{"id":884,"date":"2005-01-24T19:01:18","date_gmt":"2005-01-25T00:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/000af36.netsolhost.com\/wordpress1\/2005\/01\/24\/prochoice_is_li\/"},"modified":"2005-01-24T19:01:18","modified_gmt":"2005-01-25T00:01:18","slug":"prochoice_is_li","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/2005\/01\/24\/prochoice_is_li\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-Choice is Like Owning Slaves"},"content":{"rendered":"

Del. Dick Black (R-Sterling) who has been strangely quiet this session, nonetheless couldn\u2019t resist remembering the anniversary of Roe v. Wade by likening pro-choice advocates to slavery proponents<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Del. Dick Black, R-Sterling, said one day, people will look back on the start of the 21st century the way they look at slavery today.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce it\u2019s gone, you\u2019re never going to be able to explain to your grandchildren how you ever backed it,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

FULL DISCLOSURE:
\nGiven the recent admission by Armstrong Williams that he was paid to comment favorably on the Bush administration\u2019s \u201cNo Child Left Behind\u201d policy and the rightful furor it caused in the media, I want to ensure my own full and clear transparency.<\/p>\n

I am a liberal, progressive, or wacko bleeding heart, if you prefer. Many will have a definition of those terms and they\u2019re entitled to it. I see it as simply a fondness for benevolent government as a pact among citizens of a country whose signature gift to the world is its form of self-governance. To me, that pact calls for government to actively seek to make life better for its citizens, to protect minority as well as majority rights and to seek a fundamental fairness in the institutions that rule our daily lives.<\/p>\n

While my knee may jerk, I support politicians who seek, at the very least, equal rights and fairness. (Many, a rive gauche et rive droite, think too much government is a big problem.) As someone who\u2019s eked out a living as a reporter and public relations guy (also known as \u201cflack\u201d among my previous cohorts), I try at the very least not to trade in blatant untruths. <\/p>\n

But this blog, Commonwealth Commonsense, was not started to compete with The New York Times. It was meant all along to be an opinionated forum for my beliefs and those who care to comment. Therefore, without the time and resources to hire an editor, I \u2013 and you \u2013 are left to my own devices.<\/p>\n

But I am also an activist. I support people I like with (very) modest amounts of money and a lot of (mostly unsolicited) advice. Some politicians actually listen, if only politely, to what I advise. A few might pay for it. Whether they do or not, if they or their opponents are mentioned on this blog, I\u2019ll let you know. <\/p>\n

For now, be advised that David Poisson, who is planning to challenge Del. Dick Black (R-Sterling) for the right to represent citizens in the 32nd district in the Virginia House of Delegates, is a long-time friend who I pester ad nauseum about how he might win. Thus far, a few dollars have floated — but from me to him, not the other way around \u2013 between us, but I am an unabashed supporter of his candidacy. I\u2019ll use this blog to let you know why and to skewer Black when he deserves it. (Yes, I have a license to shoot fish in a barrel, too.)<\/p>\n

If that upsets you, well, you heard it from me first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Del. Dick Black (R-Sterling) who has been strangely quiet this session, nonetheless couldn\u2019t resist remembering the anniversary of Roe v. Wade by likening pro-choice advocates to slavery proponents. Del. Dick Black, R-Sterling, said one day, people will look back on the start of the 21st century the way they look at slavery today. \u201cOnce it\u2019s… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}