September 30, 2007
Lies We Tell Ourselves:
1) "There's nothing to read around here."
Which is simply a reprise of
2) "I don't have anything to wear."
Which is a way of reconceptualizing
3) "There's nothing to do-o-o-o-o."
Which I am a bit old for.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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Iowahawk!
He's running another tribute to the Academy, right over
here.
Questioner
Hi, I'm Josh Markin of the ESU Progressive Student Alliance, and I'd just like to say that as a campus activist for peace and justice, that I am totally down with how you have stood up against the fascist neo-Jew GPA thugs at A E Pi, and their plans for busting every grade curve on this campus.
Gromulak
Moje vznášadlo je plné úhorov Gromulak! Pun jegulja loma-là n!
Interpreter
These words please Gromulak! Continue your tribute, Hu-Man!
And so much for those who go to a maximum security prison and attempt to reason with the other inmates. Nice thought; sloppy execution. Um—so to speak.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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Is Google Anti-Gun?
It might be
time to start researching other web-based email programs. I certainly don't like Yahoo's user interface, but I know there are plenty of options these days.
But at some point the disconect between Google's motto and its behavior is bound to strike every thinking person. And at that point, like all the other rats, I'll be looking for a way off the sinking ship.
Via View from the Porch, which is now one of my favorite firearms-centered blogs—along with Zendo Deb's excellent TFS Magnum, of course; I like men just fine, but clearly women make better gunbloggers. . . . right?
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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I like to think so. Thanks for the link.
Posted by: Zendo Deb at September 30, 2007 05:32 PM (+gqOq)
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"women make better gunbloggers"
We certainly seem to have more fun at it.
Posted by: Tam at October 01, 2007 10:25 PM (IzY02)
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September 25, 2007
A First.
A client's invoice recently arrived eight days before it was due. These people have never been a more than a day early before—and they were once 30 days late.
Two possible explanations: (1) the person for whom I actually did the work leaned on accounts payable, hard—in recognition for the fact that I worked my ass off for him last month—or (2) the accountant was having an acid flashback when he wrote the check.
I should send flowers to both these guys; really, I should.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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You're lucky that they will never read this post. How could they?
Send them flowers by email--the pixelated variety. And the words "Thanks for your prompt payment!" "It keeps future costs down for everybody!"
Avoid saying--
It's getting a lot harder(hence more costly) to put a contract out on someone with Homeland security these days...
or
If this is the first time you're seeing this message, it should tell you something.
Posted by: Darrell at September 26, 2007 09:10 PM (Q1r/n)
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Oh, That's Rich.
The organization formerly known as
MoveOn.org is embarrassing itself—and its lefty backers—again.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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Hey where is the link for all the anti-american supporters of ahmedinijad? Those darn lefties. You are not exploiting this situation to expose the enemies of the state who live here and go by the name Dems.
Posted by: azmat hussain at September 26, 2007 07:35 AM (s1AoM)
2
Get struck by lightening on the way to Damascus, Azmat? Or do you have to say something true every once in awhile to move your credibility up from zero?
Everyone wishing for, and trying to achieve the same outcome as the terrorists IS an enemy of the US.
Posted by: Darrell at September 26, 2007 11:13 AM (b1ZPo)
Posted by: Darrell at September 26, 2007 07:57 PM (Q1r/n)
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Hanging around here and saying the pledge every day must be working.
Posted by: azmat hussain at September 27, 2007 02:22 PM (mdszq)
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No. You're still here. It can't be working. Try harder.
Posted by: Darrell at September 27, 2007 06:20 PM (FKdcJ)
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September 24, 2007
Hm. Quite a Poser.
It took me the longest time to figure out what
might have happened that would have led to a traffic spike of this magnitude:
I considered the possiblity that the quality of my blogging had improved 20 times over the past week or so. Then I thought perhaps it was my reward for living such an exemplary life.
Finally I hit on the notion that Fausta had posted a link to this story on Pajamas Media, and that Glenn Reynolds had:
(a) noticed the headline on PJ, or
(b) opened my one of my hourly groveling emails in a spasm of pity, or
(c) spied the phrase "DDT" in my subject line, and experienced a piqueing of his curiosity, or
(d) all of the above,
and that he had linked me.
Then it occurred to me that this was simply the sort of thing that happened naturally to beautiful, brainy, successful babes whom all men—and most women, let's face it—desire/worship, and I went with that.
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1
Well deserved you hot babe!
Posted by: Greta at September 24, 2007 07:04 PM (Xl4tG)
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I'm sure it has nothing to do with that picture of Gina. It's all you, Babe!
Posted by: Darrell at September 24, 2007 07:33 PM (WZ76R)
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Could be the search engine bots doing their web research.
Posted by: Hog Beatty at September 25, 2007 09:04 PM (4g4SI)
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September 23, 2007
Gina's at it Again!
But, as Iowahawk likes to point out, she keeps forgetting her clothes!
Order her new pinup calendar here. But turn your speakers off, or be prepared to hear an early version of "The Boogey-Woogie Bugle Boy." (In a sad by not surprising twist, I'm more familiar with Bette Midler's version of that song. As I recall, it was playing in the background in a party on one episode of "An American Family," which might in fact be the first reality show ever made.)
Anyway, buy lots of calendars: Gina's current pix look even better than the ones she used for last year's calendar. Of course, I love the retro props, but I'm glad that for 2008 she stuck with her own beautiful dark hair: I didn't like the blonde wig she's sometimes used in the past. Just my own prejudice.
Remember: it's a beautiful calendar, and the proceeds go to a worthy cause!
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You mean the Andrews Sisters' 1941 version? Catch the V-Disc at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SraRU5oD17c
The only thing holding back Maxene, Patty, and LaVerne is the recording technology. They were the first female vocalists with a gold record, by the way. And they were co-founders of the Hollywood and the New York Stage Door Canteens for service personnel.
All-in-all good company for Gina Elise! God Bless her for all she does! Patty is still with us, btw, in Northridge.
Posted by: Darrell at September 24, 2007 12:57 PM (3xcqR)
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Incidentally, you don't have to buy a calendar for yourself. You have the option of getting one for a hospitalized vet or an active-duty soldier. Gina personally delivers a fair number of the former. Just think of what that means to someone, especially around the Holidays! If you want one to go to Iraq or Afghanistan specifically, just tell her on the order form.
Posted by: Darrell at September 24, 2007 01:09 PM (3xcqR)
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The outside of a woman is good for the inside of a man.
Posted by: John at September 25, 2007 12:21 PM (xf//D)
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September 22, 2007
More on the DDT Controversy.
I really hate it when people refer to green extremists as "environmentalists." It makes it sound as if center-right libertarians don't care about this cool little planet, and it ain't so.
Courtesy of David Linden comes this interesting essay that attempts to restore Rachel Carson's reputation with respect to the DDT/malaria issue. It makes me sigh a little, though: once again, the Far Left and the Hard Right (or vice versa, if you like) are talking past each other. Dang.
The author of the piece, Aaron Swartz, discusses at length the development of DDT-resistant strains of malaria, but doesn't talk about the fact that agricultural use of DDT has been much more responsible for this effect, rather than the indoor spraying used for disease control.
One of Swartz' most interesting passages deals with early attempts by anti-malaria activist Robert Bate and his colleagues to use the DDT issue as a weapon against the environmental movement:
Perhaps the most vocal group [. . .] is Africa Fighting Malaria (AFM). Founded in 2000 by Roger Bate, an economist at various right-wing think tanks, AFM has run a major PR campaign to push the pro-DDT story, publishing scores of op-eds and appearing in dozens of articles each year. Bate and his partner Richard Tren even published a book laying out their alternate history of DDT: When Politics Kills: Malaria and the DDT Story.
A funding pitch uncovered by blogger Eli Rabbett shows Bate's thinking when he first started the project. "The environmental movement has been successful in most of its campaigns as it has been 'politically correct,'" he explained (Tobacco Archives, 09/9
. What the anti-environmental movement needs is something with "the correct blend of political correctness (...oppressed blacks) and arguments (eco-imperialism [is] undermining their future)." That something, Bate proposed, was DDT.
In an interview, Bate said that his motivation had changed after years of working on the issue of malaria. "I think my position has mellowed, perhaps with age," he told Extra!. "[I have] gone from being probably historically anti-environmental to being very much pro-combating malaria now."
I'm not particularly impressed with the fact that some people have used strict restrictions on DDT use as an tool against the green extremists. After all, activists on both sides use whatever they can in terms of imagery to put forward their own points of view. Both sides try to "market" themselves, no?
And I'm not sure that everyone who thinks DDT should be used more widely now is simply trying to save Western money that might otherwise be spent on medications and mosquito nets. The fact is, over a million people a year is too many to lose to an old disease: this should be a solvable issue, if we were all to quit taking swipes at one another for a few minutes and focus.
DDT has to be part of the international toolkit in fighting malaria, and its use has to be monitored by people who don't have an axe to grind: people who are interested in truth rather than scoring political points in either direction.
"You're using junk science!"
"I know you are, but what data am I using?"
I wonder how many people really do want to solve the problem. Despite Swartz' spirited—and probably necessary—defense of Rachel Carson's place in history, I'm not sure he's on fire about the malaria problem itself. He notes that AFM claims not to have taken money from tobacco companies, but seems skeptical about that claim, probably due to articles by Bate such as this one. And yet, tobacco farmers in Malawi tend to oppose the use of DDT, even when it's limited to indoor spraying:
At a time when countries are anxiously waiting for Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACT), a new malaria drug yet to hit the market, government is on the other hand encouraging the use of Dichrolo Diphenil Trichroloethane (DDT) in the country to try minimise the figures of children that are dying from the disease, but there are divisions in the use of the chemical because some quarters blame DDT as being non bio-degradable and a source of pollution.
Tobacco bodies such as Tobacco Association of Malawi (TAMA) are against the use of DDT in wiping out malaria saying it would compromise with the quality and purity of the countries greatest forex earner, tobacco leaf.
Director of Preventive Health Services Dr. Habib Somanje defends government decision to use DDT to destroy malaria, arguing that it (DDT) shall only be used in indoor sprays.
Somanje observes that DDT can reduce malaria drastically as it sticks to walls for many weeks, thereby curbing malaria and saving the lives of children.
The attempt to line people up into opposing camps (tobacco companies must be allied with the right, as must proponents of DDT) muddies the water. It doesn't help.
Uganda's Director General of Health Services wrote an editorial for WSJ this past summer on how DDT—when used for malaria control only, rather than in agriculture—is a critical component in a comprehensive malaria prevention and treatment plan, and what he calls "African independence in the realm of disease control":
DDT lasts longer, costs less and is more effective against malaria-carrying mosquitoes than Icon. It functions as spatial repellent to keep mosquitoes out of homes, as an irritant to prevent them from biting, and as a toxic agent to kill those that land. The repellency effect works without physical contact. And because we will never use the chemical in agriculture, DDT also makes mosquitoes less likely to develop resistance.
The U.S. banned DDT in 1972, spurred on by environmentalist Rachel Carson's 1962 book Silent Spring. Many countries in Europe and around the world followed suit. But after decades of exhaustive scientific review, DDT has been shown to not only be safe for humans and the environment, but also the single most effective anti-malarial agent ever invented. Nothing else at any price does everything it can do. That is why the World Health Organization (WHO) has once again recommended using DDT wherever possible against malaria, alongside insecticidal nets and effective drugs.
We are trying to do precisely this. In addition to distributing nearly three million long-lasting insecticidal nets and 25 million doses of effective anti-malarial drugs, we will expand our indoor spraying operations to four more districts this year, where we will protect tens of thousands of Ugandans from malaria's deadly scourge. We are committed to storing, transporting and using DDT properly in these programs, in accord with Stockholm Convention, WHO, European Union and U.S. Agency for International Development guidelines. We are working with these organizations and to ensure support from our communities, and to ensure that our agricultural trade is not jeopardized.
Although Uganda's National Environmental Management Authority has approved DDT for malaria control, Western environmentalists continue to undermine our efforts and discourage G-8 governments from supporting us. The EU has acknowledged our right to use DDT, but some consumer and agricultural groups repeat myths and lies about the chemical. They should instead help us use it strictly to control malaria.
(My emphasis.)
And here's National Geographic on the history of malaria in Africa:
In much of the deep tropics malaria persisted stubbornly. Financing for the effort eventually withered, and the eradication program was abandoned in 1969. In many nations, this coincided with a decrease in foreign aid, with political instability and burgeoning poverty, and with overburdened public health services.
In several places where malaria had been on the brink of extinction, including both Sri Lanka and India, the disease came roaring back. And in much of sub-Saharan Africa, malaria eradication never really got started. The WHO program largely bypassed the continent, and smaller scale efforts made little headway.
Soon after the program collapsed, mosquito control lost access to its crucial tool, DDT. The problem was overuse—not by malaria fighters but by farmers, especially cotton growers, trying to protect their crops. The spray was so cheap that many times the necessary doses were sometimes applied. The insecticide accumulated in the soil and tainted watercourses. Though nontoxic to humans, DDT harmed peregrine falcons, sea lions, and salmon. In 1962 Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, documenting this abuse and painting so damning a picture that the chemical was eventually outlawed by most of the world for agricultural use. Exceptions were made for malaria control, but DDT became nearly impossible to procure. "The ban on DDT," says Gwadz of the National Institutes of Health, "may have killed 20 million children."
This is a problem that should be solved by Africans, with the assistance of the West. The solutions must be driven by Africans, and the tools applied should not be limited by ideology or preconceived notions—on either side.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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Aaron Swartz and FAIR prove you can be wrong all of the time. They don't even bother to make it hard to debunk. But their target audience would never bother, would they?
"There are actually an estimated 2.7 million malarial deaths per year rather than 1 million -- see Scientists Find Drastic Underestimations of Malaria Morbidity, Mortality, and Economic Burden (full paper: "The Intolerable Burden of Malaria: A New Look at the Numbers," - supplement to The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene). " Junkscience, Sept. 21, 2007
Might as well cover all the rest of their(JS's) bulleted items--
"DDT is not "sprayed heavily on houses", Indoor Residual Spray regimes use minuscule quantities
Rachel Carson began her fantasy piece with "This is a fable about tomorrow" and that was about the only accurate statement between the covers
Bald eagles were never endangered by DDT and their numbers were lowest prior to and climbed throughout the period of DDT use, indeed most raptors and many other bird species increased during the period
Until recently WHO refused to fund and donor countries outright prohibited use of DDT as a condition of Aid, Green NGOs continue to lobby for transport bans under the POPs treaties and foment hysteria about "polluted" agricultural exports -- all of which creates an effective ban in all but name.
Mosquito resistance to DDT takes the form of excitation and avoidance making it an even more effective barrier against malaria transmission... "
Posted by: Darrell at September 22, 2007 12:21 PM (WGr5Y)
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As I started reading this blog, I was thinking of making a comment about referring to the NGS article in the latest magazine. I was then very happy to see that you were way ahead of me! It was a very enlightening article as is this one. Keep up the good work Attila! There are a LOT of us out here that are "somewhat green" without being rabid and afflicted with tunnel vision.
Posted by: Everett R Littlefield at September 23, 2007 02:54 AM (LXsSN)
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The reason that the radical greens receive the name of "environmentalist" is because the endings -ist and -ism are from the ending by which Latin forms superlatives. In the purer sense of the word, "environmentalism" means not a concern for nature based on the need to preserve it for our own use, but a concern for nature that trumps all human concerns.
Reminds me of the American Indian tribe that had, as one of its spiritual symbols from time immemorial, the swastika. When the Nazis turned the swastika into a symbol of racism, murder, and oppression, the tribe recognized that the only way to avoid being associated with Nazism was to forswear the use of the swastika, which they did.
The same goes here; the word "environmentalist" means different things to different people; if your meaning isn't getting across, find different words. Just say you're interested in conserving nature so that it will always be there for us, and your position will be clear enough.
Posted by: John at September 23, 2007 09:16 AM (o4WwL)
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Your search function isn't working, by the way. Try a search for "DDT." Isn't that in this post? The search function says not.
Posted by: Ed Darrell at September 23, 2007 10:12 AM (AOHZB)
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John...in fact, the US 45th Infantry Division, which contained many American Indians, had the swastika on its battle flag (although I believe the hooks were reversed from the Nazi version)...circa 1933, the swastika it was replaced by another Indian symbol, the Thunderbird, and the division became known as the Thunderbird Division.
Posted by: david foster at September 23, 2007 07:41 PM (gguM0)
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And then there is are the ancient temples with that symbol on 'em. What a horrid thing to happen to a perfectly nice symbol.
Personally, I'd vote for retaining it, but keeping the hooks reversed in all future versions--for the sake of clarity.
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 23, 2007 08:16 PM (REMb7)
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20 Million African children. WOW!
What I find most appalling, is that far too many people will let more children die rather than retract their anti-DDT position. The cost of pride.
I'm told that soon, on a yearly basis, malaria will kill more people than AIDS in Africa.
Posted by: Brian J. at September 24, 2007 06:11 AM (0VmY4)
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Some bits of irony:
(1) it was DDT's high degree of safety that caused its over use in the first place. One of chemistry professors once remarked that the easiest way to kill a human with DDT is to beat them death with a five pound bag of it. Prior to the 60's, people used to just drench themselves in the stuff.
(2) If environmentalist hadn't gotten so mindlessly hysterical about DDT and blocked its use, then we couldn't use it now because most of the world's mosquito population would have evolved resistance to it.
I suspect the reason that DDT got singled out had to do with political marketing and brand recognition. For the WWII generation, DDT was a chemical rockstar like penicillin. It was the one pesticide that everyone knew by name.
When Leftist hitched their wagon to technophobia, they needed an easily recognizable brand of pesticide to stigmatize. DDT fit the bill. (if you like conspiracy theories, I would also point out that DDT was public domain by then but that the more expensive, "environmentally friendly" pesticides that replaced it when it was outlawed were still under patent. Who did fund the anti-DDT movement anyway?)
That's the problem with politics. It's not nobel leadership. It's an ugly scramble for power that stops just short of violence. DDT got band and millions died needlessly because a political class in the rich nations wanted to scare people into voting for them.
Posted by: Shannon Love at September 24, 2007 07:06 AM (8X/xb)
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Didn't the tobacco companies benefit from chemical hysteria? After all, chemical hysteria distracted attention from real carcinogens.
Posted by: Joseph Hertzlinger at September 24, 2007 07:51 AM (9bw9Z)
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The lies that rationalized prevention of the use of DDT resulted in millions of deaths per year.
That... is extremism.
That... is a holocaust.
Exactly what equivalence is there between that extremism, enabled by a MainStreamMedia willing to parrot the invalid claims behind the "BigLie", and those that try to expose them?
I know nothing about Roger Bate. Zero... Zilch... nada.
But I do know that he's done nothing to enable the slow horrific death of 30-50 million children in the 3rd world.
Posted by: DANEgerus at September 24, 2007 08:48 AM (J8yxJ)
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Tobacco is an anti-depressant.
Posted by: M. Simon at September 24, 2007 09:38 AM (/DjYe)
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So is chocolate!
And pretty girls!
Posted by: John at September 24, 2007 01:17 PM (gxZnh)
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Much as I regret
Silent Spring Ms Carson's attack on DDT was based on what then was accepted, that DDT use caused thinning of eggshells and thus potentiated extinctions. After the book, possibly after her death, those studies were debunked - the experimenter(s) had deprived the birds he was feeding DDT of calcium - surprising they could make shells at all. Later studies show the thinning effect, but not nearly as bad.
Posted by: teqjack at September 24, 2007 02:31 PM (CEphM)
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Disregard all "studies", unless you are able to read them and understand them. [Both are a pain in the ass, I admit. But what better things do you have to do, given that you seem so interested?]
Posted by: J. Peden at September 24, 2007 07:32 PM (wKzWx)
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Rachel Carson had no studies. She was just asking the questions. Documenting observations. And that is a perfectly acceptable aspect of real science. When her cause was joined by the Club of Rome idiots that actually wanted people to die, she made the unforgivable error of saying we should forget about the research and ban its use immediately "We can't afford to wait for answers." That set the stage for all future junkscience agenda-driven campaigns--like Anthropogenic Global Warming. I met her once and feel really bad for her. But she brought it on herself. May she and the 70-or-so million Souls(and maybe an equal number of the blind), rest in Peace.
Posted by: Darrell at September 24, 2007 08:20 PM (WZ76R)
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Children who die from Malaria often die from an encephalitis, that is, from a direct infection of the brain itself by the Malaria protozoan. It can't be very pleasant.
Adults, on the other hand, usually suffer merely from Malaria's attack on the red blood cells, where the agent lodges, then reproduces, eventually distorting and then exploding the red blood cells. This results in anemia - due to the frequent loss of red blood cells -and fever, due to the inflammatory load of destroyed red blood cells and the effect of the Malaria agent itself released into the bloodstream, only to then repeat its effects.
The anemia is somewhat like losing a certain amout of your blood every so often - about every four days in the case of Malaria.
At any rate, adults with Malaria suffer anemia and recurring fevers, which probably feels about like you think it would, resulting in chronic debilitation - low energy, fevers every four days or so, difficulty in maintaining caloric balance, i.e., starvation, difficulty in maintaining a normal immune response to other infectious challenges, like the flu or even anything we might fend off otherwise without noticing it, and so on.
But the adults somehow carry on, unlike the children. And, the adults can always get
Viagra!
Perhaps we could analogize Malaria's effect upon children and adults to that of Tuberculosis in respect to its chronic debilitating effect, and also in respect to its occasional specific effect, like destroying some structure of your body such as, say, your brain. But, why worry, since it's not your brain?
Malaria used to be fairly frequent in the U.S.. We've gotten rid of it via public health measures such as eliminating mosquito breeding grounds - mosguitos are the insect "vector" which transmits the Malaria agent, by injection - and reporting, tracing, and treating cases of Malaria. So far.
Others have not had the same benefits we in the U.S. have had, so we certainly should not let "them" use DDT in order to stop Malaria's transmission. After all, what's important is Eagle eggs, right?
Posted by: J. Peden at September 24, 2007 09:52 PM (wKzWx)
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I've wondered, on occasion - given the strange ignorance which afflicts people, not just me - if those who propose that mosquito nets will prevent mosquito-bites and their transmission of disease think that mosquitos come out only at night?
I sure wish that was true. But it's not.
Posted by: J. Peden at September 24, 2007 11:46 PM (wKzWx)
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September 21, 2007
Stossel on Health Insurance.
Here.
This is a nice entry-level essay.
I can't seem to read a lot of the books written by TV and radio people, and Stossel is no exception: he is not a major-league prose stylist. However, when you want an issue broken down into easily digested chunks, he's your man. And the things he's able to accomplish on his television specials are extraordinary. He knows how to make use of a visual medium to show things that can't be expressed in words to the same effect.
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The analogy breaks down with car insurance. There are companies which sell maintenance packages that cover oil changes, and there are also companies which sell gasoline for certain prices and amounts if you want to make a long term commitment. Attila you are easily sucked in, I invite you, to please use your critical thinking skills. Universal health care is on its way and it is the morally right thing to do.
Posted by: azmat hussain at September 22, 2007 11:49 PM (mdszq)
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Stossel assumes health care is expensive, and so it must be rationed. His preferred rationing system is pricing people out of the market. If poor people die, they die.
Not acceptable. Economically, he's up in the night. Quick health care, often, is much less expensive. Our current system wastes about 25% of every health care dollar trying to keep 50 million uninsured people from getting health care. How stupid is that? For the billions we spend in administrators to say "no," we could provide each of those people with a $10,000/person insurance policy, they'd get cheap health care that would keep them healthier, and the entire system would cost less.
The cheapest system is when people are healthy. The best way to achieve that is to get people to a physician for health care three or four times a year, provide preventive treatments, and catch problems early.
This isn't rocket science, and so Stossel goes off the rails, looking for a rocket science solution. There ain't one.
Posted by: Ed Darrell at September 23, 2007 10:11 AM (AOHZB)
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Stossel assumes that competition leads to lower prices and better service. Period. In medical specialties like laser eye surgery(that few insurance providers cover) there is competition--advertising, doctors giving out their cell numbers, luxurious waiting rooms with refreshments and extremely short waiting times, continuous upgrades of equipment, and DECLINING prices.
And poor people in the US get health coverage, by the way. No hospital emergency room turns them away.There are Federal and State Programs, county hospitals and clinics. The people that get screwed are homeowners with other assets without health insurance who don't qualify for any gov't programs. It's easy to rack up a quarter-million dollar bill nowadays. Especially when hospitals charge them higher rates than insurance-or Medicare- negotiated rates, with add-ons to cover those who don't pay.Their choice is to keep their home or get care.
Posted by: Darrell at September 23, 2007 02:27 PM (Gq8GB)
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Gas insurance? You fell for THAT, Azmat? C'mon!
You mean universal healthcare like in the UK wher they don't want to treat you if you are overweight or smoke? Where they wanted to send people to "crystal-healers" and other charlatans without choice?(That was narrowly defeated for now when a couple of top doctors got wind of the scheme.) Where when we had the Terri Scaivo controversy they had a well-educated, well-spoken man who was denied a feeding tube by a panel of doctors because they judged that his life wasn't worth living. He flew to some country and got the tube and was feeding himself while he appealed his case before a panel that UPHELD the original's opinion. No thanks!
Critical thinking skills? Is that where the Left is critical of anyone who thinks rather than recite the party line?
You can put all your money, Azmat, in postage stamps that never increase in price. The are called "Forever Stamps." Try that. And use them to send your reply, and all your future comments. Please.
Posted by: Darrell at September 23, 2007 02:49 PM (Gq8GB)
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I want the "car maintenance" system that will buy all my gasoline, pay for tuneups, get me a new battery every few years, and pay for any "fender benders" might get into.
Furthermore, I consider that a fundamental human right, so I shouldn't have to pay for it at all.
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 23, 2007 08:20 PM (REMb7)
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Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! lnflhvnylv
Posted by: mmpthhzojo at September 26, 2007 07:03 PM (prIJh)
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There's a Special Glossary of Literary Terms
. . . just for
BDS-addled idiot Democrats.
I'm outraged by how low the level of political opposition is in this country! It just . . . well, it makes us look bad abroad.
Via Insty, who seems to believe that a reporter's reach very often does exceed his grasp. Not, however, in the good way.
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I Have a Friend.
(Yeah; only one!)
Okay, so she buys these banana-nut mini-muffins for breakfast. But sometimes a few of these (three or four) disappear overnight. The obvious conclusion is that there is some kind of conversion process going on wherein foods procured for breakfast turn into midnight snacks.
I'm hoping that she doesn't either (1) go to hell, or—worse—(2) get fat.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
06:13 PM
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1
(1) is not a sin.
It may even be a selfless act--keeping such food away from another.
(2) Your avatar looks great in jeans.
Note: Chupacabra like to end their nights with a banana-nut treat.
Posted by: Darrell at September 21, 2007 07:56 PM (5URGA)
2
Actually, this outfit makes her look too skinny, IMHO.
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 22, 2007 08:53 AM (REMb7)
3
I thought it was just Yahoo trying to reduce their carbon footprint. Anyway, it's nothing that a few years of muffins can't fix.
Somehow I doubt that we were looking at the same thing, though...
Posted by: Darrell at September 22, 2007 11:56 AM (WGr5Y)
4
We might have been! I never thought of myself as not having an ass, but the jeans Yahoo matches with that cool jacket are . . . well, quite a different build than I am.
I'm more of a 1930s-style girl.
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 22, 2007 12:51 PM (47LNU)
5
I'd say "timeless."
But it's all good. Really.
Speaking of timeless, our friend, Gina Elise at www.PinUpsForVets.com has come out with her new 2008 Calendar. You can also see what she's been doing for hospitalized vets and active service personnel on her site. It's really quite remarkable. It's also a good opportunity for everyone to help, while they're there. She looking to give away 100 donated calendars in a December trip to Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospitals. She's the real deal! Sorry for the commercial, AG!
Posted by: Darrell at September 22, 2007 08:13 PM (WGr5Y)
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On Ayn Rand
No, I'm not tackling her fiction: call it enlightened self-interest on my part. Have you seen the
size of those things?
But I enjoyed Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. It's a great sort of libertarian primer.
I'm also getting a kick out of The Virtue of Selfishness, but naturally I don't think Rand was as good an ethicist as she was an economist: living under Communism scarred her too deeply.
When man unfocuses his mind, he may be said to be conscioius in a subhuman sense of the word, since he experiences sensations and perceptions. But in the sense of the word applicable to man—in the sense of a consciousness which is aware of reality and able to deal with it, a consciousness able to direct the actions and provide for the survival of a human being—an unfocused mind is not conscious.
Psychologically, the choice "to think or not" is the choice "to focus or not." Existentially, the choice "to focus or not" is the choice "to be conscious or not." Metaphysically, the choice "to be conscious or not" is the choice of life or death.
You know, I tried that continual-focus thing; it made it awfully hard to sleep.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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1
Attila, If you read books like that it will turn you on to Hillary in 08. Do not read the Fountainhead or Atlas shrugged, it will require you to wake up for long hours of the night. And that focus, well I don't think you want to become consious yet.
Posted by: azmat Hussain at September 22, 2007 11:58 PM (mdszq)
2
Someone who reads (and agrees with) Ayn Rand supporting Hillary? You've got to be smoking the wrong stuff, Azmat. Stick with the Kool-Ayd. Mandy spells it "conscious." You need to be more like Mandy, Azmat.
Posted by: Darrell at September 23, 2007 03:12 PM (Gq8GB)
3
Someone who reads (and agrees with) Ayn Rand supporting Hillary? You've got to be smoking the wrong stuff, Azmat. Stick with the Kool-Ayd. Mandy spells it "conscious." You need to be more like Mandy, Azmat.
Posted by: Darrell at September 23, 2007 03:12 PM (Gq8GB)
4
Someone who reads (and agrees with) Ayn Rand supporting Hillary? You've got to be smoking the wrong stuff, Azmat. Stick with the Kool-Ayd. Mandy spells it "conscious." You need to be more like Mandy, Azmat.
Posted by: Darrell at September 23, 2007 03:12 PM (Gq8GB)
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 23, 2007 09:06 PM (REMb7)
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September 20, 2007
All the Young Girls Love Alice.
And
so do I.
I should interview him; he does make a cameo in my Arizona mystery. He seemed to belong there, among the desert BoHos.
Via the ever-pornographic Hog Beatty, who is never even remotely safe for work. (Depending, of course, on what line of work you're in.)
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1
I'm glad to see that Avatar Joy decided to change her clothes and stay awhile(she had a suitcase). A "pic_ic*" on the beach with Mandy seems like a good way to say goodbye to Summer--providing that the premium gin is in the basket, of course.
Go ahead and interview Alice(Vince). You might be surprised. Don't scare him, though.
*Fluffy doesn't like a certain combination of letters in the word. Add an "n".
Posted by: Darrell at September 20, 2007 08:33 PM (b2CFR)
2
Thank you, Attila Girl, for the link.
Of course, I understand and totally agree with the parenthetical comment.
Please clarify the prior sentence.
Is it that I hit on a client?
As the hours passed waiting/hoping for a response, I came to terms with the possibility of never getting any business from her or hearing from her, again.
Thank goodness I was so charming and engaging (did I mention my devstating good looks?) at lunch.
Posted by: Hog Beatty at September 21, 2007 09:42 PM (4g4SI)
3
The phrase "not safe for work" is a warning to blog readers that material in a link could get them into hot water if they read it at work, depending on how closely their bosses and managers watch their web-surfing.
It is usually used to denote racy or sexually explicit material.
Your blog qualifies.
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 22, 2007 12:55 PM (47LNU)
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Thanks for the explanation.
Posted by: Hog Beatty at September 22, 2007 02:36 PM (4g4SI)
5
Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! dfngatrbbx
Posted by: oqbqfhqctz at September 26, 2007 07:03 PM (prIJh)
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September 19, 2007
I Know What You're Thinking.
"What kind of person chases a bowl of Cheerios with a dry martini?"
I'll give you one guess.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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1
Jeff Goldstein?
Ace?
Allahpundit?
Posted by: Sean Hackbarth at September 20, 2007 06:00 AM (4q1IR)
2
That would be a Joy. Heh.
Posted by: caltechgirl at September 20, 2007 07:15 AM (/vgMZ)
Posted by: Ken at October 02, 2007 12:14 AM (It2uP)
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I've Been Informed
. . . that this site is not banned in China. Which of course gives me something to aspire to.
In other news, I've become awfully interested in making money. Actually, I'm doing so. I just don't have it yet, due to the vagaries of the billing cycle.
According to my calculations, I could live perfectly decently on 20 hours a week, if I billed at my top rate.
Something to be said for working for larger entities, at that.
Another copyeditor told me recently that the world had lost "all interest in perfection." It's gone beyond that: the world appears—to the average English major, at least—to have lost all interest in excellence. At least, most smaller magazines would rather put up with typos, stylistic errors and prose that simply doesn't make sense, when the alternative is paying someone a decent amount of money to check it over.
So I continue to work on my crime books, and I continue to learn book-keeping. For knowledge is rarely a liability in this world.
Even in China.
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"the world appears—to the average English major, at least—to have lost all interest in excellence."
Gonna pull a John Galt? You sound a little Randian tonight.
Posted by: Sean Hackbarth at September 19, 2007 07:40 PM (IpB84)
2
I am a little Randian. But not a lot Randian. And certainly not to the point of destruction; for one thing, I haven't given up on altruism.
It's been established at the Attila Girl Think Tank that the correct amount of Objectivism for a good libertarian to have is 27%.
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 19, 2007 09:42 PM (bIZMS)
3
No 60-page screeds about how religion is the bane of Man's existence? That's a relief.
Posted by: Sean Hackbarth at September 20, 2007 06:03 AM (4q1IR)
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September 18, 2007
Wow. It's Winter. All of a Sudden.
I guess I'll have to either update my avatar this week for the "summer" that's almost gone (September is often the hottest month around here), or go ahead and "autumnize" the poor thing.
Seriously, kids: the party's almost over. I wore long pants today, and I'm going around the house in socks. I've closed some of the windows; it's intense.
Sometime before March or so, I expect I'll have to turn the heat on a few times.
But you explain the indignity of fishing a jacking out of one's closet to people elsewhere in the country, and they just look at you funny, as if temperatures below 60 degrees were a normal thing to put up with. Weird.
Long pants, I tell you! What's next?—closed shoes?
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Should I mention that its still pretty darn hot here in N. Florida?
Posted by: I R A Darth Aggie at September 19, 2007 06:05 AM (1hM1d)
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I love it! Staying home today to enjoy.
Posted by: caltechgirl at September 19, 2007 07:28 AM (IfXtw)
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Monday Night at "the World's Biggest Living Room."
Yeah. That's
Hog Beatty's term for the bar and lounge at
Casa del Mar, where he used to go with his ex-girlfriend JG a few years ago. I'm not so sure about that: sure, it's comfortable place. But it does have that old-hotel grandeur. It's a thrilling place to be. (Many of you know it as the place Larry David refused to take his television wife on an old episode of
Curb Your Enthusiasm.)
I took my mother there last night in honor of (1) her 71st birthday this coming Friday, and (2) the fact that there is no Boston Legal soundtrack on the market.
I thought if we went to listen to Billy Valentine live, it would be the next best thing. But it was better—so much better. For one thing, I discovered that the slice of the music pie that represents the spot where my mother's and my taste meet is much larger than I'd thought. I know she likes classical music—but rarely the stuff I listen to (I'm all Bach, Beethoven and tone poems by, among others, Saint Saens). And I knew she liked jazz, and music with bitchin' vocals, including well-executed gospel music. But there is a lot of bluesy stuff out there, a vast range where the Kay-Joy tastes meet. Valentine even sang Sinatra, and my mother and I both dug it: I'd never pictured her as a Sinatra fan. Not in the least.
Finally, I got to meet Tonio K, in the flesh. Wait—that link has loud music on it, so be ready. Or try this one.
I was also surprised by how incredible the Stuart Elster Trio were, all on their own, while Billy was drinking wine with his friends and fans. There is something fundamentally pure and fine in listening to a pianist, a bassist, and a drummer (working mostly with brushes, natch). They did amazing work. This was not piano-lounge mood music. Nope. One of the cocktail waitresses couldn't help swinging her hips as she went from table to table.
And there was one more discovery: the siren singer Heather Loren, who performed one number: a great rendition of the Peggy Lee version of "Fever." (The Wikipedia entry lists all the people who have ever performed the song, and now I'm going crazy trying to figure out from whom I first heard it. I'm not even sure I know if it was a man or a woman.)
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September 14, 2007
Life in the MoPar Lane
Chrysler is setting up an
alternative-energy division that will concentrate on hybrid and electric vehicles.
That's kind of cool.
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Starting from scratch since their old staff was dispersed to the winds when the work was turned over to Mercedes(DB) HQ personnel. I wish them well.
Posted by: Darrell at September 15, 2007 07:50 PM (RWIxV)
2
I hate it when that shit happens and people need to reinvent the wheel.
But I'm really jazzed that they divorced DB; that was a lousy freakin' marriage.
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 15, 2007 08:18 PM (bIZMS)
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Also interesting that Chrysler nabbed Jim Press from Toyota. This is going to be fun to watch.
Posted by: david foster at September 16, 2007 03:12 PM (gguM0)
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 17, 2007 10:07 AM (bIZMS)
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And not to forget, Deborah Wahl Meyer, joining Cheysler on Aug. 28. She had been vice president of marketing for Toyota's Lexus luxury division. I wonder why the new Prius is smiling, though?
Posted by: Darrell at September 17, 2007 09:17 PM (o7PkC)
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Red Meat, Blue Shirt
And now comes the part of the campaign wherein Fred must speak in eensy sentences and stay "on message" and use lots of Popular Phrases.
What's he's saying is important, and real, and needs to be said. But of course I like the video Fred better than the one who has to appeal to large crowds and stick with slogans.
I like it when he's displaying his fabulous mind, rather than just exercising charm.
He'll need to do lots of both, though, in the months ahead.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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1
Sorry to comment on your commenter spam, but is anyone else a bit weirded out by, apparently, "new cool Judy Dench porn".
Posted by: silvermine at September 14, 2007 12:53 PM (4gdyI)
2
I have been informed that there is, in fact, such a thing as "senior porn."
In fact, I imagine there is a segment of the B&D crowd that has seen the James Bond movies, and is intrigued by her portrayal of "M."
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 14, 2007 01:30 PM (bIZMS)
3
English boys never forget their first Headmistress.
Posted by: Darrell at September 14, 2007 06:29 PM (XAKd8)
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And American boys never forget . . . I'm going to stop right here. This exercise is so beneath me . . .
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 14, 2007 09:12 PM (sNX2e)
5
;-)
I always thought it was better to give than receive, though. More sensory experiences for my memory archives, you see. And that's when two or three times were a real possibility, even. Now I definitely know which option I'd choose.
Posted by: Darrell at September 15, 2007 11:42 AM (M/vOT)
6
Fred is seen as the first Republican great comminicator since Reagan. Potentially, that is. That''s why all the knives are out. It will never let up. Maybe they'll ask him to name every diplomat in the world next, off the top of his head. All Obama has to say if that he will meet with every one of them.
Posted by: Darrell at September 15, 2007 11:49 AM (M/vOT)
7
That's "communicator". Guess that's why Fred's in and I'm not.
Posted by: Darrell at September 15, 2007 01:34 PM (RWIxV)
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Fred does not realize that the average 22 year old soldier can't find Iraq on the map.
Posted by: azmat hussain at September 18, 2007 07:20 PM (mdszq)
9
Um . . . sure. I'll bite. (So to speak.)
Az, one presumes you are speaking of American soldiers, no? Or are you counting Brits, Aussies, or . . . Israelis? Does that include the soldiers who are actually
in Iraq? And were they blindfolded while they flew over there?
Just curious about how your mind works.
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 18, 2007 08:27 PM (y1tv/)
10
Attila, if they had such skills, they might be able to find their way back home. But looks to me like we got a hole bunch of soldiers stuck in Iraq indefinately.
Digging themselves deeper eah day.
Posted by: azmat hussain at September 19, 2007 06:24 AM (s1AoM)
11
That's what GPS is for.
Now, how long have we been in Europe? Japan? Korea? Bosnia? Cuba? Four and a half years only seems like eternity when I am "talking" to you. Ditto four and a half seconds.
Posted by: Darrell at September 19, 2007 07:11 AM (mDBij)
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