Cost/Benefit Analysis

(click to embiggen)

From here; found here.

A Timely Joke

Found in the tubes:

A unionized public employee, an ill-informed citizen, and a CEO are sitting at a table. In the middle of the table is a plate with a dozen cookies on it. The CEO reaches across and takes 11 cookies, looks at the ill-informed citizen and says, "Watch out for that union guy. He wants a piece of your cookie."

Found in the comments at the oft-delightful G&T

It's Just a Word

Do any of our readers remember the now-defunct blog Stuff Black People Hate? It was a thing of beauty, and I was terribly sad when Chris decided to stop writing it. If you don't know his blog, please go there immediately and read every last word.

Chris posted an article today that he wrote, in response to letters that he has received that ask, "Why is the N-word so explosive/I am a white person, why can't I use the N-word?". This article is much more tempered and less humorous than his blog posts were, but it's still a good read.

The ManHood

I don't have much to say about this product, other than the fact that I find the Foreskin Restoration Movement absolutely fascinating. I've read about a few different "systems" that are recommended for circumcised men to "reclaim" their foreskins (though, that last link looks just like instructions for masturbating). Things like different combinations of tape, tiny little weights, and other stretchifying things.

This product - The ManHood - does not attempt to restore a foreskin to its former glory, but it does claim to act as a foreskin substitute. From the website:

ManHood® was first developed by R&C Associates to help stop the de-sensitizing effect of circumcision. We do this by providing an artificial natural environment resulting in sensitivity changes because your nerve endings are closer to the surface. By using ManHood®, your penile glans will change from dry and chafed, to one that is shiny soft. Guaranteed.

This is exactly why I love the internets. Being able to peer into a world that has absolutely nothing to do with me is one of my fav-o-rite hobbies.

[h/t : The GoodMen Project via Feministe]

Do No Motherfucking Harm

Right before George W. Bush left office in 2008, his administration granted protections to healthcare workers who choose to withhold care from a patient based on their religious, moral, or ethical beliefs.

Which brings us to the following bullcrap from Idaho, where Planned Parenthood of the Greater Northwest has filed a complaint with the Idaho Pharmacy Board. A nurse practitioner from a Planned Parenthood in Boise tried to call a prescription in to a Walgreens for Methergine, which is used to stop bleeding from the uterus following childbirth, miscarriage, or abortion.

From the article:

Planned Parenthood officials said the complaint states that the pharmacist inquired if the patient needed the drug for post-abortion care. The nurse refused to answer the question based on confidentiality of health information.

According to Planned Parenthood, the pharmacist then stated that if the nurse practitioner did not disclose that information, she would not fill the prescription. The nurse alleged that the pharmacist hung up when asked for a referral to another pharmacy that would fill the prescription.

Words fail me right now, so I suggest you just go watch this short video instead (embedding was disabled).

[h/t: Dan Savage's blog at The Stranger]

You Won't Believe Your Spies

Shocking--shocking!--news; the Swiss think we're spying on their soil...through the US Embassy.

[linky]

Since when are diplomatic bases used as clandestine intelligence-gathering outposts? That's downright ungentlemanly.

Figure 1: John le Carre' is surprised at us!

As usual, the Yahoo! commenters have it all sorted out.

joebigelk 30 minutes ago Report Abuse

maybe it time we need to have sureillance on are own corrupt banks and politicians in this country.

You tell 'em, joebigelk. Are bodie politik, it aliev and well.

(via Yahoo!)

Jenny McCarthy is Evil

A gentleman by the name of Derek Bartholomaus really, really dislikes Jenny McCarthy. Why would he harbor anger toward such a lovely lady, you ask? Well, he's pretty annoyed at her record of publicly advocating that parents should not vaccinate their children because she believes that vaccinations might lead to autism.

Bartholomaus is not a doctor or a scientist, but he's put together a website, recounting the history of the issue and the number of childhood illnesses and deaths that followed McCarthy's promotion of the anti-vaccination campaign, beginning in 2007. The site seems pretty thoroughly researched, I might add. I'm kind of impressed.

The study that McCarthy based her entire position on on has since been discredited numerous times. The research was recently shown to be fraudulent, and the doctor behind the study has lost his license to practice medicine in the UK. However, none of this will likely have as much of an impact as McCarthy's appearance on Oprah in 2007 to publicize her crusade.

So really, I blame Oprah for this mess.