Maine GOP Rep. Lawrence Lockman: Men Should Be Allowed To Rape Women

“If a woman has (the right to abortion), why shouldn’t a man be free to use his superior strength to force himself on a woman? At least the rapist’s pursuit of sexual freedom doesn’t (in most cases) result in anyone’s death.”

Who would make such vile statements?

Maine Republican lawmaker Lawrence Lockman, that's who.

Here's his Maine House GOP page. 

HuffPost reported that the lawmaker apologized for the comment.

Does he really think an apology will make this go away or make us think this is not how he really feels about women and rape? He is currently serving his first term in office. Let's hope Maine voters are perceptive enough to make it his last. 

If you can bear to read more about Lockman, here's Mike Tipping's blog.

Toilets

One of the many wonderful toilets of Budapest, Hungary. Photo Credit: Troy K.

Taking a shit is a satisfying experience.

Too crass? Let me try again ...

Passing excrement from the bowels through the anus is elating.

Hmm ... I'll give it another try.

Discharging waste products from the body through the anal opening is a spiritual experience.

Getting closer ... one last try:

Finding a vacant toilet when you really have to move your bowels is an instant dopamine releaser, and an empty bowel elicits feelings that border on euphoria. (This is the one)

An old Jamaican nurse once asked me, 'Who is King, the bowel or the brain?' then passionately answered: 'Mun, the bowel is King, because the brain cannot think if the bowel is blocked.'

So many people have an aversion to talking about bowel movements, even though it's something all of us do. Even the word toilet, which I think is a great word, is avoided as we "go to the restroom -- take a trip to the ladies room -- take a bathroom break -- go number two or, my personal favorite, powder one's nose." Those of us who are lucky enough to have toilets use them faithfully, but don't pay them the respect they deserve.  Maybe if all of us wore a tiny gold-plated toilet on a chain around our necks, we would be less afraid to talk about our bowels. Maybe that would save people's lives and make them unafraid to seek medical attention for bowel-related problems. Maybe that would force society to offer more public toilets, rather than allow businesses to post signs that say 'Restrooms for Patrons Only.' How dare business owners who turn away a person seeking the use of a toilet? The further degradation of a normal, healthy, bodily function.

The World Health Organization estimates that 2.6 billion people don't have access to or the luxury of using and flushing a toilet each day. This includes over 600,000 homeless people in America. Unsanitary conditions lead to a plethora of preventable diseases and early deaths for millions of people who desperately need the toilets that we're so embarrassed to talk about.

The National Institutes of Health estimate that 60 to 70 million Americans suffer from diseases of the digestive tract that range from hemorrhoids to diverticulitis to irritable bowel syndrome to colon cancer. Our inability to discuss our bowels and the lack of public toilets in our society add to the problems of millions of people who suffer bowel-related conditions -- ones they are embarrassed to discuss because of society's need to not talk about something as vile and, at the same time, life sustaining as healthy bowel movements.

Add to this discussion the fact that technology has not advanced the flushing toilet in hundreds of years, and human waste is a prevalent and ongoing burden to our health and environment. Advances in sanitation seems like a no-brainer and should be top priority for genius scientists, since all of us are the glorious creators of human waste (a.k.a. bowel movements) yet we rarely hear everyday discussions of how to rid the world of our own stool.

In all fairness, there are droves of researchers who discuss and work on sanitation issues daily, and I don't wish to discredit their passion or their work. A simple YouTube search offers video after video of people dedicated to improving toilets and waste management. 

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently announced the winner of their "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge" that urged researchers at some of the top universities to develop "next-generation” toilets that will deliver safe and sustainable sanitation to the 2.5 billion people worldwide who don’t have it."

Hats off to the honorable winner - California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Remembering John Lennon

Reminiscing about a geeky, smart-alecky, somewhat immature John Lennon can’t help but warp us to his ‘Beatles are more popular than Jesus’ comment or his admitted jealously of Paul McCartney or his nutsy, wtf affair with May Pang and, of course, let’s not forget his cringe-worthy, mid-performance mock of a developmentally delayed person; yet, the mention of John Lennon, for me anyway, brings memories of a man who tried to heal the world and touch humanity and bring us all together with lyrics and actions that were lessons in peace and love and harmony, and a man whose life was cut bitterly and tragically short by a religious fanatic who thought he was an honest-to-gawd, come-to-life version of the fictional protagonist in J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye. 

The murderer, whose wife knew he was going to murder John Lennon yet did nothing to stop him, was Mark David Chapman, and he still sits in a prison cell and applies for parole every two years as law allows with his requests for freedom being denied (so far) and Yoko Ono voicing her opposition each time. 

Photo: Annie Leibovitz

 

Right after firing five bullets into Lennon’s back, Chapman sat down on the curbstone, pulled out a copy of The Catcher in the Rye and started reading. The killer -- not running or hiding -- instead sat in plain view, listening to the panicked screams of onlookers, watching people administer aid to Lennon, watching Yoko watching her husband die before her eyes -- his apathy making the whole scene even more savage, more cruel, more raw.

John Lennon was shot on December 8, 1980, the same night that photographer Annie Liebovitz did a photo shoot with John and Yoko and created a beautiful photo that showed us a timid Yoko who didn't take her clothes off and a carefree John who bared all.

Howard Cosell was the first to publicly announce Lennon’s death, right in the middle of a New England Patriots football game broadcast. John Lennon was only 40. He left behind a wife and two children who loved him, fans who adored him, and a whole world who wanted to hear more of him.

Source: Wikipedia

YouTube Video Credit: Aviv Ben Israel

Don't Be Afraid To Help Someone

Beyond words. This woman pulled over on the side of the road and saved her nephew's life by doing CPR. This is a scary thing to do - even for experienced medical personnel - but, she tried and single-handedly got the baby breathing again. She's a real hero.

This woman was trained in CPR several years before this incident but for anyone not trained in CPR, most doctors agree that you should try to do something to help someone who is unconscious and not breathing. Fear stops people from acting, and waiting for paramedics to arrive usually proves fatal for victims.

So, people should at least try to do compressions on adult victims and try to give rescue breaths to children and infants (if people are unconscious and not breathing). You can't harm an unconscious and non-breathing person because they are already dead, and they lose all chance of being revived if you don't at least try.

I've included a few links to help laypeople with no training. You won't make things worse, everything you do may help save a life. Always yell out for someone to call 911, then get to work doing whatever you can:

If you're afraid to do compressions on a baby, just give rescue breaths.
http://www.parents.com/baby/care/american-baby-how-tos/give-baby-cpr/

If you're afraid to give breaths to an adult, just do compressions.
http://depts.washington.edu/learncpr/pocket.html

(Al Diaz/The Miami Herald/AP Photo)

Shirley Temple Black

Shirley Temple died yesterday and, while I have great respect for the accomplishments of the adult Shirley Temple Black, I do and always have found the Shirley Temple movies that frequented the much-limited and purportedly family-oriented television channels that I watched during my childhood to be distressing and uncomfortable to view. Watching a little girl wearing a super-tiny dress, while singing and dancing in front of the groups of middle-aged, ogling men who were consistently her co-stars always left me with an unsettled "something's not right" feeling in my gut ... even as a child.

And as an adult looking back at clips of Shirley Temple movies, I realize that my childhood instincts were correct. It was odd and totally unacceptable, to say the least, that the male-dominated movie industry saw fit to cast a little girl who conveyed the persona of an adult woman as the star of over 40 movies. The cutesy little girl always seemed to be without a home and without any women to care for her, leaving her to be adopted, housed, fed, led by the hand or, in one way or another, accommodated by adult male characters who always seemed just a bit too enamored and intrigued and delighted to be in the company of a little girl. Men who held her hand a little too much and watched her sing and dance just a little too closely.

Plot summaries of a few randomly chosen Shirley Temple movies show a little girl who was tended to by men, men and more men in every movie. I find this eerie and disturbing, which by no means is meant to insult the honor of the late Shirley Temple Black, but does make me question the motives of parents who sat back and saw nothing perverse in what Hollywood did to their daughter. Memories of Jon Benet Ramsey come to mind as she was another beautiful little girl who was taught to assume an adult persona and entertain ogling adult audiences.

Here are the movie descriptions that I wrote using info. from Wikipedia. (Thank you Wikipedia).

Curly Top – Here, the curly-haired, mischievous, adorable little Shirley Temple has no parents and lives in an orphanage. The trustees come to visit and one of the wealthy, male trustees is so enamored with the little girl that he decides to adopt her (along with her sister) and brings them home to live with him. The wealthy trustee eventually marries Shirley Temple’s sister, Mary.  

Bright Eyes – Shirley Temple’s father is dead. Her and her mother live in a mansion where Temple’s mother works as a maid for room and board. When Shirley Temple’s mother dies, the wealthy family wants to send Shirley Temple away, but the crotchety old wheelchair-bound grandfather is so fond of the little girl that he nicknames her ‘Bright Eyes’ and insists that she stay at the house to keep him company.

Dimples – Shirley Temple plays a little girl named Dimples who sings in the streets to make money with her thieving grandfather, with whom she lives. They perform at a wealthy woman’s party, and the wealthy woman’s nephew takes Dimples to live with him and perform in a Broadway show that he is producing.

Little Miss Marker – Shirley Temple plays a little girl named Marky who lives with her father. Marky’s father gives her to a group of gangsters as collateral for a gambling debt he owes them. Shirley Temple then lives with a group of men who are gangsters, bookies and thieves for the rest of the movie.  

Wee Willie Winkie – Here, Shirley Temple and her mother are brought to a British military base. Little Shirley spends all her time befriending and entertaining the male officers and soldiers. She also visits an imprisoned officer to cheer him up.    

I am still bothered when I see movie clips of Shirley Temple's movies as I view her as a child victim.

When Lawmakers Are Allowed to Embed Their Political Agendas Into Healthcare Laws ...

Marlise Munoz (who is callously being referred to as a 'brain-dead pregnant woman') has finally been allowed to die peacefully. After suffering a tragic event several weeks ago that left her on a ventilator with no signs of brain activity, she was declared to be in a "brain-dead" state by her doctors. Adding to her misfortune was the fact that she was 14 weeks pregnant when she died, which prompted the hospital treating her to deny the family’s request to stop mechanical ventilation as Section 166.049 of the Texas Advance Directives Act states, “A person may not withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment under this subchapter from a pregnant patient.”

Representatives from Texas’ John Peter Smith Hospital, where Marlise was brought by paramedics after being found unresponsive by her husband, chose to ignore the fact that the fetus had no chance of reaching viability, and an article by NPR summarizes the hospital’s probable reasoning in allowing the family to suffer the consequences of watching their already-deceased loved one being mechanically maintained for several weeks.

“The doctors and the hospital explained that it didn't matter what Marlise or her husband or anyone else wanted — their hands were tied. She would stay on the ventilator until her 14-week-old fetus was delivered or died.

The law protects the hospital from all liability as long as it keeps the pregnant patient on life support. It doesn't actually forbid the hospital to remove support, but the hospital loses its legal immunity if it does. And that seemed to be the guiding light for the lawyers representing John Peter Smith Hospital.”

It took a lawsuit from Marlise's husband for "cruel and unusual mutilation of a corpse" (his beloved wife) for a judge to finally order the hospital to stop treating her as if she was still alive. In court, the hospital also acknowledged that the fetus was not viable and had been deprived of oxygen for one hour on the day Marlise Munoz died. 


When politicians, judges, religious spokespersons, anti-choice advocates, and protestors are allowed to interfere with the actions of medical professionals or dictate the provisions of health care laws, it opens the door for medical mismanagement and the prolonged suffering of sick people and their loved ones. Healthcare decisions must be made by healthcare professionals in order for the medical system to work in favor of patients. 

When lawmakers are allowed to embed their reproductive beliefs and political agendas into legal documents, such as the one hidden in the Texas Advance Directives Act, it allows pregnant women to be treated as non-entities whose sole purpose is to house, incubate, and maintain the fetus within them. It invisibilizes women to a level that makes them inhuman and unworthy of consideration as a person who is separate from their fetus. It also allows a fetus to always and without question take precedence over the woman whose body it is attached to.

My thoughts go out to the Munoz family as they grieve the loss of their loved one and recover from the trauma of fighting in court for the right to let Marlise die in peace.

Pete Seeger

I reluctantly admit that I spent more than half my life singing Pete Seeger songs, but didn't know who Pete Seeger was. By my mid 30s, I finally paid some long overdue attention to the social activist, political hero, environmentalist, anti-war protestor, fighter for justice, voice of marginalized people, and McCarthy Era blacklistee who died at the age of 94 on Monday, January 27, 2014.

MSNBC - You Gotta Be Kiddin'

What is wrong with MSNBC? They think Justin Bieber is more important that a discussion of NSA spying and our right to privacy? I feel sorry for Andrea Mitchell - just doin' what TPTB tell her to do when she interrupted a real discussion to show "breaking news" about Bieber being arrested.

Death Penalty

The death penalty always brings up unanswerable questions – for me, anyway.

If it was my loved one who was tortured/abused/murdered/left to suffer/dead at the hands of another person, would I have any care or concern for the safety/well-being/comfort of the person found guilty of the crime?

Probably not.

Would I lose sleep at night wondering if the conviction was wrong and the person convicted was innocent?

Probably not.  

And if my loved one was the murderer/torturer/sociopath who committed vile acts against another person, would I have compassion and concern for how they were treated, despite the crime they committed?

Probably.

Would I forever wonder if they were really innocent of the crime they were convicted of?

Probably.

An Ohio inmate was recently executed by lethal injection with a new drug combination that, it seems, took 25 minutes to actually end his life. Newspaper reports describe his clenched fists, gasping respirations and heaving abdomen while he was dying. This serves as proof for many as a cruel way to die … a legal murder that took longer than it should. His family (who I also consider victims) stood by and watched the person they love, in spite of his conviction for the rape and murder of a woman, endure prolonged suffering while the state put him to death.

Discussions of Eighth Amendment violations (no cruel and unusual punishment allowed in civilized society) have begun, and law suits will, no doubt, soon emerge.

As with all social, moral, ethical issues, people are divided. I have read comments ranging from calls for the justice system to never let this happen again, to zero empathy for the inmate, to remembrance of the murder victim, to calls to end the death penalty once and for all.

I guess I’m wimping out on making a real decision about how I stand on this one. 

The billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry has perfected death penalty drug cocktails that can kill people instantly but, ironically, European drug sales of these amazing kill-you-instantly lethal injections is being blocked because of pressure from groups opposed to the death penalty. (This suggestion that drug companies are letting protestors dictate the sale of lethal injection drugs and, in effect, their bottom line seems odd to me, but I honestly have no in-depth knowledge of this).  

This whole situation seems lose-lose for everyone.

Pictures of the Kids

 

Midnight Plus A Minute

Happy New Year from me and Darryl.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays.

That's right.

I said it.

Happy Holidays, not Merry Christmas.

I said it because I can.

And because it is my wish that everyone (even non-Christians - gawd forbid) look back at 2013 (which can be a happy or sad endeavor) and look forward to 2014 (which can also be a happy or sad endeavor) in their own way, with their own spirit and with their own unique beliefs.

The 'Santa Claus Is White' debate that made headlines this year was a nice addition to the 'let's fuck up the holidays' motif that Americans are so good at. That, and news videos of shoppers knocking each other down, ripping things out the arms of children and smashing retail shop doors off their hinges, gives me warm fuzzies while I sip my eggnog and wait for all of it to be over. 

So, I send Happy Holiday wishes and hopes for a productive, safe, healthy New Year to all.

(I know that no one reads my blog, but I can send holiday wishes anyway).

December 18th

A somber day for me.

December 18th makes me remember things I wish I could forget and forces me to try to remember details that I want to remember but can't. The therapy of writing can be overrated, but laying our thoughts out on a page can bring clarity and reason and understanding to mixed up thoughts. 

Nelson Mandela

"Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose."

In bidding a sad farewell to one of the greatest men the world has ever known, comes the understanding that there is still much to be learned from the words, actions and triumphs of Nelson Mandela.

Robbed of 27 years of his life, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison the year I was born - 1964. He was charged with sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow his government when he should have been credited as a guiding spirit, a human rights activist, a freedom fighter.

Mandela was a fearless leader who found it imperative to end the abuse, degradation and oppression of all people before he could rest and achieve peace within himself.

A bigger man than most in thought and action, his gentle demeanor, intelligent thoughts and articulate words will forever be a lesson in bravery, integrity and honor for all who are willing to listen and learn.

He made the world a better place, and his spirit will live forever. 

Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.
Nelson Mandela

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/nelson_mandela_2.html#TsexP4klo6Mv6wcg.99

Die, Turkey! Die!

Turkeys that are bred for consumption are purposely overfed so they are the plumpest they can be. More meat on the bird means more meat for already-oversized Americans to eat on Thanksgiving. (heartwarming)

Every year the President of the United States, who I assume has some sort of important business that he could be tending to, spends time in front of a news crew ‘pardoning’ turkeys whose lives are being spared from becoming some fat family’s feast. 

According to the director of the pardoned turkeys enclosure at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate (yes, this is a real place), turkeys bred for eating have short lifespans and usually die of ‘natural causes’ (no blame placed on the breeders who feed them to death) within a year of being pardoned by the President. 

So, I think the President should stop this yearly bullshit pardoning charade and get busy on something more important, such as, oh, I don’t know, running the country. (just a thought)

S-H-U-T-D-O-W-N!!!

Wow, I've been sweatin' it out for 16 days now. My life has been turned upside-down with the government shut down and all. I wasn't sure if Dunkin' Donuts and the gas stations would still be open, but they were. I didn't know if I'd be able to drive on public roadways, if the public library would still be standing, if the sky would close up or some workmen would come and remove all the guardrails from the highway. Shit, what if they take away all the exit signs on I-95? Then what? I ran to Walmart and stockpiled a bunch of food ... just in case. What if zombies show up ... will the National Guard still come and help us?

I was scared. Really scared. Thank gawd it's over now.

But, it seems like nothing really changed during the shutdown. Did it? Besides some Republicans worrying about some medal-decorated gents not being able to get into a National Park. (They could have gone any time before or after the shutdown, but I guess that just HAD to go during the shutdown for some reason <wink>).

Anyway, my life didn't change. And lucky for all of our legislators -- who earn a minimum salary of $3000 dollars a week -- that a bill exists that doesn't allow them to not be paid, even during government shutdowns (boy, that's a really lucky break for them). Their lives definitely didn't change.

And those same legislators helped some struggling, out of work, government employees during the shutdown by telling them to apply for public assistance, get some food stamps, go to food pantries. Damn good advice, that is. Then, we could call them deadbeats and drug test them and tell them they're what's wrong with America. Oh, yah. Good times here in the free world.

Now, that I have all this food stockpiled, I better start eating it before it spoils.

I think I'll have red herring for dinner.

Twin Beams From Ground Zero

Photo credit: NYDailyNews.com

Let's REALLY Celebrate Labor Day

Let us all feel good about celebrating Labor Day the right way by educating ourselves, then doing something to change the things we don't like. Our words are mighty, mighty and, in honor of those who have no voice, let us use ours.

Robert B. Reich does a far better job of explaining the minimum wage, the plight of minimum wage workers and what needs to be done to make a living wage possible for everyone. Here is a link to his interview with NPR:

August 28, 1963

Credit: "US Government Photo"

[Excerpt of "I Have a Dream" courtesy of "American Rhetoric" website. Full speech can be seen and heard at www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm]

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Stop-And-Frisk: Not Good For Citizens Or Police Officers

As a middle-aged white female who has experienced being pulled over by the police only a few times in her life (for admittedly legitimate reasons and by officers who usually let me go with a polite warning to keep an eye on my speed), I sympathize with anyone who is going about their day, living their life, doing nothing wrong, yet gets targeted by police and questioned like a criminal.

A free society should have little tolerance for police officers who randomly detain innocent people – despite the hubbub that randomly stopping and frisking people can decrease crime rates.  

Police are trained to watch for suspicious activity, and the safety of themselves and society often depends on nothing more than their gut instincts. So, while I have zero intention of bad mouthing everyone who carries a badge (I happen to like cops a lot – they’re the ones I call when I need help), I am suggesting that statistics show that the NYPD has fallen into a pattern of letting the race, ethnicity and socio-economic status of citizens sway their decision on who looks like they’re up to no good and who doesn’t.

Based on New York’s own statistical reports, the numbers of citizens randomly stopped, interrogated and/or searched has steadily increased since 2002. Not surprisingly, blacks and Latinos have consistently experienced the highest number of detainments by police. Also worth noting is that police reports show that 82 to 89% of people who were stopped between 2002 and 2012 were “totally innocent.”  

Interestingly, along with this obvious pattern of profiling comes the officer-driven allegation that a so-called quota system keeps track of how many people they stop, frisk and question. If their numbers are not high enough, reprimands or sub-par performance evaluations may be leveled against them by supervisors or commanders.

If stop-and-frisk quotas truly exist, it is a daunting revelation as this endangers the lives of officers as citizens grow to dislike and distrust neighborhood police officers more and more, and officers are forced to ignore their gut instincts and focus on meeting the demands of ill-conceived quotas.  

But, NYPD statistics aren’t enough to rattle Mayor Bloomberg as he insists murder/crime rates are down in New York because more weapons and drugs are confiscated during random searches of citizens. We’ll have to wait and see what Bloomberg will do now as he vows to appeal the recent ruling of Judge Shira Scheindlin who believes the practice of random stop-and-frisk policies are unconstitutional.