(Part One: Let's Change the Definition Of Every Word In the Dictionary For Fun)


insomniacs have seen them all: the miracle weight-loss elixir that produces results requiring no change in lifestyle (we promise!), the patented time-travel skin cream that just melts the years away (results guaranteed!), the breakthrough medical cure for male pattern baldness, buh-blah, buh-blah, di-blah-blah. blah.  the carnival of hucksters haunting the wasteland of late night television isn't great entertainment, but sometimes a poor sleepless bastard can't endure another viewing of The Beastmaster without turning into a mindless brain-eating zombie.  clearly, eating the brains of one's terrified victims would be real entertainment, but the dry cleaning bill is a choker.

(More below the fold)

the south dakota state legislature's recent grandstanding is not surprising. it had to come to this. the pressure has been building for years. a well-organized cohort of social conservatives, playing on the ambivalence most americans feel about abortion, has been pushing for a radical change in the legal status of abortion since Roe v. Wade was handed down. now that legislators are taking concrete steps to push for a final supreme court showdown, many americans, for reasons both abstract and personal, will have to resolve their ambivalence.

after reading the south dakota task force's report, i came to the conclusion that we need to make the use of science-y language to advance a religious agenda punishable by death. to call the report a steaming pile of horseshit would be a compliment. that said, i'm actually not deeply worried. the balance of the supreme court still leans pro-choice. nevertheless, for the next few years, we will be living in the tower of babel as competing narratives of 'The Meaning of Life' duke it out in the national consciousness.

(More below the fold)

Greetings:

A couple of months ago, I encountered a person who was selling calendars for a local community organization, ESWA, or Eastern Service Workers Association.  She indicated that they helped advocate for the low income communities of Boston and that they needed volunteers.

So, I signed up and agreed to help them out.  They present themselves as a Mutual Benefit Association.  They organize a 11 point benefit plan for people who join the organization.  They help secure public assistance for heating bills and emergency heating oil for those who can't afford to fill their oil tank.  They have volunteer doctors and dentists who offer their services to the members pro bono.

Everything sounds great, right?  These are services that low income residents of Boston need.    

I recently did a web search for them and some cult watch sites and negative articles popped up.