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Shall we wake up to some historical notions? Has history ever been kind to women? The short answer is no. Why?
Because, Patriarchy.
Today is not for learning about 101 level feminism. Today is calling down from pulpit the rage and the anger against the systematic oppression of women in our society. If you’re not “down” with Patriarchy and what it entails, I’m not here to explain it to your special snowflakyness (at least not today).
Today, friends, we address a structural question that I rarely see mentioned in the abortion debate. It is a relationship between the amount of freedom women possess in a society and said women’s access to reproductive health services – covering contraception, abortion and all shades of family planning. The correlation being that as women become full fledged members of society they gain the right to decide what is best for themselves and their families contrary to established patriarchal norms.
Women when not chained to strict reproductive roles gain freedom in society. When women can control their fertility they can choose to join the public sphere (or not) and contribute in more ways than just propagating the species. How bad was it, let’s look at what women were fighting for in 1922.
“WHEREAS, Women today, although enfranchised, are still in every way subordinate to men before the law, in government, in educational opportunities, in professions, in the church, in industry, and in the home:
“BE IT RESOLVED, That as a part of our campaign to remove all form of the subjection of women, we shall work for the following immediate objects:
“That women shall no longer be regarded and shall no longer regard themselves as inferior to men, but the equality of the sexes shall be recognized.
“That women shall no longer be the governed half of society, but shall participate equally with men in the direction of life.
“That women shall no longer be denied equal educational opportunities with men, but the same opportunities shall be given to both sexes in all schools, colleges, and universities which are supported in any way by public funds.
“That women shall no longer be barred from any occupation, but every occupation to men shall be open to women and restrictions upon the hours, conditions and remuneration of labor shall apply alike to both sexes.
“That women shall no longer be discriminated against in the legal, the medical, the teaching, or any other profession, but the same opportunities shall be given to women as to men in training for professions and in the practice of these professions.
[…]
“That women shall no longer receive less pay than men for the same work, but shall receive equal compensation for equal work in public and private employment.
“That women shall no longer be barred from the priesthood or ministry, or any position of authority in the church, but equally with men shall participate in ecclesiastical offices and dignites.
“That a double moral standard shall no longer exist, but one code shall obtain for both men and women.
“That exploitation of the sex of women shall no longer exist, but women shall have the same right to control of their persons as have men.
“That women shall no longer be discriminated against in treatment of sex diseases and in punishment of sex offenses, but men and women shall be treated in the same was for sex diseases and sex offenses.
“That women shall no longer be deprived of the right of trial by a jury of their peers, but jury service shall be open to women as to men.
“That women shall no longer be discriminated against in inheritance laws, but men and women shall have the same right to inherit property.
[…]
“In short – That women shall no longer be in any form of subjection to man in law to custom, but shall in every way be on an equal plane in rights, as she has always been and will continue to be, in responsibilities and obligations.
They understood back then what was required to be free, to be treated equally and fairly in society because women at the time (1922) they were NOT. Not legal persons under the law, but rather owned property of men, slavery all but in name, so to speak.. Look at our rape laws to see how women are viewed as property rather than as a person. Its chilling.
Enter the “pro-life” movement, more accurately, the forced-birth, anti-choice, anti-woman legion that is blithely serving the patriarchy attempting to remove women’s hard won bodily autonomy. Denuding women of their rights serves only to force them back down the ladder of equality where once again they can be solely defined by their biological fecundity. Our forced-birther friends know only one date from history, January 21st, 1973 Roe Vs. Wade. They fail, consistently, to see that women’s control of their bodies is the cornerstone of women’s rights as a whole. Chipping away at female personhoood is what these misguided fetus-worshipping individuals excel at. They pine for the days when women were at the mercy of their reproductive systems and enslaved by the patriarchal system surrounding them.
There is no “Golden Age” to aspire to when it comes to women and their rights, the time for action and activism is now, because the counter-revolution is pushing back with unparalleled ferocity. Fuelled by ignorance and religion (redundant I know.) the anti-choice contingent screams for justice for the unborn, ignoring the real living breathing women who do not want any more constraints on their autonomy. Ignoring women is a specialty of the patriarchy, make sure you are smiling while we remove your rights.
The pro-life platform is nothing more than a set of patriarchal shackles for women; why so many women want to get them fitted and locked on again is entirely beyond me.
Piano makes kitty sad.
Hey there Canada.
Are you enjoying the vibrant parliamentary debates going on over the contentious issues facing our country? No? Me either.
The current government is running legislation through the House Fire-Hose of Commons faster than the particles being smashed at the LHC. Again, let me extend my heartfelt thanks to southern Ontario voters who just couldn’t vote for the NDP or the Liberals and held their nose and voted for the Conservatives. Good show, honest. I didn’t want our government to have to deal with those troublesome encumbrances like parliamentary debate or oversight or heck, even sombre second though. That whole compromise “thing” is completely out of date in the 21st century.
I honestly do not know which is worse; the partisan gridlock in the US or the inscrutable rule by Omnibus bill here.
Brilliant repost straight from DAMMIT JANET! – One internetz for those folks over there, stat!
“If you are an anti-feminist woman and you vote — even for candidates who’d stop that nonsense in a nanosecond — you didn’t build that.
If you are an anti-feminist woman and you enjoy the rights of contract and property law — you didn’t build that.
If you are an anti-feminist woman but sadly divorced yet benefitting from family law reforms (allowing you to have custody of your children, for example) — you didn’t build that.
If you are an anti-feminist woman who practices safe, legal family planning including contraception and abortion (we won’t tell anyone) — you didn’t build that.
If you are an anti-feminist woman who wants to or needs to work ‘outside the home’ — you didn’t build that.
If you are an anti-feminist woman who works and is paid the same as the man in the next cubicle — you didn’t build that.
If you are an anti-feminist woman who has achieved higher education — you didn’t build that.
If you are an anti-feminist woman in a profession formerly seen as ‘male’ — you didn’t build that.
If you are an anti-feminist woman with recourse to sexual harassment/discrimination remedies in the workplace — you didn’t build that.
If you are an anti-feminist woman who needs daycare for her children — you didn’t build that.
If you are an anti-feminist woman who took maternity leave to have those children — you didn’t build that.
And if you are an anti-feminist man whose mother, sister, daughter, wife, girlfriend, and female friends benefit from any of those things — you CERTAINLY didn’t build that.
Anti-feminist women love to SHRIEEEK: ‘Feminists don’t speak for me!’
No. We don’t.
But our accomplishments — and ongoing struggles — benefit ALL of you.
You’re welcome.”
Greetings Readership, usually when I talk about magic it is context of religion and the goodly sized helping of delusion necessary to swallow that particular level of incredulity. Not today, for truly and sincerely I wish to share with you my own magical prowess and how I revel in my superpowers.
My superpowers might seem ordinary to some, but fear not gentle reader they are most extraordinary. I will enumerate the ones that float to my conscious mind in no particular order.
Superpower #1 “Dishsense” – I can spot a dirty dish with laser-like accuracy wherever they might be my home. It’s like wow, that dish has been used, but with arrogant superciliousness it remains smugly out of reach or the sink or the dishwasher. Fortunately, that plays into my second superpower, woe to be to you my dirty dish-friends..
Superpower #2 “Charged-homebasey-ness” – The otherworldly power of sensing when objects, that have a designated space, are not in said designated space and thus must be returned to the designated spot. I’m looking at you socks in the living room – who seem to multiply as if it was a natural habitat, or you that baking utensil that belongs downstairs but does seem intent on colonizing my valuable counter space. I know where you (are supposed to) live and your day of reckoning is soon.
Superpower #3 “ESDP – Or Extra Sensory Dirt Perception – Yes, the unfathomable ability to see the beginnings of accumulated grime, dirt and dust and act thusly to rectify the situation. I have this one on “high gain” all the time. What?!? Spots of feck on the garbage can lid – there is no safe haven in my domain. Dog and Cat poo, I see you there waiting there obstinate, turgid – your siren call whispering gently,” One more day won’t hurt, just let it slide..”. “Back!”, I say, “Your putrid songs shall find no purchase here!”.
Superpower #4 “WBP” – Often confused with “Weaponsgrade Bullshite Patrol” used on the internet when dealing with the religious or MRA’s but no, in this context we’re talking about the keen sense of doing the Work Before doing the Pleasure. Doing shitty work sucks – what sucks worse is bounding your happy-fun time with the shadow of still having to do shitty work later. Shitty work shadows, I banish thee, now and forever!
I may have more amazing abilities just waiting under the surface of what I already possess, one never knows – LETBOT is another that just sprung to mind – The uncanny ability to Leave Early To Be On Time perhaps deserves a post unto itself.
Super-Arbourist Out!
We’ll see if we can make it short and quick for today’s Disservice. God has a lot of people who claim to speak for him and his will (see the mentally ill). It’s like certain people happen to have a holy transceiver installed and others, like myself most decidedly do not. I mean when I talk like my imaginary friend is watching over me – my friends make that “keep the freaky-delusional guy happy smile” while someone covertly calls for the nice men in white coats to come get me.
But if you’re wired for God it’s fine:
“Simply put, we did not come up with the idea of God. He came up with the idea of us.
God created you, and me, and all that the eye can see. According to this verse in Jeremiah, He knew us before we ever knew Him. He knew who we were, before our mother’s knew who we were. And depending on your interpretation of this verse and many others in the Bible, it might just be the case that God knows how our lives will pan out long before we know it. He may know the decisions we make before we make them. He may know that we’re going to be “a prophet to the nations.” He may know what our next job will be. Shoot, He may even know what our calling in life is.
Think about it…so many of us are trying to figure out our lives–where to go next, what to do next, who will be in our lives and the like. Maybe, God knows these things all along. And maybe, He wants to tell us that we’re set apart, […]”
Like really, really? – This is some grade A, finely ground, delusional crap being finger-painted on the walls over there and it is *okay*? This isn’t reasoned argument, deep introspection or anything resembling rational thought. This is verbal wanking for jesus why it scares the piss out of me is because is soooooo chillingly prevalent in the blogosphere. Admittedly, it (the jebus-babble) serves as a excellent tell highlighting where the reality challenged are and delineating the rationality free zones, a meagre comfort in he towering shadow of blissfully ignorant religious stupidity.
I’m getting to the topic at hand soon, gentle readers, I just need to point out the crazy as I see it to in order to frame what the title of this post hints at namely, the neat concept of Eternal Sin (ba ba buuuuuuum!).
Jesus saves! Hold and accept jebus in your heart and you will enter heaven… blah blah blah…. Oh wait… you there the atheist looking type, you get to burn in hell *forever* why?? Here’s why :
- Mark 3:28-30: “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven all their sins and all the blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin. He said this because they [the Pharisees] were saying, ‘He has an evil spirit’.”
- Matthew 12:30-32: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy. But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
- Luke 12:8-10: “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
Oh shit, there I go, now I’ve done it. You see kind readers, I’ve been a bad atheist. No, I mean it, a really bad atheist. My irredeemable crime? – here it comes… *holds breath….tension so thick you can cut it with a bad cliche.*
I have said (and shall reiterate here) and meant the following statement:
“The holy ghost is fictional character at best and is a big poopy-head”
Whoa there, that wins me eternal damnation. Don’t you feel the kindness and the loving of the christian god? I know I do. What kind of horrible fucking being demands blind devotion or else its a permanent lake of fire vacation for you? Him and his brand of “Justice”” can go frack themselves sideways, thank you very much.
Eternal damnation is immoral in any case, especially when you hand get out hell free cards for everything else. Mass murderer? Repent and accept jebus, go to heaven. Serial rapist and child molester? Repent and accept jebus, go to heaven. Torture cats for fun? Repent and accept jebus, go to heaven.
Frack heaven and frack the despicable “morality” that supposedly gets you there. It’s topsy-turvy bullshit at its very best; I get to burn forever for calling a ghost “poopy” and Ted Bundy after finishing gnoshing on somone’s liver, once saved, is in heaven with his 72 and half virgins (or raisins, depending on translation).
This notion of eternal damnation, lets lump it into the correct category and call it religious morality, is fractally stupid. To the rational mind religious morality is bug-fuck nutz. It is also a maddening splinter punched into my cerebral-cortex as I witness the deluded start dropping these religious bags of spoor into a conversation not realizing the implications of their delusional shit-festooned beliefs.
And thus endeth the sermon. Have a good week folks.
Edmonton taxpayers are going to be fleeced without affection or mercy by the Katz Group. This has been in the cards since this atrocious deal was pre-approved last year. Having done some reading though, we can still pull out of this money trap and it looks as if Katz is giving us the golden ticket out. Tony Caterina said in today’s Edmonton Journal:
“The company’s new demands aren’t just for more capital dollars and an ongoing $6-million subsidy for the proposed arena, Coun. Tony Caterina said.
“They don’t want to pay taxes,” he said. “They want help now in operating the arena. They want a guaranteed subsidy. They want the city to be their tenant in a major office building. They want the casino licence.” These were the requests presented behind closed doors last week in a meeting Caterina said should have been public.
“If everybody knew exactly what these new positions were, I think everyone would have seen it as council saw it, which is very unreasonable.”
You don’t say.
This entire arena process has been about trying to get the best possible terms for the legalized blackmail of the the city of Edmonton from Day 1. Otherwise Katz and company are going to move the team. Good. Go. There are myriad of other city projects that actually help the city that need funding, the LRT, Low Income housing, road repair are all in need of more cash. If Katz wants to have a new arena, he can pay for it himself.
The other option is that the city of Edmonton builds and OWNS the arena and gets ALL of the revenue benefits from the complex, plus rent from Oilers.
I’m not hearing a lot from the usual right-wing suspects about the arena because, of course, socialism for the rich is just fine. If this was funding a school or a woman’s shelter I’m sure the hemming and hawing would already be loud and clear, building toward the usual “fiscal crisis” Armageddon they manufacturer when tax dollars are spent on the disadvantaged.
Woo! It is lock out time for the NHL and not a moment to soon. The great showdown between millionaires is about to begin supported by the gullible hockey fan. Just take in the love they have for fans as they gouge you for parking, beverages and food. Oh and ever higher ticket prices, let us not forget that.
“Damage from another lockout will occur almost immediately, and there is no telling how jilted fans and sponsors will react to another shutdown, especially if it stretches through the fall and into the winter.
Management’s latest offer has a short shelf life. Once the lockout begins, Bettman says the economic damage would cause owners to offer players a less beneficial deal.
Players currently receive 57 per cent of hockey-related revenue, and the owners want to bring that number down as far as perhaps 47 per cent — which is an increase from their original offer of 43 percent.
“The fact is, we believe that 57 per cent of HRR is too much,” Bettman said.
The union offered a deal based on actual dollars, seeking a guarantee of the $1.8 billion US players received last season. Annual industry revenue has grown from $2.1 billion to $3.3 billion under the expiring deal.
Players are concerned management hasn’t addressed the league’s financial problems by re-examining the teams’ revenue-sharing formula. Having made several big concessions to reach a deal in 2005, the union doesn’t think it should have to make more this time after record financial growth.”
It is you, the fan, paying for all these rubber disk chasers and yes you might be pissed off now, but you’ll come crawling back and they *KNOW* that. Maybe this time they won’t spread rice on floor before you prostate yourself once again to the hockey gods, and you’ll be happy.
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
Your opinions…