Enough! Stop it! Stop the bitching. Instead, take action!

[wackadoo wabbit]

Listen, I'm as unhappy as all of you regarding tonight's Texas abortion decision. (And, believe me, deciding not to stay this law was indeed a decision.)

But I've been seeing posts saying, Oh, if only we won the 2016 election. Jill Stein and her followers are scum. Susan Sarandon is horrible. Etc., etc. These posts have been going on for a while; it's not just tonight.

I get it. It's easier to feel anger than it is to feel grief and/or powerlessness.

But sorry, this sort of thinking changes nothing.

Hey, if Al Gore became president in 2000 (I do believe he actually won), imagine how different things would be today.

If Jimmy Carter hadn't had his second presidential term stolen out from under him by Reagan's deal with Iran, what sorts of wonderful things might he have been able to do.

If Bobby Kennedy hadn't been assassinated and had won the 1968 election, what sorts of great things might have happened.

Hell, as long as we're doing this, if only the founders had put equal rights for women and people of color (and banned slavery, of course) in the original Constitution, just imagine what things would be like.

How far back do you want to go? And what good does any of it do?

We need to be clear-eyed enough to see the situation as it is now! And to take action as we can.

Here are some things that you can do today:


— First, make sure that every woman in Texas is aware of the AidAccess website: aidaccess.org/

AidAccess.org offers low-cost abortion pills by mail that are sent in anonymous packaging.

So post info about AidAccess.org on all of your social media. Tell friends who live in Texas. Tell friends who know women who live in Texas. Just get the word out.

Support AidAccess too, if you can: aidaccess.org/en/page/301373/support-aid-access

Honestly, they're doing righteous work.


— Join and donate to Planned Parenthood: www.plannedparenthood.org/

This should go without saying.


— Join and donate to the ACLU: www.aclu.org


'Nuff said.


— Join and donate to NARAL (the National Abortion Rights Action League): www.prochoiceamerica.org

More 'nuff said.


— If you live in a state that borders Texas (or even one far away), consider becoming an Auntie: old.reddit.com/r/auntienetwork/

Aunties help women who want to obtain abortions in a number of ways: you could drive a woman to an abortion clinic in your state, you could accompany one for moral support, you could let one use your mailing address for AidAccess pills if they don't have an address, etc.

If mailing medical abortion pills becomes illegal in Texas — and there's absolutely no reason to think that it won't; see Texas SB 4 — you could volunteer to have the pills sent to your house, where you'd repackage them and then send them on to the Texas woman.


Donate to Fund Texas Choice: fundtexaschoice.org

They fund and provide travel assistance for Texas women who want to obtain an abortion, even — and now, especially — if it's out of state.

I learned about this group by watching Rachel's show tonight. She also had on a woman from the only extant abortion clinic in the ? valley of Texas. I didn't catch the name when I watched the show, and I forgot to watch it the second time it aired. If anyone remembers the name of this clinic, please let me know so I can add it to this list.


— Donate to the abortion fund of your choice at the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/funds/

There are currently 10 funds listed in Texas. To be honest, I'm not sure what they're going to do after tonight's decision, but you could always contact them to find out.


— Finally, and equally important, what did you do today to ensure that the For the People Act passes in the Senate?

As long as states can restrict voting, Republican-controlled states will continue to restrict women's access to safe, legal abortion, too. So what did you do today? Did you call both of your senators? If not, why not?

How about yesterday? How about tomorrow? Have you asked your friends and relatives to call, too?

Both senators need to be called daily until this bloody bill gets passed. Do what you can to ensure that it happens.


There are many more actions that we can take to help women in Texas, and to ultimately help all of us. I know there are many, many things that I've left off of this list. I'd love it if people could post more actions that we could take.

Our actions matter!



edited to add additional information

[left-of-center2012]

1. I am sure venting helped get that off your chest n/t

[wackadoo wabbit]

2. I wasn't doing it to vent. I was doing it to get people to stop complaining and to take action

Did you call both of your senators yesterday (since it's after midnight) about the For the People Act? Will you call them today?

With all due respect, if you've got time to post on DU, you've got time to call.

[left-of-center2012]

4. With all due respect ...

To be honest I got lost in your original post after a couple paragraphs.
But I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.

With all due respect.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. When people say "with all due respect" they usually mean they have no respect but can't

... but won't say it, even though it is usually obvious. Especially when they repeat it. It's very disingenuous, a kind of false front designed to look false.

If instead you actually do have more than zero respect, it is probably better to use some truly respectful phraseology.

There was no difficulty reading the OP's post. With very short paragraphs, saying you got lost in the first couple may indicate that the reading difficulty is not the fault of the writer. The writer wrote clearly, with a well-developed sequence, grammatically and with good spelling.

Look to yourself.

[ms liberty]

19. This. n/t

[left-of-center2012]

20. Thanks for starting my day off with a laugh !

Psst !
Placing you on 'Ignore' - With all due respect.

[lagomorph777]

25. WTF?

Your post is wrong and offensive.

The OP is 100% about describing positive, useful, do-able steps that people can take.

[Hekate]

3. Thank you, actually. I didn't know about AidAccess.org, for one thing...

This Texas law and the others that are coming are worse than any we’ve ever seen. Some will be tempted to call them medieval, but for most of history women’s health was handled by midwives, and in Colonial times there were even discreet newspaper advertisements offering to help women who were having irregular or retarded menses, wink wink. If it happened in the first trimester is was no man’s business.

I felt rage, and now it’s just devastating grief. I’ve been a Planned Parenthood supporter for over 50 years. What now?!

Well, you are the first I’ve seen with a plan — in fact several plans. Okay. We go forward from here. One foot in front of the other.

[slightlv]

15. I didn't know about the AidAccess.org, either

Hubby and I got our rage out earlier. I'm still raging and grieving at the same time; can't sleep I'm so upset. For all intents and purposes, we're all living in a Christian country now... period. What happened to OUR sincerely held religious beliefs? I never thought I'd align with the Satanic Temple, but I've even been in contact with them and their lawsuits.

I plan on adding these urls to my website, in my health and herbal section. Fits right in there, since I cover midwives, as well. When the hospitals nearly all got gobbled up by churches, and most of them Catholic, that was a big concern to me then. When I saw we were having mostly conservative Catholics in the mold of the last pope, I saw the handwriting on the wall. I'm so out of the closet there's no going back in. I'm the proverbial old crone! But I will help anyone who asks for it in anyway I can. I have canes and several different staffs (staves?)... and not afraid to use them!

[Raine]

5. Thanks ... on point and worthy sites. 👍 nt

[Demovictory9]

6. kick

[BadgerMom]

8. K & R

Thank you. Will donate and, as a New Mexican, look into the aunties program.

Bookmarked.

[Lonestarblue]

9. Texas is already poised to pass another anti-abortion law.

“Senate Bill 4, which was advanced by the Texas House on Monday evening, would bar access to abortion-inducing pills to patients who are more than seven weeks pregnant.”

“This one, SB 4, will also ban abortion-inducing pills from being mailed in Texas. The Biden administration, last April, temporarily allowed the medication to be mailed due to the coronavirus when in-person doctor visits were not always possible or advised.”


https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/30/texas-abortion-inducing-pill-texas/


The medical abortion is a safe method so of course the Texas Taliban is making it practically impossible to get.

[wackadoo wabbit]

36. I didn't know about this. My god, they're really closing all the doors!

I read the article (I appreciate your including the link!). Since the pills can't be mailed in Texas, does that mean that they can be mailed from out of state?

I don't know where AidAccess is located; for obvious reasons, I believe they're keeping that information private.

But this points up to the importance of becoming an Auntie. A Texas woman could purchase pills for a medical abortion from AidAccess and have them sent to an Auntie. Then that Auntie could repackage the pills and send them to the woman in Texas. The only hitch here is that, if I understand correctly, the pills need to be taken by 10 weeks (although I've seen 12 weeks referenced); and DeJoy's slowdown of the USPS might be a problem.

Thank you for telling us all!

[Duppers]

10. K & R

Great post!

Donating.

[Ziggysmom]

11. Thank you, I told my daughter about AidAccess.org, & she will tell all her friends.

It's sad that the American Taliban, aka, repug, war on women's health will only mean more mouths to feed and families stuck in the low income bracket.
Of course these poor, disadvantaged children will not be capable of competing with more developed countries, so it's off to third world, shithole status for Texas, and America.

[betsuni]

12. No. I lost a lot of friends because of anti-Democratic propaganda.

They were convinced by people they trusted as morally "authentic" "consistent" "inspiring" that Democrats were evil and corrupt because they were bribed,"ideologically bankrupt," the true roadblock to progress, that Republican voters were innocent victims of economic insecurity (90s trade deals, not the real cause, automation and that manufacturing jobs and union membership had been decreasing for decades) and Democrats ignoring them.

They were trained to boo loudest at the words "Democratic establishment." Not Republicans. Democrats were the enemy. Will not forgive the personal insults and harassment for supporting Democrats, being told it was all about policy when it had nothing to do with policy and was all about lies about character. Hypocrisy and lies. And for what? Convincing people not to vote for Democrats because they're evil? Why? "How we voted not as important as that we voted. Head & heart at odds for many": what the fuck does that mean? I'm going to be bitchy about this forever. Absolutely pointless and stupid.

[brer cat]

21. +++ nt

[wackadoo wabbit]

37. Alright, you're angry. Now transmute that anger into action!

If you feel that those friends brought us to this state, let your personal actions change things so that your friends won't have "won."

Don't rely on what your friends did or did not do. Take actions yourself to create the world that you were hoping your friends would help create.

Did you call both of your senators today to insist that they help pass the For the People Act? Will you do it tomorrow? And the day after that?

[Demsrule86]

58. Tell me what fucking good it does to call a Republican Senator?

This is happening in Texas although it will spread. And there is really not much we can do except try to prepare for a strong showong in the midterms.

[betsuni]

61. I don't live in the U.S.

I'm old and have one foot in the grave. Not my fight anymore. Don't tell me what to do.

[Nixie]

64. Exactly! A couple things mentioned in that list are NOT

like any of the others, and they know it. Trying to gloss over the failed revolution with generalizations about the past is disingenuous at best.

[Mike Niendorff]

13. AMEN.

Enough promotion of infighting.

It's time to get to work. Nothing else.


MDN

[wackadoo wabbit]

38. Yes, thank you! /nt

[wackadoo wabbit]

41. Excellent point, and I'm sure you're right. So become an Auntie . . .

and have the pills delivered to your house, then repackage them and forward them to the woman in Texas.

People buy stuff from places like eBay all the time; the repackaged pills could just as easily be a tchotchke from eBay as anything else.

My only concern about this, which I mentioned upthread, is that the pills need to be taken by 10 weeks (although I've seen 12 weeks referenced), and DeJoy's slowdown of the USPS might cause a delay. I don't know what the solution here is.

[wnylib]

16. Good post. Thank you.

Complaints are good for expressing anger at injustice. But then the anger is best if morphed into a catalyst for action.

[wackadoo wabbit]

42. Exactly!

Being angry without transmuting it into action accomplishes exactly nothing.

[certainot]

17. civilized americans need offense. in texas 5 major universities support 16 xlimbaugh stations by

broadcasting sports on them - and probably a lot more schools and rw stations in texas are doing same - TEXAS 16 Texas A&M 9, Texas Tech 4, Texas 1, Texas Christian 1, Baylor 1

students pissed off at this can blame their own schools for supporting stations that
- elect republicans
- put unqualified supremes on the court
- have attacked roe v wade for 30 years
- deny global warming and covid
- sell voter suppression legislation
- push to defund public ed and stop student loan reform
-excuse racism and attack kneeling athletes
- and so on

how fucking stupid is it that we let these universities do this shit without complaint - when one school merely announces it will look for apolitical alternatives advertisers will head for the hills, and other schools will follow.

[wackadoo wabbit]

43. Is there a way to put pressure on these schools?

This is, unfortunately, not something I have any familiarity with whatsoever.

[certainot]

53. i know that the university of colorado got pressure from student groups and

at a few protests for related issues, handing out leaflets, letters in papers, and visits to joe neguse staff, etc for years and one day in sept 2019 i think? the main limbaugh station in colorado for 25 or 30 yrs, 850 KOA, which had been migrating to sports over the last decade, decided to demote limbaugh to a lesser station.

i don't know if the uni told the station it might have to move and koa decided it didnt want the broncos and rockies athletes who's games they depended on, to get wind that CU was going to expose that they were supporting the main racist dumbshit trashing kneeling athletes the last 3 years.

that is the dynamic that can happen all over the country, whether it's global warming, racism, voter suppression, abortion

[slightlv]

18. Go old school!

I still say we need widespread Lysistrata! Cut the men out completely. Right now, all that testosterone is more trouble than it's worth, IMNSHO.

[panader0]

22. The Texas legislature is 142 male, 38 female.

https://lrl.texas.gov/legeLeaders/members/memberStatistics.cfm

[wackadoo wabbit]

44. That explains a lot (not to say that there aren't conservative women and liberal men,...

of course, just that they aren't nearly as prevalent as conservative men and liberal women).

[madaboutharry]

23. Bobby Kennedy ran for President in 1968.

[wackadoo wabbit]

45. Oh shit, you're right!

I wrote that post last night on 4 hours of sleep and after having driven for another 4 hours. It occurred to me before I hit "Post" to doublecheck that, and, obviously, I did not. Thanks for the correction!

[LizBeth]

24. Others are pointing the finger on 2016 little p progressives that did not give a shit about the SC?

I only begun not having been online last night and no, I won't stop it. To the day I die, 2016 little p progressives will still not have given a shit about the SC, and women/girls will suffer hence forth.

[Texaswitchy]

29. It does go back to 2016

No Trump.

No crazy crap now.

Voting matters.

I still.pissed off.

I am to old to need a abortion.

My Granddaughters might.

2016 was a very important election.

The future of the country was depending on it.

[LizBeth]

32. I rantedravedscreamedexplainedpleadedbeggedreasoned, ... for not. They did not care. So much so,

they totally ignored any mention of SC.

I also had a niece that we had to hunt and search and learn laws from Tx, Co, Nm to find her a place she could go because an abusive man purposely cut a condom to get her preg to ensure control over her for the next two decades and putting her two little ones at risk too, but wtf, right? Just women and girls live. Not nearly as big a deal as an ego.

[Texaswitchy]

33. Yes.

The future of the country was on the line.

I got into fights with people.

[wackadoo wabbit]

47. OK, I understand that you're angry. But what are you doing to do with that anger?

Time, as we understand it, is linear. You can't go back in time and convince them now to change their votes.

So what are you doing to create the world you want today?

Did you call both of your senators today to insist that they help pass the For the People Act? Will you do it tomorrow? And the day after that?

Anger that's not transmuted into action is worthless and will just screw up your health.

[Texaswitchy]

56. To little late to late.

All that work years ago to win to have legal abortion for what.

I did my share and then some over the years.

Just for some selfish people could sit out a election or vote for third party because Hillary was not pure enough.

Women and girls will die now.

Elections matter.

I have a 12 year old granddaughter.

What do I tell her.


Sorry kid your future will be controlled by some right wing nut cases.

What do I tell her.

Birth control is next.

I way beyond angry.

Their Mom can move to another country and I think it is time.

The kids bio Grandmother was born in Canada, she had dwell citizenship.

It is time for the move.

I will miss the kids but they will be safe.

[wackadoo wabbit]

55. And the future of the country is depending on what you do now

Forget the past. We can't change it. But you can choose what you do going forward. Transmute your anger into action.

Did you call both of your senators today to insist that they help pass the For the People Act? Will you do it tomorrow? And the day after that?

Every action you take, or choose not to take, impacts the future. So, to all of us, choose wisely.

[Demsrule86]

62. The future of the country depended on the 2016 election as I told people over and over

at the time. Now a woman`s rights ... all of them are on life support. This is going to be so hard and it will likely take years with a 6-3 court. And unless Breyer retires, we could end up with a 7-2 court.

My Mother as a young woman fought for birth control and abortion rights Birth control was illegal in Connecticut before I was born as was abortion. She had 4 kids in less than 4 years. My older sister knew several girls who died from botched abortions. We will begin the hard fight to win our rights once more. It will likely take years. And I personally will never forgive those who caused this.

[wackadoo wabbit]

46. OK, you're angry. What are you going to do with that anger?

Sitting and stewing will only give you an ulcer, a lowered immune response, and/or diminished brain function.

Take actions yourself to create the world that you were hoping that "little p progressives" would help create. Don't rely on what they did or did not do.

Did you call both of your senators today to insist that they help pass the For the People Act? Will you do it tomorrow? And the day after that?

I don't mean to be harsh — and this doesn't apply just to you, but to all of us — but starting from this point forward, women/girls will suffer unless you take action.

[LizBeth]

66. I have been fighting and advocating women/girls rights for 4 decades. And longer. How condescending.

I have put my life aside fighting for women/girls and your little post following along telling me to put my anger aside and what did I do and did I call my senators with you knowing nothing, dismissing my point.

Off your post, .... What I DID.... was spend a year talking to every little p progressive out of hurt feelings and ego refusing to vote HRC, explaingingpleadingbeggingeducatinginsistingdemandingreasoning for not a ONE to care about the SC.

There is an example of what I DO!

Kinda just slid right by you so you could dismiss then insist I not hold egos responsible for the damage and pain and injustice handed out to our women and girls.

I fought for four decades and I will continue to fight to the day I die, but 2016 little p's own this and I and many other women and girls whose lives will be in torment now will not forget.

Lecturing me.....

[Demsrule86]

59. Just like with Gore and Bush's endless wars that came because of the Greens.

[Texaswitchy]

26. Birth control is next.

They want more white babies.

[wackadoo wabbit]

48. I absolutely believe this. Some have even said this part out loud

We're in for some scary, scary times.

[Texaswitchy]

49. Like in Nazi Germany.

Birth control was illegal.

Hitler wanted a lot of white babies.

[BannonsLiver]

28. Wait a second!

Is the implication that actual work is required rather than just landing a bunch of zingers on Twitter? That zingers aren’t in themselves an actual strategy? Who woulda thunk it!

[wackadoo wabbit]

51. I know, right?!

Forget Twitter; look at here. The top Greatest Post earlier today was a picture of Tom Hanks's T-shirt. Right now it's some tweet from Neil deGrasse Tyson that will "make my day."

Alas, sometimes I despair. But your post gave me not just a chuckle but a downright laugh, and I thank you!

[Demsrule86]

60. Right, we can fix this with hard work...what will work with a 6-2 court?

This is a shit show and it will be bad for a number of years. The only thing, I can see is vote like your life depends on it and get someone in at the DNC who can run a 50 state strategy, but that will take years and our daughters will suffer. The fact is we are screwed and it happened in 2016 when Trump was elected and not Hillary Clinton.

[BannonsLiver]

67. My point

Is that in this world there is soft power and hard power. We’ve got the soft power. Twitter zingers, owning people online etc. The hard power is where the GOP has the advantage even in smaller numbers. And it’s the more valuable of the two, as we’ve now seen in Texas most recently.

[Demsrule86]

63. The question is what can we do with a 6-3 court that will work. And while we spend

years 'working' women will suffer and die. Rights once lost are hard to get back.

[bullwinkle428]

30. K&R. Can we also add Planned Parenthood as another organization worthy of donations?

I've been a regular donor of theirs for a while.

[wackadoo wabbit]

39. OMG, I can't believe I left them off the list! I'm horrified and embarrassed

I've just added them. Thank you so much for the reminder!

[lark]

31. Back in the day we had underground railroads to help our friends obtain abortions when needed.

Started with one girl listening to her friends' tale of woe, loaning money, other friends arranging trips to the airport to get to NY and to pick up the returnee. We helped 10 young women this way over 4 years and no one was out any money, all the loans were repaid in full and then they paid it forward. Roe v Wade was implemented after that and for a time, young women were safe to make up their own minds about their reproduction of lack of it. I am so freaking sad that things are even worse in TX now than they were then with people actually being able to profit off tattling on some poor young woman - so unbelievably sickening and wrong!!!!!

This isn't the case in my state right now, or any states near here. If it happens in GA or FL, I am back online as an underground railroad volunteer immediately.

[wackadoo wabbit]

54. Yes, I remember. How wonderful that you were able to help women at that time!

I suspect that these will start being created again. Until then you could become an Auntie and volunteer to have medical abortion pills mailed to you, which you would then repackage and send on to the Texas woman.

And please, please don't forget to call your senators every day to urge them to pass the We the People Act! Until we're properly represented, abortion rights will always be in peril, if not, as in this case, actually taken away.

[lark]

65. Good idea, thanks for the suggestion.

I will try to find a TX group to partner with. Maybe my one Democratic cousin there knows an organization? I will ask her.

[crickets]

34. Thank you for this post, wabbit. K&R

[StarfishSaver]

35. Excellent OP with much-needed information

Bookmarking ...

[gldstwmn]

40. Work to make Texas blue again.

Even if you don't live there. Change can come from the state and local levels.

[wackadoo wabbit]

50. I completely agree!

That's why I've been pushing people to call their senators about the For the People Act. I fear, especially given all the recent voting restrictions, that getting that bill passed is about the only way Texas will be blue, regardless of what its citizens want.

Plus, making only two phone calls a day is something that's easy for even the laziest person to do! And it will make a difference.

[denbot]

52. K&R n/t

[Demsrule86]

57. It is not the same thing. Susan Sarandon and the rest helped defeat Hillary and destroy a

Womans right to choose and with a 6-3 right wing court, we are totally fucked There isnt much we can do. I will hate Susan Sarandon until the day I die and the rest of them too. And Breyer should retire immediately or we are looking at a 7 -2 court. Consider also if justice Ginsberg had retired during Obama's first two years, we would have prevailed. It was a 5/4 ruling. I will organize but with the attack on voting rights, I honestly see a very difficullt path ahead.