"(All Democrat candidates were also invited but did not respond.)"

So they go to gay and lesbian debates and events, etc, but they can't show up to a pro-family event?

what a disgraceful party...

So they go to gay and lesbian debates and events, etc, but they can't show up to a pro-family event?

what a disgraceful party...

Posted by: jasper at October 17, 2007 9:10 AM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uh,Jasper...
Last month was the Republican "Value Voters" debate, and not only did none of the top-tier candidates attend, it wasn't even covered by a network or basic cable network. (Sky Angel?)
Nobody came.
Nobody watched.

All of that was to get to the point that you can participate in the straw poll online and be a part of conservative decision-making on the presidential candidate by donating as little as $1 to FRC.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I can vote in their straw poll? (she said - recing off to KOS, DU and Huffington Post to share the news...)

Hey! While they're all in the same place, maybe they can review their "love-the-fetus-hate-the-child" policy:

Leading The News

Dems lash out at activist group on abortion issue
By Jeffrey Young
October 17, 2007

Ten House Democrats who oppose abortion rights have turned the tables on the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), taking the group to task for not backing a bill to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

The anti-abortion rights group had taken aim at lawmakers who voted for an earlier House SCHIP bill, which included Medicare provisions that the NRLC maintains would lead to rationed care and government-sponsored euthanasia.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) in an interview with The Hill. “It absolutely didn’t make sense to my constituents, either.”

Those provisions were stripped, but the NRLC has not swung in favor of the SCHIP bill that Congress passed and President Bush vetoed. This has irked some of the group’s typical allies, who viewed its campaign as unfair.

Posing a rhetorical question to the NRLC, Ryan asked: “Why aren’t you supporting it now? Are you really concerned with protecting life or are you concerned with protecting the Bush administration?”

The NRLC tagged the earlier House SCHIP bill with a “key vote” designation, thereby tarnishing the “pro-life” credentials of lawmakers who voted for it. The group is neutral on the new SCHIP bill. Ryan suggested that an NRLC endorsement would be enough to tip the scales in favor of overriding Bush’s veto.

Ryan and nine other Democrats sent a letter to the NRLC Monday.

“As Democratic pro-life members of Congress, we were disappointed and dismayed when the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) announced in July that it was actively opposing the House-passed reauthorization of [SCHIP],” the letter says.

However, the NRLC maintains that the Democrats misconstrue their position on the Medicare issue and that they don’t have a stake in the SCHIP bill.

“That letter mixes two issues that really have no relation to each other,” said Douglas Johnson, NRLC’s legislative director. “There’s nothing there [in the SCHIP bill] for us to really grab onto.”

The right-to-life group had wanted to codify an administration policy providing SCHIP coverage for unborn children — which most Democrats believe should instead apply to the pregnant mothers — but got no support from Ryan and other Democrats who oppose abortion rights, Johnson added.

The Democratic letter went on to say that, with the Medicare language gone, they expect the NRLC “to join with other pro-life organizations and pro-life members of Congress in supporting the bill’s passage.” It specifically mentioned the backing of the Catholic Health Association.

The NRLC’s efforts appear to have been largely ineffective: Nearly all Democrats with “pro-life” track records backed both House SCHIP bills and the Senate versions. Of the 10 that signed Tuesday’s letter, only Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) opposed the earlier House bill that included the Medicare provisions. Ellsworth and the others on the letter all voted for the final SCHIP bill, which is up for reconsideration Thursday to override Bush’s veto.

So they go to gay and lesbian debates and events, etc, but they can't show up to a pro-family event?

what a disgraceful party...

Posted by: jasper at October 17, 2007 9:10 AM

Jasper, the "pro-family" people are not pro gay families are they? They are the disgraceful ones. What do you have against our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters?

So they go to gay and lesbian debates and events, etc, but they can't show up to a pro-family event?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why don't you ask Mary Cheney, her partner, and their new baby that question? They're pro-family.

Laura,

Thanx for the post.

The NRLC’s efforts appear to have been largely ineffective: Nearly all Democrats with “pro-life” track records backed both House SCHIP bills and the Senate versions. Of the 10 that signed Tuesday’s letter, only Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) opposed the earlier House bill that included the Medicare provisions. Ellsworth and the others on the letter all voted for the final SCHIP bill, which is up for reconsideration Thursday to override Bush’s veto.

Posted by: Laura at October 17, 2007 10:49 AM

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I have long said that the many in the Rep. party just pander to the prolife lobby to get a few extra votes. There are many Republicans whose only redeeming quality is their prolife vote.

I think we need more prolife Dems.

There are many in my state.

So, who can tell me about Brownback??

Fresa,
http://www.vote-usa.org/Intro.aspx?Id=KSBrownbackSamD&gclid=CLGIieHalo8CFRz9Igod1XpKHQ

Do you guys know how the dems want to pay for SCHIP? They want to tax cigaretts more. A good thing if you ask me BUT considering that it would mean that SEVERAL million NEW smokers would be needed to fund it - and of course we DON'T want millions of new smokers how do they expect that to happen? Bush wanted to, yes lower the amount, but take the money from somewhere else to actually fund it everyone was up in arms. Did the media report THAT part?

Umm...no, that doesn't mean a bunch of new smokers. That means that us smokers have to pay way more per pack of smokes. It's annoying as heck, but fine with me. It's a bad habit anyway. You can either quit or cut down when taxes go up, or keep smoking and help fund a program that saves children's lives. Sounds fine to me. No one is going to force people to start smoking at any larger rate because of this program. That's just absurd.

No Erin, they used a formula to come up with the figure. They took into account the number of deaths expected of current smokers. I'll try to find the article and post the link.

Here's the link...

http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/wm1548.cfm

It's not like the Dems are running around saying "smoke!". You're propagandizing your agenda.

No one is going to force people to start smoking at any larger rate because of this program. That's just absurd.

Posted by: Erin at October 17, 2007 4:50 PM

I agree no one is forcing anyone to smoke but how do you expect to pay for the program if that's where the funds are coming from? There is a serious flaw in the plan.

It's not like the Dems are running around saying "smoke!". You're propagandizing your agenda.

Posted by: Erin at October 17, 2007 4:59 PM

I IN FAVOR of SCHIP. I'd just like to actually be able to PAY for it. I'm not propagandizing anything. I'd say the dems are doing that mighty finely themselves.

If we don't get new smokers, which I sincerely hope we don't, where is the money going to come from? The tree in your backyard?

@Kristin: We could always start taxing the crap out of alcohol in addition to cigarettes. :)

Rae

NOOOOOOO!!!!! :)

How about we tax alcohol INSTEAD of cigarettes. They are already 7 dollars a pack, with 5 of that going to taxes. Taxes which were supposed to be used for education here in Illinois. Expect the paper today says that Illinois schools got an "F"...

Hmmmmmmm...

Actually, make that cook county, not all of Illinois.

But Kristin, alcohol is the devil's plaything (or was it cheese?).

Alcohol is one of the worst drugs out there...it's more destructive than pot and heroine for crying out loud, yet its legal. Why is beyond me. Why people enjoy killing their brain cells is beyond me (goes for both drugs and alcohol).

I honestly don't see a problem with taxing alcohol like we tax cigarettes and gambling. I say tax porn too. Sin taxes can generate TONS of revenue.

Rae, I agree really. I drink very rarely, but do like the occasional glass of pinot noir. (You know for the heart benefits.) I would totally support that.

And the whole "tax the porn" stuff. I think that's the best idea yet!

Amen. I buy way more smokes than I buy porn.

Hehe. And people say I'm just a dirty, dirty liberal. I find porn demeaning, degrading and overall just disgusting. I would have no qualms about taxing the daylights out of it.

The one thing that has really prevented me from ever having the desire to drink was my psychology professor's description of a hangover, "The sharp pain in your head? Yeah, that's your neurons exploding from being poisoned by alcohol."

Yeah. That killed any interest in drinking I had.

O_O

So that's what was happening to me on Sunday morning...

Tee-hee.

He went on to say that the dull throb you get for the rest of the day (once the major headache passes) is the rest of your neurons wailing in agony for their fallen brethren.

He was an awesome professor. It's a shame he ended up getting liver cancer about a year or two ago, I'm not even sure he's still alive anymore, I hope he is though, because he was one of the best teachers I ever had.

WAIT!
WAIT!
WAIT!

Isn't this just how Phil Kline lost his job as the Kansas State Attorney General? (i guess he doesn't want his current pissy little job, either...):

Wednesday, October 17, 2007
JoCo DA accuses Planned Parenthood of illegal late-term abortions
From The Star: Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline has charged the Overland Park Planned Parenthood clinic with more than 100 criminal counts, including performing illegal late-term abortions.

According to court records, Kline filed 106 complaints against Planned Parenthood. The agency is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 16 in connection to the complaint.

Kline spokesman Brian Burgess said he could not comment. Court documents in the case have been sealed. Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri did not immediately return a call for comment.

Hippie I have long said that the many in the Rep. party just pander to the prolife lobby to get a few extra votes.

Good for you, Hippie - absolutely right.

Doug

Rae, alcohol is already taxed to a heinous degree.

Erin, I remember people saying, "I'm gonna quit (smoking) whey they get to fifty cents a pack."

Doug

How about we tax alcohol INSTEAD of cigarettes. They are already 7 dollars a pack, with 5 of that going to taxes. Taxes which were supposed to be used for education here in Illinois. Expect the paper today says that Illinois schools got an "F"...

Hmmmmmmm...

Posted by: mk at October 17, 2007 5:38 PM
...........................................
To bad. When I attended school in Rockford it was one of the highest rated school systems in the country. I had basic algebra in grade school as well as foreign language. I had actual college courses in loo of 'honor' classes in high school. I'm sorry that llinois is doing so badly in the area of education. Sorry for all of my great neices and nephews getting such a poor education there. What are you doing about it MK? Opposing abortion is going to make education better in Illinois? I don't think so.
I think that you are saying that taxation does not make effecient schools and I agree.

Amen. I buy way more smokes than I buy porn.

Posted by: Erin at October 17, 2007 5:46 PM
...............................

I buy my smokes on the res. Grown, processed and sold on the res with no taxes added. Kinda cool that the Native Americans are the only ones with the ability to produce and sell a product with the patriotic concept of no taxation without representation.

I quit smoking 20 years ago. I remember going to buy some cigs and the clerk said $1.02 and I stood there in shock and disbelief. I just kept saying incredulously, "a dollar? a dollar! a dollar for cigarettes?" I bought them but quit soon after. I am just way to cheap. I even wash diapers.

Sally,

loo - is a toilet

in lieu - means in place of

learned a lot in those there college classes, huh?

It's now official.
George "'Dumbya" Bush is a TOTAL MORON!:

HHS APPOINTMENT
Birth-Control Foe To Run Office on Family Planning
Wednesday, October 17, 2007; Page A15

The Bush administration again has appointed a chief of family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who has been critical of contraception.

Susan Orr, most recently an associate commissioner in the Administration for Children and Families, was appointed Monday to be acting deputy assistant secretary for population affairs. She will oversee $283 million in annual grants to provide low-income families and others with contraceptive services, counseling and preventive screenings.

Susan Orr, named head of HHS family planning programs, had worked at the conservative Family Research Council. (Department Of Health And Human Services)

In a 2001 article in The Washington Post, Orr applauded a Bush proposal to stop requiring all health insurance plans for federal employees to cover a broad range of birth control. "We're quite pleased, because fertility is not a disease," said Orr, then an official with the Family Research Council.

Critics panned the appointment last year of Eric Keroack, a physician who worked at a Christian pregnancy-counseling organization that opposed the use of birth control. He resigned in March.

"We have another appointment that just truly politicizes family planning," said Mary Jane Gallagher, president of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. "The last time I looked, both Republicans and Democrats used contraception in America."

HHS spokesman Kevin Schweers said Orr's "breadth of programmatic and managerial experience makes her highly qualified to serve as acting director."

-- Christopher Lee

Just what this administration needs - more ignorant, self-righteous Luddites..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bush Family Planning Appointee Called Contraceptives Part Of The ‘Culture Of Death’

On Monday, President Bush appointed Susan Orr to oversee federal family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Orr, who is currently directing HHS child welfare programs, was touted by the administration as “highly qualified.”

But a look at Orr’s record shows that her strongest qualifications appear to be her right-wing credentials and endorsement of the Bush administration’s failed abstinence-only policies. Before joining HHS, Orr served as senior director for marriage and family care at the conservative Family Research Council and was an adjunct professor at Pat Robertson’s Regent University. Some highlights:

– In a 2001, Orr embraced a Bush administration proposal to “stop requiring all health insurance plans for federal employees” to cover a broad range of birth control. “We’re quite pleased, because fertility is not a disease,” said Orr.

– At the 2001 Conservative Political Action Conference, Orr cheered Bush’s endorsement of Reagan’s “Mexico City Policy,” which required NGOs receiving federal funds to “neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations.” Orr said that it was proof Bush was pro-life “in his heart.”

– In a 2000 Weekly Standard article, Orr railed against requiring health insurance plans to cover contraceptives. “It’s not about choice,” said Orr. “It’s not about health care. It’s about making everyone collaborators with the culture of death.”

– Orr authored a paper in 2000 titled, “Real Women Stay Married.” In it she wrote that women should “think about focusing our eyes, not upon ourselves, but upon the families we form through marriage.”

As Steve Benen notes, the office of family planning carries tremendous importance. Orr will “oversee HHS’s $283 million reproductive-health program, a $30 million program that encourages abstinence among teenagers, and HHS’s Office of Population Affairs, which funds birth control, pregnancy tests, counseling, and screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.”

Last year, President Bush appointed Eric Keroack to oversee the office. Keroack had previously worked for a Christian pregnancy counseling group that opposes contraception. He stepped down in March over ethical problems.

Digg It!

UPDATE: Jill at Feministe points out that Orr has also referred to child protection as “the most intrusive arm of social services.”

UDPATE II: Take action opposing Orr’s nomination HERE.

UPDATE III: Statement on Orr from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA):

This appointment is absurd. Dr. Orr’s support of unproven abstinence-only programs would in itself raise flags about her commitment to comprehensive family planning for low-income girls and women. But in 2000, Dr. Orr said that requiring insurers to cover family planning supplies and services — a policy that promotes access to contraception in many states and the federal employee health program — is “about making everyone collaborators with the culture of death.” This leaves little doubt about where she has stood on contraception access. […]

I’m no longer surprised by this kind of decision — ideology firmly holds the reins over reproductive health in this White House. But this lack of commitment to comprehensive reproductive health, combined with cramped budgets, is an insult and a disservice to the millions of low-income people who rely on Title X for family planning and preventive health services.

Laura,

What's the problem? Bush appoints who he thinks is the right person. There are a lot of us on this blog that agree with the appointment. I expect Obama, if he ever had the chance, to appoint (maybe) Steve Trombley. And I'm sure a lot of others would agree.

Stop whining.

lly,

loo - is a toilet

in lieu - means in place of

learned a lot in those there college classes, huh?

Posted by: Anonymous at October 17, 2007 7:32 PM
......................

Thanks sweetie! Must have needed the loo at the time. Glad I didn't type Lou. That would be another story.
I've never attended college. Why would you think that I have? I raised children rather than attending college.
While I was reading at the college level in the 5th grade, I have never been able to spell for crap. interestingly enough my father and his sister could speak and understand their parents language but couldn't write it. Doesn't seem like a good excuse for lack of comprehension of the word spoken or meaning intended I guess when you have nothing of import to say but need to say something, anal exploration is your best bet for avoidance of meaningful dialogue.

Sally,

And I quote:

"I had actual college courses in loo of 'honor' classes in high school."

THAT'S why Anon said you learned a lot in the college classes. Your short term memory is shot along with your spelling.

Sally,

And I quote:

"I had actual college courses in loo of 'honor' classes in high school."

THAT'S why Anon said you learned a lot in the college classes. Your short term memory is shot along with your spelling.

Posted by: Kristen at October 17, 2007 8:38 PM

Oh good grief. You folks are moronic lint collectors. What college are you attending little girl?

Sally, you won't get a rise out of me for the "little girl" comment. I consider it a compliment coming from an old coot like you.

I've attended several universities both before and while raising my children. I enjoy school immensely and know the difference between the "loo" and "in lieu” along with a host of other homonyms. You know, like weather and whether, there and they're, witch and which, etc.

Sally, you won't get a rise out of me for the "little girl" comment. I consider it a compliment coming from an old coot like you.

I've attended several universities both before and while raising my children. I enjoy school immensely and know the difference between the "loo" and "in lieu” along with a host of other homonyms. You know, like weather and whether, there and they're, witch and which, etc.

Posted by: Kristen at October 17, 2007 9:11 PM

You are welcome for brunch this next Sunday

From Kristen:
What's the problem? Bush appoints who he thinks is the right person. There are a lot of us on this blog that agree with the appointment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, you mean like Dr. David Hager? The guy who said that the symptoms of PMS and menopause were best cured by prayer? The same Dr. Hager - THE GYNOCOLOGIST - who claimed he had been anally raping his wife BY MISTAKE?

You probably agreed with this appointment, too:

Bush Administration Appoints Veterinarian as Head of Women's Health
September 18, 2005 - 9:27am

Headline: The Bush administration's love affair with animals
Clipping:
The FDA had an opening to fill in the Office of Women's Health because its last director, Susan Wood, quit in protest over the agency's dithering and delays on the morning-after pill. Wood's acting replacement is Norris Alderson. Alderson has a bachelor's degree in animal husbandry from the University of Tennessee and graduate degrees from the University of Kentucky. He has worked at the FDA for more than 30 years, more than 20 of which he spent in the agency's Bureau of Veterinary Medicine.

Oh, and Kristen, let's not forget your and you're. That's the worst!

Laura

Alderson has a bachelor's degree in animal husbandry from the University of Tennessee and graduate degrees from the University of Kentucky. He has worked at the FDA for more than 30 years, more than 20 of which he spent in the agency's Bureau of Veterinary Medicine.

We've been tryin' to tell you that half the country is acting like animals.

let's not forget your and you're. That's the worst!

Bobby, true. I certainly make typos, but it still makes me cringe, really a visceral reaction.

Kinda like pronunciation. Nuke-u-ler. Jew-leh-ree. Chim-ley. Col-yume (for "column"). Ree-la-tor (for "realtor"). And so on....

Doug

Ah, Doug, good stuff.