The film diminishes or erases the role people like James Forman and
Malcolm X played. Because they can’t erase Martin Luther King, Jr.,
they create a “white” washed image so we will never relate to him as a
man who came to see the struggle against oppression as an international
struggle. When he took a position against the war in Viet Nam, he drew
the anger of the government as well as members of his own organization,
the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He was told to
stay in his place, as a non-violent civil rights worker. But he was
“increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor” which
demanded that he attack it as such.
As long as he remained a pacifist working for rights of “negroes,” he was no threat to the power structure.
-- Candy Gonzalez, "Selma, the Movie: 'White' Washing History" (Black Agenda Report).
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Truest statement of the week II
The fact that a CIA operative has found his way onto the defense team
representing his former victims speaks volumes about the military
commission process. Taken in context, the presence of a CIA spy on the
defense team fits the show trial character of the proceedings as a
whole, which have been discredited time and again by interference with
the defendants’ right to counsel.
-- Ed Hightower, "Interpreter for 9/11 defendants at Guantanamo Bay was a CIA agent" (WSWS).
-- Ed Hightower, "Interpreter for 9/11 defendants at Guantanamo Bay was a CIA agent" (WSWS).
A note to our readers
Hey --
Another Sunday. First, we thank all who participated this edition which includes Dallas and the following:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Trina of Trina's Kitchen,
Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.
What did we come up with?
And that's what we came up with.
Peace.
-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.
Another Sunday. First, we thank all who participated this edition which includes Dallas and the following:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Trina of Trina's Kitchen,
Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.
What did we come up with?
The truth about Selma is emerging.
Ed Hightower gets a truest.
It is shocking, the silence on the AUMF from the so-called left and the refusal to cover last Thursday's Congressional hearing on the AUMF. The silence should not just appall you, it should also inform you as to just who you can trust and just who you can't.
Ava and C.I. cover NBC's controversial mini-series The Slap and, more importantly, the reaction to it.
We'd argue: Probably nothing.
We applaud a member of Congress.
Thank you to read Elsa who e-mailed to inform us we had not done this feature once so far this year. Our apologies. We'll try to do it at least once a month.
As Rod Stewart once observed, every picture tells a story.
The Shi'ite militias certainly get applause from the Western press, they just don't tend to get called out for slaughtering civilians in Iraq.
What we listened to.
IPS was one of a tiny handful noting the AUMF last week (a tiny handful on the left).
Repost from Great Britain's Socialist Worker.
Repost from IAVA.
Press release from Senator Patty Murray's office.
IAVA.
Mike and the gang wrote this and we thank them for it.
And that's what we came up with.
Peace.
-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.
Editorial: The silence on the AUMF
Last week, a whore who sold the Iraq War was taken out. Above is Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Nightly News Fill In" on Lester Holt taking over for Brian Williams -- the ousted anchor of NBC Nightly News.
Among the many idiots defending Williams or minimizing his actions was Pacifica con-artist Amy Goodman.
Worthless whore Amy Goodman, of course, promoted the war on Libya.
She did so because she only opposes wars that are started when Republicans are in the Oval Office.
Whore Amy pretended to care about Iraq to attack Bully Boy Bush.
Thursday, Barack Obama's AUMF request (for war on Iraq and Syria) was debated and discussed in a House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Goody whore didn't have time for it on Friday.
Does she ever?
Her audience is unaware of this exchange between US House Rep. Alan Grayson, former US Ambassador James Jeffrey, RAND Corporation's Rick Brennan Jr. and the Center for a New American Security's Dafna H. Rand.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Section 2C of the President's draft Authorization of the Use of Military Force reads as follows The authority granted in sub-section A does not authorize the use of US armed forces in enduring offensive ground US operations. Ambassador Jeffrey, what does enduring me?
James Jeffrey: Uh. My answer would be a somewhat sarcastic one. Whatever the executive at the time defines enduring as. And I have a real problem with that.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Dr. Brennan?
Rick Brennan Jr.: I have real problems with that also. Not only because it's -- I don't know what it means and I could just see the lawyers fighting over the meaning of this. Uh, but-but more importantly, if you're looking at-at, uh, committing forces for something that you say is either vital or an important issue to the United States and you get in the middle of a battle and all the sudden are you on offense or are you on defense? What happens if neighbors cause problems? Uh, wars never end the way that they were envisioned. And so that's, I think, a-a-a-a terrible mistake to put in the AUMF.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Dr. Rand?
Dafna Rand: Enduring, in my mind, specifies an open-endedness. It specifies lack of clarity on the particular objective at hand.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Dr. Rand, is two weeks enduring?
Dafna Rand: I would leave that to the lawyer to determine exactly.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: So your answer is you don't know, right? How 'bout two months?
Dafna Rand: I don't know. It would depend -- Again, I think it would depend on the particular objective. "Enduring," in my mind, does not have a particular objective in mind.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: So you don't really know what it means? Is that a fair statement?
Dafna Rand: Uhm, "enduring," in my mind, means "open ended."
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Alright. Section five of the draft for the Authorization of the Use of Military Force reads as follows: In this joint-resolution, the term "associacted persons or forces" means individuals and organizations fighting for, on behalf of or alongside ISIL or any closely related successor in the hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners. Ambassador Jeffrey. what does "alongside ISIL" mean?
James Jeffrey: Uh, I didn't draft this thing but uh
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Nor did I.
James Jeffrey: Nor did you. But I would have put that in there if I had been drafting it. And the reason is, I think they went back to 2001 -- of course, this is the authorization we're still using -- along with the 2002 one -- for this campaign. And these things morph. For example, we've had a debate over whether ISIS is really an element of al Qaeda. It certainly was when I knew it as al Qaeda in Iraq from 2010 to 2012. And these semantic arguments confuse us and confuse our people on the ground in trying to deal with these folks. You'll now it when you see it if it's an ISIS or it's an ally of ISIS?
US House Rep Alan Grayson: How about the Free Syrian Army? Are they fighting alongside of ISIL in Syria?
James Jeffrey: Uh, no, they're not fighting along ISIL. In fact, often they're fighting against ISIL and ISIL against them, in particular.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: What about Assad is he fighting for or against? It's kind of hard to tell without a scorecard, isn't it?
James Jeffrey: It sure is.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Yeah. What about you, Dr. Brennan? Can you tell me what alongside ISIL means?
Rick Brennan Jr.: No, I really couldn't. I think that, uh, what -- It might be that -- The 9-11 Commission uses the phrase radical Is-Islamist organizations and I think maybe if we went to wording like that -- It includes all those 52 groups that adhere to that-that type of ideology that threaten the United States. But we're putting ourselves in boxes and as you said, Senat - uh, Congressman, trying-trying to understand what that means, what the limits are, uh, who we're dealing with is very confusing.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Dr. Rand?
Dafna Rand: Well, first of all, I believe that confusion is probably a function of the fact that this is an unclassified document. So it's not going to specify exactly which groups are associates. That would be for classified setting but second, as I said, in the testimony, the nature of the alliances within ISIL are changing and are fluid. And those who are targeting -- military experts -- know exactly who is a derivative, an associate or an ally of ISIS at any given moment.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Why are you so confident of that? It seems to me it's a question of terminology not a matter of ascertainable fact
Dafna Rand: Uhm, based on my public service. I've seen some of the lawyers and some of the methodologies and --
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Alright, here's the $64 billion dollar question for you Ambassador Jeffrey -- and then, if we have time, for you others -- if you can't tell us -- you three experts -- can't tell us what these words mean, what does that tell us? Ambassador Jeffrey?
James Jeffrey: Uhm, that it's very difficult to be using a tool basically designed to declare war -- or something like war -- on a nation-state -- which has a fixed definition -- against a group that morphs, that changes its name, that has allies and other things. Do we not fight it? We have to fight it. Uh, are we having a hard time defining it? Uh, you bet.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Dr. Brennan?
Rick Brennan Jr.: I-I agree with the ambassador. I think -- I think the issue that we need to be looking at is trying to broaden the terminology and understand that it is -- it is a tenant or organization or groups that adheres to this ideology and make it broad enough that if one pops up in a different country that is doing the same thing, that is a sister of this uh,uh, organization, the president has the authority to act.
US House Rep Alan Grayson: Dr. Brennan, I think you just described a blank check which I'm not willing to give to the president or anyone else. But thank you for your time.
Her audience is unaware that the Democrats on the Committee (who bothered to show) and the Republicans were in agreement in opposing the AUMF -- often for differing reasons, but they were in agreement in opposition.
While Amy The Goody Whore remained silent on opposing Barack's increased war, others weren't so indifferent. Eric Garris (Antiwar.com) called for public outcry to sink the AUMF:
It’s time for a preemptive strike at the War Party’s congressional fortress. Please call your congressional representative today and urge them to vote no on the AUMF – because we can win this one. We stopped them last time when Obama decided it was time to bomb Syria. One by one members of Congress who were inclined to authorize that military campaign backed away when faced with a deluge of outraged calls from constituents. We can do it again – oh yes we can!
Please make that call today – because the future of this country, not to mention the peace of the world, depends on it.
Congress' reaction to Iraq was so important that Hillary Clinton's 2002 vote was used to knock her out in the 2008 primary. It's still being used to insist she's not qualified to be president should she seek the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2016.
But whores like Amy Goodman aren't really interested in what politicians are doing with regards to Iraq today. They only want to revisit the safe past which will allow them to avoid calling out War Hawk Barack.
---------------
The AUMF hearing was reported on by C.I. in "Iraq snapshot" and "Iraq snapshot."
TV: The Ink Blot
NBC's new mini-series The Slap is not a retelling of some of the more aggressive moments in starlet Joey Heatherton's life. Which is too bad because that might make a lot more sense.
The basics of The Slap are that it's an eight-part mini-series with each installment focusing on one of the main characters in a richly talented cast.
Should you watch?
Absolutely. Uma Thurman's doing a delicious walk through of her role, Zachary Quinto is amazing and anytime you have the chance to see Thandie Newton, you grab it. (She's made a career of elevating the projects she's been in -- such as Norbit and Mission Impossible II.) Newton, Thurman and Quinto are amazing and only three members of the incredible cast.
The Slap kicks off with Hector's 40th birthday party which results in a gathering of family and friends. During the pre-party and party, A parents-created brat, five-year-old Hugo, attends with his terrible parents.
Terrible?
Let's be really clear, if you want to breast feed your five-year-old, we personally think it could qualify as child molestation. This is not about feeding a newborn, this is about you, as a woman, needing your nipples sucked and let's not pretend it's about anything else.
What's next?
You want to stop cutting the umbilical cord at birth?
Maybe Mommy and baby can walk around through the child's sixth or seventh year still attached?
Now we've always had that opinion. We've never shared it.
Even around a woman who is currently nursing her four-year-old. (And why is that these woman are never doing this with their girls? Only with their sons? Again, we think this is molestation.)
We;ve never shared it because it's our opinion and because she's smart enough to do the nursing privately.
After your child has a full set of teeth, if you're still nursing, you need to do it privately.
It's not longer a 'beautiful act' but something controversial.
Something that will stigmatize your child.
So when The Slap features Rosie nursing Hugo every time he throws a tantrum, nursing the five-year-old in full view of not only the adults but other children?
Rosie knows no boundaries. If her stupid husband does, it's not apparent.
Stupid?
Rosie's husband Gary is supposed to be on our side, the left. He may actually be because he's a sexist pig and certainly, as 2008's primaries revealed, there's a lot of sexism on our side.
How is he stupid and sexist? He knows Harry (Quinto) and knows he is forever at odds with him. So why is he seeking out Quinto at the party.
That's just flat out stupid and being a bad guest.
The party's isn't about your cock wagging, it's about someone's birthday.
But please note, not only does the husband seek out Harry but he does so over a host of female guests he could have been talking to.
While seething about Harry being some sort of walking hard on of hyper-masculinity run amuk, that' who the weak willed husband rushes to converse with.
Maybe they should have added a latency sub-plot to the mini-series?
Hugo is at a birthday party. While there, the child takes a vinyl record out of the album jacket and throws it across the room (the host's favorite record), repeatedly slams a computer tablet on a table, throws tantrums when other children do not give him his way, at two different times pulls plants out of the ground in the backyard, refuses to step aside in a game of baseball after his third strike and begins swinging the bat wildly putting the other kids at risk of being hit by the bat.
This is the point that Harry slaps Hugo.
And here's why you should watch: Harry slaps Hugo.
That's what you're told happened.
You can stream the episode at Hulu and we'd suggest you do.
We'd also suggest you read the comments left for the first episode.
They sum up the slap as we have above.
But that's not really what happened.
After yelling at Hugo to put the bat down, Harry runs over to the ballgame because he's worried his kid is about to be hit in the head with the bat as Hugo refuses to put it down and is, in fact, swinging it at the other kids. Harry takes the bat from the kid and yells at him that he needs to learn to listen to grown ups.
Then Hugo kicks Harry.
Then Harry slaps Hugo.
That's not to defend the slap. That's not to defend Harry.
That is to say that people who think they watched -- and are happy to leave comments -- seem to have either missed what happened or decided to short-hand it. With Rose threatening to sue Harry over slapping her child, the order of events do matter.
So why is reality so jumbled by people commenting on the episode they watched?
Because the show's become, in a single episode, a national ink blot.
And it's revealing a lot about what people think.
That includes the critics.
We've long told you the Water Cooler Set doesn't respect women.
You need look no further than their writings on The Slap.
The Guardian's Brian Moylan is among the idiots writing about Hector's attraction to a woman who is not his wife: "dreams of having an affair with the babysitter."
Does the woman, played by Makenzie Leigh, put "babysitter" down on her W2?
It's tax time, so let's wonder.
But we doubt it.
See the babysitting was done as a favor. The woman actually works in the clinic that Hector's wife has started, the medical clinic. But, by all means, let's reduce her to "babysitter" as if she were 14 and earning some change to purchase a One Direction poster.
What's worse than billing the woman as "a babysitter"? Knowing she's not and doing so otherwise which Tim Goodman (Hollywood Reporter) does in one sentence before adding, four sentences later, "Thanks to the narrator, we know that Hector has been having some dirty thoughts about Connie, the babysitter, who also happens to work at wife Aisha's clinic."
Is that really reality, Goodman?
A grown woman who is a babysitter by trade and, for spare change to purchase some as-seen-on-TV Hot Buns, works at a clinic on the side?
Then there's Uma Thurman's character Anouk who works on a soap opera and is having an affair with a new actor on the soap played by Penn Badgley.
David Sims (The Atlantic) writes, "Thurman plays a director who swans around in a beret with a boytoy actor (Penn Badgley) on her arm, sneaking a cigarette case full of joints to Hector with a wink."
How sad.
While there have been some truly talented directors in daytime TV -- Marlene Laird and Francesca James among them -- it really is a shame that Uma wasn't playing a headwriter of a soap. Because, on TV, writers and show runners have more power than directors. And on daytime TV, headwriters run everything -- whether they're Irma Phillips or Agnes Nixon.
So how sad that Uma's not playing a headwriter.
Oh, wait, what about that scene in the first episode, that exchange between Aisha (Thandie Newton) and Anouk (Uma Thurman).
Anouk: Something's off.
Aisha: Something's always off. What? You think he's shagging the head writer to get more scenes?
Anouk: Well that's how it started.
Oh, so Uma's character is the person in charge on the soap opera. It's just that David Sims, in his sexism and stupidity, downgraded her to a soap opera director.
And when the Water Cooler Set isn't downgrading the work lives of the women, they're whining like the most selfish little piggies in the world.
Take Tim Goodman who offers this, "So we need to see that Aisha might be a little overwhelmed with her new job and thus is not putting out." He's arguing this is done to make Harry sympathetic.
What?
That doesn't even happen.
It happens in Tim Goodman's mind -- causing us to feel sorry for anyone he ever sleeps with.
What the first episode shows is Hector waking up and wanting to have sex with his wife who agrees. At which point Hector goes off to the bathroom. When he's finally out, Aisha's no longer in bed and the kids can be heard screaming (they're fighting over a game). When he finds Aisha in the kitchen and says he thought they were going to have sex, she reminds him that they have 20 people arriving in a few hours and she's got to get the food ready and the place ready.
How is that "not putting out"?
The two will have sex -- in the kitchen -- as soon as the guests leave.
And does Tim Goodman realize he's promoting a man's 'right' to sex on demand?
Or what a sexist pig he is?
Aisha's "overwhelmed" by her "new job"?
And it means she won't 'put out'?
That drama's only going on in Goodman's head.
It has nothing to do with what's actually in the first episode.
It's really illuminating to read The Water Cooler Set and grasp that they're seeing something but it's not really what's on the screen.
Nor, as David Sims demonstrates, is it what's in the real world. In a parenthetical, he feels the need to offer, "Okay, so Harry's a right-winger, but it barely makes sense. He thinks America should invade Iraq again?"
If Harry does think that -- was he being sarcastic possibly? -- a thought that never enters Sim's overly literal mind -- how would that make him different President Barack Obama who, last time we checked, had been ordering air bombings of Iraq since August 8th and had also sent in thousands of US troops into Iraq since June? Who last week asked Congress for an Authorization of the Use of Military Force on Iraq and Syria?
The Water Cooler Set isn't just confused by events on the screen, they're lost in the real world as well.
The Slap is an interesting mini-series. We need to especially note Peter Sarsgaard who's been stuck with less of a character and more of the glue holding the plots together role. In a weaker actor's hands, Hector would cause the whole project to collapse.
And we need to be clear that Hugo's hideous behavior is a reflection on his parents.
Some commentators have offered that Hugo may have a condition that causes his poor behavior. If so, that's something two parents should have explored with a medical team long ago.
We really don't blame Rosie. She's too caught up in her devotion for Hugo to realize how inappropriate she's behaving in terms of the nursing. It was really up to Gary to speak up and tell his wife, "Look, no boy wants to be called a 'titty baby' by his peers. It's past time you stopped breast feeding our child. If you aren't ready to stop yet, at least don't do it around others so our child is not taunted at school as the 'little baby' who still breast feeds."
NBC's The Slap is a worthy mini-series that will make you think. Like the Water Cooler Set, you may end up thinking poorly. Or it may make you gather real insight. For example, the slap wasn't the crime of the party. The crime was that two parents brought along their brat and allowed him to run wild making everyone uncomfortable and ultimately the reaction to his behavior (the slap) ended the birthday party. The Slap is less about a physical altercation and more about bad manners.
The basics of The Slap are that it's an eight-part mini-series with each installment focusing on one of the main characters in a richly talented cast.
Should you watch?
Absolutely. Uma Thurman's doing a delicious walk through of her role, Zachary Quinto is amazing and anytime you have the chance to see Thandie Newton, you grab it. (She's made a career of elevating the projects she's been in -- such as Norbit and Mission Impossible II.) Newton, Thurman and Quinto are amazing and only three members of the incredible cast.
The Slap kicks off with Hector's 40th birthday party which results in a gathering of family and friends. During the pre-party and party, A parents-created brat, five-year-old Hugo, attends with his terrible parents.
Terrible?
Let's be really clear, if you want to breast feed your five-year-old, we personally think it could qualify as child molestation. This is not about feeding a newborn, this is about you, as a woman, needing your nipples sucked and let's not pretend it's about anything else.
What's next?
You want to stop cutting the umbilical cord at birth?
Maybe Mommy and baby can walk around through the child's sixth or seventh year still attached?
Now we've always had that opinion. We've never shared it.
Even around a woman who is currently nursing her four-year-old. (And why is that these woman are never doing this with their girls? Only with their sons? Again, we think this is molestation.)
We;ve never shared it because it's our opinion and because she's smart enough to do the nursing privately.
After your child has a full set of teeth, if you're still nursing, you need to do it privately.
It's not longer a 'beautiful act' but something controversial.
Something that will stigmatize your child.
So when The Slap features Rosie nursing Hugo every time he throws a tantrum, nursing the five-year-old in full view of not only the adults but other children?
Rosie knows no boundaries. If her stupid husband does, it's not apparent.
Stupid?
Rosie's husband Gary is supposed to be on our side, the left. He may actually be because he's a sexist pig and certainly, as 2008's primaries revealed, there's a lot of sexism on our side.
How is he stupid and sexist? He knows Harry (Quinto) and knows he is forever at odds with him. So why is he seeking out Quinto at the party.
That's just flat out stupid and being a bad guest.
The party's isn't about your cock wagging, it's about someone's birthday.
But please note, not only does the husband seek out Harry but he does so over a host of female guests he could have been talking to.
While seething about Harry being some sort of walking hard on of hyper-masculinity run amuk, that' who the weak willed husband rushes to converse with.
Maybe they should have added a latency sub-plot to the mini-series?
Hugo is at a birthday party. While there, the child takes a vinyl record out of the album jacket and throws it across the room (the host's favorite record), repeatedly slams a computer tablet on a table, throws tantrums when other children do not give him his way, at two different times pulls plants out of the ground in the backyard, refuses to step aside in a game of baseball after his third strike and begins swinging the bat wildly putting the other kids at risk of being hit by the bat.
This is the point that Harry slaps Hugo.
And here's why you should watch: Harry slaps Hugo.
That's what you're told happened.
You can stream the episode at Hulu and we'd suggest you do.
We'd also suggest you read the comments left for the first episode.
They sum up the slap as we have above.
But that's not really what happened.
After yelling at Hugo to put the bat down, Harry runs over to the ballgame because he's worried his kid is about to be hit in the head with the bat as Hugo refuses to put it down and is, in fact, swinging it at the other kids. Harry takes the bat from the kid and yells at him that he needs to learn to listen to grown ups.
Then Hugo kicks Harry.
Then Harry slaps Hugo.
That's not to defend the slap. That's not to defend Harry.
That is to say that people who think they watched -- and are happy to leave comments -- seem to have either missed what happened or decided to short-hand it. With Rose threatening to sue Harry over slapping her child, the order of events do matter.
So why is reality so jumbled by people commenting on the episode they watched?
Because the show's become, in a single episode, a national ink blot.
And it's revealing a lot about what people think.
That includes the critics.
We've long told you the Water Cooler Set doesn't respect women.
You need look no further than their writings on The Slap.
The Guardian's Brian Moylan is among the idiots writing about Hector's attraction to a woman who is not his wife: "dreams of having an affair with the babysitter."
Does the woman, played by Makenzie Leigh, put "babysitter" down on her W2?
It's tax time, so let's wonder.
But we doubt it.
See the babysitting was done as a favor. The woman actually works in the clinic that Hector's wife has started, the medical clinic. But, by all means, let's reduce her to "babysitter" as if she were 14 and earning some change to purchase a One Direction poster.
What's worse than billing the woman as "a babysitter"? Knowing she's not and doing so otherwise which Tim Goodman (Hollywood Reporter) does in one sentence before adding, four sentences later, "Thanks to the narrator, we know that Hector has been having some dirty thoughts about Connie, the babysitter, who also happens to work at wife Aisha's clinic."
Is that really reality, Goodman?
A grown woman who is a babysitter by trade and, for spare change to purchase some as-seen-on-TV Hot Buns, works at a clinic on the side?
Then there's Uma Thurman's character Anouk who works on a soap opera and is having an affair with a new actor on the soap played by Penn Badgley.
David Sims (The Atlantic) writes, "Thurman plays a director who swans around in a beret with a boytoy actor (Penn Badgley) on her arm, sneaking a cigarette case full of joints to Hector with a wink."
How sad.
While there have been some truly talented directors in daytime TV -- Marlene Laird and Francesca James among them -- it really is a shame that Uma wasn't playing a headwriter of a soap. Because, on TV, writers and show runners have more power than directors. And on daytime TV, headwriters run everything -- whether they're Irma Phillips or Agnes Nixon.
So how sad that Uma's not playing a headwriter.
Oh, wait, what about that scene in the first episode, that exchange between Aisha (Thandie Newton) and Anouk (Uma Thurman).
Anouk: Something's off.
Aisha: Something's always off. What? You think he's shagging the head writer to get more scenes?
Anouk: Well that's how it started.
Oh, so Uma's character is the person in charge on the soap opera. It's just that David Sims, in his sexism and stupidity, downgraded her to a soap opera director.
And when the Water Cooler Set isn't downgrading the work lives of the women, they're whining like the most selfish little piggies in the world.
Take Tim Goodman who offers this, "So we need to see that Aisha might be a little overwhelmed with her new job and thus is not putting out." He's arguing this is done to make Harry sympathetic.
What?
That doesn't even happen.
It happens in Tim Goodman's mind -- causing us to feel sorry for anyone he ever sleeps with.
What the first episode shows is Hector waking up and wanting to have sex with his wife who agrees. At which point Hector goes off to the bathroom. When he's finally out, Aisha's no longer in bed and the kids can be heard screaming (they're fighting over a game). When he finds Aisha in the kitchen and says he thought they were going to have sex, she reminds him that they have 20 people arriving in a few hours and she's got to get the food ready and the place ready.
How is that "not putting out"?
The two will have sex -- in the kitchen -- as soon as the guests leave.
And does Tim Goodman realize he's promoting a man's 'right' to sex on demand?
Or what a sexist pig he is?
Aisha's "overwhelmed" by her "new job"?
And it means she won't 'put out'?
That drama's only going on in Goodman's head.
It has nothing to do with what's actually in the first episode.
It's really illuminating to read The Water Cooler Set and grasp that they're seeing something but it's not really what's on the screen.
Nor, as David Sims demonstrates, is it what's in the real world. In a parenthetical, he feels the need to offer, "Okay, so Harry's a right-winger, but it barely makes sense. He thinks America should invade Iraq again?"
If Harry does think that -- was he being sarcastic possibly? -- a thought that never enters Sim's overly literal mind -- how would that make him different President Barack Obama who, last time we checked, had been ordering air bombings of Iraq since August 8th and had also sent in thousands of US troops into Iraq since June? Who last week asked Congress for an Authorization of the Use of Military Force on Iraq and Syria?
The Water Cooler Set isn't just confused by events on the screen, they're lost in the real world as well.
The Slap is an interesting mini-series. We need to especially note Peter Sarsgaard who's been stuck with less of a character and more of the glue holding the plots together role. In a weaker actor's hands, Hector would cause the whole project to collapse.
And we need to be clear that Hugo's hideous behavior is a reflection on his parents.
Some commentators have offered that Hugo may have a condition that causes his poor behavior. If so, that's something two parents should have explored with a medical team long ago.
We really don't blame Rosie. She's too caught up in her devotion for Hugo to realize how inappropriate she's behaving in terms of the nursing. It was really up to Gary to speak up and tell his wife, "Look, no boy wants to be called a 'titty baby' by his peers. It's past time you stopped breast feeding our child. If you aren't ready to stop yet, at least don't do it around others so our child is not taunted at school as the 'little baby' who still breast feeds."
NBC's The Slap is a worthy mini-series that will make you think. Like the Water Cooler Set, you may end up thinking poorly. Or it may make you gather real insight. For example, the slap wasn't the crime of the party. The crime was that two parents brought along their brat and allowed him to run wild making everyone uncomfortable and ultimately the reaction to his behavior (the slap) ended the birthday party. The Slap is less about a physical altercation and more about bad manners.
What Makes Tucker Carlson A Man?
The Daily Caller's editor-in-chief Tucker Carlson is a male.
But what makes him a man?
His high pitched giggle?
The way he bats his eyes?
The pep talk he gives his soft penis as he tries to rally it for sex?
"C'mon, little soldier, stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand up for Tucky. I can't tuck if you won't stand up. Tucky wants to tuck. C'mon, Tucky's a mean mother tucker."
Or maybe it's the way he smells up a bathroom for hours after taking a dump?
Or the way he minces and flounces when speaking?
What makes Tucker Carlson a man?
[This is in reponse to The Daily Caller's "What Makes Bradley Manning A Woman?"]
But what makes him a man?
His high pitched giggle?
The way he bats his eyes?
The pep talk he gives his soft penis as he tries to rally it for sex?
"C'mon, little soldier, stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand up for Tucky. I can't tuck if you won't stand up. Tucky wants to tuck. C'mon, Tucky's a mean mother tucker."
Or maybe it's the way he smells up a bathroom for hours after taking a dump?
Or the way he minces and flounces when speaking?
What makes Tucker Carlson a man?
[This is in reponse to The Daily Caller's "What Makes Bradley Manning A Woman?"]
Good for her
We used to be big fans of a lot of people. Then we saw them spend the last six years whoring.
Some still are.
Though we'll never rush to embrace Eleanor Norton, DC delegate to the House of Representatives, again, we will note she Tweeted the following last week:
Some still are.
Though we'll never rush to embrace Eleanor Norton, DC delegate to the House of Representatives, again, we will note she Tweeted the following last week:
I will demand a vote for #DC on #AMUF before our residents give blood and treasure for ISIL War http://1.usa.gov/1FAdVAp
5 retweets
5 favorites
That Tweet is so much more than so many of her peers bothered to do.
Film Classic of the 20th Century
In this ongoing series on film classics of the last century, we've looked at Shampoo, The Player, Dick Tracy, How To Marry A Millionaire, Blow Out, You Only Live Twice, Sleeper, Diamonds Are Forever, Sleepless In Seattle, My Little Chickadee, Tootsie, After Hours, Edward Scissorhands, Christmas in Connecticut, Desk Set, When Harry Met Sally . . ., Who Done It?, That Darn Cat!, Cactus Flower, Family Plot, House Sitter, and Outrageous Fortune. Film classics are the films that grab you, even on repeat viewings, especially on repeat viewings.
In 1998, Neil LaBute's Your Friends & Neighbors was released.
The film opens with Jason Patric thrusting and talking and the audience quickly learns he's getting in a 'rehearsal' for sex before his latest pick up arrives. In fact, he'll go for a second 'rehearsal' before she arrives.
Patric is Cery who's friends with Jerry (Ben Stiller) who's living with Terri (Catherine Kenner). That couple's biggest obvious problem?
That Jerry, in love with his own voice, can't stop talking and even provides narration during sex.
Terri: Is there any chance you're going to shut the f**k up?
Jerry: What?
Terri: You're talking right in my ear. I'm losing any sense of concentration that I might have.
Jerry: I'm just a -- It's kind of hard to stop.
Terri: Keep it to yourself. I mean can you feel it? Your thing's nearly in the back of my throat. You think I'm going to miss that? Let's just do it, okay? I don't need the narration. Let's just go.
Jerry: What is this?
Terri: I'm sorry but this is not a travelogue.
Jerry and Terri are friends with married couple Mary (Amy Brenneman) and Barry (Aaron Eckhart).
This couple has their own problems which include Barry's preferring masturbation to intercourse. "You probably think I'm kidding," he explains to a co-worker played by Josh Dotson, "but I've lived with this hell all of my life. I'm telling you nobody makes me cum the way I do."
In the meantime, he's not doing much for Mary.
Who is having an affair with Jerry.
And then there's Chrie (Nastassja Kinski) who Cary tries to pick up.
But she's only interested in Terri. "I at least tried to f**k outside our calling circle," Terri later tells Jerry.
Things get more and more complicated.
And the scene's show stopper is probably the sauna scene where Barry, Jerry and Cary end up in a conversation (which ends in the locker room) about the best sex they ever had.
Cary's response is the real shocker and in keeping with the sociopath he plays. We won't provide any spoilers there but it will surprise. Possibly not that the incident was with a guy but the way the actual incident took place.
The film is often shocking, often funny and always alive. There's not a bad performance in the mix and this is one of three performances Jason Patric has given that should have resulted in an Academy Award nomination (the other two are After Dark My Sweet and Rush). The film's a high water mark for the entire cast and one of the finest of its year.
Ben Stiller's character is a college professor who lectures his class early on about the motivations in a play, "And ultimately what do these characters want? I know, it's embarrassing for you to say but, let's be honest, they want to . . . f**k! Correct? It's always about f**king." That's a good summation of this film as well.
Tweet of the week
Kenneth Roth
There'll be no defeating ISIS w/o addressing Iraq Shia militia, Assad barrel bombs. I explain: http://trib.al/CHe2uJa
This edition's playlist
1) Ben Harper's White Lies For Dark Times.
2) Sam Smith's The Lonely Hour.
3) india.arie's Testimony Vol. 2: Love & Politics.
4) Chrissie Hynde's Stockholm.
5) The Mamas and the Papas' Deliver.
6) Prince's Art Official Age.
7) Cara Dillon's A Thousand Hearts.
8) Diana Ross' Touch Me In The Morning.
9) Neil Young's Storytone.
10) Aretha Franklin's Aretha Sings The Great Diva Classics.
Key Author of War Powers: ISIL AUMF Could be Worse than Vietnam Authorization
While many outlets stayed silent on the AUMF last week, IPA issued the following:
Institute for Public Accuracy
980 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
(202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa@accuracy.org
__________________________________________________
980 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
(202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa@accuracy.org
__________________________________________________
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Key Author of War Powers: ISIL AUMF Could be Worse than Vietnam Authorization
Key Author of War Powers: ISIL AUMF Could be Worse than Vietnam Authorization
PAUL FINDLEY, findley1@frontier.com
Available for a limited number of interviews, Findley was a member of Congress from Illinois for 22 years and was a principal author of the War Powers Resolution of 1973. He resides in Jacksonville, Ill. The federal building in Springfield, Ill. is named for him. He said today: "If I were still in Congress I would oppose any resolution that authorizes further involvement there. Our forces have been killing Muslims by the tens of thousands for the past decade in the misleading label of anti-terrorism. Bombing kills innocent people whose friends are furious over these killings.
"It has greater potential for trouble than the Tonkin Gulf Resolution in 1964 that I voted for, only after getting Republican Leader Gerald Ford's assurance that it was not the equivalent of a declaration of war [on Vietnam].
Available for a limited number of interviews, Findley was a member of Congress from Illinois for 22 years and was a principal author of the War Powers Resolution of 1973. He resides in Jacksonville, Ill. The federal building in Springfield, Ill. is named for him. He said today: "If I were still in Congress I would oppose any resolution that authorizes further involvement there. Our forces have been killing Muslims by the tens of thousands for the past decade in the misleading label of anti-terrorism. Bombing kills innocent people whose friends are furious over these killings.
"It has greater potential for trouble than the Tonkin Gulf Resolution in 1964 that I voted for, only after getting Republican Leader Gerald Ford's assurance that it was not the equivalent of a declaration of war [on Vietnam].
"Congress should have used its responsibility to call a halt long ago
to war measures. Instead of such measures, I believe in enforcing world
law through international
institutions. The current war over religion in the Middle East could
make the Vietnam War look like a SundaySchool picnic." Findley was recently
profiled in the Jacksonville Journal-Courier. His books include They Dare to Speak Out.
FRANCIS BOYLE, fboyle@illinois.edu
Boyle, who has worked with Findley for years, is a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law and author of Tackling
America’s Toughest Questions. He said today: "Of course
Obama is wrong to state that existing statutes give him any authority he
needs to wage war against ISIL.
"In the cover letter, Obama would use special forces, which is how
the Vietnam War started. Once you have ground troops over there in
combat, there is really
no way to prevent escalation or to call it off and he knows it. What
happens when one of our soldiers is captured and killed by ISIL? What
kind of jingoism will that unleash and what escalations will
that facilitate?
"He only talks about 'tailoring' the 2001 AUMF. It should be repealed, not 'tailored.'
"This Resolution sets a dangerous precedent. Up until the 2001 AUMF, all War Powers Resolutions had been adopted with respect to a State, not alleged terrorist organizations that can operate anywhere in the world as defined by the President. This Resolution continues in that dangerous path, basically substituting ISIS for al-Qaeda and continuing to wage a global war on terrorism. So if Obama cannot plausibly invoke the 2001 Resolution because there is no connection to 9/11 as required therein, he will simply invoke this Resolution. Between the two resolutions you can have the U.S. government waging war all over the world.
"The Resolution states: 'The authority granted in subsection (a) does not authorize the use of the USAF in enduring offensive ground combat operations.' In other words, it does indeed authorize the use of USAF in offensive ground combat operations. 'Enduring' is in the eye of the beholder. Three years from now could have another 100,000 troops back in Iraq and maybe Syria too.
"Congress cannot lawfully give him authorization to use military force against Syria. That requires the permission of the Syrian government, which they do not have, or else the authorization of the Security Council, which they do not have. As for Iraq, [Iraqi Prime Minister Haider] al-Abadi is a puppet government that Obama installed and therefore has no authority under international law to consent to U.S. military operations in Iraq. It is like in Vietnam when we had our puppets there asking us to conduct military operations there."
For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
"He only talks about 'tailoring' the 2001 AUMF. It should be repealed, not 'tailored.'
"This Resolution sets a dangerous precedent. Up until the 2001 AUMF, all War Powers Resolutions had been adopted with respect to a State, not alleged terrorist organizations that can operate anywhere in the world as defined by the President. This Resolution continues in that dangerous path, basically substituting ISIS for al-Qaeda and continuing to wage a global war on terrorism. So if Obama cannot plausibly invoke the 2001 Resolution because there is no connection to 9/11 as required therein, he will simply invoke this Resolution. Between the two resolutions you can have the U.S. government waging war all over the world.
"The Resolution states: 'The authority granted in subsection (a) does not authorize the use of the USAF in enduring offensive ground combat operations.' In other words, it does indeed authorize the use of USAF in offensive ground combat operations. 'Enduring' is in the eye of the beholder. Three years from now could have another 100,000 troops back in Iraq and maybe Syria too.
"Congress cannot lawfully give him authorization to use military force against Syria. That requires the permission of the Syrian government, which they do not have, or else the authorization of the Security Council, which they do not have. As for Iraq, [Iraqi Prime Minister Haider] al-Abadi is a puppet government that Obama installed and therefore has no authority under international law to consent to U.S. military operations in Iraq. It is like in Vietnam when we had our puppets there asking us to conduct military operations there."
For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
Let's finish the fight for LGBT liberation that the Stonewall riots kickstarted
Reposting from Great Britain's Socialist Worker:
The Stonewall Riots of 1969 heralded the birth of the fight for LGBT liberation in the US and Britain.
There had been successful protests before, such as Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in San Francisco in 1966.
But Stonewall was the watershed and kick-started a mass movement.
The Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village was a well known bar where gay and trans people could meet away from public condemnation.
They were predominantly black and Latino working class, often in low paid jobs or sex work.
At that time, gay people were treated as “deviants”, and forced to live in secrecy and shame.
Those who refused could lose their job or be arrested and imprisoned.
So the police frequently raided bars such as the Stonewall Inn. But on 28 June 1969, young gay and trans people resisted the police alongside other patrons.
For three nights, gay people and their supporters fought the police with Molotov cocktails, bricks and bottles.
Confrontation
But the riots had support. More and more gay people and left wingers joined the confrontation with the police.
In the late 1960s, there was an upsurge in people fighting back against war and oppression.
The Black Power and women’s liberation movements were emerging, alongside a powerful movement on the campuses against US imperialism in Vietnam.
Transgender activist Silvia Rivera was involved in Stonewall. She explained, “All of us were working for so many movements at the time.
“Everyone was involved with the women’s movement, the peace movement, the civil rights movement.”
“We were all radicals. I believe that’s what brought it about.”
Many of the rioters set up the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) afterwards, which was a crucial step in the struggle.
This is partly why the Stonewall Riots had such a big impact.
The GLF aimed for sexual liberation. Carl Wittman’s A Gay Manifesto, written in 1969, points to many of the differences the GLF had with previous gay rights organisations that aimed to be “respectable.”
He wrote, “We want to make ourselves clear—our first job is to free ourselves.
“If straight people of good will find it useful in understanding what liberation is about so much the better.”
Revolution
This liberation would be won through revolution—but there was no agreement on what revolution actually meant.
The GLF was able to make gains because it linked up with other oppressed groups and the left.
When the Black Panther leader Huey Newton declared in 1971, “Homosexuals are not enemies of the people,” it was in part because of the solidarity from the GLF.
Wittman wrote, “Right now the bulk of the work has to be among ourselves. But we can’t change Amerika alone.”
However, the GLF’s alternative vision of a “coalition of the oppressed” is not enough to achieve lasting gains and preserve what has been won.
The retreat of the movements led to defeats and fragmentation. What underpinned this was the low level of clashes between US workers and bosses.
The Stonewall Riots were part of a bigger ferment in society. And its revolutionary ideas remain relevant today.
But they also show why it’s crucial to link the fight for liberation to workers’ struggle.
Let's finish the fight for LGBT liberation that the Stonewall riots kickstarted
The Stonewall Riots of 1969 heralded the birth of the fight for LGBT liberation in the US and Britain says Ellie May.
Published Tue 10 Feb 2015
Issue No. 2440
Stonewall was a watershed for the LGBT movement
The Stonewall Riots of 1969 heralded the birth of the fight for LGBT liberation in the US and Britain.
There had been successful protests before, such as Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in San Francisco in 1966.
But Stonewall was the watershed and kick-started a mass movement.
The Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village was a well known bar where gay and trans people could meet away from public condemnation.
They were predominantly black and Latino working class, often in low paid jobs or sex work.
At that time, gay people were treated as “deviants”, and forced to live in secrecy and shame.
Those who refused could lose their job or be arrested and imprisoned.
So the police frequently raided bars such as the Stonewall Inn. But on 28 June 1969, young gay and trans people resisted the police alongside other patrons.
For three nights, gay people and their supporters fought the police with Molotov cocktails, bricks and bottles.
Confrontation
But the riots had support. More and more gay people and left wingers joined the confrontation with the police.
In the late 1960s, there was an upsurge in people fighting back against war and oppression.
The Black Power and women’s liberation movements were emerging, alongside a powerful movement on the campuses against US imperialism in Vietnam.
Transgender activist Silvia Rivera was involved in Stonewall. She explained, “All of us were working for so many movements at the time.
“Everyone was involved with the women’s movement, the peace movement, the civil rights movement.”
“We were all radicals. I believe that’s what brought it about.”
Many of the rioters set up the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) afterwards, which was a crucial step in the struggle.
This is partly why the Stonewall Riots had such a big impact.
The GLF aimed for sexual liberation. Carl Wittman’s A Gay Manifesto, written in 1969, points to many of the differences the GLF had with previous gay rights organisations that aimed to be “respectable.”
He wrote, “We want to make ourselves clear—our first job is to free ourselves.
“If straight people of good will find it useful in understanding what liberation is about so much the better.”
Revolution
This liberation would be won through revolution—but there was no agreement on what revolution actually meant.
The GLF was able to make gains because it linked up with other oppressed groups and the left.
When the Black Panther leader Huey Newton declared in 1971, “Homosexuals are not enemies of the people,” it was in part because of the solidarity from the GLF.
Wittman wrote, “Right now the bulk of the work has to be among ourselves. But we can’t change Amerika alone.”
However, the GLF’s alternative vision of a “coalition of the oppressed” is not enough to achieve lasting gains and preserve what has been won.
The retreat of the movements led to defeats and fragmentation. What underpinned this was the low level of clashes between US workers and bosses.
The Stonewall Riots were part of a bigger ferment in society. And its revolutionary ideas remain relevant today.
But they also show why it’s crucial to link the fight for liberation to workers’ struggle.
Organization will organize VetTogethers with film about Iraq War veteran and Navy Seal Chris Kyle in more than 15 cities
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America issued the following last week:
New York, NY (February 10, 2015) – Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) has created scheduled opportunities for veterans to join together and see the film ‘American Sniper,’ the biopic of Iraq war veteran U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle. IAVA will offer screenings of the film to IAVA members and their families in more than 15 cities nationwide. IAVA also will have support and program information at each event.
The film, based on Kyle’s New York Times best-selling biography of the same name, offers a gripping portrayal of the Iraq War, the struggles of post-traumatic stress and the impact of war on military families. In January it earned six Oscar nominations, including nods for Best Picture and Best Actor for Bradley Cooper.
“With all the talk and debate, we think it’s very important to share this film with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and for vets to see the film with other vets who will understand and appreciate the emotions the movie may reveal for them. This movie exemplifies the civilian-military divide we’ve let grow within our society,” said IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff. “American Sniper has started a national discussion on the sacrifice of our veterans and what challenges they face when they return home. It shows the reality of war both on the battlefield and back home. Coming home and explaining your experiences to your loved ones is not only difficult, it’s impossible for many veterans. We see this tension in the film multiple times between Chris and his wife Taya. American Sniper truly puts the civilian in the shoes of an American servicemember. For the average citizen to understand what vets feel when they return home, that experience is vital.”
IAVA members can click here to see if there is a VetTogether screening in their area:
• February 11, New York, N.Y.
• February 11, San Diego, Calif.
• February 11, San Francisco, Calif.
• February 11, Oklahoma City, Okla.
• February 11, Boston, Mass.
• February 11, Atlanta, Ga.
• February 11, Nashville, Tenn.
• February 11, Minneapolis, Minn.
• February 10, California, Pa.
• February 11, Austin, Texas
• February 11, Boise, Idaho
• February 11, Washington, DC
• February 11, San Antonio, Texas
• February 11, Dallas, Texas
• February 11, Fayetteville, N.C.
• February 11, Indianapolis, Ind.
• February 11, Milwaukee, Wis.
• February 11, Cleveland, Ohio
• February 11, Mesa, Ariz.
veterans
PRESS CONTACT
Gretchen Andersen
Press Secretary
Tel: 212-982-9699
press@iava.org
New York, NY (February 10, 2015) – Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) has created scheduled opportunities for veterans to join together and see the film ‘American Sniper,’ the biopic of Iraq war veteran U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle. IAVA will offer screenings of the film to IAVA members and their families in more than 15 cities nationwide. IAVA also will have support and program information at each event.
The film, based on Kyle’s New York Times best-selling biography of the same name, offers a gripping portrayal of the Iraq War, the struggles of post-traumatic stress and the impact of war on military families. In January it earned six Oscar nominations, including nods for Best Picture and Best Actor for Bradley Cooper.
“With all the talk and debate, we think it’s very important to share this film with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and for vets to see the film with other vets who will understand and appreciate the emotions the movie may reveal for them. This movie exemplifies the civilian-military divide we’ve let grow within our society,” said IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff. “American Sniper has started a national discussion on the sacrifice of our veterans and what challenges they face when they return home. It shows the reality of war both on the battlefield and back home. Coming home and explaining your experiences to your loved ones is not only difficult, it’s impossible for many veterans. We see this tension in the film multiple times between Chris and his wife Taya. American Sniper truly puts the civilian in the shoes of an American servicemember. For the average citizen to understand what vets feel when they return home, that experience is vital.”
IAVA members can click here to see if there is a VetTogether screening in their area:
• February 11, New York, N.Y.
• February 11, San Diego, Calif.
• February 11, San Francisco, Calif.
• February 11, Oklahoma City, Okla.
• February 11, Boston, Mass.
• February 11, Atlanta, Ga.
• February 11, Nashville, Tenn.
• February 11, Minneapolis, Minn.
• February 10, California, Pa.
• February 11, Austin, Texas
• February 11, Boise, Idaho
• February 11, Washington, DC
• February 11, San Antonio, Texas
• February 11, Dallas, Texas
• February 11, Fayetteville, N.C.
• February 11, Indianapolis, Ind.
• February 11, Milwaukee, Wis.
• February 11, Cleveland, Ohio
• February 11, Mesa, Ariz.
veterans
VETERANS: Murray Introduces Bill to Cover Reproductive Services for Injured Servicemembers, Veterans, and Their Families
Senator Patty Murray (above) is the former Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Her office issued the following.
|
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Murray Press Office
Wednesday, February 11, 2015 (202) 224-2834
VETERANS: Murray Introduces Bill to Cover Reproductive Services for Injured Servicemembers, Veterans, and Their Families
**Murray plans to introduce bill with speech on Senate floor at 11am PT/2pm ET
TODAY**
Murray
bill would expand DoD’s current fertility treatment programs,
end VA ban on in vitro fertilization (IVF)
Murray: “The men and women who serve in our military put their lives and bodies on the line for our country, and the least
we can do is provide them with the health care services they need when they get home, including access to fertility treatments”
(Washington, D.C.)
Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced a bill to allow the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD)
to provide reproductive
services, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), to servicemembers,
veterans and their families who have suffered catastrophic wounds of war
that prevent them from starting families.
The Women Veterans and Families Health Services Act of 2015 would expand the current fertility services
offered to servicemembers and their families by DoD, and end the ban on in vitro fertilization services at the VA.
“The men and women
who serve in our military put their lives and bodies on the line for our
country, and the least we can do is provide them with the health care
services they need
when they get home, including access to fertility treatments,” said Senator Murray, a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “Because
of outdated policies at the Pentagon and the VA, thousands of seriously
ill or injured veterans cannot access reproductive services like in
vitro fertilization, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars from
private providers. When we send men and women
to war, we promise to take care of them when they return home. That’s
why I’ve introduced legislation to fill this shocking gap in care for
our seriously injured servicemembers and veterans.”
Read the one-pager here:
http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/5d39b1c7-ec65-4d6a-a8e5-b7c0888fd3ab/wvfhsa-one-pager.pdf
After more than a
decade of war, thousands of servicemembers and veterans struggle with
fertility and reproductive health. While VA and DoD offer some forms of
fertility treatment and
counseling, far too often they fail to meet the needs of these
seriously injured servicemembers and veterans. Today, severely injured
servicemembers are faced with the choice of pursuing these treatments
before separation or paying tens of thousands of dollars
out of pocket later. Severely injured veterans do not have a choice at
all. The
cost of IVF treatments
is about $7,000 per cycle within the Military Health
System, but almost doubles to $12,400 (and above) per cycle for
civilians or veterans who currently cannot receive these services from
VA because of the ban.
Data from DoD shows that between 2003 and 2013, more than 2,300
servicemembers have suffered reproductive and urinary tract trauma. The
reliance on foot
patrols in Afghanistan and the prevalence of improvised explosive
devices has left servicemembers far more susceptible to these injuries.
Though
DoD currently provides IVF, too many servicemembers are excluded from
eligibility for this and other treatments. The VA is completely barred
from providing IVF services because
of an outdated law. Senator Murray’s bill would expand VA and DoD’s
current fertility treatment and counseling offerings and empower
severely injured servicemembers and veterans to start families when the
time is right for them. The bill would lift VA’s assisted
reproductive technology (ART) ban (of which IVF is the most popular and
successful treatment) and expand ART treatments beyond DoD’s current
policy limitations. Senator Murray’s bill would also provide access to
fertility treatment for spouses, allow VA to
provide adoption assistance, and make permanent the highly successful
child care pilot program in VA.
###
Leah Kennebeck
Deputy Press Secretary
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
202-224-2834
President Signs Clay Hunt SAV Act Into Law Veteran suicide prevention bill, spearheaded by IAVA, will combat veteran suicide and increase access to quality mental health care
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America issued the following last week:
Washington D.C. (February 12, 2015) – This afternoon President Obama signed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act into law at a public signing ceremony inside the White House. Susan and Richard Selke, parents of Clay Hunt, and Paul Rieckhoff, IAVA CEO and Founder, joined the President on-stage. IAVA members from across the country were also present. The Clay Hunt SAV Act, which passed the House in January and the Senate unanimously last week, will combat veteran suicide and improve access to mental health care. The legislation is named after Marine sniper Clay Hunt from Texas, who died by suicide in 2011. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) commends the President for standing with our veterans and passing the bipartisan bill.
“Richard and I are humbled and thankful to have met with the President today and witness him signing this legislation into law,” said Susan Selke, mother of Clay Hunt. “It is encouraging to know that this law, among other things, will enable the VA to evaluate all of its current suicide and mental health programs and attract and hire more doctors and mental health care professionals to serve our veterans’ needs. Had legislation like this existed years ago I believe Clay would be here with us today.”
“This is a momentous day for veterans and their families. IAVA is proud to have led this fight with Susan and Richard Selke to ensure every veteran gets access to quality mental health care,” said IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff. “We thank President Obama for signing this bill to combat suicide and help curb the veteran suicide rate. We can’t afford to lose any more veterans to suicide — these brave men and women are leaders, mentors, friends and family members. The Clay Hunt SAV Act will increase capacity and access to mental health care at VA to meet demands, improve the quality of care, boost accountability at VA, and develop a community support system for veterans. This legislation will also get more mental health professionals into VA so they can start helping veterans like Clay with their invisible injuries. This bill will not stop every suicide but it will definitely help save lives. And it’s important for all Americans to understand that today is not the end of our fight against suicide, it’s just the beginning. We hope this day and Clay’s legacy will inspire all Americans to join our fight and work even harder in the years ahead.”
Rieckhoff added: “We also thank the more than 20 veteran service organizations and partners who helped support this critical legislation. IAVA praises Senators McCain and Blumenthal for leading on this issue and reintroducing the bill as their first agenda items this year. IAVA also applauds Rep. Tim Walz for introducing the House version and Chairman Jeff Miller for his stewardship. Their leadership and commitment to veterans have been vital in this fight.”
Click here to visit a timeline of IAVA’s work on combating suicide. For an updated list of sponsors for the Clay Hunt SAV Act click here.
Developed by IAVA and its allies on Capitol Hill, and driven by quantitative and qualitative data from IAVA’s annual member survey, the Clay Hunt SAV Act will:
Increase Access to Mental Health Care and Capacity at VA to Meet Demand
· Requires the VA to create a one-stop, interactive website to serve as a centralized source of information regarding all VA mental health services for veterans.
· Addresses the shortage of mental health care professionals by authorizing the VA to conduct a student loan repayment pilot program aimed at recruiting and retaining psychiatrists.
· Extends Combat-Eligibility for mental health care services at VA for one-year, providing for increased access for veterans that may be suffering from conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Improve the Quality of Care and Boosting Accountability at VA
· Requires evaluations of all mental health care and suicide prevention practices and programs at the VA to find out what’s working and what’s not working and make recommendations to improve care.
Develop a Community Support System for Veterans
· Establishes a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning servicemembers with accessing VA mental health care services.
In March of 2014, IAVA launched a yearlong effort to elevate conversation about the veteran suicide crisis. Over the course of the year, united with its partners Tragedy Assistance Program For Survivors, American Psychiatric Association, Brigade, Causes.com, Pivot TV, Change.org, Linkin Park, Cale Conley, Mayhem Music Tour and thought leaders from across the country, IAVA was able to galvanize attention and support for the Clay Hunt SAV Act.