"One more thing. Hillary would have never stood for this. You have to live with that now."

Uppity sez it all. There just really isn't much more to add.

Except, of course....

DAMNED FOOLS! We'll all pay for your stupak mistakes.

UPDATE: Uppity's rant has struck a nerve with PUMAs. It is also being posted at No Quarter.

What A Feminist REALLY Looks Like: Part One

I want to keep things positive for this coming week. To be frank, I am tired of all the distortion and innuendo about "he said, she said" in the world of politics. So, I'm taking a break.

For the next seven days I am going to share some stories about real life Feminists. (Not the fakey, "superfeminists" who will do anything to sell a magazine.) I want to rejoice that I am a member of this diverse, progressive community... for which "women's rights are human rights, and human rights are women's rights."

I was pleased as punch to find THIS STORY ABOUT DOTTIE DOYLE when I signed in at the UUA website this morning.

""At a “Meet the Candidates Night,” Doyle recalls that a woman asked each of the local legislative candidates their opinion on abortion legislation. Until that very moment, Doyle said, “I had never even thought of abortion as a political issue. I didn’t know that at that time, most states -- including Maine -- had laws that totally banned abortions no matter what the circumstances. New York was the only state that allowed them, and that was with certain restrictions. I managed to stammer an answer that indicated that I thought abortions should be legal – that the decision should be left to woman and her doctor. I had an instant constituency that expected me to do something about the existing ban on abortion.”

Doyle went to Augusta, the state capitol, and told those in charge that she wanted to repeal the abortion law. Doyle was quickly caught in the legislative morass that complicated what to her seemed a simple act. She said, “I learned that I needed to introduce a bill similar to one in New York that would allow abortions only if the life or health of the pregnant woman was in danger if I had any hope of getting this passed. I introduced two bills (so that there was a legislative alternative in the process), and entered into a flurry of activity.” Doyle learned about the history of abortion legislation – that there were no bans on the procedure until the Industrial Revolution, when women were increasingly valued for their child bearing ability, as more workers were needed to support the economy. She also learned how vicious the opposition to her beliefs could be: “Not only was I vilified in the media, my children were subjected to all sorts of harassment. My husband lost his position with the Catholic Diocese, as he couldn’t ‘control’ me. However, I learned that there also was great support for my beliefs and for me from a variety of liberals, including progressive Democrats, Unitarians and Universalists, and Planned Parenthood.”"

Now I don't want to make this all about abortion. The rights of the unborn, to be protected... and the rights of women to have say over their own bodies.... are too complex to be covered in one blog entry.

What I want to say is that Dottie Doyle did women (and therefore all human beings) a favor when she stood up for us in that dark time. A time before we had the right to say no to a pregnancy, even in special circumstances. Dottie took the fall for what she did. (So did her family.)

Despite her ordeal, as far as I can tell, Dottie did not make the cover of Ms. Magazine. But I know... Dottie is a REAL Feminist! And I want to thank her for what she did!

Reactions to the Ms.Ogyny Are Varied

Around the Pumasphere I have found them to range from humorous, to angry, to scholarly. A few examples would be:
THE NEW AGENDA wonders if NOW will appoint John Edwards to replace Kim Gandy.

PUMA PAC is calling for a letter writing campaign to Ms. Magazine.

Now that the bar has been set so low, THE CONFLUENCE is seeing Feminists everywhere.

RIVERDAUGHTER would like us to remember what a REAL feminist looks like.

Yet again, at The Confluence, TAGGLES is reminded of an Andy Kaufman routine.

Some of the responses to my own musings on the subject have been enlightening as well. For instance, Lawmom (a Kentucky lawyer who works with victims of abuse) responded to my post at Team Sarah. She thought Ms. Magazine was spoofing itself. Seriously. She thought it was a joke. As if Ms. was saying "look what some nuts are calling Feminist."

Here on my blogspot, I was reminded by Kat In Your Hat, that Donna Brazile is on the editorial board at Ms. That does explain alot, now, doesn't it?

I'm sure there are places where the discussion leans more toward "Well, he is a feminist." But I don't frequent O-bot boards. So I'm not seeing those. My response, however, would be along the lines that HEIDI LI's is. "if a feminist looks like President-elect Obama then a feminist looks exactly like somebody who has done nothing, and I do mean nothing, to suggest that he will fight for increased social justice for women."

Or, maybe ... if I was a well spoken historian... I'd say something in the vein of what Anna Belle tells us at PEACOCKS AND LILLIES. "The idea of Barack Obama as Superfeminist is absurd and offensive, but it is also a trick. We’ve seen this kind of rehabilitation before. We saw it with Summers and Favreau, when articles that showed them a favorable light, especially articles by women began to emerge from various media outlets. This is also the same technique we’ve seen the Bush Administration use for eight long years now. Whenever a problem comes up, run it through your personal propaganda mill, the press, and change the narrative."

For me, yet again, it comes down to the sad realization that ... not only have women suffered tremendous abuses of power in the 2008 campaign season, but our own "mothers" have turned on us.

Ms. is corroborating with our abusers. And, that, my friends... is the worst kind of betrayal there is.

S.Y.D.

ADDENDUMS:

1) Some of the bloggers I am referencing are up for Weblog awards. Go HERE to vote for them!

2)Today's image from DancesWithPumas via PUMA PAC.

3) I suspect there will be more and more reaction to the Ms.Ogyny today. I'll try to add links as they come my way!

Ms. Magazine Is Mainlining

Anything to sell a magazine....


I'm sorry, Ms. Magazine, but you are an addict. You will do anything for your next fix. Even sell your soul.

You will not get one thin dime from me this year. Not one!

Thanks to DEADENDERS for the photoshop!

Be sure to vote for them in the WEBLOGS AWARDS

And, yes, Heidi Li... I'm just INCREDULOUS