Pages Tagged “Politics”
Reviews
- Changing Planes
★★★★☆
Ursula K. Le Guin
Lighter than most Le Guin I’ve read, Changing Planes is a Gulliver’s Travels for the present era, the social satire made possible through interdimensional travel. - A Christmas Carol
★★★★★
Charles Dickens
It’s been ages since I last read the original, and I wanted a break from a longer book two days before Christmas, so I figured I’d pick it up. And yeah, the story holds up. - Equivocation
Geffen Playhouse, 2009
Can Shakespeare discover the truth about the Gunpowder Plot? And if so, can he afford to tell it? Political intrigue, terrorism and torture (plus plain old personal conflicts) make for a compelling story. - Frost/Nixon
★★★★★
Ahmanson Theater, 2009
Gripping play about the negotiations behind David Frost’s famous TV interviews with ex-President Richard Nixon. - The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport
★★★★★
Samit Basu
Starts as a cyberpunk take on Aladdin and gleefully launches into a glorious mishmash of robots, legacies, secrets and political upheaval in a crumbling spaceport slowly sinking into the mud on a backwater planet. - Ladybird and the Controversy over Inclusivity What people were upset about, why it blew up, and why some people are still leery of the project to this day.
- Nomad of the Time Streams
★★★☆☆
Michael Moorcock
A 19th-century British soldier in India is flung into three wildly different future wars, forcing him to reexamine the world he thought he was building. - The Old Iron Dream
★★★★★
David Forbes
An extended essay tracing the strand of military authoritarianism and white male supremacy in science-fiction, from John Campbell through Heinlein, Pournelle and other major names up through the then-present of 2013. - Parable of the Sower
★★★★★
Octavia Butler
Hard to put down. And hard to pick up again. It’s certainly not a fun book, but it’s extremely engaging, despite the bleakness of the slow-apocalypse setting and story. - Regarding Mozilla and Brave On Brendan Eich’s brief promotion to CEO at Mozilla, the fallout for Mozilla and the creation of Brave.
- The Time Machine
★★★★☆
H.G. Wells
A bit dry, but it draws you in, and if the plot is simple, it’s enough to wrap around some thought-provoking speculation about the future of humanity - and a critique of industrial society.
Blog Posts
- Marketing
In retrospect, it’s wild that so many tech people who were hyper-aware of the fact that Microsoft’s dominance in the 1990s and 2000s was due to more to marketing (“never underestimate Microsoft on marketing”) than technical merits fell for the idea that a “marketplace of ideas” would coalesce around the best ideas, and not just […]
- The Omega Block
Went to check the forecast on Weather.com and saw this on the home page: I should’ve realized Darkseid was back. It would explain so much.
- Culture Wars
I’ve long disliked the term “culture war,” partly because it’s tossed around in a way that trivializes the issues and partly because “War on whatever” framing tends to confuse the issues. But I keep thinking of a line in Cat Valente’s novel Space Opera about what war is. And when it comes down to it, […]
- Ursula K. Le Guin eBook Bundle (Ended)
Humble Bundle is offering 30 books* by Ursula K. Le Guin supporting the Literary Arts charity, including all of Earthsea, several Hainish novels, Catwings, short stories, Gifts/Voices/Powers, nonfiction writing… I’ve read the Earthsea series (good-to-great) and most of the Hainish novels (some great, some good, some OK), plus Lathe of Heaven (great), and I’ve got […]
- Leopards Eating Faces
The part that kills me — and I hope that doesn’t turn out to be literal — is that Trump actually won the popular vote on a platform of hurting large segments of the population. It’s not hidden. It’s not some weird bogus claim made by the opposition. He’s been shouting it from the rooftops. […]
- California Marriage Equality: Vote Yes on Prop 3
If you havenât voted yet, make sure you vote for Proposition 3 to future-proof marriage equality. While court cases have *blocked* 2008âs straight-marriage-only definition, it’s still in the state constitution and needs to be removed. Prop 3 does this.
- I Voted, Primarily
Last Friday, I dropped off my ballot for today’s primary election. I’ve got to say, I really appreciate the new approach in LA County of mailing everyone eligible a ballot, maintaining permanent drop boxes at relevant locations (libraries, etc.), and opening some polling places early to accept completed ballots. MUCH more convenient than needing the […]
- Not the Same
Option 1: will do some things you want, and some things you don’t. Option 2: won’t do anything you want, will do all the same things you don’t want that option 1 will do, has promised to do more things you don’t want, undo the things you wanted that have already happened, make it more […]
- Not Cruel Enough
The “bipartisan” immigration bill currently in Congress is a right-winger’s dream, but since Trump wants to run on anti-immigration, the GOP is suddenly opposed to it, arguing that it’s not draconian enough. Nothing will ever be cruel enough for them, no matter how much Democrats do to appease them. Biden could do everything they asked […]
- Hammers and Kneecaps
It’s one thing to say “I make hammers, and can’t be responsible for the fact that some people use them to break people’s kneecaps.” It’s another thing to hand out free hammers to the kneecap-breakers, or pay them to use your hammers instead of someone else’s, or hire them as spokespeople, or use their testimonials […]
- Cis is Just A Description
Imagine a small village near a valley, so isolated that they just call themselves “the people.” One day they find out about another village on the other side of the valley, and they start calling them “the people across the valley.” They can keep talking about “the people,” but sometimes they need to make a […]
- Perspective
Once more, for those in the back: Introducing students to multiple points of view is NOT “indoctrination.” Insisting that they can only be exposed to YOUR point of view IS.
- Well is it a problem or not?
Love how the same people who are all “COVID isn’t a problem” are also dead set on keeping certain people out of the country just in case they might bring COVID in. No wonder they distrust actual public health measures and think the government is just using COVID as an excuse for…something. Because that’s what […]
- Patch the Electoral System
Whatever you think of the electoral system, the fact that we have to wait for people to copy down those electoral votes is no longer helpful, and the fact that they can choose (or be pressured) to vote for someone else is a vulnerability in our democracy that should be patched. You want to keep […]
- “Tyranny”
Seems like the only reason certain groups aren’t complaining loudly about the “tyranny” of traffic signals and refusing to obey out of “fear” is that the consequences of running every red light you see hit you faster than the consequences of not taking precautions against covid.
- Hypothetical Jack-Boots
As usual, the people who yell the loudest about hypothetical jack-booted government thugs are perfectly happy with actual jack-booted government thugs as long as they’re aimed at someone else. Note also that the small-government, local-is-always-better anti-Fed/states’ rights crowd is totally happy with the feds overriding the state and city government in Portland, even while they […]
- Objection!
Went out for a walk. Group of jerkwads in a pickup covered in conspiracy slogans about Bill Gates, beaches, and Wal-Mart were driving around shouting about not believing stuff and “freedom.” First time we got stuck at the same light, I studiously ignored their attempts to get my attention. (I was the only one at […]
- Voting Experience: Los Angeles’ New “Vote Centers” and Machines
Los Angeles County has a new voting system this year. Instead of every registered voter being assigned a specific polling place based on their home address, you can vote at any polling place — excuse me, “vote center” — in the county. There are fewer locations than there used to be, but they’re also open […]
- Democracy or Republic? Yes!
“We live in a republic, not a democracy” is a false binary. The United States is a representative democracy in the form of a republic. It’s both. It’s like saying you’re not in a car, you’re on a road. You may be driving yourself (direct democracy) or choose someone who’s going your way (representative democracy). […]
- Hurricane of Lies
“Everyone lies!” “They’re all corrupt!” Even if that’s true, you still have to look at scale. There’s a difference between drizzle, rain that you can use an umbrella for, and a hurricane. Don’t make excuses for a hurricane because it might be raining somewhere else.
- Facebook: Promoting Lies for Cash
Facebook still insists it’s totally OK for them to help politicians lie to you for $$$. Not just misleading ads, or controversial opinions, or varying interpretations, but outright lies. Totally fine with it! Facebook says they don’t want to be in the business of fact-checking, but they have policies against false commercial advertising. Truth in […]
- Ten Shots
Off-duty cop fires ten shots at an unarmed intellectually disabled man and his family from twenty feet away, killing him and critically wounding his parents, because he pushed him in a Costco food line 3.8 seconds earlier. No charges filed, because he had “no choice.” 10 shots at 3 unarmed people. 20 feet away. In […]
- That’s Not Federalism
So, does denying California the ability to set its own environmental standards fall under “states’ rights” or federalism? And is it pro-business to tell automakers that they’re not allowed to make deals with the state? Your daily reminder that the GOP only cares about states rights when the states are trying to interfere with people’s […]
- Fix the small problem, break the big problem
If you have a big problem and a small problem, and you solve the small problem in a way that makes the big problem worse, that’s a bad solution. Imagine “solving” a squeaky air conditioner fan by breaking the AC completely! In the US, people voting who shouldn’t is a much smaller problem than people […]
- What’s in a Name? (1984 Edition)
I always find it weird when someone insists that 1984 is warning about socialism because of the party name.
- Rational?
“I’m rational, unlike you, and if you look at this supposed problem rationally, you’ll understand that it can’t possibly be real because I politically disapprove of some of the proposed solutions.” — Just about every conservative comment on climate change I’ve seen on Quora.
- Earth Day Thoughts
Protecting the environment isn’t just about saving the planet. It’s about saving ourselves. It’s about being responsible custodians of nature not just for its own sake (though that’s important too), but so we can keep relying on it…instead of sucking the life out of everything we can like there’s no tomorrow, leaving a world that’s […]
- Somebody Else’s Problem
Guys, “Check your privilege” isn’t a moral judgment against you, it’s a reminder that we all have blind spots. The human brain is very good at downplaying or dismissing problems that we don’t see much ourselves to focus more energy on those that we do. It’s the same psychology that makes Douglas Adams’ “Somebody Else’s […]
- An imagined conversation with an email petition
“Please sign this petition about X!” “OK, I care about X, what’s the petition actually say?” “It’s about X!” “Right, but what’s the actual wording? Am I putting my name on supporting a specific action? ‘Cause I’d support some actions but not others.” “It’s telling them to do something about X!” “Yeah, I got that. […]
- Ego-In-Chief
“Not loyal.” Two years in and the President still doesn’t understand (or more likely, doesn’t care) that officials owe their loyalty to the country, not to him personally. I had a lot of problems with Bush, his policies and his priorities, but I never doubted he understood that the job was about the nation, not […]
- The Skateboarder Analogy
You’re tired of skateboarders on your street, though there are a lot fewer of them these days than there used to be. Your city/housing association won’t build a barrier at the end of the block. A lot of people don’t think the skateboarders are as big a problem, or even a problem at all… But […]
- Silent Conservation
âThe Senate on Tuesday passed the most sweeping conservation legislation in a decade, protecting millions of acres of land and hundreds of miles of wild rivers across the countryâ¦â It passed the Senate 92-8. Weirdly, Iâm on several environmental groupsâ mailing lists and Iâve heard nothing about this bill from them except for one specific […]
- Individuals or Groups?
I often see conservatives say that they see individuals where liberals see groups. But it doesn’t track. Conservatives are regularly willing to exclude whole groups of people, then allow exceptions. On the same issues, liberals often allow groups, then exclude individuals. Put another way, liberals want to ensure everyone eligible is allowed access, and conservatives […]
- Busier Midterm Voting than Expected
The polling place was full this morning. I had to drive all the way around the block to find parking (notice the line of cars), which I can’t recall ever having to do at this location. (The 2016 election used a different polling place for this area.) I wondered if I should have walked there […]
- Don’t Like the National Candidates? Vote in the Smaller Elections Too
So you don’t like the candidates in national elections? Vote in the primaries. You don’t like the primary choices either? Vote in the state-level and midterm elections. You don’t like the midterm choices? Vote in your local elections. National candidates don’t appear out of thin air. They start locally and climb up. And those local […]
- When Local Rules Aren’t Enough
The other day I saw an argument that things like environmental regulations should be done locally, because if we don’t rely on the federal government, a change in administration can’t just roll back protections. Ignoring the fact that pollution doesn’t stop at the city, state or national border, I can’t help thinking of crap like […]
- California: Don’t sit out the midterms. Check your Voter Registration TODAY
Californians! Today is the last day to register to vote in time for the midterm election. Don’t sit this one out! Even if you don’t care which Senator wins, even if the propositions are overwhelming… We’re choosing the next governor. We’re choosing the House reps & state legislature. For Secretary of State we’re literally choosing […]
- Letter to Governor Brown re: California’s SB 822 for Net Neutrality
I sent the following to the California Governor’s office, urging him to sign SB 822. Dear Governor Brown, I’m writing today to urge you to sign SB 822 into law and restore net neutrality protections within California. SB 822 goes further than the now-repealed FCC rules at protecting business competition, consumer choice, and freedom of […]
- California: Vote this November!
Californians: If you can vote this November, don’t sit this one out. We have a governor to choose. We have representatives to select. And we need to shut down the 3-Californias plan hard. It’s a terrible, outlandish, unpopular idea…but in a midterm election (low turnout already) with the specter of voter suppression? Don’t rely on […]
- The Wrong Shop
You needed to fix your car. You could have gone to the established shop, but the new guy told you they were crooked. You went with the new guy. Now he’s stripping your car, telling you he’s doing a great job & complaining about the cops investigating a stolen car parts ring.
- Call-In Campaigns, Please Do These Things!
Those “Call one number and we’ll connect you to key decision makers on this issue” campaigns are convenient, but I wish more of them would… Show a list of all the people they’re going to connect you to. I’d like to know how many calls I’m making before I start. Mark which lawmakers are already […]
- Voter Suppression Supreme
Step 1: Refuse to confirm a SCOTUS judge for a year. Step 2: Install a judge you prefer. Step 3: Get a SCOTUS ruling upholding a voter purge law that disproportionately impacts people who are more likely to vote for your opponents. Voter purges arenât about getting rid of invalid registrations. Theyâre about suppressing votes. […]
- Are you SURE You’re Registered?
A family member was incorrectly removed from the voting rolls. She hasn’t moved in about 7 years, hasn’t done anything to lose eligibility, and has been active in every election during that time. Even the local ones. She cast a provisional ballot and is trying to sort out what the hell happened to her registration. […]
- Re-Engineering the Road
Imagine a dangerous road curve. Do you blame the drivers and call it a day? After all, not everyone crashes over the edge or into oncoming traffic. Or do you bank the turn, calculate a safe speed limit and add a railing? It won’t stop all crashes, but it’ll reduce them. Re-engineering the road doesn’t […]
- Yeah, I suppose it could be both…
…or a plea for donations.
- Red Alert for Net Neutrality
Net Neutrality ensures your cable company can’t pick winners and losers from the sites you visit and services you use online. It was a guiding principle of the net until ISPs tried to violate it. After a long effort, the FCC stepped in and made the principle a legal requirement in the US. The new […]
- Dishing it out
It’s odd how some people will sling insults, threats and violence day in, day out (or support those who do), but the moment someone offers even a fraction of it in return, they call foul. Sadly, a lot of people have convinced themselves that freedom consists mainly in the “freedom” to treat others like crap […]
- Logging the Call
Whenever I call more than one senator/representative/etc. office as part of a call-in campaign, it’s interesting to see what the staffers want in order to log the call. Some want my name & full address. Some want my name & zip code. Some just want my zip code. Some don’t ask for anything further. Some […]
- Not Too Soon
“Too soon” is meaningless when something happens on a more-than-weekly basis. It’s not too soon to talk about it. It’s past time. Sure, real solutions will be complex and incomplete. But we solve nothing if we block research and refuse to discuss the issue.
- That’s Not Your Conscience
If your conscience is telling you to refuse someone medical care because you think they’re icky, maybe it’s not your conscience that you’re listening to.
- Killing the Goose #NetNeutrality
Well, they did it. The FCC voted 3-2 on party lines to scrap Net Neutrality even though 83% of voters across the board want to keep it, even though scrapping it doesn’t help anyone except the giant cable & phone companies and those they decide to bless with their approval, even though it’s the only […]
- The Internet Needs Your Help
On Thursday, the FCC is planning to vote to allow your cable company to decide which news sites you get to access, which streaming sites you get to use, intercept your search queries, charge you extra for accessing specific sites (even if you already pay a subscription to the site in question), etc. Oh, they’re […]
- Groot, Guardian of the Internet
Groot reminds us that Net Neutrality is critical to internet freedom, and we should call Congress TODAY, before Thursday’s FCC vote to eliminate it.
- Straight-Party Checkbox: Bad Design Pattern
Putting a straight-party checkbox on a ballot violates a key design principle: The polling place and ballot should strive to avoid steering people toward specific choices. This is also why some places randomize candidates’ names or stick with alphabetical order. The human brain would rather work on auto-pilot than think carefully. Give it an excuse […]
- What Religious Freedom Isn’t
One more time, religious freedom means you get to practice your religion, not force other people to follow yours. This isn’t complicated. Imagine for a moment that [insert religion you don’t like] lobbies the government to force you to follow their rules on behavior, dress, etc. You see where this is going, right? Because you […]
- Why am I still blogging? (And why about this stuff?)
This blog has been around 15 years. Social media has mostly moved on, to silos like Facebook and Twitter. People don’t follow random personal blogs. Topic-focused sites are what people actually read, and even that mainly following links from silos. Meanwhile there are so many major things going on that make the things I post […]
- The National Jamboree is NOT Your Personal Political Rally
I’m an Eagle Scout, and I find myself once again infuriated with the Boy Scouts of America. There is a long history of Presidents speaking at the National Jamboree, going back to Franklin D. Roosevelt. They came to inspire leaders of the future. They didn’t come to self-promote, or take cheap shots at political rivals, […]
- Battle for the Net: Help Keep the Internet Open!
The FCC wants to eliminate net neutrality, the principle that ISPs should treat all traffic the same, and not block, throttle, or promote data based on what service you’re using or who you’re connecting to. But we can stop them. What’s Net Neutrality? Simple: your cable company shouldnât decide where you get your news, what […]
- Why Net Neutrality Matters
The FCC wants to abolish “net neutrality”, which states that ISPs should treat all traffic the same, and not block, throttle, or promote data based on what service you’re using or who you’re connecting to. In short: Your cable company shouldn’t decide where you get your news, what businesses you buy from, which video chat […]
- Predictive Frameshift
I’ve been thinking a lot about Robert J. Sawyer’s Quantum Night the last few months. It links human cruelty, psychopathy, and mob behavior to the nature of consciousness, mostly focusing on the main characters but playing out against a global crisis brought on by a rising tide of xenophobia. More recently, I’ve been thinking about […]
- Vote Local!
Remember to vote in local elections. Initiatives, council and school board members, judges, etc. affect you and your community directly. It may not be as exciting as the Presidential race, but it determines who makes decisions in your town, who passes and enforces city laws and regulations, local taxes, which services are offered and how. […]
- Check Your Facts
If your political position is worth defending, it’s worth taking 5 minutes to check your facts. Your argument will be stronger for it.
- SOPA/PIPA and Stopping Piracy: The (Inevitable) Car Analogy
Imagine that people who donââ¬â¢t drive, donââ¬â¢t understand how cars work, and have never studied traffic engineering decide that theyââ¬â¢re going to stop speeding…
- SOPA Boycott: GoDaddy Was an Easy Target
When people found out that GoDaddy supported SOPA, they organized a boycott and got them to change course. But why the focus on them and not the other ~150 companies on the list?
- Do you want the Internet to be Censored?
If you live in the US and you use the Internet, you need to know about SOPA and PROTECT IP.
- Comment Policy
The Internet needs a new rule: Do not comment on a controversial topic until you’ve ACTUALLY READ AND UNDERSTOOD the article to which you’re responding.
- Fireworks Ban
Most cities in Orange County have banned the sale and setting off of fireworks to and by the general public for safety reasons. Of course, fireworks are an Independence Day tradition, so most cities also put on professional displays on the Fourth of July. But a lot of people like the hands-on experience of setting […]
- Election/Patch Day
My calendar lists last Tuesday as “Election Patch Day.” I guess you could consider elections to be patches keeping the government up to date.
- CA Prop 16: Are You Serious?
There are several things about Proposition 16 (on tomorrow’s California ballot) that just make me say, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” 1. The ad campaign is horribly misleading. They’re promoting it as “Your Right To Vote,” but it has nothing to do with your right to vote. I guess “Making it hard for local […]
- Links: Reading on the Rise & Bogus Forwards
It turns out that in the digital age, the average American reads three times as many words today as thirty years ago. Medal of Honor recipient Ed Freeman has been co-opted by a political disinformation campaign. Remember: any time you receive a political email that asks you to forward it to everyone you know, check […]
- Equivocation in Westwood
After a Friday spent relaxing at home (no after-Thanksgiving Day sales, unless you count skimming the recommendations at Amazon), we drove up to LA to see the play Equivocation at the Geffen Playhouse. The drive was astonishingly fast (everyone must have been either at home or at the mall!), so we had plenty of time […]
- (Almost) Forgotten Election
Before: Totally forgot about the special election today. No biggie, the lines will probably be nonexistent even in the evening. After: Basically no line, but there were a few people voting. The polling place volunteers were playing poker to pass the time between voters.
- Self-DMCA, Antivax Anger, Specter Switch
Warner Music issued a DMCA takedown notice to an official Warner Music video channel. I think I need some popcorn. From @david_colquhoun via @BadAstronomer: Guardian science editor’s daughter gets measles. He’s angry with the anti-vaccination brigade. I nearly mistyped “foreign” as “foregin.” It sounds like an appetizer you should eat before drinking gin. Senator Arlen […]
- Irony Double Dose
@BeaucoupKevin says: I’m not crazy about DailyKOS, but this short piece about the Texans who want to secede is dead on Irony: normally I walk to lunch on Fridays, but time crunch had me driving today. Apparently it’s “car-free Friday.” Oops.
- Thoughts on #AmazonFail (or is that #SorryAmazon?)
Even if it was unintentional, Amazon screwed up responding to the PR disaster.
- Ticketmonster & DMCA Yourself!
Ordered tickets to see Vienna Teng! Amazing how Ticketmaster can turn two $15 tickets into a total of $50. Associated Press sends nastygram to their own affiliate for using AP’s official YouTube channel. (via @ThisIsTrue)
- Vote Earth?
Turning your lights off for an hour to raise awareness for…global warming? That seems like an odd fit. And what will an hour of darkness accomplish?
- CentOS List Hijack
Pissed off because some a-hole with a centos.org address posted multiple copies of a racist antisemitic diatribe to the CentOS announcement list. CentOS sent an apology to lists. Said spammers forged the sender’s address to get past moderation. Look back, name doesn’t match address.
- Geekery: WiFi and Presidential HTML
Hmm. I’ve used internet cafes while travelling, but have no idea wher to find one w/in 20mi of home. WiFi hotspots, OTOH, are everywhere. Political geekery; saw a bumper sticker reading </bush>. Only prob: tag should be <president name="bush">. Did I mention geekery?
- Nullify
Anti-gay marriage activists want to nullify 18,000 marriages in the name of…*protecting* marriage?!?!
- Santa Hats, Translation, Expelled
Saw a bunch of Santa hats lying alongside the entire length of the 55 South to 405 South ramp – and it’s a long bridge. Maybe a box came open? Got tech support question in Spanish for wrong company. Replied in bad Spanish with link. Checked against Google Translate. Google has a better vocabulary than […]
- Making Every Vote Count
A few years back, some sort of registration snafu* left my name off the rolls at my polling place and I had to cast a provisional ballot. I remember being extremely unhappy that night when everyone declared the winner and I knew for a fact that my vote had not been counted. Sure, it would […]
- Thoughts on a Post-Election Morning
First, I’m very happy that Barack Obama won the Presidential election. This was the first time since 1996 that I’ve actually liked a candidate for the office. While I did vote for Al Gore and John Kerry, their main qualifications in my mind were that they weren’t George W. Bush, whose policies and leadership style […]
- Election Day 2008
Katie and I got up early so we could hit the polls first thing in the morning and not have to worry about whether we’d be stuck in an insanely long line at the end of the day, like we were in 2004 and 2006. The first thing we noticed was the sound of rain […]
- Opposite Day
WTF? Saw an ad saying “Support marriage rights” that’s in favor of Prop 8, which ELIMINATES marriage rights! Someone’s got things backwards. (discussion at LiveJournal)
- Same-Sex Marriage
Gay and lesbian couples in California have been getting married for months now. In Massachusetts, for several years. In that time, thousands of straight couples have continued to get married, and neither state has been mass-annulling straight marriages. So “traditional marriage” clearly isn’t endangered by same-sex marriage, and banning the latter isn’t going to “restore” […]
- On Proper Cliché Use
If I understand this correctly, it’s apparently okay to compare an entire class of women to pit bulls wearing lipstick, but using a worn-out cliché to compare a candidate’s policies to a pig wearing lipstick is sexist. So is being called a dog better than being called a pig? Or is it just more offensive […]
- Ben Stein Compares Scientists to Nazis
Well, what little respect I had left for Ben Stein is rapidly evaporating. Apparently it’s not good enough for him to claim that “Darwinism” leads to genocide in Expelled, now he’s running the interview circuit making statements like this: When we just saw that man, I think it was Mr. [PZ] Myers, talking about how […]
- Linkblogging: Perspective
The CBLDF has issued a press released detailing the victory in the Gordon Lee case. This was the case in which a comic book store in Rome, Georgia, as part of a 2004 Halloween promotion, was handing out free comics left over from that year’s Free Comic Book Day. Among over 2,000 comics, they accidentally […]
- Easy Office Environmental Tip: The Disposable Cup
If you work in an office, chances are there’s a water cooler somewhere. And if there’s a water cooler, chances are there’s a stack of disposable paper cups (or possibly, even in this age, styrofoam). And chances are that most people will walk up, grab a paper cup, take it back to their desk and […]
- Sci-Tech Links
Scientists have built a computer model of the Neanderthal vocal tract based on fossils, and have simulated the kinds of sounds they could have produced. Ever since I read Robert J. Sawyer’s Neanderthal Parallax novels, I’ve been fascinated by the idea that there were two distinct human species, living side by side, for perhaps thousands […]
- Links, from the Astronomical to the Surreal
The Value of Space Exploration, via Phil Plait. Neil Gaiman on The Fairy Feller’s Master Stroke, a painting by a madman that’s inspired its share of stories. And from Comics Worth Reading, our WTF entry for the day: Paradise by the GoPhone Light. It’s a commercial done in the style of a music video, featuring […]
- Jumping the Gun
Today’s “Super Tuesday,” on which a whole bunch of states hold their primary elections. We still have have Democrats running against other Democrats and Republicans running against other Republicans, hoping to get their parties’ nominations for this fall’s Presidential election. So it was weird last night to see an ad for Republican Mitt Romney contrasting […]
- Getting Propositioned
Oddly, the usual deluge of election propaganda hasn’t materialized yet, and the election is less than a week away. While looking through the scanty haul, most of which is focused on a quartet of propositions on Indian gaming, Katie found an intriguing statement: Wait… pubic services? Whoa! And here I thought gambling on tribal lands […]
- Primary Reactions & Binary Thinking
Had dinner at my parents’ last night, and at one point talk turned to yesterday’s primary election. It’s quite interesting that, within a matter of days, the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary chose different candidates for both major parties. It points out something that should be obvious: State-wide primaries don’t tell you how well […]
- Legality Links
Organization for Transformative Works – dedicated to protecting the expression of fan fiction, fan art, etc. (via Naomi Novik) Open Standards, One Web, and Opera – Just why are standards important, anyway? (via Opera Watch) Speaking of Opera, their EU antitrust complaint against Microsoft has been making waves. Responses at CSS3.info, Web Standards Project, Slashdot […]
- Proportionate Response: You’re Doing it Wrong
Yesterday, Colleen Doran wrote about several recent human rights abuse cases, including that of Gillian Gibbons, the British teacher in Sudan who was sentenced to 15 days in prison and deportation for “insulting religion” because she allowed her students to name a teddy bear Mohammed, after one of their fellow students. And she could have […]
- Londo/GâKar in 2008!
This just showed up in my email from Babylon 5 Scripts: From JMS’s Cafe Press store (the same site through which he’s selling his script books with commentary): With the coming 2008 elections, there aren’t a lot of candidates we can agree upon. So as a public service, we are now providing a slate of […]
- Inadvertent Language
This morning’s Los Angeles Times article, “A %$#@ slippery slope on raw talk?”, discusses the recent court ruling that relaxed FCC restrictions on inadvertent swearing. On one side, watchdog groups (and the FCC) are complaining that this could lead to swearing and nudity throughout prime time. (Won’t someone think of the children?) On the other […]
- Comics and the World War II Home Front
Two months ago I picked up a copy of the comic book All-Flash #15 (Summer 1944), published during the thick of World War II. In the bottom margin of each page is a slogan, in rhymed couplet form, on how children could help with the war effort: Bottom Lines on Following Pages Tell What to […]
- Politicians in Washington
Yesterday, President Bush reportedly said, “Politicians in Washington shouldn’t be telling generals how to do their job.” I guess he’d better recuse himself from any further military decisions for the rest of his term. Commander in Chief or not, the President of the United States is a politician in Washington. Hmm, maybe he can give […]
- Fighting Irish
I caught a story on The World (PRI) today about Los Angeles band Ollin’s song tribute to Saint Patrick’s Battalion (in Spanish, El Batallón de Los San Patricios)—a group of several hundred primarily Irish Americans who, during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), left the US Army to fight alongside the Mexicans. They fought fiercely for a […]
- I love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning
Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times ran an article on Justice Antonin Scalia and how his opinions may represent the majority as the Supreme Court hears cases about race, religion, abortion and campaign finance. Apparently, conservatives are really looking forward to the possibility that the court might restrict abortion, outlaw affirmative action, strike down the separation […]
- Holding the Center
California is an interesting state. We just re-elected Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger 55% to 39%, but also re-elected Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein 60% to 35%. All but one of the remaining state offices went to Democrats (some by larger margins than others). The Governator is talking about a mandate. Politicians always do that when they […]
- How Crowded Could It Be?
Note to self: Stick with morning voting next time. “Oh, it’s only a midterm election! How crowded could it be?” (Yes, that was me.) Feh. Katie and I arrived at the polling place at 6:30 PM. The people who got in line behind us decided to leave, have dinner, and come back. Of the two […]
- The Origin of “Nukular”
After a great deal of painstaking research[1], I have uncovered the true[2] origins of the “nucular” pronunciation of the word nuclear. Nukular turns out to be an abbreviation of “Nuke-you-la’r,” a traditional Texan leave-taking[3]. The phrase is a contraction of “Nuke you later,” and refers to the intense heat of a Texas barbecue grill. Essentially, […]
- Flip-Floppers, all of âem!
Spotted on a school marquee: Gee, I hope none of them ever runs for office. Some opposing PAC group will dig this up as evidence of constant flip-flopping!
- Maybe not as good a predictor as they think
Last week NPR ran a story on “Applebee’s America”, a book on the way politicians brand and sell themselves to the voting public. One thing they brought up was “microtargeting” or “lifetargeting.” The idea is that you can take a person’s lifestyle and determine which way they’re more likely to vote, then send targeted advertising […]
- I Voted for Kodos
No comment on the candidate, since I don’t live in the city, just… is anyone else reminded of these guys? Image from The Duff Brewery. [edit: no longer online] Incidentally, while looking for a page on “Citizen Kang,” I discovered that “I Voted for Kodos” is also the name of a band.
- Terrorism in Comics
I wasn’t going to post anything about the five-year anniversary of 9/11 because I didn’t feel like I could add anything that hasn’t already been said. But a discussion at Comics Should Be Good reminded me of a mailing list post I made five years ago, on September 17, 2001, on the subject of terrorism […]
- Convicted…huh?
I was listening to the news this morning, and I caught a reference to “Convicted Lobbyist Jack Abramoff.” It occurred to me that the phrasing is a bit odd. It makes it sound like he was convicted of being a lobbyist, which, last I heard, was still legal. I suppose “Convicted corrupt lobbyist” sounds too […]
- Hollywood and Space
Some interesting comments by Warren Ellis in today’s Bad Signal on film budgets, and Superman Returns in particular. $250 million puts you in spacelaunch-budget territory. For $250 million WB could’ve given Bryan Singer his own communications satellite and spent the change on a George Clooney movie. This is the absurdity of modern Hollywood; that taking […]
- Probably not how they meant it
I saw a bumper sticker today that read, “The road to hell is paved with liberals.” That would explain a lot. I mean, conservatives have been walking all over liberals for the past six years. Now we finally know where they’re going with it!
- Troll Bridge
Lawrence Lessig and Robert W. McChesney’s op-ed piece on net neutrality, No Tolls on The Internet, is making the rounds. But for some reason, every time I look at the title, I keep misreading it as “No Trolls on The Internet.” I guess the internet/troll combination is just too ingrained in my brain… (via Slashdot)
- Executive Power
The Orange County Register has an ad campaign going in which people stand around on street corners holding banners with controversial topics printed on them. The latest is, “Is Bush abusing executive power?” Given that the Register is known to have a conservative bias (you can often guess a person’s political affiliation from whether they […]
- The Drazi Effect
Despite growing up in Orange County, I never managed to go to Medieval Times. It’s a dinner show with knights on horseback staging a medieval tournament. Last month in Las Vegas, Katie talked me into going to the Tournament of Kings at Excalibur, which is the same type of show. When you purchase your tickets, […]
- Bad Science. Good Sci-Fi.
There are certain ideas that I find completely acceptable in the context of science-fiction, but completely looney in the context of actual science. Take, for instance, Erich von Däniken’s premise that gods were really ancient alien astronauts. It’s an interesting idea, but it’s way out there in terms of science. It assumes that (a) myths […]
- Left and right
Just saw Snopes’ post on Ben Stein’s commentary on the Oscars and the politics of Hollywood, including this rather disingenuous statement: Basically, the sad truth is that Hollywood does not think of itself as part of America, and so, to Hollywood, the war to save freedom from Islamic terrorists is happening to someone else. Sure, […]
- Smoking Dutch Cleanser
Here’s something I just don’t understand about the whole electronic eavesdropping controversy. Given that FISA warrants are: Easy to obtain Secret Obtainable retroactively, so you can legally start listening in immediately Why is it necessary to eavesdrop without one? What’s so hard about getting a warrant? While we’re at it, given that the bad guys […]
- Rummy Caption Contest
The BBC has posted an interesting article on the US Military’s plans for Internet operations. But that’s not what I want to write about here. What I want to write about is this accompanying photo of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: The article mentions that messages put out for psychological operations in foreign markets are […]
- Christmas is still safe
Salon has a great piece on how there is no left-wing war on Christmas. This “OMG the blue staters want to ban Christmas” tripe was idiotic last year, and it’s back with a vengeance this year. Honestly, all this fuss over things like “Happy Holidays,” an expression designed to avoid offending people? Remember, in most […]
- Uh, that’s a negative
The Los Angeles Times website had an interesting way of describing the results of yesterday’s state election: It’s hard to believe that all eight propositions failed. Even the four Orange County measures failed. Every item on the ballot in our district was rejected! On a related note, I still don’t like the voting machines we […]
- Two to Go
Woke up early (well, early for me) so we could get out and hit the polls before work. I was amazed that there was only one person in line ahead of us. Not only that, but there was only one line, not three or four broken up by last name. Well, it’s a mid-term election. […]
- Vote!
If you live in California and you’re a registered voter: vote! If you like the initiatives on the ballot, vote them in. If you don’t like them, vote them out. If you’re disgusted with the way the initiative process has been subverted by the very political machines and special interest groups it was supposed to […]
- Lewis on Libby
Over the last few days, I’ve heard more than one reporter at NPR slip up and refer to Lewis Libby (is it just me, or have people stopped calling him “Scooter” since the indictment?) as Libby Lewis. (On a side note, that name always makes me think of Libby Lawrence.) Well, I think they can […]
- Flu Fighters
According to Marketplace, critics of President Bush’s flu pandemic preparedness proposal contend that it’s too focused on vaccines and antiviral drugs, and that the money would be more effectively used by monitoring outbreaks and trying to stamp out bird flu in the third world. In other words, they say we should take the fight to […]
- Who invented the gay artist?
Over the weekend, Something Positive’s Monette met her girlfriend’s half-brother, who wants to write showtunes when he grows up. Friday’s Real Life featured Tony taking Greg to task over singing a song from Monty Python’s Spamalot. Where did the showtunes=gay (or at least effeminate) stereotype come from? While we’re at it, where did the art=gay […]
- Global Warming vs. Ozone Hole
A quick question for people who discount the idea that global warming could be caused, in part, by human activities on the basis that we can’t possibly impact the climate as much as natural events and cycles affect it. Do you also discount the well-documented depletion of the ozone layer by interaction with CFCs and […]
- Wham!
Neil Gaiman weighs in on the flap over adult-oriented comics in a Denver Library: It’s been twenty years, and newspaper headlines still oscillate between “Wham! Bam ! Pow! Comics Have Grown Up!” and “OH MY GAAAD THIS COMIC NOT INTENDED FOR CHILDREN HAS CONTENT NOT INTENDED FOR CHILDREN IN IT!” articles. Bizarre. (Ironically, the people […]
- Forget GTA: The Sims is the real danger!
Well, now that people have successfully gotten Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas reclassified as Adult (18+) instead of Mature (17+)—since we all know that sex scenes that you can only get at by hacking the game are far more damaging to 17-year-olds than interactive sequences in which they shoot people, commit carjacking, and run over […]
- Reality TV and Remakes
On seeing an ad for the upcoming Dukes of Hazzard movie, I started thinking of other 70s and early 80s TV shows that Hollywood might remake. Then I started thinking of late 80s and 90s shows. I’m certain that, 10-20 years from now, there will be a Beverly Hills 90210 movie. But what about the […]
- On Identification
OK, so according to the Los Angeles Times, “legal analysts” are saying Karl Rove is off the hook in the Valerie Plame case because he didn’t actually name her, but referred to her as “[Joseph] Wilson’s wife.” Let’s think about this for a second. If I say, “The First Lady is going to be speaking […]
- If you’re not with me…
Regarding the furor over Revenge of the Sith/Post-9/11 parallels: Get over yourselves. You know, I could see parallels in Star Wars: Episode II and post-9/11 America. Palpatine’s emergency powers = PATRIOT Act. Militarization in response to the separatist movement = attacking Afghanistan and rattling sabers at Iraq. And there are conspiracy theorists who think that […]
- Dollar coins: Take 3
No one liked Susan B. Anthony dollars. “Gold” dollars all but vanished from circulation, as far as I can see (I can’t remember the last time I saw one that wasn’t change from a vending machine.) And while CNN/Money seems skeptical, Congress wants to try for another dollar coin. The catch? Collectability. Modeled after the […]
- Kids’ language and the media
KCRW ran a story on the indecency wars this morning, and quoted someone who was concerned that kids are picking up bad language from broadcast media. Yeah, right. Broadcast media is so locked down they can’t find that kind of language there. When I was in middle school, I spent a week working at a […]
- Desperate in Decency
It looks like the FCC isn’t completely insane. After four months, they concluded that the now-infamous Desperate Housewives locker room promo isn’t indecent after all. “Although the scene apparently is intended to be titillating, it simply is not graphic or explicit enough to be indecent under our standard.” I saw the spot—or at least something […]
- Judicious Activism?
There’s been a lot of talk on the conservative side of the fence about “activist judges” and “activist courts.” There’ve even been calls to limit the 200-year-old principle of judicial review. Of course, there’s also been a lot of talk about appointing conservative judges to the Supreme Court so that, given a suitable legal challenge, […]
- Stupid Censors
Remember last year when I realized some net filter was looking at teentitans3.jpg, breaking the words in the wrong place, and concluding it must be adult content and therefore should be blocked? (It replaced the “offending” words with spaces, which get encoded as %20 in URLs.) At the time I left it, since I figured […]
- CBLDF Eisner Tribute
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has unveiled the artwork for its 2005 membership card, and it features Will Eisner’s classic character, the Spirit. The timing is unfortunate, so soon after Eisner’s death, but it serves as a tribute to one of the most influential artists and storytellers in the history of comic books. (If […]
- Ruining it for the rest of us
The last time I bought Ny-Quil, there was a remark on the receipt about it being a restricted quantity item. At the time I assumed people were abusing it somehow, but I never got around to looking it up. Now I know why. Apparently, pseudoephedrine can be used to make methamphetamine, and some states are […]
- Map Crazy!
OK, one more election-related post. This one comes from The Big Picture, and features links to various maps of election results. Comparisons of state vs. county maps, looks at which candidates were favored by people in other countries, comparisons to past elections and to pre-Civil War America… and of course the comedy (including the redistricted […]
- Comical Third Parties
Wow… a new issue of Rising Stars! To be honest, it was a bit of a let-down. Usually JMS is better at showing, rather than telling. He’s infamous for laboriously laying groundwork in the B-plots and character moments of what seem like “ordinary” stand-alone stories, then kicking the arc into high gear and making use […]
- Purple America
Veeery interesting! By now everyone’s seen maps colored in red/blue by state, which make the vote look very regional (the South and Midwest pull red, and the northeast, the West Coast, and the Great Lakes area pull blue). A map by county makes the country look extremely red, until you realize that many of the […]
- Do the @#!$ Math
Despite Bush’s appeal to Kerry supporters [in his acceptance speech], Cheney said the popular vote victory gave Bush a mandate and the Bush White House would continue pushing for the Republicans’ “clear agenda.” Excuse me, but how the #@*! is a 51% victory a “mandate?” In any other race, that would be called “barely squeaking […]
- Political Connections
Perhaps you’ve heard of electoral-vote.com. Over the past few months, the site’s author has been collecting data from various polls and trying to predict which candidate is likely to carry each state. Each state’s support is classified as strong, weak, or barely there, or a straight tie, making it a more useful gauge than a […]
- Checks, Balances, and Civility in Politics
One thing that always stuck in my head about government, way back to elementary school, was the idea of checks and balances. You see, our government was designed deliberately to prevent any one person or group from getting too much power and becoming a de facto monarch (or oligarch). For instance, Congress passes laws, but […]
- Fallacious Arguments
In honor of the upcoming Presidential debates, here’s A List Of Fallacious Arguments. (Found via a comment on sclerotic_rings).
- Contrary to popular belief
For quite a while now, the always-excellent This Is True newsletter has been advertising writer Randy Cassingham’s latest (?) project: JumboJoke, a weblog-style daily joke post. I finally took a look at it, and thought I’d share the following pair of lists based on our political parties’ often contradictory platforms and rhetoric: What You Must […]
- Speaking of Oxymorons
I experienced a bit of cognitive dissonance earlier today. I was listening to a report on The World (PRI) about the bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta, and a reporter (Stephen McConnell) was explaining the Australian political situation for an American audience. (Why? They’ve got an election coming up in a month. Comparisons to […]
- Government computers hijacked for spam.
Via The War on Spam and The Spam Weblog: Hackers hijack federal computers. Apparently the DOJ discovered, during their crackdown on cybercrime, that hundreds of Department of Defense and Senate computers had been turned into zombies. Nice. Can we really be sure they were only used to send spam? After all, zombies are generally the […]
- Copyright law: All ficced up
We were having a discussion last night about the specifics of copyright law on derivative works, sparked by a ridiculous flamewar discussion thread on fan-made music videos. While it’s generally known that posting fanfic and fanart is illegal, we were speculating on when exactly these creations become violations of the law. Is it when you […]
- Politically Dead Words
When I was in elementary school, we were given a list of “dead words.” These were words that had been so overused that they had lost their meaning or impact, and we were told to use them as little as possible in our writing. In that spirit, here is a short list of political terms […]
- Ewwww, he touched my song!
Suing JibJab over using the tune and some lyrics of “This Land is Your Land” is like filing a class-action suit against grade-schoolers for using “The Birthday Song” to sing “You look like a monkey/And you smell like one too.” The contention that the song has been “damaged” by its use as parody is ridiculous. […]
- At least someone has sense over there
CNN: Lawmakers oppose election delay [archive.org]. Among the outcry is a resolution sponsored by Ohio Senator Bob Ney (a Republican, for the record) stating that “the actions of terrorists will never cause the date of any presidential election to be postponed” and “no single individual or agency should be given the authority to postpone the […]
- Free Speech in Comics: The CBLDF
You might think nothing of going down to the store and picking up a comic book, but there are people out there who want to limit your choices to books aimed at 10-year-olds. (Admittedly, there aren’t enough books aimed at 10-year-olds right now, but that’s another rant). Imagine if all movies were G-rated. Because, after […]
- Manual for foot-shooting
1. Obtain a gun. 2. Provide ammunition. 3. Vote to pull the trigger. BANG. And the Democratic party drops off the House floor. At least, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. If I lived in Nuñez’s district, I’d be royally pissed that I voted for him (because I probably would’ve) and would be willing […]
- Interesting Combination
This morning I recieved both a bogus “Out of Office” reply from someone at Halliburton (presumably from a virus that spoofed my address as the sender) and a new 419 scam variant, this one claiming to be someone in Iraq. (I still think of them as Nigerian scams, but they’ve gone seriously international over the […]
- Avert your eyes
I’ll be the first to admit that I go near-ballistic where cigarettes are concerned, from sprinting by smokers on a sidewalk to springing up to turn our window fan to exhaust mode. But, rude though I may be, I’m not as bad as the AMA. An R rating for smoking? Even when the smoker is […]
- Neocons, combine!
Is it just the fact that I was up way too late last night, or does the term “neocon” sound like a Transformers faction?
- This is why you plan ahead
It seems that Benton County, Oregon, has decided to stop issuing any marriage licenses until the state makes up its mind who can and can’t get married. For now, straight couples in the area will have to go to the next county over to get married. The rationale, of course, is that they “need to […]
- Silly Censors
A few weeks ago I was looking at the website error logs and noticed some attempts to access images with names like /flash/images/%20%20%20%20%20%20%20ans3.jpg. I got around to looking at it today, and all of them are the same name, all of them from browsers looking at my profile of the Teen Titans, which includes an […]
- Far-Flung Finances
In CNN’s report on the discovery that Mars once had liquid water – and thus may have once been hospitable to life – it mentions that the Spirit and Opportunity missions cost about $820 million. The IMDB estimates the budget for Spider-Man 2 at $200 million. In other words, each mission cost two big-budget summer […]
- Thunderous Thought
A loud clap of thunder sent half the office to the windows about 20 minutes ago, and prompted cries of “Save now!” That got me thinking. In theory, we’re supposed to have e-voting in today’s election. Are the voting machines on UPSes? If the polling place loses power, is there any kind of backup to […]
- OK, now I’m confused.
Round 1: A judge rules that the FTC does not have the authority to enforce the Do-Not-Call list, so Congress (who has the power to give the FTC that authority) passes a law explicitly granting it to the FTC. So far so good. Checks and balances are working as they’re supposed to. Round 2: Another […]
- Assorted Thoughts on the First Amendment
1. You can disagree with or dislike people in your government, from your city council up through the President, and still love your country. (Conservatives disliked the President for 8 years; denying that privilege to the rest of us is hypocrisy at best.) 2. You can oppose war – or a particular war – without […]
- Let’s play Count the Candidates
….because right now, they’re more fun than handmaidens. This took place in the car on the way home today. Kelson: “I’ve heard 193, 195, and 196. Where’d those numbers come from?” Katie: “Two minutes, five minutes, and ten minutes later.” Kelson: “I mean, the deadline was Saturday!” Katie: “‘Uh-oh, it was stuck to somebody else’s. […]
- Oh, what a circus!
193 people have filed candidacy papers for the upcoming recall election. Just think about it: if every application is verified, we could have almost two hundred names on the ballot, just for one office. And they’re going to be listed randomly. Imagine how long the ballot will be. Heck, imagine how long the info pamphlet […]
- Conan the Governor
OK, most people are focusing on Terminator jokes when it comes to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s candidacy, but I’m reminded of the “Conan the Librarian” sketch from UHF. “Uh, this budget is a little overdue.” “Ovah-doo? HYAAARGH!” (Cleaves the hapless legislator in half with his sword.)
- Telemarketer Scum
Yes, the American Teleservices Association is suing over the do-not-call list. The ATA estimates that the do-not-call list will cost as many as 2 million U.S. telemarketing jobs, wiping out almost a third of its industry. Sounds like a good start. Maybe they can get jobs that don’t involve annoying the hell out of people […]
- Let’s See If I’ve Got This Right
One things that’s bugged me since the start of the effort to recall Governor Davis is that people keep bringing up the budget crisis. Repeat after me: The Legislature chooses the budget, not the Governor. Recalling the governor because the legislature can’t get its act together is like firing your plumber because your electrician screwed […]
- A Better Voting System
For several years now (before the 2000 Presidential election, but even more strongly after that), I’ve been of the opinion that allowing people to mark a 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice on each ballot would effectively resolve the “lesser of two evils” problem that limits us to the Republicans and Democrats as the only viable […]
- Sheesh….
The closer the Hawaii week looms in my schedule, the gladder I am that it’s almost here. The next two days in my war-hawk-populated workplace are going to be bad enough. If there weren’t going to be auditors in the place forcing us to behave, I would feel like handcuffing myself to my chair to […]
- There are worse places to be stuck than Hawaii.
Well, deadline day is today, the U.N. is in all likelihood not going to budge, and we’re due to leave for Hawaii on Saturday. Makes for a very freako situation. Welcome to my life. Kelson and I were discussing this last night and decided that if anything happened between now and then, we weren’t getting […]
- Does anyone else remember “Sneakers”…
…and this exchange: Whistler: I want peace on earth and good will toward man. Bernard Abbott: We are the United States Government. We don’t do that sort of thing.
- Geographical Knowledge (Vacuum)
I heard an NPR report that 83% of Americans 18-24 cannot find Afghanistan on a map. Following it up on their website, I found a link to the National Geographic survey they used. Of course, what the report neglected to mention is that nobody had a good rate at finding Afghanistan. The only country where […]
- Legislative waste.
I hear our President has signed legislation supporting the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance (search for bill S.2690 in THOMAS). It passed the Senate unanimously and the House with only 5 objections. It’s intended to be a response to this summer’s ruling by the 9th District Court of Appeals that the law […]
- BSA: No Atheists Allowed
What does someone’s religious belief have to do with “teaching boys moral and ethical values through an outdoor program that challenges them and teaches them respect for nature, one another, and themselves?” Everything, according to the Boy Scouts of America, who have just kicked out an Eagle Scout with 37 merit badges for being an […]
- Cautious Optimism
Noticed a couple of articles that are cause for at least some optimism. Representatives Rick Boucher and John Doolittle have introduced a bill to remove restrictions on fair use from the DMCA, and the US Copyright Office is seeking public comments on the same issue. It’s just ridiculous for e-books to have restrictions that make […]
- American Depression
I read this morning that Congress has voted to let President Bush attack Iraq. I’d love to be proven wrong, but I suspect that even if we win, and win quickly, it will likely accomplish only two things: cement other countries’ view of us as a bully (the satirists at The Onion have a great […]