Continuing the Series

Thanks to my good (and now better) friend Sam, I am now the proud owner of the only Ezra Klein autograph in DC. I may have also earned the title of dorkiest dork that has ever dorkily walked the streets of DC. Next Monday, Jonathan Cohn at Politics & Prose. It's definitely my week for brilliant writers concerned with health care.

PS: Everyone should read Cohn's book.

Said I Promised to Never Fall in Love With a Stranger

For the record, I love Sacha Zimmerman. She makes me feel that my television addiction could lead to something in my life, although I know I'll never have a faction of her wit and charm. (And beauty- my goodness!) This is from her latest piece on American Idol (which, although still angry that it messed with House, I watch):

...America's newest sweetheart is by no means the best singer on the program. In fact, most people agree Sanjaya is the worst--and their hatred has caused quite a kerfuffle. And if "Idol" has always spurred the kind of civic participation most pols can only dream of, now it also mirrors the corruptibility of democracy just as well: Sanjaya is America's latest wedge issue.

This is where I admit that I like Sanjaya for one reason and one reason only. He's cute. I like Robbie Williams, too. Do you think it's because of his catchy, catchy tunes? Only partly. It's mostly because of this. Plus, Sanjaya laughs when Simon makes fun of him. He laughs. Then he smiles his cute little smile and someone less adorable with a mediocre voice comes out.

No one on American Idol really excites me. Granted, I haven't watched from the beginning, and I'm basing this on a few half hours caught here and there, but no one really blows me away. Or at least blows me away consistently. Sanjaya has a presence, he's silly, and he's cute. Oh yeah, and it's a TV show.

Open Letter to the Kucinich Campaign

Dear Kucinich Campaign,

I'm not going to give you money, if only for the fact that you're reduced to cold calling people from volunteer lists for fundraising.

Please, just stop. It isn't going to work.

<3,
Kristen.

AIDS Prevention 101

For a few months I go along pretty happily, then someone reminds me of this, and I get angry about it again.

Say you have $15 billion to give to help combat AIDS globally. 20% ($3 billion) of this is required to go to prevention, which is dandy because that's always important. Now, this is $1 billion can either go to

a) educate people about condoms and other preventive measures
or
b) educate people about how sinful sex is and how God wants you to have a big diamond on your hand before you have any devil rods stuck in your temptation hole. A method that has proven ineffective time and time again.

You'll never guess what route we taxpayers have chosen. Just read the article. It gets worse. Just because we're afraid of sex shouldn't mean that the rest of the world can't enjoy themselves openly. And safely.

Hopefully this and the Global Gag Rule will be fixed as the first order of business for President Someone Else in '08.

In other news, since today seems to have a theme, now there's an actual reason besides the "ick factor" to get your kids circumsized!

And women everywhere rejoice.

I Just Aw'd To Death

And you thought the hand-holding otters were heartbreaking. Normally I'm not one for feel-good stories (remember Lola?) but this video, via Andrew Sullivan is the sweetest thing you'll see all day.

I Hate Mondays That Involve Dead Dog Stories

I'm mostly posting this for Sam. But seriously...WTF.

A taste:

Feral said U.S. Surgical's demonstrations on hundreds of dogs each year through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s were done to boost sales, not for medical research or testing.

Giuliani '08: Want To See How This Medical Stapler Works? Hand Me That Dog.

Well I Know Where I'm Spending Summer

In Baghdad! If only I can get a hold of McCain's “100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead.”

Way to prove that point, Johnny, way to prove that point.

Rusty Will Kill You If You Like DC

Man, I can't wait to get here.

Hi-larious.

Alan Reynolds > You

via WSJ

Until January, President Bush seldom acknowledged the widening gap between the rich and the middle class. Then, in a speech, he declared: "I know some of our citizens worry about the fact that our dynamic economy is leaving working people behind. ...Income inequality is real." He has raised the subject several times since.

Doesn't he read?

QOTD

"The problem is, people look at us as if we're opposites. We're not. We're actually very similar people. We're both advocates. We're both passionate. We both like a good, fair fight. My opposite is someone who doesn't have a philosophy of life, someone who doesn't get fired up about anything."

- Mary Matalin, Republican strategist and wife of James Carville.

Doctor, Doctor, Won't You Fix Me?

The New York Times Magazine had an incredible article this weekend on women in combat. It's worth reading, it discusses in depth the problem of rape and assault on women soldiers with a focus on those in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's one of the more depressing things I've read recently but brings up a number of concerns. I've posted some of the more striking quotes since I don't know how many of you will read the entire thing, and some things are worth repeating just in case.

On the dangers facing women in Iraq, interesting because I found myself arguing a similar point with a friend recently:

'Frankly one of the most dangerous things you can do in Iraq is drive a truck, and that's considered a combat-support role,'' says Matthew Friedman, executive director of the National Center for PTSD, a research-and-education program financed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. ''You've got women that are in harm's way right up there with the men.''

Sacha Zimmerman, a brilliant writer over at The Plank had posted this quote, directing readers to the original article. It's upsetting to know that women who are already in combat are facing this danger as well- a point thoroughly discussed by Sara Corbett:

A 2003 report financed by the Department of Defense revealed that nearly one-third of a nationwide sample of female veterans seeking health care through the V.A. said they experienced rape or attempted rape during their service. Of that group, 37 percent said they were raped multiple times, and 14 percent reported they were gang-raped. Perhaps even more tellingly, a small study financed by the V.A. following the gulf war suggests that rates of both sexual harassment and assault rise during wartime.

On why rape and assault often go unreported:

...of the 3,038 investigations of military sexual assault charges completed in 2004 and 2005, only 329 - about one-tenth - of them resulted in a court-martial of the perpetrator. More than half were dismissed for lack of evidence or because an offender could not be identified, and another 617 were resolved through milder administrative punishments, like demotions, transfers and letters of admonishment.

Keri Christensen, a woman who suffered from PTSD, punished for complaining about a sergeant's propositions:

''They make you feel like you're crazy. And I'm not just the only one. There's other women out there this has happened to. Why is the attitude always 'Just shut up and leave it alone'?''

Women in civilian life often have a hard time with rape because of situations like these. In a situation where they are so much in the minority and surrounded by such a macho "buck up" culture, I can't imagine what these women go through. It's something that I think needs more attention, as when these wars end, we'll have a PTSD epidemic on our hands.

Lets Forgive and Forget, Huh, Guys?

This war sounds like it's not going to very fun:

“We’ve got the ability to capture a nice bunch of blue-eyed blond-haired officers and feed them to our fighting cocks,”

- Subhi Sadek, a writer with ties to Ahmadinejad

It's Not Just Edwards Anymore...

Looks like Gonzales will be done soon. Of course I say good riddance, but I still can't believe that he got confirmed in the first place. To refresh:

In the first months after 9/11, Gonzales helped to craft some of the most momentous and controversial decisions of Bush's presidency. Among them: to create military commissions for the trials of terrorists, to designate U.S. citizens as "enemy combatants" and to disregard the Geneva Conventions in the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

Of course, that was back in the good old days where Republicans had nothing to be afraid of...Don't worry Gonzy, we'll see you at the hearings soon enough!

PS: A quick scroll down to other stories in The Hill today shows that "Cheney Should Resign" is the top story. Every administration has a bad week, right?

They Even Live Among Us!

I'm still not sure how comfortable I am with the Secular Coalition's "outing" of Rep. Pete Stark. It reminds me of that weird week before the election when everyone was obsessed with outing gay representatives. I came to understand that it may be useful to show hypocrisy in people who legislate against themselves, but still seemed trashy. As a "bitter atheist", I love knowing that while I'm in a minority that makes a large part of the country incredibly uncomfortable, I'm not alone. And at least one representative admits to not holding a belief in God. However, this feels trashy. Offering $1,000 to "out" the highest-level nontheist?

It seems like the Secular Coalition's time would be better spent analyzing the voting records of current representatives rather than their deeply held beliefs (or lack thereof). Yes, this feeds my desire to feel less ostracized from politics. Yes, this puts into the forefront how uncomfortable people are electing people who don't believe in God (hell, look at Ellison- we have a hard time electing people who don't believe in the right God). However, it's trashy. It puts the spotlight even more on atheist or agnostic representatives and how "different" they are, and it's going to provide a great mailer for religious right groups.

Rep. Stark has a history of voting for the separation of church and state, and that's really the only thing that matters. I haven't heard much about him before today, but it doesn't seem like he's hidden his religious beliefs at all. Rather than creating dividing lines by religion, just keep dividing lines on whether or not the legislator votes to keep the separation of church and state. That's it. I don't think the cause is helped by setting up more categories to differentiate representatives. I could be wrong though, and I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts. Especially those of my bitter atheist friends.

And This is What I Graduate To

This is comforting. Russia comes in right after Iraq. Michael Specter counts 14 journalists (1 more just since his articles in the Jan. 29th issue of the New Yorker) killed since Putin replaced Yeltsin.

Khlebnikov is on that list. I remember when he was killed. I'd barely heard of journalists being killed at that point, and goodness knows why I still went into Russian. I just got around to reading Godfather of the Kremlin, and the knowledge of his death really upset me while reading it. He was taking a huge risk even delving into the subject of Berezovsky, and he did a spectacular job reporting his history in Yeltsin's administration.

Anyway, is it too late to change my major to biology?