Below are 20 journal entries, after skipping by the 20 most recent ones recorded in pretzelgod's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, November 8th, 2006
11:51 pm	So now we have a Democratic House, and maybe, just maybe, a Democratic Senate. Hooray for divided government. Now the investigations can start, the subpoenas can fly, the do-nothing Congress can become a do-something Congress. And, make no mistake, this was an anti-Republican rout. The Democrats picked up additional seats despite having more of their own seats up for reelection, and they haven't lost a single seat (with one race in Georgia still undetermined). But. I worry the Democrats will continue their six-year tradition of incompetent opposition. I worry that the pendulum may swing too far. Most of all, i worry what this administration may still do in its remaining two years. Conservative William Lind has some sobering thoughts about the possibilities. Meanwhile, this president has one very powerful card left up his sleeves, ensuring his administration is decidedly not a lame duck its last two years: presidential pardons. This brings us back to Democratic incompetence. Why has no one dared Bush not to issue more than the number of his two predecessors combined? He would refuse, of course, but people would see this up front, out in the open. Rumsfeld is out, Gates is in. Hallelujah. But wait a minute, isn't flip-flopping a mortal sin? Or is that only for Democrats? Bush on Nov 1: "[Cheney and Rumsfeld] are doing fantastic jobs and I strongly support them." Bush on Nov 8: "I've asked Bob Gates to serve as the Secretary of Defense." And now, this: Afghan government 'sad' over Rumsfeld resignation. What the hell? They like having troops siphoned away for a moronic war in Iraq? Nah, clearly there's something else behind that statement. Funny: You can only believe that Pelosi is a "radical" if you're the kind of person who believes that John McCain is an "independent." Here in California, we stuck with all our incumbents except Pombo (replaced with Democrat McNerney) and Thomas (Republican, retiring from office, replaced by another Republican, and, yes, this is the asshole who called the capitol police to eject House Democrat). Sadly, we kept Feinstein, but who didn't expect that. San Francisco and Berkeley passed propositions calling for Bush's impeachment. Yeah, i think Cheney would make a great president too. Sure. We passed four bond measures (sigh; debt is bad, mmkay?), an absurd measure to "increase punishment" for sex offenders (here's a map of the few places they would still be allowed to live! hope the courts can fix it...), barely voted against requiring parental notification for abortions again (whew), rejected a new oil tax to fund a $4 billion fund for alternative energy research (what a myopic move), and various other nonsense. (Comment on this)
2:00 am	Finally getting back to this, with some old stuff still sitting here queued up. Watch out for dead links. The Hubble servicing mission is go! Microsoft and Novell team up over open source solutions Microsoft will recommend SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell for customers who want Windows and Linux products, and will distribute coupons for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server maintenance and support. The biggest impact of the agreement for the consumer is that Microsoft and Novell will work on bettering interoperability for office productivity software, so that OpenOffice and Microsoft Office users will be able to share documents more easily and seamlessly. Another victory for free software, and this one's really big. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win." Looks like we're moving into the final phase now... And look, no government interference necessary! In Montana, visit by Bush has lost its magic Bush is more popular here than he is elsewhere in the country, with an approval rating of 45 percent, according to the Montana State University-Billings poll. Haha, is that what passes for popularity now? I wonder if i can find any region-by-region approval ratings... War simulation in 1999 pointed out Iraq invasion problems A series of secret U.S. war games in 1999 showed that an invasion and post-war administration of Iraq would require 400,000 troops, nearly three times the number there now. Yet another neocon screech put to lie. "Nobody expected to need more troops!" Looks like the professionals disagreed. Meanwhile the same dolts who whined about Clinton not sending enough to Somalia see no problem... Contractor Bechtel leaves disintegrating Iraq short of goal We taxpayers will be getting a refund on that $2.3 billion now, right? They were supposed to rebuild power, sewage, and water infrastructure, for example. The only way you can call that mission accomplished is if you use Bush's version of "accomplished"; people in Baghdad still get only a few hours of electricity per day, and many still have untreated seweage and unclean water. Two gems--paraphrased--from the Pyramid politics group: We must say the course. We must prove we can finish what we started. If you stuck your arm in a woodchipper, of course you'd keep pusing it in to prove you can finish what you start. You don't change horses in mid-stream, even if your horse is rabid, has 12 gunshot wounds, and is racing towards a waterfall. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 31st, 2006
10:29 am	End Daylight Saving Time Since we just went through this retarded ritual, now is the perfect time to whine about it. My brother's on his way back to Germany! He's out of the killing zone, again, and hopefully for the last time... Airport Screeners Still Aren't Any Good Screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the starting points for the Sept. 11 hijackers, failed 20 of 22 security tests conducted by undercover U.S. agents last week, missing concealed bombs and guns at checkpoints throughout the major air hub's three terminals, according to federal security officials. Russian Dreams Of Reaching Mars First Optimists say 2017-2018 is the nearest "ballistic window" for an Earth-Mars mission, but pessimists consider it unrealistic, above all for technological reasons: a spacecraft must be built, engines developed, and the whole mass weighing hundreds of tons placed on a path to Mars. Nevertheless, a manned expedition to Mars is being prepared with such a schedule in mind. In Russia it is part of the Federal Space Program. Space Race 2.0! Sci-Fi Life Support scientists and engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are putting the finishing touches on systems for capturing exhaled carbon dioxide and urine and turning them into breathable oxygen and drinking water. NASA Announces Discovery Program Selections NASA Monday selected concept studies for missions that would return a sample of an enigmatic asteroid, probe the chemistry of Venus' atmosphere and reveal the interior structure and history of the Earth's moon. Also selected for further study are three missions of opportunity that would make new use of two NASA spacecraft that have completed their primary objectives. Lots of space news today... No, The Stock Market Did Not Reach A New High I was skeptical of this "record high" because of inflation, but it's actually worse than that. Interesting Poll a new CNN poll finds most Americans still agree with the bedrock conservative premise that, as the Gipper put it, "government is not the answer to our problems -- government is the problem." The poll released Friday also showed that an overwhelming majority of Americans perceive, correctly, that the size and cost of government have gone up in the past four years, when Republicans have had a grip on the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House. So how come the few Republicans i deal with still can't stop drinking the Kool-Aid and see the obvious? North American Union to Replace USA? What the Bush administration truly wants is the free, unimpeded movement of people across open borders with Mexico and Canada. Riiiiiight. That certainly explains his support for the Great Wall of America. How Empires Bamboozle the Bourgeoisie Fantastic article, despite bizarre claims such as "there is no surer way to clean the air than air conditioning" and ""the capitalist project of bottling water to sell is the great path to clean water". (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 29th, 2006
4:46 pm	The stupid web site with the motivation posters breaks for any Referers than itself, so here are links that actually work. It says "RPG Motivational Posters", but it's really "D&D Motivational Posters". This GURPS-head found a few funny nevertheless: Common Sense Dumb Luck Encumbrance Fearless HP Stealth Roleplaying Rules Lawyers Teamwork Smart-alec Comments And here are a couple GURPS ones from elsewhere: GURPS Dr. Kromm (Comment on this)
Friday, October 27th, 2006
1:52 pm	US troops on active duty call for Iraq withdrawal Hm, such a tough issue. I still think we should have taken out Hussein in 1991. I still think we should not have invaded in 2003. None of that matters. As bad as Iraq is now, i think it would be worse if we withdrew. On the other hand, our military readiness has declined to its lowest since Vietnam, and continues to worsen. And to think Republicans criticized Clinton's military policy of being able to react to "only" two emergencies, one major, one minor. So, what i'm most afraid of is that the fuckers in this administration may have lead us into a lose-lose situation. And in other news, my brother is supposed to be released from the Army in April. Of course, he'll still owe them 4 years as a reservist, and we still have to worry about stop loss... Belligerent Tone Mars US Administration Space Policy What's all this then? I don't see anything to object to here... Ivins: The campaign of sleaze Lots of good stuff in here, especially the bit about Michael J. Fox, Christopher Reeve, and Nancy Reagan's support of stem cell research. White House Denies Cheney Endorsed Torture This couldn't possibly be any simpler, Mr. Cheney: if your daughter were suspected of something, how would you like for her to be interrogated? What about the rest of you? As an aside, we also see in this article another demonstration of the biggest problem with this administration: "Are you kidding? You think Dick Cheney's going to slip up on something like this. Come on!" Yes, Mr. Snow, he might. Humans make mistakes. Many mistakes. Criticism Is The Only Known Antidote To Error. Australian Muslims rally behind cleric who defended rape Make no mistake, these people are the enemy of our Enlightenment civilization. But are we up to the task of fighting them? So far, i don't think so, and i think it's because we're afraid of what we see in the mirror. Islam isn't the enemy. These men who fan the fires of fundamentalism and intolerance--and those who follow them--are the enemy. They can be found in Christianity, especially here in America. They can even be found in atheism; i'm looking at you, Mr. Dawkins. David Brin best captured the irony of the great task ahead of us: We have to go forth and crush every world view that doesn't believe in tolerance and free speech. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 25th, 2006
12:51 pm	Stay the course The Road to Riches Is Called K Street The number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled since 2000 to more than 34,750 while the amount that lobbyists charge their new clients has increased by as much as 100 percent. Why Jeannette employs her family's killers Hope out of horror in Rwanda. Russia Can Repel Asteroids To Save Earth As long as the US helps fund it, i bet ;->. Still, i'm glad someone's thinking about these things. A bunch of guys enter Best Buy wearing blue shirts, khaki pants, and black shoes. They don't claim to work there, they just stand around. Hilarity ensues. (Comment on this)
Monday, October 23rd, 2006
12:31 am	It says "RPG Motivational Posters", but it's really "D&D Motivational Posters". This GURPS-head found a few funny nevertheless: Common Sense Dumb Luck Encumbrance Fearless HP Stealth Roleplaying Rules Lawyers Teamwork Smart-alec Comments And here are a couple GURPS ones from elsewhere: GURPS Dr. Kromm (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 21st, 2006
12:47 pm	Priest denies having sex with Foley Priests and congressrats caught in the same sex scandal. Oh my. Blair takes strong stand on Muslim veils For once i agree with Blair. We can't force women not to wear veils, but we can discourage the practice and attack it for what it is. Duke takes wraps off cloaking device Cloaking device?! That's the coolest thing i've seen in--well, ever! Granted, it's only cloaked from microwaves now, but visible light is just another part of the electromagnetic spectrum, so i don't see why they couldn't hit that goal. Today's tour around the mind of the Bush follower The brief comparison of Pelosi's values to Gingrich's is old news, but the kind that bears repeating in the face of the continued hatred of "San Francisco left-wing values". [US Congressrat] Studds' Husband Denied Congressional Pension Studds was censured by Congress when he first came out in 1983, but his constituents continued their support until his death Saturday. Yet his husband will not receive Studd's pension, while Congressrat "Bob Ney (R-Ohio) who pled guilty last week to conspiracy charges and faces up to 10 years in prison for taking bribes will receive about $29,000 a year from his pension for the rest of his life - even while he is in prison." The End of Habeas Corpus I didn't think i could laugh about such a serious and depressing loss, but Olbermann makes it funny. (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 19th, 2006
3:17 am	New Evidence Challenges Idea of Water-Ice on the Moon While it's not looking good for water on the Moon... Mars Express And The Story Of Water On Mars ...it's looking better than ever for water on Mars. New Russian Spaceship Will Be Able To Fly To Moon And Russia wants to go back to the Moon, too. Space Race 2, anyone? SEC, Stock Options & Silicon Valley Seems i'm not the only one who finds this spate of scandals kinda fishy. We just wrapped up the Subversion developer summit. We had a lot of fun and got a lot done. (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 14th, 2006
5:37 pm	Report targets antitax activist I'm having trouble seeing what they've done wrong here. AT& T, BellSouth Merger on Hold The merger, proposed in March, would reunite two major parts of the old AT&T telecommunications empire that was broken up by the federal government in 1984. "Two major parts"?! Are these journalists deceptive bastards or incompetent idiots? Try *five* or the eight companies AT&T was split into: 3 of the original Baby Bells + Ma Bell itself (Southwestern Bell became SBC and acquired Pacific Telesis, Ameritech, and then AT&T) and now Bellsouth. (Comment on this)
Friday, October 13th, 2006
2:14 am	Coolest Cassini Image Ever! Hell, that might be the coolest image of Saturn ever. Big Government Gets Bigger. The Republican Party's oft-stated affinity for smaller government has not applied during the Bush administration. French schoolgirl stoned in playground for not observing Ramadan Local 4-Year-Old Lands On The Do-Not-Fly List It's difficult, especially traveling at the holidays, because all the flights are completely full. We get to the airport early because we know this problem's going to be there, but it seems like no matter how early we get there, we aren't guaranteed a seat," Sam's father Ted Adams said. I feel safe. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 10th, 2006
11:25 am	California Appeals Court Says Gay Marriage Ban Legal ``The time may come when California chooses to expand the definition of marriage to encompass same-sex unions,'' the court said today in the majority opinion. ``That change must come from democratic processes, however, not by judicial fiat.'' No, absolutely not. Democracy is three wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. The Founding Fathers were clever enough to understand that, and intentionally created a republic, not a democracy. One of the functions of the courts is to protect minorities from the majority. Of course, this likely isn't the last stop for this case, but i just don't see any modern-day Earl Warrens around. Hope springs eternal, though... Childhood obesity: exercise alone "not enough" This is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, the findings: that school can't solve your children's problems. Big surprise there. Exercise and healthy diet at school don't matter if the child is not exercising and eating healthy the rest of the time. Second, the way it was reported: "excercise not enough?" What a bizarre claim to come away from this study with. U.S. detects seismic event in N. Korea Report: Foley warned in 2000 Former secretary of state prepares alternatives to Bush's stay-the-course Iraq policy Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, a longtime Republican strategist, is preparing recommendations that President George W. Bush reconsider his "stay-the-course" strategy in Iraq. [...] Baker said, "if we picked up and left right now" Iraq would be plunged into "the biggest civil war you've ever seen," with Turkey, Iran, Syria and other neighboring countries getting involved. [...] "As much as Saddam's neighbors wanted to see him gone, they feared Iraq would fragment in ways that would play into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists in Iran," [...] He also questioned the administration's policy of not talking to Iran or Syria. He noted he made 15 trips to Damascus as secretary of state. Syria eventually joined the U.S.-organized coalition that drove the Iraqis from Kuwait. "I don't think you restrict your conversations to your friends," he said. "It's got to be hard-nosed," Baker said. "It's got to be determined. You don't give away anything. But in my view it is not appeasement to talk to your enemies." Smart guy. Sane, competent Republicans like this may be our only hope. "Victoria Crater" at Meridiani Planum Cool, we can see the Opportunity rover from orbit. Nato's commander in Afghanistan has said the country's citizens may start supporting the Taleban unless their lives improve in the next six months. Mark Cuban on GooTube (Comment on this)
Friday, October 6th, 2006
2:58 am	Foley scandal spreads to Reynolds aide (October 4, 2006) \x{2014} WASHINGTON \x{2014} Rep. Tom Reynolds was embroiled again Tuesday by reports that his chief of staff tried to persuade ABC News not to report the most sexually explicit computer messages between former Rep. Mark Foley of Florida and teenage congressional pages. Yep, covering up a fellow Republican's sexual harassment of teen pages is definitely what we expect from the party of family values. READER DISCRETION STRONGLY ADVISED: Foley's Exchange With Underage Page Here's an actual transcript. ROBOT RAPE - The story of Young People Against Heavy Metal T-Shirts (YPAHMTS) Hastert blames Democrats, ABC News Right, it was the Democrats that covered it up. Sure. OK. Is this evil bastard going to resign now? Bravo for Ron Lewis, R-KY, who the article says canceled a fundraising visit from Hastert, and is taking the matter seriously. Bill O'Reilly labels Rep. Foley a Democrat The O'Reilly Factor ran it in not one, but two segments and posted it three times. I can understand if FOX and The Factor made an error the first time, but to post it repeatedly should be a firing offense, The most watched show on FOX News has now labeled the former Republican Congressman Mark Foley, who is in the middle of a sexual predator scandal that has Hastert's career on the ropes ?a Democrat. Rice's Baghdad arrival delayed by 'indirect fire' How appropriate. when scientists found a massive Tyrannosaurus rex thigh bone in a remote region of Montana a few months ago, they were forced to break the bone in two in order to fit it into the transport helicopter. This act of necessity revealed a startling surprise: soft tissue that had seemingly resisted fossilization still existed inside the bone. This tissue, including blood vessels, bone cells, and perhaps even blood cells, was so well preserved that it was still stretchy and flexible. Google searches through code repositories that are popular among programmers -- CollabNet's Subversion and another alternative called CVS, Stocky said. Wow, Subversion gets top billing and CVS is just "another alternative". We've come a long way. A fellow committer asked, "did we win?" I think so. You do not have to be a Michael Moore-style conspiracy theorist to find it worrisome that a Saudi prince is put in charge of giving a future president his worldview. Bang. That's the Saudi pledge. Certainly over the summer, or as we get closer to the election, they could increase production several million barrels a day and the price would drop significantly. Bang. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006
2:46 am	Democrats cite Woodward book in criticizing Bush's Iraq actions Card suggested in November 2004 replacing Rumsfeld with former Secretary of State James Baker. Bush considered the move, the Post reported, citing the book, but Vice President Dick Cheney and political adviser talked him out of it by arguing it would expose the president to criticism. Did you catch that? Nevermind about Rumsfeld's job performance; it just doesn't matter if he's capable of winning the war, or simply wasting human life. All that matters is whether Bush is exposed to criticism. The article has more gems like that. The IESB reports that Chris Marquette ("Fanboys", "The Girl Next Door") and Dan Byrd ("The Hills Have Eyes", "A Cinderella Story") have locked in the lead roles in Kyle Newman's upcoming film remake of "Revenge of the Nerds". Yay for remakes and sequels. Maybe one day Hollywood will figure out why box office sales are down. Nah, never happen. They'll just keep churning out crap like this while suppressing movies like Idiocracy. Software changes Armstrong's moon quote By "changes" they mean "restores". As with the Pluto controversy i've read about since childhood, i bet this one isn't quite over yet. Bush hails liberation of Afghanistan as a `great achievement' This article tears that quote apart with a summary of what's actually going on there, including the bizarre claim that Pakistan is somehow our ally there. But in a way, Hastert is complicit in his misconduct. Hastert is probably more responsible than Foley because while Foley can claim he was sick or deranged, Hastert clearly made a conscious decision to remain silent. Military Commissions Act of 2006 Passed Is that it then? Sic transit gloria Americani? Ah, well, we had a good run, i suppose. I still hold out hope, at least for the next few weeks... (Comment on this)
Thursday, September 28th, 2006
12:31 am	On September 29, 12 Six Flags locations will begin hosting a ridiculously cruel promotion to kick off their October "Fright Fest" events. Guests will be invited to "eat their way to the front of the line" by consuming live Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Cockroaches may get a bad rap, but these gentle, complex, sensitive animals do not deserve to be eaten alive, especially not for a gratuitous marketing gimmick. Given the proliferation of violence in today's society, it is imperative that we teach compassion for all living beings instead of publicly encouraging cruelty to and devaluation of animals. No animal should ever suffer or die in the name of entertainment. Are you kidding me? Come on PETA, do something useful! Online porn doesn't cause increase in sex crimes (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 27th, 2006
2:32 am	A feast for the minds of the "Support Our Troops" brigades. Read these articles and tell me, please, when will you put your money where your mouth is? Support our troops: vote for divided government. Get Congressional oversight back, like with every previous war we've fought. Realize that this war cannot be fought on the cheap, and that Americans at home must sacrifice, as we did in previous wars, not leave the war to be paid for by our children. Funding shortfalls jeopardize Army operations, chief says The service has a backlog of thousands of pieces of equipment awaiting repair because there is not enough money to pay for the repairs more quickly, Schoomaker said. None of the Army's five major depots, where damaged and worn out equipment is refurbished, is operating above 50 percent capacity, he said. Services talk budget directly with OMB The direct discussions between the uniformed services and OMB are unprecedented Strained, Army Looks to Guard for More Relief The National Guard has a goal of allowing five years at home between foreign deployments so as not to disrupt the family life and careers of its citizen soldiers. But instead it has been sending units every three to four years, according to Guard officials. That disclosure comes amid many signs of mounting strain on active Army units. So many are deployed or only recently returned from combat duty that only two or three combat brigades \x{2014} perhaps 7,000 to 10,000 troops \x{2014} are fully ready to respond in case of unexpected crises, according to a senior Army general. Unit Makes Do as Army Strives to Plug Gaps Demands of War Exceed Expectations Army Warns Rumsfeld It's Billions Short WASHINGTON \x{2014} The Army's top officer withheld a required 2008 budget plan from Pentagon leaders last month after protesting to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that the service could not maintain its current level of activity in Iraq plus its other global commitments without billions in additional funding. General: Appeals for More Troops Were Denied "Many of us routinely asked for more troops," retired Maj. Gen. John R.S. Batiste said, contradicting statements by President Bush and his senior aides that the administration had given the military all the resources it had asked for. Bear in mind that when they say "at home", they don't necessarily mean at home and with family; they mean "at home base". It's been over two years since i've seen my brother, because his "at home" is in Germany. He's back in Iraq now, and from what i've read, this tour's being extended, too. Don?t eat the brown Tic Tacs And on a lighter note... (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
2:10 am	Liquids, gels to be allowed on jets TSA to permit air passengers to bring on small amounts It's a step forward, at least. U.S. Army extends Iraq duty for 4,000 WASHINGTON \x{2014} The Army is stretched so thin by the war in Iraq that it is again extending the combat tours of thousands of soldiers beyond the promised 12 months _ the second such move since August. US intelligence report: Iraq war breeding more terrorists White House 'strongly disagrees' with spy agencies' assessment. A classified National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) contends that the war in Iraq has increased Islamic radicalism, and has made the terror threat around the world worse. Based on information from US government officials who had seen the document and spoke on condition of anyonymity, The New York Times reports that the NIE document, titled "Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States," says the war plays a much more direct role in the spread of Islamic radicalism around the world than has previously been indicated by the White House, or in a recent report by the US House intelligence committee. The intelligence estimate, completed in April, is the first formal appraisal of global terrorism by US intelligence agencies since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, and it represents a consensus view of the 16 different spy services inside government. The estimate asserts that Islamic radicalism, rather than being in retreat, has metastasized and spread around the globe. The war's promotion of terrorism is old news, but it keeps getting reported. The White House disagrees, eh? Yeah, they've been doing that for a while. I'll continue to give more weight to the opinions of professionals than those of politicians. Lew Rockwell's take is as interesting as always: "Students of government can hardly be surprised that a government program ends up creating the very opposite of what it purported to accomplish. Welfare increases poverty, the minimum wage boosts unemployment, prohibition promotes the banned behavior, and, just as we would expect once we understand the logic, the war on terror has created and encouraged the rise of more terrorism and the ideology that backs it." Most importantly, why is this report classified? See next item: Post-9/11 privacy and secrecy: A report card I haven't seen the incredible escalation of government secrecy under this administration get much coverage. This is a welcome change. Analysis: Habeas may stymie torture deal The bill would effectively remove the right of those detained outside of the United States, or those defined by U.S. authorities as "unlawful enemy combatants," to challenge their detention in court. It would also sweep away a number of cases already proceeding through the courts, according to the Morton Sklar, executive director of the World Organization for Human Rights. Sklar said the bill, while enshrining the Geneva Conventions as the standard for treatment, would also remove them as a possible basis for private lawsuits, making the law effectively unenforceable. I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by Google Yahoo plans holiday week HQ shutdown For the first time in its 11 years, Yahoo Inc. will close its U.S. offices between Christmas and New Year's, and employees who want to be paid will have to burn vacation time, according to reports Monday. The cost-cutting measure by Sunnyvale-based Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO - News) will mean the company will save electric costs at its offices during that week and reduce accrued vacation liability for the about 10,500 people who work there. Slate has a take on this, too. Glad i work for the other one... The fruit of immigration controls The House has approved strip searches of public school students. You just can't make this stuff up. What is happening to our country? That search finds a pathetic amount of coverage. Typical. (Comment on this)
Friday, September 22nd, 2006
2:08 am	Ex-teen idol will speak at seminary I've watched a couple clips from Kirk Cameron's ludicrous Christian evangelism show, but this is too funny: "I believed in atheism simply out of preference and not out of evidence or intellectual reasons." "Believed in atheism"? He's even worse than C. S. Lewis. The military was reviewing security procedures Wednesday after two teens in a stolen car managed to drive through a security checkpoint and onto the MaCdill Air Force Base that houses key command centers in the U.S. military. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 19th, 2006
12:40 am	When presidents fail to make hard choices, those who serve must make them instead. Soldiers must choose whether to stay with their families or to stay in the armed forces at all. Sending our military on vague, aimless, and endless missions rapidly saps morale. Even the highest morale is eventually undermined by back-to-back deployments, poor pay, shortages of spare parts and equipment, inadequate training, and rapidly declining readiness. When it comes to military health, the administration is not providing an adequate military health care system for active-duty service members and their families and for retired service members and their dependents. The nation is failing to fulfill its ethical, and legal health care obligations to those that are serving or have honorably served in the Armed Forces of the United States. It is no surprise that the all-volunteer force -- the pride of America -- is struggling to recruit and retain soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. This entire section of the 2000 Republican platform makes for good reading in light of what the bastards have actually done. It's too bad they didn't really mean it... Iran, Venezuela try to forge anti-US front at summit Well, there goes all my sympathy for Venezuela. FORT EUSTIS -- Months before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld forbade military strategists from developing plans for securing a post-war Iraq, the retiring commander of the Army Transportation Corps said Thursday. The reports of absolute blithering incompetence just keep on coming, don't they? Your God is likely supremely different from anyone else's God The researchers asked 29 questions about God's character and behavior, sifted through the answers they got from 1,721 participants and identified "two clear and distinct dimensions" to people's ideas about God. Those are God's level of engagement and God's level of anger at human sins. People see God as engaged or not, angry or not. The four combinations of those two traits yield more information about the believer than the usual denominational labels. Time For Us To Go Conservatives on why the GOP should lose in 2006. These just keep coming, don't they? It gives me hope that the Republican party will turn away from the apocalyptic kleptocrat chickenhawks in the current administration, and back to conservatism. Since we'll probably have another Republican in the White House come 2009, we desperately need this. Won't Deploy? Can't Deploy. That is the unmistakable message of an Army briefing making the rounds in Washington. According to in-house assessments, fully two-thirds of the Army's operating force, both active and reserve, is now reporting in as "unready"--that is, they lack the equipment, people, or training they need to execute their assigned missions. Not a single one of the Army's Brigade Combat Teams--its core fighting units--currently in the United States is ready to deploy. In short, the Army has no strategic reserve to speak of. The other key U.S. fighting force in Iraq, the Marine Corps, is also hurting, with much of its equipment badly in need of repair or replacement. When is this administration going to support our troops? When are all their supporters going to lift the veil from their eyes and do something about it? Media ownership study ordered destroyed WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission ordered its staff to destroy all copies of a draft study that suggested greater concentration of media ownership would hurt local TV news coverage, a former lawyer at the agency says. Ties to GOP trumped skill on Iraq team In rebuilding effort, loyalty to Bush administration was paramount applicants didn't need to be experts in the Middle East or in post-conflict reconstruction. What seemed most important was loyalty to the Bush administration. Arrrrr! Aye, tis' har at last, shiver me timbers! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 13th, 2006
10:46 pm	Downgrading Pluto's status will cause psychological harm to some Californians who question their place in the universe and worry about the instability of universal constants More government nonsense, this time from my state assembly, and the sad thing is i can't tell if it's a joke or not. Their names are at the top; vote against these rats. Torture normally doesn't work, because the tortured will tell you anything to make the torture stop. But with crypto keys, you have an instant way to double check the info. So, when you break, they try the key. If it doesn't decrypt, it's back to the beatdown. [...] If I'm an evil government, I'm all for those opposing me using PGP, since rolling up the networks is easy. Compromise one opponent, get computer. Beat him until you get the secret key open. Arrest anyone who's public key is on the machine. Repeat. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the time was right to increase the minimum wage, as he signed legislation Tuesday upping the rate to $7.50 an hour in January and $8 an hour in January 2008. SIGH. "The new bill will raise the pay of more than 1 million Californians whose hourly pay is at or just above the minimum wage." Um, what? Many of those will simply lose their jobs. Even those who keep their jobs may find their hours slashed, and all employees will be affected by cuts in benefits. Not to mention that, for everyone making above minimum wage, this is a wage cut. I could go on, but i wouldn't say it half as well as Rothbard. It's too bad this journalist didn't include a dissenting opinion from an economist. A divided [Chicago] City Council today sustained Mayor Daley's first-ever veto by a 31 to 18 vote: Wal-Mart and 42 other big box retailers in Chicago will not have to pay their employees at least $13 an hour in wages and benefits by 2010. At first glance, this looked to me like the perfect contrast to our new minimum wage hike in California. But, it seems they're more concerned with losing regressive sales tax revenues. Still, one can be happy with an action while questioning the motive. I love when this guy switches from advocating job destruction by the city government to this: "It's quite a powerful force to overcome. You've got government, big business, big money and you've got the little worker on the bottom. I mean it's a classic David and Goliath." NATO staff asked for extra troops in Afghanistan more than a year ago but the request has still not been granted, the alliance's top commander in the country said on Monday. Our forgotten war continues--and it still seems to be going about as well as the Iraq war. Rent, own or build a community at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Deed title price: $1.8 million. By popular vote, the Johnson Space Center landed a space in [the new "Here and Now" edition of Monopoly]. Let's quit while we're behind Another honest conservative (Christopher Buckley, former speechwriter for the good Bush) comes out against the current administration. I think this article is a few months old, but it's new to me. (Comment on this)