More on Komen and Planned Parenthood
...read moreThe truth is that anti-Planned-Parenthood sentiments aren’t about abortion; they’re about hostility to women, and particularly to female sexuality. Abortion makes up 3% of its services. Cancer screening and prevention are 17%.
Filming Against Odds: Undocumented Youth “Come Out” With Their Dreams
By Anne Galisky, cross-posted at On The Issues Magazine.
“Papers”is the story of undocumented youth and the challenges they face as they turn 18 without legal status. More than two million undocumented children live in the U.S. today, most with no path to obtain citizenship. These are youth who were born outside the U.S. and yet know only the U.S. as home. The film highlights five undocumented youth who are “American” in every sense but their legal paperwork.
...read moreBecause the poor really do have it too easy these days
In a conservative intolerance one-two punch, Rick Santorum gives it to the poor and the obese in a single tweetable comment. The comment came at an Iowa town hall where he explained his plans to cut the federal food stamp program, should (God forbid) he be elected president. “If hunger is a problem in America, [...]
...read moreDr. Erik Fleischman and Involuntary Sterilization
Via Femonomics, we find a really disturbing post from Dr. Erik Fleischman, an American doctor practicing in Tanzania who brags about participating in an involuntary sterilization, calling the doctor who performed the procedure a “hero.” After a pregnant patient’s heart stops beating on the operating table during a C-section (because they screwed up the epidural [...]
...read more7 Billion
Today, the world’s population hits 7 billion (well, not exactly today, but that’s as good an estimate as any). PSI, a leading global health organization, has extensive coverage of this milestone in their latest magazine. On their blog, you can read posts about the population boom by Feministing’s Lori Adelman, global health advocate and blogger [...]
...read moreYou can just. . .
Via Karnythia’s tumblr, I found this post that summarizes Chef Karl Wilder’s attempts to feed his family for two months on the allotment a family gets on food stamps. Wilder, who did this as part of an awareness campaign for the San Francisco Food Bank, documented his and his family’s experience on his blog. Now [...]
...read moreGo see The Interrupters
I caught this new documentary by Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Stevie) & Alex Kotlowitz (There Are No Children Here) during its sold-out run at the Siskel Center last week. Trailer: The Interrupters Imagine walking down a street where everyone is armed – with guns, rocks, knives – and a fight is breaking out. Imagine walking [...]
...read moreAn appetite for moral panics
Anthony Bourdain has had freakouts over Rachel Ray, Sandra Lee, Alice Waters, Guy Fieri, and now Paula Deen. The most recent pissiness–the carping on Deen–was because (he said) she is beholden to corporate interests and she features foods (southern foods, by the way) on her show that are “fucking bad for you” (both true, by [...]
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Class war? Or one-sided attack?
If I don’t have it, why should you? It’s the basis of the resentment I hear and see on the part of people who snarl about those unions (who get so! much!) those striking Verizon workers, those students on the J-1 visa, teachers, public service workers, and others. Instead of thinking, “Hey, that’s fucked. We [...]
...read moreRecommended reading
E.J. Graff’s series on Slate about children who were “adopted” (quotes wholly deliberate for reasons which will be immediately clear from the article) from Sierra Leone is gut wrenching. Definitely worth reading.
...read moreFlorida: Targeting the poor, refusing to protect children
Two new laws on the books in Florida: One to require drug tests for welfare recipients, and one that makes it illegal for doctors to ask patients about their firearms. Interesting priorities. Testing welfare recipients for drugs is a massive waste of taxpayer dollars, and a major privacy invasion. It’s been found unconstitutional in some [...]
...read more#DearJohn: The GOP Seeks to Re-Define Rape and Restrict Reproductive Health Care
It’s not surprising that with large numbers of Republicans elected to Congress, we’re seeing major assaults on reproductive rights. What is shocking is how aggressive and heartless they are. A new bill, which has a good chance of passing, will deny abortion services to rape survivors; cut abortion care from private insurance policies; and remove [...]
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