(no subject)

Amanda Marcotte writing about scents, notes that 15% of women now say they never use perfume. 15%? That number seems kind of low to me. But maybe it's just the people around me, or i'm not able to smell it most of the time.

[Poll #1140918]

disturbing the comfortable

Stuff White People Like

Oh, this new blog ruffles the feathers in all kinds of ways. It's brilliant. The comments on each post are proof that it's working. Yes, the criticism that this really mainly applies to yuppies is true, but since they are dominating a lot of the urban cultural dialogue it's still funny and informative to observe the squirming.

Recycling is a part of a larger theme of stuff white people like: saving the earth without having to do that much.

Recycling is fantastic! You can still buy all the stuff you like (bottled water, beer, wine, organic iced tea, and cans of all varieties) and then when you’re done you just put it in a DIFFERENT bin than where you would throw your other garbage. And boom! Environment saved! Everyone feels great, it’s so easy!

... If you are in a situation where a white person produces an empty bottle, watch their actions. They will first say “where’s the recycling?” If you say “we don’t recycle,” prepare for some awkwardness. They will make a move to throw the bottle away, they will hesitate, and then ultimately throw the bottle away. But after they return look in their eyes. All they can see is the bottle lasting forever in a landfill, trapping small animals. It will eat at them for days.

a worthy cause: spreading some dirt on mccain

John McCain's cash-strapped campaign borrowed $1 million from a Bethesda bank two weeks before the New Hampshire primary by pledging to enter the public financing system if his bid for the presidency faltered, newly disclosed records show.

McCain had already taken a $3 million bank loan in November to keep his campaign afloat, and he sought from the same bank $1 million more shortly before this month's Super Tuesday contests, this time pledging incoming but unprocessed contributions as collateral. He never used the funds of the most recent loan, because his win in the South Carolina primary helped him raise enough money to compete in Florida, his campaign aides said last night.

So, wait, what does this mean? When John McCain's campaign was financially faltering in November-December, they went to a bank from whom they'd already borrowed money, and offered up as collateral for a second loan, public money that would come to his campaign if he entered the public campaign financing system. This way, he got to benefit from public campaign funds without actually taking them and in the process subscribing to the campaign restrictions that go along.

Gee, you'd expect someone who's one and only actual legislative accomplishment in 25 years in office was a modest campaign finance reform, to maybe treat the system in a less cynical and selfish way.

The Christian rightwing has been going out of their way to demonize John McCain, but i wonder if this isn't actually a calculated move on their part. They know that centrists and liberals will never actually vote for McCain if things like his solid anti-choice voting record became widely known. So they criticize him, hinting that he is pro-choice in order to help to perpetuate the perception that he is somehow "less socially conservative" than other Republicans. I don't know, maybe decades of watching these cretins actively harm the people i love has made me a bit unrealistically cynical, you tell me.