Scientists find gay brains are different

Mmmm... brains...

Scientists investigating human sexuality have found that the brains of homosexuals have structural and functional differences from those of “straight” people.

Lesbians appear to have a lower proportion of grey matter in their brains than straight women, giving their brains a more “male-like” structure.

The brains of gay men appear to have structural similarities to those of heterosexual women. They also exhibit the same powerful response as straight women to the sex hormones released in male sweat.

Why this matters? Because people are far more accepting of gays, and civil rights for gays, when they think it's something you're born with. And nobody chooses to have a bigger brain. Well, except those creepy women in the first Star Trek episode with Commander Pike. Read More......

Cool interactive 360 degree photo of Gore speaking at Obama rally

You have to click through, then when the picture comes up, scroll around with your mouse on the page to move the picture - it's literally 360 degrees of photo. Amazing.

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Ancient Chinese secret, huh?

It's difficult to know why this Calgon commercial from my childhood (from the 70s I think) goes through my head on a regular basis. But it does. And now it will be going through yours.

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Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell is in very tight race

The latest SurveyUSA poll in Kentucky shows Mitch McConnell leading his Democratic opponent, Bruce Lunsford, by just a 50% - 46% margin.

Mitch McConnell is in BIG trouble. He's already spent millions on t.v., which he started running last November according to the Associated Press -- yet, he's barely breaking 50%. Sure McConnell has a huge campaign war chest, but his opponent is a multi-millionaire who can self-finance part of the race.

Clearly, McConnell's obstructionist antics in the Senate aren't doing much for his stature in his home state. Let's hope Mitch keeps it up. He's going to have to work extra hard and spend even more money just to defend his own seat. And, it's not a sure thing at all. That means less time campaigning and raising money for his other endangered GOP colleagues.

There used to be an "unwritten rule" in the Senate that the leaders weren't targeted by leaders on the other side. That ended when the GOP went after Tom Daschle:

Senate Republican leaders broke an unwritten rule about campaigning directly against an opposition leader and targeted Daschle for defeat, charging that he was an obstructionist liberal in a moderate's clothing.

Now, it's their turn. Read More......

Obama and the black community in France

A great read about Obama and the discussion of race in France. Discussing the issue of race in France is generally met with the traditional "we're all equal under the law" - or extreme discomfort, if not hostility. I used to bristle listening to one particular person who repeated his story of blacks in America in the early 1960s. It wasn't that I disagreed with what he saw, but I always wondered if he actually opened his eyes while working and living in central Paris. The statistics for blacks in the workplace and politics are horrendous and should be an embarrassment though for most, they prefer avoiding the discussion. Below is a small piece of the article but I would suggest reading it all.

When he sat down to talk the other morning, the first two words out of his mouth were Barack Obama. “The idea behind not categorizing people by race is obviously good; we want to believe in the republican ideal,” he said. “But in reality we’re blind in France, not colorblind but information blind, and just saying people are equal doesn’t make them equal.”

He ticked off some obvious numbers: one black member representing continental France in the National Assembly among 555 members; no continental French senators out of some 300; only a handful of mayors out of some 36,000, and none from the poor Paris suburbs.

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Cindy McCain, recipe psychic

We reported earlier on the latest Cindy McCain recipe scandal. It seems she did it again. Yes, Mrs. McCain has again published one of "her" recipes that she actually lifted from somewhere else. Well, an intrepid AMERICAblog reader has investigated this issue further, and discovered that in fact the two recipes at the center of the latest controversy are quite different. See for yourselves:

See, in the all-important butterscotch chip category, the recipes are markedly different. Hershey's recipe calls for 1 3/4 cup butterscotch chips, while Cindy McCain's only calls for 1 2/3. This is important, let me do the slow-mo replay for you.

Hershey's... 1 3/4c
McCain... 1 2/3c

I hope this puts to rest the notion that Mrs. McCain is some kind of thief. And even if she were, come on guys, it's not like she stole drugs or something.

Oh, that's right. From Snopes:

In 1989, following two back surgeries, Cindy McCain became addicted to the painkillers Vicodin and Percocet. To keep up with her daily need of 10 to 15 pills, she used other people's names for prescriptions and stole drugs from the American Voluntary Medical Team, a mobile surgical unit she'd begun in 1988 to provide emergency medical services around the world. A 1993 DEA audit of the amount of painkillers her charity had obtained quickly uncovered her thefts. She avoided prosecution for those crimes through an agreement with the Justice Department in which she submitted to drug testing, paid a fine, performed community service in a soup kitchen, and joined Narcotics Anonymous. She also closed her medical charity.

Never mind. Read More......

CNN's Jack Cafferty: Presidential scholars and historians say Obama has upper hand

From CNN yesterday:

JACK CAFFERTY: Don't bet on John McCain becoming the next President of the United States. That is the message coming from several presidential scholars and historians. Politico reports, these historians paint a bleak picture for McCain. They also say Barack Obama has the best chance for any democrat perhaps since Roosevelt beat Hoover in 1932. The historians say it should be an overwhelming democratic victory, noting McCain is facing one of the worst political environments for the party in power since World War II. There's also this, only twice in the 20th century has the candidate from the same party from a two-term president go on to win the White House. The last time it happened, in 1988 was when President Bush's dad replaced Ronald Reagan. But remember, Reagan was more than twice as popular as the current president is now.
McCain does have some advantages, including the fact that most people don't see him as a traditional Republican. Also, he could appeal more to moderates than Obama if the public would end up seeing the democrat as far left. And McCain might benefit from left over divisions in the democratic party from the long running primary season. Meanwhile, a new Gallup poll suggests the American people agree with these historians, 52 percent of those surveyed think that Obama will win regardless of who they support. 41 percent say McCain. And the world is weighing in too. A PEW poll, 25,000 people in 24 countries found that in all but two nations people put more faith in Barack Obama than in John McCain to do the right thing when it comes to world affairs. One of the two exceptions, that would be the United States.

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Damn it, McCain, stop making it so easy

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Various updates on Senate races

MN: Al Franken launches a new TV ad about investing in America instead of Iraq

CO: Gas prices are a big issue this cycle and Big Oil Bob Schaffer might be regretting his close ties to the oil and gas industry

KS: With results that line up with Slattery's own internal poll, Rasmussen has Roberts under 50%

TX: The contrast between these two candidates is stark

LA: Landrieu is looking good in a couple of recent polls

VA: Yep, Mark Warner is ahead

SC: A nominee has been picked in the South Carolina Read More......

AP: This is journalism, Part II

While we're on the topic of the Associated Press and their august knowledge of journalism, check out the AP's most recent story attacking Obama. You will find 3 references to Republicans attacking Democrats on national security, and in response, you'll find ZERO Democrats, or anyone else, defending Obama and Democrats.

So let's recap:

Sources criticizing Democrats? 3
Sources defending Democrats? 0

Yes, these are the people lecturing us on what constitutes real journalism.

UPDATE: AP has now updated their story, so it now contains actual living and breathing people defending Obama. And that's great. But why did AP post a totally biased story for half an hour before this update? Why not just hold off on publishing a story until that story is, uh, finished? Hell, I don't publish half a blog post. Oh, and since AP will probably deny all of this, and since the initial story is now lost in the cosmic ether, I grabbed a screen capture of the story without the sources defending Obama. Per the picture I grabbed, the story was already 24 minutes old - i.e., out there for 24 minutes uncorrected and unfinished. Another reason this matters - we don't know when local papers are going to grab AP's story for their Web site, or their print papers. So when AP gets it wrong, sometimes the story stays wrong as it's too late for local papers to use the newer version. Read More......

Hey, maybe the AP can "negotiate" habeas corpus for the detainees at Gitmo too

Quite the mensches, our friends at the Associated Press. They sent some bloggers a legal letter telling them that it's illegal for bloggers to quote anything - ANY THING - from an AP story on their blog. Even if the quotation comprises only 39 words, AP says it's illegal (it's not) and they're gonna sue you.

Yeah, that's nice.

Now let me show you what 39 words is. I'm reprinting, below, the first 39 words in this post:

Quite the mensches, our friends at the Associated Press. They sent some bloggers a legal letter telling them that it's illegal for bloggers to quote anything - ANY THING - from an AP story on their blog. Even if...

Yes, according to the Associated Press, quoting two sentences (and two words) from any source at any time is illegal. Now, excuse my legal naivete since all I have is a simple J.D. from Georgetown, but what exactly is AP's legal argument for claiming that the "fair use" exemption to copyright law no longer exists and/or applies?

AP then says, fret not. They're going to "negotiate" with a group of bloggers no one has ever heard of, and come up with their own solution to this "problem." Uh, first off, until AP is confirmed to a seat on the Supreme Court, it doesn't matter what agreements they reach detailing what they think constitutes fair use (I guess AP now thinks they can issue signing statements too). Secondly, who is the "Media Bloggers Association" that AP is meeting with to iron out this deal on behalf of us all? I think I've vaguely heard of this group - they kind of waltz in whenever a mainstream trouble maker is looking for "normal" bloggers to deal with. The problem is, no one has a clue who these people are, and none of us ever picked them to be our representatives. So, go ahead and meet with them, AP. And while you're at it, be sure to meet with the Tooth Fairy as well. I understand habeas corpus needs some retooling. Read More......

Despite the punditry chatter, Obama is doing very well with Latino voters

From NBC's First Read, an admission that the conventional wisdom "is wrong" about Obama potentially having trouble with Latino voters. Polls show that Obama is doing really well with Latino voters. McCain isn't. That's what the GOP gets for spending the last couple years bashing immigrants:

There was a growing consensus during the Democratic primary season that Obama was going to struggle with Latino voters -- due to the exit polls, his race, and McCain’s immigration stance. In fact, in that now-famous conference call in which Hillary Clinton indicated that she would be open to serving as Obama’s running mate, that response was spurred by concern by New York Rep. Nydia Velasquez (D) that Obama was going to have trouble with Latinos. But it looks like that CW -- at least right now -- was wrong. In addition to our recent NBC/WSJ poll, which showed Hispanics breaking for Obama 62%-28%, a new survey of 800 Latino voters from 21 states finds that 60% of them plan to vote for Obama versus 23% for McCain. That is down considerably from the 40%-plus Bush received in 2004. It’s no longer fair to say that Obama has a problem with Latino voters; McCain does. This was a case of conventional wisdom that was never based on fact, just semi-informed speculation based on primary exit polling and bad stereotypes of Latinos.

CW not based on fact -- again. Yet, many of them make a lot of money to provide "semi-informed speculation." So much of what the punditry thinks and says is self-generated and not based on facts and reality.

Anyone who paid attention to the vicious, ugly anti-immigrant agenda of the Republicans (and John McCain went right along with it) would know there are going to be political ramifications. The purveyors of the conventional wisdom also seem oblivious to the Spanish-speaking media and the amazing organizing efforts undertaken in the Latino community. Think back to the immigrant marches in the spring of 2006 and how surprised "everyone" was. So, yeah, the CW is wrong -- again. Read More......

Proof that gays cause heterosexuals to divorce (and they cause meteors too)

This is really good.

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DNC to file lawsuit over John McCain's campaign finance scam

John McCain has scammed the public campaign finance system that he purports to champion. Last February, the Washington Post, first reported on McCain's scam based on a "stern warning" to McCain from the Republican Chair of the FEC -- and noted the potential for criminal, yes criminal, behavior by McCain:

Knowingly violating the spending limit is a criminal offense that could put McCain at risk of stiff fines and up to five years in prison.

The DNC filed an FEC complaint against McCain over this issue, but there's basically been no FEC because of Mitch McConnell's political games. So, having waited the requisite time, the DNC is going to court:

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Tuesday announced it would file suit in federal court next week to force the Federal Election Commission to investigate Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

The complaint alleges that McCain violated campaign finance laws by opting out of the federal matching fund program after already benefitting from it by using anticipated matching funds to secure a private loan. That assistance helped his campaign in the GOP primary.

The DNC had already filed a complaint with the FEC earlier this year when McCain withdrew from the program.

“John McCain poses as a reformer but when it comes to his own campaign, he thinks the rules apply to everyone but him,” said DNC Chairman Howard Dean. “Taxpayer dollars helped him secure a private loan to keep his campaign afloat, he got free ballot access which saved his campaign money and yet it’s clear he doesn’t think he needs to stick by the legally binding contract he signed. John McCain is breaking the law and doesn’t seem to care.”

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Pin at the GOP state convention in Texas: "If Obama is President... will we still call it the White House?"

Expect the Republican party to do absolutely nothing about the racists in its own midst. The national Republican party in Washington has contacts all the time with its state parties. I'm sure there's money involved, and you'd better believe that when John McCain visits the states, he meets with local party officials. At what point do we hold John McCain responsible for fraternizing with racists? You don't see John McCain ever saying that he's no longer going to meet with, fundraise with, any state parties that promote or tolerate racism (like the folks in NC and TN). All McCain and that national party does is say "gosh, that's so bad, stop that now." McCain and the GOP have the power to punish the racists in their midst. So when will they? Oh, and for all of you in the media who will of course say that this has nothing to do with the GOP: What would you say if racist pins were being handed out at the Democratic National Convention? Read More......

Chuck Todd thinks this anti-McCain ad is "shameless." What do you think?

I think it rocks. The Republicans would like nothing better than for you to think of our military as a bunch of robots, and not men and women, sons and daughters, moms and dads. This new ad from MoveOn says what a lot of parents are thinking - hands off my kid. John McCain is pro-war. He loves what we're doing in Iraq, and he'd like to see the same in Iran and elsewhere. George Bush has already broken the US military. In order to support John McCain's wars we're going to need a draft. John McCain's wars will be fought by your kids. So, is it unfair to tell John McCain to take his hands off your kid? I don't think so. You?

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I smell disinformation

A pair of articles yesterday, from the New York Observer and CQ, quoted a Clinton donor/insider trying to cause trouble for Obama. Specifically, this unnamed person is trying to claim that Obama having hired Clinton's former campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, is actually a big f-you to Hillary. Huh? Obama hires one of the most prominent women in Hillary's campaign - well, actually, the most prominent woman after Hillary and Chelsea - and that is Obama's way of dissing the Clintons? I don't get it. Yes, Doyle was replaced as campaign manager after Super Tuesday. And? That means no one else can hire her in town, lest it be taken as an attempt to diss Hillary? This just doesn't make sense. If anything, the hire of Doyle seems a direct attempt to show women, and particularly Hillary supporters, that the Obama campaign respects them. I suspect this donor/insider simply has an axe to grind with Doyle and/or is interested in continuing to cause trouble for Obama. Read More......

AP is now lecturing you about how the Internet works

This from the people who don't even seem to understand how the law regarding "fair use" works. Not to mention, talk about biting the hand that feeds you. You see, according to AP, we're not supposed to actually quote anything from any other their articles, no matter how small the quote (even 40 words is too much). No, per AP, we should write a brief summary of the article and then link to it. What's the difference? Well, quoting the article is what the law says we can do. Writing a quick summary is what AP wishes the law said. But it doesn't. This is just another example of how the powers that be, from YouTube to AP, are using the Internet to change the rules of fair use, and restricting it so far beyond what the law says, that the doctrine is becoming meaningless.

Also, Markos threatens to sue AP if they don't stop it. Now that it something I'd love to see, and would gladly help Markos any way I can. Read More......

Mrs. McCain may have stolen another recipe

Kind of a klepto, this one. Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

T minus 24 hours before Joe returns, the open threads are his. I was just looking at this story from ABC News about the Bush administration hurting our vets, again. And I noticed that ABC teamed up with the Moonie cult-owned paper, the Washington Times, to do their investigation. What could have possibly compelled ABC to team up with a fake newspaper run by a cult? Seriously, why should anyone believe anything the Washington Times prints? I mean, what's next - teaming up with the Scientologists to cover the elections? Very weird, and troubling, move by ABC. Read More......

Robert Mugabe orders opposition to stop being beaten up

Could this be any more bizarre? Thabo Mbeki and the other regional leaders better be paying close attention to this farce of an election. One of these days they're going to have to step up and help their neighbors or else openly welcome refugees, which they're not doing very well.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been repeatedly detained during his campaign, but has faced no charges. His Movement for Democratic Change says 66 people have been killed in the election violence by ruling ZANU-PF supporters.

Mugabe blames the opposition for the disturbances.

"There is now a pattern readable across the country and that has now to stop," he told a campaign rally in Kadoma, 150 km (90 miles) south of the capital Harare.

"We are warning them that we will not hesitate to arrest them, and we will do that in broad daylight. They think they are protected by the British and the Americans. The law of the country has to be observed."

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Laura Bush really knows her stuff

Quite. Afghanistan just keeps improving by the day.

Some 500 Taleban fighters have taken over several villages in southern Afghanistan, local officials say.

The villages are in the Arghandab district, near the main regional city of Kandahar.

The reports come three days after about 350 Taleban fighters escaped from a jail in Kandahar.

Afghan and Nato officials have said they are redeploying troops to respond to "any potential threats" from the escaped rebels.

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