What the Hell is Net Neutrality?

I mean, it has such a self-explanatory sounding name, but I think I'm not the only one who doesn't really get it. So this guy is going to explain it to you with line drawings. Because line drawings make everything better.

The Sun Goes Boom

Palin's Gotcha History

I can't stand to watch these, because they are so awkward and embarrassing, but here is a run-down of softball questions that Palin characterizes as "gotcha" questions.

Giving Psychology a Bad Name

Unrelated, but Anderson Cooper is dreamy.

Absurd Absurdity of the Week

Computer Pricing

How a book about flies was listed for over $23 million.

50s Pinup Girls - Before & After

(More here.)

Nailed to the Cross

Penitent Filipinos nailed to crosses in Good Friday rite rejected by Catholic church leaders

Huckabee Burns Beck

There are lots (and lots) of problems with Mike Huckabee. But I think he's pretty smart, he's pretty charming, and more importantly, he writes stuff like this:

This week Glenn Beck has taken to his radio show to attack me as a Progressive, which he has said is the same as a “cancer” and a “Nazi.” What did I do that apparently caused him to link me to a fatal disease and a form of government that murdered millions of innocent Jews? I had the audacity—not of hope—but the audacity to give respect to the efforts of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign to address childhood obesity. I’m no fan of her husband’s policies for sure, but I have appreciated her efforts that Beck misrepresented—either out of ignorance or out of a deliberate attempt to distort them to create yet another “boogey man” hiding in the closet that he and only he can see. The First Lady’s approach is about personal responsibility—not the government literally taking candy from a baby’s mouth. He seems to fancy himself a prophet of sorts for his linking so many people and events together to describe a massive global conspiracy for pretty much everything. Sadly, he seems equally inept at recognizing the obvious fact that children are increasingly obese and that we now see clinical evidence of diseases in children that as recent as 20 years ago were found only in adults, such as Type 2 diabetes. The costs to our nation are staggering in increase health care expenses, but it even effects national security with now 75% of young men between the ages of 17 and 24 are unfit for military service primarily due to obesity! His ridiculous claim that John McCain and I collaborated and conspired in the 2008 campaign is especially laughable. Is he not aware that McCain and I were competitors—not cohorts? Beck needs to stick to conspiracies that can’t be so easily de-bunked by facts. Why Beck has decided to aim his overloaded guns on me is beyond me. But he ought to clean his gun and point it more carefully lest it blow up in his face like it did this time.

Animal Friends

Unusual animal friends. (Be sure to read the captions.)

Medicare

Here's a 10-point primer about Medicare. The author points out: "If you’re under age 65 there’s a good chance that you know very little about the program." As it turns out, I get to stay in that category even after reading this primer.

Speechless

J Crew Nonsense

Take it away, Jon!

The Daily Show - Toemageddon 2011 - This Little Piggy Went to Hell
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Maybe it's the video, but Keith Ablow's tie looks awfully pink to me.

The Daily Show - This Little Piggy - Gender Identity Situation
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

The stuff nightmares are made of.

Westboro

Ugh, these people. The BBC has a documentary about them. At the moment, the videos are up on YouTube and you can watch them here. It's...interesting. In some ways, listening to them talk, you can forget that they are such hateful terrible people who antagonize others at their lowest, most painful moments. You can't, however, forget that they have a warped view of Christianity.

Low Blood Pressure Problems?

I have the solution!!! It gets really awesome around 1:10.

Representing the People

Click for a bigger picture.

Creepy PVC Creatures

These are cool. Also creepy.

Oopsies!

Old Georgian woman cuts through fiber-optic cable during scavenging adventure and disables internet connection for all of Armenia.

"Hell is not a love tap..."

"...It's the bitchslap of the hate of God."

Oooooooh, Westboro, you are gross. (Be aware that there is a graphic photo of a dead baby that I assume is supposed to be an aborted fetus.)

More Weiner

I really think this guy must be a pill to be around, but he sure is funny with all his antics. In truth, I worked with a guy just like this. I found him very taxing very quickly...but in small doses he was amusing.

National Prayer Day

What I have learned from the following video is that prayer causes weather patterns? Or maybe that lack of prayer causes weather patterns? Or that weather patterns are a good reason to pray?

Just for the record, I don't have anything against prayer. I think it's incredibly helpful and comforting to billions of people. I just find this overproduced video amusing.

Dogs Left in Cars

Pictures of dogs in cars.

Baby Orangutan

This is highly adorable. I find the yawn particularly precious.

Foster Care for LGBT

Dan Savage encourages it.

=/

Genetically modified cows produce 'human' milk

You are John Boehner

Choose your own budget adventure.

"Great Interview. Aces"

Staircases

Some awesome staircases here. An example:

(Thanks MGKH)

One Never Knows When a Homosexual is About

(From The Bilerico Project)

Rational Discussion Rules

An infographic.

Aurora Borealis

Did you know you can see the Aurora Borealis from space? I didn't! But you can, and here it is.


Check out the whole post for a beautiful time-lapsed video of the northern lights.

Pork

This clearly means that the world needs a pork-themed fast food restaurant.

(Thanks SBHB)

Chernobyl

A really fascinating read about Chernobyl, 25 years later. Some excerpts:

But radiation doesn't travel consistently or evenly. If radioactive dust is picked up by a cloud, it will fall where the rain falls. There are still parts of Wales where the sheep farmers can't sell their meat, and last summer thousands of wild boars hunted in Germany were declared dangerously radioactive.

But some have started to show: there are bird populations with freakishly high levels of albinism, with 20 percent higher levels of asymmetry in their feathers, and higher cancer rates. There are strains of mice with resistance to radioactivity—meaning they've developed heritable systems to repair damaged cells. Covered in radioactive particles after the disaster, one large pine forest turned from green to red: seedlings from this Red Forest placed in their own plantation have grown up with various genetic abnormalities. They have unusually long needles, and some grow not as trees but as bushes. The same has happened with some birch trees, which have grown in the shape of large, bushy feathers, without a recognizable trunk at all.

(Thanks MGKH)

What a Nut!

Holy crap! Victoria Jackson is a total nut! I mean, aside from the homophobia, she just sounds like a damn nut!



A NUT.

File this under People Are Rotten

During the mid 1970s the Argentine military set up a baby-redistribution network, headquartered at the Campo de Mayo Hospital and the Escuela Mecanica de la Armada in Argentina. Fact-finding commissions have established that the regime systematically kidnapped young parents who expressed left-wing sympathies, then killed those parents, dropping many of them alive from airplanes into the ocean. If the women were pregnant, the regime created maternity wards where mothers were drugged or forced (their hands and feet tied to the beds) to have cesarean sections to accelerate birth. If they survived childbirth, they were murdered.

That way, the junta would not only eliminate its political opponents; it would steal their children. Kids who might have grown up thinking like their parents would now grow up thinking like their parents' enemies. This was a double erasure.

More here.

Radiation

Always wanted to know the radiation difference between eating one banana and standing next to a Chernobyl reactor during meltdown? Well, here is a radiation dose chart just for you.

Happy Day After Pi Day

Nerdy stuff about Pi.

Where Children Sleep

A photo tour of children & their bedrooms from around the world. Two examples:

Japan

Crazy footage of tsunami.

Before & after pictures here.

Money Chart

Via The Dish.

Japan Earthquake

Giant whirlpool here. Tsunami travel times here.

Brains!

Brainbow and other neurological type pictures.

(Thanks MGKH)

Tipping Around the World

A helpful graphic for tipping.

Get Out of Jury Duty

Well, here's one way to make a statement and get out of jury duty. Follow the lead of gay New Yorker, Jonathan D. Lovitz.

"Just had an intense day at jury duty. During voir dire we were asked who would not be impartial. I raised my hand and said "since I can't get married or adopt a child in the state of New York, I can't possibly be an impartial judge of a citizen when I am considered a second class one in the eyes of this justice system." You wouldn't believe how people in the room reacted."

Ted Haggard!

My obsession with Ted Haggard continues.

(Thanks AD)

Sheen, Qaddafi, or Beck

Play here.

(Thanks SBHB.)

Oh, Don

Donald Rumsfeld has released a whole bunch of everything, including delightfully bitchy emails, to coincide with the release of his book. Esquire has sifted through some of them, and gives us the following sampling:

The "My Time Is More Valuable Than Yours" Note

- - -
October 26, 200l
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: Schedule

It isn't possible to have a 7:15 a.m. phone call, an NSC meeting and then two PC meetings in one day. That takes most of the day.

I need time with my staff. Let's try to figure out a different way to do our business…

The "Do You Think You're On Entourage?!" Note

- - -
December 13, 200l
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: PC Meeting

We just had the Principals Committee meeting on Iran and Russia. At the last minute, we were told not to bring the “plus one.” I arrive, and I see you have Steve Hadley, Bob Joseph, Robin Cleveland, and Al Gonzales there-and I am like a one-armed paperhanger.

I am going to start bringing “plus one” to my meetings at the White House, unless there is just an enormously good reason not to. I sure cannot imagine what it would have been on that meeting, particularly since there were so many people in the room anyway…

The "You're Terrible At Your Job And You Can't Even Explain Why, Dumbass" Note

- - -
May 20, 2002
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: Moscow Proposals

I just saw this article from the London Times saying, “President Bush will propose . . . that Russia and the United States join forces to develop the controversial Star Wars missile defense system . . .”

What is that about?

Second, I have asked repeatedly for a copy of these other documents that are supposedly going to be dealt with by President Putin and President Bush in Moscow. I still haven't seen a copy of anything other than the treaty. I need to see them. Please get them over to me.

Thank you.

The "She's Either Dumb, Deaf, or Secretly British, and Therefore, an Obtuse Asshole" Note

- - -
August 22, 2002
TO: Paul Wolfowitz [Deputy Secretary of Defense]
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT:

Call Condi Rice. She said to me that we have got to get the detainee mess sorted out, that nobody is able to get answers. I think she is getting this from the UK. Call her and find out what she is talking about. She always comes in with these cryptic messages as thought [sic] the Pentagon is messed up, and I don't have any idea what she is talking about…

The "You're Such an Idiot You Can't Even Run a Schedule" Note

- - -
October 4, 2002
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: North Korea

I thought you told the President in my meeting that there werent going to be any meals at the North Korean event. I notice they had one or two dinners.

Thanks.

The "How I Subvert Your Time-Sucking Meetings" Note

- - -
October 30, 2003
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: NSC Meetings

We have an NSC meeting scheduled for Monday with no subject. I like to be prepared for meetings, but if we don't have the subject of the meeting a working day ahead of time, then there is no way for us to be prepared…

The "You're Not Early Enough For Us, Slackass" Note

- - -
November 5, 2003
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: Agendas and Schedules for PC and NSC Meetings

…If you want people from DoD to do something, please tell us that, not in the meeting, but the day before—and we will do our best…

The "And By Tactical Errors She Means 'My Bad Hair Days'" Note

- - -
April 04, 2006
TO: Stephen J Hadley [National Security Advisor]
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld

I think we better get some talking points on what Condi thinks she meant when she said we have made "thousands of tactical errors."

I keep getting asked the question, and I don't know the answer. I don't know what she had in mind.

Thanks.

Shame, Boatloads of Shame

The Wisconsin Statehouse seems like a really unpleasant place to work these days.

Abortion & Government

I don't know who you are, Mr. Weiner, but I'm a fan. And definitely watch to the end.

Distribution of Wealth

Time Lapse Books

I love time lapse stuff, but I can't help thinking about how horribly tedious it must be to create.

EuroDrunks

What's up with South Korea?

Old is New

I love old photos. I admit being a nosey photographer. As soon as I step into someone else’s house, I start sniffing for them. Most of us are fascinated by their retro look but to me, it’s imagining how people would feel and look like if they were to reenact them today... A few months ago, I decided to actually do this. So, with my camera, I started inviting people to go back to their future.

More here. [Edit: That blockquote is from the woman who took these pictures, who is not me.]

Why do we poll Americans?

What I gather from this is that people think defense spending is too high when things are going OK and that it is waaay too low right after bad shit happens (Iran Hostage Crisis, 9/11). Whatever your opinions on defense spending, that just makes no sense. If "the public" thinks it's too low right after bad things happen, then presumably they think that the lack of spending contributed to the bad things in the first place. Americans, as a polling unit, have the attention span of a gnat. I could give a rat's ass what they think is too much or too little. It would be nice if people who actually have the knowledge and experience to say anything worthwhile on the subject would do so and ignore polls. Ugh.

Cups of Paint

Some more mesmerizing art-making. If I were doing that, I would totally step in one of the puddles and ruin everything.

Here's some more of Holton Rower's work, some of which is pretty cool and some of which I just do not get.
Do not get.

Maybe I get? It's funny, right? I think it's funny.

Definitely do not get.

Pretty.

Time Waster

Waste your time playing The Great Gatsby.

"Uncontacted" people

Uncontacted Amazon Tribe: First ever aerial footage from Survival International on Vimeo.

I get the point of such an endeavor -- it's meant to protect and raise awareness. But I can't help feeling like a dirty voyeur when I watch this and that those people being treated like animals in the wild. Scully, I am not sure how I feel about you narrating this.

*Also, "uncontacted" is in quotes, because as a Dish reader points out, that kid is holding a steel machete. They've most likely had contact with somebody.

Haha

See Jesus and Mo for some wildly un-PC comics. I have only read a couple, so if there are some truly offensive ones, then sorry about that. And I guess by truly offensive, I mean "not funny."

Aw, that's just precious

A new Royal Antelope calf born at San Diego Zoo.

Going to CPAC

Watermelon Roses

This is kind of mesmerizing.

What the What?!

Bryan Fischer, a director of something at the American Family Association, is a morally repugnant a-hole. I think my argument requires no more than telling you the title of his opinion piece: Native Americans Morally Disqualified Themselves From the Land.

It's not as bad as it sounds -- it's worse.

Wikiphrenia

(Link)

Mourning in Non-Human Primates

This is a really interesting (and sad) read about mourning behaviors in non-human primates. Included in the blog post (which is really worth a read) is a description and video of a chimpanzee mother whose 16-month old infant died. You see her leave the body in a clearing, but then come back to look at the infant and touch her neck and face repeatedly. It almost seems like she is trying to convince herself that the life has actually gone from the body, checking to see if its reappeared. Who knows what's actually happening in her mind. Whatever the case, it's sad.

Here is the academic paper that describes the process in objective (read: dry and emotionless) terms.

And the iPhone Shall Absolve You

You may not have the Pope's organs. You may, however, confess your sins to your iPhone (until you find an actual priest).

(Thanks, SBHB)

Write It Gay!

Holy Organs

Did you know that the Pope cannot donate his organs, because his body belongs to the church? Well, now you do.

Mug Shots of Yesteryear

Bizarrely fascinating mug shots from the police archives from New South Wales.

Virtual Art Museum

The Google Art Project is worth a few minutes of your time.

Just because

Bill O'Reilly Doesn't Understand Tides; Therefore, God Exists

Colbert Report Full Episodes Video Archive

I don't know how to post a video so it starts in the middle. I'm posting this for the bit on Bill O'Reilly who doesn't understand how tides work or where the moon came from (God!). The first part of the video is about Egypt and Anderson Cooper -- it's funny, but the O'Reilly part starts at 2:30.

And here, my favorite physicist that I don't know gives O'Reilly a quick lesson about the universe.

Idle Hands

I'm so glad people out there have time on their hands to do things like this. (There's really no reason to watch the whole video -- the first minute is good. Well, maybe there is a reason, but I didn't watch the whole thing.)

CIA doesn't know how to tweet

The CIA gets yelled at for not anticipating the Egyptian revolution. Their main problem? They weren't monitoring Twitter and Facebook. They should go hire some whipper snappers to take care of that. I imagine the following conversation between a recent hire and his mother:

Mom: "Oh, that's swell sweetie. Congrats on your new grown-up job. Can you take out the trash?"

CIA Twitter Guy: "Mooooom. I'm like a spy now. You can't ask a spy to take out the trash. I'm super important now."

Mom: "Oh bullshit. You're just getting paid to read those dumb twats or tweets or whatever the hell they are because no one else wants such a tedious and lame job. Now take out the trash."

CIA Twitter Guy: [Grumble, grumble] "Fine."

Oh, sweet progress!

NOM Loves Rainbows

Hahahaha. How the NOM* website ended up with a big, gay rainbow.

*National Organization for Marriage, founded by that unfortunate soul, Maggie Gallagher.

Today in the News of No Shit

Watching steamy sex scenes with your parents is not fun, so say researchers.

Oh, The Onion

Republicans Vote To Repeal Obama-Backed Bill That Would Destroy Asteroid Headed For Earth

Insanity

Feeling happy and sane? I have just the antidote! Glenn Beck!

Jurassic Guitars

Who knew kids with guitars could sound like that?


Thanks for the tip, SBHB.

Cuteness

Reading Between the Lines

We are not so good at it -- at least the ability doesn't seem to improve with time or intimacy. There is a new study where people read lines that could have multiple interpretations ("What have you been up to?" could mean "Why are you late?" or "I'd like to know how you are," or a lot of other things.) The participants read the lines to their long-time spouses or to a couple they didn't know. The spouse and the strangers guessed what the meaning was behind the line. The strangers and the spouse guessed correctly at the same rate.

Now, there are lots of issues with a single study -- the scenarios were contrived blah blah blah -- but another piece of the puzzle is that the spouses thought they were more accurate than the strangers. They definitely weren't.

So, say what you mean, folks!

Breaking the Code

Some dork* has figured out how to break scratch-off lottery tickets, being able to correctly differentiate losers from winners about 90% of the time. He decided he could make more from being a consultant than making money from the tickets, so he went to the ticket makers. The linked article is pretty long, but a quick skim is quite interesting.

*I mean this fondly, of course.

Barbara Bush the Younger & Marriage Equality

She strikes me as unappealing, but I'm glad to see that she supports marriage equality.

What's up with Egypt?

A primer.

Naval Academy Treats Surviving Gay Spouse With Dignity

Maybe that headline shouldn't be that impressive, but it is. Here is a touching story of a man whose husband -- a graduate of the Naval Academy -- died of a heart attack. They had been legally married in Iowa two years prior. When he approached the Naval Academy with his husband's request to be buried at the Naval Academy's Columbarium, he was treated like any other surviving spouse, and was offered the flag at the funeral. It's worth a read. Here's a snippet referring to the obituary published in the US Naval Academy Alumni magazine:

It noted his two Purple Hearts for “having been shot down from the sky twice in military missions.” It noted “for the rest of his life he would joke about his ‘government issued ankle.’ ” It noted “his burly but warmly gentle manner.” It noted he was “survived by his husband, Mark Thomas Ketterson.”

Play with the solar system

Here.

The Interwebs? What is the interwebs?

Nano Stuff

Obama Responds to David Kato's Murder

Obama responded to the murder of David Kato, the Ugandan gay rights advocate who was outed in a Ugandan newspaper last year. (The newspaper released the photos of several people they claimed were gay with the headline "Hang Them")

I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder of David Kato. In Uganda, David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate. He was a powerful advocate for fairness and freedom. The United States mourns his murder, and we recommit ourselves to David’s work.

At home and around the world, LGBT persons continue to be subjected to unconscionable bullying, discrimination, and hate. In the weeks preceding David Kato’s murder in Uganda, five members of the LGBT community in Honduras were also murdered. It is essential that the Governments of Uganda and Honduras investigate these killings and hold the perpetrators accountable.

LGBT rights are not special rights; they are human rights. My Administration will continue to strongly support human rights and assistance work on behalf of LGBT persons abroad. We do this because we recognize the threat faced by leaders like David Kato, and we share their commitment to advancing freedom, fairness, and equality for all.

King George VI Speech

Not the speech the movie is based on, but here is a video of a speech he gave.

Ted Haggard!

You know how I love Ted. Well, GQ has a new piece on him, and he remains just as fascinating as ever. (Although there are way more details on his masturbatory habits than I care to know about.) A member of his previous church, New Life, sums up my view on the Reverend:

"I think Ted genuinely loves God, and I think he has a sincere interest in helping people, but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth."

Some other intriguing nuggets:

"Here's where I really am on this issue," he half whispers. "I think that probably, if I were 21 in this society, I would identify myself as a bisexual." After a weekend of Ted trying to convince me of his unambiguous devotion to his wife and kids, I'm at first too surprised to say anything.

"So why not now?" I ask finally.

"Because, Kevin, I'm 54, with children, with a belief system, and I can have enforced boundaries in my life. Just like you're a heterosexual but you don't have sex with every woman that you're attracted to, so I can be who I am and exclusively have sex with my wife and be perfectly satisfied."

After the final amen, I strike up a conversation with Wing, Guy, and Art, three parishioners who come every week to stock up on Ted's encouragement. Wing was evicted from his house after falling behind on payments, and he's been living out of his car for the past two weeks. Guy's wife left him last week, taking their daughters with her. Art, a burly Hispanic man in a sleeveless shirt, was addicted to meth when his brother told him about a new church with an unconventional pastor.

"At first I thought, Man, I don't wanna go to no faggot's church," Art says. "But the first day I was here, Pastor Ted looked at me and said, 'You've been struggling with drugs, haven't you? Today you walk free.' I haven't touched it since."

Part of what these guys love about St. James is that it helps struggling people in real, tangible ways. During the offering, when most churches pass the plate, Ted instead has his saints give money to one another. Today the gifts included a $500 donation to fix one man's car and money for another man to pay his electricity bill.

Dugway Lockdown

A Utah military facility that tests chemical and biological weapons was locked down "to resolve a serious concern,"

This does not sound good.

Julian Assange

I recommend this fascinating article by the New York Times executive editor that details the saga of dealing with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. The professionalism between newspaper organizations is impressive, and Julian Assange is a bizarre guy. The article also makes a case for this type of journalism and discusses what WikiLeaks does and does not mean for journalism, culture, and government. It's long, but worth it.

Dumb Shit or Satirist?

We Need a Christian Dictator
Uploaded by OnKneesforJesus. - News videos hot off the press.
I couldn't be bothered to look up whether this idiot is for reals or not. But, man, is he a hoot and a half, or what?

Suicide in the Armed Forces

For the past two years, more servicemen and women have died at their own hand than in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. That is shameful.

Arkansas Being Arkansas

Elton John is not for young Arkansas shoppers.

Moms gets jail time for sending kids to better school

Kelley Williams-Bolar has been sentenced to 5 years in jail, with all but 10 days suspended, for sending her children to a suburban school rather than a school in the Akron City School district in which they lived. Williams-Bolar falsely used her father's address as their address.

Copley-Fairlawn City School District hired private detectives to follow her when they suspected her daughters did not live in their district. Copley-Fairlawn claims that they were defrauded of $30,000.

Williams-Bolar is a few credits shy of getting her teaching certification from the University of Akron. A felony conviction jeopardizes her ability to teach in Ohio.

Copley-Fairlawn City Schools have a 1% dropout rate. Akron City schools have a 6% dropout rate, which is a pretty significant difference.

Her punishment clearly outweighs her crime. This case also gives me a new perspective on arguments about parent choice in schooling.

Joel Osteen, His Giant Teeth, & The Gays

Good satire that's not funny

Judge Rules White Girl Will Be Tried As Black Adult
I didn't find this "news story" from the Onion News Network to be funny. It's too depressing and nauseating and too much of an accurate reflection to be funny. I wonder what the criminal justice system would be like if juries never saw what defendants looked like. What do you think?

Indiana, you are kind of gross

A bill just passed the Indiana House that requires that state documents be published only in English. Because English is the official language of Indiana, and that "should mean something." I think it means something like Indiana congresspeople have too much damn time on their hands.

Cee-Lo for the Deaf

DADT by the numbers

I didn't know that enlisted men and women were more likely to be discriminated against compared to officers. (Enlisted make up 82% of the armed forces, and as you can see above, make up 98% of those discharged under DADT.) I'm fascinated by this fact, and I want to know more. Were people turning a blind eye when it came to officers? Did officers try harder to keep themselves closeted? Are there fewer officers who are gay?

I would also like to know -- by class, gender, etc. -- what percentage outed themselves (Dan Choi, for example) versus being outed by someone else.

Yay to the end of DADT!

The Brits Amuse Me

Man, I hate it when my musical clothing interrupt my serious speeches.

Socialized Health Care in 1798?

Tea partiers and what have you are always yelling about what the framers of the constitution did and did not want. A major criticism of the health care law is the unconstitutionality of the mandate, and that the Founders would be rolling over in their graves.

Well maybe and, then again, maybe not. They were not, it turns out, totally opposed to the idea of government healthcare:

In July of 1798, Congress passed – and President John Adams signed - “An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen.” The law authorized the creation of a government operated marine hospital service and mandated that privately employed sailors be required to purchase health care insurance.

Keep in mind that the 5th Congress did not really need to struggle over the intentions of the drafters of the Constitutions in creating this Act as many of its members were the drafters of the Constitution.

Now, that doesn't seem exactly the same to me, but I bet it would surprise some Tea Partiers. There has, not surprisingly, been some controversy stirred by this article. Here is someone else's article who went and talked to knowledgeable university folk, who said things like:

There's no proof from the historical record that Adams would have backed the idea behind the individual mandate in particular. But it is fair to conclude, the professor says, that the founding generation supported the basic idea of government run health care, and the use of mandatory taxation to pay for it.

Study Habits

I am constantly flabbergasted by the number of college students who think that reading their notes three times, or even five times, is a good way to study. No flashcards, no self-testing. Just rereading. This is a terrible way to study. My sense is that I came to this conclusion on my own. However, I had an excellent preparatory education, so it's entirely possible that someone along the way told me this. In fact, it's probable.

Students are really surprised when I tell them that they have to test themselves in some way before the test. I have only once had a student who was struggling come to me and say that she had self-tested. (And I've had lots of students come to me and say they are struggling.) If I were a betting person, I'd say that self-testing as a study strategy is probably what separates the successful students from the unsuccessful ones.

Anyway, this is all to say that there is a new study out that I can now point to and say, "See? Re-reading? It's no good."

Heather says "Yes Ma'am" to her two mommies

Census data suggest that gay parenting is more common in the South than in other geographical regions.

In addition, the data show, child rearing among same-sex couples is more common in the South than in any other region of the country, according to Gary Gates, a demographer at the University of California, Los Angeles. Gay couples in Southern states like Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are more likely to be raising children than their counterparts on the West Coast, in New York and in New England.

That information surprises me and makes sense at the same time. My first thought, which is also mentioned in the article, is that Southerners may be more likely to come out at a later age, more likely to get married, and more likely to have kids in heterosexual relationships before entering homosexual relationships. Maybe in other regions, people are more likely to have their first long-term, committed relationships be with someone of the same-sex. Having children then becomes a much more complicated, and often expensive, prospect.

This, however, was not surprising:

The pattern, identified by Mr. Gates, is also notable because the families in this region defy the stereotype of a mainstream gay America that is white, affluent, urban and living in the Northeast or on the West Coast.

And this makes this guy sound like an ass:

“We’re starting to see that the gay community is very diverse,” said Bob Witeck, chief executive of Witeck-Combs Communications, which helped market the census to gay people. “We’re not all rich white guys.”

Lots of people believe that homosexuality is biological and not a choice -- was this guy under the impression that it was a genetic difference unique to rich, white people? Dumb.

Time Wasting Fun!

The scale of the universe.

That Is Cold

Word Cloud

A Dish reader created word clouds from the Arizona speeches by Palin & Obama.

It's the difference between a political speech and a eulogy.

Water Art

Art by Shinichi Maruayama. More here.

Ted Haggard

Oh my god, y'all! Ted Haggard is coming to TLC! He is my very favorite disgraced closet case. I hope it's on Hulu!