No Joke: Bush Proclaims Today "National Sanctity of Human Life Day"

You can't make this stuff up.

In a formal White House proclamation issued Friday, George W. Bush declared January 22 National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2006.

"Our Nation was founded on the belief that every human being has rights, dignity, and value. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we underscore our commitment to building a culture of life where all individuals are welcomed in life and protected in law," said the proclamation.

Bush then goes on to brag about all the steps his administration has taken to ..."protect human life" while neglecting to mention the many safety-net programs cut in his most recent budget. Likewise, he says nothing about his party's 2005 blockades of a minimum wage increase and low-income heating programs and his refusal to even acknowledge a health care crisis that systematically leaves millions of elderly Americans and children with no ability to stay healthy.

That's those wacky Republicans: Love the fetus, hate the child.

"National Sanctity of Human Life Day is an opportunity to strengthen our resolve in creating a society where every life has meaning and our most vulnerable members are protected and defended including unborn children, the sick and dying, and persons with disabilities and birth defects," the inspiring document concludes.

No mention of the 18 civilians – including five young children – we incinerated in Damadola, Pakistan last week.

It's also a damn shame this stirring resolution comes too late for the 2,224 U.S. military dead in Iraq or the tens of thousands of Iraqis who have been sacrificed in the name of Bush's "culture of life."

Update: Hoffmania has more observations on this, including the obvious that I didn't even notice – that Bush chose to issue this on the anniversary of Roe v Wade!