8 thoughts on “Get More Smarter on Tuesday (April 21)”

1. The “least helpful endorsement” link gets me a “page not found” Oops.

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   1. That’s why it was so unhelpful :). Link fixed — thanks.

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      1. Yeah, Batty Balmy coming out in support–enough to tank anybody’s career.

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2. Kendall Unruh vacations in Ted Cruz’ homeland. Who knew?

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3. From Dana Milbank’s Washington Post piece:

   “It is still too new to do a rigorous causation analysis using statistical methods,” he [Scharr] admitted, saying that he had found only a decline in marriage rates in states that had legalized same-sex marriage (in fact, marriage rates have declined overall). 

   Let me help out the poor Mr. Scharr. He is trying to connect a root with a branch, when fewer pregnancies = fewer abortions, and more same-sex marriages = fewer pregnancies = fewer abortions. They are all “branches” of the same cause. The cause is the weakening of patriarchal control over reproduction.

   When patriarchal customs start breaking down, and state policies are less influenced by religious views, control over all sexuality lessens.

   The link between sex and reproduction was cut with the 1965 Connecticut v Griswold decision, legalizing birth control. Of course, women had been using cruder and less effective methods of birth control for centuries, if not millenia.  The option to choose to be with a same-sex partner further weakens the link between sex and reproduction, as same sex partners don’t reproduce with each other, although they can certainly adopt others’ children, including their own from previous opposite-sex liasons.

   So Mr. Scharr will never find a link between same sex marriage and more abortions, because both are effects of the same cause, branches rather than roots.. He is barking up the wrong tree, so to speak.

   This feminist scholar is at your service, Mr. Scharr, anytime you need a refresher on causes and effects of patriarchy and reproduction. You’re welcome.

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   1. Particularly like this from Milbank’s piece. Kind of sums up wacko rightie logic on pretty much any and all issues:

      They’re saying that legalizing same-sex marriage will cause 900,000 abortions.The logic is about as obvious as if they had alleged that raising the minimum wage would increase the frequency of hurricanes.

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      1. The other thing Scharr doesn’t mention is that statistically, abortions are decreasing.  (Guttmacher Institute, 2014 study)

         This is a result of a number of factors, including those I named above – less pressure to be poppin’ out babies like the Pillsbury doughwifie, having more dating options with one’s same sex….but also, heavy strictures on the availability of abortions nationwide, closing of clinics, and mainly, the ease of over-the-counter Plan B type meds and better contraceptives. The Guttmacher study identifies the latter two as the main factors in the decrease in abortions, and doesn’t credit state restrictions as much of a factor.

         There may also be attitudinal changes about the morality of abortion, with advances in fetal imaging technology. I see many younger, naive teen women who have never had to live in the reality of a world where abortion was illegal, and they are quite adamant that abortion is wrong. There isn’t much stigma to unwed motherhood anymore, either.  But that’s anecdotal – polling shows basically the same levels of support and non-support for abortion over the last few decades. It has, however, become an increasingly partisan issue – Democrats are consistently 70% pro-choice – Republicans, 70% pro-birth.

         The questions about when the fetus becomes a human with a soul are still there, and will likely never be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.

         But Dr. Chaps wants the pro-life movement to get all the credit for the decrease in abortions…and it seems Mr. Scharr would like some of that reflected glory, as well.

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4. No one’s buying what the Righty-tighies thought of as their best arguments, so now they’re just pulling stuff out of their ears-or some other orifice.

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