Thursday, November 15, 2007

A Choice

After reading this article in the Lexington Herald Leader about the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Global Warming chaired by Jim Gooch, who by his position is the default chief Democratic strategist on the environment, I felt the need to post the following video. I really wish the Committee had been able to see this video.

Please watch.



Thank you.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Free Rice.


Free Rice is a fun little website that tests your vocabulary while helping to feed the world. For every vocabulary question that you answer correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program. I am warning you that the game is addictive as you try to reach ever higher vocabulary levels. If I can get past level 42, I will be a very happy camper.

Go try it and help feed the world.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

A New Record!

Today was a very Jack Conway kind of day.

After 12 years of voting, I finally batted .1000 at the polls. Every candidate that I voted for won.

My uncle Robert has accused me for years of being a yellow dog Democrat and I have resisted this label. Yes, I usually vote a Democratic ticket but it isn't because of some unhealthy alliance with the party. Rather it is because the Democrats usually are more inline with my ideological beliefs. The two Republicans I voted for deserved to win and their Democratic opponents were morons that deserved to lose. It was nice casting a bi-partisan ticket and having the candidates I believe deserving win.

Also, I saw Kentucky play basketball tonight for the first time this season and was pleased with what I saw. As AnnaMarie said, "They need a lot of work", but even though they were leading by 27 points, the look in their eyes said that they were not happy with their performance. And they shouldn't be. There is a lot of work still to be done but I believe the the drive is there to win.

Yes, it was a very Jack Conway kind of day.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Just a little clarification.

I am amazed by the number of people that are unsure if waterboarding should be considered torture (like Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey). So in the spirit of education, here is a factual description of the technique.

Waterboarding induces panic and suffering by forcing a person to inhale water into the sinuses, pharynx, larynx, trachea, and lungs.

The head is tilted back and water is poured into the upturned mouth or nose. Eventually the subject cannot exhale more air or cough out more water, the lungs are collapsed, and the sinuses and trachea are filled with water. The subject is drowned from the inside, filling with water from the head down. The chest and lungs are kept higher than the head so that coughing draws water up and into the lungs while avoiding total suffocation.

As you will see in the picture, water is kept out of the lungs by the 15 to 20 degree angle of the subject. As long as the waterline remains below the level of the lungs, the subject does not asphyxiate.

Here is a list of things waterboarding is not:

upright or face-down dunking: People dunked face-first in water can keep water out for as long as they can hold their breath. When one is inclined with the head back, holding one's breath will not prevent the upper respiratory tract from filling with water.

asphyxiation: Survivors of near-drowning experiences report that the sensation of water flooding down the larynx and trachea as they struggle to breathe is the most terrifying aspect of the experience. In waterboarding, this begins quickly, long before the onset of oxygen starvation.

submersion: Waterboarding does not require immersion in standing water. Someone can be waterboarded with as little as a canteen or two of water.

simulation: Waterboarding is actually forcing large quantities of water into the pharynx, trachea, and lungs, inducing choking and gagging in the subject.

Now that you have the power of information, you can make up your own mind.

Thanks to the fine folks at waterboarding.org for the information.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Very Interesting.

Here is a link to an interesting website that determines the reading level of your blog.

cash advance

Get a Cash Advance