The Onion nails this one. 🙂
How The GOP Can Appeal To Women
Category: government
Koch Bros – “It’s the evil thing”
The Koch brothers aren’t true evil, I was surprised to learn. But they’ve put together a coalition that intends to spend almost $1 billion in 2016.
I do believe that money is intended to buy election wins for Republican candidates who will be expected to support polices that benefit … the Koch brothers.
This is a business move. Though they lost perhaps half a billion trying to defeat Obama, they hope to get back more than 1.5 billion if the next President is a Republican.
Click PLAY or watch a protest song on YouTube.
If you don’t like billionaires buying elections, campaign against the politicians they support.
Obama invading Texas?
This guy thinks so.
He’s one of the Patriots sworn to defend citizens against their own government.
Personally I feel people like this pose a great danger to citizens.
The Jade Helm 15 conspiracy theories are based on the eponymous United States military training exercise, scheduled to take place in multiple U.S. states from July 15 to September 15, 2015.
… training will take place in the states Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah.
When officials at the Pentagon unveiled Jade Helm this spring, it triggered an eruption of the Big American Crazy — that recurring paranoia that has attached itself throughout the nation’s history to suspected threats like the Masons, the Papists, the Communists, the Islamists and the international banking cartel. Texans, in particular, lost their minds. They worried that the drill was in fact a furtive plot to seize their guns …
YouTube videos emerged claiming that Jade Helm’s “Helm” was an acronym for “Homeland Eradication of Local Militants.” …
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has identified more than 1,000 active Patriot groups nationwide as of 2013 that are “opposed to the ‘New World Order,’ engage in groundless conspiracy theorizing, or advocate or adhere to extreme antigovernment doctrines.” …
Are Rogue Militants Preparing for War on American Soil?
related – Oath Keepers and the Age of Treason:
There are scores of patriot groups, but what makes Oath Keepers unique is that its core membership consists of men and women in uniform, including soldiers, police, and veterans. At regular ceremonies in every state, members reaffirm their official oaths of service, pledging to protect the Constitution—but then they go a step further, vowing to disobey “unconstitutional” orders from what they view as an increasingly tyrannical government.
contraception reduces abortion
In the United States 98% of women have used birth control at some point in time and 62% of those of reproductive age are currently using birth control …
(I assume the other 2% practice abstinence.)
About a third of American women will have an abortion in their lifetime. It’s a difficult and traumatic decision for most. 😦
Anything we can do to reduce the rates of unwanted pregnancy and abortion should be considered.
A study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology found that the availability to free contraception caused a drop in teen birth rates and cut the rate of abortions for all participants by more than half.
For American teens, the drop in abortion rates may be closer to 75%.
Colorado teen birthrate dropped 40% over a few years when low-cost birth control was made available. An anonymous donor funded the $23 million initiative
If you restrict access to sex education and contraception, expect more abortions.
Roman Catholics and (many) evangelicals should expect more abortions because they limit access to contraceptives.
The Roman Catholic Church should council women not to have abortions. But then provide help for those additional children they want born. Many are born to young, poor and distressed mothers who don’t have access to abortion. Those children really need the help of the Church.
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… Around 44 million abortions occur each year in the world, with a little under half done unsafely.
Abortion rates have changed little between 2003 and 2008, before which they decreased for decades due to better education about family planning and birth control. …
Those who are against abortion largely claim that an embryo or fetus is a human with a right to life and may compare it to murder.
Supporters point to a woman’s right to decide over her own body and to human rights in general. …
The blue and green colours indicate those nations where abortion is mostly legal on request.
“Every Sperm is Sacred” is a Monty Python musical sketch satire of Catholic teachings on reproduction that forbid masturbation and contraception by artificial means.
Obviously 1 egg or 1 sperm is NOT life.
But there is a legitimate argument on when a human life actually begins. I don’t have a strong opinion on this.
A late-term abortion often refers to an induced abortion procedure that occurs after the 20th week of gestation. Those are – obviously – even worse than first trimester abortions.
why some economists oppose minimum wages
In theory it seems a bad move. But in practice moderate increases seem to work quite well.
And it’s good politics for left leaning governments.
The Economist explains
USA in World War II
I’m very critical of the American military. Seems to me near everything they’ve done since WW II has been a waste of taxpayer dollars and lives. The reputation of the American Government worldwide has never been worse.
But there’s no doubt that entering into WW II was justified. They were attacked by Japan.
The Axis forces – Hitler in particular – had to be stopped. I said in High School that I’d go back in time and kill Hitler in the crib if I could.
I thank the USA for entering into WW II. And for doing a good job in helping to end that war as quickly as possible.
You can argue that only one nuclear bomb was needed in Japan, not two. But – to be fair – it’s difficult to judge those making the decisions at that time.
What happened when Portugal decriminalised drugs
For 20 years The Economist has led calls for a rethink on drug prohibition. This film looks at new approaches to drugs policy, from Portugal to Colorado. “Drugs: War or Store?” kicks off our new “Global Compass” series, examining novel approaches to policy problems.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Homeland Season 4
The fourth season of the American television drama series Homeland premiered on October 5, 2014, and concluded on December 21, 2014 …
Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.
A Hollywood simpleton’s version, for sure. But it’s a good glimpse into the ethical dilemmas of western boots on the ground in the Muslim world. I recommend Homeland.
Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison is a manic CIA intelligence officer assigned to the Counterterrorism Center. She fanatically wants to defend America … at any cost.
In the fourth season, Carrie is working as a CIA station chief in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Carrie’s failures are symbolic of the failures of the USA in that region.
On Metacritic, it has a score of 74 out of 100, based on 22 reviews.[22] On Rotten Tomatoes, the season received an 82% rating based on 49 reviews with an average rating of 8.0/10. The critical consensus reads “Homeland is back on top, with a renewed energy and focus not seen since its first season.” …
I’d agree. Seasons 1 and 4 are the best, so far.
… According to media reports, Pakistani officials were unhappy over the depiction of Pakistan in the fourth season. …
Homeland will be returning for a fifth season.
my bike was stolen
I bought a new Hybrid at MEC. Within a week it was stolen.
Ghost Panamao X 3 Bicycle (Unisex) – CAD$725 (US$582)
Using the wifi at McDonald’s at 3611 17th-AVE SW Calgary, I’d locked it to a tree close to the busy road. Seemed a good idea at the time. Who’d cut that lock? It’s such a busy spot.
Police told me that homeless guys tend to hang out at McDonald’s. There were a number the night I was there.
Though seemingly hopeless, I filed an online Police report next day. I wanted the cops to know what bike was targeted where.
Immediately I got a phone call. They’d recovered my bike. Wow!
Actually, they called before seeing my report. A new Ghost (unusual brand) was spotted outside a Mac’s convenience store with no lock. The police took it when no owner could be located. (No doubt the thief fled the scene when he saw them.)
Knowing that only MEC sold Ghost, they stopped by the store to ask the manager about that particular serial number. He gave them my phone number.
I love the Calgary police now. 🙂
When I met the police to collect my bike those partners told me that they pick up about one stolen bike a week.
Thieves try to “change the appearance” of stolen bikes. In my case they took off the hybrid wheels and put on a pretty good set of (stolen) mountain bike wheels. They added two small lights. And took off my bell.
But a Ghost bike is pretty conspicuous. There aren’t many of them around yet.
I decided to buy a replacement set of Hybrid wheels. And put the mountain bike wheels on one of my mountain bikes. All in all, I’m pretty happy how things worked out.
And I’ll be much more careful with my good bike in future.
Bait bikes won’t be coming to Calgary any time soon, according to city police, who now say there has been no progress on such a program since last summer when they were dealing with a spike in bicycle thefts.
It was nine months ago that Sgt. Katrina O’Reilly told Metro several departments within the police service were working on an in-house version of a program similar to those in other jurisdictions, which see GPS tracking devices hidden inside bicycles placed in public areas as “bait” for would-be thieves. …
Sgt. Katrina O’Reilly told Metro last summer there had been a “tremendous increase” in the number of bikes being stolen in break-and-enters, rather than from an outdoor rack or off the street. …
Bait bike idea shelved by Calgary police, cyclists frustrated with mass thefts
Rick McCharles 