Roe v. Wade Turns Forty

Norma McCorvey, plaintiff, "Jane Roe," in Rove v. Wade

Today is the fortieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that has done little to settle the question of abortion in American society. OTR abhors the practice along with the decision guaranteeing its universal right, and he would have opposed a decision ensuring its universal denial as well. From a legal perspective, he believes a decision on this matter is best reserved for the states. The best decision, however, does not reside in the courts at all for this is a matter reserved for the heart.

The American experiment has a rather questionable record when it chooses the legal extremes of universal permission or denial in moral matters. Two glaring examples of failure in this arena include the prohibition of alcohol (1919-1933) and the so-called War on Drugs (1914-present, but enhanced since 1970). Although Roe v. Wade brought, among other outcomes, access and safety to the practice of abortion, it gave rise to program abuse, deep social division, and the ethnic cleansing of black America that, sadly, rivals the best intentions of the eugenics movement of a century ago. Indeed, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

This is an emotional issue - "a matter reserved for the heart" - and its subjective nature arouses broad opinion. William Katz has a post at Urgent Agenda that shares/shadows the observations above.  Our friends at Real Clear Politics have provided links to Jeffrey Toobin's comments in The New Yorker and those of Gail Collins from The New York Times. The editors at National Review also spoke on the issue earlier today.

The Persistence Of Bad Policy Erodes American Community

Somewhere in the reaches of Glory, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan will flash an "I told you so" smile if he reads the latest U.S. Census Bureau report on poverty. Forty-five years ago, Moynihan was a soldier in President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. He discovered a great flaw that was about to become national policy in that war. The flaw: restricting welfare payments to single parents--almost always the mother-- and their children. He claimed it would destroy the institution of marriage, especially among blacks, and create a permanent underclass of poor women and children.

What Monyihan predicted has come to pass, documented in several reports over the decades. Politicians in power over those same decades lacked the courage to face this very real problem. In the latest report, the U.S. Census Bureau revealed the largest ever annual increase in the number of Americans living in poverty. Obviously, the recession bears some responsibility for the increase, but internal data place the overwhelming blame on childbearing outside of marriage. For the republic, the situation is another fire bell ringing in the night.

Robert Rector has commentary and links here in his blog entry at The Corner. This excerpt shows the depth of the problem:

The biggest secret in the Census report: Marriage is America’s number-one weapon against child poverty. Tragically, however, marriage has been rapidly declining in our society and the number of women who have children outside of marriage has soared. Historically, unwed childbearing was rare. In 1964, when the federal government launched its War on Poverty, 6.8 percent of births were to single mothers. Today, the unwed birthrate has climbed to 40 percent: four of every ten births are to single mothers. For Hispanics and African Americans, the rates rise to nearly 50 and over 70 percent.

Sometimes the truth hurts, but Moynihan sided with the truth rather than pursue the political expediency of the day. He paid dearly for his honesty and was labeled a racist and turncoat by liberals. But early on, politicians soon saw that he was correct, and he went on to a distinguished career in the State Department, at the United Nations and in the U.S. Senate. Oh that we could have many more like him in government today. We need these champions of truth and honesty more than ever.

Photo: President Lyndon Johnson on his famous Poverty Tour (May 1964) greeting one of the residents of Appalachia.

Searching For Lake Wobegon

The psychoanalyst blogging as Shrinkwrapped has produced another thought-provoking perspective on this nation's quest for equality. Entitled Race and Fairness, the post offers some eye-opening statistics and related links as the author dismantles what he calls the "pernicious legal theory" of disparate impact. Well worth your time. And given a day or two, I'd expect some equally interesting comments.

Rush Limbaugh Has Been "Duked"

The political talk on radio and television sells plenty of soap and keeps the pot stirred for the faithful, but I don't think it adds much to the serious debate. It does, however, provide opportunities to expose politics at its worst. Generally, I ignore the entertainments, but sometimes the results simply cannot be ignored. The case of Rush Limbaugh and his phantom racism comments is one of those times. The slander coming from the left has worked its magic and damaged Limbaugh to the point where he likely has a good legal case against the lie merchants at CNN, MSNBC, and ABC. If the corporate lawyers at these "news" organizations can't find those nasty quotes in the original sources at the Limbaugh archives, El Rushbo, if he wants to endure litigation, could buy a network and a football team with his winnings.

Some of the best coverage of this sad truth, for example, this piece by Tony Harnden writing at telegraph.com, is coming from the foreign press. The Duke University lacrosse team scandal should have been a good lesson for the left, but they managed to escape relatively undamaged. This foray into falsehoods could have a far different outcome.

Deconstructing The "Whup Ass"

Victor Davis Hanson dissects the Van Jones mess in this Works and Days post on Pajamas Media. I hear echoes of Tom Wolfe's Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers bouncing everywhere off the edges of Hanson's column. If you're unfamiliar with Wolfe's 1970 classic about the nexus of white liberal guilt and black rage, get your hands on a copy today and prepare to laugh.

Georgia Congressman, David Scott, Rants At Constituent

The republic flourishes when there is spirited debate; however, it usually doesn't come down to an elected representative of the U.S. Congress unloading on those he represents. David Scott was my representative until redistricting a few years ago. I respected him at the time, but no more. It's obvious from the video below that he has no respect for people who don't look and think like him. It is unfortunate that, in all likelihood, he will continue to be reelected based on the non-merit factor of race. This guy is a pathetic loser.



If you are not a minority and happen to live in Georgia's 13th Congressional District, I'd say you have no representation in the House.

Lets Talk About Race. Who's Wants To Be First?

Andrew Breitbart has a fine column today about President Obama's accidental gift on race. Here's a sample"

Americans, especially nonblacks are fearful that the dynamic is predicated on an un-American premise: presumed guilt. Under the extra constitutional reign of political correctness, liberalism's brand of soft Sharia law, must be proved ex post facto.

Think not? Ask the Duke lacrosse team, which had 88 of the school's professors signed a petition that presumed their guilt before their side of the story was known. Even though the white athletes were exonerated and the liberal district attorney who pushed the case was dethroned, disbarred, and disgraced, the professoriate that assigned guilt to its own students still refuses to apologize.

Those signatories constituted 90% of Duke's African and African-American Studies Department, the subject matter domain of Mr. Gates, Michael Eric Dyson, Cornell West, and other tenure-wielding, highfalutin, iambic-pentameter-filibustering race-baiters, and 60% of Duke's women's studies department, another hotbed of victimology posing as intellectualism.

Read the rest of the story here.
Thanks to Instapundit for the link.

A Gatesgate Update

Sorry, but I couldn't help but borrow this from Mark Kirkorian at The Corner:




Shamelessly accurate, I'd say.

Mark Steyn adds his touch here. Thanks to Urgent Agenda for the link.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Personally, I was hoping this incident would blow over quickly, as I have tremendous respect for Henry Louis Gates. We grew up about one mile from each other, but in separate worlds. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. President Obama leaped into the fray at his news conference yesterday when he stated that the Cambridge Police acted "stupidly" in arresting Gates for disorderly conduct. Obama may claim to be the great unifier, but he seems to be playing with a full deck of race cards and little knowledge of the facts of the case. You can decide for yourself with the help a few links:

Here's the police report. Here's a perspective on Obama's comment. And here's the arresting officer's position.

I think all three need a session in the time out chair. Separated, of course.

Dumbing Down The Naval Academy

Powerline's Paul Mirengoff comments on the decline in academic admission standards at the Naval Academy. "Oh well, it's only our nation's security that's at stake," he concludes.

Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of New Haven Firefighters; Overrules Sotomayor's Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a decision in the case of Ricci v. DeStefano, ruling in favor of the New Haven firefighters. This takes us one step closer to a color blind society, the kind of community envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. where people should be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. This decision will, of course, upset those who make their living in the race industry. Their names will become apparent as the day progresses. For information on the decision, The Hill has the story here.

The Supreme Court And Ricci vs. DeStefano

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing the case this week. Ricci vs. DeStefano is a reverse discrimination case involving fire fighters in New Haven, Connecticut. The case will have no winners. John Derbyshire, writing for National Review Online, tells us why in his post, The Husk of Dead Theories. Half of the post is a valuable list and analysis of publications on race in America dating from 1960.

This is a powerful article. If you ever had doubts about the value of a strong nuclear family to a constitutional republic, this article will remove them.

Talking About Race

Shrinkwrapped talks honestly about talking about race. I doubt if this post will make Attorney General Eric Holder - "nation of cowards" - very happy. I can't add anything to this post beyond stating that people in the United States had better wake up soon.