Qtec
04-03-2012, 02:03 AM
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style='font-size: 11pt'>Georgia State Rep Votes Against Radical Anti-Abortion Measure, Citing Daughter’s Experiences</span>
Rep. Ron Stephens (R-GA)
From a credit downgrade last year to global warming, the Republican push for ideological purity has already had far-reaching impacts on the country. One emerging problem with the purity test is that it is very easy to fail, for conservative icons and rank-and-file Republicans alike.
Recently, the Georgia House considered a bill which would have prevented women from obtaining an abortion after 20 weeks, down from 26. Rep. Ron Stephens (R), who considers himself pro-life, originally voted against the bill, along with 16 other Republicans. In an interview with the Savannah Morning News, Stephens recalled his daughter Ashlin’s pregnancy just a few years before, when her child was diagnosed with trisomy, a devastating genetic defect, and how this bill would have affected his family’s decision:
“At five months, they told her part of her baby’s brain was outside the skull and the heart was inverted,” he said. “They said it would take only one or two breaths. She would have watched it die.” After huddling with her family, she opted for an abortion.
When the bill initially came to a vote in the House, <span style='font-size: 14pt'>there was no opportunity to amend it to provide exceptions for such situations. Stephens said he was so upset he felt sick and walked off the floor during the roll call.
“For something this cruel to happen to my daughter, or anyone’s daughter,” he said, “is just plain inhumane. I consider myself pro-life, but this provision was a distortion of pro-life values.”
</span>
In response, the Peach Tea Party blasted those Republicans, claiming they <span style='font-size: 14pt'>“displayed a willingness to depart from the conservative principles that form the bedrock of the Georgia Republican Party platform.”</span> A blog on the group’s website referred to those Republicans as “RINOs,” or Republicans in Name Only. This was despite the fact that, when the bill was amended to exempt “medically futile” pregnancies like his daughter’s, Stephens voted for the bill, which passed.
For his part, Stephens said he isn’t worried about a primary challenge, telling the Morning News, “It might even help me with fundraising.” </div></div>
The lunatics have taken over the asylum. The GOP has been taken over by fanatics who will not compromise. There is no middle ground for them.
Q
Hows this for religious freedom.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Anna Marie College decided they no longer want Victoria Reggie Kennedy, widow of the late-Sen. Ted Kennedy, to deliver a commencement speech in the spring.
<u>Bishop Robert McManus put pressure on the college to withdraw the offer to Kennedy because of disagreements with her views on political issues.</u> Anna Marie released a statement saying they still felt Kennedy was an appropriate pick, but their hands were tied.
"As a small, Catholic college that relies heavily on the good will of its relationship with the Bishop and the larger Catholic community, its options are limited," the statement read.
The U.S. Conference of Bishops said in 2004 that "Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles." The AP pointed out Kennedy supports full reproductive rights, including access to abortion, and gay marriage. Both stances are opposed by the Catholic church, and they were positions that diocese spokesman Ray Delisle pointed out as problematic.
Patrick Whelan, president of the national Catholic Democrats, told The Boston Globe when he spoke with McManus, <span style='font-size: 14pt'>the Bishop "invoked what he believed were Kennedy’s positions on divisive social issues, including abortion, gay rights, and health coverage for contraception."</span>
Anna Marie, a small private college in Paxton, Mass., west of Worcester, made the decision last week. They informed Kennedy on March 29.
In a statement, Kennedy said she was disheartened by their choice.
<span style='font-size: 14pt'>"[McManus] has not consulted with my pastor to learn more about me or my faith," Kennedy said. "Yet by objecting to my appearance at Anna Maria College he has made a judgment about my worthiness as a Catholic. This is a sad day for me and an even sadder one for the Church I love."</span> </div></div>
Rep. Ron Stephens (R-GA)
From a credit downgrade last year to global warming, the Republican push for ideological purity has already had far-reaching impacts on the country. One emerging problem with the purity test is that it is very easy to fail, for conservative icons and rank-and-file Republicans alike.
Recently, the Georgia House considered a bill which would have prevented women from obtaining an abortion after 20 weeks, down from 26. Rep. Ron Stephens (R), who considers himself pro-life, originally voted against the bill, along with 16 other Republicans. In an interview with the Savannah Morning News, Stephens recalled his daughter Ashlin’s pregnancy just a few years before, when her child was diagnosed with trisomy, a devastating genetic defect, and how this bill would have affected his family’s decision:
“At five months, they told her part of her baby’s brain was outside the skull and the heart was inverted,” he said. “They said it would take only one or two breaths. She would have watched it die.” After huddling with her family, she opted for an abortion.
When the bill initially came to a vote in the House, <span style='font-size: 14pt'>there was no opportunity to amend it to provide exceptions for such situations. Stephens said he was so upset he felt sick and walked off the floor during the roll call.
“For something this cruel to happen to my daughter, or anyone’s daughter,” he said, “is just plain inhumane. I consider myself pro-life, but this provision was a distortion of pro-life values.”
</span>
In response, the Peach Tea Party blasted those Republicans, claiming they <span style='font-size: 14pt'>“displayed a willingness to depart from the conservative principles that form the bedrock of the Georgia Republican Party platform.”</span> A blog on the group’s website referred to those Republicans as “RINOs,” or Republicans in Name Only. This was despite the fact that, when the bill was amended to exempt “medically futile” pregnancies like his daughter’s, Stephens voted for the bill, which passed.
For his part, Stephens said he isn’t worried about a primary challenge, telling the Morning News, “It might even help me with fundraising.” </div></div>
The lunatics have taken over the asylum. The GOP has been taken over by fanatics who will not compromise. There is no middle ground for them.
Q
Hows this for religious freedom.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Anna Marie College decided they no longer want Victoria Reggie Kennedy, widow of the late-Sen. Ted Kennedy, to deliver a commencement speech in the spring.
<u>Bishop Robert McManus put pressure on the college to withdraw the offer to Kennedy because of disagreements with her views on political issues.</u> Anna Marie released a statement saying they still felt Kennedy was an appropriate pick, but their hands were tied.
"As a small, Catholic college that relies heavily on the good will of its relationship with the Bishop and the larger Catholic community, its options are limited," the statement read.
The U.S. Conference of Bishops said in 2004 that "Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles." The AP pointed out Kennedy supports full reproductive rights, including access to abortion, and gay marriage. Both stances are opposed by the Catholic church, and they were positions that diocese spokesman Ray Delisle pointed out as problematic.
Patrick Whelan, president of the national Catholic Democrats, told The Boston Globe when he spoke with McManus, <span style='font-size: 14pt'>the Bishop "invoked what he believed were Kennedy’s positions on divisive social issues, including abortion, gay rights, and health coverage for contraception."</span>
Anna Marie, a small private college in Paxton, Mass., west of Worcester, made the decision last week. They informed Kennedy on March 29.
In a statement, Kennedy said she was disheartened by their choice.
<span style='font-size: 14pt'>"[McManus] has not consulted with my pastor to learn more about me or my faith," Kennedy said. "Yet by objecting to my appearance at Anna Maria College he has made a judgment about my worthiness as a Catholic. This is a sad day for me and an even sadder one for the Church I love."</span> </div></div>