Todd Gilbert: Lifestyle convenience???

MoonHowler

Deputy House Majority Leader C. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) said Tuesday night that he “regretted” his “insensitive comments”earlier in the day about abortion being a “lifestyle convenience.”

“Abortion is a sad and deeply serious occurrence,’’ Gilbert said in a statement. “Individuals on both sides of this issue agree that it is tragic for all involved. I recognize that few women undergo the procedure lightly. It leaves scars, both mental and physical, that can last forever. I regret that my comments earlier today on the House floor were insensitive to that reality.’’

What was that Elena said about a war on women?  What further proof do we need?  How dare this arrogant man speak of “Lifestyle Convenience?”   How  dare he! 

I feel so betrayed tonight.  My grandfather’s family were Virginians back in the mid-1700’s.  My grandmother was a member of the DAR, her family were Virginians.  My people were here before there was a United States.  Yet tonight I sit here, as a grandmother myself, wondering what has happened to my state.  Who are these men who came marching in here and decided what they thought was best for the women of Virginia?  These dumb asses will be vanquished.  Sic semper tyrannis

 

NYC poor neighborhoods have highest abortion rates

MoonHowler

New York Times:

A study released by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reveals Chelsea to have the highest abortion rate in New York City, with 67.23 percent of pregnancies ending in abortion.

Jamaica, Central Harlem, Greenwich Village, and Bedford-Stuyvesant also ranked high on the list. The neighborhood with the lowest abortion rate is the Upper East Side, which also happens to be Manhattan’s safest neighborhood as well.

Many of us will recognize the areas with high abortion rates as the neighborhoods that have the greatest poverty in New York City.  This data  tells us that high abortion frequency is closely tied to poverty and the dysfunction of poverty.  The statistics are staggering.  So are the stats for crime, high school drop out, welfare, prostitution, government assistance  and drug use. 

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What’s Wrong with Arizona?

MoonHowler

From yahoo.com:

PHOENIX (Reuters) – Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on Tuesday signed into law a controversial bill that makes the state the first in the nation to outlaw abortions performed on the basis of the race or gender of the fetus.

The move comes as anti-abortion groups across the nation try to seize on gains made by political conservatives during the November elections, seeking enactment of new state laws to further restrict abortions.

Under the new Arizona statute, doctors and other medical professionals would face felony charges if they could be shown to have performed abortions for the purposes of helping parents select their offspring on the basis of gender or race.

The women having such abortions would not be penalized.

State legislators have said no such law exists anywhere else in the nation.

Backers of the measure said the ban is needed to put an end to sex- and race-related discrimination that exists in Arizona and throughout the nation. They insist the issue is about bias rather than any broader stance on abortion.

“Governor Brewer believes society has a responsibility to protect its most vulnerable — the unborn — and this legislation is consistent with her strong pro-life track record,” a spokesman said.

Do they just invent things in this state?   In addition to being the immigration capital of the nation, were they also the abortion capital of the nation?   Is there real evidence that people were having abortions because of the race of the father?  How about the gender of the fetus?  Evidence please.Read More

Michael Moore: My Congressman, Bart Stupak, Has Neither a Uterus Nor a Brain

MoonHowler

Michael Moore is a strange person. I have never seen one of his films. I have always assumed that he was far too liberal for my taste. Yet he is an interesting, thought-provoking man at times, in the interviews with him that I have seen. He has a middle class background with middle class values. He also seems to think capitalism is evil. Perhaps I misunderstood him though. He is not what people sometimes call ‘the Hollywood elite.’ I found his letter in the Huffington Post and almost didn’t read it.

I am going to ask you to read his letter. Please do not comment on Michael Moore. Our like or dislike of him is not the issue. Please respond to what he says. Any part of it. There are many layers in what he has to say.

 

Friends,

I live in Michigan, in one of the 31 counties represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by none other than Mr. Bart Stupak, a Democrat. You’ve probably never heard of him. He’s a pretty quiet guy, a former Michigan State Police trooper who boldly decided to run some 18 years ago as a Democrat in a rural part of Michigan that votes almost exclusively for Republicans (yes, I know — what am I doing here? I’ll save that story for a future letter).

His voting record is pretty conservative for a Democrat, but he’s had a few shining moments. In the wake of the Columbine shootings, he voted for some gun control, a not-too-popular position to take here in northern Michigan. The NRA came after him with all they had in 2000.

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Utah Bill Criminalizes Reckless Behavior Causing Miscarriage

MoonHowler

A controversial  bill is awaiting the signature of Utah Governor Gary Herbert.  If the governor does nothing, the bill becomes law.  Why is this bill so dangerous?

In a nut shell, the bill criminalizes reckless behavior that causes a miscarriage.  The bill’s sponsor, State Representative Wimmer (R) says of course not wearing a seat belt would not cause a pregnant woman to be prosecuted.  However, the lawmaker could not give real assurances that this wouldn’t happen.  He did add that taking drugs could be determined reckless behavior.

The bill, ostensibly, was created because some teenager paid another person money to beat her in hopes of aborting.  The fetus lived and Utah law failed to provide a means to prosecute the girl beaten or the person who did it.  Wimmer also says that this bill’s intent is not to restrict legal abortion.  (note raised eyebrow)  It would seem that this law is just poised and perched to be a test case for legal abortion to be criminalized.

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Maddow: Whose Afraid of Virginia?

MoonHowler

So far the new Republican regime is off to a rocky start. It seems that  the Moderate McDonnell was really a cultural warrior.  I wish that hadn’t happen.  I was trying to support him.

Unfortunately, Marshall-gate has captured national attention.  He has tried to explain his words but having failed at that, he is now blaming  Capital News Service for misinterpreting his comments.

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:

After first blaming himself, Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, now is accusing a student-run media service of misinterpreting comments he made last week that suggested that disabled children were a form of punishment for women who had abortions.

In a floor speech today, the General Assembly’s most prominent abortion foe said he used a poor choice of words but never made the comment the Capital News Service said he made.

CNS is run by students at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Urging a prohibition against state funding of the pro-choice Planned Parenthood, Marshall told a news conference last week that “the number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children.”

He continued: “In the Old Testament the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.”

In its opening paragraph, CNS reported Marshall “says disabled children are God’s punishment to women who have aborted their first pregnancy.”

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