"While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the President will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation." --Michael Steel, John Boehner's spokesman, showing off his intellectual dishonesty and unmitigated temerity by saying that in response to the statement released by Attorney General Eric Holder regarding DOMA and the Obama administration's review.
I hearby release this Official Response to his response:
Dear John,
You first.
Also? Fuck you.
No love,
Me.
Quote of the Day
Get Out Your Keytars!
Because it's on like Donkey Kong! To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man, Rock Band is releasing Buckner & Garcia's opus Pac-Man Fever. In its entirety. In addition to the title track, the album (which went gold, according to the RIAA) includes clever video game-themed ditties like "Froggy's Lament" and "Ode to a Centipede". Awesome. Huh?
Pre-order yours today. Or not. Maybe this is all a hoax. It could be a hoax!
Jumping on the Morally Reprobate Bandwagon
I'm sure you haven't forgotten that South Dakota recently had a bill that would, in effect, legalize the murder of health care providers who perform abortions. That bill was also recently shelved.
Now Iowa and Nebraska are now introducing or resurrecting similar--and worse--legislation.
From Iowa:
Two bills sponsored by Iowa House Republicans could have significant public safety consequences, and perhaps the most unnerving of those potential outcomes would be the justifiable use of deadly force against abortion or family planning providers.
When the two pieces of legislation are combined they create a situation where a fertilized egg would be considered a person, and allow for the public execution of those who would threaten such a person.
If passed into law, the two bills — House File 7 and House File 153 — would offer an unprecedented defense opportunity to individuals who stand accused of killing such providers, according to a former prosecutor and law professor at the University of Kansas, and are something that might have very well led to a different outcome in the Kansas trial of the man who shot Dr. George Tiller in a church foyer.
[...]
Currently, abortion is also settled law in Iowa. But House File 153, sponsored by 28 Republicans, challenges it. Under that bill, the state would be mandated to recognize and protect “life” from the moment of conception until “natural death” with the full force of the law and state and federal constitutions. Essentially, the bill declares that from the moment a male sperm and a female ovum join to create a fertilized egg that a person exists.
House File 7, which has been sponsored by 29 GOP House members, seeks to expand state law regarding use of reasonable force, including deadly force. Current state laws provide that citizens are not required to retreat from their dwelling or place of business if they or a third party are threatened. The proposal would significantly expand this to state that citizens are not required to retreat from “any place at which the person has a right to be present,” and that in such instances, the citizen has the right to use reasonable force, including deadly force, to protect himself or a third party from serious injury or death or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
From Nebraska:
The legislation, LB 232, was introduced by state Sen. Mark Christensen, a devout Christian and die-hard abortion foe who is opposed to the procedure even in the case of rape. Unlike its South Dakota counterpart, which would have allowed only a pregnant woman, her husband, her parents, or her children to commit "justifiable homicide" in defense of her fetus, the Nebraska bill would apply to any third party.Really, I don't even know what to say at this point. It's just so fucked up.
"In short, this bill authorizes and protects vigilantes, and that's something that's unprecedented in our society," Melissa Grant of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland told the Nebraska legislature's judiciary committee on Wednesday. Specifically, she warned, it could be used to target Planned Parenthood's patients and personnel. Also testifying in opposition to the bill was David Baker, the deputy chief executive officer of the Omaha police department, who said, "We share the same fears...that this could be used to incite violence against abortion providers."
James Franco Is Working His Way through the Criterion Collection, No Doy Of Course He Is.
If you're not a film nerd and don't know what the Criterion Collection is, you can read more about it here, but, basically, all you need to know is that it's a giant film collection of notable works published in uncut editions approved by the directors.
I'm pretty much in love with the Criterion Collection, even though, by the nature of its medium, it reflects many of the biases of the industry. In actuality, the Criterion Collection is probably better than the industry overall for inclusion of directors from marginalized classes. But I digress.
Know who else loves the Criterion Collection? Of course you do.
James Franco is "making [his] way through them all," because he is James Franco. What—did you think James Franco was only going to watch PART of this enormous film collection? You're so weird.
Anyway, here is James Franco's Top 1O, which is actually a Top 15, because James Franco.
[Thank you Stephanie for the heads-up, who blames me for turning her into a jamesfrancophile.]
Thursday Blogaround
Because I forgot to do one yesterday (whooooooooooops), so I'll do one today instead of tomorrow.
Akimbo: Three Action Steps to Counteract the GOP Attack on Women's Health
Renee: Bill Maher is THE WORST [Trigger warning for rape culture, misogyny, racism]
Stephanie: Best Picture Nominee Review Series: 2011 Roundup
Andy: Mother Sues Florida School District After Teacher Mocks Her Gay Son, Compelling Him to Leave School [TW for homophobia]
Tigtog: LIBERATE
Mike: Profiting from Hunger: The JPMorgan Edition
Melissa: A New Low: Bad Teacher
Leave your links in comments...
Assvertising, Part 132 in an Ongoing Series
[Trigger warning for stalking, rape culture, ableism.]
I saw this advert a few weeks ago and meant to write about it, but I couldn't remember what company it was (so much for their advert being effective, lulz). Coincidentally, however, after seeing my post about Dove, Mama Shakes emailed to ask if I'd seen this one, and she fortunately remembered it was a (previous offender) Virgin Mobile commercial.
[Creepy, ominous music. Nighttime. A young, blond white woman sits in a tree outside the window of a house, in which sits a young white man. She is clutching a mobile phone.]Okay, there's so much wrong with this piece of shit, I don't even know where to begin, so let's just start with the obvious: "Our product makes stalking SO EASY!" is a loathsome campaign.
Woman, getting increasingly manic throughout: Brad and I just had the best first date. I think he's the one! And now, with my Android-powered phone from Virgin Mobile, I can email the pics I took to my mom, and, with unlimited data and web, I can go through his Flickr stream to make sure I'm hotter than his exes, follow his Twitter feed to see if he's mentioned me yet—I can even watch his Foursquare check-ins for patterns! It's only $25 a month. That's CRAZY, right?!
[She makes "crazy" face; lightning strikes. Text onscreen in b-movie horror font: "Go CRAZY on Android." She grins "crazily" and pants; lightning flashes and the music mimics the theme from Psycho.]
Stalking is not funny. Making the stalker a woman and her victim a man does not make stalking funny. Suggesting that female stalkers are harmless and men can't be hurt by them does not make stalking funny. It does, however, stand to tacitly discourage men from reporting being stalked, because it's somehow "unmanly" to think a woman is capable of hurting them.
Mental illness is not funny. Stalking, of which most violent perpetrators are men targeting women, is also not generally associated with mental illness, but entitlement and patriarchal narratives of ownership, foundational to the rape culture of which stalking is an inextricable part. In cases where stalking is associated with mental illness: Still not funny.
Virgin Mobile USA is a property of Sprint Nextel, who assert to be "committed to the belief that we all share in the responsibility to conduct our businesses in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. We base this on the premise that a company is much more than the products and services it sells; the effect a company has on the environment, the people and the communities it serves reflects the company's dedication to being not only a good business, but to being a good corporate citizen."
They also have a Human Rights Policy in which they claim to be "committed to improving the lives of customers. ... Through technology, Sprint can provide customers with advanced tools to enhance their lifestyles, improve work/life balance and protect their loved ones."
LOL FOREVER.
You know, Sprint is a widely-held stock and I'll bet lots of Shakers have Sprint shares in their retirement accounts. If you're a Sprint shareholder, maybe you'd like to contact them and let them know that you'll be divesting yourself of shares in companies that promote stalking via their advertising.
The Overton Window: Chapter Thirty-Eight
You remember Bailey and Kearns, don't you? They made wine coolers back in the Eighties, right? No, Bailey and Kearns did not make wine coolers. Well, I suppose maybe they could have made wine coolers. It's possible. What the pair did in their free time is not discussed. Which is weird, since so much unnecessary stuff is discussed.
Bailey, internet patriot, and Kearns, undercover (or maybe not) agent, are still trying to deliver their fake (or maybe not) bomb to Elmer and his gang. Hopefully, they'll get that done soon. There's only 50 pages left. We've been through 85% of the novel, and at some point the author is going to have to relent and introduce a plot. Typically this is done early in a book. Typically books are written by competent authors.
Now, before you get your hopes up, let me just put it out there, nothing happens in this chapter.
There is the requisite driving, and since the chapter features Bailey, a whole lot of talking. Swell.
The pair stop at a gas station, somewhere. Bailey notes ominous headlines on a newspaper. "NATIONWIDE TERROR ALERT STATUS ELEVATED ONCE MORE" and "DHS CHIEF: INTEL CONFIRMS 'CREDIBLE THREAT' FOR WESTERN U.S." Oh, goodness, what's the threat? I hope it's not a bomb!
Bailey looked up into the corner and saw a dusty security camera looking back down at him. Even out here, he thought, on the outskirts of civilization, some backward distant cousin of Big Brother is still watching.First of all, someone does not understand the concept of Big Brother. Secondly, is Beck pro-shoplifting? Is Beck saying Small Business Owners, the backbone of the Free Market, shouldn't protect their businesses from sniveling little thieves?
Danny becomes thoughtful, and he and Kearns head back out to wherever they're going. In the van Danny asks about the heightened alert level. (What level is it at now anyway? Purple?) "What are you getting at?" the agent asks.
Thanks, Kearns. You shouldn't encourage him.
Danny then proceeds to blather on about various dildobrained conspiracy theories relating to the London Underground bombings of 2005. It boils down to this: It was an inside job by Scotland Yard. I think. And there is something about a double agent named Haroon Rashid Aswat trying to set up an al-Qaeda camp in Oregon. Maybe this is faction again. Though, I hope, for Scotland Yard's sake, this is simply more bullshit.
Mohamed Atta, mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, was also known as Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir. And...
Wait for it...
el-Amir = Elmer!
Umm... Okay.
"Mohamed Atta is dead," Kearns dutifully notes. Danny explains:
"Yeah? So is Osama bin Laden, but that doesn't stop him from putting out a tape every six months. And I'm not even saying it's a real live Islamo-fascist behind any of this, but making it look that way will make the story that much scarier when something happens."Osama bin Laden is dead? Or was that sarcasm? Or another conspiracy theory? I don't know.
"In English, el-Amir translates to 'the general.' It could be a code word. Atta used el-Amir back then in 2001, and this guy's using it now. If this whole thing is part of some false-flag operation—if they're really trying to bring this war back home — they need a new boogeyman right here on U.S. soil, and they need to connect him to past events and to the patriot movement so they can demonize the resistance."Oh, okay. That clears that up. Elmer is code. For something. And a patriot resistance something something.
Really, by this point, I'd hope things would be clearer. But no. Everything is as murky as a wet fart. I really thought I had some sense of what was going on here. But now even I am confused. Fortunately, at this point Bailey shuts up.
Top Chef Open Thread
[Image from last night's episode: Marcel and Tiffany do some chef shit.]
Last night's episode will be discussed in detail, so if you haven't seen it, and don't want any spoilers, move along...
Rick Santorum: Genius
I'm so glad Rick Santorum is back, because he is very smart and adds a lot of thoughtful and fascinating ideas to the national discourse:
Rick Santorum launched into a scathing attack on the left, charging during an appearance in South Carolina [at Oakbrook Preparatory School, before more than 200 students, faculty, and community members] that the history of the Crusades has been corrupted by "the American left who hates Christendom."I guess he found our top secret website, thelefthateschristendomandwesterncivilization.geocities.fart. Now our secret is out. Shit. I just hope he doesn't find thelefthatesbabies.blogpoop.barf.
"The idea that the Crusades and the fight of Christendom against Islam is somehow an aggression on our part is absolutely anti-historical," Santorum said in Spartanburg on Tuesday. "And that is what the perception is by the American left who hates Christendom."
He added, "They hate Western civilization at the core. That's the problem."
After asserting that Christianity had not shown any "aggression" to the Muslim world, the former Pennsylvania senator — who is considering a 2012 run for the White House — argued that American intervention in the Middle East helps promote "core American values."Brilliant. Let's make him president!
"What I'm talking about is onward American soldiers," he said.
Awesome. Totally Awesome.
A little something to start off your day:
[Video of someone in a Cookie Monster costume shredding up the xylophone, accompanied by someone in a pink gorilla outfit on stand-up bass, on a subway platform.]
If I lived in New York (I don't) and rode the subway (I can't) I'd totally have a joyful moment of private relief (not so private, probably) as I walked out onto the platform and saw the Xylopholks jamming. Like the old advertising jingle says (advertising jingles never lie) the best part of waking up is furry costumes at the subway station!
Open Thread
Hosted by Pac-Man cereal.
Today and yesterday's host photos yoinked from Noise Land Arcade. Check it out!
Question of the Day
As the flipside of yesterday's QotD, and without passing any judgment on the people who do the work, but basing it on your own particular set of skills and preferences... What vocation would you never want to try, even for a day?
This is so the worst thing you're going to read all day.
How to survive as a SAHG (stay-at-home girlfriend).
This certainly had the potential to be a good article and yet it reads as if it was satire, playing off the ideas of a Maryland county commissioner who voted to chop Head Start funding because "women should be married and at home with the kids". Yet, it's not satire.
It's potential could have been used to assist people who were once going-out-to-work get used to having days of, well, not going to work. It can be a tough transition for some. It could have highlighted various resources for people to find book clubs or volunteer work or something like that. It certainly could have done all of that and included some relationship advice because there IS a change--internal or external or both--when a partnership goes from two people earning to one person earning and the other being at home. Yet it doesn't really do that. Taking a page from Gwyneth Paltrow's School of Inane and Asinine Advice, this writer doles out stuff such as:
Don’t sleep in: When my boyfriend wakes up at 6, I get up with him, turn on the television, chat with him, and try to make him a simple breakfast, maybe scrambled eggs or just cereal and juice. It’s bad enough that he knows I’m home all day, no need for him to think I sleep until noon.And he gives a shit if you sleep until noon because....?
Keep the place clean: When I was working, the cleaning usually didn’t get done until Saturday — now it’s part of my daily to-do list. Like any other busy person getting ready in the morning, he throws his clothes on the floor, takes a shower and leaves the floor wet etc. Why leave it there for him to take care of when he gets home? To be spiteful? I’d much rather pick up behind him — I don’t want to live in a messy home either. It also gives me something to do when my brain reaches its resumé-submission limit.Why leave it there? Maybe because you aren't his mommy and he can pick up his own damn clothes? I totally get wanting a clean house. I do. I, however, also get the fact that I'm not the only one responsible for it being that way. Why didn't the cleaning get done until Saturday when you were working outside the home? Because only you were doing it then, too? Barf.
There are more precious gems in that post. This one, however, really takes the cake. The shit cake, that is:
Sexy Time: Everyone knows there is nothing more important in a relationship than that special time between the sheets. I have eight to nine hours everyday to send out my resumés and clean and make dinner, by the time he comes home from work I am well rested. Frankly, there’s no real reason (time of the month aside) why I shouldn’t be ready and willing when he is. I try very hard to keep my boyfriend happy and this is a key part of doing so.No. This is just NO. It doesn't matter how many hours you have to do whatever you damn well want to do. YOU DO NOT OWE HIM ANY "SEXY TIME". Ever. There is always a reason, a REAL reason: how you feel. If you don't want to, you don't want to. He needs to respect that. If he doesn't, that's a huge, huge problem.
Look. I've been a stay-at-home parent for a decade now. I actually do the majority of the housework because, well, I have the opportunity to do so. I also do whatever I want (hence, now, blogging instead of, say, cleaning -- and no one is even home but me! *gasp*). It works for me/us. I obviously have no real issue with the general idea of "being at home doing most of the cleaning and cooking and wev" being one way a partnership works. I have a real big problem with the idea of having to do "X" to please (or, worse, appease) someone who is ostensibly your partner because that partner is the one who brings home the money. That's just unmitigated horseshit and very, very bad "advice".
Many Hats: James Franco Wears Them!
James Franco considers sleep an admission of failure and is unacquainted with the concept of relaxing. He is like a SHARK! If he does not keep making art at all times, he will die.
This is a True Fact.
That's why James Franco is simultaneously a movie star, a television actor, a soap star, a Gucci model, a writer, a director, a producer, a singer, a student, a professor, a Twitterer, an Oscar host, an Oscar nominee, a curator, and still doesn't have enough to do.
So, no doy, of course he collaborated with Gus Van Sant on an exhibition for the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills.
"Unfinished," which runs Feb. 26 to April 9, features two films, "Endless Idaho" and "My Own Private River," created by Franco using dailies and other footage that Van Sant shot for his 1991 movie "My Own Private Idaho." The gallery said that "Endless Idaho" runs a Warholian 12 hours and features edited outtakes, deleted scenes, alternate takes and behind-the-scenes footage from the movie. The score is by Luke Paquin and Tim O'Keefe.Obviously.
"My Own Private River" focuses on the late actor River Phoenix, who plays a narcoleptic drifter in the original movie. The film features edited footage of Phoenix to create a portrait of the young actor at work. Music for the movie is by Michael Stipe of R.E.M.
The movies will be accompanied by eight works on paper by Van Sant, including watercolors.
Gagosian said that the idea for the exhibition was born when Van Sant worked with Franco on the 2008 movie "Milk." The director showed Franco unused footage from "Idaho" and the actor was inspired to turn it into works of art.
Here is another True Fact: If you ever see James Franco resting on his laurels, it's only because the leading scientists of laurelology at UCLA secured his participation in their cutting-edge laurel research.
Daily Dose of Cute
For a slight changeup today, I give you Dawn, beloved pack-member of my partner1, snuggled up on the shoulder of none other than Your Humble Narrator. I'm wearing a robe and a big towel on my head because I was just finishing up stripping my hair-colour down to the lightest (silver-grey and blonde), with an eye to tonight's encore: dying it bright blue. Pictures of that may follow shortly.
What's odd about this is that, despite my nick, I'm really not a cat person. Or rather, maybe because of my nick. I mean, the one thing cats hate most is usually other cats! :)
But Dawn has melted my icy wall of disdain for cats, at least enough for this little bag of bones to peek through. She's teeny because she's on anxiety meds, and she doesn't like to eat when she's on them, but when she's not on them, she's a balding bag of slightly-less-exposed bones, because she licks her own fur off, poor wee thing. The picture also fails to capture that she is purring on all cylinders (in and out!), as she always is when she gets near me. I fell for her because she's (when she's not on the anxiety meds) the chattiest kitty I ever heard: she has a vocabulary of about fifteen different noises she makes, and she strings them together like sentences you could understand if you only knew the language. Thus, I call her Squeaks, as she is a very squeaky little creature.
So yeah: extremely rare photo, of the CaitieCat with a four-legged type of kitteh. Note also similarity of Dawn to one of this space's more usual residents, the lovely and talented Sophie of Shakes Manor.
1 When I met her five years ago this coming summer, she had eight cats and two dogs, from her days as a frontline rescue volunteer. Since many were similar in age, and they are now all in their teens, they're beginning to go to their final rest; with one cat (the Maine coon) leaving to spend time with another food-monkey, she's down to five cats and one dog now.
Whoooooooooops
I am not a fan of pranks, as a rule. But if you're going to prank someone, it should definitely be Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
Who is apparently very gullible in addition to being very terrible.
Woot!
The anti-union legislation introduced in the Indiana state legislature has been withdrawn.
The Indianapolis Star reports that Republican lawmakers have withdrawn a so-called "right to work" bill that drew thousands of Indiana workers to the Capitol in protest this week and spurred Democratic lawmakers to boycott state Senate proceedings to prevent a vote on the anti-worker bill.This would be way more awesome if it weren't because Mitch Daniels wants to be president and doesn't want the bad press and told them to lay off.
But it is unclear if the senators will return, because the Star reports: "Last night they issued a statement saying they had concerns about 11 bills, including other labor-related bills, education reforms and the proposed next state budget. They singled out two in particular: the right-to-work bill and one which lets state tax dollars pay for private school tuition for some families."
But wev. I'll take it.
[H/T to Shaker Mod Aphra_Behn.]
Let Me Tell You A Story
[TW for hostility to consent and agency]
A couple weeks ago, Liss wrote about a Georgia state legislator, Bobby Franklin, who intro'd a bill that would change the word "victim" to "accuser" in relation to certain crimes. Those crimes being: stalking, rape, obscene telephone contact with a child, and family violence.
Well, this peach of a human has another bill. Before we get into the details of this new horror show, I'd like to recall something I wrote quite a long time ago when ND tried to make it so that "life begins at conception". You know, the whole "a fertilized egg is a citizen with full legal rights" bit. Anyway, this is what I wrote:
Since a woman's body is giving life to the embryo or fetus via the placenta/umbilical cord/blood/uterine environment and this embryo or fetus has full rights of personhood, how will the woman then be monitored? If she eats something like, oh, sushi...will she be fined? After all, you aren't supposed to do that as it could be dangerous to the embryo/fetus and the embryo/fetus is a full legal person that one cannot submit to harm. How much is too much Starbucks? Again, how will this be monitored?Bringing this up is relevant because the whole "investigate miscarriages" thing? That's exactly what Rep. Frankin is proposing. His bill, in fact, calls it "prenatal murder" and is trying to rewrite the language in all GA legislation that references abortion and/or fetuses--who are now "prenatal citizens".
[...]
Speaking of harm, what about miscarriages? If an embryo/fetus has full legal standing as a genuine/individual person, the its 'death' will need to be investigated via autopsy. When I miscarried, I started bleeding on a Wednesday. I went in for my ultrasound on Thursday where it was confirmed. I couldn't get into see my ob/gyn until very early Friday morning, which by then I had naturally passed everything (into the toilet). Should women who face the same situation straddle a bucket to bleed in? Keep her pads? Take the contents to the police? The contents of such will need to be investigated to make sure that there was no foul play involved, as again, an embryo/fetus is a full legal person whose death would warrant an investigation and, eventually, death certificate (which, btw, are not given for miscarriages now). How much more money will this cost? These ideas were submitted before the VA state legislature some time back, btw, if you recall. But also necessary if declaring embryos full-fledged people which you are doing.
So. An embryo is a person of legal standing and abortion is murder. Ok then. Murder is a very serious crime. So, somehow or another, a woman is 'caught' trying to abort (or aborted). Perhaps the tox screen of her miscarriage contents show black cohosh. Maybe she showed up septic at the hospital with a partially done abortion like so many women in the mid-late 20th century. Either way, she's guilty of trying to or already committing murder under your new legislation. Where are you going to put all these new prisons? How are you going to pay for them? If "abortion is murder" there must be criminal investigations, trials, more prisons, and it all has to be paid for.
Some lowlights from the bill:
To amend the Official Code of Georgia Annotated so as to provide that prenatal murder shall be unlawful in all events and to remove numerous references to such procedures; to amend Title 16, relating to crimes and offenses, so as to make certain findings of fact; to define certain terms; to provide that any prenatal murder shall be unlawful; to provide a penalty; to repeal certain exceptions to certain offenses; to provide for severability; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.And it goes on and on and on repealing or replacing language regarding abortion, contraception (!), health care facilities, death records bureaucracy, and criminal code in Georgia.
(a) The State of Georgia has the duty to protect all innocent life from the moment of conception until natural death. We know that life begins at conception. After nearly four decades of legal human prenatal murder, it is now abundantly clear that the practice has negatively impacted the people of this state in many ways, including economic, health, physical, psychological, emotional, and medical well-being. [...]
(1) A fetus is a person for all purposes under the laws of this state from the moment of conception;
[...]
12) The United States Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to hear or decide the case of Roe v. Wade or any other case pertaining to a state's punishment of the crime of prenatal murder;
(13) As it had no jurisdiction to hear the case, certainly the United States Supreme Court lacked the authority to pass, or order all states to strike or refuse to enforce, a law that is outside of its subject matter or federal jurisdiction;
(19) However, denying to a state the right to define and punish a crime not specified in the United States Constitution is a per se legislative act;
(20) The nullification of a state's properly promulgated laws is specifically delineated as an offense committed by King George III against the states, for which separation became necessary; The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America;
(21) Compliance with, and continuation of, a fiat determination of the Supreme Court from nearly 40 years ago will cause the basis of this Union, and eventually the Union itself, to fall;
(22) Georgia was not a party to the suit in Roe v. Wade, and is not bound by a decision in which it did not have right of participation;
[...]
25) The act of prenatal murder is murder and conspiracy to commit murder per se;
(26) The act of prenatal murder has caused a significant reduction in the number of citizens in this state who would serve as workers, entrepreneurs, teachers, employees, and employers who would have significantly contributed to the prosperity and continuation of this state; and
(27) The failure to prosecute a violation of this Code section is a violation of the obligation of this state to provide all of its citizens with an equal protection of the laws.
(b) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Fetus' means a person at any point of development from and including the moment of conception through the moment of birth. Such term includes all medical or popular designations of an unborn child from the moment of conception such as conceptus, zygote, embryo, homunculus, and similar terms.
(2) 'Prenatal murder' means the intentional removal of a fetus from a woman with an intention other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus; provided, however, that if a physician makes a medically justified effort to save the lives of both the mother and the fetus and the fetus does not survive, such action shall not be prenatal murder. Such term does not include a naturally occurring expulsion of a fetus known medically as a 'spontaneous abortion' and popularly as a 'miscarriage' so long as there is no human involvement whatsoever in the causation of such event.
(c) The act of prenatal murder is contrary to the health and well-being of the citizens of this state and to the state itself and is illegal in this state in all instances.
(d) Any person committing prenatal murder in this state shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished as provided in subsection (d) of Code Section 16-5-1. The license of any physician indicted for an alleged violation of this Code section shall be suspended until resolution of the matter. The license of any physician convicted of a violation of this Code section shall be permanently revoked. The provisions of this Code section shall be in addition to any other provisions relating to the killing of a fetus or any other person."
[...]
SECTION 2.13.
Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 31-10-1, relating to definitions relative to vital records, by deleting the words "product of human conception" and replacing them with "prenatal human person" in paragraphs (4), (9), and (15); by deleting the words "induced termination of pregnancy" and replacing them with "prenatal murder" in paragraphs (7) and (20); and by deleting the words "an induced termination of pregnancy" and replacing them with "a prenatal murder" in paragraph (15).
Which brings me to my story. Let me tell you a story, Mr. Franklin. A story about my spontaneous abortion of my "prenatal human person".
In mid-July of 2001, I got the good news via positive pregnancy test that I was expecting my second child. Much rejoicing as it was turning out to be a banner year--my husband got a great job, we were in contract to build our own house, and now this great news. At the end of August of that year, the lease on our apartment was up and my in-laws generously offered to let us live in their house until our house was finished (in December). They had plenty of space, there was just the three of us at that time, and it made the most financial sense. Now, I got along with my in-laws ok. We were friendly but I wouldn't say "like family". Not at that point. So living together for a few months was just...all right. Tolerable, is the best way to describe it, I think--for everyone.
On Tuesday, September 11th I had my first prenatal appointment for that pregnancy. Oh how strange it was, to me, to be going to an appointment regarding new life when at that very time tragedy and death were occurring a few states away. I distinctly recall thinking that--and that it was the most gorgeous September day I had ever seen. Anyway, all was well at the appointment. Just too soon to hear the heartbeat on the doppler, next appointment definitely.
The next day, around mid-morning, I started having cramps. This isn't unusual in early pregnancy, so I didn't think too much of it. Until I started spotting bright red blood that afternoon. I was, of course, very concerned. I called my OB and he got me scheduled for an ultrasound at the hospital the next morning.
By the time I went in for the ultrasound, I was bleeding heavily. I sobbed my way through filling out the paperwork and I could barely speak to the receptionist. I knew when I looked at the monitor that there was no hope for this pregnancy. My OB, who was off that day, had requested the radiologist to call him right then to let him know and he talked to me on the phone for about half an hour. I scheduled a D&C for the next morning.
The D&C turned out to be unnecessary. That Thursday afternoon I sat sobbing on the toilet, because I was bleeding and cramping so much, and with one horrible cramp, everything passed. It was both painful and then, as what essentially was labor ended, the cramping stopped and I felt physically better. I just sat there. Mentally and emotionally numb. My in-laws were judiciously avoiding me, though it was the only bathroom in their house and I wasn't exactly quiet in my sobbing pain. My husband...well, he wasn't there either at that time. Eventually I left the bathroom and my joy just a few months before, literally, went all down the drain. I went into a bleak, horrible depression after. It was a traumatic experience that has taken me several years to be able to talk about openly, not because I was ashamed or any such thing, but because of the sheer pain.
I tell you this story, my story, Mr. Franklin, because you obviously have no clue. You're an arrogant ass who thinks he knows but he doesn't. You want to "protect" so-called "prenatal citizens" but you don't have a fucking thought for the women you'd torture with your investigations into their miscarriages. Now I know my experience is not necessarily universal. Not all women feel as I did. However, even if a miscarriage is not more than a blip on a woman's emotional radar and an investigation wouldn't be tortuous, it would still be a gross invasion of privacy.
Let's discuss the logistical nightmare of your legislation. What the fuck do you expect women who miscarry to do, exactly, with the contents of their uterus as they bleed out at home? Keep it in a bucket to take in for autopsy? Does she turn herself into police so they can start an investigation. Yeah, I see that happening. Are you proposing special hospital rooms that women would check into so they can be monitored and the blood and tissues kept with more ease? Will you start up some preemptive monitoring of your prenatal citizen incubators (I mean, let's call women for what they are to you, eh)?
Have you even remotely thought this through besides your evident "concern" for fertilized eggs potentially becoming future tax payers? Yeah. That's what I thought. Your evident crusade against abortion and againt women is an abomination.
Fuck you.
Quote of the Day
After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny. The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA [which defines marriage for federal purposes as only between a man and a woman], as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases. I fully concur with the President's determination.—Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General of the United States, in a statement regarding the Defense of Marriage Act's federal definition of marriage as only between a man and a woman, announcing that "this Administration will no longer assert its constitutionality in court."
Consequently, the Department will not defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA as applied to same-sex married couples in the two cases filed in the Second Circuit.
Blub.
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Holder.
