Newest - Older - From Before - About - Cast - Rings - E-Mail Me - Guestbook - Notes



Don't worry, be happy! We're safe from the MUSLIM terrorists anyway. Right?

2004-12-04 - 9:36 a.m.

Disclaimer

Pre- and post- election, Bush supporters pooh-poohed liberals who worried about the future of reproductive rights under Bush, saying things like, �President Bush can�t trash Roe v. Wade all by himself. He would need the support of Congress and the Supreme court, and THAT will never happen.�

So I guess I shouldn�t worry about this then:

GOP aims to bust up the filibuster rules

Quote:

Frist wants to change Senate rules to make it harder or impossible to filibuster judicial nominations. It now takes 60 votes to end debate and bring a nominee to a vote. Even with their new majority of 55, it is unclear whether Republicans can reach 60 votes on the most contentious nominees.

He has suggested several options. For example, reducing over time, from 60 to 51, the votes needed to cut off debate, or declaring that filibusters should not apply to judicial nominations. But it takes a two-thirds majority to change Senate rules, and Democrats are unlikely to go along.

More drastic would be the �nuclear option� of having the chair � with Vice President Dick Cheney presiding � declare that filibusters violate the constitutional duty of the Senate to give advise and consent on nominations. A ruling of the chair can be upheld with a simple majority vote.

Or this:

At Risk

Quote:

Not since Margaret Sanger�s crusade to legalize birth control in the 1920s has family planning come under such assault. Pharmacists around the country are refusing to fill prescriptions for birth-control pills, exercising their right to �refuse and refer� under the industry�s code of ethics. These self-styled refuseniks are so ardent they generally don�t offer a referral, and in small-town America there is often only one pharmacy in town anyway.

On Capitol Hill, conservative Republicans inserted a provision in the budget to extend conscience clauses throughout the health-care industry. Democrats cried foul, and GOP leaders pulled the measure for now. But 13 states are considering 22 pieces of similar legislation that would curtail access to family-planning services, including contraceptives.


Quote:

Bush is using the regulatory powers of the Department of Health and Human Services to turn Title 10 of the Public Services Act his father championed away from family planning into an abstinence program. Traditional providers like Planned Parenthood get bypassed in favor of faith-based groups, a strategy that has political as well as substantive consequences. �Make no mistake about it,� says a Democratic operative. �This is old-fashioned ward politics funneling money through churches.� The effort paid off in the November election, boosting turnout among white evangelical churchgoers for Bush.

Quote:

The current President Bush in his first budget took contraceptive coverage away from federal employees. Congress put it back, but with bigger conservative majorities, Bush can continue to chip away at reproductive rights.

This isn�t even abortion, folks� this is CONTRACEPTION. If this crap passes, can abortion be far behind? These conservative nutbars, the ones who control two out of the three legislative branches and who are poised to make a big grab for the third, are trying to restrict access to family planning, the very thing that helps prevent unwanted pregnancies and subsequent abortions in the first place.

Abstinence is the contraceptive of choice amongst the fundy goobers, and we all know how well that always worked throughout human history. But they don�t care. If you are a slut who can�t keep your legs closed, you DESERVE to be punished by an unwanted pregnancy. Who cares what happens to the kid? You COULD be unselfish and give it up for adoption, you know.

Never mind that married people want and need family planning services as well. As far as the religious right is concerned, women are SUPPOSED to have lots of babies, and if Mom can�t afford daycare for her large brood so she can pursue her career, well, DUH. Stay home, be dependent on and subservient to your husband and raise your babies like God intended for you to do. Don�t worry about your standard of living, or even whether you can pay your bills. God will provide. Anyway, if all the women stay home like they�re supposed to, then there will be twice as many jobs for the men, and employers will be forced to pay higher wages to attract workers. See? It all works out. Anyway, once your sixteenth child is all grown up, you�ll have plenty of time to pursue a career if you still want one.

Don�t like kids? Tough. Having babies is God�s will for women. Anyway, you DO have a choice if motherhood doesn�t suit you� don�t screw! And if you can�t find a husband who will hold still for that, well, just enjoy your life as a single celibate.

Restricting reproductive rights is not just about making sure that every accidental meeting of a sperm and an egg gets an equal opportunity to develop into an adorable blonde cherub. It�s in a very real sense about restricting a woman�s basic right to direct her own life. And it�s about men�s rights too� what guy in this day and age wants a ten-child penalty for the privilege of screwing his wife? Whether this is the intention of every person who supports restricting access to abortion and contraception or not is beside the point. The effect on people�s lives will be the same.

The religious right has figured out a way to legislate morality, they have the ear of the Republican party, and they are pushing their agenda hard. If this doesn�t make you scared for your reproductive rights, then what the hell will?

Read about Christian Activists and their scary agenda:

Concerned Women for America

American Family Association

Focus on the Family Action

Fallwell.com

And a letter to President Bush from the president of Bob Jones University, congratulating him on the election:

Link to a website posting the text of the letter, as the original has been removed from the BJU website

Quote:

It is easy to rejoice today, because Christ has allowed you to be His servant in this nation for another presidential term. Undoubtedly, you will have opportunity to appoint many conservative judges and exercise forceful leadership with the Congress in passing legislation that is defined by biblical norm regarding the family, sexuality, sanctity of life, religious freedom, freedom of speech, and limited government. You have four years�a brief time only�to leave an imprint for righteousness upon this nation that brings with it the blessings of Almighty God.








6 felt the need to share

Previous - Next

Last Five
Crappy job crap, weird neighbor, and someone whose baby I apparently want to have - 2006-05-08
Live from the dump - 2006-04-09
Kind of like a muzzle for your brain - 2006-03-29
...and then she fell ass-first into my cereal bowl - 2006-03-28
Playing catch-up - 2006-03-27





The WeatherPixie

Designed by So-Charming.
Technical assistance provided by The Prince.

about me - read my profile! read other Diar
yLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get
 your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!