Science

Rudy Giuliani Talkin' Kangaroo Teats And Vaginas COME BACK HERE THIS IS IMPORTANT

Science time!

It's important to say hi to Rudy Giuliani sometimes and just hear what he has to say. Just like you, he is a human being and he has thoughts and feelings.

Sometimes his thoughts and feelings are that he WAS NOT (GULP!) DRUNK ON ELECTION NIGHT 2020! You know, even though pretty much everyone else says otherwise.

Sometimes his thoughts and feelings are LAPTOP! And DOMINION CHAVEZ FRAUDS! And UKRAINE HUNTER BIDEN CHINA BRIBERY!

And whatever else he babbles at reporters when he calls them after dark. Or when his butt calls them after dark.

Sometimes he explains kangaroo reproduction!


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New Years Eve

2022 In Energy And Climate: The Transition Is ON

Stupid old humanity may build itself a chance.

Climate and energy stories are always about numbers, so let's start this review of 2022 with a fairly small one that should give you hope: Nine. That's nine percent, and according to polling by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, it's the percentage of Americans who are "dismissive" of the reality of climate change: They "believe global warming is not happening, human-caused, or a threat, and most endorse conspiracy theories (e.g., 'global warming is a hoax').” Just nine percent. That's roughly the percentage of Americans who think Elvis is still alive or that the Holocaust never happened. But because they make so much noise, spreading their denialism at every opportunity, most people would assume the number is a lot higher.

The poll also identified another 10 percent as "doubtful" of climate realities; these folks may say it's happening, but "do not think global warming is happening or they believe it is just a natural cycle. They do not think much about the issue or consider it a serious risk." I think that probably describes most Republicans apart from the all-out cranks, and it's very bad news that many members of those two groups are in positions of political or economic power, of course. But here are the other good numbers from the poll:



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Nice Time

Henrietta Lacks's New Immortality: Replacing Robert E. Lee Statue In Virginia

Replacing a traitor with a medical hero? Yes please!

Officials in Roanoke, Virginia, announced this week that the city will put up a bronze statue of Henrietta Lacks next year, in a plaza that used to house a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

Lacks was originally from Roanoke; she died in 1951 when she was just 31, in Baltimore, from cervical cancer. While she was being treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital, one of the only hospitals that admitted Black patients, a gynecologist took a sample of Lacks's cancer cells without her permission or knowledge, and sent them to a lab. Unlike most of the cell samples collected at the time, Lacks's cells kept living and dividing, which meant they could be cultured and reproduced over and over again for use in medical research.

Would have been nice if someone had thought to ask Lacks or her family for consent, but it was the '50s and the medical establishment wasn't especially concerned with "informed consent" for women cancer patients (at the time, doctors might tell a woman's husband the diagnosis but withhold it from the patient herself). White researchers took even fewer ethical considerations if the patient was a poor Black woman. But wow, how about that cell line, called "HeLa" cells, for the first letters of Lacks's first and last names.

Lacks's life, the history of the HeLa cells, and the ethical mess were the subject of Rebecca Skloot's 2011 book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and if you somehow haven't come across it you really should try to fill that gap in your reading as soon as possible. Skloot's book led to posthumous recognition finally going to Lacks and to her family. HeLa cells have been widely used in medical research, were the first human cells to be cloned, were used to map the human genome, and were also used in developing the vaccines for polio and for COVID-19.

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Healthcare

Ron DeSantis Creates 'Florida Man' CDC, Gonna Sue All The Vaccines

The second 'C' is for CONTAGION.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is either a sociopath, or he's out out of his goddamn mind. There is literally no other explanation for this.



This fuckin' guy just convened an anti-vaxx roundtable with his quack Surgeon General Joseph "The Dope" Ladapo, to announce that he wants to indict the pharmaceutical companies who make coronavirus vaccines. These companies saved the country from a goddamn pandemic, and he wants to throw them in jail for it!

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