The continued fight for womens’ rights has a hard enough time maintaining its legitmacy in the face of true challenges. Laws eroding the rights we have to our own sexuality and bodies, conflicting messages from Hollywood on what constitutes beauty and happiness, unequal societal pressures and expectations, the continued hold the far religious right has on the leaders in this country, not to mention the subjugation and abuse of women living in third world countries…. all these constitute real threats. However, we as women serve as our own worse enemy at times, undoing any small degree of headway we have made with knee-jerk, whiny, “I didn’t get a pony for Christmas, so I’m gonna stamp my feetsies” crap like this:

National Organization for Women – New York Chapter
January 28, 2008, News Release
Women have just experienced the ultimate betrayal. Senator Kennedy’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard. Women have forgiven Kennedy, stuck up for him, stood by him, hushed the fact that he was late in his support of Title IX, the ERA, and
the Family and Medical Leave Act to name a few. Women have buried their anger that his support for the compromises in No Child Left Behind and the Medicare bogus drug benefit brought us the passage of these flawed bills. We have thanked him for his ardent support of many civil rights bills, BUT women are always waiting in the wings.

And now the greatest betrayal! We are repaid with his abandonment! He’s picked the new guy over us. He’s joined the list of progressive white men who can’t or won’t handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton (they will of course say they support a woman president, just not “this” one). “They” are Howard Dean and Jim Dean (Yup! That’s Howard’s brother) who run DFA (that’s the group and list from the Dean campaign that we women helped start and grow). “They” are Alternet, Progressive Democrats of America, democrats.com, Kucinich lovers and all the other groups that take women’s money, say they’ll do feminist and women’s rights issues one of these days, and conveniently forget to mention women and children when they talk about poverty or human needs or America’s future.

This latest move by Kennedy, is so telling about the status of and respect for women’s rights, women’s voices, women’s equality, women’s authority and our ability – indeed, our obligation- to promote and earn and deserve and elect, unabashedly, a President that is the first woman after centuries of men who “know what’s best for us.

The “greatest betrayal”? “Abandonment”? Not to mention the overuse of exclamation points. This whole thing reads like a badly-written diary entry of a 14-year-old emo chick who sits the corner at school, generally excluding the warm of a vicious pit bull in bad eyeliner, only to whine that no one understands her.

In general, I support NOW and other feminist organizations. If it were not for those willing to make noise and take the heat, voting might like still be a dream. However, I part ways with them when common sense is replaced with dogma and sincere tones become strident, shrill screeching. I feel the same way about Michael Moore. I believe he does a great service to this country in reminding us that there are issues we can’t wish away or ignore. On the other hand, I wish he would shut his piehole and let go of that sanctimonious attitude or I will be forced to punch him in the face.

On the bright side, the NOW national headquarters released this counterpoint on the same day:

National Organization for Women
Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy
January 28, 2008 – News Release
The National Organization for Women has enormous respect and admiration for Sen.
Edward Kennedy (D- Mass.). For decades Sen. Kennedy has been a friend of NOW,
and a leader and fighter for women’s civil and reproductive rights, and his record shows that.

Though the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee has proudly endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton for president, we respect Sen. Kennedy’s endorsement. We continue to encourage women everywhere to express their opinions and exercise
their right to vote.

All women, including Hillary Clinton, face real prejudices and hardships everyday because of their gender. By trying to turn a candidate endorsement into a betrayal of women everywhere, NOW NY has only shot the collective sisterhood in the foot.

*bimbles off*

Pixel: You’re messin’ up my chi.

For more cat-bloggy goodness, visit the Friday Ark today and the Carnival of the Cats on Sunday.

*bimbles off*

Heath Ledger Found Dead

Wow. I normally don’t blog about celebrities because they are generally self-absorbed clowns with too much money and too little brain power. However, I always thought Heath Ledger was a good actor and a surprisingly low-key person. He should have gotten the Oscar for “Brokeback Mountain” and I was really looking forward to his Joker in the new Batman movie.

Sad, sad.

*bimbles off*

“Men don’t get pregnant, men don’t bear children. Men just make laws.” ~~ Redstockings demonstrator, New York legislative hearing on abortion laws, February 13,1969 *

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade, which repealed abortion laws in every state and the acknowledgement that a woman has the right to control her own body.

If it were only that simple.

Thirty-five years later, the fundementalist right have turned this personal issue into one of murdering babies and the “culture of life.” While those of the pro-choice camp do not seek to impose their beliefs others, the pro-life camp would have all women pregnant, whether they want to be or not, mainly in the name of the deity they worship. Funny how that works.

Now more than ever, it is important to make our voices heard and keep our rights in take, regardless of the current political or religious climate. So, take a few moments today and contact your representative:

• Tell Your Congressmembers to Support the Freedom of Choice Act
• Tell Congress to Restore Affordable Birth Control
• Help Protect Teens through REAL Sex Education

* Hat tip to Rad Geek

*bimbles off*

Mike Huckabee scares me, what with his campaign slogan of “America: God’s Soldiers”. Mitt Romney is not far behind after announcing there is “no freedom without religion.” I guess the Republicans believe that whole pesky separation of church and state concept was more of a suggestion, really.

But, without a doubt, the Republican candidate who just out-and-out disgusts me is Rudy Giuliani. The man is literally trying to ride the backs of approximately 3,000 dead people into the highest office in the land. He can’t go five seconds without “9-11″ coming out of his mouth. His latest campaign ad pimps out images of the 9-11 carnage to somehow indicate he should govern this country. A short snippet:

“And when the world wavered, and history hesitated, he never did,” he continues, over images and footage of people running from the site of the Trade Center attacks, and the former New York mayor embracing rescue workers. “Rudy Giuliani. Leadership. When it matters most.”

“… when the world wavered”? “… history hestitated?” Excuse me? Does anyone with two brain cells flaring recall this country “wavering” on that day? I seem to recall the hundreds of brave law enforcement, rescue workers and just average people rushing to the scene, kids having lemonade sales to raise money and donor lines at blood centers. I recall a nation galvanized into action. And, I recall the political and military support of most of the world in response to our darkest hour.

Giuliani frames his message as if he alone saw clearly and brought the nation from its knees. As if only he had the fortitude to get us past that day.

He is not only insulting the multitude of brave men and women who responded that day. He insults us all.

*bimbles off*

Pixel and Pica: You think it’s easy to look this relaxed? Gah!

For more cat-bloggy goodness, visit the Friday Ark today and the Carnival of the Cats on Sunday.

*bimbles off*

You know your week isn’t going to be good when it starts with a nurse blowing a vein prior to your medical procedure. Then, you wake up during said medical procedure, thinking in your drug-addled state the pain you are experiencing can only be attributed to your stomach being pulled out of your belly button.

And, that was Monday.

Yeah, it’s been one of those kind of weeks – just full of kind of emotional and physical trauma that makes you happy to be alive. The kind of week where I found myself, moments ago, over at NTodd’s blog, bawling my eyes out because he had to put one of his dogs to sleep.

I am a rock. Really.

And, for some reason, my ability to work HTML/XML coding has fled my brain and I can’t get this blog layout the way I want it. Or make Haloscan work.

Tomorrow is Friday, right?

*bimbles off*

I guess it would be too easy for Haloscan to still work.

*bangs head against keyboard*

Fixing over the next few days.

Coby: Yes, I’m quite comfy, thanks.

Coby: Still comfies, yes. Now, bugger off.


Coby: I refuse to acknowledge your presence anymore.

For more cat-bloggy goodness, visit the Friday Ark today and the Carnival of the Cats on Sunday.

*bimbles off*