Keroack selection = ideology over science

Once again the president has shown his complete disregard for science with the selection of Eric Keroack to oversee HHS's $283 million reproductive-health program. The appointment of an anti-birth control advocate to a key health post shows complete disregard for the health and safety of underserved communities, says Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

In a statement issued by Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, she says:

"The appointment of anti-birth control, anti-sex education advocate Dr. Eric Keroack to oversee the nation's family planning program is striking proof that the Bush administration remains dramatically out of step with the nation's priorities. Keroack was the medical director of five so-called "crisis pregnancy centers," whose policy was not "to distribute or encourage the use of contraception." This politically motivated appointment is certainly not in the health interest of women and families.

"Last week Americans overwhelmingly rejected an extremist agenda, and sent a clear message by choosing candidates who make women's health care a priority. For three decades, Title X has fostered healthy families by helping millions of American women plan and space their children through access to birth control services."

Keroack is clearly a poor choice to lead HHS's Office of Population Affairs, which funds birth control, pregnancy tests, counseling and screenings for sexually transmitted disease and HIV. The Washington Post reports that fourteen Democratic senators sent a letter to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, urging him to withdraw Keroack's appointment. The job doesn't require Senate confirmation.

"Unfortunately, this appointment is another example of the administration allowing ideology to trump science, and it could jeopardize vital services on which large numbers of women and families depend," the letter said. Signers included incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who will be chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

HHS spokeswoman Christina Pearson is sending mixed messages about just how "qualified" Keroack is for the job. Pearson recently acknowledged that Keroack is not currently certified as an obstetrician-gynecologist. That is not a requirement for the job, but HHS officials had cited Keroack's expertise in defending his selection.

The Washington Post, 11/21/2006:

An HHS spokeswoman said Keroack is a skilled doctor and a nationally recognized expert on preventing teenage pregnancy. "We have confidence that he'll perform his duties effectively and in accordance with the law," HHS spokeswoman Christina Pearson said by e-mail.

The Washington Post, 11/17/2006:

John O. Agwunobi, assistant secretary for health, said Keroack "is highly qualified and a well-respected physician . . . working primarily with women and girls in crisis."

Bush clearly intends to continue to reek havoc for women. Hurry up 2008 -- the end of an error!

Scope photos inside and out

Here are some photos of the scope and its mount.
Here's a peek into the objective lens end:
I call this photo "Clean your optics!"

The scope's mount is still an ongoing situation--it's not stable on the tripod. Here's a photo of the bottom, where it attaches to the quick-release shoe. I started with a nut in a precisely carved hole, but the hole has deteriorated quickly.
My fault for using pine--too soft. Plus I had to screw in that crossbeam, then cut of the screw end when it poked into the nut hole. There isn't enough Gorilla Glue in the world to hold that tiny nut in there when the weight of the scope is on it. I'm thinking I'll cut out some of the wood there, put in a piece of oak, then make the precisely cut hole again for the nut. OR--if there were some sort of metal plate that had a screw hole precisely the size of the tripod's mounting screw.... it's times like these that I wish I were a welder.

Still--this isn't going to be too bad to fix. I'll think of something.

Meanwhile, the babies were running around while I was taking these photos. Kisses settled into the canvas military-issue bag I bought to carry the scope:
Clawsie thought dinner was just delicious:
It was so funny to get his photo of Clawsie. She really doesn't like the flash in her face, and she's normally just so crabby and mean, yet when you look at this photo of her, she almost looks like a playful little lap cat. She's anything but! She's the house bully, beating up Kisses and jumping on Niblet all the time, just to keep them aware of who's the top cat.

Niblet then began demanding some attention:
So I broke down and fed him some bunny pellets--which he LOVES but which I know are probably just like bunny junk food. He gets a tiny little bowlful in the morning along with a big pile of timothy, and that's his breakfast. But sometimes--well, he wears me down.

Here he's eating out of my hand. I worried that he would nip me, but he never does--and his little whiskers feel so tickly and funny. Of course, one little tiny handful was just enough to whet his appetite, and he soon got indignant:

Hand over the pellets and no one gets hurt!

So I figured I'd better get out of there, before he went Monty Python on me. Run away, run away!

Now--I've been keeping a little secret for the last three days, and my shame has grown unbearable. I had a moment of weakness in my scope-building saga. I was tempted by the fruit of another. I . . . gulp . . . I (this is actually hard to admit! I find my fingers not wanting to type the words, and my throat is kinda tight!) Okay--let me just rip the bandaid off really quick:

I bought a real scope for myself.

There--I said it. I know you all gasped--WHAT? How could you? What were you thinking? But here's the deal: it's just been such a long wait while I worked on the homemade scope! I couldn't stand it anymore! I was looking at that Slik 504QFII tripod, and I was fully intending to get one for myself with my 3rd quarter bonus check. Then I committed the ultimate sin--I googled "spotting scopes" just one time too many. I looked at some scopes between $100 and $200 -- to a professional, these are trash, I'm sure! But . . . well, I just started to think: "I could spend $125 on a tripod, or I could spend $125 on a scope. Hmmm. . . ."

Once that evil little seed was planted in my brain, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I agonized for about two weeks. Finally, I just pulled the trigger and bought the Meade Condor 20-60x60 spotting scope, with table-top tripod and hard carrying case:





I know what you're thinking: "how could you!?" But I couldn't help myself. I mean, it's not an expensive scope, but then I wasn't going to be getting a Swarovsky ATHD80 or a Leica Televid for the foreseeable future! That's a dream--like "one day I'll go to law school!" It may or may not ever happen! It's not in the planner! It's likely going to stay a dream. But here was this scope, with the Meade name, which I kinda trust, and the power and the specs sounded good. How in the world am I going to nitrogen-purge my scope? It's not gonna happen. When will I have a 20-60X zoom lens? Again--not gonna happen.

So I bought it, after two weeks of agonizing and feeling like I was somehow cheating on my little homemade scope.

I still have that crappy tripod I bought a while back, and I'm kinda warming to it. . . kinda.

I'm still working on my scope; it will always be my neat dream, and I do love it. But I just want to see what the view is through a real scope. I want to put it on the tripod, get a real adapter, put the camera on there, and start snapping some photos!

Please don't judge too harshly. Besides--I could always return it if I don't like it!

Holiday ramblings

It's been a few days since I blogged--the holiday was busy. Kat's back had been bothering her for a while, and it got pretty bad over the weekend. Em was here, and we were able to have a good non-turkey day, with a feast of Kat's special potato/carrot/squash soup (my favorite), green bean casserole, garlic mashed potatoes, hashroom casserole, some raw veggie mixtures that our only-eats-raw-foods friend and Kat made up together (I didn't taste that!), salad, and a nice Sara Lee cheesecake. I used to miss having turkey and dressing, but we had so much good food this year I didn't miss the old bird a bit. Besides, I love seeing them in the wild; why support the fake big-breasted turkey industry?

Astronomy Boy Jeff DeTray has given me some ideas about how to manage the vignetting and test the lenses and such, and I researched rack-and-pinion focusers online during the holiday weekend. They're a bit pricey, but I think one would make a big difference. I need to choose carefully, though--not many of the sites have photos or detailed descriptions. I'll see what happens when I try Jeff's suggestions in the morning (it's dark by 4:30 now, so no scoping after work).

I'll try to get up extra early in the morning and see what the view through the scope looks like. It's been unseasonably warm here, reaching the 50s in the daytime (though we get a light to medium frost every night). So I've been enjoying what little of the sun I've been able to see when I'm not at work. It's hard for a southerner to do without the sun, but somehow I will manage. Hope to get some good photos in the morning, then post sometime during the day.