No Ordinary Bake Sale
Posted by Michelle Moquin on September 29th, 2011
Good morning!
Leave it up to the students at Berkeley to make their voices heard through a good ‘ol fashion bake sale. ‘Ol fashion? Possibly. But this was no ordinary bake sale. These were not cookies with a conscious. This bake sale was racist, republican driven, and the rest of the students weren’t buying it, nor eating it up.
Big Turnout for Cal Bake Sale
There was a big turn out for a very controversial bake sale on the Cal campus Tuesday.
The Berkeley College Republicans said the sale was meant to show how affirmative action is a form of discrimination. Students were charged different prices for cookies based on their race, gender and ethnicity.
Berkeley College Republicans posted the prices of its cookies this way.
- “White/Caucasian” pastries for $2
- “Asian/American” for $1.50
- “Latino/Hispanic” for $1
- “Black/African American” for 75 cents
- “Native American” only had to pay a quarter
- Women get a 25-cent discount
The signs were posted Tuesday, but people were allowed to pay whatever they liked – buyer’s choice.
The “Increase Diversity Bake Sale” kicked off right on schedule in Sproul Plaza at 10 a.m. One of the people manning the table was former UC Regent Ward Connerly. Connerly was the author of Prop. 209, the voter-approved initiative that bans using race in government programs.
“People have been mostly civil,” Connerly told the Oakland Tribune. ”Back in 1996, believe me, this would have been a much more hostile situation. The issue is rapidly approaching the point of irrelevance.”
The Republican group announced the sale last week. They said it was designed to spark conversation about a bill that is now on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk that would allow California public universities to consider race, ethnicity and gender in student admissions. The bill is SB185.
Brown has until Oct. 9 to sign or veto the bill.
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Readers: This is a good topic for you to sink your teeth into. Pun intended. – Cutesy, I know. :) Blog me.
Human Events: Here’s one from me: “If God really cares about humans, why did he make us a low rung on the evolutionary ladder, and delicious prey for alien beings?” How do you like that one? I’m really sick of your comments. But happy that Robert is here to give good…no great rebuttals.
Bye bye for now…Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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September 29th, 2011 at 9:29 am
SURPRISING ALLERGIC REACTION: LESS BRAIN CANCER
I’ve had allergies all my life, and I mean allergies to everything — grass, tree pollen, dust, mold, animal dander, metal — you name it, I react to it.
And rarely have I heard anyone speculate that my allergies will bring anything but sniffles, congestion and general misery.
Then, a few years ago, I read about a connection between cancer and allergies — that, in fact, allergies might help keep cancer away. It seemed so unusual that I honestly didn’t pay that much attention.
Then just recently, I read of another study that showed how people with allergies are less likely to contract malignant brain tumors known as gliomas. This was beginning to sound like bigger and bigger news.
I contacted one of the authors of the study, Faith Davis, PhD, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.
She pointed out that the new study brought two important findings: First, most types of allergies are associated with a reduced risk for brain tumors, and the more allergies you have the less likely you are to have a glioma…
and second, antihistamines in this study were shown to play no role in either reducing or increasing tumor growth that the study authors could point to — at least not at this point.
(In the past, one rodent study showed that the antihistamine diphenhydramine hydrochloride enhanced tumors…
and one human study observed that glioma risk increased in individuals who took antihistamines for more than 10 years.)
Now it may seem that brain tumors are a very rare thing, but they are not nearly as rare as you might think. The National Cancer Institute estimates that there will be 22,340 new cases of brain cancer (which includes cancers of the brain, spinal cord and nerves that extend from it) in 2011 in the US… and 13,110 deaths.
And, for reasons not fully understood, the number of gliomas has been rising. This may well be due to better diagnosis and classification of tumors, though there are also those who theorize that cell phones are at the root of the glioma rise.
As for the connection between brain cancer and allergies, “It’s a really interesting puzzle that brain tumor epidemiologists are working on,” Dr. Davis said, explaining that with regard to the study results, “at this point, we really don’t know why individuals with allergies have this reduced risk of developing glioma.”
EXPLORING THE LINKS
The study — reported in a recent issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention — centered on 419 patients with gliomas and 612 patients without cancer.
The patients were asked if they had been told by a doctor at least two years ago that they had an allergy, and at what age they learned of their allergy.
Virtually all types of allergies were included — hay fever and other seasonal allergies as well as allergic reactions to food, medication, animals and substances such as molds.
Researchers found that patients with both high- and low-grade tumors were less likely to have allergies of any kind than patients without cancer.
Dr. Davis said that some scientists have speculated that the type of heightened immune system that triggers an allergy may also help protect the body from cancer. “But the immune system is very tricky to study,” she cautioned.
For that reason, Dr. Davis said, future research is likely to focus on understanding the link between allergies and more types of cancer, including the role that the immune system might play.
It’s impossible, of course, to contract an allergy in the hopes that it will prevent cancer. But Dr. Davis said this new understanding is expected to be important in developing ways to prevent cancer or to treat it at an early stage.
In the meantime, I’ve vowed there’ll be no complaining this year when ragweed season hits. A runny nose, scratchy eyes and a walloping headache may turn out to be something to be grateful for.
Source(s):
Faith Davis, PhD, an associate dean for research and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
September 29th, 2011 at 9:57 am
271
No. 271 of 365
Reclaim rock for conservatism:
Explain to a liberal how James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s World” is the definitive take down of Mary Wollstonecraft, Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and Germaine Greer.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:06 am
HI Mischa,
I saw this on the news a few days ago and half expected you to blog it yesterday. I don’t have much to say about it, it speaks for itself in its -ism’s.
Lots of interesting reading from the regular peeps, though I disagree with Robert, I think the ‘rank & file’ are getting near breaking or tipping point and protests will start…the smallish one on Wall St is just the beginning.
I do agree wih your response to SB, everything begins with a thought and theres nothing more powerful than a focused mind. I have high hopes for focus on radical change because we so sorely need it and without another term in office for President Obama, we’re a little bit (or a lot a bit) screwed.
Luv, Zen Lill
September 29th, 2011 at 10:25 am
Just in case you missed the huffpo version of that protest of hippies : )
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tracey-e-vitchers/occupyingnot-riotingwall-_b_980003.html?ref=mostpopular
Too bad Wall St wasn’t closer…I’d be all over it and I’d be saying a lot more than ‘mic check’
- ZL
September 29th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Well then, ZL, you can do just that with the protests happening in L.A. next week. The Wall Street protests are migrating!! Today it is en mass in San Francisco, I’m outta here to join in. Would love to see pics of you being all over it next week! There is plenty more to say than ‘mic check’ !!
September 29th, 2011 at 8:29 pm
Main dude – in LA – it is this Sat, Oct 1, 10am start walking from Pershing Square, noon is the time at city hall…! Cheeeyeah…! – ZL
September 30th, 2011 at 7:41 am
Michelle, the republican party wants race to be on the minds of every white person voting. They want to imply that Obama will be doing what the 43 white presidents did before him.
They want the person in doubt to vote in his race’s favor. This is just the start of the events that will be staged.
Mike
September 30th, 2011 at 7:54 am
Leisha Hailey and Camila Grey weren’t expecting anything out of the ordinary when they boarded their Southwest Airlines flight last Monday. Camila kissed Leisha — just a typical “I love you” peck like any couple might share.
Apparently, this was not okay with their flight attendant, who came over to explain that two women kissing was not acceptable, because Southwest is “a family-oriented airline.”
Leisha and Camila were extremely upset. The flight attendant wouldn’t back down. The conflict escalated. And Leisha and Camila were kicked off their flight.
Jeremy Sharp is a college student and a fan of Leisha’s — Leisha was one of the stars of the TV series “The L Word.” She started a petition on Change.org demanding that Southwest apologize to Leisha and Camila. Please sigh Jeremy’s petition to Southwest today.
Southwest claims to be a supporter of LGBT rights — and, as corporations go, Southwest has excellent anti-discrimination policies. It’s even the official airline for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). But now that those policies are being put to the test, Southwest is failing miserably.
In multiple statements, Southwest has refused to accept responsibility for the actions of its employee, and has instead blamed Leisha and Camila for bringing this discrimination on themselves. But Leisha and Camila would have had no cause to get upset if they hadn’t been targeted by their flight attendant for their sexual orientation.
Eradicating homophobia means more than saying the right buzzwords and sponsoring the right organizations. It means making sure that LGBT families are treated equally every day. If Southwest can brush this incident under the rug, what’s to stop other well-meaning companies from doing the same?
Southwest has already received an avalanche of bad publicity for both its employee’s discriminatory behavior and its failure to accept responsibility for the incident. The airline’s executives need to understand that potential customers aren’t going to let this go until Southwest issues an official, meaningful apology.
Please sign Jeremy’s petition asking that Southwest apologize to Leisha and Camila:
Southwest claims to be a supporter of LGBT rights — and, as corporations go, Southwest has excellent anti-discrimination policies. It’s even the official airline for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). But now that those policies are being put to the test, Southwest is failing miserably.
In multiple statements, Southwest has refused to accept responsibility for the actions of its employee, and has instead blamed Leisha and Camila for bringing this discrimination on themselves. But Leisha and Camila would have had no cause to get upset if they hadn’t been targeted by their flight attendant for their sexual orientation.
Eradicating homophobia means more than saying the right buzzwords and sponsoring the right organizations. It means making sure that LGBT families are treated equally every day. If Southwest can brush this incident under the rug, what’s to stop other well-meaning companies from doing the same?
Southwest has already received an avalanche of bad publicity for both its employee’s discriminatory behavior and its failure to accept responsibility for the incident. The airline’s executives need to understand that potential customers aren’t going to let this go until Southwest issues an official, meaningful apology.
Please sign Jeremy’s petition asking that Southwest apologize to Leisha and Camila:
http://www.//.change,org/petitions/tell-southwest-to-apologize-for-homophobic-employees
September 30th, 2011 at 8:21 am
Michelle:
I went to the SF event. It was very serious. People are concerned about what is happening. I hope we will be as determined come election time.