Archive for February 2, 2012
“ppl” Having Babies?
This would be my Tweet of the Day:
First of all Mr. King, “ppl” don’t have babies. Women. Have. Babies.
And about that supposed “dying civilization” due to “ppl” not having kids? Really? Tomorrow I’ll post some stats about how the planet is dying from overpopulation, not underpopulation. (I know, you and your crowd want to drown science in the bathtub and you think dumb is good. Hey, you’re a winner on both of those fronts!)
As for insurers? Don’t get me started.
Geezus.
Three Feet of Snow in Denver? Yikes!
We here in the Denver area are hunkering down,
anticipating as much as three feet of snow in the next 48-hours:
Denver appears headed to top-10 snowstorm, depending on how much snow falls at the official weather recording station at DIA
A snowfall of 22 inches would be the seventh-biggest snowstorm to ever hit the city, behind 22.7 inches that fell between Oct. 20 and Oct. 23, 1906.
“I wouldn’t be surprised, by the time it’s all said and done, if some areas get 3 feet, maybe down in Douglas County or up against the foothills,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Entrekin.
Flurries are expected to begin about dusk and pick up momentum about 11 p.m. then snow steadily through Sunday morning.
I’m in Boulder, “up against the foothills,” and the flurries have just begun.
Looking forward to a cozy day (or three). Embarrassed to say it usually takes something like this to slow me down.
#IHopeToSleepIn (until 7:00 a.m. instead of 5:00).
#ThePuppiesWillHavePeanutButterKongsandGetLotsofKisses.
#PrayThePowerDoesn’tGoOut.
New Logo for the Susan G. Komen Foundation
And here’s a heads up regarding a kickass post by a Kivi’s Nonprofit Communications Blog (Kivi is a PR consultant) about how the Komen Foundation essentially rebranded itself overnight on Tuesday. It went from what people thought of as an organization dedicated to women’s health, to what people now perceive as a right-wing political tool.
From the You-Can’t-Make-This-Shit-Up File
I come across so much mind-blowingly crazy stuff like this every day, my whole blog could be dedicated to it. I tend to shake my head and move on at most of it but sometimes I have to stop and scream. And I’m screaming now:
Alabama Republican Senator: Low teacher Pay Mandated by God
A Republican State Senator from Alabama claimed this week that keeping teacher salaries low is actually an order from the Christian deity figure, imparted in ancient texts written by Jewish tribesmen thousands of years ago.
Speaking at a prayer breakfast recently, Alabama state Senator Shadrack McGill praised giving pay raises to politicians, saying that it helps to prevent bribery. Then he shifted gears and went in the opposite direction with regards to teachers, arguing against a bill that would increase their salaries.
“Teachers need to make the money that they need to make,” he said, according to Alabama newspaper The Times-Journal. “There needs to be a balance there. If you double what you’re paying education, you know what’s going to happen? I’ve heard the comment many times, ‘Well, the quality of education’s going to go up.’ That’s never proven to happen, guys.
“It’s a Biblical principle. If you double a teacher’s pay scale, you’ll attract people who aren’t called to teach. To go and raise someone’s child for eight hours a day, or many people’s children for eight hours a day, requires a calling. It better be a calling in your life. I know I wouldn’t want to do it, OK?”
He continued: “And these teachers that are called to teach, regardless of the pay scale, they would teach. It’s just in them to do. It’s the ability that God give ‘em. And there are also some teachers, it wouldn’t matter how much you would pay them, they would still perform to the same capacity. “If you don’t keep that in balance, you’re going to attract people who are not called, who don’t need to be teaching our children. So, everything has a balance.”
Huzzah!
10, 15, 40 years ago, this wouldn’t have made the news. It would have been thought of as, literally, crazy; the rant of a religious nut.
Stunning Photos of Earth at Night
It’s rum and Coke time, also known as break time, and holy cow people, here are some phenomenal photos from NASA of the Earth at night. Go here to see all of them.
These are my two favorites:
Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt at Night from Space – 10/28/10
I love this one of northeastern Africa because wow, the importance of the Nile River can’t be ignored.
Florida at Night from Space – 10/31/10
And this one of Florida is beautiful because the outline of the state is so clear.
Again, check all the photos out at the link above. Really neat.
Support Christian Porn!
Hey kids, who knew there was a website dedicated to supporting “Christian porn:”
Welcome to the home of the Christian Porn movement. Our mission is to clean up that which is currently known as “pornographic” videos, movies, or films. All filmed sexual acts in the Christian Porn genre are genuine intentions to create life, performed by heterosexual married Christian couples. As acts of procreation they are not immoral, illicit, or dirty, but expressions of love between husband and wife, who are in love with each other exclusively. None of the acts are unnatural or adulterous. We feel the viewing of an expression of love shared by a married man and woman is one of the most beautiful and natural gifts bestowed to us by God. Praise God, brothers and sisters.
Sign up to receive “free Christian porn clips and trailers!”
Oh, and go to Cafepress for your very own T-shirt:
JC Penny — Don’t Listen to the Wingnut Fringe
The right knows they have nothing going into this election so what do they do? Pull out the God, gays and guns card and slap it on the table in the hope that those issues will galvanize the right around, what else? Hate and fear.
Photo: Wikipedia
This from “One Million Moms:”
One Million Moms — a project of the American Family Association — is very angry at JC Penney.
No, not because it sells sweater vests (heck, Rick Santorum is a fan of those), but because the Texas-based department store has hired Ellen DeGeneres as a spokeswoman.
And DeGeneres is — cue the scary music — gay, and open about it.
“Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families,” the million (or so) moms write on their website. “DeGeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store. The majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there.”
One Million Moms is asking people to call JC Penney to complain.
This is the American Taliban talking. Don’t listen JC Penny.
(I wonder how many moms actually belong to “OneMillionMoms.”)
Michael Bloomberg Pledges $250,000 to Planned Parenthood
This is cool:
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, responding to the controversy over a breast cancer advocacy group that cut off most of its grants to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screening, said on Thursday that he would make up a large part of the missing money.
Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire with a long-term interest in public health, said he would give Planned Parenthood Federation of America a $250,000 matching gift — he will donate $1 for every new dollar Planned Parenthood raises up to $250,000.
“Politics have no place in health care,” he said in a statement. “Breast cancer screening saves lives and hundreds of thousands of women rely on Planned Parenthood for access to care. We should be helping women access that care, not placing barriers in their way.”
Bravo! I think that is what most of us thought the Komen Foundation’s philosophy was too, until yesterday.
If you want to donate to Planned Parenthood and take advantage of Bloomberg’s matching-funds pledge, go here.
Firing People is So Much Fun
If Donald Trump ends up endorsing Willard, the DNC is ready with this ad:
Hee hee.
Senators Call on Komen Foundation to Reverse Planned Parenthood Decision
I’m glad to see at least some Democrats making noise about the Komen Foundation’s hit job on Planned Parenthood. Maybe they learned something after having gone along with Republicans, like spineless sheep, in destroying ACORN.
Raising the stakes, the letter explicitly raises the possibility of “thousands” of women losing access to “potentially life-saving screenings because of a politically motivated attack.”
The pressure on the Susan G. Komen For The Cure Foundation to reverse its decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings for poor people — a decision which has caused an uproar among women’s groups and on social media — is about to get significantly more intense. Nearly two dozen Senators are set to enter the fray.
I’m told that some 22 Dem Senators have signed on to a very toughly worded letter urging Komen to reverse its decision, which Komen has justified by citing a new rule prohibiting it from funding any group under investigation by the government. (This has conferred legitimacy and signficance [sic] on the probe into Planned Parenthood that has been launched by anti-abortion GOP Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida.)
More, including the letter, here.
Now We Know Why the Glaciers Are Shrinking
Just kidding with that title but I wouldn’t put it past the Repubs to say climate change? What climate change? This is why the glaciers are shrinking:
Photo: Flickr User: Jose Tomas Moran
Chile: Man Arrested over Glacier Ice Theft
Police in the south of Chile have arrested a man on suspicion of stealing ice from the Jorge Montt Glacier.
Officials in the town of Cochrane found five tonnes of ice in the back of his truck.
Scientists say the glacier, in the Patagonia region, is retreating faster than any other in Chile.
Police suspect the ice was destined for the capital, Santiago, to make gourmet ice cubes for use in upmarket bars and restaurants.
Good on the police in Chile!
Good Luck With That Mitt
So now Romney thinks he’s going to gain traction with the public by criticizing Obama’s plan to withdraw from Afghanistan next year?
Republican front-runner Mitt Romney slammed President Obama on Wednesday night over Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s announcement that the United States would end its combat mission in Afghanistan next year.
Speaking in Las Vegas, Romney said that announcing a timetable to end the combat mission showed the president’s “naivete.”
“The secretary of Defense said that on a day certain, the middle of 2013, we’re going to pull out our combat troops from Afghanistan,” Romney said, according to reports from Las Vegas.
“He announced that. So the Taliban hears it, the Pakistanis hear it, the Afghan leaders hear it. Why in the world do you go to the people that you’re fighting with and tell them the date you’re pulling out your troops?” Romney said. “It makes absolutely no sense.”
Romney concluded that Obama’s “naivete is putting in jeopardy the mission of the United States of America and our commitments to freedom.”
“Our commitments to freedom?” Really? I think Americans are sick and tired of being at war and paying for war and they want the “mission of the United States of America” to focus on “commitments” here at home.
Yo Mitt. Good luck with that.
