New Poems coming out in Electric Velocipede!

The new issue of Electric Velocipede will be coming out soon! You can check it out here. It's a great magazine to subscribe to and not only because I have two poems coming out in it!

Or, if you need to buy some advertising space, try advertising in this issue. Check out their rates here.

Cafe Press Shop Open

Okay, not sure I did it right, but I have three shops because I want it all for free and I’m willing to put up with a little inconvenience for free. So, if you’re interested, take a gander at my three shops:

• Putt Putt Productions Shop
• Putt Putt Productions Shop Two
• Putt Putt Productions Shop Three
• Putt Putt Productions Shop Four
  

Let me know what you think.

I may do another one or more for other designs and photographs I have, but I need to work those out first.

Blocking Care to Women

The deadline for the comment period is September 25, so figure out who your reps are and write them! Go to Senate.gov to find your senators and House.gov to find your state representative, and Whitehouse.gov to write the president and vice president. Also, go here to comment. You can see the docket number and they’ll give you instructions on how best to do it: http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail&o=09000064806da3bc

Do it. What are you waiting for!?!? DO IT NOW!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/opinion/19clinton.html?ei=5070

September 19, 2008

Op-Ed Contributor

Blocking Care for Women

By HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON and CECILE RICHARDS

LAST month, the Bush administration launched the latest salvo in its eight-year campaign to undermine women’s rights and women’s health by placing ideology ahead of science: a proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services that would govern family planning. It would require that any health care entity that receives federal financing — whether it’s a physician in private practice, a hospital or a state government — certify in writing that none of its employees are required to assist in any way with medical services they find objectionable.Laws that have been on the books for some 30 years already allow doctors to refuse to perform abortions. The new rule would go further, ensuring that all employees and volunteers for health care entities can refuse to aid in providing any treatment they object to, which could include not only abortion and sterilization but also contraception.Health and Human Services estimates that the rule, which would affect nearly 600,000 hospitals, clinics and other health care providers, would cost $44.5 million a year to administer. Astonishingly, the department does not even address the real cost to patients who might be refused access to these critical services. Women patients, who look to their health care providers as an unbiased source of medical information, might not even know they were being deprived of advice about their options or denied access to care.

The definition of abortion in the proposed rule is left open to interpretation. An earlier draft included a medically inaccurate definition that included commonly prescribed forms of contraception like birth control pills, IUD’s and emergency contraception. That language has been removed, but because the current version includes no definition at all, individual health care providers could decide on their own that birth control is the same as abortion.

The rule would also allow providers to refuse to participate in unspecified “other medical procedures” that contradict their religious beliefs or moral convictions. This, too, could be interpreted as a free pass to deny access to contraception.

Many circumstances unrelated to reproductive health could also fall under the umbrella of “other medical procedures.” Could physicians object to helping patients whose sexual orientation they find objectionable? Could a receptionist refuse to book an appointment for an H.I.V. test? What about an emergency room doctor who wishes to deny emergency contraception to a rape victim? Or a pharmacist who prefers not to refill a birth control prescription?

The Bush administration argues that the rule is designed to protect a provider’s conscience. But where are the protections for patients?

The 30-day comment period on the proposed rule runs until Sept. 25. Everyone who believes that women should have full access to medical care should make their voices heard. Basic, quality care for millions of women is at stake.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is a Democratic senator from New York. Cecile Richards is the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Announcing.....

The debut of Peanut Albinos' first CD, Falling from the Saddle of a High Horse. You can get the CD at CDBaby.com or the MP3 download from Amazon.

If you wanna take a listen and sample some of their tunes, go over to their MySpace page.

Pretty, Sparkly Jewels!

A friend of mine over at Good Karma Reviews has gotten into jewelry making. She has some samples up ready to ship to you as soon as you buy them! Check it out.

Chocolate! Cupcakes! More Chocolate!

The September Issue of Chocolate Zoom is out. Drop by and check it out. It’s full of lovely tastings, such as Chocolate and the Printed Word or Bestsellers That Oughta Be Dipped in Chocolate. Then there’s chocolate as regards to your decorating choices, and chocolate that is healthy for you. If you want to learn about some innovative ways that chocolate is being used in cooking, checkout Hotel Chocolat. And if you want to know about the current craze overtaking the country grab your umbrella cuz It’s Raining Cupcakes!

I want to publically thank Jim (and Lyle) for aiding me in my hunt for cupcakes and taking pictures!

Cross posted all over....