Self Promotion
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2006
2005
--MacBeth V.v.
“Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.”
/|\
Via CorrenteWire, here's more news coming out of Talibanland, this time Missouri: State bill proposes Christianity be Missouri’s official religion
Missouri legislators in Jefferson City considered a bill that would name Christianity the state's official "majority" religion.House Concurrent Resolution 13 has is pending in the state legislature.
[snip]
The resolution would recognize "a Christian god," and it would not protect minority religions, but "protect the majority's right to express their religious beliefs.
The resolution also recognizes that, "a greater power exists," and only Christianity receives what the resolution calls, "justified recognition."
OK--what part of the First Amendment don't you understand? "Well, that only applies to the federal government." Nice, very Christian, to live by the letter of the law and not the spirit.
This IS an errosion of our rights. Of yours and mine. Do you think it will stop at Missouri? Or South Dakota? Or Utah? Or Mississippi? Do you, reader, believe that they won't be checking to see what church you belong to? Do you honestly believe that you'll be uneffected by the growing Dominionism movement?
Somewhere, Samuel Clemens weeps.
posted by Mary, 3:10 PMI Never Liked Their Pizza Anyway
Anonymous* in the posts mentioned that the founder of Domino's Pizza is creating a town in Florida that will adhere to strict Catholicism. No no abortions, no birth control, no pornography, no nothin'.
Now, I have no problem with people starting their own isolated communities. If the Amish can do it, other folks can. Of course, the Amish have been doing this on their own, not using taxpayer funds, etc.
But I have to wonder--is this even legal? Can you create a town--a fully-functioning town--and make things like birth control illegal? Honestly, I don't even understand how you can suddenly outlaw these things.
Makes me wonder if the local library will be in compliance with the Index. Sorry, kids, no Les Mis for you! And will people be banned from eating meat on Fridays during Lent? What about masturbation? Will they be sniffing around your wastebasket?
*Hey, do you live in Philly? 'Cause you mentioned the Metro, and while it's a national paper, they do it on a regional basis. Just curious.
posted by Mary, 2:20 PM'Cause just like weather, it's not going away.
First, it's back in the news because the New York Times has finally admitted it exists. Whether they'll now bury the story or actually cover it responsibly, I don't know.
Second link: Scientific American points out a few things:
As someone in the comments on the SA site says, "OK Exxon, if there's no signs of Peak Oil that means you are just blatently ripping us all off with those high prices."
Well, yeah. Look, they know we're reaching (or maybe even have reached) the peak. They're going to squeeze us for everything they can while they can.
There are a lot of energy solutions out there, but it takes work. Me, when I get a house, I'm putting solar panels on the roof. I already take the train to work (which runs on electricity). Even in Philadelphia, the buses are converting to hybrids; maybe some day they'll bring back all the trolleys and get rid of the buses (a long shot, but I still hold out for it--the tracks are still here, we just need to use them).
Of course, if we just rush into this solution without updating and improving the grid, we're just trading one crisis for another. We need a better way to create energy than fossile fules. Some places can get away with using windmills; others can't. I can think of few places, however, that couldn't use solar panels, however. Just imagine if every building had solar panels--imagine how many buildings would go off the grid.
It's practically a sin that this isn't being done.
Anyway, about Peak Oil: yes, it's real. Oil is a finite resource. EVERYTHING is a finite resource--that's just the nature of existence. (I mean, unless you're one of those nuts who thinks "God will provide all the oil for us, so don't worry, and if we run out, well, it's just a sign of the End Times, so be happy!" Um. No. You've demonstrated your grasp on science, now shut up and let the intelligent people run the show.)
posted by Mary, 10:40 AMOf the Religious Right, that is.
Via Pandagon, there's this rather disturbing letter:
Dear Dr. Dobson,This is just a short note to express my heartfelt thanks to you and the entire staff of Focus on the Family for your help and support during the past few challenging months.
I would also greatly appreciate it if you would convey my appreciation to the good people from all parts of the country who wrote to tell me they were praying for me and for my family during this period.
As I said when I spoke at my formal vestiture at the White House last week, the prayers of so many people from around the country were a palpable and powerful force.
As long as I serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me.
I hope we’ll have the opportunity to meet personally at some point in the future. In the meantime, my entire family and I hope that you and the Focus on the Family staff know how much we appreciate all that you have done.
Sincerely Yours,
Samuel Alito
And better yet, audio of Dobson reading the letter on his radio show.
The Supreme Court is no longer about interpreting the constitution to make sure our laws comply with it and to oversee that the executive branch does its job in applying the law and the constitution. It's about bowing down to the Religous Right and setting itself up as some theocratic institution. It's about putting religion in government. It's about the end of what we thought was America, for all its good or ills.
"Oh, she's getting paranoid again."
Oh yeah? Go read up on the English Civil War. Google "Fifth Monarchists" It'll sound really damned familiar.
Oh, and when Alito and the rest are threw with tossing out Roe v. Wade, just wait until you see what they do to Griswald v. Conneticut.
posted by Mary, 1:00 PMI Suppose They Don't Believe in the Insanity Defense Down There
Because the woman is obviously nuts.
Via Corrente comes this disturbing story:
Woman shot self to induce an abortionA Suffolk woman who lost her unborn baby after suffering a bullet wound to the abdomen was arrested yesterday and charged with shooting herself to "illegally induce an abortion."
[snip]
Skinner turned herself in to police yesterday afternoon. She is charged with illegally inducing an abortion, a Class 4 felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. Authorities studied several possible charges against Skinner but decided not to charge her with murder because the fetus had not been born, George said.
Skinner also is charged with using a firearm in commission of a felony, along with a misdemeanor count of filing a false police report.
She remained in jail yesterday after failing to post a $15,000 bond, George said.
Pro-choice people do not believe in shooting yourself in order to "induce" an abortion. That's the whole point of being pro-choice: you go to a clinic or hospital and have a procedure.
So in charging this woman with attempting to have an illegal abortion, what is the state hoping to achieve? They want to discourage women from shooting their abdomens? Uh, yeah--sane women already object to that. What is this even about? The woman obviously needs psychological help, not jail time.
Or... is this just creating precedent for arresting women and charging them with murder if they procure an abortion? Think that's far-fetched? I don't know. The woman was hours from giving a doctor-induced birth. I don't know what could honestly make someone do this, but just arresting her doesn't solve the problem at hand.
posted by Mary, 2:40 PMBeing a language geek and a feminist, this comic is really damn funny.
posted by Mary, 11:10 AMOn the South Dakota Abortion Ban
Other, more eloquent bloggers are on this subject, but someone pointed something out that really disturbs me. Via Lawyers, Guns, and Money:
"In passing the bill, the Senate amended it to make it even more pro-life, adding a sentence to state that the due process clause of South Dakota's constitution 'applies equally to born and unborn human beings.'" If applied seriously, the absurd effects of this claim would be immediately manifest, starting with state micro-regulation of a woman's pregnancy. Every miscarriage would have to be the subject of a significant policy investigation.
Hear that, women? If they ever seriously tried to apply this law, your pregnancy is now monitored by the state. Lose your child, and you could go to court for at least manslaughter.
Got that warm and fuzzy feeling yet? Like the idea of a jury deciding on whether that miscarriage was an accident? Feel like less than a human being yet?
posted by Mary, 11:10 AMAll Your Wombs Are Belong To--Missouri?
Aw fuck, this isn't even funny anymore.
From the WaPo: Plan B Battles Embroil States:
Filling a void left by the Food and Drug Administration's inability to decide whether to make the "morning-after" pill available without a prescription, nearly every state is or soon will be wrestling with legislation that would expand or restrict access to the drug.[snip]
But some bills would make it more difficult for many women to get emergency contraception, which is effective for only 72 hours after a woman experiences a contraceptive failure or unprotected sex. Legislation in New Hampshire, for instance, would require parental notification before the drug is dispensed, and more than 20 other states will consider bills that give pharmacies the right not to stock the drug and pharmacists the right not to dispense it, even to women with valid prescriptions. [emphasis mine]
Lemme tell ya what happens when people have sex and the condom breaks. Fertilization takes up to 72 hours to occure--those sperm aren't exactly fast swimmers, and the woman's body is actually trained to fight them off. So when you take the morning after pill, you're not having an abortion, no matter what anyone says. You're just taking a birth control pill. And once the egg is fertilized, the pill isn't going to work. It can't abort the embryo. It can only prevent conception. There's no evidence that continued use of the pill after conception harms the fetus.
But then, that's exactly what people want. Children are the punishment for sex, according to these people, and children are the only reason for marriage to exist. (Not love, not committment, only children.) Especially the Catholic contingent, which is dead set against anything that prevents conception:
Other Plan B advocates have also pushed to require hospital emergency rooms to stock and dispense emergency contraceptives to sexual assault victims -- a proposal opposed by Catholic hospitals -- and to require pharmacies that carry traditional contraceptives to carry emergency contraceptives as well.
Mom, if you were wondering why I'm not having the wedding in a Catholic church, just read that sentence over again. Even if you are raped, you're not allowed to prevent the conception.
I'd like to think that women, even Republican women, would read about this and realize what a dangerous path these people want us to follow.
When you're not even allowed to prevent pregnancy, even if you've been raped, you are nothing but a vessel, an object for incubating future soldiers, future "Christians" (who know or understand little of what the bible actually says). You, women, are not even human.
Welcome to 500 BC.
posted by Mary, 9:30 AM