The Republican War On Women, Cont.

Just a little while ago, the Senate voted on a Republican sponsored bill that would strip away Title X protections governing whether States provide family planning funds to clinics and providers (notably Planned Parenthood).  With noted non- feminist and very white "man" Vice President Mike "Dense" Pence gleefully casting the tie- breaking vote, Republicans gutted the regulation providing those protections. As soon as it's signed by another noted non- feminist shitgibbon, it'll be Federal law that States (some of whom were already challenging the rule and pushing the envelope) have the right to deny Title X family planning funding for reasons that could be totally unrelated to quality of service of those providers =cough= abortion =cough=.

The National Women's Law Center describes the impact this mean- spirited bill will have (see also P.E.C.'s addendum in Comments):

Do not be mistaken—these attacks, including this vote, would likely result in individuals losing access to critical family planning and preventive care provided by Title X sites, including: 

-- Breast exams—which were provided to over 1 million women nationally at Title X sites in 2015; 

-- Other important confidential preventive care, including screenings for sexually transmitted infections (STIs)/HIV, and health education; and 

-- Contraceptive care and counseling that helped women avoid 904,000 unintended pregnancies, which would have resulted in 439,000 unplanned births in 2014.

Every Republican Senator except Sens. Collins and Murkowski voted for this bill. There weren't enough Democrats in the House or Senate to stop this, nor is there anyone in the White House to veto it. But we all know that nothing was worse than Hillary's emails, right?

The Republican War On Women (And Families), Cont.

While most of us have been focusing on the evil doings in neo- fascist birdbrain Donald "Rump" Trump's Washington (and we mean no disrespect to birds), there've been the usual shenanigans by his legion of Republican Party shitsticks out in "real America" (our emphasis throughout):

South Dakota

Republican State Rep. Wayne "Wayne" Steinhauer speaks for his party when he says there's no need to accommodate women in the workplace for, say, pregnancy!  He was objecting to this:

HB 1120, brought to us by Democratic Representative Dan Ahlers and co-sponsored by seven Democrats and four Republicans, would have required firms with 50 or more employees to offer moms and moms-to-be “reasonable accommodations” ...

"Reasonable accomodations?!" Why, in Wayne's world, if you don't like what the boss is doing,

“It’s not prison. You can quit,” Steinhauer, a business owner, said during a Monday hearing of the House Commerce and Energy Committee on the bill, HB 1120.

To no one's surprise, his sociopathic Republogic prevailed, and the bill was defeated in committee.

Here's a picture of ol' Wayne himself.  Speaking of reasonable accommodations, he's the owner of the Best Western Motel in Murdo, SD (pop. 488), so if you're ever unfortunate enough to be caught in that hellhole, be sure to say howdy.



Tennessee

Republican State Rep. Terry Lynn Weaver (who only plays a doctor/ medical ethicist in her own mind) is on a mission, fueled by her righteous ignorance:

A bill filed by a Tennessee Republican aims to make children born through artificial insemination illegitimate. 

WMC reported that state House Representative Terry Lynn Weaver is sponsoring HB 1406 to repeal Tennessee current statute, TCA 68-3-306, which declares that children born through artificial insemination are the “legitimate” child of the mother’s husband.  

Weaver is also a "blues singer" in her own mind and definitely NOT A RACIST as this picture of her with "Aunt Jemima" clearly demonstrates:



But let's end on a happy note.

Minnesota

Counterprotesters outnumbered protesters 10 to 1 at a St. Paul rally Saturday morning calling for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. 

Sarah Stoesz, president of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, called the counterprotest an unprecedented event. A St. Paul police commander on scene estimated the original protesters numbered about 500 while the counterprotesters numbered about 5,000 to 5,500. 

“We’ve never seen anything like this at Planned Parenthood here in Minnesota,” Stoesz said. “Here in Minnesota we have 64,000 patients and about 24,000 of them would lose access to their health care if Congress is allowed to so-called defund Planned Parenthood. So it’s a very serious matter and you can see people are taking it very, very seriously.”

That's Minnesota Nice.

The Republican War On Women - House Of Cards Edition

Yesterday, a festering sore known as the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives (a.k.a., the Planned Parenthood witch hunt) held a meeting, chaired by Republican War on Women cat's paw Rep. Marsha "How Many Holes In" Blackburn (R-  The panel is intent on resuscitating the debunked smear that Planned Parenthood is engaged in "making a profit selling baby parts" for research.  Twelve Republican- led states conducted similar witch hunts and concluded that Planned Parenthood did not illegally sell fetal tissue (in fact, a Texas grand jury indicted the perpetrators of the doctored video that ignited the current activity for felony tampering with a government record).  The way it started, it appears the Panel might outdo Rep. Trey "Howdy" Gowdy's (R- Cradle of Secession) Benghazi! witch hunt for sheer laughable, transparent partisan futility.

Impartiality?  What a card!

On the eve of her panel’s Wednesday’s hearing, Blackburn went over to Georgetown University to participate in a protest against Planned Parenthood, the very entity she is supposed to be investigating. According to the Right to Life organization, she gave a speech at a gathering called “Life-Affirming Alternatives to Planned Parenthood,” part of a series of events in opposition to Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards’s speech at Georgetown on Wednesday. 

A factual, evidence- based approach? Surely you jest!

... Blackburn gave an opening statement mentioning the buying and selling of “baby body parts” no fewer than seven times.

And the evidence that abortion clinics profit from the sale of these body parts? That would be in “Exhibit G,” handed out by Blackburn’s staff. “The AC [abortion clinic] has no costs so the payments from the PB [procurement business] to the AC are pure profit,” it said.

But this incendiary “exhibit” — asserting that any abortion clinic that receives any payment for fetal tissue is breaking the law — turned out to be not evidence but an undocumented claim by the Republican staff.

Keep in mind, this Panel has subpoenaed the names of fetal tissue researchers and workers at women's health clinics in a blatant attempt at intimidation that could also lead to their being the targets of an anti- abortion loon like the one who shot up the clinic in Colorado.  Keep in mind, also, that the end desired by these repugnant right- wing yokels is to ultimately shut down a vital source of health care for women.  Fortunately for all of us, Planned Parenthood isn't going to let them get away with it, and neither should we.

In A Surprise Switch, Auteurs Of Bogus Fetal Tissue Video Indicted, Not Planned Parenthood

Bwahahaha:

A Harris County grand jury investigating allegations that a Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston illegally sold the tissue of aborted fetuses has cleared the organization of wrongdoing and instead indicted two anti-abortion activists behind the undercover videos that sparked the probe.

Secret videographers David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt were both indicted on charges of tampering with a governmental record, a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison. Daleiden received an additional misdemeanor indictment under the law prohibiting the purchase and sale of human organs.

The investigation was requested by uber- nut Gov. Greg "Abbadabba" Abbott (R- Texass), who was clearly hoping a kangaroo jury would throw some indictments, or at least more mud, at Planned Parenthood.  Making it even more remarkable, the District Attorney leading the grand jury is a Republican appointed by former Gov. Rick "Oops" Perry.  So, Planned Parenthood is cleared and the ratf*ckers are indicted. To quote Abbott's Republican predecessor, "Oops."  Funny how that turned out.

The deceptively edited video, widely flogged by Republican candidates clowns to discredit Planned Parenthood, was of course debunked as yet another fraudulent attempt by a radical wingnut ratf*cking outfit to take down an organization supported by Democrats or anyone not subscribing to their crackpot agenda =cough= James "G. Gordon Diddy" O'Keefe = cough=.  But not after it had done damage to Planned Parenthood and caused a chorus of despicable Republican officeholders like Abbott to take political potshots at it. 

Oh, the schadenfreude, it is sweet!

UPDATE:  Making the schadenfreude even sweeter, Fox "News" spittle- flingers are having the predictable meltdown.

UPDATE II:

If you're madder at the GOPs who cleared Planned Parenthood than the GOPs who've been lying to you about it, the ones who lied thank you.

— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) January 26, 2016

Today's Dispatches From The Stupid Party - Nothing To See Here

You may recall sputtering rage bomb Rep. Jason "Clouseau" Chaffetz (R-Zygote) who recently birthed a spectacular FAIL when he tried to bully and smear Planned Parenthood's President Cecile Richards at a House committee hearing September 29.  Well, what has his subsequent sleuthing turned up?

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Thursday that the GOP's investigation into Planned Parenthood's use of federal funds hasn't turned up anything.

"Did I look at the finances and have a hearing specifically as to the revenue portion and how they spend? Yes. Was there any wrongdoing? I didn't find any," he said during a Judiciary Committee hearing on the family planning provider.  (our emphasis)

Never fear, though!  Like the similarly bogus Benghazi!!! "hearings," there's money to be fleeced from the rubes and poll numbers to be driven down, so Republicans plan to go forward with their "investigation" of fetal tissue research programs (including Planned Parenthood's) and, of course, hold government hostage in their fruitless attempt to de-fund the popular women's health provider.

House Republicans Launch Latest Political Witchhunt

This time, it's not Benghazi!!!, but Planned Parenthood that will be in for the taxpayer- funded hatchet job:

The House voted Wednesday to create a special committee to investigate Planned Parenthood and the handling of aborted fetal tissue, all but ensuring an already-fierce partisan battle will continue into 2016.  [snip]

The four-page bill does not mention Planned Parenthood by name. Instead, it charges the committee to investigate “fetal tissue procurement,” “federal funding and support for abortion providers” and “born-alive” abortions, generally.

But Republicans were clear that the committee’s work is intended to deepen three existing House committee probes into Planned Parenthood, which began in early August. The committees have held three hearings as part of their investigations, which has prompted Planned Parenthood to turn over at least 20,000 documents, according to Democrats.

Of course, this is all about emptying the pockets of the dim-witted while simultaneously riling them up to go out and re-elect this collection of extremist nihilists.  They have no interest whatsoever in ... what's that word? ... governing.  They have no programs or policies except to cut, obstruct, roll back and, of course, lie about it all.  How these skunks got such a foothold in American politics would be a mystery if not for the 800- pound gorilla in the room:  the 40- years- in- the- making right-wing media and "think" tank bullshit apparatus, funded by plutocrats and abetted by a cowardly "mainstream media," that has a sizable portion of the electorate engaged in doublethink and voting against its best interests.

Fortunately, they're fighting an uphill battle when it comes to Planned Parenthood:

One thing Congressional Republicans haven't helped themselves with recently is their war on Planned Parenthood. By a 12 point margin, 49/37, voters say they have a higher opinion of Planned Parenthood than the Republicans in Congress. That includes a 45/35 edge with independents.  (our emphasis)

However, connecting the dots to the true malevolence in American politics is still a bridge too far for many:

Congress on the whole has its requisite atrocious approval rating at 11/82. Despite the Republican control though that doesn't have the electorate positioned to vote for massive change- the generic Congressional ballot splits evenly with each party getting 43%... (our emphasis)

Sic transit gloria, America.

BONUS:  And it's only going to get worse.

Saturday Cartoon And Comment - Republicans Reload In Their War On Women (UPDATED)

(click on image to enlarge)

(Darrin Bell, via gocomics.com)

During the Republican debate cattle show last Thursday, several of the "talent" and "well-qualified" candidates were asked about their views on abortion, and proceeded to go off the deep end:

[Gov. Scott] Walker, Wisconsin’s governor, was asked by Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly whether his staunch opposition to abortion without exceptions puts him out of the mainstream.

“I believe that that is an unborn child that’s in need of protection out there, and I’ve said many a time that that unborn child can be protected, and there are many other alternatives that can also protect the life of that mother,” Walker said. “That’s been consistently proven.”

Later, [Sen. Marco] Rubio, a 44-year-old senator from Florida pitching himself as the GOP’s best chance to defeat Clinton, said he has never backed allowing abortion in cases of rape or incest. “What I have advocated is that we pass a law in this country that says all human life at every stage of its development is worthy of protection,” he said.

Rubio appeared eager to be portrayed as sufficiently conservative on abortion, even though it is not an issue he emphasizes much on the campaign trail. He has supported measures that included exceptions for victims of rape or incest, but he has also backed bills without them, leaving him room to argue that he did not advocate for the exceptions. Democrats say that if he is the nominee, his debate comments will come back to haunt him.   (our emphasis)

If even the Republican shills at Fox "News" are calling your position "out of the mainstream," you might want to fall back on the "I'm not a scientist" dodge.

Earlier, at the Kiddie Table, Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (R-Swamp) was asked about Planned Parenthood and goose-stepped into this response:

"Planned Parenthood had better hope that Hillary Clinton wins this election," Jindal said, "because I guarantee you that under President Jindal, January 2017, the Department of Justice and the IRS and everybody else that we can send from the federal government will be going into Planned Parenthood."

First of all, "President Jindal" LMFAO.  Anyone with a smattering of knowledge about, you know, gummint would smell something here -- oh, yeah!  Directing the Feds to go after political enemies!  That would be exactly what the wingnuts have falsely accused the Obama Administration of doing to their tea bag groups AND IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL AND AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE.  Not to worry, though.  "Bobby" will be working at some backwater wingnut welfare outfit come January 2016.

UPDATE:  And then there was this from the Republican front-runner:

The billionaire businessman lashed out against Fox News' Megyn Kelly for her questions during the campaign's first debate. She had asked the candidate about his use of derogatory language toward women and whether it reflected the "temperament of a man we should elect as president."

Referring to Kelly's questions, Trump told CNN in an interview late Friday, "There was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever."

UPDATE II:  Andy Borowitz never disappoints.

UPDATE III:  Nor does The Onion. (h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian)

The Republican War On Women - Jeb! Bush Edition

Latest in the line of Bushes born with a silver foot in their mouth, John Ellis "J.E.B.!" Bush gives his "thoughts" on women's health funding, displaying for Beltway pundits his "talent" and that he's "well-qualified" to be President:

"You could take dollar for dollar -- although I'm not sure we need a half-billion dollars for women's health issues -- but if you took dollar for dollar, there are many extraordinary fine community health organizations that exist to provide quality care for women on a wide variety of health issues," Bush said. "But abortion should not be funded by the government."  (our emphasis)

Pssst.  Someone tell Jeb! that federal funding of abortion is already blocked, thanks to the Hyde Amendment.

Feel free to contrast this with the position of Hillary Clinton and almost all other Democrats (=cough= not "Democrats" like Manchin and Donnelly =cough=).

The Republican War On Women - Planned Parenthood Edition

As Congress moves toward its summer recess, plans are afoot among the knuckle-draggers to deal a crippling blow to Planned Parenthood:

With conservatives hungry for a confrontation over Planned Parenthood, and Democrats moving to protect the organization, the battle is brewing over a must-pass spending bill that Congress has to deliver to the president’s desk by Sept. 30 to avoid a repeat of the 2013 shutdown

Conservatives figure using the power of the purse is the best way to force the action, while Democrats say that strategy plays into their hands and will tar Republicans with another shutdown.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is promising to block any effort to strip Planned Parenthood’s federal money, and though the White House hasn’t weighed in officially yet, Democratic aides insist President Barack Obama would not sign any spending bill that eliminates the funding.

This is, of course, fallout from the continuing release of debunked, highly edited video and audio tapes produced by the extremist, ironically named "Center for Medical Progress," and is part and parcel of the far-right's long-term strategy to destroy pro-choice organizations and associated women's health services in general. (Planned Parenthood annually serves approximately 3 million women in America, providing cancer-  and HIV-screening and contraception through roughly 700 clinics.)  This latest gambit has been clearly coordinated between the knuckle-draggers and their co- crackpot, craven Republican politicians fundraisers.  Far-right Republicans, however, have a long history of not being willing or able to learn from their mistakes ( "Fool me once, shame on ... shame on you. Fool me... You can't get fooled again!'"), and will doubtless try to pass this spending bill with the poison pill Planned Parenthood defunding included, shutdown be damned!

When all is said and done, we heartily endorse Sen. Harry Reid's (D-NV) response to Republican threats to shut down government over Planned Parenthood funding:

To Republicans who are trying to defund Planned Parenthood: Good luck with that.

— Senator Harry Reid (@SenatorReid) July 28, 2015

Letters We Wish We'd Written - Ongoing Smear of Planned Parenthood Dept.

From today's once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle, this letter comes in response to an op/ed by Republican shill Kathleen Parker:

Using legally donated fetal tissue to advance medical research and possibly even treat diseases that debilitate millions of people is hardly, as Kathleen Parker contended in her July 19 op-ed column, “A modern proposal,” an action “made in hell.”

Donations of organs and tissues are selfless acts. Heaping such animus on Planned Parenthood for taking part in medical donation — and making judgments on the basis of eight edited minutes taken from a nearly three-hour video — is a sad reflection of how politicized and demonized abortion and the women who choose it have become in our society.

Savaging medical practitioners and a network of medical clinics that provide a comprehensive range of essential health services and resorting to such hyperbole as asserting that fetal livers are “selling like hotcakes” do nothing to further any honest, nuanced and intellectually curious conversations about abortion.

 Sarah Erdreich, Washington

As we note below, Republicans and their goons in the anti-choice movement are pushing this discredited "evidence" as a means of destroying Planned Parenthood while energizing their bible-thumping base.  Media enablers like Parker give them a bigger megaphone, which is why it's important to confront them at every opportunity, as Ms. Erdreich has done.

Willard: Out of Touch With Women's Health Issues

(BTW, Happy 51st birthday, President Obama!)