Santa is not my friend

I'm "straight but not narrow", as they say. I firmly support equal rights for gays and lesbians, in all spheres.

If two gay guys get married, my marriage will not disintegrate into a pile of dust or explode like a ton of dynamite.

There is no earthly reason why gays and lesbians should not serve openly in the military.

Homosexuality is not a choice, not a disease, not a mental illness. It is in the wiring, so to speak. And so, discrimination based on sexual orientation really irks my liver, especially organized discrimination. So I choose to put my money where my beliefs are (or not put my money in this case).

(Scene: sidewalk outside local supermarket)

Salvation Army Santa (SAS): (rings bell) Donations for Salvation Army! Help the Poor this holiday season!
Neurondoc (attempts to walk by without making eye contact)
SAS: Care to make a donation?
ND (still no eye contact): No, thank you. (See, I started out polite!)
SAS: You're not going to make a donation?
ND: Nope. Sorry. (Still polite)
SAS: You don't want to help out poor people during the holiday season?
ND (now irked): I'm perfectly happy helping out poor people at any time of the year.
SAS: They why won't you give a donation? You won't miss a dollar or two. It goes to a good cause.
ND (now pissed off): It has nothing to do with me missing a dollar or two. I prefer not to donate money to Salvation Army.
SAS (looks completely shocked): What? Why not?
ND: Because I don't donate money to an organization that practices organized discrimination. Salvation Army discriminates against gay people. So my money goes elsewhere.
SAS (opens mouth, closes mouth, looks away, and rings bell)

Not much to say to that, is there?

I politely refused a Boy Scout (who came to my door in uniform) a couple of months ago. I have no idea what he was selling or wanting, but I wanted nothing to do with him. Call me a curmudgeon, but the BSA is on my shitlist, too.

Shoeless Baby Gets Shooed Out

No matter how old you are, you better wear shoes to the Burger King in Sunset Hills, Missouri. On Sunday, a woman, her mother, and her 6 month-old baby stopped in to Burger King for a quick meal. They were told to leave because the 6 month-old didn't have shoes on. A 6 month-old. Who can't walk and probably can't crawl and likely has cleaner feet than anyone reading this blog post. Unreal. Eventually somebody from Burger King called and apologized, and the over-zealous workers had to undergo some sort of training to help them decide on whom to enforce this rule. Or something. D'oh!
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H/T to the AP and about 50 zillion other news organs that picked the story up.

What he said...

This whole Birther "movement" is literally beyond my understanding. These people must come from a different planet or something. I want every last one of them to receive simultaneous pokes in the eye and brain transplants, and I don't want to hear anything else from them ever again.

I am incapable of coming up with any original thoughts on the Birthers, so I will just refer you to Jim's three posts on this topic.

...What he said...

I'll post the saga of our long (and I mean LONG) weekend away tomorrow. After a good night's sleep. And after the antibiotics kick in.

Other people think Jenny McCarthy is a moron, too!

I am not the only one! Actually, I knew that, but this post cried out for some hyperbole. Y'all know my feelings about Jenny McCarthy -- I think I've been obvious enough, right? Well, the amazingly erudite, incredibly intelligent, and wonderfully wordy docs over at Science-Based Medicine spend a lot of their energy dealing with Jenny McCarthy and her anti-vaxxer friends. Dr. Jones (not Indiana Jones, you idiot!) published a brilliant post dissecting and repudiating Jenny McCarthy's new video. She also does a great job outlining general concerns about this pervasive, under-the-radar, anti-science attitude which seems to be chic in the upper middle class SAHM set. This video contains the most appalling anti-science "information", really misinformation. Remember, it all spews out of the mouth of a former Playboy model and "actress", who styles herself as more knowledgeable about this issue than doctors.

I will not foam at the mouth today, but I did have to wash my eyes out with bleach after I watched the video. And yes, I did watch the whole thing.

Jenny McCarthy = RABIES

I saw two cases of Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis, the worst sequela of measles, when I was in medical school. I won't forget either the disease or the two patients who suffered and died of it. I believe strongly in vaccination for the prevention of diseases that are otherwise untreatable and devastating. And the whole anti-vaccination movement literally makes me foam at the mouth ("Neurondoc, do you have rabies?").

I now have a new hero: The Amateur Scientist. I have a total and unabiding hatred of the crap that Jenny McCarthy spews in her quest to rid the world of vaccinations, all because she believes the disproven (time and again) theory that vaccines (or mercury or thimerasol or too many vaccines in too short a time or ...) cause autism. Because of the anti-vaccination movement, people are dying, formerly sporadic diseases are becoming endemic, and we may be losing our herd immunity. So here is a musical thanks to Jenny from her friends Measles, Mumps and Rubella...



H/T to Janiece, my current girl crush
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update 5/16, 5:20 pm

See it's true!

Which Horrible Affliction are you?
A Rum and Monkey disease.