There is much ado over the subject of abortion this week. First, the news that South Dakota has signed into law legislation banning abortion in the state, unless the mother’s life is threatened:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,186961,00.html SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Gov. Mike Rounds signed legislation Monday banning nearly all abortions in South Dakota, setting up a court fight aimed at challenging the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

Planned Parenthood, which operates the state’s only abortion clinic, in Sioux Falls, has pledged to challenge the measure in court.

Rounds issued a written statement saying he expects the law will be tied up in court for years and will not take effect unless the U.S. Supreme Court upholds it.

So one could legitimately ask, what’s the point? Why create a law you know will be challenged? I think the average answer will be "to get the SCOTUS to overturn Roe v Wade", and that could a possible reason.

One thing overlooked though is that this issue is not just about a woman’s right to choose, though the leftists will certainly say that. They will coach it as a freedom issue because they know that makes the matter easier to defend on a constitutional level. The right will argue the life of the child, but they too are using the moral repugnance of taking a life as their talking point.

In both cases, I am sure that for most of them, their beliefs are sincere, but even so, they are completely overlooking a larger issue.

The real issue at stake is State’s rights. Can a state like South Dakota operate in separate sovereignty from the Federal Government and dictate the laws in its own land? I don’t expect too many people to acknowledge that, they will focus in on the removal of choice and the life of the child.

I would note to them that the ban does not eliminate choice; it only limits availability and location. SD has 6 adjacent states; the farthest any resident has to go to get their on demand abortion out of state is about 150 miles or so.  So for all the shouting, the pro-choice people still have choice, and the pro-life people have not saved lives.

As seen at Sister Toldjah,  Iran made the bold, though somewhat typical move of threatening the US with “harm and pain” today.

The AP reports:

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Iran threatened the United States with "harm and pain" Wednesday for its role in hauling Tehran before the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program and for plans to push fellow council members to impose tough measures against the Islamic republic.

…

"The United States has the power to cause harm and pain," said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, a senior Iranian delegate to the IAEA. "But the United States is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if that is the path that the U.S. wishes to choose, let the ball roll."

He did not elaborate but suggested Iran was awaiting additional American moves.

But diplomats accredited to the meeting and in contact with the Iranians said the statement could be a veiled threat to use oil as an economic weapon.

…

John Bolton, America’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Iran’s comments showed how much of a menace it was.

"Their threats show why leaving a country like that with a nuclear weapon is so dangerous," he told The Associated Press in a phone call from Washington.

Bolton classified the Iranian comments as "reflecting their determination to acquire weapons."

Well sure, that will help the world accept your nuclear program, won’t it?

I don’t claim any larger understanding of the middle eastern pysche, but I just don’t get these countries.

It seems to me that making threats is not the best way to assure people you are not intending to be violent. 

I hope the UN decides to actually do something this time, or Israel will likely act on their own….and I don’t think that scenario is a win in anyone’s playbook.
 

Along with their lack of vision, apparently cooperation is not too high on the democrat’s list.  But they do know how to learn from the republicans.  And George Soros is back.

It sure seems that Soros is increasingly more the power (money) behind the scenes…at any rate, it will be interesting to watch and see if they can not only unify behind a vision and agenda, but also if their leadership can unify as well.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/07/AR2006030701860_pf.html

Democrats’ Data Mining Stirs an Intraparty Battle
With Private Effort on Voter Information, Ickes and Soros Challenge Dean and DNC

A group of well-connected Democrats led by a former top aide to Bill Clinton is raising millions of dollars to start a private firm that plans to compile huge amounts of data on Americans to identify Democratic voters and blunt what has been a clear Republican lead in using technology for political advantage.

The effort by Harold Ickes, a deputy chief of staff in the Clinton White House and an adviser to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), is prompting intense behind-the-scenes debate in Democratic circles. Officials at the Democratic National Committee think that creating a modern database is their job, and they say that a competing for-profit entity could divert energy and money that should instead be invested with the national party.

Ickes and others involved in the effort acknowledge that their activities are in part a vote of no confidence that the DNC under Chairman Howard Dean is ready to compete with Republicans on the technological front. "The Republicans have developed a cadre of people who appreciate databases and know how to use them, and we are way behind the march," said Ickes, whose political technology venture is being backed by financier George Soros.

"It’s unclear what the DNC is doing. Is it going to be kept up to date?" Ickes asked, adding that out-of-date voter information is "worse than having no database at all."