on PolicyMic
Courtney Hodrick Another important point: 83% of gun deaths that occur within the home are suicides. http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=050fea9f-b064-4092-b1135c3a70de1fda
Courtney Hodrick You can scream "STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP" at the top of your lungs, and if the person does not stop (and you don't have prearranged safewords, etc etc), they are raping you, because you have already consented to the sex that you have had up to that point, but you are EXPLICITLY not consenting to anything AFTER that point. Why is this even up for debate? Like, seriously?
Courtney Hodrick Grant, I definitely agree with you that more millennials want to see fiscal conservatism and socially liberal policies- which is why I was surprised how low turnout was for libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. As long as the youth keeps saying what policies they want and then not voting for it, they'll be stuck choosing the lesser evil in every election.
Courtney Hodrick I think once he's been associated with communism they'll make the mental connection to economics, but we're pretty much splitting hairs at this point.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Daniel, That's a completely valid point, but I do think that for most people knee-jerk response to the question of "what's wrong with Communism" focuses on the economic aspects of Communism. There are a lot of really great examples of religious persecution occurring in Communist countries (the situation between China and Tibet is an obvious example) but I don't think Communism has a tremendously strong "war on religion" connotation. It's more of a secondary connotation.
Courtney Hodrick "Beside the point" is a prepositional phrase, not a preposition. What are you getting at? (THAT was intentional.)
Courtney Hodrick Thanks for this information about Sikhs! I'm really glad that you pointed out that the cultural differences between Sikhs and Muslims shouldn't matter- so many people in the media have been saying things like "Sikhs aren't Muslims, they're a peaceful religion" as if Muslims would have been justifiable targets in an attack like this, and I'm so sick of that Islamophobia. Great piece!
Courtney Hodrick Bartlet For America!
Courtney Hodrick This proud Whovian just mic'd you :)
Courtney Hodrick Hey Andrew, How would you define attack ads?
Courtney Hodrick Hey Matthew, I agree that the "bad blood" policy has got to change, but I hope there's a better way to change that terrible policy than by eliminating the ability of the students who currently ARE eligible to donate blood to do so. The difference between Chick-fil-A and blood drives in their current form is that blood drives save lives.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Chadwick, I was at NYC Pride this summer and I definitely saw a few straight couples kissing. Nobody had a problem with it, because Pride is all about celebrating love and equality.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Alex, In my opinion, if you speak against gay marriage, you're saying that people who are homosexual (or bisexual) shouldn't be given the same rights as those who are straight, which I consider to be inherently homophobic.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Dylan, It's completely possible for Christian organizations to give money to causes other than getting rid of homosexuality, or making sure that gay marriage doesn't get legalized. And some of these groups do- the NCF in particular has done a lot of good establishing orphanages, etc. But trying to legally ban things that their particular religion deems sinful is not only a waste of money that they could be spending alleviating world poverty, it's also against the values that were written into our Constitution (separation of church and state anyone?), not to mention completely homophobic. It's fine to have religious beliefs, but when did it become ok to use them to justify trying to strip people of their rights?
Courtney Hodrick Hey Dylan, While people may be aware that Chick-fil-A is a Christian organization, they may not know exactly how much money the organization is donating, and to which organizations (people might be surprised that one of them has been classified as a hate group, for example). I'm just trying to help everyone to make as informed decisions as possible about where to spend their money, and more information never hurt anybody.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Cole, Does it count if they donate money to organizations that say those things?
Courtney Hodrick Hey James, That's completely how I feel as well. If two consenting adults want to make a contract involving economic benefits for living together, medical power of attorney, etc, etc, etc, that really should be their legal right.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Max, Jeff Bezos could be considered to be "Anti-Traditional Marriage" if you consider Traditional Marriage to be the legal system that denies certain citizens the same rights as others. LGBT activists aren't trying to take away the right of straight couples to get married, and every couple remains free to have as traditional a marriage as they want. People trying to defend the concept/institution of "Traditional Marriage" are trying to defend institutionalized inequality. That's the difference, as I see it.
Courtney Hodrick I think we can't talk about taxes alone without also talking about spending, especially with the budget deficit as high as it currently is. For example, we currently spend more on defense than the next 14 countries combined. Is that really necessary? If Romney's looking to cut taxes, he's going to have to cut spending too, and that seems like a place to start.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Max, I've considered myself a libertarian for a few years now, I was just being super-specific for emphasis :)
Courtney Hodrick Hey Justin, The laws vary based on where you are, but to most people's surprise, in many places women are allowed to be topless in public. Here's an article written about toplessness laws in NYC after the topless woman caused a stir: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/06/topless_bowery.php and here's a list of places where "Top Freedom" laws have been passed: http://gotopless.org/page.php?4
Courtney Hodrick Hey Daniela, I think the "omg! boobs!" mentality considers the female body to be inherently a sexual object, which I find sexist.
Courtney Hodrick I completely agree! But hey, some progress is better than no progress, right?
Courtney Hodrick Hey Raoul, That's an excellent, and true, point, but enough of a consumer response CAN influence corporations to the point where they stop donating to anti-LGBT organizations. One of the companies that I researched but didn't write about was Target, and the very reason that I didn't write about them was that in 2010 they received a large consumer backlash for donating to MN Forward, an organization supporting an anti-LGBT Rep. in Minnesota, and since then they've ceased those donations and changed their corporate policy to make it harder for the CEO to donate company money to political causes. Since you brought up race, think about the importance of the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the Civil Rights Movement!
Courtney Hodrick That's a great point, Louis!
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Courtney Hodrick Another important point: 83% of gun deaths that occur within the home are suicides. http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=050fea9f-b064-4092-b1135c3a70de1fda
Courtney Hodrick You can scream "STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP" at the top of your lungs, and if the person does not stop (and you don't have prearranged safewords, etc etc), they are raping you, because you have already consented to the sex that you have had up to that point, but you are EXPLICITLY not consenting to anything AFTER that point. Why is this even up for debate? Like, seriously?
Courtney Hodrick Grant, I definitely agree with you that more millennials want to see fiscal conservatism and socially liberal policies- which is why I was surprised how low turnout was for libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. As long as the youth keeps saying what policies they want and then not voting for it, they'll be stuck choosing the lesser evil in every election.
Courtney Hodrick I think once he's been associated with communism they'll make the mental connection to economics, but we're pretty much splitting hairs at this point.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Daniel, That's a completely valid point, but I do think that for most people knee-jerk response to the question of "what's wrong with Communism" focuses on the economic aspects of Communism. There are a lot of really great examples of religious persecution occurring in Communist countries (the situation between China and Tibet is an obvious example) but I don't think Communism has a tremendously strong "war on religion" connotation. It's more of a secondary connotation.
Courtney Hodrick "Beside the point" is a prepositional phrase, not a preposition. What are you getting at? (THAT was intentional.)
Courtney Hodrick Thanks for this information about Sikhs! I'm really glad that you pointed out that the cultural differences between Sikhs and Muslims shouldn't matter- so many people in the media have been saying things like "Sikhs aren't Muslims, they're a peaceful religion" as if Muslims would have been justifiable targets in an attack like this, and I'm so sick of that Islamophobia. Great piece!
Courtney Hodrick Bartlet For America!
Courtney Hodrick This proud Whovian just mic'd you :)
Courtney Hodrick Hey Andrew, How would you define attack ads?
Courtney Hodrick Hey Matthew, I agree that the "bad blood" policy has got to change, but I hope there's a better way to change that terrible policy than by eliminating the ability of the students who currently ARE eligible to donate blood to do so. The difference between Chick-fil-A and blood drives in their current form is that blood drives save lives.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Chadwick, I was at NYC Pride this summer and I definitely saw a few straight couples kissing. Nobody had a problem with it, because Pride is all about celebrating love and equality.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Alex, In my opinion, if you speak against gay marriage, you're saying that people who are homosexual (or bisexual) shouldn't be given the same rights as those who are straight, which I consider to be inherently homophobic.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Dylan, It's completely possible for Christian organizations to give money to causes other than getting rid of homosexuality, or making sure that gay marriage doesn't get legalized. And some of these groups do- the NCF in particular has done a lot of good establishing orphanages, etc. But trying to legally ban things that their particular religion deems sinful is not only a waste of money that they could be spending alleviating world poverty, it's also against the values that were written into our Constitution (separation of church and state anyone?), not to mention completely homophobic. It's fine to have religious beliefs, but when did it become ok to use them to justify trying to strip people of their rights?
Courtney Hodrick Hey Dylan, While people may be aware that Chick-fil-A is a Christian organization, they may not know exactly how much money the organization is donating, and to which organizations (people might be surprised that one of them has been classified as a hate group, for example). I'm just trying to help everyone to make as informed decisions as possible about where to spend their money, and more information never hurt anybody.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Cole, Does it count if they donate money to organizations that say those things?
Courtney Hodrick Hey James, That's completely how I feel as well. If two consenting adults want to make a contract involving economic benefits for living together, medical power of attorney, etc, etc, etc, that really should be their legal right.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Max, Jeff Bezos could be considered to be "Anti-Traditional Marriage" if you consider Traditional Marriage to be the legal system that denies certain citizens the same rights as others. LGBT activists aren't trying to take away the right of straight couples to get married, and every couple remains free to have as traditional a marriage as they want. People trying to defend the concept/institution of "Traditional Marriage" are trying to defend institutionalized inequality. That's the difference, as I see it.
Courtney Hodrick I think we can't talk about taxes alone without also talking about spending, especially with the budget deficit as high as it currently is. For example, we currently spend more on defense than the next 14 countries combined. Is that really necessary? If Romney's looking to cut taxes, he's going to have to cut spending too, and that seems like a place to start.
Courtney Hodrick Hey Max, I've considered myself a libertarian for a few years now, I was just being super-specific for emphasis :)
Courtney Hodrick Hey Justin, The laws vary based on where you are, but to most people's surprise, in many places women are allowed to be topless in public. Here's an article written about toplessness laws in NYC after the topless woman caused a stir: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/06/topless_bowery.php and here's a list of places where "Top Freedom" laws have been passed: http://gotopless.org/page.php?4
Courtney Hodrick Hey Daniela, I think the "omg! boobs!" mentality considers the female body to be inherently a sexual object, which I find sexist.
Courtney Hodrick I completely agree! But hey, some progress is better than no progress, right?
Courtney Hodrick Hey Raoul, That's an excellent, and true, point, but enough of a consumer response CAN influence corporations to the point where they stop donating to anti-LGBT organizations. One of the companies that I researched but didn't write about was Target, and the very reason that I didn't write about them was that in 2010 they received a large consumer backlash for donating to MN Forward, an organization supporting an anti-LGBT Rep. in Minnesota, and since then they've ceased those donations and changed their corporate policy to make it harder for the CEO to donate company money to political causes. Since you brought up race, think about the importance of the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the Civil Rights Movement!
Courtney Hodrick That's a great point, Louis!