bbc03indisguise asked: Re: those petitions, It's not the 17th US Congressional district, it's the 17th district in the Illinois State Senate.
Aha, you’re totally right and I’m totally wrong. Thanks for pointing that out—will fix.
I know Chaos In Tejas brings a lot of cool bands to town and all of that, but every time I see anyone — especially in Austin media — talking about the festival, all I can think about is that it’srun by a dude who is stillacting like he’s a victim because people called attention to the fact that he booked Nazi bands.
And yeah, those bands are not playing anymore (“because of the drama,” Disma opted to pull out, said Timmy Hefner, the dude who booked them), but the fact that Hefner is still acting like he got done wrong because he couldn’t just book his Nazi bands in peace does little to make me feel enthusiastic about this.
Now, look — it’s clear that Chaos In Tejas is big and getting bigger, and that public opinion has come down on the side of “hey, check out these cool bands at this festival,” and not “…who were booked by a guy who is still whining that he couldn’t bring Nazis to town for it,” and that a post like this might look like sour grapes. But honestly, I don’t really care.
I wouldn’t give Chaos In Tejas a dime of my money, and I wouldn’t write a single word about the festival that doesn’t also point out that it would feature friggin’ Nazis on the bill if the Hefner had his way. The fact that he’s still acting like the fact that people called attention to that is something unfair that happened to him, rather than something he was responsible for, is just galling.
It’s going to make a bunch of money this weekend, and be a big success, I’m sure. But seriously, fuck that guy and fuck that festival.
Seriously. Fuck that guy, and fuck that festival.
Some lady came to our door with a flyer about a proposed landfill, saying she was collecting signatures to help stop its expansion. The flyer was folded up to cover the top part of the petition. I actually signed, then decided I should probably check out what the fuck I’d just done. When we went back outside to talk to her, she said “oh it’s the same thing” before reading it and saying “Oh I see what you’re seeing, I’m going to go back to them right now, I’m not going to give them this paper.” But she didn’t throw out the paper, you know what I’m saying? Either way, this is dirty fuckin’ business.
Seems like he missed the filing deadline by a few months. I had the wrong link. Here’s the right one. I guess if you’re in the minor party, you have until June 25 to submit your petition.
(via wackystuff)
In case you haven’t heard.
Bennington alums: Better than your alums.
“The fight against abortion is about limiting people’s choices – not just women’s, but all people’s choices – about such highly, intensely personal things as how to create a family. The fight for abortion, at every level, in every instance, is the fight to allow people to dream whatever they wish; to create families in the time and way they determine is best for them; to subsequently create and live lives in the context of free will and self-power. To fight for abortion is to fight for a world worth bringing children into.” — Remembering Dr. Tiller: The Good Samaritan | Abortion Gang
The George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund -
The George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund is the National Network of Abortion Funds’ national abortion fund that helps women to pay for later abortion care and helps those who need to travel out of state for an abortion or those who live in a state that lacks an abortion fund. The Fund is managed by our national office and our National Case Manager. Women seeking later abortions must often travel very far from their home states to get to clinics that can provide the care they need. Later abortions are also significantly more expensive than first-trimester abortions.
The George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund is the only resource of its kind.
We created the George Abortion Tiller Memorial Fund on May 31, 2009, the day that Dr. Tiller was assassinated in his church attending Sunday worship services.
[NB: More people than just cis women need and want access to abortion care.]
[video]
Today is the third anniversary of the murder of Dr. George Tiller. (It’s also the first one I’ve observed since I started working in reproductive health advocacy. It’s tough.) I might be posting a lot today, or maybe not. I don’t know yet.
A lovely remembrance from Everysaturdaymorning:
Violence surrounding reproductive health services, especially abortion, is on my mind this week. There were two arsons at two different clinics in Georgia last week. There was another arson in New Orleans at Women With a Vision.
The National Abortion Federation has a breakdown of the history of violence surrounding abortion and abortion providers. It has not been updated to include the Florida arson in January nor the ones this past week, but it is a reminder to all of us the potential for violence at abortion clinics is always present.
Dr. George Tiller was murdered by an anti-abortion protester on May 31, 2009. Dr. Tiller was 67 years old when he was murdered. He could have retired, but he worked tirelessly for women’s reproductive choices. He faced years of death threats, protesters interfering with his work and even harassment by Phill Kline, the Attorney General of Kansas.
Imagine the commitment to go to work every day with the threat of violence. Would you want to go back for almost 15 years after you were shot five times because you were an abortion provider? Would you post a sign at your clinic after it was firebombed, saying “Hell no, we won’t go”? Dr. Tiller’s commitment to women was summed up in his motto: “Trust Women.”
I remember where I was when I heard the news of his murder. My shock at the news was spent in endless hours watching news coverage and reading articles. It also awakened in me a need to translate my commitment to abortion access for everyone, for any reason, into action. I know I do not have a tiny fraction of the courage Dr. Tiller had, but I had to honor his memory by continuing to speak out in support of women and their choices.
It is hard to believe it has been three years since Dr.Tiller’s murder. It is hard to believe the legislative landscape for abortion and even birth control is worse than three years ago.
Please hold Dr. George Tiller and his work in your thoughts tomorrow. Wear your “Trust Women” buttons and t-shirts proudly in honor of his commitment.
How FBI Entrapment Is Inventing 'Terrorists' - and Letting Bad Guys Off the Hook -
Not a single “terrorism” indictment has been thrown out for entrapment since 9/11 – not the Liberty City goofballs supposedly planning to blow up the Sears Tower who had no weapons and refused them with offered; not the Newburgh, New York outfit whose numbers included a schizophrenic who saved his own urine in bottles. (Even the judge who sentenced them said “the government made them terrorists.”)
The civil liberties of the Florida white supremacist Marcus Faella, at least, have been honored.