April 24th, 2012
Rachel Maddow on the GOP's new normal; attempting to force victims of rape and incest to give birth to children conceived during such crimes.
Showing posts with label Abortion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abortion. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Arizona - The American Right's Insanity Incubator
April 4th, 2012
Admittedly, there is plenty of "conservative" crazy to go around.
In Florida, the push is on to drug test, well, pretty much everybody who works for state government provided that they are not legislators.
In Michigan, I am not making this up, the Republican Governor has just signed a law which seems to have been designed for the sole purpose of absolving the brother of that state's GOP party chair from responsibility in a multi-million dollar real estate boondoggle.
From coast to coast, the war on women rages, arguments that the poor should be taxed more are regarded as reasonable and, as Andrew Sullivan has examined HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, standard GOP talking points about the sitting President are so far removed from reality as to be the equivalent of fiction.
There's also the Ryan plan, a scheme so fantastical in its absurdity that it contains statements like this one on page 16:
Mitt Romney has called it "marvelous" to the delight of the President.
Yup, the right wing's whack-doodles are absolutely everywhere making their mischief like pooh-flinging monkeys on a coke binge.
But there really is no place like Arizona.
Sure, most GOP controlled state houses are trying to pass or have passed invasive new restrictions on a woman's right to choose. But none of them are like Arizona's H.B 2036. Not content to merely ape other transvaginal ultra sound mandates or impose new limits on when a pregnancy can be terminated, Arizona's GOP has inserted a provision which effectively alters the fabric of time.
Over at Mother Jones, Kate Sheppard explains:
You're pregnant when you're not, ladies. So there. Harlots.
Still, this is very nearly rational in comparison with any number of other initiatives the Arizona GOP has proposed.
Got employer covered health insurance? WELL, let's protect their right to fire you if you use birth control.
Let's link any environmental initiative, even one using private funds to cover governmental interests, to a vast conspiracy involving "one world government," the U.N., Bill Clinton and... whatever.
Let's force any woman who is struggling with the Constitutionally protected right to choose to view an abortive procedure first.
Just in time for the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr, let's propose rather severe new penalties on civil disobedience.
Don't get me started on Joe Arpaio. Or Russell Pearce. It goes on and on and on with exemplars that boggle in comparison to almost any other so-called "Red State."
The state of Arizona has come to not only define, but also to predict establishment GOP extremism. They are the micro to the macro. If it's nuts, and it's happening there, it's also probably on its way to your state.
For the record, I used to love Arizona.
I once rode a horse in Monument Valley. It's one of my most treasured memories. I hoped at that time to capture the feeling, to be frank, that I thought John Wayne must have had in any of the many films he made there with the great John Ford directing.
It is a place of tremendous natural splendor. I also really liked the people I met when I was there.
But, that seems a lifetime ago.
Would I go back now?
Not a fucking chance unless I have to. I would as soon go to Kazakhstan and start loudly declaring myself to be American.
This is because it seems very nearly as dangerous to be one in either place.
Admittedly, there is plenty of "conservative" crazy to go around.
In Florida, the push is on to drug test, well, pretty much everybody who works for state government provided that they are not legislators.
In Michigan, I am not making this up, the Republican Governor has just signed a law which seems to have been designed for the sole purpose of absolving the brother of that state's GOP party chair from responsibility in a multi-million dollar real estate boondoggle.
From coast to coast, the war on women rages, arguments that the poor should be taxed more are regarded as reasonable and, as Andrew Sullivan has examined HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, standard GOP talking points about the sitting President are so far removed from reality as to be the equivalent of fiction.
There's also the Ryan plan, a scheme so fantastical in its absurdity that it contains statements like this one on page 16:
"The U.S. military is threatened by an uncontrolled debt burden that weakens America - but defense spending is not the driver of that burden." EMPHASIS MINERemember, this a "serious" and "non-political" document.
Mitt Romney has called it "marvelous" to the delight of the President.
Yup, the right wing's whack-doodles are absolutely everywhere making their mischief like pooh-flinging monkeys on a coke binge.
But there really is no place like Arizona.
Sure, most GOP controlled state houses are trying to pass or have passed invasive new restrictions on a woman's right to choose. But none of them are like Arizona's H.B 2036. Not content to merely ape other transvaginal ultra sound mandates or impose new limits on when a pregnancy can be terminated, Arizona's GOP has inserted a provision which effectively alters the fabric of time.
Over at Mother Jones, Kate Sheppard explains:
"Like the proposals before it, Arizona's legislation is modeled on the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act" designed by the National Right to Life Committee. And like the other bills, it states that abortion would be banned 20 weeks into a pregnancy. But reproductive rights advocates point out that Arizona's law would actually be more restrictive than others, as the bill states that the gestational age of the fetus should be "calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of the pregnant woman."
Not to go all middle-school health on you, but that's not exactly the same as the actual date the egg and the sperm hooked up. Figuring out that exact point one became pregnant can be tricky. Most women ovulate about 14 or 15 days after their period starts, and women can usually get pregnant from sexual intercourse that occured anywhere between five days before ovulation and a day after it. Arizona's law would start the clock at a woman's last period—which means, in practice, that the law prohibits abortion later than 18 weeks after a woman actually becomes pregnant."Got that?
You're pregnant when you're not, ladies. So there. Harlots.
Still, this is very nearly rational in comparison with any number of other initiatives the Arizona GOP has proposed.
Got employer covered health insurance? WELL, let's protect their right to fire you if you use birth control.
Let's link any environmental initiative, even one using private funds to cover governmental interests, to a vast conspiracy involving "one world government," the U.N., Bill Clinton and... whatever.
Let's force any woman who is struggling with the Constitutionally protected right to choose to view an abortive procedure first.
Just in time for the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr, let's propose rather severe new penalties on civil disobedience.
Don't get me started on Joe Arpaio. Or Russell Pearce. It goes on and on and on with exemplars that boggle in comparison to almost any other so-called "Red State."
The state of Arizona has come to not only define, but also to predict establishment GOP extremism. They are the micro to the macro. If it's nuts, and it's happening there, it's also probably on its way to your state.
For the record, I used to love Arizona.
I once rode a horse in Monument Valley. It's one of my most treasured memories. I hoped at that time to capture the feeling, to be frank, that I thought John Wayne must have had in any of the many films he made there with the great John Ford directing.
It is a place of tremendous natural splendor. I also really liked the people I met when I was there.
But, that seems a lifetime ago.
Would I go back now?
Not a fucking chance unless I have to. I would as soon go to Kazakhstan and start loudly declaring myself to be American.
This is because it seems very nearly as dangerous to be one in either place.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Komen Kerfuffle
Feb 7th, 2012
Of all the blow-ups in the GOP's ongoing war against women, nothing has been as spectacular as the reaction to the Susan B. Komen foundation pulling their grants to Planned Parenthood. Before cheering their apparent reversal, it's worth noting how small a victory this is.
Michael B Keegan wrote this weekend:
"I too am angry at Komen's decision to put right-wing ideology ahead of its purported public health mission. But our deeper anger should be directed at someone else: the Republicans in Congress and GOP leaders who consistently make the same choices involving many times more money, and many times more women's lives. The shock of the revelation of Komen's new policies only highlighted how numb many of us have become to the larger, unrelenting attacks on women's health by right-wing elected officials.
The grants to Planned Parenthood that Komen would have severed totaled $680,000 over the last year - a total that the organization thankfully made up in two days from contributions that have poured in in response to the Komen betrayal. Let's put that in perspective. Last year, the House GOP voted to zero out the entire $317,000,000 Title X family planning budget - including about $75 million that would have gone to Planned Parenthood's preventative care and treatment programs for low-income women. Deciding that this plan wasn't disastrous enough, the House alsopassed an amendment to eliminate all federal funding to Planned Parenthood, an estimated total of$363 million, much of which goes to care for the Medicaid patients who make up almost half of Planned Parenthood's clientele. The amount that Komen would have cut from Planned Parenthood's women's healthcare was significant-- but the amount that House Republicans were prepared to cut was 500 times larger."
We should be glad that so many citizens spoke out and effected some change. But, the mission to destroy Planned Parenthood and other supports for millions of women is otherwise proceeding according to plan.
Of all the blow-ups in the GOP's ongoing war against women, nothing has been as spectacular as the reaction to the Susan B. Komen foundation pulling their grants to Planned Parenthood. Before cheering their apparent reversal, it's worth noting how small a victory this is.
Michael B Keegan wrote this weekend:
"I too am angry at Komen's decision to put right-wing ideology ahead of its purported public health mission. But our deeper anger should be directed at someone else: the Republicans in Congress and GOP leaders who consistently make the same choices involving many times more money, and many times more women's lives. The shock of the revelation of Komen's new policies only highlighted how numb many of us have become to the larger, unrelenting attacks on women's health by right-wing elected officials.
The grants to Planned Parenthood that Komen would have severed totaled $680,000 over the last year - a total that the organization thankfully made up in two days from contributions that have poured in in response to the Komen betrayal. Let's put that in perspective. Last year, the House GOP voted to zero out the entire $317,000,000 Title X family planning budget - including about $75 million that would have gone to Planned Parenthood's preventative care and treatment programs for low-income women. Deciding that this plan wasn't disastrous enough, the House alsopassed an amendment to eliminate all federal funding to Planned Parenthood, an estimated total of$363 million, much of which goes to care for the Medicaid patients who make up almost half of Planned Parenthood's clientele. The amount that Komen would have cut from Planned Parenthood's women's healthcare was significant-- but the amount that House Republicans were prepared to cut was 500 times larger."
We should be glad that so many citizens spoke out and effected some change. But, the mission to destroy Planned Parenthood and other supports for millions of women is otherwise proceeding according to plan.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The GOP War On Women, cont...
Jan 10th, 2012
Sarah Seltzer notes a very bad development today:
"This is bad news--one of the worst laws in the "war on women" being fought in the courts has gotten the go-ahead from an appeals court--which means doctors may now be forced to deliver ultrasounds and read out information to abortion-seeking patients, no matter what they themselves or their patients want."
Sounds like any number of other laws the GOP has passed around the country topromote job growth inflict a narrow moral code on American women, right? Nope. This is way worse.
"In May's Houston Chronicle, writer Beverly McPhail described the procedure that as of today, may have to be enforced (emphases mine):
What if the women seeking to terminate her pregnancy has conceived as the result of a sexual assault? This will be a second violation. The sheer amount of damage this could cause is incalculable.
Sarah Seltzer notes a very bad development today:
Sounds like any number of other laws the GOP has passed around the country to
"In May's Houston Chronicle, writer Beverly McPhail described the procedure that as of today, may have to be enforced (emphases mine):
According to the Guttmacher Institute, 88 percent of abortions occur during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Because the fetus is so small at this stage, traditional ultrasounds performed through the abdominal wall, "jelly on the belly," often cannot produce a clear image. Therefore, a transvaginal probe is most often necessary, especially up to 10 weeks to 12 weeks of pregnancy. The probe is inserted into the vagina, sending sound waves to reflect off body structures to produce an image of the fetus. Under this new law, a woman's vagina will be penetrated without an opportunity for her to refuse due to coercion from the so-called "public servants" who passed and signed this bill into law."This is state-ordered rape.
What if the women seeking to terminate her pregnancy has conceived as the result of a sexual assault? This will be a second violation. The sheer amount of damage this could cause is incalculable.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Santorum Is Simply An Asshole, cont...
Jan 1st, 2012
He has slammed President Obama for being pro-choice because the President is "black."
He has slammed President Obama for being pro-choice because the President is "black."
Monday, November 14, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The GOP War On Reproductive Rights, cont...
Nov 1, 2011
It just never ends. Since the election of the 112th Congress and its corresponding Dominionist ascension, every month has represented another series of attacks on women's freedom. Mother Jones reports:
"The "personhood" amendment on the Mississippi ballot on November 8 doesn't just ban all abortions—an issue that my colleague Tim Murphy has covered quite well. It would also likely outlaw several types of birth control and possibly make all forms of hormonal contraception illegal in the state."
It just never ends. Since the election of the 112th Congress and its corresponding Dominionist ascension, every month has represented another series of attacks on women's freedom. Mother Jones reports:
"The "personhood" amendment on the Mississippi ballot on November 8 doesn't just ban all abortions—an issue that my colleague Tim Murphy has covered quite well. It would also likely outlaw several types of birth control and possibly make all forms of hormonal contraception illegal in the state."
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Down The Rabbit Hole With The GOP, cont...
Oct 30th, 2011
by F. Grey Parker
The election might be a full year away, but the Republican field's long-shot contenders are already fighting to claim the title of "most insane" in order to suck the last gobs of cash they can from a spittle-dribbling donor-base of whack-jobs.
The flailing, sputtering and stunningly disconnected "presidential' campaign of Rick Santorum has fired a new broadside against Herman Cain. This new attack is predicated on Cain's being too Pro-Choice. You read that right. I am not making this up. Taking advantage of the confusion Cain expressed earlier this week on the issue, Santorum's media team is trying to raise money by casting a Cain Presidency as a major threat to the "unborn."
Cain is clearly terrified of this intra-psycho pushback. Today, he rearranged his messaging... again. He wants us to make no mistake; he is still a devoted member of the "stay barefoot, stay at home and use-a-wire-hanger" crowd.
via HuffPo:
"Cain clarified his stance Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," saying he is "pro-life from conception, period." He also stood by claims he made this Spring that Planned Parenthood is "planned genocide," and that the organization's mission to "help kill black babies before they came into the world."
The GOP continues its march into territory than not only a majority, but also a provable plurality, is opposed to entering.
by F. Grey Parker
The flailing, sputtering and stunningly disconnected "presidential' campaign of Rick Santorum has fired a new broadside against Herman Cain. This new attack is predicated on Cain's being too Pro-Choice. You read that right. I am not making this up. Taking advantage of the confusion Cain expressed earlier this week on the issue, Santorum's media team is trying to raise money by casting a Cain Presidency as a major threat to the "unborn."
Cain is clearly terrified of this intra-psycho pushback. Today, he rearranged his messaging... again. He wants us to make no mistake; he is still a devoted member of the "stay barefoot, stay at home and use-a-wire-hanger" crowd.
via HuffPo:
"Cain clarified his stance Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," saying he is "pro-life from conception, period." He also stood by claims he made this Spring that Planned Parenthood is "planned genocide," and that the organization's mission to "help kill black babies before they came into the world."
The GOP continues its march into territory than not only a majority, but also a provable plurality, is opposed to entering.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Free Market Party?
Aug 23rd, 2011
by F. Grey Parker
Let's say that there is an activity which is perfectly legal under the laws of the United States.
This activity involves financial transactional behavior.
One could actually argue that it is part of the service economy.
With this in mind, some private citizens who require access in this marketplace elect to make agreements with private corporations to assist the way in which payments for these services are rendered.
Now... let's say that a small group of social activists feel that these arrangements are "wrong." Based on a series of religious rationales, they fight to interfere with this market by passing laws which forbid these private citizens from entering these private contracts for this legal activity.
It sounds crazy in that context, doesn't it? If, perhaps, you thought I was referring to the tenets of Sharia Law which govern "usury" or "interest," boy are you wrong.
Welcome to the American Republican Party in 2011 and its attempts to render illegal the use of private insurance policies to pay for abortions.
by F. Grey Parker
This activity involves financial transactional behavior.
One could actually argue that it is part of the service economy.
With this in mind, some private citizens who require access in this marketplace elect to make agreements with private corporations to assist the way in which payments for these services are rendered.
Now... let's say that a small group of social activists feel that these arrangements are "wrong." Based on a series of religious rationales, they fight to interfere with this market by passing laws which forbid these private citizens from entering these private contracts for this legal activity.
It sounds crazy in that context, doesn't it? If, perhaps, you thought I was referring to the tenets of Sharia Law which govern "usury" or "interest," boy are you wrong.
Welcome to the American Republican Party in 2011 and its attempts to render illegal the use of private insurance policies to pay for abortions.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The Assault On Hoosiers
June 22nd, 2011
Rachel Maddow examines the impact of Indiana's controversial removal of Planned Parenthood from the state's Medicaid system.
Rachel Maddow examines the impact of Indiana's controversial removal of Planned Parenthood from the state's Medicaid system.
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