This right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or, as the District Court determined, in the Ninth Amendment’s reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.Justice Harry Blackmun delivered the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973. (via sonicbloom11)
The Obama administration is nearing completion of a detailed counterterrorism manual that is designed to establish clear rules for targeted-killing operations but leaves open a major exemption for the CIA’s campaign of drone strikes in Pakistan, U.S. officials said.
The carve-out would allow the CIA to continue pounding al-Qaeda and Taliban targets for a year or more before the agency is forced to comply with more stringent rules spelled out in a classified document that officials have described as a counterterrorism “playbook.”
Maybe it’s just us, but creating a rulebook which fails to address the incredibly low accountability of a program that many believe should be held to the highest standards (if continued at all) seems kind of pointless. Thoughts?
I was in the audience for this. Was some crazy stuff, and it was very disappointing to see him removed from the stage. (To be clear, it wasn’t at Obama’s inauguration, but at a party related to the inauguration.) — Ernie @ SFB
If you read this in a book, you’d say the author went too far and the narrative was no longer believable:
If the gun advocates behind this year’s inaugural Gun Appreciation Day had hoped to use the day’s festivities to build support for their anti-regulation platform, they are going to have to wait another year.
[…]
A representative from Political Media, the group responsible for organizing Gun Appreciation Day, was not immediately available for comment.
This is real life.
It’s like the gun control talking points write themselves sometimes.
Exclusive from St. Andrews (SC) Patch.
Suggestion to the campaign manager: Call her brother up.
How a Gun Control Petition Went from the Tumblr Dashboard to Washington DC
I created the petition “Immediately address the issue of control through the introduction of legislation in Congress” as a knee-jerk reaction in mid-December of last year. It was a way of gaining control over a situation I had no control over. After the awful extent of the Sandy Hook shootings became clear, I felt disoriented. The mind tends to turn toward blame, but the murder of twenty children and six school officials was, and will always be, a hard thing to wrap my head around.
I knew that if there ever were a tipping point for effective gun control, this would be it. So, I wrote a petition. My primary goal was to appeal to both sides of the debate. Writing an incendiary, partisan petition benefits no one. The vast majority of gun owners are people who have the Constitutional right to own one, several, or many guns, and singling these people out was wrong. Simply put, the petition was intended to start a realistic dialogue about guns and their role in the United States. We have a gun problem, plain and simple.
Great piece by David on his notable contribution to a larger debate — a contribution which took him to the White House this week.
Most Americans agree that a president’s children should not be used as pawns in a political fight. But to go so far as to make the safety of the president’s children the subject of an attack ad is repugnant and cowardly.White House Spokesperson Jay Carney - Commenting on a new political ad, released by the National Rifle Association, which calls President Obama an “elitist hypocrite” for opposing the stationing of armed guards in every school. We’re inclined to agree with Carney on this one. Say what you will about the man’s legislative agenda, but reasonable human beings should be able to agree that children aren’t acceptable targets for political attacks. source
If somebody’s working and taking dope, that’s their business. If somebody’s on unemployment and using unemployment dollars at the expense of the taxpayer, then I have a problem.Wyoming State Rep. Michael Madden • Explaining why he decided to introduce a bill which would require certain members of America’s unemployed population to consent to a drug test prior to receiving benefits from the government. Republicans are expected to introduce similar measures in states around the country this year, despite all signs pointing to Florida’s first-in-the-nation state welfare recipient drug testing program being a failure that quickly increased the state’s annual spending. After all, why look for legitimate solutions to our nation’s woes when we can just fall back on outdated and inaccurate stereotypes? source
Wrote a thing.
Hat tip to this headline writer.
Congrats Tumblr!
Don’t screw this up Yahoo.
In 2007, I was...
I started tumblr when I was at one of the lowest points of...
Exclusive: How the Syrian Electronic Army hacked the...
After the Sandy Hook shootings in Newton, Connecticut I started a petition urging the Obama Administration to work with Congress to limit access to guns. I first posted it here on tumblr and it quickly took off, making it’s way to Twitter and Facebook, eventually going viral.
In a few days it became the most popular petition on the “We The People” White House petition site, and even prompted a video response from the President. Here’s the fun part… I found out a few days ago that I am invited to the White House this Wednesday.
While details are up in the air, I know there will be an interview, and a good chance to meet the king of Dad Sneakers and his #2, as well as some other fun stuff. So with that said, here’s a big thanks to everyone who supported the petition, because it does matter. If you have any questions/comments please let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them. Wish me luck (I need a haircut and a shave).
Now this is awesome. Best of luck!
Powell champions Hagel as defense secretary and rips some Republicans
(Photo: Meet the Press)
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday that President Barack Obama’s nominee to be defense secretary, former Sen. Chuck Hagel, was “superbly qualified” and would be a strong advocate for Americans in uniform.
Here’s the sad part: If Powell tried to run for president today, he’d get railroaded in the primaries because he’s too moderate. His words matter in this discussion because of his time as Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but we’re not in an era where arguments favoring a moderate stance, like this one, win easy. Then again, Obama could nominate the reanimated version of Ronald Reagan as Defense Secretary and Reagan would still face an uphill battle.
The Short Answer is No, but Keep Reading.OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE TO: We request that Obama be impeached for the following reasons. Read - We the People: Your Voice in Our Government (via brooklynmutt)
That guy there, with the face tattoo … he could be the next president of the Czech Republic. Seriously. Do yourself a favor, read this.
Moving to Eastern Europe just so I can vote for this guy.
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