Bureaucrats Fix Something Not Broken

Please someone tell me about the science class somewhere that doesn't already teach about cyclical climate change (Ice Ages, warming periods, etc.)...

Climate change is so trendy now. When I was a kid, the trendy things to worry about were endangered species and rainforests. I remember going on a Girl Scout visit to a lumber yard and self-righteously asking the manager how much of the wood came from rainforests. Uh, I don't think any of it does. I don't know.

"They are surrounded by materialism trying to figure out how to create a life more oriented toward intrinsic values."

One of many attempted secular religion replacements. (Via Instapundit.)

Converse Conversation with a Clerk

Clerk: My son is six months.
Me: That's neat--very fun time.
Clerk: I just bought him his first Converse [sneakers].
Me: Cute.
Clerk: That was a battle.
Me: A battle?
Clerk: His mom hates Converse.
Me: Oh. ... Why does she hate Converse?
Clerk: You know. She's one of those.

I wonder what "one of those" is? A hater of sneakers? A hater of shoes? A hater of what seems like a relatively benign brand? Other guesses?

Happy Birthday, Toshiro

Love you, Bud.

How to Strike a Compromise Between Expensive, Designer Pieces and Child Friendliness

Heh. As you may imagine, this problem is largely confined to the older parent set. Can't say I've had to worry much about maintaining the design integrity of a "glass-top Noguchi coffee table" or having to put an "18th-century mahogany dining table" in storage. (Via Instapundit.)

The article is mostly humorous, but one couple in particular might want to lighten up:

...she decided not to install wire railings on the open side of the floating walnut staircase Mr. Stratton designed to connect the first- and second-floor living spaces.

“We couldn’t bear it,” she said. “It was too ugly. So basically what we did was we trained the kids to hold onto the handrail, and it’s worked. No one’s ever fallen off.”

Glad no one has fallen... yet.

Someone Will Turn One This Week

Wow--has it really been that long?

Birthdays are fun...


...teeth less so.

So It's McCain

Hmmmm. I'll suspend any judgment until he announces a running mate. Here are some good options.

One note on McCain: I'm tired of people saying he's old. In my opinion, seventy-one is not old for a man with no known chronic health conditions.

UPDATE: I decided that I should have been more clear. By writing, "suspend any judgement," I meant "decide whether I'll vote or stay at home." McCain is not my idea of a GOP candidate. I miss Romney. I miss Thompson. I miss Giuliani. Where have all the conservatives gone? No wait, I know the answer to that. The MSM ignores them. The MSM picked the GOP candidate. Constant fawning over McCain and Huckabee led to this outcome.

Thanks to the Government's Refusal to Address Illegal Immigration...

... looks like I'll be moving. Glad I already don't do any shopping or park outings in town.

UPDATE: I've received a request to update this post. So, here's the update. The nine cases of leprosy are old, ninety-five percent of people are immune to leprosy, and the one hundred cases of tuberculosis were statewide.

Well, good. However, that doesn't make it okay that illegal immigrants are skipping immigration medical exams. Nor does it make it okay that there are twenty-one confirmed cases of tuberculosis in the area.

Nor does it mean that I'm not moving. Illegal immigration has brought more problems to town than the possibility of imported diseases.

ANOTHER UPDATE: According to this story from December, things aren't quite so rosy as the current retractions make them appear:

Deputy State Health Officer Dr. Joe Bates testified that between 2000 and 2005, Northwest Arkansas had nine cases of congenital syphilis, six of which involved Marshallese; 38 people with infectious syphilis, 21 of whom were Marshallese; and eight cases of leprosy, all Marshallese.

Bates said the rate of leprosy in the Marshall Islands is the highest in the world, yet no survey has been done to determine the extent of the disease in among Marshallese immigrants in Arkansas.

"We think there are two to three times more cases of leprosy than we know about," he said.

Lonewacko is following the story. Hey, at least the Marshallese are legal. Unfortunately it's the tuberculosis that's the most troubling, not the leprosy. Who knows what's going on within our illegal populations since no one even seems able to figure out how many illegal immigrants there are...