A Plug For The Ladies
Posted by Michelle Moquin on September 1st, 2016
Lol – pun intended.
Good morning.
It was only a week ago that Trump’s immigration plan was the same one Obama is enforcing. I even blogged about it two days ago. Then he gave his immigration speech last night. My how things shift quickly. Did you watch? I’ve had enough of Trump for this week. Be my guest to keep it live if you want, but I’m taking a break and tuning to another station this morning.
From Think Progress:
California Lawmakers Unanimously Repeal State’s ‘Tampon Tax’
This week, the California Assembly unanimously passed a bill that would exempt menstrual products from state sales tax, sending it to Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D) desk.
The bill got bipartisan support, with Democrats arguing the tax is an unfair burden on women when things like Rogaine and Viagra are often tax-exempt. Republicans, meanwhile, supported tax relief.
“Fundamentally this is about gender equity and leveling the field,” said Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D), who wrote the bill.
And Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang (R) said in supporting the bill, “By scrapping this tax, we’re putting money back in the pockets of California women.”
Brown has not said whether he’ll sign it into law and his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Repealing the so-called “tampon tax” would cost the state an estimated $20 million in tax revenue.
California is one of a handful of states that have taken notice of the fact that menstrual products are treated like luxury items and subjected to sales tax, while things like prescription drugs and even shampoo are exempt. New York State got rid of its tampon tax in April after a group of women filed a lawsuit claiming it amounted to discrimination. A similar lawsuit was filed earlier this year in Ohio. Bills have been introduced in that state, as well as in Illinois, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
President Obama has even taken notice of the issue, saying he has “no idea why states would tax these as luxury items,” but positing that “it’s because men were making the laws when those taxes were passed.” He also urged women in states where tampon taxes exist “to work to get those taxes removed.”
Yet even with New York and California working to repeal their taxes, just five other states have already done the same. The 40 others with sales tax still treat tampons as taxable luxury items.
The women who have filed lawsuits have come up with estimates of how much the tampon tax costs them. The numbers are huge: $11 million a year in Ohio and $14 million in New York.
*****
Readers: It’s about time. Only a man would call tampons a “luxury item.” How ridiculous is that. Uh…duh…just because it goes into our vaginas doesn’t mean it’s a treat, like I’m getting off on it. Taxing tampons is just plan discriminatory as noted in today’s write.
On a similar note…Ever hear of the “Pink Tax”? Its the idea that versions of products and services for women cost more than the male versions. And it’s true.
A recent study by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs surveyed almost 800 products and found in 42% of cases, women paid more for the same items as men.
Sometimes as much as double the price. It’s highway robbery.
Thoughts? Blog me.
Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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September 1st, 2016 at 12:02 pm
Georgetown University plans to offer an apology for its participation in the institution of slavery, officials said, following the release of a report Thursday that scrutinized the sale of hundreds of Jesuit-owned slaves in the early 19th century for the benefit of the Catholic school.
In addition, the highly selective university in the nation’s capital plans to give the descendants of slaves owned by Maryland Jesuits a boost in admissions, treating applicants from that community the same as it would those who are children of faculty, staff and alumni. And it will name a university residence hall after one of the slaves, a man named Isaac. He was 65 years old in 1838 when he and 271 other slaves were sold and shipped to a Louisiana plantation.
Those are among several steps Georgetown is taking in response to a report from a panel of faculty, staff, students and alumni that examined the university’s ties to slavery, including the 1838 sale. That transaction helped pay off debt at the Jesuit school then known as Georgetown College.
Two Jesuit priests who took turns as president of Georgetown in those years, the Rev. Thomas Mulledy and the Rev. William McSherry, orchestrated the 1838 sale, for a price of $115,000, or $3.3 million today. The sale, which stirred debate at the time within the Society of Jesus, led to the shipment of slaves to Louisiana plantations, separating families. The episode has been known to scholars for decades. But it has drawn new attention in the past year amid an intensive dialogue about race relations on college campuses across the country.
The panel, which Georgetown President John J. DeGioia convened a year ago, studied the sale and other issues connected to Georgetown and slavery. It said in its report to DeGioia that “a formal, spoken apology” would be appropriate “because its absence rings so loudly.”
“The University, despite the many ways that it has invested resources over the past half century to heal the wounds of racial injustice, has not made such an apology,” the report continued. “While there can be empty apologies, words of apology, genuinely expressed, make a difference in the quest for reconciliation.”
The report and the university’s response drew emotional reactions from people who trace their lineage to those sold in 1838. Jessica Tilson, 34, a student at Southern University in Louisiana, said she was especially moved by the university’s decision to dedicate one of its buildings to the memory of Isaac. Tilson said she is descended from him.
Tilson was driving her mother to work Thursday when she got an email from Georgetown with news of the report. She said she burst into tears, pulled into a gas station parking lot and told her mother. They cried together, and talked about how they would tell Tilson’s 80-year-old grandfather.
“I love the idea – all of it,” Tilson said. “Especially the name of the buildings. Isaac is my sixth great grandfather … When people name buildings after people, it shows how much you value them and respect them…. That means millions of children that come to that school for an education will learn about him. That is — I’m speechless. There are no feelings in the world that can describe how that feels.”
With the report, Georgetown joins a growing number of prominent colleges and universities that are giving new scrutiny to their various connections to the institution of slavery in America from colonial times through the Civil War.
September 1st, 2016 at 3:13 pm
The recording device is at capacity.
PrP
September 1st, 2016 at 8:27 pm
Nice play on words here today, Mischa. Great article and either start taxing rogain and viagra or STOP taxing my sweet spots monthly needs!
MaQin, I will respond to your sweet comment, I’m headed to Macao, the Vegas of Asia, right now to celebrate a friends birthday, wish me luck at that roulette wheel, have a favorite number? Let me know ill play it and split the proceeds with you : )
Luv, Zen Lill
September 1st, 2016 at 9:34 pm
Zen Lill my lucky number is 11.
September 1st, 2016 at 9:40 pm
If the fact that 40 states still tax tampons isn’t enough to say as long as men run the government women’s needs will be considered a luxury. Something only tolerated by men when not taxed, what is?
Get off your asses bitches and vote for Hilary.
September 1st, 2016 at 9:43 pm
With the passage of obamacare. You shouldn’t make the tampons tax free you should just order men to buy them under the obamacare mandate. Think of all of the tax revenue you could get from forcing people to buy something they neither want nor need.
September 1st, 2016 at 9:44 pm
You know what ? You feminists are making me disgusted.Taxing the tampons is not become they are being used by women only,but because they are commodity .Okay!What do you think we taxing medicines that used by seriously ill patients or taxing daily food ?We are not killing those patients nor depriving dining right from anyone,we tax them merely because they are all products.
September 1st, 2016 at 9:45 pm
John#6, Off topic again, because logic eludes you.
September 1st, 2016 at 9:46 pm
ok im a woman so sure, whatever, but this is a pretty ridiculous cause to champion. try advocating about something that matters like the organized sexual assaults just committed against over 100women on public streets in germany
September 1st, 2016 at 9:47 pm
Okay with me if you want to eliminate the tax on feminine hygiene products. But how are you going to make up the revenue shortfall? Slap a surcharge on lipstick and nail polish?
September 1st, 2016 at 9:48 pm
We should also end the prophylactic tax since it needlessly discourages safe sex.
September 1st, 2016 at 9:49 pm
Owen#10,Nope, not necessary. All that needs to be done is to increase the retail price on male targeted hygiene products (deodorant, shampoo, razor, shaving cream, etc…) to what females pay for similar products. You’ll more than make up the lost tax revenue from items that are necessary for females to have every month.
September 1st, 2016 at 9:51 pm
Holly#9, Or, maybe the Germans should worry about that and the Americans should focus on their own issues? Like this one?
September 1st, 2016 at 9:52 pm
Proof that our society whines about anything and everything. Sorry but women have become the biggest whiners of all.
Get this, women can serve in combat, but only if they want to, they can’t be drafted in time of war, aren’t even required to register for the draft, but should they want to serve on the front lines, the military is required to let them.
September 1st, 2016 at 9:54 pm
I’m sorry, Michelle, but this is playing an issue.
It’s not like the sales tax on tampons is making them unaffordable. What, tampons are free, but toilet paper is taxed? Isn’t THAT unfair as well, since women generally use more of it?
You can always count on politicians to hijack public policy for their own publicity stunts.
September 1st, 2016 at 9:54 pm
George#14, … all of which has naught to do with this article, making YOU the whiner whining about off-topic whines.
I don’t know how many wars you’ve personally been drafted into, but if you were born after 1958 you have been drafted into as many wars as women have, whiner.
Why don’t you join feminism’s fight to either remove the draft entirely, or to at least make it even across the board for males & females rather than being the biggest whiner?
September 1st, 2016 at 9:56 pm
Necessities shouldn’t be taxed. Like food, hygienic, medicine…ect…
Things that we want but don’t need should be taxed. Like a speed boat, video games, candy….ect…
September 1st, 2016 at 9:57 pm
I wasn’t drafted but I spent a year as I-A during the Vietnam War. Fortunately they didn’t draft up to my lottery number.
However whatever my personal situation was or is, doesn’t make the current status of women in the military fair in relation to men.
Women whine about not being included, whine about being included. Oh my, my insurance doesn’t pay for my birth control pills, does now, by federal law! Oh no, I have to pay sales tax on sanitary napkins, who comes up with this stuff?
Are we completely out of other injustices in this country? Whine, whine, whine.
September 1st, 2016 at 9:58 pm
Marcus#17, Who is making these rules?
September 1st, 2016 at 9:59 pm
George,WP#18, Says the person whining about women supposedly whining.
September 1st, 2016 at 10:00 pm
For example I like video games.
Is it a needed necessity? Of course not.
Then it should be taxed as it’s not a necessity.
September 1st, 2016 at 10:03 pm
Should expensive food be taxed? Do people really need to eat caviar, truffles, lobster etc.?
Maybe you, Marcus should be a committee of one to decide what is a necessity and the rules on whether necessities should be taxed.
September 1st, 2016 at 10:04 pm
The argument is that a necessity shouldn’t be taxed if it impacts one gender more than the other. It’s okay to tax toilet paper because both men and women use it. But it’s not okay to tax tampons because only women use them.
Also, the tampon tax is an example of the latent misogyny in our society. If there was a male equivalent of a tampon, it would be free on every street corner because the patriarchy makes sure life is super easy for men and super difficult for women.
September 1st, 2016 at 10:04 pm
I too pay taxes on my groceries.
Now for the big question, if I go to the store and buy tampons for my wife should I be taxed? Or should I only be exempted if she gives me the money to buy them? If I buy them w/ my money should I be taxed?
September 1st, 2016 at 10:06 pm
Mountain out of a molehill. This would be a more interesting discussion if the idea of not taxing staple goods was advanced. But every other such item — e.g., toilet paper, toothpaste, etc. — is taxed so it’s hard to see why tampons are so uniquely unique in all this.
September 1st, 2016 at 10:07 pm
Razor blades are taxed, toothpaste is taxed, toilet paper is taxed – all can reasonably be construed as necessities. You are not being taxed for being a woman, dear Ms. Garcia, you are taxed for being alive.
As Ben Franklin said “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Get used to it, Ms. Garcia, stop complaining, and get a life.
September 1st, 2016 at 10:07 pm
Cyrus#25, Because *ONLY WOMEN* need them. Not want – NEED.
September 1st, 2016 at 10:09 pm
Larry#26, Razor blades aren’t a necessity. If you want a good demonstration of why this is a false equivalence, let’s make a deal. You go 30 days without shaving, and every woman in your office will go 30 days without tampons. We’ll reconvene in a month and I’m sure you’ll have had an epiphany about why this is a false equivalence.
Both women and men pay taxes on toilet paper. And in this case, tampons are more like the toilet than the toilet paper.
Toothpaste is tax exempt as a necessity in some regions.
September 1st, 2016 at 10:49 pm
Well, according to California scientists, a glacier in northeast Greenland has come unmoored from a stabilizing sill and is crumbling into the North Atlantic Ocean. The glacier, named Zachariae Isstrom, entered a phase of accelerated retreat in 2012 and is currently losing mass at a rate of 5 billion tons per year.
The research team used data from aerial surveys and satellite-based observations acquired by multiple international space agencies. The highly sensitive radar sounder, gravimeter and laser profiling systems, coupled with radar and optical images from space, monitor and record changes in the shape, size and position of glacial ice over long time periods, providing precise data on the state of Earth’s polar regions.
The scientists determined that the bottom of Zachariae Isstrom is being rapidly eroded by warmer ocean water mixed with growing amounts of meltwater from the ice sheet surface and they say that the glacier is being hit from above and below. The top of the glacier is melting away as a result of decades of steadily increasing air temperatures, while its underside is compromised by currents carrying warmer ocean water, and the glacier is now breaking away into bits and pieces and retreating.
Zachariae Isstrom is close to another large glacier that’s also melting rapidly but is receding at a slower rate because it’s protected by an inland hill. The two glaciers make up 12 percent of the Greenland ice sheet and would boost global sea levels by more than 40 inches if they fully collapsed.
So, they melt and the sea level goes up a bit (although three feet is more than just a bit!). We can deal with that, right? Unfortunately, that’s not the only consequence.
Ocean circulation at risk
Scientists from the University of South Florida, along with colleagues in Canada and the Netherlands, have determined that the influx of fresh water from the Greenland ice sheet is “freshening” the North Atlantic Ocean and could disrupt the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), an important component of ocean circulation that could have a global effect. Researchers say it could impact the future climate in both Europe and North America.
Freshwater flux from Greenland is composed of melt runoff from ice and tundra runoff as well as the calving of icebergs. The amount of freshwater flux from Greenland began to dramatically increase in the mid-1990s. How much of the enhanced freshwater flux actually winds up in the Labrador Sea?
Because of the clockwise nature of ocean circulation around Greenland, most of the freshwater increase, up to 70 percent, is being driven toward the Labrador Sea, magnifying its impact and increasing the possibility of significant effects on the AMOC.
The AMOC transports a large amount of heat into the North Atlantic where it is given up to the atmosphere and helps regulate the climate in Europe and North America. The major effect of a slowing AMOC is expected to be cooler winters and summers around the North Atlantic, and small regional increases in sea level on the North American coast.
The AMOC is a part of the Gulf Stream and they are both part of a complex global ocean circulation system that’s still not completely understood. The researchers say this shows the need to look at different components of the climate system, including the ice sheets and oceans, in an integrated sense.
Unfortunately, understanding what’s happening may not do a lot to stop it. Our children and grandchildren may lead very different lives.
September 1st, 2016 at 10:54 pm
Mike,TM you may be interested in this article. It seems we may indeed be getting ready for a skirmish in the China Red Sea.
AGUANA, Guam — Commander, Task Force (CTF) 75 took permanent ownership of two MK VI patrol boats at Naval Base Guam, Aug. 24.
The MK VI patrol boats are now permanently assigned in two separate strategic areas of operations. In March, two MK VI patrol boats were delivered to CTF-56, based in Bahrain.
The newest generation of patrol boat, the MK VI is a 85-foot combatant craft and provides a persistent capability to patrol shallow littoral areas for the purpose of force protection of U.S. and coalition forces, as well as safeguarding critical infrastructure.
“Innovative assets like the MK VI allow us to maintain maritime superiority and help strengthen and enable our partners within the Indo-Asia-Pacific region,” said Capt. Erich Diehl, commodore, CTF-75. “We are excited to receive and employ the MK VI throughout our area of operations.”
The MK VI patrol boat offers the Coastal Riverine Forces a variety of mission sets, from waterborne to mine countermeasures to theater security cooperation, enabling operators to provide their critical security “know-how” and force protection worldwide. The U.S. Navy will utilize the MK VI patrol boats and their crews in a variety of Pacific Fleet exercises and operations.
Navy Expeditionary Combat Command’s Cmdr. Raul Gandara emphasized the enhanced capabilities of the Navy’s newest and next generation patrol boats.
“The unique design of the patrol boats is its configurability, which will provide the opportunity for installation of future systems directly supporting the operational commander,” said Gandara.
The MK VI patrol boats are globally transportable and can operate from amphibious ship well decks to forward locations, while partnering with allied navies at a new and more effective level. Additionally, the MK VI patrol boats will provide enhanced capabilities such as superior speed, range and maneuverability.
The patrol boats can reach speeds in excess of 35 knots and have a range of more than 600 nautical miles.
The Coastal Riverine Force (CORIVFOR) operates in harbors, rivers, bays, across the littorals, and ashore. The primary mission of CORIVFOR is to conduct maritime security operations across all phases of military operations by defending high-value assets, critical maritime infrastructure, ports and harbors, both inland and on coastal waterways, against enemies, and, when commanded, to conduct offensive combat operations.
CORIVFOR is a component of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command and provides flexible responsive maritime security forces capable of performing high-level security.
===========================
The question is will they be used against China or Iran.
September 1st, 2016 at 11:01 pm
THE DIRTY DOZEN
Go organic on these whenever possible
Strawberries
Apples
Nectarines
Peaches
Celery
Grapes
Cherries
Spinach
Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Cherry Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Bonus item: Hot Peppers
Bonus item: Kale/Collard Greens
September 2nd, 2016 at 3:16 am
I have 5 minutes so just wanted to say this I WANT to pay the tax on George WP’s viagra lol dudes got whining syndrome best known as DSB. ~ ZL
September 2nd, 2016 at 9:36 am
[…] Holly: I guess I see it differently. When things like this are made into law…they may seem small and insignificant or “ridiculous” on the onset. But if we don’t pay attention to them, men are slick – they know what they’re doing to women – it gives men the go ahead to push us even further, and attempt to chip away at our rights and do even more harmful things to us. […]