Gulf of Mexico oil spill – Page 2

Happy Towel Day

In Closing: “Words of Power” go far beyond framing; Oh, so that’s why they’re anti-tax and anti-government-anything; innocence and stupidity; obligatory gulf oil leak items; Spock’s Obama’s Brain; the text message can wait until you are not moving; it’s hard to stay enthusiastic about a reform for a broken system that will take 4 years to get here; Nevada, this is your Governor; where does the time go?; the Detriments of Eating Low Carb; the truth about hospital emergency room traffic; and Abandoned in Antarctica.

It took University of Nevada researchers 20 years to figure out that kids who live in homes where they own books — as few as 20 books — have higher academic achievement. The shocking realization was apparently that it had little to do with the parents’ educational level: “Books in the homes of even the barely literate were found to further a child’s education by an average of 3.2 years. In fact, children of parents with less education had more to gain by having books in their homes.”

Well gee whiz.

You don’t suppose it could be that when parents own books, they are showing that reading is a valid activity and education is a valuable thing? Even if those books are all picture books, even if they are all religious books, even if they are all trashy romance novels, the precedent that they are worth having around influences what the kids will think is important by the time Kindergarten rolls around.

Sorry, sending a box of books to the families of “at risk” kids isn’t going to magically make their test scores better.

In closing: Tropical disease hits Sub-Tropical Florida (but no, global climate change is a hoax! All that snow last winter proved it!); the Social Security system is at risk (remember, it has never ever been a savings program so anybody who talks about “returns” on it is an idiot or a thief); just a few miscellaneous oil spill items; miscellaneous medical items; some choice financial “reform” items (Banking index didn’t crash? We’re still screwed then); unemployment and mortgage delinquency (gee, whoda thought those were related??); why we can’t take true libertarians seriously; and help out an animal shelter.

The Shorties Centipede

Ok, for the record, I didn’t make it up, this is a real movie. No, not planning on watching it.

Quickie Economic Stuff: Technically we are out of the Great Recession (assuming you can believe the numbers put out by the government but that’s another story). Nevertheless we are not in a recovery. Bankruptcies are still way too high and jobs are still way too few. We’ve still got too many people who have been unemployed over half a year and too many people who are stuck in part time jobs because a full time job just isn’t available to them no matter how hard they try. Oh, and we haven’t fixed the underlying real estate problem.

Obligatory Oil Spill Stuff: Some meteorologists think the spill might be 5 times worse than reported. Oh, and there might be a lot of unexploded ordinance to complicate the mess. So since the containment dome worked about as well as Jon Stewart predicted (starts around minute 5), now they want to try plugging it up with random junk. Hey, it worked in Futurama. But whatever you do, don’t cry for BP; about 4 days’ profits can cover cleanup.

Really cool computer accessories: Laquered wood mouse starts around $300 American.

No Point Reasoning With Some People: Complain about high taxes all you like, they haven’t been this low since 1950.

Closer than you think: The outrageous thing is that cops are busting down doors and killing pets every day across the nation. It’s just that this one time there’s a videotape.

I don’t get it: So it’s better that violent mental patients should rape a female mental patient than they should assault each other?

Must Read: Prohibition Then and Now.

Dear Fed: Sure, the Senate unanimously voted to have a one time audit of the Fed. However, it’s a watered down thing.

Core Requirements: Susie’s must-have course may be Johnie’s fluff class. How important is it to be a well-rounded student?

Blackbird Flyin’ in the Dead of Night: Take these discarded manuals and learn to fly. All your life, you’ve been waiting for this moment to arrive.

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell?: More like “Don’t put out and I’ll tell.” We already have an unconscionably high rate of rape in our armed forces. This makes me wonder how many people who are discharged are forced into this, and how many are rape victims with the temerity to stand up to their attackers.

And finally: this lawsuit ain’t over ’till it’s over.

Happy Greenery Day!

Today is Midori No Hi, or Greenery Day. Originally celebrated in late April as the [previous] Emperor’s Birthday, Hirohito-sama’s love of nature prompted the current Emperor Akihito-sama to make it a permanent holiday celebrating the great outdoors. It is part of a “Golden Week” of holidays, so don’t plan on getting anything done with business associates in Japan this week.

Picture taken by the ShortWoman in April of 2007. It’s an Asian pear tree in blossom.

In Closing: Stuff you thought you would never hear the President say; the economy is a very different place depending on whether you are an American family or an American auto manufacturer; Tony Horton is the man (except when Henry Rollins is); the hole this school district is in keeps getting deeper; Would Jesus Be Accepted by the Conservatives?; Airline fees are out of hand; Just a few choice words about BP and the oil disaster in the Gulf; Porn Star saves man from prison; unHappy Mothers Day; look, it’s called the 5th Amendment and it applies to all Americans; Baseball players against racial profiling; Audit the Fed!; and two amusing items, I Shot the Serif and Nunderwear.