Mallard Fillmore – Memphis Flyer

Greg Cravens

About Bianca Phillips’ cover story, “Transgender in Memphis” …

When my oldest son came out as a transgender female last year, I immediately offered unconditional support to her. We attended the support group at MGLCC together. That is a great place to start. They are an awesome group that is ready to share their experiences. They are ready to listen to you. I am a big Southern, straight, non-trans man, and the people there made us feel at home. My daughter now knows she has support from family, friends, and the people at the group.

Dept. of Redundancy Dept.

Memphis has come a long way! And I, for one, am very happy about that.

Clint

This is a sin and an abomination. God have mercy on your souls. Trans people are dressing that way because they are confused and need help to define their appropriate roles. This nation was founded upon Christian principles.

Screamer15

Screamer15 seems to think he knows more about God’s plan than God does. But that’s okay. Someone who must rely on religious nonsense to hide their fear, hatred, and bigotry is obviously not someone who has any sort of ability for rational thought.

GoProtege

About Bruce VanWyngarden’s Letter From the Editor, “Aborting the Truth” …

I find it fascinating how this new “culture war” crisis popped up as soon as being anti-gay marriage got firmly shut down by the Supreme Court. It is as if the GOP was looking for some new and shiny thing to get their base off of gay marriage and on to some other topic.

Charlie Eppes

In truth, no one “likes” abortion, but birth control not being 100 percent reliable, not all are willing to compromise the lives of their living children or those they hope to have in continuing a pregnancy that would capsize their lives. Thank you for speaking up.

Elizabeth Hinds Davis

If there is no smoking gun, why all the invective against an investigation? PP may be the most wonderfully altruistic organization on earth, but as long as my tax money is used to subsidize their activities, I think I have a right to find out what is going on with these body parts.

Arlington Pop

To me, the use of fetal tissue is no different than using donated organs. I’m an organ donor, because, the way I see it, when I’m dead and gone, my body is no longer of value to me, so whatever good can come of using the remaining parts is the best thing to do with it.

If you have an abortion and allow the aborted fetus or tissue to be used for research, why is that a bad practice? I fully understand those who are against abortion, but if it happens, why would you not want the tissue to be used for something positive if possible?

GroveReb84

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it interesting that there is an entire class of people who proudly display their “pro-life” bona fides, while simultaneously enacting and supporting policies that make actual living problematic?

Jrgolden

About Bruce S. Newman’s Viewpoint, “Pay the Band” …

On behalf of musicians and songwriters, I sincerely thank you, Bruce Newman.

Nighthawk

Correction: An image in last week’s calendar was misidentified. The caption should have read “Work by Nathan Yoakum at Jay Etkin Gallery.”

I was outraged Monday morning when I read the Mallard Fillmore editorial cartoon in the Commercial Appeal. That’s the “conservative” cartoon the CA runs next to “Doonesbury,” the “liberal” cartoon. “Doonesbury” has been in 1970s rerun mode for months, so the liberal point of view, cartoon-wise, anyway, consists mostly of Zonker Harris stoner jokes. Hardly a match for Mallard’s Tea Party “humor.”

On Monday, Mallard Fillmore featured the spectre of death answering the phone for Planned Parenthood. The punchline: “How may I direct your call? Sales, Service, or Parts?”

It was a reference, of course, to a recent video which purported to show Indiana Planned Parenthood officials talking about “selling” fetal tissues for medical research. Within two days, the video was debunked as a misleadingly edited political hack job. The Indiana State Department of Health investigated the video’s allegations and found “no evidence that Planned Parenthood is involved in any way in the buying or selling of tissue.”

But that hasn’t stopped GOP legislators from holding “investigations” in more than a dozen states, none of which have turned up any evidence of illegal activities by Planned Parenthood. And it hasn’t stopped 8th District Representative Stephen Fincher from using the discredited video to raise money, as he pledges to “stop funding Planned Parenthood.”

It’s happening at the national level, as well. Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, and most of the other GOP presidential wannabes are using the video to raise funds and stir up the far-right base.

And it hasn’t stopped the Commercial Appeal from publishing the patent falsehoods of Mallard Fillmore and those of numerous letter-writers who make equally specious claims. Publishing differing opinions is one thing; allowing your pages to become a forum for blatant lies is another entirely. I don’t know what they’re thinking over there.

The truth is, if you really want to stop abortion, you should make contraception as easily and readily available as possible, which is what Planned Parenthood is trying to do. Stopping abortion begins with stopping unwanted pregnancies. It’s that simple.

Here are few other facts: Only three percent of Planned Parenthood’s services involve abortion. The other 97 percent of its services include treating and testing for sexually transmitted infection and disease, contraception, screening for breast, cervical, and uterine cancer, pregnancy tests, prenatal services, adoption referrals, and urinary tract infection treatment. In other words, they’re providing much-needed medical care for those women who need it most — those most likely to incur unwanted pregnancies.

Painful as it may be to admit for abortion foes, Planned Parenthood probably prevents more abortions than it performs.

To reiterate: The Hyde Amendment already mandates that no federal funds can be used for abortion services. Planned Parenthood is not “crunching fetuses” and selling parts, as a recent CA letter to the editor claimed.

If you oppose abortion, I respect your right to do so, but it is still legal. It is not “murder” in the eyes of the law. I don’t like abortions, but I believe such a personal decision should be left to a woman, her doctor, and her conscience. If we disagree, so be it, but we should at the least agree to debate using facts, not propaganda.