A Good Read

Who, being loved, is poor?
-Oscar Wilde



I read a beautiful short story by Annie Proulx in the June 9 edition of the New Yorker yesterday called "Tits-up in a Ditch". It tells the story of a young mother from a small town in Wyoming who enlists in the Army and goes to Iraq. As are many of Proulx's tales, it is heart-wrenchingly sad, realistic, and subtle. The main character is tragically unloved, and therefore dreadfully poor by Wilde's estimation. I highly recommend revisiting anything by Oscar Wilde and this new piece by one of my favorite authors.

There's a sad story in Planet Jackson Hole today about the declining ranks of abortion providers in the West. This lack of access has driven some women to do some very scary things in order to terminate their pregnancies on their own.

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Plan B in Wyoming

Planned Parenthood of Wyoming, NARAL Pro-Choice Wyoming Education Project, and the Wyoming Health Council have just published a brochure listing all the pharmacy locations in the state where you can get Plan B emergency contraceptive. Here are the local resources:

KMART PHARMACY 739-1164
SAV-ON PHARMACY 733-9223
SMITH'S PHARMACY 733-8746
STONE DRUG 733-6222
WESTERN WYOMING FAMILY PLANNING 732-1694

If you're not familiar with Plan B, here's the scoop:

Plan B is an emergency contraceptive that can help prevent pregnancy after contraceptive failure, unprotected sex, or sexual assault. When taken within 120 hours, it can substantially reduce the risk of pregnancy. Plan B will not work if you are already pregnant. For more informaiton visit www.go2planB.com.

Copies of the brochure are available upon request. Call 1-800-584-9192.
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A Sad Day in South Dakota

Scary stuff happening in our eastern neighbor state:

South Dakota Abortion Law Takes Effect

South Dakota abortion providers are now required to recite a script telling patients that the procedure will "terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique living human being." They must then warn the woman of a supposed increased risk of suicide.

The law additionally requires that doctors tell a woman seeking an abortion that there is "an existing relationship" with the fetus that "enjoys protection under the United States Constitution" and that, by having an abortion, "her existing constitutional rights with regards to that relationship will be terminated," reports to the Washington Post.

The law came into effect last Friday, after a 2005 court order that prevented the enforcement of the law expired. It will affect the Sioux Falls Planned Parenthood, the only recognized abortion provider in the state.

(from Feminist Daily News Wire)

A history of tough, independent women

The NY Times had a fascinating article yesterday on the history of northern Wyoming. In the early 1900s, there was a movement to lop off the top half of the state and join forces with a part of Montana and South Dakota to form a separate state: Absaroka. While not specifically a women's history, the story does feature a few tough ladies:

“It was 90 miles of dirt road to the county seat,” said Helen Graham, who was a teenager in 1930s South Dakota, a daughter of struggling homesteaders.

And a modern-day ranch woman:

Jill Havert stirred 40 eggs for the guests and crew in a cast-iron pot as the gas burners hissed under the canvas and the creek rippled outside. Ms. Havert, a 21-year-old nursing student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, is being “initiated,” as she put it, into the Kerns family. Her boyfriend, Tyler Kerns, 20, is one of Ken Kerns’s grandchildren and a junior in architectural engineering at the university. He has been making cattle drives since childhood; she was on her first, and dark-before-dawn breakfast duty was part of the drill.

“This is a sink-or-swim family,” Ms. Havert said. “But I’m holding my own.”

I *Heart* My Vagina

Our house painter - and new best friend - is the kind of guy we wish we could clone. Instead of buying himself a monster truck and tailgating us to show off his macho prowess, he hangs a demure little sign from the rear view mirror of his Toyota: "I *heart* my penis."

Is it just me, or would the world be a better place if more men had this kind of sense of humor and sense of confidence about their masculinity?

Our friend tells us most women who see this sign want one of their own - specific to their own genitalia, of course. I told him, send them to The V-Store. There, you can get all the gear you need to become a Vagina Warrior. If you don't yet know about Eve Ensler and The Vagina Monologues, you need to check this site out and get on board in this global effort to end violence against women. "V-Men" welcome too!

Massachusetts leading the way

I'd like to take the opportunity to give a shout-out to my home state of Massachusetts. Was proud to hear that the State legislature repealed a century old law that prohibited non-residents from getting married in the State. This opens the door for lesbian and gay couples from other states to be married in the Bay State, where same-sex marriage is no longer illegal. The Catholic Church, naturally, opposed the measure. Like anyone should be looking to the Massachusetts Diocese for guidance on morality.

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Action Alert: Bush attacks contraception as a form of abortion

This from NARAL Pro-Choice America:

We found out some truly disturbing news.

Just hours ago The New York Times reported that the Bush administration is proposing a new regulation that could discourage doctors and health-care clinics from providing birth control to women who need it.

Pro-birth-control members of Congress are calling on the Bush administration to reconsider this terrible idea. Please let your members of Congress know that you strongly oppose this attack on birth control!

This proposed regulation deliberately confuses the definitions of contraception and abortion and could seriously jeopardize state laws and policies that protect women’s access to birth control. For example, state laws that require hospitals to provide sexual-assault survivors with access to emergency contraception could be jeopardized.

This issue makes it all the more clear why we must elect pro-choice Sen. Barack Obama as our next president. Sen. John McCain has repeatedly voted against allowing women to obtain birth control and there’s no doubt he will carry on Bush’s anti-choice legacy. Sen. Obama has a consistent record in strong support of women’s access to contraception and is the chief sponsor of legislation to make birth control more affordable.

Come hear some of the best women in the music biz!

Targhee Fest is this weekend! This is my favorite event of the summer and this year promises to be as great as previous years if not better. The fantastic lineup includes several female musicians of note: Emmylou Harris, Susan Tedeschi, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and Carrie Rodriguez.
Emmylou Harris needs no introduction. Susan Tedeschi is a blues-oriented guitarist and singer and her last cd, Hope and Desire, proved that she's got a voice to match her 6-string skills. Grace Potter played at the Moose over the winter and the show rocked. Her sister is a local artist. Carrie Rodriguez is a fiddle player who originally joined forces with Chip Taylor, a veteran singer-songwriter, and is now touring on her own. Her lovely drawl and gorgeous playing always brings my thoughts to Texas, the home state for both of us. She captured my attention on her first cd with Chip and continues to keep me coming back for more.
Of course, there are some fantastic men in the lineup as well including Lyle Lovett, Derek Trucks, Taj Mahal, Martin Sexton (another great live performer), and Tony Furtado. All in all it should be a great weekend.
I'll be the one down front showing my appreciation to these performers by dancing my ass off. See y'all there!

Friendship and Inspiration

The brave man is not he who feels no fear,
For that were stupid and irrational;
But he, whose noble soul its fears subdues,
And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from.
- Joanna Baillie

Joanna Baillie (1762-1851) was a Scottish poet and dramatist who was well know during her lifetime for both her literary talent and for her sweet disposition. She never married, gave 1/2 of her literary earnings to charity, was intelligent and observant.

I had the good fortune of having spent the morning with a similar woman and her partner.

Concerns with Gardasil

Gardasil, the relatively new vaccine for HPV, is under fire after complaints that several young girls that were administered the vaccine suffered paralysis. This is a disturbing development, if true, that requires further study and review. The makers of Gardasil have been campaigning for the FDA to approve the vaccine for boys - since men are often carriers of HPV.

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She's all that

As us Cowgrrls know, there is at least ONE female deejay in town, who Planet JH failed to mention. I'll give a shameless plug for my sweetheart, Zanne deJanvier, who will spin on Tuesday, July 29 at the Natl. Museum of Wildlife Art, 6-8 PM. Don't let the desolate windswept image on the Museum's email promotion fool you. Zanne will be serving up samba, bollywood, afrobeat, and all manner of sizzlin' tunes. I promise you won't hear her collection of danceable world tunes anywhere else in town.

If you know other female spinners in town, let us know!
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Wonen Rocked the Writers Conference!

It was a powerhouse year for women at the Jackson Hole Writers Conference, June 26-29. I was beside myself with anticipation of my favorite mystery writer, Elizabeth George, one of the keynote speakers. (She's second only to P.D. James in my mind.) George gave a humble and inspiring talk about her journey from high school English teacher to self-taught mystery crime writer to international bestseller. I've started reading her latest book, Careless in Red, which finds our hero Thomas Lynley walking the English coast and grieving a terrible loss that took place in George's With No One As Witness. I'm already captivated!

My favorite talk was by Jane Hamilton. I totally adored her perspective on sorry market for literary fiction in America. She described meeting a woman on a plane who, when she learned that Jane writes fiction, asked if Jane writes "thrillers." Since Jane considers reading great fiction to be "thrilling," she answered yes. The woman got really excited and asked if Jane wrote "smutty thrillers." Jane said that since her mother considers the sex scenes in Jane's books to be rather racy, she thought it wasn't too much of a stretch to say yes again. "Really, really smutty thrillers?" the woman next to Jane replied, nearly apoplectic. Jane "decided to go the distance" and said yes. It was hilarious and we were all laughing.

The biggest crowd-pleaser was local writer Alexandra (Bo) Fuller, who had us laughing and crying with her presentation about her latest book, The Legend of Colton H Bryant. All reports say its a run-don't-walk must-read.

I was really moved and inspired by another local talent, Laurie Gunst of Dubois. Gunst spoke about "the stories that tell us," and described her experience writing nonfiction journalism and a memoir of being raised white and Jewish in the South by an African-American nanny.

Gail Tsukiyama also gave a great talk about becoming a fiction writer and her experience being Asian-American - and often wishing she could just tell American stories, and not be pigeon-holed into "ethnic" literature.

Several of the male presenters were great too, and I appreciated Tim Cahill's nod to the original female staff of Outside magazine and their talent and vision.
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Free EC in Scotland

Here's a good news story about a country that's taking a proactive public health approach to unwanted pregnancy and other sexual/reproductive health issues. According the Feminist Daily News, Scotland is now providing free Emergency Contraception (EC) at all community pharmacies.

EC is often referred to as "the morning after" pill. Read more about it here.
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Local Issue - Suicide

Hi everyone. It's not a feminist issue per se, but in light of recent suicides in the valley, including the death of Snake River Brewery baker Mike Webb on Tuesday, I wanted to offer some resources for survivors and for people struggling with depression. The Brew Pub is a favorite meeting spot of the Cowgrrl Up crew, and I think I can speak for us all in sending our love and thoughts to Mike's family and friends.

On a personal note, I lost one of my best friends, Stephen, to suicide four months ago. It's been utterly devastating. I didn't know before Stephen died that there is a name for those left behind after suicide: we are known as suicide survivors. At first I thought this term referred to those who had attempted suicide but had not succeeded. In fact, it's for those of us in this "club nobody wants to join," people who have lost love ones to suicide.

I HIGHLY recommend the monthly suicide survivor support group that meets at St. John's Medical Center the third Thursday of ever month. It's held from 6-7:30 PM in the Eagle classroom, downstairs. For more information, please contact the Jackson Hole Community Counseling Center at 733-2046. There is no charge for the group.

If you need help for depression or suicidal thoughts, call the Jackson Hole Community Counseling Center at 307-733-2046 or by calling 911. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is also available at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).

If you are a suicide survivor, I recommend Carla Fine's book No Time to Say Goodbye: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One.

Also, these websites have information for survivors:
www.save.org
www.afsp.org
Wyoming Suicide Prevention Initiative

There is a lot more information out there, so please know that you are not alone. There are many caring individuals and professionals in our community who want to help.
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And Your Point Is? Right to Life of TC ad - Planet JH 6/25/08

I'm not sure why we continually need to be informed when the fetal heart starts beating, or when blood begins to flow, etc. Should this make a difference to me? The fetus, tiny body, mass of cells, whatever you want to call it, is living inside someone else's body. Forcing the woman to continue to carry it when she does not want to is completely offensive to personal freedom.

The whole "tiny babies" thing is getting really old for me. Lots of folks have latched onto this turn of phrase lately, including that wingnut Dobson from Focus on the Family. His critique of one of Barack Obama's recent speeches was terribly judgmental for a professed Christian.


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More Good News

Montana citizens have proven to be a sensible bunch by saying "ix-nay" to a ballot measure that would have banned abortion by defining a fertilized egg as a person. Read all about it here.

Alexandra Fuller Reading Tonight

She's an incredible memoirist and local activist and she's kicking off the JH Writers Conference tonight. Alexandra Fuller (aka Bo Miller) will read from her latest book, "The Legend of Colton H. Bryant."

Fuller's new nonfiction novel tells of a Wyoming Everyman – his life, his family, his community, his world – and his end in an oil-field accident. The New York Times said the book contained "sentences that are as beautiful as anything you'll read in contemporary fiction."

Jackson Hole resident William Broyles Jr. will introduce his fellow Teton writer. The evening also will include a slideshow of a recent Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition (RAVE) conducted by the International League of Conservation Photographers in Sublette County, where much of Fuller's book takes place. The purpose of the RAVE is to shed light on pressing conservation issues in specific areas, and to bring the to the attention of the media.

Tonight at 7 at the Center for the Arts.

More Brilliance from Barbara Ehrenreich

From The Nation:

About ten years ago, for example, a friend and I rented a snug, inexpensive one-bedroom house in Driggs, Idaho, just over the Teton Range from wealthy Jackson Hole, Wyoming. At that time, Driggs was where the workers lived, driving over the Teton Pass every day to wait tables and make beds on the stylish side of the mountains. The point is, we low-rent folks got to wake up to the same scenery the rich people enjoyed and hike along the same pine-shadowed trails.

But the money was already starting to pour into Driggs--Paul Allen of Microsoft, August Busch III of Anheuser-Busch, Harrison Ford--transforming family potato farms into vast dynastic estates. I haven't been back, but I understand Driggs has become another unaffordable Jackson Hole. Where the wait staff and bed-makers live today I do not know.

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Mother-Daughter Schism

In case you haven't heard, the latest buzz in feminist circles is about an ongoing spat.. or shall we say war -- between Rebecca Walker and her famous mom, Alice.

Read about it here.
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