FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  Earier this week I read that the Komen Foundation changed their policy for financial support of breast and cervical exams with Planned Parenthood shortly after they hired Karen Handel as their VP. She is actively anti-choice and has run for Governor of Georgia on the platform that she would remove state grants from PP and  any organization which counsels abortion. 

The newly adopted "cut off criteria" based on Federal investigations is just a way around the fact that this is a personal position made political by their newly hired VP.

As Mary Elizabeth Williams, writer for Salon.com puts it:  If you were one of the world’s biggest charities and were looking to hire someone who had women’s welfare as her greatest imperative, would you go for someone who’d send them to a place that offers breast cancer screenings – as well as ovarian cancer screenings and HPV tests? Or someone who prefers a bunch of right-to-life fanatics pretending to be a medical facility? If you picked the former, you’re smarter than Komen for the Cure.

 The Komen Foundation has now back pedaled in response to the outpouring of support for PP.  On the other hand, they claim that donations to the Komen Foundation have risen 100%.  There seems to be no end of supporters who (1.) believe the mis-information about the funding and mission of PP and (2.) A whole lot of people out there who wants us all to be stripped of our reproductive rights.

I think all those people thinking about doing their events and making donations in the future should think twice.

2.)  While my husband is glued to each Republican debate, I am at work and barely pay attention to the recaps.  I just get so irritated and I am saving the blood pressure challenge for the real campaign.

However, I can't help but comment on these discussions about the "poor."  Newt and Mitt blame our economic woes on the use of food stamps and unemployment insurance. They have it backwards according to common sense and Robert Reich:  The reason for the rise in food stamps, unemployment insurance and other safety-net programs is Americans got clobbered in 2008 with the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression. They and their families have needed whatever helping hands they could get.



The number and percentage of Americans in poverty has increased dramatically over the past three years. According to a study by Northeastern University, a third of families with young children are now in poverty.

Only 40 percent of the unemployed qualify for unemployment benefits because they weren’t working full time or long enough on a single job before they were canned. The unemployment system doesn’t take account of the fact that a large portion of the workforce typically works part time on several jobs, and moves from job to job.

 The "safety net" of food stamps, workers compensation, subsidized housing and social Security benefits has helped some of these families stay off the streets, no accounting for all those who have fallen off the "grid" all together.

3.) Once the SF 49ers lost their chance for the Super Bowl we lost interest in watching.  I have barely watched in years, actually, I admit that if there isn't a west coast team involved, I don't have any interest in the game.  The commercials, however are another thing.  Since the big budget ads started running, they have been a big part of the entertainment.  The half-time shows, not so much.  And this year - yuck.  I am not a Madonna fan.  At. All.

So what about missing the commercials?  Well, I need not worry.  some of the commercials are already on the internet!   Problem solved.  Sometimes I just love the over saturation of our media...