Yesterday marked the 39th anniversary of Roe v Wade. It went quietly unnoticed by many. For those of us who grew up in a pre-Roe era, it didn’t go quite as quietly. Vintage women all knew someone or several someones with a horrible abortion story that happened before January 22, 1973.
There was Robin, the girl I went to high school with who got an illegal abortion from some butcher over in Elkton, of all places. She ended up in the hospital with serious complications and the story made the local paper. It didn’t give Robin’s name but somehow it leaked out. It wasn’t hard to figure out who was missing and in the hospital either. Arrests were made.
Then there were the 3-4 young professional women I knew who got abortions, testing the nearly legal procedure in Washington, D.C. The procedure was expensive and multi-stepped. It involved lawyers, psychiatrists and doctors. As I recall the entire cost was around $1000 in the early 70’s. Those were big bucks in those days.
Newt apparently gave South Carolina Republicans the red meat they sought. He took on members of the press and blasted them. He did it twice. First he roared at Juan Williams, ironically of Fox News, and then he went Rumpelstiltskin on John King of CNN. His audiences loved it.
Let’s take a look at what happened with Williams. Days before, while in New Hampshire, Newt announced that if he were asked to addressed the NAACP, he would carry on the following conversation from cbsnews.com:
Gingrich, during an appearance in Plymouth, New Hampshire, spoke about remarks he would theoretically make if invited to speak to the NAACP.
“I’m prepared, if the NAACP invites me, I’ll go to their convention and talk about why the African American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps,” Gingrich said.
The former House speaker has made a habit of calling President Obama the “food stamp president” — a nickname he used on Thursday as well — and has often painted the contrast between himself and Mr. Obama as a choice between paychecks and food stamps.
“The fact is, if I become your nominee we will make the key test very simple: Food stamps versus paychecks,” Gingrich said. “Obama is the best food stamp president in American history. More people are on food stamps today because of Obama’s policies than ever in history. I would like to be the best paycheck president in American history.”
Juan Williams who was a debate moderator posed the following question to Gingrich last Monday:
Newt used the opportunity to go on the attack. He gets it. Newt lived in Georgia. He is speaking code. The Fox Five didn’t get it. He said he was going to address the NAACP. When he targets that group as his audience, it becomes racial, regardless of denials and regardless of trying to convince us all it is about economics.
Newt can use all the mock rage he wants. He doesn’t fool me and he doesn’t fool Juan Williams. Juan Williams is correct. He didn’t answer the question. The Food Stamp president indeed!
Gingrich directed his mock rage at the media again targeting John King who asked the question if he would like to say anything to say about the second Mrs. Gingrich’s interview with ABC news. He said no but he would. Apparently once again the audience loved his attack on the media.
It leaves me with the distinct impression that many (NOT ALL) Republicans in South Carolina care more about telling off the media and beating President Obama than they do any principles. Am I wrong?
Update: 10:20 : Coach Joe Paterno has died. RIP Coach.
The above video is the last interview with Joe Paterno and was with Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post.
It has been reported that former head football coach Joe Paterno is gravely ill and family is considering removing him from a respirator. Paterno suffers from complications of lung cancer. He was abruptly removed from his position as head coach November 9, 2011.
Paterno fell at home December 19 and suffered from a shattered pelvis. His health has been in continued decline since then.
Students, faculty and friends have begun to gather at the campus bronze statue to keep vigil. Shown here, friends removing snow from the area of the larger than life likeness of their beloved Coach Paterno. Coach Paterno is the winningest coach in the history of college football. He went to Penn State in 1949.
Are we psychic or what? I just picked up the post, only to learn that today has been declared Squirrel Appreciation Day. According to the Washington Post:
Saturday is Squirrel Appreciation Day. You may find the middle of winter an odd time of year for such a day, but think about it: Unlike some other mammals I could name (I’m thinking of you, lazy bears),
squirrels don’t hibernate. They’re out there 24/7, living la vida squirrela: climbing trees, foraging for nuts, chittering, trying to get into your attic, getting flattened by steel-belted radials.
In fact, come Jan. 21 — Squirrel Appreciation Day — they are probably running low on food. They could use a paw up. That’s exactly what Richard “Thor” Thorington — the Smithsonian’s squirrel expert — is going to give them.
“We’re going to celebrate tomorrow,” he told me.
How? “By putting out extra sunflower seeds.”
Thor is also scattering cobs of dried corn, a squirrel favorite, outside his Bethesda home. Peanuts would be another treat. (Squirrels have also been known to eat baby sparrows, but those are hard to find at the
This sequined squirrel is ready for the Squirrel Appreciation Day party, if there were such a thing. (Katherine Frey – The Washington Post) store this time of year. Or any time of year.)
The scientist said squirrel behavior can change during the chilly months of winter. Many squirrels will move out of their leaf nests — those balls you see high in the branches — and try to find a hollowed-out tree.
“You can stuff a lot of leaves in a hollow tree and have a nice warm place,” Thor said. “I’ve always wondered how waterproof leaf nests were. ”
So there you have it. Squirrels love sunflower seeds and peanuts. The ones in my yard turn their noses up at corn cobs and just leave them on the ground. If I don’t set out good enough food, they go next door to where pickin’s are better.
Stephen Colbert kept Joe Scarborough in stitches Friday morning as he prepared for his rally with former presidential candidate, Herman Cain. Colbert is using comedy to illustrate the very serious and destructive nature of the Super Pacs which seem to have taken over the election process with little or no accountability. According to the Washington Post:
Calling himself the “Martin Luther King of corporation civil rights,” Colbert said that in a time maybe not everyone in the audience could remember — two years ago — corporations were sadly limited in the amount of money they could pour into political campaigns.
But that changed, he said, when “five courageous justices” on the Supreme Court ruled in the 2010 Citizens United decision that “corporations are people,” that people are entitled to free speech, that free speech equals money and that corporations should thus be entitled to dump as much money as they like into the political water table, provided they don’t coordinate with the campaigns they’re funding.
It’s the super PACs that are funding the flood of negative ads that the candidates all say they hate, even though the Citizens United decision was widely praised by Republicans.
Then Colbert asked the crowd, which included people of all ages and political persuasions, to send a message about super PACs by voting for Cain, who is still on the ballot here, though he suspended his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. And, somehow, both Republicans and Democrats were charmed.
and…
The event — dubbed the “Rock Me Like a Herman Cain South Cain-olina Primary” — began with a gospel rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” with Colbert harmonizing, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the crowd shouting, “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”
Colbert sends a very serious message. Hopefully Americans will rise up and grab back their own influence over elections. Super PACs seemed to take everyone by surprise. Any strong feelings on super PACs? Perhaps this is an area for common ground. So far, the Republicans have been more manipulated by Super PACs than Democrats.
Stephen Colbert cannot be on the South Carolina ballot. Therefore he will run as Herman Cain. 9-9-9
What else is new? Mitt has money problems and cheating on your wife if you are Newt is the new virtue where righteous indignation can rear its ugly head.
Why on earth lead off with a question like that? Furthermore, who cares if he wants to swing, have an open marriage or a menage a trois. I could care less as long as he stays off other people’s values. There is the big IF. Looking back at famous Newt video footage, he is the paladin of marriage and values in his rhetoric.
More importantly, Newt has turned his rage on the politics of accountability. No one championed for truth, goodness and the American way during the Lewinsky affair more than Newt Gingrich. Yet at the time, he as well as many others were engaing in similar behaviors. Pot, meet kettle.
Rage is not becoming to Mr. Gingrich. He needs to take his punishment like a good boy. If it comes at an inconvenient time to him, perhaps he should have thought of timing when he asked both ex-wives for a divorce.
In many respects, King was being very fair to him. Marianne had given interviews to the Washington Post and to ABC. Newt was given a chance to speak to the issue which had to be fresh on everyone’s mind. He was asked if he cared to respond. There were no accusations. He was pretty much of a D—
There is a part of me that simply doesn’t care about Newt’s personal life. There is another part of me that really resents his public outrage. He has lost his right to be angry. At least he doesn’t have a penchant for hotties. MEOW.
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has gotten all worked up over the rumor that DC is catching rats and releasing them into Virginia because city laws prevent extermination. What? Is this the rat king of all urban legends? What is he basing his information on?
Here is the supposed straight story from the Washington Examiner:
There’s been a lot of buzz over Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s complaint this week that D.C. is trapping rats and dumping them in Virginia because a city law won’t allow animal control to exterminate rats. Cuccinelli’s statement, which was in reference to the rat problem in Occupy DC and came during a WMAL interview, even prompted conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh to spout off on D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh, who proposed the disputed animal rights law.
“This Mary Cheh babe, C-H-E-H, she is the woman behind the D.C. plastic bag tax,” Limbaugh said. On a related note, Limbaugh was “asked” to resign from ESPN’s NFL Countdown show in 2003 for saying that then-Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.
Cheh’s office has received a slew of nasty emails regarding her stance on D.C. rats, prompting Cheh to fire off a news release Thursday morning lamenting the “state of public discourse.”
“[Over] the past few days, the bill has been the subject of some national comment, and as a result, my inbox has been filled with emails disparaging me for requiring rats to be exported rather than killed (again, flatly not true). Firing off uninformed missives and calling me ‘babe’ must have been easier than actually reading the legislation.
“‘Babe’ was, however, not the only four-letter word I was called in the emails. For some examples of the well-reasoned policy suggestions I received, attached is a small sample. People have asked me whether government emails are censored. After going through my Council inbox this week, I can tell you that they are not.”
Cheh and her staff have said that the law prohibiting extermination exempts rats. The law says “commensal pests,” which refers to roof rats, Norway rats and house mice and in general refers to rodents that invade human living quarters, according to pest experts
What next? Garbage, needles, nuclear waste. Are we the dumping ground for everything. Apparently not rats. Where do possoms fit into this plan. It sounds like there is much ado about nothing. If DC is rat-dumping, then we need to do out own catch and release, right back across the Potomac. And on the other hand, is Cuccinelli once again jumping on something without finding out facts first? It sounds like that is the case this time.
Supposedly Marianne Gingrich, Newt’s second wife, has said that she could give an interview that could end his political career. When interviewed by Esquire in 2010, this did not happen. Is Marianne blowing smoke or what?
Tonight ABC is supposed to air parts of a 2 hour interview with Marianne Gingrich. Details are sketchy at best. It seems unlikely that there will be anything all that revealing. Both of his daughters have issued a statement:
To: ABC News Leadership
From: Kathy Lubbers, Jackie Cushman
Date: January 18, 2012
The failure of a marriage is a terrible and emotional experience for everyone involved. Anyone who has had that experience understands it is a personal tragedy filled with regrets, and sometimes differing memories of events.
We will not say anything negative about our father’s ex-wife. He has said before, privately and publicly, that he regrets any pain he may have caused in the past to people he loves.
ABC News or other campaigns may want to talk about the past, just days before an important primary election. But Newt is going to talk to the people of South Carolina about the future — about job creation, lower taxes, and about who can defeat Barack Obama by providing the sharpest contrast to his damaging, extreme liberalism. We are confident this is the conversation the people of South Carolina are interested in having.
Our father is running for President because of his grandchildren — so they can inherit the America he loves. To do that, President Obama must be defeated. And as the only candidate in the race, including Obama, who has actually helped balance the national budget, create jobs, reform welfare, and cut taxes and spending, Newt felt compelled to run — to serve his country and safeguard his grandchildren’s future.
That is a pretty powerful letter. Gingrich was involved in a relationship with his present third wife while still married to Marianne. He apparently doesn’t always say the smartest thing when it comes to women, according the Huffington Post:
According to an extensive profile in Esquire, he told Marianne Gingrich that she was a “Jaguar” and that “all I want is a Chevrolet.” That brought him to his third marriage to Callista Gingrich, who was a House staffer when she began an affair with her eventual husband.
DUH! I wonder how Callista likes being compared to a Chevrolet?
Word on the street it that the interview will be a segment on Nightline tonight. Obviously the interview is meant to deal a blow to the Newt Gingrich campaign. Is it possible to do him harm? Could this be the end of the line for the Gingrich-ster? My guess is that Newt has at least 9 lives and whatever Marianne has to say will be unlikely to have much influence of potential primary voters.
2. Ninety percent of what Planned Parenthood does is provide abortions.
That is what Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said this month in a speech against federal support for Planned Parenthood; his staff later said his assertion was “not intended to be a factual statement.”
Here is a factual statement: Planned Parenthood’s abortion care represents 3 percent of its medical services — 332,000 terminations out of a total of 11.4 million services provided in 2009. Nearly all the care offered at Planned Parenthood health centers is preventive services and screenings, including contraception, testing for sexually transmitted infections, pap smears and breast exams. Title X funds cannot be used for abortion care at any time, for any reason. Federal Medicaid funds can be used to reimburse a provider for an abortion when the pregnancy would endanger the life of the woman or resulted from rape or incest.
States can use their local tax dollars to support abortion care for low-income women, and 17 states do so under Medicaid. The capital city did, too — until last week, when Congress overturned the District’s Medicaid abortion coverage.
Many of the so called “facts” about Planned Parenthood are not facts at all. They are outright lies told because people want to mold reality to fit their political agenda. The best way to prevent abortion is to prevent unwanted pregnancy. It’s easier to believe a lie than work to learn the truth.
Many Planned Parenthood Centers do not even offer abortion services.
Stay tuned for more…..part 3 will dispell even more myths.
Elena is now calling the initiatives to close down teen pregnancy prvention iniatives and Planned Parenthood, Pro-abortion measures. I believe she is correct.
Over the past few years, I have heard so many myths and lies about Planned Parenthood that I could scream. Most are made up sound bites that exist to prove someone else’s not so hidden agenda.
This week we will be displaying the 5 Myths about Planned Parenthood from the Washington Post. I plan on doing 1 or 2 a day which gives everyone time to digest and discuss each one.
1. Planned Parenthood’s federal funding frees up other money to pay for abortions.
Opponents of Planned Parenthood insist that giving the organization federal dollars allows it to spend other money in its budget to provide abortions. That is not possible — there is no other money.
Title X is a federal grant program that exists solely to help low-income and uninsured people access contraceptives and sexual health care; 5.2 million people use the program annually. But Congress has never appropriated enough money to take care of the estimated 17 million Americans who need publicly funded family-planning care. There always are more patients than subsidies.
Further, a Title X grant is designed to help with costs, not to fully cover them. So family-planning programs are required to find other money to support the Title X project — not the other way around. For patients who qualify for Medicaid, reimbursement rates for reproductive health services are lower than the cost of the care. A typical family-planning visit might cost upward of $200, including the exam, lab tests and contraceptive method, but the Medicaid reimbursement rate may be as low as $20.
This information is something your anti choice legislators do not want you to know. Usually those who oppose abortion also oppose contraception and/or programs that provide contraception to women and teens.
Title X was authorized nearly 40 years ago and signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
The best way to prevent abortion is to prevent unwanted pregnancy. That sounds like an over-simplification of the obvious, but some people apparently do not get it. As we approach Roe v Wade week which brings the circus to down. let’s keep focused on the real issues which would be to make sure abortions aren’t needed. that would do away with most of the problem. Keep abortion safe, legal, and infrequent.
Stay tuned for parts 2-5 of Planned Parenthood myths.
It is a dark day without knowledge. No quick term papers for kids. No instant gratification on those millions of questions that pop into our heads, both drunk and sober. Wikipedia has shut down in protest of planned congressional action on SOPA: Stop On-line Piracy Act. Go to Wiki to read their message. It will remain down for a full 24 hours.
Should SOPA pass, Elena and I will be forced to shut down because neither of us can assume the financial risk of having to monitor our website for Internet ‘piracy.’ We aren’t experts.
Please contact your senators and congressmen and women and tell them to vote NO to SOPA/PIPA. The contact information is on the Wiki page.
Please leave a message here regarding your feelings about this potentially harmful legislation.
Why is it that people who want to knock giant holes in abortion rights also want to knock out programs that exist to reduce unintended pregnancy? Governor Robert McDonnell seems to be jumping on the stupidity bandwagon on this very subject.
McDonnell (R) wants to eliminate funding — $455,000 — for pregnancy prevention programs across the state that offer sex education and birth control to teenagers.
The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative funds programs at schools and clinics in seven health districts, including Alexandria, which have the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the state.
McDonnell’s administration says that the money is being discontinued because the initiative has not worked — and that the localities continue to experience pregnancy rates above the state average.
Although Virginia’s teen pregnancy rate is below the national average, 28 cities and counties are above the national average. In 2010, 10,970 teen pregnancies were reported in Virginia.
“The elimination of this long-standing health program could have serious consequences for women and girls’ health,” said Katherine Greenier, director of the Patricia M. Arnold Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU of Virginia. “Teens need good information and services to make informed, healthy choices. To ensure a decline in teen pregnancy rates continue we must provide teens with the necessary information, education and resources.’’
The program worked with 4,642 teens in fiscal 2010, including those at the Teen Wellness Center at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, which serves youths 12 to 19.
Hunters are wreaking havoc on the national bird, the Bald Eagle. The eagle population is dying because of consuming lead found in the ammunition left in animal entrails after that animal has been shot. According to the Daily Press:
Lead bullet fragments left in discarded entrails of deer and other animals are poisoning bald eagles and other scavenger birds, scientists and wildlife officials say.
The Wildlife Center of Virginia, a nonprofit that cares for sick and injured animals, has received four birds in the last two weeks suffering from lead poisoning.
The birds — two bald eagles, a red-tailed hawk and a black vulture — are not endangered but they are protected in North America under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. One of the eagles was found near Stumpy Lake in Virginia Beach.
“That bird is still alive. He’s not doing well, but that’s better than being dead,” said Ed Clark, president of the Waynesboro-based center.
