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TRAP

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , on September 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Breaking news; “Board of Health Rejects Grandfather Amendment in Vote to Apply Proposed Regulations to Existing Women’s Health Clinics.” Wait you never heard of it? http://www.naralva.org/media/press/20120914.shtml

TRAP is a new word or acronym for me. I’ve only recently fully understood what it means. To be trapped, one thinks of being caged, like a wild animal. And in fact, that is exactly what many of these TRAP laws are trying to do – keep women in their place, barefoot and pregnant, and out of abortion clinics. TRAP stands for “targeted regulation of abortion providers.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/14/virginia-abortion-clinic-regulations_n_1884897.html

Last week with very little fanfare, in my fair state of VA, the state for lovers, our Republican Ultrasound Gov McDonnell and Republican AG Cuccinelli shoved their TRAP regulations down the throats of our Board of Health. After voting to declaw the regulations by allowing existing clinics to be exempt, or grandfathered in, and only adopting the TRAP laws for NEW building, the BOH did an about face on Friday. It makes me wonder what type of leverage the 2 most powerful men in the state used on the Board so that they would change their decision? Oh wait, you can find anything on the internets:

“Funny thing is that the board made this decision after board members received a letter from the attorney general informing them that the state wouldn’t represent them if they were sued in response to the decision: Board member James Edmondson Jr. said that they were ‘warned’ that they could be left to defend themselves on the decision, and may have to cover their own legal fees.”

Now VA may have to close most Planned Parenthood clinics rather than totally retro-fit every facility in order to meet building codes previously only used for hospitals….
“The board’s 13-to-2 flip-flop provoked an outraged chorus of “shame, shame,” from abortion rights advocates gathered in the meeting room. Security swiftly ushered protesters out of the room, as one woman yelled, “‘You don’t give a shit about women living in Virginia!‘” http://feministing.com/2012/09/17/friday-vote-on-new-trap-law-may-decimate-abortion-access-in-virginia/

T – Target
R – Republicans
A – About
P – Patriarchy

I like that better. Stand up to these bullies. Private, out-patient surgical buildings owned by doctors or hospital groups that provide mammograms, colonoscopies, dental surgery, and even plastic surgery are not required to submit to TRAP laws, which should tell any discerning person something. The Director of VA’s NARAL, Tarina Keene said, “There’s no doubt in my mind that this is an attack on Roe, you can ban abortion by making it inaccessible.” If you want to take action, start here: http://www.naralva.org

If you believe that our legislators have the right to tell our doctors and nurses and the women of this country how, when and where they may access health care, well then I hope you are reading this. Maybe, since all of this targeting seems patently illegal, in the future the urologist who is about to perform a procedure on you in her office will have to switch you over to a hospital’s OR…and maybe make you wait awhile to contemplate your vasectomy?

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The Summer of Love

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , on September 2, 2012| 6 Comments »

While you were watching the GOP Convention, I was snuggling my newborn Grand Daughter. Let’s pretend that she’s sitting in a chair…I know I know, she can’t sit up yet. But we are pretending.

“What’s that you say? You thought this whole outside the womb thing was going to be a piece of cake. I know. I know. Living is hard work. You’ve got to cry to get what you want.”

“No, no I wouldn’t want that. An outstanding public school system is hard to find in this holler. Relax, private schools have everything you’ll ever need.”

“Oh sure, Montessori is great to start. I forgot, you’ve got five years to worry about school. Let’s just try sleeping through the night first. But take your time, no rush, try not to worry so much.”

“Who were they? They are your other set of Grandparents. You are a very lucky girl, you have two sets of them and a matched pair of Great Grandparents. Now here’s the trick with us, we are all pretty crazy about you. Any little thing you want…well once you can talk. Anything you want, you just have to ask.”

“No, no you can’t have five houses. What would you do with so many homes? You’d what? No,,,that’s just out of the question, it’s not practical. Think about all the cleaning staff you’d need.”

“That’s right. For now, all you need is love. And believe me, this home is filled to overflowing.”

20120902-081444.jpg

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When is a Charity More Like a Tax?

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , on August 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Good rainy Sunday morning. Have you been bombarded by insulting, demeaning campaign ads yet? Well, I’m ready to throw in the towel, and we still have 3 months to go. I’m tired of hearing about Paul Ryan and his Mother in “The Villages,” which reminds me of an old BBC show that has been locked in the back of my mind for decades. I have an older brother, Dr Jim, who would stay up late with me and we’d watch a cult classic called “The Prisoner.” It was about a British spy, Patrick McGoohan, who finds himself living a lie captured in this beautiful seaside resort called “The Village” where he is monitored at all times by a bubble-like Rover, foreshadowing “The Truman Show.”

“I am not a number, I’m a free man!” Hallucinogenic drugs and mind control mix to keep McGoohan’s character in line, to give evil Number 2 the information he so desperately desires. The Village’s population, hundreds of diverse people are all referred to by numbers, and go along with the pretense. Which is maybe why I thought that somehow Ryan was mesmerizing these FL Village people into believing that he really did have their best interests at heart? Just as Ryan has been backing away from his favorite author, Ayn Rand, he is bringing up themes from the great paradox of governments everywhere – individualism vs collectivism.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I read an article in the Washington Post that inferred that Mitt’s selflessness, his philanthropy, his willingness to give so much to charity makes up for his puny tax returns. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romneys-equating-of-taxes-and-charitable-giving-sparks-debate/2012/08/18/63bea3e6-e891-11e1-936a-b801f1abab19_story.html?fb_ref=sm_btn_fb “Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney…responded to questions about how much he pays in taxes by suggesting that people should take into account his total contributions to the government and charities.” What do you think?

Well, I don’t know about you, but giving roughly half of your tax-exempt donations to a charity called the Mormon Church doesn’t cut it with me. So if you’re a single parent and all of a sudden, you’ve lost your job and you find yourself applying for food stamps, maybe you could stop for a minute, and just call up the church? Making a choice this November between a Republican and a Democrat could never be clearer. If half the American population thinks that entitlements like Medicare and Social Security and Pell Grants are hand-outs that will keep you from becoming your own best, prosperous self, then maybe we are all heading to The Villages?

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The Candywoman Can

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , on August 14, 2012| 2 Comments »


Who knew that naming the moderators for Fall’s upcoming Presidential debates would be historic? No woman has sat in that seat, asking the hard questions and keeping the candidates on point and on time since 1992. And now more than ever, we need you Candy Crowley. “A trio of high school girls from New Jersey had mounted an online petition campaign to get a woman back on the debate stand. Emma Axelrod, Sammi Siegel and Elena Tsemberis were cheering the Commission on Presidential Debates for its choice…” In addition, ABCs Martha Raddatz will moderate one vice-presidential debate. Go Girl Power! http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-candy-crowley-presidential-debate-20120813,0,5837308.story

Crowley has said that her first instinct was to think, “Great!” As a journalist, CNN’s Chief Political Correspondent, who hosts the Sunday morning TV show State of the Union http://sotu.blogs.cnn.com and specializes in our House and Presidential elections, Crowley was honored to be asked and jumped at the chance; and not surprisingly, being a woman wasn’t her first thought. She is a professional, and her goal, she said this morning on CNN, is to think outside of the beltway. Her goal will be to ask questions that people want to know. So Ms Crowley, if you’re listening, here are my top 3 questions for your October 16th debut, at Hofstra University in New York, from one inquiring mind.

1) Where do you think our “Rights” come from? Mitt, your running mate, Paul Ryan, has said he believes our Rights come from “God and nature, not from government.” Do you agree? Hopefully this question, in a town hall format, will open up all sorts of other questions about religion and human rights (which are also women’s rights…and LGBT rights). I’d like to know if Mitt is really planning to close Planned Parenthood and I’d like to know if Barrack is planning to close Gitmo.

2) How does your economic philosophy differ from your opponent? What is your plan to create jobs and at the same time, close the deficit? A seemingly incompatible duo – increase AND decrease. A sort of Houdini-like concept, but OK, try and give us an answer. I’d like to hear the top 3 priorities of each candidate, in a nutshell. Vouchers for Medicare? Push Social Security benefits to age 68? We want details, facts, not party talking points. Come out from behind the curtain and explain this economy to us.

“Unfortunately the key factual question regarding the effect of the Obama Administration’s stimulus appears – at first glance – to be out of easy reach. It is essentially a question of what would have happened if what did happen didn’t. Did the Administration’s policy matter? What would have been the result without it?” http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view&backgroundid=00645

3) What have you learned from a recent mistake? In introducing your running mate this August Mitt, you made a bit of a gaffe calling Ryan “The next President of the United States.” You laughed about it, and immediately corrected it. How about health care policy – was your health insurance/universal health care plan good for MA? You agreed with a mandate then. And Barrack, do you regret spending so much political leverage on the Affordable Care Act?

I covered a few Town Hall meetings in my day. One stands out in my mind, one in which my friend arrived with bags of toy guns we had accepted at a Peace Fair’s “exchange your water pistol for a care bear” booth. The House Republican candidate for the 12th District in NJ, Dick Zimmer was a wunderkind. He had passed Meghan’s Law, and been a part of that GOP landscape for years. What bothered me was his position on assault weapons, he liked them. In 1994, President Clinton and Congress passed a 10 year ban on assault weapons, and good ole Dick wanted to just let that ban expire. Spotting the bags of toy guns, his operatives were doing their best NOT to call on us, but eventually we asked him to explain his position.

Good luck Candy! Whatever you do, with your gang of “undecided” Town Hall voters, take that ear bud out of your ear and look for the bags of toy guns.

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Achilles Pilatus

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , on August 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »

At first glance, you may think I’m going to opine about some new exercise regimen, leg stretching perhaps? But no, this is a story about a tiny mishap. A politician’s vulnerable spot, a decision he/she made in her past that continues to haunt them long after that mistake was made right. In Missouri, a Pilatus PC-12/45 aircraft, the king of “small planes” worth $2.1 Million, is Claire McCaskill’s inflamed Achilles heel. A blue dog Democrat, known for her demands for transparency in government, she is still dealing with political jet lag, even though her husband sold the “damn” plane last year at a loss. Unfortunately for her, they had failed to pay over $300,000 in state back taxes and penalties on the plane; Claire said that was a “big, serious, sloppy mistake,” and the taxes were eventually paid. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66863.html

Now granted, she has apologized, regrets ever owning the Pilatus, and has repaid the government, but Republicans smell blood in the water and attack ads are drowning her. We all know that an abominable amount of money will be spent in the next few months in 10 states, including my own. And I wonder just how long does it take for people to forget and/or forgive such a transgression? In 2010, Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter was re-elected, despite having acknowledged his involvement in a prostitution ring in 2007 – 3 years. Claire’s jet saga is just a year and a half old; will her constituents give her a pass? And it makes me wonder, why all the brouhaha over a plane, when a Presidential candidate continues to hide his tax returns in plain sight…

If you’ve ever wondered about private aviation, chartering and/or owning small jets to get around, instead of standing in lines and disrobing through security check points at commercial airports, here is a description of a Pilatus 12 for sale: “The popular six-seat platinum executive interior features articulating headrests on all seats, plus adjustible leg rests on the two aft seats. Three stowable tables, a refreshment cabinet and CD cabinet/iPod station are also provided, as well as a desirable fully-enclosed flushing lavatory.” But the kicker is the cabin is pressurized, meaning you can fly way over 9,000 ft, and have a faster, less bumpy ride without oxygen canulas in your nose! I recently met a woman who flies in that kind of style, with 2 pilots behind the wheels. It is rarefied air, a kind of “shall we build an elevator for our cars” wealth.

Some of you may have flown in a tiny, 4-seat, fixed-wing aircraft. Shall I compare Bob’s little Arrow to Claire’s Achille’s heel? Thou art more lovely and more temperate, like a well-loved, old VW bug to a Mazarati. Here it is in the shop for its annual exam, getting buffed and polished. Pilot Bob wants to be able to lift off the moment we hear those 4 little words – “I am in labor.” And a word to the wise, if you have the slightest thought of running for political office, hire a reputable tax attorney.

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Olympic Fever

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , on July 30, 2012| 3 Comments »

With my daughter entering her last month of pregnancy, and the London Olympics dominating the airwaves, I am reminded of the birth of my son. The Rocker was born on August 1st during the summer Olympics in LA. From our nest on the edge of a bird sanctuary in Pittsfield, MA, we got to know each other to the background of diving, swimming and gymnastic events. Without PCs or cable channels, the Olympic coverage was our only form of entertainment between nursing and napping. At his Bris, we had 2 Rabbis – the new one who had a portrait of Bob Dylan hanging in his office, and the elderly Rabbi Emeritus who has served the congregation for 60 years.

The Rocker was doubly blessed.

To be honest, I don’t remember much about the Munich 11. Twelve years before my son’s Berkshire birthday, a group of Palestinian terrorists murdered 11 Israeli athletes in cold blood in the Munich Olympic Village. And this year, while I was visiting with the Bride and later attending my brother the Viking’s funeral, I became vaguely aware of a petition that was signed by presidents and dignitaries around the world. The petition asked for a “moment of silence” during the opening ceremony, a pause to remember those athletes who had been slain in Munich because they were Jews. The IOC denied the petition. Instead they had a moment of silence for those who have died in war before the televised opening ceremony, before the Queen and her Corgis made their spectacular entrance.

Sportscaster Bob Costas said, “For many, tonight, with the world watching, is the true time and place to remember those who were lost, and how and why they died.” Then I began to hear more about this petition. It was nothing new, in fact 2 widows of the Munich 11, Ankie Spitzer and Ilana Romano, have been asking the Olympic Committee for a moment of silence since the massacre happened in 1972.

“This is something the I.O.C. ought to do,” NY Rep Elliot Engel said. “Those in the I.O.C. said this is political, and they don’t want to have politics in the Olympic Games. It’s the opposite. It’s political not to have a moment of silence. And if it were any other nation but Israel, there would be a moment of silence long ago. It’s the decent thing to do.” http://london2012.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/munich-widows-to-meet-with-rogge-to-urge-moment-of-silence/

My first thought, after the tragedy in Colorado, upon seeing my beautifully serene Blue Ridge Mountains, was why stir up the pot. I had seen Spielberg’s movie “Munich,” and thought this is madness, a biblical blood feud. But then I thought about those widows, and the mothers of the Israeli athletes, and I thought about how political it was for all the Arab states to threaten a boycott of the games if a moment of silence were observed. http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/07/24/olympic-committee-vp-fear-of-arab-boycott-led-to-minute-of-silence-rejection/ “Moments of silence have been held at previous Olympic ceremonies, including one remembering the victims of the 9/11 attack at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.” And then I thought…never agin. We must keep remembering; it’s politics that placed the Black athlete’s fists in the air in 1968, and it was politics that thrust thousands of Nazi arms out in salute to Hitler on August 1, 1936 at the Berlin games. Politics is interwoven in everything we do, but a moment of silence is testament to our humanity.

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Retro-Active

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , on July 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Poor Mitt. Talking GOP heads are trying to convince us all that 3 years mean nothing, that from 1999 to 2002 their guy was “retroactively retired” despite evidence that he was in fact involved and listed as CEO, president and chairman of Bain while they were actively outsourcing jobs. Who are we to believe? On one hand, that he had no “active” involvement, that he was too busy with the Olympic Committee; or on the other hand as Huff Post reported, “…that he was still listed as one of two managing members at a Bain Capital entity, …including on a filing form from 2002, and that he attended board meetings, signed documents and received a six-figure salary.” So he was paid $100,000 for each year (not counting dividends and bonuses) plus his undisclosed (like his taxes) parting financial package. Turns out, the rich are very different!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/15/ed-gillespie-mitt-romney_n_1674281.html

I asked my business consultant what he thought about the debacle. After all, Bob left his business back in NJ and commuted back and forth, before selling all shares and handing over the keys to one of his partners. He said that maybe a year, sure he’d give him a year to get his affairs in order. But 3 years? To us, this sounds rather misleading. When you have started a business and it’s been your baby for many years, the work never stops. Every small and large business owner knows this. Emails and phone calls continue into the night, and all through the weekend. Particularly since Bob’s urgent care was open all weekend. I remember the middle of the night call in VA from the security office in NJ, and the calls to the local police department to determine that a balloon had been setting off the motion detectors in the office. This whole “part-time,” not really retired schtick is not only misleading, it’s disingenuous.

Let’s stop all the attack ads, let’s start being honest boys. We all know that this retroactive excuse is just another point in a pattern of duplicitous deceptions. We all know you made tons of money, so show us the tax returns Mitt. Show us the money! Maybe those independents sitting on the proverbial fence have seen enough? Your poll numbers have been slipping with women; we know how you feel about Planned Parenthood, Mitt, why not try some transparency for a change and shed some light on your finances?

My little town is gearing up for another bus trip, but this time we’re heading for The Hill. Lace up your sneakers ladies, estrogen will be flowing by the Potomac in August. If you’re tired of all this male bonding (and religious distraction) over our sex lives, let’s go retro and March Rally on Washington…again.

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Too Elitist?

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , on June 7, 2012| 2 Comments »

Nesting season is in full swing. The Newlyweds just moved to a bigger house with more than one bathroom. She is preparing the nursery – notice the fancy modern crib they found at a yard sale
– and reveling in their new master bathroom with two sinks. It took me nearly 30 years to get a bathroom with two sinks! But like our current President when he and Michelle were first married, our young couple is busy paying off student loans and so for now, they are renting…and saving for a downpayment on a home some day. Note: yes, we payed for college but she insisted on paying her way through medical school.

Now what about Mitt’s nesting habits? Today’s NYTime’s “Home” section is all about his plans to expand the Romney’s 12 million dollar homestead in La Jolla, California http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/garden/mitt-romney-the-candidate-next-door.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all And it is only one of six homes in his real estate portfolio – this one near San Diego, two in the Boston area, a ski lodge in Utah and two lakeside residences in New Hampshire. Why did the Times do a back page feature on the Romney’s current building plans? Some of his Modern Family-like neighbors are annoyed with the influx of driveway-blocking trucks and secret service; there are “…six gay households within a three-block radius of his house.” And none of them would sign anything Mitt’s architect wanted them to sign about the plans to build another level thereby blocking their view of the ocean! No? And some neighbors are complaining that Mitt doesn’t like people smoking pot (or weed or whatever marijuana is called today) on the beach! Imagine? http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/06/neighbors-report-romney-is-a-total-narc.html

So what if he needs a car elevator? Doesn’t everybody want a car elevator in their dream home, isn’t that the first thing on your list? An elevator, at first blush, seemed like a great idea to us. We actually hired an architect after finding our mountain view. We thought he could help us plan our “not so big” house, and it turns out that when you hire an architect, you start building at a certain level. He was encouraging us to include at least the footprint and structure for an elevator shaft in our house, since we may one day be unable to walk up a flight of stairs. Well, that’s true. This is called an “aging-in-place” design. And the more you talk with an architect, the more everything seems quite reasonable, even elevators. But in the end, it turns out that if what you really want is to downsize, to take Sarah Susanka’s ideas and apply them http://www.notsobighouse.com/ to build as our builder said “A Chevy, not a Cadillac,” then you probably should not hire an architect. Sadly, we had to fire him and I found our home’s design online.

In March, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly asked Mitt what he thinks about how the Dems are trying to spin his rich guy image. His reply, “Guess what? I made a lot of money.” Well guess what Mitt? We all know you made a killing in the unregulated, financially wild western Gordon Gekko high times of private equity. We know you were never considered for McCain’s ticket in 2008 cause you owned 14 homes; look how you’ve pared down! Americans don’t begrudge you your hard-earned wealth, your business acumen. Or your private prep schools and Harvard Law degree, the privileged upbringing, your Daddy’s leadership of American Motors Corp; your Dad who was a three-time governor of Michigan and himself a presidential candidate in the 1960s. But don’t visit West Philly and pretend you care about public schools. Don’t send out pictures of yourself doing laundry like the rest of us. Don’t tell us you are a self-made man. And please, don’t piss off your neighbors by building ocean-view blocking car elevators…don’t throw it in our collective face.

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Judge Not

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , on May 15, 2012| 3 Comments »

We all have our defining moments. I’m sure Jung, Freud and Dr Phil have a word for them, those watershed episodes in our histories that help to forge our collective character. And for many of us, high school was the battlefield for our very souls. I came straight out of Sacred Heart elementary school into a public high school and found my safe center, my clique with the drama club. You can’t tell me that you don’t remember the “pranks” you pulled, I won’t believe you. I distinctly remember a rumor was started about me, although I don’t really remember what it was about. I just knew it wasn’t true, and found out who started it.

One day during a play rehearsal in the auditorium, I saw the girl who started the rumor in the darkened audience. I walked down the stage stairs and over to her, and as I’m typing this I can feel my heart start racing a little. I stood so close to her I could smell her breath, it smelled like tuna fish. I told her in a very strong, loud voice, “If you have something to say to me, then SAY IT TO MY FACE!” She looked sick, and started backing away from me as if I’d struck her but I hadn’t touched her at all. This may sound lame today, but believe me back in the early 60s girls never raised their voices. It wasn’t ladylike. I felt good, in fact I felt better than good. The Flapper had taught me well. It was an early defining moment for me.

So I have to think that Mitt is lying, just out and out shook up his Etch-a-Sketch and wants to start over. How does one forget holding another boy down on the ground with a group and cutting off his hair? Granted Mitt may not have known he was a gay kid, because back then we didn’t even know about gay kids, or adults for that matter, but he saw him as “different,” as a victim and pounced. And we might forgive him for his teenage testosterone temper; but for acting like he can’t remember the incident, for lying? I think not. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kerry-kennedy/mitt-romney-bullying-human-rights_b_1514273.html?ref=new-york

Today’s news from Richmond is that in the dead of night (actually 1 am this morning) the GOP leadership overwhelmingly voted to reject nominating its special Prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland for a judgeship.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/virginia-politics/2012/may/15/12/house-of-delegates-rejects-thorne-begland-for-judg-ar-1914948/

Why? Because he’s gay, and would have been the first openly gay judge elected in Virginia.

Now we all know these things are usually pre-approved and are only given up to the House of Delegates for a symbolic vote, so something went wrong in our state last night.
“The rejection of Mr. Thorne-Begland shows that discrimination based on sexual orientation is alive and well in Virginia,” Del. Mark D. Sickles, D-Fairfax, said in a statement after the vote in the House of Delegates. “And, it shows that legislators are more concerned about the Family Foundation scorecard than Richmond’s District Court.”

What really bothers me – “Ten Republican delegates abstained and 26 delegates, including a handful of Democrats, did not vote.” So we have a bunch of scared people over in Richmond, like those who would stand by and watch someone being humiliated for fear of retaliation. And this leaves me with a sick taste in my mouth. Cowardly is not an adjective I associate with leadership. We need to make our voices heard this November Virginia, it’s going to be another defining moment. We may need to shout!

In this picture in my old kitchen, I’ve just received a graduate degree in education. I was serving as a member of the Rumson High School Board of Education, dealing with pranks among many other things. The Bride was in college and the Rocker was a high school Freshman. He is already taller than us…it seems like ages ago, and yesterday.

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The Girls on the Bus

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , on April 26, 2012| 2 Comments »

If you’re old enough to remember Nixon’s bid for re-election against George McGovern in 1972, then you may have read the best selling book about that campaign as seen through the eyes of the mostly male political press corps, “The Boys on the Bus” by Timothy Crouse. Ah those were the days: reporters only had one deadline a day; many had intimate access to the candidates; boozing and cavorting were de rigueur, and applauded! http://www.npr.org/2012/04/19/150577036/boys-on-the-bus-40-years-later-many-are-girls These were Mad Men indeed, writing copy that could possibly sway a nation. I was 23 years old, had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and it was my first presidential vote. Only one state went blue, and later Nixon brought us Watergate. To this day, I am proud that along with the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I voted for McGovern.

This Saturday women, and some of the men who love them, will be boarding buses all over these United States in order to unite our sisters as one voice. Our bodies, Our Choices, Our vote. Back in the day, when I had one deadline a week in MA, women were still being categorized as “soft” copy. Articles by and for women, as often as not, appeared buried in the “Style” section. Today, with a 24/7 news cycle and social media, gender-specific issues can hit the front page anywhere, and a bill about “Personhood” in MS might just roll across your Facebook news feed in VA. My friend in NY, will read about our Governor rethinking the “Trans-Vaginal Ultrasound Bill” because he had ‘no idea’ it was that intrusive.

And so it adds up – like death by a thousand cuts – we see a slow but steady legislative assault on our very autonomy, on our civil rights. “Nine hundred forty four bills (to limit women’s reproductive health and rights) in the first three months of this year alone. Nine hundred sixteen such bills introduced and considered in 2011, and hundreds in 2010. Never before on any matter has there been such a legislative offensive, such a coordinated drive to overrule the law of the land and force everyone to adhere to one set of religious beliefs.”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-helfert/from-the-frontlines-of-the-war-on-women_b_1450296.html
For one woman it was seeing Sandra Fluke denied her right to speak, and then being degraded by a right-wing nut case. For another it was a presidential candidate threatening to ban contraception! Margaret Sanger, we need you again. So two ordinary women, united by their belief in a woman’s ability to make her own decisions about her body, got together on Facebook and started a revolution…they said we have to take to the streets, again. And we bi-partisan women, blue, red and all other shades, we were listening.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-hannah-grufferman/unite-women-march_b_1447021.html

If you are fed up with the “Boys on the Bus” mentality, with the kind of thinking that brought us this religious vs state testimony excluding women from the conversation and you want to join us, feel free. Our bus leaves for Richmond at 11:30 and arrives at Nina F. Abady Festival Park, 449 N. 7th Street, Richmond, VA for a 2pm rally. 50 state capitals will be filled with women on Saturday. I wonder who will be listening. To find your state’s event: http://unitewomen.org/unite/

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