An Uncommon Scold

Thanksgiving: Celebrating The Harvest

Seeded on Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:58 AM EST (The Huffington Post)

Our own familiar fall festival of Thanksgiving is an amalgam of Old and New World harvest celebrations. The pilgrims brought the Harvest Home Festivals of the Ingathering from England with them --and very little else.

home-garden, thanksgiving, harvest-festival

The Art of Rewriting The Holidays

Seeded on Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:27 AM EST (The Huffington Post)

"'Tis' the Season." The question is, for what? With all the stressors around, what might help this year as we launch? What if we did a little 'tweaking' this year, before you sprint out the door? What if we decided to bring more 'ease into the system,' enjoy the process more, and …

home-garden

What went wrong? Feminism and freedom from the prison of gender roles

Seeded on Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:46 PM EST ()

I contend that most of the unnecessary suffering in human life, the suffering due to clinging, aggression, and bewilderment rather to birth, aging, sickness, and death, is due to the prison of gender roles, which is why freedom from that prison, not new reformed gender roles, is …

health, feminism, gender-roles, culture, society, dysfunction, male, female

The Student Sex Column Movement

Seeded on Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:25 PM EST (The Nation)

The attraction of a sex column is simple: most college students-- honestly, most people past puberty, period--are either a) having sex; b) talking about having sex; or c) all of the above.

education, sex, college, student, censorship

Do You Know What a Feminist Man Looks Like?

Seeded on Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:06 PM EST ()

"This generation is saying no to toxic masculinity," Martin writes. "But what are these young men saying yes to?"

politics, male-feminist, men, womens-rights, women, masculinity, equality

Whose Team is it Anyway?

Seeded on Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:47 AM EST (The Nation)

You know what I don't want to hear right now about the Stupak-Pitts amendment banning abortion coverage from federally subsidized health insurance policies? That it's the price of reform, and prochoice women should shut up and take one for the team.

health, prochoice, health-care-reform, c-street-dems, women

The American Myth of Women's Equality

Seeded on Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:23 AM EST ()

The White House Project released a report on Friday that dispels what seems to be an American myth about women's equality by offering 132 pages of benchmarks to truthfully describe where women stand in a variety of sectors.

us-news, women, equality, white-house-report, economy, glass-ceiling

The Black Stone - the Omphalos of the Goddess

Seeded on Sun Nov 15, 2009 8:33 PM EST ()

Pre-islamic worship of the goddess seems to be primarily associated with Al'Lat, which simply means 'goddess'. She is a triple goddess, similar to the Greek lunar deity Kore/Demeter/Hecate. Each aspect of this trinity corresponds to a phase of the moon.

religion, the-black-stone, mohammed, kabah, allat, qre, aluzza, allah, daughter

Censored gay sex scenes in From Here to Eternity revealed

Seeded on Sun Nov 15, 2009 7:06 PM EST (Guardian Unlimited)

It is one of the most celebrated images in cinema, an icon of heterosexual romance: Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr kissing as the waves crash over them in the 1953 film From Here to Eternity.

entertainment, gay, from-here-to-eternity, james-jones, censorship

Revolutionary Espresso Book Machine launches in London

Seeded on Sun Nov 15, 2009 7:02 PM EST (Guardian Unlimited)

Signalling the end, says Blackwell, to the frustration of being told by a bookseller that a title is out of print, or not in stock, the Espresso offers access to almost half a million books, from a facsimile of Lewis Carroll's original manuscript for Alice in Wonderland to Mrs Be …

entertainment

House Health Care Bill Discriminates Against Religious Freedom

Seeded on Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:41 PM EST ()

Abortion is not a liberal, secular invention; there are examples in Jewish, Muslim, and even Christian theologies—and in Buddhist and Hindu traditions—of instances in which abortion is justified.

religion, abortion, hindu, jewish, republicans, democrats, muslim, buddahist, health-care-reform

Pagans and Goddess Advocates to Speak at the American Academy of Religion (AAR)

Seeded on Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:33 PM EST (Examiner)

Take note readers. Another important event this month as Goddess Advocates, Pagans, and those who embrace the ideals of the Sacred Feminine are making themselves visible and leading the way toward promoting better understanding and a more sustainable world. Check it out!

religion, pagan, godddess, american-academy-of-religion, conference

Molly Ivins:A Rebel Life (book review)

Seeded on Sat Nov 14, 2009 11:07 AM EST (The Washington Post)

The turning point in Molly Ivins's life, suggest the authors of this biography, may have been the motorcycle accident that killed her college boyfriend, Hank Holland.

entertainment, molly-ivins, biography, book-review, feminist

.Lawyer says sexual assault victim was illegally barred from testifying

Seeded on Sat Nov 14, 2009 11:03 AM EST ()

A Sudbury nursing home resident who claimed she was sexually assaulted by an aide early this year has been illegally blocked from testifying in next month's trial because of her disability, her lawyer said.

us-news, rape, wendy-murphy, competency, trial

Keep Christ Out Of Xmas

Seeded on Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:58 AM EST ()

The Yuletide holidays aren't the exclusive property of Christians, reminds Rel Davis, Founder of the National Keep Christ Out of Xmas Committee.

religion, pagan, christ, christmas, sol-invictus, mithra, yule

RNC Subsidizes Abortions for 18 years --- and counting

Seeded on Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:54 AM EST (AlterNet.org)

The debate over financing of abortions -- the basis for the offensive Stupak amendment -- is all about money being fungible.

politics, abortion, focus-on-the-family, republican, health-insurance, u-s-news

For Vets, Healthcare Gaps May Be More Deadly than Modern Warfare

Seeded on Fri Nov 13, 2009 8:35 PM EST ()

Harvard researchers revealed that over 2,280 veterans died in 2008 due to lack of health insurance. They detailed that 1.46 million working-age vets lacked health coverage last year, thus increasing their death rate. Now that is truly a disgrace.

health, veterans, fatal, healthcare

Elite college students proud of 'pro-rape' Facebook page

Seeded on Wed Nov 11, 2009 3:03 PM EST ()

A GROUP of past and present University of Sydney students set up a ''pro-rape'' page in the sports and recreation section on Facebook, describing themselves as ''anti-consent''.

world-news, rape, college, pro-rape, elite, sexual-assault

141

Women Are Veterans Too

Seeded on Wed Nov 11, 2009 7:49 AM EST ()

Did you know that there are almost two million women veterans? From the American Revolution to Panama, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq , women have served in some way in every conflict. Not that they were legal in the early days.

us-news, women, veterans, war, service, revolutionary-war, gulf-war, civil-war, korea, iraq

VA admits its failure to give female veterans proper care

Seeded on Wed Nov 11, 2009 7:42 AM EST ()

In addition to combat-related PTSD, at least 20 percent of women veterans must deal with mental issues from being sexually assaulted in the military, VA officials said.

health, women, veterans, va-hospital, gynecologists, pap-smear, rape, counseling, ptsd

Why It's Not Smart to Call Women Conservatives 'Whores'

Seeded on Tue Nov 10, 2009 2:09 PM EST (AlterNet.org)

When Alan Grayson called a female corporate lobbyist a "K-Street whore" -- and was attacked as crude and sexist at the same time that he was lauded as gutsy and honest -- he played a role in a familiar script: hero of the left (MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, Bill Maher) attacks female …

us-news, sexual-slurs, democrats, left, republicans, right, women, media, sexism

How the Stupak Amendment Radically Undermines Women's Rights

Seeded on Tue Nov 10, 2009 2:03 PM EST (AlterNet.org)

Stupak's amendment doesn't just apply to the public option—the lower-cost plan to be offered by the government. The House health care bill will also provide subsidies to help people and small businesses purchase plans on an exchange.

health, abortion, stupak, health-care, womens-rights

Rupert Murdoch: The Internet Does Not Exist

Seeded on Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:21 PM EST (Arts & Living from Newser)

Rupert continues his war with the Internet.

odd-news, internet, rupert-murdoch, newspapers, media

Emma Thompson Speaks Out Against Human Trafficking - ABC News

Seeded on Mon Nov 9, 2009 7:39 PM EST (ABC News)

Actress Emma Thompson has played fictional characters on the big screen for 20 years, but her latest project tackles the real-life horrors of human trafficking.

world-news, sex-slave, prostitution, rape, emma-thompson, international-human-trafficking

Pro-Liers Raising Scott Roeder's Defence Funds on Ebay

Seeded on Mon Nov 9, 2009 3:26 PM EST ()

Michael Bray, an Ohio activist who spent four years in prison for the firebombings of abortion-related facilities on the East Coast in the 1980s, is donating an autographed copy of his book, "A Time to Kill." The book is described as "an ethical treatise on the use of force …

religion, scott-roeder, abortion, michael-bray, dr-george-tiller, necessity-defense, kansas

– Show More

Comments & Feedback

A richly feminine column worthy of thorough attention. Many thanks for the invite :-)

— ntq

Thanks so much for the friends invite. I'm honored. I suspect we have quite a bit in common. Looking forward to seeing more of you around the vine.

— Sydney - 5

thanks for your articles, seeds and comments. we certainly don't agree line for line, but the goals appear to be the same. thanks for accepting the friends request. i look forward to reading more from you in the future. maddad

— maddad

I find your arguments in my latest seed very profound and insightful, thanks for the enrichment!

— Rees Sloan

Dear Loretta,

Thank you for your kindness and empathy...it really does help. Sometimes my psychosis translates into very passionate writing and I probably go over the deep end on occassion. Nevetheless, it is the warm people like you who bring the psychologically traumatized veterans back to some semblance of sanity. You provide us with hope as we walk through this world in the fog that we can never completely shed. But, with hope comes a tingling of pleasure and comfort. Again, thank you so much.

Blessings...

--Patrick

— Afghanistan Veteran

Balance, I think this is what drew me to your posts. No, I can't explain it, but it is the word that comes to mind whenever I see a post from you. Thank you for "balancing" here on "De Vine"...
*smiles*
~Sara

— Sara G.