An Observation

I would just like to take a moment to note the irony that members of Congress, who are at the best times reluctant to do something wise but unpopular for fear of losing their jobs, are now avoiding like its radioactive any legislation that would legitimately stand to create actual jobs or help unemployed people, because they don't want to lose THEIR jobs and have to try to make it out there beyond the Beltway where their own craven self-interest has created a bleak and hostile landscape of diminishing opportunities.

There are only so many openings at the lobbying firm of McGuire, Dickstein, & Thanks for Your Help Deregulating Those Pesky Consumer Protections.

Number of the Day

$117,437: The amount of money Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ealpieceofwork), "who has spent months lecturing President Obama and Democrats on fiscal responsibility," owes in back child support.

When the Tea Party totesfuck was asked about his deadbeatery by CNN, Walsh replied: "I know that story just broke, and it's interesting that it just broke right now as I'm out there trying my best to fight this President and fight the Democrats and solve this debt crisis. But look, I'm the most openly vetted candidate in the world. I have had financial troubles and I talked about them throughout the campaign. This is where real America is."

Yup. He understands the plight of "Real Americans" because he's stiffing his kids, despite having the resources to loan his own campaign $35,000.

Photo of the Day

US Speaker of the House of Representative John Boehner speaks with a television crew at the Capitol in Washington on July 25, 2011 after delivering his response to President Barack Obama's address to the nation on the debt ceiling crisis. [Getty Images]

Just the look on his face. Oy. Honestly.

[Commenting Guidelines: No, it is not all right to talk about Boehner's tan, or the fact that he's wearing make-up (having just given a televised address), or in any other way make fun of his appearance.]

Quote of the Day

[Trigger warning for violence and terrorism.]

"On Sunday, the New York Times headlined 'As Horrors Emerged, Norway Charges Christian extremist'. A number of other news organizations like the LA Times and Reuters also played up the Christian angle. But Breivik is not a Christian. That's impossible. No one believing in Jesus commits mass murder."—Bill O'Reilly, employing the No True Scotsman fallacy in order to assert that Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik isn't a Christian because he did a supposedly un-Christian thing.

What REAL Christians do, I guess, is sexually harass people, victim-blame child survivors of sexual violence, offer up people and places he doesn't like to violence, and participate in a terrorist campaign.

Not that it's news that O'Reilly is a spectacular hypocrite with all the integrity of a Fox News presenter, but wow.

[Related Reading: On "Real" Christians and Christian Privilege.]

Quote of the Day

"There are certain ways that we speak in the military, and I guess I have not learned the DC-insider talk that maybe some of these people are used to."—Republican Congressman Allen West (Florida), refusing to apologize for his wildly inappropriate email in which he called Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz "the most vile, unprofessional, and despicable member of the US House of Representatives" and "not a lady," among other things, and blaming his disrespectful and unprofessional behavior on having a military background.

Support the troops!

Quote of the Day

"You are the most vile, unprofessional, and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. ... You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!"—Republican Congressman Allen West (Florida), in an email to Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who deigned to criticize on the House floor his support for the craptacular "Cut, Cap, and Balance" legislation to raise the debt ceiling.

Her criticism? Facts.

"The gentleman from Florida. who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries, unbelievable from a Member from South Florida," Wasserman Schultz said, saying the legislation "slashes Medicaid and critical investments essential to winning the future in favor of protecting tax breaks for Big Oil, millionaires, and companies who ship American jobs overseas."

Someone please introduce Congressman West to the phrase "disproportionate response."

Open Thread & News Round-Up: Debt Negotiations

Here's the latest...

The Hill—Obama officially threatens to veto Republicans' 'cut, cap and balance' bill:

The White House on Monday warned President Obama will veto GOP legislation to "cut, cap and balance" spending and the budget.

In a statement of administration policy, the White House Office of Management and Budget labeled the GOP bill as an "empty political statement."

The House Rules Committee is expected to take up the measure Monday, and it is likely to receive a floor vote on Tuesday. The measure would cut spending in fiscal 2012 by $111 billion, cap future spending at 19.9 percent of gross domestic product and allow for the debt ceiling to be increased if a balanced-budget amendment is approved by Congress and sent to the states.

The administration said the measure, which is not expected to move through the Senate, is unnecessary and unrealistic.

...The president's veto threat was followed by a full-on assault from administration officials who blasted the GOP proposal as "extreme, radical [and] unprecedented."

Joe Conason in the National Memo—Exclusive Bill Clinton Interview: I Would Use Constitutional Option to Raise Debt Ceiling: "Former President Bill Clinton says that he would invoke the so-called constitutional option to raise the nation's debt ceiling 'without hesitation, and force the courts to stop me' in order to prevent a default, should Congress and the President fail to achieve agreement before the August 2 deadline."

CNN—Coburn offers his own budget plan: "Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, released his version of a budget plan Monday, saying his ideas would save the country $9 trillion over 10 years. ... The plan, titled 'Back in Black,' includes cuts to the Department of Defense, entitlement reforms, and shutting down the Department of Education."

Think Progress—Rep. Louie Gohmert Wonders If Obama Chose Debt Ceiling Deadline To Coincide With His Birthday Party: "While a startling number of House Republicans refuse to accept experts' dire warnings about the possibility of default come Aug. 2 if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) thinks he has stumbled across the Obama administration's real motivation behind choosing that date. Many Republicans think the August date is a phony deadline Democrats invented to scare Congress into raising the ceiling, but Gohmert sees a more personal significance for President Obama—his 50th birthday on Aug. 4 and his birthday party on the 3rd. The fact that the party is the day after the debt deadline is something Gohmert finds awfully suspicious, he told Newsmax TV yesterday, suggesting that Obama chose the date so he could be a hero at his 'birthday bash' for the 'celebrities flying in from all over.'"

The Hill—Reid: Saturday workdays for Senate: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Monday said the Senate would work weekends until Congress and the White House reach a deal to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.
House leaders offered no new announcements on Monday about their own schedules, but sources said congressional leaders were prepared to keep lawmakers in session through the beginning of the August recess if negotiators fail to reach a deal."

WaPo—Poll: Little confidence in leaders to deal with debt issue; Obama has edge:

[According to a new poll from the Washington Post and the Pew Research Center, a] third or fewer Americans express a "great deal" or even a "fair amount" of confidence in any of the five top congressional leaders at the center of negotiations aimed at avoiding an historic default – Republicans Mitch McConnell, John Boehner and Eric Cantor and Democrats Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

President Obama fares better, although not particularly well: 48 percent of those polled have at least a fair amount of confidence in the president, but about as many, 49 percent, have "not too much" or "none at all." More say they have none than say they have a lot (32 to 24 percent).

George Packer in The New Yorker—Empty Wallets: "What does either side have to offer the tens of millions of Americans who have settled into a semi-permanent state of economic depression? Virtually nothing."

Politico—Debt ceiling debate turns 'scary':

Washington's frayed nerves showed through Monday amid tough talk on the right, a White House veto threat, canceled weekend passes and the top Senate Democrat likening default to a "very, very scary" outcome even for those "who believe government should be small enough to drown in a bathtub."

"What will it take," asked an agitated Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), "for my Republican colleagues to wake up to the fact that they're playing a game of political chicken with the entire global economy?"

House Speaker John Boehner confirmed a POLITICO report that he had met again privately with President Barack Obama at the White House on Sunday to try to get debt talks back on track. But ignoring Obama's veto warning, Boehner will press ahead Tuesday with House votes on a revised debt ceiling bill that shows no sign of compromise on the spending and tax policy differences behind the crisis.

Of course. Because Boehner and his entire party are a bunch of fucking jackasses.

Discuss.

Today in Anti-Woman Douchecanoery

First up is New Hampshire. Oh, New Hampshire. The NH Council voted last week to not renew a contract with Planned Parenthood there. PP there has operated under a limited pharmacy lisence based on that particular contract. Without the contract, the clinics are now no longer dispensing contraception. The reasoning for the denial of the contract? The same, tired bullshit about not wanting taxpayers to fund an organization that provides a medical service some people don't like.

The Planned Parenthood contract, which accounts for about 20 percent of its annual New Hampshire budget, would have paid for education, distributing contraception, and the testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. The organization's abortion practice is paid for by private donations, Trombley [Steve, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England] said, with audits ensuring no public money is used.

Last year, Planned Parenthood provided contraception for 13,242 patients in New Hampshire, Trombley said. The organization also provided 6,112 breast exams, 5,548 screenings for cervical cancer and 18,858 tests for sexually transmitted infections. If the contract is not renewed, Planned Parenthood will drastically reduce its services, Trombley said. The organization employs 80 people in New Hampshire.

Planned Parenthood treats 52 percent of patients whose care is subsidized by the New Hampshire state family planning program, Trombley said. It provides its services on a sliding scale based on income, with 70 percent of patients paying nothing or near nothing for birth control pills because they earn less than 150 percent of the federal poverty line.

The centers are turning away 20 - 30 people per day--people who cannot afford to pay full cost for contraception. Some, in part, due to lack of insurance. Don't, however, look to the council to necessarily care:

Another executive councilor who opposed the contract, Raymond Wieczorek of Manchester, said he had asked if the contract could exclude the issuance of condoms. Wieczorek said he supports paying to test for sexually transmitted diseases but does not believe the state should subsidize contraception.

"If they want to have a good time, why not let them pay for it?" he said.

Really, that just says it all right there, don't you think?

Next up: More Wisconsin.

In Wisconsin, an anti-abortion group is demanding the attorney general start enforcing a provision added onto Scott Walker's budget clusterfuck that is directed at university med students and their ability to learn adequate and comprehensive patient care procedures.

State law has long prohibited the use of public funds to pay physicians to perform most abortions. As amended by the Republican-controlled Legislature last month, that state law now specifies that UW Hospital and Clinics is in fact a state “agency” and subject to this law.

UW Health asked Gov. Scott Walker to veto the provision, charging that the claim UWHC uses state funds is “incorrect” and will set a dangerous precedent with “disastrous consequences” that will ripple far beyond the controversial issue of abortion training. UW claims that without the training, which involves two rotations for one month outside the university premises at Planned Parenthood clinics, its gynecology and obstetrics training program could lose its accreditation and women in Wisconsin could lose access to many health services across the state, not just abortions.

[...]

Dr. Fredrik Broekhuizen, the medical director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin who also has an academic practice at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, says it is vital for medical students to be trained in abortion services.

“There are medically indicated pregnancy terminations, and physicians need to have skills to do that,” says Broekhuizen. He notes that even physicians who do not work in abortion clinics may well need to perform an abortion.

“There are situations where patients have fetal death in utero at 16 to 18 weeks of gestation,” he says. “The mode of delivery in the case of a dead fetus is exactly the same procedure as an abortion procedure. So learning these techniques is an essential part of what an ob/gyn needs to know in order to provide comprehensive care to women, regardless of where they choose to practice.”

And this is why, he says, the accreditation organization for ob/gyn programs requires that training in abortion services be offered. “Residents can opt out if they have moral objections, but that should be part of the training.” And without elective abortion procedures offered at UW or any other Madison hospital, the only option for such training is Planned Parenthood, he adds.

In opposing the Republican budget measure, UW Hospital officials also argued that UW does not pay for the training because Meriter Hospital funds that portion of resident training.

The "Right to Life" group opposes this reasoning saying that it's just "legalistic manipulations". The group blathers on about how "residents need to be instructed how to save, preserve and respect life, not how to kill preborn children..." but they obviously don't give a shit about saving, preserving, or respecting the lives of women who need the medical procedures a resident learns how to do in training. Just for one example: after 10 weeks gestation, a miscarriage is more likely to be incomplete and a woman may need a D&C. Does this so called "pro-life" group care? No. They don't. They don't give a shit about women except as incubators for those "preborn children" (once born, though, those same people scream "BOOTSTRAPS!").

There are not words to describe my contempt for these anti-life crusaders. They like to point at pro-choice people and call them "pro-death" but pro-choicers aren't the ones condemning women to not have access to medical care or comprehensively trained physicians.

Ohio News

The Ohio House is currently in session (which you can watch live here). Within the past hour, they've passed two oenerous pieces of legislation, HB 78 (I believe was 64Y - 33N, but I didn't record it) and HB 79 (62Y - 35N).

HB 78 is an appalling, hideous bit of legislation (underlines & strike-outs theirs, not mine):

(A) "Fertilization" means the fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum.

(B) "Gestational age" or "gestation" means the age of an unborn human child as calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of a pregnant woman.

[...]

(F) "Medical emergency" means a condition that a pregnant woman's physician determines, in the physician's good faith and in the exercise of reasonable medical judgment, based upon the facts known to the physician at that time, so complicates the woman's pregnancy as to necessitate the immediate performance or inducement of an abortion in order to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to avoid a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman that delay in the performance or inducement of the abortion would create.

(G) "Physician" has the same meaning as in section 2305.113 of the Revised Code.

(H) "Pregnant" means the human female reproductive condition, that commences with fertilization, of having a developing fetus.

(I) "Pregnancy" means the condition of being pregnant.

(J) "Premature infant" means a human whose live birth occurs prior to thirty-eight weeks of gestational age.

(J)(K) "Serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function" means any medically diagnosed condition that so complicates the pregnancy of the woman as to directly or indirectly cause the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function, including, but not limited to, the following conditions:

(1) Pre-eclampsia;

(2) Inevitable abortion;

(3) Prematurely ruptured membrane;

(4) Diabetes;

(5) Multiple sclerosis. A medically diagnosed condition that constitutes a "serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function" includes pre-eclampsia, inevitable abortion, and premature rupture of the membranes, may include, but is not limited to, diabetes and multiple sclerosis, and does not include a condition related to the woman's mental health.

(K)(L) "Unborn human child" means an individual organism of the species homo sapiens from fertilization until live birth.

[...]
(B)(1) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (A) of this section that the abortion was performed or induced or attempted to be performed or induced by a physician and that the physician determined, in the physician's good faith medical judgment, based on the facts known to the physician at that time, that either of the following applied:

(a) The unborn child was not viable.

(b) The abortion was necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.

(2) No abortion shall be considered necessary under division (B)(1)(b) of this section on the basis of a claim or diagnosis that the pregnant woman will engage in conduct that would result in the pregnant woman's death or a substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman or based on any reason related to the woman's mental health.

Read the full text here. There are many hoops a doctor must jump through to even do an abortion to save the life of a women--not to mention a shitload of tracking paperwork to be submitted to the Dept of Health.

You can read the text of HB 79 here, though it simply says: [A]ny qualified health plan as defined in section 1301 of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," 42 U.S.C. 18021, offered in this state through an exchange created under that act" will not offer abortion coverage for "non-theraputic" abortion.

The House has not yet moved onto the notorious HB 125, the so-called "heartbeat bill". Will keep you updated if/when there is any news on that.

ETA:They did already vote and HB 125 passed 54 - 43. As a reminder: SCOTUS has deemed it is unconstitutional to pass laws preventing abortion before viability.

Chipping Away...

Kansas, the state notoriously opposed to women's rights, appears to have found a bureaucratic means to deny women, esp. poor and uninsured women, health care. On May 16th of this year, Gov. Brownback signed a law that targeted abortion providers with special regulations and any clinic which offered the health care service must be in compliance by July 1st or else they will not receive their special operating license. It was ten days later that the clinics received notice that the new regulations were coming. This week they got the most recent listing of medications that must be on hand and room dimension size. Let's not forget all that goes into this: they had to try and be compliant with new regs, get inspected (and perhaps reinspected), and file the paperwork and wait for approval.

One of three abortion providers in Kansas appeared likely to close after being denied a state license to continue terminating pregnancies at its Kansas City-area clinic, and abortion rights supporters feared Friday that the anti-abortion governor's administration will reject licenses for the other two.

[...]
A lawyer for the Aid for Women clinic in Kansas City, Kan., said Friday that it received a notice that its application for a license had been denied by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment without an inspection. Attorney Cheryl Pilate said the clinic was looking at its legal options but would have to close, at least temporarily.

The clinic received its notice on the same day the leader of a regional Planned Parenthood chapter said inspectors who spent two days at its Overland Park clinic found it will comply with all new regulations. An inspection of the third provider is scheduled for Wednesday. All three are in the Kansas City area.

"We're doomed," said Dr. Herbert Hodes, who performs abortions for the third provider, the Women's Health Center, also in Overland Park.

[...]

The new law requires a separate, annual license for any hospital, clinic or office that performs at least five non-emergency abortions a month, and it requires state inspections, including at least one unannounced visit each year. The health department can fine providers and go to court to revoke their licenses.

Pilate said the health department told Aid for Women its application was denied because it had disclosed that it would need extensive renovations.

Also, she said, the clinic reported the physician who performs abortions is in the process of seeking privileges at an area hospital. The new law requires that a physician have privileges at a hospital within 30 miles.

The department's notice said that for those reasons, "an on-site inspection will not be necessary and will not be scheduled."

Pilate said the clinic couldn't have even obtained remodeling plans or a building permit for renovations by July 1. She called the licensing process "rushed and absurdly unrealistic."

I'd call the licensing process "nefarious and sinister". If the license is pending July 1st or later, any abortion performed will be deemed illegal. This an extremely disturbing back-door method of denying women necessary health care. As Ms. Pilate said:

"There are patients with scheduled appointments with few or no other options," Pilate said. "It's going to hurt poor women."

What's the matter with Kansas? The politicians.

Speaking of odious, woman-hating legislation, recall the Ohio "Heartbeat" Bill? If not:

[A]n abortion would be illegal once the heartbeat of a fetus is detected. The bill would require the doctor to find that heartbeat using "standard medical practice," a term not defined.

A doctor who violates the law could be found guilty of a fifth-degree felony, punishable by up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine. The mother could not be charged.

That bill, HB 125, is scheduled for floor vote tomorrow. There is a rally scheduled for tomorrow morning, if you live in or near the area.

As I said in the Ohio post--GOP: Pro-Fetus; Pro-Forced Birth; Anti-Woman, Anti-Family, Anti-Decency.