“I will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard.” -- 2002, Mitt Romney at a debate during his campaign for governor of Massachusetts. That same year, Mr. Romney signed a pledge for Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts declaring his support for "the substance of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade".
“I am fighting for an overturning of Roe v. Wade.” -- 2008, during an interview with Tim Russert.
“Today marks the 39th anniversary of one of the darkest moments in Supreme Court history, when the court in Roe v. Wade claimed authority over the fundamental question regarding the rights of the unborn. Since that day, the pro-life movement has been working tirelessly in an effort to change hearts and minds and protect the weakest and most vulnerable among us. Today, we recommit ourselves to reversing that decision…” -- 2012, statement issued by Mr. Romney during his current campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
what eye thynk: Yesterday he was “devoted and dedicated to honoring”. Today he says "we recommit ourselves to reversing”. Tomorrow?
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary says it better than I can...
- chameleon - a person given to often expedient or facile change in ideas or character
- expedient - suitable for achieving a particular end, especially governed by self-interest
- facile - easily accomplished, shallow, often lacking in sincerity or depth
Meet Mr. Romney, the most expediently facile chameleon ever to take the American political stage.
I believe every woman has a right to decide what happens to her body. Personally, I don't know what I would choose to do if faced with an unwanted pregnancy; but that doesn't mean I would condemn you if you chose differently. Roe v. Wade doesn’t force any woman to have an abortion; it simply gives every woman the right to make her own life choices. And they should be YOUR life choices--not mine, not your neighbor's, not Mr. Romney’s.
No matter where you stand on Roe v. Wade, you will want to elect someone who stands with you and who will still be standing with you next year. If you choose to stand with Romney, make sure you are wearing comfortable walking shoes and watch him closely--he could change color at any time.
Last week, North Carolina’s Governor Bev Perdue (D) vetoed a budget passed by her state’s Republican legislature that cut all funding for Planned Parenthood. The Republicans overrode her veto.
Last year the same pattern of pass/veto/override occurred, but a Federal judge stopped the defunding of Planned Parenthood by saying that a state may not target a particular health care provider simply because it advocates abortion rights since, though abortions cannot be paid for with federal money, they are legal under federal law.
This year, the Republican legislature is attempting to get around the judge’s ruling by not naming Planned Parenthood openly. Instead they use language prohibiting the state from contracting with “private providers” of family planning services. Since Planned Parenthood is the only organization in North Carolina that fits this criteria, the result is the same.
what eye thynk: Will these people never give up? This new budget language is nothing but a blatant attempt to scam the court into overlooking their prejudicial stand on a woman’s legal right to choose.
And North Carolina is not alone in this. Recently, Ohio abortion foes got language added to Governor John Kasich’s budget review bill stripping Planned Parenthood of 1.7M in federal money that was to be used for health care in that state. Since federal money cannot be used to pay for abortions, what do they think they are actually accomplishing?
As a side note, this is money that you and I pay as taxes that is supposed to come back to us in services--services to which these legislators are denying us access. If our state refuses the money, we don’t get a refund; it just becomes money we threw into the wind and for which we gain no benefit.
This Republican anti-abortion posturing may look good to their religious conservative fan base; but, in the end, they have achieved nothing in their war on abortion rights and, in fact, may be making it worse. By defunding Planned Parenthood, these conservatives are not only denying poor women in North Carolina, Ohio and other states basic health care, but also their access to contraception.
Less contraception can only result in more unwanted pregnancies. And more unwanted pregnancies can only result in more abortions--which Planned Parenthood will still be providing using the same private funds they were using before this legislative finagling started.
No Monday Quote this week; I thought I’d share this instead...
Last Thursday, Michigan State Representative Lisa Brown (D) was barred from speaking on the House floor as punishment for using the word “vagina” the previous day while speaking out against a proposed anti-abortion bill. Her exact words were “"I'm flattered you're all so concerned about my vagina. But no means no." Republican State Representative Mike Callton found Ms. Brown’s comments “offensive“, going on to say “I don’t even want to say it in front of women. I would not say that in mixed company”.
what eye thynk: I actually feel a little sorry for Mike Callton. He appears to have the same emotional/sexual maturity of your average twelve year old; you know, the ones who can’t say “it” out loud so they giggle over some smutty euphemism instead.
As Representative Brown said in a later interview, “If I can’t say vagina, why are we legislating vaginas? What word should I use?” It should be pointed out that the 50 page anti-abortion bill that she was debating, (and which eventually passed the House 70-39), uses the word “vagina” three times in the text. Perhaps Mr. Callton’s staff had the word redacted from his copy of the bill so as to save him from such distressing exposure?
As a side note, State Representative Barb Byrum, (D) also found herself barred from speaking after she tried to introduce an amendment to the same anti-abortion bill that would have banned vasectomies unless the man’s life was at risk. (Apparently she didn’t get the memo that, in today's political arena, birth control is to be considered a female-only issue. The sanctity of male freedom to choose is not open for debate.)
Someone needs to explain to Representative Callton that, while he may be offended by the word, it is really just a word…like penis…or idiot.
Under current U.S. law, if a female inmate at a federal prison is raped and becomes pregnant and wants to end the pregnancy, she will receive a government financed abortion. If a female civilian military employee is raped, becomes pregnant and wants to end the pregnancy, she can use her government insurance to pay for the abortion. If a serving female soldier is raped and becomes pregnant and wants to end the pregnancy, she must pay for the abortion herself.
what eye thynk: This just illustrates how far off the track of good sense and reason the Republican party has wandered.
Last week three Republican Senators, John McCain (Arizona), Scott Brown (Massachusetts) and Susan Collins (Maine) voted with all but one of the Democrats on the Armed Services Committee to add a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act that would remove the payment requirement. Nine other Republicans along with one Democrat, Ben Nelson (Nebraska), voted to leave the payment requirement intact.
The Senate is expected to pass the NDAA with the provision included. The Republican led House will present a version of the NDAA that excludes the provision.
What possible logic can the House Republicans be using to support paying for an abortion for a prison inmate while denying the same right to a woman who has chosen to defend her country? What country grants a right to their criminals while denying their soldiers that same right? What a slap in the face of the freedom these women are serving to protect!
There is no reasonable explanation for the exclusion of this provision other than to feed the frenzied maw of the conservative, right wing, religious nutcases who are currently leading the Republican party around by their noses.
what eye thynk: I don't know whether this makes me want to laugh or cry. I'll decide right after I get done being pissed. Don't bother waiting--the pissed-off stage is going to last a while.
The Arizona State Judiciary Committee has endorsed a Republican backed "show me your prescription" bill which now moves on to the state Senate. This bill would require a woman to show her contraception prescription to her employer...any employer. If the employer determines that the female employee is using contraception in order to prevent a pregnancy, the employer would have the right to fire that female employee.
what eye thynk: Republicans are so far off the rail on this issue it is truly becoming frightening. Birth control is a religious issue? My Bible doesn't mention birth control. Is there a special Republicans Only Bible that the rest of us are not allowed to see?
A prescription is part of a woman's medical records. If a law officer is denied access to patient records because of doctor/patient confidentiality; how can they justify giving Joe Blob, who hires a woman to run a cash register three nights a week at the local Stop 'n' Rob, access to part of those same medical records? Where is the logic in this?
Let's follow this to the absurd: Joe Blob's church prohibits the use of birth control and he is permitted to fire any female employee who does not follow the tenets of HIS church. What if this female employee belongs to some obscure religious sect that requires all women over a certain age to use birth control? If he fires her for following her church's tenets, wouldn't that be a violation of HER religious freedom? Whose religious freedom trumps whose?
And imagine if the employer is Mary Blob who belongs to a church that requires all males to be circumcised. Employee evaluation day would be interesting.
A tenet of the Republican party and its conservative base is smaller government with fewer regulations.
what eye thynk: Then why are they continuing to introduce so much legislation and sign so many new laws all aimed at my right to control what happens to my body?
Apparently small government and fewer regulations applies only to businesses, banks, environmental issues, unstaffed government agencies and open judgeships.
Think how much smaller government could get if the conservatives would stay out of my vagina.
Political noise: news article after news article and conservative pundit after conservative politician ranting about the evils of birth control.
what eye thynk: Why is it that it's okay for health insurers to pay for Viagra but not okay for those same health insurers to pay for birth control pills? What makes "their" pill a medical necessity and "my" pill evil? Beyond stopping pregnancy, birth control pills are used to treat other female problems. What else does Viagra do?
Unfair as the whole issue is, sometimes you just gotta laugh. Can't you just see a Monty Python world where women live in abstinence and Viagra amped men run around looking for relief? It would serve them right!
