odds are Rubio will overpower Romney flounder like Palin Fricassee drowned out McCain meatloaf in 2008.

Pause…sip more coffee...consider…continue.

The problem for Team Romney is that {insert conservative white man here] ain’t a good default side dish.  Most of those dudes are just as bland as baked flounder.  They won’t overpower…but bland with a side of bland is not the kind of meal to make the masses line up outside the restaurant voting booth.

Oh well, time will tell what the GOP serves in November.

***logs off with the image of conservatives fighting in the kitchen over how much Emeril Essence to dump on Romney***

Pondering "no urban" and "no Hispanic" dictates...

I’m sitting here working on my second cup of coffee and listening to the news.

In a couple of hours SCOTUS will issue their interpretation of the Affordable Care Act.

I could write about that, but I just don’t have the strength to ponder the demise or survival of a law that has had a positive life-changing impact on so many people I know.  Add to that the fact that I spent serious political activism time working on that shit…well, let’s just say that the last thing this bitch wants to do is think about all that work going down the toilet and having to start from jump again.

The US House is fixin’ to vote along party lines to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress.

I could write about that…and I probably will, but I think I’ll wait for those assholes to officially shit the bed later today.

What to do…what to do?

Hold up.

I’m gonna write about “no urban (black)” and “no Hispanic” dictates!

Shall we?

Many moons ago, this bitch used to work in advertising.

Specifically, I used to sell ads on radio for a massive…huge…giant national radio group that went through more ownership changes than I care to remember.

I was very good at the job. 

I was also one of the only people of color working at our company.  If you’re a fan of Mad Men you’ve seen how white the office is – trust me when I say that, for an industry charged with marketing products to a diverse nation, advertising has all the diversity of John Hughes film (translation – none).

So, when I first encountered the overt racism of the “no urban” dictate I was flying solo in my criticism.

My client was the #1 station in all key demographics in a top 10 city.  That means white listeners were tuning in too, because black people only made up 30% of the city population at best.  The station’s listeners had a healthy adult income and thus I should have been sitting pretty selling the hell out of it.

And I would have been…but for the power of the no-urban dictate.

I encountered a sea of no urban dictates from brands and products I still struggle to purchase even after a decade of being out of the business.

I’m not talking about not being able to sell the station to an ad agency representing a niche luxury brand.

I’m talking about being told that a restaurant whose most expensive item is $15 sending out a request for bids with “no urban (black) stations need apply” written on it clear as day and without shame.

There I was with the #1 station and no one wanted to dance.

No urban (black) and no Hispanic dictates are not about good advertising.  They are about racist and bigoted advertising…agencies that lack the courage to tell their clients that they are shooting their own foot by dissing the purchase power of minorities simply because those clients see consumers of color as unflattering and undesirable…and consumers of color who generally have no idea that they are shopping in a store that’ll take their money even though they think those consumers are unflattering and undesirable.

The lack of resistance to the overt racism of no urban and no Hispanic dictates is one of the reasons I left advertising.

Now, over a decade later, the FCC has finally acknowledged the problem and begun the process of addressing it.

But the cold hard reality is that Advertising as an industry is where the change needs to come from followed closely by those industries and companies that place ads.

And all you have to do is take a good look at the demographics of the average ad agency or corporate marketing department to see that we’re probably going to see a Triple Crown winner in my lifetime before we see change come from within.

Having said that, I applaud the FCC’s move.  If nothing else it took those dictates out of the closet. 

Shop accordingly, my friends!

***logs off the get this day of political drama started***

Ain't that America, somethin' to see baby…

This is going to be one hell of a constitutional law week, y’all!

Shall we?

Yesterday the Supreme Court struck down most of Arizona’s infamous immigration law in a ruling that clarifies the already clear fact that immigration policy and enforcement is a federal responsibility.

What I find interesting is that the High Court let the most controversial portion of Arizona’s immigration law stand.

Yep, Arizona is now a “show your papers” state.

I wonder if they’ll incorporate that into tourism spots?

Arizona – Come for the sun. Stay for the racial profiling!

Lawd, have mercy.

Anyhoo, folk do need to know that police in Arizona can ask you for proof of citizenship after they stop you for some other shit.

They can’t arrest you or detain you or deport you for being unable to prove citizenship.

And it isn’t illegal to visit  or be in Arizona if you aren’t an American…yet.

But fuck it if police in Arizona can’t ask you to prove citizenship and then frown at you and probably mumble something about how you’d best get the fuck out of the country or they’ll [insert threat they can't back up legally but that most people probably aren’t aware they can not back of legally ‘cause your average individual doesn’t dig deep into constitutional law or ponder such things when pulled over on the side of the road by a cop].

Sigh.

Although I woke up this morning pondering how much documentation a bitch would need to visit Arizona – check out this post for a good break down of just how confusing that quizzical is – I am now wondering what this ruling means for the America.

I’m serious.

For all the rants from the right about state’s rights, I’ve never been comfortable with just how different rights are from state to state. We are becoming a union of little nations where you may or may not be able to do something in one state but you sure as shit can do it in another.  Sitting pretty in Illinois and asked to show papers in Arizona = bizarre.

That so many celebrate the ability to harass people based on their visual representation as “other” without the ability to enforce any legal ramifications says a lot about them…and, sadly, us.

Oh but ain't that America for you and me

Ain't that America somethin' to see baby

Ain't that America home of the free

Little pink houses for you and me!

Sing it, John.

Blink.

Can we all get along?

Rodney King has died.

He was found floating in his pool. Initial reports state that King likely died as a result of accidental drowning.

Rodney King wasn’t the perfect victim of police brutality. In many ways that’s what made the story that unfolded after footage of police savagely beating him for 15 minutes after a police chase touch me.  No, King wasn’t the perfect victim…totally innocent and lacking shades of grey.

King was the typical victim…the average victim of police brutality, with his oh so human challenges and struggles.

King was anyone…everyone…the strong yet troubled black man straight from central casting to be beaten for 15 minutes by police in the middle of the street.

And now Rodney King is dead.

King lived a life before…before the police chase ended and police surrounded him and beat him.

Rodney King lived a life after he was assaulted…after the police were acquitted and a city went up in flames.

For some, Rodney King will always be the man writhing on the ground as police circled around him delivering blows for 15 minutes.

For others King will forever be the large black man who got what he deserved…who must have done something wrong…who then played the mystical race card to get paid.

But for me, King is anyone and everyone…a point in history where I learned the difference between a black man’s justice and the justice white men enjoy.

I see King…face swollen and bruised, lips trembling with emotion…a human being standing before the world asking whether we can all just get along.

And we answer that question…over and over again…day after day.

Can we all just get along?

We can…

…if we want to.

Lord Stanley’s Cup and a ponder of sports coverage…

The Los Angeles Kings have won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Devils in Game 6 to win it at home.

Pause…confirm residual bitterness from that hit on Pietrangelo during their series with the Blues…continue.

***fixes face***

Congrats, Kings fans!

Longtime readers know that I adore NHL hockey and watch even if my beloved Blues aren’t playing.  But I’ve got to tell y’all, I’ve noticed a trend in sports broadcasting that tends to piss in the Cornflakes of viewers.

The trend?

Pre-game announcing that used to set the stage for games now sets a stage of “why did Team A even bother to dress for this game when Team B is going to whoop that ass and why are you even watching when anyone with a brain knows that Team A doesn’t stand a chance?”

Don’t get me wrong…I get that the Devils weren’t playing the kind of hockey that the Kings were going into the series.  But the Devils were playing the kind of hockey that beat everyone they faced to get to the Finals…so announcers had something to work with, which is why I couldn’t understand why they focused so much on their eminent defeat.

The Devils may have lost the first three games, but they played well.  Hell, the Devils played better in the first three games than they did in Game 6! 

As a viewer who isn’t a fan of either team, I was so turned off by the broadcast coverage that I almost skipped watching. 

And that’s saying something, because I’m the fan who re-watches games all summer so I can keep my hockey buzz going.

Sigh.

This trend isn’t limited to NHL hockey, either. I’m also a tennis fan and Lawd knows John McEnroe can talk down a match better than any NHL hockey announcer ever could!  If McEnroe is calling a Nadal match you can bet your ass that you’re going to hear why [insert player here] should have stayed home in extreme detail.

I just don’t find that exciting.

Maybe its because I’m a St. Louisan…and even though I’m not a baseball fan, even I know that my hometown Cards provided a case study in how a team can exceed expectations while their on the way to winning it all.

That brings me back to the Kings…the same Kings who no one was picking to accomplish a damn thing during the first half of the season…yeah, those Kings that turned it around and made history by winning the Cup.

Kind of makes the case for broadcasters taking a break from emotional predictions of total annihilation and maybe doing some fucking analysis, doesn't it?

Just sayin’.

***logs off to begin the long wait for hockey to start again***

Pondering if Sarah Steelman had to live in her policy dream world…

Hi y’all!

Sorry I’ve been missing in action, but things are hectic right now.

Anyhoo, the Senate recently failed to pass legislation that would have built on the foundation established by the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  For some reason, Republican members of the Senate think that the path to small business success is paved with the unpaid wages of working women. 

Apparently, Missouri's GOP Senate hopefuls feel the same way. Congressman Akin, John Brunner, and Sarah Steelman all spoke out before the bill stating their dislike.

Akin and Brunner’s willingness to cede the rights of working women is bad enough, but I’m gonna focus on Steelman for a special correction because Sarah Steelman’s politician self has always benefited from the protections she just said she didn’t think American women deserve.

Think about it.

As a politician women get fair pay.  As things currently stand, Steelman doesn’t stand a chance in hell of winning the MO Senate seat…but if she did, her wretched ass would enjoy the privilege of getting paid the same as other Senators.

Senators also get that fantabulous to die for government healthcare that Steelman thinks will ruin we the people should we ever get a taste of it…but we’re talking fair pay here.

And I can’t help pondering if Sarah Steelman would be willing to put her money where her policies are.

I’m serious.

I want Sarah to pledge that, should she be elected, she’ll put her salary to a vote of the people.

Missourians would be able to vote on what we think she should be paid.  The options would be equal to our other Senator, Roy Blunt…or 25 percent less than Senator Blunt.

If she takes that pledge then she’s still an asshole…but at least she’d finally be an asshole willing to endure what she would so casually deal out.

So, Sarah...whatcha think? If 25 percent less for the same work isn't a big deal and is good for business, why not lead by example in the Senate?

***cue crickets***

Blink.