"The right choice is to support the right answer."

I certainly don't enjoy or endorse everything on The Onion, but this video clip completely cracked me up--perhaps because it reminds me so much of how I usually feel during class discussions (particularly discussions in the course I'm taking in the law school)!

(Oh, and I don't know anything about the show advertised at the beginning and the end of the clip. I apologize if it's something objectionable.)


In The Know: Situation In Nigeria Seems Pretty Complex

Modest Clothing Website

I ran across a link for Christa Taylor on another blog several weeks ago. The site sells clothing that it labels both "modest" and "trendy." I've looked at the site a few times, and while there are definitely some items that I wouldn't be caught dead wearing (I may be a little older than their intended demographic), they do have some things that I think are kind of cute. I think it's worth keeping an eye on.

And for the socially conscious among us, the site says that they give "at least 30% of [their] profits towards the needs of the poor and towards social justice throughout the world." Right now they're helping to support an orphanage in Cambodia.

Bubble? What bubble?

I passed this on the sidewalk this morning and had to whip out my phone to get a picture....

FoxNews.com--again...

There's a story on FoxNews.com about a horrible situation in which a mother allegedly set her three young daughters on fire.

And apparently the proofreader wasn't terribly thorough:

As another neighbor sprayed the kids with a hose, Lopez grabbed some wet towels and ran to the house, which he wrapped around the 7-year-old.

University of Florida taser incident

Did anybody else look up the video on YouTube and very quickly arrive at the conclusion that the idiot deserved to be Tasered?

And it still didn't get him to quit whining.

Is universal health care a good idea? Or, I'm glad I live in the U.S.

(Let me say right off the bat that I haven't spent much time or effort studying universal health care, and I'm basing my comments here on one article, which isn't very much evidence. The one article, however, does cite some rather interesting--and, perhaps, surprising--statistics.)

Today's Wall Street Journal contained an interesting column by Betsy McCaughey titled "Cancer Killers." (I'm not sure whether you can access the article without being a subscriber.)

Ms. McCaughey takes issue with the American Cancer Society's plans to scrap its ads educating the public about cancer-causing behaviors and the benefits of regular screening in favor of ads promoting universal health coverage. She presents evidence that "shows that universal health coverage does not improve survival rates for cancer patients. Despite the large number of uninsured, cancer patients in the U.S. are most likely to be screened regularly, have the fastest access to treatment once they are diagnosed with the disease, and can get new, effective drugs long before they're available in most other countries." McCaughey cites several studies showing that cancer survival rates in the U.S. are the highest in the world and that U.S. patients are more likely than those in other countries to undergo screening procedures on a regular basis.

But, McCaughey points out, early diagnosis isn't the only factor to consider: the speed with which a patient can access treatment is also critical. From the article:

Long waits for treatment are "common devices used to restrict access to care in countries with universal health insurance," according to a report in Health Affairs (July/August 2007). The British National Health Service has set a target for reducing waits. The goal is that patients will not have to wait more than 18 weeks between the time their general practitioner refers them to a specialist and they actually begin treatment.

18 weeks?! Wow. I wonder how much cancer could spread in the more than 4 months that it would take for a patient to being treatment.

As many problems as the current U.S. health care system may have, I think I'd still choose capitalism over socialism.

Evolution: The Rest of the Story

From the website of Jeff Nelsen, the horn player for the Canadian Brass:

Integration

Recently, the Charlotte Observer has been publishing articles and pictures related to its public schools' integration 50 years ago.

It amazes me to see what children were willing to go through--and what parents were willing to put their children through--just so black children could have the same opportunities as white children. I'm glad they were willing to do that; I don't think I would have been.

Check out the articles and pictures posted here. Especially look at the Dorothy Counts photos and story.

Credit card debt?

They make it sound so simple....

HT: Jonathan Taylor

It followed me home! Can I keep it?

No wonder they couldn't find it....

It appears that a search is completed for a two-foot-long alligator that had been seen recently in a pond on the [near campus] estate.

A two-foot-long alligator found at the University's _______ International Conference Center has been turned over to ___ ____ Reptile Rescue, a non-profit organization.

The University News Service distributed an e-mail Wednesday afternoon reporting that an alligator had been spotted on the estate and that ___ ____ Reptile Rescue was trying to locate and capture it. The e-mail prompted a [conference center] employee to inform the University that he had caught a small alligator last Sunday after it crossed ________ Road and walked onto the [conference center] property. Unaware that the University was looking for it, the employee had taken the alligator home and was attempting to find an appropriate organization to take it.

After hearing from the employee late Wednesday, University Police contacted ___ ____ Reptile Rescue. The employee gave the alligator to a representative of the organization. The organization will relocate the alligator in an appropriate setting.

[University] News Service

I'm sure that taking it home would be my first impulse!

Inappropriately Located Alligator!

I received the following email today:
Recently, the University learned that an alligator, approximately two feet
in length, is in Lake _________ at [gardens near campus]. At the suggestion of _______ County Animal Control staff, the University has reported the alligator's presence to a non-profit organization that rescues reptiles and moves them to appropriate locations.

Meanwhile, the University Police department asks that people stay away from the alligator and report its exact location if anyone sees it. The number to call is _______ or _______.

The alligator was reported to University Police on August 31. Officers saw
the alligator on a log in the lake, near the lake's bank, and promptly
contacted _______ County Animal Control. That same day, county staff
recommended that the University ask ___ ____ Reptile Rescue to capture it.
Since that time, the rescue organization has attempted but failed to capture it. Efforts to remove the alligator will continue.

[University] News Service

For some reason, I find this entertaining.

No, I do not attend school in Florida or in any other state with which one typically associates the presence of rogue alligators.