@okie,
Considering I'm a Catholic, I myself, would never have an abortion, but I grew up in a time, when women had "back-alley" abortions, back in the 50's and 60's. That, kept my legs CLOSED! I would never hinder someone for doing what they choose to do, whether they be Catholic or Protestant. Poor women do not have access to opportunities that well to do women have. They have abortions too, but can fly off to Switzerland, while the poor woman has to have either a back-alley abortion, commit suicide, go to a home for unwed mothers or take dangerous drugs to end the pregnancy.
I believe in sex education, use of contraceptives, etc. While the Papacy orders women to cave in to a mans' desires, I am firmly against it. The Church is ordering women to submit to rape, in my opinion. As an educated woman, wife and mother, I submit to NO man. I only submit to God. God knows the pain that women have to endure just to give birth.
My pregnancies and deliveries were painful. I had 5 "live" births and 1 miscarriage. The miscarriage occurred in the emergency room. It was a fatal pregnancy from the onset. I knew I was going to miscarry. I just didn't know when. I was on medication from month one. It was worse than having a baby. I was in intensive care for 2 weeks.
Back then I was married to a Catholic. I should never have married this person. 4 years and 2 more kids, I got a divorce, so God stepped in and delivered me from the horror I was living. 3 years later, I remarried a Protestant. We have one child together, a girl. I'll be married 40 years in November. No, I believe a woman has the right to do with her body anything she sees fit.
As far as Obama being Black, my vote had nothing to do with his color. I knew that a young President would come from his generation. Why? These kids were born in the early 60's. A time of enormous change. The public and Catholic schools were integrating, Blacks gained the right to vote in '64 and in '65, accomodations barriers fell. Affirmative Action gave otherwise not hired at all, Black men, women, Asians and Hispanics, based on qualifications and education. Title 9, I think, made participation in NCAA Sports more equitable. Women still aren't THERE, yet. So Obama becoming President was another bench mark in my life.
These kids have gone to school, where the kids were all colors and nationalities, the way this country is supposed to be. The melting pot reality instead of the "myth" put out by politicians, but never practiced. Civil Rights, made all of what we call the melting pot a reality.
Blacks are still "profiled", incarcerated on the word or suspician of one person, who "thinks" the perpetrator is the 1st Black they see. DNA has cleared hundreds of Blacks for crimes they never committed. The question begs, "How do you get your life back"?
As far as Obama he is a "moderate", not the far left that he has been portrayed. He is a lawyer and most of all, a politician! Bingo! In my humble opinion, ANYTHING would have been better than Bush! If the Republicans had run a strong candidate, which McCain wasn't, I as a Democrat, would have voted Republican.
McCain's campaign never took on a theme. His campaign was reactionary to everything Obama was doing. It was like the Republicans acting as "voyeurs", instead of ACTING on their own! They were like the Keystone Kops! I think he (McCain), thought that White voters would not vote for him in the numbers they did.
What if Obama turns the economy around? What if jobs start coming back with the Stimulus? After what Bush has taken this country through in 8 years, giving to the rich while bleeding the poor, Obama is a breath of fresh air! I'm not looking over my shoulder. I don't think my phone is tapped! I don't think my emails are being intercepted, but I still think there is a "shadow" government! I just lowered my shoulders a bit. I haven't let my guard down, yet! The Bush Administration was so crooked, with their "no bid" contracts to their friends and those BLACK OPS, Americans were NEVER aware of. Contractors making more money than our enlisted men. Blackwater enlisting former marines and air force veterans to kill innocent civilians in our names, the "secret" jails around the world and the room that AT&T allowed the government to listen in on ALL phone calls, not just suspected terrorists.
No, I'm not at ease, yet. Bush & Co. have changed me, forever! There IS no 1st Amendment! Cheney flushed that down a toilet!
