Thursday, February 9, 2012

Once More: The Issue is Sovereignty of Women's Bodies!






Lost amidst all the moralist hoopla and sanctimonious "religious liberty" crappola in the Affordable Care Plan debate (which has now intensified since the Repuke opportunists have now latched onto it as another wedge issue) is the central question transcending all others: Do Catholic women (especially) have autonomy over their own bodies OR are they mere chattel at the beck and call of an elite of male bishops and patriarchy calling the shots?

If Catholic women answer 'NO!' and they insist they aren't chattel for the male patriarchy of their antiquated church-religion, then they must take arms against that male cabal and tell them in no uncertain terms they stand foursquare with their sisters - both secular and poor (as well as over 1.5 million who need contraceptives for medical problems such as endometriosis) that they will not accept a specious moral ruling as an excuse to compromise an important part of the Obama Affordable Care Act.

They must also become vociferous in repelling the onslaught of Reich wing pigs who seek to use this as a wedge issue to get up on their moralistic hobby horses to try to alienate voters from Obama. Catholic women are at the nexus of this battle, because we know nearly 90% of them already practice contraception anyway, so we're only asking them to stand tall with their sisters who work at Catholic hospitals, schools or other institutions to ensure that any of these which occupy public space (and also receive tax free status) are also obligated to adhere to federal rules and regulations.

If they can't or won't do that, then let them refuse tax free status and go it alone!

Catholic women, perhaps unlike the males (many still Reagan Democrats, aka Repubs), also tend to vote more Democratic than Republican which is why this reactionary drive is also aimed at them, to make them believe Obama is somehow trying to bring their own church down. Nonsense! Even this morning, the idiot Joe Scarborough on his 'Morning Joe' show insisted that the Obama contraceptive ruling was akin to ordering the Southern Baptist Union to appoint specific people as deacons. Aberrant wholesale bullshit and nonsense! There is no comparison whatsoever, and commendations to his co-host Nita for at least grasping that!

Among the tropes being circulated by the right wingers is that the issue "isn't so much contraception per se, as the federal government telling a church what to do". Horse shit! The federal government in numerous rulings with precedents has gone down on record as showing any and every belief or practice of a proclaimed religion can't be condoned. Hence, practitioners of Santeria in Miami cannot at will collect chickens, butcher them and leave them hung up and dripping blood on a neighbor's steps. Neither can a Christian Scientist withhold life-saving care from his or her child - say if the child has c. diff. or pneumonia, on the basis that the religion's "positive mind states" will enjoin a special healing force into action.

Apart from that, federal rules and regs cover a wide spectrum of American affairs, and I don't particularly hear or see the faithers and churchers and their hangers -on bitching when they get tax exempt status! (Which deficits the rest of us, secularists, must make up the difference for!) So spare me the horse pockey about being "ordered to go against one's beliefs". If your operation in any way is in the PUBLIC space, then you are to follow federal guidelines, parameters, else get out of it! If you want to hole up in your own private enclave, fine, do whatever the hell you choose or want!

The real people here being stepped on, by the foot of central male domination, are Catholic women - being told in no uncertain terms that they've no choice in the matter of risking pregnancy and - if they want sex- they have to disavow contraception and be open to "new life" - never mind they may not be able to afford it, or that another pregnancy may cause health problems.

Apart from the holier -than-thou's and their yapping over supposedly "sacred" beliefs which are in reality ancient superstitions based on demonic associations, we see the spectacle of other pundits putting in their own bollocks. Such was the case today with one John H. Cochrane ('The Real Trouble with the Birth control Mandate', WSJ, p. A13) who parades a host of canards including:

"Poor women who can't afford birth control are a red herring".

Showing that the denizens and parasites of the Cato Institute (he's also supposedly at the Univ. of Chicago..."the Booth School", if you can believe it) are as oblivious to facts as ever, able to simply dismiss 32 million poor women with a wave of their pens. He goes on to say, correctly, "HHS isn't limiting this to the poor anyway" which is beside the point, because if the larger constellation of women doesn't receive this as an insurance benefit than neither will the poor women!

The moron next writes:

"There is a liberal dream that by mandating coverage the government can make something free".

Again, not so. Rather, we believe that by mandating coverage the government can neutralize the toxic excesses of corporate manipulation within the extant insurance industry. Seeing as how they regularly take people's money then find excuses to deny treatment based on certain "pre-existing" or other conditions! Not to mention how the PhrMA makers gouge customers for their drugs (my aciphex has now increased 250% to $460 for 90 pills) while they use the money for drug -prescription ads on TV and in magazines! So by insinuating such a mandate, some of the money stolen from citizens is thereby returned and justice revived.

Cochrane then goes nuts at the end of his tract, asserting that "birth control" is a "contentious issue" and that the real point of this debate is that NO citizen ought to have to pay for another's use of it. Fair enough, dilweed, then don't cry in the next 15-20 years when traffic is choc-a-bloc and you can't get to your classes on time, and the hospital ERs are jam packed, and your next visit to the motor division issuing licenses results in a 10 hour or longer wait! Oh, and don't bellyache for a hundred other issues - including water quality and use, as well as environmental toxins, all contingent on population. Not to mention global warming.

Some, like this dolt, never learn. But we hope Catholic women will and take the side of the "angels" as they fight tooth and nail against their officious Church hierarchy!

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