Tag Archives: abortion
Saturday, 3/16/13, Public Square
“Safe abortions have always been available to the rich, Dan. You simply want to deny them to the poor, and if you succeed, poor women will be forced to get them anyway. They’ll be forced into the alleys with hangers, plungers and vacuum cleaners, risking death or mutilation. But you’d like that, wouldn’t you, Dan? You sadistic, elitist, sexist, racist, anti-humanist pig!” – Saturday Night Live 3×18 .This aired in 1978. Thirty-four years later, it’s still a debate.
Filed under The Public Square
Wichitans on front page of NY Times
Dr. Mila Means, right, at a rally with Kari Ann Rinker of the National Organization for Women.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/us/10abortion.html?_r=1&hp
July 9, 2011
Wichita Doctor Takes Up Fight for Abortions
By A. G. SULZBERGER
WICHITA, Kan. — Not long ago, Dr. Mila Means, the physician trying to open an abortion clinic in this city, received a letter advising her to check under her car each morning — “because maybe today is the day someone places an explosive under it,” the note said.
There was reason for concern: the last doctor to provide abortions here was shot to death because of his work. But rather than lower her profile, Dr. Means raised it by buying a car that nobody could miss: a bright-yellow Mini Cooper, emblazoned, appropriately enough, with lightning bolts.
“It’s partly an in-your-face response,” she explained. “You’re looking for me. I’m here.”
Two years have passed since this city, for decades the volatile epicenter of the national fight over abortion, was shaken by the murder of Dr. George R. Tiller — a controversial figure because of his willingness to perform later-term abortions — by a man who said he wanted to stop the killing of babies.
(more at link)
Governor Sam Brownback?
Unless Sam Brownback gets caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy, he will Kansas’ next Governor, and all of us may come to regret it. Sam makes no bones about his “faith” and he has every intention of imposing that philosophy on the rest of Kansas.
Sam doesn’t believe in abortion – under any circumstances. That’s right. No abortions, no exceptions. That means no abortions even in cases of rape, incest, the viability of the fetus, the health or even the life of the mother. Let that sink in for a moment – even if a fourteen year old gets raped and is impregnated, Sam doesn’t want her to have the option of having an abortion. Even if the prospective mother is likely to die if she carries the fetus to term, Sam doesn’t want her to have the option of having an abortion. The same goes for cases where there is no signs of life from the fetus or if it is severely deformed or even brain-dead.
Sam also believes in the so-called “Fair Tax.” I used the term “so-called” because it is anything but fair. Under the “Fair Tax” program, lower-income people would see an immediate increase in tax rates of a monumental proportion. One of the numbers I have seen tossed about is 22%, that is, everyone would pay that tax rate with no deductions. Pretty good deal, right? Then, of course, the higher income tax payers would see a reduction in rates as much as 13% points, from about 35% to the previously mentioned 22%.
Sam has a lot of great ideas for Kansas – eliminating corporate taxes and drastically reducing regulations, especially those that affect the environment. “Protecting families” is another of Sam’s pet projects. Presumably that means taking what few rights they have away from gays and lesbians. Sam also says that he is going to create jobs for Kansans. Why he hasn’t done that yet is a mystery, never to be solved.
So, just when you think that Kansas could not be any worse off, along comes Sam.
Thank God for I-70.
William Stephenson Clark
Filed under Republicans
What’s the Matter with America? Part III
Well, we have been told by various people, in various ways, that all America needs to do to get back on the right track is (insert bumper sticker slogan here) and everything will return to the halcyon days of the Fifties, when all men were like Ozzie, all women like Harriet, and the children were just like David and Ricky.
Except we got Ozzie Osbourne, instead of Ozzie Nelson.
Regardless of your position on our “moral decline,” step back a moment and consider whether your vote could truly change morality in America. We have often tinkered with laws attempting to legislate morality, often by denying free choice and violating the Constitution. The “War on Drugs” failed to reduce drug use. Laws attempting to regulate sexual behaviors have been ruled unconstitutional. Attempts to void “Roe v Wade” have only chipped away at the foundation of choice.
And now, unbelievably, there exists a possibility, that within the next year, laws restricting gay marriage may be stricken from the books.
So now, can we stop with the voting on what we perceive to be the moral failings of our fellow Americans and begin to address the issues that truly affect us all?
When you clean out your garage, often the best course of action is to drag everything out into the driveway, trash what you can, organize the rest and put it up in an orderly fashion. Well, let’s “trash” the moral divisions that divide us – we’re not going to change them anyway – and let’s get organized, prioritize and proceed in an orderly fashion.
While politicians and talking heads are flitting about, whining about the moral decay of America and what they think should be done about it, the actual issues of the day are being obscured by a fog of mindless partisanship and self-serving bombast.
Aaron and James are going to pay the same taxes as Erin and Jim, so let’s address that issue and not whether Aaron and James are going to burn in Hell. If James and Jim are both out of work and trying desperately to figure out a way to pay the mortgage, their bankers only have one issue in mind – money.
The so-called “moral issues” that divide us are going to matter little if we cannot unite as a country and deal with the real problem that face each of us.
This I know to be true; I had lunch with Aaron and Erin last week and they both expressed the same thought to me.
William Stephenson Clark
Filed under American Society
What’s the Matter with America? Part II
In the late Seventies, Jerry Falwell brought us the “Moral Majority.” Before then, of course, we were all immoral hedonists, Hell bent on finding pleasure at every turn. Well, at least I was. Damn, I still am.
So, what is the “Moral Majority?” Well, this was their platform:
Outlawing abortion in all cases.
Opposition to recognition and acceptance of homosexual acts.
Opposition to the ERA amendment and to SALT.
Enforcement of traditional view of family life.
Censorship of media that promote “anti-family” agenda.
Well, let’s check this out in a little more depth. Did they take a position on taxes? No. Business regulation? Zip. Import/export ratio? Nada. Employment. Zilch. Energy policy? Not a chance. Illegal immigration? Why bother. Economic conditions? Hell, no!
Military? SALT? Well, damn! We can’t reduce the number of nukes, can we? We gotta be able to kill mass quantities of Ruskies!
So, here we are, America. We are all tangled up in a web of self-defeating positions on issues that truly matter little, in real life. The “Moral Majority” position are as relevant to the average American as whether or not Lindsay gets out of jail, Levi has boinked another girl or if Brittany wears panties.
In other words, not a damned thing.
We are a better people that this. Truly. We have always been a better people than this.
Well, maybe not, but we should be.
Outlaw all abortions? Tell that to a fourteen year old that has been raped.
Homosexual acts? Ah, all of the same are practiced by heterosexuals.
Equal rights for women? It should be a given.
Reduce nukes? We have enough to destroy the Earth many times over.
Traditional family life? What did Ozzie actually do all day?
Censorship? What about the First Amendment?
These are the issues that that should be important to the average American? Healthcare, jobs, tax rates and equal rights are unimportant, but these topics are the ones we should be focused on?
What ever happened to the idealism of the Sixties?
(Part III tomorrow)
William Stephenson Clark
Filed under Liberal Government
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