Uncensored Gore (and it ain't Al)

LA Weekly: Features: Uncensored Gore: "It's lucky for George W. Bush that he wasn’t born in an earlier time and somehow stumbled into America’s Constitutional Convention. A man with his views, so depreciative of democratic rule, would have certainly been quickly exiled from the freshly liberated United States by the gaggle of incensed Founders. So muses one of our most controversial social critics and prolific writers, Gore Vidal."

Somehow I think you'll understand Gore's opinon of things by the time you get done with this article. :)  

Kerry declines Public Financing

Another Democrat turns down public financing. Will the others follow suit? This frees Kerry and Dean from the 45 million dollar restriction, although Kerry says he will stick to that (we'll see). It means they forgo the 18 million they'd get in public financing, but now they can spend , spend , spend. Think this is a good idea? I've created a poll here, so you can vote!





 

And you thought your job was bad?

How about fart sniffer, barnyard masturbator, carcass cleaner,corpse flower grower? Yep, and you thought Scientists had all the cushy, high paying jobs! For a detailed description of these academic endeavors, check out this page. 

Interesting Info from Dr. Mercola's Blog

Most Common Cause of Heart Attacks

I frequently ask in my lectures what the most common symptom of heart disease is. Very few are able to answer correctly. Most guess chest pain or shortness of breath, but the actual answer is sudden death. While fish oil is one of the best ways to prevent heart disease and sudden death, there are other factors that may be more significant. Unresolved emotional conflicts resulting from stresses in our life are clearly one of the most important causes of cancer. However, new evidence also supports that the bioelectrical short-circuiting resulting from unresolved emotional stress may also be the single largest reason why people die from heart attacks. Researchers from Johns Hopkins found that people whose blood pressure rose during "mental stress" were six times more likely to have a heart attack or other severe heart event within six years than people who handled the stress more calmly.

Yahoo News November 11, 2003

So do youself a BIG favor and CHILL OUT! Giving up smoking and consuming fish oil might be good ideas too, along with a bit of exercise beyond the usual late night prowling for goodies. 

You are Screwed my Friend! LOL

The Onion | Mom Finds Out About Blog: "In a turn of events the 30-year-old characterized as 'horrifying,' Kevin Widmar announced Tuesday that his mother Lillian has discovered his weblog."

A very funny read. The dangers of blogging! Ashcroft will probably stumble upon my blog and then I'll be one of those detainees without representation!  

Will your Vote count?

From the Desk of David Pogue: Maybe Hanging Chads Weren’t So Bad After All: "Then came last Sunday's New York Times, which presented a terrifying report on Diebold, a leading maker of paperless touch-screen voting machines. Eight million of us will be tapping on Diebold computers in the next Presidential election.
So what's wrong with that? "

As a friend of mine keeps reminding me, this is Republican chicanery at its best. I tend to live in Pogue's worlds of gray, but even this one is beginning to convince me, as it seems to be doing to Pogue, as well. I recently spoke with my voting place about this and they told me that if they didn't jump on the offer to have these machines, they would forgo Federal funding for it, which would cover 75% of the cost. Don't know yet what they'll do, but my guess is that they will move to these machines. For some reader comments on this issue, head to Pogue's forums. As one reader suggested, why can't they set up a printer that is attached to the screen that would print the voter's choices and that could be signed by the voter and dropped in a ballot box as a double check? Sounds sensible - that's probably the problem.  

Who's buying me one of these for Christmas???

State of the Art: Swiss Army Recorder: TiVo/DVD: "Each of these remarkable machines is a TiVo recorder, DVD player and DVD recorder in a single box, with one remote that also controls your TV."

This sure sounds sweet (except for the price tag) - of course one other drawback not mentioned is that you will now surrender your life to the boob tube, but that shouldn't be a problem for most Americans.  

Diabetes more and more in the Spotlight

USATODAY.com - Diabetes: What you don't know can hurt you: "Diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease and of blindness in working-age adults. It at least doubles the risk of heart disease and accounts for 60% of lower-limb amputations not caused by accidents. "
"The good news is that if they get to blood sugar goals of <7% A1c, BP <130/85, and LDL cholesterol levels of <100mg/dL, along with taking an aspirin a day, they may significantly reduce the risk of developing a heart attack. Of course, having good medical followup is crucial, because it usually requires medications to achieve these values and maintain them

This is not a nice disease. Check out this article for more info. I'll provide a link later to the ongoing chat transcripts that are currently taking place as I write this. And in the meantime, do you know what your numbers are above? If you have diabetes and you don't know those numbers, you're playing with fire.  

Vegans Rejoice!

Kucinich's Salad Days (washingtonpost.com): " He is, in all likelihood, the first major party vegan to run for president. He ingests no beef, poultry, fish, dairy or animal products (exact definitions vary, but by contrast, vegetarians resist meats but not all animal products, such as eggs). Kucinich also eschews processed foods, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco. Does he indulge any vices? 'Yes,' he says, 'I'm a member of Congress.' "

Mr. Groats goes to Washington! :)