Obama overrules the FDA's decision to more widely distribute the morning-after pill

[CynicalIdealist]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/2011/12/07/gIQAF5HicO_story.html?tid=pm_pop

His health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, overruled the FDA on allowing minors to purchase the morning-after pill at drugstores and supermarkets. Obama defended this decision today: (http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/ap/us_med_morning_after_pill)

"As the father of two daughters," he said, "I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine."

*vomit*

To think that liberals still have a modicum of respect for him after everything he's done... wow.

[GPDP]

I'm sure it was just the Republicans breathing down his neck, forcing him to do things he doesn't want to do. Yup, totally.

[MattShizzle]

Thing is he's still the best viable choice, and may be the best president the US has had in over 40 years. Of course that just shows how low the bar is.

[GPDP]

Thing is he's still the best viable choice, and may be the best president the US has had in over 40 years. Of course that just shows how low the bar is.

You say that in a way that implies we should support or vote for him. I hope I'm wrong.

[MattShizzle]

I wouldn't "support" him but would vote seeing as how any of the ones running against him would be much worse - ie Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, or Michelle Bachmann. Lesser of 2 evils. Unfortunately the US doesn't have a viable even semi-leftist party.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Thing is he's still the best viable choice, and may be the best president the US has had in over 40 years. Of course that just shows how low the bar is.


What? There is nothing different about him than any other asshole who's ever been in office. What the fuck has he done that makes him so good? Expanded the US military's role in international affairs? Deported more people than Bush? Started a guaranteed profit program for the insurance industry dressed up perversely as "universal healthcare"? Gave his blessing to the rewarding of financial institutions through TARP?

Oh, but my bad, he repealed "don't ask don't tell". Now gay people can go shoot down 'murika's enemies just like their straight counterparts. God bless him.

[GPDP]

What? There is nothing different about him than any other asshole who's ever been in office. What the fuck has he done that makes him so good? Expanded the US military's role in international affairs? Deported more people than Bush? Started a guaranteed profit program for the insurance industry dressed up perversely as "universal healthcare"? Gave his blessing to the rewarding of financial institutions through TARP?

Oh, but my bad, he repealed "don't ask don't tell". Now gay people can go shoot down 'murika's enemies just like their straight counterparts. God bless him.

He did repeal the ban on stem-cell research. Other than that, I got nothing.

[CynicalIdealist]

Thing is he's still the best viable choice, and may be the best president the US has had in over 40 years. Of course that just shows how low the bar is.

If anything he's the worst president in 40 years. The austerity that Obama has agreed to is at historical levels of terrible.

http://media.lclark.edu/content/hart-landsberg/files/2011/07/taxes-and-spending-past-deals.jpg

[CynicalIdealist]

And all while real wages have basically bottomed:

http://media.lclark.edu/content/hart-landsberg/files/2011/07/wage-depression.png

And we're doing more work for less pay:

http://media.lclark.edu/content/hart-landsberg/files/2011/07/change-since-1979-300.gif

Add up Obama's austerity, tax cuts for the rich in his stimulus plan, record war spending, free trade deals with Latin America/South Korea, increased drone attacks in Pakistan/Yemen, bombing Libya without congressional approval, increased presence in Afghanistan, arms to Bahrain, go-ahead for Saudi Arabia to invade Bahrain, troops to Uganda, go-ahead for Kenya to invade Somalia, suppression of Wikileaks, recognition of the coup government in Honduras, destroying the healthcare public option behind closed doors, not letting the Bush tax cuts expire, easing the restrictions on child soldiers in Africa, record aid to Israel, record deportations of undocumented workers, "Race to the Top" charterization/privatization education plan, attacks on women's rights that we see in this topic and well... you have a shitty president on your hands. I mean really shitty.

[kahimikarie]

"common sense"

I hope pro-Obama feminists feel ashamed.

[MattShizzle]

Spending cuts CAN be good - if it's military spending. Almost anything else is bad - wonder about that with the 1st chart - Reagan spent the fuck out of things on the military but cut a lot of good things. Bush I and Clinton were right after the cold war and cut it some.
But yeah, something needs to be done BIG TIME about the gap between rich and poor.

[ed miliband]

Spending cuts CAN be good - if it's military spending. Almost anything else is bad - wonder about that with the 1st chart - Reagan spent the fuck out of things on the military but cut a lot of good things. Bush I and Clinton were right after the cold war and cut it some.
But yeah, something needs to be done BIG TIME about the gap between rich and poor.

why just do something about the "gap"? let's destroy being "rich" or "poor".

[CynicalIdealist]

Spending cuts CAN be good - if it's military spending. Almost anything else is bad - wonder about that with the 1st chart - Reagan spent the fuck out of things on the military but cut a lot of good things. Bush I and Clinton were right after the cold war and cut it some.
But yeah, something needs to be done BIG TIME about the gap between rich and poor.

There's no doubt that most of our government spending is military, so if it looked like I was praising past presidents I wasn't. I'm simply saying that the amount that Obama's agreed to in spending cuts is unprecedented, which by the way, doesn't include cuts to military spending. Its hundreds of billions of dollars worth in education, Medicare and energy programs cuts.

Also to quote this whitehouse fact sheet on the debt deal: http://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheet-victory-bipartisan-compromise-economy-american-people

"Reduces Domestic Discretionary Spending to the Lowest Level Since Eisenhower: These discretionary caps will put us on track to reduce non-defense discretionary spending to its lowest level since Dwight Eisenhower was President."

[MattShizzle]

why just do something about the "gap"? let's destroy being "rich" or "poor".

Well, there is 0 chance of that happening in the US without actual revolution, so until that time we have to make do with what we can. And social spending should be drastically INCREASED and military spending cut (at least) in half. And of course raise taxes on the rich A LOT.

[Broletariat]

Well, there is 0 chance of that happening in the US without actual revolution, so until that time we have to make do with what we can. And social spending should be drastically INCREASED and military spending cut (at least) in half. And of course raise taxes on the rich A LOT.

And here we see the classic mistake that Marx called Proudhon out for so many years ago.

Trying to make things better now without revolution is akin to noting that when the weather is nice everyone goes for a walk, you try and get everyone to go for a walk to make the weather nice.

[ed miliband]

Well, there is 0 chance of that happening in the US without actual revolution, so until that time we have to make do with what we can. And social spending should be drastically INCREASED and military spending cut (at least) in half. And of course raise taxes on the rich A LOT.

And given the current state of global capitalism, the austerity programs being enacted across the globe, etc. why are such reforms anymore likely than revolution?

[IndependentCitizen]

Well, the constitution allows virtually fuck all room for the executive to manoeuvre, so this is probably congress ganging up on him and requested this to be blocked, in return for one of Obama's bills to be passed.