Matthews on family planning measure in stimulus bill: ‘It sounds a little like China.’
Matthews on family planning measure in stimulus bill: ‘It sounds a little like China.’
In their latest attempt to rally against the new economic stimulus package, many conservatives are ridiculing a measure that would aid states by making it easier to provide comprehensive family planning services to low-income women. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) defended the measure on MSNBC’s Hardball this afternoon, noting that “family planning saves, if done correctly, an enormous sum of money down the road in the health care system.” However, host Chris Matthews thought the measure sounded more like something straight out of communist China:
MATTHEWS: I don’t know. It sounds a little like China. [...] I think everybody should have family planning and everybody believes in birth control as a right. I’m for — abortion is a right and all that. It’s all right. But why should the federal government have a policy of reducing the number of births?
Watch it:
What Matthews appears to be referring to is China’s “one-child policy,” a law that prohibits most couples from bearing more than one child. But of course, the House’s stimulus provision does no such thing. Instead, like Wexler noted, it provides funds to help states and low-income working women reduce their health care costs.
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Let’s just cut the nuts off brain dead news/infotainers so as not to spread the defective gene through future generations.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:20 pmMatthews quote corrected:
“But why should the federal government have a policy of reducing the number of unwanted births?”
January 26th, 2009 at 6:25 pmIt’s like every other day, I decide that Chris Matthews is an idiot.
Today…? It’s Idiot Day.
Geesh, Chris. It’s nice if you engage your brain before flapping your mouth, yanno??
January 26th, 2009 at 6:25 pmIs it so freakin difficult to simply READ the bill BEFORE spewing lies about it? I truly believe the right side thinks its constituants are really, really stoopid. So stoopid as to never check the facts, rather to simply absorb whatever BS happens to roll out of the TeeVee machine?
How can this country overcome its problems when 25% of its citizens are dumber than a box of rocks?
January 26th, 2009 at 6:25 pmRe: #2
I don’t mean actually corrected. He said it as quoted int eh story. I mean that if he asked the question in a way that made sense, the relevant portion of the stimulus bill would make sense.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:26 pmMatthews is a reichwing tool….Step Miller.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:27 pmWhen Chris gets it wrong, he gets it really wrong.
No one is proposing, implying or otherwise suggesting that Americans’ reproductive rights should be limited, that the birth rate should drop! But access to sex ed and contraception prevents unplanned, unwanted pregnancies. Which has been proven to drop the abortion rate.
Chris the Catholic, you’re bias is showing!
PEACE
January 26th, 2009 at 6:27 pmBig Trouble In Little China?
January 26th, 2009 at 6:29 pmSheesh.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:33 pmNo one is going to like this comment but I think it is high time to stop romanticizing the notion that every woman needs to have children. We need to adjust the mindset that children are not a have-to-have but a huge responsibility. That not all are equipped to take care and nurture and provide the necessary emotional and financial support required of having children that quickly become adults who need a background where they can contribute to the sustainable functioning of a society.
Too much emphasis is placed on an old idea. Remember children become adults very quickly and unless you are living in a cave there are tons of dysfunctional, ill equipped adults that were children once that never had a very good chance at having a decent life because of this outdated romanticized notion.
Same goes for the military. Might no longer makes right. It’s another romanticized notion where training kids to kill other kids disguising it as service and defense is simply a guise for war for profit. Close to one trillion a year now. THINK how many people could be educated for that kind of money.
It’s the 21st century. We need to grow up.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:34 pmComments like what came out of Matthews mouth prove to be dangerous and sorely misguided. We’re in the 21st century and still talking heads/politicians are visiably uncomfortable talking about family planning and health care. Somehow it leads to cheap talk of condoms or a run on publically funded contraception or abortion. Commercials are jammed packed with Viagra ads and the good old boy network still high fives their “macho bravado” but god forbid a woman would receive adequate healthcare / family planning. And if you’re poor forget it. It’s disgusting and I hope someone takes Mr. Matthews aside and scolds him for such an assanine and irresponsible remark.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:52 pmDaniel J. DeNoon reports on October 15, 2008:
“WebMD Health News… The U.S. ranks 29th worldwide in infant mortality, tying Slovakia and Poland but lagging behind Cuba, the CDC reports.. . . Nearly seven U.S. babies die out of every 1,000 live births. More than 28,000 American babies die before their first birthday.”
We rank behind Third World countries. This statistic does not include the number of American women who die from untreated ovarian cancer, AIDS and other STDs. Women are particularly susceptible to a complex array of reproductive diseases that treated, can be cured, saving lives and tax dollars.
If tax dollars, wisely spent can save thousands of women’s and children’s lives annually, isn’t that money well spent?
Welcome to the real world. America isn’t number one in life expectancy, the quality of life or the quality of medical care; however, we are excelling at the race to the bottom.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:54 pmIs it just me? You know, the more I watch Chris Matthews do these multi-guest spots, the more I’m convinced that he just doesn’t know how to do it right. He’ll directly ask someone a question, finish it, wait about a second-and-a-half, and then keep talking. At this point, the viewer sees the person at the other end of the satellite feed start talking (because they thought Chris was finished), only to stop because they hear Chris yammering away again, which he’ll do a second or third time, and it’s ends up wasting about twenty or more seconds of “dialog” because Matthews doesn’t know how to ask a question and then STFU so the person can answer him. Sometimes he just asks a question, and even with three guests, addresses it to no one in particular, so they all start talking. He’s really, really bad at this. Or am I missing something?
January 26th, 2009 at 6:56 pmYeah, why save money on healthy children with mothers having prenatal care when we can spend that million dollars a week looking after sick babies in a neonatal unit. Duh.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:57 pmi’m somewhat amazed to not hear lots of screeching about removing restrictions to foreign family planning orgs …
after all, it was the NEXT DAY, after the anit-choice march, that President Obama signed that order…
January 26th, 2009 at 6:58 pmdb, it’s an American classic. One of my favorite movies, and I actually just watched it again last week.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:04 pmMatthews was dropped on his head.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:06 pmWayne A. Schneider Says:
Is it just me?
That’s what you get for watching. There isn’t enough time in my day to watch tv “news” or commentary, and especially these lame talking head shows.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:06 pmPerhaps if Obama would add a rule that if you registered as a republican, you aren’t allowed to have any kids. Just as ridiculous as Mathews statement.
civil behavior, great post.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:09 pmBack in the 70s, I did volunteer counseling for an organization called “Zero Population Growth” whose basic philosophy was that just to maintain the current population people should only reproduce themselves — in other words for 2 parents, 2 children. That is what was estimated then to be necessary to maintain current world population.
Sad to think that, just like many other issues in the late 60s and 70s, we haven’t made any progress in being intelligent about our approach to life and our planet and its ability to sustain all the forms of life we find on it.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:10 pmBTY, the leading cause of death among pregnant women in Colorado is murder. Don’t you think that if these women had access to family planning, they might have chosen birth control or they might have been on the State’s radar for abuse (or at least have been referred to counseling). In other states with larger populations, the statistics are worse, I think three pregnant Colorado women died in 2006, all murdered. In other states, while the number of pregnant women who died from all caused is higher, it is about double for black women.
These women are such a high risk population, they need to know how and where to seek help, and they need to be on the radar.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:10 pmThe whole hub-bub comes from the three words “low-income women” and making a pinata out of them.
I know plenty of women who make a robust five figure salary who shouldn’t have any kids. Likewise with plenty of guys in the same situation.
The Republicans are just trying to make sure they can stick the bad insurance policies and pharmaceutical plans of one W. on the women for their greed consortium constituents.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:10 pmIs that Matthews’ Catholicism conflict?
The feds are not limiting families, nor invading privacy.
They are offering birth control counseling, and providing contraception for those who otherwise may not have access.
What is wrong with people?
Repugs claim poor people are taxing the system by having too many children, but they object to providing any assistance in contraception. Hypocrites.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:11 pmNo one on cable news does stupid better than Chris Matthews!
January 26th, 2009 at 7:14 pmMatthews a jackass ,what’s new.Why would people reward this a..h.le by watching his show is beyond me.He was one of the TV sycophants singing praises to the neocons & Bush just after the invasion of Iraq,today he sings a different tune of course.The other idiot is David Gregory,he is still offering the “press did a good job covering the runup to war in Iraq” even after major news organisations(NY-times,McClatchy(sp)acknowledge failure in coverage of pre-war intel by the press.I couldn’t watch either of ‘em if you paid me to.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:21 pmSeems like the darn repugnant Republicans want it all but they’re not going to get it. They don’t want abortion but they don’t want women to have access to contraceptives, etc.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:23 pmThis is just crazy. Just ridiculous!
gummitch,
Sci-Fi channel was showing something I didn’t want to watch. ;)
January 26th, 2009 at 7:24 pmWayne, you have summed up Matthews’ interview style pretty accurately.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:25 pmDutchHenry,
For the record, David Gregory has acknowledged that the Press completely dropped the ball on Iraq, see his interview with Jon Stewart, I don’t know that absolves him, but unlike his buds, he admits rather than defends it.
I kind of like Tweety, but think that he was terribly uninformed when speaking about family planning legislation. It will be interesting to see whether he investigates and revises his opinion. He should.
Journalists, as professionals, must investigate first before opening their giant maws to opine. Weak as it may be as a journalistic tool, at least Google.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:28 pmI don’t think he’s a tool of either the left or the right. I just think he never knows what the hell he’s talking about at any given moment. Sometimes that’s entertaining, sometimes it’s infuriating.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:32 pmHere is the REAL problem, Congressman Wexler didn’t know what the phuck to say in response. Tweety is going to be Tweety, everybody knows that. But Wexler just kind of stood there like a deer in the damn headlights instead of explaining the situation better. I mean hell the Rethugs have been using that same line of attack from since last week. At what point is some Democratic surrogate going to go out there and point out that the CBO projects a savings of $400 million dollars over 10 years with that expenditure. If even one of them could simply say that it would end the discussion. I mean hell the Republicans are using a nonexistent CBO report for jeebus sake that every Villager is repeating but the Democrats have an actual CBO report to refer to as evidence and they don’t have good sense to use it. Maybe we should just cut to the chase and send Josh Marshall or Amanda Terkel on all the talking head shows to explain the crap for the people who put it together in the first frikkin place.
Color me very frustrated.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:32 pmwayne s. – i think it’s also a time delay thing… i hear it on randi’s radio show also; she talks all over her callers, and it’s obviously a time delay problem…
also happens to my daughter and me… cell phones can be a pain.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:32 pmComparing comprehensive family planning to a law only allowing one child per couple, is a little out there.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:43 pmsgwhitefla,
The CBO should issue a statement stating that it never issued a report and the preliminary report only covered the narrow area over which it has jurisdiction (actually quite narrow). Wexler needs to spend a little time focusing on the issued and take his pulpit to specifically address issues.
The ambiguity from CBO and Wexler simply feeds the fodder. Leadership is what Obama has offered, Pelosi, Wexler and Congress need to step up to the plate.
America is suffocating from hot air. If Pelosi and company have the will to lead, today is one day too late, but a day sooner than tomorrow. Step up or get out.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:43 pmCBO preliminary report was leaked by Boehner’s staff, not released. I’m having trouble typing d’s instead of s’s.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:47 pmThanks, Marie. I’m wondering when MSNBC will notice that he’s really not good at all at doing live interviews. He can’t seem to make up his mind what he wants to say, so he says all of it. Now, if they want to keep him on as entertainment, that’s one thing. But if they think his viewers are more informed because of him, boy did they get that one wrong.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:49 pmElBruce Says:
I don’t think he’s a tool of either the left or the right.
In other words, he’s just a tool.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:50 pmkaty,
I understand about time delay, but Matthews will ask a question and stop, as if to await an answer, then just start talking again. Guests via satellite rarely have a monitor, so all they have to go on is a voice (or two) in their ears. But he also does the same thing to people sitting across the table from him! Seriously, he rally isn’t very good at doing a talk show. They should change the program’s name from “Hardball” to “Numbnuts”.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:54 pmChris Matthews has made a career out of being impulsive, but there are (many) times when he should think before he speaks. This is one of them. He is smart enough to realize that there is no comparison to China. Unfortunately, he didn’t, instead making a silly comparison that now is more uncritical fodder against a stimulus plan we truly need.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:55 pmMaybe he should stop having guests entirely. Just put him in front of the camera, dose him up on a dozen espressos and let him go! Better yet, tell him there are guests but don’t actually have any. It’s not like actually notices whether they’re there.
While they’re at it, remove his show from any news-related context whatsoever.
And change the name to Screwball.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:09 pmthank you for your delightful contribution to democracy, drick23…
January 26th, 2009 at 8:18 pmFlagged the troll.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:19 pmGood one, ElBruce. I’m glad other people notice these things, too.
They should go ahead and fire him so he can run for the Senate. He’ll lose and be out of a job.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:19 pmpoliticscorner,
Nicely said. When you say, “a stimulus plan we truly need,” I agree. However, today we learn that Citi is proceeding with the purchase of a $50 million airplane that can travel to Dubai on one tank of gas I cringe. Round trip, the feul costs alone approach $90,000. Those crooks can fly coach.
This stimulus plan, whatever it ends up looking like, must take care of regular Americans first: unborn babies, women’s health, bridges, roads, infrastructure . . . not jets and jet fuel for the cheaters, not waterparks . . . but RICO complaints agaiinst Fuld who, in a fraud against taxpayers, sold his multimillion dollar mansion to his wife for $100, to locate offshore accounts and recoup unpaid tax dollars and to seize funds absconded there, to house hedgefunders in federal prisons that are more like county jails than $16 million penthouse suites. We’ve got to save homeowners who have equity in their houses and people who want to and are willing to work. The list goes on . . . but let’s provide affordable healthcare to Americans so that manufacturers don’t go bankrupt . . . . let’s give college students a break so getting an education doesn’t eternally burden them with the threat of bandruptcy.
Damn, lets recoup the money from the financiers who concerted in a global effort to defraud the public. . . let’s use RICO to take their houses, their accounts and their assets from all corners. It will be a redistribution of wealth, but also a lesson learned . . . the one percenters have no proprietary interest in the public coffers. Stop lobbying and level the playing field.
I too am angry.
No more dynasties.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:21 pmi agree, wayne…
i like the name ’spitball’…
but, honestly, i seldom watch even these clips of matthews,
January 26th, 2009 at 8:23 pmlet alone watch the show… he annoys me too much.
politicscorner,
You are correct whe you state, “Chris Matthews has made a career out of being impulsive.”
Case in point: Tonight he drops off topic to suddenly asks one of his guest if he’s losing weight! OMG!?!
How did this Tweety Bird ever get on the air to begin with?
January 26th, 2009 at 8:24 pmAs Media Matters/County Fair pointed out today, Jack Cafferty of CNN made an identical comment about this. And this is the liberal mainstream media? Give me a break.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:26 pm’screwball’!!!
that’s a good one!
January 26th, 2009 at 8:27 pm“Screwloose”. Wait. That one doesn’t have “ball” or “hard” in it, but it fits him well.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:33 pmJUST HEARD ON COUNTDOWN:
“i really don’t know how we ‘re going to stay on the air without him.”
-keith, after announcing that phil alongi is leaving the show.
i don’t know who he is, i missed that part.
but, i sense a negative vibe…
January 26th, 2009 at 8:34 pmDiscussions about “time delay”? Oh yeah, I noticed that too! We’re so special, we’re having our own special conversation.” No matter that it’s insubstantial and completely off topic, the two of you are SO ****g special. Please delight us with more of your insights.
Waynie, I sooo like it when you turn your head 45 degrees to the left . . . it’s so . . . ohh . . . Pittish!
Ohhh La. Please. Take to the bedroom.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:35 pmWell, thanks for pointing that out, chucko33. Cafferty was wrong, too.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:36 pmFeel better now, Snobird? Good. Glad you got that out of your system.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:37 pmAfter a very serious discussion with top political analysts, we first decided that the the family planning legislation would be perfect for Wayne and Katy . . . heck, to two morons couldn’t spawn a three-eyed Rush . . then, on second thought, we concluded that it actually was Rush, a three-eyed troll: Wayne, the mentally impaired cheerleader; Katy, the sociopathic tool; and Rush, the Oz behind the curtain.
Good fun Rush! While family planning is an amazing plan, you clearly demonstrate that mental health planning must be on the front burner. What a flaming advocate you are for your cause (p.s. how many women do you think that you’ve impregnated in your sort of “rush of a life?” Paid for or not. You make lots of money and have health insurance, how many of then can you recognize and how many of those kids have you assisted? (Drug users are notorious for having dozens of kids they don’t know about). Is your DNA on file with the Florida Bureau of Investigations or the FBI?
January 26th, 2009 at 8:46 pmEveryone needs to do their own critical analysis of whatever stimulus plan results, as best they can – you won’t get it from the MSM. That means digging below deeper for information on parts of the plan that on the surface don’t seem like stimulus. Remember that this is an opportunity to not only stimulate but begin to change the economy, something simple tax cuts won’t do.
On another note, I like the name change form Matthew’s show to “Screwball.” Maybe on a future show “Screwball” can interview “Curveball” the Iraqi agent (and one of the alltime great ironic codenames) who gave the Bushies all that false information. Curveball can try to come clean, but Chris won’t allow him to get a word in edgewise or complete a thought.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:53 pmdrick23 Says:
haa wow that is funny. didnt know that was possible.
_____________
In your case, don’t worry.
Your inflatable doll can’t get pregnant.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:01 pmWayne,
Perhaps I shouldn’t have gone off on you.
I encounter women every day who are facing very difficult decisions. How to find a job with little or no education, how to deal with a boyfriend who promises a future but no commitment, who refuses to use a condom because it “just isn’t natural,” who promises a future but has none.
These women are lost and have no place to turn. Ann Coulter wrote a really nasty book about single mothers, but what are uneducated, poor simgle women to do? Many do not have the support of a nuclear family, have no hope or prospects, and rely simply upon the word of their gang-banging boyfriends for a future?
You offer what?
January 26th, 2009 at 9:03 pmWhat a bogus comparison.
The Communist Chinese initiated their “one child per family” policy back in the 1980s after cannibalism broke out following a severe drought in one of their provinces. Suddenly, certain Chinese Communist officials realized that they might have a wee bit of a population problem, so the “one child per family” policy was begun, to try to slow down their exploding population size. And yet, China now has over 1.3 billion citizens, and still growing, which will cause severe strain in the future in China (and neighboring countries) if the Himalayan glaciers continue to melt at their current rate.
On the other hand, family planning centers in the United States are there for any woman, Republican, Democrat or Independent, who seeks assistance. No one is coerced. No one is forced into visiting a family planning center. And only a relatively small percentage of what a family planning center does involves abortion.
So, anyone comparing Communist China’s forced “one child per family” policy and the totally democratic and American approach of family planning centers must be completely off their rocker.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:07 pmwizard2000 Says:
So, anyone comparing Communist China’s forced “one child per family” policy and the totally democratic and American approach of family planning centers must be completely off their rocker.
____________
Pretty succcinct summation, Wiz. But that won’t stop the wingnutters from spinning like tops. I this what the then next 4 years is going to be like… the righties soiling themselves endlessly every time Obama sneezes?
I also get kind of annoyed when people blast the Chinese over that issue. Perhaps they should actually UNDERSTAND what the situation is in China before condemning it.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:13 pmrachel in top form tonight…
and,
she just announced – blago tomorrow? did i hear right?
woo hoo!
January 26th, 2009 at 9:13 pmDick you incredibly stupid moron. What is with your gay fixation? Getting a little cramped in that closet? Time to come clean. When you are sitting naked in your mommys basement typing this insane stupidity then take a break and engage in your self abuse (clearly no woman would get within smelling distance of you) who are you fantasizing about? Tell the truth, its Tom Cruise isnt it?
January 26th, 2009 at 9:22 pmThe Republic of Stupidity Says:
drick23 Says:
haa wow that is funny. didnt know that was possible.
_____________
In your case, don’t worry.
Your inflatable doll can’t get pregnant.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Especially since it is CLEARLY an inflatable MANdolly
January 26th, 2009 at 9:23 pmDo these jokers have no concept of the cost of an unplanned and possibly unwanted child. Please realize that women who need assistance with contraception are low income, possibly very young, probably not yet well educated. Having an unplanned baby will likely end their educational progress.
Another mouth to feed with an inadequate job or even homeless.
These are also the babies that are most likely to be premature. Premature babies cost $ hundreds of thousands. If the mother has a substance abuse problem, the baby may require a $ million in health care.
Give women a choice at every stage of life and we can build lives and contribute rather than generating massive health costs.
P.S. Unwanted babies are also the most likely to require housing in the prison system.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:25 pmEugeneDebs Says:
Especially since it is CLEARLY an inflatable MANdolly
_____________
Shhhhhhuuuuuuddddder…
January 26th, 2009 at 9:27 pmP.S. How many more unplanned babies can earth’s atmosphere support.
P.P.S, I hope that everyone who opposes this provision is mugged on the way home by a kid who was, 16-20 years ago, an unplanned child.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:30 pmenough Says:
Do these jokers have no concept of the cost of an unplanned and possibly unwanted child?
_____________
Ya know… on the face of it, you’d think GOOPers would be signing onto to this like crazy, for all the reasons you just laid out. It leaves scratching my head and wondering, “Wha the hey is their problem”?
They hate abortion, loathe any sort of public assistance, from health care to housing, and despise public schools. Yet even talk about beefing up funding for contraceptives and family planning and they go absolutely apoplectic.
BUT… they’ll gladly pour money down that black hole known as “abstinence only” sex ed and completely refuse to acknowledge what a disaster it’s been.
And next thing ya know, some GOOPer legislator is getting busted on a sex charge, AGAIN.
Just amazing.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:33 pmwtf?
f uck off, snowbird… i think.
too weird.
.
confirmed – rachel to interview blagojevich tomorrow night…
she’s like a litte kid about it; so excited!
January 26th, 2009 at 9:36 pm“MR. BLAGO GOES
TO THE MEDIA”
ha!
January 26th, 2009 at 9:37 pmAs a percentage, little is invested in women’s health issues. More women graduate from masters and doctorial programs than men. Women constitute a greater percentage of our population. Women control more wealth than men. When is the representation of this country going to refect the math?
Women’s health demands more attention. The wage disperaty demands more attention. All minorities need to come to an understanding that it is not a question of the color of your skin, but who is raising your children and what opportunities are available to them that is at issue.
Forget who designed Michelle’s inauguration dress, question why, with good reason, she doesn’t want to enroll her daughters in a public school in Washington D.C. No one should blame her, but shouldn’t all of our children receive the best education possible, not just available, but possible?
I wouldn’t want my kids attending DC schools either, but I can’t afford a health club membership, had to drop my health insurance and give my puppy to my parents. People are struggling, $50 million jets, $51.3 Disney salaries, $500 million Tom Cruise contracts are just not cool. Shut down C.C. airport for the private jets . . . give me a break.
Shut down all corporate planes . . . if we’re paying their gas bills and they manipulated ours, screw them . . . I am not going to pay for their corporate perks happily.
Unlike many, I keep track of this stuff. In 2006 when the first Bear Stearns scandals broke, I was in the car with my mom and said this is huge. I then sold all of my bank stocks. The writing was on the wall and no one listened.
It is the job of our regulators to listen. I have not been badly hurt because I listened. I refused to represent clients drinking the Kool-Aid because they refused.
I am appalled at regulators who ignored obvious criminality and now claim, “Who knew!” I knew and I told you. It was obvious and any idiot knew.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:49 pmsplitting hairs, but spending money on contraceptives so women can avoid unwanted pregnancy and spending money on sex education and disease prevention is a much smarter approach than trying to insist or rely on abstinence. And having safe and legal abortion (maybe in association with adoption promotion) is important to avoid unsafe ‘back alley’ abortions.
But, associating this effort with the stimulus doesn’t make sense. And I’m assuming that Democrats are not really advocating a policy to reduce births, only unwanted pregnancy (as a personal liberty issue). If the idea is to reduce the birth rate for societal or economic reasons, it comes off as too ‘big brother’. And targeting low income women conjures some final solution correlation.
I think Democrats are trying to do the right thing with this measure. It probably should be separate from the stimulus and focus on the liberty of the women to avoid STDs and unwanted pregnancy – not on society selectively managing fewer offspring for those of the lower incomes.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:02 pmHow ’bout those X-Games!?
Shaun White . . . I’ll bet he supports family planning!
January 26th, 2009 at 10:04 pmbackup Says:
If the idea is to reduce the birth rate for societal or economic reasons, it comes off as too ‘big brother’.
______________
Uh… the only people claiming that are hysterical rightie drama queens.
______________
And targeting low income women conjures some final solution correlation.
______________
Well, geez, you’d think the GOOPers would be signing right on to this, huh? Wasn’t there a GOOPer Congresscritter from down South last year who advocated sterilizing low-income women?
Louisiana Republican Disciplined for Proposing to Pay Women to be Sterilized
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
By Mary Jane O’Brien
(CNSNews.com) – A Louisiana state lawmaker was removed from his position as vice chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee Monday, over a controversial proposal he made two weeks ago. The state Republican Party, meanwhile, is staying mum about the lawmaker–and his proposal.
Rep. John LaBruzzo, a Republican legislator from the New Orleans area, has been under fire for proposing to curb “generational welfare” by offering cash incentives to poor women who voluntarily undergo sterilization.
Why look! There was!
January 26th, 2009 at 10:10 pmbackup Says:
Actually it DOES make sense. The states usually pay that right now and the big ones are strapped from the financial crisis. By taking it over for a while we free up that money at the same time they can evade the financial fallout of the money NOT being spent and more women taking time off from the workforce and feeding more poor children. Take for instance California. In the same way that they world needs the US as an engine to pull it out of this global financial meltdown the COUNTRY needs California to pull US out. By itself it is one of the top ten economies in the entire world. By investing in helping them in the shortrun we can free them to rev it up and produce helping to pull the entire country out. At least that is the thinking. The truth is economics is a crapshoot. You make a plan and take your chances
January 26th, 2009 at 10:20 pmRepublic. I’m not supporting Republicans on this issue, but your comparison helps to make the point.
If the program is intended to educate, liberate and empower women (and sold that way), people will be on board. But, if it looks like government is intervening in women’s reproductive choices because it doesn’t want to deal with more and more low income kids (or to somehow engineer an improved society), people will resist.
I think Democratic intentions on this are good. I only think it’s being sold the wrong way.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:21 pmbackup,
Appropriating money for family planning is not designed to “spending money on contraceptives so women can avoid unwanted pregnancy and spending money on sex education and disease prevention” as an effort at stimulous. Clearly, family planning clinics don’t garner enough money to stimulate wealth; however, sick women, losing days off work or losing their jobs or having sick or dead babies will result in a loss of productivity.
Men don’t have babies, they don’t get ovarian cancer, post partum depression or menopause. Insurance companies pay for Viagra, they don’t pay for the pill.
Dads, it doesn’t matter if your illegitimate child is 60 years old and the mother of your child is a billionaire, you owe child support from birth until that child is 18 or until graduates from college.
Women bear the burden and too often biological fathers skate. Perhaps men should have to provide a DNA sample before obtaining a prescription . . . no doubt, Rush would object to that. It could be done without being an illegal search and seizure, if it didn’t go into a criminal, but only into a medical database. It would be voluntary and its use carefully circumscribed.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:25 pmEugeneDebs. you make a good point. But, I think it’s coming across as Democrats using the stimulus to jumpstart a non-related agenda item. Maybe Democrats just need a clearer message on how the programs going to save the states money.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:26 pmGreat points, enough.
And backup, I agree with you that the Dems aren’t ’selling’ it properly. I like Wexler, but he’s not the greatest spokesman. He tried, and didn’t do a bad job, but I think Chris’s ‘China’ comment really threw him and he blanked out. Jeez, if Matthews took 30 seconds to think, even he should have come up with at least a couple of great reasons to fund family planning and reproductive education.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:27 pmSnobird,
Two things. First, I was not ignoring the subject of the post for nothing. I was merely trying to build an argument for removing Chris matthews from any kind of live interview shows, especially with multiple guests. He mangles it all so badly that the viewer has a hard time follwoing him (as do, I’m sure, the guests he’s interviewing.) Was I too harsh on him? Well, at least I used his correct name, but I think he should stick to pre-taped interviews, once or twice a week, where he can ramblwe all he wants and they can edit it down later to make it look he actually asked the question that his guest actually answered. Rarely happens live with him.
Second, as it was my primary intent to make disparaging, and hopefully for him job-ending, remarks about Matthews, I wasn’t saying anything about the subject about which he was blathering. I find it incredible that the Republican Party (let’s face it folks, it exists only to serve Corporate America) does not understand the value of investing in our future. They epitomize greed and selfishness in every argument they make to get their way. If government spending does not produce instant results, they feel it’s money wasted. Never mind that they are the first and loudest to support no-bid, cost-plus contracts to criminal non-American companies like KBR (who got caught feeding our troops rancid meat and untreated tainted water). But try to spend money to educate the public, and they scream “government waste”. They are liars, Snobird, plain and simple. I bet if they include several billion dollars to just hand over (no bids) to a pregnancy test manufacturer for a few seriously overpriced, possibly faulty test kits (like Krusty’s Home Pregancy Test – Warning: May Cause Birth Defects), they would be more than happy. Obviously money invested in educating people about their health issues will save money down the road in healthcare costs. That’s precisely why the Republicans oppose it. It takes away future profits from their Corporate Sponsors who, in their eyes, are their true constituents.
Sorry if I upset you earlier with my cavalier attitude. I’m known for that around here.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:28 pmbackup,
States lose money when a woman is raped, or has a baby with an out of touch Dad, or has no health insurance and so can’t work. . . when a woman under any of those or any other health-female-related circumstances prevent her from being a productive member of society.
Ugly as these prospects are, they are real.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:39 pmWayne,
Point taken.
We’re good.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:42 pmGlad to hear that, Snobird. Peace to you, friend.
But I think you’ll agree, at least, that they shouldn’t allow Chris Matthews to discuss any subject related to women. He, and by extension, his employers, never end up looking good. :)
January 26th, 2009 at 10:45 pmWith regard to Matthwes, I think he made a mistake. As I said, it will be interesting to see whether he acknowledges it and retracts, or ignores it and moves on.
We’ve seen a lot of indications recently that the estabished media and new Administration would prefer to simply move on, me, I think that’s a bad move.
If we truly have the resolve to defend and protect, we must look back as well as forward. It’s not an option, it’s a mandate.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:03 pmSnobird, not to nitpick, but I think that you owe an apology to Katy, too. Both Wayne and Katy constantly contribute thoughtful and well-recommended comments at this site, and are well-respected by most visitors.
Thanks, and good night.
January 27th, 2009 at 12:24 amkaty Says:
wtf?
f uck off, snowbird… i think.
A thoughtful and well-recommended comment?
January 27th, 2009 at 1:51 amrepublicans hate facts . . . thanks for your support.
While meaniing no harm, I apparently offend.
Wow. I simply call it as I see it and if Katy and Wayne are so subtle in their irony that it’s not apparent . . . improve your irony . . . it’s so subtle . . .
Dying is easy, comedy is hard.
January 27th, 2009 at 3:06 amRestoring funding for family planning and reproductive choice is part of rebuilding the infrastructure that was dismantled during the Reagan years, and then again during the Bush years. A woman’s economic status as well as her future earnings potential is deeply affected by her childbearing choices, and those choices depend upon access to care. All women deserve access to family planning, as well as access to antenatal, intrapartal, and post-natal care.
January 27th, 2009 at 6:32 pmSnoBird Says:
Discussions about “time delay”? Oh yeah, I noticed that too! We’re so special, we’re having our own special conversation.” No matter that it’s insubstantial and completely off topic, the two of you are SO ****g special. Please delight us with more of your insights.
Waynie, I sooo like it when you turn your head 45 degrees to the left . . . it’s so . . . ohh . . . Pittish!
Ohhh La. Please. Take to the bedroom.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
————————————————————–
SnoBird Says:
After a very serious discussion with top political analysts, we first decided that the the family planning legislation would be perfect for Wayne and Katy . . . heck, to two morons couldn’t spawn a three-eyed Rush . . then, on second thought, we concluded that it actually was Rush, a three-eyed troll: Wayne, the mentally impaired cheerleader; Katy, the sociopathic tool; and Rush, the Oz behind the curtain.
Good fun Rush! While family planning is an amazing plan, you clearly demonstrate that mental health planning must be on the front burner. What a flaming advocate you are for your cause (p.s. how many women do you think that you’ve impregnated in your sort of “rush of a life?” Paid for or not. You make lots of money and have health insurance, how many of then can you recognize and how many of those kids have you assisted? (Drug users are notorious for having dozens of kids they don’t know about). Is your DNA on file with the Florida Bureau of Investigations or the FBI?
January 26th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Do you go off like this on everyone who goes even slightly off-topic? I simply felt that your responses to the ‘crime’ were inappropriately nasty, and that you singled out Wayne and Katy while other transgressors went unremarked. A simple “can we please focus on this very serious topic” would have done.
Aside from the above, I thought that you had excellent comments, and I recommended many of them.
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