Culture Watch: Eco-Kooks and Cultural Crazies

Culture Watch Vol. 39
Nancy Morgan
RightBias.com
November 3, 2008


[ABOVE: The office of the President-elect?]

* Good News
* Culture
* Essential Trivia
* Idiot of the Week
* Hero of the Week

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In case you missed it, Obama won. Supporters gathered on the White House lawn in celebration, some of them waving the Soviet flag. I kid you not - check out the video.

Iran sent wholehearted congratulations and the leader of a jihadi group in Iraq argued that Obama as president represents a victory for radical Islamic groups that have battled American forces since the invasion of Iraq.

The first thing Obama did after winning the election was to set up an Office of the President-Elect. Huh? He then set about deciding which of Bush's executive orders he will overturn first, stem cell or offshore drilling.

Finally, his staff confirmed that it would be full speed ahead on revoking Bush's tax cuts for the 'wealthiest Americans.' Despite the known economic fact that raising taxes in a recession is a disaster in the making.

Plans are now underway to promote a national holiday for Barack Obama.
The costliest campaign in history is finally over. So, too, is the credibility of the old media. Several news anchors wept tears of joy upon news of his win. Read about it in depth in 'The Return Of The Girly Men.'

Despite all this, there still remains lots of:

GOOD NEWS:

Social conservatives made some headway in the culture wars as three states banned gay marriage and most state-wide environmental issues were voted down.

San Francisco voters lost their bid to have a waste treatment plant officially named after George Bush, (how ruuude..) and they also rejected Measure K, which would have legalized prostitution.
Europe is in full retreat on their climate plan and a new report shows that sea ice is growing at the fastest pace ever.


Confidence in Iraq is at an all time high, with 51% of voters expecting the situation in Iraq to improve in the next six months. Thank-you, President Bush. Oh, in India, 6,000 muslim clerics actually issued a fatwa against terrorism. Baby steps, baby steps...

CULTURE



An Oregon town has elected America's first transgendered mayor. Isn't he/she cute?

Washington state became the second state to give terminally ill people the option of assisted suicide with the passage of Initiative 1000. That doesn't mean that patients who want their physicians help in killing themselves will be able to get it as some doctors in Washington still take seriously the Hippocratic Oath.

A new study shows that increasing numbers of people seeking assisted suicide in Switzerland do not suffer from a terminal illness. Speaking of assisted suicide, exit polls from MSNBC, CNN and Fox show that Obama received a whopping 78% of the Jewish vote.

A sterile woman is set to give birth to the world's first baby conceived after a full ovary transplant. In Japan, scientists have successfully cloned mice whose bodies were frozen for as long as 16 years. They say it may now be possible to use this technique to resurrect mammoths and other extinct species.

Over in the UK, Lord Winston said that organs from pigs could be available for transplant into patients in the next decade. It truly is a brave new world.

Watch out, guys. Alarming trends in male fertility rates, birth defects and disorders are emerging around the world. More and more boys are being born with genital defects and are suffering from learning disabilities, autism and Tourette's syndrome, among other disorders.

ESSENTIAL TRIVIA

Wildlife officials in northern California last week came across one of the biggest Chinook salmon ever found in the state — a monster more than 4 feet long and weighing 85 pounds.

A new report concludes that voter turnout in Tuesday’s election was the same in percentage terms as it was four years ago — or at most has risen by less than 1 percent.

A top ten of the most irritating expressions has been compiled by researchers at Oxford University. Heading the list was the expression 'at the end of the day,' followed by the phrase 'fairly unique.' My own choice is 'Change' and 'Yes we can.'

A python has been filmed trying to swallow a wallaby whole at a Cairns university. The world’s first commercially available bionic hand has been named as one of the top inventions of 2008.

Brain scans show that bullies actually enjoy others' pain. The part of the brain associated with reward lights up when an aggressive teen watches a video of someone hurting another person, but not when a non-aggressive youth watches the same clip. Doesn't Obama have a strange smile?

Totally apropos of nothing, the day after the election, the Illinois lottery's winning number was 6-6-6.
Feminists around the world have reacted with horror to a new line of lingerie that includes a chastity belt equipped with a GPS tracking system.

From the 'Slippery Slope' file: A Japanese man has posted an online petition, arguing that Japan should change its laws to allow people to marry comic book characters. Over 1,000 have signed, so far.

IDIOT OF THE WEEK

What do you get when you're drunk, packing heat and a kid at the same time. This guest at an Iraqi wedding found out. Caution: Being an idiot can be harmful to your health, and to the health of those around you.

So many idiots, so little space. A new edition of our Idiots Of The Week Awards will be available Tuesday morning on RightBias.com.

This week, we also have a:

HERO OF THE WEEK

This honor goes to a prominent biologist at the University of California. This guy lost his job because he refused to undergo the University's sexual harassment training. He called the mandatory training a "sham" and considers his refusal an act of "civil disobedience." My kinda guy!
Until next Monday, keep smiling,

by Nancy Morgan
RightBias.com


Culture Watch may be reprinted, with attribution to RightBias.com