I do not have a particular theme to this blog because I believe in multiplicity. I am hoping that this blog will provide me with a mechanism to discover things, or perhaps just leave me with more questions/confusion. Both are equally valuable.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
In the run-up to the election, we’ve mostly avoided talking about the Republican horse-race. But with Mitt Romney finally the clear front-runner, it’s time to consider what a Romney presidency could mean for the programs so crucial to people of color. From criminal justice to unemployment to health care, the effects of a bad economy tend to disproportionately impact blacks and Latinos—often making regulation and government safety net programs the only things keeping the hardest hit afloat.
We’ll break down some top issues affecting people of color and how Romney’s policies could play out.
Click through to see Romney’s record in regards to immigration, unemployment, entitlements, and health care. Here’s a preview
Health Care: Romney is unequivocally opposed to the Affordable Care Act. He vows to repeal it (if the Supreme Court doesn’t get there first). Instead, he wants to turn health care over to the states, letting them figure out how to insure their residents.
What it could mean: In 2000, 57.5 percent of black Americans had employer-sponsored health insurance. By 2010, that number fell below 50 percent, to 45.3. For black children, the drop was even steeper: employer sponsored health insurance fell 14.1 percentage points.
For the record, if you’re someone who feels that discrimination against people for their race, religion, gender identity, biological sex, or sexual orientation is wrong, you’re a feminist. If you believe that men and women should be equal, and that neither are more important to history or the future, you’re a feminist. If you find it absurd that men are still paid more for the same jobs, you’re a feminist. If you believe that women can do everything that men can do, like be professional boxers, mountain climbers, scientists, programmers, and doctors, you’re a feminist. If you’re tired of women fighting with other women and judging each other, you’re a feminist who is sick of internalized sexism. If you believe that a woman is made up of more than just boobs and vagina, you’re a feminist. If you are tired of people thinking you must be buying that video game as a gift, that you can’t possibly be a skilled gamer because you’re a woman, you’re a feminist. If you believe that rape is wrong, that blaming the victim of rape is wrong, and that no one can stop rape except the rapists, you’re a feminist. If you’re tired of being called a slut simply because you have sexual urges like everyone else, you’re a feminist. If you don’t believe that little boys should only play with Legos and little girls should play with Barbies, you’re a feminist.
(Source: thepatches)
This article does a decent job of explaining why Russia is supporting Assad’s regime in Syria (these are the basics, but there is more to it). And it would appear that the US is not the only one who is competing for “influence” in the region during this politically turbulent time.
In other words…If Egypt is going to turn into another fucked up authoritarian Regime, the US wants it to be OUR fucked up authoritarian regime.
Reproductive Health and Access Advocates,
HB 4117 has been scheduled to be heard in the House Agriculture Committee hearing scheduled for Tuesday, February 21 at 2:00 p.m. It is expected to pass out of this committee. HB 4117 would impose full ambulatory surgical treatment center (ASTC) licensing on all facilities where 50 or more abortions are performed each year. This legislation singles out abortion from other medical procedures for additional and expensive regulation.
The anti-choice groups have already sent out alerts to their members regarding this bill. We need to make sure that we are activating our supporters as well. Here is what you can do right now to fight HB 4117:
- Call your state representative( IL Capitol Switchboard: 217-782-2000) and tell him/her to “vote NO on HB 4117”
- Send a letter to state representatives explaining your opposition to HB 4117.
To find out who your State Representative is go to:
www.elections.il.gov/districtlocator/districtofficialsearchbyaddress.aspx
Thank you!
Illinois Choice Action Team
The Illinois Choice Action Team is a group of volunteers committed to advancing NARAL Pro-Choice America’s mission.
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Signal boost. From Capital Fax:
“By a 13-0 vote, before a standing-room-only room of angry abortion-rights supporters clad in “Women are not livestock” T-shirts and buttons emblazoned with a cow, the panel advanced legislation putting new financial burdens on abortion clinics.
“The bill, sponsored by Rep. Darlene Senger (R-Naperville), would require abortion clinics to be retrofitted to resemble outpatient surgery centers, meaning equipment such as defibrillators and ventilators would be required for the first time while hallway and parking-lot dimensions would have to change. […]
“The House Agriculture Committee, stocked mainly by socially conservative Democrats and Republicans from Downstate, has been the conduit to get guns-rights and anti-abortion legislation to the House floor for years — a fact critics of Senger’s bill zeroed in on.”
Trust me, this has nothing to do with making abortions safer, and everything to do with further restricting and limiting them.
-Jess
Orientalism is a Western perspective that is used to evaluate the East. This perspective usually implies that the West is more modern, rational or superior to the East. Edward Said explains that when evaluating the Middle East, it is very difficult, if not impossible to remove one’s self from this perspective. Keeping this in mind, the question then becomes how do we discuss the Middle East with being Orientalist? In response to this question, in one of my classes we discussed the importance of internal as well as external dimensions of thought when evaluating the Middle East. I find that this photo (gotten from the tumblr blog Native Thoughts) exemplifies these dimensions. Photographs often depict and exemplify the gaze of the West, but I find that this photo defies some of those typical dynamics. Typically, photographs of the Other represent them as pure victims, without the capability to speak for themselves, and decontextualizes them from their particular situations. However, this photo depicts these women not as victims or “special cases” but simply as they are. This picture illuminates how women in the Middle East are not just oppressed subjects but they are also students; some are bored, some are engaged and others just look confused (girl sitting right behind the older woman in the blue Hijaab). What struck me about this picture originally was the older woman in the middle of the picture staring right into the camera. This is a strong gaze that does not seem orchestrated or posed, but is an honest reaction to a camera, which insinuates a certain amount of autonomy and subjectivity that is usually not seen in stylized pictures of the Middle East. I find this photo beautiful and striking. I also thought that it provides a good example of how one can look upon the Middle East and avoid some of the problematic dynamics of Orientalism.
I’m giving up respecting anti-choicers Until Abortion Ends™.
I don’t care what race, gender, or religion you are. If you support an abortion ban, you are an asshole.
I don’t care that you like, totally respect my opinion even though you…
Late, but worth sharing if you haven’t read this already
Here are a few other facts: last year, the N.Y.P.D. recorded more than 600,000 stops; 84 percent of those stopped were blacks or Latinos. Police are far more likely to use force when stopping blacks or Latinos than whites. In half the stops police cite the vague “furtive movements” as the reason for the stop. Maybe black and brown people just look more furtive, whatever that means. These stops are part of a larger, more widespread problem — a racially discriminatory system of stop-and-frisk in the N.Y.P.D. The police use the excuse that they’re fighting crime to continue the practice, but no one has ever actually proved that it reduces crime or makes the city safer. Those of us who live in the neighborhoods where stop-and-frisks are a basic fact of daily life don’t feel safer as a result.
We need change. When I was young I thought cops were cool. They had a respectable and honorable job to keep people safe and fight crime. Now, I think their tactics are unfair and they abuse their authority. The police should consider the consequences of a generation of young people who want nothing to do with them — distrust, alienation and more crime.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was just passed by Congress, and is on its way to the President’s desk. The bill contains a dangerous provision that could be read to authorize the military to detain anyone in our country, including U.S. citizens, without…
