cryptonaut-in-exile

Komen vs. Planned Parenthood

2012-02-01T09:47:00.000-05:00

Susan G. Komen for the Cure is cutting off its financing of breast cancer screening by Planned Parenthood. http://t.co/mVpW61MmWed Feb 01 12:43:00 via Twitter for AndroidEric L Shepherd
eshep

So now I'm off to look for a charity that spends less of its revenue suing other charities and more on cancer research. In the meantime, instead of donating to Komen for the jeans day at work like I've done in the past, that money will go to Planned Parenthood.

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is the only A+ rated Cancer charity at CharityWatch.

Komen may get a boost from Catholics and other anti-abortion groups, but I suspect their net result is going to be a steep decline in contributions as a result of this decision.

Priorities of the Catholic Church

2012-01-31T20:34:00.000-05:00

Testimony: Catholic Diocese Arranged Treatment For Abusive Priest But Not For His Victims:

Gene Gianelli, as bad as the sex criminal he sheltered.

A priest who was a former top aide in the Catholic Diocese of Hartford testified Tuesday that he arranged treatment in 1979 for a fellow priest [Ivan Ferguson] who sexually abused boys, but said he has no knowledge of the church ever doing anything for the victims.

This First Aid tip not suggested for campers ...

2012-01-31T20:11:00.000-05:00

Honey Helps Heal Wounds

Lest you attract ...

Seen in parking lot at work ...

2012-01-31T16:08:00.001-05:00

FSM FTW!

Internet's latest dog and pony show is opium for the masses.

2012-01-30T21:12:00.000-05:00

NYPL Labs : Stereogranimator

GIF made with the NYPL Labs Stereogranimator

A bit seizure-inducing, I'm afraid. Let me try one more though, a little opium to settle the nerves ...

GIF made with the NYPL Labs Stereogranimator

One Album Wonders and Thirty Five (Or So) Album Wonders

2012-01-30T18:30:00.000-05:00

The 10 Most Memorable Bands Who Only Released One Album :: Blogs :: List of the Day :: Paste:

4. The Monks
Black Monk Time, 1966
Black Monk Time is what happens when a group of American servicemen in 1960s Germany form one of the most plodding and single-mindedly savage groups of any era. The Monks’ primal garage rock landed with a thud, both sonically and commercially, but Black Monk Time is easily one of the most acclaimed and important cult records of all time. The band’s rhythmic and repetitive stomp predated the official dawning of punk by a decade but sounds absolutely timeless, as grumpy young men with no recording budgets have basically attempted to recreate Black Monk Time a thousand times over the last 45 years. Fans of the Fall (a band that missed this list by a good 35 albums or so) should definitely take heed, but then they probably all know about The Monks already.

Gun retailer preaches gun safety

2012-01-30T17:18:00.003-05:00

Retailer preaches gun safety :: WRAL.com:

Image via WRAL.com

It is personal for Franks. "I have seen what guns can do to people."

Safety first. Well, technically, it's: "Sales first, then safety." But at least he's emphasizing the safety with the ardent backing of WRAL.

Mayor Taco and the Adventure of the Latino Appointment

2012-01-30T17:15:00.001-05:00

East Haven's Mayor Taco puts his foot in his mouth again"

Image via My Left Nutmeg

East Haven Joseph "Taco" Maturo just doesn't get it...in fact, his latest statement regarding his response to the situation in East Haven is even more offensive then his boneheaded statement last week.

#ProtectNC Vote against Amendment One on May 8th

2012-01-28T12:36:00.002-05:00

The Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families

I've pledged to vote against Amendment One on May 8th, 2012. My fellow North Carolinians, please consider doing the same.

Heads up #Fuquay ... Help CupCake Bite get on Cupcake Wars!

2012-01-28T12:16:00.001-05:00

Cupcake Wars...:

We're looking to get a good size crowd outside the shop around 3 pm [Saturday, Jan. 28th, 2012] ! It won't take more then a few minutes. Feel free to bring signs or just yourself to show your love for the show and our town! We just need ENERGY!

I wouldn't be a very popular reporter ...

2012-01-28T09:02:00.001-05:00

Moore County boy hit by truck: 'God saved me' :: WRAL.com:

Slayton Maness via WRAL.com

A 9-year-old Moore County boy who spent more than two weeks in a coma and suffered two broken ribs and a fractured neck, pelvis and ankle is recovering at home, nearly three months after a truck hit and nearly killed him at his bus stop.

Or, maybe I couldn't be an editor. Either way, I couldn't publish a story with that headline without including some other details in the story, like the names of the doctors that actually contributed towards saving his life. I don't begrudge the Manesses their faith; it's just that, reading the article and not sharing that faith, I perceive (perhaps crankily?) an implied agreement on the part of the news outlet that something miraculous has happened.

Look, miracles happen every day, when you define miracles as things that had long odds of turning out the way they did. What happened here was clearly not a miracle or a case of a supernatural being intervening to save a child. His mother was there to perform CPR, he was rushed to a hospital where he received medical care. Give credit where credit's due.

The headline easily could have been written, "Family praises God for hitting young boy with truck at bus stop, nearly killing him, and forcing him to endure months of recovery instead of instantly healing him, as a deity easily could."

I see the eye-rolling out there, "why gripe about it?" I imagine you asking. "The family believes a magical being saved their child and the newspaper reported what they believe, let it go." Fair enough. WRAL didn't come out and say this was a miracle, and they didn't leave out how he received medical care.

You tell me, am I being tetchy? Do you see a bias in the reporting of the story? Is WRAL pandering to the religious mindset here?

Ideas from the Southern Conservative Brain Trust

2012-01-27T21:01:00.000-05:00

Cabarrus lawmaker calls for public hangings :: WRAL.com:

Rep. Larry Pittman

A Cabarrus County lawmaker wants to bring back public hangings in North Carolina as a deterrent to crime, and he says doctors who perform abortions should be in the line to the gallows.

Can we stop electing these disgraceful psychopaths? They're not hard to spot, they put (R)s after their names for us.

Here we go again ...

2012-01-27T14:54:00.000-05:00

Witness: Priest Said People Would Think Boy Was Gay If Abuse Were Reported - Courant.com:

A man who says a priest molested him when he was 13 years old testified Friday that the priest warned him that people would believe he was gay if he ever reported the abuse.

"When I would resist, he would say, 'People will think you are gay if you bring this out,'" the victim said.

I don't even know what to say about these anymore. The sheer volume clerical sexual predator stories is mind-boggling.

25 Things I Learned From Opening a Bookstore

2012-01-27T14:50:00.001-05:00

25 Things I Learned From Opening a Bookstore - jlsathre - Open Salon:

19. If you're thinking of giving someone a religious book for their graduation, rethink. It will end up unread and in pristine condition at a used book store, sometimes with the fifty dollar bill still tucked inside ...
21. A surprising number of people will think you've read every book in the store and will keep pulling out volumes and asking you what this one is about. These are the people who leave without buying a book, so it's time to have some fun. Make up plots.

Many chuckle-worthy entries in the list.

My son's idea of making his bed ...

2012-01-27T08:31:00.001-05:00

"Dad, I taught Mr. Puppy to read!"

Nothing controversial in this study. Nope.

2012-01-26T22:34:00.001-05:00

Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice - Yahoo! News:

Sign written by a Certified Genius™. (Via Wonkette)

There's no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy.

The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to lead researcher Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario. Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, the study found. Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes that can contribute to prejudice, Hodson wrote in an email to LiveScience.

Wow, it is hard to read Yahoo! News articles loaded as they are with all those useless links. I tried to find a link to the actual study discussed in the article and gave up. So, take the whole thing cum grano salis.

DIY El Caminos in East Hartford

2012-01-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

Car Trends In East Hartford | Sad City Hartford:

Image via Sad City Hartford

What we've been missing out on is what appears to be a return on the "car pickup" hybrid, a style first introduced by the Chevrolet El Camino in 1959.

While this type of car seems to have faded from fashion decades ago, loyal reader Farm Boy occasionally treks out to our neighbor to the East and has photographic proof that East Hartford may be bringing the "car pickup" back into fashion as he spotted two on a single journey.

You can't stop an East Hartfordite from driving an El Camino just by not making and selling them anymore.

I keep looking up ...

2012-01-26T11:21:00.002-05:00

Backyard Universe: Watch two bright planets converge and a special winter surprise | fayobserver.com:

I don't know how to screencap my phone yet, but this image (via) gives you the idea.

Between now and March, Jupiter and Venus will draw closer together each night. By late February, the pair will be pretty close to one another, and on Feb. 25, a dramatic crescent moon appears near Venus. The moon passes Jupiter the next evening.

Taking out the garbage last night, I was struck by how bright Jupiter (I confirmed with the help of Google Sky Maps) was in the sky. It'll be fun to watch Venus and the (sadly, moonbase-free) Moon do-si-do in the coming weeks.

#NC Gov. Perdue to step down?

2012-01-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

Washington Post: Perdue to announce today that she won't run | bluenc:

via flickr

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue (D) is set to announce today that she will not seek reelection in 2012, according to two sources familiar with her plans.

This'll shake up the political landscape a bit here in NC.

Living links to ante-bellum Presidential history ...

2012-01-26T10:48:00.000-05:00

President John Tyler's grandsons are still alive!! | Kottke.org:

Image via whitehouse.gov

John Tyler was the 10th President of the United States. He was born in 1790 and took office in 1841. His son, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, was born in 1853, when Tyler was 63 years old1. Lyon had six children with two different wives2, two of whom were Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Jr. (born 1924 when Lyon Sr. was 71) and Harrison Ruffin Tyler (born 1928 when Lyon Sr. was 75). They are reportedly both still living in their 80s.

U R Doing It Wrong of the Day

2012-01-25T19:50:00.002-05:00

Wake animal shelter director resigns after less than three months :: WRAL.com:

via WRAL.com

The director at the Wake County Animal Center, which came under fire in November after WRAL's "Pet of the Day" was euthanized within hours of appearing on the newscast, has resigned, Deputy County Manager Joe Durham said Wednesday.

Is there nothing bacon can't do?

2012-01-25T14:41:00.000-05:00

Pork, the surprise remedy for a nosebleed:

"Ta-Da! I'm also a nasal tampon!"

"Cured salted pork crafted as a nasal tampon and packed within the nasal vaults successfully stopped nasal hemorrhage promptly, effectively, and without sequelae … To our knowledge, this represents the first description of nasal packing with strips of cured pork for treatment of life-threatening hemorrhage in a patient with Glanzmann thrombasthenia."

OK, so salt pork isn't exactly bacon. But let's not pick nits.

Et Thybrim multo spumantem sanguine cerno.

2012-01-25T14:33:00.000-05:00

Secret Slaughterhouse Pipeline Fills Texas Creek With Pig Blood:

Image via The Consumerist

An amateur drone pilot in Texas was flying a simple rig with a point-and-shoot camera attached for fun, and noticed something strange in a creek. There was an awful lot of dark red in the water. He notified the county, and a Department of Health and Human Services investigation showed that the substance discoloring the water was blood. Raw pig blood from a nearby meatpacking plant.

These are the kinds of things we have regulations, and regulatory agencies with the ability to enforce the law, to prevent. When you argue for "self-regulation," remember that capitalists run businesses to make a profit -- not to promote the general welfare, not to be stewards of the environment, and not to prevent anyone who feels like taking in the Trinity River from coming out looking like Carrie on prom night.

Mill on one shoulder, Kant on the other?

2012-01-25T11:33:00.002-05:00

Profit vs. Principle: The Neurobiology of Integrity:

Via Wired.com

When test subjects agreed to sell out, their brains displayed common signatures of activity in regions previously linked to calculating utility. When they refused, activity was concentrated in other parts of their brains: the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, which is known to be involved in processing and understanding abstract rules, and the right temporoparietal junction, which has been implicated in moral judgement.

No Poaching!

2012-01-25T11:11:00.000-05:00

Three charged in poaching of rare Venus flytrap plants | WRAL.com:

Via WRAL.com

The Venus flytrap, a rare carnivorous plant that only grows in southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina, had three Brunswick County people facing charges Tuesday.

Kasey Gerald Whaley, Joyce Zarol Whaley and Elizabeth Ann Whaley, all from Shallotte, are accused of trying to steal 200 of the protected plants from The Nature Conservancy's Green Swamp Preserve on Monday. Stealing the plants without the landowner's consent is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

As opposed to stealing the plants with the landowner's consent?