Whose attitude toward abortion is based on a very twisted internalization of the doctrine of "original sin." In case you haven't been indoctrinated into this view, the basics are that God hates all humans from the moment we're born into the world because as we come into the world, we're infected by that nasty, deadly virus, "original sin." Although we might be wonderful and do amazing things in our lives, this viral infection makes God regard us as something along the lines of stinking pond scum. Evidentally there's something about the mother's birth apparatus (even in the case of c-sections) that's infectious so it's HER fault we get infected and it's her fault God hates us.

Of course this line or "reasoning?" stands in marked contrast to the doctrine of the immaculate conception which proclaims that Jesus, though naturally born from a woman, was not infected with original sin because no human male had had sex with her.

But to pursue that perspective to it's logical conclusion would make men rather than women responsible for infecting each new generation with original sin, and of course with it's male-dominated, knee-jerk, woman-hating operational style, that could not possibly have been allowed to be the case within the Catholic (and many other conservative) churches.

For those unconsciously-internally devoted to this perspective regarding original sin, there's only one group of humans who are still pristine, still perfect, still innocent: those who have been conceived, but not yet born into the world. Therefore, from that perspective, the fetus "in utero" is worth more than it's mother, more than it's siblings, more than any human actually living on the planet.

Of course once that child is born, it's infected, so it becomes dirty rotten scum, just like the rest of us.

This is the often unconscious logic behind the most wacko of these anti-abortion folks. For them almost anything that protects a fetus in utero is justified right up until the moment it's born, after which it's continuing welfare and that of it's parents is not their concern.

I guess it was beyond my gullibility to imagine that, lacking any scriptural evidence to support such a position, the Catholic Church would invent out of thin air (Pope Pius IX), 1854 years after the original events, the idea that Mary, herself, was not a normal human being, but was, herself, immaculately clean of sin from the moment of her birth (even though conceived by a normal sex act)!

What a serious mind/heart/soul twister for Catholic Women everywhere, to have Mary the mother of Jesus reinvented by the church as an example to which they're all supposed to aspire, but to have that example be the bearer of qualities that are impossible to attain!

The universal pronouncement to Catholic women everywhere --- YOU'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

Well and truly twisted!

Are just gonna keep throwing things at the wall until he__ freezes over, all the while hoping and praying (to whatever gods they actually believe in - you know, profit, enriching the wealthy, corporate power and greed, etc.) that SOMETHING will stick.

This is just the latest sad sorry, pathetically unoriginal attempt which, no doubt the rightwing blogosphere will go gaga over and the rest of the world will ignore.

But not to worry... there will be many, many, many more attempts.

Because the underlying philosophy/theology of our society as it's currently functioning says that this is what we should all aspire to - to make enough money so that we never have to work again, then sit back and do nothing but what might selfishly amuse ourselves. Living this way is empty of meaning, which leads to great frustration and confusion for those who reach this pinnacle of capitalistic achievement and find that it's nothing like heaven, but much more like hell.

But that desire to "get ahead" is not a natural human construct, it's the way we're taught to see the world - it's in the underlying assumptions endlessly drilled into us by our popular culture. It's the carrot our Capitalist system dangles out in front of us to get us to cooperate with it's overwhelming falsehoods, together with the threat of starvation or death from preventable illness if we don't play along (which is why it's Satan/Rand-worshiping adherents are so opposed to any kind of social safety net.

But if we were encouraged to live out our natural tendencies (rather than having them verbally or physically whacked out of us), and our basic needs were met, our empathy and curiosity would lead all of us to seek to find useful things to do or invent - things that would amuse and delight and help others.

Only when we begin to pursue this latter course will humanity be ready or technologically able to explore the stars. I can only we hope we live so long.

Because they're completely incapable of experiencing it. In fact, they tried, beginning with Mr. Reagan ("homeless people are homeless because they want to be"), to build a world in which the ability to be empathetic - to comprehend and care about the suffering and struggles of others; to see others as human beings essentially the same as yourself, was seen as a defect. How else could Berto and Bush have signed so many execution warrants in Texas without ever seriously considering clemency for any of them?

Of course these people lost the empathetic part of their personalities due to angry/overly-punishing/incompetent/temperamental parents and/or siblings who knocked it out of them verbally or physically.

A BIG side effect to the inability to be empathetic is the inability to read other people, which leaves you vulnerable to misreading others, being completely unable to judge who your friends really are, and largely unable to tell whom you should trust. The result is paranoia coupled with a huge need to control the people around you.

Sound like anything or anyone we've seen lately?