Posts Written by Sharkfu

Notes from a bitch: Don’t sleep on the red states!

Shall we?

On Election Day, I celebrated victories and obsessed over losses.

I woke up the next day and indulged in 24 hours of relief-fueled joy.

Then, on Thursday, I allowed reality to ooze in.

I spent the weekend after the election in Wichita, Kansas.  I was speaking at the Kansas NOW Annual Conference, where I met some amazing activists who are dedicated to protecting access to reproductive healthcare regardless of how anti-choice many folk think Kansas is.

As a Missourian, I can empathize. We may have defeated Congressman Akin and sent Senator Claire McCaskill back to Washington (yay!)…we even elected Democrats to all statewide offices with the exception of one (double yay!)…but Missouri’s General Assembly also has an overabundance of folk who are opposed to reproductive justice.

I get that odds are 2013 isn’t going to be a walk in the park. I’m not unrealistic.

But every time I hear a pundit gleefully chat about how Obama or Romney had a path to victory that didn’t require wins in [insert states here], I cringe.

There is no path to reproductive justice that circumnavigates entire regions of the country.

A right without access is a right in name only.

That’s what attendees at the Kansas NOW Annual Conference understood all too well.  And that’s why I spoke to them about what they can do now to help forge a path toward justice in the future.

Sometimes even I need to be reminded that there isn’t a state in the union that is ...

Notes from a bitch…pondering what was missing from the debate…

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

Women could decide the outcome of the 2012 General Election.

You know it, I know it, and odds are the candidates know it too.

But last night, two candidates and one sorta-moderator managed to talk for 90 minutes straight in a domestic policy debate without discussing women’s reproductive rights.

The payoff for Romney was that he was able to position himself as a moderate despite the fact that his party has spent the last four years escalating their multi-front war on women’s reproductive rights in general and access to birth control in particular.

President Obama missed the opportunity to highlight what’s at stake for women and the threat a Romney administration would be to women’s reproductive ...

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

Women could decide the outcome of the 2012 General Election.

You know it, I know it, and odds are the candidates know it too.

But last night, two candidates and one sorta-moderator managed ...

Notes from a bitch…my Caddy Pledge…

I treat the right to vote like my father used to treat his beloved Cadillac.

I drive it every chance I get and you are in a world of trouble if you touch it, much less try to take it from me.

Unlike Daddy’s Caddy, the vote is not supposed to be a luxury item enjoyed by a few people.

I have sat at the feet of women who didn’t cast a ballot, for fear of violence, until after 1965.  I know well that the right to vote is only as powerful as the path to the voting booth is clear. Listening to stories of how it used to be, of enduring fear and intimidation while standing in line as voter registration officials ...

I treat the right to vote like my father used to treat his beloved Cadillac.

I drive it every chance I get and you are in a world of trouble if you touch it, much less try to ...

Notes from a bitch…what Todd Akin believes…

On Tuesday another Todd Akin story began working through the Twitterverse.  As a Missourian, I felt compelled to investigate the report claiming Todd Akin said he believed breast milk “cures” homosexuality.

Yeah, yeah…I know that sounds too bizarre for folk to think it is true, but we’re talking about Todd Akin here!

The GOP candidate for Senate from Missouri who, up until a couple of weeks ago, legitimately thought that pregnancy could not result from “legitimate rape.”

The Akin breast milk story turned out to be news satire, but I understand why so many people gave it a retweet. Faux claims that Todd Akin thinks breast milk cures homosexuality are in line with Akin’s actual beliefs.

Akin thinks federal student loans are ...

On Tuesday another Todd Akin story began working through the Twitterverse.  As a Missourian, I felt compelled to investigate the report claiming Todd Akin said he believed breast milk “cures” homosexuality.

Yeah, yeah…I know that sounds ...

Notes from a bitch…hunger is hunger…

I apologize for another lengthy absence, y’all! As many of you know, I am an activist who blogs and the recent primary in Missouri took me offline for a spell.

Let’s jump right on in!

GOP nominee Mitt Romney selected longtime DC insider Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate. Many a feminist has already begun to explore what a Romney-Ryan presidency would mean for reproductive rights, so I’m not going to go there just now.

What I can’t stop thinking about is what else Congressman Ryan brings to the ticket.

Yep, I’m pondering his budget and economic policies…and food.

Because Congressman Ryan’s current budget proposal would slash food assistance by 11 percent.

I’m not on food assistance, but my older brother is. Bill ...

I apologize for another lengthy absence, y’all! As many of you know, I am an activist who blogs and the recent primary in Missouri took me offline for a spell.

Let’s jump right on in!

GOP nominee Mitt Romney ...

Notes from a bitch…pondering political expectations…

I want Missouri Governor Nixon to veto the new birth control refusal bill SB 749. Religious liberty is not threatened by the HHS rule on insurance coverage of birth control without co-pay, but the rights of Missouri workers sure as hell are under attack by this bill that would allow any employer to refuse coverage for birth control simply by claiming a moral objection.

Support for the veto of SB 749 among the masses is strong. Missourians are calling and writing the Governor daily asking him to dust off that pen and do the right thing.

Despite anti-choice theatre like the Fortnight for Freedom, this veto should be easy for Governor Nixon.  He is a Democrat who ran as pro-choice ...

I want Missouri Governor Nixon to veto the new birth control refusal bill SB 749. Religious liberty is not threatened by the HHS rule on insurance coverage of birth control without co-pay, but the rights of Missouri ...

Notes from a bitch – making the case for Sue Shear by trying to cut funding for it…

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

I’ve long said that people need to keep a close watch on their state legislature.  I’m a Missourian and my state Assembly meets for five months each year. That means five months of watching the Republicans who control both the House and Senate file bills to restrict access to reproductive health care, drug test people who receive food assistance, and cut funding for social programs to the bone.

Even with that wretched history, I was surprised by a Republican amendment to cut funding for the Sue Shear Institute created to increase the number of women in government, civic and policymaking roles.

In my defense, my surprise comes from the fact that the Sue Shear ...

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

I’ve long said that people need to keep a close watch on their state legislature.  I’m a Missourian and my state Assembly meets for five months each year. That means five ...

Notes from a bitch…a day in the life of Missouri’s Don’t Say Gay bill…

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

While some state assemblies have sought to pass legislation protecting youth from bullying, others are considering bills that seem to show the damage that elected bullies can do with the weapons of government. Such is the case in Missouri where House Bill 2051, the Don’t Say Gay bill sponsored by Rep. Steve Cookson (R-153), advances despite widespread outrage. Missouri’s Don’t Say Gay bill would not only prohibit schools from discussing LGBT issues, but it would also keep Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA’s) from being approved as extracurricular entities and meeting on school grounds.

As reported in the Kansas City Star, Rep. Cookson believes schools should focus on math and science and leave everything ...

Let’s jump right on in, shall we?

While some state assemblies have sought to pass legislation protecting youth from bullying, others are considering bills that seem to show the damage that elected bullies can do with the weapons ...

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