Wanna be Senator Smith (R-MO) is just an oaf

MoonHowler

At what point do we decide that these old men are just oafs? They are commenting in a world they really don’t understand. He wants to be elected so badly he tells the family secrets in the middle of a press conference. He doesn’t get it. His daughter should kill him. Smith is ignorant and speads ignorance like Todd Akin spreads ignorance.  Neither know any better and don’t want to learn more.  The are flat-earthers and proud of it.

These old men should not have control of anyone’s life situation—much less yours or any other woman’s. Send them packing. They aren’t bad people—just oafs.

For the record, “having a baby out of wedlock” is the most antiquated expression!  It belongs somewhere earlier than the lava lamp.  There is probably no expression that is more judgemental than that one.

Huffingtonpost.com:

When a reporter asked Smith to clarify what kind of situation was similar to becoming pregnant from rape, the candidate responded, “Having a baby out of wedlock.”

He added, “Put yourself in a father’s position. Yes, it is similar.”

Oh Dear God!  Tell me he didn’t just say that!   I am putting myself in a father’s position and I can tell him, it isn’t even close to being similar.  What is he thinking?  Do they just grow dumb old men in Missouri?  The  Show Me State?  Sorry.  It would take too long.

 

No Macaca moment for Ryan

MoonHowler

 

The sacrificial lamb?

 

If you want the most personal decisions made by government, by all means, vote for the Republican ticket.  That’s really what the week-long hoopla is all about.  Right now Not-Republicans are sitting back and watching the Republicans implode and duke it out internally.  It should have happened a long time ago.  The Democrats don’t need to throw rocks.  The Republicans are taking care of that nasty little task.  Every party needs a fall guy.

The attack on Todd Akin by Republicans is totally bat crap crazy.  If you look at the voting records of say..oh…Paul Ryan, and Todd Akin on reproductive rights, they will match, vote for vote.  Many of the movers and shakers of the “pro-life” movement also match Ryan and Akin.  Yet Akin is being painted as the  party bad boy?  Why?

…Because he talked in public.  Every last one of those uber-extremists wants to get rid of all exceptions to abortion.  They don’t want to just get rid of the exceptions where Medicaid is concerned.  They want abortion illegal for every reason.  Some might make an exception for life of the mother…might.  Most will not.

Don’t be sweet talked into thinking Akin is the only extremist out there.  He is not.  Paul Ryan and many others are right there with him.  They just didn’t have a Macaca moment like Akin did. 

Don’t be mislead….Ryan and Akins want to redefine rape and pass a personhood act

MoonHowler

 

From thinkprogress.org:

Yesterday, ThinkProgress reported that Rep. Todd “Legitimate Rape” Akin (R-MO) and GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan both cosponsored the bill that introduced America to the despicable term “forcible rape.” As it turns out, this may only be the second most sweeping attack on reproductive freedom that both men partnered on. Ryan and Akin also cosponsored a federal personhood bill, the Sanctity of Human Life Act of 2009, which declares that a fertilized egg is entitled to the exact same legal rights as a human being:

 

(1) the Congress declares that–

(A) the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being, and is the paramount and most fundamental right of a person; and

(B) the life of each human being begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, irrespective of sex, health, function or disability, defect, stage of biological development, or condition of dependency, at which time every human being shall have all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood; and

(2) the Congress affirms that the Congress, each State, the District of Columbia, and all United States territories have the authority to protect the lives of all human beings residing in its respective jurisdictions.

Lest there be any doubt, this bill is unconstitutional. Congress does not have the power to overrule Roe v. Wade by an ordinary statue, only a constitutional amendment could serve that purpose. Moreover, even if Roe were overruled by the Supreme Court, Ryan and Akin’s bill still attempts to redefine who “the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution” applies to. Again, changing the meaning of the Constitution can only be done through an amendment, not through an ordinary Act of Congress.

Read More

Anti-health care congressman Kelly compares health care act to Pearl Harbor and 9-11

MoonHowler

The Huffington Post:

Criticizing President Barack Obama’s health care reform law on Wednesday, Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) likened the requirement that private insurance plans provide contraception coverage to two of the most devastating attacks on American soil.

“I know in your mind, you can think of the times America was attacked,” he said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “One is Dec. 7, that’s Pearl Harbor Day. The other is Sept. 11, and that’s the day the terrorists attacked. I want you to remember Aug. 1, 2012, the attack on our religious freedom. That is a day that will live in infamy, along with those other dates.”

Wednesday marked the first day private insurers must include birth control coverage in their plans without charging a co-pay, per requirements in the Affordable Care Act.

Read More

Gallup Poll: 9 out of 10 say birth control is ok

MoonHowler

Politico.com:

Most Americans — including Catholics — believe birth control is morally acceptable, according to a new survey Tuesday.

While 89 percent of all respondents to a Gallup poll said they found contraception morally acceptable, 82 percent of Catholic respondents agreed; 8 percent of Americans and 15 percent of American Catholics said birth control is morally wrong.

Republicans and Democrats were pretty unified on the issue: 87 percent of GOP respondents approved of contraception, versus 90 percent of Democrats.

Controversy has swirled around the Obama administration’s proposed birth control mandate, which would require employers to cover contraception in their employees’ health insurance plans. The Catholic church, which opposes birth control, has sued the government over the requirement.

The poll shows that even as Catholic leaders oppose the Obama administration’s position on contraception, most Catholics don’t oppose contraception itself.

So are we do assume that all these “oppositions” aren’t from real people but from an institution, such as The Church, just telling us that Catholics and others are appalled?   It seems to me that once again, things are as they have always been. 

Read More

White will no longer be the majority?

MoonHowler

From the Washington Post:

For the first time in U.S. history, most of the nation’s babies are members of minority groups, according to new census figures that signal the dawn of an era in which whites no longer will be in the majority.

The latest estimates, which gauge changes since the last census, are a reflection of an immigration wave that began four decades ago. The transformation of the country’s racial and ethnic makeup has gathered steam as the white population grows collectively older, especially compared with Hispanics.

The census has forecast that non-Hispanic whites will be outnumbered in the United States by 2042, and social scientists consider that current status among infants a harbinger of the change.

“This is a watershed moment,” said Andrew Cherlin, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University who specializes in family issues. “It shows us how multicultural we’ve become.”

 Read More

Mississippi Gov claims liberals exist to abortion children

MoonHowler

Who is this blathering idiot?  Why its none other than the governor of Mississippi.   Such incendiary language.  I wonder what he would do with a class action lawsuit from “liberals” claiming defamation of character or slander? 

Governor Phil Bryant makes me ashamed to be a southerner.  Does anyone really sound like that? 

I wonder what nasty bill the underbelly of the south passed that the governor is referring to?

Ah ha!  According to Politico:

The governor was discussing a new state law requiring doctors who perform abortions at a clinic to be certified OB-GYNs with admitting privileges at a local hospital. He said opposition to the bill came from the political left.

The House Democratic leader says Bryant’s comments went “totally, totally too far,” especially because Mississippi voters rejected a personhood amendment declaring life begins at conception.

The owner of Mississippi’s sole abortion clinic plans legal action to block the law.

How can the new bill be legal?  Very often medical personnel are brought in, almost like riding the circuit for a miriad of reasons, especially in areas where there is a medical personnel shortage.  Unless Mississippi is planning on applying the same law to all medical doctors, I would say they might have a problem.

And yet another anti abortion bill….Congress this time

MoonHowler

The Huffington Post:

The House Judiciary Committee voted 20-13 on Tuesday to advance a bill that would make it a crime for anyone but a parent to accompany a young woman outside of her home state to have an abortion. The committee rejected several proposed amendments that would have provided exceptions for victims of rape or incest, women facing threats to their health, and grandparents and older siblings trying to accompany their family members to abortion clinics.

The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA), sponsored by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), imposes a prison term of up to a year for a doctor who performs an abortion on an out-of-state minor that is not accompanied by a parent. It has 158 cosponsors in the House and a companion bill in the Senate.

“This legislation is based on common-sense,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement on Monday. “Parents have the right to be involved in their children’s lives.”

Read More

John Boehner urged to drop the contraception controversy

MoonHowler

In the year 2012 this issue will not go away.  UFB.  I simply do not understand why we are still having a discussion over contraception.  It should be a part of health care.  Period.  It should be in every grocery, drug and Target-type store.

I think maybe too much is taken for granted by some of you young people.  FYI, ‘Young People” covers a lot of decades if I am saying it.  When I was a girl/young woman it was an issue. It shouldn’t be now.  I have passed the torch.  You folks have to get out there and fight for it yourself.  Censored and I both did it for our generation.  Frankly, we are now more worried about defending  upcoming social security. 

Your reproductive rights are in serious danger.  No one commented on the ERA.  That speaks volumes, right there, that you don’t think it can happen to you.  Can one of you imagine at age 20 being told you had to have parental permission to get contraception?  That’s just the way things were.  The old time TV sets weren’t just a prop.  It looks like things are headed right back that way. 

Don’t worry whether you like a president or not.  You will never have to rub elbows with that person.  Think Supreme Court appointment.  That is any president’s true legacy.  A Supreme Court Justice is a gift that keeps on giving and giving and giving, over the decades.  Men, if you have daughters, do you want them to have to come ask you for permission to get contraception at age 20?  Didn’t think so.

It is hard for many of you folks under 55 to even imagine what some of this would be like.  Everyone is used to being their own boss about such issues, which you should be.  However, that could all come to an end.  You all have been warned.

Doonesbury to Lampoon Texas Trans-vaginal “Shaming Wand.”

MoonHowler

Cartoonist Garry Trudeau, of Doonesbury fame, is going to tackle the new Texas ultra-sound abortion law the upcoming Doonesbury comic strip.  According to Yahoo.com:

The Texas series features a woman who goes to an abortion clinic and is confronted by several people who suggest she should be ashamed. Among them is a doctor who reads a script on behalf of Texas Gov. Rick Perry welcoming her to a “compulsory trans-vaginal exam,” and a middle-aged legislator who calls her a “slut.”

One panel equates the invasive procedure to rape and describes the device used to perform it as a “10-inch shaming wand.”

Newspapers who don’t want to feature this issue will be offered an alternative.  Hopefully, Trudeau’s biting sarcasm will shame a couple of states, including Virginia, into reversing its their recent legislation.  Some of Trudeau’s language will be quite graphic for a general audience.  

It will be interesting to see which papers carry the syndicated substitute.  Mwanwhile, tired of reproductive rights?  Thank the religious right.  The pro-choice community sure didn’t bring it up.  However, they aren’t going to give it a pass.  Not by a long shot.

Contraception: Some facts and figures

MoonHowler

The Guttmacher Institute:

WHO NEEDS CONTRACEPTIVES?

• There are 62 million U.S. women in their childbearing years (15–44).[1]

• Seven in 10 women of reproductive age (43 million women) are sexually active and do not want to become pregnant, but could become pregnant if they and their partners fail to use a contraceptive method.[2]

• The typical U.S. woman wants only two children. To achieve this goal, she must use contraceptives for roughly three decades.[3]

Read More

Planned Parenthood Services in the Old Dominion

MoonHowler

Many folks have suggested that women just go to Planned Parenthood if they want birth control.  Let’s take a look and see what all is available.  It looks like there are 7 centers in Virginia.   They are located in the following cities:

Blacksburg

Charlottesville

Falls Church

Hampton

Richmond

Roanoke

Virginia Beach

All but one of those centers offers abortion services.  Hampton only offers a referral.  The thing that jumps out at the reader is that all centers are located in areas where there are colleges.  What also jumps out is there are no rural centers for women.   Some offer LGBT Services .  Some offer general health services.  All offer men’s services.   What do people do if they live in southwest Virginia or southside?  Danville and Emporia don’t have Planned Parenthood.  It appears that the closest center for most of southside is Roanoke or Virginia Beach.  If women don’t live near a population center, they are out of luck.   Pennsylvania has 41 centers.  Most do not offer abortion services.  North Dakota has no centers.  South Dakota has 2 centers and only one has abortion services.  There is a lot of land out in the midwest.

Read More

Bob McDonnell, VP (That’s Vaginal Probe, not Vice President)

MoonHowler

 

According to pundits like Larry Sabato, McDonnell has pretty much cratered any chances of obtaining the Vice Presidential nomination.  Others agree.  Stick a fork in him, he’s done.  The stupid part is, he knew better and his advisors knew better than to sign the bill he is about to sign.

 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Being the anti-birth control party is really not the way to win elections.  The Blunt Amendment was defeated in the Senate today.  The Democratic controlled Senate didn’t have to allow the bill to come to a vote, but…why not let folks shoot themselves in the foot if that is what they want to do.