When I first visited Planned Parenthood to obtain birth control in high school I've heard from friends that even as a teenager, Planned Parenthood sends you home with one of those plastic thingies with helpful diagrams on how to feel for lumps in your boobs (see tata pics, above). You're supposed to hang it in your shower; we had one at our first college apartment but took it down because boys thought it was weird but I am not sexually active nor have I ever been Dad so I don't really know. The message was that breast cancer is one of those things that you should really catch early if at all possible. The new message, however, is that women don't even need to perform self-examinations, nor do they need regular mammograms until the age of 50:

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It's Veterans Day! I only know like one veteran, and he callously dumped me a week before my birthday (truly a display of uncommon bravery). He said I was a Godless pot-smoking hippie, so how could we ever take our kids to Sunday school? And I was like, good for you for being a red-blooded, Jebus-fearing killing machine, but you have a point; I guess we're not really compatible! Later I realized he gave me mono, so I wore his army shirt at the height of my sickness and then tossed it in the doomed "Velveteen Rabbit" pile. All I'm saying is that I really think that whole "Are soldiers really heroes?" debate was worthwhile! [CNN] 

Still, I think old dude should get his GI bill funding. In a classic case of old people not knowing how to work the dang CD-rom right, the IT infrastructure of the VA is unable to deal with all the new age "info," and lots of dollars for books and educations are being delayed. Also, the post-9/11 GI bill is prejudiced against technology. [HuffPost, CSM] 

Hey, you know what would really honor all veterans? If war-loving, intellectually challenged wingnuts--I don't know, let's say "Tom Coburn" of "Oklahoma" for example--would stop voting to send soldiers into battle to get ripped apart and then refusing to provide adequate healthcare upon return. Remember, a while back, everyone was So Mad at Democrats for blocking one of Bush's battle-happy budgets, because how could they not want to give the kids their armored humvees to kill all the Mooslims?? Well, this is kind of like that except without the principled stance against a human-life-and-money-eating-black-hole of a conflict. [Daily Kos]

Anyway kids, save some of the allotted characters in your Facebook status after "Hug a Vet!" to protest the next wave of veteran mistreatment: It seems it's time for another surge, because that strategy ended terrorism in Iraq. Also, the "entire military" is behind this move which is remarkable because usually the armed forces are known for open discussion and healthy dissent. [NPR]

The most responsible and respectful thing we can do as humans and citizens, besides remembering that there is no apostrophe in "Veterans Day," is learn about the causes we celebrate beyond the nice sales, paid vacation days, and patriotic decor/fervor. But if you're dying for a little V-Day involvement, check out the following organizations and projects that are doing good things for active troops and veterans alike.

• Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America special collection on Hulu
• Wounded Warrior Project
• Bake-Me-A-Wish Freedom Cake: Send a delicious cake to someone at home and a soldier abroad!. Or send a care package through Operation Gratitude
• Indulge your inner peacenik by learning about Iraq Veterans Against The War
• Check out the Veterans History Project from the Library of Congress
• Support the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans or a local cooperating organization
• Learn up and speak out about "don't ask, don't tell," and how it prevents willing and able would-be servicewomen and men from serving--and doing so without fear--in the armed forces 

If you're feeling uber-passionate, go the extra mile and shoot your congressperson a tweet about the abhorrent discrepancy between how we talk about our veterans and how we treat them. And, of course, don't forget to hug a vet! 

Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) on the Senate floor. At the full moon, he shapeshifts into a crying baby.You know that feeling you get when someone says "I just wanna be with you," and you realize later that what they really meant was "I'm drunk, and I have no interest in dating you long-term, but I'd really like to continue sleeping with you and accepting your emotional validation until I find someone who I really want to commit to and/or you have nothing left to give. Oh, and pick up some cigs on the way over?" And you're like, "Well, I probably should have figured that out sooner." It's the same duh feeling you had when you found out balloon boy was a hoax. Well, that's how I'm feeling about the uproar over this whole 'Joe Lieberman shocks everyone by being a douchebag about the public option' business. CLICK TO READ MORE...

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Everybody loves babies! They are the future! Am I right, or am I right?! WRONG. Insurance companies hate babies. They hate fat babies; they hate skinny babies. Most of all, they hate women, because women have babies.

As congress spins its wheels on a public option and Hilary Clinton sits in her office, all like "I told you this shit was harder than it looked," the insurance industry continues to equate having a vagina with having a pack-a-day habit. Being a woman, it turns out, is considered a pre-existing condition by some providers:

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Hokay, So. Last night was basically Obama’s prom: He gave a rousing speech on healthcare, and I missed it because I had to prevent one roommate from calling the cops on another in order to avoid having to move my stash. So I fake live-blogged it because I figured there is no better way to reclaim my throne as the best blogger EVER on this site. Check out ma shit, then leave your responses to the speech in the comments.

You remember how it works? Is it all coming back, all coming back to you now? Were there moments of gold and then flashes of light? Were there things you’d never do again but then they’d always seem right? Were there nights of endless pleasure, was it more than any laws allow? If you are humming a haunting tune and picturing Celine Dion watching her dead lover ride his motorcycle through a castle, you win! To claim your prize, contact the RNC and tell them you’ve won a public option. AFTER you read more, following the jump...

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