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“This is open warfare on both women and the poor.”
So in the morning I saw this and I’ve been trying to work out what to say about it all day. Mississippi state representative Bubba Carpenter is bragging that he’s stopped abortion in that state, at least for the moment. I’m going to quote him a bit.
And of course, there you have the other side. They’re like, ‘Well, the poor pitiful women that can’t afford to go out of state are just going to start doing them at home with a coat hanger.’ That’s what we’ve heard over and over and over.
But hey, you have to have moral values. You have to start somewhere, and that’s what we’ve decided to do.
Moral values. This shithead is proudly bragging about poor women in desperation getting injured and bleeding and dying with full knowledge that those who can afford it will still get abortions, and he has the audacity to claim it’s moral.
You know what I think? I think it’s the same casual cruelty you see in schoolyard bullies. I’ll bet he even has an obnoxious laugh just for those occasions when he’s making people suffer for his own amusement, “Haw haw I sure fucked things up for them!”, feeling that little thrill of power that comes from hurting those weaker than him.
Presumably, his re-election slogan will be “bitches ought to die.”
If this is where he’s starting, where is he planning to end?
Annular Eclipse!
These were, sadly, the best photos I managed to get. Taken through two welding mask filters.
Looks just like the moon through green cellophane, doesn’t it? Read the rest of this entry
Eight years
Something that’s often said during the Great Gay Marriage Wars™ is how everything will change if we allow it. Which puzzles me because in many places it exists and nothing seems to have happened. Right here in California we have something like 18,000 same-sex marriages and we haven’t slid into the Pacific or been pummeled by meteors or anything.
Zinnia Jones reminds us that today it’s been legal in Massachusetts for eight years, with harrowing details of the devastation caused to that state. I can only wonder what it’s like in Canada!
Don’t wanna.
I really don’t feel like writing today. I might change my mind and post something late tonight, but probably this is it for today.
Hey, I wrote the rules specifically to allow for days like this.
history of search terms how start
It’s the 15th, and I’m glad. Those huge posts I wrote during the last week wiped me out. As always on the 15th, here’s the list of search terms that brought people to my blog over the last 30 days.
Remember search terms are bold while my commentary is italic. Read the rest of this entry
Continuing on (and on) about homeopathy
Last post I dug out the common names for a bunch of homeopathic… I’m not sure what to call it. “Ingredients” sounds too optimistic, for reasons that should become clear shortly. Let’s go with “varieties”.
That’s all well and interesting, but so what? What is this homeopathy stuff anyway? Well, I’ll let the International Academy of Classical Homeopathy (henceforth IACH) explain it.
This system is based mainly on the principle that the cure for a particular disease is achieved through the use of pharmaceutical substances that, when administered to a healthy person, produce the similar symptoms as those of the disease in question. For example, it is well known that Belladonna causes mydriasis , that is to say dilation of the pupil of the eye. In a case of mydriasis the homeopathic doctor will probably give Belladonna, in a highly diluted potency, in order to restore the pupil to its normal state.
This is why Ipecacuanha is recommended for nausea and vomiting, the plant makes you puke, therefore the homeopathic version stops you from puking.
If you’re worried about how many of those ingredients are powerful poisons, you can relax. Homeopathic remedies are so diluted that there’s no active ingredient left. Read the rest of this entry
Interesting names of homeopathy.
(After I started writing this last night, I wound up spiraling out of control into a very long post about homeopathy. Looking at it this morning, I’ve decided it’s better to split it up. Would probably be best to post this part second, but it stands on its own with less work and it’s how I started thinking about the subject, so here it is. )
I mentioned there were two posts in Mothering about pertussis that I had things to say about, but I think I’m going to skip to the end of this article by Lauren Feder, MD, and just talk about homeopathy instead. Dr Feder wraps up her article with a list of homeopathic remedies, which I’ll reproduce here.
Homeopathic remedies
Aconitum napellus for sudden attacks of croupy coughs at the beginning stages of illness and cough
Antimonium tartaricum for rattling in the chest with a strong, loose cough when chest feels full of mucus
Bryonia alba for dry, racking, painful cough in chest and head, made worse by motion and better by being still
Coccus cacti for winter coughs with tickling in the throat, and strong fits of coughing that end in choking or vomiting
Cuprum metallicum (Cuprum) for spasmodic coughing fits
Drosera for violent coughing spells ending in choking, gagging, or vomiting. Sometimes these coughs are so strong that the child can hardly catch her breath. Drosera is indicated for barking coughs, whooping cough, croup, and coughs that are worse after midnight, commonly accompanied by a bloody nose and a hoarse voice.
Hepar sulphuris calcareum for croup that is worse in the morning and evening (until midnight); indicated following Aconitum napellus, especially with croup with rattling mucus in chest that is worse in the morning
Ipecacuanha for whooping cough and other severe suffocative coughs that end in retching, vomiting, or cyanosis, with stiffness in the body; the child feels nauseated and has an aversion to food (including the smell of food)
Pulsatilla for coughs with yellow-green mucus; cough is worse at night and interferes with sleep
Spongia tosta for dry coughs that sound like a saw going through wood; often used for croup. Useful for croupy coughs that are worse before midnight, accompanied by a dry, barking cough that can sound like a seal.
Such interesting names! What is this stuff? Well don’t worry, I’m here to help! I use google so you don’t have to!
- Aconitum napellus has many names, Monkshood, aconite, Wolf’s Bane, Fuzi, Monk’s Blood, or Monk’s Hood. It’s a poisonous herb native to Europe, famous for deterring movie werewolves.
- Antimonium tartaricum Modern chemistry calls this potassium antimonyl tartrate, it’s also known as emetic tartar or tartar emetic. Used since the Middle Ages to induce vomiting.
- Bryonia alba a vine commonly known as white bryony. Other names include English mandrake, kudzu of the Northwest, and devil’s turnip. Leaves and berries are toxic, apparently 40 berries will kill an adult.
- Coccus cacti is the classification given by Linnaeus to the cochineal, an insect native to Mexico and South America from which we get the dye carmine.
- Cuprum metallicum is metallic copper.
- Drosera is a genus of carnivorous plants, usually called sundews. Used medicinally as an expectorant and stimulant.
- Hepar sulphuris calcareum seems to be unique to homeopathy. Best I can tell it’s an impure calcium sulfide compound made from oyster shells and sulfur, heated in a crucible.
- Ipecacuanha is the plant used to make syrup of ipecac, the go-to drug for when you need to vomit.
- Pulsatilla is a genus of highly toxic flowers found in meadows and prairies. Blackfoot tribes used it to induce abortions and childbirth, but it will also slow the heart, and in higher doses can cause diarrhea, vomiting, convulsions, hypotension, and coma.
- Spongia tosta is roasted sea sponge. Just like it says, “sponge toast”!
I suppose the Latin names have both an old mystery appeal and a clinical medicine sound at once, but personally I would totally use some of those common names. I mean, Wolf’s Bane and English mandrake? Awesome! Maybe it’s the fantasy geek in me.
I’ll have a long post about homeopathy up soon. It probably won’t surprise you that I don’t think it works. What might surprise you, though, is the history of homeopathy and how it claims to work.
The more I read about it, the more surprised I am that anyone takes it seriously.
Took the day off
Yeah, that’s my excuse. Totally deliberate. Wasn’t at all that I started a post and got so bogged down in details I completely lost the thread until I started feeling asleep at the keyboard, not in the least!
Yeah, unless it really looks like total crap in the morning, I should have a pretty big post sometime tomorrow. For now, well, I’m still 12 posts behind on the Post a Day challenge, so at least I’m not falling back any farther.
Goodnight everyone.
When bigotry’s your platform.
Mitt Romney gave a speech.
For those who graduate from high school, get a full-time job, and marry before they have their first child, the probability that they will be poor is 2%. But, if those things are absent, 76% will be poor. Culture matters.
Wow, I actually agree with him! I don’t know anything about the study you’re talking about, Romney, but you make a great case for why we need Planned Parenthood and universal access to sex education, birth control, and abortion.
As fundamental as these principles are, they may become topics of democratic debate. So it is today with the enduring institution of marriage. Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.
Uh, what? Mittens, how the hell do you think those two concepts go together? Also, about that whole “one man, one woman” thing, uh, does that mean you’re disowning your great-grandfather?
The protection of religious freedom has also become a matter of debate. It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem, something America is stuck with instead of blessed with.
What the hell are you talking about? The only people who seem to dislike the protection of religious freedom in this country are fundamentalist Christians who want to force others to live by their rules! Are you suggesting that gay marriage somehow violates someone’s freedom of religion? HOW?! Furthermore, if it’s a violation for gays to get married because some religions dislike the idea, isn’t it an equal violation to ban it, since some religions are fine with the idea?
It looks like gay rights are going to be a major part of this election.
About Vaccines
In my morning internet wanderings, I found a couple of articles at Mothering about whooping cough. The first was by Lauren Feder, MD, and the second by Jay Gordon, MD. I have things to say about both of them, but right now I’m going to talk about the second one.
It’s not quite clear to me what Dr. Gordon’s goal with this article was. The entire thing seems to boil down to “there’s a lot of uncertainty and disagreement in the medical community, talk to your doctor.” For the most part it just seems to muddy the waters. But after reading it, and particularly these parts, I want to talk a bit about the how and why of vaccination programs.
If vaccines work—and I believe they do—then vaccinated children are not endangered by unvaccinated children.
…points out that vaccinated children have still contracted whooping cough. The reasons for this include the bacterium adapting to the vaccine and thus negating its protection… Read the rest of this entry
Who is the Atheist Census?
Here’s a strange thing. An atheist census, run by… well I don’t know. There’s no name or organizational affiliation mentioned. The terms and conditions are very detailed though, very corporate, which makes me very, very curious who these people are. If you agree to their terms you’re agreeing to be bound by certain laws in Alberta, Canada. That’s the most solid information I’ve found so far.
The site is well designed, with slick animated graphs that, frustratingly, don’t show any actual numbers. I have issues with some of the questions, for example the “Irreligion” question has the following answers:
- Atheist
- Agnostic
- Atheist Agnostic
- Humanist
- Rationalist
- Buddhist Atheist
It seems far more sensible to me to remove “Atheist Agnostic” and make the question “Check all that apply”. (After a lot of thought, I finally went with humanist because that’s more important to my identity than any beliefs and I’m not a very good rationalist.) There’s a similar problem with the “Religion Raised In” question, in that it’s quite possible to be raised in multiple religions. And the gender binary lives on, only Male or Female are available.
There’s a very weird feeling to the site. It has no personal touch at all, pretty graphs that aren’t very useful, a clause requiring arbitration in any legal dispute unless you’re violating their copyright, and requires email validation before your data will be counted. There’s a definite corporate feeling to it, which seems very strange to me after getting used to the people at FreeThoughtBlogs as the voices of modern atheists.
I sent an email asking some questions to the site, if I get any answers I’ll post them here.
Catholics vs Girls
First up, an Arizona high school forfeited the championship baseball game rather than play a team with a girl on it. This would honestly bother me less except that they played two games during the season and made her sit out, rather than offend delicate eyes with all her femaleness. Apparently asking other schools to keep girls out and refusing to play if they don’t are more or less standard procedures for this one.
I’m a little upset at how far people are going out of their way for these assholes, they made her sit out twice and are working really hard to be respectful. Look at this,
“I respect their views, but it’s a bit out of the 18th century,” said Mesa Prep athletic director Amy Arnold
See myself I’m feeling that I don’t respect their views, because it’s a bit out of the 18th century. I also really wish her coach had refused to bench her, or even dignify the request with a response, when they first asked her to sit out. It’s one thing to respect someone’s idiosyncrasies, but coaches should really stand by their team.
Strictly speaking this school isn’t Catholic, but run by the Society of Saint Pius X, who broke away from Rome back in the 80’s because they thought the church wasn’t medieval enough. I note the distinction because details matter, but to be brutally honest it just feels like it’s the old Catholics from before Vatican II.
Our second story is real genuine Catholics being pushy assholes. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has launched an “official inquiry” into the Girl Scouts. Apparently they’re upset because GS material has links to groups like, I shit you not, Doctors Without Borders.
I swear it feels like these guys live in a twisted, backwards world where everything that I see as good is clearly bad and wrong to them. I mean if I were going to name a single group that does nothing but good and couldn’t be considered controversial, that’s it. Apparently supporting birth control at all is now considered controversial. We’re moving backwards, people.
“I know we’re a big part of the culture wars,” said the Girl Scouts’ spokeswoman, Michelle Tompkins. “People use our good name to advance their own agenda.”
“For us, there’s an overarching sadness to it,” Tompkins added. “We’re just trying to further girls’ leadership.”
Sadly, just that is probably enough to piss off most patriarchal groups. Conservative groups have been working very hard in the last year to push back women’s rights, and undermining a group that teaches girls leadership would be a strategic advantage there.
I really don’t understand why anyone pays them any attention or gives them any power at all.
This isn’t the Middle Ages anymore. If the church isn’t going to move with the times, people really need to start leaving it. And I know that most won’t, and that makes me sad. There’s too much human suffering already and yet churches like this seem determined to add as much as possible.
From Nothing?
This started as part of the second installment of “Why Creationism Horrifies Me”, I felt it was wandering too far off topic (even for me!) so I cut it. Since it’s still relevant, and since I’m too far behind to trash this much writing, I’m posting it on its own, even though I think I’ve said all of this before in older posts.
A common criticism I hear, or rather read, from creationists is that the scientific explanations say we came from nothing, or that the universe came from nothing. Although I freely admit that I don’t understand these relevant theories completely, I know enough to say that this isn’t so.
The thing is, we are the same matter and energy as everything else in the cosmos. Our matter came from the Earth, and our energy came from the Sun. It’s clearly true of life now, we can follow the cycles through the food chain and see that, and there’s no reason to believe it was any different for the first self-replicating molecules, the progenitors of what we call life. Read the rest of this entry
The Adventures of Leo Tarvi 