NIKOLAS KOZLOFF FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

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ANN DAVIDOW FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

There must be a way for decent behavior and intelligent thought to prevail rather than mindless hate-inducing political matches. The worst kind of vitriol and arrogance was in full cry at CPAC's claque these past several days. Seizing upon every possible divisive issue, speaker after speaker stood at the podium and delivered ugly prose that served little purpose other than to excite rabid partisans in the audience.

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MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

It's been said that if men got pregnant - instead of women - the Congress would have long ago made abortion legal and contraceptives plentiful and diverse.

As BuzzFlash at Truthout noted yesterday, sex is no crime: "Just because some Americans have sexual hang-ups, doesn't mean that the rest of us are not entitled to a Plan B [and other contraceptives] as part of our health care coverage."

The efforts to control a woman's body are once again heating up, particularly in red states with large legislative majorities. In Oklahoma, the most recent initiative to treat women as chattel for the pleasure of men is Senate "Personhood" Bill 1433:

A bill that would declare that personhood starts at conception is headed to the Senate floor....

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MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

When it comes to sex, there is a Plan B.

In a surge of recent moves that appear to accommodate the realities of living in a contemporary world - and not the mythical Ozzie and Harriet past (that was really just a Hollywood television fantasy) - the Obama administration's Department of Health and Human Services is now requiring that insurance companies and plans include birth control in their free preventive services. This would include the "Plan B" pill (pharmaceutically aka as Levonorgestrel), which can be taken after intercourse, for a very limited time period, to try and prevent a pregnancy.

You might be surprised to learn that birth control will be mandated as free if you are insured, since you might not be aware that many preventative health care procedures are now free under health care reform. Of course, it is not unlikely that the same people who continue to batter "Obamacare" are now in an uproar about how America will allegedly further descend into a sexual libertine nation if the pill and Plan B are considered preventative.

It's hard to know what it is about Republicans and sex. So many of them seem to regard it as the downfall of civilization, when it appears globalization and the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act had much more to do with America's decline than Elvis Presley and the pill.

And then there is the strange reality that so many Republican leaders seem to live rather licentious lives (think Newt Gingrich) while decrying the fall of "social values" in the US. Sex is sort of a third rail psychological hot button for followers of the GOP that gets them politically aroused beyond any relationship to this modern world.

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STEVEN JONAS MD, MPH FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

Rick Santorum had a "good day" on February 7, 2012. He won three non-binding "primaries" in two caucus states, Minnesota and Colorado, and what is described as a "beauty contest" in Missouri. While he got close to 140,000 votes in the latter, his vote totals in the former were 22,000 and 27,000, primarily of the far right-wing types of voters who show up in these types of events. Not big numbers in the first two. Nevertheless,

he does not have much money and his chances of raising much more are limited. This is despite the presence of his biggest supposedly unconnected "Super PAC" guy, Foster Friess. Friess happens to a member of the far-right, highly secretive and highly dangerous Council for National Policy, whose membership ranges from the Koch Brothers to Grover Norquist to Phyllis Schlafley. The "unconnected" Friess just happened to be at Santorum's right shoulder when he gave his victory speech on the evening that primary Day. Santorum is also known for having a "poor ground game." That is he doesn't have much of the nuts-and-bolts political organization that is needed for doing the grunt work that underlays any candidate's electoral success.

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BILL BERKOWITZ FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

In the first of two Florida debates held in that state before Mitt Romney triumphed easily in the Republican Party‘s presidential primary a week ago Saturday, the former Massachusetts governor was asked a question about immigration. He not only restated his opposition to the Dream Act -- humane legislation that would put children of illegal immigrants on the path to citizenship if they served in the military or finished college -- but he also came up with a seemingly new solution; "self-deportation."

"If people don't get work here," Romney stated, "they're going to self-deport to a place where they can get work."

Unlike Daniel D. Portado, a character that political cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz crafted back in the 1990s after the passage of Proposition 187 in California and founded Hispanics Against Liberal Takeover (HALTO), a "militant, self-deportation movement encouraging all minorities to leave the United States," Romney wasn't kidding.

While it is unclear as to when, where and how Romney came up with his version of "self-deportation," one thing is clear. He has brought one of the more vigorous opponents of immigration onto his team.

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ANN DAVIDOW FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

There is outrage in some quarters about the 9th circuit's ruling that California's Proposition 8 violated the Constitution not only by rescinding a right already in effect but also because it was unconstitutional on its face. Fox's Bill O'Reilly was positively apoplectic and MSNBC's Joe Scarborough argued that two judges had committed the outrage of suggesting that marriage could be enjoyed by the community at large not just heterosexual couples.

The idea that matters such as gay marriage should be settled by referenda or even legislatively is such a departure from rational thought it is difficult to discuss the issue seriously. It underlines the problem of allowing religious belief to form the platform upon which our government builds its political structure. Freedom of speech and religious expression are not meant to be used as weapons to make political points. Unfortunately today we are confronted not with a war of words but by what could more accurately be described as nonsense verse. We are told that virtue resides in the belief apparatus that motivates conservative religious practitioners and that proper behavior is defined by a narrow set of principles to which the rest of us should subscribe.

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MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

"Trickle down" is not an economic theory; it's a self-enriching religion for the wealthiest amongst us.

The economists and pundits are legion who have challenged the notion that the amassing of wealth by a privileged few results in more jobs being created in the US. After all, if this were the case - at a time the richer are becoming even richer - why did we nearly just reach a depression?

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It would be wrong to let Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation off the hook because its Tea Party, anti-choice, anti-gay rights Vice President for Public Policy Karen Handel has abruptly departed the organization.

First of all, Handel was hired by Komen as the foundation's point person for their government and public affairs policies with full foreknowledge of her extremist positions and right-wing political pedigree. Indeed, when Handel ran unsuccessfully for governor of Georgia in 2010, she was endorsed by Sarah Palin and Jan Brewer. Did this not come up in her Komen job "interview"?

Furthermore, as we pointed out in the BuzzFlash at Truthout exposés listed at the end of this commentary, Ari Fleischer, an opponent of Planned Parenthood, was asked by Komen CEO and founder, Nancy Brinker, to subsequently oversee the hiring of a senior vice president for communications and external relations. Does one need to connect the dots here?

It is BuzzFlash at Truthout's speculation that Handel was terminated with the cover story of her resigning. Employers do not usually give severance packages to people who resign, which Handel claims she turned down from Komen in her "departure letter."

Before Komen's "crisis management" - and carefully worded - mea culpa, Brinker confirmed and backed the future Planned Parenthood cut off, so no one at Komen can argue that this was a stealth strategy carried out by a fanatic.

In fact, as the BuzzFlash at Truthout exposés point out, it appears - given the partisan and "corporate branding" priorities of Komen - that Handel was hired to implement the feckless appeasement of the anti-choice movement.

Actually a key passage in Handel's "resignation letter" to Brinker sounds close to the truth (while other sections sound self-serving):

At the November Board meeting, the Board received a detailed review of the new model and related criteria. As you will recall, the Board specifically discussed various issues, including the need to protect our mission by ensuring we were not distracted or negatively affected by any other organization's real or perceived challenges. No objections were made to moving forward.

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BILL BERKOWITZ FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

As of a little more than one-hour before the kickoff to Super Bowl XLVI, 71% of the vote had been tallied in the Nevada caucuses, and it is clear that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney had easily outpaced his challengers --including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich -- by getting nearly 50 percent of the vote.

Results for Nevada Republican Presidential Caucus: (with 71% of precincts reporting):

Mitt Romney - 11,822 - 47.6%

Newt Gingrich -- 5,623 -- 22.7%

Ron Paul -- 4.619 -- 18.6%

Rick Santorum -- 2,749 -- 11.1%

Romney's Nevada victory is being cheered by some in the Republican Party as proof positive that he is on his way to the Party's presidential nomination. One GOP pundit said that Romney won all demographics except for maybe "divorce lawyers and narcissists." Ouch!

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