My mother's, sister's, and daughter's keeper - Washington DC Civil Rights | Examiner.com

My mother's, sister's, and daughter's keeper - Washington DC Civil Rights | Examiner.com

As the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women (VAWA) approaches, advocates wonder will there be enough public support to pressure legislators into making the necessary changes to address gaps in the bill. The most important issue being the inclusion of dedicated funding to support core services for victims of sexual violence,funds that could be used to provide for women in crisis situations, such as safe houses, as well as provide for the on-going emotional healing, legal and economic needs of female victims......

FEMEN Solidarity Video Message to FEMEN Holland

A video created by FEMEN entitled, FEMEN Solidarity Message to FEMEN Holland, caused quite a stare when it was placed on YouTube and then linked to various individual's Facebook pages.

To some it came as a shock that people would be so upset to see this video because of the message and the aim, to send a message of solidarity to sisters in protest against overconsumption and corporate greed.  It was as if people forgot that there is such a thing as nonsexual nudity.  After all, one can walk into any art museum to find examples. However, this video was flagged on YouTube as obscene.  Since YouTube recognizes non-sexual nudity, the video was not taken down, simply marked as "age-restricted."

OMG.... Pepper Sprayed by Police at Kinston Walmart on Black Friday!!!

Talk about irony! Who knew that when I wrote the article "Veterans protesting at Smithsonian met with pepper-spray", back in October, I would end up being the victim of another pepper spray incident. It was Black Friday and their was a 32" TV advertised in the Walmart paper. I normally don't shop at that evil empire but my mom insisted. In the rural south there are not many options for shopping. I knew when I walked in that the night would be full of drama but I didn't know how much drama. It was a total nightmare. The store was unorganized and the sales people seemed lost.

My mom, excited to go shopping, pulled my sister and I into going shopping with her. We thought, "This is going to be a nightmare." However, we could have never predicted how our night would unfold.

Veterans protesting at Smithsonian met with pepper-spray - Washington DC Civil Rights | Examiner.com

Washington, DC -- All too often, when there is criticism of U.S. military actions it is the service members who receive the force of the backlash. They are called criminals, they are accused of being brainwashed, and it is they that are punished when something goes wrong. However, many sometimes feel that when they do speak out against U.S. military action, they do so without support and with the threat of being accused of being traitors hanging over their heads. Veterans, on the other hand, are better positioned to be the voice of military personnel.

We Are the 99%

If you are like me and fed up with swimming upstream in this economy, then maybe you will join the thousands taking it to the streets and telling the powers that be that enough is enough!

There are some that say that these protests have no goal and no focus but I think that bringing awareness to the suffering of the poor and middle class is goal enough.  Many people want to continue believing that the American Dream is alive and strong and that if we work hard and do our best we all have the potential to be the next Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey.

This is despite the fact that the poverty rate in 2010 was the highest since 1993.  Since 2007, the poverty rate has increased by 2.6 percentage points.