McCain the Maverick? Not on Reproductive Rights.

There are a good number of people in this country that view John McCain as a bit of a maverick, a man who is willing to stand up to the Republican party has a whole, cross the isle in search of effective compromise, and stand behind his own beliefs even when they conflict with the dominant views of the party. This may very well be true with regard to some issues, but despite some public misconceptions to the contrary, reproductive rights certainly isn't one of them. There are some who have, due to McCain's image as a maverick, taken him to be pro-choice, or at least less anti-choice then the likes of far-righties like G.W. Bush, Mike Huckabee, etc. NARAL has started up a website where you can, according to them, meet the real McCain. And if you follow the links in search of info on McCain's record, you'll be led to a compilation of McCain's anti-choice votes and statements.

If you read through that list, you might be surprised to discover that:

*McCain is staunchly anti-choice, openly in favor of overturning Roe, and determined to nominate judges who will ignore the rights of women.

*McCain has voted to support abstinence-only education programs, which have been shown to be ineffective and often involve disseminating falsehoods to kids. He's also voted for substantial funding for such programs to be allocated from the fund for HIV/AIDS. That means that rather then putting our money toward effective means of reducing HIV/AIDS in areas of the world that are experiencing a devestating epidemic, the money is being wasted on ineffective, and dogmatically motivated, programs.

*McCain has voted to support the global gag rule, which precludes any openly pro-choice international organization from obtaining federal funds, even if they use non-federal money to provide abortion services or do not offer such services at all. This prevents these organizations from giving much needed family planning and women's health services to some of the poorest women in the world, and places a burden on other organizations which they may not be able to meet, thus leaving women out in the cold.

*McCain has voted against measures that would make birth control more accessible to women, and has actually voted for parental notification laws that would make it more difficult for teens to access birth control.

*McCain voted to end Title X, which provides women in need with all sorts of medical services, from birth control to vaccinations to cancer screenings.

Now, even if you're opposed to legal abortion, you've got to admit that McCain's record is not just anti-choice, but clearly unconcerned with the reproductive rights and reproductive health of women here in America and around the world. Unless your place on the ideological spectrum has you nestled between Dubya and Pat Robertson, some of McCain's record is going to leave a bad taste in your mouth. After all, if you're interested in reducing abortions, increasing access to and knowledge about contraceptives should be at the top of your list. It's not at the top of McCain's. If you're worried about the AIDS crisis in Africa, then making sure that we are funding programs that have the greatest effectiveness in reducing the transmission of HIV/AIDS should be one of your concerns. It's not one of McCain's. If securing the rights and improving the health of women in the US and around the world is something that is important to you, McCain may not be your candidate, because his record clearly demonstrates that it's not important to him.

McCain may have the image of an ideological maverick, but when it comes to reproductive rights and women's health he's right in line with the far right. We should all be aware of that fact when we enter the voting booth this November.

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PZ Says It All (Or at least most of it)

There is a great post over at Pharyngula handling some of the most common arguments against and misconceptions about atheism. Check it out.

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Hey Career Woman - Hurry Up And Have A Baby!

Penelope Trunk of the Boston Globe has an important message for women – if you want kids, then you best get busy. Your biological clock is ticking. And don’t worry about that career – you’ll have time for it later.

Well, Ms Trunk, first, we career women are all painfully aware of the fact that our biological clocks are ticking. And we know better than to believe those who say “Oh, you still have time for kids later”. But while the field of journalism may be such that you can make your career happen long after your little ones have entered school, not every woman has the same opportunity. In my field – academic philosophy - for example, it is necessary to obtain one’s degree as quickly as possible since this makes it more likely that you will obtain a tenure track position. And believe me, it’s not easy being in a field that is over 70% male. They don’t give you special treatment. The fact that you got married and had a baby doesn’t impact their thoughts when they look at your CV. In fact, in some departments you have to work twice as hard as your male colleagues to even gain their recognition as an equal. Now, if you manage to get a tenure track position (difficult even for males in this field), you then have five years to publish, publish, publish so that you can get tenured. The tenure clock starts ticking the instant you take up your position. During this time you are also expected to teach a full load and perform all the nasty grunt administration tasks that the tenured faculty don’t want to deal with (like directing the undergraduates). This is not easy to do even without young children. And while some universities will stop the tenure clock for women who are having children, there is no guarantee that you'll be able to get a job at one of those universities. You have to take what you can get in this field. Finally, if you live through all this and manage to get tenured, you are now in a position to start a family. Best case scenario, after a four year BA, 5 years post graduate and a 5 year tenure clock, you’re 32. And that's really a best case scenario.

I’m not saying that the world of academic philosophy is any harder than any other career path. That’s just the point. Women face the same sort of challenges in the sciences, in the legal world and in the business world. So what you’re telling us, Ms. Trunk, is that we have to choose. We have to pick between having children and fulfilling our dreams. We already knew that we were likely to face this choice, unless we could manage to somehow be superwomen (and some women do.) But we shouldn’t have to choose. So rather than wasting your time telling us we have to make this choice, Ms. Trunk, perhaps you should be using your position as a journalist to make it clear how unfair the choice is in the first place.

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A Little Angst - What the Heck Does it Mean to Be Spiritual?

This has confused me for some time. Lots of people will say that they are spiritual, but there doesn’t seem to be a clear consensus on what this means. Some “spiritual” people tell me that they believe in ghosts, others laugh at the idea; some tell me they know how many kids I’ll have based on the lines on my hands, others say that’s a bunch of hogwash. Some say they can feel good energy and bad energy; others say there is no such thing as good or bad energy, only how you use it. According to Sam Harris’ understanding of ‘spiritual’, I’m spiritual; according to the guy in the coffee shop, I’m not. The only thing that seems to be consistent with the “spiritual” people I’ve met (Sam Harris likely excluded) is that they all seem to treat me with the same attitude – “Oh little atheist, you’re young. You just don’t understand. Eventually you’ll come to know what I know, and then you’ll be spiritual too”. Well, okay. I’m listening. Quit condescending and help. What should I learn? What is the sweet, young, misguided atheist missing? Because I’m starting to think that people who are “spiritual” (Sam Harris excluded) use this as a blanket term for “I believe in woo, and being spiritual involves believing in the woo that I believe in.”

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I'm In Love!

Okay, okay, it’s just intellectual infatuation… with a youtuber named ProfMTH. If his videos are any indication, this guy gives great lecture. A taste of the sort of video he puts out below the fold, but I would suggest checking out his channel page and watching some more. The videos are so good I can even ignore the fact that he supports Obama!

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Expelled - New Trailer

Via Pharangyla.






RAmen!

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Horton Hears A.... What?!

This is just too rich. Anti-abortion protestors decided the perfect venue would be the premiere of Horton Hears A Who - a children's flick. I don't know whether to laugh out loud or let out a big long sigh.

The reason the anti-choice crowd has latched on to this flick? It's theme is "A person's a person no matter how small". Well, duh! But guess what? That doesn't translate to "A person's a person even when it's just a collection of pluripotent cells". And once again - it doesn't matter if a blastocyst/embryo/fetus is a person! No person has the right to use another's body without their consent. Sheesh. How long are we going to talk past each other?

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