After a week filled with our normal workloads, a bit of travel, some family visits, and unseasonably warm conditions in all three of our office locations, we're more than ready to get some time to ourselves this weekend to relax, spend some time at home, and enjoy some time with friends.
In a week where the news came at a steady, but not unusually rapid pace, we're still a bit more intellectually tired than we normally might have been. The continuing right-wing war on women, the unfortunate events in Afghanistan, the foreign visit by England's Prime Minister - and of course, the NCAA basketball and hockey tournaments - are all topics that we've been keeping an eye on, right along with the 2012 political races.
There was an odd story that caught our attention this week, though - especially because every member of our staff enjoys a good, thick, juicy Omaha Steak on occasion.
According to the results of a Harvard study, released this week in the publication 'Archives of Internal Medicine', people who eat a lot of red meat are "more likely to die at any given time" over a span of 20 years than those who eat less red meat.
There are a lot of things you can call our staff without us complaining too much; Progressives. intellectuals, feminists - you can even call us crazy, if it'll make you feel better. But when we've had a busy week, and the weather has been as beautiful and unseasonably warm as it has, we sure hope you don't call us late to dinner, when you've been putting a few choice burgers and steaks on the grill.
We're aware of some of the less-than-appetizing food stories that have found their way to the front page of many newspapers lately, including the news about 'pink slime' - which we agree is pretty nasty stuff. We're not as worried about some of these things as some of our friends and family, however.
The key note to focus on in the Harvard study is one that several nutrition experts, including Alan Aragon, also caught when looking at the study data: that the correlation made by the researchers really wasn't 100% valid. The initial research paper mostly ignored the fact that all the study participants were nurses. The Harvard study also didn't mention what the study participants' intake of grains, fruits, and vegetables were, in comparison to how much meat they consumed.
In other words, no one focused on how much moderation the study participants actually practiced, with respect to how much meat they were eating.
It's proven science that measured, appropriate amounts of red meat - including steak and hamburgers - are actually a good thing for human beings. Moderate amounts of alcohol, proper medications, and even occasional inhaled stimulants - like those in certain kinds of incense - are all beneficial for humans.
So while we don't recommend eating steak for every meal, or gorging on burgers all day every day, we don't think there's any real reason to freak out about red meat. We think the same approach to red meat we had at the beginning of the week is one we'll keep going into the weekend: moderation.
We hope you have a moderately fantastic weekend, whatever you choose to eat.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Overreaching
After several months of political misogyny, capped off by two weeks of continued verbal attacks by the nominal head of the regressive wing of the Republican Party, we had to shake our heads yesterday when even more extremist Republican state legislators across the country decided to go after women again.
We think it's important to note - there is a massive and growing number of sane, moderate Republicans in America who simply can't understand what kind of crazy thoughts have been going through the minds of their so-called Republican leaders these days. We feel for them, as the political party they claim wants virtually nothing to do with them.
In Wisconsin - a state that's become known more for extremist Republican legislation than cheese or their NFL team - the Republican controlled state assembly passed an anti-women's bill EARLY on Wednesday morning (around 2 AM) that was at exact counter-purposes with its stated goal. The bill would limit insurance coverage for abortions - making it more likely that those wanting abortions would be forced to go to disreputable providers, like the old pre-Roe vs. Wade back alley butchers who killed or maimed so many women. At the same time the Wisconsin bill mandated that schools teach abstinence-only in sex-education classes - which, it's statistically proven, is an almost certain way to increase, not decrease, the number of unwanted teen pregnancies.
Arizona's insane Republicans didn't want to be outdone, however. So on Wednesday, Arizona legislators in the Arizona Senate judiciary committee endorsed a bill that would require a woman to get an affidavit that she takes birth control pills to treat medical conditions, if she wants it covered by her insurance. The bill also makes it so that an employer can fire a woman for using birth control to prevent pregnancy, if the woman has no other medical reason to take the medication, and the employer decides they have a "moral issue" with the employee taking birth control to prevent pregnancy.
The depth of regressive Republican depravity and disrespect goes farther than just toward women, though. As former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich noted Tuesday, the breakdown in public morality for those who carry the Republican label has extended far beyond women, deep into Wall Street, and even throughout the daily business of our government - even at the highest levels.
On Wednesday, in order to be able to bring up a small business jobs bill that was buried on the Senate docket, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid had to threaten to force a series of cloture votes on approving seventeen judicial nominees chosen by President Obama. Republicans had already admitted they had no problems with the nominees - yet they were still going to block the appointments anyway, and continue stalling the debate on the small business jobs bill. After Reid appeared to be going through with the threat, Republican Mitch McConnell finally caved, and agreed to work out a compromise with Senate Democrats, so that both sides could get to work on the latest jobs bill.
We don't recommend that Reid trust McConnell too deeply, however.
In the same hour we got word of Senate Republicans agreeing to compromise with Senate Democrats, House Republicans announced they were going back on the hard-won agreement Republican extremists were forced into making on the budget with House Democrats last summer.
Yes, that's right; House Republicans are threatening to shut down the government again, in the middle of an election year, unless they get their way - on another topic that was already litigated, where they lost.
For a long time now, we've wondered if the only way to get through the thick skulls of the extremist regressive Republicans who've hijacked their political party, was to beat on their heads with stacks of facts, while angry constituents beat on their doors. However, after observing the recent conduct of these so-called conservatives, we think that maybe the best method of reaching these folks might be to take a page from their own textbook, and reach out to them through men's health issues.
We think starting by mandating digital prostate exams, conducted by angry female doctors wearing chain-mail gloves, might finally get their attention, and help them understand how disrespectful and stupid their actions have become.
We think it's important to note - there is a massive and growing number of sane, moderate Republicans in America who simply can't understand what kind of crazy thoughts have been going through the minds of their so-called Republican leaders these days. We feel for them, as the political party they claim wants virtually nothing to do with them.
In Wisconsin - a state that's become known more for extremist Republican legislation than cheese or their NFL team - the Republican controlled state assembly passed an anti-women's bill EARLY on Wednesday morning (around 2 AM) that was at exact counter-purposes with its stated goal. The bill would limit insurance coverage for abortions - making it more likely that those wanting abortions would be forced to go to disreputable providers, like the old pre-Roe vs. Wade back alley butchers who killed or maimed so many women. At the same time the Wisconsin bill mandated that schools teach abstinence-only in sex-education classes - which, it's statistically proven, is an almost certain way to increase, not decrease, the number of unwanted teen pregnancies.
Arizona's insane Republicans didn't want to be outdone, however. So on Wednesday, Arizona legislators in the Arizona Senate judiciary committee endorsed a bill that would require a woman to get an affidavit that she takes birth control pills to treat medical conditions, if she wants it covered by her insurance. The bill also makes it so that an employer can fire a woman for using birth control to prevent pregnancy, if the woman has no other medical reason to take the medication, and the employer decides they have a "moral issue" with the employee taking birth control to prevent pregnancy.
The depth of regressive Republican depravity and disrespect goes farther than just toward women, though. As former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich noted Tuesday, the breakdown in public morality for those who carry the Republican label has extended far beyond women, deep into Wall Street, and even throughout the daily business of our government - even at the highest levels.
On Wednesday, in order to be able to bring up a small business jobs bill that was buried on the Senate docket, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid had to threaten to force a series of cloture votes on approving seventeen judicial nominees chosen by President Obama. Republicans had already admitted they had no problems with the nominees - yet they were still going to block the appointments anyway, and continue stalling the debate on the small business jobs bill. After Reid appeared to be going through with the threat, Republican Mitch McConnell finally caved, and agreed to work out a compromise with Senate Democrats, so that both sides could get to work on the latest jobs bill.
We don't recommend that Reid trust McConnell too deeply, however.
In the same hour we got word of Senate Republicans agreeing to compromise with Senate Democrats, House Republicans announced they were going back on the hard-won agreement Republican extremists were forced into making on the budget with House Democrats last summer.
Yes, that's right; House Republicans are threatening to shut down the government again, in the middle of an election year, unless they get their way - on another topic that was already litigated, where they lost.
For a long time now, we've wondered if the only way to get through the thick skulls of the extremist regressive Republicans who've hijacked their political party, was to beat on their heads with stacks of facts, while angry constituents beat on their doors. However, after observing the recent conduct of these so-called conservatives, we think that maybe the best method of reaching these folks might be to take a page from their own textbook, and reach out to them through men's health issues.
We think starting by mandating digital prostate exams, conducted by angry female doctors wearing chain-mail gloves, might finally get their attention, and help them understand how disrespectful and stupid their actions have become.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Reign of Errors: Climbing Out Of The Hole
As we began gathering articles and data for today's commentary, more than a few painful facts kept falling on our heads as we climbed through our research.
For example, when the mess that is now Afghanistan began in earnest in late 2000, there were children who were barely going through their terrible twos - who now are going through puberty. A dozen years ago, alphabet phrases like 'IED', 'TBI' and 'PTSD' were rarely heard in popular culture. The idea back then that members of the regular U.S. military - let alone members of the National Guard - would be sent to multiple foreign countries for three, or four, or more tours in a four-to-six year time span was almost unheard of.
Now, after America has been involved in a war that has been going on for a dozen years, every one of those things has become all-too common for most Americans.
Sadly, some Americans still haven't seemed to grasp the rules, and don't know how to act with respect when they're in another country. Further, some of our military leaders still don't seem to understand our service members are human beings, not machines.
We admit; though we touched on it on Monday, we've been a bit loathe this week to talk about the shooting massacre in Afghanistan over the last weekend. Too many facts are still unknown - and will likely remain so for who knows how long.
What we do know is this: Last weekend, a U.S. soldier, trained as a sniper, with a history of TBI - Traumatic Brain Injury, suffered in a attack from an IED in Iraq - disappeared from his base in Afghanistan. He had been through four tours of duty over the last eight years in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This soldier walked into the homes of at least two Afghan families, in the midle of the night, and killed sixteen people including nine children. While U.S. military forces insist the soldier was alone, Afghan witnesses still say there were multiple shooters, though claims appear to focus on only one soldier doing the killing. The suspect soldier now faces trial within the military justice system, and will be prosecuted under the death penalty statutes of the UCMJ - the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice.
For war-weary populations, in both the U.S. and Afghanistan, this has been just the latest sign in a series of small but shameful actions by U.S. and NATO personnel, that it is time for the Americans to leave.
A year ago - or even two - many hawkish Republicans were still saying that America had far too much to do in Afghanistan for the U.S. to begin making plans to leave. The howls from the American political right were at times loud, and the claims that President Obama didn't know what he was doing were still rampant, as the President began trying to get us out of Afghanistan.
Now, one of the GOP's biggest critics of Obama, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said he supports the President's efforts to transition our nation out of Afghanistan. McConnell isn't the only one who now wants the U.S. out of Afghanistan. In the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, even traditionally hawkish Republicans have soured on the war - and most Americans believe even the Afghans no longer want us there.
In the depths of all this dark news, the light at the top of the hole, dug by our nation's leaders a dozen years ago, may finally be coming into view.
The calls to end the war have grown loud enough - even from Republicans - that President Obama may be able to speed up our withdrawal from Afghanistan, as he originally wanted to do years ago. Major businesses like Disney are already pledging to hire thousands of veterans when they return, which is another good sign - both for the veterans and the economy.
Whether you believe we were persuaded into this dozen years of disaster by the Bush administration, or whether we collectively just incompetently stumbled America down this deep hole, the fact remains - we're not out yet. There will likely be more small disasters that will fall on our collective heads before we finish clawing our way out. This latest massacre is sadly another one of those.
We hope that once our nation is out of this hole, America - and those who lead it - finally learn not to do anything even remotely like it ever again.
For example, when the mess that is now Afghanistan began in earnest in late 2000, there were children who were barely going through their terrible twos - who now are going through puberty. A dozen years ago, alphabet phrases like 'IED', 'TBI' and 'PTSD' were rarely heard in popular culture. The idea back then that members of the regular U.S. military - let alone members of the National Guard - would be sent to multiple foreign countries for three, or four, or more tours in a four-to-six year time span was almost unheard of.
Now, after America has been involved in a war that has been going on for a dozen years, every one of those things has become all-too common for most Americans.
Sadly, some Americans still haven't seemed to grasp the rules, and don't know how to act with respect when they're in another country. Further, some of our military leaders still don't seem to understand our service members are human beings, not machines.
We admit; though we touched on it on Monday, we've been a bit loathe this week to talk about the shooting massacre in Afghanistan over the last weekend. Too many facts are still unknown - and will likely remain so for who knows how long.
What we do know is this: Last weekend, a U.S. soldier, trained as a sniper, with a history of TBI - Traumatic Brain Injury, suffered in a attack from an IED in Iraq - disappeared from his base in Afghanistan. He had been through four tours of duty over the last eight years in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This soldier walked into the homes of at least two Afghan families, in the midle of the night, and killed sixteen people including nine children. While U.S. military forces insist the soldier was alone, Afghan witnesses still say there were multiple shooters, though claims appear to focus on only one soldier doing the killing. The suspect soldier now faces trial within the military justice system, and will be prosecuted under the death penalty statutes of the UCMJ - the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice.
For war-weary populations, in both the U.S. and Afghanistan, this has been just the latest sign in a series of small but shameful actions by U.S. and NATO personnel, that it is time for the Americans to leave.
A year ago - or even two - many hawkish Republicans were still saying that America had far too much to do in Afghanistan for the U.S. to begin making plans to leave. The howls from the American political right were at times loud, and the claims that President Obama didn't know what he was doing were still rampant, as the President began trying to get us out of Afghanistan.
Now, one of the GOP's biggest critics of Obama, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said he supports the President's efforts to transition our nation out of Afghanistan. McConnell isn't the only one who now wants the U.S. out of Afghanistan. In the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, even traditionally hawkish Republicans have soured on the war - and most Americans believe even the Afghans no longer want us there.
In the depths of all this dark news, the light at the top of the hole, dug by our nation's leaders a dozen years ago, may finally be coming into view.
The calls to end the war have grown loud enough - even from Republicans - that President Obama may be able to speed up our withdrawal from Afghanistan, as he originally wanted to do years ago. Major businesses like Disney are already pledging to hire thousands of veterans when they return, which is another good sign - both for the veterans and the economy.
Whether you believe we were persuaded into this dozen years of disaster by the Bush administration, or whether we collectively just incompetently stumbled America down this deep hole, the fact remains - we're not out yet. There will likely be more small disasters that will fall on our collective heads before we finish clawing our way out. This latest massacre is sadly another one of those.
We hope that once our nation is out of this hole, America - and those who lead it - finally learn not to do anything even remotely like it ever again.
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