S05.E07: Crisis pregnancy centers

[Athena]

Quote

Other segments: Scott Pruitt's ethics scandals, 2018 Hungarian parliamentary election
Guests: Rachel Dratch

 

[Annber03]

Gee. I am just so incredibly shocked about that priest getting caught in a sex scandal. Look at my completely surprised face: :/. 

Fucking hell. I am staunchly pro-choice, but I would seriously have a HELL of a lot more respect for the political activist side of the pro-life stance in this country if they would quit with all this bullshit already. Pieces of fetus in the lungs and the heart, what in the...? That's not how that works! That's not how any of that works! 

And WHY is it so damn hard to support birth control and comprehensive sex education? What do we have to do to get it into these people's heads already that all of that will go a significantly long way in reducing unplanned pregnancies? I don't get it. What are people so afraid of in regards to that? Supporting that stuff would go such a long way towards giving the pro-life stance some legitimate weight. That Barbara idiot laughing off the real statistics about condom use was a sad commentary of just how much lies matter more than truth nowadays, apparently. 

That one lady's comment about providing items for new moms sure nailed the real attitude of the extreme pro-life side in this country, though. "We'll be totally up in your business when you're pregnant and tell you what to do and make you carry your kid, but after that, you and that kid are on your own." Real great way to show how much you truly care about those children, guys!

Ugh. Just....I can't believe that BS is legal and they can get by with those lies and falsehoods and manipulative crap. 

Ending on a happier note....chicken guy had me rolling :D. 

Edited April 9, 2018 by Annber03

[TeenMom69]

I only wish the show had gone further into the real agenda behind CPCs, which is they can collect tens of thousands of dollars to facilitate adoptions. They want unwanted babies. That's the "product" they sell and there is no cost for goods sold. They convince the woman to be selfless and give up their babies for free, then they turn around and sell it to the highest bidder. Adoptive parent customers seek them out. The legal forms are standard. Therefore the profits are enormous. They trick women in thinking the "services" and counselling they provide are free, but if a woman changes her mind and starts to think about keeping her baby she is presented with a bill for services rendered which she cannot pay, forcing her to give the baby up. 

Birth control does reduce the need for abortion. Pro-Lifers don't want birth control because they want more and more unwanted babies. It's all about money. 

[Annber03]

Wow. Thanks for that added info, @TeenMom69.

That is super creepy. 

[ahisma]

I'd love to see a political debate between Chicken Man and Lord Buckethead!

Two favorite moments of the night: 

John describing CPC's lack of support for babies in exactly the words of women seeking an abortion.

The EU President calling Orbàn a dictator to his face and smacking him. My man from Luxembourg don't give a fuxenbourg!

[attica]

9 hours ago, TeenMom69 said:

Pro-Lifers don't want birth control because they want more and more unwanted babies. It's all about money. 

I think the opposition to BC is deeper than that. I think baby selling* is an opportunity, not a reason for being. The reason for being is misogyny: the refusal to recognize women as full human beings capable of autonomous decision making. It's a way to control the Methods of Production (to use an economic phrase). Keeping women from controlling their reproductive lives keeps them under the societal thumb. Punishing them for having consequence-free sex (a god-given right for the menfolk, as we recognize) is really what turns them on. 

I think JO missed the joke from that woman claiming condoms don't work. She was tittering over the double entendre of 'hard' data.  Because, apparently, she has the sense of humor of a twelve year old boy.

*Plus, I think this holds true for white babies only. Babies of color are not so coveted in the free market. 

[cpcathy]

I can't agree more with anything you said, Attica.

This episode made me very angry and very, very sad.

[ganesh]

How haven't they been sued at all though?

[attica]

Turns out, there's a case at SCOTUS right now! Here's a good podcast on the subject.

[SnarkyMcSnarkerson]

4 hours ago, attica said:

I think the opposition to BC is deeper than that. I think baby selling* is an opportunity, not a reason for being. The reason for being is misogyny: the refusal to recognize women as full human beings capable of autonomous decision making. It's a way to control the Methods of Production (to use an economic phrase). Keeping women from controlling their reproductive lives keeps them under the societal thumb. Punishing them for having consequence-free sex (a god-given right for the menfolk, as we recognize) is really what turns them on. 

I think JO missed the joke from that woman claiming condoms don't work. She was tittering over the double entendre of 'hard' data.  Because, apparently, she has the sense of humor of a twelve year old boy.

*Plus, I think this holds true for white babies only. Babies of color are not so coveted in the free market. 

I thought she was saying "our" data, not "hard" data? I unfortunately deleted the ep from my DVR so I can't confirm, but didn't JO then reference "their" made up data about condom effectiveness? 

[Poohbear617]

So glad LWT did this topic. Last week I saw the documentary JACKSON, which is where they got the clips of that awful woman Barbara Beavers (the laughing condom bitch). I hope this exposure will give the wonderful documentary a bigger audience (I saw it on Showtime on Demand). I wish he had used another 2 scenes from the film to show their attitude against BC.   1) After leaving the home of a young single woman living in utter poverty who had just given birth to her 5th child, they asked Beavers if she should be on BC and she states no, it's a problem of self control!  2) later the same girl is at their 'clinic' and telse how she got a Depro  shot and they basically guilt her. Later we find out she is pregnant again and has given birth to twins. The director of the film started a go fund me page because viewers wanted to help because guess who is not. I wish JO had taken her down harder, but he showed that Barbara Beavers is not alone in her fight to care for the unborn till they become the born.

[ganesh]

I think it's hard to target just the one individual on a topic that I think not a lot of people know about. Better to give us a strong background on the issue first. 

[meowmommy]

14 hours ago, TeenMom69 said:

Birth control does reduce the need for abortion. Pro-Lifers don't want birth control because they want more and more unwanted babies. It's all about money. 

That's an interesting perspective.  I don't like abortion much, but doggone it, the push by conservatives to block birth control has always confounded me.  Why do you want to facilitate pregnancies in women who can't or don't want to be mothers, while at the same time you don't want to help the babies once they're born?

15 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Pieces of fetus in the lungs and the heart, what in the...? That's not how that works! That's not how any of that works! 

As a nurse, I'm desperately trying to imagine how the fuck, anatomically, this could ever happen!  Because of course, it can't.

33 minutes ago, SnarkyMcSnarkerson said:

I thought she was saying "our" data, not "hard" data?

I'm watching it now and I hear it as "our."  As in, we make up our own lies, damned lies, and statistics.

Golly, what's objectively worse, pedophile priests, or priests who blow the Holy Spirit???  Ah, to be a recovering Catholic...

Great to see Rachel Dratch.  The only thing that confused me at the end was that John said there was nothing stopping them from parking the Vanned Parenthood van outside an abortion clinic.  Shouldn't it be parked near the anti-abortion clinic?

[bijoux]

1 hour ago, meowmommy said:

Great to see Rachel Dratch.  The only thing that confused me at the end was that John said there was nothing stopping them from parking the Vanned Parenthood van outside an abortion clinic.  Shouldn't it be parked near the anti-abortion clinic?

No, these types of vans park outside abortion clinics to lure women who want to get an abortion or medical care and advice in one. The same thing as with opening CDCs near planned parenthood clinics.

[peeayebee]

But I don't see the purpose of their van other than to show how much they can get away with. I don't see it helping or educating anyone, unless they say more to women who visit than what they indicated on the show. 

The whole CPC thing is so maddening. I don't know if it would be possible to post a person in front of each building in order to inform the women coming in. How many centers did John say there were? In any case, even if women become educated about what these places actually do, too many women don't have many options, like those in Mississippi who only have one abortion clinic in the entire state.

That whole segment on Scott Pruitt was great. He's just a horrible human being. Another expense he's had was getting a big ol' desk, similar to what the President has. He loves power. And I love the image of him sleeping on Black Beauty.

[mojoween]

It turns out that our house has great wi-fi because I'm currently floating overhead on a cloud of rage.

That entire abortion segment was INFURIATING.  Especially those two women, cackling Beavers and the other lady who thinks six months is a long enough fucking time for a woman who didn’t want to complete a pregnancy to be ALL FUCKING SET.  Gah!

I discovered that the part I love on this show the very most is the voiceover guy who does the “and now...” part.  I don’t know why, but his voice makes me happy.

[Annber03]

9 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Especially those two women, cackling Beavers

When that Barbara idiot started spewing her nonsense about how abortions weren't in "women's nature" or whatever BS of that sort she was going on about, it was all I could do to avoid throwing my remote at the TV. People do know this isn't the 1950s anymore, right? We should've well moved on from that crap by now. 

Edited April 9, 2018 by Annber03

[meowmommy]

18 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I discovered that the part I love on this show the very most is the voiceover guy who does the “and now...” part.  I don’t know why, but his voice makes me happy.

I love it, too.  Along with the woman who does the "translations" of Kim Jong Un on Stephen Colbert's show.  Just perfect for the assignment.

[ganesh]

19 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I discovered that the part I love on this show the very most is the voiceover guy who does the “and now...” part.  I don’t know why, but his voice makes me happy.

That's my dream job.

[FoundTime]

20 hours ago, Annber03 said:

That one lady's comment about providing items for new moms sure nailed the real attitude of the extreme pro-life side in this country, though. "We'll be totally up in your business when you're pregnant and tell you what to do and make you carry your kid, but after that, you and that kid are on your own." Real great way to show how much you truly care about those children, guys!

Or, as I heard that position described years ago, "Life begins at conception and ends at birth."

[Lantern7]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

I discovered that the part I love on this show the very most is the voiceover guy who does the “and now...” part.  I don’t know why, but his voice makes me happy.

His name is David Kaye. Kinda wishing he'd get slightly longer segments, like the irony of Republicans liking Ayn Rand, or whitewashing in Hollywood. "You mean to tell me this guy [Tom Cruise] is the last samurai? This guy? This guy is the last samurai?!? This guy. This guy is the last samurai. Fuck you."

And, yes, there's so much rage from watching the show, but John makes it so bearable, and he sometimes does wacky shit at the end. "Vanned Parenthood." Awesome.

[The Solution]

9 hours ago, Poohbear617 said:

So glad LWT did this topic. Last week I saw the documentary JACKSON, which is where they got the clips of that awful woman Barbara Beavers (the laughing condom bitch). I hope this exposure will give the wonderful documentary a bigger audience (I saw it on Showtime on Demand). I wish he had used another 2 scenes from the film to show their attitude against BC.   1) After leaving the home of a young single woman living in utter poverty who had just given birth to her 5th child, they asked Beavers if she should be on BC and she states no, it's a problem of self control!  2) later the same girl is at their 'clinic' and telse how she got a Depro  shot and they basically guilt her. Later we find out she is pregnant again and has given birth to twins. The director of the film started a go fund me page because viewers wanted to help because guess who is not. I wish JO had taken her down harder, but he showed that Barbara Beavers is not alone in her fight to care for the unborn till they become the born.

I just watched JACKSON. Well worthwhile.

[OneWhoLurks]

Quote

 

EPA removed a career staffer Tuesday who approved an internal report that undermined Administrator Scott Pruitt's claims that he needed around-the-clock bodyguards and other expensive security protection, according to two former agency employees familiar with the situation.

Mario Caraballo was the deputy associate administrator of EPA's Office of Homeland Security, which in February concluded that an earlier assessment failed to identify credible direct threats against the administrator that would justify his heavy security spending.

Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the ranking member on the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wrote to Chairman John Barrasso (D-Wyo.) on Tuesday requesting oversight hearings and quoting the report, making public its doubts about the need for the heightened security.

 

Exclusive: EPA removes staffer who OK’d report on Pruitt’s security

[Danny Franks]

Okay, I just wanted to punch every single one of those sanctimonious, manipulative, conniving, dishonest people in the face. Especially the one who claimed condoms have a "20% failure rate". What an awful group of people, to prey on vulnerable women in an attempt to coerce them into having children they might not be able to support.

And you just know that these exact same people would complain about how awful welfare mothers are, and how they should have more "personal responsibility" before having children. Ugh. Rotten excuses for human beings.

It's not unusual to get angry at some of the people and entities that John highlights on this show, but these people evoked an almost visceral revulsion in me. How they try to force their views onto other people infuriates me at the best of times. 

Edited April 11, 2018 by Danny Franks

[purist]

15 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Okay, I just wanted to punch every single one of those sanctimonious, manipulative, conniving, dishonest people in the face. Especially the one who claimed condoms have a "20% failure rate". What an awful group of people, to prey on vulnerable women in an attempt to coerce them into having children they might not be able to support.

And you just know that these exact same people would complain about how awful welfare mothers are, and how they should have more "personal responsibility" before having children. Ugh. Rotten excuses for human beings.

It's not unusual to get angry at some of the people and entities that John highlights on this show, but these people evoked an almost visceral revulsion in me. How they try to force their views onto other people infuriates me at the best of times. 

Word, @Danny Franks. As soon as John announced what the episode's main topic was going to be, I steeled myself for the feelings of hatred and blind rage that I knew were about to hit me. I truly hope he's not just preaching to the converted.

[Hanahope]

Another example of those certain people being deceptive.  again, if you're beliefs are so right, why do you have to deceive people?  PCPs lie just about everything.  and I'm surprised that the SCOTUS during oral argument seemed to suggest that they don't even have to put up signs or give notice that they are unlicensed.  I didn't know that anyone could operate an ultrasound.  I assumed it had some sort of x-rays that required trained personnel.