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The Whole Truth - Community 3.22
Jeff Winger has some great speeches but this is easily my favorite.
29 notes &
The Whole Truth - Community 3.22
Jeff Winger has some great speeches but this is easily my favorite.
This is the speech President Richard Nixon was prepared to give in case Apollo 11 did not safely return.
Luckily, it was never needed. RIP Neil Armstrong.
(via npr)
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I think that this ad will succeed in being seen beyond its budget, however having watched it I may never eat ice cream again. You’ve been warned.
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A half-read book is a half-finished love affair.
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But that’s my opinion. And a society that truly believes in individual freedom will respect Mr. Cathy’s right to his views. Those who disagree with him are free to boycott Chick-fil-A in protest. But if our elected officials run Chick-fil-A out of town, they are effectively voting for all of us, regardless of our respective beliefs, and eliminating our individual freedoms.
And freedom, after all, is at the heart of the controversy over same-sex marriage. True individual freedom includes allowing consenting adults to marry the partners they choose, regardless of gender. To those for whom same-sex marriage is personally objectionable, their free choice is simple: Don’t enter into one. But don’t impede the freedom of others to do so. As long as Chick-fil-A operates within the boundaries of the law, municipalities and institutions should leave the decision about whether to eat at Chick-fil-A to individual consumers. If they do, Chick-fil-A is still likely to experience a net loss of business over time as a result of Mr. Cathy’s statements. This is because gay people are the constituency most viscerally, fundamentally and personally affected by the denial of the freedom to marry the consenting adult we choose. We are the ones with the highest personal stakes in sticking out the battle in the long run. And we will vote with our feet.
In the marketplace as in politics, those rare players who place individual freedom ahead of their own personal agendas will get my vote every time.
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This is one of my wife’s favorite books and I’m thankful she let me borrow it long enough to read, twice. David Mitchell’s plot structure, characterization and changes in voice all represent very impressive literary accomplishments.
We are both skeptical that the Wachowski brothers, or anyone for that matter, will be able to succeed in adapting this work to the big screen but we are looking forward to seeing it in the hope that we’ll be proven wrong.
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Through this link you’ll finally learn what would happen if you try to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light.
This highlights how flawed the steroid debate’s focus on batters has been. The risk of questionable home run records pales in comparison to the fiery apocalypse which could be unleashed by juiced up pitchers.
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Sadly this is only one of many examples of the vitriol spewed forth by individuals on both ends of the political spectrum. Quick quiz:
Do you believe an individual deserves to die because they don’t share your political views?
If you answered “no” then congratulations, you are a human being.
If you answered “yes” please, for your sake if nothing else, consider therapy.
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Just returned from watching Safety Not Guaranteed and I highly recommend it. It is a deeply meaningful movie effortlessly presented in a light and humorous tone. It will make you think but you’ll enjoy doing so.
The plot is the highlight but the cast makes it succeed. While she is great in a supporting role on Parks and Recreation, I had doubts about how well Aubrey Plaza could carry a leading role. Thankfully, those doubts were unfounded. She and Mark Duplass had believable chemistry while Jake M. Johnson and Karan Soni fit an impressive amount of comedy and emotional depth into their supporting parts.
The ending is fittingly somewhat ambiguous, but if you are like me you won’t mind at all.
Go see it with some friends, it is a journey best experienced with a partner(s).
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My thoughts on today’s ruling:
1) I’m surprised the swing vote was Justice Roberts, not Justice Kennedy.
2) There are aspects of the legislation I like and I understand the logic behind the individual mandate (systems of shared risk generally work better with as wide a pool as possible and many without insurance currently are young individuals who are less likely to draw more than they pay) but I don’t think it is the right approach. If we want government mandated universal insurance we should adopt a single payer system rather than forcing people to purchase plans from profit-driven private insurers. I don’t personally support that approach either but would prefer it to a hybrid system featuring the drawbacks of both the free-market and public approaches.
3) Finding the mandate constitutional under the taxation clause rather than the commerce clause is one of the most important aspects of the decision. Like North Dakota v. Dole, it theoretically limits the direct exercise of federal power but offers an acceptable indirect alternative. The former led to a block grant approach to federalism, it will be interesting to see what taxes to regulate individual behavior will be proposed in the future.
4) I understand that passions run high, especially on issues such as this, but still wish that the discussion focused more on an exchange of ideas rather than attacks. Most people on both sides genuinely want the best for our country, we just have different thoughts on what that is.