In 2003 Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, late founder of the Institute of Women's Studies at Emory University (USA), wrote an article entitled "Abortion: A War on Women". How could she claim that abortion is actually an attack on women when its supporters frequently present it as a human right and something necessary to set women on equal footing with men. Highlights from her article follow:
"We need not linger over the evidence of many women dead from hasty, botched, or unsanitary abortions, although we know there are enough to make one cry."
"We do...have studies that point to a link between abortion and breast cancer. The precise nature of the link still invokes heated debate, but is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss its existence out of hand."
"The devastating emotional consequences of abortion are beginning to be even more widely documented. Women who have had abortions are at high risk for serious and lasting depression, and they are more likely than women who have not had abortions to suffer drug or alcohol addiction or even to commit suicide."
"Not all women can bear children, and not all women wish to do so, but the potential to do so lies at the core of being a woman. By trivializing and even denigrating women's ability to bear children, legalized abortion has stripped women of their dignity as women; it has shredded the primary tie among women of different classes, races, ethnicities, and national origins; it has seriously diminished women's prospects for a lasting marriage; and it has exposed them to unprecedented levels of sexual exploitation. Welcome to the brave new world of freedom, ladies-and gentlemen."
"Legalized abortion begins as a war against women, whom it tells that in order to be worthy, they must become like men. Perhaps worse, in severing the binding tie between women and the children they conceive, legalized abortion dismisses women from the company of responsible persons who are capable of sacrificing a piece of their freedom for the good of others-especially the children who embody our future."
On a positive note, Fox-Genovese says: "we must first acknowledge the importance and justice of women's participation at all levels in the worlds of work, politics, and the arts. We do not aspire to return women to subservient domesticity-much less deprive the world of their considerable talents...Our challenge is to turn the clock forward by offering women new visions that do not pit their lives against the lives of their children in a Darwinian struggle for survival."
She concludes: "The life issues, which begin with abortion, are emerging as the most important issues of our time, and women are their front-line custodians. It remains to be seen whether we will rise to the challenge."
May Swazi women and men, and all people of goodwill, protect women from the assault of abortion. No to abortion; yes to life.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Obama's Attack Ads
In the past two weeks the Times of Swaziland has reported on Obama's charges that Mitt Romney is a "corporate raider" and will be "outsourcer in chief" if he gets elected. "I think voters entirely, legitimately want to know what exactly is his business experience" Obama was reported as saying in the 17 July Times of Swaziland. Team Obama has continually insinuated, and reports in the international news section of the Times of Swaziland have aided and abetted, allegations that Romney violated business law and shipped American jobs to China and Mexico.
Independent research website factcheck.org finds Team Obama's charges misleading, stating "after reviewing numerous corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, contemporary news accounts, company histories and press releases, and the evidence offered by both the Obama and Romney campaigns, we found no evidence to support the claim that Romney — while he was still running Bain Capital — shipped American jobs overseas." In another place, Factcheck says "in this particular case the Obama campaign failed to support its claim that Romney personally 'shipped jobs to Mexico and China.'” Factcheck quotes a former president of one of Bain's companies saying: "By the time Romney left Bain, Stream’s call centers had grown from just a few hundred people in Massachusetts to approximately 5,000 employees across the United States. Stream was not ‘shipping jobs overseas,’ but creating thousands of jobs for American workers in places like Massachusetts, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas." Team Obama also insinuates Romney continued to direct Bain operations (and thus carried out offshoring activities) after he left the company in 1999 to direct the Salt Lake City winter Olympics. From the Factcheck report: "Late on July 1, the Obama campaign issued a formal objection to this article, claiming that Romney remained at least a 'part time' manager of Bain after February 1999. We strongly disagree. Both Romney and Bain have stated repeatedly that Romney 'has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way' since leaving to head the Olympics. Romney stated that twice on official federal disclosure documents, where a falsehood could draw a federal felony charge and possible fines and prison time if convicted. A contemporary news account describes Romney as working 16-hour days on the Olympics." Steve Pagliuca, a partner at Bain, says “Due to the sudden nature of Mr. Romney’s departure (to lead the Salt Lake City Olympics), he remained the sole stockholder for a time while formal ownership was being documented and transferred to the group of partners who took over management of the firm in 1999. Accordingly, Mr. Romney was reported in various capacities on SEC filings during this period.” Read the entire report at http://factcheck.org/2012/06/obamas-outsourcer-overreach/, under the title "Obama’s ‘Outsourcer’ Overreach".
What happened to the Barack Obama who promised "hope and change", who could "bring people together", who said "yes we can", who invoked "one United States of America"; a politician who, in the words of one reporter, was treated in some circles as "Obamessiah"? It looks like that was election-season sloganeering, and its now back to partisan politics as usual. Why would Obama descend to mounting viciously unfair attacks on his opponent? Consider this: after 3 1/2 years as president, and overseeing the growth of American national debt to over $15 trillion ($15, 000,000,000,000), American workers are no better off now than when Obama took power in 2008. Having proven himself incapable of re-energizing the economy, Team Obama has resorted to, as the Times called it on 17 July, "character assassination". After all, calling someone a "corporate raider", "outsourcer pioneer", or suggesting Romney has skeletons in his SEC closet is simply that-namecalling. Romney's campaign is correct to state that such behaviour is "beneath the dignity of the presidency."
Obama's character assassination campaign, though reproachable, makes political sense. After all, Obama has enjoyed a free hand with American taxpayer money, yet has not generated any sort of economic comeback for the American worker. Romney, on the other hand, has extensive business experience and numerous business successes. With polls consistently indicating Americans' biggest concern is the economy, put yourself in Obama's shoes: you'd also want to deflect attention from your own spectacular failures on the most important issue, and paint your opponent as a greedy, shady, job-destroying villain. Barack Obama's extraordinary political career proves he's very good at getting elected, but his time in the White House has shown him atrociously bad at living out the unifying and noble ideals that he presented to the American public during the previous election.
It is time for hope, change, and honesty in the White House. Romney for USA president, November 2012.
Rudy Poglitsh
rpoglitsh@live.com
more letters at http://letterstotheTOS.blogspot.com
Independent research website factcheck.org finds Team Obama's charges misleading, stating "after reviewing numerous corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, contemporary news accounts, company histories and press releases, and the evidence offered by both the Obama and Romney campaigns, we found no evidence to support the claim that Romney — while he was still running Bain Capital — shipped American jobs overseas." In another place, Factcheck says "in this particular case the Obama campaign failed to support its claim that Romney personally 'shipped jobs to Mexico and China.'” Factcheck quotes a former president of one of Bain's companies saying: "By the time Romney left Bain, Stream’s call centers had grown from just a few hundred people in Massachusetts to approximately 5,000 employees across the United States. Stream was not ‘shipping jobs overseas,’ but creating thousands of jobs for American workers in places like Massachusetts, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas." Team Obama also insinuates Romney continued to direct Bain operations (and thus carried out offshoring activities) after he left the company in 1999 to direct the Salt Lake City winter Olympics. From the Factcheck report: "Late on July 1, the Obama campaign issued a formal objection to this article, claiming that Romney remained at least a 'part time' manager of Bain after February 1999. We strongly disagree. Both Romney and Bain have stated repeatedly that Romney 'has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way' since leaving to head the Olympics. Romney stated that twice on official federal disclosure documents, where a falsehood could draw a federal felony charge and possible fines and prison time if convicted. A contemporary news account describes Romney as working 16-hour days on the Olympics." Steve Pagliuca, a partner at Bain, says “Due to the sudden nature of Mr. Romney’s departure (to lead the Salt Lake City Olympics), he remained the sole stockholder for a time while formal ownership was being documented and transferred to the group of partners who took over management of the firm in 1999. Accordingly, Mr. Romney was reported in various capacities on SEC filings during this period.” Read the entire report at http://factcheck.org/2012/06/obamas-outsourcer-overreach/, under the title "Obama’s ‘Outsourcer’ Overreach".
What happened to the Barack Obama who promised "hope and change", who could "bring people together", who said "yes we can", who invoked "one United States of America"; a politician who, in the words of one reporter, was treated in some circles as "Obamessiah"? It looks like that was election-season sloganeering, and its now back to partisan politics as usual. Why would Obama descend to mounting viciously unfair attacks on his opponent? Consider this: after 3 1/2 years as president, and overseeing the growth of American national debt to over $15 trillion ($15, 000,000,000,000), American workers are no better off now than when Obama took power in 2008. Having proven himself incapable of re-energizing the economy, Team Obama has resorted to, as the Times called it on 17 July, "character assassination". After all, calling someone a "corporate raider", "outsourcer pioneer", or suggesting Romney has skeletons in his SEC closet is simply that-namecalling. Romney's campaign is correct to state that such behaviour is "beneath the dignity of the presidency."
Obama's character assassination campaign, though reproachable, makes political sense. After all, Obama has enjoyed a free hand with American taxpayer money, yet has not generated any sort of economic comeback for the American worker. Romney, on the other hand, has extensive business experience and numerous business successes. With polls consistently indicating Americans' biggest concern is the economy, put yourself in Obama's shoes: you'd also want to deflect attention from your own spectacular failures on the most important issue, and paint your opponent as a greedy, shady, job-destroying villain. Barack Obama's extraordinary political career proves he's very good at getting elected, but his time in the White House has shown him atrociously bad at living out the unifying and noble ideals that he presented to the American public during the previous election.
It is time for hope, change, and honesty in the White House. Romney for USA president, November 2012.
Rudy Poglitsh
rpoglitsh@live.com
more letters at http://letterstotheTOS.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)