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Author Message
25 new of 209 responses total.
russ
response 181 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 11 00:02 UTC 2003

Re #166:  The DISadvantage of doing that on the male side is that
one male can impregnate a lot of females.  In situations such as
war men can be killed, taken out for military service and otherwise
be made unavailable, but I've read that the birthrate doesn't fall
much until females outnumber males by something approaching 6:1.

If orange skin was a sign of fertility, I could see a market in orange
skin dye so that guys could get the attention of baby-minded women.
Bathe in it before going to the bar, shower after getting laid.

Of course, solving the pregnancy problem wouldn't do a thing to
help the STD problem, and might even make it worse.  These things
cannot be considered in isolation.

Re #167:  Bruce, folks of your stripe are fighting to keep morning-after
pills unavailable.  Wal-Mart won't carry them, to give one example.
Neither will pharmacies in Catholic hospitals.  They seem to be doing
everything they can to make abortions necessary.
i
response 182 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 11 01:22 UTC 2003

Re: #181 "Re:#167"
Russ, saying that folks who you see as similar to Bruce are working to
make something he suggests unavailable is, at best, meaningless.  You
probably remind him of some folks who he doesn't think too much of, too,
but perhaps he's too on-topic or polite to mention it. 
kami
response 183 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 11 06:06 UTC 2003

I really like Jan's idea. Wish it would be feasible, without hormonal
tinkering, for women, too-- in this day and age, many women want to be able
to "play" without fear of producing a child they are not ready to raise.
On the other hand, some "accidents" work out better than some "plans". Perhaps
we ought not to remove *all* avenues for providence...
janc
response 184 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 11 15:13 UTC 2003

Yes, Russ is right that this plan could cause an increase is STDs, as one of
the two major reasons for not having unprotected sex is diminished.  However,
this proposal is aimed primarily at reducing abortion, not improving people's
sex lives.

Each child has one mother and one father.  I don't see what the ability of
one male to father thousands has to do with anything.  We aren't taking men
out of the population, as WWI did.  The "turned off" men are still available
for sex, and any can still father children.  The whole war analogy just
doesn't apply.  And anyway, our goal is to reduce abortions.  Any population
reduction we get is a fringe benefit.  There is, of course, always a damping
effect in population reduction - if people notice the population falling, they
are likely to choose to have a few more children.  But I expect that a
technology like this would lead to a substantially lower equilibrium
population.

It'd be interesting to see how the abortion camps would re-align if such a
technology appeared.  Suppose a corporation appeared with some kind of
technology for a male switchable vasectomy, with features such that a woman
could tell if a man has it, and whether it is off or on.  You could have at
least three politcal camps:  allow it, ban it, and require it.  I could see
pro-life and pro-choice people scattering all over that spectrum.
rcurl
response 185 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 11 17:39 UTC 2003

Intercourse is not the only point at which it is desirable to prevent or
terminate a pregnancy. Women should also be able to abort for other reasons
as the pregnancy progresses. For example, for genetic or congenital errors,
or because of a change in the woman's circumstances. It should even be
possible for cases where a man insists on unprotected sex even against the
woman's wishes. It happens.
tod
response 186 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 11 17:54 UTC 2003

This response has been erased.

happyboy
response 187 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 11 18:17 UTC 2003

they should offer free abortions at the 7-11?
tod
response 188 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 11 18:20 UTC 2003

This response has been erased.

happyboy
response 189 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 11 18:21 UTC 2003

*groans*
janc
response 190 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 11 21:54 UTC 2003

Sure Rane.  Do you think I disagree?  I started from the premise that
illegalizing abortion is a stupid solution to the abortion problem.  Nothing
in this hypothetical solution would make it any less stupid to illegalize
abortion.
rcurl
response 191 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 12 05:27 UTC 2003

No, I didn't think you disagree, but there were many responses that seemed
to assume that the question of abortion would be resolved if pregnancies
were prevented. But many pregnancies occur without a woman's consent, and
there are reasons for terminating pregnancies that were desired - including
convenience. Why should any woman be required to continue a pregnancy
during the first two trimesters if she doesn't want to, including changing
her mind about the whole thing? There are more substantial reasons than
just convenience, but convenience should be sufficient.
lynne
response 192 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 12 15:20 UTC 2003

...given the extreme inconvenience of a pregnancy, I think I actually
agree with rane there.  Shhh, don't tell anyone.
russ
response 193 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 12 22:52 UTC 2003

Re #182:  Pointing out the conflict between Bruce's values and the
actions of his ideological neighbors is intended to be informative
to all (many people do not know Wal-Mart's tricks) and allow Bruce
to reconsider his position if he feels like it.
janc
response 194 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 13 01:07 UTC 2003

Yup, I'm not claiming to have a plan to eliminate abortions.  I'd settle for
eliminating 95% or so.  Which is more than I believe any feasible abortion
ban would ever do.
mynxcat
response 195 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 14 16:29 UTC 2003

What are Wal-mart's tricks?
tod
response 196 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 14 16:42 UTC 2003

This response has been erased.

mynxcat
response 197 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 14 17:01 UTC 2003

Russ brought it up
russ
response 198 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 16 13:45 UTC 2003

Wal-Mart loves to censor its product offerings to conform to
the politics of its management.  Among other things, they:

1.)     Demand bowdlerized versions of mass-market "music".  (I
        consider these things to be words over noise, but Wal-Mart
        is not objecting to the lack of artistic merit.  They
        would probably object to "Compared to what" for several
        parts of the lyrics.  Phillistines.)

2.)     Drop magazines because they don't like them.  In many cases,
        Wal-Mart is the biggest retail outlet for periodicals in
        their local markets; refusing to carry a magazine may mean
        it is effectively unavailable except by subscription.

3.)     Drop drugs because they don't like them (not because people
        don't need them).  This includes morning-after pills.  When
        Wal-Mart's pharmacy has driven the independents out of business,
        this may make certain drugs effectively unavailable in a
        considerable geographic area.

In addition, Wal-Mart is brutal to suppliers.  They demand large
advances and very liberal terms on returns, so a supplier has to lay
out large amounts of money to make product which Wal-Mart then
returns if it doesn't sell on schedule.  Many businesses have been
driven out of business by a Wal-Mart "opportunity".  Wal-Mart is
cannibalizing small and medium US enterprises and throwing Americans
out of work, but its management doesn't care.

All of this has led me to buy nothing from Wal-Mart unless I cannot
obtain it anywhere else.
goose
response 199 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 16 14:32 UTC 2003

I have not set foot in a Wal-Mart in years for those very reasons.
slynne
response 200 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 17 17:07 UTC 2003

Yeah, I have a weird Wal-Mart dilema. They sell the only jeans that I 
really like. And they are cheap. :(. So, even though I dont like 
WalMart, I still buy the jeans there because I like them more than I 
dont like WalMart. heh
jmsaul
response 201 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 18 11:55 UTC 2003

I won't buy from Wal-Mart for those reasons either.
oval
response 202 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 18 14:19 UTC 2003

i don't shop at any gigantic super-chains with obscene flourescent lighting
and muzak.

tod
response 203 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 18 19:54 UTC 2003

This response has been erased.

happyboy
response 204 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 18 21:58 UTC 2003

ambience is really good with old elpaso taco sauce.
tod
response 205 of 209: Mark Unseen   Aug 18 22:00 UTC 2003

This response has been erased.

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