A Couple of Articles That May Be of Interest

Posted on November 12, 2012 by ashot

I’m wading a bit into rocky waters with these two articles, but perhaps we can have a good discussion on this topic. I’m particularly interested in Michi and Okie’s thoughts on an article in The Atlantic discussing rape exceptions for abortions. Given our past difficulties in discussing abortion maybe Michi and Okie can send me their thoughts via email, but even if there is no discussion, I thought it was an interesting take on the subject.

For those who are not inclined to read the article, the author argues that were abortion to be made illegal, a rape exception would not really provide women with control over their bodies. She argues that any reproductive freedom from a rape exception would only by illusory because eventually some bureaucrat (possibly, if not probably, male) would likely have ultimate say over whether a particular woman qualified for the exception.

I must admit that I found the argument compelling with respect to its take on the fact that a rape exception would probably only make it seem like women still had some control. However, the article does ignore the more practical aspect of the rape exception, namely that a woman may not have to carry a rapist’s baby to term. Even if the decision is not entirely her own, there is obviously a benefit to the woman. The other thing the article ignores is what were to happen if there were no exception. What if the woman went on a hunger strike? What if she tried to hurt herself and/or the baby? Would the government intervene and force her to eat and deliver the baby? Would a jury convict a woman of murder if she killed the baby? Would physicians be required to report a miscarriage that they thought was a self-induced abortion? So many troubling questions.

This article, also from The Atlantic, talks about where racists tweets came from following Obama’s re-election. The results are both not at all surprising and surprising.

Filed under: racism | Tagged: | 24 Comments »

Morning links

Posted on April 24, 2012 by ScottC

A few links that may be of interest…

Climate alarmist James Lovelock admits to being, well, a bit alarmist.

Voter ID laws? We don’t need no stinkin’ voter ID laws.

A Chinese company markets a new pair of sunglasses by naming them after Helen Keller.

The Obama admin embraces the implied racism of disparate impact laws.

Cool time lapse video of girl growing up, from infant to 12 years old.

Filed under: fun stuff, racism, voter ID laws | Tagged: | 35 Comments »

Bits & Pieces (Wednesday Evening Open Mic)

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Kevin S. Willis

I am on record as predicting Obama wins in 2012, based on historical trends. That is, the last incumbent to lose the Whitehouse without a 3rd party or primary challenger (folks who died or decided not to run don’t count) was Herbert Hoover.

However, the general level of dissatisfaction with government seems to be at an all-time high.

I can’t imagine a time when it’s been more likely that the majority of voters are going to go to the polls with a “throw the bums out” mentality.

…

41% of North American mobile phone users plant to buy the iPhone5. However, I intend, after the release of the iPhone5, to buy an iPhone4. Does pretty much everything I want, and I’m expecting they will cut the price. I can’t wait, because my iPhoneG3 sucks. The WiFi radio is dead (and since I don’t have the data plan, there’s no internet me, which makes getting any new apps on it a pain), and the battery is getting increasingly weak. I think I’ll have to get the data plan when I upgrade, but at $15 a month, I’ll live with it. I haven’t had a cellular data plan for about two years, and I miss it.

…

If you played a lot of video games in the 80s and 90s, and you haven’t heard of the Angry Videogame Nerd, you need to. He does a lot of great old video game reviews, most of them negative (about games he hates) and laced with profanity.

However, this is a special announcement (a positive “special message, without pro
fanity) review about an obscure title called Ninja Baseball BatMan.

http://blip.tv/play/AYK%2BhkEC.html

http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#AYK+hkEC

Warning: there will be some more AVGN embeds from in the future. I love the profanity strewn show, the coverage of so many classic video games and consoles, and apparently he’s moved to a format (blip.tv) that I can actually see and embed. So . . . I will! The Moonwalker review is a classic.

…
Ever wondered if there were parochial schools for Scientologist (I can never type that word without thinking of Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage, and L. Ron Hoover and the First Church of Appliantology)? Well, wonder no more. There is one: Delphian! — KW

We’re so damn smart on this blog people should start paying us for what we write! Here’s a guy who’s paid to come to the same conclusion that we did last night about Melissa Harris-Perry’s piece:

It is far too early, of course, to know how race will affect Obama’s performance in the general election in November 2012. It may also be true that liberals do not give Obama
sufficient credit for his legislative accomplishments. But for the moment at least, I don’t think we [can] confidently attribute the differences between Obama’s and Clinton’s support among the general public to race.
He’s got charts and everything to back his point up. Score for ATiM!
— Michigoose

Couldn’t resist passing this on. . .

— Michi again

Filed under: Bits and Pieces, government dissatisfaction, racism | Tagged: , , | 41 Comments »