August 2012
I Didn't Build That
fishingboatproceeds:
So I own or co-own a few businesses that have experienced varying degrees of success. I am in the educational video business, and the book-writing business, and the merchandise distribution business, and the conference running business, and the making YouTube videos with my brother business, among others. These businesses employ people and generate more jobs per dollar of...
“In Texas, where both incarceration and immigrant detention rates soar, we’re...”
– Petition | GOVERNOR OF TEXAS: Reject GEO Care’s Bid to Privatize Kerrville State Hospital | Change.org (via curate)
xoJane: Disabled People Are Not Your Inspiration →
Using us as objects to be inspired by, or archetypes to beat people with, allows people to avoid any complicity they have in the way disabled people are treated in their society. As they talk about how “inspiring” we are, few of them make moves for positive changes in our lives, or theirs, for that matter. People read, say, a story about an athlete struggling to buy legs for the Paralympic games...
this ain't livin': Yes, People With Physical... →
Individuals with physical disabilities are often labeled ugly and unsightly, and it’s assumed they feel the same way about themselves. This leads to the conclusion that their bodies are things that should be covered up and hidden away, rather than displayed, and if any garments are going to be designed for them, those garments should minimise rather than highlight their disabilities. They should...
RH Reality Check: Disability, Abortion, and... →
This is a crosspost from Tiger Beatdown; same post, different commenters!
SUNfiltered: 7 mockumentaries you can sink your... →
On the opposite end of the spectrum, DEATH OF A PRESIDENT is deadly serious, and deadly provocative. Released in 2006, it imagined a world where then-President George Bush had been assassinated, and asked how the United States, and the world, might have responded to such an event. It’s a tense and uncomfortable watch, but stunningly well-executed.
Nell Greenfieldboyce at NPR: Subtracting Calories... →
Scientists have known for decades that lab rats and mice will live far longer than normal if they’re fed a super-low-calorie diet, and that’s led some people to eat a near-starvation diet in the hopes that it will extend the human life span, too.
But a new study in monkeys suggests they may be disappointed.
Depriving people of needed nutrition doesn’t make them live longer?...
Will Evans at California Watch: California feeds... →
Major conservative super PACs have raised $12.8 million this election season, while liberal ones drew just a bit more, at $13.9 million, according to an analysis by campaign finance tracker MapLight.org. Still, California’s breakdown is decidedly more liberal than the nation as a whole, where conservative super PACs have out-raised liberal groups 3 to 1.
Dave Zirin and Mike Elk at Socialist Worker:... →
As Jeff MacGregor calculated at ESPN.com, at a cost of $50 million a year—less than 1 percent of total revenue—NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell could hire 200 full-time officials at $250,000 a year. Conversely, if Goodell gets everything he wants from the referees’ union and he doesn’t have to spend too much in legal fees, it works out to a league-wide savings of just...
xoJane: All Career Women Really Want Is Husbands →
Ladies! Looking for a husband? Have you considered going to business school? It only costs upwards of $80,000 for a top-flight school, and you can expect to spend two years in a grueling schedule of classes. Along with that, you have presentation prep, meetings with recruiters, harassment from male students, trips for career development and school associations — which you’ll need to belong...
this ain't livin': A Little Positive Reinforcement... →
The fact is that sometimes you feel like a complete failure, and you really do need someone to give you some praise, to remind you that you are good at something, to ask you how a project is going. Sometimes you really do need someone to mark a small accomplishment for you because it makes you feel better; and that is not at all silly. It’s not silly to want some recognition of the fact that...
Michelle Diament at Disability Scoop: Newspaper... →
“While the Times editorial suggests applicants with disabilities would be fast-tracked into jobs at the DOJ without due screening and assessment, the DOJ memo clearly states otherwise,” said Jonathan Young, chair of the National Council on Disability. “To mischaracterize the DOJ initiative with fear-mongering and hyperbole misses the point.”
John Marcus at California Watch: As college... →
A sophomore at UC Berkeley, June Ahn comes from a family whose income is just enough to put her past the reach of much financial aid. So, like many students, Ahn is using loans to underwrite her education.
To make matters worse, she comes from Washington, not California, so she pays 2.5 times as much as in-state tuition. And she pays it even though, as an underclassman, she’s still taking...
Richard Knox at NPR News: When Flu Hits, Kids With... →
Flu is most deadly for children with neurologic problems and disorders, an analysis of swine flu fatalities finds.
The results come from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers who looked at childhood fatalities during the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009, when there were five times the usual number of deaths.
Whoops
I didn’t mean to publish that. Oh well, now you all know that I play favourites and thecranium is one.
craneyum asked: Hello friend. Do you savior a certain tag for gifs? I don't want you to unfollow me because of my gif usage so I'd like to accommodate if possible!
this ain't livin': Helping Patients Participate In... →
When I arrived at the hospital, I was paired with a perioperative nurse who was extremely friendly and awesome, but also very professional. She made sure I knew what she was doing, why, and when, and she talked me through the process of being in the hospital, with information about how long I should expect to wait before transferring to the OR, and how much time I’d spend in recovery when the...
xoJane: GOP Senate Candidate: Pregnancy From Rape... →
Really, I’m serious, thank you, Todd. I raise my teacup to you. I can see why the GOP is pissed at you; your remarks on “legitimate rape” have created a worst-case scenario situation for conservative candidates, many of whom are being called on the carpet right now to answer for their extreme positions on reproductive rights. They would have preferred to have been able to skate by without...
Daisy Grewal at Scientific American: Understanding... →
Although political orientation is related to the degree to which people support policies designed to promote equality, Savani and Rattan found that the idea of choice influenced the opinions of both liberals and conservatives. In another experiment, they had participants watch a short video of a person doing mundane activities in an apartment, such as opening mail or reading a magazine. Some...
Aura Bogado at Colorlines: This is What Voter... →
Meanwhile, one organization in South LA is looking for ways to get people of color to not only register, but to become habitual voters that make decisions beyond the big ticket. People in the area—which is 40 percent black and 60 percent Latino—are disproportionately impacted by the Golden State’s three strikes law and the death penalty. This November, they could help reform those laws by voting...
Jori Lewis and Adrienne Hill at the Center for... →
The world’s population is projected to hit 9 billion by midcentury, and we’ve been reporting on how we’re going to feed all those people in our series “Food for 9 Billion.” There are lots of ways you can produce more food. But does it help not to waste so much of it? Today, we bring you reports from the two extremes of food waste. Jori Lewis is in the hinterlands of...
SUNfiltered: Pushing for accessible taxis in New... →
Fewer than 2 percent of New York taxis are wheelchair accessible, and the Taxis for All Campaign is trying to change that. They propose asking that taxi drivers upgrade to accessible vans when they trade in their taxis, which would result in a gradual overhaul of the New York taxi fleet without huge upfront costs. Fiscally, wheelchair-accessible taxis would actually save the city money in the...
xoJane: Rep Jeff Landry: We Don't Need No Stinkin'... →
There’s an ongoing war on liberal arts education in this country; the most obvious example is the attack on ethnic studies in Arizona, which has led to the rise of liberotraficantes, the people defying the ban to get Mexican and Latino studies books into the hands of interested students. This conjures up the uncomfortable image of book interdiction squads roaming campuses in search of contraband...
this ain't livin': Sowing Suspicion →
While the Internet is focused on the patent wars over technology, I’m equally interested in the patent wars over agricultural products, which have some serious implications for all of us. As large agricultural firms invest heavily in the development of modified organisms tailored for specific environments, yields, and chemicals, a culture of monocropping is developing, and more and more small...
Tiger Beatdown: Hate, fear, and rhetoric: The... →
The amount of press dedicated to the FRC shooting was appalling when you considered the huge number of anti-Muslim hate crimes that occurred in the same time period. The fact that the media jumped to call the FRC shooting terrorism, which served the interests of the FRC very nicely, was extremely frustrating; especially since it demonstrated considerable reluctance to do the same for the string...
xoJane: I Love the Paralympics! Now If Only I... →
After the Olympics closing ceremonies, everyone talked about how the Olympiad was “over” and now they could go back to whatever it was they had been doing. Except that the games weren’t over, and a whole new set of games is beginning shortly; from blind and visually impaired athletes playing goalball to people with cerebal palsy competing in the equestrian events, the Paralympic Games are going...
Jorge Rivas at Colorlines: Report: Deportation... →
Los Angeles County is spending an estimated $26 million a year to hold undocumented immigrants under the Secure Communities program, according to a report released Thursday by Justice Strategies. Secure Communities, also known as S-Comm, checks the legal status of anyone booked into a local jail and transfers those who are undocumented to ICE custody.
Joel Achenbach at Washington Post: Neil Armstrong →
He actually sent me a couple of them. The first came after I blogged about Armstrong and fellow Apollo astronauts when they criticized the Obama administration’s plans to kill the Constellation program. That first e-mail from Armstrong was cordial but firm. He annotated my blog item paragraph by paragraph, disagreeing with various points I made. Obviously I was thrilled and astonished, and made...
BBC News: Pea plant grows inside man's lung →
Ron Sveden had been battling emphysema for months when his condition deteriorated.
He was steeling himself for a cancer diagnosis when X-rays revealed the growth in his lung.
Doctors believe that Mr Sveden ate the pea at some point, but it “went down the wrong way” and sprouted.
This was among my worst nightmares as a kid.
this ain't livin': Pure and Natural, Except for... →
Few people look deeper than this when it comes to evaluating the source of their bottled water, which is actually not very pure at all. In fact, it’s extremely dirty, both literally and metaphorically. There is something rather amazing and horrific about covering exploitation of people and natural resources in a veneer of ‘purity’ to get people to buy those resources, keeping consumers in the...
Brentin Mock at The Nation: How Gender Identity... →
Over 25,000 transgender American citizens may face stiff barriers to voting in the November 2012 election, according to the report “The Potential Impact of Voter Identification Laws on Transgender Voters,” released [in April] by the Williams Institute at UCLA’s law school. This is, by any measure, the portion of the electorate that is among the most marginalized and stigmatized, and hence...
Denicia Cadena and Micaela Cadena at ACLU: What’s... →
Last year, Young Women United (YWU) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico conducted focus groups with young moms to learn about their experiences in accessing education as pregnant and parenting teens.Young parents in New Mexico shared stories about how fellow students, teachers, and administrators made them feel unwelcome. One student from Las Cruces told us, “Teachers...
James Mottram at The Independent: Kylie's jubilee:... →
In case you didn’t know it, we are in K25. No, this is not a new version of Y2K. Rather, it’s a glitter-sprinkled anniversary, as Kylie Minogue celebrates a quarter of a century in the music business. Yes, 25 years since the Australian-born princess of pop made her breezy debut with “The Loco-Motion”, during which time, the Grammy-winning, OBE-awarded artist has released...
BBC News: Nineteen shot in Chicago night of mayhem →
Thirteen of the victims were shot within a half-hour period, including eight in a drive-by shooting on a single street.
Chicago officials have been battling a sharp increase in shootings and homicides, with some elected officials arguing gangs do not fear the police.
Jeff Stein at Washington Post: Why was a Navy... →
Gwenyth Todd had worked in a lot of places in Washington where powerful men didn’t hesitate to use sharp elbows. She had been a Middle East expert for the National Security Council in the Clinton administration. She had worked in the office of Defense Secretary Dick Cheney in the first Bush administration, where neoconservative hawks first began planning to overthrow Iraqi dictator Saddam...
