World of Suck

I was poking around on ebay the other day, something I do when I'm bored. My initial intent was to look up punk band stickers to adorn my laptop, and when that didn't turn up much that I liked I tried some of my favorite anime characters. Somehow - not sure how - I turned up results that included retailers selling DOT stickers for "decorative" use only.

Ok, for those that don't know - a DOT sticker is used on motorcycle helmets to signify that the helmet meets the government standard for safety. There are groups, such as those that give motorcycle safety training, or racing, that *require* a DOT certified helmet before they let you participate. This means that any fucktard who chooses to just slap a DOT sticker on their helmet can bypass the safety standard, basically lying to the groups that expect a minimum of honesty from their participants.

I was pretty shocked that ebay would support this and sent them email. I got the typical form email "kthnxbai" and still found the stickers being listed the next week. So I sent them another email - I doubt much will come from that. I also sent email to the seller "Hey, isn't this illegal?". I doubt much will come from that. Finally I sent email to the NTHSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) who are the ones responsible for the DOT standard. I don't hold out much hope there either, but I figured it was worth a chance.

Frankly I think it's bullshit that any asshole would sell these in the first place. He's got them listed as being a whole dollar anyway - what the fuck kind of dick would sell out someone's safety for a buck? Next, I really don't give a rats ass if you choose to put a sticker on your own piece of crap helmet - but if you sell or lend that helmet, then I think you're a fucking criminal and deserve to go to jail.

It probably isn't all that hard to make fake stickers, but there's no reason for people to enable this sort of bullshit by selling them aboveboard. Here's a big fat "fuck you" to all the assholes who are selling DOT stickers on ebay.

• makingitdigital-graphics
• ddagmij
• DONS CYCLE WARE MOTORCYCLE GEAR
• Discount Biker Gear

Now there might be an explanation for why folks go kinky:

An analysis of four studies by Murray Straus, co-director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire-Durham, found that children who suffer physical punishment in the form of spanking, hitting or slapping are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior as adults, it is reported by USA Today.

The study, presented Thursday to the American Psychological Association, suggests that spanked children also are more likely to be "physically or verbally coercing" to a sexual partner and engage in masochistic sex, including arousal by spanking, later in life.

Elizabeth Gershoff, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, who reviewed 80 years of spanking research in 2002 in the APA's Psychological Bulletin, said Straus' work appears to be the first to link spanking to sexual problems, USA Today reported.

Gershoff said that even though many children are spanked by their parents, future problems often depend on how the children process the experience and whether they ultimately equate love with physical pain.

Does that mean that we might be limiting our children's bedroom antics if we save the rod and spoil the child?

Two women have complained about treatment they received on Southwest Airlines. Airline staff said they were loud and rude and used vulgar language. However, Nisreen Swedberg and her friend Sarah Williams say the flight attendants "were like older ladies" that were probably "jealous". Oh, I'm fur sure. . . .

It's lunch time and I hate to wait. So generally when I hit a 'place to procure food' I go for things that are quick - snag a burger and go, a bowl of soup, pre-made sushi, etc. Typically the fastest thing is the salad bar. Just grab a container, dump in a little of this and that, add dressing and voila - I have a box-o-food and I'm good to go.

Well usually.

Most people don't hover over the bar, they too are interested in getting their meal and getting out - so it's rare that anyone spends more than the time it takes to get a grip on a cluster of olives with salad tongs (it can be tricky) as they slide along. Further, most people will wait politely, pretending to pick over the fresh spinach leaves, as you corral that last renegade pepper. I even go so far as to wait a little before picking up my container, so as not to pressure the person in front of me.

It didn't work this time. As I slid along with the underlying layer of lettuce awaiting the adornment of carrots, beets, sprouts and the like I came up against a woman who was armed with the serving ladle and faced off against the bowl of mixed beans. With surgical accuracy she was cautiously extracting individual garbanzo's from it's brethren of kidney and pintos. For real. This was no ordinary bean counter, hell no. She was meticulously choosing each and every bean based on some criteria.

After a minute or two I started to edge closer, and she glanced up, grimaced and finally moved away. I grabbed a spoonful, dumped it unceremoniously onto my lettuce and moved on.

I think she was put off after that because she rapidly scurried down the rest of the bar and left. Clearly if you're the type that needs time to carefully architect your salad, peak lunch time is not for you. Next time I recommend either early (11:30) or late (1:30) when there will be hardly any traffic and you can pick over each legume to your heart's content.

And it is a cupie doll photo retouching of toddlers to create a real-life black velvet doe eyed painting gone... well... gone even worse.

http://naturalbeautiescontest.homestead.com/retouch4a.html

Behold and despair.

It's nothing new to kill someone as a means of elevating yourself in the eyes of your peers. Heck gangs make it almost a mandatory rite of initiation. But what about when you kill someone years ago, hide it and *then* confess? Should you be lauded as a role model? Well naturally if you come from Texas. The case in point - Calvin Wayne Inman - a youth pastor who has suddenly owned up to a murder he committed 14 years ago when he was 16.

''The debt he's paying to our society is teaching our young people to do the right thing,'' said Cheryl Ellis, a member of the church's youth staff. ''To lock him away someplace and say he owes it to society is robbing the next generation of a mentor.''

Excuse me? He killed someone by stabbing them in the chest when they asked for his ID to buy tobacco. Then he got on with the best part of his life. Now he's 29 and suddenly finding salvation, so that makes murdering a convenience store clerk acceptable, or even admirable? How exactly does being a repentant murderer make someone a role model?

"He's a hero, really," said Kelley Graham, 24. "I don't know how many people would do what he did. The Bible says you just need to confess to God. Calvin took an extra step."

I guess if you exclude everyone who chose not to commit a murder in the first place then yeah, I guess he's kinda special. But frankly Kelly is just an example that idiots abound in the state of Texas. I begin to see how they can sponsor someone for president that thinks killing thousands of people is not just acceptable but heroic. Yeah it all makes sense now...

Just a theory? JUST?

Let's say for a minute that we grant creationists that evolution is a theory that could potentially be subject to change. It's true, even if the likelihood of a major change is beyond the odds of winning the lottery. But just for a second, assume that a fact is discovered tomorrow that throws the theory into a tailspin.

It's happened before. Newton's theory was replaced with Einstein's. But that didn't mean that gravity changed. The facts never change. Our explanation for them does. Likewise, evolution occurs. We've seen it. Genetics and fossil records have so much supporting evidence that it's nearly impossible to comprehend. Nothing you do or say will change that because it's a fact. We may change our explanation. Maybe it's not natural selection driving the changes. Maybe it's something else. But that doesn't alter the observation that evolution occurs. Plants evolve. Animals evolve. People evolve. Every living thing today evolved from something that came before.

Of course, the idea that evolutionary theory could need to be re-written is a huge presupposition. Even granting them that huge concession, we see that their attempts to discredit evolution are flawed at the very core. I honestly believe that it comes from a tragic misunderstanding of the terminology of science. Theory, in everyday use means conjecture; some unproven idea. In scientific usage, a theory is well tested model that explains observations and offers up predictions for future behavior. It's not JUST a theory.

Until people learn the difference between the two usages, I don't think this debate will ever go away. The battleground for this is the classroom. Proponents of intelligent design and creationism (I repeat myself) are pushing to teach the idea of "just a theory" in classrooms. Sadly, they are fighting for science classes to fail the children the same way it failed the parents decades before.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that God would punish Iranians if they do not support the country's disputed nuclear program, state radio reported.

God punishes people if they don't support nukes? There's almost nothing to add here...

While running errands, I stop at a red light. While waiting, I notice the car in front of me has a bumper sticker, it says: "This car is a status symbol, Its a symbol that I am broke." I look at the car, about a late 80's Toyota with the rust expected of a 20+ yr old car and a bumper that is coming on hinged from the sides of the car. Then my eyes nearly complete their journey and I eye the plate. Not your run of the mill plate that you might expect of a broke bloke - no, his license plate says: IMBROKE2. In my state a "vanity" plate costs $43 up front, the $25/yr after that. I don't want to spend $25 on a vanity plate every year and I'm not "broke", and I could come up with some winners.

Just a thought - maybe, just maybe, he might not be so broke if he hadn't spent his last $43 bucks on that license plate. Hmmmm . . .

You suck.

I'd rather not go into details, but I discovered what I believe to be fraud. I have the card holder's name, address and a couple of merchants that have been used. I want to do the right thing, even though most people think I am nuts. I look through their list of numbers, the only one that has "fraud" in it is a merchant line. I call it, the woman is nice, but not very helpful and after putting me on hold a few times, gives me a phone number to call during the day. I call it - wrong number. I'm sure I copied it right, but maybe not.

I try customer service. Woman is down right rude and because I am not a card holder, she will not transfer me to a supervisor. I had explained that I have no interest in them telling me anything about the card holder I only wish to provide them with information. She suggests that I call the card holder and tell him myself!

I call the fraud line again, and again they are polite, but still not much help. They finally say this is a security issue. They give me a couple of phone number - both are long-distance calls that I can not make from work. I call when I get home - they are closed for the day. The guy that answers the phone asks to call back Tuesday. I do leave my first name and work phone number. Oh, and by the way, this guy says calling the card holder directly is a bad idea (maybe you should tell your retarded customer service).

I suspect a crime involving their card and their "member" (a term I am sure was selected to make their card holders feel special). I am not out any money, why should I care? I am only trying to do the proper thing and let them know so the situation does not get worse and I get the run around! In this day and age of identity theft and those people running up huge debt, you would think that a citizen taking steps to stop a problem would be welcomed. Just remember, you and I eventually pay for these crimes in higher interest rates and insurance premiums.

So next time I even consider going blue, I must repeat to myself: "American Express sucks."

A little googling on St.Mary's in the blog below on women refs brings up a ton of misogynistic propaganda by these idiots. This clearly isn't the first time they encountered issues with their "women are second-class citizens who can't hold property or have the right to vote" mentality.

In fact there was an issue where their football team faced another team that had a female team member. According to an opinionated-piece by Dr.Fucknugget they held the moral high ground by forfeiting rather than getting their asses kicked by a woman. Oh sure, actually they were only demonstrating that their boys were raised to be "gentlemen" by running away and then crying about it.

What Marian T. Fucknugget needs to realize that stone-age beliefs don't belong in a country where men and women work and fight together. Raising your boys to disregard women in positions of authority only means they will get their asses arrested when they ignore the policewoman, the female inspection officer in the airport, or the woman doctor in the emergency room. If they want to live in an environment that supports that kind of thinking there are plenty of other countries (not democracies mind you) that still embrace that mind set. But not in the US.

St. Mary's Academy near Topeka, Kansas had a boys' basketball game. It's a private religious school that competes within the Kansas State High School Activities Association.

Michelle Campbell was scheduled to referee the game. But just before the game was supposed to start, the Academy insisted that she not be allowed to do so. The reason given?

Campbell, as a woman, could not be put in a position of authority over boys because of the academy's beliefs.

Good going fuck nuggets. Seriously. There is, however, a bright side. When she was removed, the other ref refused to work the game and left with her. Another ref was asked to fill in and also refused when he heard the reason for her removal. The game was eventually played though.

Stupid school. And people wonder how sexism and racism are propagated.

The Emirates likes to pretend it's civilized, just on their own principles - but shit like this can't hide the fact that they're just ignorant fucking dickheads:

Saudis to Execute a Woman for Witchcraft 6:55 AM ET

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- A leading human rights group appealed to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Thursday to stop the execution of a woman accused of witchcraft and performing supernatural acts.

Some illiterate woman is going to be executed because... she's a witch. Sure there are plenty of places with stone-age superstitions. Just recently an Eastern European country locked up a priest who had killed a nun through exorcism. But the Saudis like to put on the appearance of tolerance, education and human-rights. Yeah, really, they're just "misunderstood".

In Falih's case, the judges relied on a coerced confession and on the statements of witnesses who said she had ''bewitched'' them to convict her in April 2006, according to the group.

Falih later retracted her confession in court, claiming it was extracted under duress, and said that as an illiterate woman, she did not understand the document she was forced to fingerprint.

...

The Saudi court cited an instance in which a man allegedly became impotent after being bewitched by Falih, the rights group said.

An appeals court ruled in September 2006 that Falih could not be sentenced to death for witchcraft because she had retracted her confession. But a lower court subsequently reissued the death sentence for the benefit of ''public interest'' and to ''protect the creed, souls and property of this country,'' the group's statement said.

So some guy lost his hardon and she has to die because of that.

Just goes to show, money can't buy intelligence or common sense.

Scientists and psychologists have yet to explain why the gravitational attraction on a human body increases by several orders of magnitude when the human is being sat upon by a purring cat.

Truth.

Okay. I'm not going to lie. I don't understand tattoos sometimes but there are some pretty cool ones I've seen in my life. I'm also cool with the idea that some people like to treat their body as a "canvas" and want to fill every square inch with some kind of drawing in ink. That's alright with me. I can even understand the motive of "I want to be different"...well, to a point...

Being a car guy, I'll admit that I have my favorites. I can't say that I've ever wanted to tattoo the Mustang logo or the Corvette flags on myself anywhere. Nor do I really want to ink my 89 Cavalier Z24 project car on my forearm. Sadly, someone did just that. They tattooed their 2002 Cavalier on their forearm. Now it's there for life...even if he gets tired of the car and wants nothing to do with it, it's gonna be there. Save for having it lasered off and leaving a nice scar there in the shape of his car. Yet another one (again on the forearm) is a huge Lincoln symbol with a butterfly on it that goes from just above the wrist to just below the elbow. What? Really, I don't understand.

I'm glad they find it interesting to treat their body as a canvas. But what about if/when you get tired of that car or that brand...or it just disappears one day? What then?

I'm starting to believe that when a family member commits a crime, even an accidental one, that the nearest relatives should be held accountable. Why? Because if they had acted responsibly in the first place people probably wouldn't have been killed, maimed, or dismembered.

A while back bman posted about a friend of his who was run over at a stoplight by an old woman who was just fucking senile. She'd been in plenty of accidents before but obviously her family was too busy to care about whom she killed next. It was probably too much of a bother to deal with the situation, than find Granny alternative transportation. I'll also bet she's too fucking old to even have renewed her drivers license without their help. I'm betting this because I saw the same damn situation two days ago myself at the RMV.

As I enter the RMV there's two women ahead of me, one gray haired elderly lady and another woman who was obviously her daughter. Now at our RMV you walk up, get a number and have a seat. Grammy here decided it was ok to talk to the woman behind the counter for a good five minutes while I'm waiting to get my ticket. She wanted to recount her experiences of wearing a cast because the employee behind the counter had one on. The daughter just stood there, embarrassed for a bit while I waited... and waited. Finally they'd fucking waited long enough that their number was called. Yay.

I get my number in .001 seconds and sit down.

Daughter was there to deal with registration, Grammy was there to - gods help us - renew her license. They call her number. Several times. Finally the daughter takes her over to the counter and returns to her business. I notice that Gramms talks to the RMV employee for a few minutes, stands for her picture and then meanders off. The woman behind the counter seems mildly distressed. After about 5 min I get called to the same counter.

"DON'T YOU WANDER OFF ON ME!" the woman behind the desk exclaims to my surprise. Then she apologizes and tells me that the last person she had just wandered away and hadn't finished the transaction. That was Gramms of course. It was pretty fucking apparent that the old bat didn't have enough wits about her to even get through a license renewal, obviously she shouldn't be driving.

Hopefully, since she didn't complete the transaction, she just won't get a new license in the mail. The downside is that I'm sure her family doesn't give a shit and will let her loose on the roads when she can't even understand the significance of a red light.

If you can't manage to renew your license on your own, then clearly you should NOT be allowed to have one. Driving is up to an individual, if your family has to drag you through the RMV then they should be made to pay when the inevitable occurs.

Heh.

No no no. It's really not a monster movie, but it should be. From PlasticBamboo.com:

Apparently, McDonald’s Japan are so delighted with the success of their limited Mega Mac 4 burger Big Mac, that they’ve decided to extend the period of availability. Sales of the Mega Mac have more than doubled expected sales with 3.32 million sold in just 4 days. Chomp chomp!

The Mega Mac. Four paddies o' meat. As if the original wasn't enough, you now get twice the beef and all of the calories. Evidently this is an item that is only available in test markets, such as Japan. But you have to ask...

1. Why Japan? Wouldn't a place such as... I dunno... Texas be more synonymous with the idea of "bigger = better"?
2. Does Japan want to be so much like the West, that they're willing to kill themselves with fast food too?

It might be my own ethnocentric view of the world, but I always thought that Japanese cuisine was more about health and simplicity. I guess ever since Takeru Kobayashi took the World Hot Dog Eating Championship title, things just have never been the same.

Of course this is nothing compared to things like the Triple Whopper. That just looks painful.

... or letting them kill themselves?

The AP News had an article which stated that a Dutch researcher found out that it's less cost effective to treat fat people and smokers. The punch line was, of course, that weight-loss, and smoking-cessation commenced immediately once the person was dead. As did incurred costs. To summarize: 'it's cheaper to let people kill themselves than treat the affliction and its symptoms'.

Well ok then.

I guess it's the same approach with helmets and motorcycles. The cost of treating motorcycle accidents goes way down if the person just dies, instead of living on as a cripple. Common sense really. Still there's a segment of the population that likes to treat everyone, for everything, whether real of imagined. I'm sure Darwin is hiding around a corner, like Rod Serling from the Twilight Zone, with his moral in one hand, but still - aside from stating the obvious, do you think anyone will act on this information?

Personally I'm not sure, but maybe after a cigarette and a donut I'll have an opinion...

Excitement not withstanding, Super Tuesday was in fact, super for a change. On one side of the fence the elephants have wrapped up their decision to greater extent. On the other, the hooves are flying and the sounds of braying are still in process.

Americans are a weird lot. I'd say one of our most dramatic traits is a decided lack of consistency. I think that's what bothers the rest of the world so much, the fact that it's really hard to tell *what* we'll decide to do next. Keeps 'em on their toes if you ask me.

I'd contradict the people who say it's a win for the republicans because they know whom to stand behind for a few reasons. The first is, McCain isn't defined so much by what he stands for as whom he stands against. And that's still a mystery. The second is that everyone loves excitement. They love a, heh, horse race. The democrats have not decided, and all the eye and attention is on them. In fact I'd say the whole world is watching the democrats by this time. And I'd imagine certain nations, most especially the nasty, crappy, oppressive ones are less than excited about having to shake hands with either a white woman or a black man. Bully for us.

Back to the point, I'm thrilled to see the excitement and the attention of this election. It will be a year to remember. And for once, the only people being left out - are the ones who are idiots enough not to vote at all.

In Mississippi a law banning restaurants from serving obese people is being proposed:

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2008 Regular Session

To: Public Health and Human Services; Judiciary B

By: Representative Mayhall, Read, Shows
House Bill 282

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FROM SERVING FOOD TO ANY PERSON WHO IS OBESE, BASED ON CRITERIA PRESCRIBED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT TO PREPARE WRITTEN MATERIALS THAT DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN THE CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING WHETHER A PERSON IS OBESE AND TO PROVIDE THOSE MATERIALS TO THE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS; TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT TO MONITOR THE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) The provisions of this section shall apply to any food establishment that is required to obtain a permit from the State Department of Health under Section 41-3-15(4)(f), that operates primarily in an enclosed facility and that has five (5) or more seats for customers.

(2) Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the State Department of Health after consultation with the Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management established under Section 41-101-1 or its successor. The State Department of Health shall prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese, and shall provide those materials to all food establishments to which this section applies. A food establishment shall be entitled to rely on the criteria for obesity in those written materials when determining whether or not it is allowed to serve food to any person.

(3) The State Department of Health shall monitor the food establishments to which this section applies for compliance with the provisions of this section, and may revoke the permit of any food establishment that repeatedly violates the provisions of this section.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2008.

1) What if I am traveling through Mississippi? Do I have to bring snacks to make it from state line to state line? What a way to treat a guest!
2) What if I am getting a salad with a twist of lemon as a dressing? Will that be against the law? I mean, that is diet food and shows I'm trying to change my piggish ways.
3) Are restaurants going to be forced to have a back room with a special knock to get in like a speak easy for their best customers?

Representative Mayhall, shame on you! Try encouraging exercise and proper eating. Maybe you should take a long hard look at your culinary "culture". When I think down home southern cookin', it ain't no steamed broccoli and baked chicken breast without the skin. NO! We are talkin' some fried catfish or bar-b-que, collard greens cooked with ham hocks or salt pork, and maybe some cheese grits or macaroni and cheese. What can we top that off with? A piece of Mississippi mud pie perhaps? Get a grip! Hey, while you're at it and pass the hot sauce . . .

taken from a comment on a previous post...

Honestly, the entire primary system is pretty damn unfair to the voters. The debates are decided by the 2 main parties, the system is designed to keep out 3rd parties, the super delegates (on the dems side) are a throwback to shady back room politics, and most of the country is forced to live by the choices of the first couple primaries. Think of how many candidates have dropped out already without ever giving the rest of the country a chance to support them.

I noticed this year when there were a frenzy of early primaries and wrangling over election dates. I can understand that states want to grab some of this attention, and the associated money. I can't help, however, to think back to the whole Gore/Bush election where the last states to report were the ones that held our focus, and breath.

Admittedly I can't recall any time where the last states to vote really served as a 'tie breaker' per se, but it doesn't mean it can't happen. On the other side should all the polls open in all states at the same time? Would that be more "fair"?

Perhaps as we move into a more electronic age that will be possible. Will we be able to vote from our computer someday? With improvements in security, fingerprint technology it might actually be more representative - but that opens so many avenues of discussion I can hardly begin to address them all.

... Can I vote for the Giants? President by committee? I think it would be a great opportunity to see Offense and Defense working together. Plus it would make State of the Union addresses a whole lot more interesting. I'd bet they'd be able to conduct a war a whole lot more effectively as well.

Just a thought.

On Fox New's website today there are two articles that show how crazy our western culture and all its parts has become.

A Virgina store manager who was given a summons for obscenity. The Abercrombie & Fitch Posters showed bare chested men with the top of one's buttocks showing and a woman, whose arm covered her breasts. As Abercrombie & Fitch pointed out, there was less flesh showing than you might find on your average plumber or American beach. And it was far less than you might find on a French or Brazilian beach.

A jump across the pond finds us a bunch of Muslim women refusing to roll-up their sleeves. These are not women running errands about town, these are medical professionals refusing to adhere to basic sanitary guidelines. They would rather expose their patients to whatever might get on their sleeves than expose their lower arms.

• Would it be against the law to reproduce a recipe without buying for it first?
• What if you put "your" recipe on the internet, would they sue you?
• Would you have to pay for a recipe each time you made it unless you bought a "batch" license?
• What if you only paid once for a recipe but made a big batch and then gave some away?
• Would restaurants make you sign a license agreement each time you ate there?
• Would you be able to doggy-bag leftovers or have pay for the meal twice?
• What if you re-created the smell or taste of a dish with a different recipe?
• Would chefs make advertisements saying how you were making them poor by trying to copy their food at home and serving it to friends?
• Would cooking shows start with warnings about taping the show and then using the recipes they show you?

I've been to the supermarket on the days going up to major holidays and such, but going today was a bit surreal. It was crowded, heck, it is always crowded on Saturday. The make up of the crowd and where they were accumulated was different. The deli was stacked three deep. I felt sorry for the poor girl attempting to stock the case with wings - she may as well have tossed them into the crowd like beads at a Mardi Grads parade. Produce was relatively empty. The jumbo sized packages of meat were going like hot cakes. Then I looked around. Where did these guys come from? These were not your ordinary guys - these were guys I could imagine painting their chests on frosty days in a football stadium. Furthermore, they, not their lady companions, were the ones leading the charge to grab every artery clogging tidbit they could find. These were MEN, damn it, and they were not going to have any part of raw broccoli or cucumber sandwiches. Celery and carrots need only apply if they are going to sit next to wings. Superbowl Sunday is a strange holiday.

As the clock runs out on this administration, so does the window of opportunity for unremitting greed by the oil companies.

Exxon Mobil delivered its strongest performance ever last year, earning a record $40.6 billion in net income because of surging oil prices, the company said Friday.

The figure, a 3 percent increase from the previous year, exceeded the company’s own record for profits at an American corporation, set in 2006, and is nearly twice what it earned in 2003.

Exxon said its fourth-quarter net income rose 14 percent, to $11.7 billion, or $2.13 a share. That also made it the company’s most profitable quarter ever.

I called it a while ago. As the last months go by the energy industry will go into overdrive to squeeze maximum profits before the next election. To borrow a phrase from Homer: "You mean it's the best quarter of your life... so far."

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Remote-controlled explosives strapped to two mentally retarded women detonated in a coordinated attack on Baghdad pet bazaars Friday, Iraqi officials said, killing at least 73 people in the deadliest day since the U.S. sent 30,000 extra troops to the capital last spring.

Putting bombs on the disabled is a new one. I suppose that's one way to manage health-care costs. Still, it's hard to imagine *anyone* saying that this was a good thing.

Muslims wonder why they have a bad rep. All they have to do is read the papers and observe what people are doing in the name of their religion. If muslims as a whole were to cease to support extremism then obviously these dick-heads would cease to exist as well. But muslims are not standing up and disowning them. Perhaps they're afraid to, but then "modern" and "civilized" societies don't use fear to retain members.

It's not much of a surprise however, considering that "true" muslims don't value women or disabled. I'm just surprised they waited this long to use them as fodder.

Do you think your doctor really cares about you?

That's a loaded and open sentence, with a number of inferences and interpretations. Care in the technical sense would mean "does your doctor attend to your medical needs appropriately?". Care in an empathic sense would mean "does your doctor take into account your emotional well being in how they deal with you?" There's other variants as well, but those are the two I'm most interested in.

The Times hosted a blarticle (I think I just made that word up) on the treatment of breast cancer and the gender of the doctor involved. Formed around numbers generated from a scientific study, the statement is made that female doctors were more likely to ensure that cancer patients received radiation therapy after surgery. Note that radiation therapy is essentially required as "standard treatment."

This of course made me think 'well does this mean that women make better doctors?'

81 comments later, people harped on that topic quite extensively, while others poked into the age and ethnicity of the patient and still others questioned the validity of the numbers used to support the premise of the writing. Some said "well women are more likely to treat other women with more attention". Others said "well chances are women doctors are younger doctors, so they'll me more into the latest treatments." Some said "women are more empathic and likely to listen to what their patients are feeling". But regardless of all the supposition, it's a good question, do women make better doctors?

Traditionally women are thought of as nurturing and social. Their role in primitive societies ensured that the community of the tribe thrived, as opposed to providing leadership, or defense. It might not be a big leap to say that this nurturing instinct is something that would be essential to a good doctor-patient relationship. But doctors, at least in modern society today, are also merchants who need to be careful of their time and investment in a patient. Given the cost of obtaining a medical degree, they have extreme financial constraints that preclude them from lavishing time on any one individual not in an emergency situation. Does that mean that men make better doctors because they can look at a problem un-emotionally and do what's best for all their patients?

Personally I don't care to cast judgement, in some areas I might be more inclined to work with a woman (lets say psychological issues, where I think a woman would be more understanding and tolerant) as opposed to orthopedics (where I consider it to be mostly a study in bio-physics). But perhaps that skirts the issues.

Maybe the better question to ask is: when you have a gender-specific problem, is it better to have a doctor of the same gender or not? As the moderator commented: perhaps a study of prostrate cancer would bring insight to this question.

link to article: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/the-sex-of-your-surgeon-may-matter