Women's Rights = Boredom. Women in Bikinis = Awesome.

Regardless whether or not State Senator Mike Bennett was looking at pornography - on his state issued computer during a floor debate - he admitted to being bored.

Bored.

Americans need representatives who will not get bored doing their job; we all need governmental representatives at every level who are interested in working for us.

Especially when the topic at hand is as laden and controversial as abortion and reproductive rights.

Many states have a law requiring ultrasounds be administered before an abortion.  But the bill that passed in Florida is similar to Oklahoma's new, more severe law, and it's a worrying trend.  The bill requires ultrasounds be given to women who want an abortion - not only is the ultrasound unwanted, the woman has to pay for it, and sit through an explanation of the findings by a doctor with the ultrasound image in her line of sight.

I don't understand people who think abortion is taken lightly.  Serious thought and major emotions go into the decision.  Adding an ultrasound, and having a doctor describe the fetus gives a woman extra stress on top of an already tense situation.  That level of excess is unnecessary.  And uncalled for.  In Oklahoma, even though women went through with the ultrasound procedure, and became extremely emotional as a result, not one changed her mind about getting an abortion.

Why implement a bogus law that does more undue harm than good?  Maybe if our representatives listened to their constituents, and spent more time in meaningful debate (and not opening questionable online attachments) we would have better laws that protected people.  Laws that protect women's reproductive freedoms.  Laws that respect women as capable human beings, not just baby incubators.  Or bikini models.

Reality

"Rather than congratulating women for being lovely human beings and rewarding men for being hard-charging winners, or making an effort to send the opposite messages to each, it might do everyone a bit of good to be taught healthy self-confidence alongside responsibility, cooperation and civility -- impulses that should not be gender-coded, and that might serve us all well, in life and at work."


A nice girl's guide to getting ahead


(via Salon)

Hell yeah there is

Newly formed White House Council on Women and Girls.

Obama:

"But at the same time, when women still earn just 78 cents for every dollar men make, when one in four women still experiences domestic violence in their lifetimes, when women are more than half of our population but just 17% of our Congress," he said before signing the order. "When women are 49% of the workforce but only 3% of our fortune 500 CEOs, when these inequalities stubbornly persist in this country in this century then I think we need to ask ourselves some hard question and we need to take a hard look at where were falling short and who were leaving out and what that means for the prosperity and the vitality of our nation."

Valerie Jarrett:

"The council is going to examine all the programs at the federal level that touch on women and girls and we're going to work to coordinate and make sure that each of those programs is doing everything that it could do to help support women and girls"

Do not interfere

There are no words.

I'm totally blown away by what Secretary of State Clinton said the other day, regarding China.  She essentially said that China's vast human rights violations will not interfere with America doing business with them.

Are you kidding?  

Seriously?

We'll not bother trying to keep human dignity a priority any more?  ESPECIALLY with the countries we have a priority to deal with?

And what's up with America getting itself so indebted to China anyway?  Why are we allowing our government to borrow money from China (and not to mention, from our own future generations)?  It's so not gonna work out well in the end.  

I understand the need for a global effort nowadays.  And with economies all over the globe faltering, I guess it's only right for other counties to lend a hand when they can.  But the business between China and the US has been going on for a while.  China keeps buying up American debt...government debt.  All those bail outs.  All these stimulus packages.  It's not our money.  We're going on faith that China's not gonna pull out the rug and call in our payment.  What would happen then?

All news that focuses on the economy makes it seem like the world is going to implode at any second.  No wonder consumers don't have any confidence.  No wonder everyone is so worried.

It's a self fulfilling prophecy.  

If we allow all this money doom and gloom to cloud our judgements...to be the only thing we focus on, we'll end up ignoring what's really important.

Other people.  People that truly need others to stand up for them.  

Right, Secretary Clinton? 

must read news articles:

Clinton's China Agenda Disturbs Rights Advocates on NPR

Clinton:  Chinese human rights can't interfere with other crises on CNN

American debt and the Great Chinese Mind-Bender

In Yuan We Trust (from 2005!)

2008 Annual Report for China from Amnesty International

China and Human Rights