Quote of the week

First things first, but not necessarily in that order.

- Doctor Who

(via Honest Tea)

Miscellaneous bits

Several things that have caught my attention lately and been waiting for me to blog them...

• A piece from a couple of years ago that encapsulates some truths about the healthcare debate in a useful and enlightening way -- why economists aren't always the best people to evaluate various policies, say.
  (via rc3.org)
  
  
• The trend toward green building in a good one, but equally important may be recognizing the resources already tied up in existing buildings, and finding ways to minimize the waste of them when planning new development. "Embodied energy" seems both obvious and totally overlooked; could be a next wave in thinking.
  
  
• Am very intrigued by this union publicity effort to set the record straight on a number of lies and distortions being spread about Obama. No idea whether they can target the sort of people who have become convinced by the "he's a muslim" rumor mill, but could be a powerful effect if so.
  
  
• And, in case I had forgotten why I love The Internets, this video reminds me -- enough crazy folks around the world with time on their hands, and a few will produce a twisted kind of random brilliance. Mmmm-mmm.
  (via Bitch, Ph.D.)

Potty training

I know that legislators have staffers, but there's something to be said for using them for research more intensive than a one-second Google search -- this is just a bit sad...

Painfully slow reorientation

I'm already pretty tired of the fact that the media describes as "far left" a host of views that are held by most Americans -- somehow the Republicans have brainwashed journalists into shifting their goggles to the right and leaving most of the country behind. The thought of how this dynamic will play out during the fall coverage of the Presidential election already makes me feel queasy...

You know you wanted it!

More gratuitous cuteness! Speck wears a sunburn-preventing bonnet while visiting the local playground -- it's almost too much!

Leaving the world a little less hateful?

I note the passing of Jesse Helms. One hates to express pleasure at anybody's death, but I will say that I threw a party when he retired (it was full of red, white, and blue foods and scary-looking flowers), so I can't feign admiration now. Still, a striking figure with an unmistakable impact in his time...