Faculty Job Search Season: Casting A Wide-Ass Net

Dr. Brazen Hussy posted yesterday about her faculty job search this season, and made the following remarkable statement:

This is about 1/3 of the job listings that I could conceivably apply for, but I am restraining myself and only applying to jobs I want – and only to jobs with a description that is reasonably similar to what it is I actually do. I’m keeping an eye on the job listings but I don’t anticipate applying for more than about 10 jobs.

This is fucking crazy talk!!!1!1!

Call Your CongressCritter: Mental Health Parity (UPDATED)

I keep meaning to do a substantive post on the issue of mental health parity legislation but US Congressional activity proceeds as it will. So I have little more than a cut and paste job of a plea from the Research Society on Alcoholism to call your Members of Congress to ask them to support “The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.”
In very brief outline the efforts (many years in progress now with gradual improvements) for mental health parity seek to ensure that health conditions that are primarily behavioral and/or affective in nature are accorded the same respect and consideration under law as are any other health conditions.
It should come as no surprise to my readers that there is a considerable segment of the population (including some MDs and politicians and scientists) that at some level believe that certain behavioral and affective disorders are not really health care situations. That these are the province of morality or patient “will” or personality deficit or something considered to be nonmedical. And therefore not deserving of attention or, most importantly, support under health care insurance mechanisms.
This is a very deep and meaty topic from the science to the public policy to the politics to the economics to the… Well, that is why I’ve never stepped up to the plate on this. And I am not doing so today. I’ll just leave you with the following request from one of my academic societies.

Day 2 of DonorsChoose and You Peeps Amaze Me

Wow. Just wow! Day 2 and already the ScienceBlogs’ters participation in the DonorsChoose.org Bloggers Challenge is rocking.
I have also been already humbled and pleased by certain acts which I wish to acknowledge and thank.