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Friday, August 05, 2005
Redistributing wealth--From Bill to Steve
OK, maybe $54 doesn't really constitute wealth but it is $54 that is coming to me from Bill Gates and I am going to give it to Steve Jobs. Not that Jobs really needs the money any more than Gates does.
Did anyone else file a return in the Microsoft settlement? A notice went out here in Minnesota about a year ago letting people know that if you had purchased any Microsoft product (including PCs running Windows) you were eligible for part of the anti-trust settlement proceeds. I filled out my form which allowed between about $7 and $25 depending on the product (MS Word got you $7, MS Office more) and since my total was less than $100 dollars I didn't even need to show proof of purchase. Well yesterday my 5 minutes of paperwork paid off and I got a notice that I was eligible for $54 credit towards any computer or software purchase made after (I think, I'm doing this all form memory) December 2004. I'm planning to buy a new iMac in the near future and look forward to the Microsoft corporation paying for a small part of it.
As they say, the wheels of justice grind slowly but they grind fine. Seems like only yesterday I was cashing my $14 check from the CD marketing anti-trust action.
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Oh, just go read Paul Krugman
Yes, the great lefty blog cop out post. But he is on one of my favorite topics today:
The important thing to remember is that like supply-side economics or global-warming skepticism, intelligent design doesn't have to attract significant support from actual researchers to be effective. All it has to do is create confusion, to make it seem as if there really is a controversy about the validity of evolutionary theory. That, together with the political muscle of the religious right, may be enough to start a process that ends with banishing Darwin from the classroom.5 comments
Oklahoma's book burning club
There's a new book banning club in town, this one in Oklahoma. The Oklahomans for School Accountability provide this helpful summary of why they want to ban Twelve Days in August:
0 commentsThis book is not as graphic in terms of sex, but the inside of the book jacket notes this book to be for ages 12 & up and the reading level in some school databases notes the book to be at the 5th grade level. Twelve Days in August does regard homosexuality as natural.
Additionally, words such as "pissed", "hell", "damn" and "fag" were found periodically throughout the book. Some characters are also smoking marijuana and drinking.
The unfairness of accuracy
There's a brouhaha in California over a ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution. The amendment would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, but would also bar the state from bestowing any of the rights of marriage on unmarried persons. In other words, it would end domestic partnerships in California. The state's attorney general has included this information in the summary that will appear on the ballot, which has upset the proponents of the amendment:
0 comments"Instead of saying that it preserves marriage as the union of one man and one woman and prohibits any other kind of marriage that would be outside of that union," Staver explains, "[Lockyer's summary] essentially says that it is an amendment that is designed to eliminate all domestic partnerships and doesn't really talk about the issue of marriage." But because it is a marriage initiative, Staver contends that should be the essence of the ballot title and summary.
..."While the amendment does prohibit the state of California or its governmental agencies from issuing domestic partnerships, it does not prohibit private contractual rights," the attorney explains.
At least he didn't expose his breasts
I'm sure the suspension will be short. It's not like he intentionally jeopardized national security:
0 commentsRobert D. Novak, the syndicated columnist whose unmasking of a CIA operative touched off an investigation about a possible leak, uttered a profanity and stalked off a live broadcast Thursday afternoon on CNN after Democratic strategist James Carville accused him of trying to make a particular point "to show these right-wingers" that he had "backbone" and was "tough."
About two hours later, a CNN spokeswoman, Laurie Goldberg, released a statement saying the network had "asked Mr. Novak to take some time off." Asked later whether Novak was being suspended, she said, "We're characterizing it as a mutual decision."
Romer v. Evans, FRC report
Following up on this guide to the Courts, here's the Family Research Council's take:
Today the Los Angeles Times reported that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts did pro bono work on the 1996 Supreme Court case that resulted in the striking down of a Colorado state constitutional amendment that prevented local government from offering protected minority status or preferences based on homosexual or bisexual orientation or conduct. Judge Roberts did the uncompensated legal work on the case, Romer v. Evans, while he was an attorney for the DC law firm Hogan and Hartson. After further investigation we were told that Roberts' role was apparently limited to providing a few hours of participation in a moot court procedure, as he routinely did for all the firm's pro bono clients. More on this as we learn more about this report.
Sorry, no link, this is from an email update. Looks like the facts are still coming in on this one. Did he moot court or did he advise? There would be feedback and advice in a moot court proceeding, but that's different than picking the client and actively helping them prepare their arguments.
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Thursday, August 04, 2005
A ghost writer perhaps?
Minnesota's Worst Writer™ turns in a completely innocuous column today and to spare LMB's gentle sense of fair play I will not mock KK's hideous visage, her barren love life, or her classification by the Hennepin County Humane Society as an unsuitable person for the adoption of a recently abandoned iguana. (Reptiles, being exothermic, require an owner capable of generating at least a small amount of warmth in order for them to maintain body temperature.)
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An objective conclusion
I've let it run a little longer than I intended and I think it is finally time to report the results of the great movie object poll.
With over 150 votes cast there were three clear favorites; The Amp That Goes to 11 (27%), The Ruby Slippers(20%), and Jason's Hockey Mask(19%). The second tier was clear as well with the Barrels (from Jaws) 7%, and the Bone (2001) and the Horse's Head both at 6%. All the other objects had only a handful of votes each, tho each of the 15 got at least one vote. That said I think I must post a small caveat to the voting. After the initial flurry of voting in the first week or two the Ruby Slippers were at the top with The Amp close behind. After that there was a steady increase in the Hockey Mask's share so that it eventually ended up in first place just ahead of the Amp. When I checked out some links to 3WN I found that others had linked to the contest and were encouraging others to vote for one of those two which I think artificially boosted their vote totals. Not that any of this matters or comes close to being an accurate representation of anything, but if I had to guess I would say that in terms of votes by single individuals the most popular object might have actually been the Ruby Slippers, tho I think quite a few people voted for the Amp as well. And to give an added degree of unwarranted accuracy to the whole endeavor I think a conventional poll of the same people who participated in this one would put the Ruby slippers at around 15% with the Amp maybe a vote or two ahead or behind it and the second tier objects, including the Hockey Mask, at around 10%.
For anyone interested here are the raw numbers on the last "official" day of voting:
Is this a sign of the apocalypse?
I dunno if this is a sign of the apocalypse, but it plainly should be. It's nice to see how flexible church doctrine can be in a pinch...
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Better and better
What did Smilin' Norm Coleman have to do that made him cancel his appearance at Farm Fest? The answer is here. A hint: it traditionally involves tight, white shorts.
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Empty Suit Thursday: Fear of Farmers
Another week, another lick spittle display from Sen. Smilin' Norm Coleman (R-MN):
- Smilin' Norm was so proud of his CAFTA vote that he cancelled an appearance at Farm Fest where he explain how great the bill would be for his constituents.
- John Bolton's recess appointment earned Smilin' Norm's gracious approval.
- Smilin' Norm's stem cell policy is explained here.
- Smilin' Norm gets to kick at the UN again.
Internets governances
Sen. Smilin' Norm Coleman (R-MN), gets to attack the UN and play Bush's lap dog again? How could he resist?:Senator Norm Coleman today submitted a statement into the Congressional Record denouncing a final report issued by the United Nations’ Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) suggesting that the U.N. assume global governance of the Internet. Since its inception and creation in the United States, the U.S. has assumed the historic role of overseeing the Internet’s growth and has overseen its development. The U.N. taskforce report suggests that in addition to terminating the U.S.’s leadership role, the authority and functions of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit organization overseen by the U.S. Department of Commerce, should be transferred as well. Senator Coleman strongly opposes these measures.
..."Putting the U.N. in charge of one of the world’s most important technological wonders and economic engines is out of the question. This proposal would leave the United States with no more say over the future of the Internet than Cuba or China -- countries that have little or no commitment to the free flow of information."
Let me quickly admit that I'm just learning this issue. But it's clear that the EU is concerned about the US dominance over the Internet, as are Brazil and China.
At the start of July, the U.S. announced that it would retain control over domain name servers -- the computers that sort out "threewaynews.blogspot.com" into a computer-understandable address. The United Nations Working Group on Internet Governance objects to the fact that U.S. has sole control over Internet addresses. The U.S. has shown no willingness to share any control over the Internet.
Coleman's response is that the only way to preserve a democratic Internet is if the United States exercises autocratic control over international communications.
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Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Worst Blogger Ever
Yes, I am a huge slacker in the blog department. Even Hammer’s attempts at shaming me into blogging were unsuccessful. So here’s the list of things I would have blogged about, if I were anything other than the worst blogger ever:
- The mushrooms growing in my sister’s back yard. Are they morels? (Yes!)
- The movie version of “Embedded”, its relationship with Netflix, and how even though I love Tim Robbins and always will, it was a bit on the disappointing side.
- My love for Netflix.
- My despair over Netflix not doing right by me regarding a gift subscription.
- My realization that Netflix actually did do right by me -- I’m just a moron.
- How happy I was to be wrong about my Michael Jackson assessment of Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
- Whether anyone knows of any leftish organizations doing stuff (putting together boxes of stuff, writing letters, sending phone cards, etc.) for the troops, and how, even if they’re out there, it’s a shame that I can’t think of any off the top of my head.
- Why I think Sandra Day O’Connor’s retirement is an insult to the position of Supreme Court Justice.
- Why Patty Wetterling has a better shot at a senate seat than Amy Klobuchar (darn, I think this has already been done to death).
- Why this is the Vikings’ year! Oh, who am I kidding?
- At least 17 posts on how much I dislike Wal-Mart.
- How yes, KK's editorials in the Star Trib are terrible, but with all the annoying things about her, I find myself wishing Jambo would concentrate less on her appearance and give all his attention to what an atrocious writer she is.
- Questioning whether getting annoyed by the graffiti in my neighborhood is going to turn me into a Republican.
- This addictive panda-cam.
Real special rights
Conservatives love to bash gays for seeking the "special right" to be treated like everyone else. A real "special right" would be treated like no one else. Conservatives have no problem conferring special rights on big donors:
How the manufacturers and sellers of two inherently dangerous products, guns and tobacco, were given the only two exceptions from our country's product safety requirements is incomprehensible and indefensible. It demonstrates, however, their extraordinary political and financial powers over a majority of members of Congress.
For me, the acid test of this legislation's true intent was the Senate's defeat, by a vote of 62-37, of the amendment offered by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and me, which established liability for "gross negligence that was a proximate (direct) cause of death or injury" to another person.
I was incredulous that anyone could oppose that standard of liability for negligence. Yet even that was unacceptable to the powerful National Rifle Association and, thus, to a majority of the Senate, including the other Minnesota senator.
Again, this special immunity from responsibility has absolutely nothing to do with the constitutional right of every law-abiding citizen to lawfully buy and own firearms.
...To his eternal disgrace, Sen. Norm Coleman voted every time as the National Rifle Association dictated, to defeat amendments and to pass this bill.
I disagree with Mark Dayton, author of the above, on one point. Smilin' Norm will disgrace himself far more deeply and memorably than for his lock-step support of the NRA.
Today's Republican party doesn't trust regular people. The people who sit on juries. Republicans don't want juries to decide how much having the wrong leg amputated damages a man or whether a gun dealer was negligent.
Juries have long been arbiters of common sense in this country. Juries aren't always right, of course, but they are the best solution we've found so far. I trust juries, and the regular folks sitting on them. Republicans -- Norm Coleman included -- don't give a damn what regular folks think when it might conflict with the agenda of the Republican donor class.
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Proud of his vote
Sen. Smilin' Norm Coleman (R-MN) is so proud of his CAFTA vote that he had to stay home and look for a chest to pin his "I HEART BUSH" medal on. He must have lost track of time, because he couldn't quite make it to the Farm Fest to discuss the next farm bill. 0 comments
Frist finds few friends
Frist faces feeding frenzy! Former friends follow fellow few far-right foes!
Nothing really that interesting here unless you like to watch the right eat its own. In this case, James Dobson, Lanier Swann (CWA), and William Donohue (Catholic League) dig into Frist for supporting stem cell research.
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Your 3WN guide to judicial activism
A lot has been, and will be, written about the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court. Here's a handy reference to keep by your bedside to understand the terms of the debate.- The court has a liberal agenda. Although there are 50 state courts, some with elected judges and some with appointed judges, plus a federal judiciary dominated by Republican appointees, American Courts are a monolithic bloc of egg headed atheists hell bent on destroying America.
- Activists judges are tyrants. Judges who defer to the will of the legislature usurp the democratic process and are tyrants. Judges should not make law, but they should refuse to enforce laws that we don't like.
- Judges are unaccountable. Judges who abuse their lifetime appointments by ruling according to their learned understanding of the law rather than deferring to the popular will of the people abuse their constitutional role. As James Dobson explains, "The people are not given a chance [to make laws] because an un-elected, unaccountable court -- appointed for life -- is making the decisions for them."
My point is just this -- words have lost all meaning in this debate. Dobson wants judges who will abide by the Constitution, but laments the Constitutionally mandated role for judges. The FRC calls a court "activist" for deferring to the California legislature. And, at bottom, the Religiously Correct see themselves as victims despite having firm control over all levers of government. It makes me worry about what would happen if the Religiously Correct understood how firmly in charge they are. What is it that they want that Tom DeLay, Bill Frist, and George Bush won't put into law?
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The staggering commitment to ignorance
When the entire weight of the scientific community is behind you, you don't need to make stuff up:The head of a pro-evolution think tank has issued a retraction for factual misstatements and false allegations she made in an article attacking a California man who wants the scientific weaknesses of Darwin's theory of evolution taught in public school science classes.
In her retraction, director Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) conceded that she wrongly accused Roseville attorney Larry Caldwell of submitting two books on young-Earth creation to the local school board for adoption -- one of which was published by the Jehovah's Witnesses. Scott also admits to erroneously claiming that a science expert found Caldwell to have "a gross misunderstanding of the nature of science."
WorldNetDaily summarizes the retraction thusly:
Scott's article claimed Caldwell attempted to get the district to adopt materials advocating biblical creationism, including a young-earth creationist book, "Refuting Evolution," by Jonathan Safarti; and the Jehovah's Witness book "Life: How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or Creation?"
Scott retracted that claim and also conceded her allegation that a science expert had said Caldwell had a "gross misunderstanding of science" was false. She also backed off on her contention that the Roseville board had passed a resolution "recommending" that "creationist" materials be used in science classes.
This is important, important stuff. You've got the President of the United States supporting Intelligent Design now. The nationwide campaign for ignorance is gaining steam. I don't think we can afford misstatements that allow creationists to confuse the issue and play the victim.
We are in step one of the Religiously Correct's ID plan: create the impression of controversy. Any controversy will do. Take this exchange from a Missouri hearing:
"The theory of evolution has stood the test of time," says Boldt, a freelance video producer from Jefferson City who says that real scientists long ago stopped scratching their heads over evolution. "It comes as close as any theory in the life sciences can to being an absolute law."
"It struck me as odd," Muschany observes, "given where we are and what we’re talking about, when you said there is no controversy."
"The controversy is definitely a social controversy," Boldt says.
"Well, what other kinds of controversies are there?" wonders the politician.
Exactly the point. Gin up the controversy. Stoke the fires to inflame the debate. Conflate evolutionary biology with Columbine and Hitler:
Sitting before the committee, Davis abstains from making scientific claims. Instead she turns the floor over to Ann Ihms, a chemistry teacher from Indiana, who gasps through her testimony without pause.
"Columbine. Despair. There’s trauma, there’s panic, there’s depression among our young people at levels that have never been before," Ihms says. "And part of that is the evolutionary teaching."
A few committee members fidget in the chairs. The evolutionists who have come to testify put palms to foreheads as Ihms continues.
"There are some reasons that evolution does lead to the conclusion that some human beings cleanse the gene pool -- Hitler’s ideas -- which is an evolutionary idea."
Read the whole article. The commitment to ignorance is staggering:
[Mo State Rep. Cynthia] Davis asks the committee to grant students academic freedom by delivering the best materials to future scientific Missourians, like the books they have in Ohio and Texas and Minnesota. They’re excellent textbooks, she says, that don’t treat evolution as dogma but examine it critically and introduce students to the controversy over origins.
Davis says she has never seen these textbooks, but she has heard that other states have these chapters in their books. They don’t.
Wait, it gets better:
At the time they crafted their bill, neither Davis nor co-sponsor Rep. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, knew who was responsible for monitoring textbook content in Missouri, although Davis imagined that the State Board of Education had some review process. It doesn’t....
Davis knows that now but says it’s not an obstacle. She’s confident that if her bill passes, local book buyers would strive to comply with the new state mandate, even if there were no penalty for noncompliance.
And, of course, the cherry on top:
Davis acknowledges that her books might not exist. In fact, they don’t, say her advisers, creationists and proponents of the theory of intelligent design.
Davis wants to pass a law mandating the adoption of textbooks that don't exist enforced by no one and with no penalties for noncompliance. It would be a joke, if it weren't so damn serious.
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What's done is done
Sen. Smilin' Norm Coleman (R-MN) on Bolton's recess appointment:Meanwhile, one of the most persistent critics of the UN, Senator Norm Coleman, who chairs a congressional inquiry into the oil-for-food programme, said last week that the controversy over Mr Bolton would soon become irrelevant.
The bottom line, he said, was that Bolton had the confidence of the president, and would be in the post until January 2007 at the earliest.
"He will speak for the president of the United States. He will speak for America."
Does it matter if Bolton is qualified? Does it matter if Bolton misused NSA intercepts? Does it matter if he contributed to a pre-war misinformation campaign? Does it matter if he has the requisite skills to perform his job? Does it matter if he's the best person to represent Minnesotans? No. He has the confidence of the president.
Bush, Bolton, Rove, Palmeiro. The new Mount Rushmore. Just give Smilin' Norm a chisel and a place to stand.
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Like 3WN?
Like 3WN? Sure, we all do. Why? Because we bring you important information on exciting purchasing opportunities! Like this:
At last, all of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strips that appeared in newspapers are available in a single, three-volume deluxe set. As the Official Calvin and Hobbes Web site, we're offering our loyal readers the chance to order books in advance, so you can be certain you'll get a copy.
Yours for $94.50. A great gift for your favorite blogger. Or family member. Whatever.
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Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Huffpo
Power Liberal captures a great reason to read the Huffington Post.
I'm still not a fan of the HP. I find it difficult to navigate. I'm less interested in topics than writers. Where's John Cusack's latest post? Larry David's? Is there an RSS feed for those?
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Niger
Nothing about Joe Wilson or Karl Rove, just a local effort to help suffering people in Niger.
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Ghost camps
I can't wait for Rush Limbaugh's next t-shirt: Camp Rabat. Oh, it's hilarious:
A former London schoolboy accused of being a dedicated al-Qaida terrorist has given the first full account of the interrogation and alleged torture endured by so-called ghost detainees held at secret prisons around the world.
For two and a half years US authorities moved Benyam Mohammed around a series of prisons in Pakistan, Morocco and Afghanistan, before he was sent to Guantánamo Bay in September last year.
...Mohammed alleges he was held at two prisons in Pakistan over three months, hung from leather straps, beaten, and threatened with a firearm by Pakistanis. In repeated questioning by men he believes were FBI agents, he was told he was to go to an Arab country because "the Pakistanis can't do exactly what we want them to".
...He says he was flown on what he believes was a US aircraft to Morocco, while shackled, blindfolded and wearing earphones. It was, he says, in a jail near Rabat that his real ordeal began. After a fortnight of questioning and intimidation, his captors tortured him with beatings and noise, on and off, for 18 months. He says his torturers used scalpels to make shallow, inch-long incisions on his chest and genitals.
...After 18 months, he says, he was flown to Afghanistan, escorted by masked US soldiers who were visibly shocked by his condition and took photos of his wounds.
During five months in a darkened cell in Kabul, he says he was kept chained, subjected to loud music, and questioned by Americans. Only after he was moved to Bagram air base was he shown to the Red Cross. Four months later he was flown to Guantánamo.
Who knows how much, if any, of his story is true. But from what we already know to be true, his story is certainly not far-fetched.
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Another foreign policy success story
It's impossible to blame the Bush administration for the collapse of talks with Iran. It's not constructive to point out that the Bush administration invaded Iraq because of a nuclear weapons program that did not exist. But with Shia control of nuclear Iran growing cozier by the minute with Shia controlled Iraq, it might be helpful to point out that pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq could easily hasten the nuclear program they went in to dismantle in the first place.
0 commentsIran threw down the gauntlet to the west yesterday, telling UN nuclear inspectors it was preparing to resume part of its uranium enrichment programme in breach of a pact with the EU. The enrichment programme could be used to arm nuclear warheads.
It was a high-risk move that could shatter two years of negotiations with the EU, trigger an emergency meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog in Vienna, and see Tehran referred for penalties to the UN security council. Iran delivered a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency saying UN seals at a uranium conversion plant near the town of Isfahan would be removed to start turning raw uranium into a gaseous form that can then be processed into nuclear fuel.
Free trade at work
Sure, we want free trade with the Dominican Republic! We're all about free trade...with tiny countries that can't hurt us economically. The big boys, now, they are a different matter:
Japan has hit back against the US in a spat over a controversial anti-dumping trade law and said it plans to raise import tariffs by 15% on 15 products.
The trigger for the move has been the US's Byrd Amendment, a law that hands out the money collected in anti-dumping levies to the industries most affected.
Japan, along with other nations, challenged the law and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) declared it illegal.
The European Union and Canada already have imposed retaliatory sanctions.
Republicans, see, are in favor of free trade, except when they are against it.
Yes, I know the Byrd Amendment. But Republicans control the government and have chosen to trumpet the virtues of free trade while letting the Byrd Amendment stand.
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Some days I love DirecTV
We've got the DirecTV at home, so we get the NFL channel, so I get to watch the Packers practice. Fun. For me. And, I get the new Current, Al Gore's "youth TV" channel. Here's the hook: the Current (TV) will broadcast user-created video:
Current's website will offer editing software and tutorials for viewers to post their videos on the site. A vote will pick the best ones to be shown on TV.
It's time to round up my 5th grade newspaper, B's Booth's Best Business, and enter the exciting world of amateur news video: all the subtlety of Oliver Stone mixed with the expertise of an ill-trained chimpanzee. I predict a car wreck fun to view from a safe distance.
...It'll be like a blog, but with moving pictures...
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Car prices
While Toyota is raising prices, GM and Ford are lowering their prices and reducing incentives to boost resale values. Someone's got to be pretty dumb for this to work. Either I'm too dumb to understand the plan, or the car buying public is too dumb to understand that if you lower prices while lowering incentives, the price of the car stays the same. If the price of the car stays the same, how does that affect resale value?
Still, at least Ford and GM aren't intentionally screwing their customers, as Best Buy appears willing to do.
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Football comes early
Party at Hammer's house: the NFL network is going to broadcast the Packer family night scrimmage against the Buffalo Bills on Friday night.
Hammer's opinion on this year's squad is starting to come around. Javon Walker showed up for day one of camp. Grady Jackson reported, too, though he hasn't been practicing. Bubba Franks will report, eventually, and will be in good shape. The Packers will miss Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle, but no more than they missed Adam Timmerman and Aaron Taylor. The Packers go through guards like Ahman Green goes through arm tackles.
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Worst story of the day
I'm pretty sure we're not going to see anything worse than this:
A fringe Kansas church that claims Americans soldiers deserve to die in Iraq because the church was the target of a bombing attempt plans to demonstrate at the funeral of a Moorhead soldier.
Sgt. Bryan Opskar was killed on July 23 when a roadside bomb exploded. A military spokesman says the 32-year-old Marine was conducting combat operations near Ar Rutbah, Iraq.
Here's my suggestion -- rather than blame the left because this is an anti-war protest, or blame the right because this is an anti-gay protest, let's blame the deranged asshole behind this mess. Here's their statement:
To most effectively cause America to know her abominations (Ez. 16:2), WBC will picket the funerals of these Godless, fag army American soldiers when their pieces return home. WBC will also picket their landing spot, in Dover, Delaware early and often.
"Godless, fag army American soldiers"...? I don't know what that means. Phelps and his zombie minions don't represent the left or the right -- but they do represent what both sides fear could be...
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Monday, August 01, 2005
So, are we screwed, or not?
I came across a couple interesting graphs from a recent Pew study. It was conducted back in December so maybe it has been making the rounds for a while but I have just seen it or the first time today. I'm never too surprised to find myself outside the mainstream, but man does this country have its head up its collective butt sometimes.
[Note: Pew breaks out Republicans, Independents, and Democrats into subcategories. The first three are Rs, the middle two Is and the last three Dems.]
On the other hand on the whole healthcare question looks ripe for the picking by Democrats if they would just find the courage to do so. (I kind of hope Capt. Liberty stops by today to see these results.)
So in answer to the "Are we screwed" question (we being me and my fellow liberals), it certainly looks that way on the Ten Commandments issue. (More than 3 to f'n 1!) Granted this is one of those things that may be a big philosophical issue but as a practical matter doesn't make a whole lot of difference one way or the other. I mean, does anyone really think that if we put up a couple thousand animatronic Moses' handing out stone tablets it would have even an ounce of effect? Other than making non-Christians and non-Jews uncomfortable?
The one that really surprises me is the evolution question tho. Holy crap, even liberals can't muster a majority to disapprove of something as backwards and embarrassing as creationism! Are the forces of superstition and mythology really that much more entrenched than the forces of reason and science? Sure looks that way.
Those government health insurance numbers are awfully reassuring tho--more than two to one in our favor. It is the one of the three that would have the most direct impact on people's lives and is a liberal issue writ large (we support it more than 10-1). It's not often that America backs us so strongly on one of OUR issues. Surely SOMEONE running for office in 2006 or 2008 is going to pick this one up, right? Right? Hillary, Wes, Howard, Amy, Patty? Someone?
Update: I should have included a link to the whole report (here it is) since there is a ton of interesting stuff in there and I have only brushed the surface in my post. I put the definition of Enterprisers in the comments since someone had asked about it but you can of course find the definitions for all the groups in the report. One interesting thing when looking at the different groups is that Liberals and Enterprisers are on opposite ends of the spectrum but at the same time both equally wealthy, with 41% of both groups having incomes over $75,000, and the best educated with 49% of Liberals and 45% of Enterprisers having college degrees. (Hmm, is there a connection there? And which way does it go?) But they are on the opposite ends when it comes to having children. Liberals being the group with the lowest percentage at 20% while Enterprisers have the highest percentage at 40%.
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Rapture Monday: Tancredo v. Fonda
The Rapture Index reached 151 this week, up 1 over last week. Spain's drought brings us closer to Armageddon, but Israel's withdrawal from Gaza pushes our reunion with Christ further away. Thankfully, the collapse of the Lebanese government carries the day. Thank you, Max Klinger.Here's the rest of the news the Religiously Correct believed this week:
- Congressman Tancredo suggested nuking Mecca. Jane Fonda wrote a book. Guess which will inflame Islamic fundamentalists more?
- The commercial success of the Passion of the Christ is inspiring Hollywood to make less commercial movies.
- Don't dance like that: it degrades the very essence of what makes human beings special.
- Somewhere a homosexual is teaching a child how to fly. And his parents don't even know.
- RightThink in action: a supreme court justice should faithfully follow the Constitution, unless it contradicts his faith.
- Don't read this book about autism. It's got some swears.
- There are now more stem cell bills than usable stem cell lines.
- Sponge Bob is back. And he's still too tolerant of gays.
Tancredo v. Fonda
Here's one news round up from Agape. See if you can spot any failed reasoning:...Some Muslims in Congressman Tom Tancredo's Colorado district say they are not satisfied with his partial apology for remarks about bombing Mecca and other Islamic holy sites. At a weekend rally in Denver, Nation of Islam minister Gerald Muhammad told several hundred protesters that Tancredo "needs to be removed from office." The congressman has been under fire since July 15, when he told a radio host that if Muslim terrorists attacked U.S. cities with nuclear bombs, "we could take out their holy sites." Tancredo's spokesman says the congressman told a Muslim group last Wednesday that he stood by his comments, but was sorry if anyone was offended. Republican Party chairman Ken Mehlman said Friday that the GOP welcomes Tancredo's contribution to the debate on controversial issues.
...Actress-activist Jane Fonda told a gathering at a recent book signing that she is "coming out" to voice publicly her opposition to the war in Iraq. However, one U.S. veteran believes Fonda will only succeed in giving America's terrorist enemies a great deal of propaganda when she takes a cross-country anti-war bus tour next spring. Air Force Colonel (Retired) Bud Day is a Medal of Honor winner who was held as a prisoner of war for more than five years during the Vietnam conflict. He thinks Fonda's bus tour is a stunt, not unlike her 1972 visit to North Vietnam, during which she was photographed on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun. That tour earned Fonda the nickname "Hanoi Jane" and the enmity of many U.S. soldiers and veterans, and now Day says the anti-war activist "is out looking for another publicity fix" in order to drum up support for "a low-quality book that she's out there trying to peddle." The retired Air Force officer suggests that Fonda should take her bus tour to Iraq because, he says, "I think people over there would be real interested in it. Al Jazeera, the Arab TV, will pick this up and that's all they'll hear for days and days is about this famous American woman that's over [there] protesting the war." But in the U.S., Day contends, the reception will be different. He says most Vietnam veterans despise Fonda to this day and will offer her the kind of feedback that once caused her to cut short a tour aimed at shutting down nuclear power plants. Fonda, he recalls, "started out on her 44-city tour, and she got blackballed at the third and the fourth place, which was Buffalo and finally San Francisco. And she lost her courage and never went to the other 40 cities because people were out there confronting her, calling her a traitor." Day says a lot of young Americans ended up "in a body bag because of Jane Fonda," and he believes her bus tour could have similar results. [Chad Groening]
A Congressman puts nuking Mecca on the table and Mehlman thanks him for adding to the conversation. Fonda wants to go on a bus tour and she's killing American soldiers. And the Religiously Correct agree with both?
No, seriously, I'm guessing Al Jazeera cares a heck of a lot more about Trancredo's suggestion than Fonda's book.
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Fun for the whole family
While decrying any use of profanity or depiction of sexuality, the AFA is four-square behind visceral depictions of horrific violence:One Hollywood insider says things in Tinseltown are changing, in part thanks to Mel Gibson's hit independent feature, The Passion of the Christ. Because of the doors opened by that Bible-based blockbuster, film festival founder Jason Apuzzo sees hope for the future of movies that will appeal to conservatives and others longing to see good, quality cinema entertainment.
...One of the upshots of Hollywood's analysis of the success of The Passion, the festival founder notes, is that studios are now soliciting and showing more respect for material aimed at both Christian and non-Christian audiences. And even of the latter sort of movies, he says, the studios are looking at films that are less formulaic, less profit-driven and contrived, as well as films that originate from producers like Gibson who have put a personal vision on the line.
...Apuzzo adds that he is also excited to see so many people in Tinseltown now looking to go beyond the Left-wing lifestyle propaganda messages that have been common in so many movies. He says he anticipates seeing some good movies emerging from Hollywood in the days to come.
Yes, thank God that the Hollywood left's tireless pursuit of profit has finally been replaced by the better angels of non-profit movie making. Or something like that.
Seriously, if you can make sense of this article, more power to you, but it seems to me that the profitable Passion is inspiring studios to make unprofitable movies...or something like that.
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Can't swing a dead cat without hitting a cliche
Good lord, how many writing cliches can a person deliver in one column? When it's not a person but Minnesota's Worst Writer the answer is quite a few. Or is it a passel? Or more than you can shake a stick at? In today's outing the K-beast does another masterful job of mucking up what would be, in the hands of the average high school journalism student, a rather innocuous puff piece. I make no comment on the substance of today's column but instead print a verbatim list of the cliches that some editor in the employ of a major daily newspaper let KK pass off as professional writing.
All that remains for KK is to claim he's happy to be there, hopes he can help the team, and takes things one day at a time. Then she can close up shop and go home and sleep like a log. The sleep of angels, of course. I've said it before and, sadly, I'll say it again, "She gets paid for this crap?"
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Every bit as funny as Kersten
The Strib is really drawing a bead on the dull-witted, humor-impaired demographic. The already have Minnesota's Worst Writer, but now they have added to their lineup Mallard Fillmore, the nation's worst comic strip. If you have never seen it, picture KK in comic strip form--it's unattractive and not funny. And just as KK takes warmed over right wing talking points and adds in the occasional Republican office holder she is trying to pimp, MF takes the warmed over platitudes that pass for wit on the right and adds in the occasional Democratic office holder as the object some blindingly obvious put down. Like Vegans desperately trying to form bean curds into something that looks a little like meat MF takes sophomoric conservative "irony" and tries to form it into something that sounds a little like humor. Conservatives should learn that, like economics, foreign policy, education, art and music, funny is best left to liberals. 8 comments
Real ownership society
Something tells me that the Bush administration would not consider this a bad result:
A lower future economic growth rate (as a result of slower labor supply growth) is likely to reduce corporate earnings, unless capital’s share of income rises continually. This could reduce the rate of return on equities.
The quote is from an CRS report discussing the likely returns of individual investment accounts in Social Security. The report concludes that a number of factors indicate that future equity return rates will be lower than the historical returns.
The analysis here focuses on how our total national income is distributed. In 2004, about 71% of the total national income went to workers, 23% went to the cost of land and corporate profits, the remainder went to interest. In order for Bush's Social Security scheme to work, then, corporate profits, as compared to wages, must increase. This will benefit everyone invested in the stock market, which is good, but will disproportionately benefit the mega-rich, a/k/a Bush's base, who have already received the lion's share of tax cuts and who continue to see their personal wealth spiral out of all relationship to the nominal condition of the American worker.
On another note altogether, this is my favorite conclusion:
While deficit-financed IAs would not change overall rates of return, it could change relative rates of return. The issuance of large additions to the public debt in order to purchase equities could alter the relative demand for those two assets, raising the rate of return on U.S. Treasuries and lowering the rate of return on equities.
According to this report, then, borrowing the money to fund the individual accounts would drive down the rate of return for the individual equity accounts and drive up the rate of return on treasury notes -- the traditional investment for Social Security funds.
It's impossible to forecast all the effects of Bush's radical plan to end Social Security, but all the warning bells are chiming. I just hope enough of America is paying attention.
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Smilin' Norm's ass handed to me
It pains me a bit to say this, because I consider Sen. Smilin' Norm Coleman (R-MN) to be my primary blog beat. But as the Phantom told Benjamin Horne on Twin Peaks: "Always tell the truth; and tell the hardest truth first". The truth is, CP handed Smilin' Norm's ass to me all weekend long. On stem cells, on CAFTA, and on a recess appointment for John Bolton.Who knew home improvements would cost me so much pride?
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Quick, Dirty & Late: Mean Girls
Here's a quick and dirty movie review. Despite being quick and dirty, this review of Mean Girls is, quite obviously, late.
The movie works as a high school comedy. There's a lunch room poll straight out of Heathers, a lunchroom map eerily reminiscent of Clueless, and bad mall jobs hearkening back to Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
There's even a plot device -- Lindsey Lohan joins the Plastics only to become one herself -- borrowed from Swing Kids (and every undercover agent movie ever filmed). It's neither surprise nor shame than Mean Girls is so derivative. It is, after all, a sex-free high school comedy. Thank goodness there's no pie fucking, public sex, or zealous shaving.
Mean Girls disappoints for two reasons. First, all the characters are redeemed at the end. I demand karmic retribution in my comedies, dammit! Second, and probably informing the first failure, Tina Fey shared a positive message which she earnestly believed in. This is almost always a mistake. Better to let your hopes and dreams slip through cracks in your well-hidden heart-shaped box than to construct your story around them.
Still, it's funny and enjoyable within the strict confines of its familiar formula.
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Sunday, July 31, 2005
Autumn Beer Review
Autumn Beer Review tickets go on sale tomorrow through Ticketworks. The beer tasting will be held October 8 at Peavey Plaza in Minneapolis. We went last year and had a blast. Learned about Viking Brewery in Dallas, Wisconsin, which produces a number of great beers, very few of which are available locally.
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