Since it’s the opening day of the baseball season, I thought it would be a good idea to start with a baseball-related PSA.

This ad comes from Supergirl #5 (June 1973) and is an anti-drug PSA from the makers of Huskie shoes. (Of course, in today’s climate, this ad still applies, only this time it’s referring to steroids or HGH). It’s one of the few PSAs I’ve seen that is part of an actual company-sponsored advertisement as opposed to the ususal “public service” ad.

For another baseball-related PSA, check out “Danger: Prejudice at Work”
There are too many anti-drug PSAs to choose from, so here are a few choice ones from the files: “We Can Stop the Enemies of Youth,” “The Amazing Spider-Man in Double Trouble,” and “The New Teen Titans as part of the President’s Drug Awareness Campaign.”

More PSAs

There are days when I’m proud that there are doctors who serve as members of Congress.

Then there are days like today, when I cringe. It seems there are questions about Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s application to renew his Tennessee medical license. Apparently, he didn’t meet the “forty hours of continuing Medical Education” requirement, yet submitted his application stating that he had.

To be fair, this is the first time in his many license renewals that forty hours of continuing education has been required, but on the other hand it’s hard to miss the requirement as it’s plastered all over the renewal application and instruction — not to mention that fact that this requirement has been on the books and discussed since 2002.

Careless mistake or deliberate prevarication? Probably depends on who you listen to and which side you favor.

Either way, it’s not comforting behavior in any physician, let alone the Senate Majority Leader.

Like many pieces of legislation that were rushed through Congress, the recent Superhero Registration Act is vague in certain areas and unexpected questions have cropped up. Luckily the government was able to provide this handy guide to common Registration Act questions:

Q: I used to be a mutant but I recently lost my powers. Do I still have to register?
A: No, you do not need to register, but you do need to fill out form 341-T “Declaration of Cessation of Urban Vigilante Activity”. Fill out the personal information, mark the appropriate box for the reason behind your loss of powers, and drop it off at the nearest FBI or SHIELD office. Farm-based hereos will need to fill out form 341-W, which applies to rural activities.

Q: I have to wear a respirator at work and it covers up most of my face — does this mean I have to register as a masked hero?
A: If your gear obscures your identity, then that qualifies as a mask and you are required to register for the Act. As a rule of thumb, if you have to wear a name tag or have your name stenciled anywhere on you clothes, then you need to register. This means that the following professions are required to register by the Act:
• Firemen
• Scuba divers
• Surgeons
• Dentists and Dental Hygienists
• Painters
• Clowns
• Emo kids with hair over their eyes (The United States v. Death Cab for Cutie)
• Rock singers wearing makeup (The United States v. Simmons, Stanley, Criss, Frehley, et.al)

Q: I work as a professional wrestler and wear a mask, do I need to register?
A: If your role is as a heroic or good-aligned wrestler, then yes, you are expected to register. If you play an evil or villanous wrestler, then you are exempt from registration because due to an inadvertant oversight, the Act as written only applies to heroes. If you foresee your role changing, it would be best to go ahead and register now.

Q: Since I’ve registered, can I now declare my costume and other super hero expenditures as work-related expenses on my tax forms?
A: Yes. You can also declare super-hero based medical care as well, and don’t neglect to deduct for mileage and depreciation on vehicles.

Q: I’ve heard that the divorce rate is higher for super-heroes who register.
A: Nothing could be farther from the truth! In actuality, our very scientific studies have shown that a full 78% of indivduals report improved satisfaction with their marriage after registering*.

Q: What about Halloween? Will the Registration Act affect the wearing of costumes and trick-or-treating?
A: Halloween and all pumpkin-related festivities are now illegal under Section II of the Superhero Registration Act. For reasons not entirely clear, Arbor Day has also been outlawed.

Q: My super powers are granted directly by my deity. Isn’t registering as a superhero with the Federal Government overnment a violation of the Establishement Clause?
Q: I’m the Norse God of Thunder. I thinketh that registering with the government dost be a violation of my First Amendment rights to Freedom of Religion.
A: Under the direction of the President, the Department of Justice has determined that the rights “guaranteed” by the Constitution and subsequent amendments do not necessarily apply to super-powered individuals. The only people who would disagree this decision are clearly communists and/or terrorist sympathizers. You’re not a terrorist sympathizer, are you?

Q: As a foreign operative and/or alien and/or time-displaced individual and/or artifical lifeform**, am I still required to register for the Act?
A: Yes you are. Any super-powered or masked individual who operates on American Soil — including outlying territories, helicarriers, and assorted secret moon bases — are required to register with the Federal Government.
In addition to the standard registration form, you may be required to submit one or more of the following forms as well: 338-A (Declaration of Residency in a Foreign Nation), 338-AN (Declaration of Residency in a Non-Recognized Foreign Nation), 338-AX (Declaration of Residency in a Foreign Nation, Since Destroyed or Re-Zoned), 338-C (Declaration of Residency in a Future Timeline), 338-CX (Declaration of Residency in a Future Timeline Which Can No Longer Exist), 338-D (Declaration of Residency in the Past), 338-DS (Declaration of Residency in the Distant Past), 338-DW (Declaration of Residency in an Alternate Past), 338-E (Declaration of Residency on a Planet or Moon within the Solar System), 338-F (Declaration of Residency on an Extra-Solar Planet or Moon), 338-FX (Declaration of Residency on an Extra-Solar Planet or Moon, Since Destroyed), 338-G (Declaration of Residency on an Artifical Planetary Object), 338-GX (Declaration of Residency on an Artificial Planetary Object, Since Destroyed), 338-J (Declaration of Residency in a Parallel Dimension or Alternate Reality, Accessible), 338-JT (Declaration of Residency in a Parallel Dimension or Alternate Reality, Not Accessible), 338-JX (Declaration of Residency in a Parallel Dimension or Alternate Reality, Since Destroyed), 338-K (Declaration of Residency in a Magical or Fictional World), 325-B (Declaration of Individual as an Artificial Lifeform, Biological), 325-E (Declaration of Individual as an Artifical Lifeform, Electronic)**, 325-M (Declaration of Individual as an Articfical Lifeform, Mechanical)**, or 325-S (Declaration of Individual as an Artifical Lifeform, Magical).

* Statistics provided by the Statistical Heuristic Interpretation Evaluation and Logic Department. Margin of error ±75%
**All Mechanical and Electronic Artifical Lifeforms are required to have a compliance chip implanted.

I absolutely loathe the use of misleading statistics or poorly-interpreted results to prove a point. I don’t care if I agree with the argument in question or not, bad statistics are bad statistics and should be addressed whenever and wherever they are found. News reports yesterday provided us a good example of this:

Fox TV: Sexual Song Lyrics Prompt Teens to Have Sex Sooner
MSNBC: Raunchy Songs Can Prompt Earlier Teen Sex
CNN: Study: Sexy Music Sexy Music Triggers Teen Sex

It was hard to miss those headlines. A recently published study, partially funded by the “think tank” Rand Corporation, addresses the subject of teens, musical choice, and sexual behavior, but the actual results are not nearly as dramatic as the media outlets — or even the study authors — would have you believe.

The article, “Exposure to Degrading Versus Nondegrading Music Lyrics and Sexual Behavior Among Youth“, is published in the most recent issue of Pediatrics, a well-respected medical journal – though it is toward the back of the issue.

In the study, researchers questioned teenagers by phone at three instances over a period of several years about their musical preferences and their sexual behaviors. The results suggest that there is a correlation between listening to music with degrading sexual lyrics and earlier initiation of sexual intercourse. That’s pretty much all the study shows: adolescents that listen to sexually charged music tend to experience sex earlier.

Note that the study does not demonstrate causation, it only shows correlation. It does not show that listening to sexual music causes or is responsible for this sexual behavior. The authors would like us to think that they’ve controlled for every other possible variable that could explain sexual behavior, but given that we don’t know all these variables, it’s hard to see how they could control for them. In fact, at the end of the article, the authors hedge their bets and admit this very fact.

The bottom line is that the authors and reporters are reading entirely too much into the study. It’s yet another example of the post hoc ergo proctor hoc fallacy equating correlation with causation. I’ve seen this behavior frequently from the media, but I become concerned when I see authors who should know better using the same poor logic. This is a study published to justify a point of view, not advance science.

A few final thoughts:

• Teenagers lie, particularly about sex, even to researchers on the phone. I see no mention of whether this was addressed at all.
• The study only addresses a strictly heterosexual definition of sex. Going simply by the numbers, several hundred of their respondants were likely to be homosexual.
• The musical grading of “sexual vs non-sexual” and “degrading vs non-degrading” is entirely subjective.
• The researchers only asked about an extremely limited number of performers (16).
• Many of the p values (the measure of the likelihood that the results were obtained purely by chance and not by correlation) are too high to be making such strong pronouncements. Strangley, no r values (the measure of correlation) are listed.
• Personally, I’m always suspicious of reports that come out of “think tanks” (though at least this one was published in a peer-reviewed journal).

With Idependence Day just around the corner, this seemed like a good time to take a look at this United States Constitution PSA from the pages of Flash #65.

It offers a free information kit on Article II of the Constitution, which describes the requirements and powers of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government.

With nuclear missiles and missile shields in the news again, this PSA seems nearly as topical now as it did almost twenty years ago. From Eclipse Comics Airboy #22 (May 1987) comes this surprisingly political PSA entitled “Earth Island’s Do-It-Yourself SDI Survival Test.”

(For those of you who may not remember, SDI stands for the “Strategic Defense Initiative,” commonly called “Star Wars”, which was a plan to use armed satellites and ground-based counter missiles to protect the United States from a Soviet ballistic missile attack.)

Tiny Toys Remain Major Cause of Child Deaths screams the Associated Press headline in an article about the annual toy survey from the United States Public Interest Reseach Group (USPIRG) carried by many local papers, national news outlets and local news stations yesterday. From the article:

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s 20th survey noted that the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported the deaths of 16 children in toy-related incidents last year, along with another 210,000 emergency room visits. Choking on small parts, balls and balloons remains a leading cause of death and injury in children younger than 15.

This makes no sense. How can 16 deaths lead to the conclusion that choking on toys is a “leading cause of death and injury” or a “major cause of child deaths”?

Let’s take a minute to look at the actual statistics:

• The 210,300 toy-related injuries estimated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is for all ages. 77% of these injuries (161,100) were to children under 15.
• Riding toys were the leading cause of toy-related injuries (34%), and most of these were due to unpowered scooters.
• The NEISS database estimates that there were 12,206 aspiration injuries to children under 15 in 2004. Note that this number includes all aspiration injuries, not just those related to toys. (In contrast, children had 2.3 million falls, three-hundred-thousand bite and stings, and two-hundred-thirty-thousand motor vehicle accidents requiring emergency room visits in 2004).

The CPSC reports 16 toy-related deaths in 2004.

• Choking made up 44% of these injuries (7)
• Riding toys made up 38% (6)

The main causes of death in children depends greatly on age. For children under 15, the leading causes of death include accidents, congenital malformations, assault, cancer, heart disease, influenza and pneumonia. If you have time to kill, the National Vital Statistics Report can be found here (warning, it is a 90 page pdf file).

Here’s a list I compiled of deaths in children under 15 in the US in 2004 due to various causes. This list contains some — but not all — of the leading causes of death and also lists some less common causes. These numbers are presented to contrast to the 16 toy-related deaths in 2004:
Motor vehicle accidents, 2505; Malignant Cancer, 1548; Assault, 1082; Heart Disease, 920; Drowning, 838; Suicide, 273; Falls, 95; Medical or Surgical Complications, 69; HIV, 37.

The following charts do an excellent job presenting the leading causes of deaths and non-fatal injuries in children. You’ll notice that “toy aspiration” is not listed as one of the leading causes. It probably falls under the heading “Unintentional Foreign Body,” but that category includes all foreign body injuries, not just choking, and not just toys.

Conclusion: The statistics simply do not support the claim that “choking on small parts, balls and balloons remains a leading cause of death and injury in children younger than 15.” Nor do the statistics support the headline that small toys are a leading cause of children’s deaths.

Where did these ridiculous claims come from?

• NOT from the CPSC. Their Toy-Related Deaths and Injuries, Calendar Year 2004 makes no such claims (pdf file).
• NOT from the USPIRG. Both their press release and annual Toy-Report are generally level headed and full of good advice. The press release does state “choking on small parts, small balls and balloons remains a leading cause of toy-related deaths and injuries,” which is a much more reasonable claim (the death part anyway, I see no statistics to support choking being a leading cause of toy-related injury).
• Since these are the only sources the Associated Press names, the only reasonable conclusion is that the AP themselves must have come up the misleading statements. Their reporters either misunderstood and misreported the data, or went for the eye-catching headline and sound bite without bothering to accurately report the actual evidence.

Toy-related deaths are tragic and preventable, but they are not the epidemic the Associated Press article claims. The USPIRG Toy Report has good information and I recommend it to parents, grandparents and physicians.

UPDATE:
Apparently the headline I quoted above is just CNN only, other media sources have less salacious headlines. The rest of the article remains the same however.

Geoff Johns wins the coveted “Technobabble of the Month Award” with this panel from Flash #225 (pencils by Howard Porter).

“Spontaneous Conception via Time Travel.” Does this make sense to anyone?

It’s actually a contradictory statement: Spontaneous conception means a conception achieved naturally without any assistance (such as fertility drugs or IVF). I’m pretty sure that time travel would count as “assistance”.

(And does this mean that there’s a greater than average number of children in Central City, Keystone City, and Gallifrey?)

It’s Guy Fawkes Day!

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot…

I spent the better part of the past weekend reading the Batman: No Man’s Land storyline. I only picked up a few peripheral Batman titles when this was originally published in 1999, so I missed most of the story.

For those of you unfamiliar with the plot: Gotham City has been demolished by a severe earthquake. Rather than rebuild the city, the government instead decides to abandon it. The residents are evacuated and all access to the city destroyed. Gotham City is declared a “no man’s land” and anyone left inside is considered an outlaw. The military is called in to enforce the borders. No aid of any sort will be given to Gotham’s remaining residents.

As the dust settles, different areas of the city have been claimed by different gangs. City block by city block, Batman and his associates, along with the remaining GCPD officers, reclaim Gotham City. As a final act, they head off an attempt by Lex Luthor to take over the city.

No Man’s Land was an overarching storyline that lasted for just under a year. Within this storyline there were several smaller story arcs* and some done-in-one stories.

Although it was dragging by the end, this was one of the better Batman storylines of the past few years. It was certainly better than War Games and Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive/DDR Champion. Until the very end (the conclusion of the Joker arc), it managed to avoid the unnecessary and wanton murders that have populated the Bat books as of late.

*The individual story arcs within No Man’s Land used the same technique Marvel has been widely criticized for using in its upcoming Spider-Man: the Other storyline — the same creative team writing and drawing all the cross-over books in a particular month. The stories definitely benefited from this unified presentation, though admittedly DC wasn’t trying to launch a new ongoing Bat book at the same time.

Pork Barrel Spending in Metropolis
by Lois Lane, Daily Planet staff

There has been a great deal of attention focused recently on excessive government spending, particularly in the wake of the devastation resulting from Hurricane Katrina and the billions of dollars that will be necessary to rebuild the storm ravaged areas. Leading the charge against congressional pork barrel spending has been a loose coalition of bloggers and other on-line activists. The web site Pork Busters pays testament to their activities.

Many senators and congressmen have addressed the topic at hand. A few have agreed to cut projects, but most have denied that their particular pet projects are in any way pork barrel spending. Given his usual loquaciousness, the congressman from Metropolis has been strangely silent on this topic. Constituents sending letters or e-mails to his office received a brief and poorly spelled form-letter in reply.

After repeated calls from the Daily Planet, Representative Levitz reluctantly agreed to address Congressional pork spending when he spoke to the crowd at a recent pancake breakfast fundraiser for the Committee to Re-elect Pete Ross (CREEPeR).

After the meal was served, Representative Levitz stepped to the podium and spoke:

What many uninformed people see as “Pork” are actually extremely important projects. For example, reinforced vibranium walls for City Hall are a necessity! In a world with criminals like the Joker, the Shocker and Joe Quesada running around, municipal employees deserve adequate protection!

This announcement was met with scattered applause, particularly from the people seated on the stage.

Hurricane Katrina and the Gotham City earthquake have demonstrated how quickly civil government can break down in a disaster. Rather than leave our lives in the hands of a handful of a few fickle costumed vigilantes, I have proposed the creation of the Levitz Armed Mandroid Exigency Situation Team. In the event of a disaster, these Mandroids will be activated and used pre-emptively to provide security and order in this fair city. Again, this is not a Pork project, but rather a means of keeping a responsible individual in control during a possible disaster…namely me.

There have been questions about the Metropolis highway funding as well. A city the size of Metropolis attracts a large number of costumed indiviuduals, both so-called “super-heroes” and “super-villains.” The unlawful activities of these costumed rough-necks routinely have a detrimental effect upon our city’s infrastructure. We desperately need these Federal highway funds to repair the streets of Metropolis. The fact that these street repairs are carried out by a subsidiary of LexCorp is purely coincidental.

Finally, let me remind my constituency that my record speaks for itself. I am against excessive, superfluous and redundant government expenditures. I voted against both of President Luthor’s Battlesuit Bills as well as his needlessly expensive Kryptonian Deportation Depot.

When asked about whether the money spent on the giant robot standing beside him could be better spent elsewhere, Representative Levitz stated:

In this day and age, personal safety is a priority for everyone and this is especially true for elected public officials. This Mark-5 Sentinel is not an example of Pork spending, but instead a vitally important aspect of the War against Terror.

At this point, Representative Levitz quickly left the breakfast, mumbling something about an upcoming “Crisis.”

This is an interesting story where the Reverend Jerry Falwell is suing a man who owns a website critical of Falwell – a website that happens to be a common misspelling of Falwell’s name. The following quote caught my eye:

A lawyer for Falwell maintained Lamparello’s use of a variation of the preacher’s name bordered on theft. “It’s been wrong to steal since Moses came down from the mountain,” attorney John H. Midlen Jr. said.

Somebody needs to remind the Counselor that it was wrong to steal long before Moses came down from the mountain.

This week’s Lois Lane Friday story is full-length tale from Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #90: “Lois Lane’s Future Husband.” As is common with these Lois Lane stories no writer is credited, but the art is by Irv Novick and Mike Esposito.

Experiencing some strange dizzy spells, Lois decides to take a few days vacation at her parents’ house in the country. While there, she has another dizzy spell and is rescued by a local doctor named Rick Darnell. He takes her back to his house and shows her around. Lois is smitten with the handsome doctor and they agree to meet up the next afternoon for a date.

While on their picnic date, Rick and Lois encounter a rockslide. An injured woman tells them that her husband is still trapped by the slide. Lois climbs the hill and finds the man complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath. She radios back to Rick.

Lois: I’ve found him…but he looks to bad off to be moved! I think he’s having a heart attack! Rick — this man could be dying!
Rick: There’s one chance to save him. Listen closely and follow my instructions! There’s a secret technique I’ve developed…first find the hollow at the base of the patient’s neck…then search for the hidden nerve behind…
Rick: You’ve located the ganglionic center? Good! Now massage the area firmly — to stimulate a feedback reaction through the neural junctions…
Man: The pain – it’s gone! I can breathe freely now! And my strength is coming back!”
Lois: It’s a miracle! A medical miracle!

After a brief kiss, Lois confronts Rick about his secret lifesaving technique. He admits to Lois that he is really from another planet, one much more advanced than Earth. He shows Lois some of his machines, including the Plastimold that would transform Lois in the infamous Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #106. When she asks Rick which planet he’s from, he tells her that he’s from Krypton and his real name is Dahr-Nel.

It turns out that Dahr-Nel’s father was a brilliant scientist who had invented a time scanner and a time machine. Using the scanner one day, Dahr-Nel saw an image of Lois Lane and fell instantly in love with her. When his father discovered that Krypton was doomed, he convinced Dahr-Nel to use his time machine to travel to Earth. Trying to steer the time machine, Dar-Nell zoomed in several times on Lois Lane (which explains her dizzy spells) and finally landed and set up shop by her parents. With the truth out, he asks Lois to marry him and together they can travel to the future to start a new life. Lois tells him to give her one last date with Superman to decide which man she wants to marry.

Unfortunately for Superman, his date with Lois is a disaster. He pretends to marry Lois in order to trick a crime boss into making an attempt on her life. A brilliant plan, except that he forgot to tell Lois that the wedding was fake. Furious, she runs back to Dahr-Nel and agrees to marry him. They climb in the time machine, which Dahr-Nel discovers was damaged when it landed on Earth. Dahr-Nel proposes to use a special sleeping gas to put them in suspended animation for two hundred years. Lois falls asleep instantly, but Dahr-Nel seems unaffected. He reasons that it must be his Kryptonian invulnerability, so he flies to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, breaks in and steals some Kryptonite. Returning, he is relieved to discover that the sleeping gas works while his is in close proximity to the Kryptonite.

Superman trails the person who broke into his Fortress and stumbles across Lois and Dahr-Nel. Believing that he has lost her forever, he punches the hill side. The sound of his punch rouses Lois from her slumber: “Superman…weeping…for me! I must go to him!” After a moment of indecision she decides to return to sleep alongside Dahr-Nel, but Superman refuses to let her return. She rushes past him into the machine and discovers what Superman saw with his x-ray vision: Dahr-Nel is dead. A reaction between the Kryptonite and gas turned his body to crystal and killed him. Superman builds a tomb for Dahr-Nel and then flies back to Metropolis, Lois in his arms.

Superman: I’ll try to make it up to you, Lois! Someday you’ll really be Mrs. Superman!

I’m assuming everybody already knows this, but Rick’s so-called secret techinque is nonsense. While there are some key nerves in the back of the neck, none of them have anything to do with the heart. A heart attack (which we doctors like to call a “myocardial infarction” – mostly to sound cool and impress the women) is caused by a sudden lack of blood flow to part of the heart. To treat a heart attack, blood flow to the damaged part of the heart needs to be restored quickly. No amount of nerve stimulation is going to do this.

Admittedly, stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system could slow down the heart, reducing its need for oxygen and slowing the heart attack – but this still wouldn’t result in the miraculous recovery experienced by the patient (plus the parasympathetic system is located deep in the body, not in the superficial neck).

My only conclusion is there must be some secret nervous system that we humans have not discovered yet, but the Kryptonians have. This would explain not only Dahr-Nel’s miraculous heart technique, but also explain how Superman could so conveniently render Lois unconscious through his secret nerve pinch — as he did so often in his earliest adventures.

When you think about it, the whole concept of a “secret technique” to save someone’s life is ludicrous. If this technique will save lives, why keep it a secret? What’s Rick going to do, make the patient sign a non-disclosure agreement before he saves their life? Tattoo a copyright sign on their neck? I’d be seriously concerned about his ethics if I were Lois.

Speaking of Lois, good lord is she fickle! I’ve chased Superman for thirty years, but because he pulls a trick on me (like he’s never done that before), I’m going to marry someone I’ve just met. Oh well, that person’s dead, I guess I’ll start chasing Superman again.

Dave, over at Yet Another Comics Blog, is hosting a contest of his own. Actually, it’s more of a pledge drive for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. He’ll match the donation of the first ten people who sign up as new supporters of the CBLDF. This is a worthy cause, one that I’ve been contributing to myself for the past several years. Help Dave help the CBLDF.

Short answer:

• I am opposed to labeling comic books.

Longer answer:

• Labels make it too easy to treat comics (or movies or music) as stereotypes, not as individual works. This is a “violent comic,” this is an “erotic comic” or this is a “foreign comic featuring characters with unnaturally large eyes.” People see the label and think they know they all need to about a book. This tendency to label creeps into medicine too, but I had it beat out of me at an early stage in my career.
• Labels are uninformative. Wanted and Watchmen both contain violence and sex and would undoubtedly be labeled as such, but they are as different as night and day.
• Labels are arbitrary. For example, the movie Angel Heart was originally given an X rating. The producers appeased the MPAA board and earned an R rating by cutting 10 seconds of a female backside during a sex scene. Ten seconds! How much did that matter — and it was her back, not even the most interesting part! I could see this quickly degenerating into a number scenario: two acts of violence earns this rating, three to eight violent acts earns this label, and anything over nine — look out!
• Labels serve as a crutch. Too many parents blindly decide that all works with or without certain labels are fine for their children. This is a breach of their parental responsibilities. It is imperative that parents should decide what works are right or wrong for their children. Labels, or some anonymous “label board” should not decide for them. It amazes me that any parent would purchase (or allow their child to purchase) a comic named Deadshot and be surprised that it features violence. These are probably the same parents who are shocked — shocked, I tell you! — that a game titled “Grand Theft Auto” showcases criminal activity.
  Not just parents use labels as a crutch, but businesses as well. Some stores won’t carry titles with a certain label, regardless of the actual content of the work and whether or not the label is actually deserved.
• Labels rarely work. How many news stories have been aired about kids being able to buy games and music rated “mature” without any age check or parents present?
• Labels are aesthetically unpleasing. Where would labels be placed on comic books ? The front is already crowded enough. The back is advertiser territory. The inside? There might be violence or sex on that first page! Who’s going to look inside to find a label, anyway?
• Labels are decided by someone who is not me. I am the most important arbiter of what is right, or not right, for me and my children. Not other people. My views are what count, not theirs.

I think I’ll enter the fray tomorrow. In the meantime, here is some food for thought. (Brought to you by Polite Dissent, where our chief weapon is sarcasm and cynicism…our two weapons are sarcasm, cynicism and ruthless efficiency…our three weapons are sarcasm, cynicism, ruthless efficiency and an almost fanatical devotion to medicine…Amongst our weapons are sarcasm, cynicism…oh, never mind.)

Comic books are not the only things that appeal to children that need to be given a closer look. McDonald’s Happy Meal toys “have a major influence in our society and they should be subject to the same rules that music and movies are being forced to follow.” Color Change Invisible Woman This figure is initially costumed, but when placed in the freezer becomes clear. This is wrong on many levels. First, not only does she become clear, but so do her clothes. Sue Storm is naked under her clothes! What about that name? The Invisible Woman. Clearly this toy is telling children that the only good woman is an “invisible” one. Finally, this supposed children’s toy sadly reinforces the common idea in comics that women belong in household appliances. Violence: 0 Sex: 5 Depravity: 5 Barbie While I am pleased to see a doctor Barbie, I am concerned by her way too-short skirt. I am equally unhappy to see a Barbie dressed in a McDonald’s outfit, reaffirming to children the dangerous idea that a woman’s place is in low paying menial jobs. The only appearance of a male character is a prince; this is clearly sexist and causes young girls to set their sights to high. The Barbie toys are only handed out to female customers, reinforcing sex role stereotyping. Violence: 0 Sex: 4 Depravity: 2 Hulk This overly-buff impossibly-colored character just screams violence — why else would he need muscles that big? When his head is pushed down, his chest compresses all the way down to his knees. This is clearly not normal behavior and is suggestive of all sorts of inappropriate activities. His clothing is way too casual for today’s society. Violence: 5 Sex: 2 Depravity: 5 G.I. Joe War toys are simply not appropriate for children. I don’t care how colorful or fun they are, these so-called “toys” reinforce violent and sexist themes on innocent children. And handing them out as “free” “prizes” in a Happy Meal suggests that war is free of all consequences and a prize to be won. And did I mention the size of those guns! Violence: 5 Sex: 0 Depravity: 3

Ilyka Damen has the best after-election post that I’ve read. Addressed to both the left and the right — and to bloggers in particular — it really applies to all of us.

Ilyka doesn’t post as often as I’d like (hint, hint), but when she does it’s always worth reading.

Please, Vote Voodoo Today!!

And if (for some incomprehensible reason) you don’t Vote Voodoo, please vote for someone!

Remember, a Vote for Voodoo is a Vote Against Evil!!

Make sure you check out Hi & Lois today (2 Nov 04), where Thirsty wants a cartoon character to vote for…well here’s his chance (and yours!)…VOTE VOODOO!!

UPDATE: If you’re having trouble viewing the comic strip, it’s most likely due to anti-viral/firewall software. Disable it (briefly! briefly!) and then retry.

As Election Day draws nearer and nearer, make sure you take a moment to visit the Brother Voodoo Campaign Headquarters Website.

Remember, this November…Vote Voodoo!

New polls released today show a strong support of the Brother Voodoo presidential campaign. When reached for a comment, Dissent Party Spokesman Morgana Blessing said, “These latest numbers show that it is too soon to count out the Brother Voodoo/Wong Presidential Ticket. I suspect our numbers will continue to grow as election day, like a celestial convergence, draws nearer.”

When shown today’s results, the Bush Campaign spokesman simply gave a puzzled “no comment”, while the Kerry Campaign spokesman just chuckled. A spokesman for the Ralph Nader campaign demanded to know how Brother Voodoo was able to get on the ballot in these locations when Nader had been unable to.

To recap: the latest polls show Brother Voodoo a strong favorite with 53% support in Puerto Rico, a commanding 4% lead in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in a dead heat with Bush and Kerry in Guam. Sadly, none of these territories actually has any electoral votes.

Results:

• Guam
• Puerto Rico
• U.S. Virgin Islands

I’d like to point out that tonight’s presidential debate is being held at my undergraduate alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis. Sadly, Brother Voodoo was once again not invited to participate (and nor was Wong invited to participate in the vice-presidential debate). I’m told there will be a press release in the near future to address this egregious oversight.

(for the continuity minded, you might notice some slight resemblance between the buildings at Wash U and the buildings at Latverian State University…)

In the past week, I’ve seen more patients than usual complaining of chest pain. They’ve all told me that they are concerned about their health because of “what happened to President Clinton.” It’s not that these patients are hypochondriacs; rather they have finally decided to be evaluated for chest pains that have been going on for weeks or months. At least two of these patients had bad stress test results and needed a further work-up by cardiologists. My partner and colleagues at the hospital have seen the same jump in patients complaining of chest pain.

Apparently we are not the only doctors seeing this; the Associated Press is calling it the “Clinton Syndrome.”

Polite Dissent throws its political weight behind the only logical candidate for presidency … Brother Voodoo!

As I was grabbing a quick breakfast of Rice Krispies in the hospital this morning, another physician came into the doctors’ lounge and turned the TV to CNBC. One of their reporters was doing a piece on whether Bush’s speech last night swayed any undecided voters. To determine this, he gathered a sizable group of undecided voters and sent them to a “speech party” that a local Republican was holding. Afterward, he interviewed four of the attendees. The first one said she was leaning towards Kerry. The second one said she had firmly decided on Kerry. The third interviewee said that he was leaning towards Bush. The final person interviewed, who was the Republican who hosted the party, said that he was firmly in the Bush camp. The reporter then summed up by saying that his “informal poll” showed that undecided voters were “split evenly” between Bush and Kerry.

• Informal poll or not, interviewing 4 people is not enough draw any conclusions.
• The reporter did not interview 4 undecided voters, he interviewed three undecided voters and a member of the Republican Party, invalidating his entire premise.
• You could also argue the point that having the undecided voters attend a Republican speech party was not a neutral environment and could skew the results as well.

Now I’m not picking on Republicans here. I’ve seen both major parties frequently skew statistics. It’s not just the big two either; the Reform and Green Parties handle statistics just as poorly.

CNBC should know better though.

Demo #7, “One Shot, Don’t Miss“, has been one of my favorite issues of the series. The protagonist is John Hatfield, a young man who has joined the Army to support his wife and child and to earn money for college. However, when he arrives in Iraq he finds that he cannot bring himself to shoot at the enemy. He considers it murder and refuses to take part in it. In short order, he is discharged from the military and home with his wife and child. Shocked by his choice, his wife is extremely upset with him and concerned for their future. Hatfield may have left the Army, but his life seems little better at home.

The stark black and white art by Becky Cloonan is very beautiful and extremely powerful. Her use of shadows is masterful and the style fits the grim story perfectly.

Writer Brian Wood is using this issue as a forum to speak out both against the Iraq war and against the recruiting tactics used by the armed forces. Whatever points aren’t conveyed in the comic itself are clearly spelled out in his commentary in the back. I have no problems with comic books being political and taking sides on issues. I also have no problems with Wood’s positions. His live journal entries clearly show his commitment to these views and I commend that. While I may not necessarily agree with him, I do not find his views unreasonable or dishonest.

However, I am concerned about some misinformation that is conveyed in the comic. According to the story, Hatfield had to borrow money from his father-in-law in order to pay to enroll in the G.I. Bill. This is a misleading depiction of the situation. The Montgomery G.I. Bill does have a $1200 “buy in”, but it’s not a lump sum that needs to be paid up front as the story and Wood’s column suggests. Instead it is a $100 deduction from monthly pay for the first year in the military. That’s not to say that that there aren’t downsides to the G.I. Bill, there are (the deposit is non-refundable, for starters), but it’s not the financial hardship Wood implies.

Wood also posts a flier on his website (reproduced here so I don’t steal his bandwidth). The flier makes some interesting points, but I am suspicious of many of its statistics. I’m sure they are real numbers, but are presented in a very one-sided misleading manner. This is not to say that their points may not be valid, it’s just that they are spun so hard (and not sourced) that it’s hard to tell. I agree with some of the points and I disagree with some, but I dislike political spin and I loathe the misrepresentation of statistics.

The art and writing on Demo #7 are excellent. The series has often been thought-provoking in a personal way, but now it takes on a political aspect as well. While I may not agree with the conclusions writer Brian Wood reaches, I agree that these are important issues to discuss. As for the art of Becky Cloonan, this is simply her best issue yet.

Disclaimer:
Let me make my biases clear and upfront. I served in the military for four years as a member of the Air Force Medical Corps. I am proud of serving and proud of what I accomplished in my time in the military. While there were some parts I was not fond of (gas mask training, for instance), overall I enjoyed my military experience. While I was deployed to the Middle East for an extended period of time, I did not experience combat (and I’m glad I did not). However, I fully understood that my role in the military included the possibility of combat.

I do not feel the military is perfect or could not be changed for the better. An ideal military would provide equal opportunites and education to all interested and determined individuals.

UPDATE (3 Sept 04): Be sure to read Brian Wood’s replies in the comments section.

If you’re interested at all in politics, follow this link. It leads to a short quiz that allows you to compare the views of 4 different political parties (Democrat, Green, Libertarian, Republican) on 7 issues. The trick is that the views are not labeled by party, so you are just looking at position statements and choosing the one you agree with the most. Do the short version first (takes about 10 minutes), then the long version (takes maybe 5 minutes, because you did all the hard reading the first time around) which gives you a score regarding each party.

Fascinating. Showed pretty much what I expected (mostly left with a fair amount of libertarian and green), though a little more skew to the right than I had anticipated.

(Brought to my attention by the fine folks at AMCGLTD.com)

I’m not sure whether I should be amused or concerned that the malpractice crisis in Illinois is the lead story in this week’s syndicated News of the Weird

Make no mistake about it, there is medical malpractice crisis coming. Medical liability insurance companies (the companies that provide malpractice insurance to doctors) are either raising their rates dramatically (500% or more, annually) or pulling out of states entirely. Some states have been hit harder than others; for instance, when I was living in Las Vegas 2 years ago, the only level 1 trauma center was shut down for several weeks, and no obstretricians in town were accepting new patients — you had to drive to Lake Havasu (more than an hour away) if you wanted to have a baby.

Now why is there a crisis? It depends on who you ask: the doctors, lawyers, or insurance companies. One undeniable fact is that many Americans are sue happy, and seemingly will sue anyone at the drop of a hat. It was repeatedly told to us in Medical School that no matter how good a physician we were, we could expect to be sued at least twice. The doctors for the most part blame the trial lawyers for filing frivolous lawsuits. The lawyers blame the insurance companies, saying that they are raising their rates due to failed investments. The insurance companies blame the lawyers again.

This round table blame game serves little purpose. While everyone is arguing about who is to blame, doctors are quietly closing up shop and retiring early or moving to friendlier states. Sooner than we realize, it will be harder than ever to find a good doctor, an inexpensive doctor, one who can fit you in to be seen, because soon there won’t be many doctors left. I’m not crying wolf here, I personally know several doctors who have closed up shop, or severely restricted their practice in both Nevada and Illinois (where I live now). I know more who are starting to consider it.

Now you might expect me to espouse a malpractice damage awards cap, and I do — but I don’t like them. I don’t think malpractice caps solve the main problem. It’s true that malpractice caps will limit the damages awarded in the lawsuits that come to trial, but that’s not where the issue really is. The main problem is that many physicians who are sued have NOT committed malpractice. The plantiffs and their lawyers know this, the insurance and their lawyers know this, too. The physician certainly know this, and wants to go to trial to clear his or her name. However, the insurance company decides to settle prior to court, figuring it is cheaper to settle than defend a lawsuit (even one they will likely win). Malpractice caps do not solve this problem, as insurance companies will have no reason to act any differently.

I also have a concern that damage caps will fail the patient who was truly injured and will require lots of money to survive, period. Medical care for the chronically ill/injured is extremely expensive.

The only long term solution is Tort reform. Not just medical malpractice law, but all law. It will be difficult, but necessary. We need to block frivolous suits, but be careful not to favor big business or to prevent the “little guy” from suing when appropriate. Unfortunately, I don’t see tort reform happening anytime soon.

Sadly, that brings us back to malpractice caps. They may be a poor “band-aid”, but the only one quickly available. They do drop the insurance rates, and ease the malpractice crisis. I stand by my statement that I do not like them, but unfortunately I see them as a necessary evil if we want to fix our current mess.

The Micah Ian Wright fallout continues. No new information, per se, but their are some interesting comments in the blogosphere. Grim, at Fanboy Rampage, sums up the Mark Millar (shameless master of self-promotion that he is) reaction well. The comments make for some good reading too.

Kevin at Thought Balloons has another nice summation here. (I don’t know if he coined the term Rangergate, but I like it). His original posts on the subject are here and here.

Look at this…my first day of blogging, and already the comics and political worlds are colliding. Micah Ian Wright, writer of Stormwatch: Team Achilles, had published a book wherein he “re-worked” some old WWI and WWII propaganda posters into anti-Bush, anti-Iraq War screeds. Admittedly, some of them were fairly clever.

He claimed, quite loudly at times, to have been an U.S. Army Ranger who saw combat in the Panama invasion. As you’ve no doubt figured out, the key word is “claimed.” He never was an Army Ranger, never saw combat, and even dropped out of ROTC.

Whether you are a conservative or liberal, or Republican or Democrat, you should find his actions wrong. It’s wrong to lie about your credentials, period. It’s even worse to do so in an attempt to gain the moral high ground. And it’s entirely reprehensible to have claimed to be in the military, much less in combat, when it’s not true. People are risking their lives for their country, and even dying, and Mich Wright didn’t have the guts to even finish ROTC.

He deserves all the scorn heaped upon him. He deserves having his second book canceled. And he has no one to blame but himself and his lies. I love seeing liars, and resume padders, brought low, so I shall enjoy every minute of this.

I just wonder what his parents think. They had to have known he wrote a book claiming to have been in the Rangers, and they had to have known the truth. Are they proud that he wrote a book? Or ashamed by his lies? I assume the latter.

Michele at A Small Victory [ed. note: sadly, this site is now defunt] has the best information on this, better than I could ever aspire to. Also check out the report at Comic Book Resources, and the words of Greyhawk at the Mudville Gazette.

As for his comics, I can’t say that I ever read Stormwatch: Team Achilles. I did pick up Coup d’Etat: Stormwatch (both covers actualy - damn those multiple covers) and all I can say is ehh. Not the worst part of the mini-series (that would be the pointless Coup d’Etat: Wildcats), and not the best (Coup d’Etat: Sleeper - which was still pretty mediocre), but in the middle. So it was the mediocre-est of a mediocre series. Not exactly a ringing endorsement…
I was looking forward to the new Vigilante series (but didn’t know he was involved)

Make no mistake about it, Pat Tillman was a hero.

He was not a hero because of how he died — well no more so than any other American who has died for his (or her) country.
He was a hero because of how he lived. He chose to live his life by a following his principles. He chose these principles time and time again over money and materialism. Loyalty to team, loyalty to country. This is what makes him a hero.

There should be more like him.