ephemera

"Newt Gingrich told CNN’s Shawna Shepherd he would not be going to Mass on Ash Wednesday...."

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:12:41 -0500

“

Newt Gingrich told CNN’s Shawna Shepherd he would not be going to Mass on Ash Wednesday. Though he said he’s been in the past, Gingrich said on Wednesday “it’s not a holy day of obligation.”

Though he did note he was giving up dessert for Lent and joked his wife Callista Gingrich was giving up “her opinion.”

”

- Will they or won’t they wear ashes? – CNN Belief Blog

Ha ha ha. It’s funny because it’s misogynistic crap.

No, wait, it’s just misogynistic crap.

asmallteapot: ourpresidents: President Nixon and Chou En-Lai...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:29:21 -0500

asmallteapot:

ourpresidents:

President Nixon and Chou En-Lai speaking at a banquet. 02/21/1972

More: Nixon in China

EARTH, 2047 CE:

US President JOSE GUERRERO and Chinese President SUN DEMING sign the United Earth Treaty, unifying every remaining independent nation–state on the planet under the joint control of both signatory nations. This action is taken to ensure the growing power of the UNION FOR MIDDLE EARTH is checked.

EARTH, 2047 CE:

Following the Rossum Cataclysm, the New Restoration, and the worldwide Grain Riots, the surviving elected representatives of the American and Chinese governments convene to ratify the Articles of Alliance. Under the Articles, the newly formed super-governmental Alliance will seek to colonize a recently discovered multi-star planetary system using the untested technology of generation ships. The fact that despite catastrophic 50% population loss, only one in six hundred humans will have a place on those ships, remains largely unspoken.

horrorwine: fuckyeahoberlin: camelholocaust: so I’m sitting...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:14:23 -0500

horrorwine:

fuckyeahoberlin:

camelholocaust:

so I’m sitting in my kitchen and my mom hands me this big pile of mail from colleges and is like ‘yo do you want any of these you should go through them’
so I start picking out schools that I’ve heard of and then I realize that some of these envelopes have the most ridiculous, over-dramatic sayings on them, so I start going through the pile again reading them in funny voices.
and so I get to this one and I’m like yes, lots of words, time to be dramatic
so I start reading ‘college’ and ‘convention’ and then I spin it and I look up and the next phrase i see is
‘womb chairs’
and I just burst out laughing I have been crying from laughing so hard for the last 20 minutes WHY DOES IT SAY WOMB CHAIRS ON THIS ENVELOPE

it also says albino squirrels on the other side
I’m going to send back the enclosed ‘get on our mailing list form’ and tell them I’m interested in their womb chairs and albino squirrels.

COME TO OBERLIN AND FIND OUT ABOUT THE WOMB CHAIRS.

I love it when Prospies are clearly really terrified by/confused with/making fun of Oberlin and one of the Oberlin Tumblrs replies really enthusiastically to them, possibly scaring the Prospie further. Oh, Oberlin. Squirrels and Womb Chairs are kind of unprofessional.

But Oberlin is kind of unprofessional. That’s one of the beautiful things about it. It’s one of the places you can go if you think the world would be a better place if everyone were more relaxed and had a better sense of humor. Oberlin isn’t—please excuse the vulgarism—stuck up its own ass the way a lot of the schools with better name recognition are. Oberlin is about growing as a person and in turn helping the rest of the world grow, because that’s what you do if you’re a person.

So, camelholocaust, you should actually come check out Oberlin. It’s a great school and a great place to be. (And thanks for posting this; I’ve been really curious about what Oberlin’s current mailers look like.)

So, this one time, I was pregnant. And then I wasn't.

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:33:46 -0500

volatileessence:

Of course, the story’s not that easy or that simple. And, quite possibly, by writing this I may push away people I’ve come to like and care about in this space.

But I’m tired of hiding this thing. Tired of pretending I’m ashamed of this, because I’m not.

I’m also tired of hearing people talk about issues surrounding women’s health who are only concerned with politics, not people. Not women.

I had an abortion.

I wish it was as easy a decision to make as that sentence was to type. But it wasn’t, not by a long shot.

I’ve always been pro-choice. Rabidly so. I grew up in a place where this was not kosher. I was the only person in my high school government class to speak out against the so-called “partial birth” abortion ban. Everyone else supported the ban and the shock that swept through my classmates when the teacher asked who opposed the bill and I raised my hand will forever be seared in my mind.

However, I never thought I’d have an abortion. I never thought I’d be in the position to make that decision. I also did not think it was a choice that I could, personally, make.

And then, I was in my early 20’s, and suddenly pregnant.

I have had my fair share of lovers but I have always been incredibly cautious to the point of paranoia. One misstep and suddenly I was in a situation that I’d never wanted to be in.

I was so incredulous when I was told I was pregnant by a nurse — I was at the ER having my ankle x-rayed — that I laughed in her face. That’s how impossible I thought it was.

I went home, my leg propped up, and for days debated with myself, and the man who had helped get me into the predicament, what to do.

I had a fulltime job, but it was only an interim position. I’d had some phone interviews but had no work lined up. And I had no benefits.

For me, there was no other choice. (I know there are some who might argue with me over that point but, if you are not me, you do not know what a real, valid choice is for me.)

The clinic was a little over an hour away. I had three appointments.

One was for the mandatory pre-procedure counseling. After having an ultrasound I did not want I had to wait a few days before I could actually have the abortion. You know, in case I changed my mind.

I will tell you right now, those waiting periods are not a very enjoyable time. And it did not change my mind, only made me more anxious about the medical procedure itself.

The next appointment was for the abortion itself and the third was the followup to make sure I was healing.

I remember waking up in the recovery area after the procedure and seeing all the other women — who were trying to find someplace to hide, trying not to see the other women in the room — and, even in my drugged state, feeling angry that everything seemed so covert.

When I walked into the clinic you had to get buzzed through two doors and then the receptionist was hidden away behind bulletproof glass.

None of this makes sense.

I was having a legal medical procedure and the furtive atmosphere made me feel like I was wrong.

Let me state clearly: The staff did not make me feel this way. I did not think I made the wrong decision and I still do not. It was the fact that there was more security at this women’s clinic than at some U.S. consulates I’ve been in that made me feel this way. The fact that I’d been warned there might be protesters outside.

I was worried that, either arriving or leaving, I might be harassed, hurt or even shot.

I’m sharing this story because I think, in the middle of debates over what constitutes life and abortion on demand; over what agencies should, and should not be, forced to provide access to contraceptives for women, what are lost are the stories of the women who need the services — abortion, pap smears, birth control pills (for reproductive or other reasons), breast cancer screening.

Whatever it happens to be. When the debate becomes about politics and not about women, well, women lose out.

Just take a look at the hearing last week on “Freedom of Religion.” Everything was wrong about that table of men testifying about contraception — they weren’t testifying about condoms or vasectomies, but birth control pills and other procedures that, basically, empower women.

I don’t care what religion you cling to, your God does not get to trample about in my body. Does not get to make decisions — legal decisions — about what I do, or do not do, with my womb or other reproductive organs.

I did not make my decision lightly, but never once have I ever questioned whether it was the right thing to do.

I’m tired of it being a taboo thing to talk about.

I’ve considered, time and again, running for office one day but then have worried that, if news of my abortion got out, I’d ruin my chances.

Why? Why should that be the case? Why should my controlling the reproductive ability of my body make me pause? Make me feel like a pariah?

It shouldn’t. Plain and simple.

There are so many women, just like me. Women who have terminated pregnancies and yet are made to feel ashamed of their decision because of the political debate. Because a particular brand of religious conservative has decided to cling to old ideas of what a family should look like, what a family should be and what a woman should do with her body.

I refuse to allow these people to have the power to shame me any longer.

One in three American women will have an abortion in their lifetime. If all of them were able to speak out like this, I imagine the public discourse would be rather different.

Thank you for sharing your story.

Preshit: A tigress in Bandhavgarh National Park. In which...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:54:50 -0500

Preshit:

A tigress in Bandhavgarh National Park.

In which I am reminded that I live in the wrong part of the world.

asmallteapot: jakepolo: This can only end badly. THE...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:14:26 -0500

asmallteapot:

jakepolo:

This can only end badly.

THE APOCALYPSE IS NIGH

OR SHOULD I SAY NEIGH

Nay.

Laserfish just likes diamonds, that’s all.

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:13:55 -0500

Laserfish just likes diamonds, that’s all.

£200,000 test-tube burger marks milestone in future meat-eating

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:27:10 -0500

£200,000 test-tube burger marks milestone in future meat-eating:

Lurking in a petri dish in a laboratory in the Netherlands is an unlikely contender for the future of food. The yellow-pink sliver the size of a corn plaster is the state-of-the-art in lab-grown meat, and a milestone on the path to the world’s first burger made from stem cells.

Dr Mark Post, head of physiology at Maastricht University, plans to unveil a complete burger – produced at a cost of more than £200,000 – this October.

Hey, vegans: if meat could be produced entirely from a line (or fifty, or fifty thousand) of stem cells—such that no additional animals had to be harmed to produce it—would you eat it?

A quick lesson on relative importance.

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:17:00 -0500

The Guardian, US Version

The Guardian, UK Version

A quick lesson on relative importance.

Things Steven Moffat Retweets: OR, Trollin’ in the Deep

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 11:13:32 -0500

Things Steven Moffat Retweets: OR, Trollin’ in the Deep

Matt Bors This seems increasingly (and depressingly) likely.

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:05:54 -0500

Matt Bors

This seems increasingly (and depressingly) likely.

I require this.

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:22:54 -0500

I require this.

Virginia to require "transvaginal ultrasounds" for women seeking abortions

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:25:52 -0500

Virginia to require "transvaginal ultrasounds" for women seeking abortions:

buttonsandbeaux:

evazebra:

thebassthetreble:

jwisser:

Daily Kos:

The Virginia House passed a bill 63-36 requiring that women who wish to have an abortion must submit to a “transvaginal ultrasound.”

The ultrasound legislation would constitute an unprecedented government mandate to insert vaginal ultrasonic probes into women as part of a state-ordered effort to dissuade them from terminating pregnancies, legislative opponents noted.

“We’re talking about inside a woman’s body,” Del. Charnielle Herring, a Democrat, said in an emotional floor speech. “This is the first time, if we pass this bill, that we will be dictating a medical procedure to a physician.”

The conservative Family Foundation hailed the ultrasound measure as an “update” to the state’s existing informed consent laws “with the most advanced medical technology available.”

Let’s be clear here. The Republican-controlled Virginia state legislature and the Republican governor of Virginia are set to require that women seeking abortions—including women seeking abortions as a result of rape—allow themselves to be vaginally penetrated in a medically unnecessary procedure prior to receiving an abortion.

The National Institutes of Health provide this description of how a transvaginal ultrasound is performed:

You will lie down on a table with your knees bent and feet in holders called stirrups. The health care provider will place a probe, called a transducer, into the vagina. The probe is covered with a condom and a gel. The probe sends out sound waves, which reflect off body structures. A computer receives these waves and uses them to create a picture. The doctor can immediately see the picture on a nearby TV monitor.

The health care provider will move the probe within the area to see the pelvic organs. This test can be used during pregnancy.

TL;DR: The party that claims to be for small government will create a government mandate dictating that a physician must physically penetrate the vagina of a patient. Women will not be able to avoid this requirement by signing an informed consent form or by any other method.

The Republican Party of Virginia is legislating government-mandated rape. If you have any connection to Virginia, please contact your representatives; this is absolutely and entirely unacceptable.

jesus mother of christ

what the actual, real, physically palpable fuck

May I share my personal experience?

When I had my abortion, here in Washington State (through Planned Parenthood, as a matter of fact), this procedure was part of the standard policy. They explained everything that was going to happen before anything did, while I was still dressed and we were sitting in the exam room on chairs of the exact same height. My physicians continued to check in with my emotional well-being throughout the procedure, doing their best to calm and care for me. I never once felt forced into anything.

The reasoning they gave me for the transvaginal ultrasound was this: it was necessary to ascertain the exact placement and development of the fetus in order to be sure they were removing it properly and completely. At that stage of pregnancy (in fact any stage at which abortion is legal in this country), it is not yet possible to get an accurate picture using an external ultrasound. External ultrasounds are only used after sixteen weeks of gestation, and abortion is legal only through fourteen weeks.

I was in no way required to view the fetus as they located it. I had the option if I chose, but there was no pressure. The Virginia law has no verbiage that requires the woman to view the fetus as it is examined, so I expect that ethical practitioners in that state will continue to allow it to be a choice. I certainly NEVER felt like they were using this picture of my child to convince me to stop the abortion.

I can’t say for SURE that there was medical necessity for this, but it certainly made SENSE to me. I was given every opportunity to object if I felt uncomfortable, but I never felt the need. I did not feel invaded. I have never once felt negative about that experience, any part of it. I wouldn’t REPEAT it if I could help it, but it was certainly far from harrowing.

An alternative view, from someone who has experienced the procedure, and who I thank for sharing her personal experience. One immediate point I would like to raise in response is that it’s my understanding that the Virginia legislation does require the woman to view images of the fetus or have a note to the effect that she refused added to her medical file.

It is hugely relevant here that I am a man and I have never experienced either a transvaginal ultrasound or an abortion. However, with those things understood and coloring readers’ perception of what I have to say, I would like to point out several things:

The possibility remains that women who have been recently raped will be required to be submit to penetration by a stranger. If there really is no way around this, medical science badly needs an improvement that allows rape victims to avoid that experience.
I remain extremely leery of the government mandating medical procedures—especially if that government is predominantly male and the procedure in question is related to women’s reproductive health.
There is a world of difference between a procedure being performed and undergone willingly because it is medically wise and beneficial and, a procedure being performed and undergone _un_willingly because it is required by one’s government.
This legislation is being passed as part of a mass assault on women’s rights and reproductive freedom by the Virginia legislature that also includes fetal personhood laws and the ability to sue a doctor for wrongful death if he or she “kills a fetus”—or in other words, performs an abortion. While a transvaginal ultrasound may often be in a woman’s best interest, this legislation is not designed to be.

I am extremely pleased that your personal experience was relatively painless, and that you have given voice to a personal experience that I and many of the other people concerned about this legislation have not had. However, I am very worried that if this legislation—in addition to the other legislation in from of the Virginia assembly—passes, your experience will be far from typical.

I still intend to call the governor and senators of Virginia tomorrow, but I thank you once again for bringing a balance to my understanding of the issues at play that was not there before. I plan to learn more about this tomorrow morning so I can be as informed as possible when I make my calls.

Some action steps regarding Virginia's anti-woman legislation:

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:50:51 -0500

Tomorrow, I encourage you to call the offices of Governor Bob McDonnell and Senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb of Virginia. Their numbers are as follows:

Governor Bob McDonnell: (804) 786-2211
Senator Mark Warner: (202) 224-2023
Senator Jim Webb: (202) 224-4024

While none of those three men are personally responsible for the legislation currently before the Virginia assembly, they are accessible representatives of the state who can convey to the state assembly that the rest of the country is watching. Governor Bob McDonnell also has veto power over these bills, and while he has announced his intent to sign the transvaginal ultrasound bill, he has not made an announcement regarding his stance on the fetal personhood bill that’s also under debate. Our goal should be for him to veto both bills, however unlikely that may be.

We can also attempt to reach the Virginia state assembly directly by sending @ replies to @vahouse and @vasenate on Twitter. There’s a good chance that they don’t check those accounts for replies, though, so I’m looking for a hashtag we can attach to our tweets and try to pick up some momentum. I’m personally proposing #femalepersonhood, as a deliberate riff on “fetal personhood” and the fact that it’s hard to read Virginia’s legislation as not challenging the personhood of women, but I’m open to other options if there are problems with that one.

I hope you will all join me in reaching out to the government of Virginia tomorrow. We need to show them that the nation is watching, and their blatant attack on women simply will not stand.

Virginia to require "transvaginal ultrasounds" for women seeking abortions

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:25:00 -0500

Virginia to require "transvaginal ultrasounds" for women seeking abortions:

Daily Kos:

The Virginia House passed a bill 63-36 requiring that women who wish to have an abortion must submit to a “transvaginal ultrasound.”

The ultrasound legislation would constitute an unprecedented government mandate to insert vaginal ultrasonic probes into women as part of a state-ordered effort to dissuade them from terminating pregnancies, legislative opponents noted.

“We’re talking about inside a woman’s body,” Del. Charnielle Herring, a Democrat, said in an emotional floor speech. “This is the first time, if we pass this bill, that we will be dictating a medical procedure to a physician.”

The conservative Family Foundation hailed the ultrasound measure as an “update” to the state’s existing informed consent laws “with the most advanced medical technology available.”

Let’s be clear here. The Republican-controlled Virginia state legislature and the Republican governor of Virginia are set to require that women seeking abortions—including women seeking abortions as a result of rape—allow themselves to be vaginally penetrated in a medically unnecessary procedure prior to receiving an abortion.

The National Institutes of Health provide this description of how a transvaginal ultrasound is performed:

You will lie down on a table with your knees bent and feet in holders called stirrups. The health care provider will place a probe, called a transducer, into the vagina. The probe is covered with a condom and a gel. The probe sends out sound waves, which reflect off body structures. A computer receives these waves and uses them to create a picture. The doctor can immediately see the picture on a nearby TV monitor.

The health care provider will move the probe within the area to see the pelvic organs. This test can be used during pregnancy.

TL;DR: The party that claims to be for small government will create a government mandate dictating that a physician must physically penetrate the vagina of a patient. Women will not be able to avoid this requirement by signing an informed consent form or by any other method.

The Republican Party of Virginia is legislating government-mandated rape. If you have any connection to Virginia, please contact your representatives; this is absolutely and entirely unacceptable.

UPDATE: I’ve made a brief list of contact numbers and action steps for non-Virginians as well.

I haven’t searched for a single thing on Amazon in the...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:39:34 -0500

I haven’t searched for a single thing on Amazon in the last week. But, uh… good guess anyway?

D’awww.

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:44:23 -0500

D’awww.

"Privilege, put as simply as possible, is the sum total of unearned resources, opportunities, and..."

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:44:09 -0500

“Privilege, put as simply as possible, is the sum total of unearned resources, opportunities, and advantages available to an individual based on some personal trait, usually one beyond their control.”

- This is my working definition for privilege in the piece I’m writing on same. It doesn’t feel quite complete, and I’d appreciate thoughts and comments.

Twitpic More of this, please.

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:07:53 -0500

Twitpic

More of this, please.

Anglo-Scotland talks over Antarctica

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:25:44 -0500

Anglo-Scotland talks over Antarctica:

Ministers from both Scottish and UK Governments are locked in negotiations relating to who controls legal rights over Antarctica after it emerged that UK rights in the continent were devolved to Scotland by accident.

Salmond’s Government is pleased that the British Antarctic territorial rights are now under Scotland’s control after responsibility for the region was handed to the Scottish Parliament by the Blair Government in 1998. Under existing rights the Scottish Government can decide whether or not Antarctic expeditions will be given permission to undertake research projects and perform geographical surveys crucial for oil exploration.

Tony Blair’s Government reserved activities in outer space to the UK Parliament but apparently forgot to reserve control of Antarctica.

…

The UK government is reportedly deeply concerned over control of Antarctica given the forthcoming Scottish independence referendum. Should the Scottish electorate vote to create a new Scottish state, the Scottish government would likely stake a permanent claim to Antarctica during independence negotiations with Westminster.

Welp.