Blog Box

May 27, 2005
Compiled by Delilah Boyd, A Scrivener's Lament

Totsicles, Ass Whoopings & Naked Bloggers

What a truly weird week! Former Embryos (it said so on their T-shirts) joined George W. for a photo-op, which was conveniently staged to coincide with the House vote on expanding stem cell research; the vast majority of Americans marched George W. Whippersnapper and his childish congressional partners in crime to the woodshed for their well deserved (Pew Poll) ass whoopings; and a group of self-proclaimed "naked bloggers" turned out to be, um, not what I expected them to be.

Totsicles in Action

What do you call infants scientifically created through Nightlight Christian Adoptions, a right-wing 501(c)(3) in-vitro fertilization/"family counseling for a fee" organization? Certainly not "Snowflake Babies." This has got to be the absolute weirdest name for cryogenically stored leftover embryonic tissue imaginable - like "compassionate conservative," it smacks of Rovian/Orwellian Newspeak. Don't forget: today's Good Christian embryo-adopting folks used to call test-tube babies "Frankenbabies."

Chaos Digest, cyber home to one of the best bloggers on the net, writes:

In a crass and obvious manipulation of the discussion, Dobson's group has abandoned the word "fetus" in favor of the much fuzzier "snowflake babies," far more evocative of Hallmark collectibles than medical ethics issues, when referring to the unborn embryos ...

Don't fall for it, no matter how cute "snowflake babies" might sound. It's just another fast one from a White House hell bent on rolling back women's rights to the 1920's. Take a moment today to contact your Congressional leaders and encourage them to keep going; there's no reason for George Bush to hold them back anymore.

Ahem. From Nightlight Christian Adoptions' own FAQ:

How many embryo adoptions has Nightlight completed?

Nightlight has matched 212 genetic families with 139 adopting families. To date 79 babies have been born, and 8 adopting families are currently expecting at least 11 babies.

Interesting success rate there, guys. 212 genetic families (3 defrosted eggsicles per procedure) produced 79 babies. Note that Nightlight doesn't tell us how many times each "adopting family" endured the medical procedure (sacrificing a new batch of melted eggs each time). They also don't tell us how many of those 79 totsicles were multiples, which would mean that Gawd's little turkey baster must have disappointed quite a few of those 139 "adopting families."

The burning question is, however: does this mean that it's OK to murder all of those non-viable, cute little Petri dish spots "snowflakes" during your in-vitro process? By the way, there's a good chance that some of those 79 frozen treat delights will be gay. There's also a good chance that some will develop diseases that embryonic stem cell research might have cured. Quelle Catch-22!

Come on, America! We're already 18 months behind the South Koreans! Mandrake at Daffodil Lane writes:

Instead of using fertilized eggs, they were able to (use) unfertilized eggs to build their stem cells. And not surprisingly the reaction from the far right and commander in chief crackhead was exactly the same.

Look, you know this is all about abortion, and I know this is all about abortion, but why can't our elected Dems deal with this issue head on, instead of repeating the same "Those embryos would just be destroyed anyway if we don't use them for medical research" argument? It's obviously not about murdering potential babysicles. And it's not about cloning. Wasn't Eve cloned from Adam's rib?

The editor of Blog.Bioethics.Net gets the last word on the Embryo Rescue movement:

I will believe that this phenomenon has traction, though, only when I start to see pro-life advocates pregnant with excess embryos.

Jr's Approval Poll Ass-Whooping

Catallaxy, in a post called "Southern Fried Republicans," explains why Repukes continue to give Jr. high overall performance marks and much lower individual issues marks:

The Pew Research Center's 2005 Political Typology "sorts voters into homogeneous groups based on values, political beliefs, and party affiliation." On the Republican side they identify three groups - the "enterprisers," "social conservatives," and "pro-government conservatives." All three groups are united by their views on national security issues but on domestic issues enterprisers are far more pro-business and anti-interventionist than the other two groups.

I still think the idiots who automatically say, "I support the president" should be tested for learning impairments. So does BloggerRadio.com, who, like the rest of us, can't stand Commander Bunnypants: "Fewer brain cells than God granted to a soap bubble = Bush."

BloggerRadio.com notes that Jr's approval rating is actually approaching Nixonian levels: "Karl Rove had better be looking for a phone-booth to change his clothes in, or this party is over ... somebody turn out the lights. The duck is lame."

Deafening Silence Followed By Blood-Curdling Screams

Strangely silent on "Black Monday" and "Compromise Aftermath Tuesday" was evil rightwing shill Little Green Footballs who completely ignored the issue. Here are his post titles for Monday and Tuesday:

Tuesday, May 24th
Syria Stops "Cooperating"
Sharon: Arab Agreements Worthless, Deeds Matter
Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the 'Left' and 'Multiculturalism'
Holy Warriors Bomb Girls' School

Monday, May 23
Monday Night Pier (Photo)
Bradlee: "If You Don't Know, You Shouldn't Have Printed It"
Uday's Oil-for-News Program
Al-Arian Trial Stays in Florida
Good News from Iraq, Part 28
Newsweek's Latest Account
A War the New York Times Likes
Newsweek's Anti-Americanism

Hm. Also strangely silent on the compromise issue was pajama blogger (I had to toss that in) and notorious Instapundit Glenn Reynolds who wept and wailed about an entirely different issue: freedom of the press. When you stop laughing hysterically, note that Glenn is worried that freedom of the press "is likely to be at risk if people see it as merely a special-interest protection for a news-media industry that is producing defective products that do harm."

Glenn is, of course, referring to Newsweek and Dan Rather and every other erroneously-labeled liberal media entity in the country. Not once does Glenn mention Michael Isikoff's Vast Right Wing Conspiracy credentials, Jim Guckert/Jeff Gannon, or any of George W.'s paid peanut gallery fakesters.

Meanwhile, across the border and well inside the state of Reality, Lobster Stuffed With Tacos writes:

There was a principle at stake here: that of the right of the minority - whether GOP or Democratic - to check cavalier Administrations who make no attempt at bipartisan consensus. ...

Here in reality, the filibuster compromise fails to reinforce one of the Senate's strengths - minority rights - and prolongs one of its weaknesses - the credible threat of paralysis - even longer. And we'll get stuck with several more conservative activist judges to boot. Oh no, you only thought that was an oxymoron.

For a Pollyanna Glad Game perspective on the compromise, those University of Nebraska (Omaha) College Democrat bloggers, definitely as smart as they are good lookin' (judging by the posted pic, that is - no, they're not naked!), have figured out how at least one senator could put his present actions to future use:

But what a great day for Senator Ben Nelson and his re-election campaign. I can see the commercial now. When the Senate was in a bitter feud, Senator Nelson stepped up and worked with Republicans and Democrats to prevent a crisis. Our founding fathers would be proud. Senator Nelson is not only great for Nebraska, but he'’s great for America!

Those College Dem bloggers are definitely brilliant and sassy! Send them some clicks and comments!

As I noted on my blog A Scrivener's Lament this week, I'm no fan of the compromise. I was hoping Senate Dems would go all Davy Crockett At The Alamo on Senator Kitten-Killer Frist's gay-bashing ass and make him solely responsible for the horrible consequences of shutting down the US Senate; however, it sure has been fun watching the radical right-wing bite into their so-called party moderates.

Hugh Hewitt weighed in with multiple reactions from right-wing bloggers, and the result does not bode well for the GOP. Writes Hugh, "The therapist says the Republicans have been date raped." OK, when I read that, I had to take a look. The therapist really doesn't like John McCain:

Republican Senators Willingly Date-Raped By Democratic Senators.

McCain says "nuclear option" really meant "I'm high and vulnerable."

Naked Bloggers

Last year, everyone (including yours truly) was dumping on Glenn Reynolds and his army of pajama bloggers. This year, I'm hearing more and more about naked bloggers. Disclaimer: I'm not a naked blogger (not that there's anything wrong with it).

I'm not joking about the existence of naked bloggers among us. Not only is there a whole slew of naked bloggers out there, they have a Naked Bloggers Webring. They even held a contest to find the best Naked Bloggers' logo. And the winner is...

Seriously weird: the fact that most self-proclaimed naked bloggers are (are you ready?) right-wingers - not the "I love my body no matter what it looks like" liberals I was expecting to find blogging nekkid. The one who appears to be the biggest crack in the buttcheeky movement, She Who Must Be Obeyed, calls Howard Dean "Dizzy" and links repeatedly to Huffington's Toast, a blog who's creator must secretly yearn to write for the Onion - but only excels at putting the "un" in unfunny.

Also unfunny (I mean, seriously unfunny in an "Armageddon would be fun" kind of way) is naked military blogger, The Gun Line, who thinks he's the new Dennis Miller:

1) Vincente Fox: Take your comments and shove 'em! Your glad-handing of the American "leadership" doesn't do a damned thing for me, pal. Clean up that rats' nest you call a country...

2) Newsweek: Thanks a hell of a lot, you lying bastards! How many American servicemen, and our allies have you put in mortal peril so you could sell a few more magazines?

3) Unappreciative spouses: The folks who sweated bullets trying to manage crappy situations under fire, in bad situations, far from home, who have shed too much blood, lost too many buddies, and now no longer can immerse themselves in the community that they have earned membership in The Brotherhood; why don't you cut them some slack? A little support wouldn't be amiss, 'lest they decide that you just aren't worth the crap sandwich you're dishing out, and DROPS YOU LIKE A HOT ROCK! There are PLENTY of folks who would give greatly to have such a stalwart life companion, so don't think that you're position is too bloody secure! You CAN be replaced! (No permalink for this post; Scroll down to May 16, 2005)

I don't care if this guy's buttcheeks are stuck to a chair seat or not, The Gun Line's idea of a "stalwart life companion" who can discard a "disrespectful" spouse so easily doesn't inspire confidence in his definition of "The Brotherhood," does it?

Fortunately, not all naked bloggers are scary freepazoids. Cyn City is savvy enough to distinguish between George Galloway's testimony and the "hot air generated by many of our representatives." Random Fate asks, "How do you know when things are really spinning out of control and not just 'politics as usual?'" Random Fate links to right-wing (possibly naked) blogger Balloon Juice for a potential answer and finds that Republicans aren't happy little BushCo-ites anymore.

There are many more naked bloggers doing their thing; however, visions of virtual skin alone will not lure me back to most of their sites for a second, er, peep. I prefer bloggers whose wit, intelligence, and humor leave a decidedly liberal bite mark. And that's the naked truth, naked bloggers!

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