cheese it, the cops!

personhood

i'm glad the mississippi personhood thingummy failed. probably, what is and what is not a person is not a matter best left to voters. on the other hand i'm not sure it's best left to philosophers or scientists either: it's a wickedly difficult or impossible question in various cases. to tell or remind you of my views on abortion: i am pro-choice. but i am queasy. i think it has been central to the progress of women in some ways, and specifically i definitely agree that every woman ought to control her own sexuality and reproduction. on the other hand, how much a fetus in vitro counts morally is a serious, and perhaps an impossible question. not nothing, and the question of whether abortion is an exercise of the autonomy of the person on whom its performed or the worst sort of violation of another person is just a really hard question. i was pretty clear when i was 16 and my 14-year-old girlfriend had an abortion. i got queasier, i must say, after seeing a number of births, and having some children. so if ron paul is pro-life obstetrician, i can respect that and understand it.

really it is a relief not to be a lobbyist, an activist, or a politician. in other words, if the head of naral were queasy, she couldn't say so. and she probably couldn't get queasy. her commitment is immune to revision or experience. obviously, so is a fundamentalist pro-life position. in a way, the extreme and absolute nature of the positions reflects the deep obscurity and difficulty and ambiguity of the question: you need subjective certainty - an absolute rigid faith one way or the other - precisely because the questions of objective truth are impossible to answer. it has to be an absolutely clear answer, precisely because ther is no answer. well, i have the luxury of living with that, because it does not matter what i think.

now if it faces me again with one of my daughters, or god forbid a hypothetical pre-menopausal lover of my own, then i will leave the ultimate decision to her, of course. and i do think that's where it belongs. but i also won't feel exactly right about it.

this stuff is so great. hand a toddler a tootsie pop. then take it away and shoot a picture. i think the people who object cannot be parents, who of necessity see this kind of thing every few minutes for years. anyway it's very existential: tells you something fundamental about the human condition.

free melanie martinez! i think it's sad what happened to her. cause she's awful cute and i've been watching her introduce dragon tales etc to my daughter in a very comfiorting way for some time. the technicality of her virginity can't really make a difference. you can't really delete the fact that adults are taking care of children.

Mill acknowledges that certain aspects of free expression can affect others, like children watching inappopriate television programs, but the need for individuality within a society prevails over the single individual.

it ain't easy being a liberal

he says "blog this!" so i am, re: my piece about blogging and freedom:

"You have a way with words, while your head is buried deep in the sands of denial. 
You are the exact reason why I got out and campaigned for W, and
convinced many to vote the "Right" way or to at least to consider changing
sides.

"Simply put, liberals are dangerous for our survival as a Country.  There's a
reason why your side is not in power, and yet you still cannot understand
why.

"Go ahead, continue the Bush bashing, continue blocking nominees, and don't
certify the vote in Ohio.  I can assure all lefty partisans (PhillyNews
included), you will not regain power anytime soon.  Just as our soldiers are
fighting for our "freedom", I will fight to expose your hypocritical ways
that are dangerous for our survival.  I will campaign, contribute, and
convince others on the local, state, regional, and national level.

"You are dividing America, and your side has pushed many to the Right.  Zell
can see what's going on, why can't you?

"Blog that!"

Joseph Donahue

one thing about the right-wing: they believe anyone who argues against any of their positions is a "liberal." or maybe they just think that's an effective rhetorical strategy. whatever. let's see. i'm opposed to gun control. i'd like to see the department of education abolished: in fact i'd dismantle a variety of federal bureaucracies. i wrote vicious screeds against both gore and kerry.

the key to parenting

so i've noticed something: my adolescents have mellowed amazingly since i first smelled pot around here. there's much less conflict and delinquency. that's why i'll be publishing my new book:  Here, Huff This Doobie: The Complete Guide to Responsible Parenting..