It's not just controlling women, it's controlling races and religions. And it's been going on in this country for a very long time.
In Bill Bryson's One Summer: America, 1927, he takes a microscope to everything 1927, from flight to baseball to eugenics. As I read about the eugenics movement, I thought about controlling women's reproduction and how it has evolved over time.
Margaret Sanger's interest in birth control involved reducing the populations of blacks and Chinese. Prescott Bush, grandfather of "W.", worked with Sanger in the newly formed American Birth Control League, which later became Planned Parenthood, where he served as Treasurer. It has been said that Bush's interest in population control had something to do with all those Catholics that were procreating.
Imagine the surprise of all those who propounded about birth control as a means of reducing the numbers of undesirables when in fact this became the means to move those groups into the middle class. Italians, Jews, Chinese, African Americans and anyone else who did not fit into the WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) image were becoming doctors, lawyers, and yes, politicians. Smaller families meant more disposable income and the time to pursue a career, both for men and women. And political power.
We have lately been confused by this current push to ban birth control. Why on earth would the right wingnuts want to create a situation where more of us who lean Democratic have more Democratic babies? Well, the answer is in political and fiscal power. When you can't control how many babies you have or when, your options in life, and those of your family, become limited. The path to college for a girl in high school, the opportunity for travel and knowledge about the world, the chance for a career and career advancement, all are dimmed when a woman is unable to make reproductive decisions.
Of course, when birth control is unaffordable, those rich white guys will still be able to provide birth control for their families. And when it is illegal, well, the same will be true. And there may be more of us, but we'll be too busy trying to care for our families to compete for money and power, or even a fair chance at a good life.
Showing posts with label Birth Control. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birth Control. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Which Vice Would You Ban?
I am wary of the great strides the Obama administration has taken in creating national electronic medical records. On the one hand, it will make it easier to coordinate treatment when several doctors and specialties are involved. And of course we won't have to rely on someone correctly decrypting a physician's illegible notes. On the other hand, if you follow the money here, this enormous invasion of privacy will at some point walk us right into the maw of the insurance industry.
No pre-existing condition, maybe. But higher premiums if you cross a line someone involved in your health care has drawn in the sand, absolutely.
It chills me to hear my liberal friends support penalties for obesity (my own particular vice). And let me just add that I was also opposed to higher premiums for smokers. Raise taxes on cigarettes? Okay. But charging an individual more for health care because of a life style vice is the ultimate in corporate control.
When we start to agree to forcing people to share health information (and let's face it, you can't go to your doctor and refuse to sign their disclosure agreement, at the very least because you will be unable to get insurance reimbursement if you don't sign away your right to patient confidentiality), we are opening ourselves up to abuses from all sides.
I have said here before that I would be much happier if Michelle Obama fought harder for living wages and working conditions that allowed parents to be with and better care for their children than by fighting that concept called "obesity". Nice that she can go out to her garden with some elementary school class and model nutrition. Harder for a mom who works full time and then has to schlep the kids to after school activities. Not to mention a parent that works full-time and still can't afford (or have time to cook) healthy meals.
Then there is the issue of which vices are currently scorned. Mike Bloomberg wants to control soda size as well as guns. We have laws that force us to wear seat belts in our very own cars but cells phones on the road are still okay.
And we should know by now that the vices that are going to be most legislated are those that most affect women. Want to carry a gun into a bar here in South Carolina? No problem. After all, freedom is an important concept here. But contraceptive freedom? Suddenly we have caretakers who are going to oversee our sexual activity, and the consequences.
Yes, this is a rant. There are times when I communicate more rationally, but today I am frustrated and just feel the need to to go on about all the things that don't make sense, and that invade our privacy, and those that proselytize and legislate based on their own personal values.
Here is where I draw my line regarding who's free to do what: your freedom ends where my safety and comfort begin. You want to drive without a seat belt, it may be literally your funeral, but it's not my business. I eat too much, but there are ways my life is much healthier than yours that nobody asks about in the doctor's office. Don't speed on roads I am driving on, and don't bring your gun out to any public place.
And when I see my doctor, I want to talk to her knowing she is not merely complying with reporting requirements; in fact, our appointments would be more productive without all the now required data gathering. And it does not matter how well-intentioned national electronic medial records may be, it is a concept that flies in the face of all we know about confidentiality and privacy. And it will come back to haunt us, whatever our vice.
No pre-existing condition, maybe. But higher premiums if you cross a line someone involved in your health care has drawn in the sand, absolutely.
It chills me to hear my liberal friends support penalties for obesity (my own particular vice). And let me just add that I was also opposed to higher premiums for smokers. Raise taxes on cigarettes? Okay. But charging an individual more for health care because of a life style vice is the ultimate in corporate control.
When we start to agree to forcing people to share health information (and let's face it, you can't go to your doctor and refuse to sign their disclosure agreement, at the very least because you will be unable to get insurance reimbursement if you don't sign away your right to patient confidentiality), we are opening ourselves up to abuses from all sides.
I have said here before that I would be much happier if Michelle Obama fought harder for living wages and working conditions that allowed parents to be with and better care for their children than by fighting that concept called "obesity". Nice that she can go out to her garden with some elementary school class and model nutrition. Harder for a mom who works full time and then has to schlep the kids to after school activities. Not to mention a parent that works full-time and still can't afford (or have time to cook) healthy meals.
Then there is the issue of which vices are currently scorned. Mike Bloomberg wants to control soda size as well as guns. We have laws that force us to wear seat belts in our very own cars but cells phones on the road are still okay.
And we should know by now that the vices that are going to be most legislated are those that most affect women. Want to carry a gun into a bar here in South Carolina? No problem. After all, freedom is an important concept here. But contraceptive freedom? Suddenly we have caretakers who are going to oversee our sexual activity, and the consequences.
Yes, this is a rant. There are times when I communicate more rationally, but today I am frustrated and just feel the need to to go on about all the things that don't make sense, and that invade our privacy, and those that proselytize and legislate based on their own personal values.
Here is where I draw my line regarding who's free to do what: your freedom ends where my safety and comfort begin. You want to drive without a seat belt, it may be literally your funeral, but it's not my business. I eat too much, but there are ways my life is much healthier than yours that nobody asks about in the doctor's office. Don't speed on roads I am driving on, and don't bring your gun out to any public place.
And when I see my doctor, I want to talk to her knowing she is not merely complying with reporting requirements; in fact, our appointments would be more productive without all the now required data gathering. And it does not matter how well-intentioned national electronic medial records may be, it is a concept that flies in the face of all we know about confidentiality and privacy. And it will come back to haunt us, whatever our vice.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Irony Abounds
Where to start?
First of all, immediately after announcing Paul Ryan as his running mate, both Mitt and his new sidekick proceeded to blast President Obama for cutting Medicare. Welcome to Through the Looking Glass, GOP style.
If you recall way back a few months ago, or maybe it was years ago...
Anyway, for as long as I can recall, the republican party has been bashing President Obama for single-handedly increasing the debt. According to the GOP, we poor folk, those who have lost our jobs, or our health, or our homes, have been living high off the hog here in the Democrats' U.S.A. Entitlements, entitlements, you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a republican on a soap-box talking about entitlements.
Of course, they didn't mean corporate entitlements. The big corporations -- Wall Street banks, ExxonMobil, big pharma, big agribusiness -- they need us to keep feeding them. The fatter they get, the hungrier. After all, we are told, they are the job creators.
But the rest of us poor slobs are just sapping the strength of this great land.
Now the way I remember it, peacemaker Obama agreed to begin to cut the waste out of Medicare, if only the republicans in Congress would agree to just a teensy-weensy tax increase for the wealthy. Which, of course, left us with Medicare cuts and no increase in taxes.
Those Medicare cuts that Paul Ryan wants you to believe will kill his grandmother are actually to a large extent cuts to the private insurance companies -- Medicare Advantage -- that supplements regular Medicare benefits. Another large piece of the savings is through lower reimbursement rates to hospitals that see more of the uninsured, which will be less necessary under Obamacare and the individual mandate.
Not exactly killing grandma, is it?
But then, if you can stand to listen further, Ryan (and Mitt) will tell you that you shouldn't worry, you old people. Because apparently they are only going to screw people under 55.
Okay, so that's Part One of 2012 Madness.
Then there is the unveiling of David Koch. You know, the gazillionaire that owns Mitt Romney, and unknown other large pieces of the country. Apparently, it is time for Koch to come out from behind the curtain, especially since we all had caught on to the fact that it was him running things anyway.
Of course, if you have gotten caught red-handed, the smart thing to do is act like you've planned it that way. So David Koch is actually going to be an official delegate to the Convention. Even more special, he will be honored at a "Salute to Entrepreneurs," and we can all get tickets. Well, actually, we can all get on the wait list. You might be surprised to know that this event, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, is actually funded by the Koch Brothers. Well, maybe you won't be surprised.
And definitely not last, but all the irony-processing center in my brain can handle at one sitting, is the cornerstone of the convention. No, I know you're thinking the anti-abortion plank, but that's the cornerstone behind the cornerstone. The centerpiece of the convention, which is being "unveiled" today, is the "National Debt Clock".
Don't laugh. It's true.
After creating laws that would chase down teens and women trying to get birth control or abortions while shutting down the most cost-effective health care programs available to women...
After refusing to even consider the most modest tax hike for the wealthiest Americans...
After working exhaustively to kill Obamacare despite Congressional Budget Office and other expert opinions that savings will outweigh costs...
...these idiots are going to show us just how much debt we are accruing as they speak.
No, too much irony for me. Need some air.
First of all, immediately after announcing Paul Ryan as his running mate, both Mitt and his new sidekick proceeded to blast President Obama for cutting Medicare. Welcome to Through the Looking Glass, GOP style.
If you recall way back a few months ago, or maybe it was years ago...
Anyway, for as long as I can recall, the republican party has been bashing President Obama for single-handedly increasing the debt. According to the GOP, we poor folk, those who have lost our jobs, or our health, or our homes, have been living high off the hog here in the Democrats' U.S.A. Entitlements, entitlements, you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a republican on a soap-box talking about entitlements.
Of course, they didn't mean corporate entitlements. The big corporations -- Wall Street banks, ExxonMobil, big pharma, big agribusiness -- they need us to keep feeding them. The fatter they get, the hungrier. After all, we are told, they are the job creators.
But the rest of us poor slobs are just sapping the strength of this great land.
Now the way I remember it, peacemaker Obama agreed to begin to cut the waste out of Medicare, if only the republicans in Congress would agree to just a teensy-weensy tax increase for the wealthy. Which, of course, left us with Medicare cuts and no increase in taxes.
Those Medicare cuts that Paul Ryan wants you to believe will kill his grandmother are actually to a large extent cuts to the private insurance companies -- Medicare Advantage -- that supplements regular Medicare benefits. Another large piece of the savings is through lower reimbursement rates to hospitals that see more of the uninsured, which will be less necessary under Obamacare and the individual mandate.
Not exactly killing grandma, is it?
But then, if you can stand to listen further, Ryan (and Mitt) will tell you that you shouldn't worry, you old people. Because apparently they are only going to screw people under 55.
Okay, so that's Part One of 2012 Madness.
Then there is the unveiling of David Koch. You know, the gazillionaire that owns Mitt Romney, and unknown other large pieces of the country. Apparently, it is time for Koch to come out from behind the curtain, especially since we all had caught on to the fact that it was him running things anyway.
Of course, if you have gotten caught red-handed, the smart thing to do is act like you've planned it that way. So David Koch is actually going to be an official delegate to the Convention. Even more special, he will be honored at a "Salute to Entrepreneurs," and we can all get tickets. Well, actually, we can all get on the wait list. You might be surprised to know that this event, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, is actually funded by the Koch Brothers. Well, maybe you won't be surprised.
And definitely not last, but all the irony-processing center in my brain can handle at one sitting, is the cornerstone of the convention. No, I know you're thinking the anti-abortion plank, but that's the cornerstone behind the cornerstone. The centerpiece of the convention, which is being "unveiled" today, is the "National Debt Clock".
Don't laugh. It's true.
After creating laws that would chase down teens and women trying to get birth control or abortions while shutting down the most cost-effective health care programs available to women...
After refusing to even consider the most modest tax hike for the wealthiest Americans...
After working exhaustively to kill Obamacare despite Congressional Budget Office and other expert opinions that savings will outweigh costs...
...these idiots are going to show us just how much debt we are accruing as they speak.
No, too much irony for me. Need some air.
Friday, August 17, 2012
When Tim Scott's Freedom Is Not Our Freedom
The U. S. House Representative for SC District 1, who is not and never has been my representative, although I live in that district, has a peculiar view of freedom.
For example, he believes that women should not have the freedom to access contraceptive care, but that employees should have the freedom to not provide this coverage when the law requires it.
He calls it "conscience."
I call it bullshit.
When a religious institution feels comfortable taking my tax dollars, which I do not have the freedom to withhold from said groups, regardless of my conscience, the very least obligation they should have is to follow the law. If their conscience causes angst, they can refuse the federal dollars. They can also stop pretending they should be tax-exempt.
Tim Scott passionately professes his belief in "life." That, too, is bullshit. Jesus, neither Scott's nor anyone else's, would never condone automatic weapons (or war, for that matter). When innocents are getting gunned down in a classroom or a movie theater, Scott should have more important things on his "conscience" than whether or not a woman should be allowed free contraceptives.
This hypocrisy would puzzle me more if it didn't so much follow the money. The National Rifle Association has incredible power in this country, and incredibly deep pockets. So it is no surprise that when Scott "prays" on issues, gun control provokes as resounding a "no" from God as does contraception.
No disrespect to God, however. Because when Tim Scott prays, he may think he is hearing God's voice, but in fact he is hearing answers that are easy on his ears. The voice he actually hears, I believe, is that of Jim DeMint.
I have yet to hear of a vote cast by Tim Scott that he has not only agonized over, but then voted against what his hero in the Tea Party has dictated.
And so freedom, for Tim Scott, is the freedom to hear whatever voices he chooses to hear, and to vote "for life" when it is convenient, and anti-life when the NRA and Jim DeMint tell him to.
Shame on you, Tim Scott.
For example, he believes that women should not have the freedom to access contraceptive care, but that employees should have the freedom to not provide this coverage when the law requires it.
He calls it "conscience."
I call it bullshit.
When a religious institution feels comfortable taking my tax dollars, which I do not have the freedom to withhold from said groups, regardless of my conscience, the very least obligation they should have is to follow the law. If their conscience causes angst, they can refuse the federal dollars. They can also stop pretending they should be tax-exempt.
Tim Scott passionately professes his belief in "life." That, too, is bullshit. Jesus, neither Scott's nor anyone else's, would never condone automatic weapons (or war, for that matter). When innocents are getting gunned down in a classroom or a movie theater, Scott should have more important things on his "conscience" than whether or not a woman should be allowed free contraceptives.
This hypocrisy would puzzle me more if it didn't so much follow the money. The National Rifle Association has incredible power in this country, and incredibly deep pockets. So it is no surprise that when Scott "prays" on issues, gun control provokes as resounding a "no" from God as does contraception.
No disrespect to God, however. Because when Tim Scott prays, he may think he is hearing God's voice, but in fact he is hearing answers that are easy on his ears. The voice he actually hears, I believe, is that of Jim DeMint.
I have yet to hear of a vote cast by Tim Scott that he has not only agonized over, but then voted against what his hero in the Tea Party has dictated.
And so freedom, for Tim Scott, is the freedom to hear whatever voices he chooses to hear, and to vote "for life" when it is convenient, and anti-life when the NRA and Jim DeMint tell him to.
Shame on you, Tim Scott.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Contraception and Jobs
The republican plan to protect "our" freedom is moving along quite nicely. Wonder that dems don't get it.
Once the Supremes determined that corporations are people, it became obvious whose freedoms the right wingnuts were fighting for. Obviously. Churches are people. Not the church members, just the churches. Hospitals are people. Not, of course, the nurses, doctors and patients therein, just the hospitals.
So we want to protect their individual freedoms: the freedom to pay low wages, the freedom to cut an employee's benefits, the freedom to charge anyone any amount for anything, the freedom to cut government services so that they might have the biggest share of the consumer-and-profit pie possible, the freedom to not have to pay taxes.
These, of course, are the job creators. Much as their God, they should be all powerful. Because the republican right wing, i.e. the republican party, are all about jobs. Just ask them. Which is why they are determined to outlaw contraception.
Now, a lot of people are confused about this. How does preventing women from using contraception help with creating jobs. Simple.
When you (or your wife, daughter, sister, mother) no longer have access to birth control, you are more likely to get pregnant. Of course, since birth control is now illegal, abortion would also be banned, that leaves women (and girls) with a couple of options: enforced pregnancy and childbirth, and illegal abortion with risk of death.
This is where the jobs part comes in. Not only will there be thousands of job openings when women have to drop out of the workforce, there will also be openings resulting from women dying from illegal abortions.
And that is just the way God and the Republican Party have planned it.
Once the Supremes determined that corporations are people, it became obvious whose freedoms the right wingnuts were fighting for. Obviously. Churches are people. Not the church members, just the churches. Hospitals are people. Not, of course, the nurses, doctors and patients therein, just the hospitals.
So we want to protect their individual freedoms: the freedom to pay low wages, the freedom to cut an employee's benefits, the freedom to charge anyone any amount for anything, the freedom to cut government services so that they might have the biggest share of the consumer-and-profit pie possible, the freedom to not have to pay taxes.
These, of course, are the job creators. Much as their God, they should be all powerful. Because the republican right wing, i.e. the republican party, are all about jobs. Just ask them. Which is why they are determined to outlaw contraception.
Now, a lot of people are confused about this. How does preventing women from using contraception help with creating jobs. Simple.
When you (or your wife, daughter, sister, mother) no longer have access to birth control, you are more likely to get pregnant. Of course, since birth control is now illegal, abortion would also be banned, that leaves women (and girls) with a couple of options: enforced pregnancy and childbirth, and illegal abortion with risk of death.
This is where the jobs part comes in. Not only will there be thousands of job openings when women have to drop out of the workforce, there will also be openings resulting from women dying from illegal abortions.
And that is just the way God and the Republican Party have planned it.
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