The makers of Equal are suing the makers of Splenda, alleging false advertising regarding: “It’s made with real sugar…” because the sugar used to make Splenda is chemically modified so Equal claims that this means it’s not made of real sugar.  And because of this, Equal wants some lost profits back due to Splenda’s alleged false advertising.  Equal claims that Splenda’s advertising is literally false, where Splenda claims it is literally true…

This will be interesting.  The makers of Equal have lost a ton of money due to the emergence and popularity of Splenda recently.  Are Splenda’s claims true?  Is Splenda “better” for you than Equal, as far as artificial sweeteners go?  This case probably won’t answer all of these questions, but it brings them to light.

Apparently, gas prices rising as spring and summer approach, as they do every year, surprises some people, as does the fact that the long term trend of gasoline prices is unquestionably upward. In an article about these high gas prices that I read today on Yahoo news, there were some interesting quotes.

“It kills me,” said Gloria Nunez, 53, as she filled her Ford Explorer SUV at a San Jose gas station. Nunez, a clerk for a communications company, has started working a couple hours of overtime each week to help soften the blow.

“All of a sudden you kind of have to watch your pennies,” she said.

It might not kill you, Gloria, if you made a tiny sacrifice and bought a smaller car.  And guess what… you’d save money on your initial car purchase over a Ford Explorer, and save money on gas!

Several customers at a Mobil station in St. Petersburg, Fla., were upset because there seemed to be no real reason for the price increase…

“Katrina, I can understand,” Franc said. “I didn’t see a very good explanation this time. You hear so many excuses it gets to where you don’t believe anything anymore.”

Andrew Sullivan, a prominent conservative man who happens to be gay, wasn’t very happy about Ann Coulter’s latest slur at CPAC. After Coulter was torn apart by the media for the past few days, she responded by saying that calling John Edwards a faggot was simply a joke, not a slur, and intended as a “schoolyard taunt.” Sullivan didn’t take it that way, and explains why a joke is not mutually exclusive from a slur, and how Coulter’s comment really hurts for gays, especially himself, as a gay conservative who attended CPAC.

Secondly, gay men are not all effeminate. In the last couple of weeks, we have seen a leading NBA player and a soldier come out to tell their stories. I’d like to hear Coulter tell Amaechi and Alva that they are sissies and wusses. A man in uniform who just lost a leg for his country is a sissy? The first American solider to be wounded in Iraq is a wuss? What Coulter did, in her callow, empty way, was to accuse John Edwards of not being a real man. To do so, she asserted that gay men are not real men either. The emasculation of men in minority groups is an ancient trope of the vilest bigotry. Why was it wrong, after all, for white men to call African-American men “boys”? Because it robbed them of the dignity of their masculinity. And that’s what Coulter did last Friday to gays. She said - and conservatives applauded - that I and so many others are not men. We are men, Ann.

Wow. The report on Al Gore’s energy use has really lit up the news everywhere. Tons and tons of people have been writing articles in newspapers and blogs about what a terrible guy Al Gore is. Many of these authors have written things that go through the following logical process:

1. Fact: Al Gore made a movie warning the world about the dangers of global warming.
2. Fact: Al Gore’s home uses a lot of energy.
3. Optional assertion: climate offsets don’t work at all. This assertion must be made without any evidence.
4. Insert gigantic logical jump here.
5. Therefore, we need not worry about global warming.

Let me reiterate the point from my previous article. Yes, I am very disappointed in Mr. Gore for using so much energy while he advocates otherwise. But, first off, it’s not as bad as it seems, due to his use of only renewable energy and his purchase of carbon offsets, and secondly, his use of energy has nothing to do with the truth of climate science.

Coulter’s gay slur comments, and the acceptance/appreciation of these by her fans really irritate me. At the Conservative Political Action Conference yesterday, she stated: “I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I — so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards.” (video).

If you read further down after the link, you’ll see:

Previously, Coulter has put “even money” on Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) “[c]oming out of the closet,” said Bill Clinton shows “some level of latent homosexuality,” and called Vice President Al Gore a “total fag.”

This is insensitive, playground-style politics if I’ve ever seen it. Coulter and her “fans” should be ashamed of themselves. I don’t understand how people can think racial slurs are absolutely terrible and not simultaneously condemn gay slurs.

Look, I’m all for free speech, and if Coulter believes anyone with an opposing political opinion is “gay” and belong as the butt of jokes she is welcome to have that (incorrect) belief. I just think that people should condemn her as a horrible and insensitive person, and I think I’m free to have that belief as well.