Another Straw Man Down

wollstonecraft-right-of-womanAny one who has dealt with anti-choice zealots knows they will say and do anything to stop a woman from exercising her right to terminate pregnancies. This includes the use of a number of number of pseudoscientific studies that supposedly justify what is essentially their narrow religious viewpoints with facts and the scientific method.  Today, one more scientific study has shown yet another religious right talking point on abortion supposedly backed by scientific study is just that, a talking point, with no basis in fact.  It’s time for women’s rights advocates to get this information out so we reframe this in terms of science and not patriarchal religious tomes.

Abortion not seen linked with depression

Review of studies found no evidence of emotional harm after procedure

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Changing the Changie Change Thing

It’s another change that will suprise the progressives from President Select Obama.  Are you ready?

Obama shelves oil company tax after price fall: aide

 CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Barack Obama is not planning to implement a windfall profit tax on oil companies because prices have dropped below $80 a barrel, an aide said on Tuesday.

“President-elect Obama announced the policy during the campaign because oil prices were above $80 per barrel,” an aide on Obama’s transition team said. “They are currently below that now and expected to stay below that.”

Oil prices have fallen from a record $147 a barrel in July to under $50 this week.

Obama, who signaled early in his campaign for the White House that he would take an active approach to oil markets as president, had planned to use the revenue from a windfall profits tax to fund a tax rebate for low- and middle-income families struggling with high energy prices.

But the aide said Obama’s presidential campaign had already taken the price drop into account six weeks ago. When Obama laid out his economic plan for the middle class in mid-October, revenue from a windfall profit tax was not included because of the price change, he said.

 stinker-cut-rateWell, isn’t that special?  How long are progressives going to be able to take one more from the Gypper and be able to walk without hobbling over from intense pain in their hinies?

So, he’s rethinking Gitmo closing, not changing the Bush tax cuts, just saying no to the windfall profits tax that was supposed to pay for health care, and appointing the same folks to cabinet positions he was criticizing just months ago?

What’s next?  Pardoning Dubya of anything remotely resembling a crime on January 20th?


Howls from the The Progressive Wilderness

bailoutI continue to be amazed by the number of progressive bloggers that are rationalizing their votes for Obama while experiencing one jaw-dropping Obama appointment after another.  Today, I read David Sirota’s addendum to the latest progressive hissy-fit.  That is, it must be we haven’t had enough hissy-fits because the one is obviously not listening to us.  Read it all here.

Did Obama really run on a progressive agenda?  If you’ve read any of us Cassandras on The Confluence or other Puma places, you’ll see that we’ve been saying he’s not a progressive for a long time.  My favorite description of the one is opportunistic chameleon.  Let’s face it progressives, ever since you were had on FISA, the one realized it wasn’t his platform but his hopey changey say nothing of substance speeches that would get him elected.  Why would you think that would change now? 

 

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