News and Current Events - 2012

[fofol]

I don't relish the idea of abortion at all, how could anyone, particularly me, as I had two miscarriages and a great deal of difficulty having my two daughters, but, I have also seen 15 year old girls at the college where I work who have almost no education, no prospects, and basically no idea of what it means to support themselves let alone look after a baby.
I have also seen the kind of teenagers who have been brought up by such mothers.
It is very unfortunate, but I have to concede that abortion is sometimes necessary and can actually prevent further suffering.
To value every tiny clump of cells as a fully grown human being, is taking too romantic a view of the first days of life which are naturally precarious anyway.

   Jess, yours is the voice of compassionate reasoning. Abortion is sometimes the least bad avenue for a redress of accident or stupidity, which means that a woman's reality is often quite different than the view of evangelicals, for example, who seem to insist that all abortions are 'recreational' ("these people just go out and get pregnant because they know they can always get an abortion but we say no, they have to be made to pay the price for their sin).  Of course, none of these anti-abortion activists can quote reliable, unbiased, interviews of the women who do choose to terminate a pregnancy, and most, if not all, turn off their thought processes (absolving themselves of any responsibility for their outspoken opinions), claiming a deep religious basis for their anti-abortion stance, despite the fact that all of the major religions claim compassion as the major motivation for their religion's existence.  Go figure.

[janjo]

Just saw Obama singing on the news, couldn't you just eat him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-hDt2E8MoE

[Lyle (Mooska)]

An id is necessary for just about everything in life.
I see nothing wrong with requiring a photo id for voting.

I used to think that should be no problem, except then I remembered my
Mom and she never drove, never had a photo ID ever and that would disqualify her.
And then it depends on what kind of ID you need.  Do you need a special ID (my
current CA ID card cost $32.00).  Then I read stories about being denied to vote
because people moved and then their current address doesn't match the old ID.
Or it says Ave. instead of St.  (Yes, people have been denied to vote because their
addresses don't match exactly.)  It also doesn't take into account the fact that you
can get absentee ballots by mail.  It also doesn't take into account the fact that
the idea behind most of tihs legislation is that there is a problem (so many people
voting fraudulently) that needs addressing.  There are numerous studies that show
there is no widespread incidents of people trying to vote illegally and/or multiple times.
So you have to ask why it is only Republican legislatures think there is a problem and
why the policies they have introduced mostly affect Democratic voters.

In summary, the idea that an ID should be required for voting sounds perfectly reasonable,
but, like the Wizard of Oz, when you look behind the curtain you find that there's really
something else going on.

[Ellen (tellyouwhat)]

In summary, the idea that an ID should be required for voting sounds perfectly reasonable,
but, like the Wizard of Oz, when you look behind the curtain you find that there's really
something else going on.

All you really need to do is look at who is sponsoring the idea, and who is against it.

But oftentimes these partisan tricks -- like gerrymandering-- come back later to bite the side who done it first, when the other side gets an unforeseen advantage.

[Lyle (Mooska)]

That's like term limits, which are implemented to keep people you don't like
from remaining in office.  But it also keeps people you do like from staying there.

[Lyle (Mooska)]

I was watching some of the news soundbites from the Republican debate
last night and I had to laugh at Gingrich when he complained that the elite
media was responsible for bringing up any vile thing they good to harm the
Republicans and keep Obama in office.  If the media was really doing that
they would actually do nothing to prevent Gingrich from becoming the nominee.
Oh, that Newt!

[Ellen (tellyouwhat)]

That's like term limits, which are implemented to keep people you don't like
from remaining in office.  But it also keeps people you do like from staying there.

yes, very short-sighted, but in the short run it serves the politician of the day.


------------------------

Hey, I'm so encouraged that so many politicians are introducing legislation to fight the Citizens United decision. Once again, you can see the people trying to change it are democrats and one independent (Bernie Sanders.)

Which means, in the short run, Republicans benefit from the decision.  But IMO in the very near term, the vast sums of money will mean there won't be any difference between the parties.  Some of you think that day is here already.

Kucinich proposes public financing to overturn Citizens United ruling

A number of other Members of Congress, including Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY), Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have proposed constitutional amendments to overturn the Citizens United ruling. Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Michael Bennet of (D-CO) have also introduced less ambitious constitutional amendment that would give Congress and the states the authority to regulate the campaign finance system.

Kucinich’s proposed amendment would completely bar interest groups from influencing elections by requiring that all federal campaigns be financed exclusively with public funds and prohibit any expenditures from any other source.

[doodler]

Nothing wrong with it if every person is required by law to possess a photo ID, as is the case in many countries. Imagine the hue and cry if Congress tried to pass such a law.

You have to have a photo id to drive. You have to have a photo id to cash a check. Many places you have to have a photo id to get in at work. You have to have a photo id at college. What is the big deal? If a person is so interested in having a say about what goes on in their city, county, state or nation that they want to vote, why are they unwilling to have a little card with their name and picture on it?

[Sandy]

There has been a streak of civil libertarian opposition to identity cards as a government infringement on individual liberty. (Ihre Papiere, bitte!). The idea was to restrict government only to dealing with the prohibition part of "Whatever is not prohibited, is permitted," and not to have a key to open the door in individuals' lives.

Maybe, deep down, Ron Paul's objection to Social Security, is the card it issues.

[fritzkep]

--Your papers, please.
--Sorry, man, I only got a pipe.

[kathy]

Good another war we cannot pay for. And to pay for this one, we'll take away your SS and your Medicare. While the 1% can sit back and make loads of money.

Yup.  The military/industrial complex will always have its way. 

kathy       

[doodler]

In that case, I hope they are in favor of photo ids to vote.

[kathy]

And he only pays a 15% tax rate because most of his income is from capital gains, whereas the rest of us pay a much higher rate.

Right.  The American way.

kathy    

[doodler]

Yahoo news headline

The evangelical dilemma in South Carolina: adulterer or Mormon?

[kathy]

I was also shocked with that response.

So was I. 

kathy