It's bad enough that sauna level humidity had me tossing and turning all night and the temps are going to hit the 80's later today - in March in Maine. Meanwhile it snowed in San Diego. Of course in the anti-science world that Republican's inhabit there is no Climate Change. Nor do they need pesky elitist scientists saying so. They don't need government at all! Unless tornadoes, fires, or floods have devastated their state. Then you can bet that the phones are ringing in DC at three in the morning with demands for help from FEMA.
The other glaring exception to the Republican "government is evil" mantra is when being in government gives them the power to play doctor with women's lives.
Over the last decade, the abortion policy landscape at the state level has shifted dramatically. Although a core of states in the Northeast and on the West Coast remained consistently supportive of abortion rights between 2000 and 2011, a substantial number of other states shifted from having only a moderate number of abortion restrictions to becoming overtly hostile. The implications of this shift are enormous. In 2000, the country was almost evenly divided, with nearly a third of American women of reproductive age living in states solidly hostile to abortion rights, slightly more than a third in states supportive of abortion rights and close to a third in middle-ground states. By 2011, however, more than half of women of reproductive age lived in hostile states. This growth came largely at the expense of the states in the middle, and the women who live in them; in 2011, only one in 10 American women of reproductive age lived in a middle-ground state.
http://www.guttmacher.org/...
After destroying the economy under George W Bush, in 2010 Republicans ran on jobs, jobs, and more jobs. Instead, State Legislatures and Congress are filled with Republican's who can't seem to get their heads out from between my legs.
Or at least they would be if I wasn't post menopausal. They haven't started to pay attention to us post fertility women - yet. At least to the degree that they have our daughters and grand daughters. It could be that they just don't know what to do with us. After all, we can kick up our heels and have all the fun we want without worrying about getting pregnant. The thing is, we more mature ladies also remember the bad old days that Republican's want back so desperately. We're dead set against our daughter's and grand daughter's lives being taken prisoner by the self-righteously ignorant.
We don't think our daughters and grand daughters should be forced to carry their dead fetuses to term for a host of reasons. That would include not seeing our children and grand babies as the same as cows and pigs. We don't think that they should just close their eyes as they are forced to endure State mandated rape.
Nor do we take intimidation or threats of violence well. Fire bombing a Texas State Legislator's office does not make us want to run away. It makes us pissed. And for those of you who are tempted to say - "But all the facts aren't in. Lets not jump to conclusions." Really? It was a Democratic advocate for Planned Parenthood whose office was hit with Molotov cocktails. Someone hoped to burn to death an elected state representative who spoke out for women's health in a state that is waging a scorched earth war on women's basic access to care, dignity, and privacy. Even if it turns out that there was no political motivation, such actions are far from new. There are reasons why so many assumed that religious extremism played a role. There's a long history of forced birth violence.
To think that they've just upped the stakes is not unreasonable. The forced birthers have targeted Planned Parenthood and pro choice physicians for years. It would not be a surprise if they started to include Legislators who speak out against them. Verbally, they already have.
'
Christian' Manifesto Comparing Liberals to Nazis Gathers Signatures of Religious Right Leaders -- and Catholic Bishops
This is a full out assault on women and our Representational Democracy. Running away is not an option. Pretending it does not exist is not an option. Our daughters and grand daughters deserve far better.
Republicans and know-nothings want war. They've got it. This Nana is not backing down or going away.
There ain't no way they're getting any love from me or countless other women and the men who love us.
What reactionary Republicans have earned is our profound determination to fight back with everything we have. It's time to GOTV as if if our lives depend upon it, because they do. We will never be "anything but loud" in defense of our lives and this beautiful blued world that cradles us all.
It's past time to get involved locally and in any other way we can. Contact your local Democratic Caucus. Find out what your school board is doing. Write LET's. Get information on candidates running for local, state and federal offices. Support those who support our right to reproductive freedom and health care. EMILY's LIST is one example of an organization helping pro-choice women get elected to office.
Welcome to EMILY’s List, a community of progressive Americans dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to every level of office.
EMILY's List members believe that the power of women as candidates, as contributors, as campaign professionals, and as voters can bring about great change in our country.
Working together, we can make a difference -- and change the face of American politics!
http://emilyslist.org/
Yes, we can!
Update: Oh my! Look what you all have done! Did not expect this to end up on the Rec list. Been fuming for weeks. Actually, decades. Needed to express a small portion of that. Thank you so much.
Have to run to pick up the oldest daughter and the grand boy - two of the reasons why this fight is so utterly important. I'll check back in with all of you as soon as I can.
4:12 PM ET: I'm back and wanted to address some things that do affect us older post menopausal women. First off, the so called debt and health disaster other wise known as the Ryan Budget. Jonathan Cohn's piece in the New Republic says it best.
"Imagine a politician held a press conference in order to boast about a plan that would take health insurance away from tens of millions of people, while effectively eliminating the federal government except for entitlements and defense spending. You probably can’t, because no politician would ever do that.
Except Paul Ryan just did."
I highly recommend reading the entire article. We need to push back on this hard and the piece has good information that allows us to do so.
The Ryan budget combined with attacks on Planned Parenthood are assaults on older women's access to health care. Period.
I want to thank ahumbleopinion for reminding me that no woman is safe, regardless of age, from reactionary Theocratic Republican policies.