Thursday, May 26, 2005
False Claims On Abortion By Democrats
I received an email today from my good friends at the GOP (a friend of mine signed me up as a joke) about some misinformation the Dems have been spreading around.Mr. Rexrode explains that the Dems have been spreading false claims about the rate of abortions over GWB's time in office. This claim by the GOP is based on a FactCheck.org study published May 25th, 2005 (and modified on May 26th).
Notice below how Mr. Rexrode mentions that Howard Dean made this "false claim" as recently as this past Sunday. Now glance over at your calendar and note the date on Sunday (Okay, I'll save you the work. It was the 22nd). How can one make false claims about something that was believed to be true until 3 days later?
By actually reading the factcheck.org column, it also becomes clear that Senators Kerry and Clinton were both relying on now discredited data.
So here's the test. Now that new information has come to light, will Dems like Kerry, Dean, and Clinton continue to repeat the now debunked abortion statistics? I doubt it.
Compare that to the White House's constant repetition of debunked information about WMDs, social security insolvency, or pollution, and you start to see where the real and truly damaging false claims are coming from.
Abortions rising under Bush? Not true. How that false claim came to be -and lives on.
"Recently, some Democrats are falsely claiming that abortions have increased during President Bush's time in office. Not true. As this recent article from FactCheck.org points out, abortions have fallen under the Bush Administration.
FactCheck debunks the claim, made most recently by Howard Dean this past Sunday, and by Sens. Hillary Clinton and John Kerry in recent statements.
The report indicates those eager to criticize President Bush picked up on a claim based on incomplete and inaccurate data:
This claim is false. It's based on an an opinion piece that used data from only 16 states. A study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute of 43 states found that abortions have actually decreased... The claim that abortions are rising again can be traced back to an opinion piece by Glen Harold Stassen, an ethics professor at Fuller Theological Seminary... Stassen's broad conclusion wasn't justified by the sketchy information he cited, however. Furthermore, a primary organization he cited specifically as a source for historical data now contradicts him, saying abortions have continued to decline since Bush took office."
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Stewart R. Perry pointing out Bush's inconsistencies
Wasn't the justification for Bush's wars basically, "We much destroy life in order to save it?" How is that different from stem cell research? Even as an apples to apples comparison, it looks hypocritical, but the average rational human would probably put more weight on the life of a living innocent human than embryonic cells (which happen to be killed every day by pro-life people using fertility clinics).A little consistency would be nice.
Science, war and syntax"
No one can be confused about President Bush's stand on government-sponsored stem-cell research, which he emphatically opposes. 'I made it very clear to the Congress,' he recently said, 'that the use of federal money, taxpayers' money, to promote science which destroys life in order to save life is -- I'm against that.'
And how does the president feel about using taxpayers' money to promote war -- an enterprise that undeniably destroys life? Didn't he see the irony of his comment?
Stewart R. Perry, Wayzata"
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Coddling Cars - Hurting the City
Jackie Archbold does a great job breaking down the side-effects of coddling to people in the exurbs at the expense of the inner city in her May 22nd letter to the Editor.A huge step backward
We have added yet another item to our 'What Were They Thinking?' list of Minnesota transportation issues: Drivers may not use the new toll lane on Interstate Hwy. 394 during nonrush hours.
So we've gone from an interstate system to a two-lane highway. This means longer drive times for those opposed to the sane lane being used as Lexus lanes, those unable to afford a transponder and those from out of town. It also means more emissions from congestion that had been eased by using the left lane at nonrush-hour times.
Add this to our list of other WWTT moments: hybrids not allowed to use the toll road without paying and the cutting of public transit routes.
We have taken a huge step backward. Aren't people in charge even a bit embarrassed? I do applaud the few legislators who are trying to pass the hybrid measure (Rep. Frank Hornstein and Sen. Scott Dibble) and Sens. Gen Olson and Ann Rest for sponsoring a measure to reopen segments of I-394 to all traffic during off-peak hours. I only hope the rest will be embarrassed into following suit.
Jackie Archbold, Plymouth."
