Madeline in the snow

Madeline was meowing and meowing to go outside, so I said okay and let her out. She stepped awkwardly through the crusty snow on the porch for a few minutes before deciding to come back inside.

Yay, gay marriage in D.C.!

I've been following this for a while, and I'm not surprised it passed a council vote. The D.C. Council is on the side of justice and equality for all! There is a 30 day window in which U.S. Congress reviews the legislation and has the option of blocking it, but most experts do not think it's likely that this bill will be shot down.

HOWEVER (there's always a "however" when in comes to gay marriage in the U.S.) the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has threatened to cut their social services programs - homeless shelters, soup kitchens, etc. - if this bill passes. Seriously. Can you believe it? The Archbishop is using poor people as political pawns. The WWJD fad has mostly passed, but I urge Archbishop Wuerl and all like-minded Catholics to ask what would Jesus do in this situation...would he really stop his ministry if the state passed a law condoning something he found unethical (not that I believe Jesus ever thought homosexuality is unethical)? Not my Jesus! This is ridiculous. Today Catholic charities - all charities - are needed more than ever. I admire and respect such charities and hope that the D.C. Catholics will not follow through on their threats.

Pomegranate

I've had pomegranate but I've never prepared one before. According to the December issue of Runners World pomegranates are in season Nov-Jan. They recommend slicing the pomegranate and rubbing the pieces in a bowl of water to remove the juicy, corn-kernel-like seeds. Don't they look festive and Christmasy?

An argument to stop "going green"

It makes a lot of sense, actually. But one important point that Mike Tidwell left out of his opinion article is that regulating land use change is nearly as significant as halting fossil fuel burning when it comes to reducing our carbon emissions and achieving that 350 ppm target.

Betting on Copenhagen

Olivia Judson is one of my favorite science writers. In addition to authoring "Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation", she is a regular contributor to the NY Times. You must check out her recent blog post called "Betting on Copenhagen". She really has a knack for digesting a complex issue like climate change into an entertaining, easy-to-understand, yet completely accurate (check her Notes section) format.