The Good

This moving, and sometimes funny, and very insightful piece by Dolores P., an abortion provider in training, is worth reading in its entirety. A great conversation starter for any of your more undecided or conservative friends, too.

It seems to be all too easy for the general public to forget that prisoners are people too, so it’s good to see these Georgia prison guards arrested for their vicious beating of an inmate in retaliation for the December prisoners’ strike.

Rinku Sen explains why it’s important to support Planned Parenthood despite founder Margaret Sanger’s disgusting views on eugenics (hint: it’s a vital health care source for millions of women and men).

I didn’t know where the phrase “women of color” or “people of color” came from, but here’s a wonderful explanation from Loretta Ross, a reproductive rights activist who was there at the term’s origination. Her reminder that this was people of color naming themselves, and not being categorized once again by white people, is a vital one.

Tuesday was International Women’s Day, and there were a lot of great pieces written all over the world from the occasion, some of which can be found here and here.

It’s funny because it’s true.

The Bad

Rep. Peter King is starting his own McCarthy hearings, this time focusing on blaming Muslims for all the terrorist acts in this country, providing no statistics to back him up, and ignoring completely other domestic terrorist groups like the KKK, Operation Rescue, and skinhead groups. Guess which groups are actually killing Americans year after year? Arturo Garcia has some great questions and answers about the hearings here.

As you probably read, Wisconsin (probably illegally) passed their bill denying collective bargaining rights to its public workers, when the Democrats who were supposed to be necessary to hold a vote at all were still hundreds of miles away. One Republican state senator did vote no because it went against his conscience and the will of his constituents. A site has already been set up to recall the state senators who rammed through the vote. Instead of doing anything to balance the budget or help the workers of the state, Walker and his friends have just ensured that Wisconsin will be mired in expensive and lengthy legal proceedings for possibly years to come, as the lawsuits come out in full force. Badly done, and shame on them.

JPMorgan is the largest processor of food stamps in the country. That’s right, the same company that contributed to our country’s economic disaster and thousands and thousands of layoffs, that’s the company that is making money by processing the food stamps of the previously employed.

The Republicans’ plan to save money by cutting the budget will likely increase unemployment and slow economic growth, according to studies done by, um, Republicans. Time to change plans, guys.

Ohio has passed its own anti-union bill, and also slipped in there, apropos of nothing, a clause stating that the state shall never acknowledge any kind of same-sex union. They banned gay marriage in 2004, but lest people try a workaround like civil unions or domestic partnerships, the Ohio legislature is heading them off at the pass.

Yesterday was National Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, and here are some numbers on just how dangerous it is to work in this field. Also, an interview with a doctor who has been providing abortions since they were legalized in the US.

The Silly

“James Franco’s dissertation is not a ‘contribution to the field.’ It *is* the field.” And other fun facts about James Franco’s foray into grad studies at Yale.