Letters to the Editor
peeps1
Published Letters: 743 Editor's Choice: 8
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The extremes and the middle
[Read the article: Obama and late-term abortion]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]While the right wing uses "partial birth" abortion as a trojan horse to overturn abortion laws, abortion rights advocates for years used "rape and incest" as a reason to keep abortion an open option through an entire pregnancy. Since there is a paucity in statistics either way, I think it is reasonable to assume both are extremely rare.
We have extremists who have no respect for a woman's choice to govern her own body, and extremists who are loath to acknowledge that pregnancy actually is, a baby.
The fact, is, most of America is somewhere in the middle. We stare at gray areas between morality and self-determination, between the ultimate respect for our bodies' abilities to create life and the ultimate respect for our minds' choices to chose when and where, or not.
One person's "pandering" is another person's addressing of an issue that is the number one issue for millions of Americans. Addressing it may lack clarity, but that is pretty much the state of things for most humans when it comes to abortion. At least Obama is, pro-choice. That is what matters to me.
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And if the telecoms won?
[Read the article: Congress votes to immunize lawbreaking telecoms, legalize warrantless eavesdropping]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have asked this before, and never received an answer so I will ask again...
What if the telecoms would win their case? Does that have implications for the right to privacy?
Could plantiffs realistically gain access to secret documents?
Could a loss have been used as a precedent to overturn Roe V Wade?
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to Connie Boyd
[Read the article: Obama and late-term abortion]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I never said consideration of rape is extreme nor irrelevent. What I did mean to refer to are extremes within both views.
Rape (and incenst) are used as a major reasons to keep abortion a legal option through an entire pregnancy. If you accept that there are 2 million abortions per year, 30,000 = 1.7% of abortions. While I am not saying that these circumstances are insignificant and they certainly are significant to the victims, within the entire world of abortion they are rare circumstances and yet loom large in the pro-legalized abortion arguments.
What you don't hear much at all about is reason #1, that alot of women get pregnant and don't want to be. I think the reason is pro-choice people themselves know that there are genuine moral ambiguities and are afraid that if they are discussed openly those acknowledgments will give ammunition to the enemies. Sort of like, if you talk about the reasons for the Iraq War that don't tow the White House line you are aiding and abetting the enemy. There is a lack of acknowledgment that at some point we are talking about a baby and at some point, it is incumbant upon society to determine when it starts protecting it. I think society at large is way ahead of both ardent pro and anti legalized abortion activists on this one, and the extremes on both ends of the spectrum need to catch up.
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Get behind the ACLU
[Read the article: Betrayed by Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]They have always been the best and most effective organization to fight these good fights. If you haven't been a member before, become a member now.
I admit I don't understand Obama's motives and don't like his vote, but I will still vote for him. The leftover Naderites will continue to justify themselves (and they call US starry-eyed?) The Clinton supporters, who chose to overlook her trying to cheat to win the nomination, have little room for lectures on righteousness but will demand it anyway. Move over and let them continue to lick their wounds.
There is a point when you choose your battle. There were 40 lawsuits against the telecoms. Who were they? Were they good cases? Did we want them? Did they represent us?
There is alot of work to do. If we need to concentrate on getting the Republicans out of power and concurently, fight this vote so be it. We CAN think and chew gum and the same time can't we? This isn't an either/or proposition.
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to -- bernbart
[Read the article: Betrayed by Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The problem with the current FISA as I understand it, is before you needed a warrent for an individual (i.e. probable cause) and now, not really, an entire class of people can be targeted.
Experts on this, do I have this correct?
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to -- FaulknerJr
[Read the article: Betrayed by Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yes he does have it right. Thanks for posting that.
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to -- FaulknerJr again
[Read the article: Betrayed by Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Well it is a good last paragraph also!
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Very good opinion
[Read the article: Learning to live with the "new" Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This articulates many of the thoughts in my own head, so thank you.
I never thought Obama was a progressive. He never pretended to be. He is a moderate liberal. He was always pro-choice and anti-war (the meme I keep reading that his anti-war stance is based on 1 speech is balony), and yet he always said he would not cut off funds to troops in action. The FISA vote was a genuine flip flop that I hope was for simple cold and calculating electioneering. (This election is hardly in the bag, never count the neocons out.) Anyone who wants to criticize for that, have at it.
However, if you supported Obama and still do, some people post that you are worshipping at some sort of Obama alter, rather than making decisions based on reality and what is (dare I say it) the best chance for progressives in the long run. My opinion is they are not thinking strategically.
To doloresflower - I have a dear friend, a gay Clinton supporter, who seriously was positing the same thing. I point out sexual orientation only because you just don't expect that out of that community.
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clarification...
[Read the article: Learning to live with the "new" Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]However, if you supported Obama and still do, some people post that you are worshipping at some sort of Obama alter, rather than making decisions based on reality and what is (dare I say it) the best chance for progressives in the long run. My opinion is THOSE THAT CRITICIZE are not thinking strategically.
sorry folks
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to -- leftistgadfly
[Read the article: Learning to live with the "new" Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yes. Maybe they need to watch a couple of Michael Moore movies to remind them.