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Speaking Out

Posted December 18th, 2015 by Lesley Hazleton

Sometimes you have the privilege of getting to say the right thing at the right time, as with this nine-minute talk I gave the other night to a hugely supportive audience of Christians and Muslims at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood, WA.  The event was called “Love in a Time of Fear,” but I wasn’t afraid, I was angry, and I said so:

 

[youtube=https://youtu.be/RhKDsdIeeHo]

Full video of the evening is here, with special thanks to Terry Kyllo of Catacomb Churches and to Jeff Siddiqui for bringing it all together, and to the excellent work of Lutheran Community Services Northwest in support of Syrian refugees.

 

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File under: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, ugliness, US politics | Tagged: Tags: abortion, Black Lives Matter, Colorado Springs, Donald Trump, gay marriage, Hitler, Martin Niemoller, neo-fascism, New York Daily News, Planned Parenthood, Republican party, San Bernardino, Ted Cruz | 3 Comments
  1. Mary Johnson says:
    December 18, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    Thank you, Lesley. This is SO important, and so well said.

    You might be interested in this, from my sister Margaret, who converted to Islam before the birth of her first child and is trying to raise a Muslim family in the US: https://medium.com/@coexistmarge/this-time-it-s-different-c0c70fd2db3f#.yo8zgn6nj

    Hoping you are well. Thankful you are angry.

    Mary

    >

  2. Nuzhat says:
    December 18, 2015 at 8:17 pm

    Every voice raised is a step towards correction. There may be enough laid back listeners, but being a part of the vocal band is being more responsible, and important in awakening the sense of direction the listeners can take.
    You always hit the mark with even few words said, Lesley….
    well spoken!
    Nuzhat.

  3. Frederick Osman says:
    December 19, 2015 at 2:13 pm

    Thank you, Lesley. Wonderful, as usual.

A Tale of Two Countries

Posted October 28th, 2012 by Lesley Hazleton

Compare these two news reports from October 26.  The first, from France:

The lower house of the French parliament voted on Friday to fully reimburse all abortions and to make contraception free for minors from the age of 15 to 18.  France’s national medical insurance pays for abortions for minors and the poor, while other women are reimbursed for up to 80 percent of the procedure’s cost…  Contraception is partly reimbursed.  The bill now goes to the Senate, where it is likely to pass. [AP]

A safe bet:  with free and easily available contraception, there’ll be far fewer abortions in France.  And with free and safe abortions, there’ll be far fewer unwanted children born into poverty and negligence.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the Republican party sees any form of national health insurance as some kind of dire Communist plot against America, and plans to scrap Medicare.  Its official platform calls for a ban on all abortion except in cases of incest and armed rape (and there are a ton of Republicans who want to ban it even then), and it is intent on shutting down the country’s largest provider of contraceptive advice and services:

Planned Parenthood filed a new lawsuit on Friday over a Texas rule that bars its clinics from a state health program for low-income women because the organization performs abortions…  In the past two years, conservative Republicans in more than a dozen states have taken steps to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood. [UPI]

What puzzles me about the French bill:  why it seems to exclude girls under the age of 15.

What puzzles me about the American elections:  how any self-respecting woman could even conceive of voting Republican.  Or any man with a conscience.

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File under: US politics, women | Tagged: Tags: abortion, contraception, France, health insurance, Medicare, Republican party, war on women | 10 Comments
  1. Sani says:
    October 28, 2012 at 1:26 pm

    Why should a woman go to seek for abortion?

    • Lesley Hazleton says:
      October 29, 2012 at 7:54 am

      Sani — maybe start by reading the other comments…

  2. Judith says:
    October 28, 2012 at 1:32 pm

    It is a matter of control. They can’t let go of a woman’s womb and the power of dominance.

  3. Jude says:
    October 28, 2012 at 1:49 pm

    I know a lot of devout Christian women who vote for Republicans because they are opposed to abortion. I don’t argue with them about religion, politics, or abortion because I hate arguing. But I know that if they knew what I am–an atheist liberal–they’d pray for me and consider me evil. Sometimes I think it’s like coming out as gay–if people in small towns realized that atheists are all around them, and that we’re okay human beings, maybe they’d get over the prejudice. For that reason, I bought an atheist bumper sticker for my pickup. Anyway, I can understand why they take abortion personally–they actually *like* babies (I gave birth to three of them, and they were okay, but other babies? Yuck). But their overriding need to stop others from getting abortions leads them to vote for idiots like Romney. It’s difficult to forgive them for that.

  4. paul skillman says:
    October 28, 2012 at 3:21 pm

    Yes, Yes. What is wrong with American. I am American but I do not understand.

  5. Chad says:
    October 28, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    The poor cant catch a break. Here’s an example. A poor single woman works as a store cashier in the morning and a waitress in the evening. Her job barely covers her rent and her old mom’s medications.

    Insurance will not cover contraception, and if she gets pregnant, she cant get an abortion. So she is forced to keep an unwanted child who ends up raised by the streets.

    Same people who are against contraceptive coverage and abortions are the ones who oppose helping this family or this kid when he grows to become unemployed or homeless because any help to him is “entitlement”. They are all “good christians” when it comes to saying no to abortion and contraception, but when it comes to helping poor people or providing healthcare, food or shelter for the poor, they forget that Jesus was all for the poor and weak, they are suddenly greedy people. They use religion only for the ideas they like. Every “life” is important and from god, only till its an adult whose poor then racism takes over and its just hate.

    All very hypocritical if u ask me. They all talk about abstinence like its the solution to everything, but lets ask those same “god-fearing” people…how many of them were abstinent till they got married. Let alone what percentage were abstinent through college. Why do they try to force things down society’s throat when even they couldnt live by these ideals. I just dont get it. Sad.

  6. SusieOfArabia says:
    October 28, 2012 at 10:00 pm

    The religious right in the US have taken over the Republican Party – and it’s a dangerous situation for all women. We must vote these backward idiots out of office, for all our sakes.

  7. Jerry M says:
    January 15, 2013 at 11:43 am

    The people who run the US must be making a lot of profit from an inefficient health care system. Otherwise it makes no sense. It is uber expensive and wasteful.

  8. Fish Jones says:
    January 17, 2013 at 12:12 am

    I commented on your guns one too.

    While guns are a lifelong hobby of mine, they are about the only thing that makes Republicans… Less irritating?

    France is awesome for setting that up.

    • Lesley Hazleton says:
      January 17, 2013 at 10:58 am

      Huh?

‘Legitimate Rape’ – The Video

Posted August 30th, 2012 by Lesley Hazleton

Remember how Todd Akin thinks you can’t get pregnant if you’re “legitimately raped“?  Best comment yet is this satire on TV pharmaceutical ads for “feminine products.”  Presented with a megawatt Republican smile.

(Do read the small print at the end.  This idiocy isn’t just Akin’s;  the whole Republican party has gone totally Neanderthal.)

[youtube=http://youtu.be/KtzqvqzBdUQ]

Worst comment yet:  Polls show Akin currently trailing in the Missouri senatorial race by 1%.  Yes, all of one percent.  Way to go, Missouri.

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File under: absurd, fundamentalism, sanity, women | Tagged: Tags: "legitimate rape", Paul Ryan, pregnancy, rape, Republican party, Todd Akin | 2 Comments
  1. Imraan says:
    September 4, 2012 at 4:59 am

    Goodness; isn’t it sad that the discourse is still overwhelmingly dominated by rich white men from the global north? Shocking. I cringed – but the satire above is excellent! About darned time that this issue was resurrected in the public eye.

    I must ask though – and this is just an observation from across the pond – do you think that this problem is endemic to the Republican demographic or was it merely articulated by a prominent Republican because he finds himself in the position, given his politics and background, where he is just that-far detached from reality and thus able to utter such tripe (no offence to vegetarians intended! Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)?

    Though the Democratic Party seems to have become – rather bizarrely, at least by European, South American or other standards – the ‘liberal’ party and a major policy issue seems to be reproductive rights – could the above comments be representative of deeper-seated beliefs held in what is still a very patriarchal (perhaps misogynistic even) society -only that they’re not articulated?

    • Lesley Hazleton says:
      October 20, 2012 at 11:46 am

      Yes, yes, and yes. And what’s even more bizarre is that any woman other than their wives will vote for them…

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