Now winguts want Komen to denounce biotech-science

It’s not enough that winguts demanded, and Komen for the Cure folded, to demands the charity sever its long-standing relationship with Planned Parenthood. Mow wingnuts are insisting the org denounce stem cell research too:

(RightWingWatch) — Lou Engle’s Bound4Life, which pushed LifeWay bookstores to stop selling Komen’s “Pink Bible,” commended Komen but like Perkins, asked the group to go even farther to please the far-right by abandoning their support of stem cell research. The group gloated that while “Komen says these public criticisms are not a factor in their choice to stop funding Planned Parenthood, it’s hard to believe that the pressure didn’t impact the decision.

Giving into bullies is a very bad idea. for anyone. Bullies are never satisfied, they always want more, and they’re not interested in being friends.

It just hurts too much

I am in too much pain to post much right now. Chat away, btw the FMLA didn’t apply to my broken back – lung deal because I hadn’t worked where I work for a year at the time. I have now though.

Incidentally, I work in Texas, and there’s a reason companies locate facilities to Texas: they can pay shit wages and avoid all kinds of red tape that they’d might be subject to in states like California or New York. Texas is a Right to Work state, which is a pretty Orwellian term considering what it really means.

Broken bones and broken dreams

You ever notice how when you tell someone about an injury, some will feel obligated to top it? I broke my collar-bone over the weekend, it’s not that bad, especially compared to the broken back I suffered a few months ago. And I know it’s not that bad. It hurts some and I’m told by readers it may hurt a long time, but I don’t expect this to be the worst injury evah or anything like that. Nevertheless, almost every single person I know in real life who has learned of my little fall immediately launches into their own story of their broken collar-bone/leg bone/arm bone or any bone. And they seem to feel challenged to beat my fuck up in some way. It’s odd; this is not a trauma contest. And even if it was, losing it would be the only way to win imo. [Read more…]

Ouch!

Continuing in my quest for ever greater injury stories, I happened to fall off my second story balcony this weekend and hit the ground hard. I’ll give more details later, maybe a few days … typing with a broken collar-bone is painful.

The surgery went well

Needless to say I haven’t been around for a couple of days. Reason being I had a minor operation early yesterday and early signs are everything went swimmingly. In fact I fell pretty damn good! Sorry for the absence, I should be back to a regular blogging schedule later this week.

Cyber coup derails SOPA

The online uprising against SOPA and PIPA is being credited far and wide, even in the tradmed that reported little on the proposals, for killing the ledge. Just think of the effect this kind of activism could have on other issues:

(TimesUnion) — In the U.S., momentum against the Senate’s Protect Intellectual Property Act and the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act, known popularly as PIPA and SOPA, grew quickly on Wednesday when the online encyclopedia Wikipedia and other Web giants staged a one-day blackout and Google organized a petition drive that attracted more than 7 million participants. That day alone, at least six senators who had co-sponsored the Senate legislation reversed their positions. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in statements at the time and again on Friday, stressed that more consensus-building was needed before the legislation would be ready for a vote.

Let’s All Go to the Lobby: Release the hounds!

That leggy carton of milkduds is gonna walk out dancing any second now. As the dreaded wingnut wurlitzer cranks up and delivers … more friendly fire. This is what’s so much fun about the GOP race, they have perfected the big lie, the big smear, and trained their base to believe every word unquestionably. Now that apparatus has been hijacked by at least two sociopaths fighting for the heart and soul of the fundie voter, a flip-flopping heretic and a serial adulterer. And they’re both using it with abandon: [Read more…]

The prayer circle and the miracle at E-rock

That's me, about pitch 20, a little over halfway up the 3000 foot face on a route called the Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite. Which has almost nothing to do with the story below. Unseen are my two awesome team mates, JP and Action Jackson.

About 20 years ago I was at a climbing area in Central Texas, a beautiful potassium feldspar pluton formed half a billion a years ago, and recently exposed by uplift, now blooming into classic exfoliation domes the size of small towns. In this region there is a designated rappelling rock, a great location with a panoramic view, featuring sheer 25 meter drops almost all around. For climbers, rappelling is not a sport, it’s a risky necessity only done when needed. Sometimes it’s the easiest way down, but few climbers rap for fun.  [Read more…]