The CCLU Strikes Again! Burn The Book!

From the Guardian:

In a scene which appears to have been lifted straight out of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, a group of Christians in Wisconsin has launched a legal claim demanding the right to publicly burn a copy of a book for teenagers which they deem to be "explicitly vulgar, racial [sic], and anti-Christian".

The offending book is Francesca Lia Block's Baby Be-Bop, a young adult novel in which a boy, struggling with his homosexuality, is beaten up by a homophobic gang. The complaint, which according to the American Library Association also demands $120,000 (£72,000) in compensatory damages for being exposed to the book in a display at West Bend Community Memorial Library, was lodged by four men from the Christian Civil Liberties Union.

Their suit says that "the plaintiffs, all of whom are elderly, claim their mental and emotional well-being was damaged by this book at the library," and that it contains derogatory language that could "put one's life in possible jeopardy, adults and children alike."

Hmmm. Such tender sensibilities. And one wonders how the lives of the elders who want the right to burn the book could be put in jeopardy by said book. I'm not getting this.

"[A] bit of theatre", indeed!

Thanks to Paul (A.) for the link.

I Had To Do It

I changed my blog background color to green in solidarity with the protesters in Iran after watching the tee vee tonight. If the Iranian people have the courage to demonstrate in the streets and the Iranian players on the World Cup soccer team have the courage to wear their green arm bands on TV, possibly at great risk to themselves, then I can make my blog green at no risk at all to myself to stand with them.




UPDATE: If you'd like to know more about the demonstration today and the general situation in Iran, read Juan Cole's post at Informed Comment.

Do You Have Fruity Fruit Flies?

From the Telegraph.

The pairing of same sex couples had previously been observed in more than 1,000 species including penguins, dolphins and primates.

However, in the latest study the authors claim the phenomenon is not only widespread but part of a necessary biological adaptation for the survival of the species.

They found that on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, almost a third of the Laysan albatross population is raised by pairs of two females because of the shortage of males. Through these 'lesbian' unions, Laysan albatross are flourishing. Their existence had been dwindling before the adaptation was noticed.

Other species form same-sex bonds for other reasons, they found. Dolphins have been known engage in same-sex interactions to facilitate group bonding while male-male pairings in locusts killed off the weaker males.
....

Dr Bailey said: "It's clear same-sex sexual behaviour extends far beyond the well-known examples that dominate both the scientific and popular literature – for example, bonobos, dolphins, penguins and fruit flies.

"Same-sex behaviours – courtship, mounting or parenting – are traits that may have been shaped by natural selection, a basic mechanism of evolution that occurs over successive generations," he said.

"But our review of studies also suggests that these same-sex behaviours might act as selective forces in and of themselves."

Had I known about the fruity fruit flies yesterday during my visit to the Audubon Insectarium, I'd have inquired as to whether they had specimens.

Of course, this information will mean nothing to those folks who do not believe in natural selection.

Yeah, yeah, I know, The Telegraph is not the most trustworthy source, but if you doubt, read more from Wired Science in their article titled, "Is Homosexuality an Evolutionary Step Towards the Superorganism?"

Only by conceiving of evolution as acting upon entire populations rather than individual organisms can we understand eusociality — the mysterious, seemingly "altruistic" behaviors exhibited by insects who forego reproduction in order to care for a colony’s young.

So says Edward O. Wilson, the legendary sociobiologist, environmentalist and entomologist, in an article published in the January issue of Bioscience. Wilson doesn’t extrapolate from bugs to people, but his conclusions raise fascinating questions about the evolutionary aspects of non-reproducing humans.
....

So with all necessary caveats against reductionism and misappropriation, we can ask: should human societies conceive of themselves in terms of group-level selection? Have we already developed aspects of eusociality? And — just to make matters really interesting — could non-reproducing humans, such as (most) gays and lesbians, as well as heterosexuals who choose not to have kids, actually be a manifestation of this emergent eusociality?

Citing eusociality in defense of any lifestyle choice, even theoretically, could backfire: it implies a subservience of individual well-being to the greater good. But at least it suggests that certain unorthodox lifestyles might not be so "unnatural" after all.

Image from Wiki.

Update from the comments by IT:

However, I must tell you that the photo you have chosen of Acidia cognata is not what we commonly think of as a "fruit fly" in genetics research. Rather, the workhorse is Drosophila melanogaster, and most "fruit flies" you see around the house are, if not melanogaster, some sort of related Drosophila species.

And here is Drosophila also from Wiki.

What We Did Yesterday

 

Yesterday, Grandpère and I headed for New Orleans with our two grandchildren from Thibodaux to meet my daughter and her three sons to visit the Audubon Insectarium in the downtown area. Our first stop was Mulate's for lunch. Well, it cost the earth for our tribe, but the food was good, and the restaurant was casual enough that our noisy, unruly bunch did not disturb the other diners unduly.

 

Then we were off to the Insectarium, which we incorrectly thought was nearer than it turned out to be. We had quite a walk in the hot, hot sun, six or seven blocks on brick and concrete, and while I was wearing comfortable sandals, my ancient feet call for walking shoes for this type of exercise.

Pictured above are the young 'uns of the group far ahead, with GP and I lagging well behind, out of the picture. In truth GP was lagging behind to stay with slow me, because he's a fast walker on his own, and he wore his walking shoes.

The Audubon Insectarium is quite well done. We learned that cockroaches could very likely survive a nuclear war (slightly tongue-in-cheek, but I suspect a definite possibility) and all sorts of little known and fascinating facts about insects, along with seeing colonies and live specimens of the insects themselves, plus fossils. My favorites amongst the fossils were the perfect specimens preserved in amber.

From the review of the Insectarium in the New York Times:

What is it about these creatures? In the new $25 million Audubon Insectarium, which opened here in June, you can watch Formosan termites eat through a wooden skyline of New Orleans (as if this city didn’t have enough problems), stick your head into a transparent dome in a kitchen closet swarming with giant cockroaches and watch dung beetles plow their way through a mound of waste. And then you can engage in the museum’s most brilliant interactivity by joining in the line of eager visitors prepared to munch on a handful of crunchy Cajun-fried crickets or scoop up some wax-worm stir fry.

“Gross!” your inner adolescent is likely to shout with a smiling shudder. But visitors of all ages to the Bug Appétit buffet, situated just behind the museum’s Tiny Termite Café, keep lining up for seconds. And for every sight that inspires shocked amazement, there is another where sheer wonder wins out. O.K., it’s fascinating to learn that a cockroach can survive for weeks without its head, or that millipedes secrete a foul-smelling liquid that you can touch, or that one of every four species on this planet is a form of beetle. But you can also watch a colony of leaf-cutter ants at work. They carry their jaw-torn green bounty into their maze of tunnels where, in one chamber open for inspection, the workers cultivate a gray fungus found nowhere else in nature; that fungus feeds the entire colony.

A couple of us, including me, ate a cricket cookie, which tasted pretty much like a chocolate chip cookie and was fine so long as I didn't permit the thought of what I was eating linger too long in my mind. My daughter tasted the cricket dip, but she did not like it at all.

I was eager to get to the butterfly room, where you walk amongst the butterflies and, if you're lucky, one will land on you. I wore a pink shirt to attract them to me, but alas! - I was not one of the fortunate. My grandson and my daughter hit the jackpot as shown below.

Perched on GS's finger



This beauty liked my daughter's hair. She would have killed me if I had shown her face with every pore visible.

The butterfly room was lovely, the best saved for last, even if I didn't have a close encounter.

 

Then we were off on the looong walk back to the car - or rather the SUV that rode us all. Everyone else seemed to do well on the walk, except me. My feet hurt, and I felt a blister forming on my little toe, which, of course, grew larger and became more painful the more I walked. What with the heat, the sun, and my aching feet, I soon was lost in a generalized misery that had no real focus. The walk seemed to stretch for miles, but that was only in my head. It would have been an easy stroll under different circumstances. GP tried to cheer me on by telling stories and such. Finally, I told him, "You know, I really don't give a sh*t about anything you're telling me. I'm miserable, and I just want to get to the car."

The picture above shows a Hubig's Pies truck. I've loved Hubig Pies since I was a child, and the pie man came around the neighborhoods selling the fried pies from a bicycle cart. Peach pies were my favorites. I was in such a state, that I didn't even notice the truck until the picture loaded into my computer.

This sort of post is quite time-consuming, but I do it because I love you all and hope that you will enjoy it and, at the same time, appreciate just a little all the hard work that goes into it. In truth, I enjoy writing this kind of post.

So. Sometimes I'm nice, and sometimes I'm not so nice, as with poor Grandpère, who stuck with me and tried to cheer me up, only to have me snarl at him.

We reached home around 7 PM, and I was completely exhausted, but, all things considered, it was a good day of family bonding and family togetherness.

Mwah!

Rules For Grilling - From Guest-Poster Paul (A.)

(although the original calls it BBQ for some unknown reason)


BBQ RULES
We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity. When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
Routine . . .
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill, beer in hand.
(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three-yard exclusion zone where the exuberance and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.

Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
More routine . . .
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat.

Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
More routine . . .
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.
(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off," and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some
women.


Cheers,

Paul (A.)

Also posted at OCICBOV.

Are Women Born Like This?

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

Cross-posted at OCICBOV.

Jazz At The White House

Paquito D'Rivera and Wynton Marsalis

From the Times-Picayune:

WASHINGTON -- "That was cool," said Kyle Wedberg, interim president and chief executive of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, loosening his tie as he exited the White House into a saunalike spring day.

The White House fairly dripped of New Orleans on Monday, from the jamming of the jazz master Marsalis family inside to the hand of White House Social Secretary Desiree Glapion Rogers, who guided the opening of the White House Music Series.

The series, which will include days devoted to country and classical music, began with jazz, because, Rogers said, "it's America, it's the jewel." And then, she said, there was also that buzzing in her ear from "Mr. Wynton" -- Marsalis of course -- "with his 'Desiree, we got to, you know.'"

"America's indigenous art form was born in the great city of New Orleans just a century ago through the African-American experience," Michelle Obama, who is hosting the music series, said in brief remarks in the East Room.

Yes, yes, yes, I know that other cities claim to be the birthplace of jazz, but Michele Obama is right. And she comes from Chicago!



Sasha, Malia, and Michele Obama enjoy the music.

Photos from CBS News.

Into The Pool

Thursday - registration, Friday - unsuccessful attempt to enter the pool area, and today - Success! - into the pool. The temp here was in the mid-90s (34° for the foreigners), so the pool was a welcome relief in coolity. It's a great pool and not at all crowded.

I had hoped to show a rear view picture of my two grandchildren, but all the pictures show one face or another, so I used the picture of the swimming pool again. And no pictures of me in my bikini. That would be going way too far.

Prayers Please....

Fran requests prayers for her sister-in-law, who recently had surgery, and is now suffering from post-operative bleeding.

Fran has a paper to finish tonight, so please pray for her, too, as she is worried sick and can't reach anyone now and finding it hard to focus on her paper. Her SIL must have gone to a hospital for help, but she doesn't know for sure.

UPDATE: FranIAm said...

Thank you for all of the prayers. My SIL called at 11:40pm to say that she was just home from the hospital.

They do not ultimately think the bleeding has long term danger, she is off to see her surgeon today, an appointment that was already scheduled.

I am so grateful for all the prayers - I will keep you posted.

God bless.


BLOGGER DOWN!

From Ellie at Child of Illusion:

Dear Readers,

Here's an email I sent out to a number of friends and family members last Friday:

Dear friends and loved ones,

This morning I received a certified letter from the bishop of Oklahoma informing me that, for financial reasons, my position with the diocese is being eliminated and that my employment will be discontinued effective December 31, 2009.

I had already begun the process of petitioning for early retirement and was hoping to qualify for medical retirement. That effort now seems to have been preempted unless there is some legal loophole I don't know about.

I'm confident that I can raise enough money to live on through my work at the Center (St. John's Center for Spiritual Formation here in Tulsa). My big concern, of course, is health care coverage. The law gives me 18 months of extended group coverage if I pay what it costs my previous employer. As of today that cost is $611 a month. After that I am essentially uninsurable privately because of my medical history. I will need to come up with some plan to provide medical coverage for myself until I'm eligible for Medicare when I'm 65. (I turn 60 next month, by the way.)

Well, that's the news, folks! Do keep me in your thoughts and prayers and if anybody has any ideas regarding my predicament, I'll be glad to hear them!

Every blessing to you all,
Ellie

Of course, there's more to this story. The "official" reason the Diocese is giving has to do with budgetary concerns. However the reality is that the new bishop has disliked me from the get go -- for reasons that continue to escape me. It's all very sad.

I will probably say more about this later. For now, this will have to do.

"Miss Affirmative Action, 2009"

"Where's the gratitude?"

From Pat Buchanan's "A Brief For Whitey" in Human Events in March 2008:

Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America.

Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to.

This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these:

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

[Jeremiah] Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.

Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the '60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants.

Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.

We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?

Whew! The piece was a tough read, I can tell you. The "Silent Majority" ruled for only 8 years. That wasn't nearly enough time for them to have their voices heard and to have their way. My heart bleeds for downtrodden hetero white men. They don't get no respect. No one listens to them. Minorities and women rule!

From Pat's latest, "Miss Affirmative Action, 2009" on Sonia Sotomayer in Human Events:

No one has brought forth the slightest evidence she has the intellectual candlepower to sit on the Roberts court. By her own admission, Sotomayor is an "affirmative action baby."

Though the Obama media have been ballyhooing her brilliance -- No. 1 in high school, No. 1 at Princeton, editor of Yale Law Review -- her academic career appears to have been a fraud from beginning to end, a testament to Ivy League corruption.

Two weeks ago, The New York Times reported that, to get up to speed on her English skills at Princeton, Sotomayor was advised to read children's classics and study basic grammar books during her summers. How do you graduate first in your class at Princeton if your summer reading consists of "Chicken Little" and "The Troll Under the Bridge"?

I must conclude that all of Sotomayer's professors colluded in grading her work through her undergraduate years to boost her to her summa cum laude degree and her award as one of the two outstanding graduates at Princeton for her year. And the reason she was chosen as editor of the Yale Law Journal was not because she merited the position, but because the Journal needed a poster Hispanic girl.

To me, it seems that the assistence that Sotomayer received along the way did what it was supposed to do, helped her excel through her own efforts and hard work. Of course, I could be wrong.

Okay, so we all know that folks with racist and anti-feminist views dwell amongst us. Human Events has the right to publish despicable drivel. But why does Buchanan have a reserved seat as a commentator on matters conservative at MSNBC, a major cable news channel? No doubt Pat is well-compensated for occupying his chair and blathering on and on with his idiocies. He exercises restraint on MSNBC, because he knows where his bread is buttered. Is Buchanan an example of what the cable channel thinks of as balanced opinion presentations?

H/T to Zachary Roth at TPM Muckraker.