BOY WATCH 2008

HOT TIP

From Slate:

After months of study, it now seems fairly certain that breathing aerosolized hog brain tissue triggers an immune response in the human body that is responsible for these workers' ailments.

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WHAT TO EXPECT IN IRAQ

Matthew Yglesias makes a good point about the Iraq debate. Every doomsday scenario given to argue for keeping US troops in Iraq ends up happening anyway.

This, though, has been the time-honored debating ploy of the Iraq forever crowd for years. I recall in 2005 when the troops needed to stay or else there would be ethnic cleansing. So the troops stayed and guess what happened in 2006? Ethnic cleansing. Then when the ethnic cleansing ended, that proved our deployment was working and had to be continued.

I think we can take this farther. Right now we need to maintain troop levels to keep the progress made by the surge and support the Maliki government. Therefore, by the end of 2008, we'll have lost all gains made by the surge, and the Maliki government will have collapsed.

David has spoken.

OH I GET IT, BUSH WAS LYING

Bloggers are finding a nice underreported story about our most Christian President Ever. From Kevin Drum:

Martha Raddatz asked Bush why, during the spiraling violence in Iraq in the summer of 2006, he kept insisting publicly that things were going well:

BUSH: Well, yes. I think we — and I wanted — that's as much trying to bolster the spirits of the people in the field as well as — look, you can't have the commander in chief say to a bunch of kids who are sacrificing either, "It's not worth it," or, "You're losing." I mean, what does that do for morale?

"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, blah blah blah."

THINGS OF NOTE

The wikipedia page for scrapple. I had no idea it is arguably America's first invented pork food. My mom used to prepare it all the time when I was growing up in Maryland.

BOY WATCH 2008

I've decided to start recording various incidents of politicians referring to Barack Obama as a "boy." I almost started this when Bill Clonton called him a "kid," but nobody else seemed to think is was meant in "that way," aside from the people defending Clinton. If the country surprises me by abstaining from the gutter, I'll devote the space to coverage of the modern-day exploits of New Kids on the Block.

Republicans talk about Iraq, Obama at N. Ky. dinner

U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, a Hebron Republican, compared Obama and his message for change similar to a "snake oil salesman."

He said in his remarks at the GOP dinner that he also recently participated in a "highly classified, national security simulation" with Obama.

"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis said. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."

WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT IT II

Economics blogger Megan McArdle on how to make out with tall chicks:

... kissing her standing up will feel desperately weird if you are not at least 6'4, and if you are taller than her, it will feel weird to her (don't be surprised if she stands on her tiptoes in an unconscious attempt to get back to "normal"). Also, all of your normal instincts for that special moment will result in awkward crane-like movements of your head as you discover that nothing is where you expect it to be. Unless you think that you can finesse this smoothly, best to make your initial move while sitting down.

I read McArdle's blog every day or so. I find it entertaining and breezily written. And occasionally, dirty.

ANOTHER ABSTINENCE-ONLY EDUCATION SUCCESS STORY

Fla. Teens Believe Drinking Bleach Will Prevent HIV

Some Teens Also Believe Mountain Dew Will Stop Pregnancy

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Florida teens who believe drinking a cap of bleach will prevent HIV and a shot of Mountain Dew will stop pregnancy have prompted lawmakers to push for an overhaul of sex education in the state.

Another myth is that Florida teens also believe that smoking marijuana will prevent a person from getting pregnant, Local 6 reported.

State lawmakers said the myths are spreading because of Florida's abstinence-only sex education, Local 6 reported.

They are proposing a bill that would require a more comprehensive approach, the report said.

It would still require teaching abstinence but students would also learn about condoms and other methods of birth control and disease prevention.

The bill just passed its first vote in a committee, Local 6 reported.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

Copyright 2008 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

STALKERBOWIE

I heard "Love You 'Til Tuesday" for the first time this morning. What a scary song. When I got to the part about him lurking in tree branches, I turned the song off, because I was sure it wouldn't have a happy ending. "Don't be afraid it's only me, hoping for a little romance" is something a serial killer would say.

HE WAS A RIGHT-WING WACKO AND HE WILL BE MISSED

WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT IT

In this week's Savage Love, Dan Savage devotes his sex advice column to memorialize his mother, who passed away on Monday.

Forgive the cliché: My mom gave me so much. She gave me life, of course, and some other stuff besides: her sense of humor, her bionic bullshit detectors, her colossal sweet tooth. She also gave me—she gave all four of her children (Bill, Ed, Dan, Laura)—her unconditional love. Long after I came out, she told me she always suspected that I might be gay; I was the quiet one, the boy who liked Broadway musicals and baking cakes and shared her passion for Strauss waltzes. When I asked my parents to take me to the national tour of A Chorus Line for my 13th birthday, that should have settled the matter. Your third son? Total fag, lady. But my parents were Catholic and religious and it somehow still came as a shock when I told them. My mother came around fast and she came out swinging—rainbow stickers on her car, a PFLAG membership card in her wallet, and an ultimatum delivered to the whole family: Anyone who had a problem with me had a problem with her.

It's a beautiful piece. She sounds like a remarkable woman, and Dan was lucky to have her for his mother. My condolences and respect.

NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THESE COTTON-PIC-- UH...

THE SADDEST STORY OF THE DAY

Megan McArdle links to the story of one of those poor souls unfortunate enough to have been covered under the Walmart health plan.

A collision with a semi-trailer truck seven years ago left 52-year-old Deborah Shank permanently brain-damaged and in a wheelchair. Her husband, Jim, and three sons found a small source of solace: a $700,000 accident settlement from the trucking company involved.

Instead, all of it is now slated to go to Mrs. Shank's former employer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Two years ago, the retail giant's health plan sued the Shanks for the $470,000 it had spent on her medical care. A federal judge ruled last year in Wal-Mart's favor, backed by an appeals-court decision in August. Now, her family has to rely on Medicaid and Mrs. Shank's social-security payments to keep up her round-the-clock care.

This is the part that really got to me:

The ruling came six days before the Shanks' 18-year-old son, Jeremy, was killed in September last year in Iraq shortly after he arrived in the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division... Mrs. Shank went to Jeremy's funeral. But because of memory problems due to her injuries, she gets confused about what happened. On a recent morning, she cried several times and asked what had happened to her middle son. Mr. Shank says that he obtained a divorce from Mrs. Shank this year, partly because of advice from a health-care administrator that she might be more eligible for public aid as a single woman. Mrs. Shank, who has been declared incompetent by a court, hasn't been informed of the divorce by her family.

Byron York blows the lid off another scandal by the liberal New York Times:

...I think it's important to point out that the news pages of the New York Times have yet to report that Rev. Wright said "God damn America." According to a search of the Nexis database, Wright's words have appeared in the paper twice, first in Bill Kristol's column on March 17, and then in Maureen Dowd's column last Sunday, but never in the news pages. If the Times's news sections were your only source of news, you would never know that Rev. Wright had ever said those words.

I like the reasoning here. The New York Times hasn't reported a story, aside from where it has. And what about the high percentage of readers who only read the sports section? They're totally being left out of the loop.

NO DARK SARCASM IN THE CLASSROOM

I'm visiting my parents this week. Whilst in my father's study, I noticed a large accordion file marked with my name. Naturally, I indulged my curiosity and discovered an archive of report cards and brushes with the law covering my school years through about 1992.

Surprisingly to me, I was a strong academic until seventh grade. During sixth grade, I was under the impression that I was doing quite poorly (the public school teachers were relentlessly negative psychos), when in fact, my report card was nearly straight A's.

And then I went to Gilman School in 1985, and despite having grades that would put me in the top third of a college class, the comments are a round denunciation of my efforts, attitude and results.

What happened? Well, when I was 12 I took the SAT, and I scored in the 96th percentile of 12th graders, and that made me special. So, I had to be challenged. And to challenge me, I was enrolled in Gilman School, a prestigious prep in Baltimore. I didn't want to go.

One fucker by the name of R. Smith snidely commented that the majority of my science grade derived from lab work conducted in class "and supposedly at home." Seriously, where does that asshole get off making snide insinuations instead of coming out and telling my parents I wasn't doing homework? And some asshole shop teacher railed -- railed! -- about my poor drafting ability. He implied was retarded. Well, let me imply that Mister Braun was a child molester. And also, I've never used drafting since. My entire life has been a battle against fuckers like them.

A noticeable omission from the teacher comments was any sense that my social dislocation was in any way responsible for my poor grades. You'd think that teachers who gave half a shit might -- might -- suspect that a transfer student was having trouble related to the transfer -- especially the pressure-cooker environment surrounded by contemptuous rich assholes who dressed ridiculously like cops in Miami Vice. But nope, no empathy at all. I was just a wise-ass with bad handwriting who never did homework.

Naturally this record doesn't include my high school and collegiate glory years, during which I achieved near-perfect grades. I had learned by high chool to intercept report cards, and I guess my parents had given up by th time I made honor roll at 19. It'd be nice if my permanent record wasn't simply a document of failure and disappointment. I feel like shit for having read it.

Easter madness

CORERECTION CITY

A few errors crept into yesterday's item about Paul Scofield. The part of King George III was played by Nigel Hawthorne, who is still alive. Paul Scofield was not gay. And the photo accompanying the post was of Laurence Olivier. Use Once and Destroy regrets the errors.

19 AFRICAN AMERICANS, 46 HANDGUNS AND A WHOLE LOT OF HORSES

Thus was my experience at the Aiken Steeplechase.