grr.

finally sent an e-mail to the folks at biore, and got a response: the balancing moisturizers (came in a can, like mousse; wonderful stuff, not at all heavy or greasy) are discontinued. bastards. "please try this other oil-free product," they said, apparently having ignored the part where i mentioned that even other oil-free moisturizers are often too greasy for me. basically, if it feels like lotion? no good.

grr, grr, grr. will have to go through period of experimentation now. grr.

Coble (R-NC): "huzzah for internment camps"

received from my sister-not-quite-in-law:

[edited to add: as thermidor correctly pointed out, far more effective than signing online petitions is contacting one's own representatives. this here is meant to be a heads-up that the issue exists; by all means, sign the petition, but better yet, head over to http://www.house.gov and http://www.senate.gov and make like a constituent. :-D]

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Many of you have probably heard about this already, but recently US Representative Howard Coble (R-NC) declared in a radio appearance that the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII was the right decision and suggested that it was done for the protection of the Japanese Americans themselves. He also maintained that a few Japanese Americans might have been intent on harming America, "just as some Arab-Americans are probably intent on doing us harm today."

It's never wise to be reactionary or jump to conclusions, so I was pleased to hear that Representatives Mike Honda (D-CA, who spent time in a Japanese internment camp with his family as a child), Robert T. Matsui (D-CA), and David Wu (D-OR) plan to meet with Coble "in order to better understand his views, and for Rep. Coble to listen to their concerns maintaining an appropriate balance of homeland security and constitutional civil rights."

However, especially in light of the recent situation with Trent Lott's comments on another painful issue, segregation, it seems wise to think carefully about this issue. It's especially important given that Coble chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, and that war in the Middle East is looking more likely every day. Thus, this becomes much more than just an Asian or historical issue.

Several groups (primarily Asian American) are gathering signatures for a petition asking Coble to apologize for his remarks regarding both Japanese and Arab Americans and step down from the Subcommittee. If you would like to sign, the information is below, and the deadline is Friday, Feb. 14. It seems to me that it's mostly Asian names on the petition so far, and I have a hard time believing it's only Asians that care about this. Prove me wrong?

To read more about Coble's recent remarks:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Lawmakers-Remarks.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Congressman-Prison-Camps.html
(the news site of your choice can provide more info)

To sign the petition:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/coble03/petition.html

Anyway, read, learn, understand, and form an opinon. Thanks for listening!

( The text of the petition is here. )