ggm68's Comments (94)

“For an excellent short film on the subject of ocean acidification, check out Acid Test, from NRDC:

http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/acidification/aboutthefilm.asp”

“"They" are "anyone who would complain about it." Literate much?”

“Finally! As others have said I was beginning to think everyone at HP had lost their collective minds. I don't care what kind of genius you are, if you rape a child, you belong in prison. Thank you, Nina.

One complaint about the post, and something I've seen many times (e.g. in posts about H1N1): The word "endemic" does not mean what you seem to think it means. In the context it was used in this post, I assume you think it means something like "really-really-epidemic." In that case, you might try "pandemic." Endemic means "occurring in this location and nowhere else." Flightless cormorants are endemic to the Galapagos. "Sexual violence is endemic on the planet" suggests that this is the only planet on which sexual violence occurs, which may well be true, but I'm pretty sure that's not what you were trying to say.”

“I am a regular DN viewer, and found this "debate" to be one of the most frustrating episodes of DN I've ever seen. Davis literally had me shouting "shut up!" at the screen (among other things that I won't quote here). I usually avoid watching shows that makes me want to do that. My hat is off to Amy for maintaining her composure throughout Davis' shameless attacks on her journalistic integrity, and to Greg as well.

Although I must say that Davis' immediate attack on Amy, and subsequent attacks on both Amy and Greg, really just made him look all the more foolish, defensive, and corrupt. On some level he must know that he is defending the indefensible.

One thing that did crack me up was how bothered he was by Greg pronouncing his name "Lonny" instead of "Lanny." He should be used to it, with all his creepy shilling for Latin-American business interests, as the Spanish pronunciation of "Lanny" IS "Lonny."”

“I've seen a lot of suggestions for people who are already IN Dickipedia...

I have two words for y'all, and I've been waiting for this one for many months:

MICHELLE BACHMANN

Please. Please. Total, incontrovertible dick credentials.”

“Daryl.... Glad you were able to draw some attention to this terrible, disgusting practice. Wish I could have been at your side. Too bad it happened at a time when the only thing people are able to notice about Appalachia is that Mark Sanford didn't go hiking there!
Gale”

“This may have come up elsewhere in comments about this, but...

Do you think she knew she was ripping off the title of a Jim Hightower book when she said in her speech that "a dead fish can go with the flow?"

Whatever. I think she misses being on the campaign trail. All that adoration from the crowds. Maybe she intends to spend the next few years building a serious cult of personality as her pathway to the White House. In the meantime, she can make a fortune in speaking fees.”

“There is little appetite for whale meat in Japan, but the Japanese government persists in killing whales and dreaming up programs to promote the eating of whale meat. They don't want other countries telling them what they can or cannot do on the high seas, and they persist in whaling for the express purpose of exerting their perceived right to kill whales. Genetic tests performed on whale meat marketed as minke flesh have shown that some of the meat is from other, endangered, species, indicating that Japanese whalers, when not observed, will, in fact, kill protected species that are not included in the research exemption. The Sea Shepherds are trying to fill a need for enforcement of international law. If the countries who signed those treaties were actively involved in enforcing them, Sea Shepherd's efforts would not be needed.

There is a place in the world of environmental conservation for people like the Sea Shepherds. Through their sensationalistic activities they call attention to grave wrongs that might otherwise continue unabated and unnoticed. They also, through their radicalism, make other conservation advocates (more moderate in their methods but no less passionate in their convictions) seem reasonable by comparison. Mr. Spilman's indictment of their activities is superficial in its assessment and regrettably dismissive of the crimes committed by Japanese whalers.”

“I have my criticisms of Watson, but to call the Sea Shepherds terrorists is frankly, out to lunch. Terrorists deliberately kill their fellow humans with the intent to, yes, terrorize. Their methods are violent and deadly. Watson's methods are radical and at times reckless, but the whalers know darn well that the worst thing that's going to be thrown at them is a stink-bomb.

As for the comparison to anti-choice activists, it is anti-choice radicals who have escalated to guns in lieu of stink-bombs, not anti-whaling activists, and to equate the two after the recent murder of Dr. Tiller is an unfair attempt to taint one group with the sins of the other.

The Japanese DO abuse the "research" exemption, and they continue to kill whales =in protected areas= where all whaling is supposed to be illegal, a distinction Mr. Spilman overlooks in his criticism.”

“I long for the day when the public conversation notices that the treaty is called the U.N. Convention Against Torture AND Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (note all those words after the word "and.")

We're talking as if ONLY torture is illegal (not to mention shockingly abhorrent), and quibbling over whether waterboarding is or isn't. Americans, at the direction of high-level Bush officials, have engaged in many horrific, sadistic acts against detainees, only one of which is waterboarding. It t does not matter whether it "rises to the level of torture," because "torture" is not the only thing that's illegal, immoral, and antithetical to everything we claim to stand for.

After watching "Taxi to the Dark Side" I am beginning to suspect that what we know about abuses at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib pales in comparison to what we don't yet know about what was done to detainees at Bagram. What we DO know is horrifying enough. Those of us with a conscience must not turn a blind eye to what was done in our name.

Why are we setting the bar for illegality so dang high? Cruelty, humiliation, and inhumane treatment are ALL illegal. We're acting as if the issue is all about waterboarding, and it just isn't. We inflicted horrific cruelty on many, many detainees, only some of whom were guilty of any wrongdoing, and until we come to grips with that, America will continue to be lost in the moral wilderness.”

“Thank you for making me laugh!”

“Meanwhile the "real conservative" has no problem with tens-of-thousands of rape kits across the country being shoved onto a shelf somewhere to molder for years without. Even. Being. Analyzed. Allowing the perpetrators to go right on assaulting more women:

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/517/index.html”

“Meanwhile, the PBS show "NOW" recently aired an expose of tens of thousands of rape kits that =are never tested=. Ten thousand in Los Angeles County alone. So the victim goes through the difficult process of having all this evidence collected from her freshly violated body, and then law enforcement doesn't even bother USING the evidence to try to identify the perpetrator? Man, Afghanistan has got nothing on us!

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/517/index.html”

“Let's not forget other people having sex”

“make that:

no kid, gay, straight, or otherwise, deserves to have Joe the Plumber for a dad”

“but no gay kid deserves to be born to a father like him”

“Hasn't this woman earned a Dickipedia entry yet?”

“This man deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. Sign the petition here:

http://www.nobelprize4pete.org/”

“Aretha's hat: If anyone could pull off a hat like that, it would be her, and she did.

Jill's boots: They're plain black boots, what's the big deal? And I loved the red coat. I think what ruined the look for her was that her skirt was inappropriately short for the occasion. Seriously, a good four to six inches shorter than ANYONE should wear to such an occasion, regardless of age or position.

As for Michelle Obama's evening frock, I confess I thought it looked terrible on TV, however it may have sparkled in real life. Not figure flattering, and a constant distraction as both Michelle and Barack tried to keep from stepping on it.

I admit I don't know anything about the author of this post, but it makes me wonder how one comes to be considered an authority on fashion in these parts.”

“As others have said, it looked like it was made from a chenille bedspread, it didn't flatter her figure, and she was constantly working to avoid tripping over it. Maybe it's lovely in person, but given that most of the world will see her only in photos and on TV screens, she needs to learn to choose dresses that look good on TV. This one didn't. She was radiant and beautiful in spite of it all, but...”

“The planet will outlive all of us. That is to say, the big rock we call Earth will still float in space. But that doesn't mean it will be hospitable to human life if we don't take care of it. If you have kids of your own, you should darn well care what kind of world they're going to inherit.”

“"ohhh get that, would you Diedre?"”

“I don't hate children. But I do think parents can do a better job raising them if they have fewer of them. I don't hate the bible. But I do think some people have taken "go forth and multiply" a little too seriously.

I love the planet we call home, and think it's irresponsible to overpopulate it.

"It takes courage to raise a family..." I would have to agree. It takes a kind of courage I lack. But 18 children????? Eighteen? On a planet that's pushing seven billion? That's not courage, it's recklessness. If the planet's population of humans was on par with its population of polar bears (about 30,000) I'd be all for profligate breeders. But that's not our reality. For the good of ALL OF HUMAN KIND we need to cut the birthrate, not celebrate a woman spending her entire adult life pregnant and delegating parenting responsibilities to her own offspring.”

“"YOU HAVE MADE ENOUGH CHILDREN FOR 4 FAMILIES"

More like nine.”

“If I was their ObGyn I'd have taken out her uterus along with the baby. There is no way you can do a decent job of parenting this many children at one time, and the last thing the world needs is more humans. These people are nuts, and it's a shame TLC is glorifying their fecundity. Reminds me of a line in a '90's era song - "been around the world and found that only stupid people are breeding, the cretins cloning and feeding...." Not sure which is worse: This story or the one about the hammerhead shark.”