Let me be honest, if someone were to approach me and ask why the economy is the way it is right now I would probably say something along the lines of handing out too many mortgages to people who can’t pay and mention how there was just too much borrowed money. It would get me by, but I really don’t have a conceptual understanding of why those things occurred and it certainly isn’t enough knowledge to have an opinion on economic decisions being made in the news.
Perhaps I’m just uniquely ignorant, but I’m willing to bet that most people wouldn’t be able to explain it all very clearly if they had to. I feel like since it’s something that’s all over the news and heard and talked about every day, everyone just goes along as if they know what’s going on. Bits and pieces are gathered from hearing “who’s to blame” and what’s being done, then reactions are formed based on limited understanding. Everyone’s walking around with their emperor’s knowledge hoping no one calls them out because, of course, you’d be stupid NOT to understand.
But again, perhaps I’m uniquely ignorant.
In any case, I came across this video that does a pretty good job of explaining on a basic level what led up to the economic collapse. It’s really well done and the graphics keep your attention– which is important because, of course, this is all refresher anyways, right?
sweet vid, now if only they taught my classes using videos like that..
i’m not positive but i don’t think that semi-colon was correct. i don’t think you follow up a semi-colon with a pronoun. i think a dash would’ve worked better like “It’s really well done and the graphics keep your attention—which is important because, of course, this is all refresher anyways, right?”
right use would be this:
“It’s really well done and the graphics keep your attention; this is important because…”
the basic principle is to form 2 sentences that could stand on its own, on both sides of the semi. Link with a semi if the second sentence increases a reader’s understanding of the first.
Every 2-3 days, my dad comes into my room and starts ranting about how Obama is giving it to the rich. He actually says “people who play games” because that’s how my dad thinks of them as. He’ll talk talk talk about how Obama is starting a revolution. I think it’s awesome my dad is so into it. He has never voted in his life until he voted for Obama. He’s genuinely excited. It’s also great because he used to talk about how all black people are lazy and that’s why they are poor. He wasn’t hating them, he was stating it like a fact but somehow he’s over it now. I’m glad that part of him is a part of the past now. I guess I have Obama to thank. And there’s no doubt he’s shaking things up. I hope and pray with him that it is all for the better.
Obama4lyfe
-HH
*EDIT* Today me and my mom called my dad to go get dinner. He kept on saying ‘I know I know’ while he was watching the Obama speech. He was glued to the tv and didn’t come out to get his dinner until it was done. And it was galbi!! And I can’t remember another time where he was late to dinner. I am just in awe.
Pro-life or pro-choice. I used to not think anything about this and thought if the person wanted to get the child aborted, it’s their child so it’s their choice. I’ve been listening to a lot of people speak about this subject and now I know for sure that I am completely prolife, although I have to admit I have been listening to only the Christian perspective of it.
Is a fetus a human being?(Directly from a sermon I heard)
Size – Some of the biggest arguments on why a fetus is a not a human being is that it’s small. Are large people more human than small people
Level of development – Some would say a fetus is not a human being because it is not developed and has no intelligence or awareness. Would you say that a 4 year old girl is less of a person than a 14 year old girl? The 4 year old doesn’t even have functional reproductive organs so is she less of a human? Could we say anyone who’s smarter than us has the right to exploit us because he’s more human? How can we rule out the human being a fetus just because the development doesn’t match ours?
Environment – Because the fetus isn’t born, does it make it not human? How does where you are have bearing on who you are? Do you stop being yourself when you walk into your kitchen? Does it make you more human? Does walking down the stairs change who you are? If not, how does a journey a couple inches down the birth canal transform a nonhuman tissue blob into a protectable, precious human life we ought to protect?
Degree of Dependency – Since a fetus is not viable, does it make it not human? If being independent of everyone or everything is a factor in being human, we’ve got a big problem. People depend on insulin, pacemakers, etc and without them they’d die. Does that make them any less human?
None of these points are morally relevent. A fetus is a human just like me, who types this up is human. It’s hard for me to get my mind around this, however slowly but surely, God is showing me it through and through.
These aren’t even from a Christian point of view really either. The separation of church and state should not matter here as it should in same sex marriage in my opinion.
I heard a woman, Kathy Sparks, who used to work for an abortion clinic (the Hope Clinic, one of the first abortion clinics) as a registered nurse before she became Christian speak also and abortion clinics run like a complete business. Counseling involved using a lot of open ended questions to see what was driving the desire for the woman to have an abortion. And once they would find this out, they would magnify this problem instead of trying to relieve it. By the end, 99 out of 100 girls choose to have an abortion.
In the cleanup room, they would have a toilet bowl that had no lid or flusher and was constantly flushing. What would happen is they would do abortions on women 14, 15, 16 weeks (3.5 – 4 months) pregnant but they couldn’t send the fetuses to the pathology lab because they would get in a lot of trouble. They would just drop the fetuses in the bowl and the fetus would just go down to the sewer system. They did this everyday.
It took 8-10 minutes to do the abortion and then have the nurses clean up and sort everything up for the next person. If it took longer than that time, doctors would get real mad because they were losing money (as there would be up to a 5 hour wait) and they would have to stay longer than they intended too.
A doctor didn’t want to do deliveries anymore because he could 3 abortions and make the same amount of money and not have to wake up in the middle of the night to do it and so he decided that he didn’t want to deliver and decided that it would be easier and more affluent to just kill them instead.
Some view abortions as something that helps people who can’t raise and afford babies, however in her 20 years working in abortion clinics, she never once saw a doctor give a reduced price, or have it done probono.
I really think abortion is wrong but I am also writing this to see what the other side is, since I do not know it as well. So feel free to comment and post what you guys thing and feel about this controversial issue.
I feel like no one is going to answer though, haha but that’s fine.
i used to be completely prolife in high school. i just plainly knew in my heart it wasn’t right.
then one day.
i had the stomach flu…or something weird w/ my stomach and just woke up and started throwing up every 5-10 minutes. it was a sunday morning. i was supposed to go to church. and while laying on my bed after being tortured over the toilet, my mom sits on side of the bed and asked if i was pregnant and having sex.
i was in utter and complete shock. i said no.
as soon as she got up i thought, omg i need to get an abortion.
scary no?
i mean i wasn’t pregnant or having sex, but for some reason i got this sickening feeling that i needed to figure out how i could get an abortion asap (cause you cant get it after a certain point).
i dont want to use the “your not a woman you dont understand” argument. and honestly, i dont think i could get an abortion. i think emotionally i would be even more scarred and messed up than having the responsibility of taking care of a baby. but yea, i dont necessarily think abortions are right…but,
i feel like you really need to be in the situation and some kind of instinct kicks in and all the logical reasoning is crap for the moment. hahah i talk like i know what it’s like to be pregnant. but seriously that time really scared me. and as for being in the situation guys cant.
yeah.. i was completely prolife in high school too (i even have memories of yelling at someone (someone that we all know from gbn!) for not being fully prolife.. ugh..
but i think i’ve realized that no one is FOR abortion. Pro-choice ppl don’t like abortion. No one does. EVERYONE of course would rather abortions didn’t exist, didn’t have to exist, at all. But the fact remains that it’s there, and that some ppl will choose to do it, no matter what. it’s always existed, and will continue to exist. if you make abortion illegal, all you do is move it from clinics and hospitals to bathrooms and coat hangers and shady medicines. I think ppl have to realize that you can’t completely ban it – it’s going to happen, no matter what.
Also, most abortion doctors do NOT do abortions for $$. That’s a pretty terrible thing to say, no offense, cos it’s. not true. Many doctors do it, despite all the flak they get, because the women who get them are eternally grateful and thankful, and have no where else to turn. To face all the criticism and hate and even violence that doctors who perform abortions must do is not worth the money – they do it to help out desperate women. Women who may have been raped by their bf’s or fathers or random strangers. Women whose parents would probably throw them out of the house or beat them up for being pregnant. Women who are in highschool and just not ready to become mothers yet and throw their dreams away. If doctors wanted money, they could have gone into practices that paid much more and given them less of a hassle and stigma as well.
I mean, you write “I think abortion is wrong.” But who seriously thinks abortion is right? Do you think anyone wants an abortion?? But you have to think of people and their situations, and look beyond your own perspective of being a male, of being a conservative Christian, of being raised in an upper-middle class educated society (with substantial sex ed), of having a big support group, of not being pressured by some guy to have sex, etc… You are very lucky in that respect, seriously.
Abortion is something no one wants. To classify abortion doctors as simply greedy business men.. or ppl who have gotten abortions as murderers (without looking into their specific circumstances) is really dangerous..
I remember going to church and watching videos on abortion and stuff too. I know where you’re coming from. But.. it doesn’t hurt to get a non-Christian point of view too.. sometimes that’s better, since then you’ve heard facts on both sides of the issue, and can back up your own personal views more. You’ve looked at all the sides equally, and then feel more confident that the side you chose is the most correct. I think with all issues we need to do that..
and using anecdotal stories of abortion is not a good reason to be prolife or prochoice.. you can hear shocking stories on both sides of the issue. to me, that’s just a scare tactic. Thinking about such a serious issue should be done in a serious, logical, clear-headed way. Also, your points could be argued for other things that we routinely ‘kill.’ Dependency, size, environment, development – you could say this about an egg or a sperm. They’re all dependent on the whole body, small, internal, and a pre-req to a human being as well. So, I duno how strong those arguments are. I mean, this issue obviously has no clear answer – why else would it be such a controversial issue. Really, it’s a question each person must answer for themself. You might think there’s a right or a wrong.. but.. there’s a whole lotta ppl out there who would say you’re wrong.. There’s no seeing across the fence. Which, i think we need to do as a ppl. Realize we have vastly different opinions. And realize that we’ll almost never be able to convince the other side. Do you think someone could convince you to NOT be prolife? probably not, right? In the same vein, you should realize that you will probably not be able to convince a hardcore prochoice person to be prolife. And, we have to accept that, as hard as it seems. And make policy decisions based on the fact that there are two irreconcilable sides, and it’s essentially a waste of time and energy to convince one side or the other what’s right and what’s wrong. We’ll never agree.
On a side note.. I always wonder how some extreme pro-lifers are also pro-capital punishment. That seems really hypocritical. They’ll want to save fetuses, but they have no qualms with putting other humans to death? Isn’t that wrong? My youth pastor was like that, and I could never figure it out… What do you think about that? You should write a blog post about that. Or about abstinence-only education. Or why Catholics are against all birth control (and why are protestants not?).
erica pretty much hit the nail on the head. even the semantics of “pro-choice” vs. “pro-life” is ridiculous. it’s a slant against people who believe abortion should be a choice made by the female. no one who thinks abortion should be legal believe abortion is great. they think it should be readily available for women who think they need it. if you buy into the freakonomics theory, then Roe v. Wade actually SAVED lives with what it contributed to the fall of crime in the 90’s.
the fact is, if you’re against the legalization of abortion, then you’re probably for the death penalty. and therein lies the question erica asked which was, “where do you draw the line?”
it irritates me when Christians decide that because their “pastor” told them so, they decide to take whatever stance he has. im glad that some people (this includes HH of course) are doing their own research and coming up with their own conclusions, for better or worse.
i remember once when I was in church, a youth pastor said NOT to read “The Catcher in the Rye” because it was filled with filth. it only took 6 more years of the devil to persuade me that perhaps censorship isn’t exact the holiest of routes. free will is a gift, let’s use it.
I know this is an older post, but I just came across it and thought it was interesting. I grew up in a very Christian environment, and was pro-life for a long time because it was the “Christian” perspective. Even when I was in high school and the first few months of college, and was able to finally make my own judgment calls, I fell victim to those scare tactics that Erica was talking about. But now that I’ve really sat down and looked at both sides, I can’t say I feel quite so strongly about the pro-life point of view.
First of all, placing a label like “pro-life” on a worldview immediately limits you. It becomes a strict, close-minded perspective with no room for adjustment. At the very lease, “pro-choice” gives you just that.. a choice. But then again, many would argue that a close-minded perspective is really just a focused one, which is valuable in some ways.
As for your arguments, most of them I agree with. Things like size and environment really have no bearing on whether a fetus is more or less “human”. Therefore, I think those arguments are irrelevant and fall flat. In addition, someone who is pro-choice cannot argue that a fetus is not a human because it is dependent, because often, so are those who are mentally and physically handicapped. One would certainly not even consider killing a child who is mentally retarded, though they can be extremely dependent on those around them.
The level of development is the point that caught my attention most though. You equate the difference in development between a fetus and a child with a child and an adult. Those two are completely different and really cannot be compared. It’s not a matter of whether an embryo is less developed than a child, it’s a matter of being undeveloped or developed. Once a child is born (or to take it even further, once an embryo becomes a fetus at 3 months), it is a developed human being. A 4 year old has grown less than an adult, but it is not less developed in the same sense that an embryo is less developed. I read that 90% of abortions are performed before the 3rd month, which is only a week or two after the baby is even referred to as a fetus. This means that most abortions are done while the baby is only an embryo. Embryos have a “reptilian” brain, which means they do not have any of the higher-order functions that all humans have; they do not feel pain (they possess pain receptors but the brain mechanism for pain is not yet formed); they don’t even resemble a human until just before the 3 month mark. As the comments above pointed out, those who are pro-choice do NOT like abortion. However, I think that given the lack of development of an embryo, women should be allowed to choose what happens to them and their unborn child.
Morals aside, think about how many poor, teenage, unprepared mothers we can avoid. Of course there are exceptions; every day young women have children that they raise to become healthy, responsible adults. However, it is rare that a teenage girl who becomes unexpectedly pregnant and cannot support herself, let alone another human being, successfully raises a child to its fullest potential.
Those are my thoughts anyway. Thanks for the insightful and thought-provoking post!
Being one of George W. Bush’s last days in office, you wonder what kind of legacy this man leaves behind. And a lot of people would tell you that he was one of the worst presidents in history citing the war in Iraq, the economy, and making fun of his intelligence as cases against him. But really, was he THAT bad?
I ran into the above article on CNN today. Now I am not a political watchdog, waiting, watching, listening for political news so this came up as news to me. But really, is it not amazing how much money he gave to fight AIDS? Is that not something to be commended about? Yet, I never hear anything about this. In case you are not familiar with AIDS and HIV in Africa, it is an epidemic in most of the continent. Some countries have a 20+% of people infected with HIV/AIDS. In contrast to United States, about 0.3% of people here have it.
Faith-based community initiative programs also were targeted with funds under the Bush administration which the article does not mention. An estimated 20,000 people who were chronically homeless were helped off the street. It also helped many people with addictions and helped people reenter society from prison.
And should even the economy or the war in Iraq be blamed solely on him? Economic policies take a very long time to start effecting the economy. And this recent recession due to the “credit crunch” really has more to do with people spending more than they made than whatever Mr. Bush did. And initially the war in Iraq was supported by the American people. 68% of people initially approved of the way George handled the situation in Iraq back in 2003.
This is not to say I think that Bush was a great president. I don’t actually know completely what I think but I believe people have this mob mentality that Bush sucks. People that probably don’t even know this is his last week in office but think that he is the worst president ever. I think that just shows how much media and mob mentality goes to defining what people think. I feel like Obama was also vastly more popular due to media and mob mentality. Countless celebrities run for political office and win, but are they’re no more qualified sometimes than Butch, the guy who dropped out of your highschool, although I’m not saying education is all there is to being qualified. What I have come to realize is that we as a people need to become more independent with our thoughts, some of having to actually do some thinking instead of eating up what other people tell us to think.
On another political thought, I voting for someone simply because they are black or a woman is also racist and sexist just like voting for someone because they are white and a man. This just makes me mad because people throwing around the word racist or sexist due to not voting for Obama and Clinton.
oh phil, i disagree with you so much!! i mean, first of all.. bush also called for abstinence only sex-ed. and i believe he cut funding to any health clinic (including hiv/aids clinics) that even mentioned abortion (‘global gag rule’). I dunno, in my opinion, those hurt the health of a lot of people!! and maybe caused more hiv! And i can’t help but feel a little cynical of the CNN article – the writer is the former majority Repub. leader! Anyway besides that.. he caused unnecessary deaths with the war in Iraq. I can understand going after bin laden. But whatever happened to those weapons of mass destruction? have we found them yet? he essentially tricked the american ppl into believing such a threat existed! and now we’re fighting 2 wars, great. Two wars that are really expensive, mind you. If we weren’t spending so much on the wars, maybe we’d have some money left over to take care of social security and medicare/medicaid. But nope. Oh yeah, and bush also cut CHIP (chidren’s health insurance plan), so there go the poor children…
how can we argue if bush is a great president or not?! i think the argument is more like.. Was he a terrible president, or the most terrible president. Look at the US before his 8 years, and look at the US after. I think we can all agree that um. the US sucks a lot more now! thanks president! and I’m sure his heart was in the right place, but man.. if u’re president. u gotta think about these things! the impact of what you’re saying and doing. he was the president who spent the most days in office on vacation. So, he seems a bit.. lazy to me, too.
and i sorta take issue with the whole mob mentality idea behind obama’s victory. I don’t think there was anything of the sort, behind his victory. From the sense that I got, people genuinely believe in obama, and the change he can bring to the US. And it seems as if MORE ppl are thinking with their heads this time. people are a lot more politically aware and such. it doesn’t hurt that compared to john mccain, he is very cool and clear-headed. and didn’t pick an idiot as his running mate… no more idiots in office, dear Lord..
and hey i’m all with u about voting for ppl JUST because of their race/sex – that is, i agree, that’s stupid! when u write about obama and clinton tho – u can’t forget palin!!! if we’re talking about the election, then let’s talk about the actual dem and rep. nominees. First female vice-president? i really don’t care! ughh that really riled me!
anyway. each to his own!!! but that CNN article is not v. good. it over highlights the little good he did, while hugely downplaying all the crap he did as well..
how can the war in IRaq NOT be blamed on him!!! i guess u could blame it on like.. cheney.. I do get the feeling that bush was more of a pawn or something. but still, he’s president! he picked cheney, that’s his fault too. it’s like being the CEO of a company. If the company’s faltering, you gotta look to the one who’s in charge… He IS commander in chief and all..
and u forgot a few things. Like hurricane katrina, and how he handled/bungled that. Like his chipping away at civil liberties (e.g. phone tapping). Like his condoning of torture, even when it’s technically ILLEGAL (thus setting up GUANTANAMO). i feel like i could go on for awhile, unfortunately. u can’t separate the economy from him.. we went into his terms with a budget surplus and now we’re like.. 500 trillian in debt? or something? gahdfkkk
handsomehwang
7:08 pm on January 27, 2009
Permalink | Reply
hah ok. don’t get mad please. I first put that I don’t really follow politics closely so don’t let my ignorance about some things rile some feathers. I’m sure I’m plenty wrong and that’s why I posted my opinion. And I’m not arguing that Bush is a good president, I’m just saying people look at him and only take notice of the bad things he did. Granted the bad things he did were terrible but you shouldn’t ever overlook good things people did because of them.
The war in Iraq the army gave him faulty intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. He went in with this intelligence and when it turned out there was nothing. I don’t think he would have went in if he knew there was going to no weapons of mass destruction. You can be an idiot and tell that if you lie about there being weapons and there aren’t weapons, someone is going to get angry. The people were behind the war to until they also found out that there were no weapons. Maybe Bush went in for oil… which then I would have to say yes Bush is a jackass.
I’ve only taken a class on economy so obviously i’m not an expert but I believe the people of the nation and the banks are more to blame than anyone. Banks kept on lending money out to risks on mortgages and loans and kept feeding it out. The govenment seems to have no problem dishing out money, seeing they’re looking to pump billions of dollars into the economy. And whatever the national debt is still miniscule to the national GDP although it’s time to start looking to roll back the spending. Too many people have been irresponsibly spending more than they earn and can repay and banks lent money irresponsibly which I feel was the bigger factor to the recent recession.
I do not like Palin either. I voted for Mr. Obama but I don’t think I knew or still know enough to make a great decision about that. I am cynical on people and voting. People are not smart and will vote for someone who they’re more familiar with which is why they just put those random signs on the sides of the road or those terrible political commercials to just get people to be familiar with their name so people will vote for them. I don’t think advertising should have a big effect on you if you know the candidates well, but I feel a majority of people don’t, so advertising works on them.
But like I said, I don’t know much so if you think i’m stupid about this, you’re probably right. Once again I didn’t mean to rub anyone the wrong way, I was just sharing something I found and talk to people who don’t really follow politics too much. Hope California has been good to you. Chicago has been…. deathly cold…
handsomehwang
7:08 pm on January 27, 2009
Permalink | Reply
wow I didn’t think I wrote much but it looks like I typed an essay. wicked.
If you don’t know by now that Obama won, then you’ve clearly just come out from under a rock. And that rock, was probably under an even bigger rock. But in that moment that I realized he won, my fist was in the air before I even knew it. I retrieved it from the sky, rubbed my eyes to confirm that magical 207 number, and quickly put it back up. The next hour was spent anticipating his acceptance speech and in general awe that we really have our first black President. The reality of the moment hadn’t really set in. And, it didn’t, until he said these words:
“It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled — Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.” – Barack “My socks” Obama
Some people might not understand the magnitude of this statement. They don’t know the transparent nature of these words or how it emits President elect Obama’s intentions. At work, I overheard some coworkers lightly jabbing fun at it. To them, it was comical that he kept including more and more to his list. Imitating his voice, they sarcastically added “..The answer is spoken by people with two eyes, and four eyes, and one eye…four legged animals and two legged animals!” I give them the benefit of the doubt because they’ve always been included in that list, a courtesy that hasn’t always been extended to me.
You see, white and black are always on it. No one ever doubts that African and Caucasian Americans are part of America. But somehow, it’s often taken for granted that the word American follows Asian in the term Asian American. So when Obama said those words, I knew that we will soon have a President that understands this sentiment. He understands that Asians are not to be classified as orientals. Because oriental is the literal antonym of occidental, where Occident is accurately defined as “West: the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America.” His words are stating that Asians are not to be defined easily as the ones that are non-Western, non-American. As a fact, he is proclaiming that Asian Americans are as central to America as whites or blacks and yes, even as much as apple pie.
I didn’t understand what Obama’s upcoming presidency meant to me until those simple yet significant words. Hearing them, I then knew that it meant that the Asian American interest will undoubtedly have representation in this government that is as much ours as it is anyones. I knew that our soon to be President will be taking the time and effort to include “us” among his many constituents and his lists.
-frankiet
handsomehwang
11:52 pm on November 6, 2008
Permalink | Reply
yea it’s hard for white people to see subtle forms of discrimination. But it’s great to see that America is moving forward especially racially, which we are notorious in the western world for being slow in getting past discrimination and racism. What up UK?? Where’s your black prime minister??
handsomehwang
2:07 am on November 7, 2008
Permalink | Reply
yea i’m only saying it cause they put us down all the time though. Americans deserve more credit than stereotypes and deserve not to be hated because of stereotypes. UK loves to beat their chest about a lot of things and put down others. They still call us and Australia the colonies for the love of.
Let me be honest, if someone were to approach me and ask why the economy is the way it is right now I would probably say something along the lines of handing out too many mortgages to people who can’t pay and mention how there was just too much borrowed money. It would get me by, but I really don’t have a conceptual understanding of why those things occurred and it certainly isn’t enough knowledge to have an opinion on economic decisions being made in the news.
john 5:47 am on February 25, 2009 Permalink |
sweet vid, now if only they taught my classes using videos like that..
i’m not positive but i don’t think that semi-colon was correct. i don’t think you follow up a semi-colon with a pronoun. i think a dash would’ve worked better like “It’s really well done and the graphics keep your attention—which is important because, of course, this is all refresher anyways, right?”
king 9:45 am on February 25, 2009 Permalink |
poon. that was wrong use of the semi.
right use would be this:
“It’s really well done and the graphics keep your attention; this is important because…”
the basic principle is to form 2 sentences that could stand on its own, on both sides of the semi. Link with a semi if the second sentence increases a reader’s understanding of the first.
Poon 11:03 am on February 25, 2009 Permalink |
hm. i knew there was something wrong. i like the dashed approach. Nice explanation King.
blupen 9:19 am on February 27, 2009 Permalink |
good video! i still don’t understand fully. but a lot better than i did, which was not at all. =)
Dan 11:54 am on February 27, 2009 Permalink |
I like this one better..http://www.hulu.com/watch/1389/saturday-night-live-dont-buy-stuff
Poon 4:20 am on February 28, 2009 Permalink |
@Dan
lol hilarious vid. if only everyone could follow such complicated rules.