by admin | Apr 12, 2016 | Information, Politics, Rant, Religion |
Why Abortion Is Not Murder…
I’ve often wondered why abortion is not murder. I’ve been pro-choice for as long as I can recall but to be honest it’s always bothered me that so many pro-choice people seem to completely ignore the implication that abortion is murder. I mean it seems pretty clear that if there is human life and you end it, it’s murder. Or, at the very least, it is in fact a killing of a human being. There is a difference between killing and murder. One has a defense and the other does not.
This is the key issue for me. How can we justify the taking of that unborn life? Personally, it’s not so much that I justified it as an okay thing to do. I didn’t. I don’t think it’s an okay thing to do. I think it’s a shitty thing to do. However, I just don’t feel we have the right to tell anyone what they can do with their bodies in most cases. I feel the health and well being of women is more important than an embryo.
As it turns out, I have worried about this issue for far too long because as it turns out, it’s not really issue at all. Contrary to what I have been told by the religious right and the pro-life community it is not murder. I did a little research and it turns out those embryo’s aren’t “alive” in the sense we’ve told to believe they are. And, by alive, I mean human life.
First, an embryo isn’t an embryo at conception, it’s called a zygote. It won’t be an embryo for about 4 days. At this point it’s just some cells that have begun to divide. It is not a baby. It’s not human life.
Second, an embryo is not a baby or a fetus. It can’t survive outside of the womb. It’s body hasn’t fully formed and won’t until about week 9. It’s not human life.
Third, you can’t have murder without consciousness. Consciousness, doesn’t just happen. It happens over time. We can’t know for sure the moment it does happen but we can say to some certain when it has not.
That is the key issue. If something has no consciousness then it’s not human life. I think this is where we need study. Whether or not abortion should be illegal shouldn’t ever be a debate. It should be a matter of medical certainty. Philosophy and religion should play no part in the issue. Philosophy and religion are for debates as to whether a person should get an abortion or not. Not whether or not it is a murder. They can debate their opinions all they want However, when it comes to whether or not an abortion is murder, the only thing that matters are the facts and until that fetus has significantly developed a brain and nervous system enough to support consciousness then it can not be considered murder.
Defining consciousness.
Consciousness is defined as the state of being awake and aware of one’s surroundings. Now I can hear you thinking, “Well, if consciousness is all that is needed to be considered alive then why is killing someone in their sleep or in a coma considered murder. Good question. Because, that person was conscious prior to falling asleep or being in a coma and when they wake or come out of that coma they will regain their consciousness. A fetus, isn’t just taking a break from it’s consciousness. A fetus doesn’t have consciuousness and then over time it begins to develop. Usually consciousness develops between the 24th and 28th week of gestation. This is one reason why the cutoff to get an abortion is usually around 24 weeks unless the women’s health is an issue.
I understand why the pro-life people are against abortions. If you’ve been told a lie that life begins at conception you’re going to naturally believe that abortion is murder. However, this is a lie and anyone spreading it is either uninformed or intentionally lying to you and is almost certainly trying to sell you something.
I also understand how the pro-life crowd can feel that a fetus is human life. When you see photos of a fetus and it appears to have all it’s body parts it’s easy to make the leap that is in fact a human life when it simply isn’t until sometime after the 24th week of gestation.
Yet, because I understand many of the reasons these people believe abortion is murder, the simple truth of the matter is that they are just terribly misinformed. Misinformed by religious leaders they should be able to trust and by politicians that are just as uninformed or trying to push an agenda or pander to voters. Both trying to spread an agenda that is not based on the facts of the issue. And, if you honestly think about it, shouldn’t the determination of what is and what is not murder be made by doctors and scientists who have studied the medically related facts instead of the religious and political leaders who are doing nothing more than just voicing their opinions?
As I said earlier, uninformed opinions have no place in determining what is and what is not murder. If someone wants to believe abortion is murder contrary to the facts, that’s sadly their right to do so. What isn’t and should never be someone’s right to do, is to force their uninformed opinions on to others.
I say this a lot and I mean it. Don’t take my word for the things I say here. I’m just some guy on the internet with a blog. I want you to research this stuff. Sure can take my word for it want to but I can make mistakes. What I can promise you is that I always try to base my opinions on facts. Real facts, supported by evidence. I don’t every try to mislead anyone in my articles. I research a topic and then I write about it. I don’t ignore the evidence I find. That being said, if an issue important to you then do the research. Sure reading opinions may give you a different insight into an issue but it can also fill your head with bullshit. So take articles like these with a grain of salt.
Below I’ve linked to some sites that I used in the research of this article. There were many articles that I read besides the ones below, some by sites I respect like the Huffington Post and Patheos to name a few but I found them to either completely miss the point of the issue or just too wordy and filled with needless exposition.
Research used in the writing of the article.
Why Abortion isn’t Murder
What is the difference between a zygote, embryo and foetus?
Fetal development
How late in a pregnancy can you get an abortion?
When Does Consciousness Arise in Human Babies?
by admin | Apr 6, 2016 | Information, Politics, Rant |
Why I Am Supporting Hillary Clinton and Not Bernie Sanders…
I need to start this by saying, I’m not a huge fan of either candidate. I respect both of them but don’t feel strongly towards either one of them. I can say, that some Bernie’s supporters are really helping me to turn against him. Some of these people are being so hypocritical and so blind to the realities of the world, it’s simply staggering. There are some real problems with Bernie that some of his supporters are in complete denial about. Hillary has got some issues as well but her supporters are far less annoying and far more factual in my experiences on social media though they are not why I am supporting Hillary Clinton and not Bernie Sanders at this time.
I don’t make my decisions on who to vote for based on who supports them. However, I do research claims that supporters make about the candidates. I don’t re-tweet political memes without fact checking them first. Wish more people would do that. If they did, I am guessing there wouldn’t be as many republicans and there wouldn’t be as many Bernie supporters because time after time their memes and other statements full of misleading or factual errors and sometimes both.
However, because I fact check many of the things that Hillary and Bernie supporters have been saying about the candidates, I have learned a lot about each one. I have gone through many changes during this election process so far. I was really considering supporting Bernie. However, the more I learned about him, the more cautious I have become and I have outlined a few of those concerns below.
First, his tax plan is completely unfair to the rich. Shocking, I would stick up for the rich, considering how damn poor I am. His apparent hatred of capitalism is disturbing to me. I thought at first he wanted what I did and that is for the rich to pay their fair share. That’s not the case, he wants to tax the shit out of them. How is that fair at all? It’s not. Expecting someone to pay more than 60% of their earnings in taxes is not fair, I don’t care if they are rich or poor, we should all be treated equally.
Second, he’s weak on guns. He supports protecting gun manufactures from lawsuits. Yet, he goes after “Big Tobacco” and seemingly has no problem with lawsuits against them. Hypocrite much? What I find even more absurd is that many of the people supporting him completely disagree with many of the stands he has taken on gun control but for some reason, they just don’t seem to care.
Third, his somewhat delusional plan to break up the banks. I am confident that if he got his way with the banks, he would cause a financial collapse of epic proportions. I don’t say that lightly. I am not a fan of banks. However, they serve a purpose and no one should be penalized for making money and that seems to be his whole agenda, if it makes a lot of money then it’s bad. What banks and big business should be penalized for are deceitful business tactics. The focus, in my humble opinion, needs to be on a better regulated banking industry, not the complete destruction of it.
In conclusion, I just don’t see Bernie Sanders as having a realistic or at times even a rational plan to solve some of our greatest problems. Yes, I he does have many solid points. He has strong stands on things I agree with such as the environment. However, when I learned that he decided to ship toxic waste to a poor community in Texas, it became obvious that the environment isn’t his top concern as he often implies and that’s his stance is more of a “Not in my backyard” attitude and that helps no one and thus I am supporting Hillary Clinton.
I think gun violence is one of the biggest problems we have in this country. You can ignorantly fear Muslims in this country but Christians are killing more with guns in this country than Muslims or refugees and immigrants. I have a hard time backing any candidate that preaches about control and then votes against it so often.
Some reasons why I am supporting Hillary Clinton. Hillary has experience. She’s dealt with world leaders. She’s much stronger on guns than Bernie is. Yes, she has her weak points but she has a record of finding her way to the right side of things. No one is perfect, Bernie hasn’t always been on the right side of the issues as he so often likes to claim either and his record clearly shows that. Hillary Clinton also has a realistic tax plan. And, there’s something Hillary recently said, that I have felt for years now and that is, if Obama trusted her enough to name her Secretary of State, then it’s a pretty strong endorsement of her character.
The last time she was being interrogated by those republican wackos on their Benghazi witch hunt I sat through the entire hearing. She never wavered. She stood up to those morons and didn’t back down once. Hearing after hearing and they haven’t found a single thing she did wrong. They’ve made up a lot of stuff and have blamed her for a lot of stuff. There were things that could have been differently but none of that was her fault. If the republicans actually gave a shit about the security of our embassy’s than they probably should have voted to increase security spending. But, as usual, they refuse to take any action and then blame everyone else when the shit hits the fan.
Now all that being said, what you won’t find me doing throughout this election process is making extreme statements that hurt either candidate. One of these two people are going to be the nominee for the Democratic party and I will, without question, support either one for the office of President of the United States of America. And remember anytime you want to bad mouth Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, just remember that it’s down to one Democrat and one Republican the republicans are going to use every single critique you made against the Hillary or Bernie. Every attack against the other is helping the republican party. If you want to support Bernie or Hillary try focusing on the issues and not the attacks. We are so extremely lucky to have the two candidates that we do, attacking either them is stupid and hurtful on every conceivable level.
There is too much at stake to even suggest voting for any republican candidate. And, considering, I used to be a republican, it means a lot coming from me. The Republican party has lost it’s way. Both parties have nutjobs in them. However, at this time, the republicans are being led by those nutters and cannot be trusted. The republican candidates for President are an embarrassment to this country and the ideals for which it stands for. I simply do not trust anyone who supports that party or even suggests supporting the republican party.
Some helpful links:
Fact-checking a viral graphic critical of Bernie Sanders
Barney Frank: Support for Sanders reflects a ‘lack of information’
Fact Checks of the 2016 Election
Factchecker: 3 Pinocchios for Sanders over Clinton oil & gas donations
Parents of Aurora victim slam Sanders over gun bill support
Special Notes: Check out the differences here.
Hillary Clinton’s file
(Hillary blows Sander’s out of the water when it comes to telling the truth.)
Bernie Sanders’s file
by admin | Apr 3, 2016 | Fun, Rant |
Today is the Beginning of the End Until August…
It’s true, today really is the beginning of the end until August. It marks the end of pretty much non-stop entertainment of sports and TV. The year starts in August for me. August means that summer will finally be ending soon, and we celebrate that event with the start of pre-season football. Followed by regular season football in September. This also marks the beginning of a new season of our favorite TV shows. Then October comes around we are rewarded with first, the next season of The Walking Dead, followed by Halloween, the best of the holidays. Then right around the corner is Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve and, we get to enjoy all of these with glories football three times a week!
But, it doesn’t end there. Now begins the NFL playoffs and awards season. The Super Bowl, the Emmy’s, Globes, Oscars and the mid-season premier of The Walking Dead. It all starts to wind down in March though and sadly comes to a screeching and devastating stop with the season of Finally of The Walking Dead. A time when many of us will agonize over the loss of our dear friends on The Walking Dead. Though these friends only ever existed in our hearts and imaginations, our love for them is real and the loss we feel still hurts us anyways. Today truly is the beginning of the end until next August.
Sadly, even August isn’t as great as it once was. For many of us we had Shark Week to look forward to the first week of August. Of course Discovery Channel has slowly been fucking that up for the past several years. Last year after promising a better Shark Week they aired it an entire month early for no fucking reason and it was mediocre at best. They still had fake shark experts doing doing stupid “experiments” all while putting spins on some events that were nothing more than mere coincidence masking as scientific conclusion. And, this year the idiot executives are moving Shark Week up yet another month! And, their teaser commercial for it is a fucking joke because they’ve thrown a fucking mermaid in it. I don’t know what the hell that was all about? Was it supposed to be a joke? They executed that punchline poorly if it was because it only succeeded in pissing off the fans off. We keep telling them what we want, they keep telling us they are listening, and the keep lying to our faces. Fuck it, I’m done with the Shark Week. They want my respect they’re gonna have to earn it.
On the bright side, now that we’re entering the dead zone of holidays, awards shows and anything even remotely interesting on TV it gives us a chance to go outside and be healthy. I hope this year that I honestly do take advantage this time, I know my health isn’t the best, two decades of sitting in front of PC hasn’t done me any favors health-wise. So maybe tomorrow I will get out of the house and do something? Maybe this long seasonal dead zone I won’t rely on the world to provide my entertainment? Maybe this year I will get healthy and go have some real adventures? Meh, who am I kidding, I’ll just sit here and bitch about until next August.
Oh and don’t five me any of your baseball crap. I can some of you now. “What about baseball? It’s starts today.” Baseball, sucks. I was done watching a bunch of over paid wimps that won’t even cowboy up enough to play in the rain. Now I will admit that for some odd reason I used to enjoy going to baseball games. But, that was back in time when I could go and not have to worry about some loudmouth, drunk, dumbass getting in my face because I’m not wearing the jersey of the team he likes. The last thing I need is to end up in jail for beating the crap out of some drunk fool that thought he was a tough guy. So yes, baseball, like Shark Week can go fuck itself.
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