What's "Inappropriate" is Suppressing the Facts

No, it's not about what's fit to print, and never has been. It's about distorting the debate by suppressing the facts, and always has been.

Kathleen Geier at Political Animal:

Jim Romenesko is reporting that the St. Pioneer Press and The Oregonian, among other newspapers, will not be running next week’s Doonesbury strips, which deal with the effects of those anti-abortion/mandatory ultrasound laws that are making their ways through a number of state legislatures. From Romenesko’s description of the cartoons, it doesn’t appear that they’re sexually explicit. But politically, Gary Trudeau is not pulling any punches. To wit, here’s how one cartoon is described:

In the stirrups, she is telling a nurse that she doesn’t want a transvaginal exam. Doctor says “Sorry miss, you’re first trimester. The male Republicans who run Texas require that all abortion seekers be examined with a 10″ shaming wand.” She asks “Will it hurt?” Nurse says, “Well, it’s not comfortable, honey. But Texas feels you should have thought of that.” Doctor says, “By the authority invested in me by the GOP base, I thee rape.”

Frankly, I’m a little shocked that a strip that for years more often than not has been so toothless is now being so uncharacteristically blunt.

Spokespeople for the newspapers which are banning the strips say their reason is that the material is “over the line” and “inappropriate.”

I wonder when the day will come when these extraordinarily nasty examples of unadulteratedly racist and misogynist (not to mention witless) political cartoons are also considered “over the line” and “inappropriate.”

And when the facts are denied to millions of Americans, you get shit like this.

The facts on Rape-The-Sluts bills are painful and disgusting to face and contemplate, much less discuss and debate publicly, but we have to do it. Make sure everyone you know understands exactly what these so-called "ultrasound" bills really require.

Show them this:



Ask any cop: using an object to penetrate without consent - which is what these bills require - is object rape.