"I don't have any idea."

--Dick Cheney, on why he has such low approval ratings

I know this quote is a few days old, but it makes me laugh/twitch in horror every time I see it. Seriously, Dick? No idea? Might it have something to do with the fact that you are pure evil and will never die? I think maybe so.

Contrary to how it may seem from the entries in this blog, I'm not actually all about politics. However, these days there is just so much that's popping up I can't help but talk about it. Or maybe I'm just paying more attention. Who knows?

The 'Right to Conscience' regulation has me all up in arms. Seriously?!? I can't even begin to express how wrong I  think this is. And I work in the healthcare industry. The nice thing about being a raging liberal, I suppose, is the fact that I have no issues with any medical procedures. I do think plastic surgery for vanity is stupid and not something I'd ever do, but would I refuse to schedule (I'm a surgery scheduler, fyi) that for someone? Absolutely not. It's their body and they can do whatever they want with it, regardless of what I think. If you have a problem with LEGAL medical procedures/treatments/prescriptions, don't be a fucking doctor. Or nurse, or pharmacist. Whatever spot you have in healthcare, get the hell out. 

On Rachel Maddow, she brought up the fact that this doesn't just effect birth control/abortions. If a pharmacist or pharmacy technician is a Christian Scientist, for example, and doesn't agree with antibiotics for children, then they can refuse to fill your prescription. And while I wonder while someone so opposed to basic medical treatment would be in that job, it still is a terrifying thought. Not only that, but the regulation is vague enough that it can apply to anyone that is involved in the process. If the cashier ringing up your purchase doesn't agree, they can refuse to sell to you. Believe whatever you want to believe, but don't force it on other people. If you don't believe in birth control, then don't take it. But don't tell me that I can't take it. In no way does anyone else have control over what I put into my body. Especially a legal prescription.

Full disclosure: The hospital I work for is run by nuns and as such, abortions are not performed there as an elective procedure. In no way do I agree with the practice of banning procedures, but a job is a job. And even though I don't agree with it, although not for religious purposes, I still do the job.

Sometimes, other people say it best. From 'The West Wing', season 4 episode 9 (emphasis mine):

BARTLET: The only doctor available won't do it.

ABBEY: He's Jewish?

BARTLET: Persian.
ABBEY: He doesn't have a choice.
BARTLET: Abbey...
ABBEY: He doesn't. Doctors aren't instruments of the state, and they're not allowed to choose patients on spec.
BARTLET: I can't order him to do it.
ABBEY: Yes, you can.
BARTLET: Through the power vested in me by you?
ABBEY: Samuel Mudd set Booth's leg after he shot Lincoln. Doctors are liable in this country if they don't treat the patient right in front of them.
BARTLET: Just for the record, this is why we don't talk about foreign policy. Which we do, and you don't think we do it enough.
ABBEY: Why?
BARTLET: Because Samuel Mudd was tried and convicted of treason for setting that leg.
ABBEY: So?
BARTLET: What 'so'?
ABBEY: So that's the way it goes. You set the leg.
BARTLET: The patient right in front of them?
ABBEY: Yes.

P.S. Dear Blogger - why the hell won't you upload this post with a picture? Or links? Is this some sort of commentary on pro-choice?

Are pigs flying?

It's like I don't even know who I am anymore. Newt Gingrich Rips RNC.

I am clearly the laziest blogger ever, what with the never updating. But today I had something to say.

So I was reading an article over at Newsweek re:gay marriage and the bible/religion. It's basically a really long version of President Bartlet's speech from 'The West Wing'. You know, along the lines of how Leviticus has all kinds of outdated rules and they don't fit into modern society. That sort of thing. I've heard it a million times since then, but it's still a valid point. I just kind of wish people would get it already, so we can hear a new argument.

Anyhoo, that's totally not the point of this post. While reading that article, I can across this sentence - "...and by the 1970s most states had gotten rid of their "head and master" laws, which gave husbands the right to decide where a family would live and whether a wife would be able to take a job." MOST states?!? MOST?!? I'm terrified at the implication that there were states that kept that as a law. Also at the implication that there are possibly still states that have law. At least, that is the impression I was left with after reading that.

Also, I really really really wish that more people would be talking about separation of church and state. It's all well and good for Jack Black to sing about it, but I think it needs to be said in a more serious tone. The church (any church) can define marriage however they want, but that shouldn't be standard that's legally enforced on everyone. It's something that should only apply to the people who follow that religion/belief system. I read somewhere, and I totally forgot where, that every couple should just have civil unions in the eyes of the law. Gay, straight, whatever. And then if they would like have some sort of religious ceremony, that would be up to their church as to whether or not it's acceptable. And the more I think about it, the better it sounds.

In this same vein (of separation, not marriage) I saw this quote from Bill O'Reilly on The Daily Beast today - “If you can get religion out,” Bill O’Reilly warned, “then you can pass secular progressive programs, like legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage.” Umm......NO. Religion should have no bearing against these things. Maybe I'm just not paying attention, but I seem to hear all these crazy right-wing nutjobs spouting off all kinds of shit like that, but I don't really hear anyone stepping up and saying 'hey separation of church and state, pal'. My hope is that people are saying that, and I'm just looking in the wrong places. Also I really hate to quote Bill O'Reilly, because repeating anything that comes out of his mouth means someone was paying attention.