Category Archives: Choice

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Oh, Terry! Oh, Nancy! Can’t you see? He’s just not that into you.

I got two breathless emails today. One  came from NOW’s Terry O’Neill and the other from NARAL’s Nancy Keenan.  Both of them were shocked (!) that Barack Obama would throw women under the bus (again) and side with the conservatives on emergency contraception (Plan B).

Terry O’Neill:

In a stunning betrayal of women, the Obama administration has sided with radical right politics in rejecting the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to remove an age restriction on emergency contraception.

It is only stunning if you haven’t been paying attention. Please see:

There’s more, but you get the idea…

It is an unusual and infuriating move for the Obama administration to overrule that decision, especially at a time when rumors are flying that the president is on the brink of caving in to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops by expanding religiously affiliated employers’ ability to deny contraceptive coverage to women under the Affordable Care Act.

Oh, he’ll do this too. No doubt in my mind. 

NOW calls on the president to stop playing politics with the lives of women and girls. During the Bush years, women’s reproductive health was under constant attack. We don’t need more of the same from the Obama administration.

Why should he stop now? After all, he did it to pass his POS health care bill. See:

Nancy Keenan:

Something like this should not happen with a pro-choice president in the White House.

Hahahahahahaahahahahahahaha!!!!   Ohhhhh!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!  (snerk, snuffle, snort) Hahahahahaha!!! 

Okay…pulling myself together now.  Pro-choice? In what fucking universe?

We had every confidence that this Bush-era policy would come to an end.

That was your first mistake.   No, really. Why would you think this? This is the same man that enshrined the odious Hyde Amendment in an Executive Order, thereby elimnating the need for Congress to vote to renew it.

That’s why today’s news is so shocking. The Obama administration has broken a key promise to the American people that it would base its decisions on sound science and what’s in the best interest of women’s health.

Oh, honey. Obama doesn’t care about us wimmenz.  Wake up and smell the coffee, for pete’s sake.  And get off the fucking fainting couch.

If you have any doubt left about what I really think of Obama’s alleged “pro-choice” bona fides, please read my post  I don’t think that ‘mental distress’ qualifies as the health of the mother and its follow up, Quit digging. 

I’m off to class now. I’ve got photographs to print for my final project. Maybe it will help me calm down.

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Rick Santorum supports the double victimization of raped women

What Liss said.

Let me be blunt: Rick Santorum is suggesting that after a man violates my body without my consent, sticks his penis in my vagina without my consent, ejaculates into my body without my consent, impregnates me without my consent, that he, Rick Santorum, should then have the right to force me to submit my body for nine months to a pregnancy I do not want, force me to submit my body to all that pregnancy can entail, from morning sickness to milk-engorged breasts to stretch marks to potentially life-threatening complications, and then force me to push out a baby I did not consent to conceive through the same vagina that was raped nine months earlier, and then decide whether to parent my rapist’s child or give up my child for adoption.

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Women under the bus again?

Why not? Women’s bodily autonomy went under the bus to get the HCR bill passed. And that’s small potatoes compared to a government shutdown, right? C’mon ladies, time to step up one more time and take one for the team!

Democrats slip House stopgap onto calendar

When closing the floor late Thursday night, No. 2 Senate Democrat Dick Durbin placed the House-approved bill that funds the government for a week and the Department of Defense for a year on the Senate calendar.The formal action was taken when Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was at the White House meeting with the president and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

Aides say the procedural maneuver gives Reid extra options in the final runup to the midnight deadline when the government runs out of money. Reid could offer the House-passed measure, which has an anti-abortion rider that applies to the District of Columbia attached, as a side-by-side vote with a clean CR to secure a time agreement from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), an advocate of the House alternative, for example.

 

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The container is profane, the contents sacred

If he’d used the “c” word, I might understand the pearl clutching.

But uterus?

You know, the scientific term for a mammalian female’s organ wherein a zygote  (the scientific term for a fertilized egg) implants. In humans this zygote, according to the religious extremists running the Republican Party, must be protected at all costs.

Said zygote will then develop first into an embryo (the scientific term for the first 8 weeks of gestation in humans) which also must be protected at all costs.

Said embryo then becomes a fetus (also a scientific term), which, even if something goes terribly, terribly wrong, must stay in the Container That Cannot Be Named.

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Criminalizing abortion

How is this:

There are other countries in the world that, like El Salvador, completely ban abortion, including Malta, Chile and Colombia. El Salvador, however, has not only a total ban on abortion but also an active law-enforcement apparatus — the police, investigators, medical spies, forensic vagina inspectors and a special division of the prosecutor’s office responsible for Crimes Against Minors and Women, a unit charged with capturing, trying and incarcerating an unusual kind of criminal.

any different from what this Georgia legislator would like to enact?

Not only does whackadoodle Georgia state Rep. Bobby Franklin want abortion classified as murder, according to his latest bill, the police will have to investigate all miscarriages to ensure that they were “spontaneous.” Here’s the complete bill. Via Daily Kos:

Franklin wants to create a Uterus Police to investigate miscarriages, and requires that any time a miscarriage occurs, whether in a hospital or without medical assistance, it must be reported and a fetal death certificate issued. If the cause of death is unknown, it must be investigated. If the woman can’t tell how it happened, than those Uterus Police can ask family members and friends how it happened. Hospitals are required to keep records of anyone who has a spontaneous abortion and report it. Yup, we’ve been waiting for someone to suggest this–and Franklin has. Needless to say, there are no exceptions allowed. Not for rape victims. Not for incest victims. Not to save the life and health of the mother (the fetus must get equal care).

What is even more sickening to me, is that this guy actually won his election. If he were just one lone voice that would be one thing. But to know that he garnered a majority of votes to win his seat is chilling.

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Falling on Deaf Ears

I see that NARAL is still using the information I researched last July in their talking points. And yes, I do think they got it from me. I sent it to them after noting nary a mention of this on their web site at the time. The order is even the same.

In their latest missive they write:

“Stupak on Steroids” is a very serious threat to women’s access to abortion. It would force you and your family to pay more taxes if your health plan covers abortion, jeopardize abortion coverage in the private market, and make it even more difficult for rape and incest survivors who rely on the government for their health care to access abortion services.

Problem is, they keep acting like this is just a Republican bill. They never, ever mention the Democrat who is the co-sponsor of the bill. And the Democrat whose name is continually attached to the bill, having done his damage, has stepped down and allowed his seat to be taken over by an anti-choice Tea Party-backed Republican.

Madamab writes:

Isn’t it fascinating that these hypocrites from hell yammer on and on about the insurance mandate being unConstitutional and denounce the “tyranny” of big government, but think it is perfectly fine to use the powers of government to essentially ban a legal medical procedure that is none of their fucking business? And aren’t we so glad that Obama encouraged these woman-hating control freaks by adding that Executive Order to the Health Whatever Bill and allowing the Nelson Amendment to pass the Senate?

By the way, NARAL’s idea of countering this bill is to have pro-choice bloggers blog about it today. Consider it done, but…is that all there is? Where is the march on Washington? Perhaps NARAL does not think something this insane and drastic could possibly pass. If that’s the case, let me be the first to say GET A FUCKING CLUE, NARAL. For once in your goddamned lives, GET AHEAD OF THE ANTI-CHOICE LUNATICS. We need a mass demonstration, not a bunch of pissed-off wimminz blogging. Yes, this bill will certainly go out of committee and will certainly proceed to the Senate. What happens then is anyone’s guess. And no, I do not have confidence that Obama will veto this crap if the Senate passes it. Show me the evidence that he supports a woman’s right to choose. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Damn girl, you want evidence? Sorry. I’ve got some words and a lot of “present” votes, but no evidence.

In the meantime, as madamab notes, the economy is playing a part in the fact that after a steady decline, the number of abortions in this country is ticking back up.

In final abortion news, we “murdering” wimminz are having more. Starting in 2008, the steady decline of abortions has stalled, and the number is going up slightly. A hint as to why: nearly 75% of abortions are done for economic reasons.

“Abortion numbers go down when the economy is good and go up when the economy is bad, so the stalling may be a function of a weaker economy,” said University of Alabama political science professor Michael New. “If the economy does better, you’ll see numbers trending down again.”

Do I hear a “duh fucking duh?” Here’s another: all this anti-abortion legislation that’s going through state and federal legislatures, usually only impacts the poor, and it disproportionally targets women of color.

Our “representatives” in Washington are too busy sticking their noses between our legs, and spending very little time, if any, doing the hard work that needs to be done to create jobs.  They’d rather grandstand. They’d rather kiss their corporate donors’ asses so as to secure their current and future financial futures.

I hope madamab’s hope comes to fruition. I’m not so sure.

Maybe this latest outrage will finally wake women up. Maybe there will be a hundred, a thousand blogs today about this subject and the “Creative Classes” will finally see the lump from the several tons of bricks that have been dumped on their heads since Obama was elected.

As for me, I’m taking no chances. I’m calling my Senators the second this piece of shit passes the House. I hope you will all do the same.

I will. But I’m not optimistic. The Red Queen asks:

What do you call it when both of the legacy parties refuse to address the needs and wants of the people they supposedly serve?

And now, led by the Republicans in Congress we get this.. Given Nevada’s financial hole, I think they’d probably be one of the first to jump on this bandwagon. Sweetie keeps telling me his retirement is secure. I don’t operate under that assumption. Public pensions have been in the crosshairs for quite some time. As Dakinikat puts it, they’re not even trying to hide it. Right there in the first paragraph.

Policy makers are working behind the scenes to come up with a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers.

[ . . . ]

Beyond their short-term budget gaps, some states have deep structural problems, like insolvent pension funds, that are diverting money from essential public services like education and health care. Some members of Congress fear that it is just a matter of time before a state seeks a bailout, say bankruptcy lawyers who have been consulted by Congressional aides.

Bankruptcy could permit a state to alter its contractual promises to retirees, which are often protected by state constitutions, and it could provide an alternative to a no-strings bailout. Along with retirees, however, investors in a state’s bonds could suffer, possibly ending up at the back of the line as unsecured creditors.

Those “investors in a state’s bonds” aren’t a bunch of high roller investors. They are people like me looking for a safe investment and who are trying to be as prudent as they can with their measly 401k accounts. Guess I better go look at my allocation, huh? I mean. If Social Security is on the chopping block, as well as Sweetie’s pension, I better take a look at that “third leg” of the stool, teeny though it may be.

For now, the fear of destabilizing the municipal bond market with the words “state bankruptcy” has proponents in Congress going about their work on tiptoe. No draft bill is in circulation yet, and no member of Congress has come forward as a sponsor, although Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, asked the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, about the possiblity in a hearing this month.

House Republicans, and Senators from both parties, have taken an interest in the issue, with nudging from bankruptcy lawyers and a former House speaker, Newt Gingrich, who could be a Republican presidential candidate. It would be difficult to get a bill through Congress, not only because of the constitutional questions and the complexities of bankruptcy law, but also because of fears that even talk of such a law could make the states’ problems worse.

Honestly, when has the worry of making things worse ever stopped these people?

They aren’t listening to us. They don’t care what we think.

Have I mentioned today how much I hate these people?

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Monday Meanderings: Hoodoo economics, dead birds, and more

I realize a lot of people got Friday off, but for my company, today is the “observed” New Year’s holiday. I’ve got to put away the Christmas decorations, clip Nina’s claws (horrors!), and do research on sex ed curricula for my role on the LCSD Sex Ed Advisory board. But before I do that, here are some links for you.

We Are So Screwed (Pharyngula) For the espousers of voodoo economics, this makes perfect sense.

The Manchurian Candidate (Newsweek): He’s a moderate? Obama needn’t worry. The guy won’t make it out of the primary.

The Coming GOP War on Women (Alternet): I’ve got to wonder. Why do posts regarding the assault on choice in the “progressive” blogosphere rarely, if ever, mention the Democratic co-sponsor of the Smith-Lipinski bill? All you ever hear about is Bart Stupak (why this particular villain never seems to rotate out is beyond me). As you know, I’ve had this one on my radar screen since July.

The merger of journalists and government officials (Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com)

There’s just no difference in how they think, what their values and priorities are, how completely they’ve ingested and how eagerly they recite the same anti-WikiLeaks, “Assange = Saddam” script.  So absolute is the WikiLeaks-is-Evil bipartisan orthodoxy among the Beltway political and media class (forever cemented by the joint Biden/McConnell decree that Assange is a “high-tech Terrorist,”) that you’re viewed as being from another planet if you don’t spout it.  It’s the equivalent of questioning Saddam’s WMD stockpile in early 2003.

[ . . . ]

What an astounding feat to train a nation’s journalist class to despise above all else those who shine a light on what the most powerful factions do in the dark and who expose their corruption and deceit, and to have journalists — of all people — lead the way in calling for the head of anyone who exposes the secrets of the powerful.  

[ . . . ]

It’s extraordinary how — even a full month into the uproar over the diplomatic cable release — extreme misinformation still pervades these discussions, usually without challenge.  It’s understandable that on the first day or in the first week of a controversy, there would be some confusion; but a full month into it, the most basic facts are still being wildly distorted.  Thus, there was Fran Townsend spouting the cannot-be-killed lie that WikiLeaks indiscriminately dumped all the cables.  And I’m absolutely certain that had I not objected, that absolute falsehood would have been unchallenged by Yellin and allowed to be transmitted to CNN viewers as Truth.  The same is true for the casual assertion — as though it’s the clearest, most obvious fact in the world — that Assange “committed crimes” by publishing classified information or that what he’s doing is so obviously different than what investigative journalists routinely do.  These are the unchallenged falsehoods transmitted over and over, day after day, to the American viewing audience.

In the meantime, the media is trying to make something out of the “mysterious” death of blackbirds and drum fish in Arkansas. This AP article on the bird incident explains some plausible causes, but that won’t deter the conspiracy nuts.

Scientists are investigating whether fireworks, poison or bad weather might have forced the birds out of the sky, or if a disoriented bird simply led the flock into the ground.

[ . . . ]

Rowe said many of the birds suffered injuries from striking the ground, but it was not clear whether they were alive when they hit.

Blackbirds have notoriously bad eyesight. If startled at night, they could easily fly into the ground, Rowe said. A few grackles and a couple of starlings were also among the dead. Those species roost with blackbirds, particularly in winter.

Violent weather rumbled over much of the state Friday, including a tornado that killed three people in Cincinnati, Ark. Lightning could have killed the birds directly or startled them to the point that they became confused. Hail also has been known to knock birds from the sky.

[ . . .]

Rowe said poisoning was possible but unlikely. She said birds of prey and other animals, including dogs and cats, ate several of the dead birds and suffered no ill effects.

“Every dog and cat in the neighborhood that night was able to get a fresh snack that night,” Rowe said.

Sorry. I just had to include that last line.

You all have a good day. I’ll be checking in later.