Sarah Silverman and Lizz Winstead break down the difference between corporations and people.
Two Monuments of War | Santa Cruz California | Lucerne Switzerland
I usually walk in a foreign city without destination in mind and view the sights freely. On one of these tours in Switzerland I chanced to cross a sign directing me to the Lion of Lucerne and a postcard with an image of the monument and this quote on the back.
“saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world”
–Mark Twain
Being nearby the sculpture, I decided to have a look. After seeing it, I know Twain’s statement contained no exaggeration. The Lion symbolizes the loss of the Swiss guards charged with defending the Royals during The Terror of the French Revolution. When the angry mob approached the castle, the sentinels were ordered by superiors to surrender their weapons as a gesture of goodwill to the crowd. They were then attacked and fought outnumbered and unarmed. The majority of them were slain without mercy.
Santa Cruz has a memorial: “Collateral Damage: A Reality of War,” dedicated to the innocent victims in all wars. The title seems to mock the euphemism that connotes those who were sacrificed to whatever cause. It reminds us that mere circumstance, not virtue, distinguishes us from these casualties of war.
Both of these pieces display tragic human misery. But the victims honored in Santa Cruz are anonymous, comparable to the people unknown to us that we pass in our daily lives, they receive little if any recognition. We would be wise to remember we are equally nameless in the eyes of those beyond our acquaintance.
Both sculptures are controversial. Monuments, like other art forms, have their origin in the mind. They can depict actual events. And as with any description, they can be flawed and can never contain all the facts. These works are not merely subjective they convey objective knowledge
Collateral Damage is universal in not being limited to a specific event of war. It symbolizes every occurrence of similar harm put upon innocent bystanders. In the vastness of the subject we might miss the point. As the word blue defines all shades we may forget the magnitude of the category when looking at one spot of color.
We have a unique piece of art in Santa Cruz. Why not create more signs directing visitors to its location in addition to various postcards depicting Collateral Damage? All who see value in this art should consider inviting guests to visit the sculpture. Let’s talk about how it impacts us. When going downtown, think about bringing a blossom and laying it at the foot of the statue in memory of all who have perished or carry the scars of war. Consider those who have yet to suffer this fate.
Santa Cruz’s remarkable sculpture, as with the Dying Lion of Lucerne, should be seen and it deserves to be treated with equal regard.
Delight in Beauty
Many important things should occupy our attention. Let’s also remember that human affection and beauty can be more than a means to some other end.
Conservatives and Black Market Abortion
Director of Water Scribe
We don’t have the power to stop abortion. However, the process of terminating a pregnancy illegally will be more dangerous for the working class or someone struggling financially than the wealthy. Abortion will always be accessible to the upper class who can afford to go wherever it’s done legally, even if they publicly profess anti-abortion sentiments.
Arguments opposing anti-abortion beliefs often fall short of changing minds. Clarifying the difference between a cluster of cells and a person hasn’t settled the question. The legal problems of equating a human being with all stages after conception (i.e. “Will a miscarriage become involuntary manslaughter?”) do little to dissuade those would deny access to abortion. Oppressively obliging a woman to change her whole life and become an incubator against her wishes due to an unwanted conception hardly makes some pro-life advocates blink even in the case of rape or incest. Those who believe murder and terminating a pregnancy to be equivalent should seriously consider how keeping abortion legal might bring about less death than would an actual abortion ban.
Comparatively, alcohol prohibition backfired in many unexpected ways and didn’t stop demand or consumption, but many people were poisoned by drinking liquor that was distilled improperly or contained other toxins. The history of deaths from illegal abortions provides a stronger reason to doubt restrictions advocated by many conservatives. Consider the Republican platform.
We call on the government to permanently ban all federal funding and subsidies for abortion and healthcare plans that include abortion coverage.
“Republican Mitt Romney favors limits on abortion, though he previously supported access to it. He says Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling establishing abortion rights, should be reversed, which would allow states to ban abortion.” Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan holds positions on abortion that are even more extreme. He considers rape just another “method of conception.“
Indeed the World Health Organization calls unsafe abortion “The Silent Pandemic.” Before abortions were legal in the USA, the difference in the estimates of illegal abortions can be explained by the lack of documentation that accompanies illegal actions.
“Estimates of the number of illegal abortions [in the USA] in the 1950s and 1960s ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year.”
As with alcohol the demand can invite a supply and again our past concerning abortion gives us reason to think this will happen. Modern drugs make abortion that much easier.
Laws against abortion force women to seek other solutions for unwanted pregnancy. Let’s not forget the problem that abortion solves. The Texas Tribune recently reported more women are crossing the border to get unregulated abortion drugs in Mexico, often without instruction on how to use these medicines properly.
We have no reason whatever to believe unwanted/unplanned pregnancies will cease. A determined female can end a pregnancy through any available means, Mexican pharmacies, mail order drugs, quack doctors or with her own hand using a hanger or household chemicals and internally inserting a hose. The consequence of such desperate actions can be dreadful. If one woman can reject a fetus without being discovered then that process can be multiplied any number of times. It bears repeating: black market abortions could end far more lives than legal practices currently do and the public would be oblivious. Why? Without access to legal abortion providers the results will be un-tracked and hidden. In other words, the consequences can be the opposite of the intentions of the Right to Life voters. Abortions might actually increase and the ways remaining to document the facts will be only incidents harmful or deadly that are publicly reported.
We should favor REALISTIC SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS, not wishful thinking that pretends they will go away by passing a law that doesn’t address the issue.
“After a decade of largely unrestricted access to abortion, the rate in Switzerland remains stable and is among the lowest in the world.”
Remember, keeping abortion legal and accessible allows us to focus on reducing the need for these procedures by all honest means. In this way, the freedom to access legal abortion works toward pro life advocacy in ways that the restriction can’t. Comprehensive healthcare for women spares the lives and suffering of women who would risk illicit abortion and also allows the public to know how many abortions are performed. This knowledge furthers the interests of those on both sides of the issue who wish to reduce the overall number of abortions and unwanted pregnancies as much as possible. These are solid reasons to vote against those who will restrict legal access to abortion.
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UPDATE: 10/27/2012
Planned Parenthood won a state court ruling blocking Texas from cutting off public funds to its clinics that don’t provide abortion services the day after a federal appeals court refused to hear a related dispute.
Judge Amy Clark Meachum in Austin issued a temporary restraining order hours after the organization sued the state yesterday to void a Texas law that cuts off public funding for affiliates of abortion providers.
Content Copyright 2012 © Vickers Publications.All Rights Reserved
Paul Ryan’s lack of Moral Compass and Compassion on Abortion
Romneys VP pick is a piece of work.
Paul Ryan said
Rape is a “method of conception.”
He said this in defense of his views on abortion with no exception for rape. The video linked to his pic ->
Leaving aside the trivial truism. I realize that thieving is a method of personal gain. That is not a reason to impose on the victims the cost of the police, trial and imprisonment of the perpetrator; in other words the aftermath.
Ryan’s moral compass is broken. If a woman is forced by the state to give birth to a rape child the insult to injury amounts to the rapist stealing about nine months at least, putting her body at more risk, lets not forget the cost, etc. There was no choice for a woman in the matter. Even more the emotional consequences of being seen in the culture as nothing more than an incubator once conception happens even by a rapist. It is women as a means to an end. Her biology is more important than her and her future and perhaps even her life itself may be forfeit because of falling prey to some rapist.
Now if you have not heard of this video make a point to share this disgrace of Ryan.
Here is
Vindictive Verdict for Victim-less Sex
and idealists who will not admit they are prude but will sentence a woman to five years for consensual sex with multiple adult males. Maybe she should loose her job for breaking a rule but not prison when no one got hurt. Not everyone fits in the bonsai pot of Texas ideology. Hypocrisy gives even stronger reason to question this judgment. How many strip clubs and prostitutes are in El Paso alone?
The Judge said the eighteen year old men suffered “psychological damage.” We live in a world where boys can stroke it to quite popular videos of group sex on the internet. In other words, watching professionals live out fantasies vicariously. But a woman having an opportunity coupled with a desire and the will to seek it for pleasures sake won’t be tolerated. I can’t help but wonder that this verdict is motivated by a desire to appear righteous aka vanity or else envy because this woman did what so many only dream about. It’s not difficult to see why there is so much internal strife around sexuality, particularly for women. Women can be despised if they like sex and if they don’t like sex; the ideals place them in an impossible situation.
We see similar group sex in primates too. The sexual biological drive is treated as the worst of sin. Some people have a bigger drive than others in the way that some horses can run faster than others and some trees are taller. Variation is nature’s trial and error.
Consider this, very few people are willing to admit they are prude.
“What gardener would be so insane as to put a water-loving plant on a sun-baked mound and scold its lust for water as a mortal sin?”
By Dora Russell – Hypatia 1927
If there are any groups supporting an appeal of this sentence? I would donate.
By Todd Vickers
Bodywork in Boulder Creek
Techies Beware the Mouse Attack
Posted on May 20, 2012 by easefulhands
Any overuse of the computer mouse can lead to a painful mouse attack. Graphic Artists are particularly prone to suffer from this problem. I have had good results working out these issues.
I’ve felt muscles tight like banjo strings from use of the mouse. This can result in numbness, inflammation, stiffness, pain in the neck and loss of grip or movement.
Mousing takes a toll on the the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, and neck of the side using the mouse. Repetitive fast movements of the hand and wrist work and all the way up to the neck.
Having an ergonomically designed workstation (easy body mechanics) can help but if you use a computer to make a living the mouse attack may be an ongoing problem. There is no reason to suffer if the problem can be corrected or at least improved.
Call me to set up an appointment, let’s get you some relief.