Ohio. Again. The Heartbeat is on a comeback tour.

          Ohio. Again. I am so tired of typing those two words. This State was once moderate and sane. In the Seventies and Eighties we had two Democratic Senators. John Glenn and Howard Metzenbaum. John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth. A decorated fighter pilot. An extremely effective and respected Senator. Senator Metzenbaum vied with Ted Kennedy as the most Liberal voice in the Senate. Now we have Sherrod Brown, a strong progressive voice and Rob Portman, George W. Bush's former Budget Director. This man has forgotten his history and is now somehow a Deficit Hawk.
After Republican control of Ohio for nineteen out of the last twenty-three years Ohio Republicans have, like the party Nationally, lurched blindly to the extreme right. This in a State that Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both carried twice. There are those who feel Ohio was stolen in 2004 by George Bush with the aid of the extremist Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.
Following the 2010 Census GOP lawmakers met in secret to carve up Ohio into safe districts. They rented a hotel room in Columbus with taxpayer money and excluded Democrats from the process. Needless to say the public was also excluded. The result was basically election proofing the Ohio Legislature to maintain GOP control of both houses and the Congressional delegation till 2020.
These extremist Ohio House members passed the "Heartbeat Bill" in 2011. It would have banned abortion once a fetal heartbeat was detected. Since that usually happens at approximately six weeks, before most women know they're pregnant, it would have effectively banned abortion in Ohio. The Ohio House had "Testimony" from a fetus via ultra sound. Ohio became a national laughingstock. Again. There was also testimony from so-called "Abortion Survivors".
This bill was extreme enough to split the anti-abortion movement in the State.
The bill's backers were open that this bill was designed to challenge Roe v.Wade. The phrase ending abortion in Ohio was thrown around a lot. Many leaders in Ohio's anti-abortion movement felt this was the right bill at the wrong time. They saw such a blatant rejection of established Constitutional law would be a loser in front of SCOTUS. The result would be overturning Ohio's existing restrictive laws. They were hoping for a GOP Presidential win and a more conservative court before having such a draconian law passed.
These concerns didn't deter the Ohio House. They passed the bill in 2011 and sent it to the Ohio Senate. There it languished in committee until it was quashed by the Senate Majority leader.
With the Gerrymandered map Ohio wound up with an even more extremist Legislature in 2012. Both Houses had enough Republicans to steamroller any Democratic opposition.
Following the GOP attack on Public Sector Unions in 2011, when they had their asses handed to them by Ohioans via a ballot measure The Ohio Legislature decided to go after women's reproductive healthcare and rights by using the budget process.
Planned Parenthood and responsible medical providers were moved to the back of the funding line simply for making abortion referrals as were Rape Crisis centers. After all a child of rape is a gift from God. The so-called Pregnancy Crisis Centers are front and center for State family planning funding. In other States these groups have been caught giving misleading information and lying outright about birth control. They only support abstinence for single women and the rhythm method for married women. So organizations that don't believe in birth control are the ones providing advice.
The Budget also redefined pregnancy. The AMA defines the beginning of pregnancy as the implantation of a fertilized egg to the uterine wall. The State of Ohio, in their superior wisdom, defines pregnancy as beginning at conception. This plays havoc with some forms of birth control.
This budget is an anti-woman repression template for the rest of the Reactionary State Legislatures. To see the lengths these people have gone to I recommend an excellent Ohio political site, Plunderbund.com .The budget coverage here has been supurb. The appalling regulations are laid out in detail as are the consequences.
This repressive attempt to relegate Ohio women to simply being a life support system for a fetus doesn't go far enough for these Legislators. They plan to reintroduce The Heartbeat Bill. After all Ohio can't be outdone by Texas for slut shaming and stripping women of their rights as American citizens.
The bill is designed to force a direct challenge to Roe v.Wade. None of the supporters deny this. However at this time it is simply a moot pander to the base. North Dakota already has a similar law. It has been blocked by a Federal Court as an unconstitutional attack on established law. The current SCOTUS is unlikely to over rule this court's opinion. This would also make the Ohio and Texas versions void as well.
Since Governor John Kasich of Ohio has Presidential ambitions and signed the extremist budget he would likely sign a Heartbeat Bill. It would solidify his position as an anti-choice crusader. Ohio doesn't seem to get sustained coverage of it's attack on women. The media prefers the idea this is simply a Southern aberration. Texas gets the press. Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Kansas seem to get a pass. These States have passed awful laws on restricting women's access to safe abortion and family planning services. They are all Northern States. This shows this isn't a regional or Old Confederacy issue. I know this give scant comfort to women in the South but their Northern sisters are under a concerted attack also.
So sane women and men in Ohio and Nationally must be prepared to stand against this attempt to reestablish the time when women were trapped by biology in roles that kept them from fulfilling their potential as human beings.
Women are not walking incubators. They have an inalienable right to decide how their bodies will be used.
They are equal citizens with all the inherent rights that come with that.
The best way to remove women from the public and political arena is to keep them pregnant during most of their reproductive years, Keep them at home, too harried and busy to do anything else.
We can not allow this to happen.
Women across the country must stand with their sisters.
Men must stand with their wives,lovers, sisters, daughters, aunts and mothers.
Draw the line in the sand,. No farther.
Stop this war on women.
Through inaction comes defeat.
Through defeat comes slavery.
Act now. Raise your voice and an army of support.
Now. Time is running out.

If it's Friday, it must be Teabagistan.

          I like to think I'm quasi well informed. A certain amount of self delusion is necessary to remain a more or less functional Human Being. Having one's head constantly exploding can not be a good thing. It's messy for starters.
So anyway I have found that considering a lot of what the right does as entertaining political theater works for me as a coping mechanism. I have spent the week throwing things, weeping uncontrollably and laughing my skinny Irish American ass off. Let's revive That Was The Week That Was. More or less.
Ok. Let's see here.
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY{State, not the lube}) will be facing a Primary challenge from the right since he is so liberal. A loaded Tea Party favorite is going after the Senate Minority Leader for being a big government spender, confirming liberal judges, working hand in hand with the Democratic Majority to subvert the Constitution and general not true conservative chicanery. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up and I've tried.This Primary challenge should be fun since a national Tea Party group has endorsed McConnell and KY groups oppose him. Fratricide? Please? I do know the campaign will give The Senate Minority leader a chance to show off his visionary view of America, his amazing grasp of political reality and devotion to clean, accurate, informed. intellectual issue oriented campaign debate. Another profile in courage, I am sure.
While in Kentucky, let's check out the Junior Senator who is making noises about a possible Presidential bid in 2016. Senator Rand Paul.
Recently Senator Paul was hailed as a gun rights hero for actually doing a real filibuster because...freedom. Senator Paul visited Iowa to address the State's evangelical Pastors. The Senator is reaching out to minority voters saying no one in the Senate is a bigger supporter of minority rights than him. Now, this is the guy who thinks the Civil Rights Act is unconstitutional.
The Federal Government had no right to ban segregation by private entities.He feels that the free market would have ended segregation because it was doing such a bang up job of that in the Sixties. Were they still around we could verify that with Woolworth's. You know with their lunch counters in the South being so progressive and all.
Senator Paul feels the GOP is the natural home for minorities if they can get past the image problems. So he is promoting a big tent approach as he slams Rep. Peter King(R-NY) for being exclusionary. The Junior Senator from Kentucky is doing this with a straight face as he woos the Taliban wing of Christianity and the so tolerant, reasonable Tea Party voters.
I am looking forward to the 2016 GOP Presidential Primaries as is every stand up comedian, The Daily Show and Colbert. It is promising to make the 2012 Republican field look sane and thoughtful.
I am positive , in a Nation where religious test for public office is expressly forbidden, we will see all the contenders trying to out Taliban each other as the truest conservative Christian. They all know in spite of the lies taught in secular, liberal history classes America was founded as a Christian theocracy. Ask David Barton.
Already we have Senator Ted Cruz(R-TX) seemingly contemplating a run. I am waiting for the inquisition to start over a son of a Cuban who fought with Castro, becoming a citizen in 2005 and an American mother who gave birth in Canada to start any minute. Just kidding. He's not a Democrat. Cruz's platform seems to simply consist of being against anything a sane, rational person is for. He is also proud he is not considered a team player by his Senate Republican colleagues because if he runs for President it is always a good idea to alienate like minded potential allies.
Arch conservative Catholic Rick Santorum hasn't ruled out another run. After all his desire to reestablish the Catholic Inquisition and other archaic, abandoned Church positions and practices as law were so very popular.He may be seeking support of the Torquemada wing of the GOP.
Governor Rick Perry of the Great State of Texas has decided not to seek reelection. This frees him up to spend months and other peoples money to embarrass and humiliate his home State. He'll be able to expound on the great job he has done saving Texas women from their natural stupidity and general sluttiness.
Then there is Perter King of New York. This GOP House Rep has made a career of saying really stupid, intolerant offensive shit is planning a run. His strategy seems to be pissing of everyone except a few racist, homophobic, islamophobic, misogynist white guys. Another guy who couldn't carry his home State in a bucket. Let's also ignore the fact there has been no successful run for the Presidency by a member of the House since the latter part of the 19th Century.
We still haven't heard from the usual suspects Palin, Bachman(if she can stay out of jail).Huckabee and the darling of the literati, Donald Trump.
There are also staunch defenders of women and unions looking at a run. Governor John Kasich of Ohio and Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin.  These guys will be great choices for Republican outreach to women. Their impeccable record of protecting women from themselves speaks for itself. Surely they will attract the support of the Pro life movement. I am anticipating the well reasoned, well researched appeals to logic we will see from these activists. How can you go wrong attacking 52% of the population? Maybe Ann Coulter will help with the base by reminding everyone she thinks women are too stupid to vote.
America can also look forward to candidates for State Elections, Federal House and Senate seats to enlighten us with their views. These stalwarts of Freedom will attack science, history and knowledge as having a Liberal bias. There will be calls to put God in the classroom. They will lecture us on the Constitution, States Rights, creeping socialism, Tyrannical Healthcare. the Feminist, Lesbian, Homosexual secular agenda and a subject they have proven to be experts on, rape. Basically it will be a clarion call for a return to the Dark ages.That did work well for religious leaders and the political elite.
In 2016 I do believe we can continue to see American Political discourse devolve even more into entertainment. A reality show. We must raise our voices to push a substantive debate on real issues. Real American tradition is to expand rights not to strip segments of the population of them. This should never be done using religion and tradition as a rallying cry. After all this was the basis for slavery. This is used to keep the harlot in her place. Decent women want to serve their man.
OK. We have a choice. America moves forward. Or America solidifies itself as a theocratic oligarchy. We stand and watch, wringing our hands or we fight. We vote. We educate. We stand and say no. No farther. This is unAmerican and is not what this Nation was envisioned as.  The time to start is now. As the right is so fond of saying, "I want my Country back". We do. We will prevail as long as good people of belief and vision fight the coming darkness.

Why a war on women: II The sequel

          It's SUMMER and sequels are BIG!! So why not?
Why does the religious right/GOP/Tea Party have such a problem with the modern American woman?American women today have more freedom, empowerment and options than at nearly anytime in our history. Oh,oh. There's the reason.
Why?
I live in Ohio which seem to be a microcosm of America in general. I am exposed to sermons disguised as policy and dogma disguised as Legislative initiative. The idea of establishing a fundamentalist Christian theocracy seems to be a mission and duty to those in power. Once American religious thought was served by the mainstream Denominations. Now the loudest and most influential sects make a Southern Baptist look like a Unitarian. WTF is going on here? Well, lets turn over some rocks and take a look.
In the 2010 election cycle the American electorate through complacency and pique allowed extremist reactionaries to seize power. These people seem to reject the last half of the 19th, all of the 20th and 21st centuries as an affront to God and an abandonment of "Christian"values. They also reject the secular, humanist and enlightenment influences and underpinnings of the United States Constitution. They not only reject these influences but have found history deniers to extol the idea America was founded as a Christian theocracy. David Barton and a few historians who are as respected in their fields as Dr. Daniel Jackson was as an archeologist in "Stargate"babble about lost histories.
Emboldened they view anything curtailing their reactionary actions and message as a war on Christians. The majority religion in The United States is whining about being oppressed. With a God given sureness and arrogance born of zealotry they are flexing their muscles.
Since 2010 there has been a crusade against the moderate secular majority. No view, statement or attempted legislation seems out of bounds to them. Being on a mission from God gives you a lot of leeway as to what you target.
In a nation where a religious test for office is expressly forbidden, the 2012 Republican Primary candidates felt a need to out Jesus each other. This in a country where in 1960 John Kennedy felt compelled to speak to the role of religion in American Politics.JFK expressed the idea he could separate being a Roman Catholic from his duties as POTUS of all the American people. Rick Santorum felt the urge to tell us this speech, which is considered as one of the most important, as one of the best political speeches of the Twentieth Century, nauseated him.
These candidates wouldn't acknowledge they believed in evolution.
Sitting Republican officeholders believe in different types of rape. Some forms are more legitimate than others.
Views that not that long ago would have been ridiculed are now a path to election to public office.
A member of the House Science And Technology Committee called science lies from the pit of hell.
A common thread to all these views is America has strayed from a righteous path into the briars of secularism. Traditional American Christian values have been subverted. We face an Old Testament style smiting by a wrathful God.
To restore America to greatness these problems must be removed. The word of God, as they understand it,must be restored as our moral and legal compass.
So they go after the Biblical cause of all of mankind's problems.
Women.
Since Eve women have been the source of all evils to befall us as a species. Disobedient harlots and temptresses who constantly seduce men into straying from the one true path.
Modern women are no longer chained to home and hearth. They are educated, empowered and independent members of society. They are Doctors, Lawyers, Scientists and political leaders. They are free to determine their own lives, options and futures. In other words the destroyers of traditional values.
They have stolen jobs from men. Women not being stay at home mothers has destroyed the American family dynamic. They feel they can think independently of their husbands. These women actually believe they have the right to decide if or when they will bear children. For some satanic reason they don't believe they should be subservient to men. Submission is no longer seen as a duty. Abhorrent disrespect to the will of God.
If you view modern women as a threat and thorn in your side what is the best way to deal with them?
How do you push them out of public life and back into the home? How do you save and restore America?
Control the reproductive options of a woman.
SInce the introduction of hormonal birth control having a reliable method of birth control has allowed women to step outside of the traditional roles if she wishes.
A family can plan when to have children. A family can decide not to have children.
The fact a woman can enjoy and have non procreational sex is more evidence of their responsibility for the collapse of civilization. Everyone knows that by their very nature women are tramps, sluts, harlots and whores. The only thing that keeps these lustful seductresses in check is the possibility of unintended pregnancy. Once that threat is minimized they are free to wreak havoc on the world.
They will challenge men as their betters. They will reject the need of a stern, strict hand to keep them in there ordained place. How can this be stopped?
First demonize abortion. Make a medical procedure be seen as murder. Lie that it is blithely used as a convenient form of birth control. Thus only sluts that refuse to face the consequences of their wanton actions seek to abort. Slut shaming is needed to intimidate and humiliate women. How else can we drive the life lesson home?
Since the secular heathens won't allow outright abortion bans any possible barrier to access must be devised and put in place. Unnecessary preferably humiliating and invasive medical procedures need to be mandated. Lectures containing disputed and purposely false information need to be required. Waiting periods are a good idea. So is forced counseling by groups whose purpose is to urge carrying the pregnancy to term. Change regulations to require unneeded and expensive renovations of provider sites. This may force some to close. Eliminate legal reasons for abortion. After all a baby conceived in rape and violence is a gift from God. All of a woman;s healthcare needs to be controlled by men. We all know women are too emotional, irrational and let's face it guys. just not smart enough to make decisions that decide their future.
Now to compliment abortion denial we need to make birth control harder to access and seem dangerous. This will need a public/private collaboration. First of all where we can get away with it let's redefine pregnancy. The AMA defines it as happening on the implantation of a fertilized egg to the uterine wall. However as GOP lawmakers we are more knowledgeable about this. Science after all has a liberal bias. Pregnancy begins at conception. Any method of birth control that in any possible way could prevent implantation is now an abortion causing agent. So we can force the abortion regulations to get an IUD or a prescription for the pill. Plan B ? Same thing. Morning after pill? Ditto.
Companies will need to challenge any coverage of birth control or abortion as a violation of their religious freedom. It is vitally important this be done with a straight face.
We all know unions are evil. Let's attack them. Since Teachers, medical workers and public employees are predominately where women find good paying jobs they will be the main target If union protection and wages can be eliminated women will be economically forced to rely on men again. It also has the added benefit of curtailing any political voice that could be raised in defense of our attempts to strip the gals of full citizenship. Praise God!
We can not let the religious right impose their shameless agenda to strip our sisters, wives, sweethearts and mothers of the rights that are those of any citizen. We can not allow women to be classified as simply walking incubators. Stand. Raise your voice and say NO!  This will not stand!
Send these people back to their pews and pulpit where they belong. Religion has no place in law.

Why a war on Women? Is the right really that crazy?

          I am an older white male. I know we are the generic oppressors. I also know that is as accurate as any other stereotype. Any person who has read my blog posts can easily see my positions and the stands I take on the idea of equality. I believe equal means equal. Period.
The rights of any citizen is not something to be graciously granted by a patriarchal Legislative body or voted on whether to grant or deny said rights at the whim of an electorate. The rights one segment of society enjoys should be without question the rights all must have. Again, period. There should be no discussion or debate.
Once a debate starts about rights it is usually to deny or strip a certain portion of the population of equality under assorted guises. The most popular of these guises are "Tradition" and "Religious" rights and freedoms.
I have never posted twice in one day. However this simmering anger and dismay of mine has annoyed me to the point I need to address this subject again. In this political climate I am also sure this won't be the last time.
I have a question for the Congress of the United States of America, the Legislatures of Ohio, Texas,and Wisconsin along with the others doing this. Why, with the pressing serious issues facing the States and our Nation has you priority been the systematic attack on women's rights, heatcare options and futures? Have you lost your minds?  Seriously.
Any moderately informed person knows your stated reasons are a sham.
This has nothing to do with safety.
This has nothing to do with education.
This has nothing to do with options other than limiting them.
I am going to once again examine this and give my ,I like to feel is informed, opinion on the why's. And the hows.
I was out of High School when Roe v. Wade was decided.  When I was in high School a young woman that became pregnant vanished. As a slut her education was over. It usually resulted in an early marriage of two kids unprepared to be parents. Since both were out of school without a diploma their future was limited. The only recourse was a GED. Or the girl went to visit relatives for several months and then an adoption. It was a way to hide the fact your daughter was a tramp.
Birth Control was something not discussed in polite society. I can remember when condoms had the disclaimer sold for prevention of disease only. Yep, in places birth control was illegal. That pretty much ended when SCOTUS struck down Connecticut's statute.
There has been amazing progress made in women's rights since the Sixties. We still have a long road to travel. The idea that a woman should know her place and that place was the home has, until recently, been dismissed as archaic.  I had hoped we could continue towards full equality and elimination if institutionalized sexism. Now a movement to undo centuries of progress has raised it's head and bared fangs.
Somehow the very idea that women are human beings, valuable members of society and full citizens has come under fire. Some disguise it as concern for women;s heath and option education. Others may be less disingenuous when they say women need to fulfil their God defined role in society.
The history of civilization is ,with minor exceptions, a tale of patriarchal societies. One could tell how evolved a society was by the way they treated women.I am sorry to say the record is not pretty.A battle that unlike other societies, Americans were actually willing and able to fight. It was a war I thought had been mostly won. I felt we were in the end stages, like Patton crossing the Rhine in the waning days of WWII.
The war was long. Women went from effectively being property to being able to own property. They were able to eventually have money in their own right. Suffragettes finally forced the passage of the 19th Amendment to The US Constitution giving women voting rights. Many men thought this would simply double their vote. A wife would never vote in a way that her husband disapproved. This was also recent enough that it affected both my Grandmothers.
During the Second World War with so many men in uniform women stepped forward to staff the arsenal of democracy. Rosie the riveter became an icon. Women ferried bombers to the European Theater of War. Women built the weapons needed to end the war. When it was over they were expected to return home to the kitchen. many did. Some didn't.
In the Fifties you saw the rise of the working woman. She was basically limited to traditional women's jobs. Nurses, though a few became Doctors. Legal secretaries, though some became lawyers And so on and so forth.
Eventually more and more women were able to gain a foothold in The Man's World.
Following the introduction of hormonal birth control in the early Sixties women were finally able to control if, when and how many times they would become pregnant.
Finally a woman had some control over her life. She could get a degree. She could pursue a career.
From the Sixties forward it was an upward curve for women. They forced more doors open. Roe v. Wade gave them safe access to abortion. Women gained control of their reproductive health which gave them control of their lives and futures.
Attitudes were slow to change. Most realized it would be a generational battle. You can't change ingrained thinking overnight.
I know I was confused. The paradigm I grew up in was obsolete. I had a choice to evolve or not. I chose evolution.
I had to change how I thought. I had to reevaluate how I interacted with women. It was a learning curve for both genders.
Some though saw empowerment of women as a direct challenge to their manhood. Others were dismayed that women were able to have sex without the spectre of an unwanted pregnancy looming in the shadows. They gnashed their teeth and tore at their garments as they saw the end of a christian nation. Women enjoying sex. Women not beholden to a man. Women free to live as a full citizen. The end times are nigh. Somehow these people went from fringe whackos who were laughed at as holy rollers to positions of power and authority.Once ensconced they went to work.
These were devout evangelicals and anti abortion activists. They were the ground troops for the GOP throughout the Eighties and early Nineties. They learned how campaign were fought. They knew how to raise money. They were also tired of Republicans only paying lip service to their issues. So they mounted Primary challenges and took seats from party faithful.
The problem with electing zealots is they won't play nice. They vote their ideology not the party line. They see compromise as a sin and weakness. They will burn down the world to build their Utopia on the ashes.
More and more were elected. This pushed the GOP farther right each cycle. Sitting politicians toed these new ideals to avoid a challenge.
People who had no idea how government works were elected.  People who held extreme positions found what once would have ostracized them now got them elected. Then they discovered something.
 A) In spite of having high profile women espousing their ideas most women weren't having it. They were leaving the party in droves
B) They were sure as good Christians, women were sinful creatures and must submit to a strict hand. They needed to be saved from themselves.
C) Gop members who weren't evangelicals saw women as a threat. Since they weren't getting their vote anyway they may as well destroy any political power they had. If the men seemed caring and pious as they did it, so much the better.
The best way to strip a woman of any ability to plan their lives is prevent them from having access to family planning.
So as the extreme became mainstream others with similar views were emboldened to come forward.
Some business owners felt there would be no downside to discriminating against women.
In 2010 the Tea Party fueled US House and State legislatures took up the sword. Not surprisingly women's rights were not an election issue. The call was jobs, spending and taxes. Once in power the first order of business was attacking women.
The House cut funding on anything that benefited women SNAP. WiC. Pell Grants. Laws were passed with the express purpose of challenging Roe v. Wade. Thankfully these laws had no prayer of passing the Senate and died in limbo.
The States were a different story.
Ohio attempted to redefine pregnancy to conception and ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat was detected. This happens before most women even know they are pregnant. A fetus testified via sonogram. This weas 2011. There had been a bruising battle over union rights and the Senate had no taste for for another fight. The supposed Heartbeat bill died. This year with a bigger majority Ohio was emboldened to try again. As was Wisconsin, Kansas, Arkansas and Texas.
The 2012 election had these issues debated and espoused or opposed by both candidates. The President was reelected with a rejection of the Republican point of view. In spite of this the new year saw a renewed and vigorous attack. The righrt feels had a more conservative ran thet would have run. I have never understood this line of reasoning. So with their majorities due to Gerrymandering the attack is on. Ohio. Texas. Wisconsin. Arkansas.
Pregnancy has been redefined. Clinics are regulated out of existence. Planned Parenthood is defunded. Contraception is attacked as causing abortions. Real sex education make teenagers have sex.
So, if you have issues with women. You are intimidated by smart women? You don't like working for one? You feel superior? Fine. The best way to get women out of public life and the private sector, give her a choice. Celibacy during her child bearing years or pregnant during most of her child bearing years.
Corporations claim they're Christian and can't cover birth control for their women employees becaus it offends the company's morals.
If a women has children it is easier to keep her out of politics. Busy. Easier to keep her out of the workforce. If you refuse to pay equal wages you make women more dependant on men to survive.
Large families keep women at home. They fulfill the bible standard as wives and mothers. She is too busy to be a pest by working in campaigns. Worn out and old before her time.
This frees up jobs for men.
Keeps women from major involvement in political life.
A win win for the evangelicals and women haters.
A blissful return to the Fifties.
This is not a place where I want to live. A nation that values women as vital parts of the society.  A country that is better for them. A country that realizes we need the intellect and different point of view to move forward. We stand together.

This is the Twenty-first Century, right??

           I usually wander along thinking we are in a new millennia, moving forward towards a Star Trek future of a society ruled by reason, compassion and a quest for knowledge. It usually works for me.Then someone in Congress,a so called"Christian" or Conservative leader will say something that forces me to check the calender. I feel a need to make sure I haven't strolled through a Temporal Event into the Tenth-Century.
There has always been a tension in The United States between Conservative thought in general, Conservative Christian thought in particular, and the secular lifestyle of society. It's a result of the concept of personal liberty in this Nation's DNA. However the oft repeated claim the US was founded as a Christian nation is not only wrong but gives voice to a school of thought the authors of the Constitution would have found repellent.
Since the Puritans washed ashore in Massachusetts there has been a strain of American thought that is terrified and appalled that someone, somewhere is having a good time. In spite of Maryland being settled by Catholics there has been long standing suspicions and contempt aimed at the Church of Rome. This is still seen today in some congregations. Other believers are viewed as not really Christian or not Christian enough. There is also the very disturbing trend of Christian literalists coming to power.
1787.
The United States was flirting with the concept of a weak central government, strong State government form of rule. Since it was evident that The Articles of Confederation was an abysmal failure. men of stature, intelligence and vision gathered in Philadelphia to fix the problems. After examination and debate they realized said Articles were beyond repair. So, they decided to exceed their mission and scrapped it to devise a workable form of Government.
This was a continuation of the radical (for the time) idea that humans were capable of life without an aristocracy and monarchy. Contrary to some modern beliefs this Nation was founded by Radicals. The American Conservative was a Tory. A supporter of the Crown. Following the end of the American Revolution they fled to Canada or Great Britain.
The framers of the Constitution were products of a period and philosophical adherents to a movement known as The Enlightenment. This 17th and 18th century period is remembered for the elevation of reason over blind obedient faith as the guiding light of civilization. There was the radical idea that reason, a quest for knowledge, scientific inquiry and intellectual liberty would move this rag tag nation onto the world stage as an example.
Keep in mind in the 18th century these ideas were as radical as those of Marx and Engels would be in the 19th.The rejection of monarchical and religious rule was seen as a rejection of the laws of nature. A God ordained subjugation of the many by the privileged few.
These men were influenced by classical thought dating back to Rome and Greece. They saw the Reformation as throwing off the yoke of a corrupt single entity. The work of Voltaire, Montesquieu, Hume and Locke shaped their view of the world. Scientific thought and curiosity trumped dogmatic rejection of expanding knowledge. Having first hand experience with State mandated Religion, they were mistrustful of theocratic ideals and influence over public life. They knew a knowledgeable and educated populace would move America along the path of greatness. These men revered the human intellect, pursuit of knowledge and reason,rejecting blind faith.
The Framer in spite of being the elite, well educated in a land where education beyond the basics was still rare, rejected a divine right to rule. This was the result of a classics oriented education which today would be equivalent to a Liberal Arts curriculum.
With their radical background these Framers wrote a document to establish a nation not ruled by church or aristocracy. They specifically forbade any religious test for office. One could not hold a title of Nobility and be a citizen. A strong central government was established to check the parochial self interest of State Legislatures. The common good was enshrined as a basic tenant of government. We were to emerge as one nation, not a collection of autonomous States. A unified state was the goal. The bar for success.
Ten amendments were added to this precedent setting document to enumerate certain rights and ensure it's ratification. The very fact this document can be amended shows the Framers realized times would change and their ideas must be expanded on to ensure the nation's survival. The Federalist Papers were penned to inform and clarify the need for The Constitution to the populace.
The Constitution was written by committee. Compromises were made. The ability to adapt to changing times and social growth was guaranteed. These men would be shocked and appalled by the reverence given to them. They knew they were not infallible.
Somewhere in recent history a certain segment of the population has risen to positions of power and prominence. You can call them Christian Nationalists or Dominionists or whatever suits your point of view. You can ridicule their ideas. You can reject these ideas. However dismiss this movement as irrelevant at your peril.
Ideas and beliefs that were once so far out of the modern American mainstream of thought they were considered ludicrous are now viable, legitimate ideology.
America, once a beacon of scientific thought, a bastion of unfettered knowledge, a place where one could pursue a life of their choosing is being changed.
There has always been a small strain of anti-intellectualism in America.It may trace back to a mistrust of our pseudo aristocracy. That strain though now threatens to become pandemic. The very ideas of modernity, science, progress and secularism is being rejected wholesale. The idea of a melting pot, once lauded as a source of strength and innovation is now condemned as a threat to America.
The rise of the "Christian" Right should terrify any rational, thinking American. The desire to codify their idea of Christian moral tenants into our life is a step towards a wanted theocratic state. A reactionary theocracy dedicated to subjugating, disenfranchising and silencing those who don't buy into their narrow view of God.
Politically these believers are not much different than any totalitarian ideologues. They exploit fear and blame ideas and other kinds of people for the ills besetting society. Where the Spanish Inquisition had Jews and heretics, The Nazis had Jews and any non Aryan we have secularists presented as the primary threat to the American way of life. Oh, Muslims also. And Jews to a point.
The right, called Christofascists by some, claim America was founded as a Christian nation and with the rejection of those ideals we invite the Wrath Of God. The majority faith in America feels they are oppressed because they are not permitted to impose their divinely revealed beliefs upon everybody. It doesn't matter those beliefs violate you strongly held ideas. It doesn't matter you disagree or despise those thoughts. All that matters is we become their ideal of what a Christian nation should be.
Science? Lies from the pits of Hell. The Universe is 6,000 years old. Any idea to the contrary is blasphemy.
Non religion based education is simply secular indoctrination and oppression of the true way.
Homosexuality? An abomination in the sight of God. A choice  because people do love to be assaulted, killed and reviled so very much.  Any move towards equality will cause God to smite America with Old Testament style wrath.
Sex? For men? The flesh is weak so rape is a no, no but worthy only of a wrist slap. And it's ok to nail those harlots who put out without the sanctity of marriage. Eve was a wicked slut.
Women? Where to start? They are inherently sinful. Wanton temptresses of good men. They use their wiles to corrupt the righteous order of things by seducing men from the divinely ordained path to good. The really sinful harlots actually enjoy sex. They don't view it as a distasteful obligation to ensure the continuation of the species. Women are incapable of accepting the consequences of being whores and sluts. Thus they blithely murder babies as a convenient form of birth control. So it is up to God fearing men to protect them from themselves and prevent abortion. For any reason.
Also the main reason for the collapse of American morals and way of life is obviously the fault of women. Since Eve they have been rebellious and in need of stern guidance. The very fact they work and pursue careers has destroyed the family. The fact they have sex outside of marriage and enjoy it has destroyed our moral fabric as any fool can see. The idea of them not being subservient and obedient to men is a defiance, aberrant behavior in the sight of God. It's a man's right and God given duty to beat them into penitence. If your woman refuses her duty to have sex with you you have the right to take her. Any way you please for after all she is your property to do with as you wish
Israel must be unconditionally supported so the end of times may unfold as intended.
Any means is acceptable to remove the Godless from power. Lies. Fraud. Destruction of the social safety net because takers must not be rewarded.
Not that long ago this would have been poorly constructed satire. Ayn Rand as a ideological guide for anyone? When asked about "Atlas Shrugged" Dorothy Parker said. "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly.It should be thrown with great force." An excellent take on Rand's talent. Or lack thereof.
Too many Americans wear a willful ignorance as a badge of honor. They believe science and literature has a liberal bias. It does as it destroys ignorance and opens the mind to the wonders of the Universe. Joys that are being denied to coming generations. Their rejection of rational thought and science will have the same effect that fundamentalism had in the Arab world a millenia ago. What was once the shining light of knowledge in a dark world was extinguished. We are living with the results. America can not be allowed to blithely take that road. At the end lies failure, totalitarianism, ignorance and bleak despair.
We need to fight back while there is tims. The cultural destruction of American ideals is underway. To stand and watch is an invitation to being intellectually and perhaps physically chained.
Stand up and speak for sanity and freedom. Oppose God being inserted into public institutions. Stand for your right to believe as you will. Wait too long and there will be no voice raised to your defense. You will be chained into a life of not so quiet desperation. A moral and intellectual desert. Say no, now. Loudly and often.
NO!!

When did the Fringe become mainstream?

      For starters, to move forward in any meaningful constructive way we will need to divest ourselves of the bias that any region is inherently more backward and insane that any other region. Yes, I'm talking about the Northern notion that "The Dukes OF Hazzard","Hee Haw" and "The Beverly Hillbillies" were documentaries. "Li,l Abner" was not a diary. "Petticoat Junction" was not a travelogue.The North has ceded any perceived moral superiority they may have ever had. They did so a long time ago.
Today America stands united in what at one time would have been seen as unthinkable insanity. What the hell happened?
American History has never had a shortage of  ill conceived  poorly reasoned political thought and agendas The Whiskey Rebellion should have throttled States Rights and Libertarianism as a viable political ideology in it's cradle. Aaron Burr planned an insurrection. The know Nothing Party. The Grange Movement. Communism. Fascism. The Black Panther Party. The White Panther Party. The historical American Political landscape is littered with the remains of radical, reactionary or single issue political movements
Yet American politics is still a two Party system, very minor aberrations not withstanding. The major political parties here are exquisite examples of Darwinism. They adapt and survive. The parties crush the upstarts by co opting any viable issue or idea they have. The carcase is then picked clean of any original thought or approach. American political thought evolves. A lot of what was once considered politically impossible is now commonly accepted social norms. Slavery is gone. Voting rights have expanded beyond White Male Landowners. Women are supposed to be full citizens, as are African Americans and Native Americans. Homosexuals are being acknowledged as being actual citizens with the same rights as the rest of the Country.
Our problem occurs when the absorbed ideas are antithetical to our history. The trends over more than two centuries is an expansion of the concept of liberty and equality.
Once it was common practice to discriminate not only by race but by religion, national origin , sex and any factor unpopular with the majority. Hence, Irish need not apply signs. The idea John Kennedy could not be elected President because he was Catholic. There are only a few jobs suitable for women. Single women at that. Everyone knew once a woman was married her job was to manage the home, bear and raise children and stop any thought independant of her husband's. Blacks were less intelligent and inherently inferior. Caring for them was the White Man's Burden. The common wisdom is that we have evolved and moved past such primitive notions. It now seems the common wisdom is treated as the ramblings of a fool. The performance of a court jester meant for only ridicule. disdain.and outright loathing.
Regression instead of progression. Today battles are being fought again when we thought the war was won.
The concept of self defense is rooted in English Common Law. A person has the moral right to protect their life, their family and others from mortal threats. Also you can defend your home. The Castle concept. In a confrontation the idea has always been disengagement when possible. If it can be done one should move away from the threat. Deadly force was only acceptable in very limited circumstances. To protect your life and the life of others from an obvious threat. Then came stand your ground.
Somehow the idea of confronting a perceived threat became a perceived right. The notion everyone is John Wayne or Dirty Harry. Disengaging from a threat became cowardice and somehow Un American. This concept seemed to grow hand in hand with the view that gun ownership was the only sacrosanct Constitutional right.
As more and more States liberalized concealed weapons laws (usually over objections of law enforcement) there became a feeling of entitlement. If you had a firearm you should not be told where and when you could carry it. After all that is tyranny. There also came the belief that deadly force was not only a viable option but should be a primary option. A confrontation that once would have resulted in a fist fight now has the ability to escalate into a frontier justice moment. Judge. Jury. Executioner.
The feeling has grown there should be no consequences when lethal force is used. Even if the the person was mistaken about the threat level. There should be no charges. In fact one should be lionized for standing against crime.They dealt decisively with what they thought was a threat.The obvious problem with these concepts is assuming everyone who carries a firearm is a reasonable human being with good judgement and respect for life. At best that is a flawed premise. At worst? Open season for overt racism and violence.
One question. had an adult African American man followed an unarmed white teenager and shot him during a confrontation would the result be the same?  I think he would have been convicted long ago and in Raiford on death row now.
At the beginning of the American experiment in a new form of government the only ones with the right to vote were free white male landowners.By modern standards this is awful. By 18th century standards it was unprecedented. A system of government with a set Constitution and representation to enact laws that could not be changed on a whim by a divine right ruler.
As America grew the right to vote was expanded also. All free white males could vote. Again revolutionary. A system not class based by law and tradition.
 Following a brutal bloody Civil War African Americans became citizens and able to vote. Unfortunately it took a century to end Jim Crow. It took the power of the Federal Government to push the Old Confederacy into the 20th century against their will. It has taken fifty years but the South has changed. Blatant racism is no longer the dominant way of life. If anything they are now more like the North with the racism being covert and insidious.
In the Voting Rights Act the States of the Old Confederacy were forced to have any changes in voting laws reviewed and approved by the Department of Justice. After all there was ample evidence of concerted suppression of the black vote.
Following the election of Barack Obama President, with overwhelming support from minority voters, there was a new push by conservative Republican Legislatures to enact voting laws and regulations to suppress the votes of groups they felt were the Democratic base. Minorities. The young. Newly naturalized citizens. The attempts in the South were beat back by DOJ. The attempts in the North had to be stopped in court. The Northern States trying to pull this off outnumbered the Southern States. Yet it is still decried as a regional problem. It's not. It's an ideological problem. Some have decided America's tradition of expanding liberty is wrong and destructive. An unprecedented, in modern American History, drive is on to strip segments of the population of rights.
This effort is using Evangelical religious belief, flawed Constitutional and discredited States Rights arguments.
They have found and promote so-called historians to validate their fictional version of America. There are those on the reactionary right who feel extremist dogma should be codified as the basis of American law. They are convincedl they have been called by God to establish a Christian theocracy. An extremist Christian theocracy. Their most visible target? Women.
Across the country in conservative Legislatures there has been a rejection of the 21st century. Women are blamed for the collapse of the family, the destruction of morality by wanton behavior. They defy God by not relegating themselves to serving their husbands, being pregnant for most of their reproductive years and daring to be independent and educated. It is their fault rape is an epidemic.
The only recourse is to make life altering decisions concerning their health and future. Everyone knows they are unable to be rational. They are unable to behave in a responsible manner. They refuse to accept the consequences of having sex for non procreational purposes. Thus they can't be treated as fully equal citizens. They are after all walking incubators.
America has always been at the forefront of scientific discovery, innovation and technological advancement As territories were settled land was set aside for schools. Publicly supported schools. Education was recognized as needed for the future of a great nation. American thought, education and sense of unfettered exploration drove scientific and technological advancement in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Now, scientific literacy and ignorance has become something to aspire to. A badge of honor. Mainstream political leaders deny evolution. They deny evidence climate change is a real and present danger. A member of the House Science and Technology Committee decries science as lies of Satan spawned in the pits of Hell. There was a time such an individual would have been laughed out of office. Now he'll be reelected.
School boards are being pressured to teach evolution as simply another theory and present creationism as a scientifically valid alternative. They are pressured to rewrite American History as a Christian triumph  The teaching of critical thinking is vilified as undermining the beliefs of the parents.
America can not survive and prosper if education is a knowledge a la carte. Facts are facts. Scientific and cultural progress is built on empirical knowledge. Not myth. Not suppersition. Not willful ignorance. Not that long ago education was a noble calling. We entrusted educators with our childrens futures. Now they are union thugs indoctrinating students in godless secularism. These ideas I've touched on were once considered so fringe they couldn't be taken seriously. Now they are considered legitimate political thought. A coherent ideology. These ideas haven't changed. They are still crazy. The only difference is crazy is now respectable.
Our choice of action is limited. We beat back the coming Dark Ages, the sequel. We say no to the budding inquisition. We say no to codifying religious dogma. We stand for the thoughts and ideals that made America great. The alternative is to watch it devolve into a repressive intolerant dogmatic theocracy.  We stand with our ideas. Or fall under the flaming sword of reactionary Christianity and the bootheel of regression to the past of camps and witch hunts to preserve ideological purity.  The only real question is who is drug off in the dead of night first.

Ohio, Indiana, Iowa. And Texas. But it's always"And Texas".

      After the last few weeks, just as you thought Republican Legislatures and right wing syncophants could not get more egregious, they don;t disappoint.
In Iowa a State Supreme Court decision was handed down upholding the firing of a 33 year old woman who had worked for a Fort Dodge Dentist for a decade. Her terminating offense? Being too hot. Even though she was an excellent employee that was enough to cost her job. This woman's workplace behavior was never considered improper. Her attire was business appropriate. However the Dentist and his wife thought she was a threat to their marriage because the Dentist wanted to nail her. So it's her fault, for being only an attractive woman. Because you know, that;s all she is. She couldn't possibly be seen as a productive human being.
It's her fault not the Boss who was so sure of his prowess that he'd charm her into an affair. Shr is a potential homebreaker so the threat must be removed. Everyone knows every man is too stupid and primitive to control his Libido. As Jimmy Buffett said, "There's always a woman to blame. " Bravo Iowa for setting the image of men back a century or so. Should the livestock also be wary?
Iowa's High Court(with this ruling I think they may be) found this was not discrimination because it was based on feelings, not gender. As the attorney for the Plaintiff said, dark skinned African Americans could be fired to be replaced by lighter skinned ones. Because, feelings. Small breasted women could be fired and replaced with big breasted women. Because, feelings. So could Catholics be fired to be replaced with Protestants because a feeling the Pope is the Anti-Christ? Can one fire liberals because you feel they're evil and un American. What if you feel someone is a witch? Can you burn them at the stake? Iowa, welcome to the 17th Century.
Ah, Indiana. Even though same sex marriage is illegal there they felt the need to criminalize it, by making it a felony. As of 7/1/2014 it will be a felony punishable by eighteen months in prison and a ten thousand dollar fine.for same sex couples to apply for a marriage license. There is no option on a license in Indiana for applicants of the same sex. Thus it is falsification and fraud. Lovely. Just to make it more interesting anyone who performs a same sex marriage is guilty of a misdemeanor with a six month jail sentence and fine. I hope Ohio doesn't notice.
Ohio. Again. Still.
In Ohio following his signing a State Budget into law which contains some of the most repressive and restrictive abortion regulations in the Nation Governor John Kasich was lauded by the so called right to life groups foe saving women from themselves. In fact the Governor received his first endorsement for President. This should remove some doubts Kasich's move was other than blatant pandering to the national base. the conservative mob is poised to fight against a proposed ballot initiative to equalize marriage in Ohio.  They are breaking out all the reactionary views usually deployed to fight for an idea whose time is passed. As Ohio moves left the Government stumbles farther right. I expect a concerted effort by Legislators to thwart this issue. And Ohio Government used to be moderate and reasonable.
And Texas. Isn't it always "And Texas"?
Following the failure of abortion legislation  in the last Special Session due to horrendous time management and the inspiring filibuster by State Senator Wendy Davis(D-Ft Worth) Texas faced a decision. Which was promptly made by Gov. Rick Perry. Let;s have another Special Session to deal with the most pressing issue faced by Texas. Women were actually being treated as citizens instead of ambulatory incubators. That must be rectified.
The Democratic Minority in the Legislature and actual thinking, sane Texans came into this fight energized. National media attention was focused on this fight. Like the Alamo there was hope this losing battle could enable sanity to prevail down the road. The Republicans also seemed to get crazier. I know, how?
As seems to be the norm in Republican controlled State Legislative bodies there appears to be the belief pregnancy from rape and incest is a gift to be treasured.Very young girls who are victims are forbidden to have an abortion because it is dangerous. This ignores that a full term pregnancy at a young age is high risk in and of itself.
As the GOP steamrollered Dems the thousands of sane Texas women and men protested. So, naturally they are an unruly mob not citizens. Texas DPS vowed to clear the chamber if decorum was not maintained. So ever a stylish example of the ideals of Southern Womanhood the outraged women of the Lone Star State pelted the Senators with tampons and pads. At least they weren't used.
In response, women were required to have handbags searched. Tampons and pads were confiscated.By the way, anyone holding a valid concealed carry permit was able to use a special entrance and enter the Senate armed. Because..freedom. Any fool knows tampons are weapons of mass absorption.
Thank you Texas, you never disappo the comedy writers of America.
Hey, GOP. I need a break. Can you shut up and go home for awhile. Please? It's summer. I want to relax. You'll have plenty of time to be stupid in the fall.

Send in the Clowns. Don't bother, they're here. Ohio. Again.

     In 2004 one of the things Karl Rove and company, in an effort to rally and get out the far right vote, supported so called Defense of Marriage ballot measures which sprang up across the United States. Not unlike foul, poisonous hallucinogenic toadstools.
Here in Ohio the ballot measure for an Amendment to the State Constitution banning Same Sex Marriage and recognition of such unions from other States may have been the driving force in the loss of this battleground by John Kerry.The issue passed. For the first time Ohio's Constitution bans equality of a certain portion of the population. That was then.
This is now.
Currently there is a petition drive to place a Marriage Equality Amendment on the ballot in 2014. As the GOP extremists are fond of saying, "Repeal and replace". This should galvanize the progressive vote in Ohio. It will likely help the Democrats in The Buckeye State. It is actually garnering support from former Republican officeholders. Why this sudden show of sanity here after our inmates running the asylum politics of the last few years? In my opinion I'd say demographics, image,jobs and the economy.
Younger people in American society simply are not fixated on sexual orientation. They know and are friends with out homosexuals. They have other worries than what someone is doing in their bedrooms.
When it comes to jobs and the economy Ohio is at a disadvantage. Highly educated members of the LBGT community leave to live where they are not objects of legally mandated discrimination. High Tech and other cutting edge firms are less likely to relocate for the same reason. In the 21st Century institutionalized discrimination is bad for business and image. Those jobs and companies go elsewhere.
This Amendment makes Ohio look intolerant, backwards ignorant. Oh believe me it can be all of those things when poked in the right place.
So how do the people who pushed this anti gay law to begin with feel about this?
Governor John Kasich does not support gay marriage. You will likely see him come out in opposition to a ballot issue.
Your national organizations are again wringing their hands over the destruction of the religious foundations of America and the coming outlawing of religion.The arguments are stale and repeated ad nauseum.
What they miss in the cacophony of the noise machine is that this has nothing to do with religion. Period.  Religious ceremonies are not mandated. It does not effect a single religion. Not one. This legalizes CIVIL marriages.
Civil marriages are performed all the time. Inter faith marriages are not a threat to "traditional" marriage. They aren't illegal or condemned.
The big stick that's always used is traditional christian values. This was the argument used to justify and support slavery. It was used to prevent inter racial marriages. Religion is always used to support the status quo and oppose progress.
The other specious argument is the will of the people. It was voted on. Historical perspective says that voting on what rights a minority should have is always a good idea.
An election in Ohio always attracts media attention and tons of outside money. Civil discourse on the issue is already a casualty
Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) now supports gay marriage. Unfortunately, like too many conservatives. it took his son coming out. He was immediately attacked by the right wing blogosphere and groups. It was suggested gay reversion therapy was an option. As was denouncing and turning his back on his boy. Always classy.
With midterms,elections for Governor and the other Statewide offices happening this won;t be pretty. There is a visceral anger in the electorate following the GOP attacks on women. Those members of the Legislature are all up for reelection also.
So 2014 will here in Ohio be caustic, vicious, filled with personal attacks and lie filled ads. In other words, business as usual..

.

Let's talk about John Kasich.

     It appears inevitable that in spite of the impassioned, angry response of the women in the State, Texas will pass their repressive Reproductive Health law. Governor Rick Perry's lasting legacy of shame and humiliation for the women of the Great State of Texas. Compared to Ohio Texas, The Old Confederacy and all the extreme Right Wing dominated Legislatures here in the North are rank amateurs.
Not one, as Ohio has done, has seen fit to redefine pregnancy. I really can not rehash these regressive laws stripping women of their rights as citizens again. It gets a bit messy as my head explodes. Google. OK? 
I want to, wait. Let me rephrase. I need to talk about Ohio Governor John Kasich.
Once again the wannabe historian lurking inside takes the reigns, shoving me aside.
John Kasich. Where to start? Sheesh.
John grew up in Pennsylvania the son of a Letter Carrier. Yep, he grew up with a Union Thug. Kasich attended and got his degree from The Ohio State University. I wish he had gone to Michigan then he'd be their problem, not Ohio's.
Kasich stayed and was at twenty-six elected to the Ohio Senate. Even then he had a likeable public persona. John drew on his blue collar background, pointing out his father worked for the Postal Service, projecting an everyman image. He moved on wresting the 12th Congressional District back from a one term Democrat in 1982. He would hold that seat until 2001.
During this time he would convert from Catholicism to Evangelical Christianity, divorce his first wife. He then married his second and current wife. They have twin daughters.
Kasich came to Congress as a member of the minority GOP.He voted for the Clinton Impeachment. John also voted for NAFTA and helped get passage of the Assault Rifle Ban in the now Republican House. I am surprised that vote did not haunt him during his Gubernatorial bid.
With the GOP in control of The House, Kasich became head of the House budget Committee. He helped   pass the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. That is something he still claims full credit for, as if no one else was involved.
As Kasich declined to stand for relection again in 2000 he opened an exploratory committee for a Presidential run. That bid collapsed under massive indifference. He withdrew prior to the Iowa straw poll and endorsed George W. Bush.
Following his Congressional career Kasich received a show on Fox News. "Heartland With John Kasich".Here he pushed himself as a reasonable voice from the heart of America. He polished that performance. Fox also used him as a commentator and guest host for O'Reilly. John also subbed for Hannity. Sean, as a fair and balanced journalist, heartily endorsed Kasich's run for Governor.
While at Fox John also went to work for Lehman Brothers as a Managing Director based in Columbus Ohio. As they collapsed, nearly taking the economy with them, John received nearly a half million dollars in bonuses.
The collapse of the economy in 2008, the rise of the Tea Party, and falling poll numbers for Ohio Democratic Governor Ted Strickland convinced Kasich to run in 2010..
The near implosion of the American economy caused Ohio/s to tank. As a good Republican Kasich blamed the Democrats and the evil, greedy Unions. He rode the Tea Party and Democrats Unicorn Wing sitting out due to annoyance with President Obama. Thus the Democrats lost every Statewide elected office. This spelled disaster as redistricting loomed. Kasich won a brutal election by less than two percentage points. Like Bush in 2004, Kasich felt this was a sweeping mandate.So he took on the Public Sector Unions.
In a speech in Ashtabula County in March of 2009, Kasich spoke of a "Need to break the back of school unions." Thus when a bill eviscerating public sector union rights in Ohio passed the legislature. no one was surprised.
It took old school political shenanigans for this bill to pass. An Ohio Republican State Senator on committee was replaced to ensure the bill would make it to the floor. The Democrats were steamrollered. Opposition witnesses were denied a chance to speak.As the Statehouse was packed with and surrounded by angry Ohioans the bill passed. It was promptly signed by Kasich.
The opposition coalesced and gathered millions of signatures for a ballot repeal initiative.It required a truck to deliver the petitions to the Secretary of State. SecState Husted, staking out his independence from Kasich rejected Republican attempts to split the initiative into multiple ballot issues. The GOP also lost court battles over ballot language.
The fight was on. A former Republican lobbyist I know smugly predicted a crushing defeat for Issue 2. It was simply a matter of education, he said. We(GOP) just have to show the electorate the right way to vote. Massive amounts of out of state money poured in on both sides.The GOP attempted to split the Union vote by offering to remove Police Unions from the law. The FOP rejected it for solidarity.The poll numbers were dismal showing a defeat coming. So at the last minute the GOP offered to negotiate a new bill with Dems if the ballot measure was removed. That was met with a resounding NO. Issue 2, the Union Busting Bill was repealed 69%-31%.
With majorities in the State House and Senate the GOP turned their eye to women.
A Heartbeat Bill was introduced in the House. This legislation would have prevented abortion once a fetal heartbeat was detected. The result would be effectively banning abortion as a heartbeat occurs before most women realize they are pregnant. A fetus testified to the House via sonogram. Ohio was a laughingstock, again.
This bill was so misguided that so called Right To Life Organizations opposed it. They knew full well it would never survive a court test. Thankfully it died in the Senate. However there was no veto threat from Kasich.
Throughout his political career John has at every opportunity bleated his Pro Life credentials.
The Ohio Republican reactionary social agenda was rejected in 2012 by electing President Obama and Senator Sherrod Brown with a comfortable margin, Actually Senator Brown crushed his conservative opponent.
So, with the message given by voters the Ohio Legislature, with opposition proof majorities, did the only rational thing they could. They went after women.
These guys seem to feel they have a God given divine right to impose their narrow, theocratic moral views on the population of Ohio. The best way to do this they felt was in a budget bill effectively preventing open debate. Because, freedom.
As I said earlier, I am not going to revisit those provisions today because I can't type as I weep for Ohio.
Now tucked away in the budget passed by a conservative Republican majority was a provision forbidding an expansion of Medicaid in response to the ACA. Let's look at what happened after the budget was passed.
Prior to passage there were large protests outside the Statehouse. This should have been seen as proof the issue isn't the winner they think it is. In their bubble they must think,"Women, cute how they think they're  important."
This reprehensible budget passed on a Friday less than forty-eight hours ahead of a legal deadline.
The calls for the Governor to use his line item veto to strike down these provisions was loud and immediate. The response was to stop answering their phones and emails.
In answering questions for the Media over that weekend Kasich extolled the virtues of the new budget. He would work with the Legislature to get Medicaid expansion even though they'd just bitch slapped him over it. As to the abortion provisions he needed to look oat them. He also made it a point to often cite his pro life credentials.
Democrats and progressives I know thought that Kasich is at times a pragmatist. To avoid court fights he would veto the abortion regs. I disagreed because I saw this as a play to the base with his constant waving of the pro life ensign. I truly wish I had been wrong.
Kasich vetoed the prohibition on Medicaid expansion and did not veto ANY of the abortion provisions in the budget. This way he avoids a bloody GOP mutiny as he eyes reelection in '14 and a possible Presidential run as a champion of the pro life movement. So for naked political ambition John Kasich is willing to boost his ambition on the backs of women. He sees no downside to stripping women of their rights. Kasich must feel women are too complacent to cause any meaningful political damage to his election plans. Perhaps he should have a chat with Mitt Romney.
Ohio, it is tme to show these officeholders the political price of hubris and arrogance.
They need to be reminded who they serve. The people of Ohio. All the people of Ohio not just the most vocal, connected and generous with campaign contributions.
It is time to retake the asylum from the patients.Sanity, compassion and equality must return to the political discourse in Ohio. The only way to cause that is to show extremism has a high political cost.
The time to stand united with women is now.
The time to restore sanity is now.
The time to shout no further is now.
Stand for our daughters, sisters and a womans right to control her life and future.
NOW!
 

Shiny Key Syndrome

     All regulations and laws to stop abortion are introduced and passed only for a few reasons. Forcing women to carry pregnancies to term. Slut shaming and humiliating a woman for daring to have an abortion. Codifying the result of women not living up to the vision God had for their place in family and society. So why are they always dressed up as being for the health, safety and education of women? Is it because the actual intent being stated would doom these predominantly male politicians to the dustbin of history?
The repressive reasoning used to demonize abortion is rife with misstatements,shoddy science and outright lies legitimized as law.
And it's every sane citizen's fault we are where we are.
When the Berger Court handed down Roe v. Wade it barely registered as a blip in the National Media. It coincided with a truce in Vietnam. It may have been the subject was still something not to be discussed in polite society. It may have been most of America just didn't care. That's how I recall it. But it has been forty years. There were small protests and rallies spread across the country, pro and con .It wasn't the polarizing issue it would later become.
This also coincided with the rise of the televangelist as a nascent political force. Billy Graham was a fixture at the White House. Oral Roberts,Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell were decrying the fall of God Fearing America and the rise of evil secularism. They had TV, radio and had started their own Colleges. They also had a group of devoted followers and tons of CASH.
The addition of cash. ideology and a determined squad of true believers never bodes well for American Politics. There is always a political party ready to exploit those acolytes for shaping public opinion and swaying elections. Volunteers, logistics and money are the lifeblood of elections.
These so called Christian Leaders organized and delivered pulse pounding fire and brimstone sermons. They took the the issue, twisted it into a good verses evil narrative and ran with it.
We stood by and allowed it.
Their numbers were small.The rhetoric was outside the mainstream. Religion in The United States was still dominated by the large traditional Denominations. The very conservative sects were small but vocal. These were derided as "Holy Rollers"and pretty much ignored. Until the Republican Party realized what they could be used for.
This all converged as Lee Atwater was redefining Liberal as a dirty word. Making politics here as the Republicans saving America from Liberals. Libs were the ones who had destroyed American values. Paving the way for Reagan's "Shining City On The Hill". A perfect storm. Liberal became a label Democrats have been running from for a generation.
All the while these ideas were written off as rantings of religious nut jobs and extreme out of touch  politicians.
We saw the rise of groups that had started picketing clinics. Pro Life was presented as right and moral. Pro Choice was demonised as baby killers.
Through the eighties the anti abortion movement grew becoming louder and more radical. More Americans than ever identified themselves as "Born Again" than ever. Republican politics and religion were merging.
The picketing evolved into trying to prevent access by blocking entrances. Women, preparing for a never easy, life altering, action were vilified. Patient names were spread. The Doctors were condemned as murderers. The leaders of these organizations were more strident. They pushed any action against these baby killers was just and sanctioned by God. The groups pushed back in court challenging laws keeping them from interfering with access to the clinics. Civil disobedience resulting in martyrdom via righteous arrest. When you fell God approves things get ugly, very fast.
We started seeing Doctors stalked and murdered without any outrage expressed by the allied politicians.
All the while the Republicans were reaping the benefit of support from the zealots, they ran on pro life platforms then compromised with the spawn of Satan, the Democrats. There came anger as they felt The GOP was using them. Since they were committed they tended to be staunch primary voters.
Having learned how the process worked the Religious Right started putting up challengers to those they felt betrayed them by not being conservative enough. This started a panic driven lurch to the right. Some incumbents were defeated and replaced by neophyte office holders obsessed with a few poorly thought out and naive stances. We started seeing extreme comments fueled by a theocratic view of how they thought American Government worked.
This spread through out the States as people felt sanity would prevail. Dems were out worked , out organized, out spent and out voted.
Once in power an agenda emerged. Front and center the abolition of abortion. They decided to put into practice what they had been advocating for four decades.  These laws are designed to strip women of full citizenship and roll back the gains made since the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.These people aren't stupid. They hope the coming court challenges will result in the current Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
In the meantime they get to shame and humiliate women. Treating them as if they are too stupid to make life altering decisions regarding their future. This is a chance to relegate them to ambulatory incubators. They see an opportunity to push their repressive "Christian" values on everyone to save America from those they feel hate God.
And we stood by and let them do it.
We stayed home during elections handing them the keys. We didn't challenge as we let them set the message. We didn't stand up push back and say no.
Those days are over.
I have seen women of every political stripe angered and appalled at the current situation. Thousands are telling the Texas Legislature NO!
John Kasich and Scott Walker have due to their raw political ambition have decided to sign extremist laws as a blatant play to the base. Both harbor Presidential ambitions and feel what they have done will propel them to the White House on the backs of women. The disdain is evident in that they feel women are not a threat They shrug off the fact they are the top targets. They have not learned a simple fact. Women are a force of nature. When they are motivated by righteous anger they are fierce and unyielding in their fight for justice.
We men can stand with women in this battle or be wrong again. The time to push back is now. The time to stand is now. Together. United in saying No! This will not stand!
Now.
No.

Guys, it's time to man up and do what's right

Guilty. I'm a guy. In fact I once told my Daughter a tale of my youth and fast cars. She looked at me, shook her head, and said, "Dad you are such a guy.".


Come here boys, we need to talk. I know some of you have parochial, pre nineteenth century views of women, their intelligence and their roles in civilized society. You are excused. I know I am not rhetorically skillful enough to influence your belief system. One can't dislodge those views with a 2x4 to the head. So, later. Pound down a PBR for me.

Ok. For the rest of you I have a call to arms.


I don't care about color, ideology, sexual orientation. I only care that you are a rational, caring human being.
There is something happening here in The United States that should outrage all of us.


I treat it as a given that we men can do stupid and do it exceptionally well. We all are guilty of some form of misogyny. Looking at her bust line rather than looking her in the eyes. Visual appraisal as she walks by. Stupid, sexist jokes and comments. No matter how evolved we think we are we all do it. I'm unsure if it's cultural or hardwired. Testosterone make us , on the whole, bigger, stronger and more aggressive.Perhaps that hormone colors our perception of women. Does it cause us to reduce women to simply objects of desire, something to dominate? This attitude crosses and is present in most cultures.


Or rather is it something passed from father to son like shade tree mechanics? I'll leave the nurture v. nature argument to the biologists and the social sciences. Lets talk about things we are able to change and influence.
William F. Buckley, the father of modern American Conservative thought,would be appalled, aghast and angry by what so-called Conservative ideology has morphed into. It is not Conservatism, it is a reactionary rejection of the modern world.


Buckley pushed the American Nazi Party, The John Birch Society and the KKK out of the Conservative movement in the fifties. He rightly recognized their ideas were counter to American ideals and UnAmerican to the core.Now the John Birch Society is one of the sponsors of CPAC, the annual Conservative Woodstock.


Buckley's school of thought enabled the rise of Senator Barry Goldwater(R-Ariz).While I disagree with most of his positions at least they were reasoned, thoughtful responses to the issues facing America. He was an intellectual counter weight to The Dixiecrats. The flip side of the coin that was Strom Thurmond. Goldwater was also prescient in his warnings about the influence of the religious right. He knew how the Senate and Federal Government worked. Compromise was not an obscenity or heresy.


Now we have the Tea Party, The Pauls (Ron and Rand), Perry, Palin, Bachmann, Santorum, Huckabee, Beck and Limbaugh driving the rhetoric and outlook of the rabid Right.


Guys, that was a small overview of the evolution to now. Thanks for being polite enough not to snore.


Emerging from the ashes of rationality we are seeing something unprecedented in American political thought.
A group of Citizens are being stripped of basic human and Civil rights under the banner of an affront to God and morality.That's right Women. Our wives, daughters and mothers are being made officially second class citizens.


Some seem to think it is only the Old Confederacy. Wrong. It is not a regional issue it is a widespread ideological issue.


Texas has received a ton of press recently and rightfully so. But, there is Ohio, Michigan,Wisconsin, Iowa, and Kansas going after women. What do they have in common? Not Southern States.


This reminds me of the Weather Underground and anti war movement in the sixties. Get that look off your face. See, the campus protests were seen as an elitist phenomenon of the East and West coasts. The home of the pointy headed intellectual and nattering nabobs of negativity. Thank you Vice President Agnew.So the left's idea was to rally the heartland. To show that opposition was National. They succeeded. In late April and early May of '70 as college campus' across the country exploded in protest.


The protest at Ohio State(Then the Nation's largest single campus University) was massive and violent. And there was Kent State. The support of the Vietnam war was shown to be a losing proposition.


The Right's strategy has been similar. As long as it's narrow view was confined to more culturally conservative regions it was dismissed as an blip on the political radar. In once moderate States like Ohio they were more committed, more organized and better funded than the Dems. We were caught with our pants down because we believed in the inherent sanity of the American voter. Well we were wrong. An underlying strain of intolerance was identified, nurtured and empowered by demagogues.


With State Legislatures now dominated by reactionary theocratic, anti science and anti history true believers we should have seen this coming. State after State have launched a massive attack on women disguised as protection and education. Women have been denigrated as too emotional and not rational enough to make basic reproductive and healthcare decisions. Many lament that the rise of women empowered to make reproductive decisions about their bodies and future is a primary reason for the decline of "Christian" American values. So, there's always a woman to blame?


I am going to use Ohio as an example since I live here and am more aware of the laws.


The State Legislature here, with a huge Majority in both Houses, shoved what may be the Nation's most restrictive Abortion laws into effect.


The waiting period was doubled. Doctors are required to perform a medically unneeded ultrasound, at the woman's expense. There is a mandated narrative describing the fetus, it's potential to be carried to full term and ability to feel pain(not a medical consensus). MD's are also required to tell a woman abortion increases the risk of Breast Cancer even though the American Cancer Society says there is NO correlation. A State mandated lie.


Ohio, knowing more than the AMA and scientists redefined pregnancy. It now starts at conception rather than the medically accepted implantation. This raises intended or maybe unintended consequences. Any form of birth control that prevents implantation is now a de facto abortion. So the pill, Plan B and IUD's will require the waiting period, ultrasound and lecture.


The idea here is since a woman uses abortion as a casual form of birth control she must be shown the consequences of her actions. If she can be shamed and humiliated all the better. She will learn. Thanks to Federal privacy laws protecting medical information this shaming and humiliation isn't public. Though listening to some of the rhetoric there may be a few who would like to publish names. Create modern day Hesters.


The Ohio laws are extensive. Google it. I get too upset.


The gist is, Guys, that women are too irrational,not intelligent, casually uncaring,people driven only by emotion and self.


Is this how we view women?  Remember these are sisters, mothers, daughters, Think of your family. Could you love someone so casually uncaring about life? Someone too stupid to make important health decisions as you trust them with raising your child? Are they genetically destined to be inferior? Can you possibly believe that?


I know a lot of women. Most of the smartest people I know are women. And sorry to say most of the dumbest people I know are men. Just saying.


So boys we have a choice. One that will profoundly affect the future.


Do we stand with women and say No? Enough is enough is enough. No farther? Or do we stand on the sidelines letting our silence condone the behavior? Doing that I fear will validate every negative stereotype concerning men.


It's time to show what we are made of. That we are quality partners in life and society. That we aren't Feudal Lord and Master wanna be's. That we value women for their contributions to our lives.


Do we stand with women, our daughters, wives, sisters and mothers? Or Not.
The time to choose is now, The time to act and show our true colors is now. We need to make them proud to have us.  Stand and say No. We will not tolerate this behavior. We stand united with women for a better future. A better America. A better life.

Shhhh, girls, the men are talking. Ohio. Again.

     I had hoped not to have to write this. I should be used to dashed and decimated hopes by now.
     Gov.John Kasich ( R-OH) had the chance to show Ohio is a sane, reasonable place to live. Instead he chose to show Ohio as a reactionary, theocratic, anti-women, anti-science State where Conservative men know more than Doctors on how to treat a pregnant woman.
    The provisions in this abhorrent Budget have purpose. To shame and intimidate women. The rules come from the idea that the girls are incapable of making decisions on their reproductive health, their future and rights as a human being and citizen  With the redefinition of pregnancy (AMA be damned) certain contraceptives may be defined as abortifacients since they prevent implantation to the uterine wall. Ultra sound and lectures for the pill or IUD?
     Any contraception restriction seems to be intended to strip women of viable alternatives to sex for other than  procreative purposes. If you have sex simply because you enjoy it (SLUT) be prepared for the consequences. You may need to rely on barrier or rhythm methods.       Or the RWNJ favorite, abstinence. See, sexually active women with alternatives and reproductive control are a major reason for the decline of our "Christian" nation's moral values. Harlots!! There seems to be a longing by these rat bastards for a return to a woman being pregnant for most of her reproductive years.
     Let's not forget there is no exclusion for rape or incest. The only exclusion is for saving the life of the mother. Period. That's it.
     The GOP in Ohio used to be reasonable and wary of overreach. No longer. They feel they have a mandate from God. A divine right to impose their narrow, hateful vision and moral judgements on the people of Ohio.
     The "Pro Life" lobby is ecstatic. Women are so incapable of making these decisions about their lives. Men are so much smarter and must act to protect them from themselves.
     Kasich in response to abysmal poll numbers has flirted with trying to appear pragmatic and reasonable. There have been occasional dashes to the center. Always short lived and seen as blatant political posturing.  
     Thus in Ohio there was the feeling he realized these provisions were a mistake and extremist over reach. He would use the line item veto on them. Instead he decided to play to the rabid right base to position himself for reelection in '14 and a possible Presidential run as a Conservative Pro Life champion in '16. He seems to have forgotten his Presidential flirtation with the GOP  in 2000 collapsed under massive indifference.
     I have always tried to avoid pissing off women as a rule. I have found angering women is unwise and dangerous.  These guys seem to relish it.
     So, options
     The best remedy I believe will be the courts. The danger there is these budget provisions seem to be a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. A challenge that winds it's way to the Supreme Court (GOP AG DeWine would surely keep appealing any losses up the food chain) could,in this court result in overturning that landmark decision. We've seen their disdain for precedent and what in normally considered settled law.
     A major pushback by concerned and outraged women is very likely. However there is no Recall in Ohio.
     Budget provisions, I believe, can't  be overturned via ballot repeal. I need to research that but even if, deadlines for Nov. loom.
      The GOP can expect a push for defeat by righteously, outraged Ohio women and men.
     Our primary recourse is the ballot box to remove these people from office next year. Due to gerrymandering it will be a challenge. A challenge accepted. As a free people that value equality we can not let this abomination stand.
     We have an obligation to our daughters to stop this now. To stand and say NO! No Farther.
     Apathy and complacency will doom women to a return to the 19th century. Dangerous herbal concoctions to induce adbortion and miscarriages.
     Again back alley abortion resulting in death and sterilization of women due to sepsis. The return of the wire coat hanger as a surgical instrument.
     Not again!

What has happened to Ohio?? Budget tells women to shut up and take it.

      I remember when Ohio was a moderate, reasonable State.
John Glenn and Howard Metzenbaum were the US Senators.The two parties actually worked together to make Ohio a better place to live. Political agendas were not aggressively pursued and imposed on a reasonable populace. That was then. This is now.
In 2006, following Gov. Robert Taft's pathetic two terms Ohio elected a moderate, pragmatic Governor. Ted Strickland.
Ken Blackwell, the poster child for voter suppression in 2004 was kicked to the curb as he got his ass handed to him in the Governor's race. Democrats swept every State wide office and had a majority in the State Senate. Ohio was a moderately progressive state where compromise was required to govern.
Well, fast forward to 2010.
The rise of the Tea party challenge from the right and the Unicorn Wing of the Democratic Party sitting at home on their hands in a pique, forgetting elections have consequences saw the rout of reasonable pols. The reactionary right seized control of State Government. They Gerrymandered the State to create safe districts and ensure one party rule for the next decade. There was attempted voter suppression beat back by the courts.Still Ohio is not the red state the Tea Party/GOP say it is. PBO carried Ohio in a decisive victory. Twice.
This is simply apologetic background to show Ohio doesn't have a long history of insanity.
Now comes the two year budget passed by the reactionary Legislature, steamrolling the Democratic minority. Into this budget they inserted the "Pro Life" shopping list and in places took it farther. Let's peer under the rock at the squirmy little fucks.
This budget:
Redefines pregnancy as starting at conception contrary to what the AMA says.
Reworks funding to put Planned parenthood at the end of the funding line behind Pregnancy Crisis Centers. (Anti abortion groups) One Senator said no funding for any organization that supports abortion as an option.
Doctors must perform a medically unneeded ultra sound at the woman's expense.The MD is required to describe the fetus and tell the chances of it reaching viability and full term. Fetal pain must be mentioned.
Doctors are required to tell women abortion increases the possibility of breast cancer even though the American Cancer Society says there is no evidence of a correlation.
If Doctors don't lie to their patient and jump through the hoops they could be convicted of a felony and a million dollar fine can be imposed..
Abortion providers can not have transfer agreements with public hospitals. In Ohio most private hospitals have religious affiliations This could make transfer agreements problematic.
Doubles the waiting time to forty eight hours.
If a fetal heartbeat is found during the ultra sound the woman must be notified in writing.
The GOP says these regulations are necessary to inform a woman of risks and options. To increase safety. Another solution in search of a problem.
This is needed to reduce the number of procedures in Ohio. OK. in 1982 45,000 abortions were performed here. 2012? 25,000. The number seems to be decreasing without this intervention by the State.
There were protests as the vote progressed. State Senator Nina Turner(D-Cleveland) said,"Texas lit the fuse." Indeed, This legislation is an abomination. It makes me ashamed to be an Ohioan.
Gov. John Kasich(Already mentioned by Politico as a strong Presidential primary contender in 2016) in a five minute answer to a question about the abortion regs mentioned several times he was pro life. So, a line item veto of these heinous regulations is unlikely
So, options? A court challenge on multiple provisions seems likely.
An organized pushback by women is also likely.
Kasich is up for reelection in 2014. The best way to derail his Presidential ambitions is to make him a one term Governor and restore sanity to budget making here. For those who don't remember Kasich had an aborted Presidential; Primary campaign in 2000 which collapsed under lack of support. He also worked at Fox News.
WE need more sane voices in the Legislature
WE need to retake the State wide offices.
Ohioans must stand and say NO!! Ohio has to show the Nation we are not in favor of women being chattel with no input on their health, rights and future.
Equal means equal.
Stand up Ohio! Just say NO! Loud and proud.

No....It's not a Southern problem. Really

     As a Liberal Ohioan I am tired.
Very tired.
I am tired of we Northern Liberals being so denigrating and dismissive of the South.We fall back on stereotypes which we decry when they are used on those we support. However we have no problem dismissing Southerners as backward, barefoot, bumpkins and bozos.
We somehow forget the Bill Clintons and Jimmy Carters remembering only the Mike Huckabees and Rick Perrys.
I realize the South is conservative.I also think this may be more a lack of engagement on the part of Democrats and Progressives. We've been known to bitch and moan as we sit on our hands.Take Arkansas. A very RED State Government. I have been told by a friend who lives there that local Government tends to be civilized and Democratic. Control of local politics will eventually give you the State.
The view that women are not real citizens with equal rights, the attack on women's reproductive health, rights and options is not an Old Confederacy issue. It's not a regional issue. It's a Republican issue.
OK. Arkansas passed a very restrictive abortion law earlier this year. Bad hillbillies. Today, The Great State of Ohio, a bastion of The Union during The Civil War is poised to pass the most restrictive abortion legislation since Roe v.Wade became the legal standard re; abortion rights. A Doctor MUST inform a woman a fetal heartbeat is detected before an abortion, IN WRITING.I can't summarize this bill without my head exploding. Google the fuck out of it. Here in Ohio a fetus testified in committee hearings via sonogram as opponents were denied a chance to speak. A Personhood State Constitutional Amendment is raising it's ugly head in a petition drive for a ballot issue.
In Kansas a woman on Medicaid who needs a medically necessary abortion must have it approved personally by the Governor.
Indiana? Restrictive laws.
Pennsylvania? Looking at restrictions.
Michigan? You can't say vagina on the House floor. And restrictive
Anybody else see a pattern here?
What do all these states have in common? Not a part of the Old Confederacy. Not a Southern state. A State Government controlled by a reactionary Republican Party determined to foist their warped "Christian" morality on all of us in contravention of The Establishment clause. They truly believe they have a God given right and duty to codify their "Christian" ideals.
So how do we Northern Liberals climb on our high horse and gallop over the South? How can we justify our dismissive attitudes? How can we ignore the sane voices of Southerners with a vision of what the South can be. We condemn their Dems as Blue Dogs and DINO. Like the RWNJ's we've been known to bankroll a Primary challenge handing the Seat to the GOP. (See Arkansas)
We Liberals seem to seek Unicorns that fart rainbows.
So as Liberals we all need to stand together to stop this return to the theocratic Middle Ages.
The operative words are STAND TOGETHER.
Make it so.