Patterico's Pontifications

1/24/2009

Obama Ends Ban on Financing Pro-Abortion Groups, Acts Like He’s Doing Something Very Special

Filed under: Abortion,General,Obama — Patterico @ 8:40 pm



The AP reports:

President Barack Obama on Friday struck down the Bush administration’s ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information – an inflammatory policy that has bounced in and out of law for the past quarter-century.

Obama’s move, the latest in an aggressive first week reversing contentious Bush policies, was warmly welcomed by liberal groups and denounced by abortion rights foes.

The ban has been a political football between Democratic and Republican administrations since GOP President Ronald Reagan first adopted it 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.

“For too long, international family planning assistance has been used as a political wedge issue, the subject of a back and forth debate that has served only to divide us,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House. “I have no desire to continue this stale and fruitless debate.”

Excuse me? What the fark is that supposed to mean? All you’re doing, Barry, is continuing that back and forth debate, as the article makes clear. Republican institutes ban; Democrat ends it. Next Republican re-institutes it; you end it again.

That’s fine; as you’re keen to point out, you won. Just please don’t pretend that you’re doing something that is new, and different, and bipartisan. Your action is politics as usual — a bone thrown to your base on a Friday afternoon. It’ll help kill a few more babies. There’s nothing fresh or bipartisan about it, so don’t pretend there is.

Unprecedented!

104 Responses to “Obama Ends Ban on Financing Pro-Abortion Groups, Acts Like He’s Doing Something Very Special”

  1. We are going to run the largest deficits ever and Obama wants to give money to organizations outside the country for abortions.

    It’s good to know his priorities are straight.

    I wonder if Doug Kemic knows he was punked?

    MU789 (c852bc)

  2. We knew this was coming and yet it’s heartbreaking to think about how many more babies will be killed in the name of freedom to choose. Contrast that with how noble Mr. Bush was in his valiant work to keep unborn innocents protected as much as possible. Night and day, night and day.

    There is an interesting article on how the African-American Christians were not pleased with Mr. Obama’s equal not to non-believers and believers. Tucked down in the article was this tidbit. It will be interesting to see if this proves to be a bit of a problem for Mr. Obama.

    The Rev. Cecil Blye, pastor of More Grace Ministries Church in Louisville, Ky., says his even bigger beef with the president, he said, is that a disproportionate number of “black kids are dying each day through abortion. President Obama is supportive of abortion, and that’s a genocide on black folks. Nobody wants to talk about that as a civil rights issue.”

    http://news.aol.com/article/obamas-nonbeliever-nod-unsettles-some/316339

    Dana (137151)

  3. Obama has shown remarkably poor decision-making capacity. An epic economic meltdown caused by a combination of the intrinsic corruption in the oversight of government corporations (Fannie/Freddie) and the oil shock in the summer caused directly by years of Congressional incompetence and inaction on viable energy policy. And what does Obama set at the front of the list in these exceptional times? Providing terrorists due process via the termination of Guantanamo and using taxpayer funds to expand abortions in foreign nations.

    WTF? And I’m failing to neglect Obama’s full-out assault on a radio talk show host. Dude, you’re President. Act like one. Or is that the problem? The photo ops in front of Lincoln’s memorial, the catchy teleprompter-driven lines, the weekly Time Magazine “deep contemplative thought” covers and the selection of senior leadership positions that wouldn’t pass the ethics test at a rural PTA, Obama’s really done a great job wowing us with his brilliance.

    HatlessHessian (9e1983)

  4. There is no mention of the fact that 70% of pregnancies in black women are aborted. A black minister, maybe the same one, has stated that 37 million black babies have been aborted since Roe v Wade. That’s close to genocide but it’s all politics.

    Mike K (ee3203)

  5. Oh, I’m sure that Kmiec knows the old adage (Samuel Johnson): to sup with the Devil requires a long spoon.

    Kmeic knew about this, despite his claims of being a devout Catholic. He just let his Bush hatred drive him to the outstandingly naive point that anyone would be better than Bush or McCain.

    He may actually be doing that tour of America as part of the “…Barack Obama: Faith, Family and Values Tour…”

    Whoops. I would love to be the priest at his next confessional. After all, he was denied Communion once. I wonder what Roger Mahony will say now?

    Maybe Hugh Hewitt will get Kmiec on the air to explain himself. Pepperdine must be proud….

    Eric Blair (e92b94)

  6. In Dem speak, “reaching across the aisle” really means “unilateral decision while smearing a Republican as a divider.”

    Perfect Sense (9d1b08)

  7. In light of the Vatican’s response, I think any possibility of Kmiec being of Vatican ambassador is a definite no-go,

    ROME (AFP) — A senior Vatican official on Saturday attacked US President Barack Obama for “arrogance” for overturning a ban on state funding for family-planning groups that carry out or facilitate abortions overseas.

    It is “the arrogance of someone who believes they are right, in signing a decree which will open the door to abortion and thus to the destruction of human life,” Archbishop Rino Fisichella was quoted as saying by the Corriere della Sera daily.

    “If this is one of the first acts of President Obama, with all due respect, it seems to me that the path towards disappointment will have been very short,” Fisichella said.

    “I do not believe that those who voted for him took into consideration ethical themes, which were astutely left aside during the election debate. The majority of the American population does not take the same position as the president and his team,” he added.

    Dana (137151)

  8. Eric:

    Kmeic supported Romney before McCain won the nomination then switched to Obama so I’m not sure it was Bush hatred as much as just wanting to be with a winner – principles be damned.

    And I thought the communion thing was only what he said and not backed up by anyone else.

    MU789 (c852bc)

  9. Well, at least here in California, the voters (in their infinite wisdom) several years ago banned owners of horses from selling them to rendering plants. And just a few months ago, most of those same voters said “yes” to a law that requires companies in the business of selling animals for food to treat their livestock with greater care and consideration.

    Meanwhile, underaged girls (also in the “Golden” State) can seek and receive an abortion without the consent of their parent or guardian, and obtain that procedure more easily than if they wanted to have their ears pierced.

    A sign of what passes for love and compassion — for supposed humaneness — in the 21st Century.

    Mark (411533)

  10. I went and looked something up about Douglas Kmiec. Here is part of his statement defending his endorsement of Barack Obama for President:

    “…As a Republican and as a Catholic, I believe life begins at conception, and it is important for every life to be given sustenance and encouragement. As a Republican, I strongly believe that the Supreme Court of the United States must be fully dedicated to the rule of law and to the employ of a consistent method of interpretation that keeps the court within its limited judicial role. As a Republican, I believe problems are best resolved closest to their source and that we should never arrogate to a higher level of government that which can be more effectively and efficiently resolved below. As a Republican and a constitutional lawyer, I believe religious freedom does not mean religious separation or mindless exclusion from the public square.

    In various ways, Sen. Barack Obama and I may disagree on aspects of these important fundamentals, but I am convinced, based upon his public pronouncements and his personal writing, that on each of these questions he is not closed to understanding opposing points of view and, as best as it is humanly possible, he will respect and accommodate them. ….”

    http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/convictions/archive/2008/03/23/endorsing-obama.aspx

    So…I have a little trouble with seeing how the Executive Order we are discussing fits in with Kmiec’s “happy, happy, joy, joy” rationale for his endorsement.

    Perhaps someone should write to Professor Kmiec and ask his opinion on the Executive Order, in light of his own statements on the subject?

    As I say, I’m pretty sure he knew. Kmiec’s hatred of McCain was just too great.

    Mind you, I personally think that abortion issues are cheaply discussed by men. It’s women who have much more of stake in this subject. Perhaps we should only let women vote on it!

    Oh well…

    Eric Blair (e92b94)

  11. Eric:

    I think Kmeic is Dirty Harry quoting Gandhi as he’s blowing away the bad guys with his .44 Magnum.

    His words have no relation to reality.

    MU789 (c852bc)

  12. EB, my daughter is staunchly pro-life. But, really, half the dead babies were boys.

    John Hitchcock (fb941d)

  13. John, please don’t misunderstand me. Of course, the subject is one that we all must agree upon, as a culture and a nation.

    But I do get tired of a few men making decisions—in general—for all of us, often in opposition to a plebiscite.

    MU789, I think your comment about Kmiec wanting to be with a “winner” is a good explanation. Ditto the “I want to be cool” factor. Especially given the weird hypocrisy from the MSM on this subject:

    GW Bush does it: bad.
    Barack Obama does it: good.</i

    >

    Sigh.

    The issue at present is that now we will see what the man really intends. Pretty late in the game.

    Eric Blair (e92b94)

  14. That’s close to genocide but it’s all politics.

    It is the epic moral issue we face yet thanks to many people including our new President who refers to it as a “fruitless debate”, it has been reduced to a politics as usual matter.

    Dana (137151)

  15. Its ironic that the left in America like to kill unborn babies with my money and let murders go free and all the while pretending to have the superior morals.

    Yes, liberals are complete amoral dolts.

    ML (14488c)

  16. If, as Obama said on the campaign trail, “when life begins” is above his pay-grade, I’d think he’d prefer to err on the side of caution. But he has a history on the issue in IL congress. Abortion goes wrong, baby born alive, Obama all for setting baby on shelf to die.

    John Hitchcock (fb941d)

  17. Here’s something I found on Yahoo! News

    Barack Obama opened his presidency by breaking sharply from George W. Bush’s unpopular administration, but he mostly avoided divisive partisan and ideological stands. He focused instead on fixing the economy, repairing a battered world image and cleaning up government.

    You wonder whether these writers understand the meaning of the words they use.

    Steverino (b12c49)

  18. Putting aside the question of abortion and genocide, let’s look at this statement of Obama’s:

    “For too long, international family planning assistance has been used as a political wedge issue, the subject of a back and forth debate that has served only to divide us,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House. “I have no desire to continue this stale and fruitless debate.”

    This is the beauty of his strategy. As Patterico points out, all Dear Leader is really doing is continuing to use abortion as a political wedge issue but, you see, he knows that half of his followers have absolutely no sense of history and won’t know any better than to take him at his word on this. The more historically-aware half of his support is either too enamored of him to notice how mendacious he is being, or too cynical to care.

    Yep, it’s going to be a long four years.

    JVW (bff0a4)

  19. An act of congress could end this debate.

    imdw (bc4d63)

  20. All of this debate brings up an interesting question: During a very difficult economic slowdown which allegedly necessitates a huge public works [cough] “investment” [cough] program, do we really have the leftover bucks to be tossing at international family-planning groups? Isn’t this the sort of expenditure that ought to be placed on the back-burner until our recovery is underway?

    JVW (bff0a4)

  21. Is there debate about legalizing drugs? Is there debate about taxes? Is there debate about any other acts of congress? No act of congress will end this debate.

    John Hitchcock (fb941d)

  22. It’s bad to throw money at other countries, unless it’s good to throw money at other countries.

    John Hitchcock (fb941d)

  23. “An act of congress could end this debate.”

    imdw – And then another act of Congress could begin it all over again.

    daleyrocks (ae34ca)

  24. Comment by JVW — 1/24/2009 @ 10:02 pm

    You mean the $40 million that is appropriated for this???

    Dana (137151)

  25. John – As long as its for the liberal troika of abortion, atheism and sodomy, they’re all for it. How it stimulates the economy, just don’t try to look behind the curtain.

    daleyrocks (ae34ca)

  26. Well 65.5 million Americans are getting what they deserve, too bad the other 57.5 get the shaft also.

    I think Teh One has done more damage to my country in 4 days then all the crazy Bush haters imagined he did in 8 years.

    ML (14488c)

  27. Comment by Dana — 1/24/2009 @ 10:07 pm

    What we ought to start doing is to take the figure of $40 million and start highlighting what other uses it could be put towards. Something like:

    “For the cost of what we spend on international family planning each year, we could build new high-tech libraries in 20 urban high schools.”

    “. . . we could provide prescription drugs for 20,000 needy American senior citizens.”

    “. . . we could help 2,000 returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan afford a down-payment on a new home.”

    The left will scream bloody murder over this, but there is no doubt they would be doing it if the situation were reversed.

    JVW (bff0a4)

  28. This is a lot like the timewaster, except these lobs take place over 4 to 8 year periods. And, oh yeah, they publically fund abortion when they go Obama’s way.

    Joe (17aeff)

  29. Another part of the hypocrisy is that abortion advocates always say they want the government to have no control over their bodies, yet they want the government to encourage and pay for abortions!

    I’m pro-choice but absolutely do not want the government to pay for abortions. It really is the most unfair use of taxpayer money.

    Patricia (89cb84)

  30. “imdw – And then another act of Congress could begin it all over again.”

    Sure but I think that takes it out of the realm of presidents doing the back and forth.

    “The left will scream bloody murder over this”

    People been doing this with iraq war spending for a while now.

    imdw (e36369)

  31. With Bush, it was “You’re either with us or against us.”

    With Obama, it’s now “You’re either with me or you’re divisive.”

    I should have that printed on one of those Obama posters and put it on my wall so he’s always staring at me.

    Chris M (3fd0b2)

  32. Remember: Dissent is patriotic.

    Kevin Murphy (0b2493)

  33. I wonder if we now support Chinese “family-planning” clinics.

    Kevin Murphy (0b2493)

  34. #32 Dissent is now the highest form of racism.

    Perfect Sense (9d1b08)

  35. […] More: Patterico’s Pontifications » Obama Ends Ban on Financing Pro … […]

    Patterico’s Pontifications » Obama Ends Ban on Financing Pro … | finance-web-guide (5afdc4)

  36. This thread is boring . . . so far.

    Here, trolly trolly trolly trolly trolly —

    Icy Texan (b7d162)

  37. But I do get tired of a few men making decisions—in general—for all of us, often in opposition to a plebiscite.
    Comment by Eric Blair — 1/24/2009 @ 9:35 pm

    When conservative men say that women are more qualified to talk about abortion than men, as a woman, while I appreciate the attempt at respect for women I have to say I get upset. Not only are roughly half of the babies killed in this country boys (in other countries, particularly China, it’s more girls who are killed) but it buys into the radical feminist line that if men would just get out of women’s lives all would be well. In fact, the abdication of presence by men – well intentioned or no – is one of the reasons abortion is so widespread. Of course men’s voices should be heard, as you yourself imply in your latest comment.

    That said, it is true that women consistently poll more pro-life than men, perhaps partly due to the perception that silence equals respect, partly due to irresponsible men wanting abortion easily available, for their own selfish reasons.

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  38. The issue at present is that now we will see what the man really intends. Pretty late in the game.

    People keep talking about how “historic” it is that Obama is our first African American president. That’s shallow.

    What I think is really historic is Obama’s status as a product of such a radically broken home, now in charge of the Executive Branch of our nation. All his “family issues” are perhaps going to be affecting our domestic and dare I say foreign policy as well. There is no way you come out of a situation like that -father abandons you, and mother for many years too – with a balanced, pro-family worldview. It certainly explains his radical commitment to abortion, his view of babies as “punishment,” and quite a few other things IMO.

    Not armchair psychologizing (I don’t think). All these profound lacks in any person’s early life are going to affect his or her decisionmaking later in life. Some people rise above it. Obama IMO based on his statements so far, doesn’t seem to have. Yet anyway. God help him.

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  39. This is why I have strong respect for our host. Regardless of his personal position on an issue, he’s always prepared to declare BULLSHIT against the fabricators within our political universe.

    Ask yourself this, Barry O: Did your predecessor, when he enacted a ban on funding these groups, declare that he was ending the back-and-forth debate?

    Icy Texan (b7d162)

  40. I keep thinking of Proverbs 30, which speaks of the things that “make the earth tremble”, one of which is “a [lowly servant] who becomes king” (redacted to avoid accusations of racism). Meaning, give someone such power later in life who had such family-related lacks as Obama had early on, and I do indeed fear the result of how he will attempt to reshape the nation as a result of his warped worldview resulting from his own massive early life deprivations.

    I fervently hope I’m wrong and that the good relationship he appears to have with his wife and his own children are going to mitigate the damage his parents did to him by abandoning him.

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  41. Celebrity psychologist Dr. Drew talks about how, as adults, people that were abandoned by a parent during their youth overcompensate by becoming “fixers” in their relationships. They seek out dysfunctional situations and then do everything they can to ‘make it all better’.

    President Socialist fits this mode perfectly. Remember “We are the ones we have waited for”? We NEED him to fix the country, just as the typical fixer believes that their lover NEEDS them to make him/her better.

    It’s a perfect liberal scenario: arrogance born out of a low self-esteem driven form of narcissism. Obama is going to redeem his father’s entire life by taking good care of all 300 million of us. The slightly important nagging fact that half — or more — of us don’t want the attention matters not one whit to him. He knows what’s best for us, just as any leftist worth their salt truly believes.

    Icy Texan (b7d162)

  42. #10 Eric Blair:

    Mind you, I personally think that abortion issues are cheaply discussed by men. It’s women who have much more of stake in this subject.

    True, that women have much more of a stake than men do: but it isn’t without cost to men.

    If you’ll allow a personal anecdote, a long time ago I was betrothed to a woman who turned out to be Rh- (I am Rh+). “We” became pregnant prior to having the state required blood tests for our marriage license, and near the beginning of the second trimester she spontaneously aborted. It very nearly killed her.

    In spite of being much more cautious in our use of contraception, she later became pregnant again (and unplanned~we hadn’t yet taken the prophylaxis necessary for her to carry an Rh+ child). Her doctors very strongly recommended aborting the pregnancy based on the last one, and I sided with them, not wanting to lose her because of a very real chance of her dying attempting to carry the child.

    In short, I lost her anyway because of the abortion, although to my knowledge and slight consolation she is still alive.

    EW1(SG) (e27928)

  43. Recently was reading that since Roe v. Wade began, 37 million black babies have been aborted. And how many of them would have had their own babies, etc. ? This is a civil rights issue that some black ministers have called Obama on. And lots of potential reliable liberal voters that will never be. I guess that is counterbalanced by all the illegal immigrants likely to be soon legalized and voting for socialism.
    Won’t be long before there will be a majority of people who pay no income taxes who will further burder those who do pay taxes.
    My own ex had an abortion as a matter of convenience since she thought being 23 and married was too young to be burdened with a cherub.

    aoibhneas (0c6cfc)

  44. You wonder whether these writers understand the meaning of the words they use.

    They don’t
    “War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength.”

    Horatio (55069c)

  45. Is there for real a debate Baracky wants to continue? Such a little man.

    happyfeet (4eacbc)

  46. I think most politicos feel similar regarding this issue, as best expressed by an old song by Devo:

    Freedom of choice is what you got;
    Freedom from choice is what you want.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  47. Thinking of Kmiec and his 180 spin on abortion and flip from Romney to Obama reminds me of the words of Bob Dylan (“Positively 4th Street”):

    You got a lotta nerve
    To say you got a helping hand to lend
    You just want to be on
    The side that’s winning

    (Click here for sound and cool graphics from Dylan’s site)

    L.N. Smithee (ab89f0)

  48. At the inauguration ,didn’t I see Obama bow his head when they spoke about protecting the innocent??How much more innocent is the unborn…we’re in for some serious judgement folks.

    lesley (795283)

  49. I’m all for free speech, but if there have to be any limits on speech whatsoever, I’d say that using words like “wedge” and “divisive” are every bit as dangerous as falsely yelling fire in a crowded theater. And far more prevalent, to boot. I mean, c’mon, when was the last time you heard someone falsely (or truthfully, for that matter) yell “fire” in a crowded theater?

    Xrlq (62cad4)

  50. Say, Dmac: I dunno bout y’all, but on the topic of searching through one’s memory bank of song lyrics to fit real-life events, I was keeping my fingers crossed that one particular group wouldn’t fall for Obamania — Rush.

    For the uninitiated: Not Rush Limbaugh, RUSH, the brilliant and talented hard-rocking trio from Toronto. It made me sick to imagine that objectivist lyricist and master percussionist Neil Peart might apply the words of “Tom Sawyer” (“Always hopeful, but discontent/Knows changes aren’t permanent/but change is”) or “New World Man” (“Trying to save the day for the Old World man/Trying to pave the way for the Third World Man”) to Obama.

    In fact, in all honesty, I haven’t visited either Rush’s nor Peart’s site in fear of being shattered.

    OTOH, it wouldn’t bother me greatly if Vernon Reid, Corey Glover, and the rest of the African-American rockers Living Colour were annoyed that 1989’s “Cult of Personality” is constantly applied to Obama in YouTube videos. The lyrics speak of Kennedy and Gandhi along with Joseph Stalin and Mussolini. The recording and video features sounds from speeches of Malcolm X and FDR. If Reid, et al don’t get that Obama is the living embodiment of the type of leader in the song, that’s their problem.

    You don’t have to follow me
    Only you can set you free…

    L.N. Smithee (ab89f0)

  51. Xrlq wrote:

    I mean, c’mon, when was the last time you heard someone falsely (or truthfully, for that matter) yell “fire” in a crowded theater?

    When R.E.M. plays “The One I Love”.

    L.N. Smithee (ab89f0)

  52. 37M abortions of Black-Women…
    19M Black-Men not allowed into society…

    Well, this is anti-union – anti-prison guard union that is.
    It has (snark – but with an element of truth) reduced the population needing confinement, therefore reducing the need for Corrections Officers (all good union members)…

    Does the AFL/CIO know how anti-union BHO is?

    AD (dd47a7)

  53. Bush got a reputation as being not too bright. No matter the evidence contradicting that view, he was stuck with it. Obama has gotten the perception that he is very bright. There has been lots of evidence that shows if he is bright, he is not very knowledgeable. Unfortunately it will take a lot more to show the public that Obama has some incredible gaps in information considering how “well educated” he’s supposed to be.

    Charles Harkins (971090)

  54. Gimme a fucking break. If you’re pro-life, you truly are one of the dumbest Americans in the history of the country. Just like gay marriage. What the fuck does it matter to you if some stranger you’ll never meet gets an abortion?

    Sippy (b989f8)

  55. There is no way you come out of a situation like that – father abandons you, and mother for many years too – with a balanced, pro-family worldview.
    A person’s upbringing and early experiences obviously have some influence on his (or her) way of thinking later in life. But I can think of a variety of families where in spite of particular circumstances, or in spite of all the children of such families being raised in the exact same environment — in the exact same way — some of the kids in those families turned out one way, others turned out another way.

    For example, Ronald Reagan’s oldest son, who had to deal with, if anything, the circumstances of a broken marriage, ended up conservative, while his younger brother (and also the biological offspring of the former president) — who experienced a family that remained intact, and who in spite of growing up with two parents of conservative bent — ended up quite liberal.

    So I bet that even if Obama’s parents had remained married, even if Obama’s mother had been a staunch Republican, our president still would have had a mindset that naturally gravitated to the following conclusion.

    The reason?

    A person has to be innately of the left to claim or conclude the following with a straight face:

    “The arguments of liberals are more often grounded in reason and fact,” the Illinois Democrat wrote in “The Audacity of Hope,” a memoir published last year. “Much of what I absorbed from the sixties was filtered through my mother, who to the end of her life would proudly proclaim herself an unreconstructed liberal.”

    Mark (411533)

  56. Bush got a reputation as being not too bright.

    And a lot of the people who claim that are so disengenuous about their own brains — perhaps so lacking in intelligence, if you will — that they can’t even comprehend why they prefer characterizing their ideological predispositions as “progressive” instead of liberal.

    Mark (411533)

  57. […] Obama just went above his pay grade and ended once and for all the divisive wedge-debate over whether U.S. taxpayers should fund abortions around the globe. Color […]

    damnum absque injuria » Maybe He Really Is The Messiah? (490ac4)

  58. In the middle of Evan Thomas’ insidery campaign book, A Long Time Coming, there is a section on early conflict between John McCain and Barack Obama in the Senate, even before Obama was openly running for president. I thought this bit was interesting for more than one reason:

    Obama further aliented McCain on the immigration issue. McCain took great political risks on immigration, defying the GOP faithful who wanted to build a wall across the Mexican border and arrest and detain illegal immigrants. Working with Ted Kennedy and a bipartisan group, McCain came up with compromise legislation to create a guest-worker program. Obama asked to join the group. The senators agreed to hang together to vote against amendments from both the right and the left. Some very conservative senators honored the agreement, voting against conservative amendments — but Obama did not, voting in favor of a number of liberal amendments. After one meeting, Kennedy chewed Obama out for his fickleness. (Months later, asked by a colleague why he had endorsed Obama for president, Kennedy gave a one-word answer: “Caroline.”)

    Without reading too much into this anecdote, on immigration, at least, Barack Obama took care of his base and John McCain did not, and his base included Caroline Kennedy. She must indeed be a little bitter about now.

    Sweet Princess Caroline, under the bus!

    The Kennedys are going to war!

    Joe (17aeff)

  59. The post above is reflective of what Obama’s problem is right now. Too many IOUs and he cannot honor them all without pissing other people off.

    Joe (17aeff)

  60. irresponsible men wanting abortion easily available, for their own selfish reasons.

    The most pro-abortion demographic group in the country is the 18 to 35-year-old male.

    Mark, Michael Reagan was adopted.

    Mike K (ee3203)

  61. Yeah, that’s the ticket- Dubya dumb as a rock and yet did better in college than either algore or lurch. Obama is the greatest and that’s why his school records are off-limits. Not to mention his actual birth certificate. Proud to be black, even though his daddy abandoned the family in typical black man fashion. Strange that hippy freak mommy didn’t abort the obamafuehrer. Pity their moms didn’t abort Herr Schickelgrubber, Josef Stalin (I forget his real name) and Mao too.

    Speaking of freackin’ geniuses, how about Fatboy Teddy K’s academic record? I’m sure liberal profs cut George W a break on grades because of his daddy. Yeah, right. Also compare W’s home in Texas as far as being green and energy efficient in reality compared to gasbag Al’s in Tenn., which uses 21 times the energy of a typical household.
    Someone recently said O administration will be just great with a massive transfer of wealth from the politically unconnected to the politically corrected.

    aoibhneas (0c6cfc)

  62. NOYK, and EW(SG)1….

    I only meant that old men in Washington were making decisions that didn’t impact them much, and impacted others a great deal (something to think about as SCOTUS appointments grow near). I certainly appreciate the costs of abortion to both genders, and never intended to minimize them. Apologies.

    Dmac: Mark Mothersbaugh was smarter than he knew.

    Did you all hear that Jon Stewart apparently feels that Rush Limbaugh’s criticism of Barack Obama—wanting his policies to fail if they promote socialism—is now marginally treasonous?

    What?

    Of course, all the attacks Stewart made on the Bush Administration during a time of war…not so much.

    Freaking hypocrites. And what makes it worse is that it is all over this silly D versus R business, rather than policies or philosophies. Partisan hacks.

    Oh, and Matt Damon feels that Bill Kristol is an idiot. I’m guessing that Matt has been reading reviews of Good Will Hunting again. My favorite part was the newspaper article on this subject, that describes Damon as having gone to Harvard, so he is smart.

    First, Damon dropped out.
    Second, didn’t we have to hear how stupid GW Bush, despite attending Yale?

    Ah, but this is different! Damon grew up knowing Howard Zinn!

    Sheesh.

    Eric Blair (e92b94)

  63. […] Patterico notes that with this bold move, Obama has moved us past the partisan back-and-forth debate on this issue. It’s amazing how Obama can do that with the stroke of a pen! The entire issue of government […]

    Dean’s World » Blog Archive » Obama and Abortion (92bdba)

  64. If you’re pro-life, you truly are one of the dumbest Americans in the history of the country….What the fuck does it matter to you if some stranger you’ll never meet gets an abortion?

    Wearing proudly my dumbness, this is precisely the ignorance thus abdication that has led to abortion becoming what it is in America – a multi-billion dollar industry with very little controls providing a conveniently easy way to kill a life, er uh rather, remove an inconvenience. If you cannot see the problem with that, well then rest secure because your ignorance remains neatly intact.

    Comment by Eric Blair — 1/25/2009 @ 11:11 am

    Obama neatly manipulates and tweaks the intent of Limbaughs statement, therefore distracts from the real enemy because the left is so easily distracted… as apparently are some high-level GOPs who are willing to roll over. Per Surber,

    “President Obama is willing to talk to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without preconditions. But Rush Limbaugh? “You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done.” America, we have met the enemy and he is some fat guy in Florida.”

    Dana (137151)

  65. Eric, all one needs to know about Damon’s intelligence is best encapsulated in this infamous vid from a few months ago:

    http://www.malagent.com/2008/897/matt-damon-proves-he-is-an-idiot-discusses-sarah-palin/

    Damon proves that he’s among the top Celebritards in the land these days, as he reads every Daily Talking Point from Kos without ever considering if any of them are actually true. He totally beclowned himself with this one, and the reason why the vid is still so popular is that it confirms the public’s relish on viewing true idiocy on such a monumental level among the Hollywood glitterai.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  66. Dmac, I just sent you an e-mail.

    My favorite bit about that preening parakeet Damon is from a Lewis Black comedy bit about Earth Day.

    Oprah had a huge video exhortation from Damon about how to live “green.” At one point, Matt Damon says to the viewers:

    “If your house is anything like mine….”

    Lewis Black shouts “Stop.”

    Film freezes.

    Black continues. “It’s not. It’s a lot smaller. And it doesn’t have a Affleck shaped divot in the couch.”

    That says it all about these wacky elitists who want to tell other people how to live, but not live by those standards themselves.

    Eric Blair (e92b94)

  67. Gimme a fucking break. If you’re pro-life, you truly are one of the dumbest Americans in the history of the country. Just like gay marriage. What the fuck does it matter to you if some stranger you’ll never meet gets an abortion?

    Comment by Sippy — 1/25/2009 @ 9:39 am

    Sippy (or is that “Born Sippy;” just as accurate, and a great excuse to link a great song),

    *laughs* You’re kidding; right? Let’s turn that around for a typical “liberal” question. Why would you care if a terrorist you will never meet gets waterboarded? Why would you care if a third
    world woman you will never meet in a poor village you’ll likely never visit has five children instead of just one?

    So I guess liberals don’t really believe they have a right to have a position on pushing contraception in Third World, and Gitmo etc; did I understand you correctly? Human rights and human life don’t matter if you’re never going to actually meet the person. Right?

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  68. Comment by Dana — 1/25/2009 @ 11:40 am

    Well said, Dana; thanks.

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  69. NOYK, you have to admit that the 9:39 AM visitor sounds a mite familiar. If it isn’t one of our banned trolls under a new name, it sure sounds like one. Love the tough guy language; so original.

    The Lewis Black routine is here, by the way:

    http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=85904&title=Back-in-Black:-Earth-Day

    Eric Blair (e92b94)

  70. I only meant that old men in Washington were making decisions that didn’t impact them much, and impacted others a great deal (something to think about as SCOTUS appointments grow near). I certainly appreciate the costs of abortion to both genders, and never intended to minimize them. Apologies.
    Comment by Eric Blair — 1/25/2009 @ 11:11 am

    No apology needed; am glad to see men on this thread speaking their mind on abortion too; even any deluded proabortion ones. Always amusing to me that liberals are the ones who more often want their opponents to shut up; conservatives say “let a thousand flowers bloom” and the ideas will take care of themselves. Hmm, just wondering what that says about liberals’ opinions of their own arguments…

    And, Matt Damon is indeed an idiot. LOL

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  71. It’s so convoluted: Men should have never allowed themselves to be so immensely bulldozed by hardline fems that they found it easier to abdicate rather than stand their ground, and now that these women have precisely what they fought for (whipped men not equality), they have no respect nor use for them, and by default their opinions regarding the most pressing moral issues like abortion, are not welcome, viable or necessary. Meh.

    Two people made that baby, two people should be required to wrestle, struggle and suffer through making the ensuing decision. And if the decision was to terminate, no one should be off the hook for resulting pain and sorrow.

    It’s become too easy.

    Dana (137151)

  72. I”m old enough to remember the old hippy credo:

    Do your own thing.

    But actually, much like the changing motto in Animal Farm, it ought to be:

    Do your own thing, so long as it is my kind of thing you do.

    Meet the new boss; same as the old boss. And the “speak truth to power” types get their power, and want to shut down speech. Ironic.

    Sometimes, people became what they claim to hate the most. A lesson for everyone, maybe.

    Eric Blair (e92b94)

  73. The Lewis Black routine is here, by the way:

    http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=85904&title=Back-in-Black:-Earth-Day

    Comment by Eric Blair — 1/25/2009 @ 12:13 pm

    Thanks loads for the link; that was HILARIOUS. Loved the juxtaposition of Oprah’s ecofriendly lightbulb giveaway w/ the gas guzzling car giveaway. hahahaha

    Troll does sound familiar doesn’t it? BTW didn’t Levi get tagged w/ his university name or something for refusing to respect the ban?

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  74. Dana, I appreciate your comments. You wrote:

    “…It’s become too easy….”

    The act, maybe. The aftermath, not so much.

    I have had several students go through this. And as a male professor, I have to be very careful what I say. Many professors end up playing parental figures to students (because—another topic—I believe that many students today have parents with little to no interest in them as people), which is a precarious and dangerous position.

    I had one woman who wanted to delay a final exam three hours because of her D&C earlier that morning, which she insisted was no big deal. Well, I saw the aftermath, psychologically, on her, for the rest of her time in college (and I am sure, today).

    Again, I’m not comfortable being quite as doctrinaire as many people are on this topic. That’s just me, and probably part of my painful fence straddling, metaphorically.

    But anyone who tells a woman (or the man involved) that abortion is no big deal is lying. Straight up.

    Eric Blair (e92b94)

  75. NOYK, it’s tough say. Vulgar language and faux-tough guy/tough gal memes are very common (and nonpartisan).

    It’s just boring. And honestly, I hope that Levi did finally get that he was damaging himself with the silly postings. Carlitos was dead on: employers do Google possible employees.

    Eric Blair (e92b94)

  76. The act, maybe. The aftermath, not so much.

    Exactly. Have known too many women whose abortions virtually destroyed their lives for years (the first one, in college, was the reason I entered the pro-life movement, when I saw how much damage abortion does to both women and children – surprisingly, in a delayed way (since the initial reaction is generally relief – only later it hits men and women what they’ve been party to). The aftermath of abortion is also responsible for the breakup of many a relationship, as another man alluded to, sadly, above. My heart goes out to you, Sir.

    Should have posted this earlier; generally I try to include this for people who may be reading when the conversation turns to post abortion topics. If anyone reading this is regretting an abortion or needing help dealing with one, here are two websites which can direct you to free and confidential help:

    http://www.hopeafterabortion.com

    http://www.abortionchangesyou.com

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  77. Regarding the post by “dana”:”The Rev. Cecil Blye, pastor of More Grace Ministries Church in Louisville, Ky., says his even bigger beef with the president, he said, is that a disproportionate number of “black kids are dying each day through abortion. President Obama is supportive of abortion, and that’s a genocide on black folks. Nobody wants to talk about that as a civil rights issue.”

    This is one of the most disingenuous lie filled comments I’ve seen. The racism is so blatent and the person “Dana” obviously doesn’t get it. Making wide, easy, and cheap contraceptives and effective family planning education available lowers unwanted pregancies and makes abortion rare and safe. This type of full service program empowers women and helps poor women make their own choices about their own lives. To call this genocide is wrong and also the opposite of what it is. It takes untold arrogance for the religious elite and the rich elite to just say “let them eat cake”. These types of programs are what our new President Obama is calling common ground. Let’s put childish things aside and get something done.

    Lucy2008 (86644c)

  78. Hmm. Sounds like someone has picked up the pom-poms for Dear Leader (I still don’t “get” why people are so giddy about a Chicago pol who is very quickly erasing a large majority of his campaign promises, but that is me).

    Conflating contraception and abortion is the issue here, and I suspect you know that, and are just cheerleading.

    Calling Dana “Dana” when she has a website and you do not is a bit passive-aggressive. It’s fine to disagree, but you were the one touting “common ground.”

    Unless you believe that “common ground” means “agree with me.”

    Eric Blair (e92b94)

  79. Let’s put childish things aside and get something done.
    Comment by Lucy2008 — 1/25/2009 @ 12:48 pm

    Oh, I so agree, Lucy2008, so let’s start with you removing your snotty quotation marks when addressing me. I’ve always felt the passive-aggressive takedown we women are so fond of when attempting to debate an issue to be further evidence of how easily our emotions get in the way of logic. Plus the sneakiness is always unbecoming. 🙂

    Dana (137151)

  80. This is one of the most disingenuous lie filled comments I’ve seen.

    I think you are in the running. Have you ever considered (No, you haven’t but I’m being rhetorical) the effect of the Great Society policies on the black family ? Too racist for you ?

    As it happens, I am prochoice and have performed abortions. I have also treated young women who had had illegal abortions and the consequences. I think, if a woman is desperate, the choice should not be denied. In 1969 (Years before Roe v Wade) there was a mechanism that allowed such women access to abortion. It was not being used as birth control. I have personally treated young women who have had seven abortions (not by me) and still recall my revulsion at their self-centered lifestyle. The woman I am thinking of was a student at UCSB, had wealthy parents and was on Medicaid. She was 27 years old and had never made an adult decision in her life.

    And she was white.

    My personal choice would be to allow one abortion, then sterilize the woman with the second.

    The second indelible memory I have on this subject is seeing a young black woman who met her mother for the first time on a TV show. She was the product of a rape and a raped woman who still refused to have an abortion. The daughter was a young TV reporter, as I recall. She thanked her mother for her decision and for her life. The mother was white and the rapist was black, to add drama to the story.

    Mike K (ee3203)

  81. Unless you believe that “common ground” means “agree with me.”

    Comment by Eric Blair — 1/25/2009 @ 12:53 pm

    With few exceptions, “bipartisanship,” “Getting along” and “common ground” to a liberal usually mean “come over to my side and stop disagreeing with me or you’re being mean and divisive.” LOL

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  82. Making wide, easy, and cheap contraceptives and effective family planning education available lowers unwanted pregancies and makes abortion rare and safe.

    Like in the United States? Wherein we have a plethora of contraceptives of every possible make and model available at our grocery stores, drug stores, Wal Marts, Targets, online sites and yet in spite of this wide, easy, cheap contraceptive availability our abortion rate in America still tops 1,000,000,000 every year.

    This is the rare occurrence of abortion you refer to?

    Dana (137151)

  83. It’s amazing to see how much regard for human rights this president and his liberal sheep have for terrorists,but have completely none whatsoever for the unborn.

    Makes me try to imagine how many lives will be saved with the ban lifted, and how many lives would have been saved otherwise. Another display of some fuzzy math by the liberal elites.

    DonnieB (f29f0a)

  84. 1,000,000,000 every year.

    This is the rare occurrence of abortion you refer to?

    Comment by Dana — 1/25/2009 @ 1:14 pm

    Dana,
    probably what you meant anyway, but just take the last three zeros off (for the US of course) and you’re right. Between 1.4 and 1.6 million for the last several years; there’s been a bit of a drop since it was 1.6 million in the US. about 60 million worldwide every year BTW. Horrifying.

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  85. was 1.6 million in the US

    should read

    was about 1.6 million annually in the US for many years,

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  86. oops! You’re right! Mea culpa.

    Dana (137151)

  87. …nonetheless, a million, a billion, a bazillion… all surreal numbers when considering each represents a life that could have been.

    Dana (137151)


  88. …nonetheless, a million, a billion, a bazillion… all surreal numbers when considering each represents a life that could have been.

    Comment by Dana — 1/25/2009 @ 1:29 pm

    Precisely. Each one a precious, unrepeatable life.

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  89. Do you know this poem by Aldous Huxley? I’m doing this from memory, so keep that in mind:

    A million million spermatozoa
    All of them alive
    Out of their cataclysm one poor Noah
    Dare hope to survive
    And among that billion (minus one)
    Might have chanced to be
    Another Newton, a new Donne
    But the One was Me.

    Huxley wrote this during a time when the ovum was thought more of a “receptor” than participant, metaphorically speaking.

    But we are all so very unique, is the point.

    Eric Blair (e92b94)

  90. Back to Lucy2008, “This type of full service program empowers women and helps poor women make their own choices about their own lives.”

    Effective family planning takes place before a woman says yes or to no to intercourse. This is true empowerment – the choice to participate in an act that very well could result in a child being conceived and how prepared one is to prevent the conception. Remember, this is America – there is simply no shortage of contraception. If the decision faced after the fact involves eliminating the inconvenient result this evidences a serious lack of family planning and that is anything but empowerment.

    Dana (137151)

  91. …surely the ultimate empowerment for a woman is to say no if no contraceptive is available. No is a very powerful word and catalyst. Not enough women utilize it at full strength.

    Dana (137151)

  92. I read that 600 private jets landed in DC for the “greenest inauguration ever.”

    Somewhere a tree is crying…

    Patricia (89cb84)

  93. A million million spermatozoa
    All of them alive
    Out of their cataclysm one poor Noah
    Dare hope to survive
    And among that billion (minus one)
    Might have chanced to be
    Another Newton, a new Donne
    But the One was Me.

    Comment by Eric Blair — 1/25/2009 @ 1:45 pm

    No, didn’t know about that poem; thanks for posting. Appropriate though that that poem came from the same man who wrote the cautionary Brave New World about a society who thought conception should be controlled by the State and there was nothing unique and unrepeatable about people.

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  94. NOYK, Huxley’s “Brave New World” also created a caste system for humans, and out and out removed history from the curriculum for education.

    As “Our Ford” put it: history is bunk.

    Aldous Huxley was a complicated man, and his novels are interesting reading. I particularly enjoyed “After Many A Summer Dies the Swan” about life extension and such.

    Eric Blair (57b266)

  95. I’ve always felt the passive-aggressive takedown we women are so fond of when attempting to debate an issue to be further evidence of how easily our emotions get in the way of logic. Plus the sneakiness is always unbecoming.
    Comment by Dana — 1/25/2009 @ 1:04 pm

    What-the….? Dana is a woman?! :<

    Emperor7 (0c8c2c)

  96. Comment by no one you know — 1/25/2009 @ 5:06 pm
    Knew I was going to find you here, sis. 🙂
    You have not been as regular as before. Not that you missed much.

    Emperor7 (0c8c2c)

  97. “…What-the….? Dana is a woman?! :<…”

    Depends on the Dana in question. The “one word” Dana is indeed of XX genotype. Check out the websites and comments.

    Eric Blair (57b266)

  98. I did a little research and found Roe V Wade does not prevent states from prohibiting all abortions. Just saying…

    John Hitchcock (fb941d)

  99. I did a little research and found Roe V Wade does not prevent states from prohibiting all abortions. Just saying…

    Comment by John Hitchcock — 1/25/2009 @ 6:05 pm

    John Hitchcock,

    Thanks for writing about this on your blog. Just so you know, the companion case to Roe v. Wade, called Doe v. Bolton, also was decided by the Supreme Court in 1973. Because of its broad definition of “health of the woman” (including mental health, including the stress or depression which a woman could claim would be caused by denying her an abortion if she wanted one), states would therefore not be able to legislate against abortion, even up to the day of the baby’s birth, if denying an abortion would affect a woman’s “health.”

    So: Roe alone didn’t prevent states from prohibiting some later term abortions. Roe v. Wade PLUS Doe v. Bolton does.

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  100. Comment by Emperor7 — 1/25/2009 @ 5:26 pm

    Emperor7,
    I lurk when I can be around; less time consuming and it’s interesting to see what everyone has to say. As you say, on abortion posts I’m out more.

    Comment by Eric Blair — 1/25/2009 @ 5:15 pm

    Love Brave New World. Except for some Shakespeare and Jane Austen, Brave New World and 1984 are two of the very few “classics” I keep around the house to reread bits of them frequently.

    Both great and prescient novels. What I find interesting is how shocking both of them must have been at the time and now the images and concepts – a lot of people would say ho hum.

    We live in a very jaded society, unfortunately.

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  101. #62 Eric Blair~As no one you know already noted, apologies not necessary. I was simply pointing out that abortion isn’t without cost to those involved in the decision. I would suppose our situation rather rare though, in that neither of us wanted to abort in the first place and were in fact looking forward to raising a child.

    #92 Patricia:

    I read that 600 private jets landed in DC for the “greenest inauguration ever.”

    Somewhere a tree is crying…

    Probably not, since there are a lot more trees now in North America than when white settlers first arrived.

    Besides, they rather like the CO2 and water vapor emitted by jet engines…

    EW1(SG) (e27928)

  102. […] has access to dead babies as well. Because that’s what it’s about: global fairness and domestic unity. I certainly feel less divided now, don’t […]

    Anwyn’s Notes in the Margin » Obama Spending Your Money on Global Abortions (e8be5d)

  103. […] Patterico comments on the reversal of the Mexico City Policy. And two more released Gitmo detainees brag about rejoining the […]

    Worrisome executive moves in first days of the Obama presidency « Wellsy’s World (b4c4db)

  104. “Besides, they rather like the CO2 and water vapor emitted by jet engines…”

    Hey EW did you end up seeing more than 35 buses?

    imdw (a81897)


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