Jane Chastain : Politically Direct

How did our country stray so far from the founding principles of limited government, states’ rights, self-reliance and moral integrity?Most Americans blame it on Congress.

Americans have little faith in members of Congress, but we keep re-electing our own congressman and senators, often with little or no serious thought on the matter. Read the rest of this entry »

Greased pig races used to be quite common. Little piglets were selected for these events and they were next to impossible to catch. Just when you thought you had one in your grasp, it would slip through your fingers and run into the bushes. Instead of a race, it became a game of hide-and-seek.

That’s what has been going on in Washington. During the month of August, there was a search for a couple of pigs in bushes – the two-legged kind, who line up at the public trough and gobble large amounts of tax dollars faster than you can say “government waste.” Last week, they were captured (identified), and now a couple of others are on the loose. This is hide-and-seek coupled with musical chairs. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Thursday, the FDA announced that it has approved over-the-counter sales for “Plan B,” the morning-after pill, which is essentially a mega-dose of the drugs found in birth control pills.

Birth control pills require a doctor’s prescription because they can cause life-threatening problems for women with certain health conditions. A prescription assures that a woman buying birth control pills has been screened to make sure that these pills don’t harm her health or take her life. That is being responsible.

Making mega-doses of this drug available over-the-counter, without a prescription, is not only irresponsible; it is unconscionable! Read the rest of this entry »

Everybody needs a “plan B” in case “plan A” doesn’t work. However, few would come up with a plan B that could cause serious harm.Unfortunately, the “Plan B” that Andrew von Eschenbach, President Bush’s nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration, now wants sold over-the-counter to prevent pregnancy could cause serious medical complications for some women. That makes von Eschenbach completely unqualified to lead one of the agencies charged with safeguarding the nation’s health. Read the rest of this entry »

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article entitled  “Will the Military Cut and Run on the Homosexual Issue.”  It concerned flack over language in a 1996 policy document (reauthorized in 2003) that outlines retirement or other discharge policies for service members. The document, which was unearthed by a gay advocacy group, the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military, listed homosexuality along with a group of mental disorders as reasons for discharge.The Center used this discovery to orchestrate a media campaign designed to browbeat those in charge of our military to reword the document in order to perpetuate the myth that homosexual activity is normal healthy behavior. Read the rest of this entry »