freeThinkBham

There are two ways you can help defend women’s rights and health. First, head over to the Planned Parenthood site to sign the petition disapproving of the Stupak amendment to the House health care bill. For those unfamiliar with the Stupak amendment, it’s a “dangerous piece of legislation that would ban abortion from private and public insurance plans for millions of American women.” We need to let the Senate know that we won’t stand for this as part of the Senate’s health care bill.

The second thing you can do is show up at the health clinic on the corner of 10th Ave S. and 17th St. (across from Al’s) at 8am on Saturday morning to assist as a clinic escort or just stand up to the red tapers and other anti-choice fundies that are sure to be out there in full force. The potential clients of the clinic shouldn’t have to be harassed to exercise their civil liberties. Show up to help support and defend these women!

admin Living abortion, activism, civil rights, pro-choice

On Saturday, I saw protestors in front of the New Woman All Women Health Care Clinic. These weren’t the kind of protestors that show big pictures of bloody blobs of cells, these were the kind that put red tape over their mouths that say “LIFE” and they just stand there and pray. I understand that these people aren’t necessarily right-denying bigots, they just happen to think life starts at conception (but not your birthday, I guess). However, I believe that–on top of being a little self-glorifying and well, annoying–as a protest, this style is very ineffective and is actually wasting the time of the protestors.

A good protest would portray a threat of power to actually change the system. These red tape prayers are not doing anything that could actually change the system that allows abortions to happen. They definitely aren’t offering an alternative to what to do with all unintended/unwanted pregnancies (Are they planning a magical giant orphanage colony in Australia?). I suppose at best, they could cause a little anxiety in people walking into the clinic, but they can’t even do that with efficacy because… well, their mouths are taped! So if they’re not doing anything to actually stop the system of abortion, and they’re not doing much to stop a particular abortion at that clinic, why are they spending their Saturdays with tape on their mouths? Apparently, the whole point of these “protests” is to just get in proximity of something they don’t agree with and pray that God will make it vanish from the earth. This would be like me standing in front of a particular McDonald’s chain with a sign that says “Don’t eat meat” and sending positive energy into the Universe hoping that the national franchise will suddenly stop serving meat. It’s just not going to work.

If the “tapers” truly believe that just prayer will achieve their goals, these people need to get a clue and pray on their own time and start doing something more constructive with their Saturdays. Abortions wouldn’t be needed if everyone had a good supply of birth control; why don’t they spend all afternoon handing out condoms? Oh, or I have another idea: if they’re so concerned with the “lives” of children, why don’t they go care for and help nurture a baby that WAS born, perhaps even an unintended child, who’s living a miserable life because the mother didn’t know how to take care of a baby and had one anyway… you know, the exact scenario that their protests are encouraging.

admin Living abortion, anti-choice, civil rights, LIFE, pro-choice, religion, women's health

UAB Ranks #3 in the Nation for Student Diversity in Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges” | UAB News

Civil rights pioneer Benjamin Hooks preaches in Birmingham, Alabama | Birmingham News

Who’s Running for City Council Elections on Aug 25th? | Bham Terminal

God Bless America Tags to Stay Around Longer | NBC13

Things Aren’t Looking Good for the Bham Public Transit System | Bham News

Birmingham-born poet Sonia Sanchez, featured in a national exhibition, sees civil rights progress | Birmingham News

Birmingham, AL is America’s #19 Most Liberal City, Study Suggests | GovPro

Birmingham awarded $9.8 million in HUD grants | Birmingham News

Legalizing Marijuana Would Bring In $130 Million in AL Tax Revenue | Loretta Nall

State Democrats back border plan | Birmingham News

40% of AL Students Drop Out Before Finishing High School | Artur Davis

Abortion rights group report says Alabama too restrictive | Birmingham News

Need to Sell More Wine? Get it Banned in Bama | MSNBC

Alabama leads nation in life sentences for felons, black youths | Birmingham News

admin General abortion, Artur Davis, civil rights, education, marijuana, public transit, UAB

***UPDATE*** (Nov 20th, 2009)
Artur Davis, after first voting for the Stupak amendment to the House health care bill, which restricts women’s reproductive rights (read what to do about it here), voted against the health care bill altogether. That’s just blatant disregard for the people of Alabama who voted him into the House of Representatives as a Democrat. I’m all for having him as our Governor and I know he’s probably just doing all this to get elected in Alabama, but how much is he going to have to change, and is it even worth it?

Rep. Artur Davis, gubernatorial candidate for Alabama, recently voted “No” on the Matthew Shepard Act which would expand the hate-crimes law to include crimes committed because of someone’s perceived gender or sexual orientation. Here’s what he had to say about his vote…

Two years ago, I voted for federal hate crimes legislation. Since casting that vote, a number of my constituents have made it very clear to me that they disagreed with this vote, and I have tried to weigh their arguments carefully.

Some of the objections have been based on distortions of what this bill actually does. Other objections have reflected nothing more than animosity toward some of the groups who would be covered. Candidly, I have not given a lot of weight to arguments based on groundless claims or fears. But as I have thought more deeply about this issue, there is an argument from my constituents that I have not been able to answer.

Some of my constituents ask why our federal laws should pick out some Americans for more protections than others. Some wonder why, in a culture that rejects violence against any human being, we should say that an attack on a black, or a woman, or a gay individual should be punished more severely than an attack on someone who happens to be a senior citizen, or a soldier, or a teacher. Others ask why some motives based on certain ideas should be punished by our criminal laws more aggressively than others.

The people raising these issues are in my opinion not bigoted people. They are Americans who are advancing fundamental questions about just what equal protection under the law should mean. After a lot of reflection, I have decided that I do not have good answers as to why our laws should not protect all of our people with the same force, and for that reason, I have changed my vote to a “no” on the federal hate crimes bill.

I think it’s obvious why all his constituents don’t support this act. We’re from a state where people take the Old Testament Bible a little too seriously, and use it to mask and fuel their bigotry. It’s sad that Davis is having to appease these irrational people with this vote but that doesn’t, however, excuse it.

This bill isn’t to give special treatment to people who are LGBT, it’s to make it more obvious that it is completely not acceptable to victimize them just as the original hate-crimes law came at a time when people needed reinforcement about how they should treat black people. If there wasn’t violent crime happening against gay people, there would be no need for this bill. Artur Davis should be EXPLAINING that to his constituents rather than appeasing them. Sanity is not statistical, and he shouldn’t have to vote for something wrong just because a majority of constituents think it’s right. However, if he actually, as he claims, doesn’t believe that gay people should be included in this law, then he is wrong and I really don’t know if I could vote for him.

admin Politics Artur Davis, civil rights, legislation, LGBT, religion

Christian churches were the main proponents of Dubya’s regime of war and planet-trashing. They’re also the main opponents of certain rights for people who are LGBT, immigrants, and women. And now, in Alabama, their mission is to stop gambling. Why do these churches–claiming to be centers of spirituality–think they are the final word on what is right and wrong?

Spirituality can obviously be attained anywhere. The other day while mountain biking, I was so focused on pedaling and steering and changing gears that my lower mind just tranced out and I started connecting to and “feeling” higher truths. It’s not that I was thinking any great thoughts, but I became solely focused and completely involved in very clear thoughts. These moments of tranced-out connection can happen to everyone at any time so I know you know what I’m talking about. To give these times of truth-connection a culturally pertinent name, I’ll call them “god moments.” A great song, sewing, an Obama speech, jogging, and yes, even church can give you these god moments.

Only in the church, however, are these god moments then linked to a moral system of right and wrong. I would argue that, conversely, more spirituality (which leads you away from your own ego and outside your small world) should lead to less absolute morality as you start getting a more mean (i.e. averaged, not hostile) view of existence as a whole. And i think this is where the church is failing the world, and themselves.

Everyone knows the Ethics 101 scenarios of shooting one man to save someone else from shooting 2 men that flip our morality on its head. And then there’s the people who oppose abortion but eat the meat of animals that have actually lived on this planet, or the vegetarian who eats plants that, you’ll agree if you’ve seen a venus fly trap, show arguably more consciousness than a human fetus, and so on and so on. Throughout the course of time, humans views of right and wrong have molded to help further our species and will continue to do so. Religion shoots itself in the foot by acting like its spirituality gives it the stronghold on absolute morality at that current time, only to have to go back every so often and admit that they were wrong then but NOW they have it right (e.g. slavery, the Inquisition, punishing sons for the crimes of the father, and women’s role in society). How long can this go on without people just completely giving up on it? They’ll soon find they can get their god moments anywhere and won’t need the church anymore.

All the church needs to do is accept that they have a successful and popular means for people to tap into the power of truth and forget all about trying to play the role of the moral superior. So by all means, sing and pray while we ALL weave our way through the labyrinth of right and wrong, and perhaps I’ll watch a Herzog film, go to a Hold Steady show… or just ride my bike.

admin Living civil rights, gambling, legislation, LGBT, religion

Two guys have loaded up their bikes (quite heavily, as you can see above) and are riding from Atlanta, Ga to Mexico. Recently, they passed through Birmingham and saw a few of the sites like Vulcan, Bottletree, Rocky’s Pizza and the 16th St. Baptist Church where bombings occurred during the Civil Rights Movement.

You can follow their adventures at their blog BadicalIndustries. Here’s an excerpt from their visit:

We dropped off Samuel and Naika and headed to 16th street and 4th avenue. 5 barbershops were all lined up next to one another. A lot of competition for a trim. Some of the barbers hanging outside were pestering me for a trim. “Boy, you’re due for a trim.” I had just gotten a haircut before I left. I struggled internally about cost vs. experience. My frugality won and I kept walking.

admin Living bikes, civil rights

Lilly Ledbetter, a true hero of the people over corporations movement, with President Obama when he signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

The Over the Mountain Democrats are hosting an event at Samford University in Reid Chapel that will feature a conversation with Lilly Ledbetter, who singlehandedly led a ten year fight on equal pay for equal work, and Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, the only Democrat in our statewide appellate courts. It’s Thursday, March 26th at 6:15pm.

As always, more info on this and other events this week on the freeThinkBham Event Finder, including
-An Evening of West African Drumming at the Library
-Conversation with video-art pioneer Mary Lucier
-Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement
-Conversation with the authors of the EatingAlabama.org blog
-Spring Bicycle Cleaning with Bici Coop (see below)

admin Business, Events, Living, Politics activism, bici coop, bikes, civil rights, gardening, Ledbetter, Obama

my brother telephoned me in Atlanta from Birmingham — that city which some call “Bombingham” — which I had just left. He told me that a bomb had wrecked his home, and that another bomb, positioned to exert its maximum force upon the motel room in which I had been staying, had injured several people. My brother described the terror in the streets as Negroes, furious at the bombings, fought whites. Then, behind his voice, I heard a rising chorus of beautiful singing: “We shall overcome.” Tears came into my eyes that at such a tragic moment, my race still could sing its hope and faith.

-Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘65

Read the whole interview

admin Politics civil rights, MLK

This weekend is the 44th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, when civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police. Selma will be having huge events all weekend featuring speakers like Attorney General Eric Holden, Reverend Al Sharpton and Reverend Jeremiah Wright and performances by T.I. among others.

Since there’s so much talk about civil rights this weekend, I thought I would post this great report and photo collection by the Birmingham News about them finding an archive of photos from the Bham civil rights movement that had never been published. Check it out: Unseen. Unforgotten.

admin Politics civil rights