And so it begins...
Shocked? No. Concerned? Yes.

South Dakota lawmakers have voted to outlaw nearly all abortions, setting up the first direct legal attack on Roe v. Wade by a state in 14 years.

Abortion rights advocates across the country reacted with outrage and dismay. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which runs the sole abortion clinic in South Dakota, said it was bracing to fight the move in court immediately, if the governor signs it.

"This represents a monumental step backward for personal privacy for [all] women," said Nancy Keenan, president of Naral Pro-Choice America.

Some opponents of abortion rights celebrated what they called a bold and brave move and lauded South Dakota for taking the lead in what they said they hoped would become a series of states to challenge Roe, the 1973 decision that made abortion legal.

The shifting makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, the opponents said, offered a crucial opportunity, the first since at least 1992.

"It is a calculated risk, to be sure, but I believe it is a fight worth fighting," State Senator Brock Greenfield, a Republican who is also director of South Dakota Right to Life, told his colleagues in a hushed, packed chamber here.

After more than an hour of fierce and emotional debate, the senators Wednesday rejected exceptions for incest or rape or for the health of a mother and voted, 23-12, to outlaw all abortions, except those to save a mother's life.

They also rejected an effort to allow South Dakotans to decide the question in a referendum and an effort to prevent state tax dollars from financing what is certain to be a long and expensive court battle.[source]

So, if you live in South Dakota, and your a woman, you lawmakers will be making this decision for you. The only question is how soon will we be saying if you live in the U.S., your lawmakers will be making this decision for you?

I am certain anti-abortion proponents everywhere are cheering. They have no idea what the real underlying issue is here (well either that or they just don't care). This is NOT just about abortion. This is about the individual's right to privacy. The right of an individual to make his/her own health decisions.
Let me put it this way. What happens when the state of South Dakota decides that anyone needing life support no longer qualifies as a living human being and should be taken off life support and their organs passed on to those who need them? Or, lets say they decide that anyone ON life support is a living being and cannot be taken off such life support? Let's go one step further, what if they decide smoking/drinking/overeating/ect., is bad for your health and should be illegal. ANYWHERE. Even in your home? Oh, and don't forget they will have the right to have cameras in your home to make sure you're not breaking the law.
Think it can't happen? Wait and see.
This is but one step in the process. So many have already gone unnoticed.
I thought Republicans were all about LESS government in our private lives. Of course I also thought they were all about conservative spending. (In all fairness they do believe in cutting spending. On social/ entitlement programs.)

I'm kind of wondering how long it will be before I have to shut down this blog. After all I can't afford to be classified as a terrorist. [Bush Tags Bloggers As Potential Terrorist. There are other indications that the Bush administration deems bloggers well within the reach of any definition of terrorist, if for no other reason than the crime of dissent and criticism. There are also indicators that relevant parties would be somewhat prepared to assist in the nabbing of terrorist bloggers.]
Yeah, I know, that's not going to happen, this is America. Right?
posted by wanda at 1:29 PM

"The whole year, 2005, nothing was done, opportunities missed, and now we have a very, very disastrous situation of a terrorist organization winning an election," Chafee asserted. Rice acknowledged the victory of Hamas is "a difficult moment" in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, but she said it was due to a backlash against the ruling party, not a failure of U.S. policy."

"American military authorities have vowed to make 2006 "the year of the police," working more closely with the ministries' personnel and improving training standards."

It's a catchy concept phrase anyway. Though it begs the question - uh, so...what was it we were doing in 2005 with the hundreds of billions of US tax dollars spent or borrowed from our grandkids (that were not part of the $8.8 billion "lost") - if not working with the ministries' personnel and training?

***

In Turn...Iranian leader urges Muslims to fund Hamas Government

***

The Washington Post and The Associated Press reported today:

Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Muslim nations Monday to fund the new radical Islamic Palestinian government, defying efforts by Israel and Western donors to isolate the government led by Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed to the Middle East with a warning to countries not to help Hamas, a political party which won a large parliamentary majority in democratic elections last month.

In case anyone might be confused about US policy regarding advancing and funding "democracy" in the Middle East: You're not alone but we might assume it has very little to do with the aspect of freedom and democracy.

posted by wanda at 11:39 PM