Jul 19, 2019 Posted by Heather Hastie

Abortion and the US Republican Party

Before I start, I should note I am unapologetically pro-choice. I’ve been pro-choice for as long as I can remember. I recall thinking women should be able to have an abortion, if they want one, when I was just eight year old (1972-73). (New Zealand’s Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Bill was making its way through parliament at the time. It was naturally controversial, and was in the... read more

Apr 16, 2019 Posted by Heather Hastie

US Politics of Single-Payer Healthcare and Abortion

As regular readers know, I’ve written multiple posts over the years about why I think the US needs a single-payer healthcare system. The most recent was less than two months ago: ‘The Benefits of a Single-Payer Healthcare System’. As the only OECD country without such a system, the US is an outlier. In my opinion, there is a direct causal link between this and three other facts. The... read more

Feb 27, 2019 Posted by Heather Hastie

The Benefits of a Single-Payer Healthcare System

On 29 January 2019 we saw the first CNN Town Hall for a candidate for the 2020 US presidential election. Kamala Harris, a Democratic senator from California, is one of the more impressive members of what promises to be a huge field. CNN is reporting the Town Hall had the highest ever viewership for a Town Hall in the 25-54 category. On 18 February another of the better candidates, Senator Amy Klobuchar... read more

Aug 9, 2018 Posted by Heather Hastie

Why is Trump is Expanding the Use of Asbestos in US?

This quick post about Trump and asbestos is mainly to let you know I’m still here, as well as to bring an un-effing-believable situation to your attention. I’ve had my new chair for about ten days. I assumed everything would be hunky-dory as soon as I got it, but it’s not working out that way. Unfortunately, my body is having trouble adjusting, and writing is still difficult. Anyway, Ann... read more

Feb 19, 2018 Posted by Heather Hastie

More Mass Murder of Children in the US (plus Tweets)

Seventeen children are dead in Florida and Trump tweets that it’s the FBI’s fault because they were too busy trying to find evidence he was colluding with Russia during the election campaign. WTF is wrong with this man? He went to Florida and met with the families of two of the victims for 35 minutes. Then he had a photo op with some of the first responders (which took longer), then he went to... read more