Dare To Be A Feminist

The showdown between the Vatican and America's largest group of Catholic nuns is expected to peak this week when group leaders will meet to determine a response to the Vatican's reprimand for the group's "radical feminist themes." The church also demands major reforms from the nuns' group. The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, initially surprised by the Vatican's report last month, "plans to move slowly, not rushing to judgment" when the group's 21-member board meets for three days in Washington, D.C., beginning Tuesday. "The board will conduct its meeting in an atmosphere of prayer, contemplation and dialogue and will develop a plan to involve LCWR membership in similar processes," the group said in a statement. "We will engage in dialogue where possible and be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit. We ask your prayer for us and for the Church in this critical time." Last month, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Catholic church's doctrinal watchdog, did a years-long "doctrinal assessment" investigation of the group -- which represents 80% of the Catholic nuns in United States -- and found "serious doctrinal problems."

IF there was a medal for double standards at the London Games this summer, the International Olympic Committee would be in with a pretty good shout of winning gold.

by: Sarah Seltzer, AlterNet | Op-Ed

Don't be fooled by the Limbaugh backlash. It's true that progressives and women's groups are fighting back with unprecedented vigor, and the campaigns against Komen, against Rush Limbaugh's sexist smears, against the Blunt Amendment, show that women can organize quickly and powerfully over social media. And yes, it remains crucial that the nasty sexism and racism emitting from the shock jock is finally getting its deserved public airing.

But extremist politicians haven't gotten the message yet: the policies that mirror and feed from Limbaugh's smears still exist, and may in fact be worsening. The GOP War on Women is in full throttle over a year since it kicked off, taking its toll in particular on the state level where recent data shows that all the posturing has dramatically changed living conditions for women--and not for the better.

Here are five ways the GOP are continuing their onslaught on women's rights that are crying out for the kind of intense pushback that we now know women's and reproductive justice advocates are capable of. [MORE]

By Tracy Clark-Flory

From a sex strike to satirical anti-Viagra bills, the war on reproductive rights has some responding with laughs.

by CHRISTINE DHANAGOM, LifeSiteNews.com

DALLAS, February 28, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A lesbian judge in Texas says she will not perform wedding ceremonies for heterosexuals until the state allows homosexuals to “marry” as well.

Dallas County Judge Tonya Parker told the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas at a meeting last Tuesday that it would be “oxymoronic” for her to perform wedding ceremonies that can’t be performed for her.

She said that when couples appear in her courtroom, she directs them to another judge, but not before using the opportunity to “give them a lesson about marriage equality.”

“I usually will offer them something along the lines of, ‘I’m sorry. I don’t perform marriage ceremonies because we are in a state that does not have marriage equality, and until it does, I am not going to partially apply the law to one group of people that doesn’t apply to another group of people,’” she said. [MORE]