InsidBlog.

Gay rights supporters in California say they have found an unlikely ally in Cindy McCain, the wife of Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who lent her name this week to the cause of same-sex marriage.McCain’s support comes as Proposition 8 proponents and opponents battle over the constitutionality of California’s ban on gay marriage in San Francisco federal court. The ad features McCain, right hand over her heart, wind rustling her blond locks, with “No H8” written on her cheek and silver duct tape over her mouth.“To have the wife of a Republican presidential candidate really turns everything upside down,” said John Henning, executive director of pro-gay marriage group Love Honor Cherish. “People expect conservatives to be against same-sex marriage, and more and more conservatives are saying that they favor it.”But conservatives shrug at the suggestion that Cindy McCain is influencing the public.“The people of California have been very clear on this issue,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, one of the groups that supported the Proposition 8 campaign in California. “They’ve voted twice to preserve the definition of marriage.”The photograph of McCain was a spontaneous decision, said No H8 Campaign co-founder Adam Bouska. McCain’s daughter Meghan, who had been involved with the campaign, had come to Bouska’s studio for a photo shoot for her new book, “Dirty Sexy Politics.”Cindy McCain, who had accompanied her daughter, saw the “No H8” photo of her daughter holding an elephant and a few minutes later voiced an interest in participating in the “No H8” campaign. Bouska, the campaign’s photographer, said he was “surprised and honored” by the decision.The elder McCain had not arrived prepared for the shoot — she was dressed in a black turtleneck and red jacket, and all participants are supposed to wear white T-shirts. They grabbed a shirt from the rack and had her place her right hand over her heart, as if pledging allegiance.Henning said McCains support would help redefine the Republican brand and help the tide to turn against Proposition 8.A Los Angeles Times/USC poll published in November found that 51% of California couples favored marriage rights for gay couples, with 43% opposed.Family values groups scoffed at Cindy McCain’s supposed role in redefining the GOP.“There’s probably a reason she’s not first lady,” Perkins said. “People were worried about the influence she would have on social issues such as this.”Part of the issue for opponents of same-sex marriage was that relatively few supporters lent their images to the cause, gay rights activists said.“They have a charisma problem,” Henning said. “They won the vote, but they won it by operating in the shadows.”– Amina KhanPhoto: Cindy McCain in an ad supporting same-sex marriage. Credit: Adam Bouska / Love Honor Cheris

via Prop. 8 opponents say they welcome Cindy McCains support of same-sex marriage | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times.

Hemorrhoid Awareness Campaign: Shining Light Where the Sun Don’t Shine

The Sarcasmist, in its continuing humanitarian efforts, has just launched the most ambitious effort to eliminate hemorrhoids.

As one of the most embarrassing and uncomfortable topics to bring up, hemorrhoids have been a pain in the ass for too long! The Sarcasmist is determined to shine new light on where the sun don’t shine and to start a movement that is bound to make ass bulges a thing of the past.

To take advantage of the power of social media to raise awareness, The Sarcasmist is asking all the Hemorrhoid Awareness Campaign supporters to put up the color of their stool as their Facebook status.

Thank you everyone for your support!

via Hemorrhoid Awareness Campaign: Shining Light Where the Sun Don’t Shine – The Sarcasmist.

ncreasing numbers of women are having cosmetic surgery to achieve a “designer vagina” but doctors warn that the operation may be unsafe.

No studies have looked at the long-term safety of labiaplasty, an operation to make the labia smaller, experts said. The irreversible operation, which can cost £3,000 privately, is often carried out for cosmetic reasons.

Once considered the special domain of glamour models, female genital cosmetic surgery is becoming more common in wealthy nations and is being advertised to healthy women, according to researchers from University College London (UCL).

Writing in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, they say that surgery can damage the nerve supply to a woman’s genitals and called for more research on the effects of surgery on long-term sexual function.

The team searched electronic databases for relevant articles and studies carried out between 1950 and April 2009. They found 40 articles, 18 of which included patient data. Details of how the study was designed were unavailable for 15 of the 18 papers and the remaining three related to past surgery. No properly designed studies were found among the literature.

The authors said “all reports claimed high levels of patient satisfaction and contained anecdotes pertaining to success”. However, they said more research was needed on whether women were actually suffering physical symptoms — such as discomfort or lack of sensation — or if their desire for surgery was purely cosmetic.

The number of NHS operations for labia surgery has also risen in recent years, to 1,118 procedures in 2008-09, compared with 669 in 2007-08 and 404 in 2006-07.

Lih-Mei Liao, a consultant psychologist at UCL, said that healthy women were being commercially targeted for “invasive and irrevocable surgery”.

“Advertisements promote labial surgery as easy answers to women’s insecurities about their genital appearances — insecurities that are fuelled by the very advertisements that prescribe a homogenised, prepubescent genital appearance standard for all women,” she said.

Sarah Creighton, consultant gynaecologist at University College Hospital and one of the report’s authors, added that there was a “shocking lack of solid evidence” about the procedure.

“Labial surgery needs to be rigorously evaluated in future,” she said.

Professor Philip Steer, editor-in-chief of BJOG, said: “Commercial images and social pressures often serve to distort public perceptions about what is physically normal. Healthy messaging about the normal variation in female genitalia, as well as body shape and size more generally, is needed and important.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article6911418.ece

We all know that replacing bottled water with tap water is good for the environment. But are there any planet-friendly alternatives for sparkling water and soda? Yes. If you’re willing to invest in a soda maker, you can easily turn tap water into seltzer and soda at home.

The prospect of making homemade soda may sound daunting since many of us struggle to get dinner on the table. I also wondered if a soda maker would be yet another barely-used appliance. So, I rounded up a bunch of neighborhood kids and tried out one of Soda Club’s Sodastream beverage carbonators.

The whole process literally took a few minutes. The most time-consuming part was negotiating which flavors to choose.

Here’s how it works: Fill up a reusable carbonating bottle with water. Screw it into the machine. Push a lever to carbonate. When it’s done fizzing, add concentrated flavored syrups to make soda or jazz up seltzer water with fruit flavors.

The sodas tasted like store-bought brands, the seltzer had just enough fizz, and it was a fun Saturday afternoon activity. For those who regularly drink carbonated beverages, making them at home seems like a reasonable enough option.

There’s a long list of environmental benefits. The most obvious is that there are no bottles or cans to throw away or recycle. It’s a great way to cut back on packaging, which takes resources and energy to make. Bottles and cans won’t have to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to reach you. Each machine operates on the power contained in the compressed gas carbonators so it doesn’t use electricity or batteries.

You’ll also ultimately end up saving money. It costs about 20 cents to make a liter of seltzer and a little more for soda. Your up-front investment depends on which Sodastream you choose. Take a look at thiscomparison chart.

The differences between the Fountain Jet ($79.99) and Pure ($129.99) versions are mostly aesthetic. The Pure has a stainless-steel finish instead of plastic. Both come with two reusable BPA-free plastic carbonating bottles that typically last about three years. They’re not dishwasher safe so you have to be willing to hand wash. If you want glass bottles, choose the Penguin ($199.99).

Each starter package includes two carbonators. Just send one back to the company in a pre-paid shipping box when it runs out of gas (after making about 60 liters of drinks). They’ll clean, refill, and reuse it.

You can buy machines and supplies directly from Soda Club. Some models are also available on Amazonand Williams-Sonoma.
Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green’s users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.

Written by The Sarcasmist on November 5, 2009