WEB WANDERINGS
May 8, 2012
I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is; I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.
~Rebecca West
Rebecca West From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cicely Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892–15 March 1983), known by her pen name Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, DBE was an English author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. A prolific, protean author who wrote in many genres, West was committed to feminist and liberal principles and was one of the foremost public intellectuals of the twentieth century. She reviewed books for The Times, the New York Herald Tribune, the Sunday Telegraph, and the New Republic, and she was a correspondent for The Bookman .
Her major works include Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (1941), on the history and culture of Yugoslavia; A Train of Powder (1955), her coverage of the Nuremberg trials, published originally in The New Yorker; The Meaning of Treason, later The New Meaning of Treason, a study of World War II and Communist traitors; The Return of the Soldier, a modernist World War I novel; and the "Aubrey trilogy" of autobiographical novels, The Fountain Overflows, This Real Night, and Cousin Rosamund. Time called her "indisputably the world's number one woman writer" in 1947. She was made CBE in 1949, and DBE in 1959, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to British letters
Cicely Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892–15 March 1983), known by her pen name Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, DBE was an English author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. A prolific, protean author who wrote in many genres, West was committed to feminist and liberal principles and was one of the foremost public intellectuals of the twentieth century. She reviewed books for The Times, the New York Herald Tribune, the Sunday Telegraph, and the New Republic, and she was a correspondent for The Bookman .
Her major works include Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (1941), on the history and culture of Yugoslavia; A Train of Powder (1955), her coverage of the Nuremberg trials, published originally in The New Yorker; The Meaning of Treason, later The New Meaning of Treason, a study of World War II and Communist traitors; The Return of the Soldier, a modernist World War I novel; and the "Aubrey trilogy" of autobiographical novels, The Fountain Overflows, This Real Night, and Cousin Rosamund. Time called her "indisputably the world's number one woman writer" in 1947. She was made CBE in 1949, and DBE in 1959, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to British letters
posted by Ruthe de la Rosa
99% Spring Bank Protest
Vista City Hall, 200 Civic Center Drive (Map)
Vista, CA 92084
Wednesday, May 9th, 12:30 PM
Let's keep the momentum going! Please sign up for this gathering right away!
Message from your host, Sean R.: Bank of America's corporate board meeting is on May 9, and thousands of activists will converge at its headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., to take direct action against the biggest bank in America. Bank of America is number one in foreclosures nationally, and it pays no taxes. The entire nation needs to know what Bank of America's done to tank our economy—and more importantly, the public needs to hear that people are fighting back. So we're organizing hundreds of solidarity events across the nation that day to support the activists in North Carolina.
We'll gather in our communities to create a human microphone that amplifies the stories of the 99% fighting back against Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, and the rest of the too-big-to-fail banks. To give the protests extra bite, we're also moving millions of our hard-earned dollars out of the Big Banks and into community banks and credit unions on the same day. If we can hurt their bottom line and expose them publicly, we'll build pressure on the Big Banks to do more to strengthen—not pillage—the economy.
99% Spring Bank Protest
Vista City Hall, 200 Civic Center Drive (Map)
Vista, CA 92084
Wednesday, May 9th, 12:30 PM
Let's keep the momentum going! Please sign up for this gathering right away!
Message from your host, Sean R.: Bank of America's corporate board meeting is on May 9, and thousands of activists will converge at its headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., to take direct action against the biggest bank in America. Bank of America is number one in foreclosures nationally, and it pays no taxes. The entire nation needs to know what Bank of America's done to tank our economy—and more importantly, the public needs to hear that people are fighting back. So we're organizing hundreds of solidarity events across the nation that day to support the activists in North Carolina.
We'll gather in our communities to create a human microphone that amplifies the stories of the 99% fighting back against Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, and the rest of the too-big-to-fail banks. To give the protests extra bite, we're also moving millions of our hard-earned dollars out of the Big Banks and into community banks and credit unions on the same day. If we can hurt their bottom line and expose them publicly, we'll build pressure on the Big Banks to do more to strengthen—not pillage—the economy.
How Facebook Can Benefit a Non-Profit
Facebook can benefit a non-profit organization in a wide variety of different ways. Find out about how Facebook can benefit a non-profit organization with help from the President and Founder of Integrate Public Relations in this free video clip.
Read more: Video: How Facebook Can Benefit a Non-Profit | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/video_12233116_facebook-can-benefit-nonprofit.html#ixzz1uDBmJDH0
QUICK HIT NEWS
Sharon Starkey Jacobs shared a link "Everything That Happens Within Mitt..."
Everything That Happens Within Mitt Romney’s Own Campaign Seems to Come as a Surprise to Him – Even.
winnietoons.com
Everything That Happens Within Mitt Romney’s Own Campaign Seems to Come as a Surprise to Him – Even Questions From Small Children Posted on May 7, 2012 by Beihl
Everything that happens within his own campaign appears to come as a surprise to Mitt Romney. A little boy today asked ...
Everything That Happens Within Mitt Romney’s Own Campaign Seems to Come as a Surprise to Him – Even.
winnietoons.com
Everything That Happens Within Mitt Romney’s Own Campaign Seems to Come as a Surprise to Him – Even Questions From Small Children Posted on May 7, 2012 by Beihl
Everything that happens within his own campaign appears to come as a surprise to Mitt Romney. A little boy today asked ...
Miss Anonymous shared a link "Kansas House Passes Most Dangerous...": "When laws are made to force healthcare practitioners to LIE to women, let there be NO doubt there is a war on women."
Kansas House Passes Most Dangerous Sweeping Anti-Abortion Law In The Nation
www.addictinginfo.org
In March, Addictinginfo reported on a dangerous anti-abortion bill being considered by the Republican dominated Kansas House of Representatives. We are now horrified to report that the Kansas House has passed that bill and it now goes to the Senate.......
Miss Anonymous shared a link "Where's Your Shame, Woman?!...": "In tomight's WTF moment, we bring you this woman-bashing tidbit..."
Where's Your Shame, Woman?! Fundamentalist Pastor Takes to YouTube to Fault Women for All Social Ill
www.rhrealitycheck.org
Popular conservative Christian pastor says "America is over" because shameless women who have sex and vote are running wild and screwing everything up.
Where's Your Shame, Woman?! Fundamentalist Pastor Takes to YouTube to Fault Women for All Social Ill
www.rhrealitycheck.org
Popular conservative Christian pastor says "America is over" because shameless women who have sex and vote are running wild and screwing everything up.
Sharon Starkey Jacobs shared a link "Matthews: Non-partisan to defend right..."
Matthews: Non-partisan to defend right to vote
hardballblog.msnbc.msn.com
Let me finish tonight with this. I think people who want to vote should be allowed to. We shouldn't be out there putting undue burdens on people. We should be encouraging people to vote, not discouraging. But I also think it's the good work, the chosen work, of political p.…
Matthews: Non-partisan to defend right to vote
hardballblog.msnbc.msn.com
Let me finish tonight with this. I think people who want to vote should be allowed to. We shouldn't be out there putting undue burdens on people. We should be encouraging people to vote, not discouraging. But I also think it's the good work, the chosen work, of political p.…
Nancy Summers-Long shared a link "Fox News contributor laments ‘mistake’..."
Fox News contributor laments ‘mistake’ of letting women vote
The Raw Storywww.rawstory.com
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, a Fox News contributor, tea party activist and personal friend of Sean Hannity’s said in a sermon recently published to YouTube that America’s greatest mistake was allowing women the right to vote, adding that back in “the good old days, men knew that women are crazy and the...
Fox News contributor laments ‘mistake’ of letting women vote
The Raw Storywww.rawstory.com
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, a Fox News contributor, tea party activist and personal friend of Sean Hannity’s said in a sermon recently published to YouTube that America’s greatest mistake was allowing women the right to vote, adding that back in “the good old days, men knew that women are crazy and the...
Jennifer Marie Chenoweth-Ruiz "This immigration issue is getting to be very dangerous for our immigrant community. Incredible!"
Website Allows People To Report Suspected Undocumented Immigrants
www.huffingtonpost.com
A website called 'Illegal Alien Report' has surfaced on the the web, allowing people to publish repo...
Website Allows People To Report Suspected Undocumented Immigrants
www.huffingtonpost.com
A website called 'Illegal Alien Report' has surfaced on the the web, allowing people to publish repo...
Sharon Starkey Jacobs shared a link ""You're So Bain" FINAL
.""You're So Bain" FINAL
www.youtube.com
A musical tribute to the financial accomplishmets of Mitt Romney
.""You're So Bain" FINAL
www.youtube.com
A musical tribute to the financial accomplishmets of Mitt Romney
Miss Anonymous shared a link "NBC Nightly News: WI Dead Last In Jobs": ":
"NBC Nightly News: WI Dead Last In Jobs
www.youtube.com
Watch this NBC Nightly News report detailing Scott Walker's worst-in-the-nation jobs record.
"NBC Nightly News: WI Dead Last In Jobs
www.youtube.com
Watch this NBC Nightly News report detailing Scott Walker's worst-in-the-nation jobs record.
Miss Anonymous shared a link "FDA warns of toothbrushes that mess up...": "Guess what's being thrown out in our house?"
FDA warns of toothbrushes that mess up your face
vitals.msnbc.msn.com
The U.S.....
FDA warns of toothbrushes that mess up your face
vitals.msnbc.msn.com
The U.S.....
Nancy Summers-Long shared a link "Republican National Committee Attacks..."
Republican National Committee Attacks Obama on Jobs ~~~ from Overseas Call Center!!
current.com
Hat tip to the Communications Workers of America (CWA) for spotting this: The Republican National Committee (RNC) used a call center based in the....
Republican National Committee Attacks Obama on Jobs ~~~ from Overseas Call Center!!
current.com
Hat tip to the Communications Workers of America (CWA) for spotting this: The Republican National Committee (RNC) used a call center based in the....
Sheila Kotze shared a link "TBN Fight Offers Glimpse Inside Lavish...": "Of course the government doesn't want to go after the corrupted, fake religious, rich... Half of them are exactly that... and they are too busy knocking out as many rights for women as possible, on top of trying to control everyone elses sex life. Well, everyone except straight males of course. They don't want to hamper themselves in any way."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/tbn-fight-offers-glimpse-inside-lavish-tv-ministry.html?_r=1"TBN Fight Offers Glimpse Inside Lavish TV Ministrywww.nytimes.com
A granddaughter of the couple that founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network has gone public with accusations of financial impropriety and excess, which TBN denies......
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/tbn-fight-offers-glimpse-inside-lavish-tv-ministry.html?_r=1"TBN Fight Offers Glimpse Inside Lavish TV Ministrywww.nytimes.com
A granddaughter of the couple that founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network has gone public with accusations of financial impropriety and excess, which TBN denies......
RANDOMNESS
A TELLING MOMENT
Leah --
Barack Obama should be "tried for treason."
That's what a Romney supporter said directly to her candidate, Mitt Romney, at an official Romney campaign event this afternoon.
What did Mitt Romney say to her? That she was out of line? That accusing our President of a crime punishable by death is out of bounds for a campaign event?
Nope. He said nothing.
When she finished speaking, Romney just recited a few talking points and kept going -- without condemning the woman's statement, calling for better discourse from his supporters, or even so much as saying, "No, I don't think President Obama is a traitor."
Rewind to 2008. After isolated McCain supporters started shouting similarly dangerous things and other falsehoods about Obama, Senator McCain not only condemned the remarks, but actually in one case took the microphone out of a woman's hand, saying: "No, ma'am. He's a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that's what this campaign is all about." It wouldn't have taken a lot for Romney to follow McCain's example here.
But Romney said nothing. After today's event was over, when pressed by reporters about his failure to condemn the person who accused the President of treason, he only said, "I don't correct all of the questions that get asked of me."
Romney's silence in this case says more about him than any of his carefully prepared remarks.
To be sure, we have an aggressive case to make against Mitt Romney that has nothing to do with what was said today, and we will make that case.
But some kinds of attacks have no place in our politics and we will not engage in them -- even if Mitt Romney does not hold himself to the same standards.
Here's what the President said about Mitt Romney on Saturday: "Now, Governor Romney is a patriotic American. He's raised a wonderful family, and he has much to be proud of. He's run a large financial firm, and he's run a state. But I think he's drawn the wrong lessons from these experiences. ... "
That's the leadership we need for another four years.
Donate to the Two-Term Fund today to support President Obama:
https://donate.barackobama.com/Take-a-Stand-Two-Term-Fund
Thanks,
Stephanie
Stephanie Cutter
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America
--- Breaking News from NationalMemo.com ---
WATCH: As North Carolina Considers Ban On Civil Unions, Top Admin Officials Say They're "Comfortable" With Same-Sex Marriage
President Obama may say that his position on gay marriage is “evolving,” but top members of his administration are coming out with full-throated support of what progressives now call “freedom to marry.”
First came yesterday’s admission by Vice President Joe Biden, when he said, “I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying are entitled to the same exact rights.”
Then, this morning, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan — an old Chicago basketball buddy — told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he supported gay marriage.
While activists and many on the left are frustrated that the President won’t totally support same-sex marriage, the issue is proving to be an even bigger minefield for Republicans as Mitt Romney tries to shift away from the social issues that ended up dominating the primary and towards the economic issues that would allow him to appeal to the center.
But the conservative base won’t let him move on. Tomorrow, North Carolina will vote for a constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions — the primary turnout is expected to be heavily Republican, and it comes a blot on the Republican record as Democrats prepare for this summer’s convention in Charlotte. Bill Clinton has already weighed in with an automated call, asking voters to stand up for gay rights, warning that a ban would hurt the swing state’s image and economy.
Read More
WATCH: As North Carolina Considers Ban On Civil Unions, Top Admin Officials Say They're "Comfortable" With Same-Sex Marriage
President Obama may say that his position on gay marriage is “evolving,” but top members of his administration are coming out with full-throated support of what progressives now call “freedom to marry.”
First came yesterday’s admission by Vice President Joe Biden, when he said, “I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying are entitled to the same exact rights.”
Then, this morning, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan — an old Chicago basketball buddy — told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he supported gay marriage.
While activists and many on the left are frustrated that the President won’t totally support same-sex marriage, the issue is proving to be an even bigger minefield for Republicans as Mitt Romney tries to shift away from the social issues that ended up dominating the primary and towards the economic issues that would allow him to appeal to the center.
But the conservative base won’t let him move on. Tomorrow, North Carolina will vote for a constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions — the primary turnout is expected to be heavily Republican, and it comes a blot on the Republican record as Democrats prepare for this summer’s convention in Charlotte. Bill Clinton has already weighed in with an automated call, asking voters to stand up for gay rights, warning that a ban would hurt the swing state’s image and economy.
Read More
Stand with me and tell Speaker Boehner to stop Defending Discrimination today.
Leah --
I was proud when the Obama administration stopped defending the discriminatory “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) after the Justice Department concluded that the law was unconstitutional. It is imperative that all Americans receive equal protection under the law -- including our LGBT men and women in uniform and their spouses.
That's why I was shocked to hear that Speaker John Boehner decided to use our tax dollars to intervene and stand up for DOMA to deny LGBT Americans the rights they deserve.
This is discrimination -- plain and simple.
Stand with me and tell Speaker Boehner to stop Defending Discrimination today.
It's not enough that Speaker Boehner continues to be wrong when it comes to equal rights -- his legal action to defend DOMA will cost taxpayers $1.5 million!
We can't afford to waste taxpayer money on Boehner’s bigotry.
Will you add your name to our petition to tell Speaker Boehner to Stop Defending Discrimination Today?
In Solidarity,
Brandon
Brandon English
DCCC Digital Director
P.S. Make your voice louder: Forward this email to 3 friends and encourage them to add their name. Then share this petition on Facebook and Twitter.
I was proud when the Obama administration stopped defending the discriminatory “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) after the Justice Department concluded that the law was unconstitutional. It is imperative that all Americans receive equal protection under the law -- including our LGBT men and women in uniform and their spouses.
That's why I was shocked to hear that Speaker John Boehner decided to use our tax dollars to intervene and stand up for DOMA to deny LGBT Americans the rights they deserve.
This is discrimination -- plain and simple.
Stand with me and tell Speaker Boehner to stop Defending Discrimination today.
It's not enough that Speaker Boehner continues to be wrong when it comes to equal rights -- his legal action to defend DOMA will cost taxpayers $1.5 million!
We can't afford to waste taxpayer money on Boehner’s bigotry.
Will you add your name to our petition to tell Speaker Boehner to Stop Defending Discrimination Today?
In Solidarity,
Brandon
Brandon English
DCCC Digital Director
P.S. Make your voice louder: Forward this email to 3 friends and encourage them to add their name. Then share this petition on Facebook and Twitter.
Dear Blue,
The San Diego Chargers will host a Celebration of Life in honor of Chargers linebacker and San Diego community icon Junior Seau on Friday, May 11 at 6:30 pm at Qualcomm Stadium. The ceremony is open to the public and parking and admission are free. The Celebration of Life will allow San Diegans to join in a community-wide tribute to their native son who passed away on Wednesday, May 2. Special guest speakers will share stories and memories of the positive impact Seau made on them and countless others.
The parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium will open at 2 pm and the stadium gates will open at 4:30 pm. There is no reserve seating and a large crowd is expected, so fans are urged to arrive early and carpool or take the Trolley.
Donations in Junior’s honor can be made to the Junior Seau Foundation and mailed to the Junior Seau Foundation, 5275 Market Street, Suite B, San Diego, CA 92114. Donations also can be made online at www.juniorseau.org.
The San Diego Chargers will host a Celebration of Life in honor of Chargers linebacker and San Diego community icon Junior Seau on Friday, May 11 at 6:30 pm at Qualcomm Stadium. The ceremony is open to the public and parking and admission are free. The Celebration of Life will allow San Diegans to join in a community-wide tribute to their native son who passed away on Wednesday, May 2. Special guest speakers will share stories and memories of the positive impact Seau made on them and countless others.
The parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium will open at 2 pm and the stadium gates will open at 4:30 pm. There is no reserve seating and a large crowd is expected, so fans are urged to arrive early and carpool or take the Trolley.
Donations in Junior’s honor can be made to the Junior Seau Foundation and mailed to the Junior Seau Foundation, 5275 Market Street, Suite B, San Diego, CA 92114. Donations also can be made online at www.juniorseau.org.
Hi,
A North Carolina pastor has made national news with a sermon calling on parents to physically abuse gay children.
With only days remaining before a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment banning all legal recognition of same-sex unions, Pastor Sean Harris of Berean Baptist Church told his congregants: "Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch."
Once the sermon came to public attention, Harris tried to retract some of his remarks. But for the families of LGBT youth who heard his tirade, the damage has already been done.
I just added my name to a short statement assuring LGBT youth that faithful Christians are appalled by Pastor Harris' tirade and that anti-gay violence is never justified by Christian teaching. Can you help us reach 10,000 names so we can release it to the media and show that Pastor Harris doesn't speak for Christianity?
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2518/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10391
A North Carolina pastor has made national news with a sermon calling on parents to physically abuse gay children.
With only days remaining before a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment banning all legal recognition of same-sex unions, Pastor Sean Harris of Berean Baptist Church told his congregants: "Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch."
Once the sermon came to public attention, Harris tried to retract some of his remarks. But for the families of LGBT youth who heard his tirade, the damage has already been done.
I just added my name to a short statement assuring LGBT youth that faithful Christians are appalled by Pastor Harris' tirade and that anti-gay violence is never justified by Christian teaching. Can you help us reach 10,000 names so we can release it to the media and show that Pastor Harris doesn't speak for Christianity?
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2518/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10391
Many Women Are Confident in Their Decision to Obtain An Abortion, Even Before Counseling
For nearly all abortions performed at one U.S. clinic in 2008, women reported that they were sure of their decision to have an abortion and that doing so was a better choice for them at the time than having a baby, according to "Attitudes and Decision Making Among Women Seeking Abortions at One U.S. Clinic," by Diana Greene Foster, of the University of California, San Francisco, et al. The authors analyzed data collected via precounseling needs assessment forms and clinical intake forms of about 5,100 women who sought abortions. They found that for 87% of abortions sought, women had high confidence in their decision even before receiving counseling. Some women reported lower confidence in their abortion decision, including those who were younger than age 20, were black, had less than a high school education or had a history of depression. The presence of a fetal anomaly was also linked with a reduced likelihood of confidence.
Abortion policy in the United States focuses on requirements such as waiting periods, state-mandated information and parental involvement, which are based on the premise that women are unaware of the nature of abortion and of the risks involved, and need additional time to make an informed, thoughtful decision. The authors argue that the findings of this study contradict that assumption. Rather, the authors suggest that women would benefit more from interactions with caring, nonjudgmental, trained counseling staff who can assess and respond appropriately to their individual needs.
"Attitudes and Decision Making Among Women Seeking Abortions at One U.S. Clinic" is currently available online and will appear in the June 2012 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
EARLY VIEW: Selected articles from upcoming issues of Perspectives are available to subscribers through the Early View feature, athttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1931-2393. Click here to sign up for e-mail notifications of new releases in Early View.
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health is a journal of peer-reviewed research published by the Guttmacher Institute in partnership with Wiley-Blackwell. Selected articles published since 2006 and all articles published prior to 2006 can be downloaded at no cost from the Guttmacher Institute’s Web site. All articles are available at no cost to subscribers, and for a fee to others, at this link.
For nearly all abortions performed at one U.S. clinic in 2008, women reported that they were sure of their decision to have an abortion and that doing so was a better choice for them at the time than having a baby, according to "Attitudes and Decision Making Among Women Seeking Abortions at One U.S. Clinic," by Diana Greene Foster, of the University of California, San Francisco, et al. The authors analyzed data collected via precounseling needs assessment forms and clinical intake forms of about 5,100 women who sought abortions. They found that for 87% of abortions sought, women had high confidence in their decision even before receiving counseling. Some women reported lower confidence in their abortion decision, including those who were younger than age 20, were black, had less than a high school education or had a history of depression. The presence of a fetal anomaly was also linked with a reduced likelihood of confidence.
Abortion policy in the United States focuses on requirements such as waiting periods, state-mandated information and parental involvement, which are based on the premise that women are unaware of the nature of abortion and of the risks involved, and need additional time to make an informed, thoughtful decision. The authors argue that the findings of this study contradict that assumption. Rather, the authors suggest that women would benefit more from interactions with caring, nonjudgmental, trained counseling staff who can assess and respond appropriately to their individual needs.
"Attitudes and Decision Making Among Women Seeking Abortions at One U.S. Clinic" is currently available online and will appear in the June 2012 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
EARLY VIEW: Selected articles from upcoming issues of Perspectives are available to subscribers through the Early View feature, athttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1931-2393. Click here to sign up for e-mail notifications of new releases in Early View.
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health is a journal of peer-reviewed research published by the Guttmacher Institute in partnership with Wiley-Blackwell. Selected articles published since 2006 and all articles published prior to 2006 can be downloaded at no cost from the Guttmacher Institute’s Web site. All articles are available at no cost to subscribers, and for a fee to others, at this link.
What The China Crisis (And His Gay Crisis) Revealed About Mitt
May 5th, 2012 12:14 am
Joe Conason
Just as aspiring judges ought to possess the quality known as “judicial temperament,” a would-be president should have certain obvious attributes of mind and character. Two incidents tested Mitt Romney this week – and both times, his ambition overwhelmed his judgment.
On Thursday morning, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton conducted tense negotiations with the Chinese government over the fate of Chen Guangcheng, the blind dissident who had sought refuge in the US embassy in Beijing, Romney seized on rumors of American capitulation to launch a political salvo: “If these reports are true, this is a dark day for freedom and it’s a day of shame for the Obama administration,” he said at a rally in Virginia. “We are a place of freedom here and around the world and we should stand up and defend freedom wherever it is under attack.”
Clearly, Romney had no knowledge or experience with which to judge the situation unfolding in Beijing, which concluded much differently than his harsh remarks suggested. In fact, both the Chinese and the Americans were seeking a face-saving solution that was achieved when New York University (whose president John Sexton happens to be a close friend of Secretary Clinton and is well-connected in Beijing as well) offered a fellowship to Chen, which the government had agreed he could accept.
The result, of course, was that Romney looked either “foolish” or “very foolish,” depending on whether the assessment came from Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol or from Abby Huntsman Livingston, the daughter of former Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, who lived in the Beijing embassy when her father served as US ambassador to the People’s Republic.
But Romney’s error was worse than a misguided political tactic. It showed a woeful ignorance of diplomacy and a callow opportunism that don’t befit the next occupant of the Oval Office. To endanger Chen’s safety and the prestige of the United States in those difficult hours was an act of weak character as well as stupidity.
Earlier in the week, Romney revealed another potential weakness when he let religious right activists bully his campaign over its hiring of an openly gay foreign policy staffer, Richard Grenell. After the campaign froze him out of press briefings to quell the controversy, Grenell finally quit on Tuesday, with no effort by the presumptive nominee to persuade him to stay. If Grenell was qualified to hold the sensitive post of foreign policy spokesman, why did Romney cave instantly to demands from radio hosts and other ignorant bigots to let him go? For many years, various ethnic, sexual, and religious prejudices hobbled American intelligence and diplomacy – a national flaw for which the United States paid dearly over and over again in bad policy based on inadequate information.
Meanwhile, his longtime critics on the far right are laughing at Romney. Bryan Fischer, right-wing extremist and leader of the American Family Association, openly gloated: “Let me ask you this question, people have raised this question,” he said Friday on his radio show. “If Mitt Romney can be pushed around, intimidated, coerced, co-opted by a conservative radio talk show host in Middle America, then how is he going to stand up to the Chinese? How is he going to stand up to Putin? How is he going to stand up to North Korea if he can be pushed around by a yokel like me?”
Those are indeed the questions that linger after Romney’s performance this week.
Joe Conason
Just as aspiring judges ought to possess the quality known as “judicial temperament,” a would-be president should have certain obvious attributes of mind and character. Two incidents tested Mitt Romney this week – and both times, his ambition overwhelmed his judgment.
On Thursday morning, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton conducted tense negotiations with the Chinese government over the fate of Chen Guangcheng, the blind dissident who had sought refuge in the US embassy in Beijing, Romney seized on rumors of American capitulation to launch a political salvo: “If these reports are true, this is a dark day for freedom and it’s a day of shame for the Obama administration,” he said at a rally in Virginia. “We are a place of freedom here and around the world and we should stand up and defend freedom wherever it is under attack.”
Clearly, Romney had no knowledge or experience with which to judge the situation unfolding in Beijing, which concluded much differently than his harsh remarks suggested. In fact, both the Chinese and the Americans were seeking a face-saving solution that was achieved when New York University (whose president John Sexton happens to be a close friend of Secretary Clinton and is well-connected in Beijing as well) offered a fellowship to Chen, which the government had agreed he could accept.
The result, of course, was that Romney looked either “foolish” or “very foolish,” depending on whether the assessment came from Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol or from Abby Huntsman Livingston, the daughter of former Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, who lived in the Beijing embassy when her father served as US ambassador to the People’s Republic.
But Romney’s error was worse than a misguided political tactic. It showed a woeful ignorance of diplomacy and a callow opportunism that don’t befit the next occupant of the Oval Office. To endanger Chen’s safety and the prestige of the United States in those difficult hours was an act of weak character as well as stupidity.
Earlier in the week, Romney revealed another potential weakness when he let religious right activists bully his campaign over its hiring of an openly gay foreign policy staffer, Richard Grenell. After the campaign froze him out of press briefings to quell the controversy, Grenell finally quit on Tuesday, with no effort by the presumptive nominee to persuade him to stay. If Grenell was qualified to hold the sensitive post of foreign policy spokesman, why did Romney cave instantly to demands from radio hosts and other ignorant bigots to let him go? For many years, various ethnic, sexual, and religious prejudices hobbled American intelligence and diplomacy – a national flaw for which the United States paid dearly over and over again in bad policy based on inadequate information.
Meanwhile, his longtime critics on the far right are laughing at Romney. Bryan Fischer, right-wing extremist and leader of the American Family Association, openly gloated: “Let me ask you this question, people have raised this question,” he said Friday on his radio show. “If Mitt Romney can be pushed around, intimidated, coerced, co-opted by a conservative radio talk show host in Middle America, then how is he going to stand up to the Chinese? How is he going to stand up to Putin? How is he going to stand up to North Korea if he can be pushed around by a yokel like me?”
Those are indeed the questions that linger after Romney’s performance this week.
I Don’t Care About George Zimmerman’s MySpace
May 6th, 2012 9:33 pm
Leonard Pitts Jr.
I don’t care about George Zimmerman’s MySpace page.
Granted, it was gratifying to read recently in The Miami Herald about his crude animus toward Mexicans (“soft a– wannabe thugs”) and his reference to a former girlfriend as an “ex-hoe.” Given the way white supremacists and other Zimmerman supporters have exaggerated and manufactured evidence to paint Zimmerman’s unarmed 17-year-old victim, Trayvon Martin, as a thug who somehow deserved shooting, this unflattering portrait offers the same satisfaction one feels any time the goose is basted with sauce that was prepared for the gander.
But ultimately, Zimmerman’s online profile is as irrelevant as Trayvon’s to any real understanding of the social dynamics that were at play the night the boy was shot to death. Worse, our fixation on this ephemera, the need on the one hand to make Trayvon some dark gangsta straight from Central Casting and on the other to find a Klan hood in the back of Zimmerman’s closet, suggests a shallow, even naive, understanding of the role race seems to have played in this tragedy.
The pertinent fact is that Zimmerman found Trayvon suspicious because, as he told the 911 dispatcher, the boy was walking slowly and looking around. That might be the behavior of a boy who was turned around in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Or of a boy enjoying a cellphone conversation with a girl and not overly eager to return to where his sweet nothings might be overheard by his dad.
That no such alternate possibilities seem to have occurred to Zimmerman for even an instant suggests the degree to which we as a people have grown comfortable with the belief that black is crime and crime is black. Nor are African-Americans immune to the effects of that invidious formulation.
Indeed, the dirty little secret of the Martin killing is that Zimmerman could easily have been black. True, a black Zimmerman probably would not have been sent home by prosecutors who declined to press charges — whiteness still has its privileges — but otherwise, yes. It is entirely possible.
Why not? Blacks watch the same TV news as anyone else. We internalize the same message. We drink the same poison.
Why else do you think black folk flinch when the mug shot goes up on television, hoping the face will not be brown — as if we bore some communal responsibility for the suspect’s misdeeds? Why else do you think so much of our music is a song of violence and crime? Why else, when I ask an auditorium full of black kids how frequently the individual who murders a white person is black, do they figure it at 75 percent? Why else are they shocked to hear it’s only 13?
At some subterranean level, we — African-Americans — still believe the garbage of innate criminality we have so assiduously been fed, and struggle with hating ourselves, as America long ago taught us to do. We struggle with it, yet we know better from firsthand, man-in-the-mirror experience. So how much harder is the struggle for white folks?This is why I grow impatient with those — black, white and otherwise — who think the salient social issue here is George Zimmerman’s character. It is not. Nor is it Trayvon’s.
It is, rather, that ours is a nation so obscenely comfortable in conflating black with crime that a civilian carrying no badge of authority nevertheless feels it his right to require that an American boy walking lawfully upon a public street justify his presence there. And it is the knowledge that at least some black men would have done the same.
To make this about Zimmerman is to absolve the rest of us for maintaining a society that, in ways both overt and covert, still makes criminality a function of skin. Trayvon Martin was killed by a stereotype. George Zimmerman is just the guy who fired the gun.
(Leonard Pitts is a columnist for the Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla., 33132. Readers may contact him via e-mail at lpitts@miamiherald.com.)
May 6th, 2012 9:33 pm
Leonard Pitts Jr.
I don’t care about George Zimmerman’s MySpace page.
Granted, it was gratifying to read recently in The Miami Herald about his crude animus toward Mexicans (“soft a– wannabe thugs”) and his reference to a former girlfriend as an “ex-hoe.” Given the way white supremacists and other Zimmerman supporters have exaggerated and manufactured evidence to paint Zimmerman’s unarmed 17-year-old victim, Trayvon Martin, as a thug who somehow deserved shooting, this unflattering portrait offers the same satisfaction one feels any time the goose is basted with sauce that was prepared for the gander.
But ultimately, Zimmerman’s online profile is as irrelevant as Trayvon’s to any real understanding of the social dynamics that were at play the night the boy was shot to death. Worse, our fixation on this ephemera, the need on the one hand to make Trayvon some dark gangsta straight from Central Casting and on the other to find a Klan hood in the back of Zimmerman’s closet, suggests a shallow, even naive, understanding of the role race seems to have played in this tragedy.
The pertinent fact is that Zimmerman found Trayvon suspicious because, as he told the 911 dispatcher, the boy was walking slowly and looking around. That might be the behavior of a boy who was turned around in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Or of a boy enjoying a cellphone conversation with a girl and not overly eager to return to where his sweet nothings might be overheard by his dad.
That no such alternate possibilities seem to have occurred to Zimmerman for even an instant suggests the degree to which we as a people have grown comfortable with the belief that black is crime and crime is black. Nor are African-Americans immune to the effects of that invidious formulation.
Indeed, the dirty little secret of the Martin killing is that Zimmerman could easily have been black. True, a black Zimmerman probably would not have been sent home by prosecutors who declined to press charges — whiteness still has its privileges — but otherwise, yes. It is entirely possible.
Why not? Blacks watch the same TV news as anyone else. We internalize the same message. We drink the same poison.
Why else do you think black folk flinch when the mug shot goes up on television, hoping the face will not be brown — as if we bore some communal responsibility for the suspect’s misdeeds? Why else do you think so much of our music is a song of violence and crime? Why else, when I ask an auditorium full of black kids how frequently the individual who murders a white person is black, do they figure it at 75 percent? Why else are they shocked to hear it’s only 13?
At some subterranean level, we — African-Americans — still believe the garbage of innate criminality we have so assiduously been fed, and struggle with hating ourselves, as America long ago taught us to do. We struggle with it, yet we know better from firsthand, man-in-the-mirror experience. So how much harder is the struggle for white folks?This is why I grow impatient with those — black, white and otherwise — who think the salient social issue here is George Zimmerman’s character. It is not. Nor is it Trayvon’s.
It is, rather, that ours is a nation so obscenely comfortable in conflating black with crime that a civilian carrying no badge of authority nevertheless feels it his right to require that an American boy walking lawfully upon a public street justify his presence there. And it is the knowledge that at least some black men would have done the same.
To make this about Zimmerman is to absolve the rest of us for maintaining a society that, in ways both overt and covert, still makes criminality a function of skin. Trayvon Martin was killed by a stereotype. George Zimmerman is just the guy who fired the gun.
(Leonard Pitts is a columnist for the Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla., 33132. Readers may contact him via e-mail at lpitts@miamiherald.com.)
Social Security Is Not Going Broke
May 4th, 2012 6:12 pm
David Cay Johnston
Which federal program took in more than it spent last year, added $95 billion to its surplus and lifted 20 million Americans of all ages out of poverty?
Why, Social Security, of course, which ended 2011 with a $2.7 trillion surplus.
That surplus is almost twice the $1.4 trillion collected in personal and corporate income taxes last year. And it is projected to go on growing until 2021, the year the youngest Baby Boomers turn 67 and qualify for full old-age benefits.
So why all the talk about Social Security “going broke?” That theme filled the news after release of the latest annual report of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds, as Social Security is formally called.
The reason is that the people who want to kill Social Security have for years worked hard to persuade the young that the Social Security taxes they pay to support today’s gray hairs will do nothing for them when their own hair turns gray.
That narrative has become the conventional wisdom because it is easily reduced to a headline or sound bite. The facts, which require more nuance and detail, show that, with a few fixes, Social Security can be safe for as long as we want.
May 4th, 2012 6:12 pm
David Cay Johnston
Which federal program took in more than it spent last year, added $95 billion to its surplus and lifted 20 million Americans of all ages out of poverty?
Why, Social Security, of course, which ended 2011 with a $2.7 trillion surplus.
That surplus is almost twice the $1.4 trillion collected in personal and corporate income taxes last year. And it is projected to go on growing until 2021, the year the youngest Baby Boomers turn 67 and qualify for full old-age benefits.
So why all the talk about Social Security “going broke?” That theme filled the news after release of the latest annual report of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds, as Social Security is formally called.
The reason is that the people who want to kill Social Security have for years worked hard to persuade the young that the Social Security taxes they pay to support today’s gray hairs will do nothing for them when their own hair turns gray.
That narrative has become the conventional wisdom because it is easily reduced to a headline or sound bite. The facts, which require more nuance and detail, show that, with a few fixes, Social Security can be safe for as long as we want.
Let’s look at how Social Security taxes have grown in the last half century — a little-known tale of tax burdens shifted off the rich and onto workers. From 1961 through 2011, the year covered in the last Social Security report, Social Security taxes exploded from 3.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product to 5.5 percent.
Income taxes went the other way. The personal income tax slipped from 7.8 percent of the economy to 7.3 percent, with most of the decline enjoyed by people in the top 1 percent of incomes. The big drop was in the corporate income tax, which fell from 4 percent of the economy to 1.2 percent. Notice that the corporate income tax fell by 2.8 percentage points, an amount almost entirely offset by a 2.4 percentage point increase in Social Security taxes.
The effect has been to ease the taxes of the wealthy, while burdening the vast majority of workers. Considering how highly ownership of stocks is concentrated, the benefit of those lower corporate taxes went overwhelmingly to the top 1 percent and, especially, the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent. Considering that the Social Security tax is capped, most of the burden of the increased payroll tax went to the bottom 90 percent.
Now let’s look at how that $2.7 trillion Social Security surplus arose. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan sponsored an increase in Social Security taxes, changing the program from pay-as-you-go to collecting much more taxes than it paid in benefits. The idea was to have the Boomers prepay part of their old age benefits. The extra tax was supposed to pay off the federal debt and then be invested in federal bonds. Instead, Reagan ran huge deficits, violating his 1980 promise to balance the federal budget within three years of taking office.
In my view, building the Social Security surplus has had two major effects.
One effect was to finance tax cuts for those at the top, whose highest tax rate fell during the Reagan years from 70 percent to 28 percent, and for corporations, whose rate fell from 50 percent of profits to 35 percent. Those with less subsidized those with more.
The other effect was a huge increase in consumer debt, as Americans saddled with higher Social Security taxes took out loans to cover other needs. Stagnant wages played a role, but the $2.7 trillion Social Security surplus is also a factor in a $1.5 trillion increase in consumer debt since 1984.
It is no wonder consumers have gone into debt. Paying a tax in advance is expensive. Indeed, the first lesson in tax planning is that a tax deferred for 30 years is effectively a tax avoided, provided the money is invested wisely. The reverse is also true. A dollar of tax paid in 1984 cost $2.20 in today’s dollars, and that’s before counting the interest that could have been earned.
With the coming bulge in retirees, Social Security will start to pay out more than it takes in 2021, according to projections in the latest annual report. Under current law the program would be able to pay only about three-quarters of promised benefits starting in 2033. But that scenario can easily be avoided through a combination of four policy changes that would ensure full benefits continue to be paid, though I fear Congress will continue to do nothing.
One would be restoring the Reagan standard that 90 percent of wages are covered by the Social Security tax, which now applies to only 83 percent of wages. If we went back to the Reagan standard, the Social Security tax would apply to close to $200,000 of wages this year instead of $110,100.
Two would be raising the Social Security tax rate by two percentage points. That tax hike could be smaller or even avoided if, three, we reignited the growth in wages. Median wages have fallen in 2010 back to the level of 1999. And, four, it would help just as much if we created millions more jobs, which since 2000 have grown at only a fifth the rate of population increases.
Under current tax rules, the Social Security shortfall for the next 75 years is $8.6 trillion.
But there is a much bigger problem that needs our attention. If we continue national security spending at current levels, with no future increases, the total cost would be $63 trillion, based on the figures in President Barack Obama’s latest budget. Unlike spending on Social Security, much of the national security spending goes overseas. And that makes us worse off.
This opinion piece originally appeared at Reuters.com
Income taxes went the other way. The personal income tax slipped from 7.8 percent of the economy to 7.3 percent, with most of the decline enjoyed by people in the top 1 percent of incomes. The big drop was in the corporate income tax, which fell from 4 percent of the economy to 1.2 percent. Notice that the corporate income tax fell by 2.8 percentage points, an amount almost entirely offset by a 2.4 percentage point increase in Social Security taxes.
The effect has been to ease the taxes of the wealthy, while burdening the vast majority of workers. Considering how highly ownership of stocks is concentrated, the benefit of those lower corporate taxes went overwhelmingly to the top 1 percent and, especially, the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent. Considering that the Social Security tax is capped, most of the burden of the increased payroll tax went to the bottom 90 percent.
Now let’s look at how that $2.7 trillion Social Security surplus arose. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan sponsored an increase in Social Security taxes, changing the program from pay-as-you-go to collecting much more taxes than it paid in benefits. The idea was to have the Boomers prepay part of their old age benefits. The extra tax was supposed to pay off the federal debt and then be invested in federal bonds. Instead, Reagan ran huge deficits, violating his 1980 promise to balance the federal budget within three years of taking office.
In my view, building the Social Security surplus has had two major effects.
One effect was to finance tax cuts for those at the top, whose highest tax rate fell during the Reagan years from 70 percent to 28 percent, and for corporations, whose rate fell from 50 percent of profits to 35 percent. Those with less subsidized those with more.
The other effect was a huge increase in consumer debt, as Americans saddled with higher Social Security taxes took out loans to cover other needs. Stagnant wages played a role, but the $2.7 trillion Social Security surplus is also a factor in a $1.5 trillion increase in consumer debt since 1984.
It is no wonder consumers have gone into debt. Paying a tax in advance is expensive. Indeed, the first lesson in tax planning is that a tax deferred for 30 years is effectively a tax avoided, provided the money is invested wisely. The reverse is also true. A dollar of tax paid in 1984 cost $2.20 in today’s dollars, and that’s before counting the interest that could have been earned.
With the coming bulge in retirees, Social Security will start to pay out more than it takes in 2021, according to projections in the latest annual report. Under current law the program would be able to pay only about three-quarters of promised benefits starting in 2033. But that scenario can easily be avoided through a combination of four policy changes that would ensure full benefits continue to be paid, though I fear Congress will continue to do nothing.
One would be restoring the Reagan standard that 90 percent of wages are covered by the Social Security tax, which now applies to only 83 percent of wages. If we went back to the Reagan standard, the Social Security tax would apply to close to $200,000 of wages this year instead of $110,100.
Two would be raising the Social Security tax rate by two percentage points. That tax hike could be smaller or even avoided if, three, we reignited the growth in wages. Median wages have fallen in 2010 back to the level of 1999. And, four, it would help just as much if we created millions more jobs, which since 2000 have grown at only a fifth the rate of population increases.
Under current tax rules, the Social Security shortfall for the next 75 years is $8.6 trillion.
But there is a much bigger problem that needs our attention. If we continue national security spending at current levels, with no future increases, the total cost would be $63 trillion, based on the figures in President Barack Obama’s latest budget. Unlike spending on Social Security, much of the national security spending goes overseas. And that makes us worse off.
This opinion piece originally appeared at Reuters.com
THE VOICES OF AMERICA'S WOMEN
Ruthe de la Rosa
About Ruthe:
Medina maiden name...this is finally a new pic of me....
Birthday December 27, 1948
Sex Female
Interested In Men
Relationship Status Single
Religious Views Christian
Political Views Democratic Party
Medina maiden name...this is finally a new pic of me....
Birthday December 27, 1948
Sex Female
Interested In Men
Relationship Status Single
Religious Views Christian
Political Views Democratic Party
MAXINE SAYS:
BLUE SAYS:
I hope you enjoy today's Web Wanderings page. It's been informative and fun for me and hopefully it will be the same for you. Have a great day and be gentle with yourselves.
