Current Trends

Yes that was the line from a recent airing of Mike Huckabee’s Fox network talk show opening a monologue that went on for close to 4 minutes describing innumerable ways he can’t understand, endeavor to get along with liberals, liberals that just don’t make sense. Highlights included the latest house bill banning abortion at the fifth month and a graphic description of what god fearing congressional members were trying to prevent, the mystifying notion to call it, abortion, women’s health while protesting pain for whales, dolphins, doing so naked to oppose wearing fur. He couldn’t reconcile the liberal stance on the unborn with advocating against torture for terrorists, execution for convicted, violent criminals; chiefly rapists and murderers. And it just got more off the wall from there, attacking Obama care not once but twice; first by saying he doesn’t want into a liberal’s bedroom but if anything happens in that bedroom unplanned they, women, want us, taxpayers, to clean it up and pay for it, then reviving talk of death panels woven into the president’s healthcare plan accusing them of getting between men, women, children and their doctor, but doctors can’t get between a woman and unborn child when she wants to ends its life . Saying under liberal doctrine 6 year olds could have the morning after pill, yet at 26 a girl still needs her parents’ health insurance. At 14 you can have an abortion sans parental consent but not a 16 oz. soda or salt shaker. Winding down his diatribe with the story of a 13 year old raped by a 17 year old and a Planned Parenthood worker blaming the crime on a lack of sex ed.; finalizing his comments with a would be joke about not being able to fix stupid. This is what conservative politicians choose to care about, conservative voters are being exposed to and this is why it’s dangerous, even criminal to our country.    

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUY_lySbEso

 For someone so interested in facts he seems to have no qualms about mangling almost every single one of these; we’ve all seen the pictures showcasing developing babies meant to convince the public, expecting mothers there is more than a blob of tissue in there, or the horrific videos, pictures demonstrating an abortion in progress, the aftermath. Except it was never about being cold, callous, indifferent to the possibility they, the unborn children, do feel pain that early on or an unwillingness to follow the science supporting that conclusion. Opposition to abortion bans, nicknamed heartbeat bills, is, was and has always been about balancing potential suffering of the unborn with complications of pregnancy for the mother, pain, suffering even death that can be, and too often is, a result. It was and is an acknowledgement deciding to carry a baby to term, to give birth to said child, regardless of if you then turn around and give it up for adoption, there are physical, biological, and physiological changes occurring to a woman’s body while pregnant and after; some of which can be very negative and very permanent. Push back against abortion bans is representative of carrying a baby, having a baby is not like making a New Year’s resolution to go to the gym, quit smoking, you just have to grit your teeth and deal with the withdrawal; push back against abortion restrictions recognizes another fact Mr. Huckabee is either unaware of or ignoring, pregnancy still today, in 2013, presents itself as one of the greatest risks to women’s health. No, not in third world Africa but right here in the United States, throughout the western world; women still have to contend withpreeclampsia,placenta previa, gestational diabetes coupled with other possible health problems independent of the best prenatal care, the best medicine can offer. Women still die in childbirth. To say nothing of women who don’t have access to the best care, who depend on the free clinic, their local Planned Parenthood because it is the only women’s clinic for miles, less attributed to their status in society as derelicts, poorly educated, barely holding onto a minimum wage job, and more to do with the fact their employer offers zero health insurance.  Women, the voting public especially don’t want their access to an abortion curtailed by politicians dually dubbed religious fanatics, because they understand the far reaching consequences if they do; they hear about cases like the woman who needlessly died in Ireland from blood poisoning after her baby was deemed non-viable, yet the catholic hospital she was treated in refused to perform an abortion owing to the baby, they admitted to having no hope of saving, still registering a heartbeat. Never mind at this point the procedure is a D&C, like what is performed post miscarriage, similar to removal of after birth post-delivery, not an abortion. Women want their legal right to an abortion upheld for precisely this reason, so if they ever need it solely to preserve their life letting them raise their older children, so they don’t damage their body to the point of never being able to try for another child or don’t die in the attempt to become a mother, they both medically and legally can take those steps. Too, it must be said, if conservatives can deny the science behind evolution and more importantly, climate change; then why can’t liberals deny the science behind the cruelty of abortion and it be called an equal disagreement instead of only liberals, particularly women, being characterized as “don’t make sense?”

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/14/savita-halappanavar-death-irish-woman-denied-abortion-dies_n_2128696.html

 Neither are outraged women, scandalized members of the voting populous so ignorant, uneducated and oblivious not to notice the blatant end run around Roe v. Wade attempted by local leaders trying to circumvent federal law, nor the uptick in sheer number of bills put forth to stop abortion, no matter how many times the voters speak with their ballot, saying we believe abortion should be legal, if for nothing else than the above stipulations. Not one of the voters also protesting outside government buildings, holding megaphones, signs, once more fighting to campaign for a woman’s right to decide what happens to her own body, have failed to comprehend lesser parts of these proposed legislations not only legally forcing women to undergo an invasive, unwanted procedure like a trans-vaginal ultrasound leaving them medically raped and violated, insisting they to submit to a traditional ultrasound and have the viewing monitor shoved in their face “to understand the full weight of what they want to do,” but could and would  restrict access to birth control, interfere with some IUD’s (inter uterine devices), even disrupt some fertility treatments for women desiring to get pregnant. Continuing to add insult to injury, such legislation is usually introduced by middle age, or older, white men who haven’t the faintest idea what goes on in a woman’s body and don’t want to know; one black leader who appeared on Hard Ball with Chris Mathews, coinciding with Mississippi debating its personhood bill, kept repeatedly mangling the term in- vitro fertilization; just one prime example pointing to why the fight over abortion rights has become a growing crescendo galvanizing more and more women. Similarly Huckabee’s statistics on partial birth abortion are irrelevant since that particular procedure, method was banned in 2003, a ruling upheld by the Supreme court in 2007; legislation stalled during numerous years by republican, conservative politicians refusing to include exemptions for a mother’s life. But everyone aside from the conservative, religious right isn’t making sense.  Even if you tie it to the horrific case of the clinic discovered 2 years ago run by back alley doctor Kermit Gosnell, facts of the case reveal A- he was convicted earlier this year on multiple counts of murder of live fetuses, the death of one mother, will be serving likely the rest of his life in prison, and B- his was a case of egregious medical malpractice left unchecked by regulatory entities, not a link to illegal partial birth abortion. Translation we don’t need regulations forcing doctors to perform abortions in surgical theaters, have admitting privileges at the nearest hospital, effectively closing down all abortion clinics in states where above measures are being debated, are already signed into law; we need to enforce the laws currently on the books. A basic inspection of the Gosnell clinic, not done for years, would have easily exposed unsanitary conditions, fetal body parts in jars, fetuses in freezers. Except, those inspections were never done in part due to corruption, no one paying attention, ceasing to care about poor people from derelict neighborhoods making choices they believe to be immoral in the first place.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDM6aPmNLHg&list=PL2713F0966EC96DF9

 http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/inside-mississippis-lone-abortion-clinic-19833674

 http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/mississippi-abortion-clinic-fights-19833677

As to liberals being against pain for animals, torture for terrorists and execution of violent, convicted criminals, all true, true and true; however, missed is the why. People liberal or otherwise are against pain for animals in the name of testing cosmetics products so women can have improved wrinkle creams, better foundation, longer lasting lipstick and eye shadow, no drip mascara, are against heedlessly testing drugs in the same manner not yet approved for human trials and were protesting up to that point because at that time, several years ago now, the public was largely unaware. Likewise they protest pain inflicted on animals directly linked to what we humans continue to do to damage the environment; from destruction of habitat in favor of overpopulated human developments, to pollution of air, soil and water, chemical processes creating acid rain all courtesy of man’s treatment of the planet, that again, up to that point in time, activism began years before the governors comments, the public knew little about. Protesters walking around naked to expose the devastation of wearing fur were reacting to vast quantities of animals, living creatures, many of them cute things, with heart melting little faces, being killed solely to make fur coats, hats, scarves, shawls; entire species hunted to extinction, or very near, not for warmth, not for weather resistant clothing, instead for a fashion statement, public having almost no knowledge of what their demand was causing. Being against torture for terrorists is not synonymous with not wanting terrorists to see justice, as Mr. Huckabee’s tone seems to imply; it does line up with the idea of us setting an example, making sure we don’t stoop to the level of our enemies, those we’re fighting, ensuring we don’t lose our credibility globally. It is a stance held by a majority of Americans in light of how many Guantanamo detainees were rounded up and remain imprisoned as enemy combatants, who were treated thus because they were thought to have information on known terrorists, terrorist activities; when turns out they knew nothing. It is honestly a noble position considering events transpiring in places like Abu Ghraib; the senseless humiliation, bragging and taking photos of it all U.S. soldiers engaged in for laughs. Speaking out against the death penalty for criminals contrary to popular tea party, republican, sadly redneck opinion, is not, will never be about sidestepping justice meted out by a jury; rather seeking true justice centering around cases gone horrifically wrong. Whether we’re talking botched execution methods that reached over into cruel and unusual punishment, the primary catalyst for suspending executions in many states, or systemic trial issues leading to the execution of individuals deemed borderline mentally retarded, a violation of the 8th  amendment, prosecutorial misconduct, improper police procedure, zealot investigators convinced they have their man, despite what the evidence says; it’s not that we don’t know these things happen. And noting Huckabee’s propensity to reach far, far into the past no, it’s not like DNA testing, retesting has ever exonerated a prisoner for the crime of rape or murder, except it has, it’s not like witnesses have ever lied on the stand or been pressured to lie by authorities, except they have, and it’s not like these things don’t happen today in the 21st century, they do, just ask the family of Troy Anthony Davis. I would say ask Mr. Davis yourself, except, the state of Georgia executed him as a convicted cop killer with no DNA, physical, forensic evidence against him and every witness who testified to his guilt changing their story, year 2011. Even more disturbing is when state representatives appear to brag, be proud of the number of people executed there, exactly what Rick Perry has done on multiple occasions, or political shining stars like Steve King and Herman Cain who advocate an electric fence be placed at the nations boarder with a sign warning illegals it could kill them. Anyone else see the contradiction; anyone else think that doesn’t make sense, jive with the pro-life agenda?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9dXYr9tDYQ

 http://abcnews.go.com/US/troy-davis-executed-stay-denied-supreme-court/story?id=14571862

Conservatives don’t want to be in a liberals bedroom unless it is a homosexual liberal’s bedroom; then they want to use anti-sodomy, crimes against nature laws left actively on the books in select regions, despite a 2003 Supreme court decision striking them down, to deal with homosexual prostitution or forced prostitution between homosexuals, sex acts seen as unusual, depraved not covered under current law to virtually outlaw their choice of relationship. Essentially make consensual sex between homosexual partners against the law, creating a vehicle by which to prosecute homosexual teens willingly exploring their sexuality, sexually experimenting with each other while letting their heterosexual counterparts go with a slap on the wrist, if anything at all. No, conservatives don’t want to be in our bedrooms, just our doctor’s offices, our vaginas, telling us we can’t have abortions to save our own lives, allowing adjunct right wing mouth pieces, Rush Limbaugh, remember him, to call us sluts for wanting to have access the birth control treating our medical conditions, possessing the audacity to next treat us like hypocrites because we want our premium paid for health insurance to “come in an clean up the mess” of something unplanned happening in our bedroom.  Though that isn’t demanding the right to carry out the death penalty on an unborn child at any time for any reason, demanding government, tax payers foot the bill for a woman’s supposedly irresponsible bedroom activities, consequences, only demanding insurance provided by religious, extreme viewed employers pay for all women’s health services, all legally sanctioned medical procedures for women. And who are contraceptives a-la the morning after pill most often given to, sexual assault victims, incest survivors; a woman drugged at a party who woke up in some guy’s bed with no idea how she got there, slipped hard liquor at a social gathering, driven back to his place incoherent and taken advantage of, raped in a car while on a date, an ex-boyfriend or husband who either broke in or talked his way into her home then forced himself on her. Oh… so who’s making less sense again? Yet let’s assume for a moment we were talking about the less responsible portion of society, people who need to better control their behavior, and lets for another moment assume, in the spirit of playing devil’s advocate, the same stereotypes bandied about regarding Medicaid, low income, free clinic users are true. Never thought through by the guy jumping up and down babies feel pain, a fact never disputed, or scoffing at calling an abortion women’s health, saying abortion done on girl babies is “logically” bad for little women’s health, sans any of the surrounding issues detailed here, is, wait for it, the suffering endured in-utero, often lifelong, when a baby’s stressed, panicked mother continues to smoke, drink, do drugs in an attempt to psychologically deal with an unplanned pregnancy. Result, babies born miserable, showing signs of withdrawal from whatever prescription, illicit substances, alcohol ingested potentially suffering all their lives from preventable conditions such as one boy with cerebral palsy, costing his school district thousands in specialized aid who testified to his local legislature about drug testing on welfare recipients, because he knew why he had been born that way. Babies racking up roughly 1 million dollars in medical costs before being difficult to place in a foster home, put up for adoption or hasn’t he heard of FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome)?  I’m not sure which is more painful “having your arms and legs ripped off” during an abortion or drug withdrawal as a newborn; however I do know the pain of an abortion last moments compared to the weeks of DDT’s, the lifelong, pain, struggle and diminished quality of life associated with mental and physical, medical issues caused by mommy’s drug use. Perhaps presenting us with a case of the lesser of two evils; forgotten in all the sanctity of human life rhetoric that includes treating people with horrific burns independent of the agony it entails, removing the majority of a person’s face, concluding in horrifying disfigurement, amputating their limbs in order to save their life from flesh eating infection, animal attack right down to railing on abortion, is maybe there is a better, more humane way to practice medicine, perform the procedure, because the way we do something is sometimes just as important as why we do it. A form of sense coming from the heart not the mind, yet no less valid taking into account the subject matter.  

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO-AKRR7Yuc

 Former presidential candidate Huckabee’s perceptions are utterly unsurprising from a guy whose talk show airs on a network run by party affiliates notorious for making up their own statistics, convincing them Romney would win election night, from a party who invents, dreams up their own biology i.e. Todd Akins ignorant comments on rape and attributes of the female body not actually in existence. Ideas that should hardly shock onlookers from a guy who can’t distinguish between a financially stable unwed mother, excited about her impending role of motherhood at the Oscar’s, and a teen mom appearing on 16 and pregnant, hints his completely inappropriate comments disparaging Natalie Portman. Additionally, reasons surrounding the staggering number of abortions would positively floor most conservatives from young married couples who can’t economically support another mouth to feed, to middle aged women who can’t afford a child or another one; those same people who can’t get access to birth control thanks to tea party, conservative inspired restrictions. Who still, well into adulthood, remain ignorant, hesitant about simple contraceptives, vis-à-vis the condom, due to abstinence only sex ed. platforms that didn’t think far enough ahead to realize safer sex practices would be required throughout the whole of a young woman’s child bearing years, not just as a teen told not to do it. Expounding on the numbers behind the stigmatized astronomical, nonchalant destruction of human life are conservative moves to gut social programs, i.e. welfare and food stamps, housing assistance; a politician, a candidate running for office  always shouting about largely fictionalized fraud, abuse and misuse as an excuse to disband things designed to help the poor and destitute. Should you be on any of these assistances and dare have another child, you are a woman using your body to extort the system, popping out more kids for more benefits. Seeing that line was wearing thin, enter their new spin in 2013 to demonize aforementioned programs and individuals, families who use them; party politics and extremists having exploded the definition of food stamp fraud beyond people who sell their benefits for cash, drugs, prescription or illicit, booze, beyond who qualifies and who doesn’t to throwing a hissy fit, to use the governor’s term, over someone they saw in the convenience store buying gum and a bag of chips. Attitude conveying the sentiment I don’t pay taxes so you can get food assistance to buy candy and junk; I pay taxes allowing you to get food assistance so you can buy healthy food. The other antidotal evidence of rampant food assistance fraud, being in line behind a woman, the assistance card bearing a man’s name, “so it’s clearly not hers.” First and foremost categorizing gum as candy is inaccurate; gum should be classified in its own category, but that’s semantics compared to the reality our news personality onlooker, on lookers in general, have no idea what or why this person is making the choices they are, would probably say the same about birthday cake and ice cream bought for what, a child’s birthday, or candy bought for Christmas, Halloween, valentines cards, candy inside, bought that way, with food stamps, because it was the only way the woman’s 8 year old son could participate in the class party. Completely left out of these indignant discussions are entire neighborhoods lacking grocery stores, a superstore like Wal-Mart, possessing only convenience stories within a reasonable distance from their homes, who use the example of a California beach bum as the new face of food stamps in an entitlement society, when the new face of food stamps is actually a former middle class family where both parents work part time, low wage jobs to be employed to have an income, struggling to hold on to their underwater mortgage and raise their children in a recession caused by GOP ideals. Countering the female Fox News anchor and her names on cards story might be summed up in the phrase, nosey much; a situation that could also easily be explained as the card holder is the woman’s husband/ boyfriend and she does the majority of the shopping. He’s watching the kids while she’s getting groceries. An older child, senior citizen living with her children doing the shopping for the family; perhaps because the cardholder is sick DAH!       

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3XB1Z0gbOc 

Six-year-olds’ being distributed birth control was a misinterpretation of a new access statute by a handful of school nurses, not a Planned Parenthood in Indiana or elsewhere, not a liberal anything. Said new guidelines were implemented following several students 11, 12, 13, coming to junior high pregnant, many on their second pregnancies; they don’t like it but they don’t know what else to do when the sex ed. classes aren’t working or aren’t available thanks to conservative, bible thumping interference. By the way continuing to denigrate parenting nationwide and provide zero information about sexual health won’t solve the problem either. 26 year olds permitted to stay on their parents health insurance has no bearing on whether you are still considered a child or not and is indicative of Washington waking up to just how many 18-26 year olds lack health insurance because they are full time students focused on their education, not working, only working part time while they attend classes/training making them ineligible for benefits based on the number of hours they work, or are recent graduates still working their minimum wage, fast food, retail job, offering none, waiting for an open position or saving money to advance their training, dido with high school graduates unable to afford college doing the same medial labor. Noted as well, you are considered a dependent student by the college you attend until age 24, meaning your determination for financial aid is based on your parents’ resources, assets regardless if you live/work independently.  In light of the mental health issues behind mass shootings, carnage inflicted by Jared Loughner, James Holmes, ever increasing diagnoses of autism, one would think Mr. Huckabee would be delighted to see children, young adults afflicted with various disorders able to stay covered by insurance, continue their current treatment regimen at college, during training, into their first job. Addressing 14 year olds’ access to the morning after pill but not a 16 oz. soda or salt shaker can be attributed to the unvarnished truth there are kooks on both sides, in all walks of life, parts of society some carrying views more extreme than anyone currently serving in politics. FYI New York’s Supreme Court struck down the soda ban leaving hope the salt ban won’t gain hold at all, seeing as the only place wanting to do so state side is, again, New York City.  Unfortunately for our esteemed governor’s “sensible” sales pitch, if you add up all the crazy ideas, nonsense legislation presented by political operatives labeled liberal to local, national congresses in the past 20 years, it would come nowhere close to equaling the total absurdity of bills, statutes, proposals leveled by the conservative, tea party, Christian right wingers in just the last 4 years. Worse is if that 14 year old will be subject to violence via an honor killing attempted by old world parents, as she tries to apply the knowledge she gained in sex ed. to keep from getting pregnant; it wouldn’t change their minds. Neither if she had been raped on a date; a simple drop you two off at the movies becomes a nightmare in the corner next to the bathroom. Perhaps if she was raped by her father, uncle cousin, pastor, family friend  it would drive home why we keep providing contraception to teens; readers however will likely forgive the doubt in that happening anytime soon.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7420232n

 

Dovetailing into his final example ranting about the rape of a 13 year old by a 17 year old who consequently became pregnant, a Planned Parenthood worker reportedly stating it wouldn’t have happened had the victim had comprehensive sex ed. and how stupid that was, exclaiming a conservative who said the same would be hooted out of town as an idiot, but liberals saying it is supposed to be smart? Ok he’s calling it rape obviously based on the age of the young man, but is that what they are calling it, what she says about it, or infinitely more likely, her parents found out what the two had done, brought him up on charges, shepherded her off to Planned Parenthood for an abortion, which she refused, telling the worker she willingly had sex with him and wants to keep his baby. Under those circumstances said worker’s comment is a lot more relevant and makes absolute, unequivocal sense; because, we know from study after study the more comprehensive sexual education children have, the more likely they are to wait to have sex, the less likely they are to get pregnant as teenagers and they increase their chances of graduating high school, going to college. Returning to that 14 year old he doesn’t think should have access to an abortion without the knowledge of her parents, what would they think if she got into a fight with her ultra-conservative parents about her taking contraception getting kicked out of her house; what would they think of the ultimate tragedy, she comes home pregnant, tells them, dad flies off the handle, there’s a fall down the stairs and mother or baby die, worse both? How about if carrying that baby will mutilate her internally, because while she is old enough to menstruate, her body really is too young to carry a baby without damage?  Suddenly the sex ed. comment resonates as does teen access to abortion, because don’t doctors have an oath to save lives, just one if it must be one or the other, and don’t we owe it to our children not to knowingly set them up to be in that kind of position?  The one thing governor Huckabee got right is you can’t fix stupid; classifying stupid becomes the next, harder task.  However made a little easier here; Ron White is not a psychologist rather a comedian, though if that where he gets his psychological advice, it explains a lot. And while he might have been trying to make a funny, real issues are no laughing matter.