M12BH

Yeah but she still supports your legal right to have your appalling and outrageous opinion. See how that works? No, I didn't think so.

That's my whole fucking point. When "life begins" is irrelevant to whether a woman should be forced to carry it inside her. Which has yet to be addressed by anyone who insists that "it's an innocent life so we can't kill it". If there's no difference between a life inside a uterus and outside, then forcing some people to provide support and not others is absurd.

But they don't. Because they have a fetus fetish. Cult of the fetus. All they can do is bleat "It's an innocent life, it's an innocent life" ad nauseam. But they don't have an answer as to why innocent fetuses are more deserving of the resources of others than innocent babies.

For argument's sake let's say you're right, and "life" begins at conception. You still have not explained why a woman should be forced to contain and support that life inside her body if she did not want it put there and/or does not want it to remain there, when neither you nor anyone else are forced to support an equally innocent life that would otherwise terminate if you withhold the same resources. Tell me what would happen if you suddenly found a trespasser in your home and you felt threatened. Costing you money. Eating your food. Living in your spare bedroom. Making you throw up for three months and affecting your health, possibly permanently. Tell me why you hold dominion over a perfectly good liver that will regenerate if part of it is removed when innocent people are dying because they don't have one. Why should you not be forced to save innocent lives with your money, resources and body parts? Now I'll hang up and listen. But I won't hold my breath. Because you have a fetus fetish. Innocent fetuses must be saved at all costs, as long as those costs fall on others. Born people, especially if the costs fall on you, not so much.

I'd love to see this law challenged via the "Castle Doctrine". You know, the one that says you can shoot and kill someone trespassing on your property if you fear bodily harm. Unless you are going to say women's bodies are not their own property, what's the diff?

I'm sure everyone in the legal system, not to mention anyone who has ever had to sit on a capital murder jury, will be glad to hear that the notion of defining "murder" is just political semantics. But seriously - if you think the State should have a vested interest in forcing a woman to donate her time, money and bodily functions & fluids to preserve the life of an innocent unborn baby, but you don't think the State should have a vested interest in forcing anyone else to donate their time, money and bodily functions & fluids to preserve the life of an innocent born baby, then you are the worst, most virulent sort of hypocrite and you should not be able to decide anything for anyone else, ever. What are y'all waiting for? Go donate parts of your livers. People are dying for want of them. And yours will grow back. 41 minutes ago, slorch said: B

Well good for you, and next time you're pregnant and facing a high likelihood of death, you can decide whether to get an abortion. No it's not clear cut and easy, and that's the whole point of why these absolute laws are so disgusting. Anyway why is innocence, or lack thereof, a barometer of whether a woman should be forced to gestate? And who is to say that an embryo is more or less innocent than the girl or woman gestating it, and how should that determination have any effect on whether a girl or woman is forced to gestate something she didn't want or ask for? But OK let's assume for a moment that an embryo is innocent and that gives it some special status. We ALL make decisions every day that result in the death of innocent others. One example - organ transplants. Do you know how many innocent people die because they are waiting for organ transplants? Should we force others to provide those organs (at the donors' expense) to those whose deaths are imminent? And yeah I have some personal experience with this type situation and it's not very pretty. It's the most horrible, frustrating feeling to watch someone die in front of your eyes knowing that perfectly good livers, hearts and lungs are being shoved into the ground on a daily basis in the meantime. Why can't someone needing a lung to live just take yours? Let me ask you, why shouldn't an innocent man, woman or child be able to walk into your house and stay there for, oh let's say nine months, if to do otherwise will result in the death of that innocent person? Tell me, what would happen if you discovered someone in your house helping themselves to your food, clothing and money? I don't even think I have to guess. Oh wait, let me guess...that person isn't innocent. They are trespassing. So is the "innocent unborn baby" placed by force or otherwise in the womb of a girl or woman who doesn't want it there. Yeah, maybe she didn't use birth control. Yeah, maybe you accidentally left your door unlocked. Private property is private property, and nothing is so private as the inside and other end of a vagina. We don't force anyone in this country to harbor others, innocent or otherwise, in their personal space against their will. Or at least we didn't used to.

Yeah, if those who are anti-abortion would support policies that, you know, actually decrease the odds of women having abortions, they'd have a lot more credibility. As it is.....Jesus must be so proud.

On the off chance you really are that stupid and don't understand, and aren't just repeating a convenient and regurgitated talking point, let me illustrate: All pregnancies terminate. Every single one. Ending a pregnancy at nine months gestation does not necessarily mean it has to be done via abortion or that "the baby is killed". Therefore to argue that a woman who no longer wants to be pregnant at nine months gestation is necessarily going to have an abortion is....well, I'm out of adjectives or adverbs or whatever they are to describe that mode of thinking. I'll also point out that there are already laws restricting post-viability abortions. So even if we are all wannabe deranged baby killers, the scenario you keep bringing up can't happen legally. Which of course has nothing to do with the laws being currently passed by these backwards states, but I digress. The embryo/fetus exists inside the woman to the extent the woman allows it to be there. There are myriad reasons AT ALL STAGES OF PREGNANCY why the fetus might need to come out. There are as many reasons why a woman might want or need to end a pregnancy as there are pregnancies. It's a messy, complicated, often heartbreaking decision. But by boiling it down to the notion of a bunch of deranged women wanting to kill their Gerber babies at nine months gestation as a reason to ban virtually all abortions , whether the woman had sex willingly or unwillingly, whether she took precautions or not, you are effectively telling woman that they are no more than baby vessels. Under the laws you propose, the only way a woman can GUARANTEE she remain childless is to not have sex. And based on what I know of the most represented demographic on this site, there aren't a lot of people around here who think that's the way to go. No, it's much simplerto just co-opt a woman's body before and during pregnancy and then let her deal with the results of her sluttiness.

Where have I blamed Uber/Lyft? I suggested something that might reduce the chance of something like this happening again. And I politely answered your questions. What are you so mad at me about? Is your dick that limp, are you so terrified of considering something that might distract a girl's attention from your manliness for two seconds that might POSSIBLY help ensure her safety, that you have to insult the one making the suggestion? Man, good luck with whatever ails you, and I hope you are successful in your next conquest, no matter the status of your or your date's rideshare app. Anyway I'm through escalating shit over a girl's murder. Y'all have nice evenings.

Appropos of nothing but I used it last Saturday to get from Town Lake back home. Driver showed up in a black Ford Edge at 8:41PM, it cost me $11.13 and I threw in a $2 tip. Took about 20 minutes what with all the Beto traffic. And I'm a redhead. Anything else I can help you with, cupcake? On edit - yeah people are stupid. Doesn't mean they should get raped and killed for it. Why the fuck do you care if Uber tweaks their policies to try to miminize that possibility?

Of course I've used Uber. A blast from the APP. You know, on your PHONE where the driver information is displayed. Maybe a display that reminds you to check the license plate, number, etc of the vehicle into which you are about to enter, at the point in the app where you have to confirm that you want to be picked up. I'm sorry if I'm not up on the preferred nomenclature, I'm not a programmer and I'm not in that industry. But it might help all those poor human beings who are not quite as superior as you remember to do that, if they are not otherwise inclined or are distracted or have a brain fart or whatever. I mean, at what level does negligence rise to the point where if it gets you raped and murdered, everyone else should just shrug, say, "Damn, sucks to be her, she shoulda had her head on a swivel", and move on? How in the fuck does it possibly hurt you or your fee-fees to attempt to minimize the odds of that happening to someone else not as big, strong and manly as you in the future? If you give no shits, why are you even here arguing about it and insisting that it's not a valid topic of conversation? And yeah you were the one whining about the expansion of the nanny state in this context. You know, where the government interferes with your personal choices and your rights. I've never suggested that anything become mandatory or codified. So go be scared about that to someone else. Now go enjoy your life grasshopper, and don't worry about anyone else less intelligent, less lucky, or less fortunate. Cause whatever it is, they have it coming and you shouldn't concern your little head about it.

It's not the caffeine honeychile, it's the dipshits who think their civil rights are being threatened if, I don't know, someone makes a suggestion about improving safety. You know, the human brain gets lulled into a sense of security about things that it shouldn't. That's why there are checklists, systems, etc. for repetitive tasks. So we don't forget to do things when we are on autopilot. And no I'm not suggesting there be a fucking checklist for hailing an Uber. But how about a quick blast from the app reminding people to check their rides? Or a sign at the bar exit? You know, like the ones that say don't drive if you've been drinking? Like buckle up? Like every fucking safety campaign that exists about things that people need to sometimes be REMINDED to do, especially if they have impaired judgement - because not everyone is as brilliant or can handle their liquor as well as you, or is at the same risk of something going afoul? Or would something like that cause you more apoplexy and angst and offend your delicate sensibilities about our becoming an nanny state? Who knows, maybe she checked out her ride every time but this one. Maybe she never did because she was young, naive, drunk, whatever. I know shit happens, has happened, and will always happen, and nothing is going to prevent every tragedy. But if inexpensive or unobtrusive things can be done to reduce the odds of ride share robberies, rapes and murders happening in the future, why not fucking do them? Every major industry has made adjustments and safety improvements as time goes by. This is in the grand scheme of things new technology - upgrades happen all the time to improve efficiency, ease of use, etc., but God forbid we make them more safe. Darwinism baby! Cull the stupid ones! I mean we can't save them all so why bother, right? Oh yeah, and the idea that she was passed out drunk in the back seat and never knew what was going on is fucking laughable. Again not to say it doesn't ever happen. But as a rule, women do not have the luxury of passing out in the backseat of a car with a strange dude no matter how many stars he has from Uber. Hell it's probably statistically more of a risk to pass out in a car with someone you do know. Anyway maybe it gives some of y'all some comfort to think that's the way it went down. I'd bet every penny I have that it didn't. One quick shout-out to Mullet - dude I'm sorry your ex-wife is an asshole and won't let you see your kid. I know that's got to hurt. But really, if you're trying to use that as some kind of analogy for the topic of this thread....just stop. And yeah if you do something stupid, and something happens, then bad on you. But some of us who are at more risk than others are a little more interested in seeing if there are things that might help level the playing field. And if you're offended by offering some assistance to those who might be at more of a disadvantage if we make a bad choice....well, sorry mate. But I'm sure as hell not going to apologize for it.

T Thank you for enlightening me. Sounds like you've got it all figured out. I wish I had known before now that the motivations of most people who seek dialogue are so selfish and insidious. Seems you'd be very happy living on some island or in some other isolated area where everyone abides by your rules, your definitions, your conditions under which one should be offended, and with you as sole arbiter of what constitutes reasonable care. In such a case I would wish you all the best as grand Poobah of your fiefdom. I'm sure it would be a Shangri-la of beautiful, intelligent, reasonable people who exist three standard deviations to the right of the bell curve mean.

What do I think Uber/Lyft ought to do to make their rides more safe? I don’t have a one-off solution. Maybe there’s nothing. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to have a conversation about it without some mouthbreathing swinging dicks proclaiming that this girl was just a stupid twat so boo fucking hoo if she got raped and murdered, and those calling for review and possible changes to the ride hailing process are just a bunch of pussies who won’t take responsibility for their own safety. I’m not even necessarily assigning any blame or responsibility to Uber. But what in the goddam blue hell is the harm in exploring ways to minimize the chance that this kind of thing happens in the future? And no, of course we are never going to make every product and every service idiot proof and foolproof. Shit happens. But just because we can’t protect everyone all the time doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to minimize risks and maximize safety where and when we can. I get that all Shaggy posters are members of the Uber wealthy (hahah see what I did there?) 2% alpha male herd who bang only tens, have superior intelligence and never ever do dumbass things. But by some of your logic we should have no standards or regulations or even laws because there will always be evil people who won’t follow them others who are statistically unlucky or maybe just stupid and clueless and fall prey no matter what. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still try. Hopefully most of y’all will live long enough to figure that out.

Not to go all male privilege on your collective asses but this is example #3,247,898 of shit most of y'all don't have to worry about that some of us do. I mean, God forbid we females should be able to go out drinking and having a good time without having to be hypervigilant about being raped and murdered just because we were distracted or drunk and mistook the wrong car for our ride. I mean, I have seen some of you fuckers BRAG about doing shit a lot more infantile and idiotic than that, and give high fives all around. "Oh, hahaha, we were so fucking smashed, hahahaha! Oh, too bad I wasn't there, sounds like it would have been a riot!" Yeah, 99.99% of the time it turns out fine for everyone. Until it doesn't. Is it so much of a goddam burden to talk about things that Uber and Lyft might be able to do to mitigate the possibility of something like this happening again? Or to create additional visibility around the issue so that people know that, you know, it's an issue? Or is it just so much easier to just call the girl a dumbass and the father a whiny bitch and move on? Jesus H. in a sidecar.

You know, we’ve been mulling our options for a late Spring getaway and DC came up. Some instinct told me “Oh, honey.....no”. Thanks for confirming my fears. And oh btw I was told we’d be OK once the olds die off. If these reports of MAGA children are accurate then I see no hope for this country’s future. Yeah I know. Ledge, scotch, rinse, repeat. Reserve me a spot.

I was perusing Anning's twitter feed and my god....he makes Steve King look like a raving leftist. How the fucking fuck does this guy hold any position of power?

The normalization of hateful rhetoric from the conservative right is causing more and more individuals to become radicalized. I think if it’s not stopped the bigots will become more organized and more mainstream and then really bad things are going to happen. And this country’s current leaders will do nothing to stop it because the movement serves their political purposes and their lust for power and wealth. Whenever a conservative white male goes on a rampage, the right wingers just point at an Antifa member punching a Nazi or some college students shouting down a bigot, shrug their shoulders, and say both sides are violent. And they do nothing.

Well y’all can come see me. I’m playing a solo acoustic set at Maggie Mae’s next Friday the 15th at 4PM. Free show. For those of you who don’t know, yeah I’m one of the few chicks on the Shag.

Some GODDAM FUCKING ASSHOLE stole my outgoing mail on Tuesday. I opened my front door to walk the dogs at about 1PM and saw an older, silver or tan Honda-ish car with containing two individuals with straight dark brown or black hair suddenly close my mailbox and drive away down the street. Went to look and sure enough, a birthday card and a form that I was mailing to the IRS were both missing. Now I have a client whose SSN is in potentially nefarious hands. Flagged down the mail carrier about an hour later and he said he knew this thing had been happening in the area but it was mostly going on in the wee hours of the morning. This was the first he'd heard of the thieves operating in daylight hours. @jimmyjazz he mentioned your street in particular so watch out. One of my neighbors has a door cam and caught a female coming up to her mailbox and leaving suddenly in a suspicious manner when she saw the camera. I'm waiting on the video to see if I can identify who's in it. Anyway, this pisses me off way more than it should, probably, I've had my car broken into and my house, but the fucking mail -- I mean that's low. What if there was a letter to or from my dying grandmother, or a birthday card to my niece or nephew. I guess it's time for a locked mailbox. Fuckers. Obligatory white privilege comment - some dick on the neighborhood group mentioned that tan Hondas are the cars most likely to be implicated in crime and we should look into banning them from our neighborhood. Um, no. /Cloak room.

Rep for both comment and avatar of Unicorn Dog from The Enemy Within

Not that I expect you would get a cogent answer, but what on earth makes your friend or anyone believe that Trump has been "saved"? What are the so-called signs? Does he go to Church? Doe he spread the good news? Does he tithe? Is he meek and mild? DOES HE EVEN CLAIM HE HAS BEEN SAVED? Sweatergawd, some of y'all are better people than I could ever be. I dont' know that I could associate with anyone who is either that thick, simple, hypocritical or evil. Because anyone who still supports the orange shitstain has to be some combination of those things.

Odds that the Trumpkins will shout from the rafters about how he "Totally owned those libs, hyuk hyuk hyuk" - 10infinity%

Mandelbaum! Mandelbaum!