Bush taps birth-control opponent for family planning office
Less than a week ago, the World Health Organization released one of the most comprehensive studies to date on reproductive health. Its conclusions were not surprising — the only effective way to reduce unwanted pregnancies and abortions is to make contraception widely available.
Five days later, the White House has responded to this reality by naming an opponent of birth control to head the federal government’s family planning office.
The Department of Health and Human Services appointed Susan Orr — who has spoken out against contraception — to a post responsible for U.S. contraception programs.
Orr, who will be acting deputy assistant secretary for population affairs, has been directing child welfare programs in another branch of HHS. Prior to joining the Bush administration, Orr was senior director for marriage and family at the Family Research Council, a conservative group that favors abstinence-only education and opposes federal money for contraception.
Orr will replace Eric Keroack, a doctor who believes the distribution of contraceptives is “demeaning to women,” and who had a history of saying truly nutty things, such as the belief that condoms “offer virtually no protection” against herpes or HPV.
Yes, I know, we’re talking about the Bush administration. When looking for someone to head up family-planning programs, loyal Bushies aren’t going to put Joycelyn Elders’ resume at the top of the list. I get that.
But this is ridiculous. It’s as if the Bush administration is trying to find the most offensive choices possible for public-health posts.
what a bunch of idiots
Define Irony & Hypocrisy:
GOP.
Who did you expect, Dr. Ruth?
What's next: THE ‘IRAN-CONTRA CONTRACEPTION’ SCANDAL?
I don't think they try hard~it's easy for them.
Bush is proof that contraception is needed in this world
How Orwellian.
clarification to your text
But this is ridiculous. It’s as if the Bush administration is trying to find the most offensive choices possible [any and all] posts.
More babies without medical coverage!
Nothing is going to change in this administration. Now that many of the old loyal Bushies players have left/resigned, we're just getting new loyal Bushie players. That's why it's so disheartening that Congress hasn't done anything about the incompetence, corruption, greed and lawlessness that are the so pervasive in this administration. It's going to be a terrible year ahead with more foreign and domestic disasters waiting to happen.
The bigger question is: Where do all these nutjobs come from? What level of dysfunctionality does it take to create people who toss out science as some sort of "witchery" and rely on the "invisible sky friend" to take care of everything?
*crawls across floor desperately*
Outrage... fatigue... reaching... critical levels... stupidity factor... too... high... bullshit pile... now the height of... Everest...
how soon until he appoints a chimp or a parrot or some other animal to head some department?
Bush thinks just because he can't have sex, no one else can either.
Or maybe he just wants to pay back our nation for not crowning him emperor.
tofubo beat me to it
"But this is ridiculous. It’s as if the Bush administration is trying to find the most offensive choices possible [any and all] posts."
This, in a nutshell, pun intended, sums up why this sorry bastard should be impeached. Nancy Pelosi is a terrible, terrible disappointment.
No surprise here. Bush is notorious for doing exactly the opposite of what is recommended or objectively obvious. From "we don't torture" to "I'm goning to listen to the generals on the ground" to "I welcome the ISG recommendations" and then he sends more troops. It's like he gives the American people the finger every time he makes a decision.
What happened, was the Pope too busy to accept the position?
Nothing is middle of the road with this bunch. They don't even allow the word compromise to be uttered.
But this is ridiculous. It’s as if the Bush administration is trying to find the most offensive choices possible for public-health posts.
Well yeah. This is the way these thugs have been operating for the last 7 years. No matter if it's "family planning", or the environment, or worker safety, or food safety, I could go on and on. Bushco picks the biggest fox-in-the-hen-house crony you can imagine for every post. That person is always an opponent of whatever public service/utility they're in charge of. Similar in a way to how they name their little devilish plans, "Clear skies initiative", "No child left behind", "compassionate conservative". Completely opposite of what the name imply.
How insane is this president? Really, I mean, is he completely nuts? This is delusional thinking. The man's an insult to this country. And, no, I wouldn't want to have a beer with him!
The shrub co. crime family doesn't even pretend to care any more.
I'm surprised they haven't made it against the law to use contraception yet. After all every sperm is sacred. But an actual live human being in need of education and health care is just a librul shill trying to make neocons look bad.
Next, Christopher Hitchens in charge of military chaplains?
homer www.altara.blogspot.com
Using the Completion Backwards Principle the extreme Right impatiently and short-sightedly starts with the end goal of power/money, then works its way backwards, thus; the need for spin, lies, misdirection, and the resulting hypocracy,and stupidity that we see every day coming from these morons. Johnny 'the torch' for Fire Chief!
Navy Vet @ 11:
I nearly spit out my morning coffee...hopefully the son of invisible sky friend will return shortly to sort this whole thing out, but for that to happen we have to make as many "Christian" babies as we can, while we can. These will be our minions for a crusade against the Muslim heretics and the rebuilding of the Temple (where the Dome of the Rock now sits). Once we have that, son of invisible sky friend will come down...and he won't leave any child behind.
Orr herself is proof positive that birth control does not work; her father tried it by jerking off into a flower pot and he got a blooming idiot. Yeah I know, lame.
I'm sorry, but were we expecting anything else? If there was an office of Jewish affairs he would tap Farrahkhan. It's always opposite day in the Bush administration.
Orr House.............buffalo chips.
from 'every sperm is sacred" to "kill'em all and let God sort 'em out".... dopes..... and somewhere in that span is "it's OK to have 10 million uninsured children in America"
Make sure they get born then toss them over board. Don't forget to smile for the camera.
Hey, Wal-Mart needs future workers too in our fair 'anyone can be Preznit' free market society.
snewp @ 1:
They're not idiots; they do this stuff on purpose. They want the poor & poorly educated to have lots and lots of babies so they will be more desperate and easier to manipulate.
My wife just had a C-Section and getting pregnant less than a year from now would put both her life and the life of the baby in danger. So according to this idiot, we should go for a year without having sex rather than use birth control, even though we're married.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Fundies won't be happy until they've outlawed all sex.
These people are so far gone, they can't see their own damned hypocrasy in anything.
I have a case of "convince" fatigue right now, and it's these wingnuts who give it to me everytime. Pro-life, my ass. They are as pro-life as the animals who eat their young. And any women in this ReThug movement needs waterboarding for giving up their right to choose to the second coming of the Third Reich willingly.
"It's as if"???
Joycelyn Elders? Hell, even Clinton threw her under the bus for advocating masturbation as a healthy sexual outlet for teens, as opposed to them engaging in risky sex without proper sex ed. When the ReThugs whined, he was the first in line to sling her under the bus. I haven't forgotten that.
As a matter of fact, Clinton was quick to sling Lani Guinier under that same bus, because Orrin Hatch lied about her legal writings advocating "quotas" in Affirmative Action, when the truth was, her legal writings did not do that. Rat Bastard.
Will it get any better under Hillary? You tell me...
I hate to wish time away, but I'm willing to blow through this next year if it means we can change administrations that much quicker.
My husband, who isn't a political freak like myself, watched the Frontline show about Cheney last night. I conked out before it came on. He got up this morning telling me about the show and he had smoke coming out of his ears he was so angry. There wasn't a lot he hadn't already known, but he said the way the show tided it all together made him see just how damned crooked cheney, et al, really are.
Just another in a long line of appointees who are brought in to head an agency they have already demonstrated they disdain.
I wonder how many there have been? Here's folks I could come up with that Bush brought in who had little respect or even outright animosity toward that position.
1. John Bolton --- called for destruction of UN --- named as UN Ambassador
2. Alberto Gonzalez --- exhibited contempt for both US (constitution) and internat'l law (geneva convention) --- named as Attorney General
3. Susan Orr --- hates contraception --- appointed head of family planning
4. Michael Brown --- allergic to competence --- appointed head of FEMA
I'm sure there's at least a dozen or so more...
Did any of these right wing nuts ever have an orgasm? I don't think so. If they had ever had that amazing experience they would fight like hell for birth control so they could experience that feeling as often as possible without the worry of pregnancy.
theWalrus @ 10:
That's right on the mark. The only way this would stop is for congress to do something. The consequences of this go way beyond Bush, if nothing is done about this future presidents will be free to be just as idiotic.
Susan @ 28:
Just as long as the reich doesn't have to pay for it they don't give a damn.
I just love how it's all "it takes a village" until it's time for the reich to actually participate. Then suddenly the tune changes. Now it's "Why did you have kids if you can't afford health insurance?"
How do you mesh "every sperm is sacred. BC is an insult to god and shouldn't be used because it kills potential babies" and "All you poor folks out there shouldn't have babies because you can't afford 'em." ??
So if you're not a rich neocon you're not only sub human, you're also not entitled to have sex because as you know only abstinence is acceptable to the magic invisible sky daddy.
marbotty @ 37:
There is one i can think of:
George Bush --- childish, immature, self centered, arogant, anti American --- appointed President of US
But how will all the middle income couples who can't afford health insurance for their not-yet-conceived fetii be responsible and not have children that they cannot afford, and therefore, should never, ever have? Ever.
Two words: John Bolton.
Is anyone really surprised?
This is ridiculous. The right wing machine rumbles on.
Wonder if Bush and his lot would believe this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ailocf7Ia3Y
It must be a hoax, but some people are buying it...
Speaking of the worst president ever, he'll be holding a news conference a bit after ten (eastern time) this morning. This is a warning if your tv is on and you don't want to see it.
bbob @ 42:
I am sure the Republicans have a plan to hand out knee cushions for women to squeeze tightly between their knees. This is the only kind of contraception they approve of; political.
xoites defends Constitution @ 46:
Or maybe, just build more public mensrooms and take care of each others' "needs" that way, since while they really don't approve of it, they don't really disaaprove of it, either.
(And, they're not now, nor have they ever been, gay.)
Somewhat OT --
Bush sets a new low... in polls.
His rating this month fell to 24%
Tammany Hall looks like a bunch of amateurs next to the Buscovite Junta. They have made the US the laughingstock of the world.
Blue Buddha @ 48:
Hey! The 30 percenters are now the 24 percenters. I guess they will have to change their letterhead.
What's the lowest any president has ever gone since polls have been taken? He must be getting close to that record now.
pissed off patricia @ 51:
Well, i think Gitmo was pretty low, but then Abu Grahb happened. Then of course there was the wire taping and i truly think Bush is trying to go lower...
If they want to focus on abstinance, then combine it with courses on masturbation. :)
WTF is Busholini going to prattle on about at today's presser?
I think bush is going to talk about domestic issues, whatever the hell that means to him. Probably rattle on about congressional spending or some such. Maybe he wants to tell us how encouraged he is that his approval rating is not lower than it is. Who the hell knows?
pissed off patricia @ 51:
I think the previous low was set by Truman in the last two years of his presidency... I forgot exactly what he did to piss off voters, but it was something like 27 or 28%. Bush had a slight margin before breaking this record, and I think the vetoing of SCHIP pushed him over.
Which presidents have received the highest and lowest approval ratings?
"The all-time worst numbers belong to Harry Truman (23%), who also holds the record for the biggest range in approval rating. George H. W. Bush eventually sank to 29%. Carter hit 28%, and Nixon was at 24% before he resigned."
I think it's fair to say 30% of Amerika is Ok with torture, loss constitutional rights, the Iraq war etc. etc., but when it comes to the coming economic crisis we are surely facing you will see many jump ship . $$$$$$
Patriot Actor @ 53:
No! Because then they'll go blind, lose their jobs, and have to sign their kids up for SCHIP.
By making the worst possible decisions in all areas of his influence Bush is making his belief "government is bad" a self-fulfilling proposition. This appointment is just one of many, many examples.
xoites defends Constitution @ 57:
Ah... had Truman correctly, but the number wrong. Well Bush is now tied with Nixon.
If only Barbara had the wisdom of an Orr.
Will someone please wake up Nancy and yell "24%" at her until she gets her act together and puts impeachment back on the table where it belongs?
Meanwhile in France the morning after pill is available in every high schools and parents would not be notified, and that's like that since 1996...
Bush is giving us the finger again. He loves to; he holds us all in contempt, even that small group of religious rightists that still supports him. Remember who is base really is...the obscenely wealthy.
give a man viagra and its ok.
but god-forbid you give a man a condom
and god-firbid you give a woman the pill!
That is the wierdest title I think I've ever heard.
AKA: "Senior Director for Telling Other People How to Live."
xoites defends Constitution @ 63:
Is nancy up for re-election?
BaScOmBe @ 68:
Yes and Cindy Sheehan is running against her.
How is an opponent of birth control going to educate us on family planning? This makes no frickin sense.
Smarmy @ 70:
Oh, that's easy. Just plan to have kids.
And don't forget to take that job you are going to hate so you can have expensive if inadequate health insurance.
AbbeyHoffmansGhost @ 25:
C'mon, you can do better than that...this wasn't necessary.
It’s as if the Bush administration is trying to find the most offensive choices possible for public-health posts.
Yes, that's exactly their plan. Offend, abuse, demean, and disrupt everything that is positive and helpful to people, then when the "liberals" point these things out and complain, we get labeled and targeted as unpatriotic, or worse.
It's gotten to the point that Bush is essentially saying "FUCK YOU" to everyone who isn't a white Christian republican male. Saying "impeach" at this point in the decline of our once great civilization is a joke. A big, fucking joke. The only thing that will have any impact is revolution.
More at my blog.
Has Bush done one single thing right? Has he even once had the people of this nation in mind in anything he's done? If he made a list of things he can be proud of, would he even need a sheet of paper? Aren't there any people in his life who can give him a clue? I worry about anyone who doesn't hate that bastard with a passion!
Bush admin = Kastanza govt.
Do the opposite!
marbotty @ 37:
Here's one: Dr. David Hager...put in charge of women's health ... ob/gyn whose ex-wife says that he raped her while she was sleeping on several occasions... even err.... "missing" the ususal orifice, just the sort of doctor that I'd want for my ob/gyn.
LibertyLover @ 72:
Sorry, I had a moment. At least it wasn't a minute.
AbbeyHoffmansGhost @ 77:
That's what the delete button was created for my friend. :)
But this is ridiculous. It’s as if the Bush administration is trying to find the most offensive choices possible for public-health posts.
That's nothing. Wait until you see what he does on his last few day in office.
The last sentence of the C&L post says it all - it really does look like bush is presenting the most offensive nominees for various positions.
Such an immature war criminal. He continues to pull the wings off of flies, and stuff fireworks up frog's asses. He will continue to be a bully as long as he is allowed to be.
IMPEACH!
Don't worry, Susan Orr will not be so bad. In fact, she has pledged that as one of her first priorities in office, she will petition Nancy Pelosi to take impregnation off the table. That should take care of that.
God help us all.
Someone made this into a funny poll on pollsb.com (i put the link under my name). One of the options is:
That's like letting Cheney be in charge of the war... oh wait, he is in charge of the war!
This administration believes that government basically should be dismantled, so they're doing it from the inside out. The best way to prove that government doesn't work is to put an incompetent who hates a program/department in charge of that program/department to be *sure* it can't work. Then, once they've destroyed government, it's apres moi, le deluge.
these connie concern trolls are against S CHIP and every program that would help the babies they claim they want to save. Randall Terryist phonies
LibertyLover @ 76:
Here's another: David Lauriski - Mine Safety and Health Administration - former top executive for Utah mining company. Rescinded many safeguards President Clinton put in place for mine safety. What could possibly go wrong?
Barb Bush should have been using contraception 60 yrs ago.
the bush admin. is doing these things, i believe, purposefully to make the top republican contenders look better. as long as everyone hates/blames the bushies, the republicans still stand a chance in the great race. nothing in politics or policy is done by accident.
This is typical Bush behavior when what he wants has been shown by knowledgeable people and organizations to be wrong, counterproductive, and harmful to people.
This is what happens when a mean, petty, arrogant, spoiled, self-centered and petulant rich kid is told "No" by adults.
The WHO study was a rebuke, and true to form Bush responded his typical "I don't care what the fuck you say I can do what I want so fuck you".
The man is arrogant like a spoiled 13-year-old, as mean and petty and vindictive as a spoiled 13-year-old, and has the same empathy and wisdom as a spoiled 13-year-old.
From U.S. HHS site: "She [Orr] has been a high school principal and adjunct professor at American University and Regent University."
After the Justice Department FU you'd think anyone with any association with Regent would be an immediate reason for discalification.
And don't we have a surgeon general who likes to pray the gay away? How's that working out for Larry Craig and Mark Foley?
Cracker's for Christ @ 85:
Yeah, talk about a kid who has been a BIG beneficiary of government services........
I'm also wondering what her Ph.d. credential covers. Looking at the degrees currently offered by Claremont Graduate School I don't see any Ph.d. offered for anything medical except psychology.
Of course they are trying to find the most offensive people for these posts as well as people who will run a dept. into the ground. This is what they want...gov't that dies and does NOT serve the common citizens. It's not a surprise to me...Bush and the GOP are doing exactly what they want to do.
In order to prove that they are right "That Government doesn't work" , they consistantly put people in these positions. They're goal is to run every department into the ground so they can be "privitized".
The Title X family planning program, which Susan Orr will now be overseeing, is a critical part of our country’s health care safety net for low-income women, providing contraceptive care and other preventive health services to more than 5 million women each year. We’ll be watching to see what happens next with this appointment…
Steph Sterling here at the National Women's Law Center has more details on this in her blog post from yesterday.
Too bad William Burroughs are Timothy Leary are dead. They could have been Drug Czars in the CheneyBushCo regime.
Michael M. @ 93:
If everything is privatized why would people still pay taxes? If you've got to pay in full to send your kid to school or drive on a highway or use the post office or call a police officer or whatever, why would ANYONE do that AND pay taxes? If I've got to pay as I go I can promise you that there won't be a single cent going to a govt. that supposedly 'doesn't work' anyway.
If they put me in jail I'd probably have to pay them for that too.
Shall we skip the niceties and just go straight back to Dickensian life? Open some workhouses and make some of those schip families work off their debt to "society". All those "You shouldn't have even had them in the first place" babies without health insurance can be sold into slavery. Let's just hope most of the repugs aren't familiar with Jonathan Swift.
binzinerator @ 87:
Bravo! I can't believe that the White House isn't rattling its sabres at Norway after the bitch-slap they handed his global warming denialism last week.
And I can't better the observations of those who called the spade a spade on the Munchausen by Proxy (remember the poisoned little girl in "Sixth Sense"?) scam that the Neocons have been running with the government since Reagan. Rock on.
Btw, MargeAgeddon, I understand that you do have to pay if you are thrown in jail. At least in the state where I live. And we're supposed to be a Blue State...
What's with all these tap-dancing reichwingers? First Larry Craig and now boosh.
"It’s as if the Bush administration is trying to find the most offensive choices possible for public-health posts."
If he can't get attention one way, he'll get it another. He is NOT irrelevant, god damn it! He can still fuck with population control.
Ex-Canuck @ 80:
Non, non.
No, THEY are systematically breaking the system and placing their religious morons in preparation for the New American Dark Ages.
What else can we expect from the party of snake handlers?
(Pardon the slight on snake handlers)
Same old, same old. This administration is evil and highly criminal and it's unconscionable that the Democrats don't at least try to impeach them.
Thats it! George bush is a [deleted]!
That man drives me spare... how can a rational human do these things!
His religion is bollocks, his mind a mess, he is so far from reality he visits the three bears.
The most gullible man on the planet is the most powerful!
argh! it is so frustrating.
Taxes won't be reduced with privatization! We still will be required to feed the war machine. After listening to the Repugs on Iran, we're going to need a lot of money for that. This is the war they really wanted. The problems in Iraq just slowed the process down. Had we done better in Iraq we would already be in Iran and Syria.
georgie bush would nominate Hitler to head up the B'nai B'rith, saying "Fuck Jews" as he does it.
With the Senate split just about in half, impeachment isn't feasible. With Nixon, the Repugs wanted to cut their losses and turn the page. The election was far enough down the road where they thought they could regroup. These guys have hung on too long and they have to go down with the ship. I just want the Dem's to begin to bring criminal charges against some of these fools rather than another hearing. We've heard enough. I can't believe that they haven't uncovered anything strong enough to take to court against any of these fools?
Anyone haveany info on this woman's marital/motherhood status? I can't find any, but I'm willing to bet that she is single.
I assume this is a position that doesn't need Congressional approval...
Does anyone know?
wagonjak @ 110:
They told our parents back in the '50's that comic books would rot our brains - apparently for some people that was true - too many Superman comics set in Bizzaro World left George unable to think clearly - well, maybe all the booze and coke in the '70's and 80's helped.
Bush = No. 1 reason for birth control (or viscious, premeditated abortion)
That's "vicious" or "viscous"..
They need a good healthy supply of lower income babies to smear for political purposes.
bilhelm-X @ 113:
If only he could have been a stain on someone's blue dress.
Sure, why not... It's a staple of the Bush administration.. They'll put lumberjacks in charge of tree conservation, oil magnates in charge of natural resource conservation, rabid anti-abortionists and religous freeks in charge of womens health services and national health care.. Pretty much they will target things they don't like and put people who also don't like those things either, and would like to see those things, (whatever that might mean by way of agency or social function etc) destroyed or neutered in effectiveness in charge of those very things..
And some people will wonder why these very vital fed ran agencies and various functions of this government are slipping..... Kind of like hiring someone who hates to paint to paint your house... Shoudn't be too surprised when the results turns out to be a crappy paint job....The solution to that bad paint job situation is... Don't hire people to paint your house who hate to paint... I don't really think I have to spell out how the analogy and how it applies here..
The short story... Get rid of Bush and make sure the replacement knows enough to appoint or hire the proper people for these types of important jobs.....Specifically stop appointing 'drown the baby in the bathrub' types.....that's not really working... At least its not working for the American people though it's probably just dandy to the fascist libertarian idealogues and or religio/fascists depending on the agency being gutted from within.... JD
LibertyLover @ 76:
Who can forget Mark Foley, R-Florida, Chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. Got caught having online sexual chats with a teenage congressional page.
If funding for birth control is cut, the poor tend to have more children. And the children of the poor are more likely to be on welfare or end up in jail. (thus costing the taxpayers more money) This considered, you might think all the leading conservatives would want to INCREASE access for birth control for the poor.
Hell, the right wants to cut funding for birth control AND cut funding for poor children. Are they determined to turn us into a third world country?
Michael M. @ 108:
remember when Watergate broke.......back then the MSM didn't have all these talking heads defending the Prez(not like today)....today it's hard to find an honest journalist.......doing an honest job.How the hell can this man NOT get impeached?
I hope nobody really thought Bush would find someone "qualified" to fill any position, not to mention this post. Besides this is another in a long line of unqualified hacks pumped into the government via Regent University.
Check here for a little background.
www.acf.hhs.gov/orgs/bios/sorr.htm
Just par for the course in dubya-land. I swear, if I was rich, I'd go on a 15-month extended European vacation until this moron and his corporate-fascist government was out of office.
But, since that's not going to happen, I'll just have to get use to that neocon middle-finger
salute we have grown so accustomed too.
[...] Crooks and Liars » Bush taps birth-control opponent for family planning office [...]
[...] She is replacing Eric Keroack, who believes that contraception is “demeaning to women”. (h/t Crooks and Liars) [...]
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