I have been a very busy gal these last couple of weeks. I’ve had many little errands to run and things to get done. I took on a paid writing job. Actually a “job”, because the pay isn’t exactly stellar. But, I filed that under “it’s a start” and got on with it. I also interviewed yesterday for a fantastic-looking job at OSU. Fantastic in regards to pay, benefits, and hours — not so much the work, which is cooking. It’s not bad work, by any means. I was just hoping to use my current unemployment as an impetus to get out of the food service industry. Ah, well. The benefits are so good with the OSU job that I couldn’t bitch about it if I wanted to. (All right, you know that’s a lie. I can bitch about anything.)

At any rate, between the writing gig and the novel, I haven’t been posting here much. I’m using up all my time and words on other projects! I have a few minutes now, though, so …

Shit You’ve Probably Already Heard About, But Should Still Be Pissed Over Anyways:

• The Next Anti-Choice Target: Miscarriage

They just passed a new law in Utah. If a woman engages in “an intentional, knowing, or reckless act” which that leads to a miscarriage or abortion without a doctor’s supervision, that woman can be severely punished, up to and including life in prison. So, in short, if you’re preggers, and, say, take those stairs two at a time and fall, and miscarry due to the fall, why, you could be charge with murder. Because you should have known better. Or, say you and your pregnant self jump in the car to drive around the block to get milk. It’s such a short trip, you don’t put your seat belt on, but woe, you get in a wreck anyway. And miscarry. Guess what? That’s murder.

Part of the problem with this law is that it can be really difficult, medically, to show a causality between an act, and a following miscarriage. For every woman who takes a tumble down a set of stairs and miscarries, there’s another dozen who won’t. Same for that car accident, and any number of other horrific accidents a woman can get herself into. The other, more sinister side of the equation is the fact that something like 15% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage or spontaneous abortion. For no particular reason. So, let’s say that you didn’t know you were pregnant, or weren’t quite sure yet, and you stop at the bar with a few friends and have a drink or two. Just one or two, folks. We’re not talking about a night out clubbing and getting drunk off your ass. Now say a week later, you miscarry that one or two month fetus. Have you just committed murder, by Utah’s definition? Maybe one of your friends is pissed at you, and they mention to the cops or whoever that you had those drinks prior to your miscarriage. Is your ass on its way to jail, now?

This is a horrifying law, y’all. Did you know that lots of women don’t even realize they were pregnant when they fall into that fifteen percent and miscarry? Hell, if it happens early enough, at lot of women just think they had a really rough period. Are those women going to be charged with murder? This is fucking ridiculous!

And if you think that’s ridiculous, check this shit out: A doctor in Florida got a court order to confine a pregnant woman to the hospital because he recommended bed rest to prevent a possible miscarriage, and she couldn’t comply. The woman had two kids to watch, and a job to keep, so she couldn’t do bed rest. So, the doctor went to court, and forced the woman into the hospital for enforced bed rest. She miscarried anyway. Bed rest hasn’t even been proven to help in cases of possible miscarriages. Oh, and like Jim pointed out to me — who had to pay for that hospital stay? It doesn’t say in the article, but who wants to lay odds that the woman got billed for that hospital stay? You know Florida didn’t pick up the tab.

The so-called “pro-life movement” is not now, nor has it ever been about saving babies’ lives. It’s about controlling women. Things like the Utah law, Florida’s actions, laws making abortion illegal, they’re all about limiting women’s choices in life, and controlling their actions.

• Jim Bunning Blocks Unemployment Benefits.

Jim Bunning is the crazy-assed Republican senator from Kentucky. Last week, the Senate was voting on a crucial extension of unemployment benefits for hundreds of thousands across the United States. Bunning pulled a one-man filibuster to block the passage of the extension, thus fucking over thousands of unemployed folks who were relying on their benefits to, oh, eat, or keep their homes.

Somewhat fortunately, the Senate managed to back Bunning down on Tuesday, and pass that extension, but thanks to A) Bunning being a dick, and B) the Democrats being a punch of pussies, hundreds of thousands will still be facing an interrupt in their desperately-needed benefits. They won’t be eating or paying any bills for a few weeks until their respective states can get them back on the unemployment rolls.

So, yeah, Bunning is a giant prick, but the real anger here can be aimed at the Democrats who adjourned the Senate on Friday night, at midnight. Midnight. Can anyone explain to me why these assholes didn’t keep Bunning on the Senate floor all goddamn weekend? Bunning was the only man blocking this extension. Even other Republicans were all like, “Dick move, Bunning.” All the Democrats had to do was set up rotating shifts to keep calling for votes every hour until the old fart fell asleep, had to pee, or fucking died. Is it that hard for Democrats to man up and get some shit done, or what?

Image from here.