Random Thoughts From Marybeth

What To Do With Captain Timothy Cheney and First Officer Richard Cole

The Northwest pilots who were using a laptop and flew a jet 150 miles past where they were supposed to land could be fired. I would like to suggest that while the pilots should have their licenses revoked and not be allowed to fly, they should not be fired. Have them work in customer service instead. Dealing with frustrated and angry customers would be sweet justice.

Unconditional Love

Gloucester High School - "They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally."

Women in prison - What is clear is the psychological reasoning these women give for having babies: the incentive, finally, to turn their lives around and having someone to love them unconditionally.

You don't have a child to get unconditional love, you have to give it.

Poor Word Choice

"He was someone that was revered by the faculty and staff and students alike." - Chief Donald Grady speaking about NIU shooter Steven Kazmierczak.

Revere - To regard with awe, deference, and devotion. There have been people that I have know whom I have admired but I can't think of any that I revered.

I'm going to hope that Chief Grady had Latin classes in school and remembers that the root word vereri means to fear or be wary. I hope this is what he meant.

The Perfect Storm of Self-Satisfaction

In his quest to make San Francisco the greenest city in the nation, Mayor Gavin Newsom recently created a $160,000-a-year job for a senior aide and gave him the ambitious-sounding title of director of climate protection initiatives.

You know what that leads to...

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Indoor smoking bans just went into effect in France and Portugal. In Portugal, the man who is responsible for enforcing the law was seen breaking it - "Antonio Nunes, president of Portugal's food standards agency, was photographed by the daily Diario de Noticias smoking a cigar at a casino on the outskirts of Lisbon." His excuse was that he wasn't aware that the ban applied to him casinos.

Why Bother With Eloquence? Vulgarity Gets More Attention

After a University of Florida student was tasered during an appearance by John Kerry, the editor of the Colorado State University's newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian, decided to write an editorial about the incident. Or as a stand for free speech. Or something. I'm not really sure what his point was other than "pay attention to ME!".

TASER THIS

F*** BUSH

This is the view of the Collegian editorial board.

A non sequitur (all in caps) doesnt' even meet the standards of a good message board post but if you use it for an editorial article you get national attention.

You're Not Just Fat, You're Mentally Ill

Obesity is a mental illness, says a leading American addictions expert, and extreme cases should be classified as a brain disorder.

Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, says brain circuits in obese people can become disrupted, producing an uncontrollable, compulsive and "pathologically intense" drive for food.

This really is meant to only apply to extreme cases but you know that many more will use it as an excuse not to feel guilty for overeating and not exercising.

Unbelievable

An 11-year-old Alabama boy used a pistol to kill a wild hog that just may be the biggest pig ever found.

That's amazing but it's not what shocked me. I looked at the webpage they created. It has sections where they posted the positive and negative comments they have gotten. Some of the negative ones were the most hateful, irrational things I have read in a long time.

They told an eleven-year-old child that they wished the pig had killed him or that he would die in a variety of other ways. They talk about the boar as if he were cute, little Piglet instead of a 1,051 pound hog.

Repeat Offender, Not Really Surprising

Last year Martin Phillip Jackson pleaded guilty to abducting a woman and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was freed on probation after three months.

But now Jackson faces charges that he posed as a cabdriver and again kidnapped a woman Saturday, punching and then choking her when she screamed.

"I don't think anyone foresaw a second incident," Kamenish (Jackson's lawyer) said. "I was very surprised."

Not anyone? The last victim, Heather Ridgley and her family asked Judge Martin McDonald and former Jefferson Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Ricarda Rich not to let Jackson out early.

"We knew it was going to happen again," said Mary Ridgley, Heather's grandmother. "We knew it was just a matter of time."

With creeps like this getting out after three months it's no wonder Paris Hilton thinks that her 45 day sentence is too harsh.

It's Theft, It's Inconsiderate, But Does It Violate The First Amendment?

Some Framingham State College students stole almost 1000 copies of the school newspaper. A photo of them was on the front page and some people thought that the young women looked too fat so a few of the people in the photo decided to collect as many copies as they could.

The college spokesman said that it was a childish thing to do and that the administrators were irritated by this. This is a reasonable and appropriate stand to take on it.

The newspaper's faculty advisor, an English professor, said, "the theft infringed on the First Amendment rights of the paper's staff and FSC students".

In 2003 some students who stole multiple copies of the newspaper were required to meet with this same professor and "discuss the First Amendment and its relation to newspaper theft".

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

I'm no expert but the First Amendment seems to clearly state that it prevents the government, not individuals, from attempts to control speech. Perhaps it would be better to lecture them on how stealing newspapers is theft, inconsiderate to other students, and attracts the attention of millions via the Internet to something that would have only been seen by a few thousand. (3,772 undergraduates plus graduate students, faculty and staff)

The Multi-Million Dollar Experiment

Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops

There's been several problems with making laptops available for the students' personal use: they use it for activities other than school work, too much is being spent on repairs, teachers aren't always able to fit them into the lessons, and at one school "the network inevitably freezes because of the sheer number of students roaming the Internet" during study hall.

They hand out computers to try to make the students tech savvy but can't figure out how to keep the interweb tubes from getting clogged. If you know how many students you have and that they have study hall every other day, anticipating the use your network will have shouldn't be very difficult.

The most important reason that some schools are discontinuing laptop leasing, or deciding against beginning it, is that there was "no evidence it had any impact on student achievement".

The article does mention a few benefits from the computers but none that couldn't also be done with desktop computers in the classroom or computer lab.

Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer Rules

Paris Hilton was sentenced to 45 days in county jail. Her defense attorney said, "I think she's singled out because of who she is." I think he has that backwards. She was given an appropriate sentence regardless of who she is.

Related Post: Ignorance of the Law is No Defense (Flagrant Disregard and/or Outright Stupidity Aren't Either)

Colgate University

I'll agree that looks is an important consideration when hiring a professor when the fashion industry begins hiring models based on IQ.

Diversity in appearance makes for interesting photos, specialization in subject areas makes for interesting classes.

Neither Good Grammar Nor Good Taste

A Chicago high school honors senior wrote an essay that described a dream where he shot people and then had sex with their dead bodies. He added that it was a joke but the school must not have seen the humor, they had him arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct.

He had planned on joining the Marines, but after the arrest, they no longer want him. I don't blame them. No matter how the student tries to explain what he wrote, it still shows a lack of maturity if he thought this was appropriate for a high school essay. The men and women who would have been serving with him don't need to deal with that.

Defense/Offense, There Is a Difference

In recent days, two clerks at two different stores have attacked would-be robbers.

I wouldn't use the word "attacked" to describe self-defense and I'm not in complete agreement with this - "But Louisville Metro police public information officer Dwight Mitchell said both clerks were lucky that they didn’t get themselves hurt. He said employees should comply with robbers’ demands, be good witnesses and not take aim at robbers."

Every situation is different and you shouldn't take foolish risks but if you have an advantage, there is no reason to encourage robbers by being a "good" victim.

Some Balance

The shootings at Virginia Tech were tragic but it was not the fault of video games, movies/TV, the war in Iraq, or any of the other things you hear getting blamed. The only one to blame is Cho Seung-Hui.

Events such as this have an impact on us because they are uncommon. There are about 75 million students in the U.S. The vast majority of them return home safely every day.

Dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide

John Stossel asked some kids, "What do you think is more dangerous, a house with a pool or a house with a gun?"

Too bad he didn't ask mine. They all know the right answer.

Where Ignorance is Bliss...

Some schools in the UK are avoiding teaching about the Holocaust and the Crusades so they won't offend Muslim students. Also, at one school there have been complaints from Christian parents about how the Arab-Israeli conflict is taught. (No mention on whether those lessons were dropped.)

In the U.S. there has been controversy over the desire of some Christians to have creationism taught in schools. Imagine if the schools decided to go a step further and stop teaching evolution because it might offend someone.

Wasting Time, Money, and Human Resources...For What?

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday he considers homosexuality to be immoral and the military should not condone it by allowing gay personnel to serve openly, the Chicago Tribune reported.

I don't understand why anything other than a combination of a desire to serve and the ability to serve should be considered when someone joins the military. One person's opinion on what is immoral shouldn't have any weight in the matter, otherwise, shouldn't we have to consider all those who think that killing is immoral? Take away the ability to defend themselves and the military would be as useful as the UN peacekeeping troops.

If the military's concern has to do with wanting to prevent "unacceptable behavior" among the troops, then it seems the policies that are already in place to govern the behavior of men and women serving together would cover that. Not that I would expect any more (or fewer) problems with unwanted advances or inappropriate relationships among gay service people than there already is in the military now.

Not accepting people simply because of their sexual orientation is a waste of resources and not taking advantage of all that is available to you is a poor way to run any organization, including the military.

(Link via GayandRight)

All She Knows About Polar Bears She Learned From Coke Commercials

Don't discuss polar bears, scientists told

Someone should have told that to a public radio news reporter that I heard refer to polar bears as "fuzzy, white preditors". Maybe it was the "fuzzy" bit but it sounded more like she was talking about Snowball the kitten than about polar bears.

Not Caught at the Border

Hundreds of cattle from Canada, which this month confirmed its ninth case of mad cow disease, have entered the United States without government-required health papers or identification tags, according to documents obtained by cattlemen in Washington state.

No one is happy about this but what seems to have caused the most concern is that Washington state released correspondence between state officials and American cattle and meat companies. Meatpacking companies, feedlot owners and brokers from the U.S. and Canada have sued the state claiming that it violated "a state law protecting confidential business information from disclosure."

30 Seconds Done, 14:30 To Go

The news feature that WHAS TV did on women and shooting is now online. I added a link to the article/video in my original post.

Does This Mean I'm Trendy?

I'm going to be on WHAS TV news Wednesday at 11:00. The piece was taped recently at OpenRange in Crestwood and is about the growing trend of women taking an interest in shooting.

When I took the safety class the gun range offers I wasn't so much afraid of guns as I was uncomfortable with them. My lack of experience (and, I imagine, that of many of the women who take the class) made me a better student. I knew that I didn't know anything so it was important for me to pay attention to make sure I learned how to handle a gun properly. It's easier to learn good habits than to unlearn bad ones.

Date of Infamy

I found these in my grandmother's attic when I was (much) younger. Unfortunately they had already been folded so there are creases and small tears in them. I thought they were still worth sharing.

The Louisville Courier-Journal

The Louisville Times

Other bits from inside the papers-

Goebbels turned out to be wrong then but his quotation is worth thinking about now.

I would like to see some of the newspapers from the days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Judging by this letter to the editor, The Louisville Times appears to have been supporting neutrality in the war. What a difference a day makes.

Is That a Threat or a Promise?

One of the six imams ordered off a US Airways flight this week is calling for a boycott of the airline.

Another news article is predicting that the US Airways/Delta merger may cause ticket prices to rise in some areas. This includes a number of cities in Florida (one of my favorite destinations.)

I'm thinking that if the boycott goes through it will make this carrier attractive to many travelers regardless of ticket price.

Soccer Violence in France

Pajamas Media has a report about a Jewish soccer fan who was attacked by a mob after a soccer game and the policeman, Antoine Granomort, who tried to protect him.

French President Jacques Chirac expresed horror at the event and was either "astonished" or "stupified", according to other news reports. It's nice to hear that he's "horrified" but if this surprised him, he hasn't been paying attention.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said, "This was football, not war." (Except for the part where each side wears a uniform that identifies it and you have a winner and a loser, it's nothing like war.) If he means the behavior of the fans, then it's true, it's not like the wars of the last few centuries. Tribal warfare existed before there were nations and news reports make it sound as though France is becoming less intigrated and more tribal.

There are now discussions about controlling ticket sales to avoid incidents like this in the future. Forgive me if I have doubts that this will be much help. They should ask the policeman who was involved if he has any suggestions, he's already shown an ability to evaluate the situation and take action. (No, I'm not suggesting shooting all the hooligans, just that he may have ideas on what could be done to prevent something like this from happening again.)

It was probably just a coincidence of location but it was interesting to me that the man who was attacked and the policeman who tried to defend him took refuge in a McDonald's. Could they have picked a place that was any less French?

Who Decides the Dress Code, the Employer or Employee?

A muslim woman in England who had been working as a teaching assistant in a school has been suspended for refusing to take off her veil in class.

She did not wear it when she was interviewed (by a man) for the job so I don't see how she can insist that she must wear it around men while she works. The school claims that wearing the veil makes it difficult for students for whom English is a second language to understand her. She says that it hasn't been a problem.

Hawley Isn't the Only One

A Wisconsin man who wrote "Kip Hawley is an Idiot" on a plastic bag containing toiletries said he was detained at an airport security checkpoint for about 25 minutes before authorities concluded the statement was not a threat.

Ryan Bird, 31, said he wrote the comment about Hawley -- head of the Transportation Security Administration -- as a political statement. He said he feels the TSA is imposing unreasonable rules on passengers while ignoring bigger threats.

I can understand the frustration of travelers and agree that some of the rules seem a bit silly but I don't see the point in a protest that will only be seen by the people who are simply doing their jobs. They probably think some of the things they have to do are pointless and have their own ideas of what would work better - just as most other people working in any type of industry who don't have decision making positions and just do as their job description instructs them.

I don't think this was worth detaining someone over but it was childish to protest in a way that would only be seen by the screeners who have no control over policy decisions.

Read more about the story on FlyerTalk.com. The discussion is mostly about whether this is a first Amendment issue and the lack of respect the TSA workers show to passengers. I think they need to reread the First Amendment and remember that if you want repect, you need to be willing to show respect for others too.

Clear-Cutting Trees and Pruning Articles

Some landowners in North Carolina have been clear-cutting their lots in order to prevent their land from being designated as protected habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker.

I was trying to decide if the intent of the article was to show the pragmatism of the landowners or to illustrate unintended consequences of designating privately owned land as protected. Then I got to this part:

Bonner Stiller has been holding on to two wooded half-acre lakefront lots for 23 years. He stripped both lots of longleaf pines before the government could issue its new map.

“They have finally developed a value,” said Mr. Stiller, a Republican member of the state General Assembly. “And then to have that taken away from you?”

Now it's clear. It's about evil Republicans being mean to the little birdies. (It is the NYT.)

There are several protected clusters of the woodpeckers on state and federal land already. The NYT article also omits the information that "Fish and Wildlife warned town officials that issuing building permits in certain areas might make them liable for “inadvertent violations of the Endangered Species Act.” Anyone convicted of killing, harming or “harassing” the bird could face as much as a year in prison and $100,000 in fines." This second article is the unedited version - the NYT one left out information but felt the need to add Mr. Stiller's party affiliation. Maybe it's just me, but I would have thought that the risk of fines is more relevant than one's political identity.

There's No Pleasing Some People

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), the world's largest retailer, said on Thursday it would cut the prices of nearly 300 generic drugs to $4 per prescription starting in the retirement haven of Tampa, Florida.

Even though this will save money for patients and taxpayers (by reducing Medicaid costs) there are still critics who called it a public relations move. I would have thought that a plan that would benefit both the company and its customers would be a good thing but I keep forgetting that Wal-mart is "evil".

Not Your Usual Ribbon Cutting

Open Range Paintball Arena and Gun Range hosted an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony on September 19. Attendees included members of the Louisville Chamber of Commerce, Oldham County Chamber of Commerce, politicians and their representatives, and other area business people.

No scissors needed here. Instead, the ribbon cutters had their choice of pistols.

City of Crestwood Mayor Dennis Diebel with Open Range owners Barry, and Cynthia Laws (from left to right behing the ribbon target) and others who helped with the ribbon "cutting".

Barry and Cynthia with Kentucky State Senator Ernie Harris (center).

I also took a few pictures of the paintball arena -

I didn't shoot this video, I found it on YouTube. It will give you a better idea of what it's like than my still photos do.

C₁₄H₉Cl₅

Instapundit has posted about the World Health Organization's endorsement of using DDT to fight malaria.

The only thing "new" about this news is that WHO made the effort to speak out about the problem and that the U.S. is planning on providing funds for DDT use in Africa.

WHO began a program of DDT use in the 1950s but this effort was cut back when the environmental movement of the 60s campaigned against its use. Many nations banned the use of DDT and refused to provide foreign aid for programs that use it. The main focus of the ban was agricultural use, it was still used for indoor spraying but this was limited due to politics and economics.

Funding for the indoor use of DDT is a step in the right direction but this use only fights against the adult mosquitoes. When we start hearing recommendations for its use outdoors to eliminate breeding areas, that will be news.

Ignorance is Strength

An Indonesian journalist faces trial over his decision to publish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

An editor with Rakyat Merdeka said, "We just wanted to let people know about the cartoons, which were being strongly protested at that time." Apparently it's better to protest something when you only have second-hand knowledge of it. He's been charged with "inciting hatred towards a religious group".

Shouldn't that be "by" instead of "towards"?

Stem Cell Research

“This is not some wedge issue; this is the soul of America,’’ said Representative Diana DeGette, Democrat of Colorado, who sponsored the bill Mr. Bush vetoed. “And this is a colossal mistake on the part of the president.’’

It was not a mistake because it was a wedge issue. This bill did more to create talking points for future elections than it would have done to promote embryonic stem cell research.

This is why you heard that researchers are leaving the country. (A few have but lack of federal funding isn't the only reason. It also has to do with U.S. patents on cell lines which aren't patented in other countries.) This is why you heard that embryonic stem cells offer the best hope for a cure for diseases. (Studies are confirming a finding by the University of Louisville that adult stem cells can be made to mimic embryonic stem cells.)

The arguments against the bill were based on moral grounds. I understand the objections that some people have but I don't know if a five-day-old cluster of cells that was created in a lab and has no chance of being implanted in a woman's womb should be considered the same as an implanted embryo (naturally or artificially). I tend to think not since it could not mature enough to survive without implantation but I also believe that technology could advance enough in the future where it would be possible for an embryo to mature into a full term baby solely through artificial support. If and when this occurs, would we want legislation setting a precedent that allows life created in a lab to be used for federally funded experimentation? (The bill that was passed, S. 3504, prohibits farming of fetuses but only covers human pregnancies and non-human animals used as a surrogate.) When would the cutoff period be then? Some might say it should never be allowed, others might say before the first heartbeat (about five weeks after fertilization), and others might feel that any time up until term would be okay as long as the perceived need was great enough.

The current restrictions prohibit a lab that receives federal funding from using newer colonies of stem cells. The only ones available for this are from embryos destroyed before Aug. 9, 2001. This doesn't prevent labs from doing the research with private or state funding. There is no ban on the research. It's being done at universities (Harvard has developed 17 new stem cell lines) and pharmaceutical companies. With all of the complaints about drug companies profits, it's a bit ironic to think that there are some who would be willing to subsidize their research with taxpayer dollars.

The problem is that a lab that receives federal funding and wants to do embryonic stem cell research on non-approved lines must have a totally separate section for this. Nothing shall be shared, directly or indirectly, including location, equipment, or maintenance.

If our legislators had wanted to create an effective bill, it would have had nothing to do with what lines are available, it would have simplified the accounting of indirect costs for facilities and administration. I believe this would have had a greater chance of becoming law but laws about accounting don't give them as much opportunity for high profile sound bites. What politician wants to tell how he/she fought for or against making sure that even the brooms used to sweep up in the labs have their costs pro-rated according to their use in federally funded labs and research labs using other funding when claiming to be "for science" or "for life" is a much surer bet to make the evening news?

Choices

First a photo from the NYT showing a sniper firing towards U.S. positions.

Right there with the Mahdi army. Incredible courage. - Michele McNally (commenting on photographer Joao Silva)

Second from China Daily, a story about a newswoman who tried to give first aid to a drowning victim instead of covering the rescue attempt.

A person's life is much more important than a news story. - Cao Aiwen

Stating the Obvious

I'm not really sure why this is news.

A microphone picked up an unaware President Bush saying on Monday Syria should press Hezbollah to "stop doing this shit" and that his secretary of state may go to the Middle East soon.

There's already been speculation that Rice will go to the Middle East, so a confirmation that it is being considered is no surprise. The statement that Hezbollah needs to "stop doing this shit", seems fairly clear and precise to me and probably got more nods of agreement from most of us than any vetted speech would.

Have a Baby, Get a Life

From the Telegraph:

A study published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that girls as young as 13 see motherhood as preferable to working in a low-paid, dead-end job.

Far from the common assumption that teenage pregnancies result from irresponsibility or ignorance about contraception, some young girls actively choose to have a baby as a way to change their life and to gain independence and a new identity.

Wouldn't You Miss Me?

Roger Keith (Syd) Barrett, one of the original members of Pink Floyd, died Friday.

They Deserve Our Trust Because They Can't Keep a Secret?

Op-Ed in the NYT - When Do We Publish a Secret?

It seems to me that when someone spends as much time as the NYT and LAT have explaining their actions, it should be a clue that they have made the wrong choice.

They want our trust. Revealing government secrets was done for the "greater good"...but who has benefitted?

What's the Price per Minute on Free Speech?

Congratulations, you're the valedictorian. Your school claims they want you to be an independent thinker...as long as you do and say what they tell you.

She knew her speech as valedictorian of Foothill High School would be cut short, but Brittany McComb was determined to tell her fellow graduates what was on her mind and in her heart.

But before she could get to the word in her speech that meant the most to her -- Christ -- her microphone went dead.

The decision to cut short McComb's commencement speech Thursday at The Orleans drew jeers from the nearly 400 graduates and their families that went on for several minutes.

However, Clark County School District officials and an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday that cutting McComb's mic was the right call. Graduation ceremonies are school-sponsored events, a stance supported by federal court rulings, and as such may include religious references but not proselytizing, they said.

They said McComb's speech amounted to proselytizing and that her commentary could have been perceived as school-sponsored.

If their only concern was that it might be perceived as school-sponsored, couldn't they just have introduced her with the statement that her speech was her opinion and didn't necessarily reflect that of the school?

It's common to have an announcement that the claims made during an infomercial are not those of the station that is broadcasting it. Would something similar have been so difficult? Does the peddling of crap to insomniacs deserve a higher standard of free speech than an address by a valedictorian?

The Clark County School Board's regulations even state that a speech "may not be restricted because of its religious (or anti-religious) content, and "[t]o avoid any mistaken perception that a school endorses student or other private speech that is not in fact attributable to the school, school officials may make appropriate neutral disclaimers to clarify that such speech is not school sponsored."

The district's legal counsel said that this just covers a discussion of religion but not preaching, which is what they believe she was doing. I don't see where they get "no preaching" (if that's what it was) out of "may not be restricted".

Do you think if she had agreed that what she was going to say was preaching and had put some of these adults in charge of passing around the collection plates that they might have been more amenable? If infomercial advertisers can make any claims they want as long as they pay, maybe a little cash was all that was needed here.

Catching Up

This picture is for everyone who laughs when I say we have "watch cats" guarding our home. Our cats don't have many opportunities to meet up with bears but they are territorial and don't like strangers.

A man who tried robbing a store is now suing for emotional distress. Those mean store employees hit him with a pipe and took his gun away from him. One good thing about our court system is that anyone with a complaint can sue. The bad thing is that "anyone" includes idiots like this guy.

Marine says the rules of engagement were followed in Haditha. The marines say one thing, the neighbors say another and regardless of whom you believe, both sides have a reason to mislead investigators. Either way, I believe that the ones that are ultimately responsible for the deaths of civilians are the terrorists who use these people's homes to launch attacks. When terrorists attack, they choose the time and place and they are the ones trying to hide behind women and children. When our troops are fighting enemies like that the truly amazing thing is that events like Haditha don't happen more often. That this isn't a daily occurrence shows that our troops are well-trained and act with restraint even if they overreacted this time (and I'm not yet convinced that they did).

Castro calls the killing of Zarqawi a barbarity.

Castro said if Cuba used the same logic, it could bomb the United States to kill its No. 1 enemy, Luis Posada Carriles, who is being held in El Paso, Texas on immigration charges.

Yes, it's exactly the same because Zarqawi was being held in prison...oh, wait....

First the Loaves, Now the Fishes (Or How to Befuddle Newsweek)

Yesterday I had to take Trevor to the doctor. As I was waiting, I was reading an article in Newsweek about the concern that all the abandoned swimming pools in New Orleans would be a breeding ground for hugh numbers of mosquitoes. The article talked about how one solution has been to put a larvicide into the pools. What caught my attention was their surprise at a second solution. One group is providing small fish that eat the mosquito larvae. The fish will survive in poor conditions and would, I presume, be self-maintaining. The group providing the fish and the volunteers to distribute them is headed by Pat Robertson (this is the part they found surprising.)

Did Newsweek take a satirical article that said Robertson said that Katrina was "God's way of expressing its anger at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for its selection of Ellen Degeneres to host this year's Emmy Awards" seriously? (I know that Robertson has said some odd things but in this case what was reported appears not to be true.) Are they unaware of the help that Christian organizations have provided to hurricane victims?

Not surprisingly, Newsweek's inclusion of an opinion in a news article isn't a bit surprising.

Just Desserts

Restaurant Manager Fired For Letting Employees March Monday

The restaurant manager was fired for giving his employees the day off to march.

"I decided to give everyone the day off," says Wolfe.

Does he have any regrets?

"Not a single regret. It was the right cause."

The former restaurant manager knew the consequences. His boss told him not to do it and if he did, all 16 employees including 10 Latinos would be fired.

That didn't happen, but Wolfe was fired.

"I did get singled out, but I have no qualms about that," he said.

Wolfe calls his firing ironic because he's a white American and he says his boss, Victor Santiago is a Latino immigrant.

Wolfe, who is a philosophy graduate, can't understand his boss' position. The article doesn't provide any information about Santiago's views so we don't know what his stance is on immigration issues. The only thing we can tell is that there is a difference between his work ethic and that of Wolfe which is why Santiago has two restaurants and Wolfe is unemployed.

Blame the Media

Kevin Federline, husband of pop diva Britney Spears, says he was forced into a musical career by the US media....

Fake news and commentary masquerading as news was was bad enough. This is approaching unforgivable.

Debit Card Fraud

About two weeks ago I got a letter from my bank telling me that my debit card was going to be replaced due to the possibility of a security breach. I checked my account and didn't see any unauthorized charges. This was good, especially since I had already been through something similar with another account a year earlier.

The letter said that I could continue to use my card for almost a week and that a new one would be mailed out later that day. I don't know why I was allowed to continue to use the card if the risk was great enough to need to replace it. At least it gave me time to withdraw some cash so I could make it through the weekend since my new card didn't arrive until Monday - a week and a half after they said the card would be mailed out.

CNET has an article about the debit card fraud. What made this case different was that PINs were stolen along with the card data. This let the crooks use cards they made to get cash from ATMs.

Why would a business need to retain PINs? I wouldn't be surprised if it had been someone's idea to keep this information in order to protect the company/companies in case of charges of fraud. Whatever the reason, it was a short-sighted one that led to more problems than it could have solved.

This has made me consider cutting down on the use of my debit card and just withdrawing the cash that I think I'll need for the week. It would lessen my risk and might just help me stay within a budget. (Assuming I actually sat down and came up with a budget.)

A Lie Isn't the Same as a Secret

From the Duluth News Tribune: Plame's identity, if truly a secret, was thinly veiled

According to the article, anyone with a computer and an interest in her identity may have been able to figure out who she was and what she did. While I think that exposing truly covert agents should be severely punished (Aldrich Aimes, for example), I doubt that exposing Plame's identitiy fits in that category.

If simply lying to friends and neighbors about where she worked and what she did is enough to consider her "covert", then bars and nightclubs must be teeming with secret agents.

Once she was transferred to CIA headquarters it didn't matter what she said she did. Either maintaining her cover was no longer important or she (and the CIA) were inept. For the sake of our intelligence, I hope it's the former.

Review of Set 19

Set 19 (pdf) contains seven Tribunal hearings (summaries are in the extended entry).

In each case unclassified evidence or accusations are presented. In some cases a request is made to present classified evidence at a closed tribunal at a later time. After the presentation of the unclassified evidence the detainee is allowed to make a statement if he chooses and to answer questions from the Tribunal and his Personal Representative.

If one accepts the evidence as factual, then there is cause for all of the detainees to remain at Gitmo. If one accepts the detainees' statements as true, then none were fighting against coalition forces nor did they have any involvement in terrorist activities. Due to this conflict between the evidence presented and the detainees' testimony, any conclusions from these reports would be subjective.

ISN #457: Mohammed Gul - several of the questions in his case were about his name, whether Gul was a common name in his village and whether there were others with the same name. To me, this implies that he was known by name as a member of a terrorist organization and the Tribunal was trying to make sure that he was the correct Mohammed Gul. (There was no statement verifing this in the record.) Neither he nor the witness testified that there were others with the same name in their village.

The detainee denied the accusations but did not provide any evidence to contradict them.

Conclusion - There is enough evidence presented to continue to detain him.

ISN #1013: Name unknown - The detainee admits to trying to enter the United States illegally through Mexico but denies any relationship with terrorist organizations.

Conclusion - There is enough evidence to detain him.

ISN #686: Name unknown - the detainee refuses to answer most of the questions saying that the answers are in his file even thought the Tribunal tells him that they have not read the file and do not have it. He denies the accusations but will not make statements supporting his denials.

The report states that there is classified evidence that is not presented in this hearing.

Conclusion - Inconclusive from testimony given. Should detain pending presentation of classified evidence.

ISN #103 - Name unknown - the detainee would not participate in the Tribunal process. His reply to the accusations was made by his Personal Representative. The PR was able to confirm that the detainee traveled from China to Afghanistan but was unable to confirm or deny any accusation about involvement with terrorist groups, individuals, or activities.

Conclusion - Inconclusive from evidence given.

ISN #440: Mohammed (changed to Osama), last name unknown - The detainee denies accusations of fighting against coalition forces and of being a member of a terrorist organization. He does admit to working with a charitable organization that the United States has classified as having ties to Al Qaida.

Conclusion - The detainee has requested evidence be sent from his home. Although the evidence presented suggests cause to continue to hold the detainee, no conclusion can be made until the presentation of the detainee's evidence.

ISN #1050: Name unknown - The detainee makes contradictory statements that first seem to agree with the accusations and then to deny them. A request is made by the Recorder to present classified evidence at a later time.

Conclusion - Inconclusive from testimony given. Should detain pending presentation of classified evidence.

ISN #1043: Abdul Razak - the detainee was a government worker under the Taliban. He was first President of Customs and then Minister of Commerce. He admitted this but denied involvement in military affairs. There was a request by the Reporter to present classified evidence at a later time. According to the detainee, President Karzai excuse all former government workers who were not opposed to the new government.

Conclusion - although his positions in the Taliban government would indicate a fairly high involvement with them, his actual role and knowledge of terrorist activities cannot be determined from this report.

Notes: At least a couple of the detainees were captured by the new Afghan military. It is possible to draw a couple of different conclusions. The Afghans are aware of tribal relations and the detainees involvement with terrorist groups so one might have a reasonable assumption that there is evidence to continue to hold the detainees. Or, the Afghan military wants to be seen as being efficient in ridding their country of people with terrorist/Taliban ties and have taken people into custody on circumstantial evidence.

ISN #457

The tribunal presents the accusations (association with forces engaged in hostilities, possession of a weapon and communications equipment, he was captured with a recruiter and other Taliban members, had worked for Hezb-E Islami Gulbuddin, that coalition forces were fired upon during the seizure, and was captured near a suspected Taliban facility) and the detainee denies them all other than admitting to being in the general area (in his home in Afghanistan). Most of the questions involve asking the detainee about his living in Saudi Arabia during the Taliban rule and his return to Afghanistan.

The detainee presents one witness, Khan Zaman, who appears to be another detainee and a resident of the same village in Afghanistan. The detainee mentioned that Khan and Gul both have the same meaning and the witness said that all the residents of the village were of the same tribe so I think it's possible that there is a familial relationship also.

Many of the tribunal's questions for the witness involved asking about the number of people in the village with the name Gul and whether the detainee's name, Mohammed Gul, was common.

ISN #1013

The detainee was accused of trying to enter the United States illegally through Mexico, of using forged travel documents, of traveling on a vessel that was the focus of Operation Southern Watch, and that the smuggler who operated this vessel had close ties to known terrorist groups.

The detainee admitted to trying to enter the country illegally but denied being present on the vessel or knowing about the smuggler's relationship with terrorist organizations.

ISN #686

There is no introductory summary of the accusations against the detainee. It is noted that the Recorder requested a closed sesson at a later time to present classified information. (One question later on indicates he was arrested due to suspected ties with Al Qaida.)

This detainee said he is a student (from Yemen) in Pakistan and had no other statement to make.

When questioned about his studies he says the answers are all in his file. The tribunal tells him that they do not have access to his file but he refuses to provide any other information about whether he was studying at a University or taking religious studies.

He was arrested by Pakistanis in a house with several other people and has been at Gitmo for about two years according to his testimony.

The detainee denies the truth of the exhibits against him but refuses to make any relevant statements on his own behalf. He again answers several questions by saying the information is all in his file.

The Personal Representatve summarizes the accusations - the detainee is associated with Al Qaida, has trained with Al Farouq, that he was captured with ammunition, that he was captured with others associated with Al Qaida, that he is associated with Jama'at al-Tabligh and that this is a missionary organization used as a cover to mask terrorist activities. The detainee denied the accusations that involved his actions and claimed no knowledge of other people or groups.

ISN #103

The detainee did not want to take part in the tribunal process. His representative read the allegations and answers given by the detainee during a previous interview. The detainee admits to traveling from China to Afghanistan in August/September 2001. He stayed in a guest house in Kabul for about six weeks. The Personal Representative cannot say whether the detainee traveled with an individual who may be involved in the East Turkistan Islamic Party. The detainee left Kabul for Kandus when the U.S. bombing started. He was captured and was later present at the Mazar-E-Shariff prison uprising.

The detainee stated that the PR accurately represented his statements.

ISN #440

In November 2004, the tribunal tried to arrange for a witness named Mamar Diann to come from Yemen to testify. The Yemen government has not responded to the request so the witness was not present.

The detainee was accused of traveling to Afghanistan using forged documents. He denied this saying that the documents were real but he had changed his name to Osama. He was accused of receiving weapons training in Afghanistan but said that he had not done so. He learned how to use a Kalashnikov at age seven and did not need training with that and had not received training with any other weapons. He claims to have been employed by a charity group. In answer to further questions, the detainee denies any involvement with terrorist or with fighting against coalition forces.

Much of his testimony was about his reason for traveling to Afghanistan. He went there to earn money working for a charity to post bail for his grandfather who had stabbed someone and to avoid retaliation.

ISN #1050

The detainee had requested a character witness but this was denied since it wasn't relevant to the accusations. The Recorder presented evidence and asked for a closed Tribunal session later to present classified evidence.

The detainee admitted to being a student at madrassas in Afghanistan. He denied acting as a guide for groups committing attacks. He admits to being arrested on the battlefield after the group he was with exchanged gun fire with the Afghan Militia Force. He seems to contradict this later under questioning. He says he was arrested while walking to a village.

He denies learning about jihad in the madrassa and says he doesn't know the meaning of jihad.

ISN #1043

Detainee Abdul Razak is accused of being a member of the Taliban and working for them as President of Customs and then as Minister of Commerce from 1996 to 2001. He admits to this but denies having any involvement in military affairs.

According to his testimony President Karzai announced that former Taliban government workers were excused but he was still arrested. The detainee believes this reversal was due to the Americans entering Afghanistan. A later statement says that the announcement said that those not in opposition to the new government were excused.

The detainee says he was not in opposition to the new government but his nephew was. The detainee had been arrested at his nephew's home.

I Never Learned to Say "No"

From the Washington Post - Unintended Pregnancy Linked to State Funding Cuts

The problem is particularly acute for the nation's estimated 17 million adolescent girls and low-income women, because a lack of education and money are often barriers to practicing abstinence or effective birth control.

Everyone's a Critic

A 12-year-old visitor to the Detroit Institute of Arts stuck a wad of gum to a $1.5 million painting, leaving a stain the size of a quarter.

The Bay by Helen Frankenthaler (sans gum).

Students Liked Him, the Faculty Didn't - Guess Who Won (Nobody)

Instapundit linked to an article about Harvard President Larry Summers. After reading it, I'm more confused than before.

Sarah Bahan, 22, was wistful as she left the meeting. She had kind words to say about Summers' emphasis on hard sciences.

So his questioning of different aptitudes among men and women wasn't part of a master plan to keep all the female students out of hard science programs?

"This is a sort of 'I'm-not-a-feminist-but' generation," said J. Lorand Matory, a professor of anthropology and of African and African American studies. "I don't know if the word is 'conservative' as much as 'careerist.' "

That quotation made my head hurt. Is being a feminist antithetical to being a careerist? Are you a 'careerist' if you want to succeed on your talents rather than on filling some quotia? Or is that 'conservative'?

I bet I would understand the nuance here if I had gone to Harvard.

To Matory, the African American studies professor, it was no surprise that students were not calling to oust Summers. Students rarely have occasion to interact with a university president, he said, and tend not to follow internal faculty politics.

"If anything," Matory said, "the vast number of students don't care."

Students are there for an education, not to get involved with disputes between the faculty and the president.

Harry Lewis, a computer science professor and former dean of Harvard College who left under pressure from Summers, said campus politics here had been shifting for decades, as more students from less affluent backgrounds enrolled.

"The Harvard student body looks more like America than the Harvard faculty," he said. "That's what's happened."

If only Harvard had limited enrollment to the affluent and not let in those "other people".

The quotations from the faculty (or former faculty) and the ones from the students sound as though they are talking about two different people. The students are pleased because Summers put their interests first. The faculty is displeased because he didn't put their wants first.

One of these two groups has forgotten who is paying whom.

Inoffensive Content is the New Standard for News

The NYT's Public Editor's Web Journal has a post about the reasons the paper won't publish the political cartoons.

“On the one hand, we have abundant evidence that a significant number of people -- some of them our readers -- consider these cartoons deeply offensive and inflammatory.”

If they are concerned about "offensive" content, it's time to stop the presses, turn off the lights, lock the doors, and go home. What could a newspaper publish with complete confidence that it wouldn't offend someone?

“On the other hand,” he continued, “we feel we can quite adequately convey the nature of the cartoons by describing them.”

I haven't read or listened to every news piece about the cartoons but the ones that I have read/heard have described only one or two of them. The cartoon that I think represents these events the best - the cartoonist looking over his shoulder while he draws Muhammed - is one that I haven't heard described in the MSM news stories.

Mr. Keller said some editors proposed publishing “a photograph that shows the front page of one of the European papers on which the cartoon was prominently displayed.” Others, he said, “argued that publishing it in context -- as information readers would find useful in forming their own opinions about the indignant reaction from many Muslims -- was the right thing to do journalistically.”

"Publishing it in context". Isn't that how this all began? The original cartoons were published to accompany an article on self-censorship and freedom of speech. (And isn't "indignant reaction" a bit of an understatement?)

(Link via Petrelis Files)

CNN: New Humor Division

I was reading a CNN article about Cindy Sheehan and Beverly Young, both of whom were removed from the SOTU gallery. It seemed like a typical news article until I read this line that made me wonder if the reporter is trying to get a gig as a joke writer - Sheehan, on the other hand, was thrust into the spotlight after her 24-year-old son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq in April 2004.

If by "thrust" you mean "jumped into", then sure, she was thrust into the spotlight.

It's Not About the SOTU, It's About Me!

Yesterday evening just before the State of the Union Address, Cindy Sheehan was removed from the gallery for wearing a protest t-shirt. Truthout has Cindy Sheehan's version of her arrest.

She begins by telling us how busy she was that day and how she hadn't really planned on attending. It sounds as if her wearing the t-shirt was just a matter of a lack of time for preparation.

Or stupidity.

I was never told that I couldn't wear that shirt into the Congress. I was never asked to take it off or zip my jacket back up.

Who knew that t-shirts weren't appropriate attire? I mean, everytime I see the Senate on C-SPAN they're all, um, well they're all in business attire...but this is different, it's a special occasion. Removing the shirt at that point would not have been wise. There are some things that even Senators don't deserve to be exposed to.

But then she says, I wore the shirt to make a statement. The press knew I was going to be there, and I thought every once in awhile they would show me, and I would have the shirt on. I did not wear it to be disruptive, or I would have unzipped my jacket during George's speech. If I had any idea what happens to people who wear shirts that make the neocons uncomfortable, that I would be arrested ... maybe I would have, but I didn't.

So it really wasn't a lack of time because her decision to attend was a last minute thing. She wanted to be seen on TV wearing that shirt but played her hand too early.

Update: The wife of Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Indian Shores, told a newspaper that she was ejected during the State of the Union address for wearing a T-shirt that says, "Support the Troops Defending Our Freedom."

While I prefer her message to that of Sheehan's (2245 Dead), I still believe that this was not the appropriate time or place for wearing a t-shirt of any kind. For those that think we shouldn't concern ourselves with rules of etiquette, sloganeering and protesting in the Capitol is also against the law.

Buy Danish

The request for Americans to buy Danish products is in reaction to a Saudi-backed boycott of them over some political cartoons that appeared in a Danish newspaper.

Other than Danish Havarti (a smooth, creamy cheese that is one of my favorites) and Lego (with three kids, we have so many of this product that I'm thinking of using them to build an addition on to the house) I can't name any Danish imports. So I Googled it. And there at the bottom of the first page was what looked like my best resource - Google Answers: List 100 Danish products? But when I clicked on the link I found "The requested content is no longer available. It has been removed by a Google editor." I checked the cached version and can't figure out what was so offensive about it that led to its removal. Was it an effort to avoid showing a list (although a list of companies/products had not yet been provided) to boycotters? To supporters?

I did find that Denmark is a large exporter of canned ham and pork products. I don't imagine that the boycott will affect those companies but the anti-boycott may.

Wal-Mart

The recent announcement that thousands of people applied for a few hundred jobs at a new Wal-Mart has revived the ongoing discussion of whether or not Wal-Mart is evil incarnate.

Let's start with the shopping experience since that's my only "Wal-Mart experience".

On the plus side: I have found things there that I wanted and couldn't find at other local general merchandise stores. My local Wal-Mart also has a sewing and crafts department. While it isn't extensive it has saved me a 30+ minute drive to the nearest fabric store when I've needed materials for costumes and other projects. I don't really price shop for groceries and day-to-day items, I'm not that organized, but if I did, their prices would probably go in the "plus" list.

The negatives of shopping there: My two biggest complaints are long checkout lines and the U-scan software. I go out to get what I need today or tomorrow so it's frustrating for me to see only a few lines and all of them having long lines of (more organized) people who are getting a whole week's or more worth of shopping in. All of those overflowing carts sends me heading for the U-scan lanes but that is just as bad. The software for those things makes anything Microsoft ever put out look bug-free by comparison. Since paying for the merchandise is the last thing you do before leaving, a bad experience here can negate any good experience you had while shopping.

Who would want to work there and why?

On the plus side: Job applicants don't need to have extensive education or experience. While most of us wouldn't consider a job there to be a life career choice, it does give many people the opportunity to enter the workforce. Students getting their first job or a stay-at-home mom who doesn't have a recent employment history can use a job there as a stepping stone to other employment. For many employers, your ability to show up for work when you're scheduled is just as important as any skills you may have.

The negatives: Since I haven't worked there I can't say for sure what is negative about working for Wal-Mart that isn't just as bad anywhere else. There are complaints that they hire too many part-timers instead of full-time employees to avoid providing benefits. This may be true but if you are the sole income provider for yourself or your family and the best job you can get is part-time at Wal-Mart, your problems began long before you were hired there.

I think the biggest problem that Wal-Mart has is that those who are doing most of the complaining aren't the ones for whom shopping or working there is the best option available. Wal-Mart isn't perfect but its success shows that it fills a need. If you don't like it, don't shop or work there but don't assume that those who do are too stupid to make their own decisions without your help.

God's Not Mad but Ray Nagin Might Be

According to New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, God is mad at America for being in Iraq.

From the looks of this list of major hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, and other storms, God has been quite peeved with several countries. If storms are divine retribution then Bangladesh must be the country that He finds most irksome.

It would be nice if our weather was limited to warm sunshine and gentle rains but it doesn't work that way. In some places, at some times the warm sunshine becomes arid unrelenting heat and the gentle rains become violent killing storms. God isn't punishing anyone but if you elect politicians who fail to plan for emergencies or fail to carry out plans then you may just end up punishing yourself.

Florida Supreme Court Blocks School Vouchers

In its ruling, the Florida court cited an article in the State Constitution that says, "Adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high quality system of free public schools."

The Opportunity Scholarships Program "violates this language," the court said.

"It diverts public dollars into separate private systems parallel to and in competition with the free public schools that are the sole means set out in the Constitution for the state to provide for the education of Florida's children," the ruling said. "This diversion not only reduces money available to the free schools, but also funds private schools that are not 'uniform' when compared with each other or the public system."

The vouchers were for children who had been attending failing schools so it's obvious that the public schools aren't 'uniform' either.

I'm just wondering - if all the people involved in this suit had spent the time that they worked on it volunteering at the failing schools as tutors, teachers aides, mentors, or helping out in whatever way was needed - what would the result have been?

Bah! Humbug!

A complaint about McDonald's that has nothing to do with the menu - Woman Asks Restaurant To Remove Sign, 'Jesus Is The Reason For The Season'

"It offends me because it specifically talks about Jesus, Merry Christmas. It doesn't give credit to anyone else," Alpert said.

Santa? Macy or Gimble?

"I care because I'm Jewish, and the reason for the season is upsetting to me," Alpert said.

A holiday celebrating the birth of one of the most, possibly the most, influential Jews ever born...I can see how that might be upsetting.

Yes, I'm being intentionally obtuse about what her complaint really is. If you don't like something a business does, don't go there. Contact the manager/owner if you want but leave the media out of it.

Knock Me Over With a (Parrot) Feather

A Reuters article reports the theft of "a lion cub and two Arabic-speaking parrots in a recent raid on Gaza's zoo" but it was the penultimate sentence that caught my attention:

Lawlessness in Gaza has increased since Israel completed its pullout in September, ending 38 years of occupation.

Lawlessness? Wow, I'm surprised no one saw that coming.

Cut Pollution at Home by Cutting Down Rainforests Abroad

THE drive for "green energy" in the developed world is having the perverse effect of encouraging the destruction of tropical rainforests. From the orang-utan reserves of Borneo to the Brazilian Amazon, virgin forest is being razed to grow palm oil and soybeans to fuel cars and power stations in Europe and North America. And surging prices are likely to accelerate the destruction.

Now I'm just waiting for the biofuel companies to get the same kind of public scorn that the petroleum companies have.

Still waiting.

I think I'll take up a hobby to pass the time while I wait. Maybe I'll build a full-scale model of the Eiffel Tower. Out of toothpicks. That I carve myself. I bet I'd get more complaints about my destruction of trees than the biofuel companies do.

$100 Laptop

The MIT $100 Laptop looks pretty good.

The proposed $100 machine will be a Linux-based, full-color, full-screen laptop that will use innovative power (including wind-up) and will be able to do most everything except store huge amounts of data. This rugged laptop will be WiFi-enabled and have USB ports galore. Its current specifications are: 500MHz, 1GB, 1 Megapixel.

It will also be peer-to-peer capable right out of the box.

The laptops will not be available for sale and will only be distributed to schools directly through large government initiatives. They will begin manufacturing the laptops when they have 5 - 10 million paid orders and plan to begin shipping them in late 2006 or early 2007.

I'm kind of sorry that they won't be available for sale. I like gadgets and think it would be cool to have one of these. I'm guessing that the main reason they won't be for sale is that they will have enough trouble producing all the ones they'll need for the "One Laptop per Child" project.

I think it would be really cool if they had a "buy one, sponsor one (or more)" program. I'd do it and I imagine there are plenty of others who would too. The laptops would, of course, go to those who need them first. Once the orders for the children have been filled, the sponsors could receive theirs.

A sponsorship program would get more people involved and help finance the project. It would also reduce the potential customers for blackmarket sales of the laptops, further making sure that the computers get to the kids who need them.

Celebrating Diversity (Except the Kinds We Don't Agree With)

Along with the ban on handguns in San Francisco, voters have approved "Measure I, dubbed "College Not Combat," opposes the presence of military recruiters at public high schools and colleges. However, it would not ban the armed forces from seeking enlistees at city campuses, since that would put schools at risk of losing federal funding."

"We now have the moral weight of the city behind us, and it's definitely a valuable asset to have in our corner," said Bob Matthews, a College Not Combat activist, adding that the victory would help put pressure on the government to someday institute an actual ban on campus military recruiting.

Moral weight? Accepting recruiters, even though you disagree with them, would be taking a higher moral ground than being willing to sell your beliefs for continued funding.

I don't understand the need to ban recruiters unless the San Francisco schools have done such a poor job of educating their students that they've never learned critical thinking. You know those wiley recruiters will dupe those poor dumb kids into signing up....

The military isn't for everyone, but neither is college. Even if you would never enlist, why should the only option for non-college bound students be the best McJob they can get with a high school diploma?

War and Peace

When I read about the NYT's selective editing of a letter from Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr to emphasize "the harsh life and nearness of death in Iraq" it made me think about another organization that sends volunteers to foreign countries with the goal of improving conditions there, the Peace Corps.

The Dayton Daily News did a series of articles in 2003 about the dangers these volunteers face.

Records from a never-before-released computer database show that reported assault cases involving Peace Corps volunteers increased 125 percent from 1991-2002, while the number of volunteers increased by 29 percent, according to the Peace Corps. Last year [2002], the number of assaults and robberies averaged one every 23 hours.

About one-third of the volunteers leave for non-medical reasons before their two-year commitment is up. Between 1961 and 2003, more than 250 volunteers died: some were murdered, some died by suicide, and some under mysterious circumstances.

Where are the protests demanding to bring these volunteers home? Where are the defeatist headlines reporting each attack and declaring the program a failure?

There aren't any because people still recognize the good that is being done. According to the DDN, "Most of the more than 350 volunteers interviewed by the Daily News, even assault victims, looked favorably on their service. Many felt it was the most significant experience in their lives, giving them a new understanding of the world and leaving them with a new appreciation for the opportunities in the United States."

That's all we're asking for in the coverage of Cpl. Starr's letter, the rest of the story. The part of the letter that says, "I don't regret going, everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, it's not to me. I'm here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live. Not have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. To do what they want with their lives. To me that is why I died. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark."

Jury Duty Scam

A new (to me) scam has been making the news lately and if the papers reporting the story are any indication, it seems to be a problem in several states across the U.S.

I found more information about it from Snopes:

The scammer calls claiming to work for the local court and claims you've failed to report for jury duty. He tells you that a warrant has been issued for your arrest.

The victim will often rightly claim they never received the jury duty notification. The scammer then asks the victim for confidential information for "verification" purposes.

Specifically, the scammer asks for the victim's Social Security number, birth date, and sometimes even for credit card numbers and other private information — exactly what the scammer needs to commit identity theft.

Most courts only communicate by mail so it is unlikely that court workers will ever call and ask for personal information.

I'm going to assume that most of the people who read my blog would recognize that a phone call like this is a scam but I bet you know someone who isn't quite as savvy so, please, pass along the warning.

Rumors Presented as News

In the Washington Post: News of Pandemonium May Have Slowed Aid

"The television stations were reporting that people were literally stepping over bodies and violence was out of control," said Blanco press secretary Denise Bottcher, who was at the governor's side. "But the National Guardsmen were saying that what we were seeing on CNN was contradictory to what they were seeing. It didn't match up."

If the media couldn't get the news right in New Orleans what makes anyone think that their coverage of Iraq is any more accurate?

Should He Stay or Go?

In 1989 Marcel Cabrera, a French citizen from Algeria, moved to Louisville. Six years ago he was driving drunk and crashed, severely injuring his passenger. He "nursed her back to health and accepted responsibility for his crimes, pleading guilty to DUI, wanton endangerment and assault."

On July 7 he was returning to the U.S. from Canada and was stopped by federal agents who ran his record and took him into custody. "He has been held without bail since Aug. 17 at a maximum-security jail in Ullin, Ill., and the government is trying to deport him under a law that allows immigrants who are not naturalized citizens to be removed for violent offenses."

He has been here legally on a green card but "never found the time." He is fighting the deportation and twenty supporters have written to the immigration board on his behalf, including the woman who was injured in the crash who said "that if she -- the victim of his crime -- doesn't want Cabrera deported, then nobody should." She also said that this was an isolated incident but that's not exactly true. There haven't been other crashes but he has been arrested for other incidents involving alcohol and has been jailed for violating the terms of his probation.

Should DUI be considered a violent crime deserving of deportation? The judge in the original case gave him probation for five years rather than sending him to prison so why should he now be subject to deportation for the same offense?

It's Not as Big as You Think

The GayPatriot posts, If Iraq is like Vietnam, how come the rallies keep getting smaller?

Good question. It's something I noticed yesterday when I was watching the C-SPAN coverage of the event. The camera panned out over the crowd clusters of people and I wondered where were the thousands of people I had read about?

Are more and more people really against the war (as the polls seem to indicate) or are they just tired of bad news?

How many people would watch the Olympics if all the news coverage for it was about who lost, was disqualified, or was injured instead of who won? Focus on the failures instead of the victories and then do a poll to see how many people think that international sports competition seemed like a good idea but it just isn't working.

School teachers and business managers know that while you have to confront problems you also have to recognize achievements. So, are journalists too stupid to understand the importance of covering what is going right in Iraq or do they just hope we're too stupid to notice that they seldom do it?

Listening Makes My Brain Melt

I was flipping through the channels tonight and caught part of Gloria La Riva's rant speech in Washington D.C. The main focus of the part I heard was about freeing the Cuban Five. (She gave out their organization's URL but I linked to the Wikipedia entry instead.) I must have missed the part where she told what this has to do with Iraq.

As she was finishing she was yelling about stopping Bush's War on Terrorism and then she suddenly veered off in another direction and said to let the people go back to New Orleans. I laughed. I shouldn't have, it is possible she has a plan here. I've read that people in China whose families have lived on boats for generations are now moving into homes so maybe she has a connection that can get her used junks at a good price.

The Conscience of the Holocaust

Simon Wiesenthal dead at 96

The only value of nearly five decades of my work is a warning to the murderers of tomorrow, that they will never rest. - Simon Wiesenthal

Biography, photos, and quotations from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

The Right to Make Stupid Choices

There are reports that some people who have received FEMA or Red Cross debit cards are not making the wisest buying decisions.

Some Evacuees Spend Relief Money At Strip Clubs

I don't think that beer and strippers are what was meant by "relief".

Retailers take a swipe at Katrina card use

There are reports of people using the cards to buy $800 handbags, a PlayStation, jewelry, a TV, and a DVD player.

It is probably only a few people out of the thousands who received debit cards that are using them to buy non-essential items. (Unless lots of others had the sense to use the debit cards to get cash and then use the cash to make purchases that can't be tracked.) Some may also be people who were not victims of the hurricane and flooding but scammed the Red Cross. Even if the majority of people who got the debit cards use them wisely, news stories like this will only add to the opinion that many Katrina evacuees are less victims of the hurricane than they are victims of their own bad choices and squandered opportunities.

Disaster Survival

The Seattle Times has a printable disaster preparedness checklist and tip sheet (pdf).

The greater the disaster, the more you need to be able to care for yourself. Any event that is severe enough to destroy buildings will also damage routes into and out of your area. The government does not employ thousands of magical genies. It does not have transporters to beam in aid or whisk you away from danger. You will be on your own, so be prepared.

Grimace For the Camera

As I wrote earlier, I don't believe that the media should be publishing/showing photos of the dead in New Orleans. Some bloggers have compared the current interest in showing such photos with the media reaction after 9/11 when it was decided that images of the dead would be too upsetting. They're asking, why the change in attitude?

Well, let's see what the main differences in the events are. 9/11 was caused by foreign terrorists and many of the victims were white collar professionals. Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster where many of the victims were poor African-Americans.

I would hate to think that the desire not to inflame emotions after 9/11 meant that they didn't want to increase the anger of people in the U.S. against terrorists. The other reason that comes to mind, one based on the social class of the victims, isn't any better. It's not okay to show a photograph of a dead banker but if you're on welfare you don't deserve the same dignity?

No Respect

Reters reports U.S. agency blocks photos of New Orleans dead as if this were a bad thing. I'm not really clear on why they think taking pictures of dead bodies would add any value to news reports or why they think that they deserve to take up space on the rescue boats.

An agency spokeswoman said space was needed on the rescue boats and that "the recovery of the victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect."

One would think that rational people would understand this. Many of the victims will be beyond recognition. For the ones that aren't, is a news report with pictures the best way for surviving family members to find out about the fate of a loved one?

The Bush administration also has prevented the news media from photographing flag-draped caskets of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, which has sparked criticism that the government is trying to block images that put the war in a bad light.

This didn't start with the Bush administration, but, you know, facts aren't really a requirement for some bash Bush rants news reports.

Before Katrina

August 26, 2005

In anticipation of a possible landfall, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared states of emergency Friday.

Blanco said "very well-coordinated evacuations" were planned that will be enacted "if there's a direct threat."

New Orleans is of particular concern because much of that city lies below sea level.

"It's always a huge concern, because there's a very large lake, Lake Pontchartrain, that sits next to New Orleans, and if the hurricane winds blow from a certain direction there are dire predictions of what may happen in that city," Blanco said.

State of emergency proclamation issued on August 26. "
The state of Louisiana´s emergency response and recovery program is activated under the command of the director of the state office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to prepare for and provide emergency support services and/or to minimize the effects of the storm´s damage."
August 27, 2005

President Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana on Saturday because of the approach of Hurricane Katrina and his spokesman urged residents along the coast to heed authorities' advice to evacuate.

...The president's emergency declaration authorizes the FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts and to provide appropriate assistance in a number of Louisiana parishes, or counties.

August 28, 2005

Mayor Ray Nagin ordered an immediate evacuation Sunday for all of New Orleans...

...The mayor said Katrina's storm surge would likely top the levees that protect the city from the surrounding water of Lake Pontchartrain, the Mississippi River and marshes. The bowl-shaped city must pump water out even during normal times, and the hurricane threatened electricity that runs the pumps.

...The mayor said people who opted to go to the Superdome should take enough food and supplies to last three to five days. He said police and firefighters would fan out throughout the city telling residents to get out and that police would have the authority to commandeer any vehicle or building that could be used for evacuation or shelter. Hotels were exempted from the evacuation order because airlines had already canceled all flights out.

City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan

Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness with the Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Evacuation and Sheltering Plan (pdf)

Hurricane and Flood Bring Out the Bottom Feeders

Looting Begins in New Orleans

I was going to call the looters vultures but decided that the birds deserve better than that. Vultures are useful by providing a natural clean-up service. These people are simply thieves.

One man, who had about 10 pairs of jeans draped over his left arm, was asked if he was salvaging things from his store.

"No," the man shouted, "that's EVERYBODY'S store."

Looters filled industrial-sized garbage cans with clothing and jewelry and floated them down the street on bits of plywood and insulation as National Guard lumbered by.

Mike Franklin stood on the trolley tracks and watched the spectacle unfold.

"To be honest with you, people who are oppressed all their lives, man, it's an opportunity to get back at society," he said.

Sure, if by "society" you mean the people who own or work in the stores and people who will have to pay more for products later as a result of the thefts. Some smaller businesses that can't absorb the loss may close permanently. Other businesses may decide that the looting just adds insult to injury and relocate. Fewer businesses in the area means having to travel farther to shop and work.

Society is you and your neighbors and that's who the looters are hurting.

Update: Right Wing News has a post with comments from the Democratic Underground about the looting.

Sheehan Leaves Texas

Cindy Sheehan has left her camp in Texas for Los Angeles after learning that her mother had suffered a stroke. I can't say that I'm sad to see her leaving but I do wish it had been under better circumstances and hope that her mother has a full and speedy recovery.

Family Affair

Kobina Annan, the brother of Kofi Annan, is being investigated for a possible connection to the UN oil for food scandal.

Whiskeytown Falls

Giant waterfall discovered in California

A wildlife biologist makes the news for finding something several others already knew about.

There's no doubt the falls have had visitors over the years. The Wintu Indians were probably the first, although archeologists have so far found no traces on the site. A small band of loggers that harvested Douglas firs in the early 1950s left behind a choker cable and part of a bulldozer. A knife blade stuck in a nearby tree indicates that others have also made the trek.

Like Columbus and the New World, it's not the finding, it's the publicizing.

What's Black and White and Red All Over?

Michelle Malkin posts about a NYT editorial that calls the resistance to politicizing the 9/11 memorial with "controversial debate, dialogue, artistic impressions, or exhibits referring to extraneous historical events" un-American.

Doesn't the New York Times worry that it's squandering the good will that many Americans felt toward New York immediately following 9/11? Or is that something only the Republican administration can do in regard to other countries?

This is Not the Hanky-Panky You Are Looking For

Every day I watch the news on TV, hear it on the radio, and read it online. The new news changes - hurricanes, Tom Cruise, the London bombings. The old news stays the same - Karl Rove. The only thing that makes it mildly interesting is if someone refers to it as the Rove/Plame affair. Or better yet, the Rove/Plame/Wilson/Cooper/Novak/Miller affair. Now that sounds like some real hanky-panky. Unfortunately it's not nearly as interesting as it sounds.

I can't really tell what's going on with the whole thing. As best as I can tell some people think that Rove has Jedi mind control powers that surpass even Yoda. Good thing he's working for America, huh?

Update: Bill Murchison says it better. (Link via Michelle Malkin)

The Washington, D.C., Beltway is in one of its periodic orgies over next to nothing. Nobody gets by with pooh-poohing such proceedings, which will proceed until 1) the Beltway has made nothing sound like something, or 2) the rest of the country tunes out totally or falls dead asleep.

He's betting on the latter. Judging by my feelings on the matter, I am too.

Now I'm just waiting for someone to say that the public's general indifference to the story is another example of Rove's awesome super-mind-control powers.

Driving (People Crazy)

Outside the Beltway has a post about state governors being upset by a federal law requiring people to have proof that they are American citizens or legal residents to get a driver's license.

The governors are complaining about the cost of adding this requirement, not the cost to the states but the cost to the citizens.

"This is going to drive the cost of driver's licenses for ordinary folks through the roof," said Democrat Tom Vilsack of Iowa. "I think it's going to drive people crazy."

Kentucky already requires a birth certificate and a Social Security card. The license fee is $12. $3 a year isn't exactly what I would call "through the roof". If you don't have an official copy of your birth certificate you will have to order one. In Kentucky, that's a one-time fee of $10. There's no charge for a Social Security card. Compared to the cost of owning and operating a car, this isn't exactly an unreasonable financial burden.

Their other complaint is, "The law would demand skills of motor vehicle office clerks far beyond what is currently expected...." Raise your expectations then. What special skill set is needed to require identification?

Mean Girls

What's up with Vancouver?

********

I'm looking at news stories and tell my husband about this one.

Me: Vancouver has been having a problem lately with teenage girls beating up guys.

Jeff: Turns halfway towards me. Hooters?

Me: No, Vancouver.

Jeff: Goes back to playing WOW. Oh.

In School It's Called Socialization

The news announcer described the detainee's treatment. He was forced to wear a bra, bark like a dog, his manhhood was questioned and he was called a homosexual.

My teenage son's only comment was that the guy would never survive high school. Callous or just a clear idea of the difference between torture and humiliation?

Two Years Into the War

July 13 - New York City

What began as a small group soon grew into an angry mob of thousands protesting "poor man's blood for a rich man's war". Speeches given by partisan Democrat politicians helped to inflame the mob who went on to loot and destroy property and attack fellow citizens. What began as a protest against the war and the Republican administration turned into a brutal race riot. The mob's anger was directed at both the wealthy and at people whose ethinic background was the same as the one the war was supposed to liberate. One man, an Indian, was beaten to death because the crowd mistook his racial background.*

The war was already two years old and no end was in sight. The volunteer army was having trouble finding enough recruits. New York had initially supported the war but the mob formed when men began to fear they would be drafted.

The year was 1863. The war was the U.S. Civil War. The riot became known as the New York City Draft Riots.

"Eventually numbering some 50,000 people, the mob terrorized neighborhoods on the East Side of New York for three days looting scores of stores. Blacks were the targets of most attacks on citizens; several lynchings and beatings occurred. In addition, a black church and orphanage were burned to the ground.

All in all, the mob caused more than $1.5 million of damage. The number killed or wounded during the riot is unknown, but estimates range from two dozen to nearly 100."

More about the Draft Riots and the conditions of the Irish immigrants (who made up much of the mob) in the U.S. at the time.

A political cartoon of the day and more information about the riots from HarpWeekly. This one's worth reading just for the sentence that includes, "'Crush the Mob!' ran The New York Times headline" and the information that the paper's editor "averted the rioters with Gatling guns".

*The man was a Mohawk Indian but was assumed by the crowd to be black.

They-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

BBC edits out the word terrorist

Early reporting of the attacks on the BBC's website spoke of terrorists but the same coverage was changed to describe the attackers simply as "bombers".

The BBC's guidelines state that its credibility is undermined by the "careless use of words which carry emotional or value judgments".

The problem with trying to avoid making any value judgements is that you end up appearing to have neither values nor judgement. Words have power but changing what you call something doesn't change the thing itself.

Look At Me! Look At Me!

'Plain Dealer': We're Holding Big Stories Because of Fear of Jail

CHICAGO Plain Dealer Editor Doug Clifton says the Cleveland daily is not reporting two major investigative stories of "profound importance" because they are based on illegally leaked documents -- and the paper fears the consequences faced now by jailed New York Times reporter Judith Miller.

It sounds like something you would hear in a schoolyard. I know something you don't know but I'm not going to tell you because....

If you have information then you should be able to verify it independently. If it can't be verified, question the validity of the original information. If you choose not to do anything with it, why bring it up at all? Is the NYT gettting too much attention?

Maybe their masthead should read, "We don't want to report the news, we want to be the news!"

We're Not Afraid

People from around the world are posting pictures on We're Not Afraid to show support for London and to denounce terrorism after 7/7. To contribute a picture, send it to :
pics@werenotafraid.com

He Thinks He's the Victim

I'm not a bad person, I just have a disease contracted from society, and it hurts a lot. - Joseph Duncan, May 13, 2005

According to an article in the New York Daily News, this blog is by Joseph Duncan, the man arrested for kidnapping Shasta Groene.

"I was in prison for over 18 years, since the age of 17. As an adult all I knew was the oppression of incarceration. All those years I dreamed of getting out...And getting even. Instead, I got out and I got even, but did not get caught. So, I got even again, and again did not get caught. So, I figured, well, I got even twice (actually more, but that's here nor there), even if I'm the only one who knows, so now what?" - May 11, 2005

I Am So Smart, S-M-R-T

(Title quotation from Homer Simpson because, really, who can better illustrate the point?)

Transcript of a press conference by Nancy Pelosi, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

She talks about building evacuations when planes enter Capitol airspace. She starts out sounding as if she's against evacuation and then as if she's for it. I don't know. I'm confused.

She also talked about Social Security. "We also had events that welcomed the President wherever he went to educate the public about the perils of privatization. We're continuing that effort."

I really doubt they "welcomed the President" anywhere. I also doubt that the President was trying to "educate the public about the perils of privatization".

Well, let me have just a little bit of peril?

The questions and answers that are getting the most attention tonight are about the Kelo decision. My favorite line is, "So this is almost as if God has spoken."

If she equates the Supreme Court with God and there are three powers of government, does that mean she believes in the Holy Trinity? Has she just promoted herself to deity?

Update: I wasn't the only one who wondered about "that Trinity thing" - See Day by Day from 7/5.

Confidential Sources in News Stories

There's an interesting discussion on State of Affairs on WFPL (one of our local public radio stations) about the use of confidential sources in news reporting. There's an audio archive of programs. The show just ended so this one isn't available online now but should be soon.

The show's Web site also has links to related resources including: a compendium of news organizations' policies on anonymous sources from the American society of newspaper editors, a NYT article on the need for anonymous sources, and a survey on confidential sources by the First Amendment Center.

About News From Non-Professional Journalists

The 11 Layers of Citizen Journalism by Steve Outing. Discusses each of the following and provides examples.

1. The first step: Opening up to public comment
2. Second step: The citizen add-on reporter
3. Now we're getting serious: Open-source reporting
4. The citizen bloghouse
5. Newsroom citizen 'transparency' blogs
6. The stand-alone citizen-journalism site: Edited version
7. The stand-alone citizen-journalism site: Unedited version
8. Add a print edition
9. The hybrid: Pro + citizen journalism
10. Integrating citizen and pro journalism under one roof
11. Wiki journalism: Where the readers are editors

Less is More

Some news stories seem to go on and on, long after there's really anything new to cover. Maybe it has to do with 24-hour news channels needing to fill air time. Maybe part of the problem is blogs and their rehashing of news stories. Maybe I'm just cranky and have a short attention span. Whatever the reason, these are some of the recent news stories that I think have gotten too much coverage.

Katie Homes and Tom Cruise - Not news. Period.

Mark Felt - From the story in Vanity Fair to the recent book deal announcement (what a stunning surprise that was!), this one went on way too long. A paragraph or two with just a brief summary of who he is and what he did would have been enough. During Watergate, this would have been news, now it's just a bit of trivia.

Michael Jackson - Does anyone wonder if celebrity trials didn't get as much coverage as they do, would the verdicts be the same? Call it the Heisenberg Trial Effect, the act of observation changes the action. I think the celebrities deserve to have as little attention paid to their trials as any other citizen would get and I deserve not to have to watch meaningless coverage of the trial.

Natalee Holloway - I have a lot of sympathy for her family. Having a child go missing is a parent's nightmare come real. It does deserve news coverage but not to the extent that it's gotten. So far, most of the news stories about the missing teen could be summed up in "there's no news yet". A couple of local bloggers could do as well as all the MSM reporters have.

Gitmo - Mostly I'm tired of the whining about it. If you've complained about those poor detainees down there, if you've compared it to a gulag, if you've compared Bush to Hitler, if you think we live in a facist country, then why are you free to complain? If everything is as bad as you say, you wouldn't have had a chance to complain more than once before being shipped away.

I heard a story on the news recently about Iraqis that have joined the police and the military. They have received threats against them and their families in an effort to get them to quit. This made me think about the claims that some Gitmo detainees are innocent of any relations to terrorism and they were just swept up because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. If this were the case, maybe they would prefer to stay uninvolved in terrorist acts against their own countrymen. If the police and military get pressure to ignore terrorism, what kind of pressure would a returning detainee get? Being locked up may not be ideal but if the other choice would be trying to avoid those who want to recruit them to be mobile bombs.... Maybe these "innocents" would prefer that those trying to free them would just shut the hell up.

Steve Jobs at Stanford

The Commencement address given by Steve Jobs at Stanford is one of the better ones I've read this year. He tells three short stories about his life, each with a message. In the second one his message is do what you love but it also includes the idea that what seems to be the end of something is really a new beginning. Perfect for the occasion, afterall, it is a commencement speech, not a finalization one.

Making Your Choices Known

The autopsy report for Terri Schiavo was released and indicated that she had no hope of recovering a normal life.

The problem is that the debate on whether or not to remove her feeding tube was not just about her chance of recovery or her quality of life. It was about whether or not she had ever indicated what her wishes regarding life support were. She had no advance directive. The only evidence that she did not want to be kept on life support came from others' personal recollections of what she had mentioned in casual conversations.

If you're old enough to vote, you're old enough to make the decision as to what kind of care you do or don't want. The Schiavo case should have made it clear it's not just for old people. Give it some thought, decide what you want, print out the forms, fill them out and let your family know your wishes.

Do it for yourself. Do it for your family. Do it for the American public so we don't have to go through another public debate over what should have been a personal matter. Having the right to decide what kind of care you'll get doesn't have much meaning if you don't bother to make a choice.

The American Bar Association has a Consumer’s Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning that helps you make the decision of what type of care you want or don't want. It also offers suggestions on how to bring up the discussion of you decision with your family.

The U.S. Living Will Registry has links to printable state forms for advance directives.

The National Right to Life Committee has printable "Will to Live" forms.

Remembrance

Louisville native Marine Sergeant David Neil Wimberg died Wednesday after suffering wounds from small-arms fire from enemy forces in Iraq. Sergeant Wimberg was a young man who gave of himself to his community and his country. In high school he "helped organize blood drives, Special Olympics events and the annual senior retreat". He was also a volunteer with the Lyndon Fire Department. He joined the marines in 1999 and would have come home in September.

May God bless his family and give them strength.

Bad Taste From Pepsi CFO

Indra Nooyi's speech (.pdf) at Columbia Business School's graduation has created a stir. She compared the "major continents" of the world to fingers of the hand. North America, the U.S. in particular, was compared to the middle finger. As much as I dislike her comparison, I would really be upset if I were Australian. It was ranked the same as Antarctica - neither got a finger in her speech.

Then again, perhaps that's better than getting the finger.

Pepsi has posted a message of apology on their website.

Idiocy at 340.29 m / s

British rock band Coldplay played Manhattan to promote its highly anticipated new album and band members said they're uncomfortable that they sell so many albums they can move a major corporation's stock price.

(The CNN Money article follows this blurb with the statement "EMI Group Plc (unchanged at $16.12...)" Only it is wrong and links to the wrong company. Actual info is here.)

Lead singer Chris Martin (Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow, father of Apple) also said "fans should respond by downloading the band's music for free from unauthorized file-sharing websites. (They charge for downloads on the Coldplay site.)

Except the shared files aren't actually on websites and are shared directly from computer to computer. No matter. I wonder if he bought into the hype from the record companies that the effort to stop file sharing was for the benefit of the artists. Any good company (one worth investing in) will be looking out for itself and its shareholders, trying to protect their profits. I didn't agree with how the record companies went after file sharers but I'm not on any of their boards nor am I a shareholder so as far as that goes what I think is irrelevant. I voice my opinion by buying fewer CDs than I used to. (Mostly replacements for vinyl albums, I don't buy much by new artists now that my opportunities for trying out new songs has been, um, limited.)

If there is one thing that can stop me from being irritated at the way record companies went after file sharers it's Martin's statements. The band is "uncomfortable" that their album sales can cause a change in the stock price but then say, "We'll sink the whole company (EMI) if we have to."

Someone needs to send him a copy of Shut Up and Sing.

I signed up for membership on Coldplay's site a while back. I wonder if this post will get me banned.

Like Yelling "Fire" in a Crowded Theater

From Newsweek's comment on their article about Guantanamo Bay:

Their information came from a knowledgeable U.S. government source, and before deciding whether to publish it we approached two separate Defense Department officials for comment. One declined to give us a response; the other challenged another aspect of the story but did not dispute the Qur'an charge.

The reaction to the story wasn't their fault. The real problem was caused "by extremists and unhappiness over the economy."

I must have missed the story about unemployed clerics. That has to be the problem right? They were the ones calling for a holy war and most of the rest of the people had been living with a poor economy for the past century. An economy that has been poor for many decades is not going to be cured by one free election. Being self-governing and being responsible for its own success is only the first step. Dropping the medieval mindset and joining the 21st century would be a good second step.

Good Dog, Bad People

I make fun of PETA and others who have the "four legs good, two legs bad" mindset but I also am willing to admit that there are some animals that are far superior to some people. This dog is certainly better than the person/people responsible for this.

Kentucky Derby Post Positions

The post positions for Saturday's Kentucky Derby are (with the jockey and current odds):

Sort It Out (Brice Blanc, 50-1)
Andromeda's Hero (Rafael Bejarano, 50-1)
Sun King (Edgar Prado, 15-1)
Noble Causeway (Gary Stevens, 12-1)
Coin Silver (Patrick Valenzuela, 12-1)
High Limit (Ramon Dominguez, 12-1); Flower Alley (Jorge Chavez, 20-1)
Greater Good (John McKee, 20-1)
Greeley's Galaxy (Kent Desormeaux, 15-1)
Giacomo (Mike Smith, 50-1)
High Fly (Jerry Bailey, 8-1)
Afleet Alex (Jeremy Rose, 9-2)
Spanish Chestnut (Joe Bravo, 50-1)
Wilko (Corey Nakatani, 20-1)
Bandini (John Velazquez, 6-1)
Bellamy Road (Javier Castellano, 5-2)
Don't Get Mad (Tyler Baze, 30-1)
Closing Argument (Cornelio Velasquez, 30-1)
Going Wild (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 50-1)
Buzzards Bay (Mark Guidry, 20-1).

Trivia bits:

Two horses were sired by previous Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus (2000) - Andromeda's Hero and Bandini.

Bellamy Road is owned by George Steinbrenner. He was the winner of the Wood Memorial and is a favorite in the Run for the Roses.

Trainer Nick Zito has five horses running - Bellamy Road, High Fly, Noble Causeway, Sun King, and Andromeda's Hero.

Afleet Alex won the Arkansas Derby. Part of his earnings go to a children's cancer charity.

Superiority Complex

Michael White, political editor for The Guardian, was talking about the upcoming election during a radio interview. But before he began discussing the election he was talking about UK newspapers and their readers. Thanks to the valuable information he gave I now know there are a couple of good papers who cater to intelligent, thinking people. The other papers are for blue collar workers who support the military and don't have complex thinking.

He didn't explain how being against something is more complex than being for something.

Watching the Watchers

The Minuteman Project is a group of volunteers who are watching the Mexico/Arizona border and reporting sightings of illegal immigrants to authorities.

The ACLU has labeld the group "vigilantes" and decided that the Minutemen need watching.

"Under the Constitution, every person regardless of immigration status is entitled to due process, and private vigilantes are not permitted to take the law into their own hands," said Lucas Guttentag, Director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Right Project.

If the goal of the Minutemen is to report illegal immigrants to the border patrol, isn't "due process" what they are providing them? And making sure that it happens in a timely manner.

I disagree with the "vigilante" label. From what I have read, volunteers who have any contact with the immigrants (good, bad, or indifferent) are asked to leave. I think Tom Delay's comparison of the Minutemen with a neighborhood watch program is more accurate.

I'm having a hard time understanding the ACLU's logic...American citizens watching their border and reporting an actual crime (illegal immigrants, drug smuggling) is bad. Americans watching other Americans doing this because they may witness a crime (threats or harassment) is good.

Even if the ACLU finds little to report, they have that covered too. "We feel that our presence has already had an impact in terms of deterring illegal behavior and that is why it is so important that we continue our activities through the month of April." (Caroline Isaacs, the executive director of the American Friends Service Committee in Tucson)

Funny, I read her quotation and if I didn't know it came from the ACLU group I could have just as easily believed it was from a Minuteman volunteer. The only difference is that we know there was illegal behavior - immigrants and smugglers crossing the border - before the Minutemen arrived and that it has declined since they have been watching. We don't know that there was illegal behavior by the Minutemen, just that the ACLU thought it was a possibility.

If this is true, maybe the ACLU needs to turn the cameras on themselves if they are so concerned with harassment and illegal activity. With behavior like that, I guess it's no surprise they assume ill intent on the behalf of others.

The Strife is O'er

Terri Schiavo has died. Her family was not allowed to be in her room at the time but are there now. Update: According to Fox news her parents were in the room 10 minutes before she died but had to leave so there could be a medical assessment. After this was done her husband was in the room. The court had set up a schedule of visitation that prevented her husband and her parents from being in the room at the same time or to see each other entering or exiting the room. Earlier today her parents had asked Michael Schiavo to allow them in the room at the same time as he was there.

There will be an autopsy.

Update: The news channel Web sites now have brief notices of her death on their front pages. Some of them are showing a picture of a healthy Terri with the notice (CNN, ABC, Fox) and others are showing a picture of her in the hospice (MSNBC and CBS). It makes me curious about what goes into the editorial decision on which image to use.

Leap of Logic

The more I watch the news coverage of the Schiavo case, the less I understand. Maybe I haven't been following closely enough but can someone explain how a ban on using artificial means of support can include giving water or ice chips by mouth?

Even if I were fully convinced that her wish would have been to have the feeding tube removed, how is that the same as intentionally refusing her anything she is capable of drinking or eating on her own?

Guilt by Association

According to ABC News a memo with GOP talking points was "circulated among Republican senators on the floor of the Senate." A Power Line post says that an ABC source now says that the memo "was distributed to repulbican [sic] senators."

Isn't there a big difference between circulating a memo and receiving it from an unknown source? If you don't think so, please don't look at my email inbox or you will also assume that I have an interest in conducting financial transactions with former African dictators, intimate relationships with farm animals, losing weight, enlarging my penis, and all the other spam offers most of us with email accounts have received.

Schiavo, Death Row, and Living Wills

I was listening to the radio yesterday when I was out doing errands. Not surprisingly, some of the news coverage was about the Schiavo case. One of the other stories I heard was one about efforts to remove prisioners from California's death row.

It just struck me as ironic that some people think Terri Schiavo should die because her brain doesn't function at a "normal" level and others (?) think murders should live because they are low functioning.

A few notes:
1. Most California members of the House didn't show for the vote on Sunday.
2. One of the factors that inmates need to show to prove mental retardation is a history of impairment from childhood/adolescence. I guess Terri's problem is that her disability came too late...and she didn't kill anyone first.
3. I have no idea what to think of the Schiavo case. The information I have read about her current condition is conflicting. What little information there is about the cause of her condition is also conflicting. I know what I would want for me, or at least what I think I would want. This is no reason for me to think I know what she would have wanted.
4. If you haven't done so yet, put your wishes in writing (regardless of what you have told to whom). It's more than just what measures should or should not be taken, it is also about designating someone to make decisions for you. If you don't want to do this for you (and who wants to think about this when they're healthy?), do it for the people who love you.

Printable Advance Directives by state and related worksheets and resources from the American Bar Association. The resources include who you can or cannot choose as a proxy, how to begin a discussion with your family, and things to consider when determing what type of care you would want to have.

Take That, PETA

Meat diet boosts kids' growth

Meat is a vital part of a child's diet, according to a two-year study of Kenyan schoolkids. Without it, children grow up smaller, less strong and less intelligent, the results suggest.

"There's absolutely no question that it's unethical for parents to bring up their children as strict vegans." - Lindsay Allen of the University of California, Davis

Blame Game

Anyone who has even a passing interest in butterflies probably knows that monarchs migrate from their summer homes in the U.S. and Canada to winter in Mexico. In previous years, problems with illegal logging in Mexico have affected the butterflies by reducing the area in which they can nest. Now Mexico is blaming the U.S. and Canada for a reduction in their winter visitors.

Mexico's Environment Department said on Wednesday that 75 percent fewer monarch butterflies have appeared in 2004 compared with previous years.

It blamed cold weather and intensive farming -- including genetically modified crops -- in areas of the United States and Canada, where the butterflies spend the summer and reproduce.

Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed. This is what the caterpillers eat. Adults drink nectar from a variety of plants, including many common garden flowers (coneflower, snapdragon, zinnia, azaleas, lilacs, and butterfly bush). The reason genetically modified crops are getting part of the blame is because a study done in 1999 indicated that the pollen from transgenic corn could blow onto milkweed and kill the monarch caterpillers. More extensive follow up studies showed that the risk to the butterflies from the corn pollen was negligible. (More here.)

I don't remember last summer being unusually cool so I searched for information to support/refute Mexico's claim that this was one of the causes of the reduction in monarchs. I found that the summer of 2004 was cooler than average for much of the northern hemisphere but not enough to set any records. (There have been much cooler summers over the last 20 to 30 years.) It also wasn't outside the range of survivability for the monarchs.

Mexico says the forests in which the butterflies winter are "healthy or in full recovery". Logging of the Oyamel firs may have been stopped, trees may have been replanted, but that doesn't mean the conditions are ideal. The trees need to be mature to provide a canopy to protect the butterflies from cold and wet weather. Just providing a place for them to roost isn't enough.

Changes in the monarch population aren't unusual (there was an 80% decline in the winter of 1999) and Mexico's statement seems to be a case of "shift the blame". I do hope they elaborate on who they think is responsible for making last summer cooler than normal. Whoever it is must be asleep at the controls...lately we've had temperatures in the 70s and below freezing in the same week. I want to lodge a complaint.

There Goes Mr. Jordan

For all the people who rely only on MSM for their news, last evening's announcement of the resignation of Eason Jordan was the first they had heard of the story. Bloggers have been following the story since the end of January. One would think that traditional media would have learned that suppressing stories about their industry isn't a good idea after Dan Rather and Memogate (Memoaquiddick).

Maybe it's true that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Now they have to explain what they haven't been reporting:

"Mr. Jordan observed that of the 60-odd journalists killed in Iraq, 12 had been targeted and killed by U.S. forces," Stephens wrote.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who had shared the Davos stage with Jordan as a panelist, told the Washington Post that the CNN executive at first implied "it was official military policy to take out journalists." After other panelists challenged him, Jordan then "modified" his remarks, Frank said, but did not remove the sense that U.S. soldiers intended to harm those they knew to be journalists.

...In his farewell letter Friday, he cited many decades of close contact he had had with the military while reporting from Iraq, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia.

Would it be rude to ask whose military? (Hussein's, the Taliban's, or Milosevic's?)

Over the last week and a half I've read several accounts of what happened in Davos, Switzerland. One that stood out in my memory was a post on GayPatriot that included this:

...He could provide no evidence to buttress his claims, then "offered another anecdote: A reporter who'd been standing in a long line to get through a checkpoint at Baghdad's Green Zone had been turned back by the GI on duty. Apparently the soldier had been displeased with the reporter's dispatches, and sent him to the back of the line."

That statement filled me with awe and confusion. Awe at his ability to read the mind of the GI and know why the journalist was sent to the back of the line. Confusion over what this had to do with Jordan's claim that journalists were being targeted for torture/death by the American military.

Without any further information about this anecdote, a reasonable explanation would be that American GIs refused to give preferential treatment to journalists. Was this his real complaint - that journalists were treated like everyone else? If he had just said that American troops are refusing to grant elite status to journalists and aren't willing to stop defending themselves and the people they are there to protect based on the possibility that a journalist may be among a group of terrorists, would anyone have argued with him?

Don't Drink the Water

Body Found in Municipal Water Tank

The body of Geetha Angara, an employee of Passaic Valley Water Commission, was found at the bottom of a water tank. It is being investigated as a homicide. A boil water order has been issued as is customary any time a foreign object is found in a water tank.

Boiling the water might make it safer but I don't think it would make it any more palatable for me. If I lived in one of the New Jersey towns in this water district, I would be stocking up on bottled water.

It's not just a "foreign object" matter. The grate covering the tank would have been difficult for her to remove herself. This would make me wonder if she caught someone tampering with the water tank.

Maybe One of the Tabloids is Hiring

"I have never once in my life thought anyone from the U.S. military tried to kill a journalist. Never meant to suggest that. Obviously I wasn't as clear as I should have been on that panel." - CNN chief news executive Eason Jordon

It's a good thing he doesn't have a job that requires good communications skills or the ability to understand the difference between facts and opinion/rumors.

Adopt a Sniper

Marquette University has stopped a group called College Republicans from raising money to support snipers deployed by the United States armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan by providing "items that they need to get the job done better as well as things to make their lives easier while on deployment. This has been everything from the basic hygiene type items such as handy wipes to tactical products such as holsters, high speed rucksacks, new optics, rifle accessories, to mini binoculars and batteries."

The students were selling bracelets bearing the motto "1 Shot 1 Kill No Remorse I Decide." I didn't see those bracelets on the site, but there are dog tags (on backorder) with that phrase and some bracelets (also on backorder) with the name of a sniper. They also offer a coin with "Support Our Troops" on one side and "Assistance From A Distance" on the other. They also accept donations with all of the money going to purchase items for snipers.

Read more about them here.

More Suited to Action, Not Words

"It's fun to shoot some people."

He shouldn't have said it. It's not that I disagree with it completely, but "fun" over simplifies it. I've never been in combat, never even been in the military, but I can still imagine that I would feel a sense of enjoyment over killing an enemy before he kills me, my troops, or innocent civilians.

At the vey least, it's got to be an adrenaline rush. People do all sorts of risky things to get that rush because they find it pleasurable. When your life is in danger, your adrenaline kicks in preparing you for fight or flight. (Remember this from science class?) You can't choose whether or not your body will release adrenaline, only what you do in response - panic and run or stand and fight.

Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis isn't some renegade. I haven't heard anything negative about his service record...and I believe if there were something negative the press would have ferreted it out already. All I have heard is that his record is exemplary but he tends to be outspoken. Okay, so don't use him for Marine Corps press relations, just let him do his job of developing Marine war-fighting doctrine, techniques and tactics.

War is messy. Political rhetoric will give you a whole slew of justifications for war but that doesn't change the basic reality that war means capturing or killing the enemy while trying to avoid the same happening to you. When you can do this, you're winning. Winning is fun.

It's not pretty. It's not PC. It just is. Now leave the man alone, let him get back to doing his job, and just be glad he's on our side.

Coming to Crestwood

I've been thinking that it would be a good idea for me to get a new hobby. I think I may have the answer.

What used to be a roller skating rink in Crestwood, KY will become an indoor paintball facility and firing range. According to the Courier-Journal (the article isn't online anymore - see extended entry for a copy) work on it should begin next month. Barry Laws, a Los Angeles real estate broker who is the developer behind this project says he hopes to open the range in eight to nine months. There are also plans to build a 10,200-square-foot rifle range.

I've been considering getting a handgun for about a year. The main thing that has stopped me so far is the distance I would have to drive for lessons or to practice...I don't want a hobby that requires a 70 mile round-trip drive. I'm only a few miles outside of Crestwood so this has made me start thinking about it again.

Not everyone is happy about this. Opponents worry that there will be a gun accident in the parking lot.

I don't hang out at gun ranges so maybe I'm wrong, but I would think that the risk of an accidental shooting wouldn't be that high. I'm assuming that the people going here would be likely to take safety precautions.

Related posts here and here.

Firing range gets permit in Oldham
By Leslie Ellis
The Courier-Journal

A Californian won approval yesterday to turn a former Crestwood roller rink into an indoor paintball facility and firing range.

The decision came at the end of a five-hour hearing during which opponents argued it isn't safe to have a gun range in a highly populated area.

The Oldham County Board of Adjustments and Appeals voted 3-1 to approve a conditional-use permit for the range and a variance to allow expansion of the building.

It already is zoned for general business.

Barry Laws, a Los Angeles real estate broker, said he hopes to start work in the next month on the conversion of the building behind the Crestwood Station shopping center, off Ky.146.

He also intends to build a 10,200-square-foot addition for a rifle range.

Laws said he hopes to open the facility in eight to nine months.

He is certified by the California Department of Justice in handgun-safety training and will move to the area next summer to run the range.

Laws said it will give shooters a safe place to practice, will be family-oriented and will increase the county's commercial tax base.

Opponents of the proposal include Kay Powell and Robert Hansen, who live behind the range. Both said they are "extremely disappointed" with the board's decision, and Hansen said he is considering an appeal.

Powell collected a petition with 121 signatures opposing the project.

She and Hansen said their biggest concern is the possibility of someone being hurt from a gun accident in the parking lot.

Shane Jacobs, who owns the Jacobs Ladder Child Care Center in the nearby shopping center, expressed concerns about increased traffic on Cross Keys Boulevard, which children from his center cross to get to a playground.

Board member Vickey Grace, who voted against issuing the permit, shared concerns about the chance of parking-lot accidents.

But board member Frank Fain called the risk of a gun accidentally discharging outside the building "very, very low." He said his biggest concerns are noise and ensuring that no bullets escape the range.

Laws said the building will be renovated in accordance with industry standards developed by the National Rifle Association.

"Nothing will get out of that facility," he said.

He also said he will use sound-suppression materials. "I doubt if you'll hear anything (outside)," Laws said, although he was unable to give specific decibel levels when pressed by the board's Tom Davis.

Supporters included several men who said they would like to have an indoor range where they could take their sons, Scouts and 4-H members to learn how to handle guns.

William Trent of LaGrange said he wants his 8-year-old son to "see people handle weapons in a safe and constructive environment."

Don Helton, a Boy Scout leader from Pewee Valley, said the facility will be good for the county's economy.

And children who want to play paintball will have a "controlled, safe environment" instead of a field or woods, he said.

News Flash: Men and Women are Different

From Time Magazine: Harvard's Crimson Face
The university's blunt president sparks a furor about women. Is he hurting the Ivy's brand?

When Summers suggested at a Jan. 14 conference that innate differences between the genders might help explain why fewer women succeed in math and science, he intended to provoke an intellectual debate among a small group of academics....Summers wound up drawing international attention to Harvard's own shortage of female professors, bolstering a perception that the school isn't welcoming to women and minority academics, and enraging many faculty members, students and alumni of both genders. "It's not appropriate for the man who holds in his hands the future of the brightest minds in America to say that 50% of them don't have the right aptitude" for science, says Nancy Hopkins, a biology professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She walked out on the talk.

There isn't a transcript of the conference so I'm not sure what he said exactly. From what I can tell, he asked if innated differences in males and females could be the cause of scarcity of women in hard sciences.

Boys and girls are different (and aren't we glad for the differences?). That doesn't mean that all boys belong in set A and all girls in set B. It's like height. In general, men are taller than women. We don't need it explained to us that there are taller women and shorter men. Innate skills and aptitude are the same way. There's a wide spectrum and people of either sex will fall at various points along it. It just happens that men tend to group more on the science skills end and women more on the verbal skills end. There are always exceptions - Marie Curie for science skills and William Shakespeare for verbal skills, for example.

Recent reports on gray vs. white matter support this.

The study confirms sex differences in human brains, with women having more gray matter than white matter. However, the study also showed that in areas related to intelligence men had much more gray matter, which is typically needed for isolated tasks, such as doing a math problem. Women, on the other hand, had much more white matter, which is necessary for integrating information.

The question isn't whether or not women belong in science, it's how can their skills be best used. Judging from this report, I would that women would be more likely to have the skills needed (integrating information) to oversee groups of researchers.

I'm not letting Summers off the hook completely. "Since Summers, 50, arrived, in 2001, the percentage of tenure offers at Harvard in the arts and sciences that go to women has fallen from 37% to 11%." [Time Magazine]

I would also think that the ability to integrate information combined with verbal skills would, in general, make women better at teaching...including at the college level. It goes without saying that the professor needs to be knowledgeable about the subject, his/her ability to share that knowledge plays a big part in how well the students learn it - and that takes verbal skills.

It's also important to remember that students need more than just an innate ability to do well in a subject. They also need to have an interest in it and a desire to learn and succeed. In the end, that may count for more than natural skills.

According to the Time article, this wasn't the first time Summers has offended people. Maybe it's not so much what he said but how he said it or to whom. You decide:

* Many at Harvard were upset last spring when Summers rejected a tenure recommendation for Marcyliena Morgan, a scholar of hip-hop in the African and African-American studies department, prompting her to leave for Stanford. (Hip-hop scholar?)
* Summers questioned African-American studies professor Cornel West's scholarship and teaching, causing West to leave for Princeton and upsetting many in Harvard's African-American community. (Summers' request that West check in with him on his scholarly progress "was the main thing that upset me." If the university president can't question what a professor is doing, who can?)
* In a controversy in 2002, Muslims on campus said they were offended when Summers labeled as "anti-Semitic in their effect if not in their intent" the efforts of a group of students and faculty to persuade Harvard to divest its holdings in companies that do business in Israel as a protest against its treatment of Palestinians. (RTWT)
* He rattled some Asian Americans at Harvard when he used an inaccurate statistic on child prostitution to illustrate a point about South Korea's economic growth. (“In Seoul, South Korea in the 1970s, there were one million child prostitutes. Today almost none,” he said. “This reflects the progress made in a single generation.” Time didn't supply this quotation nor did it say what is inaccurate about it.)

Annan and the UN

It started when I read Annan Stunned at Indonesia Devastation

Twelve days after the tsunami hit, Annan and World Bank President James Wolfensohn flew over the island's west coast and later drove around the shattered coastal town of Meulaboh, where families picked through piles of rubble six feet high.

"I have never seen such utter destruction mile after mile," a shaken Annan told reporters. "You wonder where are the people? What has happened to them?"

2005 has just begun but the quotation in italics is bound to be a contender for one of the stupidest comments of the year. Um, Kofi, do you watch the news? Let's just say that we can expect the fishing industry there to be catching more (and larger) fish in the near future.

Then there was the comment from British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw who called "the effort to identify thousands of bodies one of the biggest international forensic operations in history." This made me think of all of the Iraqi mass graves. (Hatra, for example.) Estimates place the number of people buried in these mass graves across Iraq at aproximately 300,000. Has there been no attempt to use forensics to find out who these people are? If there has been, was it not an international venture?

Anyway, this made me think of comparisons I've seen between the number of people killed on 9/11 and the number of estimated deaths from the tsunami. I don't see the value in this type of comparison since one was caused by a group of evil men and the other was a natural phenomenon.

Still, if you're making comparisons, the number of people killed by the tsunami are (at current estimates) only about half the number in Saddam's mass graves. This brought me back to thinking about Annan and the UN.

Why does the UN view a large number of deaths over a short period as worse than a larger number of deaths over decades? Although measures can be taken to help protect people from natural disaters, they are still fairly unpredictable. I don't think that it would be unreasonable to assume that if Saddam had been allowed to remain in power, he would have continued killing Iraqi people. So why did the UN refuse to do anything to remove him from power? Is it just a fancy janitorial service that goes in and cleans up after tragic events?

One last comment from the article, "[I]n an apparent sign that American relief agencies want to keep a lower profile, several trucks delivering supplies from U.S. AID removed large banners marking the source of the shipments."

Is this being done out of security concerns for the workers or out of a fear of offending Islamics? Or does that come down to the same thing - offending Islamic radicals endangers workers? Whatever reason, it's disappointing. Not that the point of providing aid is to receive recognition for having done so, but for people to know that Americans are generous and caring would be a good step in countering the anti-American propaganda to which so many people in the world are exposed.

Scott Peterson is Guilty

The verdict has just been announced and the jury is being polled.

Once it was reported that it appeared that the jury would present their verdict today I was fairly confident that they would find him guilty. Peterson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, has been taking care of other business every Friday and was away today also. I thought that if the jury were going to find Peterson not guilty they would have come back with the verdict last night or waited until Monday so Garagos would be there. On the other hand, if they decided that Peterson was a wife and baby-killing scumbag, they wouldn't care if his lead attorney was present or not.

Good On You, Judge Keys

The Chicago Sun-Times reports on a civil case brought against charities that fund Hamas by the parents of a young man killed by the terrorists.

A federal judge handed out an unprecedented legal victory Wednesday to the parents of a terrorism victim by ruling U.S. charities that gave money to the militant group Hamas are financially liable for the violent acts the group carries out overseas.

Judge Arlander Keys ruled that it wasn't necessary for the people funding terrorism to know who specifically would be killed. They "were responsible because they knew Hamas was a terrorist group, wanted the group to succeed and gave it money to help carry out acts."

The attorney (Matthew Piers) of one of the defendants said, "It's deeply disappointing, and I find it more than unprecedented, I think legally, it's quite bizarre."

On the Re-election of the Chef de Guerre

This morning I was flipping through the TV channels and found FranceNews2 on C-SPAN. If this is typical of the news that Europe gets it does a lot to explain the lack of understanding the people there have for what goes on here. The bias there makes CBS look fair and balanced.

The report they were showing was about the U.S. election. They said Kerry conceded the election without waiting for the Ohio provisional ballots to be counted because Bush had won the popular vote in the rest of the country. According to the report, there were possibly 200,000 ballots left to be counted. They implied that Kerry could still have won but decided to avoid further division of the country by accepting defeat.

He didn't concede because he had no chance, he conceded because he is (to them) the better man, more noble, more honorable.

They showed clips of Americans in Europe, all apologizing for the re-election of President Bush.

It did have some good (sane) parts. There was an interview with Kenneth Timmerman. One of the questions they asked was whether Bush would continue in Iraq without seeking aid from our allies. Timmerman pointed out that we had asked for help before but France refused. That immediately ended discussion of that topic. I wish I had taped the interview. It was all good.

I didn't watch for long but during that time only two topics were covered: The U.S. election and Yasser Arafat. I couldn't tell if they were more disturbed by the re-election of President Bush or by the failing health of Arafat. From the coverage both seemed equally tragic to them.

1/3 Sounds About Right

Glenn Reynolds says the real losers of this election are " the Old Media, still angry that they couldn't deliver their fifteen percent."

What makes him so sure that they didn't? I prefer to think that without MSM help Kerry would only have gotten 33% of the votes.

Putin on Terrorist Goals

While Russian President Vladimir Putin still disagrees with the invasion of Iraq, he said, "International terrorism has as its goal to prevent the election of President Bush to a second term. If they achieve that goal, then that will give international terrorism a new impulse and extra power." (emphasis mine)

The Doctor Isn't In

I read this article with some interest because my last pregnancy was difficult. I have no doubt that without the care I received in the hospital when I went into labor (a month early) I would have died. I was in the hospital for a week and had home healthcare for some time after that. I wonder how easy it would be to find a doctor who would take care of a woman in the same circumstances now.

Rising insurance costs forcing out baby doctors

Kentucky has lost about one-third of its OB/GYNs between 1999 and 2003 and many others who still practice now will not take high-risk pregnancies. There are now 70 Kentucky counties without obstetricians and at least two hospitals have closed their maternity wards. The article doesn't say which counties but I wouldn't be surprised if they were in poorer rural areas where access to any health care is already limited.

The problem is high malpractice insurance costs. Even doctors who have never been sued are paying up to $85,000 a year.

"In Kentucky, 34 obstetrics cases went to court from 1998 to 2003, eight of which were decided in favor of plaintiffs, resulting in $38 million in awards."

Even when claims don't go to court there are still costs. Some are settled with payments instead of going to jury trial. All require some type of representation by the insurance company for the doctors.

"Joseph White, a medical malpractice attorney in Louisville, said that's not true (that many claims are frivolous). Preparing medical malpractice cases can cost between $50,000 and $100,000 — a hefty sum considering the odds of winning a jury verdict."

With that in mind, compare the ways Bush and Kerry plan to reduce medical malpractice premiums:

Under Bush's plan, plaintiffs in malpractice cases would be allowed unlimited compensation for economic losses but would be limited in the amount of noneconomic and punitive damages they could receive. Bush also wants defendants to pay judgments in proportion to their fault.

Kerry, meanwhile, would seek to prevent frivolous lawsuits by requiring a specialist to certify a case's merit before it moves forward. He would also work with states to make available mediation for all malpractice claims, sanction lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits and oppose punitive damages except in certain egregious cases.

Who's going to pay for mediation? The insurance companies and the doctors? The lawyers? Or, more probably, the taxpayers? What kind of specialist, law or medicine? Will he or she be vulnerable to suit if either party disagrees with their decision?

I won't argue that negligent doctors should be held accountable but I also think that there are cases when they are being sued for not being a god. Things happen and no one knows why, they just want someone to blame.

Unbiased News From NPR

As I drive to the grocery, I'm listening to The Splendid Table on my local public radio station. When I leave the news is on. I should have changed the station immediately but I wasn't really paying attention until they began talking about Bush and Kerry campaign stops.

First they played a clip of Bush talking about his own record as president. That was followed by a clip of Kerry...also talking about Bush. I guess they got tired of running "I have a plan" clips, and really, what else does he talk about?

Coverage of Kerry went on until I got home. First he blamed the Bush for the flu vaccine shortage and then for job losses in Ohio. I missed hearing exactly how these were the president's fault.

I know that the job of president of the United States is a powerful one but it still falls short of omnipotence, regardless of what Kerry would have you believe.

Side note: In a Google search for "Kerry" one of the sponsored links is:
Kerry
Unbiased, In-Depth and Informed
Reports about Kerry.
www.NPR.org

There is no similar sponsored link from NPR for "Bush". Is this because their average listener isn't interested in Bush or because they couldn't claim to offer unbiased coverage?

LexisNexis Campaign News

LexisNexis is offering free access to campaign related stories. There are categories for both candidates, their campaign teams, and speeches. There are also polls, TV transcripts, and issues.

Thinking Like a Victim

HUD official: Dems treat blacks as victims

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and other black political leaders spread a message of victimization that leads most blacks to vote Democratic, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson charged Wednesday.

The HUD secretary said he has advised President Bush's campaign to focus its efforts on younger blacks who did not grow up during the civil rights era because older blacks who did "have been conditioned" to vote Democratic by Jesse Jackson, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume and others.

"They have made a living telling black people they are victims," the HUD secretary said in an interview with The Associated Press. "As long as they keep them in victim mode, they have liberals who will take care of them."

"You can't rise as a class. You have to rise individually. It's what many of the civil rights-era people don't understand," he said. "They want us to rise together, they keep telling us that we are victims. If they keep telling us they are victims, then there is a role for them to play."

This is one of the things that has bothered me about the Democrats, the idea that a government's job is to take care of people. The job of the government is to serve people. There's a difference.

Demon Weed

Marijuana Smoker Beheads Two Women

A Malawian man believed to be high on marijuana beheaded two women with an axe Friday, police in the southern African country said. The man, in his mid-20s, beheaded a 52-year-old woman while she worked in her garden with her daughter and did the same to a 68-year-old friend who came to the daughter's aid, police spokesman Kelvin Maigwa told Reuters.

..."The house was full of stench from recently smoked hemp. We believe he had an overdose of the hemp that made him go berserk," Maigwa said, adding that the walls of the house bore quotations from famous reggae songs.

I think that if there were such a thing as an "overdose" he would have been napping rather than going on a murder spree. While marijuana can lower inhibitions, blaming the attack solely on its use makes no more sense than blaming it on any other consumable found in his home.

The article fails to mention other possible causes. What was his usual mental condition? Has he been violent in the past?

Malawi is among the world's least developed countries. The average life expectancy is about 37 years. 55% of the population is below the poverty line. Not exactly the optimum conditions for prime mental health but also not causes in themselves either.

Maybe it's the tea.

Note: I'm not endorsing the use of an illegal (at least in the U.S.) drug, just pointing out that cause and effect here is not proven.

AP Revision Again

When I questioned whether or not the AP changed a story about Kerry I had been able to find the article elsewhere that showed what I assume was the original content. I couldn't see where he was suggesting there would be a draft or if there was, that it would be on the initiative of the Republicans.

Answering a question about the draft that had been posed at a forum with voters, Kerry said: "If George Bush were to be re-elected, given the way he has gone about this war and given his avoidance of responsibility in North Korea and Iran and other places, is it possible? I can't tell you."

I was questioning the change in the article because it removed any mention of the draft at all. Why the revision? To protect Kerry from being associated with the hoax or was there something else in the original article that said Kerry was repeating the rumor that the draft would be brought back?

I don't like defending Kerry's remarks but I also don't think we should be reading more into it than what is there. The man says enough idiotic things as it is without others misinterpreting his "nuance".

Remember, he's the smart one!

Another AP Revision?

Did the AP change another story? Both Instapundit and Kerry Spot link to this article. Both say Kerry is repeating the draft hoax but I don't see anything about that in the article that is online now.

Update here.

Would I Lie?

CBS calls Kerry advisor Joe Lockhart and asks him to call Bill Burkett. Lockhart makes the call but both men say they did not discuss the documents or the National Guard. Do they really think people are that gullible?

On the other hand, they have some evidence that 45% of people will believe anything as long as they are being told what they want to hear:

The latest Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll shows President George W. Bush with 48% of the vote and Senator John Kerry with 45%. The Tracking Poll is updated daily by noon Eastern.

Things CBS Should Have Learned in School

CBS says it was "mislead".

"Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in the report," the president of CBS News, Andrew Heyward, said in a statement issued by the network. "We should not have used them. That was a mistake, which we deeply regret."

...Dan Rather, the CBS anchor who presented the original report on "60 Minutes" on Sept. 8, said that "we made a mistake in judgment, and for that I am sorry."

Vocabulary Words:

Mislead - To lead into error of thought or action, especially by intentionally deceiving.

Mistake - An error or fault resulting from defective judgment, deficient knowledge, or carelessness

Judgment - The act or process of judging; the formation of an opinion after consideration or deliberation.

I don't see how they can claim to have been misled. If you get lost while ignoring the warning signs, it's nobody's fault but your own.

I don't believe the airing of the documents was due to "deficient knowledge" or "carelessness". "Defective judgment", possibly.

Experts questioned the documents before the 60 Minutes II show aired. Killian's son, widow, and others said they did not believe the documents were authentic.

What exactly were they considering or deliberating upon in which they misjudged? Instead of asking 'are we sure the documents are authentic', it looks as though the only question was, 'can we get away with it?' Their opinion was already formed. They were just looking for a way to prove it.

Scientific Method: Forming and Testing a Hypothesis

An opinion is a hypothesis. It is tested by trying to disprove it. You achieve nothing by looking only at data that confirms your opinion while ignoring the rest.

Extra Credit:

Unimpeachable - Beyond doubt; unquestionable.

Kentucky Poll Results

Unless I have just gotten a new puppy I seldom see any reason to buy our local paper. When I saw today's front page headline I made an exception.

Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were the choice of 53percent of Kentuckians asked, compared with 38percent for Kerry and his running mate, Sen. John Edwards.

Unraveling

(R)etired Guard official, Bill Burkett, said in an Aug. 21 e-mail to a list of Texas Democrats that after getting through "seven layers of bureaucratic kids" in the Democrat's campaign, he talked with former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland about information that would counter criticism of Kerry's Vietnam War service. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the e-mail Saturday.

"I asked if they wanted to counterattack or ride this to ground and outlast it, not spending any money. (Cleland) said counterattack. So I gave them the information to do it with," Burkett wrote.

The email was sent to a Yahoo! list of Democrats a couple of weeks before the 60 Minutes II episode with the forged documents. In it he said that he did not receive a call back from the Kerry campaign.

"The Kerry campaign had absolutely nothing to do with these documents, no ifs, ands or buts," spokesman David Wade said.

Leading operatives for the Texas Democratic Party did not receive Burkett's August e-mail, said Kelly Fero, one of the state party's strategists.

According to the New York Times, the email said he called Kerry campaign seniors. The campaign says he called with a tip but they did not respond.

On Sept. 4, shortly before CBS News broadcast its report, Mr. Burkett told the Democratic e-mail list he had a hunch that more material might soon emerge to embarrass the president. "No proof, just gut instinct," Mr. Burkett added.

Edwards in Louisville

John Edwards came to Louisville today. He spoke at a rally at an airport hanger before going to a fundraiser.

Edwards said that Bush has belatedly outlined a health care plan. Edwards poked fun at it, saying, "It's a very short speech."

"His real health care plan for the last four years - pray you don't get sick," Edwards said.

Bad news for all of us who have prayed for major health problems so we could hire malpractice lawyers.

Edwards also attacked Bush's policy in Iraq, saying that huge amounts of money have been pumped into a conflict that has claimed more than 1,000 American lives. Yet, parts of Iraq are controlled by insurgents, he said.

"It is a mess by any definition, and this mess was created by George Bush," Edwards said.

No, this "mess" was created by terrorists. The inability of Kerry and Edwards to understand this one simple fact never ceases to amaze me. Where do they get their news, CBS?

"We have a middle class in America that is struggling every single day just to get by," he said.

The event at a downtown hotel netted at least $700,000 for the Democratic National Committee, said Jack Conway, statewide chairman of the Kerry-Edwards campaign.

The fundraiser began with a cocktail party ($1000 per person). It was followed by a private reception ($10,000 per person). Dinner was $25,000 per plate. Not exactly affordable to the "struggling" middle class but then he had already talked to them at the hanger.

Heyward Has It Backwards

"I feel that we did a tremendous amount of reporting before the story went on the air or we wouldn't have put it on the air," Heyward said in an interview last night, while acknowledging "a ferocious debate about these documents."

Maybe they should have done some investigating before the story went on the air.

Investigate, then report.

CBS reported first so the public had to investigate.

What's ^the Point?

Edward Mendelson's article in PC Magazine, Opinion: Bush's Exam Doc -- Real or Fake? compares a paragraph typed on an IBM Selectric Composer and the same paragraph typed in MS Word.

I'm not really sure what the article proves, if anything. He claims to prove that it demonstrates an older document can be reproduced with modern technology. Was that ever really in question? The focus of the discussions about the CBS documents is less about current technology but about what technology for producing these documents was likely to be used in the 1970s.

Yes, part of that discussion included the fact that the documents could be reproduced in Word using the default settings. (These were exact matches, not merely "similar".) If that were all there was to the argument that the documents are likely forgeries, Mr. Mendelson might have had a point.

The bigger issues are:

Would Killian or his clerk have bothered to type a memo out twice (as required by the Composer)? - Killian didn't type and there's no line with the initials of the typist. Neither of these people had anything better to do with their time than to type this on a Composer rather than a regular typewriter?

Why does a document mention an officer who had already retired? It's possible that Staudt might make a request but is it reasonable to assume that anyone would have taken action because of the request? What would you do if a former boss called you and asked for you to "sugar coat" something? Would you be willing to do something that could compromise your integrity for someone who no longer has any authority over you?

Would a National Guard office have an expensive piece of equipment like the IBM Composer? It just seems to me that spending thousands of dollars on a fancy typewriter wouldn't have been a priority during a time in which the country was fighting a war.

Where are the originals? I can show you a picture of the Mona Lisa. You can show the picture to some other people who will declare it looks like the painting. None of that means I have the original hanging on my wall.

It's really not up to us to prove the memos are fake. We didn't offer them as evidence, CBS did. It's up to them to prove they are authentic. I'm sure they'll understand if I'm not willing just to take Dan Ra^ther's word for it.

Shaping the News

Recent articles I've seen about poll results have titles saying that Bush has a "slim lead" or is ahead "by a nose". (Whose nose, Jimmy Durante's? Steve Martin's character in Roxanne?) If you read past the headlines, you find Bush has a substantial lead.

In August articles had headlines such as Kerry leads in key states or Kerry leads Bush in Ohio. Reading further into those articles, you find that Kerry's lead was statistically insignificant.

So, a virtual tie means the Democrat is ahead in the polls while a double or near double-digit lead for the Republican is "slim".

Bias - A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment.

Not being able to report a Kerry lead recently must be the reason for the 30 Nations Pick Kerry poll articles we've read. What's next? I'm expecting Kerry leads in polls (with the poll limited to his campaign staff and workers).

Russians Rounded Up the Families of Beslan Terrorists

Yesterday, I heard a report on NPR that one of the actions Russia took during the terrorist attack on the school in Beslan was to take relatives of the terrorists into protective custody. The information was being provided by Kim Murphy of the L.A. Times so I looked up her report in the paper.

Officially, the Russian government says the seizures were meant to protect the families. A statement from operations headquarters in the northern Caucasus said Russian forces obtained intelligence that rebel leaders planned to kill several of their own relatives and then accuse Russian law enforcement bodies of murdering them.

The headquarters staff also said there was evidence that "spontaneous groups" were being formed in various areas of Chechnya to "vent their anger" at relatives of the rebel leaders, presumably over the events in Beslan.

The tone of the interview and comments in the article made by the relatives of the terrorists indicate that no one believes they were taken into custody for their protection but rather in an effort to pressure the terrorists.

In the NPR interview, Ms. Murphy said that witnesses from the school reported that the terrorists were divided. One group was sympathetic to the hostages and did not appear to be happy with what was going on. These people were killed by the other terrorists.

If they will kill members of their group, is it out of the question for them to kill relatives if they could blame it on Russia? Many Websites and articles about Chechnya make it a point to say that most Chechnens are opposed to terrorism, so would it be unthinkable for some of them to take actions against these relatives?

"My brother would rather kill all of us than give us over to the Russians."

Ms. Murphy reports that some of the relatives were abused while in custody (two out of the 40 taken). While this may be considered evidence that they weren't taken away just for their protection, we only have their statements that the injuries took place while they were in custody and not during attempts to resist arrest.

Another arguement that it wasn't for the relatives' protection is that the children were taken along with the adults. I guess it would have been better to leave small children home alone for a few days.

Maskhadov's family members said they met many members of Basayev's family for the first time. "There was a big elderly man I was talking to there," Semiyev said. "We were trying to track down his relationship to Basayev. It turned out Basayev's aunt was married to him or something. We got lost in the family tree. But it was interesting after all this time to get to know them. We even hugged each other when we left."

Sounds brutal, doesn't it? Somehow an enforced family reunion doesn't compare with a mother having to choose which child to take and which to leave behind with the terrorists. That woman was reunited with the child she had to leave behind. Hundreds of others will forever be missing from any future family reunions.

If the Russians were using this to pressure the terrorists, it doesn't appear that the terrorists cared much about the fate of their relatives. All of the relatives were released on Saturday after the seige ended.

In another time and place I would condemn the taking of families but because of the family clan structure of Muslim terrorists, I'm not as willing to assume innocence. I just wish it had been more effective.

AWOL

New Way to Consume Alcohol Draws Ire

A new machine that allows bar-hoppers to inhale liquor instead of drinking it is set to make its debut in New York City tomorrow night.

There's already an effort to get it banned.

The machine combines alcohol and oxygen to create an inhalable alcoholic mist.

It's called Alcohol Without Liquid -- or AWOL -- and it's already available in Europe and Asia. Its American distributor, Spirit Partners, is touting it as a low-carb, low-calorie and hangover-free alternative to drinking.

The company says AWOL sends alcohol into the bloodstream faster than drinking, resulting in a quick buzz. But it also says the level of alcohol in the body after AWOL use is lower than for traditional drinkers.

Andrew Spano, the county executive in Westchester County, New York, doesn't like it. He worries it will attract underage drinkers, and is seeking a local or statewide ban.

The use of this appears to go against any argument that people go to bars to socialize or enjoy the taste of a drink. I think the biggest change this might cause is that it would make it more likely for states to lower the legal blood alcohol levels.

I don't agree with banning it because of its potential attraction to underage drinkers for a couple of reasons. The first is, are bars going to suddenly stop asking for IDs? The machines start at just under $3000, so it's not as if your average high school student is going to rush out and get one for personal use.

Second, something shouldn't be banned because of what one person or group's opinion about it. Show me evidence of problems AWOL has caused in places that have it already and I'll agree it should be banned but don't tell me what might happen.

What's Mine is Mine and What's Yours is Mine

"Berger and his lawyer said Monday night he knowingly removed the handwritten notes by placing them in his jacket, pants and socks, and also inadvertently took copies of actual classified documents in a leather portfolio."

They think it's okay because they believe there are other copies of the documents. So, following that logic, if I worked at a bank and stuffed my clothes with $100 bills it wouldn't be wrong because there are more of them somewhere?

How does someone "inadvertently" take something that doesn't belong to him? If the poor man is that confused, perhaps he should be seeking medical help as well as legal consultation.

Not In the Job Description

They just report news...now you want them to find it too? LA Times Link via Patterico's Pontifications:

A news analysis about the new Iraqi government in Sunday's Section A stated that outgoing administrator L. Paul Bremer III did not give a farewell speech to the country. His spokesman has since said that Bremer taped an address that was given to Iraqi broadcast media. The spokesman said the address was not publicized to the Western news media.

Oh, that explains it all. It wasn't publicized to the Western news media. All these years I've thought it was the media's job to go out and find the news when instead it's the duty of people who are making the news to inform the media.

You know, if the newspapers were talking about me using the same critical tone many have used when reporting on Bremer and Iraq, I wouldn't be eager to do their job for them communicate with them either.

What I understand from this is that the LA Times thinks its job is to serve as a news aggregator. The only original content is the news analysis...because we're all too stupid to form our own opinions about the news.

If the people who are regular newsmakers put out RSS feed the only thing we would need the newspapers for is lining birdcages and housetraining puppies.

We quit taking our local paper about a year ago. The best use I ever got from our paper was using it to protect from spills when I was doing crafts with the kids but I found that old vinyl tablecloths work better (no tears or leaks and no newsprint gets on the "art work") and the tablecloth is reusable.

This all makes me think of Isaac Asimov's Black Widowers short stories. In the stories a group of men invite a guest to present a mystery or puzzle. Most begin with someone from the group asking the guest, "How do you justify your existence?" It's a question the news media might want to consider.

I won't hold my breath.

Turning the Mirror

Earlier this week I wrote about Fourth Street Live!'s dress code and mentioned that it was being protested by Louis Coleman. (The dress code banned jerseys, baggy pants, sleeveless shirts for men, and baseball caps with the bills turned toward the back.) Coleman believes standards should be lowered.

Bill Cosby is back in the news saying something that is the complete opposite. He wasn't talking about our local debate, but about responsibility and standards in general.

For the second time in six weeks, Cosby attracted wide media attention with public criticism of black youngsters. Cosby was cheered on Thursday when he told a group of black activists in Chicago that young African Americans are the "dirty laundry" that many would prefer he not criticize despite their poor grammar, foul language and rude manners.

"Let me tell you something," Cosby, one of America's most admired men, told the group. "Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day, it's cursing and calling each other [the N-word] as they're walking up and down the street. They think they're hip. They can't read. They can't write. They're laughing and giggling, and they're going nowhere."

...Cosby, 66, seemed to disagree in his remarks on Thursday, saying that blacks cannot simply blame whites for problems such as high rates of teen pregnancy and school dropout. "For me there is a time . . . when we have to turn the mirror around," he said. "Because for me it's almost analgesic to talk about what the white man is doing against us. And it keeps a person frozen in their seat. It keeps you frozen in your hole you're sitting in."

This has stirred up more debate among those who see this as a race or class issue. I see race and class as secondary to it being a parenting and a personal responsibility issue. Dressing and talking like a gang member isn't a form of protest against unfairness, it's a cop out. If you don't think so, try imagining Martin Luther King, Jr. dressed in baggy, ripped pants instead of a suit. Imagine him speaking like a gangster instead of the eloquent way he did speak.

Dress Code

Louisville wants to bring area residents back downtown and attract tourists. Part of this is the development of an area called Fourth Street Live! (The exclamation point is part of the name, not indicative of my enthusiasm for it.) The new businesses there include Red Star Tavern, Hard Rock Cafe, Rascal's Comedy Club, McFadden's Bar and Restaurant, Red Cheetah, Parrot Beach, and T.G.I. Friday's.

I haven't been to visit it yet but from what I've heard it's been attracting good-sized crowds. Bringing business back to downtown sounds like a good thing, but there are already complaints. Not about the crowds, about the dress code.

Controversy continues to swirl over the dress code at the new Fourth Street Live. At issue is whether or not a seemingly arbitrary dress code can be enforced on public property.

Arbritary - Determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle or Based on or subject to individual judgment or preference.

The dress code allows women to wear sleeveless tops but men cannot. Nor can men wear sports jerseys. Baseball caps, if worn, must have the bills turned to the front.

Louis Coleman and others plan to protest the dress code Monday at noon. Coleman says jerseys are a staple for young men of every race. "It's what they wear."

The young men Rev. Coleman speaks of want to dress as though they are spending the day at the park. When I was very young, people dressed up to go downtown. Men wore suits and ladies wore dresses. Ladies were usually expected to wear hats and gloves also. As a child, I had to wear a dress, white gloves, and dress shoes. The blisters I got from wearing patent leather shoes to walk around downtown is still one of the things I remember most about those trips.

Things changed in the late 60s and early 70s. People wore what they wanted and downtown became someplace you didn't want to be after dark. I'm not saying that dressing down made it a bad place, rather both are results of a lack of respect for oneself and for others.

Beard, who was visiting Louisville from New Orleans, says "I don't understand how Kentucky can let these people come in here and dictate their tourism. According to Christ, we're dressed right, so if I'm dressing all right for Christ, what everybody else think don't matter to me."

The dress code is enforced Wednesday through Saturday nights. The Mayor's office says because Fourth Street Live has an arena liquor license, the blocked off area basically becomes private on those nights, and they aren't sure anything can be done.

Her group was stopped because one of the men was wearing a jersey. I'm no New Testament scholar, but I'm pretty sure there is no mention of sports jerseys anywhere in it.

I enjoy dressing in comfortable clothing as much as the next person and I don't want to return to the days of having to wear a dress, hat, gloves, and high heels to go downtown. I believe the dress code is neither arbriary nor unreasonable...it sounds as though it's a step below business casual. If you want to dress like a slob comfortably, there are plenty of places you can go. If you want to complain that women can wear sleeveless tops while men can't, I'll go along with you if the women are wearing tops with armholes that come half way down the shirt and they don't shave their armpits. That's not a sight I want to see during a meal (or anytime) either. Otherwise, shut up about it. Men's and women's clothing are different, or should be, get used to it.

Criminals for Kerry

ACT (America Coming Together), an independent group with the aim of ousting President Bush from office, has been using convicted felons to conduct door-to-door voter registration drives. Their employees who have been convicted of crimes that include burglary, forgery, drug dealing, assault and sex offenses go door-to-door and "gather telephone numbers and other personal information -- birth dates, driver's license numbers or partial Social Security numbers, depending on each state's requirements for voter registration."

ACT has announced a new policy saying they would fire anyone who has been convicted of a violent or "serious" offense and would conduct background checks on new employees but that they would still continue to hire people who are "re-entering society". "It declined to define what it considers violent or serious offenses under the new policy."

According to their website, "canvassers have reached over 2,000,000 targeted households."

They are calling the news stories right-wing attacks. I didn't see anywhere on the site where they admit that it's stupid to have people convicted of sexual assault going door-to-door or giving forgers access to personal information. I can't tell if anyone there even understands why people might be concerned about this.

If an organization that claims to employ over 1,400 canvassers wasn't doing background checks before, do you really think they have your best interests in mind?

President Reagan Dies

Ronald Reagan died today. In one way we lost him years ago when his Alzheimer's became severe. Then again, he will continue to live on in every American who Reagan showed that it's okay to feel patriotic about this country.

Thank you, President Reagan, for everything you gave us. Thank you, Mrs. Reagan, for the care and dedication you have shown to your husband, especially during these last few years. May God continue to give you strength and grant comfort to you and your family.

Know Your Audience

Al Gore spoke to MoveOn.org members on Wednesday.

He promised to "restore honor and integrity to the White House." Instead, he has brought deep dishonor to our country and built a durable reputation as the most dishonest President since Richard Nixon.

I disagree, but I suppose that depends on what your definition of "is" is.

And now he will not honor our fallen dead by attending any funerals or even by permitting photos of their flag-draped coffins.

He knows, or should know, that this policy didn't begin with this administration. Such photos were first banned during WWI and WWII. While the ban was later lifted, it was in effect again during the Clinton administration.

How did we get from September 12th , 2001, when a leading French newspaper ran a giant headline with the words "We Are All Americans Now" and when we had the good will and empathy of all the world to the horror that we all felt in witnessing the pictures of torture in Abu Ghraib.

As if we enjoyed full support until those pictures came out. Articles I've read after 9/11 but before we went to Iraq makes me think that the only reason some papers showed signs of fellowship with America on 9/12 was because it was PC to do so. I've wondered how many would have rather written "America Gets What it Deserves".

"...what they meant by preemption was not the inherent right of any nation to act preemptively against an imminent threat to its national security, but rather an exotic new approach that asserted a unique and unilateral U.S. right to ignore international law wherever it wished to do so and take military action against any nation, even in circumstances where there was no imminent threat. All that is required, in the view of Bush's team is the mere assertion of a possible, future threat and the assertion need be made by only one person, the President.

Some people wouldn't recognize a threat if the WTC and the American embassy in Africa were bombed and U.S.S. Cole was attacked. Saying "We will find out who was responsible and hold them accountable." isn't enough...you actually have to mean it.

"Our founders were insightful students of human nature. They feared the abuse of power because they understood that every human being has not only "better angels" in his nature, but also an innate vulnerability to temptation especially the temptation to abuse power over others."

The "better angels of our nature" is from a speech by Lincoln. Can you really consider the 16th president a founder? It's a minor point, I know, but he should have known better and it's one of many things he said that were inaccurate or misleading.

As for "the temptation to abuse power over others'...considering the temptations that the president under whom Gore served gave into...I wouldn't have mentioned this if I were Gore.

"The President convinced a majority of the country that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on September 11th."

Um, no. We knew who was responsible for 9/11, because of that we invaded Afghanistan. There's more to fighting terrorism than just attacking those who have already attacked us. We also need to identify who would potentially be a future threat. That is why we wanted Hussein removed from power.

He has exposed Americans abroad and Americans in every U.S. town and city to a greater danger of attack by terrorists because of his arrogance, willfulness, and bungling at stirring up hornet's nests that pose no threat whatsoever to us.

Somehow I missed the news reports of Americans killed at home by terrorists lately. While I don't deny that another attack is possible, I think Bush has done a good job at keeping me safe. With summer coming, it's the real hornets that are a bigger threat right now.

And by then insulting the religion and culture and tradition of people in other countries.

I missed this news too. Guess I was distracted by Kerry insulting everyone who isn't French or a terrorist.

How dare the incompetent and willful members of this Bush/Cheney Administration humiliate our nation and our people in the eyes of the world and in the conscience of our own people. How dare they subject us to such dishonor and disgrace. How dare they drag the good name of the United States of America through the mud of Saddam Hussein's torture prison.

Where were the questions about dishonor during the last administration?

Luckily, there was a high level of competence on the part of our soldiers even though they were denied the tools and the numbers they needed for their mission. What a disgrace that their families have to hold bake sales to buy discarded Kevlar vests to stuff into the floorboards of the Humvees! Bake sales for body armor.

Did this remind anyone else of the old slogan, "It will be a great day when schools have all the money they need and the airforce has to hold a bakesale to buy a bomber"?

"Kerry should not tie his own hands by offering overly specific, detailed proposals concerning a situation that is rapidly changing and unfortunately, rapidly deteriorating, but should rather preserve his, and our country's, options, to retrieve our national honor as soon as this long national nightmare is over."

(In other news, Democratic challenger John Kerry says that if elected president, his top priority would be preventing terrorists from "gaining weapons of mass murder". I guess that's not overly specific. Not very original either.)

Eisenhower did not propose a five-point plan for changing America's approach to the Korean War when he was running for president in 1952.

No, he just promised to go to Korea. I don't know if that would have mattered anyway. In 1952, the fact that the Democratic candidate was divorced could have been enough to keep him from being elected.

This new political viciousness by the President and his supporters is found not only on the campaign trail, but in the daily operations of our democracy.

Vicious? Let's compare remarks by Gore, Pelosi, and Kerry to those made by Bush and high level administration officials. What do you mean there's nothing to compare? All the nasty personal attacks have come from Democrats.

The rest of the speech is more of the same. It can be condensed into:
How dare they?
Bush is the devil and he stole the election from me.
Bush should apologize more...for everything and anything. (Note: Eisenhower did not apologize for the U2 incident. Maybe Bush should apologize for that too.)
We're good, they're Republicans. wrong about everything. evil murdering zombies. Hitler. bad. This is the one absolute univeral truth. Well, that and the fact that global warming will destroy us all.

At least you can say the man knows his audience.

Read more about Gore's speech and what it should have been like.

U of L and the Klan

A University of Louisville professor wants to ban the KKK from the school's campus. The reason he wants to use to ban them is that they're a terrorist organization.

The article quotes one student as saying, "If we wanted to learn to hate, we could just learn from the streets and not come to school for it." I would counter that while the students can hear hate-speech on the streets, the university can help students learn to deal with it in an appropriate manner. An education is more than learning facts, it's also learning critical thinking, to react to negative situations intellectually instead of emotionally.

Of course, it's easy for me to take that position. I graduated long, long a few years ago and won't have to listen to the whacko SOBs if they show up on campus.

Maybe There's a Good Reason...

I was reading an article about censorship of the press.

Censorship has many faces, several of which include the under-covering, ignoring, and misrepresenting of information; essentially any interference with the free flow of information in society. Censorship does not necessarily need to come from some nefarious governmental department, it can take place around the editorial decision-making tables of many of our mainstream media sources.

If you read many blogs, you'll have seen this discussed before. One of the things I like about blogs is that I can find news that isn't being covered, or at least not in any depth, by major media sources.

So I did a search for "Top 25 Censored Stories". Project Censorship is there at the number one spot. The top five are:
#1: The Neoconservative Plan for Global Dominance
#2: Homeland Security Threatens Civil Liberty
#3: US Illegally Removes Pages from Iraq U.N. Report
#4: Rumsfeld's Plan to Provoke Terrorists
#5: The Effort to Make Unions Disappear

Funny thing, none of the 25 match any of the news stories I had in mind when I began the search. A look at the About Us page gives me a clue why..."Current or previous national judges include: Noam Chomsky, Susan Faludi, George Gerbner, Sut Jhally, Frances Moore Lappe, Norman Solomon, Michael Parenti, Herbert I. Schiller, Barbara Seaman, Erna Smith, Mike Wallace and Howard Zinn."

Check out their page of favorite Web sites. Their choice of favorites aside, is it just me or is it odd that while they list the URLs for the sites they aren't clickable?

Nightline

Tonight on Nightline Ted Koppel will read the names and show photographs of all U.S. troops killed in Iraq. The original announcement said that he would read the names of those killed in action but this has been changed to include all deaths. The program is scheduled to run 40 minutes, 10 minutes longer than normal.

According to Koppel, the reasoning behind tonight's program is that "Americans need to be reminded of the war."

I would say that we don't need to be reminded as much as we need to be informed. Thanks to coalition efforts in Iraq:

Two new banks have opened in Iraq in the last two weeks. Private deposits there have doubled since last summer.

Iraqi athletes will compete in the Athens Olympics...without having to worry about being tortured by Uday Hussein.

Millions of Iraqi children have been vaccinated against measles, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, and polio.

The CPA has repaired 2,500 schools and provided almost 80 million books to students.

About 2,200 infrastructure projects are currently under way with 18,000 complete. Projects are on schedule to be complete by the handover to Iraqi authorities in two months.

A national poll conducted in Iraq in late March and early April shows that 63 percent of Iraqis of all sects and ethnicity expect they will be better off in five years.

There are more than 200 newspapers compared to six under Saddam.
Iraqi citizens no longer have to fear being tortured or killed by their own government.

"I am not afraid," Ali says. "I was afraid all my life. I will not go back to living in fear."

African Slave Trade

Slavery in the Southern U.S. was called the "Peculiar Institution". In this case the word "peculiar" doesn't mean odd (as in, "Don't you think cousin Harry is acting peculiar since he started wearing that tinfoil hat?"). It meant that slavery was a primarily Southern institution.

Unfortuantely it was a misnomer. The kidnapping and purchase of slaves from Africa was not confined to the U.S., as a whole or in part, then or now. According to UNICEF, it continues today.

Trafficking of human beings affects every country in Africa for which data is available, either as countries of origin or destination, according to a report issued today by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in Florence.

According to the study -- which assembles and analyzes data from across the continent -- half of African countries see trafficking in human beings as a serious problem, particularly with regard to women and children.

...Trafficking does not remain within Africa. In 34 percent of the African countries, the trade flows to Europe and in 26 percent of the countries flows are directed to the Middle East and Arab states. Trafficking within national borders is very common, occurring in 8 out of every 10 African countries.

...important factors are sexual and economic exploitation, including the demand for cheap domestic and agricultural labour. The conflict-related demand for child soldiers; demand related to adoption; and the trafficking in body parts also play a role and need further investigation, according to the study.

(Emphasis mine.)Using women and children as slaves for labor or sex is horrible and degrading enough, but body parts?

From the BBC:

Girls and boys as young as six are taken from desperately poor homes and placed as domestic workers with strangers in the city.

In return, they are promised an education. In reality, they are often beaten, fed on leftovers, forced to work long hours and forbidden to go to school.

Other children are sent instead to work in quarries or plantations, both inside Nigeria and in neighbouring west African states.

Some are even trafficked for ritual purposes and end up dead.

Pre-Med

Surgeons Who Play Video Games Err Less

All those years on the couch playing Nintendo and PlayStation appear to be paying off for surgeons. Researchers found that doctors who spent at least three hours a week playing video games made about 37 percent fewer mistakes in laparoscopic surgery and performed the task 27 percent faster than their counterparts who did not play video games.

And I thought my kids were just wasting time playing so much. Who knew they were preparing for careers as doctors?

What She Said

Girl's slurs on Web log teach students lesson in free speech

A student at Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago, Illinois made comments on her weblog that upset and angered other students.

The post has been removed from her blog, all that is there now is an apology.

First, I would like to apologize to everyone whom I offended or upset. I believe I was not clear in the way I worded my thoughts. This all has been one big misunderstanding. I am sorry for even leaving room for these misunderstandings to occur.

I would like to start out saying that I am not racist. I do not hate any race. I, in fact, have many friends of all the different races. Let me explain the phrase "I support slavery." Some American companies use sweatshops and child labor overseas as means of getting cheap labor and big profits. The workers in those poor countries are underpaid and overworked. That is what slavery means - "a condition of hard work and subjection." (American Heritage Dictionary. Fourth Edition) By purchasing clothes from companies like that and not being able to doing anything about it, I am unintentionally supporting them in what they are doing, i.e. slavery.

I also have nothing against gay people. I do have gay friends. I only do not support gay marriage.

I admit that my wording was wrong. I did not actually think about it while I was writing it. And I apologize for that. Many people have already forgiven me, and I hope that everyone else will too.

I did find excerpts of the post on two other blogs. According to them, this is what she wrote.

umm...i'm totally straight...and i will marry a person of the opposite gender. not a paper or dog or whatever. i am just saying that gay marriage sounds as ridiculous as marrying an inanimate object or marrying outside the species.

what i also don't understand is why straight people are sticking up for gay people. shouldn't gay people be the ones who are trying to lobby this? don't the straight people realize that if they stick up for gay people we will have a repeat of 1863? i mean, come on people, just think...do you really want your straight grandchildren to suffer through what white people are suffering right now? no, you don't...

and yes, i support slavery...

don't get me wrong though, i'm not racist. if the white people have to be the ones being the slaves, that's ok too... we're practically slaves to blacks right now anyways...

See here, here, here, and here.

There may be more here, but reading blogs by high school students is making my brain melt.

Euskadi Ta Askatasuna

I had a couple of problems with the article Implications of bombings depend on who's to blame by Steven Komarow in USA TODAY. The first is that it gives false information.

The bombings of commuter trains in Madrid on Thursday prove at least one of two nightmare scenarios:

* Al-Qaeda has pulled off its first big attacks on the West since 9/11.

* Basque terrorists in Spain, and maybe terrorists everywhere, are learning the tactics of al-Qaeda and its affiliates.

Investigators in the next few days will try to determine which is true. Most Spanish government officials believe the bombings are the work of ETA, a radical group fighting for an independent Basque state. Spanish authorities say that in the weeks before Thursday's attacks, several ETA plots were foiled. Police discovered two backpack bombs in a train station on Christmas Eve. A van was found recently containing explosives similar to those used in the backpack bombs Thursday.

But Thursday's well-coordinated attacks also have the hallmarks of al-Qaeda. The bombers targeted civilians -- something ETA has avoided. An Arabic-language newspaper in London received a letter claiming credit from an al-Qaeda offshoot organization. And after the bombings, police discovered a van near a train station with bomb detonators and an Arabic tape inside, fueling speculation that the bombings were the work of Muslim extremists. (Italics mine.)

From 1969 to 2003, out of 817 victims of ETA, 339 were civilians. According to Amnesty International, since January 2000 "the majority of the targets have been civilian." The same article has this quotation:

In a recent apperance before Spain's National Court ETA's former ''number one'', Francisco Mugica Garmendia (''Pakito'') was reported to have told the court: ''As an ETA activist, I would like to say that ETA, in its actions, takes special care not to incur civilian victims, although unfortunately this happens''

Of course he is lying, regardless of the evidence, he's not going to admit to targeting civilians. Terrorists are evil, it doesn't necessarily follow that they are stupid.

The other part of the article that bothered me was:

Regardless of who is responsible, Europeans, who have been battling terrorism longer than the United States has, are unlikely to react as the United States did after 9/11, Gordon (Phil Gordon, a foreign policy analyst at the Brookings Institution) said. ''They see it as something that needs to be managed and cannot be defeated, at least not easily.''

I don't think there is anyone who thinks that defeating terrorism will be easy but that is the only way to "manage" it.

Meet the Press

James Carville was on Meet the Press this morning. The subject of Bush's television ads and the use of the image from 9/11 came up. Carville said that Clinton didn't use the Oklahoma bombing (in ads) when he was running for re-election.

No kidding. It was an attack by an American citizen whose motive was apparently retaliation over Waco. Despite his faults, Clinton is politically savvy and any mention of Oklahoma would have been stupid if it could have brought up questions about the handling of Waco. Why use it in an ad when you have press coverage of a speech in Oklahoma City in April, a proclamation ordering a moment of silence on April 19 at 9:02 a.m, and support of an anti-terrorism bill that was passed on the anniversary of the bombing?

Carville also tried to spin Kerry's flip-flopping as being flexible. I would have called it wishy-washy, but maybe Carville has a point here.

Capable of being bent or flexed; pliable. Capable of being bent repeatedly without injury or damage. Susceptible to influence or persuasion; tractable. Responsive to change; adaptable: a flexible schedule

MMR

Controversial MMR and autism study retracted

Ten of the original 13 authors of a controversial 1998 medical report which implied a link between autism and the combined MMR vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella, have retracted the paper's interpretations.

The retraction will be printed in the 6 March issue of The Lancet, which published the original paper. One author could not be reached and two others, Peter Harvey and lead author Andrew Wakefield, refused to join the retraction.

"We wish to make it clear that in this paper no causal link was established between MMR vaccine and autism as the data were insufficient," write the 10 authors in their retraction. "However, the possibility of such a link was raised and consequent events have had major implications for public health."

The original paper was based on a study of twelve children eight years after their vaccinations so information was based on what the parents remembered. The main author of the paper was being paid by lawyers who claimed their children had been harmed by the vaccines and four of the children from the lawsuit were part of the study.

Although the main author, Andrew Wakefield, suggested at the time that children receive three vaccinations instead of the combined one, many parents decided not to have their children vaccinated at all. On one side of the issue was a flawed study, on the other are known complications from measles, mumps, and rubella.

Measles causes ear infections in nearly one out of every 10 children who get it. As many as one out of 20 children with measles gets pneumonia, and about one child in every 1,000 who get measles will develop encephalitis. (This is an inflammation of the brain that can lead to convulsions, and can leave your child deaf or mentally retarded.) For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die from it. Measles can also make a pregnant woman have a miscarriage, give birth prematurely, or have a low-birth-weight baby.

Complications of mumps include:

Meningitis, inflammation of the testicles or ovaries, inflammation of the pancreas and deafness (usually permanent).

Complications of rubella include:

Birth defects if acquired by a pregnant woman: deafness, cataracts, heart defects, mental retardation, and liver and spleen damage (at least a 20% chance of damage to the fetus if a woman is infected early in pregnancy).

Worldwide over 500 million MMR vaccinations have been given since 1970. Out of that many people there will be children who develop other illnesses. There will also be children who turn out to be prodogies in music, arts, sports, literature, science, or other areas. Neither result has been shown to have any relationship to the vaccine although I would argue that children who excel are able to do so, in part, because they were given an immunity to these diseases.

A Star is Born

Amateur Astronomer in Ky. Discovers Nebula

While poking around the night sky with a telescope at home, amateur astronomer Jay McNeil discovered a nebula.

In what astronomy groups believe is the first such discovery by an amateur in 65 years, McNeil photographed the illuminated cloud of gas and dust lit by what astronomers believe is a newborn star.

Such a discovery is exceedingly rare, said Bo Reipurth, who confirmed the find at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, home to one of the world's largest telescopes.

This is so cool I'm sure there are amateur (and professional) astronomers around the world who share a vicarious thrill (with a bit of envy) at this discovery.

What Goes Around...

French Trade Minister Francois Loos said the U.S. measure taken over hygiene standards would be discussed at a meeting of the WTO's expert committee on health issues on March 18.

"The United States will be asked to explain the circumstances which led to this measure," Loos said in a statement.

Paris has called the import ban unjustified.

"A WTO agreement limits the circumstances in which exports can be blocked for hygiene reasons. There must be scientific proof of the existence of hygiene risks and it must be shown that the decision is not of a disproportionate nature," he said.

Like the proof the EU had for banning GMOs?

News Sources and Feeds

Finding and organizing news sources:

Google News - frequently my first choice for searching for news because it's handy to use from my toolbar but it can be annoying when there are multiple copies of the same news article from different sources. I like being able to sort by relevance or date, I just wonder what determines relevance. The advanced news search does help finding a specific article since you can select a source or location along with your keyword(s).

Google Alert - will send email notifications when selected keywords are mentioned on news or websites. Notifications are sent out when Google updates its index. This service is good for tracking information that you won't find from news services...sites that mention your name, website, business, or hobbies. There are better ways to track regular news, but this is useful for finding information and references from sites and discussion forums. This service is not affiliated with Google.

Topix - sources for local, national, or world news. You can search for news by topic and it will save a list of your most recent searches. There are also lists for hot topics, people, industries, and companies. I added this one to the list of links next to my IE address field and it may become my favorite souce.

Yahoo - now includes the ability to add RSS headline feeds to your personalized page along with the headline news from their regular sources. Many of the RSS feeds that I've found in my searches here come from Topix.net. I don't use this as a homepage and I seldom use the email address that comes with it (I use MyWay.com for a homepage because I registered early enough to get the email address marybeth@... no numbers after my name!). If I did, I might find this one more useful than I do.

Bloglines - you can subscribe to standard news sources, weblog feeds and comic strips. You can find blogs by browsing the directory or by adding the URI from your page of listings. Click a link and Bloglines will recommend other feeds based on your current subscription list. You can see other subscribers to the blogs if they have selected to share their user lists (this is opt in, if you don't select it, no one will see you listed as a subscriber and they won't see your list). Seeing the lists of people with the same interests can help you find new blogs to read. You can also see how many subscribers you have for your blog. I like the features it offers but not the layout (frames) and the blog directory can be difficult to use since it sorts them by title and you can only begin with the first letter of the title and have go through it page by page.

My Wire Service - subscribe to news and weblogs, sort subscriptions by topic, and clip headlines to save for later. This is a nice service but has always been slow to load. (I have DSL, I would hate to see how slow this is on dial-up.) The weblogs are sorted A-E, F-K...but are not alphabetized within these divisions.

News is Free - another web-based feed aggregator. You can select news sources to add to personalized pages and also add RSS feed for blogs or news sources that aren't listed in the directory. If you get the premium service (you get one month free when you register), you can set it up so that you can post to your blog from this site. You also get news alerts and archiving. None of these extras appeal to me and although I like the look of the layout of the site, I'm still not sure how often I'll use it.

I know there are many more sources out there. If there's one that you have found useful, please leave a comment and tell me what you like about it (include the URI).

Associated Press

This is the news Web site of the Associated Press, its member newspapers and broadcasters.

To get the latest news from the AP and a member Web site, click on the state and select a member from the list. To close the menu, click on the state again.

Below this is a graphic of the United States. Click on any state to choose a newspaper and read the same stories that are in every other paper linked to from the site. Wheeee!

It's the AP site, it seems that it would be simpler just to have a page of the latest news and a sidebar list of links to the newspapers. I'm sure there's a purpose for designing it the way they did. If you know what it is, please tell me.

Carlie Brucia

Carlie Brucia's body found; murder charges filed

Sad news but not surprising. Once they had the suspect, Joseph P. Smith, in custody but didn't know where Carlie was, I didn't think the chances were good that they would find her alive.

Something like this is every parent's worse nightmare.

Texas A&M

Texas A&M Wants 21% Tuition Increase

Texas A&M University is proposing a 21 percent tuition increase for the fall semester. The proposal was announced by A&M President Robert Gates. It would increase tuition from the spring semester by nearly 20 dollars per credit hour. That represents a proposed 33 percent tuition increase over what students paid last fall.

Earlier in January, Texas A&M ended their legacy program. Many public and private colleges rely on donations from alumni who have grown to expect their chidren to have an admissions advantage through legacy programs. I haven't seen any news reports that connect a fear of losing this funding as a reason for raising tuition but I wonder.

Killer Elections

Grisly college politics (Chicago Tribune)

Student politicians at Bir Zeit University no longer stump on simply better library services and cheaper lunches. They also campaign on which party claims to have killed more Israelis.

"For the Islamist bloc, it is 135," says senior Rami Barghouti, a leader of the student bloc formed by militant Palestinian factions Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Barghouti says that figure, which is all but impossible to confirm, is the number of Israelis who have been killed by Bir Zeit students associated with Hamas.

This is insane. After the election " the administration circulated a letter to students, declaring "the university has nothing to do with the violence, and we do not support these things," said Munir Qazzaz, dean of student affairs." Yet the election results stood and no action was taken against any of the students.

RIAA and the FBI

An FBI notice similar to the ones that warn home-video viewers not to make or distribute illegal copies is headed for CDs.

The recording industry and the FBI have struck a deal that allows CD packaging to include the FBI's logo on labels warning consumers about the illegality of file-sharing.

I'm sure it will be as effective as the warning on videos has been.

Maybe Later

France Mulling Sending Troops to Iraq

French President Jacques Chirac is said to be considering sending a military contingent to Iraq as part of a U.N. force once sovereignty is returned to Iraqis.

Another prominent critic of the U.S.-led war remains opposed to deploying soldiers in Iraq. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Friday that while he was ruling out sending troops, even under a U.N. mandate, he is open to a humanitarian role in helping rebuild Iraq.

"But de Villepin was firm in saying the idea of sending French troops to Iraq was "not currently on the table."

"For us, the issue of the current political void is at the heart
of the Iraqi question," the French foreign minister told reporters.

Perfect Storm

California volunteers travel to Iowa to support Dean:
An army of California campaign volunteers -- representing a wide range of ages, occupations and political interests -- has stormed into Iowa, the center this week of the American political universe.

Dean's "Perfect Storm" volunteer effort is by far the biggest and most organized push, expected to reach 3,500 dedicated "Deaniacs'' by this weekend, including dozens arriving from the Bay Area by train and plane in the final days of the heady Iowa campaign.

Odd choice of a name for this effort...Perfect Storm. If you remember the movie, all of the crew died at the end.

I don't know about the people in Iowa, but I wouldn't want anyone coming in from another state to try to influence my decision on how to vote.

The Madonna Factor

Polls Show Clark Gaining on Dean in N.H.
Wesley Clark has gained significant ground on Howard Dean in polls of likely voters in New Hampshire almost two weeks before the state's Democratic presidential primary.

I'm now waiting for Madonna to claim credit for his rise in the polls.

Cybersquatter Loses Again

The estate of "Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien has won the rights to the use of the domain name www.jrrtolkien.com in a United Nations ruling.
The World Intellectual Property Organization ordered the name handed over to the company that holds the rights to the British author's works and that claimed it had trademark rights in the name.

...The U.N. arbitration system, which started in 1999, allows those who think they have the right to a domain to get it back without having to fight a costly legal battle or pay large sums of money.

Now we know what the U.N. is good for.

Similar cases brought by Pierce Brosnan, Pamela Anderson, Celine Dion, kevin Spacey, and Michael Crichton against Alberta Hot Rods were decided in favor of the celebrities.

New Math

Stephanopoulos Fails to Correct Dean’s False $304 Tax Cut Claim
Stephanopoulos fails to correct Dean. In an interview with Howard Dean, taped aboard the ABC News campaign bus and shown on Sunday’s This Week, Dean repeatedly made the fallacious claim that the bottom 60 percent only got an average tax cut of $304 in the Bush plan. But the “Annenberg Political Fact Check” Web page pounced on Dean’s claim as made in an earlier debate: “Half of all U.S. households got more than $470 according to the Tax Policy Center. Dean arrives at his figure by averaging in the cuts received by the bottom 60% of households, which includes all those who paid no taxes in the first place and thus got no cut.”

Read the whole thing and check out The Best of Notable Quotables 2003 while you're there.

Pride, Like Charity, Begins at Home

A letter from Madonna*:
I've never done this before. But life is about taking risks is it not?
I know that people seem to pay attention to everything I do. Big or Small. Ridiculous or Sublime. So I am hoping they pay attention to this:

Not only as a "celebrity" but as an American citizen and as a mother. I want my children to grow up with the same opportunities that I had – to know and understand what's going on in the world and to travel that world safely and with pride.

Oooooh! How risky! How daring!

I'm a mother and I want my children to be able to travel safely. Obviously our thoughts on who would be the best president to help make that happen differ. I've taught my kids to be proud of their country and who they are. At least they won't ever have to hear a friend tell them that they saw their mother kissing another girl on TV. Or in a book of photographs doing things that one normally doesn't do in public.

* Time Magazine (January 19, 2004) had a different quotation from her website:
I've never aligned myself with a presidential candidate during the primary season. But this time, the stakes are too high.

I couldn't find that one on the site.

Morbid Monday

Listed under "More Top Stories" on CNN, this line seemed a bit odd.
Bitter cold blamed for three deaths | Gallery | Video

To me, it sounded as though they had pictures and video of people dying from the cold. Turns out the pictures are of the regular winter in the city type - icicles, frost, a kid with a snow fort.... Guess I just have a morbid imagination.

Gospel of Dean

Howard Dean and Job (link via Right Voices)

If you know much about the Bible — which I do.... Does Dean remind anyone else of Cliff Clavin?

Asked his favorite New Testament book, Dr. Dean named Job, adding: "But I don't like the way it ends." "Some would argue, you know, in some of the books of the New Testament, the ending of the Book of Job is different," he said. "I think, if I'm not mistaken, there's one book where there's a more optimistic ending, which we believe was tacked on later."

Job lived to be an old man, but I'm quite sure he didn't make it to the New Testament (as Dean later admitted.)

What's this "we believe was tacked on later" business? I took a class about the Septuagint in college and don't remember anything about a revised ending but that was almost 20 years ago and I may have forgotten it. (The test audience didn't like the ending...said it was too depressing. We want everyone to feel good!) It's just odd to think that a new ending would be added because the original was too stern for two reasons: 1. If you're going to do some revisions, how about revising the Ten Commandments? Change the "Thou shalt not" parts to "You really should try to avoid". You gotta have some wiggle room. 2. If the story of Job ended without his health and wealth being restored, it still isn't a depressing ending.

The story affirms that regardless what ills befall you, no matter how much you suffer, God is not punishing you nor has He forgotten you. Even in the worst of times, Job was the subject of God's divine love.

I can think of gloomier endings...Dean winning the election, for one. (I didn't say likely endings, just gloomy ones.)

Asked again about his favorite part of the New Testament, Dr. Dean said, "Anything in the Gospels."

They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. (Matthew)

Maybe he really meant he likes any of the songs in Godspell.

Person of the Year

Time Magazine's Person of the Year - The American Soldier

For uncommon skills and service, for the choices each one of them has made and the ones still ahead, for the challenge of defending not only our freedoms but those barely stirring half a world away, the American soldier is TIME's Person of the Year.

In Time

Time Magazine has an exclusive report that says, "As soldiers were handcuffing him after he was extracted from his "spider hole," these sources say, Saddam spit on his captor.

As the incident was reported by the military, according to a U.S. source, a soldier promptly slugged the old tyrant -- probably the first time in more than two decades that Saddam was powerless to exact lethal revenge on someone who stood up to him. "

I can fully understand the impulse to hit Saddam, but after the restraint that was shown by not shooting him when they found him, it surprised me a bit that a soldier would react to spitting. Even though I think Saddam got better treatment than he deserved and I have doubts about the truth of this incident, watch for (more) complaints that he was mistreated.

The article also says that there are doubts about whether someone actually said, "Regards from President Bush." It is a good line and we all have had those "I should have said ____" times when we think of a snappy comment after the chance to use it has passed. Those times happen, though, when we are caught by surprise by an event or comment someone else makes. These soldiers have known for a long time that one of their goals is to capture Saddam. Just as Neil Armstrong had time to come up with his "One small step for (a) man..." remark, the soldiers have had time to think what they want to say. It could also be that one of the soldiers there is good at off the cuff witty remarks. Regardless, as far as I'm concerned, "Regards from President Bush." is a part of what happened. It was the message that Saddam was given whether it was spoken aloud or not.

Link to the Time.com report found via Aaron's Rantblog.

Happy Meal

A mother of three got a lot more than she ordered at a McDonald's drive-thru. Janice Meissner ordered a bagel and a Diet Coke for breakfast last week, but when she got her food bag it seemed "super heavy."

That was because it had hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in a sealed plastic bag - money that turned out to be the restaurant's bank deposit.

She backed up and returned the deposit before the employees noticed it was missing. McDonald's says they plan on sending her a thank you note and $50 in gift certificates. I want to add my congratulations to her on doing the right thing. Her kids are lucky to have an honest mom.

Chutzpah

OPEC wants aid if world shifts to renewable energies

Delegates said that Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, wanted promises of aid if Kyoto spurs a shift to renewable energies like tidal, solar or wind energy at the expense of fossil fuels.

Indubitably.