More links!

• Hey, I thought that this post I wrote on the UN Population Fund was rather good, and it required a lot of research on my part. Alas, no one has commented on it or linked to it. Hint. Hint.
• The American Prospect reviews two books about mommy. Talking about The Mommy Myth:
  Susan J. Douglas and Meredith W. Michaels, takes a stab at it by suggesting that the old “feminine mystique” has morphed into a “new momism,” a perfectionist ideal of motherhood that torments women with standards no mortal can meet. Momism doesn’t demand subservience to men; it requires subservience to children.

  Via Arts & Letters Daily.

• An interesting article in Sojourners about “progressive pro-lifers,” and a website by and about such folk, Leftout. These people might be potential allies, if they could be persuaded to try and reduce abortion by aiming at demand rather than supply.
• For folks with fast connections, the Discovery Channels “Know More Than You Should” TV spots are pretty funny (click on “watch the TV spots” to see them). “Milk Truck” is the best one.
• A Women’s ENews article on the most recent Juarez murders report. The Mexican government’s response to mass murder reminds me of the Bush administration’s response to torture; the reflex is to cast blame on the front-line cops and investigators, while ignoring the complicity of the people higher-up in the chain of command.
• Mikhaela’s News Blog has a great round-up of cartoons critical of Reagan (Kirk Anderson’s “Supply Side Journalism” is my favorite). She also provides a round-up of mainstream cartoons adoring Reagan (she found eight different cartoonists unoriginal enough to use the “mourning in America” pun). Oh, and check out her own cartoon, as well.
• An article about hospitals wanting to “pull the plug” on patients – against the wishes of the families.
• Did you know this year is the 40th anniversary of the publication of Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree? This article discusses and interprets this amazingly harsh children’s classic. I don’t agree with everything he says – especially his last two sentences – but it’s an interesting piece nonetheless.
• Dump Cheney! It’s time for the Bush/Zombie Reagan ticket! From the FAQ:
  Q: Is Zombie Reagan really that much of an advantage? Doesn’t John Kerry have the zombie vote locked up?

  A: No. John Kerry, in fact, isn’t really a zombie. He is more akin to Frankenstein’s Monster, built out of parts stolen from graveyards under cover of night. He simply claims to be a zombie for political advantage.

• Winning Argument is a blog devoted to succinct summaries of persuasive liberal arguments on various topics likely to come up around the proverbial water cooler. Via Body & Soul.
• Welfare reform in the 1990s did not lead to any decrease in single motherhood, according to two studies reported on in this article. The studies themselves can be read here, although I suspect that link will not be permanent. Via Family Scholars Blog.
• Teen Suicide Rate Down (via Family Scholars Blog).
  Suicide among American youngsters and teens fell about 25 percent in the last decade, reflecting a dramatic dropoff in gun suicides, the government said Thursday.

  In fact, hanging and other forms of suffocation — including use of belts, ropes or plastic bags — overtook self-inflicted shootings in the 1990s as the most common method of suicide among 10- to 14-year-olds, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

  CDC researchers did not immediately know why the overall rate dropped, but a specialist in adolescent medicine said new safety measures for keeping guns out of children’s hands and greater acceptance of gays may have played important roles.

• In a well-reasoned (and researched) post, Gabriel Rosenberg refutes charges that the ACLU is trying to strike down child molestation laws.
• Pong and S&M: Together at last! Two German students have created a version of “pong” in which the players’ non-joystick hands are subjected to a variety of physically painful punishments whenever they miss the ball. Whichever player removes his hand from the punishment platform first loses the game. Neat! The link includes an interview with the game’s creators:
  Q: How much pain are we talking about?

  A: The heat will get very bad if you play for a long time, and the, the same with the whip, because the whip always hits you on the same spot.

  Q: And it’s the whip that can get your hands bloody.

  A: Yeah, that’s the whip.

  All the best games are created by Germans.

• There are lots of good comics here.
• Interesting interview with Martin Torgoff, author of Can’t Find My Way Home: America in the Great Stoned Age, 1945-2000. It’ s on Salon, so unless you’re a subscriber you’ll have to sit through the ad, but it’s worth it.

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