Paul Ryan on pregnancy from rape: "the method of conception doesn't change the definition of life."
Romney on "global tax havens."
The NY Times learns that Romney will get the nomination two days earlier than usual.
Norway's mass murderer Anders Breivik sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Lance Armstrong will be stripped of all of his Tour de France titles and winnings.
Searching for Richard III in a parking lot.
Yes, the whole "Call Me Maybe" thing is played out, but here's one worth watching:
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Didn't think anyone could top Harvard baseball, but that does.
Don't let them steal our election and don't let them buy it either. Please sign
my petition http://signon.org/sign/arrest-sheldon-adelson-2.fb20?source=c.fb&r_by=869292 to help our President fight one really nasty character who is bankrolling the Republican Campaign. See this video to understand why.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR5vBAJebHs&feature=share
Nah, THIS is the best Call Me Maybe cover: CoochWatch's "Hand's Off, Crazy."
Ryan decries the deficit, when his budget would not do anything about it at all.
The Call Me Maybe video actually made me cry, because I know every one of those soldiers is singing for a wife back home, or their kids, or their girlfriend, or their mom. In all this, they still want to make their loved ones smile.
It's also how you keep your sanity in an insane world.
I agree with Fran Simmons.
BRING THEM HOME!
Ryan is clear in his stance on abortion. He suggests that even in the case of rape the option to bear the child is with the woman. If she cooses pro life, that's where he stands with her. If she decides to abort, then he would not approve of her decision. That is empowering the woman none the less. If the woman believes that her child could be better being born, then what's your problem? Keep the government outta my womb, isn't that cry? In this politicians opinion it is still "life", that of an innocent human being. He has an exceptional stance on abortion. No restrictions.
What restrictions do pro abortion advocates provide? When it is wrong to complete an abortion? To this point & date, a woman can have an abortion right up to the moment the child is to be born. When is "too late in term, too late"? We already know people are selecting abortions by gender qualifications. Only a person living under a rock the last 10 years wouldn't know that fact.
That's Ryan's position on abortion and I agree with him. And I vote.
Come on. Ryan doesnt give a damn about women. He supports personhood. He would advocate putting a woman in jail if she even miscarried. If Ryan really cared about the woman bearing unwanted children then he should be for gutting all the social programs meant to help women in this situation.
Personhood begins when an egg and a sperm meet, and ends when the resulting human being falls below the US poverty line.
Since you use the same old tired argument, I'll use one. Everyone who feels that a zygote is a person needs to steps up and agree to adopt and fully finance that unwanted zygote to full adulthood. Mitt-ster could do a few thousand ...
A question I have for Ryan (et al) ... He has 3 kids, why not more? Should be about 1 for every year of marriage. Are they using a form of birth control other than Catholic endorsed rhythm? Shame sinner shame!
http://www.alternet.org/gender/i-was-raped-and-it-got-me-pregnant-what-akin-and-other-extremists-will-never-understand
You can't answer these questions:
until you can answer this one:
"How much control and power should a woman have over her own body?"
Autonomy isn't just one's body, it's control over the full spectrum of one's life. Consider the impact 9 months of pregnancy has on career, medical, social, and financial aspects of a woman's life, or the 18 years thereafter of raising the child.
Sure, we can isolate the topic of abortion from all the surrounding "before and after" considerations, and it becomes a black and white issue, no abortion. That is what these people are doing. They are deadly wrong.
Abortion is a symptom. It's a symptom of long failures that have occured well before the pregnancy took place. These anti-abortionists refuse to knowledge the whole picture and how much could be done to stop unwanted pregnancies before they are even started.
Long before every abortion is a lack of sex education in schools or at home. Long before every abortion is an unequal responsibility placed on males and females, with unequal consequences. Long before every abortion are kids growing up inundated by images of sex and love in our society without the comprehension to know the difference. Long before every abortion flows the angelic ideals of chastity and absinance, unencumbered by the more sensible realities of contraceptive knowledge and use. Now we have to work to silence this new holier-than-thou issue with health insurance covering contraception.
These are fixable failures that result in abortions. How about stop isolating abortion from it's "before and after" consequenses and start being proactive in preparing men and women for the sexual aspect of their well being with the proper information and level of responsibility. Perhaps then the symptom of abortion will diminish unto a cure, and women may keep the autonomy over their lives without being criminals for doing so.
The question was where the candidate, Ryan, stood on abortion in cases of rape. Why didn't Josh Simmons pursue him about where he stood on that issue when Ryan used non-answer verbiage to evade the question? Why did Simmons change the subject when he could have easily insisted on getting Ryan's views, not the latest MittRyan position morph? Simmons could have put H.R. 3 and H.R. 212 right in Ryan's face, but he changed the subject when Ryan signaled his discomfort with his evasion and his body language. THAT WAS THE TIME TO POUNCE.
When so-called journalists abdicate their constitutional responsibilities, they stop being journalists and become publicists. They do this so they're not denied further access to the candidate. Access as a toady isn't worth it, dammit! Get an interview, don't let candidate squirm away, stay on them, and do a story about how you were banned and why. A few stories like that will make politicians of all parties wary of trying to shape an interview or evade questions with nonsense.
Our constitutional form of government needs journalists to be journalists, not toadies.
You're comment, which I agree with 100%, is why I stopped watching the "interview" at 1:32. Simmons was so compliant with Ryan, it was gross to watch.
I think Ryan gave us his position in those ten words "the method of conception doesn't change the definition of life". His belief is Romney's belief, as stated in the GOP platform...NO exceptions....I still remember the Roe v Wade battle. During that time, I heard someone say "If men got pregnant, not only would abortions have always been legal, they would have always been free." To paraphrase our President "Men should not be making health care decisions on behalf of women."
If men got pregnant, not only would abortions be free, there would be a national holiday for abortion.
This video bothers me, but not because it features soldiers finding a way to relieve the awful grind of the war. Lord only knows that they have to find some way to deal with that situation.
What bothers me about it is that it found its way to this site. TRMS dedicates considerable airtime to, quite rightly, decrying how the US public has become "detached" from the actual fighting, from the realities of the two horrendous wars we've been engaged in for over a decade. Then this shows up. A video which turns the conflict in Afghanistan into a music video, complete with dancing soldiers blowing stuff up and firing rockets, all the while lip-synching to the latest pop tune. I'm a huge fan of the Maddow show. I support the troops who nobly fight our unjustified wars out of their sense of duty and honor. That said, I'm really disappointed in the editorial choice at TRMS to show this.
The decision is solely mine.
Yeah, I totally get that the soldiers are under incredible pressure over there and need to blow off some steam. If they had sent this video to their loved ones because they miss the good times with their families and friends, it's totally understandable. But to make this so public, when so many people have been and are still dying from this terrible, illegal war we're waging, I think is rather insensitive at best, and perhaps a bit offensive. Wartime is not a joke, and punditry should not espouse it as a joke. I'm also a very, very big Rachel fan, and I'm very sad to see this posted on Rachel's blog.
I feel (this is only my opinion) that as long as there's nothing depicted in the video that endangers any soldier (giving away locations, info, weaponry, etc.), then it's fine. Security concerns also include: Who uploaded it (was it one of the soldiers involved or a family member?), did any superiors vet this beforehand (if so, I'm assuming they okay'd it or it wasn't a concern, but will ultimately take full responsibility there's any fault).
Otherwise, placing myself in their shoes, war is hell, and this one is especially atrocious, but I'd want to give my family the "I'm still alive and we're doing the best we can here" sign.
Placing myself in a family members' shoes, I wouldn't upload it for security reasons, but I'd still be overjoyed to tears to see this. Then I'd tease them for the song.
My gosh - I love the idea that they were able to stop thinking about war long enough to put their act together. It's no different than playing football - quit making it so serious. I'm pretty sure they'd rather be home, but as long as they're not, give them a break and let them have fun!
I don't agree that using mortars or rockets in a music video is the same as playing football, but that's just my opinion. Like I said, I'm not against the concept of this, but using mortars and making it public delivers the wrong message about war in general, and more specifically about this illegal war that's been going on for over a decade.
Jan, I think you may have missed my point. I'm with you - I dig that they had the time and mental space to blow off some steam. My complaint isn't with the soldiers, or even their creativity. But let's not gloss over that these weapons ARE serious. They're not footballs or fireworks; they're instruments designed specifically to maim and kill. Firing them off to a catchy synth beat in a YouTube video does rather trivialize the point that they are (or could be) headed somewhere, and their intent isn't benign. If someone were pointing this weapon at you, I don't think you'd feel like they were about to toss a football your way. My point was that this gradual trivialization of war is exactly what TRMS, and Drift (to some extent), have been admonishing and so I was surprised and bothered to see it on this blog this morning.
Is anyone on the Rachael Maddow show researching who's funding the new propaganda film "2016"? I would imagine that the Koch brothers or someone of their brand is bankrolling this nonsense.
1. Reminds me of the Pa. Republican who, feeling comfortable among friends, admitted that Republican voter ID laws would deliver Pa. to Romney. Hubris sometimes leads to candor. The Caymans are a place where there are low tax havens, aren't they, Mitt?
2. The GOTP is using the burdens of regulation on small businesses as a justification to lift regulation on large businesses. The burden of regulation on small businesses is worth discussing. UNREGULATED BIG BUSINESSES WILL DEVOUR SMALL BUSINESSES, MANIPULATE MARKETS AND PRICES, PAY LITTLE OR NO TAXES, AND BUY ELECTED OFFICIALS, all the while extolling the "free" market" and funneling cash into religious extremists groups. Someone should make a "2016" counter-movie about this.
they win just for getting the locals involved.
Have any Republican women commented on this whole rape issue or are they being told to shut up and mind their own business?
I find Ryan's unchallenged, but now-standard statement about how Romney would "make policy" with regard to abortion rights to be very disturbing. Congress and the courts legislate on this issue.
I agree. I wonder if they think we are so stupid that we have no clue how the process works. Arrogant.
On the other hand, big business really is doing OK.
http://news.yahoo.com/mitt-romney-says-big-business-doing-fine-criticizing-021242777--abc-news-politics.html
Only thing is, coming from Rmoney, I don't know if this is hypocrisy or mendacity.
Big business is doing fine?!?!
Where is Mitt's outrage!?!?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Yqj3tvcQc#!
Oh... wait.
http://discovermagazine.com/2012/jul-aug/06-ice-age-flower-blooms-again
Why aren't you covering Gawker getting ahold of a bunch of Romney's tax docs?
From last night's episode:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/48773775#48773775
My bad. Without a TV I mostly go off the blog coverage and only watch select show videos.
No worries! No one person can possibly watch all the TV and read all the internet news.
I liked the video of the soldiers in Afghanistan. I do take issue with it however. My question is "Where are the women?" There are lots of women soldiers in Afghanistan, couldn't one be in the video? Especially when we are undergoing the controversial issues about women's health here at home. Obviously this unit can do what they want and present what they want. Though probably not their intent, this video implies/reinforces the notion that women soldiers are not serving in Afghanistan or doing the hard work of the military. As a vet who served during the first Gulf war, I have a real issue with that.
Re: Romney claim that he saved the Olympics. While there's evidence that there is some credibility with this statement, an interesting article in the Boston Globe dated Jul 24 2012 "Romney's 02 Olympics short on transparency" stating the claims to make all correspondence available to anyone who wants them didn't quite turn out that way. Romney said, just ask for them and you'll get them. Another "trust me" moment?
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/07/24/after_romney_pledged_transparent_olympics_key_documents_were_destroyed/
I think this spoof is worth watching too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2Jxw3Pw0yo0
Your tax dollars at work. If we can't get the Afghan people to like Americans and view them as people instead of soldiers, we could never get their cooperation in securing the country. Whatever it takes to bring them home sooner. Kudos to the boys for their creative composition.
So the cycling association is banning Lance Armstrong for life, taking away all his titles and stripping him of his winnings.
Can someone explain to me why Armstrong would send his winnings back to these @!$%#s?
Paul Ryans wants to deregulate coal and get rid of EPA so he can sham the american people like George Bush did for Ken Lay and Enron. Give us the CLEAN Solution Sir! What about funding education and technology to find new ways to solve our energy crisis??? This is american and we have the resourcefulness to come up with sustainable solutions to our future. We don't want to let the big companies have a free for all like the natural gas industry. Are we going to buy water from the Chinese after our water supply turns up contaminated in 10, 20, 50 years from shooting undisclosed chemicals into the ground by Hydraulic fracking??? No thank you Paul.... Strip women of their rights, no thank you Paul. INVEST in the U.S. ......Mr Ryan not like your running mate who invest in oversees banks. Is there anything wrong with this picture?
Ryan—"Much more harder."
He says it twice!
LOVE Call Me Maybe - Love that they took the time to put it together. Hope the next time they do it, they're home.
Kudos, Guys!!!!!