I've been largely silent publicly about the political goings on of late. My husband has heard it all and he is fairly sick of it, but that's between him and me.
I need to say a few things about the rather brazen way the Republican party has been taking or attempting to take things away from women. With the denial of Equal Pay just 15 months ago, the Zygote Personhood Movement -which is a neat little backdoor to taking down Roe V Wade - and now the call to not only allow companies and insurance providers to refuse coverage for prenatal testing and/or birth control but the call to strike FREE prenatal testing and birth control from health plans - the Affordable Care Act calls for these services to be offered free and without copay - on the basis of religious objection.
Now, I won't attack any specific politicians here because this isn't about a single person. This is about a group of people who seem to feel women should be given less or that they've been given too much already. This is 2012 and I am being told that, because I am a woman, I shouldn't be offered free health services by healthcare providers because someone who claimes to be a Christian objects to those services. AND I also shouldn't be given the right to be paid the same salary as someone who has a penis. Apparently, making equal pay a MANDATORY thing would cause "undue burden on small businesses".
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! Republican representatives of all states both male and female alike - Are you fucking kidding me? You know, while I'm at it - SHAME ON YOU, US Chamber of Commerce for using small business as a scapegoat for your opposition to progressive legislations! 28% of small business owners are of the female persuasion and you are holding them back.
If you aren't actively supporting women's rights, then you are actively hindering the progress of women toward equality. I choose to take a stand here and now. I will not wait until its time to vote to call for you ALL to be kicked out of office. OUR tax dollars pay YOUR salaries. You are supposed to be working FOR us, not AGAINST us.
"to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" - Men. As in Mankind. Not men meaning people of the male gender. I take back my consent to be governed by those who would not see me as their equal. You are not above me or any other citizen. You have been given the power to govern by the citizens and we can take it back.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Its been a while!
Well, friends, I have been silent for quite a long while. There has been very little going on in my life, to be honest. However, I have been thinking about something that I read and started to put into motion in April of last year.
In February or March of 2011, I found a genetic research study which would test myself and my children for the gene that causes diabetes. For me, this is a really big deal because I spent 26 years watching this disease kill my father. It would mean that I could know, without a doubt, that one or both of my children would one day be diabetic. It would mean that I could know wether or not my children would pass on this terrible thing to any grandchildren I may have later. Most of all, it would mean that I could seek treatment sooner and possibly even delay the onset of diabetes in my children. But not stop it.
Diabetes is no big deal to a lot of people but, to me, its terrifying. I worry day in and day out that my children might one day become diabetic. I try not to think about it, but every time they eat a piece of candy or drink anything that isn't water, I worry. To me, diabetes is like this great huge tank or out of control Mack truck that no one can stop. Not ever. So, yes, I want to know anything that would prepare me or help me to slow this down. Or do I?
You see, I began to think about this from another point of view. I already worry about twice as much as any normal, sane person should. If I knew that my children would never be diabetic, I would find something else to worry about. If I knew that they would become diabetic one day, I would treat them as if they were already diabetic and stress them out until I "mother hen" them into a mental institution. My children don't need that in their lives. Nor do I.
Now, I am stuck in limbo. Do I want to know, or don't I? I don't know. I don't know if I am strong enough to face the results. I don't think I have enough tears to get through the testing. I can't imagine my children growing up and living as my father lived. I grew up walking the halls of every hospital in this city. I know where I am allowed to park, who has the best sandwiches and where I can get free coffee. I don't ever want to make use of this knowledge again.
What are your thoughts on this?
In February or March of 2011, I found a genetic research study which would test myself and my children for the gene that causes diabetes. For me, this is a really big deal because I spent 26 years watching this disease kill my father. It would mean that I could know, without a doubt, that one or both of my children would one day be diabetic. It would mean that I could know wether or not my children would pass on this terrible thing to any grandchildren I may have later. Most of all, it would mean that I could seek treatment sooner and possibly even delay the onset of diabetes in my children. But not stop it.
Diabetes is no big deal to a lot of people but, to me, its terrifying. I worry day in and day out that my children might one day become diabetic. I try not to think about it, but every time they eat a piece of candy or drink anything that isn't water, I worry. To me, diabetes is like this great huge tank or out of control Mack truck that no one can stop. Not ever. So, yes, I want to know anything that would prepare me or help me to slow this down. Or do I?
You see, I began to think about this from another point of view. I already worry about twice as much as any normal, sane person should. If I knew that my children would never be diabetic, I would find something else to worry about. If I knew that they would become diabetic one day, I would treat them as if they were already diabetic and stress them out until I "mother hen" them into a mental institution. My children don't need that in their lives. Nor do I.
Now, I am stuck in limbo. Do I want to know, or don't I? I don't know. I don't know if I am strong enough to face the results. I don't think I have enough tears to get through the testing. I can't imagine my children growing up and living as my father lived. I grew up walking the halls of every hospital in this city. I know where I am allowed to park, who has the best sandwiches and where I can get free coffee. I don't ever want to make use of this knowledge again.
What are your thoughts on this?
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