From the innards of the Christian Science Monitor – Founded by Susan Tixier as a nonprofit organization in Escalante, Utah, in 1989 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the passage of the federal Wilderness Act, Great Old Broads for Wilderness means business. Its mission is to advocate for wilderness and wildlands. To do this, it relies almost entirely on the experience, energy, activism, and commitment of elders.

Bravo, Broads! As Cactus Ed said –“It is not enough to understand the natural world. The point is to defend and preserve it.”

posted by Mudd

Hot Sunday Buzz –

“Citing financial worries, the State of Arizona has backed out of a broad regional effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions in the West through a cap-and-trade system.” [New York Times]

“The U.N. panel of climate experts overstated how much of the Netherlands is below sea level, according to a preliminary report on Saturday, admitting yet another flaw after a row last month over Himalayan glacier melt.” [Environmental News Network]

“The Populus poll of 1,001 adults found 25% did not think global warming was happening, an increase of 10% since a similar poll was conducted in November.” [BBC News]

“If you become very short of breath during intercourse, try pausing to take a few slow, deep breaths from your diaphragm rather than stopping altogether”. [BBC News]

Happy Valentine’s Day.

posted by MUdd

As reported by NPR – Talk show maestro Charlie Rose recently asked Drew Faust, president of Harvard, if she is worried about the dumbing down of the culture. “I worry about attention span,” Faust said, “because people will not listen to more than a couple of sentences or read more than a couple of sentences. Does everything have to be a sound bite? Is everything to be digested into something brief? And aren’t there complicated ideas that we ought to have the patience to give our attention to?”

As dumb becomes a national virtue, only the dumbest stand out. Then they move to Washington, D.C.

pass the Xanax.

posted by Mudd

”Art is not difficult because it wishes to be difficult, rather because it wishes to be art. However much the writer might long to straightforward, these virtues are no longer available to him. He discovers that in being simple, honest, straightforward, nothing much happens.’ Donald Barthelme, 1931-1989

Just in case you were wondering, the Hummer is now classified as a “green vehicle” and ready for your loving touch. At least in the Land of the Rising Sun.

“Japanese drivers spooked by the recent Toyota and Prius recalls might consider another vehicle certified as “ecologically friendly” under Japan’s expanded cash-for-clunkers program: the Hummer H3.” So says CNBC.

chuckle up!

posted by Mudd

“Gather round, all you clowns – PETA’s in town!”

In an effort to outdo themselves, at least in the Idiot Department, lovely PETA has taken to the proverbial road with a new schtick. New, but not improved.

According to one witness, the latest gimmick in PETA’s grab bag of goofball tricks is a campaign to prove that Vegans Make Better Lovers.

An interesting, if fatally flawed hypothesis. As students of Herr Darwin know, natural selection favored the best hunter-gatherers in Homo erectus asphaltus‘ long sordid climb into the driver’s seat of planetary domination. It wasn’t vegans that built Rome, Moscow, and Baltimore.

Here’s the skinny – PETA puts two geeky kids in their underwear on a sidewalk near you with instructions to engage in heavy lip locking. How interesting. Just what we’ve been waiting for. The joke is that, because they’re vegans, they can make-out all day without losing their, shall we say, steam.

As one reporter put it – “If vegans — who eat no meat and won’t use animal products like leather or wool — really do make better lovers, they didn’t show it. They looked like mediocre lovers. Or really, really patient ones.”

Or idiots.

And don’t forget the T-shirt (no pun).

pass the drumstick.

posted by Mudd

And now, some good news from the Environmental News Network – “A new study suggests that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density.”

The report goes on to say – “According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dietary silicon, may be important for the growth and development of bone and connective tissue, and beer appears to be a major contributor to silicon intake. Based on these findings, some studies suggest moderate beer consumption may help fight osteoporosis, a disease of the skeletal system characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue.”

I’m off to the pub.

posted by Mudd

From MSNBC – A New Zealand teenager faced legal action for stealing his own injured puppy from a clinic to save it from euthanasia when the family couldn’t afford expensive surgery after it was hit by a car. The story appears headed for a happy ending, however. The public rallied to the plight of Bronson Stewart and 5-month-old puppy Buck on Wednesday, raising money to save the dog by paying the bill, local media reported.

In typical fashion, MSNBC described the event beneath its “weird news/animal weirdness” banner. What’s weird about a kid coming to the rescue of his dog?

“I’ll go to jail for my dog,” he told TV One.

Me, too. And if I ever see your veterinarian , I’m gonna kick his ass.

posted by Mudd

In case anybody still thinks The Wise Men weren’t on their game, the BBC News reports – “Frankincense separates the ‘brain’ of the cancerous cell – the nucleus – from the ‘body’ – the cytoplasm, and closes down the nucleus to stop it reproducing corrupted DNA codes.” (immunologist Mahmoud Suhail)

“Working with frankincense could revolutionise the treatment of cancer.”

posted by Mudd

As reported by the New York Times — “The Obama administration will begin a drive this week to expel Pepsi, French fries and Snickers bars from the nation’s schools in hopes of reducing the number of children who get fat during their school years.”

Expel? Nice pun. But other implications lurk therein. Even candy needs a good wrapper…. “In legislation, soon to be introduced, candy and sugary beverages would be banned and many schools would be required to offer more nutritious fare.”

Of course, the potential for new forms of banditry are obvious: The Snickers Kid; The King of Pop; The Pope of Pepsi. Innumerable variations of down-home outlaw behavior lie just beneath the surface as soon as our benevolent government sanitizes our kid’s vending machines. Black market Goo-Goo Clusters anyone?

Yes, junk food is the bane of modern civilization. Yes, obesity is the scourge of American society. Yes, kids should eat nutritious square meals, sans chemicals and assorted carcinogens. The question is: How do we get kids to go there on their own?

Outlawing popular substances never amounted to anything but pouring money down a pork snout. Kids know this on some level. (They all watch YouTube). The minute Pepsi is illegal, kids will become outlaws.

Big Brother is watching…..

posted by Mudd