Gonzales v. Carhart

Almost drowned out in the coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings comes news that the Supreme Court has upheld a Congressional ban ostensibly on a specific late-term abortion procedure. I freely confess that I haven't studied the decision much at all, but Alas, A Blog has a good round-up of opinion from the progressive blogosphere.

Republicans Hate Jesus

Well, that's a bit of an exagerration. Rather, Republican leaders hold in visceral contempt the very con-artists and blasphemers they use to convince Christians to support the GOP's fundamentally anti-Christian (not to mention un-American) political agenda. This should really surprise no one--why do you think that no serious attempt has been made to completely outlaw abortion in the six years the Republic Party has controlled all three branches of government (four if you count FOX News)? Because it's too valuable an issue to lose. And, sadly, the Church has made itself completely subservient to Caesar by blindly following false prophets like the unholy trinity of Dobson, Robertson and Falwell.

UPDATE: Kos has the Tele-Pharisees' latest abomination, a Colorado television ad where (I kid you not) God and Moses speak out against raising the minimum wage. Un-frickin'-believable.

Is God Green?

Excellent, excellent Bill Moyers special on PBS the other night about the rise of evangelical ecologists. It was very uplifting spiritually to see other people of faith who recognize that to pollute the environment is to literally spit on God's benevolence and generosity in providing humanity what is (for all we know) the only habitable planet anywhere in the Universe. Likewise, it was disheartening to see the power of the False Profits (particularly Dobson the Apostate) to cow and bully Christians who fail to kowtow to his immoral, anti-Christian and un-American Social Darwinist agenda. Make no mistake, however; these eco-Christians have not been suddenly transformed into tree-hugging liberals. They are still opposed to abortion and still oppposed to gay marriage. But, as with hunters (another powerful and potentially pro-environmental constituency) environmentalists should not be so blinded by single issues (the same sin they accuse the Right of) that they fail to embrace allies where they find them.

These People Scare the Holy Hell Out of Me

From Voice of a Native Son, several good links on "Jesus Camp," a truly horrific documentary depicting very young children being indoctrinated by a cult leader posing as a Christian pastor, and including such fun activities as worshipping a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush, being exposed to graphic anti-abortion rhetoric and speaking in tongues. The pastor also expresses admiration for suicide bombers and encourages the children to think about "dying for their faith." As a Christian, this has got to be the most stomach-churning psychological abuse I have ever seen. Islam isn't the only great religion that has been hijacked by fanatics.

Fire Thunder Reinstated

Oglala Sioux Tribal President Cecilia Fire Thunder was restored to office by a tribal judge yesterday, due to violations of the law by the Tribal Council that impeached her. Fire Thunder had been first suspended, then removed from office for suggesting that a Planned Parenthood clinic be opened on the Pine Ridge Reservation in response to a new South Dakota law that makes virtually all abortions illegal.

Abortion and Indian Country

Cecilia Fire Thunder, first female President of the Oglala Sioux, was impeached and removed from office on June 29 with just five months left on her term for threatening to open a women's health clinic on the Pine Ridge Reservation in response to South Dakota's near-total ban on all abortions.

Abortion and Indian Country

As if the debate over abortion couldn't get any more bitter and divisive, now tribal sovereignty gets thrown into the mix. In response to South Dakota's ban on virtually all abortions, Oglala Sioux Chief Cecilia Fire Thunder is considering opening a clinic on the reservation. This is a pretty blatant challenge in one of the most Indian-hostile states in the Union.

Drink Up While You Still Can

From My DD. The first horrible decision of the new, post O-Connor SCOTUS may not be on abortion, but gutting the Clean Water Act. The Right Wing war against our children and grandchildren continues...

Safe, Legal and Rare

The Bull Moose discusses a proposal by Democrats for Life and Senator Hillary Clinton to reduce the number of abortions in America by tackling the root of the problem, and not giving in to the feel-good but ultimately ineffectual expedient of outlawing abortion.