Mississippi Clinic Needs Our Help - Perhaps a Donation in Our (not) Favorite Politician's Name?

This morning, I received the following from Ellie Smeal of the Feminist Majority Foundation. Once again, a minority of Americans have decided that they get to decide how the rest of us live. Regardless of how you or I personally feel about abortion, the majority of American's still believe that it is a decision best left up to a woman and her doctor. Extremists would have you believe that wanting to allow women that choice automatically means you support that choice, conflating an extremely complex issue into a black and white, either/or question that is typical of the ignorance of the radical fringe of the extremist right.

The lives of doctors and clinic employees at Jackson Women's Health Organization in Jackson, Mississippi, are being threatened. This is the only abortion provider in the entire state of Mississippi. Extremists are trying to shut down this vital women's clinic. This clinic and its doctors need our help now.

One year ago Dr. George Tiller was brutally murdered. His killer, Scott Roeder, has been sentenced to life in prison, but the extremists have not been deterred.

The leading anti-abortion extremist in Jackson is an advocate of Justifiable Homicide - or the belief that justifies the murder of doctors who perform abortions. The clinic and its doctors have been repeatedly threatened.

The clinic needs immediate help to pursue legal strategies and to enhance its security system.

Our National Clinic Access Project legal coordinator has just traveled to Jackson to assist the clinic. She met with clinic staff and community pro-choice supporters to discuss ways to improve security, to assess legal needs and to devise new ways for the local community to support this critically needed health facility. We are determined to do everything we can to keep Jackson Women's Health Organization open and its patients, doctors and staff safe.

Help the doctors, health care workers, and patients of Jackson Women's Health Organization today by making an emergency, tax-deductible contribution. Half your contribution will go directly to the clinic to help pay for enhanced security measures.

The other half of your emergency contribution will help support our National Clinic Access Project's work to keep this clinic and other besieged clinics across the country safe and open. The demand for our work is dramatically increasing.

As I write this, we are working with Dr. Carhart and his clinic in Nebraska. Dr. Carhart, who had worked with Dr. Tiller, and his clinic were immediately targeted by Wichita-based Operation Rescue after the murder of Dr. Tiller. This group had harrassed Dr. Tiller for seven years.

And we are also working very closely with Family Reproductive Health in Charlotte, NC under siege by Operation Save America/Operation Rescue. Recently, anti-abortion extremists published the photographs of and information about the clinic's doctors in a WANTED poster. Similar posters appeared before the brutal murders of two doctors in Pensacola, Florida.

Without doctors and clinic to provide safe, legal abortions and access to birth control, there can be no choice for women. Please make an emergency contribution today to help Jackson Women's Health Organization and our National Clinic Access Project.

Together we are making a difference.

If you are able to contribute, please do so here.

Just as a belief that war is wrong or that our presence in Iraq or Afghanistan means you are against the troops--that for almost all of us could not be more wrong--the GOPhers and others on the right continue to narrow the issues into sound bites and buzz words that trigger an emotional response. Once that emotional response is triggered, room for rational thought is lessened and the individual is easily manipulated in the direction that is desired. Politicians, marketing firms, and "commentators" are very aware of how easily this is done. The attack on our freedoms is well-coordinated and well-orchestrated. Witness the immediate response to Rand Paul's interview with Rachel Maddow and the immediate attacks on Rachel, not on the incoherent response to her questions. Issues are not addressed, rather the individual raising the issue becomes the issue in Tea Party land.

As an aside, during the 2008 campaign, many individuals contributed to the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund which at that time, included a stuffed wolf as a free gift with a donation. Many people had their free stuffed animal delivered to Sarah Palin. Unfortunately, they no longer offer incentive gifts, but there is always the acknowledgment card... Personally, I donated to Planned Parenthood at that time, in her name, and asked that the thank you card be sent to her and I know of a number of others who followed suit. After all, she had told Katie Couric that she was a feminist, so I know that Sarah Palin would, of course, appreciate the donation in her name...

Thanks for stopping by. Come back soon.
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Stupak - "We Won Fair and Square" - Neener, Neener, Neener

On Fox & Friends today, Bart Stupak (D-MI) talked with Steve Doocy about the Stupak-Pitts Amendment recently passed in the House. Responding to reports that his amendment might not make it into the final bill, Mr. Stupak stated,

“They’re not going to take it out. If they do, health care will not move forward…We won fair and square.”

White House Senior Advisor, David Axelrod was reported to have said over the weekend that the language of the amendment should be adjusted, and Stupak replied as any proud Republican would (except he’s not) and stated quite firmly that,

“That is why Mr. Axelrod is not a legislator, he doesn’t really know what he is talking about.”

Ummm. Every time I read that or hear it, my jaw drops. Doesn't know what he's talking about? Serial stupidity does not belong only to Republicans. The White House Political Director, one of the two men responsible for getting Obama elected, and he doesn't understand legislating? I think Mr. Stupak will find his name missing from the White House invitation list from now on. He sounds like a little boy who hasn't learned how to play well with others yet. "We won fair and square...neener, neener, neener." Very adult.

I know it will play well to the GOPhers, but Stupak is a Democrat and wants to win Democratic votes. I think. He claims to have 20 Democrats who will join him in voting with him against the bill if his language is stripped out. Okay. There are at least forty who won’t vote for it if it isn’t.

What Mr. Stupak seems to not know what he is talking about, is that the amendment process on the House floor is a process. It is not the end of a bill. He introduced an amendment. He was told it would be voted on. It was. It passed. It was attached to the bill. It then goes, with all the other amendments and the bill to be attached to the Senate bill after their bill is finalized. No one expects that all of the amendments will make it through markup. A lot of them are just happy that they can go home and campaign on the fact that they offered an amendment and that it passed on the floor.

Most of their constituents don’t know or understand that something can pass on the floor and never make it into the final bill, or that the bill can die before it reaches a final vote, or never get signed, or that there are many, many things that can happen before a bill actually becomes law. The fact that an amendment made it onto the floor and passed is nice, but one of the reasons that legislators are willing to vote for amendments is the art of the deal. It is how they get votes for their pet amendments, or how the Speaker gets vote for the final bill. Many representatives will vote for an amendment because they know it will never make it through into the final bill. If they thought that this particular bill had any chance of making it into the final health care bill, it would never have passed.

Mr. Stupak has voted with his party 96.1% of the time, but this does not include the 8.5% of the time that he has not shown up for a vote. In the past year, the times when he has voted against his party include voting against paid family medical leave, the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, and numerous appropriations bills to keep the government running. He lives in the C Street House owned by “The Family” while in Washington D.C., the house that became famous (infamous?) during the sex scandals involving Mark Sanford, John Ensign, and others.

[Totally off topic, but today C Street lost tax exempt status for about 66% of that house]

Stupak denies any real involvement with The Family and states that he just rents a room there. Jeff Sharlet, who lived at C Street and Ivanwald, a residence for young men also run by The Family, before he wrote his book on The Family, said that Stupak was a regular visitor to the Cedars at Ivanwald and questions his lack of participation in Family activities.

Stupak saw a way to make some video for his next campaign. He’s considering a run for governor which will be an open seat in 2010. Michigan has been blue since 92, although not solidly blue, so his conservatism clearly sells in the upper Midwest. He’s held his seat since 1993 and won his last race 65% to 35% so obviously feels pretty secure turning against his party’s platform. Many of his constituents want health care, however, and if he holds it up because of abortion, they may make him regret it.

This country still supports a woman’s right to choose regardless of what the religious right would have you say. In July 2009, a Harris poll found that 51% of Americans supported the provisions of Roe v. Wade vs. 44% opposed, with 5% unsure. On the issue of whether people considered themselves pro-choice or pro-life, a USA-Gallup poll taken at the same time found 46% found themselves pro-choice vs. 47% pro-life. Remember, someone can consider themselves pro-life, and not want to overturn Roe v. Wade. I consider myself pro-life, and support a woman’s right to choose. I just believe that if you say you are pro-life, you must also be against war, the death penalty, and allow a woman the right to decisions about her own life.

My biggest problem with Bart Stupak and the other Blue Dogs and Conservadems? They signed on as Democrats. The used the Democratic Party to get elected, they caucus with the Democrats, the accept committee assignments from the party, accept party money, and in return, accept the party platform. The platform and each plank are agreed to by everyone in the party. If the Democratic Party wants to change their platform, they can. Everyone gets together and talks about it and votes and changes are a big deal.

Being a member of the party is a big deal, its how a legislator gets seniority. Having seniority is how one gets committee assignments and what assignments you get determines how much power you have in Washington, and how much power you have determines how much your voice (and therefore your vote) matters. Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders going independent was a very big deal even though they both caucus with the Democrats. There’s a reason Lieberman gets away with the sh*t he does even though he’s not a member of the party. In fact, if he was a member of the party, and not a member of the Connecticut for Lieberman Party, he would likely get away with a lot less, but that’s another post.

Why am I ticked? Have you ever read the Democratic Party Platform? I didn’t think so. [emphasis added]

Page 50


Choice
The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.


The Democratic Party also strongly supports access to comprehensive affordable family planning services and age-appropriate sex education which empower people to make informal choices and live healthy lives. We also recognize that such health care and education help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions.


The Democratic Party also strongly supports a woman’s decision to have a child by ensuring access to and availability of programs for pre-and post-natal health care, parenting skills, income support, and caring adoption programs.

Page 12
Covering All Americans and Providing Real Choices of Affordable Health Insurance Options. […] should have the option of keeping the coverage they have or choosing from a wide array of health insurance plans, including many private health insurance options and a public plan. Coverage should be made affordable for all Americans with subsidies provided through tax credits and other means.

So how exactly does this philosophy, these promises to women and to the American people square with the Stupak-Pitt Amendment which takes us further back than the Hyde Amendment? The Amendment means that not only can no federal dollars be used to pay for an abortion (Hyde), but that no woman eligible to receive exchange dollars to pay for her insurance coverage (whether through an employer, a public option, or whatever) can have any insurance plan that covers abortion, even if she pays for it with her own money. In plain and simple language, you don’t like the insurance plan offered to you through your employer, you shop around and find a plan that would cost you a similar amount that you would have to pay to buy into your employer’s plan, and you buy that. Employer plan does not cover abortions but receives exchange dollars, your plan does cover abortions but does not. According to Stupak-Pitt, it’s illegal.

Do you ever get the feeling that we're moving backwards?

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Government Has No Right To Interfere, Unless You Are A Woman

The most restrictive abortion language in years is now a part of the debate on what the final bill will look like.

 

Sigh.

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Morning Joe Pro Bono Lawyer for Abortion Doctor Killer

Prior to the murder this week of Dr.George Tiller, there have been several other murders of abortion doctors, clinic nurses and receptionists, bombings, and arsons. There are daily vigils and protests outside womens health clinics, and women seeking health care services are harassed. It is a federal crime to interfere with access to a womens health clinic, however, many law enforcement officials are as ambivalent about abortion as the general population and thus, resistant to enforcing that particular law as carefully as they should.

An article in The Village Voice provides a detailed report about a popular talking-head, MSNBC's Morning Joe Scarborough. He has an interesting history relative to abortion doctors and to abortion clinic protection. It's a history I'm sure that many of his (political) guests and listeners are unaware of, and one that he would much rather be left in the past.

Prior to becoming a talking head on the tv machine, Joe Scarborough was an attorney in Pensacola, Florida. The abortion rights movement was beginning to heat up (this was back in the early 1990's) and the first abortion doctor, Dr. David Gunn, was murdered in 1993, in Pensacola.

Guess who became the defense attorney? Joe Scarborough. Who, by the way, was not a criminal defense attorney and was not death qualified to defend what could be potentially a capital case. The defendant, Michael Griffin, had a court-appointed attorney, but Joe Scarborough stepped in, pro-bono. He later said that Michael Griffin's father was friends with his (Joe's) then wife's father (which they have neither confirmed).

Scarborough eventually brought in a criminal defense attorney and withdrew from the case. In handwritten letters to the Village Voice, Griffin (serving a life sentence) states that Scarborough tried to stay on the case despite Scarboroughs claims to the contrary.

"According to Griffin, Joe told him "several times" that he would represent him at trial and that he "had three friends still in law school who would help him," adding: "I have an exact memory on this point."

Scarborough eventually entered politics on the fame garnered from this trial. The article states that:

"His GOP opponent, Lois Benson, charged then that Scarborough "sought headlines by trying to defend Michael Griffin." ... "A University of West Florida political scientist, James Witt, told the Associated Press that abortion was "a factor" in Scarborough's win, though Scarborough insists that it wasn't."

Going on to say:

"The largest donor to Scarborough's cash-starved campaign was the National Right to Life Committee, which donated $15,210. The second-largest donor—at $8,113—was the Eagle Forum, founded by Phyllis Schlafly, the chair of the Republican National Coalition for Life."

Congress passed legislation to provide additional protection to women's health clinics only after overcoming Republican opposition.

"Within five weeks of Scarborough's arrival in Washington in 1995 (as part of Newt Gingrich's "Contract With America" revolution), Democrat Pat Schroeder tried to amend a law-enforcement block grant bill to permit—not mandate—the use of the funds to protect abortion clinics. Not only did Scarborough vote against that unsuccessful amendment, he opposed one introduced by a Republican that called for protecting "medical or health facilities." One legislator at the time is now a popular talking head, Joe Scarborough of Morning Joe fame on MSNBC."

No wonder Morning Joe hasn't had anything to say about the murder of Dr.Tiller. I wonder why no one has asked Morning Joe his opinion about the murder? I wonder why none of his MSNBC colleagues have asked Morning Joe for his take on the issue?

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Dr. George Tiller

Dr. George Tiller was murdered on Sunday. He was in church, serving as an usher.

Church, no matter of what faith, has always been (and is always supposed to be) sanctuary. If you make it in the door, you're safe. The fight over abortion is about religion and nothing else, so for the murderer of Dr. Tiller to claim that his death is righteous and then kill him within the walls of his church, is obscene.

To hear all the right-wing pundits and conservative politicians express their polite sorrow, then deny responsibility, is heartbreaking.

They'll put on a sad face and say they certainly don't condone the murder of Dr. Tiller, but they'll be patting each other on the back when yours is turned.

The sad thing? They don't even bother to find out what they're talking about. They talk about Dr. Tiller as a "baby killer" or a "mass murderer." Bill O'Reilly has said repeatedly over the past 4 years on his nationally televised show, that Dr. Tiller for only $5,000 and for any reason, will abort a late term baby. This is a lie and Bill O'Reilly knows it's a lie. Late term abortion is illegal except in certain specific circumstances. Dr. Tiller went on trial for this very reason because people like Bill O'Reilly couldn't stand the fact that what he was doing was legal, and they wanted to stop him at any cost. He was acquitted. Here are the only reasons that Dr. Tiller would perform an abortion. These are the rules from his clinic:

Admission Criteria: In order to offer you an appointment, we require that a physician refer you to our center. In addition, we need your genetic counselor or doctor to provide us with gestational and diagnostic information regarding your pregnancy. Over the past twenty-five years, we have had experience with pregnancy terminations in such situations as anencephaly, Trisomy 13, 18, and 21, polycystic kidney disease, spina bifida, hydrocephalus, Potter's syndrome, lethal dwarfism, holoprosencephaly, anterior and posterior encephalocele, non-immune hydrops, and a variety of other very significant abnormalities.

Just any old reason, huh? And $5,000? I don't know where that number came from or if it's correct, but only someone like Bill O'Reilly would say only $5,000. To me and most of the people I know, I'd be that's a lot of money and not so easy to come up with if I found out I had a life-threatening need to have a late-term abortion right away.

I wonder how many of these right-wing pundits know someone who miscarried late in pregnancy or experienced complications during childbirth. There are many, many stories of women whose lives were saved because of late-term abortions, situations where the child was already lost and the mother would have been lost as well. I know 2. We probably all know women like this, but they rarely tell their stories. They hurt. If they've had an abortion, it's unlikely they'll speak up, especially if they've had a late-term abortion and most especially if their audience is of the Bill O'Reilly mindset. It's not baby murder. It's a medical procedure designed to save lives. As you can see from the criteria above, it is not used lightly. It is used only when the child will not live or will live in unspeakable pain (and I do not say this about disability, but about pain and suffering that cannot be eased) or to save the life of the mother which if lost, would also cause the loss of the child.

For this, Dr. Tiller died, and others before him.

Regardless of my personal feelings about abortion, to me, right to life means life is precious - all life. That means the lives of our soldiers, the lives of those on death row (many of whom are most likely innocent based on past history), and the lives of the mother. It's not up to me to tell her what to do or how to live her life. These people claiming to be pro-life aren't. When they care about stopping executions, war, and saving the lives of the mothers, and caring for the children after birth, then we can talk.

Thanks for stopping by. Come back soon.
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