I Hate Gamecocks...But Now They're Mine

Wow. Makes you wonder what would happen if this state took up the question of stomping slugs on a dare. Death penalty?
While I can't speak to the problems of legal and technical language, I can speak to the true-to-his-toothpick-of-a-family-tree problem of Rep. Altman.
My brother lives in South Carolina and doesn't have a hell of a lot to say in defense of the normal resident. He says they are very nice and community-minded, but don't have the sense to come in out of the rain when their officials are backtracking them into the 19th century
...or, in many cases, just keeping them there.
But how much can you really say for a state (in general, that is) that blames liberals for the Supreme Conservative Court's repeated decisions to uphold Roe v. Wade, but says it's God's Will when a hurricane slams into them and flattens everything in sight (while running to the feds immediately for a handout so that they can continue living there)? If Terri Schiavo were a gamecock would she still be at the SPCA on life support?
Women are beaten around this "great" nation of ours always, every day, in every state, in every way. Do many of them return to their partners despite that? Yes, they do. One thing the article doesn't touch on as a reason for their returning is that many of these women believe they love the men who beat them. For whatever reason. Plus, they tend to blame themselves for the violence inflicted upon them. All it takes is a suppressed or abusive upbringing and the fear of losing any and all "stability" they feel they need in Society's eyes or their own and we have a recurring theme. Add to that almost non-existent counseling with any muscle in most states and you have the recipe for blamchowder.
Any person who claims that any woman who goes back to the man who beat them is dumb or "not bright" is a moron, pure and simple. This person is a person who most likely doesn't think twice when a friend grabs a woman-not-his-wife at a party, probably thinks 'well, that's what she gets for dressing like that". Don't like it? Then leave or change to suit your husband's needs.
Hey, I have a bill for everyone: all state representatives who think gamecocking is more egregious than domestic abuse should be forced to spend one month in a women's prison with a sign around their neck that reads "I Hate Gamecocks, But I Loooooove Any Other Kind".
http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?s=3233130

I was just talking with my mother about this today at lunch. This article presents the truely disturbing possibility I foresee, that a small town pharmacist could actually enforce his/her narrow moral agenda on an entire community and be within his/her legal rights. And the community would then have to travel many miles in order to buy birth control or give up sex without condoms...which is as likely as Keanu Reeves winning an Oscar for Best Actor. Sex will happen, pregnancies will occur more often and teens will not learn anything from a pharmacist (since that is the age category most likely to be affected by this).
http://columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=13363
And why do some of us think that our morals are righter than others? Everyone has morals or ethics. No one person's ever match up completely with another's. So, why do we insist on pushing ours on others? If a pharmacist is uncomfortable dispensing certain legal drugs...get another type of job. We will defend our friends to the death even though they might be as guilty as sin of a crime (i.e. "he is not that kind of person, she was under a lot of stress, it was a random act that i know will never happen again"), but we will condemn strangers without ever getting to know them. These pharmacists are merely an example of the unthinking cruelty we mete out on a daily basis to people we will never try to know.

p.s. A recent blog about Walmart has a link that evidently does not work. In it is an article describing Walmart's reaction to a Canadian branch that voted to unionize. Walmart shut the store down with no warning within a couple of days. This store was a lifeline for that town.
Also, when a Canadian Walmart meat department decided to unionize, Walmart stopped selling meat from that location.
So, here's my idea: all Walmart employees in North America should now make it their goal to unionize. All of them. At once. Then let's see what the Walton family does. Shut every store down and go under rather than treat humans like humans? Outsource all of it to the sweatshops of the Third World (they do buy from many of them)? I think the opposite would occur. Walmart would be forced to open negotiations with the employees who are simply trying to gain some form of protection in their professional life.
And what a slap in the face it would be to all employers who think they can treat the rest of us like dogshit they just stepped in. I'm personally not a big fan of unions, because my one experience with the Carpenters Local up in Seattle left me with a very bitter taste in my mouth. It seems that the big dawgs of the Trade Show component were making any kind of deal with the Carpenters they could in order to grab a golden parachute. And the big dawgs of the Carpenters had no time for Trade Show builders, because we weren't actual carpenters.
That aside, though, I know many people who swear that without union representation they would not be employed or they would not be able to feed and clothe their families at the pay rates their employers would still be paying them.
Nuff said. I encourage all Walmart employees everywhere to unionize and force the Walton family into a position whereby they cannot squirm away with only minimal damage to their poersonal fortunes. We all deserve a living wage and the chance to enjoy life.