Sunday, September 23, 2012

War on Women - Fiction or Reality?

     The title of my essay asks the question, is the War on Women real. To me, an ardent news junkie, it's real. In fact, I wrote a 65,000 word novel, GIRL POWER – War on Women, because I was outraged at the blatant, shameless Republican, 'War on Women'.
Of course Republicans deny the War on Women, just like they deny their voter ID and other constraining voting laws amount to voter suppression and their obfuscation in Congress, even though they've set records in filibustering and refuse to act on anything our President is in favor of.  
Make no mistake, there is a War on Women (see graph) and it will not only strip women of their right of 'choice', but will take away all non-natural (chemical) forms of birth control, and codify the inferiority of women in the workplace, regarding pay, and promotion. It may even water down discrimination laws. Can burkas be far behind?
Surprisingly, there's a substantial number of women who refuse to believe this, or don't care. In a way I don't blame them. It does seem absurd that the former 'Grand old Party', now known as the Tea Party, would aggravate over 50% of the electorate in an election year, especially when they are so hell bent on leather to get rid of our President. That's what has me and the pundits scratching their heads. Why go out of their way to infuriate people they need to vote for them?
If that isn't counter-productive enough, they are angering many other groups. They have gone out of their way to alienate, African Americans, Latinos, the GLBT community, other minorities, the poor, the infirm, the elderly, college students, union members, public sector employees and probably a few more I can't think of. Think about it. In their delusional state of invincibility, they have irritated every person of voting age in the country except white males who don't fall into the previous categories!
I know. It's crazy isn't it. But lest you forget. Crazy people can be very dangerous. In this case their programs are dangerous and that's what has me worried. Just remember, when you go to vote. A vote for Republican's could be a vote for INSANITY!

If you would like to read more about the Republican War On Women, I suggest you click on any of these links to four of the scores of blogs and articles dedicated to the 
War on Women: WOW #1  WOW #2  WOW #3 WOW #4

                                    Or better yet read GIRL POWER - War on Women 




      Top 10 Shocking Attacks from the GOP's War on Women

1) Republicans not only want to reduce women's access to abortion care, they're actually trying to redefine rape. After a major backlash, they promised to stop. But they haven't yet. Shocker.

2) A state legislator in Georgia wants to change the legal term for victims of rape, stalking, and domestic violence to "accuser." But victims of other less gendered crimes, like burglary, would remain "victims."

3) In South Dakota, Republicans proposed a bill that could make it legal to murder a doctor who provides abortion care. (Yep, for real.)

4) Republicans want to cut nearly a billion dollars of food and other aid to low-income pregnant women, mothers, babies, and kids.
5) In Congress, Republicans have a bill that would let hospitals allow a woman to die rather than perform an abortion necessary to save her life.
6) Maryland Republicans ended all county money for a low-income kids' preschool program. Why? No need, they said. Women should really be home with the kids, not out working.
7) And at the federal level, Republicans want to cut that same program, Head Start, by $1 billion. That means over 200,000 kids could lose their spots in preschool.
8) Two-thirds of the elderly poor are women, and Republicans are taking aim at them too. A spending bill would cut funding for employment services, meals, and housing for senior citizens.
9) Congress just voted for a Republican amendment to cut all federal funding from Planned Parenthood health centers, one of the most trusted providers of basic health care and family planning in our country.
10) And if that wasn't enough, Republicans are pushing to eliminate all funds for the only federal family planning program.

 




Reader Reviews so far

Review by: Karen Grotz on Aug. 12, 2012 : star star star star star 
Dee puts the POW back in Power, specially GIRL POWER!
If only it were true life and not fiction... 
Engaging and riveting.
Please, Miss Dawning, can we have some more?

Review by: Kit Akhrie on Sep. 12, 2012 : star star star star star 
i just finished reading it..its awesome. It caught my full attention from starting till the end. All the the best Dee.

Review by GT
5.0 out of 5 stars Every Woman Should Read GIRL POWER August 12, 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was worried when I bought this that it might be boring. No way! It's actually a story I couldn't put down. It's funny, romantic, inspirational and I learned a lot from the book, too. About how politicians are passing lots of laws that affect women's health and economics, some rolling back the clock forty years. Buy it. Read it. See for yourself.




BLURB
Fed-up with exclusionary women's politics and right wing war on women, a group of determined, talented  women take matters into their own hands. Led by Congresswoman Sally Cummings, they form a women's political party. Initially, scorned and laughed at by the established political parties, they soon change their tune when women and some men sign up in droves.

GIRL POWER is a tongue-in-cheek Political Chick-lit set in an Alternate Reality. It is a mainstream story, based loosely on the Republican 'War on Women' that would not appeal to Right of Center readers.



EXCERPT
"We now take you to Richmond, Virginia, where Jenna Kenner is standing by. Jenna, what's going on?"
"Thank you Jeff. I'm here at the state capital building, where a large group of peaceful, but angry women are demonstrating."
"So I see. How many demonstrators are there?"
"I don't know for sure. Somewhere between seven and nine hundred, I would guess."
"One of the signs reads, 'Keep Yer Stinking Laws Out of My Vagina'. What are they upset about?"
"From what I can determine they're wound-up over this new abortion law the legislature passed last night where a woman seeking an abortion would have to undergo and pay for a procedure known as a Trans-vaginal Ultrasonic Probe."
Snicker. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yes, and that's not funny, Jeff. How would you like a forced colonic probe?"
"Ugh, I see your point, sorry. I see a sign that reads, 'If You Cut off my Reproductive Choice, Can I Cut Off Yours? Signed Lorena Bobbitt'. I think I know what that woman has in mind. Would you ask her why she's mad and what she and her friends want?"
"I think she's the leader. I'll ask her"
Jenna approached the short, shapely blonde woman and stuck a mic in front of her. "Hi. What's your name?"
"Doris."
"Hi, Doris. I'm Jenna Kenner with National News Network. I'd like to ask you a few questions if I may."
"Sure, what do you want to know?"
"I take it you ladies are protesting the new law that Governor Bob McConnell has promised to sign into law today."
"And you'd be right. We want Governor "Ultrasound Bob" to know that the people this most affects don't like this stinking law, and women across the country are not going to forget, come Election Day."
"Across the country?"
Doris rested her sign on the ground. "Absolutely, Virginia isn't the only state where self-righteous men are sticking their nose in our panties."
"I don't understand. What do you mean?"
"The Pachyderms have been having a field day approving regressive legislation in Republican-controlled states across the country."
"Pachyderms?"
"Yeah, you know, the elephants in the room."
"Oh, yeah. Which states?"
"North Carolina, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Pennsylvania, Georgia, Mississippi, to name a few.
"My God. I had no idea."
"I know. Republicans know the public doesn't support their laws so they're passing them, like this one—under the radar—and being real quiet about it."
Jenna turned to the camera. "So there you have it, Jeff. These women feel there is a conspiracy, a war on women, you might say, to take back their hard fought gains on women's rights on health and reproduction."
"Thank you, Jenna. We'll keep following this story, but right now, I have the Chairman of the Republican Party, Crowe Magnon, and the President of the Women's League, Molly Markum. Molly, we'll start with you. What do you think about all this?"
Molly, a petite, middle-aged woman with brown hair and a no-nonsense look, frowned. "Like your reporter said, the far right has started a war on women. With the misguided Republican war in Iraq over and forgotten war in Afghanistan winding down, the GOP's collective fingers are getting itchy. So they looked around and 'lo and behold' they've discovered us—women—and decided they don't like the advances we have made over the last fifty years—"
"That's ridiculous," Crowe, a brawny, balding, blue-eyed man with shaggy shoulder-length hair, argued. "There is no war on women. Men idolize women."
"Humph! If you don't mind! Jeff asked me a question, and I was answering before you rudely interrupted. As for your assertion that men adore women, most men do, but not the petty Republican men. They think women, despite being fifty-one percent of the electorate, having a measly seventeen percent of the seats in Congress, is too much. They think women heading twelve of the fortune five-hundred companies is too many, and they have the nerve to think women making seventy-seven cents for every dollar men make is too much!
Crowe ran his fingers through his long, dark blond hair. "May I speak now?"  
Tightlipped, Molly glowered at Crowe, but Jeff said, "Go ahead."
"The seventy-seven percent figure has been debunked. Men work more hours and overtime. More men have second jobs while many women only work part time."
Molly snarled. "That's total horse shit and you know it."
"No, facts don't lie."
"Unless they come from the republican media—Wolf News."
"We're talking about your figures, not mine."
Molly shoved her chair back, stood up and stuck her chin out. "You don't scare me, you walking bag of misinformation. We're talking about equal work for an equal amount of time and women make three quarters of what men make. If that isn't bad enough you're trying to take us back to the Donna Reed Show days—to the Father Knows Best days. Well listen, you…you Neanderthal, father doesn't know best. He never did. Mother knows best. If men were the ones having babies—which men don't even seem to appreciate—then there wouldn't be a pro-life movement and there would be record abortions. Conversely, if women ran this country we wouldn't have the economic basket case we have today."