In what way is abortion a campaign issue?

It's not.

Abortion is permitted by law, and confirmed as legal by the Supreme Court. So why are we talking about it? Why don't we discuss how many orfreys an archbishop can have on his chasuble? That would be more pertinent.

George W Bush, ostensibly anti-abortion, did nothing to change this law because there was nothing he could realistically do. Clinton did nothing, Obama did nothing, Romney will do nothing. So who cares what their respective opinions are about abortion; it's as relevant as their opinions on pickled herring.

T

he real takeaway from this whole discussion is the knowledge that a member of Congress can be as dumb as a post. Dumber, really, because a post can't make a fool of itself. We leave that to Todd Akin. Oh, yes, and Debbie Wasserman Schulz.

Oy vey! These people are running the country!

Euphemism

I got a bill  with a photo of me going through a red light, sent by some kind benefactors who call themselves the Red Light Safety Program. They wanted a decent sized check, but that's not what it's about. It's all about my safety.  No doubt they could use the cash as well, but it's really, really about keeping me safe. And the children, too, I'm sure.  Let's not forget the children.

Can't we ever call things by their real names?  This program should be called the Revenue Enhancement Program, or the Gotcha! Program.  That would be more honest.  Just as it would be more honest to refer to abortion and birth control by their own names, instead of piously calling them Women's Health Issues.  And talking about saving women's health.  Pregnancy is not an illness.  Every single person I've ever met was the result of a pregnancy.  Every one.  No exceptions.

Does it ever occur to anyone that women can still get abortions and birth control by paying for it themselves? It's perfectly legal.  But it seems unthinkable.  We used to pay for medical care, in living memory.  When my kids were small, we took them to the pediatrician and paid the bill out of our own pockets.  They got the required shots and well-baby exams without  aid from the government or insurance.  Insurance was for catastrophes.

A couple of years ago, my father suffered an attack of shingles.  It was hideously painful, so when shots for shingles came out, I asked the doctor to prescribe a shot for me.  The insurance carrier had not yet approved this for payment, and my doctor's office was gobsmacked when I offered to pay for it myself.  I did, and was not struck down by a thunderbolt from heaven.

Under the heading of old business....

I have some stuff to clear up:

I caused the stock market to tank. Yes, I am guilty. Last Friday I ordered my IRA to sell some shares. You saw what happened Monday? I am deeply sorry.

The pro-abortion cheerleaders act like getting an abortion is a fun thing, like getting a really nifty hairdo or taking a vacation in Bermuda. It isn't. It's a surgical procedure, not a cause for celebration, whatever you are, pro-choice or pro-life.

The Wall Street Journal quotes a a couple of supposedly representative Christians:

When I got home from church I... called my Jesuit friend, who I know hates these people, too. I asked, "Don't you think God finds these smug egomaniacs morally repellent? Recoils from their smugness as from hot flame?"

And he said, "Absolutely. They are everything He or She hates in a Christian."

I thought Christians were supposed to love their enemies, or their neighbors? Apparently not. I guess Jesus was just kidding around when he said, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." I suppose the quaint idea I picked up, that to a believing Christian, every one of us is a child of God with an immortal soul, was not applicable to Republicans. I'm not a Christian, so how could I know? I thought Christians were like the Rev Martin Luther King. You know, saintly.

I hope these tolerant believers don't extend their contempt to us Jews--oh wait, they already have. Only they call us "Zionists."

By the way, I just posted a new feature, called "Followers," on my blog. Humiliatingly, I have 0 followers so far. So if you want to follow my blog, sign up. If no-one signs up, I will remove the gadget.