School censors gay candidate for student body president ... and judge sides with school
here
Friday, April 30, 2004
queer school policy
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
School censors gay candidate for student body president ... and judge sides with schoolhere
School censors gay candidate for student body president ... and judge sides with school
here
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
postMarch
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
WE DID IT!!!
Over one million people crowded the National Mall in Washington, DC on
April 25, 2004 in support of Women's Lives. This was the largest March in
the history of Washington, DC. Our message was delivered!
This is just the beginning.
Everyone must stay actively involved and in
touch so the message continues to be delivered. Our agenda must be moved
forward to erase the backlash that women's rights have suffered.
************************************
COUNT ME IN!
Because of the immensity of the crowd, we were not able to complete the
count of those attending. If you were at the march and did not already get
counted, please sign up on our website athere under
"Count Me In." Encourage all of your friends who came to do the same. We
must continue to show our strength.
************************************
REMEMBER THE MARCH
Commemorative March Buttons - March Logo buttons are available. There is a
limited supply. They are being offered for $2.00 each or three for $5.00.
The large yellow March for Women's Lives button is being offered for 10 for
$5.00. The small yellow March for Women's Lives buttons is available for 20
for $5.00. Commemorative sashes with 2 small buttons are available for
$2.00. A Special Package of one of each button, a sash and a March poster
is available for $4.00. �Starting tomorrow, April 29th, buttons will be
available for sale on our website athere.
************************************
LAST CALL FOR T-SHIRTS!
Many, many, many people were unable to get March for Women's Lives
T-shirts. We are going to order more for all of our supporters who missed
them at the march or were unable to attend. Starting tomorrow, April 29th,
you can order the shirts at the website at www.marchforwomen.org. The
t-shirts are purple with white lettering. The logo is on front, the issues
are on the back. Let us know what size you want and how many. The cost is
$16.00 each including shipping. All orders must be placed by 5PM on May 3rd.
************************************
Again, we thank you for your support and dedication to our cause. �This
March is going down in history thanks to each and every one of you!
The March Team
1725 Eye St NW, Ste 300
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 349-3838
MarchForWomen.org
WE DID IT!!!
Over one million people crowded the National Mall in Washington, DC on
April 25, 2004 in support of Women's Lives. This was the largest March in
the history of Washington, DC. Our message was delivered!
This is just the beginning.
Everyone must stay actively involved and in
touch so the message continues to be delivered. Our agenda must be moved
forward to erase the backlash that women's rights have suffered.
************************************
COUNT ME IN!
Because of the immensity of the crowd, we were not able to complete the
count of those attending. If you were at the march and did not already get
counted, please sign up on our website at
here under
"Count Me In." Encourage all of your friends who came to do the same. We
must continue to show our strength.
************************************
REMEMBER THE MARCH
Commemorative March Buttons - March Logo buttons are available. There is a
limited supply. They are being offered for $2.00 each or three for $5.00.
The large yellow March for Women's Lives button is being offered for 10 for
$5.00. The small yellow March for Women's Lives buttons is available for 20
for $5.00. Commemorative sashes with 2 small buttons are available for
$2.00. A Special Package of one of each button, a sash and a March poster
is available for $4.00. �Starting tomorrow, April 29th, buttons will be
available for sale on our website at
here.
************************************
LAST CALL FOR T-SHIRTS!
Many, many, many people were unable to get March for Women's Lives
T-shirts. We are going to order more for all of our supporters who missed
them at the march or were unable to attend. Starting tomorrow, April 29th,
you can order the shirts at the website at www.marchforwomen.org. The
t-shirts are purple with white lettering. The logo is on front, the issues
are on the back. Let us know what size you want and how many. The cost is
$16.00 each including shipping. All orders must be placed by 5PM on May 3rd.
************************************
Again, we thank you for your support and dedication to our cause. �This
March is going down in history thanks to each and every one of you!
The March Team
1725 Eye St NW, Ste 300
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 349-3838
MarchForWomen.org
By the power...
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
"By the power vested in me by the state ..." by Susan Strouss, Unknown News
here
===
"By the power vested in me by the state ..." by Susan Strouss, Unknown News
here
===
Alter Net women
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
NOTES TO A YOUNG FEMINIST
Dorothy Allison, In These Times
Why do you become a feminist? Why do you grab hold of every
book that speaks to your heart? Why do you want desperately
to believe that there is a future?
here
MIND THE GAP
Marianne Sullivan, Women's eNews
A new report finds a gaping gender wage gap for minority
women.
*In Rights and Liberties:here
NOTES TO A YOUNG FEMINIST
Dorothy Allison, In These Times
Why do you become a feminist? Why do you grab hold of every
book that speaks to your heart? Why do you want desperately
to believe that there is a future?
here
MIND THE GAP
Marianne Sullivan, Women's eNews
A new report finds a gaping gender wage gap for minority
women.
*In Rights and Liberties:
here
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
period
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
I guess I should give up and go to sleep.
My body's in so much distress.
I can't wait 'tl this menstrual stuff is over, either!
Before I moved here from the War Zone last March, my neighbor moved out and left me all her junk. She sold stuff at the flea market, and had close to a case of sanitary pads. Well, I finally ran out last month. I was SO hoping I'd go through menopause before I needed more! Damn! I estimate I've spent nearly a thousand dollars, over my life time, on that crap!
Well, I've found two things in the trash which might be useful. I was going to use them for art projects, to prevent spills. One is a package of sick people bed diapers: you put them under the sick person, to protect the bed from leaks. The other is a package of dog diapers: you put them on the floor, so the dog can um...you know...without messing up the floor.
I took one of the dog diapers and cut it into eight strips. It's got a thin layer of cotton like stuff, covered with that fabric that directs liquids in, but won't let them back out. The whole thin's lined with plastic, to protect surfaces.
Now, it's not perfect, but it's functional. For one thing, a 1/8 strip of that stuff is wider than a pad, so protects underwear better.
I managed to wrestle weeds, branches, laundry and lots of other stooping, squatting, reaching, sitting, standing stuff without any accidents. It stays in place farely well, even without adhesive.
Actually, I've had fewer accidents with these than with conventional sanitary products. They need to be changed more frequently, as they're less absorbant. But that's ok.
So, it looks like I can limp along for several, more months, without buying any crap.
I haven't worn this contraption in public, except for 2 walks to the convenience store. No problems.
My body's in full rebellion; it's a heavy, painful menses. I haven' had one of those in several years. Let's just say Mugwart better not try dancing on my belly tonight, or I might explode. ugh.
I think the stress of the past, two weeks didn't help. My body's pretty sensitive to serious overwork anymore.
I had a miscarriage at work one year. I was forced to continue working, even though I called the boss and BEGGED to come home. I wouldn't tell him I'd gone through a two month supply of sanitary product in one afternoon.
Ever since then, my body doesn't tolerate too much abuse when it's getting ready for my cycle.
And my cycle has never been normal, since my daughter died. I still feel the missing fallopian tube, when it's that side's turn to ovulate. It's really painful and a constant reminder of what happened to my daughter.
I think it was cruel of them to remove my fallopian tube; I believe they did it for their convenience, not my health. It was easier to extract the pregnancy by removing the entire tube, rather than laproscoping the interior and scraping the pregnancy.
They've left me gimpy on that side.
I want it to be over for this month, at least!
I'm not a coward; I've worked hard during my cycles my whole life, with only an occasional asprin. I'm not one of those PMS Pussies Making Symptoms types.
Women who whine they can't cope with their cycles....except for some extreme exceptions...make all of us look bad. Pain happens; shut up and get back to work, already.
If you feel like killing your husband before your period, you need a DIVORCE, not a prescription!
LOL
I guess I should give up and go to sleep.
My body's in so much distress.
I can't wait 'tl this menstrual stuff is over, either!
Before I moved here from the War Zone last March, my neighbor moved out and left me all her junk. She sold stuff at the flea market, and had close to a case of sanitary pads. Well, I finally ran out last month. I was SO hoping I'd go through menopause before I needed more! Damn! I estimate I've spent nearly a thousand dollars, over my life time, on that crap!
Well, I've found two things in the trash which might be useful. I was going to use them for art projects, to prevent spills. One is a package of sick people bed diapers: you put them under the sick person, to protect the bed from leaks. The other is a package of dog diapers: you put them on the floor, so the dog can um...you know...without messing up the floor.
I took one of the dog diapers and cut it into eight strips. It's got a thin layer of cotton like stuff, covered with that fabric that directs liquids in, but won't let them back out. The whole thin's lined with plastic, to protect surfaces.
Now, it's not perfect, but it's functional. For one thing, a 1/8 strip of that stuff is wider than a pad, so protects underwear better.
I managed to wrestle weeds, branches, laundry and lots of other stooping, squatting, reaching, sitting, standing stuff without any accidents. It stays in place farely well, even without adhesive.
Actually, I've had fewer accidents with these than with conventional sanitary products. They need to be changed more frequently, as they're less absorbant. But that's ok.
So, it looks like I can limp along for several, more months, without buying any crap.
I haven't worn this contraption in public, except for 2 walks to the convenience store. No problems.
My body's in full rebellion; it's a heavy, painful menses. I haven' had one of those in several years. Let's just say Mugwart better not try dancing on my belly tonight, or I might explode. ugh.
I think the stress of the past, two weeks didn't help. My body's pretty sensitive to serious overwork anymore.
I had a miscarriage at work one year. I was forced to continue working, even though I called the boss and BEGGED to come home. I wouldn't tell him I'd gone through a two month supply of sanitary product in one afternoon.
Ever since then, my body doesn't tolerate too much abuse when it's getting ready for my cycle.
And my cycle has never been normal, since my daughter died. I still feel the missing fallopian tube, when it's that side's turn to ovulate. It's really painful and a constant reminder of what happened to my daughter.
I think it was cruel of them to remove my fallopian tube; I believe they did it for their convenience, not my health. It was easier to extract the pregnancy by removing the entire tube, rather than laproscoping the interior and scraping the pregnancy.
They've left me gimpy on that side.
I want it to be over for this month, at least!
I'm not a coward; I've worked hard during my cycles my whole life, with only an occasional asprin. I'm not one of those PMS Pussies Making Symptoms types.
Women who whine they can't cope with their cycles....except for some extreme exceptions...make all of us look bad. Pain happens; shut up and get back to work, already.
If you feel like killing your husband before your period, you need a DIVORCE, not a prescription!
LOL
Monday, April 26, 2004
Alter Net women
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
PRO-CHOICE MARCH LARGEST IN HISTORY
Allison Stevens, Women's eNews
More than a million demonstrators turned out for Sunday's
March for Women's Lives, making it a historic day for
reproductive rights.
here
THE BLACK WOMAN ON CHANNEL TWO
Mark Reynolds, PopMatters
Progress be damned, African Americans still identify deeply
with celebrities on their television screen, be it Janet
Jackson or Condoleezza Rice.
*In MediaCulture:here
PRO-CHOICE MARCH LARGEST IN HISTORY
Allison Stevens, Women's eNews
More than a million demonstrators turned out for Sunday's
March for Women's Lives, making it a historic day for
reproductive rights.
here
THE BLACK WOMAN ON CHANNEL TWO
Mark Reynolds, PopMatters
Progress be damned, African Americans still identify deeply
with celebrities on their television screen, be it Janet
Jackson or Condoleezza Rice.
*In MediaCulture:
here
March for Women's Lives
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
TODAY'S SHOW: Monday, April 26
* March For Women's Lives: Up to a Million Descend on DC in One of the Largest Protests in U.S. History *
Up to one million protesters descended on Washington DC Sunday to show support for reproductive rights and opposition to Bush administration policies on women's health issues in what could be the biggest demonstration in U.S. history. We hear speeches from celebrities and activists addressing the crowd.
Listen/Watch/Read
here
* Howard Dean on Women's Rights, Elections, Iraq and Israel's Assassination Policy *
Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, speaks with Democracy Now! before addressing the crowd at the March For Women's Lives in Washington DC. He says the U.S. should hand over control of Iraq to the United Nations, discusses the presidential election and says he supports Israel's assassination of Hamas leaders.
Listen/Watch/Read
here
* Headlines for April 26, 2004 *
- Suicide Boat Bombers Attack Iraq Oil Terminals
- Chalabi May Be Ousted From Power
- Saudis Secretly Helped US Iraq Invasion
- Poll Shows U.S. Public Uninformed of Iraq Issues
- Report: 1.6M Ballots Not Registered in 2000 Election
- U.S. Attempts to Gag FBI Translator Sibel Edmonds
Listen/Watch/Read
here
TODAY'S SHOW: Monday, April 26
* March For Women's Lives: Up to a Million Descend on DC in One of the Largest Protests in U.S. History *
Up to one million protesters descended on Washington DC Sunday to show support for reproductive rights and opposition to Bush administration policies on women's health issues in what could be the biggest demonstration in U.S. history. We hear speeches from celebrities and activists addressing the crowd.
Listen/Watch/Read
here
* Howard Dean on Women's Rights, Elections, Iraq and Israel's Assassination Policy *
Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, speaks with Democracy Now! before addressing the crowd at the March For Women's Lives in Washington DC. He says the U.S. should hand over control of Iraq to the United Nations, discusses the presidential election and says he supports Israel's assassination of Hamas leaders.
Listen/Watch/Read
here
* Headlines for April 26, 2004 *
- Suicide Boat Bombers Attack Iraq Oil Terminals
- Chalabi May Be Ousted From Power
- Saudis Secretly Helped US Iraq Invasion
- Poll Shows U.S. Public Uninformed of Iraq Issues
- Report: 1.6M Ballots Not Registered in 2000 Election
- U.S. Attempts to Gag FBI Translator Sibel Edmonds
Listen/Watch/Read
here
Daily Chimp women
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
Steve Gilliard: 'Why abortion rights matter' link:here
Tens of thousands march in Washington: Abortion-rights rally takes aim at Bush link:here
Steve Gilliard: 'Why abortion rights matter' link:
here
Tens of thousands march in Washington: Abortion-rights rally takes aim at Bush link:
here
Friday, April 23, 2004
Alter Net women
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
DO PREGNANT WOMEN HAVE RIGHTS?
Lynn M. Paltrow, AlterNet
New laws deny women the right to bodily integrity and
physical liberty while their fetuses are granted more
rights than any legal person under law.
here
THE CHICK LIT CHALLENGE
Anjula Razdan, Utne Reader
Do trendy novels for young women smother female expression
-- or just put a little fun in feminism?
here
DO PREGNANT WOMEN HAVE RIGHTS?
Lynn M. Paltrow, AlterNet
New laws deny women the right to bodily integrity and
physical liberty while their fetuses are granted more
rights than any legal person under law.
here
THE CHICK LIT CHALLENGE
Anjula Razdan, Utne Reader
Do trendy novels for young women smother female expression
-- or just put a little fun in feminism?
here
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Mothers In Prison
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) presents
"Mothers in Prison"
Women are now the fastest growing segment of the prison population. Eighty percent of women in prison are mothers. AETN presents a look at the social, economic, political and emotional costs of incarcerating mothers.
here
Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) presents
"Mothers in Prison"
Women are now the fastest growing segment of the prison population. Eighty percent of women in prison are mothers. AETN presents a look at the social, economic, political and emotional costs of incarcerating mothers.
here
NOVA: World In Balance
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
NOVA
"World in the Balance"
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
8 - 10:00 pm
On Earth Day join "NOVA" for an up-to-date global snapshot of today's human family, now numbering 6.3 billion and likely to increase to nearly 9 billion by 2050. (CC, Stereo, DVI)
Test your understanding of the population trends and environmental challenges facing nations around the world in our online "Global Trends Quiz." Plus, log onto washingtonpost.com/liveonline on April 21 at 2 pm ET to discuss the program with Geeta Rao Gupta, Ph.D., President, International Center for Research on Women.
here
NOVA
"World in the Balance"
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
8 - 10:00 pm
On Earth Day join "NOVA" for an up-to-date global snapshot of today's human family, now numbering 6.3 billion and likely to increase to nearly 9 billion by 2050. (CC, Stereo, DVI)
Test your understanding of the population trends and environmental challenges facing nations around the world in our online "Global Trends Quiz." Plus, log onto washingtonpost.com/liveonline on April 21 at 2 pm ET to discuss the program with Geeta Rao Gupta, Ph.D., President, International Center for Research on Women.
here
POV: Love & Diane
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
Coming Up: Love & Diane Airs April 21, 2004
"Love & Diane" is a frank and astonishingly intimate real-life drama of a mother and daughter desperate for love and forgiveness, but caught in a devastating cycle.
During the 1980s, a crack cocaine epidemic ravaged and impoverished many inner city neighborhoods. As parents like Diane succumbed to addiction, a generation of children like Love entered the foster care system. Shot over ten years, the film centers on Love and Diane after the family is reunited and is struggling to reconnect.
Check local listings:
here
Coming Up: Love & Diane Airs April 21, 2004
"Love & Diane" is a frank and astonishingly intimate real-life drama of a mother and daughter desperate for love and forgiveness, but caught in a devastating cycle.
During the 1980s, a crack cocaine epidemic ravaged and impoverished many inner city neighborhoods. As parents like Diane succumbed to addiction, a generation of children like Love entered the foster care system. Shot over ten years, the film centers on Love and Diane after the family is reunited and is struggling to reconnect.
Check local listings:
here
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Unknown News women
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
===
Morissette mocks U.S. censorship
here
===
Profound disrespect for women
Editorial, The New York Times
# with comments by Barbara
here
===
===
Morissette mocks U.S. censorship
here
===
Profound disrespect for women
Editorial, The New York Times
# with comments by Barbara
here
===
Monday, April 05, 2004
Alter Net women
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
THE PREGNANCY�POLICE
Lynn M. Paltrow, Tompaine.com
The Unborn Victims of Violence Act poses the greatest
danger not to women seeking abortions, but to pregnant
women who want to have their babies.
here
THE CRIMES OF COURTNEY LOVE
Richard Goldstein, Village Voice
The rock star's latest antics may be a publicity stunt, but
female exhibitionism is also an act of female power.
*In MediaCulture:here
TWISTED SISTERS
Margaret Sullivan, Washington Monthly
Scratch at the surface of the pearl-draped image of college
sororities, and a far different picture emerges, one of a
disturbing subculture ruled by out-of-control peer pressure
and the lust for prestige.
here
THE PREGNANCY�POLICE
Lynn M. Paltrow, Tompaine.com
The Unborn Victims of Violence Act poses the greatest
danger not to women seeking abortions, but to pregnant
women who want to have their babies.
here
THE CRIMES OF COURTNEY LOVE
Richard Goldstein, Village Voice
The rock star's latest antics may be a publicity stunt, but
female exhibitionism is also an act of female power.
*In MediaCulture:
here
TWISTED SISTERS
Margaret Sullivan, Washington Monthly
Scratch at the surface of the pearl-draped image of college
sororities, and a far different picture emerges, one of a
disturbing subculture ruled by out-of-control peer pressure
and the lust for prestige.
here
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Christian Taliban
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
The Christian Taliban
Stephen Pizzo, AlterNet
March 28, 2004
During the Taliban rule of Afghanistan the world got a good look at what happens when religious zealots gain control of a government. Television images of women being beaten, forced to wear burkas, and banned from schools and the workplace helped build strong public support for the President's decision to invade Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11.
But even as President George W. Bush denounced the brutal Islamic fundamentalist regime in Kabul, he was quietly laying the foundations for his own fundamentalist regime at home. For the first time far right Christian fundamentalists had one of their own in the White House and the opportunity to begin rolling back decades of health and family planning programs they saw as un-Christian, if not downright sinful.
Since 2001 dozens of far-right Christian fundamentalists have been quietly installed in key positions within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Drug Administration and on commissions and advisory committees where they have made serious progress. Three years later this administration has established one of the most rigid sexual health agendas in the Western world.
It began immediately. One of George W. Bush's first acts as president was to issue an executive memorandum reinstating a global abortion "gag rule." The rule was first implemented under Ronald Reagan but revoked during the two Clinton administrations. The rule prohibited federally funded family planning providers from even discussing abortion with their clients.
Bush's order reflected the views of those at farthest reaches of the Christian right, zealots who saw any means by which women controlled reproduction as unbiblical:
"I would like to outlaw contraception...contraception is disgusting -- people using each other for pleasure." -Joseph Scheidler, Pro-Life Action League
"I don't think Christians should use birth control. You consummate your marriage as often as you like -- and if you have babies, you have babies." Randall Terry, Operation Rescue
Over the next twelve months the administration moved quickly to install similarly-minded Christian fundamentalists to positions of authority and influence over all matters relating to reproductive and sexual health.
Dr. Alma Golden: appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Population Affairs. A Texas pediatrician, she is a longtime proponent of abstinence as the only acceptable means of birth control. Dr. Golden declared that henceforth the department would stress "abstinence-only" as the solution to unwanted pregnancies, not just for teens, but unmarried adults as well.
Tom Coburn: Former Republican congressman and anti-condom crusader. Appointed co-chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS. While in congress Coburn tried to force condom manufacturers to label condoms as "ineffective" against the spread of sexually transmitted infections. "I will challenge the national focus on condom use to prevent the spread of HIV," Coburn said upon his appointment.
Dr. Joseph McIlhaney, Jr.: Appointed to Coburn on the HIV and AIDS advisory council. McIlhaney has a long and well-documented history of disseminating misleading data on condom failure rates. He was appointed in spite of the fact that in 1995 Governor George W. Bush's own Texas Commissioner of Health openly denounced McIhaney's anti-condom propaganda and his professional credibility.
Dr. W. David Hager: Appointed to the FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. Dr. Hager served as spokesperson for the Christian Medical Association. He authored the book, As Jesus Cared for Women: Restoring Women Then and Now, and co-authored a book that recommended scripture readings and prayers to relieve the symptoms of PMS. Dr. Hager opposes prescribing contraceptives to unmarried women and spearheaded a petition drive by the Christian Medical Association to revoke the FDA's approval of mifepristone, the so-called "morning after pill."
Dr. Joseph B. Stanford: Also appointed to the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee.
Dr. Stanford is on record for his belief that the only acceptable form of contraception, besides abstinence, is the all-natural "rhythm method." Dr. Stanford refuses to prescribe contraceptives, stating that "(modern) medicine is permeated with attitudes toward sexuality and fertility that are incompatible with Christian values of the sanctity of life, marriage, and procreation, attitudes that both reflect and perpetuate the recreational approach to sexuality found in our secular culture."
Susan A. Crockett: The third Christian fundamentalist appointed to the same FDA committee. Crockett served as a board member of the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
She co-authored, "Using Hormone Contraceptives is a Decision Involving Science, Scripture, and Conscience" in the book, The Reproductive Revolution: A Christian Appraisal of Sexuality, Reproductive Technologies and the Family. The book was edited by Dr. Hager.
When the hot issue of stem-cell research came up, President Bush dismissed two members of his Council on Bioethics who had each strongly supported the use of embryonic stem cells in research.
They were replaced by three new members who, as the pro-life Family Research Council reported, "fall more in line with the President's pro-life views."
Information became a prime target of the Christian Taliban. President Bush says he respects "good science," when making public policy. But, the crux of the matter apparently hinges on the definition of "good," especially when it comes to family-planning issues. When good science clashes with Biblical fundamentalist beliefs in this administration, science loses every time.
Early in 2001 Bush's Christian Taliban began scrubbing federal information sources of offending materials. The censorship campaign prompted Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) to send a letter to o HHS Secretary Thompson demanding an explanation for the removal of information from the HHS Web site of scientific findings by the National Cancer Institute that, contrary to anti-choice propaganda, abortions do not increase the risk of breast cancer. Thompson never responded but the "cleansing" continued.
Scientific data on condom use, long available on government health Web sites, was removed and replaced by sermons on abstinence and alarmist propaganda that exaggerated the risks of condom use.
The phrase "reproductive health" was expunged and replaced with the vague terms "related clinical preventive health services" and "related preventive health services."
Links to non-governmental family planning resources were deleted.
Web sites at the Centers of Disease Control and National Institute of Health were cleared of scientific studies and materials relating to abortion and condom use.
At the CDC results from a peer-reviewed study showing that education about condom use did not result in increased sexual activity or sex at younger age, were deleted from the Web site.
The NIH's Web site was cleaned of FAQ's on condom effectiveness and a sexuality education curriculum called "Programs that Work."
Good science was disappearing from government publications and Web sites at such a pace that the Union of Concerned Scientists issued a report in early 2004 documenting and condemning the Bush administration.
There is significant evidence that the scope and scale of the manipulation, suppression and misrepresentation of science by the Bush administration is unprecedented... There is a well-established pattern of suppression and distortion of scientific findings by high-ranking Bush administration political appointees across numerous federal agencies. These actions have consequences for human health, public safety, and community well-being." (Union of Concerned Scientists, report, Scientific Integrity in Policymaking. 2004.)
So, even as the Bush administration denounced and battled Islamic religious zealotry abroad it was and is nurturing a fundamentalist Christian version here at home, much to the delight of radical right-wing Christians.
"Contrary to popular opinion, the Bible is not neutral about what kind of government we should have," states Dr. Mark Allen Ludwig, author of True Christian Government.
"God gave governments responsibility only for infrastructure and defense," according to an article by Rev. Bob Enyart, pastor of Denver Bible Church. "If government limited itself to its two just functions, thereby getting out of education, health care, farming, etc., it could better defend America. ... Christians who carefully study the Bible are best qualified to teach the world how it should be governed."
One of the oldest and best-established forces in the Christian Taliban attack on secular government has been the Christian Coalition. Recently the group threw its full weight behind the President's push for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The Christian Coalition has been conducting a "Let's Take America Back" national petition drive over the last several months, which now also includes support for the so-called Federal Marriage Amendment. The Christian Coalition mission statement states:
We are driven by the belief that people of faith have a right and a responsibility to be involved in the world around them. That involvement includes community, social and political action.
Whether on a stump, in print, over the airways the Christian Coalition is dedicated to equipping and educating God's people with the resources and information to battle against anti-family legislation.
What is remarkable is that this was accomplished without significant public outcry. The reason is that America's Christian Taliban are more public relations savvy than their Islamic counterparts. No American women are being forced to cover up, beaten for appearing in public wearing make up, or barred from the workplace. The changes being made are more subtle and less visibly shocking. They are incremental, technical, administrative -- but far-reaching.
They have also gotten away with it because we Americans like to consider ourselves tolerant and respectful of religious beliefs. Openly criticizing someone's religious beliefs ranks right up there with racism and bigotry -- a fact the Christian Right has used to stifle opposition to its agenda.
Mainstream Christians share secularists' concern over workings of Bush's Christian Taliban.
Speaking at the National Press Club last year, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice President Rev. Carlton W. Veazey condemned the "back-door attempts by the Bush Administration to radically alter policies and practices concerning abortion, family planning, and sexuality education to conform to extreme views."
So, it may be time to admit that our tolerance of Christian fundamentalists is turning us into a nation of chumps. By claiming it is they who are being persecuted, the Christian Taliban have cowed mainstream Christians and secularists into silence, even as they impose their own faith-based governance upon us.
We need to reconnect with a fundamental ingredient of America's strength: the separation of church and state. That wall of separation has for over two centuries spared Americans ftom the kind of religious strife witnessed in Bosnia, the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan.
Mixing religious dogma and public policy always creates an explosive compound -- and it always blows.
2004 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
� Go Back
http://www.alternet.org/print.html?StoryID=18259
The Christian Taliban
Stephen Pizzo, AlterNet
March 28, 2004
During the Taliban rule of Afghanistan the world got a good look at what happens when religious zealots gain control of a government. Television images of women being beaten, forced to wear burkas, and banned from schools and the workplace helped build strong public support for the President's decision to invade Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11.
But even as President George W. Bush denounced the brutal Islamic fundamentalist regime in Kabul, he was quietly laying the foundations for his own fundamentalist regime at home. For the first time far right Christian fundamentalists had one of their own in the White House and the opportunity to begin rolling back decades of health and family planning programs they saw as un-Christian, if not downright sinful.
Since 2001 dozens of far-right Christian fundamentalists have been quietly installed in key positions within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Drug Administration and on commissions and advisory committees where they have made serious progress. Three years later this administration has established one of the most rigid sexual health agendas in the Western world.
It began immediately. One of George W. Bush's first acts as president was to issue an executive memorandum reinstating a global abortion "gag rule." The rule was first implemented under Ronald Reagan but revoked during the two Clinton administrations. The rule prohibited federally funded family planning providers from even discussing abortion with their clients.
Bush's order reflected the views of those at farthest reaches of the Christian right, zealots who saw any means by which women controlled reproduction as unbiblical:
"I would like to outlaw contraception...contraception is disgusting -- people using each other for pleasure." -Joseph Scheidler, Pro-Life Action League
"I don't think Christians should use birth control. You consummate your marriage as often as you like -- and if you have babies, you have babies." Randall Terry, Operation Rescue
Over the next twelve months the administration moved quickly to install similarly-minded Christian fundamentalists to positions of authority and influence over all matters relating to reproductive and sexual health.
Dr. Alma Golden: appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Population Affairs. A Texas pediatrician, she is a longtime proponent of abstinence as the only acceptable means of birth control. Dr. Golden declared that henceforth the department would stress "abstinence-only" as the solution to unwanted pregnancies, not just for teens, but unmarried adults as well.
Tom Coburn: Former Republican congressman and anti-condom crusader. Appointed co-chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS. While in congress Coburn tried to force condom manufacturers to label condoms as "ineffective" against the spread of sexually transmitted infections. "I will challenge the national focus on condom use to prevent the spread of HIV," Coburn said upon his appointment.
Dr. Joseph McIlhaney, Jr.: Appointed to Coburn on the HIV and AIDS advisory council. McIlhaney has a long and well-documented history of disseminating misleading data on condom failure rates. He was appointed in spite of the fact that in 1995 Governor George W. Bush's own Texas Commissioner of Health openly denounced McIhaney's anti-condom propaganda and his professional credibility.
Dr. W. David Hager: Appointed to the FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. Dr. Hager served as spokesperson for the Christian Medical Association. He authored the book, As Jesus Cared for Women: Restoring Women Then and Now, and co-authored a book that recommended scripture readings and prayers to relieve the symptoms of PMS. Dr. Hager opposes prescribing contraceptives to unmarried women and spearheaded a petition drive by the Christian Medical Association to revoke the FDA's approval of mifepristone, the so-called "morning after pill."
Dr. Joseph B. Stanford: Also appointed to the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee.
Dr. Stanford is on record for his belief that the only acceptable form of contraception, besides abstinence, is the all-natural "rhythm method." Dr. Stanford refuses to prescribe contraceptives, stating that "(modern) medicine is permeated with attitudes toward sexuality and fertility that are incompatible with Christian values of the sanctity of life, marriage, and procreation, attitudes that both reflect and perpetuate the recreational approach to sexuality found in our secular culture."
Susan A. Crockett: The third Christian fundamentalist appointed to the same FDA committee. Crockett served as a board member of the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
She co-authored, "Using Hormone Contraceptives is a Decision Involving Science, Scripture, and Conscience" in the book, The Reproductive Revolution: A Christian Appraisal of Sexuality, Reproductive Technologies and the Family. The book was edited by Dr. Hager.
When the hot issue of stem-cell research came up, President Bush dismissed two members of his Council on Bioethics who had each strongly supported the use of embryonic stem cells in research.
They were replaced by three new members who, as the pro-life Family Research Council reported, "fall more in line with the President's pro-life views."
Information became a prime target of the Christian Taliban. President Bush says he respects "good science," when making public policy. But, the crux of the matter apparently hinges on the definition of "good," especially when it comes to family-planning issues. When good science clashes with Biblical fundamentalist beliefs in this administration, science loses every time.
Early in 2001 Bush's Christian Taliban began scrubbing federal information sources of offending materials. The censorship campaign prompted Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) to send a letter to o HHS Secretary Thompson demanding an explanation for the removal of information from the HHS Web site of scientific findings by the National Cancer Institute that, contrary to anti-choice propaganda, abortions do not increase the risk of breast cancer. Thompson never responded but the "cleansing" continued.
Scientific data on condom use, long available on government health Web sites, was removed and replaced by sermons on abstinence and alarmist propaganda that exaggerated the risks of condom use.
The phrase "reproductive health" was expunged and replaced with the vague terms "related clinical preventive health services" and "related preventive health services."
Links to non-governmental family planning resources were deleted.
Web sites at the Centers of Disease Control and National Institute of Health were cleared of scientific studies and materials relating to abortion and condom use.
At the CDC results from a peer-reviewed study showing that education about condom use did not result in increased sexual activity or sex at younger age, were deleted from the Web site.
The NIH's Web site was cleaned of FAQ's on condom effectiveness and a sexuality education curriculum called "Programs that Work."
Good science was disappearing from government publications and Web sites at such a pace that the Union of Concerned Scientists issued a report in early 2004 documenting and condemning the Bush administration.
There is significant evidence that the scope and scale of the manipulation, suppression and misrepresentation of science by the Bush administration is unprecedented... There is a well-established pattern of suppression and distortion of scientific findings by high-ranking Bush administration political appointees across numerous federal agencies. These actions have consequences for human health, public safety, and community well-being." (Union of Concerned Scientists, report, Scientific Integrity in Policymaking. 2004.)
So, even as the Bush administration denounced and battled Islamic religious zealotry abroad it was and is nurturing a fundamentalist Christian version here at home, much to the delight of radical right-wing Christians.
"Contrary to popular opinion, the Bible is not neutral about what kind of government we should have," states Dr. Mark Allen Ludwig, author of True Christian Government.
"God gave governments responsibility only for infrastructure and defense," according to an article by Rev. Bob Enyart, pastor of Denver Bible Church. "If government limited itself to its two just functions, thereby getting out of education, health care, farming, etc., it could better defend America. ... Christians who carefully study the Bible are best qualified to teach the world how it should be governed."
One of the oldest and best-established forces in the Christian Taliban attack on secular government has been the Christian Coalition. Recently the group threw its full weight behind the President's push for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The Christian Coalition has been conducting a "Let's Take America Back" national petition drive over the last several months, which now also includes support for the so-called Federal Marriage Amendment. The Christian Coalition mission statement states:
We are driven by the belief that people of faith have a right and a responsibility to be involved in the world around them. That involvement includes community, social and political action.
Whether on a stump, in print, over the airways the Christian Coalition is dedicated to equipping and educating God's people with the resources and information to battle against anti-family legislation.
What is remarkable is that this was accomplished without significant public outcry. The reason is that America's Christian Taliban are more public relations savvy than their Islamic counterparts. No American women are being forced to cover up, beaten for appearing in public wearing make up, or barred from the workplace. The changes being made are more subtle and less visibly shocking. They are incremental, technical, administrative -- but far-reaching.
They have also gotten away with it because we Americans like to consider ourselves tolerant and respectful of religious beliefs. Openly criticizing someone's religious beliefs ranks right up there with racism and bigotry -- a fact the Christian Right has used to stifle opposition to its agenda.
Mainstream Christians share secularists' concern over workings of Bush's Christian Taliban.
Speaking at the National Press Club last year, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice President Rev. Carlton W. Veazey condemned the "back-door attempts by the Bush Administration to radically alter policies and practices concerning abortion, family planning, and sexuality education to conform to extreme views."
So, it may be time to admit that our tolerance of Christian fundamentalists is turning us into a nation of chumps. By claiming it is they who are being persecuted, the Christian Taliban have cowed mainstream Christians and secularists into silence, even as they impose their own faith-based governance upon us.
We need to reconnect with a fundamental ingredient of America's strength: the separation of church and state. That wall of separation has for over two centuries spared Americans ftom the kind of religious strife witnessed in Bosnia, the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan.
Mixing religious dogma and public policy always creates an explosive compound -- and it always blows.
2004 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
� Go Back
http://www.alternet.org/print.html?StoryID=18259
Alter Net women
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
PULL OVER, NASCAR DADS
Katha Pollitt, The Nation
Single women voters are fans of progressive change. So why
don't the Democrats offer them something progressive? Like
pay equity, universal public preschool, or heck, free birth
control.
*In Election 2004:here
THE POWERFUL WOMEN PROBLEM
Susan J. Douglas, In These Times
The Bush administration has more women in powerful
positions than any in history. Unfortunately, that's
nothing to cheer about.
here
JUST DOING MY JOB
Sandip Roy, Pacific News Service
Prostitutes in India are insisting the only way to protect
themselves against AIDS is through their own empowerment.
*In Rights & Liberties:here
PULL OVER, NASCAR DADS
Katha Pollitt, The Nation
Single women voters are fans of progressive change. So why
don't the Democrats offer them something progressive? Like
pay equity, universal public preschool, or heck, free birth
control.
*In Election 2004:
here
THE POWERFUL WOMEN PROBLEM
Susan J. Douglas, In These Times
The Bush administration has more women in powerful
positions than any in history. Unfortunately, that's
nothing to cheer about.
here
JUST DOING MY JOB
Sandip Roy, Pacific News Service
Prostitutes in India are insisting the only way to protect
themselves against AIDS is through their own empowerment.
*In Rights & Liberties:
here
Alter Net
You are reading http://viridianariverstone.blogspot.com/.
BAD TIMES FOR BRAND MARTHA
here
�"Company founders have long believed that placing their name on
�their company signals their willingness to stake their personal
�reputation and stand behind their products," observes the
�University of Pennsylvania's business school. "That's fine when
�things are going well and the company and the CEO whose name it
�bears are held in high regard. But what if the CEO falls from
�grace? What happens to a company if the CEO's name is in effect its
�brand o and then that name is tarnished? Rarely has that question
�come up more sharply than in the case of Martha Stewart, America's
�long-reigning diva of decor, who was recently convicted on
�conspiracy and other charges. ... When it is done right, brand
�personification can tap into the human desire to belong to a
�community. In the case of Martha Stewart ... customers could
�virtually lose their identity to that of the brand."
More web links related to this story are available at:
�here
To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
�here
SPINNING SPIN SISTERS
here
�"St. Martin's Press has brought in Shirley & Banister Public
�Affairs to drum up conservative support for a new book accusing
�women's magazines of a liberal bend and constant focus on the 'woes
�of womanhood,'" reports O'Dwyer's PR Daily. "Former Ladies Home
�Journal editor-in-chief, Myrna Blyth, penned the tome, Spin
�Sisters: How the Women of the Media Sell Unhappiness and Liberalism
�to the Women of America. In it she charges the $7 billion industry
�and a 'Girls' Club' of female media elites are exploiting female
�emotions and hawking a left-of-center, do-gooder agenda to their
�audience." Shirley & Banister is a PR firm that "specializes in
�getting authors onto conservative talk-radio programs."
SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily (requires subscription), March 25, 2004
More web links related to this story are available at:
�here
To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
�here
BAD TIMES FOR BRAND MARTHA
here
�"Company founders have long believed that placing their name on
�their company signals their willingness to stake their personal
�reputation and stand behind their products," observes the
�University of Pennsylvania's business school. "That's fine when
�things are going well and the company and the CEO whose name it
�bears are held in high regard. But what if the CEO falls from
�grace? What happens to a company if the CEO's name is in effect its
�brand o and then that name is tarnished? Rarely has that question
�come up more sharply than in the case of Martha Stewart, America's
�long-reigning diva of decor, who was recently convicted on
�conspiracy and other charges. ... When it is done right, brand
�personification can tap into the human desire to belong to a
�community. In the case of Martha Stewart ... customers could
�virtually lose their identity to that of the brand."
More web links related to this story are available at:
�
here
To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
�
here
SPINNING SPIN SISTERS
here
�"St. Martin's Press has brought in Shirley & Banister Public
�Affairs to drum up conservative support for a new book accusing
�women's magazines of a liberal bend and constant focus on the 'woes
�of womanhood,'" reports O'Dwyer's PR Daily. "Former Ladies Home
�Journal editor-in-chief, Myrna Blyth, penned the tome, Spin
�Sisters: How the Women of the Media Sell Unhappiness and Liberalism
�to the Women of America. In it she charges the $7 billion industry
�and a 'Girls' Club' of female media elites are exploiting female
�emotions and hawking a left-of-center, do-gooder agenda to their
�audience." Shirley & Banister is a PR firm that "specializes in
�getting authors onto conservative talk-radio programs."
SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily (requires subscription), March 25, 2004
More web links related to this story are available at:
�
here
To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
�
here
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