The American Academy of Pediatrics would like to correct false statements made in the Republican presidential campaign that HPV vaccine is dangerous and can cause mental retardation. There is absolutely no scientific validity to this statement. Since the vaccine has been introduced, more than 35 million doses have been administered, and it has an excellent safety record.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Academy of Family Physicians all recommend that girls receive HPV vaccine around age 11 or 12. That’s because this is the age at which the vaccine produces the best immune response in the body, and because it’s important to protect girls well before the onset of sexual activity. In the U.S., about 6 million people, including teens, become infected with HPV each year, and 4,000 women die from cervical cancer. This is a life-saving vaccine that can protect girls from cervical cancer.

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—	American Academy of Pediatrics Press Release (via stfuconservatives)

I have a new slogan for the Tea Party—Certa Ignorantia: “Certitude in Ignorance.”

CNN sit-down with Obama

BLITZER: “If you're reelected, the last time you were elected, you got Sasha and Malia a cute little puppy. … What are you going to get them the next time, if you're reelected?”

OBAMA: “When I'm reelected, what I'll be getting them is a continuation of Secret Service so that when boys want to start dating them they are going to be surrounded by men with guns. That's their gift.”

Even with a far larger population, it’s interesting that China’s military employes fewer people than our own.

One very damning infographic on what’s protected—and what’s not—in the upcoming debt negotiations.

Religious leaders protesting budget cuts arrested in Capitol

That’s a photo of Christian and Jewish religious leaders—including my boss Jennifer Butler, Executive Director of Faith in Public Life—getting arrested today for praying in the Capitol Rotunda in protest of budget cuts that will harm the poor.

From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON — Eleven religious leaders protesting budget cuts affecting the poor were arrested in the Capitol Thursday as the House began debate on a bill to cut spending and raise the debt ceiling.

Before making the arrests, police cleared the Capitol Rotunda where the protesters, organized by the group Common Cause, were kneeling, praying and singing.

Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine said on the House floor that they were praying for those who will be “hurt the hardest” by the bill being considered.

While I’m not the world’s biggest fan of protests, I’m overjoyed to see religious leaders continuing to stand up for the “least of these.”

Is My Friend Nietzsche's Last Man?

John: I don't get it. How did the cavemen maintain a sense of self-worth and emotional stability without lawnmowers?
John: Not to mention snow-throwers. . .
David: Two words: Stone Axes
Erich: When you can kill a Sabetooth Tiger with a stone spear, who needs a lawn mower?
John: But a stoned tiger is all messy and chaotic. A freshly mowed lawn, on the other hand. . .

making a list of the hottest people on capitol hill is like making a list of the most lyrically sophisticated limp bizkit songs »

morninggloria:

“DC Hot” is a phrase that I use to describe extremely average looking yet stuck up jerks who may have at one time been “Cambridge hot” (as in Harvard). They’re not even big fish in a small pond; they’re average sized fish in a puddle.

[See also: UChigoggles, the state of being surrounded by UChicago students (who are often so unconcerned with looking physically attractive that they don’t brush their hair or put on clean pants) for so long that non-malformed people start looking extraordinarily attractive. One time when I lived in Hyde Park, I went out in River North and my face almost exploded from the shock.]

Now this I can get behind. While I don’t think we can know how Jesus would restructure Social Security and Medicare, I’m pretty sure he’d choose the poor.

It took me a very long time to learn this. If I’d known it back when I started working I would have been a much better employee. From a presentation by professional blogger Hugh MacLeod:

Unification of your passion and doing what you love comes with a price. The mundane tasks, like answering emails and courting important people are all part of the process. You may have your art, but even art requires work.