Understanding the extremists

These are merely a few of the crazy statements made by the (mostly anonymous) anti-abortion extremists (oftentimes religious fruit-balloons):

But, suffering is very much a part of life, and everyone must come to terms that we all must suffer at one point or another.

You've gotta love the sado-masochists. Hey dude... suffer all you want, hold it real tight because it's yours and I'll have no part of it. I do what I can to ease the suffering of others (call me crazy)

Outside of the argument of rape, what gives a person power to choose whether or not she will have the baby?

What makes the fertilized egg that was the result of rape any different from the fertilized egg that was the result of consensual sex? That's what I thought... look out, it's the morality police and they're coming for YOU! Bwahahahaha!

As good as sex feels, it's main purpose is procreation.

Not for the many people who are actively sexing it up but have finished with the procreation (or have chosen to forgo that whole scene.) I'm done having children... I will not gestate or give birth ever again. That certainly doesn't mean I'm done having sex. My husband had a vasectomy and now we will happily have sex that feels really good without even being open to the possibility of procreation.

When is a seed considered a child? Conception

That sentence is just yucky... ew, I can't get it off of me. A seed? A seed is never, ever considered a child. YIK!

This deduction clearly states that abortion is murder. Regardless if you think it isn't, it very much is.

I love this... this is the crux of their argument. "It doesn't matter what your personal belief system is because what I say is the absolute truth. My thoughts, beliefs and opinions trump yours because... well, because I say so!" And then there is much foot stomping and hmph-ing.

By the way, the scientific community acknowledges the fact that birth begins
at conception.

No, seriously... he/she ("anonymous" surprise!) wrote that. That's right ladies and gentlemen... scientists are now saying that Conception is the new Birth! I couldn't make this shit up.

If you support Obama you clearly have no knowledge of basic economy or the basics of capitalism for that matter. Let me point out that that statement is not meant to be insulting; I'm just stating the truth.

I just threw this nugget in because of it's absolute absurdity. And to prove that these people exist (if only on the anonymous Internet.)

More distorted political commercials...

Is anyone else just sick to death of this? I cannot wait for November and an end to this nonsense!

What do they mean by "life"?

Main Entry: 1life
Pronunciation: \ˈlīf\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural lives \ˈlīvz\
Etymology: Middle English lif, from Old English līf; akin to Old English libban to live — more at live
Date: before 12th century

1 a: the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body b: a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings c: an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction
2 a: the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual b: one or more aspects of the process of living
3: biography 1
4: spiritual existence transcending physical death
5 a: the period from birth to death b: a specific phase of earthly existence c: the period from an event until death d: a sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of a convict's life
6: a way or manner of living
7: livelihood
8: a vital or living being ; specifically : person
9: an animating and shaping force or principle
10: spirit , animation
11: the form or pattern of something existing in reality
12: the period of duration, usefulness, or popularity of something
13: the period of existence (as of a subatomic particle) — compare half-life
14: a property (as resilience or elasticity) of an inanimate substance or object resembling the animate quality of a living being
15: living beings (as of a particular kind or environment)
16 a: human activities b: animate activity and movement c: the activities of a given sphere, area, or time
17: one providing interest and vigor
18: an opportunity for continued viability
19: capitalized Christian Science : god 1b
20: something resembling animate life

It always seems as if people discussing "life" are referring to different meanings of the word. How can people argue about two different interpretations of the same word? It gets very confusing. It's like debating personhood. The "life begins at conception" crowd is always aghast that any person could deny this absolute truth. But, what do they mean? Do they mean the the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body? Well, what is meant by a "vital and functioning being?" Do they mean an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction? The fertilized egg does have the capacity for those things but studies done have proven that 1/3 of all embryo's fail. They certainly can't mean the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual - these things would occur after birth, right? I know that they don't mean the spiritual existence transcending physical death. Obviously they do not mean the period from birth to death. Do they mean a vital or living being (if so, we're back to the whole question of what constitutes "living"?)

I believe it is really difficult to argue an interpretation or perception. I think it is equally difficult to argue a personal belief system. I believe that each individual is capable of deciding for her or his self what these things mean to them. It would be wrong to force ones interpretation, perception or personal belief system upon the general population. Therefor I believe that is it every persons right to decide for themselves what life and/or personhood means when referencing abortion and to decide for themselves what the best moral decision would be. Now, why is that concept such a difficult one to comprehend?

She said fungible.

Get out and vote!

I am voting to protect my daughters basic human rights and to ensure that we, as Americans, do not end up living in a Theocracy!

Why are you voting?

Oh, the hypocrisy... will it never end?

I got this off of the RH site... I have always had a crush on John Stewart that grows with each Daily Show. Rock on Daily!

oh, Boo...

McCain is now freakin' out that Obama used the term "putting lipstick on a pig" - accusing him of directly insulting Palin (why Mr. McCain... are you implying that Palin is a pig?) but the most ironic part? McCain used the same phrase when discussing Hillary Clinton's health-care plan.

Ah well... does any of this actually surprise anyone? Smear tactics and politics as usual in the McCain camp... par for the course and all that. What a maverick of change, no?

DNC: Cecile Richards, PP

Say NO to McCain!!

Nancy Keenan speaks at the Democratic National Convention

She is such a fantastic orator! I hope and pray that not only the Democrats, but the Moderate Republicans and Independents (anyone who values the rights, life/health and well-being of women) will unite behind Obama!

And to my lovely sister, MK who is, as I type, aiding NARAL in Denver....

I love you and admire your dedication to not only myself and my daughters but to each and every woman in America!

Love ya, sis!

'round and 'round and 'round he goes...

**** this is a side note added at 5:26pm on 8/26:

Happy Belated Birthday, Jasper! ****

(we may disagree but that doesn't change the fact that I love birthdays!)

Mr. Jasper: Ok, let me try again. It is not a trick question. when you were pregnant with your children, when they kicked inside of you, did you say "the baby kicked" or "the fetus kicked" which was it? How did you refer to unborn child?

Mellankelly: Listen, redundancy, although a tactic quite often used by those who have no valid argument, is most certainly not a virtue. If you insist upon asking the same questions, even after they have been answered, I will simply refer you back to my previous response found here. I see no reason why referring to a pregnancy in any colloquial terms would factor into either of our arguments. What I do see is your desperate attempts to move the conversation away from the rights of pregnant women apparently due to your lack of a compelling reason to deny pregnant women these rights.

Mr. Jasper: ..the personal belief systems of a few? no not quite. As you may have noticed, your hero, that wolf in sheeps clothing, Obama is being exposed for his support of selective infanticide.

Mellankelly: Honestly, I've never indicated in any way how I feel about Obama - and to make a statement that he is "my hero" is absurd. Have you ever noticed that these generalizations and misinformation say more about you than they do about anyone else? It appears as if redundancy is second only to ad hominem attacks when it comes to anti-abortion extremists. No politician supports infanticide, you damned fool... maybe you should find places other than anti-abortion sites to obtain your information, eh? Infanticide... seriously? You sound like a bloody lunatic.

Mr. Jasper: did you read that? CREATED equal, endowed by their CREATOR. It doesn't say our rights come from the government or a bunch radical feminists but from from our CREATOR.

Mellankelly: What the heck does that have to do with anything? God has nothing to do with public policy, my dear. She gave us free will for a reason, no? She did not pen our Constitution. If you actually believed that we were all created equal you would cease treating women as if they are inherently lesser than men due to their (God-given) biology. If you believe that we are all equal you would trust women to make their own decisions regarding their reproduction... but you don't believe women are equal, do you? You do not believe that women are capable of making good, informed choices regarding their sexuality or their reproduction. I just happen to disagree with you and it appears as if you just don't like that at all (ergo, your emotive outbursts.)

Mr. Jasper: You when claim the right to slaughter innocent unborn children, you are forcing the nation to accept genocide. The good people of this country will not allow this to go on.

Mellankelly: Poppycock. When I make the very true statement that women born or naturalized in the US are entitled to their full citizenship rights under our Constitution, I am doing nothing more than arguing for the truth: Women (and their doctors/loved ones) are most qualified to make their own medical decisions - would you prefer legislatures make your personal medical decisions for you?

Seriously Mr. Jasper, you must understand that stomping your feet and plugging your ears while spouting anti-abortion rhetoric will get you nowhere. Neither will your emotive babbling about your biblegod - no person in this Country is obliged to agree with your notions about God.

Response to Mr. Anonymous silliness

Mr. Anonymous: The genesis of the death wish is rooted in the fall of man that we see in the Book of Genesis.

Mellankelly: And what, exactly, does this have to do with voting NO on prop. 48? This may mean something to you but in my opinion, quoting from the latest Stephen King novel would have been more compelling.

Mr. Anonymous: The unholy, yet inevitable, consequence of that pride is disobedience - eating the forbidden fruit

Mellankelly: Yeah, so? I love all fruit and I'll eat it whenever I want... the only "consequence" being timely digestion, thank you very much.

Mr. Anonymous: The ultimate end is death, as God said it would be.

Mellankelly: Well, that must be such a loverly concept for you, however, death is in no way "the end" - certainly we will all go home to God, as She wishes - mostly though, this occurs sometime after death - of course, there is always the possibility of coming back to this place (YIKES!)

Mr. Anonymous: The prototypical sin is pride, the pride that seeks to exalt the creature above the Creator: "I can be like God.

Mellankelly: Whatever dude... God is in each one of us. Regarding pride (a reasonable or justifiable self-respect), being the standard for sin... POPPYCOCK! Pride is not necessarily a bad thing - God would like us to have a reasonable or justifiable self-respect... I'm so sorry that your faith teaches you otherwise.

Mr. Anonymous: It was then a short and easy step to infanticide.

Mellankelly: Wow. Drama Queen much?

Mr. Anonymous: The exclamation point at the end of the death wish is that...

Mellankelly: There was no exclamation point at the end of the 1974 Award Winning movie, Death Wish... although, now that you mention it, it would've given the title a little more pizazz. I'll write to Michael Winner immediately.

Mr. Anonymous: It's hard to believe that we have degenerated to the point that we'll murder a helpless baby should it escape the violence of an abortion and be born alive.

Mellankelly: Nice try but there already exists a standard in regards to newly born infants. If you'd care to do the research (although it would appear as if you and factual information do not have a real close relationship) feel free to visit The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics to find that the standards are already in place. The verbiage of this law is ambiguous (at best) and will not "save" any premature infants... all it will do is cause unnecessary lawsuits against Doctors (at the expense of the tax payers; not to mention cause our insurance rates to go through the roof.) You will find the following statement from the NRP Steering Committee regarding BAIPA "at the time of delivery... the medical condition and prognosis of the newly born infant should be assessed. At that point decisions about withholding or discontinuing medical treatment that is considered futile may be considered by... providers in conjunction with the parents acting in the best interest of their child." and "The BAIPA indiscriminately defines 'born alive' to include an infant 'at any stage of development... regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion,' and it makes no reference to standards of care or best interests, nor does it specifically protect a parent’s decision-making authority" Bottom line: BAIPA is anti-abortion legislation - the objective of those vehemently opposed to abortion is to criminalize abortion. Period.

Mr. Anonymous: May God grant us the grace to awake from this deadly moral slumber, renounce the death wish, and live like truly free men and women - in the glorious freedom of the children of God

Mellankelly: No, you mean "live like truly free men" because if you happen to be a pregnant woman (regardless of whether or not that pregnancy is wanted) in your little imaginary world... you wouldn't be free - you'd be a slave to the legislatures who would have the ultimate say over what you may or may not do with your body. No thank you... you can go live in your little Theocracy if you'd wish, but I will stay right here in the the Country that I was lucky enough to be born into! The Country where a Doctor and a pregnant woman (and her loved ones) get to decide which medical procedures are in her best interest.

Answer: John McCain

Question: Which candidate is anti-abortion, anti-contraception and anti-(born)woman?

The worst president in history...

The news that Mr. Bush, Jr. is the most unpopular president (which is putting it nicely) in our Nations history is not all that surprising to those of us who have a firm grip on reality. This bungled war (along with the whole "mission accomplished" fiasco), our crumbling economy (with the exception of the oil tycoons who must make up the majority of the 28% who believe he's doing a fantastic job), not to mention Georgie's delusions of grandeur (by such statements as "I believe that God wants me to be President" and "I'm the Commander, see ... I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the President ... [I] don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation.") have bestowed upon him the title of Fucktard (see definition #2).