Nec Hoc Nec Ilud

* It's looking like Republicans botched the Maine Caucus in a different way than they botched Iowa, not counting three counties. It's currently Romney 39%, Paul 36%, Santorum 18%, Gingrich 6%. It may be that the Republican officials may change their minds and count the other three counties, in which case, those numbers may change. Notice how close Paul is? They are lobbying hard for the three counties not to be disenfranchised.

* I know some democrats are thinking of/talking about voting Santorum in open primaries, hoping to torpedo the Republican election campaign. This is a dangerous and terrible idea. Remember how both Reagan and W. were national jokes before they were presidents? Yeah. This is a bad gamble, especially if you look at personal popularity polling. nobody like Romney as a human, and that means low enthusiasm and therefore turnout. Santorum and Paul are actually popular as humans. (Yes, it makes me queasy that racism, misogyny, and homophobia are a recipe for personal popularity in this country. Yes, that means both of them). This means higher enthusiasm and therefore better Republican turn out. I am pretty sure President Obama can beat Romney or Gingrich, short of a major unforeseen catastrophe. That's not the case if one of the other two catch fire. Please don't give these guy's momentum, and therefore a reasonable chance of winning. Trust me, you won't like it.

I may go to the republican caucus here, if they hold it somewhere that won't hurt too much. (It's an open caucus here). If I do, I'll be voting Roemer, as a protest in favour of "the reality based community." Yes, I know it won't count. That's why it's called "a protest vote." My dad and his best friend voted for mickey Mouse rather than Nixon as a protest once upon a time, after all.

Alternately, consider caucus or voting for the President in the democratic primary even in an open state. It helps with momentum and therefore fund raising.

Whatever works for you is is cool, but please, please, please don't help santorum.

* Remember the other day when I was talking about the new Woman and the Victorian contagious Disease Act? The Contagious Disease Act was that thing where they ( Trigger warning: ) I and many others call this medical rape, as it sure felt like it to the folks it happened to. Whether it's government ordered or done by an individual, it's still insertion of a foreign object without consent.

I bring this up, because part of this Republican Big Government push to insert the government into every vagina belonging to women of child bearing years often includes a required, unnecessary insertion of an ultra sound probe without the desire or consent of the woman. It's lest violent than the medical rape of all those lower middle and working class women in England, but coerced insertion is still rape, and I don't see how it's much better to say, "We will ruin your life and deny you medical treatment if you don't let us do this incredibly intrusive thing to you without informed consent. Every time i read or hear about this, I think of all those women permanently traumatized, of all those women who responded to their rape and humiliation on government orders by plummeting from bridges, taking poison, hanging, or the knife.

It was outrage at this cruel and unappealable decision my rich male politicians that help swell the ranks of the suffrage movement in England, and one of the reasons why the fight for suffrage there was more violent than over here. Women understandably saw the fight for suffrage as a very immediate and personal fight for safety and survivable against a political system that intended women real, immediate, concrete, and measurable harm.

* We all got decent sleep. Money has cleared and I've started sending it out to folks on my list who have returned contact data etc.. I've also updated virus protection on the main computer, ordered some cat meds we were running short of, and paid my Orycon membership for next year. Tomorrow, I test drive, and hope to purchase a new clunker, at which point acquiring litter for the cat boxes stops being a major drama and I can do some other key errands I've put off as they were in places inconvenient by bus. Hell, I might be able to see a movie in the near future. in a theater! (Squirrel took me to see Sherlock last December, other than that, I haven't seen a movie since... I'm thinking July.) I can check second hand shops for either an ottoman or another piano bench. (I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, but a piano bench next to the small shelf in my bedroom will solve a whole bunch of problems. If I can't find a second piano bench, I could put an ottoman where the piano bench in my office is. Mache would prefer an ottoman, though I think it would be slightly harder on my hips and legs.) Or go to older gay guy meet up for the first time in a year! I could start looking for a gaming group, and/or look into internet dating! (Anyone have suggestions for good free trans friendly internet dating sites?) I could maybe have a life again! *gasp*

* I actually remember my Mom explaining that this was about drugs and exactly how to my primary school self. It was not nearly as awkward as my Dad having to explain foot fetishes to my pre-adolescent self so we could enjoy Alec Guinness movies together. Look, the '70's were just different, okay? Anyway, it clearly didn't do me any harm and television shows of the era made more sense if you had a basic knowledge of recreational pharmaceuticals. I'm now trying to remember what else was on that tape, so I can track that down. http://youtu.be/ugKof4R_F3U

( Embed: )

* And now the glorious Ella singing one of my mother's all time favorite songs: http://youtu.be/hRyDB4RWJdw

( Embed: )

I've been meaning to write this for a while, but recent things make it more pressing.

( This is long and complicated, but in my opinion very important: )

It is my belief that the English abolishing serfdom early and gradually increasing political representation of commoners over time is why they didn't have something like the French revolution. You keep pressing down on a population like that and there is bound to be a backlash. The longer and harder the oppression, the more violent and out of control that response would be.

Yes, I do think this is very pertinent. In my lifetime, I've seen the tax burden shift down the income scale as the system became more and more regressive, and have watched the income gap between the rich and everyone else widen dramatically, and the laws protecting workers and middle class from the rich gradually weakened. When I see this push to weaken or outlaw unions; when I see large scale disenfranchisement of the poor, POc, and elderly; when I see plans to remove safety regulations, minimum wage, and child labour laws, I get scared. I know where this ends up, and I'd rather we don't do that.

* In Ohio, they have stripped all public sector Union rights. The thing the "greedy" Cleveland Police union has been fighting for the last few years was to have two cops in each car instead of one. After all, Republican thinking is that having way more police officers shot is a small price to pay for corporate tax cuts. I mean, it's not like any corporations will be harmed, only people. They did this to the traditionally pro-republican Police and Firefighter unions that actually endorsed them.

* A thing on a fascinating 18th century woman: http://millicentandcarlafran.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/lady-mary-wortley-montagu-and-the-womens-coffee-house/

It is also a reminder of why small pox was so feared.

* Aaaaaw! http://www.unshelved.com/2011-4-1

* Lawrence O'Donnell debunks the latest round of Trump's Birther lies:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

* I think the thing that fascinates me about the director, Robert Altman, is his directorial style is pretty much the way I GM.

* I now have in my hot sweaty hand, a signed copy of Late eclipses gifted by the author herself!

* History of Vaccines: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/health/01smallpox.html

* "Psy-ops through the centuries:" http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-205_162-10006852-2.html

* Investigation of "Leather Man:" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/nyregion/03towns.html

* "Blood group incompatibility between Henry VIII and his six wives could have driven the Tudor king's reproductive woes:" http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-03-puzzle-henry-viii.html

I know the other theories, such as syphilis and head injury. I don't think it can ever be settled without forensics.

* This chart lays out beautifully where our priorities really are: http://uryel.tumblr.com/post/3690608308/wilwheaton-its-pretty-clear-who-congress-gives

* Seuss cake: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2011/03/seussical-sunday-sweets.html

* Il_volpe found, heartwarming: http://notalwaysright.com/you-couldnt-make-it-up/9587

* The neighbor lady woke me up mid sleep cycle to use my phone. I gave her a bag of off brand granola bars. As food is meant to be coming tomorrow. She's been better groomed and easier to understand the last few times she's come. She says she is moving to a better neighborhood in a week.

* What do people think of this? http://tacit.livejournal.com/343816.html

* Atcheology website covering the Egyptian revolution from a protection of antiquities viewpoint: http://egyptology.blogspot.com/

* I'm not impressed with the Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England. Too many small things I know aren't true thanks to having seen archeological studies and demographic studies in the early chapters I actually got to before it had to go back to the library. It's a beautiful idea, but clearly flawed and disappointing. Sigh.

* Hundred year old time capsule opened: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/27/BAP01HEK9S.DTL

* "Stratford-upon-Avon African skeleton was Roman soldier:" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-12280213

* Excavation at Meroe: http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/czech-team-excavates-ancient-sites-dedicated-to-nubian-gods

* Egyptian jackal is actually ancient wolf: http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0126-hance_africanwolf.html

* Baby Chthulu Cake FTW: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2011/01/sunday-sweets-so-stinkin-cute.html

* Genghis Khan and climate change: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1350272/Genghis-Khan-killed-people-forests-grew-carbon-levels-dropped.html

They seem to misunderstand the effects of the Great Pestilence, as it wasn't a short event. Rather it came in waves for a few centuries. The population low point was around 12400. This makes me question whether they are are failing to realize that the effects of the Great pestilence and the Mongol Invasions are overlapping events in time. It's still interesting, but I have serious questions about their conclusions. Seriously, three centuries plus of Great Pestilance is not shorter than the hundred years or so they are calling long term in the study.

* On a related note, something it's easy for modern western folk to overlook is how deadly medieval cities were. In England, the average survival time for an urban family was three generations. Wave after wave of air, vermin, and water born disease, food contamination, fire, and violence would hit a family so that they would simply die out. Cities depended on constant influx from the country side to keep their numbers up, all those younger sons and daughters come seeking their fortunes. The well off got around the mortality rate by fleeing to country homes in the seasons most prone to epidemic and fleeing in front of disease and rumors of disease, often carrying pathogens with them to the villages. The poor stayed behind to live or die. Most often, they died. That's the reality: that most of your children would die, and that half of the people coming to the city would never have great grand children.

* RM found fractal spider cows:

* On the topic of medieval marriage: Stats for England suggest modst aristocrats married in their late teens. Most Middle cless folk married in their early twenties. Most lower class folk married in their late twenties. People generally didn't marryu until they could afford at least a hut and some basic household goods like cookware, hence the later marriage age the less money they had. Average age of death for a male peasant was 35. Odds are, he died in Spring during planting or fall during harvest due to a farm related accident or illness. If a woman survived intensive child bearing, odds were she'd outlive her husband at least a decade. This lead to some interesting demographics in the villages and hamlets and a tradition of having your mother and/or mother in law living in your attic. No really.

* I see Newt Gingrich has joined the Obama is worse than the NAZI's chorus. Really? I mean, really?

* (RM found) New Misws America Arab American: http://www.freep.com/article/20100517/NEWS05/5170417/1318/Metro-Detroit-celebrates-Miss-USAs-first-Arab-American-winner

* Reading Cakes: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2010/05/sweet-reading-sweets.html

* Korean mummy find; http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2920452

* It's funny, an RM entry just now is the third passing mention of the assassination of Anwar Sadat this month. For reference, I was drawing paper doll clothes for my sister in our living room when we heard the news. How many of you know where you were when Sadat was killed?

* Mullet contest: http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/contests/macgruber-photo-contest/

* Via karjack on the fallacy of racial "colour blindness: http://vito-excalibur.livejournal.com/206374.html

* Snerk: http://community.livejournal.com/metaquotes/7386749.html?style=mine