Last night, I was watching a documentary about service dogs. It was very moving; major blubbo and all that. At one point, it came to a segment about cancer-sniffing dogs, then set the dogs aside for an extended piece on a mechanical dog nose scientists are trying to build to replicate dogs' cancer-sniffing capabilities.
Huh. If only there were millions of dogs without homes, most of whom could be trained to do this work for free at hospitals all over the world!
Of course, as Iain observed, giving a life and an occupation to homeless dogs who can detect cancer in its earliest and most treatable stages (and affordably treatable stages, at that), wouldn't be nearly as profitable for Big Pharma as building costly machines that will likely never replicate with the same accuracy what a dog will do for a biscuit.
For the record, I would totes volunteer to provide belly rubs to cancer-sniffing dogs in residence at my local hospital.
The Nose Knows
Chip, Chip, Chip...
[Content Note: Legislative encroachments on reproductive rights; invasive medical requirements; rape culture.]
Andrea Grimes reports that the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Texas can enforce its forced trans-vaginal sonogram law while the heinous legislation is challenged in court.
I'll just refer you to the post I wrote when the same shit started in Oklahoma (where a similar law is being challenged, but which the state has been disallowed from enforcing in the meantime), and I'll reiterate here the basis of my unyielding objection: Compelling a person to undergo an unnecessary vaginal probe to acquire a legal medical procedure is fucking rape.
And that was true even before the US Justice Department revised its definition of rape to make it patently obvious that this is, indeed, rape—at least if the concept of consent is to have any real meaning at all.
A woman or trans man who cannot access a legal medical procedure without submitting hir body to a vaginal probe cannot be said to be meaningfully consenting. Consent requires a choice.
Consent requires a choice, because consent without a choice is not consent; it's coercion.
[H/T to @scatx.]
Quote of the Day
"Are you going to fire the baby?"—Someone in the crowd at a campaign event in New Hampshire today, as Mitt Romney did the classic candidate-holding-a-baby shtick.
LOL oof.
[Background. Via Richard Adams.]
Film Corner!
Last March, I shared the exciting news that New Line was rebooting the beloved boobies-and-crotch-injuries standard-bearer Police Academy franchise. I'm sure many of you, like me, were beginning to worry that this magnificent cinematic revival was never going to happen, but FEAR NOT! The project now has a director:
New Line Cinema has set Scott Zabielski to direct Police Academy, its remake of the long-running film series that started at Warner Bros in 1984 and spanned seven films. ... Zabielski is making his feature directing debut after directing several seasons of episodes of the hit Comedy Central show Tosh.O.PERFECT.
Number of the Day
Five: That's how many minutes it took the Indiana House Republicans to shove their anti-union bill through committee this morning, forcing an immediate roll call vote without any debate or opportunity for Democrats to offer amendments.
Republicans won the roll call vote on party lines, 8-5, clearing the way for the full Indiana House and Senate to vote on the bill.
They're not even pretending it's a democracy anymore.
Previously: News from the Conservative Legislation Lab.
[H/T to @NatashaChart.]
Fix for Comments Not Appearing in New Zealand
A couple of readers in New Zealand have contacted me about comments suddenly not appearing for them. This appears to be due to Blogger changing its extension from .com to .co.nz, which then causes a compatibility failure with Disqus.
That's something over which I've got no control, unfortunately, but Shaker bekitty has noticed that if you put a / after blogspot.com, it doesn't redirect to the blogger.co.nz domain and then comments load normally.
Thanks, bekitty!
If anyone wants to contact Blogger to let them know about the problem, you can tweet at them @blogger.
Primarily Stupid
OMG, y'all! It's Primary Day in New Hampshire! Are you so excited? I am so excited! I can barely contain my enthusiasm for watching Jon Huntsman not win today! It's going to be GREAT!
In fact, I'm so pumped for this thrilling exercise in American Democracy today, that I'm going to begin this morning's Primary Rodeo with a pop quiz! Are you ready? Get ready!
Q: Who's got at least one thumb and is a full-tilt jackass? A: This guy!
Speaking of that guy being a jackass, Mitt Romney is under fire, from the other candidates, for saying: "I like being able to fire people that provide services to me. If, you know, someone doesn't give the good service I need, I want to say, 'You know, I'm going to get someone else to provide that service to me.'" Which sounds a lot like "I like to fire people!" as not a few people are (deliberately) misinterpreting that statement to be, but is not. It's actually just the heartless admission of an entitled jackass whose undiluted privilege has rid him of empathy or patience, and convinced him that the failure of "good service" on demand is axiomatically grounds for firing.
Personally, I find that rather worse than a cartoonish version of Willard twirling his mustache while mwah-ha-haing about firing people willy-nilly, but I guess that's easier to convey in a soundbite than, "Romney's the self-important fuckhead who says, 'I'll have your job!' because some of the breading fell off his corndog."
Anyway! Mr. Privilege is still polling best against Obama, but 58% of Republicans want more presidential choices. LULZ. Whoooooooops! Mitt Romney, your new name is "Bizarro Sally Field." They hate you; they really hate you!
In other not-news, Newt Gingrich is a huge hypocrite! "Newt Gingrich has ramped up his attacks on Mitt Romney as a heartless leveraged buyout executive for his years at Bain Capital, asking reporters in Manchester on Monday, 'Is capitalism really about the ability of a handful of rich people to manipulate the lives of thousands of other people and walk off with the money? Or is that, somehow, a little bit of a flawed system?' But Mr. Gingrich was himself on an advisory board for a major investment firm that had a similar business model, Forstmann Little, a pioneering private equity firm co-founded in 1978 by Theodore J. Forstmann that was, along with Mr. Romney's Bain Capital and Henry R. Kravis's Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts, among the leading private equity firms during the 1980s and 1990s." Ha ha ha ha barf!
Newt Gingrich would have to be concerned about this apparent hypocrisy if he were actually running for president and not running to sink Mitt Romney's battleship.
Something something Ron Paul.
Rick Santorum had a fun event yesterday, where he mocked Bob Dole and John McCain being nominated because it was "their turn," and elided the eight-year garbage disaster that was the Bush presidency, when a rightwing religious ideologue was nominated "out of turn" like he would like to be. That's funny for more reasons than because the crowd booed Bob Dole and John McCain, although I find that very funny, too!
Speaking of John McCain, he says that SuperPACs are bad for democracy. No shit, Sherlock!
Rick Perry is still definitely in the race! He has not dropped out yet! (Watch this space tomorrow.)
Jon Huntsman is zzzzzzzzzzzz New Hampshire zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz almost tied with Romney zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Here's the thing: Even if Jon Huntsman wins today, it's not like he's going to go on to South Carolina and win over the incredibly conservative Republican primary voters by talking about his support for civil unions in Mandarin. And it's unlikely that a slim win over Romney would derail his trajectory: Romney would have to come in fourth today behind Huntsman, Paul, and Santorum for his candidacy to get truly shaky. Which means everyone else is running for vice president, and there ain't gonna be a double-Mormon ticket, so Jon Huntsman is seriously out of luck.
Speaking of potential veep picks, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is a sexist asshole. Gross.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
Question of the Day
In one of those coincidences of the universe, a few people have asked me recently what camera I use and/or been having conversations in my sphere about cameras. So I thought this might make for an interesting QotD: What kind of camera(s) do you use, if any?
Please feel free to make recommendations or criticisms of any camera you're using, including vintage cameras, digitals, phone cameras, etc., and feel welcome to leave sample photos in comments, too.
Discussion of photography-related apps, e.g. vintage camera apps, is on-topic, too.
I use as my main camera a Sony Cyber-Shot Digital DSC-950 9.1MP. I love it, and I've recommended it dozens of times over the years.
The Student Non-Discrimination Act
Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota) has introduced legislation that would "create a federal prohibition against discrimination in public schools based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, it would forbid schools from discriminating against LGBT students or ignoring harassing behavior. Schools that violated the act could lose their federal funding."
Representative Jared Polis (D-Colorado) has introduced sister legislation in the House.
Call your Senators, or contact them here, and ask them to support the Student Non-Discrimination Act. Contact your representative here.
This has been your regularly scheduled reminder that one of the only functional and decent elected officials in the US is a comedian.
Good News, Everyone!
Unilever sub-brand Axe, the wildly misogynist purveyor of grody body products for men, is introducing fragrance for women! Yippee! I can't wait to smell like candy hearts and box wine.
Number of the Day
40%: The percentage of USians identifying as political independents in 2011.
Here are two myths about Independents: 1. They are centrists who fall somewhere in between the two major parties; and 2. They lean rightward.
Only slightly more Independents lean rightward than leftward, and many of those who identify as political independents are, in fact, either more conservative than the Republican Party (yiiiiiiiiikes) or more liberal than the Democratic Party. It is vanishingly rare that the media ever mentions progressive independents who find no representation in Washington (besides Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the single socialist Senator in the entirety of the US Senate), but, as Congress moves rightward, there are increasing numbers of progressive independents who no longer affiliate with the Democratic Party.
The right-leaning centrists meme, however, is very useful in making sure no one ever gets the foolish idea to try to appeal to the alienated left.
Our Long National Nightmare of Uncertainty Is Over
Finally, at long last, we know who husband of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former "First Dude" of Alaska, and professional snow-machine wrangler Todd Palin is endorsing in 2012: Newt Gingrich.
Phew. Now I know who to vote for. Thank Maude.
Excedrin, Bufferin, NoDoz, and Gas-X on recall
Novartis is voluntarily recalling some of its OTC medications, specifically lots of Excedrin, Bufferin, NoDoz, and Gas-X.
Novartis Consumer Health (NCH) is voluntarily recalling all lots of select bottle sizes of Excedrin® and NoDoz® products with expiry dates of December 20, 2014 or earlier as well as Bufferin® and Gas-X® Prevention® products with expiry dates of December 20, 2013 or earlier, in the United States.At the link there is also another link to a form for a refund. Also at link are the lists of the recalled product lots.
NCH is taking this action as a precautionary measure, because the products may contain stray tablets, capsules, or caplets from other Novartis products, or contain broken or chipped tablets.
As this is a voluntary recall at the consumer level, Novartis Consumer Health advises consumers who have purchased these recalled products to discontinue use and return them to Novartis Consumer Health for a full refund.
Consumers that have the product(s) being recalled should contact the Novartis Consumer Relationship Center at 1-888-477-2403 (available Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time) for information on how to return the affected products and receive reimbursement.
News from the Conservative Legislation Lab
When I was a kid growing up in Northwest Indiana in the 1980s, there were two things I was really scared off: Nuclear war and my dad being laid off. The first was an incessantly-evoked threat which hung over our heads like the specter of terrorism does now. When adults would talk about "the bombs" being dropped, they would give a mirthless laugh and say things like at least we'll be first to go because we lived at the feet of steel giants. The Communists would take out the steel mills first, and we'd go with them.
The second was scary to me because, even as the steel mills remained a supposed target for "the bombs," they were collapsing, leaving the most popular occupation among my friends' fathers "laid off." There were a lot of dads at home when I was a kid, some of whom were angry and smelled like booze in the morning, and some of whom were friendly and hopeful and talked about "getting back on the job" someday, and some of whom just looked empty and hollow as they stared into the distance of an uncertain future.
I was scared my dad might become one of those dads, because I didn't understand that my fear was unfounded. My dad didn't work at the mill; my dad was a teacher, a unionized worker employed by the state, whose job was secure.
Northwest Indiana has never recovered from the decimation of its steel industry, and now the Republicans of the state legislature want to erode what remaining security there is for the dwindling number of unionized workers with "a so-called right to work (RTW) bill that Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) says is at the top of the state's agenda."
The AFL-CIO has a fact sheet on right to work laws here, which weaken collective bargaining and eventually erode both workers' rights and compensation: "The average worker in a right to work state makes about $5,333 a year less than workers in other states." And here's even more from the Economic Policy Institute, which also looks at what the real effects of a RTW law have been in Oklahoma:
In the 10 years since the law was passed, the number of new companies coming into the state has decreased by one-third (Oklahoma Department of Commerce 2011).Indiana will be the first state in more than a decade to enact right-to-work legislation if the Republicans in the state legislature ram it through this week.
...In the 10 years since Oklahoma adopted its right-to-work law, the number of manufacturing jobs in the state has fallen by one-third (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011).
As you may recall, Indiana state Democrats walked out last year to protest this same Republican foolery; in the interim, the Republican majority established a new rule that fines them $1,000 a day for conscientious absenteeism.
Although this is happening in Indiana, it should be of grave concern to all USians, especially those in purple-leaning-red and red states—because Indiana has, over the past couple of years under the garbage leadership of Mitch Daniels, turned into a conservative legislation lab, which is why we now lead the nation in anti-abortion restrictions, and why Indiana is the new front on eroding workers' rights.
What's happened in Indiana is that the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate-funded entity leading the corporatocratic charge to steal control of the nation from its people, has 17 of its task force members seated in the Indiana House of Representatives and 5 of its task force members seated in the Indiana Senate. In fact, Senator Jim Buck from IN-21 is a member of ALEC's Board of Directors.
Indiana is "now playing a central role in ALEC's agenda."
This model of corporate takeover will be rolled out state-by-state if successful in Indiana. If that sounds like some kind of tinfoil conspiracy, well, it's not. It's all being done right out in the open, where nobody's paying any attention.
What can you do? Well, if you live in Indiana, you can sign this petition in support of Indiana workers. If you don't live in Indiana, please consider donating here or here to support the Indiana House Democrats and/or here to support the Indiana State AFL-CIO in their fight against this heinous legislation and similar bids to erode workers' rights.
They're not going to stop with Indiana. They just started here, because we already lack the resources and progressive infrastructure to effectively fight. Help.
Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by Betty White.
Recommended Reading:
Tami: Not Everyone's Laughing at "Shit White Girls Say to Black Girls" [Content Note: Discussion of racism and privilege]
Jody: Why does David Cameron think he has any say on Scottish independence?
eeshap: The Power of Words: Racially Coded Political Rhetoric
Andy: Rick Santorum Asked If He Would Abort a Gay Baby [One of the two videos at the link begins to play automatically]
Yves: Doctors Call for Fracking Moratorium
Jos: Thirteen-Year-Old Badass on Slut-Shaming [Content Note: Discussion of rape culture.]
Jessie: Not Only Is Melissa Harris-Perry In at MSNBC, But Pat Buchanan Is Out
Fannie: Two Sides of One Shield? [Content Note: Discussion of marriage and sex work viewed through feminist and anti-feminist lenses]
Leave your links in comments...
Quote of the Day
"Can we drop a little bit of the pious baloney?"—Newt Gingrich, at one of this weekend's debates, in response to Mitt Romney's laughable contention: "I went to Massachusetts to make a difference; I didn't go there to begin a political career, running time and time again. I made a difference; I put in place the things I wanted to do... Run again? That would be about me... Politics is not a career. For me, my career was being in business, and starting a business, and making it successful. My life's passion has been my family, my faith, and my country. I believe my virtue of the experiences, that I'm in a good position to make a contribution to Washington."
So, you see, Mitt Romney is just doing us all a favor by running for president. He's just running out of the goodness of his heart.
It has nothing to do whatsoever with the fact that he comes from a political family, and it's just coincidence that he ran for president during the last election, when he also happened to feel like he was in a good position to serve jury duty be president.
Newt Gingrich: Can we drop a little bit of the pious baloney? The fact is, you ran in '94 and lost. That's why you weren't serving in the Senate with, uh, Rick Santorum. The fact is, you had a very bad reelection rating, you dropped out of office, you'd been out of state for something like 200 days preparing to run for president. You didn't have this interlude of private citizenship while you thought about what to do; you were running for president while you were governor, you were going all over the country, you were out of state consistently, you then promptly reentered politics, you happened to lose to McCain, as you lost to Kennedy. Now you're back running. You've been running consistently for years and years and years, so this idea that suddenly citizenship showed up in your mind—just level with the American people! You've been running since at least the 1990s!
LOL.
