"Slut Walks" to Protest Rape

Toronto police constable Michael Sanguinetti thought he was offering the key to rape prevention. "I'm not supposed to say this," he told a group of students at an Osgoode Hall Law School safety forum on January 24, but to prevent being sexually assaulted, “Avoid dressing like sluts.”

SlutWalk Toronto’s website states, “Being in charge of our sexual lives should not mean that we are opening ourselves to an expectation of violence, regardless if we participate in sex for pleasure or work. No one should equate enjoying sex with attracting sexual assault.”

The walks started in Toronto, but are now being held in the U.S. as well.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/20/slutwalk-united-states-city_n_851725.html

Hilarious Song About GOP

Hilarious George Carlin Bit On Pro-Life

Progressive World

LGBT acceptance is growing in the E.U. and here in America. Here are some snippets:

In Hawaii:

HB 546, was passed by the House at the beginning of March and would prohibit discrimination "on the basis of gender identity and expression as a public-policy matter and specifically with regard to employment."

In California:

A bill that would mean California school history lessons would also include the historical contributions made by LGBTs passed a Senate panel reading this week.

Introduced in December by State Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), the legislation would have history textbooks include information about LGBT-identifying figures and how they have contributed to important historical events. 

Also, Maryland, Connecticut, NY,  Nevada, North Carolina, Texas, and Rhode Island all have bills in the house protecting LGBT rights.

In the E.U:

Members of the European Parliament voted this week on measures to modernize the way asylum claims are handled, with an emphasis on how asylum claims made on the basis of a person's sexual orientation or gender identity are overseen.

 Measures include providing expert advice to asylum officials on sexual orientation and gender identity; protecting claimants' privacy; guaranteeing that physical examinations fully respect human dignity and integrity, for instance in cases involving minors or transgender people; and ensuring that applications by LGBT asylum-seekers are not 'fast-tracked' for removal to their country of origin.

MT Lawmakers Profit From Farm Subsidies

First, I'll say I can't believe the state Capitol's newspaper actually published this! The newspaper, Helena IR, is VERY HIGHLY censored.

Now to the news.

The Policy Institute made a report "Profiles In Hypocrisy"
It looks at the amount of farm subsidies that have been given to the legislators, both Republican (30 legislators) and Democrat (3 legislators) from 1995-2009. The findings were typical.

Farms and ranches owned by Republicans received 98.8% of the subsidy money ($6,976,120.00) and those of Democrats received 1.2% ($79,499.00)

This fits with the current politics in Montana where Republicans voted for cuts to federal funding in programs that help the poorest Montanans, because the motto in Montana is, hard work and no hand outs. Of course this doesn't apply to ranchers. They work hard and have been here forever.  (200 years is as far back as their minds can handle, so it seems like forever.) The cuts included food, prescription drug, health care, and energy bill assistance. For example, Montana is the only state in the Union to reject $35 million federal funding to update health records. 

This is a new/old look at Montana politics. We'll see where the state is by next year.