Yet Again, Poor Journalism at Work

An article just came out on Yahoo! titled "Organic food is no healthier, study finds."
The title is truthful, the reporting factual, but there's still a problem. The writer didn't bother to point out that organic farming is not about "healthier" food; it's about a healthier, sustainable, environment. Farmers having to saturate their fields in ever increasing amounts of chemical fertilizers, chemical insecticides, etc. damaging soil and water quality is what has driven the increasing trend toward organic farming. I've never been under the impression that an organically grown carrot was nutritionally better than any other carrot, but I can be sure the carrot wasn't doused with chemicals prior to shipment to the store, and that the farmer isn't introducing more chemicals into the water table, etc.

Is Rush Limbaugh a News Show?

On public radio this morning, there was a piece about the health care debate. Listen here, if you like. A man was asked if he supported or opposed the bill. He was opposed, he said, because "minorities is gonna get more attention than the whites an' stuff like that, that's the way I take it from what the news was talkin' about." Now, I have to wonder what "news" show this guy listens to, if any. I read the paper, follow news online, and listen to the news on the radio, and nothing has ever been mentioned to make me think there are any proposals on the table that would give racial preferences in health care. I would bet this guy would also say he's opposed to "gummint-run" health care, even though his kids are on Medicaid. Any attempt at meaningful debate on this issue is scuttled by deliberate misinformation.

My Project is Finished!

These are shots of a piece I've been working on for several months, from an idea I'd been pondering even longer. It's a kind of faux-German steampunk wooden "catalog of the clothes to excite passions to us." "Katalog der kleidung um uns leidenschaften aufzeregen." It has photos glued to wood, laquered, and bound together with rubber and nails.