So many things to be outraged about, so little time

By now you’ve probably heard about the South Dakota anti-abortion bill that is causing a furor across the country. I knew it wouldn’t take long for someone to start trying to get these types of laws passed once Roberts and Alito were sworn in on the Supreme Court. Anyone taking any bets on whether Roe vs. Wade gets overturned? It’s just sad, especially how the SD bill even bans abortions on women who are victims of rape or incest. WTF??? My own state is trying to get some laws passed that make it more difficult to get abortions, even going so far as trying to pass a law that makes the doctor tell the patient that her fetus will experience pain. For any woman to be in that position, it’s tough enough without adding more stress and guilt. I have always believed that women should have the right to choose for themselves what is best for them. And don’t tell me “Well, she shouldn’t have been messing around then” or “she should have used birth control.” It’s nobody else’s business how the woman in question got pregnant and who are we or anyone else in this country to sit in judgement? Except that under the current regime, the country is slowly turning into a theocracy whereby the prez and his cronies can force their morality on everyone else. I expect this SD law will probably one day go to the Supreme Court (that Bush & Co. made sure was now tipped to the dangerously conservative) and we will see the rights of women set back decades.

And if that isn’t bad enough news, the Oklahoma House just overwhelming passed a law that would allow intelligent design to be taught in Oklahoma classrooms. There are articles about it here and here. As I have said before, Oklahoma is like the buckle of the Bible belt, so I guess it’s only fitting that the complete conversion to theocracy start here. Don’t get me wrong – I actually believe in God, but I also believe that every individual is entitled to their own beliefs. Don’t believe at all? Good for you – that’s absolutely your right too. The fact is intelligent design doesn’t belong in school. It is NOT SCIENCE. It is a faith-based belief that belongs in a faith-based institution, not an academic institution. The science testing scores in this state are abysmal enough without adding further harm by taking away all the scientific evidence of evolution. Me personally, I like to think that perhaps evolution is the process by which God created the Earth. But that’s just ME and how I reconcile it. Teach the kids FACTS in school and let them get the faith-based beliefs at church, and let them make up their own minds.

And then I was pointed to this Salon article when I was recently reading OkieFunk (which is a GREAT blog, by the way). The article gives several valid reasons why Bush should be impeached. There’s actually another article by Garrison Keillor HERE. Kurt with OkieFunk believes that the current political climate in Washington isn’t conducive to impeachment, and sadly, he is probably right. Apparently, right now it’s ok to lie and get us into a war that kills thousands of American troops and costs billions of dollars, and it’s ok to illegally wiretap US citizens, and it’s ok to authorize the torture of “enemy combatants”, not to mention giving a country that has known ties to 9-11 terrorists ties to our ports. But don’t dare have oral sex with an intern in the oval office and then lie about that. I'm just sayin’…