gov. palin has an extremist view on abortion

Make no mistake about it, Gov. Sarah Palin has an extremist view on abortion — particularly on the issue of whether or not abortion should be available to women who become pregnant as a result of rape.

I have never been raped, never even come close to being raped, but some of my good friends have. And if that violence had resulted in an unwanted pregnancy, I would gladly volunteer to drive them to a clinic.

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization, offers the following statistics:

RAPE:

1 out of every 6 American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).

17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape.

9 of every 10 rape victims were female in 2003.

While about 80% of all victims are white, minorities are somewhat more likely to be attacked.

Lifetime rate of rape /attempted rape for women by race:

• All women: 17.6%
• White women: 17.7%
• Black women: 18.8%
• Asian Pacific Islander women: 6.8%
• American Indian/Alaskan women: 34.1%
• Mixed race women: 24.4%

15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.

29% are age 12-17.

44% are under age 18.

80% are under age 30.

12-34 are the highest risk years.

Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.

Pregnancies Resulting from Rape

In 2004-2005, 64,080 women were raped. According to medical reports, the incidence of pregnancy for one-time unprotected sexual intercourse is 5%. By applying the pregnancy rate to 64,080 women, RAINN estimates that there were 3,204 pregnancies as a result of rape during that period.This calculation does not account for the following factors which could lower the actual number of pregnancies:

• Rape, as defined by the NCVS, is forced sexual intercourse. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, oral, or anal penetration by offender(s). This category includes incidents where the penetration is from a foreign object such as a bottle. Certain types of rape under this definition cannot cause pregnancy.
• Some victims of rape may be utilizing birth control methods, such as the pill, which will prevent pregnancy.
• Some rapists may wear condoms in an effort to avoid DNA detection.
• Vicims of rape may not be able to become pregnant for medical or age-related reasons.

This calculation does not account for the following factors which could raise the actual number of pregnancies:

• Medical estimates of a 5% pregnancy rate are for one-time, unprotected sexual intercourse. Some victimizations may include multiple incidents of intercourse.
• Because of methodology, NCVS does not measure the victimization of Americans age 12 or younger. Rapes of these young people could results in pregnancies not accounted for in RAINN’s estimates.

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breaking with their party

I’m just now getting around to watching the Obama interview on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Sen. Obama is being asked to share how he would “break” with his party. The question is in response to Sen. McCain’s constant mantra that he’s the maverick with a history of breaking with his party.

Let’s be very clear about one thing — when your party has fucked up the country as much as the Republicans have, when THEY have broken the country, you’d better break from them as much as possible!!

Sen. Obama needs to reject the premise of this line of questioning. For the most part the Democrats have been the party trying to lookout for the American people. Republican have taken on the role of the obstructionist party, with a history of looking out for their wealthy friends.

Don’t forget it was John McCain who recently commented that everyone earning less than $5 million is part of the middle class. $5 MILLION … MIDDLE CLASS??? Is he kidding???? Again, this demonstrates just how out of touch he is with everyday, working Americans.

So Sen. Obama, the next time a reporter asks you how would you break with your party remind them that what’s in the best interest of the country is for all of us to break with the Republican Party! At least that’s my opinion …

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coming to a pulpit near you

Religious Right leaders have long tried to fudge the rules regarding partisan politicking from the pulpit — but this might be something new, even for them! The socially conservative Alliance Defense Fund is encouraging pastors to openly violate IRS regulations, and endorse candidates from the pulpit. This action is set to take place on Sunday, September 28.

Declaring that clergy have a constitutional right to endorse political candidates from their pulpits, the socially conservative Alliance Defense Fund is recruiting several dozen pastors to do just that on Sept. 28, in defiance of Internal Revenue Service rules.

The effort by the Arizona-based legal consortium is designed to trigger an IRS investigation that ADF lawyers would then challenge in federal court. The ultimate goal is to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out a 54-year-old ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship.

“For so long, there has been this cloud of intimidation over the church,” ADF attorney Erik Stanley said. “It is the job of the pastors of America to debate the proper role of church in society. It’s not for the government to mandate the role of church in society.”

Let’s be clear about one thing. Houses of worship are governed by THE SAME regulations as any other 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. So if there is a “cloud of intimidation” over the church, it’s over EVERY tax exempt group, too!

Houses of worship, as much as we might not like it, are perfectly free to express views about issues until the cows come home … they can rant about how much of a sin they think same-sex marriage is, or talk about the “evils” of abortion … they just can’t take their rhetoric to the next level and explicitly tell their followers who to vote FOR or AGAINST.

There are a few religious leaders who get it!

Americans United for Separation of Church and State issued this press release today:

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today commended a group of Ohio clergy for opposing pulpit-based electioneering and unveiled a new Web site designed to counter Religious Right propaganda about federal tax law.

The Rev. Eric Williams of North Congregational United Church of Christ in Columbus is urging clergy all over America to give sermons on Sept. 21 in support of church-state separation and against partisan politics in houses of worship.

At a press conference in Columbus today, Williams and other religious leaders also called on the Internal Revenue Service to take action against the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) for encouraging churches to break the law and endorse candidates. The ADF, a Religious Right legal group based in Arizona, is urging pastors to endorse or oppose candidates from the pulpit on Sept. 28.

Americans United is led by the Rev. Barry Lynn, an ordained United Church of Christ minister. He and Rev. Williams understand the basic value of keeping church and state separate. Clearly the ADF would rather see churches become smoke-filled political machines. Which begs the question, WWJD? I’ll leave that to my more spiritual/religious friends to answer.

In the meantime, if you are aware of partisan political activity taking place in your community contact Americans United and let them know. They have a specific web site for reporting these activities.

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olbermann and matthews out

MSNBC has announced that Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews will no longer anchor political night coverage. My response? It’s about damn time. These guys did everything within their power to influence the Democratic Primary — with some of the most sexist coverage ever witnessed outside a FOX News broadcast. Their inability to be impartial has caught up with them, and they will now be demoted to the position of commentator.

MSNBC said Sunday it is replacing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as co-anchors of political night coverage with David Gregory, and will use the two newsmen as commentators.

The change reflects tensions between the freewheeling, opinionated MSNBC and the impartial newsgatherers at NBC News. Throughout the primaries and summer, MSNBC argued that Olbermann and Matthews could serve as dispassionate anchors on political news nights and that viewers would accept them in that role, but things fell apart during the conventions.

Gregory, the veteran Washington hand, will anchor MSNBC’s coverage of the presidential and vice presidential debates and election night, said Jeremy Gaines, network spokesman. The change was first reported by The New York Times.

I’m not sure David Gregory is much better. The network probably should have just asked Tom Brokaw to handle MSNBC, while Brian Williams covered NBC. Or bring in Meredith Vieira or Ann Curry to handle the MSNBC coverage. They seem to be able to report in a professional manner.

MSNBC has been plagued with squabbles by their male anchors. Keith, Chris, Joe Scarborough and David Shuster. There isn’t a professional among the lot of them.

Jon Stewart had an interesting take, when interviewing Brian Williams on “The Daily Show.”

All the drama made MSNBC a punch line when top NBC anchor Brian Williams appeared on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” last week. “Is there no control?” Stewart asked him. “`Is it `Lord of the Flies?’”

A sheepish Williams said that every family has a dynamic of its own.

“But does MSNBC have to be the Lohans?” Stewart said.

Stewart has proven once again that the best anchor this election season may just be a comedian!