I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Anonymous · July 2013

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the garden photo, Blue - that's ME sitting on the bench, sketchbook in hand.

Well, almost lunch time - I think I'll have unborn chickens for lunch.

RetiredLibby · July 2013

Heh heh heh, Sunny ... good one. That's why I used the term deliberately -- because it is so absurd. A blasocyst is not a baby. Nor is an embryo. And women aren't incubators ... except in Regressiveland.

Enjoy your unborn chickens. Maybe I'll have a pre-born chicken sandwich. Heh heh heh.

L

Anonymous · July 2013

Ooohh...preborn sounds good too.....I wonder if a preborn duck egg can quack? Isn't it interesting the questions we have when we're retired

I have always been mystified why anyone would think they had the right to tell another human being who happens to be a woman, that she HAD to continue to be an incubator when she did not CHOOSE to have a child and she chose NOT to continue to allow a fetus to live in HER BODY and we know it could NOT survive outside her incubator body. I believe the term for something which lives off another things is called a parasite? Anyhow, I'm fine with fetus. The TRAGEDY of why a doc in Philadelphia could treat women so badly, seems to be is that it was the ONLY PLACE A WOMAN COULD GO FOR HELP if she didn't want to be an incubator. Tragic. Tragic.

Safe. Legal. Rare. I still can support those words.

bluedahlia · July 2013

I had unborn chickens yesterday. Is tuna OK????

Anonymous · July 2013

no, tuna has too much mercury in it - try salmon...Costco has some delicious canned salmon, without additives, etc.

But, this makes me think about one of favorites - SHAD ROE...oh, my....so, so many preborn shad, so yummy sauteed with a little bacon... Connecticut River shad, of course....

Is there a difference between preborn and unborn...betcha someone will find one.

Bartender - we need a drink - and a toast to Out Athena, who hasn't been around in about a week - ROARING a hug filled greeting to our Lioness....

crazy4carrots · July 2013

Tampons Confiscated, Guns Still Allowed At Texas Capitol Ahead Of Abortion Vote

Last edited Fri Jul 12, 2013, 04:24 PM USA/ET - Edit history (2)

Source: Huffington Post

State troopers are confiscating tampons, maxi pads and other potential projectiles from those who are entering the Texas capitol to watch the debate and vote on a controversial anti-abortion bill. Guns, however, which are typically permitted in the state capitol, are still being allowed.

Several people tweeted that troopers were taking the objects before allowing entrance into the gallery:

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/12/tampons-confiscated-texas_n_3588177.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

RetiredLibby · July 2013

But they have to allow douches, because otherwise they wouldn't have a voting majority.

ananda8 · July 2013

Libby,

You made me snort my coffee....

RetiredLibby · July 2013

:-D

(sorry, can't use emoticons because I'm on the iPad).

L

QuinnCat · July 2013

They've lost it. Must be political dysmorphic disorder. They've gone so far to the extremist right, a tampon is more lethal than a gun? Oh, to watch this one live on tv. I suppose flying tampons might not be the look they want.

lassie11 · July 2013

How bizarre!! I think that's going past the extremist right to some sort of new dimension (provide your own adjectives).

QuinnCat · July 2013

Can watch this Texas debate/vote here:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/jul/12/live-streaming-video-texas-senate-track-pass-tough/

Anonymous · July 2013

LIBBY - you're THER BEST!!!! Wiping tea off my putah....

Kam - can't watch the Tx debate - I'd throw something at the screen!

thanks again, Blue, for ALL THE LOVELY GARDEN PICTURES....just love them. Where do you find them???

GatorGal · July 2013

Retired Libby, 😍 to add emoticon keyboard to the iPad, go to settings, then general, then keyboard, tap keyboards again, tap add keyboard, choose emoji. On your ipad touch keyboard you will now see an icon between the 123 icon and the microphone. Tap it and you will have the emoji touchscreen with all kinds of cool things to add to your posts! 😜I'm feeling kind of dorky, 😇I say yes thread, 👺the mirror thread, 👍like , 👎 dislike

Okay, out of ⌛, gotta catch some 💤's. Just touch the icon again to switch back to the regular keyboard. The icon looks like the earth with latitude and longitude lines drawn on it. Have fun! You can tell the rainy days ☔are getting to me!!

suzieq60 · July 2013

Ok, I'm done with cleaning - vacc'd downstairs and cleaned our ensuite - washed both bathroom floors - all that's left is to make up the beds for our visitors and clean the upstairs bathroom. Only a week until I see little Nicholas and a few more days after that until Mark and Alexander arrive - help toddler alert!!

I can't wait to see them both together.

Moderators · July 2013

Glenna, love your solution to adding emoticons when using an iPad! Passing it along to the team members who use iPads - thanks!

scuttlers · July 2013



RetiredLibby · July 2013

👍💋❤😃 THANK YOU, Glenna! I don't play around much with my tech, as you can see. This will add a whole new range of ... Heh heh heh ... To my posts!

😉

L

RetiredLibby · July 2013

Today's editorial from the NYT about food stamps. It is a complete outrage.

Missing: The Food Stamp Program

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Published: July 12, 2013

“We’ll get to that later.” That was the dismissive answer of Speaker John Boehner on Thursday, when asked if the House would restore the food stamp program it had just coldly ripped out of the farm bill. “Later,” he said, Republicans will deal with the nation’s most important anti-hunger program. “Later,” maybe, they will think about the needs of 47 million people who can’t afford adequate food, probably by cutting the average daily subsidy of $4.39.

But right then their priorities were clear, as a bare majority rushed to provide $195.6 billion over 10 years to Big Agriculture. Most of the money went to subsidies for crop insurance and commodities, demanded by the corn, rice and sugar barons who fill campaign coffers.

The choice made by the House in cutting apart the farm bill was one of the most brutal, even in the short history of the House’s domination by the Tea Party. Last month, the chamber failed to pass a farm bill that cut $20.5 billion from food stamps because that was still too generous for the most extreme Republican lawmakers. So, in the name of getting something — anything — done, Mr. Boehner decided to push through just the agriculture part of the bill.

For decades, farm subsidies and food stamps have been combined for simple reasons of political expediency. Farm-state lawmakers went along with food stamps to keep the crop subsidies flowing; urban lawmakers did the reverse. The coalition may have been an uneasy one, and it cost the taxpayers untold billions in wasteful payments to growers, but that was the price for helping the hungry.

As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has repeatedly showed, the food stamp program (now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) has long been one of the most effective and efficient anti-poverty programs ever devised. When counted as income, SNAP benefits cut extreme poverty nearly in half, a new study shows. Most families who get the aid have an adult who is working.

Now that coalition has been sundered, and the future of food stamps is threatened. If the program is not returned to the five-year farm bill, it will have to be financed through annual appropriations, which puts it at the mercy of the Republicans’ usual debt-ceiling stunts and government shutdown threats. House leaders said they would submit a food stamp bill “later,” but that will probably include the right wing’s savage cuts and unprecedented incentives for states to shut out poor families. Neither will get past the Senate or the White House.

The only way forward is for a Senate-House conference committee to restore the food stamp program to the farm bill (the Senate bill contains a far more modest $4 billion reduction in food stamps). Since compassion is no longer an incentive for the House, the threat of a cutoff to the big lobbyists will have to work, just as it always has.

------------------------------

And of course we know there are those hypocritical, sanctimonious poor excuses for "people" who show how empty their souls really are by smirking that the economy is getting better according to the gummint and why do we need to feed those lazy people anyway. And then there are the ones who (of course) love to twist the facts and claim that more people are receiving food stamps than are working, completely ignoring the large numbers of working people who receive food stamps because they make too little to survive without them, not to mention the fact that food aid comes in many forms. The true face of American hunger is the faces of those greedy, shallow people who would deny children decent, nutritious meals for political gain. It is an ugly face and it is unAmerican. It is not what this country should stand for.

Don't like it? Don't read here.

L

alexandria58 · July 2013

So the solution in TExas: women get your guns!

This is the legislation that I would like to propose. Texas should require universal genetic testing. All DNA information will be kept in a computer. Should anyone require a kidney, part of a liver, bone marrow, blood, in order to stay alive, the person with the DNA most closely matching is required to donate. There will be no exceptions for inconvenience, for health. the donor will not be compensated for time lost from work or school, the donor's medical costs will not be paid. If a donor pleads that this donation will cost his life, then a special medical board will be convened to weigh the medical evidence, and if not convinced, that person will still be forced to donate. Any refusal will be treated as a crime, and any refusal that results in the death of the person needing the donation will be treated as a murder.

Hey - I think I have the opening of a new novel. I'm on page 300 -once DD goes to Israel, I may actually have time to finish it.

IllinoisLady · July 2013

Hmmm, I had just intended to read, but so much is here. Un-born tuna sounds great to me. Was just talking on another thread about how much I craved it after starting up the other side of my chemo txs. Always amused ( I wanted it after every last one ) that I wanted to follow one poison with another one. Was I attempting to abort myself...guess we'll never know since it didn't work.

Found a piece from Add Info today that was interesting:

Here comes the fiscal cliff fight again, with the GOP ready to take the nation hostage in order to hurt the middle class for their corporate overseas masters…. but wait a second, instead of running a budget deficit, the federal government is running… a surplus!! Queue up the horrified GOP leadership, who just lost their one trump card. Rather than facing the debt crisis with the next election over a year away, thanks to these budget surpluses, now the GOP is faced with the real problem of having the debt ceiling fight turned into a midterm election issue.

The treasury is reporting that the federal government has run a budget surplus for the second month this year. And the latest month of budget surplus was almost double projections, making things look even rosier. Of course, Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal had to try to spin it in a negative light, demonstrating how out of touch he and his political puppets are with the real world.

And all while the electorate is already turning on them. Even traditional red meat issues have lost their punch. If the Republican civil war eliminates even more moderates from the party, they may no longer even have a national platform from which to work. The GOP’s ignoring of reality seems a move destined to put the Republican party into the dustbin of history. And themore unhinged members of their caucus will likely find themselves even more isolated, which in turn would increase the rate of party collapse. As a result, Senator Cruz of Texas has declared that unless the party changes, we will never see another Republican in the White House.

To give the GOP and their corporate masters even more indigestion, now reports show even more bright news for the federal deficit, with a budget surplus for the 2015 fiscal year a real possibility. Already, the Republicans have lost the abortion and gun debate. If the GOP fails to hold on to the House of Representatives and does not take over the Senate in the midterm elections, a solid recovery with a Democratic president and congress would make their chances in 2016 look very remote indeed

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/07/12/president-running-a-budget-surplus-gop-in-a-panic-as-they-witness-election-hopes-evaporate/#ixzz2YvsNVGB4

Watch out 2014 and 2016.....Repug party just keeps getting farther and farther out.........the stupidity knows no bounds it would seem. They appeaar so intent on digging a hole from which they will not be able to extricate themselves. Tch. Tch.

Margaret and Helen had another good piece....wonderful and mainly about the Texas women. You can count on a good day when they show up.

Jackie

Anonymous · July 2013

IT'S GLENNA'S FAULT - now I really have to get an IPAD

I'm on a MacPowerbook - but I'm getting more & more jealous of all the new bits on your toys. Bought my first Apple in 1989. Couldn't STAND that other platform with the F keys ( MSDOS) and my Apple SE 20 which was considered "portable" ( the mind boggles!) cuz it had sort of a handle on the top. When the 20mg hard drive crashed and I upgraded it to a 180 mg - I got the repair team to give me the old hard drive Makes a fabulous door stop, I still have it. It weighs about 2.25 pounds...about 2"x7" - and makes me smile when I look at it.

Meanwhile, I expect those little boxes you guys are putting in your posts mean something to other Ipaders

River_Rat · July 2013

Sunflowers, I hope your healing is going well. I still can't believe the doctor could do that in the office. And you are one brave woman.

I had my chemo port removed on Wednesday. The removal was done in the hospital, with twilight and I'm happy it was done that way. The thing had been buried in my little bitty upper chest muscle for over six years and it hurt like heck for the last couple of days. I can't imagine what having something larger dug out would feel like.

crazy4carrots · July 2013

Tampons don’t kill people. Republicans do.

by Helen Philpot

Margaret, last night there was a rally at the Texas State Capitol to let Rick Perry and the Republican controlled house and Senate know that Texas women have had enough of this backward ass war on women. And do you know what those crazy asshats did? They confiscated everyone's feminine hygiene napkins at the door. Now there is some good bullshit if you ask me.

As God as my witness, you could legally carry a concealed weapon into the Texas Capitol but you had to surrender your tampons. I can only assume the Texas legislators... I guess Rick Perry decided... The State Troopers.. You know what, Margaret? For the first time in my life I'm speechless. What in God's name has gotten into these yahoos?

If Rick Perry, a C minus college student, can be trusted with making his own healthcare decisions, why the hell can't my A+ college graduated daughter do the same? Pro-life my ass. Perry is about as pro-life as any governor who has presided over hundreds of executions. Which is to say Perry is about 250 executions short of being pro-life. And for the record, pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion. Being pro-choice means you trust women to make the right decisions for themselves and their families when it comes to healthcare.

And Rick Perry might not be running for governor again, but those two morons Abbott and Costello... I mean Abbott and Dewhurst are and they make Perry look almost sane. So this fight isn't over. I'm in this for the long run. Are you with me Wendy?

Texas women might have lost the battle but we sure as hell plan to win the war. And they can pry the tampon from my cold, dead hands. I mean it. Really.

Anonymous · July 2013

river rat - there is SO little sensation in that part of my body - after BLM, and I hardly felt the little injections of lidocaine ( kinda like when you get novacaine at the dentist, feel it more when the needle is wiggling around) - and I was SO eager to have it be as minimal a procedure as possible. I've had SO much surgery in my life, I really do try to avoid hospitals - both emotionally, and financially - always a chance of being charged for some weirdo thing. Really, wasn't brave - so COMPLETELY trust my PS - she is a trooper, just wonderful. In her "spare" time she has gone to less developed countries to give free treatments, esp. for infants with clef plattes, very special woman.

Hope you NEVER, NEVAH ( near Boston) need that $%#$#%$ port again. Sorry procedure was stressful, but you must feel SO good with it gone.

Something wonderful to watch & listen, just enchanting -http://www.wwlp.com/dpps/entertainment/must_see_video/beluga-whales-enjoy-undersea-symphony-nd13_6389700

River_Rat · July 2013

Sunflowers, nice link. If you run into follow-ups as they expand their project please post.

Belinda44 · July 2013

Happy Saturday to all!

Blue, love the Jimmy Carter quote you posted. So true!

Glenna, good news on being "stable!"

Libby, love all the articles/links you've been posting. Great reading.

RiverRat, congrats on the port removal.

Sunflowers, so glad your procedure went well and that you are feeling more comfortable.

Athena, hope you are getting good treatment and are taking it easy. Hope you've been able to follow the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week. One of our favs.......Chanel!

http://www.vogue.it/en/shows/show/chanel

Belinda44 · July 2013

"The GOP’s Abortion Obsession"

"Despite the Republicans’ election-season flub with female voters, the party’s radical fringe is as focused as ever on overturning Roe V. Wade, says Michelle Goldberg."

"......Since then, the House of Representatives passed a bill banning abortion at 20 weeks, with no exception for severe fetal anomalies—anomalies that are often not detectable before 20 weeks. There’s been an explosion of anti-abortion legislation in the states, including a ban on abortion as early as 6 weeks in North Dakota. Ohio passed a budget bill defunding Planned Parenthood and imposing stringent new requirements that could close a third of the state’s abortion clinics. Despite Wendy Davis’s valiant, star-making stand in Texas, Republicans are close to ramming through legislation that will shutter most abortion clinics in that state. Late Tuesday night, North Carolina Republicans added anti-abortion regulations to a bill meant to prohibit Sharia law. If passed, it will leave only one clinic standing. Meanwhile, the Weekly Standard reports that Mark Rubio will spearhead a Senate version of the House’s 20-week abortion ban.

Far from retreating from abortion politics, then, the Republican Party is more energized about the issue than ever. According to Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List, 2013 is on track to look a lot like 2011, when states passed a record 92 provisions restricting abortion. “The surge on the state level has not abated,” she says......"

Full article:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/07/05/the-gop-s-abortion-obsession.html