Obama has done some things I disagree with; he has done more that I do agree with, and a lot of things that make me jump in the air, raise my fist and holler Yes!

Show me a single President from the Democratic Party who has been perfect, I'll wait.


It's OK to say "I disagree with Obama about X, here's what I'd like to see instead". It's not OK to repeat Right Wing talking points, Libertarian talking points, and/or to call Obama names or label him a used car salesman, dictator, etc.

It's not OK to accuse other Duers of being Obama worshipers.

Spewing vitriol may make some feel better, but it makes DU a nasty place to be. Even worse, it's boring! Give me a good argument and I'll read it. Call people names and I'll go read something else.

Who shops at Hobby Lobby? My observation is that the customers are mostly white, middle class women. Who uses birth control? A lot of white, middle class women.

Can anyone say "boycott"?

It's my understanding that after President Obama gave this interview, the Health Care Exchanges saw a surge in applications. Now, it may be that it was a coincidence, that a lot of people waited until the deadline approached. But - if this interview was effective, does that point the way to getting people out to vote this November?

We recently were very lucky to be able to adopt a very old dog because her owner couldn't take care of her any more. The poor old girl has some sort of problem with her rear legs - occasionally they slide right out from under her when she tries to get up. She goes in and out of our dog pen if we open the people door. She is fascinated watching our other two dogs hop through the dog door. I don't think she has the strength in her hind quarters to hop through the door, but she will stand outside sticking her head in, or inside sticking her head out. I can almost see her trying to figure out the magic trick. We'll be getting a larger, lower door soon.

From a review of "How the Irish Saved Civilization" by Thomas Cahill:

" The Patrick in question was a former Celtic slave brought to Ireland from Roman-era Britain. His name was originally Patricius, but he came to be known to later generations as St. Patrick. Mr. Cahill's theory about him goes something like this:

The Ireland of the early fifth century was a brooding, dank island whose inhabitants, while carefree and warlike on the outside, lived in "quaking fear" within, their terror of shape-changing monsters, of sudden death and the insubstantiality of their world so acute that they drank themselves into an insensate stupor in order to sleep.

Patrick, however, provided "a living alternative." He was a serene man who slept well without drink, a man "in whom the sharp fear of death has been smoothed away." The Christianity he proposed to the Irish succeeded because it took away the dread from the magical world that was Ireland. And once they were Christianized, the Irish founded the monastic movement, copying the books being destroyed elsewhere by Germanic invaders, eventually bringing them back to the places from which the books had come.

....

There are other characters in Mr. Cahill's history, the most important of them clearly being Patrick, one of his heroes, a man of less intellectual refinement than Augustine but of greater humanity. Mr. Cahill credits him with being "the first human being in the history of the world to speak out unequivocally against slavery."

http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/bsp/irish.html

I recommend the book as an antidote to all the "St. Patty's Day" nonsense out there.

Cesarean section?

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/macbeth-and-macduff-get-into-an-argument-over-semantics

if you are overweight, the default diagnosis for any problem you are having is that you are overweight and the problem will go away if you lose weight.

It's science fiction from 1968 featuring the planet Winter, inhabited by humans who are neither/both male and female most of the time, except when they more or less come into monthly heat, when the appropriate set of sexual organs develop depending on whether they will be male or female that month. Obviously, the book brings up a lot of questions about gender and identity.


So - with some trepidation I recommended this book as a Science Fiction classic to my small town Book Club - white women ages 60 - 85.

Some did not like the book - as per science fiction convention, it featured too many made-up words.

The conversation proceeded to a mention of trans-sexuals, and someone mentioned reading of the difficulties transsexuals with prosthetics have with airport security. Our oldest member responded "But that's their private affair! No one should be bothering them about that!" To be clear, this 85 year old woman was defending the right of transsexuals to live their lives as they wish with no interference.

The times, I think they've changed!

and he still has loose tufts of fur sticking up over his back legs! ( I could probably get them with a stiffer brush, but that's a tender spot)

I'm not even going to discuss the long haired dogs!

I have good health insurance and good auto insurance. "Auto insurance and medical care?", you ask. Yes, because in New York State we are required to carry "no-fault" insurance, which means my auto insurance pays for health care needed after an accident.

So, I had an auto accident that has left me with some minor issues; a little trouble walking (sometimes), a little dizziness (sometimes) - nothing major. But - I also have various minor chronic issues.

Here's the problem: I can't talk to my GP about issues related to the auto accident and my chronic issues at the same appointment! The health insurance company won't pay if he makes any notes about the walking or balance issues; the auto company won't pay if he mentions my asthma or thyroid issues.

What does it do to the cost of health care every time someone like me has to make two appointments to handle issues that could and should be handled in one?