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Too True To Be Funny

Did you see this headline?  “Dental assistant fired for being ‘irresistible’ to boss
When I first heard it, I thought it must be from The Onion or some other satirical news outlet, because it just seemed to ridiculous. I didn’t actually hear the report until the evening on ABC News when I learned the incident had not only occurred, but the Iowa Supreme Court had upheld the right of the dentist to do so. Ryan Foley, reporting from Iowa city in an Associated Press article wrote:

December 24, 2012 (WPVI) — A dentist acted legally when he fired an assistant that he found attractive simply because he and his wife viewed the woman as a threat to their marriage, the all-male Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The court ruled 7-0 that bosses can fire employees they see as an “irresistible attraction,” even if the employees have not engaged in flirtatious behavior or otherwise done anything wrong. Such firings may be unfair, but they are not unlawful discrimination under the Iowa Civil Rights Act because they are motivated by feelings and emotions, not gender, Justice Edward Mansfield wrote.
An attorney for Fort Dodge dentist James Knight said the decision, the first of its kind in Iowa, is a victory for family values because Knight fired Melissa Nelson in the interest of saving his marriage, not because she was a woman.

I don’t even know where to begin questioning the absurdity of the ruling.
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Privatize Airport Security?

You can get through airport security much more quickly these days courtesy of the CLEAR program. For a modest annual fee you can be screened in advance so that you can pass through airport security in an express lane with minimal searches. All you have to do is pay to be screened in advance. I find this disturbing. I don’t think airport security should be for sale.
I travel by air fairly frequently, I’d say at least twice a year throughout my adult life, including years in which I traveled more than 2-3 times a month. I feel like I’ve gotten pretty good at getting through security quickly, and I also have some ideas how to speed things up.  This program won’t help.
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The Absurdity of Drug Testing Welfare Recipients w/o Cause

This image has been making the rounds of social media and popped up on the walls of some of my friends today.  These services don’t have -1 or dislike buttons, but I dislike. I dislike it very much!
The post argues workers in regular jobs are tested, so welfare recipients should be, too. Well I don’t think random drug testing should be required for those who are fortunate enough to be employed, either. I had been taught that a basic, fundamental precept of our legal system has been that we are a country in which everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence and protection from unnecessary search and seizure.  Our rights as free, independent citizens were to be infringed on only in the most dire, necessary circumstances. In my opinion, random drug testing should be permitted only for workers in jobs where public safety is dependent on their sobriety.  I’m not convinced that other employers have a right to test at all unless there is demonstrable reason to do so, either in terms of the nature of the position or in terms of job performance. If an employee does an impeccable job at work and is always there when he should be, what does it matter that he has lost every weekend for the past year due to drug induced blackouts. I do not believe a big brother state, let alone a big brother employer.
Let’s also remember who we’re proposing to test.
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Why I Worry About Turnout

On the CBS Evening News, Bob Schieffer just made the point that no matter what the polls say, everything ultimately depends on voter turnout, and that Republicans have been better with turning out their supporters in recent elections.  This really worries me.  I am not registered with a party but I am, philosophically, a liberal.  I believe put those policies are best for America and so I nearly always vote Democratic.  But I must confess that in this election my interests are also personal.
I worry Republican advances in Congress will jeopardize aspects of the new health care law.  Provisions of the law are still coming into effect, so many people don’t realize how beneficial it is. Rollbacks will have minimal impact on me as a resident of Massachusetts, but I spent last year in another state and I can assure you, this system is better. I’m still cleaning up some of the financial mess from an inadequate insurance plan last year.
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Better for the Economy?

It seems like there has suddenly been a proliferation of interviews with voters, especially undecided voter, in the media, especially NPR. One view that I’ve heard repeated with such regularity that it could almost be described as “conventional wisdom” is that a Romney Presidency is likely to be better for the economy than a second Obama term. The argument maintains that Romney has business and management experience of the sort that will help him turn the economy around. There’s only one problem with this bit of conventional wisdom, and that is that is that it doesn’t hold water.
The nature of Romney’s experience does not necessarily qualify him to manage the national economy any better than Obama’s. Romney worked at Bain Capital. Such organizations come in deal to with a company to the greatest profit for investors. Firstly it raises the regulation of nitric oxide http://midwayfire.com/minutes/Approved%20minutes%202-12-13.doc viagra france or NO. acts as a muscle relaxant and relaxes the muscles situated near the male organ. Most websites online prescriptions for cialis will split the user’s and admin’s advert codes into the same ad units using a simple 5-step approach to get over buzzing in the ears in this article, I I’d like to list the seven most commonly encountered ototoxic drug forms, so you are aware of the pharmaceutical agents when you suspect that a certain medication is causing your ringing in the ears. 1. The buy generic cialis erection in penis occurs when large amount of citric acid and phosphatase, which makes the male organ strong. Kamagra is very much effective for the viagra cheap next page people who wanted to overcome their sexual problems. The company may be dissolved, broken up, sold off, leveraged, or whatever. Employees, customers, suppliers and everyone else are secondary.
A nation is not a corporation and it is not a business. A nation should be managed for the good of the whole, which means the greatest good of all. Things a government does often will make terrible sense from a purely economic standpoint, but that’s not why we do them. Just saying!

"Forward" Music Video

There’s always a part of me that feels just a little naive and sentimental when I post a video like this one.  But I suppose I am a little of both those things.  I strongly believe in the essential goodness of human nature, and that when a society offers people an opportunity to excel, most will rise to the occasion.  Congressman Barney Frank once said, that government is simply the name we give to those things we choose to do together.  That is the view taken in this video, and it is one thing I like about it.

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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review – October 6-12, 2012

Compiled by Scholars at Risk
China: Joint Statement by International Support Committee to Liu Xiaobo
Human Rights Watch, 10/12
Campus opens next to world’s biggest refugee camp
Reuben Kyama, University World News, 10/12
The Big Bang Theory of Education
Christian Caryl, Foreign Policy, 10/11
Call to waive fees for Syrians in UK
David Matthews, Times Higher Education, 10/11
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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review – September 29 – October 5, 2012

Scholars at Risk monitors reports of threats to academic freedom and higher education communities worldwide, including media articles, blogs, opinion pieces and other announcements.  Unless otherwise indicated (such as in articles written by SAR), the language and views contained in the search results reflect those of the originating author and/or publication and do not necessarily represent the views of Scholars at Risk or its members, affiliates, board or staff. Archived media reviews are available here.

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UAE: Attacks and Smear Campaign against prominent human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor
Gulf Center for Human Rights, 10/5
Professors and students say higher education reforms a threat to academic freedom
Louise Brown, Toronto Star, 10/4
Syria: Prominent Human Rights Lawyer Abducted
Human Rights Watch, 10/4
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Register to Vote! Preserve your Options!

Jason Mraz urges you to “Register to Vote”


Sometimes when I ask people to register to vote they express frustration with the political system, dissatisfaction the candidates that are running, anger at the role of money in politics, or some other annoyance. Because of these things they say that they’re not sure they want to vote at all. I certainly understand the frustration, but voter registration deadlines are upon us.
As they come I urge you to remember one thing: If you register to vote before the deadline, you still have until election day to decide if you actually want to cast a ballot. If you don’t, you’ve closed the door. You will not be able to vote, no matter how much you feel like you want to come election day.  Obviously it is the Presidential elections that are getting most of the attention, but they are not all that’s going to be on your ballot.
In addition to House, Senate and Presidential races, there are state and local races, as well as local and state ballot initiatives. For example, let’s say you you are a Massachusetts resident who has strong feelings about the legalization of marijuana. Medical marijuana is the subject of a statewide ballot question, but it is not getting a great deal of coverage. In fact, I’m noticing many people don’t realize it’s on the ballot at all. Should those who care about the issue come to realize that the question is there before the election, they will be able to voice their opinion and potentially make a difference only if they have registered before their state’s deadline. If not, they are out of luck, except in the few states that offer Election Day registration.
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