So Happy Together

A friends baby and cat share a nap.

Data points on Gay vs Straight

The debate over homosexual marriage is full of stereotypes and assumptions on both sides. While I do not support the legalization of homosexual marriage, I understand the desire for recognition and "normalization" of this lifestyle by those in that community. It is refreshing to see one site attempting to use their data to bring us new insights on the debate. Clearly, the writer had a pro-gay-marriage axe to grind, but that does not mean that the data gathered is not worth considering. One of the keys to being a moderate is listening to both sides of the debate, and making your own choices.

Obviously, click this link with caution. This is a family-friendly blog, and some of the content there may be disturbing to those with a sensitive disposition.

101 Years Can't Come Soon Enough

A woman in Texas has waited 101 years, but this week she will finally become a US Citizen. The woman was carried across the US-Mexico border in 1909 by her mother when she was an infant. Back then, there were few border crossing rules and even fewer people to enforce the. She has lived and worked in Texas since that that time and has been married and widowed twice. No she will finally have the opportunity to make her citizenship official.

10/10/10 = The Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything

Gotta love the fact that an arbitrary date which happens to look significant becomes a tribute to Douglas Adams. Rest in peace, DNA.

If you pop open your calculator, put it into Programmer mode, click the Binary button, and then type in 101010, you’ll see that flipping to Decimal mode shows you 42 instead.

I could use a ninja hug

Congresses passes (and Obama vetoes) bill no one wanted

If you're looking for a perfect example of how dysfunctional the current Congress is, consider this story. A well-meaning bill to enhance interstate commerce was passed without debate, and almost unanimously. Only problem? It also would make fraudulent foreclosures MUCH easier, just at the moment we are learning many of the major banks ignored regulations.

Democrats were trying to figure out Thursday how they allowed a bill to pass that critics say would introduce more fraud into the system, a Pelosi staff member said. It was sponsored by Rep. Robert B. Aderholt (R-Ala.), the first measure he sponsored that passed.

Even he was surprised that it passed, his spokesman said.

Might I be so bold as to suggest the current practice of congresspeople voting on bills without reading them might be the cause?

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a statement that his office heard no objections from inside or outside the Senate and even asked the Justice Department to review the language. His committee then approved the bill and it passed by unanimous consent after every Senate office was notified.

Yet another example of how our "professional politicians" are anything but acting professionally in this Congress.

NJ Democrats Work to Get a Tea Party Candidate on the Ballot

Democrats in South-Western New Jersey have done what some would consider the unthinkable. They actively worked to get a "Tea Party" candidate on the ballot in their congressional district. Of course, the candidate Peter DeStefano is not actually affiliated with any of the major Tea Party groups from around the country. None the less, he will be on the ballot in November running under the party tag of NJ Tea Party. The Democrats ran the numbers and decided that a generic "Tea Party" candidate was likely to draw around 5% from the Republican's vote total. Currently, Rep. John Adler is in a tight race with Republican Jon Runyan. There has been no admission of any knowledge from Rep. Adler yet, but many well known and well connected Democrats from the district have their names on the petition to have Peter DeStefano on the ballot and in New Jersey by signing that type of petition you are pledging your support for that candidate. Perhaps the worst looking part of the story in the Courier-Port is the following.
"Regional Tea Party groups said they'd never heard of DeStefano until the Adler campaign released partial results of an internal poll last summer that indicated DeStefano might be a viable third-party challenger. In July and August, DeStefano agreed several times to be interviewed by the Courier-Post and either canceled at the last minute or never showed up."

A candidate who blows off his local papers when running for national office is either foolish, paranoid, or has something to hide.