Pam Spaulding points to this report (PDF format). Not surprisingly, San Francisco has the largest gay population in the country (8.2% in the metro area).
But what she (and I) found startling was the increase in same-sex couples from 2000 to 2005:
Seems gays are coming out all over, and not just in New York and California. North Carolina, for example, showed a 21% increase in out gay couples.
Unbelievably stupid. Listen as he (once again) tries to claim that the violence in Iraq is not that bad.
Let’s start with his conclusion — the last two paragraphs of his post:
I wrote in June that based on the data at that time, the murder rate in Iraq outside of Baghdad is about the same as American cities like Chicago, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. With the current numbers, it looks like that would still be true.
A consensus seems to have developed that Iraq is a disaster because of out-of-control sectarian violence. That consensus is driving proposals to change our policy in Iraq, perhaps in the direction of a pull-out that could lead to truly cataclysmic violence. So I think it makes sense to step back and get a more realistic picture of the level of what is happening in Iraq: violent? Yes. A disaster comparable to a civil war? No.
Now let’s see how he comes to that conclusion, jumping to the start of his post:
My impression has been that violence in Iraq has skyrocketed since July, when I found that the murder rate in Iraq was 140 per 100,000 (the usual way in which murder rates are expressed). I was surprised, therefore, to learn this morning that rate of violence has increased only slightly:
The United Nations said Wednesday that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll since the March 2003 U.S. invasion and another sign of the severity of Iraq’s sectarian bloodbath.
That compares to an estimated 3,500 killed in July. If 3,709 people were murdered in October, that translates to a rate of 171 per 100,000. That is a high rate of violent death. But, for purposes of comparison, the murder rate in Washington, D.C. in 1991 was 80 per 100,000. So the rate of violence in Iraq today is just over double the rate in the District during the first Bush administration. I don’t recall anyone describing conditions in Washington in the early 90s as a "bloodbath."
How to dissect this dishonest and stupid number-crunching?
(1) First, let’s take John’s math at face value. According to him, the October death rate for Iraq was 171 per 100,000 which is "just over double" the murder rate in Washington, D.C. of 80 per 100,000.
Apparently, DOUBLE to John means "comparable" or (quoting from his conclulsory paragraphs) "about the same". Yup, in John’s world 2X roughly equals X.
(2) Now let’s get behind John’s math. You may wonder why he used "for purposes of comparison" the figures from Washington D.C. for 1991 as being illustrative of an American city. Could it be because the homicide level in Washington D.C. for that year was DOUBLE what it is now? Yes. 1991 was by far the most violent in all of D.C’s history when it came to homicides.
Here’s the chart — D.C. homicides were twice what they are now.
So he’s trying to compare the death rate in Iraq with the death rate of the WORST year for Washington, D.C. in recent history. And even though the Iraq death rate is DOUBLE the WORST in D.C.’s history, he’s still trying to claim that the carnage there is comparable to that of the typical American city.
(3) Now the coup de grace. Hindrocket is comparing the number of deaths per month per 100,000 citizens (Iraq for October) with the number of deaths per year per 100,000 citizens (in D.C. in 1991).
So let’s make this simple and honest. We’ll compare apples to apples.
In 1991, D.C. had 600,000 citizens and 482 homicides that year. That amounts to roughly 80 homicides per 100,000 citizens for the entire year.
Iraq has roughly 6,000,000 citizens, and 3,700 were killed last month. Annualizing the 3,700 figure (which John doesn’t do), we get 44,400 Iraq deaths per year out of 6,000,000. That translates to 740 deaths per 100,000 citizens per year — or nine times greater than Washington D.C. during its most violent year (1991) — and eighteen times greater than it is now.
Not "just double" the rate. EIGHTEEN times.
John Hindrocket is truly stupid and/or intellectually dishonest. It’s hard to believe he is an editor at a nationally-syndicated political magazine.
UPDATE: Sadly, No does this better.
I agree with the Captain — something about the police’s version of events doesn’t sound right.
This story, being somewhat local, has been getting a little press:
The Dyersburg Youth Minister accused of raping a 14 year old girl has resigned from his position as Youth Minister of Music at Springhill Baptist Church.
44 year old Timothy Byars submitted his resignation to the church’s pastor over the phone. Byars was released from jail in Knoxville Sunday November 19, 2006 on a $50,000 bond.
The teenage girl claims Byars raped her while she, Byars and three other young girls were attending a track meet in East Tennessee.
While the investigation continues in the case, Springhill Baptist Church Pastor, James Branscum says he and the church members will pray for Byars.
Police say Byars may have also raped another young girl in Nashville.
Did you notice something a little, well, unsettling about that story (other than the one, and possibly two, rapes)? Let me draw your attention to it:
While the investigation continues in the case, Springhill Baptist Church Pastor, James Branscum says he and the church members will pray for Byars.
Somewhere in this world there is one — possibly two — underage girls who were a member of this congregation, and who were raped by their youth minister. Why exactly is the congregation praying for him?
Really? An article and photo spread about the plunging necklines and high skirts on female doctors?
No, she’s smart. Just not as smart as Lenny from Laverne & Shirley.
More here.
This is the kind of news story that drives the conservative right crazy:
37 percent of U.S. births out of wedlock
Out-of-wedlock births in the United States have climbed to an all-time high, accounting for nearly four in 10 babies born last year, government health officials said Tuesday.
While out-of-wedlock births have long been associated with teen mothers, the teen birth rate actually dropped last year to the lowest level on record. Instead, births among unwed mothers rose most dramatically among women in their 20s.
Experts said the overall rise reflects the burgeoning number of people who are putting off marriage or living together without getting married. They said it also reflects the fact that having a child out of wedlock is more acceptable nowadays and not necessarily the source of shame it once was.
"A lot of people think of teenagers and unmarried mothers synonymously, but they are not driving this," said Stephanie Ventura of the National Center for Health Statistics, a co-author of the report.
It’s simply a sign of the times. The days of Ozzie & Harriet are long over. Of course, how long will it be before someone blames this on gay marriage?
Okay. You’ve got a cell phone, a laptop, and all the various things plugged in to your wall in your house. What do they have in common?
Well, not to be obvious, but they all require a power source — i.e., electricity. Electricity comes from a power source, like the electricity connected to your home courtesy of Duke Power or Con Ed, or electricity which comes from a battery (which needs recharging via the electricity connected to your home courtesy of Duke Power or Con Ed).
Now bear with me on this, because this is cool —
Back in the dawning age of electricity, many scientists — most notably Nikoli Tesla (played by David Bowie in a recent film) — believed that electricity could be transmitted. That idea never came to be, sadly.
But not too long ago, we always had wired communication. Our telephones, for example, had a receiver which was connected to a base unit, which was connected to our wall, which was connected to the pole outside our house, which had wires going everywhere in the world.
Now, of course, there are wireless communications (cell phones, cordless phones, etc.) and we think nothing of it.
Is it possible to do the same thing with electricity? Tesla thought it was possible.
A group of physicists from MIT thinks it is possible too. They’re proposing a design for a wireless power transmission system that could make power cables and battery chargers things of the past. What’s more, the researchers believe the power source could run buses or possibly even nano-robots tooling around inside your body.
The system they are proposing doesn’t broadcast power the way an antenna does. Radiating energy out to space would be wasteful. Instead, a power source (1) creates a short range oscillating electric field (2) — what they’re calling "resonance"(3). Properly tuned circuits that are within range of the source (4) suck up some of the energy. If there are no electronics to charge or power nearby, then most of the unused energy returns to the source (5).
Yeah, it sounds complicated. And here’s more about it. But the bottom line is this: in our lifetime, we could live in a world where the need for wall sockets, batteries, power adaptors, etc. are a thing of the past.
Let’s see.
Back in 1999, Jerry Falwell wanted us to know that Tinky Winky the Teletubby was part of the “homosexual agenda.”
In 2004, The Traditional Values Coalition, published a “parents beware” warning about Shrek 2, which the TVC believed was part of a DreamWorks effort to help the “transgender agenda…by promoting cross dressing and transgenderism.”
Also in 2004, the American Family Association took strong umbrage at the movie Shark Tales, insisting that animated carton was designed to brainwash children into accepting gay rights. (Why? Because Shark Tales was about a shark who just doesn’t fit in because he doesn’t like to eat meat, like the other sharks do. Therefore, he’s gay. Or something like that.)
Alan Sears of the Alliance Defense Fund seriously suggested in a book that SpongeBob SquarePants was gay, and James Dobson attacked the loveable Spongebob in 2005 for the same reason.
Now, what is the loony right upset about? Happy Feet, a movie about a penguin trying to find himself. Apparently, it contains an environmental message …and we can’t have our children learning about that now, can we!!!!
Seriously, folks. Politics aside, these are cartoons. Get over it.
But taking a glance around the Internet (by the way, it’s big — did you know that?), we tried to find some Christian cartoons, which presumably are unoffensive and funny. Here’s a side-splitter (Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc – www.reverendfun.com):
Now let me explain why this is funny. You see, a church is dressing in drag so it can marry Abraham Lincoln (playing the role of Jesus). The church’s dress is lavendar (no white for this unchaste bride) and she’s holding her purse, suggesting that this was a rather hasty marriage, perhaps in Las Vegas. President Lincoln is holding a note containing his vows. Or perhaps the Gettysburg Address. We’re not sure, but we know funny, and that is funny.
The caption tells us that the ushers never had to ask the guests if they were with the bride or the groom. Why not? Ah, well . . . that’s because . . . well, just because. And therein lies the humor.
Get it?
Now why can’t those Hollywood elites make cartoons like that?
Jones Soda has an interesting product out: A Holiday Pack of Thanksgiving Soda.
Yup. Five bottles, five flavors.
You get Turkey and Gravy soda, Sweet Potato Soda, Dinner Roll Soda, Pea Soda, and to top it off, Antacid Flavored Soda.
They want you to know that "all sodas are completely vegetarian, certified kosher, and contain zero caffeine, calories, and carbs. "
As if that’s going to make you buy them…..
The Turkey and Gravy Soda has been around for a few years. The other flavors in the pack are new. For what it’s worth, the CEO of Jones Soda is on record as saying that he hasn’t been able to stomach an entire bottle of the stuff.
PIPA has released a new poll of Iraqi attitudes toward the U.S. occupation.
There’s no doubt about what they want: they want us to leave.
Summary report here.
So why are we in Iraq?
For my money, The Player was his best movie.
In this day and age, can a candidate become President if he smokes?
Why not? Laura Bush smokes. Read more.
Um, okay:
Two peace activists have planned a massive anti-war demonstration for the first day of winter.
But they don’t want marching in the streets. They’d much rather protesters just stay home.
The Global Orgasm for Peace was conceived by Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, whose goal is for everyone in the world to have an orgasm Dec. 22 while focusing on world peace.
By promoting what they hope to be a synchronized global orgasm, they hope to have people channel their sexual energy into something more positive.
The couple said interest appears strong, with 26,000 hits a day to their website, www.globalorgasm.org.
"The dream is to have everyone in the world (take part)," Reffell said.
"And if that means laying down your gun for a few minutes, then hey, all the better."
