Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #631 - #PinkOut - We Stand with Planned Parenthood; We Fight Back

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #631 - #PinkOut - We Stand with Planned Parenthood; We Fight Back

Hi Mom,

You might think I write too much about comic books. It is one of my main subjects. I had a comic book review planned for today. Hey, in fact, it's already completely written and ready to post. This is a rare work ahead win for me. But it will still be fully written tomorrow. And as I was just saying the other day: material presents itself.

And tomorrow will not be National Pink Out Day.

But today is National Pink Out Day.

So today's post must be for #PinkOut.

We live near the Kalamazoo Planned Parenthood, so I am treated all the time to "anti-choice" people (I will not call them "Pro-Life" because being for choice does not make me "Anti-Life") pacing up and down in front of the building with their rosaries and signs and videos and leaflets.

I know someone (I won't say who but I know her well) who likes to honk as she drives by and flip them off.

I just donated $35 dollars to Planned Parenthood action.

Some good re-posts here.

I stand with Planned Parenthood. I always have.

#PinkOut.

FROM - 

https://www.bustle.com/p/what-is-the-pink-out-day-hashtag-planned-parenthoods-big-event-has-a-lot-of-social-media-steam-47576

What Is The Pink Out Day Hashtag? Planned Parenthood's Big Event Has A Lot Of Social Media Steam

ByKIERSTEN HICKMAN

14 hours ago

I'm sure it's been like any other day on social media — aimlessly scrolling, catching up on the latest with your friends, family, as well as your favorite businesses and media organizations. Until you come across some post with the hashtag #PinkOut, which of course, is a curious tag, one that you may be wondering the meaning of. Well, you're in the right place: #PinkOut is for Pink Out Day on Mar. 29, organized by Planned Parenthood.

Curious? I'm sure if you circle around the web you'll find that a ton of websites and social accounts are going pink on Wed., Mar. 29. Why? Because it means there is support behind Planned Parenthood, and resistance towards government "defunding" this iconic women's health center. Pink Out Day is supposed to be a visual representation of the 75 percent of Americans that support Planned Parenthood. If the entire Internet can turn pink in support of their health services, than it could send a message to Congress of how much Planned Parenthood is needed for patients throughout the country.

Now Pink Out Day doesn't just have to stay on the internet. Supporters of Planned Parenthood are encouraged to wear pink on Mar. 29, and to share selfies of themselves in their pink ensembles on all forms of social media. Using the #PinkOut hashtag is even better.

Are you one of the 75 percent ready to back them up? Well help in their efforts to #PinkOut the web with these few steps. First, you can share their message through Thunderclap and see the millions of other people doing the same during Pink Out Day. Next, add some pink to your profile picture on your social platforms. Third, use the hashtags #PinkOut and spread the word by saying #IStandWithPP. And lastly, sign the pledge to and let Congress know that you stand with the 75 percent.

FROM -

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-planned-parenthood-redux-20170328-story.html

Planned Parenthood supporters rally for women's access to reproductive health care at Los Angeles City Hall on Sept. 9, 2015. (Nick Ut / AP)

Editorial 

Note to Republicans: Drop the crusade against Planned Parenthood

by The Times Editorial Board

March 28, 2017 4:00 a.m.

Millions of Americans who rely on the Affordable Care Act for their insurance coverage dodged a bullet last week when Republican infighting killed a bill by the House GOP leadership to repeal and replace the healthcare law. So, thankfully, did Planned Parenthood. Embedded in the bill was a provision to bar federal funding temporarily for this well-regarded and crucial healthcare provider, which the GOP has tried, obsessively, to dismantle for years.

If only that were the end of it. Sadly, congressional Republicans may take another go at defunding Planned Parenthood in the omnibus spending bill (formally known as a “continuing resolution”) that must pass by April 28 to keep the government running.

So let’s remind legislators, again, how short-sighted and harmful it would be to single out Planned Parenthood, not in an effort to improve healthcare, but in an attempt to punish it for also providing legal and safe abortions — none of which are financed with federal dollars. (Congress routinely prohibits federal dollars from being spent on abortions.) And abortions comprise a tiny fraction of the services the organization’s clinics perform; Planned Parenthood estimates that abortions represent only 3% of the care provided by the organization.

About 2.5 million people — women and men — are seen annually at Planned Parenthood clinics. They come for breast examinations and cervical cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and infections, contraception and family planning, urinary tract infection treatments and other primary care services. Many of the clinics’ patients are lower-income, and almost all of the federal funding that Planned Parenthood receives is through health programs aimed at low-income Americans: Medicaid and Title X Family Planning grants.

Planned Parenthood clinics in California get nearly 1.5 million patient visits each year. To help pay for those services, the organization’s California branch received about $260 million in Medicaid reimbursements in the fiscal year ending in June 2016. Nationwide, the organization got about half a billion dollars in federal funding in the year ending in June 2015, the vast majority of it from Medicaid as reimbursements for services its clinics provided.

A February letter to lawmakers signed by nearly two dozen national associations of healthcare professionals and public health groups emphasized how essential Planned Parenthood clinics are to the network of healthcare providers in the country: “More than 50% of Planned Parenthood health centers are in areas with health professional shortages, rural or medically underserved areas,” the letter states. “Policies that would exclude Planned Parenthood from public health funding would hurt millions of patients and undermine health care access in communities across the country.”

Nor is the public crying out for Congress to freeze out Planned Parenthood. In fact, recent polls suggest that most voters support the organization and want its funding to continue. A Quinnipiac University poll conducted this month showed that 61% of registered voters opposed cutting federal aid for Planned Parenthood. (The number went up to 80% when it was explained that federal funding for the provider cannot be used for abortions.) According to Planned Parenthood officials, supporters made more than 122,000 phone calls to members of Congress over the last several months and organized more than 1,000 events across the country to demonstrate their support.

Finally, the effort to penalize Planned Parenthood through the continuing resolution seems sure to trigger another dysfunctional Washington meltdown that could hurt Republicans politically. Senate Democrats won’t abide a move to defund Planned Parenthood any more than they did the House GOP’s efforts to “defund Obamacare” in 2013. If the House GOP insists on including Planned Parenthood in the resolution, the near-certain result is another standoff that shuts down non-essential government services, to the detriment of the party that picks the fight. That’s you, Republicans.

The test for House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is whether he can lead strong-willed members away from this trap, or if he’ll be led by them straight into it. One might say it’s a test for President Trump as well, but it’s hard to tell where he is on the issue. Over the weekend he blasted the intransigent Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus for having “saved” Planned Parenthood and Obamacare by withholding support from the leadership’s repeal-and-replace bill. But on Monday his spokesman wouldn’t say whether Trump wanted to take another crack at Planned Parenthood in the continuing resolution.

If he’s as savvy as he claims to be, he’d recognize a doomed mission when he sees it. Republicans should do the right thing and stop their crusade against Planned Parenthood. In the end, there is no political, economic, or public health gain to continuing it.

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 633 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1703.29 - 10:10 (my time)