How many times will it take for the consumer to wake up? Back in May, I wrote a post about the generally dismal state of regulation in matters of food safety, which allows large producers all the slack in the world at the expense of the consumer. I wish I could say that the state of affairs had changed dramatically in the meantime, but the current recall of over half a billion eggs reveals that nothing has changed.
I got into a stupid flame was the other day on Facebook with a friend (and her commenters) She [A] posted the following to her wall:
If you think that putting up a mosque 600 ft. from ground zero and have the opening of the mosque on the anniversary of 9/11/11, is immoral, inhuman and a complete lack of respect for the memories of all that perished on that day and their survivors & that politicians are doing a grave injustice to the fallen heroes, their families and the people of New York City, THEN PLEASE COPY AND PASTE THIS TO YOUR WALLThe first commenter followed with
[B] its digusting its even a thought in someones head.....I saw this and saw yet another vile, right-wing sponsored attack on civil liberties. I am not religious, and abhor religion. I think it perpetuates an evil upon the world that does incalculable damage to current and future generations. However, I do support the rule of law, and the Cordoba House people have the right to build there.
...that we live in a country where it is necessary to draft legislation which would prevent the government from killing you without due process. H.R. 6010, introduced by Dennis Kucinich, would prohibit anyone (including the President) from the extrajudicial killing of an American citizen. It includes this handy reminder of just how far we've come from our foundational principles:
Sec. 2. (1): due process of law is a fundamental principle in the United States Constitution, the United States has a commitment to the principles included in the Bill of Rights, and no United States citizen, regardless of location, can be ‘deprived of life, liberty, property, without due process of law’, as stated in Article XIV of the Constitution
It's all in how you present a subject. A recent study currently making its way through reportage shows a slight negative correlation between number of sex partners and GPA in high school. The headlines depend on who you read. Some headlines (linked to the articles) for example: Survey: Sex affects grades and Teen sex doesn't cause bad grades and Teen Sex Not Always Bad for Grades all cite the same study presented to the American Sociological Association in Atlanta yesterday. The American Family Council declared that the study confirms the negative link between teenage sexuality and academic performance. It really doesn't. There was no academic difference between abstinent kids and those who have committed relationships including sex. But girls in the promiscuous hook-up crowd earned GPA's of 0.16 points less than virgins. That's about 1/3 of the way between an A and an A-. Horrors. But everyone knows that the adolescent emotional problems that lead to promiscuity also tend to lead to bad grades. But that's just folk wisdom; common sense. Now there is an Actual Study to confirm the correlation. It's a pity that none of the coverage I've found links to the study itself.
Christopher Hitchens has esophageal cancer. He is undergoing chemotherapy. His prognosis is not good, as this is a particularly nasty form of cancer with a low survival rate. It turns out that many people are praying for his recovery, which I find ironic but wonderful. This is, I've been told, what true christianity is supposed to be like---extending the benevolence of your faith to those who might qualify as an enemy. If only all christians were like that. If only those who are like that were the loudest voices. Unfortunately, the screaming meme misanthropic anti-intellectual pre-Enlightenment ignoramus branch of the movement tends to dominate a lot of the discourse, from the supporters of Proposition 8 to those who are not only praying for Hitch to die, but are sending notice of such prayers to public fora and putting megaphone to mouth so as many people as they can blast with their message will hear. [More . . . ]