Sad days for women

Today is International Women's Day, but it is more a novelty than anything else for the women in our own country.

The Senate is arguing bankruptcy law, but refusing to exempt court-related debts from discharge. The main focus is on whether or not violent anti-choice demonstrators can get out of paying fines and court costs by declaring bankruptcy. Currently they can do so and some senators were just trying to close that loophole for all such debts.

The Republicans also killed any raises in the minimum wage. What does that have to do with IWD? Women in the United States are overwhelming minimum-wage slaves and refusing to give them a little more money is just mean. Especially mean when you consider that at the same time, Medicaid is being cut along with welfare benefits, food stamps and SSI.

Georgia just passed a particularly oneous abortion "reform" bill called "The Woman's Right to NO" law. It won't allow a woman to have an abortion until after a 24-hour cooling off period. It also removes the right of a rape/incest victim to be accompanied by someone other than her parents. Parents must always be with the minor, so if it is a case of incest, guess who ain't getting an abortion? It also requires "education" on fetal status (almost always incorrect when presented as a method of preventing abortions). It also allows the FOB or a grandparent to sue (!?!?) if even one "i" wasn't dotted properly. Guess what? No exemption when the FOB is a rapist or a perv relative who decides he wanted the poor woman to have the kid. All geared to force a woman to have a baby she may not be equipped mentally, physically or financially to care for.

At the same time, Georgia is contemplating a bill to change child support laws. Again, to appease the men. "The Second Wives Club" is responsible for this one. These women marry men that have children from previous relationships and marriages that they pay support to, then they bitch because the men are at least attempting to be somewhat responsible. The ONLY good thing in the whole 50 page bill is that finally men wouldn't be able to prevent their names from being put on their child's birth certificate. Oh, and the new payment charts would result in a doubling of what D's dad would have to pay (if he actually did-the schleimscheisse is in arrears/enforcement again). The bad thing is that if he became under-employed, his default payment would only be $50/month. That wouldn't even cover D's meds!

Elsewhere, benefits are being cut across the board. Bush even wants to charge disabled vets to use the VA if they have non-service disabilities. Considering that Bush's folks are declaring any injury in Iraq that didn't happen as a result of direct combat non-related (as if running over a land mine in a country we shouldn't be in would be unrelated to the war we started). So any of those pesky limb-losses or head injuries are just unfortunate accidents...

Yeah, I'm in a pissy mood tonight. I turned down a transfer to San Antonio because it was a lateral with more work, but no more money and no one would talk benefits, moving bonuses or anything close. I kept getting told "We can't do that!" However, when asked why not, I got a lot of stuttering as a non-answer. AND I would have to uproot D and probably cause her a lot of grief. She is pretty much settled now and has a routine, which she needs as a special needs child.

Besides, she may actually have a career pending as a model. Long story, but an aquaintance saw her and insisted I take her to her friend's agency. They signed her and raved the whole time about her "Nickelodeon" voice and look. Who knows? Knowing my luck, though, my FOB may all of a sudden decide he wants a relationship with her if she makes it. Like I told him in 2001, the reaction is going to be "Who are you and why do you think you are someone I should care about after all this time?" It's coming up on eight years since he last saw her in person, and that was in court when he was playing the DNA thing to delay the inevitable.