NARAL Pro-Choice America: Hall of Fame and Shame 2011

Thousands of people have spoken, and the winner of this year’s NARAL Pro-Choice America Hall of Fame is:

Mississippians For Healthy Families!

This coalition of faith leaders, reproductive-justice and pro-choice allies, and other Mississippi-based groups successfully convinced their neighbors to reject a dangerous and far-reaching “personhood” measure.

Hats off to them!

And while we celebrate our pro-choice heroes, we recognize that 2011 brought a slew of new attacks on women’s freedom and privacy, ranging from the tragic to the ridiculous.

Every bushel has its rotten apples, and this year, Fox News Channel was voted rottenest of them all.

Remember when a Fox News commentator compared insurance coverage of birth control to manicures and pedicures?

Remember when Bill O’Reilly said that many women won’t use birth control because they’re “blasted out of their minds when they have sex,” and then said no-cost birth control would increase unemployment?

Remember when Sean Hannity said birth control is “not about women’s health?”

We remember. And it looks like you did, too.

Fox News Channel is the newest member of the Hall of Shame.

How Gay Rights is Nothing like Legalizing Bestiality

^SEE PHOTOS with FULL DESCRIPTION^

Adam and Evelyn: They are both adults capable of making decisions; they are capable and can give consent. They are both US citizens and the government will recognize their marriage.

Adam and Steve: They are both adults capable of making decisions; they are capable and can give consent. They are both US citizens and the government will not recognize their marriage.

This is inequality…below examples are not.

Adam and his toaster: Adam is an adult capable of making decisions. Toasters are not capable of making decisions. Adam doesn’t get to give consent twice just because he owns the toaster. (Also, toasters can’t sign a marriage license).

Additional examples not like gay rights examples…

Billy: Billy is a 10 year old boy. He can not legally give consent or make life-altering decisions. He may feel love, but is not yet an adult. (Billy can’t legally sign a marriage license).

A Corpse: It much like the toaster cannot make decisions or give consent. It may have once been a US citizen but it is no longer. (A corpse can’t sign a marriage license).

A Dog: It could possibly feel love the way we do. However, it isn’t aware of its decisions. It can’t consent and is not a US citizen. (A dog can’t sign a marriage license).

Love Makes a Family: Submit Your Photo

Equality for ALL Families in 2012,

Submit your photo ^ lovemakesafamily.tumblr.com/submit

Dear MoveOn members,
Wow, you are incredible!!
Over 15 million people have seen my testimony about my two moms before the Iowa legislature, after MoveOn sent it out last Thursday. I can’t tell you how much that means to me, my moms, and my little sister, and families like ours all across the country.
I think that one of the reasons my video resonated with people is that it embodies a simple truth: love is what makes a family. It’s what binds us together as we work through the hard times, so we can enjoy the good ones.
I’m going to keep telling that truth. But I’m only one guy. Every single person has an incredible amount of power to shape and change our world for the better, but imagine what we can do together. That’s why I am asking for your help in telling this simple truth.
The folks at MoveOn and I had an idea: get as many people as possible to take their family holiday photos holding signs that say ‘Love Makes a Family,’ and ‘Equality for ALL Families in 2012’. This time of year is all about family, so let’s use our holiday photos to send a message of love for ALL families.
MoveOn has created a special Tumblr site where you can post your holiday pictures. It’s really easy, and they are going to make a video out of all of these Love Makes a Family photos.
You can see everyone’s photos by clicking here.
While we won the battle in Iowa, my moms’ rights as a married couple stop at our state’s border. And I know that hundreds of thousands of other families like mine aren’t lucky enough to live in a state where their parents can be married. Instead, they have to spend thousands of dollars to adopt their own kids and get power of attorney to take care of everyday life if or when something bad happens.
A lot of people out there just don’t know and haven’t met families like mine. And that’s why I’ve been traveling around speaking about my two moms, and why I’m writing a book about my family.
Now I’m asking you and other folks to show the people you love that you believe in equality for all.
Will you take a family holiday photo while holding an ‘Equality for ALL Families in 2012’ or ‘Love Makes a Family sign? Just click here for more instructions and a form to upload your family’s picture:
And check out all of the photos others have submitted.
Thanks for all the love and support.
Onward.

–Zach
P.S. I’ve been so honored that so many people shared the video of my testimony, and I’m working overtime to finish my book about all of this, appropriately titled “My Two Moms”—please check it out!

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 5 million members–no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

Late yesterday afternoon, the FBI Criminal Justice Advisory Board voted unanimously to update the archaic definition of rape in the FBI Uniform Crime Report in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now, FBI Director Robert Mueller must give final approval to update the measure. TAKE ACTION!

^^TAKE ACTION^^

We did it! Late yesterday afternoon, the FBI Criminal Justice Advisory Board voted unanimously to update the archaic definition of rape in the FBI Uniform Crime Report in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now, FBI Director Robert Mueller must give final approval to update the measure. This is the last step!

We’ve gotten this far thanks to you and the tens of thousands of emails we sent requesting a change in the way the FBI defines rape. Rally with us and ask Director Mueller to update the definition of rape today!

If approved by Mueller, this will represent a major policy change, and one that will dramatically impact the way rape is reported and tracked in the U.S. This new definition will mean that, at long last, we will begin to see the full scope of this horrific violence, and that understanding will carry through to increased attention and resources for prevention and action.

Ask Mueller to act now!

The current definition from the 1920s, which has been criticized for underreporting rape and omitting a significant number of rape cases, defined “forcible rape” only as “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.” The proposed UCR definition of what constitutes rape will be more consistent with public understanding and state criminal statutes and will include previously excluded rape cases.

Yesterday’s unanimous vote recommends a new, more inclusive definition of rape in the UCR: “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina, or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

We need to make sure this change is officially adopted. Please email FBI Director Mueller now, and share this with your networks urging them to do the same. Together we are helping to make sure that all rapes will be counted.

For women’s lives,

Ellie Smeal

Eleanor Smeal
President
Feminist Majority Foundation

Tell President Obama to protect access to birth control for all women.

CredoAction.com TAKE ACTION

In August, the Obama Administration listened to women’s rights advocates and made an historic advancement for women’s health with new regulations that require insurance coverage for birth control with no co-pays.

But President Obama may be poised to cave on this tremendous step forward for women’s health.

Extreme anti-woman forces who literally oppose contraceptives are lobbying President Obama to overturn these new regulations and block access to birth control for millions of women.

Tell President Obama: Take a stand against extreme anti-woman activists and ensure all women have access to no-cost birth control.

If President Obama caves to the demands of the radical anti-contraception activists, certain employers like religiously affiliated universities and hospitals will be allowed to prevent their female employees from having access to the same health care as every other woman in America.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the medical community agree that providing no-cost birth control is an essential part of preventive health care for women. And Kathleen Sebelius, the director of HHS, said that providing birth control at no cost to women should be like “covering flu shots.”1

President Obama needs to hear that women’s access to critically important health care shouldn’t be determined by who they work for.

Tell President Obama: Take a stand against extreme anti-woman activists and ensure all women have access to no-cost birth control.

The anti-woman lobby is small but incredibly powerful. We know that President Obama has had private meetings with influential leaders from U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who have been publicly pressuring him to restrict access to birth control. There is already a religious exemption that covers churches and other places of worship from offering birth control as part of health insurance. This new push to radically broaden that exemption is nothing more than a thinly veiled attack on contraception.

Now, President Obama needs to hear from the millions of women who use birth control and depend on it to keep them healthy. He should listen to the medical community and women in the U.S., not the extreme anti-woman forces lobbying him behind closed doors.

Tell President Obama: Take a stand against extreme anti-woman activists and ensure all women have access to no-cost birth control. Click here to automatically sign the petition.

1. “New U.S. rules require insurance coverage for contraception,” N.C. Aizenman, The Washington Post, 8-1-2011.

Major corporations are helping suppress the Black vote. Demand that they stop

ColorofChange.org TAKE ACTION

For years, the right wing has been trying to stop Black people, other people of color, young people, and the elderly from voting — and now some of America’s biggest companies are helping them do it. These companies have helped pass discriminatory voter ID legislation by funding a right wing policy group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

ALEC’s voter ID laws are undemocratic, unjust and part of a longstanding right wing agenda to weaken the Black vote. Major companies that rely on business from Black folks shouldn’t be involved in suppressing our vote. Please join us in demanding that these companies stop funding ALEC.

theoceanandthesky: [if there were a million springer spaniels in africa dying of aids and starvation, we would probably have it taken care of in about four days.] ethiopienne: I hate her, but sometimes she drops truth bombs. Also look at the difference between the way Whoopi nods her head and Barbara looks dumbfounded. Ugh. seconded. not a fan, but true facts. It’s so true.
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theoceanandthesky:

[if there were a million springer spaniels in africa dying of aids and starvation, we would probably have it taken care of in about four days.]

ethiopienne:

I hate her, but sometimes she drops truth bombs. Also look at the difference between the way Whoopi nods her head and Barbara looks dumbfounded. Ugh.

seconded. not a fan, but true facts.

It’s so true.

(via 40h4error)

Source: marsonfire

World AIDS Day

loverwife:

HIV/AIDS information and resources:
Fast facts about HIV and AIDS from the UN’s HIV/AIDS programme
HIV/AIDS at a Glance from Planned Parenthood
AVERT
AIDS Healthcare Foundation provides information about HIV and AIDS in many countries, including medical services and programmes.

Want to find a testing centre?
Planned Parenthood

Post-diagnosis:
Treatment
Living With HIV

And always remember, AIDS is not a bad person’s disease.

Reblog with more resources!

(via lipstick-feminists)

Source: amyleona

allthelittlebeagles: Today is World AIDS Day. as of 2009, an estimated 33.3 million adults are living with HIV/AIDS. 30.8 million of these individuals are women. 2.5 million are children. 2.6 million adults became newly infected with HIV in 2009. each year, over 400,000 children become infected. 16.6 million children aged 0-17 were orphaned in 2009 due to HIV/AIDS. Since the beginning of the epidemic, nearly 30 million people have died due to AIDS-related causes. Act up, fight AIDS.
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allthelittlebeagles:

Today is World AIDS Day.

as of 2009, an estimated 33.3 million adults are living with HIV/AIDS.

30.8 million of these individuals are women.

2.5 million are children.

2.6 million adults became newly infected with HIV in 2009.

each year, over 400,000 children become infected.

16.6 million children aged 0-17 were orphaned in 2009 due to HIV/AIDS.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, nearly 30 million people have died due to AIDS-related causes.

Act up, fight AIDS.

(via veganmudblood)

Source: allthelittlebeagles

Sign Petition for Human Rights in Russia: Russians can't write an article or claim in public that they're gay, bisexual or transgender!?

Dear friend,

I just added my voice to this urgent appeal, standing for human rights in Russia and all over the world. Medvedev and Putin’s party is pushing a law to vote this week that would make any mention of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender issues illegal.

The bill, being introduced as early as this Wednesday, would criminalize any book, article or speech about sexual identity and gender orientation, labeling it “homosexual propaganda”. This is outrageous, and now is the time for key world leaders to speak up, we need every voice.

Will you take a minute to add yours?

allout.org/russia_silenced