TODD AKIN

The Republican Representative and Senate candidate from Missouri stepped in it this week, when he asserted that "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." What an idiot---both because of his sexist attitude toward victims of rape and his ignorant understanding of biology. I know that in part, it is a result of the anti-abortion crowd not wanting to give any ground in their crusade, but I think the comment speaks to many issues the far Christian right (which I call the Tea Party Talibanis) advocates. They generally distrust women (I am waiting for them to call for burgas and stoning). They hate education and science; for them being able to read the Bible is just about all one needs. They are inflexible in their views and often unfeeling and, well, un-Christian, in their treatment of and attitude toward anyone they do not approve of. How ironic that this complete doofus sits on the House Science committee! How could that be? Clearly it appears he wasn't listening in high school; or, perhaps, actual science was not part of the curriculum at his college (although his views probably were formulated later when he attended a ministerial college). Now many Republicans, even those like Paul Ryan, who basically toe the same line as Akin, are scrambling to distance themselves from him. Whether he drops out of the race or not, this too will blow over and be forgotten, but his mentality is actually much more widespread than some believe and must be actively countered. I believe there is room for both religion and science, but not orchestrated ignorance. And. . .rape is rape, no means no, and women should be the only ones to make decisions about their own health.

It also makes me wonder, because Akin is apparently fixated with the thought that rape is too often reported (and also was part of the group who tried to tighten definition of rape as well as shield husbands from being charged with rape), that when someone doth protest too much, there is some reason for it. I wonder if Akin was ever accused of rape?

I later saw this CNN opinion piece by a doctor and professor of pediatrics, and thought he said it much better than myself, so I provide this link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/20/opinion/carroll-akin-rape/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Also, in an editorial on Slate, by Eliot Spitzer, he summed it up far better than I could do: "We should not be fooled that Akin's statement, merely because it is so offensive and quickly retracted or clarified, is a mere slip. It actually represents the worldview of Akin and many like-minded Republican colleagues. His comments are part and parcel of a view of civil rights, women's rights, and science that should be antithetical to a modern society. It reflects a worldview that has held up progress on too many serious issues, a form of know-nothingism for the modern era, a rejection of the very notion of learning."