It’s official. The gag rule is no more.  (At least until our next anti-choice president, if legislative action isn’t also taken.)

International funding can now go to organizations that provide abortions with other funding, or simply offer counseling about abortion as an option from a different provider.  Desperately poor women with high risk pregnancies won’t have to die because their doctor can’t tell them about termination options.  Many will have more access to safe abortion care, and won’t die or face permanent injury due to risky do-it-yourself procedures.  Women won’t have to get pregnant because their local birth control clinic had to choose between no funding or substandard, dishonest care, and subsequently closed down.

Yes, he’s a day late.  And no, I haven’t quite forgiven him yet for his supposed reasoning on that.  But mainly, I’m just letting out one of the biggest sighs of reliefs I’ve ever sighed.

This is what change can mean. Thousands of women’s lives saved.  And after the past 8 years of this deadly policy, it’s about time.

For an objective look at what the Global Gag Rule entailed, check out this fact sheet from Reuters.  For the pro-choice version, see Planned Parenthood.

Thanks to Colleen for the link to the confirmation I’ve been waiting for all day!

Great news! Yesterday, the Senate passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

The new Democratic-led U.S. Senate flexed its expanded muscle on Thursday by overwhelmingly passing a bill to reverse a 2007 Supreme Court decision that made it tougher to sue for pay discrimination.

Approved 61-36, the measure is similar to one that Senate Republicans blocked last year, complaining it would lead to an explosion of lawsuits and be a bonanza for trial lawyers.

Yes, you may do a little dance. I am.

From the Feminist Majority’s press release, sent out by email:

“President Obama and the Democratic Congress are keeping their pledge to women and all workers to reverse the Supreme Court decision that gutted the right of employees to fight wage discrimination,” said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority. “We’re on a roll to rebuilding women’s rights and civil rights taken away during the Bush era.”

The Senate Act, which has already passed the House in a version coupled with the Paycheck Fairness Act, will go back to the House as a single bill. The House is expected to pass the Senate bill on Tuesday. President Obama is expected to sign it into law shortly thereafter. In almost straight party line votes the Senate kept the pledge of President Obama to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act almost immediately after being sworn in.

Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s killer amendment was defeated 55-40 in a nearly straight party vote with Democrats voting against it – only Republican Olympia (ME) voted with Democrats. Several other debilitating Republican amendments also went down to defeat.

In other words, they passed it. As they promised. And they did so without the compromises that easily could have been made, but would have gutted the law.

When Barack Obama signs the bill into law (hopefully next week!), it will be a great moment for women indeed.

I have absolutely nothing to add to the abundant commentary that has been made so far about Barack Obama’s inauguration.  All that can be said has been. It was a hugely historic moment that I feel privileged to have seen.  But it’s not the end of our problems, economic, racial or otherwise.  And so on.

However, though I did let the day pass without a blog post (I was very busy watching abundant television coverage and updating my Twitter feed — inaugural tweets currently start back here), I couldn’t just let the moment go by entirely without any sort of acknowledgment.  Even a late one.

We have a new president.  He’s one who I have more faith in, limited and cautious though it may be, than I’ve ever had in a president in my lifetime.

And right now, for this moment.  That’s enough.

I’ve written quite a bit lately — either directly or more indirectly — about abstinence-only education and the dangerous, detrimental effects it has on youth and their ability to protect themselves from STDs and unplanned pregnancy.  Study after study shows that abstinence-only education doesn’t work.  Studies also show that countries that use an honest, comprehensive approach to sex education have lower teen pregnancy rates than the U.S., which uses ideological scare-tactics to push kids away from condom use.

But I haven’t tackled one big question.  What is going to happen to abstinence-only education once the Obama administration takes power?  The problem is that we still don’t quite know the answer.

Obama is considered an advocate of comprehensive sex education, which — unlike abstinence-only curriculum — includes advice to young people about using contraceptives if they do engage in sexual activity. However, Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to elaborate on what the new president would propose in his own budget plan.

Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of American, depicted the federal abstinence-only program as “an utter failure that has wasted more than $1.5 billion” over the past decade. Like other critics, she noted that several major studies — including a federally funded review — have found no evidence that the abstinence-only approach works in deterring teen sex.

“Talking with Obama, he totally understands the need for young people to have comprehensive sex education — they need information that protects their health,” Richards said. “I hope that will be the position of the administration, but when Congress gets involved, sometimes things get more complicated.”

That pretty much outlines to the two major problems.  The first is that while Obama has made his support for comprehensive sex education well-known, he has also made no promises, or really even much in the way of policy plans, concerning abstinence-only education and its funding future.

The second is that even though Congress is Democratic, there are plenty of anti-choice Democrats in the ranks.  As the above article notes, the Democrats have repeatedly voted to continue abstinence-only education.  Whether it’s because they didn’t have the needed votes to revoke the funding in Congress, or simply didn’t bother because they knew they didn’t have the votes to override the inevitable veto from Bush, is unclear.  And I guess it’s a question that we’re going to learn the answer to soon enough.

Personally?  I don’t think that we’re going to see an immediate revocation of funding.  There are two main issues at play here.  The first is that even though Americans do strongly support comprehensive sex education, convincing them that it’s a good idea to revoke the funding for abstinence-only education entirely might be a bit trickier — especially when you’ve got the really loud and and lying voices of anti-choice extremists claiming that comprehensive sex education equals teaching five-year-olds how to use condoms.  The second is simply convincing Congress that the statistics showing Americans support comprehensive sex education are accurate — again, especially with those really loud voices trying to convince them that the numbers are wrong.

It’s sad, and really pisses me off.  And I hope that I’m wrong, I really do.  But I also think that I’m being realistic here, and that unfortunately politics are going to be played while the lives and health of teenagers hang in the balance.

What do you think?

Now that a Democrat has been elected to the White House, progressive groups everywhere are clamoring to have something positive done about their cause for the first time in 8 years or more. You’ve probably been getting a lot of email alerts, and asked to write a lot of letters. But one of the most worthy of those causes in need of support from you and the President-Elect right now is that of Darfur.

For those who somehow don’t know, Darfur is in the middle of a genocide. Between 300,000 to 400,000 people have been killed. Up to 2.5 million people have been displaced. Murder, brutal gang rape, extreme poverty and other violence have become apart of daily life, and so far, we’ve done next to nothing to stop it. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

In this video, Barack Obama talks about the Darfur genocide, the need for action, and says that he doesn’t “plan to turn a blind eye to slaughter.”

It’s time to hold him to his word.

The Add Your Voice campaign is asking you to help them send postcards to Obama, reminding him of his promises and urging him to work towards finally ending the genocide. So far, 120,000 people have done just that. It only takes a few clicks. Add your voice now.

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

h/t Sudy

This morning, Yoko Ono — who previously refused to take a stance on the election, saying that she preferred grassroots organizing — posted an open letter showing that she too has gotten caught up in the Obama craze.  She gets the catchphrase wrong, but I think the sentiment still holds true, certainly enough to get me crying with her.

Dear Friends

How I reacted the night Obama became president:

Just crying…like most people on the streets of N.Y, or in the world that night, from joy…and other complex emotions which had to do with the work we all did for the longest years trusting in miracles.

I had a strong urge for John to be here, physically, to give me a hug. I got over that urge a long time ago, since I knew that John was with me in spirit, and working with me all this time. But this night was different. I felt John and I needed to hug each other physically. I cried hardest when everybody started chanting WE CAN DO IT!

Then I retreated to a long, long silence – In the end I saw a little candle lit in my heart.

Yes.
We are not abandoned – if you even had the smallest doubt.
Miracles do happen.
It keeps on happening. Daily.
We are the miracle.
This time it was spelled out to us in a big way.
To even the dimmest, the most cynical – to all of us, to the world.
Yes.

Read the full letter here.

I too think that John would be very happy right now, don’t you?

Because even Fox News is smart enough to call him out on being an ignorant, racist ass for saying Barack Obama is an “Uncle Tom.”

For more, see Bint. And hey Nader? Fuck you.

Canvassing Erie, Pa was contradictorily both really exhausting and really energizing. It was a strictly GOTV (Get Out The Vote) operation, meaning that we were done trying to convince people to be on our side — the goal was to make sure that the people who are on our side cast their ballots.

This is something that, traditionally, Republicans have been much better at. You know how it often happens that Democrats poll higher, but Republicans win anyway? Well, it’s not all cheating — it’s also the fact that Republicans are great at making sure that their voters get out there and make good on their word, and Democrats are more likely to not show up for a variety of reasons. Those reasons include: an inflexible schedule, a lack of transportation, not knowing where to vote, not knowing if they’re registered properly, showing up without proper ID (and not having time to go back), or just plain feeling like their vote doesn’t matter.

These are all problems, and ones that we were working on fixing this year — by knocking on the doors of our supporters’ houses, asking them if they plan to vote, reminding them where their polling place is, reminding them to bring ID (even if they won’t end up needing it), offering them rides to the polls, and all around affirming that their vote matters, and we need it to win.

We were canvassing in an inner-city area which just so happened to be Obama country.  Lawn signs and window signs everywhere, and people were stopping me on the street as they walked by to chat, or even slowing down their cars to shout out words of encouragement.  As it turned out, a lot of people weren’t sure about where their polling location was — and though I’m sure some of them would have asked around and found out, others wouldn’t have and might not have voted.  Several first time voters or recently moved voters didn’t know what kind of ID to bring, and we were able to let them know.  And because the polling location was only a few blocks away from every house we visited, the four people in my group knocked on over 200 doors and only ended up finding a single person who need a ride.  But it’s always better to ask than not ask — especially because a few blocks can be a long way for people with limited mobility, and because we did find one person who might not have otherwise voted without the assistance!

I learned two main things about voters in (this part of) Erie, PA: they’re enthusiastic and they’re anxious.  The first is obviously great, and the second I hope will be a positive in the end as well.  If people are anxious, I want it to motivate them into knowing that their vote matters.  I got a lot of people telling me how ready they are, and that they’re really looking forward to Tuesday — which is precisely what we want.  And I also got several people asking me nervously something along the lines of “how do you think he’s looking?” or “do you think he’s going to win?” or “he’s going to win, right???”  I had a standard answer, and it was more than just a line because I really do believe it: “he’s going to win as long as you get out there and vote.  Obama has the support he needs to win in PA, but it doesn’t matter how much support he has if people don’t show up — so make sure that you do.”

Frankly, I think that we’ve got PA — and I know that McCain needs it.  McCain knows that he needs it too, which is why he’s putting in such final effort in a state that few people are expecting to go his way.  Right now, one of McCain’s main hopes is that Obama supporters in PA stay home.  I really feel, and I think that the GOP does too, that if strong pockets of Obama support like Erie turn out, we’ve got this state and we’ve pretty much got the election.

The Erie office was really nice and very cool.  There’s one picture above, and some more below.

All around the outside of the building, there were signs in the little windows up top that said “YES WE CAN,” surrounded by other signs that said things along the lines of it “it was the call/rallying cry/mantra of [X groups/people that accomplished something Great].”  They kind of sent little chills up my spine.

Below is my favorite set: “It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountain- top and pointed the way to the Promised Land.  YES WE CAN.”

And here we are, weary and at the end of a long day but still pumped!  My Rochester team was so much fun, we worked really, really well together, had an all around great time and did some amazing work.  I feel so good about  it, and I’m lucky to have met the three people below and everyone else who I crossed paths with.  From left to right: Maria, Tucker, Renee and me.

We’re going to win this thing, people.  I can feel it.  I could feel it in that volunteer center when it was so full you could hardly walk around.  I could feel it when I talked to voters and saw a higher concentration of lawn signs than I’ve ever seen in my life.  I could feel it when we drove around town looking for lunch and kept seeing other Obama volunteers knocking on doors, or when we kept running into an independent converted ice cream truck, driving around neighborhoods and blasting Obama speeches out the speakers.  Tomorrow night, we can make sure that things change.  But as always, that’s no reason to be complacent.  Volunteer here. Make calls on your lunch break or when you get home from work.  I’ll be spending the day tomorrow making calls to verify that people voted and still making sure that they don’t need a ride. You can join me.

Yes, we can do this. Together, we will.  And tomorrow, I want to be able to say Yes We Did.

It looks like even McCain’s arguments for why he should be president are actually arguments for why he shouldn’t.

John McCain kicked off a campaign swing in two Western states Friday with a new warning that electing Barack Obama could create unchecked Democratic control in Washington.

Republican incumbents and challengers are facing stiff battles in numerous congressional races, including in Colorado. Democrats expect to pick up seats in both the House and Senate and may reach a veto-proof majority of 60 in the Senate.

“The answer to a slowing economy is not higher taxes, but that is exactly what is going to happen when the Democrats have total control of Washington,” McCain told about 3,000 supporters in Denver’s National Western Arena. “We’ve already seen a preview of their plans,” added the four-term Arizona senator. “It’s pretty simple and pretty familiar: tax and spend.”

Is that seriously the only thing this guy has left? “My party sucks and has fucked up everything so badly that we’re being voted out of office at every turn. My friends, we’re going to get our asses handed to us all across America. So the last thing you want to do is vote for the presidential nominee of a political party you clearly favor.”

You go with that, McCain.  And remember, as you do, that up to this point voters have seen through the vast majority of your bullshit in droves.  Things aren’t looking good; you keep on reminding people that you don’t really have as single argument about why you would actually make a better president.