To Bad We Won't Be Voting On This

What if America's 2016 election had some of these items tossed in?

1- People who want to start a war,  especially because they are feeling intolerant,  are required to fight in it. Can't fight? Must volunteer some other way. Can't do that? Donate several thousand dollars or be jailed for intolerance.

2- Pro life protesters would be required to adopt one child for every protest they take part in. No swapping kids- you get what you get. Can't afford the kid? Should have thought of that before spreading your legs to walk to that protest. The kid tries to kill you,  or is related to someone who has harmed you? Good. Social services will stop by to make sure you're parenting well.

3- We are going to need more space in prison thanks to the first two. So weed will now be legal but restricted like alcohol. You only go to jail if your involvement with it harms another. Also,  there will be a tax on weed. (Tax evasion is still a crime.)

4- Gun owners are required to donate 10 hours a year to teaching gun safety- 5 hours if taught to more than 20 children. Must include reasons NOT to shoot.

Just a start. Not that these would be on the ballot. Easier to just blame whoever wins than take any responsibility.

Million Dollar Phone Idea

Accept call.
Reject call.
Reject call to voice mail AFTER appropriate amount of rings.

And there's the idea. Because some calls you can't or won't take right now,  but you don't want the caller to know this. So one more option which will make your phone stop ringing,  but the caller won't be sent to voice mail until the appropriate amount of rings,  preventing them from knowing that you hit reject.

In some ways it is polite. In some it is just handy.

I have no background in making things like this,  so I can't do anything with it. But I figured I'd toss it out there for someone who does know.

Have you ever wished your phone had this feature?

Tweetable

Here are pills to slow the decline, to lengthen the time between the hospital and grave; the side effects are slightly better than death.

Thank the Academy for the President

Does anyone else remember the time that the BEST film made in a year, the very best that Hollywood had to offer,  was a black& white without sound that a vast majority of people had never seen or heard of? The following year came with a curiosity- viewership of the award show dropped. It must have been the host!  It isn't as if normal people watched to root for a favorite,  or even for something they had at least heard of.

Similarly,  voting in political elections has been on the decline. Many people will tell you that it doesn't matter who wins because no one gets things done that they say they will. They generally can't,  either due to corruption from raising money for elections,  or because they face opposing party members. People want one candidate who is actually different,  who stands out from the crowd,  and yet manages to be effective.  They want the government that fictional books and movies offer. The one with teeth. The one that sees laws that are lacking or are dreadfully out of date and manages to fix it. Cyber crime grows faster than the laws created to prevent it. It's like the politicians need to keep the gun argument on the table so the people don't notice the serious lack of virtual protection,  of virtual guns needed for the same reason the founding fathers bothered to put a right to arms in that document!  But really,  if the people don't have a favorite candidate,  or assume that the favorite they do have won't win because they learned that The Artist is as good as it gets,  voter turn out will continue the same decline that The Academy has been straddled with.

CameraMEN

Bones: The Girl in Suite 2103
http://imdb.com/rg/an_share/title/title/tt0849844/

Watch about 13 minutes in. Notice how the camera follows a woman's butt as she walks. There's no other visual for focus.

This is a show with a strong female lead who is extremely intelligent.

It's a wonder that people continue to treat women as sexual objects. Subliminal visual images are powerful. Without a word, teaching viewers that it is acceptable to just stare at a person as an object for a prolonged amount of time.

Sure,  it's okay. She was paid for that strut. Probably fought for the opportunity.

But the director had an opportunity to shoot humans as equals.

Hard to market that.

Just an observation.

Camp!

http://campnanowrimo.org/campers/j-somebody

It shouldn't be pro life or pro choice yet

Here's where I lose friends,  respect,  and any chance at running for political office.

Abortion isn't a woman's issue. That's like saying gun violence in an ER doctor issue. Unwanted pregnancy doesn't often come from women. (The exception being, perhaps,  when pregnancy endangers the life of the mother or the health of the baby. Still, that's no more a woman's issue than lung cancer is! ) So,  instead of talking about effects,  how about addressing cause?

Seriously, what if words like rape and incest were ones you had to get a dictionary to figure out? Could straight men be convinced not to cause unwanted pregnancy? What if that were the conversation instead. Get that issue under control. Then,  once that crime gets as rare around America as the black plague,  THEN we can have a conversation about abortion. See how many are left. As a reminder,  no,  men don't get free birth control. However,  no prescription is needed to buy condoms, which are sold all over. The non-latex ones have almost zero side effects.

I'd love to hear politicians discuss this. I doubt that'll happen in my lifetime. It'll just be back and forth about the effect, and never touch the cause.