Wednesday, November 30, 2005

A Policy of Mitigating Effects

Court nominee Alito doesn't want to overturn Roe v. Wade directly, he argues that such a tactic would fail (even with such a wonderfully right wing packed court?). But following a policy of "mitigating its effects" - now that's ok. While an assistant to the solicitor general wrote in a memo that was released today by the National Archives that "no one seriously believes that the court is about to overrule Roe v. Wade." But, (and oh, what a but) "by taking [cases that mitigate abortion bit by bit] the court may be signaling an inclination to cut back. What can be made of this opportunity to advance the goals of bringing about the eventual overruling of Roe v. Wade and, in the meantime, of mitigating its effects?"

Again, thank you National Archives - In 1985, according to CNN, Alito urged that the Justice Department attack the issue by working for limitations on abortion. Alito wrote: "I find this approach preferable to a frontal assault on Roe v. Wade. It has most of the advantages of a brief devoted to overruling of Roe v. Wade; it makes our position clear, does not even tacitly concede Roe's legitimacy, and signals that we regard the question as live and open. At the same time, it is free of many of the disadvantages that would accompany a major effort to overturn Roe."

Thank you, "Scalito" for that wonderful preview of our future.


Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Whew! Sweeps Month's Almost Over

Tired of 11pm news teasers for that common and seemingly harmless household item that could kill you? Or of the sex, sex, sex secret brothel that could be next door to YOUR home? Or may you're tired of teasers for the latest fad that YOUR child could be engaging in in YOUR own home under YOUR own eyes?

Well lucky for all of us, we've got two months until February sweeps to live our lives in blissful ignorance.

Or, as it's known at the White House, just another day.

Michael Brown for sale - what do buyers get?

If you haven't seen the list of "Brownie's" emails during the Katrina non response, you should look to check them out. Two days after Katrina hit, a FEMA employee wrote to "Brownie" "the situation is past critical." That people were dying and food and water were scarce at the Superdome. Brownie's response, "Thanks for the update. Anything specific I need to do or tweak?" (uh, maybe more food and water? medics? I mean, you know, for a start).

September 2 (4 days after Katrina hit), Brownie got a message with the subject line: Medical Help." E-mail read, "Mike, Mickey and other medical equipment people have a 42-foot trailer full of beds, wheelchairs, oxygen concentrators, etc. They are waiting to take them where they can be used but need direction." (oh, I don't know, ... the Superdome?) No, not in Brownie's world. Brownie's heck of a job reaction to this email? Well four days later, he forwarded it to the FEMA Deputy Chief of Staff & Deputy Director of Response with the note, "Can we use these people."

Yeah Brownie, they could have used them when they were first offered.

Good luck to Brownies new clients. No, really, good luck.

Landing a Man on the Moon ... and other dreams

No, not us. Chia's deputy commander of manned space flight said that in 10-15 years China will have the ability to carry out a manned moon landing. You know, when JFK announced that we would put a man on the moon before the end of the decade, there weren't a lot of people who thought we could do it. Ok, so we were pushed by the Cold War need to prove our superiority wherever we could.

But it wasn't just space. Johnson's Great Society (you know, back before we hated his guts over Vietnam) took quite a bit of arm twisting in Congress and elsewhere to become a reality.

Where are the great dreams? I have no quibble with a great dream of bringing democracy to the middle east. But if you're going to reach for the stars, then bring a compass. You don't wake up one morning egged on by your neo-con cronnies and say "I can do it" when you don't begin to equal the abilities of a JFK or LBJ. Can you think of a US President who had such little ability and yet dreamed so big?

When you're the runt of the littler, don't try and be the big dog. You get too many people killed in the process.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Continuing Thanks for the Good Guys

It's good to see that there are folks out there who take some time to remember a favorite teacher. Folks like this English Teachers Network - where people have noticed great teachers of all disciplines, or the UW professor who asked writer alumni to name their favorite teachers. Sure there are the favorite or best teacher awards out there. But it's great to just see postings here and there that aren't sponsored by an organization, government (no child left behind, for sure -- we're going to leave whole districts behind instead), or corporation. Just words of thanks out in the world from students to the teachers who made a difference in their lives. Whether a blog in California, or the staff of a small Wyoming newspaper, or a Canadian blog discussing favorite music teachers, there are thousands of people who take time on the net to stop and praise the teachers who helped direct and influence their lives.

So take a moment to stop and think about your favorite teacher today. That man or women whose extra efforts on your behalf made a difference.

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Enough of the Lying Scum, Time to Think About the Good Guys

This week's Newsweek end editorial is a good piece about teachers. It covers all the basics, how hard the job is for how low the pay. I always wonder on the insanity of a society that would value a job, for instance, of creating ads to separate children from their parents' money over a job of guiding those same kids to find their best potential.

Since this is a topic I could preach on for hours without end, I'm going to end it here. And merely note that while we suffer under leaders whose teachers obviously spent little time with them, let's hope that future leaders are somehow getting the effort and time they deserve in their schools to develop into decent human beings.

Friday, November 25, 2005

Milking FEMA Bungles

Way to go Michael Brown. After finally getting off the federal payroll (months after his bungles in the FEMA/Katrina days), Brown is opening up his own personal consulting firm. Brown says that he'd like to help people "focus on preparedness, how to be better prepared in their homes and better prepared in their businesses."

Ok, let's get this straight. The man who was removed from FEMA after the tremendous Katrina bungles is now asking people and companies to pay him money to teach them how to be prepared.

I think we now have a new synonym for breathtaking cockiness - let's call it Going Brownie.

New Faces at Crawford

Ok, so Cindy Sheehan is going back, but did anyone notice who was arrested down there yesterday? (Under the new "stop embarrassing our native son in his backyard" law forbidding demonstrators anywhere near the ranch?) None other than Daniel Ellsberg, our Pentagon Papers hero of yesteryear.

Glad to see that some of the Vietnam-era folk are getting involved in this. I thought for a minute there we were going to leave it to the kids & mothers.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Ah, Peace and Quiet

Bush back down in Crawford. It's nice to get the city back for ourselves for a while. I noticed that Crawford now has a law banning protests near the ranch. I wonder if we can get the DC Council to institute a law banning Bush from coming back into the city? What a wonderful dream!

And btw, a good Thanksgiving to all!

And let's all see if we can't find more than a few things to be thankful for this year.

Bush and Karl in top level meeting


Sometimes our prez and his friend just need some time alone. Think they're discussing Karl's recent problems?

Monday, November 21, 2005

They Tape You, Chenster!

As Cheney continues to ride his high horse against all those who would seek to reinvent history, it's good to remind ourselves that the Chenster is better at it then most. The Slate's John Dickerson has offered up a few of Cheney's past and present statements for comparison. Click here to see what he said, or what he says he said, or is it what he said but didn't say when he said it.

All he ever wanted to do is ride his bike

It all makes sense now. W didn't want to be president to help make the world a better place (ok, so most of us knew that one going in). He wanted to be president so he could get to ride his bike with Lance Armstrong. And now front page of the Post - W riding his bike in China with their Olympic team.

Ride on W, ride on. But while you're out riding your bike, can't you find someone better than the Chenster and Rummy to run the country?

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Slippery When Lying

Oil execs and their Senate buds know the value of a good photo op. They didn't want to end up like the tobacco execs, Enron and others who stood in a line to pledge to tell the truth, and then had to eat that photo when their lies were uncovered. So when big oil came to testify, they managed to slip out of future bad pics coming around to bite them by not having to stand in a row to testify. No good photo op there.

Too bad, because that pic would have come around to bite them sooner than anyone may have expected. When asked by Sen. Lautenberg if their company or any reps of their company participated in Cheney's secret energy task force of 2001 (remember that fun story?), to a man they said no. Nope. They weren't there, their reps weren't there. Nada.

Only ... oops, turns out that a few of those company reps were in those meetings. Anyone notice if their noses are growing?

Friday, November 18, 2005

Dick Words

Dick on removing Saddam from Iraq - or even going into Iraq in the first place -- 1991 (after Gulf War 1)

"And the question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam worth? And the answer is not very damned many. So I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but also when the president made the decision that we'd achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq.”


he continued on, saying

"All of a sudden you've got a battle you're fighting in a major built-up city, a lot of civilians are around, significant limitations on our ability to use our most effective technologies and techniques. Once we had rounded him up and gotten rid of his government, then the question is what do you put in its place? You know, you then have accepted the responsibility for governing Iraq."

Following it up with these pearls of wisdom:

"Now what kind of government are you going to establish? Is it going to be a Kurdish government, or a Shi'ia government, or a Sunni government, or maybe a government based on the old Baathist Party, or some mixture thereof? You will have, I think by that time, lost the support of the Arab coalition that was so crucial to our operations over there. I would guess if we had gone in there, I would still have forces in Baghdad today, we'd be running the country. We would not have been able to get everybody out and bring everybody home."

The Hunt for Humor ... in a Time of Melancholy

W. as Vadar - it starts well then gets a bit lame, but it starts well. Creative MAC people at work.

And W. vs. Jesus in a presidential election - W's campaign video.

W vs. W -- the debate -- it's old Jon Stewart, but still good.

And finally, not a cartoon, but a good roundup of news making the blogs, the Swift Report. Check it out.

Dated, but amusing

In this season of the Grinch, I've come across a flash piece that tells the story of How the Bush Stole the Election. It is worth a viewing.

Good Liars v. Bad Liars

I think Jon Stewart hit it on the head last night when he noted that the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld crew can't even be bothered to come up with good lies. No fun creative mish-mashing of the truth for them. No, it's just straight out lies. It's "We don't torture" or "But when Democrats say that I [Cheney] deliberately misled the Congress and the people, that's irresponsible." Where's the creativity? Where's the amusing I know you are but what am I arguments that we saw in "that depends on what your definition of "is" is?" Or everyone's favorite, "I am not a crook." ?

But it's not all bad news, Cheney has said that "But we're not going to sit by and let them rewrite history. We're going to continue throwing their own words back at them." Which is exciting news because although our Veep doesn't seem to realize it, those words ever so easily turn on him. Why "throwing" his words back at him is almost too easy of an exercise. Does Cheney realize that he is often videotaped when he speaks?

There's tape Dick. You said it. We saw it. Try rewriting history as you will, let's go to the videotape -

On serving his country:
"I had other priorities in the 60's than military service"

On the Iraq war plan:
"The plan was criticized by some retired military officers embedded in TV studios. But with every advance of our coalition forces, the wisdom of that plan becomes more apparent."

American soldiers in Iraq:
"The streets in Basra and Baghdad are sure to erupt in joy in the same way the throngs in Kabul greeted the Americans."

On Saddam Hussein:
"Saddam Hussein's offensive military capability, his capacity to threaten his neighbors, has been virtually eliminated." (Cheney speaking as Secy of Defense in 1991 after gulf war 1.)



Thursday, November 17, 2005

Dick's Invisible Friend

Everybody's favorite Rorschach test Iraqi is in town today - Ahmed Chalabi. The savior of Neo-Con's arabic future is in town meeting with just about every major government officer including Rice, Chehney and Rumsfeld, but press isn't allowed near those meetings because they don't want photographs of him meeting with these people. Why? He's the chairman of Iraq's Energy Committee and apparently a top candidate for Prime Minister.

Well, it could be the film footage of him saying that Saddam had WMDs (the existence of which Chalabi is now calling an urban myth-- the film footage I think, not the WMDs). Or is it the FBI investigation into the charges of Chalabi passing secrets to the Iranians? Or his abandonment of trying to unit Sunnis/Shiates? Or for just being a great political manipulator and opportunist?

Sneak & Peak Justice

Ah fall. The leaves are turning color, the air is getting brisker, the scent of pumpkins and roasted turkey fills the air, and Congress turns its attention to ensuring that anything we borrow from a library can be held against us.

A day after it appeared that Congress would just roll over and let most of the Patriot Act be renewed, six senators (Feingold, Craig, Durbin, Sununu, Salazar and Murkowski) sponsors of legislation that would have tempered the act somewhat complained that the House-Senate compromise takes back some civil liberty protections. Among them the Senate requirement that government inform targets of "sneak & peak" search warrants within 7-30 days that they are a target. Sneak & peak warrants fyi - those that allow authorities to conduct secret searches of our houses or businesses and tell us about it later. The compromise also removed the Senate provision that would have mandated judicial review over using PA powers to search financial, medical, school and library records.

Now check this out. That group of senators includes a Republican from Idaho, Sununu (son of Reagan's fav) and an Alaskan Republican. These are not knee jerk ACLU supporters. These guys probably don't even like the ACLU.

So you have to ask yourself Mr. President & Mr. Vice President. If Republicans from Idaho and Alaska don't support your Act, just how far from the pack have you strayed?

Monday, November 14, 2005

Poll This

Bush opinion poll approval ratings are hovering in the mid to high thirties these days. CNN/Gallup has him at 37%, CBS at 35%, Newsweek at 36%, NBC/Wall Street Journal at 38% and ABC/Washington Post at 39% according to the online Polling Report crew. The 37 and 36% numbers are from the latest polls.

The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll from this weekend shows Bush's approval at 37%, the disapproval (i.e., sane humans) rating at 60% and unsure at 3%. Yes, three percent of the people contacted don't know if they approve or disapprove of Bush. I think that should be renamed, "could really give a flying %@$#" instead.

I would take this as good news, but the same site continues to show that 20% of those questioned still regard Reagan as "the greatest US President." As a sop to the rest of us, Lincoln does manage to sneak in at third with 14%, behind Clinton at 2nd place. Now I liked Clinton as much as the next person who didn't hate his guts. But greater than Lincoln?

KANSAS - Forget your fight over [un]intelligent design. We need you and the rest of the country to start teaching history!

Slow Learners?

Yesterday I got my third email from a Republican aquaintance who had voted gleefully for Bush the first & second time and is now openly mocking the president. Two have been forwards of email lists about Bush's problems, the most recent was a "song" created by this person to mock the price of gas, lack of policy direction, the bogged down war and a few other issues.

The amazing thing is, each of these people has written to me thinking I will just laugh and pass along the new bash Bush piece. And in each case I've written back instead asking them, "so, what on earth were you thinking when you voted for this loser?"

One response - he still wouldn't vote for Kerry because he thinks Kerry's wife was a financial supporter of terrorism.

We have GOT to do a better job of defining the debate the next time around. We can't just hope that people will be so angry at Bush that they won't vote for the next Republican clown. The Democratic party needs to step up and actually be a party of ideas and direction.

Think they've got it in them?

Or are you ready for more years of twits in power?

Sunday, November 13, 2005

The Witless Wisdom of Chairman Pat

-- on the U.S. Constitution: "There is no such thing as separation of church and state in the Constitution. It is a lie of the Left and we are not going to take it anymore." (Nov. 1993) [uh, Pat, ever actually READ the Constitution? "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."]

-- on GW Bush: "The Lord has just blessed him. . . . I mean, he could make terrible mistakes and come out of it. It doesn't make any difference what he does, good or bad." (Jan 2, 2004). [Well, ok, he does have a point here, it really doesn't seem to make any difference how bad Bush gets in Pat's world.]

-- on Jews. Surprisingly, they're ok with Pat. At least in the government. "Individual Christians are the only ones really -- and Jewish people, those who trust God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- are the only ones that are qualified to have the reign, because hopefully, they will be governed by God and submit to Him." January 11, 1985.

--on rewriting history. When asked for TIME magazine about the quote above, Pat responded, "I never siad that in my life ... I never said only Christiains and Jews. I never said that." Uh Pat, remember, when you say these things, there is this magical thing called a ''camera' that is recording it.


But forget the Jews - apparently my family of Methodists and others like us are a bigger threatt.

--on Methodists. "You say you're supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist. I can love the people who hold false opinions but I don't have to be nice to them.” January 1991.

You know, I went to church a lot when I was a kid, and I don't remember our Methodists ministers inviting us to join the Antichrist, but then again, I could have missed it while daydreaming or reading the weekly news. Then again, I've apparently been too busy practicing witchcraft. Not sure if it's a special Methodist Antichrist methodist, but hey, maybe I'm just in denial. Then again, I have spent some of my efforts trying to destroy capitalism. Mostly by trying to shop it into submission.

-- on women. "The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians." from a fundraising letter, 1992.

Pity Dover, Penn.

These poor citizens, by proclaiming that they didn't want their children to be raised as idiots, have drawn down the wrath (no, not of God - I mean, let's face it, do YOU dare to speak for God?) but of Pat "I know what God wants" Robertson. After warning Orlando, Florida that by not being intolerant towards gays they were begging for a hurricane (wait, didn't the hurricanes miss Orlando this year?), he's decided that "if there is a disaster in [Dover, Penn], don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city."

Apparently, in his wisdom (or is that apparently brain damaged old age state), Pat has decided that a rejection of teaching [un]intelligent design is the same thing as rolling out the welcome mat for Satan. Look again Pat, Satan's been too busy wrapping himself up in the Republican leadership to have time worrying about the Dover, Penn. school board.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Presenting Veteran's Day weekend - the start of the Christmas holiday season. The Grinch is on tonight. I'm a devoted Grinch fan, I could recite the entire piece by memory, and can sing the songs really well. Even the Who's songs.

But Veteran's Day weekend?

I don't suppose we'll ever be getting our November back from the retailers, will we? Ah well, we pause during the commercial to ponder the lessons of The Grinch - material possessions don't matter, it's the spirit of the holiday that matters.

Wait, why is Christmas being pushed back more and more each year? LOL

Lenin

Was just watching my favorite French language news station (news that acknowledges there is a whole world out there, not just US interests). Gorbachev was asked about the debate over removing Lenin's tomb from Red Square. Polls apparently show that most people are ok with removing it, but there are many Lenin lovers who have boasted they would defend the mausoleum with their lives. Gorby's response was that any decision would have to wait until things were "normal."

Ok, up for grabs here -- name one time in Russia's history when things were "normal". Just so we'll know what we're waiting for.

Unfortunately, I can't figure out a way to place the symbol for infinity in this post.

Fans of the administration look away

Return those heads to the sand while the rest of us continue to try and correct your mistakes. I was listening to Air America the other day and a caller was arguing that she should not be held responsible for the Iraqi war simply because she voted for Bush/Cheney. She wasn't getting much support for that viewpoint. I say if you haven't taken a moment to ask someone you know who voted for B/C whether or not they feel responsibility for where we are now - you should take it.

And for those who try and say, "no, that's not what he said," the good people at one of my favorite sites are keeping the quote score going.

There are a few impeachment petitions making their way around the net, but I'm not going near them. We impeach Bush, then Cheney steps up. If that's not frying pan into the fire, I don't know what is.

In the meantime, enjoy this interactive game, it's a "What should George do" game. If you're annoyed that we invaded Iraq instead of Iran, here's your chance to change that. Or you could take a break from war mongering and take a vacation. Ever get the feeling that we shouldn't have mocked the guy for his vacations? Maybe we should have insisted he take a 4 year one.

Friday, November 11, 2005

4 8 15 16 23 42

Lost-ites will recognize the numbers. I am completely addicted to this show. As much as I didn't care for Shannon in the first season (whinny twit), I actually ended up liking that character right before they decided to practice small arms fire on her. This week's episode was pretty good. If there's a good argument against handing out guns to just about anyone who wants one, I think it was Ana Lucia's character shooting Shannon out of fear (apparently mistaking a tall blond woman for one of the gritty and grimy "others" who don't have access to beauty products).

Sawyer is finally starting to grow on me (yeah, yeah, I enjoy his shirtless scenes as much as anyone else, but the character was a bit of a jerk). Perhaps being dumped at sea and having to dig a bullet out of your own shoulder is a character builder. There is so much character building on that island, and with all the rough and tumble outdoor life, it's a great reminder that I wouldn't have made it past the first night LOL.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Breaking News ... and more breaking news ... and

When is breaking news no longer breaking news? After 9/11, I signed up for CNN's "breaking news" emails. Since then, I have received "breaking news" alerts on all of the Cable news' sweet spots (Michael Jackson's wearing pajamas to court, Laci Peterson's husband coughed) day in and day out. Yesterday, I got an alert on the Jordanian hotel bombings. It said 6 people were dead. A few minutes later, I got a 2nd alert on the bombings, with an updated death number. It was followed in a few more minutes by a 3rd alert with new death numbers. At some point, hadn't that story been "broken"? Can we agree that once you've told me about it, you don't need to keep "breaking" the news?

Cali-Terminated

Kudos to the voters of California. Ahrnold has received his scolding for trying to bypass the legislature and go straight to the people. Apparently the people think they voted for those legislators for a reason. Let them do their job, and Ahrnold do his.

How much money was spent on that election that could have been used elsewhere? Hey, who knows, maybe California is now rolling in dough.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Open your mouth, and remove all doubt

Yup, they've got some Grade A idiots over there in Kansas on their state school board. As one of the dimmer bulbs apparently boasted, "This is a great day for education. This is one of the best things that we can do. This absolutely teaches more about science," said Steve E. Abrams, the Kansas board chairman.

And at least the normal folk on the board understand the global ramifications of the decision. Janet Waugh, who voted against the new standards said: "We're becoming a laughingstock, not only of the nation, but of the world."

Yes Janet, yes you have. Well not you personally, but certainly the majority of the board.

But then again, look to our national leadership - as Bush responded when asked about [un]intelligent design "Both sides ought to be properly taught . . . so people can understand what the debate is about."

The debate is about a chunk of people who apparently never learned the most basic things about science, including what it is and how it operates.

What Ho! Kansas

My grandparents lived in Kansas. My aunt lived in Kansas. These were smart people. So I know that there are smart people in Kansas. But for whatever reason, they've let the stupid people take over the school board. In a mind-boggling trip back in time, they want kids to learn less about the world than we know.

The Kansas state board of education has five STUPID people on it. I know, I know, we're supposed to be kind and not actually call people stupid, but let's face it. These people ARE stupid. Not calling them that doesn't hide their idiocy. Apparently some of them face tough races and look to be defeated, but the question remains, who elected these morons in the first place? Are they going by the theory that they don't want anyone in Kansas to be smarter than they are? Wouldn't it be easier for them to go live amongst rocks and stones, items that are only slightly smarter than these board members?

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

How great is the Daily Show

Still going strong. And paired with the Colbert Report, it's a late evening hour of belly laughs I just can't resist. I could pick at a nit here or there, but on the whole they're just plain funny. If national and international conditions were better - would there still be humor? Am I conditioned now to only laugh at the idiocy of the administration or the foolish strutting of cable news? Is this why there isn't a sitcom out there (Simpsons aren't a sitcom, right?) that has captured even my slightest interest?

Oh no! Poor TO

With the Eagles dropping TO as fast as they can, what oh what will happen to all the goodies that Terrell apparently sells on his site? (And no, I'm not going to provide that address, if you must buy TO goodies, for goodness sake, at least buy them from eBay.) Now he is sorry and wants to come back to play. And honestly, I would bet that some of this was on the reporter(s) asking questions too. He got baited with a couple of questions that someone in their right mind wouldn't have answered, or answered the way he did. But that doesn't excuse his inability to keep his mouth shut if he can't say something even slightly supportive of his team. When asked if Brett Favre would be a better quarterback than the Eagles, don't fall for the question, just don't answer, or here's a flash, say no and let it end there.

Undisclosed Location

Our poor VP. Having spent so much time dashing back and forth between undisclosed locations has apparently convinced him that everyone likes to be in an undisclosed location. Or at least that many detainees prefer it. Maybe some of our leaders who could take some nice time outs while in their undisclosed locations and think about what they've done. Wait, who's the 2nd grade teacher who's going to supervise them? That behavior seems about 2nd grade level.

Monday, November 07, 2005

Gravity, just a theory

Great satire from "Talk Reason's" site. He takes on the ID/Creationists with the reDiscovery site. It includes this fun article: "Warning: Gravity is 'Only a Theory" by Ellery Schempp.

As Schempp points out in just one of a number of very sound arguments ;)

"The U.S. Patent Office has never issued a patent for anti-gravity. Why is this? According to natural law and homeopathy, everything exists in opposites: good-evil; grace-sin; positive charges-negative charges; north poles-south poles; good vibes-bad vibes; etc. We know there are anti-evolutionists, so why not anti-gravitationalists? It is clearly a matter of the scientific establishment elite protecting their own. Anti-gravity papers are routinely rejected from peer-reviewed journals, and scientists who propose anti-gravity quickly lose their funding. Universal gravity theory is just a way to keep the grant money flowing."

Indeed - why haven't the ID people gotten onto this bandwagon? Clearly gravity is nothing less than a scientific fad for which there is no real proof!



Sunday, November 06, 2005

Yes, proud to be an American

Gotta love the color commentary during ball games. Pretty much every single 'skins home game gets at least one of the commentators doing a "how great those monuments are" and "how proud it makes you to be an American." "It must be great to live here."

It is. Except for all the morons the public keeps electing and sending this way. Stop sending us your refuse. Elect them and keep them home. I vote for a virtual Congress. They all get to stay back in their home districts and try and run our lives from there. Ya know, maybe if they stay in their home districts, they'll stop trying to run our lives.

Just once wouldn't it be great to have a Representative looking to score points in his home district by doing something there (except sending them our money for the new school/highway/park to be named after him - instead of sticking their good for nothing noses into DC lives.

Ah, half time over, and so now is this rant.

International news vs. international news

Our news services have finally noticed the unrest in France. Riots in the Paris suburbs make the news. Well then I spend some time on my favorite cable channel -- the French station. It's not just Paris. It's Toulouse, it's Bordeau, it's five or six other cities. There's some major anger going on over there. These first generation French kids who are finding their lives not much better (or ok, worse) than their immigrant parents. But it won't be making our news as long as we need to keep worrying about that girl in Aruba, whatever her name is, who, apparently, is still dead and unfound down there. No offense to her family and parents, but come on. This is what passes for news anymore? Nah, not starting down that road. The pitiful state of American news media will wait for another day's rant.

TO's flip out and tonight's game

So Monsieur Owens disses his quarterback, the Eagles and gets into a fist fight in the locker room. So great, he's benched for tonight's game against the 'skins. There's no force on the planet that could make me root against the 'skins. But this would come close. If the eagles can win without Owens, the noodle-head sits out the rest of the season and gets picked up by some desparate coach for a 1 year shot at the playoffs. If they lose tonight (which of course is what I'm rooting for), then what happens. Their coach decides they need Owens and after a verbal scolding and some fines he's back on the team to do it all over again?

Yeah, apparently I'm now in the position of knowing that rooting for my team might just unleash Owens as an Eagle again this season.

Sorry Phily, sorry McNabb, but 'skins forever!

Saturday, November 05, 2005

See, this is why I don't keep pets

And can barely keep plants. How would I remember to feed pets or water plants when I can't even remember to post on a blog.

Saw a note in the Post's gossip section that Lynne Cheney just got a kitten. Lynne Cheney can care for a pet. But would you want to be a pet in that household? Man, I may not remember to feed you every day, but at least I'm not sending thousands of kids to be killed in order to feed my sense of what the world should be.

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Post creation letdown euphoria

But of course I can do this. It's typing. I can type. It's putting words on paper. I can put words on paper. Even virtual paper. What was I thinking to doubt this process. Ha!

Doubters may quit but quitters always doubt.

Post creation letdown

How does this work? Why am I doing it? What idiot would think she has time for something like this when she is always taking home work in the evenings and on weekends.

Well, this kind of idiot, fer sure. If you don't reach beyond your capabilities and time crunches, then you never know the pain of falling flat on your face while those around you laugh behind your back.

Creation

A couple of nights ago on the "Colbert Report" Steven Colbert slammed Ken Burns with this - "So we do all the real work and you (historians) come along later and just sweep up the facts."

It'll be the first time in my life anyone's ever accused me of cleaning.






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