Funnily enough, I use the word "penis" (or words to that effect) whenever I see or hear a male Republican member on tele spouting his garbage...

As Lisa Brown said:

They don't want to hear us, and when we speak out anyway, they try to shut us down.

I'm not about to let them stop me. I wonder if they hear us now?

Are we shouting loud enough for them now?

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Can we at least get it straight that Lisa Brown was NOT banned for saying the word 'vagina'?

MozP 21 June 2012 11:24PM:

What was the Repugs' excuse for banning her then? Having a vagina rather than saying it? Contempt of god? Disbelieving the American Dream? Failing to arselick Wall St?

MozP 21 June 2012 11:24PM:

Are you disputing
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/15/michigan-politician-banned-using-word-vagina?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
then? It states clearly that Brown was silenced for using the word "vagina", supposedly violating the "decorum" of the chamber (never mind that rape statutes must include the word "vagina" and "penis", and must be discussed by the chamber). One Republican actually claimed he would not use it in mixed company, which obviously disqualifies him from discussing and voting on any legislation to do with reproduction or health care (or sex crimes).

She was banned for making a half pun suggesting that another person in the house wanted to touch her vagina.

Personally I think she should have been barred for shouting stupid (and disengenous in this case) slogans she lifted from feminist rallys, instead of making a serious argument.

Anyway, keep lying about the context in which she was barred. You will anyway.

As this article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/21/vagina-lisa-brown-michigan
puts it:

GOP Representative Lisa Posthumus Lyons, of Alto, said in a statement last week:

"Her comments compared the support of legislation protecting women and life to rape, and I fully support majority floor leader Jim Stamas' decision to maintain professionalism and order on the House floor."

Are you disputing
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/15/michigan-politician-banned-using-word-vagina?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

In a word: yes. The Guardian has been whipping up a storm all week centred on this fib, knowingly.

She said the word 'vagina', but that was not the reason she was banned. Others on this thread have explained why she was banned.

Oakhorn 21 June 2012 11:45PM : >"GOP Representative Lisa Posthumus Lyons, of Alto, said in a statement last week: "Her comments compared the support of legislation protecting women and life to rape, ..." "

Posthumus rubbish. Anti-abortionists often compare abortion, a surgical removal of undesirable tissue, to murder, a far worse insult and abuse of language, and they get away with it. Lyons appears not to care for domocracy at all, prefferring "professionalism", perhaps the sort of "professionalism" found on Wall St.

Their claim that they are protecting "life" is a gross and unprofessional abuse of language. Life does not begin at conception, and their attempt to import their religion into civil, democratic moral discourse is as unprofessional as anything can be. As for restrictions on abortion protecting women, that's not even a bare-faced lie, it's such an obvious untruth.

goodgamem8s 21 June 2012 11:45PM: >"She was banned for making a half pun suggesting that another person in the house wanted to touch her vagina."

Could we have that verbatim, please? This is the Groan, it's been printing "fuck" for 40 years, there's no need to be a shrinking violet.

For crying out loud!

The objection was to her suggestion that the male Republicans were particularly interested in her vagina, even to the extent of being willing to force the issue (rape her) - she made a 'quip' that "No means no"!

These same Guardian writers who keep on about this false non-issue would have a bloody fit if a man had made a public comment suggesting that the females present were gagging for his cock and told them to keep their hands to themselves!

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Don't you think you are failing to see the wood for the trees?
Democracy in Michigan is highly dysfunctional. All kinds of crazy things are going on that easily dwarf this.

http://standup4democracy.com/

Next time you are tempted to why oh why about the perceived irrelevance of feminism, take a good look in the mirror. The problem with Public Act 4 is probably that it sounds boring and doesn't allow easy opportunities for privileged wealthy white women to further their public careers and to high-five at public meetings in a glow of mutual empowerment.

So my question Rep Lisa Brown is this: why are you wasting time on this sideshow and not doing something about Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act (Part 4, 2011)? Or at least use your notoriety in the service of putting attention upon it rather than providing a distraction. You've got four cities under emergency management in Michigan, do your job for the people who elected you, vagina owner-operating or not.

OK, I got it verbatim from the Chicago Tribune:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-19/news/ct-talk-huppke-vagina-column-20120619_1_michigan-lawmaker-anatomical-term-anatomy

"Democratic Rep. Lisa Brown said: "I'm flattered that you're all so interested in my vagina, but no means no."
The use of that word shook some lawmakers to their cores.
"What she said was offensive," Republican Rep. Mike Callton told The Detroit News. "It was so offensive, I don't even want to say it in front of women. I would not say that in mixed company."

1. It wasn't a half-pun, it was a rather good joke. Anyone who does not understand that (rather than pretending to for political advantage) is pretty stupid.

2. The "no means no" is an excellent adaptation of the feminist slogan. It means "my body is my own, not yours, not some growth's, not my parents' or their religion's, not my "country"'s, not some imagined god's". If legislators cannot understand that, they're not simply unprofessional, they're bigots.

3. Rep. Mike Callton is obviously incapable of being a legislator since he is incapable of dicscussing reproduction, health care and sex crimes in mixed company and the parliament is mixed.

Brownly 22 June 2012 12:15AM:

There was no mention of male or female in the quote. The comparison of the draft legislation to rape is an apt political statement, entirely and admirably professional. The draft legislation attempts to control a growth in a woman's (e.g. Brown's) body contrary to her wishes, insisteing that the growth remains there against the womans will. The comparison with rape, the undesired insertion of different tissue into a woman's reproductive tract is completely justified.

The enthusiastic modifiers and the judgements personal to your taste are rather over-egging it and besides the point. It doesn't matter if you find it 'apt' and 'funny', the issue is that they found it inappropriate in that she was suggesting another person in the same room wanted to violate her. Issues of propriety and decorum don't allow for 'artistic merit' or you'd hear more dick jokes in church.

Either way, in that you feel need to praise the rhetorical qualities of her statement I assume you are actually conceding that it wasn't utterly a single word that got her into trouble after all.

Excession77 22 June 2012 1:02AM: >"It doesn't matter if you find it 'apt' and 'funny', the issue is that they found it inappropriate in that she was suggesting another person in the same room wanted to violate her."

Her whole point was that the draft legislation was the equivalent of violating her and other women - a very valid and legitimate political statement.

>"Issues of propriety and decorum don't allow for 'artistic merit' or you'd hear more dick jokes in church."

What happens in a church, incl church propriety and decorum, is utterly irrelevant to what happens in a democratic political forum. To suggest otherwise is antidemocratic, since religion and other superstitions have no relevance to democracy.

>"it wasn't utterly a single word that got her into trouble"

I've no idea what would have happened had she used "reproductive tract" instead of "vagina". Do you?

i ;like vaginas

When women uses words like that, they usually want something ....... Not always, but sometimes.

1. It wasn't a half-pun, it was a rather good joke. Anyone who does not understand that (rather than pretending to for political advantage) is pretty stupid.

Right. It was a joke that implied another person of house might have an unsavoury interest in her vagina.

A pretty distasteful way of arguing, even if in a manner of speaking you agree with the gist of her point.

2. The "no means no" is an excellent adaptation of the feminist slogan. It means "my body is my own, not yours, not some growth's, not my parents' or their religion's, not my "country"'s, not some imagined god's". If legislators cannot understand that, they're not simply unprofessional, they're bigots.

Your shitty opinion on abortion isn't the issue. It doesn't allow you or Lisa Brown to speak in a way that is calculated for shock value in a debate, or use slogans instead of arguments in a House of Representatives.

I think people should be aware of the legislation (HB 5711) LIsa Brown and many others are opposing. It is basically a ploy by the Republicans to shut down abortion clinics by placing ridiculous requirements and restrictions on them.

Part of the bill includes a section which would basically require funeral services for all fetuses from abortions occuring at 8 weeks or greater. I'm surprised there hasn't been an entire article dedicated to the ridiculousness of that in itself. It also bans abortions after 20 weeks, even for rape and incest victims. A woman would not be able to have an abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, even when the health of the mother is in jeopardy. (Apparently there are some vague exceptions for emergency situations). Additionally, doctors would be required to carry $1 million in liability insurance if they perform five or more abortions each month or have been subject to two more more civil suits in the past seven years. Probably the most restrictive part of the legislation are the regulations which require any clinic that provides six or more abortions in a month or one which advertises abortion services would have to be licensed as a “freestanding surgical outpatient facility.” That means that even if a clinic does not offer surgical abortions, it would be required to have a full surgical suite.

The unemployment rate in Michigan is about 8%-9% and the Republicans there are ostensibly wringing their hands over the need for fetal funeral services. It's not a wonder that Lisa Brown questions why they're so concerned about her vagina.

I think people should be aware of the legislation (HB 5711) LIsa Brown and many others are opposing. It is basically a ploy by the Republicans to shut down abortion clinics by placing ridiculous requirements and restrictions on them.

But isn't that the problem? Yes, the Republicans are pushing an anti-abortion bill, but that is no longer the story, is it?. The story is now all about Lisa Brown and her self-serving, ridiculous lie that the very utterance of the word 'vagina' got her banned from the legislature. Any coverage of the actual issues has been overshadowed.

But hey, she got loads of media coverage. Is it an election year by any chance?