Congress introduces a national abortion ban on its first day back.

[kuronosan]

Anyone have a good video or documentary on the war that was waged against Carlin? lol For some reason I never had much interest in hearing about the shit that was slung at George, but I did grow up learning about the war against Zappa. This is one of those rare moments when I wish I was older, just to have the pleasure of seeing these guys live.

I didn't agree with some of George's philosophies but with politics and humanitarian ideas he was always spot on.

[Sho]

I doubt it will get far at all -- more or less a political move to get Obama to veto (which he would/will), and then turn around and use this as rhetoric to claim Obama as the "President of 'NO'" to psyche up their base for 2016. No one should be surprised that they did this either. The House tried to pass the exact same thing in 2013, and it was killed off. They are emboldened by the new GOP controlled Senate to try again and give Obama a hard time all the while. I can only imagine the ink on Obama's Veto pens will run dry until he leaves, lol.

This has always been the agenda for most hard-nosed Republicans -- run their campaigns on economic issues (see: "fiscal conservatism") to draw in the votes, then push their shitty social agendas as soon as they get in. Real fiscal conservatism ended with Richard Nixon; most GOP that are around right now simply herald Nixon as their champion for their views, then completely ignore it in favor of pushing most social agendas their entire tenure. That and/or rolling around in bed with Big Oil. Funny how the GOP wants government out of the people's lives, but are completely fine with wanting to tell women how they should treat their bodies in terms of abortions.

[notorious bum]

I didn't agree with some of George's philosophies but with politics and humanitarian ideas he was always spot on.

Yeah, same here, especially revisiting his stand-up a decade later or so, I just had the sudden urge to look more into his life.

[RKenshin]

I'm anxious to see how the the plummeting oil prices get spun... will have a difficult time trying to drum up sympathy for US oil's profit margins.

[Waraji]

Plummeting oil prices are just an outlier I think. Very soon they will jut right back after, after you've already gotten so fond of it. I'm pretty sure Obama mentioned something like this recently in an interview.

[Kurokikaze]

I'm seeing current oil prices as political posturing by those on Wall Street in order for Republicans to sell the whole Keystone XL bullshit. Once that gets veto/filibustered it's going to shoot right back up. Remember 2/3s of the price of oil is due to speculative trading. Anyone who has a lot of cash put away should wait for crude to bottom out and and start stock piling for the eventual climb.

On topic:
Republicans know that this abortion bill will never get signed into law but they want Obama to start working that veto pen so they can brand him as someone who isn't reaching across the aisle or working with them.

[wipers]

This is the #1 thing I will never understand about the conservative viewpoint. If they cared about life so much and they continued to care so much about all the homeless children or the ones with bad parents, I could at least see their viewpoint. But the moment that kid is born, fuck you, you're on your own. I will never understand it.

I think voting (abortion etc) is the last thing a person without a home worries about...seeing how such a high percentage of us that can vote don't...

[Restrat]

Saudi Arabia is trying to punish its friends in opec who weren't following the rules by crashing oil prices to hurt their economies.

[Waraji]

^seems legit, I can see them doing that. lol gdit, we're going off topic already on page 1. When is it that they are voting on this abortion law?

[Andalusian girls]

Saudi Arabia is trying to punish its friends in opec who weren't following the rules by crashing oil prices to hurt their economies.

Saudi Arabia is attempting to price out alternate forms of petroleum production (hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling) as well as the various green energy industries with oversaturation of the market, both of which are viable at $120 a barrel, less so at $60 a barrel.

economics 101 the Saudis are temporarily sacrificing profit margins to attain a greater market share

as to the base cause of cheaper gas, demand has declined in the United States since the great recession (oil consumption in 2013 was 8% lower than in 2007, worldwide consumption rises by about 1.5% annually, mostly the developing economies) while supply has soared to levels not seen in forty years. since 2010 United States oil production has increased from about 5 million barrels a day to just under 9 million barrels a day, and while the pace of expansion is projected to slow with the much cheaper price point, all forecasts point to a continuing increase in production.

[Tyrath]

I think voting (abortion etc) is the last thing a person without a home worries about...seeing how such a high percentage of us that can vote don't...

I have no idea what that has to do with what I said.

[ringthree]

I don't think there is enough votes in the senate to override a presidential veto, but worst case supreme court would stamp this out.

I doubt there are enough votes to overcome a filibuster.

[ringthree]

Oh man, these next couple of years are going to be fun, aren't they?

Nah, while dumber, they are not significantly dumber than the Congress while Clinton was president. They already blew their load on a government shutdown. The filibuster and veto will take care of the rest.

Just two more years of do-nothing congress.

[wipers]

I have no idea what that has to do with what I said.

What does homeless people have to do with abortion you brought it up ?

[Gredival]

What does homeless people have to do with abortion you brought it up ?

He's pointing out the logical inconsistency of people who favor abortion restrictions yet abhor the social safety net.

If the pro-life argument is that we have to protect all life because it's all precious, then the concern for these children should extend forward to after they are born. All those non-aborted babies that we save from abortion are going to need governmental support because, through no fault of their own, their parents may be complete screw-ups.

Saving these fetuses from abortion based on the sanctity of life only to be completely callous as to other quality of life issues is hypocritical to say the least.

[kuronosan]

The very least. That's one of the many things I agreed with Carlin on. Pro-life people only care about the baby's right to be born but don't actually give a crap about the baby's right to actually have a life after that.

Education and welfare for children is a perfect example of hypocrisy on the part of pro-lifers. They want to control everything up to the birth and then have someone else deal with the problems.

"NIMBY" at its finest.

[wipers]

I'm glad George Carlin has shown me the light I was lost but now I'm saved.

I used to threaten abortion clinics now I work at one.

[Priran]

it'd be slightly more defensible if pro-life people weren't also the classic audience for capital punishment

[chazzyphizzle]

let's be honest, did priran *really* request his account be locked lol

[Marootsoobutsu]

The very least. That's one of the many things I agreed with Carlin on. Pro-life people only care about the baby's right to be born but don't actually give a crap about the baby's right to actually have a life after that.

Education and welfare for children is a perfect example of hypocrisy on the part of pro-lifers. They want to control everything up to the birth and then have someone else deal with the problems.

"NIMBY" at its finest.

I picked this one, though a variety of these could suffice.

I swear, I live in a completely different world from y'all. Like, I've been tutoring in Seattle's poorer areas for about 20 years... math, reading. And easily 80% of the people who give books, who give money, who give time, who come in and actually DO THINGS to help the poor are the religious right. Maybe I've just been in really, really good churches, but the three churches I've been involved with since I converted to Christianity have run tremendous outreach programs-- food, clothes, toys, help with rent, job training, tuition for college and finances to help cover babysitting and things of that sort for single parents. There are some folks who are liberal, too, who help in the areas that I see, but they tend to be the minority.

I'm not saying the liberals don't care... I just think they care in a very different way. They see helping the poor as the burden of the government, and their role in that in volunteering to help get the politicians in office who will help the way they want it done. But they think that, since I don't vote for their policies (because, having used them, I find them horribly destructive toward escaping poverty, even if they are useful for enduring it), I don't care.

I care, and most of the people I know who can articulate why they are prolife care. They care at an intensely personal level, with generous donations-- not just to the church (though like I said, my churches have been excellent), but specifically to charities to help the poor. It's not an abstract, "There are poor, we must help them!" I find out their stories, and with my church we try to help people in the way they need.

The major reason that I oppose the government helping isn't because I don't care, or that I want the poor to be left alone because bootstraps or whatnot. I oppose it, because every study I've ever seen shows that as government money to welfare goes up in an area, giving to local charities goes down, and I genuinely believe that local charities do far more good for people than the government does. Like I said: I was in a point where we needed help, and at the time, we hadn't found our local church. But holy hell, the policies are so prohibitive of even trying to take care of yourself or plan for your future.

Honestly, I'd like some kind of better middle ground than we have now, where charitable donations are deductable. It helps, but... ugh. There is legitimately a difference in the help people get when it's rubber-stamped-national-policy (and how grateful they are for that help), and the help people get when it's someone personal not getting paid. And no, I don't preach... the charity things I go with in my Church, we don't even say "God bless you", unless someone asks; that's our policy. It's not about us sharing our faith, it's about us living it by trying to help people, whether they want to know why or not. Like I said: I've been doing this for twenty years now, and I think I've talked about Jesus three times.

Maybe it's my area; I don't know anyone else's experiences. But man, mine are NOTHING like what you guys are espousing as universal. Maybe I'm just lucky as heck... my wife, too-- she grew up in the Church, and has dozens of examples off hand that contract this narrative. And, I know, lolanecdote.

But I hear a lot of, "THIS IS THE WAY THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT IS!" and it just... it doesn't mesh with my experience at all. Not when it comes to the poor, at least. (if the topic were homosexuality, transgender issues or the like, it becomes less clear-cut). And I'm not saying it's perfect-- there are folks who show up on Sundays for social or political reasons, and my experience (and charitable giving records) tends to show that about 1/3 to 1/2 give 10%, and the other 2/3-1/2 give about 0% of their time or money. But those 50-66% tend to also not be the vocal folks, until you get to politicians... but those are a different beast entirely.