Speak to the Women in Congress!

Ask Roberts

What would you like to hear women in Congress ask Judge Roberts? Here's your chance - go to that link and let them know!

War? What War?

I've finally figured out why the Bush administration didn't bother to properly equip our soldiers in Iraq: We're not fighting a war - we're in a "struggle." And who needs body armor and armored vehicles for a measly struggle? I'm referring to Bush's latest sloganeering effort, giving the "global war on terror" a spanking new name: "global struggle against violent extremism." And that brings me to my latest poem:

War? What War?
By Madeleine Begun Kane

The war on terror's going bad,
So what's a Prez to do?
He simply calls it something else.
The "struggle" has debuted.

Bush starts a war without a plan.
A needless war, to boot.
And when it fails, his course is clear...

The rest of my War? What War? poem is here. And my audio version of this post is here.

And in case you missed it, my Working Stiffed job hunting humor is here and my audio version of Working Stiffed is here.

Act now: protect 11 yo girl facing 3 years in prison for defending herself from bully

I saw an article about this and I couldn't believe it, so I went looking for more info, and sure enough, it's true.

Here is the link to the following article:

Fresno, CA: On April 29th, Maribel was playing on the sidewalk with her 6-year-old brother and other younger children, when boys rode by on their bikes. They started teasing her, calling her names and hitting her with water balloons. The 11-year-old girl threw a rock to defend herself as neighborhood boys pelted her, hitting one hard enough to make him bleed. The boy admitted to officers that he started the fight and was quickly released from the hospital after getting his head stitched up. The boy's family stated they did not want to press charges.
Regardless, 11-year-old Maribel is now being charged with felony assault.

An 11-year-old girl, acting in self-defence, should not be treated as a felon. We have a duty as people to prevent this from becoming a precedent.

Maribel has already spent five days in Juvenile hall, allowed one half-hour visit from her parents, and 30 days under house arrest.
Maximum sentance is up to three years in a state correctional facility.
Maribel's Lawyer says the prosecution is not interested in a deal.

This site was put in place to let the Fresno court system, and those around the country, know that this is not acceptable.
Act Now!

Click here for contact information and to sign the pledge & petition.

Emails to Maribel will be forwarded from Maribel@FreeMaribel.org
Snail mail can be sent C/O Richard A. Beshwate
2014 telare st
suite 414
Fresno Ca
93721

Americans United: Take Action - stop Roberts!

Oppose Roberts for Supreme court!

Please go to this action page at Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and send letters to your congress people. It just takes a minute, and it's painless - unlike living in a country where the government limits your sex life, your religious expression, and your reproductive options. We have to stop this guy cold.

Tell your representatives that you won't go back to the 50's - The 1750's!

Shrub's SCOTUS Pick: Reproductive Rights Endangered

From the San Diego Union-Tribune (from an Associated Press report):

Bush chose federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday as his first nominee for the Supreme Court, selecting a rock solid conservative whose nomination could trigger a tumultuous battle over the direction of the nation's highest court, a senior administration official said.

Bush offered the position to Roberts in a telephone call at 12:35 p.m. after a luncheon with the visting prime minister of Australia, John Howard. He was to announce it later with a flourish in a nationally broadcast speech to the nation.

Roberts has been on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since June 2003 after being picked for that seat by Bush.

Already, plans are on to protest the nomination. If you will be in DC tomorrow,check this out and attend, if you are so inclined:

JOIN the National Organization for Women (NOW), Wednesday, July 20, at 10:00 am for a demonstration against the nomination of anti-abortion rights John Roberts to the United States Supreme Court!

Dirksen Senate Office Building - Senate Swamp


Constitution and First St SE

The United States Senate must NOT confirm John Roberts. Let's show our support for women's rights.

So, who is this guy and what's behind the just-started furor?

Roberts serves on the US Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A staunch conservative, the Buffalo, NY, native is reputed to be a quiet, thoughtful person who is an accompished orator. Roberts once was a law clerk for Chief Justice William Rehnquist, worked as a lawyer, and is a former deputy solicitor general.

According to a 2002 Buzzflash op-ed, he is, like SCOTUS also-ran Edith Clement, a Bush campaign-contributor:

John G. Roberts, Jr., the Hogan & Hartson partner nominated for the DC Circuit, also donated $1000 to Bush -- this really is starting to look like a cover charge -- with $3000 to other Republicans and $3900 to Hogan & Hartson's PAC. The PAC gave $136,000, aside from individual donations, and $30,000 in soft money. Roberts then donated $1000 to the Bush recount effort. Hogan & Hartson clients include Mobil Oil Corporation, 3M, and Hartford Accident & Indemnity.

And it appears Roberts is no friend to those who support reproductive rights. In one Supreme Court 1991 case during the reign of King George the Elder, Rust v. Sullivan, then-deputy solicitor general Roberts co-wrote a brief supporting the anti-choice government's wish to ban doctors in federally-funded family-planning programs from even discussing the alternative of abortion with patients. He also worked to overturn Roe v. Wade -- not once, but numerous times.

From the National Abortion Federation:

As an attorney in the Justice Departments of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Roberts repeatedly argued for the reversal of Roe v. Wade stating that there was "no support in the text, structure or history of the Constitution" for the reasoning behind Roe. NAF believes that the appointment of Roberts will weaken the protections of Roe and its progeny. Numerous cases impacting the accessibility of abortion could come before this circuit, including administrative decisions such as the availability of mifepristone (RU-486).

Slate calls Roberts a hard-liner on the issue. Apparently, that is putting it mildly.

Additonally, the apparent nominee is someone with whom King George the Younger feels comfortable. That may be due, in part, to the fact that Roberts is seen as a jurist who supports giving the White House wide flexibility in its general operations and particularly in its handling of the so-called War on Terror.

Before his elevation to the DC Circuit Court, web site The Dossiers included Roberts in a list of "deeply conservative judges" the Bush administration intended and intends to foist upon the American populace via the federal judicial bench.

"As a political appointee in the Reagan administration, Roberts worked to oppose both busing and affirmative action as means of desegregation. Roberts was also involved in the administration's highly controversial efforts to make it nearly impossible for Voting Rights plaintiffs to prove violations. He later represented the first Bush administration in taking anti-choice positions in two high-profile reproductive rights cases. Roberts is nominated to the DC Circuit which hears many critical cases involving health, safety and civil rights regulations." Alliance for Justice Report

As we know, Roberts made it to the DC appeals court by a near unanimous Senate confirmation vote. Now the man the New York Sun called a "confirmable conservative" appears to be on his way to consideration by the Senate for a lifelong appointment to the Supreme Court. I don't know about you, but I am quite fearful.

from all facts and opinions

Spelunking for Mr. Right

In a comment I made to one of my own recent post, I noticed that I considered that the possibility of finding a man who wanted the same level of physical and emotional intimacy that I desire might be, at this point in my life, a mere fantasy.

Then I realized that this is the same complaint that echoes thru the blogs of many single women over the age of 40.

Obviously, I'm not alone in my contention. And, as many of our blogs prove out, not alone in my frustration.

What is it that makes it so difficult for us to find Mr. Right...or even Mr. Okay? And are all those Mr. Wrong-for-Us guys looking for their own Ms. Right?

One aspect of adult life that is rarely discussed is the way socializing patterns change after the age of 30. Often, when we are in our 20's and early 30's, men's and women's social lives revolve around things like softball and volleyball teams, bars and night clubs, house parties, cocktail parties for professionals, and other types of events that are fertile meeting grounds. But when the friends start to marry off and settle down, these events either stop completely or change shape. We don't have time for team sports. The house parties that were once full of singles become chatty groups of couples with men in one room and women in the other. The people in the bars get younger, and the professionally-oriented cocktail parties start to be more about making network connections than personal connections (mostly because the participants are wearing little rings on their left fingers).

Along with the change in the social milieu, there are changes in our personal lives as well. Women often go out with groups of friends. When the friends marry off and have children, going out may be a semi-annual event. Even then, the conversation usually isn't about the hot guys in the room, but about the job, the man, and the kids.

The advice we got as young women--that there is safety in numbers--becomes hard to follow once we hit adulthood. The numbers aren't there. So, if we want to go to a swanky cocktail bar, we can either go it alone or maybe, just maybe, be able to drum up a younger friend to accompany us.

However, the older-woman-with-a-friend can sometimes be perceived quite differently than the younger-woman-with-a-friend-or-two. Older/younger women pairs even when dressed to kill, can be perceived as a lesbian couple out on the town. Chances then of meeting those two good-looking lawyers at the end of the bar, no matter how much eye contact is exchanged, won't happen. The world of upscale bars and swanky cocktail lounges, after all, are realms of appearance, and first impressions are indeed everything.

If a woman wants to chance sitting in the swanky bar or lounge alone, she will have to fend off the amorous advances of the prowling married man in mid-life crisis. Depending on the customs of the geographic area, even talking to one of these marauders could give a girl a "reputation," and completely ward off the smattering of singles that might in the room. She will also have to compete with the professional late 20 and 30-somethings that also show up at these places.

The odds, then, decrease as the competition increases.

What, then, is it that makes single men over the age of 40 both elusive and more sensitive than they might have been when they were younger? Men's lives, too, change after 40. Overall, men are not big on going out in large groups, even when they are younger, and there is little change in that once they hit middle age. Yet habits do change, and bar-going habits are the first to do so. Most men will seek out the proverbial "old-man bar"--the corner joint or sports bar where they can go, have a couple of beers, watch the game, and maybe exchange a few comments with the bartender or another guy or group of guys at the bar. The intention is specifically *not* to meet anyone (so women, take note: don't go to the old-man bar.)

There's something in men that often drives them away from people rather than to socialize more. Maybe they just get tired of talking with and supervising others, and the level social playing field of the old-man bar can then be most appealing. Also, in a time where the slightest remark can be interpreted as sexual harassment, the single-gender atmosphere of the old man bar is quite a comfort.

As the coupling of friends continues, men are more than likely to begin to shy away from house parties. Rarely will one find a single man among the marrieds at a houseparty (although there may be a single female or two among the women). Single men seem to have less and less to talk about with house-husbands, unless they, too, are condo/house owners concerned about yardwork. Still, most men will keep their married friends at a talking-over-the-fence-while-cutting-hedges place and not join in at the coupled-up social gathering.

As men get more into middle age, they might start to think about their fitness levels. Many will start going to the gym or joining hiking, biking or other outdoor activity groups. Gyms, however, can have the cachet of the swanky bar and are also realms of appearance. Men will more often than not consider hitting on the young hardbodies rather than consider talking with the woman who's more than likely at their own age and fitness level.

Hiking, biking or outdoorsy groups can have a modicum of single men. Many men are most comfortable re-invigorating an interest in a solo outdoor activity such as biking and hiking that they may have enjoyed when they were younger. There are levels of competition in biking and running clubs, but it is a different sort of competition than what exists in a softball or hockey team. Hiking allows a man to demonstrate a certain strength and mastery--he can also be with people or go far away from them. The socializing flexibility and personal athletic challege are quite appealing.

However, this is problematic for most women. Often, we've had trouble with the "athletic" stuff since high school. Being in a female-centered desk job can keep a woman even more non-athletic than ever. There is, then, the fear that taking up hiking and biking will make a woman look as if she is making that desperate, last-ditch and most humiliating attempt to meet Mr. Right. Men tend to look at middle-aged athletic novices as helpless ninnies, rather than as cute young things in need of mentoring and assistance (as our younger counterparts are apt to be perceived).

What, then, about charitable groups, such as Habitat for Humanity or the local food bank? The merits of volunteering (and even church groups) have been over-stated for many years now. Sure, men do volunteer for these sorts of activities, but the odds are far lower in these groups than for athletic pursuits. Once again, men's spare time has more to do with wanting to get away from people, not taking on more responsibility for them by increasing interaction with them.

What, too, about personal ads on Internet dating sites? I've done the whole personal ad thing, and find that it's also not the same for people over 40 as it is for those in their 20's and 30's. The pool is shallower and far less fresh. Some men have had profiles on those sites since their inception and it becomes something of a game for them. There are also some little-discussed pitfalls to internet dating. If you find yourself wanting to register for something like Match.com, also check out Alt.com, AdultFriendFinder.com, and Passion.com. Women just might find that the guy on Match.com who says he's ready for a long-term relationship is, on the latter three sites, looking for wild no strings attached sex with women, men, groups and couples. Some men will load up on internet dating and swinging sites to try to beat the odds and get some kind of action. Some get more than they bargained for, but, a lot, I believe, get even less.


What, then IS a woman to do?

Got me on this one. I can see the patterns, but have no clue what to do about them. How I meet someone depends on whether or not I'm wiling to see what The Fates will send me, or if I'm willing to endure a certain amount of ridicule pursuing "manly" activities. With knowing the patterns, I may not have the solution, but at least I know that not meeting someone is more about the changes in the social milieu, and middle-aged men's tendencies toward lonerdom, than it is about any way I appear or any thing that I say or do.

After all, it takes two to tango, but if one is at the ball and the other at the old-man bar, there won't be any dancing...

The Japan Times Online- Rape as an instrument of War

The Japan Times Online :

"According to a report prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross, titled 'Women and War' and based on two years of research from 1998 to 1999, approximately 80 percent of war victims are women and children. This is mainly because military conflicts now more commonly engulf towns and cities instead of only frontline areas.

There are many in this world for whom the ravages of war - including arson, looting, murder and rape -- are a way of life. These people have known little else than war all their lives, like their parents before them and their children (if they survive) after them. These generations of war face atrocities on a daily basis, and most of these go unnoticed by the rest of the world.
--snip--

While rape can be used to brutalize both sexes, it is usually committed against women during wartime -- males are usually killed or captured. Ongoing conflicts in many countries, including Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan and Congo, have victims of war rapes running into the thousands.
--snip--

Rape is a more effective weapon of war than killing. Many victims say they would prefer death over life after being raped." [emphasis mine]

Read the whole article if you have the stomach for it.

I'm cross-posting this every damned place I can because I'm sick of people telling me that war affects men and women equally.

80% Women and Children. Only one in five is a man. War is a Woman's issue. Women's Rights Are Human Rights.

Courting "Net-oriety"

Whether it's called "blogebrity" or "net-oriety," let's face it, most of us like the attention we get from blogging. This article on MSN talks about how many nowdays court Internet fame thru their blogs.

Timely piece, given I was speaking with someone yesterday about just this topic. She was surprised how much of myself that I expose on my blog.

But it doesn't really bother me to do so. Blogging, to me, cannot encompass the totality of my person. It features a side of me--a personna. It is me but a portion of me. It is a portion of me that is different from others, and I do not mind showing that portion of myself to the world. That portion has alot of knowledge about two particular areas--sex and religion--and a modicum of self-awareness that makes for decent memoir.

I like to tell stories.

Sometimes telling the stories of our lives is more compelling and effective than simply reporting our opinion on an issue or newsstory that others have already left comments about. Telling that life-story in a way that makes people look at their own lives and experiences is, I think, a talent in itself.

Weaving stories from the outside world into stories of our world is also a unique way of communicating. It draws paralells, makes us part of something more, shows others our mind on issues we find important as it tells the reader something about who we are.

It can bring us "net-oriety" or not. "Net-oriety" is as slow as the word it derives from, unless the personna is cultivated in a way that is sensational enough to make people gasp as if they are observing a train wreck. Is this a good thing? Do those of us who blog really want to be the next big train wreck? Some probably do, given the way they manage to over-expose themselves. But I don't think that's what most of us are out to do. I'll freely admit that I enjoy when my sitemeter numbers skyrocket, but I am a bit ambivalent about what I need to do to mantain those numbers. I usually ask myself "is this blog for the world, for the pursuit of net-oriety, or for me? what is its purpose and is that purpose congruent with the personna?"

Sometimes the purpose changes. Blogs have an organic nature, and as such, can be subject to change. Yet is the change congruent with who we are (or want to be) on our blogs? Is the possibility of losing readers inconsequential to the need to express oneself via blogging?

Perhaps some bloggers are more adept at courting net-oriety. Perhaps they have a sense of noterity from their personal lives--they know how to mantain a personna that captivates others. Net-oriety is easy for them.

So, I wonder about my own desires for net-oriety. Is it what I want? Is it something I can handle? Can I spot the trend that will make it for me, and am I willing to adapt my personna to achieve it?

It's an on-going process. We'll see.

crossposted on love & hope & sex & dreams where you will find other meditations on blogging, identity and personna.

Cheney's Last Throes (Blog Post & Podcast)

I've finally managed to add audio to my blog and have recorded my last few political poems and song parodies as podcasts.

In my latest blog post and podcast, I comment on and (in the case of my podcast) sing about Cheney's claim that the Iraq insurgency is in its last throes. Here's how Cheney's Last Throes begins:

Cheney's Last Throes (Sing To "On Top Of Old Smokey")
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Dick says the insurgents
Are in their last throes,
The war's almost over,
We're beating our foes.

Iraq violence surges.
It's gotten much worse.
Yet Cheney keeps telling
Lies chapter and verse.

When ABC's Terry
Dared question Dick's lie...

The rest of my song parody is here:
Cheney's Last Throes Blog Post

And my Cheney's Last Throes Podcast is here:
Cheney's Last Throes Podcast

Detoxing

My body aches all over, but it is more pronounced in my upper chest, behind my breastbone.

Heart Chakra.

I am trying to eat good foods, to stay away from the junk and sugar. Don't really even want the junk right now--so the good foods will keep me going and on an even keel.

When I can eat.

I miss the Apollo archetype, the Golden Boy that was the personification of all I could never have nor ever be because I wasn't born at the right conjunction of stars and planets and social class.

It wasn't that I was never pretty enough--it was more that the world I grew up in was far too disordered to give me what I needed to be good enough. But it's always much easier to say that I'm not pretty enough. Pretty is a superficial quality and easily quantifiable. Disorder, chaos, and the sense of "trailer trash" can be hidden behind the prettiness, but is like a cheap perfume that lingers in a cloud after your presence is gone.

They always know it.

I would like to cry, but I can't. That's nothing new. I'm not someone who cries all that often. I didn't cry much at my mother's funeral. Sometimes I can only cry at movies--at the depictions of someone else's hurt and sorrow because I compartmentalize mine so well that I don't conciously even know it's there.

It lurks behind my eyes and in my body. In my mind and my hands I am working, doing things, making things happen, making the next career move and the Next Big Step in my life transpire.

If I keep busy, keep my Eyes on the Prize, I won't t have time for feelings. They can be in a box in the back of a room somewhere in my brain. I can work on improving my Self and my Standing In The Community by building a solid reputation as a fairly decent freelance writer.

And I won't have time for sex because I'll be too busy.

I miss the crashing of bodies and the warmth of another in my space; breathing hard like a marathon runner and a heartbeat right up against mine.

I miss sex that was like heroin.

I miss it so bad that I can't even look at nor touch another.

I have to close that energy gap in my heart chakra. Let it heal over like a scraped knee. Don't pick the scab. Let it peel away naturally.

If I ignore it all, maybe it won't hurt as much. Maybe it will just feel like I'm getting over the flu. Maybe it will heal up and go away without me ever knowing it.

Maybe it will be over and gone before I know it.

Maybe...maybe...

--Tish G.
crossposted here

Dopey Decision Explained In Verse

Some bloggers think the Supreme Court's medical marijuana decision is illogical and hypocritical, while others think it's downright mean. So I figured I should let the Supreme Court Justices explain their dopey decision in verse. Here's how my poem starts:

Dopey Decision Explained In Verse
By Madeleine Begun Kane

"How dare you smoke that evil grass!
Your pain is no excuse.
The doctor who prescribed your weed,
We'll string up with a noose.

The state that told you toking's cool
Has overstepped the law..."

The rest of my Dopey Decision Explained In Verse is here.

Breasts and Animal Nature

Short but interesting post today at Johanna Draper Carlson's blog Cognitive Dissonance:

"I'm never sure where to look when I see a woman breast-feeding in public, but I'd rather see that than some teeny-bopper's butt cleavage and exposed thong. Yet the latter is ok, while the former gets dirty looks. Go figure."

Gave me a chuckle.

Some interesting comments as well.

A Pox On Cox's Nomination

In my latest post, I cite Ezra Klein, ThinkProgress, Eskow of skippy, and LeanLeft on the Chris Cox SEC nomination. Then I cap it off with my latest poem, which begins:

A Pox On Cox's Nomination
By Madeleine Begu Kane

Chris Cox is Dubya's nominee
To head the SEC.
A man who boosted corp'rate rights
With fervor, zeal, and glee.

A "champion of free enterprise,"
Pro-cov'ring up biz lies.
To understate the obvious, ...

The rest of A Pox On Cox's Nomination is here.

New Bush Limerick, New News & Politics Forum

My latest Bush limerick starts:
"Some Say That George Dub's A Lame Duck,
And that Dubya's agenda is stuck.
Can it be folks have noticed..."

The rest of my limerick is here.

Also, I've launched a news, politics, and humor forum here. There are forum sections devoted to topics including news and politics, feminist issues, polls and surveys, offbeat news, quotes of the day, etc. I hope you'll stop by and join the conversation.

Notes From A Newbie

Hello. I’ve been a Blog Sister for many months now, but have never made the time to introduce myself properly. So here goes.

My name is Marita Paige, and I live in the north-western part of the Island of Borneo in South East Asia. I work in the wildlife conservation scene here. I used to do a lot of jungle trekking as part of my work. Now I just do it for the sheer love of it.

I love animals, I love books, I love outdoor activities and exercise in general. I love travelling, but I hate plane rides and waiting at airports. I’ve been to Australia, New York, the U.K., Thailand and Singapore. And by the time I post this up, I would have been to Java.

I enjoy coming in here to browse the entries.

I can’t think of anything more to say, except that I will post entries here from time to time, and….come visit my blog!

Marita

The Immoderate Pact Song Parody

I'm very disturbed by the judicial filibuster deal made by the Senate "moderates." So I wrote a song parody which starts like this:

The Immoderate Pact Song Parody (Sing to When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

The "moderates" made a voting pact.
We're screwed, we're screwed.
The "moderates" got their power back.
We're screwed, we're screwed.
Their deal betrays our democracy.
We're stuck with dreadful nominees...

The rest of my Immoderate Pact Song Parody is here.

If y'all haven't already seen this one in the New York Times....

A new study sez: Blogs haven't displaced MSM.

The findings were announced at a conference yesterday in New York. Dave Sifry threw his $.02 in on the matter (see the article).

Curious indeed.

Tish G.

i'm hype. about. sri lanka. but. not. leeches!

Debz was telling all of us at BK that one of her friends went trekking in some parts of the hulu jungles of Malaysia. She had lots of leeches bites. Couple of months later, her friends commented on how pale she looked. She, being a heavy flow kinda person, also noticed that her monthly flow had been greatly reduced. She went to the doctor. He gave her pills. However, it remained the same. She went to the docs again. He advised her to get an Xray done. There was something in her body.

They (surgeons) cut her open and found a huge leech inside, practically feeding off her.

What the bloody fuck!

I am terrified. Paranoid and plain terrified. The leech which bit my leg was not found. Could it be...?

I feel like my nasty big sister stole my jump rope...

In case y'all didn't notice, Arianna Huffington started a blog.

(heavy sigh)

Blogging, in general, seems to me to be a populist medium. So what's the deal with someone who has every possible medium of communication at her disposal saying to the rest of us by starting a blog?

When I read the Washington Post article on this, the image of a Round Table conference at the Huffington Conclave popped into my head...and the Grande Damme of all this asking all the advisors "Vat is a blog and how do I get you all to do this thing for me so I look like I'm one of those Little People?"

I wonder sometimes about the future of blogs...that the quantifying and qualifying of blogs is something like the whole .com thing, and that we might see a massive bust after this celebrety boom.

In general, though, she's just bugging the bejezers out of me!

Tish G

(oh, I've got a new baby meta-blog here and chronicled my Mother's passing here.)

The Madness Is Back

I've been traveling and unable to post for a couple of weeks. So I thought I'd celebrate my return with a poem:

The Madness Returns
By Madeleine Begun Kane

I've been gone for two weeks.
Did I miss something good?
Didn't keep up with the news,
Though I know that I should.

I see Dub's not impeached,
And DeLay''s not in jail...

The rest of The Madness Is Back is here.