“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” – Douglas Adams
I’m not a chocoholic but I don’t hate chocolate either. In other words, I won’t hunt down chocolate but I won’t say no to chocolate, either, so it was nice to see an article about the good things that chocolate can do for you. Especially in time for Christmas.
If nothing else it makes me feel better about all the chocolate I’ve been eating lately.
Health.com has 6 ways that chocolate can actually do a body good.
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If you watched the 8 pm eastern show of the O’Reilly Factor on Fox News tonight you saw O’Reilly give about 3 minutes of his show to 9/11 conspiracy theorist Kevin Barrett.
I have a couple of problems with O’Reilly’s bit tonight. One being that I feel that people like O’Reilly justify conspiracy nuts like Barrett simply by giving them air time. The other problem has to do with the way O’Reilly ended the piece.
Here is his statement to Barrett about why O’Reilly had Barrett on his show
The reason you’re on, and it’s the last time you’ll be on, is so that people can get a look at you and see what is in the classroom at the University of Wisconsin.
O’Reilly finishes the bit with the implication that Barrett’s whole course was about 9/11 and that courses like Barrett’s are an everyday thing at the University of Wisconsin.
The problem is that those implications are just not true.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison hired Barrett to teach one course for one semester. In other words he was an associate lecturer. Upon learning about Barrett’s 9/11 conspiracy views, the provost of the university did a very careful review of Barrett’s syllabus and plans for the course he was going to teach (Introduction to Islam).
Provost Patrick Farrell determined that Barrett would spend only a week of the semester long course discussing the war on terror and 9/11. Farrell accepted Barrett’s explanation that the discussion would represent a variety of viewpoints and that students could challenge Barrett’s beliefs.
Farrell also sent a letter to Barrett regarding Barrett’s views and his relationship with the University of Wisconsin back in July. That letter can be found at the UW-Madison website and the editor’s note to that letter states:
Provost Patrick Farrell sent the following letter to part-time lecturer Kevin Barrett on July 20. The letter is the subject of an Aug. 3 Associated Press article. The intent of Farrell’s letter was to reinforce that, in his interviews with media, Barrett make it clear that his personal views are in no way associated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Farrell also needed to be certain that Barrett’s private “911 truth” movement not interfere with — and be clearly separated from — his professional responsibilities as an instructor, which begins this fall.
It is clear that Barrett was not to use his association with the university to promote his conspiracy theories. If theories like Barrett’s were an everyday occurrence in classrooms at UW-Madison, Provost Farrell would not have gone to so much effort to investigate Barrett’s class.
By leaving with the implication that Barrett still taught at UW-Madison, O’Reilly also contradicts his own statement just a moment before when he pointed out that Barrett was no longer teaching at UW-Madison. O’Reilly also said that the university told him that Barrett would not be rehired.
O’Reilly often plays too loose with what he states and implications he makes while on his show. He should try to be more careful if he wants to maintain any creditability.
There are times when I see a cartoon and it just makes me burst out laughing. This cartoon was one of those times. I thought I’d share it with all of you.
One of the funniest shows ever was WKRP in Cincinnati. I remember watching this show when I was just a kid. The clip below is from the shows Thanksgiving show. Even though it’s nearly 30 years later, this show is still funny. For some reason, WKRP is not out on DVD. Yet. I know I’ll be one of the first to buy a set when it finally hits DVD.
“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”
Happy Thanksgiving!
If you’ve been reading awhile you know that my dog Artie had a blood hematoma on her left ear that was drained back on Halloween. Since then she’s had a pad with wire on one side on her ear to help it heal straight. The pad was supposed to be on her ear for 3 full weeks. She also wasn’t able to get a bath that entire time. Even though I’ve been using dog wipes to give her at least a partial bath, she still stinks.
Today she went back to the vet to have her ear checked. Artie was her usual, hyper self at the vets’ office. She always wants to say hi to everyone one no matter how many legs you have.
Dr. Louie said that her ear was looking great. When I asked if the stitches and pad could come off since we’re only a few days away from 3 weeks, Dr. Louie said “sure.”
So now Artie is home with the stitches and pad all removed from her ear. Her ear still looks funny because the fur had to be shaved off for the procedure and it hasn’t grown back yet. Other than that, she is fine.
Tomorrow she gets a bath at the groomers. She lets them clip her nails. She won’t let me do that.
