Nathan

[FONT="Arial"]Even if the video is better... [CENTER][IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/11/8/128706120228589318.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Oh did I laugh at this one. [CENTER][IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/11/7/128705923440889341.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][QUOTE=Indi][COLOR="Indigo"][FONT="Arial"]And since I know you aren't aware of a certain thread and how fitting that joke really is.... [URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=58634"][U]Little Deaths[/U][/URL] Educate yourself. =P[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]What the hell? Is it too late to take it back? o_O Okay, I suppose it is too late. Seriously though... wtf? [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='Indi][COLOR="Indigo"][FONT="Arial"][I]*still finds the whole idea of them giving that out to begin with... amusing* [/I][/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]I do too, though I didn't see anything like that here. lol All I did was get rained on. Not too bad though. I'm more happy over who actually won, I could care less about any apparent handouts for voting. Heh. [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='Miss Anonymous'] let it be because you disagree with their policies, not because of their gender, age or race.[/quote]I can guarantee that for many of us who are Democrats, it was all about policy and not irrelevant details like gender, race or age. Now even though Utah is a Red state and my vote for Obama didn't garner any electoral votes, I am very, very pleased to see that he has won. As someone who is voting for the third time since I was old enough. I'm glad to finally see a candidate I wanted to win, [I]actually[/I] win. Enough to warrant using this: :catgirl: And in closing... Anomaly, that image is totally awesome. [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='Katakidoushi']If it makes you feel any better I'm not having any fun either. It's quite amazing how these little spats just blow up so unneccesarily. [/quote]I'm kind of wondering why you bothered to bring it up to begin with. Because when you think about it, I've been here a month, so joke or not, I think people would have been looking at me oddly if I was making up stuff on how I'd get them. I kind of prefer to have a chance to know people through their posts before I do that. I don't see that as being a killjoy, just reserved until I know you people a little more.[quote name='Katakidoushi']To: A candle lit dinner with Allamorph, Rachmaninoff and Nathan. There will be a violinist and possibly some spaghetti.[/quote]Eh? Why bother? Your original response was funny. Oh and Ironically, Rachmaninoff actually[I] is [/I]a musician, a cellist to be precise. He's really quite talented. Anyway... Hmmm, since I have now actually spoken to a few people here via AIM... How about suggesting that a person looks into hiring other members to hunt down their target for them? I mean Raiha is rather ruthless on AIM so I could see her doing that... :D[/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][QUOTE=Katakidoushi]You should change your user name to Buzz Killington. Lighten up, dude.[/QUOTE]You should learn what pm's are and actually use them. =P Instead of opening your mouth and sticking your foot in it. So if I factiously post something about getting someone drunk so I can have my way with them, and incidentally then look like a groin driven hormonal male (and pathetically stupid as well) would that be 'lightened up' enough for you? Not that it's going to happen btw. lol[/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='Gavin][SIZE="1"'] I have to admit I let a few chuckles out at the idea that Dracula should be a "really skinny guy with romantic challenges" based on genuine blood-sucker habits because I'm immature like that. [/SIZE][/quote]I don't know if I'd go so far as to say immature, but it does punch holes in that ever so inaccurate image of the dashing vampire. When I think of some people I know who romanticize the idea of a vampire lord, I can't help but laugh at it. I also find others believing in such things a stretch, a very long one at that. It's an interesting concept, but rather outdated when modern science can explain things that were mistaken for vampires and so forth. Now it's just a pastime for amusing oneself, with the stories that is. [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]Gotta love Google right? [CENTER][IMG]http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/political-pictures-john-mccain-google-running-mate.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] And just to pick on the other side too... [CENTER][IMG]http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/political-pictures-barack-obama-cheezburger.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]Well since we are on that line of thought... [CENTER][IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/10/30/128698427013565013.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]My birthday is close to Christmas so it tends to get overshadowed by all the holiday festivities going on. One of the best that comes to mind is shortly before I moved to Utah. I went with some of my buddies to a cabin that my parents own. We hung out for nearly a week doing ice fishing, cross country skiing and generally just having a great time before we came back to town for the afore mentioned holiday. I certainly wouldn't mind going home and doing something like that again. Not that I don't have a good time here with all the new friends I've made since then. I just remember that week since it was one of the best birthdays I ever had. And now for the real reason I'm posting in here... Another fun thing for birthdays (not mine), since I started dating Crystia... is the combination Birthday party for her and Darren on Halloween. In addition to the watching scary movies and just having a good time, I know I'm looking forward to that this evening. So Happy Birthday you two. [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]Well I'm sure it won't be the last, especially if he is elected next week. I certainly don't see a real issue with it though. I don't see racism disappearing anytime soon so I'm of the opinion that the possibility of an another attempt shouldn't even matter. I certainly hope one doesn't succeed though, otherwise, that's going to make the US look very, very stupid. Not that we don't already at times (and no I'm not really going to go there) I just hate looking that way more than... [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]Well I did establish that other than one member here, there is no one at OtakuBoards that I know well enough to even joke about doing. However, I think it goes without saying that a nice dinner, flowers and a genuine interest in the person is always a good start. Though movies, concerts and group activities area great too. And if you're serious about them at all, never,[I] ever[/I] forget special occasions or birthdays. Cause to do otherwise, is just lame. As in - I know who's Birthday it is today. =P[/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='Nessaja']Well, I don't know anyone who was born as a hermaphrodite, but people I've met who are transgendered get a lot of hate for it. Why do you guys think that is?[/quote]Ignorance and fear of anything different or rather anything that isn't part of what's considered socially normal in today's society. Though defining normal could be quite the chore since that is highly subjective. I can't say I care one way or the other. Usually what bothers me about people is attitudes and personality traits that make them either nice or a jerk. Not stuff that is more physical in nature. [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='TimeChaser']Thanks, Nathan. That helps clear some things up for me too. I realize diagnosis of such conditions are much better today than they were back then.[/quote]You're welcome. Like Indi pointed out, other than certain types of pregnancies, most of them today are, if caught in time, treatable. And of course the clause about the mother's health must remain since there are types that we simply cannot fix at all. Now ignoring most if not all of the posts after this one... [spoiler]I'm sorry but I'm allergic to...[/spoiler] one of the biggest flaws I see to the whole human rights argument to begin with is how people are focusing on treating the symptoms instead of the cause. I touched on this before but I'll do so again. Instead of harping from the supposedly moral high ground (which is utterly useless since claiming your morals/view are superior only makes you look like a douche) of saving life, start looking into how you can prevent those unwanted pregnancies to begin with. Comprehensive sex education for teens along with better and cheaper access to contraceptives for married couples. Work on improving the current adoption system so those who still end up pregnant and don't want it, have a means to hand the baby over to someone who does. Comprehensive counseling for those who are considering an abortion in addition to better medical regulation to reduce the risks to those who do follow through. It seems that no one wants to take this route since it's of course easier to try and deny it outright instead of giving each case the due consideration required. That report Indi linked to made it clear, there is no way to put a blanket generalization on any one case since each one will vary a lot. Plus their concluding notes as it says here (yes I read the whole thing and understand how arguing for blanket generalizations are useless): [quote]Based on our comprehensive review and evaluation of the empirical literature published in peer-reviewed journals since 1989, this Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion concludes that the most methodologically sound research indicates that among women who have a single, legal, first-trimester abortion of an unplanned pregnancy for nontherapeutic reasons, the relative risks of mental health problems are no greater than the risks among women who deliver an unplanned pregnancy.[/quote]Made it clear that neither one was better in terms to mental health, because what would be hard on one, would not phase another. Leading back to the realization that outright banning will solve nothing, other than to perhaps make you feel better instead of the people in this situation. In other words, stop trying to put a one inch band aide on a six foot gash. [B]EDIT:[/B] And before I forget.. CS, Indi exhaustively explained, from the get go that this is a case by case basis. So why you bother to continue the pointless arguing is beyond me. Or why you listened to Allamorph say the exact same thing and yet ignored the others is pointless as well. Plus your continual insistence that others are ignorant is merely showcasing your own ignorance when it takes three or four people saying the same thing again and again for you to finally get it. All this does is make you look inflexible and incapable of learning. You were arguing that mentally, abortion made it worse, that article proved that 'depending on the circumstance' it was no different than if the person had the baby. If you had really read it, you would have understood that Indi was pointing out that you were arguing from ignorance about the very nature of mental stress caused by abortion in the first place. [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='Crimson Spider']Fear the parentless one! For you have nothing to hold hostage against him![/quote]It also means if they were to vanish, no one would notice... ([SIZE="1"]kidding =P[/SIZE]) Anyway, I don't know anyone well enough to claim them as being part of my OB family. But if I'm reading this thread right, if I do end up marrying Crystia... I'll be getting some really wacky in-laws and relatives. o_O [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='Raiha][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]...please present statistics on said "toxic pregnancies." I'd need you to explain that scientifically so we know what parameters to search for[/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]I imagine he's referring to this kind of thing here: [URL="http://environmentalcommons.org/cetos/articles/MoDFinalReport.pdf"][U]Identifying Toxic Risks Before and During Pregnancy[/U][/URL] Since TC is referring to his grandmother's mother, you're looking at a time frame when identifying such risks wasn't as easy to do as it is today. So the diagnosis was most likely just that 'toxic pregnancy', even though that explains nothing. I'm guessing that this was back in the early 1900's if not late 1800's. (correct me if I'm wrong TC) Obviously when something goes wrong today, with the advances in medical technology, we have a clearer picture of what happened. The phrase 'toxic pregnancy' is a term that was often used when something had gone terribly wrong that they didn't fully understand. Today that would fall under the exception of allowing an abortion because of a serious health risk to the mother. So though that's a valid point TC, if I understand you correctly, that kind of thing already[I] is[/I] accepted. Abortions [I]are[/I] allowed if the pregnancy has become a serious health risk to the mother. Even bills that would criminalize all other forms of abortions, do include an exception for genuine health risks. [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]Clarification for those who continually ignore or misinterpret the reason [I]why[/I] the objection to abolishing abortion is on account of rape being ignored. Since some of us do actually read what these bills would entail. Many of the bills (I am of course referring to ones that I have read) would criminalize [I]all[/I] abortions unless needed to save the life of the woman. So far every single one I've seen had no exception clauses included in the bills to allow abortion in cases of rape or incest. The common reason given... they reject an exception based on rape or incest because "...only 1 to 2 percent of all abortions are due to a rape or incest. Until that exception is allowed and properly considered, and even then, I will never support making abortions illegal. Especially since the very same legislators are often for Abstinence education only instead of comprehensive. Once they stop sticking their heads in the sand and start addressing more than the symptom, you know, instead of blindly thinking making it illegal will stop unintentional pregnancies... Then I might take the attempt to reform the system more seriously. [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]I'm rather fond of my soul... [CENTER][IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/10/20/128690136104553758.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Oh snap. [CENTER][IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/10/18/128688288900794870.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]Lots of what I consider tl;dr posts. Well only one, but we'll leave it at that. And yes that's my way of saying I'm not going to join the drama here and simply post what I think. Now as for the actual topic, my stance is pretty simple, I'm pro-choice. (I can just about hear some of you saying... what!?!) In that respect it becomes less simple. I disagree with the attempts to make it illegal since most of them are all or nothing. There are going to be cases where it's necessary. Most notably being when it's a genuine threat to the health of the mother. As Darren already pointed out, rape is misunderstood since the option to take medicine right after the assault has happened already reduces the possibility of someone becoming pregnant. (hence the small numbers of someone actually becoming pregnant from an assault) However, even if the numbers are small, that doesn't mean we should abandon that choice. In the end, I'm in favor of reform of the current system instead of abolishing it outright. I see abortion as the last choice possible, but still a choice that needs to be protected. [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][QUOTE=Katakidoushi]So what are we basing this "bang factor" on? The person's words? Words are dandy, I love em', but I'd need a little more info then that to commit to a bang. And I'm pretty sure 3/4 of the chicks on here are off limits anyway. I don't need "To Catch a Predator" unfolding on otaku.[/QUOTE]I imagine it's based on being goofy and not serious at all. However, I haven't quite been here three weeks yet so I don't know any of you. At least not well enough to even joke about. I only know a few from real life and other than the lovely Crystia (yes I'm allowed to say that, she is my girlfriend after all), I can't say I'd do any of you. Sorry. =P[/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]Well my girlfriend tells me I should wear all blue. I know the reason why, but all I have is a blue t-shirt so coming up with a blazer, pants, shoes and hat isn't going to happen. What will happen is I'll end up dressing up like a vampire since I'll be helping out with several blood drives that weekend. [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]If the FAQ for that site isn't enough to convince someone that it's just a joke, I don't know what will. Everywhere you go in there just leads to more intentional satirical humor. [/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]Hmmm, I suppose I should post a few. Poking fun of politics is always a good thing. [CENTER][IMG]http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/political-pictures-barack-obama-joe-plumber-straight-earn-250k.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Irony at it's finest. [CENTER][IMG]http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/political-pictures-arnold-schwarzenegger-definition-irony-conservative-complaints-foreigners-jobs.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] And just because... [CENTER][IMG]http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/political-pictures-sarah-palin-debate-jeopardy.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"]Though they technically cover more than the 80's, I've always enjoyed songs by Chicago, Depeche Mode and Kansas. I am not a huge fan of the era, but there's no denying that some great music comes from that time. It's fun to listen to every now and then.[/FONT]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='Raiha;823874][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Ah but remember, polls consistently oversample Democrats and otherwise unoccupied people that still pick up land line phones. Most Republicans never get polled properly because a: they're all busy working and b: Hence they aren't home to pick up the phone anyway. Well it's the same point but it's hard to point out that inconvenient fact when discussing polls.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Sounds like Republicans need to be less conservative and get with the times. You know, by getting a cell phone so they can answer calls on the job like most working Democrats do. :D[QUOTE=James'][font=franklin gothic medium]This is more what I was looking for: [url]http://obama-mccain.info/index-obama-mccain.php[/url] I'll have a read up on that later and tell you what I think. Haha.[/font][/QUOTE]Another good site for seeing where they stand in addition to how they have voted on past issues can be found here: [URL="http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm"][U]On The Issues[/U][/URL] Just click on the name of the person you want to check out. Now putting the title of the thread aside and moving to the edit (who will you vote for) I will be voting for Obama. I may be in a state that is approximately 70% Republican, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm a Democrat and just about always vote for that party. It's pretty rare for me to vote otherwise since most of the time, I don't agree with the direction Republicans wish to take our country. There are exceptions of course, but they tend to be few and far between. [/FONT]