The following essay was written by my friend Desiree Cooper. Desiree is the author of Know the Mother, a freelance writer, and the former Communications Director for Planned Parenthood of Michigan. Enjoy. Birth control is a no-brainer. Americans have agreed that family planning is a good thing as far back as 1936, when Gallup first asked whether Americans favor the […]

More than 30 organizations are engaged in the bipartisan initiative to empower women and ensure gender equality. Women make up more than half of Michigan’s population, yet they are facing some significant challenges. That’s the reason for the creation of the MI Lead coalition, a bipartisan group dedicated to protecting women’s rights and empowering women by giving them more say […]

“From V to Shining V” Lady Parts-friendly U.S. Senate Candidate Gary Peters and Lizz Winstead, photo by Anne C. Savage As I’ve been mentioning in the pieces I’ve written about our 10-year “Blogaversary” party, Lizz Winstead’s Lady Parts Justice project is coming to Michigan this year with a special event at the Capitol Building in Lansing. And they need your […]

A woman’s place is in the House. And the Senate. And … One of the most closely watched races of 2014 is the one for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District which pits Republican incumbent Tim Walberg against former state House Speaker Pam Byrnes. The contrast could hardly be more stark. On nearly every issue you wish to name, Tim Walberg is […]

Actions speak louder than words

As Michigan Republicans continue their corporatist agenda of eviscerating the middle class, destroying unions, harming public employees and taking women’s rights back to the middle of the last century, Michigan Democrats are proposing important pieces of legislation that solve actual problems.

The first comes from Representatives Jim Townsend, Vicki Barnett, and Andy Schor. They are introducing a package of legislation designed to reduce gun violence in our state and to increase public safety. A separate package of bills will be introduced by State Representatives Gretchen Driskell, Jeff Irwin, Adam Zemke and state Senator Rebekah Warren that will reverse some of the restrictions Republicans have put on women’s health care, educate women about health care options, support rape survivors and address health care inequities women face.

Details after the jump.

UPDATE: Volume III of the GOP Rape Advisory Chart can be found HERE Wow. Yesterday, in light of the latest misogynistic idiocy by the Republican moron of the moment, Richard Mourdock, I decided to whip up a compilation of some of the more revolting statements on the subject of rape (often tied in with reproductive rights, but not always). The […]

There’s someone on the ticket who is more anti-women than Mitt Romney. It’s Paul Ryan.

Mitt Romney’s insulting, anti-woman positions are enough to disqualify him from the presidency for most thinking people. The fact that he can’t even be arsed to tell us whether or not he would have supported the Lily Ledbetter Act had he been president in 2009 tells you absolutely everything you need to know.

But there’s another person on the 2012 ticket who is even worse on women’s issues than Mitt Romney. That’s Paul Ryan.

Information about the hard conversation you will need to have with your daughters if Romney & Ryan are elected after the jump.

Well, that didn’t help…

A recent poll showed that Mitt Romney had closed the gap with American women voters. Not too many serious observers believed it but, whether it was true or not, he completely reversed any movement toward him by women in his debate with President Obama last night.

From his “binder full of women” gaffe to his comment about women needing to get home to make dinner, Romney seemed to almost go out of his way to offend women.

Much more after the jump.

Signs, signs, everywhere signs

This is a collage of photographs I took during the Vaginas Take Back the Capitol event last week.

Click on “Read Full Story” below to see an interactive image of the poster where you can zoom in on the image to see the signs better or download the large file to print.

Vagina POWER!

l-r: Rep. Rashida H. Tlaib, Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Lisa Brown, Eve Ensler, and Rep. Stacy Erwin Oakes

Yesterday, Monday, June 18, 2012, upwards of 5,000 women and men and children descended on the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan to reclaim that place of power for women and their vaginas. After being told that uttering the word “vagina” was dirty and “lacked decorum”, Representative Lisa Brown and her colleague Barb Byrum were censored and banned from speaking.

Eve Ensler, the creator of The Vagina Monologues worked with Senator Rebekah Warren and others to stage a reading of the groundbreaking and magnificent play on the steps of the Capitol. But, what transpired there was more than just a theatrical event. It was an empowering event and a tranformative event for the state of Michigan. The thousands that gathered shared their anger and disgust and their refusal to continue being treated like children or second class citizens.

Follow us after the jump for many photos, video and more.

Vagina Power

A couple of days ago, V-Day, the group founded by Eve Ensler to end violence against women, started a Facebook event page called Vaginas Take Back the Capitol. Ensler, the creator of the Vagina Monologues, will be presenting her show there along with a whole host of other women including state representatives and senators.

In just two days, over 2,140 people have RSVPed.

This event is going to be huge.

Click through for more information and then submit your ideas for signs in the comments.