it’s not anti-republican, it’s anti-trump

the only other person who could’ve probably incited so much protesting against the election was ted cruz. had john kasich, jeb bush, or marc rubio won, we wouldn’t be where we are now. i’m tired of seeing “get over it” and “chill out” and “stop your whining” from all the trump supporters. a vote for trump was a vote of ignorance for what was at stake.

i am tolerant of intellectual republicans. i was once a republican myself and know that there can be mutual respect and that there can be a productive exchange of ideas. i despised bush, jr for many reasons, but i never felt like i lost my country - even with the illegal war he started. to trump supporters, this was a pissing match. to me, and most others, this was about respect for life (and the environment), our freedom to be who we are, to love whom we want, to accept our differences regardless of religious beliefs, and a chance for us to win fights against hatred, women’s rights and minority rights. this wasn’t a republican vs democrat election. that would’ve been kasich/bush/rubio vs clinton/sanders.

kasich, rubio, and bush would’ve never said, “i could shoot someone and get away with it” and ignite crowds with excitement.

kasich, rubio, and bush would’ve never said, “i can grab any pussy and get away with it” and ignite crowds with excitement.

kasich, rubio, and bush would’ve never said, “‘knock out (anyone who protests us)’” and ignite crowds with excitement.

a republican is not someone who values violence towards others or values racism, but someone who does value violence towards others or who is racist is most likely a republican. 

a republican is not someone who is uneducated but someone who is uneducated is most likely a republican. 

a republican is not someone who is without an understanding of the world at large and our relationship to it, but someone who doesn’t understand the world at large and our relationship to it is most likely a republican.

republican politicians, while i may not agree with most of them, have education and experience to back up their views. they know the chess game. trump had no experience in the political arena, boasted about not knowing how government or foreign policy worked, but still made him captain of a ship he never once even sailed on. i wonder, would trump supporters go to a mechanic for a root canal?

we will be getting a team who will be guided by white, heterosexual, evangelical views. 

this is happening in a land founded by illegal immigrants who were intellectuals with views that government stay out of people’s business and who prided themselves on the notion of separation of church and state.

digest that irony.

so much hate, so much darkness, so much spite; my heart hurts

in regards to last night's presidential election, i'm scared for my rights as a woman and the future for my children, i'm scared for all my minority friends and their families, i'm scared for all muslims, i'm scared for our environment and Mother Earth, i'm heartbroken that someone who mistreats everyone he comes across, someone who doesn't respect his workers and doesn't pay his workers, someone who believes women are objects to be grabbed and jerked around, someone who doesn't understand how government works and whose followers believe he's going to just "fire" congress, someone who will represent me but spews so much hatred and violence - values i don't have and values i don't teach my children, someone who will flies off the handle on whim, someone with no respect for our country and all the gains, someone who doesn't *care* to understand the ins and outs of our government, or OUR WORLD, or our economy and its tangled web, someone who not once ever cared about anyone else other than himself so as to stroke his bankrupt-ass ego, i'm heartbroken that someone like that will get to call himself President.

this is just the beginning...

From Feminists United on Facebook:

and this from a woman named Ingrid Jackson on Facebook:

i don't want hate and darkness to win. i can't believe it has with lasting consequences for my and my friends' children.

and speaking of children, if you have them, this is an excellent article to read what to tell them about the results of last night's election.

and i leave you with the incredibly insightful blog post from John Pavlovitz about why those of us who wanted Hillary Clinton to win. among other things, it was a race "about our views of people's worth." please read it.

Supermarkets and Birth Control

     A birth control law passed in my native state of California was supposed to be ground-breaking and, while it was, it's been slow to come to fruition. Quelle surprise, right? Women should have easier access to fill their BC prescriptions by taking them to a pharmacy, but this has proven to be a lot more challenging than it should be.

     On this blog post, I'll be referring to this Los Angeles Times article that presents the delays that women still face in accessing BC despite the new law. The law doesn't require pharmacies to provide BC through the new law, and many aren't sure that they ever will, but it would make things a lot easier for women, that's for sure. The reluctance of some pharmacies is "in part because it could take up to an hour to complete the process for dispensing contraception to women. They must take the patient's blood pressure, administer a questionnaire about health issues that could raise red flags and go over side effects." (1)

          1) Taking time to check-in on a woman's health is somehow more burdensome than
              unwanted pregnancies?
          2) And while they should, I have never had a pharmacist go over side effects with me. They
              tell me to hit "yes" on the prompt that they went over the side effects with me and then I
              sign my name attesting that this actually happened. Yes, we're both liars.

     Nihar Mandavia, pharmacist and owner of Drugist Pharmacy in Laguna Niguel, has the right idea. He "doesn't think the extra time spent with patients will be a burden for his staff...[helping] customers with such services [like consultation] can give independent pharmacies like his an edge over big chains." (2) Go Mandavia. If I could afford Laguna Niguel and used BC, I would be your customer. If I owned a pharmacy, I'd be your competitor.

     The real problem, though, could be the actual consultation. BC is covered by the Affordable Care Act, but not the consultation itself, and it's unclear whether private insurance companies would, or will, cover it. The price of the consultation seems to be somewhere in the $40-$50 range and could prevent those who don't have the money to go to the doctor's to seek out BC. (Although to THAT I would say, Go to Planned Parenthood.) Despite this, though, it's good to know that starting in January, the state's health insurance, Medi-Cal, will begin covering any consultation fees. Hooray! And the other good news is that under another law passed this year in CA, women will be able to get a year's supply of BC at once instead of having to go each month (or in the case of Planned Parenthood, every 3 months). Double hooray!

     Currently, these supermarkets' pharmacies will fill your BC:

                    - Albertsons
                    - Vons
                    - Vons Pavilions
                    - Safeway

     A statewide pilot program is under way with

                    - CVS (5 in LA; locations weren't listed)

     Still ironing out details:

                    - Walgreens
                    - Ralphs

     Hopefully we can get more insurance coverage and women don't have to hide or go on a senseless, time-consuming hunt just for wanting to take control of their health and life.

1. Karlamangla, Soumya (2016, October 31). Women still face delays Los Angeles Times, B5.
2. Karlamangla, Soumya (2016, October 31). Women still face delays Los Angeles Times, B5.