Archive for 7/4/2008 - 1 Tamuz, 5768

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.

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.

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.

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.

Photographic evidence. Drudge took a photograph from Tom Tomorrow’s weblog, flipped it, and changed a red light to a green light, and posted it on his own site.

Electronic voting records from Florida’s 2002 election have “disappeared”, fueling concerns that Florida “could be the next Florida.”

If you’re not registered at the NYtimes, and wish to read the article.

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.)

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 (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.

You’ve undoubtedly heard the On-Star commercials.

Here’s a parody. (MP3)

(source unknown)

Apple and Motorola have announced that Apple will produce a slimmed down version of Itunes for Motorola’s cell phones.

The article doesn’t go into details…but one obvious use would be to replace the traditional ring of the phone to have your cell phone actually sing to you. That would be cool. (But depending upon your choice of songs, slightly more dangerous if your cell phone started to sing while you were in a meeting…)

Allegedly, Fox News talked over both the National Anthem, and the Rememberance of 9/11 while covering the Convention. (While other news stations such as CNN and PBS showed the proper respect.)

Meanwhile, I have heard several people compare Teresa Heinz Kerry’s “shove it” remark to Cheney’s “F-Bomb”. Next thing we know, “Darn” will be said to be just as improper as “Damn” or someone will say “Gee” and it will be said they took the Lord’s name in vain. (Gee originated as an euphemism for Jesus). If you can’t use a slang euphemism when you are angry, what are you supposed to do?

The radio announcers were calling TH-K a “Spit-fire” this morning. I wonder if people were referring to Dubya’s mommy as a “Spit-fire” when she called Geraldine Ferraro a “Bitch”. (I know I have a longer memory than some.)

More importantly, I have never heard anyone refer to Bill O’Reilly as a “Spit-Fire” for his continuous dismissing of guests with his infamous “shut up”s.

“Shove it” isn’t considered offensive slang. Certainly it’s less offensive than the “f-bomb”. And it is less offensive than dismissing assertive women as “spitfires” or in Barbara Bush’s terminology “bitches” when assertive men are praised.

MediaMatters has an article on thi incident.

While the cable networks did numerous stories on the incident between Heinz Kerry and the Tribune-Review employee, they didn’t spend much time explaining why Heinz Kerry doesn’t like the paper or the fact that Colin McNickle, the journalist who had the exchange with Heinz Kerry, is the newspaper’s editorial page editor and has penned columns attacking the Kerry-Edwards ‘04 ticket. For example, in a July 18 column, McNickle accused Senators John Kerry and John Edwards of being “two Johns pimping for a populism that can only perpetuate poverty.” In a 2002 column, titled “We need more Ann Coulters,” McNickle wrote, “[W]e need more Ann Coulters. And we need them to ratchet it up and throw more stones.” His reporting from the 2004 Democratic National Convention was advertised by the Tribune-Review as follows: “It’s a dirty job dealing with liberals, but somebody’s gotta do it.”

On News from CNN, for example, anchor Wolf Blitzer noted, “There is a long history between her and that newspaper in Pittsburgh as a lot of us who cover politics fully understand.” Blitzer didn’t bother explaining that “history.” He did note later in the day — after repeated CNN reports of the incident that failed to do any more that identify the Tribune-Review as “conservative” — that the Tribune-Review is owned by Scaife, “who has donated millions to conservative causes.” But if cable news networks had bothered to address the Tribune-Review’s “history,” viewers might have had a better understanding for Heinz Kerry’s unhappiness with the paper, which her spokeswoman identified as a “right-wing rag.”

The House passed the bill preventing the courts from decding whether or not the Defense of Marriage Act is constitutional. This unusual legislation now proceeds to the Senate. If it passes, Bush will undoubtedly sign it.

Ignoring the issue it centers around, it sets an unhealthy precedent. It topples the balance of powers between the three branches of government. If Congress is allowed to declare certain laws unreviewable by the Judicial system, where does that lead us?

The people in the districts of all those who voted for this bill should make sure they don’t re-elect those representatives. It is a clear attempt of one branch of government to usurp power away from another branch, and should be viewed as treasonous.

Here’s a list of all the Co-Sponsors. (My representative, Todd Akin, of Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District, unfortunately is on the list, but this doesn’t come to me as a surprise.)

If you want to know how your Rep voted, here’s The Roll Call.

I’m trying to decide on what level of paranoia I should be existing, and whether or not I need to start stockpiling food.

A friend recently called my attention to the fact that Bush and Kerry will be in town on October 8th, and debating at my Alma Mater. Potentially making our fair city a “prime target”.

Of course, October 8th is 10/8 and 10+8 = 18 and 1+8=9.

I commented on my friend’s blog that 9+11 was also 18…which of course it isn’t. 9+11=20. (At least in base 10). But 7+11=18. This is more than just irrelavance. September is the 7th month on the Roman calendar. (Which is why it bears the Latin word for seven (septem) in its name).

I wrote about the numerological aspects of 9/11, 11/9, 7/11 and 11/7 last November
here.

Naturally, October 8th is 8/8 in the Roman calendar, and I have absolutely no idea what 16 means numerologically. But 8 is the ascii code for glasses, and I wear glasses, so that might be significant.

A NEW reality TV show in the UK could see a thousand men compete for the chance to father a child.

The producers behind Britain’s successful Big Brother series are devising a concept called Make me a mum that would feature men competing to father a child and take part in a “sperm race”.

A Croatian Member of Parliament was caught watching porn on his laptop while parliament was in session. I only have one question. PC or Mac?

When someone breaks into your home and steals your cannabis plants, what do you do. This Australian man called the police. I love this line from the article: “Police said the man…was not charged because there was no longer any evidence.” Of course, the big question, unanswered, is if they find the individual who stole the plants, will the plants be returned to the guy?

Paris Hilton’s ex-lover put the film on the internet, and now it has been released to adult video stores. She sued him, but dropped the suit in exchange for a share of the profits. She recently bought a copy. She probably thought it would increase her profits.

Monkey in Israeli zoo is walking exclusively on its hind legs. Zoo veterinarians believe it is due to brain damage.

Dried food rations for troops, that contain built in filters, so they can be hydrated with dirty water (or urine).

And finally, I Robot contains a full-frontal nude shot of Wil Smith. But its only in European theaters. (Maybe it will be on the DVD in America)

Guilty or innocent?

Three teenagers convicted of murder - one now on death row. Allegedly convicted based primarily on the testimony of a mentally handicapped individual after twelve hours of questioning that was later recanted.

If you’re in Congress, and are afraid that laws you want to see passed might be ruled unconstitutional by the courts, what do you do?

Draft a bill prohibiting the courts from reviewing those laws.

The constitutionality of this idea is being called into question, but they could always include a rider on the bill declaring that reviewing this law would also be prohibted.

They could include that rider on every bill they wrote. “This bill, if passed, cannot be reviewed by a federal court.” Sounds simple enough. The courts would never be able to declare a law unconstitutional again.

More power to them, if it passes.

You may have heard of the two new reality shows: Wife Swap and Amish in the City. The titles themselves make the shows controversial.

This article reveals the premises behind the shows, and why they aren’t as exploitative as they might seem at first glance.

Amish in the City sounds to me at least to be a vaguely interesting premise. The young Amish are participating in a traditional Amish ritual — they’re expected to take a look at the outside world and then make a decision. Of course, most Amish don’t have cameras following them around during this journey.

After 30 years of Wasting away in Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffet’s latest album hits #1 on the Billboard charts. (His last seven have all debuted in the top ten, but this is his first #1) Ironically, License to Chill appears to be mostly covers, with several Country music guests such as Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Clint Black, George Strait, and Martina Mcbride along for the ride. The two songs I recognize are “Hey Good Lookin’” (Hank Williams, I believe) and Scarlet Begonias (Grateful Dead).

The Aladdin casino, which banned Ronstadt from performing due to her recent comments supporting Michael Moore’s film, is in the process of being bought. And one of the soon-to-be new owners has said he was upset to hear Ronstadt was banned. Suggesting that ban might be lifted once ownership changes hands.

Meanwhile, the BBC article above mentions that Blues singer, Bonnie Raitt dedicated a song at a performance to George Bush. The song? “Your Good Thing (Is About to End)”

And I love this quote of LR’s: “I want people to get their head up out of their mashed potatoes and go and vote.”

Whenever I’m bored (and sometimes when I’m not), I enjoy tyring to solve some of the puzzles and challenges at Nobody’s blog.

Often a few hours on Google’s search engines can solve even the most difficult. But it appears Google isn’t going to be of much help this morning. “Nobody” provides several clues to a poet and a poem, and it sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. The poet is allegedly a poet laureate, so they’re not obscure. But I guess the poem is still under copyright and no one’s bothered to type it into their website yet as the few direct quotes “Nobody” provides turn up complete blanks on my searches.

If I had ready access to a bricks and mortar library I might be able to track it down.

If you would like to have your donut in liquid form, Now you can!

Not that one usually thinks about calories and carbs while eating (or now drinking) donuts, but just in case you’re interested, here’s a comparison between the donut and the drink:

On the Weight Watchers diet, one donut is about 5 points, which isn’t bad for a dessert or pastry. (The trick is limiting yourself to just that one). The 12 oz drink will be at least 10 points.

And if you get the 16 oz or 20 oz…

This morning I took a half-day off from work so I could go over to US Title Co on Forsyth in Downtown Claytion and sign the papers. I am now the owner of the condo I have been living in for the past five years. The latter part means I don’t have to go through the hassle of actually moving that normally accompanies buying a home.

Well, technically the sellers are signing the papers at 2 pm this afternoon. I’m not sure why its separate, it would make sense if we were all together when it happened. But apparently, that is how its done.

Now here comes the real interesting part of my morning.

I dropped my copies of the documents off at my home, and then drove to work. I was stopped at a stoplight downtown. one of those intersections where there is no white line telling you exactly where to stop, but I was certainly not in the middle of the intersection. A pedestrian crossing the street walked right up to my side window. And stopped. He refused to walk around my car. So I backed up a little so he could continue walking in his straight line.

I have to give him some credit. The gentleman was raised properly, and he thanked me. “Thank you, M*** F***” were his exact words. But a thank you it still was. And I feel doubly honored, because today is the first day of my life where I have done something that upset someone so much they felt the need to use those words. At least in my hearing range.

Linda Ronstadt dedicated the song “Desperado” in a recent Vegas performance to Michael Moore and F911. Several audience members got upset, rowdy, and demanded their money back. Ronstadt was escorted out of the casino, and told she wasn’t welcomed back. As management said, she wasn’t hired to express her political opinions.

However, prior to the concert, she had told a news reporter that she hoped this performance would be her last. That perhaps if she was annoying enough, she might never be hired back. (Making one wonder why she agreed to that performance — who has a gun to her head?)

There are some reports that Michael Moore has fired off a letter to the casino blasting them for their actions, and asking them to reconsider their firing. Of course, to be fair, this was a one-night performance. Saying she’s not welcome back isn’t exactly firing her. And allegedly, its what she wanted to happen. So Moore isn’t helping Linda by going to bat for her.

Wednesday morning I close on my “new” home. (I’ve been renting it for several years, so it’s not exactly “new”, but I will now be paying the bank instead of a landlord.) Saying I am part of the “landed” class is also slightly incorrect semantically, since it is a condo, and I don’t own the land, or the “common elements”, only what is inside the walls. But still, it’s home.

(Not “Home” in the Edgar Guest “heap of livin” sense of home. Some livin’ has been done there, but no babies have been born. Neither is it “home” in the Robert Frost “They have to take you in” sense of home. That’s my parents’ place, and always will be. But in the “Home is where you hang your hat” sense, it is. And in a few other senses as well.)

Wednesday after work I will be celebrating at Frederick’s Music Lounge on Chippewa.

Fredericks has a Wednesday Happy Hour between 5 and 9 pm where they show episodes of Star Trek:TNG. They are currently airing episodes from the fifth season.

Anybody is welcome to join in my celebration

I took a personality quiz I was led to this quiz by Ben.

Wackiness: 40/100
Rationality: 44/100
Constructiveness: 80/100
Leadership: 64/100

You are an SECL–Sober Emotional Constructive Leader. This makes you a politician. You cut deals, you change minds, you make things happen. You would prefer to be liked than respected, but generally people react to you with both. You are very sensitive to criticism, since your entire business is making people happy.

At times your commitment to the happiness of other people can cut into the happiness of you and your loved ones. This is very demanding on those close to you, who may feel neglected. Slowly, you will learn to set your own agenda–including time to yourself.

You are gregarious, friendly, charming and charismatic. You like animals, sports, and beautiful cars. You wear understated gold jewelry and have secret bad habits, like chewing your fingers and fidgeting.

You are very difficult to dislike.

—
I think the description fits me well, though I am upset I scored low on the wacky meter.

I got the below in my email today from the American Family Association. (I can’t really call it spam, since I do recall signing up for their mailing list once. I thik I was drunk.)

Please make one phone call to Senator Daschle today!

Dear John,
Senator Tom Daschle, Senate Minority leader, was the one person who held the liberals together to filibuster the Federal Marriage Amendment, thus keeping the American people from having a vote in this matter.

Sen. Daschle is leading the fight to use our children and grandchildren as guinea pigs in a grand social experiment promoting homosexual marriage. You see, if the people are kept from voting, then some liberal federal judge will rule that homosexual marriage is legal and throw out the marriage laws in 50 states. That is precisely what Sen. Daschle is trying to do. He is willing to sacrifice our children and grandchildren to get the big money and a handful of votes from the homosexual activists.

Shortly before the vote, Sen. Daschle said that his office was not receiving any phone calls on the FMA. There will be another effort made to allow the people an opportunity to vote on the FMA later.

Would you please call Senator Daschle’s office today and ask him to allow a vote on the bill so that the American people can have an opportunity to participate in the democratic process?

Just one phone call is all I am asking. Please make that call today. If the line is busy, please keep trying until you get through. Ask why he is unwilling to allow citizens to vote on this matter.

Sen. Daschle’s number is 1-202-224-2321. If that number is busy, call 1-202-224-5556. Those numbers go straight into his office. Please be kind and polite, but firm.

Thanks for caring.

Sincerely,

Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association

P.S. Please forward this email to at least one friend.

So if everyone on their list got this today, and forwarded it to a friend, it might be nice if he got some phone calls from those who actually support him, and are against the FMA. (Especially if any of you happen to be from S. Dakota and are his constituents. Instead of calling his office, you can fill out the webform at http://daschle.senate.gov/webform.html)

The Constitution has only once been ammended to restrict a personal freedom. And that ammendment was the only one that was later repealed. Let’s not repeat our past, let’s learn from it. Making Homosexual marriage legal doesn’t promote it, it just makes it an option for those whom God made homosexual.

And while you’re at it…you can contact your senators and let them know how opposed you are to the FMA. How you are glad it was defeated, and hope it will be defeated every time it is brought up. In any way feasible. You can find out who they are at www.senate.gov.

Missouri:
Bond, Christopher - (R - MO) Class III
274 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5721
Web Form

Talent, James - (R - MO) Class I
493 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6154
Web Form

A dozen police cars,
and a helicopter,
engaged in a high speed chase
down city streets,
over sidewalks
all in the pursuit of a thief.
What did the thief steal?
Five library books..

“We assumed it was drugs or guns the way he was driving,” [Police Spokesman, Sgt.] Connellan said. “We even brought in a canine to go through the car. Nothing.”

Luckily, there were no injuries, and no property damage.

The Arena - 1929-1994

Busch Stadium - 1966-2005

The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial - 1965 - ?

Harry Potter, Harry Potter
(to the tune of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna - from the musical HAIR)

Harry Potter Harry Potter
Potter Potter Harry Harry
JK Rowling JK Rowling
Rowling Rowling JK JK

We love
We love
Harry
Harry

Ron and
Ron and
Hermione

Go read the books first
Before watching movies

We’re high on you know what
Harry Potter Harry Potter
Potter Potter Harry Harry

High high high high
Down with muggles
Slytherin Sucks!

spells, quidditch, hogwarts, gryffindor!
spells, quidditch, hogwarts, gryffindor!

Song Lyrics ©2004 John Newmark

I’ve decided to attempt to “purify” my site statistics. Due partially to my former blog’s title, I am found by many people searching for pictures of a famous actress. I’ll take my readers from anywhere, but due to a recent post on the upcoming sixth novel, I am now listed #21 on searches for the title of that novel - on Yahoo. I’m not even on the top 100 for Google. I stopped looking after that.

The conversation on that thread is going quite well as everyone shares who they think the half-blood prince will be. We’ve even gotten one or two potential trolls contributing to the conversation, which also bodes well.

A FAIR analysis of Fox News’ “Special Report with Brit Hume”. (PDF file)

FAIR is Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.

What’s not surprising is that in 2001, 70% of all guests on the show were conservative. In 2002, conservatives outnumbered the left 14-1. In the most recent study 57% were conservative, 12% centrist, and 11% progressive. 20% were non-ideological.

The 5-1 odds of seeing a conservative guest is certainly a marked improvement over 2002. However, in 2002, there was actually only 48% conservative. It looks like the centrist category is the one that’s been decreased.

What I find especially interesting is a sidebar noting other media analyses.

FAIRs 2001 report compared the Fox News Special Report to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer report. Wolf favored Republican guests 57%-43%. And in 2002 FAIR looked at all three major network news reports and found of partisan sources 75% were Republicans, and %25 Democrats.

And on NPR — usually considered the bastion of Liberal radio — Republican sources outnumber Democrats 3-1. (And this isn’t due completely to a GOP administration, since in 1993, when Democrats controlled Congress, the Senate, and the White House, Republican sources still outnumbered Democrats 57% - 43%.

So much for the Liberal Press

FAIR’s copy of the report

I’ve just discovered Media Matters today, but I really like their webiste.

To quote their mission statement:

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Conservative misinformation is defined as news or commentary presented in the media that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda.

And they have an RSS feed

Slim Fast hired Whoopi Goldberg for their ads knowing full well her history as a comedienne.

She makes a few off-color jokes about President Bush

Slim Fast cancels her ads.

I haven’t used Slim Fast products in a very long time, and don’t recommend them anyway. It is not a healthy way to lose weight.

Media Matters provides several internal Fox News memos from Fox News Senior Vice President John Moody clearly (in their opinion and mine) showing the conservative bias.

For example:

The events in Iraq Tuesday are going to be the top story, unless and until something else (or worse) happens. Err on the side of doing too much Iraq rather than not enough. Do not fall into the easy trap of mourning the loss of US lives and asking out loud why are we there? The US is in Iraq to help a country brutalized for 30 years protect the gains made by Operation Iraqi Freedom and set it on the path to democracy. Some people in Iraq don’t want that to happen. That is why American GIs are dying. And what we should remind our viewers (4/6/04).

Another reason to vote for Kerry/Edwards

Happy Bastille Day

Start building the barricade now. Come November, if the elections are “postponed”, we may need them.

I didn’t watch the All-Star game last night, and the National League lost.

I know the Post Hoc Propter Hoc fallacy is overused by sports fans. [Post Hoc = After This; Propter Hoc = Because of this. The Post Hoc Propter Hoc fallacy is the assumption that since B followed A, A caused B. There was an excellent Star Trek:TNG episode (Hero Worship #111) where a kid touched a control panel on a ship he had been told never to touch, immediately prior to an explosion that killed everyone but him.]

Anyway, back to the All Star Game. Fans of the sport are likely to console me: “It’s not your fault, the National League has lost for 8 straight years.

That coincides perfectly with me joining a weekly Tuesday night writer’s group. Every week, if I am in town, I am there. Sept 11th, 2001, I was there. A severe blizzard in the late 90s, I was one of four who showed up. Every Election Night - There. I believe I have missed due to a couple conflicts with High Holy Days, and there was a brief period where I had a Tuesday night class I was taking. But otherwise In Town + Tuesday Night = Writer’s Group. I haven’t watched the All-Star game in 8 years. And year after year, the National League has lost. The last three years we won were 94, 95 and 96, the three years immediately prior to my joining the group. Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, three times is a conspiracy…8 times?

It’s my fault.

I’ve been invited to an Election Night gathering this November - and I have agreed to separate myself from the group for an evening. We’ll see if this helps Kerry and Edwards. If someone reminds me of this post next year, I promise, I will stay home and watch the game. We’ll see what happens.

How many blogs can one person maintain at one time before they have to admit to themselves they have a problem?

One
Two
Three…

And there are a couple I no longer maintain
Four
Five
Six
Seven (broken link)

Though the contents of that sixth may be resurrected someday, and the seventh can be found here , but not in blog form.

I’ve contributed posts to Eight, and Nine

July 19 Newsweek:

American counterterrorism officials, citing what they call “alarming” intelligence about a possible Qaeda strike inside the United States this fall, are reviewing a proposal that could allow for the postponement of the November presidential election in the event of such an attack, NEWSWEEK has learned.

And maybe if the polls aren’t looking good, W could stage a ‘terrorist attack’ and ‘postpone’ the election.

In 30 Seconds - and Re-Enacted by Bunnies: (Flash Required)

The Shining
The Exorcist
And More…

Thanks to Louise, The Ranting Librarian for the links.

There has been a slight problem translating Shrek II into Hebrew for the Israeli audience.

It’s been a few weeks since I saw the film, but the line in the English version, where Donkey and Shrek discuss how to handle a “killer cat”, has alternately been quoted as “Let’s Bobbitt him” or “Let’s give him the Bob Barker treatment.” The first referencing John Wayne Bobbit and his wife Lorena, and the second referencing Bob Barker’s apparent crusade against animal castration.

In translating it to Hebrew the translators tried to come up with a cultural reference their audience would understand. So the line, whatever the original one was, became “Let’s David Da’or him”. David Da’or being an Israeli singer with a high voice. David Da’or wasn’t too happy with the insinuation that he had been castrated. He fears “that whenever reference is made to castration, ‘pull a David D’or’ will become a common expression.” He sued. The movie has been re-released with a new translation which avoids any cultural references whatsoever and goes straight for the literal, translating back into English as “”Let’s take a sword and castrate him.”

Haaretz, BBC, Reuters

[From inbox to blog in under 60 seconds]

As I lay on my bed, thinking about you. I feel this strong urge to grab you and squeeze you; because I can’t forget last night.

You came to me unexpectedly during the balmy and calm night. And what happened in my bed still leaves a tingling sensation in me.

You appeared from nowhere. And shamelessly, without any reservations, you laid on my naked body. You sensed my indifference, so you applied your hungry mouth to me without any guilt or humiliation. And you drove me near crazy while you drained me. Finally, I went to sleep…

Today, when I woke up, you were gone. I searched for you, but to no avail…

Only the sheets bore witness to last night’s events. My body still bears faint marks of your enthusiastic ravishings, making it hard to forget you.

Tonight I will remain awake waiting for you…

… damn mosquito.

Complaints have been filed suggesting “Baton Bob” (known for twirling batons and flamboyant costumes on the streets of the Central West End) was harassed by police in the fourth of July parade.

If you’re not from St. Louis, the Central West End may be best known for its appearance in Queen of the Damned, by Anne Rice, when the Fang Gang visits the area. Check out page 23 and 28 of this rather large PDF file containing what I assume is the unabridged novel. (Yes, a complete and utter violation of international copyright law. It’s not on my website, I’m just linking to it.)

(If the service is unavailable, plug the link into Google and just read the cached HTML version. Only the first 74 pages are cached, but that’s sufficient.)

As far as I am aware, the scene didn’t make the movie.

I put this analogy in a comment to an earlier post, but I thought I would expand it and make an entry out of it. It is an excellent analogy.

Leviticus 7:26-27. “Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.”

Why?

Genesis 9:4-5. “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it.”

The general interpretation of this is that blood contains the soul of the animal.

The Bible’s stand on eating meat with blood is quite clear. This is why Orthodox Jews require a Rabbi’s “blessing” on meat, even if it is from “kosher animals”. It’s not the blessing they seek, it’s assurance that the blood has been drained.

But you don’t see Jews arguing for legislation banning blood from all meat. We’d be saving the souls of countless animals, if we did so.

Believing that life begins at conception doesn’t require you to seek legislation banning abortion. It only requires you not to seek an abortion personally, and to personally discourage others from seeking one. But to take the discouragement to the legal level is unfair to those who do not hold your beliefs.

Once blood is proven to contain the souls of animals
Once life is proven to begin at conception

Then things might be different.

(and it should be emphasized that when the Religous talk about life beginning at conception, they are usually, I believe, referring to the soul. No one argues that the egg and sperm, even before conception, aren’t living organisms. When the religious talk about life beginning its about when the soul enters the body. Scientists usually talk about when the heart starts beating, or when the brain starts functioning.)

While Conservative news sources try to paint Edwards as Liberal, take a look at Project Vote Smart And how Edwards has voted.

Edwards voted with the ACLU position in 2001-2 only 60% of the time.
Edwards voted with Peace Action’s positions in 2003 only 40% of the time.
Edwards voted with the Brady Campaign to to prevent Gun Violence in 2002 and 2003 77% of the time.
Edwards voted with the Americans for Democratic Action in 2002 70% of the time.

And according to the National Journal in 2001
Senator Edwards voted more liberal on social policy issues than 60 percent of the Senators. And he voted more liberal on foreign policy issues than 61 percent of the Senators. (This of course can be inverted. 40% of the Senate voted more Liberally than Edwards on Social and Foreign Policy issues in 2001)

There is a ranking going around saying Edwards is the fourth most Liberal senator. I, personally, have no problem with the label “Liberal”, and I am proud to be one. But the National Journal ranked him approximately 40th most liberal in 2001. In 2002, he was ranked 37th.

On a lighter note, Margaret Cho writes about being betrayed by barbecue.

Three days ago, a German TV newsmagazine called Report Mainz broadcast an eight-minute segment reporting that the International Red Cross found at least 107 children in coaliton-administered detention centers in Iraq.

A translation of a German news story from Der Spiegel

Mainz - “Between January and May of this year we’ve registered 107 children, during 19 visits in 6 different detention locations” the representative of the International Red Cross, Florian Westphal, told the TV station SWR’s Magazine “Report Mainz”. He noted that these were places of detention controlled by coalition troops. According to Westphal the number of children held captive could be even higher.

The TV Magazine also reported of evidence and eye witness reports according to which U.S. soldiers also abused children and youthful detainees. Samuel Provance, a staff sergeant stationed in the now infamous Abu Ghraib prison said that interrogating officers had pressured a 15 or 16 year old girl. Military police had only intervened when the girl was already half undressed. On another occasion, a 16 year old was soaked with water, driven through the cold, and then smeared with mud.

And here’s an article from The New Repubilc on a potential July Surprise. Pakistani sources saying they’ve been told to produce Osama on July 26-28 (the first three days of the Democratic National Convention).

Thanks to JewSchool for spotting this. This AP news article appeared this morning:

Car Explosion Rocks Gaza City

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - A car exploded in northern Gaza City on Wednesday, Palestinian officials and witnesses said.

Witnesses said the occupants of the automobile had survived the blast. It was unclear who was traveling inside.

During four years of fighting, Israel has carried out numerous airstrikes aimed at Palestinian militants. The Israeli army declined to comment.

07/07/04 06:22 EDT

We don’t know who was travelling inside. No evidence yet. All we know is there was a car bomb in Gaza. But still, the story implies the Israeli army must be responsible. No other groups in the Middle East have claimed responsibility for car bombings in the past few years have they?

Fox News reports Kerry’s ‘hypocrisy’. He’s “voted against banning partial-birth abortion and has campaigned for abortion rights,” but in an interviw stated, “I believe life does begin at conception…I oppose abortion, personally. I don’t like abortion.”

Fox News of course views this as hypocrisy, or unwillingness to take a position. They just can’t understand someone who is unwilling to cram their religious beliefs down the throats of others.