Hurricanes and other Hot Wind...

I might just be sick. Sometimes you read things and you wonder whether they're satirical... and are saddened, no - shocked - to discover they are not.

As I write this, there are bodies literally floating through the streets of New Orleans. The assembled resources of the nation are rushing to help the Louisiana/Mississipi area in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Many are calling it the greatest urban natural disaster in US history.

So what does Robert Kennedy Junior, the head of the activist group Waterkeeper Alliance do to chip in?

Kennedy says the hurricane is deserved because of US policies on global warming.

Unbelievable, but true. In a blog entry titled “For They That Sow the Wind Shall Reap the Whirlwind” he blames former Mississipi Governor Haley Barbour and his reluctance to embrace Kyoto whilst Barbour was chair of the Republican National Committee.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who finds this reprehensible - if not absolutely assinine. Especially when it comes to timing.

Some of the comments posted below the blog entry should be taken to heart, Robert:
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I can't believe it but I think you are being entirely serious. You really seem to believe that Gov. Barbour's rejection of Kyoto is responsible for this hurricane.

I declare this to be an instant HuffPo classic. Satire is - once again - made redundant.
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Please tell me you just didn't find a way to politicize a natural disaster. Sigh...
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So republicans are now responsible for the hurricanes? I think there's a reason we can't win elections....
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The Science of Addictions - Real or Imagined?

I don't doubt for a second, and would never dispute, the sad realities of addictions, especially to a drug or other chemical substance.

One can argue the brain will release chemicals under mental stimulation, which act in a similar manner. I'm not going to claim to be an expert on the subject, but one would assume this is the argument that goes into claiming gambling can be an addiction.

But even so - where does one draw the line between claiming a gambling addiction as a disease versus the complete lack of personal responsibility?

Take the case of Paul Burrell. The Nova Scotia native gambled away a $200,000 worker's compensation settlement, family savings of $80,000 and roughly $200,000 from his remortgaged house and personal loans.

His response? He lodged a complaint with the Nova Scotia Alcohol and Gaming Authority, the agency that enforces the casino regulations.

Burrell has also threatened to the sue the provincial government.

So is Burrell suffering a legitimate disease? Or is he just an irresponsible fool?

Common Sense? Fat Chance...

Everyone, say it with me now... "personal responsibility." Sound it out if you have to. It's not hard... just accept it.

Only in the land where fast food restaurants are sued for 'making people fat' would a doctor be sued for telling a patient she needed to lose weight.

How does someone even come up with a witty comment on this?

If anything, it just proves that often times, facts, data and actual science are irrelevant. Absolutely useless. What is essential is understanding how to deliver a message which may often create an emotional backlash.

Perhaps this Doctor was too blunt, or not sympathetic enough, but does anyone disagree that obesity is a serious health issue? Of course not. So in effect, this doctor faces disciplinary action for not knowing how to deliver a message.

Something to think about.

Kentucky Fried Activists...

It's the story of one plucky group of activists, dedicated to save a group of chickens from a painful plucking. And a giant multi-national corporation responding with "Pluck You."

(Sorry - I can't help myself sometimes.)

PETA - the notorious animal rights group - and KFC, the chicken fast food retailer are going toe-to-toe in a fight over animal welfare practices.

But this time, unlike those that have gone before them, such as Wendy's, Burger King or McDonalds, KFC isn't backing down.

PETA grew accustomed to scaring large, sensitive corporations with their bullying tactics and wild media campaigns. After taking on the big granddaddy of fastfood, McDonalds, they expected other corporations to follow suit. Specifically, they wanted KFC to change the way they slaughtered their chickens.

KFC disagreed. And PETA isn't taking the lack of cooperation from KFC in stride. In fact, they've stepped up their rhetoric and now seem hell bent on scaring the crap out of hapless consumers.

"In Ft. Wayne, Ind., for example, a PETA intern dressed in a chicken suit spent an hour-long protest in a wheelchair, going back and forth through a busy intersection. The "stunt boy" from local radio station "Wild 96.3" trailed the intern, holding out a bucket of chicken and asking, "Is this your brother or your aunt?"

Will the 'Kentucky Fried Cruelty' campaign have any effect? Not to some consumers - "KFC customer Tiffany Mueller looked on, gnawing on a piece of chicken.

"It all tastes the same to me," Mueller said.