Monday, Whose Idea Was That ?

Frickin' Monday.

Should Scotland Set Own Abortion Law ? And Is That The Real Question Here ?

I was catching up on some reading and stumbled across an article from the Scotsman in which our dear devolved leader has raised the issue of whither abortion law should be among the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament.

I can understand trying to bring more legislative powers to the parliament. Scotland now has a pro independence party in power and, to be quite frank, it would be a little weird if they didn't try to advance their political agenda. Last time I checked that was pretty much what political parties did. Reading the rest of the article made me unsure about how I feel about this move though. It seems to be for reasons other than simply empowering the Scottish Parliament.

The article brings the First Ministers personal opinion on abortion, that the limit should be reduced from 24 weeks to 20 weeks because there have been medical advances on foetus viability.

Hey Salmond, little word please. Abortion is not actually about foetus viability, it's about a woman's right to determine whither she becomes a mother or not. I don't want to hear about foetus rights because as far as I am concerned the rights lie with the woman. I'm not sorry if this offends any one's sensibilities.

Please, bring on the irrational hate if you feel the need. It's not going to change my opinion.

Motherhood, parenthood in general, is far too important to be foisted on people. It's something that should be entered in to willingly, with an idea of the responsibilities that lie ahead and at least a vague plan of how you are going to navigate it. Plans change of course but you need an idea to start with. And the parents should, ideally, be in a good financial position, capable of providing for their offspring. You also need to be mentally mature and prepared enough to take responsibility for a small person who will need to rely on you for everything; food, shelter, and guidance among others. Children should be wanted, loved and cherished. They are too important to be anything else.

And don't tell me that women who have abortions don't use contraceptives so it's their own fault
they got pregnant. Hey stupid, no means of contraceptive is 100% effective, not even sterilisation. That fails in rare cases for unknown reasons. After that argument comes you shouldn't be having sex if you don't intend to reproduce.

Wahahahahahahahahahahahahah. 'Cause that's gonna happen. Folks, sex is just too much fun.

And on a more serious point, this line of argument seems to be mainly directed at women. I am not a baby factory, I will not be defined by my reproductive biology. For the fun of it let's imagine that rule applied to men. No man may have sex if he does not intent to father a child, and be an active parent to that child. 'Cause that would happen. Can't you just see it ?

Then you get the abortion is murder argument. Sorry folks it is not murder. Murder is a criminal offence, the unlawful and intentional killing of another human being. Abortion is legal not criminal. Abortion is the termination of pregnancy by inducing the expulsion of a foetus. Or if that's just too damn clinical for you it's the intentional killing of an unborn child. This fact is not debatable. That's why it's a fact. See ? No airy fairy skipping the uncomfortable points here.

To be honest I don't really think anyone does. I doubt having an abortion is something anyone takes lightly. There is a whole lot more to this subject but this is a post about the thoughts that the Scotsman article and the comments on it made me think.

A Little Word About Giving A Shit

I just ran into one of my pet hates again. It seems to be mainly Americans that I have heard/read using this little gem but I have no doubt that other English speakers do it too.

Now, maybe I am miss understanding but I don't think do. The context in which my little bug bear is used seems to indicate that I have properly understood the intent. Unfortunately I don't have any examples to hand. The phrase that bugs me is . . . . . . .

"I could care less".

Or "I could give a shit",

or any variation on this theme,

What they actually mean is that they COULD NOT care less or they COULD NOT give a shit. At least from the context that's what it seems they mean.

When you use one of the two offending phrases what you are actually saying is;

"There is a way in which I could actually care less about this subject/person/thing so I do in fact care about it to some degree."

See the difference ? Or have I explained far too ineptly ? If you mean you couldn't give a flying monkeys uncle about something please say so.

Of course it could be that "I could give a shit" is a truncated version of "I could give a shit, but I don't" but I have never heard it said with any inflection that would hint at that.

Now that I have had my little rant on the subject someone might feel it appropriate to point out that neither my grammar, spelling, nor punctuation are perfect and allude to stones and glasshouses. Know what ?

I couldn't give a shit.

Privacy ? What Privacy ?

So I've been reading Violent Acres blog on and off for a little while now and I like it. As I have not trawled V's archive and I don't check regularly there is usually something to read. One of the finer qualities in a blog I feel.

Yes, I am aware that it is not a quality that my blog possesses. So what ?

So today through a process we won't go into, that'd be dull, I read a 2006 post, Go On With Your Bad Selves. It referred to a little upset in the internet world that another of V's posts had caused and I decided to see if I could find any trace of it still drifting around. I like reading so called internet scandals of this type, especially when one side doesn't give a flying fuck for the opinion of the other. So I went scurrying to Google, as you do, to see what I could find. And find stuff I did. Not related to what I went looking for but hey, I'm easily distracted when wasting time so I followed the new thread.

Again I ended up in a post that was from 2006. You see apparently there was, maybe still is, speculation as to whither V is male or female. First thought on reading this ? Sad fucks, really should get a life. I think a few people in the comments pointed this line of thought out. But I was amused for a little longer. Until I got to the bottom of that page and found the link to this page.

Who does this sad little fuck think he is ? Why when some loser came to him claiming to know who V is did he follow it up ? Why not just tell them to go fuck themselves ? Who gave him the right to invade someones privacy to satisfy his curiosity ?

Then he tells us, graciously, that it's not his place to part with this news worthy piece of information. Awww, shucks, what a guy. Chivalry still lives somewhere. Just not with that tosser. But you know he had a "bona fide ethical dilemma" to reach this decision. Do you think he really meant that ? Just not over V's right to privacy, that was a no brainer. He wanted to know so obviously it's his divine right to know and that supersedes everyone elses rights. Now that he knows, well things have to be considered. Git.

I know that in the case of Restaurant Gal some smart arse little git did actually reveal her identity and felt proud of it. 'Cause that makes you a gold star pupil doesn't it ? Why ? Why is it so important to some people to rip the anonymity away ? Why is this important ? If you read a blog and like it, does it matter who writes it ? If you read it and you don't like it, what the fuck are you doing ? Get a life, really, you need it. For me personally it doesn't. And I believe that if someone chooses to blog anonymously then no one has the right to take that away.

Geez, I do keep harping on about privacy issues. Wonder why ?

Tired Of It

Sooooo tired.

The problem with whoever's heating system/hot water system is causing all the fucking noise is STILL NOT FUCKING FIXED.

As a result I hate everyone who is in anyway connected with it. Fucking fuckers.

Caffeine fumes are the only thing sustaining me at this point. Okay, okay, maybe partying with my mates at the weekend wasn't the best plan ever when I'm not getting enough sleep but to be honest, if I'm not getting enough sleep at least I should at least get to enjoy the reason that I'm not getting enough sleep. Anyone want to object ? Please only apply if you have a death wish.

And no, I don't care if the "not enough sleep sentence" makes any sense or not.

And it's not just how little sleep I am getting that's pissing me off. I am become one very pissy, cranky bitch. Now don't get me wrong, there is not one damn thing wrong with being a bitch. I do it very well on occasion. Like when I'm breathing. But having your inner bitch run riot and get out of your control is not a good thing. I like to be in full control of bitchiness, it should always be deployed with style and grace. And you should always be fully aware of said deployment so you can enjoy the aftermath. That's what makes it fun.

It should also be directed appropriately. This is the point I am failing on at the moment. I am taking shit out on my boyfriend. This is not good. The sucky situation is not his fault, there is nothing he can do about it. Everything that can be done is being done. Admittedly it's being done by me, but that's 'cause I have the time and flexibility to be at home when plumbers, heating engineers and official types come calling. I don't think it's getting to him as much as me, he seems to be able to sleep through or get back to sleep after but boyfriend is undoubtedly not the situations biggest fan so why I am making it worse for him ? I have no reasonable answer to that nor do I seem to be able to stop.

I need to get over the out of control bitch thing.

They need to fix the stupid system.

How Exactly Did October Get Here So Quickly ?

Seriously. It should not be October yet, not for at least some frickin' time to come. It snuck up quietly and then clattered me over the head with a large pot which it proceeded to hit with a wooden spoon. Repeatedly.

I know I have the ability to lose track of time but this is new for even me. It's still supposed to be September. That way the deadlines I have looming are looming just a little less, and the projects I have are further from expected completion.

I don't give a monkey's uncle's flyin' bare ass bandicoot how long the calender has been arranged this way I WANT SEPTEMBER BACK !!!

Non compliance with this demand will result in . . . . . . you are probably to young for the rest of this sentence. I'm to young for it. I didn't know I knew that many beepable words.

Drunken Time With Good Friends

It was supposed to be a quiet get together on Saturday night. I finally stumbled home at about seven am on Sunday. I undoubtedly spouted bullshit for quite some time but I believe that is acceptable behaviour at these events. And after the amount of booze that was consumed I doubt any of us actually remember what the hell we said any way. It would be rude if anyone did. It was a great night of gabbing, silliness and music. Bliss.

My hangover has receded now but it was very, very unwilling to. It took some gentle persuasion involving about 4 or 5 litres of water. I think I need more. Lots and lots more. Maybe a darkened room too. And pizza.

Now I am not going to be foolish enough to say I'm never doing that again, that never works. My plan is to not do that again for quite some time. Prior to this time the last time was about ten months ago. I think I'll leave it a little longer next time, maybe a year. Or two.

More water, a movie, a quilt and the couch. My immediate future.

Boyfriend will be home soon so hugs will be involved too.