TNDP spokesman Keith Talley seeks to find common cause with the Angry White Man movement sweeping the nation after Citizens United endorsed Steven Fincher, a GOP candidate for the 8th district:”Lots of people have different positions about how we shoul…
Campfield is trying to pass a law that would allow college students to not buy the assigned books for their classes if those assigned books are written by their professors. I’m having a great laugh at this, just trying to imagine how the hell UT or other state schools are supposed to recruit top talent [...]
With a hat tip to STP, I found fearless vk’s column on the Coffee Party, and I like what she has to say. Here’s a snippet:
I am highly skeptical of the Coffee Party. No, scratch that, it doesn’t quite communicate my feelings accurately. In fact…
I really adore my gray hairs, in part because they’re silver and I love the idea that my head can spit out something shiny and beautiful. Also, because my gray hairs are totally “fuck it! Life is too short to behave.” So, I was trying to get some pictures for you, but I finally figured [...]
First up, some posts on the NIH VBAC Consensus Conference:
ACNM at Midwife Connection: A Midwife’s Take on the NIH VBAC Consensus Conference
Science & Sensibility: Do women need to know the uterine rupture rate to make informed choices about VBAC? – asking whether the oft-mentioned uterine rupture risk is the main issue.
Momotics: a round-up of [...]
So, it turns out that the Memphis police department had its hands on two guns that later were used in high-profile shootings. I had no idea this went on. None. I’m naive I guess, but I thought that, if the police had custody of your guy one of three things would happen: 1. It would [...]
I continue to find amusing the number of folks who seem to think that this year the census is some brand-new, super-intrusive overstepping of the government, especially in terms of asking you what your race is. “Oh,” the cries ring out, “look at how they did things in 1790.”
Folks, this is the era of the [...]
Have we sufficiently welcomed our corporate overlords yet?
Yale University Office of Public Affairs announced that PepsiCo is going to fund a graduate fellowship to aid “nutritional science research” in the Yale School of Medicine’s M.D.-Ph.D. program.
PepsiCo funding a graduate fellowship in nutritional science? What could possibly go wrong! In addition to chemical and sugar laden soft drinks, PepsiCo owns Quaker Oats and Frito-Lay. Just who we need funding research on nutrition.
I’ve warned for years of conservative groups taking over the halls of higher education; indeed, there are several right-wing groups (Students For Academic Freedom is one) funded by the usual conservative moneybags (Koch and Scaife Foundations) all devoted to wringing every last drop of liberalism out of higher education.
But the truth of the matter is, the battle was lost long ago. Because corporate money, more than political ideology, has been polluting higher education for decades.
For a great example of how it works look no further than your neighborhood veterinarian:
Borrowing a page from the pharmaceuticals companies, which routinely woo doctors to prescribe their drugs, Hill’s has spent a generation cultivating its professional following. It spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year funding university research and nutrition courses at every one of the 27 U.S. veterinary colleges. Once in practice, vets who sell Science Diet and other premium foods directly from their offices pocket profits of as much as 40%.“Vets trust them,” says Janil Norris, a fresh graduate of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. While she was in school, a Hill’s program allowed the struggling student to pay just $3 a bag for a special prescription brand for her cat, Buffalo Sean. A bag normally runs about $25. She also received a small stipend, courtesy of the Hill’s program, to study orthopedic surgery with a Los Angeles vet. “Hill’s was just always around,” she adds.
That story was from 1997, I might add.
It’s not just pharmaceutical companies, designer pet food companies, or PepsiCo. Thanks to cuts in public funds to land grant schools, ag schools around the country have been forced to go to the corporate sector for their research funds–bad corporate citizens like Monsanto, for example.
Conflict of interest, much?
Of course, no one pays attention to stuff like this. Hey, ya know, corporations are people after all. I guess they just want to go to college like everyone else.
As none of my elected dudes are asking for this, pretend that Al Franken represents Hoots and we will call it a day.
Could we get Rep. Mark Maddox or Sen. Roy Herron on this please or am I on my own?
I’m on my own I have a sad feeling.
The sign reads:
Heaton’s Station
On this bluff in 1780, pioneers who came with James Robertson built Heaton’s (also called Eaton’s) station. It and two other forts (Freeland’s and Nashborough) withstood all Indian attacks and saved the Cumberland settlements. On the river below were successively a buffalo ford, ferry, and Lock No. 1. [...]
As John Ward might say…
STP and Jackson Baker remind us that the first Memphis-area Coffee Party meeting is TODAY at 2:30 PM at Otherlands at 641 Cooper Street. I intend to be there, what say YOU?
From Jackson’s piece:
“MEMPHIS, TN —Today …
The folks up the hill at Tony’s Foodland are so cruel. Right inside the first set of sliding doors, to your left, where you can’t help but see them are all the seeds and bulbs. It’s like the grown-up equivalent of the candy aisle. I do not have enough self-control to walk by and not [...]
Look at this big crowd of pro-healthcare reform activists rallying outside a meeting of health insurance executives in Washington D.C. this week:
Here’s another video of the same rally:
Where was the mainstream media? Where were all of those reporters who descended on Nashville at a ratio of one reporter for every three Tea Baggers? Where was the wall-to-wall news coverage that we get whenever the nincompoops on the right drag their misspelled signs and their racism and homophobia out of the attic and parade them out in public?
The only news coverage I saw on this event was on The Daily Show. And that just figures.
Maybe next time pro-healthcare reform folks rally, they should remember to wear tri-corner hats. Seems to be the only thing that gets our news media’s attention.
Look at this big crowd of pro-healthcare reform activists rallying outside a meeting of health insurance executives in Washington D.C. this week:
Here’s another video of the same rally:
Where was the mainstream media? Where were all of those reporters who descended on Nashville at a ratio of one reporter for every three Tea Baggers? Where was the wall-to-wall news coverage that we get whenever the nincompoops on the right drag their misspelled signs and their racism and homophobia out of the attic and parade them out in public?
The only news coverage I saw on this event was on The Daily Show. And that just figures.
Maybe next time pro-healthcare reform folks rally, they should remember to wear tri-corner hats. Seems to be the only thing that gets our news media’s attention.
People, I have to tell you a story, in part because the kind folks in line at the Secretary of State’s office promised me that it would be funny to anyone I told. So, here it is.
I go to get my tags. I stand in line. I let a nice gentleman use my pen. I [...]
But he can still fight a bear to a draw, never forget that.
In the proposed budget, they’re going to “outsource” custodial work. There are two important passages in Garrison’s story that get to the heart of the matter:
Though the custodial positions would technically be eliminated, Register has stressed that currently employed custodians would have first dibs on the jobs provided by a contracted outfit.
and
“It’s not [...]
This is the Texas-based group TERIBUS, made up of old hands EJ Jones and Al Cofrin (Clandestine), Richard Kean, and drummer Kevin Hartnell. Enjoy!
After listening to the rampant insanity taking place on American Familty Radio, Lindsay writes:
Why am I writing about this? This is pointless. These people are the fringe, right? Right? They will die out soon, right? My generation and beyond, we se…
It appears you’ve stumbled upon our site. We’re still in development at the moment, but feel free to take a look around. Over the next several weeks we’ll be making improvements and an official announcement. Until then, thanks for helping us kick the wheels, we’ll see ya on the flip side.
admin @ January 16, 2009
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Spammers are becoming so inventive. Their blog comments almost sound like rational postings now. They compliment the quality of the posts andmy thoughts as if they were serious. It’s a shame they make these claims regarding my wisdom on the beer margaritas post, though.
jim @ March 16, 2010
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If ever there was a display of the kind of testicular fortitude found wanting in the Senate...it is with Speaker Pelosi:After laying the groundwork for a decisive vote this week on the Senate's health-care bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested Monday that she might attempt to pass the measure without having members vote on it.
Instead, Pelosi (D-Calif.) would rely on a procedural sleight of hand: The House would vote on a more popular package of fixes to the Senate bill; under the House rule for that vote, passage would signify that lawmakers "deem" the health-care bill to be passed.
Undecided Democrats appeared unconcerned by the flap. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), a retiring lawmaker who opposed the original House bill and is undecided on the new package, mocked Republican criticism of the process. Ultimately, he said, voters will hold lawmakers responsible for any changes in law.
"I don't think anybody's going to say that we didn't vote for the bill," he said.
Sean Braisted @ March 16, 2010
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Anyone who could drown a sack of puppies… I just don’t even know. In this day and age, there is no excuse for it. Your dog should be neutered, for one. For two, puppies adopt out quickly so you could have brought them to any shelter in the area. Three, what the fuck is wrong with you?
Aunt B. @ March 16, 2010
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For the second year in a row, I have noticed that my farthest north neighbor has gotten blooms on her daffodils first and our north next-door neighbor is starting to get some and I have buds on the daffodils that did nothing last year. I don’t have any buds on the daffodils I planted and I am a little concerned that we chopped them down too early last spring, but even the ones in the beds haven’t done anything yet, so I’m still hopeful. It’s just funny to me that they pushed up so early and then just sit there, while the ones that have been there for ages seem to go about their business rather quickly.
I love seeing all the daffodils just growing in ditches or along the side of hills here in this part of the county.
And I accomplished everything on my to-do list.
It was a very good long weekend. I even wore the poor dog out. I had to lift her out of the car when we got back from the park and lift her down off the couch and into bed last night.
Bless her heart. She doesn’t appear to be in much pain. She’s not limping or anything, but I think that leg just stiffens up on her and she can’t get it to bend how she wants.
It makes me so sad, though, to see how old she’s getting. She has been my dear friend for a decade and she is a good dog.
Aunt B. @ March 16, 2010
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Don’t know how I started getting these “Conservative Action Alerts” fromObamaCare Imposes $2.5 Trillion In New Taxes
Yikes!
The e-mail quotes an analysis by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, John McCain’s economics advisor. He is also president of the American Action Forum, a “think tank” set up by Republicans to counter the left-leaning Center For American Progress. So excuse me if I don’t take his word for it.
Anyway, the thing is filled with lots of EXCLAMATION POINTS! and SHOUTY ALL CAPS and UNDERLINING like those Publisher’s Clearinghouse solicitations I get. It felt “scammy” so I clicked through the “Select Here SEND YOUR FAXES NOW! ” link and saw this:
For less than what it would cost you in time and telephone charges, you can send Blast Faxes to:
ALL 59 Democrat/Independent Senators AND President Obama for just $19
ALL 41 GOP Senators AND President Obama for just $19
ALL 100 Senators AND President Obama for just $29
ALL 261 Democrat/Independent Representatives AND President Obama for just $59
ALL 174 GOP Representatives AND President Obama for just $55
ALL 435 Representatives AND President Obama for just $99
ALL 535 Senators & Representatives AND President Obama for just $119
Really, AmeriPac? $119? Talk about a scam.
I dimly remember receiving one of these things last year, in fact I may even have thrown up a blog post about it (can't find it now). I just wonder how many people receiving this blast e-mail will shell out big bucks for something that actually costs just pennies. And they accuse us of lies and misrepresentation? Oh, the irony!
The fax itself is full of lies about government rationing and other nonsense. The funniest part? This:
When All Else Fails Lie, Cheat & Deal
Uh, yeah. Well, y'all would know.
Southern Beale @ March 16, 2010
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This may seem like an odd title for a blog post on who I'm picking in the NCAA Tournament, but unlike the talking heads on ESPN, I'll be the first to admit that I'm going on gut feelings and wild speculation!
GoldnI @ March 15, 2010
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Since I got everything on my to-do list done by yesterday, the only thing I had to do today was to ask the Butcher if the Dracula in this movie was played by John Travolta. But that was interrupted by the terrible and scary news the Butcher had about the Redheaded Kid. Some folks get weird about me talking about them on the blog, so I’m not going to go into details, but people, you know what a dear friend the Redheaded Kid has been to us, even when he drinks my last Diet Dr Pepper.
Please, if you have a spare good wish, give it to the Redheaded Kid, especially since, when he and the Butcher lose their jobs at the end of the month, he will lose his health insurance. What he’s going through is scary enough. The thought that the course of treatment he might have will be determined by the fact that he’s losing his health insurance is just frightening.
Anyway, now I have depressed myself all over again. And I was just trying to tell you a nice story about how I almost got stuck in Bells Bend Park.
So, it goes like this. There are two cemeteries in the park. One seems like it should be fairly easy to find. So, the dog and I went out in search of it. There’s a place where a little stream crosses the road and I got across it fine. I had a fleeting thought of “ha, I’m surprised that didn’t trigger a panic attack” but I was already across it and I had obviously successfully crossed it so I didn’t think to bother to turn around and it didn’t really occur to me that I would have any problems later.
I’m sure that you can see where this is going.
Anyway, I don’t know if I found the cemetery or not, though I surely found evidence of non-Indian inhabitants on the hill–daffodils, bricks, a big square thing, and a stacked stone wall, which, in Middle Tennessee is almost always evidence of slave labor.
And then we came back. And I couldn’t get across the creek. For, I don’t know, like twenty minutes. It didn’t go into a full-blown panic attack, but I was sweating and dizzy and it sucked. And I kept thinking that I could do it if I just had someone’s hand to hold. And so I began to realize that I was going to need to call the Butcher to come rescue me. And I thought about how stupid this was, both to call the Butcher to save me and that my brain was fucking up in this particular way. And I also realized that the full-blown panic attack wasn’t coming on.
So, in the end, this isn’t a story about me overcoming some outside obstacle and pushing myself to my limits. And it isn’t even about me overcoming the fucked up things my brain will do to me. I just was fucked up for about twenty minutes and then I stopped being. And I don’t know why. I just stepped across the creek and it was fine.
I honestly don’t know what makes this day any different than other days, but it was, so that was nice. And I didn’t have to call the Butcher. So, that was nice, too.
Aunt B. @ March 15, 2010
