Would You, Could You, in a Fauxlibuster?

5 Reasons Why You’re Fat

Why are Americans, out of all the countries in the world, one of the fattest? One of the most common answers is that Americans are fat because individuals are making bad food choices, and are thus willing themselves to be fat. People routinely cite obese people with a ton of junk food in their carts at grocery stores, or the “super-sizing” at fast food places as reasons why Americans are fat.

YBGP Index: Math Is Hard

Election Contest Update:  We have not forgotten the Election Contest, but Arizona has been crazy slow to count, so we haven't had the numbers until this week.  I'll sit down and do the math sometime this week when the kids are at their least frenetic.  The T-Shirts are in and ready to go once I figure out the winner.

In the meantime:  with a nod to Harper's, I give you the YBGP Index...

If Karl Rove Were a Democrat: 5 Fake Ads and 1 Punt

So you may have noticed that Karl Rove is a Republican.  And also that he has a special kind of genius for running aggressive, fairly-unethical, but also fairly effective ad campaigns.  He's trying to do that right now - for a SuperPAC he runs, called Crossroads GPS.  They run ads like this one:



Let's take a look at the words on the one, lasting image from this ad:

Get it?  "Arab" on one side, "Lazy" on the other, and the we've got "Luck, Headwinds, and Control..."

Now that's subtle, Karl.  Right up there with the "Rats" ad.

5 Moments in Racial Dogwhistling History (of the last 30 years or so)

 

Inexorably during the last 30 years or so, someone starts doing the math, and realizes that white people make up a hefty percentage of the electorate. Politicians inevitably try to appeal to this important demographic, some by using soaring rhetoric and an appeal to better nature. Others, well, not so much. Since it is no longer acceptable to pitch things to people in blatantly racial terms, politicians in recent times have tried to craft workarounds, dog whistles if you will, to appeal to certain demographics, without having to state out loud exactly what they are trying to say. Follow me below the fold to get 5 modern examples of racial dog whistling...

The Price of Sex

I've been thinking about Emily's piece on The War on Women, and how some issues have become perennial flashpoints. I think in the end, it all boils down to how "cheap" (easy to obtain) sex is in our culture, and how many social conservatives have a deep unease with this notion.  Most conservative social issues boil down to varying strategies to make sex more expensive, especially for women.

The War on Women, A Primer: Part One

Cops in riot gear prepare to meet anti-forced-ultrasound protestors in Virginia.

There has been a back and forth all campaign season about whether there is a War on Women.  Now setting aside the fact that the "War on" title is egregiously overused and somewhat inflammatory, the talk comes from somewhere.  There is a pretty well-acknowledged and consistent gender gap between our two parties.  Men lean right, women lean left.  But on top of that, are there reasons why, this year in particular, we hear about a War on Women?  Has something changed materially about the way Republicans are conducting themselves, or is it just a continuation of conservatives tending to favor policies that favor men over women?

"Legitimate Rape"

First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

                                                                                                             - Rep. Todd Akin

7 Fun (And Not-So-Fun) Facts About Paul Ryan

There is a joke in there, somewhere...

So some of you may have heard that Romney picked a running mate this past weekend, Paul Ryan, a Representative from Wisconsin.  And you may have wondered, who is that guy with the creepy eyes that I may, or may not have heard of before?  Well, we have some answers for you, below the fold...

When The Rubbers Hit The Road, or Why Don’t People Use Birth Control?

We all worry about the population explosion, but we don't worry about it at the right time. ~Arthur Hoppe

In the US, almost half of all pregnancies are unintentional.   Women in the United States are almost twice as likely as women in Great Britain and three times as likely as women in the Netherlands to face an unplanned pregnancy. Despite the plethora of choices for birth control, such as the Pill, IUD, condoms, diaphragms, Depo-Provera, etc. women are  getting pregnant, despite their stated intentions not to do so.  Why is this the case?  Almost 99% of sexually active women have used some form of birth control at some point, so why aren’t couples more diligent about using birth control consistently?

Boo-Urns! -Friday Edition

Here it is again, by popular demand, Mitt Romney getting booed at the NAACP convention when he promises to repeal Obamacare.  You can almost see his circuitry stop at certain points...

Just to have a contrast, here is Vice President Biden, speaking at the same convention...

Get it?

Just My Baby’s Daddy

Ok, I couldn’t resist throwing in a reference to that extremely terrible song.  But lately the issue of  “preglimony” has been in the news, thanks to the musings of one Shari Motro, who argues that in the era of  safe, inexpensive, minimally invasive paternity testing available even in the embryonic stage, men should be obligated to help pay for pregnancy or abortion related expenses.  

Electricity

So my house went without power for a week.

This happened partially because there was a very bad storm in my area, and partially because the reigning utility (PEPCO) is way more invested in its shareholders' happiness than its customers' happiness. That's not really opinion.

Now, it may be that private utilities are more responsive, more efficient, or better for society in some way than public utilities are.

The Decision...

So it’s day one after The Decision.  And the political fallout has yet to be seen.  When I first heard about the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act (aka the health care act, or Obamacare), I’ll admit that my first reaction was one of giddiness and glee.  I totally thrust my fist into the air, and with the kind of satisfaction that can only come from a mixture of relief and schadenfraude, I thought to myself, 'na na na nah boo boo, stick your head in doo doo', which, I’ll freely acknowledge, was not the most mature reaction I could have had.