June 2009
250 posts
A Heartbreaking Choice: Kansas Stories →
Too often in the debate on late-term abortion, people make the mistake of believing that women who seek late-term abortions are just procrastinators. “If you want to terminate a pregnancy, why wait 7 or 8 months?”
The truth is that fewer than 1% of abortions were considered “late-term” when it was legal (according to a study by the Guttmacher Institute). In the vast...
May 2009
57 posts
The return of Clinton-era clinic violence
I’m profoundly saddened by the murder of Dr. George Tiller this morning. Unfortunately, this is only the most recent incident in a long history of domestic terrorism on women’s reproductive clinics in the U.S. and Canada. Since 1977, there have been:
7 murders
17 attempted murders
383 death threats
153 incidents of assault or battery
3 kidnappings
41 bombings
173 arsons
91...
“There I was, the former president, with a plastic bag on my hand, picking up...”
– George W. Bush, on life after the presidency (via banalitycheck)
Google Wave: A Complete Guide →
Is it just me, or does R.E.M.’s...
Stuff Journalists Like →
World Beard and Mustache Championship winners... →
“The United States is the world’s new facial hair super power, having captured twelve world championship titles out of eighteen categories plus overall at the World Beard and Moustache Championships in Anchorage, Alaska on May 23, 2009.”
I blog this only because I know that many of you have a strange affinity for facial hair.
(via andrewsullivan)
“We watch movies together, you can’t ever really read a novel with another...”
– Some lovely thoughts from Joanne McNeil. (via katiebakes)
Interesting facts about NPR's audience
NPR listeners are:
64% more likely than average to have traveled abroad in the last 3 years.
2.5 times more likely than average to be Mac users at home.
28% less likely than average to say celebrity endorsements influence their purchase decisions.
45% more likely than average to drink Pabst Blue Ribbon.
70% of NPR listeners say they voted in the most recent election, as opposed to 44% of...
Well played, Dear Abby
Dear Abby:
About four months ago, the house across the street was sold to a “father and son”—or so we thought. We later learned it was an older man about 50 and a young fellow about 24. This was a respectable neighborhood before this “odd couple” moved in. They have all sorts of strange looking company. Men who look like women and women who look like men, blacks,...
The hardest working stay-at-home mom in the...
“In her early days in Washington, Mrs. Obama suggested that a little girl, who said she dreamed of becoming first lady, should consider a more lucrative career. ‘Doesn’t pay much,’ the first lady said.”
-On the Home Front, a Twist of Candor - New York Times
Out of curiosity, I just looked up the First Lady’s salary. Despite the fact that she maintains an...
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
– Benjamin Franklin
Hannity Waterboard Offer: Olbermann Increases The... →
This story is almost a month old, and Sean Hannity still hasn’t been waterboarded, even after he agreed to do it for charity. Last night on Keith Olbermann, Mancow said Sean Hannity has urged him to stop speaking out about his recent waterboarding experience. If you’re so sure it’s not torture, Hannity, then why won’t you do it? Chicken.
Mel Gibson confirms girlfriend's pregnancy →
So he’s not yet divorced, has apparently committed adultery, and he’s expecting a baby out of wedlock.
At least he still doesn’t believe in birth control! Catholic win!
The last two years of my life in pictures →
If you’re looking for a Web-based photo sharing solution, I recommend you ignore everyone else on the Internet who has a Flickr account and opt for Picasa Web instead (now available for Mac).
I don’t know why anyone bothers with Flickr anymore. I fussed with it for an hour before finally giving up. Picasa is easier, more user friendly, and allows simple album organization instead of...
“Change? Jesus doesn’t.”
– Church sign in rural North Carolina
“Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality.”
– Abraham Lincoln
“I think newspapers are an important part of our lives. Not to read, of course,...”
– Stephen Colbert
WatchHighly decorated 18-year Air Force Veteran Lt. Col. Fehrenbach, the Air Force’s $25 million aviator, is being discharged because the President hasn’t acted on his campaign promise to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
This is $25 million tax dollars gone to waste.
As savingpaper says, “$25 million. There are some things money can’t buy. Common sense is one of them.”
(via...
SNL to Make MacGruber Movie? →
“It works as a sketch, which almost always ends with the bomb exploding. But could it work as a 95 minute comedy? I think I would rather see The Lonely Island guys develop an original comedic project.”
Can Google Predict the Future? →
What if you could predict the winner of American Idol before the final votes were tallied - without having followed the season’s contest or listened to the pundits – by analyzing online search trends alone? Are search trends really a proxy for what will happen in the future?
According to data from previous years, the answer is yes.
New iPhone app helps you keep tabs on politicians'... →
A brand new application - called Visible Vote, made for iPhone, Blackberry and Facebook - allows users to track their representatives’ voting records, find out where they stand on the issues - and even send an e-mail to let them know exactly how they’re doing.
Oh, Facebook
Two girls I barely knew in high school are having a very public, very childish fight via Facebook. Through several status updates and comments, I’ve gathered the gist: “Backstabber” accused her former friend “Liar” of “starting high school drama” via her status. After some arguing via comments about who is actually responsible for starting the drama, Liar...
What Maureen Dowd should do next →
“Right now, I suspect that, more than anything, Dowd wants the whole mess to disappear. Even though she has a reputation for routinely crediting others in her columns—a point Dan Kennedy makes today in his critical Guardian column—that doesn’t really matter. As long as she’s in the business, somebody will be taunting her about it. The best and perhaps only way for Dowd to set...
copycats:
Ain’t No Sunshine by Buddy Guy &...
First Twitter Message From Space Sent →
“I have to tell you, I really thought it was much ado about nothing, but I think...”
– President Obama, addressing the controversy at Arizona State over whether the school should have conferred an honorary degree on him.
Is My Marriage Gay? →
“Deirdre Finney and I were wed in 1988 at the National Cathedral in Washington. In 2000, I started the long and complex process of changing from male to female. Deedie stood by me, deciding that her life was better with me than without me.
I’ve been legally female since 2002, although the definition of what makes someone “legally” male or female is part of what makes this issue so unwieldy....
Obama sends handwritten letter to gay soldier... →
soupsoup:
apsies:shiningstar: (via clouds-in-my-coffee)
Watch“Look at the subtleties. Not only is it a Liberty Tree, but liberty is also one of the roots. That’s like building a stadium on a foundation of concrete, steel, and another stadium. Not only is there a liberty root, there is a freedom root, which is totally different from the liberty root. Even most of the letters are different.”
Tumblarity?
Aw, man. I’m only at 26. I feel like I’m in middle school again.
“That was about as fulfilling as eating ice for lunch.”
– Simon Cowell
Student's Wikipedia hoax quote used worldwide in... →
I spend a lot of time defending modern journalism. So when I see something like this, I can’t help but think, “Really, guys? Really? Wikipedia? If you’ve given up, then maybe I should just give up on you, too.”
Oh, how I miss my bright-eyed, idealistic days.
Seven Episodes of "This American Life" You Must... →