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SDB Evening News Reads for 071911: Women Politicians, Hungry Prisoners, and Free Birth Control

Posted: July 19, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: 2012 presidential campaign, Health care reform, Hillary Clinton, Planned Parenthood, PLUB Pro-Life-Until-Birth, Reproductive Health, Reproductive Rights, SDB Evening News Reads, Women's Rights | Tags: , , , |44 Comments »

Get it all at the Midget Market!

Is everyone having a good summer?  I don’t know about y’all but I am ready to have some fun…

Okay, we’ll start with a quickie, this time another sound bite from Herman Cain: Mitt Romney Can’t Win GOP Primary Because Southerners Are Bigots | Firedoglake

I’m paraphrasing, but make no mistake — that’s exactly what he said.

[…]

That whole “no religious test” part of the US Constitution seems to have escaped these patriotic freedom-lovers. Anyway, this latest outburst by Cain is ironic, since it seems to have escaped him, as well.

Looks like New Agenda is getting some press, most of our readers know our “opinion” of New Agenda…but to catch some of you up, I don’t think having a politician with a vagina is reason enough to vote for a candidate. I do not and will not support a candidate, who does not support a woman’s right to choose and a woman’s right to affordable reproductive healthcare.  Whether they have a coochie or not.  So I will post this link because I am sure it will get some play in the blogosphere. However, be certain that in no way do I support Palin or Bachmann…

I also must state that I still hold a grudge with the Democratic Party for what they did to my candidate.  Just because I agree with the statement below by Wasserman-Schultz…does not mean I agree with all the other stuff she says in the article. You got it? Especially the crap about Obama doing so much for women…that is a load of BS.

So, with my position clear, here is an article that you should read in full…From Clinton to Palin to Bachmann: Why some Dems now support GOP women – CNN.com

After Clinton’s failed Oval Office bid, Siskind and a small group of women who had supported Clinton decided the best way to break the glass ceiling in presidential politics was to put ideology and partisanship aside and support any woman seeking a top political office — including Bachmann and Palin, two darlings of the tea party movement known for their conservative views on economic and social issues.

But some Democratic leaders dismissed the idea, arguing the electorate is more sophisticated.

“Women don’t support women candidates simply because of their status as women, simply because of their gender,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, head of the Democratic National Committee.

We’ll see what discussion follows.

Moving on, this is something I don’t think we have written about on Sky Dancing.  Pelican Bay Prisoner Hunger Strike: Prison Staff Not Following Medical Protocol | The Dissenter

Prisoners engaged in a hunger strike at Pelican Bay supermax prison have been on strike for more than fifteen days now.  With a growing group of supporters on the outside, the strike against solitary confinement and other conditions in the prison has spread to at least thirteen other prisons. But, those providing support for the prisoners are concerned about the deteriorating physical conditions of the prisoners and whether the prison will be able to provide the prisoners with proper medical care.

Carol Strickman, staff attorney for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and staff to the mediation team representing the hunger strikers, reports medical protocol is not being followed. They are supposed to be doing “daily assessments after two days and that includes weighing, physical condition, emotional condition, vital signs (such as blood pressure) and hydration status.

“We know that these things are not happening, either at all or sporadically,” says Strickman.

Scales for weighing prisoners are not synchronized and sometimes the prison staff weighs prisoners with chains and sometimes without chains. So, the accuracy of information is questionable right now. Additionally, the doctors are supposed to be performing physical exams. Strickman reports, instead of providing physical exams, “The medical staff is doing what I have been told are called drive-by exams, where they stand outside the door with no physical contact and just ask if people are okay, which is basically saying, ‘Are you alive?’”

For some background on why the prisoners are in a hunger strike,

The prisoners have five core demands and, according to Molly Porzig, Critical Resistance representative in the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, they are asking for “incredibly standard” and “basic” adjustments to prison policy.

“The changes in policies and procedures that the prisoners are demanding are standards in other supermax prisons, like Florence, Colorado, and in Ohio,” explains Porzig. “Or, they refer to policy change that have already been recommended, promised or offered but never actually implemented.”

These five core demands, for those unaware, are the following: end group punishment and administrative abuse, abolish the “debriefing” process [the practice of offering up information about fellow prisoners in return for better food or release from the SHU] and modify active/inactive gang status criteria, end long-term solitary confinement and comply with US Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons 2006 recommendations, provide adequate and nutritious food and expand and provide constructive programming and privileges for indefinite SHU status inmates.

If anyone saw the testimony today over in England, you probably got the same feeling I did, the Murdoch’s are going to get away with whatever they did.  For some analysis, give Cannonfire a read: Murdoch matters: Deep-dish paranoia

About Sean. How can any death of a young-ish person be considered “unexplained” but “not suspicious”? How can such a statement be issued even before the results of an autopsy are known?

About Becky. I didn’t know, until just recently, that Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal Alsaud (the second largest investor in News Corp.) had called for the resignation of Rebekah Brooks. Her Wikipedia page offers a tidbit that demonstrates the true mental age of the kind of people who get their news from Murdoch:

    While at the News of the World, she oversaw its controversial campaign of “naming and shaming” convicted child sex offenders, after the murder of Sarah Payne. The paper’s decision led to angry mobs terrorising those they suspected of being child sex offenders, which included several cases of mistaken identity and one instance where a paediatrician had her house vandalised, apparently by people who misunderstood her occupational title to be the same as paedophile.

That is just a tease, go to the man’s site for the rest.

And lastly, this report is surely to get some PLUBs in a tizzy, Institute of Medicine Report Recommends Free Birth Control – Maggie Fox and Meghan McCarthy – NationalJournal.com

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Dr. Jim Spears examines Sarah Ittner, a New York-based actor who does not have health coverage. The 2010 health care law seeks to cover 32 million uninsured Americans and new recommendations from the Institute of Medicine released Tuesday say preventive screenings for women should be covered for free.

Health insurers should pay for a range of services for women at no cost, including birth control, counseling on sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS screening, the influential Institute of Medicine recommended on Tuesday.

The recommendations on birth control, especially, angered anti-abortion rights activists, who consider some forms of birth control akin to abortion. But they are sure to thrill some Democrats on the Hill, who have been pressing for the policies for years.

The committee of experts appointed by the Institute named eight preventive services that women should get for free, with no co-pays. The Health and Human Services Department commissioned the report from the Institute, an independent organization that advises the federal government on health and medical matters.

It will be up to HHS to decide what goes into the final regulations, and Congress may decide to weigh in. “They asked for the guidance on what the evidence and science says, so that’s what we’ve given,” said Christine Stencel, a spokeswoman for the Institute.

But when has scientific evidence been taken seriously by the likes of the Fetus Fanatics?

Some of the recommendations may also give pause to spending conservatives. One calls for fairly pricey testing for the human papilloma virus, or HPV, which causes cervical cancer, in addition to the cheap annual Pap smears that most women are used to getting. Another calls for insurers to pay for renting breast pumps for nursing mothers.

The eight recommendations include:

  • screening for gestational diabetes
  • HPV testing as part of cervical cancer screening for women over 30
  • counseling on sexually transmitted infections
  • counseling and screening for HIV
  • contraceptive methods and counseling to prevent unintended pregnancies
  • lactation counseling and equipment to promote breast-feeding
  • screening and counseling to detect and prevent interpersonal and domestic violence
  • yearly well-woman preventive care visits to obtain recommended preventive services

Paying for birth control is especially important, said the panel.

“Women with unintended pregnancies are more likely to receive delayed or no prenatal care and to smoke, consume alcohol, be depressed, and experience domestic violence during pregnancy. Unintended pregnancy also increases the risk of babies being born preterm or at a low birth weight, both of which raise their chances of health and developmental problems,” the report reads.

I wonder with all the defunding of Planned Parenthood, if any of this will get past the standard PLUB ideology.  The article quotes Senator Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.

“Today’s IOM report means we are one step closer to saying good-bye to an era when simply being a woman is treated as a pre-existing condition,” Mikulski said in a statement. “We are saying hello to an era where decisions about preventive care and screenings are made by a woman and her doctor – not by an insurance company, members of Congress, or a stranger – and women are guaranteed preventive screenings and care with no additional copays or deductibles.”

I certainly hope so, but my skeptical nature says no. Anyway, that is it for me today…what do you think? Any other news you want to share? Let’s have it.

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44 Comments on “SDB Evening News Reads for 071911: Women Politicians, Hungry Prisoners, and Free Birth Control”

  1. dakinikat says:
    July 19, 2011 at 5:45 pm

    I’m with you. I wouldn’t support Palin or Bachmann because neither of them have the gravitas, experience, knowledge or wisdom to lead the country. Not only they, they have bigoted stands on women and GLBT rights and they both belong to weird churches that say things like the Pope is the antichrist. There are plenty of Republican women that would be qualified for the job like Christine Whitman or Kay Bailey Hutchinson. I couldn’t agree with them on every issue but their record of public service and their intelligence at least qualifies them. Bachmann’s a total backbencher and hasn’t accomplished anything. Palin couldn’t even hack one term as a governor of an inconsequential state without quitting to become a reality TV star. Hardly the qualities one wants in a leader. Plus, they don’t consider women to be adults given they prefer the government to make choices for them when it comes to control of their bodies.

    A Uterus doesn’t give any one an automatic pass in my book.

    • Minkoff Minx says:
      July 19, 2011 at 6:10 pm

      A Uterus doesn’t give any one an automatic pass in my book.

      I want this on a t-shirt!

      And I agree with all you said.

    • Fannie says:
      July 19, 2011 at 6:59 pm

      I am just one woman, I stand with sky dancers, and I will not give up my human rights in order that a woman can be president.

      How dare they sign by pledging to auction off my rights, we’ve suffered years, and years to get to the door, and will not let another shut it in my face.

    • Minkoff Minx says:
      July 19, 2011 at 8:47 pm

      Ugh…then there is this stuff:

      Michele Bachmann shattering stereotypes of conservative women – Religious Right Now – The Washington Post

      Minnesota Congresswoman and Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is destroying the left’s definition of feminism. The modern feminist movement’s evolution into nothing more than liberal activist organizations is being exposed by the lack of enthusiasm for Bachmann’s success.

      Hey Jordan, Bachmann is not a feminist! Here is a bit more…

      It is not shocking that Democrat-leaning, mostly pro-abortion rights “feminist” leaders do not agree with Bachmann’s political philosophy. Yet, why are liberal feminists not in the least bit satisfied that a woman can be a serious contender in the Republican presidential race?

      • Minkoff Minx says:
        July 19, 2011 at 8:49 pm

        And get the last sentence:

        Congresswoman Bachmann is shattering stereotypes and that is a good thing for the religious right as we continue reaching out to younger Americans and exposing liberal hypocrisy.

      • dakinikat says:
        July 19, 2011 at 9:00 pm

        She is not only not a feminist, she’s a crazy person. What on earth is wrong with people? She’s not accomplished one damned thing in Congress. She’s got mail order degrees for the most part and she attends a church that says the pope is the antichrist. She has an invisible, imaginary friend that talks to her and tells her what to do … how bugfugcrazy do you have to be to earn the title? Hell, she even said the ends times were upon us! She’s a nutter!

      • Minkoff Minx says:
        July 19, 2011 at 10:23 pm

        Dak, I have a few articles for tomorrow that point that out even more…she’s a serial pledger too!

  2. dakinikat says:
    July 19, 2011 at 5:46 pm

    UNDP UN Development
    How brave women in #BurkinaFaso are helping to stop the spread of #HIV and #AIDS: http://on.undp.org/kQHQnQ #MDG

  3. dakinikat says:
    July 19, 2011 at 5:49 pm

    Allen West tirade: Wasserman-Schultz ‘vile…despicable…not a Lady’

    Florida GOP Congressman Allen West this afternoon dispatched a scathing personal email to Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, calling her “vile, unprofessional ,and despicable,” “a coward,” “characterless,” and “not a Lady,” and demanding that she “shut the heck up.”

    Wasserman-Schultz, in whose neighboring South Florida district West lives, provoked his tirade with remarks after he left the House floor today, in which she responded — without naming him — to the Tea Party freshman’s support for “Cut, Cap, and Balance” legislation to raise the debt ceiling.

    “The gentleman from Florida. who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries, unbelievable from a Member from South Florida,” Wasserman-Schultz said, saying the legislation “slashes Medicaid and critical investments essential to winning the future in favor of protecting tax breaks for Big Oil, millionaires, and companies who ship American jobs overseas.”

    Her criticism of the legislation — more or less what most Democrats are saying today — provoked a furious response. West copied members of House Republican and Democratic leadership on the email, as well as his chief-of-staff, Jonathan Blyth.

    • Minkoff Minx says:
      July 19, 2011 at 6:16 pm

      “You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!”

      This is what the dude said in the letter, pig…

      • bostonboomer says:
        July 19, 2011 at 8:29 pm

        WTF?! How do these people get elected?

        • dakinikat says:
          July 19, 2011 at 9:11 pm

          I’ve decided very few normal people vote in primaries. I’m including myself in that description just so you know. Then every one else piles in during the general election and votes mostly on party affiliation.

    • WomanVoter says:
      July 19, 2011 at 6:30 pm

      I hope the AARP people are listening and will run ads in West’s district.

  4. dakinikat says:
    July 19, 2011 at 6:01 pm

    washingtonpost The Washington Post
    New poll: Public sees dire consequences if GOP, Obama can’t reach a budget deal http://wapo.st/o29TjH

  5. Minkoff Minx says:
    July 19, 2011 at 6:24 pm

    I don’t think this is going to help her image at all, and sorry but a smile has crossed my lips as I write that.

    The Associated Press: Bachmann camp accused of shoving TV reporter in SC

    Supposedly an ABC news reporter was trying to ask Bachmann about the headaches. She kept ignoring him and then the body guards got rough. All witnessed by a Time mag reporter.

    Bachmann really has that ignore thing down pat. Like Reagan when he would pretend he could not hear the questions…

    • dakinikat says:
      July 19, 2011 at 9:07 pm

      That’s when things got interesting. Ross dashed after Bachmann, repeatedly asking whether she had ever missed a House vote due to a migraine. She ignored him. Ross pursued her into a parking area behind the stage. Her aides grew alarmed. When Ross made a beeline for the white SUV waiting to carry Bachmann away, two Bachmann men pounced on him, grabbing and pushing him multiple times with what looked to me like unusual force. In fact, I have never seen a reporter treated so roughly at a campaign event, especially not a presidential one. Ross was finally able to break away and lob his question at Bachmann one more time, but she continued to ignore him.

      Afterward, I asked Ross — a hard-nosed pro who nevertheless seemed slightly shaken — whether he had ever been treated so roughly. “A few times,” he told me. “Mostly by Mafia people.”

      Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2011/07/19/reporter-accosted-after-bachmann-comments-on-migraines/#ixzz1SbiAcTEd

  6. Minkoff Minx says:
    July 19, 2011 at 6:31 pm

    Got another link for ya, Sean Hoare postmortem results confirm death not suspicious | Media | The Guardian

    A postmortem into the death of the News of the World whistleblower Sean Hoare found no evidence of third-party involvement and confirmed that his death was non suspicious, the police have said.

    No specific cause of death was given by the police, who said they were waiting for the results of toxicology tests and were continuing to examine “health problems” identified during the autopsy.

    Hertfordshire police said the results were “inconclusive”, but detectives could not rule out suicide until they knew the results of the tests, which could take weeks.

    “There was no suicide note found at the scene,” the spokesperson said. “We cannot categorically say one way or another whether this was suicide, as we have not got the toxicology results.”

    You know we had a suicide in the county next to ours…the Sheriff was having an affair with a woman from the Tax Office. Her husband wound up missing and they found him a few days later. It was ruled a suicide, shotgun blast to the back of the head….there is a saying around banjoland, we got deep mountains up here.

  7. WomanVoter says:
    July 19, 2011 at 6:32 pm

    BREAKING:

    christiane thie

    I Told you sooooo :) @jaraparilla @NaySaid http://bit.ly/pWn09F RT Rumor has it that Sean Hoare gave tapes & email archives 2 Julian #Assange at #WikiLeaks, just before he died of natural causes. via @WikiLeaksRumors .

    Yup, I think the ‘death’ was too much of a coincidence.

  8. Minkoff Minx says:
    July 19, 2011 at 6:50 pm

    Hey, I wrote up top the the PLUBs ain’t gonna like that report…well they were quick to respond:

    Anti-Choicers Say “Have A Baby, You’ll Like It!” | RH Reality Check

    Via Lifesitenews:

    And, like a surprise gift, while pregnancies may sometimes be unexpected, that does not mean they are unwelcome. For most people, the surprise of a pregnancy becomes the delightful anticipation of a glorious event. And for those young women who need assistance to prepare for the unexpected, pregnancy care centers and organizations of all kinds exist just to help welcome a life into the world.

    Planned Parenthood would have you believe that such pregnancies are a terrible event that demands the government spend untold sums of cash (directed to their facilities) in order for it to stop. And, of course, when those remedies fail, Planned Parenthood believes that you and I should then spend again to cure the “epidemic” through abortion.

    Equating pregnancy to a disease ravaging the countryside, targeting unsuspecting citizens, and bringing about terrible consequences is to undermine the demands that real disease puts on our government.
    In the same NPR story, Andrea Leyva of Tucson, Arizona refers to Alexandria, her unplanned child, as a “blessed surprise.” In countless other situations across the country, women refer to their unintended pregnancy in exactly the same way. That’s hardly a comment people make about any other “epidemic” in need of a cure.

    Remember, it’s not a matter of preventing a pregnancy you don’t want, can’t afford, would endanger your health or any other reason you may not want to be a mother. It’s denying yourself that “surprise gift” you never really realized you wanted.

    • dakinikat says:
      July 19, 2011 at 9:01 pm

      I think we shouldn’t call them anti-choicers, we should just call them enslavers … much more appropriate name.

      • northwestrain says:
        July 19, 2011 at 9:28 pm

        Or they could be called a “Tleilaxu tank” — from the Dune SciFi series by Frank Herbert.

        Great Sci Fi writers can take a cultural theme and follow it to a conclusion far in the future. Sort of like Handmaid’s Tale.

        The Tleilaxus have no women or visible women on their planet. Where are the women? Herbert leaves this a mystery for many books — and his son takes up writing the series based by noted his father left before he died.

        What sort of future will women have if the current trends continue? What happens if religion is allowed to dominate as it is in the US — and the other fundamentalist religions?

        Handmaid’s tale to Tleilaxu tanks — one step at a time — complete devaluation of women as human beings.

      • Minkoff Minx says:
        July 19, 2011 at 10:29 pm

        Hey NWrain, is that pronounced like Tsongas and tsunami? ;)

      • Minkoff Minx says:
        July 19, 2011 at 10:56 pm

        Here is some more anti-choicer stuff:
        Anti-Choicers Gear Up To Fight Guidelines on Preventive Care for Women | RH Reality Check

        I don’t like anti-choice either. ;)

      • northwestrain says:
        July 19, 2011 at 11:36 pm

        I don’t have any idea how that is pronounced. It’s from another galaxy — far in the future.

  9. Fannie says:
    July 19, 2011 at 7:06 pm

    Thanks for the coverage of the Hunger Strike……………..Lest we forget, Alice Paul also went on strike for same reasons, which also included better food, better air, and excersizing.

    My smypathy goes out to all the inmates and their families. We understand the claim to fight for human rights, we too stand with you to fight and stop torture, no matter where it is found.

    Contact Governor Jerry Brown
    916-445-2841

  10. WomanVoter says:
    July 19, 2011 at 7:15 pm

    AngryVoters John H Kennedy
    I’m getting pretty sick..of the Democratic Party. At least with the Republicans, I KNOW they’re gonna F*^# me… #p2 #1u RT @bobtheastorian

    I think they are where we were when they didn’t COUNT OUR VOTES! Yup the Democrats have big, principle issues and cave in on the platform because they think GOD ordered them to support Obama…Pelosi even said it publicly.

  11. WomanVoter says:
    July 19, 2011 at 8:09 pm

    Has The New Agenda taken on Allen West for the ‘below the belt attack’ on Congressman Debbie Wasserman Schultz?

  12. northwestrain says:
    July 19, 2011 at 9:17 pm

    I’d like to address the first question — “is everyone having a good summer?”

    WHAT summer? We have one season in the Northwest — RAIN.

    Today it’s raining — all day. The morning was foggy.

  13. foxyladi14 says:
    July 20, 2011 at 2:19 pm

    boring but mostly just HOT!!! :(

  14. paper doll says:
    July 20, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    dakinikat says:
    July 19, 2011 at 9:30 pm I think they’ve found they can attract attention by standing up for women that don’t stand up for women. The media likes women that are sex traitors so finding so-called feminist women that stand up for sex traitors is like breaking in to the candy truck when you’re a five year old. It enables the patriarchy.

    well said and many a career started this way

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