Mona again Oct 6^th

Mona Charen is very unhappy today; today is consequently not distinguishable from most other days for the poor woman. The cause of Mona’s angst today is the ineptitude of the Republican investigating committees. OK, so far we can agree with her. Their questioning of witnesses seems to be focused primarily on providing air time for the Congressperson doing the questioning. The questioner must be accusatory and belligerent. It is assumed that the person summoned to be questioned is guilty of some grievous sin and without the committee’s probing would surely escape unscathed.

She says that “Putin’s Russia is rushing to fill the power void left by American abdication in the Middle East.” This “abdication” which Charen would like you to think was due to President Obama’s withdrawal of troops was, in fact , agreed to by President Bush in 2003 before he left office. The agreement specified our withdrawal by the end of 2011, and that is just what we did. So we can welcome Russia to this quagmire.

Charen is upset because the Planned Parenthood abortion videos cannot be shown at the “much heralded hearings this week.” The hearings are not much good without those great fake incendiary videos so Charen believes that the committee should have waited to have the hearings until the videos could be shown…and when might that be? Probably not until after the budget Brouhaha, which hinges on defunding PP is all over. Charen has some very pointed criticism for her Republican friend on the committee, “,,,determined to use their five minutes to get five seconds on the evening news…behaved like talk-radio hosts interrupting the witness, shouting and demanding yes-or-no answers…you look like bullies.” These interrogators look like bullies because that’s exactly what they are.

The revelation that Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards makes “nearly” 600 thousand dollars a year Charen counts as a victory. I’m not sure why, the salaries of most non-profit CEOs are readily available on line.  Maybe Ms. Richard’s splendid performance jousting with Congressional bullies (bullies according to Charen) will get her a raise. A second rate university football coach will make more than 600 thousand dollars a year. The top salary paid in most states goes either to the basketball coach (Indiana) or to the football coach (Michigan). Ms. Richards 600 thousand dollar salary is dwarfed by Michigan’s Coach Harbaugh’s 8 million dollars a year.

Ms. Charen asks what happens “…if PP is asked for an abortion because the baby is the wrong race, or the wrong sex, or has a cleft palate?” Those cases will not likely wind up at PP’s doorstep; they’ll be handled by the family doctor’s referral to a good obstetrician. Let me tell you who PPs client is likely to be: She is 37 years old and has seven children already. Her husband works sporadically gets drunk and beats her regularly. She cannot call the police because if he is in jail then what little income he provides would stop.  His religion insists that birth control not be used so she has become pregnant again. Planned Parenthood is her only hope. That, Ms. Charen, is the likely Planned Parenthood client. She comes from a world you know nothing about…and that’s a pity!