US healthcare reform round 1
Wouldn't it be awesome if we could pick and choose where our tax dollars were spent? I can think of a few ventures I'd rather not personally fund (the war in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for one, contracts to Blackwater/Xe/KBR/Haliburton for two). Well now in the US, thanks to the 64 C-Street Blue Cross Democrats, anti-abortion zealots in that country are one step closer to making sure that not only will the public option for health coverage be prohibited from providing coverage for the termination of an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy, but so will private coverage, even if paid for by the woman with no government subsidy at all. Taking away women's hard won rights through the backdoor, as always.
Look. You either believe all human beings are equal and autonomous, or you don't. From Angry Mouse:
My autonomy is not about your religious beliefs. My autonomy is not about your "concerns." My autonomy is not about your arbitrary belief that rape victims are entitled to reproductive health care, but women who "use it as contraception" or "change their minds" or "forget to use birth control" are somehow not entitled to reproductive health care.
I refuse to argue the minutia anymore. I refuse to beg for the right to be a full and equal citizen. I refuse to be taken for granted by the Democratic party, who tells me I have no choice but to vote Democrat in elections, and then congratulates itself for its big tent when it comes time to vote on legislation.
Don't tell me how you feel about abortion. I don't care how you feel about abortion.
Tell me how you feel about my rights. Tell me whether you believe I am a full and equal citizen. Tell me whether you really believe the Democratic party stands for women.
I'm glad some kind of first step has been taken in the US on healthcare reform, but I'm mad as hell that inequality was actually approved by the House of Representatives. Fetuses = Men, both > women. Good to know exactly who believes that to be true.
Welllll ..... maybe not
If we could choose, then everyone else could choose. Some good and correct things might not get funded, like the 'Status of women' or the court challenges program. Oh ... wait ... that stuff has lost it's federal funding.
Maybe I need to rethink.
Ahhh .. too late for that ... onward willy.
I don't agree that we should be able to pick and choose where our tax dollars go . In practice it would create a bureaucratic and logistical voting nightmare. Now you and I, pale, could likely agree on many uses for our tax dollars. Many uses, but not all. For instance - I would fund a domed stadium for the Riders, where you might give it to the homeless or hot school lunch programs. Sheesh ... what kind of priorities do you have ? ;-)
It seems bizarre to me that the proposed American health care reform excludes abortion funding. 'Course the American health care system seems bizarre to me at the best of times.
I see the current reform as a step along the path to sanity. Change happens slowly and in steps. I hope they can do what they are proposing and build on it to do more of what should be done. Funding abortions would make the roadblocks to passing the legislation all that more formidable, IMO.
I'm not about to tell anyone what to do with their uterus. And that is not because I don't have a uterus. If I had one I still wouldn't have any say in anyone else's.
Yup.
Taxes are a big ol pool, and there is always going to be something one hates.
I hate paying for private travelling psychic hairdressers for Pm Stay puft helmet head for example. :)
Good with the bad.
Over at kos today some of the less progressive menz just cant wrap their brains around why Women are so pissed about this.
Abortion is cheap....they say.
Go to planned parenthood, they say. LOL
When Women are still making less than .75 for every dollar a man makes, why should she have to go pay a charity that may or may not even be in her area, to get healthcare?
Insane eh?
Now on to why this really really is important to pay attention to in Canada? The Cons would dearly love to use the public funding meme to do the same thing here. Wait for it.
Wait. Our turn is coming.
Glad to see ya Willy. :)
It's a fact: 100% of all the people who ate carrots in 1850, are dead.
Progress = not enough
I can understand why people are ticked at the current form and extent of the health reform bill. All I am saying is that half an apple is better than no apple.
Regarding the situation in Canada / New Brunswick: Thanks for the link. I wasn't aware of the story. The Cons will try any rollback that wins them points with their base. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, I've heard.
Glad to see you too :). You are doing a very nice job here. Are you building an ark out there ? - heard it's been raining some.
Now I'm ....
... better informed. I hadn't read 'Angry Mouse' before commenting above. I now have, and also the other 'reced' diary in support of 'Mouse'.
Well, if you are going to pick hill to die on - equal rights is better than most.
What I mean by 'a hill to die on' is an issue that causes you to abandon a political party and cast yourself, your vote, your passion, your time, your political activismim on the disgruntled / undecided heap, that issue is a good one.
I mean that.
If a party throws that issue under the bus, stand up against them.
The problem is - what happens next ? Create another party ? Switch to the one other party that has a chance of holding power ? What ?
I know. You have heard that argument before. Democrats, when they get into power, take for granted all the people and issues that enabled them to achieve power.
What to do ??
Honestly, I don't know.
The only thing I can think of is to work within the party - primary blue dogs and anyone else that has proved to not take the issue seriously - make it known that donations ending in $xx.97 cents are from people that are adamant about equal rights.
I understand the concern and am not trying to make trouble. Just putting out my two cents worth.
[Edit] For a rebuttal to where I stand ( or sit the fence ) there is this diary up on dKos ( Equality: Where do we go from here ? ). Interesting and informative.
[Edit - part two] I mentioned pale in my original comment. I should have said the estimable Dr. Prole, as she wrote the journal. My bad.
Double whammy
This is one of those decisions that has the dubious honour of creating (or further exacerbating) both a gender AND a class divide. All the amendment will do is make it so that abortion - for whatever reason - is only available to affluent women and families.
The silver lining is that this can still be removed later in the process. That silver is tarnished, though, because with the vote so close (220 ayes, with 218 needed to pass), everyone's going to be afraid to remove the amendment from the final bill for fear of losing conservative democratic votes (and that one Republican that voted for it, too).
The silver is tarnished but...
I think the amemdment will be removed, but now we know exactly who to boot out of the party in their next primary. More and better Democrats is the goal. Democrats who believe in equality for all people, not just embryos and men.
I was being facetious
about choosing where our tax money goes. :)