The poetry of Donald Rumsfeld:

The Digital Revolution
Oh my goodness gracious,
What you can buy off the Internet
In terms of overhead photography!

A trained ape can know an awful lot
Of what is going on in this world,
Just by punching on his mouse
For a relatively modest cost!

—June 9, 2001, following European trip

A Confession
Once in a while,
I'm standing here, doing something.
And I think,
"What in the world am I doing here?"
It's a big surprise.

—May 16, 2001, interview with the New York Times

Obama is the only candidate of either party who has released a detailed statement regarding people with disabilities.

Here is the section about austism:

"Supporting Americans Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders: More than one million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a complex neurobiological condition that has a range of impacts on thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others. As diagnostic criteria broaden and awareness increases, more cases of ASD have been recognized across the country. Barack Obama believes we need to research treatments and search for the causes of ASD. He has been a strong supporter of more than $1 billion in federal funding for ASD research on the root causes and treatments. Obama believes we must work to guarantee that Americans with ASD can live independent and fully productive lives and to assure that their
families understand and are able to support a loved one with ASD. Obama will fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure that no child with ASD or any other disability is left behind. Obama will also fight to assure that the government and our communities work together to provide a helping hand to people with ASD and their families.

Obama has a long record supporting people with ASD. In the state senate, Obama sponsored legislation that became law to create the ASD Program - a systems development initiative designed to promote the implementation of evidence-based practices. And in the U.S. Senate, Obama is also a cosponsor of a measure that would expand federal funding for life-long services for people with ASD, authorizing approximately $350 million in new federal funding for key programs related to treatments, interventions and services for both children and adults with ASD."

Read the full PDF of Obama's Disability Plan Fact Sheet here or copy and paste the following link into your browser.

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/DisabilityPlanFactSheet.pdf

If you live in a state that is voting or caucusing today, please vote to make a change. This post represents only one of many reasons I'm supporting Barack Obama.

Really, it doesn't get much more awesome than this. I dare you to not fall in love with Eartha after watching this video.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Autism cases in California continued to climb even after a mercury-rich vaccine preservative that some people blame for the neurological disorder was removed from routine childhood shots, a new study found.

Doctors say the study adds to evidence refuting a link between thimerosal exposure and autism risk.

Researchers from the state Department of Public Health found the autism rate in children rose continuously during the 12-year study period from 1995 to 2007. The preservative thimerosal hasn't been used in childhood vaccines since 2001, but is used in some flu shots.

Doctors say the latest study adds to existing evidence refuting a link between thimerosal exposure and autism risk and should reassure parents that the disorder is not caused by vaccinations. If there was a risk, they said, autism rates should have dropped between 2004 and 2007.

The findings show "no evidence of mercury poisoning in autism" since there was no decline in autism rates even after the elimination of thimerosal, said Dr. Eric Fombonne, an autism researcher at Montreal Children's Hospital who had no role in the research.

Some advocacy groups blame thimerosal for the impaired social interaction typical of autism. Nearly 5,000 claims alleging a vaccine-autism link have been lodged with the federal government, which is deciding whether victims should receive compensation from a government fund.

Dr. Daniel Geschwind, a neurologist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the focus now should be on exploring the causes of autism such as possible genetic links.

"Something else must be at play and we need to know what that is if we're really serious about preventing autism," said Geschwind, who had no connection with the study.

For their study, California public health officials calculated the autism rate by analyzing a database of state-funded centers that care for people with autism and other developmental disorders.

They found the prevalence of autism in children aged 3 to 12 increased throughout the study period. For example, 0.3 per 1,000 children born in 1993 had autism at age 3 compared with 1.3 per 1,000 children born in 2003. Similar trends were found in other age groups.

"These time trends are inconsistent with the hypothesis that thimerosal exposure is a primary cause of autism in California," the researchers wrote.

Results were published in January's issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry. The study did not explore why there was an increase in autism cases.

Federal statistics show about one in 150 children in the United States have autism, higher than previous estimates. Researchers say it's unclear if the increase is due to changes in how the disorder is classified or whether it's an actual spike.

Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication skills. There is no cure, but early therapy can lessen the severity.

*squee*

Has anyone ever had to buy a school clarinet? I need to replace one that was accidentally broken over Christmas (you know how kids are....one leaves it on the floor, and the other steps on it). I'm now looking for a place to shop without breaking the bank.

It wasn't a fancy one...mainly plastic. I can't remember the brand name. I do know it was the same basic style that I took lessons on way back in the dark ages, so it wasn't a bass clarinet or anything.

Advice?

Lousy, lousy news today, folks.

Subject: 2008 Meadfest Postponed

Dear interested Mead Festival attendee and or Home Mead Maker Competition entrant,

For the love of mead, we are sorry to say the 2008 Mead Festival is being postponed until a date to still to be determined. The decision to cancel was not taken lightly and a lot of people have been working non-stop behind the scenes to make this collective decision. We are still moving forward with a Home Competition the weekend of February 8-9, 2008 and a weekend of mead judging and merry making by some of the best mead judges on the planet.

We are also continuing the Commercial Competition in 2008 on that same weekend. Over 50 meads have already been submitted. Entrants should be receiving an update on this portion by Christmas. We hope you will decide to continue your support of the competition.

We are extremely proud of the HMMC and will work extra hard this year to make sure our entrants get the most out of the experience. The location of the competition will be confirmed by the end of December. In keeping with the spirit of the 2007 festival/competition, judges for the 2008 Home Competition will still include commercial mead makers, meadery owners, and other mead industry luminaries. We will once again have a collection of world class judges dedicated to providing quality feedback during one of the most focused weekends on mead judging the world has ever seen.

Additionally, we are working on a format for the weekend that will include possibly 1-3 technical workshops for both home and commercial meadmakers plus an in person meeting for a new Mead Association that can be built from the ground up with help from all interested parties.

Many have given their all in these past few years, on a volunteer basis, to provide a world class competition and festival. These growing pains will strengthen any Association event as it will allow for more individuals to step forward and collectively craft the main industry event thus expanding the competition and hopefully in the future a festival.

Please contact us at meadfest.com with any questions or comments.

Today's A Softer World strip brought me very close to tears because it is precisely how I feel. Make sure you read the alt text.



Sorry for the depressing post, but it's not often I find something so succinct and so accurate.

[brought to you by Mourning Mothers Against Dead Baby Jokes]

I am hoping and praying that everyone I know and love in San Diego is okay. I've been following the fires all day and all your posts, so thank you for the updates. Can you also make sure to give me an update for the people who don't post as much (or at all)? I'm also worried for your families in the area, so please tell me if everyone's okay.

I love you, San Diego!!!!!!

ETA: One of the better maps I've found is being updated by KPBS.

Happy birthday, trustleoutterly!

Happy birthday to my dearest pocket friend!

I love you, zensister, and wish you the happiest of birthdays.

If you haven't heard, like I hadn't heard, Six Apart has decided to automatically enroll us into their data mining.

If you want to you can opt out of this by going to Admin Console and typing in "set opt_exclude_stats 1" without the quotation marks.

Karl Rove's last day is August 31st. Aw....

Quick! Text me with a Star Wars trivia question (movie content, not production). Go!

Old Chicago at 32nd and Youngfield.

6:30 tonight.

Big table in the bar area.

Be there.

Beer there.

I'm at work before 8 a.m. Ugh! What has the world become?

Nice shoes, Bushie:

It's really windy today. I've been watching one bird fly into the wind and get blown back about ten yards over and over again.