Maybe they'll end this madness if we just stop having sex with them!

Liberal Ladies and the fabulous Gents who love us , this is a reprint of an article I wrote about 3 months ago. I think that it's even more relevant now given all of this awful legislation.....Just a thought:)

"Lysistrata, open up the bedroom door
What is the matter, ain't you in love with me no more?
I enlisted in the army today
One more time before I march away
Make me feel like a big strong man

You say you don't care about my pride
You love me too much just to let me die
And you won't let me come inside
Unless I don't go to war no more

Lysistrata, little boys like to have their fun
And you know I gotta put on my colors and get my gun
Every able bodied man that I know
Every patriot is packed to go

Won't you give me a last goodbye
I'll be sent off to a distant land
to spill my blood upon some foreign sand
And I may die by an enemy's hand
And then I won't go to war no more, war no more and no
Then I won't go to war no more

Send the boys all back to the farm
Tell the troops it was a false alarm
'Cause if I die I wanna be in your arms
And so I won't go to war, no, I won't go to war
Said I won't go to war no more"

Lyrics and music by Utopia


Lysistrata was a play that was originally conceived and performed in Athens in 411 BC. I remember when I first read it, I was dumbstruck by it's hilarity and wondered what would happen if such a strategy was implemented today. A comedy of epic proportions , Lysistrata is the story of a woman's inspired attempt to bring a swift close to The Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata successfully convinces the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers so to bring about the desperate conditions that would force the men to swiftly overcome their differences and choose peace. It's a Greek comedy full of fabulous manipulations , explicit sexual exoticism and lots of bawdy language and the premise is brilliant.

Remembering Lysistrata and thinking about the heinous assault that women's rights are currently enduring in our statehouses all over the country I'm left wondering whether or not we should all band together and implement as simple strategy as she did. Truthfully they can't and shouldn't have it both ways. Why should we give the men of this country unfettered access to our bodies when they don't respect them and are trying to take away our rights to them? So, my thought is simple....Women of America... as much as the thought pains me perhaps we should go on sexual strike. Even if you're like me and you have a great man who supports your rights to choose, a statement made by all of us is a huge one. I see no reason at all that we can't end this madness in as simple fashion as this and the good ones will stand right by our sides....my husband reluctantly thinks that it's actually a very effective idea:)

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty fed up and ready to take action...Don't worry, if we actually did this it would probably only take about a week:)

We are Volunteers of America!

So I just signed up to volunteer for Planned Parenthood as clinic escort; I'll be walking women and their partners past the crowds of protestors that line the sidewalks. I am so excited and a little bit nervous too. My husband is definitely nervous but he completely supports what I want to do. After years of doing volunteer work for many very "chic" organizations I've decided that it's time to really put my money where my mouth is. It's one thing to sit back and talk about it and I'm not saying that's not important, but its another to put yourself right into the thick of it. And..I couldn't live with myself if somehow Roe v Wade gets overturned and I hadn't done everything that I could to protect a woman's right to choose.

I know that sometimes this argument gets messy and inconvenient. As I said to a dear old friend at lunch today...we can't choose the time when history decides to repeat itself. The time for action is NOW. SO, if you're sitting on the fence, thinking that you'd like to get involved all I've got to say is "What's stopping you?"...."How will you feel when Roe is no longer the law of the land and you were just too busy to protect the rights of your daughters, friends and granddaughters? There's always a little extra time...write a letter, put together a lemonade stand, raise some money or come work with me and all of the rest of the men and women working tirelessly everyday to protect our rights to choose the healthcare we need and deserve.

Right now Planned Parenthood needs any volunteer time that you can give them. We've got to circle the wagons here folks...they are relentlessly under attack. Ohio, my home state is next in line for attempts to defund and they only get government dollars to support PreNatal care...Why on earth would any group be so mean as to take away that? Tell me....What is the point?

If you're afraid to stand up for what you believe is right then fear and intolerance will have won.

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/

Emily Banks: The War on Women Part 1: Reproductive Rights

The article below was written by my dear friend Emily Banks , who just happens to be the wife of one of my oldest friends. When I first started spending time in San Diego, I found my friend John on Facebook and immediately looked him up and invited him to lunch. It had been 30 years since we'd seen each other and when he came to lunch he brought his lovely girlfriend with him. Em and I became fast friends, sharing everything from beach picnics to chocolate to Harry Potter and to my delight several months later my pal did the smart thing and married this completely brilliant woman. They have a beautiful baby named Xander and are owned by a fabulous dog named Tonks. Emily will be a regular contributor here on Pro-Choice America United and she has a razor sharp and fearless wit and is possessed of utterly irrepressible charm. The best part? She's actually about 20 years younger than me and she totally "gets it". She writes a wonderful blog called "Emily's Hollow", which you can find the link to in the Contributors section of this site. My son thinks that she's the funniest human being that he's ever met and I think that he's right. If you are ever lucky enough to meet her, beg her to bake something for you....grovel if you have to and get ready to love her as much as I do....

It seems like any time you read the news these days (or, rather, selective news sites: HuffPo, CNN, DailyKos…anything not run by NBC or Fox or ABC, in essence), there is a new story about the attack on women’s rights. The Pence Amendment to defund Planned Parenthood. A motion to eliminate Title X family planning (which, by the way, exists to help PREVENT unplanned pregnancies, not just terminate them; it also provides health screenings for low income women). Legislation to classify killing abortion providers as “manslaughter” instead of murder. To classify not only abortion, but also miscarriages without verifiable proof that there was no “human involvement,” as felonies punishable by the death penalty.

It’s outrageous, yes. It’s scary and infuriating and sickening and a whole bunch of other adjectives that cannot adequately describe what bills, laws, words, and attitudes like these are doing to the psyche of American women.

This isn’t about abortion. I know, right? It seems like it is. Abortion is one of the biggest buzz words going around political circles right now. Antiabortion. Abortion providers. Abortion proponents. The word is everywhere you turn.

It’s not even about being prolife or prochoice (as if the two are mutually exclusive). If it were, there’d be a lot more conversation about what prolife actually means (I’m prolife: I’m against a war based on lies, I’m for healthcare reform so that fewer people die of treatable diseases, I’m for not extending tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% so that social funding can keep people out of deadly poverty….I also happen to be for a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have a child.) There would be discussions about how a society that forces women to have children they cannot afford will help feed and house and clothe them.

This is about keeping women in their place. About telling them what to do. It’s about not trusting them to make tough decisions about their lives, their bodies, and their morals. It’s about letting the men stay in charge.

The abortions that WOULD be permitted? It depends on which white male is talking. “Forced rape” is a widely acceptable instance to permit the termination of a pregnancy; but then, of course, the woman would have to prove that she was forcibly raped. To a man. Another man telling her what to do against her wishes. Sometimes the woman’s own life may be saved by ending a pregnancy, but not always. I mean, after all, the woman has already lived her life! It’s her duty to provide life to another even if it kills her, right? Right…

I’ve heard and read various pundits referring to this … situation… as the “woman as cattle” movement. The idea being that those heading up these anti-women movements view women as nothing more than cattle to be bred and forgotten. But, really, it’s worse than that. Cattle raisers can get federal aide to help protect their livestock.

If any of these ideas turn into actual actions, then women will have less government support than cows.

And no matter what your stance on abortion is, for it, against, undecided, or circumstantial, the idea that women are treated with less respect than livestock is not OK. On any level.

Planned Parenthood Photograph courtesy of http://untitledtype.com/

Article By Emily Banks/ All rights reserved

Why Pro-Choice America United?

As my new Facebook friend Rebecca just said....I'm pissed, I'm motivated and I'm ready to Kick Ass!"

As the attacks on Womens Rights (not to mention gay rights and all rights!) accelerate in this country there are many of us who have had quite enough. We're looking for unity. There are so many wonderful groups out there fighting for our rights but they're under attack. Planned Parenthood Northeast Ohio is scheduled for a vote to defund in our state senate very soon. We've got to organize under one umbrella to make our voices heard and stop this madness!

We're Grassroots....no cash attached so we don't have to be defunded. We can be more powerful! So as of this morning I'm going out to make a teeshirt and all it's going to say is Ask me about Pro-Choice America United...www.prochoiceamericaunited.com and maybe on the back it's going to say I'm Pissed, I'm Motivated and I'm ready to kick Ass!

Thank you Rebecca Murray Strong for what could be the most powerful slogan for this new fledgling movement yet!

You can do the same and send me pictures so I can post them. The beauty of the 60's was in it's artistry creativity! I don't care what they look like, we might as well have some fun..I just care that the message is the same! (and if you wish to put this website in it that's fine too!) Make a poster, make a flyer....whatever works just keep the name the same! Put them up! Anywhere, Everywhere! It's the brand that we can all unite under!

Lets see if we can spread this message all across the country! Tell all of your friends!

Don't know where this cute pic above actually came from, but it's quickly become the face of our pain here in Ohio.....so go to ecards .com if you can and show them some love!

Wake up Washington!

We're listening from sea to shining sea. You're taking away our rights to choose, funding for our healthcare and you're trying to take away our voice. Sorry. We're not listening. We're Angry, Unified and We've had enough. Some of us our members of NOW, Some of us are members of Planned Parenthood and some of us are members of NARAL. No matter....we're all women and we've had it.We're the men who love us too. We're strong in numbers and we control a huge voting bloc. Please start listening if you want to keep your jobs come November because we're done being polite about this.