What Happened to Family Values?

It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish. Mother Teresa

It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish. Mother Teresa

The problem I have with this article is that Jacob Weisberg is a deceiver and a liar. He intentionally twists and misrepresents Palin's position on abortion and makes one of the weakest logical arguments about her ideas being ethically flawed that I have ever read.

1 - She is personally opposed to abortion, as evidenced by her family decisions and statements, but the abortion laws in Alaska have liberalised since she has been in office. She is clearly not attempting to legislate behavior or thought. To suggest her beliefs are wrong and she should not have them reaks of intolerance and thought control. "You can only have your own belief system if it agrees with mine, otherwise I will critise you." Sounds VERY intolerant. Obama would be ashamed of Jacob.

2 - To suggest that being Pro-Life and pro-traditional family b/c young unwed mothers have difficult lives is illogical. Every belief system has a natural hierachy. Jacob may not agree with her beliefs, but it is clearly logically consistent.

She supports the ideal of children raised in two parent families. Ideally, who does not? Certainly Obama does. Both are opposed to divorce, in theory. Both would promote counseling and reconcilition in marriages that are suffering rough times. Who would not? But when a couple has irreconcilable differences neither would demand the marriage stay in tact. When a husband is willing to kill his wife but not divorce her, neither would say the ideal of a sacred bond should supercede the sanctitiy of life. Neither would say it is okay to be abusive or murder, as long as the ideal family unit is maintained.

Likewise, Palin believes that the life or death of the child supercedes wether it grows up in an ideal family. Life first, good family second. Jacob may not agree that the fetus is a child, but to those who do there can be no other logical position. Her position is only ethically flawed when Jacob suggests that she holds the sanctity of an ideal famliy on par with the sanctity of life. He either did so knowingly, and is therefore a deceiver of readers, a twister of facts and a liar, or he did so in ignorance and an inability to think rationally and clearly. I think he is intelligent and acted maliciously to support his own political agenda. Maybe you disagree and think he's just stupid.

So your solution to the problem of teen pregnancy is that abortion will fix everything? Teen pregnancy is just the symptom or result of sex outside of marriage. Adding the guilt of killing one's own child will only contribute to the devastation of that teen. Statistics don't lie. A significant percentage of women that have had an abortion, suffer very serious mental side affects including suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, relationship problems, etc. Not to mention the physical side affects like increased chance of breast cancer.

ABOUT SARAH PALIN -
[ Note by web_admin: This was already posted on Washington Independent
comments area and was meant by the author to be read by many, but
readers need sourcing. The NY Times has talked with contributors since. ]

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will
make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's
surplus, borrow for needs.

In 1960, 5% of the black community had children out of wedlock - today 69%. Over half of black pregnancies are ended in abortion. In 1960, you never heard of blue colar children being illegitmate - over 25% are today. AIDS, Broken families, serial live-ins raising unstable kids are the norm. As a upper middle class child, the live-ins wrecked our lives. The sexual revolution failed years ago! I think the press, media, academia and the elite look to prove otherwise. When I was a little girl I looked forward to getting married and having children. With the new promiscuity and "live in, no commit" partner, I am glad I didn't. Rome fell when it got to where the West is today....

Yes, I know mistakes happen, but do we have to publicize it in such a way that it is celebrity news? This is not the issues we should be focused on! What about our economy, the wars, the mortgage situation, the broken health care, inflation, our nations debt, the infrastructures, etc. etc. etc.

To be so easily distracted is worrisome.

"Katrina, four dollar gas, a trillion dollar war, rising unemployment, deregulated housing market, global warming......."

"N O M O R E"



This race should be about whether the Republican Party is going to be dismantled or not after the borderline treason of the past eight years. But instead it is about making the word "community organizer" a dirty word and a beauty queen who shoots foxes from a plane. Someone is not in any way doing their job and it's the press. Or more specifically, that job no longer exists.

Probably the worst offenders are the pundits who take the position that it's all just a game and say phrases like "getting a post-convention bump" or "playing to the soccer Moms." This isn't a game of Monopoly or Survivor. There are real truths that exist outside of the spin they are given and have an effect on lives. 250,000 Iraqi civilians are dead because we let our reality be distorted by the most effective propaganda machine in fifty years, the corporate American press. Money and jobs are flying out of this country as our currency becomes worthless and we're talking about the fact that McCain is a veteran. If someone busted into your house and robbed you would you then forgive them if you found out they were a veteran? Of course not. So why are we forgiving McCain for selling out his country by supporting the Bush agenda?

G E T O F F S A R A P A L I N !


This is not about Sara Palin this is about John Mccain and his irresponsible and irrational choice for his VP running mate.

This is John McCains ball game and he is the one making the decisions. The Republicans have you all looking the other way by making you think this is about Palin and John McCain having his strings pulled with his campaign manager saying things like "This election is not about issues" or one of his surragates saying' "John Mccain does not speak for this campaign" or turning "Community Organizer" into a dirty word when we all know that is a great way to reach and help peple who are in greater need than ourselves. No sir This election on the Republican side is being run by the one and only John Mccain and nobody else. If you think otherwise you are a fool in your own skin.

"IT IS NOT"

This is all about John McCain and his extremely bad judgement.

The republican party is playing Bushy with all of you all over again by making you think that he is a puppet and his strings are being pulled by Rove and company and the Republican party.

W E L L I H A V E G O T N E W S F O R Y O U!

Bush, Cheney and Mccain are dumb like foxes and we are all just fish on a hook and we are swallowing it hook, line and sinker and being reeled in all over again.They did it to everybody in 2000 and 2004 and they are right back at it again in 2008. As it stands right now they are winning and if we all keep talking about the wrong things till the General Election and lose focus of what is ailing our beloved country America will lose again.

I hope you can live with that because i can't bear the thought and i can't afford another 4 or more years of the same and as it looks right now you are all helping to get us to that juncture.

Can anyone confirm that Palin not only has a pregnant teenage daughter, but her oldest son is a high school drop out? I don't believe the liberals. I want a Conservative to confirm. So far I can't.

Palin is pro-life, opposing abortion in all cases except when the mother's life is in danger. She opposes same-sex marriage and favors teaching creationism alongside evolution in schools. But she hasn't pushed for legislative changes in any of those areas.

To me that says that she recognizes the limits of government and the importance of personal choice. Her choice might be different from mine, and she would have no qualms about telling me what she thinks, but she doesn't try to legislate religious positions.

Boy, here is a fair and balanced account of pro-life versus pro-choice. Terribly one-sided and written by Jacob "Obama can only lose to McCain due to racism" Weisberg; come on, this is obviously left wing trash.

And understand, I am OK with contraception and with Roe v. Wade as it stands. But this kind of one-sided article with no rebut is a clear example of why under Jon Meacham NewsWeek is losing credibility,--not to mention subscribers--and going through an ever quickening death.

Good work, Jon. Great editing.

B. Wilson

man my eyes are going bad and i'm starting to get paranoid these liberals don't care!! they keep using these big words that i can't understand. don't they know i suffer from Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia ?

I find this as an opportunity for the Democrats to take advantage of in a new and positive way. For the first time in a long time, the BLUE ticket has the appearance of family values more than the RED ticket. How lovely!

You people just really don't get it. Abortion is not going to do it for you scaremongers this time around. In her time as the Alaska Governor did she ONCE try to cram through any issues dealing with abortion. SHe spend her time trying to REFORM the way business is done in Alaska. You guys just can't help yourselves. NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU THINK!