Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Credit goes to Aaron at Breathe in locating this.

According to a BBC story, the US and Iran are two of eight countries who still have not signed onto the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw). The story indicates that "Former US President Jimmy Carter signed the Convention in 1980, but the Senate has yet to ratify it. In 1994, a group of senators blocked its passage. Despite a 2002 attempt to revive it, the convention remains stalled in the Senate."

The US is the only western nation to not ratify. To learn more on the Convention, see the info from the United Nations.

Federal Legislation Update

UPDATE:
The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed the House today 225-199 (click here for roll call) on an almost partisan vote. Now goes to the Senate.

If it passes the Senate, it's likely to get a big old fat veto from President Bush which will mean it's probably dead until the next Administration comes in and rights just a few of the many wrongs of this Administration when it comes to civil rights. Wondering what the President has against this bill? See the twisted explanation in their White House Policy Statement as to why they are against this legislation. I guess saying we're for pay discrimination just doesn't sound as nice as when you twist things around and confuse what the bill does. They are basically trying to argue that women can bring pay discrimination claims 40 years from now and that's wrong. Well, that's right if she's been discriminated against that entire time. Otherwise, the clock starts ticking and she has 180 days to file a claim from the last discriminatory action. This legislation corrects the recent Supreme Court ruling that says the woman would have to file within 180 days of the INITIAL discrimination, never mind if it continues a year, 5 years or 10 years, etc. See previous posts on what the legislation ACTUALLY does here and here.

Also, in other legislation news and courtesy of Feministing, the House last week passed an amendment to the Department of Justice bill relating to providing more funds to assist in sexual assault on reservations. The Amendment passed 412-18 (click here for roll call in case you're curious about the 18). I had missed that one.

Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Update

Not sure if others find the legislative process fascinating, and frustrating at the same time, but here's an update for those who are interested. As discussed in my previous post, the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act did get floor debate this evening. Here's the roll call vote to get it to the floor for debate (both Pomeroy and Herseth Sandlin supported). I just finished watching about an hour of the debate on CSPAN. They recessed on the debate late tonight and will finish up the debate in the morning and vote.

Couple points I find of interest. As for those against...Buck McKeon (R-CA) led the charge and coordinated testimony. I lost count of the parade of Republican women who got up to speak against passage. I hope two of the female representatives enjoyed that Buck didn't know how to pronounce their names and had to ask them when it was their turn to speak in support of defeat. That's great and showed how well he's visited with them. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) was memorable. I'm happy to not be from her district. She even went so far as to say in her testimony that she felt passage of this bill would cause women to not be hired by corporations out of fear of lawsuits 40 years from now. Ah, Michele, there's a law called Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that says that's illegal and you might want to look it up sometime given that it's one of the laws you're supposed to be talking about and debating ON IN THIS BILL. No wonder there's a site called Dump Michele Bachmann.

As for those in support...George Miller (D-CA) led the support for passage. Several others spoke in support of clarifying the legislation given the Supreme Court's recent ruling which contradicted 40 years of court rulings and perceived legislation. One female representative who spoke toward the end (and I unfortunately missed her name) called out the Republican female representatives who were speaking against it. She was after my heart on that.

If you want to listen in tomorrow morning and can't watch CSPAN on cable, go the CSPAN site and scroll down to the "live" feed options. I believe they start up at 10 AM Eastern and it will be one of the first bills by the way they spoke this evening.

You should also note that Fawn Johnson (reporter) was being interviewed by CSPAN during one of the lulls and she stated that President Bush has already indicated he will veto this bill if it makes it to his desk. That's nice...real nice. Thereby ensuring it won't get addressed until he's finally out of office.

Bee ess.

I once again call BS on Ken Blanchard.

I have no issue with the main point of his post, but this aside had me wondering:

On a related note, I confess myself a novice in this matter as I have never placed a bet on a video lottery machine. But can one really get a hundred grand into debt playing these things? I guess so. But doesn't that mean that video lottery is a really bad idea? Surely video-lottery is one of the most regressive sources of public funding, preying upon the poor and middle class much more than upon the rich. The Christian Right spends a lot of resources trying, unsuccessfully, to get rid of it. The left ignores it. But then they get to spend the money.

I have never seen the allure of video lottery either, to be totally honest. One Friday night when I was out with some friends, I put 75 cents into a video lottery machine because I wondered what the fuss was about. My money was gone within 45 seconds, and I decided video lottery wasn't a good use of my time or money. Luckily, my personality or genetics or whatever allowed me to walk away from it without any problem - there are a few in this state who aren't able to do that.

But since video lottery proceeds go to the state, and "the right" has run state government for at least the past generation, I sincerely wonder what Ken means in the quote above. Is this supposed to be some kind of swipe at the Communists in the teacher's union or something? I'm genuinely confused, here.

First, the Christian right is by no means the most vocal opponent of video lottery in this state. I certainly don't remember any religious right-wing organizations actively opposing it in the last election, but of course they had super important issues like controlling women's personal medical decisions and passing judgment on people's intimate relationships to worry about. So video lottery was probably somewhat lower on their list, and I think this most recent effort to repeal video lottery got lost in all the other candidates and ballot issues we dealt with anyway. Mainstream religious groups in the state oppose video lottery, but since most of the evangelicals in South Dakota consider religious bodies like the ELCA, Methodists, and Episcopalians to be a step away from Satan in the grand scheme of things, I don't think you get to count them as "the Christian right" in this case.

Ken would most likely consider me a card-carrying member of "the left" and I can safely say that I and a lot of others like me oppose state government making money off of video lottery. Like Ken, I recognize video lottery as a regressive tax, as do a number of advocates for the poor who are hardly right wingers. Of course, whatever Republican governor is in office and his right-wing legislators run around the state scaring people with the possibility of an income tax every time we vote on this issue.

You don't get to blame the state's dependence upon video lottery dollars on the scary left, Ken. Republicans own the system in this state, and you need to hold them accountable.

Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007 Possible Debate Monday

Following the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year that pay inequity due to gender had to be discovered and filed upon within 180 days of the initial discrimination/inequity, H.R. 2831 was introduced and given the title "Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007". According to GovTrack, the bill definition is "To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes."

Some background on H.R. 2831 from the National Organization for Women (NOW):

The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007 (H.R. 2831) was introduced to address the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision (Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber), which severely limited the ability of victims of pay discrimination to sue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Ledbetter, the Court ruled (5-4) that Lilly Ledbetter could receive no back pay or damages from her employer even though a jury found that she was discriminatorily paid less than her male colleagues for many years. The Court said that Ledbetter had filed her discrimination complaint too late, calculating the beginning of the 180-day deadline way back when Goodyear first started paying Ledbetter less than the male supervisors, even though she continued to receive discriminatory paychecks for years and years afterward.

Since inquiring about the salaries and raises of other employees is often strongly discouraged by employers, the Court's ruling that workers must uncover pay discrimination within 180 days of the first discrepancy creates a virtual impossibility. For all intents and purposes, the ruling sanctioned months if not years of lower pay for women and other affected workers. The decision further encourages employers who are paying their employees unfairly to cover up their actions in the first 180 days, and then they will be free to discriminate openly after this 180 day deadline for filing a complaint has passed. The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act eliminates these unreasonable time limits, allowing victims of pay discrimination to seek back pay and damages when they become aware of the injustice.

Note: This bill does not remove the cap on damages that was put into Title VII by the 1991 Civil Rights Act. Advocates are working with members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to introduce and pass this important companion legislation. Although Lilly Ledbetter was awarded $3 million in damages by the jury, Title VII's caps only allow her to receive less than $300,000 of that jury award. The Supreme Court, ruling that her case was filed too late, overturned even these limited damages.

Of the current 93 House co-sponsors on the bill, Representative Pomeroy (ND) is listed as a co-sponsor but as it stands right now Representative Herseth Sandlin (SD) is not listed as a co-sponsor. That doesn't mean she won't vote for the bill but her name isn't currently on the sponsorship list.

H. Res 579 is a resolution which apparently will be debated early this week (likely Monday). The resolution debates whether H.R. 2831 should go to the floor for vote. So, if I'm understanding everything correctly, if the resolution passes then H.R. 2831 goes to the floor for floor debate and potential passage.

If this is something that interests you, you should contact your representatives in the House to encourage action. Some other legislation on pay inequity also pending: S. 766, and H.R. 1388. These bills have not seen action to date, however.

To see some earlier posts on this issue on this site, click here or here.

ERA Letter

It's rare to see a letter to the editor in the papers in North or South Dakota about the Equal Rights Amendment. There was one on July 24, 2007 in the Rapid City Journal that I want to call attention to. The link is here but note you'll need to scroll down to find the letter. Titled, "Equal rights for women still a battle with no end in sight".

Transit dispute turning ugly.

The Argus is reporting today about the Sioux Falls Transit workers' possible strike. It appears that Laidlaw (the company running the city transit) is simply going to force a contract on the workers beginning Sunday. They refuse to enter into arbitration with the union, which indicates to me that they think they'll come out of arbitration with a more worker-friendly deal. This contract caused a nearly unanimous strike vote earlier, so unless something big happens, we'll probably see a strike. The company is apparently prepared for scab workers to run the buses and paratransit in the event of a strike.

I support the transit workers for several reasons, but it mostly comes down to the fact that they're getting a pretty raw deal from the company. The wages the transit workers receive are a joke, and the proposed raises (of approx. 45 cents/hour for three years) are also laughable. Try raising a family on $15/hour in this day and age. Hell, try living alone on that much. (I do, it's not fun.) Add that to an increase in insurance premiums from $80-$500/month and the raises are gone, and then some. Laidlaw is engaging in outright illegal tactics in dealing with the union, and of course city government could care less about the people who drive the city's buses.

As someone who occasionally takes city transit, I would love to know from any readers involved in labor union activism in Sioux Falls how I can help in the event of a strike.

Away from the computer for a few days...

First, I support the Sioux Falls Transit workers who have authorized a strike.

I also came back to discover that Ken Blanchard considers me a second-rate Chad Schuldt substitute, at best. Sigh. I also find myself agreeing with Jon Schaff quite a bit recently, which is really messing with my head.

I watch every episode of Big Brother 8. Anyone else with me here?

Spike Out Violence Sand Volleyball Tournament Scheduled

I'm full of announcements today...

The Abused Adult Resource Center is having its third annual Spike Out Violence Volleyball Tournament. Scheduled for July 28-29, 2007 at Pioneer Park in Bismarck, ND. Other activities (including a dunking booth) will also be occurring at the Park. Space is limited for teams!

Minnesota Estimates

The Minnesota Department of Health has released a study noting that "estimated economic impact of rape and other forms of sexual assault, which reports costs of almost $8 billion in 2005, including medical and mental health care for victims, lost work and other quality of life issues, victim services, and criminal justice costs."

Click here to view the entire report. The Report notes that there were 61,000 victims of sexual assault in Minnesota in 2005. Four out of five of those assaults were women. The estimated cost of these assults was $8 billion or $1,540 per resident. Read the report to get a breakout of these costs.

The numbers are staggering. This is the first time Minnesota has issued such a report. I'm not aware of anything similar in North Dakota. If there is something, please let me know so I can reference it.

Sioux Falls Sale to Benefit Domestic Violence Shelter

A Sioux Falls Argus Leader story notes the following:

Unclaimed Freight Furniture and South Dakota Furniture Mart Auction will host a Warehouse Sale, Aug. 10-12, at Furniture Outlets USA, 140 E Hinks Lane, just off East 60th Street. A portion of the proceeds from this sale will benefit Children's Inn, a nonprofit organization that provides immediate shelter for children and/or women who are in actual or potential situations of domestic violence, or child abuse and neglect. In 2006, Children's Inn sheltered 1,236 women and children.

Unclaimed Freight Furniture and South Dakota Furniture Mart provide furniture to be used for the sale. In addition, donations of gently used furniture from the public are accepted and sold. The Bill Hinks family has supported Children's Inn for 11 years and has helped raise more than $275,000 to benefit the women and children who come to Children's Inn.

Hinks is the chief executive officer and owner of the Western Mall as well as other stores that operate under the umbrella of the company Furniture Outlets USA.For information on donating furniture, contact Staci Kropuenske at Children's Inn, 338-0116.

Run for Dru

Inaugural 5K Race to Celebrate Life of Dru Sjodin and Fight Sexual Violence

Proceeds from Dru Sjodin Purple Elephant 5K to benefit Gamma Phi Beta Scholarship at University of North Dakota

PEQUOT LAKES, MINN. (July 10, 2007) - A life will be commemorated and a cause supported at the first annual Dru Sjodin Purple Elephant 5K Run/Walk on August 18, 2007 in Pequot Lakes, Minn. The race is intended as a fun, healthy way for the community to recognize, raise awareness, and uphold intolerance for sexual violence against women and children in honor of Dru Sjodin's life.

Sponsored in part by Clif Bar, Inc.'s LUNA Bar, all race proceeds will benefit the Gamma Phi Beta Scholarship Fund at the University of North Dakota, where Sjodin attended school.

Race Information and Registration
The race entry fee is $20 before race day and $25 on the day of the event. More information and race pre-registration are available at Run for Dru.

Note: For those who do not know, Dru Sjodin was the University of North Dakota student killed three years ago. Dru's Law was passed for her.

R.I.P. Tammy Faye

I don't usually get too worked up about celebrity deaths, and some of my own will probably blast me over this, but I am genuinely sad to hear that Tammy Faye Messner died of cancer Friday morning. I have always respected her - she was a fundamentalist Christian who truly loved everyone, including people who her peers in religious broadcasting had written off for good. When asked about her attitude regarding gay people in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, the award-winning documentary about her life, she said: "I don't label people. I refuse to label people. We're all just people made out of the same old dirt, and God didn't make any junk." Her brand of Christianity included everyone, which is unfortunately a really wacky concept to a lot of conservative religious leaders in this day and age.

I think we would live in a much better world if more people shared Tammy Faye's outlook on life.

Weekend photo time

I spent much of my day at Jazzfest hawking Coke products for the Jazz and Blues Society, no energy to post anything worthwhile. So!



Love it!

Uh-huh.

I am too upset about Shawn Cable leaving KELO to post anything of substance, BUT!

Jason Heppler's comparison of local lawyer-turned-historian-turned-blogger-turned-political hack Jon Lauck to Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. made me laugh.

I mean, I seriously hope Jeremy Funk *wouldn't* "extend the same criticism" to Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Schlesinger was a recipient of multiple Pulitzer Prizes and National Book Awards, author of about 30 books, and one of the most prominent and respected historians of his time. Jon Lauck is kind of an enormous liar.

There is no basis here for comparison. Try again.

Junk Science Makes Me Sad

There's a great discussion going on over at Feministing about Psychology Today's B.S. article discussed by Anna. Check it out if you're interested in some specific debunking.

Another reason to hate summer.

Open windows in everyone's cars = street harassment doesn't just occur while walking down the street anymore.

I know now from my pal Ken Blanchard that men do this because they have an overwhelming biological urge to procreate with me, due to my blonde hair and fabulous rack.

Further, I have learned men don't hoot at me in my car because they are sexist assholes who have been raised to believe that they are entitled to comment in public on a woman's body. In fact, there is no sexist undertone behind such things! They just treat women like they treat men, utilizing threats and intimidation to get what they want.

Gotta love human nature! No idiot should ever have to take responsibility for the shit he does.

Post on South Dakota Politics causes local feminist to ask obvious questions

This time, it's Ten Politically Incorrect Truths about Human Nature by my pal Ken Blanchard.

Here they are:

Men like blond bombshells (and women want to look like them)
Humans are naturally polygamous
Most women benefit from polygyny, while most men benefit from monogamy
Most suicide bombers are Muslim
Having sons reduces the likelihood of divorce
Beautiful people have more daughters
What Bill Gates and Paul McCartney have in common with criminals
The midlife crisis is a myth—sort of
It's natural for politicians to risk everything for an affair (but only if they're male)
Men sexually harass women because they are not sexist

I really get annoyed when people defend their prejudices by saying they're biological. Speaking as a blonde bombshell myself, I really have to question "biological fact" number one. Obviously! Most societies on this Earth do not have people with naturally blonde hair in them. How does the article address the difference in standards of beauty across different societies and across time?

A personal anecdote: a friend of mine told me about his sister's time in Samoa (she was an anthropologist, I believe). The sister was in her twenties, Native American, and weighed about 300 pounds. She was totally taken by surprise upon arrival in Samoa by the fact that she was the local object of lust. She could not keep the men off her. They didn't care a thing for the American-conventionally-attractive women who were there with her. What is the author's explanation for this?

No one was born with the absolute 100% biological desire to sleep with a six-foot-tall Norwegian supermodel with enormous knockers. If you don't ever feel like questioning why you're attracted to what attracts you that's up to you, I guess, but this is ridiculous.

Language and sexual assault.

Here's a story from Omaha that has been making the rounds of the feminist blogs lately: in the trial of Pamir Safi, accused of rape, the judge has ruled that the accuser is not allowed to use the words/phrases "rape," "victim," "sexual assault kit," "attack," and "assailant." Tory Bowen is being forced to describe her encounter with Safi as "sex," which must be unbelievably difficult for her:

A 24-year-old former University of Nebraska-Lincoln student, Bowen said having to describe her assault as "sex" instead of "rape" was akin to lying on the stand. She said such restrictions discourage rape victims from reporting the crime.

"This makes women sick, especially the women who have gone through this," Bowen said. "They know the difference between sex and rape. If it was sex, I wouldn't be speaking to you."

The jury in Safi's first trial deadlocked, with seven of twelve jurors voting for a guilty verdict. A second trial began July 9.

I wonder why the victim is not being allowed the ability to name and speak her recollection of the experience in court. This seems so obvious to me. I want everyone to keep this in mind the next time the guys at South Dakota Politics talk about the horrors of jails full of men falsely accused of rape.

In the News-July 11, 2007

Abortion legal challenge iffy with new Supreme Court: According to an AP story published in the Bismarck Tribune regarding a pending Kansas case. Given recent SCOTUS rulings, this is really bad timing.

Morality and ethics of South Dakota being tested: As a follow-up to June's previous post about the adult entertainment store in Tea, SD; there was a letter to the editor in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader from Sandy Jerstad of District 12 regarding efforts she will undertake. (She also addresses some other issues making the South Dakota news in her letter.)

Other Views: Do you believe in Anita?: Another Ellen Goodman column in the Fargo Forum where she discusses the recent school segregation case and the courts continuing shift to the right that we all need to monitor given future cases. (See my previous post on this for more info.) Also, a review on the recent SCOTUS term by Cornell (note: reproductive law is listed under "Environment" and the pay equity/discrimination case listed under "Employment".)

ACLU lawsuit mentions Bush's 2005 Fargo visit: The ACLU has filed a very interesting lawsuit according to the Grand Forks Herald. The lawsuit occurs following a Fargo, ND political event in which 42 Fargo residents were allegedly banned from being able to attend President Bush's Town Hall Meeting because they were people thought to be critical of the President. The article notes that some Fargo residents were invited to join in on the lawsuit but it does not appear that any did. Other similar events are noted in the story which led to the lawsuit. Here's the ACLU press release on the case which goes into more depth.

Islam and feminism (response to SDP)

I have not forgotten about Ken's latest response to me on South Dakota Politics.

Essentially, Ken thinks American feminists should be more involved in women's issues in the Islamic world, and he posts part of a Christina Hoff Sommers essay to that effect. Presumably, Ken believes feminists in the US remain uninvolved because feminists hate America or something...I'm not 100% clear on that, but that seems to be the point (albeit exaggerated by me for effect).

What I would say is that Ken is missing the bigger picture to some extent. There are Muslim feminists who speak eloquently and articulately regarding their role in their own societies. I posted about one of them not long ago - a female television newscaster in Saudi Arabia who was defending her ability to show her face on television every night while reading the news. I don't think this woman needed any help from NOW or The Feminist Majority to say her piece. She was quite capable of doing that on her own. For that matter, in a previous post of mine regarding a women-run beauty shop in Afghanistan, American involvement can be extremely harmful to reformers in Muslim countries. Women who spoke negatively about the Taliban on an American-produced documentary are now fearful for their lives, and many of them are now planning to flee to avoid being murdered.

I would imagine that most American feminists would tell you that real change is only going to happen in those societies if the people within them demand those changes. As much as Ken would love to see me travel the Middle East wagging my finger at conservative mullahs, that won't do any good for anyone.

Sandy Jerstad

This post on SD Straight Talk about District 12 Senator Sandy Jerstad can be summed up pretty simply. Mr. Straight Talk thinks bitches need to keep their mouths shut in Pierre, particularly if they're Democrats:

Jerstad’s performance as a legislator has been lackluster at best. She decided to go to Pierre and be un freshmen like. Rather than taking time to learn the process and being seen and not heard, in her first Session, she was the prime sponsor of 8 bills and unbelievably was the Co Sponsor of 100 Bills and Resolutions.

How dare she have ideas regarding how to improve this state, and introduce legislation as a sitting and duly elected Senator to advance those ideas. Outrageous!

For a former teacher and coach I was surprised by her “performance” at local Cracker barrels where her answers at times seem disconnected to the question. Often times she did have an overly partisan edge.

Did we attend the same crackerbarrels? I was at every one of the Sioux Falls crackerbarrels, and Sandy Jerstad may very well have provided answers with which you did not agree. But her "performance" was nothing compared to Hal Wick and Manny Steele (the other two legislators representing 12) and their out-and-out bizarre opinions on issues the legislature faced. I remember at least two times during the crackerbarrels when the audience burst into shocked laughter in response to something Manny Steele said. Dude needs to take his blinders off.

I, for one, hope 2007 was the first of many legislative sessions where we'll see Sandy Jerstad introducing legislation. My sister wrote Sen. Jerstad supporting her stand on emergency contraception, and Jerstad responded saying "I am always thinking of the women." She's got to be one of the few in Pierre with that mindset. She was an absolute breath of fresh air in the Senate this year, and the fact that conservatives haven't let her rest since is a testament to her abilities. She is plain speaking, she makes sense, and she connects with people. People know who she is and they like her. She terrifies conservative activists.

Straight Talk is right that Jerstad will most likely be in another hotly contested race when/if she seeks re-election. Women in South Dakota had better take heed. Our strongest supporter in Pierre is being targeted.

Tagged -- Part 2.

At the invitation of my dear friend Anna, I thought I'd contribute my 8 random facts (even though I've been a lackluster contributor to DakotaWomen lately -- in my defense, I've been out of town for the last two months).

1. I am a lifelong, 4th generation South Dakotan (although I admittedly ran off for three years to get my undergraduate degree out of state) and lifelong feminist. I was raised in a very progressive, political family who taught me about equality and compassion from day one. I was very, very lucky.

2. I own a home in South Dakota and hope to stay here forever.

3. I love to dance. I wish I was a better tapper.

4. Most people who know me have never seen my natural hair color, nor will they.

5. I married my highschool sweetheart at 21. We'll have been together nine years in August.

6. I dislike most things about being involved in politics. I don't like using the phone. I don't like approaching peoples' houses. I don't like having uncomfortable conversations with strangers or people I know. I really don't like conflict. I generally keep doing this kind of work because I feel guilty if I don't and I like the kind of people who are also involved in it. I used to feel that way about art, but as I've gotten older, I've been less able to deal with the flakiness of artists.

7. I love to knit. I wish I was a better seamstress.

8. I don't eat pork. I haven't been inside a WalMart in over five years. I don't really cook. I try not to buy any item of clothing that costs more than $10. I've never had a credit card. None of these things has adversely affected my life at all. (But I do miss cable, even though I know I'm better off without it).

Tagged.

I was tagged to do that "eight random facts about you" thing on my personal blog, which most of you here don't (and shall never) know about. I thought it would be neat to respond to this on Dakota Women, though, and to 'tag' my fellow DW contributors. Two of the women writing here are friends of mine - other than that, I don't know any of these women at all. I also thought a 'who-am-I-and-why-am-I-here' post might be interesting to some of you. Consider it, ladies!

So here we go:

1. I am a fifth-generation South Dakotan, and I have lived in South Dakota my whole life. I grew up in a small town in northeastern South Dakota. Both of my parents, one of my grandparents, some great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents also lived in my hometown. I received my college education in-state and live in Sioux Falls.

2. I did not come by this political thing naturally, and most of my family really doesn't understand why I lobby, write letters, attend demonstrations, etc - though they do agree for the most part with my political views. Even when I was a tiny child, however, I had a very keen sense of fairness and unfairness, and unfairness upset me a great deal. I heard a story once from a family member about how I burst into tears one day at lunch when I was about three years old. When they asked me what was wrong, I pointed at the television (the news was on a lot at my house) and said "They're so mean to her!" Apparently, the news story was about Winnie Mandela. To this day, my involvement in politics stems basically from a gut "that isn't fair!" reaction to some issue or another.

3. Undoubtedly, I am a feminist because of my mother. My parents were divorced when I was young, and my mother took on the lion's share of the responsibility of raising us kids - though my father was (and remains) extremely active in our lives. For lack of a better way to describe it, my mother worked her ass off, constantly. I remember very clearly the day I thought to myself "My mother's life would be much easier if she were a man" when I was about ten years old. I have been a crazy feminist ever since then.

4. Much like Joan Crawford, I find nothing more satisfying than scrubbing my kitchen floor on my hands and knees. No mop for me - just gloves, a sponge, and some Pine Sol and water in a bucket. I am going to do this tomorrow and, God help me, I am looking forward to it.

5. I have mentioned this some on the blog already, but I am going to be moving to Montana in about six weeks to begin grad school in history. I plan to get my Master's degree in MT and my Ph.D. elsewhere.

6. My maternal grandparents:



My grandmother was born and raised in England, met and married my South Dakota-native grandfather when he was stationed there in World War II, and immigrated to the United States in 1946. Growing up, I never thought my grandmother was really that different than most of the other people in my life - though she had an accent, was unusually interested in the British royal family, and often received letters with funny stamps on them from overseas. I ended up writing an honor's thesis as an undergraduate about the experiences of my grandmother and other women who immigrated to the US under the same circumstances. I plan to write a master's thesis on the same subject, and who knows, maybe there's a dissertation in there somewhere, too.

7. I am currently moving out of my apartment, so cleaning has been on my mind a lot lately (see 4.) I am a disciple of the Mister Clean Magic Eraser. It can basically clean anything. There is also a knockoff Target brand that is just as good.

8. I can read and write Norwegian, though I am very shy about speaking it. I have visited Norway twice.

I hope this was at least vaguely interesting.

Hypocrite alert

In today's Argus Bishop Paul Swain, the Roman Catholic bishop representing Eastern SD, announced that he couldn't be bothered with a public appearance on the day of Elijah Page's execution:

Swain, of the Sioux Falls Diocese, said the bishops' statement was shared with all the priests. He has not directed anyone to preach on it at the weekend Masses, but he hopes it will come up in prayer.

A small contingent of death penalty opponents showed up outside the penitentiary on the day of the execution in 2006. Swain said he won't attend any protest but will pray for Page, Poage and their families.

"Protest is a political action," said Swain, who announced several days ago he will take part in a monthly prayer vigil outside the Planned Parenthood office where abortions occur.

The Catholic Diocese in SD is against the death penalty on paper, but nothing - NOTHING - gets them riled up like abortion. Anyone who has followed the history of regressive abortion bills in the state legislature can tell you that the Diocese has their people there, every time. They testify, every time. They either don't show or make a token appearance at hearings on the death penalty. This quote above from Swain is more of the same.

Just a note to the pro-lifers: When you execute someone, IT KILLS THEM. Just FYI.

Elijah Page

Until about four-five days ago, South Dakota media had been strangely silent about the execution of Elijah Page, set for a yet-to-be-announced time next week.

Some articles here. There are a lot more, and we'll see a lot more in the coming week.

Say what you will about the death penalty, pro or con, but to pretend this is anything other than an assisted suicide is laughable.

Ken and me, again.

Here's Ken's reply to me. I took issue with Ken's defense of women's rights only in cases where skeery Muslims attempted to harm women, while ignoring the Referred Law 6 fight in South Dakota.

In my case, there are a number of reasons for this difference in emphasis. One is that I disagree with Anna about the moral status of abortion. Another is that I think that blowing women out of their shoes because they are deemed to be "slags and sluts" is a somewhat more terrible crime than denying them birth control. I think that millions of women in the world who are denied the most basic political and economic rights, who are routinely kidnapped and forced to marry, who are subject to genital mutilation in order to preserve their value as marketable virgins, have at least as great a claim on our attention as an American whose pharmacist refuses to fill her prescription for birth control.

I would say first of all, Ken, that you can quibble over the morality of abortion all you want - in countries where abortion is illegal, women die by the thousands, every year. I would almost think you didn't read this blog at all! I just posted about the 4,000 women a year who die from illegal abortions in Brazil. We've posted before about the legalization of abortion in Mexico City, a major city in another country where women die every day from illegal abortions. I could go on and on with examples but I think you get my point.

So the difference between you and me, Ken, is that I am concerned when women die senselessly. Period. I don't care whether it's a car bomb planted by Muslim extremists, or the Catholic church flexing its muscle to deny women access to abortion, it's all wrong to me. I don't care whether it's genital mutilation and traditions dictating forced marriages or Leslee Unruh telling girls in Sioux Falls that they have no worth as human beings unless they can present themselves to their future husbands as virgins. It's all abusive treatement of girls and women.

Would Anna be happier if we disagreed with her about women's rights in all cases? Don't we deserve partial credit?

You get an 'incomplete' from me.

Oh, wonderful.

Mister "rape and incest are just buzzwords" Joel Dykstra will be running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Tim Johnson.

It's going to be another ridiculous political season in South Dakota.

High School Scholars Call Bush Out on Torture

I saw this on Keith Olbermann (who gave the kids an ovation during his show) but wasn't able to post at the time. As someone who finds the change in US policy on torture under the Bush Administration appalling and stomach wrenching, it made me tear up to see these kids have the guts to stand up to the President.

Feministing did a recent post/video on the young woman to hand the letter to Bush and get things going: High School Scholars Call Bush Out on Torture so I am linking. Here's a link to the letter's text.

According to the video interview, 50 of the approximately 141 Presidential Scholars signed the letter. Press also from MSNBC and Boston Globe. I'm tearing up again.

Rape Victims in North Dakota No Longer Responsible for Evidence Exams

Finally.

The North Dakota Attorney General's Office has issued a press release informing the public that victims of rape and sexual assault will no longer be forced to pay for medical exams performed to collect criminal evidence. The costs will be covered by the state in the same way most investigations of crimes have been covered in the past (i.e. robbery investigation, DNA tests, autopsy reports, etc.). The change in law went into effect on July 1, 2007. (Notice how the AG's comments only focus on women being victims of rape and assault.)

This change is the result of legislation (SB 2103) passed in North Dakota during the 2007 session. This was the lone crime in which victims were required to pay for their own investigation costs. I had blogged about the legislation a few times over the course of the session. To see my posts click here and here.

Our US Supreme Court

It seems that the Supreme Court is intent on blow after blow against civil rights advancement. Last week, the Supremes overturned a previously historic ruling on school segregation and then also issued an opinion that President Bush's Faith Based Initiatives program and use of federal funds could not be challenged in court.

There have been some recent letters to the editor/opinions I've come across on the Supreme Court which you may find of interest if you haven't been following the rulings:

• New York Times, July 5, 2007: Justice Denied. Discusses last week's rulings and also other recent rulings by the Supremes and the pattern appearing.
• Mitchell Daily Republic and Fargo Forum, June 29, 2007: Way-paver becomes a wave-maker. Ellen Goodman reviews the new role of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. (Note that both these columns are coming up on their 7 day free viewing window so take a look ASAP if interested.)
• Washington Post, June 29, 2007: A Blow to Brown - The Supreme Court enables the resegregation of schools by race.

Add to these the recent rulings on discrimination in pay and abortion, and you've got a Court intent on turning back the clock. Folks might want to play 5-4 numbers in the lottery because they appear to be winners at this time.

Women in the Military

While I was gone on vacation, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader ran a great series of articles by Steve Young on women in the military. Here are the links to each article:

• Gender is no limit if you can do the job
• More worried about her sons than herself
• "I'm a firm believer in the whole equality thing"
• Women at war - Female soldiers face unique risks in battlefields
• Fellow soldiers respect woman who can do job

All the articles (in their way) discuss a woman's ability to serve in the military equal to that of her male counterpart. A couple of the articles also discuss earlier press about sexual abuse and some of the unique barriers which affect women in the military.

The articles were posted on July 1 so make sure you take a look before the 7 day free period for viewing ends.

Catching up on my SDP reading today.

I know, right?

There have been a few posts recently over there about the foiled London bombing plot. One of the attempted bombings was apparently aimed at a club in London that had a "ladies' night" - so the bomb would presumably have killed a lot of women who were out doing sinful things like drinking booze and wearing short skirts.

I do enjoy the fact that Ken and Jon seem to be concerned about women's rights only when radical Muslims are the perpetrators of violent acts against women. When the South Dakota State Legislature, governor, and attorney general, along with Leslee Unruh, the Catholic Diocese, and every fundamentalist church in the state band together to deny women access to medical care like abortion and birth control, they don't seem to care that much.

I would like to remind them, gently, that fundamentalist, conservative Christians in this state very nearly succeeded in banning abortion in virtually every circumstance. In crazy Roger Hunt/Leslee Unruh la-la land where the Supreme Court would have upheld this law, it would have had devastating consequences for women and families, undoubtedly including death. Though I am not going to go through the SDP archives to nail down the exact positions of both Ken and Jon on Referred Law 6, I seem to recall you generally supported it, at least in a lukewarm fashion. So I have to question your conclusion regarding from where the threat to women's lives and bodies may come. I'm seeing it right here, in my home state.

Why CNN is ridiculous