[links] Link salad rises up so early in the morn

Why I Write Diversity (With Bonus Poop Metaphor!) — karenhealey with a thoughtful commentary on addressing social issues in fiction. One I largely agree with, and have been trying to live up to myself for quite a few years. (Via Steve Buchheit.)

Get Fuzzy on how good writers write — Hahaha!

What's Worse Than Finding a Worm in an Apple? — Scrivener's Error with some deep legal and publishing neepery about the DOJ e-book price fixing lawsuit

Q&A: The debate over statins — I take statin drugs on a daily basis.

DNA Sequencing Detects Residual Leukemia — Genomic method is more sensitive than other techniques looking for lingering cells post-chemotherapy. Yeah, well, welcome to my world.

Ring of fire: Millions to witness the burning moon of an 'annular' eclipse on Sunday — Sadly, in this part of Texas, I shall not be one of them.

Retreat of Alaska’s Columbia Glacier — The Columbia is a large tidewater glacier, flowing directly into the sea. When British explorers first surveyed it in 1794, its nose—or terminus—extended south to the northern edge of Heather Island, a small island near the mouth of Columbia Bay. The glacier held that position until 1980, when it began a rapid retreat that continues today. Nope, no climate change here. Just a bunch of liberals sneaking up to Alaska with blowtorches. I'm sure Rush Limbaugh can explain this away. For reals, the cognitive dissonance required to be an American conservative today would make me mentally ill.

Most U.S. children under 1 are minorities, Census says — Yep, that GOP strategy of catering to white bigotry is really going to pay off over the years to come. (Well, actually, it will, because in politics no one remembers anything before the current election cycle. The entire conservative movement is one giant Etch-a-Sketch.) Juan Cole with some nuanced commentary on the historical meaning of 'white' in this context.

Our real first gay president — Don't believe what Newsweek's cover tells you: The first gay president was James Buchanan more than a century ago. (Via danjite.)

Beyond Mitt's Underwear: Part 6: My Thoughts — tongodeon wraps up his fascinating series on the Church of Latter Day Saints.

What the Bible really says about homosexuality — Hint: not much. God hates shrimp, too, but we don't see Christianists picketing seafood distributors. We now face religious jingoism, the imposition of personal beliefs on the whole pluralistic society. Worse still, these beliefs are irrational, just a fiction of blind conviction. Nowhere does the Bible actually oppose homosexuality. (Via teriegarrison.)

Let Them Eat Cake — [I]t’s difficult for a segment of Christians to recognize this because we’ve become so entrenched that we own the exclusive right to dictate terms to others in our society, and anyone who challenges this exclusive right is obviously oppressing us! A Christian blogger who actually gets it, talking about Christians and gay marriage, as well as the idiotic meme of Christian persecution. (Via Slacktivist Fred Clark.)

Clowns Plan To Protest During NATO Summit — Because all politics is local. Or something. Heh. (Via danjite.)

Only one party’s to blame? Don’t tell the Sunday shows. — Your Liberal Media, supporting the conservative party line since pretty much forever. That "liberal media" meme may be one of the most successful Big Lies in modern political history, because in discrediting the messengers of reality, the lie has enabled at least two generations of the Republican electorate to dismiss anything they don't like as liberal lies without any examination of the facts whatsoever. Which really pays off big for the GOP on a story like this one.

?otd: Can't you hear the captain shouting?

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5/17/2012
Writing time yesterday: 2.0 hours (1.5 hours finishing Kalimpura copy edits, yay!, 0.5 hours on a new book outline)
Body movement: 60 minute urban walk
Hours slept: 6.0 (solid)
Weight: n/a
Currently reading: Light Breaker by Mark Teppo