Archive for October 2, 2008

Debate Open Thread

The GOP responds to Sarah Palin’s interview with Katie Couric and rapidly declining poll numbers: a Dr. Horrible rip-off in one act.

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ:

DR. HORRIBLE: Sarah Palin
BAD HORSE: Karl Rove
BAD HORSE DANCERS: Fox & Friends
EVIL LEAGUE OF EVIL: Republican Party

So what do you think? Did Bad Horse approve?

McCain Pulls Out of Michigan; Withholds Ire on Ifill

In a monumental campaign move that pundits will justifiably be calling a death knell, McCain is ending his campaign’s presence in Michigan. While it’s true that Obama never had the “50 state strategy” that Dean boasts of, giving up on a swing-able state is a sign of the times. Let’s not get overconfident… but. And, McCain is slamming Gwen Ifill, the moderator of tonight’s VP debate, but not asking for her withdrawal. Instead, he’s whining in advance. This is his “get out of Palin’s gaffe free” card, and it’s clear he’s holding on to it for dear life.

Matt’s Musings

“So do I watch the VP debate, or Survivor? On the one hand, I could watch someone get ridiculed and voted off. On the other hand, I could watch Survivor.”

Abortion & Life: Reframing the Discussion

Editor’s note: this is a guest piece by Lauren, a friend of mine from a looooong way back :). She wrote it on Facebook Notes; I ripped it, with her permission… of course. Lauren, an active voice in the pro-choice community and a founder of Crisis Pregnancy Center Watch, speaks candidly about the direction in which pro-choice women should move the abortion dialogue:

I ducked into Barnes and Noble today to see if they were hiring (they weren’t…), and while I was there decided to pick up Jennifer Baumgardner’s new book Abortion and Life. I especially like the cover (right):

Anyway, one of the things that attracted me to the book (other than my knowledge of what it was about and what Baumgardner sought to do by writing it) was the use of the word “abortion” in the title. Most books out there regarding abortion use euphemisms such as “choice” and “reproductive rights” when in fact the book focuses primarily on abortion and not on discussions of choice or reproductive justice as a whole.

So I went to the check-out line. The first open cashier to wave me over was a woman of about 55 or 60. Our conversation went something like this….

Cashier: How are you today?
Me: I’m doing just fine, how ’bout you?
Cashier: Great. Do you have one of our membersh…. (looks down at the book I’m purchasing)… ip cards?
Me: No.
(This is the part where they offer you one.)
Cashier: Okay. {rings up book} $18.09 is your total.
Me: Alright. {swipes card through machine}
Cashier: And… would you like a bag today…?
Me: No thanks.
Cashier: {pauses} Are you sure??
Me: Yup. I’m good.
Cashier: {sticking receipt into book} Okay. Have a good day.
Me: You too!

This woman, who has probably many times rung up Kama Sutra and other sex how-to books for 70 year old men (as a friend who used to work at Borders said wasn’t uncommon), was clearly made uncomfortable by this book cover. Or the title. Or the fact that I was buying it and was willing to carry it out in the open. Or all three. After she looked down onto my selection, she clearly tried to avoid eye contact with me for the remainder of the transaction. It reminded me of a few years ago when I was at Target and this 16 year old male cashier couldn’t get the box of condoms I was buying to scan. Clearly nervous, and obviously trying to get through a period of great discomfort (however one-sided) as quickly as possible.

As I was leaving, I thought about how happy this would make Jennifer Baumgardner to know that folks who won’t even read her book will be affected by its mission. After all, her book is all about facilitating raw, unbridled conversation about women and abortion without candy-coating, whispering, or politicizing.

Abortion and Life is an addition to Baumgardner’s documentary I Had an Abortion and the “I had an abortion” t-shirt campaign. It’s about getting abortion into the real world, allowing women to tell their stories, to take the procedure past its political arguments and add a real human element. It seeks to redefine the parameters of the abortion debate from being about policy to being about experience, voices, and humanity.

That being said, this project has posed many a challenge to both the pro- and anti-choice camps. The new wave of reproductive justice and abortion activists are working not only to refute the injustices of the anti-choice camp, but also to call out the areas in which pro-choicers shoot themselves in the foot. Popular culture, even progressive popular culture, prefers pregnancy terminations (unlike other medical procedures) stay in the closet. Films such as Knocked Up refer to it as “shushmorsion” or use the cold-hearted euphemism “get it taken care of.” Many pro-choicers don’t want to admit there’s an emotional aspect to abortion, and for that reason anti-choice factions have been able to grab a hold of women who may have had some sense of loss that was heightened and exploited by the antis.

The whole woman is never taken into account on either side of the abortion debate. For the antis, even the smallest embryo (or zygote depending on how radically anti-choice they are) usurps the humanity of its vessel. For the pro-choicers, to even admit there can be an emotional connection between a woman and an 8-week fetus is an immediate admission that abortion is inherently wrong. The antis have worked to create this spin, but the fact that the choicers play into it has robbed the argument of the single most important element shaping the abortion debate: the woman.

I hope many other bookstore cashiers have moments of severe discomfort as women and men purchase Baumgardner’s new book openly and proudly. I hope more and more women are able to talk about their choice to have an abortion, whether or not they wear one of Baumgardner’s t-shirts. And I hope I don’t get mauled by antis when I go to pick up my NuvaRing refill at Planned Parenthood tomorrow.

Kathleen Parker Wakes Up & Smells the Cheney

Yikes. In the wake of her column critical of America’s favorite moose caught in headlights, Sarah Palin, conservative columnist Kathleen Parker has faced a ridicilous conservative backlash, ranging from insults (“idiot,” “traitor”) to death threats & exhortations to suicide. But let’s talk silver lining. From this quote – “when we decide that a person is a traitor and should die for having an opinion different than one’s own, then we cross into territory that puts all freedoms at risk” – it seems to me that the Bush/Cheney Koolaid has worn off (in 2001, she claimed that censorship-by-outrage was just “the free market”). Good.

McCain Angrily Defends Sarah Palin & his Disingenuous Ad Campaign

On the trail, after defending his “Obama wants to teach sex to pre-schoolers” lie, McCain snaps at reporters and throws any Republican who so much as dares doubt Sarah Palin under the bus, giving new meaning to “No True Scotsman.” Back in D.C., the Senator who built his reputation on bipartisan friendliness shot daggers at his Democratic challenger, who attempted a rare moment of unity in the wake of the bailout bill’s passage. Are the polls cracking Mac’s temper?