Friday, December 18, 2009
Health-care Reform
Our Politicians - Abortion and Viagra
The bill that President Obama wants is yet to take final shape. Currently, the roadblock is by Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska who "...............rejected a compromise on abortion funding aimed at winning his vote. Senate Democratic leaders, racing the clock to finish work on the bill before leaving for the holidays, struggled to line up the 60 votes they need to overcome Republican procedural hurdles."
Senator Barbra Boxer (D, CA) received a lot of flak for saying that if men are not restricted from buying Viagra then there should be no restrictions on the choice of abortion for women.
The Catholic Church, one of the strong backers of anti-abortion policy takes a different position on pedophilia. After years of shameful silence, the Vatican has now taken some action to punish a few members of the clergy. Faced with the damning Murphy Commission Report which confirmed sexual abuse of children in Ireland from 1975 to 2004, the pope had to act. But by and large, when it comes to pedophilia by priests the Catholic press still remains very low-key. One gets the feeling that it would be happy to let it be forgotten.
Sodden thought -- if Sarah Palin becomes president would her witch doctor, Bishop Muthee, be at the inauguration.
Even without Senator Nelson's demand for amendment, for majority of Americans it offers very little. There is nothing in the bill to contain costs for drugs and services. It is far from what Barack Obama talked about during the campaign of 2008 but that has become a hallmark of the Obama administration. Compromise, cut backroom deals, placate the conservatives. Perhaps the strategy would pay dividends. We shall find out next year after the Congressional elections.
