Rise up my Sisters and Brothers!!!

Freedom! Lakota Sioux Indians Declare Sovereign Nation Status

Threaten Land Liens, Contested Real Estate Over Five State Area in U.S.West Dakota Territory Reverts back to Lakota Control According to U.S., International Law

WASHINGTON, DC - December 20 - Lakota Sioux Indian representatives declared sovereign nation status today in Washington D.C. following Monday's withdrawal from all previously signed treaties with the United States Government. The withdrawal, hand delivered to Daniel Turner, Deputy Director of Public Liaison at the State Department, immediately and irrevocably ends all agreements between the Lakota Sioux Nation of Indians and the United States Government outlined in the 1851 and 1868 Treaties at Fort Laramie Wyoming.

The rest of the article is here

I want to say congratulations to the Lakota people. The obstacles they face out there are many and sometimes subtle. Imagine working for people that call you plains-nigger. Those are the people who would hire you if you go off the reservation to find a job. That is, if they would hire you at all. This leads to people being dependant on food subsidies. The food subsidies that the US Government (USG) sends to the Lakota are high in sugar. This would not mean much but for the fact that Native Americans have a much higher rate of Diabeties than the white population.

Diabetics shouldn't have high sugar food, it tends to end up in blindness and losing a foot or two then ultimately death. The average life expectancy for men on the reservation is 44 years old. That is the lowest life expectancy in the WORLD if you exclude HIV/AIDS. This is happening right here in America.

I can't describe very well what this means to me, someone who is of Cherokee descent. It is exciting and a little scary. I see this as another time for freedom but I also know that the US Government and especially this administration does not look kindly on uppity people. They prefer to have people quietly go into death.

I am praying that they have peace and hope and LIFE.

Here is the link to the Republic of Lakota webpage. http://www.republicoflakota.com/

Injustice anywhere

So, I am reading this article, about how doctors are legally able to deny care based on their religious beliefs. The article gives the story of a woman who was raped by a man she knew. Then in the emergency room, after the rape kit, the exam and on the suggestion of the rape counselor asks the doctor for the morning after pill to prevent pregnancy. The doctor coldly refused saying "it is against my religion" and just leaves it there.

Later in the article they say this...

"Even under less dire circumstances than Boyer's, it's not always easy talking to your doctor about sex. Whether you're asking about birth control, STDs or infertility, these discussions can be tinged with self-consciousness, even embarrassment. Now imagine those same conversations, but supercharged by the anxiety that your doctor might respond with moral condemnation — and actually refuse your requests."

To which I snorted. Yes, I literally snorted, because I thought "welcome to my world."

You see, if y'all hadn't figured it out yet, I am a lesbian. I am a partnered L E S B I A N.

Wanna talk about discrimination? How about these statistics from Cancerpage.com...

76% of women do not tell their health care provider about their sexual orientation

almost 25% of lesbians avoid getting health care because of fear of a negative attitude on the part of the practitioner

and best of all...

"One study found that 45 percent of the gynecologist-members of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association said they had observed colleagues giving their homosexual patients substandard care. Another survey found that 40 percent of doctors said they were uncomfortable with lesbian patients."

So, here we are... just proving that discrimination that started out just against we lesbians, is now spreading to all women. Where will it stop?

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had it right when he said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"