"Find someone that's undeserving of your compassion and give it to them."
--Chris Picciolini, ex-white-supremacist,
who says that people who are doing monstrous things are simply broken and need help

If you don't stick to your values when they're being tested, they're not values: They're hobbies.
--Jon Stewart

This hypothesis may not be as well supported as evolution but there has been a lot of research since the 1970's that supports it.

DONOHUE-LEVITT HYPOTHESIS = The theory that legal abortion reduces crime by reducing the number of unwanted births, neglected and abused youth. As the theory goes, those troubled children grow up to be the next generation of criminals. Research shows that children of women denied an abortion require more public assistance including psychiatric services and foster homes, and engage in more criminal and antisocial behavior than their wanted counterparts.

Most crimes are committed by males aged 18-24. Roe versus Wade (legalizing abortion) was passed by SCOTUS in 1973, and 18 years later the country experienced a significant decrease in crime. One of the justices had offered the rationale that a family unready to support a child should not be required to have one. States that had already legalized abortion had earlier reductions in crime, and higher abortion rates correlated with greater reductions in crime. Australian and Canadian studies have detected a correlation between legalized abortion and reduced crime overall. Of course all of these interpretations have been challenged, and more research is needed. Among other possible contributors to decreasing crime is the removal of lead from gasoline in the same year as Roe vs Wade. Lead ingestion lowers intelligence and increases impulsivity and aggressive behavior.

Went to a science pub on body language 9/10/13 in Portland, OR. Notes from that lecture are behind the cut.
( CUT to notesCollapse )

This engineer (ironically named Mix) knew that the 4/20/10 BP oil geyser was bigger than the company had told the media, and they're arresting him for deleting 300 text messages on that subject. Not to be totally uppity but I KNEW at the time that the guesstimated amount was likely to be false and low. Anybody with half a brain knew the number was not likely to be the eventual truth. They just picked a nice round number and were sticking to it. It sorta sickens me to see an engineer go down for this. Somebody higher on the food chain is more responsible, and for more heinous crimes.

READ ALL ABOUT IT
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/justice-dept-makes-1st-arrest-in-bp-oil-spill-ex-engineer-accused-of-obstruction-of-justice/2012/04/24/gIQAOuKieT_story.html?wpisrc=al_comboNE_b

Morality is moral
only when
it is voluntary
--Lincoln Steffens, journalist

As an atheist, I believe that all life is unspeakably precious, because it’s only here for a brief moment, a flare against the dark, and then it’s gone forever. No afterlives, no second chances, no backsies. So there can be nothing crueler than the abuse, destruction or wanton taking of a life. It is a crime no less than burning the Mona Lisa, for there is always just one of each.
--J. Michael Straczynski

The level at the high bridge putin was 5.32. That's medium, or maybe medium-high. It was just right. The group was 10 kayakers including Joey, Craig and Michael that I've paddled with before. Several of the group were men who'd been in the "fast group" on Opal yesterday, or were just plain old new. Ken, Ben who works at Nike, Bradley, etc. I rode with and followed Bruce. Joey instructed both Craig and I to follow him, and when I told him that on the ride up it got him going. He's a cell biologist at age 60 with an illustrious career that discovered (with others of course) kinesin which is this very cool little walking protein that goes up a track inside our neurons. Axonal transport. He was interesting to follow on the river, reminded me somewhat of Dick with the way he would give instructions and then set out to lead. He wasn't easy to follow, either. I could never tell what he was going to do next, and he would paddle really hard to make difficult moves. One thing is for sure, if you start your beginners out following him, they will get to be better boaters fast. After a while I learned to hang back and see generally what channel he was headed down, and then read the close up water for myself. I cut a lot of corners and took one tenth as many strokes, and enjoyed it more. Funny how different people's river styles can be. I guess I'm lazy.
( about the river and more random train of consciousnessCollapse )

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/urizenus-sklar/understanding-conspiracy-_b_793463.html
Understanding Conspiracy: The Political Philosophy of Julian Assange
by Urizenus Sklar

thanks to skyojos for leading me to this

en·thy·meme   [en-thuh-meem]
–noun, Logic.
= a syllogism or other argument in which a premise or the conclusion is unexpressed