Shakesville

I See We're Still In Stage One: Denial

Clap your hands as hard as you can, Republicans. That still won't make it true.

The poll asked this question: “Do you think that Barack Obama legitimately won the Presidential election last year, or do you think that ACORN stole it for him?” The overall top-line is legitimately won 62%, ACORN stole it 26%.

Among Republicans, however, only 27% say Obama actually won the race, with 52% — an outright majority — saying that ACORN stole it, and 21% are undecided. Among McCain voters, the breakdown is 31%-49%-20%. By comparison, independents weigh in at 72%-18%-10%, and Democrats are 86%-9%-4%.

Look, folks... if you really think ACORN could possibly have that much power, you're either being dishonest, or you're indulging in a collective fantasy.

And I guess those bajillions of people celebrating in Grant Park election night were there to catch fireflies.

This one never gets old.

Shaker BethanyJo emails: "I saw a link to this, complete with thumbnail photo, on the front page of the 'lifestyle' section of msn.com. It shows a cooked turkey that has had foil put on it to look like it has bikini tan lines. Really made my stomach turn."

Called "the Suntanned Turkey," this one comes up every year around Thanksgiving. When I first blogged about it in 2007, it was going around in an email that came complete with this charming little bit of rhyming fat hatred:

May your stuffing be tasty; May your turkey plump.
May your potatoes and gravy have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious and your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!
Yeah—'cuz if you're fat, no one will ever make a turkey that looks like you to carve apart in a ritualistic holiday feast! Or something.

I can't even begin to tell you how fast I would stand up and walk out of a Thanksgiving dinner (or any other dinner, for that matter) in which the main course had been anthropomorphized to evoke a woman, just before a carving knife was plunged into it.

Uncanny!

I just opened my email to find this:

Subject: Found a picture of you visiting London!‏
From: CaitieCat
To: Liss

OMG, I can't believe this, it looks JUST LIKE YOU!

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!

Transgender Day of Remembrance

And brothers.

Today marks the 11th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is set aside to memorialize those killed as a result of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice resulting from fear and ignorance. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 spawned the "Remembering Our Dead" online project and candlelight vigil.

This year, we remember: Yasmin and Noelia of Honduras, Taysia Elzy and Michael Hunt of Indianapolis, Kátia Otacílio Vilela and Marcela Cairo Souza of Jataí, Brazil, Alexa Rojas Castro of Monterrey, Mexico, Cynthia Nicole of Comayaguela, Honduras, Aline Da Silva Ribeira of Castelfranco Veneto, Italy, Caprice Curry of San Francisco, Rovilson Teixeira of Londrina, Brazil, Minja Kochis of Belgrade, Serbia, "Víctor Manuel" Albor Camacho and "Juan Carlos" Guillén Bautista of Acámbaro, Mexico, Nicole Castillo García of Tarapoto, Perú, Cita Solorzano of Asunción Ixtaltepec, Mexico, Camila Hernández Nieto of Sincelejo, Colombia, Noor Azlan Khamis of Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia, Will Teixeira da Silva of Recife, Brazil, "Ailton" Correa Maia, Juliana Martins, Fernanda Botelho, Jenifer, Dara, and Rafaele of Curitiba, Brazil, Cristy of Guatemala-City, Guatemala, Puttalakshmi of Bangalore, India, Camila Pereira of Uberlândia, Brazil, Cris Francisco das Neves of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Brazil, Vicky Londoño Chavarría of Ibagué, Columbia, Pequeña P of Gualeguaychú, Argentina, Miriam Nunes Lucas of Ribeirão das Neves, Brazil, Guimarães de Lima and "Wanderson Wanderley" Teixeira da Rocha of João Pessoa, Brazil, Kirsi Ubrí, Jeva Padilla, and Ramon Martinez of Santiago, Dominican Republic, "Julio" Avila Albarracín of Mar del Plata, Argentina, Ebru Soykan (aka Dilan Pirinc) and Hadise of Istanbul, Turkey, Adriana Sánchez López of Juchitan, Mexico, Eda Yildirm of Bursa, Turkey, Sasha Estefania of Caracas, Venezuela, Smail L. of Valencia, Spain, Gisela "Roni" Galante of Gualeguaychú, Argentina, Melek K and Cagla of Ankara, Turkey, Jimmy McCollough (aka Image Devereux) of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Carneiro de Sousa of Fortaleza, Brazil, dos Santos of Varzea Grande, Brazil, Diksy Jones of Wellington, New Zealand, Tigresa de Souza Reis of Feira de Santana, Brazil, Xiomaran Duras of Caracas, Venezuela, Foxy Ivy of Detroit, Papucha of La Victoria, Peru, Kelly (Frederick) Watson and Terri Benally of Albuquerque, Tanya Ardón and Catherine of San Salvador, El Salvador, Carla Regina Bento of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Anita Fajardo Ríos of El Carmen, Mexico, Luana of Maceió, Brazil, Kamilla of Volgograd, Russia, Christopher Jermaine Scott of Philadelphia, Cesar Torres of El Paso, Beyonce (Eric) Lee of New Orleans, Kanan of Setapak, Malaysia, Tyli'a Mack (aka NaNa Boo) of Washington DC, Paulina Ibarra of East Hollywood, Kristina Muça of Tirana, Albania, Andrea Waddell of Brighton, UK, Destiny Lauren of London, UK, Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado of Cayey, Puerto Rico, an unidentified victim in Gebze, Turkey, an unidentified victim in Milan, Italty, an unidentified victim in Guayaquil, Ecuador, an unidentified victim in Baltimore, an unidentified victim in Penang, Malaysia, an unidentified victim in Algeria, an unidentified victim in Honduras, nine unidentified victims in Guatemala, fourteen unidentified victims in Brazil, and eighteen unidentified victims in Venezuela, and all the other trans women and men around the world who lost their lives to transphobia this year, whose faces we never saw and names we never heard, because they were living on the margins of societies who did not respect nor want them.

Julia Serano, a trans activist and author of the oft-mentioned Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, has noted that transphobia kills not just by violent action, but apathetic inaction.

Trans people are often targeted for violence because their gender presentation, appearance and/or anatomy falls outside the norms of what is considered acceptable for a woman or man. A large percentage of trans people who are killed are prostitutes, and their murders often go unreported or underreported due to the public presumption that those engaged in sex work are not deserving of attention or somehow had it coming to them.

Some trans people are killed as the result of being denied medical services specifically because of their trans status, for example, Tyra Hunter, a transsexual woman who died in 1995 after being in a car accident. EMTs who arrived on the scene stopped providing her with medical care—and instead laughed and made slurs at her—upon discovering that she had male genitals.

Lacking federal employment protections, transgender men and women are at higher risk for lack of insurance, adding to the difficulty of securing routine medical care from welcoming practitioners. Transmen, for example, frequently have trouble locating accommodating gynecological services for annual pap smears, risking undiagnosed cervical cancer. The great 2001 documentary Southern Comfort spans the last year in the life of Robert Eads, who died of ovarian cancer after two dozen doctors refused him treatment.

That's the kind of hate crime that doesn't make headlines. Or even federal hate crimes statistics.

We remember all the victims of violence and apathy today.

The rest of the year, we must always be fierce advocates and allies together, so that we may never add a new name on a victims list ever again.

[Photo via LA IndyMedia's coverage of 2006's Day of Remembrance.]

What the Hell?

Shaker Neilleast.

Neil is best known for playing Cousin Oliver in season six of Leave It to Beaver.
(If you've a ridiculous and/or embarrassing photo of yourself from your youth, please send it to shakerwhatthehell_at_yahoo_dot_com. I'll post them up as part of our series called What The Hell? so everyone can laugh at with you.)

[See also: Deeky, Liss, evilsciencechick, katecontinued, ClumsyKisses, Mistress Sparkletoes, Liiiz, Reedme, Mama Shakes, Mustang Bobby, RedSonja, MomTFH, Portly Dyke, SteffaB, Icca, Christina, Orangelion03, Car, Siobhan, InfamousQBert, Maud, Rikibeth, MishaRN, CLD, Cheezwiz, MamaCarrie, Temeraire, somebodyoranother, goldengirl, Liss (again), summerwing, yeomanpip, Susan811, bbl, Deeky (Part II), A Daily Shakesville Fan, Sami_J, liberalandproud, Temeraire: Redux, Mama Shakes II, Bonus Deeky, OuyangDan, J.Goff, Iain, Talonas, The Great Indoors, gogo, kiwi_a, em_and_ink, Tik_bev, phdintraining, Deeky Freakhands, busydani, Jenny Anne, rowmyboat, DesertRose, Steve/Pido, Anne Onymous, phredrika, The Last of the Famous International Deekys, Iain, Another Mustang Bobby, mkp-hearts-nyc, Arvan, Norbizness, Electrasteph, SteffaB, molliecat, Aestas, catvoncat, Filthy Grandeur, Shelly, Mighty Doll, IraeNicole, sevenhelz, the Shaker Halloween Special, and Mistress Sparkletoes.]

Open Thread

Hosted by Kirk Cameron's best friend from Growing Pains: Boner Stabone.

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Plastic Man

Question of the Day

What's your favorite breakfast food?

Ironically, I love breakfast food, and it is the most important meal of the day, but I rarely, if ever, eat breakfast. I'm pretty standard, bacon & eggs* usually, but I'd say my top three are:

1. Corned Beef Hash (with eggs)
2. Steel-cut oatmeal
3. Bacon**

That's only if I don't include cereal. Because Boo Berry always wins.

* That's a shout-out to Liss, because she totes loooooves eggs.

** Okay, the bacon everything thing? You know, bacon mints, bacon candy, bacon belts, bacon wallets, bacon t-shirts, etc.? It's done. Stop it.

We Interrupt...

...your regularly scheduled installment of "Conniving & Sinister" to bring you a very special episode of the Adventures of Spudsy:

OldCarHornsSingle CRT021303 sound bite Cartoon sound bites

"Gender is between your ears, not between your legs."

Chaz Bono stopped by Good Morning America to talk about transitioning, and what it's like to be probably the most famous transitioning person in America.

[Transcript below, courtesy of Quixotess.]

Host, in TV studio: Now to a GMA exclusive, the American Psychological Association estimates that one in thirty thousand biological females in western countries have undergone a sex change. Chastity Bono, daughter of actress and performer Cher and the late Sonny Bono, was one of those women. Now, he's known as Chaz [camera shows us Chaz, also in the studio], and is coming forward to talk about his journey into manhood. This is a GMA exclusive.

[TV clip of Sonny and Cher, with toddler-age Chaz]

Sonny: Here's our own very special guest.

Cher: Tonight and every night.

Sonny: Our little girl Chastity. [To Chaz] Say goodnight. Now's the time.

Lil Chaz [in toddler voice]: Goodnight everybody, God bless you!

[Sonny and Cher laugh lovingly, as does the audience]

Host [in voice, over more clips of the family]: We know her as Chastity Bono, the only daughter of the legendary Sonny and Cher. Sharing the stage with her famous parents in the seventies. Now, that same little girl has changed not only her name, but also her sex.

Switches to pictures of Chaz presenting as a man]. Chaz Bono is eight months into a four to five year process of becoming a man. So far, he's received hormone treatments, and surgery to remove both breasts. The treatments have resulted in his voice deepening--he even has to shave his face. These exclusive photos give us the first glimpse into Chaz's life since the surgery. Joined at home with his girlfriend Jennifer and their three dogs.

[Switches back to the first clip of Sonny, Cher, and Lil Chaz. Sonny and Cher are singing "I Got You Babe." Continues with old pictures and clips. Host continues:] Chaz says while growing up as a little girl, he always felt more like a boy. Those feelings set off a long journey of self-discovery. As a young adult, Chaz, then Chastity, came out a lesbian--something mother Cher had difficulty coming to grips with.

[Clip of a previous interview of Chaz, presenting female] Chaz: She went ballistic and, you know, for a couple days, but very quickly came around, and, um, you know, we slowly started to work on it together, to the point where, you know now she's just really supportive.

Host [still in voiceover]: That was eleven years ago. Now, at the age of forty, Chaz has decided that the time is right to go through Gender Reassignment Surgery. In doing so, he's become the most public face of the transgender community.

[Back to Chaz and host in studio.]

Host: We're joined now by Chaz. Obviously it's great to have--

Chaz: Thanks, thanks, great to be here.

Host: Let me ask you something.

Chaz: Mm-hm.

Host: When you see all these different looks of yourself--

Chaz: Yeah.

Host: --do you feel that now, finally, when you look in the mirror, you see you?

Chaz: Getting there, yeah. You know, getting there. I mean, I've only been on hormone therapy for about eight months now. So there's been definite changes, and I feel so much more comfortable than I've ever been. And, but, um, you know, more--more to come.

Host: There is the physical--

Chaz: Mm-hm. Yep.

Host: --involved. There is the emotional. There is the personal, with your own relationship with Jennifer.

Chaz: Mm-hm. Yes.

Host: Dealing with your family, and the public.

Chaz: Yeah.

Host: How do you order the difficulties that you've had to go through, to do what you wanted to do?

Chaz: Um, I think probably the first thing that was just an incredible hurdle, was the idea that I wasn't gonna be able to do this privately, like most people can.

Host: Mm-hm.

Chaz: And that, that took a really long time to get over. And then, I think it was about, um, dealing with the people in my life and how it was gonna affect them. And finally, um, it came down to, you know, realizing that I've gotta live my life for myself. And life is short, and life is precious. And, you know, this is who I am, I need to finally be who I am.

Host: And that's the main question here, right? Cause people think gender--

Chaz: Mm-hm.

Host: --They think, "well, it's how you're born."

Chaz: Right.

Host: "That's what you are." The way you look, basically, that's what--what your appetites are, how you feel, that's different, But you are what you look like.

Chaz: Right.

Host: Is that true?

Chaz: No. I mean, to me, gender is between your ears, not between your legs. ANd, um, you know, I've felt male as far back as I can remember. And, um--

Host: Now, what does that mean? Unpack that for me, Chaz.

Chaz: Sure.

Host: When you say, "I felt male,"

Chaz: As a--as a--I mean, as a child, it was really clear. I felt like a boy. I felt like one of the boys, my friends were boys, um, you know, in school I related to boys. I was one of them. If a--if a game broke out, boys against the girls, I was with the boys. And, um, and then as I--as you get older, it gets more confusing. Because suddenly there's more pressure to fit into your assigned gender identity. And so it becomes really confusing, and a lot of F to Ms--female to male transgender people--end up doing a stint in the lesbian community. Because it just kind of makes sense, and that's, that's what happened to me. I mean, at--at thirteen, fourteen, I was real clear at that point that I was attracted to women. And so it was like "attracted to women, I am a woman, I guess I'm a lesbian," and, uh--

Host: But that's the simple answer, right?

Chaz: That's the simple answer.

Host: Because the--who you're attracted to, you're saying--

Chaz: It has nothing to do with your gender identity. And a lot of people find that really confusing, but they're two completely different things, you know. One is, is how you view yourself, and how you feel, and the other one is who you're attracted to.

Host: And it's also important to know: this is very hard. This [gestures between the two of them, indicating he's talking about the interview] is hard, you don't wanna have to do this. But the process, this is not an easy decision.

Chaz: No. This was a very difficult decision to make, um, but it's the best decision I've ever made, So I'm--I mean, I'm happier, I'm more confident, you know, I feel great. I mean, I feel great. And, um, you know--it would almost be easy to say "Why did I wait so long to do this?" except, but I'm a person who believes that things happen when they're sposed to happen--

Host: Mm.

Chaz: --and, you know, I was ready when I was ready, and, life is just...great, now. It's just really great.

Host: What scares you the most about all this?

Chaz: Nothing, now. Absolutely nothing.

Host: "Now," meaning why?

Chaz: Um, meaning, you know, I needed to work through the things that scared me in order to start this journey. And, so, at this point nothing scares me, I mean, um, you know, I'm living--I'm living the life that I've always wanted to live now. And that's amazing, so.

Host: So how do you take on both roles, of "I'm gonna be Chaz, this is who I am," you've made it right with Jennifer, you have to deal with your mom and all your family--

Chaz: Mm-hm.

Host: --but also now you're gonna be the public face. You somehow have to campaign for this.

Chaz: Um, I don't, you know, I don't think I'm, I'm looking at it as campaigning. I--I--you know, struggled a lot getting here. If, if by being public about it, other people can see this and not have to struggle quite as much as I did, then I'm really happy to do that. And if I can, you know, help make things easier legislation-wise, you know, I'm happy to so that as well. I mean, that's some--I've been an activist in the LGBT community for a long time, I don't really think that anything's changed. I--I'll continue to do this, I'm just a little bit more focused on the T now than I was on the L and the G.

Host [laughs]: That's a good way to put it. Well, Chaz, if you're happy, we're happy for you.

Chaz: Right. Thanks for the--

Host [shaking hands]: Very nice to meet you.

Chaz: Very nice to meet you too.

Host: Appreciate you taking the opportunity to do an interview with us.

Chaz: Absolutely, it's my pleasure.

Host: Chaz Bono.

Gay/Trans Panic Defense. Again.

[Trigger warning.]

Shakers Plover, Lena, and Peggy Sue have emailed me various articles about the murder in Puerto Rico of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, a gay man who was dismembered, decapitated, and his body partially burned.

His killer, who has confessed to the crime, has been identified Juan Antonio Martinez Matos, who claims he was

"looking for women" in a red light district last Friday. He had already been turned down several times, but Lopez Mercado, wearing a blue dress and boots, agreed to get in his car.

District Attorney Jose J. Bermudez says that in his confession, Martinez Matos said that he thought Lopez Mercado was a woman. The victim asked him for money and when he refused, Lopez Mercado pulled out a knife. When Martinez Matos realized that the teenager was actually male, he had a flashback to when he was raped in prison while he was serving a sentence for domestic violence. He then attacked Lopez Mercado.

Andy has more here on this horrendous case, which already also includes some appalling victim-blaming by the lead investigator: "People who lead this type of lifestyle need to be aware that this will happen."

Pedro Julio Serrano, Communications Manager for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and founded Puerto Rico Para Todas, said in a statement:

This is a terrible, terrible crime. While we are pleased that law enforcement has acted promptly in making an arrest, it is vital that the hate crimes angle be investigated. This horrendous killing of a young gay man shows no compassion or respect for the dignity of a human life. As someone who grew up in Puerto Rico and has been very active in its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, this is a heart-wrenching moment. Our hearts and sympathies go out to all of Jorge Steven López's loved ones at this difficult time. Justice must prevail.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has urged federal authorities to provide assistance to local law enforcement as requested and "as allowed by the new federal hate crimes law," and the FBI is reportedly investigating the forensic evidence.

There is a lot to process here, but one thing I want to note is that the prison rape narrative being included as part of the gay/trans panic defense almost certainly signals that the defense will rely on temporary insanity by way of post-traumatic stress disorder.

I am a rape survivor with PTSD. Being triggered can indeed evoke rage that manifests as self-harm or a compulsion to physically lash out.

And that is no justification for murder.

Daily Kitteh...with Wrinkly Puppeh!

Kissin' kittehs Sybil and Emily.

And special guest star, Van.

The Nerve!

A study has found that some fat people dare to think they're "normal." Oh noes! Get me to the fainting couch, Martha!

Here's the problem with "normal": The study found that about 10% of people who are deemed obese "misperceive that their body size is normal and think they don't need to lose weight."

Hmm. See, I think my body is normal. That doesn't mean I'm misperceiving my body size or fantasizing that I'm not fat. What it means is that I reject the notion there is a standard "normal" and think my body is normal for me.

Along the same lines:

Researchers asked 5,893 people, 54% of them women, to choose their present body size and ideal body size from a chart depicting nine human figures. The discrepancy between the two was used to measure how satisfied the participants were with their bodies.

Ideal for whom? The average person? Ideal based on what measure? The size of airline seats? Or what one's body does naturally, or does on mood stabilizers, or does when a trick knee has made exercise difficult, or does when on 500 calories a day? What?

Normal. Ideal.

These are words that aren't relevant if you genuinely care about people's health and not aesthetics. Except, perhaps, insomuch as what's normal and ideal for you.

Impossibly Beautiful

A few Shakers (InfamousQBert, catvoncat, MLM, and my apologies if I've forgotten anyone) have sent me links to various posts about the cover of the December issue of W, featuring Demi Moore:

[Click to embiggen.]
Normally I would provide a candid shot for comparative purposes (and here's a reminder of what Demi Moore looks like in real life, if you need one), but the most shocking thing here is not so much the lack of resemblance to her real self as the giant chunk of her hip that's missing:

[Image via BoingBoing.]
If you can't view the image, it's a cropped portion of the cover in which it's obvious that part of Moore's hip has simply been airbrushed away. No effort was even made, really, to hide the fact, as the material of her dress hasn't been adjusted; it just stands out away from her body. And her thigh and the part of her hip above remain where they should be. It's shocking what a terrible Photoshop job this is, actually. And to what purpose? Because a woman can never be beautiful enough.

------------------------

By way of reminder: Comments that try to suss out what changes, exactly, were made, and even comments noting that, for example, the removal of laugh lines because they are ZOMG wrinkles actually robs a face of its character or humanity, are welcome. Discussions of how "she looks prettier/hotter/better in the candid picture" and associated commentary (which would certainly make me feel like shit if I were the person being discussed) are not. So please comment in keeping with the series' intent, implicit in which is the question: If no one can ever be beautiful enough, then to what end is the pursuit of an elusive perfection?

[Via. Impossibly Beautiful: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five, Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven.]

Just Wondering

How many of you are musicians, singers, performers, tape-loop experimenters? And how many of you would be willing to submit some of your work to an edition of Radio Shakesville dedicated to words and music by our community?

Spoken word, shower singing, extended drum solo improvs, clarinet sonatas... what do you got for us?

LOLOLOL!!!

Everything wrong with the entertainment industry summed up in one clause:

This summer's Land of the Lost was one of those epic Hollywood disasters that makes outsiders question why anyone is in the movie business. The concept seemed like a good idea: pair funnyman Will Ferrell with a cult kids show from the '70s and hilarity is bound to ensue.

Or not. The film ended up costing an estimated $100 million and earned only $65 million at the worldwide box office. Universal studio heads Marc Shmuger and David Linde were subsequently fired.

Land of the Lost's dismal box office helped land star Will Ferrell at the top of our annual list of Hollywood's Most Overpaid Stars. Ferrell is no longer the sure bet he seemed after hits like Elf ($220 million worldwide box office) and Talladega Nights ($162 million box office). Ferrell's 2008 film Semi-Pro earned only $43 million. Step Brothers did better with $128 million, but it wasn't enough to help Ferrell--mainly because the star commands a high salary in comedies where he plays his trademark man-child role.

Of course he does.

Hey, studios—here's some undiscovered gold for ya: There are actually people in the world who want to go see films that aren't centered around yet another iteration of a "trademark man-child role."

What the Hell?

Shaker Mistress Sparkletoes (right) and sibling.

Guess which one still goes to church.
(If you've a ridiculous and/or embarrassing photo of yourself from your youth, please send it to shakerwhatthehell_at_yahoo_dot_com. I'll post them up as part of our series called What The Hell? so everyone can laugh at with you.)

[See also: Deeky, Liss, evilsciencechick, katecontinued, ClumsyKisses, Mistress Sparkletoes, Liiiz, Reedme, Mama Shakes, Mustang Bobby, RedSonja, MomTFH, Portly Dyke, SteffaB, Icca, Christina, Orangelion03, Car, Siobhan, InfamousQBert, Maud, Rikibeth, MishaRN, CLD, Cheezwiz, MamaCarrie, Temeraire, somebodyoranother, goldengirl, Liss (again), summerwing, yeomanpip, Susan811, bbl, Deeky (Part II), A Daily Shakesville Fan, Sami_J, liberalandproud, Temeraire: Redux, Mama Shakes II, Bonus Deeky, OuyangDan, J.Goff, Iain, Talonas, The Great Indoors, gogo, kiwi_a, em_and_ink, Tik_bev, phdintraining, Deeky Freakhands, busydani, Jenny Anne, rowmyboat, DesertRose, Steve/Pido, Anne Onymous, phredrika, The Last of the Famous International Deekys, Iain, Another Mustang Bobby, mkp-hearts-nyc, Arvan, Norbizness, Electrasteph, SteffaB, molliecat, Aestas, catvoncat, Filthy Grandeur, Shelly, Mighty Doll, IraeNicole, sevenhelz, and the Shaker Halloween Special.]

Senate Health Bill Answer to Stupak

Shaker GimliGirl forwarded me this Times article about the healthcare proposal unveiled by the Senate Democratic leadership yesterday, which notes: "Mr. Reid's bill would not go as far as the House bill in limiting access to abortion."

Which is exactly as unthrilling as it sounds:

The Senate version would require at least one plan within the health insurance exchange that the bill sets up to offer a plan that covers abortion and one that doesn't. It would also authorize the Health and Human Services Secretary to audit plans to make certain that abortion isn't being paid for with federal dollars.

...Sen. Barbara Boxer is also pleased with the language of the Senate's abortion compromise: "Senator Reid did an excellent job of crafting language that maintains the decades long compromise of no federal funds for abortion, while allowing a woman to use her own private funds for her reproductive health care. In this Senate bill, there is a complete separation of public and private funding when it comes to purchasing insurance that includes legal reproductive health care procedures."

Of course, Azzy's earlier post outlines why "allowing a woman to use her own private funds" for an abortion is a pretty pathetic solution in a healthcare bill ostensibly designed to serve people who don't have the funds to pay for their healthcare out of pocket. Again I will note that this fuckery only flies in a culture that treats women's healthcare and abortion as mutually exclusive concepts.

When Boxer's petition against the Stupak Amendment noted it "discriminates against women by taking away health coverage they already have—and tells women who participate in the new health insurance exchange that they can't even use their own funds to buy a policy that includes abortion coverage," I didn't imagine "let them use their own funds!" was going to be regarded as the best solution.

Silly me.

Meanwhile, D-Day notes that this compromise depends heavily on decisions made by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as s/he "determines whether or not abortion services are being paid for with federal dollars" and "can choose whether or not abortion services are covered in the public option."

Not only are those wildly enormous decisions to leave in the hands of one person, but, as D-Day points out, "the executive branch may indeed be controlled by a Republican at some point in the future."

And I trust we haven't forgotten what happened over at the HHS last time a Republican was in office.

Save your delicate spines, Dems. I'll throw myself under the bus.

The Not Quite Daily Teaspoon Report

Here we go again, Shakers, time to lay it out there: show us how your teaspoon shines!

ô,ôP

Remember: the teaspoon is an indivisible unit. If you done some, you done a whole teaspoonsworth. Be proud of your acts, no matter how small they seem, because that's how teaspoons work: little by little, the ocean gets emptied. And there's no scale for determining whether something is or isn`t a teaspoon - no sizism here!

The idea here is to comment with acts of teaspooning that you've seen or done in the last couple of days.

We're still going with the "no congratulations" rule for now, until I’ve had a chance to go through the discussion started yesterday (to which your comments are still welcome!).

At Least It's Warm Under the Bus

by Shaker Azzy

Analysis Examines Industry-Wide Implications of the Stupak/Pitts Amendment: "An analysis conducted by the GW School of Public Health and Health Services' Department of Health Policy, concludes that the Amendment would produce industry-wide effects, leading to the elimination of health plan coverage for nearly all medically indicated abortions."

Have a read. Go on, take a minute. I'll wait.

Done? Ok, cool.

What the fuck, right? I mean? What the fuck?!

Did you catch this part here?

The analysis also concludes that, based on past experiences with claim administration decisions involving treatment exclusions, insurers can be expected to interpret the exclusion broadly, excluding coverage of not only most medically indicated abortion procedures but also treatments for serious illnesses, injuries, and medical conditions that include an abortion undertaken for health reasons.

Did you catch that? Let me give a real world example for you. If the Stupak version goes into the final bill, and all the flying monkeys stop arguing long enough to do the one thing they always seem to do really well (sell women out), here's what this analysis is telling me: I had radiation therapy in July of this year. My boyfriend, who I love very much, is coming to visit me next week. If our contraception should fail us, and I become pregnant, I will need what is considered a medically indicated abortion. Under these conditions, I'm shit outta luck. That woman who is fighting breast cancer and happens to get pregnant? She's shit outta luck too.

The single mother of three who finds out she's pregnant with a baby she can't feed? Outta luck.

The woman who got raped walking home from work? Outta luck.

The teen who doesn't want to be a mother yet? Outta luck.

A woman expecting a fetus with such severe abnormalities it won't be able to survive post-birth? Outta luck.

And all the other women out there, each with her own story, each with her reasons, each with her struggles? Out. Of. Luck.

But it's more than that folks. That woman in the horrible car accident, hanging onto her life in the ICU? Who needs a potentially life-saving procedure that puts her fetus at high risk? She's out of luck too. If broadly enough interpreted, medications and pain killers could be included in this. But surely that won't happen. For-profit insurance companies would never try to save money by denying a woman medication or pain management.

So no abortions, even if you're buying insurance out of your own pocket. Unless you have the one thing that makes it all moot: Money.

Y'see, wealthy women have always had access to safe abortion - even before Roe. In fact, the only women who couldn't get a safe elective abortion before Roe were those living in poverty. You'd think a bill touted as being intended to help people in poverty afford healthcare would include coverage for a legal healthcare procedure that is increasingly difficult to obtain the poorer one is.

And because poverty disproportionately includes women of color, the Stupak Amendment is as racist as it is misogynist and classist.

One supplemental note:

President Obama has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and believes in preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade. At the same time, he respects those who disagree with him. The President believes we must all come together to help reduce unintended pregnancies and the need for abortion.

Those people who disagree with him? It really feels like they're the ones getting all the respect. Meanwhile, those people whose lives and bodies are the subject of that supposed disagreement? We're all tossed under the bus.

Again.