What I tell you three times is true.

Interesting article on Why Obama may actually have more relevant experience than McCain. (Why state-level legislators actually do more work, and spend more time learning about the issues, than US Senators.)

The author doesn’t state that he thinks Obama has more experience, just that his 8 years of experience as a state legislator should not be ignored.

Categorized under, “Why did this take so long?”

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council affirmed Thursday that rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, and called for measures to combat such attacks.

LA Times - June 20, 2008

We’re hairy and horny and ready to shack
We don’t care if you’re yellow or black
Just take off your clothes and lie down on your back
‘Cause we’re the Cops of the World, boys
We’re the Cops of the World

- Phil Ochs, Cops of the World, 1966

Slacktivist embeds two videos of Obama and McCain talking about Religion and the Separation of Church and State.

I agree 100% with his comments about their differences. Not only do I agree with his conclusions, Obama clearly has given the issues in the relevant section of the first amendment more thought than McCain has. (Note: This is an interview of McCain by Beliefnet…I am certain McCain was given ample time to prepare.)

Ordering Pizza in 2010

From 2001-2003 I published a multitude of poems at Newspoetry.

This was the mission statement of the website:

1. an alternative online news source where credible journalism is secondary to interesting writing,
2. a documentary record of the turn of the American millennium,
3. a fun collaborative hypertext writing project
4. an elaborate attempt to get myself to read the newspaper.

Some of the archives from 1999-2002 are available at the link above, though you will find as you click on some of the internal links to read poetry, that some of the poetry is missing. As one might expect, much of the poetry can also be found at The Wayback Machine, but that’s not the easiest place to find stuff unless you know it’s there.

So to honor International Pixel-Stained Techno-Peasant Day, I am going to re-release 18 newspoems. Most of them are from 2001, though a couple are from 2002. All of them precede my creation of a blog, so many of you aren’t familiar with them. (Though the poetry of one of my most frequent commenters - DL Emerick - also can be found in the NewsPoetry archives.)

This isn’t all of my poetry that appeared at NewsPoetry, but I like the number 18, and I want to release this today. I can always add more later.

As I mention in the comment thread to my previous post, I have also added a link in my sidebar to several comics that I created under the title: Make Louvre (Not War).

Obama’s shown that he’s fairly intelligent. There’s a good chance he could beat me in a contest of wits.

He can definitely deliver speeches better than me. And his speeches have moments that illustrate poetic strength.

But I can bowl better than he can! I usually bowl at least double his score.

And those of you who have seen me bowl, know before you even follow the link, that bowling isn’t up Obama’s alley. But luckily, that isn’t something a President needs to do well.

Here is the context of the sermons we’ve heard snippets of.

The 9/11 sermon [9:57]

G-dam America sermon [6:48]

If Senator Clinton were a guy, this nation would be in a much different place than it is today, because after an 8 year administration with a homosexual couple in the White House we would never have elected GW Bush. And there’s also a good chance that Geraldine Ferraro would not be campaigning for Sen Clinton. (She might be, she might not be. I’m just saying I suspect her gender has played a significant role in her choice of who to campign for, based on her recent comments.)

Nader has announced he’s running again. I insist on taking the optimistic attitude and agree with Southern Beale’s analysis. He did so poorly in 2004 (0.38% of the popular vote) that there’s no reason to worry.

You get an important email intended for someone not yourself. Let’s say a travel itinerary. You look up the individual on the internet, and find out their real email address (similar to yours explaining the confusion.)

What would you do?
A) Reply back to the travel agency, inform them they made the mistake, and provide them with the correct address, and where you found it.
B) Forward the itinerary directly to the intended individual, so that they know the travel agency made a mistake.
C) A & B
D) Nothing
E) Something Else

Do you think what you would do might change after repeated instances?
Would it matter if the person was involved in politics whether or not they agreed with you?
Would it matter if the person was politically active in a foreign country?

Purely hypothetical, of course.

The below table comes straight from a Harris Poll

“If you thought he or she was otherwise well qualified, would you vote for any of the following who was running for President of the United States?”

Base: All adults

While I was at a friend’s house this past Saturday, she got a phone call from the campaign of one of the Democratic candidates. Not surprising.

However, in the past week, I have received five recorded phone calls from campaigns - all of them GOP.  No live calls.
I’m sure it’s all district related. I live in the second congressional district, which is solidly Republican.  And my particular neighborhood even more so.

It’s not like a phone call would have helped me make a decision.  It’s just a depressing reminder about the neighborhood I live in.

When you go to the polls tomorrow you may well be asked to sign a petition to get the “Missouri Civil Rights Initiative” on the November ballot.

I don’t really know how much this movement has been covered since my news sources are a bit skewed from most of society, but if you haven’t heard of the initiative you might be tempted to sign the petition without reading it…because you support Civil Rights.

One should never sign a petition based on the title or summary the person presenting the petition gives.  Always read the full language.

Here’s the Kansas City Star Editorial 

A similar Michigan initiative was backed by the KKK.

As the Kansas City Star says:

“Supporters of the initiative mistakenly believe that affirmative action, an extension of the real civil rights movement, was not or is no longer necessary…Yes, many women and people of color have made political and economic gains in recent decades. The race for the Democratic nomination for president illustrates that perfectly. Yet studies show that disparities still exist in the workplace and in the awarding of contracts.”

There will come a day when Affirmative Action is no longer needed.  That day is much closer than it was 40 years ago.  It’s not here yet, though.

Now that we know Ted, Caroline and Patrick are supporting Obama

And Robert Jr, Kerry and Kathleen are supporting Clinton

I think we need to hear from the Shrivers.  Who are the Shrivers supporting?
I can’t make up my mind until I know how all the Kennedy Clan are swinging, and just because they’re descended from Eunice, Jack and Bobby’s sister, doesn’t make then any less important.

Media: Romney keeps campaign alive with first win of his campaign (most news sources are awake enough to actually state “first primary win”, which is technically correct, but suggests Wyoming’s status as a caucus makes it irrelevant, even though Iowa’s caucus certainly wasn’t irrelevant. A conundrum. I bet many residents of the state of Wyoming are developing a hatred for the national media by now, as they jump up and down waving their hands in the air “Look over here! We exist!) Romney has also, apparently, made a stunning comeback, and has “tied” up the GOP race.

Delegates:
Romney: 36
McCain: 19
Huckabee: 18

Please don’t ask me about the numerological significance of this. I don’t wish to ponder it.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Clinton almost lost to None of the Above in a one-woman race. Ok, 55%-40% isn’t exactly almost losing except, perhaps in a one-person race. (Yes, Kucinich, Dodd, and Gravel were on the ballot too. They made up the remaining 5%.)

The media is still reporting that Michigan is a must-win for Romney. If McCain wins, and Romney once again finishes a close second, Romney will still have the most pledged delegates of any GOP contender. If he then drops out due to the Media’s insane reportage, will he be the first presidential contender ever to drop out of a race, while in the lead? (Excluding any that dropped out due to scandal or health issues)

Bush Cries

President Bush had tears in his eyes during an hour-long tour of Israel’s Holocaust memorial Friday and told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the U.S. should have bombed Auschwitz to halt the killing, the memorial’s chairman said.

1) So does this make George human, that he cried?
2) or Inhuman because he thinks we should have nuked Auschwitz…killing everyone there. Somewhat Pyrrhic, I think. I kind of like the idea of liberating the Jews that hadn’t been gassed yet, but I guess I’m biased.

Bush probably meant bombing the rails that led to the camp.

3)Who thinks the emotion he showed was real, and who thinks it was faked? Will we get a thousand news stories picking this apart?

Update: Thanks to DL who sent me a photo to add to this post

Every news story I read says Clinton won NH, and Obama came in second.

the election results show both came away with 9 delegates to the future convention. It is the delegates that matter. 9=9. I call that a tie. In IA the reportage was that Obama won, and Clinton came in a distant third. Obama got 16 IA delegates, Clinton got 15. Distant?

Even more interesting reportage over on the GOP side. It’s all Huckabee won Iowa, and McCain won NH. Wyoming is occasionally reported, but not often, perhaps because the Democrats don’t caucus there until March. However, Romney won WY, and when you combine all the delegates pledged so far for the GOP…Romney has 24, Huckabee has 18, and McCain has only 10. You wouldn’t know this from most of the reporting. McCain has ’staged a comeback’ in NH. And the supposed ‘comeback’ is against Huckabee.

and I’m looking forward to a potential Obama/Edwards ticket:

Nicked from FilkerTom

On the issues I match:

91% Dennis Kucinich
89% Mike Gravel
82% Chris Dodd
82% Barack Obama
80% John Edwards
79% Bill Richardson
78% Joe Biden
77% Hillary Clinton
36% Rudy Giuliani
28% Ron Paul
27% John McCain
21% Mike Huckabee
20% Mitt Romney
14% Tom Tancredo
11% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Phil Ochs would have turned 67 today.

Hunger and Cold
By Phil Ochs

I’ve been all around your dirty old city.
Been all around your dirty old town.
I’ve slept in your alleys; I’ve slept in your subways.
Hunger and cold, they follow me down.

Chorus:
Hunger and cold, hunger and cold
I wouldn’t mind but I’m growing so old.
But as low as I am, you know I’m still a man.
And I wouldn’t mind but I’m growing so old.

Only last year I was rolling in money.
Only last year the good times would roll.
Only last year my friends were so many,
But only last year was so long ago.

(Chorus)

It’s all so easy to throw me in prison.
It’s all so easy to just walk on by.
But it’s not so easy to see a man hungry.
It’s not so easy to look in his eye.

(Chorus)

Yes there’s poison in my cheap rotten liquor.
There’s poison in every old garbage can.
But the worst kind of poison Is in your own brain
When you look at me and forget I’m a man.

Back in 2004, I learned I was in the Southwest quadrant of Politopia.

I am still in the Southwest quadrant, according to the Political Compass (nearby the Dali Lama and Mandela)

This graphic of where the Presidential Candidates fall

illustrates quite well, I think, why
1) I am not thrilled with most of the Democratic candidates
2) Why I am even less thrilled with the GOP
3) Why some people say they see no difference between the GOP and Democrats, and refer to the US as a Single-Party system in disguise.

Jewish kids return from Khanike party in NYC subway holding Menorah. Christian kids, wish them “Merry Christmas”. Jewish kids respond “Happy Khanike”. Christian kids, slightly confused, accuse Jewish kids of murdering Jesus on Khanike. Jewish kids “turn the other cheek.” Christian kids attack, but Muslim kid intercedes and stops beating.

PAD,
NYDailyNews

In case you haven’t seen it yet, The Daily Show writers present the “Not The Daily Show” explanation of the writer’s strike.

Less humorous presentations from United Hollywood

In short…don’t piss on writers, because writers know how to write!

Been doing this for the past couple years, I might as well keep it up. See if it ever changes. These are the number of news articles turned up in a “Google News” search for the corresponding terms:

“Berlin Wall” - 848
Kristallnacht - 220
Holocaust 1938 - 99
“Night of Broken Glass” - 51
“Kaiser Wilhelm” - 42
“Beer Hall Putsch” - 40
“World Freedom Day” - 1
“International Day Against Fascism” - 1

more about November 9th

Is Clear Channel Blacklisting Bruce Springsteen?

Southern Beale covers the story, reported in of all places, Fox News, and then shows how amazingly, Fox News may be wrong again.

So we Liberals either get to be mad, or get to laugh at Fox. I just want to know which one it is.

For those who like to know the politics of their entertainers, here’s a list of “Country Recording artists and Nashville-area stars” and to which political party/candidate they give money.

It doesn’t matter much to me. There are a couple in the Republican category whose music I have enjoyed in the past, and I will continue to enjoy. But I do find it interesting that if I were to tally the number of my CDs by artists in each category, the Democrats win in a landslide. Whether or not the musician makes their opinions explicit in their songs, often it will come through regardless.

And Bonnie Raitt sure has a lot of money to give. Alone, she almost doubles all the Republicans on the list combined. I’m glad she’s on our side.

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Social Justice Crusader, also known as a rights activist. You believe in equality, fairness, and preventing neo-Confederate conservative troglodytes from rolling back fifty years of civil rights gains.

Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com

And if you’re so inclined: What Breed of Conservative Are You?

I also took a Select a Candidate quiz. It tells you the percentage of your agreement with all the candidates from both parties. I had some problems with some of the questions not having enough possible answers - forcing me to pick the ‘closest’ to my view. But that’s always the way it is with these quizzes.

I wasn’t too surprised with the results. I am in most agreement with Kucinich, but of the two issues we are in disagreement with, one is Iraq, which I think he (and those supporting him) consider pretty important. The other, which I won’t name, the only candidate who agrees with me is Mitt, though I ranked the issue as not very important.

Dodd’s next in line for me, and then there’s a three way tie between Edwards, Clinton, and Obama. I’ll probably look at Dodd a little more closely for the primary, but it is important to me that we Dems select someone who isn’t too weak against the GOP nominee. I know I’ve voted that way in the past 2 elections, but my candidate beat Bush in 2000, and the candidate I voted for in 2004 would have done better than Kerry, I am sure. I’m confident that I share enough views with E, C and O that I would be fine with any of their presidencies.

The American Family Association says, “Congressman Pete Stark owes the President, the American people, the troops and their families an apology.” I don’t think so. Sure, his statements are slightly hyperbolic, but there’s applause from where I’m sitting.

FWIW, if Stark’s entry in this list which I posted to the blog 3 years ago is correct, he served in the Air Force between 1955-57.

Pete appeared in a poem I wrote five years ago as he was one of only three Congressman brave enough to vote No to the declaration that the Country was led by G-d. (Of course, he comes from a Progressive California district, so his stand back then, and his statements now, are what his constituents want.)

Note: The video appears on the AFA’s own YouTube account, and it’s where they direct their mailing list to view the video, so feel free to double-click and leave comments, but understand the mind-set where most of them come from.

Only 56% of America feels that Freedom of Religion in America applies to all religions, regardless of how extreme. Down from 72% in 2000.

Other scary stats:

* 74% would prevent public school students from wearing a T-shirt with a slogan that might offend others.

The right to practice one’s own religion was deemed “essential” or “important” by nearly all Americans (97%); as was the right to “speak freely about whatever you want” (98%)

Of course our rights are essential, but it seems a lot more Americans than I thought don’t see what’s wrong with wanting to restrict their rights.

Ann Coulter has said some pretty offensive things over her career, but I don’t feel the latest controversy is one of them.

She is now on record as saying that she wishes Jews would become Christians. This doesn’t surprise me, for that is what the New Testament, as I understand it, teaches, and it’s the basis for millenia of proselytizing, and persecution.

They feel we’re going to Hell if we don’t convert, so they only have our best interests in mind. The difference between a missionary and an anti-Semite, is the difference between the proselytizing and the persecution - the means they recommend to achieve their desired end.

As long as its just talk, I can choose to ignore them, or if they’re a friend, I an assure them that I understand their love for me, but really, I believe what I believe, and no amount of words will change what I believe. Theoretically, I could pretend to believe something else, but G-d would see through that, because G-d is pretty smart, and so I would go to Hell regardless of which one of us was correct. I’m actually better off hoping I’m right.

Luckily, if I’m right, we’ll both wind up in Heaven, because Judaism doesn’t believe Heaven is a ‘restricted community,’ or at least it is open to ‘righteous gentiles’. That’s one reason proselytizing is foreign to many Jews, as there’s no impending doom for our friends if they fail to convert.

To sum up: I feel Coulter is offensive on many levels, but I’m not offended, nor do I feel threatened, by her desire for me to become Christian. I desire for her to become Liberal. We probably both have equal odds of our desires being fulfilled.

I just had a wondeful idea how the homeless problem in Washington DC can be solved. Pretty much bring their homeless percentage down to 0 overnight.

It came from reading this news article.

If tshirts with political slogans were handed out to the homeless, they would quickly cease being homeless, and become protesters, and would be allowed to sleep in front of the home of any Congressman, or Senator.

OK, perhaps this solution is a little insensitive to the needs of our nation’s politicians.

September 29 - October 6 is Banned Books Week.

This is the week all censors love, where everyone is encouraged to go to their local school board or library and demand a book be removed from the reading list, or removed from the shelf. Because no one knows better than us on what is suitable to read, and what isn’t. (It’s the idiots who want to ban good books that give censorship a bad name!)

Personally, I think that book of heresies some refer to as the New Testament should be removed from every library in the land. It’s led way too many people astray for the past couple millenniums, and it’s high time we put a stop to it!

Wait. That’s not what Banned Books Week is about? It’s about letting everyone choose to read the books they want to read? Who comes up with this crap? Probably someone like authors or librarians who have a self-interest in people reading.

It’s just like the great American philosopher, Mark Twain once said. Nobody ever does anything if it’s not in their self-interest.

There seems to be some concern among the GOP that Dennis Kucinich’s daughter has a reporting job on DC’s newspaper, The Hill.

They seem to forget Bush’s 1st cousin, John Ellis, of Fox News, back in 2000, who had a lot more responsibility for the decisions the newschannel made on election night than Kucinich’s daughter probably has for the newspaper.

First Amendment to the Constitution

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

When Congress or the Senate condemns a specific person or group for political speech - especially speech that attacks public officials - this is not exactly in direct defiance of the first amendment (no law has been made) but it could have a chilling effect.

“Better not say anything bad about a government official or you too could be condemned by the government.” That’s the message it sends.

Some people might wear such a condemnation as a badge of honor. But others would be cowed into silence.

I am disturbed that 72 members of the Senate thought an attempt to chill political speech was a good idea.

As Phil Ochs sang back in 1963:

Oh, it must have been another country –
Yes, it must have been another land.
That couldn’t happen in the U.S.A.
We’d never treat a man that way.

I don’t subscribe to FilkerTom’s livejournal for his political views, just like I don’t subscribe to comic book writer/Fantasy Novelist Peter David’s blog for that reason. But I often agree with both of them when they get sidetracked into politics.

Today’s post by FilkerTom is no exception. I also agree with PAD that everything I could say I have said.

The way the calendar works out (with a leap year in the middle), it’s a Tuesday again. I spent that Tuesday night with my writer’s group. And I’ll spend tonight with them as well. I’m there most Tuesday nights. Like most of America, I’d spent the day with my coworkers. I had an unplanned dinner with my parents. But I wanted to spend the rest of the evening with my second family, or perhaps more accurately, my second set of colleagues.

addon: I do subscribe to Slacktivist for posts like this

I’ve been making a big deal for the past five years on my blog about how Labor Day “ought” to be observed in May, as most other nations in the world do. To honor the workers at Haymarket Square in Chicago in 1886.

I’ve posted about how the US Government replaced Labor Day in May with Loyalty Day out of fear of Communism.

All this is true. But I’ve just learned the idea of Labor Day in September goes back to 1882, though it wasn’t declared a national holiday until the 1890s.

It doesn’t change the fact that after 1886, workers in the rest of the world honored America’s workers by establishing a holiday to commemorate their actions. And it’s pretty clear Congress acted as quickly as it did to establish the September date, so that the May date wouldn’t become established. Most Americans today have no idea what happened at Haymarket Square, and this can be partially attributed to our not observing the holiday in tandem with the rest of the world.

The Boston Globe has a good editorial.

If one had been predicting the state that would follow Massachussets in allowing homosexual civil marriages, one might not have predicted Iowa. (It’s just one judge’s decision at the moment, and it is being appealed.)

Missouri appears close to legalizing scalping (tickets, not heads).

The supply/demand arguments make a little bit of sense. (With legalized scalping there should be a greater supply, so prices will go down.) But that is dependent upon demand remaining steady. And I suspect there are people who refrain from buying scalped tickets — not because the price is higher, but they know they are ‘abetting a crime’ as the article puts it. Demand could go up as well. Maybe, as is so often the case on Ebay, supply will go up more.

It certainly falls in the category of ‘victimless crime’

Discovered this book while doing a search online for the surname “Newmark”

Why you may ask? There’s a character in the novel named “I.D. Newmark.” Not too surprising, since Victor Gold (a ‘Republican flack‘) is cousin to the late Dr. ID Newmark, who passed away 1 year prior to the book’s publication. Both of them are nephews of my great-grandfather Barney who I’ve spoken of before.

Most bios of Gold say he grew up in Louisiana, which is true, but he was born in East St. Louis. Despite my disagreement with his politics, it’s nice to see he ‘Tuckerized‘ a relative. I might have to buy the book. Since it is out of print, and I would be getting it used, none of my money would be going to Cheney, or Gold.

If I were really interested in torturing myself, I’d buy the autobiography of George HW that Vic helped out with Looking Foward; at least The Body Politic is fiction. Vic’s latest non-fiction, Invasion of the Party Snatchers suggests he might have some common sense.

And I must admit, I find the below funny:

Oops, I think I misread the headline…

I don’t believe that the sins of a First cousin, five times removed should be visited on someone, even if they happen to share your name.

source.

I certainly don’t believe that the sins of a tenth cousin should be visited on someone. As that describes W’s relationship to me, according to One World Tree. (Have I neglected to mention this before when talking about Chaucer?)

I am used to receiving idiotic emails from Donald Wildmon, of the American Family Association. That’s why I got on their email list, so I would receive them. But this one that just popped up in my email box takes the cake.

Let me first explain that the American Family Association is pro-religion in the public sphere. They are usually the first to insist that it is great and wonderful to open Senate hearings with a prayer — and hellishly horrible to suggest we shouldn’t.

They have heard that for the first time the Senate will be opened with a prayer by a Hindu!

On Thursday, a Hindu chaplain from Reno, Nevada, by the name of Rajan Zed is scheduled to deliver the opening prayer in the U.S. Senate. Zed tells the Las Vegas Sun that in his prayer he will likely include references to ancient Hindu scriptures, including Rig Veda, Upanishards, and Bhagavard-Gita. Historians believe it will be the first Hindu prayer ever read at the Senate since it was formed in 1789.

So…are they supporting this under the theory that opening the Senate with any prayer is OK…as long as all prayer is allowed, the government isn’t supporting any particular religion. (I might not agree with it 100%, but it’s a position I respect, and lean towards it more than some of my political allies. I may even be able to find a past AFA email making the argument on another issue.)

No. They are upset, because Hindus (gasp!) believe in more than one god. And that’s just unAmerican!

WallBuilders president David Barton is questioning why the U.S. government is seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god. Barton points out that since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto “One Nation Under God.”

“In Hindu, you have not one God, but many, many, many, many, many gods,” the Christian historian explains. “And certainly that was never in the minds of those who did the Constitution, did the Declaration [of Independence] when they talked about Creator — that’s not one that fits here because we don’t know which creator we’re talking about within the Hindu religion.”

So the AFA wants a country where all the OK religions are tolerated, the not-OK religions are sent to the back of the bus, and they’re not afraid to say it.

Absofreaking unbelievable.

Some might say there are several reasons one might wish to impeach Cheney.

However, in my opinion, one overrides them all:

The constitutional issue must be addressed.

What? You don’t want to follow my link?

OK. As everyone knows, the Senate presides over an impeachment trial.
And the Vice President presides over the Senate.

There is one exception, when the President is tried, because it has been foreseen that there would be a conflict of interest.

But since the language was written back in the days when the Vice President did nothing. No one foresaw there would ever be a desire to impeach the Vice President. So no exception is written for this case. Cheney would preside over his own impeachment trial.

And there’s only one way this situation will be fixed.

I talk about politics a lot here. I don’t know how many people care what I think. It’s not like I’m running for congress. (I think some of the poetry I’ve written pretty much eliminates any possibility of that.) Here’s a series of statements I’ve put together about one of the freedoms from the First Amendment. It’s partially in response to some discussions I’ve had with friends and others. I may put together something similar for the other freedoms. Feel free to comment, and to make suggestions. (Note: “We” is not necessarily always the plural of “I”)

Freedom of Speech

Barbra Streisand is free to express her opinions.

Charlton Heston is free to express his opinions

Natalie Maines is free to express her opinions.

Toby Keith is free to express his opinions.

If we disagree with the opinions of any of the individuals above, we are free to express our disagreement.

We are free to say that these individuals shouldn’t express their opinions as entertainers.

We are free to say that Rush Limbaugh, Bill Maher, Bill O Reilly, and Al Franken should express their opinions, even though they are also entertainers.

We are free to be hypocritical and support the free expression of some, but not others.

We are free to point out hypocrisy in others when we see fit.

We are free to burn books, cds, dvds. (if they belong to us)

We are free to destroy any object that belongs to us, alone.

We are free to tell people who burn books, cds, dvds that they are Philistines.

They are free to disagree with us and/or keep on burning.

Residents of Philistia are free to be offended by the comparison, even though they’ve all been dead for centuries.

Radio stations, newspapers, publishing houses, and bookstores are free to follow the money, and remove particular artists from airplay, column space, publication, shelves if they feel it will please their readers, listeners, or customers.

Readers, listeners, and customers are free to show these radio stations, newspapers, publishing houses, and bookstores that their business decision was the incorrect one, by staging a boycott, and trying to affect their bottom line.

We are free to express our opinions.

We are free to express our disgust with the opinions of others.

They are free to express their disgust with our opinions.

Guy shoots self in butt.

When you read the news story, it won’t be too difficult to figure out how I discovered it, if you’re a regular reader, or at least have read my earlier posts today.

This ties in nicely with a discussion of gun control I’ve been having on a college alum email list. I’d make the argument that the ability to conceal a weapon doesn’t make you safer. But someone would likely point out that since the guy didn’t have the gun legally, he probably didn’t receive any training. Would the training have helped, though?

A rightwing blogger took a poll of other rightwing bloggers on various issues.

One question was: if you had to choose between the current Democratic contenders for President, who would you most want to be President: Clinton, Obama, or Edwards.

Hillary won by a landslide.

A few different ways one could look at this.

Hillary is usually looked at as raising large levels of hate among rightwingers, and therefore unlikely to sway moderates, and thus unelectable. But if the individuals being polled were answering honestly, then they may begrudgingly accept that she might be a good leader, regardless of how much they hate her.

Or

They think she will be the most ineffectual leader out of the Democratic selection, so as Conservatives, would most like to see her President.

Or

If they hate Hillary, but think she is the best choice, boy are Democrats in trouble in 2008.