HIPS Benefit in DC

If you're in Washington, DC today, head over to the new Busboys and Poets at 5th and K tonight to celebrate the launch of the new sex worker anthology, Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, and Rent Boys: Professionals Writing on Life, Love, Money, and Sex, edited by David Henry Sterry and RJ Martin. A portion of every book sold at the event will go towards Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive (HIPS).

David Henry Sterry and contributor Shawna Kenney will be reading excerpts followed by a public discussion. It looks like it is shaping up to be a wonderful evening!

The book also contains stories from Dr. Annie Sprinkle, Audacia Ray, Nina Hartley, Dr. Carol Queen, and many more!

Rounding Corners

What a bittersweet evening.

The House passed the historic health care bill, 220-215 (with one Republican voting for it, Rep. Joseph Cao, R-LA). Depending on what happens in the Senate, we will soon see the creation of a public option and health coverage extended to 36 million uninsured Americans.

A congratulations to both Pres. Obama and Speaker Pelosi on this victory -- but whatever comes out of the Senate will probably be far less grand.

Sadly, however, in order to get the bill through the House, Speaker Pelosi and her liberal members had to make some compromises: Enter the Stupak amendment.

Drafted by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), the amendment restricts any health insurance plan, public or private, from offering abortion services in their basic reproductive health coverage. The "point" of the amendment is to "ensure" that federal dollars are not spent on abortions. Women will be allowed the option, however, of purchasing expanded reproductive health coverage (out of pocket) from private insurers that would specifically cover abortion services.

The amendment was added to the bill by a vote of 240-194.

But as the pro-choice groups have noted, what woman would anticipate the need for an abortion? And how many lower and middle class women will even be able to afford this extra coverage?

I am extremely happy with health care reform moving forward, but this amendment is unacceptable. Rep. Stupak only highlights both his and all anti-choice people's ignorance about the bloody history regarding a woman's right to choose -- and why access to legal and safe abortions are so imperative.

If the representatives could kindly draft a memo informing the public exactly how this improves women's health, rather than hinders it, I would greatly appreciate it. Otherwise, those 240 who supported the amendment should be ashamed of using political maneuvering to pass an amendment that will result in the unwarranted deaths of countless American women.

Joy Showing Some Love

If you haven't seen HLN's The Joy Behar Show yet, you must! Here is a woman -- who made a name for herself as the politically-funny co-host of The View -- who has constructed a politically astute talk show without the overt inflammatory ideologies that plague Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, and even Chris Matthews.

This is not to say she is without her own ideology: she makes no qualms about being a progressive feminist. But hey, if she and Ann Coulter actually get along, that has to say something about Behar's levelheadedness and character.

Here's a clip that has been making the rounds today of Behar talking with Fran Drescher, Aisha Tyler, and Sandra Bernhard about some LGBTQ issues.

Act for Our Future

The Clean Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733) passed the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works yesterday; and although it has several more committees to get through, this was a major first step!

Why do we need to pass energy reform legislation now and how is good for our economy?



Call your Senators today and tell them to pass the Clean Jobs and American Power Act today!

Act for Our Future

Operation: Climate Vote

The Morning After

As the results from yesterday's election continue to come in, Republicans are hailing their rebirth with major wins in Virginia and New Jersey. Conservative pundits are hailing the results as a "referendum against Obama" -- despite the fact that exit polls in Virginia reveal that voters' perception of Obama had very little to do with whom they voted for.

We also had mixed results when it comes to LGBTQ rights. After a long and hard battle, Maine's gay marriage bill was overturned by votes by a 53-47 (one year after the passage of Prop 8 in California by almost the exact same margin). On the up side though, it looks like Referendum 71 in Washington state -- the "everything but marriage" bill -- has been approved by voters, 51-49.

In drug policy news, Maine votes overwhelming approved a measure to expand access to medical marijuana to patients in need (60-40).

Finally, and what is especially depressing to me, it looks like the Senate won't be voting on a climate bill until at least mid-2010 -- if not later. And while I would love the health care reform bill(s) to move forward so Congress can focus on other work as well, I fear that the existing climate bills will be gutted by conservatives who still doubt our ability to help the environment and stop climate change.

But overall, I am hopeful.

Why?

First, while the loss in New Jersey was disappointing, I don't find Virginia indicative of Americans' sentiments towards Obama or Democrats on the whole. People might be frustrated, but it has only been a year since he's been elected so he has another three years to prove himself. And what happens in 2010 will be especially important in predicting what, if any, power shift will happen in Congress.

Also, the usually little-watched but suddenly important Congressional race in the 23rd district of New York gave me hope. Although the Republican candidate dropped out and the very scary Conservative Party candidate looked to be a serious threat, Democrat Bill Owens proved victorious -- becoming the first Democrat to hold the seat since 1851. And while conservatives hail victories in other states, the special election in New York illustrates the current discord that exists within the Republican Party. And if there is a serious split, it could severely hurt their prospects in all future elections.

Lastly, while the loss in Maine is disheartening, I can't help but think back to the 2004 vote in Missouri -- the first state to add a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage -- when the margin against gay marriage was 70-30. Now, only five years later, public opinion is almost evenly split! While we might not see results like we did in Maine in, say, Alabama, this is still incredibly promising. In another five years, we might even be overturning those existing state constitutional amendments.

So while the afterglow might not be too intense, this morning after isn't the worst.

Greening Congress

Months after the House passed its climate bill, the Senate has finally begun debating its own version of the bill in committee.

The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act will fund research towards developing cleaner coal plants; encourages the adoption of natural gas; provide for more research on nuclear energy; enhance the use of renewable, clean energy; set a pollution reduction target of 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2050; and work towards achieving American energy independence.

Not a few days old and already the Act is coming under fire from moderate Democrats and Republicans, notably Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT).

Although the debates might have once centered on humans' influence on climate change, this round of discussion has focused on the economic harsdhip the Act will place on Americans. Rural Senators, like Baucus, lament the fact that legislation may place undue burdens on farming communities, as well as those who rely on the coal and steel industries. Republicans are warning that switching to a new power infrastructure (touted by Pres. Obama earlier in the week) and reducing pollution levels will end up costing consumers.

While co-sponsors John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) are working to placate concerns, there is something that I think many of these Senators (and Americans) don't understand: If we don't do something to fight back against global warning, we will not have an economy or taxpayers to worry about.

Some of the compromises proposed by moderates and conservatives seem reasonable -- changing emissions guidelines to 17% or 14% by 2020; funding more domestic oil exploration (although this one seems to miss the point a bit) -- but is this really the time to be compromising on our future? And what promise do we have that conservatives simply won't rollback all of these initiatives if and when they gain control of Congress again?

Recent news that the GDP grew in the third quarter of 2009, as well as optimistic predictions on job prospects lead me to ask: How much longer will conservatives be able to hide behind the "weak economy" before they must find another scapegoat to blame their inactivity on?

Abstinence Strikes Back

In an effort to keep teen pregnancy and STI rates in the US on the rise, Sen. Orin Hatch (R-UT) pushed through the Senate Finance Committee an amendment to reinstate the $50 million a year funding to abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. And despite most Democrats supposedly in favor of comprehensive sex education programs, the amendment passed 12-11.

Email or call your Senators and ask them that we don't want or need ineffective sex ed programs in our schools!