soothing

after a hard week at work (yes, it's only wednesday) there is nothing i like more than to zone out. i especially like zoning out when the political news of the day gives me gas. so in recognition of the CMOS going online with a subscription, here's their Q&A section, where you can zone out while pondering the correct usage of its.

Chicago Manual of Style - Q&A

(i saw its used three times incorrectly today and it drove me nuts.)

hide that diaphragm, ladies.

i think i just got heartburn.

no longer just a hidden paranoia amongst the pro-choice, the new evangelical 'war' on contraception has finally broken the surface. i knew it would happen.

i love all the space given to the anti-family planning side while the pro-family planning side is given just a few inches toward the end, legitimizing the idea that people (mostly women) shouldn't have the right to use contraception.

Abortion foes' new rallying point | Chicago Tribune

so.
all those married ladies on the pill or using the sponge, diaphragm or IUD? forget it.
all those married guys who don't want to get a vasectomy and so use condoms? too bad.
everyone else who doesn't want to get pregnant (for various reasons) and who don't believe the same as others about the place of sex in a relationship (or out of one)? yeah, too bad.

sex is only for married folks, people. the fundies have said so.
and now they're going to FORCE you to be celibate.

whether you like it or not.
...

update: want some stats on men, the 'male pill' and their usage of contraception? here's something from planned parenthood -

Ask Dr. Cullins: Birth Control

Q: How soon will it be before there's a pill for men?
A: There are still years to go, although there seem to be breakthroughs in the research every once in a while. Finding a safe and effective way to keep a man from producing millions of sperm a day has proven to be more difficult than it is to keep a woman from producing one egg a month.
However long it takes, it will be worthwhile. Men are very willing to take responsibility for birth control, even though there are comparatively few options for them. In fact, men now take responsibility for more than a third of all contraception. More than 20 percent of all couples who use contraception rely on the condom. Nearly 11 percent rely on vasectomy. Three percent rely on withdrawal. And more than two percent rely on periodic abstinence.

for those who know who i am, look for a letter in the Trib this weekend re: the Federal Election Integrity Act.

heh.

(oh, and if the probability of having to BUY a freaking passport to prove your citizenship pisses you off, even though you're already registered and can prove your identity otherwise, and you don't buy the whole straw man argument about this being about voter fraud when this is just really another example of bashing immigrants while there's nothing but anecdotal BS about illegal immigrants committing large scale fraud, and you suspect this is really about suppressing the vote among the poor and the brown, then you really need to call your senator right now to vote NO. really.)

9.11

the Gen X-er in me balks at the maudlin regularity of the tributes, memorials and such but here's a devotion i found in my inbox this morning from my pastor:

Devotions: Monday, September 11, 2006
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 3:8-12

Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing. For

“Those who desire life
and desire to see good days,
let them keep their tongues from evil
and their lips from speaking deceit;
let them turn away from evil and do good;
let them seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (nrsv)

Reflection
Each one of us, I know, will find ourselves reflecting, pondering, wondering, praying today on this anniversary of 9/11. Our faith, our church, our precious traditions have sustained us these past five years. They have continued to deepen our understanding and show us how God is present in every circumstance, even dreadful events, with creative and life-giving love.

Our mothers and fathers in the faith, in the early Christian church, lived with the constant threat of persecution, imprisonment, death. Letters circulated among those separate tiny communities, extending love, encouragement, and hope. The words might have been written to us on September 11: “Have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing.”

As we continue to struggle with how best to respond to what happened to us, may those of us who have staked our lives on One who was and is “light shining in darkness” remember our vocation: to show the world something of God’s purposes--“unity, sympathy, love, tenderness, humility, blessing.”

Prayer
Dear God, I bring to you all that is in my heart today: all the anguish and anger, all the fear, all the love for my country and my hope for the future. I commend to your eternal love all the victims and to your care their families and friends. I pray for our leaders, for the women and men of our armed forces, and for all the people of the world. I pray for peace: the peace of the world, peace in my nation, and peace in my heart. O God, help me this day to know and to demonstrate something of your presence, your love and your intent for a world characterized by sympathy, tenderness, humility, and blessing. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Written by John Buchanan, Pastor

what's a girl to wear?

so as the weather cools out, a girl's thoughts naturally turn to Fall fashion. i love this time of year - back to 'school', tights, pumps, sweaters and jackets, smooth hair, plum lipstick. last year i went with Sexy Librarian.

this year it has been recommended that i go with The Tailored Tomboy.

or, as i like to put it: The Sexy Librarian's Sexy Butch Cousin.

it's a recommendation that comes just in time for the new boy - uh, man - who's suddenly appeared on the Ding scene. heh.

(i need a name for him...something that conveys HunkyTallStrappingBroadArtyCrunchyGranolaFurnitureMaker Man. something like Paul Bunyan but less...rustic.)

The Mothers Movement Online: mommies of the world unite!

so i won't have to bury this piece down there in comments, here's something on the limitations of the mommy wars and how we really need to start talking about more important things - like, how our culture needs to change so that *all* mommies can do what they need to do.

from the article: "Maybe we can quit beating the dead mommy wars horse, and start talking about how family and work can fit together in the twenty-first century." [emphasis mine]

it's a fascinating site that's pro-mommy and pro-social change. it all goes to show: not all mommies are cut from the same mold.

The Mothers Movement Online

politics of the boob: nursing at work

this is fascinating. who knew that breastfeeding at work could hold such political implications?

from the article:

For those with autonomy in their jobs — generally, well-paid professionals — breast-feeding, and the pumping it requires, is a matter of choice. It is usually an inconvenience, and it may be an embarrassing comedy of manners, involving leaky bottles tucked into briefcases and brown paper bags in the office refrigerator. But for lower-income mothers — including many who work in restaurants, factories, call centers and the military — pumping at work is close to impossible, causing many women to decline to breast-feed at all, and others to quit after a short time.

It is a particularly literal case of how well-being tends to beget further well-being, and disadvantage tends to create disadvantage — passed down in a mother’s milk, or lack thereof.

[emphasis mine]

why is this interesting to me, since these boobs of mine will never fill with milk? because it's a great example of how class privilege gets expressed (heh) in our culture. it's more than an academic exercise; it's two different realities for women who are in similar nursing situations. these women all have breasts, milk, children and need but only one set has access to the equipment, the time, the privacy. and because of this difference, based on class, there are health care implications for both of these sets of children (and their mothers.)

it's all linked, when you look at it closely.

i wonder what would happen in that law firm mentioned in the article if one of the assistants used the lactation room provided for the lawyers. would she be forbidden? and are the women with privilege even aware that there's this dichotomy? or do they even care? i'd care. a lot.

read the article here: On the Job, Nursing Mothers Find a 2-Class System - New York Times