Still driving that SUV to work?
How to make me cry
My migraines are induced by pressure changes, like the drops that occur before it rains. This week is not looking good. If the monsoon storms don’t end soon, I’m moving back to the Gobi.
A Little Politics
The latest A Softer World comic:
PZ Myers points to a video of Sarah Palin telling an Assembly of God church that the Iraq war is “a task from God.
Obama answers some important questions about science and policy.
Dooce tells Republicans to live up to those compassionate principles:
Because Leta was diagnosed with plagiocephaly when she was two months old, she cannot qualify for private insurance until she is thirteen years old. So the only insurance we can get her is high-risk insurance that costs us upwards of $300 a month. Just for her alone. And even then that insurance won’t cover anything until she has reached a $3000 deductible. I am fortunate enough to have grown up in a white, middle class family who could afford to send me to college, as did my husband, and we have enough work experience to run a business that makes it so that we can afford this insurance for our daughter. We don’t have to make the choice between buying food or insuring our daughter. We are really fucking lucky.
Edge of the American West points out some problems with Palin.
The BBC interviews Republicans. I’m very very embarrassed to share a country with the people interviewed: [“My belief in the Bible informs my politics.“] Really embarrassed.
Weekly top 5
Santogold – Santogold
Ella Fitzgerald – The Very Best of Ella Fitzgerald
Interpol – Antics
Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville
Choying Drolma and Steve Tibbetts – Selwa
What I’ve Noticed
Indexed expresses a little anger with an awesome Venn diagram.
Hollywood’s five saddest attempts at feminism. [via Feministing] Lays out how those “strong” female characters are so very disappointing.
Some Iraqi’s have no hope left:
do you know
that your tomorrow
has no tomorrow?
that your blood
is the ink
of new maps?
Unsurprising news of the day: Many women leave the church because of its “‘silence’ about sexual desire and activity, and because of its hostility to single-parent families and unmarried couples.” [via A Spritely Oolong]
Sciencewomen point to an awesome statement by Michelle Obama:
I was raised to believe I could do it all, and that was very empowering. Then I got into the work force and realized there was really no support for me to do it all. … We either have to fix that or be honest about it.
An awesome video – my new crush raps about the LHC.
Home sweet home
A few days ago, I posted this AP story on my facebook with the caption “The media finally does some fact-checking.” The reporter did some research on some of the statements Sarah Palin made about herself and Barack Obama and found several, well, lies. A person I grew up with commented on the post. If it’s too small to see in this picture, I’ve reproduced it below.
You are a spiteful, arrogant little liberal. Tell me, why do you hate life and those who want to preserve our culture? Did your mom and pop not love you enough in Caswell? Go eat some wheat grass and shut the hell up. Your quasi science, your media, and cultural bias shows through as much as the fact you’d be a full blown lesbian when you were 15.
These kinds of responses remind me why I left the south. While I do miss many things about my first home, the racism, homophobia, sexism, and anti-intellectualism don’t make it a place I could ever live again. When faced with evidence that something they believe is false, many spew hatred and seek to silence other voices. I went to school with this person and know that he isn’t an idiot. However, he doesn’t counter anything in the article with evidence or rational argument. He just tries to insult me and “shut me the hell up.”
Berry Go Round
Biology in Science Fiction’s post on A Field Guide to Surreal Botany was featured in this month’s Berry Go Round. I am now desperate to read it:
an anthology of fictional plant species that exist beyond the realm of the real. … Fully illustrated in gorgeous full-color by Janet Chui, the specimen entries are by turns witty, hilarious, and very strange.
Also, I’ll be hosting the next Berry Go Round on September 28th. I can’t wait to see what interesting things get submitted!