So, once again we have the War on Christmas, sponsored by Fox News. So, howlers, is there a war on Christmas? Have you felt protective of it? Do you feel under assault every year when the Big Day rolls around?
Somehow I think that Fox News is just stirring up the folks again.
I don’t usually sing the praises of the BOCS for their guest appearances but today I will make an exception. Good for them for inviting the movers and shakers of the local Boys and Girls Club(s) to the meeting to tell us a little something about them. I never knew what they were all about. I knew that kids at Stonewall did volunteer work there. I knew that the BOCS gave them money for operational costs, I knew that the had a steak dinner to raise money. what I didn’t know was their purpose.
After the presentation, I must say, I walked away quite impressed. The Boys and Girls Club has several locations in the county and city. It sponsors after school activities and day care for latchkey kids. There are homework sessions and video games, basketball, etc.
Many of the kids that attend might be considered high risk. They are kids who perhaps don’t have a parent at home after school because that parent is working. There are staff and volunteers who take personal interest in the kids and who end up being a positive image in that child’s life.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that two anti-abortion laws recently passed by the state Legislature are unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. One of the laws would require women to have an ultrasound procedure before an abortion and hear a detailed description of the fetus, and the other would restrict the use of medication to end a pregnancy.
The Center for Reproductive Rights filed legal challenges against both laws in April 2010 and October 2011, respectively, arguing that they violate the principles of medical ethics and undermine women’s ability to exercise the full range of constitutionally protected reproductive rights. The district court judge in both cases granted permanent injunctions against the two laws.
On Tuesday, following appeals by the state, the Oklahoma Supreme Court reaffirmed the lower court’s decisions that the laws are “facially unconstitutional.”
It’s hard to believe that Oklahoma might be more progressive than Virginia. Would Virginia’s new anti-abortion laws get shot down in the State Supreme Court? Between ultra-sounds and mini hospital status for abortion providers only, it seems like some court would have something to say on the constitutionality of it all, here in the Old Dominion.
