Rep. Mike Moon is over the moon about Governor Greitens’ special anti-abortion show boat session. Moon is the sponsor of a bill to ban abortion in the state so he is in tune with Greitens aspirations though he wants to go even further and ban abortion entirely, to hell with the legalities suggested by Roe v. Wade.

Moon, though, seems to have confused abortion with meat processing. After killing and eviscerating a chicken on camera, he had this to say:

… “God gave man dominion over life. He allows us to raise animals properly, and care for them, and then process them for food so we can sustain life,” he said. “And that’s what I’m doing here.”

He then switched gears and seemed to compare abortion to the chicken heart, “the heart of the matter,” he had extracted. He later tweeted disdainfully “some people seem to be freaking out about the chicken video. I wonder if they know what an abortion is?” Which dodges the question of whether or not Moon knows what an abortion is.

I think that, if I can follow the logic, Moon thinks that abortion has something to do with chicken processing and food production.

In which case, I’m put in mind of the the late 17th and early 18th century satirist, Jonathan Swift. In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift parodied the indifference and cruelty of the Mike Moons of his time by suggesting that the problems of poverty and widespread starvation in Ireland cold be solved by breeding and selling the children of the poor for food. Especially relevant to Moon’s performance is the fact that Swift writes that breeding babies for food might resolve the situation wherein women too poor to feed their children resorted to abortion:

There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary abortions and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children, alas! too frequent among us! sacrificing the poor innocent babes I doubt more to avoid the expense than the shame, which would move tears and pit in the most savage and inhuman breast.

Alas, though such irony may be lost on Moon, he is no stranger to bizarre and mean-minded rhetoric. He has recently distinguished himself by calling on Congress to repeal Obamacare with “manly firmness” . A couple of years ago, he called for a special session of the state legislature to stop the “Islamification” of Missouri by keeping out Syrian refugees, whom he also seems to regard as potential – but undesirable – food items, claiming that in his experience “a practicing Muslim comes in all flavors (black, white, brown, yellow American, African, European, etc. etc.).”

Is Moon maybe trying to out-Swift Swift?

*Slightly revised for clarity (11:34 am 6/14/2017),

Representative Mike Moon (r) received a letter (all correspondence was forwarded to us by the original letter writer) about the Planned Parenthood hearings in Missouri which were run by the republican majority in the General Assembly. Similar hearings and “investigations” were promoted across across the country, precipitated by edited video circulated by anti-choice activists.

Oct 15, 2015

State Representative Michael Moon
State Capitol, Room 203-B
201 West Capitol Avenue
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Dear State Representative Moon,

Planned Parenthood has been “under investigation” in both the House and Senate for months and it’s time to move on.

Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri follow all laws and have the highest medical and ethical standards. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster recently released a 40 page report demonstrating that Planned Parenthood complies with all laws and that fetal tissue is properly handled according to Missouri law.

Missouri’s interim committees were formed in response to false allegations made in a series of deceptively edited, widely discredited videos. The Attorney General report settles this issue and there is no reason for the committees to continue except to further what has been called a “witch hunt,” and pursue the agenda of ending access to safe, legal abortion in the state.

I’m tired of seeing my tax dollars being wasted on this non-issue when you could be investing your time and our money into tackling issues that will foster better lives for more Missourians, like comprehensive sex education or by increasing access to affordable health care by expanding Medicaid.

I’m proud to stand with Planned Parenthood and the women and men who rely on them every single day, and I hope that you will see this and move on.

Sincerely,

Ms. Mary Mosley
[….]

Planned Parenthood had provided a link, with a template, for its supporters to contact the General Assembly committee via e-mail. Supporters could (and some did) write additional comments on the template message. Ms. Mosley received the following response from Representative Moon (r):

Mary,

Thank you for contacting me. I noticed the message you sent was a form letter of sorts. You may not even be aware that a letter was sent on your behalf (if this is the case, I understand). If you did, intentionally, send to me a form letter, please understand that I would have taken a personal, heart-felt letter, in your own words much more seriously.

In either case, since your letter was a form letter, maybe even a copied-and-pasted one, I will formulate a response and send the same to you and the others from whom I received an identical message.

You are correct that since the videos of Planned Parenthood’s alleged involvement in the selling of unborn baby parts an investigation in the Missouri House and Senate has taken place.

Following the report released by MO Attorney General Chris Koster, it has been found that the pathology lab Planned Parenthood used to examine the remains of the unborn babies was, on at least three occasions dissolved as a Missouri business. In fact, on September 21, 2015, during the AG’s investigation, the most recent letter from the MO Secretary of State to Pathology Services, 2916 S. Brentwood Blvd, Brentwood, MO 63144, notifying the lab of its dissolution was sent. Even if this is the only oversight in the AG’s report, they (the lab and Planned Parenthood) were operating outside of the law with regard to the proper handling of the bodies.

“Your” letter mentioned you tire of your tax dollars being wasted on this non-issue when the money could be invested into tackling issues that will foster better lives for more Missourians, like more affordable healthcare. I, too, am tired of my tax dollars being used to prop up business, like Planned Parenthood. As for affordable healthcare, the Affordable Care Act promised to provide it to those who need it most. Your attention, perhaps, should be directed to President Obama.

The committees invited representatives from Planned Parenthood to testify and, perhaps, set the record straight, yet no Missouri Planned Parenthood representative dared to be questioned. Why, if they had nothing to hide and could have presented their side of the story, would they “waste” your tax money and not show up to the hearing?

In addition, Gail Vasterling, former Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services testified about one month ago, would not provide any substantive answers. We recently learned that she has left the department for another state funded job. What does she have to hide? Would you not expect a state employee, entrusted with the care of thousands of our fellow citizens to be transparent in answering questions about the job she and her staff are hired to perform? This behavior is what we all should be in concerned about. This is truly a waste of our money. For a state employee, entrusted with such a great responsibility, to be allowed to simply resign one appointment and assume another should not be tolerated. I will urge the House budget Chair and Vice-chair to seriously consider striking from the budget the salary for Gail Vasterling.

One point “your” letter did not address is a key issue in the current debate: that of women’s health. I’ve listed a few of the potential risks of an abortion here:

– abdominal pain;
– nausea;
– vomiting;
– diarrhea;
– spotting (bleeding);
– infection (sepsis);
– scarring of the uterus;
– uterine perforation;
– organ damage;
– depression (leading to suicide);
– death.

I find it ironic that we caution women against drinking copious amounts of alcohol and smoking because of the potential detrimental effects on the unborn baby, yet we find it acceptable to suck a baby out of the womb or inject the womb with a saline solution in order to kill the baby.

Have you any understanding of the history of Planned Parenthood? Its founder, Margaret Sanger was a known eugenicist (one who follows the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics). Eugenics lost its popularity following the demise of Adolf Hitler.

The following are excerpts from Sanger:

“It seems to me from my experience…that while the colored Negroes have great respect for white doctors they can get closer to their own members and more or less lay their cards on the table which means their ignorance, superstitions and doubts. We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal.

We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”

Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King stated, “The most obvious practitioner of racism in the United States today is Planned Parenthood, an organization founded by the eugenicist Margaret Sanger and recently documented as ready to accept money to eliminate black babies.”

Planned Parenthood recently decided to no longer seek re-imbursement for providing baby parts to researchers. If, in fact, there was no wrongdoing, why the sudden reversal?

I encourage you to contact your own representative and begin a conversation about this important topic. As for me, though, I have settled in my mind that all lives matter, including women and the unborn babies they nurture.

Mike

“…a form letter of sorts…”

Uh, you think this response didn’t have pre-canned elements? Just asking.

We don’t think Representative Moon (r) understands the concept of Godwin’s Law.

The original letter writer has sent a somewhat diplomatic response:

The Honorable Michael Moon
State Capitol, Room 203B
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

Dear Representative Moon:

I am in receipt of your electronic communication of October 17, 2015. Thank you for taking the time to respond at such length to my e-mail concerning the House committee hearings on Planned Parenthood. Since you indicated that you “would have taken a personal, heart-felt letter, in [my] own words much more seriously,” I am writing you one forthwith.

In spite of my gratitude for your lengthy missive with its ample disquisition on eugenics, one thing about it disturbed me, namely its incredibly sarcastic and condescending tone. In my fifty years of corresponding with elected officials, this is the single most insulting response I have ever received, even when my disagreement with the ideas of my correspondent had been expressed in much stronger language. Could it have been your way of figuratively “mooning” me? Or perhaps your legislative assistant or another employee wrote the communication on your behalf, perhaps without your knowledge or approval. You may not even be aware that a letter was sent on your behalf (if this is the case, I understand).

Be that as it may, your response clearly indicates a concern for those to whom you refer as “unborn babies.” It is also a clear indication of your regard for the already born.

Sincerely,
Dr. Mary A. Mosley

“…It is also a clear indication of your regard for the already born…”

Ten will get you twenty that he didn’t get that.

Previously:

HB 2256: It’s April, fools… (April 1, 2014)

The Missouri GOP, Evel Knievel and political stuntsmanship (April 24, 2014)

DLCC “Worst of the Worst” List – we already knew that (May 1, 2014)

HB 216: Agenda 21! (December 15, 2014)

HR 99: Because words mean nothing? (February 10, 2015)

Mike Moon: The sexism is expected; the cruelty is is the problem (February 10, 2015)

HB 1108: For what purpose? (March 5, 2015)

HCR 54: derp, derp, derp, derp… (March 13, 2015)

That’s quite a legacy of lunatic fringe legislation…

Ladies and gentlemen, your handy dandy all in one guide to right wingnut paranoia and delusions of persecution in the form of a concurrent resolution introduced today by Representative Mike Moon (r):

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

House Concurrent Resolution No. 54 [pdf]

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE MOON.

2614L.01I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

WHEREAS, the Rules and Manual of the House of Representatives of the United States of America, officially titled Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual and Rules of the House of Representatives, contains the fundamental source materials describing procedures in the House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, Section 603 of Section LIII of Jefferson’s Manual provides that impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives may be set in motion by charges transmitted from the legislature of a state or territory; and

WHEREAS, the State of Florida and the former territory of Mississippi have established precedent by transmitting charges to the House of Representatives, which in each case resulted in an investigation by a committee of the House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, Barack Obama in the office of President of the United States of America has repeatedly and intentionally violated the Constitution and other laws of the United States of America, causing the people of the State of Missouri to call into question the integrity of President Barack Obama and to believe that the official actions of President Obama have constituted high crimes and misdemeanors; and

WHEREAS, Barack Obama, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States of America and, to the best of his ability, to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has willfully corrupted and manipulated the executive branch to increase its power and destroy the balance of powers between the three branches of government that is established by the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the means used to implement this course of conduct or scheme included one or more of the following acts:

(1) Shortly after being sworn in for his first term as President of the United States, Barack Obama began creating new departments and appointing Czars to oversee these departments. These Czars were never submitted to the United States Senate for approval as required by Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution. In addition, these Czars and the Departments have budgets that are not subject to being controlled by Congress as provided for by Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. He also made recess appointments when the Senate was not in recess and these appointments were struck down by the Supreme Court;

(2) Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution mandates that the President of the United States “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed…”. Barack Obama, in violation of his oath of office has repeatedly ignored this Constitutional mandate by refusing to enforce laws against illegal immigration, defend in court the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and refusing to enforce Federal voting laws;

(3) Article 1 of the Constitution establishes the legislative branch of the United States government and sets forth the powers of the Senate and House of Representatives to make laws. These powers are exclusive and the Constitution does not grant the President the power to either make laws or amend them on his own. Barack Obama has ignored these provisions and made or changed laws by either issuing unconstitutional executive orders or instructing governmental departments to take illegal and unconstitutional actions. Specific actions include, but are not necessarily limited to:

(a) Ordering the Environmental Protection Agency to implement portions of the Cap & Trade bill that failed to pass in the United States Senate;

(b) Ordering implementation of portions of the “Dream Act” that failed to pass in Congress;

(c) Orchestrating a government takeover of a major part of the automobile industry in 2009;

(d) Ordering a moratorium on new offshore oil and gas exploration and production without approval of Congress;

(e) Signing an Executive Order on March 16, 2012, giving himself and the Executive branch extraordinary powers to control and allocate resources such as food, water, energy, and health care resources, in the interest of vaguely defined national defense issues. It would amount to a complete government takeover of the United States economy;

(f) Signing an Executive Order on July 6, 2012, giving himself and the Executive branch the power to control all methods of communications in the United States based on a Presidential declaration of a national emergency;

(g) Signing an Executive Order on January 6, 2013, that contained 23 actions designed to limit the individual right to keep and bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution;

(h) Amending portions of the Affordable Healthcare Act and other laws passed by Congress without Congressional approval as required by Article 1 of the Constitution;

(i) Issuing Executive orders in January 2014 amending the HIPPA law to allow the turning over of confidential medical records to Federal agencies if there is any information to be used to add individuals to the NICS list to prohibit them from purchasing firearms;

(j) Having the EPA impose regulations on the coal industry that will force many utility companies and coal mines out of business. This will cost the United States economy thousands of jobs and dramatically increase the cost of energy to the public. This is being done without Congressional approval;

(k) Hindering the ability of the United States Border Patrol Agency to not only stop illegal immigration, but to stop human and drug trafficking;

(l) Removing the work requirement from welfare reform legislation without Congressional approval; and

WHEREAS, Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution mandates that from time to time the President “shall give to Congress information on the State of the Union…”. Implicit in this is an obligation for the President to be truthful with the Congress and the American people. Barack Obama has repeatedly violated his oath of office and the requirements of the Constitution by willfully withholding information on important issues or actively taken part in misleading the Congress and the American people. Specific actions include, but are not necessarily limited to:

(1) Using Executive privilege to block Congress from getting documents relating to the Department of Justice’s Operation Fast and Furious and the death of United States Border Patrol Brian Terry;

(2) Had members of his administration provide false information about the act of terrorism committed in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, and refusing to allow the State Department and other federal agencies to cooperate in the Congressional investigation;

(3) Falsely labeled the mass murder of American soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas as2 “workplace violence” instead of the act of Islamic terrorism it was;

(4) Falsely labeling the IRS targeting of conservative and Christian groups as a “phony” scandal and refusing to order an active pursuit of the investigation into who was ultimately responsible;

(5) Refusing to order an independent investigation of the actions of Eric Holder and the Department of Justice in targeting the phone records of members of the news media;

(6) Telling the American people on a television show that the NSA was not prying into the emails and phone calls of Americans when the facts prove otherwise; and

WHEREAS, the oath of office of the President of the United States requires him to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. This obviously includes what may be the most important part of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights. Barack Obama has repeatedly violated his oath of office by seeking to limit both the individual rights and the rights of the States guaranteed in the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Specific actions include, but are not necessarily limited to:

(1) Having the Department of Health and Human Services order religious institutions and businesses owned by religious families to provide their employees free contraception and other services that are contrary to their religious beliefs. This is being done under the auspices of the Affordable Health Care Act and violates the religious freedom clauses of the First Amendment;

(2) Having the military place restrictions on the religious freedom of Chaplains and other members of the military in order to favor gay rights advocates and atheists in violation of the First Amendment;

(3) Having the military place restrictions on the freedom of speech of members of the military and the civilian employees of the Department of Defense in violation of their rights under the First Amendment;

(4) Using Executive orders and government agency actions to limit Second Amendment rights. This includes actions by the Veterans Administration to disarm American veterans without due process as required by the Fifth Amendment;

(5) Having the National Security Agency intercept and monitor the private communications of millions of Americans without a court order and in violation of the Fourth Amendment;

(6) Joining with foreign governments in lawsuits against sovereign states of the United States to prohibit them from enforcing immigration laws. This is in violation of the Tenth Amendment;

(7) Filing suits under the Voting Rights Act against sovereign states of the United States to prevent them from enforcing Voter ID laws despite rulings by the Supreme Court upholding these laws. This is another violation of the Tenth Amendment and the balance of powers;

(8) Having the IRS propose new regulations on conservative 501 (C)(4) organizations to limit their freedom of speech and political activities during election cycles in violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution;

(9) Having the FCC prepare new rules on internet neutrality in violation of the ruling by the United States Supreme Court striking down such regulations;

(10) Having the FCC institute a plan to place agents in newsrooms of radio and television stations as well as print media to monitor whether they are providing the “proper” news content to the public, a direct violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution;

(11) Having the Secretary of State sign the United Nations Small Arms Treaty despite the opposition of a majority of the United States Senate and with full awareness that the implementation of the treaty would violate the Second Amendment rights of American citizens; and

WHEREAS, under Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution, the President of the United States is the Commander in Chief of the United States military and as such is responsible for using them in a manner that best serves the national security of the United States and protects our soldiers from unnecessary risks and harm. Barack Obama has violated his oath of office in this regard. Specific actions include, but are not necessarily limited to:

(1) In the name of “political correctness”, he imposed unnecessary and dangerous rules of engagement on our troops in combat causing them to lose offensive and defensive capabilities and putting them in danger. Many American service personnel have been killed or wounded as a result of this policy;

(2) Releasing the identity of American military personnel and units engaged in dangerous and secret operations such as the killing of Osama bin Laden by Navy Seal team 6;

(3) Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the exclusive power to declare war. Yet, without consulting Congress President Obama ordered the American military into action in Libya;

(4) Having the Attorney General tell Secretaries of State that they do not have to comply with the Federal law requiring states to timely send absentee ballots to military personnel; and

WHEREAS, Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution establishes the President as Commander in Chief of the United States Military. This requires him to use his power and authority to oversee the proper use of the military to properly protect and defend the people and territory of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. He is further responsible for using the United States military in a manner that is effective and protects members of the military and takes proper care of veterans. The President takes an oath of office that encompasses these duties. Barack Obama has consistently violated these duties and violated his oath. Specific actions include, but are not necessarily limited to:

(1) Imposing Rules of Engagement on the active military in war zones that have unnecessarily endangered the lives of American soldiers;

(2) Allowed the leaking of classified information about United States military operations to the media in order to enhance his political image. Such leaks place the lives of United States soldiers in danger;

(3) Despite being informed in 2009 of problems in the Veterans Administration involving treatment of veterans, took no action to improve the situation, but instead ordered the VA to spend a major part of its budget on green energy projects at VA facilities instead of on veteran care;

(4) Endangered the lives of members of the American military and American civilians by negotiating with terrorists to trade five high level Taliban leaders in exchange for an American soldier who deserted his post and his fellow soldiers. In addition, he did the foregoing action in violation of Federal law since he did not provide the legally required thirty-day notice to members of Congress of his intent to release prisoners from Guantanamo Bay;

(5) Continues to refuse to enforce immigration laws passed by Congress in violation of Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution, and further has used illegal and unconstitutional Executive orders to grant amnesty or de facto amnesty to illegal aliens currently in the United States;

(6) Has deliberately destroyed the morale and effectiveness of Border Patrol agents by interfering with their attempts to fulfill their oath of office and enforce laws legally passed by the United States Congress;

(7) By his deliberate actions encouraged parents of thousands of children in Central America to send their children, often unaccompanied by adults, across the United States border and then asking for billions of taxpayer dollars to care for these children;

(8) Ordered the Border Patrol and Department of Homeland Security to place thousands of these children on buses or planes and dumping them in communities around the country; often without any prior notifications to the local elected officials in these communities;

(9) Allowed the TSA to let these children, as well as possible teenage gang members and unidentified persons to fly in United States Airlines at taxpayer expense without proper identification required by Federal law;

(10) Has refused to respond to lawful requests by Governors of the southern Border States to close the Southern border to any further illegal immigration and has created a severe financial crisis for Border States and other states in order to advance his own political agenda;

(11) Has ordered the release of thousands of illegal aliens who have been convicted of serious crimes in the United States to be released and stay in the country after they have served their sentences. This violates the requirements of Federal law that such people be immediately deported;

(12) Ordered the immediate release of approximately 68,000 other criminals in Federal prisons that have been convicted of drug offenses. These actions endanger the lives and property of honest and law-abiding American citizens that the President is legally and constitutionally required to protect;

(13) Has authorized the IRS, HHS, BATF, DHS, and EPA to propose new regulations not authorized by Congress that will adversely affect the rights of Americans protected by the First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution; and

WHEREAS, in all of this, Barack Obama has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the Presidency, has betrayed his trust as President and has acted in a manner subversive of the rule of law and justice, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States; and

WHEREAS, Barack Obama, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States:

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-eighth General Assembly, First Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby request the Missouri Congressional delegation to cause to be instituted in the Congress proper proceedings for the investigation of President Barack Obama, to the end that he may be impeached and removed from office; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation.

[emphasis in original]

He left out the Obama Administration’s “conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids”.

It’s what the right wingnut republican controlled Missouri General Assembly does best.

Previously:

HB 216: Agenda 21! (December 14, 2014)

HR 99: Are those instructions good for Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r) and Rep. Ann Wagner (r)? (January 20, 2015)

HR 99: Because words mean nothing? (February 10, 2015)

Mike Moon: The sexism is expected; the cruelty is is the problem (February 10, 2015)