CNN: Safe sex ideas that raise eyebrows

Young people in the countryside [Australia] hang out under trees, making it the perfect place for nurses to hang condom-filled canisters.

I guess my idea of the air-bag condom didn't make it. Too bad.

BTW, has anybody used the Yours & Mine KY? I wonder if it is at all like the vinegar-baking soda volcano.

NRO: The End of Journalism

Imagine the reaction of the New York Times or the Washington Post had John McCain renounced his promise to participate in public campaign financing, proceeded instead to amass $600 million and outraise the publicly financed Barack Obama four-to-one, and begun airing special 30-minute unanswered infomercials during the last week of the campaign.

Imagine the reaction of Newsweek or Time had moose-hunting mom Sarah Palin claimed FDR went on television to address the nation as President in 1929, or warned America that our enemies abroad would test John McCain and that his response would result in a radical loss of his popularity at home.

Imagine the reaction of CNN or NBC had John McCain's pastor and spiritual advisor of 20 years been revealed as a white supremacist who damned a multiracial United States, or had he been a close acquaintance until 2005 of an unrepentant terrorist bomber of abortion clinics, or had McCain himself sued to eliminate congressional opponents by challenging the validity of African-American voters who signed petitions, or had both his primary and general election senatorial rivals imploded once their sealed divorce records were mysteriously leaked.

Back in 2004 I thought it was bad that the MSM refused to review John Kerry's 20-year tenure in the US Senate. In 2008 I've come to the conclusion that America is about to make the most uninformed political decision in its history, due to the fact that the MSM refuses to shine an even light on both campaigns. And that, my friends, is quite sad.

Quick note about the .m3u playlists included in this post. If you are using iTunes, as I am, you will want to download the file to your desktop. Use whatever click-key command that you need to to. Then drop that file into a playlist. If you cannot get that to work, use the navigation at the bottom of the page and find your way to the Jams.

I had a chance to finally pick up the most recent Stereophonics album a few days ago. It's a 2007 release that was import only here. I noticed it on iTunes the other day and thought I would grab it. At the time Amazon had it listed as out of stock.

Overall, it's a really decent spin. It is in the same vein as Dakota, but with a bit more bristle. If you are looking for a Performance and Cocktails type feel, put in the old disc. Those days are past. However, I found enough feedback to make it feel right, and bouncy in places that kept me interested at a distance. Here's the MintJams Playlist : Pull the Pin.*

Leonna Naess has been a personal favorite for quite some time. If you are a frequent rider here, she will not be new to you. If you are in the passing lane, Leonna is going to sound like a one-hit wonder. I would encourage you to review her material when you have time. She's smooth in the right places but a little rough around the edges to keep her interesting.

Anyway, Thirteens is a much awaited album that finally came out back in September. It's much more Indie, much more acoustic than her Blue-Eyed Baby type material. For me, when I find a girl that is not afraid to pick up a libation and the guitar, my ears perk up.

MintJams Playlist : Pull the Pin.* Give it a spin. It's good for you.

* Insert standard MintJams listen-only disclaimer here. If you want to purchase either of those albums, and I strongly encourage you to do so, click the big dummy buttons above.

Will the Real Truth Come Out on Anything?

If one candidate made a claim that his opponent considered false, he could hit a buzzer, and a panel of experts from organizations like CQ, factcheck.org, etc. would take a minute to review it (commercial break time for networks). If the challenge is successful, it doesn't count against the candidate's two-challenge limit.

That is the best idea I have heard all year. If you have not spent any time with this site, try this.

Taken together, the Tax Foundation estimates the McCain proposals would increase the number of nonpayers by about 15 million, bringing the total number of taxpayers who pay no personal income taxes to 62 million, roughly 43 percent of all tax filers.... Obama uses a longer list of smaller tax credit ideas to reduce a similar number of taxpayers' liability to zero. About 16 million people who are currently paying at least a little income tax would see their liability zeroed out, bringing the total to 63 million, or 44 percent of all tax returns.

Seriously folks, this shit has gotten so far out of hand that we can hardly recognize ourselves. And that is a damn shame.

Interesting study, that I found via Reason, on the effect of gun show regulation and gun violence.

A new study finds no evidence that gun shows lead to substantial increases in either gun-related homicides or suicides.

The University of Michigan and University of Maryland study also shows that tighter regulation of gun shows does not appear to reduce the number of firearms-related deaths.

"We believe that this analysis makes an important contribution to understanding the influence of gun shows, the regulation of which is arguably the most active area of federal, state, and local firearms policy," said Brian Jacob, a professor at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

And it's not like the Ford School at the U of M is the most conservative of institutions.

For those with the interest in pawing through an entire academic paper to see how they arrived at their findings (yes, I did), here you go (pdf).

I want one that says "Please Read the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution, Asshat."

I had several chances to consider this beer's merits over the last few weeks. I like it. Overall, not something that I would go out to get right away. But, it's pretty inexpensive and worth the experience. I found myself trying to locate the bits of oregano and basil after each sip. They are not there. But the flavor is.

It's somewhere between a halfway decent beer and pizza belch. Which, I think the riders here will find enjoyable.

If you are on the A-C list you have already gotten wind of this. If the following news is new to you, I need an updated e-mail address or you are on the D list. Sorry.

Saturday evening our dog Franklin went into an epileptic status state, with seizures occurring every 30 seconds or so. I struggled to get the 80lbs. hound into the back seat of our two-door, while he has convulsing, frothing and urinating (anybody want to buy a Dodge Stratus?). We raced to a nearby Vet ER.

The basic tactic with epileptic dogs is to control the seizures as much as possible with medication. With the case of the Status on Saturday, the goal is to knock the dog out and stop the seizures. At the ER he was given large doses of valium without success. We were told that the best thing for the dog was to transfer him to our neurological ER about 20 miles north. This is where Franklin's neurologist was located.

This time my wife got the back seat and the syringe of valium while I drove. Franklin's Status continued. We arrived at the next vet and Franklin was anesthetized completely. By the time that occurred his Status lasted approximately two hours. We put down a significant four-figure down payment and signed a DNR.

Over the next two days, Franklin was placed on heavy doses of Keppra and Phenobarbitol while being tapered off his anesthetic. Again, the trick is to break the seizure cycle and bring him back online. On Sunday, he began to seize and was placed back on the anesthetic. On Tuesday, when he was coming to, he began to exhibit frontal seizures with his eye brows and ear movements reflecting abnormal brain activity. He was anesthetized again.

We visited on Monday evening, after the second attempt to break his cycle. We found our dog sleeping normally. We were told that hopefully he would be brought back around and things would be progress towards solid food, oral meds and a trip home. When we saw him on Tuesday evening, after being under for a solid three days, he exhibited signs of pneumonia with labored breathing, elevated body temperature and increased heart rate. He was scheduled to come off the anesthetic at 3am Wed, and then we would be able to determine if he was going to make it.

In all honesty, my wife and I knew that he was not coming home after seeing him on Tuesday evening. We figured he would come back to and seize again. Prolonged Status cycles can cause brain damage, and every seizure makes the dog more prone to future seizures. At best we would have most likely had a dog that was in-pared in some way. We prepared to make a third trip back the Vet on Wednesday to most likely euthanize Franklin.

We received a call shortly after 3am on Wednesday from the Vet. Franklin went into cardiac arrest and passed. With that our shelter dog leaves a life where he was completely cherished by all who had the opportunity to meet him. A life of loving attention and support through his long struggle with an erratic disease.

My wife is completely crushed.