(P1) Political
Why I Believe Roe v. Wade Will Not Be Overturned
There are so many single-issue voters out there that if suddenly the entire abortion issue were taken off the national stage, many Christian and conservative voters would look around and quite possibly start noticing the plight of the poor and switch their allegiance to candidates like John Edwards who are addressing that or, they might suddenly start noticing the totally immoral war in Iraq, find real distaste in their government's use of torture and white phosphorous, and look toward candidates who develop ways to end America's huge mistakes made in their name under the current administration.
So it doesn't take a great leap to see that the religious conservatives need the abortion controversy to stay center-stage. Let's face it, nobody likes abortion. What we accept and forward is a woman's right to choose and see it as an issue of privacy restricted to the woman and her doctor. But nobody, except the truly nutty, would say, "I want to have lots and lots of abortions."
So then, isn't it possible that, with the issue of abortion and Roe v. Wade in the forefront, the Republicans have a target and a rallying cry? Without it, what do they have? 1. Spending issues? Bush is the biggest spender of all time, much to the chagrin of his own conservative base. 2. The Patriotism Issue? This war is wildly unpopular. 3. Scare Tactics? This is beginning to work against the administration. Bush's "I'll keep you safe" has turned into a joke.
Thus, Roe v. Wade will be kept constantly dangling before us and especially before the Christian conservative "base" like an ugly multicolored pinata that they love to beat on and extract some candy from but which they've molded with a very thick unbreakable hide and a gordian rope. Roe belongs more to them than to us.
Please Post Your Comments Here about any of the above and/or Read the Comments of Others. You can sign in as "blogger" or "other" but add your name to your text. Or email me at edcoletti@sbcglobal.net. We need your feedback.
(P2) Poetical
this rendering
by Edward Coletti
in process
growing old and fat
62 and 6 foot 2
some special symmetry
this numerology
stretching out
this frame of me
blending edges concealing
adipose poundage
(Young girls die
for breasts like mine)
While some men eat to live,
I live to eat.
I’ve tired
of too much exercise.
I’m bored with dieting.
I’m 62-years-old
for God’s sake!
Haven’t I earned the right
to enjoy myself?
Yes, I’ll die
better for having enjoyed eating
than for hosting a somber party crashed
by obnoxious cancer cells,
and which is more fun
a calorie-counting
weight lifting runner
filled with theory and fact
and self-righteous virtue
or a beer-guzzling,
sausage-eating
wine-nuanced
haute cuisine and
pizza-loving
funny boy?
Which one would
you want for a lifelong friend?
So perhaps I won’t live forever
or even to be a hundred and thirteen
but, hey
neither will I,
like Jackie Onassis
ever regret having wasted my time
“on all those extra situps”
Better another Guinness,
a full-bodied old vine zin,
a perfectly thin blackened
brick oven pizza crust,
a fat-marbled angus
juicy with varietal flavors,
gelato so dense that
its fruit
under pressure
turns to diamonds
(but french fries
may only be sampled with prudence
since my gall bladder refuses
to welcome them comfortably home)
(P3) Philosophical
A Bit of Pandemic Humor
6 comments:
interestingly enough, I met Jane Roe at a convention last week(?) and I wasn't too impressed. For the amount of press she receives, she's not a very good spokesperson.
What sort of convention was it, Roy? By the way, I met a very good friend of yours at the City of Santa Rosa yesterday, by phone!
Loved your peom it's an instant classic
I think your opinion that the Relious Right keeps the Roe v. Wade debate alive is inaccurate. The Religious Right is a component of all this, but certainaly not the sole driver. Roe v. Wade is still OUR problem.
Roe v. Wade is kept alive for two reasons in my opinion. First, Roe v. Wade is almost always used as a Litmus test by the Senate Judical Committee to determine if a justice is an "originalist" (think Thomas) or "activist" (think Ginsberg). Remove the Litmus test and a big part of Roe v. Wade's continued publicity fades away.
Second Roe v. Wade is a cash cow for the special interest groups, on both sides, that garner donations to support their respective positions and the politicans that receive the subsequent contributions. Neither side or the politicans really wants the debate to go away because there's too much money on the table.
Cynical? Yes. Accurate? Probably, when you really think about it.
My two cents,
Paul
Fully agree with your Roe v Wade piece. The Right probably is not concious of this fact and if R v W goes away it will be replaced with something else.
"Fat Poem" is great. The answer, I believe, is to live fast.
As for Democrat presidential candidates, I don't think John Edwards is the guy. And Oprah may have all the qualifications, but a black woman is not going to get elected in our life time.
Hey, here's a thought (not on the above directly). What if the US banned most imported goods? Not essentials, of course, and not all at once. Something to think about over roast turkey, sausage dressing, mashed potatoes with lots of butter, pumpkin pie heaped with whipped cream, a couple of glasses of fine Port with several slices of Stilton and several bottles of cabernet and fume blanc. I've just made myself hungry and am heading for the fridge.
Duncan, Loved everything you had to say. The only one I disagree with is the protectionist bit about barring all imports. My '99 Toyota Camry has 130,000 miles, and I still can't even buy a brake job. Original brakes. Bullet proof mechanical car. If we banned imports, the US cars would get even worse than the crap they've been putting out for 40 years. Built-in obsolescence has just about rendered the US Auto Industry obsolete (Read GM).
By the way, I've made myself hungry too, but I lost my front tooth the night before last, so I have to be real careful about eating little bite sized morsels so as not to disturb my temporary chiclet.
Paul, as usual, you make me think. Thanks for the balance. Yours, unlike Fox's, is real!
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