90%, fact vs. political jargon

see stephen colbert video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EaB69vv-iY

Sentator Jon Kyl will hopefully always be remembered for his claim that 90% of  Planned Parenthood services are abortion as well as his staff’s follow up comment that this claim was not meant to be “factual.”

I sincerely hope that this political misstep will be remembered for its sheer insanity as well as the fact it illustrates, the GOPs reliance on people not checking facts but accepting political jargon.

The fact is abortions are 3% of Planned Parenthoods services and none of those abortions are paid for with federal money. That is the fact.

As Gail Collin’s points our in her Sunday column, this fight over Planned Parenthood is not about facts or even abortion, it is about rallying the base against reproductive rights.

Collin’s writes “For eons now, people have been wondering why the two sides can’t just join hands and agree to work together to reduce the number of abortions by expanding the availability of family-planning services and contraception.The answer is that a large part of the anti-abortion community is also anti-contraception.”

Read Collin’s full article here.

Gail Collin’s describes Republican’s War on Women

Gail Collin’s is a personal hero of mine. Her recent op ed piece about Republican’s War on Women describes the current illogical political jargon so perfectly I have nothing to do but copy and paste:

“Our legislative slogan for 2011: Let Them Use Leeches.

“What is more fiscally responsible than denying any and all funding to Planned Parenthood of America?” demanded Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, the chief sponsor of a bill to bar the government from directing any money to any organization that provides abortion services.

Planned Parenthood doesn’t use government money to provide abortions; Congress already prohibits that, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. (Another anti-abortion bill that’s coming up for hearing originally proposed changing the wording to “forcible rape,” presumably under the theory that there was a problem with volunteer rape victims. On that matter at least, cooler heads prevailed.)”

Read the full article here

Book Review and Thank you to Gail Collins

Dear Gail (can I call you Gail, as one woman to another?),

I know this thank you is coming late, a solid year after your book “When Everything Changed,” was released but the recent history of the American woman was not a subject I could ingest in one sitting.

Your stories of women’s chore-filled, career-driven or baby-burdened lives need to stew a while, allowing time for this 20-soemthing-young-woman to experience and understand the dreams of the waves before me and understand how my own frustratingly convoluted goals fit into the “grand feminist movement.”

I started the book in Dec 2099 in Green Bay, WI b the proverbial fire after my cautiously-feministy mother saw the book and Barnes and Noble and thought of me. I finished it 2 days ago crammed into the corner of the El as fall is settling into Chicago.

While reading your book, I have had 2 breakups (one heart-wrenching, one expected, both needed), 2 job changes (one desperately needed, one pleasantly unexpected, both heart-lifting), and 2 apartments (on filled with cats, lesbians and wine and one filled with curling irons, sports memorabilia and wine). I’ve lost 10 pounds (thank you break up number one), gained 10 pounds (thank you relationship number two) and lost 5 again (thanks week-long-self-inflicted-torture-in-the-form-of-a-smoothie-puree-cleanse). I’ve thought about moving to FL (to mooch off my retired parents), teaching English in Japan (because it’s Japan) or going to grad school in Portland (because that is what quasi-hippies do when they finish undergrad). I’ve pondered my place in this world and much like the young women in your book, I have wondered If I was doing the right thing for myself, for my family or for women everywhere.

I did not find the answers in your book.

But I found that I was in good company. This gives me a sense of ease of life, a much needed emotion, that can’t go without a thank you.

Thank you for writing a book that gave me a tribe of women to ask for advice, to provide strength and most of all to give unwavering sympathy even in opposition.

My goal now is to love life for my freedom of adventure and thank every woman who got onto a bus, walked in a rally or sat at a board table and gave me this freedom.

Sincerely,

An-adventure-seeking, career-driven, future baby-making, long winded young woman