Guest post: One of these flawed money-saving approaches

Originally a comment by chrislawson on It’s up to individual pharmacists.

As a fellow of the RACGP, I’m extremely proud that they’ve taken this stand after many years of not addressing it. An observation for those of you outside the medical field or Australia (I don’t know how applicable this is in other countries)…

Most pharmacists I know dislike stocking all the natural remedy stuff. The problem is that, much as I love Australia’s socialised medical system, one of its deep flaws is that governments keep trying to save money in the system where it’s easier to make cuts rather than where it’s sensible to make cuts. [Read more…]

And who was that man?

Holy crap. Libby Anne did some Google-sleuthing after the Duggar parents’ interview, and she found something pretty…telling.

While Josh initially molested his sisters while they slept, he eventually began molesting them while they were awake, too. Did the family value personal space so little that the girls seriously had no idea this this was inappropriate?

“We pulled him out [of the home], and he went through working with that man.”

What man, pray?

“This man really reached his heart.”

“This man” is convenient shorthand for “I don’t want to tell you who.”

But there were clues. [Read more…]

They just flat out pay for them

Quoting a public post by Josh Spokes on Facebook:

Give the gift of a life determined by the person who lives it—fund an abortion today. The National Network of Abortion Funds pays for women to have abortions they couldn’t otherwise afford. That’s right. They don’t “raise awareness,” or “help women with the very difficult life choices that these issues raise,” or any of that happy-pappy bullshit designed to avoid saying “having an abortion is a very good thing if you want one.”

They just flat out pay for them. Please help.

Fund Abortion Now.

You can donate to honor Dr George Tiller if you like.

Donate to honor Dr. George Tiller, killed for helping women

The day that Dr. Tiller was assassinated, the National Network of Abortion Funds received many phone calls and emails from women who had seen Dr. Tiller, from his former colleagues, from his friends, all asking us to do something. We answered by creating the George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund to celebrate the legacy and life of this man who believed above all in honoring women’s lives and futures. And on the very next day at the office, we received a donation from Dr. Tiller himself, mailed on the Friday before his death.

Since that day, the George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund has been providing assistance to women who face the highest obstacles to abortion care, including those who must travel thousands of miles just to get the care that they need. Through the George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund, and through you, Dr. Tiller’s legacy lives on.

Donate to the George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund at the National Network for Abortion Funds and show you’re willing to take a stand—no matter how outrageous the attacks become.

Their About page:

Our work

The National Network of Abortion Funds works to make sure that all women and girls can get the abortions they seek. We fight unfair laws while directly helping women who need abortions today.

Our story

In 1993, 22 abortion funds established the National Network of Abortion Funds to create opportunities for the funds to share their work, to learn from each other, and to support each other across the country. Today we have abortion funds in communities throughout the United States and the world.

Our people

At our core, the National Network of Abortion Funds is a dynamic network of grassroots abortion funds and thousands of activists who serve the women living in their communities. Listen to some of their stories here, in partnership with StoryCorps.

Our beliefs

We view the right to abortion as a fundamental human right, essential for women’s equality, health, and dignity.

 

Even 1,000 times worse

I saw about half of the Duggar sisters’ interview on Fox last night, and it was revolting. It turns out that Josh Duggar did nothing wrong and the Duggar parents did nothing wrong, and the real perpetrator here is the wicked secular agenda-driven news media, for reporting on Josh Duggar’s sexual abuse of his younger sisters.

The Washington Post has highlights.

“We are victims,” Dillard tearfully told Kelly in another portion of the interview. Explaining her reaction to the moment when allegations against her brother came to light last month, she said: “They can’t do this to us.”

“I see it as a re-victimization that’s even 1,000 times worse,” Dillard said. [Read more…]

The Human Rights Campaign has a sexist work environment

How ironic…or maybe it’s not, maybe it’s classic rather than ironic. Or both. Being marginalized doesn’t prevent the marginalized from marginalizing others, which is perhaps both ironic and classic. (Yes, that applies to me too. Yes, you alone among mortals are immune. Please sit down now.)

The Human Rights Campaign is a white guys club.

A new internal diversity report reveals the Human Rights Campaign has a sexist work environment where only ‘gay, white, male’ employees advance into leadership positions.

Well you see it’s like this – having a leadership position isn’t a human right.

Bullet dodged! [Read more…]

A Vanity Fair cover in every pot

This is cool.

Trans People Are Creating Their Own Vanity Fair Covers With #MyVanityFairCover.

Laverne Cox recently began a dialogue on her Tumblr concerning the beauty standards surrounding trans women in light of Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover.

“It is important to note that these standards are also informed by race, class and ability among other intersections. I have always been aware that I can never represent all trans people. No one or two or three trans people can,” wrote Cox.

So: more “Vanity Fair” covers.

Call me Crystal.

A lot of people have explained it better than me recently, but a large contingent of the trans community has engaged in a lot of dialogue the past few days, ever since Vanity Fair announced their Caitlyn Jenner’s cover story, most of which revolves around the idea that the world only seems to embrace us if we’re wealthy enough or lucky enough to adhere to white, cisnormative beauty standards. I’ve felt frustrated and useless and overwhelmed by opinions on transgender women and how we’re “supposed” to look if we want to be taken seriously.

But not all of us adhere to those standards. Not all of us want to. Not all of us can. Some of us do, but only out of fear. Some of us do but we aren’t sure why. And whether we fit those standards or not, we’re beautiful, and we all deserve tofeel beautiful, and be acknowledged by the world. Admiration and praise for trans women shouldn’t only come if we fit a narrow definition of beauty. As a good friend of mine said Monday “Where’s my Vanity Fair cover?”

Well, it’s here (in white) and here (in black). Please share these and the hashtag #MyVanityFairCover and show the world the myriad faces of the trans community.

So people did.

Tumblr users didn’t hesitate to create their very own cover images.

“Not all of us can or even want to adhere to western cisnormative beauty standards. This doesn’t make us any less beautiful, or any less valid as women,” writes Nadia.

Call me Nadia.

I’m a 28 year old pansexual, polyamorous, mixed race, Dutch trans woman. Most trans women don’t have millions of dollars and instant access to doctors, hormones and surgeries like Caitlyn Jenner has. And not all of us can or even want to adhere to western cisnormative beauty standards. This doesn’t make us any less beautiful, or any less valid as women. So here’s MY Vanity Fair cover!

One more – the article has several, and no doubt Twitter has even lots.

I think “MyVanityFairCover” is a really cool trend to showcase a variety of trans experiences beyond those of the very white, very wealthy, and very lucky. So, uh, here’s me!

he/him/his pronouns, no hormones or surgery, 20 years old, surviving

Rock on.

It’s up to individual pharmacists

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has told GPs to stop prescribing homeopathic remedies and says pharmacists must also stop stocking such products for the same sort of reason they shouldn’t prescribe/stock candy or kale or blueberries as medicine.

The official body for Australian GPs has asked pharmacists to strip their shelves of homeopathic products and warned doctors not to prescribe them because they do nothing.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has formally recommended GPs stop prescribing homeopathic remedies and says pharmacists must also stop stocking such products because there is no evidence they are effective in any way. [Read more…]

Indian Atheists

A bat signal. The Indian Atheists Facebook page has been banned as unsafe. This needs to be reversed.

Sorry, are you trying to promote rationalism and secular humanism in India, you may be unsafe for Facebook.

The Facebook page Indian Atheists is an initiative by the Nirmukta community. Our mission is to bring together a community of Indian Atheists and to build a society based on science, reason and humanistic values.

Yesterday we found that content from this page could not be shared as it has been flagged as unsafe. Facebook policies are such that, in case of an objectionable content, the said post would be removed by Facebook. But we found that no specific post was removed as objectionable. Instead the entire Indian Atheists page has been flagged as unsafe and we are not able to share our posts or tag Indian Atheists in any post, not even as comments in closed groups.

How to protest the ban: tag Indian Atheists in a post or comment; the tag will appear, but then when you try to post Facebook will stop you with a pop-up saying the group is banned, and giving you a place to say THIS IS A MISTAKE YOU BOZOS.

Please take a few seconds to do it. India needs its atheists, and they need their Facebook page.

The Archdiocese is busted

Never forget, children: priests and bishops are better than the rest of us. They’re holy, good men who follow church teachings and serve God.

Except for the archdiocese of Minneapolis-St Paul, that is.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is facing criminal charges after US officials said church leaders ignored reports that a priest was molesting children.

It’s the archdiocese that’s charged, as a corporation, not people.

Officials alleged that the archdiocese “turned a blind eye” to complaints about priest Curtis Wehmeyer for years.

Wehmeyer, now defrocked, was convicted of molesting two brothers in 2013.

`It is not only Curtis Wehmeyer who is criminally responsible for the harm caused, but it is the archdiocese as well,” said Ramsey County prosecutor John Choi at a news conference on Friday.

“This organization said it protected children when in reality it did not”, said Mr Choi who called the church’s monitoring program for trouble priests “a sham”.

In other words it told lies, in service of protecting itself while leaving children in its care unprotected. How holy.

Lawyers for the victims accused the church leadership of not acting on “numerous and repeated reports of troubling conduct”.

Had clergy acted more quickly, Wehmeyer would not have been able to destroy the evidence that he did.

But they did it all ad maiorem dei gloriam.

H/t Deepak Shetty

 

If someone says it, then you know it

I’ve squandered a lot of time today arguing (hello SIWOTI) with people busy claiming I’m a transphobe or a friend and helper of transphobes or at least someone who doesn’t point and hiss loudly enough when a transphobe walks by – and I was rewarded for my efforts by this staggeringly credulous and illiberal comment:

And you know what? Once someone points out her transmisogyny to you, congratulations. She IS a “known transphobe” to you. You thank them for helping you get yourself together…

After the ellipse there’s a stupid jibe about my getting my feelings hurt, which is not the issue at all.

The issue is the very thing denied by that ridiculous assertion. Oh right, once someone – anyone, everyone, it doesn’t matter who, and don’t you dare ask how that someone knows, or where that someone got the information – “points out her transmisogyny” to me, then I automatically know what that someone just told me, because there is no possibility whatsoever that that someone is wrong, or biased, or malicious, or passing on a claim passed on by forty thousand other people all of whom had no reason to believe it either. Listen up, atheists and skeptics: when someone tells you something, then you know that something, because someone just told you it. Believe what you are told, by anyone, no matter who; it’s the skeptic way.

Honest to fucking christ, what is the matter with people? Why am I supposed to take their word for this kind of shit, especially when they model such godawful epistemic practice themselves? What kind of politics do they think they’re creating, if we’re all just supposed to take everyone’s word for everything?