Political Debate, Romanian Style



[CRISIS SOLUTIONS IN THE ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN...FROM DOCTRINES TO "PIGS WITH LIPSTICK"!]

Man, former bodybuilder turned Senator (M): You...the leaders of the (?)PDR...this is who you are...you should never again be in Parliament or anywhere.

Woman, the Senator's political rival (W): Mr. Marinescu stole our bidet and we're the thieves.

M: You have a bidet-face like you wouldn't believe, Madame. You are such a petty person.

(W tips glass.)

Moderator: Please...

(M throws water in W's face.)

Moderator: Ohh...No, no, no...Please...we ask you nicely...

M: Excuse me...It happened; I apologize.

Moderator: This can't be...

M: I want to tell you that as much uncouthness as there is in politics, and as many people who [unintelligible] from the budget...

Anchor: I can't believe something like this happened.

My Secret Identity, Revealed


Photo by rosemania

Turns out I am, after all, a man. Who knew?


(via)

Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a Pedophile's BFF

Dov Hikind, a pedophile's BFF
Photo via

Assemblyman Dov Hikind has information--including the names of 60 accused sexual predators--detailing child sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community.

According to Hikind, he isn't sharing the information with the authorities because 1) the statutes of limitations have expired and no prosecution or civil lawsuit could be filed, and 2) the victims spoke to him in confidence.

In other words, the mighty Dov Hikind, high on the stench of self-importance oozing from his every pore, has deemed the potential abuse and suffering of current and future victims irrelevant.

It's good to be a politician, no?

And, apropos of inappropriate sexual conduct and the Orthodox Jewish community, apparently it's also good to be a rabbi, the Special Underpants Rabbi that is:

The critical battleground in the War Between the Grunwalds would prove to be niddah, or “separation,” i.e., when the menstruating female is considered “impure” and kept apart from her husband. “It isn’t just your period,” Gitty says. After a woman stops bleeding, she has to wear white underwear for seven days, checking constantly to see if there’s any discharge. Should spotting occur, the woman takes her underwear to a special rabbi who examines the color, shape, and density of the stain. It is he who divines when it is safe for the woman to immerse herself in the mikvah (ritual bath) and be reunited with her husband.


These religious people should take a lesson from the Underpants Gnomes; if you're so inclined, it's possible to handle other people's underwear without having to debase them.

No Prostitution Charges for Eliot Spitzer

Eliot Spitzer Pimps His New Vulture Fund

According to Michael J. Garcia, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York: “We’ll look hard. If there are violations of the law, we’ll charge them.”

Except, you know, when there are violations of the law committed by Eliot Spitzer. When that happens, we don't so much charge them as we start finessing the requirements for bringing charges.

Which, if you think about it, makes sense.

Since Eliot Spitzer is just a little bit better than you and me, and Mark Brener, Cecil Suwal, Temeka Rachelle Lewis, and holistic health counselor and part-time booker for the escort service Tanya Hollander, it might have looked a bit unseemly to prosecute Mr. Spitzer.

NuvaRing Breakthrough Bleeding

NuvaRing

If you are using NuvaRing, the vaginal contraceptive ring on an extended regimen, and you experience breakthrough bleeding or spotting [for at least 5 consecutive days], remove the ring for 4 days, store it, and then reinsert the ring. [Use a backup birth control method for those 4 days.]

Dummy Gets a Cesarean Section

Nice video of a simulated Cesarean section.

HPV Vaccination Required For Female Immigrants

Did you know that:

Young women seeking to immigrate to the United States currently are required to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, under an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under the 1996 amendment, individuals seeking immigrant visas must provide proof of vaccination for all vaccines recommended by the U.S. Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices. This list, which is updated periodically, now includes HPV vaccination for females aged 11-12 years, with catch-up vaccination among those aged 13-26 years. The addition of the HPV vaccine to the list of required vaccines for immigrants was automatic and required by statute, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman Curtis Allen, and was not part of ACIP deliberations when the committee originally recommended use of the HPV vaccine. According to a spokeswoman for Merck, the HPV vaccine Gardasil costs approximately $290-$375 for the three-dose series. The company was not aware of the immigration policy and did not lobby for that provision, she added.

Marines Torture, Kill Fellow Marine; Rape, Torture, and Kill His Wife


Photo by Daily News

Doesn't the failure to screen out not one, not two, but four psychopaths represent a serious failure of the Marines' recruiting and training processes?

Kick the Sick Out of the Country

I had no idea you can deport U.S. citizens and legal immigrants just because they're sick and uninsured:

GILA BEND, Ariz. — Soon after Antonio Torres, a husky 19-year-old farmworker, suffered catastrophic injuries in a car accident last June, a Phoenix hospital began making plans for his repatriation to Mexico.

Mr. Torres was comatose and connected to a ventilator. He was also a legal immigrant whose family lives and works in the purple alfalfa fields of this southwestern town. But he was uninsured. So the hospital disregarded the strenuous objections of his grief-stricken parents and sent Mr. Torres on a four-hour journey over the California border into Mexicali.

...

In the case of Elliott Bustamante, a hospital in Tucson moved speedily, and ultimately unsuccessfully, to transfer a sickly infant to Mexico, ignoring the mother’s opposition and the fact that Elliott was an American citizen born with Down syndrome and a heart problem at that very hospital.

President Obama


Photo by REUTERS/Jim Bourg


I agree with our Dear Leader (no, not that one; Prof. Myers you silly socialist drones):

[W]e may have made the more rational choice in this one election, but reinforcing the potency of irrationality will come back to bite us over and over again.

Sure there is water in the glass, but it's just hard to not notice that the glass is, you know, half empty.

South Dakota (Colorado, California) Abortion Ban

Fail (again)!

With 799 of 799 precincts reporting, South Dakota's Measure 11, a sweeping abortion ban, failed 55.21% (206, 477) to 44.79% (167,518).

In related news, the loopy Colorado initiative to confer personhood to fertilized eggs also failed.

And in California, with 23121 of 25429 precincts reporting, another proposed measure to restrict patients' access to abortion is failing 53% (4,854,959) to 47% (4,374,499).

Update: with 24550 precincts reporting, it's 52% (5,060,064) to 48% (4,626,519).

Update 2: with 25348 precincts reporting, it's 52% (5,143,165) to 48% (4,751,583).

Update 3: final result, 52% (5,194,617) to 48% (4,791,677).

The Secret of Governor Palin's Medical Records


Photo by bobster1985

Governor Palin, a tad unclear on the need for someone in her position to present a medical history, promised that if her medical records are released, we'll see that she is a happy and healthy multip. [You know, trust and don't verify.]

A week ago Gov. Palin's campaign promised to actually release information on her medical history. With only two more days left till Nov. 4, we're still waiting for that information.

Needless to say, this failure to disclose any medical information has led to rampant speculation online. The amateur medical detective consensus seems to be that some deep, dark secret in Gov. Palin's obstetric history is the reason for her failure to release her medical records.

Poppycock, and here's why.

The purpose of a candidate releasing his/her medical record is to help voters judge their medical, not ideological, suitability for the job. As such, Gov. Palin's detailed Ob history--her exact gravidity--is irrelevant.

Other than the fact that she's a multip (she's had more than one child), it would be unprofessional for her Ob/Gyn to release anything about, say, her past abortion history. [I know I wouldn't.] Having had, or not having had, an abortion has no impact on how medically fit Gov. Palin is to run for elected office.

So, regardless of what Gov. Palin's actual obstetrics history might be, I am fairly certain it is not the reason for her failing to release her medical records.

UPDATE:

Gov. Palin releases letter from her FP (.pdf). She's in very good health (BP 96/61, P 77; no labs), with no significant past medical and family history, four term and one pre-term deliveries, NKDA, and no meds.



2008 NYC Marathon Pics