Only His Hairdresser Knows!/At Dawn We Ride!

This Blip has two parts. First is the kinder and gentler part, featuring a Tiger and a newt. Second is the sucky part, where women in my country wake up in America, but go to bed in a third-world country.

First: T. Tiger and I went and did the big Mahala walk on this morning, and we met a red eft on the trail. As is my custom, I typically move newts off the trail, lest they be stepped on. That was the case with this colorful little fellow.

T. Tiger was with me, and he hopped out of my bag and sauntered over to meet the new friend. The red eft is the terrestrial, land-walking form of the eastern spotted newt. And this one had plenty of sass! It walked all over T. Tiger. We weren't sure in this shot if the newt was pretending to be a toupee, or a say-something hat!

Now, moving on to the less positive portion of our program: unless you were hiding under a rock, you probably heard the horrifying news that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on this day, rolling back American women's reproductive rights by 50 years or more.

I don't know if you have ever been a woman in America, but I have. And I can tell you from first-hand experience that obtaining female reproductive services as basic as birth control in rural central Pennsylvania can be a real challenge. Are you poor? Do you have transportation to even GET to such services? Well, then you may be out of luck.

Have you ever had your whole life's educational and career potentials and possibilities hanging on the outcome of a pregnancy test, after discovering that the condom you used for protection had "a hole big enough to drive a truck through it"? Well, *I* have. I have been that girl who could have lost EVERYTHING.

Perhaps, like me, you missed the voice of reason that used to be provided by Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Court. And so I set up a little photo shoot, in which dear Ruth rides in on . . . *looks closer* . . . a hippopotamus, which just happens to have been provided by my friend Judy. See the extra photo for a tiny box of hope. Ruth carries a sign: "At Dawn We Ride!"

I have stated my case firmly here before, and let me reiterate my words: These events are occurring against the wishes and will and best interests of the American woman. This sea change relegates us to a position of lesser-than-human. It's scary but true that the Court believes the most dangerous thing in America - more dangerous than a loaded automatic weapon, apparently - is a woman's reproductive organs. Shame on them!

If I do not have the same rights as a man (which is to say control and say-so over my body, privacy of medical information and decision-making, and the right to any medical care necessary to my health and well-being), I am NOT equal, and I am NOT free.

Here is a thing. I am a woman. I am the queen of the Universe that is Me. I own the only thing I brought along into this world along with my soul: my body. The government does not get to own my body just because I was born with ovaries. Let me say that AGAIN for the people sitting all the way in the back in the cheap seats:

The government DOES NOT get to own MY body. THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT GET TO OWN MY BODY and make me do things that are against my will and against my own best interest!!! If I do not get to have say-so over my body, I do not have complete bodily autonomy, I do NOT have liberty, and I am something less than a person.

I do not give consent for American women to be forced to become brood mares for our government and for rapists. Here's another thing: the rights you don't stand up and defend, you lose! Oh, RBG, how we miss and need you now!

What to do about this horrifying turn of events? Well, I was watching the Blacklist last night, season one, and there are some words of wisdom by Reddington (aren't there always?) that are just perfect for this occasion: "Unfortunately, you're chest deep in filth, and you're going to have to wade through it to get to the other side."

Those who do not defend their rights, lose them. So march if you want to. Protest if you want to. Write your congresspersons. But make your voice heard and VOTE. Make sure you are registered. Make sure you vote out every single bastard who was part of making this alarming turn of events happen.

And if you have resources, support organizations that provide assistance to women in need of reproductive services, who may not be able to obtain them in the state in which they currently live. Welcome to the great United Divided that is the good ol' U.S.A.

And here is just one last thing. If you are sitting around moaning about how all of the heroes who would have/could have saved us have died, well WELCOME TO THE CLUB. There's a certain time in life when you realize that, no matter who you clung to, no matter who saved you in the past, today you've got to put on your big-girl panties and DEAL. It's YOUR TURN TO BE SOMEBODY'S HERO NOW.

It is my custom to include a soundtrack song or two. These are both for Ruth, whom we sorely miss, and for the women of America, who are mighty pissed off today. First: the Chicks, with Not Ready to Make Nice. And second: David Bowie, with Heroes.

P.S. Vote like your life - or the life of someone you love - depends upon it! And I can promise you that I WILL BE VOTING EVERY SINGLE TIME. I will be voting for those who prioritize the lives and rights and body autonomy of women.