Both Sides of Eric Cantor's Mouth

Eric Cantor is suddenly concerned about who's in the doctor's office with us:

"The doctor's office is the last place anyone would want to find the IRS."

I believe his concern stems from the fact that, particularly for women, the doctor's office has been getting crowded.

For decades we have had to make room for all the representatives of private insurance companies; in the heyday of managed care, there were all kinds of folk, from nurses to administrators, and even occasionally a doctor.

But Eric Cantor's proud contribution to the "manning" of the doctor's office has been all his votes to criminalize abortion.  He has voted every which way to limit a woman's rights when she is in her doctor's office, from forcing her to watch a sonogram to controlling how many weeks to who pays for the visit to where she can go.

And all these bills, should they become law, require personnel.  More enforcement personnel, in fact, than it would take to stand arm-in-arm guarding the Mexican border.

So I would like to take this opportunity to put Mr. Cantor's mind to rest (and I do believe a little rest would be good for such a panicky little man).

Only an idiot would think that the IRS is going to be involved in medical decisions.  The IRS would have lots less to do with medical decisions than does the insurance industry, to which Cantor would like to return all control by repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Obviously, this is another "keyword" mind game.  The IRS has become the fall guy for, well, everything, but it started with the "scandal" that right-wing groups were having applications for tax-exempt status denied.  In fact, political groups on both sides were being denied, as they should have been.  But Democrats being Democrats, instead of saying, "Yeah, what of it?" they cowered and allowed "IRS" to become yet another bad word eliciting knee-jerk rage like Benghazi.

I would like to hear Eric Cantor's defense of those votes which would place law enforcement solidly in the doctor's office with American women, and then he can explain why he thinks one more guy would make a difference in there.

Opening the Door to Alleys and Coat Hangers

The Texas State Legislature had to lie, cheat and steal to do it, but they have managed to pass their forced-pregnancy bill.

Delusional Rick Perry appears to believe that now that he has taken the criminalization of women and their reproductive rights to new depths in his state, he is ready to give the national stage another try, and so has indicated that he will not run for another term as governor.

What does the passage of this bill really mean?

By making it more difficult for women to seek legal abortions, Texas has opened that door to the dirty, dangerous back-alley abortions of the 50's.  Teenage girls and women alike will return to the options that were available when I was a teenager.  Word of mouth will lead them to the door of the disreputable doctor, or to those old home remedies for pregnancy, like Lysol and coat hangers.  If you are poor and have limited resources, an unsupportive family, or are just terrified, these are the options that will remain open to you in Texas, and in many other states across the country.

These lawmakers have done nothing to provide better education, better health care, better nutrition, a living wage.  These are the means through which a moral nation fights abortion.  In those states where there is hope and means to a decent life, the incidence of abortion is less.  And not surprisingly, teen pregnancy and infant mortality rates are lower.

The sad fact is that the anti-abortion movement has been allowed to use the horrors of Kermit Gosnell's abortion practice and trial to push through the very laws that would make such practices more likely.

Wendy Davis did what she could to bring the real issues and arguments to the national stage.  It will take many, many more women, and men, to stand up and loudly speak the truth, else this awful reality of back-room abortions will spread again across our country.

Texas Bull

While across the country, and in the US Congress, the plot to keep women pregnant and powerless continues, in Texas they have continued to prove that they can do it bigger and better.  In fact, Governor Perry-- who not only can't remember the third thing on any list, he can't recall resigning from the presidential race after becoming a laughingstock-- continues to believe that he has a moral imperative to, well, make women behave.

After Wendy Davis' amazing filibuster, which was cut short by republicans who were just teed off at not getting things their way, Rick Perry had his own personal god-given tantrum.  Unable to get his forced pregnancy bill passed by following the rules that were set up by his own gang, and after his gang couldn't even break their own rules to get it passed anyway, Perry immediately stated that he is going to call for another special session.  Maybe this time there will be a secret meeting place.

Perry, who I believe has way too personal a fear of abortion, projected that fear when he said that because Davis was born into "difficult circumstances" she should know how important it is to prevent women from being able to decide to have an abortion.

In Mr. Perry's small mind, women only (and apparently always) opt for abortion because life's too tough.  Maybe just out of touch, or maybe it's that niggling fear that if his mom had had a choice, there would be no Rick Perry.  Isn't it this fear of women being in control that is determining this whole evangelical passion to force women to bear children?

The other issue surrounding this nonsense coming out of Texas is the fact-free assertion that fetuses feel pain.  Sadly, it was a woman who was blowing hot air on C-Span when I turned it on a week or so ago, and she was nearly in tears over the thought that these fetuses could feel pain.

To all those legislators there in Texas who are feeling the pain of those fetuses, I want you to dry those crocodile tears and pay attention.  Because Texas is helping my state of South Carolina hold down the bottom in terms of health care, education and child nutrition.

It's time to take care of this group of constituents, who we know for a fact feel pain:

From AlterNet

From Dallas Observer

And if you Texas legislators are really into doing some research about pain, you'll find a lot of it in your own backyard.  And you won't have to force women to take the helping hand that will help feed their kids.

worldhunger.blogspot.com

Ignorance and Power

When you're too ignorant even to know to keep it to yourself, it sounds like this:

Well, "gee whiz," Saxby, I get a bit nervous considering how you might want to go about fixing this problem.  If you can't change the hormone levels in those 17 to 22 or 23 year-olds that are coming in to the military, and you claim to want to do something about rape in the armed services, you might be suggesting that women should be more segregated.  Coming from Georgia, you would understand a lot about that.

Because it is sounding a lot like if black folk don't go to the same schools or use the same bathrooms as white folk well then white folk won't be tempted to beat them up.

The Taliban has a big problem with women tempting their men to evil sexual thoughts as well.  So they've solved that problem by making "their" women wear a hijab.  Oh, and they can't leave the house without a man to chaperon, even if the "man" is eight years old.

So maybe you think that in our military women require uniforms more suitable to keeping our fighting men at bay.  Maybe women should only go out in groups, oh, and with a chaperon.

So, gals, Senator Saxby Chambliss is the guy who is going to protect you from those randy 18-year-old recruits.  Let him know how much you appreciate that:

DC Address:	The Honorable Saxby Chambliss United States Senate 416 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510-1004
DC Phone:	202-224-3521
DC Fax:	202-224-0103

The Battle for Forced Pregnancy

Our own pompous ass, Senator Lindsey Graham, is scared out of his boots.  So it's not enough for him to brag on what a good shot he is, he has taken his fight against a potential Tea Party challenger -- that must be you, Lee Bright -- to another battle front.  He has come out with barrels blazing against... pregnant women.

I admit, in South Carolina it's a cheap shot.  But it is also true that the man has shown in the past year that there is no depth to which he will not stoop to win re-election.

May 20, 2013 Dear Friends, First and foremost, tax dollars should not be used to fund abortions.   As a strong supporter of the right to life I have again cosponsored Senator Roger Wicker’s (R-Mississippi) legislation, S. 946 the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, to establish a consistent, government-wide prohibition on abortion funding.   This important legislation would make the following policies permanent:   ·         The Hyde Amendment, which prohibits funding for elective abortion coverage through any program funded through the annual Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act; ·         The Helms Amendment, which prohibits funding for abortion as a method of family planning overseas, ·         The Smith FEHBP Amendment, which prohibits funding for elective abortion coverage for federal employees; ·         The Dornan Amendment, which prohibits use of congressionally appropriated funds for abortion in the District of Columbia; and ·         other policies, such as the restrictions on elective abortion funding through Federal prisons.   The House of Representatives passed the bill 251-175 in the 112th Congress, but the legislation was not allowed for a vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate.   The legislation currently has 22 cosponsors in the Senate.  I am hopeful the Senate will take up and force a vote on this important legislation to the pro-life cause. Sincerely,  Lindsey O. GrahamUnited States Senator  To contact me, please click here to visit my website. Please do not respond to this email, the mailbox is unattended. To unsubscribe at any time, please click here.

 You might think that, after all his time in the Senate, he would be secure enough to continue to maintain his facade of reasonableness.  But, like Mark Sanford, I believe Graham knows that there is no sweeter deal than working for the federal government.  And no price is too great to pay to keep that job.  And these days, there is no easier target than women and children.

So while these jackasses continue to pass bills that reinforce the fact that pregnant women are vulnerable and easily controlled, prenatal care will continue to suffer, infant mortality will continue to be shameful, and the future of children born to poverty will continue to be grim.

I sent an email to Lindsey in response to his proud newsletter:

I was 21 when I was fortunate to have legal and safe abortion available to me.  I am now 62 and I am appalled that you believe God has chosen you to control the reproductive choices of my daughter.

Shame on you.

Join me in letting misogynists like Lindsey Graham know that we are out here, we vote, and we are not ashamed.

Parent v. President

A few days ago, Penny pointed out that seemingly minutes after President Obama forcefully pledged his support to Planned Parenthood and women's rights, he opposed removing age limits for above-the-counter purchase of the "morning-after" pill.

As a parent who was damned overprotective of my daughter I understand fully.  Rather than have her sit through sex ed classes that I doubted were going to be open and accurate, I opted out.  I talked to my daughter, and sometimes she was furious that I was so involved, but she also talked to me.  And I am assuming that the Obama's are such parents.

But that is not always the case.  And sadly, children get pregnant.  And horrifically, there are times when the parents are the last people in which that child can confide.

We are a nation that refuses to deal with the difficult problems, the ones that would actually improved our lives, make the world safer for our children and grandchildren.  Our legislators do a lot of grandstanding and bloviating about their moral values.  But when it comes to doing the right thing, they lately almost always do the thing that fuels their power and greed instead.

Personhood amendments abuse women by forcing them to maintain a pregnancy to term, while funds that would improve the life expectancy of infants are cruelly cut.  Civil rights for those who are not Christian are violated in the name of public safety while the right to own a gun and carry it anywhere is religiously protected.

Our children are increasingly less likely to feel secure, to have parents who have the time to spend with them when they are needed.  They are less likely to be educated in a school where there are adequate numbers of teachers and counselors who know them.  They are less likely to receive adequate sex education, and in some cases receive misinformation.

For those parents who are unable to be the parents their children trust and confide in, whether right or wrong, we need to be brutally honest about their children's -- our children's -- safety.  We need to admit that children that are -- well, children -- are having sex, and we need to admit that access to Plan B is necessary.  And then we need to keep slogging ahead to try to make a world where our children will not need Plan B or abortions.  Which is, after all, the hard part of all this.

And we need our President to do the right thing, even though it is the hard thing.

Not so fast, Agnes

I, too, was mighty pleased to see President Obama defend Planned Parenthood and condemn the state laws that are an assault on women's rights but..........

now we have this...

Obama Administration Appeals Ruling On Morning-After Pill

JOSH LEDERMAN and LAURAN NEERGAARDMay 2, 2013, 7:07 AM1520

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Wednesday appealed a federal judge’s order to lift all age limits on who can buy morning-after birth control pills without a prescription.
In appealing the ruling, the administration recommitted itself to a position Obama took during his re-election campaign that younger teens shouldn’t have unabated access to emergency contraceptives, despite the insistence by physicians groups and much of his Democratic base that the pill should be readily available.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/obama-administration-appeals-ruling-on-morning-after-pill.php

So...whatcha think?   Is Obama on our side or not?  Why is his administration even getting involved?

The story goes on to say that the President is heavily influenced by being the father of two school age daughters.  I think as President he should be more influenced by the "insistence by physicians groups...that the pill should be readily available."