AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Through a Lens
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/20/2004 04:33:12 PM
-----
BODY:
Every day there are pictures of both Bush and Kerry in the news.
The distortion of reality became apparent immediately after the first debate, and has grown with time. Kerry is taller than Bush by some three inches. Immediately after the first debate, Fox photoshopped the pictures of the candidates so that they were of equal height. Others twisted their camera angles to achieve the same end.
Now the static news images have taken up the distortion -- photos of Bush are in closer so that his head is enlarged, and the static images try to make their heads appear the same.
During the third debate the transformation was complete -- the podium was eliminated from Bush's side of the split screen by focusing in, and we had an inflated Bush so that we could all pretend that he and Kerry were the same height.
Balance or lie?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: thehim
EMAIL: thehim66@hotmail.com
IP: 131.107.71.226
URL: http://www.reload.ws/blog
DATE: 10/21/2004 06:16:17 PM
Well, the simple answer is 'lie'. Doing anything to distort reality through TV tricks is a form of lying.
The division between the candidates is truly one of reality-based vs. fantasy-based. Look at the two people being brought out by the parties now to support their man. Clinton and Schwarzenegger. One became popular through the reality-based world and the other through the fantasy-based world.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.159.154
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 10/24/2004 07:29:47 PM
Also notice the nifty use of echo and bass on Bush's side of the last debate. It was reminiscent of the wizard of Oz's booming voice before Dorothy and the group found out he was an imposter.
-----
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Saturday
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/21/2004 07:52:23 PM
-----
BODY:
Well, we'll see if Bush is really in Crawford on Saturday, or whether it is the start of another 'photo op with the troops', where he sneaks into Bagdad in the middle of the night and visits a mess hall full of the most Republican troops the military can filter out. The rumblings are that "roadtrip" is the way to bet.
You'd think that the Republicans would be embarrassed to do something like that, but maybe they plan to collect all the KBR and military ballots to bring home to the US, conveniently disappearing in mid-Atlantic any ballots for their opponents. Well, considering what the military is like, I would believe that some people will misuse authority without a qualm.
It's in the culture, now more than ever.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Offensive Ads
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/22/2004 09:17:59 AM
-----
BODY:
I was looking at the ABC news site a few minutes ago, when my machine got a pop-under that started talking about the video "John Edwards doesn't want you to see."
If there is anything I don't want at work, a pop-under that makes noise is number one. And it figures that a smear pop-under makes noise, because most people kill them without a thought.
Republicans really know how to make friends.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: The Lying RNC
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/22/2004 04:34:22 PM
-----
BODY:
Today I got a flyer in the mail claiming that my congressman, Dennis Moore, voted against protecting mothers and babies -- and the flyer cited partial-birth abortion.
This particular claim is a pure and simple lie. The reason that those who voted against the bill did so is because the life of the mother was left off as a reason to permit whatever was necessary. It is the RNC that disregards mothers -- see them as disposable vessels that Fetuses grow in.
It's time for these nosy parkers to get their obsessions out of our crotches. I won't vote for anyone who uses cute babies to advance their political agenda, especially when their agenda actually devalues women, their needs, their choices, and their necessities.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: If You Just Registered
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/23/2004 11:47:01 AM
-----
BODY:
If you just registered to vote and live in a swing state, carry postmarked mail addressed to you at the address you registered with. Make sure the mail is more than 30 days old. A water bill is often considered proof of residence, so if you pay one, carry it. Same with other utilities.
Carry proof of age as well.
The Republicans are going to be out in force to challenge newly registered voters [via Pacific Views]. Be ready to wait in line as Republicans make your day miserable. Staying in line is the only way you can fight back. Remember, four more years of Bush would be a lot worst than two hours in a line to vote.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: It's Not Just Bush
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/24/2004 07:18:55 PM
-----
BODY:
It's his whole administration. The Washington Post [registration free & required] has a story about the Justice Department essentially encouraging the CIA to take prisoners out of Iraq for interrogation and/or imprisonment, directly in contravention of the Geneva Conventions.
Memo Lets CIA Take Detainees Out of Iraq
Practice Is Called Serious Breach of Geneva Conventions
By Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 24, 2004; Page A01
At the request of the CIA, the Justice Department drafted a confidential memo that authorizes the agency to transfer detainees out of Iraq for interrogation -- a practice that international legal specialists say contravenes the Geneva Conventions.
One intelligence official familiar with the operation said the CIA has used the March draft memo as legal support for secretly transporting as many as a dozen detainees out of Iraq in the last six months. The agency has concealed the detainees from the International Committee of the Red Cross and other authorities, the official said.
Old Ashcroft once said that Justice was able to prosecute those civilians who broke the Conventions. Somehow, I can't see the Justice Department indicting its own members, even though that is what should happen now.
The foxes are in the chicken coop.
Anyone who trusts any part of the Bush administration is on bad drugs (ah! that explains Limbaugh quite well, doesn't it?).
Condi is out running around giving campaign speeches. Security? Don't make me laugh.
Cheney is far lost to the real world and imagining alternate histories as he works crowds of the faithful.
And the sad news that 44 members of the Iraqi National Guard were ambushed and killed as they left training makes it clear how out-of-control the situation in Iraq really is. They were unarmed. Evidently they were unescorted. You would think that by now the US would give these people the means to protect themselves as they volunteer to work at restoring order to their country.
Getting rid of Bush will take so many really blind people away from jobs they cannot do. It's not just him -- it is the entire cluster.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Derbig Mooser
EMAIL: mooser42001@yahoo.com
IP: 66.195.33.43
URL:
DATE: 10/28/2004 04:40:51 PM
That's what scares me the most! Not that Kerry will lose, but in a post-victory burst of generosity, he doesn't seek out, and kick out, every neo-con appointee he can. It shouldn't be hard- he'll just have a hard time choosing which criminal or unethical action will be the basis for their firing. If he doesn't, they will spend the next four years doing nothing but sabotaging his administration.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Vote for Bush...
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/25/2004 06:44:36 PM
-----
BODY:
...is a vote to keep those responsible for torture.
Remember, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez called the Geneva Conventions "quaint", and that is who Bush goes to for legal advice.
Nothing but a repudiation and housecleaning will restore American honor.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Read This
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 10/26/2004 06:45:37 PM
-----
BODY:
I Need a President - Again.
Truthout has truth, indeed -- and John Cory says it very well.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: GOTV
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/27/2004 12:02:33 PM
-----
BODY:
/fantasy on/
It would be nice if every state -- every single one -- passed a small bill this week that said that all folks in line 30 minutes before a polling place closes must be offered a provisional ballot and a pen. Then someone with a locked steel box should collect said ballots for verification and counting.
/fantasy off/
With all the things being done to harrass and annoy voters, it would be nice if the states acknowledged this and made a provision for those who come to participate. We all have our fantasies. Visions of fifty legislatures all doing the right thing is really a fantasy, isn't it?
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Amy Langfield
EMAIL: heyheyamy@yahoo.com
IP: 68.175.43.168
URL: http://www.amylangfield.com
DATE: 10/28/2004 02:09:34 PM
But how often does that really happen -- you know, having a line out the door as the polls close?
[Looks like TN is planning for lines: UPDATE: The canary might not be singing (or choking) until late Tuesday evening. Knox Co. election administrator Greg Mackay advises that although they have started counting early votes at 8:00 PM in the past, they will not count any votes or release any results this year until the last poll closes.
They anticipate long lines, and anyone in line at the scheduled 8:00 PM closing time will be able to vote. So it could be 9:30 or 10:00 before counting begins.
Greg Mackay also asks that folks not call the elections office asking where the results are or when they will be available, because they won't know until the last voter votes. http://www.southknoxbubba.net/skblog/archive_2004_10.php#3643 --S.]
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: dragonet2
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.30.12.11
URL:
DATE: 10/28/2004 10:57:51 PM
Homeland security obviously doesn't have anything better to do.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=817&ncid=757&e=10&u=/ap/20041028/ap_on_fe_st/toy_store_homeland_security
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Expert
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/28/2004 07:08:49 PM
-----
BODY:
Of all the people who are adept at distorting reality, Scottie McClellan is a real master.
Missing explosives?
What explosives? Is anyone sure they weren't gone before we got there?
Well yeah, Kos is sure.
It's beginning to piss me off greatly when the first thing out of Scottie's mouth is a declaration that facts do not exist. This is not the first time he has done this, and it's getting very old. Of course he is going to keep his job as long as Bush is there, because he is so facile at making stuff up, and at not answering questions.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Gee, I Feel Safer
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/29/2004 08:50:57 AM
-----
BODY:
[via dragonet in comments] A toy store in a small town in Washington received a visit from Homeland Security. The wonderful people who want to make us safer made her remove knockoffs of Rubik's Cube from the shelf. The story on Yahoo* said:
After the agents left, Cox called the manufacturer of the Magic Cube, the Toysmith Group, which is based in Auburn, Wash. A representative told her that Rubik's Cube patent had expired, and the Magic Cube did not infringe on the rival toy's trademark.
Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said agents went to Pufferbelly based on a trademark infringement complaint filed in the agency's intellectual property rights center in Washington, D.C.
"One of the things that our agency's responsible for doing is protecting the integrity of the economy and our nation's financial systems and obviously trademark infringement does have significant economic implications," she said.
Yes, I am sure the sale of legal Rubik's Cube knockoffs in a small store in Washington is going to bring our great nation to its knees. And it figures that every arm of government is spending its time figuring out how to make life better for corporations and worse for small businesses and citizens. I feel so safe!
___________________
* and the Miami Herald, in case the Yahoo link breaks.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: dragonet2
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.30.12.11
URL:
DATE: 10/29/2004 05:50:11 PM
And it gets worse. This was in the LA Times rack of Yahoo News. I'm gonna find another starter page until after the election, all this shit raises my blood pressure so!
Guess there ain't such a thing as free speech any way you look at it.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&e=1&u=/latimests/20041029/ts_latimes/irsinvestigatingnaacpforcriticismofpresident
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scorpio
EMAIL: eccentric_00@hotmail.com
IP: 66.142.230.49
URL:
DATE: 10/29/2004 08:26:23 PM
Yah, I sent that one to a black colleague who was undecided. Let's see if he stays that way.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: An Insincere Invitation
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/29/2004 08:43:21 PM
-----
BODY:
The use of the phrase "Democrat Party" was started by Joseph McCarthy during the witch-hunting years -- and he was one of the most notorious hounds in the pack. Perhaps it was impossible to get his evil mouth around anything "democratic", including the word itself.
Last week, Bush invited "members of the Democrat Party" to vote for him as he addressed his crowd of oath-sworn. Amazing. There were probably two-to-no Democrats in the room, and by addressing them as members of the "Democrat Party" he was offering them insult in the same way McCarthy did so long ago -- and the same way many of his oath-bound do today. That was no invitation.
It was slimy, but no more than one can expect, considering the source.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Tommy Franks
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/30/2004 10:40:27 AM
-----
BODY:
Tommy Franks.
In charge of the war.
Ran it from Florida.
Responsible for orders on what to guard.
Responsible for Tora Bora.
Screwed it up.
Thinks he did great.
Campaigning for Bush.
That figures.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: poputonian
EMAIL: 1@1.com
IP: 68.77.88.75
URL: http://www.kiddingonthesquare.com
DATE: 10/30/2004 12:55:59 PM
Yours made my day!
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 66.231.200.251
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 10/30/2004 01:22:54 PM
Brilliant.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: fouro
EMAIL: fouro@alchemysite.com
IP: 24.125.21.238
URL: http://www.alchemysite.com/blog/fouroboros.html
DATE: 10/30/2004 02:07:02 PM
Kewl
Seems all good things spring from Florida of late.
-----
PING:
TITLE: Idol Verses
URL: http://www.kiddingonthesquare.com/2004/10/idol_verses.html
IP: 66.151.149.26
BLOG NAME: Kidding On The Square
DATE: 10/30/2004 12:10:33 PM
Scorpio started it, via Sid's Fishbowl. Tommy Franks Tommy Franks Himself he thanks I did great I bloviate OBL? What the hell Tommy Franks Tommy Franks Predator, republican Narcissist, Texan, The earth shook I sell my book Nuff said Tommy Franks
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Ah Good
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Sports
DATE: 10/31/2004 03:57:32 PM
-----
BODY:
Green Bay beat the Redskins. If you go to Snopes, you will find the correlation between Redskins losses and presidential losses.
May it be so once more.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Monday Music
CATEGORY: Music
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 10/31/2004 10:19:13 PM
-----
BODY:
KNIGHT OF THE WOEFUL COUNTENANCE
From Man Of La Mancha
INNKEEPER
Hail, Knight of the Woeful Countenance,
Knight of the Woeful Countenance!
Wherever you go
People will know
Of the glorious deeds
Of the Knight of the Woeful Countenance!
Farewell and good cheer
Oh my brave cavalier
Ride onward to glorious strife.
I swear when you're gone
I'll remember you well
For all of the rest of my life.
Hail, Knight of the Woeful Countenance,
Knight of the Woeful Countenance
Fare to the foe,
They will quail at the sight
Of the Knight of the Woeful Countenance!
Oh valorous Knight,
Go and fight for the right,
And battle all villains that be,
But oh, when you do,
What will happen to you
Thank God I won't be there to see!
ALDONZA, SANCHO, INNKEEPER
Hail, Knight of the Woeful Countenance,
Knight of the Woeful Countenance!
Wherever you go
People will know
Of the glorious deeds
Of the Knight of the Woeful Countenance!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Impossible Dream -
Luther Vandross
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
And to run where
the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
And to love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march,
march into hell
For that heavenly cause
And I know
If I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart
Will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be
better for this
That one man, scorned
and covered with scars,
Still strove with his last
ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable,
the unreachable,
The unreachable star
And I'll always dream
The impossible dream
Yes, and I'll reach
The unreachable star
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Looking Ahead
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/01/2004 04:35:17 PM
-----
BODY:
The view of tomorrow is interesting. Republicans will be lining up their trial lawyers for potential assaults on states with close election results.
It is amazing that such a villified class will consent to work for The Republicans who so disdain them, but there are hos everywhere.
The other interesting view is of the potential that a lame duck Bush presents. Is the plan that Rhenquist will resign immediately if Bush loses? Is there a plan for an interim appointment to fill the seat of the Chief Justice? Stay tuned for the havoc that will inevitably come, whether he wins or loses.
I'm just saying.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Tuesday
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/01/2004 06:02:34 PM
-----
BODY:
VOTE!
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: It's Important!
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/02/2004 06:53:31 AM
-----
BODY:
VOTE!
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Voting in Kansas
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/02/2004 07:24:27 PM
-----
BODY:
The line today was about five times as long as it was in 2000.
We have an amazing person who works the polls. He comes up to you in line and asks for your address. He then tells you which precinct your address belongs to, and you change lines if necessary. He has a map of which addresses go to which precincts in his head. Voting is going to be a lot messier if he ever decides not to work the polls.
Unfortunately, my address belonged to the line that was out the door. Oh well, it moved fast enough.
Fourteen minutes later I signed in and got my ballot. The top three parts -- President/VP, Senate and House -- were normal enough. There were at least the two major parties plus some third party candidates. From there down, however, the rest of the offices had offerings of Democrats and write-ins. In Kansas. Can you imagine? I was stunned.
I guess this is a blue eye in a red state.
There was only one initiative. It was to levy a 1/4 cent tax to fund sports and cultural improvements. If the price of sports tickets were not usurious, I'd have been a lot friendlier to the measure. We will see how it goes. It was the second bi-state initiative we have had. There are five counties -- three in MO and two in KS -- that make up the greater Kansas City metro area, and this tax would be levied on both sides of the state line. At least they can cooperate on something.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Count Every Vote
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/03/2004 11:21:36 AM
-----
BODY:
If the Ohio government has not declared a winner because of the number of provisional ballots, no one should concede. When Kerry concedes, he breaks a promise that he and Edwards made.
Edwards has publicly declared he is in favor of counting all the votes.
*********
Afterword:
Since Edwards has also conceded I've erased a couple of gratuitously snippy lines in favor of mentioning a real issue. I really feel that every vote will never be counted until every voting machine puts out a paper record that is locked into a container for recounts. The secrecy that Diebold demands is not conducive to a democratic outcome. The back doors, machine failure, and inadvertent errors combine to make "black box" machines untrustworthy. Until the systems have a cross check, we should continue to distrust them.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: MaryHuling
EMAIL: MHuling960@insightbb.com
IP: 12.202.154.193
URL:
DATE: 11/10/2004 04:14:55 AM
By Nov. 9 we already hear the news on MSNBC say that the total votes have not been accurately counted in many places. Why then say that "Every Vote Counts" ??? !
Something is very fishy about this election 2004 !
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Good Local News
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/03/2004 03:18:32 PM
-----
BODY:
Dennis Moore, Democrat from Kansas, has been returned for a fourth time to the House of Representatives. I'm a Moore fan. His office is organized enough to keep voters up to date on issues they are interested in, and I have been very pleased with that.
He is also reasonably liberal in the right places and reasonably conservative in the right places. Sure you can't please everyone, but this Representative does a good job.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Do Something Positive
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/03/2004 07:22:16 PM
-----
BODY:
I made a donation this evening to Democracy for America. As I always have thought, Dean is leading the way to the only possible thing we can do right now. Support given to that group will help, so I did it.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 66.231.200.251
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 11/04/2004 11:39:24 AM
I signed up to work on a board at town hall. I suspect I'll like it less than phone banking, but I believe Dr. Dean is right on this one.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Stunning Moments in Science
CATEGORY: Science
DATE: 11/04/2004 12:16:44 PM
-----
BODY:
From CNN article Antarctic Wildlife Facing Food Shortage:
The area around the peninsula has shown an unusually strong warming trend over the past 50 years, although Atkinson said it's not clear how that is connected to the loss of sea ice.
Now personally, I can't help someone who does not know how an "unusually strong warming trend" could be "connected to the loss of sea ice." If I were his boss or employer, he'd be out the door for that one.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Tomorrow
CATEGORY: Games
DATE: 11/04/2004 05:12:12 PM
-----
BODY:
I'll be attending a convention for the weekend -- what's called a "relaxacon" because programming is minimal and the pool and hot tub are open all night.
I may check in while I come home a few hours on Saturday, but I won't make promises -- after all, this is part of the programming of my life, and that will be suspended for a brief time of vegetating. Sunday evening I will be back, of course -- let's see, though, if I can do a two day lazy streak!
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Elizabeth Edwards
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 11/04/2004 05:14:59 PM
-----
BODY:
Elizabeth Edwards has been diagnosed with cancer. I wish her all the best and hope for her speedy recovery. I had a relative who had it in 1975, and she is still quite alive and well and in her 80's, so I can hope for the same for Mrs. Edwards.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Edgar Cayce
CATEGORY: Books
DATE: 11/04/2004 05:54:14 PM
-----
BODY:
This is a note from the universe that one could call "faith-based".
There are many people who think that Edgar Cayce was a prophet. He would go to sleep -- or into a trance -- and recommend cures for people, or do "life readings" -- and the things he said were written down and are kept in a library in Virginia Beach, VA. You can check this via Google.
One of the Cayce books I read in the 1960's had a chapter on reincarnation. Edgar Cayce said that he would be reborn in the year 2007 in a small seacoast town in Nebraska.
To me, the most fascinating thing about this answer is not whether Cayce is reborn, but rather how Nebraska happens to acquire a seacoast sometime during Bush's second term. I'm waiting with bated breath, made more interesting by the fact that I live in Kansas, and if Nebraska has a seacoast, either Kansas also has one, or Kansas is at the bottom of the New Inland Sea.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Randall Okey
EMAIL: aguatriste@earthlink.net
IP: 24.215.174.52
URL:
DATE: 02/19/2005 07:00:28 AM
A clarification, if I may:
The information posted November 4, 2004 on Edgar Cayce is partially inaccurate. Edgar Cayce indeed was referred to as the sleeping prophet and did indeed do nearly 15,000 trance readings on whatever subject he was asked to speak on.
The information posted suggests that Cayce gave his rebirth information during one of these official trance sessions. The truth is that he actually had a dream in which he saw himself being reborn not in the year 2007, as the writer states, but in 2158 in Nebraska in which at this time the state did appear to have a body of water attached to it in some way.
This was not a "prediction", but merely a dream that, as Cayce states, are subject to tremendous personal and individual interpretation. There may have been some symbolic information in this dream that was meant only for Edgar Cayce's personal interpretation affecting only has conscious and subconscious mind.
On the other hand, who would have thought that a tsunami would kill hundreds of thousands of people in South East Asia and cause so much land to literally disappear? Who would have believed that the Arctic Ice Caps would be melting at rates that have scientists spinning? In that same dream he also envisioned that New York had been destroyed by an earthquake or by war and was being rebuilt. After Sept. 11, who knows?
A seacoast in Nebraska 53 years from now? I hope not, but the reality of such a tremendous occurance is on a daily basis unfortunately becoming not such a far fetched idea. This information, however, does remain in the category of "dreams", not official "predictions" , which according to Cayce can be very different animals.
Randall Okey
Board Member
Edgar Cayce Foundation, New York City
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Karen
EMAIL: k0281k@yahoo.com
IP: 69.212.230.211
URL:
DATE: 04/22/2006 05:32:11 PM
Edgar Cayce predicts that Southern Georgia and Carolina would disappear. What happened to Florida which is attached to Georgai?
Would Mississippi or Alabama or Texas be good places to live. We were planning to move to Southern Georgia.
[I lived in Columbus, GA onces, and I liked it bretty well. Someone corrected me to say Cayce was due back in like 2047 or something, not 2007. With the climate in South GA, I'm not sure I would want to move back. They now have tornado alerts as well as hurricanes. Such fun! A geology professor suggested that the only place on our continent that has shield material is Idaho -- that is, every place else is subject to stresses as the continents move around, but not Idaho. --S]
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Special Delivery
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/04/2004 06:03:35 PM
-----
BODY:
[via The Sideshow]
Here is a link showing voter percentages in Florida counties. Take a look at the optical scan totals and tell me that they are all just right. Please.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: I Spell "Relax" N-A-P
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 11/07/2004 03:57:14 PM
-----
BODY:
I had a good time at the convention -- though most of it was spent going to bed early and catching occasional naps. Every time the conversational topic go to politics, most of us veered off even if we agreed, lest we raise our blood pressure during a time of relaxation.
I wore Nutbar T-shirts two out of three days. That was good enough.
And I did my part for small business by saving my book buying until the convention, giving the money to dealers who come to the convention instead to a gigantic chain.
Next week I'll write about the politics still idling in my brain. Before we got to the election, I wondered to myself what our political landscape would look like without the Lands of Unsuccessful Southern Secession. I also wondered what it would look like once Edgar Cayce had his seacoast town in Nebraska. It will be interesting to look at those things. But later! Now it's time for another nap, and I hope all of you had a good weekend, too.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: You Know ...
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/07/2004 08:46:45 PM
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BODY:
No matter how many Americans answer a CNN quiz "Should a judge's Supreme Court nomination hinge on his or her stance on abortion?" with a resounding no, that is exactly the thing which shall determine whether or not Bush makes such a nomination.
You can take that to the bank.
Do you know who first made Dred Scott a metaphor for the anti-abortion Christianist crew? Alan Keyes. Doesn't that just figure? Mr. Inflammatory Rhetoric himself -- the hypocrite who complained that Hillary Clinton was a carpetbagger because she ran for Senator from NY when her state of origin was Arkansas, and then moved from Maryland to Illinois (on a month-to-month lease -- can you imagine?) to run [unsuccessfully! yes!] for the Senate against Barack Obama. Keyes is a hatemonger, and it was delightful to see him completely whipped. But meanwhile, he gave Christianists a code-word, and Bush made a public pledge to placate them -- so no matter what you say, look for judicial candidates who want women to be pregnant with no recourse available.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Fine Rant
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Rants
DATE: 11/08/2004 05:09:19 PM
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BODY:
Steve Gilliard does a world-class rant. Let me just point you at him and sit back today.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: At Last
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/09/2004 06:23:52 PM
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BODY:
One of the most over-the-top people in the administration, John Ashcroft, has finally resigned. True, he should have been booted for failing to bring charges against contractors who tortured prisoners at Abu Ghraib, which was a duty that belonged to the Justice Department. If he never intended to actually do his job, seeing the back of him is a Good Thing.
Bye, John. Don't let the doorknob bump you in the ass on the way out.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Values
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 11/09/2004 10:13:05 PM
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BODY:
So they think they are Christians rather than Christianists.
Let's try the rider move.
When they put up a bill eroding Roe, add a rider that increases day care credits or helps the sick.
When they try to amend the Constitution to exclude gays, add a line that hooks the minimum wage to Congressional salaries so that at least the poor are helped.
For every values political move, add a rider that carries out one of the Beatitudes.
See how long they stand for values -- how soon they show that Christianist does not mean Christian.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: TH
EMAIL: thomas@grendelkom.com
IP: 62.178.68.12
URL: http://words.grendel.at/
DATE: 11/10/2004 12:20:00 AM
Thanks for the word Christianist. I like it. I'll have to write something on that. More and more, as I grow older, I lose patience with any kind of institutionalized and public religion.
It seems that religion has a place at a certain point of history, but becomes a scourge after that.
(And I like the tactics you're proposing - even if I don't believe they're going to work)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.53
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 11/10/2004 08:42:58 AM
This is the rider I want on the gay marriage amendment - in order to protect "the family" refuse to recognize subsequent marriages of any adult with minor children from a marriage that has ended in divorce.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Derbig Mooser
EMAIL: mooser42001@yahoo.com
IP: 66.195.32.165
URL:
DATE: 11/10/2004 05:39:41 PM
This is the rider I want on the gay marriage amendment - in order to protect "the family" refuse to recognize subsequent marriages of any adult with minor children from a marriage that has ended in divorce.
Excellent idea! And from everything I have seen in my 53 years, badly needed. Would help thousand, heck, millions of kids to get the support they deserve.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Oh Goodie!
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/10/2004 06:53:32 PM
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BODY:
To replace Ashcroft, Bush has nominated Mr. "the Geneva Conventions are Quaint" Gonzales, author of the White House memo that buttresses the culture of torture implemented by the Bush regime.
The worst part of this election was the essential acquiescence to the breaches of the Geneva Conventions perpetrated by the Bush administration. This makes 51 % of the country complicit in the torture and humiliation of innocent people. And putting Mr Gonzales into a position of having to be the person who brings charges against civilian contractors makes it a dead game bet that the torturers will get off scot free.
He is part of our national disgrace, and Mr. Bush is merely making it even more evident -- as if we needed that -- that he stands in favor of the culture of destroying people of other cultures and religions that he has so carefully nurtured during his tenure.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.53
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 11/11/2004 07:06:37 AM
My god, I had been so preoccupied with thinking how this appointment would infuriate the Europeans whose help we need in Iraq, that I complete forgot what a fucking boon this appointment is to the mercenaries' defense attornies. It's so good it has to be intentional.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: This Will Be Interesting
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/11/2004 07:39:04 PM
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BODY:
Ralph Nader has requested a recount in New Hampshire. According to the Washington Post:
"We have received reports of irregularities in the vote reported on the AccuVote Diebold Machines in comparison to exit polls and trends in voting in New Hampshire," Nader wrote Secretary of State William M. Gardner. "These irregularities favor President George W. Bush by 5% to 15% over what was expected."
It will be interesting to see what the hand count brings. Mr. Nader is expected to pay $80,000 for the recount since he did not get the minimum percentage of votes needed for a free recount.
[via King of Zembla]
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Real Help
CATEGORY: Economics
DATE: 11/12/2004 09:20:46 PM
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BODY:
Some of the troops who have been pulled out of the US have left families so poor that they need to apply for food stamps.
This is from a DoD web site:
Individuals and organizations also can show their support to deployed troops and their families with gift certificates. The “Gift of Groceries†program allows anyone to purchase commissary gift certificates at http://www.commissaries.com or by calling toll free 1 (877) 770-GIFT. The Armed Services Exchanges offer the “Gift From the Homefront†gift certificate for merchandise at these exchange web sites: http://www.aafes.com and http://www.navy-nex.com or by calling toll free 1 (877) 770-GIFT. Gift certificates may be purchased to be mailed to servicemembers and family members or will be distributed to “any servicemember.†Only authorized commissary and exchange patrons may redeem the gift certificates at military commissaries and exchanges, including those stores supporting deployed personnel around the globe.
The same web site tells you how to order and send a phone card for either troops stationed overseas, or those in hospitals here in the US. Last time I sent a card I specified it for a hospitalized member of the armed forces. You have lots of options to choose from, and this war has created a huge number of wounded veterans who could use a little holiday gift.
The best way to recognize Veteran's Day is to make a contribution. Our government certainly is not doing enough, and I expect that amenities like groceries and phone calls will continue to be cut back.
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PING:
TITLE: Curl Up With A Good Blog
URL: http://www.pacificviews.org/weblog/archives/000727.html
IP: 65.19.165.2
BLOG NAME: Pacific Views
DATE: 11/20/2004 04:34:41 PM
MB at Wampum talks about the proposal to pay for more tax cuts for the wealthy by ending the federal deduction for state and local income taxes. The accompanying chart illustrates how much more of an impact this will have...
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Family
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 11/14/2004 05:59:06 PM
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BODY:
The second post I ever wrote for this web log was on the topic of marriage. Most of it is still very valid. A couple of days ago, Pudentilla left a comment that said that what she would want as an addition to a Constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and a woman would be a point forbidding divorce to partners with minor children.
Good as far as it goes. I like the line "let no man put asunder." I think that separation if spouses are abusive is one of the first things that started the stampede of no-fault divorce. I suspect that divorces should not be granted -- just separations -- and not at the request of a man unless he can prove he is being abused.
But the thing I would like to see most is the separation of the civil from the religious.
I really don't want the religion of the whacked-out South to become a part of the Constitution.
I think that families should be more than man-woman-offspring. It's a good part of what I believe, and the fact that there are Christianists who would heap condemnation on me for it doesn't deter me a bit.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.53
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 11/15/2004 12:49:56 PM
Hey Scorpio -
I'm not against divorce (if only to end abusive relationshipos). I'm against remarriage until the children from the first marriage reach 18. Most marriages end in divorce and a good chunck of childhood poverty is caused by divorced parents who fail to meet child support obligations. I think the Reds would support this limitation on marriage.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.146.11
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 11/16/2004 10:12:18 PM
And it's not the religion of the whacked out South.
I'm from the South. And my form of Christianity would scare the sin right out of most your mainstream Christains. Also many of the black voters who may be very religious also often vote very Democratic without it being a problem to their religion. It's more a matter of viewpoint.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Restatement
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/15/2004 09:45:21 PM
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BODY:
As Pudentilla said in the comments to the last post, she actually thinks that no remarriages should be allowed to those with minor children. Divorce is ok -- and of course, in the case of domestic violence, it is probably preferrable to trying to induce a batterer to give up his [or very occasionally her] ways.
Linking back to my old post on whether marriage is a sacrament, I suggested that remarriage not be allowed to anyone for several years should they decide to divorce. While it would not stop people from living with others or keep them from having relations, it would definitely put a crimp in merry-go-round marriages.
Personally, I intend to take my own advice. It has been over 10 years since I was last married, and I don't plan to do it again.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Mary Kay
EMAIL: marykay@kare.ws
IP: 24.19.2.200
URL: http://marykay.typepad.com/gallimaufry
DATE: 11/17/2004 08:19:27 PM
Personally, I intend to take my own advice. It has been over 10 years since I was last married, and I don't plan to do it again.
Heh. That's what I thought too. And then there was Jordin. I think it was 13 years after I divorced the first husband that he and I got married.
MKK
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Let's Cut to the Chase
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/16/2004 08:44:10 PM
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BODY:
Let's just see the US Senate change the rules so that any Republican can just push a Democrat off the podium in mid-sentence. Another to forbid riders by the opposition on bills proposed by Republicans. Another conferring automatic majorities on all Judicial candidates. Another saying that Republicans in Congress who go to jail can keep their seats and telecommute to Congress from prison.
Is that enough changes? Can we think of anything else to improve the amount of spoils so all they have to do is have an unpaid-for pork fest??
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Some Proposal!
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/18/2004 04:44:50 PM
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BODY:
Why do administration "proposals" sound so much like "bend over"?
According to today's Washington Post:
Instead the administration plans to push major amendments that would shield interest, dividends and capitals gains from taxation, expand tax breaks for business investment and take other steps intended to simplify the system and encourage economic growth, according to several people who are advising the White House or are familiar with the deliberations.
The changes are meant to be revenue-neutral. To pay for them, the administration is considering eliminating the deduction of state and local taxes on federal income tax returns and scrapping the business tax deduction for employer-provided health insurance, the advisers said.
Yes, you read that right. So that the rich can have another tax cut, your employer will have to pay taxes on the money currently used to pay for your health insurance. Aren't Bush health insurance proposals novel? Not just anyone would think up this atrocity.
It's time to get the insurance lobby up in arms over this, for it will cause many people to drop insurance when previously free benefits require an employee fee. That is almost the only way for the business to make up for the tax write off -- charge employees about 30% of the amount of their health insurance.
I hope all those Republicans have a good stash of KY. They are gonna need it.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scaramouche
EMAIL: ScaramoucheBlog@netscape.net
IP: 216.175.95.222
URL: http://scaramoucheblog.blogspot.com
DATE: 11/19/2004 12:35:18 AM
Scorpio my friend,
Look on the bright side, this will be a boon for alternative medicine. In that, we will all be looking for alternatives...
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Takeoff on Oliver Willis
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/20/2004 07:03:14 PM
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BODY:
Democrats believe that
3,732,400 square miles
of the USA are a
Free Speech Zone.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Undoing Carter
CONVERT BREAKS: 0
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/21/2004 04:19:09 PM
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BODY:
It was during Carter's presidency that the Presidential Yacht was decommissioned. Since that time, Presidents have suffered along without one. Until now.
In the new $388 billion spending package, is there armor for the troops? No, but there is provision for a new Presidential Yacht. Right. Maybe Bush will use it to sail out to aircraft carriers instead of wasting jet fuel! A conservation effort, yeah, that's the ticket!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.60
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 11/23/2004 09:51:24 AM
It's hard work looting Social Security and screwing up the Middle East. The man needs a place to relax, gosh-darn it.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: She
CATEGORY: Remembering
DATE: 11/23/2004 04:52:37 PM
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BODY:
She was tall and blonde and adventuresome.
At 49 she had a major stroke. No family history of stroke. No particular reason why this should have happened. They called it "an ischemic event."
Of course it changed her life in major ways. She lost the ability to do math. One hanky movies now take three hankies because a certain amount of control is gone. One leg never worked afterward. The doctor's original prognosis to the rehab unit was "if she survives three weeks I'll be surprised."
And over the years since, diabetes and heart disease have been added to the mix.
Tonight I go to celebrate her 62nd birthday. It's in a nursing home because a cut on the foot is a danger to her, and she has to be there until it heals; and this is the first time in all the years that it has not been at her house.
May it be at home next year.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Kevin Hayden
EMAIL: kahlil@despammed.com
IP: 67.171.208.255
URL: http://www.reachm.com/amstreet/
DATE: 11/24/2004 01:31:45 AM
Izzat yer Mum? Whoever... I wish her a speedy recovery, years of good health to come and to both and all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Why Theirs and Not Ours?
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/24/2004 12:06:42 PM
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BODY:
Westerners are protesting the results of the Ukraine election because the pro-soviet who was lower in the exit polls has taken the election.
Well, the person who was lower in the US exit polls did the same thing. Where is the protest that the wrong person is claiming victory?
If it's good for them, it's good for us. Let the recounts commence. Here.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Family Again
CATEGORY: Economics
CATEGORY: Remembering
DATE: 11/25/2004 01:50:08 PM
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BODY:
A lot of the "state of the family" complaints could actually be laid right at the feet of the corporate America of the 1950s. Hear me out.
Families used to live in geographic areas where grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins all clustered together. Families were not the small universe of mom, pop, and kids -- they were complex communities with people of all ages.
In the 1950s, corporations, through their promotion policies, created a class of corporate gypsies -- men who wanted to advance in their careers had to be willing to uproot their wives and children and move to different locations in pursuit of higher corporate positions. This became more and more common, and it created that class called the "nuclear" family -- a term more ironically accurate than most wish to acknowledge. Mom, pop and kids, isolated from their communities, their origins, and their extended families, had more and more material goods, and fewer community standards. Synthetic communities just did not have the strength of organic ones that were made of relatives.
Long hours and opportunities for infidelity grew for both men and women. Divorce became more common. With the coming of the pill (and until there was AIDS), a freedom from consequences overcame the stability of the truncated "nuclear" family, resulting in major social meltdown. There are many who really hate the facts of how marriage broke down.
No-fault divorce, which was meant to allow battered women to get out of a marriage with a "faithful" but abusive husband, soon became the vehicle for every person who wanted out because the grass was greener elsewhere. Any spouse who does not wish to divorce is purely out of luck. It's the Arab system: "I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee." True, Americans have to go to court and split the property and haggle over the kids to do this, while Arabs don't have to; but that is because they are brighter than we are, and often lay out the terms of divorce in the marriage contract. When the words are said, they know who gets the candlesticks, the sons, the daughters.
I know I have written this before: we need to put the fault back into divorce.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: 100 Million Dollars
CATEGORY: Education
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/26/2004 08:21:08 PM
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BODY:
100 million dollars is the amount that Congress is appropriating for abstinence education. One can't actually call it sex education without adding an 'anti-' in front.
I just want to know: who is naive enough to believe that even 100 million dollars is enough to convince teens not to have sex?
I suppose that Congress will be making Tooth Fairy appropriations next instead of providing dental education.
We know that they are in the Santa business, and merely want to know if a company has been a Donor Corporation, or whether they are a No-Porky-No-Bid-Contract-For-You company. The only welfare the Bush administration indulges in is Corporate Welfare.
And as for the mockery that Congress is funding, their idea of what to tell people is so biased toward fantasy that it really cannot accurately be described as education.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Quel Surprise
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 11/27/2004 11:37:32 PM
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BODY:
Now that Bush has been elected, Pakistan is breaking off the search for Bin Laden in its border regions:
"The announcement late Friday came a day after a Pakistani army commander said repeated searches by the military have failed to turn up any trace of bin Laden in the tribal lands.
"(Bin Laden) requires his own protection, and the kind of security apparatus that he is supposed to have around him, that gives a very big signature," said Lt. Gen. Safdar Hussain, military chief of northwest Pakistan, according to a translation from Reuters News Agency.
"There is not an inch of South Waziristan or the tribal area which we have not swept time and again, and if he was here in the tribal areas, I can assure you that he wouldn't have escaped my eyes and ears."
I don't suppose that the same thing was evident a month ago, do you? Did Mr. Bush persuade Pakistan to pretend to hunt until after the election? What kind of scam can we expect next?
Stay tuned for Four More Years.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: I Wish
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Television
DATE: 11/28/2004 09:58:14 PM
-----
BODY:
I wish that Right Blogistan didn't think that Dan Rather's retirement was their doing.
Only think of all the people who should not be at their jobs -- Judith Miller for one. Rush Limbaugh, who belongs in the clutches of the judicial system for his choice of recreation.
At 73, Rather is not exactly bailing out early. Under a shadow? Perhaps. But not at the behest of Right Blogistan.
More on Right and Might tomorrow, perhaps.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Right and Might
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 11/29/2004 04:58:24 PM
-----
BODY:
Like Tena at First Draft, I don't find that the 22% who cited "moral values" on exit polls (down from 40% in 1996) is something that deserves to drive a culture change.
So, the moral majority, which never was to begin with, has been steadily shrinking for almost a decade now. It makes sense that the Religious Right have seized this moment to make as much noise as possible. It covers up the fact that the noise they are making is not being terribly well-received - by anyone outside of the American media, which is not exactly known for being on the cutting edge of cultural trend.
The irritating thing about news organizations is their institutional memory. Flatly, it sucks. The news as we see it today has no ability to look at numbers across years. The crass, brass Christianists who are now claiming that Bush "owes them" are no better than any other set of special-interest lobbyists. They are just a lot bolder about demanding payoff.
If this administration does make a payoff, it is time for every citizen to start hollering, and not stop until Congress refuses the blackmail that Christianists are demanding. Calling for a payoff in the name of religion is, if anything, more warped and criminal than the usual lobby and corporate payola.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: More Poison
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Religion
CATEGORY: Science
DATE: 11/30/2004 04:55:16 PM
-----
BODY:
The video at this site is extremely graphic. If you want to start talking thorough anti-abortion, you owe it to yourself and to women all over the world to go see this video until it is a part of your long-term memory.
No, I'm not recommending abortion any more than I ever do. I am recommending that the poisoning of land is an unmatched crime, and the US has been committing that crime during the past three wars by using ammunition based on depleted uranium.
There is some controversy over whether the children in the video are a result of depleted Uranium or of other things. I do know that there have been reports of children born deformed in Iraq already, and that servicemen have had similar problems. Many of our troops are suffering from what is essentially radiation poisoning.
Depleted uranium is disastrously harmful to the unborn -- or to their parents who pass it on.
Until you are talking no more of this, your opinion on reproduction is nothing but self-serving bullshit.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Modest Proposal :)
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Religion
CATEGORY: Television
DATE: 12/02/2004 05:59:20 PM
-----
BODY:
I started thinking about what sort of environment would lead to a more "moral" country.
I concluded that school prayer and pledges of allegiance would not do much -- after all, my grammar school had prayers, Bible reading, the Pledge, America's Creed, patriotic songs -- all the trappings that the right wing pleads for -- and I don't think it made a difference.
At last, I reluctantly considered what the FCC is doing with regard to bare flesh and cussing on the air. I don't know whether they make a difference. I know what the First Amendment considerations are. Somehow, we have drifted away from "artistic" expression into *any* expression. I'd like to say that I thought that Powell was totally wrong, but I am not sure I do think so. I think he *should* lay out rules clearly so that TV stations can adhere; but I don't think I am opposed to his attempt to stem the tide of televised sewage.
I decided, actually, that the best thing I could think of to do was to *add* something to the FCC experiment. Fine networks 10,000 for each violent death televised, whether real or simulated, and 5,000 for each violent injury.
I wonder what that would do toward a better society.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: You Mean Someone Noticed?
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/03/2004 09:24:10 PM
-----
BODY:
Avedon Carol discusses presidential press conferences in today's Sideshow:
Does anyone remember this AJR story over the summer that explained how Knight-Ridder gave the best coverage to the debate over invading Iraq precisely because they didn't have "good" White House access? And haven't I been pointing out for years now that for actual news coverage of the administration, having "access" doesn't give you any better insight into events than just reading the transcripts and press releases would?
Especially since Scott McClellan succeeded Ari Fleischer, press conferences have become more and more surreal, with sound bytes substituted for answers. All that a questioner gets is evasions in place of answers, advertisements for a given thing on a given day -- without let and without sense.
Transcripts of press conferences have become routines that could have been interpolated into Through the Looking Glass or a boring version of Monty Python. Sometimes I wonder how reporters can go and sit through them -- but I suppose that someone pays them to do just that whether or not the dummy up front makes any sense.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Skippy Says
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/03/2004 10:02:25 PM
-----
BODY:
Skippy says get a look at this spoof cnn page. And be sure to click on Full Story. Even the URLs are a wonderful spoof.
Someone will eventually get really ticked at the artistic look-and-feel and have these pages wiped, but until then, enjoy.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Slow Day
CATEGORY: Books
DATE: 12/04/2004 08:25:36 PM
-----
BODY:
Traffic is way down, and the real world is pretty busy.
Did shopping at Costco -- avoiding the satanic Waltons. The only trouble is that it is impossible to get out of there for under 150.00. Oh well.
Someone gave me the Jon Stewart's America for my Scorpio birthday -- so far so good. I've read several other books, including Cally's War by John Ringo and Julie Cochrane, Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton, and several paperbacks by Wen Spencer. Of these, Incubus Dreams was a waste of time unless you really want book-length pornography. It has hardly any story between its sex scenes. The Anita Blake books used to have a good (if often gory) story, but the series has fallen on harder times, so to speak. Narcissus in Chains was about the last Hamilton book to really have a plot, and Incubus Dreams finally descends to the point where there is almost no plot left. Ah well -- maybe Laurell's friends will curb future excesses in this direction -- one can hope.
What really bothers me is when a writer becomes so untouchable that an editor can't bring him- or herself to say "cut 60,000 words". In some ways, this situation now applies to several of my favorites. David Weber went on forever in War of Honor. 60,000 fewer words wouldn't have hurt a bit. The same with A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin. Both of them are really nice guys with sweet young lady editors who don't seem to know when to tell them to cut their work -- and that's too bad, because I think that their novels suffer from this greed for word-count.
Call it the Robert Jordan phenomenon -- that is someone whose work I just won't read. I made it almost halfway through his first Wheel of Time book and put it down to move six years ago. I never found a reason to go back to it. People who are too deep in the series to back out say that at first the characters found a talisman every book, but soon a volume would go without that -- and so the story has stretched with fewer and fewer steps toward resolution -- and his readers resent that but keep reading. That's crazy -- life is too short to put up with stuff like that.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Josh Canel / QuickSauce
EMAIL: quicksauce@yahoo.com
IP: 4.225.90.162
URL: http://quicksauce.blogspot.com
DATE: 12/05/2004 03:24:18 PM
Wow! It is interesting to read your Robert Jordan comments. For as long as those books are, I, and all my friends who have read at least some of them, read them so quickly. And we like them. I do think the story kind of ran away from him, but he paces so well (to my tastes) that it didn't matter. I'm sort of hoping that Jordan just keeps it up until the last page when the whole world blows up.
Of course, this is coming from someone who lists Kafka's The Castle among his favorite books, and I'm currently reading Proust. I suppose I'm not deterred by a plot "going nowhere."
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Bush Administration Values
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/05/2004 06:59:37 PM
-----
BODY:
New US Homeland Chief Fathered Daughter in Korea
By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter
Bernard Kerik, the man tasked with protecting the United States from the threat of terrorist attacks, fathered a daughter with a South Korean woman while serving on the peninsula in the mid-1970s, U.S. media reported over the weekend.
Kerik, who was selected to replace Tom Ridge as secretary of the Homeland Security Department on Thursday, had the baby with a woman identified as Sun-ja after arriving in South Korea as a 19-year-old military policeman in December 1974, according to several reports.
The baby, named Lisa, was born in 1975. But Kerik deserted her and her mother when he left the country in February 1976.
Oh, he was sorry he did it. I suppose no one ever told him tht "sorry" doesn't cut it. He has had a herd of kids, probably by several different mothers. I'm sure his is just the man I want looking out for security. Oh yeah.
Patriotism to serve 3 of the 6 months he was assigned to Iraq. Iraqis still as untrained when he left as when he arrived. Model parent. Model citizen. Typical Bush appointee.
[via Natasha at Pacific Views]
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.66
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 12/06/2004 07:17:43 AM
But Scorpio, he's loyal to Il Ducetto.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Josh Canel / QuickSauce
EMAIL: quicksauce@yahoo.com
IP: 4.225.95.92
URL: http://quicksauce.blogspot.com/
DATE: 12/06/2004 04:33:06 PM
I'm not saying that I am behind Kerik (or opposed, at this point) for SoHS, but isn't it a little unfair to use his lack of parenting skills as a criterion for the job he has been nominated to? I mean, I didn't care that Clinton got a blowjob because it had nothing to do with his ability as president. So, this guy's a deadbeat. Oh, well. As long as he knows how to "protect the homeland."
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scorpio
EMAIL: eccentric_00@hotmail.com
IP: 66.142.54.51
URL:
DATE: 12/06/2004 05:35:42 PM
I'm not the least sure he *does* know how -- he's no politician, and the job includes coordinating over a dozen government departments.
His brief sojurn in Iraq pretty much proved he could not tran Iraqis to defend *their* homeland. I don't expect that he will be a real winner at the game here, either -- to our likely detriment, unfortunately.
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Here Ya Go
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/06/2004 06:14:46 PM
-----
BODY:
Take Back the Media has a new video.
It's all still true. You know, I really don't look forward to four more years of Team Bush, even with new players.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.66
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 12/07/2004 08:22:34 AM
Bless your heart. Like a great cup of coffee first thing in the morning.
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: New Addition
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 12/07/2004 07:03:32 PM
-----
BODY:
Today I added Douglas McDaniel to the blogroll. I'd had him bookmarked at work, and today I read down his entries and they were so clear I decided I had to put him on board. Go take a look.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Once Again
CATEGORY: Remembering
DATE: 12/08/2004 04:36:19 PM
-----
BODY:
A member of the KC Science Fiction Society has died, and tonight is phase one of the funeral.
This is the kind of group that does what is expected for parts one and two. Then in addition, we hold a wake where we tell all the stories that are probably not fit for people who aren't SF fans.
The man who died made it a tradition that someone had to vote against everything we do. We are an unusually harmonious group as groups of fans go, so Mikey made it a point to vote no every time we voted for anything. It became a policy to have a designated Mikey if we were voting and he happend to be gone.
From now on, there will always be a "designated Mikey." How often is someone remembered at every vote? Only Mikey.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: No Words Harsh Enough
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/09/2004 05:09:47 PM
-----
BODY:
There really are no words harsh enough to discuss how incompetently the Bush administration has dealt with US troops. From the "town hall meeting":
Army Spc. Thomas Wilson had asked Rumsfeld, “Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles?†Shouts of approval and applause arose from other soldiers who had assembled in an aircraft hangar to see Rumsfeld.
Rumsfeld hesitated and asked Wilson to repeat his question.
“We do not have proper armored vehicles to carry with us north,†Wilson, 31, of Nashville, Tenn., concluded after asking again.
“You go to war with the Army you have,†Rumsfeld replied, “not the Army you might want or wish to have."
That quote isn't only insulting, it's downright inaccurate.
Part of the blame for the armor situation lies squarely with Congress. Remember the infamous 87 billion that Kerry voted for? It specified armor purchases. The 87 billion that passed, of course, had no such provision.
It is a disgrace that in the second year of an optional war, every man, woman and vehicle is not adequately equipped. In the rush to test their neocon fantasies, the Bush administration went to war while our military was not prepared. Is that the fault of the troops? Is it an excuse to call them "the army we have"?
Rumsfeld turns my stomach. Bush, blathering that the troops deserve the best while signing bills that destroy their benefits and medical care, that do not specifically provide for their equipment and supplies is an unparallelled, bloody hypocrite -- and every person who voted for him is responsible for their plight as well.
You wanted these people to lead, even when they had proved beyond a shadow of a doubt to rational folks that they were completely incompetent. So take your leadership and the blood you are responsible for spilling and wear it proudly on your soul.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.66
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 12/10/2004 09:47:28 AM
[blogwhoring = on]
Pudentilla explains why the Pentagon armor scandal will not force Rummy's resignation.
[blogwhoring = off]
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.146.11
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 12/12/2004 04:22:02 PM
Would seem Scorp is getting a bit bothered by the uneducated masses and their uneducated choices.
Never forget many of them neither have the time nor ability to sift through scores of web pages to gain some bit of truth. Instead relying on a media they trust cannot, will not lie to them about things.
And don't be mislead into believing Bush and Rummy are the heads of the snake. They are but high level puppets in a much larger game. So even though you and I know they spout lies soo glibbly and even though most Americans have come to not only believe all politicians lie, but also to expect it.
So indeed America is getting exactly what it deserves. Politicians who lie and gleefully loot our treasury for their and their friends profit. Just what we expect.
But I have met those who feel strongly Bush was the only choice. I could argue with them but instead often ask them why. Ask them to explain why he was the best choice without bashing them with factoids of his failures. Most often the response deals with not changing horses during a battle. And in a sick way it kind of makes sense.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scorpio
EMAIL: eccentric_00@hotmail.com
IP: 66.142.228.39
URL:
DATE: 12/13/2004 08:06:24 PM
Oh, at least one person I work with said that she wanted to keep the same person during a war.
But the war he started on purpose to give him a legacy? Madness!
I referred to it as not changing horses in mid-apocalypse.
I don't understand people who will keep the corrupt and incompetent because they are afraid of change. Ah well.
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Wah!
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/10/2004 08:39:42 PM
-----
BODY:
Who knew that a soldier might be so mean as to ask a question we all would like the answer to, an unfair question that he posed after being coached by a reporter?
Tom Wilson, the soldier who asked Rummy about the inadequate armor to the cheers of 2300 of his companions, was coached!
Gasp!
So Unfair to Rummy, who did not expect a real question!
The way Republicans whine at the stupidest stuff really turns my stomach. Who knew that war criminals were so sensitive? Who knew that people who'd invade a country and kill thousands of civilians to test out their vision of the Middle East could feel it is unfair to be asked why the troops they used were still inadequately supplied over a year later?
You just can't trust anyone.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Nominee Withdraws
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/11/2004 09:46:17 AM
-----
BODY:
CNN says Bernard Kerik has withdrawn himself from nomination for Homeland Security head. The "reason" is that he once employed an undocumented alien as a nanny and thus avoided taxes and Social Security.
Still. Still. With the number of crimes that this administration has just plain ignored and belittled, you have to wonder what things there were, still lurking, that the background investigation didn't have time to find.
No, I won't speculate in writing, but doing it in my head has been interesting.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Debi
EMAIL: HeartSoulHumor@yahoo.com
IP: 69.166.209.51
URL: http://www.HeartSoulandHumor.blogspot.com
DATE: 12/11/2004 10:52:00 PM
For the real scoop on Kerik, go to DemWatch.com. Scott Shields did good investigative work there on him.
Nice blog! (from fellow scorpio)
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Noooooo
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/12/2004 04:36:04 PM
-----
BODY:
Susan at Suburban Guerilla suggests it could be time for a Third Continental Congress to assess the direction of our country.
This is a suggestion that has haunted my nightmares for years.
Whe the first and second Continental Congresses met, the speed of a horse was fast travel, and the printed word was the most splendid means of mass communication available.
There is no way a current group could be dispassionate enough and isolated enough to form a deliberative body free from lobbyist pressures and special interests. Can you imagine the bellow of the Christianists, claiming that their god must have preeminence? Can you listen in your imagination to the chemical, oil, and energy lobbies ? Agriculture? Pharmaceuticals? All the people currently feeding at the troughs the Bush administration has placed out and filled with pork?
The idea of letting anyone be subject to the barrage that constitutes "free speech" and then charging them to write a document good for the fair governing of a democracy-in-a-republic is one of my long-standing nightmares for good reason. I'm not willing to trust that we would get a government that could not be even more wretchedly subverted than the one we have now.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Susie from Philly
EMAIL: suburbanguerrilla@verizon.net
IP: 70.20.147.190
URL: http://www.suburbanguerrilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 12/13/2004 07:31:05 AM
Oh, come on. It would only be symbolic, anyway - but a powerful symbol, at that. Why are you freaking out about something that would have no legal standing whatsoever?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: John P. Hoke
EMAIL: john.hoke@gmail.com
IP: 198.151.41.204
URL: http://john.hoke.org/
DATE: 12/13/2004 02:30:08 PM
Lots of things with no legal standing what so ever have consequences ...
The Declaration of Independance had no legal standing at all either... until we had a war to make it so.
Feh
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scorpio
EMAIL: eccentric_00@hotmail.com
IP: 66.142.228.39
URL:
DATE: 12/13/2004 05:49:47 PM
I largely agree with John here. If the price is not life, fortune and sacred honor, and the purpose is not change, why bother?
If it's just to jabber about who will bell the cat, one ought not dignify it by calling it a Constitutional Convention, because Constitutional Conventions have only met with revision of the Constitution as a goal. Anything less, and it should be called Chit Chat -- and I don't particularly care about folks who want to get together to complain.
Take a look at party platforms as an example of what I think would occur.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Josh Canel
EMAIL: quicksauce@yahoo.com
IP: 4.225.92.110
URL: http://quicksauce.blogspot.com/
DATE: 12/13/2004 08:41:01 PM
I mostly agree with Scorpio and John. My only reservation is the fact that, at some point, the current system will crash, maybe not in our lifetimes (there's no arguing with the Second Law of Thermodynamics). It may not yet be time for another Constitutional Convention, but there will be a time for one. I guess I should be reassured that I don't believe things have gotten bad enough for it to be necessary.
An interesting thought experiment: at what point *would* you think a CC would be a necessary risk?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: John P. Hoke
EMAIL: john.hoke@gmail.com
IP: 12.42.226.34
URL: http://john.hoke.org/
DATE: 12/13/2004 08:55:39 PM
Hmm...
I think a CC should be held off until such a time as we have TRUE LEADERS who can lead, not just dictate.
a CC will require someone with Franklin's skill at diplomacy, Jefferson's foresight and Washington's strength.... none of which are on the national stage right now (few exceptions maybe... but the exceptions that prove the rule).
I do not think the current numbnuts could have a convention to discuss lunch let alone the Constitution of the United States
Gyah!
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Getcha Tinfoil Hat Right Heayah!
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/13/2004 09:44:00 PM
-----
BODY:
Urban Scrawl lists the 14 Points of Facism by Dr. Lawrence Britt. Is anyone going to be surprised that we are pretty much there already? I didn't think so.
I wonder how Germans felt in 1938 -- I really do.
Hoffmania points to an article saying that Russia, India and China are headed for a summit -- to counter the US, of course.
Wow. Not even inaugural day, and we're in big trouble thanks to the GOP's brilliant inability to handle the economy, foreign relations and war. With Russia's land mass, India's workforce in American companies and China's ownership of much of our economy, there ain't a hell of a lot we can do about this right now.
I keep edgily wondering when it's going to go crash. Really.
-----
PING:
TITLE: 14 Points.
URL: http://www.rooksrant.com/archives/2004/12/14_points.html
IP: 216.239.142.2
BLOG NAME: Rook's Rant
DATE: 12/15/2004 10:25:29 PM
The question isn't how many of these apply, because that would require a long answer, but how many of these haven't happened yet in the US, because that would be the shorter answer. From Urban Scrawl: The 14 Defining Characteristics...
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Good For Him
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/15/2004 04:38:46 PM
-----
BODY:
Rumor has it that Joe Lieberman has declined at least two Cabinet positions in the Bush administration.
I'm actually impressed. If he gave up his Senate seat, it is likely that the Republican governor of CT would replace him with a Republican. Lieberman, for all his negative publicity, is a reasonably solid Democrat. Replacing him when we come around to the inevitable Judicial appointments votes would not be a Good Thing for the country.
It's nice to see that he is staying where he is.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Debi
EMAIL: HeartSoulHumor@yahoo.com
IP: 69.166.209.51
URL: http://www.HeartSoulandHumor.blogspot.com
DATE: 12/15/2004 07:19:37 PM
I have never much been impressed with Joe, but this was a good move by him. Three cheers for Joe Lieberman!
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: What An Opportunity!
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/16/2004 06:38:05 PM
-----
BODY:
Steve at No More Mr. Nice Blog quotes the New york Times on Social Security:
HARRY AND LOUISE ALERT
Get ready for the phony TV commercials backing Bush's Social Security plan:
Anticipating intense opposition from many quarters - including the huge lobbying group for retired people, AARP - administration officials are enlisting support from a wide array of outside groups.
The outside organizations include research groups like the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute and several new groups, some financed by business groups, with names like the "Alliance for Worker Retirement Security" and "Women for Social Security Choice."
"Alliance for Worker Retirement Security." Yeah, that sound you just heard was a rolling sound, and I believe it came from the general direction of Orwell's grave.
Oh better, Steve, better. "Women for Social Security Choice. You want to abort Social Security, don't you? Choice? Your only choice is to murder it. Old People Killer!!"
I *lust* for a group that calls itself "Women for Social Security Choice". The possibility for hack-n-slash parody is almost endless. One hopes it might teach them not to smear the concept of choice.
Oh, they won't learn a thing, but I'll bet they can be made Very Upset in the process of being the butt of jokes. "So you are for Social Security choice? No, you want to keep everyone from having a traditional account -- you really want to *abort* all those traditional accounts, don't you?"
Heh heh.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Yes!
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 12/18/2004 04:26:27 PM
-----
BODY:
Congratulations are in order -- The Sideshow, Avedon Carol's web log is number 3 of the top 100 web pages in the UK.
More popular than Oxford University, the Times and the Sun! More popular than the British Library! Way to go!
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Avedon
EMAIL: avedon@cix.co.uk
IP: 80.229.133.49
URL: http://sideshow.me.uk
DATE: 12/20/2004 07:38:18 PM
More popular than google.co.uk and streetmap.co.uk? I still find this hard to believe. But still, it was an amusing find.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Person of the Year
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/19/2004 06:47:11 PM
-----
BODY:
All things considered, there has to be someone better to name as Person of the Year than George W. Bush.
How about the Abu Ghraib whistleblower, Sgt. Darby?
How about an anonymous dead Iraqi?
How about the amputee veterans coming home?
How about the Guardsmen who have been moved from guards to invaders?
How about the makers of armor?
How about the farmer who wanted to press the frontiers of capitalism by testing his own cows for Mad Cow -- and was stopped by the Feds?
ABB folks, ABB.
-----
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Social Security Reform
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/20/2004 06:06:06 PM
-----
BODY:
It's time to start putting Social Security Reform into little catchphrases that even the slow can grasp.
Save or starve - Basic Social Security Reform.
When you invest, the broker gets his first.
Social Security Reform for Brokers.
Reform means having to PUT MONEY AWAY WITHOUT TOUCHING IT FOR FORTY OR FIFTY YEARS. Yes, even if you go to the hospital, or your car gets stolen, or your kids need to go to school. Social Security Reform. Losing at Both Ends.
Social Security Reform. 2.50 a week, your 1% to retire on. Save it, or it won't save you.
Social Security Reform. A gamble in an unstable stock market.
Social Security Reform. The Rich Get Theirs.
Anyone have more to contribute?
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: PSoTD
EMAIL: losyannigans@yahoo.com
IP: 69.136.90.208
URL: http://aboutpolitics.blogspot.com
DATE: 12/20/2004 08:09:59 PM
The Bush Plan for Social Security: Better Tasting Alpo.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Glen
EMAIL: barbyawp@nyc.rr.com
IP: 167.230.38.115
URL: http://barbyawp.blogspot.com
DATE: 12/22/2004 02:19:25 PM
How about "Social Security. Not in crisis, but under threat."
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.146.11
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 12/25/2004 04:53:59 PM
Social Security Reform. It isn't working in Chile or Britain. Why not emulate it here?
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Unreal
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/22/2004 08:03:05 PM
-----
BODY:
To me it is unreal that Christianists claim they feel marginalized when people say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, but they still feel all fine and Christian when they have voted for a man who signed an Executive Order allowing torture.
Yes indeedy, I guess these are the glorious "values voters" we all heard about in the exit polls.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.66
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 12/23/2004 09:27:54 AM
(blogwhoring=on) Pudentilla explains why the Red Christianist insistence on "Merry Christmas" at the mall is not very Christian at all. (blogwhoring=off)
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Christmas Holiday Greetings
CONVERT BREAKS: 0
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 12/24/2004 06:00:05 PM
-----
BODY:
I hope all of you and yours have a good Christmas day, a fine week, and a healthy and happy year upcoming. Please, more of you stay alive in the year to come. Is that so much to ask?
And since I'm on call until Monday, may we have a few rounds of Silent Night, as well.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Kevin Hayden
EMAIL: kahlil@despammed.com
IP: 67.171.208.255
URL: http://www.reachm.com/amstreet/
DATE: 12/24/2004 06:28:52 PM
A merry Christmas to you too, with a full stocking and a better New Year to ya!
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Christmas
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 12/25/2004 09:54:45 PM
-----
BODY:
Unlike any other year, this Christmas morning started with a visit to a friend in the hospital. Since I've spent at least the last 23 Christmases with the same people, it was necessary to change location this year. We carried all the goodies to the hospital and exchanged gifts sitting around the bed. Sometimes the contents of the packages were the same thing going in two directions. Books. DVDs. Gift cards. This was a one gift sack per person year. I think we have just pretty much lost a taste for a lot of shopping.
On the other hand, my young and perky housemate was doing cookies. Peanut butter and white chocolate chip. Chocolate chip and pecan. Peanut butter with chocolate squares. Sugar cookies. Cashew butter cookies with buttercream frosting. Fudge. Caramel fudge. And then he put it in boxes and went to play elf.
The day had a nap, a tree, enough food, and friends.
I hope all of you had a satisfying and excellent time, as well.
-----
PING:
TITLE: Too Happy
URL: http://scrapbooking.typepad.com/scrapbooking/2004/12/too_happy.html
IP: 66.151.149.17
BLOG NAME: scrapbooking
DATE: 12/30/2004 10:08:16 AM
Link: Eccentricity: Christmas. There are always those that seem to really enjoy all of the Christmas hoopla. It's amazing to me. Where does this come from? I never had a bad Christmas and always do what I have to do
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Let's Rephrase That
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/26/2004 01:07:32 PM
-----
BODY:
The only few bright spots have been online shopping, with sales at the high end of projections, and luxury stores, which have continued with robust sales from their well-heeled customers, who have benefited from the economy's recovery.
So said a Yahoo News Story (which means it may or may not be there when you click the link, but it was there when I read it).
It really should say that well-heeled customers have benefitted from this administration's reluctance to see them pay for their share of the President's Disastrous Adventures. So the diamond merchants, furriers, luxury automakers, and other purveyors of expensive toys have had a fine year, while those of you who actually need low prices are SOL.
And people are passing the hat to make sure the troops can call home or buy food. Yeah, these guys really know how to run a country.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Is Help On The Way?
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 12/26/2004 02:18:37 PM
-----
BODY:
I hope that our country has the resources to send aid to Asia. There are going to be food, housing, water, medicine and everything-else shortages in at least four or five countries after today's disaster. The least we could do is take that grain surplus, load up some planes, and get to hauling it to undamaged areas of the affected countries.
Offer help? Just start sending it.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: I Hope More Is Better
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 12/28/2004 05:49:47 PM
-----
BODY:
While perusing the International Red Cross web site, I saw the suggestion about getting matching donations from work.
That derailed me from contributing today, because tomorrow I can double the amount by filling out a form at work and submitting it to the HR department. No reason not to -- the company will match what I give, so I think waiting to do that is the right choice.
I can't really imagine how horrible it would be to see an oncoming tidal wave, though Heinlein tried to write about it in "Water is for Washing". Sometimes I look at the hill behind my house and wonder if the hill is high enough to avoid getting wet if the sea came back. Never mind. It's just an overactive imagination. They are living a horror that is all too real.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: How About a "Me Too"
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 12/29/2004 06:24:16 PM
-----
BODY:
With over 80,000 deaths and multi-thousands whose homes and workplaces have been demolished, it really makes me wonder when I read repeatedly that 12 Americans are confirmed dead.
Sure, their families will grieve. And sure, the thousands who are still missing will probably leave their families wondering forever.
But what about all those brown people? The non-Americans? With twelve countries hit by this wave, it disturbs me to see how much press is about a few Americans.
The American survivors did have a special problem, however. The CNN story innocuously titled American Diver Underwater During Catastrophe tells the story of how the US embassy people were behaving. Ever since my one trip to the American Consul in Frankfurt, which was a Bad Trip indeed, I've wondered what other consulates were like. Be sure and read about this. You do *not* want to be an American overseas who needs help. Ever.
This was the one American story that really merited coverage. It is valuable to know that your embassy people will hide in the VIP lounge of the airport and charge you for a passport picture when everything you have has been sucked out to sea.
But otherwise, I am Very Tired of reading about Americans and their traumas. I am sorry that initial aid offered is less than the amount the Bushies are spending on their party a few weeks from now. I'm sorry that we can't behave better, and that Our President is such a sorry excuse for a human being.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: natasha
EMAIL: natasha.that@gmail.com
IP: 4.5.91.68
URL: http://www.pacificviews.org
DATE: 12/29/2004 08:36:41 PM
Amen. Our government is a complete embarassment, and so is our media, mostly for failing to notice that.
-----
PING:
TITLE: Over 80,000 Dead
URL: http://www.pacificviews.org/weblog/archives/000816.html
IP: 65.19.165.2
BLOG NAME: Pacific Views
DATE: 12/29/2004 09:55:24 PM
That figure from this BoingBoing postabout online relief efforts. Eighty thousand people. That we know of. That's 40 times as many as died on 9/11, and our president stayed at the ranch clearing brush. BoingBoing also posts on an NBC...
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PING:
TITLE: Fire Tucker Carlson, Now
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com/
IP: 67.18.73.162
BLOG NAME: Pudentilla's Perspective
DATE: 12/30/2004 09:57:56 AM
Tucker also interviewed an American couple who were snorkling when the tsunami hit (and as a consequence, survived). The transcript of the interview is here. Imagine our surprise today when we discovered via Scorpio that CNN posted a story, yesterday...
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Yahoo's At It Again
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 12/30/2004 01:51:40 PM
-----
BODY:
I got this e-mail from a friend today:
Internet privacy is such an issue these days, I wanted to share this post from one of my knitting groups:
For your information ... Yahoo is now using something called "Web Beacons" to track Yahoo Group users around the net and see what you're doing and where you are going - similar to cookies. Yahoo is recording every website and every group you visit. Take a look at their updated privacy statement:
>http://privacy.yahoo.com/privacy
About half-way down the page, in the section on cookies, ou will see a link that says web beacons.
Click on the phrase web beacons. That will bring you to a paragraph entitled "Outside the Yahoo Network."
In this section you'll see a little "click here to opt out" link that will let you "opt-out" of their new method of snooping.
Once you have clicked that link, you are exempted.
Notice the "Success" message on the top of the next page. Be careful because on that page there is a "Cancel Opt-out" button that, if clicked, will **undo** the opt-out.
Feel free to forward this to other groups. By the By - Happy New Year!
Be aware that this has to be done for each browser on each machine. Fixing it at work won't fix it at home.
I wonder what they'll think of next -- and put way down in the fine print.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.83
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 12/30/2004 05:16:34 PM
Yahoo, aren't they the people who won't release the dead soldier's email account to his father on the grounds that they have to protect the dead soldier's privacy?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: John Hoke
EMAIL: john.hoke@gmail.com
IP: 24.184.88.206
URL: http://john.hoke.org/
DATE: 12/30/2004 05:35:03 PM
Strange...
Well, I use a program called Privoxy installed on each machine to scrape cookies & etc...
its free, open source, and cross platform ...
http://www.privoxy.org/
Worth taking a look at... This message brought to you by the Paranoia Group. And Yes, We are Watching you :)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jillian
EMAIL: cookies4clark@yahoo.com
IP: 64.160.146.116
URL:
DATE: 12/31/2004 12:39:45 PM
thanks for the info!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: hkmacs
EMAIL: info@hkmacs.homeunix.com
IP: 219.77.100.197
URL: http://hkmacs.blogspot.com
DATE: 01/01/2005 08:47:55 PM
Actually this is nothing new. Most tracking services like webcounters (i.e. ServuStats, SiteMeter etc) can give webmasters this information, like where you've come from and where you go next. I doubt that the webmasters at Yahoo! actually have time to go through the millions of records they get every day. However since most websites and ISPs have to keep detailed records (by law in most countries) there's not much you can do about it. That's how governments track down paedophile networks - so it's really not such a bad thing after all. The only disturbing aspect is that your political affiliations can be tracked, which in some countries might not be too wonderful â€" like your's for instance.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Better
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 12/31/2004 12:41:23 PM
-----
BODY:
Via CNN is the news that the US has upped its aid offer to 350 million. That's a bit better.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scaramouche
EMAIL: ScaramoucheBlog@gmail.com
IP: 216.175.91.252
URL: http://scaramoucheblog.blogspot.com/
DATE: 12/31/2004 01:04:20 PM
It's sad they had to be shamed in to giving more but, hey, that's better than nothing.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: We Need Humor
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 01/01/2005 03:49:04 PM
-----
BODY:
The best thing to do in the coming year is make sure we don't get bogged down in being angry -- and the best way to do that is to laugh.
I've added Mad Kane to the roll so that there will always be an eye out for the humor in life. I happen to have a low taste for limericks, and I am happy to point out that Mad has several goodies. The ones I've written are mostly pornographic and sitting on an adult web site. No, I won't tell you where it is or what the other pen name might be. You can read Mad's efforts instead.
Happy New Year to all.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Mad Kane
EMAIL: madkane@madkane.com
IP: 172.140.169.196
URL: http://madkane.com/notable.html
DATE: 01/02/2005 03:09:24 AM
Thanks so much for the nice words and the blogroll link. I enjoy your blog and have added you to my blogroll as well.
Happy new year!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scorpio
EMAIL: eccentric_00@hotmail.com
IP: 66.141.254.68
URL:
DATE: 01/02/2005 06:48:02 PM
Thank you -- glad to point folks in your direction!
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: I Still Hope
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/02/2005 10:16:04 AM
-----
BODY:
For want of a Senator, the 2000 election went to the selection of the Supreme Court by a margin of 5 - 4.
The election of 2004 deserves -- even more than the election of 2000 -- to be questioned in public, and to be shaken like a dead rat.
Avedon Carol at The Sideshow has The Late Stolen Election, a roundup of Ohio election irregularities. She has been following stories of tampering and making digests of the news from Ohio. It has always been a list of dirty dealings that should make a complete Ohio recount imperative.
No one has yet explained, either, the Florida optical machine results. They are flatly unbelievable. And yet no one has taken the Florida election results to court and required a re-reading of the ballots with optical equipment that has been benchmarked for accuracy. Unbelievable.
I hope that this election will be questioned.
Or will we go quietly into the land of tyranny for want of an honest Senator?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.146.11
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 01/02/2005 08:21:14 PM
"an honest Senator?"
extinct.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Too Grown Up
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 01/03/2005 09:28:06 PM
-----
BODY:
Having to help a friend move to a nursing home is not one of the things I expected to do any time soon, though I have many older friends. But it's done now, at least stage one.
A sad thing to have to do.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Ethics
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/03/2005 10:26:51 PM
-----
BODY:
House Republicans decided in favor of ethical rules today. According to the story, both Hastert and DeLay voted in favor of making it a rule that a member of the House under indictment resign his position.
OK. That at least puts the corruption of our leaders back by a point or two.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.89
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 01/04/2005 08:34:06 PM
Yes, but the killed the 200 year old real that prevented them from dissing Senators from the floor.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Argh!
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 01/04/2005 06:08:23 PM
-----
BODY:
Today CNN has a QuickVote that makes me want to call them and holler:
Quick VoteIs the United States prepared to handle a disaster on the scale of the Indian Ocean tsunamis?
See? See what I mean?
The United States is annually unprepared for simple, predictable acts of nature like hurricanes. If tornadoes happen outside Tornado Alley, people are often killed.
Tell me -- if there were a 40 minute warning for a tsunami that would hit the Boston to Washington corridor, how many million people would die? How long would it take to evacuate the lower 40 feet of floors of buildings? How many buildings would collapse? How many would die in their cars in traffic jams -- and/or dragged out to sea in those same cars?
How about if one were to hit Florida and the Gulf Coast? 40 minutes would be enough time to snarl roads beyond belief. The sea would eat them.
What if the Yellowstone caldera exploded? There would be almost no point in attempting to rescue anyone except perhaps at the edges. And what of all the ash in the air? Do you really think we could get all agriculture under glass and lit before we starved?
To act as if we are especially good at evading harsh natural disasters is just plain crazy. I wish CNN would stop asking fatuous questions, really I do.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Politics
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/05/2005 03:06:29 PM
-----
BODY:
Via Skippy is the notice that Barbara Boxer might stand as a Senator in favor of challenging the results of the election if she gets enough positive feedback.
I used Congress.org to write to her and put in zip 92101.
Meanwhile, this e-mail arrived from the former Kerry campaign:
No American citizen should wake up the morning after the election and worry their vote wasn't counted. No citizen should be denied at the polls if they are eligible to vote. And, as the greatest, wealthiest nation on earth, our citizens should never be forced to vote on old, unaccountable and non transparent voting machines from companies controlled by partisan activists.
Tomorrow, members of Congress will meet to certify the results of the 2004 presidential election. I will not be taking part in a formal protest of the Ohio Electors.
Despite widespread reports of irregularities, questionable practices by some election officials and instances of lawful voters being denied the right to vote, our legal teams on the ground have found no evidence that would change the outcome of the election.
But, that does not mean we should abandon our commitment to addressing those problems that happened in Ohio. We must act today to make sure they never happen again.
I urge you to join me in using this occasion to highlight our demand that Congress commit itself this year to reforming the electoral system. A Presidential election is a national federal election but we have different standards in different states for casting and counting votes. We need a national federal standard to solve the problems that occurred in the 2004 election. I will propose legislation to help achieve this.
Florida 2000 was a wake up call. But the Republicans who control Congress ignored it. Will they now ignore what happened in 2004?
There are nearly 3,000,000 of you receiving this email. We accomplished so much together during the campaign. Now let's use our power to make sure that at least one good thing comes from the voting rights problems of the 2004 election. If we want to force real action on election reform, we've got to demand that congressional leaders hold full hearings. Make sure they hear from you and help hold them accountable.
Speaker Dennis Hastert: 1-202-225-0600
Leader Bill Frist: 1-202-224-3135
And please report that you've made your call right here:
http://www.johnkerry.com/signup/electoral_reform.php
I want every vote counted because Americans have to know that the votes they stood in line for, fought for, and strived so hard to cast in an election, are counted. We must make sure there are no questions or doubts in future elections. It's critical to our democracy that we investigate and act to prevent voting irregularities and voter intimidation across the country. We can't stand still as Congressional leaders seek to sweep well-founded voter concerns under the rug.
Please join with me in calling Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist and telling them that you want action on election reform now.
A recent report from Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan) reveals very troubling questions that have not yet been answered by Ohio election officials. I commend the Democratic National Committee for its announcement this week that the DNC will be investing resources and reaching out to non-partisan academics in a long term study of Ohio voting irregularities. I am only sorry that we haven't seen the same from Ohio Secretary of State Blackwell and GOP officials.
Congress must play a positive, proactive role on this issue. That's why I will soon introduce legislation to reform our election system, ensuring transparency and accountability in our voting system and that all Americans have an opportunity to vote and have their vote counted.
Please remember to let us know that you made your call when you're done. We're hoping to ensure House and Senate leaders' offices hear our demand for action on election reform in meaningful way. Please take a moment to let us know you have made your call here: http://www.johnkerry.com/signup/electoral_reform.php
Thank you,
John Kerry
That just pisses me off. He's not going to do anything except tell us to complain to Frist and Hastert. That is disgusting. We should, instead, send money to Boxer or any other person with enough spine to stand up in Congress and defy the cheaters.
So. Whine to Frist? No way. He is a liar and a traitor to science, no less to democracy, fairness and decency. As a Doctor, he is a failure. As a politician, he's compliant slime.
Asking for fairness from such a one is not a sane response.
Kerry has abandoned any principled position he once had on counting votes. He has been remarkably silent in the face of massive fraud. He has sat on 45 million dollars that he collected that were supposed to ensure paying for fair recounts. His request reflects a mindset that does not understand fighting for democracy and fairness.
Enough of him, of his refusal to stand up to fraud, of his silence and his complicity.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Rook
EMAIL: rook@rooksrant.com
IP: 66.41.149.220
URL: http://www.rooksrant.com
DATE: 01/05/2005 07:55:17 PM
As one of the presidential candidates, he has to walk a tight line. If he gets too gung ho it could result in some serious blow back. He's in a no-win situation. If he raises an alarm, he's going to be accused of crying wolf. So he has to sit back and hope others do what I believe he's dying to do: challenge the Ohio vote. I'm betting someone does.
In fact, I've got my money on Hillary Clinton.
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Truth in Media
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Television
DATE: 01/06/2005 05:48:47 PM
-----
BODY:
Two people, Jane Akre and Steve Wilson, took FOX News to court after FOX insisted that they not report any bad news about Monsanto, a chemical firm.
They used the Florida Whistleblower's law to insist that FOX did not have the right to insist that they tell lies. Although they won the first round, FOX appealed and these two people were told not only did FOX have the right to foster telling lies, but that these individuals would have to give FOX 1 million dollars in legal fees reimbursement.
You can go to this link to find out how to help or donate to the cause of truth in news -- for there is anouther round of court coming.
So FOX thinks they have the *right* to tell lies. No wonder their viewers are the most ignorant in the nation.
Their bold approach to mendacity needs to be -- not just smacked down, but pummeled flat.
[via The Sideshow]
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Challenge
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/06/2005 06:11:09 PM
-----
BODY:
It turned out that the only man in the Senate with enough spine to stand up for disenfranchised voters is a woman.
Barbara Boxer joined Representative Conyers to challenge Ohio's electoral votes.
The report is here.
It is a straight report aside from snide comments made by Republicans.
People who claim that they honor our troops and who say we are spreading democracy should not take the allegations about this election lightly. But of course what's good for others and what's good for us are leagues apart, aren't they?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scaramouche
EMAIL: ScaramoucheBlog@gmail.com
IP: 216.175.95.251
URL: http://scaramoucheblog.blogspot.com/
DATE: 01/07/2005 10:54:26 PM
For what's worth, I voted for that lady...
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Today
CATEGORY: Random Events
DATE: 01/06/2005 08:59:42 PM
-----
BODY:
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Friday Cat Blogging
CONVERT BREAKS: 0
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 01/07/2005 06:29:05 PM
-----
BODY:
Today, for Friday Cat Blogging I'm going to add The Snarky Cat to the blogroll.
I like reading what Harry and Jillian have to say. I hope you will look in on them, too.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Crisis?
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/08/2005 11:28:00 PM
-----
BODY:
The only crisis that Social Security has it that it is now on Bush's agenda.
Mr. Fux-it himself wants to screw that up the same way he has fuxed everything he has touched, from overtime and airwaves regulation to foreign affairs and anti-terrorism.
He wants to make it Social Insecurity.
Write to your Senators and congressmen!
Tell them that the only way to save Social Security is to keep Bush's paws off it!
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Currency
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Economics
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/10/2005 02:24:30 PM
-----
BODY:
I lived in Europe during Nixon's administration. Nixon devalued the dollar twice. I have a real, first-hand appreciation of what it looks like to be paid in a currency that floats downward.
I suspect that Bush should do a devaluation just to stave off the break that is coming, but we all know that monetary policy is so far beyond him that he will just let the dollar slide until China decides to do a dump, uncouple the yuan, and start hawking T-bills.
Perhaps that is his "plan" -- to put Social Security into a bind by undermining T-bills via his inaction.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.89
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 01/10/2005 04:07:44 PM
That is the most logical explanation of their dollar policy of I've ever read - and its consistent with O'Neill's analysis of the Minsistry of Excuses: all politics, no policy.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.146.11
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 01/10/2005 05:45:07 PM
Backed into a corner until our options leave us but the choices they want. Yes it does make alot of sense. What doesn't is the blind worship and adoration of the American people as he destroys our country.
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: For the Record
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/11/2005 05:53:57 PM
-----
BODY:
Fred at The Slacktivist says this very well, indeed.
It may be better than the Apostle's Creed.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Ho-Hum Day
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 01/12/2005 07:03:46 PM
-----
BODY:
Just the usual. Presidential lies about Social Security. An admission that there are no WMDs to hunt. Paranoia about the inauguration. A declaration that Bush's hat size is secret.
A plain old ordinary day.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: dragonet2
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.30.12.11
URL:
DATE: 01/13/2005 08:47:08 PM
I'm surprised that he is not requiring that people attending the Inauguration (including standing on the street...) sign a loyalty oath....
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scaramouche
EMAIL: ScaramoucheBlog@gmail.com
IP: 216.175.98.13
URL: http://scaramoucheblog.blogspot.com/
DATE: 01/13/2005 10:13:45 PM
Somedays, I am getting worried that I'm become inured to the constant lies and bullshit from this Administration. Lo and behold, the next day they do or say something that tops their previous benchmark for prevarication and callowness.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Times Change
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/14/2005 04:38:36 PM
-----
BODY:
I was just thinking the other day about something one of Bush's supporters said about him, and how it would have flown during a different war:
He's the Commander-in-Chief and this is wartime. Congress should just go along with him about the legislation he proposes.
Oh, imagine, if you will, saying that about Lyndon Johnson.
Go on! Especially you Bush cheerleaders! Picture Johnson's long face and hear his authentic Texas drawl in your ears, then tell me that the Little Poseur is entitled to a nation of doormats.
But! But the War is Essential to Democracy in [pick one: Indochina/The Middle East].
Yeah yeah, but that still doesn't mean a single thing when one is discussing giving someone carte blanche; to suggest that Bush should have his way is not only disingenuous, it is bullshit.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: 10 Reasons
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/15/2005 04:51:57 PM
-----
BODY:
Why would these rules [thanks, Sid!] be imposed?
Be ready for metal detectors, personal body searches and the highest security in inauguration history
WASHINGTON - The nation's 55th presidential inauguration, the first to be held since 9/11, will take place this month under perhaps the heaviest security of any in U.S. history.
Dozens of federal and local law enforcement agencies and military commands are planning what they describe as the heaviest possible security. Virtually everyone who gets within eyesight of the president either during the Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol or the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue later in the day will first go through a metal detector or receive a body pat-down.
Thousands of police officers and military personnel are being brought to Washington from around the country for the four-day event. Sharpshooters will be deployed on roofs, while bomb-sniffing dogs will work the streets. Electronic sensors will be used to detect chemical or biological weapons.
Anti-abortion protesters have been warned to leave their crosses at home. Parade performers will have security escorts to the bathroom, and they've been ordered not to look directly at President Bush or make any sudden movements while passing the reviewing stand.
Well, let's guess!
1) This keeps participants from noticing that the Prime Participant is naked.
2) Eyeball tracks. He can actually feel eyeball tracks. On the other hand, this could just be one of his symptoms.
3) Robots with Laser Eyes. Many of his supporters believe that someone has develped Robots with Laser Eyes and disguised them as pompom girls or Future Farmers. On the other hand, this may just be a symptom.
4) If they look, they might laugh. Or maybe that is just a symptom.
5) Musical instruments cannot successfully be put through metal detectors, and a boom-boom in a baritone could be aimed if the player looked. Or maybe it's a symptom.
6) If they don't look, all the protestors who refuse to look just become participants obeying orders . Ooooooh, these guys know how to play dirty!
7) Since there will be no cats in the parade, the excuse that they can look at a King is very weak and will be ignored as it deserves to be.
8) There is some speculation that someone on the reviewing stand might be a Basilisk, and we can't have a pile of participants turning to stone right below Bush as it would make him dangerously accessible via a rock climb.
9) Some participant might have the power of the Evil Eye, and we have to take precautions against all dangers, foreign and domestic.
And last, perhaps most accurate:
10) Slaves have never been permitted to look directly at their masters. It is impertinent and disrespectful for them to do so.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: dragonet2
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.30.12.11
URL:
DATE: 01/15/2005 10:54:57 PM
Like I said before. I'm surprised that he's not demanding participants and the public attending to take a loyalty oath of allegience to him and him alone (not the United States) to be allowed to even watch the event in person. What a creepy president.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.146.11
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 01/17/2005 05:05:11 PM
They don't want anyone seeing Satan sitting on the left of the podium.
The snipers have all been trained to watch for twitchy eye movements or sneers aimed Bush's way.
He's got a facial growth that can't be removed. And gets upset when anyone stares at it.
They found out he can only talk coherantly if no one is looking directly at him.
He tends to chase sudden movements barking even though Rove and Cheney have done their best to train it out of him. Can't teach an old dog new tricks.
The drugs make him insecure and prone to seeing trails.
And on the note of electronic sensors. Better hope they don't serve beans. The large methane count could trigger the sensors of a possible biological attack. True protestors could show their disdain by farting up a security alert.
The body patdowns aren't a problem really in that it's the most sex alot of those showing up will be getting this year. Many have been reported to go through the patdown line numerous times just for fun.
To prove that point I'd like to mention the protestors they expect and hope will show up. The anti abortion protestors. Leave those crosses at home. Sunlight, garlic, holy water, and crosses are off the list folks. But please bring your repressive beliefs. Oh, and you anti war folks. Step to the back please.
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Verbal Creep
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/17/2005 07:37:43 PM
-----
BODY:
I am trying to remember when the word "conservative" started to shift. Currently, right wing folks up to and including contemporary facists are co-opting the term to mean war-mongering deficit spenders who will give 11 trillion in tax cuts while claiming that Social Security has a "crisis" that can only be solved by using 3 trillion dollars to give investments companies a bonanza totalled in billions.
How did this happen?
OK, Goldwater was a right-winger, and the Birchers supported him. Birchers were the extreme then -- not the average commentator on AM radio, as we have now.
But when did someone get to call himself "conservative" while tossing billions into a snipe hunt for nonexistent weapons? When did one become a conservative while proposing a whole string of foreign wars? What is conservative about lying ? About handing welfare to entire industries?
What is conservative about secret laws, unlimited imprisonment of foreigners, military tribunals, and a lust for power with zero responsibility?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.49
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 01/18/2005 08:06:40 AM
"Deficits Don't Matter" Reagan and the Laffer curve on economic matters.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Derbig Mooser
EMAIL: mooser42001@yahoo.com
IP: 66.195.32.119
URL: http://moosehall.blogspot.com/
DATE: 01/18/2005 12:53:43 PM
Get the same confused feeling from the terms "right" and "left"!
Any position short of slitting Grandma's jugular for a pack of gum is described as "left wing"!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: dragonet2
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.30.12.11
URL:
DATE: 01/18/2005 11:28:22 PM
Mr. Goldwater is likely spinning in his grave (I can hear a fine hum) - he was a true conservative, screw Republican or Democrat, who would be totally appalled at how government is being run now.
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Her Lips Are Moving
CONVERT BREAKS: 0
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/19/2005 07:01:16 PM
-----
BODY:
Simbaud at King of Zembla put it very well:
When we left off yesterday, the nominee had testily asked Sen. Barbara Boxer not to "impugn [her] integrity" by the unforgivable smear tactic of direct quotation;
OK -- it is clear that this is a definition of "if her lips are moving, she's lying."
How can anyone believe what Condoleezza Rice says?
The Rude Pundit says it even clearer. I think I'm in love with the Rude Pundit.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Week's Best Humor
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 01/19/2005 09:46:15 PM
-----
BODY:
Special Report of Inaugural Balloons [via The Sideshow].
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: To Be Inspired
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/20/2005 10:08:38 PM
-----
BODY:
You Gotta Believe! And his lips are moving....
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: What an Interesting Idea
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/21/2005 04:23:43 PM
-----
BODY:
Madeline Kane has done it again.
She has started a new web site, President Boxer, with a new candidate in mind.
I don't know enough about Boxer yet, but I do know a couple of important things: she has more spine than the entire rest of the Senate. She articulates progressive values. She asks better questions than the rest of her confreres.
If Boxer has a campaign fund-raiser, I will make one or more donations, just because we need her in public life.
I suspect that Boxer would not lie down in the face of election fraud. I think we need someone who can stand up, and so far she's it.
So perhaps Madeline isn't the least bit Mad.
Welcome to the blogroll -- I'll be watching.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Mad Kane
EMAIL: madkane@madkane.com
IP: 172.135.74.112
URL: http://madkane.com/notable.html
DATE: 01/22/2005 01:35:03 AM
Thanks so much for the lovely mention and links. I really appreciate it.
And if you'd like to join the blog, please let me know. We'd be delighted to have you on board!
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: So I'm Slow
CONVERT BREAKS: 0
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/21/2005 09:46:16 PM
-----
BODY:
I finally noticed that the picture of an Iraqi father carrying his injured child on CNN says the child was injured by a car bomb.
I finally noticed that Iraqis injured by insurgents are the only kind shown prominently by the mainstream media. The photo of the poor child whose entire family was killed in front of her has been pictured in the web logs, but not on ABC, FOX, CNN, or another place where all those staunch Republicans would have to look at her small, shattered self. Here is the most distressing of the pictures:
That picture is the Kent State picture of the Iraq war. I suspect that the soldiers who did this are either hurting badly or so sociopathic they don't belong to a sentient species -- one or the other.
This war will have no winners. None.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scaramouche
EMAIL: ScaramoucheBlog@gmail.com
IP: 216.175.103.239
URL: http://scaramoucheblog.blogspot.com/
DATE: 01/21/2005 10:14:58 PM
The most atrocious part is those wounded, physically and mentally, may never recover.
Some will stay there, or be recalled again; some will become our neighbors with their nightmares.
Try as I might, I can't imagine the horror, the smell, the mistaken killings that our soldiers must live through. For the rest of their lives.
I find scant comfort in the Inaugural Address for a call of continuance of bloodshed in our name; in the name of freedom. And, damn, I'm a civilian...
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: We Raised Their Consciousness
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/23/2005 02:45:34 PM
-----
BODY:
If there is one country that is on the lookout for war crimes and for facist behavior, Germany is it. The Neuremberg trials went into the 1950's. "Taking orders" was resoundingly dismissed as a grounds for inhumane treatment of either soldiers or of people who were imprisoned just because the government didn't like them.
So now comes the turn of the wheel: Rumsfeld Sued for Alleged War Crimes. If there is any country that is aware of what a war crime is, Germany heads the list. And it looks like they are about the only country with the courage to stand up and say that what applied to them should also apply to others.
Just by putting his name on authorization to create "ghost detainees", Rumsfeld implicated himself. And this German language source [via dKos's Downeast Dem] has a whole list of people whose actions will be challenged *some* where:
1. den Verteidigungsminister der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, Donald H. Rumsfeld,
2. den ehemaligen Direktor der Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), George Tenet,
3. den Generalleutnant Ricardo S. Sanchez, Heidelberg, Deutschland,
4. den Generalmajor Walter Wojdakowski,
5. die Brigadegeneralin Janis Karpinski,
6. den Oberstleutnant Jerry L. Phillabaum,
7. den Oberst Thomas Pappas,
8. den Oberstleutnant Stephen L. Jordan,
9. den Generalmajor Geoffrey Miller,
10. den Unterstaatssekretär fÃ1/4r Nachrichtendienste im US-Verteidigungsministerium, Stephen Cambone,
Only a few of those names are familiar even to people who follow the news. It will be interesting to see how this goes -- and especially interesting to see of the US gives Sanchez an emergency transfer to another country. At the beginning of the Abu Ghraib revelations, Sanchez said that the entire chain of command from him down bore responsibility. I suspect that the military would reject that point of view because of its wide-ranging implications. So it will be instructive to watch the news over the next week or two.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scaramouche
EMAIL: ScaramoucheBlog@gmail.com
IP: 216.175.99.211
URL: http://scaramoucheblog.blogspot.com/
DATE: 01/23/2005 03:37:59 PM
I lived in Germany for a bit during the 80's & 90's and the common complaint amongst young Germans was this: "Why should we suffer because of what our Grandparents did?"
German high schoolers sit through many hours of video documentaries of death camps and war atrocities footage.
Will our children have to do the same?
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Harp and Carp
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Economics
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/24/2005 07:43:57 PM
-----
BODY:
I will probably carp about US monetary policy pretty often during the coming year. In the 3rd quarter of last year, my 401(k) did very badly -- so based upon my prediction of what the administration was (not) going to do, I reallocated almost all my funds.
The company I work for gives great classes in mutual funds, investing and 401(k)s because we are in the business of printing statements for a large number of companies that offer investments. I finally moved away from the usual strategy recommended for someone in my age group and chose to invest based on other things.
The last quarter of 2004 I made out like a fat rat -- by gambling that the dollar was going to sink. The way things are going now, I think I'd best continue with that strategy. I made up to 15% on my total investment with one company in one quarter -- that is how badly US policies are whacking the dollar.
It's good news for me at the cost of bad news coming for the country. No doubt the Republican way would be to revel in good choices -- but I can't help but understand that the common good is not served by what's happening. And I can't help but know that it is going to get worse as things are left to drift.
I suppose that it's not Greenspan's job to keep the US currency out of the toilet, but it has to be somebody's job. Whoever has that job is out to lunch, and has been for quite awhile now.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 65.41.154.9
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 01/25/2005 03:15:03 PM
The value of the dollar is affected by the budget deficit, the balance of trade, and the growth of the economy.
Three out of three say the dollar is going to sink unless the Fed starts buying dollars with foreign currency that we don't have.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: dragonet2
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.113.5.2
URL:
DATE: 01/31/2005 10:40:12 AM
It only gets worse.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&e=1&u=/latimests/20050131/ts_latimes/healthcareoverhaulisquietlyunderway
What you want to bet that our employers will not pay us more if they don't have to pay for insurance? Since that savings will just go to their bottom line.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Complaint
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/25/2005 07:59:26 PM
-----
BODY:
[via Atrios]
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed a complaint against Alberto Gonzales with the Texas Bar. They suggest that he may have crossed the line into committing a federal crime -- lying before a Congressional committee about his dealings with a Texas court when he was counsel for George Bush.
Go read it. It is a good argument for holding up any process for allowing a vote on Gonzales as Attorney General.
As I said to someone today -- we may soon find out if it truly was lying that made the right wing so venemous about Clinton. Anyone want to take bets?
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Without Irony
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/26/2005 09:20:24 PM
-----
BODY:
"A world without tyranny is an ideal world," the president said in opening remarks at a White House press conference.
[via CNN]
And now Walter Mitty is also visiting Iwo Jima in his imagination. ::shaking head::
Aren't delusions like believing one has 'planted the flag of freedom' symptoms of *some*thing?
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Josh Canel
EMAIL: quicksauce@yahoo.com
IP: 4.225.94.86
URL:
DATE: 01/29/2005 07:34:25 PM
Somehow, the first time I scanned your concluding sentence (Aren't delusions like believing one has 'planted the flag of freedom' symptoms of *some*thing?) I misread it to say, "planted the *fig leaf* of freedom." It seems likely strangely more apt wording.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Anniversary at Auschwitz
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Remembering
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 01/27/2005 08:21:22 PM
-----
BODY:
The longest web log articles I have read on concentration camps were on Silflay Hraka during the summer last year. They were memorable, to say the least.
What had these men done to warrant being tortured. (They were tortured; not just starved. The arms and legs and countless other mutilations must have been done while the inmates still lived.)
These men had disagreed with the Nazis. They were political prisoners - Jews, communists, liberals, devout Catholics - anyone who had disagreed with the Nazi political philosophy.
My heart is heavy and sad. For the rest of my life I shall have impressed upon me the possibility of another Hitler and his gang of inhumans. They must never be permitted to rise again. We must also recognize the possibility of such individuals gaining control over our own country. The fascists of our own nation - the Coughlins and Smiths and Pilleys and Williams - are capable of the same inhumanities. The Nazis are not the exclusive possessors of warped minds. I will never tolerate the anti-Semite or the fascist. He is dangerous and a potential torturer.
And then there are the pictures, all captioned "WAR POOL PHOTO, NOT FOR USE IN BRITISH ISLES, FRANCE, OR WESTERN HEMISPHERE" -- and you may clearly wonder what photos are labelled that way in the minds of our keepers today.
Today the anniversary of the liberation of Aushwitz was commemorated. A few days ago, my memory drifted back to one of the posts on Silflay Hraka that were in the group that went with the photos and letters about opening concentration camps.
http://silflayhraka.com/archives/000125.html
http://silflayhraka.com/archives/000122.html
http://silflayhraka.com/archives/000111.html
http://silflayhraka.com/archives/000112.html
http://silflayhraka.com/archives/000115.html
http://silflayhraka.com/archives/000108.html
This is the quotation that has followed me from the series:
When Eisenhower left, Patton brought the mayor of Ohrdruf and his wife to the camp to see for themselves what they undoubtedly already knew. (When they were off duty, the guards would come into town to "brag, womanize and drink," notes Timmer, "so how couldn't townspeople know?") Then Patton ordered the mayor, his wife and all the other able-bodied townsfolk to come back the next day and dig individual graves for the dead prisoners.
The citizens did as they were told, completing 80% of the burials and promising to come back the following day to finish the job. That night, the mayor and his wife hanged themselves.
Timmer was called upon to translate their suicide note. It said, simply, "We didn't know! - but we knew."
My boss and I often discuss politics. He's on the Republican side of independent, and I'm pretty far in the other direction. A few days ago, I asked him: "what would you do if somewhere near you, there was suddenly a lot of activity, a board fence going up, and lots of guards were suddenly in evidence. Not 'how would you feel', but 'what would you do'?"
He said "that is something to think about. It's actually a very good thing to think about. What could you do, and what would you do? I am going to ponder that one."
I want him to think about how a "good German" must have felt, especially those who knew that something very bad was happening.
We are always being warned about slippery slopes . I feel that we are on one right now.
Let me leave you with a last, substantial quote from that same post:
The new flavor of Holocaust denial is not to deny that it happened, but to deny it significance, to reduce 6 million dead Jews to a mere blip on the bloody radar of human history. "Bad things have happened to people all through history" goes the logic. "Besides, everyone does it." It's an argument that demands the perfection of human character before allowing action against evil while simultaneously denying that such perfection can possibly exist.
It's a neat rhetorical trick, an excuse for inaction in the face of evil. Given the numerous discoveries of mass graves and documented atrocities visited upon the people of Iraq by the recently deposed Ba'athist regime, the timing of its emergence is suspicious, and saddening.
The argument's aim is clear, though not all who ascribe to its logic recognize what that goal is. It seeks to make all of the human tragedy and suffering equally important, which sounds noble enough. But, if all deaths are equally important, then they are also equally unimportant, which leads to
"Bad things have happened to people all through history,"
So there's no rush to when it comes to freeing Iraqis from their dictator, to defend Liberians from theirs, and suicide bombers and those who hunt them are morally equivalent.
and "Besides, everyone does it."
Not the Germans. Not anymore. I wonder why that is?
And it is the Germans who are considering indicting many members of the US administration for war crimes. I don't have to wonder at all why that is.
_______________
Afterword: There is so much excess to the horror of the WWII camp photos. We can hope that the world would not tolerate the like again. And still I fear that's a vain hope unless one discounts Africa. There is no doubt that bad things are happening there.
And although the things that have happened inIraq have been on a small scale -- still, cancer often begins very small, and we are not seeking treatment. I definitely fear for my country.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The Silflay Hraka site has re-formatted and republished. As the links are restored I will list them here:
http://www.silflayhraka.com/archives/2003/07/unseen_history.html
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Gonzales
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 01/29/2005 01:23:13 PM
-----
BODY:
I didn't post about Gonzales, I just wrote to my Senators almost as soon as his name was proposed:
I hope that you will reject torture as a tool and reject Mr. Gonzales as a
candidate for Attorney General since he is a proponent of illegal
activities. It is the job of Attorney General to prosecute breaches
of the Geneva Conventions, and since many Abu Ghraib contractors remain to
be evaluated, Mr. Gonzales is not an appropriate candidate for the office,
given his past performance, and given the opinions he still holds on the appropriateness of torture as a policy.
I urge you to vote against confirming him.
*********
Now unfortunately, I live in a red, red state. One of my Senators did reply that he opposed the use of torture. We'll see if his opposition to torture extends to voting against an Attorney General who thinks it's just ducky.
The other senator has been silent so far.
I approve of the Kos statement opposing Gonzales for Attorney General.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Additions
CATEGORY: Economics
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 01/30/2005 04:42:29 PM
-----
BODY:
This week's additions to the sidebar are Alberto Gonzales is not fit to be Attorney General, a list of web logs that have posted their opposition to his appointment; The Conservative Philosopher, which seems to be written by actual intelligent conservatives, not wingnuts; and Progressive Depot, a site full of online shopping and resource pages that support the progressive side of the political sphere.
It's not good for me to read only left and insane-right materials. Reading that is limited that way gives one a distorted world picture. It also limits one's ability to build consensus with others who object to the way our country is sliding into a non-viable stance.
I read yesterday that China is considering whether to pull loose from the dollar (on Yahoo News of all places) -- and even Bill Gates has gone and put one of his billions into Chinese investments. This about guarantees he will never be less than a billionaire. No one ever accused him of being stupid.
We need to work with *every* one who is in favor of fiscal sanity.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 65.41.8.181
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 01/30/2005 09:51:27 PM
Gates isn't important, it's number two on the list, Warren Buffett who made his billions in investments who is really important. Buffett is assuming the dollar is going to take a dive and has been moving to other currencies.
George Soros is already betting against the dollar, and he is another up from nothing investor who has made, and more importantly kept billions.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Make me Puke
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 01/31/2005 04:34:05 PM
-----
BODY:
The headlines on CNN all day have been about the Michael Jackson trial.
Earlier they had a poll asking if one would follow it avidly, glancingly, or not at all.
5% are for raw meat, 17% for occasional bits, and 78% were not interested -- so of course CNN plans to go with the 5%. This is one of the sick aspects of modern journalism.
I honestly wish I never had to look at another picture of Mr. Excess. CNN is going to make sure that the mime-face is something that glares at us every day. Barf!
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: deb
EMAIL: debbie.eileenslightlyoffkilter@gmail.com
IP: 4.178.36.208
URL: http://www.participation.blogspot.com
DATE: 01/31/2005 08:45:27 PM
Thankfully, I don't get TV reception.
Yep, media coverage on the unimportant is dreadful. Just one more think to help add to the dump factor. thanks for speaking out.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Paula Helm Murray
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.30.12.11
URL:
DATE: 02/02/2005 12:04:03 AM
Please email me, with my email all farked up because of the theft of my laptop, I'm having to reconstruct my address book.
dragonet@kc.rr.com
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: February 2
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/03/2005 04:29:15 PM
-----
BODY:
The Executive Groundhog of the US popped up from behind his podium and saw the Shadow of The Future -- four more years of lies. Especially this one:
And best of all, the money in the account is yours, and the
government can never take it away.
Woowoo! What a whopper! This from the man who is trying to bankrupt our grandchildren and turn our children into homeless vagrants who live under bridges with no retirement money because he's destroying the system! I'm in awe.
"Never" is an imaginative word to use when dealing with the government of the United States. After all, it is our government that is so holy and pure we would never countenance torture and rape -- despite the fact that films of these things that were shown to Congress when Abu Ghraib broke.
And no one would ever out a CIA agent, oh no indeedy, no one in our government.
And no one would ever mess with the Social Security Trust Fund, would they?
For the US Government, never means until some set of scoundrels, elected or appointed, finds it convenient.
The Shadow says four more years of lies. Count on it.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Another Difference
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/03/2005 07:25:15 PM
-----
BODY:
The vote on Gonzales:
Voting "yes" were 6 Democrats and 54 Republicans.
Voting "no" were 35 Democrats and one independent.
[via Yahoo]
Notice there were no Republicans who voted against Gonzales, even McCain, who thought that the North Vietnamese did Bad Things to him, which things were all within the guidelines Gonzales supported on behalf of the Bush administration.
So now we know -- McCain has given up his moral right to complain about what happened to him lo those many years ago, because he now supports those who would do it unto others.
And now we know -- rallying Democrats is like marching cats in a neat and orderly line. If they can't be 100% against torture, they are not likely to band together well for anything.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Personal Accounts
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Economics
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/03/2005 09:39:29 PM
-----
BODY:
Every time I hear "personal retirement accounts" I think of "personal pan pizzas". One bite of good stuff and three bites of crust.
I suspect that about sums it up, doesn't it?
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Flyinghawke
EMAIL: lmalkas@iupui.edu
IP: 65.26.176.151
URL:
DATE: 02/04/2005 06:27:45 PM
Yep
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 65.41.135.235
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 02/04/2005 08:24:55 PM
Actually there's no guarantee of good stuff, and it isn't clear who or what gets bitten.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Ugh
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Random Events
DATE: 02/06/2005 06:13:16 PM
-----
BODY:
I can tell by the number of days I am skipping that we are into February. This is the month I always long to Be Elsewhere because it is always supremely depressing. OK, so I started this web log on Feb 23 last year; the anniversary is coming. I started it because the need to scream at folks in the public arena was Right There. I haven't forgotten that.
This month so far has been full of no-good things for people I know, and full of just plain crappy attitudes all over.
For a miracle, my boss has not been involved in making things worse. I suppose that is something to be thankful for.
It's Super Bowl Sunday, so I can spend the night with a good book. That is a good point, I guess.
It irks me to see a pic of Condi Rice shaking hands with Sharon in one place and stating that the US wants help in the Middle East somewhere else. Jeez -- it is like she has paid no attention to how our country has behaved for the last several years.
Oh wait! She imagines that life has been a lot different from how your average Iraqi has experienced the world. Maybe she should live in either Afghanistan or Iraq for a few months without any support structure except what one of the folks there has, and then come back and resume her duties. A few months without water and electricity, living under a hijab for fear of violence, would probably be educational for her.
OK, time to read a good book.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Cretins
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Science
DATE: 02/07/2005 08:14:55 PM
-----
BODY:
The National Academy of Sciences recommended that the NASA budget include enough so that one more trip could be made to adjust the Hubble Telescope [CNN] -- this would have allowed completion of the observations that were scheduled to take place before the Hubble was allowed to come down.
So does this happen?
With Bush in office? Make me laugh. The budget that he has proposed spends trillions, but not enough to adjust the Hubble one more time. There is an amount for a robotic mission to help steer it to an ocean on the way down. But the experiments that depended on one more adjustment are now screwed.
Thanks, Chimpy.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Place to Cut the Budget
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Economics
DATE: 02/09/2005 11:51:09 AM
-----
BODY:
I know a perfect item to cut out of the Federal Budget.
Abstinence-only "sex" education.
It's not educational. Its basis is religious, and in line mostly with religions that only promote "education" in their particularly idiosyncratic beliefs.
It does not reduce prgenancy, disease, or even sexual activity to any significant degree.
It is better to do nothing than to promote a religious agenda.
It's a total waste. Why not thow it out?
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Deja Vu All Over Again
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/10/2005 08:47:12 PM
-----
BODY:
Last night before bed I looked at the online CNN front page. The headline was about Iranian nuclear activity with an aerial photo at the left.
As I got up this morning I looked at the Online CNN front page. The headline was about North Korean nuclear activity with an aerial photo at the left -- and the look and feel of the second was very much the same as the first.
I was browsing some web sites and reading page after page of arguments about 9/11 and about Bush's foreign wars. I wonder if the man will be satisfied with drafting anyone he darned well feels like taking unless their parents can buy their way out.
Bad things are coming. His spokeswoman is too belligerent for peace to be in the offing, no matter what he thinks he's learned about being diplomatic. He put his attack dog right out there, and she is going to stir up the kind of trouble he wants. Because we're not going to attack Iran ... at this time.
May they burn in hell before we do so without being attacked first.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Echo
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/11/2005 04:51:52 PM
-----
BODY:
It was very odd to see my words of yesterday echoed today by Iranians.
But I do believe that pressure applied to other countries should not include attacking them first. I hope that Congress will be more intelligent in the coming years, and prevent Odious George from attacking anyone else.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.146.11
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 02/11/2005 11:25:08 PM
By the summer. Most likely by the Fourth of July. A more patriotic time of year for attacking another country. That combined with the near twenty four hour telecast about Iran's vast nuclear weapon arsenal and the need to keep nukes out of the hands of Muslims.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Welcome Dean
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/12/2005 04:27:37 PM
-----
BODY:
I'd have been proud to see Dean as The Candidate.
He has the brains and the will to be a great chairman for the Democratic Party. He will be less likely to put up with nonsense from Republicans than his predecessors.
And of course, the highest praise is to applaud with cash:
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Redesign
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 02/12/2005 08:23:24 PM
-----
BODY:
It was time. When I decided to list the Progressive Blog Alliance, my sidebar overflowed. My old design had a lot of wasted space in it.
So I hope you get along with the New Look. I rather like it :)
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Paula Helm Murray
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.30.12.11
URL:
DATE: 02/15/2005 06:45:38 PM
Like the look, it shows up all together rather than strung down the page on the older version of IE I have to use because work sent an OS9 machine home for me to work on since the laptop left...
Noted this on the LA Times Web site... are they the only ones with any kind of guts at all???
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&e=2&u=/latimests/20050215/ts_latimes/whitehouseturnstablesonformeramericanpows
White House is opposing any monies awarded by the courts to former US POWS in the prior Gulf War.
[Cosmic Iguana (link on left) has this as a lead story today. Yeah, the real news tends to get buried in one paper at a time, ages apart from one mention to the next. -- Scorpio]
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Hm
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 02/13/2005 02:20:33 PM
-----
BODY:
Well, Foxfire went crash and took my post on insurance with it. I take that as a hint, and may try to write it again later.
Meanwhile, here is a photo essay I read yesterday that gave a look at church and state mixed in a way that should make you wonder what time and what nation we are living in.
The author, who was very upset by the story he tells, says this about himself:
I am a Christian, a republican and support the war in Iraq, but this pisses me off in ways I cannot explain even to myself. This is not a debate thread, after you read this and look at the pictures, if you post anything it will be reactions, advice, or simple opinion. I know there are a lot of military personal in this forum and I would love to here what you have to say about this but if this turns into a flame war I will be extremely upset with whoever's involved. Now on to the story.
Go read it.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: The Other Steve
EMAIL: killerdognasty@yahoo.com
IP: 162.39.253.227
URL: http://distanceblog.blogspot.com
DATE: 02/14/2005 04:56:30 AM
Off topic gratitude- thanks for linking to me. I've linked to you.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Well No Wonder
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/14/2005 11:34:03 AM
-----
BODY:
[via Atrios]
It really *was* deja vu all over again. According to The BradBlog the photos CNN had of nuclear plants really were the same photo.
It's nice to know that my eyes do not deceive me.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Real Morality
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 02/14/2005 05:31:26 PM
-----
BODY:
Today Digby has one of the most worthy and moral posts I've seen lately.
Yes, moral.
The things this administration calls moral have nothing to do with real decency.
Go read Digby.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Mark H
EMAIL: biomes_@cox.net
IP: 68.9.18.71
URL: http://biomesblog.typepad.com
DATE: 02/15/2005 01:15:50 PM
Love the new layout.
Just sayin'.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: The Texas Option
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/15/2005 06:07:35 PM
-----
BODY:
I suppose that if the Republicans in the US Senate attempt to change the rules so that judicial nomonees can't be filibustered, that Senate Democrats could respond in the way shown them by the Texas Democrats last year.
The answer to "go nuclear" is "be elsewhere". It would be nice if all the Senate Democrats suddenly had urgent business at home.
Republicans have already altered too many rules to increase their power, such as the rule that it takes two senators to downcheck a judicial appointee. [During the tenures of Democratic presidents, they suddenly find a need to make that *one* senator so that they can more easily thwart the nominees that Democrats choose.] It's time to let them sit and play with themselves if they can't play by the same set of rules no matter who is president.
*************************
Afterword: aw rats! There is no specific number for a Senate quorum. This means that Democrats are going to have to faithfully attend sessions and vote religiously against all the re-nominated judicial offerings. The answer to naked war is going to have to be naked war.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Bad and Worse
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/17/2005 08:07:50 PM
-----
BODY:
This was not the best day for justice and morality in the US.
Congress on Thursday passed legislation that would transfer most large, multistate class action lawsuits to federal court, fulfilling one of President Bush's second-term goals. [CNN]
So now class action suits will have to have 1/3 of the victims in a state to use that state's court, otherwise the suits must go to a Federal Court. State court caps will be 5 million [though a cap on punitive damages would seem to be judging before the case went to court, IMO]. There are other restrictions on how attorneys can take their compensation.
It has been suggested that this legislation was primarily aimed at trial lawyers (who donate to Democrats), and that it will give the most protection to corporations. Bush is expected to sign, of course. And no doubt he and his will still rail at "trial lawyers" because he and his are poor winners.
And then there was the nomination of John Negroponte for the newly created post of director of national intelligence. [CNN]
Torture advocates in the Justice Department and someone who's ambassador to death squads to oversee US intelligence agencies. Wonderful. Will he consider their use at home as well as abroad? Somehow, the nomination of Negroponte looks like one more instance of recycling Poppy's criminals.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.6
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 02/18/2005 07:45:16 AM
I'm less concerned about the class-action legislation than many. Plaintiffs' lawyers are a remarkably resilient bunch. My prediction: within 5 years corporations will be complaining that they have to defend the identical lawsuits filed in 50 different state courts (which is still allowed under the legislation and which will drive up defense costs considerably).
[Yeah, I can see "trial alliances" sharing arguments and citations that work, and using the first victory as precedent to ensur 49 more -- corporate bottom feeders could end up Very Unhappy. -- S ]
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Waaaaah!
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/18/2005 10:41:32 PM
-----
BODY:
Although Democrats blocked fewer of Bush's judicial nominations than Republicans blocked Clinton nominations, Republicans are nevertheless still whining, whimpering, wailing and crying about those who were not rubber-stamped. Even the one who has been practicing law for four years without a license.
And so Bush has put these rejects into the hopper once more.
I certainly hope that the Democrats hand him back all 20, and let the Republicans wail and cry about obstruction. It doesn't take much to make them blubber -- but that's the way it is with bullies.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Newsflash
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/20/2005 12:01:47 PM
-----
BODY:
I have been following the James Guckert/Jeff Gannon story without comment ever since it began. I think one of the main things to look at is how this softball-questioner became a darling, while a years-long member of the press corps has been derided and ignored (yes, Helen Thomas) because she asked questions from a harsher perspective. The administration wants uncritical praise, and questions like "how do you stand those awful lefties".
But the thing that will get the attention is no so much the security issues and the syncophantic "questions", but the sex for hire.
And with sex getting the attention, I have one statement that Mr. G should take to heart: nothing that you put on a web site for public consumption -- or even for subscription payments -- is "private". If you consider your sidelines to be "private", you don't know what the word "private" means. Your sites and their comments suggest strongly that you are a public whore with a menu that has rates. If this embarrasses you, you have no one to blame but your weenie-out-the-fly self.
Gee -- that was almost worthy of my hero, The Rude Pundit.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 65.41.129.153
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 02/20/2005 07:43:57 PM
It never ceases to amaze me that people don't understand that posting on the Internet is the same as publishing it in a newspaper.
If you put it behind a subscription shield you can complain about theft of the information, but not privacy.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jenniebee
EMAIL: jenniebee@verizon.net
IP: 70.16.238.205
URL: http://blogs.confusticate.com/jenniebee
DATE: 02/21/2005 02:26:29 PM
Yes! Thank you! It's called the World Wide Web for a reason - namely that everybody in the Wide World can read it.
I don't see this listed on the Be Bothered site yet. The trackback for the Gannon/Guckert thread is http://blogs.confusticate.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/856, or you can leave a comment at http://blogs.confusticate.com/bebothered/archives/002428.html to plug this so that more people can find it.
Good job & nice blog. I'm going to get through the entire One Blogroll eventually...
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Ding! Ding! Ding!
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/22/2005 04:54:57 PM
-----
BODY:
What is this? Every time someone runs a picture suggesting that the troops are dissed and men might marry, a wingnut must click on it and Believe?
[via Sid's Fishbowl] This picture is being used to (theoretically) tar the AARP, of all insane things. I can hardly believe that anyone would make the leap from kissing guys to old people lobbying to keep Social Security, but that seems to be the stretch that this picture leads to.
Can you imagine a picture of a soldier, used to smear elderly WWII and Korean War Vets who might belong to the AARP?
Are these people even crazier than usual?
They obviously believe that there is a Pavlovian response in their target audience. I'm actually surprised they haven't added banned Bibles to their brew of lies.
Anyone who would market the swifties is a morally diseased specimen anyway. I should have acquired calluses by now instead of being surprised all over again.
I hope that our elders teach these USAFirst freaks a lesson and deluge Congress with letters to leave Social Security alone. They could also contact the companies that bolster this group and suggest that the advertising they are paying for is a lie.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: volk
EMAIL: dvlkr@verizon.net
IP: 4.4.153.150
URL:
DATE: 02/28/2005 08:57:58 PM
is the group that is now attacking aarp,and attacked kerry's military service the same group that said mccain colluded with his captors?
[I have no idea -- but since McCain voted to confirm Gonzales, who recommended the same things McC though were torture when he was the victim, I'm not very sure McCain should get to complain anymore. -- S.]
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Donna
EMAIL: dmariemart@aol.com
IP: 67.166.189.68
URL: http://www.wordwhammy.com
DATE: 03/11/2005 07:53:55 PM
The people behind this insanity must have a pact with the devil. Somehow they're able to convince readers of print and viewers of television that they exclusively possess the truth. Are people just naive or completely stupid? Either way, it horrifies me that these propagandists are so persuasive. I hope the AARP fights back.
P.S. I really like your site. I've added you to my blog roll.
[Thanks! And I have added you on the left. --S.]
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Nobody Loves It
CATEGORY: Education
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/24/2005 07:43:25 PM
-----
BODY:
All 50 state legislatures have joined together to present a list of changes for "No Child Left Behind", saying that Bush's signature piece meddles in the provice of the states,
sets reading and math standards that are impossible to meet, treads on states' constitutional rights, will bankrupt state coffers and simply doesn't work.
He really is uniter, isn't he?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Gotham Image
EMAIL: DINERT@HOTMAIL.COM
IP: 63.154.72.31
URL: http://gothamimage.blogspot.com
DATE: 02/25/2005 11:07:25 AM
Politically, you have to tip your hat to Bush for stealing a maudlin cliche from the liberal Children's Defense Fund. Now when they use the slogan that they invented , "No Child Left Behind," many people think they are stealing from Bush. Pretty clever. Nonetheless you cannnot for the basis of an educated society on such cliches.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.146.11
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 02/25/2005 04:29:00 PM
An educated populice is harder to control and placate. Perhaps they are following the dreams of a brighter future where low paid American labor can be trained for the job they are wanted in. Higher learning isn't really for the workers of the world.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Conclusion
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/26/2005 12:32:01 PM
-----
BODY:
Today on Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, Mimus Pauley tells the results of trying to get a statement on the Gannon affair from right-wing organizations that usually concern themselves deeply with matter of "morality."
In so doing he shows that the Right is non-judgemental as long as the perpetrator is on their political side -- in other words, they have found a prostitute who embodies civic virtue and a free ride for Scottie and Bush, so of course they are averting their eyes from any hint of wrongdoing on his part.
Just as the presence of Colin, Condi, Alberto and others gives the Right a chance to paint Democrats as racist when abhorrent policies are boosted by these people, so the hooker is giving them a chance to paint Democrats as homophobes.
It's repulsive to watch a batch of haters paint their opposition while doing a self-portrait. I am very much afraid that we will find out that there is no such thing as too low for them to go. At least JeffyJim is giving them practice in loving the sinner.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Well!
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 02/26/2005 03:28:59 PM
-----
BODY:
My first post was on 2/23/04, so this is the end of my anniversary week.
Thanks to everyone who has stopped in, and especially to those who have left comments.
And many thanks, as well, to those who have linked to me. Avedon Carol at The Sideshow was the first -- and she may have been the latest, as well. Beore I started blogging I used to use her web log as my jumping-off point for reading, and used her sidebar as a guide to the good stuff. I still read her entries every day, and hit Avedon's Other Weblog when a day is missing.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Paula Helm Murray
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.30.12.11
URL:
DATE: 02/27/2005 07:49:59 PM
Weird, it's not showing the address blocks, but I was able to tab to them...
Keep up the good work.
I saw some film on CNN that further pissed me off about Shrub. He can't let AMERICANS come within 10 foot of him, but he can get down and huggy with foreigners while in a foreign land. YIKES. I've given up on being pissed about the stuff he does, my blood pressure won't stand it. But my ghu, why the f-k does he feel the need not to be anywhere near his own countrymen (at least the 'unwashed" masses? (for all I know those Europeans may have been civilian-dressed members of their local military or something...)
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: How Conveeeenient!
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/26/2005 09:32:59 PM
-----
BODY:
Is there collusion in appointing the next enemy?
Didn't anyone tell Israel to hang on and not jump into conflict unless Bushie could get Europe on board in Iraq?
I think the old Lee Harris article at Tech Central Station definitely put Syria in the sights even before the Iraq invasion. It's pretty chilling to watch our neocon bastards toodling along following their real road map. Look at the date on it and read it if you haven't previously.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: I Do Believe
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 02/27/2005 02:21:32 PM
-----
BODY:
Yes, I believe that Bushie's Buddy Vlad has just -- either insulted him or given him what he has always wanted, that being The Return Of The Russian Menace.
The Russians have signed an agreement to aid Iran with their nuclear program. That is a pretty straightforward message, all things considered. It is certainly telling the US that Iran has allies.
Will it be enought to keep Bush from preemptively invading them? Maybe.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 65.41.129.240
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 02/27/2005 08:16:23 PM
The Iranians has a Russian designed reactor and major contracts with Russian companies. To expect Russia to throw that away after the way Bush treated Russia over Iraq is just stupid.
Russia was right about WMDs and Bush was wrong. Russia wants to make money, like the capitalist country it is becoming. If Halliburton had managed to gain a few more contracts we wouldn't be seeing this current push.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Jose Padilla
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/01/2005 06:35:41 PM
-----
BODY:
Judge Floyd of S.C., a Bush court appointee, took the government to task over classifying Jose Padilla as an enemy combatant, and ruled that he must either be presented with charges or freed within 90 days [via Talk Left].
The judge ruled that the Constitution does not place the president above the law, and that nowhere was there a provision for indefinitely detaining a citizen.
Can we hope that more Bush appointees might be this honest? Abu Gonzales certainly isn't shaping up anywhere near this well.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Acquiring DNA
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Science
DATE: 03/03/2005 06:36:59 PM
-----
BODY:
We've all read that the Wichita serial killer was caught last week, and that there was DNA evidence that proved they had the right person.
This week there was a story telling what was used for a match for DNA from the crime scenes -- the state requisitioned the cells from his daughter's previous pap smear to use in determining if her father was the criminal.
And I could only say "they what?"
Every time a person spits, DNA evidence comes flying out. When someone uses a straw, evidence is left on it. What possessed them to grab cells belonging to his daughter, from records that should have been confidential, instead of following this guy around until he spit? Police have done that in the past. I really want to know why the Wichita investigators essentially made offspring testify against a parent without her knowledge and consent instead of doing the legwork and getting the cells from the perp himself.
This country gets more facist all the time.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Rook
EMAIL: rook@rooksrant.com
IP: 66.41.149.220
URL: http://www.rooksrant.com
DATE: 03/04/2005 11:44:43 PM
I thought the daughter went to the police and voice concerns about her father, and agreed to the DNA. If they took the DNA without proper court order, the case is dead in the water.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scorpio
EMAIL: eccentric_00@hotmail.com
IP: 67.64.42.178
URL:
DATE: 03/05/2005 12:46:24 PM
They went to court and got permission to secretly grab her medical records -- there is a law-enforcement exception to medical privacy laws.
They did not eiter need or get her permission.
S.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Reality Checks
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 03/05/2005 01:20:12 PM
-----
BODY:
I noticed yesterday, as the story of the shooting of the Italians in Iraq was breaking, that CNN persistently referred to "coalition forces" while Yahoo and Reuters correctly labelled the source as "Americans".
I thought that the term "coalition" was passe -- the White House has removed this language from its releases and has another term. It is remarkable tht CNN persists in using that terminology in its headlines when we all know that the "coalition" was token at best, and a language-shield-only at worst.
Even more astonishing was the article that has a Pentagon spokeman blaming the news, reporting casualties, for a recruiting shortfall.
It's astonishing because the reports of those injured in battle or in theatre, those who died after being evacuated, and those who died while not in combat are numbers one has to dig hard to acquire. Even though the news has really been shielding the Pentagon, the Petnatgon spokesman has the nerve to complain. No, people with enough intelligence to operate and fix equipment just rarely want to do so under fire, and it's not hard for anyone with a brain to understand. On the other hand, it is difficult to understand why the news agencies don't just stop shielding those bastards from the consequences of the war they have wrought, and report the real numbers -- "row on row".
Meanwhile, the Selective Service has asked the Church of the Bretheren to put its alternate service plans in place again. That should give you a chill if you have any memory of the VietNam era at all. My sister's husband was doing his alternate service at the hospital where she was training -- religious COs had a real program of service that they did in place of being drafted. So if those plans are coming up, it's time to consider just how bad things are going to get.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Divided
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/06/2005 07:09:29 PM
-----
BODY:
It sometimes seems that, aside from brief moments of unity, this country is divided in ways that seem irreconcilable. If there were a vote on a secession movement, I wonder how many people would think that we needed to remain "one and inseparable." I wonder how many people would be willing to fight another civil war to prevent a split.
The amount of animosity displayed by the current administration certainly makes me wish that he and his could be magically wished away. If Texas wanted to leave the US, I'd wave goodbye cheerfully. The same goes for a large number of "red" states.
Or would I?
I'll have to think about it some more.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: The No Deal
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/07/2005 04:32:34 PM
-----
BODY:
The perfect proposal for Democrats to use as a Social Security proposal is the No Deal. That is, while Bush is in the White House, there will be no deals on Social Security forthcoming.
Bush got Democrats behind "No Child Left Behind", and meanwhile destroyed Head Start. With that as an example of his methods, it is time for the Democrats to stand firm with the reason that fixing what ain't broke is the worst of deals when Bush is the one pushing. Therefore, the thing they should support together is the No Deal.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.146.11
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 03/09/2005 03:08:10 PM
Seems many Americans just check out the names of these programs and don't dig into what they really entail. So when one hears about the "Dont leave pets in locked cars" initiative they assume it means saving poor pets from stupid owners without finding out it mean euthanizing the pets of owners found to not live up to someones agenda.
Clear Skys. No Child. Operation Freedom. They word the plans with labels no one feels comfortable disagreeing with. Make them sound all warm and fluffy. A magician would do much the same with one hand getting everyones attention while the other goes about doing the trick.
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PING:
TITLE: No Deal On Dismantling The New Deal
URL: http://www.rooksrant.com/archives/2005/03/no_deal_on_dism_1.html
IP: 216.239.142.2
BLOG NAME: Rook's Rant
DATE: 03/07/2005 10:42:34 PM
Eccentricity: The No Deal Bush got Democrats behind "No Child Left Behind", and meanwhile destroyed Head Start. With that as an example of his methods, it is time for the Democrats to stand firm with the reason that fixing what...
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: No Bank Left Behind
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/09/2005 05:04:46 PM
-----
BODY:
And no credit card company left behind, either.
You know, the Bible puts more negative spin on usury than it does on homosexuality. So how did such an anti-Christian measure find such support in the Party of Faith? Hm?
Do they have faith that God will just forget about that part because they are such fine guys to have a beer with, or what?
I'll tell you, anyone who thinks that 30% is an acceptable interest rate is gonna find themselves sitting in hell if the Bible is the Real Thing. And that will be a fine place for the folks who are voting in favor of the current bankruptcy legislation.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 69.68.149.87
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 03/09/2005 05:33:26 PM
There's nothing inherently wrong with 30% if both sides agree on that rate from the beginning, but there is nothing right with extending credit at less than 10% and then raising the rate on money already loaned, and adding penalties to the amount financed.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: The Other Steve
EMAIL: killerdognasty@yahoo.com
IP: 162.39.253.204
URL: http://distanceblog.blogspot.com
DATE: 03/11/2005 04:48:37 PM
They just use the interstate commerce clause to perp this crap. Pawn shoips can't even get away with this shit.
What about the credit card companies giving out so much credit? Isn't it their fault for loaning the credit in the first place? They took the risk....
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Josh Canel
EMAIL: quicksauce@yahoo.com
IP: 69.81.151.54
URL: http://quicksauce.blogspot.com
DATE: 03/12/2005 04:25:55 PM
And I just watched Fight Club last night without even thinking of its connection to this week's legislative news!!!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.146.11
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 03/14/2005 11:43:48 PM
now the thirty percent is bad enough, but when you combine late fees, well I honestly loan sharked in prison. We went fifty cents on the dollar five for eight. Now say a guy couldn't pay the eight we didnt add another three to the total making it eleven bucks we added fifty to the dollar making it twelve. Don't laugh. In a prison housing a few thousand prisoners you could always count on a few hundred to be in the borrowing game. There are few differences in what I was doing that was called illegal and what credit card companies do thats termed legal. Sure if you don't pay a loan shark you stand a chance of being harmed. But the harm done by credit card companies is not any less real just because goons don't beat the shit out of you. They can seize assest, with the courts help. Garnish your wages. Again with the courts help. So lets say when I was in prison and had the money, well I didn't like beating people up. There were folks who did. And some of them worked for very very cheap. The credit card companies are holding the money and the courts are acting as the hired goons making sure dead beats pay.
But isn't it really others responsibility to learn for themselves whats good and bad in life? Drugs, drinking, sex, credit? The only real defense against their tactics is going Mennonite and living plainly on only what you must have. It's a sure fire way to save money and get ahead some in life. Spend nothing unless you have to. Buy wisely. Work hard.
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: And So It Goes
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/11/2005 07:22:38 PM
-----
BODY:
The No Loan Shark Left Behind bill passed the Senate Thursday.
Bush is still out there flogging his idea of wrecking Social Security with his Catfood Plan.
Avedon Carol at The Sideshow is still effectively following the Ohio Election Fraud -- and I hope she will continue to do so.
Jeanne at Body and Soul is continuing to discuss war crimes and torture. I wish I could follow it as well as she does.
Pudentilla points out that the US pulled out of an international treaty whose signatories were supposed to let foreign criminals talk to their consular offices. Seems that Bushie doesn't want Mexicans on Death Row to be able to talk to their advocates. A sane person would wonder how many Americans were going to end up dying since the US has pulled out of this agreement -- but the president hardly counts as a sane person.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Be Prepared
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Economics
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/12/2005 12:51:21 PM
-----
BODY:
OK, let's be reasonable and be prepared. As Mrs Kerry pointed out, the companies that sell optical scan machines are owned by hard-right Republicans, and their central computers could be [ha! could my glass eye!] corrupted when counting results. Therefore it is likely that there are going to be more Republican "victories" than the number of live and registered voters can account for.
And just as the No Loan Shark Left Behind bill has been proposed over and over, so shall the Republicans attempt over and over to destroy Social Security. Right now the Bush Road Show isn't getting any converts. Most of us know better than to believe that his non-plan is something that will "save" something that isn't endangered [except by his extreme fiscal irresponsibility]. Nevertheless, it is the Way of the Right to repeat lies over and over until they are drummed in and accepted as real, whether or not they are. Twenty years or forty, these corrupt liars will continue to batter people with their schemes.
I have decided to prepare a legacy for the future: Catfood Cookery, Dogfood Delight. When the monsters manage to destroy the security of our citizens, at least there will be a way to present the scraps that are left. So far, the entries include:
Catfood Stroganoff with Rice
Catfood Newberg in Toast Cups
Catfood a la King with Noodles
Chunky Dogfood Stew, Campfire Style
Hearty Dogfood Stroganoff with Noodles
Sheepdog's Pie with Mashed Potato Topping
I am sure that there are lots and lots of creative things that I will be able to devise, thanks to the fine selection of pet foods found in every grocery store.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: natasha
EMAIL: natasha.the@gmail.com
IP: 24.16.127.26
URL: http://www.pacificviews.org
DATE: 03/14/2005 12:01:51 PM
Hey, don't forget the baby food aisle. For when your broke self gets to upscale it a little. Creamed peas, anyone?
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Atlas Shrugged
CATEGORY: Books
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/13/2005 01:41:30 PM
-----
BODY:
There is a lot of criticism on the left of Ayn Rand's works, especially Atlas Shrugged. Sure, she has axes to grind. She honestly believes in the creativity of business people. She believes that some of them are upright and generous. She believes that productivity moves the world.
She may be right.
In Atlas Shrugged, she shows the United States falling apart as manufacturing stops. You know, the US hardly has any steel mills left. Hardly any shoe manufacturers. Shoe repair businesses have become rare. Real barber shops are rare. Clothing manufacturers are not gone yet, but they are certainly endangered.
We were to become an knowledge-based and service-based country, weren't we? Both programming jobs and customer service jobs have been steadily moving offshore.
Laughing at Rand's ideas and her stilted and obsessive language might be amusing, but it really is not all that funny to see certain things happening that she wrote about.
Among the least funny is the way George Bush resembles the character of James Taggart. George *wanted* to run businesses. He was incapable and they failed. He wanted to own a ball team, be governor, be president. His roadshow, where he scoffs at the PhD's in his entourage, is pure Jimmy. He *wants* to wreck social security, but he needs puppets with degrees to help him, to essentially do it for him. He is the president, and these monkeys with degrees are just his peons. They certainly have no pride, have they?
There are a lot of people in this country who are driving to their own destruction, and taking all of us along. Those who block the development of alternative energy sources are among the worst. Oh gee, she sort of said that, too, didn't she?
I'm pretty sure that a free-for-all would not cure ills, while Rand is convinced it would. I'm pretty sure, however, that buying cheap goods from China is going to be very bad for us, that allowing companies to do business here while hiding offshore for tax purposes is suicidal, and that using resources as if they were infinite is going to bring the crash.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: EVS
EMAIL: ericsnell@aol.com
IP: 152.163.100.196
URL:
DATE: 03/13/2005 05:43:34 PM
The identification of free enterprise with capitalism is false; truely developed & unrestrained capitalism allows free enterprise only where it doesn't matter, at the margins. Nush is a prime example of how capitalism works when it is developed enough to rig the game.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Glen
EMAIL: barbyawp@nyc.rr.com
IP: 167.230.38.115
URL: http://barbyawp.blogspot.com
DATE: 03/14/2005 08:59:16 AM
Among libertarians and Objectivists, coming up with the ideal cast for Atlas Shrugged, The Movie, is a perennial game. For a long time, I've thought that GWB would be an ideal James Taggert. He wouldn't even have to act: just answer to a different name.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: natasha
EMAIL: natasha.the@gmail.com
IP: 24.16.127.26
URL: http://www.pacificviews.org
DATE: 03/14/2005 11:59:30 AM
You make some good points. When we no longer make anything, and can't afford to buy as much as we used to, what good are we to anyone?
Service economy, my a**. Anything that another country wants from a service economy they can get cheaper in Asia, where the quality is steadily going up and their prices are still below our going rates. This country is going to turn into a vacation stop and a stripmining paradise, though presumably those two activities will not coexist on the same spot.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 69.68.149.15
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 03/14/2005 07:13:00 PM
Natasha, they want to try it off the coasts of California and Florida with oil rigs. Frankly I think Florida and California had better read the bill about the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve real carefully, because, dollars to donuts, there will be language that opens up the coastal waters to drilling. The isn't enough oil in ANWR to make it profitable to develop, so something else is going on.
We aren't simply sending the jobs overseas, we are sending the knowledge that goes with the jobs. The knowledge is what is important.
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: March 14
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 03/14/2005 05:49:22 PM
-----
BODY:
Bellatrys at Nothing New Under the Sun has a really -- fitting -- poem posted today.
Simbaud at King of Zembla brings the good news that a Republican-appointed judge has struck down the California ban on gay marriage. Challenges ahead, but meanwhile one more state has refused to deny equal protection even when doing so was traditional.
Bryan at Why Now? has a very good post on agitprop and propaganda. The information coming from government sources has certainly ceased to be apolitical and informative. Bryan credits this to Cold War techniques, and to a time when the Eastern Bloc hardly had to censor papers -- they did it all themselves.
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Ha-Ha-Ha
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/15/2005 04:20:11 PM
-----
BODY:
You have to be of a certain age and political bent to have heard the mid 1960's joke:
"They told me that if I voted for Goldwater, we'd have a war. And just look! I voted for him and we had a war!"
I was reminded of that joke today while reading a post over at The Volokh Conspiracy.
This leads me to repeat a point that I raised when one of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court judges made a similar argument in 2003. Consider these quotes:
1.
"What foes of ERA contend were valid arguments and what advocates claim were emotional scare tactics also seemed to sway sentiment among the women against the amendment [in North Carolina]. Opponents, for example, suggested passage of ERA would mean abortion on demand, legalization of homosexual marriages, sex-integrated prisons and reform schools -- all claims that were hotly denied by ERA supporters." U.S. News & World Report, Apr. 28, 1975.
2.
"Discussion of [the ERA] bogged down in hysterical claims that the amendment would eliminate privacy in bathrooms, encourage homosexual marriage, put women in the trenches and deprive housewives of their husbands' support." N.Y. Times, July 5, 1981 (excerpt of a book by Betty Friedan).
3.
"The vote in Virginia [against the ERA] came after proponents argued on behalf of civil rights for women and opponents trotted out the old canards about homosexual marriages and unisex restrooms . . . ." Wash. Post, Feb. 19, 1982 (column by Judy Mann).
There are many more examples from that era, including, if I recall correctly a quote from leading constitutional law scholar Larry Tribe. (By the way, I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of these claims; my post refers solely to their inaccuracy.)
Yet it now looks like the "hysterical" "emotional scare tactic" "canards" may well have been quite reasonable predictions: It looks like courts are indeed treating opposite-sex-only marriage rules as involving sex classifications, and as thus being presumptively unconstitutional. Had the ERA been enacted at the federal level, it would have further raised the bar against sex classifications, and thus made decisions like the California and Massachusetts one more likely.
Oh please!! This is like the Goldwater joke -- just as Goldwater voters got Johnson for a president along with a war, women do not have equality, and yet the alleged "consequences" have arrived while they are still underpaid and at the mercy of every moron who wants to make a law restricting what they can and cannot do with their bodies.
There is something truly warped and wrong with continuing to suggest that the list of ills [in the eyes of the Schlaflys] the ERA was going to bring could be attributed to it. The list is here. It's here and women are still second class citizens.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: firedoglake
EMAIL: janehamsher@charter.net
IP: 66.191.20.134
URL: http://firedoglake.blogspot.com
DATE: 03/16/2005 10:28:49 PM
You know, the demonization of feminists was one of the biggest PR coups the GOP ever launched, along with putting over the one about "tax and spend Democrats." You have to wonder how people can look around with anything resembling conscious thought and swallow either one
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: What a Job
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Sports
DATE: 03/17/2005 06:31:33 PM
-----
BODY:
Is the Senate looking into the policies that seem to support torture as a way of getting information?
Why no!
Are they discussing a cap on interest that can be charged to individuals so that there are some controls on moneylenders?
Why no!
Are they looking into allowing cattle breeders to test for Mad Cow so that US farmers can once again export beef?
Why no!
What are they doing instead?
They are looking into steroid use by baseball players!
And they get paid for this?
Sigh. They do.
That is certainly going to clean up corruption and make us safer, by golly!
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Almost Friday ....
CATEGORY: Games
DATE: 03/17/2005 09:37:33 PM
-----
BODY:
If the Senate can spend all day on baseball, we may as well spend the evening taking Zombie tests.
Link: The Zombie Scenario Survivor Test written by ci8db4uok on Ok Cupid
| You made it. Barely. Congratulations! You scored 58%! |
Whether it was the fact that you could run faster, or were just plain lucky, you made it out alive. Even you aren't sure why. But you're sure as hell not going back, or risking your ass for anyone else from now on. |
 |
My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Donna
EMAIL: dmariemart@aol.com
IP: 67.166.189.68
URL: http://www.wordwhammy.com
DATE: 03/18/2005 09:00:16 PM
Har! I scored 75%. I've watched plenty of zombie movies as basic training. I know how to kick zombie ass.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Ereshkigal
EMAIL: what(dot)fresh(dot)hell@gmail.com
IP: 65.38.10.216
URL: http://serializedepic.blogspot.com/
DATE: 03/24/2005 10:29:50 PM
Cool! I scored higher than 99% "compared to other people your age and gender" as well--- but I wonder how many other mid-50s women are playing?
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.146.11
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 03/26/2005 02:19:49 PM
Survived. 96%. Ferocious but flawed.
And don't take to heart anything my troll says or does until I've had a chance to label which post are from me and he.
I doubt I'd say fuck you because you liked the Treasure Island sunset picture.
[I've learned that the first reading of almost anything on the net is likely to be mistaken. I didn't particularly take offense because it didn't occur to me that that would be said in earnest. I suppose it is also why I don't post on some topics for many days -- there are too many that seem unlikely to be real, and I let them go by.
I hope you find a way to eviscerate your troll. It must be a real nuisance to have one. -- S]
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scorpio
EMAIL: eccentric_00@hotmail.com
IP: 66.142.55.6
URL:
DATE: 03/27/2005 03:47:54 PM
IXLNXS -- go to http://extremetracking.com/ and get the tracking icon/info. When your troll shows up, go out to the tracking and get its IP address. Drop it into your blocking software.
Voila! No troll unless it buys a new account from a different provider. One by one you can run it out of provider options. Blocking software is a Good Thing.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Sorry ...
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/20/2005 02:52:30 PM
-----
BODY:
The national news has been so ... sick. Condi talking tough so that her office husband can spend the weekend on his ranch.
Terry Schiavo.
God, if there were a picture of me out there with Tammy Faye makeup and a gleaming overbite being kissed by someone who wanted to keep my brain-dead body alive, I should hope they would burn the thing and let me fade away into death. You can take that as the essence of my living will (which I have, thanks). If I am flatlined, let me just die.
Congress is spending its time on baseball and on contorting the law to keep one white woman alive. Where were they a couple of days ago when a black Texas baby was taken off his oxygen by a hospital against the wishes of his mother? Oh right -- bet Terry's parents can pay and the black baby's parents couldn't. Ya think?
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Josh Canel
EMAIL: quicksauce@yahoo.com
IP: 69.81.157.135
URL: http://quicksauce.blogspot.com
DATE: 03/20/2005 06:02:42 PM
Ironically enough, Schiavo is a recipient of, gasp, Medicaid!!!
http://slate.msn.com/id/2115064/
Check it out:
Schiavo resides at a nonprofit hospice that has assumed part of the cost of her care. Medicaid pays for the rest. According to this AP story, keeping her alive costs about $80,000 per year, and at least $350,000 of the malpractice settlement awarded to Schiavo and her husband in 1992 has been spent on her care. Florida Medicaid normally offers hospice coverage for those with a life expectancy of no more than six months, but Schiavo has received assistance from the state for the last two years.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: dragonet2
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.30.12.11
URL:
DATE: 03/20/2005 09:56:57 PM
This whole thing pisses me off. Knowing what was just mentioned, how many people who really needed hospice care were turned away by that hospice because they had no funds to take care of more people?
Not to mention the fact that the Senate and Congress and for Ghu's sake the f-ing President are not elected to micromanage every detail of American life. but since the majority are right to lifers, guess we can't avoid it.
The other thing that also pisses me off is that, the number of anti-abortion bumper stickers on a car is inversely related to the number of unrestrained kids in the car. Furthering my opionion that the Repulblicans don't care after they're out, just before they're born.
My 2¢, YMMV.
(BTW, Margene got me a gently-used G4 Mac Cube AND a monitor for my birthday, so I would have one on my desk. Tomorrow I go back into the office full-time, under the new regime.)
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.6
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 03/21/2005 08:06:01 AM
We think the Reds are for a rich white culture of life.
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: As Predicted
CATEGORY: Remembering
DATE: 03/22/2005 05:03:25 PM
-----
BODY:
It's snowing. Not heavily, and it's not sticking, but it is snowing.
The first time I ever visited Kansas was during spring break of 1968 -- and on March 23 it snowed on me. So here we are coming up to the 38th anniversary of that visit, and I'm getting a repeat performance.
No matter what happens with the climate overall, there are certain things you can count on, and a backward March here seems to be one of those things. In like a lamb! Out like a lion!
PING:
TITLE: Enough Already!
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com/2005/03/enough-already-scorpio-was-complaining.html
IP: 72.9.234.70
BLOG NAME: Pudentilla's Perspective
DATE: 03/24/2005 06:51:10 AM
With the greatest respect to Scorpio, we observe, "you don't know from snow."
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: The Hiding Place
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Film
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/23/2005 08:40:51 PM
-----
BODY:
I saw "The Hiding Place" during a film festival featuring area talent.
Since there has been so much publicity surrounding the Schiavo case, it is too bad that I must tell you this film never found a US distributor. It has been distributed in France, but no US company has seen fit to showcase a serious drama that deals with the problems and emotions of having an loved and again relative who is losing the ability to live safely alone.
If you can get a group together to sponsor a local screening, do so. A sensitive and mature drama on a problem that so many have faced -- and that millions will have to face in the next 30 years, this film will provide a lot of things to think about.
And one thing is guaranteed -- you will not get a responsible and mature look at this problem on the news, or from Congress.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Yes!
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Science
DATE: 03/24/2005 07:10:50 PM
-----
BODY:
Soft tissue from tyrannosaurus rex has been found inside a thigh bone that was found in Montana.
I have to admit to being a paleontology geek -- I took as much geology as I could in college, and only inorganic chemistry kept me from making it my major. If I find this exciting, I can only imagine that paleobiologists are bouncing up and down.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scaramouche
EMAIL: ScaramoucheBlog@gmail.com
IP: 66.245.32.150
URL: http://scaramoucheblog.blogspot.com/
DATE: 03/24/2005 07:53:49 PM
Great News! Now we can clone some dinosaurs...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Paula Helm Murray
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.30.12.11
URL:
DATE: 03/24/2005 08:00:53 PM
I read that on my brief lunch break today (I am back in the office now because the big guys say I have to be). And just had the breath taken out of me. Wow. And I'm on the bio side of the equation, not geo. The possibilities for learning, just wow.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scaramouche
EMAIL: ScaramoucheBlog@gmail.com
IP: 66.245.32.150
URL: http://scaramoucheblog.blogspot.com/
DATE: 03/25/2005 12:45:48 PM
Oh, another thing, posts like this could lead to your site being attacked by dinosaur. Go here to see what I mean http://www.netdisaster.com/go.php?url=http://scorpio.typepad.com/eccentricity/&mode=dino&destruction=massive&lang=en ).
[that was very funny -- and it has been getting hits, too -- S.]
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Go Look
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 03/25/2005 04:46:21 PM
-----
BODY:
at the post below and check out the web address that Scaramouche listed. It was a hoot. And while you are at it, visit his web log -- he had some great posts this week, especially this one on Real Republicans. Why, once upon a time I was one. And remember, it was Dwight Eisenhower himself who warned us about the "military-industrial complex". Probably the heavy winds in Kansas are a result of old Ike spinning in his grave.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Donna
EMAIL: dmariemart@aol.com
IP: 67.166.189.68
URL: http://www.wordwhammy.com
DATE: 03/26/2005 09:09:29 PM
I too was once a Republican. Sadly, there are a lot of people out there who can say that. I'm very close to being able to say, "I too was once a Christian."
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Striking Truths
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/26/2005 11:56:54 AM
-----
BODY:
Rivka at Respectful of Otters said her breath was taken away by Amanda Marcotte's discussion of "freedom" and "life" as used by BushCo.
I considered that a fine coincidence since earlier this week I was blown away by an exchange of views on a list I belong to. A man who is staunchly Republican said he didn't favor any more of his freedom being taken away by the government placing more restrictions on companies like WalMart.
A woman replied that she was disturbed when people demonstrated confusion between regulating
people's lives and regulating corporations. Corporations are legal
fictional people but she did not believe that restricting their freedom is
the same thing as restricting her freedom.
She went on to point out that the people who are
most in favor of protecting the rights and freedoms of corporations are
the same people who want to intrude into our bedrooms and take away our
most personal rights of privacy. She remarked that if they can make the separation
and decide that they want to have government interfere in daily
activities while protecting WalMart and other companies from government
interference in their activities, then she felt it was correct to do the same thing in reverse.
Indeed, I agree with what she said and was enchanted by its simplicity. If someone wants to approve of secret laws, declaring citizens to be alien combatants and held without charges or representation; if someone wants to decide about control of my body and reproduction while attempting to deny that there is any way to exert control except by abstinence; if one thinks that having Congress meddle directly in the business of one family is appropriate, and thinks that rewriting the law for a single case is acceptable; if legislating who can belong to families is a high priority, chances are high that those people also believe -- that WalMart should deny benefits to employees for many months so that their illness fall to MedicAid and your taxes; that their products should come from Chinese sweatshops and not US manufacturers; that they should be able to lock illegal aliens in at night to clean up their property; that Ken Lay should get off scot free; that companies should merge and merge until huge conglomerates have a stranglehold on everyone; that any drug should go right to market and that the companies should have no liability; that the possibility of disease in cattle should be ignored lest a rancher have to dispose of an animal to his cost; that more environmental heat, mercury, particulates and other pollutants don't matter and should be ignored; and that there should be no medical help for those who die of their ideas.
And that list is only partial.
Believe me, if the government seeks to restrict you as a person, to regulate your partners, your right to worship where you will, to be fairly represented in a court of law, then I believe the government is wrong.
On the other hand, seeking to keep a corporation from doing damage is not in the same league. It is not defending freedom. Corporate entities are not human beings, and they will not die from lead poisoning or a heart attack from untested drugs.
So.
There's freedom, and there is confusing your freedoms with allowing corporations to do things you would not permit a human to do. Your freedoms are important, and when they conflict with corporate freedoms, count me on the side of humans.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Howard
EMAIL: h.2@att.net
IP: 67.102.62.104
URL: http://thesmedleylog.com
DATE: 03/27/2005 05:50:21 PM
Wow -- that's a fantastic rant. You've encapsulated my beliefs on corporate welfare and abuse better in one post than I could in a week of posting...
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Rana
EMAIL: frogsandravens@yahoo.com
IP: 4.241.0.154
URL: http://palimpsest.typepad.com
DATE: 03/29/2005 12:09:59 AM
Beautiful post. I'm going to have to link this one.
-----
PING:
TITLE: Some of the News That's Fit to Blog
URL: http://www.pacificviews.org/weblog/archives/001041.html
IP: 65.19.165.2
BLOG NAME: Pacific Views
DATE: 04/04/2005 02:39:27 AM
Over at MyDD, there's an interesting diary about having a 10,000 member House of Representatives, and Chris Bowers talks about the real swing issues. Also, Jerome Armstrong points to Chalmers Johnson's request that Americans wake up and take a look...
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PING:
TITLE: WHY POLITICS DIVIDES.
URL: http://coldspringshops.blogspot.com/2005_04_01_coldspringshops_archive.html#111274338522200214
IP: 72.9.234.70
BLOG NAME: Cold Spring Shops
DATE: 04/05/2005 06:24:09 PM
Eccentricity discovers in a listserv what comes bundled under the label "Republican."
-----
PING:
TITLE: Some of the News That's Fit to Blog
URL: http://www.pacificviews.org/weblog/archives/001041.html
IP: 65.19.165.2
BLOG NAME: Pacific Views
DATE: 04/21/2005 12:48:37 AM
Over at MyDD, there's an interesting diary about having a 10,000 member House of Representatives, and Chris Bowers talks about the real swing issues. Also, Jerome Armstrong points to Chalmers Johnson's request that Americans wake up and take a look...
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--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Ignorance is Bliss
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 03/27/2005 07:47:39 PM
-----
BODY:
I read quite a few web logs -- I try to hit almost all the ones to your left every day.
Day after day, I see people complain about the writing of David Brooks.
Do you know, I have no clue who David Brooks is or why anyone should care about what he says?
Ah, the bliss of ignorance!
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Rook
EMAIL: rook@rooksrant.com
IP: 66.41.149.220
URL: http://www.rooksrant.com
DATE: 03/27/2005 11:25:46 PM
Normally, I would disagree with the bliss is ignorance stance. However, in this case, I am really quite jealous.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.26
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 03/28/2005 08:50:24 AM
I read the Babbler only if I can predict that he will do something really outrageous after seeing him on the NewsHour on Friday night. The Friday night appearance is always a hash of what we'll see in the Saturday column. If he's just being his usual stupid self, then I ignore the column. But I knew on Friday night that Saturday would be very special indeed.
Still, I envy the zen like peace you must derive from your admirable self-restraint.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 65.40.52.100
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 03/29/2005 09:35:58 PM
If I am at my Mother's on Friday and she happens to be knitting, crocheting, or sewing, she will have the television on and switch to the Newshour at 6pm. Only under those circumstances am I even aware of the existence of David Brooks.
He occasionally comments on NPR, but I can automatically ignore him as I ignore the comments of my neighbor's boys playing outside.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Donna
EMAIL: dmariemart@aol.com
IP: 67.166.189.68
URL: http://www.wordwhammy.com
DATE: 03/29/2005 09:53:47 PM
Trust me, he is annoying. What is weird is that he seems like a smart guy (though confused). I often feel that he says dumb things just so he can keep his "club" membership.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Harrison
EMAIL: hbrace@gmail.com
IP: 66.122.48.159
URL: http://permanentred.com
DATE: 03/29/2005 11:35:50 PM
It's hard to explain why he's so frustrating. His live commentary at the conventions was mind-numbing. It's as if he's done the impossible: found a genuinely new way to be boring. And he makes you afraid itâ€(tm)s easily transmissible.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Eric J
EMAIL: moveleft2000@excite.com
IP: 209.150.212.226
URL: http://moveleft.com
DATE: 03/31/2005 03:48:53 PM
David Brooks is a regular op-ed columnist for the New York Times.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Spending Taxes for Republicans Only
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/29/2005 04:46:30 PM
-----
BODY:
Today, Pudentilla posted on the topic that I wanted to rant about.
How is it that tax money can be spent on events where Democrats are excluded? When the events were Bushie's campaign, his preference for speaking to Republicans had some merit -- after all, they were going to coddle him and give him money.
But when he is speaking as President on national policy, does he have the right to spend tax money and then exclude citizens whose interest in issues is equal to the interest Republicans might have? If he is out there fund-raising and spending money raised by his campaign, that is one thing -- but when he is discussing Social Security, that is an entirely different thing.
Is it up to Congress to see that he uses tax money in the interest of all citizens? Of course, the US congress is practically impotent as a group to maintain oversight. Overlook is more their thing. Nevertheless, I am glad that the Secret Service is looking into this issue.
Putting all access into the hands of the Republican Party is not only wrong, it is shameful and cowardly.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.26
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 03/29/2005 05:46:34 PM
I think josh marshall has more - the folks who organize higher renta cops and dress them up to look like Secret Service [what - ear pieces and bad suits?] guys. If anyone else tried it, of course, it would be impersonating a federal agent and the person who did it would find their keister in the pony.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Seized Up
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Rants
DATE: 03/30/2005 07:24:15 PM
-----
BODY:
Today my outrage motor overloaded and seized up. This morning on Eschaton, Atrios had a post he titled Legalese (later renamed to Perjurer). It was about Sanchez testifying to Congress that he had not approved any illegal questioning methods "at any time in the last year."
Sanchez is starting to backpedal and lie because now he knows that he is just not going to get charged by this administration. Nice, huh? This is the guy who, when Abu Ghraib broke, said that there would have to be accountability all the way up the chain of command and including him.
Of course, that must have been during the ten minutes that Congress was horrified by rape videos and worse pictures than the American public has seen -- when one expected that, indeed, this country did not condone torture. At that time, Sanchez actually seemed to stand tall.
That was before he learned that this administration is in favor of torture from the top to level down through the command structure, and that no charges would be filed unless one were enlisted. It was before it became crystal clear that the people in power were slimy, ruthless, and absent of morals, ethics or principles.
Well, 53% of you voted to condone torture and ignore crimes. [see Comments]
Fortunately -- did you know? -- there is no statute of limitations on war crimes. This is why the Israelis hunted Nazis well into the 1960s. So perhaps Mr. Sanchez, with his fatuous answer that he did not condone any crimes within the last year, will be called to answer for the ones he did, indeed, sign off on. He has learned to slither along with his masters. Maybe some nation with freedom and a care for justice will declare open season on our war criminals. Someday.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Avedon
EMAIL: avedon@cix.co.uk
IP: 80.229.133.49
URL: http://sideshow.me.uk
DATE: 03/31/2005 08:09:40 AM
I'm prepared to dismiss any statements to the effect that the majority of American voters were dumb enough to vote to keep Bush in the White House until such time as that proposition can be proven. The evidence so far indicates that Kerry won. Delete this "53% of you voted for Bush" meme from your repertoire.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scorpio
EMAIL: eccentric_00@hotmail.com
IP: 172.16.58.52
URL:
DATE: 03/31/2005 08:52:50 AM
Avedon, you're probably right. Today it hit me how often the same old crap is played out -- animal rights fnas being listed as terrorists while clinic bombers are ignored and other old Nixon era insanity. The vote was likely stolen in FL and OH, and the "mandate" a fraud (not that it is one -- hardly anyone voting for either candidate agreed with every word).
-- S.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Stolen
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 03/31/2005 03:30:49 PM
-----
BODY:
National Election Data Archive Project draws you a picture.
"The plot [of the graph] indicates that the difference between exit polls and official results was due to bias rather than random error."
The election was stolen -- and Q.E.D.
[via Skippy contributor Frogsdong, who is politer than Scorpio.]
-----
PING:
TITLE: Bias in 2004 exit polls
URL: http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~cook/movabletype/archives/2005/04/bias_in_2004_ex.html
IP: 128.59.111.11
BLOG NAME: Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
DATE: 04/03/2005 05:31:19 PM
Jeronimo pointed out this analysis by a bunch of statisticians comparing the 2004 exit polls with election results. The report (by Josh Mitteldorf, Kathy Dopp, and several others) claim an "absence of any statistically-plausible explanation for the dis...
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Web Log Nominations
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 04/02/2005 03:25:05 PM
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BODY:
Avedon Carol's Sideshow is hereby nominated for a Pulitzer for her ongoing series on election fraud. And of course, she is hereby nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
I was planning to say that ever since Skippy added his new cohorts -- especially Pudentilla, Cookie Jill, Mimus Pauley and Frogsdong -- it has been evident that he is gunning for becoming the Best Group Blog. He might make it, too -- I find myself linking back to him more often than ever. So let's second his nomination for a Pulitzer and a Nobel Prize.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.26
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 04/03/2005 02:29:57 PM
bless your heart.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Cultures
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Rants
DATE: 04/02/2005 04:16:53 PM
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BODY:
When certain individuals talk about a Culture of Death, I see those words coming from a member of either the Culture of Expediency or the Culture of Hypocrisy.
Bush himself at least belongs to the Culture of Expediency. Whatever he thinks will bring him political points is what he will do -- hence his signing of the Texas law to allow hospitals to pull the plug in patients who cannot either pay or find a new care facility versus his race to sign the meddlesome law that Congress used to poke its sharp and hypocritical collective nose into what should have been the business of the Schiavo family.
Hypocritical collective nose? You betcha. These are the people who want to cut the very MedicAid that was keeping Ms. Schiavo in liquid nutrients and a bed -- but they wanted her to ... what? Have her kept there by fiat with no support? With Christian Right support? What?
These No Embryo or Flatlined Person Left Behind folks want nothing to do with the actual *consequences* of their legislation.
The closest any group came to making sense was the group that wanted Congress to pass a law that made food, medicine and shelter "rights" of every citizen. And of course, such a thing was so unthinkable that they were mentioned once or twice and then hurriedly abandoned for the much more photogenic "supporters" raising their arms in supplication and taping their mouths shut.
All in all, it was a disgusting and undignified spectacle, with layers of raised cameras circling each new dramatic fewmet. Death with dignity really doesn't include CNN. The Culture of Expediency was triumphant. Whatever sells. Whatever.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: iPod
CATEGORY: Music
DATE: 04/03/2005 04:39:01 PM
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BODY:
In all the iPod shuffles and Friday tens that I have seen for the past few months, it's a bit of a shock to realize that I have recognized exactly *one* artist and recording. One.
It is a sad commentary that so many people get marooned in the past. At least I don't listen to "oldies" stations. I certanly can't live on a diet of teenage angst, and I refuse to relive the '60's. My mother listened to radio that played the 1940's over and over, and I told myself not to do that as I aged.
Still, being exposed to new music is a function of having younger friends, and even my younger friends are aging. Maybe I will just need to get a list of recommendations and have youngsters program an iPod for me. The closest to contemporary that I have liked are Marc Cohn, The Refreshments, Bob Seger and Tori Amos (not the song about the psychotic killer daddy, thank you, but Little Earthquakes is great).
So -- anyone have any recommendations?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Avedon
EMAIL: avedon@cix.co.uk
IP: 80.229.133.49
URL: http://sideshow.me.uk
DATE: 04/03/2005 08:11:13 PM
I've bypassed this problem completely by listening to stuff that was popular before I was born - Artie Shaw, Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, that kind of thing. Saves no end of bother.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: John P. Hoke
EMAIL: john.hoke@gmail.com
IP: 198.151.41.204
URL: http://john.hoke.org/
DATE: 04/04/2005 10:32:20 AM
Heh!
I will have to compile something for you... or make a sampler up and get it to you somehow
My collection is fairly ecclectic ... but the diversity of people's music is why I love the FaRT (Friday Random Ten) it sometimes turns me on to music I would never have heard... or even better, remind me of music I once loved, but had not thought of in ages :)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: John P. Hoke
EMAIL: john.hoke@gmail.com
IP: 198.151.41.204
URL: http://john.hoke.org
DATE: 04/04/2005 11:13:53 AM
Also... nearly forgot... why not check out Kymberlie's "Burn It" meme... every quarter we burn CDs based on a topic and share them with 4 people in a group... hmm..
For a better explanation, check out the Burn It 2005 post. I have gotten some wonderful music from groups and genres I would probably never have heard otherwise :)
http://www.neuroticfishbowl.com/archives/003043.html
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Mark H
EMAIL: biomes_@cox.net
IP: 68.9.18.71
URL: http://biomesblog.typepad.com
DATE: 04/06/2005 07:48:12 PM
Dylan. Lots of Dylan. And John Hiatt.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Josh Canel
EMAIL: quicksauce@yahoo.com
IP: 69.81.151.19
URL: http://quicksauce.blogspot.com
DATE: 04/10/2005 04:03:06 PM
Ani DiFranco. Especially her first 8 or so albums.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Pretty Problem
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 04/04/2005 03:58:23 PM
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BODY:
Suppose you belonged to a club with 117 members. Suppose you had to choose one to be infallible from the time the vote goes his way.
And yet, you pretty much know the fallibilities of your fellows.
Being a prince isn't all fun, even if it comes with all the side boys and dancing g-- never mind. Let's not get into the rest of the woes. It will be interesting to find out if they can elect one who opposes child abuse and seduction as bitterly as most of them oppose child prevention. And as long as the pointy-nosed Nigerian who has been running for Pope is left in the dust, I'll be mildly satisfied.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Ballots in Kansas
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 04/05/2005 07:56:06 PM
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BODY:
I went to the polls today for one reason -- to vote against the hate amendment on the Kansas ballot.
But wait! It gets better!
I don't know who wrote the language for the ballot item, but I'd guess it had evangelical input. It said, basically, 'There is a law that currently restricts marriage to one man and one woman. If you vote yes for this amendment, judges and legislators will not be able to change it. If you vote no, the current law will remain in effect but will be subject to change if a judge or a legislature decides to change it.'
I considered this language extremely prejudicial. Extremely.
Father and Mother in Heaven, I do not understand why you do not rid the US of snakes, as you did Ireland. Amen.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Donna
EMAIL: dmariemart@aol.com
IP: 67.166.189.68
URL: http://www.wordwhammy.com
DATE: 04/05/2005 08:42:55 PM
Not only is it prejudicial, it's a bit confusing â€" legal mumbo-jumbo. Let us know how it turns out. I'm with you on eradicating snakes!
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Cropping
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 04/06/2005 10:04:00 PM
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BODY:
Notice that at CNN online, and at ABC online, the pictures of the "US delegation" to the Pope's funeral is conveniently cropped so that no Democrats or people of color appear to represent us. Poppy, Laura and Junior are the only folks that appear in those media.
No Clinton. No Rice. Just Them. This link doesn't even have Poppy.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Paula Helm Murray
EMAIL: dragonet@kc.rr.com
IP: 65.30.12.11
URL:
DATE: 04/06/2005 11:35:54 PM
Veeeeert interestink. but then again, you among all other people in the universe (even over my own fambly) should understand exactly how i feel about the current administration. sigh. he's building his own empiracy....
I despair. And hope for better days.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Donna
EMAIL: dmariemart@aol.com
IP: 10.30.0.58
URL: http://www.wordwhammy.com
DATE: 04/08/2005 09:45:28 AM
Our most beloved senator was there as well - Tom Delay. I want to see a picture of him grieving.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Rock and a Hard Place
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 04/07/2005 04:32:11 PM
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BODY:
"Gay Soldier Wants to Serve Openly". Oh yes. At a time when the military needs bodies, they still want to reject the openly gay -- no matter their competence, skills, devotion.
Sargent Stout has been open within his unit. It has not caused trouble. But now the word is out and the folks who make the Really Stupid Rules want to discharge him. He would be willing to stay if they would stop demanding that he essentially lie about who he is.
But nooooooo.
So the military will lose a willing and competent member because too many prejudiced folks in power believe in lies -- the lie that gays disrupt units. Do you realize that this was said about blacks and women? Of course you do, and saying it about the homosexual is equally untrue -- unless one is prejudiced or frightened.
I suspect that "don't ask, don't tell" is how Clinton ran his life. I liked him as President. On the other hand, I wish he had had military experience. If he had, he'd have told his generals to execute his orders or resign, and signed to permit gays to function openly as long as their conduct was "private things in private", as everyone must. Clinton let the generals railroad him, and I am very sorry that happened.
A general can be replaced pretty easily. Thousands of enlisted men cannot be replaced easily -- not anymore. It's time for the military to own that fact and get rid of the prejudiced idiots with stars -- no matter what kind of crap the Red Staters want to enshrine.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: PusBoy
EMAIL: pusboy@virtualp.us
IP: 68.18.125.236
URL: http://www.virtualp.us
DATE: 04/08/2005 02:42:00 PM
But, don't you understand? If we let gays serve openly in the military, they won't kill the enemy, they'll just want to make sweet, sweet love to them.
This shit is going to end soon. When Iraq becomes so unstable that a draft is unavoidable, or Iran gets antsy, or North Korea, these assholes are going to be taking gays, straights, men, women, Jews, and Muslims.
Assholes.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.26
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 04/11/2005 09:34:09 AM
We want the A1 draft classification to go to those whose parents sport Bush-Cheney '04 bumperstickers on their suvs.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Unitarian Jihad
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 04/09/2005 02:15:06 PM
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BODY:
Via Body and Soul, we were sent to get a Unitarian Jihad name.
My Unitarian
Jihad Name is:
Sister Garotte of Enlightened Compassion.
Or maybe it's
Brother Hand Grenade of Patience.
I'm so confused!
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Early to Bed
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 04/10/2005 04:08:35 PM
-----
BODY:
Ugh. Feels like bronchitis or a cold. Not my idea of a way to greet spring.
Meanwhile, read this post on The American Street.
You do that and I'll go take a nap.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: More on Privacy
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 04/11/2005 07:23:12 PM
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BODY:
[via feministe]
Culturekitchen brings us the Privacy Manifesto.
The fifteenth century bears strange similarities to our own century. The greatest threat to Christian Europe was the Turk, Muslims, who, it was thought, would overrun Christian Europe, slaughtering the men, making women their concubines. In absolute terror that the advancing Turks were the scourge inflicted on Christians by an angry God, communities looked inward for their enemies, and started offering up their friends and neighbors for private acts that were seen as publicly dangerous. Sometimes, I don't think that rhetoric sounds any different than what we hear coming from right-wing pundits and preachers. We're marching lock-step back into the Dark Ages.
I consider the sorts of things in this piece to be "practice for thinking on your feet", or learning a kind of pointed answer to nosy behavior before you are cornered by a fanatic. It is always good to stay in practice when you live in Zone Red. We have a lot of nutcases.
The one thing I remember fondly about living in New Jersey was that there were no fundamentalist or evangelical loonies who had opinions that they wanted to share with you about how you should behave, worship or believe.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Donna
EMAIL: dmariemart@aol.com
IP: 67.166.189.68
URL: http://www.wordwhammy.com
DATE: 04/11/2005 11:39:17 PM
I've lived in Texas for...well...too damn long. It doesn't get any redder than here. I've had people try to convert me (a Christian...though lately...it's a little fuzzy) since the day I arrived. It's a state where folks carry a gun under one arm and a Bible under the other. Oh, and they all drive pick-ups with lots of "support our troops" sticks attached to the trunk panel. My face is going to end up permanently locked in a grimace.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: I Know
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 04/13/2005 05:52:05 PM
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BODY:
Everyone wants newer news. I'm still too wretched to go looking for stuff all over the web. Did you know that to stop hospital infections, keyboards have had to be tossed and replaced because they harbor germs and cannot be sanitized? Mine is due for the dustbin any time now.
I will tell you that I have been following Bigwig's articles about the Marburg epidemic. He has also had a series on birds of Iraq that has had some wonderful pictures.
Avedon Carol at the Sideshow quotes a chilling little paragraph from King of Zembla.
Magpie at Pacific Views tells us that studies by chemical companies get very different results from those of independent testers. The story is buried in the middle of the reporting text. I wonder who is supposed to not notice it?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Donna
EMAIL: dmariemart@aol.com
IP: 67.166.189.68
URL: http://www.wordwhammy.com
DATE: 04/14/2005 08:22:21 PM
I hope you get to feeling better soon.
[Thank you. So far all I still want is sleep. :( --S.]
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Sometimes
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Science
DATE: 04/14/2005 09:27:38 PM
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BODY:
Reality is more fun than fantasy. Thanks Madeline!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Mad Kane
EMAIL: madkane@madkane.com
IP: 64.12.116.196
URL: http://madkane.com/notable.html
DATE: 04/16/2005 11:22:59 AM
Thanks for the link!
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Hot Site
CATEGORY: Humor
DATE: 04/15/2005 04:27:11 PM
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BODY:
Oh yes. The Freeway Blogger has assembled a web site that is just amazing. It is advice for those who pledge Abstinence Only.
Be sure to check out Ask Dr. Frist.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Donna
EMAIL: dmariemart@aol.com
IP: 67.166.189.68
URL: http://www.wordwhammy.com
DATE: 04/15/2005 10:46:08 PM
Ha!
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Skippy's Blogtopia
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 04/16/2005 05:35:15 PM
-----
BODY:
Today Cookie Jill did a post on Skippy's site that ended with:
read these vile words and know what we are up against. figure out how we can combat these talking points of verbal violence.
In a nutshell, it has been nagging me that I have not yet come up with an argument of five words or less that distills why Frist must be stopped, why DeLay must be stopped, why they should be taken seriously and removed from any attempt to wield power.
Sort of:
"Would you put your mother's life in his hands?"
"Believe his way. Your way is evil."
"He knows better."
"We can't read the Constitution while we're dancing on it."
"They know Christ is Republican."
"Only traitors question Frist's right to rule."
"DeLay: he'd sell your daughter."
[or maybe just pay her real well so a lobbyist could pour champaign over her in a hot tub].
All those unenumerated rights! Why, do you realize that there are *more* unenumerated rights than there are rights given to the government? -- and we can't have that!
I don't know. What would convince your normal person that corruption lives and gets sent to Congress? What would convince them that all this Jesus-ing is unamerican? What would convince them that the current power grab is nakedly evil?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jillian
EMAIL: cookies4clark@yahoo.com
IP: 69.231.238.223
URL: http://www.slyfelinos.com/slyblog/
DATE: 04/17/2005 12:27:16 PM
I say frame it in "personal terms". Tell a story about something that will affect them PERSONALLY.
I don't know. I asked that question because I don't have the answers either...I was hoping that between us all we could come up with something.
If that doesn't work...well, perhaps a 2x4.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.26
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 04/18/2005 02:17:25 PM
1. They're gonna screw Jesus...
2. To screw up the Constitution.
ok it's 2 parts, so i cheated.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: The Perfect Caption
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 04/17/2005 11:12:58 AM
-----
BODY:
Let's steal from the best and adapt a quote from John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up.
"And on the eighth day I suppose God came to you and said 'I changed my mind about the insects.'"
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: firedoglake
EMAIL: janehamsher@firedoglake.com
IP: 68.118.32.150
URL: http://firedoglake.blogspot.com
DATE: 04/17/2005 05:31:25 PM
Oh, good one.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Choices, Choices
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 04/18/2005 02:35:20 PM
-----
BODY:
I was give a choice of five days in the hospital or five days resting at home.
I don't like hospital beds one bit, and people make too much noise there, so I'm home.
I was going to put on my tinfoil hat and discuss the 10,000 arrests that were made last week, but somehow I don't think that would be restful at all, so I'll put it off until I feel a bit better.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 65.40.17.32
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 04/18/2005 08:23:28 PM
Good choice. The hospital is a good place to catch something and you damn sure don't get any rest. A semi-private room down here on the Gulf Coast goes for $4200/per day. Insurance companies would be better off booking people into a good hotel with room service.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scorpio
EMAIL: eccentric_00@hotmail.com
IP: 65.66.150.34
URL: http://scorpio.typepad.com/eccentricity/
DATE: 04/18/2005 08:50:18 PM
Geez -- even a room with a $10 an hour set of maids to fill a humidifier and bring water for pills would be greatly cheaper.
My last hospital trip was 25K for surgery and two days of "recovery", so I am not the least anxious to get near another.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: firedoglake
EMAIL: janehamsher@firedoglake.com
IP: 68.118.32.150
URL: http://firedoglake.blogspot.com
DATE: 04/18/2005 10:20:08 PM
Feel better. And have no fear â€" Gonzales will still be evil when you're well again.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.26
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 04/19/2005 01:54:56 PM
5 days? that can't be good. get better already!
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Still Alive
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 04/20/2005 11:40:40 AM
-----
BODY:
| Tourist You scored 44 Patriotic, 19 Lazy, 13 Power Hungry, and 99 General Knowledge! |
Congrats! You know a lot about America, without actually possessing the personal stereotypical American characteristics. Perhaps you are an American who simply doesn't act as lazy and power hungry as most of the others. Or perhaps you googled a few questions to get some answers..or maybe you just paid attention in class? |
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The Just How American Are You? Test written by g_nome on Ok Cupid |
I'm not sure if this makes me the laziest creature in the world, or the least lazy. Either is good with me :)
Still alive. Still sick. Time to go take a nap.
[via Sisyphus Shrugged]
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jillian
EMAIL: cookies4clark@yahoo.com
IP: 69.231.238.223
URL: http://www.slyfelinos.com/slyblog/
DATE: 04/22/2005 04:27:24 PM
You scored 47 Patriotic, 19 Lazy, 5 Power Hungry, and 99 General Knowledge!
I don't know what this makes me....
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: The Sound of His Wings
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 04/22/2005 11:59:43 AM
-----
BODY:
There is more than one way to impose a theocracy, and murder liberty and justice for all. A Brooklyn Bridge has some DeLay strategy you won't want to miss!
I read a piece last week or the week before wherein someone suggested that the Second Amendment won't save us from the current conspiracy to make this country a mirror of Afghanistan before the war -- Taliban or Christianist, the goals are the same and the higlights of theology almost identical.
The aim is to destroy the rule of law and impose the rule of because-they-said-so.
Go read.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Responsibility
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 04/24/2005 12:34:19 PM
-----
BODY:
Someone in Portland takes his job seriously -- the mayor.
The FBI would not give the mayor clearance equal to that of the police chief with regard to the anti-terrorism task force workshops.
Since the mayor is also the police commissioner, with oversight on police matters, he has decided that perhaps Portland does not have to cooperate with the FBI and participate in their workshops. After all, if you can't learn what officers are told, you cannot oversee their activities.
Bravo for the mayor of Portland. Too few people take their mandate to oversee activities half seriously enough. Ask General Sanchez.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 65.40.3.160
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 04/24/2005 09:52:48 PM
Based on my limited [by choice] experience with the FBI when dealing with local law enforcement agencies:
1. They want the locals to do the work, while the Bureau takes the credit.
2. They want the locals to do things the Bureau is forbidden to do by Federal law.
3. They want the costs to be paid for by the locals, and will bill you for any technical assistance they provide.
4. They have remarkably little experience in the investigation of standard crimes.
5. They will lie to the locals as a matter of policy.
They mayor was correct in pulling out of joint operations, because if something blows up, not an uncommon occurrence, the locals will be stuck with the mess and the lawsuits.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Adding Cargo
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 04/26/2005 09:26:20 AM
-----
BODY:
What do you do when your ship is sinking? Add cargo! The Bush Tour is adding TomDeLay to the sideshow attractions for the Social Security Destruction Road Show and Tractor Pull. It's a gesture that I am sure DeLay appreciates.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 198.70.215.174
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 04/26/2005 08:35:55 PM
It's a hand-picked crowd, so there is no danger of backlash, but it does make plausible deniability harder to achieve when DeLay implodes.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pudentilla
EMAIL: mimberat@atbatesdot.edu
IP: 72.12.64.26
URL: http://pudentilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 04/26/2005 09:14:36 PM
hey - are you felling better?
[some, thanks for asking. My boss is still letting me leave work at noon to rest some more since I am still not perking about - and that is after a full seven days at home resting. Glad I stopped smoking five years ago! -- S.]
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jillian
EMAIL: cookies4clark@yahoo.com
IP: 69.231.238.223
URL: http://www.slyfelinos.com/slyblog/
DATE: 04/29/2005 01:16:38 AM
I'm wondering how much is it costing the American Taxpayer to haul this piece of c**p DeLay around in AirForceOne?
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Book Fun
CATEGORY: Books
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 04/27/2005 06:09:23 PM
-----
BODY:
I've frequently been asked to make science fiction reading lists for younger people or new readers, especially when I recommend a book or two to them and they are ecstatic with the offerings.
One young evangelical recently asked me for about five lists featuring various themes. One theme was aliens. Of course, how can one recommend books with aliens and leave out Niven and Pournelle's Mote in God's Eye? Not possible, of course. He was absolutely thrilled with Mote - and I have to admit it is one of my favorites, as well.
We have often had discussions about hot-button topics, and he has always made it plain that he is in favor of all fetal-Americans having more rights than you and me -- he even mentioned the "Snowflake Project" which tries to find uterus space for all the little tissue specks that have been fertilized and frozen.
While discussing Mote, he mentioned what a disaster overbreeding was to Motie civilization.
And of course, what could I say? "Perhaps you should take it as a consideration when you discuss what you think people ought to do" said I.
Bada-bing.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: What Happens When You Stand On Principle
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 04/27/2005 11:24:22 PM
-----
BODY:
House Votes to Reverse GOP Ethics Rules
By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 19 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The House, with grudging Republican support, voted Wednesday to reverse GOP ethics rules that Democrats charged were designed to protect Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
The Republicans heeded Speaker Dennis Hastert's call for a retreat to end a deadlock that has kept the evenly divided ethics panel from functioning. The vote was 406-20, with all votes against the resolution cast by Republicans.
When you stand on principle and refuse to budge, those who flout principle look like the lowlives they are.
Next up, Mr. Frist.
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PING:
TITLE: Truer words . . .
URL: http://alterx.blogspot.com/2005/04/truer-words.html
IP: 72.9.234.70
BLOG NAME: The Alternate Brain
DATE: 04/28/2005 04:28:54 AM
Can I get a Hallelujah? Can I get an Amen?
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Guinea Pigs
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 04/28/2005 06:44:23 PM
-----
BODY:
I actually had a talk with a pharmacist today.
[I'm only partly better, and start more drugs today and more days off work.]
She said that the two places she swore she would never work were for drug companies or for insurance companies. Good choices.
My friend asked her about the difference between brand name and generic drugs. She said she thought that generics were usually OK except in the case of coumadin or some other special-purpose drugs, and that the FDA required that the company making generics prove that blood values were the same with generics as with the name brands.
I snarled "The FDA -- they are for sale to the highest bidder anymore." I cited Vioxx and Celebrex as cases in point, and grumbled that we are all guinea pigs in reality.
Ah well -- a long-standing opinion, I admit.
Blogging, as usual, depends on how long I stay awake.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Do You Suppose
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 04/30/2005 10:56:12 AM
-----
BODY:
Do you suppose it is any use to write to Senators Brownback and Robertson of Kansas and ask them to stop toeing the party line long enough to take care of their constituents?
Do you think they would be decent enough to defend the filibuster and to leave Social Security alone?
Guess I will have to write and find out.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: I Finally Realized Something
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 04/30/2005 07:36:29 PM
-----
BODY:
It's not a Social Security debate.
It's more a Social Security harrassment.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jillian
EMAIL: cookies4clark@yahoo.com
IP: 69.231.238.223
URL: http://www.slyfelinos.com/slyblog/
DATE: 05/03/2005 11:52:13 PM
so can we sue for harassment?
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: This Week's Quiz
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/01/2005 04:00:15 PM
-----
BODY:
I'm still not right up there and ready to talk about those arrests, so instead I give you today's quiz:
-3% Republican. |
|
I was a Republican 40 years ago, but then I grew up.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jillian
EMAIL: cookies4clark@yahoo.com
IP: 69.231.238.223
URL: http://www.slyfelinos.com/slyblog/
DATE: 05/03/2005 11:51:03 PM
I am 1% and wondering how I got that high...skippy surprised me...he's 10%. Who knew?
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: 10,000 Arrests
CATEGORY: Random Events
CATEGORY: Rants
DATE: 05/03/2005 07:56:22 PM
-----
BODY:
/tinfoil hat on/
Remember this story from a couple of weeks ago?
Dragnet nabs 10,000 fugitives
Friday, April 15, 2005 Posted: 2:55 AM EDT (0655 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than 10,000 fugitives from justice have been captured in a nationwide, weeklong dragnet involving federal, state and local authorities, said the U.S. Marshals Service, which led the effort.
Operation FALCON lasted from April 4 - 10 and marks the largest number of arrests ever recorded during a single operation.
Of priority: suspects wanted in homicides, sexual assaults, gang-related crimes, kidnappings, major drug offenses, and crimes against children and the elderly.
This article and others describing this event appeared on April 15 with no editorial comments, no news articles discussing this. The silence was remarkable.
There have been no follow up stories, either.
What was the actual message of these arrests?
"We can take your whole organization."
"The Second Amendment means nothing."
"We know where you are, too."
"There are lots of us and we can take you as easily as flushing a dead mouse."
All in all, I hardly saw a message that wasn't ominous. I did not consider the arrests impressive, imperative, or even particularly necessary to do in a huge number like that. It's not like there is so much jail space that prisons sit empty.
I wondered whether it was practice for some other kind of roundup. I hesitate to consider what kind.
It was the most random of events. The silence other than the initial announcement has been deafening. What was the message? Anyone?
/keeping the tinfoil hat in place ..../
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: The Fixer
EMAIL: WoodRH@optonline.net
IP: 24.186.36.58
URL: http://alterx.blogspot.com
DATE: 05/04/2005 05:12:54 AM
Message:
Hey look, we [the goverment] can do something without fucking it up.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.159.132
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 05/12/2005 01:49:46 AM
We can not control their actions and behavior unless they are under the supervision of the State. As such a quiet move to place more and more of the nations poor and wayward under the supervision of the State will allow us the opportunity to legislate what behaviors they are and are not allowed to practice.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Doomed to Repeat
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 05/05/2005 05:03:45 PM
-----
BODY:
Today the Board of Education in Kansas is going to decide whether they have been designed intelligently, or whether they will decree that their religion, masked as "intelligent design", will substitute for science.
All they prove is that some of us are closer to our simian ancestors than others.
Mark Twain had the right of it: "God created an idiot for practice. Then he created a School Board."
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 65.41.129.224
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 05/07/2005 11:41:10 PM
These people are stuck on a wheel and keep trying the same thing again and again.
One of the worse things about getting old is having to go through this kind of aggravation repeatedly. There needs to be an international convention that limits this stupidity to once for any human being's life time.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Unexpected
CATEGORY: Books
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/06/2005 04:31:51 PM
-----
BODY:
It looks like one of my posts is the number one entry on Google for "The Sound of His Wings". I really never expected that!
The title has haunted me a bit ever since the first time I read it in the list of Future History stories.
The other unwritten story that Heinlein refers to is the one he called "Pillow of Stone" that talks about the hardships encountered by those planning to liberate the United States from the theocracy of the Prophet Neimiah Scudder.
Honestly, sometimes I wish he had written it, concentrating on the treachery of the politicians who sold their countrymen out while screwing anything in the 20's age bracket they could manage; and while taking huge amounts of money and favors from lobbyists. Why, who would believe such a tale? Those science fiction writers -- full of imagination.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.159.132
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 05/06/2005 07:44:31 PM
When you've absorbed as many books as I have, from SciFi to Louis Lamor to Burroughs, to Jung, well they all start to blend together in this huge mass that blends together and makes it hard to remember which writer said what.
Take for instance Heinlen. I give him credit for the HeeChee chronicles when he may not have written them, and often wonder why Venus on the Hal Shell and HicthHikers Guide to the Universe seem so similar but were supposedly written by two different writers using two different pseudonyms.
Sci Fi kicks ass. It was Vernes who envisoned working submarines before there were. And space travel. Hover vehicles. Lazers. Things Sci Fi writers used and envisioned years in advance.
[The HeeChee belong to Fred Pohl, who is still alive and well. -- S]
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Good Thing
CATEGORY: Weblogs
DATE: 05/08/2005 06:23:37 PM
-----
BODY:
I see that while Atrios is travelling, he has Avedon Carol as one of his guest bloggers. The Sideshow is the place that got me hooked on reading web logs, so I am happy to see that she will be in two places at once for the next week and more.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Dreaming On
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/08/2005 06:26:40 PM
-----
BODY:
It would be nice if news organizations only quoted those who allowed their names to be used.
At the left of the front page (or on a page right behind the comics) could be a column titled "Sleazy Anonymous Gossip" that related all the goodies that had no attribution.
Probably no one but me would go for it. Ah well.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: natasha
EMAIL: natasha.the@gmail.com
IP: 24.18.149.9
URL: http://www.pacificviews.org
DATE: 05/10/2005 01:14:26 PM
Are you kidding? If it was labeled as sleazy gossip, more people would read it than ever before.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Smart Monkey
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/09/2005 08:06:00 PM
-----
BODY:
Today, go read Drunken Monkey Blogging. Indeed, he may have to blame all that truth on the contents of a bottle, but he still hit it head on.
So while I applaud the efforts of our congress critters trying to call Bush to the carpet I don't see anything coming out of it unless the press climbs out of his ass. The obvious failures over time being beyond the possibility of coincidence or poor editorial planning can only mean exactly what they mean, the press is owned. The list of credible witnesses to all that is currently being reinvestigated that have had their names slandered is long. The patterns fall into place and nothing as silly as impeachable offenses against our nation, our people, our soldiers, and their families, will stand in the way of GWB's triumphant finish before heralding in the next Bush.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: I Really Hope Not
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Rants
DATE: 05/10/2005 05:33:59 PM
-----
BODY:
Today at Eschaton, Avedon Carol posted a quote that started:
Gee, I wonder if John Kerry still thinks he's running for president....
In his attacks upon Washington, Mr. Kerry is adopting a puzzling strategy that could work for a governor but not for someone who is an entrenched member of the Washington elite.
And that reminds me of the rant I rewrite every place that mentions Mr. Kerry.
Kerry for president? No. I wouldn't vote for the man again, and he isn't entitled to one damned dime. He said every vote would be counted and forgot to mention out loud "except in Florida and in Ohio". He had 45 million dollars left when the election ended. He did not contest votes in any of the places where the exit polls deviated dramatically from the vote result, even though the dozen or more Florida counties where that happened used optical scan machines, which means that there should have been hardcopies that could have been checked.
He gave away the election, unlike Al Gore who fought for his right to a recount.
Kerry failed us, failed democracy, and laid down to be walked on. This makes him unfit to be president, no matter how many noisy initiatives he now presents to the senate.
The time for him to fight was November 3, 2004. He didn't do it, and he is sitting on a huge pile of cash that should have been used to ensure that the elections were fair. Well, let him choke on the money -- mine will go into Howard Dean's hands in the near future.
If I can figure out how to make Kerry stop sending e-mail, I'll do it. There is nothing he wants to say that I want to hear.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Hugo Zoom
EMAIL: hugozoom@yahoo.com
IP: 63.157.12.31
URL: http://hugozoom.blogspot.com/
DATE: 05/13/2005 01:10:52 AM
You said it! Although I voted for Kerry, however reluctantly, my disenchantment started when he essentially rolled over for the Swift Boat guys the previous summer. Interestingly, on both occasions he called on Bush to help him out(!!)-- in July, he wanted GWB to denounce the mean ole bullies, and in November, when he threw in the towel, he wanted them to join hands or something in creating a less divisive political atmosphere. (and wasn't that sweet of him?}
I'm sure you remember that-- and I have to believe Bush found both these overtures amusing beyond belief.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: IXLNXS
EMAIL: incubus52@comcast.net
IP: 68.34.159.132
URL: http://home.comcast.net/~incubus52/index.html
DATE: 05/26/2005 06:45:09 AM
We know the media is the sounding board for this dreadful mess. So we must wonder why the media, Fox and all, seem to be pushing for such lousy contenders. Kerry, Clinton, Homeless Guy. Seems they are trying to decide who gets to run against whoever it is they run. Putting the names out there like they are actual choices.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: It's the Principle
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/11/2005 07:15:56 PM
-----
BODY:
Today in a CNN article John McCain was quoted as thinking that Democrats would compromise and approve almost all of Bush's rejected judicial candidates as long as Republicans drop their idea to block the filibustering of judicial candidates.
Say what?
That is one of the looniest things I ever heard of. Why should they approve the far-out candidates that they rejected once? Does the President fail to understand that the advice of the Senate was "no"? We know what part of "no" he doesn't understand, but that does not mean that they should change to a "yes" just so his elephantine cohorts won't thow a temper tantrum?
And what good, may I ask, is a filibuster that one really cannot use because any show of disagreement will lead once more to said tantrum, again and again? I think that the time to duke it out is now. Republicans are behaving despicably, and if the nasty behavior occurs before the 2006 elections, maybe people will boot some of the bums out at midterms.
McCain may have compromised all his principles, including approving to have the US deal out what he considered torture when he endured it in VietNam -- but why should the Democrats do so? The next thing they would be expected to whore is their principles on Social Security. I want them to stop compromising now, so that I won't have to pray that they stop compromising later. Let them get a feel for saying "no" -- it is what we need from them.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 65.41.154.43
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 05/11/2005 11:00:10 PM
What good is a right that you agree not to use? The Democrats need to stop these people, because they are not acceptable as judges with lifetime appointments. Judges are the third branch and require extraordinary review.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jeff
EMAIL: jhouck2@tampabay.rr.com
IP: 68.202.73.164
URL: http://sidesalad.net
DATE: 05/12/2005 05:22:32 AM
Well, judicial stalemate isn't working. It's like watching a bunch of spoiled brats tar and feather themselves. When Democrats eventually retake the Hill and the White House, they should expect the GOP to pull the same childish crap, only with a retributional magnitude of 10.
It's like the Democrats are saying, "In lieu of an actual agenda, original ideas or viable candidates we'll just kick and stomp our feet and pray someone has sympathy for us.''
This is like watching Nic Cage drink himself to death in "Leaving Las Vegas.''
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Storms
CATEGORY: Random Events
DATE: 05/12/2005 10:46:44 PM
-----
BODY:
Thunder, lightning, rain. The power has gone down three times this evening. Guess it's a sign to get some sleep.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Leaks and IDs
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/13/2005 05:00:48 PM
-----
BODY:
I agree with those who think that a national ID card will be an extremely tempting target for hackers and a huge security risk.
Until about a month ago, I had never -- never -- bought anything on eBay, and of course I had never filled out their PayPal form.
The eBay PayPal form is different from all others because it does not give you a choice about making a permanent account, it just assumes you want one. Seeing that, I bailed out of the PayPal screen without finishing it.
Well, I made a purchase on eBay. Ever since then I have been innundated with eBay spam == most of it the shrill "your acount is being hacked!" or the "please confirm your information" or the "account being closed" kinds. Since I actually don't give a fart what any of this mail says, I delete it -- but I have to assume that 1) very little of it comes from eBay and 2) because I used eBay once I now look like a sucker to many people who can obviously access the eBay address data base -- as well as those who can likewise access the PayPal information.
Oh yes, I get all kinds of PayPal spam, too -- and since I do not want a permanent PayPal account, I delete those, too.
Oh dear Lord, do we want the kind of insane spam and fraud that a national ID card will bring down on us? Are our legislators insane?
No and yes.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Andrew Cory
EMAIL: Punningpundit@gmail.com
IP: 69.105.94.134
URL: http://www.punningpundit.com/
DATE: 05/13/2005 05:13:36 PM
What we need are some set of minimum standards in ID design/feature set. A clerk in California has no idea if the DC ID being presented is even close to looking like what a genuine DC ID should look like...
Beyond that, though, single point of failure is something to be avoided...
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bryan
EMAIL: bryan@dumka.com
IP: 65.41.129.239
URL: http://wnbld.blogspot.com/
DATE: 05/14/2005 09:01:04 PM
When I lived in California, Andrew, it was my experience that most clerks have now idea what valid California IDs are supposed to look like. There's going to need to be a bar code so they can scan it, because there's no guarantee they can read it.
Scorpio, I have forwarded three "phishing" e-mails to e-Bay in the past month. e-Bay will respond with a thank you.
I don't have either a PayPal or e-Bay account, so it is rather easy for me to spot them.
Most large sites have a fraud reporting page, and I'll take the time to forward the message in hopes that someone gets nailed.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: A Classic
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
DATE: 05/14/2005 02:16:30 PM
-----
BODY:
"Dave's Friday Question" -- don't miss it!
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: In Line at the Grocery Store
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 05/15/2005 07:34:40 PM
-----
BODY:
Party 1: Do you know that a couple of days ago the Kansas Legislature passed a bill allowing us to buy beer on Sunday?
Party 2: No, I don't think we can do that.
Party 3: It's not until July 1.
Party 2: July 1. OK.
Party 4: Yes, but will they pass one allowing the teaching of evolution?
Party 1: You don't want to go there with me.
Party 4:[cold stare]
Party 1: Theories masquerading as facts!
Party 4: Crazy people masquerading as rational.
* * *
Party 3: What *is* his [party 1's] problem?
Party 4: He's the kind of person who thinks the Devil created fossils to mislead the Godly. Idiot. Doesn't know the difference between a scientific theory and a fantasy.
Ah Kansas! Always an idiot around to make your grocery store conversations lively.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Donna
EMAIL: dmariemart@aol.com
IP: 67.177.72.78
URL: http://www.wordwhammy.com
DATE: 05/18/2005 02:11:59 PM
We've got the same sort of idiots here (Texas). Inbreeding?
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: An Error
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/16/2005 07:15:11 PM
-----
BODY:
Newsweek made an error, reporting that a copy of the Koran was defiled. They reported the error with no prompting. Was this enough for the US Government? Make me laugh. The US Government demanded that they retract the story.
Now tell me -- how often has the administration backed away from a policy based on an incorrect fact or six, hm? Has the administration made any apologies I'm not aware of? Wasn't that Condi Rice mentioning 9/12 and Iraq in the same sentence yesterday?
The administration bruits about all kinds of things that are not true, and bases foreign policy on the same. How can we get them to retract their errors?
The claim is that the Newsweek story caused several deaths because of riots in Afghanistan and elsewhere. On the other hand, the administration is responsible for about 1700 deaths based on the erroneous information they have noised about. So who can get them to retract their poisonous policies?
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jillian
EMAIL: cookies4clark@yahoo.com
IP: 69.231.236.202
URL: http://www.slyfelinos.com/slyblog/
DATE: 05/18/2005 06:26:23 PM
Well....the sad thing is that it really isn't an error. It was reported many times in many places.
I think it was the "mother of all smokescreens" to get people's attention away from the British memo and to futher put the thought "we can't trust the media" into people's heads. (Although most of the time we can't but for entirely different reasons...)
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: The Kansas Board of Education
CONVERT BREAKS: 0
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Education
CATEGORY: Religion
CATEGORY: Science
DATE: 05/16/2005 08:41:50 PM
-----
BODY:
Here is a web site giving the e-mail addresses of the Kansas Board of Education.
I sent each member a personal e-mail this evening. If some of you would pick up this link and spread it around, I would appreciate it.
Thank you.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Their Fates
CONVERT BREAKS: 0
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/17/2005 06:16:29 PM
-----
BODY:
Billmon has one Future History that is unbeatable -- remember, war crimes have no statute of limitations.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Galloway for Senate
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/18/2005 04:46:03 PM
-----
BODY:
Perhaps we could grant George Galloway honorary citizenship and put him in the Senate -- or have him build a Respect party here. It was a joy to hear him call the entire lead up to Iraq "a pack of lies", as the video at Crooks and Liars will show you. His entire statement was the clearest, cleanest, most eloquent indictment that anyone has handed down in this country during the Bush administration.
The shame of the US Congress is that it had to be given by a member of Parliament, not a member of Congress. Where is the bravery and honesty of our politicians? Sold out? Abandoned? Wherever it is, it has not been used for the oversight that is Congress's job. The administration has been skidding along on lies and misstatements for so many years that it has become the norm, much to the shame of the rest of our government.
I hope they felt chastised.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: blue girl
EMAIL: lmarefka@apk.net
IP: 69.173.225.120
URL: http://bluegirlredstate.typepad.com/
DATE: 05/18/2005 05:28:20 PM
Off subject here: I'm new to your site and was wondering -- is it "underhanded" -- or somehow "unacceptable" in the blogosphere to go back in and fix your typos? Or add to a post when you've thought of something great to add (or change) -- at a later date?
I'm new to the blog world and don't know all the rules yet!
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Scorpio
EMAIL: eccentric_00@hotmail.com
IP: 64.123.239.204
URL: http://scorpio.typepad.com/eccentricity/
DATE: 05/18/2005 05:53:19 PM
Bloggers are known for several styles of correction -- leaving a bit in and striking it out, with the correction next to it, correcting and indicating one has done so with asterisks, changing without warning, or changing with warning are some of them. The electronic universe is fragine. Others take chunks of our posts to quote, and if the piece they take changes, it's best if one made a warning of some sort.
After all, the number of nitpickers is leigon, and the number of nasty and malicious ones is greater than zero.
I made a statement because I do make corrections and I tend not to use a spell checker.
I figure that so stating is better than being pecked to death, that's all!
-- S.
Oh -- some blog owners edit your original comment to answer, so check even if more comments aren't present.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jillian
EMAIL: cookies4clark@yahoo.com
IP: 69.231.236.202
URL: http://www.slyfelinos.com/slyblog/
DATE: 05/18/2005 06:24:46 PM
I emailed him and thanked him.
I would LOVE to trade our old George (WB) for a fresh, energetic new George (G)
He had the cajones to really say what was on his mind because 1) they have FUN question and answer time across the Pond where they practice their verbal jousting and 2) he's not in the pockets of big business over here.
And my answers to the comments corrections...I always leave'm as is. (except if they are spam)
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: blue girl
EMAIL: lmarefka@apk.net
IP: 69.173.225.120
URL: http://bluegirlredstate.typepad.com/
DATE: 05/18/2005 08:38:52 PM
Thanks for the advice. And yes, I've met my fair share of malicious ones already.
I'll be back. Stop by my site when you can.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Gotham Image
EMAIL: fgfrt@fakemail.com
IP: 63.154.72.3
URL: http://gothamimage.blogspot.com
DATE: 05/25/2005 05:17:37 AM
My Galloway post has led to lots of contention and debate in my comments page
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Only One Thing
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/19/2005 05:25:04 PM
-----
BODY:
Much as they bruit about his name and pretend to quote him, Republicans pretty well understand only one thing about Franklin Roosevelt: unconditional surrender or we nuke you.
The discussions in the Seanate that were theoretically about compromise have always boiled down to the same thing: surrender. The last time the Republicans got a "unanimous" vote, three members participated -- Frist and two of his cronies at 3 AM shoved through the bill that dragged out the Schiavo misery.
So. No surrender. None. No.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Ah Yes
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Rants
DATE: 05/19/2005 06:06:05 PM
-----
BODY:
Today at Pandagon:
1,346
The number above is the number of days between the bombing of Pearl Harbor and V-J Day. Since it's not unheard for the warbloggers to compare the War on Terra favorably to WWII, this number has some significance today, the 1,346th day after September 11th, according to Shakespeare's Sister and Angry Bear.
Contrary to the heavy-handed war romanticism from the 101st Fightin' Keyboardists, the Greatest Generation Part Deux we are not. Mostly we are a nation of sniveling cowards who re-elected someone we knew for a fact to be a goddamned lying, money-grubbing piece of shit who only squeaked by with serious fear-mongering.
Moreover, the garbage he has been using in place of sensible stategies is coming up again for a vote, and the Republicans have plans to widen the useless Patriot Act so that the FBI can look over citizens even more freely, despite the fact that five years of the intrusive and liberty-eroding legislation has failed to bring even one terrorist through trial and conviction.
Both the Japanese and the Germans were defeated in less time than the entire, laggard hunt for bin Laden. George Bush is the poorest excuse for a Commander-in-Chief in the last sixty years or more. Pacifistic Woodrow Wilson was better! Remember on this day that huge armies on two fronts were defeated by our parents and grandparents; and that George Bush hasn't been able to resolve the one-front war he lied us into.
No, he's not going to get volunteers. Behind the scenes, the meatgrinder of the draft is gearing up. Unless Jenna and Barbara are first, a massive laydown might be in order.
-----
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Josh Canel
EMAIL: quicksauce@yahoo.com
IP: 69.81.157.147
URL: http://quicksauce.blogspot.com
DATE: 05/22/2005 08:11:59 PM
Wilson? Or do you mean FDR?
So much worse than FDR there is no comparison, but also worse than Wilson-the-pacifist. --S
-----
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: The Special Pen
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/21/2005 07:41:45 PM
-----
BODY:
I suppose George Bush has a Special Pen that he plans to use to sign a Real Veto. Why, the 400+ trained dogs in Congress have had the temerity to come close to passing stem cell legislation that differs from George's opinion -- imagine! So he is threatening a veto.
He said:
"I made [it] very clear to the Congress that the use of federal money, taxpayers' money, to promote science which destroys life in order to save life, I'm against that,"
Of course, we all know he's not against spending taxpayer money to take life that doesn't do a thing for other lives except put sorrow and grief and rage into them, but he won't let that dissonace dissuade him. Oh no, not Mr. Bush.
--------
AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Compromised
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/23/2005 10:01:27 PM
-----
BODY:
You know, "compromised" is a polite term for f*cked.
Well, 14 senators did the deed.
I don't have to go over and over what's wrong with Bush's judicial candidates -- you can read that elsewhere in great detail just by Googling their names. What's wrong with the opposition party is the US is that they have no clue how to actually oppose the Republicans. When Republicans are the opposition, they know how to fight dirty. It's really time and past time for someone to actually oppose them.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Apocalypse When?
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 05/24/2005 10:03:38 PM
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BODY:
[via Eschaton]
The pastor of a small Baptist church has refused calls to take down a sign posted in front of his church reading "The Koran needs to be flushed," saying Tuesday he has nothing to apologize for.
Ah those Baptists -- their God-given gift is to have a least one Pastor behave like a totally un-Christian jerkface on every issue of theology, politics, reproduction and international relations.
The Apocalypse will be announced by a 100 per cent Christian reaction by all Baptist pastors to an event in any of those categories.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Convention
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 05/26/2005 07:42:13 AM
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BODY:
An in-town SF convention this weekend will probably get almost all my time. People to see, things to do -- I may or may not see a computer between today and Monday.
I hope everyone kicks off summer with a great time.
I also hope everyone remembers the men and women whose lives have been derailed by this administration, both those serving and those who have died doing as they were ordered. It is a high crime to spill the blood of patriots where we have not been endangered. Let us also remember that our Congress has consistently chosen to make their living time have less medical care, that it has breached agreements with retired veterans, and that our current troops have gone without supplies, that our reserves have been denied adequate benefits, that we have had to buy ammunition from foreign countries because Congress has been doling out pork instead of looking after our men and women in harm's way.
Memorial Day, 2005.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Riddle Me This
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
CATEGORY: Rants
CATEGORY: Religion
DATE: 05/26/2005 10:35:35 PM
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BODY:
Why would people who get hysterical about burning flags (which are *supposed* to be burned when damaged) be casual -- or even approving -- about burning crosses?
The racist scum are on the loose again, becoming more bold in an environment that is increasingly more beset with name-calling, divisiveness, dirty playing, scorn for rules, and hate.
The rot starts at the top. The culture that tolerates corruption and torture is rotting more visibly than ever.
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Tagged
CATEGORY: Random Events
DATE: 05/30/2005 11:54:30 AM
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BODY:
Three names you go by (that won't give away your identity): I don't think there are any.
Three screen names you've had: Ratty, Pstachio [yes, spelled that way because of space limitations].
Three physical things you like about yourself: My face, my hands, my skin at age 18.
Three physical things you don't like about yourself: Weight yo-yo, bad knees, thin hair.
Three parts of your heritage: Italian, German -- all American in sum.
Three things you are wearing right now: Glasses, T-shirt, jeans
Three favorite bands / musical artists: Marc Cohn, Tori Amos, Billy Joel.
Three favorite songs: "Walkin' in Memphis", "China", "Uptown Girl"
Three things you want in a relationship: Love, laughter, endlessly interesting things to talk about (I can't improve on what the Green Knight said -- or WordWhammy, either).
Three physical things about the preferred sex that appeals to you: legs, chest, butt.
Three of your favorite hobbies: Reading, conventions, computers.
Three things you want to do really badly right now: Win the lottery, lose weight, take a decent vacation.
Three things that scare you: ignorance coupled with complete self-assurance and the ability to convince others
Three of your everyday essentials: Coffee, reading and at least one hug
Three careers you have considered / are considering: Geology -- loved it but no physics or inorganic chemistry for me! Electronics -- trig killed that. Slush pile reader -- possibly later.
Three places you want to go on vacation: Alaska cruise, Carribean cruise, Mexico, just because.
Three kids' names you like: Lauren, Bryant, Celia
Three things you want to do before you die: live well -- that is enough, really
Three ways you are stereotypically a boy: I can fix things and diagnose problems with machines, I can visualize a three dimensional object from a plan, I can wire a fixture.
Three ways you are stereotypically a girl: I have good language skills, I don't do sports, I'm a great cook.
Three celeb crushes: Princess Diana, Prince Wills, Bill Clinton
Three people to play next: Mary Kay at Gallimaufry, the folks at Side Salad, Guy at Rook's Rant.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Donna
EMAIL: dmariemart@aol.com
IP: 65.172.221.114
URL: http://www.wordwhammy.com
DATE: 05/31/2005 04:24:01 PM
Bill Clinton is totally fab!
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PING:
TITLE: I'm It
URL: http://www.rooksrant.com/archives/2005/05/im_it.html
IP: 216.239.142.2
BLOG NAME: Rook's Rant
DATE: 05/31/2005 07:37:26 PM
Eccentricity Tagged me. I have to clean the litter box. No, really. I have to clean the litter box. Look, I will get to this after I clean the litter box. HEY! I said I would do it after I...
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PING:
TITLE: AUNTIE MEME
URL: http://sidesalad.net/archives/002283.html
IP: 63.247.141.250
BLOG NAME: Side Salad - Food For Lack Of Thought
DATE: 05/31/2005 09:44:50 PM
Scorpio tagged me with this meme. To quote LeeAnn, I'm such a meme slut. So here's goes: Three names you go by (that won't give away your identity): Big Show, Daddy-O, Rev. Joe Kendall Three screen names you've had:...
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PING:
TITLE: Ok, Ok, I Finally Cleaned The Litter Box!
URL: http://www.rooksrant.com/archives/2005/06/ok_ok_i_finally.html
IP: 216.239.142.2
BLOG NAME: Rook's Rant
DATE: 06/03/2005 08:14:03 PM
Well, actually, I cleaned it days ago. But then life snuck up and deposited a different type of mess into my box. I have finally managed to clean it up and can now get around to doing the blogger's tag...
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AUTHOR: Scorpio
TITLE: Disassembling
CATEGORY: Current Affairs
CATEGORY: Politics
DATE: 06/01/2005 05:04:37 PM
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BODY:
The main project in Bush's sights for disassembling is the Social Security system.
It is our job to make sure that the Senate and House members know that voting to help him would be political suicide.
And if the President thinks we don't know dissembling when we see it, he's not as astute as his cheering section pretends.
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