Sign me up for a job in Erie County, NY. A recent report showed that “Erie County’s public employees are on the job about eight weeks less per year on average than other workers in the community.”
The study showed that
private sector workers have 2,080 scheduled hours on the job a year, compared to 1,820 hours for Erie County workers.
County workers receive 32 hours more of paid holiday time, and 40 hours more when it comes to combined vacation and personal and sick leave time.
The Castle Coalition, an organization of citizens fighting eminent domain abuse has come up with a great use for Google maps. Every American should look at this to understand how real eminent domain abuses are. Don’t forget to click on the little “pins” to read about specific cases.
How refreshing to see the private sector taking a stand against overly intrusive government.
“The idea that a citizen’s property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided, in fact it’s just plain wrong,” John Allison, the bank’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
In an interview, BB&T chief credit officer Ken Chalk said the bank expects to lose only a tiny amount of business, but believes it was obligated to take a stance on the issue.
My hope is that taking a stance like this won’t cost the company any business, but might actually bring business to the bank–I know I’d be opening an account if there was a BB&T in my area.
What not to do when you have the hiccups:
Yikes…
I have a cure that works every time:
I know it sounds stupid…but I swear it works everytime!
TIME recently published their list of the Top 100 Novels Since 1923. I was surprised and somewhat embarassed to find that I’ve only actually read 9 out of the 100 books (I was tempted to count movies, but I refrained). However, my Matty made me feel better about my list since he read even fewer than I did. (just kidding)
Here are the ones I’ve read:
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
1984 by George Orwell
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I own but have not yet read:
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
It was easier for me to choose my least favorite than my favorite of these books: I don’t know why, but I really disliked Lord of the Flies. I know that I’m like the first person ever to say that, and the truth is I can’t quite put my finger on why I didn’t like it. I suppose it’s just not my style, and maybe after I’ve read all of the others on the list I can go back to that one, and try to figure out why everyone loves it so much.
I really can’t choose a favorite, but will say that Animal Farm, The Catcher In The Rye, 1984, and To Kill a Mockingbird are my favorites.
I really should set aside time to catch up on the classics though, I’m rarely disappointed when I take the time to read a book like the ones on this list.
We have been hearing a lot recently about how overturning Roe v. Wade would lead to “back alley” abortions, and hurt women. Lately, we’ve heard the stories of abortion advocates wearing gowns with blood stains accross the stomachs, brandishing coat-hangers. I even read a story that talked about a woman decorating here hair with coat hanger replicas(I’m really confused by that one). The abortion advocates conveniently forget that abortions hurt women as well.
An article in this week’s World Magazine discusses the emotional pain many women who have abortions experience. The story begins by recounting the experience of Myra Myers, a now 61 year old woman, who had an abortion at the age of 28:
Hours before Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito’s confirmation hearings began Jan. 9 on Capitol Hill, Myra Myers sought a hearing of her own on the steps of the Supreme Court. She carried her message on a dark blue sign that read: “My abortion hurt me.”
Mrs. Myers, now 61, was 28 and married when she learned she was pregnant with her sixth child in January 1973. Just weeks after the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade, her husband persuaded her to have an abortion and later reassured her, “It was the only thing that could be done.”
“I thought that because it was legal it might be OK,” Mrs. Myers told WORLD. “And I believed the lie that the child I was carrying was not a baby.” Both spouses now say it was the worst decision they ever made.
Later, the article discusses other harm that is done to women that choose to have abortions:
Adding to the shift are the testimonies of thousands of women who have experienced the negative abortion fallout firsthand. Groups like the Silent No More Awareness Campaign and Operation Outcry are publicizing what they experience after exercising their right to choose: infertility, severe depression, substance abuse, and relentless self-loathing.
Additionally, there’s plenty of scientific evidence of the emotional harm done to women who have abortions. According to a recent article by Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychology professor at Grove City College,
Recent research from Norway and New Zealand has reported an association between abortion and subsequent mental health problems. Although the two investigations are not the first to suggest such a relationship, they are well-designed studies suggesting that abortion may be linked to negative mental health reactions for some women.
The Norwegian study, published online by the journal BMC Medicine, compared the experiences of women who had miscarriages with those who had abortions. Six months after pregnancy termination, women who had a miscarriage were more distressed than women who had abortions. However, after 5 years, women who had abortions were more likely to suffer anxiety and intrusive thoughts of the event than women who miscarried.
The New Zealand study, published by the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, found that mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts, were more likely to occur among women who had an abortion than women who had never been pregnant or pregnant women who did not terminate the pregnancy. The study concluded, “Abortion in young women may be associated with increased risks of mental health problems.”
Maybe we need to change our strategy as pro-lifers. Women contemplating abortions are only thinking of themselves at that moment…often, abortion is what they think seems best for themselves. Maybe we need to use this selfish mindset to stop abortions…calling women who have abortions murderers isn’t going to change their minds, but maybe if we show them how much their decision may hurt them in the long run they’ll make the choice to save their babies.
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