DanG

Do you always act like a douchebag when someone calls you out on your inconsistencies? I also notice you didn't answer the question. When does life begin? Any rational person reading this would deduce that you believe implantation is the key moment. You will now accuse me of putting words in your mouth like the pedant you are. If you don't want to answer the question, just say so, but stop dancing around. But if implantation is not the bright line, then the practical effect of an abortion is the same. It's as if the egg were never fertilized. Why is an early abortion different from an IUD? - Dan G

Well, apparently you don't think it begins at implantation. When do you think it begins? OK, I'm officially asking you both. Alert the DZ.com authorities. With IUD use, a woman is intending for a fertilized egg to be destroyed. If life begins at conception, not implantation, why is IUD use any different from an abortion? - Dan G

Well, to be fair, you've said a lot more than that. My difficulty comes when we switch from talking about Manning to Wikileaks/Assange. Assange is not a US citizen, so he obviously can't be tried for treason. I suppose we could try him as an enemy combatant, but I think that is a bullshit legal fiction that we use because it is convenient. I'm at a loss to determine what legal obligation Wikileaks had to keep those documents secret. I don't think that part of the situation is a cut and dried as you think it is. - Dan G

I don't see how my assumption machine was that high. Maybe at a 3. You said IUDs were not murder. The purpose of an IUD is to irritate the uterine wall so that implantation of a fertilized egg does not occur. With IUD use, a woman is intending for a fertilized egg to be destroyed. If life begins at conception, not implantation, why is IUD use any different from an abortion? - Dan G

His birth certificate has been released. Its release was in response to a legitimate puiblic interest, since he needs to be a US citizen to be President. Releasing his college and law school documents should be entirely up to him. There is no legal need for the public to have access to them. I personally think he should release all his documents, but I also recognize that the decision is his. Obama's documents before he entered government service are not in the same class as documents produced by the government. That being said, I'm on the fence about Wikileaks. I think Manning should be prosecuted to the fullest extent available under the UCMJ. On the other hand, I see that there could be a legitimate need for government documents to be made public if the government were violating the Constitution. I haven't heard about anything in the Wikileaks papers that shows that the goverment was acting illegally. Manning may have disagreed with the war effort, but releasing a bunch of documents just to express his distaste is completely unacceptable. - Dan G

They were crosshairs. The disingenous part was to claim they were surveyor's marks. I'm not going to dig up my post about the Arizona incident to quote it, but I thought I was pretty clear at the time. People who commit violent acts are to blame for what they've done. On the other hand, if a person incites another to violence, they should share some of that blame. I personally don't think crosshairs over a district (happy?) or the comment to "get bloody" rises to the level of inciting violence. - Dan G

You didn't see any outrage from me about the previous incident. Hint: "The Left" doesn't all think exactly alike. Who, exactly, did I insult? Please be specific. - Dan G

You think this thread qualified as an interesting exchange? You think your OP was not posted from up on a high horse? Give me a break. Wendy's thread is still intersting. kallend (who you seem to have a particular dislike for) didn't get any more smart assed than anyone else. You took his comments completely out of context. That's not surprising given the history you two have of sniping at each other, but if you really think he's the only one who contributes to the negative tone here, you need to take a step back. For the record, what this guy said is stupid, and it is not unreasonable that some small portion of the blame for future violence be placed on his shoulders. Whether the media will do that or not is unclear. On the other hand, you have to admit there is a difference in circumstance between the crosshair situation (where a particular person targeted by a prominent political figure was shot in the head) and this one (where a much less recognizable figure made a vague reference to unspecific violent acts). - Dan G

You're right. I thought about that as I was posting. Frankly, the fact that I come to SC at all anymore I consider a personal flaw. There is no discussion or debate, just high fiving and insults. - Dan G

I would have thought you'd know to leave these circle jerk threads alone by now. - Dan G

In the US the enlisted oath says that you will follow orders in accordance with the UCMJ. An order to kill protesting citizens (in the US) is generally not lawful under UCMJ. If they are trying to break into the armory, you can defend it, but dropping bombs on them would not be lawful in most circumstances. Officers swear a slightly different oath (no clause about obeying orders), but are still not bound to obey unconstitutional orders. Bombing civilians for exercising their consitutional rights is probably an order you can disobey. Officer: Enlisted: - Dan G

So really, to get back to Wendy's question, life begins at implantation in the uterine wall to you. Is that correct? - Dan G

No, neither inflammatory nor biased, especially compared to the post that it responded to. - Dan G

This thread is like Speakers Corner in a bottle. I asked a simple question of the OP, and because I have a left leaning reputation, it instantly becomes a partisan pile-on flamefest. Reread the thread and tell me with a straight face that I'm the one being unreasonable. - Dan G

What the fuck are you smoking? Monologue? Get a grip. You might want to reread the thread if you think I'm the one writing monologues. - Dan G

Again, sorry, I didn't realize that I stumbled into your PM's. BTW, get your talking points straight. This is a thread about birthers. Getting a check, being ethnic, etc. is a different frothy rant. - Dan G

Please show me where I dodged anything. For that matter, please show me where I was even asked a question. - Dan G

I'm a white American male. What does being ethnic have to do with anything? Sorry if I interrupted your radical right wing circle jerk. - Dan G

Was that supposed to be funny or ironic? It came off as unhinged and pathetic. - Dan G

Wow, you got all that because some news reporter dogged Boehner about birthers? Very impressive projection (in both senses of the word). - Dan G

Huh? What tactics are you talking about? - Dan G

Sigh. It was a joke. - Dan G

Um, I thought Bill made those quotes up to prove a point. - Dan G

It was a war, but we didn't start it. Slobodan clearly needed some intern action. - Dan G

Okay, thanks for the link. I was worried it wouldn't be so easy to find. I agree with Wendy that if the jobs lost are in the medical coding and billing field, then getting rid of those is a good thing. I'm trying to get reimbursed by my insurance company now for an out of pocket expense, but they won't pay because my doctor didn't put down the right five digit code on the diagnosis form. No one disputes that it was a covered expense, but the billing people won't process it. There is such a huge layer on unnecessary jobs in medical billing right now the efficiency has got to be terrible. - Dan G