Political Cartoon is by Adam Zyglis in The Buffalo News.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Cowboy Practice Facility Collapses
The new year for the Dallas Cowboys is certainly off to an inauspicious start. The new draftees and free agents were only in their second day of practice as a Cowboy, and they find themselves in the middle of an unexpected disaster. They hadn't even had a chance to get used to being in a Cowboy uniform yet.
The Cowboys were holding a three day mini-camp this weekend. It was a chance for the newbies to get fitted for a uniform, suit out and show the Cowboy coaches what they can do. But in the middle of their second day of practice, a storm comes up, with 64 mile-an-hour winds, and the practice facility they were in collapses. At least 10 people were injured, but fortunately, no one was fatally injured.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "The facility was built in 2003. It’s approximately 80,000 square feet and covers a 100-yard, synthetic grass field. The peak of the building is approximately 80 feet." There were about 70 people in the facility when the roof collapsed.
After the way the last season ended, I didn't think things could get any worse for the team. I guess I was wrong. All I can hope for is that a year that starts this badly won't end until the Super Bowl.
The Disappearing Car
Can you see the car in the photo above? The grill is fairly obvious, but the rest of the car just disappears into the background. You might think this is a bit of computer trickery, but it's not. This effect was achieved with just paint and brush.
This is an art project by second year art student, Sara Watson (the girl in the picture). She is a student at the University of Central Lancashire in England.
Watson said, "I was experimenting with the whole concept of illusion but needed something a bit more physical to make a real impact."A recycling center gave her the old car (a Skoda Fabia) and she set it up in the parking lot outside her studio.
It took her three weeks to do the amazing art work on the car.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Ultrasound Bill Passes Texas Senate
Two-bit Rush Limbaugh wanna-be, Dan Patrick, is still trying to become the culture war hero of the ultra-right, and he's willing to throw Texas women under the bus to do it. He's now decided that Texas women need his guidance, since they are obviously too stupid to make their own decisions about their own bodies.In this legislative session, Sen. Patrick (R-Houston) authored a bill which would require a doctor to force any woman seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound, view that ultrasound and listen to the fetal heartbeat. Fortunately even the Republican-dominated Texas Senate is not that cruel.
The bill was blocked, largely due to the efforts of Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth), the Texas Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Patrick then scaled back the bill. He would still force the women to have the ultrasound, but they could now refuse to look at it. The doctors still objected. They said this would violate a woman's right to refuse an unnecessary medical treatment.
Patrick obviously cared nothing about the rights of Texas women, but it was clear the bill could not be passed, so he changed it again. He had to get something passed to keep his ultra-right supporters happy. The third version of the bill just says a doctor must offer an ultrasound to any women asking about an abortion, but the woman has the right to refuse it.
Patrick claims he is just trying to protect women's health. Nonsense! The bill has nothing to do with protecting the health of women. As Sen. Davis says, the bill is just "about shaming a woman" who faces a tough and very emotional decision. Other say even this weakest version of the bill is about bullying women.
The bill was finally passed in the Senate, so I guess Patrick gets his pyrrhic victory. Fortunately, Sen. Davis (pictured) and the doctors were able to make sure the bill is toothless.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Texas Senate Approves "Choose Life" Plate
The Texas Legislature just couldn't do it. They couldn't finish a whole legislative session without throwing a bone to the religious right. On Thursday, the Senate passed a bill by Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas) that would create a new license plate that says "Choose Life". The vote was 22-9. The senators who voted for the plate said it was a pro-adoption plate and the funds from the sale of the plate would benefit adoptions.
That's a ridiculous assertion. However they may try to obfuscate the issue, this is political-religious bone thrown to social conservatives who are anti-abortion. I wouldn't have a problem with it if they would also create a "Pro-Choice" plate, but there is little chance of that. This is not about fairness (or adoption). It is about pushing a fundamentalist religious viewpoint.
I think the state can count on having to defend this action in a federal court. I seriously doubt if the Pro-Choice proponents will accept this without a fight.
Could You Be Immune To Swine Flu ?
In 1918, the Spanish flu raged around the world, killing many millions of people. That pandemic was caused by a strain of the flu virus called H1N1. A few days ago, the H1N1 virus popped up again. This time it was called Swine flu. Although it was believed to have started in Mexico (that's where the largest number of patients and deaths are so far), it spread quickly and in just a few days has shown up in several countries on several continents.When the deaths began to pile up, and most of those affected were young healthy people, just like the Spanish flu, it is easy to see how the World Health Organization (WHO) was afraid they might be looking at another deadly flu pandemic -- just like the one 91 years ago.
The WHO, the USCDC (Center for Disease Control) and state health departments have quickly taken action to try and head off the feared new pandemic. People with any flu symptoms are urged not to go to work or school. Drugstores are selling out of face masks. Events have been cancelled and schools have been closed. News of the new flu have been covered extensively by all types of media.
These may be reasonable actions or may be overreactions. No one knows yet. But scientists who have been studying the new H1N1 virus think the new flu may be more benign than was previously believed. They have found some small differences between the current version of H1N1 and the 1918 H1N1.
One of these differences is the absence of an amino acid in the current version. This amino acid helped the 1918 virus to replicate itself very rapidly once it entered the lungs. This made the virus extremely deadly. The absence of this amino acid could be why the current version of H1N1 is not as virulent.
This does not mean the virus is not dangerous. It obviously has killed. But it may turn out to be no more deadly than more common strains of flu (which can kill 30,000 to 40,000 people each year in the United States). That is a tragic figure, but nowhere near the death toll racked up by the 1918 Spanish flu.
Another oddity of this new Swine flu is that it is not striking the elderly. Normally, the elderly and children are the groups most likely to die from the flu. Why is this virus different?
The scientists think they may know. There was a flu pandemic in 1957 that killed around 2 million people. It is believed that those who were exposed to the 1957 flu may have an immunity to the current H1N1 virus. That would basically cover those in their mid-fifties and older.
Other than gaining a bit of wisdom, there aren't a lot of advantages to growing old. But it looks like this could be one of those few advantages.
Justice Souter Will Retire
New court clerks are usually hired by Supreme Court Justices in the Spring. They then spend the summer researching cases that could be heard by the court when it convenes in October. All of the new clerks have been hired -- that is, all except those of one justice.That justice is David Souter. Since he has not hired any new clerks, there has been a rumor going around that he was going to retire. Now it looks like the rumor is true. Anonymous sources have told NBC news that Souter is indeed going to retire, although it is not known whether he will retire soon, or wait until his replacement is chosen.
This will give President Obama his first chance to appoint a Supreme Court justice. It should be interesting to see what kind of person the president chooses to be on the court. Will it be a minority -- perhaps Hispanic or Asian? Will it be another woman or African-American?
Whoever he chooses, it is unlikely to change the balance on the court. Although Souter was appointed by Republican President George H. W. Bush and expected to be a conservative, when he took his seat on the court and the awesome weight of the position fell on his shoulders, he turned out to be one of the most liberal voices on the court.
It is expected that President Obama will choose a liberal to replace him.
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