Mark Alexander
You're a bad man. You're a very bad man!
Irreverent, independent, and often snarky partnered married gay boomer and doggie dad who is tired of moral pontification by hypocritical conservative assholes and hate filled religious bigots.
Based on some recent incidents, let me reiterate: If you are the owner of a photo that appears on this site and wish it removed, you don't need to get all legal and send threatening letters and takedown notices; just email me with the photo's URL or leave a comment on the offending post and I will gladly remove it.
In other words…
Retirement
(That's actual number of calendar days. It's a whole lot less if you remove weekends and holidays. And even less than that if you calculate the actual number of days I have to come into the office!)
Republicans have claimed to be the party for "small government" with less intrusion of government in the personal lives of citizens. But they sure do seem to be doing a great job of finding ways to control citizens' lives! As THEY deem fit, by whatever measure. No abortions allowed. More hoops to jump through in order to vote, even if it might mean re-arranginging your life for one day to do it!
Abnd then there is the concept of "originalism", which means that many "rights" we have enjoyed for decades are suddenly taken awatery as they were not specifically listed in the original US Constitution. In the list of things that might have been decided incorrectly, did anybody notice that Justics Thomas did NOT mention "inter-racial marriage"? Which would affect him and his wife.
To me, it seems that the Originalism issue can fall under the wording "Life, LIberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness". As that specific wording can encompass the multitude of "rights" which have been approved by the Supreme Court of the United States of America, via litigation results.
IF "Pursuit of Happiness" means a female can have an abortion, so be it. If it means that two same-sex human beings desire to marry, so be it. If it means that two human beings of different races desire to marry, so be it. If it might mean a quick and easy way to securely vote in elections, so be it.
"Happiness" can be pursued as long as it does not physically harm another human being. Which means some limits on firearm sales, firearm ownership, and firearm use. Which means some limits upon many human bahaviors which might harm others (physically, mentally, or financially), unintentionally (i.e., vehicle speed limits, driving rules, etc.).
As far as abortion goes, I am PRO CHOICE. The ONLY people who should be involved ih that decision are: the Mother, her family, the father, and any applicable religious leader the mother might desire — period. NOT "The State". The GWBush administration understood the toll that an unwanted pregnancy could have on a mother's future progress and contributions to the society and national economy. But they also understood that preventing the pregnancy, in the first place, was the most cost-effective way to do that. Which generally meant advice/counciling by Planned Parenthood (or similar), plus free condoms and easy access to other birth control items.
It was proven that if the pregnancy was aborted, as it happened at the wrong time in the female's life, it could positively affect herself and her career path for many years. Which means more income and sales tax income. Rather than that same female being on state "assistance" instead.
But then it was also discovered the result of "bad choices" also could be involved. One female had 4 kids by 4 different fathers. She did put several up for adoption, though. So it was not that she did not know haw babies were made, just bad decisions in the heat of enjoyment.