The state in which I live...

I am oh-so-proud when I hear about things like this...

Buzzards

Folks are already feasting on the carcass of Schiavo

Fox Blocker

For those of you who don't even want to see FOX for a moment by mistake...

The sadistic nature of Life

Sigh... life has a disturbing tendency to repeatedly kick you in the balls in a gratuitous fashion.

I have been sick over the past several days with some bug that apparently can't make-up its mind on what symptoms it is going to cause (fever and chills one day, head-splitting sinus headache the next). This doesn't actually put me behind though... because I am already behind (kinda my default mode). So I work through the worst of it, and just when I think it is lifting I end up having to pull yet another all-nighter (I don't think I ever did three in a year in college, let alone in a month). This in turn not only makes me cranky, but also makes me feel like five pounds of shit in a four pound bag again... which is a perfect way to go into a couple days of making presentations. To top it all off, I just found out that the Office of Women's Health and Research at the NIH won't be able to pony up funds for an F30 grant for me even though all the initial signs suggested that they would do so (It was a budget thing... thanks Bush, ya friggin' asshole)

Alright... not a very interesting post to be sure, but I needed to shake my fist at life, so deal with it.

Amen to that, Brother...

"We've been attacked by the intelligent, educated segment of the culture." -- Pastor Ray Mummert, regarding his anti-evolution stance on teaching science in Pennsylvania.

(Via Atrios)

New Rule

If you have seen Bill Maher's show on HBO, you are probably familiar with his "New Rules" segment. IMO, it is one of the best parts of the show, and he keeps it at the end in order to keep you watching through the too-long guest roundtable.

Anyway, with apologies to Bill, I have a new rule: if you are a op-ed columnist at the NY Times and you waste your real estate with some sort of crap about your tortured decision to root for a new baseball team then people are legally allowed, nay, obligated to pelt you with whatever food they happen to have in their hands at the time they see you until you redeem yourself.

Note: the link is provided for reference, but don't waste your time reading it...

Great Dook rant

I know that UNC is finally back to the Final Four, so I should be very happy and content with just that. But what makes this even better is that Dook didn't make it into the round of eight... I love it.

But this blogger really lets loose. I love it.

I don't think I would feel this way if my anti-K feelings weren't flamed every 4 minutes during the tournament with a schmarmy commercial featuring the rat himself. It's not right.

Michigan: Ewww! I don't want to treat a homo!

I have been sick for a couple of days, so my head is pretty clouded... but even if it was crystal-clear, I would have some difficulties coming up with anything to say about this other than "What the...?"

Gays and lesbians are wondering if doctors and nurses who object to homosexuality could deny them treatment or prescription drugs under bills passed this week by the Michigan House.

The bills would allow health care workers, facilities and insurers to refuse to perform a procedure, fill a prescription or cover treatment they object to for moral, ethical or religious reasons, except in medical emergencies.

“As written, this law would allow a health care provider to not provide health care services to someone based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation,” said state Rep. Chris Kolb, the Michigan Legislature’s only openly gay lawmaker. “It’s very worrisome and disturbing.”

As was stated in the article, if they didn't want to target homosexuals, then why didn't they add the language? One of the sponsors says "Yeah, yeah, we'll get to it" but you can never take that at face value in politics... the only thing really saving this is the fact that the governor is a Democrat (I would also hope the courts would strike it down if challenged, but there is no guarantee on that either)

And none of this discusses the ethics of limiting the ability of people to get the treatments and medications they need or desire... this is a very sticky issue from moral/ethical/access to care grounds, but perhaps in a future post... for now, just soak in the absurdity.

Arnie the divider...

TPM points us to this article in the Post which shows how Arnie is embracing Dubya's divisive strategies.

The language he uses makes me cringe in pain, and the amount of egotistical posturing is staggering... check this out:

Schwarzenegger has roused widespread opposition. Now when he travels the
state, in addition to crowds of enthusiastic supporters, he is met with
protesters: nurses, teachers, firefighters, police and correctional officers,
PTA leaders. Schwarzenegger labels them all special interests and inflamed
matters when he dismissed the protests of nurses at a women's event last
December. "The special interests don't like me in Sacramento because I am always
kicking their butts," he said.

-----

Schwarzenegger revels in the theatrics of the competition. "The whole thing
is a big stage play," he said with amusement as he talked about his opponents.
"They are all very important characters in this play, in order to carry out this
play. It's wonderful. . . . Since they are all part of the play, you have to
appreciate all those pieces and all those characters."

"And your role?" he was asked.

"Leading role," he said with a bright smile. "Above-the-title
billing."

Based on this and his past steroid use, I think it is safe to say that Arnie has a very, very small penis...

Batshit Insane

Via Kevin Drum, we see that Governor Bush has jumped off the deep end:

Hours after a judge ordered that Terri Schiavo wasn't to be removed from her hospice, a team of Florida law enforcement agents were en route to seize her and have her feeding tube reinserted — but they stopped short when local police told them they would enforce the judge's order, The Miami Herald has learned.

....For a brief period, local police, who have officers around the hospice to keep protesters out, prepared for what sources called a showdown.

...."It was kind of a showdown on the part of the locals and the state police," the official said. "It was not too long after that Jeb Bush was on TV saying that, evidently, he doesn't have as much authority as people think."

Several things jump out at me here... first, there were rumors about this possible scenerio winding their way around the blogosphere over the past couple of days, but I thought it was just melodramatic crap. In the period of time immediately surrounding his inauguration, we heard a lot of insiders who mused about the fickle nature of fate since Dubya was supposed to be the black sheep and Jeb was the considerate and smooth politician who was destined to follow his daddy's footsteps to the presidency. That's not a commentary on his politics per se, but more just a nice way of saying "Wow... Dubya's the dumb one and Jeb is the bright one... what happened here?"

Jeb certainly has politics that I abhor, but that doesn't necessarily make him stupid and rash, so when I read this bit this morning my jaw hit the keyboard. And then it dawned on me that this might have some severe long term consequences for Jeb... yes, the Schiavo case has thrown a lot of mud on the Republicans, but the fact that he was going to intervene in this way might cast some serious doubts on his judgment and ability to serve as the President. It might not be getting much press right now (SCLM anyone?) but that will probably change if he decides to run in 2008.

EPA To Drop 'E,' 'P' From Name

From the Onion:

WASHINGTON, DC—Days after unveiling new power-plant pollution regulations that rely on an industry-favored market-trading approach to cutting mercury emissions, EPA Acting Administrator Stephen Johnson announced that the agency will remove the "E" and "P" from its name. "We're not really 'environmental' anymore, and we certainly aren't 'protecting' anything," Johnson said. "'The Agency' is a name that reflects our current agenda and encapsulates our new function as a government-funded body devoted to handling documents, scheduling meetings, and fielding phone calls." The change comes on the heels of the Department of Health and Human Services' January decision to shorten its name to the Department of Services.

Hilarious in that sad sort of way...

Friday Cat Blogging

I think my cats had some sort of... well... marital spat.

Check it out. Hugs tells Sammy "That's it! You're sleepin' on the ottoman for the noontime nap!"

Sammy plays it cool, and when I walk by the next time I see that he has worked his way back into the chair. Hugs, being sleepy and not quite as upset, says "OK, but you stay on your half! Don't touch me!"

But Hugs finally breaks down. "Come here Sammy! I'm sorry for being angry... Let me spoon you!"

Not that I am trying to comment on the sexuality of my pets or anything... I just call 'em how I see 'em.

FOX Guest Hall of Fame

Check out the new addition...

The freakies are starting to get restless...

A FOX commentator thinks Jeb should "call out the troops and storm the Bastille"

"Priests for Life" call for civil disobedience

A man (from Rockford... Yipee!) tries to steal a gun to rescue Schiavo

Inconvenient Facts...

The EPA gets into the act...

This crap isn't politics... it is just plan mendacity. Look, I might be liberal, but the reason I am so is because the left is most often the side of pursuing the best available policies within a given scope, or in other words, they tend to actual consider facts and findings a hell of a lot more than the right. Conservatives wouldn't dare touch a liberal position despite a mountain of evidence that states their selected position sucks... the EPA and OSHA are common cases, but even social positions like abstinance education are good examples.

Again, it's not politics... it's just retarded.

Different look at new trustees' report

Kevin Drum has the word here...

Now it is important to remember that the numbers aren't really that meaningful (Atrios points out they tweaked the life expectancy up a bit more than could be justified, particularly considering the rise of obesity) and the idea of looking out to 75 years is kinda absurd (not only is it not meaningful, but why is social security the only program that has to look out that far?). That being said, if the right wants to play fast and loose with those parameters, they shouldn't whine when it bites them in the ass...

The Republican Creed

I think the author misses the point here... the right was never truly against larger government; rather, getting their paws on the power (i.e. all branches of government) has exposed their desires for what they truly are. Words are ephmeral, but their actions are being noticed. Yeah, some of the more conservatarian true-believers are getting upset, but by and large I think the right is ok with violating their supposed principles (as they do on about every other issue...).

So what are those true desires? I go with the thesis that they are trying to use larger government to strangle government itself, as in up the deficit so high that there is a move to cut entitlements... they don't mind a larger fiscal government per se (after all, those tax dollars can be turned into easy profits for corporate cronies) but they hate entitlements. Same with a larger regulatory government... they don't might regulating the womb or the bedroom, but they hate interference from the EPA or OSHA.

E tu, Frist?

We have seen that Bush, champion of capital punishment, wants to "err on the side of life." But apparently Frist also has some big personal hypocrisy issues to deal with...

Cute Trick on Social Security

Take a look at this on the new Trustee's report...

I haven't seen a single analysis of the numbers and assumptions they used, so they could be right in line with previous years... but I doubt it. That's not just due to the direction of the change either; I just don't have faith in anything the administration tells me that has a possible political angle.

Anyway, just think about it: the directionality matters quite a bit here. Even if it is one year, that still makes the headlines and talking points "Social Security is getting worse!!!" At the same time, it not only forces more defense and push-back from the left, but is also small that they would have trouble showing that a more objective take would actually make the picture better... if they did so, they will be painted as a partisan.

Similarly, Medicare, a program that the administration doesn't want you looking at, got "better" in the report. Gee, how nice!

Again, I am reserving judgment, but based on past experiences I would say that it is probably worse than I even expect...

Update: More here...

The Torture of Schiavo

I wish I was kidding, but no... that is what is currently being advanced at the National Review Online. Note the subtitle that states she would be better off if she was a terrorist. Classy. Also note his implications that Michael Schiavo has a fat bank account (he actually only has about 50k from the original settlement due to care and legal costs) and the Delay-like lies that she is alert and responsive, that there is debate regarding her diagnosis, and that the process of dying in the planned manner is "torture."

Furthermore, McCarthy takes this to its "logical" conclusion and thinks that we should prosecute Michael Schiavo for torture.

I need a beer... make it six...

Update: OK, there is an error on my part above... by the technical definitions, she is in fact both alert and responsive (or better, "arousable"), but this essentially only means that she has her eyes open and she has reflexes. Big deal. Many reflexes, if not most, are mediated by the spinal cord and lower brain stem, not higher cortical areas (which would be too slow to make an effective reflex). Her eyes may be open, but nobody is home... her cortex is essentially dead and gone. This is kind of like the proverbial "chicken running around with its head cut off."

Unfortunately, few folks out there understand what these terms mean (as the article points out, there are a lot of terms along the continuum) so while they might be technically correct, people leap (like I did) to assume that they mean a lot more than they actually do.

Is Sgrena related to Elizabeth Smart?

Note: This post got lost in the shuffle and should have been up about 2 weeks ago, but I thought I would post it regardless as the questions are still pertinent...

------

Via Kevin Drum, Iraqi blogger Riverbend has a great post up here in which she writes with wonderment over why there is such attention being paid to the Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena when shit that is much much worse (mainly occuring to Iraqis) has received a tenth of the attention.

It's a good question, and not just concerning the weirdness that is the Iraq War or Occupation or Whatever... this happens with other stuff as well: Elizabeth Smart sparked madness over child abductions. You couldn't go a day without new reports. But yet child abductions have been trending downwards. Same with the media-annointed Year of the Shark: shark attacks were actually down that year.

Yeah, I know there is the cute-little-white-girl element to both of those, but I don't think it is that simple... it is certainly a dynamic that has caused me no little amount of amazement and intense frustration over the years, and I am no more close to figuring it out.

Quote of the Day

Via Altercation:

Quote of the Day: "It Is Wisest to Always Err on the Side of Life" (After Signing Schiavo Law) here.

--PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, who oversaw the execution of 152 individuals while governor of Texas, more than any other governor in the history of the United
States.

You, too, can be a Nobel Prize nominee!

So...basically, if I send a letter to the Nobel Prize nominating committee saying that I believe DHP deserves the Nobel Peace Prize in Being Totally Awesome...then for the rest of his life, DHP can introduce himself as "Nobel Prize Nominee, DHP".

Sweet!

I'll write a letter for you if you write a letter for me!

What a joke. What propaganda.

Army ups reservist age to 39

Here.

Of course, this action does not in any way signal that anything is amiss... everything is great! Nothing to see here! Please move along!

Happy Anniversary... I guess

And here is what those first two years have brought...

Break out the booze! Put on a paper hat! Yippy!

And if you believe that...

Delay is lying. Again.

And it's not even one of those vague arguable lies... this is just grist for the mill... whoring your integrity to swing the outrage from being directed at Congress to being in favor of Schiavo's parents (the media, being whores themselves, probably will never call him on it)

You know, I would love to force Congress to have her come in and testify similar to the stunt they originally pulled... only the panel would be made of all the biggest jackasses of the right (like Delay) and they would be limited to asking questions (rather than pontificate). Furthermore, they would be forced to sit in utter silence as they give Schiavo a full five minutes to respond to each query... they would be, as the Rude Pundit says, forced to listen to the "sucks and gurgles" of the machines keeping her going while wallowing in the "shit-scent of death." The session would last 3 days. At least.

And then I would get to smack the crap out of each one for good measure. Oh yeah, and give 'em the taser!

Rubella is gone in the US

Some nice news:

"A disease that once seriously harmed tens of thousands of infants is no longer a major health threat, thanks to a safe and effective vaccine and successful immunization programs across the country," CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding told a Washington news conference.

"We should take pride in this accomplishment, and also recognize that we must maintain our vigilance or we can see a resurgence of disease."

Of course, I have to go and screw up the nice feeling I got from this bit of good news by getting all DHP thinking about the dumbasses who refuse to immunize their kids due to what conspiracy brother or whoever told them... sigh.

Oh, one other thing... Name Drop of the Month: I met Dr. Gerberding last year... I also had a pretty good conversation with her while I drove her to the airport (she REALLY channels DHP when she talks about the mendacity of the cigarette companies).

Nice Harbinger

Via Doonesbury's site:

"I don't do carrots."-- U.N. Ambassador-designate John Bolton, on negotiation

Living Wills

Well, that's one way of doing it...

More on Schiavo and the Texas Futile Care Law

Mark Kleiman has a good post up regarding the Texas Futile Care law and the absurdity of all the hypocrisy and generally poor policy (a "careful biopsy of their wallet" is the line of the week).

However, some aspects of the post and several of the postscripts got me wondering how there might be some push back on this whole sordid affair. Mark poits out that:

Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state, but isn't terminal. The two Texas patients were terminal but not vegetative. It seems to me that the distinction between a patient who is aware and a patient who isn't aware is the morally relevant one, while the disctinction between a death that is sure to occur soon and a death that is sure to occur eventually is morally irrelevant. (Try pleading as a defense to a murder charge that the victim had a terminal ailment.)

I don't how that would play out in the legal world, but it seems to me that it would be more than sufficient to get your foot in the door (hell, the issue of who is making the ultimate decision should be enough).

Why not go that route? Although the folks who would want to challenge the law would be those folks who would be unable to pay for the patient's care and thus unlikely to afford legal action, there has to more than a few organizations that would be willing to pony up. Kleiman and other are miffed that the MSM has failed to pick up on the story... I personally think the MSM is indiscriminately selective of what blogger-generated item they report on due to their own comfort level and vanity, but if this gets turned into a legal action, then the dynamic changes.

Just a thought...

Funny

Go read...

Um, Tom? Ixnay the ingerfay ointingpay

It has come to the attention of Atrios that Delay has been using the bully pulpit of his position to chastize Michael Schiavo.

I guess I don't really care all that much per se... Delay can say what he wants, it's a free country and all that (although I will have to ask the Wife what the slander/libel laws might have to say about his past comments).

No, what I care about is the fact that he is being a critic, period. From the LA Times:

DeLay, who has been personally chastising Michael Schiavo, did not spare him on Saturday. "I don't have a whole lot of respect for a man that has treated this woman in this way," he said. "What kind of man is he?"

Hey Asshole, you're the guy who has been slapped with multiple ethics violations and then had the committee reconfigured with your cronies to keep it from happening again... and that still might not save your punk ass from jail.

How did this douche get such power in the Republican party?

In a sane world...

... the cops would have come to the school, assessed the situation, and then bitch-slapped the teacher for being an idiot. And then they would have given her the taser.

Yes! THE TASER!

Frist: I'm-not-a-neurologist-but-I-play-one-in-the-Senate

Good post by Amy Sullivan on Frist... she calls him the most not insane physican in the Senate, which is a damning by faint praise considering that Coburn would like to execute physicans who perform abortions...

The latest Schiavo...

I am so DHP right now I can hardly see straight, let alone see or type... this is one of the most obscene things I have seen since... well, I was going to come up with a something long ago but I will have to say since the 2000 Supreme Court decision on the elections. Hell, considering the implications of the legislation, it might even be worse in some respects.

Not only does this piece of shit, er, legislation completely piss all over the concept of state right that the Republicans are always screaming and wailing about, but it also tramples major concepts of judicial review and the nature of the relationship between the court systems... via Atrios, we see one court-watcher get pretty upset over it:

QUESTION: What does that concept do the regular give and take between the court systems, the idea of comity and cooperation between judges?

ANSWER:It destroys it. But that's the whole point of this Congressional action. Not liking a particular result in a case that has been litigated fully and completely by a court with competent jurisdiction, Congress now has said that the game must be re-done with new rules that heavily favor one side over the other. The implications of this move are astonishing. Just think about it. Anytime Congress doesn't like the result in a particular case, it could swoop in and call a "do-over," which is essentially what this legislation represents. And this from a Congress that has for a decade or so tried to keep all sorts of citizens-- including disabled employees-- out of federal court. If this law is declared valid, no decision in any state court in the country will be immune from Congressional second-guessing. It would throw out of whack the entire concept of separation of powers. The constitutional law expert Tribe calls it "trial by legislation" and he is right.

Although it is almost assuredly isn't the most important aspect, that might be the thing that pisses me off the most: the idea that this whole thing looks like it is tailored for this specific case. If you are going to allow something like this, institutionalize it. But don't just do it on a case by case basis... I mean, in a pragmatic sense alone, can you imagine the number of appeals made by constituents to Congress for various cases? And it's not like they are going to be selecting meritorius cases either; they will just select whatever political football they like and can advance (the talking points on Schiavo for the Republican Congressmen reportedly speak about how this is a tough issue for the Dems and that they should be hammering them with it).

Do you doubt it? Go check out Digby and his comments on how the right is destroying tort reform and medicaid that would help families keep vegetables like Schiavo on life support at the very same time they are blustering about her rights. Check out the law that Bush signed in Texas that allows hospitals to pull the plug without the consent of the family if they can no longer pay the bill for someone who has no chance to get better (I am not slamming the worthiness of that particular law; rather just pointing out the rank hypocrisy)

Trial by legislation is dead on. This farce has got to end... unfortunately, our federal courts have also been made into a partisan circus by the right, so I doubt this is going to end any time soon.

Oh yeah. Remember, this is all about the sanctity of life... death penalty aside, I wonder why the right isn't flocking to cameras about this...

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

Daddy disapproves

Looks like 41 doesn't like 43's ideas on social security...

Friday Cat Blog


I have no clue what these two are doing, but they seem to be enjoying themselves. I think Poly's winking just to let you know that everything is okay.



Those damn conspiracy theorists

Man, how can conspiracy theorists ever gain any sort of respect or credibility if they never get anything right?

Oh, wait.

Heck, people were shouting down folks who claimed the administration talked about going to war with Iraq a couple days after 9/11. In a weird way, those doing the shouting were right... they didn't started talking about going to war two day after 9/11; they did so two day after inauguration.

And the thing about all this is that it apparently isn't news... I really haven't seen much talk on this. And when I announced this article to my parents and wife, I got a collective shrug. Not that it isn't a big deal to them; it's just that they had a complete lack of surprise.

That sucks.

1991

1991.

That was the year that a plurality of Americans thought interracial marriage was ok. Honestly, I think I am probably more shocked than Atrios.

The weird thing is that it really has me of two minds... on one hand, it really chills me that the public was just coming around to this position so incredibly recently. But on the other hand, it seems that the acceptance of interracial marriage has really seemed to pick up steam the last couple of decades... that gives me some hope for people on several other issues.

Of course, tomorrow my optimism will be squashed as I will read something like how the Pope re-iterated his stance that homosexuality is an evil lifestyle and furthermore pronounced that the Will and Grace is a horrible show and should not be watched by anyone.

(OK, I agree with the last part)

I'm going to the National Abstinence Clearinghouse!

This article is awesome on several different levels...

As it turns out, the same researchers who found that that teens who take an abstinence pledge are just as likely to have an STD just came out with new findings that those teens are also more likely to have anal and oral sex. And less likely to use condoms when they do have sex (88% do so before marriage, ya know). Oh, and less likely to get checked for STD's.

As if that wasn't enough sweet nectar, there was also this:

Leslee Unruh, president of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, called the study "bogus," disputing that those involved had pledged true "abstinence."

"Kids who pledge abstinence are taught that any word that has 'sex' in it is considered a sexual activity," Unruh said. "Therefore oral sex is sex, and they are staying away."

What a riot! And to top it off, I am set to go to Sioux Falls again soon... I really want to check this place out.

Hmmmm...

Billmon makes several very interesting comparisons between the Maoists and our very own anti-intellectuals...

Random Thought

I just got done watching an episode of Bill Maher's HBO show, which had Tommy Thompson on as a guest.

I sure hope Tommy or someone who knows him reads this blog, because damn he looks like an ugly clown or something! That absurd hair color has got to go...

Harvard Faculty Revolt

Maybe I am reading this wrong, but this looks like a pretty big kick in the balls to Larry Summers.

I have honestly tried to avoid this whole thing (I will have to admit that I am really not that interested) but posting here on it now obligates me to comment I guess...

My gut reaction: There might very well be some intrinsic differences (damn near anything and everything has a genetic component), but my guess is that environmental factors and other externalities play a much much bigger role here. Are women encouraged to study math and do well in engineering and related fields? I would say no. Are women who do study those fields as free as their male counterparts to advance to high places in their fields? I would say hell no. You could potentially go on for a while like that, and actually Summers did mention a lot of these things.

Rather, I think the big issue here is that Summers was such a retard for bringing up the issue in such a ham-handed manner... I mean, he might have well told all the female faculty that their respective asses looked fat with the clothes they wore. He just was not conscience about the power of his position and how other people might regard his thoughts and questions; as such, he was feeding into the reasons why women aren't encouraged to pursue hard science careers, etc. He sure didn't seem to do well in the post-comment trials either.

But despite all that, I don't really think that warrants a resolution about a lack of confidence... seems a little overboard to me.

Texas Tax Bill Update

It passed... absurdity confirmed!

Overnight Shipping Charges

KBR charges $27.5 million for a rush order of $82 thousand of fuel?!?

Man, they could have gotten a much better deal through UPS...

Really, WTF? How are these shmucks still getting contracts?

Oh, right... corruption and all that... silly me.

Hacktacular

Greenspan is kind like Ken Caminiti prior to his death... a guy who built up his reputation and won accolades during the 'roided up 90's but is now just an exposed and sad excuse for his profession.

4 out of 10 Republicans prefer...

...WAR!

Particularly with Syria, North Korea, and Iran.

A new Gallup Poll released today shows that while Americans have very negative opinions of Syria, North Korea, and Iran, by very wide margins they do not want to go to war with them. Still, about 4 in 10 Republicans would support "military action" against each of the countries.

Children, stop rattling those sabres... you've put one of your eyes out already...

Systematic Looting

Yeah, but we didn't invade for all this stuff... we did so for Democracy, right guys?!?

In the weeks after Baghdad fell in April 2003, looters systematically dismantled and removed tons of machinery from Saddam Hussein's most important weapons installations, including some with high-precision equipment capable of making parts for nuclear arms, a senior Iraqi official said this week in the government's first extensive comments on the looting.

And it's not like it was a bunch of kids grabbing spare spares for their go-carts or something:

"They came in with the cranes and the lorries, and they depleted the whole sites," Dr. Araji said. "They knew what they were doing; they knew what they want. This was sophisticated looting."

Can I wake up from this nightmare now? Please?

The Dollar and Foreign Investments

This post by Drezner on an ancedote exemplifying the power that foreign markets have over the dollar made me think of my recent annual meeting with my stock broker (I invest the full limit annually in Roth IRA's for retirement)... anyway he (roughly) said:

I think it is time to diversify a little more, and I would recommend foriegn investments. They have been hit pretty hard in the past, but have stabilized and are on their way up... love him or hate him, the President is obviously maintaining a weak dollar policy, so the time to do this is now.

Hmmm... that doesn't jive too well with his rhetoric on maintaining a strong dollar policy, does it? Of course, most everything he says doesn't match up too well with reality, so this is par for the course.

Kerik: 75 large for 11 lines of writing

Damn... that is some incredible money for such a small amount of work. He must have gone through at least two drafts to justify that kind of money.

Remind me again: How did this schmuck get vetted? Oh yeah... it was the same guy who thought that international laws against torture were quaint.

Barf.

"Why are we detaining these people? We should be killing them."

The title is an alleged quote from one of our generals regardling Abu Ghraib... yeah, that's what I said. And that's just a snippet of a larger post that is well worth the time to get through it. Go read.

"Never vote for a Republican again - we lie."

Dude, I think I could have told you that several issues ago... but since he is apparently actually on that team, I will excuse him for being behind the curve...

Red Alert!

Eeeee! I asked for decaf at an awkward time and suddenly realized we are all wearing skirts! What will become of us?!?

Really, I know Bobo likes to write about these little ancedotes and expand them beyond all reason, but his latest was too much. Thank goodness for Brad Plummer, who is doing a bang-up job subbing for Kevin over at Political Animal... he does the necessary "Yeah, but..." to Brooks' column (like pointing out that only 8 percent of regular coffee drinkers choose decaf... which means Brooks is the pussy here, not all of America)

Friday Cat Blogging (Sunday Edition)

This is the picture I have as the background for my phone... it is the picture of contentment (the arm is The Wife's)...

Texas: the Republican Party's Incubator

Go check out this post about how they do their tax bills in Texas, and be sure to look at the first post in the comments section... in a weird way, it perfectly captures the absurdity of our current situation

Duck Necrophilia

Here.

Quick! Alert Rick Santorum!

Draft Smackdown

Phillip Carter and Paul Glastris have a column in the Washington Monthly making a case for the draft. I think the whole thing is a pretty bad move for our team... if you are really interested in making a non-partisan point about the need to increase the size of the military because we are "plowing a field with a Ferrari," then just increase the size normally... I don't really think a draft is needed at this point in order to do that. You just need the funds and the legislative ok. The stupidity really shines as a partisan stick... You don't want to go about making the point that a draft actually might be needed whether we like it or not by musing about making it some regular ol' policy decision. Along those lines, Atrios says:

if we need more actual recruits, sweetening the deal and fighting fewer crappy pointless wars would probably solve the problem.

I don't even think the former is needed... the latter would probably suffice just fine.

Are Private Accounts really your money, or are they "your money?"

This question has been asked in different ways, the most recent being in relation to the bankruptcy bill. I have also heard speculation on it regarding divorce proceedings but it seems a little difficult to tease out (for me anyway).

It is an interesting subject to be sure... just one more reason it is no real wonder why Bush won't let the details of his plan out.

Wedding Day Schedule for the Queen

This has a lot of corgi references in it which is how DHP's Wife found it, but the whole thing is rather funny in the most random of ways... go read!

Votes on the Bankruptcy Bill

Here is a list of Democratic Senators who voted to bring the Bankruptcy Bill to a floor vote. There has been a lot of wonderment at why there are so many considering that 1) They are so tight on Social Security which should embolden their fighting spirits, 2) This bill really sucks... the Republicans aren't even that thrilled about it, but are doing it to repay their corporate masters. Sure, Biden is going to be in there (Delaware is the credit card capital of the US for some unknown reason) but otherwise, this is something that the Dems could easily bloody the right's nose over and make a good policy decision in the same stroke... so WTF? (That's not a lead-in to an answer... everyone has been asking the same question!)

Oh, and here's a little side note in "What's the Matter with Kansas?" fashion: a list of the top ten states in household bankruptcy filings... yep, all red states.

Getting a handle on Lebanon

This is something I have wondered about since all the news started rolling in about the presumed Syrian assassination of the former PM of Lebanon: is this seriously an entire people rising up against their masters? Or have the media been a little over-wrought in their reporting?

Kevin Drum suggests that it is the latter... and while the answer doesn't necessarily suprise me, the numbers do. 500k people at a pro-Syrian rally? No clear picture on who did the assassination? This is a much different storyline than what we have been seeing of late.

But there is a good indicator of that which a few people have mentioned: the administration has been relucant to call it their victory (i.e. part of a Middle East domino effect)

You know you gotta take a second look when they take a pass on something like this...

The Bush Administration in one sentence...

Make that "sentence"

Here.

Alabama and their repressed genitalia

The fact that Alabama doesn't allow the sale of dildos in their pristine little state doesn't surprise me... what does is the circuit court's review of the law:

A divided three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. It said in a ruling last July that siding with the sex toy merchants could open the door to the legalization of undesirable sexual behavior such as prostitution.

"If the people of Alabama in time decide that prohibition on sex toys is misguided, or ineffective, or just plain silly, they can repeal the law and be finished with the matter," the court said.

"On the other hand, if we today craft a new fundamental right by which to invalidate the law, we would be bound to give that right full force and effect in all future cases including, for example, those involving adult incest, prostitution, obscenity, and the like."

What? Prostitution? Incest?!? Can someone explain the logic of that to me? Does Rick Santorum magically sit on the 11th Circuit Court or something?

And since when did Alabama care about incest anyways?

Bankruptcy, Minimum Wages, and CNN

Gag. CNN is getting worse and worse... they report on the minimum wage dispute as a part of the bankruptcy bill that is sailing through the Senate (more in a sec) with a bunch of he-said she-said and a picture of Santorum with an exceedingly general caption which all add up to making it seem like all they were arguing over was the amount. Oh, and some vague "pro-business" measures.

Finally, about halfway through, you finally get an idea of what those measures are:

These include an option for employees to work up to 80 hours over two weeks without qualifying for overtime pay; a provision restricting the ability of states to raise the minimum wage for restaurant employees; and waiving wage and overtime rules for workers in some small businesses now covered.

Not exactly a small difference between the two proposals, eh? How about reporting the banalities later and giving us the meat of the issue up front?

I like the first one myself... you could have to work 80 hours on week and then be on your butt for the next and never get overtime. Oh, and none of that would be up to you. This is what the Republicans call "flextime." Imagine being a single mom (let along someone in a "traditional" family) and having to work 80 hours in a week all of a sudden... as Sen. Kennedy points out, Santorum really has no interest in the minimum wage other than to keep it low; instead, this manuever is really just a charade so he can have some more ammo to fend off what appears to be a big fight in 2006. Propose a minimum wage hike, put a poison pill in it for the Dems, and then go to the rural area and say "Hey, I tried, but those mean Dems blocked it!"

Another passage I liked:

"Wages do not cause sales. Sales are needed to provide wages. Wages do not cause revenue. Revenue drives wages," said Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming.

Boy, that's a mouthful... it would have been faster to say "trickle-down" but the right won't say that term anymore even under pain of torture. Not only does it not "test well," but it just doesn't work either.

Of course, the bigger issue here is the bankruptcy bill itself, which is an incredible hand-out to the insurance industry which will allow them to really stick it to regular folks by removing what little protections exist in bankruptcy and against usury. That's why it really burns me to see quotes like this regarding the minimum wage:

Countered Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa: "This is a values issue. This is at the heart of what kind of country we want."

Oh yeah? What about the over bill you jackasses?!? They got all flush over their impending success on social security that now I guess they think they can go on vacation or something. I thought a little success would go a long way for the party, but I guess not...

Residents and Sleep Deprivation

I had a semi-long post about this, but blogger ate it. I am tired and don't want to re-create it, so just go read and know that I am mostly in favor of what she says, if not entirely how she says it...

SCCM

SCLM is "So-Called Liberal Media." Well, we should also have SCCM ("So-Called Competent Media")

Kevin Drum points out that a Bush admin lied on background here, and gets to the central nut of situation when he says:

He's not just bullshitting, either: he's flatly lying and hoping that it's not a big enough story for anyone to bother tracking down his sources.

That's really all there is to it. It is amazing how often you see the media take what people give them at face value without double-checking or asking probing questions. Dan Rather got fried for it, but that's a rare case (the right have been gunning for him for decades). More often I find myself watching press conferences or reading a series of reports on a given issue and thinking

"Why didn't you ask X?"

"Is Y really true?"

"Now we all now Z is crap... call him on it!"

But normally we get nothing... indifference? Access? Laziness?

Does it matter? Pick your reason; they all suck. And they are so bad now that folks will lie their asses off because they know the other guy isn't going to do anything about it.

A testy night

You know this had to be intentional... regarding Wake Forest's Chris Paul hitting NC State's Julius Hodge with a low blow, cnnsi.com says this:

Paul's low blow with 12:48 left in the first half set the tone for a testy night in Raleigh, which ended when he hit a runner at the buzzer for a 55-53 win.

Brilliant. Well-played.

Bolton as UN Ambassador?

You gotta be kiddin' me...

Negroponte as the UN Ambassador was a big FU to the democrats, but Bolton is a big FU to the United Nations... and this is right after Bush's "I wanna try to make nice" trip to Europe.

People were wondering what was going to happen to Bolton since the administration liked him but didn't want to send him to State with Condi or take over as NSD. But then they found the perfect niche for him: bugging the shit out of the UN

Update: This is the type of stuff I am talking about...

SS Cartoon of the Day

From TPM... pretty funny

Propaganda, paid with your tax dollars

Atrios asks why there aren't any criminal investigations into the use of government agencies for obvious political purposes... but really, this administration has dipped their toes into these waters so many times previously without anyone (outside liberal bloggers) saying nary a peep that I am not surprised at all that they have stripped naked and dove right it on this occasion. Not that it is apparently helping them at all... public opinion is still against them in a big way on the social security issue.

Belated Cat Blogging

Well, after pulling two all-nighters in five days in order to finish a grant, then having to rush to catch up on all that I had set aside for said grant, and *then* having to work on the first set of questions for my written exams this week, I am ready for some down time. Unfortunately, I don't see that down time coming anytime soon, but luckily Mr. Hugs has enough for the both of us...

He doesn't even look like a cat in this picture... almost like a teddy bear or something...

Tierney to write for the Times Op-Ed pages

I know the announcement of this is old, but I really didn't know much about Tierney... well, it seems like he is a real winner:

Tierney has a tendency to support his point of view using sources with a clear ideological or special interest agenda, without properly identifying them. In a 2000 column Tierney attacked CBS for an old report in which it had suggested that apples treated with the pesticide Alar carried a cancer risk. He wrote that the American Council on Science and Health, which he identified as "a consumer education group in New York," had demanded a correction and an apology from CBS. But Tierney left out the fact that ACSH is funded by major corporations -- including McDonalds, Pfizer, Kraft Foods, ExxonMobil, and Anheuser Busch -- all with stakes in the issues it focuses on. And one of those corporate funders, Uniroyal Chemical Company, is the manufacturer of Alar.

Tierney used the same sleight-of-hand again recently, when he argued in the Times' "Week in Review" section that today's children are overly coddled in school, leaving them ill-prepared for adult life. He quoted a scholar with the John Templeton Foundation to that effect. But as CJR Daily noted, Tierney never told readers that the foundation subscribes to an explicitly traditionalist, conservative view of education. One education project that it supports, for instance, aims "to encourage a greater appreciation of the importance of the free enterprise system and the values that enable it to flourish." No surprise, then, that such an outfit would take the position it does on the coddling issue.

Tierney's attack on recycling was written for the Times magazine in 1996. He claimed that recycling consumes more resources than it conserves, and in fact does little to save energy, or trees, or other natural resources. In addition, he wrote, landfill space in the United States is abundant, and poses little danger of leakage. Not a single representative of the recycling industry was quoted in the extensive piece.

There is a lot more in the post where that came from.

As CJR points out, the Times gives their columnists on the Op-Ed page a really free hand... that's fine, but why allow them to stoop to piss-poor journalism? Opinions are one thing, but when someone writes things that are a bunch of crap (like Safire's constant assertations that nobody disputes the alleged and repeatedly debuked meeting between Iraq and al-Qaeda in Prague) then the entire enterprise gets degraded.

Sigh.

Splitting electoral votes

In short, I think it is a good idea, unless getting rid of the electoral system is on the table in which case I would favor that. However, I agree with this student editorial that the proposal on the table for NC might not be best due to the possibility to encourage evermore gerrymandering.

But the main reason I wanted to post on this is regarding one of their later points: that splitting the votes would diminish our electoral power. This is where the students on the edit board show that they are indeed students as splitting electoral votes would actually serve to increase our current electoral power. Which states have electoral power? California? Texas? They hold a ton of electoral votes, but have little electoral power. Why? They are in the bag for their respective political parties, so nobody pays attention except to raise funds.

The real powerhouses are Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, and Michigan. These states have significant numbers of electoral votes, and are generally up for grabs. If North Carolina was made to be more of a "swing state" by putting some of its electoral votes in play, then politicans would have more of an impetus to campaign in the state.

This has got to be overturned...

For those of you who are unfamiliar with our little campus scuffles, AIO is a Christian frat that wants to side-step the university's non-discrimination policy in order to restrict its membership to those who subscribe to its tenants of belief, including its views on pre-marital sex and homosexuality.

A couple years ago, InterVarsity tried the same thing, and came away with a reasonable compremise: they would be allowed to restrict their leadership, but not their members. This makes ok sense, although pragmatically I honestly don't see a bunch of non-Christians trying to storm InterVarsity (or AIO for that matter) and take it over.

But if the group is going to have a particular purpose, then ensuring the leaders subscribe to said purpose is reasonable... the key is that any student be allowed to experience the group despite their beliefs; that's what education is all about. Furthermore, these groups are allowed to get student fees and have the right to use campus facilities to meet, etc.

Unfortunately, AIO thinks that is somehow restricting its 1st amendment rights, and they just got a District Court to install an injunction until the whole thing is resolved. Now, that's not a big deal in and of itself, but I just wonder why the judge punted on the question by allowing the injunction? It appears to me to be so clear-cut as to be the object of scorn... the university is not denying their right to speak, to assemble, or to exist: they are merely saying that unless you play by the policy, you can't use the facilities or the student fee money.

Imagine the slippery slope this would create if the courts held in favor of AIO... I could form my own little exclusive group and then sue on 1st amendment grounds when I was denied public funds. Absurd. Hell, this is so retarded that I almost wish they would win... I would form the Society of DHP, and I would restrict membership to whoever I wanted to get in (the criteria would be top secret). Then I would try to bring in Fred Phelps or David Duke or some other mutant and demand funds and facilities for it, just to cause a stir. Heck, I could even go a step further: create the Society of ? and refuse to publish a list of leaders or members based on whatever constitutional grounds I could find... then demand funds and only communicate through a Hotmail account or IM in order to process them or speak to the media or whatever... just to piss people off.

Yeah, I know... I probably wouldn't do it... but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to do so.

Update: Looks like UNC's little scuffle has gotten noticed by the big blogs...

Recent lack of posting

Hey folks,

I know posting has been light, but as you may imagine, I have been recovering from my grant writing activities. Hopefully I will be able to pick it up some this weekend, but I am starting my written exam questions, so perhaps not... we shall see.

Tuesday Logo Blogging

So here I am at school at 11:15pm... I just got done playing an IM basketball game... two and a half hours earlier I got my NATA Grant (all 150 pages, give or take) to the Staples UPS about 5 minutes before closing... I am a couple days removed from a 32 hour stint working on it... and I am currently in my 41st hour of conscienceness.

I am not tired... I am in a realm beyond... fatigue no longer has any meaning...

Of course, my eyes say differently. My eyes are so bloodshot I look like I just got off a week-long cocaine bender...

Anyway, DHP's Big Sis is in a creative mood, and made a little logo for the site... given that I can hardly type or read or think straight, it is probably the best post I can come up with (not that it couldn't stand on its own merits in better times... it's just an easy post) Here it is: