Butterfly Cauldron

Our Legislature is in session and boy, are they having fun!

First up: Abortion!
Soon, all women seeing an abortion will have to have an "obstetrics ultrasound" before the procedure. It's not spelled out, but that's probably one where they use the probe. And there was a fight to get the bill watered down! As it stands, the woman can elect to not hear any information or view the photograph of the ultrasound that she will recieve. As originally worded, women would not have had a choice! They'd have been forced to watch the ultrasound, while the doctor decribed in detail what it showed AND she would have been forced to look at the picture. Go, La.! Soon, we'll be as bad as Oklahoma.

Next up: Guns! AND Religion!Yes,soon you will be allowed to bring your handgun to church with you. If your pastor says it's OK. It's just like the Bible says, "Jesus wept because the Pharasees wouldn't let him bring his Glock into the Temple. So he passed a law and busted a cap in their asses."

And lastly: Drugs and Welfare Queens Because nothing says Compassion like taking away benefits from children when their mother's on drugs.

Labels: abortion, bad mood, government, law, Louisiana, outrage, poverty, pregnancy, racism, stupid state

This is so horrible and offensive, I don't have words to describe it. So, I'm just going to cut-and-paste the whole horrible thing. Note: this appeared in an indie paper geared toward college students. It's not affiliated with LSU, but it's freely distributed around town and is heavy on LSU-coverage. Given the rates of rape on college campuses, this is beyond appalling.

Ex-boyfriend teaches woman why it's important to lock doors

A man, who legally cannot be named, currently awaits trial after he entered the home of his ex-girlfriend and raped her with one of her own sex toys.

The assailant entered the woman's home and bound her hands and feet. He then raped her with a "large" sex toy and allegedly poured beer on the victim. After the attack, the assailant then untied the woman and brought her to her place of work.

The assailant has pleaded not guilty to all charges and insists that he committed the offense in order to scare his ex-girlfriend into locking her doors at night.

Yes. That's right. Look at that headline. Look at the lovely detail about the size of the instrument. Look at his rationalization. Which is re-enforced by the fucking headline. And this woman is a quite possible a resident of Baton Rouge, who lives near or even attends LSU. And even if she's not, maybe she's out eating one day (like I was) and sees The Tiger Weekly laying around. And you know, she thinks "Ah, something to read!" And then she reads this. Seriously? I mean, seriously????

Happily, the editors provided us with an email address to give them feedback. How thoughtful! Feel free to comment. E-mail the author at Jenna@tigerweekly.com

Labels: assault, crime, Louisiana, outrage, police, rape, sick bastard, stupid country, stupid people, stupid state

Hopefully, everyone who reads this blog knows about the Jena Six (link goes to a timeline of the events. There are about a billion other places online to find info, but I pimp the Town Talk cause I used to work for 'em.). There was a giant rally held in Jena today, nearly 60,000 people attended for across the country. (Myrid photos and videos of the rally can be found at The Town Talk, just look around the main page.) On the one hand, it's inspiring. On the other, I fear it won't do much good.

Why do I feel this way? Because of the comments you can find on the forums at the Town Talk. Comments made by people living in the middle of all of this, of people who live in Jena or surrounding areas. And what sort of things do you find there?

f I were in Jena and I wasn't racist before, this would certainly make me so.

This is a criminal case, yet the media made it about race. Someone made up the whole "white tree" claim. Wonder who would gain from that bogus claim. The Jena Six mentions the racial slurs that some had pummeled at them but doesn't mention the racial slurs they pummeled themselves. Have you noticed how the family and friends of the Jena Six do NOT want to talk about the Jena Six's criminal history? Why is that? The Jena Six's family never mentions that the black community didn't show up for jury duty. They should be outraged that the black community done this to Mychal Bell, yet not a word. Why is that? They are thicker than thieves, no pun intended.

If there was a point to the rally, I don't know what it was.

Well it looks like the crime rate for the rest of us that don't live in Jena will go down! Jena better lock up everything they have.

What is really sad, is when white people wont get together and stand up for what they believe. We should be down thier protesting them but we would rather stay home because in general, white people are passive. When are we going to get our hands dirty and fight for our beliefs? i told my fiance last night that i was going down there to protest against against the protestors, and you know what she said? she said for me not to because i would probably be the only white person thier and that i would get hurt. thats really pitiful when your own people wont stand up with you and fight. one day, we will have to defend ourselves, or else get runover by bigotry. im really dissapointed in my race right now, what we need to do is get together and fight this hypocracy.sad,sad,sad

need not worry. the white race handles things differently. let them have their little march and see where that gets them. and then wait and see how the "white" race puts them back in their place. a march has never solved anything before and it will surely not affect the outcome of this trial. i am sure the blackies have other marches to attend down the road. we just have to passify them and let them march:-)

Here is some humor for you native son:

Q: A black guy and his black girlfriend are in a car. Who's driving?
A: The cop!

maybe we will see this exact scenario is jean thursday

do you think you could get the rest of the marchers to accompany you back to the motherland...that would be one hell of a fundraiser!!!

What do you call a black person in a three piece suit?

Will the defendent please rise

his is just what they wanted, they will have all the law tied up at the rally so they can rob loot and steal from the surrounding area. They need to declare marshal law so the people around here can protect what belongs to them.

There are more. Too many more to be believed. And yes, of course, there are a few voices of reason trying to point out this is not acceptable. But frankly? There's more of this than the other. Want to read it? Go here and click on anything with the name Jena in it. But don't eat first, k? You'll be sick, sick, sick.

And so, I'm feeling terribly melancholy and hopeless. What does anything accomplish if we are still mired in these sorts of attitudes? When it's okay with us that teenage boys stand to lose the majority of their adult lives because they got involved in a stupid fight?

Besides that -- most of these boys haven't gone to trial yet. What happened to them being innocent until proven guilty? Everyone is assuming they're guilty. And maybe they are, but maybe they aren't. What they deserve is a fair trail, but a fair jury on charges that fit their actions. And second degree battery dosen't fit these actions. Because if they did, why did the white boy that assaulted a black boy, with a fucking beer bottle, charged with a misdemeanor and given probation?

Charge them with misdeamenor battery, disturbing the peace, whatever. Make it something reasonable. Don't take away their lives because they did something stupid -- if they are, in fact, guilty.

But I don't think it will happen. I think, once the cameras are gone and the media is gone and we're all talking about the Next Big Story, that the situation for blacks in Jena will be worse than it was before this. I think racial relations will be pushed even further back. Because we have so many people who believe things like those quotes above. Because if people can think this, even in the light of so many other people from so many other places seeing clearly how /wrong/ this whole thing is...what hope do we have?

Labels: outrage, racism, stupid people, stupid state

I've been following this story probably longer than most people have been -- it started while I was still working at The Town Talk which was waaaay before it made the international news. The basics of the case can be read here as well as in the Town Talk archives. (If you have time, go read the forums there. Most of the comment threads are under the News listing and you'll see what I mean when I say racism is so totally alive in rural Louisiana. Particularly, I was pissed by the thread What nooses?. Check out this one and this one too.)

I'm not going to talk too much about the specifics of this case, except to say that I believe racism is playing a great huge part in the conviction of (so far at least one) of these boys. I believe it's the reason they were arrested, it was the reason they were charged with such a ridiculous charge and it's why the DA is being so insistant on prosecuting them so quickly. That's not to say that the boys, if they are in fact guilty of assaulting another boy, do not deserve to be punished. But they deserve to be punished no more severely than a white person would be. (In fact, a white person assaulted a black person in the week or so before this incident took place. He was charged with simple assault, which is a misdemeanor. If these boys were charged with the same thing (instead of attempted murder!), this would not be receiving nearly as much attention as it is now.)

This case spiraled out of control, as so many other incidents do in rural Louisiana. (And I'm confining my remarks to La., but that's where I've lived all my life. It's a place I know rather well, although I wouldn't be in the slightest bit surprised to find the same thing happening in other places. I just don't live there, so I can't say for certain.) The second those nooses were hung in that tree, it should have been, and could have been, squashed immediately. Long term suspension of the boys involved, perhaps removal to the local alternative school, could have sent a clear message that this would not be tolerated. Assemblies to address the issue could have been held. A genuine attitude of seriousness from the faculty could have helped. An acknowledgement that, yes, racism does happen and that no, it will not be tolerated at this school wasn't too much to ask.

Or, it shouldn't have been. But this is rural Louisiana. And we've heard it a hundred thousand times. And dammit, no one else can tell us how to behave.

After the fire at the high school (which, to be fair, has not been proved to be linked in any way to these incidents although the possiblity remains), there was still time to step up. After the first student was assaulted at an off-campus party, there was time. There was time up until the moment it exploded. But no one stepped in, or those who did step in were not powerful enough, their voice wasn't loud enough, to stop things. And now we have this mess. Again. I don't hold much hope that the remaining boys will be given reduced sentences, nor do I have much hope they'll get an impartial trial. Their trials need to be moved out of Jena. Their juries need to be racially mixed. And for gods sake, no one on the juries should be related to the witnesses or good friends of the DA!

As for the defense Bell received -- I've covered trials in which his lawyer was on the defense. Yes, Blaine Williams is a black man. Yes, he works as a public defender. And the other trial I saw him cover (a serial rape trial) he also did not call any witnesses or put on a defense. (Although, in that case, the police had a confession, DNA evidence, multiple victims on the stand and items taken from the victims in his home, so their case was decidedly stronger than this one.) To be clear, no defendent is required to call any witnesses or put on any defense. The burden of proof falls squarely on the prosecution. The jury is not allowed to hold the fact that no witnesses were called against the defendent. However, in practice, not calling any witnesses or offering any alternate theories makes people wonder what you're hiding. And while you may not be hiding a damned thing, it doesn't look good. Williams is also, like all public defenders down here, doubtlessly overwhelmed by cases and truely does not have time, nor the funding, to fully investigate each case like it should be. (Which is a failing of the system. We've had problems with the PD system all over the place, most notably in New Orleans.)

Which points out another problem -- these boys are, for the most part, from middle and/or lower class families. (Which isn't saying a whole lot -- most people in rural Louisiana are.) They cannot afford to pay for their own lawyers nor even for bail. And so, the cards are stacked against them. I'd like to believe that Bell's case will be overturned on appeal, but this is Louisiana. Jesus himself could come down and say the guy was innocent and it wouldn't help.

The thing is, most people aren't willing to admit to any form of racism. They don't treat black people any differently than anyone else, they'll say. And mostly, they're right. It's not the actions, so much as the attitude. If a black person is arrested, well of course they're guilty. If a white person is arrested? Well, there may have been a mistake. There could be an explaination. And if they are both guilty of doing the same thing? Well, it makes sense somehow for the black person to get a longer sentence/harsher charge. Why? Because we don't want those other black people to get any ideas, see? But no, no. They're not racist. God, no. They just want order, you see. And everyone knows how Those People are. . .

There are still people here, mostly older, who still refer to black people as Darkies or Colored. (Hell, some of them just stick straight to N-r. Unfortunately, some of them are in my family. Makes me wanna hit 'em with a brick.) And it is worse, from what I've seen, in northern Louisiana. Once you get past eh, Mamou? It's scary. I wouldn't want to be a black person there, that's for damned sure. Even the black people I've worked with, who are clearly educated and /not/ in anyway thugs or whatever you wanna call it, have been harassed in my pressence. Once, at a stoplight, someone pulled up to the care my co-worker was in (he being a black man), knocked on his window and asked him "Where the weed at?". Because, clearly, a black man would know that. Not, ya know, the little skinny white boy dealers that are all over the place. *sigh* And while we laughed about it, and no one was hurt in any way, that attitude is clearly a problem. Black men know where to get drugs. Why? Because they're black! And they know this stuff!

Anyway, I don't think it's possible for these boys to get a fair trial here. Not in Jena, anyway. Not in any rural Louisiana parish. Hell, maybe not anywhere in Northern Louisiana, not now. And I think most people would agree that, if they are guilty, then they should be charged with an appropriate change and pay an appropriate penalty. But kicking a boy with a tennis shoe does not deserve going to jail for 20+ years. (And really...when was the last time a frigging Tennis Shoe was considered a deadly weapon? I mean....steel-toed boots, I'd buy. But a tennis shoe? Come on.)

Labels: Louisiana, outrage, racism, stupid people, stupid state

More Louisiana women eligible for family planning services
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — About 75,000 poor and moderate-income women in Louisiana will be eligible for yearly doctors’ visits, Pap smears, contraceptives and other services under a new program aimed at reducing unwanted pregnancies, state health authorities say.

Louisiana is the 18th state that has received approval from the federal government to expand the availability of family planning services to women who otherwise do not qualify for Medicaid benefits.

Women from 19 to 44 and whose incomes are below 200 percent of the federal poverty line will be eligible for free annual gynecological exams, lab tests, birth-control pills and other forms of contraception.

Under some circumstances the program will also cover tubal ligations, Health and Hospitals Secretary Fred Cerise said Monday. He said the program will cost the state less money to provide free contraceptives than to pay the costs and cover potential complications associated with unwanted pregnancies.

State figures show 55 percent of all pregnancies in Louisiana are unintended.

The five-year program is being financed with money that the state currently sends to parish health units for family planning services. For every dollar the state puts up, the federal government will put up a $9 match.

The state expects to begin taking applications in November, Cerise said.
____________________________________________________________________

On the one hand -- yay! More women getting access to reproductive health care! Given our extraordinary poverty level, it won't take long for all those federal dollars to be spent. Gods know there will be plenty of women who meet the financial criteria. So, on that count, good for us.

On the other hand -- 55 percent of all pregnancies are unintended. More than half. Let that sink in for a moment. More than half of the pregnancies in this state are unintended. Maybe not unwanted, but not planned. Let's say that a good chunk of those babies are like my brother -- happy surprises. My parents intended to put three to four years between thier children, but when Mom went in for a check up when I was 9 months old, she got a little surprise. Happens to lots of people, so...let's just say that oh, 20-25 percent of those unintended pregnancies happen to married and/or committed couples who are pleased with the news.

That still leaves 20-25 percent of them going to women/couples who are not happy. Who don't want them. With the difficulty obtaining abortion in this state (waiting periods, clinics clustered at the very south and very north ends of the state, costs, transportation problems, etc.) lots of those babies are going to be born. Some will be given up for adoption, but not that many. So....unwanted babies born into families that, likely -- given that our poverty rate was insane before two hurricanes smashed our economy to bits -- cannot afford to provide for them. So, say, one in four children in Louisiana. That's just....it makes me want to cry.

It also makes me want to shake people. It's good that more women are going to have access to reproductive health care. It's wonderful. But what about those women who miss the critera because they make $100 too much a year? Or those who don't hear about the program? Or those do, but can't get the time off their low-wage jobs to take advantage of it?

I realize there are no prefect solutions (well, you know, maybe universal healthcare, but...)and this is good news, overall. But still...one in four children born unwanted? That's way too many. (And that's just my taking guesses at the numbers. From what I've seen, it's probably more than that.)

Labels: reproductive rights, stupid state

Since I haven't made it into work this morning to pull the story off the wire, I'm linking up to this post on Feministing. It seems our illustrious governor has declared she will sign our draconian abortion ban when it gets to her desk. And I shake with joy. Or was that terror? No rape or incest exception and you have to jump through hoops for medical exceptions. Go Blanco. Way to make a person glad she voted for you.

We're never going to have a pro-choice governor in this state, not one that will actually act on her/his principals anyway. Blanco always gave the impression that she was, at least moderately, pro-choice. Yes, she's in favor of adoption. Well, so am I. That's how I got my amazing neice. But that doesn't mean I'm against a woman having the right to choice whether to have a child in the first place. Still, this place isn't set up so that you can be pro-choice and hold any high public office. Oh, you may get on the school board. And you may get on the water board. Or the police jury. Bodies that have no legislative power over the state as a whole. But you're not going to be the governor. Maybe not even the lt. gov. Although, Mitch does seem to be pro-life. I haven't checked into that, but he gives that impression.

The majority of our population is rural. They're poor. They're not terribly educated. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with any of those things. I grew up in a rural, poor, not-so-educated family. I'm not judging people for their circumstance. There are some really wonderful people here. If there weren't, there's no way anyone would stay in this damned state. But you know, if you need something, you're neighbors are going to help you out, even if they don't really have the help to spare. So it bugs me when I see people talking about how backwards and stupid the people are down here. Some of them are, sure. But then, so are over half of the politicians in Washington, or we wouldn't still be having an abortion debate, would we?

People here tend to be simple. Faith, family, a little fun on the weekends. That's all they ask. And, if one of their daughters was pregnant, most people would do their best to help her out. Sometimes that means getting her to the clinic in Shreveport or Baton Rouge or New Orleans. But usually, that means letting her move back into the house, giving her a room and tracking down some baby stuff. And for some women, that's just what they need. But not for everyone. Only, people around here seem to think there's only one way to do things. If you're pregnant, you've got to have baby. Until it happens to someone they love and they watch them freak out and go nuts and they think, well, maybe. This time is different. It's not all those other women. Let me call the clinic.

Most of our people don't really understand conception. Most of the believe that when you have sex, you get pregnant at the same time. That night. Instantly. Try to explain to them it can take days and they won't believe you. Because it doesn't seem to make sense. Most people don't understand how an embryo develops. They believe it looks like an itty, bitty baby from the moment of conception. Try to explain otherwise to them. Most people don't believe you when you tell them that the miscarriage rate is exceedingly high. (Is it between 40 and 60 percent? I don't have the statistics right at hand and I don't want to quote something I'm not sure about.) They don't believe that those fertilized, and therefore living human beings, are being flushed away every month. That just doesn't make sense. People like things that make sense. If they have to think too hard about them, they just won't believe them. Because that's easier.

They honestly believe that every woman wants to be a mother. Those that say they don't just don't realize they do, that's all. Once they have that baby, regardless of how it was conceived or how much damage it does to them getting here, they'll see the light. For the majority of people down here, that is a sincere belief. Most people don't want to punish women, exactly. That's just a side effect for them. I'm almost 32 and I get the strangest looks from people when I tell them, no I don't have children and no, I don't want them. Most of the time, they just laugh and tell me I'll change my mind when I have one. As if I'd have one if I didn't want to? But you see, that's the mentality here. ALL women wants babies, they just don't know it yet. And it's not as if (most) of those kids would go unloved. Family is such a huge thing here, any baby would be welcomed in most families. (There are, of course, exceptions.) So, for a lot of people, while they may understand on an intellectual level who women object to being forced to have children, they see that as 'well, she simply doesn't know what she really wants."

The ultimate patronizing, big daddy statement you can imagine. Of course. But you'll notice, there's not move to force the fathers of these children to take care of them? Why? Again, that goes back to family. (Ironic, isn't it?) Well, she's got her parents and her brother and her sister and her grandparents. She doesn't need my help raising that baby. And so, off daddy skips. I've talked to DA and child support enforcement people -- it's astonishingly hard to force a man to pay child support. They garnish wages, he takes a job working for cash. They put a hold on his tax returns, he stops filing. And since he's working for cash, there's no paper trail to say he did actually earn any money to tax. Or, he'll stop working all together. They passed a law recently allowing the state to suspend licenses of men who don't pay child support. All license -- drivers, medical, legal, hunting, fishing, etc. The only ones that really affected were those who needed their license to work. Men drive without license, they hunt,they fish, they do whatever without a license. Because the fine for being caught without one is so very small, it doesn't matter.

So, we have a state where 'All women want babies' but 'All men don't have to be responsible.'

And I'm praying, very hard, that I get the job I interviewed for yesterday so I can get out of here. *sigh*

Labels: abortion, feminism, stupid state

The hits just keep on coming. Although this clears up Bajoie's position on the bill. Irony, it seems.

Louisiana Senate approves strict ban on abortion
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Louisiana's state Senate on Wednesday approved a near-total ban on abortion, rejecting a move to allow the procedure for victims of rape and incest.
The bill would outlaw all abortions except to save the life of the mother. Sen. Ben Nevers, the sponsor, argued against adding any other exception, saying his "heart goes out to" sex crime victims but their wishes are less important than his goal of preventing abortion.
"Lord knows I would never want to hurt a mother, in any way. Lord knows I would never want to hurt a victim of rape or incest," said Nevers, D-Bogalusa.
"A crime committed by a rapist should not result in the death of an unborn child."
Discussion on the bill illustrated the Senate's overwhelming opposition to abortion rights -- no senator argued against the idea of an abortion ban.
The only debate was sparked by Sen. Joel Chaisson, who tried to add the rape and incest exceptions. Otherwise, he said, Nevers' bill was too extreme to win passage in the House.
"Unless there's a rape and incest exception, this law may never go into effect," said Chaisson, D-Destrehan.
Senators rejected Chaisson's amendment with a 17-20 vote, then sent the bill to the House with a vote of 30-7.
Louisiana already has an abortion ban on the books, but the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1992. If Nevers' bill becomes law, it would only go into effect if the high court overturns its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established the right to an abortion.
Under the measure, doctors found guilty of performing abortions would face up to 10 years in prison and fines of $100,000.
The bill is similar to a South Dakota law passed earlier this year that is expected to land before the U.S. Supreme Court. If the high court takes up such an appeal, it would constitute a reconsideration of its Roe v. Wade ruling. A majority of the Supreme Court's nine justices have voted to uphold Roe v. Wade in the past.
Nevers said some opposition to his measure has disappeared because he amended it to allay concerns that the bill would provoke lawsuits -- and cost the state money -- if it passed. Nevers changed the measure to give it a "trigger" mechanism, meaning it would only go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned or if a federal constitutional amendment outlawing abortion is ratified.
Voting against the measure were Sens. Diana Bajoie, D-New Orleans; Jay Dardenne, R-Baton Rouge; Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge; Ken Hollis, R-Metairie; Lydia Jackson, D-Shreveport; Charles "C.D." Jones, D-Monroe; and Ed Murray, D-New Orleans. Dardenne, a longtime abortion opponent who said he supports the rape and incest exceptions, later filed paperwork with the Senate saying he had meant to vote in favor of the ban.
A competing bill, by Rep. Tim Burns, R-Mandeville, includes rape and incest exceptions but has not come up for a vote.

Louisiana State Legislature -- for copies of the full bill, plus email addies for all the lovely people involved.

So, now this goes before the House, where it will doubtlessly pass. Adding in the trigger mechanism pretty much guaranteed that. After all, now it won't cost the state anything, the public gets lulled into a sense of safety since Roe is still in effect, and the politicians get to say they're "pro-life." Just, you know, not pro-life when it's an actual living woman involved.

Do these people honestly believe being forced to bear the child of a rapist isn't harmful? What's going to happen when that rapist, who won't be convicted most of the time, decides he wants visitation? Or custody? It won't be harmful to the victim to have him in her life for the rest of hers, will it? What if she wants to put the baby up for adoption, but he won't let her? Just because a man is a rapist, even a convicted rapist, doesn't mean the courts will think him an unfit parent. Doesn't mean he won't have parental rights. Doesn't mean he can't destroy a woman's life forever. But those things aren't as important as a little ball of cells. *sigh* Honestly, how can they expect women to live that way?

Labels: abortion, stupid state

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- A proposal to ban nearly all abortions in Louisiana moved forward on Wednesday, despite doubts from one lawmaker that it wasn't strict enough and doubts from another that it was too strict to get through the Legislature.
Sen. Ben Nevers is sponsor of the bill that would allow abortions only to save the life of the mother. Doctors found guilty of performing abortions would face up to 10 years in prison and fines of $100,000.
Nevers said he understood that some lawmakers wanted exceptions in the measure to allow abortions in cases of rape and incest. A competing bill, by Rep. Tim Burns, includes such exceptions but has not come up for a vote.
"I am very deeply concerned about women who have been raped, or been involved in incest. And my heart goes out to them," said Nevers, D-Bogalusa.
Nevers said he opposes the exceptions because "abortion is just another crime," like rape.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee passed Nevers" bill without objection, though Sen. Diana Bajoie said she wanted the bill changed to remove the provision allowing abortions to save the mother's life. Bajoie, D-New Orleans, said she objected to the idea of a woman's life being saved by sacrificing a child.
Sen. Joel Chaisson, D-Destrehan, told Nevers he questioned whether the bill could get through the full Legislature without exceptions for rape and incest.
Sen. Lydia Jackson voiced the only objection to the bill, but didn't vote against it.
"I think today it is clear how little control women have over their lives," said Jackson, D-Shreveport.
The bill moves to the full Senate. Nevers told Bajoie he would work to remove the measure's one exception and make it "more pro-life."
The measure passed after two hours of testimony from speakers on both side of the issue, including a doctor who sat at the witness table holding up a jar with a preserved human fetus inside. Women who regretted having had abortions spoke against the bill; speaking in favor were women who had abortions and did not regret it.
"I will forever and always be grateful for the right to make my own childbearing decisions," said Jessica Odell, 23, an LSU senior and founder of a campus pro-abortion rights group who said she had an abortion as a freshman.
Raymond Gasser, a professor at LSU's medical school in New Orleans for 40 years and an expert in prenatal care, testified in favor the abortion ban, arguing that a fetus should not be aborted because "it is a human life, a unique human life."
"There's no denying it," he said.
In the background of the debate over Nevers' bill is a South Dakota law enacted earlier this year - nearly identical to Nevers' measure -- that is expected to be challenged and appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the high court took up such an appeal, it would constitute a reconsideration of its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established the right to an abortion.
A majority of the Supreme Court?s nine justices have voted to uphold Roe v. Wade in the past.

Where do I even begin? I just....not strict enough? I need to find the link to the article about El Salvador making the rounds. Maybe if Bajoie saw just what her law could do to women she'd change her mind. Although, I really doubt it. People who think that way, tend not to care too much about the damage their beliefs do to them. I'm just surpised she's a Dem from New Orleans. Should anyway feel the urge to express an opinion to the fine senator from New Orleans, she can be reached at:

websen@legis.state.la.us

Capitol Office
P.O. Box 94183
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
Portia Jackson, Administrative Assistant
(225) 342-0752

District Office
Post Office Box 15168
New Orleans, LA 70175
(504) 568-7760

Her website is located here: http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Bajoie/

Ben Nevers can be reached thusly:

http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Nevers/

websen@legis.state.la.us

Capitol Office
P.O. Box 94183
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
(225) 342-2040

District Office
724 Avenue F
Bogalusa, LA 70427
(985) 732-6863
1-800-881-2749

Tim Burns actually has a real Web page, not the standard one set up by the state. It's here: http://www.timburns.us/

He thoughtfully provides he phone numbers too. Here ya go:

E-mail: tim@TimBurns.us

Phone: 985-624-4492

Fax: 985-624-4496

Mail:
Rep. Tim Burns
1 Sanctuary Drive, Suite 306
Mandeville, LA 70471

Finally. Lydia Jackson, who had a brain but didn't vote against this. Now, I'm sure she didn't vote against it because she knew it wouldn't do any good. The thing was gonna pass anyway. But come on, you vote against this shit because it's wrong. Period. Still, she did speak against it and maybe she will continue to speak against it.

http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Jackson/

jacksonl@legis.state.la.us

Capitol Office
P.O. Box 94183
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
(225) 342-2040

District Office
610 Texas Street
Suite 201
Shreveport, LA 71101
(318) 676-7029

What's disturbing to me, aside from well, everything about this, is these people are Democrats. Seriously, aside from Burns, they're all Democrats. And Burns may be too, I just couldn't find it listed on his site. (And I'm in a rush to get this out and get off to work so I just gave it the once over. It may be there and I missed it.) These are the people the Big Guy Bloggers (yeah, you know who they are. I don't have to spell it out for ya) are so gung ho to get elected, they're willing to sacrifice reproductive rights for other "important stuff." Well, fuck that. Seriously, these some of these people are willing to let me die to save a clump of cells that will die along with me. I don't care what party these people belong to, that's evidence of seriously messed up thinking and they don't deserve to be in positions of power, full stop. That's not pro-life. That's not pro-pregnancy. Hell, that's not even pro-fetus, since the fetus is going to die too. There is no clearer demonstration that this is completely, totally about control. And that these people who claim to hold these beliefs due to thier Christian faith (which most say here in the Deep South Pit o' Hell) have not ever actually read their Bible, talked to their God or really examined what Jesus taught. (More on that later. I'm so very on the edge of late for work.)

Labels: abortion, stupid state

So. The big boys in our Legislature start debating the important stuff tomorrow. You know, hurricane relief bills, rebuilding, finding money to pay our teachers, how to get business to come back here after Katrina blew them all to the winds, how to keep women from having abortions -- you know, the important stuff. So, I fear this will decend back into Abortion Blogging all the Time. Oh well.

Nothing's been said since that bill was introduced, however. Blanco said she wasn't sure what she'd do if it got passed, but otherwise...no one's said a word about it. Which could be good, or it could be bad. Who knows? The next few weeks will tell.

Say a prayer our legislaturers realize how pointless this all is. I hold out little hope, but perhaps the cold, hard reality of the fact that our state is facing a monstrous uphill battle just to get back on our feet after Katrina and Rita will shake these people outta this. Our economy is broken, a good million of our population has been displaced, we're loosing jobs by the 10K every quarter...surely they can realize the futility of putting forth a law that's only going to be challenged, tied-up in court and eventually struck down, all the while costing us tons of money we don't have. Right?

Why don't I believe that?

Labels: government, law, stupid state