A man got second degree burns from running after his postman on hot concrete? i don't know which part of that to be more concerned about...

So I was watching my local news today and saw this - it's about a 78 year old man in Phoenix who after chasing his postman barefoot on the blacktop got second degree burns!

I don't know which part of this story to be more concerned about...

The fact that it is so crazy hot that he got SECOND DEGREE burns or the fact that he was CHASING his postman.

I just want to know - why are you outside with no shoes on!? And why are you chasing, literally RUNNING after your postman?

And that's my two cents.

And that's my two cents.

All Around Pro-Life Victory

The pro-life cause has recently seen victories in several areas:
1. Litigation
2. Science
3. Public Opinion

1. Litigation

Two laws will soon take effect: the Women's Health Protection Act and the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The first law requires women who want an abortion to be screened for mental wellness and make sure they are not being pressured into an abortion. It also allows women who develop mental/emotional issues after an abortion to file civil lawsuits against abortion clinics that did not do proper pre-screenings. This defeats the idea that an abortion has "positive" effects in its aftermath, as Planned Parenthood suggests. The second law makes it illegal for an abortion to be performed after 20 weeks.

2. Science

The pro-life fight has typically been associated with the religious right, and has typically only been justified for moral reasons. But now scientific research has shown that science does play a role in the pro-life argument, which is why the two laws aforementioned were passed. Science has proven that women do suffer physical and psychological effects post-abortion. It has also proven that it is not WHAT you are aborting, but WHO you are aborting - and that baby can feel pain. The second law recognizes that babies can develop pain receptors as early as 20 weeks.

3. Public Opinion

Finally, abortions are becoming less and less popular. According to a recent Gallup poll, 51% of Americans call themselves "pro-life" - compared to only 33% in 1995. Abortions have also decreased by 25% and 87% of our nation's counties do NOT have abortion facilities. It is clear that the public has strongly responded to the new findings that a fetus can feel pain and a woman can suffer from the loss of an unborn child.

I would really encourage you to read this article - which describes these latest victories in further detail. But if you read any part of the article, I think the part that had the most profound effect on me is where it describes how an abortion is performed:

"There is no doubt that abortion can be painful. A dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion, used from 13 weeks to 24 weeks, involves using forceps to pull the baby into pieces. A saline abortion, the most common technique after 16 weeks, involves injecting a strong salt solution through the mother's abdomen into the baby's sac. The baby then swallows, and is poisoned by, the fluid, which also burns off the outer layer of the baby's skin. Labor begins within 24 hours, and the mother delivers a dead baby."

After reading that, I hope everyone gives abortion a second thought.

And that's my two cents.

Dear Kia Motors, I just don't understand you

Dear Kia Motors,

I just don't understand you. I don't understand what hamsters have to do with your new Kia Soul car. Or what possessed you to make the hamsters gangster. I don't think anyone wants to watch furry rodents dance around in Southpole clothes and rap. Plus they're getting their fur all over that nice new leather interior. Now every time I see a Kia car I just think of those weird hamsters and think, "Ew. Now I definitely won't buy that car."

But I guess at the same time, your weird commercials are effective.
1) In a competitve world of Ford, GM, and Chrysler, because of those obnoxious hamsters I now know Kia is out there too.
2) You've even inadvertently getting me to give you free advertising on my blog.

Darn it!

Still...I just. don't. get it.

Confusingly,
Alicia

And that's my two cents

General Accountability Office Warned of an Environmental Disaster...in 1994

There are over 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico, despite regulations requiring companies that own these wells to present plans that they are going to reuse or plug up the wells within a year.

This problem has been ignored for decades. No one - not the industry, not the government - is checking to make sure these wells aren't leaking.

Haven't we learned anything from our mistakes?

The BP oil spill was caused by an abandoned well that was being temporarily sealed when it blew on April 20. It has become one of the worst environmental disasters in our nation's history.

Obviously, these temporary abandoned wells, like BP's, are just too dangerous.

And it comes as no surprise that BP owns over 600 of these abandoned wells.

Problems like this have even happened before. The US Environmental Protection Agency reported that other abandoned wells have leaked before - in places such as Louisiana and Texas.

But what is the most surprising is that Congress has actually received warnings that this would happen...

...in 1994.

The General Accountability Office told Congress in 1994 that abandoned wells could cause an environmental disaster. Furthermore, they even asked Congress to investigate the issue, but nothing was done on the matter.

Then in 2006 the Environmental Protection Agency admitted that the plugging up of temporary abandoned wells was not sufficient, and the wells could still leak.

So why wasn't anything being done?

Read this article for the full story.

And that's my two cents.

I Still Love This Song

DOJ Drops Black Panther Voter Intimidation Case

On voting day for the 2008 Presidential election, Black Panthers stood outside of a Philadelphia polling place and coerced people to vote for Obama using threats and intimidation. They were carrying Shabazz brandishing sticks and saying things like, "Now you will know what it is like to be under the black man, cracker."

The Black Panthers were charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for their actions, because every right of the voter should be protected - including the right to not be intimidated or forced into any decision out of fear.

But these charges were recently dropped! The department said one of the Black Panthers was charged with not being allowed to go to any polling place in Philadelphia for the next three years, which they felt was sufficient punishment.

Well that doesn't sound sufficient to me.

A DOJ attorney recently quit his job in protest of the department dropping the case. He has gone to the media with this story, saying top DOJ officials have been lying under oath about this case. He said this case should have been a no-brainer, easy prosecution.

If this isn't voter intimidation and worthy of prosecution, I don't know what is. It just doesn't get any more obvious than this.

And that's my two cents.

Its Scary What the Government Can Hide...Papers Found at UVA

The other day on his show, Glenn Beck was talking about how it's frightening that the government can hide certain parts of our history by editing important papers and documents.

He was hosting M. Stanton Evans, author of Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator of Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies, who while doing research for his book came across shocking findings that some historical documents had been edited to possibly advance a political agenda.

One of these was a document recording the Yalta Conference with FDR, Churchill, and Stalin. FDR was going to meet with the King of Saudi Arabia, and Stalin asked him if he was going to give the king any concessions, and this was FDR's reply:

"The president replied that there was only one concession he thought he might offer, and that was to give him the 6 million Jews in the United States."

This document was found in the collection of Edward Stettinius who was the Secretary of State at the time of the Yalta conference. And where were these papers found?

At the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA.

This document shows that FDR was somewhat of anti-semite at the end of his term, but it was also 2 months before his death, and he was also a little "gaga" or crazy, as Evans described him.

The most important fact though, is that Roosevelt's comments were edited out of the official papers. You have to go into the archives to find the truth. Did the government withold information in order to preserve FDR's legacy? Did they keep the truth from the public to advance their political agenda?

It's scary to think that the government can do this...

And that's my two cents.