Things I have learned today

Alright, where do I start?

1) Bill O'Reilly is a bloviating blow-hard. Well, I kind of knew that already, but that thing he said about not really wanting to "go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama" proves it. It's like evidence-based practice: there's stuff you do because it's traditional or you've heard anecdotally works, like using ginger ale to unclog a G-tube, and then there's the stuff you do, like turning a dependent bedbound patient every two hours to prevent bedsores, that is done because there is published research on the benefits. Well, now we have some new evidence, straight from his own mouth, that he is, without a doubt, a bloviating blow-hard. If you want more evidence, look over here.

2) The best time to attack America is when the weather is really bad. See, the Navy decided not to launch that missile against that failing spy satellite after all, because the weather outside sucks so bad. If you were one of those who were thinking the satellite shoot-down was supposed to be some kind of test run for a missile defense system, I bet your confidence in the integrity of said system is down in the U-bend of your toilet bowl right now.

3)Natural food is better for you than processed foods. Well, okay, I knew that already, but the point still needs to be made; diets that have worked for thousands of years, that have kept humans healthy and functioning, should not be replaced with junk food. Food is something that should be regarded as whole units, not broken down into discrete nutrients. You know the controversy surrounding higher doses Vitamin E and correlations with slightly higher death rates? Well, it's like that: sometimes healthy food is just healthy because it is what it is. It is not due to one nutrient or another, but is most likely to be a complex of nutrients working in synergy that determines health benefits.

4) Elaine Chao is a really bad Secretary of Labor. Conditions for poultry plant workers is just the latest of worker-related problems under her tenure. The way things are going now, I think President Obama (or Clinton) might need to appoint someone of the order of, say, Ralph Nader or Joan Claybrook (president of Public Citizen) as Secretary Chao's successor in order to balance this out.

5) The troop "Surge" in Iraq might not work quite as well without Muqtada al Sadr's cooperation. (That's assuming the Surge was even working in the first place.) Looks like the Bush Administration and the Pentagon can't take full credit for reducing violence in the areas where extra troops deployed, after all. Just goes to show, unilateral actions just don't work as well as a true bilateral peace agreement or ceasefire would - if nothing else, this fact makes a strong argument for a political solution to the mess in Iraq rather than a purely military one.

6)Lastly, the Spiderwick Chronicles is a good movie. Exciting as all hell, and it doesn't talk down to the children, who are supposed to be the core audience for the movie. I haven't gotten around to reading the books yet, so I can't say how well the movie compares, but I like the story. The special effects and Nick Nolte aren't bad either. Spill.com review here.

Until next time, be well, all of you.