“It used to be that keeping a few free-range chickens, tending some grain-fed hogs, and raising a small vegetable garden was how people simply survived. Now these are often vanity projects for young hipsters and retired hedge-fund executives who have discovered the forgotten pleasures of “heirloom” tomatoes and artisanal sausage. Incredibly, we’ve reached a point in our society where things that humans have done for thousands of years—grow a vegetable, smoke or cure a piece of meat—now provide the grounds for smug satisfaction. (Think of Marie Antoinette at Versailles, playing shepherdess and milking the cows.)” —
Oxford American - The Southern Magazine of Good Writing :: Warwick Sabin Ponders Why the Rich Get Thinner, the Poor Get Fatter (via champagnecandy) (via ilovefat)
Right ON!
“When Al Gore was caught running up huge energy bills at home at the same time as lecturing on the need to save electricity, it turns out that he was only reverting to “green” type. According to a study, when people feel they have been morally virtuous by saving the planet through their purchases of organic baby food, for example, it leads to the “licensing [of] selfish and morally questionable behaviour”, otherwise known as “moral balancing” or “compensatory ethics”. Do Green Products Make Us Better People is published in the latest edition of the journal Psychological Science. Its authors, Canadian psychologists Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong, argue that people who wear what they call the “halo of green consumerism” are less likely to be kind to others, and more likely to cheat and steal. “Virtuous acts can license subsequent asocial and unethical behaviours,” they write.” —
How going green may make you mean
While I hope I’m not guilty of this kind of thing (and I am, I shouldn’t wonder, at least to some degree), I have certainly experienced this among acquaintances who strive for green living — stuff like “I don’t have children, so I can eat whale and jet around the world in search of the perfect piece of hamachi.”
… I asked someone who’s reasonably technically proficient and he didn’t know either, so: you know that thing people do where they post a screen shot of their iPhone, so you can see a text message conversation or whatever? How do you do that?
Full text of the Senate Reconcilliation Healthcare Bill (pdf) -
Spoiler Alert: The changes are all good.
The summary—which has a bit more context than “Strike out $10,000 and replace $8,000” is probably more useful. It’s here.
Lets Not Forget …
Just a few things to remember in the week that a badly watered-down version of health-care reform (minus the crucial ‘public-option’) might be voted on …
- The US spends much more on health care coverage per person than any other country in the world.
- The US health care system is ranked #37 in the world overall.
- The US is #46 in the world in infant mortality. That means that there are 45 other countries where your baby is more likely to survive past his or her first birthday. For example, a baby born in CUBA is more likely to survive than a baby born in the US.
- The US is #42 in life expectancy (down from #11 two decades ago)
- Men living in Harlem die younger than men living in the poorest city in the world (Bangladesh).
- 72 million Americans have medical debt.
- 2/3 of all US bankruptcies are from medical bills.
- 46 million Americans have no health insurance.
- Premiums of insured people have gone up 131% since 1999.
- 25 million Americans are underinsured—meaning that they have insurance, but it does not protect them adequately.
- 14 thousand Americans lose their health insurance coverage every day.
- There are 4 times as many medical and pharmaceutical lobbyists in Washington as there are members of Congress.
I think the last point goes a long way towards explaining all of the others …
Ellie
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It is a flea-infected, tick-infested, parasite-infected, special interest-infected wet, smelly dog. - Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fl), on the health reform bill
This should not be passed by anyone unless they eat it. - Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Tex), on the health reform bill
via realitychex
Two republican congressmen, I assume trying to out retard one another. Did you hear me Sarah? I said retard because those quotes are just that.
(via brooklynmutt)“Over time, American institutions appear to be growing steadily less accountable. Hayes cites the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal, which strikes me as a red herring. Yes, the bishops averted their eyes, placing the putative well-being of the church above children. Yes, ecclesiastical lectures on sexual sin are a bit harder to take. But the church has been hierarchical, secretive and self-protective since forever. Moreover, as recent developments in Ireland and Germany show, the problem is international. More to the point, “look at CEO pay,” Hayes urges. “In 1978, according to the Economic Policy Institute, the ratio of average CEO pay to average wage was about 35 to 1. By 2007 it was 275 to 1.” In comparison, the ratio remains approximately 20 to 1 in most European countries; roughly 11 to 1 in Japan. Yet people complain about labor unions.” — It’s time for Wall Street to pay
You know, you’d think you could get a frigging Shamrock Shake in New York. But no, you have to go to New Jersey. Or make your own. Goddammit.
(via brooklynmutt)
Dude. I really really really want these.Now I know what to make Frothy Paradise for her birthday.Totoro Cream Puff
Click on Photo for Recipe.