There is new content up at Betty's Daughter Speaks Out, including a post featuring a story shared by our own lovely chevy49girl

Over at WordPress. Betty's Daugher Speaks Out

There won't be much overlap in content with this LJ -- this is my personal space, and while what I'm talking about over there is personal after a fashion, it is going to be issue focused without the daily stuff. I'll be keeping this blog for my personal exploration, Tarot, etc., and will always link here when I update Betty's Daughter.

I thought some of you might like to see what I'm up to in my role as loudmouthed feminist rabble rouser.

Those fuckers in California do not realize the storm they unleashed by voting through Prop 8. Gaythering Storm, indeed. Who would have thought that piece of legislation would have resulted in three states voting to legalize same-sex marriage (with New Hampshire a probable fourth)? Yes, I know Vermont already had civil unions, but the fact that they recognized the need for full equality is amazing. And the District has now voted to recognize marriages performed in states where it is legal.

Prop 8 supporters? This is your petard, and you are hoist on it.

Great article from the New York Times, on gay issues and Obama. The man disappointed me by saying that he is against same-sex marriages, but has impressed me with his willingness to consider openly gay appointees to the Supreme Court and with his self-described "fierce activism" for equality.

Forty years after Stonewall, we're ready for the next wave.

Article ganked from brigidsblest , who is always on top of this stuff.

Dallas area peeps (or anyone who wants to make the drive)

SMU Women's Interest Network is putting on Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. I am part of the cast. We'd love you to come to the show!

WHEN: February 12 and 13, 7:00 pm
              
WHERE: Hughes Trigg Theater, Southern Methodist University

The production benefits Brighter Tomorrows, which provides resources, support, and education for women leaving violent relationships. They helped me last year when I needed support. They are a wonderful organization.

This year's V-Day spotlight charity is the City of Joy, the intentional community being built in the Democratic Republic of Congo for women and girls who have survived the violence there.

We will have V-Day tshirts and buttons for sale. There will be a Silent Auction, with all money going to charity. And of course, we'll have the signature chocolate vaginas!

Even if you've seen the show before, consider attending. There are two powerful new monologues that have been added this year.

Tickets are $5 for students (at any school) and $10 for adults. You can reserve your tickets by emailin win@smu.edu You will be able to pick up your tickets at will call the night of the show.

This promises to be a good production for a good cause.

From CNN., this op-ed piece about the role of Latinos in voting in Prop 8 in California, and the fundamental dissonance of that decision.

My two favorite quotes:

"The irony of Latino support for Prop. 8 is sad. That a community that continues to struggle for basic rights would deny them to another is particularly baffling.

A marginalized minority -- Latinos -- voting to take away the rights of another marginalized group -- gays and lesbians -- is like the kid who's picked on in the third grade and only makes some headway when a punier kid comes along to take the punches instead."

And:  "Once you start the process of taking away other peoples' fundamental rights -- like food and water in a jail cell, or the right to drive and listen to whatever music you like -- you must ask yourself where to draw the line, and who will draw it? What -- and whose -- rights will be next on the chopping block?

As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere." You'd think that as Latinos, proud and strong and willing to fight for our own rights,- we'd refuse to turn against the "punier kid," wouldn't you?

That we might in fact stand up for that kid, tell the bullies to back off, the same way we told the bullies of racism and "the real America" to take a hike -- and in the process carried Obama to triumph."

"As long as you don't mind being treated like less of a human being. We're in the mood to be magnanimous because we won."

This entry over at yonihamagid 's LJ is brilliant.

Here's the latest news I can find on challenges to Prop 8, which the media is reporting having passed, in California.

I hope these "protect marriage" people enjoy their last heydey. I really believe that what we did as a nation on Tuesday was the first step toward breaking the stranglehold these people have had on our culture for the last eight years.

Ganked with permission from brigidsblest 

According to the office of the California Secretary of State, Prop 8 has not yet been called. They are still counting ballots... and we will not know the results until December 13th.

All media has announced a victory for Yes on 8.

THIS IS WRONG.

Based on turnout estimates reported yesterday, we expect that there are more than 3 million and possibly as many as 4 million absentee and provisional ballots yet to be counted.

Roughly 500,000 votes separate yes from no on Prop 8 – out of 10 million votes tallied.


Also:
Today’s California Constitutional law discovery:
Any amendment to the constitution, before being submitted to a vote, is required to be reviewed by the legislature. Guess what wasn’t?

The ACLU has filed an initial writ petition this morning to block proposition 8 from altering the Constitution.

http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/37706prs20081105.html

"The California Constitution itself sets out two ways to alter the document that sets the most basic rules about how state government works. Through the initiative process, voters can make relatively small changes to the constitution. But any measure that would change the underlying principles of the constitution must first be approved by the legislature before being submitted to the voters. That didn't happen with Proposition 8, and that's why it's invalid"

I've lived to see not one but two elections stolen from the American people in my 33 years on this planet, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about it happening again. The McPalin campaign is desperate, and have proven that they have zero ethical qualms about doing what it takes to win.

If you are determined never to see another American election stolen, visit No More Stolen Elections

Also, know your rights at the polls, and if you either experience difficulties or witness questionable behavior, please contact your Secretary of State or your candidate's campaign. I know the Obama people in particular are on the lookout for supression and fraud. I'm tempted to say the McPalin campaign would want tips on how to accomplish same.

...it's the one that says "Bad Motherfucker on it..."

Samuel L. Jackson's video on Proposition 8 in California, which would change the state constitution to redefine marriage as being between one man and one woman. It's made of win.

( Vid behind the cut )

Debbie Ford and her shadow work are often a little new-agey for me, but I got this and it really moved me.

It also made me think about the women I know who are McPalin supporters, something that plainly mystfies me. And I realized how many of them I know that have little to no self-esteem, who are with men who try to make them feel lucky to have somone who loves them, who are emotionally distant, and more. And it makes sense that women who have let the partners in their lives break them down -- not caring for them when they are hurt, putting them down for their weight/looks/other imagined failings -- would also be attracted to an abusive "partner" in their candidates. Because anyone who tells you have no control over your body and are less of a person, is an abuser. If you're content to live with one, why wouldn't you be content to have them in control of the country?

( Cut to save your Flist )

So a week ago, I was waiting for my morning train out of Irving, Texas into Dallas. I commute the rails every morning, but this morning I was running late and was catching a train I don't normally catch. I'm drinking my coffee and minding my own, when I hear someone say, "So I noticed your buttons."

(I wear three buttons on my backpack -- an Obama Pride button, a Farmers for Obama button, and one that says War is Not Pro-Life, which I bought from a local Democratic group.)

I turn to see what Texans call a "church lady" -- mid to late 50s, carefully coiffed short curly hair, flower print business attire, and sensible shoes. Likely an administrator in the local hospital or something, based on the demographic of the folks who catch the train from that station.

In my head I go, "Oh, hell," because "I noticed your buttons" is not typically followed by something good.

"I really like the one that says 'War Is Not Pro-Life,'" she says. "I wish these people would see that, no matter what,there will always be abortions. We need to keep it safe and legal."                                                                  

I pick my jaw up off the platform and say, "I know! I wish people would see that you can be against abortion and for life. I'm excited about helping women take charge of their health and learn how to prevent unplanned pregnancies. Most women of my generation who work for reproductive rights, that's what we want."

"I know," she says. "I'm still friends with my girlfriends from college -- they're my age so they're still girls -- and one of them is supporting McCain. I always knew she was the dumb one of us. She thinks of herself as upper middle class but she's barely getting by."

So we talk about economic policy, and then she says,

"I walked in on one, you know. A back-alley abortion. In a bathtub. I'll never forget the blood, blood all over the walls. And the thought of another woman -- another child -- having to go through that....that's why I'm prochoice. I hope I never have to see that again."

I was stunned.

We talked a few more moments, then the train came in, and I lost her in the crowd of people trying to get to our seats.

I don't know why she felt the need to tell me her story, but I'm honored that she did. Who knows for how long she'd been carrying that memory, before she shared it with me on a random train platform in Texas? She inspired me to keep fighting for a better world, through November 4 and far beyond..

Another state removes the barrier. Go Connecticut!

Directly from the people of Wasilla who worked with rape victims and worked to get the legislature to outlaw the policy of making victims pay for their own forensic evidence gathering.

This issue is kind of my passion right now. I'm astounded that there are Americans, especially queer Americans, who are ignorant enough to think that Obama and McCain have the same stance on GLBT rights. Really? I'm as concerned as anyone that Obama/Biden won't come out directly for gay marriage, but not as concerned as I am about a candidate who is "proud" of leading the charge to ban same-sex marriages and unions in Arizons and his running mate and her "pray the gay away" religious beliefs.

Michelle Obama contributed this article on why an Obama administration would lead the way to a better nation for GLBT Americans.  

In the same issue, you'll find this article dealing with Palin's stance and experience on gay rights. I wish she had contributed her own article, as Michelle Obama did, but something tells me that she wouldn't be writing for The Advocate.

The comments on both articles are intriguing and somewhat alarming at times.

...I get a clip that skewers Wal*mart and John McCain at the same time. It gives me a little bit of feminist happiness to know I can raise awareness about both issues at once.

Tell John McCain to support equal pay for equal work. (And yes, in 2008 it is still not federal law that men and women have to be paid the same. Seriously. Marvel for a moment, then watch the vid behind the cut.

( Read more... )

For those who will still contend that Obama and McCain have "the same position on gay rights,"  I offer the following...

From Obama's website:

“While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It’s about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect.”

PDF comparing their records

Highlights:

Obama supports repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and voted against constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

McCain supports the Defense of Marriage Act and has said he is "proud" to have led the effort to ban same-sex marriage and same-sex civil unions in Arizona.


From McCain's website:

Protecting Marriage

As president, John McCain would nominate judges who understand that the role of the Court is not to subvert the rights of the people by legislating from the bench. Critical to Constitutional balance is ensuring that, where state and local governments do act to preserve the traditional family, the Courts must not overstep their authority and thwart the Constitutional right of the people to decide this question.

The family represents the foundation of Western Civilization and civil society and John McCain believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It is only this definition that sufficiently recognizes the vital and unique role played by mothers and fathers in the raising of children, and the role of the family in shaping, stabilizing, and strengthening communities and our nation.

As with most issues vital to the preservation and health of civil society, the basic responsibility for preserving and strengthening the family should reside at the level of government closest to the people. In their wisdom, the Founding Fathers reserved for the States the authority and responsibility to protect and strengthen the vital institutions of our civil society. They did so to ensure that the voices of America's families could not be ignored by an indifferent national government or suffocated through filibusters and clever legislative maneuvering in Congress.

So, now can someone explain to me how they have the "exact same position" on gay rights? Where I'm standing, and based on the words out of their own mouths, they seem to be pretty different. And the choice seems to be pretty clear.

The deadline to register in Texas is TOMORROW, OCTOBER 6.

If you are not registered, please do so. This is perhaps the most important election of the century. And while my own political biases are abundantly apparenty in this blog, in the end I really just want people to vote. I don't believe the majority of the county has had their voices heard in the last two elections, and as a result we have been left behind for eight long years. Get out there and vote.

If you are not sure if you are registered, check your status here.

If you think you are not eligible to vote for some reason -- you have warrants out for your arrest, you owe back taxes, you have an outstanding traffic ticket, etc. -- please be aware that these things DO NOT DISQUALIFY YOU FROM VOTING. In 2004 and 2006, poor and ethnic neighborhoods were blanketed with flyers telling these largely Democratic voters that they risked arrest at the polls. This is a lie.

If you are registered, please make sure the people you care about are registered. It's easy, it's painless, it's your birthright as an American.

At the Palin protest on Friday, I ran into several representatives from Planned Parenthood.  They are asking people who are against the McCain-Palin ticket to donate to the organization in Sarah Palin's name. The goal is to raise several hunded thousand dollars (if not more) and have Sarah Palin, perhaps the most anti-choice candidate we've seen in a generation, listed as one of Planned Parenthood's most prolific donors.

I love this idea. While I wish she'd donated to Planned Parenthood by, say, educating her teenage daughter about contraception, I think that it can send a powerful message if we take our ire and not only keep her and her anti-choice policies out of the White House and channelling our money toward an organization that counters attitudes like hers.

I don't have much money right now, and I know many of you don't, but any amount helps. I'm going to give up a $5 lunch and put that money into the fund.

You can find the place for Memorial and Honorary Donations here. You can make a choice to send your gift wherever it's needed most, into your own local community, or into a community (Alaska????) where you know that it's needed.

ETA: My resident Planned Parenthood Goddess, capurecitaroja tells me this is not an official Planned Parenthood campaign, but something that has grown out of grassroots effort. Regardless, Planned Parenthood can use the money and I love the idea of doing it in Palin's name. Just wanted to make sure my facts were all accurate and transparent, since I expect that of myself and I know y'all do too.