As Republicans in Congress kicked off another effort to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the organization's president told lawmakers that the firestorm of controversy is the result of fraudulent videos that distort the organization's work and tissue donation practices.
Cecile Richards said her group is being targeted because of "deceptively edited videos released by a group that is dedicated to making abortion illegal." The "outrageous accusations" based on those videos — that the organization is profiting from selling fetal tissue — are "offensive and categorically untrue."
.....
Richards said what the videos show are practitioners describing efforts to provide fetal tissue for medial research. Fetal tissue donation is "a minuscule part of the work of Planned Parenthood. Of the hundreds of health centers that are part of the Planned Parenthood network, currently just 1 percent facilitate their patients’ tissue donation in support of fetal tissue research." Nevertheless, she strongly defended the practice. "While our involvement with fetal tissue research is a small component of Planned Parenthood, it offers the potential of lifesaving research."
I watched quite a bit of this yesterday and once again found the behavior of the Republicans to be deplorable.
At one point the committee chairman Jason Chaffetz had the temerity to bring up Richards' annual salary and suggest that she was overpaid.
Just the very idea of a member of this do nothing Congress suggesting that some other person was overpaid is enough to make my head explode in rage. Not only that but to my ears it sounded more than a little sexist.
And that is also the way it sounded to Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who had this to say:
I'd like to register my opposition and my objection to the chairman beating up on a woman on our witness today for making a good salary. The entire time I've been in Congress I've never seen a witness beaten up and questioned about their salary. Ms. Richards heads a distinguished organization providing health care services to millions of Americans and I find it totally inappropriate and discriminatory.
Here here!
The committee threw a lot of BS at Richards during her testimony including a chart that they threw up on the screen to shame her.
And before you get too concerned about the jackals that salivated around Ms. Richards you should know that she had one very competent warrior fighting on her side.
None other than Elijah "Fuck you and your stupid Republican investigations" Cummings!
Rep. Cummings as we know has also been the voice of reason during the incredibly long Benghazi witch hunt as well.
I don't think the Republicans got much they can use from this inquisition yesterday.
However that does not mean they have any intention of giving up.
After all if they can keep that ridiculous Benghazi investigation going for 72 weeks there is no telling how long they can beat this dead horse.
Is that beat, or beat off, this dead horse?
ReplyDeleteThey need to haul those people that created those doctored videos asses in front of Congress, and let them be grilled for 5hrs.
ReplyDeleteI watched most of this and a lot of coverage on Rachel Maddow. The word that keeps coming to mind is shameful! It was shameful how the Rs treated her and it's shameful that such willfully ignorant or just plain awful people hold such esteemed positions.
ReplyDeleteI also watched this and was totally impressed with the answers and demeanor by Mz. Richards. Later watched Fox news totally stovepipe the footage making the congress pricks look good. Quite an amazing contrast.
DeleteWaste of time and taxpayers money. No problem, just cut funding for education, the poor, the elderly, the infrastructure....it's all good.
ReplyDeleteI still agree with Iran president Rouhani.
ReplyDeleteBitch.. Fuck off all you JESUS FREAKS
ReplyDeletehttp://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/560087b9e4b08820d919e398
It is ALL BULLSHIT!
Deletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kim-davis-pope_560b8eeee4b0768126ffd324
Conservatives continue hammer away at the same old issues because they never ever have anything else to offer. They simply have no vision whatsoever for ordinary everyday Americans.
ReplyDeleteThese religious loons won't be happy until this great country of ours is turned into a Christian theocracy. Their hypocrisy about religious freedom (christian only) would be hilarious if it weren't so damn scary!
ReplyDeleteRepublicans, fetal tissue donations began under REAGAN! Oh, and Ben Carson used them, too!!!
ReplyDeleteThere's a LOT that started under "Saint" Reagan that got us where we are today. "Shining light on the hill," or whatever $arah calls him, is such a crock of crap.
DeleteYep, Ben Carson did research on tissue harvested from an an aborted fetus.
DeleteCecile Richards was very sharp and handled it very well, I kept thinking as I watched how lucky PP is to have her...this is criminal, the group that pulled this off should be held criminally and financially responsible for the millions of dollars wasted, but the GOP loves this shit, another easy way to fleece the rubes
ReplyDeleteLove that "graph"- no label on axes. I collect those like showing the correlation between internet explorer and murder rate and Ronald Reagan's budget graph that looked like this one- up, down, no numbers. My all time favorite: this pain reliever gives "more relief" (bar chart) - no labels so that different in height could be 1% or 100%. But this stuff works because Americans are dumb at math.
ReplyDelete/rant off
Just read on several major news sites that the Pope had a secret meeting with Kim Davis. He had me for a minute with some of his messages to our leaders but he just lost me for good.
ReplyDeleteIf he believed in it why did he keep it a secret...
If this is true, then I request my secret meeting with the pope.
DeleteI intend to ask him about all the men in the church covering up various crimes the past 50 years. Rape, murder, molestation, obstruction of justice, and etc. How are the RCC criminals any different from Kim Davis? They were following the coverup policies dictated by the popes and so on.
Nope, nope, nope. There's no reason for him to make time in his busy schedule to meet her in anything more than for a "hello" (if that) and even if he actually met her for that "hello" why in the world would it be a secret?
DeleteKim Davis is not Catholic and belongs to a religious sect that think Catholics aren't Christian and have animosity toward the Pope.
This is some bullshit from her bullshit lawyers.
The pope's people said they were not going to deny that this meeting took place...
DeleteThey also said they would not confirm it took place.Her lawyer is the person who posted a pic of 10's of thousands of people supposedly having a prayer meeting for her in South America.
DeleteThe pic was of a yearly celebration from last year and he was caught in the lie.
I was appalled at how the republican treated Cecile Richards. They really acted like playground bullies.
ReplyDeleteIsn't there a code of behavior in the House? Seriously, it was embarrassing to watch. Cecile Richards was poised, professional, respectful. These men just demonstrated that there is a war on women.
R in NC
They have no shame.
DeleteI am ashamed of my congress and how they treated Ms. Richards yesterday. She is a strong woman and I commend her for her professionalism and manners despite not being provided the same by the Republicans. She looked exhausted last night on Rachel Maddow's show, but who wouldn't have been after all bullshit. It was a total farce and I am still angry over it all.
ReplyDeleteVery proud of Elijah Cummings he laid out their entire agenda for all to see. Not that the true believers and bible humpers would ever accept any of those facts presented yesterday. Wish I was in his district, I am on the other side of the state (MD).
From the article, following a quote from Rep. Carolyn Maloney: Here here!
ReplyDeleteThe more commonly-used expression is "Hear, hear" with citations of "Hear him, hear him" going back to 1688. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hear,_hear it "was reduced to hear! or hear, hear! by the late 18th century." Further commentary can be found at http://grammarist.com/spelling/hear-hear/
Any sane oerson knows the gop HATE educated, intelligent women. This lady did not stand a chance of being treated fairly by the panel. Not only is she smart, but extremely attractive also, too. Kim Davis would be treated like a queen, even though she has been married 4 times, divorced 3, and looks like a woman who has had many, any pregnancies.
ReplyDeleteThe internet will prohibit politics from being a fact-free zone. Ms. Richards is an American hero.
ReplyDelete66gardeners
The GOP still has nothing to show for its anti-Planned Parenthood campaign
ReplyDeleteAt this point Republicans may wish to consider aborting to protect the health of the party.
They have been going after Planned Parenthood over the past few months like so many Captain Ahabs. They threatened to shut down the government to defund the group. Their insistence on a Planned Parenthood showdown drove House Speaker John Boehner to resign. They’re about to appoint a special committee to investigate Planned Parenthood. The party’s presidential candidates have made Planned Parenthood a central part of the campaign, and House Republicans are manufacturing new legislative vehicles to cut off the group.
And what do they have to show for it?
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds that Americans have a more favorable view of Planned Parenthood than of any other entity tested, including the Republican Party and presidential candidates. The group’s favorable/unfavorable impression, 47 percent to 31 percent, is actually up slightly from July. What’s more, 61 percent oppose eliminating federal funding of Planned Parenthood. Even among the 35 percent who support defunding, only 9 percent favor shutting down the government to do it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gop-still-has-nothing-to-show-for-its-anti-planned-parenthood-campaign/2015/09/29/1c79bd02-66e9-11e5-9223-70cb36460919_story.html
Democrats Victorious As Senate Passes CR That Keeps Planned Parenthood Funded
ReplyDeleteSen. Ted Cruz and a group of conservative House Republicans were defeated in their bid to link defunding Planned Parenthood to funding the government as the Senate voted 78-20 to pass a clean Continuing Resolution.
The Senate bill was supported by all Democratic Senators while the Republicans split 32-20 in favor of the resolution. Two Republican Senators (Rubio and Graham) did not show up for the vote.
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/09/30/democrats-victorious-senate-passes-cr-funds-planned-parenthood-78-20.html
Watch Planned Parenthood’s President Expose GOP Rep’s Lies: ‘Check Your Source!’ (Video)
...Chaffetz begins by introducing a chart, which purported an increase in abortions and a decrease in breast exams at Planned Parenthood.
Richards looks at the chart puzzled. The look on her face says, could this fool really be trying this bullsh*t?!
After many failed attempts at responding to Chaffetz’s claims, Richards calmly tells him that if he would let her speak, she could answer his questions.
Richards tells Chaffetz:
“You created this slide, I have no idea what it is.”
To which Chaffetz replies:
“It comes straight from your annual reports.”
Richards says again:
“This absolutely does not reflect what’s happening at Planned Parenthood.”
The wormy looking Chaffetz asks, with a highly unattractive smirk, if Richards is going to deny the statistics in the chart.
And before the bullsh*t parade can go on any further, Richards’ lawyers advised her that the chart was actually made by an anti-abortion group:
“My lawyers just informed me that the source of this information is Americans United for Life, an anti-abortion group.”
“I would check your source.”
And just like that, one more idiot Tea Bagger has been put in his place.
http://aattp.org/watch-planned-parenthoods-president-expose-gop-reps-lies-check-your-source-video/
Planned Parenthood President Rips GOP For Political Grandstanding During Marathon House Hearing
ReplyDelete"I'm being generous, calling it a hearing."
After enduring a marathon House hearing on Tuesday during which GOP representatives frequently interrupted her, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards accused them of political grandstanding and using the hearing to demonstrate how "they are obsessed with ending access to reproductive health care for women in America."
"I'm being generous, calling it a hearing," she said in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. "I think the whole purpose of this hearing was to convince themselves that it is OK to deny women the ability to go to the health care provider of their choice, because 2.7 million women and men choose Planned Parenthood, and they were trying to say they wanted to take that choice away from them."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/planned-parenthood-cecile-richards_560b37f2e4b0768126ffc92c
Sheila Karlson
ReplyDeleteThis hearing was a disaster for the republicans. If ever we needed proof that they are willing to diminish women, this was is. Fortunately, Cecile Richards is smarter, cooler and more professional than any of them. My favorite moment was when she pointed out that a ridiculous chart offered by Chaffez was a chart from the website of a famously anti-abortion group. This after Chaffez told her that he had "pulled the numbers" from Planned Parenthoods own documents. I mean, it just does not get any better than that. Meanwhile, the guy who put together the bogus video refuses to testify and they will not subpoena him. So much for the truth.
Planned Parenthood Scores Legal Victory In Utah
ReplyDeleteA U.S. district judge barred Utah's governor from defunding the state's Planned Parenthood chapter.
Planned Parenthood's Utah chapter won an initial round in court on Tuesday challenging an attempt by the governor to cut off its funding, with a federal judge ruling that the public's interest favors keeping the women's health organization open.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/planned-parenthood-funding-utah_560b1b37e4b0768126ffc001
I am impressed by Ms Richards,and think many of the GOP would have been in tears if they were treated this way.Including several Presidential candidates.
ReplyDeleteCecile did her mama proud. WTH has happened to Texas women? Where are the ones like Ann and Molly Ivins?
DeleteCongress Pulling Funding from Planned Parenthood Violates The Constitution And Citizens United
ReplyDeletehttp://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/09/30/congress-pulling-funding-from-planned-parenthood-violates-the-constitution-and-citizens-united/
Australia Says F*ck You To Anti-Abortion Extremist Leading Attack On Planned Parenthood (VIDEO)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/09/30/australia-says-fck-you-to-anti-abortion-extremist-leading-attack-on-planned-parenthood-video/
committee chairman Jason Chaffetz had the temerity to bring up Richards' annual salary and suggest that she was overpaid.
ReplyDelete-----------------------------
Well I am not suggesting, I know Jason is way over paid.
Kim Davis is overpaid, yet refuses to do her job,
DeleteThe Fetus Video Described by Carly Fiorina Was Just Released in Full. It Still Means Absolutely Nothing.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/09/planned-parenthood-fetus-video-carly-fiorina
Most Americans oppose defunding Planned Parenthood
https://www.yahoo.com/politics/most-americans-oppose-defunding-planned-parenthood-162813953.html
Ms. Richards won the day and the GOP has proven themselves to be monstrous idiots. Even their own people called them out for being idiots.
ReplyDeleteWow! Cecile was awesome! Ann Richards was smiling down at her and saying, "Give'em hell, I have your back!"
ReplyDeleteI understand she squashed them like a bug.
ReplyDeleteAnd someone should ask them how much cancer research could have been supported with the $4.5 million that has been squandered on Benghazi committee hearings.