Bull Moose

New things to read are always fun.

I should be doing work right now. Why am I so lazy? Oh yeah, four hours of sleep. Sweet.

This is mildly nauseating to me:

"The panel, in that same ruling, struck down a single provision in the law requiring women to notify their husband's before they obtained an abortion. Alito dissented from that part of the decision.

Citing previous opinions of O'Connor, Alito wrote that an abortion regulation is unconstitutional only if it imposes an undue burden on a woman's access to the procedure. The spousal notification provision, he wrote, does not constitute such a burden and must therefore only meet the requirement that it be rationally related to some legitimate government purpose.

'Even assuming that the rational relationship test is more demanding in the present context than in most equal protection cases, that test is satisfied here,' he wrote.

'The Pennsylvania legislature could have rationally believed that some married women are initially inclined to obtain an abortion without their husbands' knowledge because of perceived problems -- such as economic constraints, future plans, or the husbands' previously expressed opposition -- that may be obviated by discussion prior to the abortion.

'In addition,' he wrote, 'the legislature could have reasonably concluded that Section 3209 [the spousal provision] would lead to such discussion and thereby properly further a husband's interests in the fetus in a sufficient percentage of the affected cases to justify enactment of this measure. . . . The Pennsylvania legislature presumably decided that the law on balance would be beneficial. We have no authority to overrule that legislative judgment even if we deem it 'unwise' or worse. '"

Or more than mildly nauseating.

Bush Selects Alito for Supreme Court (WP)

Good stuff...

Reflections on this period of DCeption - Wonkette

This is a transcript of a public conversation between Scott Ritter, former UN weapons inspector, and Seymour Hersh. Pretty interesting background on Iraq, and Ritter argues that we need to look beyond the Bush administration, back to Clinton, back to the first Bush administration to uncover the totality of the situation. Lots of interesting stuff here I'd never been aware of it. And lots of brutally honest finger pointing:

"Congress has abrogated its responsibilities under the Constitution, and they've abrogated it for years. Then there's the media, and, yes, we can turn this into a media-bashing event. But you know what? The media only feeds the American people the poison they're willing to swallow. And we the people of the United States of America seem to want our news in no more than three-minute chunks with sound bites of thirty seconds or less, and it can't be too complicated. So what we did is allowed ourselves during the decade of the 1990s to be pre-programmed into accepting at face value without question anything that was negative about Saddam Hussein's regime, and this made selling the war on Iraq on the basis of a lie the easiest task ever faced by the Bush Administration."

Scott Ritter and Seymour Hersh: Iraq Confidential (The Nation)

I just started a mailing list for Boston indie-type musical stuffs. Wanna join? Send an email to

bostonindiepop-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Sweet.

Zombie Infection Simulation

Ok, this thing is weirdly entertaining. I can't figure out why.

Someone on the indiepop list just posted the last 20 songs played on his iPod, in the midst of a conversation about musical diversity. I love stuff like this, but can't imagine everyone in the i-pop list would really be interested in knowing the last 20 songs I listened to. But here, I can do whatever I want, and not have to worry about bothering anyone (largely because no one reads this). So here ya go, the last 20 pieces of musical goodness that have floated through my machine and into my head:

20. Here Comes Your Man, Pixies
19. (I Want You) More Than Ever, The Clientele
18. No. 13 baby, Pixies
17. Good Man, Archer Prewitt
16. Amphibian, Bjork
15. What a Day That Was, Talking Heads
14. Who Named the Days, Arab Strap
13. I Was Meant for the Stage, The Decemberists
12. No Name No. 5, Elliott Smith
11. I Want to Vanish, Elvis Costello
10. The Stars of Track and Field, Belle & Sebastian
9. Suzanne, Leonard Cohen
8. Two-headed Boy, Neutral Milk Hotel
7. Everything Hits at Once, Spoon
6. Punchbag, Punchbag
5. The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders, Sufjan Stevens
4. Breaking Lines, The Pastels
3. Sleepwalking, Modest Mouse
2. HWY A, The Rock*A*Teens
1. Man Out of Time, Elvis Costello

You'd be amazed how many people are interested in separating interests with commas. At least on Friendster. It's apparently quite the kick these days. I thought finding people who were similarly interested in commas and semicolons might be curious, but alas, all these people are instead into this weird new trend. It's almost...cultlike.

"'It is clear that Senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House -- disclosures that would undermine a President's ability to receive candid counsel," says President Bush.

No, it is clear that Senators would not be satisfied until someone qualified was nominated.

And now the speculation can begin anew. Who will it be this time?

Harriet Miers Withdraws Nomination

More nefariousness from my favorite company.

Wal-Mart Memo Suggests Ways to Cut Employee Benefit Costs - New York Times

Flowery prose alert! Flowery prose alert! Gross, dude:

"For thousands of years, something in the eternally lustrous metal has driven people to the outer edges of desire - to have it and hoard it, to kill or conquer for it, to possess it like a lover."

Behind Gold's Glitter: Torn Lands and Pointed Questions (NYTimes)

"Mehlman, who was White House political director before becoming chairman of the Republican National Committee, has been a key adviser, although some colleagues worry that bringing in the party chief [to replace Rove as deputy chief of staff] might send too political a message."

Right. Because Rove's not a stauchly Republican, party-oriented political figure at all. Who comes up with this crap?

A Palpable Silence at the White House (WP)

"Meanwhile, several constitutional law scholars said they were surprised and puzzled by Miers's response to the committee's request for information on cases she has handled dealing with constitutional issues. In describing one matter on the Dallas City Council, Miers referred to 'the proportional representation requirement of the Equal Protection Clause' as it relates to the Voting Rights Act.
'There is no proportional representation requirement in the Equal Protection Clause,' said Cass R. Sunstein, a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago. He and several other scholars said it appeared that Miers was confusing proportional representation -- which typically deals with ethnic groups having members on elected bodies -- with the one-man, one-vote Supreme Court ruling that requires, for example, legislative districts to have equal populations."

Um, can we say totally unqualified? I am increasibly baffled by this nomination. Stop making such a big deal about how she feels about abortion and start making a big deal about her incompetence.

Senators Assail Miers's Replies, Ask for Details (WP)

I still can't for the life of me figure out why this woman could be considered qualified for the Supreme Court. Anyone? Anyone?

Miers Once Vowed to Support Ban on Abortion

Thought-provoking bit of wisdom of the day:

“If I express a feeling with a word, let us say, if I say “I love you,” the word is meant to be an indication of the reality which exists within myself, the power of my loving. The word “love” is meant to be a symbol of the fact of love, but as soon as it is spoken it tends to assume a life of its own, it becomes a reality. I am under the illusion that the saying of the word is the equivalent of the experience, and soon I say the word and feel nothing, except the thought of love which the word expresses. The alienation of language shows the whole complexity of alienation. Language is one of the most precious human achievements; to avoid alienation by not speaking would be fooling—yet one must be always aware of the danger of the spoken word, that it threatens to substitute itself for the living experience.” - Erich Fromm, Marx’s Concept of Man

I love my job. Yeah.......

A Deep Dedication to the President, and to Her Work: "David Frum, a conservative commentator and former White House staffer, wrote on his blog that Miers once told him the president was the most brilliant man she knows. "

Immediate disqualification for bad judgment and stupidity?

An interesting analysis of the Miers choice:

Supreme Court Choice Shows Bush Is Not Spoiling for a Fight - New York Times

" DeLay must avoid appearing to be continuing to run the House from the sidelines, lest the rule requiring that he step aside would appear to be a sham."

I like the double speak here. It's not that DeLay has to avoid running the House from the sidelines. It's that he has to avoid appearing to be running the House from the sidelines. Very important.

DeLay Faces Tough Road Back to Top (WP)

Does this make anyone else cringe? Red flags going up? Something not quite right here?

"As majority whip, Blunt, even more than DeLay before him, has created a formal alliance with K Street lobbyists, empowering corporate representatives and trade association executives to assist the House leadership in counting votes and negotiating amendments to bring holdouts into the fold."

Attempt to Pick Successor Is Foiled (WP)

'Casting itself as a living memorial along the lines of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the planned Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum, the [Internation Freedom] center pledged that its board would ensure that it hew to a mission of including the "heroes of Sept. 11" in its accounts of the history of freedom, sponsoring educational and cultural programs "to advance freedom's cause," and offering visitors opportunities to volunteer "on behalf of freedom within their own communities."'

What the hell does that even mean?

Freedom Museum Is Headed for Showdown at Ground Zero - New York Times

Ananova - Artists erect giant pink bunny on mountain

Ok, this is simultaneously freakish and totally awesome. What is it made of, I wonder? How easy will it be to climb? Will it really last for 20 years? Will people really want to look at it for 20 years? And can I see it when I go to Europe in the spring?

Any brilliant ideas for rival giant toys constructed on a mountainside in America somewhere?

"'And so, therefore, we're cautious about encouraging people to return at this moment of history,'[Bush] said."

What the hell kind of a sentence is that?


Bush Cites Concern as Residents Trickle Into New Orleans - New York Times

Yay! I love living in Massachusetts.

(Wow, did I just say that?)

Massachusetts Lawmakers Reject Bid to Stop Same-Sex Marriages

Here's hoping that, as the two major parties prove themselves to be mired in political corruption and completely disconnnected from, oh, reality, independent candidates start becoming more and more frequently elected to office.

Or maybe that's only in MY fantasy world.

Independent Announces Run for Senate in Md.

"Attitudes toward Bush and the government's overall response to Hurricane Katrina fracture along clear racial lines. Nearly three in four whites doubted the federal government would have responded more quickly to those trapped in New Orleans if they had been wealthier and white rather than poorer and black, the poll found. But an equal share of blacks disagreed, saying help would have come sooner if the victims had been more affluent whites.
More than six in 10 blacks -- 63 percent -- said the problems with the hurricane relief effort are an indication of continuing racial inequity in this country, a view rejected by more than seven in 10 whites, according to the poll."

The problem is that they're not asking the right questions. It's not that FEMA, or Bush, decided not to go in and begin rescue operations earlier because the majority of those trapped were black and poor. The problem is that the majority of those trapped were black and poor. Racism in America is rarely anymore a conscious decision on the part of an individual, or even an institution. It's revealed in the structural inequalities that are the foundation of our economic system.

To say that help would have come sooner if the victims had been more affluent whites to miss the point that the victims won't be more affluent whites. Not in a situation like this.

(And as an aside, which I perhaps don't really want to get into, but I think it's interesting that we're more willing, generally as Americans, to point the finger toward perceived racism than classism. I think Bush hates poor people more than he hates black people, and poverty is something we're never comfortable or willing to really address, legislatively or socially. But the race/class relationship is something for another time, maybe.)

Bush's Approval Rating Drops To New Low in Wake of Storm (WP)

Now we can see what happens when you are of the mindset that the federal government should be drowned in the bathtub.

CJR Daily: Unraveling the Mess at FEMA

Inadvertent cable news funniness. I heart this.

Too Good To Check - Wonkette

God, please let the shit be hitting the fan for the Bush administration. Please.

Leaders Lacking Disaster Experience

"'Marriage should be between a man and a woman, end of story. Next issue,' insisted Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy (R-Monrovia). 'It's not about civil rights or personal rights, it's about acceptance. They want to be accepted as normal. They are not normal.'"

It boggles me that there are still people, and people in power, who think ths way. I want to write a letter to all the California legislators who voted in favor of this bill, to thank them for being sane.

California Legislature Approves Gay Marriage (WP)

Argh! Mad scariness! I thought the Enlightenment took care of these freaks.

News from Agape Press

Oh man, I really wish I could have seen the press briefing/conference/photo op of Georgie W. in the airplane hangar in Mobile that was apparently just on. Priceless. I hope he and all his evil little neo-con friends go down in flames, and now.

Whoa! This is called a libertarian/right-wing ideology gone horribly awry.

"Americans' hearts go out to the people in Katrina's path. But if the people of
New Orleans and other low-lying areas insist upon living in harm's way, they
ought to accept responsibility for what happens to them and their property."

Inside Politics?-?Nation/Politics?-?insider.washingtontimes.com

Er, wow. I do love that Rob Crow.

Pitchfork: Daily Music News - Goblin Cock

"Consumers angered over soaring gas prices made 5,800 calls yesterday to the Energy Department's price-gouging hotline. Motorists' ire was evident in an AP-Ipsos poll released yesterday showing that Americans want Bush and Congress to make the high fuel prices a top domestic priority."

Wow, this really is a country of selfish assholes.

Gas Supplies Tight; Bush Asks Drivers to Conserve (WP)

"Don't buy gas if you don't need it"??? Because most people are definitely in the habit of filling up on the gas, just for fun. Just to have some extra around, you know.

What a moron.

Senate Approves $10.5B in Hurricane Aid

Excellent. Very super excellent. The lack of candid discussions about race and class in our contemporary media is a constant source of contention and cause for protest and angry letter-writing in my world, so I'm always happy to hear someone else say it, too.

Lost in the Flood - Why no mention of race or class in TV's Katrina coverage? By Jack?Shafer

Ok, maybe this makes me an insensitive ass (as though that's a surprise), and I don't often disagree with things I read on CJR Daily, but I do disagree with this:

"...making fun of people driven out of their homes and huddled in a sports stadium with no running water is never acceptable... "

Maybe making fun of people driven out of their homes makes you a dick, but everyone has a right to be a dick. I gringe when I hear the words "unacceptable." It immediately triggers my "Oh yeah, says who?" rebellious teenager anarchist side.

I thought Johan Goldberg's Waterworld joke was funny.

Wow, I really AM an insensitive ass.

CJR Daily: All New Orleans All The Time

One less rational person in government. Awesome. Of course, not everyone agrees:

"Wendy Wright, policy director for Concerned Women for America and a critic of easier access to Plan B, welcomed Wood's resignation.
'Thank goodness there is now one less political activist at the FDA who puts radical feminist ideology above women's health,' she wrote in a statement. 'Now that Susan Wood has some free time on her hands, she can look at the studies from countries that have made the morning-after pill available without a prescription. She'll find it creates a public health hazard, with no decrease in pregnancies, no decrease in abortion, but a substantial increase in sexually transmitted diseases.'"

Not only is this not true, it's not even logical. I've read many studies of emergency contraception, and never once have I seen anything to back up Wnedy Wright's argument. Again, I'm at a loss for words.

FDA Official Quits Over Delay on Plan B (WP)

I need to stop reading the news. Every single headline pains me, and makes me fear for my future.

What? Come again? Am I losing my mind?

Conservative Author Is Seeing Red in America (WP)

I watched Bush's Brain last night--another one of those documentaries that I assume won't teach me anything I don't already know, but it turns out I'm not as smart as I think.

Anyway, it's highly worth watching, although probably more chilling than it really needs to be. They definitely play up the "evil mastermind" aspect of Rove...but hey, maybe that's not that far off. He does creep me out.

And causes huge internal debates in my brain: Would I rather he were on our side, or are his nefarious ways so despicable that it's better to walk the moral high road, or something? Hmmm. I really can't decide on that one.

The most frustrating part: the movie concludes on a kind of "karma will get him" note. Which just underscores the way a lot of liberals seem to be thinking in these dark, dark times: they'll get theirs, this can't go on forever, people will come around eventually, yadda blah stuff.

Tonight, I'm watching a much more innocuous movie.

Oy.

The Globe and Mail: Journalist death toll exceeds Vietnam

Awesome. I love starting my day with good news.

Access to Abortion Pared at State Level (WP)

This is the scariest part:

Three states have passed bills requiring that women seeking an abortion be
warned that the fetus will feel pain, despite inconclusive scientific data on
the question. West Virginia and Florida approved legislation recognizing a
pre-viable fetus, or embryo, as an independent victim of homicide.

"Questioned about the Sheehan protest, White House officials invoked words Bush used after Sept. 11 to stress the importance of current overseas operations.
'On September 14, 2001, [the president] stood at the National Cathedral and told all of America that this was going to be a very long and difficult war, and that there were going to be some very trying moments, but that because of what happened on 9/11, that we had to view the world in a different way,' White House spokesman Trent Duffy said.
He added that the Sept. 11 commission had concluded that the nation cannot take any steps backward in its anti-terrorism efforts without risking the terrorists coming '50 steps closer to our own shores.' This echoes Bush's words earlier this week, in which he said any withdrawal from Iraq would 'embolden' terrorists."

Gargh!!!! I don't even know what to say. I've lost words. All language has become meaningless. You cannot logically argue with a side that refuses to answer to logic, or even to acknowledge reality. It hurts my brain.

Standoff Continues in Crawford

Yup, it's still amusing me.

WIGU: A COMIC ON THE INTER NET

Good god am I bored. Is it time to go home yet?

And more. Heh. Heh heh.

WIGU: A COMIC ON THE INTER NET

This rocks. I am laughing at my desk. Yes, this is what I do at work.

WIGU: A COMIC ON THE INTER NET

Awesome. I may have finally found something I can have faith in.

Open Letter

Why are we such bullies? I don't want to be part of the bully country. I love it: "Well, I don't care that the rest of the world would like to focus on international poverty reduction; we want free markets! And no Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty!"

And we always get what we want.

U.S. Wants Changes In U.N. Agreement (WP)

Oh, and? If you pre-order the soon-to-be released Death Cab record "Plans" from amazon, you can listen to the whole thing digitally now. And it rocks.

Amazon.com: Music: Plans

Aside from the fact that they're taking this news brief from Rollingstone.com, which seems a strange journalistic tactic, at the very least, whoohoo! New B & S album! And something to make me sad, only because I can't go to London on September 25:

"Rolling Stone also notes that Belle and Sebastian will be touring the U.S. next spring. For now, your only chance to see Stuart Murdoch shake his lil tush on the catwalk Stateside will be at the Across the Narrows festival in New York City in October. Or you can trek to London on September 25 to see the band perform their classic If You’re Feeling Sinister in its entirety as part of All Tomorrow’s Parties’ “Don’t Look Back” series. Or you can sit in your room and weep into your diary until the flowers bloom again."

One of my favorite albums. In it's entirety. Performed live. Le sigh.

Belle & Sebastian news (Pitchfork)

Why are we regressing back to 1952?

A Perilous Journey From Delivery Room to Bedroom - New York Times

Drawn to reading this article by the promise that it revealed HST's not-so-nice side, I was ultimately disappointed by the kind of "uncovering" Ambrose takes. These paragraphs in particular kind of pissed me off:

The fact is they [drugs and alcohol] did not work for him. The drugs and alcohol - an immovable, prominent fixture in his social philosophy and life - appear to have ruined him. His writing lost its verve; sometimes, in the later years, it seemed little more than the work of someone stumbling toward being average. His health deteriorated. I can't know how happy his life was, but some press reports indicate a miserable, unholy shambles at times.

The way he finally ended that life - sticking a .45-caliber handgun in his mouth and pulling the trigger while his wife was on the phone with him and his son and grandson were close by in the same house - bespeaks a horrifying moral degradation.

All Ambrose is doing is showing his own opinions on what constitutes good writing, a good life, and moral certitude. That HST's writing might have "lost its verve" is a highly subjective statement. And Thompson's choice of a way to die doesn't inherently show any moral degradation: one could look at it as dignified, courageous. I'm not necessarily saying that I look at it that way, or that I'm familiar enough with HST's later work to say whether it had "verve." I just want to point out that what touts itself as an examination of Thompson's life doesn't really reveal anything by Ambrose's own thoughts about Thompson's life. There isn't anything objective, or compelling, about it.

The Cincinnati Post - The dark side of gonzo

This picture is awesome. Apparently, this veteran wore his specially-designed ear flaps during one of Bush's "Rally the Heartland and Defend the War" speeches this week.

I think I should get a set to wear around the office. I mean, what? Did I say that?

Holy buddha. Really? Yes, really.

Amazon.com: Books: Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed

I find it more disturbing that this program is receiving federal funding at all than that it has a religious component. On what grounds did "Silver Ring Thing" get a grant? To do what? Do I really live in a country where the Department of Health and Human Services considers this a valid way to deal with reproductive health issues?


Federal Funds For Abstinence Group Withheld (WP)

More proof that the trickle-down theory is nothing but a fanciful dream of the neo-cons. Actually, I'm sure they know it's crap, they just like to talk pretty to get the votes. Higher corporate profits do not equal better living for all.

Why a booming economy feels flat | csmonitor.com

What a smarmy, snarky jerk face. Now I'm even more appalled at the lack of real resistance to this guy. I wish that this information was enough to deny this man confirmation, but unfortunately, that doesn't seem likely to be the case.

Roberts Resisted Women's Rights (WP)

I think I just like her description of Bill O'Reilly as "bitter semi-employed dad."

Wonkette - Autumn of the Patriarchs

Why are these people crazy? Justice Sunday?

Conservatives Rally for Justices (WP)

Weird...Santa Cruz? At the Boardwalk? (I like the pseudo-plug for the place in the middle of the paragraph.)

The fact that he was in Scotts Valley the next day is even weirder.

"I spotted AG Alberto Gonzalez on 7/22 at the Santa Cruz CA. Beach Boardwalk with his family and the requsite security following 20 paces behind. It was right after Roberts was nominated to the Supreme Court -- I guess the AG realized that this would be a good time to get out of DC for a vacation. The Santa Cruz Boardwalk has been in business for about 100 years and has rides like Double Shot, Climb 'n Conquer, Fright Walk, and the Giant Dipper. I was sure it was the AG, and on Sunday 7/24 I confirmed it when he appeared from a remote in Scott's Valley, CA on the Sunday morning talk shows."

Wonkette - Wonk'd: Jenna Has Better Taste in Music Than You

Simulataneously funny, and very, very sad. But mostly funny.

Andy Dick as political speechwriter/advisor to Bushie

I am suddenly thinking about "Oryx & Crake," and the totally bio-engineered world Atwood created in that novel. Step one?

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | When meat is not murder

Yup, they're serious. I hope no one shows up.

DefenseLINK News: 'Freedom Walk' to Commemorate 9/11, Celebrate Freedom

Ok, this is starting to get weird. Perhaps god really does it out for the Boy Scouts? Maybe we really should take this as a sign...but of what? Boys shouldn't go camping in strange uniforms? Knot-tying is one of the dark arts?

Girl, 8, Killed by Tree at Boy Scout Camp - Yahoo! News

Every now and then I'm reminded that I really am a computer geek at heart. I'm in an HTML training course today, and I'm all nerdy and excited and already thinking about going home and designing more pages for this site and...and then I remember that I always get really excited about coding, but it never really goes anywhere.

That's because I like to be very good at everything I do, all the time. That's why I enjoy drinking beer so much--I rock at that. If I don't know everything there is to know about web design (which I don't) I feel like I should wait until I do know everything there is to know. Not exactly a practical goal.

In my quest to fill my life with more interesting activities, however, I'm going to make a concerted effort to allow myself to be imperfect. At least until I become perfect. I suppose it's never too late to learn perserverance. Or something.

Oh, and read this, too. "The Lorax" as an argument for stronger property rights? Interesting...

This is what I love most about literary interpretation. Anyone who says they're "over analysis" is obviously missing the point.

The Commons Blog: The Lorax Revisited

I love these kinds of interviews: rambling, in-depth, and conducted in a written, rather than spoken, medium. Oh, and I love the Silver Jews.

Silver Jews: Pitchfork Interview

I think today is the day my ipod decided I needed to hear nothing but really, really sad songs I haven't heard in a million years. I obviously needed to hear some songs from Beck's "Sea Change" (arguably the saddest record ever recorded), followed by a little Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (whose "Ease Down the Road" is a strong contender for that title). And toss in some Cat Power while you're at it! Just to mix it up, maybe some Pinback--still depressing as all hell, but a little more rockin. I forgot I had such a vast collection of sad bastard music.

I guess that's a good sign--it's been such a long time since I've wanted to listen to all my sad bastard music, I forgot I had it!

Wow. Second to last paragraph: did I actually write that? Did I actually love Boston once? I do recall that subway ride home from the aeroport, and feeling an overwhelming sense of adoration for this city.

I certainly don't feel that anymore. ESPECIALLY not when I'm on the subway.

The Smarmy Alligator

It's always interesting to discover that something you didn't think was a big deal has probably actually been pissing you off for a long time. I usually discover these things around 2 am, after 72 beers. I usually discover them when I've just made angry phone calls to poor, unsuspecting friends.

I think telephones should have breathalyzers, and should be rendered useless if you register a BAC of some high, high number. This should apply to text messaging as well. Doubly so, because there, you're also risking some nasty spelling errors.

Grrrr.

"A toothless, under-funded shell with inadequate support from President Bush." Does that surprise anyone? I think it's always been clear that civil liberties aren't Bushies biggest concern.

Civil Liberties Panel Is Off to a Sluggish Start

I've recently found myself in a strange predicament. I suppose it's not really a predicament, more like a situation. For lack of a better word. A technology-related conundrum. I've been seeing someone for a very short time, but I generally like him, more than I like most people I date. And seeing as he's a technologically adept and socially connected person, of course he has an internet presence. (The whole notion of our various internet presences is weird, in and of itself, but a topic for another time perhaps.) He has a myspace presence, to be precise.

I have no problem perusing the profiles and comments and blogs of random strangers. I have no problem perusing the online ramblings of my friends. But for some reason, I feel remarkably uncomfortable reading the online ramblings of this guy. I feel like a stalker, like I might be mistaken for an obsessive girlfriend.

Maybe I'm worried that I'll find something that makes me like him less. Maybe I'm worried I'll find something that makes me like him more, but it will be weird, because it won't be something he shared with me, it will be something I discovered in a detached world of 1's and 0's.

It makes me think of something I talked about with my mom when she was out here visiting. My little brother has a myspace profile, and my mom likes to check it out occasionally, to keep tabs and check up and all that normal mother stuff. She claims that she has free reign to do this, because he's put this up in a public space, and created this internet self that anyone can see. And while I see her point, I argued that myspace was not an internet space she could reasonably be expected to inhabit, and never would were it not for my little brother; therefore, I think she should leave it alone and give him that private space.

While I am a person who could reasonably be expected to be on myspace, I still feel the same way about this. It feels invasive. It feels like stalking or something. Friends have made the same argument my mom did about this: it's out there, and public, and so totally free game, and don't I ever google the people I meet? I guess I'm still just not sure how to negotiate the space between our real presences and our internet presences. And if I like the real presence enough, I think I'd rather just leave the internet presence alone.

Read The Imperial Presidency by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. for some cool background information about the history of executive power and privilege. Peter Baker's article this morning in the WP offers an interesting look at how the Dubya administration is further changing the limits and definitions of presidential power, but Schlesinger's book reveals that all of this is nothing new, and that the pendulum probably will swing back. Hopefully soon.

Privilege at Stake With Nominees

Curiouser and curiouser. I can't decide if I think this is awesome, or frightening, in a sick kind of culture overload way.

How the West Was Wonked (Washington Post)

Yeah, this Roberts character is icky. But he'll be confirmed, and honestly, I can't really see how he could not be. I don't think it's acceptable to deny confirmation simply because one's interpretation of the law happens to be repellant to you.

Bolton, on the other hand, should not be holding the office to which he was appointment, in a sneaky behind-the-back maneouvering kind of way. He is distinctly unqualified for it, in ways that go beyond differences of opinion. Double icky.

A Charter Member of Reagan Vanguard (Washington Post)

And only because I haven't done this in awhile, and summer and long weekends need some unadulterated optimism:

Things I love right now

CJR Daily, barbecue and jello salad, red sandals, Davis Square, old dresses from the 1950s, red ales, the Washington Post, Robert Penn Warren, the West Wing, floating holidays, Newbury Comics, Shatner-style karaoke, getting my driver's license soon so I can take weekend trips out of Boston, re-watching old movies (it's like comfort food, only on film), hamburgers on the broiler, creamsicles, really hot days when you can't do anything but lay on the couch in a slip with your eyes closed, kisses, walking down the street in the sunshine listening to Badly Drawn Boy for the first time in years, summer thunderstorms, being lazy, the knowledge that I don't have to come to work for five whole days.

Happy summer.

Wow, what a shocker. "Bush administration once again distorts facts for political gain."

This is my favorite part:
The definition used for measuring support, he said, had broadened to the point that even assistance as trivial as editing a government health official's speeches could allow the Bush program to say it had supported treatment for everyone receiving antiretrovirals from that nation's public health system.

Read about it here. Or don't. Because it doesn't seem to matter how many news articles reveal Bush doublespeak, no one seems to get it anyway.

"...more than two-in-five voters (42%) say they would favor impeachment proceedings if it is found the President misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq."

Um. But. We already found that the President misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq. Did everyone forget that?

(Read the poll results here.)

I watched Garden State last night. I heard a lot of lackluster reviews, so I wasn't expecting much, and maybe that's why I was pleasantly surprised. It did have a pretty cheesy ending, and it certainly is nega-uplifting. But I liked it. I liked most of it (yeah, the ending is really cheesy). It was stylistically appealing, and of course, the music's hot, and it was full of unexpected moments and twists. I thought it was kind of awesome. Mostly, until the really cheesy end.

Of course, it didn't do much for my already morose mood. But I thought it was definitely worth seeing, and many people told me it wasn't really. And that's a bonus.

Reaffirmed: I don't like Natalie Portman so much.

Every now and then I'll read something that reminds me that there are still some ass backwards parts of the world. Like this story.

What, are people still trepanning to release the evil spirits, too? It's strange to think about how mental illness has been dealt with through history. Maybe someday people will look back and feel just as appalled at our just-keep-drugging-them methods...

Wow. Talk about revisionist historicism:

Can anyone even remember now what Nixon did that was so terrible? He ended
the war in Vietnam, brought home the POW's, ended the war in the Mideast, opened
relations with China, started the first nuclear weapons reduction treaty, saved
Eretz Israel's life, started the Environmental Protection Administration. Does
anyone remember what he did that was bad?

Oh, now I remember. He lied. He was a politician who lied. How remarkable.
He lied to protect his subordinates who were covering up a ridiculous burglary
that no one to this date has any clue about its purpose. He lied so he could
stay in office and keep his agenda of peace going. That was his crime. He was a
peacemaker and he wanted to make a world where there was a generation of peace.
And he succeeded.

It gets better. He eventually accuses Woodward and Felt of genocide. And of course, he brings up Clinton, the neo-cons biggest bogeyman.

I don't understand how people can have such wholly different understandings of history and politics and basic events. And such wholly different ideas about what constitutes a decent human being.

What did Nixon do? He was a politician who lied, in order to further solidify and concentrate his own power, who did everything in his power to make the work of the White House opaque. He was a paranoid megalomaniac who broke the law to further his own power-hunger. Peacemaker my ass.

Deep Throat and Genocide (The American Spectator)

I thought all the "activist judges" were crazy liberals.

Judge: Parents Can't Teach Pagan Beliefs (Indianapolis Star).

Protecting our freedoms and keeping the world safe for democracy.

?Threatening? T-shirt barred from TCC - Tucson Citizen

I should start keeping a log of all the times members of Congress, the Cabinet, and State legislatures call on God for help in making important political decisions. Here's the most recent, from Senator Voinovich:

"After hours of deliberation, telephone calls, personal conversations, reading
hundreds of pages of transcripts, and asking for guidance from Above, I have
come to the determination that the United States can do better than John
Bolton," Voinovich said.

Interestingly, despite God's and his friends' advice that Bolton might not be the best ambassador, he's decided to go ahead and give his tepid approval, allowing the vote to go to the Senate.

These people make my brain hurt.

Voinovich to Vote for 'Bullying' Bolton (Yahoo! news)

Setting aside my mind sense of distress at the fact of the 54th annual National Day of Prayer on Capital Hill, this is just too much for me. Tom DeLay, embattled Republican representative, gave a speech denouncing the sin of pride.

"Just think of what we could accomplish if we checked our pride at the door, if
collectively we all spent less time taking credit and more time deserving it,"
DeLay told the 54th annual National Day of Prayer gathering on Capitol Hill. "If
we spent less time ducking responsibility and more time welcoming it. If we
spent less time on our soapboxes and more time on our knees."

Ahh, such warm words from the King of Taking Responsibility.

Greater contradictions follow: "No matter what your faith, no matter what your political persuasion, your prayers for our increased humility, for our ever-humbler service to God and neighbor are needed and wanted."

Er.

I don't care if he spends the rest of his life on his knees, as long as he does it where he can't hurt anyone. Can this speech be considered his swan song? Can he just stop already? Blech.

Man, Washingtonian speech is getting trickier everyday. I love the subtlety of statments like this:

Asked if Bolton was a good choice [as ambassador to the United Nations],
Armitage replied, "It was the president's choice and I support my president."

Way to answer the question, Dick.

Bad news bears. The House Appropriations allocations aren't looking so hot. The biggest cut: I'll let you guess. Ready? Did you guess the EPA, Health and Human Services, and Education? Good job! Federal land conservation? Cut. Safe and drug-free schools programs? Cut. Energy and water programs? Cut (good thing we're trying to lessen our oil dependency). Community development block grants? Yeah, who needs those?

What I bet you didn't guess: "Among the winners are Congress itself, which would receive a 4.9 percent increase" (from the WashingtonPost).

Awesome.

You can see a break down of the allocations here, and read about it from the Washington Post here.

So, I've revived my page just in time for me to have absolutely no time to write anything on it at all. Another example of my excellent foresight. Would that I had time to really read the news these days; as it is, I just read Wonkette and pretend I'm well informed.

But if you have a question about postcolonial literary theory, I'm all over that. I can explain to you the minute workings of imperialism in E.M. Forster's novels, and maybe even throw in some stuff about Joseph Conrad, just for kicks.

Of course, I can't tell you anything about Merchant of Venice, which is problem considering I'm going to have to tell a class full of people, including my professor, something about it in a few days. Wheee!

Only five more days before this school debacle is over, and I can say it's officially summer. Ok, it would be officially summer if the temperature would just stay over 60. Boston sux.

Screw you freepin idiots. Screw all of you morons who voted for Dubya and only NOW start complaining about how he doesn't represent you, and you don't agree with his ideas for Social Security and tax cuts and Iraq. Fuck all y'all. Fuck you and your low approval ratings. Fuck you and your uncertainty about private accounts. Fuck you.

If you'd paid the least little BIT of attention to politics, as you SHOULD have been doing, having been given the PRIVILEGE of the right to vote in this FREEPIN country, if you'd spent half a freakin second reading a newspaper before you went and cast your ballot for this PUPPET of the ultra-conservative right (who are, by the way, only puppets themselves for the corporate interests who really run this county), we wouldn't be sitting here, engaged in useless partisan battles while we watch the White House attempt to piss away every benefit every given to people who aren't worth $12 million.

I fucking hate the mindlessness of American democracy, and I don't give a shit anymore how many people tell me it's my duty to stick around and watch it all go to hell, just so we don't entirely give the country over to the moronic vote. You know what? My vote doesn't begin to counterbalance all the fucking idiots who can't be bothered to pay a lick of attention because they're too busy watching American Idol.

Guess what? Nationalism means shit to me. America? As a concept? As a nation to which I feel allegiance? I'm sorry, but I cannot, I refuse to feel allegiance to a nation represented by the apparent idiots running this one. All of those great things that are supposedly meant to attain to American citizenship? I think Ashcroft did enough to diminish those elements that I don't feel hugely compelled to remain an American citizen because of them. Give me a good reason--I'm begging for one. I don't want to expatriate myself (a shitload of hassle), but I do feel compelled to follow the spirit of representational democracy, and at least live in a country that even pretends to represent me.

I have tried to think historically, and to recognize that this is not the first time America has gone through freakish religious (slash moron) revivalism. History is cyclical. Someday sanity will revisit the nation. But I might be dead by then, and I'm not so sure I'm willing to spend the best years of my life in the midst of a fundy Christian nightmare.

How did this happen? When I was in high school, people seemed mostly sane! What is going on here!? Please, I need insight, because my brain is starting to ache in my attempts to figure this all out.

PS- God is dead.

You've come a long way, baby.

Ergh. I think our theory is right: someday in my lifetime, there will be a point when one giant corporation owns everything, including (especially) our entire governmental structure. There are signs of the coming apocalypse.

I especially love the paltry "help to the middle class" reasoning Congress uses as they give and give and give to their corporate puppeteers:

"Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., said the legislation would save American families an average $400 a year in higher interest rates now charged to consumers to recoup losses from those who abuse bankruptcy proceedings. "

Riiight. The benevolent credit card companies only charge high interests rates because they're forced to by the gamblers and compulsive shoppers, who declare bankruptcy for fun and profit. Once these secretly wealthy n'er do wells (you know, the millionaires and celebrities declaring bankruptcy) are curbed from their Chapter 7 tax code addiction, the credit card companies will lower interest rates. Because, obviously, their existence in our glorious capitalist system is only to allow consumers access to all the goods and services produced in this glorious capitalist country.

The free market rules. Obviously.

I feel nauseous.

The return of the aristocracy.

The estate tax issue drives me up the wall. The rhetoric used to discuss it, the lame compromises proposed by the Democratic faction, it all just makes me wrinkle my brow in disgust and frustration. Can someone please stop these scary neo-conservatives before they dismantle the entire government, and send us all into a scary, Hobbesian, tooth-and-nail world? Blech.

I don't read editorial's very often, but Rich's piece in the Times today is right on. Ahh, religious hypocrisy and mass media death obsession. I'm so proud to be an american.

While usually waaayyy over the top, Whitehouse.org does often make me laugh. And this article really nails, in a brutal and offensive kind of way, some of the strange idiosyncrasies of the Catholic church. Just don't read it if you'll be at all offended by a Pollack Pope joke, or the reference to Terri Shiavo as a "vegetard."

Um, scary? More like "power run amok," I think. Where does the constitution say Congress should have greater authority over the judiciary than the appointment of judges? Someone needs to bring these people back to earth: Passing bills to limit court jurisdiction in matters related to God's place in society? Mass impeachments of judges who've "overstepped their authority"?

I think it's especially touching that DeLay, after insinuating that it is the judiciary's overzealousness that led to recent violence against judges, has the gall to claim that he is aiming for "serious and rational discussion."

Oh that man hurts my spleen.

Hmmm. Well, I don't have a Gmail account, and I haven't really investigated Google's privacy policy on my own, so I'm not sure how much to take this article at face value. But it's interesting, nonetheless. Especially when read in conjunction with this.

This is my kind of activism. Pointed, concise, and funny as hell, in a completely ludicrous kind of way.

Besides, David Horowitz is an ass.

I'm back! Sweetles. (That was a special word just for Crystal.)

And I haven't had nearly enough coffee today. But at least I managed to accomplish this, despite being only pseudo-functional. Wheee!

Ok, more coffee. But I'll be making more irrelevant and half witty comments here soon. I'm sure you're all thrilled.