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Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#57626: Jul 3rd 2013 at 12:34:50 PM

You forget that as it stands it'd be relatively simple for the CIA to off him or disappear him.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#57627: Jul 3rd 2013 at 12:35:36 PM

The unconstitutionality of what law? He didn't violate PATRIOT, he violated the Espionage Act. PRISM isn't even a law that could be challenged in court to begin with, and good luck getting a court to strike down the Espionage Act.

edited 3rd Jul '13 12:36:58 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#57628: Jul 3rd 2013 at 12:36:13 PM

PRISM could totally be challenged in court. A fair one, anyway.

pagad Sneering Imperialist from perfidious Albion Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Sneering Imperialist
#57629: Jul 3rd 2013 at 12:36:35 PM

And why are we so convinced that he wouldn't receive a fair trial? It's not like there's any chance that he's innocent.

I'd suggest asking any of the Guantanamo Bay inmates, but I suppose Snowden has the advantage of being white. I suppose Bradley Manning's example is more pertinent.

With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.
Mars444 Since: May, 2013
#57630: Jul 3rd 2013 at 12:39:25 PM

[up][up][up][up]Not really. This guy dies in a mugging, and guess who everybody is going to be pinning the blame on. As public a name he is right now, I doubt that a single hair on his head could be harmed without the blame falling squarely at the feet of the spooks of the Special Activities Division, rightly or wrongly.

Likewise with a trial. The dude's name is known nation-wide, which means that the US has to give him a fair trial. Seal the trial from the public/media, and people will notice. Stuff him in some dark hole somewhere, and people will notice.

And I'm still not sure what PRISM does that ECHELON did not do 20 years ago, anyways.

edited 3rd Jul '13 12:40:31 PM by Mars444

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#57631: Jul 3rd 2013 at 12:40:37 PM

PRISM is not a law. There's nothing to challenge. You could go after PATRIOT, but good luck with that in today's Supreme Court.

@pagad: If this were the Bush administration, I'd be more worried. And Manning may have been kept in solitary but there is no evidence that he was tortured. You're demanding that we prove that Snowden would not be mistreated as a condition for him submitting to apprehension, but you can't prove a negative. "I won't marry you unless you prove that you won't beat me."

Look, I'm not saying that I like PRISM or PATRIOT, but it's the law of the land, voted on by its duly elected representatives, confirmed by its courts, and renewed by Congress. Until we get the balls to tell our government to throw it out, this is what we're going to get as a result.

edited 3rd Jul '13 12:42:00 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
pagad Sneering Imperialist from perfidious Albion Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Sneering Imperialist
#57632: Jul 3rd 2013 at 12:47:35 PM

Forgive me for not being able to see much of a difference between the Bush and Obama administrations in this regard, given that as far as I can tell the latter is simply building upon the legacy of the former in matters pertinent to "homeland security".

With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.
imadinosaur Since: Oct, 2011
#57633: Jul 3rd 2013 at 12:49:59 PM

[up][up]And thanks to heroes like Manning and Snowden, people now know about the secret laws that they should be protesting about.

edited 3rd Jul '13 12:50:19 PM by imadinosaur

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
imadinosaur Since: Oct, 2011
#57635: Jul 3rd 2013 at 12:54:17 PM

I think he's both. Just like Ben Franklin et al.

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
DemonSharkKisame Since: May, 2009
#57636: Jul 3rd 2013 at 1:18:42 PM

Oh god dammit, North Carolina. Stuff like this is exactly why a party super-majority is never a good idea (on either side).

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#57637: Jul 3rd 2013 at 1:28:33 PM

I am sure that will become an issue in the 2014 midterms. The so far only declared opponent and GOP favourite of Kay Hagan, the Democratic Senator from North Carolina, is apparently the Speaker of the NC lower house.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Thorn14 Gunpla is amazing! Since: Aug, 2010
Gunpla is amazing!
#57638: Jul 3rd 2013 at 2:05:39 PM

I support the south seceding again.

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#57639: Jul 3rd 2013 at 2:06:14 PM

Why? That's a pretty terrible idea.

Thorn14 Gunpla is amazing! Since: Aug, 2010
Gunpla is amazing!
#57640: Jul 3rd 2013 at 2:09:53 PM

Just hyperbole from me. Getting really tired of the south's antics.

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#57641: Jul 3rd 2013 at 2:21:23 PM

Somehow I feel like they'd be causing even more trouble if they split off from us. At least now the federal government has some measure of control over them.

KBSL Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: Forming Voltron
#57642: Jul 3rd 2013 at 2:25:00 PM

I just don't understand it. Okay, anti-abortion stuff riles up your base, fine, but they persist with going for anti-abortion bills and plans that are so wildly unpopular that they have to sneak them in? I know someone of these guys actually believe what they spout, but most of them probably are just thinking about getting reelected. I fail to see how sneaking in wildly unpopular things help accomplish that.

edited 3rd Jul '13 2:25:10 PM by KBSL

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#57643: Jul 3rd 2013 at 2:26:06 PM

I think they are just trying to get their way. Nothing about their re-election, really.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Nocturna Since: May, 2011
#57644: Jul 3rd 2013 at 2:27:34 PM

From the article:

Under the legislation, abortion clinics would have to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers. Abortion providers also would have to be present with the patient throughout the procedure, whether surgical or drug-induced. Also, abortion clinics would have to have "transfer agreements" with nearby hospitals, which are roughly equivalent to the hospital granting the physicians admitting privileges.

Honestly, I find it concerning that 36 out of 37 abortion clinics in NC currently don't meet those standards, with the possible exception of the middle sentence (I would think a nurse would be sufficient). But the first and last requirements seem like really good ideas to me—abortion is an ambulatory surgical procedure, so I don't see why it should be exempt from those safety regulations, and having a transfer agreement with a hospital means quicker access to emergency care should something go wrong.

Thorn14 Gunpla is amazing! Since: Aug, 2010
Gunpla is amazing!
#57645: Jul 3rd 2013 at 2:31:06 PM

They're doing it because they see that opinion is slowly starting to turn the other way and they want to force it through while they still have the opportunity.

DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011
#57646: Jul 3rd 2013 at 2:51:39 PM

@Norcutna: I don't see why they have to meet surgical standards though, considering that the procedure usually is chemically induced, not surgical. We don't require OBGYN clinics to meet those standards, and a pap smear is far more invasive.

Edit: The problem with the last one, is that around here at least, all the local hospitals are Catholic and flat out wouldn't grant transfer privileges.

edited 3rd Jul '13 2:53:09 PM by DrunkGirlfriend

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
GlennMagusHarvey Since: Jan, 2001
#57647: Jul 3rd 2013 at 3:30:19 PM

Rep. Gohmert: We Don’t Need Sex Ed Because ‘Mankind Has Existed For Long Time’ Without It

I think something's wrong with this line. Let's try fixing it...

Rep. Gohmert: We Don’t Need Rep. Gohmert Because ‘Mankind Has Existed For Long Time’ Without It

There we go.

Hermiethefrog Since: Jan, 2001
#57648: Jul 3rd 2013 at 3:36:08 PM

The state laws in Mississippi that closed down all but one of their clinics are being challenged on a federal level though, aren't they? Maybe that'll happen with this.

Nocturna Since: May, 2011
#57649: Jul 3rd 2013 at 4:39:08 PM

@Girlfriend: Ah, okay. I'm not all that familiar with abortion procedures, so I stand corrected on that.

RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#57650: Jul 3rd 2013 at 5:47:07 PM

Sex Ed: We Don’t Need Rep. Gohmert Because ‘Mankind Has Existed For Long Time’ Without Him
Fix'd it for you.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.

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