Open Letter to CNN from a CCATT team in Afghanistan
by Scott Vandehoef on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 10:10am ·

February 20, 2012

Dear Mr. Anderson Cooper and CNN,

Although I am sure that you receive thousands of communication attempts per day, I remain hopeful that this letter will cross your desk, or that of an appropriate staff member.  My name is Adam Tibble, and I am currently deployed at Camp Bastion, in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan.  I am a critical care air transport physician for the US Air Force.  My team includes a critical care nurse, Captain Frank Brisendine, and a respiratory therapist, Staff Sargent Robby Wilson.  Together we transport our severely injured soldiers within Afghanistan and onto medical facilities in Germany.  The work represents a difficult paradox for us.  It is incredibly rewarding and heartbreaking at the same time.  The injury patterns inflicted by enemy fire and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) are awe-strikingly severe, and serve to stir emotions rarely experienced by medical personnel.

Just the other day, we flew two critically ill patients to another US hospital within Afghanistan.  Following the mission, my team sat, exhausted, eating lunch at an American dining facility.  CNN played passively on a television in the background, and a large group of US Marines was positioned on our right.  Given the condition of their boots and their aggressive chewing, it was obvious that these guys had just returned from the field “outside the wire.”  For 50 straight minutes, CNN’s coverage failed to deviate from the day-old Whitney Houston tragedy.  I lifted my eyes up from my food as a handful of Marines were clearing their trays.  One Marine leaned back to his buddy after gesturing to the TV and said, “Man, no one gives a shit about what we did yesterday.”

At that moment, I craved for the American public to be informed as much about a Marine’s sacrifice as the life of a music legend.  In no way is this letter an indictment of CNN, its coverage, or Ms. Houston.  In fact, we scour your website, as it is one of the most respected sources of journalism in the world.  Rather, this is a challenge to devote a percentage more coverage to the true heroes in this conflict.

For example, our team had the honor of transporting a special forces medic who suffered incredible injury.  As pragmatic medical minds, we didn’t necessarily believe in a patient “fighting” for their life.  But, this medic changed all of that as he tolerated replacement of his blood volume too many times to count.  He made it to Germany to see his family before succumbing to his wounds.  He represents a real-life “Saving Private Ryan” story as his brother also lost his life in this nearly forgotten conflict.

Or what about the two US Army PFCs (Private First Class) that we flew on the day of Ms. Houston’s overdose?  Each soldier lost two legs and one hand in IED attacks.  In total, six limbs were lost in a matter of seconds on February 11, 2012.  The American public will never know their names, but will likely know the results of Ms. Houston’s blood toxicity screen.  However, we submit that these soldiers are more hero than any rockstar, athlete, or actor that dominates the headlines.  We will never know the courage or bravery it takes to join that convoy or be the first to enter that cave, nor will we forget the sacrifice they made for our country.  CNN is in the unique position to not let the American public forget, either.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the 1% and the 99% of America.  Less than 1% of the population belongs to this all-volunteer military that has been tested by two wars for over 10 years.  The political and foreign policy implications of these conflicts make them hard to understand, and even more impossible to hold the general American public interest.  And to be honest, it is sometimes difficult for us to understand as service members.  However, these kids still join that convoy and enter that cave, only because of their incredible bravery, commitment, and because America asked them to.

Therefore, in turn, we plead with one of the most respected news agencies in the world to return the favor–to recognize the elite of our 1%, perhaps with a hero highlighted per week, or per day.  There are thousands of stories out here.  We would be happy to help you find these heroes and stories.  Please ask.  Then, maybe, CNN can tell that Marine in the dining hall that we all, in fact, do give a shit about what they did yesterday.

Sincerely,

Adam Tibble, Captain, USAF, MD
Critical Care Air Transport Physician
Cardiac Anesthesiologist
Travis AFB, Fairfield, CA

Frank Brisendine, Captain, USAF, RN
Critical Care Air Transport RN
Travis AFB, Fairfield, CA

Robert Wilson, Staff Sergeant, USAF, RT
Critical Care Air Transport RT
Travis AFB, Fairfield, CA

Toronto Sun
February 24, 2012 05:24 PM EST

Tonya Parker, an African-American lesbian judge in Texas, refuses to marry straight couples until everyone in the state has the right to marry.

Turning away would-be newlyweds is “my opportunity to give them a lesson about marriage inequality in this state,” Parker told a meeting of the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas earlier this week.

She said it’s “oxymoronic” for her to perform a ceremony that can’t be performed for her.

Instead, she refers couples to other judges in the courthouse with an explanation along the lines of “I’m sorry. I don’t perform marriage ceremonies because we are in a state that does not have marriage equality, and until it does, I am not going to partially apply the law to one group of people that doesn’t apply to another group of people,” she told the meeting.

In a statement to the media issued Thursday and quoted on the Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate, Parker said she would never impede anyone from getting married, but said she is not duty-bound to officiate over ceremonies and so chooses not to.

Parker was elected to the bench in 2010. She is the first gay person elected judge in Dallas County and is believed to be the the first openly gay black elected official in the state’s history, according to Dallas Voice, a news site for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community.

“KNOCK ‘EM DEAD”
A PLAY SET AT “VINNIE’S BELLY LAUGH CLUB”
DIRECTED BY LARRY TEMPLE
Friday April 27, 2012 6 pm—9’ish pm
Saturday April 28, 2012 6 pm—9’ish pm
Sunday April 29, 2012 1 pm—4’ish pm
Tickets are $20.00 per person or Buy a table of 8 for $160.00

Due to content of the play, guests must be Sixteen (16) or older to attend.
Dinner menu:  Smoked Pork Dinner w/ Sides & Dessert (Hamburger substitute if requested)
Make your reservation by calling ECF Chaplaincy at 785-472-6212
Reservations must be made by April 19th, 2012
All Proceeds will go to the Spiritual Life Center.
Mail Check/Money Order to:  ECF SLC, P.O. Box 107 Ellsworth, Kansas 67439

This unique comedy/murder mystery has six different endings! All hell breaks loose and the laughs fly when five outrageous contestants show up at Vinnie’s Belly Laugh Club for the final talent competition. A ventriloquist with moving lips, a foul-mouthed standup comedian, a baton twirling bimbo, the flamboyant owner of a lip synching poodle, a chanteuse with a questionable accent and a hypnotist with a twitch all fight to win the grand prize. When Vinnie turns up dead, they’re all suspects and the audience has the time of its life grilling them and fingering the murderer. A long running hit in Phoenix and San Diego, it is ideal for little theaters, cabarets and dinner theaters.

Todd Britton
Correctional Facilities Specialist
Ellsworth Correctional Facility
785-472-6209

Los Angeles Times
By Matt Pearce

February 23, 2012, 2:14 p.m.
Reporting from Kansas City, Mo.—

Kansas is considering raising taxes on its poor and cutting them for everybody else.

State Republicans have been campaigning to overhaul the tax code in Kansas to spur growth. The idea is that, by eliminating income taxes for residents and small businesses, lowering the sales tax and ditching a host of tax credits, Kansans will have more money and thus stimulate the economy.

But for the state’s poorest, the devil is in the details.

A Kansas House tax committee passed a bill in which anyone making less than $25,000 a year — roughly half a million of the state’s 2.9 million residents — will pay an average of $72 more in taxes, while those making more than $250,000 — about 21,000 people — will see a $1,500 cut, according to Kansas Department of Revenue estimates cited by the Kansas City Star.

The hike would come from the elimination of tax credits typically benefiting the poor.

The Kansas House bill, still under review by legislative leadership, is actually a less-ambitious version than one initially proposed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback in which the poorest would pay $156 more in income taxes while those making $250,000 a year would pay $5,200 less.

The state’s liberals, probably as you’d expect, have been outraged.

“It’s been Robin Hood in reverse,” Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, told the Kansas City Star in mid-January. “What we are doing is stealing from the poor to give to the rich.”

The state’s conservatives, probably also as you’d expect, didn’t quite see it that way.

“Our goal is for our economy to look more like Texas, and a lot less like California,” Brownback said in a Wall Street Journal editorial praising the anti-income-tax plan.

How much like Texas? Kansas’ unemployment rate is among the lowest in the nation, with 6.3% unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Texas’ is 7.8%. The USDA’s Economic Research Service  estimates Kansas’ poverty rate to be 13.5%, while Texas’ is 17.9%.

Reaganomics mastermind Art Laffer is getting paid $75,000 to consult on the state’s overhaul, and he ran into some flak in January when he arrived to give testimony on the new plan, according to the Kansas City Star.

Kansas NOW, which recently sounded the alarm when Topeka symbolically decriminalized domestic abuse because of a municipal funding shortfall, challenged Laffer on the elimination of an earned-income tax credit used by single mothers, according to the Star, to which Laffer responded that the best form of welfare is a high-paying job.

Peg, some conservatives have decided that there is a new evil spreading throughout our land: the Girl Scouts.

Click here to add your name to the petition supporting the Girl Scouts, before this new attack spreads.

Because the Girl Scouts do not denounce birth control, non-Christians, or the LGBT community, a growing number of wingnuts have decided that the youth organization promotes abortion, paganism and “homosexual lifestyles.”  Some churches have even begun kicking out Girl Scout troops:

Several Girl Scout troops in Chantilly, Va., have been banned from meeting at a local Catholic church and a neighboring school.[…]

According to the Arlington Diocese, the pastor did not believe the National Girl Scouts membership to the World Association of Girl Guides & Girl Scouts aligned with the message of the church, stemming from a perceived connection between WAGGGS and Planned Parenthood

The anti-Girl Scout fringe also has at least one elected official on its side: Indiana Republican State Rep. Bob Morris refused to vote for a resolution celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts because after “talking to some well-informed constituents” and conducting “a small amount of web research,” he determined that the Girl Scouts are a “tactical arm of Planned Parenthood” that encourages “homosexual lifestyles.”

Don’t let social conservatives smear the Girl Scouts for promoting tolerance, diversity and responsible education. Click here to add your name to the petition supporting the Girl Scouts.

Thanks for all you do,
Chris Bowers, Daily Kos

Karen is having a birthday today…Feb. 22nd.  It’s a milestone 60.

Karen…I hope your day is very special and that you have many, many more fabulous birthdays.

Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act - Vote Agreed to (60-36, 4 Not Voting)

The Senate gave final approval to the agreement to extend the Social Security payroll tax rate cut, which was reduced from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent last year, through the end of 2012. The bill also extends certain unemployment benefits and Medicare physician payment rates through the end of the year. The president is expected to sign the bill into law.

Sen. Pat Roberts voted Not Voting
Sen. Jerry Moran voted NO

Grandson, Drew Britton, who works in Boulder CO. at Vectra Bank Boulder Broadway Branch, was named “Relationship Banker of the Year” at an awards ceremony in Denver this week.  His achievements were recognized among all the bankers within the Vectra banking system composed of 36 banks in Colorado.

Congratulations, Drew.  You’re accumulating some outstanding awards.

Oklahoma Democrat Adds ‘Every Sperm Is Sacred’ Amendment To Personhood Bill

By Marie Diamond on Feb 8, 2012 at 4:40 pm

Despite being rebuffed by voters in Mississippi and Colorado, proponents of the “personhood” movement are still pushing to enact legislation in states like Ohio and Oklahoma that would give zygotes the same rights as American citizens. These bills would not only criminalize abortion in all circumstances, they would also outlaw common forms of contraception, as well as in vitro fertilization.

To poke fun at the absurdity of the measure, Oklahoma state Sen. Constance Johnson (D), has tacked on a provision affirming — in the words of a famous Monty Python song — that every sperm is sacred:

State Senator Constance Johnson of Oklahoma City has served Oklahoma’s 48th Senate District since 2005, but it was yesterday’s introduction of Senate Bill 1433 that really pushed her over the edge. The bill sought to define human life as beginning at the moment of conception, before it’s even implanted in the womb, and offers full legal protection to those tiny multicelled lumps. In the words of the bill, “the unborn child at every stage of development (has) all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of this state.”

Johnson submitted an amendment of her own to the bill, which would have added the language,

However, any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman’s vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child.

Among other things, Johnson’s amendment would essentially outlaw oral sex, anal sex, and masturbation. Were it not a satirical bill, it would almost certainly be deemed unconstitutional.

To prove that her amendment was in jest, Johnson voted with her colleagues to table it later in the day. But it does illustrate a serious point: only about half of fertilized eggs develop into a pregnancy. If Republican lawmakers are willing to declare every cluster of cells with the potential to become a fetus a person, why stop at fertilized eggs? Why not sperm as well?

To protest the inherent sexism of the personhood bill, another Democratic senator attempted to add an amendment that would require the father of the child to be financially responsible for the mother’s health care, housing, and other expenses while she is pregnant.

“And if you *really* want to get in a lather about extremists in the Kansas legislature, here’s one: Janice L. Pauls, a “Democrat,” who has led the gay-bashing charge in the legislature for 20 years. She wrote the hate amendment banning marriage equality, wrote the Kansas “defense of marriage” act, and made sure the unconstitutional sodomy law stayed on the books last year. Every time we have a hearing on discrimination issues, she’s there to testify against us. You want to get excited about a heinous, extremist legislator? Jan Pauls is your gal.”

“Finally, there’s this creep: Lance Kinzer, Jan Pauls’ spiritual heir. When he’s not treating women’s uterus like public property, Kinzer likes to bully college students in committee hearings, especially if they’re lesbians. He also gets off on writing some of the nastiest anti-gay legislation our state has seen. He tried (and failed) to ban Lawrence’s domestic partnership registry, and now he’s trying to wipe out local non-discrimination ordinances that protect LGBT Kansans. Here’s the problem with Kinzer: Where Kay O’Connor was nuttier than a fruitcake, Kinzer is smart and knows how to play the system. Worry about this guy, not Kay O’Connor.” Thomas Witt

I hit on a recipe last night that I really like. The basis for it came out of Kansas Country Living magazine, but, of course, I had to improvise.

Tuscan Glazed Chicken Breasts:

I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and put them on a jellyroll pan (lined with aluminum foil for easy clean up)  then sprinkled them sparingly with Tony’s Chachere’s seasoning and fresh ground pepper.

I can’t tell you the exact amount of the following, and it doesn’t really matter.  I had three breasts to cover so I just guessed from that.

To a big dollop of Hellman’s mayonnaise (maybe 2/3 cup), I added a couple teaspoons of balsamic vinegar, about one tablespoon Italian seasoning, several cloves of fresh garlic, chopped, and maybe 1/4 cup of chopped roasted red peppers (out of a jar).  Mix that and spread evenly on the chicken breasts.  Mine were well covered with the thick sauce.  Over that, I sprinkled fine Italian bread crumbs.

I pre-heated the oven to 425 degrees and cooked the breasts for half hour or so.  After they were nice and brown, I reduced the heat to 350 and continued baking until they were done.  It made for a wonderful dinner along with a baked sweet potato and green peas.  (I had my romaine/veggie salad for lunch.)

The neat thing is, the sliced cold breast and that lovely sauce on a slice of whole wheat bread makes a fantastic, flavor-filled sandwich.  I prefer it cold, but I suppose you could heat it if you liked.  It’s very easy to prepare and a keeper recipe.

Beloit Area Concert Association

The Gizmo Guys, rapid-fire, side-splitting comedy jugglers
Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
Beloit Municipal Building
Beloit, Kansas

For the Gizmo Guys website, CLICK HERE

Contact:  Charles Frodsham, 785 738-0300
DeeAnn Harbaugh,  785 738-2980

The Beloit Area Concert Association, as part of their 62nd season, presents the comedy jugglers The Gizmo Guys, Tuesday, February 14, 7:30 p.m. at the Beloit Municipal Building.

The Gizmo Guys are Allan Jacobs and Barret Felker, who have amazed and amused audiences around the world.  Their rapid-fire juggling act exhilarates and inspires side-splitting laughter in audiences of all ages - from toddlers to great-grandparents.

Jacobs and Felker have worked in a variety of venues including theatres, corporate functions, arts councils, and cruise ships.  But what makes their act so appealing is their uniquely winning combination of dazzling technique and infectious humor.

Admission to the Gizmo Guys is by season membership, or $25 per family at the door.  For more information contact DeeAnn Harbaugh in Beloit at 785-738-2980

Lucas Area Community Theater Movies for Feb. 10, 11, 12 First Show -

“Joyful Noise” PG-13 @ 7pm Fri & Sat, 5pm Sun. Second Show - “War Horse” PG-13 @ 9:15pm Fri & Sat, 7:15pm Sun.

Lucas is a great place to go to see the latest movies…you not only save money, have wonderful surroundings, and enjoy the best popcorn in this part of the world, but you’ll also find it’s affordable/inexpensive.  Stop in Brant’s to buy some of his good meat specialties to take home, as an extra treat.

Rev. Kathryn Timpany,

First Congregational UCC, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
February 8, 2012

Some days are so full of gifts they can’t be counted.

The mild winter continues. Cabin fever is a memory from past years. Money spent on fuel and snow-removal is now available for something else.

Massive social change is possible, and it can be accomplished without cataclysmic uprisings, as we are witnessing in the Arab Spring movement. As Tim Robbins’ character in The Shawshank Redemption comments after he escapes from prison by chipping a tunnel one teaspoonful at a time over 30 years, “It just takes a little bit of pressure and little bit of time.” Here in American we have gone from a country where we were taught how to smoke properly at sorority rush parties and handed free cigarettes when we joined the Army to one where we are talking about banning smoking in public parks. Here in America it has only taken a couple of generations to move from government sanctioned heterosexism to a majority of our citizens celebrating the court decision that recognizes the ban on gay marriage in California as a flagrant denial of dignity for a class of American citizens.

The Internet. What else is there to say, even for a dinosaur like myself. At the click of the mouse, I am immersed in a research library that broadens my scope of knowledge and reduces my prep time for preaching by half. I read my email from around the world. I watch the weather, the stock market, the world news. I read the daily Still Speaking devotional from the United Church of Christ that comes right to my mailbox. I order clothes, books, airline tickets, all while I drink one cup of coffee. I pay my bills, “talk” to folk on Facebook, and write this column, all before breakfast without having to leave home.

Smart phones.

The community of care we call The Church. Here is something that can be absolutely counted on: when trouble raises its head and snarls at you, you will not be alone. When death darkens your door, you will not be alone. When you fall in love, or welcome a new baby into your home, or accomplish your dreams, you will not be alone. You can count on experiencing compassion, generosity, the joy of someone willing to go the extra mile with you. If you are not experiencing those things in a community that calls itself The Church, you may want to look around for a different gathering. Or you may discover you have been invited to help heal and revitalize a gathering that has lost its way, if not its heart and mind.

When the sun rises and there is frost on the window, it is time to stop and marvel.

Introverts are finally getting their day. There has been a recent flurry of articles and books celebrating the gifts of inwardness that help a society remain well-balanced. Without persons who have the ability to reflect and imagine, the world can go off at an awful tilt.

Did you know there is a Women’s Midlife Care group of physicians in town? Yes, there is a place where the science of hormones intersects the boldness of common sense. Yes, there is a place where aging in an over-sexualized culture is not seen as something to dread, but to celebrate.

Gas may be more expensive again, but phone calls get cheaper all the time. There is no excuse for not being in touch with those you love any more.

Everybody gripes about the cost of health care, but there is this amazing trend that deserves kudos –people are living longer and with a better quality of life than ever before. Joints can be replaced. Stents can be installed. Organs can be transplanted. Great-grandparents can hold their greatgrandchildren on their laps. Many diseases that were death certificates have been eradicated. It’s hard to think of a better use for our money than that.

Music.

Memory.

Hospice care.

Fresh food every day. Clean water every day.

The courage to notice that millions of people world-wide do not enjoy days full of gifts like all these.

The courage to notice, and then the will to be a part of the solution, in any way you can.

may you see how many gifts you can count today, and then may you quit counting after a while and start sharing them

Of course this never would have been an issue if prepubescent boys could get pregnant.

From Daily Kos
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offer a compromise on birth control

by Barbara MorrillFollow

Compromise: Do it our way or burn in hell

Since last month’s announcement by the White House that the Affordable Care Act will require employee health insurance to cover contraception without co-pays, we’ve watched as the outrage of celibate men and the Republican Party melded into a perfect storm of religious fervor and political pandering.

But finally, a way out of the apparently controversial concept of providing American women with basic health care has been found. From the general counsel for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, a compromise has been offered:

“There has been a lot of talk in the last couple days about compromise, but it sounds to us like a way to turn down the heat, to placate people without doing anything in particular,” Picarello said. “We’re not going to do anything until this is fixed.”

That means removing the provision from the health care law altogether, he said, not simply changing it for Catholic employers and their insurers. He cited the problem that would create for “good Catholic business people who can’t in good conscience cooperate with this.”

Problem solved! Restrict access to a basic health service for all women.

Of course this never would have been an issue if prepubescent boys could get pregnant.

HELEN:

Margaret, do you remember how angry we were the day we finally realized that women’s legs are not harder to shave than men’s faces, but rather razors made for women can’t hold a candle to those made for men? And the women’s razors are more expensive to boot. I’d like to meet the asshats at Gillette and give them a piece of my mind. Did they really think we wouldn’t mind just because they made the razors pink?

And speaking of pink, this whole mess with Komen should be a wake-up call to women everywhere. Komen knew damn well that this had nothing to do with mammograms and everything to do with politics. They just thought we wouldn’t notice because the ribbons were pink. They knew what they were getting when they hired Karen Handel. She ran for office in Georgia with a campaign promise to close down Planned Parenthood. Exactly what women’s health clinics did they think we women were using for years before we started racing for a cure? Did they think that the millions of us who had gone to Planned Parenthood before we had health insurance (and even after) weren’t aware of the services we were provided? Trust me. When you go to a place and have a doctor poke around your hoo-ha, you pay attention.

Nancy Brinker, shame on you. You honestly thought your fellow women were so stupid that we would think your reason for defunding Planned Parenthood was somehow different than the never-ending cry for defunding that comes from the far right every election cycle? Well I am here to tell you that it is bad enough when it comes from the male-dominated, testosterone-filled legislatures. But when it comes from a supposedly apolitical women’s health organization, it’s unforgivable. Your original intent when you started this organization was noble and I commend you. But honey, you have lost your way. So much so that you were willing to put tens of thousands of women in harm’s way because the Republican party wants to keep women barefoot and pregnant.

I, for one, am tired of pink razors. And I know I speak for millions of women when I say that from now on if you push us, we will push back. From this point forward, when someone says that you fight like a girl, they had better watch out. We girls know how to fight when our backs are against the wall. No longer is it acceptable that we are half the population but only 16% of the Senate, 16% of the House of Representatives and 16% of the Governors. Margaret, did you know that the proportion of women in America’s Congress is about half the average for national legislative bodies throughout the world? Well honey, you and I are not dead yet, and we sure as hell aren’t leaving this world anytime soon if the women’s movement to date has only gotten us this far.

In the past Margaret and I have stood up for Planned Parenthood. But that is no longer good enough. Today, tomorrow and every day that we have left on this planet, we won’t just stand up for them, we will stand up for women everywhere. We will vote for them. We will advocate for them. We will fight for them. And we will start right here. Right now. My grandson tells us that people from all over the nation and even from other countries read this web page blog of ours. Well, I can’t imagine why, but if you are going to read it, then you should use your head for something other than a hat rack and learn a thing or two about the real Planned Parenthood.

Yes. They provide abortion services. Deal with it because they also do so much more and we remember the world before them. It wasn’t pretty.

I called a Board Member for Planned Parenthood in my community and we had a good talk. I found out that even I didn’t know the whole story. And after you read this, I challenge you to do what she asked me to do: inform the uninformed and educate the misinformed.

Planned Parenthood provides healthcare – pap smears, breast and pelvic exams, colposcopies, treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, and birth control for both women and men – most without access to any other health care services. About 97% of their services are for this basic healthcare. If you want to talk about abortion services then you should at least know the truth. Providing that service for women who are faced with that daunting decision accounts for less than 3% of what Planned Parenthood does nationally. Less than three percent. They also provide prenatal care, vasectomies and adoption referrals. One Planned Parenthood clinic does more in a day to prevent abortions than the entire Pro-Life movement does in a year. We might not agree on abortion, but we should at least be able to agree that they should be safe, legal and rare.

If you want to talk about Planned Parenthood then talk about the thousands of uninsured women for whom the doctor or nurse at Planned Parenthood is the only health professional they will see this year. Tell them about the divorced 40-year-old woman who, for the first time, finds herself without health insurance and how she turned to Planned Parenthood to ensure that she is able to maintain her health and wellness. Planned Parenthood has never been just about sex and birth control. It has always been about ensuring women are healthy enough to care for the children they one day may bring into this world. And yes, it is also about making sure they are informed in their decisions not to bring children into this world.

Tell your Tea Party friends what good fiscal sense Planned Parenthood education and prevention programs make – that for every dollar spent providing family-planning services, $4 are saved in Medicaid costs. Remind them that more than one-third of the individuals who seek help from Planned Parenthood make less than $50 a week. That’s right – $50 a week.

If you are going to talk about Planned Parenthood, then at least have the courage to speak the truth. We knew the Komen decision was politically motivated because we know that far right politicians are the ones who continue to spread untruths and misinformation about Planned Parenthood.

Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich all stand ready to restrict a woman’s access to birth control and her right to make her own childbearing decisions. They will cater to the far right and happily deny essential health care to millions of women. The Republican field is united in its determination to overturn Roe v. Wade; to appoint Supreme Court justices supportive of that goal; and to end government funding of any kind to Planned Parenthood for family planning services, cancer screenings and other vital health services provided to low-income women. By the way, Planned Parenthood does not receive government funding for abortions. Although for the life of me, I can’t imagine why not.

Mr. Gingrich has called for punishing judges who make abortion rulings not to his liking. Mitt Romney supported the “personhood” initiative in Mississippi that would have given human fertilized eggs the legal rights and protections that apply to people, and outlawed abortion as well as some of the most widely used forms of contraception and in-vitro fertilization. For goodness sakes Rick Santorum, the candidate who won the first primary this year, doesn’t even believe in birth control at all.

If you really, honestly want to reduce abortions in this country, the last thing you want to do is vote for a Republican. If you want to reduce abortions start in your own home by educating your children. Teach your sons to respect women and arm your daughters with information about birth control. If you are so outraged by abortions that your only criteria for a presidential candidate is that he be obsessed with my uterus, then arm your daughters with all the information she needs to protect herself from all those sons who were raised by politicians in Texas and Virginia. And if you really care, make a donation to Planned Parenthood or this other organization called Annie’s List. My grandson says that if you “click” on the underlined words in the previous sentence it will take you to a place you can make a donation on the internet. It couldn’t be any easier than that.

This November, I say we show them what it really means to Fight Like A Girl. Somebody call Gloria Steinem because we’ve got some more balls to bust. I mean it. Really.

MARGARET:

Clicking on those words and you can make a donation? How fancy. I hope they know what to do with yours and my checks when they arrive in the regular old mail. Don’t forget. Stamps have gone up to 45 cents dear. Why isn’t anyone outraged about that? Howard keeps mumbling something about it being privatized.

NPR BREAKING NEWS:

California’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional, Court Says

The decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is now expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Click here for more of the story…

A friend sent me this recipe today…I guess it has been around the block, but I haven’t seen it before.  I think I’ll give it a try some evening and make a cup of cake.   This is perfect for those of us with just one or two in the house. I won’t make a full size cake because it just goes to waste.  This way I can satisfy an itch with little or no effort.

3, 2, 1 CAKE

These individual little cakes are amazing and ready to eat in one minute! They are perfect for whenever you  feel like a small treat.

INGREDIENTS:

1 box Angel Food Cake Mix

1 box Cake Mix - Any Flavor

2 Tbsp Water

Makes 1 serving.

DIRECTIONS:

In a ziploc bag, combine the two cake mixes together and mix well. For each individual cake serving, take out 3 Tablespoons of the cake mix combination and mix it with 2 Tablespoons of water in a small microwave-safe container. Microwave on high for 1 minute, and you have your own instant individual little cake.

KEEP remaining cake mixture stored in the ziploc bag and use whenever you feel like a treat! You can top each cake with a dollop of fat free whipped topping and/or some fresh fruit.  Or not.  I prefer my cake icing free.

Helpful Tips:

This recipe is called 3, 2, 1 Cake because all you need to remember is:

3 tablespoons mix

2 tablespoons water

1 minute in the microwave.

Try various flavors of cake mix like carrot, red velvet, pineapple, lemon, orange, etc. Just remember that one of the mixes has to be the angel food, the other is your choice.  The flavor possibilities are endless.

NOTES:

The best thing is, you open both cake mixes into a gallon storage bag, one that ‘zip locks’ or ’self-seals’, or a  container that seals tightly, shake the two cake mixes to blend and then make the recipe. Storage of mix is simple…put it on a shelf. No need to refrigerate, since the mix is dry.

Always remember, that one of the cake mixes MUST be  Angel Food. The other can be any flavor.

The Angel Food is the cake mix that has the eggs whites in it. So, if, anyone is allergic to egg whites, you CAN NOT serve this recipe.  For diabetics, use the sugar free cake mixes.