Chavez to save the world (or at least South America)

On a positive note (a personal request from an anonymous reader), Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will expand his oil iniative, "Petroamerica", to every nation in South America. A direct challenge to the U.S.-based FTAA, the plan has huge implications for U.S. based oil & international trade policies. In case you didn't know, Venezuela is the fifth largest oil exporter in the world, and supplies about 13% of daily oil imports into the US. In short, Chavez can fuck some shit up. And I mean that in a good way. Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, said his country had enough resources to help the region for generations to come. ... Venezuela guarantees petroleum and gas for the South American continent for at least 200 years. This means no more reliance on so-called free trade agreements, the U.S. or the Middle East. This really means no longer taking Bush's bullying. This also really means actually repaying debts, keeping money flowing internally and subsequently uplifting national and regional markets and livlihoods. This is a positive thing (at least for now).

"Operation Offset"

Under the guise of re-building after Hurricanes Katrina & Rita, Republicans in Congress proposed their newest funding cuts titled, "Operation Offset." This profoundly insane budgetary move calls for $949 billion dollars in cuts over 10 years. Let this be a lesson kids: this is what happens when your government goes to war without a reason and spends more time, resources, and money than your country can afford. Some of the proposed funding cuts include: $225 billion cut from Medicaid, the last-resort health insurance program for the very poor $200 billion cut from Medicare, the health care safety net for the elderly and the disabled $6.7 billion cut from school lunches for poor children $7.5 billion cut from programs to fight global AIDS $5.5 billion to eliminate all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting $3.6 billion cut to eliminate the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities $8.5 billion cut to eliminate all subsidized loans to graduate students (It just got personal.) $417 million cut to eliminate the Minority Business Development Agency $4.8 billion cut to eliminate all funding for the Safe and Drug-Free schools program Yes, they've officially gone apeshit. Take action and sign the petition or better yet, tell your Congressional representatives that they're crazy, but not in the way you like.

What do we want?

PEACE! When do we want it? NOW! CODEPINK marches in DC If you haven't already heard, the anti-war march in Washington D.C. was phenomenal! Attracting an estimated 100,000 - 300,000 people, the protests was comprised of a diverse constituency of all those opposed to the Bush administration's murderous foreign policy. Check out the news stories: "Make levees, not war" (Salon) "Huge rally against Iraq war" (CNN) "Antiwar fervor fills the streets" (Washington Post)

NO MORE WAR!

I'll be in Washington D.C. this weekend participating in various anti-war actions and protests. While you may not be able to make it to the nation's capital, there are events going on around the country to protest the mis-guided policies and lies of the Bush administration. Check out events happening in your city. Find out more: CODEPink United for Peace and Justice Iraq Veterans Against the War Give your reasons for No More WAR!: One Million Reasons The revolution is coming . . . are you in?

Yeah, whatever

Yeah, yeah; the confirmation of John Roberts is imminent. Whatever.

Morning after pill now available in Mexico

A surprising decision to make the morning after pill standard stock in all clinics and health offices across Mexico has just put the country on the shit list of the Catholic church. Mexico Health Minister Julio Frenko and President Vincente Fox approved the sale and access of the pill after the national health department approved the drug 20 months ago. The new guidelines allow all women of reproductive age, including adolescents, to receive the emergency-contraception pill. "The move actually regulates use and makes it safer, says Mexico Health Minister Julio Frenk, by giving women access to it from professionals who can tell them how to administer it." Anti-choice psychos are calling this new health measure an outrage and protesting that the pregnancy prevention methods be halted. What eludes them is how the restriction of the morning after pill increases unwanted pregnancy, which often leads to abortion--still illegal in Mexico. Frenk, who has a forward-thinking reputation internationally, pointed out that decreasing the need for abortion will improve rather than compromise women's health, since women will be able to avoid unsafe procedures. Ahh, a little logic for the unschooled. Perhaps the U.S. will feel the pressure to approve the sale of these life-saving pills in this country, rather than promote unwanted pregnancy, which increases poverty, need for abortion, reproduces the welfare paradigm, . . . .

Just blame the gays again

Pat Robertson--who hit the deep end years ago--claims that Ellen Degeneres is to blame for Hurricane Katrina. “By choosing an avowed lesbian for [the Emmy's], these Hollywood elites have clearly invited God’s wrath,” Robertson said on “The 700 Club” on Sunday. “Is it any surprise that the Almighty chose to strike at Miss Degeneres’ hometown?” “America is waiting for her to apologize for the death and destruction that her sexual deviance has brought onto this great nation.” And here I thought that nature was free from moral righteousness; shows how much I know.

New anti-choice tactics leave me speechless

I am completely dumbfounded by the newest campaign from the misnamed, Center for Bio-Ethical Reform--an allegedly non-violent, anti-choice center for psychos that claims to educate and make visible the "horrors of abortion." Yeah, well thanks for the enlightenment, you ignorant fucks. They've taken their inaccurate and oppressive anti-choice message to new measures, placing images of alleged aborted fetuses on mega-trucks and planes. A snippet of their recruitment message: Most of the people who are working to kill babies are full-time, paid professionals while most of the people working to save them are part-time, amateur volunteers... This is fucking sickening. Thanks to Samantha for the link.

Men are from Mars, women are from ... Mars too?

It turns out the sexes aren't locked in a cosmic battle after all: a new report from US psychologist and women's studies specialist, Dr. Janet Shibley-Hyde, contests the ideas of inherent gender differences. . . . her review of 46 meta-analyses (which cover a number of studies) conducted over the last 20 years, shows men and women are alike in the majority of areas. One minute I'm thinking we're from different planets and then, BAM!, our worlds collide. Hyde's report, however, drew some criticism from an expert on sex differences, Dr. Nick Neave, that I actually think is rather smart and on point. "There are differences. Ignoring them is foolish, and exaggerating them is dangerous. But that doesn't mean that society shouldn't treat the genders equally." Okay, finally someone who might be on to something. Imagine simultaneously accepting and respecting differences! What a concept.

Whatever happened to Afghanistan?

Wow! Don't you just love it when democrazy projects are successful?! I'm speaking specifically of Operation Enduring Freedom--that wondrous freedom project (aka: WAR) launched against Afghanistan in 2001 that has seemingly done little good for the country so desperately in need of freedom. It seems that despite Bush's best efforts, the terrorists are winning, and democratic elections are not going as one might have hoped: The Taliban warned the Afghan people on Friday not to take part in elections this weekend, saying they could get hurt, after gunmen believed to be from the group killed a candidate, the seventh so far. Yes, seven. I know, I know: Bush can't let the terrorists win. We must prevail because freedom will prevail. The future is clear: another operation, another attempt at liberty, democrazy, and free trade for all.

From bad to worse

In case you've been too inundated with UN World Summit stuff, Roberts is heading towards confirmation for Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Officials in both parties say Roberts is likely to receive votes from several Democrats when his nomination reaches the full Senate. Among them are senators who represent Republican-leaning states or those who joined in a bipartisan compromise earlier this year to defuse a threatened showdown over the administration's conservative appeals court judges. Those ever-helpful Democrats are always there to see things through. Aren't we so lucky to have such a consenting and amicable "progressive" party?

You should not lie on your resume . . .

because you could end up detrimentally affecting hundreds of thousands of lives and it could cost you your job. [Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael] Brown has been under fire because of the administration's slow response to the magnitude of the hurricane. On Thursday, questions were raised about whether he padded his resume to highlight his previous emergency management background. Yes, FEMA director Brown is on his way out due to the infuriating mistakes and (lack of) response that plagued the Gulf Coast rescue operations. Thank god someone--other than innocent citizens--is reaping the consequences of this disaster. Now if only Bush would fire himself, positive change could actually happen in New Orleans and globally.

It runs in the family

Touring the Houston Astrodome on Monday, Former First Lady Barbara Bush had a few choice words about Hurrican Katrina victims: " . . . they all want to stay in Texas," Barbara Bush said in an interview. "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway," she said, "so this is working very well for them."

It's not just the baby killers

Apparently, women of color and low-income communities are rallying against the nomination of John G. Roberts: The stakes go well beyond women's rights and reproductive freedom. Voting rights, civil rights, affirmative action and religious freedom are among the disputes the Supreme Court has resolved in recent years by razor-thin margins and that have important consequences for communities of color. The emerging record shows that John Roberts was often on the wrong side of these issues too. Everyone is going to have ride this one if we want to see more equity--gender, ideological, racial--on the Supreme Court.

Same-sex marriage in...drumroll please....

CALIFORNIA! Yes, that's right, my pretties, that wacky west coast haven of drugs, delinquents, and bad race relations, now boasts same sex marriages!! The 41-to-35 vote in the 80-member Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, was along party lines, with no Republicans supporting the bill. The bill, passed by the state legislators, now awaits the approval of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. No worries my little lezzies: "The governor will uphold whatever the court decides," Ms. Thompson said. Yeah, whatever that means. I'll bet it's back to Boston for my precious same-sex loving friends.