Monthly Archives: July 2004

Excerpts from Kerry’s speech

Entire speech

I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a vice president who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. I will have a secretary of Defense who will listen to the best advice of our military leaders. And I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States.

We’re told that outsourcing jobs is good for America. We’re told that new jobs that pay $9,000 less than the jobs that have been lost is the best we can do. They say this is the best economy we’ve ever had. And they say that anyone who thinks otherwise is a pessimist. Well, here is our answer: There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can’t do better.

Now I know there are those who criticize me for seeing complexities and I do because some issues just aren’t all that simple. Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn’t make it so. Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesn’t make it so. And proclaiming mission accomplished certainly doesn’t make it so.

I know what we have to do in Iraq. We need a president who has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden, reduce the cost to American taxpayers, and reduce the risk to American soldiers. That’s the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home.

Here is the reality: that won’t happen until we have a president who restores America’s respect and leadership — so we don’t have to go it alone in the world.

And tonight, we have an important message for those who question the patriotism of Americans who offer a better direction for our country. Before wrapping themselves in the flag and shutting their eyes and ears to the truth, they should remember what America is really all about. They should remember the great idea of freedom for which so many have given their lives. Our purpose now is to reclaim democracy itself. We are here to affirm that when Americans stand up and speak their minds and say America can do better, that is not a challenge to patriotism; it is the heart and soul of patriotism.

For four years, we’ve heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They’re what we live by. They’re about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families.

You don’t value families by kicking kids out of after-school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron can get another tax break.

Two young bicycle mechanics from Dayton asked, what if this airplane could take off at Kitty Hawk? It did that and changed the world forever. A young president asked, what if we could go to the moon in ten years? And now we’re exploring the solar system and the stars themselves. A young generation of entrepreneurs asked, what if we could take all the information in a library and put it on a little chip the size of a fingernail? We did, and that too changed the world forever.

And now it’s our time to ask: What if?

What if we find a breakthrough to cure Parkinson’s, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and AIDs? What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives?

It is time to reach for the next dream. It is time to look to the next horizon. For America, the hope is there. The sun is rising. Our best days are still to come.

Goodnight, God bless you, and God bless America.

Excerpts from Kerry’s speech

Entire speech

I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a vice president who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. I will have a secretary of Defense who will listen to the best advice of our military leaders. And I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States.

We’re told that outsourcing jobs is good for America. We’re told that new jobs that pay $9,000 less than the jobs that have been lost is the best we can do. They say this is the best economy we’ve ever had. And they say that anyone who thinks otherwise is a pessimist. Well, here is our answer: There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can’t do better.

Now I know there are those who criticize me for seeing complexities and I do because some issues just aren’t all that simple. Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn’t make it so. Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesn’t make it so. And proclaiming mission accomplished certainly doesn’t make it so.

I know what we have to do in Iraq. We need a president who has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden, reduce the cost to American taxpayers, and reduce the risk to American soldiers. That’s the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home.

Here is the reality: that won’t happen until we have a president who restores America’s respect and leadership — so we don’t have to go it alone in the world.

And tonight, we have an important message for those who question the patriotism of Americans who offer a better direction for our country. Before wrapping themselves in the flag and shutting their eyes and ears to the truth, they should remember what America is really all about. They should remember the great idea of freedom for which so many have given their lives. Our purpose now is to reclaim democracy itself. We are here to affirm that when Americans stand up and speak their minds and say America can do better, that is not a challenge to patriotism; it is the heart and soul of patriotism.

For four years, we’ve heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They’re what we live by. They’re about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families.

You don’t value families by kicking kids out of after-school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron can get another tax break.

Two young bicycle mechanics from Dayton asked, what if this airplane could take off at Kitty Hawk? It did that and changed the world forever. A young president asked, what if we could go to the moon in ten years? And now we’re exploring the solar system and the stars themselves. A young generation of entrepreneurs asked, what if we could take all the information in a library and put it on a little chip the size of a fingernail? We did, and that too changed the world forever.

And now it’s our time to ask: What if?

What if we find a breakthrough to cure Parkinson’s, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and AIDs? What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives?

It is time to reach for the next dream. It is time to look to the next horizon. For America, the hope is there. The sun is rising. Our best days are still to come.

Goodnight, God bless you, and God bless America.

July Surprise

3 weeks ago CNN reported on the “July Surpise” theory. That the Bush Administration was pressuring Pakistan to capture a “High Value Target” sometime during the Democratic National Convention.

Yesterday, such an arrest was announced, but while CNN mentioned the arrest, they made no reference to their story of three weeks ago.

Even though, apparently, the arrest was made on Sunday, three days before the convention began, and wasn’t made public until yesterday, the day Kerry spoke.

QURAISHI: Pakistani officials confirming to us tonight that they have arrested Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani. He’s somebody listed by the FBI as one of the most wanted terrorists. Now Ghailani was picked up in weekend raids that were conducted in central Pakistan early on Sunday. Over a dozen suspects were picked up in those raids. They say over the last few days they have been working on identifying those people. One of them they say is one of the most wanted listed by the FBI — this Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani. Now this operation lasted more than twelve hours, they say, a shoot-out ensured, and then the security forces were able to go in and arrest these people. Now we understand from officials that the interrogations are continuing here in Pakistan by security forces. At some point we expect, however, that Ghailani will be handed over to the United States. Wolf.

BLITZER: Ash-har Quraishi reporting for us on this late-breaking story. Thanks very much Ash-har, very much. Let’s get back to the convention now.

Arrested for eating a candy bar

A US Govt Scientist was arrested in Wash. DC for eating a candy bar.

This is a strange. Apparently, eating is prohibited in the subway station, so as the scientist was going down the escalator towards the station, a police officer told her to finish the candy bar before entering the station. Both of them agree she nodded, put the last bit into her mouth, threw the wrapper in a trash can, and then entered the station. But she was still arrested. Why? Apparently, because she hadn’t completely swallowed it.

Ultrasonic Squirrels

While its been known that dolphins and bats use ultrasonic frequencies to avoid obstacles and pursue prey, up until now no animals were known to use it as a means of communication. Apparentlly, a species of squirrel does.

July 29, 2004 ó A species of squirrel uses ultrasonic frequencies to warn fellow members of its group of impending danger, the first time an animal has been found to use high-frequency sound this way, said a study published in the weekly journal Nature.

Gambling

ìShall the Missouri Constitution be amended to authorize floating gambling facilities on or adjacent to the White River in Rockaway Beach, Missouri, to be licensed and regulated consistent with all other floating facilities in the State of Missouri.”

The Post Dispatch advises me to vote no.

Apparently back in 1992 we only voted on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. And if any part of Missouri wants to put a casino on a different river, the whole state needs to vote again.

I’d rather the language didn’t focus on Rockaway and the White River. Let’s get this over and done with. Why should we discriminate one river against another? If riverboats are allowed on the Missouri and the Mississippi, it should be allowed on any damn river in the state.

I’m not a big fan of gambling. It is generally a regressive tax. (Riverboat gambling is a little less regressive than the lottery, in that it attracts wealthier idiots. But it is still a tax on stupidity, especially the slot machines. There is skill invovled with poker and blackjack.) The “gambling supports education” canard leads many to vote against school levies since they feel “We’re already supporting education through the lottery and casinos” and Missouri ends up near the bottom in funding for its schools. I’d support an amendment eliminating casinos on all rivers. But I’m also going to vote Yes on this amendment. I just see no reason to discriminate against the White River.

(My thoughts on both amendments seem similar. Except I don’t feel marriage is stupid, and I wouldn’t support an amendment eliminating all marriages in the state of Missouri.)

Opportunity Costs

Amendment 2 on Aug 3 ballot:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended so that to be valid and recognized in this state, a marriage shall exist only between a man and a woman?

The estimated fiscal impact of this proposed measure to state and local governments is $0.

JibJab Sued

JibJab (creator of this Political Parody) is being threatened with a copyright lawsuit by the rights holders of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”. They’ve already contacted EFF and there is an ongoing debate about whether the flash animation is protected parody or infringing satire. Full information is located at CNN and Slashdot.

The original copyright notice attached to This Land is Your Land reads as follows:

“This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin’ it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don’t give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that’s all we wanted to do.”

Unfortunately, since Congress enabled copyrights to be extended “indefinitely”, whoever ended up with Guthrie’s copyrights extended them and then sold them to a record company.