Ask the average American: What does Freedom mean to you?
You'd get answers like:
Freedom to make my own way.
Freedom to make my own choices.
Freedom to make up my own mind.
Freedom to speak my mind -- to live my own life, without co-erosion, without interference, without prejudice.
Ask Paul Ryan, What Freedom means to him? -- and you might be astounded by his mobius-strip, twisted answers.
I know I was. Freedom to Paul Ryan -- boils down to this: their way ... or the highway ...
The Paul Ryan Vision of America: Ban Abortion, Defund Contraception, Outlaw In Vitro Fertilization (Video)
democracynow.org -- August 13, 2012
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AMY GOODMAN: Earlier this year, Congressman Ryan told David Gregory on Meet the Press that he wasn’t concerned about Republicans overplaying their hand on the issue of contraception and women’s health. He suggested the government requiring employers to pay for birth control would violate people’s freedom of religion. I want to go to that clip.
REP. PAUL RYAN: What we’re getting from the White House with this conscience issue, it’s not an issue about contraception. It’s an issue that reveals a political philosophy that the president is showing that basically treats our constitutional rights as if they’re revocable privileges from our government, not inalienable rights by our creator. And so what I would simply say is, we’re seeing this new government activism, sort of a paternalistic, arrogant political philosophy that puts new government-granted rights in the way of our constitutional rights. And so, what I think it really is, is it’s an argument for freedom, for our founding principles, and for protecting those constitutional rights, which right now with this new mandate from HHS, like I said, it’s really not about contraception, it’s about violating our First Amendment rights to religious freedom and of conscience.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Paul Ryan earlier this year. Nicole Safar, your response?
NICOLE SAFAR: Right. I mean, it’s a really interesting philosophy of government, isn’t it? I think that we -- it is so out of touch with what we see on the ground every day, with what women know every day to be the real issue. And it is about getting access to birth control. It really is. Women struggle every day to get access to basic healthcare, healthcare like what we provide at Planned Parenthood. And the Affordable Care Act has removed so many barriers for women when it comes to this basic preventative healthcare, like well woman exams and birth control. I think that, you know, Congressman Ryan frames it in this very unique way because he knows that it’s so out of touch. He knows that his position is so out of touch from what the women across this country really understand.
[...]
Freedom to Paul Ryan --
means his freedom to tell you what contraception you can use;
means his prerogative to decide what choices you have.
Freedom to Paul Ryan means you're free to believe 'what they say you can believe.'
And if you happen to break one of their 'freedom laws' -- you're free to suffer their "legitimate" consequences, as Ryan and the Republicans see fit.
Just like Akin is dang-well free to quit, as Ryan-the-enforcer would now have it; which would free Paul Ryan to keep hoodwinking the public, on how he will make them free from that "parental government" -- that the Democrats bring.