And the war on women continues

From political cartoonist David Horsey:

By David Horsey

May 24, 2012, 5:00 a.m.

America’s conservative Catholic bishops are so worried that some woman in their employ will get access to birth control that they have filed 12 lawsuits against the federal government. What they are failing to see is a much bigger challenge that should have them truly worried: the independence of Catholic women.

At issue in the lawsuits is the Obama administration’s pending regulation that would require church-run institutions, like universities and hospitals, to provide coverage for contraceptives as part of any employee healthcare package. The Roman Catholic Church, of course, condemns birth control and equates some contraceptive methods with abortion. This dispute erupted in February and spilled over into the Republican presidential primaries, onto the floor of Congress and, notoriously, into a three day Rush Limbaugh rant in which he labeled a pro-contraceptive woman a slut.

When Republicans saw that siding with the bishops was causing them to rapidly lose ground with female voters, they tried to change the subject. And once the Obama administration massaged the regulation to mandate that insurers, not employers, provide contraceptive coverage, the brouhaha seemed to die down.

But now it’s back. The insurance loophole is not big enough for the consciences of some bishops and leaders of Catholic institutions to pass through. Women who work for them will still be getting contraceptives as a benefit of their employment. Conservative bishops have been very vocal in their condemnation of the Obama administration and they are organizing a “Fortnight for Freedom” to run from June 21 to July 4 in which they plan to highlight threats to religious freedom — which they consider the contraceptive mandate to be.

Out of 195 Catholic dioceses in the U.S., though, just 13 are going to court. In all those nonlitigating sectors of the church, there are thousands of Catholics, including quite a few bishops, who think the lawsuits are not only premature, but that the conservative bishops have turned this into a partisan, anti-Obama crusade.

In California, church leaders are complaining that, before anyone rushed to court, the dispute should have been addressed by the entireU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Reportedly, lawyers for the California bishops have sent a letter to the national bishops’ group that calls the lawsuits “ill-advised” and “imprudent.”

Moderate priests and bishops are refraining from participation in the “Fortnight for Freedom” because they see it as too tainted by pro-Republican election-year politics. While they share some of the concerns about contraceptive coverage, they believe the issue has been hijacked by right-wingers in the church.

So, there is revolt in the clerical ranks. And if the conservative bishops don’t see that as a problem (and, since they have so successfully stifled progressive Catholic voices in recent years, they may not), they should think about all those Catholic women who are weary of old, unmarried men telling them how to be holy. The undisputed fact that the vast majority of Catholic women use birth control suggests that the bishops are defending a prohibition that seems absurd to most of their parishioners.

Catholic women have had further reason for disenchantment in recent days. Conservative Catholic leaders have attacked Melinda Gates for pledging $4 billion of Gates Foundation money to provide contraceptives to 120 million women in developing countries. Gates, herself, is a Catholic who was educated by the nuns at the Ursuline Academy of Dallas. Those nuns have given Gates their strong support, telling her she is “living under Catholic values.”

But, of course, we know what the conservative bishops think of all those liberal nuns. Just recently they came down hard on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious for, among other things, being too cozy with the White House on health reform, including the contraceptive mandate.

The men in the church hierarchy may not think they really need the nuns; the good sisters are, after all, an aging and dying breed. But the bishops should be wary of pushing the broader sisterhood of Catholic women too far. Right now, Catholic women are simply ignoring them. One day, they may abandon them.

More of Horseys work at the LA Times here

Previous work at the Seattle PI here

Republicans at it again- taking away YOUR constitutional rights

Two Republican lawmakers in New York are pushing a bill “The Internet Protection Act“. The law allowsanyone to have an anonymous post abouting- online in a blog, forum, or newspaper removed- or to compel the site to reveal the identity of the poster.

And while this is being presented as an attempt to stop “cyber-bullying”, it’s not hard to imagine how quickly this will be used to quiet dissenters and whistleblowers. And It’s not a very far leap to imagine that this was inspired by the anonymous outing of GOP congressman from New York Christopher Lee and the craigslist sex scandal.

And while this bill would only apply in New York- to new york based websites (it is unclear whether and individual outside of NY could have content removed or the poster identified). Of course it does not specify what “NY Based website” means? What if the company is based elsewhere but has servers there or uses hosting/mirroring facilities there. What if they, or their parent company does business there? What about sites like craiglist thay have NY specific forums but are based elsewhere and may or may not have any physical presence in new york.

And of course the law will apply to the NY Times and other NY based papers and magazines.

And of course there is o standard set. ANY anonymous post can be challenged and removed or the anynomous posrter identified. So much for free spech. How many people will be stopped from publishing truthful information out of fear of reprisals from corporations and politicians.

It’s deeply disturbing that the right keeps shouting that it’s the evil Dems stealing our rights, when time and time, and time again it is the right raping our constiution while yelling “look over there- look over there- it’s them I tell you”

A couple of articles on the Bill here and here

Arizona birther BS

As I’m sure you know, Arizonas republican secretary of state, Ken Bennet,  is demanding, yes demanding that Hawaii confirm that Obama was indeed born there.

This- despite the fact that Hawaii has ben doing just that for over 4 years. They were so overloaded by requests, again, again, and again for the info that they put into effect special rules in a desperate attempt to save manpower and money.

Not only have they realesed the standard short form birth certificate, they’ve also taken the highly unusual step to get permission from Obama himself to release the long form birth certificate- something that has never been done before in history.

They even launched a special webpage to deal with the endless requests that links to all the information. And of course numerous officials and news agencies have viewed the actual physical copy released to Obama, and which is held at his headquarters in Chicago.

Not to mention the birth announcements in the hawaii papers- which were sent by the hospital themself.

And of course the birthers insist Obamas records- from his school records, to his law records, to his medical records are “sealed”. Which is true. But what they ignore is that is the same as for you, for me, or any other citizen. These records are always sealed- as they should be. No one can have access to them unless you give them to them. And of course no president, no governor, no congressman in history as ever been asked to give up these records.

Of course Bennet claims he is not a birther- and this is just the result of an overwhelming demand of 1,200 AZcitizens. Less then 1/5 of a % of Arizonascitizens. And of course- he has already stated is intent to run for governor in the next election.

But what are we to think of a man who demands information- that has been provided time and time again by the very agencies he is demanding the information from? At the behest of a lunatic fringe minority? Is this a man showing the leadership to be governor? Or secretary of state? or dog catcher? Or is this a man who is bordering on treason? Wasting the resources of countless government agencies to promote himself with a vocal minority?

A lesson from Ned Ludd on the economy

Who the h*** is Ned Ludd you ask? He was a British hero…or terrorist depending I suppose on your wealth and beliefs, in England circa 1779. (yes- not long after our own original tea party). He started breaking into factories in England and destroying the weaving machines that were replacing human workers.

And he was ahead of his time. Because he addressed the elephant in the room that virtually NO one is willing to address today about the US economy, and more specifically, its jobs (or lack thereof).

I have seen many on the right trumpeting that manufacturing in the US is doing just fine. (as by the way- is the stock market). But here’s the rub. American manufacturing, for a solid decade plus now, has increasingly been replacing human workers with machines. This is true in virtually every sector- heck, even the mining industry now often has their giant dumptrucks driven by a machine- not a human.

And therin lies our problem. We, in America, have increasingly become a service economy. (though even that is changing- how many of you use an automated checkout at the grocery store or chain store? How many of you use a bank machine instead of a bank person? How many rent their videos from a machine- or through Itunes, Hulu, or download illegally rather then relying on your local video store. Download your books rather then buy a physical one and patronize a local bookstore or online seller?

You see- america, and the world has changed. Many of those “lost jobs” are never coming back- regardless of who runs the government.

And while he too refuses to publicly address the elephant in the room- at least Obama is looking towards a new economy. And it is going to take one h*** of a lot of work, and support to get there. But overwhelmingly the american people, the GOP, the right, and good chunks of the left are in denial. “well…if we just do this…” . IT isn’t going to work folks. There’s a new paradigm- too much has changed.

And of course we increasingly see the demise of main street and the rise of big box stores.   Nearly every american need can now be met in a giant store. A giant store that has the power to force manufacturers to cut costs (outsorcing or mechanization). A giant store that often pays many of their employeesso little that despite working a full time job they still qualify (and need) for government assistance. Giant stores that kill multiple jobs in their commuities for every one they create. An of course- ALL of corporate america loves this- because their employees can be forced to survive cheaper- negating the need to pay their employees a reasonable salary.

So america can either face reality- and to what it once did so well- rise to new challenges. Or it can sit on its collective ass, blaming the other guy while watching the latest so called reality tv…and march proudly into the record books of the shortest lived major nation in world history.

The choice belongs to all of us. Are YOU up for the challenge? From what I see I increasingly think the answer is no.

The rights hypocrisy re: Maher’s saying mormonism is a cult

This would be hilarious if it weren’t so very, very, very sad.

The right is expressing moral indignation about Bill Maherer calling mormonism a cult. Bill Maherer- the man behind the movie Religilous. The man who has likewise called Catholocism among other religion a cult. Agree or disagree in this case at least he’s consistent.

And yet, one of the main contenders in the republican presidential race- and darling of the conservative right, Rick Santorum likewise called Mormonism a cult. Actually- he called them a “dangerous cult). Likewise another GOP presidential hopeful, Texas Governor Rick Pery had one of his big supporters, Robert Jeffres, a babtist minister, call Mormonism a cult. And of course many, many christians believe mormonism is, indeed, a cult.

Where oh where was the moral outrage then?

For years now one of my favorite lines when meeting someone spouting off a Glenn Bech inspired diatribe has been “you DO know he’s a mormon” don’t you”?! Invariably, out comes the Iphone for the proof- and then the stuttering and confusion begins…

And ultimately- it’s not unlike the rights support of Israel. Grudgingly. Not because they truly support Israel. But because Israel holds the temple mount where the second coming is supposed to occur. And better for it to be in the hands of the Jews- (who no doubt in their mind will then suffer for cricifying him) then in the hands of arabs.

The hypocrisy just never ends…

Obama to blame for the NDAA…oh really?

Over the past couple months there has been a lot of criticism of Obama over the National Defense Authorization Act, and more precisely the section allowing the indefinite detention of americans. There have been a couple of states passing, or trying to, bills to void it. And more recently a federal judge (an Obama appointee by the way) blocking parts of it.

But of course, the dirty little secret, Obama opposed it. Prior to the debate in Congress Obama had said the provision was a dangerous assault on american freedom, and that the US already had the power to hold foreign combatants who were an actual threat to america.

But of course the NDAA passed both houses of congress with a veto proof majority, which is why Obama signed it- but used a signing statement saying, in part: “I have signed the Act chiefly because it authorizes funding for the defense of the United States and its interests abroad, crucial services for service members and their families, and vital national security programs that must be renewed. ….The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it.  In particular, I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists.”

The vote on the bill in the Senate- S1867, passed 93 to 7- with 3 democrats, 3 republicans, and one independent opposed. Details on the vote here

In the House, the vote was 322 to 96. With 90 democrats opposed and 6 republicans opposed.

And more recently, within the past week, the smith-amash amendment to strip the indefinite detention of americans provision from the law was roundly rejected by the house – 238-132 – with the vote breaking down largely on party lines- the republicans overwhelmingly voting nea.

So while both parties certainly deserve a gread deal of blame here, the facts, and the votes tell a far different story from what the right is saying. Overwhelmingly it was the GOP who supported this assault on our constitutional rights, with a not ubsustantial number, of mostly democratic and libertarian congressman being opposed- along with president Obama.

Oh the irony- the right ranting on teachers “indoctrinating” students

In case you’ve missed it the far right is in indignant outrage mode about a video allegedly showing a North Carolina teacher flipping out on a student for criticizing Obama. Which may even be true- hard to tell as the supposed vidoe is on youtube amd there is no legitimate press coverage or any comment from (or apparently attempt to) contact the school.

And if true- it is disturbing. But it’s also a single teacher.

And yet, throughout much of the conservatives strongholds we see states actually mandating that schools must teach creationism as an “alternative” to evolution. States mandating the teaching of abstinence only sex education. The conservative Hearltland Institutes trying to get schools to teach that global climate change science is false.

So states forcing teachers to indoctrinate students is fine. But a single teacher freaking out is something to set the world on fire…