The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Elizabeth:

This is appalling.

I work at a public university academic library. While we do not currently require ID to use computers, we did at one time, and now we just require that they have university logins. We *still* have 'public use' computers for patrons who are members of the, you know, public.

As a taxpayer funded university, all members of the taxpaying community are allowed to use our resources (though not all of them, such as ILL). I've worked at and used private university libraries that required IDs to enter--that's fair, it's privately funded.

It's not unusual to require ID at certain campus events, but it's not unusual for students to forget them, either. We have a community of working adults and our students forget their IDs all the time. It isn't a hanging offense, and I've never in my life seen anyone receive anything more harsh than 'Please retrieve your ID from your car/dorm/boydfriend's room, please, or I'll have to ask you to leave. Thanks'

Two more beautiful words: Senator McCaskill.

I can't have lentils because of a nasty allergy, so I'll have to play with other legumes. Speaking of black legumes, I ran across some black garbanzos in the Seeds Of Change seed catalog. I've been toying with growing some, because I've never seen them around here, canned or otherwise. Anyone try them?

Curious...
Any reason not to use Pedialite to replace electrolytes and fluid? I'm not sure I'd be aware/awake/energetic enough to mix a cocktail of sugar, salt, water, etc.

Any particular reason it has to be an English word?
Nope, as long as it is easy to remember.

And yep, a recall command is exactly 'stop what you're doing and come here right now.' Very useful.

"Kroykah" could work. Hmm.

Speaking of common/uncommon words in English, can anyone help me decide on a new recall command word? (For dog obedience.)

I want something: easy to remember, one or two syllables, distinctive sound, never or extremely rarely used in everyday dialogue. It'd be nice if it somehow related to "come", but that part is more optional.

TIA.

PS. Xopher, I have no idea. But I had fun pondering.

Thank you! I needed some color and fun today.

Jim,

It's Cheney, then Dennis Hastert (Speaker of the House), Ted Stevens (President Pro Tem of the Senate), then Sec. Rice (Secretary of State), then a bunch more other cabinet folks.

I think an impeachment would also remove Cheney.

For a very chilling read on what Congress knew, James, try Rockefeller's handwritten letter's last paragraph. Letter

I have a dumb question. I can't wear wool. What's my next best option?

I don't go hiking, but do have to walk daily, even when it gets chilly (4 with windchills below, recently). I have heard that Coolmax makes good long undies. Any thoughts?

Carrie said:
"I wonder what part it is of being so ill that one can't help but kill people in horrible ways that you think of as not miserable."

Well my goodness. Let's take your ailing dog idea to its logical conclusion. Extreme arthritis can and does cause even-tempered dogs to become aggressive; it's incurable; it's miserably painful. The solution for a dog who is incurable, in pain, aggressive could be death. It could also be lots and lots and lots of Rimadyl, as thousands of dog owners around the country know only too well. Can Rimadyl shorten lifespans? Of course. So what? There's still no need for the big sleep for a good long while.

Following this model, let's take the mentally ill person who is so miserable and just chuck them in a solitary cell and pump them full of jolly juice until such time as we discover effective and humane ways to deal with their violent urges. Why not try this? It's not like we don't have a full supply of phramaceutical misery crushers at our disposal. Jeez.

Seems to me if we're going to radically overhaul the way we deal with those people who are criminals due to mental illness, it'd be a sight better than taking them out back and shooting them.

For the sake of argument, let's say everyday Afghanistan is responsible for 9/11.

They killed three thousand innocent civilians, destroyed a major center of finance, and a major government building, in an unprovoked act of war.

We, on the other hand, killed ten times that many civilians, and added to that beatings, rape, and torture. They destroyed two buildings, we destroyed many times that, including major infrasture, bridges, mosques, roads, and whole towns. Added to which we destroyed electricity, plumbing and sewage, took over the country's major export, allowed the destruction of their major cultural and historical artifacts, and dismantled much of government, law enforcement, and their entire military. We allowed their borders to go unprotected and let in heavily armed bad guys. And oh yes, we started a civil war. All of which was an unprovoked act of war.

So, you believe everyday Afghanistan deserves cultural genocide. I hesitate to ask what we deserve.

Ashni, You don't need him employed for that. You just need a court.

I have a dumb question. Are medical bracellets helpful to EMTs? Are necklaces better? I suppose it depends on what it says and what the disease/disability is, but I'm just curious.

I disagree. Here's the Merriam Webster definition of race: "2 a : a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock b : a class or kind of people unified by community of interests, habits, or characteristics".

It doesn't have to be about skin color, though in America it mostly is. The Greeks ignored skin color for culture and nation; that dynamic is still racism. I harp on this because you seem to think that the dynamic is new (only 300 years old or so), but it is very old. Treatment of Italian and Irish immigrants in the 1800s did not depend on skin color. Understanding the dynamic and recognizing it in different clothes is part of finding the cure.

People of color are poor now because they began poorer?!!!? I can't believe you said that. Women with the same level of experience as men, doing the same job, make 77% of men's wages. Can you see that discrimination affects wage rate which affects poverty?

Yes: many of the poor are white. My goal is decent living for everyone. Part of that means recognizing that some people get better chances than others, that this is often an unconscious problem, that is pervasive in many societies under different guises, and so on.

Lis Riba perfectly explains what I was trying to get at about the white couple.

Will,

Respectfully, your statistic actually proves the opposite. Race is a huge factor in poverty. US Census

Let me put this in different terms. If you're white, you've got about a 8 in 100 chance of being poor. This is less than people overall (12 chances in 100); that means being white is an advantage. If you're black, you've got about a one in four chance. One in four. That's racism.

Yes, half the poor are white. Because the US is overwhelmingly white. If it weren't for racism, the poverty rate would match the racial percentages overall.

It's also a fact that racism has been with us since humans started writing down history. Check out the Greek writings about the Persians and also their visual depictions. It is full of race. They even have words like Persianize that equate to being a race traitor. Aristotle has lots of fun things to say about the inherently inferior soul of slaves (and women). I'd go find some sources to cite, but I'm feeling kind of cranky. No, it isn't about white people and black people, but it is still racism.

By and large, I see the reaction of the US to this crisis as racist. There are many kinds of racism, and one kind is a sort of "not me" detatchment. No "black people are evil" needed, just "that could never be me".

Finally, you keep pointing out the two white people in the group as some kind of proof that what happened wasn't racist. Have you ever learned a language that subsumed females into male groups? A group of all women is a female construction, but add one guy, and you switch it to male construction. That sort of language quirk comes from unconscious framing of groups. If you get 100 black guys in a room, and add two white people, many people will look into that room and see a bunch of black people, not a group of mixed people. If you do the opposite thing, almost all whites, most people will see the group as "white". Lots of studies on mixed race neighborhoods and so called white-flight back this up.

Okay. I was reading that thread about the "detainment camp" in Oklahoma. Teresa, the orignal poster updated and said that "FEMA has stated until they get these people "in the system", which means on welfare/medicaid, unemployment, etc. and until they have worked through the health issues (the preacher was told there are three outbreaks of dysentary in the group of people coming to this camp) no one will be able to come in the camp and no one will be able to leave. Our preacher had had an offer from one man to come in and wire our cabin with satellite so that it could have TV reception. FEMA told him he could not come in due to health concerns."

She updated and said the three people have dysentery is according to rumor. (This is the one that Mary Kay looked at and affirmed the photos looked right, as far as it went.)

Please somebody remove my tinfoil hat--it's wedged on my head!

The children will NOT be allowed to go to school in the local district, etc.

Link

Looking at what they posted, it sure looks like a very natural disease containment facility to me. I hope someone can disabuse me of this notion but quick.

I read a ton of dog/animal related news. I remember two things. One, some university lab researchers who were finally able to evacuate euthanized their lab animals because they couldn't take them with (and they'd drown/starve). It wasn't Tulane, I don't think. Two, two NOPD dogs drank some open water and died within a couple of hours.

I wonder if some of those diseases are mosquito borne?

I see another parallel, and it scares me. The Japanese were effective in their attack because they knew we were vulnerable and where. I wonder what the terrorists are thinking now. I mean, do they look at our response to New Orleans and think: "Sitting ducks. The whole US response system is ineffective and ripe for the killing. Let's step up our attack timeline."

I think another terrorist attack on US soil might also trigger martial law across the board.

I heard that DART was turned back at the border by Homeland Security. Don't remember where I read it, Atrios maybe.

Graydon, Yes, I woke up this morning and thought--"depraved indifference."

I still don't get why we haven't called in the Air Force pararescue jumpers, the Navy SEALs, not to mention the Marines; they could get people out, random thugs or no.

"We have gone completely insane."

Yes. I would add evil. I don't know what to do about it anymore.

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