Remember Tay Zonday? He’s back, and he understands economics.
In Closing: Autopsy; Castro; Google thinks I’m a dude too (clearly I need to search more for shoes and makeup); Just for fun, read the first paragraph to somebody before telling them it’s Bob Dole; Because surely her hair is more important than anything else; Okay, maybe that’s a problem; and have a great weekend.
When abortion is illegal, women die.
It is that simple.
Making abortion illegal doesn’t prevent abortions. Women of means will always find a way to get them. Poor women will pursue questionable methods and many of them will die.
Think there are too many abortions?
Then work towards preventing rape. Work towards making sure women have access to reliable methods of contraception. Make our economy and society better, so women feel more comfortable bringing children into our world. Support research to prevent birth defects.
That is all.
Since most of your favorite sites may be down tomorrow, here’s some things to keep you busy.
Be Grateful to Your Wall Street Overlords.
Cop or Soldier? Take the quiz. I didn’t do very well.
Dog Shames Shelter into Accepting Dogs.
And Modern Neanderthals Victorians Puritans Witch-Burning Hypocrites Slut-Shaming.
I present 3 items that should make you say “Seriously??”
Reuters even adds “seriously” when they point out that Stephen Colbert is leading Jon Hunstman in South Carolina polls. They want to make sure you understand that Reuters is not prone to printing jokes.
The New York Times on the other hand, maybe. One of their editors actually wondered in print if readers wanted journalists to call people out on false statements. Seriously?? Well, normally one reads the news to find out what is happening, and that implies a certain level of truth. How silly of me to think that fact checking was part of the job. Makes me glad I don’t give the NYT a dime for their content. I also don’t read it.
And for our last brain-bender, someone wants Mitt Romney to release his tax returns and substantiate a claim he made in public that he created 100,000 jobs while working at Bain Capital. That’s reasonable enough, right? The weird part is that this demand did not come from the left or any Democrat, and these days I must say not even from one of the people running against him for the Republican nomination. Nope: this came from Sarah Palin. Seriously??
In Closing: yes; check your settings; it still stinks; and not-quite-immaculate conception.
I’ve ranted about the primaries before, and the only improvement this time around is that the Democrats already have a candidate.
So today, as CNN points out, the Iowa Caucus kicks off the official election season despite the fact that the candidates have been campaigning for 6 months, spending millions of dollars and having 13 debates. Just think how much more money will be spent and how much more of your time wasted before November! One is forced to wonder if that money couldn’t have been better spent by cash-strapped local governments, and all those debates cancelled in favor of letting news crews talk about issues that matter to you and I — say, housing unemployment, the anemic economy, banking reform, schools, the War On Terror, the War On Drugs, the War On Nouns, the aqueducts — but I digress.
Most “experts” treat Iowa as something important: a barometer of American political thought. It is, in fact, meaningless. A limited number of [almost exclusively white and Protestant] voters who have the luxury of wasting most of their evening picking delegates does not represent national consensus in any meaningful way whatsoever.
The nicest thing I can say about it is that it will be over in the morning. Some pundits will still blather on about it meaning something. Hopefully one or more candidates will pack up his (or her, oh please her) toys and go home.
In closing: this civil forfeiture thing is out of control; the Alabama Gap; and Whiskey Fungus.
One thing that happens every January like clockwork is a whole bunch of new laws go into effect, and this year is no exception.
California has decided that kids must be kept in child safety booster seats — in the back seat, of course — until they are 8 years old or 4’9″ tall. If these child safety laws get any sillier, I may have to figure out how to drive from a booster in the back seat.
Was there any science whatsoever behind this law? Perhaps more to the point, any science that wasn’t produced by a manufacturer of children’s car seats? How many “lives” will this save, really? Is there any reason that a 4’9″ 7 year old is less safe than a fully grown 4’9″ woman? And who exactly are these 4’9″ second graders? If California seriously thinks there is a problem with car seat safety for young people under 4’9″, then just maybe they should send some California Department of Transportation officials to Detroit to ask for better safety from the seat and seatbelt already securely mounted in the car. Perhaps those same officials could talk to the guys in Washington DC that make the regulations.
Nope, it’s easier to make people buy a cheap piece of plastic and mount it in the back seat, lest they receive a $475 fine.
And that brings me to the other interesting observation about this law: it will be enforced disproportionately against those who can least afford it. It will be used as a tool to harass immigrants and people of color and women the cops don’t like. After all, some Rich B**** in a minivan has the money to buy the car seat, and the means to hire a lawyer to contest the ticket. In short, she will be a pain in the @$$ if she gets pulled over!
Bet it can’t be enforced on school buses or public transportation.
In Closing: on Religious Law; unemployment is no vacation; one more person tells me how “Liberal” the President is and I may lose it; scroll down to the revised jobs chart; free stuff; the downside is they will know where you live; and for those of you with weight/fitness New Years Resolutions, an entire community’s wisdom in one infographic.
On my most recent trip, I had a unique book to read while lounging by a beach of white sand and impossibly blue water. That book was The Magic Room by Jeffrey Zaslow. No, not a fantasy novel for young adults, but a book about women — oddly bereft of feminism. It’s a book about brides and a very special bridal shop in a small Michigan town. You’ll want to keep some tissues close by while you read it. You can get a little taste of it right here.
How did he end up in a bridal shop? When Mr. Zaslow set out to write “a nonfiction book about the love we all wish for our daughters,” he went looking for “a place with great emotion.” His wife suggested a bridal shop. And it’s not just any bridal shop, not one of those big chains or the boutique tucked in an obscure corner of a big department store. Becker’s Bridal has a long history: 4 generations of women in one remarkable family have worked here, in an old “small town” bank building, creating “magic.”
In addition to reading about the strong women of the Becker family and their business, we also follow a number of brides on their journey through the process. This does cause a bit of a muddle towards the last third of the book as the reader jumps from bride to bride, finishing out what happened between their trip to Becker’s and the wedding itself: is Courtney the one who decided not to kiss anyone until she got married? The kindergarten teacher who was in a car wreck? The widow who is getting remarried even though her kids are unhappy with the arrangement? The independent woman who is finally getting married for the first time in her 40s? Or is she the one with rheumatic heart disease? With many brides comes some confusion for anyone without a photographic memory.
As I consider the idea of my second wedding, I found the idea of a “bridal industry” somewhat creepy. No mistake, I understand and respect that there are people who make a living making sure I have a dress that makes me “princess for a day,” seeing to invitations, attiring my entire wedding party, putting together memorable services and receptions. I can’t imagine spending “between $19,907 and $33,178” as most American couples do. Even the cheapest sale dresses at Becker’s are more than I can justify spending on a gown I will — hopefully — only wear once.
Like the “funeral industry,” it doesn’t quite sound right to have an “industry” grow up around profoundly personal moments in somebody’s life. What’s next? Calling religious institutions part of the “faith industry”?
This being said, Mr. Zaslow comes up with some very interesting observations, presented in a rather dry, tangential, New York Times sort of way: brides used to be “smaller,” oh no not because of obesity, but because they “didn’t work out” and “didn’t lift weights” and “didn’t eat the way Americans eat today”; roughly 15% of mothers of the bride want dresses that are “too revealing and sexy,” and 35% have to be reminded that they aren’t the grandmother of the bride; sometimes the boss has to “be a bitch”; and oddly enough, “advances in box-making helped fuel the computer revolution.”
In this world of Brides Behaving Badly, it’s refreshing to see that getting married doesn’t have to be a three ring circus. On the other hand, there’s something odd about a man writing a tear-jerker book about the bridal industry, and saying it’s about “the love we all wish for our daughters.”
Want to discuss this book more? Go check out the conversation already flowing over at the Blogher Book Club.
Disclosure statement: I read this book for the Blogher Book Club. In return for my participation I was given a copy of the book (e-book in this case) and I will receive $20. Nevertheless, the opinions expressed here are my own.
Ok then, who wants a heaping helping of In Closing?: made up words; moron; Anonymous does good; if school was a job, students would get more break time by law; it’s never too early to eat right and move your body; cult; and security theatre.
Ok, I’m all tabbed up so let’s get rolling!
Not sure what to think: Ron Paul wants to make sure kids aren’t subjected to mandatory mental health screenings. On one hand I don’t want to see kids needlessly medicated. On the other hand, I know people who really could have and should have been diagnosed with treatable mental health disorders as kids!
Side Effect: Women are suing cops for tricking them into long term relationships with their undercover alter-egos. Oops.
Never Thought I’d Link Glenn Greenwald: But he’s right about the detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. It’s there in black and white, no matter how people spin it.
Cat Herding: How Occupy Portland outsmarted the cops (without necessarily planning it that way).
Good Grief: 10 things you didn’t know about “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
I hope they didn’t spend a lot of money on that research: “The more a person drinks the more likely they are to have unprotected sex, according to research.”
This looks good: Dark Chocolate Macadamia Bark with Sea Salt.
Remember this when your Christmas bills arrive: Minimum payments will eat you alive.
Let’s see if that’s more than talk: Most Americans think we need a third party.
Turns out the Military is a way out of a bad neighborhood in more ways than one: Military schools smack around local schools, particularly when it comes to poor and minority kids. Now if only there weren’t the occupational hazard of being shot at!
You’ve seen my musings: Now here’s Anderson Cooper on traveling.
Turning Japanese: 68% of Japanese cars sold in the U.S. were made here in America, in 29 plants that employ 50,000 people. For reference, “American” car manufacturer GM has roughly 68,000 employees in the United States.
About Time!: 6 Fannie/Freddie execs charged with fraud. They might actually go to prison. There’s another big mortgage fraud suit here in Nevada.
Dim Bulb: One idiot thinks those curly light bulbs are so bad, she says she’s giving incandescent bulbs as Christmas presents. Don’t let her kids anywhere near her car with a carton of eggs.
How does that work?: As condition of a plea bargain, a man had to agree to give up a home he didn’t own and never did own.
And Finally: A boy chokes on a meatball in the school cafeteria. The sad part is that rather than make sure all the staff know CPR, they will probably take meatballs off the school menu.
Last week, I was out of town. Having grand adventures. You know, the usual. I’m home, and things are back to normal, so let me tell you what I think about travel.
On Packing: Pick your battles when it comes to your quart zip-top bag of liquids. Would it kill you to use the shampoo you’ll find in the hotel? Don’t forget to pack sunscreen. Really.
If it’s big enough or heavy enough to need wheels, it is by definition not a carry-on.
Rolling pants and most other garments takes up less room and means fewer wrinkles.
Think carefully about how long you’ll be gone and what you’ll really need. After all, you’re going to have to carry it.
On Airports and Airlines: Do everyone a favor and have your ID and boarding pass ready to go when you get in the security line. Already be prepared to go through the probe-u-later. Be polite as long as feasible. And seriously, don’t even joke about terrorism or bombs.
No, U.S. Air, I am not paying for your overpriced food.
The Airbus A321 has the worst overhead storage I have ever seen. Somebody decided that it’s more important for a 6′ tall man to be able to stand than for anybody to have a carry-on bag. The more I travel, the more I like Boeing.
The only thing I like about Phoenix Sky Harbor is that it’s called “Sky Harbor.”
Cancun, on the other hand, has a very nice airport. Clean, well laid out, plenty of room near the gates, huge duty free shop, decent food. Oh yeah, and a Margaritaville.
On Mexico: I understood Montezuma’s Revenge before I even made it through customs. The sink in the airport bathroom was labeled “NON-POTABLE WATER. DO NOT DRINK.” In English, I might add. If a sink is not labeled “POTABLE,” don’t drink that water. It’s simple.
I’ve come to the conclusion that if you are willing to stick to areas frequented by English speaking tourists, you will need very little Spanish. This may hold up in other countries as well.
The Cancun Hotel District looks a lot like the Las Vegas Strip: lots of luxury resorts, lots of palm trees, high end malls, the occasional convenience store that looks like it’s been there for decades. However, the big difference is that Cancun has more pyramids.
Lots of shopping, yes. I think the only things I could have bought there that I can’t get here are Cuban cigars and Cuban rum (which is yummy stuff). And since I can’t bring either one home, not worth bothering.
Going out to Isla Mujeres was much more like visiting a foreign country. Be aware, the shopkeepers will see you getting off the boat.
Step out of your comfort zone and eat what the locals do. You’ll be glad you did.
Tip well around your resort and you will be remembered for it.
And one last thing: You never know who you will run into when you travel. Be aware of opportunities to meet people, or at least say hello to people you know.
In Closing: hilarious; small Mercedes coming soon; must read explanation of “not in the labor force”; Occupy Ports; a battle that was lost by 1978; and Jesus approves this message.
