Bettie Page passes away. Great loss,

It's a sad day. Pin-up icon Bettie Page passed away in California after suffering a heart attack.

You'll remember Bettie Page as the black haired pin-up who often did bondage photos in the 1950s.

For those of you interested, Bettie grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. She attended a local high school, Hume Fogg graduating salutatorian of her senior class. She was reportedly upset that she wasn't top of the class because that assured her a full scholarship to Vanderbilt.

Bettie did receive a full scholarship to George Peabody College (now a part of Vanderbilt) and graduated with a teaching degree. She taught school for a short time (I would have loved to been her student...). Bettie wasn't just a pretty face, she was smart and academically inclined, albeit with a Southern drawl.

Betty was from East Tennessee, but left because of an abusive father.

She married a few times and finally wound up in New York as a secretary. She did some modeling and finally met the man, Irving Klaw, who turned her into the icon we know today.

Time has a few photos of Bettie here.

Bettie was queen before plastic surgery, before botox, and before photoshop. She was a rare bird.
So long Bettie.

Too much cleanliness is a bad thing.

I follow the George Carlin philosphy on cleanliness, namely, if I get poop on my hands I wash, but otherwise I don't.

Carlin pointed out to humorous effect that when growing up he swam in the East River where people dump sewage. He swears he never got sick and the experience made his immune system stronger.

Well, it seems George was correct. Studies suggest that too much cleanliness actually makes allergies worse.

I couldn't agree more. I have a friend that carries Purell and washes incessantly when in public. It doesn't seem to work because he gets sick more than anyone I know.

Me, on the other hand? I get a cold or the flu maybe once every 3 years, if that.

I'd much rather pass up the regular dose of disease and if that happens because I don't sanitize myself to death, then goody for me.

Glad to be in America with an expansive view of liberty

When I read articles like this one I thank the stars that be that I live in America.

Why?

In America, wing nuts have the burden of proving why something should be banned. Those of us who advocate for an expansive view of freedom as opposed to some moral watchdog's limited notion of free speech breathe a sigh of relief.

America, despite all her faults, requires that wingnuts expose themselves to the public square and potential ridicule in order to push their agenda.

Transparency can never be underestimated as a valuable tool for freedom.

Intellectualism returns to the Presidency.

All I can say is: THANK GOD!

Pre-election prophecy about Cindy McCain's disdain for the working family comes to pass

Here's confirmation of what I warned about in the lead up to the election.

I told the story of Cindy McCain, as a shareholder of Anheiser-Busch, supported the sale of the company to foreign company InBev.

I warned that Cindy wasn't interested in helping working families since she supported the buy-out. Buy-outs must be paid for so job cuts are necessary to help finance the borrowing necessary to complete the purchase.

Well, I have been proven correct.

So, the McCains are not for the working families of American, just their own bottom line.

Shinseki choice highlights Rumsfeld's and Wolfowitz's ignominy

Here's a notable piece about General Shinsheki possibly getting a job in the Obama administration.

The General behaves with integrity and character and that serves to highlight the utter lack of integrity and character of his former boss Donald Rumsfeld and the latter's neo-con butt buddy Paul Wolfowitz.

Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz were nothing but scumbags and they deserve the ignominy their loser asses will get.

Thank God I never voted for the man who so sacrificed his obligation to the country when he hired such incompetent boobs in the first place.

Whackos on parade: Fight to prove Obama is really foreign-born. Morons

Here's a story about pretext racism.

A group of whackos is attempting to derail Obama's presidency by having the Supreme Court declare him ineligible since he was born outside the U.S.

Every time someone points out the evidence showing Obama was born in the U.S., it is dismissed in favor of the conspiracy.

It's very difficult to respond to a conspiracy theory, not because the conspiracy is true, but because the conspiracy relies on faith, so any evidence to the contrary is dismissed, while evidence supporting the conspiracy takes on added importance.

Here's a problem for the conspiracy theorists: If they manage to win (which they won't) then John McCain has a similar citizenship problem, viz., he was born in Panama.

Between Obama and McCain, Obama has the stronger claim to U.S. citizenship since he was born in the U.S. to a native-born mother.

Family is what works for you, not some stupid ideal.

This story on Live Science reminds me of a discussion I had a few years ago with a friend of mine.

This friend is the same one who goes with the political winds. At the time, he was a Bush supporter and was advocating for the "traditional family" as promoted by the religious right.

His argument was that it's better for a child to have both a mother and father in the family unit. He noted that children are much better off that way.

Of course, I objected saying that was bullshit because a child just needed at least one loving parent and the particular shape of the family was immaterial.

He kept to his guns. I pointed out that I grew up in a single parent household and for the right to impugn my single parent upbringing was rather insulting. I, for one, don't see myself as deficient or a scourge to society because my father wasn't around.

He tried to demur, but it was too late to remove that foot from his mouth.

All this points to the utter stupidity of imposing ideals onto people. People rarely meet ideals, but that's what makes us so interesting---we don't fit into neat little conceptual boxes.

Idealized concepts are like cotton candy: Their cool to look at, but they are too much when you get into it.

Bush: Neo-Hooverian

This op-ed sums up pretty much what I think about Bush and the economy.

Bush has been true to his trickle-down philosophy in the bailout. He chose to provide financial help to the marge corporations, the well-connected, and the well-heeled (although not so well-heeled as well-connected currently).

The problem with trickle-down economics is that it doesn't work. The current economic fiasco should finally put the nail in the social darwinism of corporate welfare.

The best approach, in my opinion, for bailing out the economy should consist of pumping money toward the lower end of the socio-economic level.

Why would this work better than the current screw-up?

The poor are less likely to save and more likely to spend any resources directed their way. Considering that one-third of our economy depends on consumption, we should encourage that consumption by giving resources to the those most likely to consume.

Who would that be? The poor.

The trickle-down approach has failed and it cannot nor should it be resuscitated.

Of course the rich will have to suck it up and actually participate in this economy that has provided them with such largesse.

Bush isn't a neo-con, but a neo-Hooverian.

Let's give it rest.

AFFECTATION ALERT!!

One of my biggest pet peeves is affectation.

What is that? Well, it's where someone presents themselves in a way so as to appear somehow superior, when in fact they're being full of crap.

(You'll note that I'm watching television)

While watching "Everyday Italian" I noticed the host mispronounced a couple of words. I wouldn't normally think it a big deal except that her mis-pronunciations were obvious and intentional.

I really like this show and I think the host has an engaging style, but she got on my nerves with her pronunciation of the words "bechamel" and "pancetta".

The host is Italian, so of course the argument will go that she probably knows how to pronounce "pancetta". I disagree. I speak English and I mispronounce words all the time, so for a native Italian who grew up in SoCal, I think she's being affected.

Anyway, she pronounced "bechamel" like this: bee-sha-meel.

That's obviously incorrect. It's pronounced: bay-sha-mel.

It's real simple.

She pronounced "pancetta" like this: pahn-chee-ta.

That's also incorrect, even in Italian. It's pronounced pahn-chay-ta. Look it up.

This little diatribe may qualify me as a prig or an idiot, but I don't care. It's the little annoyances that I hate.

Scientists develop a way to eliminate batteries by using sound waves. Awesome!

How's this for a cool idea? Powering small electronic devices by harvesting sound waves from the environment.

Using plain old basic research and good old fashioned scientific principles, scientists have managed to devise a plan that could virtually eliminate the need for batteries.

The benefits are enormous: No toxic waste, no buying of replacement batteries, lower overall cost of operation.

Cool stuff. I want it now...

Britney Spears documentary a vacuous piece of nothing.

My significant other has this morbid fascination with reality television. So, when she decides to watch some trainwreck on T.V., I'm forced to watch it also.

Last night, MTV aired the Britney Spears documentary. I use the word documentary loosely because it had few features of a documentary; it resembled a p.r. video.

Here's what I learned about Britney from Britney:

1) Britney is sad.

2) Britney hates the paparazzi.

3) Britney loves her kids.

4) Britney likes to drive around.

5) Britney wants to go out without being followed by cameras.

6) Britney likes to work.

That's about it.

MTV chose to up the stakes before the show by displaying a text prologue saying "Nothing was off limits, what we see is the real and raw truth."

That load of bullshit was designed to give people the impression that we'd be watching a real nitty-gritty, hard-hitting documentary where all warts and foibles would be on display.

The problem with nothing being off limits is that someone must actually ASK the appropriate questions. No one did.

Now, don't get me wrong. I feel sorry for Britney. I think she's been unfairly maligned as a result of her life circumstances.

This so-called documentary was nothing but a load of crap that provided no more information than what was already out there.

In essence, a total waste of time and footage designed to be an hour long commercial for Britney's record label.

MTV was punked.

They tried to convince their viewers to buy the bullshit to cover their butts for passing off some asinine puff piece as real television.

Can't we go back to the days when MTV was actually about music?

Opposition to gay adoption is opposition to child welfare--plain and simple.

Here's an article that highlights the real agenda behind the push by some groups to deny homosexuals the right to adopt children.

There is absolutely no evidence that children suffer any harm from growing up in a family consisting of a homosexual parent. ZERO!

To advocate keeping a child in foster care just because some people have issues with homosexuality is to put one's agenda ahead of what's best for children.

Any group that advocates denying homosexuals the right to adopt to protect the children is nothing more than bigotry and is not really in the best interest of the children.

Too many children need loving and stable homes. To ignore a whole population of willing and capable potential parents on the grounds of sexual orientation is morally outrageous.

U.S. health care sucks when you look at costs per person compared to benefit

I've argued for years with a friend of mine about the need for change in the U.S. healthcare system.

My friend, being the kind of guy who plays it safe politically, always trotted out the old trope of how we have the best medical care in the world and other people with money come here for our state of the art medicine.

I always opted for the reality argument. Specifically, that our system should not be judged by how good we are at dealing with the unique and novel medical mystery, but how effectively we treat what ails the vast majority of Americans, viz., heart disease, diabetes, etc.

Now, doctors are jumping on the universal health care bandwagon. They wisely foresee their future will not be in business as usual, but as part of a system focused on prevention and efficiency.

Some doctors are starting to point out the significant inefficiencies in our current system.

Those inefficiencies create massive profits for some and their incentive to change that waste is very small.

I see health care as a moral issue: If we can save two people through prevention for the cost of what we pay to cure one person, then we have a duty to save the two people.

John Stuart Mill was correct when he said we must provide for the greatest number.

The moral thing won't keep doctors and insurers rich. Too bad the pocketbooks of a few are keeping a majority at greater risk for death.

U.S. government has a medical patent on chemicals that the DEA says have no medical use--Huh?

For those of you into irony, here's a funny one.

For years, the U.S. government has followed a "zero tolerance" policy toward marijuana.

Despite all credible evidence about the low risk marijuana poses, the DEA classifies pot as a Schedule 1 Drug. To meet this qualification a drug must have "no accepted medical value and pose a high risk for abuse."

Here's the irony part. The U.S. government sought and obtained a patent on some of the chemical constituents found in marijuana!!

Here's a link to the complete patent.

Here's my question: How can the government claim a drug has no acceptable value and throw people into jail for its use on one hand, while obtaining a patent on the chemicals in this plant for the treatment of medical issues on the other?

Regardless of your position on drugs, you must admit that this really takes the cake of government hypocrisy.

The ugly spectre of DEFLATION!

For those of you enjoying the drop in prices all over the place, especially right before Christmas, I should caution you about a tricky little thing called: Deflation.

Here's a good article explaining deflation and why we should all be concerned by it.

What is it exactly?

Well, it's where prices fall. Normally, we like falling prices, but not when it's caused by large scale deflationary forces like we're seeing now.

Prices are falling because demand has fallen. Lower demand equals lower prices; it's classical economics.

Deflation is good at the beginning, so if you got the cash, spend it now on those good deals.

As deflation drags on, you see downward pressure on wages. This hurts.

Be prepared for lower wages and more unemployment if we can't shore up the economy soon. It's a nasty cycle that we can ill-afford to get into.

Virtual economies serve as a lab for real world economies

This story is rather cool. At least the geek in me thinks it is.

Virtual economies are providing some insight into how real world economies work.

It seems that the libertarian utopia of zero regulation in Second Life has led to downright fraud and economic ruin for virtual banks.

That's the trouble with self-regulation. It's another word for libertarian economic policies.

We're seeing the results of such extreme de-regulation in our own economy.

Virtual worlds provide insight into the real world, but without the costs to real people.

Cool stuff.

Country music is a little slow on the uptake in the political game

Finally someone other than me has spoken the truth about Country Music.

Ironically, it is the New Republic that carried the story.

I've bemoaned the state of country music for years. It ceased being country and morphed into country-flavored pop music.

This occurred when the Nashville music scene was invaded by New York and L.A. music business transplants. They couldn't make it in pop, so they moved to Nashville, changed country music to fit their tastes, and show us bumpkins how it was really done.

What are we left with? Crap.

Country music made the mistake of cozying up with the Right. That was a big mistake, but typical of Nashville. Nashville doesn't have the balls to strike out on its own, so it waits to see how the wind blows, then jumps on the bandwagon.

Unfortunately, the bandwagon shifted and is going the other direction.

Natalie Maines is having the last laugh on Toby Keith.

Former middle class could spell trouble for stability

I normally find Brooks a bit of an intellectual simpleton. Like many of his brethren in the openly-conservative camp, he's fond of simplistic characterizations that really don't hold up under scrutiny.

For example: In the present article he equates collective action with a loss of individual rights.

This isn't alway the case. Sometimes, group action is necessary to expand individual rights. Kind of a no man's an island view of things.

Simple solutions and simple social constructs appeal to a specific audience: Simple people.

Brooks is an affable sort, so I avoid being too hard on him. Sometimes he does make a valid point.

His take on the financial turmoil results in a conclusion that I agree with (thus, I don't think he's too bad...).

I've said for a time now that financial trouble is dangerous when those most affected by it are educated, ambitious, and carry a certain degree of expectation from their society. They'll be the sort to create trouble and can carry it out because of their education, experience, and degree of motivation.

Brooks agrees, in a round about way.

Anxiety disorders more prevalent than we realize

About one fifth of all patients visiting a doctor suffer from an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders go untreated so often that we scarcely realize the trouble they cause.

Medically, they account for a significant portion of patients presenting with pain or other symptom.

My suspicion is that humans carry a predisposition to certain anxiety disorders from our evolutionary past. Those without the hyper-vigilance caused by anxiety were often the first ones eaten by a predator. Hyper-vigilance causes one to be more cautious too, so it can have a positive effect in small doses.

The downside: Hyper-vigilance associated with anxiety causes sufferers to sense greater physiological issues leading to more self-diagnosis of health problems. Ultimately, anxiety results in more doctor visits.