Sun Kissed

After getting suggestions from readers on how to cope with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), I am at a beach house in the Florida Keys for Christmas--here is a picture I took, I was sitting in the beach chair you see but I decided to get some exercise and took a few pictures. Come to think of it, it was probably medically necessary to come to this beautiful island to treat my winter blues, I wonder if insurance will pay. (Just kidding, of course). I have never been to the beach at Christmas and it has been fun so far. The seafood house we just ate at had lobster and fish lights up for Christmas that were very festive and a lot of people were at the local stores getting gifts wrapped. Still, it is hard to imagine Christmas around the corner in 80 degree weather.

I have a bunch of reading that I took with me, including a book sent to me by the Penguin group entitled Sun Kissed, a romance novel they are pitching to women bloggers. You can only imagine how enthusiastic I am to read such a book, given my love for this particular genre. "She asked for nothing...but he would give her everything" reads the inside cover. Apparently, in this romance novel, there is a woman, a horse, an abusive ex-husband and a rugged, yet sensitive Natural man who saves the day. Yep, my kind of reading. My sister-in-law loves horses, and enjoys romance novels so I will pass it on to her. Anyway, back to the sun and ocean. I hope others are having a lovely holiday weekend. I'll be back later!

Fear

I find it interesting that so many angry lefty bloggers come here to troll on posts about the Scarlet R. Now, it could just be that the guy at Alicublog who mentions me, it seems, in every other post, could just have a crush on me, but I will not flatter myself with that theory at this point. You would think that a relatively small blog like mine would not interest them: after all, there are bigger fish out there to fry.

However, my guess is that it is fear that makes the angry leftists link to me or troll to try and shut people here up. Why such a threat from a few thousand people a day on my blog? Because two or three thousand readers could go out and talk to two or three thousand friends about libertarian or right leaning ideas and gasp! they might listen. Extreme leftists have a lot invested in keeping the right's views out of the media, schools and universities. That means making people on the right afraid or embarrassed about stating politically incorrect views. But everytime we stick up for a student Republican or professor, etc. the lefties' fear and discomfort become a little greater, their monopoly on these institutions is broken a little further and the threat causes them to act out in anger or make aggressive blog remarks. But hey, I am doing my part here because as long as they write about me, or waste their time posting on my blog, there is less chance they will be out in the real world pushing their agenda. So keep on coming by, boys. And thanks for the traffic!

"Are food reconditioning camps in our future?" Dr. Wes wonders.

Podcast on Martha Stewart's Legal Trouble

Is the US really as pro-business as everyone says? It sure doesn't seem that way after talking to our two guests. Today, we are in the studio with law professors Joan Heminway and Ellen Podgor (by phone), who have a new book coming out entitled, Martha Stewart's Legal Troubles. They use the Martha Stewart case as a jumping-off point to talk about white collar crime, the buisness environment, and whether overcriminalization is hurting the US economy, and the problems with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Oh, and we talk about Christmas cookies.

You can listen directly -- no downloading needed -- by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. You can download the file by clicking right here, and you can get a lo-fi version suitable for dialup, cellphones, etc. by going here and selecting the "lo-fi" version. And, of course, you can always subscribe via iTunes so that you'll never miss an episode. Plus, don't miss our show archives at GlennandHelenShow.com!


This podcast is sponsored by Volvo at volvocars.us.

"I hope that some day, you marry a guy who chokes you and gives you a black eye!"

Read about Cathy Young's run-in with Judith Regan, publisher at Harper Collins, who was recently fired from her job. Good riddance, it sounds like after reading Ms. Young's post.

The Scarlet R in Action

In my post on the Scarlet R, I noted that Republicans are often called vile names in response to their political leanings, especially in institutions of "higher learning." Here is a prime example at the Volokh Conspiracy of the type of denigrating behavior professors get away with at these paragons of diversity for the sole reason that the recipient is the wrong color and political orientation:

Washington State University Professor Calls Student "White Shitbag" at Demonstration: The WSU investigation report is here. The College Republicans organized an anti-illegal-immigration event, featuring a "24-foot, chain-link, cyclone fence, later established as a representation of a 'Wall of Immigration.'" Professor John Streamas showed up, got into an argument with Dan Ryder, a College Republicans member, and in the process called him a "white shitbag."

Now imagine the tables were turned and a white professor called a black student Democrat the same type of derogatory name in reverse? Would that professor still have a job? Maybe, but you better believe that the professor would be a pariah and the repercussions a lot worse than a reprimand.

Cathy Young has an interesting post entitled, "The father question (and Mary Cheney's baby). Take a look.

Brainwashing 101 Coming to a High School near You

I was sitting at the spa yesterday flipping through magazines and came across the December issue of Us Magazine. I know, I know, I should quit reading these magazines, but I am interested as a psychologist, in how pop culture affects the political thinking in our schools and society--so give me a break.

Anyway, the little tidbit I came across was buried on page 30 under a page entitled, "Hot Pics!" in the December 25th issue that showed a smiling Sheryl Crow posing with Larry David and his wife, Laurie. The caption reads, "'In the spring, we're showing An Inconvenient Truth in high schools and it'll be fun,' Sheryl Crow tells Us of working with Larry David's activist wife, Laurie, who was honored at a Self magazine benefit in West Hollywood Dec. 7."

An Inconvenient Truth is the Al Gore documentary produced by Laurie David among others. It appears Ms. David was upset when they tried to distribute 50,000 free documentaries to the National Science Teachers Association. According to a recent Washington Post editorial, producers of Al Gore's documentary on global warming "An Inconvenient Truth" wanted to give 50,000 free DVDs to the National Science Teachers Association for distribution to schools as an educational tool, but their offer was turned down. The NSTA says they cannot endorse any particular product.

In an editorial, Laurie David, one of the film's producers, says this decision was based largely on the NSTA's connection with the ExxonMobil Corp., which has given funds to the association. Ms. David writes that "through textbooks, classroom posters and teacher seminars, the oil industry, the coal industry and other corporate interests are exploiting shortfalls in education funding by using a small slice of their record profits to buy themselves a classroom soapbox."

Uhh, the oil industry is trying to buy themselves a classroom soapbox? And what would you be trying to do? Isn't using Hollywood stars like Sheryl Crow and the others involved in An Inconvenient Truth to pimp your product for you exactly what you are accusing the oil industry of doing? I am sure you are not getting a dime from them or any support. Yeah, right.

It seems that Laurie David is a contributor to the Huffington Post blog which tells you all you need to know about her politics. I think that the NSTA's refusal to let special interest groups hijack the schools is noble. Because really, if An Inconvenient Truth is distributed to high schools, shouldn't the rest of us get to choose other special interest documentaries that students view? I have some suggestions.

How about Dave Hardy's In Search of the Second Amendment documentary, a great film that can teach our kids about their right to bear arms, or Dead Meat by Stuart Browning about the horrors of Universal Healthcare or Indoctrinate U by Evan Coyne Maloney, a film that explains how politically correct liberals like Laurie David and her ilk are trying to hijack the schools. At least then the kids would be getting exposed to opinions they won't find in Us magazine.

I'm all for Warnings, but for Professors, not Clothes

Dave at the Crisper blog discusses an article from the Daily Mail about a professor who proposes putting obesity warnings on clothes:

Oversize clothes should have obesity helpline numbers sewn on them to try and reduce Britain's fat crisis, a leading professor said today.

And new urban roads should only be built if they have cycle lanes, according to Naveed Sattar, Professor of Metabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow.

He is calling for more government intervention with a central agency set up to deal with the problems of obesity.....

"People clearly have some responsibility for their health, but society and government have a responsibility to make the preferred, easy choices healthier ones," he said.

I propose, instead, that we sew warning labels on professors who spout totalitarian ideas that seek to take away personal autonomy and replace it with government dependence. That is my preferred easy healthier choice. What about you?