TWIT STORM

And yes, that does rhyme with $h!t storm and that is precisely what happened last night when Komen began trending on twitter-GLOBALLY.  It's late as I type this and I invite anyone who wrote about this to include a link to their blog page in a comment box.  I will re-edit my post to incorporate any links provided via the comment boxes into the body of this entry so they are "clickable" ....

The ones I can quickly find, I will include.  As I said, it's late.  So what the hell happened last night?  The very short version?  Komen pulled close to $700,000 in grant money they were providing to Planned Parenthood.  As a sister blogger stated, this is NOT a conversation about abortion or birth control.  I respect everyone's right to their own point of view-religious, political or otherwise.

I do not moderate my comments but I will delete any comment that even hints at those topics.  While I respect free speech and I am all for healthy debate, this is about the many other services provided by Planned Parenthood.  Services like mammography and gyn screening.  Services that are provided to the underinsured or those without the means to pay for routine screening.

The lion's share of Komen's donor dollars has been spent raising awareness about the importance of mammography screening and how early detection saves lives.  Some (many, most?) are unhappy with the percentage of funding that is provided for research but again, that's not relevant to this conversation.  I'm going to stick with the commitment Komen made to raise awareness and to make sure mammography screening is available to anyone in need.  Pulling funding from Planned Parenthood when this is PRECISELY what that money is being used for?  I call BullSh!t.

I'm going to quote Dr. Susan Love via NPR (and be sure to read her blog, too):

"I don't understand what is bad about funding mammograms and breast exams!"

Well, me either.  And this is what caused The Twit Shit Storm Of January 31, 2012.

There were lots of great tweets flying around but I'm calling this my favorite tweet of the night.  Her blog can be found here: .http://amaditalks.tumblr.com/

I don't have the time or energy to #FightKomen.#ScrewKomen. Let's #FightBreastCancer & #FundPlannedParenthood. Make Komen irrelevant.

What do I like about this tweet.... the important things.... Fight Breast Cancer and Fund Planned Parenthood.  Amadi followed this up with a suggestion to donate to Planned Parenthood and I tossed out the idea that joining Army of Women would cost nothing.  My thought process?  That fits the "Fight Breast Cancer" part of her tweet.

I was very surprised to get an immediate reply thanking me for the link, promising she would research Army of Women and offering me congrats on five years of survival.  And blessings.  That just made me smile.  She's a stranger.  But now she isn't.

Amadi, THANK you for reaching out to me.  I'm big on random acts of kindness and your reply felt like that to me.  And I've had a pretty lousy week.  You would have no way of knowing that so just know, You Made A Difference.... If you happen to be reading this, again... thank you.  

The posts explaining this dust up are below but first, I NEED to try this One More Time because there are far too many women who have never heard of Army of Women or who are unsure what it's all about.  This is the 2AM version so if this seems insulting because it's worded as if I'm talking to someone who has the education level of a fifth grader, it's all I got left.  In other words, I'm not talking down at anyone.  I'm the one with the challenged brain.

(If you are already familiar with AOW and don't feel like hearing my voice again, just scroll down to the blogs listed below...... they offer the details of Komen and Planned Parenthood and what happened.  If you are NOT familiar with AOW and for example, you don't realize all women can join, please do read my pitch....please....)

Going with the basics.  Who What When Where Why How.

PAY ATTENTION PLEASE, THIS IS THE REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF!!

Who:
Anyone over the age of 18 is invited to "join" Army of Women.  This includes ALL women - whether you have a diagnosis of breast cancer or not.  We need ALL ethnicities & no holds barred on lifestyle, either.  Women of color, Latinas, Asian, gay, straight, bi (why do I feel like I'm singing Lady Gaga?)

What:
Army of Women is NOT an Army.  You are joining a group of women who are determined to see breast cancer eradicated in our lifetime.  You are NOT being asked to donate money.  You are NOT being asked to donate your time.  You are NOT being asked to provide anything other than very basic information.  YOU ARE consenting to allow Army of Women to send you emails (perhaps three per month) to notify you of research studies that are looking for woman participants.  YOU are NOT obligated to join a study, EVER.  These are research studies, NOT DRUG trials.

When:
Now!  We need to end this dread disease.  Join today.  Join now.  It will take less than 90 seconds.

Where:
Anyone can join by clicking here.  Or, send a text to 46637 with the words armyofwomen in the message.  You will get reply on your phone.  You can join via Facebook, too (and while you're there, "Like" the page, too!)

Why:
To help Dr. Susan Love who is among the top breast cancer research doctors in the WORLD.  She is the author of what is commonly referred to as The Bible on breast cancer.  It is her goal to have a database of ONE MILLION women.  Mice don't get breast cancer.  Women do.  The research community is trying to understand the cause of breast cancer so one day it can be prevented.  If a researcher is doing a "quality" study which will be scrutinized by a panel of highly esteemed docs/scientists, Dr Love's team will send a mass email to all of the women who "joined" (signed up to JUST review the email-can't stress that one enough.... that is ALL you are joining to do... ).  If you fit the study criteria and you would like to participate, you simply RSVP right within the email.  Or, you decline.

The Rest:
You never need to join a study.  You will never be contacted by anyone suggesting you join a study.  Your email information will not be shared with anyone.  Your privacy is protected.  The basic information requested is for the SOLE purpose of making sure there is a diverse group of women-in other words, all age groups, ethnic backgrounds, geographic locations... One million of ME (middle aged-ugh, hate to admit to that--white women) ain't solving anything..... Now you know WHY you are being asked to provide ANY sort of information.

The page of FAQ's

Here are the blogs.... as I said..... post a comment and I'll keep this list going!

Uneasy Pink

Xeni who is sitting in the chemo chair today singing a favorite Grateful Dead tune.

My friend Alicia with whom I have a wager on the Super Bowl outcome

Slate

The comments are the best.

Thank you, Jen for the link in the comment box!

Here's Jackie... thanks for sharing it here

Done for now... will add more tomorrow.. (or rather in a couple of hours)... tis late...

The story is the same... my angle?  Seizing the momentum on behalf of Army of Women!  I'm just an opportunist.... but while this raging is going on and everyone is shouting research... Let's do it...  Yes, I DO have an agenda..... I volunteer with AOW to staff events and get more women to sign up.  Yes, definitely.  I have an agenda.  Mostly, the agenda is.... Eradicate The Disease.

AnneMarie
NY Organizer
Army of Women