Clarification (Rant)

A word of warning--this is a rant. If you don't want to read a rant, go visit another blog for today.

I have to wonder if Ergot fungus is on the rise again in our grain supply. Being a conservative lawmaker is one thing, but some of the things being proposed can only reasonably be accounted for if the proposers were having demonic hallucinations. So, here's a reality check.

1. Abortion is LEGAL in this country and should REMAIN legal. Yes, abortion is a sad choice to make. No, women do not make that choice lightly. Any woman that would use abortion as a form of regular birth control is as psycho as someone who would have their internal organs removed for fun. You forget that WOMEN bear the brunt of the social, health, and financial consequences of having a baby. Perhaps the man involved could be on the hook financially, but he doesn't typically suffer other consequences. As a woman, I am offended by the notion that an unborn blob of cells has more rights, or at least as many rights, as I do. You can talk about making abortion illegal when you've also guaranteed that rape and incest will never ever occur again, or that a woman's life will never be in danger during a pregnancy, and that every child will be wanted by society and fully paid for. Oh yes, and that men are always as fully accountable for a birth as a woman in all respects. When you can guarantee all that, we'll talk.

In the meantime, don't talk to me about the "preciousness of life" when you introduce legislation allowing for the murder of abortion doctors, and criminalizing miscarriage by making women who miscarry eligible for the death penalty. You're going to deal with what you believe to be the taking of a life by taking another life and you call yourself pro-life? Explain to me how that works. And clearly you are a psychotic freak if you advocate such a law for miscarriage. Most women I've known who miscarry actually WANT their children, and have severe fertility issues that bring about the miscarriage. Or, they have an accident, and the miscarriage occurs (this is where this legislation is really sketchy). And you're going to treat someone already grieving for the loss as a criminal? I think whatever brilliant legislators suggested this law ought to be taken away in straitjackets. You don't criminalize miscarriage; you stop treating pregnant women like they're a burden and making reproductive choices ridiculously expensive.

2. Speaking of, the same miscreant party that suggested the foregoing is also keen on eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood. We are not living in a Margaret Atwood novel. Women are not here as breeding slaves. You don't like abortion, but you also don't want to provide any pregnancy prevention, nor do you care about women's reproductive health. We are taxpaying citizens, and we have our own needs and rights. You don't tell me what to do with my body, or who I can sleep with under what circumstances. And don't trivialize our special health issues--insurance companies do enough of that. I can only conclude that conservative Congresspeople hate women who are not barefoot, pregnant, and subservient.

3. Stop attacking workers' unions, and acting like they're the cause of your economic problems. Your unwillingness to tax the wealthy and big business are the cause of our financial problems. My accountant told me last week that I pay 25% tax in my tax bracket. When I hear that billion-dollar corporations don't pay anything, I have to scratch my head. Make those greedy twits pay their fair share, and stop chipping away at the little I have to maintain my middle-class lifestyle. Don't give me a lot of BS about "working hard"--I work no less than 3 jobs most of the time. And forget about "trickle-down economics"--that DOESN'T WORK. And stop referring to teachers' jobs as "cushy" because they only work 9 months out of the year. They work 9 months and don't get paid for the other 3, and are often looking for employment during those other 3 months. And during those 9 months, they're working double or triple hours compared to a normal 9 to 5 job. Add that to all the psychological evaluations, assessment, and extracurricular work they have to do (and keeping up with the latest crushing barrage of educational standards), and they don't make nearly enough. People have this habit of looking at other jobs dismissively and saying, "oh, they have it easy". I hear that in the library world all the time as well. And to those people--I challenge you to do the job of a teacher or a librarian for a week and see just how "easy" it is. They don't require a buttload of education and training in these jobs for nothing. I would bet money you'd be over your head and begging to get out before the first day is over.

4. Stop trying to get rid of public broadcasting. I do not want to get my "news" from corporate toadies. I want a non-partisan, publicly funded news option that is unbiased. If we're going to get into broadcasting laws, we should have one like Canada's. I was pleased to see that Fox News was kept out of Canada by a law that says news broadcasters cannot report "false or misleading news". Even more interesting is that Canada's right-wing PM tried to get around this by CHANGING the law (he wasn't successful). Fox didn't even try to fight back by saying they were truthful and unbiased. They know they're a bunch of liars. If I want to be lied to, I can go stand at the bar during just about any happy hour. If I want news, I go to NPR or PBS (or BBC).

5. Trying to bully the public into accepting your hateful legislation does not make you "dedicated" or " a strong leader", it makes you a power-hungry sleazebag, with less morality and integrity than a slime mold. (Maybe we should vote for slime molds; apparently they're better at making decisions). You don't win votes by abusing your constituents. The use of force of any kind against the populace demonstrates your inability to lead.

Lastly, a reality check for citizens--stop voting for these morons who are swindling you. Obama may not be a perfect President, but he's not the Antichrist, and he's not Hitler. Trying to get people their fair share and trying to guarantee things like jobs and health care do not constitute totalitarianism. News outlets that promote this view are usually paid for by corporate billionaires who would like to take all of your money and see you with nothing, because they couldn't care less about you. You're a means to an end. And don't talk to me about religion, either. People who start spouting Christian rhetoric clearly have missed the part about compassion and serving the least of your brothers. If you're going to spout this selfish nonsense in the name of Jesus, all I can say is that you'd better HOPE your religion is wrong, or you're in trouble.

If there's a silver lining to all of this, I would imagine that it is unlikely the Republicans will take over in 2012. If "democracy requires vigilance", then you're going to see any angry populace fight back against this kind of insult to our rights and intelligence. I know I've had it. As an old friend of mine would say, "Stop the madness!"