http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2013/01/29/the-anti-discrimination-and-mindy-mcready-open-line Comments On: The anti-discrimination and Mindy McReady open line by Max Brantley en-us Copyright 2013 Arkansas Times. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Arkansas Times readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Arkansas Times. robert@arktimes.com (Arkansas Times Webmaster) Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:01 -0500 Tue, 21 May 2013 04:30:00 -0500 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee (15 October 1747 – 5 January 1813) was a Scottish lawyer, writer, and professor. Tytler was also a historian, and he noted, "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy."

http://thedailyhatch.org/2013/01/30/founde…
Posted by SalineRepublican]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:15:45 -0600 Arkansas Times
The legislators have to do something to justify all that per diem and mileage allowance they are rolling up trying to rewrite those commandments . . . including the unwritten one, "We're elected Republicans and therefore everything we do is legal, even if we tried to indict, impeach and draw and quarter our Democrat predecessors for doing the same thing before . . . after all, we are Republicans!!!"
At least they ended up with the correct color to mark their political shenanigans, for "after all" they are the party of maroons! IMO
Not that azures are much better these days!
Posted by dottholliday]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:56:46 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by IMHO]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:42:11 -0600 Arkansas Times
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leav…

All those citizens in all of those countries "takers"?
Posted by imjustsaying]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:49:57 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by SalineRepublican]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:12:31 -0600 Arkansas Times
“Norma you bring up the issue of rape and then you state . . . .“

That’s a lie.

I didn’t bring up rape. I quoted excerpts from an article about REPUBLICANS bringing up rape, in yet another of their limited arsenal of attempts to distract us from what this issue is REALLY about: namely, controlling women per the dictates of evangelical religious dogma.

You’re either too stupid or too obtuse to notice the difference, Saline, so you lie.

“It really does get back to this issue of when life begins doesn't it.”

No, Saline, it really doesn’t. That just you lying AGAIN, determined to sidetrack everybody from the truth. Which is that you believe you know better than women and our physicians about our medical and reproductive care, based on your evangelical religious dogma.

Because your cut-and-paste mentality never learned to THINK, you assume others will be as impressed as you are with “citations” and quotations from people whose opinions are equally irrelevant to the issue of women’s freedom and self-determination, instead of recognizing them as misdirection from what you (and "pro-lifers") are REALLY saying.

“One does not obviate the real pain of rape or incest by compounding it with the murder of an innocent preborn child.”

That’s another lie. Like Mike Huckabee citing David Barton as an “historian.” You’re both liars.

Abortion is not murder. Abortion is not homicide. Much as your side relentlessly seeks laws defining it as murder, it isn’t. Murder and homicide are legally (rightly) punishable with criminal sentencing that fits the crime. So far, rational legislators and the majority of people recognize the difference.

As everybody knows by now, some 60% of pregnancies end in early spontaneous abortions, many with the woman never realizing she is pregnant. Acts of God, to you. Natural biology to the rest of us. These are zygotes, not “babies” or “children.”

“The very thing that makes rape evil also makes abortion evil.”

ANOTHER lie. MORE false equivalence, adding the inevitable religious element (“evil”). Rape is an act of violence: an assault. Satan has nothing to do with it.

“In both cases, an innocent human being is brutally dehumanized. The real question that must be answered is whether or not preborn children are indeed fully human.”

Still MORE lies. A zygote or fetus is not “an innocent human being” or a child. That redefinition of reality is just another attempt to pour hypocritical sentiment over the issue to distract from what’s REALLY going on. It’s the same utter illogic and insulting presumption of stupidity on others’ parts that pervades all evangelical fervor.

And the "innocent human being" being "brutally dehumanized" is women. Not their maybe baby.

Since all you offer, all you CAN offer, are lies, distractions, impressionability and stupidity (and you know it), your next tack (in your idiotic serial “address” to eLwood and Mountaingirl) is to pummel bloggers with length, verbosity and more cut-and-paste irrelevant name-dropping of your cherry-picked “authorities.”

You operate under the mistaken notion that quoting and paraphrasing others’ supposed intelligence, no matter how disconnected to matters at hand, will somehow rub off on you to make you seem informed, much less smart.

To those who know how to think, it merely reinforces your raging stupidity and desperate need for attention. (“You haven’t answered my question!”)

Size, to you, apparently matters. As it does to certain kinds of men.

But AGAIN it’s all lies because NONE of it addresses what’s actually at stake: your ugly, misogynist presumption that you (and those like you) are better qualified than women themselves and our physicians to determine our reproductive and health care procedures.

Which is your biggest, stupidest, ugliest lie of all.
Posted by Norma Bates]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:47:20 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by mrprincipal07]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:25:08 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by mrprincipal07]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:20:26 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by mrprincipal07]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:12:41 -0600 Arkansas Times
Frank Beckwith has noted, "...we must ask whether or not the unborn entity is fully human, for hardship does not justify homicide. In such cases, those in the religious and charitable communities should help lend financial and emotional support to the family. And it may be wise — if it is a case of extreme hardship — for the woman to put her baby up for adoption, so that she may give to others the gift of parenthood."

Baylor University philosopher and bioethicist Baruch Brody comments:

In an age where we doubt the justice of capital punishment even for very dangerous criminals, killing a fetus who has not done any harm, to avoid a future problem it may pose, seems totally unjust. There are indeed many social problems that could be erased simply by destroying those persons who constitute or cause them, but that is a solution repugnant to the values of society itself. In short, then, if the fetus is a human being, the appeal to its being unwanted justifies no abortions.
___________
If you do think that by voting free healthcare and welfare for everyone then you will end up like Greece. The founding fathers knew this and warned against it. I do think that Milton Friedman makes a very convincing argument that if government stays out of the way then the free market will create the kind of wealth that it did in Europe and the USA for many decades. http://thedailyhatch.org/2013/01/30/taking…
Posted by SalineRepublican]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:10:55 -0600 Arkansas Times ELWOOD ASKED:

Does a fetus deserve to have a host who's well fed, clothed, fed and has a secure, clean home and sufficient medical care at all stages of the "unborn person's" life regardless of ability to pay?


Next MOUNTAINGIRL ASSERTED:
It seems that humans now fall into two categories: the unborn person, and the born person.

I have asked many times before and continue to wonder: why is there a fanatical obsession with protecting the "unborn" person, but once it is born, an equal obsession by the same people with cutting off all services(food, shelter, heath care, etc.) to provide for a stable and healthy environment for that "born" person to thrive.

There appears to be a much higher premium on the unborn person than the born person.

I might understand this a little better if the people fighting so hard to bring these unwanted unborn persons into the world were fighting equally as hard to provide for their needs once they are born.

__________

A simple answer to Elwood's question is not possible but I can answer it with two comments. I do think they can achieve those things better if the society if more free economically. This would cause more economic growth and we would cut down on poverty. I don't think the government should mandate that everyone has free healthcare. Your answer is more government poverty programs.

Peter Kirsanow of the National Review wrote on Jan 28, 2013:

The War on Poverty. $15,000,000,000,000 has been spent by the federal and state governments on 122 separate welfare programs since 1964, according to a Cato analysis. The poverty rate in 1964 was 19 percent and falling. Nearly 50 years later, the rate is still more than 15 percent and climbing. What difference, at this point, does trillions in welfare spending make?

_________

I think that both Elwood and Mountaingirl are guilty of believing that our country should be going after "equality of outcome." My suggestion is they take 30 minutes and watch the Free to Choose Episode "Created Equal" by Milton Friedman. http://thedailyhatch.org/2012/04/27/milton…
The program notes:
In this program, Milton Friedman visits India, the U.S., and Britain, examining the question of equality. He points out that our society traditionally has embraced two kinds of equality: equality before God and equality of opportunity. The first of these implies that human beings enjoy a certain dignity simply because they are members of the human community. The second suggests societies should allow the talents and inclinations of individuals to unfold, free from arbitrary barriers. Both of these concepts of equality are consistent with the goal of personal freedom.

In recent years, there has been growing support for a third type of equality, which Dr. Friedman calls “equality of outcome.” This concept of equality assumes that justice demands a more equal distribution of the economic fruits of society. While admitting the good intentions of those supporting the idea of equality of outcome, Dr. Friedman points out that government policies undertaken in support of this objective are inconsistent with the ideal of personal freedom. Advocates of equality of outcome typically argue that consumers must be protected by government from the insensitivities of the free market place.

Dr. Friedman demonstrates that in countries where governments have pursued the goal of equality of outcome, the differences in wealth and well being between the top and the bottom are actually much greater than in countries that have relied on free markets to coordinate economic activity. Indeed, says Dr. Friedman, it is the ordinary citizen who benefits most from the free market system. Dr. Friedman concludes that any society that puts equality ahead of freedom will end up with neither. But the society that puts freedom before equality will end up with both greater freedom and great equality.
Posted by SalineRepublican]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:45:25 -0600 Arkansas Times
It really does get back to this issue of when life begins doesn't it. Now I am not one of those who will try and say that ladies can't have this problem, because it obviously does happen. In fact, I would like to support candidates that hold to exception for rape even though I do not hold that position personally.

Hank Hanegraaff noted:
It is important to note that the incidence of pregnancy as a result of rape is extremely small (one study put it at 0.6 percent).17 As philosopher Francis Beckwith astutely points out, “To argue for abortion on demand from the hard cases of rape and incest is like trying to argue for the elimination of traffic laws from the fact that one might have to violate some of them in rare instances, such as when one’s spouse or child needs to be rushed to the hospital.”18 If we had legislation restricting abortion for all reasons other than rape or incest, we would save the vast majority of the 1.8 million preborn babies who die annually in America through abortion.

Furthermore, one does not obviate the real pain of rape or incest by compounding it with the murder of an innocent preborn child; two wrongs obviously do not make a right. The very thing that makes rape evil also makes abortion evil. In both cases, an innocent human being is brutally dehumanized. The real question that must be answered is whether or not preborn children are indeed fully human.
http://thedailyhatch.org/2012/05/27/hank-h…
Posted by SalineRepublican]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 07:59:14 -0600 Arkansas Times
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4…
Posted by eLwood]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 01:05:22 -0600 Arkansas Times
BENTONVILLE — A Rogers teen was placed on 10 years of state-supervised probation for his role in a series of drive-by blow dart and paintball shootings in Rogers last year.

William Goines, 17, pleaded guilty Monday to three counts of battery in the second degree, a Class D felony; and two counts of second-degree assault, a Class B misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty under an agreement his attorney, Ed McClure, reached with Carrie Dobbs, deputy prosecutor.

Goines was charged as an adult. Goines and Jeremy Robert Hendrix, 18, were arrested in October in connection with a series of blow dart and paintball shootings that happened in September.
.....
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2013/jan/29/…
Posted by eLwood]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:21:42 -0600 Arkansas Times
HOW ugly are conservatives?

HOW ugly is the GOP?

These excerpts characterize EVERY Arkansas Republican of whom one is aware, and several Arkansas Democrats (perhaps the majority) too.

"Doing what Republicans do when caught being too openly hostile towards victims of gender-based violence, and backtracking."

"Specifically trying to ban abortion for rape victims. . . . wants . . . a state where any man can decide at any point in time to forcibly impregnate a woman, and that woman is barred legally from doing anything about it."

"What’s becoming clear is that as the Republican Party moves to the right, the official bipartisan stance against violence against women is being abandoned."

"The base is, not to put too fine a point on it, more sympathetic to perpetuators of much violence against women than victims of it. For instance, right wing media has basically always opposed the Violence Against Women Act. The objections have centered around the bullshit claim that victims are liars, though in many cases, the argument has been that the government’s approach to domestic violence is to try encourage victims of batterers to stay with their abusers."

"The hardline sexist view of rape and domestic violence is gaining credence on the right. You see it with 'legitimate rape' and all the various attempts by House Republicans to define rape only as 'forcible' rape."

"The hardline conservative base is blatantly misogynist and happy to do things like blame women for men hitting them, or claim that men are entitled to rape women who agree to unchaperoned dates with them."

"Nowadays the conservative base is tired of pretending to be more moderate than they are in order to help Republicans get elected. They’re expanding the battle of reproductive rights to attack contraception."

"Deeply ugly attitudes about rape and domestic violence are no longer . . . uttered only behind closed doors, but are now coming out of the mouths of politicians and being turned into policy. Make no mistake; looking to pass laws banning rape victims specifically from aborting is part of this bigger picture."

THOSE are the ugly misogynist anti-women's-freedom truths behind the hypocritical "pro-life" misdirection of trying to argue "when does life begin." That's not what they're about at all.

They're determined to dominate, bully and control women.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/29/caug…
Posted by Norma Bates]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:21:07 -0600 Arkansas Times
Here is an amazing young man in L.A. (could it have been anywhere else?) named Devon Yaffe whose high school senior project was a 90-minute documentary on coming-out stories of ten men from age 15 to 82.

Devon knew everyone in the documentary personally except the two eldest men, whom he met down the street from his school at a Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing center.

I don't know.

Nobody is born hating. They have to be taught. Too bad generation after generation of young people must grow up in environments like yours, where churches indoctrinate them with ignorance, superstition and hate from pre-K on.

And you wonder why The Natural State's still one of the bottom three rungs on the ladder.

Until enough of you speak up and speak out (for women's freedom too), nothing there will ever change.

Writes Devon:

"When given the guidelines, I decided to do more than just a high school project. I wanted to take this beyond high school and into the world. I felt so strongly about my project that there was no turning back and that deep down I knew this was going to be something life changing.

"During the process of this project my world had been changed, as my eyes were opened to a community in which I regretfully wasn't active. Now, after learning so much about this incredible world, I feel I would love to be involved with the community and possibly become a gay rights activist.

"I am proud of my project and feel that I did, in fact, do it justice. I explored unknown territory for many gay teens. I hope that gay youth all over can see what I have created and be inspired to add their voice to the community. I feel I have created one of the best kinds of documentaries there is: the true life testimony of those who have grown up gay in a heterosexual world."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe…

Wow. Just wow.
Posted by Norma Bates]]> Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:52:52 -0600 Arkansas Times
And Saleen/Ev, the damage is between your ears.
Posted by Sound Policy]]> Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:38:24 -0600 Arkansas Times
I KNOW you're worried about your future. And yes, prayer can't hurt. But as you know, it can't help either. Look at Sarah Palin. You know as well as I do that when things work out you say it's prayer and when they don't it's God Has Other Plans.

But it's all just luck.

Which is why I want you to be prepared. Because this is right around the corner and you CAN'T keep packing on poundage and waiting for QVC to call so you can hawk personally-blessed replica Holy Land relics or those blasted Chia Jesuses you once brainstormed. You've got a mortgage.

It's Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC with a requiem for your erstwhile POTUS co-contender The Alaskan Dodo and better to stare Destiny in the face.

Bay Buchanan went online to get her real estate license. Could you maybe start a string of Chik-fil-A joints along the coast before the sea level swamps your dreams and you and Janet wind up in a garage apartment behind Chuck Norris' place in Dallas?

My thoughts and prayers are with you, as always.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45755883/ns/msnb…
Posted by Norma Bates]]> Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:31:33 -0600 Arkansas Times
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/01/29/hi…
Posted by NeverVoteRepublican]]> Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:21:46 -0600 Arkansas Times
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MO_…
Posted by Vanessa]]> Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:18:16 -0600 Arkansas Times
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-arch…
Posted by NeverVoteRepublican]]> Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:15:41 -0600 Arkansas Times
http://tinyurl.com/b2xhep6
Posted by Cato]]> Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:52:49 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by mountaingirl]]> Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:43:50 -0600 Arkansas Times
http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blo…
Posted by NeverVoteRepublican]]> Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:26:10 -0600 Arkansas Times http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412…
Posted by radical centrist]]> Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:26:07 -0600 Arkansas Times