Category Archives: ~ my 2cents …

What year is it?

08/18/2025 Nativegrl77 2 Comments

a repost … a rant

The conservative stance or comments about women, Planned Parenthood, contraceptives, and abortion have been beyond offensive yet enlightening for voters who believe it’s time to give women choices like men have had without interference. Hopefully, fact-checking the claims about what Planned Parenthood does for both men and women while considering vasectomies, Viagra, and other enhancements including equipment used by men while they’re at it.

The fact is, some women do not want children, very young women are not ready, and working women need time, sadly there are victims of violence who are capable of making their own (personal decisions) plan their families around their individual situations. We all deserve (free will) to choose whatever reproductive procedure is appropriate for our lives, no matter what conservatives believe.

It is the 21st Century, why can’t these conservatives understand that birth control, contraceptives, and or possible abortions are a part of a woman’s overall health care is beyond my understanding. Yet, pro-lifers don’t seem to let facts get in the way because they feel women who have sex and get pregnant should either have the baby or give it up for adoption. First, the conservative movement that pushes a family values platform on women is political, big government in full effect and should stay out unless requested and or they are a family member or doctor. Second, women should not be the only ones responsible for the prevention of unwanted pregnancies; men need to step up. Third, Conservatives use a broad brush on the topic of women and their health care, specifically when the topic includes reproductive services, STOP. Last, the new law or change implemented by former President Obama’s Admin offered an option for safe and affordable access to healthcare services. The idea that folks are against women who pay for all or part of their #ACA should not have reproductive coverage is absurd. It’s time to question, and demand answers from those in religious organizations who get federal funding, investigated. Isn’t it fair that they are required to fall in line or lose the funding likewise pharmacists who say their religion keeps them from POS =point of sales, of contraception products seem to contradict the business … excuse me…some are also getting federal funds to do and or stay in business.

I don’t know about you, but the reasoning and or rationalization Conservative Politicians, constituents, or members of Congress used to bash and attack organizations like Planned Parenthood by reciting so-called facts from the internet with a list of falsehoods is embarrassing. The list of questionable information includes silly things like PPH misuses money, funnels money or that PPH only does abortions is just the beginning. I can only say the #ConservativeConspiracy theorists are in full effect in this year of 2024. The facts are there; find out by calling Planned Parenthood! They do so much more than just abortions, but that pro-life aka MAGA stance on abortion seems to be the Conservative focus filled with misleading information assuming hoping their constituents won’t research their comments.

Thankfully, women who are uninsured, underinsured, or who just cannot afford a mainstream doctor can go to Planned Parenthood, which is the first step. If needed, they get referred to get mammograms at an affiliated clinic with a Planned Parenthood Doctor. Voters can always assume Republicans will never let the truth get in the way of nasty rhetoric about PPH and women who choose.

Unfortunately, that thing about the Democratic Party wanting to abort black babies is not even a thing, let alone ludicrous. The Democratic Party has stated that it protects a woman’s right to choose and will apply all the Federal laws that exist …period. We cannot be surprised at all the misinformation thrown at viewers by TV hosts and Pundits. I get it, you don’t like abortion, but I suggest that Republican Leaders would be better off calling out the source or thorn in the side of your Pro-life stance advocates. It must be tough not to want to use a footnote or source as an absolute from the internet but come up short. If you listen to conservative TV and talk radio, you realize most just throw out the facts when it comes to birth control, contraceptives, abortion, and what they all mean to a woman’s health care in general.

Women’s health care has always been a politically charged football. Women of childbearing years or, if indeed pregnant were and are still in some states, considered or labeled as being a pre-existing condition; an offensive rationalization used by so many in the insurance industry to deny or limit safe and affordable health care. Because of former President Obama, that practice by the insurance industry was no longer acceptable, however, we still need to regulate how insurance industries treat women, our ability to reproduce makes Conservatives rise up to engage in hypocrisy on so many levels. I get the disagreement about abortion, but most Planned Parenthood clinics offer men and women quality accessible, safe, and affordable health care no matter what form it comes in. Yet, an ideology, a family values platform pushed, debated, and voted into law by red-state Republicans has managed to be implemented in some states that are now trying to dismantle Women’s rights quietly, others have been blocked by the courts without allowing proper challenges IMO. HOW?

Today, in this 21st Century life, women still have to demand the right to make personal health care choices without political intervention.

Unfortunately, some states have succeeded in shoving the reproductive services issue in a political box with laws that are so archaic you have to wonder what year it is.

The cliché of, “do as we say, NOT as we do” keeps coming to my mind every time I hear Conservatives or any extremist on the right speak on issues of Women’s Reproductive Rights. Again, Men’s health care issues unlike women have been treated differently and provided with procedures and enhancement drugs among other things without questions. Yet, Women, mostly Women of colour are being singled out as Abortion Scarlet, Abortion Abusers, portrayed as something mysterious, possibly evil, and definitely disrespected by some extreme folks from the right who do not seem to understand that birth control, rape, unwanted pregnancy’s, incest, contraceptives, and abortion are all a part of a women’s and little girl’s health care no matter what race or economic background.

Freedom Fighters … believe #TheRightToChooseMatters

Get ready for the DNC to shake up Chicago as a Change Maker … #VoteForKamalaWalz2024

~ my 2cents ..., ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Birthright birthers citizenship economy and austerity …

08/02/2025 Nativegrl77

a repost

just another continued rant on citizenship … 2013 …

I thought Republicans had finally decided to bury and or sweep the birther issue under a rug somewhere safe. That seems to have lasted for only about two Romney flip-flops or more since he’s back in congress. It is apparent that quite a few Republican members of Congress and some Governors continue to tell Americans that they matter more and, that Birtherism, is real but the War on Women and their Rights to… (You fill it in), are without a doubt much less important than conservative ideology. I would be happy to see Republicans in Congress, actually do the people’s business, as the current group works less and has passed a few bills for #WeThePeople. They are spending money on useless hearings, acting in revenge mode, and constituents mean nothing to them.

Some reminders for any elections coming your way.

Think about this, Trump was in office for 2yrs and the Treasury dept already found its financial self in trouble? What the what? Bad enough that trump deemed Monica Crowley as his choice for Treasury Sec. Who was a fox contributor, lobbyist, or foreign agent of Ukraine who committed plagiarism and probably has no experience in finance?

Yet, despite everything the Republicans have done, our economy is on the mend. Come on you have to know it’s Thanks to President Obama; though slow, our economic recovery is happening without austerity measures though all the filibustering Mitch McConnell and his comrades continue to engage in against progress; austerity was and still is the word, and mission of the new Republican nationalists. Meanwhile, some Americans, seemingly, had the wool pulled over their eyes continually. The ugly truth began to leak out at town hall meetings and finally a smidgen of buyer’s remorse set in as actual plans received a 2nd look and were rejected, but now what with the 115th congress this path to their economic prosperity still deserves a lot of scrutiny from ALL voters because once implemented it looks like only the 1-3% will be happy. And being ignorant can’t be blissful by any stretch of the imagination.

In between all the confusing economic noise, the Republican Party continues to reach new lows in desperate behavior. While Birtherism, on its face, is kind of laughable because who really takes this stuff seriously…right. Nevertheless, the topic, subject … stupid things conjured up through ideology continue to be added to the conservative conversation and list of ‘Religious Conscience’ though some call it religious instinct.

We should all wonder if religion, consciousness, and or instinct should be allowed in the same sentence – conscious thought, considering what Policies the current group of white nationalists seem to be throwing at Americans calls for a response, so prepare repair and put on your marching shoes. The War on women, immigration, workers, minorities, students, voter rights, and religious freedom are Republican issues. The slap of reality, or the rude awakening is … with so many states trying or passing strict negative conservative legislation against the middle and lower class cloaked in big bright new ideas on that path to prosperity that representatives and speaker Paul Ryan pushed became a trifecta reality. The Ryan agenda lasted only about a minute after several bumps, and while he did help push through a tax gift, things fell apart right before Ryan’s eyes. It was apparent trump took an extreme right turn, had a few tantrums, pushed them aside, and now chaos, hate and some actually felt his abuse and misuse of power. This guy is still the face of the republican party … and racism and birtherism continue to be political footballs for fearmongering.

The political Party of NO, the Republican Party of the 21st Century, is no longer our parent’s conservative party foe. It’s when the extreme right switched places with the Dixiecrat’s, and this ideology continues to weave its way into their 21st-century, Southern Strategy today.

We all have to know; that the path conservatives want us all on, could destroy our democracy.

I will admit, I usually consider any conservative pledge laughable -until that ”Purity Pledge” from a group named N.O.M. popped up. Common sense, if any is available, tells you that a pledge to hurt others or exclude them is beyond offensive right, yet, it got signed by all the socially conservative candidates for President. It says to, among other things, commit to practicing exclusion and lest we pay attention to their choice of words “purity.” This thing, written long before trump took office, is not only archaic but this extremely conservative organization wants, “Signers to pledge: never to engage in pre-marital sex or extramarital affairs, end all viewing of pornography and gambling, never to marry a person of the same gender, and never to “favor any government action that would allow for civil unions of people of the same sex”. I don’t know if all Republicans agree with this purity pledge, we all know that a lot of them have been reported, charged, or resigned from congress… They are failing, Mr. Norquist’s pledge. And that, “family values platform,” which also covers birther issues, no less, suffice it to say that conservatives behaving badly and that cliché, “do as I say not as I do; comes to mind as most if all are not that pure if you get my drift. If you believe in social conservatism you will be voting against your own best interest in any election and likely controlled by extreme right policies and that is sad. Thankfully, he is gone.

The commonality between birthers, and birthrights citizenship certainly has to be the economy, and austerity or the lack of it or any of the combinations out there …believe this … the latest comments coming from social conservatives are code for: we are against “the other”. It should make us all stop and reassess not only the beliefs of these conservatives voted into positions of power and Public Service, but we must all challenge them, their beliefs V the oath they take, and the public servants they profess to be. We all know this group has managed to get away with attacking women, gays, the undocumented, and minorities with legislation that will and has disenfranchised them in some way. We must remember the past like when voters crossed into Blunt territory – pun intended and luckily, blunt was tossed out. I wonder if anyone else wonders or imagines how often these fools must meet, to plan and cover each other on the local state, and federal levels. Republicans used to decry they want a smaller Government, yet their current legislation policies include controlling half the population while enjoying enormous tax breaks… again, remember the house of Bush, and what happened when he gave friends tax breaks? It bares reminding that anything done to one part of our system affects another…our system is interlocked, thus anything done adversely affecting our economies has a great chance of forcing us into austerity

In the fight for election 2016, it was not clear what trump stood for, but as the weeks months and a year or two passed; it was obvious that you only needed to wait until 3am …because it could change. I don’t know about you, but I have a different understanding about how a POTUS should behave or be, and it wasn’t that guy that gave doom, gloom, and nasty speeches, or vile racist comments that got media coverage of him smacking his lips, slurring his words and spewing a lot of inaccurate statements to his audience about Real Americans. He didn’t do much, but flip-flop toward the 1% since Jan.20.

Thankfully, trump didn’t get two terms, but given all his babbling: his comments on Race, Gender, the poor or low-income, and Immigrants, should not be ignored or forgotten at the Voting Booth. If not for the sake of our nation but for the next generation of what will definitely be … a more diverse group

The sole mission of this Republican Party of No – is to turn back the clock … It is beyond offensive and will affect all our family’s past, present, and future.

Nativegrl77

~ my 2cents ...

Healthcare…public, private … we should have options

06/22/2025 Nativegrl77

the question is not that public option might be run by the government, but will it take money away from the current system backed by many on the hill … deals struck by folks who will stand to lose in the long run …

72% Americans want public health-care deal with it.

it’s time to make health care affordable for every American

it can be done if all parties involved make a commitment to helping each other out like AARP did … announced 6/22/09

isn’t competition and free market, the American way

~ my 2cents ...

Easter …history of

04/15/2025 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

Easter, which celebrates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, is Christianity’s most important holiday. It has been called a moveable feast because it doesn’t fall on a set date every year, as most holidays do.

Instead, Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year. Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar to calculate when Easter will occur and typically celebrate the holiday a week or two after the Western churches, which follow the Gregorian calendar.

The exact origins of this religious feast day’s name are unknown. Some sources claim the word Easter is derived from Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. Other accounts trace Easter to the Latin term hebdomada alba, or white week, an ancient reference to Easter week and the white clothing donned by people who were baptized during that time. Through a translation error, the term later appeared as esostarum in Old High German, which eventually became Easter in English. In Spanish, Easter is known as Pascua; in French, Paques. These words are derived from the Greek and Latin Pascha or Pasch, for Passover. Jesus‘ crucifixion and resurrection occurred after he went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (or Pesach in Hebrew), the Jewish festival commemorating the ancient Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt. Pascha eventually came to mean Easter.

Did You Know?

Over 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made each year

Easter is really an entire season of the Christian church year, as opposed to a single-day observance. Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter Sunday, is a time of reflection and penance and represents the 40 days that Jesus spent alone in the wilderness before starting his ministry, a time in which Christians believe he survived various temptations by the devil. The day before Lent, known as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, is a last hurrah of food and fun before the fasting begins. The week preceding Easter is called Holy Week and includes Maundy Thursday, which commemorates Jesus’ last supper with his disciples; Good Friday, which honors the day of his crucifixion; and Holy Saturday, which focuses on the transition between the crucifixion and resurrection. The 50-day period following Easter Sunday is called Eastertide and includes a celebration of Jesus’ ascension into heaven.

In addition to Easter’s religious significance, it also has a commercial side, as evidenced by the mounds of jelly beans and marshmallow chicks that appear in stores each spring. As with Christmas, over the centuries various folk customs and pagan traditions, including Easter eggs, bunnies, baskets and candy, have become a standard part of this holy holiday.

History.com

~ my 2cents ...

Feminism …

03/18/2025 Nativegrl77 4 Comments

Image is from Google internet womens_day_2013GOOGLE

Feminism

by The Thinker-Writer, January 31, 2010

The belief that women are and should be treated as potential intellectual equals and social equals to men. These people can be male or female human beings, although the ideology is commonly (and perhaps falsely) associated mainly with women. The basic idea of Feminism revolves around the principle that just because human bodies are designed to perform certain procreative functions, biological elements need not dictate intellectual and social functions, capabilities, and rights. Feminism also, by its nature, embraces the belief that all people are entitled to freedom and liberty within reason–including equal civil rights–and that discrimination should not be made based on gender, sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity, religion, culture, or lifestyle. Feminists–and all persons interested in civil equality and intellectuality–are dedicated to fighting the ignorance that says people are controlled by and limited to their biology.

Feminism is the belief that people are entitled to the same civil rights and liberties and can be intellectual equals regardless of gender. However, you should still hold the door for a feminist; this is known as respect or politeness and need have nothing whatever to do with gender discrimination.

By The Thinker-Writer, January 31, 2010

***********************************************************

So, why did I go to the urban dictionary for a definition of Feminism?

I saw the article above and thought, nah, that wasn’t what I was taught as a young child…

Then

I got my Cosmo in the mail and while the fashions are fun, some gaudy, others worthy of a second look or two, but most are out of my price and age range, but when I see hair and beauty products, well now, that is a whole different response entirely. As I was thumbing through one of many magazines, which is another bad habit, an article about feminism popped up and yes folks are questioning Beyoncé among others with headlines such as, “can you be Sexy and a Feminist? ” or as Cosmo asks,

“Can you be a Sexy Feminist? It was a quick read and in all honesty, I don’t spend a lot of my time dissecting labels, but I will say that being a feminist used to be defined as a woman who didn’t appreciate men, some said, they despised them. Honestly, there was a time when Women were advised not to question the gender roles of men & women, and when that barrier fell, women realized it was time to demand equal access to education. While so-called hardcore feminists suggested being a companion, forget about being happily married, lest we acquiesce simply because we are women. I don’t subscribe to hating on men, I like men on several levels, that includes my dad, my kid’s father, my son, a couple of teachers, and a couple of bosses who happened to be male.

As a side note on a political level, current Republican men are the bane of our (women) existence in my opinion.

So, getting back to Feminism, when it comes to being an active participant in what seemingly is the opposite side of equality and justice for everyone. I have to admit, I have danced to fabulous music that had one or more negatives like sexual assault, and misogynistic and chauvinistic words. It’s definitely not something I ever used to think about while dancing, and as an adult, I found it upsetting when what was being said became clear; generally, this kind of talk would get a whole different response if these words were being exchanged through a conversation at work, a bar or one on one. In this 21st Century, we hear more Women with edgy lyrics and to find out that a story or two based on reality inadvertently comes to light … so, the choice to listen and buy is up to you.

However, it does appear that the word feminism or being a feminist in this 21st century society is ever-changing and ever-evolving to bring about a belief in equality and the rights for everyone in all its forms and genders. I see the urban dictionary as a place run not only by a younger group of folks, but who use it, research it, and discuss the “stuff” they post. I admit to not referring to the urban dictionary that much, but I found the post in the process of searching out what younger folks felt about the comments on who is or can be a feminist, it caught my eye. As you read on, Cosmo asked stars like Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, and Taylor Swift just to name a few, but when Pharrell was asked he stated, “I don’t think it’s possible for me to be (a feminist). I’m a man, but I do support feminists.”

Anyway, an article worth reading in Cosmo in September 2014

~~ Nativegrl77

What do you think?

Is being a feminist gender-specific?

The answer is yes, in the 1800s, as the root of feminism they used to define women, was fem, being that of the female feminine persuasion, so Pharrell among others probably used the definitions as their guide … though in this 21st Century like and while we are coming out of the nightmare that was the era of trump … The dictionary defines a Feminist as a person who believes in Equal Rights for Women. We need more 21st Century thoughts and people action.