12:55pm deadline to get your picks in.

Be sure to check in throughout the day to watch Dave in Texas and other Cowboy apologists explain why Adrian Peterson is running through their defense like they aren't even there.

Good times!

Posted by: DrewM. at 07:44 AM | Comments (14)
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We're supposed to start asking our physicians about using bee honey instead of the usual antibiotic preparations on wounds.

Dr. Fasal Rauf Khan said honey was an ancient treatment for wound healing, and that it never spoils. But when effective antibiotics came into use in the 1940s, honey was dropped.

"Honey has a number of properties that make it effective against bacterial growth, including its high sugar content, low moisture content, gluconic acid -- which creates an acidic environment -- and hydrogen peroxide. It has also been shown to reduce inflammation and swelling," he said.

Hey, you know what else contains hydrogen peroxide? A big bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

I wonder how many people are going to think this is a groovy natural-healing idea and actually start using honey on wounds.

But I don't wonder if Dr. Khan would smear honey on his own kids' cuts and boo-boos. I'm certain he wouldn't.

Oh sure, he'd think about it for half a second. And then chuckle and reach for the Iodex™.

UPDATE: The most annoying thing about this moronblog is the smart commenters.

Thanks to marcus for that interesting link.

Posted by: LauraW. at 05:55 AM | Comments (53)
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So says Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council.

Perkins said Giuliani told him in a private meeting that if the Defense of Marriage Act appeared to be failing or if multiple states began to legalize same-sex marriages, then he would support the constitutional amendment [banning gay marriage].

. . .

Perkins said that was not enough to assuage his concerns about Giuliani, but “it was nice to hear.”

It should be emphasized that this was a private meeting and Giuliani has made no public mention of supporting a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. I'm sure he'll get the question from reporters tomorrow, so we'll know more then.

Three things strike me as very wrong about this. First, it's a cavalier abandonment of federalism. Yes, I know that it's perfectly legal to ban gay marriage through a constitutional amendment. That doesn't make it any more acceptable to take the decision whether or not to allow gay marriages out of the hands of states.

"If multiple states begin to legalize" he'll just swoop in with a federal prohibition? That's disturbing for all the usual reasons. Now, something a little more nuanced--for example, exempting each state from recognizing the same-sex marriages of other states--would be less problematic because it would recognize states' choices. (Not that I would support that amendment either, but it assuages the federalism issue.)

Second, Giuliani has been strongly characterized as pro-gay rights. I don't know how he really feels about this, but he's going to have to watch himself. The flip-floppy road is not a winning one, no matter what his policy advisers are telling him.

He's been an unambiguous supporter of domestic partnerships. More recently, he's been pretty wishy-washy on civil unions. The truth of the matter is that, of the Republicans, he is the least well positioned to have a national debate on gay marriage. It is his weak-spot; his Achilles heal. No matter how strongly opposed to gay marriage he sounds now, voters will always wonder what he'll really do if we pick him.

Third, he appears to have very deliberately chosen not to mention marriage at the Values Voters Summit. Sneaking around afterwards to quietly try and convince the leader of a widely-respected, socially conservative organization that he's really an "okay guy" isn't going to work. This isn't amateur hour; Giuliani should have known that details of any "private meeting" were going to hit the wires within an hour, especially on this topic.

I can't tell what's irritating me more. Ideologically, it's disappointing to see Giuliani so willing to use the national government to beat states into submission. Personally, its unfortunate that he's turning on gays. And as far as process goes, which goober-adviser thought that now would be a good time start flip-flopping?

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 11:32 PM | Comments (29)
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In his house in R'yleh, Cthulhu makes funny photoshops.

Thanks to Mesablue, who's got a lot of good stuff at Absolute Moral Authority.

I can't figure out the Japanese toilet myself. Though it seems to fit with the Cthulhu theme.

Posted by: Ace at 10:40 PM | Comments (6)
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Barack Obama is calling for the firing of a Department of Justice official.

John Tanner, who heads up the voting rights section at Justice, was doing a panel for the National Latino Congreso (who seem confused about whether to have an English or Spanish name) in which he discussed the impact that voter ID laws may have on the elderly.

"That's a shame, you know, creating problems for elderly persons just is not good under any circumstance," Tanner said, according to video posted on YouTube. "Of course, that also ties into the racial aspect because our society is such that minorities don't become elderly the way white people do. They die first.

"There are inequities in health care. There are a variety of inequities in this country, and so anything that disproportionately impacts the elderly has the opposite impact on minorities. Just the math is such as that," Tanner said.

He's right. In a refreshing bit of full coverage, the AP includes an interesting statistic from the Center for Health Statistics. It turns out that a black person born in 2004 has an average life expectancy of 73.1 years; that's five years fewer than for whites. (Does this number change for black baby boomers?)

This hasn't stopped Obama from calling for Tanner's head. He says Tanner's comment is "patently erroneous." This leads me to wonder if Obama has trouble with math or maybe trouble with English.

Obama says that Tanner's comment is "offensive and dangerous." That I'm willing to believe. God forbid anyone draw attention to the fact that something has seriously gone wrong in the black community.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 09:37 PM | Comments (12)
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He was hiding in Thailand.

Police tracked Neil to the house in Nakhon Ratchasima province that he shared with a Thai transvestite friend whose phone calls were traced by authorities.

Maybe Ace and this guy know some people in common. Okay, that was low, but I couldn't resist.

Anyway, it looks like this Neil fellow is getting charged in Thailand first, but the Canadians also want a piece of him.

Thus far this has been an interesting case of international cooperation. He was wanted by the Canadians, the Germans unscrambled his photo, Interpol shot it around the world, and Thailand captured him.

The earlier post on this guy is here.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 09:14 PM | Comments (8)
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Because Louisiana, like God, works in mysterious ways, today is primary day in that state. With almost 85% of the vote counted, Republican Congressman Bobby Jindal is leading with 53% of the vote.

There’s no doubt that Jindal will be the top vote getter (his nearest competitor is at about 18%) but this is an open primary, so Jindal needs to receive over 50% of the vote to avoid a run off in November. There are 4 Democrats in the field and if Jindal doesn’t win tonight, he will face the top Democrat. Together the four Democrats are polling at around 41%.

But if things hold up, it’s pretty sweet to think that incumbent Governor Blanco, who disgraced herself before, during and after hurricane Katrina, will be replaced by a Republican.

You can follow the live election returns at NOLA.com

TV station WWLT is projecting Jindal as the winner.

(UPDATE: It looks like most Louisiana outlets are calling the race for Jindal. Nice pick up for the GOP heading into '08.)

Posted by: DrewM. at 07:45 PM | Comments (16)
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Because Louisiana, like God, works in mysterious ways, today is primary day in that state. With almost 85% of the vote counted, Republican Congressman Bobby Jindal is leading with 53% of the vote.

ThereÂ’s no doubt that Jindal will be the top vote getter (his nearest competitor is at about 18%) but this is an open primary, so Jindal needs to receive over 50% of the vote to avoid a run off in November. There are 4 Democrats in the field and if Jindal doesnÂ’t win tonight, he will face the top Democrat. Together the four Democrats are polling at around 41%.

But if things hold up, itÂ’s pretty sweet to think that incumbent Governor Blanco, who disgraced herself before, during and after hurricane Katrina, will be replaced by a Republican.

You can follow the live election returns at NOLA.com

TV station WWLT is projecting Jindal as the winner.

(UPDATE: It looks like most Louisiana outlets are calling the race for Jindal. Nice pick up for the GOP heading into '08.)

Posted by: DrewM at 07:45 PM | Comments (18)
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Didn't see this coming.

[JK Rowling] took audience questions and was asked if Dumbledore found "true love".

"Dumbledore is gay," she said, adding he was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, who he beat in a battle between good and bad wizards long ago.

The audience gasped, then applauded. "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy," she said.

The books are finished, but Rowling does not appear to be done with the characters of Harry Potter.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 06:44 PM | Comments (29)
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UPDATED: Give the people what they want, on Saturday night.

Does it get any better than this?

I don't think it does.

Follow the link and scroll down for more wholesome tennis goodness.

via eddiebear, whose wife is going to kick his ass if she finds this thing online.

not Mrs. D in T... she's used to my bullshit.

mostly

(damn I hope that works)

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 03:43 PM | Comments (14)
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