Sleepless in Midland

Alabama Supreme Court Justice calls it a logical fallacy -- fetus is living for one purpose but not for another

The problem became apparent to those of us who had never thought of it before when prosecutors began to call the killing of a fetus by someone other than his/her mother, "murder." However, it's been perfectly legal for the mother to do it herself since 1973.

An Alabama Supreme Court Justice took notice of the problem. See Alabama Justice Argues That Fetal Homicide Ruling Mandates Challenge to Roe:

According to Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker, it is a “logical fallacy” for the government to consider a fetus a person when pursuing a homicide conviction, but not in the case of a woman wanting to terminate her pregnancy through an abortion.

It's not clear which of the Logical Fallacies this falls under. But there is a definite inconsistency. Perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually provide us with some logical reasoning for the contradiction, because overturning Roe v. Wade seems highly unrealistic.

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2:42 PM 10/31/2018

In secular Austin, TX, motel drawer provides Gideon's Bible and Willie Nelson picture book

On the road again --

On a recent motel stay in Austin, Texas, there was the standard, ever present, Gideon's Bible in a bedside drawer. No surprise there. But in another drawer was a picture book of Willie Nelson. I wouldn't call that a juxtaposition, but it was an interesting find.

So whether the guidance the weary traveler needed was spiritual or musical, it was there.

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2:13 PM 5/25/2018

Three Square Market and RFID microchip implant

Fewer than half of the employees (41 of its 85) at Three Square Market agreed to get the chip implant, according to Chicagotribune.com at Wisconsin company holds 'chip party' to microchip workers.

Writers around the world are wringing their own hands over this new technological endeavor. Some are preaching caution, of course. But most, like me, take a libertarian approach and note that only those who consent will actually get it.

I would decline, but if someone wants one, then he/she should be able to get one. The possibilities are probably endless, although currently they appear to be limited to unlocking doors and using vending machines. One would be useful for recording medical history if emergency personnel have the equipment to read it.  It might be a useful adjunct to the clapper light switch.

But the human immune system has evolved to reject foreign objects under our skin even if the mind said "accept." I would side with the immune system on these. A plastic card is easy enough to carry around. It's not as if we had to drag along extra weight.

As for the Three Square Market employees who get them, hey, if you want it, go for it.

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2:32 PM 8/5/2017

Amazon jacked up the min order for free shipping, again

Oh, for the good old days when the minimum order at Amazon.com to get free shipping was $25. Then they jacked it up to $35.

Get ready for sticker shock. Now it's a hefty $49.

Ouch!

They want us to buy Amazon Prime, currently still $99/year. Eventually the price of free shipping will be so high Prime may seem like a bargain. But how long before that price goes up, too?

Texas' rank on a Kiplinger list of best states for retirees - We're number 42!

It's Kiplinger's list of How Every State Ranks for Retirement 2015. (Via Newmark's Door.)

Here's the list, but go to the link to see more detail.

1 Delaware
2 Florida
3 West Virginia
4 Pennsylvania
5 South Dakota
6 Arizona
7 Hawaii
8 Iowa
9 Kansas
10 Wyoming
11 Arkansas
12 New Hampshire
13 Mississippi
14 Alabama
15 Ohio
16 Connecticut
17 Oklahoma
18 Nevada
19 Kentucky
20 Vermont
21 Michigan
22 Maine
23 South Carolina
24 Idaho
25 Missouri
26 Alaska
27 Louisiana
28 North Dakota
29 Virginia
30 Wisconsin
31 Rhode Island
32 Washington
33 Colorado
34 Georgia
35 Tennessee
36 New Jersey
37 Indiana
38 Massachusetts
39 Maryland
40 Montana
41 Illinois
42 Texas
43 Utah
44 Oregon
45 Nebraska
46 North Carolina
47 Minnesota
48 New York
49 New Mexico
50 California
51 District of Columbia
Rankings are based on seven factors: taxes on retirees; share of residents 65+; average income for 65+ households; poverty rate for residents 65+; cost of living for all residents; home values for residents 65+; and crime rates.

It's not surprising to see Florida near the top. All those old folks knew something. It's also not surprising to see California and New York near the bottom, although it might be a positive for New York retirees that New York City’s narcotics cops are being told to stop arresting suspects over the age of 40.

Texas' selling point appears to be the lack of a state income tax. But be forewarned before moving here. There's a state sales tax of 6.25% which when added to the local sales taxes drives it up to 8.25% in most municipalities. That can really add up on big ticket items. On a national basis that's why I favor the flat tax over a nationwide sales tax. Imagine the sticker shock when faced with a total sales tax of about 1/3. Ouch!

As for the retirees themselves, they're probably not especially appreciated wherever they are. They keep the local newspapers, cable TV companies, and any cafeteria with an early bird special alive. But no one else wants them. Even Mother Nature, with all those cancers that afflict reproductive systems of both men and women, seems to be saying "Get out there, reproduce, then get the Hell out of the way!"

Sympathy hashtags rule the net -- plastic wristband makers hardest hit

Some of the older people reading this post may remember when colored plastic wristbands were all the rage. They demonstrated that the wearer supported some cause -- a yellow wristband for Lance Armstrong's Livestrong charity, for example. There were many colors to choose from, each demonstrating sympathy for a particular cause. And some causes had more than one color. Luckily for colon cancer sympathizers, blue could be substituted for brown. Here's a list to help put the color to the cause.

Then along came social media, and all you had to do to demonstrate you cared was tweet a hashtag. How much simpler could it get? Michelle Obama showed us how it was done when she tweeted about the kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls. She cared. She really did.

There was a time when liberalism meant caring for the underdog. There are remnants of that still around, but today it's really all about showing others that one cares, not about doing anything. So the hashtag fits perfectly with that sentiment. It's easy and it costs nothing. But it shows how much the hashtagger cares.

But pity the poor manufacturer of the sympathy wristband. That symbol has come and gone.