The Friday Wrap

It's Friday!  I'm sure glad I'm not flying to or from Europe today.  I hate sleeping in airports!

Gee, I wonder what Iceland did to incur the wrath of God?!  Come in, Pat Robertson!

It's time for the Friday Wrap of news stories covered by Care2 writers. Some of the topics this week are stranger than fiction. You can read a story how China plans to use giant perfume guns to cut down on odor or how violent video games are being introduced to kids to desensitize them. So grab a tall cup of coffee and enjoy all of the absurd and serious news that happened this week.


The Women's Rights channel published a lot of vital stories this week. Ximena Ramirez wrote about Kotex launching a new line of feminine hygiene products coinciding with their Declaration of Real Talk Campaign. In her story titled, It’s Called My Vagina Not My Va-Jay-Jay: U by Kotex Launches Campaign to Get Real About Women’s Vaginal Health, Ximena discusses how women need to change the way society talks about the female body.

Also in Women’s Rights Jessica Pieklo wrote a revealing story of our times called, Nebraska Politicians Know More Than Doctors When It Comes To Women’s Health. The story covers how Nebraska lawmakers have decided that they know more about reproductive medicine than Nebraska doctors!

And finally Jaime-Alexis Fowler covered this remarkable topic for Women's Rights: Is Maternal Death Declining Worldwide? She said, "The web is abuzz about a new study just released by The Lancet, indicating maternal mortality has taken a dramatic nosedive worldwide." Jamie wonders what this news will mean for maternal health advocates.

In our Human Rights channel, Steve Williams brought readers up-to-date about the Ugandan parliamentary panel's indication that Uganda's now infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 is no longer a priority. In his story entitled, Uganda's 'Kill the Gays' Bill on the Backburner, Steve wonders if this signals the end of the bill or if there is still enough support for it to remain a threat?

In the Environment and Wildlife channel, Beth Buczysnki submitted a curious story called, China Takes Aim At Landfill Stench…With Giant Perfume Guns? More than 200 legal and illegal landfills have sprung up around Beijing to deal with the waste produced by its 17 million residents. The stench has become a big problem, so officials will install 100 high-pressure fragrance guns that will spray chemical fragrance into the air every minute.

The Political channel ran an intriguing story by Marc Seltzer entitled, Hate That Obama's Near The Middle? He says, "Frustrated with Obama? Deeper analysis of the President's policies suggests that he is balancing free market principles with social safety net goals. He is neither a Socialist nor following in the footsteps of the Bush administration."

Over in Health Care Policy Ann Pietrangelo wrote, One Year Later: Assessing the H1N1 Pandemic Response. Ann examines the world's reaction to the 2009 swine flu pandemic that had no shortage of controversy. She asks, "What went right? What went wrong?" And she questions how the world will handle future global health concerns.

Also in Health Care Policy Kristina Chew shared with readers, A New Theory About the 'Autism Epidemic.' The story shares the enlightening results of a recently published study in the American Journal of Sociology that suggests that social influences -- specifically, parents suspecting their child is on the autism spectrum based on their "proximity" to a child who has been diagnosed with an ASD-- have played a large role in what some call the "autism epidemic."

The Education channel ran a truly bizarre story called: Sex and Violence for Nine Year Olds. Judy Molland reported how some schools in the north of England are using images from violent video games including Grand Theft Auto and Itchy and Scratch in order to shock 9 to 11 year-old children out of being "desensitized" to on-screen violence.

Also from Education was a revealing story from Peaco Todd entitled, Is It (Ever) Okay to Bully the Bullies? In the aftermath of the death of Phoebe Prince, the high school student who hung herself after being relentlessly bullied, a number of cyber-vigilantes emerged, urging revenge against the bullies.

And finally on the Education channel is a contest called, Help Your Favorite School Win 20,000 in the America’s Favorite School Contest. Care2 has teamed up with GreatSchools.org to find out which is "America’s Favorite School." The winning school wins $20,000.

Over in Global Warming Nancy Roberts wrote a heated story: Rancor & Suspicion Cloud Climate Talks, but Work Continues. The latest round of "Climate Talks" among political leaders ended last week with an agreement to talk some more. There is mounting differences on how to handle issues for the good of the planet between rich and poor countries.

And as usual there was ample news to cover on the Animal Welfare channel. Heather Moore reported on a wonderful new development for homeless pets in Utah. The story titled, Utah Ends Mandatory Cat and Dog Pound Seizures, reported how the Governor of Utah has rescinded a mandate that cats and dogs taken into custody at municipal animal shelters be turned over to universities and other institutions for use in laboratory experiments.

Also on the Animal Welfare channel is a frustrating story by Sharon Seltzer titled, Don't Let U.S. Horse Slaughterhouses Return. Three years after the last horse slaughterhouse voluntarily closed in the U.S., several states have now passed legislation to have them return. These states look at it as a source of jobs and revenue. And a federal bill to protect horses from this fate has been held up on Washington.

And from all of the Care2 bloggers, thank you to Peaco Todd for designing the wonderful and very creative new Friday Wrap logo.

Read more: politics

Take the quiz

I'm not bragging, but I got 12 of the 12 questions correct.  They're not that hard, but according to the poll, only 2% of people taking the quiz got all 12 correct. 

Only 2%?!?! 

I certainly hope some people were sandbagging it (or should I say teabagging it)? 

A plurality - 13% - got only TWO questions correct!  And 6% got ZERO correct?  Obviously, a bunch of Republicans were taking this poll.

Too bad they didn't gauge people on where they get their news.  No doubt FOX viewers will score the lowest of all.

Try it yourself by clicking here.

EPA halts mountaintop removal

Here's a story that didn't get too much play in the media, as many many items do.  Or don't.  You don't often hear "good news" in the media.  They thrive on conflict and controversy. 

This is a big fucking deal, to quote Joe Biden.  Mountaintop removal is a horrible way to obtain coal.  The waste produced is prodigious, and naturally, the Bush administration made it easier for the earth rapists to get away with it.  I would rather have had Obama come out forcefully against the practice, but I'll settle for the EPA taking a stand against it.  Let's hope it is stopped entirely.

And, uh, where are the alternative sources of power?? 

Speaking of mines, when are we going to get some criminal charges against Massey and/or its CEO for neglecting mine safety and refusing to pay fines?  29 miners are dead, because the company skirted the regs in its drive for more more more more profit.  This is not (yet) China.  Do I have to remind everyone that this is a non-union mine, and so the regs are not as stringent as they should be?

EPA Halts Mountaintop Mining

Yes, elections do matter.


Putting a quick halt to an Orwellian Bush administration rule allowing mining companies to kill mountain streams, the Environmental Protection Agency this afternoon announced that it will delay hundreds of mining permits while it takes a closer look at how the operations will affect local waterways.


“EPA will use the best science and follow the letter of the law in ensuring we are protecting our environment,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement.


Of all the methods used to extract coal, none is so destructive to ecosystems as mountaintop mining — a process in which the tops of mountains are literally blasted away to access the coal seams beneath.


A 25-year-old Interior Department regulation prohibits mining companies from dumping debris into valley streams, but in December the Bush administration eased the rule to allow such dumping if the companies can make a case that it’s unavoidable. Complicating the picture, a Virginia-based federal appeals court last month ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers has the authority to grant mining permits. With the EPA’s announcement today, the agency has indicated that the Army Corps won’t have the final say.

In a statement issued moments ago, Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope cheered the EPA’s decision:

With the bulldozers and dynamite standing by, the Obama administration has taken decisive action to protect the streams, mountains and communities of Appalachia.


Already close to 2,000 miles of streams have been contaminated or destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining, and communities throughout the Appalachian region suffer daily from contaminated drinking water, increased flooding, and a decimated landscape … Reviewing the permits will stop the bleeding, and now EPA should begin to fix the Bush-era regulatory loopholes that made mountaintop removal possible.

The coal industry’s many friends in Washington won’t like this decision. Stay tuned for a larger battle to come.


TWI: friend to mountains, streams, and all the little woodland creatures everywhere.

The original, from The Washington Independent, is here.

An Atheist for SCOTUS!

It's long, long overdue ....

An Atheist for the Supreme Court



by Tommi Avicolli-Mecca‚ Apr. 12‚ 2010

I have a suggestion for President Barack Obama about a replacement for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who’s announced his retirement in June. A justice since 1976, Stevens has a long record of leading the liberal vote on the court, especially in matters concerning separation of church and state. It’s time for an atheist justice.

Much has been written lately about the court’s balance of persons of different religions. According to Professor Leo Epstein of Northwestern, “Historically, religion was huge. It was up there with geography as a key factor” in the selection of new justices. These days, race, ethnicity and gender are far more important factors, and well they should be. Sexual orientation and gender identity haven’t become issues yet, though I anticipate that someday they may.

The court, which was once dominated by Protestants, currently has six Catholics and two Jews. Then there’s Stevens, who is Protestant. The only Protestant in a country where the majority of people profess belief in that particular brand of Christianity. Some are suggesting that Obama needs to consider a Protestant for that very reason -- to make sure the dominant religion in this country is represented.

Why does it have to be represented?

“The practical reality of life in America,” Geoffrey R. Stone, a law professor at the University of Chicago, told the New York Times, “is that religion plays much less of a role in everyday life than it did 50 or 100 years ago.” Many of us are grateful for that.

We don’t need another Protestant on the Court. Or a Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu or follower of any of the hundreds of religions that exist on this planet. There’s no scarcity of belief systems that could potentially be represented on our highest court.

What the court really needs is an atheist. Someone who truly does not bring any excess baggage with him or her from some theology that may have had a place in society thousands of years ago, but today is as relevant to our current social issues as a belief that the earth is flat or the sun revolves around the earth.

In a country where religion has imposed itself into many social justice issues, including gay marriage, abortion and even, it seems, universal healthcare, separation of church and state is as important an issue as it was when the founding fathers put it in the constitution. Otherwise, many gains might never have been made. Religious folks used their scriptures and their pulpits to justify slavery, antigay discrimination, the inequality of women, and the ban on interracial marriage.

And while a Protestant such as Stevens managed to keep his religion from interfering with his decisions on legal matters, it’s time for our nation’s highest body to represent a growing number of Americans who no longer believe in a higher power.

As Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said: “It is vitally important that President Obama choose a high-court nominee who understands that government may not meddle in matters of religion.”

Who better to do that than an atheist?

Tommi Avicolli Mecca is co-editor of Avanti Popolo: Italians Sailing Beyond Columbus, and editor of Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation, which has been nominated for both an American Library Association and a Lambda Literary award. His website is www.avicollimecca.com.

 

Unfortunately, the chances of getting an atheist nominated, much less CONFIRMED, are close to zero.  But why is that?  Why is this country so hung up on braindead religion?  Can't people see the inconsistencies and multiple mistakes in the Bible?  Ever heard of science?  Haven't we been through all of this already?  When are we going to shed this absurd mental straightjacket and come into the light of reason?
 
You can find the original here.

Was that the weekend?

Zoom, it's gone!  And it was a three-day "weekend!"

Friday eaten up taking care of post-surgical family members....

Rain Saturday, durnit.  No Art Fair.  

But we did watch a movie (on the DVR): Julia Sweeney's one-person movie, "Letting Go of God."  It's quite good.  Any "reformed" Catholics out there "struggling" with your faith?  See this movie.

More work on the house...

A long visit to Home Depot and CostCo .... and Randall's.  

Some incredible dinners .... blackened salmon over a bed of our home-grown grilled greens ... yes, it's officially the change of seasons ... we cut all of the kale and chard ...

... and emptied out their pots ...

... and got quite a haul ...

... and the wife sauteed them .... mmm ... and grilled asparagus, broccoli, baked chicken breasts.  Damn, the wife is a hellacious cook.  I should have taken a picture.

But it all went by so fast .... and now it's late Sunday night and we're facing another five-day week!  Yech!

Dumbest Quotes

The Dumbest Quotes of 2010, so far.  And we're only in the 4th month!  It's already been a banner year for stupidity.

  

''I'm blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived. I saw it all growing up.''

—Ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in an interview with 'Esquire' magazine

 

''They are kooks, so I agree with Rush Limbaugh. Rush Limbaugh was using satire ... I didn't hear Rush Limbaugh calling a group of people whom he did not agree with 'f-ing retards,' and we did know that Rahm Emanuel, as has been reported, did say that. There is a big difference there.''

—Sarah Palin, attempting to rationalize why it's okay for Limbaugh to use the word ''retards'' but not Emanuel, FOX News Sunday interview, Feb. 7, 2010

''Our political correct society is acting like some giant insult's taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards...There's going to be a retard summit at the White House.''

—Rush Limbaugh, on his Feb. 3, 2010 radio show, referring to Chief of Staff Rham Emanuel's remark calling the idea of liberal groups running health care-related ads against Democratic lawmakers ''f**king retarded''. Sarah Palin called on Emanuel to resign over the comment.

 

''They intend to vote on the Sabbath, during Lent, to take away the liberty that we have right from God. This is an affront to God.''

—Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), on Congress voting on the health care bill, interview with Glenn Beck, March 18, 2010

''I could give a flying crap about the political process ... We're an entertainment company.''

—FOX News Channel's Glen Beck, Forbes interview; April, 2010

 

''We had no domestic attacks under Bush; we've had one under Obama.''

—Rudy Giuliani, Mr. 9/11, forgetting 9/11, Jan. 8, 2010

 

''Baby Killer!''

—Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), shouting at Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) as he spoke on the House floor during the health care vote. Stupak had led a group of pro-life Democrats who fought to change language in the bill to prevent federal funds from being used for abortions, but ended opposition after reaching a last-minute deal with President Obama

 

''It may be a blessing in disguise. ... Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. Haitians were originally under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon the third, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you will get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, okay it's a deal. Ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other.''

—Pat Robertson, on the earthquake in Haiti that destroyed the capital and killed tens of thousands of people, Jan. 13, 2010

''His mom lived in Long Island for ten years or so. God rest her soul. And- although, she's- wait- your mom's still- your mom's still alive. Your dad passed. God bless her soul.''

—Joe Biden, on the mother of Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who is very much alive, Washington, D.C., March 17, 2010

 

Sarah Palin, on writing notes on her hand during her Tea Party convention speech: ''I didn't really had a good answer, as so often -- is me. But then somebody sent me the other day, Isaiah 49:16, and you need to go home and look it up. Before you look it up, I'll tell you what it says though. It says, hey, if it was good enough for God, scribbling on the palm of his hand, it's good enough for me, for us. He says, in that passage, 'I wrote your name on the palm of my hand to remember you,' and I'm like, 'Okay, I'm in good company.''' (March 5, 2010)

''We've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax.''

—Rush Limbaugh, discouraging donations to relief efforts in Haiti after the devastating earthquake, Jan. 13, 2010

''We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada. And I think now, isn't that ironic?''

—Sarah Palin, admitting that her family used to get treatment in Canada's single-payer health care system, despite having demonized such government-run programs as socialized medicine that will lead to death-panel-like rationing, March 6, 2010

 

''In case anyone's wondering out there, yes, they're both available. ... Only kidding. Only kidding. Arianna is definitely not. But Ayla is.''

—Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), pimping out his daughters in his election night victory speech, Jan. 20, 2010

 

''If ObamaCare passes, that free insurance card that's in people's pockets is gonna be as worthless as a Confederate dollar after the war between the states -- the Great War of Yankee Aggression.''

—Rep. Paul Broun (R- Ga.), March 18, 2010

Former House Republican leader Tom DeLay: ''There is an argument to be made that these extensions, the unemployment benefits, keep people from going and finding job. In fact there are some studies that have been done that show people stay on unemployment compensation and they don't look for a job until two or three weeks before they know the benefits are going to run out.''

CNN's Candy Crowley: ''People are unemployed because they want to be?''

DeLay: ''Well, it is the truth. And people in the real world know it.''

 

''Now, they're saying I groped a male staffer. Yes, I did. Not only did I grope him, I tickled him until he couldn't breathe and four guys jumped on top of me. It was my 50th birthday.''

—Ex-Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY), talking to Glenn Beck after resigning amid allegations that he sexually harassed his aides

 

''I'm a huge supporter of women. What I'm not is a supporter of liberalism. Feminism is what I oppose. Feminism has led women astray. I love the women's movement -- especially when walking behind it.''

—Rush Limbaugh, responding to criticism that he is sexist and defending his selection as one of the judges at the 2010 Miss America Pageant, ''Fox News' Fox & Friends,'' February 3, 2010

''My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.''

—Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) expressing concern during a congressional hearing that the presence of a large number of American soldiers might upend the island of Guam

''This will play right into Obama's hands. He's humanitarian, compassionate. They'll use this to burnish their, shall we say, 'credibility' with the black community -- in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. It's made-to-order for them. That's why he couldn't wait to get out there, could not wait to get out there.''

—Rush Limbaugh, on Haiti earthquake relief, Jan. 13, 2010