Deep in the Heart of Texas and other Stories.

Well it finally happened, the shit hit the fan in Texas this past week when the state tried to pass one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in this great land.  Well, what transpired made me have hope that the lone star state isn't entirely doomed and filled with those who are overly compensating.  Wendy Davis, a democrat senator from the Fort Worth area showed she has some pretty big ovaries when she took on those who want to dictate how women care for themselves and by her side, hundreds of Texans who support her filled the capitol.  Davis stood on her feet, without food, water,  a bathroom break, as well as not being allowed to sit OR lean on her desk and filibustered.  She did what was right, standing up to those (mostly men) who think they know what's best women.  Opponents tried several times to try and stop it, they even tried to force a vote AFTER midnight AND changed the date so their precious bill could get through, but the bill died...or so we thought.  Mr. Dipshit himself, Governor Rick Perry, has called for a special session to try and pass the bill, hopefully the democrats and citizens of Texas can mobilize again and stop it.   Now here's my comments on this subject-  I AM SICK AND TIRED of the constant attacks being made towards women, women's rights and women's health issues.  Enough is enough.   Instead of moving forward on women's issues we've taken several steps back.  Vaginal probes for no reason, debate on birth control, shaming rape victims, and just flat out making comments that are way way off the grid and show how stupid those holding government offices really are.   I couldn't of guessed that in 2013 women would still be treated like second class citizens.   Restricting how women take care of their bodies is shameful and the lies being told to combat abortion are as well. Abortion isn't an easy decision and a woman cannot simply walk into a clinic and demand one, there's certain steps that have to be made before hand and not all abortions are voluntary.  Rape/incest victims should not be forced to carry their attackers child and contrary to popular belief those of us who support a woman's right to choose don't chastise women who choose to carry to term if they were raped, again it's her decision.  I have been meaning to hit up my local Planned Parenthood to ask those who stand out in front with their signs about ectopic pregnancies.  Should the woman be forced to carry until her fallopian tube bursts and she bleeds internally to death?  Why do a group of cells out weigh that of the woman?  What if the woman is diagnosed with cancer? Should she forgo treatment?  What if a woman is raped by a boyfriend/husband and is abused? Should she be forced to bring a child into that world?  If she isn't financially secure are YOU going to pay for that child's healthcare?  What if the woman is bi-polar, or has some other form of mental illness, should she be forced to raise a child in an unstable environment?  All of those questions and more seem to escape the minds of those who linger outside women's health clinics.  With late-term abortions it where the fun really begins, and like I stated above you cannot just walk into a clinic and demand and abortion, especially a late-term one.  There has to be substantial complications to warrant a late-term abortion. These people lack proper education and cloud themselves with bullshit statistics.  Instead of handing out pamphlets that talk about how abortions increase the risk of breast cancer and suicide and how a majority of women regret their abortions maybe they should focus their time in making sure young women AND men know how to use contraception properly and not back abstinence only education.  Maybe they shouldn't elect those who railroad every piece of legislation that makes it easier for low-income families to afford adequate birth control, victim shame, and refuse to look into the science of things.  Rick Perry and the other doofuses that are trying to cram these pieces of legislation through, and not just in Texas, claim to be pro-women, pro-family, and lastly pro-life yet, this week Perry proudly signed off on the states 500th execution.  What is even more disturbing is when women lawmakers come out and say things that are untrue and harm women's right to reproductive health.  Jodie Laubenberg, a representative from Texas and sponsor of the draconian bill stood up at a podium and claimed that rape kits "can clean out" a woman.  What?!  Why are these people allowed to make laws?  Now I can go on and on and on and on and on about all the fucked up things republicans have said about women and women's health issues but I'm not.  Woman have had to battle constantly for their reproductive rights and our reproductive rights are almost always on the chopping block.  Instead of attacking each other we need to get together and stop this madness, and that we're fully capable of making decisions by ourselves and don't need a bunch of old men dictating how we should treat our bodies. 

Now onto story number dos!

On Wednesday June 26th the Supreme Court struck down two pieces of legislation, DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) and Prop. 8 (which made same-sex marriage in CA illegal).  Personally I am more than happy to know that they did the right thing ruling them unconstitutional because well, they are.   But now the fun really begins since all those who oppose same-sex marriage (and for that matter gay rights) are throwing tantrums like the ones my little brother and sister used to pull when they didn't get their way.  Opponents have called it a "tragedy", "miscarriage of justice" that the SCOTUS is "abandoning their duty" and have also stated that Jesus would cry and that the founding fathers are turning over in their graves.  Threats have also been made towards the justices who voted in favor of abolishing the measures by so called Christians.

My personal standing is this, I don't think same-sex marriage should even be an issue, marriage between two men or two women should've been an automatic thing, plain and simple, because well...that's what equality is all about.  But, why has the push for equality been such an uphill battle?  One word...religion.   The problem isn't with religion per-say the problem is that religious institutions want to play politics and dictate what rights people have based on a book.  Another problem is that those who oppose such things like gay rights are constantly bitching about being called bigots and judgmental when they claim not to be.  They feel it's ok to chastise whomever they want but once someone points out their intolerance and hypocrisy they're up in arms because they're being attacked for their beliefs....no.   You're not being "attacked" for your beliefs, you're being shown you have no basis whatsoever to not support equal rights for others AND you're being a complete dick about it.  Plus opponents have other reasons for not supporting equal rights- that it will lead to more child molestation, destroy 'traditional' marriage,  with bestiality and polygamy being next up for the SCOTUS to rule on.  Sorry kids but that's not so, first off there's a difference between being gay and being a pedophile (hell, there's even a difference between those who molest and pedophiles) see pedophiles don't target a specific gender, they're sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children and it's about sex.  This whole notion that gay men, in particular, are sexual deviants looking for little kids to sexually assault is wrong and a scare tactic.   Now onto the argument about how soon bestiality and polygamy is next on the plate. Let me put it to you this way- Fucking an animal like, lets say a goat, or sheep (the original stand by) or a pig (oink!) is COMPLETELY different that two men or two women having sex and that is FOR SURE and even though in essence we humans are in fact animals ourselves, it's still pretty messed up to assume gays would screw anything they could, and it has ALWAYS been easier to screw an animal than for two committed adults, that have been together for years and love each other very much and who also happen to be the same sex, to get married and that's a crying ass shame, and disturbing.  With polygamy...IT WILL NEVER BE decided by the supreme court, because like most Americans and well the world, it's frowned upon and not to get all conservative but when a man is a polygamist he's only legally married to one woman while the sister wives live off welfare (where's the outrage in that? Oh that's right they're straight so it's ok).  So I just destroyed those arguments against same-sex marriage pretty well and if you think I'm wrong well, you're intolerant and misinformed and need to get with the times.

My hopes for 2014 is that people vote for what's right and get rid of the disease that plagues our states.  We cannot afford to have those who block important bills/legislation for their own personal gain, nor can we afford those who are bigots or misogynists to run the government, it only makes us weaker.

The Good and the Bad

Last week Edward Snowden tried to fall into the graces of whistleblowers like Peter Buxtun, Daniel Ellsberg, Mark Felt, Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, Coleen Rowley and Marsha Coleman-Adebayo (and many many more) but the difference is, is that this 'story' has many holes.  

Firstly I don't think Snowden's intentions were entirely pure.  As I was reading my Twitter feed I noticed someone called him a "grandiose narcissist", which makes a whole lot of sense.  The answers he gave about why he did it and what he hoped would happen as a result irked me.  He came off arrogant, naive, and even a little callous as if he did this for selfish reasons to get back at someone, not to protect American population from 'big brother'.  

Secondly, what do you people expect?  This IS the patriot act, SPYING is one of the main tenants of this garbage disguised as something that's supposed to protect us.   Surveillance operations were made public many years ago.  Where was all the outrage when it was being shoved through congress?  We were given these horrible scenarios of what would happen if it wasn't passed and we also got that sorry excuse for a warning system called The 'Homeland Security Advisory System'.  Where was the outrage when Facebook started to sell information?  Government surveillance is old news.  For 8 years we were fed fear and this is the result.  This is what happens when you live an apathetic lifestyle and fall asleep at the wheel.  

And lastly,  I am NOT by ANY means condoning what the NSA did or does and it's a little scary but we happen to live in an age where the vast majority of the world is connected by the internet, which is a huge threat to not just our national security but our allies and frenemies.  It's kinda like when that crackpot named Terry Jones down in Florida wanted to burn the Qur'an- if he would've went through with it, it would've put those in our military in danger but the guy didn't care because he wanted to do it for his own selfish reasons, just like Snowden or the soldiers who decided to piss on dead bodies of enemy combatants- not thinking clearly about the consequences it has on others.  I'm not saying we should lay down and let the government strip us of our civil liberties and maybe I'm backing off my deeply rooted socialist ties but some things are meant to be classified, yeah we have a right to know whether of not our phone records and internet searches are being seen and I think most people have nothing to hide but like I stated earlier, it's a different time and age, where a lot of chatter happens on the internet and that's where we find a lot of information on those hell bent on affecting our way of life. Also, I'm not 'one of those people' who thinks the government is going to turn tyrannical or 'we have to do what we have to do for the protection of this country' or whatever but maybe this will teach some to pay attention to what's happening and if you really don't want the government seeing what you do then don't go on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social networking site.