Just a serendipity thing....NOT a connection thing.

Reading just last night an excerpt of "Origins of Totalitarianism" and learned that the Nazi propaganda machine was highly informed by, took a lot of its direction from the advertising machinations & ploys of American soap manufacture ...aimed (in the day) at women (by-the-bye).

So, in light of that, it was not surprising that P&G

is still at it..

"Nor is it surprising that P&G is trying to get its female consumers to tell it, by creating content.......

[T]he company..... has often been a pioneer in using new forms of media to connect with and mine information from consumers."

Huh!

Learned yesterday Wal-Mart will soon discontinue the

automated check out counters.

Thought "Well all the better for (even more?) checkers."

But in discussion with the only checker in the automated checkout section...I went to her because all the machines were busy...

Learned that (in the Billings area, at least) Wal-Mart has a difficulty in finding for hire the kind of folks who make good checkers.

And thought, "Well, market forces win again and they'll have to pay their people better".

We'll see, huh?

as Tracy Flick.

Very scary character and, oh so 'responsible'.

"murder" has SUCH a ring to it...

and "impeachment" is pretty darned tuney too

That was an excellent f*ckin' summary of the way it was.

Particularly liked the concept of the brazen broad

showin' it ALL off...'in yer face' nosey-bodies!

For some reason...absolutely inapparent...the word association that came right up with the subjected title

was 'forced birth'.

And I like that phrase.

..."American insularity, isolationism and good old-fashioned mulish ignorance."

And there's a subterranean mean streak operating too.

It's not big and we'd never admit it...but we got one.

Not having read (disclaimer) the quibbles;

but having read the original piece,

I would opine that while Wallace and his belief system

v.a v. his very good science base tends..

To metaphysical.

There's not squat wrong with that if honestly presented.

Buddhism seems a pretty good home for the scientist/believer.

[this is very poorly expressed...sorry about that,

but you get the drift]

Guys just can't (as we speak) get knocked up.

That girls just have tremendously more to lose in

Our sexual game?

That's a nice contrast with MREs

But has anyone connected that:

While Webb's kid in harm's way 'over there'...

Bush's kids are being brats in Buenos Aires.

3 packer...quit a hundred times (1000?) before I got it right for three years...

And Holy Apocalypse!...I caved...took me another 4 years to get it finally right.

That was in 1977. I am very grateful for having finally made it through [it took SEVEN year before I quit having nightmares about taking the first puff again] but to try and try and try again is the only way.

In the day...there were no quitting aids...patches, bupropion etc...but if I were trying today...I'd use 'em all. Every bloody one! and double up where I could.

Patient seduction (of the provider) and

Provider misbehavior (targeting the patient)

are both real (if relatively uncommon) phenomena.

A certain distance kept - in the physician-patient space is really a pretty good idea.

Been there.

that miraculous reception on a lovely fall day in Lincoln.

It was magical and I'll never forget it...or ever go back.

But then I guess, one can't ...innit?

In one paragraph, Mr. DeLong uses three words which betray that which drove (inspirited?) Mr. Friedman.

"His worldview began with a bedrock belief.....

a trust in free markets....

on top of that was layered a powerful conviction...."

'Trust', 'conviction' & 'belief' are keywords and

hallmarks (or warning signs) of the ideologue.

That said...and in substantial but incomplete disagreement with Mr Friedman's thesis...I would wonder if much of economic theory is actually just belief system.

IF that is true, we need more data and less 'religion'...

And will then find actual enlightenment & economic truth.

With advances in genomics and its applications to the individual, we'll begin to know who simply can never afford more than one or two runs at the 'buzz'.

We exist ab initio, boys 'n girls, as dyed-in-the-wool alcoholic, or not.

We just need to know -early- when we're inherently susceptible....like juvenile diabetes.

My Mom was one.... brilliant Wall-street lawyer...chivvied into suburban motherhood (mistake retrospectively) died at 36.. direct, booze.

I was one, male, drinking-to-the-buzz at 11.

Intermittently alcoholic 'til early in my 60s. Got in the way of a medical career that might have gone somewhere

Identify early...the tools are just around the corner.

Has anybody made a big deal yet about 'chain-of-evidence'

handling of the suspect machines....those things should be in a vault somewhere with a bipartisan guard-detail in charge...jeez!

just kinda Christmas'y, maybe

Didn't the Japanese until quite recently have public toilets...squat pissoirs actually...totally unisex?

FLIP-FLOP?

[funny thing, the term captions this letter, but is never seen in the body of Tim's piece. Anyway get that phrase back in their faces..alla time!)

T. gondii...

Probably better associated with schizophrenia.

Wolbachia was the parasite assocated (in the mouse, I think)with promoting male offspring.

{unless T.gondii and Wolbachia are related)

Faces and expressions are central to human perceptions going both to communication & critical (in the best sense)

appraisals...person,intent, reliability etc.

Physiognomy is not at all dead.

We routinely and biologically 'profile'.

Because those 'earnings' grow that benighted index.

An index that never really reflects that which is the lot of the ordinary American.

Innit?

This going to come across as ..very...cold.

But what a great opportunity - if you could secure a

'population'- to finally see if there is a genuine connexion between BrCa & trauma.

There is a long speculative history.

It would take long term followup.

That... implies recolonizing Africa in some guise, or another.

Just thinkin'.