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

Anonymous

I haven't posted here in a long time and I now know why.  I'm reading SOME of page 249 and one post from 250 and I'm just done with reading the crap.  Why are you so down on the Palins?  So, you think that Bristol should not be speaking against having sex before marriage?  And what it's like to be a teen mom and I'm sure she gets plenty of help.  And loving support.  Not all teen moms are that fortunate.  Why do you women hate the Palins so?

Has anyone watched the MTV show about teens being pregnant?  It's disgusting.  You think young women see Bristol getting rich because of her situation in life.  It's not her fault her mom was in the spotlight.  These gals on MTV are making $65,000 per season and that's a lot for a teen.  Do you not think teens make think they could make money getting pregnant and then be part of MTV?  I doubt very seriously that many young teens are watching Bristol Palin.  I don't believe she would be their type.

You ladies continue having fun ragging on a gal that was put out there.  Like I said, I didn't read all the post and have no idea what this charity is about that you are talking about.  Continue having fun ragging on people who have nothing to do with this government's mess.

208sandy

Shirley - if you find everything on this thread so upsetting why bother reading it and why bother posting.

Alpal

You don't think teens watch "Dancing with the Stars" and wish they could be on that show??

Shrek4

Unfortunately, she's one of those women that even I say, her place is in the kitchen. Definitely not in the Congress. Say Michele Bachmann and flush.

konakat

Bristol should be talking about birth control since she has shown that abstinence obviously doesn't work for some teens.

BarbaraA

Shirley, I do not hate Bristol or Sarah. I was just upset that the foundation Bristol chose to work for is really a scam designed to enrich the officers rather than a legitimate foundation. I feel she should have done some research before taking the money.

River_Rat

Shirley, somebody did mention the teen mom show as being disgusting.  I guess I am culturally deficient as I didn't even know such a show existed so I can't comment other than to say I find the premise disgusting.  I also find Bristol Palin being highly paid to promote abstinence to present an unrealistic picture of teen pregnancy and motherhood.  It doesn't sound like there is much good in either of these presentations.  BTW, I don't hate Bristol, I feel sorry for kids of the famous, including the Obama children.

Bren-2007

I'm with Barbara and River Rat on this one.  I also agree with KK .. why doesn't Bristol promote something useful, like birth control along with abstinence.  I take issue with her charity, not the fact that she's made a bucket of money for being an unwed mother.

Day .. got a chuckle out of your Bachmann comment.

Bren

bluedahlia

I don't like the Palins.  They are insincere and looking to make a fast buck.  Hope that answered why I don't like them.  There's lots of people you don't like....right?

Enjoyful

Lassie -

Your idea to raise taxes on the wealthiest smacks of punishing the top earners in the country, the ones who work the hardest.  It's also socialist to redistribute income, don't you know that?

It's a much better idea to cut social programs and punish the poor and the sick.   Serves 'em right for being poor and sick.  All they have to do is get healthy and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.  Sheesh.

Enjoyful

Oh wait, I have an idea.  Let's tax the middle class and lower a flat 15% income tax but not allow any deductions for mortgage interest, etc., and certainly no tax credits!  That would just be a reward for bad behavior.  THEN, we could exempt the top 5% from paying anything!  Reward them for their good behavior since their humongous salaries just aren't enough of a reward!

As far as social programs go, do away with social security, medicaid, medicare, family aid, children's health, public school lunches, etc.  It's survival of the fittest out there and it's about time those low-level slackers realize it.

bluedahlia

You got it E.  Complain about abortion and then once those babies are born, let them go hungry.  That's the TeeParty way!  Doesn't that make sense?

Enjoyful

How else will they experience the consequences of their actions?  Let's take it out on the babies!

AnnNYC

sat-ire (str) noun

A text or performance that uses irony, derision, or wit to expose or attack human vice, foolishness, or stupidity. Verb: satirize. Adjective: satiric or satirical.

One of the best known satirical works in English is Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal (1729).

Enjoyful

Thank you, Ann.  Sad that you have to spell it out.

208sandy

Enjoyful:

In honour of your postings today I am making you an honourary Canadian!

Sandy

Anonymous

Brain Areas Differ According to Politics

Friday, April 8, 2011 8:28 AM

Everyone knows that liberals and conservatives butt heads when it comes to world views, but scientists have now shown that their brains are actually built differently.

Liberals have more gray matter in a part of the brain associated with understanding complexity, while the conservative brain is bigger in the section related to processing fear, said the study on Thursday in Current Biology.

"We found that greater liberalism was associated with increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas greater conservatism was associated with increased volume of the right amygdala," the study said.

Other research has shown greater brain activity in those areas, according to which political views a person holds, but this is the first study to show a physical difference in size in the same regions.

"Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual's political orientation," said Ryota Kanai of the University College London, where the research took place.

"Our study now links such personality traits with specific brain structure."

The study was based on 90 "healthy young adults" who reported their political views on a scale of one to five from very liberal to very conservative, then agreed to have their brains scanned.

People with a large amygdala are "more sensitive to disgust" and tend to "respond to threatening situations with more aggression than do liberals and are more sensitive to threatening facial expressions," the study said.

Liberals are linked to larger anterior cingulate cortexes, a region that "monitor(s) uncertainty and conflicts," it said.

"Thus, it is conceivable that individuals with a larger ACC have a higher capacity to tolerate uncertainty and conflicts, allowing them to accept more liberal views."

It remains unclear whether the structural differences cause the divergence in political views, or are the effect of them.

But the central issue in determining political views appears to revolve around fear and how it affects a person.

"Our findings are consistent with the proposal that political orientation is associated with psychological processes for managing fear and uncertainty," the study said.

Copyright AFP

covertanjou

Laura, ROFL!  Thank you for the laugh!  This is satire, right?

You do realize that "scientists" used to say the same thing about women, right?  Victorian scientists believed this too; hence, the reason why women could not vote, keep their money upon marriage or go to university.  It was thought women's brains could not take the extra strain of thinking!

Of course, racists have also used that same rational about the brains of Africans/African-americans as well.  But of course you know that, right?

bluedahlia

So Laura are you saying that Conservatives are big chicken shits and over-react, and are afraid of their own shadows?  Is that why they want to control everything?

Anonymous

http://youtu.be/EffEaMXQAbc

crazy4carrots

Fear IS the most powerful enemy of reason!

Enjoyful

Thank you, Sandy!!  When can I move to your house?

Anonymous

We fear our incompetant "leader" and the tribal animals he befriends.

Anonymous

Here's another thing to fear:

From the WSJ:

More Americans work for the government than work in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities combined. We have moved decisively from a nation of makers to a nation of takers. Nearly half of the $2.2 trillion cost of state and local governments is the $1 trillion-a-year tab for pay and ...benefits of state and local employees.

Anonymous

With all of the concerns expressed about Planned Parenthood losing federal money, I checked out their own website. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/Planned_Parenthood_Who_We_Are.pdf

According to their own figures, they aren't particularly effective:

Every year, Planned Parenthood affiliates provide

• contraception to nearly 2.5 million patients
• more than 1.1 million pregnancy tests
• nearly one million Pap tests, identifying about 93,000

women at risk of developing cervical cancer

• 830,000 breast exams, helping alert patients

to possible cancers

• nearly 4 million tests and treatments for

sexually transmitted infections, including HIV

• more than 1.5 million emergency contraception kits
• education programs to nearly 1.2 million people

A standard gyno exam would include a pap test and breast exam.  Every prescription for birth control pills should be accompanied by those exams, and one would suspect that every abortion should include a basic pre-surgery pregnancy test to confirm that the woman is actually pregnant, and not experiencing some other gynological issues. 

Their own numbers mean that they are providing birth control to about double the number of people who are being screened for cancer, and are having to provide more emergency contraception kits (a short term higher dose of birth control pills) than they are providing cancer screenings.  If their methods of birth control were as effective as they would like you to believe, there should be little or no need for those emergency kits. 

Their own numbers also indicate about 10% of their patients being found to be at risk for cervical cancer every year.  That seems very high, perhaps some counseling on lifestyle changes could help lower that number given what we have learned about the HPV virus?  

Forget the abortion issue.  I don't think that the American taxpayer is getting a particularly good return on their investment of more than $300 million per year, or about $100 per client served by any function of Planned Parenthood, not just the uninsured poor.

AnnNYC

Thanks for posting the article, Laura.  I would consider it a compliment to be told I have greater capacity for processing complexity, and am less susceptible to being controlled by fear.

But I would point out the third-to-last sentence: "It remains unclear whether the structural differences cause the divergence in political views, or are the effect of them."

The brain is very plastic (meaning it is capable of being "remodeled" throughout life), so my guess is that structural differences are the result of habits of thought.

So there is hope that fearful people may be educated to overcome their fears and learn to deal with complexity!

Enjoyful

More info from the Planned Parenthood website:

Our Clients

Planned Parenthood provides sexual and reproductive health care, education, and information to more than five million women, men, and adolescents worldwide each year.

Three million women and men in the United States annually visit Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers for trusted health care services and information.

Seventy-nine percent of Planned Parenthood health care clients in the U.S. are age 20 and older.

One in five women in the U.S. has visited a Planned Parenthood health center at least once in her life.

Our Work

Planned Parenthood health centers focus on prevention: 83 percent of our clients receive services to prevent unintended pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood services help prevent more than 612,000 unintended pregnancies each year.

Planned Parenthood provides nearly one million Pap tests and more than 830,000 breast exams each year, critical services in detecting cancer.

Planned Parenthood provides nearly four million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Three percent of all Planned Parenthood health services are abortion services.

Planned Parenthood affiliates provide educational programs to nearly 1.2 million young people and adults each year.

Planned Parenthood has more than four million activists, supporters, and donors working for women's health and safety and our fundamental reproductive rights.

Sounds pretty effective to me!

bluedahlia

Ann and Enjoyful.  What's up with the complex logic?  Want people to think Libs are intelligent or sumpthin!!!!!!!

Anonymous

3% of 3 million clients is 90,000 and I have seen a number of sources that claim Planned Parenthood performs about 300,000 abortions a year, which would be more like 9% of the clients they serve.  Maybe they are counting each individual "service" like a basic exam is one, a pregnancy test is another and a prescription for birth control is still another in order to make abortions appear to be less of their business. 

Wabbit

'Sources that claim' huh??   Whatever ... I suppose you could ask them how they do the computation.  All their services are legal and needed so I really don't care enough to check it out any further.  YMMV