Norma Leah McCorvey and Freedom

Norma Leah McCorvey is perhaps the most important woman you(may) never have heard of. You do know her by a different name. Jane Roe.

Yes, That Roe. Roe V. Wade

In Dallas County Texas in 1970, a 21 year old Norma McCorvey, Represented By Attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington filed a class action suit in U.S. District court in Texas. She claimed she was raped (an allegation she would later refute) and said she wanted a safe legal abortion, as well as granting an injunction against the antiquated Texas abortion law that stated that only if the mother’s life was in danger was abortion legal. Illegal abortions could put you in jail for as much as 5 years per procedure. She was granted the legal right to have said abortion, but the injunction was not granted. The initial decision was based upon rights granted by the ninth amendment, a basic reservation of rights not otherwise enumerated by the constitution.

The Supreme court, when ruling on the case, threw out the ninth Amendment premise and added it’s own 14th amendment argument. Quoting Justice Harry Blackmun:

the right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or, as the District Court determined, in the Ninth Amendment’s reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”

Basically saying that the Due process clause of the 14th Amendment, which protects individuals against actions of the state that would invade their privacy, also protects a woman’s right to have a choice of what to do with her own body, that it cannot force her to have a child against her will.

That’s the nuts and bolts, in simplistic form, of Roe. V. Wade., and I said all that to say this.

There are those who would repeal this law in the name of morality. I cannot entirely speak to their view of morality. I do know that life is sacred, but I also know that the rights granted in the constitution are sacred as well. To throw out, as some conservative groups would, this law, would in effect be saying to America, “We have the right to tell you what to do”

Anywhere. Because if you cannot do as you please with you own person, what can you do? If they take that right away, what do they take next, in the name of morality? How much power do you really want to give the federal government? They have already weakened the fourth amendment, do you want them to whittle down the 14th as well? The ninth? Where would it end? This is in a nutshell, legalistically speaking, not about life, but about freedom and the right of an adult to do that which they think is best for them.

Mrs. McCorvey is now in her 60’s and living In Texas. She has found God, and become an anti-abortion spokesperson. I can wholeheartedly agree with wanting to, like she does, do away with abortion. But I will disagree with anyone who would willingly harm this nation of laws for the morality of one group within it’s borders.

The Child she was pregnant with at the time? A healthy bouncing baby girl, that was later adopted.

There are several states that have ballot initiatives regarding Abortion. South Dakota and Colorado want to bring back to those states the level of legal state intervention that existed in Texas in 1970 that created this entire issue in the first place.

Some things never change. The powers that be in those states want to take away your rights. Don’t let them. It’s not just about abortion, it’s about freedom, freedom that these states want to take away. And if you let them, other states will be emboldened and try the same thing.

Don’t let them steal any more of your freedom. They’ve taken enough, Dammit.

Drop me a Line if you want to talk about this.

Uncle Mikey, with hearty thanks for the people at ballotpedia, wikipedia, and touro college

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OK, this is not the Kinda bunch I’ll be talking about here, but let’s go Bananas for just a Minute…

McCain Looked at Obama! He didn’t call Barack “That One”! He Brought up Bill Ayers! He asked Barack Obama to reject and repudiate Rep. John Lewis! But most of all this Debate was about One man.

JOE THE PLUMBER!

Joe Wurzelbacher “the Plumber” was a man who showed up at an Obama rally and said Obama’s tax “increases” would make it impossible for him to start a plumbing business. I tell you this, The entire debate revolved around Joe. There was talk of economy and taxes and health care, and both men mentioned, and in fact spoke to Joe when speaking on these subjects, in absentia I believe. He won this debate! He was mentioned more than President Bush or Bill Ayers! Go Joe!

To the meat of the Issue, how things actually went. With sharp emphasis On John McCain and his performance.

John McCain came out aggressive, swinging hard, and initially it worked. He was doing really well. He was occasionally factually incorrect, but he has a penchant for that, so there’s no surprise there. He blamed “Fannie and Freddie Mae” for the Subprime Mortgage crisis. No mention of CDO’S or Credit default swaps, but he was convincing in his delivery. He also said he was disappointed in Henry Paulson for not doing more for homeowners. He also spoke of his $300,000,000,000 plan for buying up mortgages. I’m sure the small government Republicans loved that. But I digress…

His tone worked. It was actually Reaganesque, insofar as it sounded good while not necessarily saying much. The fact checking could use a bit of help but this was a strong start for John McCain.

He Mentioned Joe The Plumber! (JOE FOR PREZ IN ‘16) He gave us a great line here… Quoting the Congressional Quarterly transcript:

Fifty percent of small business income taxes are paid by small businesses.

Truly a man of greatness…..or something…. And here I thought that small business paid 100% of of small business income taxes…

Now to be serious for a minute I do think John McCain came out firing, at least tone wise on all cylinders. His message I think he got across fairly well as well, but for only about the first 20 minutes or so. I actually thought he was winning the debate for a fair bit of the early part of the debate. He called Barack Obama’s tax plan class warfare. He also came up with the line of the night:

Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago.

As far as Abortion and the supreme court goes, John McCain said that he would employ no litmus test to any nominees for the Highest court in the land and he would consider anyone who was qualified… except that he would not consider anyone who was Pro- Roe V. Wade. Umm….Senator…That IS a litmus test.

Sometimes all you can do is shake your head…..

Senator McCain was also his usual dry yet bombastic, acerbic and caustic self, coming up with a great many of the same lines and lies that he came up with in the other two debates. But I have to tell you the worst part of the debate for Senator McCain came when he spoke about William Ayers and Acorn and John Lewis and the amount of money the Obama campaign is spending.

None of it worked. None of it. He sounded like a petulant child when he spoke of the Obama campaign using unprecedented amounts of money on attack ads. He sounded all sorts of cranky when he spoke of the bad things people have said about him at Obama rallies. Something he has said for several days. I have yet to hear any calls for John McCain’s death by Obama crowds, and don’t recall anyone saying John McCain is a terrorist. He positively swooned when Barack Obama didn’t immediately repudiate (I HATE THAT WORD) the statement of Rep. John Lewis.

John McCain claimed that the Obama campaign was trying to say that Honored War vets and “military wives for McCain” were being nasty. Not from what I’ve heard. No specific group or individuals have been called out by the Obama campaign or anyone else.

John McCain asked about the Full extent of Barack Obama’s relationship with both acorn and Williams Ayers. Barack Obama obliged him. Told of his working with Mister Ayers and his work with the Justice department and Acorn on The motor voter laws in the 1990’s, and when Sen. McCain pressed him about launching his career from Bill Ayers living room, Barack Flat out denied it. (I covered this subject on Tuesday) And even after the facts were put out there he asked for them again, as if to give the impression that he hadn’t really given them.

My thoughts on who won the debate: John McCain was Combative, strong, and tough. But after a strong early start, he, as the night wore on, became a bit twitchy, pensive, and angry. This was his best debate, bar none, due to that strong start. And he still lost. Not for lack of trying though. He gave this one everything, but his everything was just less than impressive. On several occasions John McCain praised Sen. Obama’s eloquence, only to attack the man for speaking in what he clearly thought was a sly manner. He tried to stick some good punches in but he ended up hitting air most every time he took a swing at the junior senator from Illinois.

Sen. Obama didn’t hit one out of the park, but he didn’t really need to today. He stayed ahead by staying above the fray and sticking to the points his campaign have relied on the entire campaign. His delivery was, as usual, professorial, and he had a calm command of the stage, something he has had in all the debates. That thought surprises me, because when he was debating Hillary Clinton he was not at his best and she fought him hard the same way Sen. McCain did and somehow Her attacks stuck and his simply do not. And it’s not for lack of trying.

That’s my take on the Final debate. Tell me what you think, America! Drop me a line and let’s Talk about the Debate!

Uncle Mikey

Today I will continue with yesterday’s theme, covering measures and polling in individual states. First Up: Oregon.

Ballot measure 59 “An Act to Prohibit Double Taxation” is something of a rich man’s bill. check this out:

All money paid to the federal government to satisfy, wholly or in part, a taxpayer’s federal income tax obligation for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2010 shall be fully deductible against income on the taxpayer’s Oregon income tax return. This section applies only to (i) federal income taxes paid on income subject to tax in Oregon, and (ii) federal income taxes, including capital gains taxes, paid by individuals.

What this does is gives a tax break to the richest living in Oregon, while giving no or almost no tax break to those who make less than $64,000 a year. For Example, if you make $39,600 annually in Oregon, this bill will give you a tax break of TWO WHOLE DOLLARS! YEEHAA!!! And if you make less than $23,000 a year, you get nothing. But, if you make $233,000 a year you get over $2,000 back, and if you make over a million, you get back over $15,000.

This bill would make the $14,000 to $39,000 group the group with the highest marginal tax rate in the state. This bill would also cut state tax revenues between ½ and 1 billion dollars annually. Oh…One other thing….

State income taxes are deductible from federal income taxes. Thus, when state income taxes decline, Oregonians can deduct less at the federal level and must send more money to the federal government.

Silly People. Don’t do that. Next up….

Another Abortion initiative, this time in South Dakota. This bill would make Abortion a class 4 felony in the State, with a Maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The bill would allow for abortions in case of rape, incest or to protect the woman’s health.

This is the third time such legislation has been brought before the people before. In 2005 the bill passed the legislature, but opponents got enough signatures to make it a ballot referendeum and the people voted it down 56% to 44%.

South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortions put forth a study to “evaluate medical evidence, reporting findings, and make recommendations as to the need or any additional legislation governing medical procedures.” Quoting an article on ballotpedia

The study received negative media when several of the members walked out before it could come to a vote. Sen. Stan Adelstein, R-Rapid City, said that the report was filled with dishonest statements and that others input was being rejected.

“That’s when I hit the ceiling,” Adelstein said, “The report is theologically based, has patent untruths and misrepresentations, and no reasonable attention was paid to any amendments.”

It seems to me that these two state initiatives have one thing In common. A lack of thought for the common good of everyone. Tax breaks that help only the wealthy, and only a little at that, seems foolish and poorly thought out. Abortion bans do not and will not eliminate abortion, it will simply push it underground, making it a health risk, putting lives in danger unnecessarily. These people, who would legislate morality, are a far greater danger to society that those who have the abortions done. How? By unnecessarily placing government in a position to tell us what to do and not do when there is no need. THAT goes against the common good for which our forefathers so bravely fought all those years ago.

Both of these initiatives are positively Unamerican. But that’s just my opinion. What do you think, America? Would you like to see legislation like this passed in your state? Drop me a line and let me know!

Debate reaction tomorrow!

Uncle Mikey

John McCain has given up on Michigan. A few points is all that separates John McCain and Barack Obama there. There are several polls which have John McCain either Tied or with the 3 points margin of error in Michigan. So, why give up? Well, a few reasons. One, there are other polls that have Barack Obama with something of a sizeable lead in the state, the last two polls out, PPP and Detroit Free Press, have Sen. Obama leading by 10% and 13% respectively. Two, this will free up resources for him to tackle other states where he feels the races are closer and he has a better chance of winning. Three, he may finally be beginning to understand that he cannot succeed with a 50 state strategy. John McCain can still pull this election out, he can still win, but to do so, he may have to focus on places he thinks he can win.

But thinking about it from a different angle, one has to wonder, If he’s willing to give up on a state the size of Michigan, how many others is he willing to give up on, because he’s behind in the polls? How many more millions of people is he going to leave out in the cold? How many Republican candidates running for congress who would like to have John McCain with them out on the trail for at least a photo op, but are now going to be left behind because there are other states he can win? The cascade of negativity from this one event will send ripples down through the McCain campaign and the country until Novermber 4th and beyond.

Two More points: There is a measure on the ballot in Washington state, called Initiative 1000. The Death with Dignity act, or, if you an opponent of the bill, The Assisted Suicide Initiative. This is a thorny issue, but one which I think needs more widespread national attention. The bill calls for terminally ill patients who are mentally competent to request and self-administer a lethal overdose of Medication. Read more about it here. If this bill were here in New York, or were a National referendum, I would vote for it.

Would you willingly make those who are already dying suffer needlessly for your selfish wants? Make them pay for thousands of dollars in medical expenses that would be made, with this bill, unnecessary? No. I cannot. To cause those who are dying more pain for your morality is wrong on a great many levels. I will touch on this subject in a more in-depth manner at a later date.

One last thing….

Another ballot measure, this time in Colorado, called the “Colorado Equal Rights Amendment” or CERA, is not what it sounds like. This bill is a measure designed to define exactly what a person is under the laws of Colorado. The actual ballot question reads as follows:

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution defining the term “person” to include any human being from the moment of fertilization as “person” is used in those provisions of the Colorado constitution relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice, and due process of law?

Meaning that the state of Colorado wants to effectively outlaw abortion by claiming that an egg is a person, and that any form of birth control that would hinder fertilization could conceivably be called murder.

This is nuts. This is an invasion of privacy of the highest order. This is a legal mangling of the term person. Doctors working on women of reproductive age would be at risk for lawsuits and possibly even jail if they did anything that could conceivably harm an egg.

There are, I am sure, many ways to measure when a person becomes a person. But an egg? THAT’S pushing the Envelope too much. There is a great deal of foolishness in this particular concept. Let’s hope the people of Colorado have more sense than to let this pass.

Elections aren’t all about The President, ya know! Are there any big votes coming up around your way that you want to talk about? Drop me a Line and let me know!

Uncle Mikey.

I’m looking over the sites of the two major party candidates for President, and decided to look at what each has to say about women and women’s issues. There are more women in America than men, I know I heard that somewhere, i don’t recall where. I figure it’d be good to look at this Issue.

McCain does cover Education, health care, national security and veterans. What he doesn’t have is a dedicated section that speaks primarily to women. Odd that, seeing as how he has a woman on the ticket and all…. Oh Wait! There IS A piece on his site dedicated to women. It has a really Neat Sign up spot, a nice little section on Volunteer HQ, and a small 182 word blurb about joining up, it even says:

There is only one candidate who has answers to the most basic concerns facing women voters. John McCain will ensure security and opportunity for American families- health care security, economic security, and security from threats abroad and at home. It takes more than a speech to give answers to American women- it takes a plan and John McCain has one.

….But nothing about actual women’s issues, an no actual word on what that plan is.

Oopsie!

On the Obama website is little bit better with details. Details on everything from fighting for pay equity, to better care for women vets, to supporting a woman’s right to choose. A quote from the site:

Despite decades of progress, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. Throughout his career, Barack Obama and Joe Biden have championed the right of women to receive equal pay for equal work. In the Illinois State Senate, Obama cosponsored and voted for the Illinois Equal Pay Act, which provided 330,000 more women protection from pay discrimination. In the U.S. Senate, Obama joined a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce the Fair Pay Restoration Act, a bill to overturn the Supreme Court’s recent 5-4 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. The bill would restore the clear intent of Congress that workers must have a reasonable time to file a pay discrimination claim after they become victims of discriminatory compensation. Obama is also a cosponsor of Senator Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) Fair Pay Act. As president, Obama will continue to promote paycheck equity and close the wage gap between men and women.

There is more….Much more. Almost 3,000 words worth.

I have to tell you I am really disappointed in Mister McCain and his complete lack of touching on women’s issues….well, he does hit one, Abortion. But i have to tell you, he is a little well….. off with his talk on this page. An example:

Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat.

However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion.

Gotta tell ya, there is no way to get rid of abortion. None. Abortion has been around Literally for thousands of years. It was here before you were and will be here when you are gone. Sad but true.

And exactly WHAT constitutional balance are you speaking of here? Are you implying that the Constitution is Unbalanced and that you are the man to readjust it? You, Mister McCain, the sole arbiter of right moral Judgement, greater than that of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, and George Mason, the men who created the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?? You?? the former Fighter Jock? Are you serious?

Please.

I think Barack Got it right here, or at least better than McCain did. This is an Epic Fail on McCain’s Part, but that’s just my opinion. What say you? Do you think Obama’s head is screwed on wrong with what he has to say? Do you Like McCain’s views on Women’s Issues? What would you like to see these two candidates say and do on women’s issues that hasn’t been said? Drop me a Line and let me Know!

Uncle Mikey

John McCain, listening to a small but vocal minority in his Party (I’ve been hearing about this pairing for months from a few vocal supporters), has picked the conservative governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, as the Vice Presidential pick of the Republican party. Palin, who two years ago was a virtual unknown in the political mainstream, jumped to prominence after defeating incumbent former governor Frank Murkowski for the nod as the Republican pick for Governor and then former Governor Tony Knowles for the spot. Before that she was on the city council of the city of Wasilia, Alaska, where she served two terms and then won the mayoralty of that city in 1996.

The extremely popular 44 year old Republican governor is Pro-life and also pro Capital Punishment, and is, according to Wikipedia, who gets a big thank you for the facts given here, is “noted for her independence from big oil companies”.

The pick, it seems to me is a smart move and good strategically as well for the McCain campaign. It, in one stroke, tries to pull women voters who may still feel alienated by the victory of Barack Obama to McCain’s side with the pick of only the second woman ever on a major party ticket, tries to put to rest the connections between McCain and corporate interests, Puts a pro-life conservative on the ticket with him, and creates a great deal of buzz by putting a relative unknown in the spotlight mere days away from the Republican National Convention.

a video for you, a good look at Sarah Palin, from an interview a few months ago on CNBC with Larry Kudlow:

I Like this pick here by John McCain. I don’t know that it is the best pick he could have made, but it is definitely a better pick than either Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney. I don’t have a real issue with her age or lack of experience, if I did i would have the same issue with Barack Obama. I think she is a good pick in large part because the other picks out there all had real issues. Romney? flip-flop on pro-life/pro-choice. Tom Ridge? Pro-life when McCain is not. Pawlenty doesn’t have the aforementioned strengths that Palin has, strong a candidate for the V.P. as he was.

What do you think about this V.P. Pick? Is Sarah Palin the best pick? Does it counter well the Biden V.P. Pick the Democrats made? Does it help the Republican ticket in a dramatic way? In any way? Will this help the Republicans take the disenfranchised Hillary Clinton voters who feel left out by the Obama/Biden Campaign? Drop me a line and let me know!

Uncle Mikey

I watched The Saddleback “Civil Forum on the Presidency” hosted by Pastor Rick Warren on Saturday, and I have to tell you, I was riveted. It was truly a well put together affair. There were no REALLY difficult questions, but there really weren’t any easy ones either.

I’m not going to go over every word Mister Obama said, and i’m not going to go in any particular order. I am going to give a quote or two and then an Impression of what I thought of the man and how i feel about his answers. His answers were Long and thoughtful, the antithesis of Senator McCain’s responses. Here are a few.

He was asked who were the three wisest people in his life. His Answer: He could not keep it just 3 people. He said on a personal level it would be his wife and grandmother, and drew a chuckle when he said his wife was the type to get in your face when he makes a mistake, to which Pastor Warren said, You too? Funny. He said he thought the best Foreign policy people he could rely on would be Sam Nunn and Dick Lugar, and also mentioned Tom Coburn and Ted Kennedy as others he thought fit that standard.

When he was asked what the greatest moral failure in his life was, he spoke of his experimenting with drugs and alcohol when he was a teenager.

He waffled on the Abortion question, when asked at what point does a baby get human rights, he said he could not answer with specificity, that it was “Beyond his pay scale” He did defend admirably I think his belief in Roe V. Wade, and said that he wanted to work to lower the amount of unwanted pregnancies in this country, a number which has not gone down despite a Pro-life President in the White House the last 8 years.

He handled the Tax/Wealth question with comparative ease. After joking with the Pastor about how rich he was, he said that any over $250,000, while not on easy street, you are in the top 3 or 4% and are doing well. He added that anyone who makes $150,000 or less will get a tax decrease, and anyone over $250,000 will get a modest tax increase.

He made points with the crowd during this segment by mentioning that it was irresponsible to have a war that costs $10,000,000,000 a month and have no way to pay for it.

He answered less questions than John McCain, because his answers were more in-depth than Sen. McCain’s answers were. But the answers he gave, in fact gave the impression that he cared a great deal about the plight of those he spoke about, whether it was the plight of orphans worldwide, or teachers not getting enough pay for their work.

I dislike the waffling on the Abortion Issue, but other then that I am fairly well pleased with the man’s performance tonight. He reached out to the crowd, which at times seemed unwilling to reach back to him, particularly on the abortion issue, but in the end, won them over with a flair for speaking to people, and speaking directly to their needs and making it known that he’ll work for them and with them.

A video of the event for your viewing pleasure:

Do you think Barack Obama has what it takes to be the next President of the United States of America? What do like most about him? What is least appealing to you about him? Drop me a line and let me Know!

Uncle Mikey

I watched The Saddleback “Civil Forum on the Presidency” hosted by Pastor Rick Warren on Saturday, and I have to tell you, I was riveted. It was truly a well put together affair. There were no REALLY difficult questions, but there really weren’t any easy ones either.

I’m not going to go over every word Mister McCain said, and i’m not going to go in any particular order. I am going to give a quote or two and then an Impression of what I thought of the man and how i feel about his answers. There were many answers that were short and to the point, and some that meandered a bit. I’ll cover both examples at least once here.

He was asked who were the three wisest people in his life. His Answer: General David Petraeus, Representative John Lewis, and Meg Whitman. Petraeus was a gimme, since McCain is an ardent supporter of the Iraq war. I think the general is a good man as well, he’s just stuck in a war that’s been badly run since before he got there. John Lewis, now that pick surprised me because he’s a Democrat, and ardently opposes the Iraq war. The third person I knew nothing about, Meg Whitman, except what Mister McCain said Himself (Founder and former CEO Of EBay). What I have found out is that she works for the campaign and has been mentioned as a possible running mate for John McCain.

When he asked what the greatest moral failure of his life he said simply: The end of his first marriage.

When asked at what point does a baby get human rights he said simply: Life begins at the moment of conception. (Some say this means he is anti-contraception as well as anti-abortion)

When asked to define marriage, he said: A union between one man and one woman. (Against gay marriage)

VERY short and to the point answers. No explanation of the thought process behind what he believes.

At other times, he was very much the storyteller, and he told four or five of them Saturday. He told several stories of his time in Viet Nam in a prisoner of war camp, and in one story he told of how he had for a moment, found a christian amongst his captors…Of standing outside for a few minutes with him on christmas eve, and the guard draws a cross on the ground, and for a minute, just a minute, they weren’t enemies, they were two christians standing together.

Touching. Truly.

He did also have a few moments where he pushed his talking points a bit much. He pushed his energy agenda hard, like he was selling detergent, and sold his anti-russia views just as hard. He waffled big time when it came to taxes and what he considers “Rich”. Now, I am of much the same mind as him on Russia. His energy policy though isn’t nearly as comprehensive or as strong as Barack Obama’s. He would have won me over a bit more if wasn’t such a waffler on the Tax/Wealth question. When asked why he wanted to be President, he almost sounded like he was back on the stump, “America’s best days being ahead of us”. At times like that the man sounded genuinely wooden, like he was rehearsing a half remembered speech. You would have to be an ardent supporter of the man to think he did well in this “civil forum”.

But I’ll tell you, the overall impression I got was that he is a guy who maybe tried too hard to sell parts of his agenda to the public, who was too busy trying to be the best politician to show who he really is, but who believes in the basic power of the goodness of what he wants to do as President.

On a personal level, I do not believe in everything Mister McCain has to sell, and I am more convinced than ever that there are too many things that he and I disagree on for me to be happy with him as a candidate. But I think I know the man a bit better now than i did before this happened.

A video of the event for your viewing pleasure:

Do you think John McCain has what it takes to be the next President of the United States of America? What do like most about him? What is least appealing to you about him? Drop me a line and let me Know!

Uncle Mikey

The time has come to tackle a touchy subject. Roe V. Wade. Abortion. The Right to Choose. Since I first started this blog, John McCain has gone first, so He has the floor. An excerpt from his website:

John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench.

Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat.

However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion. Once the question is returned to the states, the fight for life will be one of courage and compassion…

And the floor now belongs to Barack Obama., An excerpt from his website:

Barack Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women’s rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in that case.

Preventing Unwanted Pregnancy:
Barack Obama is an original co-sponsor of legislation to expand access to contraception, health information and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies. Introduced in January 2007, the Prevention First Act will increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods.

I happen to agree with Mister Obama here, but allow me a quick comment. Abortion is wrong. No one, on ANY SIDE of this argument, despite what some of you may think, is PRO-ABORTION. No One. The thought is absurd. No one wants dead babies. But in the case of an Unwanted Pregnancy, It is the Right to choose argument that a legal abortion is safer for the woman than an illegal one and it should be the right of the woman to decide whether that child should be brought into the world or not. Oh, one more thing.

Abortion, in many forms, has been around for thousands of years. It is not going away. Make it illegal and it will go underground. You will not stop it, you will simply make it more dangerous for the women in question and will increase the risk of death and disease they run with the procedure.

I do not sit on the fence on this issue, although i must admit both sides bring compelling cases to the fore. Mister McCain’s stance that this is a states rights issue is, to my mind, a nice concept, but in this case, not quite good enough. He argues the tenth Amendment.

I argue the Ninth.

“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

The Ninth Amendment was written with a simple understanding that there are rights not specifically mentioned in the Bill of Rights that need protecting, ones that may not have been touched upon or even thought of at that time. This Amendment was there as a simple redress of this issue. It is seen by some as a protection of the right to choose, the right to privacy, and basic human rights that were expanded later on with the addition of the 14th amendment. Roe V. Wade was a decision meant to protect women and give them rights not given in the constitution. It is only right, to my mind, to use our Constitution to defend the right to choose.

Have an Opinion? Do you Think I’m wrong and want to argue about this? Drop me a line.