street fight

I have find myself in an interesting newspaper debate with a lady,one of our local columnists, Tammy Obeidallah, who normally writes about her travels and she does an excellent job of it too – I always read her column - but sometimes she ventures into places she does not understand.

Case in point: Shortly after the Supreme Court upheld the ban on partial birth abortion did an op-ed piece praising the decision – sort of. The title of her piece was “The Least We Can Do”. This was meant as praise not sarcasm. After her support on this decision she then went on to support all other types of abortion and to blame the rise in the abortion rates on the abstinence only programs taught in schools, blah, blah, blah.
(Sorry my local paper does not show op-ed pieces on their web site.)

There are two times that I will send in a letter to the editor, the first being part of a vow I made – “No one gets a free shot at the Catholic Church” and the other is when anyone comes out in favor of killing babies.
What follows was my first letter (with a small paraphrase of Chesterton’s):
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In her dazzling performance of dangerous mental gymnastics Tammy Obeidallah received a 9.2 on her piece “The least we can do” (4/46/07). She almost got a 10.0 but when she attempted that double relativistic morality backspin she fell on her butt.
She began eloquently and passionately describing the new life that was growing in her womb, “…the heart pumping in a dramatic show of life force…” She applauded the Supreme Court’s decision to up hold the ban on partial birth abortion rightly ruled as a gruesomely barbaric procedure. She even debunked the myth of getting an abortion for health reasons. There just is no known disease that will be cured by a direct abortion.
Then came the tumble.
She wants us to believe that,”…no doubt increases number of women seeking abortions as a result of ineffective abstinence only programs…”, (no statistical back up given). Abstinence and Chastity and programs have not been found to be defective they have been found difficult and not pursued to their fullest nor do they cave into our desire for ‘instant-gratification-the-heck-with-tomorrow’ mentality.
After her description of the wonder of emerging life she wants us to; keep quite, tay away from abortion clinics and don’t make women aware of the grave health risks of the “Plan B” pill. She wants us to believe it’s OK for some to snuff out life and we should leave them alone just because Ann Coulter is an idiot. Tammy tells us that the ““Right to life” means creating conditions that will eliminate (or in the real world, drastically reduce) the number of abortions.”
By that logic, in MS Obeidallah’s utopian world view, we should turn a blind eye to child molesters (like Planned Parenthood does) until we can achieve a condition where we all can have fulfilling adult relationships. Or should we just accept we live in a fallen world where sensible people should do all they can to protect the most vulnerable amongst us.
No, Tammy a “Right to life” means a RIGHT TO LIFE. Any other definition means a right to murder which really is the least we can do.
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Before this letter hit the paper this lady emailed me, (my comments in the parenthesis’) this is part of what she wrote
I infer from your writing that you are very devout in your religious beliefs, so I will say this: God's grace extends to the unborn as well as to those who seek to snuff out that life. He expects us to strive to exhibit that same grace. (does this mean it’s OK to snuff out life cause God loves the snuffer?) You may notice I did not address in my column the ever popular "exception in case of rape or incest." Personally, I believe that God wouldn't have created that life if He hadn't meant it to be. Personally, I don't believe in abortion in ANY circumstance, (but I will always speak out in favor of it) including rape or incest, based on my religion. But we live in a country where there is separation of church & state.(oh that old canard) I do not have a right to impose those beliefs on anyone. Nor do you. (My religion says “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost.” Which is pretty much imposing a belief system don’t you think?).

Anyway…About 2 weeks later she published another 2,000 words 1.500 of which slammed me. She called it “Setting the Record Straight” It began thusly:
“The past several weeks have provided a plethora of column-fodder from people whose rudeness is almost comic. These individuals, who shamelessly flaunt their lack of decorum, come in many varieties from Christian conservative to gas station attendant.”Some other choice quotes:“… this particular letter came from a conservative Christian, incensed that I had the audacity to advocate birth control instead of the ludicrous abstinence education..”“I would think a strict adherent to the Christian faith could compose a letter without referring to the female columnist’s posterior, but who am I”
She then goes on to defend Planned Parenthood and that they don’t protect child molesters and she hates child molesters “Planned parenthood should not be accused of condoning child molestation because of a few isolated tragedies. Especially by someone who I imagin may be affiliated with the Catholic Church. I have a deep respect for the Catholic Church and most of it’s members, but you know…uh, “remove the beam.”…”And yes, Mr Capasso, there is separation of church and state. Just because the phrase doesn’t appear verbatim in the constitution, there is a thing called past precedent based on the Founders, desires that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” You will never find the word “Trinity in the Bible, yet the doctrine of one God in three persons is a corner stone of the Christian faith.”(I am not sure if she was trying to tell us that the Congress is the same thing as the Magistarium)
She then goes again about me mentioning her butt and ends with “Debate is good; just keep my backside out of it.”
The rest for her piece talks about a kid at a gas station that was rude to her when this clerk would not give her a penny from the “penny dish”. She demanded to see the manager and wanted this clerk fired - nothing less would do for this outrageous rudeness. She decided to take this to the streets by mentioning me by name. The Game is a foot. I sent in the following letter. (Yes, I know I am not as genteel as Chesterton but I am working on it.)
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Let’s see if we can unbend Tammy Obeidallah’s “record straightening” rant she published on May 17th. When I said she did a “double relativistic morality backspin she fell on her butt.” that was a metaphor on how she thinks. This is something Mrs. Obeidallah, as a writer, should have understood. I was never talking about her physical posterior. I have never seen her tushy so I am in no position to comment on its aesthetic qualities one way or the other. It is obvious that she holds it in high esteem as sacred, being that even to mention it is a type of unforgivable blasphemy.
Nor did I accuse her of protecting child molesters. I said her logic of believing the ““Right to life” means creating conditions that will eliminate (or in the real world, drastically reduce) the number of abortions.” comes to that conclusion. Mrs. Obeidallah, it is impossible to create that condition as long as our Governmental leaders continue to tell us, “It is your right to kill your children and here is the money to do it. Have a nice day.” The Planned Parenthood case in Ohio is not an isolated incident it is their standard operating procedure. There are several criminal cases in process for them flaunting the law by shielding child molesters. Also go to http://www.childpredators.com/ where you can listen to over 800 taped conversations showing you how Planed Parenthood protects child molesters on a daily basis.
I never mentioned my religion in my letter but Mrs. Obeidallah assumes that I am Catholic. Maybe she came to that conclusion because I have an Italian last name and we know that all Italians are either priests or gangsters or in Mrs. Obeidallah’s mind maybe both. Yes, I am a Catholic Christian and enjoy it very much, thank you. Mrs. Obeidallah some how has attained the impression that Christians are a bunch of backward, conservative, milk toast, dunderheads that should be treated like children: seen and not heard. The other name for the Church on earth is the Church Militant, where we are trained to call evil by its name. When abortion steps into the room we call it murderer we don’t say, “How nice of you to drop by. Would you like a cup of tea?” We are also the ones that formed the organizations that help women heal from the devastating effects of abortion.
I also never quoted scripture at her yet she throws Matthew 7:3 “remove the beam” at me. Witnessed by her willingness to drive a person out of town on a rail because they would not give her a penny she must mean that it is a greater sin to be rude then to be a public cheerleader for wholesale slaughter of children. Does she feel that 47.7 million dead babies do not make a big enough pile to cry enough!?
She rightly came out in support of the ban on Partial Birth Abortion but for her, other types of abortion are HOKAY. In other words it’s just fine to dice up little boys and girls just don’t be so noisy about it.
Mrs. Obeidallah favors the ‘let’s get it on’ form of sex education and I favor the abstinence approach. I was never “incensed” on her position regarding sex Ed. I was just pointing out her inversion of reality trick only fools those who already believe, sex good-chastity bad. After only being in place for 5 years compared to 20 years the “how to do it” approach there are now reports that state abstinence programs are working. But that is not what this debate should be about. It should be about whether the government should be teaching this at all. And how many of other parental rights will we have to give up because big daddy government knows best?
After reading Mrs. Obeidallah’s op-ed piece again I can see why she took offence at the ‘falling on her butt’ remark. It’s because her skin is so thin that she bruises easily. If that is indeed the case Mrs. Obeidallah should stay out of the mine fields and stick to her travel writing for that is an area in which she excels.
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