Project Avalanche - One Snowflake Can Make A Difference

I'll do a Project Runway Junior recap in tomorrow's blog since the summaries I use for photos and secondary information are published online later for PRJr than for the standard PR. No problem though, since my brain is running a bit slower today anyway. Instead, I want to talk about the next step in the "10 Actions for 100 Days" movement.

There were a lot of Pink Pussyhats in Women's Marches throughout the world.
A veritable sea of pink. Chickie is still wearing her hat proudly, as are others
throughout the nation. 

If you recall, the initial focus was on the Women's March to Washington, at which millions of women around the world marched to show their support for human rights, women's rights and LGBTQIA rights. Pink "Pussy Hats" were worn by many and a feeling of solidarity with others was achieved. The first of the followup actions was to send postcards to your Senators, telling them which issues were most important to you, and reminding them that you are as valid of a constituent as any other. Did that.

Huddles will be informal gatherings to establish what is most important
to focus on and how best to continue to make an impact. 

The second action has now been announced, and it's one I won't do, at least not on the physical level. It's called "Huddle" and focuses on gathering together with others in a public venue or a private house to discuss issues of importance and ways in which the women can keep their focus, working for rights and changes under our new government. Although it's a really great idea for those who are social beings and who enjoy networking, it's a total "No" for me. I'm not huddling with anyone, I'll just stick to huddling from the frigid temperatures in my long purple coat. I am huddling in a virtual room, though, joining with Project Avalanche and mailing letters and snowflakes of concern. One snowflake, joined by many others, can become an avalanche.

One snowflake, when joined with millions of others, can
create an avalanche. 

Does that mean I won't be involved? Heck no! I'm tackling immigration and other issues of importance to me instead with Project Avalanche. Instead of focusing on our Senators, as the first action did, this one focuses on writing letters to your representatives. Inside of these letters, we encourage people to include snowflakes, one or many, each one identified as an issue of importance to you. The letters and snowflakes should be mailed between the dates of March 16-20 so that the offices of the Representatives are deluged with snowflakes - an Avalanche of Concern burying the offices of our Representatives in snowflakes. Are you looking for templates for your snowflakes? Follow this link for some really nice ones. I used one of these yesterday as a test and it worked really well.

On to the 365-day Meme for today ...

What kind of car are you driving?

I love my Mazda CX-5. It's the perfect car for me, although it
might be a bit too large for others. Chickie liked my car so much
that she bought a used 2014 model, identical to mine, when
she upgraded her car last year. 

I drive "Minion", a 2015 Mazda CX-5 in Red. I totally love my car. It has the space that I need, the versatility that I was looking for, gets excellent gas mileage (which would be a LOT better if I didn't do almost 100% short-run city driving) and makes a great Minion. I have two miniature Minions on my dashboard (from the Despicable Me 2 and Minions movies) and I actually have seat warmers as a standard feature - something I only found out about less than a month ago. Sometimes I can be a total dork.

List your pets.

Well, unless DH counts as a pet, I don't have any right now, so that's pretty simple. In the past I've owned several dogs and cats. Although I love both types of pets, my allergies have gotten worse as I've aged and I don't think I could tolerate a cat any more. I might look for one last dog when I retire because I do miss my dogs.

So that's it for a very cold Friday. The pool water will be so warm compared to the outside temperature, these are the best days for a good swim. Have a wonderful Friday. I'll be back tomorrow with my Project Runway Junior recap for the week.

Do Women Count Any More?

I'm a woman and I vote. That's what I told my two Senators in an email this morning as I thanked them for  attempting to circumvent the Hobby Lobby decision on the Senate floor earlier this week. But the measure failed and I'm disgusted with America and our political system once again.

Women in the US have only had the right to vote in the United
States since the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920. That means
we've been able to vote for less than one hundred years. Why aren't
we screaming out loud as our rights are being abrogated and
legislated against now? What happened to the drive of our
grandmothers and great-grandmothers? 

I absolutely understand that there are sometimes religious caveats that dictate forbidding birth control by any outside method, but birth control medication is used for more than just avoiding pregnancy. Over time, 90% of all women in the US will use birth control medication at some point in their lives, and not all will be using it for the purposes of contraception.

Around the world the rights of women are being stomped down. Honor
killings in some areas of the world have increased. The gang rapes of
teenaged women in India have been punished by mere slaps on the hand,
although the victims are dead. Are we moving back to a time when being
female meant being a second-class citizen? 

But thanks to the five men on the Supreme Court who saw fit to say that select businesses can opt out of providing this type of medical support to its employees, women who actually need this type of medication for their personal health cannot receive it under the corporate health plan. I do have to ask, and hope I'm not too snarky by doing so - are male sexual enhancement medications (Viagra, Cialis) or male contraceptive measures (vasectomy) still covered by the insurance plans when female versions are now not?

The US Supreme Court 2014 (from left) Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor,
Antonin Scalia, Stephen Breyer, Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito,
Anthony Kennedy, Elena Kagan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

Here's a list of Senators and how they voted. Please, write to your Senators to either thank them for acknowledging that their female constituents are as important as their male ones, or to assure your Senator that you are a female, you vote, and he/she will not be receiving your vote when their re-election comes up.

Voted FOR Women

Voted AGAINST Women

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D-CO) Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Sen. Cory A. Booker (D-NJ) Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-DE) Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA) Sen. Susan M. Collins (R-ME) Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-DE) Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY) Sen. Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) Sen. Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME) Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-WV) Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Sen. Christopher Murphy (D-CT) Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) Sen. Mark L. Pryor (D-AR) Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) Sen. John E. Walsh (D-MT) Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Sen. Daniel Coats (R-IN) Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) Sen. Michael B. Enzi (R-WY) Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-OK) Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) Sen. James E. Risch (R-ID) Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-AL) Sen. John Thune (R-SD) Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-PA) Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) Sen. Roger F. Wicker (R-MS) Not Voting Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI)

Why have I posted a political rant? I don't do this often. But as the laws in this nation lately seem to be cracking down on freedoms that women have worked so hard to win over the past 60 years, I'm not only getting incensed, I'm starting to get frightened. I worked for women's liberation throughout my youth and into my 20's and 30's. I know what huge strides were made by women in those years - the right to have separate credit, to have no fault divorce, to have abortions that were legal and safe, to have access to contraceptive and basic OB-GYN care no matter their income or residence, and the right to be considered a person who could stand with the men around her, not behind them. I'm seeing this ground that we fought so hard for crumble beneath our feet, and it frightens me that we are not joining together with our fellow sisters and saying "No More!"

Now we start to see mountains as we climb to the beginnings of the Alps. 

Today is Stage 12 in Le Tour de France, and although it seems odd to place the profile below a rant like I just gave, I still want to have it here for those of you who check in to see it. Here is Stage 12 which will end up in the beginning hills of the Alps. Tomorrow will be the first day of the big mountains, but today is no cakewalk. Have a good Thursday, and please, write or phone your Senators to either thank them or to tell them that you will not support the denial of female rights and will be following that up with your vote. Have a good Thursday.

International Women's Day - Are You Strong?

Today is International Women's Day. Some may ask "Why have a day set aside for women? It's not like they are a minority or a charity project or even a cause célèbre for the day."  But take a careful look around you and examine the women you interact with. Are they confident? Do they have options or are they living from one paycheck to the next? Are they able to save for their future? Are they abused? Do they have too many children to raise alone? Are they crying out silently for help? 

Women often stay in abusive situations because of fear
or because they have children and no funds. 

Women generally are paid less than men, absorb most of the child rearing functions, keep the homes running, are often abused, sold into slavery or imprisoned in the home. Often women see themselves as powerless. Often women are treated as a spoil of war. 

Look carefully at the women you know. Are they safe? 

But women are anything BUT powerless if they can join with other women. By reaching out to other women and some men, women can strengthen themselves, gain confidence and skills, and escape horrific situations. In order to do that, though, there has to be confidence that when they speak out, they will have the support needed to leave, to run, or to hide if necessary. 

If they are enslaved - help them break the shackles, real or imagined. 

If they are abused - give them a safe place to hide. Help them leave a bad situation. Help their children. 

If they are underpaid - try and help them increase their skills so that they can find a better paying job. 

Do you know a strong woman?

Do you know a strong woman? Is there a woman you want to remember, maybe even emulate? Tell me about her. 

Greet a new day of equality, no fear and sisterly support. Celebrate
International Women's Day and keep women's strength in your heart. 

Have a wonderful weekend...

A Look Back at Personal History

Last night I turned on Public Television and got caught. They are in the midst of the funding drive, usually one of those times when they show some of their more popular programs, and they were showing a show called "Makers". I don't know why I had never seen this one before, but I was truly hooked. "Makers" is a three-hour program about the history of the Women's movement. Now many of you who read my blog and daily post are young - born in 1980 or later. But those of us who are older remember the various fights for equality that occupied the 1960's and 1970's, among which were racial equality and sexual equality.

Did you know that airline stewardesses could only work until
they were 32 years old? After that age they were considered
too old and unattractive to be employed in that position.

I wish this was an unusual ad for the 1950's/1960's, but
it was actually fairly common. Women were expected
to be subservient to men and were also expected to
like it and buy into that image.

I was involved in the Women's Liberation movement, a member of NOW (National Organization of Women) and a subscriber to MS Magazine. I attended rallies, listened to speakers (even one magical night when Gloria Steinem spoke at my college) and fought hard for the right to have a meaningful career with reasonable pay and expectations of job advancement.

Gloria Steinem was the perfect spokesperson at the perfect time.
Beautiful, articular, and well educated, she took the movement
one step farther and was key to the success.

This was Gloria Steinem's first poster and it was beautiful
in its simplicity and staging.

Although women in World War II took up the jobs that men left behind as they joined the military and the war, when they returned from the European and Pacific theatres, the men picked up their hammers and wrenches again and the women returned to their homes. Throughout the 1950's and into the 1960's the primary purpose for women attending college was to obtain their MRS degree. Their BA or BS was considered secondary. After marriage (often while they were still in college) they were expected to stay at home, give birth to and raise the children, and be the perfect 'Holly Homemaker' for their husbands to return home to each night. Many women were happy in that role, but all too many felt that the world had suddenly been shut away from them and that they ossified in their new roles.

Apparently we could only do it while the men were away....

Things like spousal abuse were never discussed, indeed they were shoved under the carpet and simply didn't exist in the 'real world'. Jobs outside of the home, women handling financial responsibility of any kind, women in any corporate positions - they were more than rare. Into this vacuum came Betty Friedan and her book "The Feminine Mystique", first published in 1963. Suddenly someone had put the words of frustration and emptiness onto pages. If I had asked who of my mother's generation had read this book, I'm fairly sure it would have been almost 100% of my mother's female friends. At this time Help Wanted ads were separated into "Help Wanted - Men" and "Help Wanted - Female". Those jobs available for women were generally low-paying secretarial or waitress jobs with little or no chance of advancement. Into this came Betty Friedan followed later by Gloria Steinem and the voices of women were raised in joint concert to improve their futures and their choices.

Such a small thing - just a book. But it inspired
a generation of women and is still held in
high regard, even today.

I couldn't turn away from the television last night as I watched this. I even ordered the DVD because I want to see all three hours of the show. I remember those days and I'm so proud of what we accomplished. Today's women have a world of opportunities open in front of them. There are still glass ceilings. There are still challenges and issues to be faced, fought and conquered. But the world of fifty years ago was far different than the world of today and I was a small part of that. I'm very proud of my generation and my sisters in the Women's Liberation movement.

An Abridgement of Human Rights

Now, I'm well aware of the arguments, both pro and con, on abortion. And I'm also aware of the school of thought that a zygote is a person. But I firmly believe in a right to choose. And I firmly believe in human rights. When rights are dictated by the state or nation, and those rights infringe on personal freedoms that do not affect others either positively or negatively, then those rights are wrong. Get it? Wrong. I haven't worked for more than 40 years to emancipate women and then watch the law build the cages back up again. Please read and consider the post below. Just consider it. Think about it. That's all I ask.

And pass this message on to as many people as you can.

Originally posted by old_blueeyes at Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Originally posted by twbasketcase at Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Originally posted by gabrielleabelle at Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Okay, so I don't usually do this, but this is an issue near and dear to me and this is getting very little no attention in the mainstream media.

Mississippi is voting on November 8th on whether to pass Amendment 26, the "Personhood Amendment". This amendment would grant fertilized eggs and fetuses personhood status.

Putting aside the contentious issue of abortion, this would effectively outlaw birth control and criminalize women who have miscarriages. This is not a good thing.

Jackson Women's Health Organization is the only place women can get abortions in the entire state, and they are trying to launch a grassroots movement against this amendment. This doesn't just apply to Mississippi, though, as Personhood USA, the group that introduced this amendment, is trying to introduce identical amendments in all 50 states.

What's more, in Mississippi, this amendment is expected to pass. It even has Mississippi Democrats, including the Attorney General, Jim Hood, backing it.

The reason I'm posting this here is because I made a meager donation to the Jackson Women's Health Organization this morning, and I received a personal email back hours later - on a Sunday - thanking me and noting that I'm one of the first "outside" people to contribute.

So if you sometimes pass on political action because you figure that enough other people will do something to make a difference, make an exception on this one. My RSS reader is near silent on this amendment. I only found out about it through a feminist blog. The mainstream media is not reporting on it.

If there is ever a time to donate or send a letter in protest, this would be it.

What to do?

- Read up on it. Wake Up, Mississippi is the home of the grassroots effort to fight this amendment. Daily Kos also has a thorough story on it.

- If you can afford it, you can donate at the site's link.

- You can contact the Democratic National Committee to see why more of our representatives aren't speaking out against this.

- Like this Facebook page to help spread awareness.

Tunnels

So today I have my root canal.  I awoke this morning looking at the experience similar to looking at a tunnel.  This tunnel has an ending - an opening at the other side that I will exit from, and in six hours or so, I'll be back home, recovering, and I'm sure I'll be feeling much better in the long run.  It's a guarantee that I can't continue with the pain I've been in.  I can't eat anything hot or cold, and just biting causes twinges of pain.  I'm tired of taking high-powered pain meds, I want my life to return to "normalcy".  Yes, I know that's a laugh - there is no normalcy IN my life, but it's a goal, right? 

So I have an opening at the end of my tunnel, and that's a good thing.  There are many situations that people can find themselves in that have no escape, where the end of the tunnel is bricked off and they are trapped.  I feel very fortunate that I am not in a situation or country where that would be the case.  So while I am not looking forward to this dental procedure, I still send my heart out to my fellow women across the world who find themselves in situations where they are trapped - trapped in bad marriages, trapped by war or disease, trapped by being female in a world where that is one step above the value of a cow, or worse.  I will concentrate on how very lucky I am and I will thank Spirit for having placed me here in this time and place, with those around me who support me and help me.  I am blessed. 

10 Things Continued

10 Things You Want to Say to One Person

JRR Tolkien - I would love to spend a few hours in conversation

with him, but 10 questions?  I'm sure I would ask at least 10 because

I want to know everything! 

I thought about this one all day yesterday, but I can't decide on a single person that I would want to question.  I would like to spend time with JRR Tolkien, with my birth mother, and with some other famous people such as Dante and Da Vinci, but I don't have 10 questions for them.  I would rather just spend an evening in their company and see where conversation would take us.  So, I will move on to: 

10 Wishes

1 - World Peace.  I know it sounds trite, and I know that the chances for this actually happening are slim to none, but a person can hope. 

2 - I want a younger body with my mind just about where it is now.  Younger, thinner, it would be good. 

3 - An absolute cure for Alzheimer's Disease and dimentia.  There is so much that we can learn from our elders, but they are trapped inside failing minds and cannot share with us. 

4 - A world-wide appreciation and understanding about wilderness.  In other words - open the hearts of the people on this world to want to save the beauty of this world. 

5 - An understanding that just because we are often the top of the food chain, it doesn't mean that we have the right to destroy life without some thought and prayer to that life. 

6 - A greater understanding of parenting skills.  So many of the problems in today's world stem from people raising children who are clueless and do not provide direction, a moral compass, and consequences for actions.  Shame on them because all of us have to live with their poor results. 

7 - An end to religious government.  Religion is religion and government is government and they shouldn't mix. 

8 - An understanding of the value of all people.  Yes, women are equally valuable and equally capable as men, and all cultures should value women as much as men. 

9 - A justice system that actually practices justice, not just the polarities of incarceration or death. 

10 - Love.  Isn't it true that "All You Need Is Love"?

Ending With a Bang

The month of January is ending with a bang.  We're getting extreme weather throughout the US today, bringing extreme temps and snow from the West Coast through to the East Coast.  Since I have an appointment at my Chiropractor this morning, I'll get to drive a bit slower and a bit more carefully, which will push me behind on time.  But, I am sure to build in plenty of time before I have to be at the shop, so a delay is already calculated in. 

I had a nice and relaxed Sunday.  The snowflakes that fell were few and far between, so no shoveling.  We picked up the paper from the house of my Father-by-marriage, and then dropped by Barnes & Noble on the way home.  I downloaded a book recommended by a friend and DH found a really nice book on gardens and stone that he wanted for artistic inspiration.  We had a quick meal at Taco Bell and then went home, read and watched some recorded TV shows from earlier in the week (I'm recommending Face Off - SyFy on Wednesday nights - to all my friends.  It's a reality show/competition for makeup special effects artists.  Well worth watching.)  I ended up the day with my nose in my Nook, of course.  Now, back to the grind. 

Looters even broke into the National Museum and destroyed two

mummies.  So what luck for the incredible treasures of Egypt

if ignorant people topple the government?  Things will be destroyed

and ignored again, priceless items will be lost.  Egypt is a tragedy

in the making. 

And the events in Egypt are frightening.  The question begs asking, "What kind of government will they end up with"?  There are a lot of similarities with the Russian Revolution as well as other revolutions that have occurred throughout the world.  And Egypt is a moderate to extreme Muslim nation.  So will this turn out to be another government in which women will be oppressed?  Egypt, in Pharonic times, was a land that gave women more rights than any other nation on earth.  Now it could fall back into the Middle Ages and condemn women to a life of shadow.  It would be a pity.