Politics Plus

I was hoping to be able to give the Furies a week off this week. As it happens, I can't, but I can lighten the burden a little, in what I consider to be a most interesting way. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as "unceasing," "grudging," and "vengeful destruction."

At least, ladies, you won't have to go to Indiana.  Or – have you already been there, and been holding training town halls?

As Jen Hayden says, "Indiana Governor Mike Pence recently signed bill HEA 1337 into law, making it one of the most intrusive and extreme laws governing women’s health in the United States….  It’s so extreme that many so-called “pro-life” Republicans refused to support it.  Indiana women aren’t taking this new attack on their healthcare lightly….  A group called "Periods for Pence" recently sprang up. They decided that if the governor was so interested in what is happening with their bodies, he deserved more frequent updates. The ladies of Indiana have been busy calling the governor’s office with details."

And here are some of the calls –

Me: "Good morning. I just wanted to call and let the good Governor know that I am still not pregnant, since he seems to be so worried about women's reproductive rights."
Irritated lady on the other end of the phone: "And can I get your name, please?"
Me: "Sure, it's Not Pregnant Laura."

Just got through to Governor Pence's office. (The operator must be on break.)
Me: Hi, is this the operator, or the Governor's office?
Them: Um, this is the office, but I am covering for the operator right now.
Me: "Oh, good. I need to get a message to the Governor that I am on day three of my period. My flow seems abnormally heavy, but my cramps are much better to–"
Them: (Seriously pissed and trying to keep their voice down, but not quite succeeding) MA'AM, WHAT IS IT THAT I CAN HELP YOU WITH? Me: Oh, I don't need your help, I just wanted to keep Governor Pence informed of my reproductive cycle, since he seems so concerned. Them: "Ugh." *click*

I called to let him know that I am a lesbian so I won't be needing an abortion (or legal protections, for that matter lol double whammy! Thanks, Pence!) also mentioned that I'm not currently menstruating but I might be ovulating.

Them: "Good Morning, Governor Pence's office"
Me: "Good Morning. I just wanted to inform the Governor that things seem to be drying up today. No babies seem to be up in there. Okay?"
Them: (Sounding strangely horrified and chipper at the same time) "Ma'am, can we have your name?"
Me: "Sure. It's Sue."
Them: "And your last name?"
Me: "Magina. That's M-A-G-I-N-A. It rhymes with–" Them: "I've got it."  *Click*

Someone from Pence's campaign literally just rang my doorbell, wanting to know if I was likely to vote republican or democrat in the upcoming election. I let him know that I wasn't sure, and that I'm going to be ovulating soon, and that I was unclear on whether or not I was legally required to fertilize the egg. He started cracking up.

Operator: Governor Mike Pence's Office, please hold…  >6 minutes later<   Operator: Governor Pence's office, thank you for waiting… Me: Hi, I'm a native Hoosier who derives from the uterus of another native Hoosier… Operator: >clears throat< Me: I now live in California and I'm wondering if my uterus still falls under the juridiction of Governor Pence or– ?  Operator: Please hold. >click<

Now that's a campaign I can get behind.

Unfortunately, not all the news is that good.  I still have a project for the Furies, as well as one situation they may need to keep an eye on for possible follow-up.  The project is in Australia, and it also has to do with gender, but with money instead of reproduction.

So, in Australia, at the University of Queensland, every semester they hold a Feminist Week with multiple events.  Two campus organizations collaborate on this – the Women's Collective, and the women's department of the student union.  This semester, the scheduled events included a seminar, a picnic, a movie screening, and a bake sale.

The bake sale, full title "Gender Pay Gap Bake Sale," was meant to generate discussion in a fun way about Australia's wage gap – or, really, wage gaps, because there are other factorsbesides gender which affect wages.  All cupcakes were base priced at $1.00.  A white, straight, abled man would pay $1.00 for one.  A white, straight, abled woman would pay 83¢ for one (a little more than in the US, where that figure would be 78¢).  A woman of color in the legal profession, however, would pay 55¢ for the same cupcake.

Sad to say, this fun event led not just to fun, but to on line accusations of "reverse sexism," denial of the existence of any pay gap, wistfully yearning for the "good ole days" when a good ole boy could "beat a woman with a stick," and miscellaneous threats of death, rape, and other sexual violence.  I said "on line," because that's where they were.  No one showed up to physically protest the actual sale.  {Not to trivialize cyberbullying, which is widespread and dangerous.)

The silver lining?

 “We have had a number of students contact us stating, ‘I didn’t believe feminism was still relevant until I started reading all the comments,’” said Madeline Price, vice president of gender and sexuality at the University of Queensland Student Union.

Most of the negative reactions seem to have been in one place, a Facebook group called UQ StalkerSpace.  I can't be the only one who wonders why a group with such a name is even allowed on Facebook, can I?  Granted, requiring it to be taken down would "upset" their tender fee-fees even more than currently, and could lead to acting out.  Dear Furies, I think you are the ones to educate this group and its members.

Finally, this situation in Texas is one to keep an eye on – yet no one should be holding his or her breath.  That's because the FBI is doing the investigating.  And I'm sure we all remember how long it took the FBI to hand down any kind of indictment for Cliven Bundy.  That's because they put a lot of time and effort into identifying both exactly what has happened (and can be proved) and also exactly what charge or charges are appropriate to the actual event.  And this IMO will lead to even more serious charges than Bundy's.

It seems there is a medical company in Frisco, TX named Novus Heath Care Services Inc., owned by a certified accountant named Brad Harris.  Some of the allegatons against Harris include that he "sent text messages like 'You need to make this patient go bye-bye,'" that he "told a nurse to overdose three patients and directed another employee to increase a patient’s medication to four times the maximum allowed," that he "told other health care executives over a lunch meeting that he wanted to 'find patients who would die within 24 hours,'" and that he "made comments like, 'if this f— would just die.'"

Leslie Salzillo, who wrote the story for Daily Kos, briefly explains how the laws are written so that statements like the above make perfect economic sense – if not ethical sense, or compassionate sense, or human sense, or avoiding-barf-bag sense.  She also points out it's important for a story like this to be republished widely.  But at the moment, what we probably need most to do is keep a watchful eye on the FBI (and HHS who are helping them) to see where the story goes.

Oh yes – one follow up – the 90 year old veteran in Wisconsin who was not allowed to vote – an email from the AFSCME informs me that before, before the Presidential primary, the Governor relented and ordered that veterans' ID cards be acceptable ID for the primary.  Thanks, Erinyes!

The Furies and I will be back.