choice

Presumptive Republican Presidential Candidate, John McCain, wormed out of answering a reporter's question today as to whether or not he believes that health insurance companies should be required to cover birth control for women, particularly considering they cover Viagra for men.

McCain has long held radical positions on reproductive issues, having consistently voted AGAINST:

*Ensuring women's access to birth control

*Providing educational information for teens on birth control

*Requiring health insurance companies to cover birth control

McCain has stated that Roe vs. Wade "must be overturned." His position is that abortion should be not legal even in cases of rape, incest or life threatening conditions for the mother.

Cross-posted at The Stinging Nettle.

Dear Mr. Nader:

I remember you told us there was no difference between Gore and Bush, between Republicrats and Democans. Remember that? You fooled 97,000 Floridians into voting for you because you convinced them their vote would have no effect anyway. Remember that? And then Gore won Florida, but not convincingly enough to avoid having it taken away?

Remember that? And then you still said it wouldn't make any difference.

Guess what?

You're wrong.

Our friends in conservo-land celebrate this ruling as some kind of victory.

As you probably have heard, the US Supreme Court today upheld the federal abortion ban. Reminiscent of Bill Frist in the sad Terry Schiavo case, we now have a cabal of privileged men stepping in to overrule the judgments of front-line physicians. This ruling could mean the end of medically necessary abortions for women who are only 12 weeks into pregnancies that could cost them their lives. For more on the issue, you can go here.

And if that weren't bad enough, the Theocrats here in North Carolina are also getting in on the act to impose their moral judgments on women who - for whatever reasons - choose to have abortions. Under a new bill submitted by Party of Greed Representative Linda Johnson, North Carolina would trundle back to the dark ages with a host of paternalistic restrictions that tell women they are too stupid to know what they're doing with their bodies. Here's the sorry piece of legislation, and here's the email address of the sorry person who submitted it: lindajo@ncleg.net

It's always dangerous when the Party of Greed has too much time on its hands. Because when they're out of power, looking wistfully at the mean old liberals working for progress, they always turn their attention to our bedrooms. The radical right knows that sex sells, and there's nothing like a Salem witch hunt into the secret desires of the flesh to turn out the wingers in full force. It's the original sin, the First Wedge Issue, it's guaranteed to mobilizing the base, pun intended.

It has really been quite remarkable how so many Republican perverts and adulterers have successfully ridden the 'sex sucks' bandwagon to fame and fortune. With luminaries like Jim Baker, Ted Haggard, Mark Foley, and more, the trail of hypocrisy runs full circle through the organized religion with a hard stop at the feet of the Frat Boy in Chief who currently despoils the White House. With all his phobias about sexual intercourse, it's too bad King George didn't practice abstinence-only when he planted the seeds for these unfortunate creatures.

In any case, the weirdness about sex got even stranger this fall when Eric Keroack was named deputy assistant secretary of population affairs by the Bush administration. Carole Joffe of the Longview Institute, has an excellent analysis that's well worth reading.