Women legislators silenced for "offensive language"

[parthianbow]

That is unbelievable. Except it isn't. I'm stunned and dismayed that something like that can happen in the 21st century in a country that is supposed to be a bastion of free speech.

[fljustice]

This is just a small sideshow to the larger political agenda being enacted across the country in the wake of the 2010 incursion of the national congress and 35 state legislatures by the far right wing of the Republican Party. A recent Pennsylvania state legislator reported quite candidly on his contingent's progress to a national strategic gathering (he actually used the word "check!"-my comments in italics):

1. Restrict abortions and access to reproductive healthcare (through onerous clinic regulations, defunding Planned Parenthood and so-called "conscience" laws allowing pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare professionals to deny services to people based on religious convictions) --check!
2. Get an anti-gay marriage law on the ballot to increase conservative turnout in the national election--check (This has been a very popular and surefire way to get the most conservative to the polls in the past, but may backfire as more people recognize the civil rights issue and show up to oppose it.)
3. Break the backs of public unions and lay off public workers, in the name of reducing state debt--check (big contributors of time and money to Democratic candidates)
4. Pass voter fraud (a.k.a. suppression) laws and "purge" voter rolls to reduce Democratic turnout--check (He actuall admitted the purpose was to suppress Democratic turnout not reduce fraud! This has been particularly important in "swing" states which might decide the presidential election--a former congressman from Tennessee who voted in every election for over 40 years was recently "purged" from the voter roles in his state and has been fighting to get reinstated.)

This slate of actions has been introduced and (mostly) passed in state after state. It's all quite legal (until thrown out by courts.) They won the elections and are enacting their social, economic and political agenda. If people don't like it, they can "throw the bums out" in the next election; although it will be harder because they are busy rigging the game to stay in power. We'll see how successful they are after November 2012.

[Miss Moppet]

Originally Posted by fljustice

As to women's rights (and social justice in general), yeah I'm feeling deja vu all over again. Didn't I march, write letters, call officials, organize phone banks, etc. thirty-forty years ago? I thought I (and all the women and men in the movements) had won access to contraception and choice; broke the glass ceiling in business; and opened up educational opportunities for myself and my daughter. I'm too old to do it all over again (but will if I have to!)

Kudos to you for doing all that back in the day, Faith. I'm afraid many women of my generation (in their 30s) and our younger sisters even more, grew up taking these rights for granted. Now we realise how hard a fight it was and maybe will be.

What is fracking?

[fljustice]

Originally Posted by Miss Moppet

Kudos to you for doing all that back in the day, Faith. I'm afraid many women of my generation (in their 30s) and our younger sisters even more, grew up taking these rights for granted. Now we realise how hard a fight it was and maybe will be.

What is fracking?

Thanks, Miss Moppet! Yes it's time hit back and hit hard at this attempt to role back the clock. Young people need to register and vote, get involved. It's not easy, but it's the only way to preserve those hard-won rights.

As to "Fracking," it's short for hydraulic fracturing, the process of breaking open shale deposits underground to extract natural gas. Oil and gas companies force huge amounts of water (the hydraulic part) mixed with toxic chemicals into the shale deposits to bust them open. In many places where this is done, the local ground water becomes contaminated with the chemicals. There was a movie that came out a couple of years ago called Gasland that shows the ecological damage done. There are some scary videos where people's tap water can be set on fire. Several companies are asking to "frack" in upstate New York where NYC gets its water. This wouldn't be be localized problem affecting a few hundred people (reason enough to not risk it) but has the potential to contaminate the drinking water of 8 million people. Not worth the risk for energy we could get without risk from the sun, wind or waves.

Also "frack" or "fracking" is the substiute "F-word" in the SF series Battleship Galactica, but I'm referring to the gas extraction!

[Miss Moppet]

Originally Posted by fljustice

As to "Fracking," it's short for hydraulic fracturing, the process of breaking open shale deposits underground to extract natural gas. Oil and gas companies force huge amounts of water (the hydraulic part) mixed with toxic chemicals into the shale deposits to bust them open. In many places where this is done, the local ground water becomes contaminated with the chemicals. There was a movie that came out a couple of years ago called Gasland that shows the ecological damage done. There are some scary videos where people's tap water can be set on fire. Several companies are asking to "frack" in upstate New York where NYC gets it's water. This wouldn't be be localized problem affecting a few hundred people (reason enough to not risk it) but has the potential to contaminate the drinking water of 8 million people. Not worth the risk for energy we could get without risk from the sun, wind or waves.

Thanks for the explanation, it is pretty shocking! I certainly hope they do not get permission to go ahead in NY State.

[LoveHistory]

The sand mining for the fracking is a pain too. We have one within a few miles of our home. And another going in about 10 miles away. There are far more trains going through now, and some take longer because they have to stop and pick up cars loaded with sand. We live near the railroad tracks so we get to hear the whistles and watch the trains go by.

One of our neighbors thinks the mining has altered the water table in the area. Hard to say given how dry it's been so far this summer.