The vulgarism for a part of human anatomy is usually spelt with an “r” (and pronounced that way too) as it is derived from the Old English word for a rump or tail (ærs). The word is considered vulgar primarily because of its Old English derivation (vulgar literally meaning “of the mob”. It was a word of the common man).

In any case, the term “the law is an ass” is suggestive of the law being stubborn and silly in the way that a donkey is likewise stubborn and somewhat ridiculous (when compared with a horse!)

The term can be found in Dickens for instance. Mr Bumble, in the story of Oliver Twist, replies to Brownlow’s assertion that Bumble’s wife acts under his direction, with:

“If the law supposes that,” said Mr. Bumble,… “the law is a ass—a idiot. If that’s the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is that his eye may be opened by experience—by experience.”

This, of course, is even more off topic than the post that was censored… but I just wanted to be clear that I was not using a vulgarism.

and as for your comment stephen, i have nothing to say but that our definition of piracy differs. Burning a couple of CDs for friends is piracy. I don’t think its wrong, but tis against the law and is defined to be piracy.

It is against the law, but of your law actually *calls* it piracy, then your law is an a**.

Piracy is robbery committed at sea, or sometimes on the shore, by an agent without a commission from a sovereign nation. Seaborne piracy against transport vessels remains a significant issue (with estimated worldwide losses of US$13 to $16 billion per year[1]), particularly in the waters between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, off the Somali coast, and in the Strait of Malacca and Singapore, which are used by over 50,000 commercial ships a year. A recent [1] surge in piracy off the Somali coast spurred a multi-national effort led by the United States to patrol the waters near the Horn of Africa to combat piracy. While boats off the coasts of South America and the Mediterranean Sea are still assailed by pirates,the Royal Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard have nearly eradicated piracy in U.S. waters and the Caribbean Sea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy

Record companies want us to think of copying of music as a high crime, so they link it with robbery and pillage on the high seas. And yet it is clearly not. They include film clips and adverts that tell us that if we tape someone else’s music, we are contributing to organised crime and the drug problem. But we are clearly not.

There is an attempt at guilt by association here, and yet if you consider the issue, there is often not even any kind of theft except in some spurious legal doctrine.

Consider if someone takes a copy of an mp3 from someone else to listen to. That taking is a breach of copyright law. The content is not licensed to the person who took it, and thus the copyright owner may say that he has no right to do so.

But if that person would *not* have bought that music (and we must be very sure he would not have done so), then in what way has he deprived the copyright owner of his property? The owner still owns the copyright, and he is not out of pocket. So where is the theft?

Of course, with the ability to buy mp3s at very low cost now, the point may be moot. If someone wants an mp3, they presumably have means to get it themselves. The theft comes then in depriving the copyright owner of their payment.

But we should still bear this principle in mind when we consider license agreements on software with restrictive clauses, or attempts to otherwise skew rights in favour of the companies who have bought the copyright on works. Copyright is only legitimate if it works in the interest of the public (as are patents for that matter).

So what do we have? A crime that is not always morally reprehensible (except inasmuch as disobeying law is reprehensible) being deliberately compared to murder, pillage and robbery on the high seas, drug trafficking and organised crime.

And then the same companies pushing these unhelpful analogies manage to get a law passed in the US that makes it illegal for you to even point to a place that might tell someone how they might circumvent copy protection systems! So much for freedom of speech!

(Hey, I said it was off topic. If you don’t mind min, I will post a version of this on my blog tomorrow, where it will be more on-topic!)

Plan B works in two ways (as documented above): It stops ovulation and it stops implantation. As I just discussed in another post, if you believe that life begins at conception then you have to believe that one of the ways that Plan B operates is inducing an abortion.

I have an post coming soon in regards to medical expert’s testimony as to when life begins, but suffice it to say that they agree that life begins when the sperm and the egg are joined to form a unique alive human individual.

Neither tampons, condoms or prostate supplements are purchased after the intercourse to prevent life (either from being formed or from implanting). Also, the purchase of none of these things could be used to cover up a crime that has been committed. You could make the argument that condoms could be purchased before a crime, but there is nothing that can be done to stop that. After the crime has been committed, it would be more likely that a woman would receive help if she were to purchase the item rather than a man.

My views on abortion aside, if it’s statistically possible that a man could rape an underaged girl or commit incest, then the fact that said man could buy something for his victim covers the crime rather than having a doctor ask the underage girl what happened. This is the point of this post.

Again, why is this a big issue? Because there’s not only the possibility of the crime, but also the nature of the crime. Unlike drug use (which is a crime, but is not harming one or two innocent victims), allowing rapists access to Plan B based on the logic that there may be a legitimate reason to allow men to buy it is farther than I would want to go.

And there is where we disagree.

And its not like plan B is an abortion! Its the same hormones as regular birth control pills. Of course you can define abortion differently, but in my opinion it is not a pregnancy until a growing fetus is securely implanted in the uterus. I would not consider a blastula a baby.

I did not say anything about men because in my opinion there should not be gender restrictions on the purchase of a product. Men can buy tampons, women can buy condoms, women can buy prostate supplements. Its called fair rights as a consumer.

and as for your comment stephen, i have nothing to say but that our definition of piracy differs. Burning a couple of CDs for friends is piracy. I don’t think its wrong, but tis against the law and is defined to be piracy.

you failed to address my other examples…cooking meth from household products for starters. The government cant prevent people from doing that…but its not realistic for honest consumers to need Clorox prescriptions.

but i suppose its pointless arguing with people who are apparently against pretty much everything. I suppose you would want to ban people from owning greenhouses too because you could grow weed in there.

people can break piracy laws with CD burners

Okay, this is way off topic - but it is a pet hate of mine. CD burners do not help anyone commit murder, theft and other heinious crimes on the high seas. Thus they do not help acts of piracy.

They *can* be used to perpetrate violations of license agreements, and even - on occasion - acts of copyright violation (more easily done in the US where you have the very restrictive DMCA). But calling this piracy is like calling a meeting of southern baptists a papacy.

(Oh and to get back on topic, I note that CD burners and CDs often do have restrictions built in to try and reduce license violations).

1. Thanks for sticking to the original illustration for your opening argument. It was getting tiresome to talk about things that are not germane to the post. For the situation I laid out– I would prefer the woman go to the police and catch the rapist. I would not harm the innocent child that woman could have– punish the person guilt of the crime.

2. Irresponsible use of a product is the government’s problem. Check out the number of warning labels, enforced protective gear, MSDS and other hazardous materials, etc. Even if you go so far as to say in this case there are warnings and hazards clearly listed…

3. You have not proven that men above the age of 18 should be able to purchase it. This post is not saying that women should not have access to it (though with a doctor’s or pharmacist’s counsel would help catch the rapist), but it is saying that men’s access to it is questionable at best.

I think the scenario with the rapist leaving the pills is quite a bit better.

let people make their own decisions…noone is forcing you to use plan B!

in addition, the irresponsible use of a product by consumers is not the manufacturer’s or government’s problem.

people can cook meth from household products, so should we make clorox prescription only?
people can break piracy laws with CD burners, so should we make CD burners prescription only?
people can cut themselves with razors, so should we monitor the sale of those too?

get your nose out of other people’s lives. you are the problem behind America’s issues with allowing women to ahve freedom over their own bodies. No-one can be forced to take the pill but if they want to they should certainly be allowed!

People can debate and split hairs over this and abortion forever. God designed sex for marriage and in that context, there should not be any reasons to need Plan B or abortion. But, because God has given us free volition, we will almost always mess up HIS Divine plans. We are human, not living in a perfect world.

I guess what saddens me the most about this whole thread, (if that’s the correct term), is that people are always ready to ‘attack’ and point fingers, defend themselves. This shows that we are always looking for a ‘way out’ or a way to not take responsibility for our actions. And I know…some are going to say “BUT”…”WHAT IF”…there will always be those kind of scenarios. This is life. But you can always take responsibility and do what’s right.