Still Counting Down

I missed posting yesterday - oops!

As of today I'm 8 days away from my very much deserved vacation.  Three weeks of not being here (work) and not dealing with this project or the crap that comes with it. 

The State Department issued an advisory for Americans traveling abroad today due to the whole Iran thing.  Plus there's still unrest in Egypt.  Heck, I'll be in Greece, Egypt and Israel (along with Turkey and Italy)!  I'm definitely headed to some of the world's "hot spots". 

In other news I've been watching the news on my blog feed about the decriminalization of domestic violence in Topeka, KS and the "personhood" amendment in Mississippi.  Both of these situations make me really, really angry - and unfortunately not surprised.  I am sick to death of holier than thou, right-wing, christianist fruitcakes making decisions like this.  There is a movement in this country that wants nothing more than to see women marginalized and deprived of their rights.  What is even more concerning to me is how many women there are who actually support this kind of bullshit because of their religious beliefs.  

Plus there isn't a lot of mention of these stories on the big mainstream media sites.  Google Topeka Kansas Domestic Violence and its half a page before you get the a link to the story on MSNBC.  CNN and FOX aren't even on the first page of results.  Try Mississippi Personhood Amendement and the big three aren't even on the first damn page.  But several Christian news sites and groups urging support sure are.  WTF people?  We're talking about not prosecuting domestic violence, a crime that disproportionately affects women.  And the whole personhood thing is not only an attack on abortion but also on birth control and a woman's right to control her own body.  Where's the coverage?  Where's the outrage?  Shouldn't someone at the big news companies, the ones that reach fucking millions of people, shouldn't someone there be reporting this shit?  Instead I'm getting my news from like-minded bloggers and feminist and progressive online news sites. 

Land of the free my ass.  I guess that only applies if you are a rich, white, capitalist, fundamentalist Christian. 

I need to go home and have a glass of wine before I burst a fucking blood vessel.  Later.

Mississippi Personhood Amendment

Originally posted by james_nicollat Mississippi Personhood Amendment

Originally posted by soldiergrrrlat Mississippi Personhood Amendment

Originally posted by twbasketcaseat Mississippi Personhood Amendment

Originally posted by gabrielleabelleat Mississippi Personhood Amendment

Okay, so I don't usually do this, but this is an issue near and dear to me and this is getting very little no attention in the mainstream media.

Mississippi is voting on November 8th on whether to pass Amendment 26, the "Personhood Amendment". This amendment would grant fertilized eggs and fetuses personhood status.

Putting aside the contentious issue of abortion, this would effectively outlaw birth control and criminalize women who have miscarriages. This is not a good thing.

Jackson Women's Health Organization is the only place women can get abortions in the entire state, and they are trying to launch a grassroots movement against this amendment. This doesn't just apply to Mississippi, though, as Personhood USA, the group that introduced this amendment, is trying to introduce identical amendments in all 50 states.

What's more, in Mississippi, this amendment is expected to pass. It even has Mississippi Democrats, including the Attorney General, Jim Hood, backing it.

The reason I'm posting this here is because I made a meager donation to the Jackson Women's Health Organization this morning, and I received a personal email back hours later - on a Sunday - thanking me and noting that I'm one of the first "outside" people to contribute.

So if you sometimes pass on political action because you figure that enough other people will do something to make a difference, make an exception on this one. My RSS reader is near silent on this amendment. I only found out about it through a feminist blog. The mainstream media is not reporting on it.

If there is ever a time to donate or send a letter in protest, this would be it.

What to do?

- Read up on it. Wake Up, Mississippi is the home of the grassroots effort to fight this amendment. Daily Kos also has a thorough story on it.

- If you can afford it, you can donate at the site's link.

- You can contact the Democratic National Committee to see why more of our representatives aren't speaking out against this.

- Like this Facebook page to help spread awareness.