June 17, 2014

Lady Parts Justice!

ENOUGH

Women are not faking rape and they don’t have magical powers to deactivate rape sperm. We are not pregnant before we are pregnant, we can’t have an abortion if we are not pregnant, and I think we can all agree, women shouldn’t be forced to carry stillborn babies. Abortions don’t cause mental instability and the HPV vaccine doesn’t make girls mentally retarded. No woman’s boss should be able to demand information from her to decide if her reason for wanting birth control is moral enough to grant permission.


These are all actual laws coming from statehouses all across America, and we are sick of it. Lady Parts Justice is doing something about it. We are calling it “V to Shining V.” Don’t even say it’s not awesome. It’s about time that women took a page from the LGBTQ community and created an annual rocking party with comedians, bands, righteous speakers, and funny videos that celebrate the awesomeness of women while proclaiming it is time to stop fucking with us.

We need you to get your friends together to cause some trouble on the ground in what we are calling Lady Parts Justice Leagues. You are funny and smart so why not get together with your other funny smart and pissed off friends, have some wine and come up with some clever ideas of your own to throw a bum or two out.

V TO SHINING V 1st Annual 50 State Capitol Ladypalooza blowout!

2014 V To Shining V, a national pride day for women. LPJ wants men and women to get together and organize kick-ass block parties in all 50 state capitals with comedy, music and a little dose of what is on the ballot. The goal of V To Shining V 2014 is to be the first annual fall event that serves as the push we all need to step up, get loud, go to the polls in November and toss out politicians who have decided the biggest problems in our home states is what we do with our vaginas.

Read More! http://ladypartsjustice.com/

Come on let's go there~

June 16, 2014

Preserving the soul

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In particular, this photo of the first African American President and First Lady finding such joy in meeting a young Native American girl speaks volumes as a symbol of our hope for healing from a bloody and painful history.

But the fact is, whenever I see our President's genuine delight in interactions with children, I think of something Alice Walker wrote shortly after he was elected.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life...From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone...

Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.

Read More: http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/06/preserving-soul.html

May 26, 2014

What War on Women?

Just Look at this graphic, absorb the stats from the FBI 2001-2012!









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Before strangling her to unconsciousness and leaving her for dead, Michelle Johnson Major’s abusive husband butchered nearly 100 paintings in an act of rage. A violent attempt to silence both her literal and artistic voice have ignited a passion in Major to educate others about the dangers of domestic violence.

How do you Paint the Portrait of Domestic Violence? has become Major’s voice that educates, empowers and provides hope to those trapped in violence.

Using her artwork, Michelle Johnson Major shares her artistic journey from victim to survivor to embracing life filled with colorful hope.

http://beavoicearts.com/gallery/













Fight for her...because she deserves nothing less from you. She is your mother and daughter, your sister and your aunt, she is your friend, she is you.

April 19, 2014

I won't sugar coat this...

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/04/18/chat-away-354/

April 10, 2014

We will not sit down...We will not shut up!

(WNN) New York, New York, UNITED STATES, AMERICAS: Breaking the barrier between just viewing a film and actually creating humanitarian action surrounding human rights issues for girls, CNN FILMS has launched a new on-air platform to live stream the new film “Girl Rising” in hopes that global change for the world of girls and women can come as quickly as possible in a revolution that can ignite one community and ‘one house at a time’.

snip

“A girl is not defined by what society sees. A girl is defined by what a girl sees inside herself,” echoes the 10X10 mission, which is co-sponsored by Intel, The Documentary Group, and Vulcan Productions along with the work of CNN Films.

Chronicling the stories of girls around the globe who, given a fair chance to further their education and their life, will do so, the hope is that this documentary film can reach the widest audience possible. Working with NGOs – Non-Governmental agencies like World Vision, UNICEF, A New Day Cambodia and numerous others, “Girl Rising” shows how girls can make lasting changes in their personal life, local communities and beyond. “Girl Rising” also has a star-studded U.S. Hollywood cast of narrators for the feature-length documentary, including award-winning actor-narrators Salma Hayek, Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep, among others.

“If to see it is to know it, this film delivers hope; reasonable, measurable, tangible hope that the world can be healed and helped to a better future,” said Meryl Streep after the premiere release of the film was made last March.

http://womennewsnetwork.net/2013/06/17/cnn-live-streams-girl-rising/




Stand up for Women's Equality













Women, oh yes we are.

We are proud and strong and fearless.

We have been humiliated and hurt, sometimes grievously. We have been beaten both physically and verbally. Our rights over our bodies are being taken away from us. We have been told our voice does not matter, that our voice is shrill and hurts some sensitive ears. Aaaah, such sensitive ears, so sorry that the truth hurts.

Yet in the end, we rise. We will not be beaten. We are gaining strength and our fathers our brothers our sons and our friends have our backs. The color of ones skin does not matter here, it is for every woman that we stand for. We have each others backs.

What matters is that we all stand together, we all rise together. If one group is denied equality then every single one of us will lose our integrity and our humanity.

Let's Break that Chain! All of us it is time to stand up and be heard. We have your back and you have ours!

Still I Rise

by Maya Angelou
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15623#sthash.rzSjIksx.dpuf

April 7, 2014

Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter...

Brava! A must see.

https://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter

A performing poet since she was 14 years old, Sarah Kay is the founder of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool.

Why you should listen

Plenty of 14-year-old girls write poetry. But few hide under the bar of the famous Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan’s East Village absorbing the talents of New York’s most exciting poets. Not only did Sarah Kay do that -- she also had the guts to take its stage and hold her own against performers at least a decade her senior. Her talent for weaving words into poignant, funny, and powerful performances paid off.

Sarah holds a Masters degree in the art of teaching from Brown University and an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Grinnell College. Her first book, B, was ranked the number one poetry book on Amazon.com. Her second book, No Matter the Wreckage, is available from Write Bloody Publishing.

Sarah also founded Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool. Project VOICE runs performances and workshops to encourage people to engage in creative self-expression in schools and communities around the world.

https://www.ted.com/speakers/sarah_kay

April 7, 2014

This is a must read.

FB https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=722798927772638&set=a.362561537129714.96045.360781383974396&type=1&theater

April 6, 2014

Daniel Beaty... Knock, Knock. Who's there? We Are!

The fierce urgency of now and the long game

Daniel Beaty - Knock, Knock on Def Jam Poetry



Back in the 1980's we abandoned the War on Poverty and beefed up the War on Drugs. As a result, we are now seeing the 3rd and 4th generation of too many black boys growing up waiting for that "knock, knock"... struggling with whether or not prison is simply written into their destiny as well. Unfortunately, they face that question in the fierce urgency of now and don't have the privilege of waiting until we implement the long game of systemic change. And so Beaty talks about the power to change this world one little boy and girl at a time.



Reposted from GD:

More:http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024785498

http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-fierce-urgency-of-now-and-long-game.html

Knock Knock, that took the breath out of my body.

March 21, 2014

Mine

Bond~ Victory

Love this!

Thanks for posting this thread Whisp! I think we all need a little Happy~

March 10, 2014

Welcome to the LGBT Aging Project

A non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender older adults have equal access to the life-prolonging benefits, protections, services and institutions that their heterosexual neighbors take for granted.

http://www.lgbtagingproject.org/

The LGBT Aging Project Launches Mindful Aging Course for LGBT Seniors

The LGBT Aging Project, a program of The Fenway Institute, will be offering a special 6 week course on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults. The course will provide training in meditation, gentle yoga, mindfulness and relaxation. The first week is an introduction to MBSR and is open to anyone who is considering taking the program.


Mindfulness meditation is a practice that is used to quiet the mind and remove negative thoughts to reduce stress and improve health. Clinical research shows that mindfulness techniques can help alleviate anxiety, stress and even reduce depression and loneliness in older adults.

The program was developed in the early 1980s by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., a University of Massachusetts molecular biologist who studied Buddhist meditation and incorporated its key principles into a course harnessing the link between mind and body.

The MBSR course is part of a series, Healthy Aging in the LGBT Community, funded by a grant from the Tufts Health Plan Foundation.

http://www.lgbtagingproject.org/2014/01/13/the-lgbt-aging-project-launches-mindful-aging-course-for-lgbt-seniors/




Gen Silent is a 2011 critically acclaimed documentary film, directed and produced by award winning filmmaker Stu Maddux. The documentary follows the lives of six LGBT seniors living in the Boston area who must choose if they will hide their sexuality in order to survive in the long-term health care system. It has been screened at numerous colleges and universities as well as in front of government agencies and healthcare organizations. It premiered at the Boston LGBT Film Festival and has won numerous awards at others.


The title of the film is a reference to the generations of older LGBT people who remain in the closet or re enter the closet out of concern for their safety or quality of life. As a result of the documentary, the term Gen Silent has increased in use as a way to refer to this group.

Synopsis

Gen Silent was filmed in the Boston area over a one year period. During that time, director Stu Maddux followed six LGBT seniors through their decision to either stay open about their sexuality or hide it so that they can survive in the long-term health care system. In the documentary a gay man named Lawrence Johnson searches for a nursing home where he and his partner can be open about their relationship while still receiving quality care. It also follows a transgender senior by the name of KrysAnne. She searches for people to care for her because she is estranged from her family. The story of an LGBT couple named Sheri and Lois is told, including how they spent their lives fighting for LGBT rights. While Sheri states that she refuses to hide her sexuality, Lois states that she will if that is what it would take to protect her in the health care system. Mel and his partner are the final couple followed in the documentary. Mel’s partner gets sick and he finds care from a welcoming agency where he feels comfortable and safe to speak openly for the first time about his sexuality and their thirty-nine year relationship together.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen_Silent