no offense to the maker, but a ball and chain cake is not the best for a wedding

star trek never used to be this hot before

ahhhh, zachary quinto of "yes, sylar, you can melt my brain anytime, you hottie" heroes as spock? CHRIS PINE as captain kirk? 

j.j. abrams is damn close to tv god.

beam me up, scotty!

bitch.

julianne moore is a great example for ageing gracefully (she is absolutely gorgeous)

marisa miller for harley davidson

wow.

i'm a girl and she makes me want to buy a big bad motorcycle.

queer eye for batguy

macho man cake

feel free to throw up a little in your mouth. is that ..... hair i see? gross.

Roe v. Wade: the Wikipedia crash course

is a controversial United States Supreme Court case that resulted in a landmark decision regarding abortion. According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision overturned all state and federal laws outlawing or restricting abortion that were inconsistent with its holdings. Roe v. Wade is one of the most controversial and politically significant cases in U.S. Supreme Court history.  Roe v. Wade is one of the most controversial and politically significant cases in U.S. Supreme Court history. 

Roe v. Wade centrally held that a mother may abort her pregnancy for any reason, up until the "point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable.’" The Court defined viable as being potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viabilityusually occurs at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks." The Court also held that abortion after viability must be available when needed to protect a woman's health, which the Court defined broadly in the companion case of Doe v. Bolton. These rulings affected laws in 46 states.

The Roe v. Wade decision prompted national debate that continues today. Debated subjects include whether and to what extent abortion should be legal, who should decide the legality of abortion, what methods the Supreme Court should use in constitutional adjudication, and what the role should be of religious and moral views in the political sphere. Roe v. Wade reshaped national politics, dividing much of the nation into pro-Roe (mostly pro-choice) and anti-Roe (mostly pro-life) camps, and inspiring grassroots activism on both sides.

Controversy

A criticism of Roe v. Wade (though not one made by the dissenting Justices in the case) is that the majority opinion failed to adequately recognize the inviolability and personhood of embryonic/fetal human life. Some pro-life supporters argue that life begins at conception (sometimes referred to as "fertilization"), and thus the embryo and the fetus should be entitled to legal protection. Other pro-life supporters argue that, in the absence of definite knowledge of when life begins, it is best to avoid the risk of doing harm. And since it is a possibility that life begins at conception it is unconstitutional to take away a fetus' rights. While a majority of Americans believe that abortions performed in the first trimester should generally be legal, a majority also believe that second trimester abortions should generally be illegal. Every year on the anniversary of the decision, tens of thousands of pro-life protesters demonstrate outside the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. in the March for Life. Supporters describe Roe as vital to preservation of women's rights, personal freedom, and privacy.

Opponents of Roe have objected that the decision lacks a valid Constitutional foundation. Like the dissenters in Roe, they have maintained that the Constitution is silent on the issue, and that proper solutions to the question would best be found via state legislatures and the democratic process, rather than through an all-encompassing ruling from the Supreme Court. Supporters of Roe contend that the decision has a valid constitutional foundation, or contend that justification for the result in Roe could be found in the Constitution but not in the articles referenced in the decision.

In response to Roe v. Wade, most states enacted or attempted to enact laws limiting or regulating abortion, such as laws requiring parental consent for minors to obtain abortions, parental notification laws, spousal mutual consent laws, spousal notification laws, laws requiring abortions to be performed in hospitals but not clinics, laws barring state funding for abortions, laws banning abortions utilizing intact dilation and extraction procedures (often referred to as partial-birth abortion), laws requiring waiting periods before abortion, or laws mandating women read certain types of literature before choosing an abortion. Congress in 1976 passed the Hyde Amendment, barring federal funding of abortions for poor women through the Medicaid program. The Supreme Court struck down several state restrictions on abortions in a long series of cases stretching from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s, but upheld restrictions on funding, including the Hyde Amendment, in the case of Harris v. McRae (1980).

The most prominent organized groups that mobilized in response to Roe are the National Abortion Rights Action League on the pro-choice side, and the National Right to Life Committee on the pro-life side. The late Harry Blackmun, author of the Roe opinion, was a determined advocate for the decision. Others have joined him in support of Roe, including Judith Jarvis Thomson, who before the decision had offered an influential defense of abortion.

Roe remains controversial; polls show continued division about its landmark rulings, and about the decision as a whole.

Republican Candidates: Stance and Voting Records on Abortion

JOHN MCCAIN

• Pro-life and an advocate for the Rights of Man everywhere. (Feb 2008)
• GovWatch: 1999: Don't force women to have illegal operations. (Feb 2008)
• Abortion issue shows what kind of country we are. (Aug 2007)
• Concerned if women undergo illegal dangerous operations. (May 2007)
  
• Supports federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. (May 2007)
•  Prosecute abortion doctors, not women who get them. (Jan 2000)
•  “Family Conference” if daughter wanted an abortion. (Jan 2000)
•  Abortion OK if raped; and no testing for rape. (Jan 2000)
•  Supports fetal tissue research; against over-intensity. (Jan 2000)
•  Overturn Roe v. Wade, but keep incest & rape exceptions. (Jan 2000)
•  Support adoption & foster care; work together on abortion. (Oct 1999)
•  Wants Roe vs. Wade made irrelevant, but would not repeal it. (Aug 1999)
•  Opposes partial-birth abortions & public financing. (Aug 1999)
•  Nominate justices based on experience, and values. (Jun 1999)
•  Restrict abortions; no partial-birth; no public funding. (Jul 1998)
  

Voting Record

• Supports repealing Roe v. Wade. (May 2007)
• Voted YES on defining unborn child as eligible for SCHIP. (Mar 2008)
• Voted YES on barring HHS grants to organizations that perform abortions. (Oct 2007)
• Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Apr 2007)
• Voted YES on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. (Jul 2006)
• Voted NO on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives. (Mar 2005)
• Voted YES on criminal penalty for harming unborn fetus during other crime. (Mar 2004)
• Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions except for maternal life. (Mar 2003)
• Voted YES on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions. (Jun 2000)
• Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions. (Oct 1999)
• Voted YES on banning human cloning. (Feb 1998)
• Rated 0% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record. (Dec 2003)
• Expand embryonic stem cell research. (Jun 2004)
• Rated 75% by the NRLC, indicating a mixed record on abortion. (Dec 2006)
• Prohibit transporting minors across state lines for abortion. (Jan 2008)

SARAH PALIN

•  Rejected sympathy for Down's Syndrome son, as gift from God. (Aug 2008)
• Opposes embryonic stem cell research. (Aug 2008)
•  Every baby is created with a future and potential. (Aug 2008)
•  Safe Haven bill: allow surrendering newborns without penalty. (Feb 2008)
• Adoption is best plan for permanency for foster care kids. (Oct 2007)
•  Pro-life. (Nov 2006)
•  Choose life, even if her own daughter were raped. (Nov 2006)
•  If Roe v. Wade got overturned, let people decide what's next. (Oct 2006)
•  Opposes use of public funds for abortions. (Oct 2006)
•  Pro-contraception, pro-woman, pro-life. (Aug 2006)
•  Only exception for abortion is if mother's life would end. (Jul 2006)
  

Democrat U.S. Candidates: Stance and Voting Record on Abortion

BARACK OBAMA

• Okay for state to restrict late-term partial birth abortion. (Apr 2008)
• We can find common ground between pro-choice and pro-life. (Apr 2008)
• Undecided on whether life begins at conception. (Apr 2008)
• Teach teens about abstinence and also about contraception. (Apr 2008)• Expand access to contraception; reduce unintended pregnancy. (Feb 2008)
• Rated 100% by NARAL on pro-choice votes in 2005, 2006 & 2007. (Jan 2008)
• Voted against banning partial birth abortion. (Oct 2007)
• Stem cells hold promise to cure 70 major diseases. (Aug 2007)
• Trust women to make own decisions on partial-birth abortion. (Apr 2007)
• Extend presumption of good faith to abortion protesters. (Oct 2006)
• Constitution is a living document; no strict constructionism. (Oct 2006)
• Moral accusations from pro-lifers are counterproductive. (Oct 2004)
• Pass the Stem Cell Research Bill. (Jun 2004)
• Protect a woman's right to choose. (May 2004)

Voting Record:

• Supports Roe v. Wade. (Jul 1998)
• Voted NO on defining unborn child as eligible for SCHIP. (Mar 2008)
• Voted NO on prohibiting minors crossing state lines for abortion. (Mar 2008)
• Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Apr 2007)
• Voted NO on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. (Jul 2006)
• Voted YES on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives. (Mar 2005)
• Sponsored bill providing contraceptives for low-income women. (May 2006)
• Rated 0% by the NRLC, indicating a pro-choice stance. (Dec 2006)
• Ensure access to and funding for contraception. (Feb 2007)

JOE BIDEN

• Allow women to choose but no federal funding. (Jul 2007)
• No public funding for abortion; it imposes a view. (Apr 2007)
• Supports partial-birth abortion ban, but not overdoing Roe v. Wade
• Accepts Catholic church view that life begins at conception. (Apr 2007)
  
• Nominees should agree on constitutional right to privacy. (Apr 2007)
  
• Voted NO on defining unborn child as eligible for SCHIP. (Mar 2008)
• Voted NO on prohibiting minors crossing state lines for abortion. (Mar 2008)
• Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Apr 2007)
• Voted NO on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. (Jul 2006)
• Voted YES on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives. (Mar 2005)
• Voted NO on criminal penalty for harming unborn fetus during other crime. (Mar 2004)
• Voted NO on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions. (Jun 2000)
• Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions. (Oct 1999)
• Voted NO on banning human cloning. (Feb 1998)
• Rated 36% by NARAL, indicating a mixed voting record on abortion. (Dec 2003)
• Expand embryonic stem cell research. (Jun 2004)
• Rated 0% by the NRLC, indicating a pro-choice stance. (Dec 2006)
• Ensure access to and funding for contraception. (Feb 2007)

;)

there's all these bumps

Guy on bus (shouting from the back of the bus): Driver, you know this bus is not gentle on those who have testicles. I mean there's all these bumps and everything's jumping around.

--B12 Bus

d.o.m.

true dat

A Few Humorous Lessons From Life

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Never lick a steak knife.

Never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

gotcha.

mc hammer

sweetest thing ever

ah-nuld wants you to be protected

this is a condom ad in belgium, i think.

i love european ads. they hardly get censored. and this one is amusing.

condom ads are surprisingly clever. probably because censorship is strict, so everything seems so original because it is original. try making soap and shampoo commercials that aren't just swishing hair and pretty girls. who were airbrushed so their hair is ridiculously glowing.

just don't think about arnold's hair.

powered by moto

sarah palin's thought process & sentence structure

understand it? neither can i.

nothing gets between me and my harry potter

i'm pretty impressed. she drags her kids EVERYWHERE.

they are some funky looking children. in a good way.

big, big fan of angelina jolie and brad pitt.

fairy tales

Cinderella

The Princess & the Pea

ouch

excuse me while i vomit

the kid is adorable.

but all that pink and hello kitty? i was not that kind of little girl.

uh-oh

i actually like the olsen twins

boys read, too

one more final and it's over!

... preferably by over, i mean the semester, not my entire law school career.

here's hoping i passed!

bad pick-up lines

supahero luuuuv

rotten to the core

black Vogue

clever

oh, that's love

lsd

me and consti. no more study!

this is what pisses me off

this is what i cannot stand about people who are too extreme about their views, they can't bother to listen to anyone else's. 

take this for example, if you just happen to say you think it's someone's choice if they decide to have an abortion or not, they automatically think you're a baby killer. i'm not for abortion because it's convenient. i am for it if there are certain circumstances such as a child being conceived because of a rape, or if there are health reasons or if someone is just not capable of bringing a child into the world. it is not murder. sometimes, it's entirely for the sake of a baby, that they can't be brought into the world.

it's another postsecret sunday!

super duper high speed photography

so this is what holes in balloons look like.

okay, i am AMAZED

that steph actually took the time to photoshop our faces on old yearbook pictures.

now mine aren't going to see the light of day.

but i think the world needs to share in the glory that is bj's family tree of abba and all three of the brady boys.