the truth about obamacare

I can't believe they totally figured us out. You all know who 'they' is. 'They' are the brave citizens showing up at the town hall meetings, screaming about how their America is being flushed down the toilet with the feces of socialism. I guess they're just too smart for the President and the rest of the Dems (Not those Blue Dogs though. They know what's up).

First off, these death panels. I mean, how did they figure those out from the text of the 1000+ page plan which I'm sure they read? Yes, Obama totally wants to knock off all of those who are a complete strain on our economy. It's all part of the stimulus, you see. Come on! Old people? Who wants 'em? Their eating up my (future) social security and they're increasing the cost of Medicare with all of those illnesses they keep getting! Sure, Medicare only makes up about 2% of the federal budget (far less than our defense spending or those wars we've been fighting), but that's 2% that can be going to something else. Like the cost of these death squads. They're going to be meeting on a regular basis, I hope. That way we can eliminate the old people as quickly as possible.

And you know what? Even Sarah Palin gets it right every once in a while. Trig better watch out! Children with disabilities are totally on that list. Nevermind that the Democrats are the ones responsible for getting them a special education and all back in the day. Well, we're taking it back! No cushy life for you, disabled kids!

One of my favorite parts of the plan is the mandate for free sex-change surgeries. I heart transgender people. In fact, more people should change their sex. Personally, I've always wanted to know what it was like to be a man (particularly, what it is like to earn a man's wage and using the world as a giant toilet). With Obamacare, you now have that chance!

Another one of my favorites is the mandate for school based clinics. What I like about this is that now we can force abortions upon pregnant teens. Come on! How convenient is that? The clinics can totally replace those day cares that some high schools have. Find yourself inconveniently pregnant at 16? Well, then ditch homeroom and head over to the school clinic. In about an hour, you'll be totally de-pregnified. I wish I had that at my conservative, Catholic high school. I totally would've had promiscuous sex back then!

Speaking of abortions, under Obamacare, they are totally free, paid for by tax payer dollars!  Isn't that awesome?  Despite never having been pregnant, I've always wanted to have one so I plan to take advantage of this benefit.  Nevermind the countless federal laws that prohibit public funding from being used to fund abortions.  Obamacare is totally going to take care of that.  He is, after all, the most pro-abortion president ever.

My favorite part of Obamacare is that you will no longer have to think about what medical procedures you need. The Obama-approved Health Choices commissioner is going to do that for you. Granted, we already have that now. They are commonly known as Kaiser and United and Blue Cross. You know them. They're the same people who denied you that mammogram because of your pre-existing condition (pre-existing condition = being female), remember? Under Obama's plan, only one person will be making those decisions for everyone. Which is great for me because I can be so indecisive sometimes.

And you all know how the economy is crap right now. Well, there's a cost savings measure in the plan too. Basically, any medical procedure costing more than $22000 will not be covered by Obamacare. That's simply too much money for one person. It doesn't matter if that $25000 surgery will save your life. It's still too much money for government rationed health care. What? You think the government is made of money?

Personally, I'm all for this plan. There will be far less annoying old people in the world and abortions for everyone! What a perfect world.

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*SIGH* I guess I can take my tongue out of my cheek now. How ridiculous does this post sound? Well, that's what conservatives think about Obama's plan for health care reform. The hilarious thing is that people are eating the lies that the insurance industry is feeding them and screaming it back to their representatives at these town halls.

So, you can be a sheep for the insurance industry and fight for the status quo which leaves 1/3 of the US population without health insurance, OR you can make up your own mind by doing the research. In fact, I've started the search for you. Here are some non-partisan sites that are dissecting the many health care reform plans that are out there:

politifact.com
factcheck.org
ABC News
AARP

Personally, I think politifact.com is awesome and comprehensive and it has even won a Pulitzer.

about to lose faith in all humanity

I'm officially depressed.  Things have been down for me emotionally and, while I choose to not discuss them in this blog for personal reasons, just know that I've been upset about things for several days now and I've yet to see the light at the end of this tunnel.  And from that perspective, I write this post.

Because Fate likes to kick me while I'm down, yesterday morning I got the most interesting email at my blog email address.  Presumably in response to my post on my reaction to Dr. George Tiller's murder, the email sender wrote nothing but an incomprehensible string of curse words.  Buried among those curse words were the words "I hope you die like Tiller." 

Yup.  I guess that's the "pro-life" movement for ya.

I have long been a vocal opinionated blogger (well, except for my boring early stuff--please don't look at anything written in 2006) and I'm certainly not going to stop voicing my opinion just because some nut job terrorist sympathizer decided to email me his death wish.  But I have long hoped that some of my posts, some of my soapbox moments actually reach some people.  And maybe I don't change opinions, but maybe I encourage people to consider a view that is different from their own, encourage them to walk in someone else's shoes to see why someone would feel differently than they do.

I have received emails from strangers who read my blog thanking me for shedding light on a topic that is important to them, or a topic that helped them realize something or learn something new.  I get choked up sometimes just reading them.  It feels so good to help people, it really does (so much so that I've made a career out of it).  And then there are emails from people who don't like what I write.  And sometimes I write them back.  And occasionally, we get into an email debate and that person finally accepts a differing view (notice I said accept not agree--hey, change is change, no matter how small).

Yesterday, upon reading that email, I realized that there are some people that will never change.  That will never be open to another view.  That would threaten someone with a different view in the name of their god.  That would rather wish death upon someone to silence that view. 

I'm not in the least bit threatened by this anonymous coward person.  But I am saddened that there are people who have no qualms sending such an email to an opinionated blogger who has never performed an abortion and has never worked in a family planning clinic but who passionately supports people who do and the women who seek these (legal) services.

Yeah, I am totally one of those idealist do-good-er types.  I work to open minds and change hearts, not just through this blog but in my community.  I've always felt that nothing is impossible.  But today, I feel like I've been slapped in the face by reality. 

Try as I might, there are just some people who will never change.

george tiller, hero

After having watched the documentary Religulous on Saturday, the news of Dr. Tiller's death on Sunday was incredibly hard to accept. I am still filled with hate and rage at the moment but I will do my best not to use swear words in this post.

For those of you who have never heard of Dr. George Tiller, I think NY Governor George Patterson described him best in yesterday's press release:

I was deeply saddened to learn that Dr. George Tiller, a well-known provider of and advocate for women’s health care, was gunned down this morning at his church in Wichita, Kansas. With his murder, we are robbed not only of a dedicated and courageous physician, but also of a husband, father and neighbor.

Dr. Tiller was targeted for his belief in the right of women to make their own health decisions. He protected that right and sought to ensure that his patients were provided with the medical, emotional and spiritual counsel they needed to make the right choice for themselves and their families. He continued this work despite the threat of harmful retaliation, physical attacks and the destruction of his clinic. We will forever remember his fearlessness, compassion and commitment.

Dr. Tiller was one of three abortion providers in the U.S. who performed abortions after 24 weeks of gestation. Late term abortions are almost always done when a woman's health is at risk or if the fetus has no chance of surviving outside of the womb or if the fetus has a condition that will lead to a slow, painful death post-partum. In a sense, Dr. Tiller was performing abortions that were deemed medically necessary (for testimonials of some of Dr. Tiller's patients, please go here).

But that's not what the anti-choicers want you to believe. He was a killer, running an abortion mill in Wichita, the abortion capital of the US. He had to be stopped. Domestic terror cell, Operation Rescue (let's just call a spade a spade, shall we?), had longed targeted Dr. Tiller, going so far as to move their terrorist organization to Wichita and posting all information about the people who worked in Dr. Tiller's clinic, including photos. Isn't that convenient? Why would they do that if not to incite violence against those employees and Dr. Tiller?

It is of no surprise whatsoever that Dr. Tiller's murderer was affiliated with Operation Rescue.

What should be of no surprise to the anti-choice movement is that the man who murdered Dr. Tiller (at his church, with his wife watching from the choir loft), has now created a martyr. Everyone in the women's rights movement was already familiar with Dr. Tiller and his passion for reproductive rights. This was a man who wore a bullet proof vest to work. Who had legal charges brought against him constantly by anti-choice politicians (he was never convicted, of course). Whose clinic had been bombed and, most recently, had been vandalized. Who was shot in both arms by another domestic terrorist (now serving time in prison). Who went to work every day despite these obstacles because he believed that women were capable and had the right to make their own health decisions.

In women's rights circle everywhere, we are banding together to decide what could we do to honor Dr. Tiller's memory. This blogger is making a sizable donation (of money I don't really have) to Medical Students for Choice, an organization that works to ensure that reproductive health procedures are taught in all medical schools and that the next generation of Dr. Tillers are properly trained to follow in his giant footsteps. Others are calling their local PP clinics in order to volunteer as escorts. Still others are planning to donate money to reproductive health organizations (such as PRCH, which Dr. Tiller was on the board of directors).

Some of us were inspired by Dr. Tiller's determination and perseverance. But now all of us know about it. He's inspired us to be more resolute in our efforts to defend a woman's right to choose and to fight back against those so-called pro-life groups that do nothing but breed terrorists who act in the name of their god.

I have just one thing to say about Scott Roeder.
May he rot in hell.  I hope he gets what he deserves.

Meghan McCain is making waves in the GOP yet again

Meghan McCain is making waves in the GOP yet again, this time with a speech to the Log Cabin Republicans at their recent annual convention. Meghan continued on her "GOP must change" campaign and repeated her socially progressive ideas. I certainly don't need any new reasons to like Meghan McCain. As a liberal, I love how she's leaning left socially and I especially love how she's stirring sh*t up in the Republican Party.

Meghan is to the GOP what Obama was to voters in the 2008 presidential campaign--CHANGE. However, this post isn't about that. I'm confused about something. At some point in her speech, she declared herself a 'pro-life, pro-gay marriage Republican'. But is she really pro-life?

In her Larry King interview (shortly after Laura Ingraham called Meghan 'fat'), she stated, "I personally am pro-life, but I'm not going to judge someone that's pro-choice. It is not my place to judge other people and what they do with their body." Hmmm.

In her speech to the LCR, she said, "I think government is best when it stays out of people's lives and business as much as possible."

I hate to break it to you, Meghan, but you're really pro-choice.

Pro-choice doesn't not mean pro-abortion. A LOT of us want to reduce the number of abortions. In fact, some of us would probably never elect to undergo an abortion (like me). While we may choose not to abort, we do not judge those who do. We believe that the government has no place in our private lives. We believe that when a woman finds herself pregnant, she has the RIGHT TO CHOOSE to keep the baby, give it up for adoption, or get an abortion.

People who get abortions are not baby-killers. Some elect to abort in the event of a rape. Some abort because their child has no chance of living more than a few days because of a degenerative condition. Others abort because they cannot afford to feed the children they already have. Still others abort when they are 9 years old and pregnant with twins because of a step-father's sexual abuse (I'm referring to that case in Brazil).

Meghan says that government needs to stay out of our private lives and she wouldn't judge people and what they decide to do with their bodies. That's basically standard pro-choice speak for defending our positions.

So, Meghan, it's ok to admit it. "Pro-choice" is not a dirty word. So what if you piss off a bunch of Republicans?

Clearly, you've already done plenty of that.

new prez + change = science/politics*

Last night, I was delighted to read that a federal judge ruled that the Bush administration was wrong and determined that Plan B (emergency contraception) should be available without a prescription to girls as young as 17. Ok, so the previous age was 18, but still! This is a big step in the right direction. Now, if we can just get Plan B to be truly available over the counter, as opposed to behind the counter and under the judgmental eyes of a pharmacy tech, everything would be awesome!

If you recall, Plan B was held up for OTC approval in the FDA by many Bush cronies who did not want this pill to be available to teens because of the potential for the creation of teen sex cults!!! No, seriously. That was one of the reasons. Their line of reasoning was that, with increased availability to Plan B, teens would not be able to control their raging hormones any longer and engage in wanton (unprotected) group sex and then pop Plan B pills like candy afterwards. This wasn't based on actual facts (naturally, this was the Bush Administration after all) or anything. In fact, studies showed that teens didn't engage necessarily in careless sex if Plan B was available to them. In fact, their sexual habits showed no change.

But we all know that the Bush administration was averse to science and research and facts (global warming is another great example).

After 8 years of anti-science crap, we now have a president who does not place politics over science. Last month, the new administration worked to remove one of Bush's last acts known as the Provider Refusal Rule. Essentially, the Provider Refusal Rule or "Conscience Clause" (was written to be incredibly ambiguous and open to interpretation on purpose) allowed for religious ideology in the clinical setting. Under the rule, workers in health-care settings -- from doctors to janitors -- can refuse to provide services, information or advice to patients on subjects such as contraception, family planning, blood transfusions and even vaccine counseling if they are morally against it.

For example, if a clinician felt uncomfortable providing birth control or a Plan B prescription or the HPV vaccine, it was within his/her right to refuse to provide it to their patients. The thing is that judgment has NO place in health care, especially religious judgment. If you have a problem dispensing birth control (but not Viagra), then don't be a pharmacist. Don't want to perform an abortion if the mother's life is in danger? Well, then maybe you shouldn't be an OBGYN.

It's the same thing outside of health care. Do you hate Latinos and think gays should burn in hell? Then you wouldn't want my job. So why was the health care field specifically targeted in the Conscience Clause? Because of abortion, of course!

As a public health geek, it is so refreshing to have a president who thinks sound science should be the basis for policy as opposed to religious ideology. The NY Times piece above quoted Dr. Susan Wood, former director of the Office of Women's Health at the FDA who resigned because she didn't want to be part of Bush's morality militia. She commented, "There is a new chance to restore the scientific integrity of the F.D.A.”

Oh God I hope so.

*the title should be read as: new president plus change equals science over politics.

blog for choice: thoughts on the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade

When I used to live on the Hill, I dreaded this day. Every January 22nd, hundreds of anti-choice protesters would descend upon the Capitol (specifically, the Supreme Court building) and make my morning work commute more difficult. They carried their posters of mangled fetal parts and wore shirts that proclaimed the message "choose life". As the years went by, I noticed that the protesters were getting younger and younger.

While I no longer live on the Hill, I still happened upon a large group of protesters on the Metro this morning. I may be old now, but there's no way that these protesters had graduated high school yet. They were wearing their "Right to Life" sweatshirts in a blood red color (was the color symbolic?) and some carried rosary beads. All were headed to Union Station where they were sure to join countless other protesters.

Dissent is American, so I am not going to argue against their desire to protest. By all means, speak your mind. However, that means I can too.

While I can appreciate that young people feel passionately about a particular 'political' issue, I must question to what extent do they understand the issue. After all, abortion is very complex. How does one understand the complexity of the issues when one's world view is narrow? Seriously, what did I know about life at that age? At 16, I was anti-choice. I went to Catholic schools my entire life and believed everything I was told without question. It wasn't until I entered college and began to explore an entirely new world that I began to question what I was taught in Church and at school. It's not as if doubting and questioning were encouraged in my religion classes. It wasn't until I was forced to think for myself and be responsible for my actions that my world view expanded.

Shortly after high school, this is what I realized:

• Not everyone is Catholic
• Not everyone follows Catholic teachings
• I respect that people have different beliefs because of their different backgrounds
• I can learn a lot from those that are different than me
• The best way to understand a differing point of view is to put oneself into those shoes.

I consider myself pro-choice and pro-life (notice that I never use 'pro-life' as a synonym for 'anti-choice'). While I myself will probably never choose to have an abortion (unless it is medically necessary), I cannot judge others for making that choice for themselves. I may never fully comprehend the reasons why someone would have an abortion. I can put myself in their shoes and never really understand. Regardless, it is their choice and legally it is available to them. As far as my pro-life self, I will always support programs that have proven to reduce the # of unplanned pregnancies.

I wish that the anti-choice movement would understand that the world doesn't respond well to absolutes. Only about 10-15% of the American population would prefer to have abortion outlawed completely. Hillary Clinton once said that abortion should be 'safe, legal, and rare'. Certainly the two movements can agree on the 'rare' part. However, what has the anti-choice movement done to make abortion a rarity in our society? Fighting to make it completely illegal is not what the majority wants. How about supporting ideas that have proven to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies? Like comprehensive sex education? Or improved access to contraception? Or how about making the domestic adoption process less complicated? There are tons of children in foster care in the U.S. yet babies in China and Guatemala are the ones being adopted.

No, no. Instead the anti-choice movement would rather protest Krispy Kreme's recent free donut giveaway instead. That's an excellent use of time and resources, American Life League.

Today, President Obama is expected to lift the Global Gag Rule (yippee!). His administration is expected to support the Prevention First Act. Perhaps the anti-choice movement would like to join the current administration in supporting policies that will make abortions rare.