1976: Lingering death from Chicago-area abortion

Diane Smith, age 23, was one of the women mentioned in the Chicago Sun-Times expose, "The Abortion Profiteers."

According to the report, and her death certificate, Diane was admitted to Englewood Hospital in Chicago due to hemorrhaging. She told staff that she'd had a legal abortion in a Chicago-area clinic.

Diane was treated for a perforated uterus and sepsis, to no avail. Diane died on September 11, 1976.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Palin and the rape kits

The blogosphere is abuzz with the story that while Palin was Mayor, Wasilla supposedly billed rape victims for their rape kits -- the kit for, and process of, gathering forensic evidence of sexual assault. The story includes some pretty callous quotes from the Police Chief.

I'll insert an UPDATE here: The whole thing is abortion-lobby hysteria. Turns out that there was ONE rape in Wasilla during the time period between Palin becoming mayor and the state law going into effect (requiring local law enforcement to pick up the tab for rape kits). And that victim was not charged for her rape kit. Repeat: Neither Palin herself, not the town of Wasilla on her behalf, nor anybody else on behalf of the city or mayor of Wasilla or its police department, billed any rape victim for a rape kit. Which hasn't kept the abortion lobby from perpetuating the lie. Surprise, surprise, surprise!

Now to resume the original post:

The gut response is to simply say, "Yeah, what else are you going to go off half-cocked with? This one will get debunked along with all the others." In part, that's the gut response simply because the story is so outrageous that it sounds like satire.

A lot of the bloggers also comment on the high rape rate in Alaska, implying that Palin is somehow responsible, but we can just blow that idiocy off as coming from the same people who'd blame Governor Palin for the weather in Alaska if they could find a way to do it.

That leaves us with the facts:

1. Wasilla did have a policy of charging rape victims (or their insurance companies) for rape kits.

2. The police chief, a Palin appointee, opposed the state law that required police departments to pick up the tab for the rape kits.

It leaves me with questions and concerns:

1. When did the policy of doing this start? Had it been in place since the town first got its police force? Was it initiated under Palin? Timeline, please!

2. The goal seemed to be getting the insurance company, rather than the police, to pay for the cost of the rape kit. Which I don't approve of. I'm a Libertarian, a fan of keeping government as small as possible, but one of the few legitimate tasks of government is to investigate crimes and enforce the laws. It's not the job of the insurance companies.

3. Doing the math, there must have either been a LOT of rapes in Wasilla every year, or a LOT of women claiming rape for some reason. (The latter seems unlikely. What would the motive be?) What's up with that? Was this typical of Alaska towns?

4. Were the women actually made to pay, or was the policy there to have the expense of the rape kits on the books in a way that Wasilla could then get reimbursement from another government entity with deeper pockets? (When I ran with a volunteer ambulance company, we billed EVERYBODY and/or their insurance company for ambulance runs, though we knew a lot of the uninsured wouldn't pay. We never went after them for the money, but we needed to have the bills on the books to make the budget work. I don't understand the arcane details of how it all worked, but I'm pointing it out to show that this sort of thing is done, billing people you have no intention of wresting the money out of, because you have to do it to get the money from someplace else.)

It's late and I'm too tired to go into this in any more detail.

Between a woman and her web-cam

Dakota Voice reports that Planned Parenthood plans to do RU-486 abortions by having the "prescribing" doctor do consults via web-cam, thus moving abortion from "first contact when he shoves the speculum in" to not having any actual physical contact at all.

Paradoxically, this might actually lead to women getting more of a consult, since the web-cam thing would require the doctor to actually speak to her, or at least to say more than scolding them not to squirm and to keep quiet lest the frighten the other patients.

This might even force abortionists to read the chart, something not all Planned Parenthood physicians do.

"Alicia", age 28, filed suit after going to Planned Parenthood February 25, 1992, for birth control pills. Aguilar, who speaks only Spanish, was led to a procedure room by a Spanish-speaking employee who had her disrobe, put her in stirrups, inserted a speculum, and left the room. Planned Parenthood's abortionist, Marc Jerome, entered the room and immediately initiated a vacuum abortion procedure. Alicia screamed for him to stop, but Jerome "ignored the obvious pain and terror" of the patient, and continued with the procedure. It turns out that Jerome had gone into wrong room and failed to correctly identify which patient he was about to operate on. Alicia, her attorney said, "suffers continuous flashbacks and crying episodes," particularly due to her strong religious opposition to abortion. Planned Parenthood successfully blocked Alicia's attempt to file suit anonymously, on the fairly self-serving grounds that her suit "does not involve an abortion, or a woman's right to privacy when choosing to obtain an abortion. The female plaintiff in this case was not pregnant...did not seek and did not obtain an abortion." (Legal Times 5-24-93)

So talking to a doctor at a Planned Parenthood before the actual abortion would be a step in the right direction.

1975: A lingering death after a safe, legal abortion

Thirty-one-year-old Mitsue Mohar died at LA County/USC Medical Center on September 10, 1975. The events that led her to an eary grave began when she went to Pacolma Lutheran Hospital in Los Angeles County for a safe and legal abortion on August 5.

Dr. Baca performed the D&C abortion under general anesthesia. After the abortion, Mitsue went into convulsions. She remained 16 days at Pacolma Lutheran without regaining consciousness.

On August 21, she was transferred to LA County/USC Medical Center, where she died on September 10 without ever regaining consciousness.

The autopsy found that she had suffered hypoxic encephalopathy (brain damage due to lack of oxygen) due to cardiac arrest during the abortion, and had developed pneumonia which eventually killed her.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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They seriously don't get it

Palin Energizing Women From All Walks of Life

It starts out with somebody who is probably fairly typical of conservative women:

Susie Baron is a Republican, a mother of two and a home-schooler. She voted for Mike Huckabee in the Ohio primary, but now -- because of Sarah Palin -- she thinks she is part of something much bigger.

"I wouldn't even call it a Palin movement, I'd call it a sleeping giant that has been awakened," Baron, 56, said at a rally here Tuesday. She described its members as a silent majority of women in Middle America who "are raising our families, who work if we have to, but love our country and our families first."

"And until now, we haven't had anyone to identify with," Baron said, adding that traditional feminist groups such as the National Organization for Women do "not represent me."

But the Left just doesn't get it:

...Obama advisers said that once women across the board begin considering Palin's stands on social issues such as human embryonic stem cell research and legalized abortion -- she opposes both -- their interest will fade.

Do these guys not read blogs? Do they not get that women are divided, and that for every woman who has a purely utilitarian view to human embryos, there is another who sees them as the youngest and most vulnerable members of the human family and want to see them protected?

Guess not. They really believe their own rhetoric. They really do think that all women share the leftist embrace of abortion and the cannibalization of embryos.

They're gonna be in for a surprise when Palin remains popular, especially among women -- not despite her stands on how we treat the youngest among us, but because of those stands.

Pigs fly!

Hyscience

Newsweek's web site is reposting, in full, Factcheck.org fact-checking on rumors about Sarah Palin.

Wow!

Thanks for Nothing!

The Illustrated Results of Obama's "Community Organizing"

Has Factcheck.org or anybody else checked this out?

If it's true, Obama got a lot of 'splainin' to do.

1921: Mystery death blamed on innocent Fatty Arbuckle

In 1921, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was one of the highest paid men in Hollywood. But on September 5 of that year, Arbuckle's life took a horrible turn nobody could have predicted. An aspiring actress, 25-year-old Virginia Rappe (pronounced ra-pay), took ill under strange circumstances at a weekend party Arbuckle was holding at a San Francisco hotel. Four days later, she was dead.

Arbuckle stood trial three times for Virginia's death. Two of the trials ended with hung juries. The third brought an unprecedented apology from the jury:

Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. We feel that a great injustice has been done him ... there was not the slightest proof adduced to connect him in any way with the commission of a crime. He was manly throughout the case and told a straightforward story which we all believe. We wish him success and hope that the American people will take the judgment of fourteen men and women that Roscoe Arbuckle is entirely innocent and free from all blame.

Arbuckle had done nothing to harm the girl. He was accused of murder by one Maude Delmont, aka "Madame Black." Delmont ran a blackmail scam, in which she'd provide young women to entertain men at Hollywood parties. A girl would claim that she was raped by some prominent man, who would then pay off Delmont to keep quiet. Delmont's story was so outrageous -- as was her character -- the prosecutors never called her as a witness.

But Arbuckle's name had already been dragged through the mud. The stories of bootleg liquor and wild women had done their damage. Arbuckle was banned from the screen. Although the ban was lifted in December of 1922, Arbuckle's career never recovered. He died of a heart attack in 1933, just as he was starting to recover financially and personally from his ordeal.

The allegations varied: that Arbuckle had raped Virginia, rupturing her insides with his 266-pound weight; that he was drunk and impotent and therefore angrily violated the girl with a wine bottle, or a Coke bottle, or a jagged piece of ice.

The booze-addled party-goers were not very consistent sources of information about exactly what happened. What is agreed upon is that Virginia stumbled into a bathroom at some point on Monday. Arbuckle followed her. He later said that he found her hunched over the toilet, vomiting and in pain. He moved her to his bed, where he hoped she would sleep it off. He then rejoined the party.

Virginia's condition deteriorated. At some point, she became hysterical, screaming that she was dying and tearing her clothes off. Arbuckle and Delmont argued over what to do next.

The drunken party guests eventually decided to put the nude Virginia into a bathtub of ice water. Some reports have Arbuckle placing a piece of ice near or in Virginia's vagina, which may have contributed to the claim that he'd injured her insides with a sharp piece of ice.

Of course, this did nothing to help Virginia, who continued to scream. Arbuckle carried her to another room and summoned doctors. The guests, thinking Virginia was just hung over, continued to party.

Virginia was not taken to a hospital until Thursday. She taken not to a regular hospital, but to Wakefield Sanitorium, a maternity hospital known for performing quasi-legal abortions. Virginia died the next day, Friday, September 9. The cause of death was listed as peritonitis due to a ruptured bladder due to "external force."

The next day, Arbuckle was charged.


Arbuckle's defense attorney brought forth Josephine Roth, who testified that Virginia had five times availed her self of services at Roth's clinic: four times for abortions, and once to give birth to a baby. This information might seem to be unnecessarily slamming the victim, but turns out to be very relevant.

Although Virginia's ruptured bladder was produced as evidence in the trial, her reproductive organs had vanished after the autopsy. The autopsy was performed illegally on site at Wakefield Sanitorium, without consulting the coroner's office. One of the doctors overseeing the autopsy, Dr. Melville Rumswell, was reputed to be an abortionist.

Without the uterus and vagina, there was no way of knowing if Virginia had indeed suffered blunt vaginal trauma inflicted by Arbuckle.

Blunt-force trauma would have made a strong case against Arbuckle. But sharp instrument trauma would have cleared Arbuckle and pointed the finger at whoever performed a final, eventually fatal, abortion on Virginia Rappe.

There is also the mystery of why Delmont directed suspicion toward Arbuckle. She was a blackmailer. Why didn't she milk Arbuckle for money? Why didn't she simply allow the police to investigate the death of the young women? To these questions, we can add two others: Why had Virginia's uterus, ovaries, and vagina been removed and disposed of? And why was Virginia brought to a marginal facility like Wakefield Sanitarium?

One theory that answers the mysteries is this: Perhaps Delmont had a hand in arranging an illegal abortion that ruptured Virginia's bladder. When Virginia took ill, perhaps Delmont directed her to the Sanitarium, where the abortion may well have been performed -- where there would be accomplices who would also have a motive to keep the real reason for Virginia's death secret. And after the girl died, perhaps Delmont concocted the rape story to create a scandal that would divert attention away from herself.

This is, of course, speculation. But since an abortionist could face murder charges if a patient died -- and since an accomplice likewise would face a prison sentence -- it's the only scenario that explains the otherwise inexplicable behavior of Delmont and whoever got rid of Virginia's uterus and vagina.

For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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Parental involvement won't fix this

Stepfather sexually abuses 13-year-old girl, gets her pregnant, and with the help of Planned Parenthood arranges a 22-week abortion for her at a hospital. She is sent home with her abuser for seven more months of abuse.

Proposition 4 could do nothing about this case, since, after all, a family member was very much aware of the pregnancy and the abortion. This was a job for mandatory reporting. Which, of course, both Planned Parenthood and San Francisco General Hospital failed to do.

Why they are not charged as accessories after the fact I do not know.

Well, yes, I do. It's California, where the only bad abortion is one that doesn't take place, and the only bad sex is sex that results in a baby.

1996: Slovenly practices leave young woman dead after abortion in New York

Tanya Williamson, aka "Patient A", had laminaria inserted at Moshe Hachamovitch's New York abortion facility on September 6, 1996, for an early second-trimester abortion. Hachamovtich estimated that she was almost 14 weeks pregnant. He instructed Tanya to return the next day for her abortion.

Tanya returned on September 7, as instructed. According to medical board documents, "At or about 11:00 a.m. Patient A was given Valium 10 mg." This medication was not noted on clinic documents that were given to Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Gori, who then administered 150 mg. of Brevitol at about 1:50 p.m., whereupon Hachamovitch performed the abortion.

The medical board then notes, "150 mg. Of Brevital causes loss of consciousness and also potentially decreases the patient’s respiratory rate and blood pressure. The amount of Brevital administered to this patient would cause respiratory depression for approximately 30 minutes. The majority of that time Patient A was in the recovery room. The level of respiratory depression is tied into the amount of stimulation of the patient. Surgery is a very strong stimulus, once that is removed the respiratory depression increases.

The board noted that Tanya was still totally unresponsive from the effects of anesthesia when she was moved to the recovery room. Staff noted her pulse and oxygen saturation, then removed her pulse oximeter, which monitors pulse and oxygen saturation.

The medical board notes that at 2 p.m., after 5 minutes in recovery, Tanya'’s blood pressure was 96/80, and her pulse 68. This is within normal limits. At 15 minutes (2:10 p.m.), Tanya's blood pressure had fallen to 60/40, her pulse to 52, and her respirations were shallow. Such a sharp fall in blood pressure is an alarming sign that the patient might be going into shock or suffering other life-threatening problems. The falling blood pressure is especially alarming in combination with shallow breathing.

At 2:11 p.m., Tanya's pulse was noted as "thready," which means weak and erratic. Her blood pressure was so low that it could not be measured with a cuff. The medical board noted, "At this point, a patient without an obtainable blood pressure and a barely palpable pulse was functionally in cardiac arrest. Respondent was notified of the problem with Patient A at approximately 2:15 p.m."

Hachamovitch examined Tanya in recovery, started a new IV with D5W and Ephedrine, then told the recovery room nurse to do CPR, and somebody to call Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

EMS Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) arrived at 2:41 to find Tanya blue and unresponsive, with no pulse or breathing and fixed pupils. ACLS took Tanya's vital signs, attached a cardiac monitor, and properly placed a breathing tube to help get oxygen into Tanya's lungs. An ACLS team member then hooked up Hachamovitch's bag-valve mask (used to pump air into the lungs) and found that it was broken and wasn't working. The ACLS team member switched over to the EMT’s ventilation unit.

The medical board said, "When respondent arrived in the recovery room, he should have immediately ascertained the patient’s pulse, blood pressure, and if there were vaginal bleeding. This should have taken between 20 seconds and, at the outside, two to three minutes. He should have realized that the patient was in cardiac arrest and started ACLS. The cause of the arrest was not relevant at that point; the immediate treatment was the same. Given the clinical picture of this patient at 2:15 p.m. when Respondent was called to the recovery room EMS should have been called immediately and the patient intubated. Even if Patient A were only in a near arrest situation Respondent should have immediately call EMS and instituted the rest of ACLS protocol. Advanced Cardiac Life Support consists of immediate call to EMS for transfer to hospital, intubation, EKG monitoring so that if the patient requires defibrillation, the rhythm and appropriate ACLS drugs are known. This patient’s condition had to be treated in a hospital setting, the sooner the patient were to get to the hospital, the better her chances of survival."

Despite the fact that Hachamovitch had the equipment to put a breathing tube into Tanya, she was being given oxygen with a face mask. There was no note that Hachamovitch had even inserted an airway, which is a small device that keeps the patient's tongue from blocking air from getting into the lungs. Though Hachamovitch had additional, necessary drugs on hand to help restore cardiac function, he didn't administer them to Tanya. Though he had an EKG machine, he never used it. "Such a failure deviated from accepted medical standards."

"A physician who performs surgical procedures, i.e. abortion, under general anesthesia in free standing outpatient facilities, has an obligation to recognize when a patient is in cardiac arrest and to know how to resuscitate the patient. Respondent did not recognize that Patient A was in cardiac arrest. Respondent did not carry out generally recognized resuscitation measures in this patient."

On Saturday, September 7, 1996, the day Tanya died, Hachamovitch had one R.N. in the recovery room, along with a medical assistant, a sonographer and a receptionist from the front who went to the recovery room to help when the recovery room was busy. The sonographer was not trained to observe patients recovering from anesthesia. The receptionist had taken a medical secretary course, and did not have any special training in caring for patients covering from general anesthesia.

At the time Tanya was brought into the recovery room, there were nine other patients in the room, and yet another patient was brought in a few minutes after Tanya. One of those nine patients already in the recovery room was shaking and almost convulsing.

The board noted that Hachamovitch's recovery room was not sufficiently staffed to adequately monitor patients recovering from general anesthesia.

The board also noted, "Respondent’s medical record did not accurately reflect the care and treatment rendered to patient A."

The Committee slammed Hachamovitch for multiple violations of standards of care, particularly in how patients were monitored and cared for after general anesthesia, and the lack of training of the staff attending them. They slammed him for lack of adequate equipment and for failing to use what little equipment he had.

The board suspended Hachamovitch’s license, and added probationary requirements that he was to be supervised by an anesthesiologist who had no conflict of interest, that Hachamovitch maintain ACLS certification, and that he maintain at least one staffer in recovery who is ACLS certified.

How many other patient deaths have been identified at Hachamovitch's facilities? There may be more than one correct answer.
Hachamovitch had two other patients who died before Tanya's death.
A patient died in a Texas facility owned and operated by Hachamovitch, though another doctor actually performed the abortion.
Two abortion patients bled to death after abortions at an Arizona abortion facility owned by Hachamovitch.
Hachamovitch performed a fatal abortion on a patient in Texas.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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1989: Fatal abortion reveals shocking surprise

Twenty-four-year-old Synthia Dennard went to Biogenetics in Chicago for a safe, legal abortion and tubal ligation on September 7, 1989. The surgery was performed by Inno Obasi.

Synthia began to hemorrhage during the surgery. A medical investigation later found that Obasi had "failed to summon help in a timely manner; refused to allow trained and skilled paramedics to attend to Synthia; refused to allow paramedics to transport Synthia to a hospital in a timely manner," and otherwise "allowed Synthia to bleed to death."

Her two children were left motherless.

Synthia's survivors had to file a court order to keep the facility from destroying her records. An autopsy revealed that instead of removing a section of Synthia's fallopian tube, Obasi had removed a portion of an artery.

The autopsy revealed one more shocking fact. What?
Obasi had pulled out Synthia's appendix and a lot of her bowel.
Obasi had shoved the fetus through the back of Synthia's uterus and left it in her abdomen.
Synthia hadn't even been pregnant in the first place.
Obasi had left part of an instrument embedded in Synthia's uterus.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Clearly articulated thought

But who the heck is the guy interviewing Rep. Heather Wilson? If he was any further to the left he'd be out the door and in the parking lot! He wasn't trying to get this woman's perspective, he was debating her. Is that an interview?

HT: Values Votor News

The Amazing True Story Behind the Internet

From Cracked.com

Women as Guinea Pigs Redux

The HPV Vaccine Gardasil — A Public Health Experiment?

A pre-condition for fast-tracking Gardasil was a requirement for a safety surveillance study, which will not be complete until June, 2009. Not to be deterrred intensive marketing continues by Merck.

When it comes to sex-related pharmaceuticals, it's politically popular to treat women as guinea pigs. Sometimes, as with wealthy Western women and birth control, the women themselves volunteer for the experiments, albeit without informed consent. See The Case Against Birth Control Pills, Birth Control Pill Linked to Arterial Plaque, Norplant: Taking the Control out of Birth Control, Birth control patch three times more dangerous than the pill, Female Sterilization in Puerto Rico, The Morning After Pill: Friend or Foe of Women?

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Self-induced abortion: More searches

People often come here after a search for "self-induced abortion" or (for the confused) "self-induced miscarriage".

Let's start by getting something very, very clear:

A miscarriage is when the baby dies before birth of natural causes, or from an accidental injury. When you kill the baby deliberately, it's an induced abortion, whether you're scraping it out, sucking it out, pulling it out with forceps, or using herbs or chemicals to starve it, poison it, or expel it. There is no more any such thing as a "self-induced miscarriage" than there is such a thing as any kind of "induced" natural death. The fact that you're inducing it means that it's not natural, it's not accidental, it's deliberate.

Calling any kind of induced abortion a "miscarriage" is a sign either of ignorance or of denial. And it is a slap in the face to women who have lost children to miscarriage.

You'd not tolerate for a moment a mother who put arsenic in her kid's oatmeal saying "My child got sick and died." You'd not tolerate for a moment a mother who pulled out a gun and blew her child's brains out saying "My child died in an accident." We need to stop letting women get away with deliberately ingesting things that they know will kill their babies and trying to pass it off as some sort of miscarriage.

If you do something to make your unborn baby die, that's not a miscarriage. Lay off trying to pretend it is.

Now that I've got that off my chest....

Here are summaries of some interesting sites about self-induced abortions.

Here is my page of self-induced abortion deaths.

19th Century Abortion Cases and Other Self-Injury

Self-induced abortions: 'Self-help' vs. self-harm

Coathanger abortions. They did happen. And they still happen.

Coathanger Abortion: Powerful image, but how true to life?

100 Things You Should Eat (or Drink) Before You Die

Somebody pulled together a list of 100 Things You Should Eat Before You Die. Not sure why a lot of the things are one the list, but it's fun so I thought I'd go through it and see how I stack up.

100. Venison. YUM. I love Bambi, especially Bambi back ribs on the grill and my brother's Bambi bologna. (While we're on the subject of game, I've also had moose, elk, rabbit, squirrel, and snapping turtle. Also yum.)

99. Nettle tea. Nope.

98. Heuvos rancheros. Yum. I thought everybody ate these.

97. Steak tartare. Why? High-class raw hamburger is still raw hamburger.

96. Crocodile. No, but did try alligator. Didn't much care for it. But on the reptilian front, do love snapping turtle. It makes a great soup, and my dad used to cook it up in a tomato sauce.

95. Black pudding. Boiled congealed blood? I'll pass.

94. Cheese fondue. Yup. Yum. But too much work.

93. Carp. Essentially a big grey goldfish. Might have. See no reason to seek it out.

92. Borscht. Yum. Also make my own.

91. Baba ghanoush. Yup. Very tasty.

90. Calamari. Tried it. Don't see the big deal. Tastes okay, texture of a rubber band. Got fed a dozen varieties of squid in Korea and really, really tried, as a cultural adventure sort of thing, to learn to like it. But in the end, the Yuk Factor trumped all. I just can't stand anything with tentacles. (And there's no experience in the world like biting into what you think is an onion ring only to find out it's a squid ring. It's not an experience I'd care to repeat.)

89. Pho. Yum. But then I love Vietnamese food in general.

88. PB&J sandwich. YUCK! Relived childhood trauma. Why did my mother keep putting these atrocities in my lunch? I was a sophisticated first grader. I wanted liverwurst on rye. Which would, I supposed, have broken the family budget.

87. Aloo gobi. Possibly, though I'm not sure. I've eaten a lot of Indian food, and don't remember the names of all of them.

86. Hot dog from a street cart. I think so. I've eaten sausages from street carts.

85. Epoisses. A "pungent" cheese, the list says. Why would I want to put something in my mouth that smells worse than a dirty litter box? I'll pass on all stinky cheeses.

84. Black truffle. Never felt the need. I supposed I'd try one if somebody put it in front of me.

83. Fruit wine made from someting other than grapes. Yum. Also dated a guy who made his own wine and constantly experimented. He came up with a pina colada wine that would knock your socks off.

82. Steamed pork buns. No. Looks good, though.

81. Pistachio ice cream. Never tried any pistachio thing. Not even a simple pistachio. Never felt the need.

80. Heirloom tomatoes. Not sure. Not that big a fan of tomatoes.

79. Fresh wild berries. A favorite. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, black raspberries, and strawberries whenever I can find them, usually annually if I'm in the US. Haven't had teaberries since I was a kid; I never manage to stumble across them when they're ripe.

78. Foie gras. Don't care for any form of liver (though I've tried chicken, duck, goose, beef, and venison). And don't approve of force-feeding animals anyway. So this one, barring some bizarre social situation I can't imagine myself in, will probably never happen.

77. Rice and beans. Eh. You can't avoid them in Texas. I don't see what the excitement is about.

76. Brawn, or head cheese. Despite the revolting name I'd have no objection to trying it. There's a variation in one of my dad's wild game cookbooks with the even more unfortunate name "jellied moose nose" that actually sounds kind of tasty.

75. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper. In Hell, perhaps. Which would mean not before I did.

74. Dulce de leche. Sounds good, but never tried it.

73. Oysters. Yum. As long as they're cooked. I make a mean oyster soup.

72. Baklava. Food of the gods. If it wasn't so expensive I'd eat it regularly.

71. Bagna cauda. Sounds good but never tried it.

70. Wasabi peas. Had to click the link to find out what they are. I like wasabi, but don't think wasabi peas would do anything for me.

69. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl. Yum. Lots of different soups in bread bowls, in fact. My favorite is broccoli and cheese.

68. Saltid lassi. Nope. But I have had soju (Korean rotgut) and ayrag (Mongolian fermented mare's milk). Actually, I was a regular soju drinker in Korea because it's cheap, mixes well, and gives you a quick buzz. And it's just polite to drink a shot with everybody else. I think I could have developed a taste for the ayrag had I been in Mongolia long enough.

67. Sauerkraut. I'm of German descent. And my friend's father-in-law makes the best homemade sauerkraut in the universe. I could eat it by the bowlfull.

66. Root beer float. I hate root beer, so why would I want to add ice cream? Though I did drink floats a lot as a kid. My favorite was orange soda with vanilla ice cream.

65. Cognac with a fat cigar. Did smoke cigars for a while, back when I was married, but only rarely. Had cognac once. They served it on a flight to Thailand. Would smoke a cigar again for effect. Would drink cognac again if given it. Don't understand why they're supposed to mix so nicely.

64. Clotted cream tea. No, but I drank a lot of milk tea in Korea.

63. Vodka jelly/Jell-O shot. In college.

62. Gumbo. Yeah. Hate okra so gumbo does nothing for me. Was never served okra-free gumbo and in fact before reading the linked article I'd been under the impression that okra was the definitive ingredient.

61. Oxtail. Yeah. It does make a good soup.

60. Curried goat. Goat yes, twice. When I prepared it, it was tough and stringy. But I had it properly prepared in Mongolia and loved it. Never had it curried.

59. Whole insects. No. No. No. No. No.

58. Phaal. Probably not. I'd have remembered a curry of deadly spiciness.

57. Goat's milk. I'm told I was given goat's milk as a very small child. I've had mare's milk -- not just fermented -- in Mongolia. It seemed kind of watery to me.

56. Single malt whisky. Yeah, back when I was still married to an alcoholic. Would as soon drink pine sap.

55. Fugu. No, but I have enjoyed the blowfish my parents used to catch when they went surf-fishing. But that's not the spirit of the thing, I think.

54. Chicken tikka masala. Yup. Yum. Indian food rocks.

53. Eel. Not by itself, but in bouillabaisse. Made it myself, enjoyed it, but it was a lot of work.

52. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut. Yeah. Don't know what all the excitement's about. But then, I prefer the cake doughnuts.

51. Sea urchin. No. Might try it if I was drunk enough.

50. Prickly pear. Yes. Picked them off my own cactus, in fact. Tasty but a lot of work for very little fruit.

49. Umeboshi. No. Would try if offered.

48. Abalone. Would love to try.

47. Paneer. No. Would try.

46. McDonald's Big Mac Meal. Yeah. In a pinch.

45. Spaetzle. My mom is German, so what do you think? I make it all the time and even taught my Korean friends to make it, along with sauerbraten and rouladen.

44. Dirty gin martini. Don't recall ever having had any sort of martini. Would try one if given one, but wouldn't pay for it because I doubt very much I'd care for it.

43. Beer above 8% ABV. Lived in Germany, went to fests, drank dopplebock. 'Nuff said. Though it took me a long time to learn to find beer palatable and actually perfer the cheap stuff.

42. Poutine. YUM! Got introduced to this in Korea, of all places, at a pub called Canada Buddy.

41. Carob chips. Yes. And carob-coated raisins and carob-coated peanuts. Prefer chocolate by far.

40. S'mores. I was a Girl Scout once! And we taught our Korean friends to make S'mores. They had no concept of cooking on a campfire until they started hanging out with us waygooks.

39. Sweetbreads. Sounds revolting.

38. Kaolin. Huh? Nooooo.

37. Currywurst. No. Though I had a zillion different kinds of wurst when living in Germany. I'd pick a different kind every time I went to the store.

36. Durian. Why would I want to eat something that smells so bad you can't eat it in public? Did see it for sale and my tour guide in Thailand offered to get me a taste. I won't eat anything I can't stand the smell of. But I have had mangosteen, langan, and rambutan, three very popular tropical fruits.

35. Frogs' legs. Had an opportunity but couldn't get myself to try. There's some visceral "yuk" factor I couldn't overcome. Which is odd because I've tried alligator and I love snapping turtle. Reptiles, yes. Fish, yes. Amphibians? Sorry.

34. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake. I live in Pennsylvania Dutch country, so yeah I've had funnel cakes.

33. Haggis. Technically, no. But I tried soondae, a Korean stuffed-squid dish that I'm told is basically haggis in a squid instead of in a sheep's stomach. It did nothing for me.

32. Fried plaintain. No. Would try if offered.

31. Chitterlings. No. No. No. No. No.

30. Gazpacho. Yum! Make it myself sometimes.

29. Caviar and blini. Yum! Bring it on!

28. Louche absinthe. Would love to try. Bought a tiny bottle of it in Spain just as an interesting souvenir and am considering drinking it, if I find an adventuresome soul who wants to try it with me. It seems dismal to drink absinthe alone.

27. Gjetost, or brunost. Looks pretty revolting. Might try it if it smelled okay.

26. Roadkill. No. But see no reason to reject a roadkill deer, moose, or other large herd mammal.

25. Baijiu. Would try it.

24. Hostess Fruit Pie. Snarked them down as a kid. Would eat one now if I had one but wouldn't seek them out.

23. Snail. Yum! But I had to be well into my cups the first time, in Paris. Had it again in Korea.

22. Lapsang souchong. Yum! My dad used to say that if you don't have any lapsang souchong you can just boil an old boot, and I agree with him, since it has a kind of leathery taste, but I like it. (Dad liked it too; he's the one who introduced me to it.)

21. Bellini. Sounds good. Never tried it but would very readily.

20. Tom yum. YUM! Fantastic! But then, I loved everything they fed me in Thailand.

19. Eggs Benedict. Yes. Very tasty, but too much work.

18. Pocky. They're called peppero in Korea, which actually celebrates November 11 (11/11) as Peppero Day. My students would shower me with lavish gifts of peppero. Tasty.

17. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. Sounds good. Sounds expensive.

16. Kobe beef. Sounds very good. I've had shabu shabu but don't know that it was with kobe beef.

15. Hare. No, but I've had rabbit and squirrel.

14. Goulash. Yum! My mom makes this pretty often.

13. Flowers. Have eaten rose petals and the yellow parts of immature dandelion blossoms. Would love to try other flowers.

12. Horse. Probably. Mom and Dad hinted during the 1970s (when eating horse as an alternative to supposedly expensive beef was all in the news) they slipped us some horse. But find the idea disturbing, like eating a dog, only not as much so.

11. Criollo. No, but they don't give you much to go on.

10. Spam. Yes. Don't mind it if it's fried a golden brown. And Koreans like to put it in various dishes. Wouldn't seek it out and usually try to avoid it, but will eat it if hungry enough. (And yes, Koreans really do love the stuff. They sell lovely, and very expensive, boxed Spam gift sets for holiday giving. It's surreal to Western eyes to see the lovely young Korean women in their elaborate traditional hanbok gowns hawking Spam.)

9. Soft shell crab. Dad gave me a bit of his soft-shell crab sandwich once. I'd much rather wait until the shell is hard and eat them normally.

8. Rose harissa. No, but it sounds pretty good.

7. Catfish. Tastes like mud. Spent all those years in Texas with catfish on all sides but never understood the attraction.

6. Mole poblano. Yeah.

5. Bagel and lox. Yeah. Prefer my bagel and lox separately.

4. Lobster Thermidor. Made it at home once. Liked it but considering how expensive lobster is I prefer not to drown out the taste with so many other things. A bit of melted butter with garlic and lemon is all you need.

3. Polenta. Love the stuff. Have it in the fridge right now.

2. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. Hate coffee in any form so would not try it.

1. Snake. Would try it. After all, I've tried alligator and I love snapping turtle. But stay away from my Loki! He's not dinner!

TOTAL

Yes: 47

Maybe or Something Similar: 16

Would try: 23

NO: 14

So I guess that makes me fairly adventuresome on the food scale.

Things that should have been on the list:

Kimchi

Yorkshire pudding

Ayrag

Potato sandwich

Wild mushrooms

Any kind of eggs other than chicken eggs

Palin's not the only proud mom of a baby with DS

Here is a Mothers Day album of photos of kids with Down syndrome and their proud, happy moms.

Band of Angels has a gallery of kids, and they're asking for more photos of recent graduates with Down Syndrome. They sell an amazing coffee-table book, Common Threads, with photos and essays about loving a child with Down Syndrome. They also sell beautiful calendars and cards, and provide Celebrate! support packets to parents who have just been given a diagnosis of Down syndrome for their child.

Downi Creations makes Down syndrome dolls that are sturdy enough for children, accurate enough for medical professionals, and beautiful enough for collectors. They also have a photo gallery.

And Trig Palen doesn't have the market cornered on cute. Check out this kid. And this kid. And This kid. And This kid. And this kid. Come to think of it, they give every kid a run for their money in the cute department. (Well, maybe not Piper....)

Here's a great book, Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children with Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives.

More moms tell their stories:

Such a Sweet Girl!: Kallie's mother was pressured repeatedly to abort. Her doctor refused to care for her. But she stuck it out and now has a beautiful daughter.

Even though Shannon made it clear to her doctor that she had no intention of aborting, he called her repeatedly to remind her of how short time was growing to arrange an abortion. She didn't let him talk her out of welcoming Noah to the family.

Jessica thought it was the end of the world when she was told her unborn child had Down Syndrome. After she met him, she called her fear "silly", and rejoices in her child.

Nancy was hurt by all "those repetitive offers for abortion because I felt like I was climbing a mountain ('Mount Acceptance') and nice, well-meaning people kept telling me there was a quick way off the mountain just below me. I just wanted to scream, 'You're not helping!'"

Kathy's husband kept trying to convince her to abort after their unborn child was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. But as he held his son for the first time he said, ""Honey, this baby is awesome! Can you ever forgive me for being such a jerk?" Conor is the greatest joy of his dad's life now.

Kimberly, though she'd always been pro-life, considered using the fact that she also had cervical cancer as an excuse to abort her baby after negative prenatal diagnoses including Down Syndrome. But she stuck it out, and ended up surprised at how much love she felt for the baby she had once wished dead.

Ellen was actually relieved to get a diagnosis of Down Syndrome: she'd been told her baby probably had a fatal trisomy.

"Welcome to Holland"

In closing, I have to ask a question. Are these kids so horrible that it's best to kill them before birth? And is weeding them out in the womb really such a worthwhile cause that it's worth paying with the lives of three kids with normal chromosomes for every one kid with Down syndrome we eliminate in-utero?

Accuracy in Reporting

Here's a picture of some of the "more than 1,000 people" who showed up in Cedarburg to see McCain and Palin.

Technically, the Associated Press didn't lie when they said more than a thousand people attended. After all, 20,000 or 30,000 is more than a thousand. So, from a mathematical standpoint, they were quite correct.



The AP would be equally accurate in stating:

The typical 747 carries more than 18 passengers.

Light has to travel more than 5 million miles from the sun to reach the earth.

In these tough economic times, consumers are having to pay more than twenty cents a gallon for gas.

If elected, McCain would be President of a country of more than 15 million people.

Actor Brad Garrett is more than 4 inches tall.

From a mathematical standpoint they'd be perfectly correct.

Though from a journalistic standpoint some of us may be nit-pickers and complain about it.

ADDENDUM: Here is a picture of what the New York Times called "thousands". The Denver Post put the crowd at "more than ten thousand". The Colorado Independent put the crowd at between 10,000 and 15,000. A campaign worker said that 13,000 people were processed through security checkpoints for the event (scroll down).

PDS "Talking Points" give reasons to vote Palin

Cao's Blog has a Palin Roundup that includes some of Moveon.org's "Talking Points" about why they hate Sarah Palin.

Their "talking points" about why they oppose her make it clearer to my why we MUST get her into the White House ASAP:

* She was elected Alaska’s governor a little over a year and a half ago. (Having come up from being a small-down hockey mom and mayor. She's not a typical politician, which I find refreshing. And she's got an approval rating over 80%. Tis woman has something on the ball.) Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. (Moveon.org's "talking points" on Abraham Lincoln: "The dude grew up in a LOG HOUSE, people! How gauche!") She has no foreign policy experience. (She does have foreign policy experience -- she negotiated a pipeline deal with Canada, is Governor of a state that borders two foreign countries, and is CiC of the Alaska National Guard.)

What does Palin do as Commander in Chief of the Alaska National Guard? Major General Craig Campbell tells us:

* Palin is strongly anti-[abortion] choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest. (YAY! She TOTALLY gets it!)

* She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. (Actually, no. She was just very polite to him when he was visiting her city, even though she was a supporter of one of his opponents. So her good manners is a plus, and the fact that her enemies are attacking her for it shows how scared they are which is another plus.)

* Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools. (No -- she just thinks it should be okay to discuss it if a student brings it up. Which means she suports encouraging free and independent thought. I know this scares the snot out of Lefties, but I consider it a good thing. And again, the fact that they're making the claim and calling the Intelligent Design theory "creationism" just highlights their ignorance and paranoia.)

* She’s doesn’t think humans are the cause of climate change. (Which shows that she has a grasp of science, not just economics and politics. Another reason to vote for her.)

* She’s solidly in line with John McCain’s “Big Oil first” energy policy. (Actually no; she did exactly what her enemies are calling for and raised windfall taxes on oil companies. Somehow, though, she managed to make it work, which I find mystifying and would like to have explained to me.) She’s pushed hard for more oil drilling (another reason to support her) and says renewables won’t be ready for years. (Which is true, and she has a plan for how to best tap into them.) She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska. (She looked at the science and saw that conservation was actually allowing polar bear populations to increase. And Palin is a hunter. I'm the child of a lifelong hunter. Hunters understand conservation. It's this understanding of conservation, and the creation of game commissions to oversee conservation, that allows for a thriving population of game animals. Why are huge chunks of Pennsylvania lush forests? Because hunters want them for State Game Lands. Hunters like wilderness because it's where they hunt. Duh.)

Palin on energy:

* How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position. (Which just would mean that he's smart enough to recognize quality quickly.)

As for the idea that she "came out of nowhere" and "nobody knew who she was" -- That's about as valid as every other lame claim.

Keep it coming! The more you talk, the more I'm sold on her.

1986: Mom dies after going into coma during abortion

A suit was filed on behalf of the 6-year-old son of Jacqueline Reynolds, age 22. Jacqueline underwent a safe and legal abortion at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta on August 27, 1986. Due to inadequate oxygenation during general anesthesia, Jacqueline lapsed into a coma. She died on September 5.

Her death was attributed to use of a mask for anesthesia rather than an endotracheal tube. The case was settled for $3 million.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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1987: Was the abortion legal or not?

Jose Velazquez successfully sued Mahesh C. Gupta, Santosh Gupta, Renga Rajan, and Maria De Los Santos Health Center over the death of his wife, Iris Velazquez. Iris was 20 years old when she died on September 5, 1987. Court documents over her estate allege that the abortion was illegal.

Westlaw gives no details about the abortion or Iris's death. However, it mentions that the couple had two children: a daughter who survived and a son who died seven months after Iris's death.

Rajan was also successfully sued for the 1982 abortion death of Darlene Wood.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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Gary Varvel nails it!

See it here!

Laziness pays off now

"Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now." Thus sayeth the find demotivational poster at Despair.com.

And laziness is a way of life, it seems, for Palin detractors (including CNN's Soledad O'Brien), who evidently figure that taking some tiny piece of information that they don't even understand and trying to turn it into a huge scandal is journalism.

I'll let The Raving Atheist take them to the woodshed:

Emily,

Do you ever, ever, EVER do any fact-checking? The other day, you repeated the Washington Post claim that Palin slashed funds for pregnant teens, when in fact she TRIPLED the funding from $1.2 million to $3.9 million. [It was funding for all manner of troubled teens, BTW, not necessarily for pregnant or parenting teens. -- ed.] And today, you repeated the thoroughly debunked lie that specials needs funding has been "slashed".

In fact, the funding is set to INCREASE 12% from 2008 to 2009. The erroneous reports of a 62% decrease are attributable to a misreading of the budget, which moved the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy out of the special needs category and into its own program. Furthermore, Palin worked to overhaul the special needs funding system so that per student spending is set to increase from $26,900 per student to $73,840 by 2011.

I just need to add one point that TRA missed. It wasn't even pregnant or parenting teens in the first place -- it was funding for a capital project for an organization that also provides housing to parenting teens.

Covenant House Alaska executive director, Deirdre Cronin, explained it this way in a September 4 statement:

Despite some press reports to the contrary, our operating budget was not reduced. Our $3.9 million appropriation is directed toward a multi-year capital project and it is our understanding that the state simply opted to phase in its support for this project over several years, rather than all at once in the current budget year.

But will these "journalists" who have been passing on malicious and/or ignorant lies make retractions? I've said it before -- when that bear in Governor Palin's office gets up and starts dancing.

I do note, however, that the blog, "RH Reality Check", where TRA posted his scolding, did post a correction. Well done!

1992: Uneventful abortion leaves 13-year-old girl dead

Date of service 9-5-92, Uneventful D&C, Thank you [for the referral]! -- Dr. Steve Lichtenberg

It was September 5, 1992. Eighteen members of Deanna Bell's family were gathered in a Chicago abortion clinic, wanting to know why the 13-year-old girl was lying dead in a back room.

Dr. Steve Lichtenberg, who had performed the fatal abortion, left his clinic manager to field questions from Deanna's distraught relatives. Lichtenberg himself had joined the clinic manager earlier in talking to Deanna's mother and sister. Deanna had, they told the family, most likely died from an amniotic fluid embolism -- a known, dangerous, and difficult to treat complication of later abortions.

It was just one of those flukey things that happens sometimes.

Somebody at the clinic -- Albany Medical Surgical Center -- notified the coroner about the death. Even though Deanna's death was attended by a physician, somebody thought to order an autopsy. Tests were performed that found no evidence of an amniotic fluid embolism.

So why was the child dead? She had been taken into the procedure room at about 7:40 that evening, a healthy girl. The abortion had taken nine minutes. During the nine minutes Lichtenberg had spent pulling her unborn baby out in pieces, something had gone wrong. She had been discharged to the recovery room at 7:51, rating only 9 favorable points out of 14 for color, respiration, and so on. Her pulse was alarmingly rapid -- between 130 and 135 beats per minute.

After only two minutes in the recovery room, at 7:53, Deanna was documented as lacking all vital signs -- pulse, respiration, blood pressure. But the first efforts to resuscitate her were not documented until 8:51. During that hour, Lichtenberg said, there were attempts at resuscitation, but nobody had documented them and nobody had called an ambulance so that properly-trained medics could resusciate Deanna and bring her to a better-equipped facility.

Deanna "never regained productive cardiac activity or consciousness." She was pronounced dead at 8:52.

What had gone so terribly, terribly wrong?

The abortion hadn't gone well from the very start.

It was a multi-stage 21-week abortion that had begun on September 3 with the insertion of laminaria -- sticks of seaweed that absorb moisture, expand, and dilate the cervix. According to Deanna's records, she was "uncooperative" during this process -- which, Deanna's family said, had been performed by a non-physician -- so when the time came to change the laminaria the next day, Lichtenberg did it under general anesthesia. Deanna was administered 400 mg of Brevital -- a drug not approved for pediatric use -- when a sufficient dose for an adult would be 70 mg. And during the procedure, Lichtenberg accidentally ruptured the amniotic sac.

During the actual abortion procedure on the 5th, Deanna was given at least 250 mg. of Brevital -- at least 3.6 times the therapeutic dose.

Was this massive dose of Brevitol the reason Deanna's heart stopped? The coroner drew no conclusions, merely noting that Deanna had congested lungs, a uterus full of clotted blood, and a lot of Brevitol in her system.

Deanna's family wanted answers. They sued. And in their investigation they found evidence that Lichtenberg's staff failed to monitor Deanna. The facility had no protocols for dealing with cardio-respiratory arrest. They also found that Deanna wasn't the first patient to die after an abortion at a Family Planning Associates Medical Group facility. Denise Holmes, Mary Pena, Patricia Chacon, Josefina Garcia, Laniece Dorsey, Tami Suematsu, Joyce Ortenzio, and Susan Levy had already died under the ministrations of Allred and his team of abortionists. And Allred admitted in a deposition that he had never done any sort of preventability study after any of these deaths. He said that he could find no fault with his staff in their handling of Deanna.

Deanna Bell has been dead sixteen years now, three more years than she'd spent walking this earth. Allred, Lichtenberg, and the FPA attorneys have been stalling the family's lawsuit, which remains unresolved. The family still has no answers.

At a National Abortion Federation Risk Management Seminar (Lichtenberg is always in attendance, and frequently a presenter), Planned Parenthood Medical Director Michael Burnhill scolded Lichtenberg when he boated of his exploits in performing risky abortions in an outpatient facility and treating life-threatening complications on-site instead of transporting patients to fully-equipped facilities. Burnhill called this "playing Russian roulette with patients' lives.

It appears that in Lichtenberg's little game, Deanna Bell was the loser.



For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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"Respecting choice" and "Nobody is for abortion"

"This baby should have never been allowed to live a life of suffering. Gov. Palin should have aborted the pregnancy and saved this person a life of difficulty."

"Howard [Stern] thought that Sarah Palin should have not delivered the child that was going to be born with a reduced resources, and he went on and on about it." (NB: Stern hates Bristol's baby, too: “Any self respecting mother would have taken her daughter to an abortion clinic and had that blood clot removed”)

"Sarah Palin’s judgment is despicalble. She knowingly whelped a Mongoloid child earlier this year, probably to pander to the Right to Life Nutbags."

"No one has the right to bring a defective child into the world it is a form of self-love and shows no love for the child." (Scroll down)

"She should have aborted the Downs child…. no, giving him life was not the best thing." (Comment #387)

"I disagree with condemning the baby to a second-class life full of discomfort. I think it's more cruel to bring a baby into this world that you know will suffer and that cannot be cured. .... The issue is KNOWING that the baby will have Down syndrome and still being callous enough to bring it into the world." (Answer 2)

"She shouldn't have gotten pregnant. It was selfishness. And she should have aborted the fetus."

"It's obvious this comment came from some ignorant poor THING with self-esteem issues and the mental capacity of Palin's poor THING of a son that she should have aborted as soon as she knew he would never be a productive member of society!" (#33)

Feel the love!

Those are just the people who wish Trig Palin dead. I've found, but not included, quotes from people who wished other children dead.

Nobody's for abortion. They're all just for "choice".

Yeah. And I've got some land in Florida for sale at a good price, if you're buying this.

Cartoons that nail it

Click while they're hot! Jewish World Review rotates their cartoons pretty frequently.

Michael Ramirez on waiting

Dana Summers on Democrats and women

Searches: A quack, quick and easy, do-it-yourself

Emmanuel Brandeis: Managed to botch a pre-abortion injection in such a way that the patient had to have parts of her fingers amputated.

"Quick and easy abortion" -- In a pig's eye.

"Self induced miscarriage": There's no such thing! A miscarriage is, by definition, when the baby dies of natural causes. If you do it deliberately, it's an abortion.

Watch Sarah Palin's speech

My daughter commented, "She's gutting Obama like a freshly-killed moose."

And Piper is too adorable.



And I've got to tack on this gem: Palin Shoots Down A Tired Agenda

Palin presents an authentic picture of women's empowerment, yet owes nothing to the Democrats' feminist agenda. She was named by John McCain to be his running mate solely on her own merit and political skills as governor of Alaska, all things she earned herself.

....

The intensity of focus on this single issue, alongside a goody bag of other government programs, looked fairly tired to many women. Instead of walking the walk by naming a living, breathing female to the ticket, Democrats sent the message that only government programs, especially the right to abortion, are of interest to women.

And I just got new info about how baseless yet another MSM attack on Palin is turning out to be:

"Palin Slashed Funding for Teen Moms", screams the Washington Post.

"What?!" you might say.

The lead paragraph leads you even further down the outrage path:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

That mean old Sarah Palin! Leaving teenage moms and their hapless babies shivering out in the snow! But if you look at the image, you see the the earmark is not for a state program, but for a private charity called Covenant House:

Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.

And, as it turns out -- Sarah Palin did not slash funds for teen mothers. Nor did she slash funds for overall teen programs. Nor did she slash funds for Covenant House. What she did was reduce a massive increase in funds to a more moderate, but still substantial, increase. Are we gonna see a retraction? Yeah -- when that bear in Governor Palin's office gets up and starts dancing.

Maybe in 2012 we'll see a Palin/Thompson ticket:

Putting the blame where it belongs

Blame Libs, not Misguided Moms -- Bristol Palin a life-saving hero

BINGO! Said much more eloquently than I have ever managed.

Wild Kingdom

Megyn Kelly confronts a weasel who attacked an arctic fox:

Palin slashes funds for teen moms?

"Palin Slashed Funding for Teen Moms", screams the Washington Post.

"What?!" you might say.

The lead paragraph leads you even further down the outrage path:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

That mean old Sarah Palin! Leaving teenage moms and their hapless babies shivering out in the snow!

But if you look at the image, you see the the cut earmark is not for a state program, but for a private charity called Covenant House:

Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.

So, how much of the cut money was supposed to go to teen moms? How much to other programs for teens? The article doesn't say. But the line item wasn't Passage House, it was Covenant House. Palin did not target teen moms. She cut government giving to a nonprofit that might have been earmarking some of the money for teen moms.

I looked up Covenant House Alaska on Charity Navigator and it wasn't there, though there are many other branches of Covenant House. They all are getting only a 1- or 2-star rating, which means that they are poorly managed financially, and that compared to other, similar organizations, little of the donated money goes to provide directly for the beneficiaries of the charity.

Other similar charities get 3- and 4-star ratings.

If Covenant House Alaska is performing as poorly as other branches of Covenant House, then Palin was right to slash their earmark until they got their house in order. Why should she give tax money to an organization that a savvy donor would pass by because they're not managing their funds well? Is it the job of the government to give money to people you'd be too smart to give money to yourself?

UPDATE: Sarah Palin did not slash funds for teen mothers. Nor did she slash funds for overall teen programs. Nor did she slash funds for Covenant House. What she did was reduce a massive increase in funds to a more moderate, but still substantial, increase. Are we gonna see a retraction? Yeah -- when that bear in Governor Palin's office gets up and starts dancing.

Does this look balanced to you?

Media Coverage of McCain/Palin

See also Michelle Malkin, who spotted and posted the magazine covers.

The MSM don't even go through cursory motions of objectivity. They're like high school bullies who hate the new girl and are hoping to drive her to tears on a daily basis.

They don't just want this woman defeated at the polls. They want her entire life, and the lives of everybody in her family, totally ruined.

1859: Two doctors bungle abortion, killing factory worker

Mary E. Visscher, who worked at a hoop-skirt factory in Brooklyn, was keeping company with a man named Mr. Wright. On August 23, 1859, she left the home of Mrs. C. Perrine, where she had been a boarder, saying that she was going first to Jersey City, then to Philadelphia. She asked Mrs. Perrine to keep the trip a secret.

Mrs. Perrine said that Mary "always behaved like a lady" and had been in good health as long as she had been at her home. Mrs. Perrine had never seen Mary take any medicine except salts for headaches.

Mrs. Mary Sherman, who owned the hoop-skirt factory, said that Mary had worked for her for about a year. She said that Mary had come to her saying she was going to New Jersey and Philadelphia and asking her to keep the trip a secret. Like Mrs. Perrine, Mrs. Sherman had no idea that Mary might be pregnant.

Mary did not, however, go to New Jersey or Philadelphia. She instead went to the "stylish" house of two female physicians, Elizabeth Byrns and Mary E. Smith, who practiced "midwifery", as obstetrics was often then referred to, especially when practiced by a female physician. Byrns and Smith said that Mary had come to their home to be treated for back pain due to a fall, and that they'd not even know she was pregnant until after the abortion, which they attributed the abortion "to the imprudence of deceased herself." The abortion took place on August 27, and Mary "lingered" until her death from peritonitis on Saturday, September 3.

The coroner's jury decided that Byrnes had performed the abortion, with the prior knowledge of Smith, who was charged as an accessory before the fact.

For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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1903: Deadly criminal abortion in Chicago

On September 3, 1903, Mrs. Florence Gaiewski died in St. Mary's Hospital in Chicago from an abortion performed there that day. Dr. Ladislaw Slominski was arrested September 4, held by Coroner's Jury September 8, and indicted for felony murder, but discharged by a Grand Jury. Florence's abortion was typical of pre-legalization abortions in that it was evidently performed by a physician.




For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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1970: Abortion tourism kills Texas woman in California

After California legalized abortion on demand in 1970, a Texas company began capitalizing on this by selling abortion referrals and air fare. Twenty-year-old Katherine Morse was one customer.

Katherine was admitted to Bel Air Memorial Hospital in LA County on September 1, 1972.

Why was Katherine's abortion performed in a hospital? There are two correct answers.
At that time, California required that all abortions be performed in hospitals.
Katherine's doctor had recommended an abortion for health reasons, so Katherine had chosen a package deal that included a hospital abortion rather than a clinic abortion.
Most abortions at that stage of pregnancy were performed by saline method, which required a hospital stay -- at least if the doctor was trying to protect his patient's well-being.
Katherine was well-to-do and could afford the additional fee for a hospital abortion rather than stay in a motel.

John Dupont initiated a saline abortion on Katherine. Katherine developed a 102 degree fever, then expelled the dead baby just after midnight on September 3.

Katherine's blood pressure rose, she went into shock, and was pronounced dead by Dupot at 9:40 AM. An autopsy found sepsis, and gangrene of the ovary.

For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:



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I don't get it

The MSM seem totally convinced -- as do many liberal bloggers -- that Bristol Palin's pregnancy is somehow some sort of huge scandal that will rock the foundations of the McCain/Palin ticket.

"Person sins, falls short of the Glory of God" isn't exactly headline news, even if the person in question is the teenage daughter of the GOP vice-presidential nominee. It's right up there with "Rain falls down" and "Summer is warmer than winter". It's the way things are and have always been.

Oh, but we're Bible-believing Christians! We condemn sin! And isn't fornication a sin?

Yeah. As is adultery and getting the guy you cuckolded killed off. Which King David did. As is murder. Which Moses did.

God didn't reject them, even after they sinned. He picked them up and set them back on the path.

Should we hold a teenage girl to a higher standard than even Biblical kings and patriarchs?

Nobody is perfect, not even Biblical kings and patriarchs. Not even the teenage children of politicians. That doesn't mean that you stop striving for the very best. It does mean that you accept that you and those around you will fall short. And that you pick yourselves up and get back on the path.

Yes, chastity is best. It's the ideal to strive for. Many -- perhaps even most -- will fall short at least once. In the wake of the Olympics, we should remember that not being able to attain perfection doesn't mean that you stop striving for it. And like a gymnast who botches a landing, a runner who stumbles, a fielder who drops a fly ball, you assess what caused you to fall short and you do better next time. You don't just give up.

Why can't the MSM get this?

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In a world ....

... without a voice...

'King of Voiceovers' Don LaFontaine Dies at 68

Don LaFontaine, the man who popularized the now loved-catch phrase, "in a world where..." and lent his voice to thousands of movie previews, has died. He was 68.

The only information on why this beloved voice is stilled is given as "complications in the treatment of an ongoing illness".

We will miss you, Don.

1899: Where Fast Eddie got his inspiration?

Marie Hicht, employed as a domestic on Dearborn Avenue, died September 2, 1899 at the office of Dr. Louise Hagenow from complications of an abortion performed there that day.

Dr. Hagenow was sentenced to Joliet prison in 1900 for Marie's death.

It is likely that this Dr. Louise Hagenow is the Dr. Lucy Hagenow mentioned in Leslie J. Reagan's book, When Abortion Was A Crime. Reagan says that Dr. Lucy Hagenow was connected with the 1899 abortion death of a patient.

There were a number of deaths in Chicago attributed to either a Lucy Hagenow or a Louise Hagenow. I believe these to be the same woman. The deaths include:

Lottie Lowy

Bridget Masterson

Nina H. Pierce

Mary Moorehead

Jean Cohen

Elizabeth Welter

Lola Madison

How typical of criminal abortionists was Hagenow in that she was a doctor?
Very unusual -- probably less than 6%.
Not the norm, but not rare, either -- probably about 25%.
Fairly common -- about 50%.
It was the norm -- probably about 90%.

For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion

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CSI: Seaworld

Who was the guilty party?

Half full or half empty? Punishment or blessing?

This post sums up pretty well all that needs to be said about the recently-outed unwed pregnancy of Governor Sarah Palin's teenage daughter, Bristol.

Obama considers a baby a punishment. The Palins consider a baby to be a blessing -- even when he or she arrives at an awkward time as the result of poor judgment and (yes) sin.

All I'll add is a call to society in general and the church in particular to teach people (especially young people) that sexual excitement clouds your judgment every bit as much as alcohol. You can intend to just "make out" a little and get carried far, far away.

Chastity is a skill set, not just a mind set. And one of the most important subsets of skills is how to avoid getting yourself into a situation where your hormones trump your judgment and your values.

I could speak of kudos to the Palins for walking the talk, but for those who truly get it, that's not necessary. And as the Palins welcomed little Trig, and are welcoming Bristol's baby, clearly they get it.