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   The American higher education system shunts striving low-
income students into a class of schools invisible to the elite.
The only thing these schools do well is drive their students to quit.
 How schools like George Washington University learned to offer Timex educations at Rolex prices.
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January 24, 2009
OBAMA'S OTHER FAMILY-PLANNING MOVE.... President Obama's decision to repeal the global gag rule ("Mexico City Policy") will make a huge difference in the lives of countless families around the world. With a stroke of a pen, Obama has taken a key step towards advancing international family planning and women's health. But let's also note the other important move Obama made on family planning yesterday.
Indeed, it does more than just send a message; by restoring UNFPA funding, Obama is poised to save some lives. This never should have been controversial. In Bush's first term, the former president intended to maintain UNFPA funding at Clinton-era levels. Then- Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "We recognize that UNFPA does invaluable work through its programs in maternal and child health care, voluntary family planning, screening for reproductive tract cancers, breast-feeding promotion and HIV/AIDS prevention." The administration sought the money, and Congress overwhelmingly approved it. And then, some right-wing activists with the Bush administration's ear, starting complaining bitterly. Since its inception in 1969, the Fund has won widespread recognition for its work in improving the lives of women in developing countries, but for far-right leaders, most notably in the religious right, UNFPA is a pro-abortion enterprise that supports China's one-child policy. Bush put a hold on the money he'd already requested and received, so he could investigate UNFPA's work in China. When international investigators and a U.S. team found "no evidence that UNFPA has knowingly supported or participated in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization" in China, Bush suppressed the findings and blocked the funding anyway. It's a callous, twisted position he maintained for the rest of his terms in office. Because of Bush's actions on UNFPA, fewer women in developing countries received pre-natal care, fewer doctors were trained to deal with pregnancy complications, fewer HIV prevention programs could operate, and less medical equipment was made available to expectant mothers. Obama is going to make this right. —Steve Benen 8:55 AM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (12)Comments
Just a few days at work and he's already knocking my socks off! Unfortunately, CNN reduces this story to "Obama reverses abortion-funding ban." They've been running it on their crawl all morning, and it's the title of their story on cnn.com. God I hate these people. Posted by: Danp on January 24, 2009 at 9:13 AM | PERMALINKThe far right has no use for women and women's rights. They say an egg = a human person, which is just insane. Actually, they seem to think an egg has rights whereas those already on the planet do not. Obama is off to a good start. Posted by: clem on January 24, 2009 at 10:36 AM | PERMALINKThank you thank you for writing on this topic. I was hoping this important piece wouldn't be lost in all the coverage of the global gag rule itself, orange Posted by: Nicole on January 24, 2009 at 10:37 AM | PERMALINKNonetheless, NPR's Juan Williams this morning on the radio implied that Obama isn't really making the changes he talked about, based on the fact that he used some phrases in his inauguration speech that were similar to ones Bush used. It's amazing to see them cranking up the 'Obama is a failure' machine. Posted by: biggerbox on January 24, 2009 at 10:55 AM | PERMALINKJuan Williams is a Fox news hack. Pay no attention. I worked in Bangladesh in the mid 80's. There was a population crisis there at the time with 90 million people living in a country the size of Wisconsin. Now they have 150 million citizens. Any economic progress is eroded by the increased numbers of impoverished landless people. Population is an issue. We need to help with family planning education and technology. Good for Obama and the Democratic congress!!! Posted by: Cycledoc on January 24, 2009 at 11:57 AM | PERMALINKWow, I didn't realize this part of it--this is fantastic. Thanks for the detailed and historical and HOPEFUL account! Posted by: Wow--thanks Steve! on January 24, 2009 at 1:59 PM | PERMALINKthrow at condoms & keeping poor people from procreating Ah, the typical pro-liar, especially the male variety. Doesn't realize that women have agency. Poor people aren't being "kept" from procreating, Zeke. Poor women are realizing they don't have to be broodmares. They're choosing not to have more kids. But I realize that interferes with your view of us as wombs on legs who will go out and have abortion parties and gnaw on fetuses like Kali-Ma if we're not restrained by Teh Wise And Gawdly Menz. As for the women you "counseled," the ones who felt guilt were already primed to by fundie upbringings and propaganda (regardless of what they believed or didn't believe when you met them -- if you're telling the truth). I'm Not Sorry provides loads of evidence that for the majority of women who have abortions, their prime emotion isn't guilt; it's relief. Posted by: b.g. on January 24, 2009 at 4:00 PM | PERMALINKOops, looks like Zeke's rantings about Teh Pweshus Feetusez got deleted. I'm sure he'll take that as a sign that pro-choicers are "silencing" him. Posted by: b.g. on January 24, 2009 at 4:01 PM | PERMALINKAw Zeke. Grow a womb and I will think about listening to you. Until then...not so much. It's quite simple, really: If you are against abortion, by all means, don't have one. Posted by: Blue Girl on January 24, 2009 at 4:13 PM | PERMALINKNote the interesting irony that right-populist-social conservatives have the cognitive dissonance of being anti-contraception/abortion and yet hating the breeding of non-anglo populations. But CD blows right thru them since logical consistency is despised "intellectuality." Posted by: Neil B ◙ on January 24, 2009 at 4:21 PM | PERMALINKPS: Juan Williams is one of the biggest fake liberals on NPR/TV. Posted by: Neil B ♪ ♫ on January 24, 2009 at 4:23 PM | PERMALINK
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