Category Archives: Planned Parenthood

My Choice

Tomorrow morning, I will leave for work not completely accessorized.  Not being much of a fashionista, that’s not normally a problem.  But tomorrow I will stop to make sure I have the perfect accessory:

I voted sticker

It’s Super Tuesday, and Virginia is in with the in crowd of mostly southern states holding their primaries.

Strangely, here in Virginia, it doesn’t feel much like there is an election coming up.  TV ads are not constant, and while we’ve been getting a lot of campaign calls, there aren’t any more annoying calls than usual.

Most unusual is the almost complete lack of political signs.  For the past 8 years, there have been far more political signs than voters around here.  The absence of them, without any sort of ordinance prohibiting them, makes me think that everyone around me is secretly supporting Donald Dfrump.*

Anyway, I’m sure you’re dying to know:  I’m voting for Hillary.

Philosophically, I’m really in Bernie’s camp.  I’d love government-sponsored healthcare.  I’d love to make college free.  I would love to erase income inequality.

But I’m a pragmatist.

Even if Bernie could get elected (and I don’t agree with pundits that claim he can’t), well, I spent 10 years watching the sausage mill that is our government.  And I simply don’t think Bernie can do it.

Hillary Clinton has my vote because I think she will be a good president.  Because she’s smart and capable.  Because she knows the system inside, outside and upside and downside.

Is she perfect?  Is she my dream candidate?  Nope.  I was for Obama in 2008 (actually, I wanted him to be my candidate beginning in 2004).

I am not blind to the problems with her.  I would rather a flawed candidate than one who is promising more than he can deliver.

And I think that Hillary can beat Trump or whichever GOP candidate is vomited out of a brokered convention.

So early tomorrow, I will cast my vote and get my sticker.

Elections Matter.  Make your voice heard.

* If you haven’t seen John Oliver’s show on Donald Trump, get yourself some popcorn:

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Yup. Let’s Fear 3-year Old Syrian Refugees. 

Yes, it is much better to give in to manufactured terror from folks we don’t know, than terror from the very same folks — the ones with guns and ‘God on their side’ who keep killing people.   To donate to Planned Parenthood:  https://secure.ppaction.org/site/Donation2?df_id=12913&12913.donation=form1

 

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Reality Doesn’t Make It Onto the Nightly News — or into State Legislatures

Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez schooled the House Republicans on the Oversight Committee a few weeks ago when they held a hearing on Planned Parenthood.

Naturally, this dose of reality didn’t make it into the news reels.  Pity, because Congressman Gutierrez is correct.

At the Federal level, at least for the near term, any anti-abortion (aka “Pro-Birth”) legislation will be vetoed by President Obama.  It is protected by the U.S. Constitution, as decided in 1973 by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade.

Sadly, though, the same is not true of efforts by the States.  Because those legislatures, run in many cases by the GOP, keep enacting laws that step by step make it more difficult for women to get access.

  • Mandatory Ultrasounds
  • Requiring physicians to have admitting privileges at local hospitals
  • Prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks (about the time some of the most severe abnormalities become apparent)
  • Restricting access to “morning after” pills
  • Compulsatory parental consent (including in cases of rape and/or incest)

The list goes on.

Just as bad, are the healthcare rights they want to take away from women, many of which are provided to us by Planned Parenthood.  Mamograms.  Cancer screenings.  Contraception.

So while we can be thankful for Congressman Gutierrez, and know he’s right at the FEDERAL level, there is a whole lot of work to be done to protect women’s rights at the State level.

Elections matter. 

There are some coming up on NOVEMBER 3:

Governor:

  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi

State Legislatures:

  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • New Jersey
  • Virginia

Mayor:

Anchorage, AK; Arlington, TX; Charlotte, NC; Colorado Springs, CO;* Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Duluth, MN; Fort Wayne, IN; Fort Worth, TX; Greensboro, NC; Houston, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Jacksonville, FL; Kansas City, MO; Knoxville, TN; Lincoln, NE; Memphis, TN; Montgomery, AL; Nashville, TN; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Raleigh, NC; San Antonio, TX; San Francisco, CA; South Bend, IN; Tucson, AZ; West Palm Beach, FL; and Wichita, KS

* Mayors races have some interesting consequences, too.  I wrote about the last mayoral election in Colorado Springs in this post.

Special thanks to Melinda, my very extended family member, who shared this video link.  And thanks to Wikipedia for the list of states/cities with elections this November.

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October 11, 2015 · 0:00