In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Illness] Not good: "A Texas health-care worker who 'may have' handled lab specimens from Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan has been isolated on board a Carnival cruise ship in the Caribbean. The worker has shown no symptoms of the disease, according to Carnival, which said it is in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control. A Carnival spokeswoman said the guest, who was not named, will remain on board in voluntary isolation until the ship returns to its home port of Galveston on Sunday." The reason I say that's not good is not because I am particularly concerned about a possible transmission of the virus, but because I am concerned about fanning the flames of alarmism. Maybe the folks on Duncan's healthcare team could not travel, just for awhile.

In related news: Shaker Brunosaurus passed along this piece Duncan's nephew wrote following his uncle's death, and I think it's very important reading, to keep centered the thought that Duncan was a person, a loved person, and that care for one another as people is deeply important during times of alarmism around communicable disease.

And finally: President Obama has appointed Ron Klain, former chief of staff for Vice Presidents Al Gore and Joe Biden, as "Ebola Czar," tasked with coordinating the US' response.

[CN: War; terrorism; death] This is so awful: "Islamic State militants have targeted the Iraqi capital Baghdad with a wave of devastating car bombs and mortar attacks, killing at least 150 people since Sunday, in an escalating campaign of violence and mayhem. ...These latest attacks follow a series of dramatic advances in Iraq by IS fighters, who have succeeded in capturing most of the sprawling Anbar province to the west of Baghdad." Fuck.

[CN: Misogyny] Another one for the Can't Fucking Win List: "An attorney on maternal leave was denied her request to postpone an immigration hearing in Atlanta, and had to litigate with her baby strapped to her chest. Then, she was berated by the judge, who refused to delay the hearing, for bringing her child to court."

Woot! "Federal Judge Strikes Down Arizona's Same-Sex Marriage Ban; Couples Can Marry Today."

Hey, fellow Twin Peaks heads! Check this out: "Twin Peaks is making its triumphant return 25 years after the series debuted with a new season on Showtime and a just-announced book by Mark Frost, co-creator and executive producer of the popular TV series with David Lynch. Flatiron Books, a division of Macmillan, will publish The Secret Lives of Twin Peaks, an inside look into what has happened to the iconic characters of the fictional town since audiences last saw them more than two decades ago." I can't wait to settle in to read that with a slice of pie and some damn fine coffee.

I don't know what the big deal is: It's just a giant green buttplug in the middle of town. Big whoop. Insert a joke about the Very Jolly Green Giant here.

Would you go on the "world's first 4D free fly coaster," set to open next year in Six Flags Fiesta San Antonio? I would ride the fuck outta that thing! It looks amaaaaaaazing.

And finally! Many humans love their pets like children. So says science. SCIENCE!