Abortion News Blog

Supreme Court loosens restrictions on election ads

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

WASHINGTON Free speech rights take precedence over government restrictions on political advertising, the Supreme Court ruled Monday in a decision that could set the stage for further challenges to federal limitations on money in politics.In a 5-4 ruling, the court eased legal barriers aimed at corporate- and union-financed television ads, opening a door for interest groups to become an influential voice in the closing days of an election.The decision upheld an appeals court ruling that a Wiscon...

SUPREME WIN FOR INDY ADS

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

June 26, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court yesterday relaxed political advertising restrictions aimed at corporate- and union-funded television ads.

The court's 5-4 ruling could become a key factor in the upcoming presidential primaries, giving interest groups a louder and more influential voice in the closing days before those contests as well as the general election.

The decision upheld an appeals court ruling that a Wisconsin anti-abortion group should have been allowed to air ads during the final two months before the 2004 elections. The law unreasonably limits speech and violates the group's First Amendment rights, the court said.

Survey hints that when it comes to sex, many of us are all talk

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

Or maybe nobody is telling the truth. Or nobody but me and I'm not telling, not to the federal government anyway, which suddenly needs to know how many sex partners we've had.

The stated reason for gathering such sensitive statistics in computer-assisted interviews, which are supposed to have made the 6,237 men and women ages 20 to 59 who participated feel all comfy-candid, is disease control. The National Center for Health Statistics, which is an arm of the Centers for Disease Control that I never heard of, needs this info so researchers can have something to laugh about at office parties.

Just kidding. This is serious stuff as it pertains to disease transmission, birth control, abortion, cohabitation, the best pickup bars and which cool cars work best on which target audience. All this while supplying more things for activist Christians and ardent women in flat shoes to argue about outside the Supreme Court.

U.S. Muslims face a double threat

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

Muslims in America are now battling for religious freedom and personal safety on two fronts: prejudice from without and extremism from within.

How well they — and we — address both challenges will shape the contours of freedom and security for all Americans in the difficult years ahead.

On the first front, the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a report last week indicating a 25 percent increase in complaints of anti-Muslim bias from 2005 to 2006. The incidents range from attacks on mosques to discrimination in the workplace and schools.

What if the notion that conservatism reigns is hype?

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

Impatient driver is waiting at intersection as pedestrian crosses in front of him. Pedestrian is slow. Driver leans from his window and yells, "Get out of the street you (bleep) liberal."

As I said, the story - I picked it up in a magazine somewhere - probably didn't happen. But it sure feels true, doesn't it?

We are, or so we have lately been told, no longer a nation of red, white and blue. Now we are simply red and blue - squishy, effete, egg-headed, godless and liberal along the coasts; principled, tough, instinctive, God-fearing and conservative in between. It is a mantra that has been repeated to such a degree that nobody bothers to question it anymore: Conservatism is triumphant; liberalism is spent.

Campaign ad limits relaxed

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

The landmark law, named for Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), bars corporations and unions from using general treasury funds to pay for "electioneering communications." These are broadcast ads referring to a federal candidate airing in "blackout" periods within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election in the area in which the candidate is running for office.

At issue were ads that Wisconsin Right to Life began running in July 2004 and planned to run throughout August, despite the blackout period leading to the September primary election in which Feingold was a candidate.

The ads criticized an unidentified "group of senators" for filibustering federal judicial nominees and urged people to contact Feingold and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and tell them to oppose the filibuster. A filibuster prevents nominees from having an up-or-down vote in the Senate.

Conservative, good; liberal, bad ? or not?

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

Impatient driver is waiting at intersection as pedestrian crosses in front of him. Pedestrian is slow. Driver leans from his window and yells, ?Get out of the street you (bleep) liberal.?

As I said, the story ? I picked it up in a magazine somewhere ? probably didn?t happen. But it sure feels true, doesn?t it?

We are, or so we have lately been told, no longer a nation of red, white and blue. Now we are simply red and blue ? squishy, effete, egg-headed, godless and liberal along the coasts; principled, tough, instinctive, God-fearing and conservative in between. It is a mantra that has been repeated to such a degree that nobody bothers to question it anymore: conservatism is triumphant, liberalism is spent.

Court loosens campaign ad restrictions

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court loosened political advertising restrictions aimed at corporate- and union-funded television ads Monday, a ruling that could give interest groups a louder and more influential voice in the 2008 presidential election.

The 5-4 decision upheld an appeals court ruling that an anti-abortion group should have been allowed to air ads during the final two months before the 2004 elections. The law unreasonably limits speech and violates the groups First Amendment rights, the court said.

Discussion of issues cannot be suppressed simply because the issues may also be pertinent in an election, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. Where the First Amendment is implicated, the tie goes to the speaker, not the censor.

Court rules for funding of issue ads

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

Diversity's day of reckoning at the Supreme Court

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

Sometime between now and July 4, the Supreme Court may hand down the most important decision on racial discrimination in a generation because it could determine whether the diversity movement has legal authority.

The suspense is much less a matter of which way the court rules on the legality of how students are assigned to schools in Seattle and Louisville, than how the decision is written.

Even supporters of the school-assignment plans that aim for certain racial balances in the student populations in those cities' schools and their allies worry that the court's new conservative majority will say their plans are unconstitutional.

'Knocked Up' should have talked about abortion

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

It's not often that I go to see a comedy that makes me laugh so hard I almost blow Diet Coke and popcorn through my nose and yet frustrates me so much that I leave the theater wrung out and let down. That's how I felt after I saw the much-heralded "Knocked Up," a movie that is far smarter and funnier than its central premise.

In case you haven't seen the reviews or the raging discussion about it in the blogosphere, "Knocked Up" is the story of an attractive young TV reporter who gets pregnant after a drunken one-night stand with a good-natured slacker whom she meets in a bar - and she decides to have the baby. The option of having an abortion is barely even mentioned, and she proceeds to drag the slacker into the gynecologist's exam room with her for her first ultrasound. Suddenly, she expects him to be a central part of her life and the baby's. And comedy ensues.

A coming abortion earthquake?

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

McDermott is a professor of religion at Roanoke College.

Two months ago the tectonic plates shifted. Both sides in our nation's culture war are now predicting a coming earthquake, triggered by the April 18 Supreme Court decision upholding the 2003 congressional ban on partial-birth abortion.

Liberals fear and conservatives hope that this will lead to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. As The New York Times editorialized April 19, this decision "could ultimately be used to undermine and perhaps eliminate abortion rights eventually."

Abortion is a sad reflection of our times

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

Kudos to The Free Lance-Star for supporting the Supreme Court's decision to ban partial-birth abortions ["FLS stand on partial-birth abortion is really far right," June 18].

Please do not change your position on this very important matter. Please continue the effort to make readers aware of this barbaric procedure, which sadly reflects the culture of our times. I would rather be far right than far wrong.

Barbara Carr

Abortion Politics: The Third Rail (7 Letters)

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

I must voice serious disagreement with ?Why Pro-Choice Is a Bad Choice for Democrats,? by Melinda Henneberger (Op-Ed, June 22). Simply put, if the Democrats abandon their pro-choice platform, I (and millions of others) will be forced to find a party more in line with our beliefs and values.

Those zealots who force their anti-choice views on the rest of us inflame and scare me. Can they not understand what it means to be left without a legal and safe option to correct a ?mistake?? Can they not understand that allowing others (usually men) to decide ?what is best for us? makes us sick with disgust?

It?s all about choice ? my choice. And I?ll do everything I can to preserve it.

Bigger issue than health care? Illegal immigrants

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:02:51 +0000

Illegal immigration has surpassed the rising cost of health care on Oregon's worry list and now is overshadowed only by public education concerns, according to a new statewide poll.

The findings come as Oregon lawmakers are wrapping up the legislative session without an immigration reform plan and as Congress wrestles with a bill that could lead to eventual U.S. citizenship for millions of undocumented workers.

"This is an issue more and more Oregonians feel strongly about," said Adam Davis of the independent Portland polling firm Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall, which conducted the survey.

Courts decision overlooks safety of women

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:11:08 +0000

My friend, Gloria, insists on eating nothing that looks like what it actually is.

That goes for sea bass propped on their tummies with their heads still attached. It applies equally to a dead Cornish hen lying on her back with her legs splayed out to the sides. Tuna from the can would be fine. Veal works OK, because its commonly sliced thin and disguised with Parmesan cheese to resemble eggplant, and its name doesnt call to mind a former animal.

In my court of law, being queasy is wholly admissible. But dont pretend youre being kind to animals if you ask the chef to dismember, gut, debone and chop them up before you (and they) are served.

Early or not, 2008 is on voters' minds

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:11:08 +0000

Voters watch and wait to decide on the presidential candidates.

WESLEY CHAPEL - As traffic crawled along State Road 54 on a recent muggy afternoon, Laura Demes lugged groceries across a shadeless parking lot.

With family visiting from out of state and a baby boy due in September, you'd think a presidential election 17 months off would be the last thing on her mind.

Letters: June 25, 2007

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:11:08 +0000

Candidates such as Giuliani provide a political home for some in GOP

Re: ?A pro-life stance is an election winner for Republicans,? Commentary, June 21

Daniel Allott?s op-ed points out the uneasy coexistence of two groups within the Republican Party. To many people like me, the GOP is our political home because it is the party of freedom, as opposed to the ?socialism light? Democrats offer. We are Republicans because we want a government that does only what is necessary to provide for needs we cannot fulfill ourselves.

McMenemy to be sentenced for clinic fire

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:11:08 +0000

The last chapter should be written this week in the bizarre case of a Detroit man who used his car to try to burn down the Edgerton Women’s Health Care Center in Davenport, mistakenly believing abortions were performed there.

Today, pregnant women sit and wait for appointments in the remodeled lobby, the same one that was left shattered and water-logged after the Sept. 11 clinic attack.

David Robert McMenemy left his home in the Motor City suburbs last summer and drove for weeks. Eventually, he reached the Quad-Cities.

Readers' letters: June 25, 2007

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:11:08 +0000

As a lifelong Greenville resident and one who takes pride in this area's textile heritage, I find it quite disheartening to see that nothing has been done with the old Poe Mill site since the mill itself burned down. It's been nearly four years, and all one sees when looking at the remains are weeds, a pile of bricks, old carts and lots of garbage. It really begs the question of whether this is a safety hazard to the area children who might choose to play there.

There have been great things to happen in the Poe Mill community in recent years, no question about it. However, my honest opinion concerning the remains of the mill is that the site either needs to be somehow re-developed or just leveled off completely.

Either way, it's high time something gets done here. It is unsightly at best in our burgeoning region of the Upstate and very derelict.

Immigration Reform Could Be Key to Influential Latino Vote in 2008

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:11:08 +0000

WASHINGTON — As lawmakers return to the Senate to try to come up with an immigration reform bill that will please border security hawks, union workers and big employers, the debate could take its toll on 2008 presidential candidates who dare to ignore the Latino vote.

Registered Hispanic voters — numbering about 9 million — are poised to make a show of force in the 2008 presidential election. But with dissatisfaction over the immigration debate on the rise, Republicans who had gained ground in 2000 and 2004, largely thanks to candidate George W. Bush, are seeing their once-expanding Hispanic base shrink.

"Some of the politicians on the anti-illegal immigrant side of the fence have said some things that are not just directed at immigrants, but at all Latinos," charged Brent Wilkes, executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). "In the end, it could energize the Latino vote. It's certainly hurt a lot of the goodwill President (George W.) Bush helped to establish within the Republican Party."

What is Bloomberg's niche?

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:11:08 +0000

In politics, actions always speak louder than words. So even though he has not announced he is running for President, Michael Bloomberg's action of switching from Republican to independent sure look like he is ready to try.

So what is Bloomberg's niche should he decide to run? To sum it up, the niche is frustration. Bloomberg could very well reach out to voters with national frustrations about the country, specifically with political parties.

People have seen what the current power players in Washington have to offer and they are not impressed.

Letters to the Editor: June 25

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:11:08 +0000

After George W. Bush uttered the words "weapons of mass destruction" for the 100th time, I decided that he had already made up his mind to attack Iraq. Even Colin Powell, an honorable soldier, was either duped or coerced into supporting the war.

I wondered why Bush would even consider such a move, especially in light of world opinion Was it for control of the vast oil reserves, or revenge for the plot to kill his father, as some believed?

None of this made sense. We already had a death grip on Iraq's oil production, Saddam had control of sectarian violence, and our only friend he was a threat to was Israel.

Times Writers Group: Let's look at religion more broadly

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:11:08 +0000

Religion and science and evangelism and atheism are hot subjects in the news. The cacophony of voices would be less confusing if these subjects were discussed in a more inclusive way. In fact, I think they ought to be taught in schools.

In the St. Cloud area, it's all about believing in Jesus or not. A Jewish rabbi is apt to be asked what he thinks about Jesus. Why should he think about Jesus? The questioner is locked into the Christian system of thought.

My background roots me in Catholicism. Every school I've graduated from — grade school to graduate school — has been Catholic. So Christian terms such as "Reign of God" and "paschal lamb" reverberate with meaning for me, but Buddhist, Muslim or Native American terms do not.

Today's Letters: Demonstrators promote bigotry, not Christianity

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:11:08 +0000

You know, maybe the people who have voiced their opinions that the protesters should be allowed at the St. Pete Pride parade are right. If they voice the word of God as heard through the Bible, perhaps they have the right to be heard.

My concern is that they clearly have not gone far enough. I think we need to start protesting at divorce courts, as Jesus Christ stated that divorce is akin to adultery. I think we should allow protesters to stand outside of the homes of unmarried couples and assail them with quotations from the Bible that condemn sex outside of marriage. Maybe we should pass a city ordinance that would allow righteous Christians to throw stones at the cars of women who are pregnant out of wedlock. That is clear...

The Bible is full of passages that allow acts that we would today find offensive. These protesters are not voicing the word of God, they are voicing their own insecurity and prejudice. The question that we as a city must ask of ourselves is: What bigotry and prejudice is acceptable?