Rant Ahead...No, Really....

You know what I hate? I hate that somewhere in America, some television executive decided to make a family "famous" just because they had over 15 children (19 and counting, to be exact, but you will have to find your own link and photos--I refuse).
I hate that they decided to glorify a man and a woman not for their intellectual gifts (they did not cure anything), their artistic talents, but for their ability to join egg and sperm enough times to add 19 children to the planet.
I hate that Americans watched said program, and the family became even more famous for having way too many children (and don't argue with me on this fact--our world cannot sustain the beings we have here--it's criminal to encourage people to have a "quiverfull"). I'm certain their celebrity for having unprotected sex over and over and over and over and over encouraged far too many others to follow their example, because...well, America made them famous, right?! I hate that Americans don't have the sense to say, "This is offensive." and turn off their damn televisions.
I hate that the overpopulating family has home-schooled every single one of those poor kids (to be clear, I know many intelligent, wonderful people who have home-schooled their children, teaching them accurate information about science, including biology), so they have no chance to learn about "good touch/bad touch" or "Just say 'no'." or anything about sex that would have allowed them to know that what their oldest brother was doing to them was WRONG.
I hate that in all likelihood, the parents were so busy procreating and dealing with numbers 8, 9, 10, and 11 that they didn't notice, nor had time to deal with the fact that their adolescent son had a fondness for younger girls. This kid needed help--real, professional help, and his parents chose the easy way out. They were too busy getting famous for their ability to have sex, and from all accounts, ignored this child. I hate it that I know about this molester because I know about his "famous" family. I hate it that I know he's a molester, and his parents chose to pray about it, instead of getting him some real help.
I hate it that another child molester was "born", and I hate it that he was allowed to destroy the lives of so many young girls. I hate it that his sisters believed they had no voice. I hate it that they were lost in the shuffle of so many kids--too many to allow their parents to have the time to give them the attention they needed. They were silenced by the crowd.
I hate it that I feel some responsibility as an American citizen who watches television--not that show!--and couldn't find a way to convince a million others to say, "This show is offensive. Stop making celebrities of this family."
And finally, I hate that this family--this monster we created--is so famous as to be able to influence politics in this country. I hate it that men, running for the highest office in our land, are standing up for this child molester, and standing by his parents, who are famous. Famous for nothing more than the ability to put a penis in a vagina.
Are you shocked by those last words? Tell me what I got wrong.
I hate it.

Scenario # 1

The year is 2026.  It's an off-election year, and President Rand Paul knows the GOP face very little opposition in these elections from the dispirited and decimated Democratic Party.  In fact, he sees this off-year election as an opportunity to showcase his Vice President, Rick Perry, and to add numbers to the 47 out of 50 GOP-controlled state legislatures--as if they need any help!  On the national level, control of the Senate is not a "given", as the Democrats learned in 2014-2024.  All it takes is being complacent, and a turn of 2-5 seats.  The House is pretty secure, as you can count on voters to bitch but vote for the same darn guy every time.
But to be fair, the legislatures of those 47 GOP-controlled states are pretty much staffed with figure heads--everyone knows the real power rests in the hands of ALEC .  ALEC has always been 2 steps ahead of everyone, all the time.  Back in 2010, the GOP put all their resources into state elections, and it paid off--districts were gerrymandered to ensure safe seats, and then ALEC went to work, drawing up legislation to be passed in states--Voting Right laws and Anti-Abortion Laws were their crowning achievements, and by the time the average American adult woke up, it was all over.  Now, President Paul is not only secure in his re-election, but has to spend very little money to get there.  There are such deep, grateful GOP pockets out there--ha ha!!!  The rich just keep getting richer, and once the Koch brothers learned how to sign on to Facebook, the ballgame was over. 
Not that any "average" American has time to "surf the net".....
The turning point was definitely Texas, in 2013.  Women's health clinics were closed throughout the state, and abortions after 20 weeks were banned.  Oh sure, women (and some men) were angry, just as they had been in Wisconsin, South Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Virginia, and other states, but the GOP (and ALEC) knew the attention span of an average voter was about 2 days, and then they were distracted by something on television, or the internet....Add to this the fact that young voters, once they feel defeated by something, just stop voting, and it was the beginning of a GOP cakewalk.
Soon, Americans just forgot, because it was the law, and it really wasn't so bad, and well......it seemed like it was just the poor it really affected.  And, it's hard to be angry clear until the next election....
2014 was a really good election year for the GOP.
And 2016?  The GOP was ready for that sucker that got elected president--they had learned much from the previous eight years--distract the voters, keep the "riff raff" from voting, and bury the elected president under with "scandals".  Then there was their media--Fox and other "friends"--they kept the GOP base riled up and voting, and it worked!  By 2018, the Democratic Party never knew what hit them, and now?  It's like people don't care any more...
The GOP knew it had it made when Obamacare was repealed.
So, what's life like for Americans in 2026?
It depends.  If you're wealthy, things never change--they just keep getting better.  If your wife, daughter, or girlfriend gets into "trouble", there are plenty of other countries to fly them to, countries where abortions and birth control are safe and legal.
But here, in the good ol' US of A?

1. Women's clinics are a thing of the past.  With the GOP landslide wins, and the Supreme Court increasingly conservative, Roe v Wade was overturned in 2021.  The citizens of the US rapidly learned that the GOP and ALEC were not just aiming to prevent abortions--they were aiming to prevent ALL forms of birth control.  One by one, states are successfully passing "Personhood Amendments" (stating life begins at conception), and the Supreme Court is upholding them.  
2. There is not one organization left to fight for reproductive rights, or to actually fight for women and their families.  People became complacent, thought Planned Parenthood would always be there, forgot to mail them a check once in a while.  Same with all those other organizations fighting for social justice for all people. 
3. There are far fewer women in the workforce.  There is no maternity leave anymore, and with families getting larger and larger, most women decide it's less expensive to stay home.  Most families could use the extra income though; 5-8 kids are a lot to feed.  The average man has to work 2 jobs to support his family.
4. Less than 30% of women go to college or a trade school.  There's just no money to send them, or the money is spent on their brothers' education.  College is extremely expensive, and why would a woman want to go to college anyway?  She's just going to get pregnant and have to give up her job.
5. Most students are not qualified to go to college anyway.  Back in 2008-2014, after the financial crisis's hit, most states decided it was a good idea to 1) Cut education funding, and 2) Keep women from making their own reproductive choices.  So now, with so many extra kids in schools, states are woefully unprepared, there are teacher shortages, and class sizes of 40-45 are the norm.  Unless, of course, you can afford to send your kids to private school...
6. Prisons are overflowing.  Poverty rates are sky-high, so kids are not ready for school (Head Start and free early childhood education is a thing of the past).  Kids drop out early--to help support their families, because they can't learn anything anyway, or because the local drug dealer has made them an offer they can't refuse.  It's a vicious cycle:  poverty--->low education attainment---->prison...And to think we almost had a handle on it in 2014...Add to this the women and doctors who have been imprisoned for trying to end a pregnancy--dwindling every year, but still trying to get away with it.
7. Women are dying at a rate not seen since the 1800's.  Clinics are closed, the Affordable Care Act was overturned...women can't afford prenatal care, so there are far more complications during childbirth.  Women who used birth control to prevent pregnancy for health reasons do not have access now.  There are no exceptions for rape and incest, so the rate of children (10, 11, 12-year olds) giving birth is at a rate never seen before, and the death rate of these "mothers" is so very, very high.  Women who wish to end a pregnancy for whatever reason are resorting to the methods women used prior to 1970--coat hangers, "potions" sold by quacks (now available on the internet!), knitting needles, "back alley" doctors.  And many of them are dying.  Horrible, painful deaths.
8. Tuberculosis and other communicable diseases, once thought "extinct", are spreading so very rapidly through cities and suburbs in the US.  Larger families, a shortage of affordable housing, rising poverty rates, no affordable heathcare--contagious diseases are epidemic.    
9. There are just too many people on this planet, and far too few resources.  When women and men could decide when to have children, or even whether to have children at all, our planet stood a chance.  But not anymore. Clean water, clean air?  Ha!  The GOP deregulated industry as fast as it could, once it could.  Other countries followed suit.  Not that it really mattered--more people need more resources; resources that are not always in infinite supply.  And all those extra people, using all those things that heated up our environment?  The planet got warmer.  The drought of 2012 and the flooding of 2013 paled in comparison to what's happening in 2026!  Crops are failing at alarming rates, just as the population is exploding.  There are food shortages, and food riots, across the United States.   Animals and plants that were once abundant are extinct--eaten.     
10. Canada has closed its borders to Americans, and they are constructing a fence.  There are just too many Americans, desperate for affordable health care, desperate for birth control, desperate for jobs, for a better future for their children, just desperate--they are streaming over the border, and the Canadian economy just cannot support any more.

In 2026, there are a couple of bright spots, as President Paul is quick to point out.

1. "Illegal immigration" is no longer an issue.  Nobody has crossed INTO America in years.  
2. Marriage equality for all.  You see, with mothers dying in childbirth, and orphanages filling with kids whose parents have died from disease, or who just can't afford to keep them, it's "every couple on deck"--even those lesbians and gays have to be counted on to take a kid...or 4...
3. And, "God Bless America"!  The 1% have finally killed the last union--with all those extra citizens, corporations don't need to put up with any backtalk from anyone; you complain, you're fired.  And your family is out on the street.   

Think about it....my scenario is not too far off the mark, is it?

There are No Words, but I'll Try

There are no words for this tragedy.  Savita Halappanavar was killed by the Irish government.  Her crime?  Being pregnant.
She was having a miscarriage, which in itself is tragic enough.  The fetus was dying--the doctors knew that.  But because Ireland is a Catholic church-ruled country (and no, do not take me to task for that--check it out yourself and then we will talk), the doctors would not perform an abortion.  Savita died THREE DAYS later.  She fucking DIED because the government of Ireland values the life of anything else over the life of a woman.
And sadly, this kind of thing happens over and over and over again, daily--in every country in the world (including the United States) that has laws that put women at risk.
We came...this...close to having a Theocracy-ruled country in this last election.  It shouldn't ever happen here, but it does.  Every time a state legislature has a majority of men in power, it can happen.  And it did--a LOT--in 2011.
We must always be vigilant.  We must use our voices and our money to elect people who will not kill women.  We must elect more and more and more people who believe women have a right to their own bodies.
We must not forget Savita Halappanavar.
You know what makes me sickest of all?  Until 1869, the "Holy" Roman Catholic Church did not have much of an opinion on abortion.  Popes and priests of the past were actually pretty happy their mistresses were able to have abortions, to save them explaining stuff to their parishioners.  Then, I guess God changed his mind, and ruled that women could no longer have control over their own bodies.
I think it's high time God changes her mind.  Actually, it's too late.  For so many women who died so unnecessarily.
Fuck you, Irish government.  How about seceding from the Catholic Church?
And, oh God, how many more?  

Consider This

Sometimes you can watch show after show, read endlessly, and then one soft-spoken woman drops a little bombshell of a comment--this is the one Dr. said on Rachel tonight: "Think about it. Women who have abortions are supporting motherhood."

Think about it. Peel away all your opinions, biases, and deeply held beliefs and think about what she said. Because she's right.

Women who have abortions are saying, "I cannot be a good mother at the moment. I have the utmost respect for mothers, but I cannot be one now. Maybe some day, I will be a good mother, but not now. Now I need to take care of myself."

So I wrote a Letter to the Editor

I'm not sure they will be publishing this one, but I just had to say it, or...well...explode. My letter was in response to one from a local priest, who took President Obama to task, and ended by saying, "Respect and defense of innocent life is the only chance we have for true peace and authentic healing." This priest is a one-issue kinda guy, and I'm just tired of reading the same tired rhetoric. Pre-born is cherished, and post-born---well, you're on your own. So here is what I wrote:
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"Recently, this page has contained letters from two individuals who never have anything new to say about their pet subject—“pro-life”, and yet feel compelled to expound on the “evils” of those who actually think beyond the life of the “unborn child”. One writer was so bold as to question the benefits of the Stimulus Plan—I guess putting people to work wasn’t “pro-life” enough.
Here’s my challenge to them, and to all others who feel they are “pro-life”: do something to help those humans who are actually here on earth, and then write to tell about that. Send a large check to the mother who has 8 newborns, and 6 others at home—her address is in California, and she sure could use that money. Open a daycare center that is free to all families. All families—no exceptions. Write letters extolling the virtues of Head Start to Congress--tell them to fund that program to the fullest. Hold fundraisers for those local agencies that help handicapped individuals—dedicate a portion of your own household income to these groups. Be vocal advocates of the proposed Juvenile Center; those kids are most in need of help. Better yet, ask how you can help raise money. Volunteer for the Mental Health Association, Meals on Wheels, or the Community Health Center. Open the doors of your church for an elder daycare center, to go with the free childcare center.
In other words, walk the talk—work for those outside the womb too. "