The Question Not Asked: Contraception Edition

Here's another Question Not Asked Post, this time on the whole contraception debate. I wasn't actually going to blog about this, but this topic seems to keep coming up, so I've got to take some more time to vent.

A while back, Darrell Issa held a hearing on the contraception topic. Between the Democrat's outrage about the framing of the topic, and the Republican's interest in pleadingly only the positive aspects of their case, there wasn't a whole lot of substance actually covered in the hearing. (Which you can watch: here and here.

Had I been there, I'd have asked the following questions:

1. What are the limits, if any, of the conscious clause in this context? For example, what if a Church refuses to pay taxes on the grounds that they can't support war? Or, what if a Church demands that they be able to practical corporal punishment that the county considers child abuse?
2. Consider the example raised by Sandra Fluke: a woman needs contraception to prevent a medical condition, her doctor is more than willing to prescribe the medication, yet her "employer" (in this case, she was a student) refuses to cover it. Due to the cost of the treatment, the woman can not afford to pay out of pocket for the prescription, and therefore her health suffers. Is it fair to describe this as a scenario where health care choices are being made by the doctor, patient and employer? Is this an acceptable standard to allow?
3. I was surprised to note in the testimony that all members of the clergy were in agreement: funding contraception through taxes was acceptable and a non-issue. Being that this is the case, why is indirectly funding contraception through taxes acceptable, while indirectly funding it through an insurance company is considered an assult on first amendment rights?

What I wouldn't give to hear an actual discussion of this issue, rather than war of talking points.

The Question Not Asked: Newt Edition

Ever find yourself yelling at the TV or radio, wishing the interviewer would just ask the right question?! Me, too.

Not that blurting out the question that I would have liked asked here is going to do much good, but I'm going to do it anyway. Here goes.

This Question Not Asked comes from the now infamous Newt Gingrich, Juan Williams exchange at the recent South Carolina debate.

Here's the question Williams asked:

Speaker Gingrich, you recently said black Americans should demand jobs, not food stamps. You also said poor kids lack a strong work ethic and proposed having them work as janitors in their schools. Can’t you see that this is viewed, at a minimum, as insulting to all Americans, but particularly to black Americans?

And to Newts credit, he deftly answered the question (possibly winning the debate that night because of it).

The question I would have asked:

Speaker Gingrich, you recently said black Americans should demand jobs, not food stamps. Do you believe that black Americans are demanding food stamps? How are black Americans different with respect to their demand and use of food stamps versus jobs? Finally, can you tell me the current racial breakdown among those who are on food stamps?

Whew, I feel better.

I dropped the above questions into the Contact Us area on Newt's website. Let's see if totally blows away my expectations and I get back some answers.