Russians Told to Smoke and Drink More

Now THAT’S what I want to hear from my government!

“If you smoke a pack of cigarettes, that means you are giving more to help solve social problems such as boosting demographics, developing other social services and upholding birth rates,” Kudrin said, quoted by the Interfax news agency.

“People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state,” he said, offering unconventional advice as the Russian government announced plans to raise excise duty on alcohol and cigarettes.

Young Childless Women Earning More Than Male Peers

Huh.

An analysis of census data by consumer research firm Reach Advisors found that women between the ages of 22 and 30, without children, had bigger paychecks in 2008 than their male peers in 47 of the 50 largest U.S. cities. Their wages were 8 percent higher, on average, but varied considerably from one city to the next.

I See You

Does this bother you?

Mitchell International Airport is the latest location to receive full-body scanners that capture a nearly-nude image of travelers. The technology is now in use at two of the airport’s terminals.

“It doesn’t bother me, but I’m not really a modest person,” said Jennifer Slack, who went through the scanner Sunday afternoon.

The TSA employees who view images from the scanner sit in a separate room and cannot see the passenger associated with the image. The TSA said that is to protect the privacy of passengers.

Eh… as a big fat balding guy I couldn’t care less.  If someone gets their jollies out of looking at my gherkin, then so be it.  I do, however, object to such a device being used on my children. 

Blogging Politicians

That’s a consequence of blogging. 

Their hope is Dana Schultz. In her mid-20s and a daughter of rural Athens back from a master’s degree in Milwaukee, Schultz is getting buzz as a shining hope against what Democrats see as a vulnerable Republican, Rep. Mary Williams of Medford. Schultz was touted, for instance, as “the shot in the leg the party needs” in Isthmus, the respectable Madison weekly.

It’s plausible. A high-school basketball star, Schultz grew up on a farm and is happy to return: “My heart was always on a gravel road,” she writes on her campaign website. She writes that she’s in favor of jobs, restraining the DNR and fiscal responsibility. It’s a program built for a swing district consisting of Park Falls, Ladysmith, Medford and their counties.

Williams, on her fourth term in the Assembly, has never won very big. “It’s a pretty swing district,” she said. “I’m used to it.”

But you’re left wondering: If this is the great D hope, what do the long shots look like? Because Schultz has issues.

For one thing, she seems unaware that what’s online lingers. Such as the blog she apparently wrote for a class in 2006, where she mused on rural areas’ politics. Just as she wrote it: “I know all about the huntin, fishin, snowmobilin, country music beltin, beer drinkin, working class, gossipin, people who attend christian church every sunday and are racist, sexist, and homophobic, but more just ignorant because of lack of exposure.” She wrote that she understands rural brain drain: “Why would people go back to face fatter and less educated Ann Colture’s?”

Elsewhere, she posts about how “it doesn’t make sense for lower incomers to be pro-life” and how unsympathetic rubes are toward gay people. It reads like typical youthful maundering, though in Schultz’s case, youthful was only four years ago.

Is this a big story?  I dunno.  Schultz’s words are certainly unflattering for her, but as more and more people blog and tweet and facebook, it forces a different conversation.  I have written over 13,000 posts on this blog, hundreds of columns, and thousands of other missives.  I’m sure they are all sitting in some guy’s desk somewhere to be used against me should I ever run for office.  Many of those comments still represent my current beliefs.  Some do not.  Some were written in anger or frustration (never a good idea, but it happens).  At the end of the day, I’m human.  I just also happen to share a fair amount of myself with a wider audience through the internet. 

Schultz is in the same boat.  At least we know her mind in an unscripted format.  We can deal with that and discuss it.  Is that better than yet another politician that we only know through press releases that have been vetted through a campaign staff?  Do people who share their lives through the internet become automatically discredited for public office, or does it force us to evaluate them as real people with all of the faults and blemishes that real people have?

I wouldn’t vote for Schultz, but at least I know why. 

Teachers Told Not to “Friend” Students

Huh.

Earlier this week, Lee County school officials issued a list of guidelines to teachers suggesting they don’t correspond with students through sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. The guidelines for the 2010-2011 academic year also warned teachers to be careful when using communication to prevent legal or workplace issues that could surface.

“It is inappropriate for employees to communicate, regardless of the reason, with current students enrolled in the district on any public social networking website,” the guidelines said. “This includes becoming ‘friends’ or allowing students access to personal web pages for communication reasons.”

This is the first school district in the state of Florida, possibly even the country, to issue teacher-protocol guidelines for social media.

On the one hand, it’s a good idea for teachers and students to maintain a professional relationship with clear boundaries.  Social networking breaks down those boundaries.  On the other hand, Facebook and the like might just be the best communication tool for some kids.

Thoughts?

Obama Is Not Muslim

Huh.

A new poll showed that nearly one in five people, or 18 percent, believe Obama is Muslim. That was up from 11 percent who said so in March 2009. The survey also showed that just 34 percent said Obama is Christian, down from 48 percent who said so last year. The largest share of people, 43 percent, said they don’t know his religion.

White House spokesman Bill Burton said most Americans care more about the economy and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and “they are not reading a lot of news about what religion the president is.” He commented on Air Force One as Obama headed for a vacation in Massachusetts on Martha’s Vineyard.

Burton added, “The president is obviously a Christian. He prays everyday.”

I couldn’t care less.  I’m more concerned with his disastrous policies than to whom or what he prays. 

Alzheimer’s Disease: Would You Want to Know?

Suppose there is a test that can be done to determine the likelihood of you getting Alzheimer’s disease.

Would you want the test?

Should you know the results?

My grandmother suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. She passed away when I was 19, but she was no longer herself many years before she stopped breathing. Before the disease ate away at her brain, she was such a lovely woman. She baked the best pies, she had a grand sense of humor, and she seemed to have lots of friends. But after several years of the disease, she lost her spark. She just wasn’t the same woman.

It’s possible, maybe even likely,  that her road is the same road I’ll travel someday. If there is a test that can tell me (privately) that I will, I want to know so I can prepare for the trip. But on the other hand, if there’s a test that can tell me that I won’t, a huge weight could be lifted from my shoulders. Of course, it’s possible I could end up with some other kind of dementia or who knows what else, but suffering the indignities of Alzheimer’s is one of my greatest fears. If I could either confirm it or rule it out, I would call my doctor tomorrow and find out.

How about you?

Federal Judge Rules on Prop 8

I disagree with this ruling.

“Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians. The evidence shows conclusively that Proposition 8 enacts, without reason, a private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex couples,” Walker wrote.

The judge added in the conclusion of the 136-page opinion: “Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license.”

His ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco seeking to invalidate the law as an unlawful infringement on the civil rights of gay men and lesbians. The landmark case is expected to be appealed and could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

It is not a right for your marriage to be recognized by the state.  There is a right to marry, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.  Agree or disagree with gay marriage, it isn’t a matter of rights.

Furthermore, the judge sets an interesting standard when he says, “Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights…”  First, as I said, it’s not a right to have the state give you a piece of paper acknowledging your marriage.  Second, many laws are indeed based on a “moral disapproval.”  The judge’s standard becomes ridiculous when taken to its logical conclusion.  Bestiality?  Polygamy?  Public nudity?  Prostitution?  Child labor?  Indentured servitude?  Mandatory emergency medical care?  Hardcore porn on over-the-air television channels?  Ban on trans fats?  Hunting limits?  Environmental preservation?  These are all things that we can debate, but our laws regarding them are based in morality (or ethics) - not rights. 

While moral disapproval alone might not be a justification for a law, neither is moral approval justification for overturning a law. 

Comment

This was left in the comments by Scott.

But I believe racism, sexism and bigotry are inherently conservative.

Discuss.

West Bend Does Thriller

Thriller Record

From West Bend Alderman Turner:

Congratulations to all the participants at today’s Guinness World Record attempt for their Thriller dance. West Bend now holds the United States record with a count of 1,935.

Woohoo!

Obama Knows Snooki?

To be fair, he just reads the words off of the prompter. 

Not Fat.  Poofy.

Makes sense to me. 

GPs and other health professionals should tell people they are fat rather than obese, England’s public health minister says.

Anne Milton told the BBC the term fat was more likely to motivate them into losing weight.

She said it was important people should take “personal responsibility” for their lifestyles.

But health experts said the word could stigmatise those who are overweight.

Ms Milton, who stressed she was speaking in a personal capacity, said: “If I look in the mirror and think I am obese I think I am less worried [than] if I think I am fat.”

Wedding Planning

Duh.

The survey of 1,000 women by TheKnot.com, WeddingChannel.com and ForbesWoman.com also showed that women spend about 10 hours a week planning their wedding and nearly 30 percent of it is done at work.

Twenty percent of women admitted that more than half of their wedding arrangements were done at work and 41 percent said they did it whenever they could. But only 15 percent said that someone at work had commented about it.

Most women also thought they did more work on the wedding than their partner.

As for the last point… um…. yeah. 

Racism in Wisconsin

As we discuss the racist rant on Folkbum’s site, I reflect on my experience with racism…

I’m a child of Texans, but I spent my adolescence in Riyadh.  As a white Christian in an Arab Muslim nation, I generally felt accepted as long as we kept to our own kind, so to speak.  There were certainly places for foreigners and places where we didn’t belong.  But generally, we spent a lot of time in the homes of Muslim Arab families playing with other kids and I never felt unwelcome.  My deep impression is of welcoming, gracious people, but then again, I was always conscious that I was the visitor in their culture. 

In Texas from age 12-26 or so, it was fairly racially integrated.  Horribly racist jokes and nicknames abounded - from all sides - but people of all races were just a part of everyday life.  Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc. were my friends, bosses, employees, colleagues, customers, acquaintances, etc.  I admit that the language could be rough from time to time to those of a more sensitive ear, but most people of all races I knew in Texas identified themselves first as Texans, second as Americans, and somewhere down the line as their particular race. 

Since moving to Wisconsin, I think it’s the most racially segregated and stunted area in which I’ve lived since Riyadh.  People are geographically and culturally segregated by race to an alarming extent.  It’s disturbing.  I understand that it’s much worse in other places, but it’s certainly not great here. 

I know… I’m a white guy, so I’m not allowed to opine on these things… but it’s my observation…