Yesterday, Miley Cyrus tweeted this:
Beautiful. twitter.com/MileyCyrus/sta…
— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) March 1, 2012
The Christian response, from some of her followers on Twitter: STFU!
@misskellimarie @MileyCyrus Timothy 2:11-12
— lalor (@TheRealSamacora) March 2, 2012
@TheRealSamacora @misskellimarie @MileyCyrus Ezekiel 23:20
— The Monger of Metals (@M3talmonger) March 2, 2012
Source video for Cyrus’ tweet:
The GOP is ditching the elephant for the flying pig this election cycle. Why else are they talking about birth control?
I know, it’s not about birth control or “religious freedom.” It’s about dangerous ideas that kill women and subject them to unnecessary medical procedures. And Rush wants video!
REALLY!?!
"One of the main reasons for introducing this bill was to see if we could find common ground for pro-life and pro-choice. It seems to me the common ground would be in the area of contraception."
- Olympia Snowe, on her Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act (introduced in May 1997)
The pill is one of most effective non permanent method of birth control. Pills are nearly 100% (99.6%) effective in preventing pregnancy if they are taken correctly. However they do not prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
Benefits
Periods will be regular, lighter and shorter with less cramping.
- Improvement of acne problems is common.
- The pill helps prevent cancer of the ovaries and uterus.
- Less chance of cysts on the ovaries and benign breast disease.
Oh, and for you US "libertarian" dimwits out there: My employer is not paying for my medical care! They are letting me take advantage of a group rate on medical insurance that they arranged with the company that is providing my medical insurance. This insurance is a benefit (like pay) of my employment, so…like my pay, it belongs to me. Further, no one is asking my employer to pay for birth control pills! Women are asking employers not to exempt birth control from their medical insurance coverage. Why is this so hard for somewhat educated white men to understand?
Gingrich is about to have a Google problem. My submissions:
Round I. 29 February.
Round II. 1 March.
gingrich [v] to fabricate and fornicate while prosecuting a fabricating fornicator
Meanwhile, on Twitter….
#BREAKINGNEWS In honor of National Pig Day, and their chances of winning the presidential election, GOP changes mascot to a flying pig! :)
— SkepticalPoet (@SkepticalPoet) March 1, 2012
Attention #GOP: #itsTimeForYouToRealize that talking about #birthcontrol is like #Snowe on your #Boehner to beat #Obama. Can you say jobs?
— SkepticalPoet (@SkepticalPoet) March 2, 2012
#GOP sez #BirthControl is like #Snowe on my #Boehner but add video and they get a #Rush. Hmmm. j.mp/y9clmN
— SkepticalPoet (@SkepticalPoet) March 2, 2012
Missed the debate last night, but Twitter came to the rescue...
Now that we all agree contraception is a bad idea, let's take a harder look at electricity and soap. #cnndebate
— Andy Borowitz (@BorowitzReport) February 23, 2012
And…
Cartoon: #Santorum & #Ahmadinejad - via Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Rogers 2012 #GOP #Iran #p2 #tcot #theocracy twitter.com/Mwforhr/status…
— Mwforhr (@Mwforhr) February 24, 2012
Update 1: How do you think Tommy Jordan will spend his $50,000 prize from Google for his antics?
Update 2: I agree with Anonymous (see Comments) that a secondary moral lesson in the Story of Tommy Jordan is about the oxymoron of online privacy. However, Mr. Jordan’s methods do nothing “to socialize, to internalize [those] values” either.
Tommy Jordan got what he deserves: a long chat with (and some parenting tips from) North Carolina Child Protective Services. No, I didn’t call them. But I'm glad someone did!
Public humiliation and graphic violence (against laptops…or whatever), are bad parenting because they are bad examples. Yes, it may make some parents feel good. Yes, I have no doubt the cops said “Kudos, sir” to Jordan. But that doesn’t make it right.
Is it “child abuse?” We should not fail to recognize that the difference is one of degree, not kind. As Elizabeth Wilson notes: “Destruction of property is almost always included in the definitions of domestic violence.” So the best we can say about Jordan’s outburst is: “Well, at least he isn’t beating his children or indoctrinating them in his own religion.” Well, not on YouTube anyway.
In educating children, particularly very young children, we're socializing them—teaching them to live in the world, that violence is not an appropriate solution to problems. Yes, the Power Rangers and other so-called heroes use violence. The producers say, “They're doing it to a good end,” but the end doesn't justify the means. We're teaching kids that violence is an appropriate mechanism for problem solving. That's disastrous. If you don't like what you see in society, you drop a bomb, or pull a knife or pistol…But I know words can work. I've watched it work on our playgrounds. You must learn that in life. But we don't learn it. We whack our spouse and we whack our kids. Corporal punishment doesn't work; we should be teaching positive discipline. When we teach corporal punishment, we're teaching violence as an appropriate solution to problems. Surveys of prison inmates have shown that over ninety percent were subjected to corporal punishment when they were young. Did it work with them? Obviously not. You've got to take the more patient approach and reach the minds of children—teach them to socialize, to internalize values. Then they're going to be good when they're away from you. That's what positive discipline does.
- Bob Keeshan (TV's Captain Kangaroo). 1996.
I expect to hear more from the Tommy Jordan school of parenting before the US election is over. The Right has been trying to use “parental rights” as a wedge issue in the culture war for some time now, and an Optional Protocol to the 20+ year-old (but still not ratified by the US) Convention on the Rights of the Child will open for signatures on February 28th. Like with other issues, don’t expect to learn much by following the public debate by the candidates. And please be careful with those rusty butter knives.
