Yeah, that's the part that always kills me about parental consent laws.

The article is here: [pediatrics.aappublications.org] (PDF)

Good point. Shouldn't termination be the default position for a pregnant teenager who hasn't, say, finished high school yet?

But if their problem is with teenagers having sex and not having to suffer pregnancy (God's most precious, blessed, miraculous punishment for sluts), they'd lie more often to the teens.

Obviously, some do, some don't. But the ones who move up in the hierarchy tend to be the ones who don't.

Much less, why is it suddenly acceptable when the person you're hitting is tiny and defenseless and entirely dependent on you for their survival?

Uh, an early-stage surgical abortion takes about 5 minutes not counting the anesthesia, and is about as visually dramatic as having a boil on your lady parts lanced.

Good point. Santorum has daughters about the same age as the Obama girls—but considering their upbringing, the Santorum kids probably aren't mature enough to handle a trip on their own, even if it's just to the supermarket and back.

I don't mean to rank on Mormons (which I'm assuming Winder is). It's a good-sized religion, with lots of adherents, ranging from perfectly nice, intelligent people to complete dickwads. However, in places where they're the majority/plurality religion (Idaho, e.g.), it's possible for members to be quite sheltered from…

Aside from everything else, you want your candidate to be an adult, and Rick Santorum just isn't.

Bear in mind that she's got the worst mother in the world.

Republicans always think campaigns are entirely about spin; if people don't vote for them, it's only because of the way the issues are framed.

Does she genuinely not understand the problem most women have with her husband, and his party?

GareBear? All I can say is:

BTW—did I miss some explanation of what a man convicted of murder (a state crime) is doing in a federal lock-up?

How in hell does someone become a judge in Morocco? Does the Labor Department look over its rolls, find the biggest jackass among the hard-core unemployable and tell him that there's an opening in the judiciary?

Yeah. In this sense, I'm actually kind of grateful to Limbaugh for clarifying exactly what's motivating these guys.

While I agree with you that there seems to be a disappointing lack of gumption on Mary Margaret's part, I disagree with the direction it should take.

Had McCain won, there isn't the slightest doubt in my mind that, between election day and the inauguration, Palin would have convinced herself that Jesus Himself wanted her to be POTUS, and that He would approve of her (or her creepy husband) assassinating McCain.

An aspect of this that wasn't McCain's fault was that he had a black opponent. This meant that racists ran to the GOP side as fast as their stubby legs could carry them, and brought their friends—the kind of people of whom racism is merely one aspect of their being absolutely batshit crazy. They assumed that their…