Trent

I was gonna say... while this douche is clearly a piece of shit... how does his speech and beleifs constitute a crime? People bitch about us losing freedoms in the US, read the article to see how he was arrested this time. The same people who defend that CU professor should stand up for this idiot as well. Oh, hello again!

Can I get a warning for a personal attack on the old man? I wasn't kidding, he's a dork! Oh, hello again!

I'll take that as a compliment! I wish I was that young! Thanks you guys! And I still think you're a tool for posting this on dropzone.com, dad. Oh, hello again!

Don't know if this still holds true, but WP is/was used in artillery shells to fire marking rounds so that following shells could be adjusted to their target. If these targets were in Fallujah on Joe Jihadi's house... then he may very well get a marking round through the roof before the rest of his place is leveled with conventional shells. In WW2, flamethrowers were used to clear entrenched positions and bunkers because people could take cover from frag grenades. Perhaps we should go back to using the flamethrowers in places like fallujah. Since that's more discriminating on where it hits, it's better right? No big WP explosions (unless of course we're SURE it'll miss everyone), no imprecise napalm, just a charred and clear room. Next thing you know, smoke grenades will be giving people lung cancer and that'll be the issue of the day. Oh, hello again!

None, whatsoever, so.... you're in then? Oh, hello again!

I think the unofficial record is 12 or something from a few years ago. We'd like to do 20, of course it all depends on the people that want to come. If you're qualified, want to get more experience on bigways, let me know. Invitational means we want to know who's coming and make sure that we have people with the ability to make it happen. We're REALLY not into zoo-load bigways! Oh, hello again!

Man, publicity is starting early! Well, just to let everyone know... we're not just looking for Texas flyers, although it'd be nice to have all of us as well, but out-of-staters (or ferriners, as we call them in Texas) are welcome as well. The boogie is bad-ass, as a lot of people here will tell you, so this year we want to make some large freefly formations. So travelling jumpers will get the good-boogie vibe, PLUS have some challenging and hopefully record-setting dives to get on. Just contact me if you're serious about these big ways and want to come. We'll talk! Oh, hello again!

... and Mexico and Venezuela have "severed" ties. I won't post a link because it's on CNN. Good for Mexico to stand up to this jackoff, but without support... it'll probably just fade away. Here's a good article that one of my Venezuelan friends gave me today. Oh, hello again!

Good. More central and south american countries need to step up to this shithead. The guy is nuts, thinks he's Simon Bolivar reincarnated... with a hint of Jesus in there. If the region and the Venezuelans don't deal with him, it's almost guaranteed that he'll become another Cuba... maybe a little more insane because he also thinks he can take over the world. Oh, hello again!

Hey, he was THERE (both times)!! Take his word for it! Oh, hello again!

That's all well and good, but you still have the chance that they will be either so embarassed or so afraid that you'll be disappointed (which to some of us was worse than a spanking), that they'll still be reluctant to approach the subject if it is so easy for them to just handle it without anyone ever knowing. These are kids, they don't always do what is best even if they know they can get help. Hell, grown ups don't even do that all the time. For those that argue that having the parents know about the abortions or pregnancy will result in the kids getting beaten or kicked out of the house... Some kids get beaten for bad grades. Some for misconduct, or when the cops bring them home for drinking underage at parties. I KNEW kids that got kicked out of the house for getting into trouble. I KNEW kids that got a beating for bad grades. Should we not send home report cards and make it illegal for cops and school officials to contact parents about this stuff since it COULD get kids a beating or booted? Oh, hello again!

Because almost everything else requires my permission, including MOST health matters. Because I'd want to discuss it with my kid before they went through with it (either aborting or going ahead with the pregnancy). Because I don't think the state should be able to keep invasive medical procedures from me as the guardian and person responsible for their health. How's that? Ahhhh, you know what... ya got me. My real motivation is so that we could force kids to have babies, then sell them off to bring the family extra cash to buy guns. Seriously, WHY IS IT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND? Tell me... would YOU want to know if your kid was about to have an abortion, even if they were too embarassed to tell you themselves? Oh, hello again!

It's one extreme that could be extrapolated from the way some people think. Is it impossible to think that that could happen? Remember when the state didn't tell you how to raise your kids? I guess that's why everyone older than 35 is so messed up, right? Because the state wasn't there to tell their parents what to do? You can go to jail for what your kids do (or don't do). You have to sign a permission slip so they can get paddled in school. You have to give permission to go to the zoo on a field trip. You have to give permission for them to bring their medication to school. So are we responsible for their bodies and well-being sometimes or not? Why not here? Do you guys think that if there was required consent/notification the majority of pregnant minors would get beaten and forced into something they didn't want to do? There's all kinds of compromises that could be made. But in the end, you still have someone else deciding if you're a fit parent to know. And you'd still have girls going "back-alley" just because they don't want their parents to be disappointed, according to what you said before. Oh, hello again!

Because I, personally, would want to know. That should be faily easy to grasp... and in fact, I think most of us would. It just seems that some of you think that YOU would/should know, but others aren't responsible enough to know. You know what? None of us are going to see eye to eye on this. The REAL solution would be to ship off our newborns to state-run baby farms so that we can completely eliminate the possibility of parental abuse/neglect. There, the kids could grow up with no one but the state knowing what's going on with them or their health. After all, the state is a way better parent than real parents are... at least in California. Oh, hello again!

From Bill From ReBirth I would rather KNOW about it so that I could help my kid find the best place for treatment, or if they were so determined, an abortion and help them pay for qualified help. Who is to say that even if the real clinics don't disclose to parents, that the kids will NOT go to the shadier places anyway because they're cheaper? For Kelpdiver Would you throw YOUR kid out in 2005? Would YOU want to know if YOUR kid got an abortion or was going to get one? What if they just didn't tell you because they were embarrassed? Is that a valid reason? Are you saying that kids who don't tell their parents what's up ALL have valid reasons not to tell them? Is that real enough for you? Not everyone can be the super-parent that raises their child in the GUARANTEED method that will make them comfortable telling you anything and everything. I'll bet even if you did discover that method, there'd still be a lot of shit you don't know. Oh, hello again!

The fix is in: It's a medical procedure, not a political football for abortionists to use in their quest to outlaw parental rights. Some kids wouldn't want to involve their parents just because they'd be disappointed in them. Not every kid that doesn't want to talk to their parents has bad parents. You see it as parents being forced into the loop, I see it as parents being forced out. I sincerely hope that when we become parents that we raise our kids to talk to us about any problems they have. But I also hope that none of us have kids that have abortions or drug problems that, for whatever reason, we are never told about by our kids or the people providing treatment. It can and probably does happen, and without notification or consent, you have no choice but to stay in the dark no matter how good a parent you are. Oh, hello again!

Since when did some people = billvon? But it's funny because it reminds me of the "Life of Brian" skit where the dude wants to have a baby. "You cannot have a baby, because you don't have a uterus!!" "But I should have the right to have a baby, even though I cannot have a baby because I do not have a uterus" Oh, hello again!

Where I grew up, if I recall correctly, minors CAN drink in the company of their parents. That's consent. Otherwise, parents are left to hoping that they raised their kids right AND the law to make sure they don't drink at high school keggers. For ReBirth: So in a case of unique and psychologically important medical procedures, consent SHOULDN'T be required, hell, notification even? You're saying it's okay to have some kind of "unimportant" surgery... which usually requires consent, but "life-altering" procedures should be left to the sole discretion of the minor? Whether or not parents can give the "go" or "no go" for that, I think that they definitely have the right to know about it, since, as you say, it has such an effect on the child's life. No. I think there are some people so obsessed with abortion that they lose sight of reality. You and Bill can say that's not true, but I've met people fitting the bill. Having a safe and responsible place to have it done is one thing, as long as it is legal... there must be places like that. Not requiring notification or consent of parents isn't interfering. Why would you say in one sentence that it is so life-altering and psychologically important, then in another say that parents shouldn't be involved? For every kid out there that you say would see a back-alley clinic, I bet there are more who SHOULD have to talk with their parents at least after the fact to help them through the rough times. For Bill: This ISN'T a drug test, and HIV test, or a mental health screening. This is an actual medical procedure. How many other medical procedures can be performed without consent and or notification of the guardian? Yes, parents SHOULD know what is going on. But even the best parents can have the wool pulled over their eyes. As long as the parent is responsible for that kid legally, I don't think they should be left in the dark about any medical procedures like an abortion. Now if you all want the "legal" age to just drop to 15, then fine... let them out on their own. If you guys think they can make the life-altering decision of an abortion on their own... they should also be able to drink, smoke, vote, serve in the military, and go to jail if they do something wrong. Right? Oh, hello again!

So, you had your parents' consent? And that was a good thing? Okay, now why wouldn't it be for an abortion? I think this is a cop-out. On one hand, parents are almost solely responsible for the health and well-being of their child. The parents pretty much hold the rights of their children until they're 18, legally. Why would allowing kids to NOT get consent for a medical procedure like an abortion, set up a special case scenario. Is it just because some people in this country are OBSESSED with abortions and seem to think that everyone should have one? Still haven't answered my question about liability and waiving rights. Oh, hello again!

An appropriate thing to know about Texas at least is that we have different sets of circumstances for defending yourself with deadly force in your home. I could be way off since I'm not a lawyer... but there is a difference between someone trespassing on your property in the day and at night. If I recall, during the day, you have to be in immediate fear for your life or the life of another. At night, shoot first. The rationale being that if someone is in your house, at night, unwelcomed, they're probably up to no good and you can't tell if they're armed so you don't give them a chance to show you that they're armed by hurting or killing you before you defend yourself. And I've always learned that a criminal should only know you're armed after he sees the muzzle flash. Oh, hello again!

That's pretty paranoid. I don't think you'd meet one person who would call me a member of the "christian right". And for all 3 of you... I'm arguing that the state should not make an exception for minors to have abortions without parental consent, when they can't do anything else without consent. Why would you make an exception for something like abortion? I'm sure everyone would hope they raised their children to approach them with a problem, but that won't always happen... no matter how well you did. Are you all for eliminating the drinking age too, since people should have raised their kids not to do it and that should be good enough? Kids make bad decisions all the time, I just don't think the state should facilitate that by not requiring consent for abortions. If kids don't need consent for a medical procedure like an abortion, why don't we just lower the age of independence altogether? And no one bothered to think about this still... Oh, hello again!

Can the parents, who are solely responsible for the minor, find out about and abortion? Do minors need permission for any other voluntary medical procedures? Allowing kids to get abortions without consent, IS the state helping the kids hide the pregnancy and the procedure. Can the parents find out about it from the state or doctors? Nope? An interesting side-effect... here in Texas, minors can't sign away any rights. If the clinics make them sign "hold harmless" agreements in the event that something goes wrong, would it hold up in court if something DID go wrong? Oh, hello again!

No, I agree with you here. I was just responding to Bill saying that the state shouldn't hide info from the parents about abortions. It seems that that's what is happening if parents don't have to give consent for the procedure now. Oh, hello again!

Well I woulda used the squigly "=" sign, but I don't have one. The strongly liken the use of WP to Napalm, saying that the US is getting around its ban on Napalm use in civilian areas by using WP... which they say is worse. Oh, hello again!

Kinda like the rest of the working world. I thought that since qualified teachers are in short supply that supply and demand would dictate that they'd be pretty protected anyway. Do they still get scrutinized on their teaching abilities and effectiveness? Oh, hello again!