"I Am Deeply Concerned Over The Impact It Might Have On Our Community," Says Rep. Scott DesJarlais.

I wish more foods were named in the same vein as “I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter!”

When you try and turn #BlackLivesMatter into All Lives Matter, what you’re saying is “I don’t feel included.” You’re saying “I don’t feel like a part of the conversation.” Here’s the thing, though. White people aren’t a part of the movement, because the movement is about the oppression involved in institutional racism, and that’s something white people have never experienced. Plain and simple. It isn’t including you because it isn’t about you.

Thank you myannoyances for laying the smack down on my Facebook when one of my elementary school teachers continued to argue #AllLivesMatter and then started with the “black on black crime” bullshit. By that point I was too angry to even respond.  (via chescaleigh)

Reblog if you're black tumblr.

You don’t have to be black, it just means you support us, you stand by us and you’re for us.

Paying for College: Then and Now

So baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964

This means that they entered college between 1964 and 1982

The total average cost to go to Public College including tuition room and board ranged from $950 in 1964 to $2945 in 1982

While they were on college they could count on making at least $1.25 an hour in 1964 to $3.35 an hour in 1982

This means that spending the 18 weeks during summer working full time at minimum wage they would make $900 dollar in 1964 and $2412 in 1982

That means someone going to school 1964 would only have to work 40 hours during the school year to completely pay for all of their expenses.

Someone going to school in 1982 had it a little worse, they had to work for less than 160 hours during the school year to completely cover their expenses.

To put this in perspective in 2006 (the most recent year that the Dept of Edu reports) a public college education cost $11,034

The minimum wage was $5.15 in 2006

That means to pay for school in 2006 at minimum wage you would have to work just over 2142 1/2 hours to pay for school.

Working full time year around, without any time off, is only 2080 hours

I Thought I Was Mad When I Saw How Many Abortion Clinics They Have. Then I Saw The Gun Dealers. (via Upworthy)

In Septemeber 2014, Missouri lawmakers decided women must wait 72 hours to “reflect on their decision” before they can get an abortion. ‘Cause, ya know, an abortion is one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions like ordering pay-per-view or having another glass of wine. And what about cases of rape, incest, or medical complications? Well, they have to wait 72 hours too.

On its own, this is pretty upsetting. But when you consider how easy it is to get one of those shiny metal things used to take people’s lives? That’s when the blinding rage sets in.

If I had a large amount of money I should found a hospital for those whose grip upon the world is so tenuous that they can be severely offended by words and phrases yet remain all unoffended by the injustice, violence and oppression that howls daily

Stephen Fry (via elledark)

November 23

Planned Parenthood is not selling organs.

Fetuses don’t have organs that are worthwhile to anyone. Most organs are developing throughout all 40 weeks. Most abortions (89% in 2010) happen in the 1st trimester/12 weeks. (For amount comparison: A fetus is 3 inches long and 1oz in weight at the end of the first trimester.)

Fetuses do have fetal tissue, which can be used to make stem cells.

Stem cells are used to find cures and treatments for various diseases (like diabetes and Parkinson’s) and injuries (like crushed spinal cords.)

Fetal tissue has already been used to make many of our vaccines.

Planned Parenthood performs abortions and - if the patient permits it - donates the fetal tissue to organizations who wish to use it.

This includes people who need abortions for health reasons.

There are people who have lost their wanted pregnancies due to disease and conditions.

They may choose to donate fetal tissue to help others from suffering through the same heartache.

As noted above, fetal stem cells do a lot of good. Even if the person chooses a “therapeutic” abortion, they may donate the fetal tissue to help people with diseases, conditions, and injuries that may benefit from research.

Planned Parenthood is charging for storage, handling, and transportation of the specimen.

At $30 to $100, that’s a pretty minimal cost and reasonable.

Also, it’s perfectly legal.

Seriously, research that needs/uses fetal tissue may help hundreds, maybe thousands, of people.

Planned Parenthood isn’t nefarious.

Fetal tissue may be the key to treating and curing diseases,conditions, and injuries that affect thousands and their families.

Abortion is going to happen, anyway. Fetuses are going to die, anyway. Their tissue can help people.

It was a movie about American bombers in World War II and the gallant men who flew them. Seen backwards by Billy, the story went like this: American planes, full of holes and wounded men and corpses took off backwards from an airfield in England. Over France, a few German fighter planes flew at them backwards, sucked bullets and shell fragments from some of the planes and crewmen. They did the same for wrecked American bombers on the ground, and those planes flew up backwards to join the formation. The formation flew backwards over a German city that was in flames. The bombers opened their bomb bay doors, exerted a miraculous magnetism which shrunk the fires, gathered them into cylindrical steel containers , and lifted the containers into the bellies of the planes. The containers were stored neatly in racks. The Germans below had miraculous devices of their own, which were long steel tubes. They used them to suck more fragments from the crewmen and planes. But there were still a few wounded Americans though and some of the bombers were in bad repair. Over France though, German fighters came up again, made everything and everybody as good as new. When the bombers got back to their base, the steel cylinders were taken from the racks and shipped back to the United States of America, where factories were operating night and day, dismantling the cylinders, separating the dangerous contents into minerals. Touchingly, it was mainly women who did this work. The minerals were then shipped to specialists in remote areas. It was their business to put them into the ground, to hide them cleverly, so they would never hurt anybody ever again. The American fliers turned in their uniforms, became high school kids. And Hitler turned into a baby.

Kurt Vonnegut -- Slaughterhouse Five

Postcards for Ants: A 365-Day Miniature Painting Project by Lorraine Loots