For all my big mistakes.

“
This congressional Republican budget is something different altogether. It is a Trojan horse. Disguised as deficit reduction plans, it is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. It is thinly veiled social Darwinism.

It is antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everybody who’s willing to work for it; a place where prosperity doesn’t trickle down from the top, but grows outward from the heart of the middle class.

And by gutting the very things we need to grow an economy that’s built to last—education and training, research and development, our infrastructure—it is a prescription for decline.
”

—President Obama today on the GOP budget plan (via barackobama)

Are you voting this year? Normally, I don’t talk to people about voting, but this year it is really important to vote.

superkianagalaxy:

#rick santorum

NOOOOO OOOONE’S TRITE LIKE GASTON,

CURTAILS RIGHTS LIKE GASTON,

OR BELITTLES THE FEMINIST FIGHT LIKE GASTON!

“I’M A BIGOTED EXPERT IN ALL DERAILING!”

THE G.O.P. NOM’S FOR GASTON!

(Source: g3neral)

isabelthespy:

bg5000:

sarahchristine:

Really? with Seth and Amy: Birth Control

I’m legitimately shocked NBC made this available, but glad they did. It’s incredible.

this is pretty much the best thing i’ve ever seen.

DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!

Oh my gosh, the SOFTBALL TEAM MOM, I KNEW WHO SHE WAS AT MY PARISH.

thirddeadlysin:

TRIGGER WARNINGS ALL UP IN HERE, for rape and abortion and infuriating fuckwittery

fuck-it-fire-everything:

redhead-monster:

Okay, forget everything I have ever complained about or told you to do, politically. Forget if you don’t read political posts. Stop. WATCH/READ THIS RIGHT NOW.

For those of you who for some reason cannot or do not want to watch the video, allow me to summarize. Right now there is a law that has passed the Virginia legislature that would mandate a trans-vaginal ultrasound for anyone seeking an abortion. No exceptions.

Now that in and of itself does not sound so scary, right? Wrong. A trans-vaginal ultrasound is not a normal type of ultrasound. It is an ultrasound that is taken by sticking a probe into a woman’s vagina. And it is completely and totally medically unnecessary. The Republican legislators who have passed this bill admit to it being completely medically unnecessary. It exists for the sole purpose of discouraging women from getting abortions.

I honestly could care less what your personal views on abortion are, but here’s something we have to get straight right now: no matter how you feel about abortion or why, this is government-mandated rape. Think I’m exaggerating? Let’s look at how rape is defined by the federal government of the United States of America:

“The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

(source)

Let’s re-iterate here: there are no exceptions. It doesn’t matter if you are getting an abortion one week or eight months into your pregnancy. You will be forcibly probed. It doesn’t matter if you are aborting for personal reasons or because it’s a medical necessity for either your safety or the safety of your child. You will be forcibly probed. It doesn’t matter if you are fourteen or forty. You will be forcibly probed. It does not matter if your child is the product of incest or even the product of rape. You will be forcibly probed.

Now, I don’t live or vote in Virginia. Technically, there is nothing I can do about this. But currently this bill is on the way to the governor’s desk, and the only hope there is of it not becoming law is if Virginia citizens contact the Governor and tell him about their opposition to him signing this into law. (Contact information is here. Please note that calling generally carries more weight than e-mailing does.)

Please re-blog this story. E-mail it to everyone you know. Tell them to e-mail it to everyone they know. Eventually, some of these people we all know should be from Virginia, and if you are from Virginia, you need to let your voice be heard now. Regardless of if you think life begins at conception, there is no justification, ever, for the government mandating the rape of women.

As sombody who has had one of these for a valid medical reason, I find this APPALLING. Speaking only from personal experience, it was invasive and uncomfortable on more than just a physical level. This is government sanctioned rape, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

WRITE THE GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA TO OPPOSE THE BILL

(who has links on where to write to the VA Senate? The bill goes to them next.)

Here’s my letter (I’m so angry I didn’t even proofread it! FUCK YES, RESPONSE REQUIRED, VIRGINIA):

The FBI’s recent revision of the Unified Crime Reporting definition of rape is: “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

The Virginia House of Delegates just voted to do just that to any pregnant woman, in any case in which abortion is requested or medically necessary. There is no provision for refusing it. There is no alternative. The Virginia House of Delegats has voted to make rape MANDATORY.

I don’t care where you fall on the issue of abortion, or when life begins, or when consciousness begins. I do care that as the governor of Virginia you stop hiding behind promises of “legal review” and refuse to sign any such bill if by some stroke of insanity it passes the Senate as well.

Unless you want your state to be the first to make rape legal and state-sanctioned?

thirddeadlysin:

BREAKING VIA AP: “A person familiar with the decision says President Obama will announce a plan to accommodate religious employers outraged by a rule that would require them to cover birth control for women free of charge.”

squintyoureyes:

inothernews:

For fuck’s sake.

Announcement set for later today.

Oh this is just the LAST THING we need to compromise on, ffs. People like birth control, VOTERS like birth control, even Catholic ones; there is ZERO political point to backing down on this. I don’t understand you sometimes, obeezy.

I hope the decision he’s going to announce is: “You’re wrong and you’re stupid and we’re not going backward on this, so shut your whiny mouths and stop worrying about what other people are doing with their funparts all the time.”

Alas.

This is the WORST DECISION EVER. It’s time to stand your ground, Obama. COME ON. Please.

A pro-choice Democratic legislator has taken a novel approach to fighting an Oklahoma “personhood” bill. - adds ‘Every sperm is sacred’ clause

transimatter:

abaldwin360:

State Senator Constance Johnson of Oklahoma City has introduced a measure that calls to mind the famous Monty Python “Every Sperm is Sacred” sketch from the 1983 film “The Meaning of Life.”

The concept of “personhood” defines human life as beginning at the moment of conception and, in the case of Oklahoma’s pending Senate Bill 1433, says that the resulting fetus “at every stage of development (has) all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of this state.” If Senate Bill 1433 were to become law, all forms of abortion and some forms of contraception would be considered murder and therefore illegal.

Sen. Johnson, who represents Oklahoma’s 48th District has introduced an amendment to the bill mandating that the same rights and benefits be granted to spermatozoa, writing, “However, any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman’s vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child.”

A second legislator, Democrat Jim Wilson attempted to introduce an amendment stating that all men would be responsible for the full support and well-being of any woman carrying their child for the duration of the pregnancy, including housing, food, transportation, and all medical costs. The amendment failed.

read more at The Raw Story

Now, that second amendment failing is very illuminating and points out that this isn’t about the life of the child or taking responsibly for the consequences of sex. It’s all about limiting the sexual freedom of anyone who isn’t a male.

It’s more high level slut shaming.

Look at all this gender essentialism

I agree with the points but can we please stop with the male = penis attitude jeez

(Source: billydarley)

outspokenviews:

Part 1 Gifset of Guttmacher Institute’s “Abortion in the United Sates”

publicradiointernational:

How Israeli cartoonist Shay Charka draws president Barack Obama using a bottle of ketchup and an egg.

Charka lives in a Jewish settlement called Zufim. It’s a neighborhood of suburban-style single family homes that sits on a hilltop above the Palestinian city of Qalqilya. Charka reckoned he’s Israel’s only syndicated political cartoonist who is also a settler.

ivegotthoughts:

“Fuck you” doesn’t even begin to cover my feelings on this front.

thedailywhat:

Say What Now of the Day: In today’s edition of Santorum Santorum Says: Rape victims who get pregnant “have to make the best out of a bad situation.”

(Also: “I believe and I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created — in the sense of rape — but nevertheless a gift in a very broken way, the gift of human life, and accept what God has given to you.”)

[think.]

WHAT

WHAT THE FUCK I AM SO FUCKING ENRAGED BY THIS THAT I NEED TO FUCKING STEP AWAY FROM THE FUCKING COMPUTER OH MY FUCKING FUCK AKSJFDKSDJFNSDLKFJDFHS

kelsium:supcakes:

kelsium and I were out last month or so and she really has it right on the politics thing

She talked about how basically, the time to worry about offending people by being dogmatic is over. Progressives simply cannot fucking afford to be pushovers anymore. The right is shoving shit down everyone’s throat and GUESS WHAT? IT’S WORKING. BECAUSE A LOT OF PROGRESSIVES ARE PUSHOVERS. WE DON’T HAVE TO BE THOUGH. WE CAN’T AFFORD TO BE ANYMORE. WE MUST BECOME JUST AS FUCKING LOUD AND IRRITATING AS CONSERVATIVES.

STOP BEING AFRAID TO STEP ON PEOPLE’S FEET

FUCKING

STEP

ON

THEM

IF YOU ARE A HUMAN WHO IS PASSIONATE ABOUT SOMETHING, ESPECIALLY SOMETHING THAT IS CLEARLY CORRECT, DON’T FUCKING LET YOURSELF GET TRAMPLED

Sorry, I just needed to reblog this as proof that I am basically the same level of shouty about politics in bars as I am on the internet.

KEEP SHOUTING!

FUCKING STEP ON THOSE GODDAMN FEET. STOMP ON THEM.

11 Facts From 2011

think-progress:

1. The CIA is monitoring up to 5 million tweets per day.

2. Income inequality in America is worse than in Ancient Rome.

3. Twenty-three straight polls find Americans overwhelmingly want to raise taxes to pay down debt.

4. 68% of millionaires support raising taxes on millionaires.

5. Wall Street’s recession cost 1.5 million times more than securing Occupy Wall Street protests.

6. Six Walmart heirs have the same net worth as the bottom 30% of all Americans.

7. Reagan’s ‘82 and ‘84 deficit reduction plans were 80% tax increases.

8. Since 2009, 88% of income growth went to corporate profits, just 1% to wages.

9. Average Bush tax cut this year for the 1% will exceed average income for the 99%.

10. Planned Parenthood Facts: 4 million STD tests, 1 million screenings for cervical cancer, 830,000 breast exams every year. Receives no federal money for abortion.

11. DEAD: Bin Laden, Quaddafi, and Kim Jong Il. OUSTED: Mubarak, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, and Ali Adullah Saleh.

dduane:

everqueer:

Some jerk sent us two boxes of this awful book (SPOILER ALERT: George Washington - Patriot; George Soros - Pinhead) instead of anything soldiers at a remote outpost in Afghanistan might need, like, say, food or soap. Just burned the whole lot of them on my Commander’s orders.

Normally the thought of burning books gives me the shivers. However…. perhaps sometimes there are special circumstances. (sigh)

#oh nbd just one more reason to be proud of our troops #and disgusted by my fellow americans #and bill o’reilly #always bill o’reilly

cognitivedissonance:

From @schuyler: A CS grenade, and two 12 ga shotgun shells purportedly used by the police to propel the beanbag bullets. #OccupyOakland

Meanwhile, police are reporting that they didn’t use any method like this at Occupy Oakland.