The Political Voices of Women

[cross-posted at BlogHer Health and Wellness]

A new report is out about insurance and health care, and it’s not good. If you think the cost of health care is high now, just wait…It’s going to get even higher. Who would have thought that you could have insurance, and still not be able to afford healthcare? How is that possible? Only in America.

A few weeks ago I posted about the rising cost of prescription drugs, now it’s copays and premiums that will be increasing. Even people who have insurance and prescription drug plans, still can’t afford their medications. I thought insurance was suppose to “insure” we have quality and affordable health care? Not so much.

The United States spends more of its income on health care than any nation on earth, nearly $6,000 per person per year, more than 15 percent of our total income. In contrast, the countries of the European Monetary Union spend about $2,500 per person per year, less than 10 percent of their income.

The United States is very rich and we spend the most in the world on health care. We have a right to expect more for our money than a life expectancy outcome that places us thirtieth in the world, behind Singapore, Chile, and Costa Rica as well as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and every Western European nation.

Our health care system certainly delivers innovations in pharmaceutical and other technologies. It leads the world in Nobel Prizes for medicine and physiology. But it does not deliver medical care equitably to all Americans. Those who can pay have access to the best health care in the world. Those with good insurance plans—a decreasing fraction of the population—get good, life-extending health care. The rest must make do. And the result is that enough people fall through the cracks to place us at the bottom of the rich country life expectancy tables.

Here is some of what other women bloggers are saying about the rising cost of health care.

From Green LA Girl…

Our health care system’s so fucked up that people are getting married — and considering divorce! — simply due to health insurance issues. In the NY Times: “For today’s couples, “in sickness and in health” may seem less a lover’s troth than an actuarial contract. They marry for better or worse, for richer or poorer, for co-pays and deductibles.”

From MOMocrats…

• Under McCain’s Plan, Health Insurance Benefits Would be Taxed For The First Time, Resulting In A $3.6 Trillion Tax Increase On Working Families. McCain’s health care plan would eliminate the payroll deduction on health care benefits, which would have the effect of raising taxes on working families by $3.6 trillion. [New York Times, 5/1/08]
• The Health Care Tax Credit McCain Offers Would Cover Less Than Half The Cost Of An Average Health Care Plan. The McCain health plan would give families a $5,000 tax credit to purchase health insurance. However, in 2007, the average family health insurance plan cost $12,000 – more than double the value of McCain’s health care tax credit. [“Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey,” Kaiser Family Foundation, 9/11/07; “‘Call To Action’ On Health Care Reform,” John McCain 2008 press release, 4/29/08; Wall Street Journal, 10/11/07]

From Just Random‘s presidential wish list…

Universal Health Care (or at least affordable health care) – Why is the United States the only modernized country with out some form of universal health care? I know an argument could be made for the U.S. having the best health care, but why can’t we have both, come on some one smarter than me make it happen. Every child in this country should have access to health care.

From Christian Liberal’s Weblog…

Whatever the case, it’s surprising that so many self-professed Christians, and especially the evangelical type, are so eager to maul, mangle and manipulate those words, those lessons, so that it comes out as “every man for himself”, which of course is the exact opposite of the meaning and spirit of those teachings.

They’ll use phrases like “self-determination” or “market forces”, but it’s really just code words for “you’re on your own” and “don’t expect any help from me.” Likewise, they will use negative words to describe the concept. It’s been found that a majority of Americans favors universal healthcare, but if you change the language to “socialized medicine” the approval rating drops below 50%. And the greed-oriented apologists are quite expert at word-smithing.

The point is, any good-hearted Christian would not begrudge the care given to a needy neighbor.

Are you having trouble affording health care? Are you hoping if Obama is elected, things might get a little better? Are you worried, that if McCain is elected, things will get worse? Let me know what you think in comments.

The following is a reprint of a February 2008 post which was prior to my joining Political Voices of Women. In light of the recent Republican National Convention I thought that I’d dig it out of the archives and share it with the community. The feedback that I have received on this post sustains my belief that Americans still have more in common than not. Hopefully, in 2008 and beyond the political parties will start focusing more on our common ground instead of finding ways to turn us against each other.

Friends,

This post has been extremely difficult to write and even harder to publish. In fact, after having completed, proof-read, previewed and seemingly saved the entire post, it totally disappeared from Blogger when I tried to publish it. That certainly makes you wonder.
I am not writing this article in an attempt to change your views on abortion. I am writing this with the hope that it will be food for thought if you are tempted to judge a person’s faith by their political views on this issue.

Abortion has been one of the most politically divisive issues in US politics over the past 30 years. Persons on all sides of the political issue have, more often than not, manipulated the truth to advance their cause. And some, on the far political right of the evangelical community, have tried to use a person’s views on abortion as a litmus test of faith.

Prior to the 2004 US Presidential election, “ the Roman Catholic bishop of Colorado Springs issued a pastoral letter saying that American Catholics should not receive communion if they vote for politicians who defy church teaching by supporting abortion rights, same-sex marriage, euthanasia or stem-cell research. “

As the New York Times reported Bishop Michael J. Sheridan stated:

”Anyone who professes the Catholic faith with his lips while at the same time publicly supporting legislation or candidates that defy God’s law makes a mockery of that faith and belies his identity as a Catholic,

The article further states: “In a telephone interview, the bishop said: ‘I’m not making a political statement. I’m making a statement about church teaching.’ “

Well, whatever the Bishop might have meant, his comments were perceived as a political statement. His actions, without a doubt, had a political impact that was not lost on Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh, and their ilk. And, for the record, I don’t agree with his “statement about church teaching”.

Where do I stand on the issue of abortion, both as a matter of faith and politically?

I am a Christian, pro-life and opposed to overturning Roe V. Wade. A contradiction — not in my mind or in my heart.

Science and the dictionary define life as:

The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism. http://www.bartleby.com/61/80/L0158000.html

According to Wikipedia:

An embryo (from Greek: ἔμβρυον, plural ἔμβρυα, lit. “that which grows,” from en- “in” + bryein “to swell, be full”) is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination.

And the Christian Bible says the following about conception:

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day. — The Message (MSG)Psalm 139:12-14 (in Context) Psalm 139 (Whole Chapter)

Based on these definitions, I believe that at the instant of conception, the embryo is a life. Therefore, an abortion ends a life – a life which had immeasurable potential and inherent value.

So if I controlled the world and controlled people:

• all life would be valued,
• young men and women would be taught to value themselves,
• men and women would give more thought to the consequences of their actions,
• no woman would be raped,
• every child would be wanted from the moment of conception,
• there would be loving individuals willing to adopt every child who was not wanted by their birth parents,
• every child born would be loved, cared for, appreciated and given every opportunity to achieve their destiny and,
• there would be no abortions.

I am pro life.

However, I do not control the world or its people. No human does. Christianity teaches that God gave man-kind “free will” or freedom of choice. So while I may not agree with another woman’s choices, I do not think that her life should be in jeopardy, if she chooses abortion as an option.
The argument advanced by the religious right is that the unborn child is “innocent”. It is easy to view the child as “innocent” and the woman as “guilty” but is this what Christianity really teaches?

Does Christianity teach that we should have more compassion for the unborn child than the mother?

I certainly do not condone the practice of using abortion as a method of birth control but do I believe that I can legislate behavior or conscience. No I don’t.

So how do I believe Christianity views the woman who has had an abortion?

John 8:3-11 The Message (MSG)

The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.

Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt.

They kept at him, badgering him.

He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.”

Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.

Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?”

“No one, Master.”

“Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”

To me the only political argument left on the issue of abortion is whether it should be taxpayer funded, not whether it should be a legal option in every state.

Churches should continue to teach the tenant of their faith. Parents should continue to instill their values in their children. And people of faith should stop letting people with political agendas manipulate them.

Related posts:

Attempt to Hijack Christianity Failed

Bill Moyers Examines The Legacy of Karl Rove

Christianity, Politics & The Issues

Here is a guest post by community member Moi from Blogg.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

Sigh.

This is not really about the Hillary supporters. That’s a big cover. McCain did this for the cash from the Religious Right – he had no choice. They don’t really think we will vote for Palin-via-McCain because Palin is a woman. Think Republican for once… They think Hillary Clinton supporters are stupid for other reasons, and any Democrat who votes for them and doesn’t agree with their policies will prove them right.

There are a lot of reasons NOT to want this woman in that office. That she wouldn’t be ready to run the country and pro-life views does not even scratch the surface.

Palin is one of the Religious Right (aka RR); because of the way churches and religious organizations have treated my son, I am totally averse to organized religion of any sort. Don’t even get me started on her baby with Downs – and she wants to be the VP and be totally away from it????? Being a mom of a 16 year old with autism, I know the deal. And yes, I have heard the rumors about the parentage of that Downs baby, but let’s give her the benefit of the doubt and say it is hers, since she and her husband are supposedly raising it.

It is one thing to be a mother and work. I know what it’s like to have a special needs child and work full time. But I don’t – because my son needs me to be home to advocate for him. I read once that raising one special needs child can take the time of raising 10 neurotypical (NT) kids. They say that when you have two NT kids, you have 4 times the work. Does that mean Palin then has at least 30 times the work of parents of five NT children? That she has no interest in foreign policy, or even experience with other countries, and accepted this nomination, and of course while having a baby (a baby, not an older child, no less) with Downs at home, is the sign of a person with an ego the size of Kansas that has no business taking on the welfare of an entire country. In addition, it shows she has no clue about special needs children, and what hers is going to need. I cannot see how she can really value the presidency, or have any grasp of the concept. And I cannot begin to describe what this says about McCain’s judgment in picking her. But I digress…..

BO gave a very good speech on Thursday night. I am not a BO fan, so that is a lot for me to say about him. The whole situation was so powerful, with the Parthenon/Lincoln Memorial and the pyrotechnics, etc., that McCain knew if he picked milquetoast Romney or Pawlenty, he’d lose in November. He needed a big boom. So he had to do something drastic, and via Palin the RR gave him the push over the cliff.

Read more »

Here is a guest post by Just Wondering at Vim and Vinegar.

(If you would like to be a guest blogger on this site, please join our community)

There is a scene in the movie Amazing Grace in which William Wilberforce tries to put forth his bill for the abolition of the slave trade in the House of Commons (yet again) and dramatically rolls out a petition signed by English subjects – over 300,000 of them. In the heat of debate, however, Wilberforce makes the mistake of referring to “the will of the people.” Post American Revolution, and during a time when just across the channel a bloody French Revolution was stirring – aided by a violent rabble-rouser who was known as The Friend of the People – it was the wrong thing to say. It smacked of sedition in the context of a monarchy, even one with a Parliament.

How far we have come … that was sarcasm. Would I be too far off to say we’ve actually come full circle? To a place where “prattling on” about the rights of the people can get you in trouble, especially if one of the rights you prattle on about has to do with expecting accountability of our highest office-holders. Who can forget poor Steve Howards or Father John Dear and the Santa Fe Nine or the unconstitutional “free speech zones?” Yet, as a public, we have watched quietly as our First Amendment rights have been ignored, and as other rights are being pissed away by the worst administration in history. Now our brothers and sisters in England are being told their rights of assembly are suddenly different, at least for next Sunday. Why? Well, guess who’s coming to dinner. I have a feeling, unlike the more recent American attitude of “Oh. Okay. We’ll just leave then, shall we?” the Brits are going to say “Bullocks.” (sp?) and show up in full force. As is their right.

The people. The people have rights. Ours was described as a government of the people, by the people, for the people by a president who had seen the ravages of civil war on this continent and who had struggled to keep the union together, that union which had been born when colonists revolted against the tyranny and oppression of a king.

And now we have George W. Bush.

We have heard ad nauseum that this president thinks about his legacy constantly. He must hope against hope that history buys his lies and propaganda the way many American people did during his first term. History is funny, though. She is not as easily fooled. Ironically, history is not fooled because ultimately it is “the people” who write legacies, once they find their voices, once they seek truth and justice. They cause change; they react to what they see as right or wrong. They write legacies by leaving a record of their dissent, their protests, their experiences, their hopes, their fears … people like Steve Howards and Father John Dear and you and me.

It is my opinion that it cannot be enough that this president’s legacy will include a mocking and irreverent cartoon show or a scathing parody of a children’s book in which he features. This presidency hasn’t been just a bad joke. It has resulted in war, in the deaths of innocents, in the erosion of Constitutional rights and democratic principles, in the destruction of the justice department through politicization, and more. Last night, Dennis Kucinich introduced Articles of Impeachment agai… (CBS gave us a little blurb there). Thirty-five of them. Read them (to read them, click here, but be warned: the document is taking forever to load due to high traffic … more on that below). You won’t find anything about a blue dress or perjury in them because, like big oil executives, this president has never been forced to testify under oath to anybody about anything. This fact is, of course, why Dick Cheney can blithely say, “So what?” when confronted with the opinion of THE PEOPLE on the Iraq War.

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Pro-Life group has a Pro-Choice site that is really Anti-Choice. What will they think of next?

From Jessica at Feministing…

Before today, I never visited prochoice.com. And I’m sincerely hoping others haven’t either. Because the site, rife with rhetoric about ‘choice’, is actually an anti-choice website that contains gems such as “[abortion is] the death of another less developed human being” and “the dirty little secret is that Abortion providers are interested in their bottom line YOUR MONEY.”

The bullshit goes on and on, in all of their sections on adoption, abortion and parenthood. The kicker? There’s a little “Under Development” icon of a waving (yes, waving) fetus.

Consider my day ruined.

Have you heard about this? What do you think?

Here is a guest post by our community member from The Zaftig Redhead.

(If you would like to be a guest blogger on this site, please join our community)

Much has been made of the possible damage that the ongoing intraparty slugfest has or has not done to the Democratic Party in general and the candidates in particular. That debate rages on, endlessly — apropos given the topic. But, we likely won’t know the actual extent of the damage or even the possible benefits of the extended primary until the Dems — and voters — can focus on one nominee, and truly take stock of that candidate in a matchup against Sen. John McCain.

The flip side of the damage/benefit argument is that — because the Dems are so busy merrily lobbing grenades at each other — the Maverick is either (a) getting a free pass to regroup and refill his campaign war chest, (b) is free to get a head start on a general campaign against the Democratic Party generally, (c) letting the Democratic candidates do the dirty work for him, or (d) all of the above. If he’s both smart and lucky, it’s the last option.

But is the senior senator from Arizona truly so well positioned to take the best advantage of the golden opportunity the Democrats have so generously handed him? I really don’t think so. In fact, I think McCain is still engaged in his own primary campaign of sorts — not only against Internet celebrity Rep. Ron Paul — but against himself as well. Why? Because the Straight Talk Express has yet to find its way into the hearts and minds of the Republican base, and the Maverick doesn’t strike me as the type of guy to stop and ask for directions.

As a result, while the Dems rock and roll towards Denver, McCain is actually still trying to solidify an evangelical base that is not at all enamored of him, his candidacy, or the idea of a McCain presidency. Their lack of enthusiasm at the polls and in the polls has been palpable. Meanwhile, McCain’s also got the Ron Paul Revolutionaries to contend with — an intractable contingent who are clearly not doing cartwheels at the thought of John and Cindy’s Excellent White House Adventure, either.

Read more »

Here is a guest post by Emily Kronenberger from New Wave Grrrl. [What I think: As a mother this issue infuriates me, and I have written about it in a post titled Teen Pregnancy Rising - Abstinence Only Not Working.]

(If you would like to be a guest blogger on this site, please join our community)

Last week, on Wednesday April 23rd, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on Abstinence Only Until Marriage (AOUM) curriculum programs. testimony was heard from both AOUM advocates and advocates of Comprehensive Sexuality Education programs, which include information on abstinence, family planning, contraception and condom usage. AOUM programs are still widely used in public middle and high schools across the US, despite the evidence-based conclusions and consensus among researchers, community health educators, and other professionals that they are ineffective in reducing the number of unintended pregnancies and decreasing the transmission of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) among young people.

In addition, aside from not being an effective tool in the prevention of unplanned pregnancies or STIs among US teens, these programs have not been able to deliver on improved knowledge outcomes, and do not increase baseline knowledge or core competencies among young people on health subjects.

In these tumultuous economic times, and within a current budget season where both Federal and state budgets are experiencing massive cuts to some critical programs that make up the very fabric of our nation’s safety net, Republican AND Democratic members of Congressional Committees have still approved vast funding increases for AOUM programs in public schools over the past several months. Ongoing approval for these programs which lack evidence of improved outcomes and efficacy is outrageous! Not only is this a public health issue (and a public health failure I might add), but it is also an economic and accountability issue. Why continue to fund a program that simply DOES NOT WORK?

For more information on this issue, visit the following links:

*Committee Holds Hearing Assessing the Evidence of Domestic Abstinence-Only Programs:
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1888

*”Content of Federally-Funded Abstinence-Only Education Programs,” better known as the Waxman Report, Prepared by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:
http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20041201102153-50247.pdf

*Testimony by Shelby Knox, Comprehensive Sexuality Education Activist and subject of the HBO Documentary, “The Education of Shelby Knox:”
http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20080423120409.pdf

*Statement by James Wagoner of Advocates for Youth on the most recent Oversight Hearing:
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/news/press/042308.htm

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More Political Voices of Women…

We now have over 400 women political bloggers on our list, here are the I’s…

Iddybud Journal

I Hate Your Opinions — A cynical political blog with 2008 election coverage, book reviews of autobiographies of presidential candidates, and more

I Wish I Were In Paris

Impudent Ways — tattooed tea enthusiast. like that’s original.

In Jennifer’s Head

In The Pink Texas — Humorous Texas and national political blog targets a readership of influential legislators, lobbyists and media. Has received over 700,000 hits since it launched last year.

In Women We Trust

Inches Away From Sanity

Independence Lost

Informed Voters 2008 — I’m a 30-year old wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, veteran, citizen, patriot, wanna-be environmentalist and conscientious voter.

Irrational Woman

Is That All You’ve Got?

It’s Curtains For You - nanc is a breath of fresh air in a stale world.

It’s My Right To Be Left of the Center — The truth doesn’t care where you or I stand on an issue. I want to see through the bullshit of it all and find the Truth. It’s there somewhere.

This is from a post at Tennessee Guerilla Women.

Did anyone else get sick of hearing “God damn America” on the cable news channels over the weekend? CNN and Fox News played the tapes of Pastor Jeremiah Wright all weekend.

I don’t think they’ve yet played them as much as they played Dean’s Scream, but it will be pretty damn strange if Wright’s words fail to damage Obama as much as the Scream damaged Howard Dean.

Voices on the Right are proclaiming Obama to be toast. It’s too soon to tell how Obama’s relationship with Wright will affect ‘the unity candidate’ in the primary, but there is no doubt that when it comes to the general, Mr. Hope is seriously damaged.

READ FULL POST AT TENNESSEE GUERILLA WOMEN

This is from a post by BlogHer Contributing Editor, Gena Haskett – God Doesn’t Need Creationism

God doesn’t need creationism. However, certain types of Christians seem to need it. They think that you and by extension every school age child needs it too.

What got me starting thinking about this was Catherine Morgan’s post about a proposal to teach evolution
in Florida schools. I didn’t know that it wasn’t a national standard to include the teaching of evolution in K-12 schools.

I didn’t know adults still had major issues with distinguishing between faith and science. It was far easier for me to dismiss believers and proponent of creationism as a device to introduce religion into American schools. My new fear that it is something more.

READ FULL POST – God Doesn’t Need Creationism

This is from a post at Rachel Joyce’s BlogSpot.

I’m getting really frustrated at the incorrect perceptions of Conservatism. I can explain it to individual people I meet (but I try not to ram politics down people’s throats). Politcians, the media and teachers have a long way to do to explain the difference between the political parties – I think people have had a fundamental misunderstanding since Thatcher and Major. Yes we are the party of free markets. People seem to get that. But most people seem to have no understanding of where we are or what we stand for, particularly in regard to society, poverty, education, healthcare and other social issues.

READ FULL POST AT Rachel Joyce’s BlogSpot