from DOJ, a statement by Attorney General Holder says the Obama Administration found the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and will no longer defend it in court.
A Great Day for LGBT!
February 2011 archive
Feb 23 2011
Health and Fitness News
Welcome to the Health and Fitness weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.
Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.
You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.
Feb 23 2011
What are you reading? Feb 23 2011
For those who are new … we discuss books. I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading. Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.
If you like to trade books, try bookmooch
SPECIAL NOTE:
In this diary on daily Kos I wrote about my dad. He didn’t die that weekend, he died this morning.
I will be in and out today.
Carry on as usual.
Just finished
A re-read of Distraction by Bruce Sterling. Cyberpunk SF. Very good. Full review
Dissolution by C. J. Sansom. A mystery set in England in the era of Henry VIII. Very good. And, it’s a series!
Now reading
The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the dark ages by Chris Wickham. A really good history of Europe and western Asia, from 400 to 1000 AD.
This one is more or less on hold. I need to pay more attention to it to keep track of all the unfamiliar names. Right now, I am not in the mood for this sort of book.
The Great SF stories volume 1: 1939 ed. by Isaac Asimov and Martin Greenberg. I have this whole series on my shelf and I think I will re-read them
Best Writing on Mathematics 2010 by Mircea Picci. A collection of articles about mathematics. Most of them are really great. Math lovers will want this one. (This book has disappeared on my shelves; I gotta find it)
Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases ed. by Kahneman, Slovic and Tversky. A collection of now classic works on how people reason under uncertainty.
Washington: A life which I am reading on my new Kindle 2 (my old Kindle broke). So far, it’s living up to the hugely favorable reviews, although the beginning was a bit repetitive about some aspects of Washington’s personality.
Just started
A re-read of Quicksilver, the first in the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson. A huge novel (3,000 pages altogether) about all sorts of things related to the era of Newton and Leibniz. Definitely worth a re-read.
Dark Fire by CJ Sansom. The second in the Matthew Shardlake series. I like this one too. (spoiler alert). In Dissolution, Shardlake has been disillusioned with Cromwell (that’s Thomas, not Oliver), having learned that he did a lot of foul things. But now he is drafted by Cromwell again.
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. Subtitle is “tales of music and the brain” and that describes it well. Written with Sacks’ typical clarity and humanity.
Charming Proofs. A book of beautiful (or charming) proofs in mathematics, nearly all of which require no advanced math.
Feb 23 2011
Muse in the Morning
 Muse in the Morning |
Time for a break from poetry…in order to create some art.
| She was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world.
–Kate Chopin |
 Pattern 2 |
Feb 23 2011
S02E04: H.R. 3 Compared to Hyde
cross-posted from Main Street Insider
This week, we look at H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, and discuss how this proposal differs from the long-standing Hyde Amendment. Beyond the “forcible rape” controversy, which is expected to be resolved at the next opportunity to markup the bill, H.R. 3 represents the most aggressive attempt to expand upon the Hyde Amendment since it was first enacted in 1976. That is why we chose to summarize this bill as it compares to Hyde (if you need more info about the Hyde Amendment, you can find a link to learn more at the bottom of the page).
And this week’s episode comes with a bonus video! David Waldman, the Editor in Chief of Congress Matters and our own Public Affairs Director, speaks in depth about the dangerous precedent that hides in H.R. 3. You can find that video below.
Lastly, in order to properly thank our sponsor without digging into the precious 90 seconds we have to summarize complicated pieces of legislation and other policy proposals, we have added a little bumper time. But we guarantee that every bit of summary fits into 90 seconds, and we introduced a countdown clock to prove it.
What’s that you say? Get on with it? Sure thing…
More below the fold…
Feb 22 2011
Today on The Stars Hollow Gazette
Our regular featured content-
- Six In The Morning by mishima
- On This Day In History by TheMomCat
- Punting the Pundits by TheMomCat
- Evening Edition by ek hornbeck
- Prime Time by ek hornbeck
And these articles-
- Feed The Wisconsin Demonstrators Pizza!! by davidseth
- Reporting the Revolution: Early Morning 22.2.1011 by TheMomCat
- My Little Town 20110221: Gene and Katy by Translator
Feb 22 2011
from firefly-dreaming 22.2.11
Regular Daily Features:
- The Yardbirds kick off the day in Late Night Karaoke, mishima DJs
- Six Brilliant Articles! from Six Different Places!! on Six Different Topics!!!
Six Days a Week!!! at Six in the Morning!!!!
Essays Featured Tuesday, February 22nd:
- In Tuesday Open Thoughts puzzled queries What would You do?
- tnichlsn kindly allowed me to republish his inspirational essay:
Adventures in Community Gardening in Boston’s South End - Lady Libertine shares her recently located family history & celebrates TWO birthdays in Happy Birthday George!
- Firefly Memories 1.0 is where Alma takes a look back at some of the Brilliant essays of our first years posts, highlighting those which exemplify our firefly-dreaming spirit and mission.
Today:Enabled Gardening 1
join the conversation! come firefly-dreaming with me….
Feb 22 2011
Making Sense of Revolutions
We are witnessing what may be the birth pangs of nascent democracy in the Middle East. Or, we may be witnessing something else entirely. A region which has long trailed the rest of the Western world in basic freedoms for its citizens is in the process of long-needed transition. What it will be and what form it will eventually take has yet to be established. This doesn’t mean, of course, that we won’t try to transpose our own understanding upon the scene that lies before us. Especially when we contemplate the unknown, we can fall so easily into dichotomies. When comparing two things simultaneously, it is easy to believe that everything must belong to one part or the other, or, failing that, nothing can belong simultaneously to both parts. Egypt is not Libya, nor is Tunisia exactly like Egypt.
Feb 22 2011
America’s Mubarak Moment
You know, when Wikileaks let the cat out of the bag on just how rich and greedy Mubarak was, the people got royally pissed.
Now, Matt Taibbi let the whole litter of the critters out off the bag, in “Why Isn’t Wall Street in Jail?” and we need to get royally pissed too.
I mean, some of us knew already. The same people investigating Wall Street spin in and out of working for Wall Street. Its the fox guarding the fox, and they both get more chicken than Jim Morrison ever dreamed. Talk about back door men?
Feb 22 2011
Six In The Morning
‘We may be witnessing New Zealand’s darkest day’: PM says 65 killed in quake
February 22, 2011
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says 65 people died in the earthquake that devastated Christchurch today.
”The death toll I have at the moment is 65 and that may rise. So it’s an absolute tragedy for this city, for New Zealand, for the people that we care so much about,” Mr Key told TVNZ. ”It’s a terrifying time for the people of Canterbury.”
He said: “We may be witnessing New Zealand’s darkest day.”
As thousands of shocked people wandered the rubble-strewn streets of Christchurch after today’s devastating and deadly earthquake, emergency workers were searching for survivors.