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what its really about: GOP will close down government over PlannedParenthood
Reid's Final Offer To GOP: Drop Planned Parenthood Rider Or Cause A Government Shutdown
Brian Beutler | April 8, 2011, 10:28AM
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has laid a final offer at Republicans' feet, and it will require them to drop their insistence on defunding Planned Parenthood, and accepting what Reid insists is an agreed upon level of spending cuts. If Republicans don't take it, and if Reid's not bluffing, the government will shutdown.
"The number we're not bending on," he told reporters in a press briefing Friday morning. "We're not bending on that and we're not bending on women's health."
The ball is effectively now in House Speaker John Boehner's court. Republicans have signaled a willingness to drop the Planned Parenthood rider in exchange for more spending cuts. But Reid says they've agreed on cut number -- $78 billion below President Obama's budget request last year, or about $38 billion off current spending. Reports on this figure have varied even in the last several hours.
After the briefing I asked Reid if this spending total, along with a menu of riders that does not include Planned Parenthood, represented his final offer.
"Yeah, that was what we, yeah," he said. "Listen, we've agreed to their number last night. They can't keep changing the goalposts."
After a White House meeting last night, Reid said, all had been agreed to except a GOP plan to defund Planned Parenthood.
"The only thing left was women's health," Reid said. That's a bridge too far, he said. "I am really concerned that this government is going to shutdown" over this issue.
"In the presence of the President of the United States, we went through those they -- the Republicans -- felt were most important," Reid added. "We went through them one by one. They were all resolved -- except the rider dealing with Planned Parenthood."
source: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...wn.php?ref=fpb
The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. What matter where, if I be still the same, And what I should be, all but less than he Whom thunder hath made greater?
Here at least We shall be free
What Planned Parenthood Actually Does—Besides Prevent Nearly a Quarter of a Million Abortions Every Year
Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 3:25 PM
There are GOP congresstards out there telling people that 80% of every dollar raised by Planned Parenthood goes to pay for abortions and that's why they gotta shut down the federal government. Here's a chart, via Sullivan, that you can print out and staple to the foreheads of any friends, relatives, or coworkers who actually believe this shit:
Ezra Klein:
As you can see in the chart atop this post, abortion services account for about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s activities. That’s less than cancer screening and prevention (16 percent), STD testing for both men and women (35 percent), and contraception (also 35 percent). About 80 percent of Planned Parenthood’s users are over age 20, and 75 percent have incomes below 150 percent of the poverty line. Planned Parenthood itself estimates it prevents more than 620,000 unintended pregnancies each year, and 220,000 abortions. It’s also worth noting that federal law already forbids Planned Parenthood from using the funds it receives from the government for abortions.
So though the fight over Planned Parenthood might be about abortion, Planned Parenthood itself isn’t about abortion. It’s primarily about contraception and reproductive health.... The fight also isn’t about cutting spending. The services Planned Parenthood provides save the federal government a lot of money.Today is a good day to make a donation—even a small, symbolic one—to Planned Parenthood
The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. What matter where, if I be still the same, And what I should be, all but less than he Whom thunder hath made greater?
Here at least We shall be free
Kyl's outrageous lie triggers Colbert action via Twitter
Posted: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 12:00 am | Comments
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We're glad people are having fun with U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl's not-intended-to-be-factual statement about Planned Parenthood's services.
In fact, Kyl's statement was an outright lie. Reading from notes or a text, Kyl declaimed during the federal budget debate on Friday that "well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does" is provide abortions.
That's simply not so. It's not even an exaggeration: Three percent of what Planned Parenthood does is provide abortions.
The rest is health care and family planning services, including screenings for cervical cancer, breast exams and tests and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases.
And, for the record, federal law bars Planned Parenthood from using tax dollars for abortions.
Moreover, cutting Planned Parenthood from the federal budget wouldn't do much to reduce the federal deficit. According to The Associated Press, it receives $363 million in federal funds from Medicaid and from Title X, which provides grants for family planning and related health services, the AP reported.
So back to Kyl, who didn't 'fess up to his lie so much as duck it. His office said his assertion was "not intended to be a factual statement." It's the use of the word "intended" that prompts us to label Kyl's statement as a lie. He did not intend to communicate the truth, the facts, in describing Planned Parenthood.
And now comes Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central's host of "The Colbert Report."
On his show on Monday night, Colbert joined in playing Kyl's game. Here's his offering:
"Jon Kyl has a vestigial tail - and it's not where you think it would be. There's a reason he never wears a tank top. Note: That was not intended to be a factual statement."
Colbert also has launched a Twitter feed - #NotIntendedToBeAFactualStatement - and the general public is weighing in with not-intended-to-be-factual assertions about Kyl. A sampling:
• "Jon Kyl sponsored S.410, which would ban happiness."
• "Jon Kyl let a game-winning ground ball roll through his legs in Game 6 of the '86 World Series."
• "Once a year, Jon Kyl retreats to the Arizona desert and deposits 2 million egg sacs under the sand."
Politicians sometimes lie. But Kyl's lie in this case was especially cynical; he didn't even try to shade it close to the facts.
So have some fun with Jon Kyl. He's asked for it.
Arizona Daily Star
Get in on the fun:
Go to twitter.com online and check out #NotIntendedToBeAFactualStatement
The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. What matter where, if I be still the same, And what I should be, all but less than he Whom thunder hath made greater?
Here at least We shall be free
favorite tweet so far:
The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. What matter where, if I be still the same, And what I should be, all but less than he Whom thunder hath made greater?
Here at least We shall be free
