As we said buh-bye to George W. Bush while he made his last presidential address last night, we also find that he managed to squeeze in a new day - he declared January 18th as "Sanctity of Human Life Day."
A snippet:
"All human life is a gift from our creator that is sacred, unique and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world,""The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence and funding crisis pregnancy programs."
(Emphasis mine)
An interesting "holiday" considering all the innocent lives that have actually been lost under his presidency. This "culture of life" bullshit makes me sick to my stomach, but at least he's owning up to the fact that he has, in fact, worked vigorously to wage a war against women's right to control their bodies.
This day is like your typical crisis pregnancy center - the title itself is deceiving. What do you think would be a more fitting name for Bush's day?
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Wresting Women's Wombs Day? I like alliteration.
Ignorance Day, to commemorate the stupidity that reigned during the administration of the Worst President Ever.
I Can Count on You Right Wingers to Not Hate Me for Sucking as A President, Right? Day.
I Miss the 1400's Day.
I grow so weary of theists.
And really, this pisses me off more than it did at first. "Days" are typically something that EVERYONE can agree on. They recognize historic events or truly great individuals whose contribution to good in the world no one would deny. This "I'm going to shove my politics down your throat" bullshit is just a fucking insult to every day we take to recognize someone or something that is truly important to our country.
What he should have said: "I've promoted a culture of life by keeping children away from teh gays, by denying women throughout the world health care since they might get abortion counseling at the same center, and by helping to create unwanted pregnancies through abstinence only education and parental notification laws that don't allow young women to get the care they need."
Just a few more days...
Not Iraqi life, mind you.
Oh, or anyone convicted of a capital offense be they retarded or otherwise.
Or anyone without oil.
Or anyone living in an oil rich nation who happens to have a vagina.
But if you're white, rich, and a zygote then your "life" is sacred. Everyone else can fuck right off.
I assume there will be no executions performed on "sanctity of life day." Oh no, wait, not all lives are sacred. Especially not those disposable individuals (often lower class, often minority) who find themselves on death row.
My thoughts exactly (plus that of all the civilians and soldiers killed in an unjust war waged by Bush). All lives are sacred... except when Bush judges them not to be.
Oh my god, this is unbelievable! Bush claims to protect the "sanctity of life" while he wages wars that kill thousands of innocent, and he also supports the death penalty!
I can't believe he has the nerve to call Jan 18th Sanctity of Life Day. I boycott that bullshit! What a load of hypocritical crap.
I hope other people are smart enough to see through this facade. Although I'm sure the pro-lifers will be thrilled.
Good one, Printmaker!
I suggest 'Celebrate the Consequences of Your Rape Day' and let's make it a day where all rape victims that got pregnant at couldn't get an abortion can celebrate their good fortune and peaceful relationship with the Lord above (and his trusty, fascist fellowship down here on Earth).
Or what about 'Women are Essentially Breeding Machines Day'? That's a good, educational statement that'll make us females remember what our role in the world is, no matter what we otherwise make our selves believe.
Of course, the Death Penalty is conveniently left out. I know he specifies "innocent life" (which is of course bullshit anyway considering Iraqi civilians), but I've never in my life understood how someone can call themselves pro-life and not only support, but celebrate an execution. It makes me sick.
I propose January 18th to be National Morbid Irony Day.
National Fuck Women Over Day? Or how about National Fetuses Take Precedence Over Humans Day?
What a sad last-minute, last-ditch effort to curry favor with those conservatives he has managed to alienate by, y'know, not being a remotely conservative president.
Is Bush trying to boost his departing approval rating above 20% this way? Worse, is he trying to establish a legacy in his last week? Because it isn't going to happen.
Hell, most pro-life conservatives I know hate Bush in part because they feel that after he campaigned twice on this "culture of life" bullshit, he did too little to restrict or discourage abortions.
My very pro-life, politically conservative and otherwise socially liberal father will probably be delighted that this new so-called holiday falls on his birthday -- even if Bush, whom he detests, designated it.
Side note: What the hell does "encouraging teen abstinence" have to do with building a culture of life? Isn't it, um, aimed toward teens not creating more baby lives? Because, yeah, so is abortion.
Re: the side note, no, abstinence-only education isn't supposed to curb teen pregnancy. It's supposed to deter contraception use so that more young women get stuck with a baby and can't get an education and a job.
Actually, I wouldnt't be suprised if that was in a document that supported Abstinence-only as one of their goals for the program.
Wait, what?
As doubleb said, national "days" are usually something most people can agree on. Considering how controversial abortion is and how unanimous hatred toward Bush is, I'd say more people would be in favor of a "George Bush Steps Down" day than his original idea. It also seems to be Winnie the Pooh day. I like that better.
If I ever have to get an abortion, I hope it can be on January 18th. I'll dedicate it to the Bush administration and all the innocent lives they took. I'll bet that this day doesn't cover all of the non-Americans they killed, or the American prisoners. Or, if he has the nerve to talk about the sanctity of a life that has no more intelligence than a housefly, all of the animals we kill every day to fill our hamburgers. Sanctity of life, my fetus-free uterus.
(Also, can we please just fast forward to a time when it's not politically correct for politicians to force their religion down everyone else's throats?)
"I'll dedicate it to the Bush administration and all the innocent lives they took."
Not to mention those female lives taken BECAUSE they couldn't get an abortion.
How about "Right to Women's Life Day"? Ughhh. Can someone tell him to just freaking LEAVE already?
I hate to say it looks like this has been around for a while?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Sanctity_of_Human_Life_Day
But yea, the irony is pretty laughable.
Sanctity of Life Day = Sanctimonious Lies Day
win
All Your Uteruses [Uteri?] Are Belonging to Us Day
The Sanctity of Imposing Your Will Upon the Vulnerable Day!
*Make sure to beat an animal if you are childless!*
i plan on "celebrating" this sunday by not going to church, enjoying plenty of sex while using plenty of birth control, and counting down the hours until January 20th.
What about But Dick Cheney Told Me To Say This! Day? That's been one of the great themes of Dubya's presidency, after all.
Sanctity of Human Life Day, But not if you are brown. And ESPECIALLY not if you are Iraqi or Palestinian.
I'm tired of this "sanctity of life bullshit." Just tell the people that you're ONLY talking about zygotes, embryos, and fetuses when you're talking about "life."
I'd like to wish everyone a happy Don't Let The Door Hit Ya Where The Good Lord Split Ya Day.
How on earth can he advocate for sanctity of life yet still support Israel's slaughtering of thousands of innocent Palestinians? He disgusts me. 4 more days, 4 more days, 4 more days...
He does this every year, usually on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I guess since he's not going to be president for Roe v. Wade this time around (peace out, sucka!), he did it a week early.
Related (and much funnier):
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2009/01/pro-life_group_up_in_arms_over.php
January 18th makes no sense.
Sanctity of Human Life Day should be November 4th or January 20th, surely?
So is the military taking the day off that day?
So, does 'Sanctity of Human Life Day' also include gay people, people of other races, etc, who are hurt or killed everyday because of their identity? People like Bush are just so fucked up, they view an embryo as a sacred life, yet, if you're actually an alive human being and they disagree with your life, then you aren't as important.
Gays, the residents of Louisiana (Post-Katrina), Middle-Easterners, Women (if he wants to make abortion illegal, he wants dead women), the youth who were snookered into joining the military...They are not precious life. Living, viable people are not precious to Bushy Boy. Fetuses are though. Makes sense to me!
/sarcasm
I know that this is a subject that shouldn't be taken lightly, but that picture of President Bush is just too funny.
He's crying because the secret service man took his lolli away for the picture.
I was pissed too, but I did some googling and found that this holiday has actually been around since Reagan declared it in 1984.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Sanctity_of_Human_Life_Day
Judging from the links to presidential proclamations, the president gets to declare it each year if he wants. (Clinton didn't.)
I feel better to know that it's been being mostly ignored for 24 years.
Now there is a holiday? Every day, I drive past the catholic church in my town that has pink and blue crosses stretched out on the yard next to the road with a sign that reads "In memory of the CHILDREN killed by ABORTION." (they use the all-caps) That's bad enough.
Now there is a fucking holiday to memorialize Bush's war waged against women.
Culture of life my ass. You can't say you foster a culture of life when you start TWO FUCKING WARS.
I was personally thinking of the " Sanctity of Human Lives born into a child-abusing family day." as this is too often, sadly, what happens when women are forced to have children they can't take care of. [and the "father" { sperm donor} is out busy " fathering" about 15 more children with 13 other women besides his girlfriend, or maybe? his wife!]