None of what you will read here came as any surprise to me, because I've worked as an RN Case Manager in Home Health Care, and had ample opportunity to see how private business gouges the hell out of the taxpayer, by exploiting the illnesses of vulnerable and aging Americans in order to make the most profit possible.
But I have a brand new clear and current example to share to illustrate this, now that I am over 65, disabled, on very low income, thus qualifying for some services myself.
Congratulations to Nancy Pelosi, Our New Speaker Of The House, and now third in line for succession to the Presidency of The United States. This is indeed a landmark day for women in America, the land that lags far behind other so many other countries in granting women an equal seat in places of power. This event is also a symbol of hope for all Americans.
The news out of South Dakota about a ban on abortion, even in cases of rape, has hit a lot of women hard, ripping away the protective coating covering very painful memories. The outpouring of women's stories at BoomanTribune, and many other sites I have visited, is up front evidence of the lifelong impact of rape and sexual abuse, as well as the other ways in which male dominated cultures tends to devalue and disempower women.
Women are over half of the population. The facts on the ground are that over half of the population of this country lives every day knowing we are not truly safe anywhere there might be a rapist: a man who uses power and control as a weapon to take what he wants.
You, George Bush, with your sick psyche and delusions of grandeur.
You, Powerful Neocons, with your dreams of empire and global domination.
You, Far Right Religious Wingnuts, who make a mockery of faith to gain control over others.
You, Greed Driven Rich, who lurk behind facades of self created "corporate entities"
You, The Elected Ones that we chose to serve us, the people, who have sold your souls to the highest bidders in the halls of all branches of Government.
To all of you who choose to shamelessly exploit the vulnerabilities of the people, the Rule of Law, the Constitution, the Bill Of Rights, and the resources of this country, for your own selfish ends, with no concern for the common good or the principles on which this country was founded, I tell you this:
(Having once stood on the front lines of the war against women, only to see the same battle fronts form again, I now stand in support of younger women and men, who have taken up powerful positions on the front lines. I am left, however, to deal with the rage within, which I can only turn over to the poet.)
Men of a Darker God
deluded religious men
armed with righteous swords
fashioned by a cruel and crafted god
in full thrall worship
of power and penis
proudly pursue
control over women
Years ago, a poor urban Native American community took me in, and helped me stay alive long enough to finally recover from end stage alcoholism. I was the only white woman living in that half way house, with 20 Native American sisters.
Welcoming arms were certainly NOT extended right away, indeed, far from it. For awhile, I felt the full force of generations of anger and bitterness. I would have left, but there was no where else to go, and I was too tired to run anymore.
Sometimes it's all just "too much" to take in. From every direction there is mounting evidence that this country has gone off the rails totally, taken there by an administration so corrupt and incompetent it defies the imagination. One that has been allowed to do so by a weak kneed opposition party that apparently has chosen willful ignorance as thier modus operandi.
Religious fundamentalists are everywhere, pulling political strings and buying off politicians all the way up to the Oval office, to back up their campaign to remove our hard won civil right to reproductive freedom, and send us back to the good ol days when we were first and foremost, breeding machines . Don't kid yourself that its only abortion that want to get rid of. (Or make impossible to access one way or other), it's the morning after pill too, and birth control itself isn't far behind.
The knowledge was available for years, to everyone in charge of protecting Americans, at every level of local, state and federal government, of the certain effects of a powerful hurricane on New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Region.
It was well known the levees would fail in the "Big Storm." It was well known the Big Storm was finally coming. So They told the people to leave New Orleans.
This uncensored anger is laser-directed at any and ALL men who continue to choose to use women's lives as bargaining chips in their pursuit of "political victories." If the shoe fits, wear it. (and I hope it gives you freakin' blisters.)
I've just about had it self righteous, arrogamt males (of BOTH Parties) strutting around the blogosphere making proclamations about what is and is not "moral" behavior for women, or who otherwise gamble away women's freedoms and womens lives for the sake of "political strategy."
My mothers name was Georgia May. The rainy day she walked down her driveway to her rural mailbox and found my brother's Purple Heart amd Bronze Star Medals hanging from the mailbox in a soggy package, was the day that Gold Star Viet Nam mother went to war herself, with me by her side.
As recent Diaries by Ghostdancer and I have illustrated, the power of fundamentalist religious rule can have seriously opressive, even devastating effects on people's lives, especially women's and children's lives. This is a concept extremely difficult for younger people who have never known anything BUT full personal freedom to grasp, much less be genuinely concerned about.
Add to this the fact that many young people have simply become turned off on the whole corrupt political scene, see the MSM as a joke and are very engaged in the frantic career building years that often keep them away from blogs like this one, and you end up with a whole lot of young voters who do not really understand that it is their freedoms on the chopping block these days.
It is hard for me to comprehend that in 2005, women's basic rights to full autonomy and control over their own bodies and lives are once again being threatened by far right wing religious fanatics who have gained a solid political foothold in this administration. It is alarming beyond words for me to see that so many of today's liberal women and men seem willing to compromise and move toward the center on what I hear referred to as "special interest issues," meaning of course, issues that primarily affect women's lives.
I also know that if one has always enjoyed the basic freedoms to create lives of their own choosing, it is very difficult to imagine a life where one's freedom and choices are fully dictated by others. Yet that is the kind of life many of us who are older now, were born into, and shaped by.
Soon I leave for the Minneapolis Gay Pride Celebration. This gay grandmother will proudly accompany my beautiful lesbian daughter, daughter in law, and their new baby girl, and spend this day with many other young beautiful, loving Rainbow Families, and thousands of my powerful gay and lesbian sisters and brothers.
Because if we do, we will lose strength and momentum as a progressive movement at a time we need it the most.
We are up against a political machine that is extremely skilled at what it does, and what it does best, is "divide and conquer". They are the best at scoping out the opposition, finding the fault lines, driving in the wedges and pounding away till their target becomes too splintered or damaged to be effective. It has won them two elections so far.
I imagine the Rovians are rubbing their hands with great glee right now, reading about the recent gender/sexism battle on dkos, a major progressive website. I'd guess they find it especially delightful to see a contingent of powerful older women's voices split the scene, because they know this group can be notoriously hard to silence or control.
I am so frustrated I'm about to blow a gasket. NO one in my personal world wants to know anything about what's going on in our goverment, in our country, or in our world. I try, oh gawd, how I try. But the shutters come over the eyes, or I hear, "Oh, that's politics. I don't like politics.", or "That's just too depressing." or even, "Yeah, let's get together, as long as you don't talk about politics!" Or worse...the plain blank stare that says.."I haven't got one single clue about what you're talking about."
