Monkey Saves Dog From Explosion

I love this!

 

http://www.bestweekever.tv/2010-08-03/monkey-saves-dog-breaks-hearts/

New Immigration Blog – Mother of Exiles

My immigration blog, Mother of Exiles, is now up and running!  A few of the pages are still under construction, so please pardon the dust, but the logo is up and the main blog page is going strong.  I’d like to thank my friends Berenice and Diana for creating the logo and helping me with all the technical stuff.

 

If you have an immigration story to share or if you’d like to be a guest blogger for Mother of Exiles, please email me so we can make arrangements!

 

Soft Star Shoes

Well, I just received notification that my Soft Star Shoes are being shipped today!  Yea!

 

 

Not only are these shoes super comfortable and custom made for my long, skinny feet, but they’re so much better for my feet than much of the footwear on the market today.  I can’t wait for them to arrive! 

The FURminator

Our good friends, Scott and Emily, are in town from Dallas, Texas for a visit.  Last night, they bought us a gift to thank us for our hospitality.  It was…THE FURMINATOR!!!

 

 

If you don’t own pets, this probably seems like an odd gift, but if you have pets or if you’ve ever experienced the FURminator, you realize what a valuable treasure our friends bestowed upon us. 

 

We used it last night on Red Dog and oh.my.gawd!  It looked like we’d murdered a medium sized animal on our porch!  If you have pets, you need a FURminator!

An Awesome Self-Defense Story

I found this great gun story over at the Not PC blog.  Here’s an excerpt:

 

One gun isn't enough.

“That was what Linda Smith (a pseudonym) was thinking after two thugs broke into her Oklahoma apartment. One was holding a weapon … at her throat, and the other was pacing back and forth while holding her purse and demanding her money and valuables. She screamed, and was told if she screamed again, she'd be dead.

“She was doing as police recommend in robberies –- comply with a robber's demands. But her Lady Smith & Wesson .38 special, which she carries by permit, was hidden in her purse –- and the purse was being held by one of the attackers.

 

Click on the link to find out the exciting ending!

Call to Action: Colorado’s Awful Personhood Amendment

From my friend, Diana Hsieh:

Do you want to fight back against the theocrats of the religious right?  Do you want to help protect our rights to abortion, birth control, and IVF?

The "personhood" movement demands full legal rights for zygotes.  Born in Colorado, it's growing in influence and spreading across America.  If successful, these theocrats would destroy a woman's right to her own body. 

 

You can help Ari Armstrong and me fight the push for "personhood for zygotes" by pledging for an updated policy paper on the "personhood" amendment on the ballot in Colorado this year. 

You can pledge here -- http://www.seculargovernment.us/a62.shtml-- or keep reading for more details. 

Please don't delay: pledges are due on Tuesday, August 3rd at noon.

***

Once again, Colorado has a proposed "personhood" amendment on the ballot this year: it would grant full legal rights to zygotes.  If enforced consistently, it would ban abortion (except perhaps to save the life of the mother), the birth control pill (because that might sometimes prevent implantation), and the most popular forms of IVF.  This movement is not limited to Colorado.  "Personhood USA" reports on activity in over 30 states, and it's on the ballot in many counties in Georgia.

 

Ari and I want to substantially revise our policy paper from 2008.  We want to improve and rework the paper, e.g. to discuss the GOP's embrace of personhood in Colorado, the spread of the "personhood" movement across America, and the new campaign strategy likening fetuses to slaves.  We want to promote the paper like we did in 2008 -- with media releases, op-eds, letters to the editor, blog comments, interviews, etc.

 

Our 2008 paper was downloaded 4,000 times before the election.  We want even better numbers in 2010.

 

Our 2008 paper was the most in-depth and substantive discussion of the right to and morality of abortion from an Objectivist perspective ever written.  We want to make it even stronger and clearer with this update.

In 2008, Ari and I devoted many weeks of our lives to fighting "personhood" without any compensation.  This time, particularly because we have so many other demands on our time, we're asking for your help.  We expect the revisions to and release of the paper to require two solid weeks of work from each of us, then more time to promote it until the election.  That's not trivial.

 

We're asking you to help us by pledging your money in exchange for our work.

We want to raise $2000 in pledges for the new policy paper by Tuesday, August 3rd at noon. In return, we promise to deliver the revised paper by August 31st, then promote it until the November election. If we raise less than that $2000 in pledges, we'll still revise the paper, but we'll scale back our efforts somewhat. If we raise more than that $2000 in pledges, we'll collect just $2000, pro-rating each pledge accordingly. Your pledge won't be due until we release the updated paper. That's because you're not pledging for effort but for results. If we don't release the paper for some reason, then you'll owe nothing.

 

Again, you can pledge here: http://www.seculargovernment.us/a62.shtml

 

You'll find further details on that page too, but please feel free to e-mail me and Ari with any questions.

Objectivist Roundup for This Week

It’s over at Musing Aloud.  Check it out!