Bloggers Shocked That Jessica Has Breasts–Should She Have Worn a Burka?


I didn’t realize that the meeting Bill Clinton had with bloggers was so controversial. Althouse objects to Jessica (front row, center) posing, accusing her of writing “one of those blogs that are all about using breasts for extra attention. Then, when she goes to meet Clinton, she wears a tight knit top that draws attention to her breasts and stands right in front of him and positions herself to make her breasts as obvious as possible?”

Jessica protests that “things like this remind me that no matter what I do or accomplish, because I’m a young woman all I’m good for is fodder for tacky intern jokes and comments that I don’t “represent feminist values” because of the way I posed in a picture.”

I’ll have to leave it to the feminists to argue over the “political correctness” of Jessica’s pose. Perhaps they would have been happier if she had worn a burka. Looking at this more scientifically, I am reminded of what I learned in undergrad statistics. The average human has one breast, along with one testicle. The fact that Jessica has two seems like no big deal. Going beyond statistics to clinical experience, I’ve done hundreds, perhaps thousands, of physicals. Every woman I’ve seen was born with two breasts. We’re dealing with perfectly normal anatomy here. After meeting with Bill Clinton, there must have been a lot more to talk about beyond the fact that Jessica has a pair of breasts. Considering how modestly she is dressed, it is hard to be shocked by this picture, especially after a week in which pictures of Lindsay Lohan’s bare and shaved vagina have been all over the internet.

Sci Fi Friday: Sarah Jane Smith Returns, and How To Tell if Your Unicorn is Cheating on You

Remember that old Woody Allen movie Sleeper in which everything which we thought was good for us turned out to be bad, and everything which we believe is bad, like cigarettes, turns out to be good? I couldn’t help but think of that movie when I heard the news about the outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 infections from pre-packaged spinach. Information from a fax received from the CDC’s Health Alert Network reports fifty confirmed cases as of last night, with CNN just reporting the first case in New York. Normally I avoid politics in the office and medical advice on the blog, but the bottom line here is to avoid eating bagged fresh spinach. In one of the discussions KJ has vetoed my idea of offering spinach to the Notre Dame football team to “strengthen them up” in preparation for the game against Michigan tomorrow.

The BBC announces that Elisabeth Sladen will reprise her role as Sarah Jane Smith, a former companion to Doctor Who:

Set in present-day West London, the programme stars Elisabeth Sladen, continuing her much-loved role as Sarah Jane Smith.

Yasmin Paige will join her as Sarah’s 13-year-old neighbour Maria.

A 60-minute special which will be broadcast in early 2007, with a series following later in the year.

In the special, Sarah and Maria form an unlikely alliance to fight evil alien forces at work in Britain, and against the scheming Ms Wormwood, played by Samantha Bond.

Besides her role on Doctor Who, there was a previous attempt at a show with Sarah Jane in 1981 named K9 and Company. K9 is the robotic dog who was also a previous companion to The Doctor. Doctor Who resumes with the second season soon in the United States, and talk is already in progress about the fourth season in Great Britain. We declared independence so that we’d have to wait an extra year or more to watch Doctor Who?

Battlestar Gallactica 2.5, with episodes 11-20 from season 2 is scheduled for release September 19. There’s just enough time to watch them before the third season starts.
A list of stations is now available which will be carrying the new remastered episodes of Star Trek previously reported.

As promised in the title, here’s today’s practical information:

“SIGNS YOUR UNICORN IS CHEATING ON YOU” by Christopher Monks

Seems emotionally distant and uninterested
Wears fancier tail ribbons
Starts working out at the gym
Quickly closes its laptop when you walk into its enchanted den
Credit card bill full of charges to area elf lodges
The “three C’s”: confrontation, criticism, and complaints
Every time you say the word “magic” it sighs forlornly
Is making a movie with Angelina Jolie

(Hat tip to The World’s Fair.)

The Case for Kerry 2008

The Examiner looks at the prospects of John Kerry running for President again. They start by quoting one voter saying “You get one chance,” the Democrat tells a reporter. “If you can’t win, then it’s time to let someone else try.” Less than an hour later, after meeting Kerry and hearing him speak, she changed her mind. “I always liked what he stood for but felt that he was very snobbish and arrogant,” she says. “He’s not that way. People told me I would change my mind once I met him. And they were right.”

Many of us who supported Kerry in 2004 would say the same thing. The real John Kerry is not the guy portrayed by the media. The argument that he had his chance is a weak one. While some had an unrealistic view that Bush was easily defeatable, the fact is that Kerry defied the odds in coming as close as he did to an incumbent President–especially during time of war. Republicans know better than to ignore the experience of someone who ran and lost. Their front runner, John McCain, lost to George Bush. Richard Nixon didn’t win until his second try. Even Ronald Reagan lost to Gerald Ford before winning the nomination and election. In Europe it is common for opposition leaders to lose before developing enough support for their party to win.

The right wing noise machine has been pushing their propaganda for years. Throw in any candidate, even one as weak as George Bush, and everyone is ready for their lines. People have a much weaker understanding of the positions of the Democratic candidate–partially due to the manner in which their message has been distorted by the right wing noise machine. By the time Kerry wrapped up the nomination there was little time left in which to define himself before he was demonized by the Republicans. What the Democrats need is a leader like Kerry who is gradually getting his message out since 2004 and won’t be starting at a disadvantage in 2008.

Before Kerry can be considered for the nomination again, he will have to dispense with the Swift Boat Liars. He says he is ready:

“I’m prepared to kick their ass from one end of America to the other,” he declares. “I am so confident of my abilities to address that and to demolish it and to even turn it into a positive.”

There’s no doubt that Kerry will be forced to prove this. Assuming he can dispel any doubts held by those in the middle, the disputed claims of right wing partisans should not be used as a reason not to nominate Kerry. If they can make up such lies about Kerry, they can fabricate a case against any one. Sure, there will always be right wingers who will ignore all the evidence and claim the Swift Boat Liars are right. The same people will also continue to claim that we were threatened by WMD from Iraq, that Saddam was working with al Qaeda, that evolution is not established science, and perhaps even that the world is flat. People who are this brainwashed by the authoritarian right will never vote Democratic any ways, and their delusions don’t have any bearing on who should get the nomination.

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