He is Worse, and Crazier, than I Thought

DeLay Statement on Terri Schiavo

3/31/2005 12:07:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Dan Allen or Shannon Flaherty, 202-225-4000, both for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay

SUGAR LAND, Texas, March 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) today released the following statement mourning the passing of Terri Schiavo:

"Mrs. Schiavo's death is a moral poverty and a legal tragedy. This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change. The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today. Today we grieve, we pray, and we hope to God this fate never befalls another. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Schindlers and with Terri Schiavo's friends in this time of deep sorrow."

http://www.usnewswire.com/

In a last, desperate attempt to divert attention away from his crimes, which if properly investigated and adjudicated will result in loss of office, if not liberty, Tom DeLay is calling for the murder of Michael Schiavo, James Wittamore, George Greer and others.

This is a most profound outrage. And yet . . . .

Somehow, I can’t muster proper indignation against Tom DeLay, even when he publicly solicits the murder of people who don’t agree with him. The man is so mired in filth and madness that all I can feel, no matter what he says or does, is a deep sadness.

It Is Later, and Worse, Than I Thought

Before, when illegal abortion people would talk about overturning Roe v. Wade in order to "throw abortion back to the states where it belongs," I'd get a sick, sinking feeling (especially remembering the vast areas of the country where abortion is already legal but not obtainable by a woman of modest means), but I'd put a brave face on it and say, "Erosion state by state won't be so bad. We'll have time to get the underground railroad up and running, providing clinic space for doctors to work, and transportation for women and girls to safe zones. As the screws are tightened, we will build up a broader and more robust network, ensuring that women will still have access to 21st Century medicine even under 19th Century laws."

But the outrageous "procedures" carried out in Congress, the Florida legislature and Federal courts make it clear that when they talked about "federalism", they were simply lying.

Again.

Damn, I was hoping we weren't going to have to take over the whole country just to get its laws enforced.

What's In Your Mailbox?

Today I have responded to a plea for action from Planned Parenthood, received a charming newsletter from Susie Bright, got word from Donna Barr about a cool new book by Keith Knight and looked at some nifty pictures of the places humans could be going right now if we weren't busy with other things at Universe Today.

I've had worse inboxes.

Music I Like

Finlandia by Jean Sibelius
The Pilgrims' Chorus from Tannhauser by Richard Wagner
We're Not Gonna Take It by Dee Snider
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) by Simon & Garfunkel

and any other piece of music that does exactly what the writer intended it to do, that evokes exactly the mood the musicians are going for.

(Recycled post, from October 28th 2004)

Was Bush Right?

I'd like to believe that the invasion of Iraq really has resulted in an upsurge of democratic (or at least populist) sentiment in Arab countries. That would be a very good thing. Also good would be if the U.S. were perceived as a friend of democratic regimes generally. I have a hard time believing it, though.

It seems to me that Arab (and worldwide) opinion of U.S. foreign policy is much as it always has been:

"The Americans are crazy. There is no accounting for them or predicting what they will do next. They may support a tyrant for twenty years and then suddenly turn on him. They may do the same to an elected government. They may bomb your cities into ruins and then build you up again, or they may suddenly cut you off from trade and keep you cut off for decades. They may forgive or even forget the most appalling atrocities, or they may conceive a grudge against you for nothing at all.

"Their rhetoric rarely matches their deeds. They talk a good game of democracy and human rights, but they may say those things while funding coups, terrorist groups, death squads.

"Take what you can get from them when they are being friendly, but don't expect them to stay friendly. And above all, don't ever try to predict what they will do next."

We Did Laundry Today

We don't have a washer or dryer, not so much because we can't afford them (we could work something out, one way or another, in spite of being short of money so often) as because we're going to have to install new plumbing that can handle the load. So, we go to the laundromat on Kings Boulevard, across from the Fred Meyer's.

Usually, I do the laundry by myself late in the evening, after Kathe is in bed, but today we did it together. It was quite enjoyable. Certainly less lonely.

Welcome Home

Bravo Company came back to Corvallis. Kathe and I stood on Harrison Boulevard to see them go by, in two chartered buses.

It was good to see them come home. Good to see anybody come home safe. The ones who came home unsafe travel individually, of course.

Lots of people had pulled out the poster folded in with the Gazette-Times, reading "BRAVO!" You can't use that gimmick for the poor guys in Charlie Company.

Theresa Marie Schiavo

So much concern about Terri Schindler-Schiavo, who wants so badly to live, but is being maliciously starved to death by her uncaring husband.

But there is no such person as Terri Schindler-Schiavo. She never used that name. It was assigned to her by people who claim to speak on her behalf. She's as fictitious as Jeff Gannon.

There used to be a woman named Theresa Schindler, but she chose to change her name when she got married.

There used to be a person named Theresa Schiavo, but she hasn't existed since 1990. Since then, her body has shown no sign of cognitive function. That's sad, but it's a fact, and camera tricks and wild stories won't change it.

Weighing In, Midmonth

I wasn't going to weigh myself again until April, but after I hurt my back and it didn't get better on its own, I had to get doctored, and that meant having to be weighed.

Still 220 lbs., but at least I'm not still gaining.

And at least the brace I'm wearing for my back cinches my waist tighter, so I look svelter.

"heya check this out"

My friend Grace sent this to me:

Hello everyone. It will be
interesting to see who
responds! I told a guy that I could find
300 people who
believe in gay marriage before he could
find 300 people
who do not believe in gay marriage. If
you believe in the
right to gay marriage, please copy and
paste this onto a
blank e-mail form (leaving off the
headers). or repost it..
Add your name and send it to your
friends and family or
repost it. If you happen to be the 300th
person signing
this, please send it back to, Andrew
Nelson. His e-mail
address is: Rnbowzrok4evr@aol.com
Thanks! 1)Taylor
2) Jeremy 3)DUSTIN OH YEAH BABY 4)
Michael
(equality baby) 5.)jennifer 6.) Jason *love
has no
boundries nor does it discriminate! if
another guy or girl
makes you happy and you wanna be with
them
forever...i say f@$#@% it...why not! its
your life...live
it! FTW* 7)Jessy~ Totally for it. Equality.
8)Brian~Love
is Love. 9) Olivia 10) Christine 11) Jessie
12)Alex
13)matt 14) Sierra 15) Elz 16) Black Lotus
17)Sky
18)Taylor 19) CHELSEA 20. Elyse 21.)
Rowena all for it
totally 22) Ginger 23)Carrie 24) Jenn L
25) Greg C 26)
Charlie K 27) Travis 28) matt 29) Anna
30) spikeydrew
31)Kamran 31) ALICIA 32) Justin "With
liberty, and
justice for ALL" 33. Caitlin H
(HARTEATTACK) 34) Sam
(aS i wAtch you froM behind blue eyes)
35) Micha (love
is love no matter what sex you are) 36)
Kayne (just let
them get married) 37)Joe 38) timmmy
39) Andrea- love
is love!! 40) marissa 41) jon - if they love
each other let
them do what they want 42) ben - sure
why not 43)
amy 44) care 45) Michelle - llike alot of
other ppl said ..
love is love 46) shawn 47) rachel i
support! 48) Ashley,
discrimination is what ruins the world. let
ppl do what u
want 49) Zach 50) jayne 51) alex 52)
Heather 53)
courtney 54) Tiffany - i dont care what
ppl do, if they
wana get married, let them! 55) melinda-
why the
f@#$ not? 56) jess 57) helen 58) Andrew
59) matthew
60) katie 61) Daniel - i totaly suport it,
good luck but
dont u think getting 300 ppl is alot? may
take a while
:P 62) lisa 63) kristina 64) Aurin 65)
brandon 66)
Brittany supports them! 67) nicole 68)
april 69)
jeremy 70)kayla 71) kate 72) Lloyd 73)
Mike! 74)
philip 75) anna 76) robyn 77) Tasha 78)
megan - let
them do what they want! 79) Mat 80) Bob
81) Amanda
82) Sarah 83) Janet 84) Kell 85) Anna
86) Bob 87)
Mark 88) Nathan 89) Jillian 90) Summer
Rae
91)Bridget- OH YEAH F@#% BUSH AND
THOSE
IGNORANT F@%# THAT SUPPORT
HIM! 92) kayla~ i
think you should do what makes you
happyif your gay
and wanna get married soo what it
doesnt change
you...f@%# BUSH he is freakin ignorent.
93)Kat 94)
Bryan 95) Noah 96)Heather Turney 97)
alyssa 98.
Mikael perez 99) Steve 100) Alice Ralph
101) Steve.
102) Cara 103) Nick 104) Kylie 105)
Rexanna 106)
TRENT. 107) Joyce 108) Boris 109)
Sarah. 110) B- Trap
Brian 111) Emily Hadley 112)jenifer 113)
melissa 114)
gaytha 115) jerme (the cynical side of me
says why
should straight couples be the only ones
to suffer the
bonds of marriage. which is funnier cause
i plan on
wedding the unlucky lady right above
me.) 116) anna
117)juliette 118)jon 119 Ron 120) kristine
121) Josh 122)
Chris 123)Chester 124) yvan 125) Colin
126) Casey D.
127) Andrea 128) Heidi Avelina 129)
Chris Kortright ... I
must say that I would rather abolish the
institution of
marriage, but until then let all folks get
married. 128) Halie Johnson
129) Meg "homos rule" Woodruff
130)Sean "three doller bill" McArdle
131)Mariah "tangerine" Dancing
132)Molly Darragh
133) Steve "let everyone be condemned to lifetimes
of unhappiness in monagamy" Seal
134) CJ "Fag Me Up, Gaf Me Down" Szczech
135) Meredith "I support state-sanctioned gayness"
schafer
136) stoopid ass administration. Ken "bush and every capitalist
pig-boss can kiss my skinny white ass" Nowack
137) Steph Annis
138) Phebe Annis
139)Grace "puhder thar pahrdner" Fenton
140) John "getting married worked for me" Burt

The Purple Finger of Fate

My friend Andrea sent me a link to this article, with this message:

> Hi All,
> I liked this article. It made sense to me--unfortunately! Especially the
> line about the 'oil for women program' in the middle. -- Andrea

Personally, I had high hopes for the phrase "oil for women" -- I was ready to volunteer to help rub it in. Then I read the article, which is not funny at all.

Bernadette replied:

As an American, a liberal Democrat, and a citizen vehemently opposed to everything Bush stands for, including our foreign policy and the death toll continuing to pile up in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, my comment to this article is: so?

Yes, apathy is my pervailing emotion. I feel as if I'd like to say directly to this reporter, "...thanks for getting some more facts published... what else would you like to tell us that we already know?" True, some of these facts I could not recite before, but the whole Iraqi debacle has been a elaborate scam to forward the interests of a relative few. I see my beloved country's government as an empirical power treating the people of the world's nations as pawns in a cruel game that just gives them literally something to do. I mean how much money do you really need? How much control in your lifetime is truly necessary? Who raised you to be so narrow-minded, short-sighted, and selfish?

Right now the biggest threat to the US is not a physical or ideological attack from another far-flung faction or state. The biggest threat is our economic instability, and it is clear that hijacking another country's riches, i.e. oil reserves, will not shore up our growing deficits.

Oh I could go on and on, but I am entirely too weary. My interest in world and political news has absolutely imploded since our election. I have very little faith in American policy-makers overall, and the American public. While world crisis issues loom over American's heads, our congress convenes to see whether or not there's a "problem" with the use of steroids in baseball! That's my tax money funding your little Capitol Hill brew-ha-ha folks!!! Meanwhile this nation can't even figure out basic health care policies like if abortion is OK or not! Hello, the whole Terry Schaivo right-to-die/life is really a precept for that issue.

I have a very dark outlook for America's future in the world. I see our standard of living decreasing and continued alienation by many countries, both economically and in terms of culture. I thought things were pretty horrible leading up to the last presidential election, but apparently conditions need to become much, much worse before any sort of change will occur. I believe it will take decades to extricate ourselves from them Middle East mess, and about the same amount of time with huge amounts of policy and fiscal discipline to regain the economic status that will truly make us a strong and great nation.

So in response to Ms Klein's article, good for you for connecting the dots; something that most people are taught in kindergarten but seem to forget by the time they're voting age. Maybe by yet again writing another piece about how f-'d up US-Iraq policy is people will see how narrow-minded and self-serving our national government truly is. And just maybe there will be a call to change our current regime... just maybe. If I ran across this headline in a newspaper or magazine I'd just skip over it. I could sum up the contents with my own concise headline: "The ________ in the _________ is a Scam to Serve The Intrests of a Powerful Few. This is Not Democracy." Go ahead and fill in the blanks with the word du jour be it Iraq, Iran, Middle East, North Korea; and war, election, economic policy, ect.

The Drought Ends

Hoo boy, look at all that rain. It's sheeting down, so I can barely make it up the ladder to the lookout, and once I'm up here I can't see a thing.

But, as I said, the drought is over. I just hope some of this copious precipitation is coming down as snow in the mountains, otherwise we're still screwed for summer water.

19 March 2003, 2004, 2005 . . . .

MoveOn invites us to search online for nearby locations for vigils to mark the second anniversary of the beginning of the current war.

There will be no difficulty finding it in Corvallis. It'll be where it's been since October of 2001, every single night, without fail.

Title IX, Paragraph 666

Sorry, folks, but I really am just a tad overworked here. Can we just take it as read that I hereby make malicious fun of this guy who says girls will be better Christians if you burn their soccer shoes, and offer to let them scrub floors instead?

Thanks to Mouse Words for letting me know about this, and thanks to Arthur D. Hlavaty for letting me know about Mouse Words.

He's Right About This, Too

From: scott
To: kathe
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 21:15:03 -0500

Kathe -

Scott C. visited JohnKerry.com and thought you would find the following
link of interest:

URL: http://www.johnkerry.com/petition/rollcall_thankyou.html

They also said:
------------------------------------
Kathe,

If you\'ve already seen this, pardon my intrusion...but the JohnKerry.com website is doing a roll call of people against drilling in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge...please sign up at the link below, if you haven\'t already.

Thanks,
Scott

Evolving Ethical Standards

I saw in this morning's paper that The killer of Dian Fossey had been hired by the state of Nebraska (checking online, I see the offer has been withdrawn).

Okay, I give up, I take it all back: there is more than a dime's worth of difference between Democrats and Republicans.

Wheel Keeps On Turning

A notable event in my year has just gone by, as it generally does every year: the sun was shining outside and I was feeling not too bad, and "Feelin' Groovy" came on the radio.

Things can't be as bad as all that. Life still goes on, with that annual event gone by.

(smile)

LiveJournal?

Arthur D. Hlavaty says LiveJournal is more reliable and accessible than Blogger. Does anybody else care to comment?

Double Pun

"Why is it that the bottled thyme is priced by the ounce, while the bulk dried thyme is labelled by the gram, and the fresh thyme is sold by the bunch?"

"Well, Ma'am, disparate thymes call for disparate measures."

Weighing In, March 2005

I weighed 240lbs. in October, 214 in February, and currently am up to 220.

Gotta do something about that, get moving again in the right direction.

The punishing 60-70 hour work schedule I've been following lately isn't helping matters much, though.

Gotta do something about that, too.

Hero

Not the least of the evils of the incident which occurred during the rescue of Giuliana Sgrena was the nasty speculation about the possible incompetence of Nicola Calipari.

Calipari was a hero. Anyone who questions his abilities in order to deflect criticism of other persons (such as those who have allowed Baghdad to remain a free-fire zone despite two years of military occupation) is a scoundrel.

72+5

I received this message from Faithful America

72 + 5 = A Better Budget for America

“It’s your money – you ought to be able to keep more of it.” George W. Bush, Candidate for President, 2000

"You will be happy to know that President Bush has made good on his word. Good, that is, if you are among the very wealthiest people in the United States! If NOT, well, then perhaps we were just been eavesdropping on a private conversation…



"You need to know that the 2006 federal budget that President Bush has proposed calls for deep, massive, crippling cuts in programs that support education, children, and the poor while seeking to make permanent the most dramatic tax breaks for wealthy Americans in recent memory. If this budget is advanced, present deficits will look like pocket change by comparison, the consequences of which extend beyond our lifetimes. The real winners will be millionaires and billionaires, polluters, and crony capitalists. Our most needed programs – those benefiting the least among us – would be slashed to pay for the flood of red ink caused by the President’s enormous tax cuts for the wealthy. According to the Center for Budget Policy and Priorities:



"72% of the tax cuts benefit the wealthiest one-fifth Americans

"5% of the tax cuts benefit the poorest two-fifths of Americans



"If you think these numbers are disproportionate, unfair and immoral, you are not alone. Whatever your faith perspective, if you care about justice you know this important fact: the federal budget is a moral document. Its priorities reflect values. Its implementation affects lives.



"President Bush is right: It IS our money. And we’re going to fight to see that YOUR values, YOUR priorities, YOUR needs are heard. That's why we’re asking you to join:



"The FaithfulAmerica 72 + 5 Petition Campaign



"We need 72 seconds of your time and 5 of your friends to help us reach our goal of a total of 72,000 signatures on a Petition calling for a higher vision for our nation's budget..



"Next Monday in Washington DC, FaithfulAmerica will join hundreds of persons of faith on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to stand in solidarity in demanding that the federal budget reflect our nation’s moral values. In concert with the National Council of Churches, we will read to the world “A Vision of Hope and Justice – A Statement on the 2006 Federal Budget" (printed below). It is already signed by key faith leaders around the nation. We want to add 72,000 FaithfulAmerican signatures to the petition.

"You do NOT have to be part of a specific faith group to do this. If you ARE, you may wish to share it with your fellow congregants. The only thing we ask is that you share our passion for a budget that is moral, compassionate, and fair.



"72,000 signatures! We have a very short time to do this, but together we can remind the President – Congress – and the world – that it IS our money, and we want it used morally, compassionately, and wisely.



"Blessings to you,



"Vince Isner and the FaithfulAmerica.org Team



"PS: For an eye-opening detailed look at the President’s Budget, check out The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities Report: http://www.cbpp.org"

This messages was followed by:



"A Vision of Hope & Justice for the FY 2006 Federal Budget



"(A statement by “Let Justice Roll: Faith and Community Voices Against Poverty” sponsored by the National Council of Churches USA and the Center for Community Change, as well as a host of national, state and local religious, faith-based, and community organizations, including FaithfulAmerica.)



"The federal budget of the United States is a document that establishes the priorities for our country. It is a document that reflects our values as a nation and what we believe is important for the public and future generations. It is a moral document. Our federal budget should reflect the values of equality, opportunity, and justice that honors the poor, supports families, and builds strong, viable communities.



"The Bush Administration’s FY2006 budget is morally misguided and misrepresents the true values of the American people. It suggests that we value military might and war spending more than the poor, families, and strong, viable communities. It favors permanent tax relief for the wealthy and corporations at the expense of further burdening the poor, families, and communities with economic despair. It is a budget that eats away at the heart of the American dream by eliminating funding for programs that are certain to provide us with future opportunities, progress, and security on the home front. Our nation’s future is in serious danger if cuts or caps to programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, job training, veterans’ health services, education, housing and community development grants, among many others, are used as solutions to reduce a projected $427 billion dollar deficit. Congress must act boldly and creatively to oppose budget cuts in human services.



"Speaking as God’s messenger, the prophet Amos offered these words to the people because of their misplaced focus, “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24).” To be true to our values as a nation, we strongly urge Congress to reverse the destructive course our nation is on and reject the Bush Administration’s budget. The FY2006 budget should be funded by scaling back tax relief for the wealthy, closing corporate tax loopholes, and holding military and war spending in check. We call on Congress to draft and approve a budget and policies that will provide the poor, families, and communities with the tools to meet basic needs such as access to nutritious food and quality child-care, accessible and affordable housing, comprehensive and affordable health care, high quality education at every stage of life, a fair and just tax system, job creation and a livable income to sustain their future.



"This positive vision for our nation is only limited by the lack of political will to make it happen. We call on Congress to Let Justice Roll!"

Of course, as someone observed awhile back, it's a lot easier to call for justice to roll down like waters than it is to design and build the irrigation system. . . .

My Religion?

People I like and respect have been offended by things like this in the past, but I'm going to post this anyway, and see what happens. I note that this one, at least, asks the one critical question necessary for a finding of "Christianity".

You scored as Buddhism. Your beliefs most closely resemble those of Buddhism. Do more research on Buddhism and possibly consider becoming Buddhist, if you are not already. In Buddhism, there are Four Noble Truths: (1) Life is suffering. (2) All suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving, attachment, and grasping that result from such ignorance. (3) Suffering can be ended by overcoming ignorance and attachment. (4) The path to the suppression of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right-mindedness, and right contemplation. These eight are usually divided into three categories that base the Buddhist faith: morality, wisdom, and samadhi, or concentration. In Buddhism, there is no hierarchy, nor caste system; the Buddha taught that one's spiritual worth is not based on birth. Buddhism 71% Satanism 63% agnosticism 58% Islam 46% Judaism 46% Paganism 38% Christianity 38% atheism 38% Hinduism 17% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

At Asians, Inc., "Winning Dude" got all upset over this news item:

4th Grade girl to become a boy
WTF?

Mom Says Youngster Has Male Brain

UPDATED: 12:34 pm EST March 4, 2005

METHUEN, Mass. -- A fourth-grader who was attending a Massachusetts elementary school as a girl before February vacation has returned to school as a boy.

The parents of the 9-year-old child said the youngster was born with the body of a girl, but the brain of a boy.

They have asked that he be referred to and treated as a boy by teachers and other students, and school officials are accommodating the request. The parents have even changed the child's name.

The child's mother told The Eagle-Tribune that the family made the decision after consulting with medical professionals. She said the child is still biologically a girl.

The mother has requested that the family not be identified to protect the child.

School Superintendent C. Phillip Littlefield said there is nothing harmful about the child being in the school.

---

"What's this world coming to? She's still a girl for goodness sakes!"

Ironically enough, this crotchety comment was followed by the tagline:

"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."-Bible - Proverbs 15:1.

My response:

What Are Little Boys Made Of?

It's actually quite interesting. Once upon a time, boys born with malformed genitals were routinely given surgery and raised as girls, but many of them never became reconciled to girlhood, and struggled growing up, trying to fit in. They reported that they simply "knew" they were boys. Most chose to live as men when they grew up (surgery to create semi-plausible female genitalia is easier than penis construction, so a female gender was chosen for all of them).

The really interesting part is, this is exactly how transgendered people who have no known physical abnormalities also describe themselves: "I don't care what I look like, I know what I am!"

Quite possibly, trans people will eventually turn out to have brain abnormalities that cause them to feel that way. In any event, it will never do any good to try to force them to live as the "wrong" gender.

This child's parents are apparently trying to get ahead of the curve by accepting his self-identified gender. Try to be understanding and not give them a hard time, okay?

A Visit to Topher's Castle

The other day, I was thinking about a series of cereal commercials I had seen when my age was single-digit, and had never heard of since. It was one of those "O"-shaped cereals, but I have no idea which. The commercials featured a pair of small Os, speaking "Beat" dialect in the voices of children, who would be harassed by some aggressive or officious human (example: a music teacher who would try to make them stop playing jazz). The human would be stopped by the rumbling approach of a huge O who would thunder "I'm Big Daddy O, and I'm gonna straighten you out!" and then chase the terrified human into the distance.

I went onto Google and searched for "cereal characters", and was directed to Topher's Castle, and I have to agree that it was a good place to send me. It's a swell site, and the cereal characters (over a thousand of them) are only the beginning. Go check it out, it's swell.

Our Hero(ine)

When I went to apply to the Registered Nurse program at Linn-Benton Community College, I was annoyed, nay outraged, that one of the prerequisites was Psychology 215, a course I had bypassed on my way to a Bachelor of Science at Oregon State University. What an appalling mickeymouse thing to require of me! Surely taking such a course would be the most miserably tedious exercise, with nothing to teach me.

Actually, it wasn't bad at all. And I was struck by one little item especially: It seems that boys who hit puberty earlier and harder are generally well-liked by their peers, thought of as natural leaders, &c, whilke slow-to-develop boys are ostracized. Physically precocious girls, though, are regarded with suspicion, suspected of being entirely too "fast", and it is altricial girls who have the advantage.

The part that interested me most in this finding is that these well-regarded figures, the manly boy and the girlish young woman, are the classic hero and heroine, respectively, of books aimed at the pre-teen market. This isn't the first time that I've noticed social conventions and presumptions being reflected in fiction, not by any means, but it's a new example to me.

I also can't think of any characters who directly contradict it, although I do recall that the physical development of Ada Bauer in Peni R. Griffin's Switching Well was very gently touched upon, perhaps deliberately. Since Peni reads this blog, perhaps she would care to comment.

Addendum: If you hav trouble with the Ada Bauer link above, try this one or this one or this one.

And by the way, Peni: I really like the cover of the Puffin edition -- finally, an exciting image that gives some hint of the contents.

MoveOn Announces "Bush in 30 Years"

MoveOn has this to say (although the links are mine):

"The Republicans are running a $100 million public relations blitz to convince Americans to privatize Social Security. Paying for private accounts would require benefit cuts for future retirees—with younger workers hit the hardest—while gutting a sound program and burdening the next generation with trillions in debt. All this to line the pockets of the Republicans' friends on Wall Street, who stand to make millions off the deal.

"Well, we don’t need $100 million dollars because we have the creativity, intelligence, and talent of the American people, who know how to spot a scam and, better yet, know how to expose one in Flash! Hence our latest contest: Bush in 30 Years—A Flash Contest to Stop the Republican Social Security Scam. If you think you might enter the contest, we highly recommend you sign up for email updates.

"Macromedia Flash is a perfect medium to cut to the heart of this struggle between the Republicans and the retirement working Americans deserve. And it's a great way to reach the young workers and students who have the most to lose from Bush's plan. Make a Flash animation, game, benefits calculator -- anything you can think of to inspire the American public to stand up to the Republican scam! Make something aimed at the young, the old, and everyone in between.

"Here’s the deal: Submit your Flash entry between Monday, March 7 and Friday, March 25. MoveOn staff and volunteers will select 50 semi-finalists who will be featured on this website. Then, we’ll send an email to our 3 million members asking them (and the public at large) to come vote for their favorites between Monday, April 4 and Saturday, April 9. We'll send 10 finalists to our esteemed panel of judges to determine the winner. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, April 13. The following week, we'll run the winning Flash on major news and youth websites. If you win, you'll have your Flash seen by the world and we'll give you a brand new Apple PowerBook G4."

I suppose reposting e-mail solicitations is kind of a cheesy way to blog, but one of the purposes of this blog is to forestall my forwarding so much of this stuff to people on my e-mail list.

Feudalism and Other Modern Marvels

Dear Donna Barr:

Somehow I missed the occasion when you posted at Wolf Food, contrasting two ways of life, which you called "socialism" and "feudalism". My wife had this to say about that:

So did you notice that she said there are only two kinds of government? Socialism GOOD, feudalism BAD. You didn't feel like responding to that? She's comparing good socialism to bad feudalism. Very much a case of "give a dog a bad name and hang him." How about comparing bad socialism with good feudalism? It does exist, you know, to the present day. Well actually, they both do.

She has a point. Tonga is a present-day example of good, healthy feudalism in action. Kerala is an example of good socialism, in case anybody wants to say there's no such thing.

If anything, I would tend to say that feudalism is the system under which it would be hardest to starve. If you were out of food, you'd go to your lord, and if he didn't have anything, he'd go to the king (or ask the other lords who serve him as vassals if they have any food).

Bad Judge - ment

This week the senate is debating the judicial nomination of William Myers III. He's a career cattle and mining industry lobbyist who is now up for a lifetime appointment to the 4th District Appeals Court. He's just one of Bush's 20 judicial nominees that Democrats rejected last term, (compared to over 200 they approved). But Bush is still fighting hard to make sure every single one gets confirmed.

These 20 judges were singled out because they consistently picked corporate interests over basic rights, and want to roll back decades of progress on anti-discrimination, women's rights, worker's rights, and the environment. If we don't act now to support a real opposition, these corporate judges will be given lifetime appointments to lock in Bush's ultra conservative ideology for decades.

Plus, the Bush administration has threatened to use this fight to take away the Senate Democrat's ability to resistst any future judges, including Supreme Court nominees.

MoveOn has started a petition calling on our Senators to stand firm against Myers and all 20 of these rejected corporate nominees, and to fight any manipulation of the rules to force them through.

Please join me in signing today:

http://www.moveonpac.org/judges/