Hope this pro-choice legal action gets some traction.

Two religious leaders — a Unitarian and a Buddhist — plan to join a South Florida rabbi's legal crusade challenging a new state law banning abortions after 15 weeks, arguing it violates the state Constitution's right to privacy and freedom of religion.

The retired Unitarian Rev. Harris Riordan and the Buddhist minister Maya Malay confirmed they will file a lawsuit in state court next week, echoing arguments from Rabbi Barry Silver. Silver intends to file his own amended complaint next week along with Rabbi Arthur Wascow, the founder and director of the progressive Jewish organization the Shalom Center.

"We are excited to expand this lawsuit to include outstanding representatives of the Buddhist and Unitarian traditions," Silver said. "Maya Malay and Harris Riordan are wonderful teachers of their own traditions and have dedicated their lives to improving the world for people of all faiths and religions.

"We look forward to building coalitions with people of all faiths and backgrounds, including atheists and freethinkers, to repair the wall of separation between church and state and to unite the people of the world to protect human rights and save our precious planet," Silver added.

HIPAA is going to be severely tested in the post-Roe world

The witch hunts that are bound to take place are going to get ugly.

At the end of the day, it seems like actual medical information is going to be needed in order to actually establish any potential "guilt" (and I use the term very loosely and only in the framework of something being against the law).

Where this "evidence" of wrongdoing comes from is going to get very complicated.

The police need to pick a side

The police are taking a lot of well earned criticism in Texas.

My view on this might be a little more nuanced than most people because I know a lot of heroes. Those of you that know my posting history know that I have spent time with rescuers in 9/11, Haiti, Surfside and others. I know what heroism looks like. I also know that not all people that look the part are able to act the part when the shit hits the fan. I get it.

But here is the thing. It is time for the police to pick a side.

Either you are on board with the 2nd Amendment crowd or you push for gun restrictions.

If you are on board with the 2nd Amendment crowd then our expectations are that you think you can handle policing that kind of nation. Including all the danger and deadly situations that it puts you in. If that is your position, we have the right to hold you accountable when things go wrong.

Otherwise, just admit that you are overwhelmed in an arms race and cannot effectively police a nation like this. Become an advocate for restrictions, licensing, background checks, a modern traceable registry and all the other things that would make it so much easier for you to do your job.

Be a part of solution or you are part of the problem.

You can't have it both ways.

Ok, I will say it

The Constitution is a FUCKED up document.

Any document that enshrines guns as a national religion is fundamentally flawed.

I am tired of towing the patriotic line. Days like today don't give me much to be proud about.

I don't care if people want to call me un-American.


ON EDIT

To all of you defending the constitution by saying it is all about the interpretation...well yeah sure. That is what we are left with. But it is fucked up to have it there at all. Why elevate gun ownership above every other physical object. It simply has no place in the document at all and has been a source of misinterpretation all along.

This is disturbing (Warning Child Abuse Content)

I know it has become a solid bet that anything the GOP is accusing us of is essentially a confession of their own wrongdoing.

But this is a new low and made me physically ill

https://www.wonkette.com/pro-life-ex-rnc-aide-who-dreamed-of-killing-kids-sentenced-to-12-years-for-child-porn

Recommendations for Selling a Used Car

Any thoughts on selling a used car?

We have a surplus car now that my daughter is away at college and it is time to pare down. 2014 Ford Fusion Hybrid with very low mileage so it should be an easy sale these days.

I am looking for a good middle ground wholesaler. I don't want to get ripped off by the dealerships but neither do I want to deal with a private sale with the issues surrounding time, security and payment. I just want a moderately fair price and to have someone take it off my hands.

There seem to be lots of options like Carmax, Vroom, Carvana, etc. Ultimately, I will likely try several and take the best offer.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience or recommendations.

Imagining better priorities for yourself

I really enjoyed this NYT article about setting new priorities in the post Covid world. Maybe I am just a math nerd but he does an interesting job of quantifying our priorities.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/25/opinion/covid-pandemic-depressing-math.html?smid=em-share

We underestimate future possibilities for the same reason we overestimate the time we have left with those we love: our intuition is not very imaginative. It’s a human instinct to believe the life we’re used to is how things will always be, both the good parts and the bad.

Wallowing in regret carries an implicit assumption that we had agency in the past — that we could have had those other life paths if only we had made better decisions. When we think about the future, though, that feeling of agency often disappears, which can leave us feeling resigned and even hopeless.

But the life we’ll be living 10 years from now will largely be determined not by our past selves but by our present and future selves. If we imagine what we might regret down the road, it’s very much in our hands to do something about it now.

This is the good news about being a human. The time we have left with family and friends is not a law of nature like the weeks we have left to live. It’s a function of priorities and decisions.

Is it just me or did Crypto jump the shark last night

The Crypto companies went all out on advertising spending last night during the Superbowl. This is one of many articles about how they dominated the airways. https://fortune.com/2022/02/03/crypto-super-bowl-commercials-binance/

I will be the first to admit that I don't really get Crypto currencies. It is more than just having a limited understanding of them. I just don't get why they exist in a broad market. It seems to me that they have limited uses for limited kinds of people like criminals and anarchists. All of the rest just seems like hype and the fear of missing out. Which is where the Super Bowl advertising spree comes in to fuel even more hype and FOMO.

I don't particularly have any gripe with the concept as long as they don't undermine actual currency that we all depend on.

But if I am going to adopt any means of currency, I have two major hurdles: A) Confidence that it is at least real enough not to burn me and B) Widespread places where I can use it

I don't see either of those things even close to being true yet. Maybe Bitcoin is conceivable in the 5-10 year horizon but it isn't there yet.

The problem I see is that there are dozens of different crypto currencies and there isn't room for more than 1-2. Meanwhile, the proliferation and ultimate failure of the rest is simply going to undermine the potential of the few.

Meanwhile, the entire argument for crypto seem to be in the speculation and trading realm. Which seems particularly suspect to me. Without a widespread marketplace actually utilizing the currency, it seems even more theoretical than ever.

Or, maybe I am just old.

Outrage of the day

So there is this...

https://www.foxnews.com/us/ohio-state-university-sex-week-event-encourages-students-to-thank-abortion-providers

The vaccine mandate falls and I'm not mad about it

So this happened today https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/13/scotus-blocks-bidens-workplace-vaccine-rule-527054

But I have to say, I am not upset. I expect this opinion to be very unpopular but hear me out.

Here are three thoughts.

1. They have already accomplished most of what they could
2. Things were about to get very messy
3. I did not see a clear exit strategy

I have to say I was never a big fan. I have been uneasy about it in ways that may have been solved today. So allow me to elaborate on my above thoughts.

1. Many companies pushed forward and set early deadlines that have already motivated most of the reasonable fence sitters. Those are gains that cannot be taken back. What is left are the stubborn hold-outs that are desperately hoping for a medical or health exemption. It seems to me like we have already gotten much of the benefit that was ever available.

2. Going forward, things were going to get very messy to actually enforce the mandate. The hardened hold-outs were mostly going to ride this to the bitter end. We were going to see daily stories about denied waivers and employee terminations. All of this in the face of staffing issues, inflation, product shortages, etc. It was going to be a PR nightmare and we were going to create a shitload of martyrs in the process. Most of that would come with very few additional vaccinations.

3. I don't for one second believe that #2 was going to play out quickly. I suspect it would take till at least the end of the year to really close the books on enforcement due to court challenges and appeals, etc.. Personally, I think the Omicron wave may be the last serious wave to this pandemic. The infection rates are high and fast and have dropped off precipitously in other Countries. The net result of that could leave a relatively resistant Country better prepared to fight off future waves. Combined with better treatments and higher vaccine rates, things are better now than they were six months ago. Which begs the question, would we be enforcing this mandate on a population that no longer wants it. I could easily see a time when the population feels like we are past this and the Government is left wondering what to do with the mandate. Enforce it even though it no longer feels necessary? Forget it and empower the martyrs? Revoke it at the last minute? It just seems like a mess.

So I say this is an ugly end that might have avoided an even uglier end. I would just release a strongly worded statement to the effect of "we tried to do the right thing but those partisan assholes over there have left us to suffer more pain and suffering every bit of which will now be their fault"

I fully expect to take a lot of grief in the comments so do your worst.