UPDATE

Some other little known facts regarding the Greens of Hobby Lobby fame. First, selling religion through crafts. Then using religion to discriminate. Lastly, pushing their view of history and the Bible in YOUR schools. (Not to mention  the Museum of the bible in DC.)

http://tinyurl.com/k479nc7

In case there are any of you out there that still believe that the SCOTUS's decision was strictly (or "narrowly", as they have said) on certain women's health/reproduction options……..think again.

Their "Founding Fathers and Freedom of Religion" schtick is beginning to crumble and be exposed for exactly what is it: an inroads to a sort of fundamentalist taliban. (I am not even going to dignify them with capital letters.)

The originators of such things as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were a varied bunch, with differing views on religion and its role beyond personal belief. One quick source on the subject is http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/annotation/2002/2002-mar.pdf.

"As mentioned previously, most of the Founders were associated with and/or attended Christian  churches.  But the Founders were a product of not only Christianity, but also the political ideologies of the Enlightenment.  They read scripture, but they also read the philosophies of John Locke, Voltaire, and Montesquieu. As Frazer says in his book The Religious Beliefs of America’s Founders, theistic rationalism was “a belief system for the educated elite.”  Educated elite describes not only founders such as Jefferson, Adams, and Madison, but also many of the Revolutionary Era’s preachers and seminary professors." http://greatamericanhistory.net/blog/the-religious-beliefs-of-americas-founding-fathers-christians-or-deists/

Nowhere in the list of the religious affiliations of these men is Baptist or Pentecostal or Fundamentalist even listed…these were later incarnations of Protestantism. (Notice the base word here….) Is it too far a stretch to see the beginnings of "free market" take root in some of these later denominations?  I apologize in advance for offending anyone. But, there used to be an old canard that went along the lines….."The missionaries went out there to do good, and they did very well."

And don't forget the Green's attempt at getting a Bible-based view of history pushed in our public school system.
" I am skeptical, however, that the scholars that Green has assembled for this job — a group that tilts like a listing ship toward evangelicals working at evangelical institutions — are capable of producing a textbook beholden to facts rather than faith." http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/05/11/green-hobby-lobby-bible-course-textbook-column/8974511/

But Hobby Lobby's latest win (or stunt) isn't being hailed as a success by all on the religious Right. http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/07/03/3456438/religious-exemption-letter-pushback/

You will notice that no large corporations jumped on the bandwagon in support of this. (And it is NOT only about contraception.) There is a reason for that:

"After all, incorporation’s basic purpose is to create a distinct legal entity, with legal rights, obligations, powers, and privileges different from those of the natural individuals who created it, who own it, or whom it employs.

That separation is what legal and business scholars call the "corporate veil," and it's fundamental to the entire operation."

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/07/hobby-lobbys-other-problem

So let's get down to the real nitty-gritty of what's going on here:

“Because I’m a man, number one and it’s really none of my business what women do,” Potter said. So, then, why bother suing? “Because I don’t care if the federal government is telling me to buy my employees Jack Daniel’s or birth control. What gives them the right to tell me that I have to do that? That’s my issue, that’s what I object to, and that’s the beginning and end of the story.” 

http://www.salon.com/2013/04/15/eden_foods_ceo_digs_himself_deeper_in_birth_control_outrage/

And it's all about sticking it to the "arrogant" President…the one that is actually getting things done in spite of their hatred for him and those on the left. I do not think they have thought the consequences of this move through very well……as Justice Ginsberg has so eloquently stated.

Republicans of the Female Variety are In a Quandary

UPDATE
Wow…it seems like the GOP is starting to get the idea that women just aren't that into them. So they have a new strategy:

"Women process information differently than men," [Republican ad maker Ashley] O'Connor says. "So much of political advertising focuses on conflict, and facts and figures, and I think that we're already starting to see, when reaching women voters, there's just new techniques that need to be used, and a different tone, and more storytelling."
http://tinyurl.com/kwoszw8

There, I'm sure that will fix it….

When Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) was asked Monday by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch why Republicans have lagged in recruiting women, she answered, “I don’t know.”

She is the head of a project to remedy this situation, since Republican men are too busy walking around with their feet in their mouths, I guess….
Project Grow

http://www.nrcc.org/project_grow/

Of course, all you learn from this link is DONATE HERE.

Maybe I can give them a little insight as to the problem. For some reason most intelligent women don't take to kindly to: 

You want birth control? YOU'RE A SLUT!

Women who pay for her date's meals are disgusting!

"If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways of shutting that whole thing down"

Or maybe it's the patronizing:

 “Forgive me because you and I both know Senator Feinstein. I have the highest regard for her. You’re saying you think she was emotional in these conclusions?”  http://www.msnbc.com/all/hayden-feinstein-too-emotional-over-report

It could be the demeaning:

“The fact that she’s also going to be a grandma will help to humanize her,”

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/04/28/expert-becoming-a-grandmother-will-help-to-humanize-hillary-clinton/

Then there is the condescension:

 “men are more motivated by money than women are.” 

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/04/24/3430462/women-make-less-risk/

It is pretty bad when women even get into the act:

Women are being told to go to college…to find a mate.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-patton/why-i-told-female-princeton-students-to-find-a-husband_b_2988154.html

After all that, Repubs have shown that MONEY is more important than actual  people, of either sex.

"... it has been shown that lower-income Republicans feel that preserving benefits is far more important than higher-income Republicans seem to. Higher-income Republicans tend to believe that it is more important to focus on steps to reduce the budget deficit than it is to preserve entitlements such as social security. Democratic beliefs on Social Security are not divided by income."

http://www.republicanviews.org/republican-views-on-social-security/

You will notice I didn't even get into LGBT issues, climate change, single mothers, democracy or oligarchy, environment, education, immigration, job opportunities, homelessness, the place of religion in politics, the art of war, unions, healthcare……or are these "unwomanly?"

Personally, if I lived in Michigan,  I think I'd rather be more interested in this

Project Grow - Ann Arbor, MI - Community Organization ...https://www.facebook.com/ProjectGrowGardens

Voice From The Middle

I am a daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, wife, and friend. I was born on an island and have lived in both north and south. My dad worked for the Air Force as a civilian as did my mom in earlier years. I attended college to follow my dream of becoming a "starving artist in a loft" and left to become the mother of four kids, eventually the grandmother of seven. I was brought up in the Southern Baptist church, and left in early adulthood. I have raised a family in tandem with a husband, as was the custom during the 60's, and ended  bringing the brood up over twenty years as a single mom when circumstances changed. I have always owned my own home. I have worked full time in offices while working part time evenings and weekends (maybe in a trauma center or maybe custodial work in a beauty shop) to augment my income. I watched my mother endure the downslide with Alzheimer's, and die of the disease. I have battled cancer twice (surgery, chemo and radiation)……once with insurance, and once without. I am keeping Melanoma at bay as we speak. My present husband and I are now retired, once having owned a small business. He has a part time job now working at a recycling center when he's not with his "Eat to ride, and ride to Eat" motorcycle buddies. My kids are raising families in another state…..two of them are enduring the downturn, hopeful they can find new jobs since BOA eliminated their old ones months ago. 

Why am I telling you all this?

 As I look back upon my life, I can see that I am a microcosm of many peoples' lives……an average Jill, so to speak. And as I see it the average person is no longer respected, cared about, listened to, catered to, consulted or even noticed in today's world, especially in this country. 

For example, I was lucky to get respectable jobs with decent pay for the 1970's after my divorce: $6.25 per hour starting in one doctor's office, where I today  would need $38.64 per hour to purchase the same goods/services needed for my family. The minimum wage that big businesses seem to rail against ($10.10 usually) would be the equivalent of $1.66 in 1970. Forgive me if I call "BS" on the Right Wing axiom that "these are just jobs for entry level, teenagers needing spending money." HAVE YOU BEEN IN A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT OR DISCOUNT RETAIL STORE LATELY? (Also "Republicans "tended to think the poor are poor because of individual failings, rather than lack of opportunities present … and that they have a poor work ethic rather than good jobs being unavailable.")

Owning and taking care of a home is also a thing of the past for most couples….let alone single folks. Buying a three bedroom brick home in a good middle class neighborhood for $16,900 (you heard me right), improving it, selling and moving up every few years is a forgotten dream. That will buy you a hovel in downtown Nowhere….I get it.  The point is wages are not keeping up, and banks are NOT your friends anymore….you can only borrow money if you can prove you don't really need it. And the expense to heat and cool a home will kill you. 

Women have always been "the little women" to society. To have to be the bread winner, mother, school bus, housekeeper, lawn maintenance crew, urgent care nurse, cook and bottle washer, nurturer, educator, and look like you just stepped out of a magazine shoot….and not be too ASSERTIVE on the job…is not a task to be taken lightly. Thousands of women do this same thing every day. But those men in the GOP seem to think THEY have the authority to make health and medical decisions for them as well as mock them for being "too emotional to make decisions on anything important."

Single moms raising several kids are just the SCOURGE of society..why those children will never amount to anything. They are children of divorce and they will have developmental problems all their lives. They will probably not finish school, go to college, have several out-of-wedlock kids, end up in jail, have no ambition, and wear smelly dirty clothes. (Of course, they COULD learn the value of not having everything handed to them. They COULD learn that the "best" is not always necessary. They COULD learn that co-operation and compromise are to be valued, and that having your own way is not always going to happen. They COULD learn that friends of all races and beliefs are a good thing. They COULD learn respect for elders…...and that mom will kick your butt when you need it.) Bible quotes have their place, but common sense is more important.

Getting sick was almost NOT an option…ask my kids. Two aspirin, hot tea with lemon and honey, a warm bath, and good nights sleep HAS to cure everything. ("Mom didn't take us to the doctor unless we were bleeding…") My son was treated for several bad cuts and illness by one of the doctors I worked for……OB/GYNs. Luckily, all they had were minor childhood diseases. First time I had cancer, my employer provided insurance. The second time, I had just started a new job and no insurance was in effect at the time. (This was when I first bought an answering machine…I was inundated by doctors and hospitals for bills I could only pay a minimum on for years….4 or 5 years of complete insanity.) Thank you, Mr. President, for helping others to NOT have to go through this same thing!

Working hard, owning your own business and putting everything you have into it is the American way. Just ask any Republican running for office these days. Only LOSERS do not get anywhere in life, and they should be mocked for the "bad decisions" they have made, and that "we" have to pay for. That is all well and good…until YOUR business becomes another statistic from a bad economy, and suddenly you are "overqualified" for the very jobs you once had. Yes, early retirement has it's benefits. 

Now, suddenly, after working for years, paying your dues (and taxes, I might add) you "are not contributing to society." You are sucking up "your children's future" with all your "entitlements." Well, if you had planned it right….you could have been BORN into enough money, or used other people's money to get even richer…..or have the SCOTUS rule in your favor, anyway.

Our Founders did their best to put this country on the right track….I just don't believe they accounted for the vast sums of money being used to power the train. All the Framers of our democracy had other positions and callings BESIDES working in the government. They did what they could…and moved on to let others carry the load. Today a government job, or a political position ITSELF is the end result. Once you get in the "system", with a little luck, good friends and lots of BS you can stay there forever. With donor money, government rules, insider knowledge, glad-handing, and taxpayer support you can live the good life forever. If that doesn't work out…you can always hit the media circuit. There is always a place on one network for fading GOP stars.

As I look over what I have lived through, what I have accomplished, what I have seen, what I hope for my family and others like them….I see that I could only have been what I am. And you cannot make yourself bigger by making someone else look small. And I can only support those who can put themselves in others' shoes….people with empathy. People who are Dems.

Slutty Female College Students??

This is just getting disgusting! We all have heard how Republicans in Texas HATE Wendy Davis for standing up against their insatiable drive against women's reproductive rights (read: abortion).

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/01/25/sexist-attacks-wendy-davis/

 We all know how the Right DESPISES educated people and critical thinking, hence the decades-long push to privatize schools by giving vouchers to their charter schools where the learning is low and the profits are high. We all know how they think that poor folks should have just TRIED harder, gotten a college education which in their minds is the roadmap to a lucrative future (or it would be if you could also maneuver it into a lobbyist position so you can pay off your student loans).

So what do you get when you combine the misogynistic old white guy party's two favorite things? A slanderous underhanded push to denigrate a female's march to the front. This is what passes as "reporting" in Ohio (that bastion of Kasich and the Koch Brothers money these days.)…...

Miami University among fastest growing “Sugar Baby” schools in Ohio

Rising tuition costs and mounting college debt have some college students in Ohio seeking an alternative way to pay for their education. According to a new survey by SeekingArrangement.com, a dating site, six Ohio colleges are among the “Top fastest growing sugar baby schools,” where female students use “sugar daddies” to pay for college.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/miami-university-among-fastest-growing-sugar-baby-/ncnjG/

I don't know what the aim of this sort of push is……..just to denigrate all female students, I guess. Look for this to be occurring other states as well. I'm getting REAL tired of this "subliminal" message the Right is pushing. Just too chicken to come right out and say it I guess. How any self-respecting, critical thinking, compassionate, hard working member of the female sex……..or members of ANY nonwhite sector of this country……can be OK with this denigration and lying BS is beyond me! Anybody that votes to keep these poor excuses of humanity in office are out of their minds!

So You're "Let Down" By Pres. Obama
and you sat out the 2010 elections..they weren't important enough to you. Or you're just not going to vote this year because Obama didn't revamp your progressive world soon enough, and you didn't get any unicorns. Just keep in mind, here's the kind of people that the Right keeps voting in :


http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/walsh-slams-duckworth-true-heroes-dont-talk-about-their-military-service.php

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/30/gov-christie-to-reporter-are-you-stupid/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/02/krayton-kerns-montana-bison_n_1643167.html

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/paul-ryan-bashes-obamacare-because-rights-come-from?ref=fpblg


http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/21/news/la-pn-gingrich-child-labor-20111121


http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/23/488882/how-governor-rick-scott-is-preventing-eligible-us-citizens-from-voting-in-florida/


http://www.progressohio.org/blog/2011/06/koch-brothers-hold-secret-gop-retreat-in-vail-wheres-john-kasich.html


http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/02/06/republican-congressman-duped-by-abortionplex-article-in-the-onion/


/www.addictinginfo.org/2012/03/23/republican-congressman-tells-women-at-equal-rights-rally-to-support-democrats/

It's up to you, folks!

How The GOP Is Working For You

Maybe I've been a little too hard on the Republicans, since John Boehner and his buddies insist they are working for YOU, the American People. So I thought I'd do a little rechecking to see if things had changed over the last 2 years: What I found is :

IMMIGRATION
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/08/house-republicans-immigration-defund-obama_n_1581052.html

CLIMATE CHANGE
http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/gop-efforts-defund-ipcc-0492.html

WOMEN'S HEALTH
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/04/ohio_house_republicans_move_to.html    

http://thinkprogress.org
/health/2012/04/27/472888/prevention-fund-women/  


HEALTHCARE BILL
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/politics/house-votes-to-kill-portion-of-health-care-law-1388030.html

EDUCATION
http://www.leftinalabama.com/diary/9368/republican-truth-attack-stop-funding-public-education

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/02/14/14climatewire-house-republicans-open-a-major-budget-battle-61602.html?pagewanted=all    


FOOD SAFETY
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_06/bad_news_for_americans_who_eat029939.php     


INFRASTRUCTURE
http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/magazine/103393/public-infrastructure-investment-congress-spending-projects    


UNEMPLOYMENT & WELFARE
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/08/welfare-drug-testing-michigan_n_1580973.html


DISEASE CONTROL, CDC
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/21/gop-budget-cut-proposal-w_n_838557.html


PRISON SYSTEM
http://www.westernprogressive.com/2012/02/gops-privatization-attempt-of-prisons-failed-but-ideological-fight-continues.html


ECOLOGY VS JOBS & BIG OIL
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/210465-republicans-revive-keystone-pipeline-push-on-highway-bill


HIGHWAY SYSTEMS
http://www.toledoblade.com/State/2011/10/25/Gov-Kasich-talks-about-Ohio-Turnpike-plans.html

If all these folks on the Right want to do is make our life in this country worse, make it harder for students to get an education, denigrate the poor and unemployed, push women back into a second-class-citizen role, ruin the environment to gain a profit (through a false narrative being spread), mix politics and a conservative branch of religion into our government legislation...........I'll have to stick to my original opinions.


To quote a New York Times article today: So far, the House Republicans have done little but show that they have no real interest in governing.

CATEGORIZE, SCHMATEGORIZE

I'm getting a little overwhelmed and confused these days. Left wing liberal. Right wing conservative. GOP= Party of NO. DEMS=socialism. Sarah Palin= right wing goddess. Nancy Pelosi=left wing spawn of the devil. Bush=the decider. Obama=the ditherer. Abortion=right wing values, slap-down of women's rights. Abortion= celebration of women's rights, proof of left wing ungodliness. I'm caught in a morass of contradictions. No matter what I believe in, I'M WRONG.

I don't ever remember such vileness, divisiveness, fear mongering, truth stretching, slandering, pushing-of-religion for political purposes "in all my born days" as I used to hear said as a child. (I know, that was many years ago...) But we have been treated to a show of such lack of decorum, manners, respect, insult to intelligence, and shenanigans that would make Oral Roberts and P.T. Barnum blush. We all are not generalizations. We don't all live and die by the POLLS. We all don't swear by FOX news. Some of us actually THINK and go by our gut feelings to know what is right or wrong. Most of us are caught in the middle: we hear all the mumbo-jumbo put out by "our" side or the "opposition", and we agree with a little of both. But, NO, that's not acceptable. You're either for us or agin us, by golly!!

I believe in God, a higher being, a plan for each of our lives. I don't believe that all organized religions have a lock on goodness and yours, just because it is different than mine, is bad. I know that the Bible is a guide for leading a good and selfless life. But I also know it is a collection of writings that over time, have been rearranged, edited, added to and condensed to suit whatever purposes that particular group of scholars had in mind at the time. I believe there NEEDS to be a separation of church and state as was written by our forefathers when founding this country. I don't believe any religion-Catholic, evangelical, atheist, Jewish,-needs to be pressing their agenda into this country's politics. Nor do I believe that money from any of these organizations should be accepted for any purpose. I believe this country was built by people of all colors, creeds, nationalities, classes, education, and sexes. If it's OK to to use these same people in your factories, fields, homes, stores, and restaurants, they need to be afforded the same rights as everyone else, as long as they know what their responsibilities are as citizens. I believe NO ONE should have the right to tell me what to do with my body. I don't condone abortion as a method of birth control. I've never had one: but I don't believe any self-righteous man is going to tell me or any other woman in a dire circumstance that they can't have one. (I've worked more than 20 years of my life with OB/GYN's. This is not spoken callously.)
I believe in helping my fellow American citizen, or any person for that matter. I expect everyone to work for what they want to achieve in life: there's nothing wrong with succeeding in what you do. Money is not the root of all evil, LOVE of money is. It's when you don't use what you have (money or talent) in helping others do the same that the selfishness and greed sets in. It's when the looking down on others as "lazy, ignorant, waiting-for-hand-outs, and inferior" begins that turns me off.

So I guess I"ll continue down the road as an independent, not-so-middle-class-anymore, women's rights, spiritual, humor-loving, cancer-surviving, left-leaning, family-loving, commonsensical (is that a word?) kind of person. For those of you I irritate, I apologize. For those of you I amuse: at least I've accomplished something.

THE BIBLE THE RIGHT WAY

Would someone please tell me what in the heck is wrong with people today?? Is Fox Opinion Television putting something in the water? In the air? Is it emanating from the television screen in your living room?

The Conservative Bible Project run by the son of Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative rights activist, wants to change the current version of the bible. (Conservapedia.com/Conservative_Bible_Project) It's too liberal for him and his group. Granted the bible has been updated, condensed, retranslated, added to, and messed with for centuries. Several books have been left out. Some were books written by women: they didn't add to the true message of what Jesus was trying to say, I guess. Well, at least not according to the priests and other male scholars who were parsing together the King James Bible that is used today. Let's see: Jesus associated with women, worked with women, trusted women, helped women, defended women. And as far as we know he couldn't have been gay---the conservatives would have THROWN OUT his words, not printed them in red.

Yep, these people feel the need to make the bible less liberal, more masculine, and generally more to their liking. To me it fits right in with their usual "keep women in the kitchen, barefoot, and pregnant" theories that have worked so well for decades. The conservative party, or whatever, is no place for an intelligent, forward thinking woman today. Unless you like being the token Barbie, forgiving your errant spouse when he "strays, but loves his wife, and begs forgiveness" publicly. And if you happen to have been born gay and are politically minded, forget it.

Well, it probably won't make much difference anyway. They've forgotten about the separation of church and state somehow. And they only quote bible passages when they want to twist them to mean what they say against someone else with a different point of view. So, I guess it already says what they want it to.........

OCTOBER: WEAR PINK............for whom?

October, as you all know by now, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Pink is everywhere: pins, soup cans, headbands, sweaters, NASCAR cars, sports figures, purses, food containers. I've personally known two wonderful people who've died from breast cancer--a nurse in our office as well as the wife of the doctor I worked for. This is serious business.

It is also big business. A well-funded, organized, high profile, years' long campaign involving all sorts of businesses, entertainers, media, and political figures. You'd think that with all the money and attention being focused on this disease we'd be further along in its eradication. The medical establishment, as well as its branches in the drug and medical supply industry, should be pretty close to a cure by now. Wouldn't it be great business and political strategy to be the first to come up with a cure for breast cancer? Or any cancer, for that matter. Just think of the financial reward for that development!

Just think, no more women having to suffer with breast cancer surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, harmful drugs, wigs, prosthetics, long hospital stays and doctor visits. The cost savings alone (whether insurance or out-of-pocket) to patients would be tremendous. Then there would be no need for the big Pink Push every year, all the commercialized fundraising. The drug companies and related entities would not have to produce and market all those drugs and....................oh, sorry.

Heart disease is the number one killer of women, but a woman's breasts are better marketing. A very personal and emotional subject. Breast cancer to a woman and also her family is devastating. I thinks it's time for businesses to stop playing on those emotions for some sort of financial gain. That's right.....a woman just said that. Who's really getting the best end of this deal? I don't believe for one minute it's the women suffering from breast cancer.