Not only do U.S. taxpayers have to pay for abortions, we have to pay for foreign abortions.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday will lift restrictions on U.S. government funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad, reversing a policy of his Republican predecessor George W. Bush, an administration official said.

"It will be today. He's going to make an executive order (lifting the global gag rule)," the official said.

The Democratic president's decision is a victory for advocates of abortion rights on an issue that in recent years has become a tit-for-tat policy change each time the White House shifts from one party to the other.

When the ban was in place, no U.S. government funding for family planning services could be given to clinics or groups that offer abortion services or counseling in other countries even if the funds for those activities come from non-U.S. government sources.

It has been called the Mexico City Policy because it was unveiled at a United Nations conference there in 1984 and became one of the centerpiece social policies of the conservative administration of former President Ronald Reagan, a Republican.

Critics call it the "gag rule" because it also cuts funds to groups that advocate or lobby for the lifting of abortion restrictions, so they say it infringes on free speech. They also say it has reduced healthcare for some of the world's poorest women.

Former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, rescinded the rule when he took office in January 1993 and his successor, Republican George W. Bush, reinstated it in January 2001.

When he reinstated it, Bush said taxpayer funds should not be used to pay for or advocate abortions.

Anti-abortion activists agreed with Bush and criticized the move to lift the ban on funding.

"When we wake up every morning to a deepening financial crisis, it is an insult to the American people to bail out the abortion industry," said Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life.

"Planned Parenthood is a billion dollar company and they do not need additional resources to burden the American taxpayer," she added.

The United States spends more than $400 million on overseas family planning assistance each year.

Critics of the funding ban say the anti-abortion restrictions have resulted in huge drops for funding worldwide to organizations that provide family-planning services and basic healthcare. They say this means many women are deprived of contraception and other health services in poor countries, leading to back-alley abortions and deaths.

The Center for Reproductive Rights says, for example, that in Ethiopia and Lesotho, some non-governmental organizations are no longer able to offer comprehensive and integrated healthcare services to patients suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Abortion rights opponents and groups who support the Mexico City Policy contest the view that it has led to an increase of illegal abortions or deaths overseas.

Unlike Clinton and Bush, Obama did not act on the rule on the January 22 anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that made abortions legal throughout the country.

Obama asks GOP what they think about bailout then says I won.

(Newser) – President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus plan today, then calmly reminded them that "I won," Politico reports. The GOP is seeking more middle-class tax cuts, among other things, and says the spending package is too large. Further negotiations are planned, but Dems appear to be in control. Asked if he worried about GOP resistance to passing the bill by Feb. 14, Harry Reid replied, “No.”

“We expressed our concerns about some of the spending that’s being proposed in the House bill,” House Minority Leader John Boehner said, adding that “government can’t solve this problem." Republicans have pointed out an OMB report that indicates stimulus funds won’t reach the economy until 2010; Reid said the report was based on partial data, and that the $825 billion or larger plan would quickly provide relief.

Why did he ask, he knew he didn't care what they thought.

Waste of money

The obama inauguration is going to cost $170,000,000. More than Bush 2005, Bush 2001, Clinton 1997, clinton 1993 and Bush senior, combined.

Spirit airlines did what?

No, seriously: they did *what*?

Posted by Moe Lane (Profile)

Monday, January 19th at 2:00PM EST
22 Comments

So, let’s review the bidding.

* You and your friend are flying to Myrtle Beach to do some golfing. Sounds like fun; have a good time!
* Oops! Your regular carrier cancels your flight! Well, that’s all right: they get you a flight on another airline. So, you fly off…
* …and your plane promptly loses both engines because of a flock of what were likely geese*. And, oh, look, there’s the Hudson River.
* Fortunately, your captain today is Chesley B. Sullenberger III, who proceeds to demonstrate that he’s just that good. So you manage to actually walk away from a forced water landing in the middle of winter. Don’t buy any more lottery tickets, by the way - and look both ways while crossing the street from now on. You’ve used up your quota of luck for a while.
* All of this means that you never actually make it to Myrtle Beach.
* And so, when you eventually get around to calling your original carrier to cancel your return trip, guess what happens?

That’s right! Spirit Airlines charges you a $90 cancellation fee! See also here.

(pause)

You know, in some cultures the response to this would be to lock the customer service representative in a room with a gun and expect him to do the honorable thing. I’m not saying that this is the right solution - but it’s probably the one that Spirit Airlines might end up wishing that it could pursue…