HELEN:
Margaret, I think that religious freedom means that we have freedom for religion as well as freedom from religion. Now I know you don’t worry about this stuff. You have never questioned your religion and you never worry about the day you will eventually meet your maker. I question my religion regularly and worry all the time. I guess that’s why I have a fat ass and you look like a zipper when you stick your tongue out. Which reminds me, dear, did you check on that cake recipe I sent you? I am not sure about the ingredients and Betty’s daughter is kind of mad at me about that Komen stuff so I can’t ask her right now.
And speaking of being mad, I watched that sweet Ellen – like I do every day – and discovered that one million mothers are mad at JCPenney and they are trying to get Ellen fired because she is one of those lesbians. That sweet little girl never did anything but make people laugh and dance a little. Every time she comes on the TV I have to get up and do a little step doodle-ditty step with her. I just love her. Who are these million moms anyway? Mothers should know better. Statistically speaking a hundred thousand of those moms are raising a child who secretly watches Ellen and would one day make a fine spokesperson for JCPenney.
All of this hatred in the name of Jesus is alarming. It’s alarming from a million moms and it is particularly alarming from presidential candidates like Rick Santorum. He was in Texas this week talking about his faith… which always leads him to talk about abortion and gay marriage. I swear that man worries more about vaginas and who is sleeping with whom than any normal person should. I don’t think he is right in the head. He told his audience that his faith is a part of who he is and it will guide him in his presidency. Well good for him.
There is nothing wrong with a little faith keeping you on the straight and narrow as they say. But here’s the problem I have when it is the only consideration for a presidential candidate. My faith guides me too. And my church has no issue with contraception and understands that sometimes abortion is a moral and scared decision that a women might make in her life. And every week when I go to my church there are these two women who are raising two beautiful little girls and nobody in my church has an issue with their little family. I even heard that they all went up to Canada and got married. Now I get that Rick Santorum’s and Newt Gingrich’s church, the Catholic Church, feels differently about these things. And I respect that. But which church should our government follow? Your church or my church? What about Mitt Romney’s church?
My late husband, Harold, was a Catholic. He went to mass every Sunday until the day he left this earth. But I can promise you that he didn’t tell me what I could and couldn’t do with my lady parts and I’m sure as hell not going to let Newt and Rick start telling me now.
And while we are on the subject, let me say a few words about all those Catholic Bishops who say they would prefer to deny healthcare to everyone rather than include coverage for contraception. That law does not force the church to give birth control to women. Churches and houses of worship are exempt. This is about hospitals and universities that serve and employ the broader public, not to mention they receive federal funding. I am sure those Bishops are clueless about these things but the typical woman spends five years pregnant, or trying to get pregnant, and 30 years trying not to get pregnant. So you’re telling me that a bunch of nurses have to resort to the rhythm method for 30 years just because the hospital they work at has some saint’s name above the door? If those Bishops get their way a female professor at Notre Dame can’t get insurance coverage for her monthly birth control but her male counterpart can slap down a $15 co-pay and get all the Viagra he wants. Well that’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard all day.
I know you think I am over-reacting, Margaret, but you need to understand that it’s not just about the stupidity of some Bishops or the whining of a million clueless moms. There are real dangers when religion gets into bed with politics.
Gingrich would outlaw all abortion with no exceptions. He signed the Republican candidate pledge which would give all human zygotes from the moment of conception the same rights and constitutional protections as human beings. He would oppose any legislative, judicial or bureaucratic efforts to define marriage as anything other than a relationship between a man and a woman… or in his case a man, a woman and another woman.
Santorum opposes all abortion including abortion for rape victims or for women who would die from continuing a pregnancy. He considers contraception “dangerous” and favors allowing the states to ban it altogether. According to Rick, gays are such second class citizens that they don’t deserve the privilege of marriage which is kind of odd considering those gay marriages reduce the number of abortions opting instead to adopt a lot of those unwanted kids.
Romney said Roe v. Wade should be reversed. He says he would support a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. He would allow gays already married to remain married but would bar any new gay marriages. Those gay marriages are kind of like his view on abortion – at one time they were fine. Now they are not.
Those are alarming statements and positions because all of them are based on the candidate’s personal religious beliefs and yet all of them would have devastating effects on millions of American citizens who might not share those same beliefs. I’m pretty sure letting gay people get married isn’t going to stop Rick Santorum or any of those million moms from following their faith. And it would be nice if those Bishops would realize having insurance coverage doesn’t mean you have to use birth control.
I wrote once that love is about the heart not the body. Trust me, if it was about the body a lot of us would be in a world of trouble. You can’t legislate love between two consenting adults. You just can’t no matter how hard you try. If you want to save marriage, marry someone you love. And if you don’t believe in contraception, don’t use it – and please don’t date my granddaughter.
So to any of those million moms out there who might read this, I say: Leave Ellen alone. Ellen hasn’t done anything except bring a little happiness into my world every day at her new time slot of 3:00 now that Oprah is gone. You would be lucky to have your child grow into such a wonderful young woman as Ellen DeGeneres.
What a week. On Sunday I went to church. On Monday I made a donation to Planned Parenthood. And today, I told my son to buy my granddaughter a cute new outfit at JCPenney so that Ellen won’t lose her job. And, just like you Margaret, I am pretty sure that God and I are right with one another. I mean it. Really.
MARGARET:
Well I’ll let you worry about all that, dear. I am working on that recipe you asked about for the cookbook. Betty drinks so I question her notes about how much butter to use. By the way, Ellen comes on at 4:00 here in Maine which makes it hard because Howard likes to eat dinner at 4:30.
(You can now follow Helen on Twitter @HelenPhilpot)
Ellen’s show is really entertaining. She’s a really good and funny host. People should not judge her and say bad things about her just because of her sexual orientation. I think it’s time that others learn to be more accepting of those who have a different sexual orientation
By: abdominal aortic aneurysm on April 27, 2012
at 6:27 AM
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By: Weber Grill Replacement Parts on March 23, 2012
at 7:48 AM
Politics, politics, politics…
Same ole, same ole, same ole…
Year in, year out…
Insanity.
By: poolman on March 17, 2012
at 2:21 PM
Well Poolman, I don’t think Rand Paul will be Mitten’s choice for VP
either. I think he will keep Ron Paul on the hook though, if he is smart, which he is.
Another commentor and I had a conversation about this very thing a few days ago. I think Mitten will call on Rubio, the other commentor disagrees with me however. LOL LOL
I do think Paul will hang in there for platform influence. Not sure any of your Party’s “powers to be” will listen to him. But Paul owes his contributor’s something, although his donor’s have pretty much bailed on him in the last week or so. His strongggggg showing of 5-7 percent doesn’t cut the mustard. He will feel obligated to deliver a little more. His best shot is to go out as a “policy influencer”. Which is fine. Your party needs to move a little left imho! Imagine That!
By: lori on March 16, 2012
at 8:20 AM
Thank you so much.
You are a light in this world.
I admire you.
Be well,
By: Michelle Matsey on March 7, 2012
at 8:11 PM
donnamf54
Maybe I am not making myself clear. I will try again.
You are correct, and I have agreed, that there are many shades of grey in felonies. My point is you are fighting the wrong fight in your argument. This issue and the issue of voting rights for felons are separate issues. If you do not think all felons should lose their right to vote, then get those felons reclassified away from the hard core criminals.
I will not go as far as you to say those who ” I ” feel are not qualified to vote should not vote. If you are a legal citizen, no matter your IQ or belief, you get to vote.
This is also not a Conservative or Liberal issue. Wanting picture ID is a security measure sought out Republicans. That it is a ploy to limit voting is a Democrat political ploy based on supposition for the purpose of political currency.
These speculations only serve to muddy the waters, and this is why Republicans and Democrats can almost never find common ground. If you look at 99.9% of arguments from the Left, you will find a common formula. A victim, a villain, and a hero. The victim is a person or group, usually a group defined by the Left, The villain is either the Right, the rich, or a corporation(ie big business). The hero is always the same, someone on the Left championing their cause, as defined by them. If the cause is not immediately embraced, then fear of the consequences of not accepting said help are made apparent.
Look at the arguments presented above. All in a divisionist format. Left vs Right. Men vs Women. Anyone remember the phrase, “United we stand, divided we fall?” This is, in my opinion, the most destructive way to work out our differences. I dare say it makes it impossible, and I am starting to wonder if it is intentional.
P.S. As far as this thing with Rush goes. Remember your sweat little coed is really a 30 year old activist. Not the harmless little flower portrayed by the media.
By: Herb on March 5, 2012
at 9:00 AM
I agree with you all the way, donnamf54. I’d love to hear more of your family stories.
By: delurkergurl on March 5, 2012
at 5:23 AM
Thank you delurk, I’ve been reading Miss Helen’s essays for 2 and 1/2 years. The first thing I learned here was never to drink anything while you’re reading. This a pretty intimidating group, for the most part, but I’ve learned a lot even from those I disagree with.
I come from a family of strong democratic pioneer women.My grandmother was born in Indian Territory in Oklahoma. GGgrandfather ran a country store on a cattle trail in the 1890′s on the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas. My father was a republican but he was seriously outnumbered. My mother was a democrat. She had the names and addresses of all our state and federal representatives taped to the inside of her kitchen cabinet and she wrote them often. If she was alive she would have loved Helen as they would be about the same age.
That said, Herb, I get that to you a felon is a felon, but in real life, it’s not that way. Whether a crime is a felony or not depends on where you live, who you know, money, what you look like, and money. Did I mention money? I think Alaskapi already went over this and Donna#1 kind of brought it home, but ok. There are a lot of people out there I think should not be allowed to vote, not because they have committed a crime and served their time, but because they’re just plain stupid. And some of them even went to college.
But disenfranchising voters seems to be the in thing for conservatives right now. Oh yes and alienating over half the population (women)over contraception has been added to the agenda .
Rush’s apology was almost as disgusting as what he said. I hope more advertisers drop him. Now if we could just get the republican leadership to stop sucking up to him. There are cracks, but we’ll see.
By: donnamf54 on March 5, 2012
at 12:39 AM
Donna-
yup!
Sure have missed you.
Glad you have stopped in again.
By: alaskapi on March 4, 2012
at 8:37 PM
wait! Limbaugh illegally obtained Oxycontin and Hydrocodone. Then he bought Viagra using a false name. Both acts (which, at least for the first, were repeated many times for years). Both are felonies.
Limbaugh was able to avoid conviction for two reasons. First, he hired Roy Black, an outstanding lawyer. Second, he directed his physicians not to waive his patient privacy rights and give information to the state and federal investigators about Limbaugh’s medical condition.
So there is no question but that Limbaugh repeatedly violated the criminal law and that he did so intentionally. I trust that there is agreement that Limbaugh should not be able to vote or to otherwise “have a say in how our society is run.”
And, of course, we have the “Men of God,” such as Swaggart, Haggard, and Bakker. And politicians such as Foley, Ensign, DeLay, Libby–one could go on and on. How exciting!
By: Donna on March 4, 2012
at 8:24 PM
The latest on Rush is he lost another advertiser just today, that makes seven so far. Businesses are beginning to realize women have economic clout, and if politicians are in doubt, they will find out in November. And a big high five to all supportive men.
By: No One's Puppet on March 4, 2012
at 8:03 PM
Some common ground, Noah. It’s a start. Criminals = no vote. Former criminals are another matter. Many people make bad decisions when they are young, down and out, or raised in the wrong environment. Remediation can make a big difference. I’m so glad you have found maturity on this topic, and proud of this community to help you get there.
By: delurkergurl on March 4, 2012
at 7:57 PM
donnamf54
As it stands now a felon is a felon. Rape, Murder, Drug Dealers, Child Molesters, Armed Robbery, like it or not, are part of that classification. To argue that other crimes are not worth of losing ones right to vote is to argue that they should be classified separably, not if those listed above should ever get their right to vote.
Until then I am absolutely for criminals not having a say in how our society is run. I will not prescribe to the notion that committing crimes is not a voluntary act. Responsibility is not a popular concept. To me it is everything and it is why we are in the shape we are in today in this country. To be clear, the lack of.
By: Herb on March 4, 2012
at 7:33 PM
Not wishing to beat a dead horse…. but I don’t remember hearing vasectomies mentioned. Are they not covered by insurance? To my knowledge the only reason for one is for “birth control” or perhaps to be a “super stud” without responsibility.
The problem with thinking “it is either black or white” is that life/reality is not that simple. It is all those damn shades of grey in between that we have to deal with that make life more difficult, IMO.
Peace.
By: Cynthia on March 4, 2012
at 7:03 PM
Thank you, donnamf54. Great post. Maybe he’ll hear you in a way that he’d never hear some of the old timers here.
By: delurkergurl on March 4, 2012
at 6:29 PM
And Lori, of course!
By: delurkergurl on March 4, 2012
at 6:23 PM
Donna… just doing you the same favor you have had to do for me a zillion times!
Great posts, Cynthia, Poolman & Elsie. Proud to know you.
By: delurkergurl on March 4, 2012
at 6:23 PM
Herb, I’m not the same donna but having been reading her posts for several years. She’s is very smart and I respect her writings. But I wanted to weigh in on the felony/atonement subject. A few years ago my son and his roommates dorm room was burglarized by fellow students who had stolen master room keys from a custodian. After taking 3 laptops and video gaming, they went back to another room. They got caught because they forgot to check that the student was still sleeping his room. The 2 students were charged with 2 felony counts of burglary. The 2 students were football players. They lost their scholarships and got kicked out of school. If convicted, they could have served time. They were set for trial, but the DA asked my son and his roommates that if the defendants paid restitution would we allow the charges to be dismissed. I told the DA that we would agree to this with an additional stipulation that my son and his roommates each receive a letter of apology from the young men who had clearly lost more than they ever would have gotten from the sale of stolen goods. We did get the letters of apology and they were seemed to realize what a stupid thing they had done. One letter was over a page, handwritten, and seemed sincerely sorry for what he had done and grateful for the opportunity we had given him to start over. My son only lost his computer; it was never recovered and probably dumped in the river, but he learned a lot from this experience.
So, my point is this was not murder or rape but it was a felony. District attorneys have to decide everyday on crimes whether to plea bargain, dismiss or go to trial. If you convict, do you get probation or jail time? That’s what our justice system is about, everybody’s case is decided on an individual basis. I guess that is what is good and bad about our system. It is why court systems get bogged down, but as a country we strive for punishment fitting the crime. As others have said it is totally fallible and always will be. I just didn’t feel anything more would have been gained by putting two young men in prison, I am not religious, but I am hoping that these 2 young men had a “come to Jesus” moment when they realized they could really have gone to prison and their whole lives could have been ruined. Can I be sure they have atoned, no of course not, but at least I know I gave them a chance to try.
By: donnamf54 on March 4, 2012
at 6:20 PM
and whoopppp dar it is Cynthia… thanks for setting the record right.. again.
By: lori on March 4, 2012
at 6:12 PM