The Boob Crusader

A saint: this woman: her mission – to save our breasts.. and our lives. Do NOT miss this one, please, and be sure and pass it on to everyone, I mean everyone, you know. We need a groundswell of national indignation to put this at the top of women's health agenda – to lobby the insurance companies, congress, and probably our own medical providers.



So, what's your breast density? If you don't know, someone should have told you along the way, even if you've never had a mammo. It really pisses me off they don't just tell us this shit without our having to go looking for it under rocks, in this case the boulders of the medical-industrial complex.

Are the medical men and their corporate buddies (insurance companies, medical equipment manufacturers, Big Pharma, for-profit hospitals, and the politicians they elect) just bitter that we live longer than they do? It's not like we don't try (and try and try) to get men to eat a friggin carrot now and then, to include them in the 'health building- disease prevention' scheme.  Read some of the blogs associated with this issue. They'll balow your mind. I called my (female) gyno examiner immediately to ask her about this. She'd never heard of it. And it's been around for years now. I sent her this link, we'll talk.

And then there's

 Fracking

And for those of you who still think fracking (short for hydrolic fracturing, and since when is a fracture a good thing?) is the way to 'clean cheap energy independence', cheap natural gas, ("Yes, You don't have to change your greedy energy sucking lifestyle one iota!") and all that hooey, read this astonishing article from a recent Harper's on the Baaken project.

This baloney on TV ads from oil companies touting "new sources of clean energy" would be pathetic if it wasn't such a blatant dangerous lie. (Smacks of that same PR crap that had folks believing Saddam and Osama were pals, like we're that dumb) Yet I hear intelligent people pontificate about fracking like it was the Second Coming. They know better. Things in this country are getting so bad folks are beginning to sense that Ben Franklin's skepticism that we could "keep" our Republic had merit. Everyone's playing duck and cover, no one wants to hear that we must put a stop to the corruption that has infected the nation or die tryin. It's the 'die tryin' no one wants to hear, apathy has infected us and we know it. It's why we overdo "honoring the solders". We know damn well the only thing left we might lay our lives on the line for is our own little piece o heaven, our kids, our home, (equipped with the appropriate weapon of course). I often wonder what workers of the thirties who fought for fair treatment and a liveable wage would think of us today, all leaning back on the couch, developing our pre-diabetic bellies, too lazy and discouraged to even reach for the remote, much less do anything to change things. We "sigh and settle", as one friend put it.

 Consider this, by 2023 when the oil frackers have mastered sucking the oil from North Dakota, we will have surpassed Saudi Arabia as the world's foremost oil supplier. We'll be the new Saudi Arabia of oil.  That is the plan, the oil corporations' plan. But, you argue,  I thought ya'll were about cutting pollution now! I thought the energy companies were going green! Silly me. And, oh, btw, they'll need to drain those already imperiled acquifers dry to get that oil out, to process it, and then that oil's gonna get used, sold somewhere, and that means, well, let's just say our concept of seasons might be changing drastically by then what with everyone, those BRICS and all, owning cars and SUVs trying to look like American success stories. This state of affairs is projected to be a mere ten years away, that is the plan, the oil companies' plan. There's no "go green, move into green technology" save the planet agenda. There is money to be made, externalities notwithstanding and unpaid for, except by you. Fracking is the devil..  An extreme statement? Read the article and decide for yourself.

Cui bono? – not me, that's for sure, and likely not you or your descendants either.

It's enough to make me wanna get a gun.

(like that's a solution...)

God bless Jimmy Carter, and you know she will.

Losing my religion for equality

Jimmy Carter July 15, 2009

Illustration: Dyson

Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God.

I HAVE been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths. Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries.

At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.

The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives. They help explain why in many countries boys are educated before girls; why girls are told when and whom they must marry; and why many face enormous and unacceptable risks in pregnancy and childbirth because their basic health needs are not met.

In some Islamic nations, women are restricted in their movements, punished for permitting the exposure of an arm or ankle, deprived of education, prohibited from driving a car or competing with men for a job. If a woman is raped, she is often most severely punished as the guilty party in the crime.

The same discriminatory thinking lies behind the continuing gender gap in pay and why there are still so few women in office in the West. The root of this prejudice lies deep in our histories, but its impact is felt every day. It is not women and girls alone who suffer. It damages all of us. The evidence shows that investing in women and girls delivers major benefits for society. An educated woman has healthier children. She is more likely to send them to school. She earns more and invests what she earns in her family.

It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these self-serving and outdated attitudes and practices - as we are seeing in Iran where women are at the forefront of the battle for democracy and freedom.

I understand, however, why many political leaders can be reluctant about stepping into this minefield. Religion, and tradition, are powerful and sensitive areas to challenge. But my fellow Elders and I, who come from many faiths and backgrounds, no longer need to worry about winning votes or avoiding controversy - and we are deeply committed to challenging injustice wherever we see it.

The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by former South African president Nelson Mandela, who offer their influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity. We have decided to draw particular attention to the responsibility of religious and traditional leaders in ensuring equality and human rights and have recently published a statement that declares: "The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable."

We are calling on all leaders to challenge and change the harmful teachings and practices, no matter how ingrained, which justify discrimination against women. We ask, in particular, that leaders of all religions have the courage to acknowledge and emphasise the positive messages of dignity and equality that all the world's major faiths share.

The carefully selected verses found in the Holy Scriptures to justify the superiority of men owe more to time and place - and the determination of male leaders to hold onto their influence - than eternal truths. Similar biblical excerpts could be found to support the approval of slavery and the timid acquiescence to oppressive rulers.

I am also familiar with vivid descriptions in the same Scriptures in which women are revered as pre-eminent leaders. During the years of the early Christian church women served as deacons, priests, bishops, apostles, teachers and prophets. It wasn't until the fourth century that dominant Christian leaders, all men, twisted and distorted Holy Scriptures to perpetuate their ascendant positions within the religious hierarchy.

The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions - all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views.

OBSERVER

Jimmy Carter was president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.

Happy Birthday to P

Let's just take a moment to remember my fabulous late sister, P, shall we? A gal who knew how to purge a closet of useless clothing (Have you worn that in the last six months? Then toss it!); who was invariably the mostly chicly dressed gal at the party; with a wit as dry as the Sahara; who could somehow light a cigarette and two drags later have filled the entire room with smoke; who knew from the age of nine her life would be a brief one, yet never met a joke she didn't like; whose sense of irony never failed her; whose feet I failed to rub often enough; whose wry smile I'll miss til my dying day;  the classy broad who taught my four year old daughter to read.

Shout it from the rooftops: She will always carry on.

And hey! How bout that Sloane gal whupping Serena's queenly behind?  You go, girl.

Here, P, this Bud's for you. Cheers.

As to the Question of "Why Bother?"

Perusing Jesse's Cafe Americain this morning, a blog I like reading now and again because he lives in Paris and is very smart about financial stuff and food, I read his entertaining and insightful commentary on the platinum coin "solution" (a trick known formerly as "slight of hand") being tossed around the punditry as a solution to US debt.  Then scrolled down further to find this terrific video I wanted to share with whomever out there finds themselves occasionally sighing "Why bother? It's all so pointless."  If you're too impatient to watch all of it,  (but really, would it kill you to watch to the whole thing? Surely we learn from these timeouts) skip ahead to minute 45 and listen to his response to a woman's question as to why, if the world's so utterly fecked, we should even bother choosing just and moral actions that may get us in trouble, and may not change the big picture at all – ever.  Of what value is moral behavior, are moral choices and stands, in an immoral and corrupt world? Not surprisingly, Chris Hedges, bless him,  has thought about this and has valuable insight to share, and a lovely story or two.

He reminds us most of all that "despair is the engine of totalitarianism." A sticky that belongs on every fridge.


To borrow yet another spot on quote from  Terminator 2 via John Connor, "This is deep."

Like a long, cool drink of water on a hot day.




From Jesse's today.

“If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any practical result whatsoever, you've beaten them.”

George Orwell

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” 

Viktor E. Frankl

Peace out.

Avoidable Madness

Below a photo of audience at a recent Lakers'/76ers game in Philly, moment of silence and lights held aloft for the utterly innocent victims of the Newtown, CT shooting.

From this week's Harper's Weekly (subcribe link):

"At an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, a man carrying three semiautomatic guns fatally shot six women and 20 first-graders. Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother in her home, then brought her .223-caliber Bushmaster assault rifle, 10mm Glock pistol, and 9mm Sig Sauer pistol, as well as a shotgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he shot his way through a glass door and killed staff members and students in a hallway and two classrooms before killing himself. The shooting was the second deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, the sixteenth mass shooting in the United States this year, and the thirty-first school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. “These tragedies must end,” said President Barack Obama during a speech in Newtown. “And to end them, we must change.” The same week, police in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, arrested a high school student who was planning to kill his classmates with guns and explosives; police in Cedar Lake, Indiana, seized 47 guns from a man who had threatened to attack a nearby elementary school; police in Birmingham, Alabama, shot a gunman after he wounded three people at a hospital; a man in Portland, Oregon, shot and killed two people at a mall, then fatally shot himself; two police officers in Topeka, Kansas, were fatally shot outside a grocery store; and a federal appeals court struck down the country’s only statewide concealed-weapons ban. The National Rifle Association disabled its Facebook page, and 31 Republican senators with pro–gun rights voting records declined invitations to discuss gun control onMeet the Press. “A gun didn’t kill all those children,” said a Newtown gun owner. “A disturbed man killed all those children.” At an elementary school in Chengping, China, a man carrying a knife wounded one adult and 22 children, killing none."

Right, and as Eddie Izzard so famously said, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people – But I think the gun helps!"

Helluva Christmas anyone associated with any of these shootings will have. Completely unnecessary tragedies.

Banning semi-automatic weapons is a no brainer. Any conversation about gun control starts there. Every politician in DC knows this, yet nothing is done. 

Cui bono  indeed...

Howl At The Moon?

Honestly, this madness in Gaza is enough to drive you howling mad.



But  From Whence Cometh Israel's Raging Bull*@? Sometimes when leadheads (like NetanYahoo and his pals, like the Raygun)  try to talk us into stuff that's plainly untrue, it's a good idea to take a timeout for context, for  a wee history moment. And, say, where did Israel get that little Iron thing 'Star Wars' shield they're using anyway? Were those MY tax dollars?)



 Above is from Al Jazeera's excellent program Empire, (available to watch on line.) And if you seek some reality based idea of what's going on in Gaza, well, the western media, including the various Times and Posts, ain't the place. Nor is the BBC. Some interesting viewpoints here, and, tomorrow, Sunday morning on Up with Chris Hayes, the smartest show on TV, at 8 a.m. on msnbc and, immediately the show is over, available to view online here.

Good news of the week here. From Goldman, no less. Who knew?

And while I'm at it, Twinkies No More? Seriously? Someone still cares? Just before providing viewers with a demonstration of and the recipe for Deep Fried Whole Turkey this morning (clearly catering to some uncategorizable viewer cohort, perhaps the Twinkie fans? Perhaps all viewers?) Fox "news" shamelessly blames unions for Hostess' demise?  This bit is closer to the real story. Can't those Fox folks get anything right? I mean, Deep Fried Turkey? sigh – I've lost my appetite.

Laugh of the day? Gay Fishermen of Maine celebrate passage of same sex marriage. The accents may be more Gloucester than Maine, but funnnneee?

Cliff Notes for Literary Snobs

We won't be fooled again?

"Letting those high-end tax cuts expire would amount to a blink-and-you-miss-it 0.003% contraction in the U.S. economy, according to Moody’s, and it would raise tens of billions of dollars in desperately-needed tax revenue next year. That’s no small thing when you consider that federal revenue has fallen to its lowest point in more than half a century."

After reading, at long last, a simple, reasonable article on the subject (exerpt above) I thought I'd throw this out there for anyone who's reached their limit with this Fiscal Cliff malarky; it's every bit as annoying as tv campaign ads, isn't it? Makes you want to suggest that anyone who brings it up, or mouths off about a topic about which they've managed to glean a smidgen of info somewhere, find one to jump off without delay. Wanna know what's really going on? go Here, read the calm, brief synopsis, then tell everyone you know who's caught up in the moan and groan of Cliffitis to put a sock in it.

Jeez, don't folks ever read?

But we'll be keepin an eye on those snakes in DC. Them tax cuts for those makin over 250 Gs a year better die a certain death. Wouldn't hurt to keep yer pitchfork sharpened.