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Federally Funded Teen Pregnancy

I just read something that perplexes me...although I shouldn't be surprised. The first paragraph is rather confusing in how it reads. I'm SURE the writer didn't mean to say that there are actually "federally funded teen pregnancy" organizations. But even getting beyond the poor choice of sentence structure...my blood still boils:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration, to the consternation of its critics, has picked the medical director of an organization that opposes premarital sex, contraception and abortion to lead the office that oversees federally funded teen pregnancy, family planning and abstinence programs.

The appointment of Eric Keroack, a Marblehead, Massachusetts, obstetrician and gynecologist, to oversee the federal Office of Population Affairs and its $283 million annual budget has angered family-planning advocates.

Keroack currently is medical director of A Woman's Concern, a Christian nonprofit. The Dorchester, Massachusetts-based organization runs six centers in the state that offer free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds and counseling.

It also works to "help women escape the temptation and violence of abortion," according to its statement of faith. And it opposes contraception, saying its use increases out-of-wedlock pregnancy and abortion rates.

Now, I know I'm not alone in thinking that it is wrong (at least from my point of view) that someone who opposes contraception should be leading an organization charged with the oversight of the "Office of Population." I honestly can't believe that there are still people in this world that oppose contraception AT ALL, but they certainly shouldn't be leading an agency such as this. ARE THEY NUTS? Oh, wait...yes, in fact...they are.

Read more reaction by Melinda Henneberg on the Huffington Post.

A Rock and a Hard Place

"We either die by the Americans, the insurgents in the name of jihad, the security companies, which kill you and leave you laying in the street, the Iraqi police or...the death squads. Three years after the American invasion of Iraq, I have only one wish. I do not want democracy, food, electricity and water. I just do not want to die."

- Laith Muhammad, an Iraqi student.

"The toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime was worth everything. I have never felt as free to speak any day in my life as today. If George Bush did anything good, it was toppling Saddam Hussein. I am not pessimistic. But I'm upset, because the war and the occupation, which could have led to a new situation in Iraq, were squandered by the stupid mistakes committed by the American administration and military and the U.S. representatives in Iraq."

- Fakhri Fikry Kareem, owner and publisher of the daily Iraqi newspaper Meda.

Source: The Washington Post

When I hear Iraqis talk about how glad they are that Saddam is gone I am really torn. On one hand I understand that the end result of that crazy nut case no longer having controll over the people of Iraq is a good thing, a wonderful thing even, I still can't help but feel like the end does not justify the means. Not only that, but there isn't even an end to speak of. Saddam being removed from power turns out to be just a stepping stone, but I'm afraid that the next stone on this path is at the bottome of a cliff. We are in such a no-win situation right now. If we stay, we continue to screw things up and loose lives. If we go, we leave the country in such a shambles that it would be inhumane. WTF are we going to do? It's like we have a finger in the dyke and nobody around who knows how to fix the hole.

Enough with the metaphores. It's just so frustrating to not even have a clue as to what this situation should look like or how to get there. I'm not hearing it from any of the world's leaders. Nobody knows what the hell to do.

TAGS: Iraq, BUSH, Saddam

Doin' his Daddy Proud!

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The youngest son of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was arrested early Friday and charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest, law enforcement officials said.


All I can say is: There but for the grace of God goes my family. Actually is has more to do with the fact that my family doesn't have a history of alcoholism and as families go, we are not disfunctional in any major ways, at least.

Holy Cow. That family needs some group counseling.  It really is sad. Regardless of the fact that they are one of my least favorite families around, I still can't help but feel sad for them. Maybe I'm a bleeding heart Republican...NOT!

Mo' money, mo' power, mo' problems.