When we look to other countries as “less than” or other religions as “less than” let us remember that we are part of the human race living on the planet Earth so each country’s stage of growth impacts us all. “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” — Audre Lorde. I’ve seen this sign along Route 11 “When one person anywhere is enslaved, none of us are free”. I agree.

Watch this segment of Who Do You Think You Are? to learn from Helen Hunt’s very touching and inspiring journey into her grandmother’s legacy to us all.

Books for Step Kids

Soraya Chemaly

Feminist, Satirist, and Media Critic

10 Reasons The Rest Of The World Thinks The U.S. Is Nuts

This week the Georgia State Legislature debated a bill in the House that would make it necessary for some women to carry stillborn or dying fetuses until they ‘naturally’ go into labor. In arguing for this bill Representative Terry England described his empathy for pregnant cows and pigs in the same situation.

I have a question for Terry England, Sam Brownback, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry and too many others: I have three daughters, two of them twins. If one of my twins had been stillborn would you have made me carry her to term, thereby endangering both the other twin and me? Or, would you have insisted that the state order a mandatory fetal extraction of the living twin fetus from my womb so that I could continue to carry the stillborn one to term and possibly die myself? My family is curious and since you believe my uterus is your public property, I am, too.

Mr. England, unlike the calves and pigs for which you expressed so much empathy, I am not a beast of burden. I am a woman and I have these human rights:

The right to life.
The right to privacy.
The right to freedom.
The right to bodily integrity.
The right to decide when and how I reproduce.

Mr. England, you and your friends do not get to trade these rights, while “dog and hog hunting,” in return for a young man’s chickens.

My human rights outweigh any you or the state corruptly and cynically seek to assign to a mass of dividing cells that will eventually turn into a ‘natural’ person. Personhood-for-zygote based bills and related legislation, like Georgia’s and hundreds of others, bills and laws that criminalize pregnancy and abortion and penalize women for being women, violate my human rights.

Just because you cannot get pregnant does not mean I cannot think clearly, ethically, morally, rationally about my body, human life or the consequences of my actions. Just because you cannot get pregnant does not mean that I do not have rights when I am pregnant. I have responsibility but am powerless. You have power but are irresponsible with my rights.

By not trusting me, you force me to trust you. And YOU are not trustworthy.

I gestate humans, you do not. I know how it feels to be pregnant. You do not. I know what happens to a fetus in a womb. You do not. I have carried three fetuses to term. You have not. What I experience when I am pregnant is not empathy. It is permeability. The fetus is me. And the state is you, apparently. But, no matter what you say or do I have fundamental human rights. What makes you think that you, who cannot have this fully human experience, can tell me anything about gestation or how I experience it? Especially when you compare my existence and experience to that of brutish animals.

The rest of the civilized world thinks this country has lost its mind. It’s no wonder. Look at this list of frenzied misogyny:

1. Making women carry still-born fetuses to full term because cows and pigs do. This week, Mr England, you supported a bill, the net effect of which, taken tandem with other restrictions, will result in doctors and women being unable to make private, medically-based, critical care decisions and some women being effectively forced to carry their dead or dying fetuses. Women are different from farm animals, Mr. England, and this bill, requiring a woman to carry a dead or dying fetus is inhumane and unethical. By forcing a woman to do this, you are violating her right not to be subjected to inhuman treatment and tortured. And, yes, involuntarily carrying a dead fetus to term, although not torture to you or to a pig, is torture for a woman. It is also a violation of her bodily integrity and a threat to her life and as such violates her right to life.

2. Consigning women to death to save a fetus. Abortions save women’s lives. “Let women die” bills are happening all over the country. There is no simple or pretty way to put this. Every day, all over the world, women die because they do not have access to safe abortions. Yet, here we are, returning to the dark ages of maternal sacrifice. Do really have to type this sentence: this is a violation of women’s fundamental right to life.

3. Criminalizing pregnancy and miscarriages and arresting, imprisoning and charging women who miscarry with murder, like Rennie Gibbs in Mississippi or at least 40 other similar cases in Alabama or like Bei Bei Shuai, a woman who is now imprisoned, is charged with murder after trying to commit suicide while pregnant. Pregnant women are becoming a special class subject to “special” laws that infringe on their fundamental rights.

4. Forcing women to undergo involuntary vaginal penetration (otherwise called rape) with a condom-covered, six- to eight-inch ultrasound probe. Pennsylvania is currently considering that option along with 11 other states. Trans-vaginal ultrasounds undertaken without a woman’s consent are rape according to the legal definition of the word. This violates a woman’s bodily integrity and also constitutes torture when used, as states are suggesting, as a form of control and oppression. Women have the right not to be raped by the state.

5. Disabling women or sacrificing their lives by either withholding medical treatment or forcing women to undergo involuntary medical procedures. We impose an unequal obligation on women to sacrifice their bodily integrity for another. For example, as in Tysiac v. Poland, in which a mother of two, became blind after her doctor refused to perform an abortion that she wanted that would have halted the course of a degenerative eye disease. If my newborn baby is in need of a kidney and you have a spare matching one, can I enact legislation that says the state can take yours and give it to her? No. We do not force people to donate their organs to benefit others, even those who have already been born. One of the most fundamental of all human rights is that humans be treated equally before the law. Denying a woman this right is a violation of her equal right to this protection.

6. Giving zygotes “personhood” rights while systematically stripping women of their fundamental rights. There is too much to say about the danger of personhood ideas creeping into health policy to do it here. But, consider what happens to a woman whose womb is not considered the “best” environment for a gestating fetus in a world of personhood-for-zygote legislation: who decides the best environment — the state, her insurance company, her employer, her rapist who decides he really, really wants to be a father? Anyone but a woman.

7. Inhibiting, humiliating and punishing women for their choices to have an abortion for any reason by levying taxes specifically on abortion, including abortions sought by rape victims to end their involuntary insemination, imposing restrictive requirements like 24 hour wait periods and empowering doctors to lie to female patients about their fetuses in order to avoid prosecution. In Arizona, Kansas, Texas, Virginia, Colorado, Arkansas and other states around the country bills that make women “pay” for their choices are abounding.

8. Allowing employers to delve into women’s private lives and only pay for insurance when they agree, for religious reasons, with how she choses to use birth control. In Arizona, which introduced such a bill this week, this means covering payment for birth control as a benefit only when a woman has proven that she will not use it to control her own reproduction (ie. as birth control). As much as I am worried about women and families in Arizona though, I am more worried about those in Alabama. You see, as recently revealed in a public policy poll in Alabama, conservative, evangelicals who support “personhood” related “pro-life” legislation and are fighting for their “religious liberty” — 21 percent think interracial marriage should be illegal. So, what if they decide that an employee involved in an interracial marriage should not, by divine mandate, reproduce? Do they switch and provide birth control for this employee? Do they make contraception a necessary term of employment for people in interracial marriages? This violates a woman’s right to privacy. My womb is one million times more private than your bedrooms, gentlemen.

9. Sacrificing women’s overall health and the well-being of their families in order to stop them from exercising their fundamental human right to control their own bodies and reproduction. Texas just did that when it turned down $35million dollars in federal funds thereby ensuring that 300,000 low-income and uninsured Texas women will have no or greatly-reduced access to basic preventive and reproductive health care.

10. Depriving women of their ability to earn a living and support themselves and their families. Bills, like this one in Arizona, allow employers to fire women for using contraception. Women like these are being fired for not.

You presume to consign my daughters and yours to function as reproductive animals.

This is about sex and property, not life and morality. Sex because when women have sex and want to control their reproduction that threatens powerful social structures that rely on patriarchal access to and control over women as reproductive engines. Which brings us to property: control of reproduction was vital when the agricultural revolution took place and we, as a species, stopped meandering around plains in search of food. Reproduction and control of it ensured that a man could possess and consolidate wealth-building and food-producing land and then make sure it wasn’t disaggregated by passing it on to one son he knew was his — largely by claiming a woman and her gestation capability as property, too.

This is not about freedom of religion. If it were, we would, for example, allow Christian Scientists to refuse to pay for coverage of life-saving blood transfusions for employees. Religious freedom means I get to chose whether or not to be religious and if so, how. It does not mean that I get to impose my religion on others. Paying for insurance is part of the way we compensate employees, even when they use their insurance in ways we don’t agree with and are in contravention of our own personal beliefs. I think that it is stupid, dangerous and immoral to chain smoke, especially around children whose lungs it irreparably harms. But, I still have to pay for an employee to have access to lung scans, nicotine patches and oxygen tanks. I do not get to say that my religious beliefs, which include keeping bodies as healthy as possible, make it possible for me to withhold payment of this employee’s insurance. Guaranteed coverage of contraception and reproductive health care has overwhelming benefits for society, including reducing unwanted pregnancies and abortions. By inserting your religious beliefs so egregiously into government legislation and my life, you are imposing your religious beliefs on me. You don’t like mandated insurance coverage for basic reproductive health humans with two X chromosomes? I don’t like being bred by state compulsion like Mr. England’s farm animals. I have a MORAL OBJECTION to being treated like an animal and not a human. You do not have to use contraception, you do not have to use birth control. But, that does not mean you have any right to tell me that I cannot if I chose. That is my right.

Property, control, sex, reproduction, morality, defining what is human. Sounds a lot like issues surrounding slavery 170 years ago. It is no surprise that of the 16 states that never repealed their anti-miscegenation laws, but rather had them overturned by the Supreme Court in 1967 more than half have introduced personhood bills. Like anti-miscegentation laws, anti-choice laws and bills that humiliate women, that treat them like beasts, that violate their bodily autonomy, are based on ignorance, entitlement and arrogance. These laws are not about “personhood” but “humanity.” That women of color are massively, disproportionately affected by these assaults on their bodies and rights should also come as no surprise – their rights and their bodies have always been the most vulnerable assault.

This is about keeping women’s wombs public and in other people’s control — the exact opposite of private and in their own control.

And, yes, I do know how complicated the ethics, bioethics and legal arguments related to these decisions are. You, apparently, do not. If you were truly concerned with sustaining life and improving its quality or in protecting innocent children, you would begin by having compassion and empathy for living, born people that require and deserve your attention. You feed them, educate them, lift them from poverty and misery. You do not compound these problems as you are with twisted interpretations of divine will. Only after that do you have the moral legitimacy to entertain the notion of talking to me about my uterus and what I do with it. By then, fully functional artificial wombs should be available and you can implant your own, since you are so fond of animal analogies, as was completed with this male mouse. What you are doing is disgraceful, hypocritical and morally corrupt.

And, no, I am not crazy. I am angry.

Mr. Santorum, Mr. England and Mr. Brownback and Mr. Perry you should consider not clinging so dangerously and perversely to the Agrarian Revolution ideas. Birth control and safe abortions are life-saving technologies. These archaic bills and laws, wasteful of time, money and lives, obscure an enduring and unchangeable truth: safe and effective family planning is the transformative social justice accomplishment of the 20th century. They will not go away. This is a revolution, too.

In a 1851 speech in which she argued for equal rights for women, Sojourner Truth said the following: “The poor men seems to be all in confusion, and don’t know what to do. Why children, if you have woman’s rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won’t be so much trouble.”

Do you, Terry England, Sam Brownback, Rick Santorum and friends even know who Sojourner Truth is?

This post has been updated since its original publication.

Follow Soraya Chemaly on Twitter: www.twitter.com/schemaly

I’m looking for an independent person to share my home in a quaint historic town in the Shenandoah Valley. Only 60ish miles outside D.C. it is the perfect mix of small town and big city life. Live music across the street at least 3 nights a week, and an art gallery right downstairs. Walk to the post office, bank, eateries, and parks that run along the Shenandoah River.

This is a multi-floor apartment in a historic building on the main street of town. Whoever shares the place must understand that it is open to the public on the 3rd Friday of each month for a music and art event connected to my art business. Starts at 7 PM and always fun, laid back and full of artists and art and all gone by 11PM.

No drugs, alcohol, smoking, or craziness, must be neat and clean.

Apartment to share in historic area

Call 540-465-3878 or email for more info.

Dan Voss’ work based on popular songs and movies is showcased in a collection of 14 colorful and movement filled pieces. Some almost life sized, these are a hit with young and old alike.

Stop by to chat with Dan for a bit and enjoy a cup of hot cider while viewing some of his highly collectable paintings.

Sunday afternoons are always a great time to bring the family to this gem of an art gallery.

Hosted by Marcy McCann of LtdPrints.com

King Street Art Works
234 West King Street
Strasburg, VA 22657
Sunday Feb. 19th from 2 until 5 PM.

For more information, call 540-664-8028.

Chelsea's Tree book for step kids

It is very important that children achieve a sense of self and relatedness. This book does this in a caring manner. Lionel Bryan, M.D., Psychiatrist, Advisory Board of Inspiration Publications Both children and adults will enjoy reading Chelsea’s Tree and using the activities in drawing closer as a family. –Rev. J. Alexander M. Div., M.S., Lamplighter May 2001

Children often experience anguish and confusion when two families are merged into one. Marcy McCann’s Chelsea’s Tree is a great way to help children cope with their new situation. The story revolves around a little girl who explores the differences and benefits of her new family. The hardcover book, aimed at children ages 4 to 8, also includes maps and stickers to show where relatives live, a photo album section, a glossary of family relationships and a list of resources. –Your Stepfamily Magazine August 2002

This sturdy hard covered book contains a beautifully illustrated story, activities, maps, stickers, and a photo album section. The book has a multicolored handle for ease of carrying. Geared to stepchildren and children of blended families. Age appropriate 3 – 7 Endorsed by health care professionals. Chelsea’s Tree is a charming, original way to help a child make sense of his or her world. Judith L. Hunt., Licensed Mental Health Counselor

Try playing these jigsaw puzzles with the kids for a few nights. I think you will see how easy it is to spend time having fun once you slow down to enjoy a few minutes with the family.

Check out our children’s books that are sure to be another great way to spend quality time with your family.

Great things to eat during the Route 11 Yard Crawl

My friend Dick from “Brain Freeze” is bringing his Italian Ice cart Saturday for The Route 11 Yard Crawl. Stop by my studio for LtdEditionPrints.com and King Street Art Works for some tasty refreshment. We have brand new keyboards, pottery, loads of kitchen items, bar stools, paintings at reduced prices, framed prints, china.

234 West King Street, Strasburg, Va 540-465-5729 at KSAW.

Ren Crawford's watercolor large colorful abstracts

Diane Rasmussen and Ren Crawford invite you to attend their Foyer Show reception featuring many pieces of Diane’s jewelry and Ren’s beautiful paintings. Diane and Ren invite you to join them for food and live music from 2 to 5 PM on Sunday August 14, 2011. Doors open from 11 AM until 7 PM Sundays.

Diane’s use of wire wrapping stones and semi precious gems to create unique earrings, necklaces, bracelets and Zen Catchers has become the hot commodity since being offered to the public in 2009.

Earrings from Huayruros Seeds and Wood Beads

King Street Art Works!
234 West King Street
Strasburg, VA 22657
King Street Art Works!

Despite the recent popularity of the Local Food movement, many communities, particularly in smaller rural towns, have resisted the trend, citing the added expense or unavailability of local goods. But in the town of Strasburg, Virginia, a small café is striving to change negative perceptions about eating locally—one plate at a time.

“Especially in rural areas, people do not spend as much of their income on food. ‘Organic food’ is seen as something for people with money— city people,” says Wendy Willis, who, along with her sister Cristina Willis, co-owns and operates Cristina’s Cafe. The café attempts to combat that perception by emphasizing the availability of locally grown produce, meats, and dairy products.

“Eating locally is most important,” says Willis, adding that Cristina’s café strives to “educate people about what is around them and what is available seasonally” by using locally produced ingredients (people in the ‘biz call this “locally sourced “) in their dishes whenever possible — sometimes as close by as the herbs and tomatoes grown in the café’s garden — and creating their menu based on what is available seasonally.

The Friday Night Farmers Market, held during the summer months, sets up along the perimeter of the café’s small gravel parking lot.

Credit: Cristina’s Cafe
In addition to serving locally sourced alternatives to the fast food found in Strasburg, Cristina’s is also strengthening this Main Street community’s local food economy by hosting a farmers market in the café parking lot. “I go to a lot of farmers markets, so I know a lot of vendors,” says Willis, who initially organized the market to serve as a place both for local vendors to sell their goods, ranging from organic berries to handmade soaps, and as gathering spot for Strasburg residents to get out and socialize. The markets are held on Friday nights to avoid competition with Saturday and Sunday farmers markets, and attract a mix of locals and tourists alike, depending on the week.

The Willis sisters have a multifaceted approach to their conservation efforts. “It’s really all about being conscious of the waste you are producing,” says Willis. The café, which is the first Virginia Green-certified restaurant in Frederick and Shenandoah Counties, has incorporated various recycling and waste reduction strategies into their business practices. “There’s no local recycling pick-up for businesses,” says Willis, “so once a week we collect everything and take it out to the recycling plant.”

Beyond recycling raw materials, the Willis sisters put a compost bin in their yard to produce soil for their herb and vegetable garden. Dairy and other kitchen scraps are sourced to a local pig farm, which in turn provides the café with some of its meat products. Meanwhile, a stormwater management system consisting of a hose and gutter system and a 1,500-gallon rain barrel collects water off their roof, which they use to water the café garden. The sisters have also taken measures to reduce the environmental impact of their building by participating as a community pilot project for solar panel installation on the roof of their café.

Two Easy Ways to Green a Business
For businesess looking to green their practices, Willis suggests the following tips:

Be conscious of how much waste you are producing. Small changes in waste management can significantly reduce costs and environmental impact.
Look for recycling and community composting programs. Many areas now offer local pick-up, but if not consider doing your own drop-offs at local recycling plants. If your business is located in a rural area, contact local farmers to see if they can take organic waste; or if you have the space, start your own composting bin. Many urban areas have community composting sites as well.

Rebecca Chan is an intern with the National Trust Main Street Center.

This article is reposted here for those who could not read it on the original site. Cristina’s is across the street from my building so I can attest to the value of the food and the contribution to the community.