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 Friday, August 09, 2002
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Now for an optimist's point of view
While I am a naturally pessimistic person who does see our civil liberties under siege from an administration that loves secrecy and power, I loved this post by Eugene Volokh appraising the state of of civil liberties today, finding them very good, and concluding about how to look at future, "optimism is just more fun." Touché. Recommended. I often don't agree with the man, but his reasoning is good and he can write. A good antidote to a pessimist.
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A Republican I respect on the smallpox vaccine
Bill Frist, Republican Senator from Tennessee, is someone that I respect, at least on medical, public health, and bioterrorism issues. He did a great job of informing the public during the anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001, when the Bush administration was trying to control the release of information and downplay the threat (while all taking Cipro themselves) "to avoid panic". In an op-ed piece today in the NYT, he argues that once there is enough smallpox vaccine available for everybody, the government and the public health community educate the people as to the potential risks and benefits of the smallpox vaccine, then let the people themselves decided whether to get vaccinated now, in advance of any possible attack.
What a radical idea! Inform citizens, then let them decide what they want to do. I like it. Let's see if the control freaks at the White House can bear to let the people decide.
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And my doctor just told me to drink 8 glasses of water a day
Heinz Valtin at the Dartmouth Medical School did a search of the scientific literature and could find no evidence at all for the widely held belief that drinking 8 glasses of water a day is heathly. None. Valtin's study was published in the American Journal of Physiology.
My doctor really did just tell me to do this, claiming all sorts of benefits. I wonder how doctors sort out what they know with what level of confidence - it can't be easy. What is based on data from statistically valid studies and what is just lore? Not that lore can't be useful, or that so-called scentific studies can't be biased because of financial or ideological biass. Makes a patetient nervous, but I guess that is why Lewis Thomas called it "The Youngest Science."
Tip o the hat to David's Science News over at the cool blogs at Salon.
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People are getting creative!
I had one of those fun browsing evenings where I was pointed toward one thing on the web, which lead me to another, which lead me to another and so on. I have concluded that there are some really creative people doing fun political stuff on the net these days. I wonder if it is a function of all the unemployed web designers? In any case, we partisan political junkies are the beneficiaries.
Joe Conanson of Salon pointed to this both funny and pointed advertisement for the Democrats, done by some creative webbie with Flash skills, to the tune of Pink Floyd's Money. If only the Democrats had enough spine to run ads like this.
I decided to look around www.blah3.com and see what else was on the site. There are a fair number of Flash ads, most of them accurate but with a strong message. Then I followed the top link to http://www.stolenelectioncoin.com/, where I found these coins:  
Then back to www.blah3.com where I found this wonderful poster above, cited as being originally "From Barney Gumble on the BartCop Forum".
So off to see what BartCop was, where I  found this TIPS button, as well as a hilarious and terrifying doctored picture of Ashcroft that I wouldn't want to show on a family friendly blog. Then I decided to call it a night, happy with the treasures I found on the net tonight. I hope that you enjoy them too.
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The Post Office wants to be on America's Most Wanted too.
Apparently the post office and the FBI are also Using America's Most Wanted to handle calls about suspects in the anthrax mailing. According to a press release on the post office website:
The public is aware of the service that America's Most Wanted has provided law enforcement over the years and this is a natural progression of that partnership. Thanks to action by the viewing public, AMW programs have led to the arrest of 683 fugitives in 30 different countries. The Postal Inspection Service hopes that, through this important partnership, we'll find the individuals responsible for these acts of terrorism involving the U.S. Mail. According to John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted, "In these trying and troubling times, the partnership between law enforcement - the Postal Inspection Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation - and America's Most Wanted is more important than ever."
Tip o' the hat to Bobcat on the Politech mailing list
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© Copyright 2002 Tim Bishop aka Geodog.
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