Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec
Date: 08/28/2012 10:18:35
Good Morning. Today is our 3,978th day in Afghanistan. We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing war, courtesy of Antiwar.com: US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 2,104 Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,053 We find this morning's cost of war passing through: $1, 367, 060, 575, 000. 00
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102 comments )
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Last week, I wrote a heartfelt piece about rape and women. It was difficult and somewhat liberating, surprisingly. The thing is, you know people who have been raped. They may not be telling you for whatever reason they choose. The least of these reasons should be shame. I don't want people to be told that what happened to them really didn't happen. That is cruel. It also can be deadly.
I resent the Republican party for trying to erase my history and the history of every woman that has ever been raped. How we choose to go forward should be our choice, not defined by a radical ideology that I would call rape deniers. Don't let them do that to us. Since Thursday, women have unfortunately seen an even uglier side to the views held by people in the Republican party. I cannot in good conscience let this go. I didn't want to write about rape for a second time in a week, but I have to. VP Candidate Paul Ryan said of Todd Akin's comments: REPORTER: ...Specifically where you stand when it comes to rape, and when it comes to the issue of should it be legal for a woman to be able to get an abortion if she's raped.
RYAN: I'm very proud of my pro-life record, and I've always adopted the idea that, the position that the method of conception doesn't change the definition of life. But let's remember, I'm joining the Romney-Ryan ticket. And the president makes policy. And the president, in this case the future President Mitt Romney, has exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother, which is a vast improvement of where we are right now. In this case, when Ryan says "the method of conception" is irrelevant, he's talking about rape. In other words, the Republicans' vice presidential nominee clearly believes the government should force women to take their pregnancy to term if they are impregnated by a rapist. Republicans can only distance themselves so much from Todd Akin before we realize they share his views. There is no parsing this when it comes to Paul Ryan's position on abortion: rape is just a form of conception. Let me make this clear as I can: Rape is not a form of conception. Rape is an act of violence. Rape is a crime. Rape is not about sex. Rape is an abusive act of power to belittle, dehumanize and humiliate the victim. It is always ALWAYS wrong. NO EXCEPTIONS. Continue reading...
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Do you like roller coasters? White water rafting? Then you'll love todays republican party! This is not the republican party of old, the party that gave us Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Reagan and candidates like Barry Goldwater. No, this is the NEW, NEW GOP where words are just like white sheets hanging on the clothes line on a windy day. Continue reading...
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Good Morning. I'm not sure I can turn this into an actual blog without a great deal of rambling, but I'll give it a shot. While the GOP's unique theories on rape and pregnancy have dominated the news, it's been a rather violent week across these United States. On Friday, everything was bumped below the fold because of what amounted to a disgruntled employee gunning down his perceived nemesis in the media capitol of the world. Tragically, in addition to his victim and himself, 9 bystanders were wounded to varying degree... some by stray police rounds.
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9 comments )
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Drip, Drip, Drip
Author: BobR
Date: 08/24/2012 15:30:02
A secret is a tantalizing thing. It's like a little gem that you want to show the world, but to do so reduces it's worth. It's a catch-22, a conundrum. Some people are able to keep secrets and some are not. There are many motivations for revealing secrets. Certain government jobs require the ability to keep secrets. We like our government to be transparent as much as possible, but it couldn't function in the rest of the world were it not able to maintain secrecy in certain areas. People's lives are at risk, as is our security. When a government secret gets out, we call it a leak. This is generally frowned upon, although in some cases is considered "whistle-blowing" when the government is doing extremely illegal or immoral things.
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51 comments )
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What is rape and date rape?
Rape is sex you don't agree to, including forcing a body part or object into your vagina, rectum (bottom), or mouth. Date rape is when you are raped by someone you know, like a boyfriend. Both are crimes. Rape is not about sex. it is an act of power by the rapist and it is always wrong.
Date rape drugs, which often have no smell or taste, can be given to you without you knowing at parties or in a club, especially where alcohol is served. Alcohol can make you less aware of danger and make you less able to think clearly and resist sexual assault. If you are given date rape drugs, you may not be able to say "no" to unwanted sex and you may not be able to clearly remember what happened.
Remember: even if you were drinking, it is NOT your fault. )
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A right of passage as a child is an activity known as "playing doctor". It is a non-sexual and quite innocent exploration, and borne of the curious nature of humans in general and children in particular. They want to know exactly what it is that makes boys and girls different from each other. Years later as hormones start flowing, it turns into an exploration of an entirely different kind. This is all an expected part of life, and has been for centuries. What is NOT expected is that elected politicians with no medical background suddenly decide they want to play doctor when it comes to women's health issues. These men (mostly, anyways) have been spouting some medical "facts" that don't even pass the "truthiness" test.
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95 comments )
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So this is a serious problem for Romney and the GOP. Far be it for me to point out the problems they have, but I think this is worth a mention. You will recall, from yesterday's blog, I spoke of the Paul Ryan / Todd Akin connection. That they are part of a large group of Republicans who want to redefine the definition of rape - literally. In that post, I linked to the Romney campaign's response to Todd Akins legitimate rape comment: "Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," a Romney campaign spokeswoman, Amanda Henneberg, wrote. This week is planking week for the GOP. They are spending the week prior to their convention deciding and voting on the party platform. A funny thing is happening on the way to Tampa Bay. Continue reading...
5 comments )
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Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec
Date: 08/21/2012 10:18:23
Good Morning. Today is our 3,971st day in Afghanistan. We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing war, courtesy of Antiwar.com: US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 2,099 Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,050 We find this morning's cost of war passing through: $ 1, 364, 745, 100, 000 .00
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67 comments )
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That's what Missouri GOP candidate for Senate said. here is the statement: “First of all, from what I understand from doctors, (pregnancy from rape) is really rare,” Akin told KTVI-TV in a clip posted to YouTube by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
Akin added: “But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”
Akin issued a statement Sunday afternoon saying he misspoke. )
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