When did protecting women mean taking away their choice?

Look, Texas, I love you. I might not have been born and raised here, I might not even have really even liked living here when I first moved here (who really enjoys 100+ heat in the summer?) but this is my home. I know that this is still a very Republican state and as a Democrat my voice is not very loud or even likely to be heard. But let me take the time to tell you that you have got to stop trying to limit my rights as a woman.

When Wendy Davis stood up for 13 hours and talked to the Senate about how terrible SB5 was, you tried to impose rules that you don't impose on the male members of the Senate when they decide to filibuster a bill. Male members were allowed to try and talk over her, interrupt her and completely ignore the other members that were trying to speak out in support of Davis. Then, after it was past time to vote, you went ahead and let the vote happen. Supports of Davis lined the walkways circling the gallery and yet you ignored them in order to try and push this through. When it was determined that the vote was void and the bill was dead, our Governor Perry decided to call a special session beginning July 1 to consider this bill again.

I'm really baffled by Republicans in the Senate that keep saying that the government needs to stay out of citizens' lives but then create (and pass) legislation like SB5 that trample all over a woman's right to decide what to do with her body. Let me explain something to you, Texas, I know my body better than you do. I know what I need to eat, what exercise I need, what birth control suits me best, and even what sort of medical care I need. Let me decide what I do with it. If I know I am not fit to be a mother, let me make that choice. I know you don't want to have people on Welfare and other government programs, so allow me to make the choice that will keep me off of them. Doesn't that sound better?

I know that there are some politicians like Sen. Jodie Laudenburg seem to think that even something as procedural as a rape kit can cause an abortion, and there are other Senators elsewhere that seem to think that the female body can even stop a pregnancy from happening in the instances of "real" rape, so maybe it would be best for politicians to stop trying to create legislation about something that they don't understand. Did you realize that, while SB5 says abortions after 20 weeks after conception will not be allowed, it is scientifically impossible to determine the date of conception? Did you realize that most women don't consider having an abortion without serious consideration of their actions?  And can I let you in on a little secret? Banning abortions won't mean abortions don't happen. It means that they don't happen in a safe environment. It means they will happen illegally. It means they will be dangerous. It means women will travel out of state in order to obtain an abortion.

So, Texas, instead of revisiting a bill that that the people have made it clear they don't want, maybe you could spend your time in the special session working on issues that we actually need to focus on. Could you maybe spend some time looking at the fact that the education system in Texas is laughable at best? I don't think I'm asking too much here. I'm only asking for you to recognize your own rules and your own voting rules. Texas, I know we don't always see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, but can you just take the time to look at how unabashedly wrong this is? The people literally spoke and you didn't listen. People chose to stand with Wendy Davis both in Austin and across the nation.

I know a lot of Texas is a believer of the "right of the fetus" argument, but it is, pardon my French, absolute bullshit. Let me ask you something, if I have a baby in one hand and a petri dish with 1,000 embryos in it and I drop them both, which one would you rush to catch? 

Question and Answer: Game of Thrones

So I uploaded this to Youtube a couple weeks ago but there was some sort of issue that wouldn't allow Blogger to sync up with my Youtube account. Whatever the problem was, it has been resolved. So to tide you over until I have a new post/video to post, you can enjoy this. I'm hoping to have some very exciting news with my next post. But I don't want to spoil anything or jinx myself, so I won'w say what it is.

Enjoy and happy Monday! 

What does it mean to be a woman?

Being a woman is difficult. Guys like to joke about the fact that it would be nice to have boobs in order to get stuff, but I don't think they really get it.

Being a woman means getting paid less than a man for doing the same job. Or doing the same job better. Being a woman means accepting the fact that you will get passed over for jobs because of your gender. It means accepting the fact that some women in the office will not like you because you are "competition" (regardless of whether or not you're actually in a relationship). Being a woman means people will expect you to wear certain clothes. Being a woman means people deciding whether or not your clothing is too tight or revealing. Because obviously men have no control over their urges. 

Being a woman means listening to people catcall as you walk from your car to a restaurant. Being a woman means you have to accept these "compliments" or you're a frigid bitch. Being a woman means you have to sleep with a man after he buys you dinner a certain number of times or you're "leading him on". Being a woman means it was your fault for getting raped. Being a woman means you are responsible for a man's happiness because he has done a number of nice gestures. Being a woman means your goal in life is not a career but children otherwise you're selfish. 

Being a woman means you ave to look like the models you see in commercials (even though the models don't look like that). Being a woman means you have to spend hundreds of dollars on makeup and cream and sprays in order to look acceptable. Being a woman means being held to unattainable beauty standards.Being a woman means you are only allowed to sleep with a certain number of men or you're a slut or a prude. Being a woman means you want marriage (to a man) and children. Being a woman means you need to have curves, but not too many. Being a woman mean being afraid of being too skinny. Being a woman means fearing natural things like aging because then we aren't valued. Being a woman means you need to rid yourself of body hair. Except your eyelashes and the hair on your head.

Being a woman means fearing large numbers, whether it is your age, weight or dress size. Being a woman means being afraid to call yourself a feminist. Being a woman means faking it even if he isn't doing it for you. Being a woman means not being able to tell him he isn't doing it because you can't hurt his ego. Being a woman means accepting if you're in a toxic relationship, you have to act just so or its your fault for staying. Being a woman means acting dumb.

Being a woman means using your body in order to get free meals and drinks. Being a woman means men acting like these are not real issues that happen every day. Being a woman means not being able to tell people that you were raped because it was your fault. Being a woman means you're pushing back women's rights if you want the "traditional" life of being a mother. Being a woman means not being able to make the decision of whether or not you want to have something growing inside of you. Being a woman means accepting that politicians have a right to make decisions for your body.

Being a woman means labeled as "crazy" simply having the audacity of breaking up with a man. Being a woman means you're emotional and not to be trusted. Being a woman means you're obviously PMSing every single time you're upset. Being a woman means you have to change if you want a relationship to work. Being a woman means not being allowed to someone on a date because that would be too forward. Being a woman means being shamed by your own body. Being a woman means remembering that "girls don't count". Being a woman means being bisexual is just a phase, a way to grab attention.

But you're right, being a woman is obviously all about how easy life is "because you have boobs". 

Lifescouts Friday: Growing Up

I know it has been a few weeks since I did an edition of Lifescouts Friday, but they are back. At least for a little while. For some reason my Fridays have gone from slow and easy to chaotic and insanely busy. I'm not sure which I prefer.

Ride a Bike

Like most people, I learned to ride a bike as a child. Since I wasn't able to drive for obvious reasons and I didn't want to be at my own house unless absolutely necessary, I would spend a lot of time at my friends' houses growing up. And the only best way to get there? Riding my bike.

Camping

My husband and I disagree as to whether or not I have really gone camping. My idea of camping is the time my parents rented a cabin in the woods. Sure, we may have had electricity and plumbing and possibly internet, but it was still in the woods. So it counts as camping. Right?

Fly a Kite

I don't remember exactly when I have flown a kite since it really isn't something that most people spend hours doing, but I do have distinct memories of flying a kite and running around trying to get it to stay up longer. The problem with having repressed much of your childhood do to trauma is that you only have snapshots of memories like this. I know it happened but I can't remember where.

Rollerskating

In the 90's, everyone thought it was the coolest thing to be able to roller-skate. In the late 90's when I realized I wanted to be cool and liked, I took it up as well. The last time I did was when I lived up in DC, so it was at least 10 years ago. I don't know why I stopped, possibly because it wasn't "cool" anymore, but I remember it was a lot of fun with my friends.

Yo-Yo

In the fifth grade, we had some sort of assembly about DARE and keeping off drugs. And what did they suggest to do instead of drugs? Why, yo-yo of course! In the late 90's, yo-yoing was still kinda cool for kids and we would all try to learn better "tricks" and have the cooler yo-yo. I'm sure if I could even find a yo-yo I would succeed in nothing more than knotting it up.

Spring VoxBox: Tastykake® Kandy Bar Kakes

Last week, I told you that I had received my Spring Fever VoxBox, today, I'm telling you about it.

The Product The first thing I decided to try out was the Tasty Kakes Smores Bar I received. Why did I try this product first? Because it was around noon when I opened my box and I was hungry.

My Thoughts It wasn't too bad, but far too sweet for me to eat on a regular basis. It was soft and was good, I couldn't eat the entire thing since I simply don't eat sweets. I had about half of it and I was done. I think if Tasty Kake offered these bars in some sort of less desert-type option, it would be something I would definitely look at buying and keeping at my desk for a quick snack.

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Farwell Privacy, Hello Orwellian Society

When the report was released last week that Verizon has been forced to hand over data for it's users, I was appalled. Not only as a Verizon customer, but as an American.

It is pretty obvious that I don't mind living a public life. If I didn't, I wouldn't have a blog and twitter and utilize various other social media platforms. But I have the ability to decide what I share. If I have a bad day at work, I can keep it to myself. If I'm dealing with a personal crisis, I don't have to disclose that to the world. But I have the ability to decide what information is public knowledge.

The court order gives the NSA access to the people on the call, the location, the duration, and the time of the call. It does not force Verizon to divulge the contents of the calls. But this court order is for all customers, whether or not they are actually suspected of doing anything wrong. These customers are being spied on with no real reason for this to be allowed. Verizon was expressly forbidden to announce to its customers that this request or court order was even a concern. This data was collected for calls in and out of the country.

Finding out that my civil liberties have been violated in such a way is a disgusting feeling. To think that companies haven't been spying on us for years is a delusion that most people have given up on. We all have come to accept that companies like Google track our internet footprint in order to market to us better. Microsoft and X-Box have announced that the new X-Box will be connected to the internet constantly and will be spying on its users. Stories pop up every day about companies doing this. But for the government to be secretly gathering information (and forbidding the corporation from informing its customers of this) is a massive violation of our Constitutional rights. And while the court order does not directly give the NSA the allowance to listen in to calls, who is to say that they really haven't been?

Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox news "I’m a Verizon customer. I don’t mind Verizon turning over records to the government if the government is going to make sure that they try to match up a known terrorist phone with somebody in the United States." I can't seem to wrap my head around this statement. It is a huge violation of our rights to have the NSA gathering this information, but, on the off chance it does help, it is okay? (And besides, anyone that's seen NCIS know that terrorists and criminals use burn phones.) Sen. Saxby Chambiliss went so far as to say "This has been going on for seven years." So I guess we should just let it go because it has been happening without our knowledge?

I've been disappointed with Verizon for a while now. And, even though they really had no say in the matter, I'm disgusted that this has been allowed to happen. This is an excessive measure that takes the way our freedom and liberties in the name of "freedom" and "security". Some politicians are saying that this is to protect Americans from terrorists and various other "bad guys." But how long before these "bad guys" turn into people that don't agree with the government? How long before it is people like you or me that oppose policies and politicians and laws currently in place?

I've given serious thought to leaving Verizon because of this policy. But the thing is, who is to say whether or not this is happening to other carrier like AT&T or T-Mobile or Sprint? They may issue a statement saying they would never do this to their customers, but I don't know if that could be trusted. After all, Verizon was explicitly forbidden from informing their customers that this was happening. Who is to say that other companies aren't under the same sort of gag order?

Something needs to be done to stop this sort of action from continually happening to citizens. Citizens do not need this sort of surveillance. Protecting national security and protecting the status quo are not the same thing, but those in power may be unable to make the distinction.

Mack might already be leaving

Saturday, we picked up Mack from a trainer and took him to a Paws in the City event at Lee Harvey's. it was great to be able to spend time with Mack and his trainer. Not only just to get some time to get to know Mack, but also to learn about some of his difficulties and how to help him. 

And now, after only a couple of days, someone is already looking to adopt him. I think it's a good thing that it has happened so fast because otherwise I would have had a hard time letting go of him. 

I don't know why it is harder for me to let him go than our other fosters. Maybe it's because we spent so much time with him from Day 1. Maybe it's because he reminds me of a dog I had growing up. Maybe it's because he's such a big teddy bear. Maybe it's because I've actually been home lately. Whatever it is, I guess I just have to get over it if he really is going to a new home. I need to remember that if he goes to another home, we can help another dog, another wonderful animal that we're giving a second chance. 

And that's why I foster. Not for other people. Not for recognition. But to give an animal a second chance at life. I foster in order to give dogs like Sheba and Parker and Mack the chance to find a home where they will be loved. Because they deserve it. It is a terrible fact that if we hadn't been able to foster, any of these three dogs would have been euthanized because there wouldn't have been a place for PITC to place them after pulling them from a shelter. Austin and I have thought about just getting a second permanent dog for Sam, but we've decided that we would rather foster. 

Sam is such a versatile dog that gets along with everyone and every dog he meets. He enjoys meeting new people. And he actually helps shy, reserved dog come out of their shell. Just by simply being Sam he helps them to remember that they can play and have fun. he helps them in ways that no person ever could simply by being such a happy dog. While we were fostering Sheba, we didn't have Sam and I didn't realize how much of a help having a second dog would be. But now, after fostering a few dogs, I'm beginning to realize that dogs don't just need love and attention from people, they need to learn how to be a dog in a happy home. 

I am a bit sad to see Mack go, but I'm looking forward to the next dog we can take in, the next dog we can save. 

Foster number three: Mack!

Meet Mack! On Saturday, he's going to be our new foster. 

Austin and I are excited to be welcoming in our next foster with Paws in the City. Since we started volunteering with PITC a year ago, we've really enjoyed being able to go to the adoption events (although we haven't been able to make it to one recently...). Eight months ago we opened up our home to Sheba and she stayed with us for almost three months before she found her forever home. A month ago we decided it was time to foster again (really I just told Austin I was bringing home a dog the next day for us to foster). We had Parker with us for about three weeks, two of which he wasn't even up for adoption because he was recovering from getting fixed, before he found his new home. And now, after actually asking Austin's opinion, we're ready for the next foster. 

Mack is about a year and a half old and a retreiver/lab mix... and that's about all we know about him. We're looking forward to working with him to help him find a new home. 

If you're interested in Mack or Paws in the City, visit their website here for more information. 

Influenster: Spring VoxBox 2013

A couple weeks ago, I signed up to be a part of Influesnter. Basically, its a site that sends me samples of different things and asks me to review them. I wasn't sure about it but I figured why not, I can get stuff and them review it.

And on Saturday I got my first "VoxBox". In the next few days I'll be posting reviews of the items I received and what my initial reactions are. After only a few days, I've already decided that there are certain items I liked, certain things I really liked, and a few things that are kinda cool but just not for me. I'm still going through and testing out a few of the products, but when I do post my review of them, I"m sure it will be a wonderful, picture heavy post. 

Now, since the Federal Trade Commissions says I have to say this, "I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes".