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{ Tuesday, December 28, 2004 }

7:43 PM | link

Are you tired of receiving those ShopWise mailers that you just throw in the trash or recycling bin? You can get off their mailing list by filling out a simple form.

Every year, junk mail:What a waste. Check out JunkBusters and this do-it yourself guide for more easy tips to decrease the amount of junk mail you get.

{ Thursday, December 16, 2004 }

12:32 PM | link

A truck carrying 12 million honeybees hit a wall on a highway ramp in Las Vegas, dumping the bees on the pavement.
Authorities summoned beekeepers to help but decided capturing the bees alive would take too much time and money. Firefighters doused the insects with water to kill them.
First of all, it's ridiculous that we have to truck in bees to pollinate crops. But unfortunately, by using pesticides, encouraging sprawl-type growth, and introducing invasive non-native species into existing habitats, we've systematically destroyed natural habitats for pollinators.

As a great man once said:
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." — Gandhi

{ Saturday, December 11, 2004 }

8:23 PM | link

To the owner of the Ford Excursion who implores us to "Support Our Troops" I, too, say this:
You, sir (or madam), are a monumental jackass. At this moment, American troops are risking their lives to protect your inalienable right to live your life in an impenetrable fog of selfishness and stupidity.

If not for the need to service this grotesque monstrosity on which you squander your money and that of the taxpayers who subsidize your comfortably numb life, those troops you support would not be getting killed and maimed in a country I doubt you could find on a map.

I sometimes wonder if anything short of dynamite can shatter your complacent fantasy that the Iraq war is about bringing democracy to the Middle East. The truth is that every Arab from Casablanca to Khartoum could be cutting his brother's throat, and yet this would remain a matter of indifference to our government if not for the need to ensure that you will be able to fill your Excursion with cheap gasoline.

To expect others to sacrifice everything for you, while advertising by your own behavior that you will sacrifice exactly nothing for them, is the height of political and social immorality. And to do so while claiming your political views are an expression of "moral values" is an obscene joke.

Drive off, Ford Excursion. Head back to your gated community, to patiently await the Rapture, or the next Nordstrom's sale. You've driven me past the limits of pundit endurance, and I long to return to the world of thoughtful observation.

{ Saturday, December 04, 2004 }

4:45 PM | link

This afternoon, I finished A Great and Terrible Beauty. If you're looking for a present for a teenage girl, I highly recommend this book. And heck, I'm not a teenage girl and loved it, so I'm sure your older loved ones would enjoy it too!

Another good pick for women: Feminist Fairy Tales. I read at least one story a night before bed, and sometimes I snuck some in on my lunch hour during the week. What a great collection of fairy tales. If only these were the types of tales parents read to their young girls...