Remember Tay Zonday? He’s back, and he understands economics.
In Closing: Autopsy; Castro; Google thinks I’m a dude too (clearly I need to search more for shoes and makeup); Just for fun, read the first paragraph to somebody before telling them it’s Bob Dole; Because surely her hair is more important than anything else; Okay, maybe that’s a problem; and have a great weekend.
When abortion is illegal, women die.
It is that simple.
Making abortion illegal doesn’t prevent abortions. Women of means will always find a way to get them. Poor women will pursue questionable methods and many of them will die.
Think there are too many abortions?
Then work towards preventing rape. Work towards making sure women have access to reliable methods of contraception. Make our economy and society better, so women feel more comfortable bringing children into our world. Support research to prevent birth defects.
That is all.
Since most of your favorite sites may be down tomorrow, here’s some things to keep you busy.
Be Grateful to Your Wall Street Overlords.
Cop or Soldier? Take the quiz. I didn’t do very well.
Dog Shames Shelter into Accepting Dogs.
And Modern Neanderthals Victorians Puritans Witch-Burning Hypocrites Slut-Shaming.
I present 3 items that should make you say “Seriously??”
Reuters even adds “seriously” when they point out that Stephen Colbert is leading Jon Hunstman in South Carolina polls. They want to make sure you understand that Reuters is not prone to printing jokes.
The New York Times on the other hand, maybe. One of their editors actually wondered in print if readers wanted journalists to call people out on false statements. Seriously?? Well, normally one reads the news to find out what is happening, and that implies a certain level of truth. How silly of me to think that fact checking was part of the job. Makes me glad I don’t give the NYT a dime for their content. I also don’t read it.
And for our last brain-bender, someone wants Mitt Romney to release his tax returns and substantiate a claim he made in public that he created 100,000 jobs while working at Bain Capital. That’s reasonable enough, right? The weird part is that this demand did not come from the left or any Democrat, and these days I must say not even from one of the people running against him for the Republican nomination. Nope: this came from Sarah Palin. Seriously??
In Closing: yes; check your settings; it still stinks; and not-quite-immaculate conception.
I’ve ranted about the primaries before, and the only improvement this time around is that the Democrats already have a candidate.
So today, as CNN points out, the Iowa Caucus kicks off the official election season despite the fact that the candidates have been campaigning for 6 months, spending millions of dollars and having 13 debates. Just think how much more money will be spent and how much more of your time wasted before November! One is forced to wonder if that money couldn’t have been better spent by cash-strapped local governments, and all those debates cancelled in favor of letting news crews talk about issues that matter to you and I — say, housing unemployment, the anemic economy, banking reform, schools, the War On Terror, the War On Drugs, the War On Nouns, the aqueducts — but I digress.
Most “experts” treat Iowa as something important: a barometer of American political thought. It is, in fact, meaningless. A limited number of [almost exclusively white and Protestant] voters who have the luxury of wasting most of their evening picking delegates does not represent national consensus in any meaningful way whatsoever.
The nicest thing I can say about it is that it will be over in the morning. Some pundits will still blather on about it meaning something. Hopefully one or more candidates will pack up his (or her, oh please her) toys and go home.
In closing: this civil forfeiture thing is out of control; the Alabama Gap; and Whiskey Fungus.
One thing that happens every January like clockwork is a whole bunch of new laws go into effect, and this year is no exception.
California has decided that kids must be kept in child safety booster seats — in the back seat, of course — until they are 8 years old or 4’9″ tall. If these child safety laws get any sillier, I may have to figure out how to drive from a booster in the back seat.
Was there any science whatsoever behind this law? Perhaps more to the point, any science that wasn’t produced by a manufacturer of children’s car seats? How many “lives” will this save, really? Is there any reason that a 4’9″ 7 year old is less safe than a fully grown 4’9″ woman? And who exactly are these 4’9″ second graders? If California seriously thinks there is a problem with car seat safety for young people under 4’9″, then just maybe they should send some California Department of Transportation officials to Detroit to ask for better safety from the seat and seatbelt already securely mounted in the car. Perhaps those same officials could talk to the guys in Washington DC that make the regulations.
Nope, it’s easier to make people buy a cheap piece of plastic and mount it in the back seat, lest they receive a $475 fine.
And that brings me to the other interesting observation about this law: it will be enforced disproportionately against those who can least afford it. It will be used as a tool to harass immigrants and people of color and women the cops don’t like. After all, some Rich B**** in a minivan has the money to buy the car seat, and the means to hire a lawyer to contest the ticket. In short, she will be a pain in the @$$ if she gets pulled over!
Bet it can’t be enforced on school buses or public transportation.
In Closing: on Religious Law; unemployment is no vacation; one more person tells me how “Liberal” the President is and I may lose it; scroll down to the revised jobs chart; free stuff; the downside is they will know where you live; and for those of you with weight/fitness New Years Resolutions, an entire community’s wisdom in one infographic.