Call to Action

As we approach the year two thousand and ten, we approach the year of the Personhood Amendment. With activity in 32 states, at least one is likely to pass, but fight vigorously anyway to make sure.

But don't let this very important issue mak e you loose track of the bigger picture. Fight for the unborn, yes, but also fight for the poor, the young, the old, the gay, women, et cetera. Fight for free speech, freedom of religion, for the separation of church and state, for school reform, for a more reasonable language (Esperanto), for a more reasonable numeral system (dozenal), and for logical arguments.

Fight against euphemisms, restrictions on freedom, and unequal treatment.

"Clean Feed"

Okay, by now everyone knows that the Senate health care bill funds abortions but has otherwise been pussified to the point of being a giant handout to insurance corporations* (still a mandate to buy but no public option and not even the Medicare buy-in for those 55-64).

Maybe you haven't heard that Australia is considering across-the-board censorship on anything deemed "inappropriate".

*...and yet Republicans STILL are fighting against it!

China bans physical punishment for internet addicts

I... guess this is good news?

Prenaticide is REAL

This is a short article, but really worth reading. Abortion is not some abstract concept, some simple "unplugging" or even choosing to not get pregnant. It is not destroying a potential life. It is the very real killing of an extant human being.

"Gag Rule"?

Lemme make something perfectly clear. The Mexico City Policy does not violate free speech. It does not punish foreign institutions, but merely prevents taxpayers from being forced to support the promotion of the violence of abortion.

Gang Rape

A 15-year-old girl was gang raped. The rapists are being prosecuted. Everything's fine and dandy, right?

Right?

Apparently not. There were bystanders that failed to report the crime. Some want them held accountable.

Such a law would be unenforceable. If one person reports it, do the rest of the people still get prosecuted? What if there's a shooting, does everyone in the neighborhood get arrested?

And some people, horror of horrors, took pictures of it. And people are trying to arrest them for it! What's next, the school is arrested for activity on their surveillance tapes? If this happens, these bystanders will find it almost impossible to find a job or a house due to sex offender laws. This is just more of the government legislating data. Of course, someone cited the sexting cases to justify this. PROTIP: Don't cite stupid laws.

Then there's the issue of the underage rapists being tried as adults. Many of the rapists I assume were also under the age of consent; so, technically, they were also raped. But this stupid technicality aside, it is absurd to treat youth as inferior until it comes time to punish them. These criminals had no say in electing the judges, will not get a jury of their peers, and are being seen as too irresponsible to drink or vote or drive but responsible enough to be tried as adults.

Reproductive Power

In its simplest sense, freedom is liberty. Liberty is the right of A to control A. A has every right to control A, B has every right to control B, ad infinitum.

The problem comes when we introduce coercion. Power is the ability of A to control B, of B to control A, of C to control G, ad infinitum. C only has the right to control A in order to stop A from coercing C.

The a problem arises when the concept of freedom is expanded beyond liberty and into power. Many seek to extend A's freedom into power over B.

We see this taking place in the Net Neutrality argument, with many arguing A should be allowed to censor the content that B, S, Q, F, and L are exposed to. It also takes place when the concept of "reproductive freedom" is extended to the right of M to avoid the consequences of her mistakes by inflicting violence upon D.

Dismiss

Another NationStates reminder for myself: don't be afraid to dismiss issues. For example, a recent issue gave me the choice of either allowing the death penalty or banning fringe groups.

Fringe groups are like the junk under your keys. The system typically runs fine regardless, and you're likely to screw something up trying to get rid of them.

Articles

There were a few WTF news stories, but there's one I want to call your attention to.

If any of my international readers live in Venezuela, here's your time to shine.

Censor Youtube (BOO!) ...for the children! (YAY!)

"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."

~Adolph Hitler

How the Internet has hurt politics

This country has been shaped throughout its history by influential writings. From John Locke to Thomas Paine to Harriet Beecher Stowe to John L. O'Sullivan to modern-day bloggers. The problem today, with the advent of the Information Age is that we have too many. While the notion that everyone can be a pamphleteer certainly is a positive one, it also results in a retardation of the change of public opinion. With a vast number of sources readily available, people are free to simply read, watch, or listen to arguments that simply reaffirm what we already believe, regardless of how wrong we are.

An extension of this principle of ideological isolationism is the politicization of science. As the saying goes, you're entitled to you own opinions, but not your own facts. However, today that doesn't practically apply. If you want to believe that the universe is 6000 years old, or that Global Warming is a myth, or that abortion causes breast cancer, or that the unborn child is somehow part of the mother's body, you can find a city on the planet of Internetopia where you will never be corrected because everyone is just as crazy as you are.

This is even more extreme on forums where dissent results in banning, causing forum's ideological spectrum to shrink further, narrowing the acceptable viewpoints further. This eventually snowballs into situations like you see on RevLeft or Democratic Underground, where anyone (even a die-hard liberal) is accused of being "misogynistic", "reactionary", or "anti-choice".

Censorship 4/2

So, I was watching an add for Dish TV the other day, touting its parental censorshi- er, "control" technology.

Even the language they used ("control what your kids watch", "decide what material is right for your family", "you can block programs based on ______ or even entire channels") makes it sound creepily Orwellian.

Censored? Really?

Cap-and-trade only allows companies to sell their extra carbon credits. It does not punish polluters. It certainly does is not a tax.

Your cute little chart is misleading, since much of the sections are automated and you don't have to work through it. Plus, it's not laid out in a line like it should be.

Quote mining Obama is not an argument.

The public option is just that: an option. For health insurance. It's not "government-run health care".

So, Republicans. Pelosi saying you can't lie to your constituents is not violating your freedom of speech. Your job is not to use shady tactics to manipulate and defraud your constituents. Your job is to represent them. You work for them.

Woman to stand trial for pants.

Aren't there, like, international laws against this kind of human rights abuse?

Though, this is not surprising.

Ireland FTL

At first, I was outraged. Europe has shown a lack of testicular fortitude when it comes to religion, such as making polygamy legal (but only for Muslim males!). But, really, you're delusional if you think this makes America better. Our constitution just forces us to pick the installment plan.

At least Ireland just came out and made it illegal to offend religious people.

Burkkas or Underwear?

Republicans claim Liberal foreign policy will lead to Shariah Law. This is often portrayed as women forced to wear burkkas, which would, of course, limit liberty. But is this really any worse than being forced to wear clothes in the first place?

Clothes are great for protection from the elements, but the social stigma (or at least the laws) against nudity have got to go. Ban exposed thumbs and you violate the First Amendment. Ban exposed genitals and everyone's okay with it for some reason.

It's perhaps the most pervasive element of Religious Law.

Thought you'd enjoy this.

As part of my ongoing series on American prudery, I give you this.

On a more casual note

The taboo against nudity harms the suspension of disbelief if the "naughty bits" are always hidden by some convenient object. It also leads to any joke becoming funny if you reference the human body.

The Vicious Circle of A**holes

A raging ring of rectums? An angry anal array? Or a sad social situation?

Don't believe me? Then why do we need "experiments" like Days of Kindness? Why is this? Let's assume that everyone is an a**hole. This will make sense later. Now, imagine someone is nice to you. Could they be doing it because they're nice? No, because everyone is an a**hole. They must have an ulterior motive. The nice man must want something from you and/or be a pervert. This leads to a social stigma against acts of kindness, which in turn leads to a reduction in the number of nice acts. This reinforces the notion that everyone is an asshole. Now imagine someone is nice to you. Could they be... See the problem? Want proof? Look at the suggestions of the aforementioned Days of Kindness. Notice how alot seem kind of creepy?

Want to disrupt the cycle? Go ahead; be my guest. Compliment someone and get yourself arrested for sexual harassment. That'll teach you for fucking with the VCoA.

Harvey Milk report is sex ed?

A school censored a report on ther first openly gay elected official.

Because we can't have teens learning about sex!

Wait, what?