Solution for Mississippi Women

Perhaps you haven't heard what's going on in Mississippi.  If not, I highly recommend this clip from Rachel Maddow's show--she explains it perfectly.  If you need a shorter version, it's this:  on November 8th, the VOTERS of Mississippi are being asked to decide if  a person is legally a person at the moment of fertilization. I'm going to wait for that to sink in for you.  

If just one more voter votes "Yes" than votes "No" on Initiative 26 then this will happen in Mississippi:

1. Birth control will be outlawed.  No more Pill, no more IUD.  
2. No more in-vitro fertilization--you have trouble getting pregnant?  Sorry.  
3. NO abortions, NO exceptions.  If you are 12, and raped by someone, sorry.  If you have a life-threatening condition, sorry.  You.  Will.  Die.  Raped by a male relative?  Sorry.  
4. You are a woman?  Growing up to be a woman?  You are no longer in control of your body.  Your body is now in the hands of the government.  Don't believe me?  See #s 1, 2, and 3.  You are just seen as a "sacred vessel" for the precious sperm.  
5. You don't agree with these religious beliefs, sorry (and make no mistake, these are religious beliefs, not scientific, not common sense, not humanitarian--pure and simple extreme religious beliefs.  Sort of like Sharia Law.).  If you live in Mississippi, and this passes, you will live in a theocracy.
6. If you live in Mississippi, you will already live in a theocracy, because BOTH candidates for governor support this.  
7. Life in Mississippi will suck for all.  

But never fear!  I have a solution.  With thanks to author Sheri Tepper, who created the book, The Gate to Women's Country .  
If you are a woman or will be a woman, and you live in Mississippi, and Initiative 26 passes, you must immediately do this:

• Band together and move into every city in the state.
• Throw the men out of the cities.  Banish them to the country.  Trust me, they will be fine. 
• Build a big wall around each city.  This will protect you and your infrastructure.  
• Arrange with other women to provide protection of the walls (shoot to kill for sure), and food delivery by air.  For now.  Soon you will able to grow your own food.  
• If any man questions the above actions, remind them that you are sacred vessels, and you must therefore protect yourselves at all cost. 
• Tell the men they will be allowed in twice a year.  If you want them to come in, that is.  You will have sex with them, and they will leave.  No arguments about this one, for you are sacred vessels and need to be treated as such.  Male children will leave at puberty, unless they ask to stay and can prove they fully understand women are human beings with complete control over their bodies.  
• This will be effective.  Trust me.

If this is too radical, the quick and probably easy solution for the women of Mississippi (especially those married to the male politicians who thought up this heinous Initiative) is to close their legs until men come to their senses.  It's been done before, after all.

But really, this is no laughing matter.  The government of Mississippi has bowed to the wishes of an extreme, dangerous religious faction.  I cannot believe this is happening in the United States of America.
Ask yourselves, how quickly will this mind-set spread, if it succeeds in Mississippi? If you're not frightened, then you're not thinking about this.
If you are frightened, join me in supporting the group fighting Initiative 26.  Please.  

I Am Tired

I am.
I am tired.
So tired of certain men who think they can rule over me.
I am tired of certain men who think they can rule over my daughter, sisters, nieces, mother, friends.
I am tired of certain men who think it is their "God"-given right to have absolute power over every woman.
I am tired of the Republican Party in this country, who decided years ago that it was more important to create barriers to women's health than anything else.  More important than anything else.
I am tired of people who claim they are "pro-life", forgetting that women are living, breathing human beings.
I am tired of the hypocrisy.  The hypocrisy of being "pro-life" until the child is born.  Then it's the WOMAN's responsibility.
I am tired of being told I, and every other female living in this country, cannot be trusted to make their own moral decisions.
I am tired of being told no woman can be responsible for her own body.
I am of living in a world where females are raped, mutilated, scarred, beaten--just because they are female.
I am tired, but I will continue to fight.
Will you?

I believe Anita Hill

It's hard to believe, looking at the woman in this photo, that she could be anyone but a mild-mannered professor.  In this photo, taken in October, 1991, Anita Hill was being sworn in at the start of her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  She was there to testify about her former boss, Clarence Thomas.  You might recognize his name--he's now a Justice on the United States Supreme Court.
Anita Hill had worked for Clarence Thomas in 1981, when he was head of the Office of Civil Rights at the Education Department in Washington, DC.  She also worked for him at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1983.
Ms. Hill found out Mr. Thomas was being considered for an appointment to the Court when she was approached and asked about her time working for Thomas.  The questions were appropriately vague--looking for verification of facts and dates.  For how on earth could the interviewers know, or even understand what had happened in 1981 and again in 1983?  How could they know to ask Ms. Hill specifically about the work environment as it pertained to sexual harassment?
In the interests of disclosure--from now on, most of the rest of this blog is my recollections and my opinion.  NOBODY but Ms. Hill and Mr. Thomas know what truly happened.   But I believe Anita Hill.  I have for 20 years, and I firmly believe there is a man on the Supreme Court of the United States that does not deserve to be there.
By all accounts, Anita Hill was, and is, a quiet and private person.  I don't think she wanted to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee--what woman in her right mind would willingly open herself up to the questions that were asked of her, the jokes that were made?  What woman would willingly re-live painful instances of sexual harassment; not only re-live them, but tell an enormous television audience EXACTLY what had happened?  What kind of woman would open herself up like that?  A brave one--Anita Hill.  She knew what Clarence Thomas had done to her in not just one position of power, but two.  Why two jobs?  Why did she follow him to another agency?  Well, he had stopped harassing her, so she thought she could safely assume Thomas had become a professional.  Unfortunately, she was wrong.  She had to leave the job in 1983 because the stress had begun to have an effect on her health.
When Anita Hill heard Clarence Thomas was being considered for the Court, she must have had a very difficult choice to make--keep quiet and allow him to sail through the nomination process, or expose him, and in the process, herself?  Thank you Anita Hill, for doing the right thing.
You see, back in 1991, not many women were willing to talk about sexual harassment in the work environment.  That doesn't mean it didn't happen--it happened more than people thought it did, because it was the dirty little secret that nobody talked about.  Because women were embarrassed, men could safely get away with it.  Men like Clarence Thomas--he got away with it with Anita Hill and at least 2 other women--2 other women that were also willing to testify but who were not allowed.  It's hard to believe, looking back, that Clarence Thomas could not only sexually harass one woman, but who could keep on doing it--because nobody was willing to talk about it.
Sexual harassment in the workplace happened--I know it did, because it happened to my mother, and to other women who couldn't afford to report it--literally couldn't afford it in most cases.
Anita Hill was grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee.  It was a low moment in this country, and yet it was a turning point too.  Many, many, many women were inspired to step forward with their own stories.  But mostly women were angered--angered at the treatment of a woman who dared to tell the truth.  After watching those hearings, women turned their anger into action--they decided to work for getting laws on the books that would allow women to take action against sexual harassment, they wrote letters, they decided to make their voices heard.
But most of all, women decided to run.  To run for office--in record numbers they ran, for every office at every level of government.  When asked why they were running, they would cite Anita Hill and her treatment as a catalyst.
Sadly, Anita Hill's testimony had no impact on the decision to appoint Clarence Thomas to the highest, most prestigious Court in America.  He's there.  He's there, and he's still angry.  He's angry and sullen and does not participate at all when the Court is hearing cases.  I've seen him first-hand, and he's a disgrace to his office.  When I was there, I watched him lean back in his chair, sigh, roll his eyes when one of the female justices asked a question, and generally look annoyed at being there.  I just wanted to go up and use my "mom voice" to ask him, "Are we keeping you from something, Clarence?"
Sadly, he's there, and even worse for our country, he's being heavily influenced by the extreme right--for goodness sake, his WIFE works for the largest Tea Party group in America (the conflict of interest is extraordinary).
And sadly, his anger will motive him to stay.  Why's Clarence Thomas so angry?  Because Anita Hill was telling the truth about his disgusting perversion of power.  I believe Anita Hill.  And I thank her.